Dog Park

In preparation for the AKC Rally National Invitational I have upped Phlox's training in regards to focus. He has come a long way since his last trial and I am really enjoying the process.

Today we worked right out side of a dog park. I've made it my goal to try to work around as many dog parks as possible before nationals. It kind of simulates the hustle and bustle of a dog show and we need that.

Here are a couple of short videos. I'm really trying to film myself more often because every time I do I see something that I could be doing better. If you aren't in the habit of videoing your training sessions start!

I couldn't resist a few pictures as well

Like mommy like daughter. Baby with Phlox's dumbbell 

Rally National Competition

Phlox and I qualified for the first ever AKC Rally National Competition. I can't wait to not only compete but to watch the Obedience and Agility competitions as well. 

Show Dog

Most of the time I totally forget that I got Phlox to show not just in Obedience but Conformation as well.

My sister is handling him for me in the breed ring. She often laments the fact that I have "broken" him. "he wont stop looking at me" "He wont watch the treat" "He wont run out front" "He's pacing not gating" and on it goes.  

Here is is in class Tuesday night Strutting his stuff while my sister tries to "fix" him.

He is headed off to a show this weekend and I'm keeping my finger crossed for a point or two but honestly I don't care if he ever finishes. He is one hell of a "broken" dog.

Field Trip

Parking lot Obedience "But moooom I want to go in!"

I told him that mice were once dogs but they were naughty and didn't focus on their training. From the look on his face I think he believed me.

"Your going to buy it all right?"

More parking lot obedience on the way out.

"I swear I saw a squirrel"

 

Teaching Expectations

I decided at the end of the trial this month that I needed to start back at square one with Miss V. Not to reteach her what she already knows but to teach her what she doesn't. What I expect her to do.

My expectations
She must perform at her best with out rewards of any kind (food, toys, praise), as long as I want, no guidance from me(except commands) and in any and all environments.

Where went wrong
I got lost in an attempt to create a happy looking, golden style heel. I lost touch with the fact that Violet is an 10-11 year old pit bull and simply does not show enjoyment in the same way. Don't get me wrong she really does enjoy the work her body, face and personality just express it differently. Even at home she is not what you would call "perky". I ended up not working on anything except "attitude".

What I am doing about it
Short random sessions with no feedback during exercises. Put her through her paces in random places. Work "Heel" and "Go out" until she knows what I expect in all situations.

End result
I hope to achieve a reliable maximum expectation of behavior. The next time we enter the ring I want to know that we will qualify and that I will have the confidence to make it happen.

V Happily sunning herself.

V happily posing for a picture.

If A Toddler Can Do it

My son always wants to help with the dogs. Since he has trained with Violet in a few classes and listens very well himself he has earned the privilege of walking Violet. Don't be fooled by Violet's extensive obedience background if she smells a sucker on the other end of the leash her manners fly out the window. My son has worked hard teaching her to listen to him. 

"Viowet down"

My son is only 3 years old. If a toddler can do it theres no reason you can't.

Note: For safety reasons they stay close enough that if needed I could give Violet a verbal command just in case.

New AKC Title

I heard the announcement today that starting January 13th 2013 that the AKC will be recognizing the CGC as an official title. The only difference between the certificate and the title is price.

I'm not sure how I feel about the CGC being a title. CGC tests seem so unformal and just about any one can qualify to be an evaluator. Still it might just be enough to get new people addicted to earning titles and progressing in the world of dog sports.

Feel free to comment about your feelings on the change. Be it good or bad I am curious to see what others think.

Full Details From the AKC

New Title and Lessons Learned

This last weekend was long and exhausting but well worth it.

On Friday Violet debuted in Utility. I was bracing myself for the utter humiliation of showing a dog that had not had enough training. I could picture her on the articles just sitting there staring at me too afraid to move or deciding that she didn't know what a go out was.
Despite my fears Violet did a wonderful job. In fact the only thing we didn't qualify on was the first article(Brought back the wrong one). Even then she only hesitated for a second before going to the pile. It wasn't a perfect performance but to my great relief I was in no way humiliated. 
It helped that I kept a genuinely upbeat attitude the entire time.


On Saturday I showed Charlie in Novice. He hadn't been to a dog show since this time last year so I wanted to get there an hour early. A little before 10am I walked in and went to get my number. The steward informed me that I was next. Chuck and I went in cold.
This heel pattern was the result

I could not have been happier. He usually shuts down at shows and his heel falls apart. I think that fact that I didn't have time to warm up and stress him out helped a lot. He did blow the recall when he got to me though. No front sit and he tried to check out the people behind me.


