In Reverse

I've received some requests via my Sheltie Hair Facebook page for videos explaining how I do my training.

One request asked for a demonstration on how I train a "back up". So here it is!



And, while I was at it, I made a video showing how I train a backward heel. There are more techniques to clean up the backward heel once the dog has the basic idea, but this video shows the very beginning steps with a STRONG focus on heel position.

After the Storm

Thursdays are officially cursed.

I have been TRYING to hold my regular Rally-O classes on Thursdays for the past month and a half now. In the summer, I like to hold my classes outdoors. There is a fabulous field near by that we have been given permission to use with the dogs. It cuts down on costs for me, so I can offer my classes a little cheaper than when I am training with Hub City. But nearly every Thursday since the beginning of June we have been hit with a thunderstorm or torrential downpour of some variety. Up until this week, I have only been able to have one class outdoors. The rest have either been postponed or moved to my fall-back indoor training facility. Reasonably priced, available at very short notice, but too small and not an ideal space for training.

This week, we were finally able to get outdoors again! Made it all of the way through Beginner class before the downpour hit. I waited to see if any of my Advanced/Excellent people would show up for drop-in practice as I watched the storm clouds roll in. Taking shelter under a tree (I am safety conscious during thunder storms!) the boys and I, and one die-hard student decided to see if the storm would pass quickly. After 10 minutes or so and no sign of the rain stopping, I declared that I was going to pack up the car and head home. Of course, because I was eagerly optimistic, I didn't wear appropriate shoes for wet weather ... only a pair of Dawgs sandals, which are super duper comfortable, but not at all grippy when wet. Carrying a huge Tupperware container of my "Rally-O Crap" to the car, I had to straddle-hop a low fence to get into the parking lot. As soon as I found a tenuous foothold on the wet ground in my slippery sandals, and swung one (pork hock) leg over the crotch-high fence, it decided to hail. HAIL HARD!! Sure sure, just pea-sized stuff. But being pelted unaware by small frozen peas still stings a little!

In between gasps of laughter and squeals, I glanced over to see the brave and wonderful Sophie holding a blanket over top of the X-pen that my dogs were in, trying to shelter them from the hail while getting pelted herself. And two very soggy and very un-impressed Shelties glaring out at me from under the blanket canopy.

Tossing the bucket of "Rally-O Crap" into the back of the car, I raced back (as quickly as slippery sandals will allow) to release the dogs from their captivity and allow them to "sprint to freedom". Apparently "sprint to freedom" means different things to different dogs. To Gio, it meant high-tail it towards the parking lot, leap gracefully over the low fence and take shelter in the relatively dry car interior. To Romeo, on the other hand, it meant run frantically in circles, freaking out whenever he left the shelter of the trees and got pelted with rain/hail, eventually give up and pout in a soppy little Sheltie puddle to wait for me to rescue him and carry him to the car.

Of course, as soon as everything was loaded into the car, the rain immediately stopped and the sun broke free of the clouds.

The asphalt in the parking lot was covered in a sheen of water, the hot sun making steam rise in a few areas. I just couldn't pass this up to take a couple of pictures. Heck, the dogs and I were wet enough already, what's a little more puddle splashing, right? Romeo decided to remain in the car and pout over his miserable wet-dog existence. Gio was more open to a photo-shoot.

Thought this one was just too cute. Gio checking himself out in a puddle.

This one really shows the rising steam nicely! I love the reflection of Gio in the puddle an the bright sun shining through his fluff.

Despite how much I loved the other two pictures, I kept coming back to this one as my favorite. The sun flares and rays are just too awesome! It is our submission for our 52 Weeks for Dogs project this week.

If you would like to see Gio's entire (so far) 52 Weeks for Dogs project, check out our set on Flickr.

Rally-O Videos

At the CARO Rally-O trial held at Paws n Train in mid-May, we were fortunate to have Sophie Brunet available to take some video of the performances! I always enjoy seeing my boys working, and videos like these show me a completely different perspective to their performances. I get to see what they are doing well, and what I miss when we are actually working.

So HUGE thanks to Sophie for putting these videos together for me!

Gio

Gio was entered in one Excellent round and two Novice Team rounds.

Here is his Excellent run, qualifying with a score of 197/200 AND completing his RXMCL title!



