wags n woofs

Ziggy the Cardigan - IVDD Week 7

2012-01-23T10:43:00.002-06:00

Ziggy had just at-home physical therapy this week. It was a crazy week for me at work, so I wasn't able to get him any acupuncture.

So, I thought I'd share something that has made taking Ziggy out MUCH easier. At Iowa State, they used a sling for Ziggy's hind end, and it makes moving Z around much more comfortable (for both parties). Prior to this, we were just using a towel to help him along. The rehab therapist really likes the sling, as it's positioning seems to put less pressure on the dog's back, and it's easier for a dog to go to the bathroom (boy dogs especially).

Here are some pics of the sling (sans dog):

This is the side that goes toward the dog's skin.

It's made of neoprene, and even has a little cut-out for male canine comfort.

Here's the other side.

It fastens with velco and a snap-close (like on a dog collar) fastener. It also has a handle on each side. They fasten together with a neoprene hold for comfort. Since I'm taller than the average human, and I have a short dog, I would like the straps to be about 6" longer. It would be easier on my back and shoulders. But hey, this is MUCH better than a towel!!

The brand is Walk About.

Z is a size medium (this size would fit all 3 of my Cardis).

Here's the sling in action.

We keep Z's feet off the ground just enough that they don't drag. We also use a collar and leash, which helps w/ steering and brakes. The collar helps prevent having Ziggy drag us through the bushes, and helps slow him down when he decides it's time to move...

Here's another shot - with a stationary Cardi.

I try to put Z's hind legs in a standing position when he stops. I figure this gives him a little "informal" physical therapy, and gets him used to standing when he stops once again. It's also easier on my back if he's holding himself up.

So what progress have I seen this week? It's still all very slow. We are inching our way along.

This week, though, he has started to put his hind legs back when he stops to pee.
He is also reacting more to the pinching (gentle) on his pads.
He will push back a little with is right hind when I put upward pressure on it (when he's laying down, for instance).
He seems more "opinionated" about where his hind legs are - sometimes pulling them away from me when we're doing his range of motion exercises.

The rehab specialist guesses that it will likely take Ziggy about six months to walk again. She bases this on other dogs she's seen with similar trauma to the back (his rupture impacted 4 vertebra) and of similar size. This makes me feel a little better about his rate of progress. I often wonder if the slow progress means that he won't be ambulatory again. It's tough not knowing, but I'm trying to be "zen" about the whole thing. Maybe a good life lesson for me in here? ;)

On the not-so-great side of the equation, Ziggy had his second bladder infection this week, so he was given another course of antibiotics. Apparently, this isn't uncommon in the situation. At our vet's recommendation, we're now back to expressing his bladder 2-3 times a day instead of just once. We still let him start and go pee all he wants before expressing, and we don't express every time. The Husband is pleased to report that Z has been emptying his bladder completely - or almost all the way - for the past couple of days.

Ziggy is back at ISU for 2 days this week. Our current plan is to try and bring him back every other week for a couple of days, and work from home the rest of the time. We just couldn't seem to work the coordination out with the rehab center closer to our house. They were not too keen on having Ziggy spend the day, which was a must for us in order to make it work.

So I put the thought in the rehab specialist's head - to see if we can make it work to visit every other week and for us to be a bit more involved with rehab at home - perhaps expanding beyond the work we've already been doing. We'll discuss it in more detail when I pick Z up on Tuesday.

Rip's Lucky Morning

2012-01-22T10:39:00.002-06:00

This morning did not start out to be a promising morning for Rip. He was FULL of energy, as he didn't get out for a walk yesterday. Though he did get yard time, Rip needs a long walk every day if he is to remain in any way calm in the house.

This morning he was up on the couch with The Child and I, then off the couch harassing the cat, then asking to go out, then asking to come in. Repeat this loop several times in the course of an hour and you'll have an idea of what the house was like.

Here we're snuggling on the sofa. This is just after chasing the cat up the cat tree.

On the sofa snuggled between his brother and sister.

So sweet and innocent.

Now just leaning on Maggie.

But note the gleam in his eye....

Then Rip wanted to go outside (for the third time). Since he was driving me and the calm, brindle corgis crazy, I let him out.

Minutes passed. More than ten minutes. No Rip scratching on the door to be let in. After a while, I began to wonder if everything was ok.

I looked outside, and here's what I saw:

Our neighbors' cattle dog frapping with Rip in the back yard!

The neighbors got this dog from the shelter as a puppy, and he was just too wild for their house. They sent him to live on a farm (literally). This didn't work out so he's back now. Apparently he jumped over the 4' fence when he saw Rip outside. Time to play, I guess!

I can outrun this spotted dog, mom!

Oh, maybe not.

He got me! Roll out of the way.

Run away!

(note ears all the way back to cut wind resistance - just like a greyhound!)

Don't stop now! Let's keep playing!!

For me, the frapping was great. Rip has been sound asleep since he got in an 1.5 hours ago. The neighbors, however, are a little worried. Nobody wants a dog who can jump their fence that easily!

Ziggy the Cardigan - IVDD Week 6

2012-01-16T19:04:00.001-06:00

On Friday it was six weeks since Ziggy's back surgery.

Since my last post on Z, he spent a week at the ISU vet school rehab center. The main reason for his visit was hydro therapy.

Twice a day he did the underwater treadmill. The goal is go build strength and get him connecting with moving his legs again. The vet student or therapist who was in the treadmill with him would get him started by moving his legs for him. Then they would let him do it on his own. He had more reach forward on the right hind than the left.

Ziggy in on the treadmill with one of the vet med students.

The students do a 2 week rotation in the rehab center.

Here's a short video of Zig.

Apparently he didn't whine when I wasn't around,

but Z wanted to keep me in his view at all times.

Ziggy also got to swim in the pool once a day (with a life preserver, of course). He swam early in the morning, so I didn't get to see this. Apparently, he paddled fine with his front end, but just let his back end hang. Of course, Ziggy had never been swimming before the accident, so he wouldn't have any "memory" of how to move when swimming. I'm not sure if that matters, but....

They also did range of motion and standing with him a few times a day. The therapist did a little different range of motion than we were doing, so we've adopted the new method:

First, flex the joints -

slowly moving the joints into position and holding for a few seconds.

Next extend the joints slowly and hold.

She has her hand on his stifle here.

Finally, stretch to the side & hold.

Hand under upper thigh.

They also added a "sit to stand" exercise. This is to help him build strength and learn to push up from his hind end again. A couple of times he even took a bit of a step forward.

This exercise requires two people: One behind him putting him in the sit and helping stabilize when standing. The other person in front luring him forward with a treat.

He starts in a tuck sit.

Notice that his hocks are flexed and under him.

This is to make it easier for him to push up.

He never really liked to sit this way when he was healthy,

so it's sometimes a bit of a challenge to get him into position.

Then he's lured forward into a stand.

Sometimes he needs a little help getting into the stand

with hands gently on the haunches or stabilizing using his tail.

While there Ziggy also got 3 acupuncture treatments - one on Thursday, Monday, and Wednesday.

At ISU, Ziggy continued to do standing exercises regularly. They had him standing 5 minutes at a time as often as they could. We're doing this exercise after every trip outside (5-6 times a day) - for as long as Ziggy can stand - usually 3-5 mins at a time.

What progress has Ziggy made?

He is (mainly) peeing on his own! The therapist decided to let him go as much as he could on his own before expressing his bladder. We are now expressing his bladder only before bedtime to ensure that it's completely empty. This is a BIG deal for us, as it means I can now take him out for potty time (I never really got the whole bladder expression thing figured out).
He is steadier in the stand - though still not able to stand on his own very often.
There is more going on in his hind end: he is paddling his legs right before he goes poop (we don't know why - my guess is that he's trying to get into a crouch), he is moving his legs forward sometimes when standing, and when he dreams his paws move more than before.

Home again!

Ziggy seemed happy to be home,

and Rip and Maggie seemed happy to have him home.

We let him hang out a bit with Maggie on one of his favorite doormats.

Ziggy's Spa Vacation

2012-01-04T14:22:00.000-06:00

Since Ziggy is still not walking or urinating on his own, we couldn't leave him at home with the house/pet sitter while we went to Washington. Instead, Ziggy is getting a spa vacation at the Iowa State University Veterinary School Rehabilitation center.

The vet who did Z's surgery suggested that Z might really benefit from some aqua therapy, and made the referral to ISU.

I dropped Ziggy off yesterday, had a tour of the rehab facility, and learned more about what they'll do. The facility looks quite new and is very nice. They have an underwater treadmill and a large pool along with the standard rehab equipment like balance balls/eggs, and treadmills. Ziggy gets to try out the underwater treadmill tomorrow, and will likely get some time in the pool this week as well (safely wearing a doggy life vest, of course). He'll also continue the exercises we've been doing at home, and they'll likely add some others. I've also requested that he have 2-3 acupuncture treatments during the week he'll be there.

I'm anxious to see if Z shows any improvement over the week. I won't have to wait long for an update, though, as they call every evening to share an update on how things are going.

When I pick Ziggy up next week, the rehab therapist promised to share with me all the exercises she has done and recommends I do with Z. Hopefully I'll learn some new things that will help the boy recuperate.

The only down side? Ziggy was NOT a happy camper to be left again. When I was leaving he scooted his way over to bars of the pen and started pawing at the bars - barking, yelping and whining. Sorry Ziggy - it's for your own good.

Ziggy the Cardigan - IVDD Update: 1 Month

2012-01-03T20:28:00.002-06:00

Yesterday it was one month since Ziggy's surgery for a ruptured disc.

Last week I was really not feeling optimistic about Ziggy's progress. This week, though, things are looking up.

I found a vet about 1/2 hour away who does acupuncture, and Ziggy had treatments (is that what acupuncture sessions are called?) on Wednesday and Friday. The vet also suggested some additional physio/rehab work for me to do - to help with proprioception and nerve regeneration.

I've incorporated these exercises into his routine (4-5 times daily at 5-10 mins a time) so now I do:

Standing - we put place his hind legs in a standing position and allow him to support as much of himself as he can.
Range of motion exercsies with the hind legs - bending and extending hocks and stifles - 10-15 times per session
Pinching between the pads of his rear legs - not enough to injure him but enough to get a "pull the foot away" reaction. This is to help w/ nerves/feeling and builds a bit of resistance when he pulls the foot away.
Skin massage - I grab 2-3" of skin along his back and down the ribs and gently pull up and massage with my fingers for a second or so. This is to help w/ nerves/feeling and I hope it feels good to him, too.
Massaging his rear toes. Nobody told me to do this, but I noticed that his rear feet are curled up a lot when he's laying or sitting, and it makes me feel better to gently straighten and massage the toes.

Here's The Husband helping Ziggy with his standing.

I usually try to have his pasterns more upright, but as he gets

tired, he sometimes sinks back like this.

Note the look of concentration on Z's face.

What have I noticed this week that is making me optimistic?

He is able to stand with much less support. Yesterday afternoon, he stood with no support from me for approx 5 seconds. After that I had just gentle, one-finger support on one hip.
He is stretching out his back legs when I pick him up from the crate - just like dogs often do when rising from sleep (!)
I'm noticing much more reaction to my toe massaging and between-the-pads pinching.
The Husband has noticed Z "paddling" a bit more when he's walking in his sling in the yard (the hind feet are off the ground, but moving a bit).
Last night on the sofa Ziggy was having a good doggy dream and his right hind leg even moved a little.

I know that correlation does not equal causation, but I think that the acupuncture sessions really helped! We're planning to continue these on a regular basis. Right now the vet is recommending 2x a week.

Two early milestones we're still waiting for are for Z to wag his tail (we're told this is a very positive sign) and for him to urinate on his own (though I read this usually happens around the time a dog becomes ambulatory again).

Hopefully I'll have good things to post in next week's update!

Anyway, a week of good progress for Z.

Wagmore Farm: The House Part 4 - The Plan for The Existing Home

2012-01-02T19:56:00.001-06:00

(Please note: this post will make more sense if you've already read my previous post from today regarding The Decision of what we'll do with the house)

When weighing our house options, we realized that part of the "Scrap it and start over" option involved getting rid of the existing structure. We wanted to make sure we were comparing like costs, so we worked hard to find out what other costs (aside from the home cost) are involved with a new home build.

We contacted the county and found out that we won't have to pay local impact fees. Since a home is already on the property those fees don't apply. The existing electricity, water, and septic will all be connected to the new house. The current house is sited well on the property, so we'll be building on nearly the very same location. This means there will be only slight changes to the driveway and connections to septic, etc.

Then we met with an excavation company that was recommended to us, and has lots of relevant experience, to find out what tear down and haul away would cost. As we were talking about cost, work involved, etc, the excavation guy mentioned that we should talk to the local fire district.

Apparently, the local fire districts appreciate being able to use homes for practice. The excavation guy thought our home would be a promising candidate, as it's away from other homes, etc.

Later that week we met with the training supervisor for the district. He thought the house would suit them nicely, and let us know what would be involved with a burn of this sort. Basically, the fire fighters use the house for drills/practice most of the day. When they're done later in the afternoon, they let the house go up in flames.

