A Spring Odyssey

I am in South Carolina this week. I presented my 'Balancing Act' obedience training seminar for the NADOI (National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors, pronounced 'nay' 'doi') annual conference this past weekend. It was held in at the Ramada in Charleston, SC. I wasn't sure if I would know anyone, but my long-time internet friend, Margie English, was there. We've only met in person twice before (once at the only other NADOI conference I attended when it was in Toledo, OH (2003), and once when she came to another seminar I taught in PA several years ago). Margie wrote the preface for Judy Byron and my book Competition Obedience: A Balancing Act, and I have stolen several training ideas from her over the years. Or is it borrowed? It was great fun to see her again. I am leaving with many new acquaintances who I hope will become friends in the years to come.

My original plan when I scheduled this seminar followed by one in Maryland next weekend was to - Ah, bliss! - be somewhere warm, in the south, and spend the time field training with the Flat-Coats. Since Gryff is still not able to, I am instead training obedience. Given Ty and Joker's level of greenness (Green and Really Green), it is good to force myself to train them in places other than my training building. Unfortunately, the 'Ah, bliss!' warm weather seemed to vanish almost as soon as I drove into the state. The rain came along with me, too (they'd been having weather in the 80's), but given the fires they've been having, the rain would appear to be a blessing. I saw evidence of fires driving north along 17 yesterday as I moved from Charleston to Myrtle Beach. I came up here because the weather looked to potentially be a tad less unpleasant (supposed to be 61 today before going back to raining tomorrow) AND through the power of the internet and the dog network, found someone local with a small training building. I met Sue yesterday and did some utility work with both Joker and Ty, and we're going to meet at a local park to train this morning. It isn't exactly warm out yet, but bright and sunny, so it should be fun.

I'm working on updates to my website, something which is hard to find time for when I'm at home. I'm a beginner at it, but liking computers and programming as I do, I'm enjoying learning something new. It helps to have large blocks of time to work on it, which I don't often have during my regular at-home life. I'm staying in a suite because I have too many dogs for a regular room, but having been a bit claustrophobic in a regular room over the weekend, it is probably going to be much more conducive to getting work done. The dogs like the extra space, too.

A New UD

I showed Ty and Joker in Utility B today at the Fulton Co KC trial held at the Toledo KC's building. Ty earned her 2nd leg there in February. Today, the duct tape holding the sheet covering the mirror in the right back corner of the ring attracted her attention, causing some big point losses, but she got herself back on track enough to earn her 3rd leg and her UD. We started with articles, and she dashed out past the pile to go check out the duct tape (I thought she was trying to do a go out), so went out probably 10-15 feet from the end, off to the right, then dashed back to the pile and got to work. She came out of the pile well to my left, and made zero effort to straighten herself. On the bright side, she DID hold the article very nicely until I took it, something that has been a large challenge for her. The out-of-the-way approach cost us 3 points. Ouch! She went somewhat past again on the 2nd approach, losing another 1/2 point. Funny how those things about which you say "but she's never done that before!"** often happen right away again.
   We had glove #1 (same as last month), which she did a fine job on.
   Earlier this week, I decided to try heeling with my left hand hanging down (and, I HOPE, swinging reasonably evenly with my right one) instead of up at my waist. I do think she forged less than usual, so I will definitely continue to experiment with this hand position. In the past few weeks, her signals have gotten tenuous again. They had come together nicely back in February before and during TKC, when I made a change to my sit signal. It was almost like she finally figured the signals out. But then I was away for 10 days, and she was back to insecurity, especially on her sit signal. Fortunately for me, when I was training at TKC on Wednesday, someone pointed out that I wasn't moving my shoulder at all when giving the sit signal. By making sure I open my shoulder up with the hand signal, she has been responding consistently. It's a subtle difference, and it may not last, but she did it today.
   Her Moving Stand was perfect, yeah Ty!
   On her 1st go out, she veered some to the right, again eyeballing the duct tape. Fortunately, the bar on the right was the first jump. Okay, I admit it, I haven't done all that much proofing of her jumping from the opposite side of the ring. Guess what we'll be working on this week? I made much more of an effort to get her marking the center, and her 2nd go out was right on the money. So she finished out the class with a 190 and a new UD.
   Back in 2002, on the day Java finished his UD, Mike MacDonald was there, and he said "I don't care how many UDs you earn, they are each special." That is very true.
   Joker inexplicably failed both articles, but the rest of his class was really solid. I was especially thrilled with his go-outs after retrieving glove #1. In training on Wednesday, I had him retrieve each corner gloves, then did go-outs. He kept wanting to veer to the left corner. I worked on it at home on Thursday, where he was fine, but I figured we'd be lucky to get anything approaching a straight go-out. He only lost 1 point on the exercise, what a good boy! He also needs to work jumping from the opposite corners.
   Ty and I go back tomorrow to show in both Open B and Utility B. Joker gets to stay home watching basketball with my husband.