Here are Gio's 2 Novice Team rounds. This was our first attempt at Team events, and they are a lot of fun! How they work is that a normal course is split into two roughly equal halves. Two dogs/handlers are paired up, with each dog/handler taking one of the two halves. The first dog completes the first half of the course, and then the second dog completes the second half. They are scored as if they were one dog, with a qualifying score being the usual 170/200. In CARO, there are Team events at the Novice, Advanced, Excellent and Versatility levels, but both dogs need to have earned the appropriate level title before attempting that level in Team. The Team category is quite new, and this was the first time that it was offered in Saskatchewan. So everyone was starting out at the Novice level!

Gio was paired up with Buddy, a poodle-y type mix. Buddy is a super fun little worker, so they were a great team!

Novice Team round 1



Novice Team round 2



Romeo

Romeo was entered in 2 Novice Team rounds, 1 Excellent C round, and 2 Versatility rounds. Since he qualified his first Versatility round of the weekend, he was able to complete his RV title and the second Versatility round counted towards his C Stream Gold title.

Here are Romeo's Novice Team runs. Romeo was paired up with Bent the Border Collie. I have to say that Bent is probably my favorite Border Collie. Ever. Ever ever. Super sweet little dog and really fun to watch working! Romeo and Bent were a great team, taking a perfect 200/200 score on day 1 and a still respectable score of 190/200 on day two.

Novice Team round 1



Novice Team round 2



Here is Romeo's Excellent C run. The qualifier goes towards his CARO C Stream Gold title.



And finally, some Versatility runs! Versatility is the 4th standard level of competition in CARO. It consists of all of the Novice level signs, plus weave poles and tunnel, in addition to 7 new stations that direct you to switch heel position from left to right. So the dog must be able to perform all stations on the left and the right, while switching back and forth between left and right at least 4 times.

The first video only shows part of Romeo's run. And, while the title of the video says "Novice Team", it is in fact Versatility. Mistakes happen, deal with it! Anyways, this run wasn't beautiful ... Romeo was having a drama queen moment. But it was good enough to qualify and earned his Rally Versatility title! HOORAY!



This second video is a much nicer Versatility run! The qualifier goes towards his C Stream Gold title.

Can I have a Weekend Yet??

Despite the lack of posts, I can assure you that the boys and I have not been merely lazing around and neglecting our duties online!

The weekend after the Sheltie National (and our last post) was the River Runners' flyball tournament. I'm still a member of River Runners, though I don't currently have a dog competing in flyball. So I still put in my time at the tournament. There were a lot of great new successes at the tournament. One of the fun things about the River Runners' tournament is that it is early in the running season so a lot of the teams bring out their new "green dogs" for their first tournament warm-ups and runs. I love seeing the new kids playing the game!

This past weekend was a CARO Rally-O trial at Paws n Train in Saskatoon. They offered the relatively new "Team" option in CARO Rally-O for the first time in Saskatchewan, so a lot of people were eager to give it a try. Team is a lot of fun, actually! You are paired up with another handler and dog (either choose your own partner or leave it up to random draw) and the course is split in half. The first dog does the first half of the course while the second dog waits in the middle. Once the first dog is finished, the second dog begins the second half while the first dog waits in the middle. Sort of a relay-race pass-the-baton situation. The course is scored as if it were one dog completing it, with the regular requirements of 170/200 to qualify.

Novice level Team was offered this time around, so I had both boys entered. It was a lot of fun, and I am excited to try to run Advanced, Excellent, and Versatility Team once we and the rest of the province progress that far! Gio was paired up with Buddy and they earned their first two legs of Novice Team. Romeo was paired with the cutest Border Collie of all time, Bent, and they rocked it as well, earning their first two legs of Novice Team. One of those runs was a perfect 200/200 score.

In addition to Team, I had the boys entered in some other levels. Romeo was entered in Versatility again, after the very surprising qualifiers from the KAOS trial last month. Romeo, continuing his streak of surprising me (I really should stop being surprised when Romeo is a superstar), completed his Versatility title and earned another Versatility and Excellent leg in C Stream to apply towards his CARO Rally Gold title.

Romeo earning his Rally Versatility (RV) title under judge Jeanne Shaw.