I spent the duration of the stays holding my breath and praying to what ever god would listen. I just knew that after a year off he wouldn't hold it. To ad to my fears there was a small boy throwing a tantrum right out side the ring not even 3 feet from Charlie.
He held both stays and qualified with a 191 1/2. I lack the words to express just how proud of him I am.
He is now

Plake's Sir Charles of Allston CD RN CGC

On Sunday Violet showed in Utility again. It was a much worse run but still not totally humiliating seeing as most of the other Utility A exhibitors where having just as hard a time. The judge loved V though and kept saying "Look how cute she is. Look at that face. She just absolutely loves you!". 

My friend Trish and her dog Grace also earned their RA on Sunday with a first place! Now I'm hoping to get her into regular obedience too ;-)

All through out the weekend I also got to see Phlox's siblings Dot and Dylan and their owners. I enjoyed getting together and talking about our dogs and the breed in general. His siblings are both beautiful and I hope to see more of them in the future. 

Looking back at the weekend gives me renewed hope that Violet is still young enough and enjoying Obedience enough to continue. I made huge improvements on my attitude and have a new commitment to train year round and not just right before a show.

Wednesday. Not Wordless But Plenty Of Pictures

Some pictures of Phlox hanging out at a show and go.

Here Violet is at a show and go last weekend. Every exercise we did was qualifying however I opted not to do the scent exercise because I am still building up her confidence. It's going pretty well she is now heading to the pile with out hesitation.

Not too shabby for an old lady. We have training tonight, a C match tomorrow and then the show on Friday. I'm trying not to be nervous but it feels like I am getting ready to enter the ring for the first time again.
I will try my hardest to get some video but no guarantees since I will have the kids with me all three days.

Show And Go

My courses were a hit! Well, not exactly but at least no one had any complaints. I had wanted to post the course maps but, having absolutely no computer skills, I can't figure out how.

I took Phlox with me just to work on being quiet and relaxed in his crate. I wasn't planning on running him through anything but since we were there any way I took him onto the novice rally course.

I released him often and tried to make sure he just enjoyed himself. He lost focus every now and then but I was pretty happy with his performance.



Notice that at the end even though there is a dog right on the other side of the gate he doesn't take his eyes off of me.

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The reliant show closes on Wednesday and I haven't signed up yet. Charlie and Violet will be competing. Charlie will finish up his CD and I'm hoping to enter V in Utility or wildcard utility. I will be doing a run through tomorrow to determine what to show her in. I'm hoping some one can video it for me because there has not been enough Violet on the blog lately. 

Violet's Session

Last night Violet and I had what I can only describe to be the best training session ever!

It wasn't so much that all the exercises went well, some were down right awful. But the energy was AMAZING!

I decided to work on V's confident with the articles. Before now I had been praising when she got to the right article. I noticed she was relying on my praise as a cue to pick it up. Last night I sent her and she worked the pile with enthusiasm until she got to the right article. She sniffed it, put her mouth on it then turned to look at me. I asked her again to "Find it" and she worked the whole pile over once more ending at the right article. She sniffed it looked at me and sniffed it again. I could she that she was almost ready to shut down so I decided to tell her what I wanted. She brought the dumbbell back and we took off around the room playing chase and tag.
I set it up and sent her again. This time after searching the pile she only hesitated for half a second before trotting briskly back to me with the correct dumbbell in tow. We took off again for a few minutes of play.

Go outs were a disaster but hey no need to stop the party. I got a little improvement and back to tag and chase.

By the time we got to signals and heeling Violet was literally jumping for joy. She was so engaged and enthusiastic it blew me away. I'm sure my enthusiasm and engagement blew her away too.

I'm pretty sure we both left the session exhausted and thinking "that bitch has been holding out on me!"

Sorry no pictures or video I was busy playing :)

Phlox's Session

For some reason I thought it would be a great idea to head out side for some training. I must have had a mild case of amnesia because I forgot we live in Houston. It's 93 degrees and sunny.

We had a little fun and I introduced him to the broad jump. I wanted my husband to film it but the kids were not cooperating and did I mention it was HOT!

These are the clips I managed to get myself.

This one was filmed at the end of our session and we both just wanted to go inside and get something to drink. It's been over a year since he was on a table so he was not on top of his game.

After a good drink we practiced or conformation skills inside. I think we have both improved a lot in the last few months. I'll have him back in the ring in the fall.

Red Alert...

All hands to battle stations...er, training stations!