**This is a quote from the back of my book, The Art of Proofing. Yup, happens to me, too.

March Training Update

 I showed Ty in Utility once in February. I'm very happy to report that she earned her 2nd leg with a solid 194.5 performance, and even won a runoff for 4th place in Utility B. The only thing that gave me any anxiety was that just as she arrived at her glove #1, she whipped around and looked at me. I had a very brief "Oh, no, don't go to glove #2!" thought dash through my head, but she recovered and turned back around and grabbed the correct one.

   Joker was entered, but on Tuesday when we were practicing gloves, he just didn't seem right. Once several years ago, he had similar symptoms - not wanting to jump up - and he had a sore back. Sure enough, a trip to our wonderful local rehab vet showed quite a bit of back soreness. He had an acupuncture treatment, but the next day, I decided to pull him since we wouldn't have the training time needed to make it worthwhile.

   I've got a nice rehab & strength training routine worked out with Gryffin that he seems to enjoy. We've been doing the workout 2-3 times a week. I mentioned last month that I'd just gotten the "Building the Canine Athlete" DVD. I've incorporated several exercises from the DVD into our routine. A friend did Gryff's workout with him 4 times while I was out of town, and I could see some nice improvements on several of the exercises as I got back to doing them with him myself. I've been enjoying this so much, and see so much benefit for Gryff that I'm offering a couple of 3 week classes called 'Tricks for Strength', one in March and one in April.

How to Fit a Dog For a Dumbbell

I'd like to explain how I fit dogs for dumbbells. The following video is extracted from Totally Fetching: Teaching and Proofing a Reliable Retrieve. You will see a variety of dogs holding both properly fitted and improperly fitted dumbbells.

The following information is taken from the booklet that comes with the DVD.

    A correctly sized dumbbell is a help to your dog. The obedience regulations state that, "the size of the dumbbell shall be proportionate to the size of the dog." There are three elements to consider when fitting a dumbbell to your dog: the height of the bells, the thickness of the dowel, and the width between the bells.

    Many dumbbells are made with tapered bells to allow for a more comfortable fit. An "off-the-shelf" size is fine for many dogs. Some breeds require a custom fit due to their unusual length or width of muzzle.

    The ideal placement of the dumbbell is directly behind the canine teeth. The dog should hold it firmly. If there is too much room between the bells, it is easy for the dog to roll it back onto his molars, which usually leads to mouthing. If there is too little space between the bells, the dog's lips can get pinched, causing discomfort. If the bells are too large, they can interfere with the dog's vision. If they are too small, the dog may have difficulty picking the dumbbell up smoothly without hitting his nose on the ground.
    A thicker dowel often helps prevent the dog from rolling the dumbbell to the back of his mouth. You want the dog to be able to clench the dowel comfortably. It is possible for the dog to roll a thin doweled dumbbell even when the teeth are closed tightly. Also, a thin dowel on a wooden dumbbell tends to break easily.
    I get my custom-made wooden dumbbells from Phillip Klosinski of Toledo, OH. I've measured a lot of dogs all around the country with the spiffy dumbbell measuring kit Phil gave me years ago. The kit has a large variety of end sizes with different dowel thicknesses. One end is fixed and the other one can slide. They've proven themselves to be very useful over the years.
   Are you interested in ordering a copy of TotallyFetching? See the NDT website to do so.

More rehab for Gryffin

Last Friday night, I had a consultation with Dr. Chris Zink, a well-known vet from Maryland who was in Ann Arbor to teach her weekend Canine Athlete seminar (fabulous, as always). She felt that Gryff's biggest problem was in his iliopsoas muscles (in the groin area). When she tried to do the standing test, he really objected. So Gryff is back on much more restricted activity, and had the first of a series of laser treatments to try to help reduce any inflammation. We've got 4 more scheduled in the next two weeks before we all go out of town again for my east coast trip.