My pre-enactment of what will happen. ;)

We've had to spend a bit of $$ on permits, applications, and a bit of asbestos remediation, but we're really excited about this method of demolition.

It enables us to help the local fire department and save a ton of money on excavation costs! As an added bonus, the training supervisor says we can lean the rest of our brush pile up against the carport so it will go up in flames when the whole house goes.

The date for the burn is this Saturday. We're headed out to the property in a couple of days to board up the windows and remove the hot water heater (both of which the fire dept require). We'll also be salvaging the bathroom mirrors (to be used as training mirrors in my future dog training barn), the kitchen cabinets (to be used as garage storage), and the rough-hewn mantle piece on the fireplace (don't know what we'll do with it). Everything else is going up in flames.

Oh, and the coolest part? We get to go out and watch! I'll be working hard to get some good pics/video...

Wagmore Farm: The House Part 3 - The Decision

2012-01-02T11:59:00.000-06:00

In my 2 previous house posts, I mentioned that The Husband and I have been trying to figure out what to do with the house on our property. After weighing the pros and cons, and struggling to figure out the finances, we have finally decided to tear down the existing house and build a new one.

The plan we decided on is the same plan as a house we looked at an loved, but didn't buy it because it was just a little too far off the freeway - meaning a longer commute.

Here's a picture of that house.

Ours won't be exactly the same - the biggest difference being that we'll only have a front porch instead of a wrap around. While we liked the wrap-around, it means less light into the ground floor and in SW Washington we'll take all the light we can get!

Here's the base plan. Ours will be slightly different - the main difference being that we're adding a 5' x 13' mud room in front of the entrance from the garage into the house. We both decided that one can't function w/out a mud room on 15 acres in rainy Washington. And, we're having the room plumbed for a dog bath so if when The Trio roll in stink outside we can wash it off easily.

Some things that we really like about the plan are the master on the main floor (no stairs for the dogs and good for aging in place) and the nice flow from living to dining to kitchen on the ground floor. We were a little concerned that it's way more house than 3 humans need, but since we won't have a basement anymore one of the bedrooms will be converted into an office (The Husband works from home) and another one will cease to be a bedroom (we're taking out the closet) and will serve as a home gym.

We haven't signed the paperwork on the house yet, so it's not all final. Our plan for later this week is to have one final meeting with the builder to finalize finishes and modifications.

We're very excited to get started on the house, but first we have to get rid of the old one. I'll do another post today with our plans for that.

Wagmore Farm: The House Part 2 - What to Do?

2011-12-29T11:52:00.002-06:00

In a previous blog post, I shared a bit about the current state of the house. When we bought the property our intention was to spruce things up. Then we started to think about living in the house, and the changes we might make to tailor it more to our taste. The more we thought about it, we realized we have 3 options:

Spruce it up
Whole house remodel
Scrap it and start over

Spruce It Up

This was our first thought. New paint, new floors, voila!

Then we started to understand what sprucing up really meant for this house:

New roof
New windows (some optional, some mandatory)
New paint
New flooring
Update (aka gut) all bathrooms
Update electrical
Add HVAC system (has baseboard heat now)
Update kitchen cabinets (optional - cabinets in ok shape, but not aesthetically pleasing)

All of that and we'd still be left with a wonky floor plan:

The addition of the master bedroom, and the conversion of the garage

mean pretty bad flow and a house that feels much smaller than it is.

Whole House Remodel

When the "spruce up" option started to look less appealing (why dump that much money in a house and still live with a weird layout?) we decided to get an idea of what it would cost to do a more drastic remodel.

First, we met with a builder who came highly recommended. He also does design along with build, so we had him sketch out a plan - mainly using the existing footprint, that took our wants into consideration.

Here's the getting-closer plan.

Not bad but still a few tweaks we wanted to make.

The designs were headed in a direction that The Husband and I liked, so we asked him for a realistic (though not final) estimate of what things might cost. When we looked at the spreadsheet we almost fell over. To get all of our "wants" into the existing house, along with having the "needs" (like the roof & HVAC) taken care of, things were going to be very expensive.

So we decided to get a second opinion. I found an architect in Portland who has done some really nice remodels. For a flat fee, he did a site visit to give us some idea of possibilities.

After listening to what we were looking for, and walking around the house, he said, "There's really not much here worth saving is there?" He pointed out that the house was dark and not connected to the outside, which is a shame given the lovely views of the property (he loved the property, and said his dog-agility-loving wife would love it, too).

He went on to say that, given the condition of the house, we would at least be talking about taking it down to the studs (remember that wood paneling?), and if we were going that far, we might as well re-do the walls as well, to allow for better insulation and better placement of doors & windows. At that point, we would just be keeping the foundation, which is weirdly T-shaped.

Sigh. On to option 3.

Scrap It and Start Over

Now that we had an understanding of our remodel options, and approximate costs, I decided to ask around about the cost to demolish the house and build new on the site.

We visited a couple new home builders in the area to find out what a "customized" home might cost. This would involve choosing and building from an existing plan that the builder has built many times over, and customizing the finishes to our taste. We had already ruled out the totally custom home option, as this would be more expensive than a remodel.

The challenge with the builders was to find which of their many plans we liked. We narrowed it down to a couple of plan options (one with each builder). As an added bonus, we were able to walk through an already-built home with each of these plans. This allowed us to get a good idea of the the how the homes would feel.

We finally narrowed it down to one plan and got an estimate of what the plan would cost to build on our site. This cost was quite a bit less than the whole house remodel, but quite a bit more than the spruce up.

Now we had a decision to make.

I'll post what we decided in the next couple of days.

Ziggy the Cardigan - IVDD - Week 3

2011-12-27T20:22:00.002-06:00

This week has been a bit of a depressing week for me regarding Ziggy's post-surgical progress. I really thought (hoped) that we'd see more progress 3 weeks in.

From what I read, and what the vet shared with us, recovery can take a long time. What constitutes a long time? That seems to depend on what I read. 6-12 weeks seems to be a recurring theme - but I've read about longer and shorter. In our vet's experience, bigger dogs take longer to heal than smaller dogs - and he considers Ziggy a bigger dog.

The progress I've seen this week:

Slightly (and I mean very slight) more resistance when he's "standing" and doing his biking PT
On a couple of occasions he even seems to pull his foot forward from the hip
The Husband has noticed some very mild "paddling" when he's walking Z in the sling sometimes

Other things I've noticed this week:

Ziggy gets very upset when he can't see me. He barks and whines. It's funny, because his bark sounds a lot different than before - much shorter & higher pitched.
He really likes to move around the yard in the sling - he's drug The Husband and I through the bushes more than once.
At times he seems a little bit "down." Maybe I'm projecting, but he sometimes seems resigned and not very perky.

Z moving around in his sling with The Husband in tow.

When Z wants to go somewhere, we really have to hang on

and move quickly to keep up.

I was working on the computer,

so I took Z out of the crate to sit under me.

Rip came to lay next to him. Very sweet.

My goal for this week to try and get Z an appt w/ a well-regarded rehab clinic up by Chicago.

A Good Christmas to Be a Cardi

2011-12-26T15:16:00.000-06:00

We had great weather here in Iowa yesterday, so the Humans got to spend some good outdoor time with Maggie and Rip. Unfortunately Ziggy had to stay inside - but he got to enjoy some Christmas treats. Here are some pics form the day.

Maggie enjoyed sniffing along on our walk,

and hung out with me in the sunshine while The Child played on the playground.

Ziggy enjoyed a rawhide candy cane.

He also got a new rope giraffe toy -

which Rip immediately tried to grab through the bars of the crate.

Rip got two outings

First, he and I went for a long, long walk. Not many people were out so he got to be off leash in the park.

Lots of things live in the woods.

You can't hide, squirrels!

Rip was thirsty, so I tried to get him to come down to the stream for a drink.

He gave me the "my mom is doing strange things" look.

When the look didn't get me to climb back up,

he tried barking his displeasure.

Note scorpion tail accompanying barking.

What's a walk on a sunny day without a good roll?

Later in the afternoon, we took The Child to the playground. Some young men showed up with their Lab. They said the Lab was friendly, so we let Rip off leash to play.

The Lab was a quite a bit older than Rip, so Rip had to work

hard to get it to play. This also involved some barking

when the Lab had the audacity to stop.

But I got a good recall when the play was over!

Note tongue hanging out.

Here's what happened when we got home.

Mission accomplished!

I hope that all of you had a wonderful day, too!

Wagmore Farm: The House Part 1 - Current State

2011-12-22T21:09:00.002-06:00

When The Husband and I bought the Wagmore Farm property we did not buy it for the condition of the house. The house was built in the early '70's, and it seemed doubtful that things had been updated since then. But the home we live in now was in the same condition when we bought it, and we made it nice, so we figured why not try it again?

We fell in love with the property and location and figured we'd somehow make the house part of the equation work out.

Prior to the purchase, we had the home inspected, and we had a contractor who does nice remodels come out to see the house. The home inspection revealed some things we'd need to fix - like the roof and the junction box for the electrical. The contractor thought the house had potential for remodel. And, since we didn't plan to move in right away, we weren't too bothered by remodel costs down the road.

Here are some pics of what's there now:

The exterior of the home is "unique" (and I don't mean that in a good way):

The house is an odd T shape.

The skinny bit on the back was added in the '80's.

It's a mystery why they didn't align it with the existing

roof and walls.

Note the unique architectural elements.

Scalloping galore!

Rectangular front facade!

The interior of the home is interesting, as well:

This is the entry door.

Entering right into the dining room - perhaps not as

practical as I'd like.

The family room. Or is it an extra bedroom?

Used to be the garage.

Note wood paneling and faux brick feature wall.

The kitchen. A decent size,

but they carved out a 3/4 bath in the space behind the fridge.

Which is why the fridge is so weirdly positioned.

One of the two bedrooms w/ an en-suite bath.

Weird layout, and the bathroom sink is in the room...

The hall bath.

The other bathrooms (the home has 4)

are equally as up-to-date.

As we spent a little time in the house, we started to think about the possibilities of what the home could be become. The house has 2500+ square feet. Plenty of space for us. Maybe we could turn it into our dream home?

More to come in a future post, "Wagmore Farm: The House Part 2 - What are the Options?"

Ziggy the Cardigan - IVDD - Week 2

2011-12-18T21:03:00.001-06:00

On Friday, it was two weeks since Ziggy had surgery. Here's an update on how he's doing:

Ziggy got his staples out on Friday. His wound has healed nicely, and the brindle hair is coming back. I'm planning to give him a bath on Wednesday - to wash the "vet clinic" smell out of him.

Wound not looking gruesome any more.

The Husband was on his own all week, as I was on a business trip. He deserves a TON of credit, as carrying Ziggy around, taking him to the bathroom, etc. is quite tiring and time consuming.

Ziggy still is not going pee on his own. The Husband is getting quite good at expressing Ziggy's bladder. I still can't even find it. Hopefully Z will be going on his own soon so I don't have to learn this skill :)

It was interesting being gone for a week, though, as I really noticed progress in how Z is doing. He's still not walking, but he's much more steady on his hind end when we do the "stacking" part of his physical therapy. We're sometimes even able to let go, or support him with just a finger, and he stays steady.

The vet says his progress is slow, but it is progress. At this rate, the vet thinks Z might be walking around New Year's.

Ziggy with the tree Cardi Claus sent.

Not that it's already been dis-em-squeeked.

Mere back surgery won't keep Z from destroying a toy!

Ziggy is not a big fan of his pen,

so we've been bringing him onto the sofa

when we're around to supervise.

To say he loves it is an understatement.

Laying in his favorite position -

it offers a great view outside.

Ziggy really hates to be left alone. I took Rip out for a walk on Saturday morning. I left Maggie and Ziggy at home - each with a rawhide chew. Ziggy was in pen when I left. When I returned home he was waiting by the front door - 3 rooms away. Yikes! He'd battered his way out of the pen, and drug himself over to the door. Not good. Thankfully we had an appt w/ the vet later that day. The vet didn't think any damage was done, and now we're putting Z in a crate if he's not supervised.

Here's what the pen looked like.

I still don't really know how he got out.

He must have gone underneath?

Ziggy also seems to missing going out. When we have him in his sling in the back yard, he'll often walk us over to one of the gates and stand there with a hopeful look on his face.

I did let the boys do some biting play today. I sat right next them to make sure Rip didn't jostle Ziggy. They both seemed to enjoy it.

Boys just want to play.

Bite play is fun.

In rehab news, we're continuing the standard exercises - bicycle for range of motion, stacking, and standing w/ light support. I also got a referral to a local DVM who does acupuncture. I'm hoping to get Z in for an appt this week.

India - On the road again - part 1

2011-12-15T05:23:00.001-06:00

My trips to India are always eye opening regarding traffic and roads.

On this trip, I had the opportunity to walk to work one day. My hotel was only a couple of blocks away from one of our office buildings, so I figured why have my driver come around when I could walk?

I shared this idea with The Husband and he was not so happy. Something about wanting me to make it home in one piece. So picky.