I sat down and entered several shows today. Phlox is entered in the Houston Kennel Club and Galveston County Kennel Club shows on March 17th and 18th. I entered him in 12-18months and I'm really hoping that it's the right class. This will be my very first time in the conformation ring. I am incredibly nervous for a few reasons
1) I can't see past my now gigantic pregnant belly
2) I can't really bend over because of my gigantic pregnant belly and
3) Every time I set out to train for the conformation ring I get bored and end up doing obedience instead.
I need to spend the next couple of weeks figuring out what exactly it is that we both need to do in order to at least not make fools out of ourselves.

I also signed Violet up for the Brazos Valley Kennel Club shows on March 31st and April 1st...In Utility!
I have been so bad about procrastinating that I know we will not be ready by then. However, I find that having a goal really gives me the push I need.
We have made a lot of progress over the last two months so maybe if we kick it into high gear we could pull off a Q, maybe.

Even a 3 year old can stack a dog better than I can.

Frustrating

I had a frustrating class with Phlox this afternoon. From the outside Phlox looked great but to me he was slow and unfocused, even if he did look up at me the entire time. Every little thing he did bugged me. To me he even played tug wrong today.

I know I shouldn't be so hard on him. I think at times like this I am actually getting frustrated at myself. I can see all the tiny holes in my training, in my ability to train. There in that little black dog all my short comings are set out for every one to see. To judge.

Rather than brush the day off as a failure I decided to really dissect it.
What today showed me is that my training has been slow and unfocused. I have been doing too much of the same thing and not pushing forward, becoming bored with the whole process.

My plan of action
Move on to more advanced exercises- I'm brunt out on heel, stand, stay, come, sit and down.
Train more often- it's hard to make changes and improvements when you only work once a week.
Train in new places- new environments are challenging and stimulating.
Keep the big picture in mind- Everything we are doing is leading up to our final goal.

Phlox will be doing his first match this month and I'm hoping for a very positive reaction to his training. Because I train mostly on my own shows and matches are the only time I get feedback from other exhibitors and judges. If there are any gaping holes in my training they are sure to be pointed out.

Training Today

Charlie:
I took Charlie out to a very busy street with a small parking lot. We worked on heeling until we were both huffing and puffing. Unfortunately that only took 5 minutes.  We then did a handful of recalls and some sit, down and stand stays.
His attention was a lot better than it has been. I'm pleased with his progress since this summer and may try to finish his CD next month.

Phlox:
Phlox worked in the back yard again because he has the hardest time focusing there. We did a lot of heeling and halts. We also worked on stand for exam and sit for exam. My goal today was to teach him not to lift his head and sniff the judges(my sisters) hand. If his head started to go up I told him to "leave it" as soon as his attention was back on me he got a good boy and treat and the process started again. It didn't take him long to get the concept. In just a few minutes he had a nice solid stay from his nose to his tail.
We got out the dumbbell and worked on him picking it up the right way. He likes to just grab it where every so I want to fix that before moving on. Again it didn't take him very long to figure out what I wanted. I think this one will need a lot of work in the long run because he very much sees the retrieve as play.

I also practiced free stacking and general conformation stuff. After my last attempts at stacking I looked up pictures and videos of people doing it well and today I simply tried to emulate it. My mom was able to be my eyes and give me pointers on foot placement and movement. I think things looked much better today.

Roxi:
My mom's 8 year old Pug mix worked on not being so pug like. She is a fabulously but doesn't get worked with much.

My mom and I at the reliant show year before last. Roxi took 4th in a huge novice class with a 96.

Violet unfortunately didn't get a turn today. I was just too tired after I got done with the boys. I did get my hands on a practice bar jump so that we can really do directed jumping at home. I hope to work Violet tomorrow before work.

Trying To Update My Look + Rally Training App

For the new year I'm hoping to ad some pzazz to the blog. Unfortunately I am not very gifted at anything remotely related to computers or the internet. I can't even figure out how to use paint. Really.

Over the last month I saw a huge increase in page views but no increase in followers. I'm really hoping a fun new look will help to capture readers attention. I'm also hoping that my intensive training this coming year will produce many fun and informative videos and photos. It helps that I have finally found my camera but it would help even more if I could figure out how to use it.

So if you are reading this but not following it yet Click the little blue link on the right side you'll be glad you did.

Growling software's Rally obedience dog training app

I have yet to try any paied apps on my smart phone but this one has my interest peaked. It includes pictures of all the AKC signs with definitions. It has yet to be updated to the 2012 changes but that is one of the great things about smart phone apps, they are constantly updating and adding information.

I plan on downloading it and giving it a proper review.



