Memorial Day Weekend

My family invited my son and I out for a good old fashioned family cook out. Phlox had been cooped up all day so he got to come with.

It seemed like just a lazy afternoon of food and fun to Phlox but I was really training. I introduced him to water and he absolutely loved it! he even retrieved a stick from the pool for me a couple of times and chased the hose like a mad man. We worked on recalls out side, how to just lay about while people eat and we also worked on a little obedience.

"So what do we do with this thing??" Neither of them knew what to make of the pool at first.

Sadly there are no action shots of them in the water because they were being too crazy with the hose lol

Drying off. Look how good his ears look.

Me and Phlox just hanging out waiting for dinner.

Agility

My dogs have been doing teacup agility for a while now and doing very well. The problem is that they are all over 17". So they can not compete in that venue.

Phlox's grandma Cindy, who just happens to be an agility trainer, invited us out to work on some AKC agility. I was thrilled to try my guys out on some full sized equipment.

Phlox was wonderful tonight. He took on the weave polls, teeter, A frame, chute and tunnel with out blinking an eye.

Next week Violet is coming with us to see how her old bones will hold up. She is in great shape and I don't doubt that she will do very well.

I forgot my camera so no pictures this time.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Stay

Phlox is 20 weeks old and last week I realized that he didn't know "stay". I started teaching him the middle of last week and he is doing great.

Here he is doing a sit stay, down stay and stand stay.

I also took a few more pictures. I am working on stacking him as much as possible. I need to get the feel of it and he needs to get used to being examined. I don't think I'm doing too well but I know I'm getting better lol

I did notice that his white markings make him look pigeon toed.

Tracking, Stacking and Play Time oh My!

A few days ago I took it up on myself to teach the dogs some tracking. Phlox is the first subject for my tracking experiment.

Like every other sport I do with my dogs I am starting with limited knowledge and no instructor. I started Phlox off in the part of the front yard that no one uses. I walked in a large circle and dropped a few treats in my foot prints. I brought Phlox towards the circle, stood about 2 feet away and told him to "Track" to my amazement he did. We moved on to a 6 foot straight line and a U turn next.

Yesterday I found the perfect field for our little sessions. It's about 3 acres with trees, gravel, tall and short grass and a slab of pavement.
I set up a long track with a few turns and left to get Phlox. We came back 20-30 minutes later. It was then that I realized I need flags! I had been using sticks and flowers but in such a large space the track was very hard to find.
I did eventually find it and we set to work. Phlox did ok but it was windy and I think I had spaced the treats too far apart in such a new environment and he got a little confused.
Next I set up a short track just to work on his turns. Again I could see that flags are needed before I try this again. This one he did pretty well except for a little confusion on aright turn.

After all the "work" was done we hung out and played awhile.

Today I set to work training for the conformation ring. I am not working on perfection but he does need to hold position, move when told and allow me to fix his legs with out moving.

Of course there was plenty of hanging out over the weekend too!

Phlox is a STAR

On Saturday April 9th Phlox passed his AKC STAR puppy test. It was a stressful morning so neither of us did our best but it was fun and Phlox did everything I asked of him.

My brother was nice enough to video some of the test. He didn't know how to use my camera though and most of it is unusable.

The Proof Is In The Pudding.

A few years ago I was presented with a dilemma. How do I get two tiny puppies and an adult dog home when we have to walk a mile?
The answer came from a doggy backpack from Old Navy.
You could say the rest is history.

The Picture


The Proof


This picture has made Violet pretty famous and as for the pups. They both found wonderful homes a few months later.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Another Outing.

Yesterday Phlox, Violet and I helped man the Pup Scouts booth at the Houston Pet Expo.


Phlox was a hit with the children. The kids seemed to be a hit with Phlox too.

 We ended up doing some obedience on a chair to show off some of his skills.

 He got to say Hi to some doggy buddies in the process.

 And it put him at the perfect height for some more petting.

 Violet and I participated in a game of musical chairs. The little black and white pit bull Rosie CGC is a former student and came from the same shelter as Violet. It was a very nice surprise to run into her and her owner.

 Violet and I came in second. The other team was just closer to the chair when the music stopped. Violet was such a trooper and tolerated it.

We all had a wonderful time and will be going back next year. Once again both my dogs have managed to pleasantly surprise me. Violet also participated in a costume contest and I will post pictures when I get them.