It's disappointing to have to put his workout routine on hold for now, but if several weeks off will help, we just have to do it. He has been learning to wave, which I don't think puts undue stress on the sore areas. His wave is actually more of a whack with his front paw raised up slightly over parallel to the floor. He usually connects with some part of my leg. Or Joker's head, if he happens to be too close by. Poor Joker.

At Chris Zink's seminar, she mentioned a simple way to teach dogs to wave. "Just put a postIt note over their eye, and then click and treat them when they raise their paw to swipe it off." Here's what Gryff thought of that:

All the proofing he's had meant his feet stayed planted firmly on the floor. Oh, well, he's getting the idea in other ways.

Java
OTCh. U-CDX Riversides Magen’s Starbucks UDX2 RE AX AXJ; Can CD; RL3
March 2, 1997 - January 30, 2011

I realize this is long. It is a vital part of the way I grieve for my dogs, writing up their life in this way. It is something I will go back to at some future date to reflect on Java's life. Java was a wonderful part of my life for nearly 14 years. He lived with great gusto right up to the end. Isn't that what we all wish for ourselves and our loved ones?

I first heard about Java's litter sometime in early 1997. I think the puppies (2 boys) were a couple of weeks old. I was still reeling from the sudden death of my beloved Australian Terrier, Rio, the previous Halloween of acute kidney failure (he was only 8.5 years old). My 1st dog, Australian terrier Casey was slowing dying of kidney disease. I told the breeder that I could not consider a new puppy while Casey was still alive - she required a fair bit of extra care, and I didn't feel it would be fair to either her or a new puppy or my family or me.

I first met Java when he was 6 weeks old. Jim Ham, long-time Border Terrier owner and AKC obedience judge, happened to attend the same AKC Judging seminar as I did at the Ann Arbor DTC, and he was willing to take a look at the puppies on his way home. Java's breeder, Genie Dethloff conveniently lived in east Ann Arbor. One of the two boy puppies wandered off and played by himself under the table, but the other one ended up curled up in my lap near the end of our visit. I think that is the one whose head Jim complimented.

Time passed. Genie kept nudging me. We put Casey down on Good Friday, right before a vacation trip. I continued to resist the thought of a new puppy. I wasn't emotionally ready. More time passed. But my family was ready, and our one remaining dog, Flat-Coated Retriever Treasure, was lonely. She had grown up with 3 older dogs, and she really didn't like being an only dog.

Finally in June, I reluctantly relented and went back to see him. His brother had gone to his new home. I figured I would have to ask Genie to leave the kitchen so the puppy would be interested in me. Much to my surprise, he immediately ran to me, jumped into my lap, and started licking my face enthusiastically. So he came home on trial. By the next day, as he lay curled up in my lap snuggling, I realized something very important. If we never stepped into a ring to compete in anything, I wanted him to stay. He was already helping to fill the gaping hole left in my heart when Rio died so suddenly.

So stay he did. He was 12 weeks old when I brought him home. Genie had done a fabulous job raising him to that point. He knew what a crate was for and what grass was for. I think he slept through the night from the beginning. He already had a marvelous fast sit and was quickly attentive to me.

One of the characteristics I had noted in the BTs I had met before getting Java is that as a breed, they tend to be smart. Sometimes, unfortunately, smarter than the owners :-). He was no exception. In fact, he was the smartest dog I've ever owned. He typically learned something very quickly, but would also test my level of commitment to the meaning of a command on a regular basis.

Training Java was pretty easy. He learned things fast and loved the opportunities for cookies. He earned his AKC novice agility titles zippety quick in the fall of 1999, and eventually earned his AX/AXJ. We showed in CKC Novice first in the fall of 1999, and he had a splendid first weekend out, earning his CKC CD, including a 199.5 High in Trial in the 4th trial under judge Chuck Bush. What a thrill! And he also qualified just in time to attend the Classic tournament. He had seven 1st places in seven Novice B classes in AKC, earning two HIT and three more ties for HIT. We attended the Classic and placed 3rd in the Novice division. Another huge thrill. The following summer, he placed 3rd again in the Novice division of the Detroit-Windsor World Series obedience tournament.