For 0.99 it seems like a worth while tool for most competitors.

Christmas

The dogs didn't really get much from Santa this year. Phlox had a blast with a paper cup he found and the other dogs have chicken wings and yam chewies to keep them happy. But the only new toys were for my son.

I on the other hand I got a solid wood set of obedience jumps. I am thrilled to be able to train more often and at my home.

My son was also given a stuffed rabies virus by my brother. 

Violet found the rabies

Violet caught the rabies!

I hope every one out there in the blogging world is having a wonderful day. Now on to a large, juicy pot roast!

Rally Gets an Upgrade

The AKC is updating the Rally rules, regulations and signs. It really looks like they are trying to turn rally into a legitimate sport.

Favorite new regulation:

"Substantial Deduction (6-10 points) for each of the following:
• Incorrectly performed station** (Automatic 10 point deduction)
• Failure to complete the Sit Stay Exercise (IP)–No retries allowed
• Failure of dog to go over the jump in the proper direction (IP) – no retries allowed
• Luring /pleading with the dog
• Lack of natural manner"

To me this is a big step forward. I am a "positive" trainer and use treats and a little luring in my training. However, I would never, ever consider taking a dog into the ring if they "needed" to be lured around a course. To me that is not a trained dog it's a dog being tricked into performing.

Favorite new novice sign:

#36 Slow forward from sit

Favorite new Advance sign:

#118 Halt leave dog 2 steps call to heel forwad

Favorite new Excellent sign:

#209 Stand leave dog down dog call front-finish

The only draw back is that I now have to memorize new signs. But I think it will be worth a little extra effort in order to see the sport move forward.

Check out the rest of the new rules and regulations here --> New Rally Regulations

Check out the new signs here -->  New Rally Signs

AKC NOI

The 2011 AKC National Obedience Invitational was this last weekend.
I have been aware of the event since I started competing in 2009 but I have never really looked into it.

This year I've had NOI fever. If it were televised I would be the nut with a giant foam finger sitting inches from the TV screaming at the screen the entire time, "how could the judge take a point of for that?" or "I can't believe they don't consider THAT legging!" etc. I even went through the catalog to see if I knew any exhibitors, combed through the rules and regulations and looked at pictures and results from past events. I was excited that the AKC would be posting updates and photos from the show.

Well the excitement was pretty short lived. The AKC did a terrible job of keeping us "fans" updated. Very few pictures, and results were posted late Sunday night. There were no gripping updates through out the weekend :(

Updates were not the only thing that were non existent. There were also no bully breeds. Just a flood of Goldens and other "traditional" obedience breeds. Thats what it seemed like any way. In reality there were breeds from all the AKC groups along with the very first all american dog to compete in the NOI. Even the toy dogs got in on the action.
I've been following one of these little dogs on Youtube.com for a while and recently started following their blog. Mr. Rugby did very well and placed 1st in the toy group.

The lack of Amstaffs got the competitor in me all fired up. I've decided to try for the 2013 Invitationals with Violet. I keep trying to think of a reason why I shouldn't and I can't come up with one. Violet and I are about ready to hit the Utility ring and our scores have been steadily increasing. I have learned a lot in the last few years and my handling keeps getting better. Plus it's not that hard to get to the top of the obedience amstaff list. There are just not that many competing at all let a lone at a UD, UDX level.

We may not make it and even if we did I wouldn't expect a miracle. I just think it would be a blast to show up with my 12 year old "pit bull" and do our thing in front of the top competitors in the country.

For the Invitational results and photo's click here. 

This is just BS(L)

"All pit bulls and pit bull owners should be killed" I read this comment the other day on our local news paper website.
As a "pit bull" owner I am very use to people thinking that my dogs should die for no particular reason. I am not how ever use to the thought that some one believes I should be killed simply because of my choice of pets.

I use to get angry at people like this. "How dare they talk like that when they don't know the facts." Then I would start to think "Well, maybe they don't know the facts. I'll just teach them how it really is" but after a while and countless frustrating "discussions"  there is always the horrible realization that no matter how much you educate, lecture and teach there are some people who will never believe the truth. People who will always believe that my dogs are just waiting to kill me in my sleep.

I thought this was a pretty good video and wanted to share.

As a "pit bull" owner it's my belief that there is only one way to really change peoples minds. Get out there and show people what these dogs are capable of. 

I will continue to do public events, obedience trials, rally, demonstrations and in the future therapy work with my dogs. I've learned that it's hard for people to believe the stories on the news when they have a wiggly, well trained pit bull staring up at them.

Last years Christmas picture.