I had already asked the driver to pick me up in the afternoon, so I was committed to my course of action. I decided to take it as a trust exercise. Forget about that silly "fall back into me" trust exercise used at way too many team building events. Walking in India is a trust exercise in humanity. The roads may be crazy, but I trust that people will avoid me.

And so I walked.

Here's a picture of my commute:

Note many other people are walking on the road, too.

On this short stretch of the road there actually are sidewalks,

but they had construction material,

piles of dirt, and various food vendors blocking the way.

The good news is that I made it to work! And (shh - don't tell The Husband) I walked back to the hotel, too, as one of my meetings was postponed. Humanity earned my trust two times in one day.

India again - a Lost in Translation moment

2011-12-13T02:37:00.004-06:00

Those of you who've been reading my blog for a while know that I get to make a-just-about-twice-yearly trip to India. Though I don't enjoy the long flights, I do generally enjoy my visits - though my digestive tract may beg to differ from time to time.

I firmly believe that you've got to have a good sense of humor to travel internationally - particularly during those "lost in translation" moments. Either that or you'll drive yourself and those around you crazy.

My lost in translation moment on this trip came after I spilled nearly all of my mouthwash. For me, mouthwash is key in India. Spicy food + not being able to use tap water for toothbrushing means I use a lot of mouthwash. Unfortunately on my first night here I managed to spill most of the mouthwash I brought with me.

After briefly pondering how I'd get by without it, and if I could ask my driver to take me to buy some (where does one buy mouthwash in India - and how to tell the driver to go there?), I remembered that I'm staying in a fancy hotel. Fancy hotels have things like this on hand to help haphazard guests like myself. So I looked in the hotel guide, and sure enough "mouthwash" was listed in the "forgotten items we can provide you" section.

When I was headed out the next morning, I stopped by the front desk and asked for some mouthwash. The woman at the front desk looked puzzled by my request. So I repeated it (though not more slowly and loudly): "mouthwash, you know to rinse your mouth and help keep your breath fresh." I told her I needed it either tonight or tomorrow - I still had some of my own left that hadn't spilled. She nodded knowingly.

Back in my room later in the evening, the requested item arrived - proudly presented by one of the hotel staff. "Your breath freshener, mam." (and by the way, it's always "mam" - it sounds ok in an Indian accent)

Here's what he brought for me:

The world's smallest box of tic tacs!

I've included my normal-sized nail polish to provide some scale.

There are seriously on ly about 7-8 tic tacs in this thing. And they're tropical cherry flavored - not what I'd consider the best breath freshener. It really made me laugh - particularly when I thought about the conversations that must have taken place, and all of the work they went through to bring these to me.

But still, I had no mouthwash, and now my supplies were dwindling dangerously low (not to make it too dramatic, or anything).

When I went to work the next day, I unintentionally left my pathetically empty bottle of mouthwash out on the bathroom counter. And what did I find when I arrived back?

Real mouthwash!

Thank goodness housekeeping understood.

Cardi Claus arrived!

2011-12-11T21:58:00.000-06:00

Cardi Claus and I must have passed each other in the air, as I have received news from The Husband that he showed up the day that I left.

The Cardis and I are very excited with what Cardi Claus left. Many thanks to The Chronicles of Cardigan crew for the package.

Maggie, Ziggy, and Rip are looking forward to their treats - a crayon was even included as a bonus treat for Ziggy!

The Humans are thankful for the very cute ornament!

Thanks, Cardi Claus and The Chronicles of Cardigan crew!!

Ziggy is home!

2011-12-08T21:21:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to report that Ziggy was given the all-clear to come home yesterday evening. We are all happy to have him here!

He seems to be inching his way in the right direction. The vet says it will be weeks, not days, before we see some real improvement. Today, though, Ziggy is mostly peeing on his own, is lifting his tail to poop, and seems to be trying to stand a bit in his physical therapy.

The picture is a little blurry,

but you can see how HAPPY Ziggy is to be home!

Last night we brought him up on the sofa with us to hang out.

I started rubbing his ears and scratching his face.

Bliss.

It's got to be a pain, though, for Z not to be able to scratch.

Here's The Husband doing one of Z's physical therapy exercises.

Pete calls it the bicycle - he moves Z's hind legs in a cycling

motion while keeping the back & front end still.

He's supposed to do this at least 3x/day.

Here Z is getting set up to practice standing.

Basically, we stack him, and help him hold up his hind end.

Another part of his physical therapy.

The Child is VERY happy to have Ziggy home, too.

Today he told me, "Ziggy loves me mom."

Yes, Ziggy does. Just look at his face!

While rubbing Z's face again, he showed his appreciation by giving me a nice kiss.

All the folks at the vet loved Ziggy.

They said he was sweet, friendly, and licked them a lot.

Good boy.

The other dogs are doing pretty well with Ziggy. They sniffed him well, and seem to be pleased that he's back with the pack.

Rip, of course, figured out a way to push in the ex-pen and pull on Ziggy's bedding to get Ziggy's toys out. Even though I gave Rip one of the exact same nylabones, he persisted. Rip must have all the resources. I have since reinforced the right hand side of the ex-pen with some pieces of a heavy-duty plastic pen. This seems to have solved the problem. But we still won't leave Rip out of his crate unattended around Ziggy. Naughty, naugty boy.

Rip is looking for the right approach to get the toys.

Ziggy is looking unimpressed.

Ziggy the Cardigan - IVDD - Day 4: The Husband learns a new skill!

2011-12-05T20:17:00.001-06:00

Thanks to all of you who have sent your thoughts, comments, and support for Ziggy. It means a lot and I really appreciate it!

While I don't intend to turn my blog into only a Ziggy IVDD blog, I thought I'd share a quick update...

The Husband and I moved Ziggy from the emergency vet to his regular vet clinic today (where he had the surgery). We weren't really hoping for any news, as it's still so early, but we did learn a bit.

The vet surgeon who is working with Ziggy did pinch/pain tests on his hind legs again, and there is already marked improvement compared to pre-surgery on Friday. (whew!)

And, when his hind legs are placed under him, he is exerting some downward pressure - though not holding himself up or anything yet. The vet says both of these are good signs - though we won't really know for a while how things will turn out. But we'll take any progress we can get (it makes the humans feel better)!

Ziggy is still not urinating on his own (which we'd like him to do before he comes home) so The Husband got to learn a new skill today. He went in this afternoon while I was at work and learned how to express urine from a dog's bladder! He's a very good husband and deserves many Good Husband Bonus Points for this one.

We're hoping things will continue to head in the right direction, and that Ziggy will be home by the end of the week.

Ziggy the Cardigan - IVDD Days 1-3

2011-12-04T18:28:00.001-06:00

Now that I've had time to process a bit, I wanted to provide a little more info on Ziggy.

Day 1: Thursday night - Friday

This was a very harrowing time for me and Ziggy. It was really hard for me not knowing what was going on with Ziggy. The Husband was also out of town on a business trip, which meant all of this landed on my shoulders. Due to the late night/early morning timing of it all, The Husband didn't know anything until Z was already headed into surgery. Better that than me on a business trip and The Husband dealing with it on his own, I guess...

Since Ziggy passed the neuro tests at the emergency vet we started to look for other things. Ziggy was standing in a way that could be interpreted as having stomach pain or trouble going to the bathroom, (and we all know that Cardis are prone to eat non-food items) so we decided to do an x-ray to rule out obstruction in the stomach. Nothing showed up on the x-rays. The vet didn't know what was happening, but thought maybe it was a severe soft tissue injury.

I can't tell you another time I'd wished more that a dog could talk. Ziggy was obviously in pain, but we had no idea where it was coming from.

When he started to lose use of his hind end at 3am - I called our regular vet clinic to see what time they opened. I knew the vet who would do the surgery is at our clinic, so I decided not to take Z back to the emergency vet, but keep him quiet at home instead.

It was just awful seeing Ziggy's expression. I've mentioned before that he has a very expressive face, and seeing that face express that much confusion and pain was just gutting.

Day 1: Surgery and afternoon

The decision to do surgery was made much easier for me after having attended the IVDD seminar at the National Specialty in April (thanks again to those who planned it!). Even thought I didn't remember verbatim what was said at the seminar, what I did remember helped me greatly, as my vet was saying the same things. I was quite upset and having context for the conversation made it all much easier to understand.

When the vet inspected Ziggy he had response to moderate pain on his left side, and some response to deep pain on this right side. Given his reactions, the vet is hopeful that we got to him in time. If the dog can feel deep pain, they regain use of their hind end approximately 85% of the time.

The vet found the site of the ruptured disc before surgery. While doing the surgery, he found that 4 other vertebrae needed to be "cleaned up" as well, since blood clots had formed. This means that Ziggy has giant incision on his back.

The incision is about 10" long.

He also has a pain patch on his back (bottom right).

Days 2-3: Saturday and Sunday

On Friday night we transported Ziggy to the Emergency Vet, where he is spending the weekend. We put all the seats down in the mini-van, and put crate pads + a large blanket in the back. The surgical vet helped us load Z in the back, and The Husband sat with him in the back of the van so Ziggy wouldn't move around.

Saturday we were quite keen to visit Ziggy, so The Husband, The Child, and I all went to the emergency clinic. I brought Z's regular food, some of his favorite soft treats, and a greenie. Ziggy ate them ALL. Good boy.

When The Child saw Ziggy's back, his eyes got very wide and he said "OUCH!" Indeed.

Do you think The Husband was happy to see Ziggy?

Ziggy is doing as well as can be expected. He is eating a lot apparently - probably happy to have more than his usual "keep the Cardi lean" rations that I give him. Today they put him on antibiotics due to blood in his urine.

Ziggy has a somewhat crazed expression thanks to the pain meds.

It's a little weird to see...

Yesterday evening I took 2 days worth of Z's regular food down to the clinic, and gave him some "goodnight" pets. We didn't go see Ziggy today, as he got really agitated when we left yesterday evening. Since a big goal right now is to keep him as quiet and still as possible, we thought it might not be a good idea.

Tomorrow morning we pick Ziggy up from the emergency vet, and take him back to our regular clinic. He'll stay there a few more days, or until he's able to urinate on his own. I plan to ask the vet all of the questions I forgot to ask on Friday.

F-ing IVDD

2011-12-02T20:22:00.001-06:00

It's a bit of a sad day in our house.

Last night on his trip out before bedtime, Ziggy was moving slowly, with a hunched back, and his tail erect. I carried him outside go to the bathroom, then immediately called the emergency vet and took him in.

The vet did a series of neurological tests, and took some x-rays. Neither showed anything. The vet was unsure what was going on and sent me home with instructions to watch Ziggy and give him some pain meds - as he was obviously still in pain. Things worsened over the night, and this morning he could not move his hind end.

I was waiting at the door when our vet's office opened, and was seen by the surgeon who is the local expert for back surgeries, etc. This vet clinic knows us well, as it's our regular vet, and this particular vet helped us through the back trouble with Denzil.

We were seen within 15 minutes, and it is what I suspected when I saw Z this morning. His back went down and the diagnosis is IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease).

Ziggy was in surgery by around 10am. The surgery went well, and we're hoping for the best.

Tonight we moved him to the emergency vet clinic where he'll spend the weekend.

I'll share a little more when I feel more up to it.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

2011-12-01T20:32:00.003-06:00

(Rip has asked me if I'd post for him today...)

Some terrible things have been happening at my house lately.

This poor bear lost his nose.

3 times.

Mom kept fixing it, because the small human likes it - but the nose just kept getting torn off.

This poor bear also lost his tail. Mom fixed that, too.

Then the small human's favorite stuffed cat lost its nose.

He was quite upset, as this cat travels with him whenever he goes on a plane.

Here she is on a bus in London. That stupid cat gets to go more places than I do.

But I digress.

Yes, these terrible things happened. Stuffed animals were mutilated in my very own home.

And can you GUESS who got blamed?

Me. Rip.

Can you believe it?

I live in America. Aren't we supposed to be presumed innocent until it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that we're guilty? (Am I right, Lawyer Penni?)

So let me give you reasonable doubt...

In her eagerness to blame, my mom forgets is that my brother Ziggy has torn things up, too.

How convenient.

Do you remember this?

This poor bunny lost his nose before I was even around.

Just look on this very blog (click here). See? The blog post is dated 2009.

I WASN'T EVEN BORN YET.

This was my brother Ziggy's fault, and I say he did in the bear and the cat, too. Exact same wounds.

And look, I'm a great, calm, well-behaved dog. Here's photographic proof:

See - Sleeping sweetly. Not tearing anything up.

Oh, so "it's just one photo" you say. Well, here's MORE proof:

Fast asleep. No stuffed toys visible anywhere.

And MORE:

A dog cannot be more asleep than that!

So there you have it.

I'm innocent.

Nobody can prove I would tear things up.

Oh that doesn't look good. But I'm not tearing. I'm helping.

Yeah, that's it. Helping my mom unpack her suitcase after a work trip.

It proves nothing.

Yes, the shoe is torn up, and it appears that my mouth is on it.

But look - there's a human hand there - I was framed.