Gio was entered in an Excellent run as well, which he qualified with a lovely score of 198/200!! This finally FINALLY completes his Excellent title, with Magna Cum Laude! HOORAY!! This title has been nearly 2 years in the making. Silly boy just couldn't put it all together enough to Q, despite some really nice runs. I realized that it has taken Gio nearly as long to complete his Excellent title as it has taken Romeo to earn ALL of his CARO titles. Gio finished his Advanced title and began working on his Excellent title at nearly the same time that Romeo entered his first Rally trial ever. So in the same amount of time that Gio took to complete his Excellent title, Romeo has finished his Novice, Advanced, Excellent, Versatility, Bronze and Silver titles. haha Oh Giovanni, such a silly man! But he always has so much fun competing and showing off, so it was worth it all the way. Now we get to play in C Stream while we start training Versatility!

Gio earning his Rally Excellent (RXMCL) title under judge Jeanne Shaw.

And yes, we are still participating in our Flick photo project!

Last week, I started another leg of my career journey. I started my PhD at the University of Saskatchewan looking at canine color genetics and gene interaction. As such, I've taken a pretty significant pay cut, going back onto a student stipend. So I told the boys that they have to start earning their keep. Gio decided to do his part by parking himself in front of the neighborhood convenience store and look pathetic in hopes of donations.


And this past week there was a group challenge on the Flickr project stating simply "Pop Culture". I struggled as to what I might do to represent pop culture. I don't even really know WHAT pop culture is, the definition is pretty vague. When I think of what pop culture is, I think of things like poodle skirts, The Beatles, and Andy Warhol. But what is pop culture in 2010? Fifty years from now, what will the teenagers of 2060 think of when someone mentions 2010? Will our pop culture be reality TV shows, big brands, and social networking? Kinda scary actually.

CSSA 2010 Sheltie National Specialty

First things first, sending a BIG shout-out to the people that approached me this past weekend having recognized Gio and/or Romeo from the blog! It's very humbling to realize that real people actually read this blog! It was awesome meeting you all. Sorry I couldn't chat much, but I was working hard on literally running my feet off.

This past weekend was the Canadian Shetland Sheepdog Association 2010 National Specialty in Saskatoon, SK. Of course, I just HAD to enter the boys!

With well over 300 Shelties entered, it was quite the sight! The Specialty offered conformation, obedience, Rally-O, and agility. I had both dogs entered in Brace Obedience and Rally-O, and Romeo entered in conformation.

Despite the really long days, we had an awesome time! It was so amazing to see all of the Shelties there doing what they do best ... looking cute and working hard!

Since the Specialty was offered in conjunction with the Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club show, I was also signed up for obedience and Rally-O stewarding the whole weekend. I think this played a significant part in the less than stellar performances that the boys showed on Friday, but even so, they did really well!

We were fortunate to have Michel Calhoun judge the obedience and Rally-O trials. He is an awesome judge and so much fun to show under! Definitely added to the experience, even if he did tease me mercilessly the entire weekend (good-naturedly, I hope!).

This was our first attempt at Brace Obedience, and while it wasn't perfect, it looks decent on the video and was enough to earn us a score of 190.5/200 and 3rd Place!



Rally-O went along the same vein, with both dogs entered in Advanced B and Excellent B. They finished off their CKC Rally Excellent titles last year and, since I wanted to enter in the Specialty, I decided to try for a leg of their RAE titles (even though I have no real intentions of pursuing it very far). Romeo had two scores of 99/100, one earning him a 3rd Place spot in Advanced B. Gio had scores of 95/100 and 97/100. To give an idea of what the competition was like, I will state that there were 11 Shelties entered in Advanced B and 15 Shelties entered in Excellent B. Of the bunch, I believe there was only 1 non-qualifying score, 2 scores below a 90/100, and the VAST majority of the scores above 95/100. In fact, in Excellent B there were 2 dogs tied for 1st place with perfect scores of 100/100 and a 6-way tie for 3rd place with 6 dogs earning 99/100! It all came down to who could make it through the course the fastest. That is the most intense Rally-O trial I have seen, with a lot of fabulous working Shelties from across Canada!