He earned his CDX in the fall of 2000, and his UD in just 6 tries, earning the 3rd leg in January 2002. He earned his 1st UDX leg on 2/23/02 @ Sportsmen's and his 10th leg on 2/23/03 also @ Sportsmen's. Along the way, he earned a HIT out of Open B and a couple of High Combined awards. His OTCh point total mostly crept up slowly, a few points at a time. On one memorable weekend at Cleveland All-Breed, he earned a 2nd in Open B the 1st day and then won both Open B & Utility B the next day, netting him 27 OTCh points in one weekend. I am pretty sure that was the only time any of my dogs won both Open B and Utility B at the same trial.

In January 2004, he worked a fantastic Utility B class. I found out later that we had 1st place wrapped up until Bridget Carlson and her NOC Golden Soupy, the last team to show, walked in the ring. We earned a 2nd place with a 198, good for 5 points (on the same day that young Gryffin earned a 5-point major in conformation).

Going into the Toledo KC trials in February 2004, he still needed 24 points, so finishing his OTCh wasn't a huge stressor, because I didn't expect it to happen in the immediate future. On Saturday, he got 2nd in UB for 4 points. The next day, he again had a fabulous performance, earned 1st place, netting him exactly 20 points, which finished his OTCh. None of my other dogs finished that unexpectedly, nor with exactly 100 points. While there have been other OTCH Border terriers before him, it had been 10 years since the one before him.

We continued to show, and he ended up halfway to his UDX3 before he told me he was ready for retirement. He had more qualifying scores in AKC obedience than any of my other dogs (60 in Open B, 44 in Utility B. I love AKC reports!), and is my only UDX2 and AX/AXJ title earner to date.

We attended 2 AKC NOI tournaments in Tampa, FL. The 1st year, 2005, we failed the 2nd Signal Exercise because of an unlucky sneeze that caused him to miss my stand signal. The 2nd year, he missed an article, but was fabulous on everything else, and earned a placement in the Terrier group, which got us into the Sunday rounds. We won our 1st round, but a failed glove in the 2nd round dropped us. During our final heeling in that ring, I remember thinking that I didn't want it to end - his heeling was brilliant that weekend, and his scores reflected it. He lost fewer points on the heeling exercises than all but the highest placing dogs (just call me a statistics geek).

Java loved to demo obedience exercises with me - cookies were usually on offer - and he was very willing to heel with anyone who tried. It was a great way for someone new to obedience to experience first hand what it felt like to heel with a well trained and very responsive dog.

I often said that Java taught me several things that I wished I hadn't had to learn. I had to be very careful in how I used food with him. Getting him to put forth effort at the start of a class was one of our biggest challenges. He was the first dog I campaigned under the 6 possible orders in Open B & Utility B, so it wasn't a particular exercise that challenged him, but where it fell in a particular order. Directed Jumping was probably his most-often failed exercise, especially when it was early in the class. He would often heel nearly perfectly when it fell near or at the end of a class.

Java was a great swimmer and did not want to be left behind if we went out in a canoe when at our Canadian cabin on a lake. He pursued me one last time last summer at 13+ when I tried to paddle off without him. I had to circle back to pull him on board. He loved to wait at the water's edge, poised to steal whatever the swimming Flat-Coat was returning with, whether Treasure, Gryffin, or Ty. He also loved to chase and retrieve tennis balls when he was younger. As he aged, he much preferred going out to the big fenced yard to sniff the good smells, every now and then stealing a tennis ball for a while from the big black dogs. He frequently chased them with a ball in his mouth, barking more quietly through that muffler. He also loved to go out to the parking area by the training building, hunting for snacks, and would often squeeze his way out under one of the gates to do so. He got quite deaf in the past year, but could still outrun me easily, so I finally got smart and kept him on leash when outside of the dog yard.

Java loved running with Fritz more than anything in the world, and would fuss ecstatically (and annoyingly) whenever Fritz appeared in what Java saw as The Running Uniform. Java would get all of the other dogs wound up tight, dashing about, carrying on, clamoring to go run with Dad. I learned after only a couple of attempts that trying to do any obedience with him when he thought a run was imminent was futile. They took their final run together just a week before Java's sudden death.

Java was easy as pie to teach tricks to, and he knew more than any other dog I've trained. It was hard to be uptight when he would do his oh-so-cute wave, so it was something I used before stepping in the obedience ring to help calm my nerves.