Yes, I have a naughty smile on my face and I'm standing on the remains of a sponge.

But I'm not eating it.

I just happened upon this crime scene. Still no proof.

Ok, well, this doesn't look good.

I was getting ready to help my mom clean the house?

Another picture? Caught in the act? Drat!

Does anyone still believe that I'm innocent?

Anyone?

please?

Cardi Claus is on the way!

2011-11-28T21:20:00.001-06:00

Cardi Claus picked up a package today - traveling from Iowa to somewhere in the Southeast US.

Travel quickly, Cardi Claus!

And for those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, you can blame it on my friend Janet, and find out more on her blog.

Wagmore Farm Step 3: Timber!

2011-11-27T17:59:00.003-06:00

In previous blog posts, I talked about the first steps The Husband and I have taken to clean up the grass and brush on our new property. Moving up the "woodiness" scale - next we had to tackle the trees.

Both Pete and I love forests and trees, but as soon as we viewed the property, we knew there were some trees that had to go. It turns out that the insurance company agreed with us, so the trees had to come out sooner rather than later.

Here are the problem trees:

Giant pine trees RIGHT next to the house.

I'm guessing they started out as cute little decorative trees?

Note the hardwood trees on the right.

Planted next to the septic tank.

And when I say next to - I mean w/in 6' - yikes!

Can you say roots in the drain field? Not good.

Six lovely poplars. They were tall,

and the wind rustling through the trees was great.

Having "unstable" trees w/in 30' of the house - not so great.

Pretty maple tree in the front yard.

Branches touching the house is no good. Goodbye, maple tree.

We had a couple more trees come out - another maple that was planted right next to a prettier maple. One of them had to go - sorry not-as-pretty tree. And a large locust tree. Locust are not nice trees. They're big, thorny, and send up little baby locust trees everywhere (I mentioned these baby locust in another post). Good riddance, locust.

So what became of all these trees?

The poplars

The evergreens

All the wood piled together.

Anyone want to help us split wood?

Along with the firewood, let's have some of the trees chipped....

2 piles of wood chips that are approx 4 'x 5' x 40'

Good thing we have a lot of land...?

The horsey among you will appreciate that I asked the tree guys to save me a couple 10' logs to use as jumps. With so much land, I feel compelled to have a some cross country jumps scattered about - and how cool to have my own logs! The funny part: they saved me 4 logs - each about 10' long and 8" (yes, that's inches) thick. Sigh. I'll still be using them for jumps - just not on the same scale... Of course, it will be a long while before I have a horse, so not so bad, really.

Here are some pictures of the "naked" property. The house doesn't look so charming without all the trees.

The front

The side. No trees around the septic now.

The back. So bare.

Our current conundrum with the property is what to do about the house. I think we're almost there on the decision - hopefully I'll have something to post soon!

PS - I want to say thanks to my Dad for meeting with the tree removal contractors, collecting the bids, and supervising our small-scale logging operation. We'd like to offer you some firewood and wood chips for all of your help ;)

My pages are done!

2011-11-16T20:34:00.002-06:00

A few weeks back, I figured out how to add pages for the blog, so I thought I'd post some more info about the "characters" who appear in my blog: Maggie, Ziggy, Rip, Denzil, and Wagmore.

Tab around to find out more, and let me know what you think!

Cardi fun in the Autumn leaves

2011-11-14T06:52:00.000-06:00

This weekend was leaf clean-up for us. I love the colors of the leaves with the colors of The Trio, so I took my camera outside to get some pics before all the leaves were gone.

To give you and idea of what a nice day it was, here are the portraits/still shots:

Rip taking a break from frapping

Maggie surveying the yard

I love how her brindle color matches the leaves

Ziggy looks cute in the leaves, too

Here he's trying to decide if he wants to pay attention to me,

or his brother causing trouble in the background

But a crisp autumn day isn't about standing still, so here are the action shots

Let's all frap!

Maggie likes to be the chaser not the chased

Here she's reprimanding Rip for biting her sides

I love Ziggy's "I'm staying out of this one" expression

Rip didn't get Maggie's point the first time

(nor the second, nor the third...)

When there's conflict, Ziggy hangs back, but still runs along

It allowed me to get some good pics of just him...

Where is this speed in agility?!?

When the other 2 got too tired to play,

Rip grabbed a stick and got me to play with him

More Singapore Pictures

2011-11-12T11:15:00.000-06:00

Now that I'm back home I found a few more pictures to share...

Marina Sands
In the marina there is an impressive hotel, casino, and shopping complex called the Marina Sands. Sitting atop the hotel towers is "ship." Very cool.

The ship has a restaurant, pool, bar, and observation deck

The shell-like structure on the left is a museum

For some perspective, look for the ship in the distance...

(It's HUGE)

We went up on the observation deck

Wow what a view!

It was a gorgeous night, with perfect breeze

Some other interesting things:

Loved the fan-like palm trees

Good to know that Singapore isn't immune to the plague that is

"early Christmas fever"

The view from my hotel room - not too bad!

I enjoyed watching the world go by

The coolest pool ever

I don't like to swim and it made me want to dive in

Unforunately, it wasn't at my hotel

No matter where you go... there can be no escape

An entire store dedicated to Hello Kitty!

In the same shopping complex was an entire store of espadrilles

And since this is a dog blog:

I came across an impromptu dog park

in one of the few vacant lots around

Oh, and I found out that one of my colleagues is a member of the Corgi Club of Singapore! I saw a lovely picture of a Cardi at her desk, and just had to ask. Unfortunately he passed away 2 weeks ago. Hugs to her from me and The Trio.

Singapore pictures

2011-11-10T00:57:00.001-06:00

For the past week I've been on business travel in Singapore. I've never been here before, and didn't quite know what to expect. I leave tonight, but thought I'd share a bit before I leave.

Some things that stood out for me:

This city is CLEAN! No trash, no smog. Very unusual for a big city.
The restaurants are good and plentiful. Since I've been here I've had microbrews, pub food, tapas, Australian food, Chinese food, Japanese food, and Italian. Yum.
The cabs are relatively inexpensive, clean, and the cab drivers aren't scary in any way.
Though I like Singapore, my hair does not. Note to self: don't move to the tropics if you want your hair to look good.

Here are some pictures of the city:

I took a boat cruise along the river and into the marina.

It was a good way to see some parts of the city, and get a

little history lesson along the way.

Old houses along the river with modern skyscrapers looming over

An old hotel and bridge

Thanks to the Brits for both of these

The famous Merlion (mermaid-lion) statue

The "double helix" bridge in the marina

A good perspective on the river

Love the rainbow colors on this building's shutters

Here's another view of the same building -

showing the rainbow color pattern

Patricia McConnell seminar: Shy / Bold

2011-10-29T20:08:00.003-05:00

The Patricia McConnell seminar on Canine Behavior today was great. I learned a ton, and I barely learned anything. There's so much to learn, and an increasing amount of research being done in the area of canine behavior & cognition.

I highly recommend attending one of Patricia's seminars, and won't go into a summary of 8+ hours of material (you're welcome). As a Cardigan owner, and a performance person, one thing that really engaged my interest was the section of the seminar about shyness and boldness.

Research has show that the shyness or boldness is easy to pass on (a preponent trait), and it's hard to breed out of a genetic pool. Patricia explained that dogs basically inherit some space on the shy <-> bold continuum. They inherit a small piece of in that range, if you will.

Socialization and environment can help determine where w/in the interhited range the dog ultimately lands, but these things can't change the dog's space on the continuum. A shy dog can be made less shy, but will never be bold. And, shyness or boldness a dog has is very stable over time. So what the dog's like as a puppy is likely to hold true throughout its life.

I also found it interesting that shyness can be about social situations and/or the external world. I had never thought of it this way. I just figured that a shy dog is a shy dog; a bold dog is a bold dog - no matter what. Thinking about it differently makes a lot of sense to me, though.

Maggie is a great example that made this information "real" for me. Maggie is shy around strangers. I worked my a$s off to socailize Maggie around humans. For a long time, every human who met or petted Maggie gave her a treat. In fact, that's still true most of the time. This helped her progress, but never far enough that she really likes strangers.

At one point, when Maggie was about 3 years old, I expressed frustration to my obedience instructor. How come I work so hard at socialization with humans, and still Maggie doesn't like to be petted by others. My instructor said, "Well, she's not a Golden Retriever, she's doing her best." Good reality check for a newbie. Maggie made it to the point that she doesn't hide around new people - but there's really only about 10 people she really likes. She also made it far enough to never lose a point on the stand for exam in Novice obedience, and tolerate the more "hands-on" exam in Utility obedience practice.

Though she's shy around people, Maggie is quite bold in the environment. She's not phased by new places, loud noises, etc. Which is probably why she made it so far in Rally, Obedience & Agility.

Another bit of research shared relates to how shy/bold impacts a dog's success in performance success. A study in 2002 showed that the best predictor of success in high-level performance events is boldness. It makes a lot of sense, and is a good thing to know when looking for a perfomance dog. Now I know something to pay particular attention to in puppy testing.

Oh, and I'm just happy that Rip is a bold boy. But yikes, now I've got no excuse...

Madison and Maggie

2011-10-28T18:45:00.002-05:00

This picture has nothing to do with this post.

But I wanted to add a picture and this one of Ziggy makes me smile.

And shouldn't the weekend start with a smile?!

Madison

I'm here this weekend for the Patricia McConnell and Ken Ramirez Seminar. I am very much looking forward to learning more about dog behavior and how to be a better dog trainer. Hopefully the Trio will appreciate what I learn.

I'll post a few insights tomorrow night.

Maggie

I decided to add pages to my blog. One for each dog, and one for Wagmore. I've got Maggie's page up and running if you're interested in learning more about the wise old brindle girl.

P.S. Maggie and I actually lived in Madison for a short time. We both liked it here (great dog parks!).

Vacation?!?

2011-10-23T21:23:00.006-05:00

Last week I took 5 vacation days from work and did things that I don't get paid to do. For me that = a vacation!

What did we do? The Family and I went out to Washington State to work on our house/property - Wagmore Farm.

Our goals for the week: Continue brush clearing and figure out what our options are for the house.

The house stuff took up tons of time (which I'll talk about in another post), and we logged ~2.5 days of brush clearing/land maintenance. Here are some pics from our brush clearing days:

Thankfully we had uncharacteristically gorgeous weather.

Only a small bit of drizzle the whole week!

Our goal was to clear the brush & "unauthorized" trees

that were growing along the drive.

The lovely maples need room to grow!

And I had a personal goal:

To get rid of the freakishly overgrown juniper bushes.

They're blocking my view of the fields!

The Husband calls them "Bunnytown" as they're likely to be harboring hosta-eating, Cardi-vexing little vermin.

Here's me at the beginning of project juniper.

Happy with my loppers.

I dove right in! (And have the bruised-up legs to prove it!)

Then I reached the heart of Bunnytown.

My loppers and I were overwhelmed.

In my lopper-addled state I pictured a very large excavator.

It was a sign. This was a job for heavy equipment.

I made it about 1/4 of the way through these awful bushes before I gave up.

I was able to clear ~ 30 feet of junipers.

In the process I uncovered a basketball,

some trash (including a Little Debbie snackcake wrapper),

and an old section of fence. Hmm - I wonder what else is in there?!?

That same day we also burned the brush that The Husband and my dad cut down in September. It was all very dry and went up very quickly! Burning brush is a fun and rewarding endeavor!

Then I started to work on other brush like little locust trees, and blackberry bushes, and hawthorns. Junipers didn't seem so bad after all. Thankfully by that time it was getting dark and time to go home.

I finally came up with a glove combination that thwarted even the thorniest bushes:

Extended-length (midway up forearm) leather and heavy canvas gardening gloves

plus thick cowhide leather gloves.

Yes, my hands were sweaty and I had impaired use of my fingers

BUT I had no scratches/pokes that day!

The next day I decided to burn the brush we'd cut the day before. The Husband and my dad were not optimistic. "The brush is too green" they said.

What they didn't realize: I have a hidden talent for brush burning!

Here's me and my brush pile.

Secretly I enjoyed it!

Good bye and good riddance blackberries and hawthorns!

(Insert evil laugh here)

Even though the brush I was burning was newly cut, I found an art to selecting things that would burn hot and/or quickly - and balancing this with the stuff that was slower to catch/burn.

I spent the day loading piles like this into the truck:

Come with me, my lovelies...

Over the course of the day I moved and burned approx.

4 times this much brush.

Yes, I spent nearly all of the daylight hours loading brush into the back of the pickup, unloading it, burning it, then going back for more.

My abandoned burn pile.

I wanted to burn more, but The Husband said I didn't have enough time.

Sniff.

The finished product.

Compare to the first picture.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to finish it all...

Maybe in January?

Though most of the week was work (ok, pretty much all of it) - we did manage to squeeze in a bit of fun. On Saturday night we had a "campout" with some friends in the house. Our first time ever spending the night there. Since there's no furniture, heat, or hot water in the house right now, staying there counts as camping in my book. It was a lot fun, and great to just spend some time on the property.