Romeo and Gio earned 3rd in Class in Brace Obedience, and Romeo took 3rd in Class in Rally-O Advanced B, under judge Michel Calhoun.

Rounding off the weekend was Romeo's first adventure in the conformation ring. He was neutered long ago, but probably could have finished his Championship had he been allowed to keep his boy bits. I entered him in the Altered Class and his breeder, Brenda Newlove of CanyonView Shelties trotted him around the ring for me, where he took Reserve Winners Dog! I always knew Romeo was a good looking dog, so I guess his success didn't come as too much of a surprise. But that doesn't dilute how proud I am of his accomplishments! Huge "Thanks" to Brenda for primping and preening my little man and putting in the leg work to show him off for me.

Romeo took Reserve Winners Dog in Altered Class under judge Judith Kelsey.

Now, on to the fun stuff!

Our obedience/Rally-O judge, Michel Calhoun, asked a favor of some of the Rally-O dogs after the trial on Friday night. I missed most of the story as I was running to my crating area to get my camera, but it is something along the lines of promising to do a favor for a class of children at a local school. He is carrying Flat Stanley (a colorful paper doll of sorts) around with him and documenting Flat Stanley's travels in photographs. So, to prove that he was at a dog show this weekend, he wanted a picture of Flat Stanley with a Shaggle of Shelties*. So here are just some of the dogs entered in the Sheltie-only Rally-O trial, with Flat Stanley front and center. (Sorry I couldn't get a better angle, but it was difficult to elbow my way through the throng of handlers urging their dogs to "stay" ... you try keeping that many Shelties sitting so close together without them spontaneously breaking out into zoomies and play bows!)


Just a moment of serious stuff, now. I have to share a pet peeve of mine with you all. Well, maybe this is a little more than a mere pet peeve. It is bordering on downright disgust! There were a lot of dogs in the trials this weekend, Sheltie-only as well as All Breed. And, with pressure running high and crazy competition, nerves flare up for both handlers and dogs. In cases like this ... shit happens. Literally. There were a fair number of dogs having accidents in or around the rings this weekend. Some newbies and some seasoned vets. And, while really stinky and not pleasant for your friendly neighborhood ring stewards to have to clean up, it happens. We all understand it. What I CANNOT stand is a handler chastising or blaming their dog for soiling the ring! It is NOT their fault! If you want to scold someone, smack yourself upside the head because it is your own darned fault! I do NOT want to see you leaving the ring yelling at your dog and yanking the hell out of their collar all because they had to do a number 2. It is YOUR job to make sure your dogs are pottied before they enter the ring. It is YOUR job to monitor their diet and their nerves before and during a trial weekend. And if, after all your efforts, they still end up soiling the ring, the proper procedure is to quickly apologize to the judge (and stewards for good measure, as it is them picking up your dog's droppings) and rush your dog outside to finish its business without causing a scene. Scolding your dog for doing what it has to do, especially when it is clearly attempting to PREVENT soiling in the ring as you dawdle around trying to finish your performance while blatantly ignoring the dog's distress, is the very LAST thing you want to do. Both for your dog's sake and the sake of your own reputation. I know I'm not the only person tasting bile after witnessing you jerking your dog around after their accident. Smarten up people!

There. That feels better.

Following the "Sandwich Protocol", begin and end with something positive while sticking the nasty bit in the middle, this weekend was absolutely awesome! Lots of great successes from the Sheltie side of things as well as the All Breed side. HUGE congratulations to everyone on their accomplishments! When my feet stop throbbing and I catch up on some sleep, I will post more pictures of the boys with their prize haul. And I have heard rumor that there are some ring-side pictures of Romeo's conformation debut floating around. When I get my hands on those, I will certainly be sharing them here!

* For the definition of a Shaggle of Shelties, check out this previous blog post.

On Cloud Nine!

The boys and I just got back from a CARO Rally-O trial and seminar in Regina, hosted by KAOS Dogsports, and judged by Laurie Albright.

As always, KAOS did a wonderful job in organizing the event and Laurie is a blast to work with. The seminar on Saturday covered the basics of all 4 CARO levels (Novice, Advanced, Excellent, and Versatility). I like to take in seminars like this to learn new ways of training certain obstacles so that I can pass them along in my classes. It's also nice to get an inside opinion on how certain performances are judged.