When he was a young dog, before Joker the BT joined our family in 2001, our boys nicknamed Java 'Funny' because he did so many funny things. His nickname as he got older was The Curmudgeon because he his expression was so serious much of the time.

He was a very healthy boy, except for having some never-resolved issue that caused him to drink a lot and pee a lot, and not concentrate his urine. This went on well over half his life. About 6-8 weeks ago, he suddenly started drinking a lot more than usual again, and having to go outside much more frequently, with several frustrating accidents. While I consulted his vet, I didn't pursue a solution, since it just seemed to be the old problem returned.

We've been doing a lot of trips out the building to walk and exercise Gryff, and Java was loving the chance to dash about the building, chasing the other dogs and hunting for treats. I took a lot of pleasure in watching the old boy zooming about, obviously enjoying himself.

When I returned with the other 3 dogs from a recent trip to Pennsylvania where I taught a seminar, when I walked in the door, he snatched up a nylabone and proceeded to gleefully play his favorite game of keep away for several minutes. On this past Saturday night, he went out to the building with the rest of the dogs and ran and played while I finished setting up for the fun match scheduled for the next day. Sunday morning, he was doing his whine/moan fussing because he wanted to go out with me. He was fine when I fed them at noon. When I finally came in at 5 PM, I knew immediately that something wasn't right. I checked his gums. I've never seen such pale gums. I took his temp. 95.6. Never seen such a low temp. We trotted off to the emergency clinic. After some consultation, he was admitted for diagnostics. When I heard back from them a couple hours later, the news was not good. He had an orange-sized mass in his abdomen - this in a 19 lb dog - along with fluid. One option was exploratory surgery to see if the mass could be removed, but he was so unstable because of the abdominal bleeding, chances were low that he would survive the surgery. The other choice was euthanasia. And I had to decide fast. After a brief and tearful consultation with my dear friend Helen Szostak I made that awful choice. Fritz, Ryan, and I drove back to the clinic and hugged and petted him for a short time, saying goodbye. He went very peacefully in my arms.

I've never had a dog live past 12.5 years, so every day Java lived was a new record for us. As wrenching as such a sudden death can be, I am grateful that he lived life to the fullest to the very end. Isn't that what we all want to be able to do? Java filled a gaping hole when he came home in 1997, and he leaves one behind with his departure.

When my friend Jan's dog Sadie died, someone sent her this, which I just love:

"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life, gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are" (Author unknown)

Rest well, Java Man. You were a blessing in our lives, and I'm so much richer for having known and loved you.

Obedience Match @ OTCGL

I took the dogs to an obedience match today, which is the first one away from home in ages. I did Utility with both Ty and Joker, and Open with Ty. I did use a fair # of treats with both dogs, so not exactly ring ready, but some nice success. I went all but the last 5 ft with both on Signals. Treated Ty after drop, then did all from stand. Joker did all with just a CR after the down. Both did articles right. Ty did glove 3 fine. Just had glove 3 out for J, but he did it very nicely. MS good with both. Had white target out for DJ. Ty looked out and leaned forward. BUT she found the judge being 3 feet to our left saying READY? very distracting - looked at her instead of staying locked on her go spot. After praising for her first go-out and saying sit, she got distracted and didn't - but it was quite loud at that point. Her sits were excellent after that. But she was staring at the judge instead of me after the 2nd go-out, so would have missed the bj (I walked it out and talked extra to her). It was weird. Joker left me on the go out with some veering toward glove 3, but then spotted the strategically placed target and got there fine. I have to say, I love love love his go-out sits. Zippy quick and right in place. He failed to go to the bar, too, but this didn't surprise me with him, as he's not been right yet this week. Ty did good Open stays, tho flipped hips. Her run through in Open was fine in the small ring. Glad I made the trip. It gives me some concrete objectives to be training on this week.

Some of my training friends and I have started checking in with each other regularly about what we are training. It is really helping to keep me motivated. I've also made a list of all of the exercises I want to train each week, plus how many times. When I train, I jot down the day of the week in the chart. I only missed on a couple of exercises last week (Fig 8 & BJ). Granted, it's only been 1 week of keeping track. For now, I'm motivated to do it. Check in with me in a couple of months. I wish I had time to learn how to write an app for either my iPod touch or my Palm Pre Plus that is more customized than the rather clumsy spreadsheet app I'm using.