Sniff-tastic Adventure Stroll!

2011-10-14T12:11:00.000-05:00

~~Some~~ Most people call it a walk. When I take all 3 dogs out around the neighborhood I now call it a "Sniff-tastic Adventure Stroll."

Why have I made this change? Because this is the most common activity when I walk the Trio:

Don't judge us - we just love to sniff.

Is that so wrong?

I took the dogs out this morning before work. I told The Husband, "I'm going for a walk." Our 1.5 mile jaunt took us nearly 40 minutes. AND we were almost passed by an 80+ year old woman who was not moving particularly rapidly. That, my friends, is not a walk. Thus the re-labeling of our trip...

"Sniff-tastic" -- because the Trio thinks sniffing is fantastic
"Adventure" -- because for the Trio sniffing their way around the neighborhood is akin to an adventure quest
"Stroll" -- because 1.5 miles in 40 minutes does not qualify as walking

So what in the world has gone wrong?
I used to walk the dogs so quickly and with such purpose that The Husband called it a "forced march." Now it's a stroll.

I blame it on this:

Darn you, Alexandra Horowitz. You've written "Inside of Dog." A book that has caused me to think in more depth about how my dogs see the world. A book that I enjoyed so much that I've altered the things I do with my dogs.

Now I want to let them sniff on a walk. It provides them enjoyment and information about their world. Now my walks don't really qualify as walks anymore. Now my dogs stop and sniff everything that's of interest. And almost everything is of interest.

Maybe I've gone too far. I need to find a balance between Sniff-tastic Adventure Strolls and forced marches. Or maybe not....

Playgrounds are good for training!

2011-10-10T08:57:00.001-05:00

Back before I was a parent, I wondered how I'd ever find time to train my dogs. While it is more challenging now, I'm working on finding creative places to train. I mentioned that I use soccer matches and practices for socialization and training around distractions.

Lately, I've been bringing Rip with me when I take The Child to the playground. We started by just heeling around in new areas and working on our self-control (such as it is) when meeting new people.

One day I took my clicker with me and decided to see what I could get Rip to do. I started by clicker training him up some broad steps on the way to a slide. He made it up the steps, but seemed a bit nervous once he got up a bit high. Since he'd put in a good effort we quit for the day.

The next time we went to the playground I took him up the stairs again. When we got to the top platform he seemed more comfortable, so we did some really basic obedience - things he knows really well -- sit, down, stand. He succeeded at this, so we quit for the day.

See how cute Rip looks on the small platform?

To get up to this one we had to jump on a couple of stepping-stone sized platforms.

Good agility practice - body awareness?

On our next trip to the playground, he started to offer to get up on just about everything, so I decided to see how far he'd happily go...

To the top of the slide? Yep!

This is a really short, low slide.

Even down the slide!

Note the loose leash.

He was a bit apprehensive the first time,

but happily jumped back up to try again.

Then I sat on the end of the slide and worked on some

up-close-and-personal recalls.

I love working with this dog!

Some other playground training we've tried -- recalls with me "hiding," balancing on the boards or curbs that keep the mulch in, and jumping over low logs or beams. I find it fun to think of new things, and playground training helps me wear out The Child and Rip at the same time!

Wagmore step 2: Now that the grass is mowed... BRUSH!

2011-10-07T17:02:00.000-05:00

Our first step with the new property was to clear the fire-hazard dry grass. Once all the grass was gone, we realized that we had a bit of a brush problem. Well, we knew we had a brush problem going in, but didn't realize the extent of all of it until all of the grass was gone.

Yikes!

The view of the un-mowed part of one field...

The Husband decided he wanted to "work the land" and cut brush George W. Bush - style. So he deserted The Child and I for a week, and went out to clear brush with my dad.

The first step was to rent a Billy Goat brush hog

and tackle the daunting task of the blackberries

This is the BEFORE shot...

It works well - berries flattened and chopped.

Apparently it's a LOT of work, though...

Here's the AFTER shot.

Yes, it's the same location - it just looks much better!

Please don't think that this was the ONLY blackberry patch. The Husband and my dad cleared many more over the course of week. And we still have an entire fenceline in the back that is completely hidden by 12' tall (or higher...) blackberries. Those might just get to stay around for a while.

And blackberries weren't the only brush around. We also had baby trees, some scotch broom, and weeds/brush that we couldn't even identify.

The barn was surrounded by brush-various.

You can barely see the chicken coop in the background.

Oh, and there was a bunch of junk hidden in there, too.

...wait, where IS the barn?

But here's the "after" near the barn - a different side

Denzil continued to serve in a supervisory capacity.

He also helps give an idea of how big the Billy Goat is...

The small trees and big brush that had to be chopped by hand

were put into burn piles. We should have some good bonfires soon.

Now we've tackled the grass and brush - what's next?

Ziggy Naughty; Ziggy Nice

2011-10-05T20:54:00.002-05:00

Ziggy is a multi-faceted dog. In my last post, I shared his adventures as a guard dog.

Not only is he a guard dog but also, he's:

NAUGHTY!!

This is what I found in the living room this weekend. A sweet black-brindle dog sitting next to a pile of crayon papers. Z loves his Crayons, and The Child left a whole small storage tote full of crayons sitting on the floor. What luck for Ziggy!

Let's take a closer look at Ziggy's after-dinner snack:

Burnt Sienna, Goldenrod, Red Violet, and Verde

YUM!

But Ziggy's not all about snacking on non-toxic bits of The Child's art kit. He's also:

NICE

Ziggy and his soccer friend

I take a dog to every soccer practice and game, as I think it's a great environment for training with distractions(!) and basic socialization.

Rip normally gets to come to soccer practice. Not as many people are there, so it gives me more time to work on his manners and training.

Maggie gets to stay home. She's not particularly fond of new people, and she doesn't need any socialization.

Ziggy gets to come to games. He is lovely, calm, likes kids, and is not bothered by all of the activity.

The sister of one of the kids on The Child's soccer team loves dogs. Unfortunately she can't have dogs because her dad is allergic to them. At every practice and game, she seeks the Cardis and I out. Ziggy is her favorite. At last weekend's game, she ran up to me and gave me a hug saying, "I'm SO glad you're here!" Then she squealed, "Ziggy!!" and gave him a big hug, too.

She spends the entire game with Ziggy. She grabs some treats and leads him around (often running). When Z decides he's had enough activity (meaning he comes back to me and lays down), she brings her chair over and sits or lays next to him.

So sweet. Good Ziggy.

Ziggy the guard dog

2011-10-01T21:03:00.001-05:00

I realize that this is the side of Ziggy I often share - sleeping, calm, a bit lazy...

But the other day, Ziggy showed a different side of himself: he was Ziggy the Guard Dog.

Let me explain.

The Child, Ziggy, Maggie and I went to the playground near our house. While we were there a contractor came to our house to give us a bid on some work we needed to have done.

Z, M, The Child, and I arrived back home AFTER the contractor had left.

When we were at the front door, Z started to sniff the ground A LOT. I had to drag his furry body inside. Once I unclipped the leash, he sniffed the floor inside and started to get a little agitated. He just kept sniffing, and headed down the hall in the direction of the bathroom (where the contractor spent most of his time).

The Child stepped out of the bathroom, and Z started barking like mad. I told The Child to say hi to Z, and the barking stopped. The agitated sniffing did not. Z sniffed his way into the bathroom, then back out into the living room where I was standing.

Then it dawned on me. Z smelled a strange human smell - the smell of someone who he had not seen invited into the house, and he DID NOT like it.

I was able to walk Z around the house, and assure him it was ok.

I am so impressed with Ziggy. He does take his job as protector of the house seriously, and something was not right in his house. Good boy.

Wagmore step 1: Don't be a Fire Hazard

2011-09-23T17:28:00.003-05:00

Where to start when you've just purchased a 15 acre property that's been vacant for more than a year?

Mow. Mow. Mow.

As I've mentioned, Wagmore was owned by the bank prior to us purchasing it. The bank took care of interior cleaning on home, and they mowed the grass immediately around the house. But the property is mostly fields, and those were left woefully unattended.

So our first order of business? Find someone who could mow 15 acres of more-than-waist-high grass!

The Husband called around, looked on Angie's List, and got a few bids.

Here are some before & after pics:

BEFORE

The part of the back yard not mowed

by the management company - grass only knee-high

More of the back yard -- headed to the SW field

The NW field. Grass nearly as high as the fence!

The NE field. Tall, tall, grass

Apparently all of this tall, dry grass had some of the neighbors worried. Some of them were even thinking about reporting it as a fire hazard. Good that our first order of business was mowing. Selfishly, I wanted to see what the contours of the land are like.

After 2 days of mowing, things look a lot better.

AFTER

The NW field. Looks MUCH better.

The mowed field looks so inviting for a walk with dogs -

or a gallop on a horse!

Looking towards the SW field

The NW field again.

Grass MUCH lower than the fence now.

The NE field - looking towards the house.

The NE field. Now you can see the neighbor llamas.

Denzil inspects the mowing.

A much more Cardi-friendly height!

The fields look much better now. The down side to the mowing:

Seeing the tractor mowing the fields has increased the intensity of The Husband's desire for a tractor.
The grass is low, but this has revealed that there's a lot of stuff on the property that a field mower just can't tackle. But more on that in the next post...

I'll just consider it an expensive fun match?

2011-09-19T20:09:00.004-05:00

This just in arrived in my Inbox:

Xtacee Tag You're It is in the following class or classes...

Jump Height------------- 8

Sat 01-October-2011 –

----> Standard / Novice / Preferred

----> Jumpers With Weaves / Novice / Preferred

Sun 02-October-2011 -

----> Standard / Novice / Preferred

----> Jumpers With Weaves / Novice / Preferred

YIKES! I really did intend to practice more before next weekend's agility trial. Life just got in the way. Ziggy HAS had a lot of outings to soccer matches where he's working on becoming more huggable. Do you think that will help us get a Q in agility?!?

I will have the opportunity to run a couple more courses before next weekend - and do a bit of backyard practice. It's too late to withdraw my entry for any sort of refund, and the trial is only 10 miles away, so I'm thinking it will be good practice for both of us.

A Brit + A Brand Manager = A Name!

2011-09-17T12:10:00.000-05:00

Some of you may know that The Husband is from that small island across the ocean that is the United Kingdom. What you may not know is that in the UK many homes/properties have names. Sometimes they don't even have street numbers, just a house name and the city.

Last time we were visiting the UK we were in the middle of the months-long saga of buying our property in Washington State. As we drove around, we noticed all of the signs indicating the names of properties/houses. Names like "The Oak Tree" and "The Rose Cottage" and "Stag's Leap." The more we noticed the names, the more sure we became that our property needed a name.

I thought it was a great idea - a name, a logo, a brand... So many options. The Husband thought it was a great idea, too - bringing a little bit of "his culture" with us.

Then came the tough part - what to name it? We wanted a name that would convey a happy, pleasant, and, well, dog-friendly tone. Something that made people smile and not think that the owners of the property were too stuffy, or too crazy.

We tossed around a number of names, and finally landed on one we both liked: Wagmore Farm.

So off we go. Right now I'm debating whether to make posts about Wagmore on this blog. Do you think it would be straying too far from my usual life-with-dog topics to discuss fixing up a house and a property??

Summer makes us smile

2011-09-03T17:23:00.000-05:00

I caught the boys on the deck yesterday evening.

Lovely summer smiles.

The pack is enjoying the final days of summertime.

Tomorrow I hope to set up another agility course in the back yard. Ziggy needs to run some courses, as he and I start agility class again on Tuesday. Oh, and I have Z entered in a local agility trial the first weekend in October.

Rip gets to work on some jump drills (still low jumps) and work on tunnels. He is on the waitlist for beginning agility class.

Maggie gets to run tunnels and jump drills with Rip. She gets very upset if she doesn't get to do something!

Enjoy the long weekend!

Graduate Novice Retrieving Game

2011-08-30T20:47:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to figure out ways to help Ziggy understand the game that is the dumbbell retrieve in obedience.

I started by trying to clicker train the dumbbell retrieve. I succeed in getting a dog who loved to pick up hte dumbbell, but one who also promptly spit it out as I approached, anticipating the treat that always follows the click.

Since I now had a "hold" problem, I tried teaching him to take the dumbbell, then hold it. He looks at me as if he's long-suffering, and drops the dumbbell as soon as I step away.

Next I tried a "restrained recall" retrieve. I'd get Ziggy all revved up, hold his collar, throw the dumbell, and release him with the retrieve command (I use "take it") while he was still eager. This helped get him running after the dumbbell and bringing it to the front position. Then promptly dropping it. Hmmm... Noticing a pattern?

Then, last night, I was reading an article in a back issue of "Front & Finish" magazine. The author was talking about the benefits of the non-regular AKC obedience classes. She talked about how many of the non-regular classes build skills for a nice progression through the levels of obedience.

One of her examples stood out to me. She mentioned how the Graduate Novice recall-with-the-dumbbell exercise taught dogs the useful skill of holding the dumbbell, not just chasing it and bringing it back.