Sunday included two CARO Rally-O trials, one round of each level. I had the boys entered, of course!

After a significant stagnant period, Gio finally broke his streak of NQ's and earned his 2nd Excellent level leg! Only one more leg needed for that elusive RX title! Not only did he qualify one of his Excellent rounds, but he also took High in Class, bringing home a snazzy rosette and a big bag of toys and goodies. The second Excellent round was beautifully done, except for one measly little sign. As is the case with Excellent, one false move and you are done for. In Gio's defense, though, this was honestly the HARDEST Excellent course I have EVER seen. EVER! Head's up students ... guess what is going to be making an appearance in class one of these days!


Romeo was a little show-off, as usual. I had him entered in 4 rounds, 2 Excellent C and 2 Versatility. He qualified his first Excellent C round with a score of 199/200, successfully finishing off his CARO Rally Silver (CRS) title. Two the best of my knowledge, Romeo is now the FIRST dog from Saskatchewan to have earned his CRS title!

His second Excellent C round was qualified with a score of 195/200 and High in Class! This leg goes towards his CARO Rally Gold (CRG) title.

The C Stream titles are CARO Rally Bronze (CRB), CARO Rally Silver (CRS), CARO Rally Gold (CRG), and CARO Rally Master (CRMCh). Each level requires a dog to earn a certain number of Advanced, Excellent, and Versatility legs with scores of 190/200 or higher. No re-dos are allowed and the handlers are only allowed 3 minutes to walk the course prior to their run. Romeo was the first dog from Saskatchewan to earn his CRB back in October of 2009. There are currently (as of the date of his post) 2 dogs from Saskatchewan with C stream titles, Romeo being one, and the other a crazy cute little Schipperke named Taz.

Versatility is a level in CARO Rally-O that requires a dog to work both on the left and right side of their handler. They perform an altered Novice level course, switching from left to right and back again in a variety of ways, at least 5 times. Romeo and I have been doodling with Versatility stuff for a while now, but certainly not what I would call "serious training". I had entered him in these two Versatility rounds just to get a bench point mark of where he is at and where we need to go. Essentially "just for shits and giggles". Well let me tell you, I was certainly giggling after that was over! Not only did Romeo do VERY well in his Versatility rounds, he qualified BOTH legs with High in Class! Scores of 198/200 and 196/200. I am THRILLED! He only needs one more qualifying leg for his Versatility title. This was VERY unexpected this weekend!

I will say, though, that Versatility is a serious challenge! I found myself questioning my ability to count, my knowledge of left versus right, and, at times, my own existence. This is not for the faint of heart. But, despite my confusion and aimless wandering around the course, I found myself really enjoying the challenge. I look forward to our next attempt at the chaos and confusion that is Versatility!

Romeo after completing his CARO Rally Silver (CRS) title.

In addition to a literal stack of rosettes and qualifying flats, the boys also brought home 4 big bags of toys and treats, prizes for High in Class wins.

Gio's winnings. A High in Class rosette from Excellent B.

Romeo's winnings. A High in Class from Excellent C, two High in Class from Versatility, and a New Title rosette.

We had a fabulous time. The boys have, yet again, inflated my ego. I am not only floating, but bouncing up and down on Cloud Nine!

Best. Challenge. EVER!

We had a kick-arse evening tonight at Rally-O drop in.

Started things off with Gio's photo shoot for our 52 Weeks for Dogs project on Flickr. A challenge was issued this week stating simply "favorite toy". Well, Gio's preferred toy is a tennis ball. But his FAVORITE toy is a PILE of tennis balls!

So I "borrowed" our flyball club's plethora of tennis balls and literally buried Gio in them.


Gio would like to say that he LOVED this challenge, and would appreciate it if we could do this one again. Soon.

Following the tennis ball extravaganza, I ran the boys through some Rally-O drills, which they ACED. The past couple of weeks they have seemed a little off ... a bit of a tummy bug or Gio having seizure issues, or Romeo being a jack-ass. You know ... the normal. This evening, though, no such problems. They were superstars! I even got to try out the new coupler that Karen so speedily made for me, and the boys are rocking the brace obedience experiment. I have no fears that we will be ready to strut our stuff at the Sheltie National at the end of April.

