Happy Howl-O-Ween from the Stump Kids!

Happy Howl-O-Ween from the Dynamic Duo!!

DABAD: Life Outside of the Agility Ring is Just as Fun

Today is another Dog Agility Blog Action Day! I realize I haven't been the best at keeping this blog up to date lately, but no worries--I fully intend to catch you up on the Stump Kids' adventures, including Dally's PACH2 in August. For now, we concentrate on what the Stump Kids do when they're not doing agility.

For one, Dally believes that it's just as important to sleep well as it is to train well. You see, sleeping helps the body rebuild muscles, and re-build your energy stores.

Catch some ZZzzs to help catch that QQ!

For LaMesa, however, she feels it's best to keep the training going, going, GOING. LaMesa might be a bit of an overachiever when it comes to fitness. She doesn't know when to stop, or really how to just lay and relax like Dally (hmmm...sounds a lot like me). She'll play tennie until she's about to collapse from heat and being out of breath. She'll chase a lure like it's nobody's business and give it a couple good shakes just to make sure she caught it.

Even while observing, LaMesa practices everything, while Dally just...observes.

Any more, I don't do a whole lot of agility training on the girls. We'll work on different aspects in the backyard--backside jumps, weave entrances, weaves with distractions, two-jump combos, etc. Then we'll go to a rarely offered class or work session and work whole courses, which is mostly working on me and what I need to improve on. But a lot of what we do is crosstraining and keeping in condition.

The Stump Kids go on lots of walks...at least one a day, and at least one mile (the heat lately has not been kind to Dally, so we don't get to go very far when it's too hot). We'll walk around the neighborhood or local parks, up and down hills, maybe with some jogging here and there. but definitely lots of walks.

We'll go to different places and just run through the grass--this helps work their backs and hind legs, plus allows them to just run and sniff the air that's different than what's around their house.

We've done some lure coursing (LaMesa more than Dally), which is a fun sport. I've done very little herding, and while Dally wasn't a fan of the sheep, LaMesa is just begging me to do more with her. I know it'll do her mind and her heart well when we can finally start herding training--nothing's better than watching your dog do what it's bred to do--but unfortunately time and finances are way too short for me. :-(

Dally has started to show interest in barn hunt, with being a ferocious mole and chipmunk hunter in our back yard. I don't want to squelch her excitement or her instinct for the hunt, so I let her have her time. I'm hoping to start doing barn hunt training and tests soon--it might be her next career with agility slowing down!

And, finally, there's that rare venture into the obedience/rally ring. Both girls have their Rally Novice titles, but I can't help but feel like I should try for more--maybe some lower level obedience, or maybe Rally Advance? Again, it takes time, and it'll take money for classes to help me since I'm not a natural obedience person. But it's a good way to really make them think, use their brains, and learn more control.

Until then, I plan to let them live their life as pampered pooches, who always have a good time. Whether that be keeping the horses in line on the family farm...

Hiking with their best buddies....

Or cleaning out peanut butter jars...

The Stump Kids' lives will never be boring.

Check out the rest of the Dog Agility Blog Group's response to "Life Outside the Ring." Lots of great insight!
Some faves:

• Un-Still Life with Cavaliers: Outside the Ring, The Inside Story on Handler Fitness (right up my alley!)
• Days of Speed & Showtime Mondays: Sitting is the New Smoking--Life Hacks Outside the Ring
• The BlueHound Beagles at WordPlay: Crossbraining
• Mufaasa and Me: Spoiler Alert: The Stuff You do Outside of the Ring Matters Just as Much (or More) than What Happens in it

Wordless Wednesday: Through the Drive Thru

Wordless Wednesday: PACH2 Dally!

Stump Kid Link Love: Connection vs Control, Therapy Dogs, Things Dogs Hate

It's time for another round up for Stump Kid Link Love, where I share some dog-related links that I've found interesting and wanted to share with y'all!

Connection and Control (The Cognitive Canine): When we're working with our dogs, no matter the sport--agility, rally, etc.--we sometimes don't catch ourselves when we say we want to be able to control our dog. Control seems to be a harsh word when you think of it. Working with your dog in a sport like agility takes connection--you have to be able to connect with your dog in order to get the most out of your partnership. Yes, partnership...which takes connection....you don't control your partner.