Tonight I was doing a bit of training with Ziggy and that comment came to mind. I decided to work on that exercise: sit the dog, tell the dog to take the dumbbell, leave the dog, walk away, call the dog to front, take dumbbell from dog.

The game part came in when Maggie got wind that we were training. She happened to be on the "training" side of the baby gates, and demanded to be part of things. So I used her experience and keen attitude to my advantage. Here's what I did:

I took both dogs and put them in a sit next to each other.
I had Maggie take the dumbbell and hold it.
I left the dogs and walked down the hall.
I recalled both dogs to me.
Ziggy (the non-dumbbell holding dog) got to me first, so I threw a treat and sent him through my legs.
I closed my legs back together, and had Maggie do a proper front.
I took the dumbbell from Maggie.
I put both dogs in a sit, but this time gave the dumbbell to Ziggy.
I left both dogs and recalled them.
Again, the non-dumbbell dog (Maggie this time) got to me first, so I sent her front through my legs to get a treat.
I closed my legs back together and had Ziggy do a proper front with the dumbbell.

And guess what? Ziggy held the dumbbell the whole time, and didn't drop it when he came to front. His position at front was ugly, but he held the dumbbell!

I repeated a few times. Both dogs thought the game was great. Maggie was barking (which is how she expresses her joy) and Ziggy was even wagging his tail!

I just might have to work on this game a little more. Recalls got quicker, Z is holding the dumbbell, and the old lady Maggie gets some low-impact work. And, if the AKC ever makes Graduate Novice a Brace event, I'll be set ;)

Here's the setup:

Both dogs sitting

One dog (Ziggy this time) holding the dumbbell

Both dogs awaiting the recall command (look at Maggie's eager expression!)

Property pictures

2011-08-24T16:51:00.001-05:00

Ok, so here's some info about our property:

What:
14.9 acres
Great horse/animal property!
Most of it's in hay right now, but some trees
Partial views of Mt. St. Helens (when it's not cloudy - so @ least 10 days a year)

Where:
Ridgefield, WA
One exit N. of the Fairgrounds
Easy to access to I-5

Why:
I've always wanted to own land
Think how the Cardis will love nearly 15 acres!
The property is great; the house is not -- leaving many options

Show me:

Fields! Trees! No neighbors around to complain about barking!

Room for woods, fruit trees, and cross-country fences!

The NW field. Lovely.

Tree-lined drive.

Yes, we need to clear some brush so the trees can thrive...

Part of the back of the house.

Yep - the house needs LOTS of work.

But it's all one-level (corgi friendly!)

Finally, a weight is lifted!!

2011-08-23T17:45:00.001-05:00

Remember I said life was murky? Well, here’s what was dragging me down:

You may recall that in February I posted exciting news that The Husband and I were buying a property in Southwest Washington State. If you don’t recall, here’s the link: http://wagsnwoofs.blogspot.com/2011/02/can-we-move-there-now.html

I outlined in the post how we’d been looking for a property for over a year – trying to take advantage of lower property prices to get our feet/paws in the door.

Well, I posted the good news a little too soon.

Shortly after that post we had a home inspection done. While the house looked great inside, there were some problems hidden from view. Some pretty big problems. Problems like mold in the attic, a water leak from the upstairs bathroom that hadn’t been properly repaired, water in the crawlspace under the house, and more!

We started adding up repair estimates, and came up with a pretty significant amount of cash that would be required to get the house fixed. So we sent a revision to the seller. We finally heard back from them in mid-April (2 months into the contract). They thought we were crazy and didn’t accept the revised price, so we were out.

We started looking for houses again.

While all of this was going on, a property we really liked was foreclosed and auctioned/sold back to the bank. We saw this property back in December, but the day we wanted to make an offer (literally, the same day) the property was taken off the market.

Then, in late-ish April, we received word from our Realtor that this property was on the market again – this time listed for even less than it had been before! We were so excited!

Apparently a bunch of other folks were excited too. By early the next morning, 2 other offers were already on the property. The bank decided to give all the buyers (4 including us) until end of day Monday to put in their best offer.

Our Realtor advised us to have the property inspected before we put in our offer, so that our offer was as “clean” as possible. We took her advice, and had inspections done on Friday and over the weekend.

We submitted our offer on Monday, and held our breath.

A couple days later, we received the good news that our offer was chosen. As an added bonus, we found out that ours was not the highest offer, but since there were no contingencies, the bank chose us! Yippee!!

Well, sort of yippee. We were soon to discover the joys of buying a foreclosed property.

Here’s a summary of the agony that has been the past 4 months for us:

Bank sells property to us, but company specializing in REO properties (REO "experts") manage the sale for Bank.
REO company has a very detailed, very strict contract - with bad terms for buyer (us) and no bad terms for them or bank. How convenient. We grit our teeth, curse at them, and sign anyway.
Deal set to close in early May.
Hassles regarding financing arise. There’s a broken pane of glass and the roof needs $400 of repairs. It seems like this will prevent financing (thanks, Fed Gov’t for those new rules!).
Cr*p – if no financing we need to sweep cash from every corner to come up with purchase price.
I tell our cats & dogs to get a job to help out with cash crisis. They refuse. The Child refuses to hand over piggy bank.
We sweep up enough cash – but not before The Husband is nearly driven insane.
Mortgage lender figures out a way for us to get financing.
Previous property owner owes millions in back taxes so Fed Gov’t has a lien on the property.
Oops, Bank doesn’t have the paperwork right. Does bank own property?
Fed Gov’t lien means we can’t close for another 90 days (Aug 5)
Property listed as open space. Sort out open space designation forms for county. Nearly everyone in the county needs to sign form (or so it seemed…).
Nearing August 5^th – hey, where has the county paperwork and title gone?
REO company doesn’t care where paperwork has gone, and suggests we just cancel the contract instead of them having to figure it out. (insert expletive here)
Our Realtor says no way to cancellation.
Our Realtor camps out at county office until paperwork is found. (Someone filed it in the wrong place…)
August 5^th passes. Contract extension until August 12^th.
Other Realtors call our Realtor. They have people who want the property. Is it really going to close?
August 10^th –The Husband and I sign all of our paperwork. We’re ready to get the keys on the 12^th!
Oh. Bank still doesn’t have their sh*t together. No closing on the 12^th. But at least we’re in the queue (?!?)
Contract extension to August 26^th.
Title limping its way through the system.
The Husband bugs our title company and our Realtor nearly every day.
Everything lined up and ready to close.
Oh, wait, we need more of your $$ for taxes, since contract has drug on so long.
My dad (bless him!) rushes a check for taxes to title company.

FINALLY, today it closed!!

We now, officially, own a house in SW Washington!

But now I’m worn out from typing this post, so I’ll share pictures and details tomorrow…

Right now life is a bit murky

2011-08-21T18:04:00.001-05:00

I have been a bad blogger - it's been nearly 3 weeks since my last post. Right now a few things in life are in flux and I'm just not feeling too inspired to post. Nothing horrible is happening, just some things weighing me down.

Dog stuff has been weird. Last week I had my trip to India postponed/cancelled for the THIRD time since March. This stinks because each of the weeks I'm supposed to have gone there's been a dog show somewhat nearby. Since trips to India consume two weekends, I haven't been able to enter. The trip that was just cancelled overlapped with a 4 day show just a little over an hour away. I didn't enter, as I was to be out of town. The trip was finally cancelled two days after the show closed. Grrr...

Since I didn't have any shows on the horizon, my training has been a bit haphazard. Right now I'm:

Working on dumbbell retrieves and drop on recall with Ziggy (in the great hope that one day he'll go into the Open ring).
Working on various exercises with Rip: teeter in agility, backing up, recalls and stays (this is a big gap for us now).
Getting back into agility with Ziggy. I made it into a local agility trial in early October. It's at one of our local training buildings, so I'll have a chance to practice there a couple of times a week between now and then.

Hopefully some of the murkiness will clear up in the next week or so and I can get back to dogging and blogging.

Ziggy Loves to Meet and Greet

2011-08-03T19:33:00.000-05:00

How to put a smile on Ziggy's face?

Take him somewhere he'll be petted!

This summer we found a new love for Ziggy. Meeting and greeting new people!

The Child was in a summer program at our local elementary school. Our house is just a few houses away from the school's sports field, so we walked to and from school each day. In the evening the kids were playing outside, so we often took a dog with us on the walk.

Whenever we showed up with one of the dogs, the kids would come over to say hello. When we took Maggie, she tolerated a few gentle pats. When we took Rip, he leapt up and gave the kids with one of his "spearing" licks on the face. When we took Ziggy he was in heaven. He loved the hugging, he loved the petting, he loved it all. He was sweet, polite, and tolerant. Ziggy was even enthusiastic about the whole thing!

When I got home from work, changed my clothes, and headed to the front door Ziggy would get very excited (yes, Ziggy got excited about something). When we headed out the door the ever-polite, non-leash pulling Ziggy would start wagging his tail, and go as fast as I would allow over the school. So sweet!! He developed a bit of a fan club (2 little girls and one of the kids' counselors LOVED him) over the course of the summer.

This makes us think that maybe Ziggy wants to be a therapy dog. Last night our kennel club did a demo at an assisted living facility, and The Husband took Ziggy to help. Apparently Ziggy had a great time. He got to do some basic obedience as part of the demo, then got to meet each of the residents. Happy dog!

Now the trick is finding enough time in our crazy lives to get Ziggy to be an "official" therapy dog....

Rip and the Seminar

2011-07-29T20:41:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous posts on the Laura Romanik Seminar, I took Rip along with me, and had a working spot. I'm not sure the working spot was great with a green dog, but taking Rip to the seminar was well worth it, as we both learned some important lessons:

Black Dogs are SCARY!!

The first day, we met a couple of new breeds of dog. Rip was scared of one of these breeds.... The dreaded Newfoundland!

Rip says not to let this innocent face fool you.

The Newfie is a big mountain of a dog

and it must be thoroughly and vigorously barked at.

There were two Newfies at the Seminar. The first day Rip did a LOT of alert barking at them. Even after going up to meet one of the dogs, he still continued to bark. Not fun.

One of the women I was chatting with mentioned that some dogs don't like black dogs because their expressions are harder to read. Maybe that's true -- it helps explain Rip's dislike of Gordon Setters, too.

On the second day Rip only did a bit of barking. On the third day there was no barking at all. We also got to meet a black Flatcoated Retreiver, and a black Field Spaniel. On one of the breaks, 2 Newfies, the flatcoat, the field spaniel, and a dobie were all doing stays in the ring. I made sure Rip got a good and keep-it-positive-aren't-black-dogs-nice look at that scene. So from a black-dog socialization standpoint, the weekend was great.

No More Playing

While Rip learned that black dogs aren't so scary, I learned that I have been too indulgent with Rip. I let Rip meet-and-greet-and-play with a few dogs on the first day. He's a happy, friendly boy, so what's the harm?

I soon realized the harm, as Rip became FIXATED on the dogs he played with. For the rest of the weekend he would stare at these dogs. If they got close, he was desperate in his attempts to get to them. Not mean aggression. Just play drive gone wrong.

This was an "ah-ha" moment for me. Rip no longer gets free play time with other dogs when we're in a show or practice situation. I was allowing this to keep him socialized. I think I overcompensated a bit after Maggie (who in her younger years was not a fan of other dogs) and Denzil (who has some stranger-dog issues when on leash). In an attempt to make sure Rip didn't have trouble, I'm afraid I've overcompensated a bit. Time to change the rules and insist on good manners first.

Learning to be Quiet in a Crate

Taking Rip to the seminar, and having him in the hotel with me -- just the two of us -- was also good practice for the life of a performance/show dog. He got to spend quiet time in his crate during the day (he still needs a sheet over the crate so that he stays quiet). I got to reinforce coming nicely out of the crate. We got to practice resting in a crate, coming out, warming up briefly, and getting right to work.

Rip also got to learn more about hotels. Since it was his first solo-dog hotel trip, I didn't leave him alone in the room for more than 1/2 hour total. But it was good for him to get used to the sights, sounds, and smells of a hotel. I also learned that Rip barks a few times when I leave, but then quiets down (whew). I had a room on the ground floor so I left the room, went outside, and stood by the window for a while to wait for the barking to stop.

Hotel Perks

This is the life!

Why do the CATS get the bed at home?!?

Rip also learned that being a bed dog is fun. He tried unsuccessfully to jump up a couple of times (it was a tall bed), so I thought, "what the heck?" and I put the ottoman near the bed so Rip had stairs. Needless to say the naughty boy loved sleeping with me on the bed. Next time I'm brining an extra sheet to put over the duvet. I used some extra towels I had with me to create a sleeping spot on the bed, but - as the picture shows - Rip ignored those completely.

All told -- scary black dogs and restless bed-sharing- dog considered -- Rip and I had a nice weekend.

Laura Romanik Obedience Seminar: Days Two and Three

2011-07-28T19:59:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent last weekend learning more about competitive obedience from Laura Romanik, one of the most successful competitors in the country.

Days 2 & 3 of the seminar were about how Laura trains her dogs for the exercises needed in competitive obedience. I appreciated Laura's approach to the exercises, and how she talked about them. The approach was very methodical and logical.