Then, to top the night off, as if it wasn't good enough already, Romeo got a new girlfriend. Concept is a sweet little Pomeranian, and Romeo thinks she is fabulous! The first few attempts of this fluffy-dog shot included Romeo's nose burrowed deep into Concept's fluff. And the resulting "Ewww Cooties!" glare from Concept.

All three dogs were sporting the Laser Eyes of Doom look, due to the horrid fluorescent lighting in the training building. I tried to dim things down a bit, now they just look like zombies. Oh well ... the amount of fluff in this one picture more than makes up for the zombie eyes, in my opinion.

Emotional Therapy for the Masses

This week has been CRAZY! In addition to our regular Monday night therapy dog visits and Tuesday night Rally-O practice, this week we also had Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday shifts at a booth at the Saskatoon Sports and Leisure trade show. The show organizers approached one of the agility groups in town, Saskatchewan Agility Association, and asked them if they would do some demos in exchange for a free booth at the trade show. Since the agility club is pretty small in numbers, they agreed to take the booth and demos if they could split the work with one or two other non-profit dog groups. So the agility group approached St. John Ambulance therapy dog program and the Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club to join in the insanity.

Since I love trade shows, and am a member of 2 of the 3 dog groups involved, I volunteered to put in a lot of time at the booth and for demos. So in the past 4 days, the boys and I have put in over 21 hours at the show. PHEW! My feet are killing me, I have a sore throat, the dogs are exhausted, and I'm behind on laundry and groceries. But it was a great time (if you are a masochist)!

In addition to the agility and Rally-O demos, we spent most of our time in "therapy dog mode". Of course, the boys just lapped up the attention. Even after an 11 hour shift on Saturday, they were eager* for more again Sunday morning.

I suppose part of their enthusiasm could be explained by the fact that out booth was located directly across the aisle from the sausage and jerky stand. People would swarm to the stand for their fix of delicious meat products, turn around and notice the puppies. Then swarm over to them, meat in hand, for scratches. Romeo seemed equally thrilled with the people as with the proximity to the meat. But Gio definitely showed more excitement over the potential for accidentally dropped goodies. He deserves a commendation, his exuberant optimism never wavered the whole 4 days. He was just as sure that a sausage would be dropped for him on Sunday as he was on Thursday.

There were plenty of kids around, which helped ease the aching for a nibble of jerky. You see, children are often coated in good tasting goop, so choosing to cuddle up with them instead of staring down the meat cart can hardly be deemed a sacrifice.

Gio and Romeo made a lot of little fans on the weekend. This little boy being one of the biggest.


He had a t-shirt with the print of a husky on the front, and his face was painted to match. When he saw the boys at the booth, he rushed over, put them each in a headlock and hauled them in for cuddles and kisses. His mom pulled out her camera for a picture, so I asked if I could snap a shot as well. I had yet to have taken a picture for Gio's photo project, so was hoping to get something good at the show. I think this picture is really cute, despite the fact that it appears as if Gio is trying to escape the death grip that the boy has around his neck. In reality, someone had walked into the booth with a piece of sausage, and while Gio loves his therapy dog job, he loves food just a teensy bit more. I would normally have reset him or tried to get his attention for another shot, but the boy's mom was shooting me the stink eye, so I decided to remain satisfied with the one shot that I got.

This week is decidedly less busy. I am definitely looking forward to that.

* Okay, maybe "eager" is a bit strong. "Not adamantly apposed to" might be more accurate.

Go Canada Go!

So I actually have a good excuse for not writing for a while. The Olympics has been taking up all of my time. Now, I know you are all asking, did I win Gold? Where can I find coverage of your amazing championship showing? Silly you! I know I can easily be mistaken for an Olympic athlete, and my physique rivals those fabulous Olympians, but the spotlight just isn't for me. So I leave it up to those who enjoy competing in front of the whole world, and I man my position on the comfy chair in front of the TV, cheering them on from the anonymity of my living room.

Anyways, I've been glued to the Olympic coverage for the past 2 weeks and that, combined with my already busy schedule, results in no blog posting.