3 Steps to Making Your Dog a Therapy Dog (Woofipedia): I would love for Dally to be a therapy dog! When my grandmother was alive and I'd come home to visit, my mom and I would bring Dally to the nursing home to visit my grandmother (who was a breeder and shower of dogs for most of her life). Dally would march right into the nursing home, walk up to everyone whether they were in wheelchairs or used walkers, and demand attention. She'd lay still on my grandma's bed, allowing her to pet her for as long as she wanted. She loved it. Now, LaMesa, on the other hand...I don't think she's calm enough to be a therapy dog.

11 Things Humans do that Dogs Hate (Mother Nature Network): Ever wonder if some of the doting and love we pour onto our dogs might not be seen as love? Some of this stuff I had a feeling the pups didn't appreciate, but I hadn't thought that a dog really doesn't like having his head patted? But thinking about how we feel about our heads being patted, makes a good point... Is there anything that caught you off guard?

What have you read lately (dog-related) that has made you go "Hmmmm"?

Chasing Bags--LaMesa Tackles Lure Coursing

The Stump Kids have been on an agility sabbatical, taking a break from training and trialing for multiple reasons (time off needed, finances, etc.), but that doesn't mean we haven't been totally dead.

Just a little over a week ago, I headed two hours south to Columbia, Ky., to take part in the Bluegrass Coursing Club's Coursing Ability Tests. They offered one test Friday evening, two Saturday, and two on Sunday. We pre-entered Friday just to see if the girls would even be interested. Well, one was very enthralled with it. The other....yeaaahhhh...not so much. Can you guess which was which?

If you haven't guessed, here's a video hint:



So...can you guess who earned her first qualifying leg on Friday, and then the final two legs on Sunday (yes, we went back)? That's right. LaMesa went 3-for-3 to become only the second Swedish Vallhund to earn her CA title!

Here was run #1, in the rain:


(Complete with cheering from the Brews Brothers)

Run #2 on Sunday:


(The yelp at the end of her run was not LaMesa, so don't worry, she wasn't hurt!)

Run #3 on Sunday:



I loved how every time the judge asked me "Ready?" LaMesa answered with a bark. (See, "Ready?" is what I use to rev her up in training when she's getting tired.) I also loved how every time she'd catch the bag at the end, she'd give it a little shake then run towards me like "Did you see me, momma??"

I joked that this was the easiest title I've ever earned with her, but it was so natural! LaMesa loves to run and loves to give it her all, so those 300 yard sprints were nothing for her.

I might go for her CAA, which requires just seven more qualifying runs, but I'm not going to spend the money, nor the time, to drive two hours again. Hopefully the BCC will have some events closer to Lexington, and that's when you'll see me out there. It was a fun break from the usual training and agility, and fun to watch dogs of all breeds go for the bag.

Mill Creek's Chyna Rust RN, AX, AXJ, NF, CA

Winning Is About More than Just Trophies

I'm doing a little cross-posting today because this is an agility-related subject, so why not post this on my dog agility blog?

Recently I had the opportunity to write an editorial for Clean Run Magazine. Yep, that's right, the agility magazine to end all agility magazines, and one some say is the "Agility Bible". So that's pretty cool, right? Anyway, I had pitched an idea to them back in March and they wanted me to share my friend's story with the rest of the agility community.

You might already read The Brews Brothers blog, managed by my good friend Merinda. You've followed along on her training and struggles with Porter, her 9-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi, and now Stout, his younger brother. We all cheered when she won the Preferred National Agility Championship in 4" with Porter in Harrisburg, and I know I definitely cheered when they finally finished their PACH in May. While we all know the hard work and the dedication it takes to build a championship team, whether a national championship or an agility championship, but Merinda's story is so much more than just constant weave pole training and behavior shaping. Which is why I wanted to share her story.

My editorial came out in the August 2014 issue of Clean Run, so you can read it for yourself in there, or you can read it on my writing website where I have uploaded the PDF from the magazine. (Megan Arszman Communications--Winning and Being a Success it About More than Trophies)

Thank you for being such an inspiration, Merinda!