Of all the seminars I've been to (and if you read this blog, you know I've been to more than a few), this one would be GREAT for someone who's just getting started in competitive obedience. Her approach to training is easy to understand, and should be (I hope) easy to implement and remember.

That doesn't mean the seminar isn't good for more seasoned trainers and competitors. A few of my friends (who've shown a lot more than me) went to the seminar as well, and came away with many new insights.

I won't summarize the whole two days, but below are some of the things that provided "ah-ha!" moments for me:

There are 11 basic skills that need to be really solid to succeed in AKC obedience. If these skills are week, or the foundation isn't strong, somewhere along the way trouble is likely to surface. The skills are: down, sit, stand, heel, stay, come, front, jump, fetch, go out, and scent.

I appreciated this way of thinking about the skills. Lately I've been in a "so much to train, so little time" state - so my training approach has been a little scattered. Thinking of it this way should help me focus a bit.

A better way to think about Stay

Laura talked about the "3 D's" of the stay: Duration, Distance, Distractions. When she trains, she adds in the Distance last.
I appreciate this insight, as I am having trouble with "Stay" for Rip. The wild man (surprise! surprise!) just doesn't see the point.
Focusing on duration and distraction before moving away will give me a good place to start, as I need to go back to the beginning here.
Laura also trains the sit stay first - as this is a good default behavior to have for obedience.

When to cue

Timing of cues is important for a dog's learning.
When adding a cue to a behavior, add the "unknown cue" just before giving the "known cue." For example, if a dog has been lured into a down with a treat, and you want to put it on a verbal cue - say "down" then lure into the down.
This thinking makes a lot of sense to me, and I've got to say I've never really thought about it before.

The Seminar Overall

One of the things I like the most of Laura's training techniques is that they are very thoughtful and intentional. Like the timing of the cue mentioned above, she's really thought through how she trains dogs. It's logical and it makes a lot of sense. I'm working to bring this thoughtfulness into my training.
Laura is also a very observant dog trainer, and was able to provide good feedback to the handlers, alerting them of things they were doing to cause the problems they were having. She would be a great person to take individual lessons from. Too bad she lives so far from Iowa...
I had a working spot, and Laura does a nice job of managing the number of people on the floor, etc. I don't know if it was quite worth the extra $$ for a working spot with a very green dog. The folks who had challenges that they were working through seemed to get much more out of it.
I recommend Laura Romanik's seminar if you're ever able to attend one.

Laura Romanik Obedience Seminar: Day One

2011-07-25T17:42:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I spent 3 days learning more about competitive obedience at a Laura Romanik seminar. Laura is one of the top obedience competitors in the country, and campaigned her dog Flare to Obedience Dog of the Year in 2009.

Training Philosophy

The first day of the seminar was lecture only - no dogs working. Laura explained her training philosophy including how she builds the confidence, fluency, and motivation needed to succeed in the obedience ring. She talked about the background behind how she teaches, conditions, and proofs. Unlike many other seminars, she also talked about the how and why of corrections to help dogs improve their performance.

I've got to say that I was a bit worried about sitting through 8 hours of lecture on obedience theory, but Laura did a great job keeping things interesting and engaging. Even though I was jet-lagged (I arrived home from Germany the afternoon before), I had no trouble staying awake!

Some key take-aways for me:

In the teaching phase, when the dog is learning a skill, you want the dog to be successful most of the time. Keep things positive so the dog likes each exercise, and thinks they're fun. This fun foundation is needed for long-term success.

Dogs need mental stamina for obedience. Some of this stamina can be built through work. Some of it just comes with age. This was a big one for me. With a bright dog, it's hard not to push and expect too much too soon. With Rip I need to be very mindful of this. I don't want to ruin the game for him.

Remain upbeat even if you have to correct your dog. A dog making a mistake means that they're learning. Anger or frustration only makes things unpleasant for the dog (and who likes to work if it's unpleasant?).

Something I've been doing right is taking Rip to fun matches (obedience practice shows) since he was a pup. Even though he does very few (if any) "formal" exercises, we go in the ring, do some heeling and play, play, play. I want Rip to think being alone in a ring with a judge is FUN. I should have done more of this with Ziggy....

The thing I appreciated most about the "philosophy" day is that it provided an opportunity to learn about many of the things that make for successful obedience training and performance. This type of insight is based on Laura's years of experience and success, and is hard to learn/find out. It's the stuff that folks just forget they know and had to learn when they were new to the sport.

I'll talk about the 2 training days in another post.

I'll be home soon

2011-07-23T21:31:00.001-05:00

The last couple of weeks for me have been busy with travel. Here's an overview:

Indiana

It started with a 2 day road trip to Bloomington, Indiana. I was part of the judging panel for the business case portion of the Indiana University Young Women's Institute. The YMI is a program for bright, over-achieving high school girls. In the week-long program, the young women learn about business, and work on a business case. At the end of the week, the teams present their business case in front of their parents, friends, and panel of judges.

This is my second year to help out, and I LOVE it. The young women are driven, smart, dedicated, and impress the heck out of me. I hope that all of them join the business world. We need them!

Germany & The Netherlands

I was home for one night, then off to the airport for a trip to Germany. The hightlight of my trip was a day trip to one of our factories in The Netherlands. I'd never visisted the country before, so I talked my colleagues into taking me somewhere "Dutch."

Here's what I saw:

The center of town in the middle of the day.

Lots of pedestrians and cyclists.

The old town hall building.

The bottom floor is now a restaurant.

So why not stop for an afternoon snack?

Apple cake and coffee.

My colleagues tell me this is a traditional Dutch afternoon snack.

It was yummy and I'm not even a fan of apple-y pastries.

This day-trip convinced me that - on my next work trip to Germany - I need to fly into Amersterdam and spend a couple of days before starting work. Apparently it's only a 3 hr train ride away from the office.

Des Moines

The day after I got home from Germany I got up early (4am) to drive to Des Moines. Rip and I are attending a 3-day Laura Romanik obedience seminar. I've picked up a couple good tips so far. I'll do a post in the next couple of days to share some of what I've learned.

I'm looking forward to heading home tomorrow night and sleeping in my own bed for a change!

Sometimes crates are just too roomy

2011-07-16T08:28:00.000-05:00

That's what Ziggy seems to think anyway. He has free run of the house most of the time (after we've picked up all Crayons within reach), yet here's where I've seen him sleeping quite a lot lately:

Inside the coffee table is den-like, mom.

See - cozy!

Yes, Ziggy's taken a liking to sleeping in the 9" space between the top and bottom shelf of the coffee table. Apparently he likes to squeeze into small space and lay on The Child's drawing paper. Go figure.

Grooming part 2: Now what do I do with all the stuff?

2011-07-11T07:53:00.000-05:00

After my "Grooming Part 1" post you know I’ve got the (grooming) stuff. That was the fun (albeit slighty painful to the wallet) part.

Now what do I do with it? I watched Mandy, Carolyn & Jeri groom at the Specialty. They made it look easy. I left feeling pretty good that I knew what to buy and how to use it. Then I got home, bought the stuff, and stared at it. What was all of this for again?

To give you an idea of my level of grooming expertise, I’ve still only used my dryer four times – tops. And the only “product” I’ve used is chalk.

I’ve seen how good Rip can look when a skilled person grooms him. I understand the importance of good grooming, and truly, much of my dread of showing in conformation stems from all the *!@# grooming that one must do before entering the ring. All of that grooming takes skill. This means one needs to spend lots of time grooming and practicing grooming. Time that I could be spending training my dogs for performance. Or exercising. Or sleeping, Or aimlessly wandering around Facebook.

Watching all of the great groomers at the Specialty has reinforced my need to practice -- shamed me into it, really. So now I’ve resigned myself to using all of the grooming tools more often. Wait, that doesn’t sound very inspirational. I am now up to the challenge of learning how to groom properly.

doG help Maggie, Ziggy, and Rip because none of them is immune. I’ve got three dogs, and they all get to serve as my “test subjects” in this venture. Thus far my focus has been on using the new grooming tools I’ve purchased. The three of them are losing masses of hair right now, so I’m working on using a comb to remove it.

I’ve had all three dogs up on the table every weekend – spritzing them with water and brushing and combing away.

Here’s Rip’s approach:

Grooming again?

Up here with nothing to chew and nothing to chase?

Forget it, I'll just lay down.

Hey mom, can you move that brush a little closer?

Maggie and Ziggy are not quite so tolerant. Maggie can be bought with food, so she gets lots of treats while on the table.

Ziggy doesn’t like to be groomed in the first place (he prefers a scratch to remove the hair) and the table just ads insult to injury. At first he was so unhappy he wouldn’t even take a treat. Now he’ll take a treat, and doesn’t try to jump off. Given his dislike for the table, he’s spared much of my practice. I’ve been doing a bit of brushing/combing – then resorting to the Furminator. Faster and easier all around.

Next weekend my plan is to bathe one of the dogs (whoever is stinkiest/dirtiest), then dry them and try out some product. I’ll just keep experimenting until I get it right (ish).

My overall goal for the next few months is to get comfortable enough grooming that I don’t dread it quite so much. That will leave me free to stress about other parts of showing in conformation. Like getting my wild one-year-old to stand still for the judge….

What it was, and who (I think) did it

2011-07-09T09:24:00.001-05:00

I must admit that it took me quite a while to figure out what the mystery poo was, and who did it. Using my best detective abilities, here's what I was able to piece together.

FIRST: What was it?

I had to dissect the specimen a bit to figure it out. For those of you who guessed wax - you're right. It was just about 100% wax. The green string in it is a bit of a rope toy that the boys chew on from time to time.

NEXT: Where did they get it?

I could not figure out for a long time where the furry perps found a bunch of wax. Then one day I noticed that the lid was missing from the shoebox on on the right of the picture. The box that's shoved back in my closet - marked "candles."

How/why they even decided to investigate this box is a mystery to me.

A box of ~~candles~~ chew treats.

There were quite a few more candles in this box last time I looked.

FINALLY: Who did it?

The most frequent guess was "Rip." And that's not suspiring. Rip is a little dog of destruction, who has a lifetime of naughtiness behind him already.

But what I haven't told you about is Ziggy's secret love. Crayons! If a Crayon is sitting out, Ziggy will eat it with surprising speed. Z loves Crayons so much that I'm not sure he wouldn't choose a crayon over a Greenie.

Ooh look! The Child left the lid off the Crayons.

Look away, you see nothing.

That's just a stick I'm chewing on.

D'oh - caught in the act.

Don't judge me. I love Crayons.

Given Ziggy's love of waxy colored things, and the fact that Rip is not allowed to be loose in the back of the house, for weeks I figured that Ziggy was the culprit.

Then, just last week, while I was reading in bed, Rip opened the closet door (it wasn't shut tight), shoved his head in the closet, and came out with a votive candle holder.

So maybe it was Rip. Or Rip and Ziggy. My guess is the later, based on the number of waxy poos found in the yard.

Mystery solved. Well, sort of.

WTF Friday - Found in my yard

2011-07-08T06:04:00.000-05:00

Oh yes, this is what you think it is.

A dog poo made entirely of "non-traditional" materials

(i.e., no fecal matter in it - is that even possible?)

Guess just WHAT the dog(s) ate to produce this??

And, though don't know for sure who did this (it happened while we were on vacation), bonus points if you can get the culprit(s) right, too.

Grooming part 1: What is all this stuff?

2011-07-05T19:34:00.001-05:00

I mentioned a while ago that one of my goals for the National Specialty was to learn more about grooming Cardigans for the conformation ring. In case I haven’t mentioned it before (though I know I have), it mystifies me that a “wash and wear” dog like a Cardi can take so much grooming. One of the things that attracted me to Cardigans is that they are a breed that looks good naturally – no weird trimming involved.

You can imagine my surprise when kind folks like Cindy and Dawn started to open my eyes to the world of Cardi show grooming.

The first eye-opening thing was all of the equipment, supplies, and stuff required to groom a show Cardi. Prior to selling my soul to dark side of conformation, here is the size of my grooming bag:

A nice, small bag.

I've included the brush to provide some perspective.

What did the bag contain?

A pin brush

A metal comb (that I never really used, but had because Mandy told me to get one when I first got Maggie)

A pair of hair trimming scissors

A curry comb (Denzil liked this one best)

A Furminator (don’t judge me – it’s much quicker!)

Nail trimmers

Apple scented dog shampoo & coat spray

That list seems pretty long, no?

These supplies served me well to prep my dogs for everyday life, and performance events.

THEN I saw Cindy’s grooming equipment and I realized I was out of my league. I didn’t even know a table and dryer were necessary (oh, how silly I used to be…)!

After visiting Cindy, I bought a grooming table and dryer -- the “big ticket” items. I sold most of my herd of Breyer Appaloosas on eBay to pay for them. (Also, I used the sale of the Breyers to support the "see I'm getting rid of stuff" argument in preparation for the arrival of a sea of boxes filled with grooming gear.)

What a pretty dryer!

It still looks new because it's only been used a few times.