The boys and I are busy busy busy! There is a BIG trial coming up in a couple of months, and I am aiming for a "Big Ribbon". The Canadian Shetland Sheepdog Association National show and trial is being held in combination with the Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club's annual show April 30 - May 2. Shelties from across the country will be gathering in Saskatoon to compete in obedience, Rally-O, conformation, and agility. Of course, I will be focusing on Rally-O, but may also dabble in a couple other venues. But details aren't nailed down yet, so I'll keep those plans secret for the moment. As of now, the boys and I are amping up the practice for Rally-O. They are already 100/100 scoring dogs, so we are now aiming at increasing the speed of execution. Fast, precise, and consistent. If I can nail those things down, then we are in a good position to take a "Big Ribbon". *fingers crossed*

Therapy dog visits are continuing as normal. Gio continues to visit his ladies twice a month, and Romeo patrols City Hospital every Monday. This year, Saskatchewan St. John Ambulance therapy dog program is focusing on child certification tests. There are two levels of tests in the therapy dog program: the base level adult certification test where dogs are tested to visit adults, and the child certification test where dogs are tested to visit pediatric wards, day care centers, schools, or anywhere with children. There are two child tests planned for Saskatoon, and two for Regina in 2010. Since I am the one doing the evaluations in Saskatoon, I can't very well test my own dogs. So the boys and I will be trucking off to Regina in a couple of months to be tested (and hopefully certified) there.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Gio has been having some more trouble with seizures. For a while, he was having one seizure about every 4 months. That is a level that I can accept. But recently he has been having one seizure every couple of weeks. I don't like that frequency, so last Friday I took him back to the vet for some blood work to see where things are at. Everything looks good, so we are just going to bump up his phenobarb levels a teeny bit and see what happens. So far so good!

And, of course, the photo project is continuing!

From last week:
Last Monday was Family Day, a random long weekend holiday that some Canadian provinces have picked up. The going theory is that it was added in the middle of February due to the increased suicide rates in that month. Regardless, it is a long weekend and I love it! Since the sun was shining brightly and the weather was actually kinda sorta warm, I took Gio to run at the park behind our house. The park was empty, so Mr. Run and Bark could run and bark to his heart's content. And that he did!

And from this week:
I have had plans now for weeks to do a particular shoot, but it keeps getting pushed to the side. I've now been lured by the sunlight two weeks in a row. Yesterday I got home from work full of plans to set up the shoot that has been backburnered for a couple of weeks, then I saw this beautiful square of bright bright sunlight on the wall and plans changed. During the winter months, it is generally pitch black when I go to work in the morning, and pitch black when I come home from work in the evening. So this sunlight on the wall when I got home from work made me very excited. First real sign of spring!

I quite like this picture. The only thing I would change would require home renovations. I wish I had a large window that would be at the right angle to catch this beam of sunlight that didn't have that extra bar down the middle. But that is a minor complaint on my part.

CARO Rally-O Videos

At the HCKOC CARO Rally-O trial on October 3rd and 4th, a friend was able to get some video of many of the runs. She was kind enough to send me copies of Gio's and Romeo's runs. They both did SO well at that trial, I am thrilled to have their performances documented!

Gio - Excellent B - Round 1
If it weren't for that darned jump redo he would have had a perfect 200/200 run!


Gio - Excellent B - Round 3
Again, an NQ, but some of the individual elements were really nice!


Romeo - Excellent C - Round 1
Final score 198/200


Romeo - Excellent C - Round 2
Final score 197/200 and finishing off his CARO Rally Bronze (CRB) title


Romeo - Excellent C - Round 3
Final score 200/200, first leg of his CARO Rally Silver (CRS) title


Huge thanks to Sophie Brunet for taping the runs and putting the videos all together!

World Travelers

Okay, so not really "world" travelers. But it seems like I haven't been home in AGES!

Last Monday I hopped onto a plane headed to San Francisco to attend a conference for work. While there, I was fortunate to be able to meet up with a couple of friends from Dogster.com; Veronica (of Ollivander and Sabrina) and Sonja (of Jolanda and Josephine). I never did make it to Dogster HQ, located in San Francisco (sorry Lori!), so will have to put that on the list for "next time".


They toured me around Fisherman's Wharf before we indulged in some fabulous Thai food!

The Bay Bridge, all lit up.

The Ferry Building at night.