My new grooming area in the basement.

Note that I even have an apron.

That makes me official.

Grooming with Dawn convinced me that I also needed some chalk, a chalk brush, a nail grinder, and whitening shampoo. Now I’m ready to show! Right?!?

The National Specialty highlighted how woefully inadequate even my “beefed up” grooming kit was. Based on what Mandy and Carolyn used on Rip at the Specialty (with some extra tips from Jeri) - here’s what I’ve got now:

Look at all the lovely supplies!

Most of them are still unused....

And I get the impression that this is just “the basics.” Where did I get his impression? From the lift trucks lined up to haul people's grooming boxes into the hall at the Specialty. (Some of those boxes were bigger than some of my furniture!)

I also bought a cool grooming bag from Doggone good. That was the best part of this whole shopping scheme – a lovely new bag to organize all my new necessities.

I love this bag. See, it's big enough for all my current gear.

And more! It also has an insulated compartment for bait.

So now I’ve got the stuff. Where do I go from here?

More about that in Grooming Part Two: Now what do I do with all this stuff?

Handler Helper: Rally station practice

2011-06-30T19:56:00.003-05:00

The goal of Handler Helpers is to improve my handling skills to take away some of the "variables" (i.e., handler mistakes) that are likely to contribute to a bad performance.

As I mentioned in my post introducing the thought behind Handler Helpers, I hate it when I make a stupid handler error - messing up my dog and/or losing points. It's bound to happen, but I've tried to find ways to minimize these errors.

In Rally Obedience, this means practicing the signs.

I think one of the toughest things about Rally is the variety of exercises/signs. In regular classes alone, the sign count is up to 50. This means that judges have 50 ways to challenge you (aka, make you think or "trick you").

For me, just reading the signs description wasn't enough. I needed to study and practice. When I'm in the ring, I want to see the sign and know what to do without having to think. This lets me concentrate on my dog's performance.

To do this, I created Rally "flash cards."

I started by printing a color pdf version of the signs and descriptions from the AKC website. I can't seem to find them anymore on the AKC site, but I did find a site that has printable versions of the signs. The descriptions can be found on the AKC website, in the rule book.
Next, I cut out the image of each sign, and pasted it on one side of an index card.
On the other side of the card, I wrote out the description. This took some time, but it allowed me to customize that card if needed (e.g., adding the commands I use for each exercise). Writing the descriptions also helped me learn the signs.

Here's what the front & back look like

(note: this is 2 diff cards - not the same exercise)

I use the cards a few ways.

Without the dog:

I read each card a few times, so I understand the "gist" of each exercise.
I use them to practice my footwork. I grab a card, walk like I'm heeling my dog, and then perform each exercise in the deck.

I use the same footwork, verbal commands, and/or hand signals I use in the ring.
Between signs/stations, I take a few steps, walking with the same pace I do in the ring.
Most often I do this at the end of a training session, and put my dog in "Stay" while I work on each sign. Multi-tasking!

With the dog:

To practice Rally "courses," I mix up the cards, pull out 10-12, grab my dog, and practice those exercises all in a row.
I also use them to identify and practice stuff we need to work on. Occasionally I run through the whole deck, and pull out the exercises we're struggling with. I'll set the rest of the deck aside, and work on these exercises during every practice session for a while, until we're performing those exercises better.

For my "with the dog" exercises, I use a bait bag as a card holder. I got the bag from J&J Dog Supplies. It looks like they've changed the style a bit, but the one they have is only slightly smaller, so it should work.

All of the cards fit in the bag.

It has a velcro top to keep them from falling out.

It's got a belt clip on the back, so I have a place to store the cards while I'm training.

I know that all of this practice may seem like overkill, but it really has helped me feel more confident in the Rally ring, have smoother runs, and focus more on my dog.

Handler Helpers

2011-06-27T23:07:00.002-05:00

One of the things that drives me crazy as a performance person is handler errors. To clarify – it drives me crazy when I make handler errors. I feel empathy when others make them.

In Obedience and Rally, handler errors most often mean points off. Precious, lovely, points that just go away – never to return.

If I’m going to lose points in the ring, I want to lose them for things I can’t control in the moment – like a hairball that looks like string cheese rolling in front of my dog just as I've thrown my dumbbell (guess which one Maggie chose to look at?).

I DON’T want to lose them for things I can control in the ring – like failing to return to my dog properly after a stay, or forgetting what a Rally sign means.

I’ve made more than a few mistakes in the ring. In addition to reading the regulations and practicing exercises as if I’m in the ring, I’ve tried to figure out ways to improve my performance. Probably none of these is a completely original idea, but I thought I’d share a few things that have worked for me. I’ll post these “Handler Helpers” over the next couple of months. Stay tuned for: dumbbell throwing, Rally practice, figure 8’s, footwork, etc. Hopefully the things I've worked on to correct my handler errors can help others....

I practice these things so I don't feel like this in the ring!

And trust me, this image isn't so far from the truth....

Skinny, lanky & bald + unmotivated = obedience!

2011-06-25T14:03:00.001-05:00

Here's the situation:

Right now Rip is going through a bit of a "phase."

He has been getting skinny - this one I can do something about - he's getting more food (which he LOVES)
He is looking a bit lanky/leggy
He is shedding strangely - meaning his body hair is "gone" but his voluminous britches and neck fur remain. Odd. (puppy shedding?)

AND

Right now I'm feeling a bit "unmotivated" when it comes to competing

There's "house stuff" that seems to keep coming up
I've committed myself to exercising more and eating better
My international travel schedule for work is ever-changing. Each international trip requires one, if not two, weekends away from home. When travel dates keep changing, my ability to enter shows and trials is messed up.

I've been working on stuff I feel comfortable with and enjoy. Obedience (mainly). Since I can't quite bring myself to work on something else "new" (i.e., conformation) - especially when I have a skinny, bald dog - I shifted my focus with Rip back to performance for the time being.

It should come as no surprise that Rip really enjoys obedience. And the good thing is that obedience work gets Rip out to new places, teaches him focus and attention, and involves learning some self-control. All things that he needs for conformation, too :)

Happy 12th Birthday, Maggie!

2011-06-23T06:58:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that Maggie is 12 years old!!!

I'm thankful that she's still happy, healthy, and part of our pack.

To celebrate, she gets a bull-winky (her favorite treat) this evening.

Below are some pictures to show how Maggie spent her year:

Rolling.

Still one of Maggie's FAVORITE activities.

Unfortunately now a young-in' barks at her when she rolls.

Barking.

Another of Maggie's great loves.

The Party Police especially likes to bark when the boys wrestle.

Keeps them in line, you know....

Joining in the fun on occasion.

Playing. And still barking.

Reprimanding Rip.

Sometimes he just needs to know when play should stop.

At least play with Maggie.

Hiking.

Maggie loves to hike.

Exercise, outdoors, REALLY stinky stuff to roll in...

Hanging out.

And looking sweet. And somewhat expectant.

Laying on the sofa.

Where every Cardi should be.

Lounging in the yard.

More lounging in the yard.

Lounging in her favorite place in the yard.

Notice the lack of grass - due to all the lounging that happens here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGGIE!

The Old Lady's Still Got It

2011-06-20T17:03:00.003-05:00

Since it's Maggie's "birthday week," I'll do another post of my favorite girl.

Even though Maggie rests a lot more than she used to, the girl has still "go it."

Here's photographic proof from this weekend:

Mom threw the toy.

Who will get there first?

That's right -

experience pays off you little whippersnapper.

But now I have the toy old lady -

I guess "protecting" it is just too much work for you, huh?

Not so fast!

A lady has the right to change her mind.

Learn your place young man!

One more throw.

See, an old dog can still move when she needs to!

Caught on the fly!

Rip learned his lesson and didn't go after this one. Instead....

Oh yeah, old lady, I'll tell you what I think of you having the toy!

But I don't hold a grudge.

And I know you'll leave the toy in a minute...

Starbucks Puppuccino

2011-06-18T15:39:00.000-05:00

The Husband needed a break this morning, so I volunteered to take The Child to Starbucks with me to get the morning coffee.

As we were preparing to get in the car, The Child exclaimed, "We have to take Maggie with us! She can have another Puppuccino!"

I eagerly agreed, as Maggie loves to go on outings, and now that she's not competing, she usually stays home while I take the boys somewhere. And heck, now that Rip is in the house, the old lady earns every treat she can get.

Maggie's spot next to the boy in the back seat.

She's really much happier to ride in car than she looks in this picture.

We discovered the Puppuccino one day when Maggie was on errands with us. As is her tradition when the car stops for a while, she puts her feet on the console between the two front seats. The folks in the Starbucks drive-thru saw her and asked if she wanted a treat. Yes indeed she did.

What self-respecting Cardi wouldn't want one of these?

Yes, a Puppuccino is a very small cup filled with whipped cream.

Yum!

It does take a little work to get ALL of the cream out.

But Maggie is up to the task.

Needless to say, Maggie enjoyed her Puppuccino. She then enjoyed licking a dab of whipped cream off of The Child's shorts. She did such a good job that it looked like The Child had spilled water on his shorts. Which we all thought was very funny.

Backyard Agility

2011-06-14T19:21:00.001-05:00

This weekend we had really nice weather. Not too hot, not too humid. Perfect for outdoor activities. I should have taken the opportunity to do some weeding. That would have been the “responsible” thing to do. Instead, The Child and I set up an agility course.

Here's our course for the weekend.

Lots of work on front crosses.

Using a “Backyard Dog” course from a recent Clean Run magazine, this is the course The Child and I chose. I would say we both built it, but he lost interest in course building about halfway through.

I love that the open space in my back yard is big enough to accommodate the “Backyard Dog” courses. These courses are perfect for at-home practice, as they require 40’x50’ worth of open space , and weaves, jumps & tunnels are the only obstacles required. They can also be run multiple different ways, so one course can stay up for days!

Maggie studies the course.

She seems to be eyeing up the tunnel.

Each of the dogs got to run the course.

Ziggy got to run the whole course. I was impressed that he still remembers how to weave (albeit slowly), and his weave entrances were very good. He even did a bit of cantering between obstacles. Unfortunately he decided that a couple of runs were enough. At that point, he merrily trotted away back to the house – tail up and wagging. I did bring him back to the course and had him do a short sequence (with lots of praise at the end) before “officially” releasing him. I don’t want the boy to get the idea that he can dictate the terms of work.

Meanwhile, I had to stash Maggie and Rip in the house. I tried using an expen as a gate to keep them on the deck. The two of them were having none of that, and knocked it down straight away to get to the fun…

After Ziggy was done I let Rip out. Since Rip just turned 1 year old, he’s not doing agility “for real.” Instead, he and I worked on sending to the tunnel, some “one jump” exercises with the pole on the ground (mainly sending him to the jump), and some flatwork in the form of circles and front crosses. Needless to say, Rip LOVES agility. Action! Food! Running!

I couldn’t forget about the Old Lady, Maggie. I mainly couldn’t forget about her because of her incessant “I want to work” barking. She and I worked on tunnels and a few jumps with the bar laid on the ground. Maggie loved it, and I loved working with her. Working with an enthusiastic, well-trained dog just feels good.

Not to be outdone, The Child ran the agility course without a dog. He jumped over the jumps, went through the tunnel, and weaved. I was particularly impressed that he got the right weave entrance every time! I also chuckled because every time The Child went through the tunnel, Rip would spot him and run full tilt into the tunnel. This resulted in a squeal from The Child as Rip got in more than a few good licks.

A good way to spend an afternoon.

Rip is on Facebook

2011-06-09T17:38:00.003-05:00

Rip mentioned to me that he was tired of sharing the limelight on this blog with boring things like my travel, the other dogs, and worst of all - the cats.

So The Husband created a Facebook profile for him. Now I help Rip by posting his thoughts on life periodically.

Here's a link to his profile. He loves friends!

Rip Cannon-Fry

Create Your Badge

And yes, I realize that this is "over the line" behavior on my part ;)

UK Trip 2011 - Around London

2011-06-06T18:03:00.001-05:00

On this trip, we made an attempt to do more "touristy" things while in London. As you know, I went to the Flower Show. The Husband, The Child, and I also went to the London Eye and went to see The Lion King on stage.

Here are some pictures from our wandering around town

Here's the London Eye.

It's the most visited tourist attraction in London.

If you're a kid, you want to go in the red car.

Then you ask your parents why you didn't get that one.

Your parents explain the "luck of the draw" and how,

if you inherit their luck, you'll never get it.

Great views of London are what makes the Eye so popular...

A view of the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.

We decided to take the bus around London. Buses are less crowded than the Tube (underground trains). They're also cheaper, The Child loves sitting up top, and you get to see a lot more of London. Here's some of what we saw:

Isn't the view from the bus great?

The Child and his stuffed cat love the front of the bus.

Here we're headed towards Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square

The River Thames, the Houses of Parliament, and Big Ben

The back of Westminster Abbey

The front of the Abbey

Big Ben! With the London Eye in the background.

Headed towards Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.

Note the road sign...

Now look what it says.

Isn't that polite? That's so British!