I was able to find time later in the week to get back to Fisherman's Wharf and do some souvenir shopping and picture taking in the daylight outs. This small-city kid is very proud of herself for braving the BART train all by herself! *chuff*

The sea lions at Pier 39. (Awesome to see, not so awesome to smell.)

That's a LOT of sea lions!

I really (really, Really, REALLY) wanted to go on a tour of Alcatraz. But apparently the "good tours" book up weeks in advance, and I just wasn't on the ball. So this is as close as I got to the island. Still pretty amazing to see.
I got back home on Friday morning, picked the dogs up from mom's place, loaded them in my NEW Sheltie-mobile, and headed off to Regina for a Rally-O trial hosted by KAOS Dogsports.

Yes, that is right, there is a NEW Sheltie-mobile!

Found this cute little car sign at Le Beastro in San Francisco. For you dog lovers out there, if you ever find yourself in San Francisco, head to Fisherman's Wharf and check out this store! TOO COOL!

Well, the car is not really "new" in the traditional sense of the word. But new to me, anyways. It's a seafoam green (ooo retro!) 1999 Ford Escort wagon. In pretty good condition, low mileage, and fit my available price point. I figured a trip to Regina with dogs in tow would be a good way to break in the new transportation.

The main selling feature ... the ability to fit both dog crates in the back of the car! WOOHOO!

The Rally-O trail was great. KAOS always does a really good job hosting trials. Romeo got 3 more legs towards his CARO C Stream Silver title, taking two High in Class awards. He only needs one more leg! And Gio tried really really hard! He nailed the stations that normally cause him problems (namely, the weave poles and broad jump), but there were a few other tiny things that resulted in NQ's. At Excellent level, everything has to be pretty near perfect, so it is very easy to disqualify a course. But good ol' Gee, he never gives up or loses enthusiasm. Just keeps giving 110% each time. One of these days we will put it all together, then WATCH OUT! But, until then, we'll keep showing everyone how to have some fun in the ring.

We got to see a bunch of friends at the trial, which is always nice. Romeo got another opportunity to flirt with his girlfriend, Niki.


While Romeo was busy flirting and playing coy with Niki, Gio was smoozing up a friend's new Miniature Poodle puppy, Mab (Queen of the Fairies).

OMG! Too cute, right??
This puppy has NO FEAR and doesn't think twice about trying to take your nose off. She is going to be a LOT of fun ... and by "fun" I really mean "real handful"!

Romeo got a couple of prizes for the High in Class placements. Mostly cookies and treats, but there were a couple squeaky tug toys thrown in as well.

The toy, as you see it here, lasted long enough to be thrown across the hotel room
exactly 3 times.

The boys decided that the toys were best as EITHER squeakies OR tugs, not both at once, so they remedied the situation quite quickly.

The squeaky went to Gio.

While the tug went to Romeo.

Now we are all home at last. Exhausted and worn out. The laundry is done, the dogs are fed ... and I am contemplating when is "late enough" to go to bed!

HCKOC Rally-O Trial

The trial went off without a problem! Thanks to everyone that helped out, and to all the people that participated in the trial. You helped make HCKOC's first CARO Rally-O trial a great success!

The boys were entered in 3 rounds each. Gio in 3 Excellent B rounds, and Romeo in 3 Excellent C Stream rounds.

Gio, the wonderful dog that he is, worked his little heart out, but wasn't quite able to pull off any qualifying legs. Excellent level in CARO is quite tricky to get, as it should be, and while Gio is a fantastic worker, we have trouble putting it all together when the judge is watching. On Saturday, he would have pulled off a perfect 200/200 score had it not been for one station that resulted in an NQ. He loves working so much, so I can't make myself be disheartened. He had a great time and pulled off some really nice stuff. So we will keep playing and eventually get that elusive Excellent title.

Romeo pulled off another stunning weekend of performances, finishing up the last two Excellent legs of his CRB (CARO Rally Bronze) championship title with scores of 197 and 198. Also earned the first leg of his CRS (CARO Rally Silver) championship title with a perfect 200/200 run. This dog is blowing my socks off!

The trial was held at Sondog Agility, out some backroads Northwest of Saskatoon. The facility is surrounded by lovely fields that we just couldn't pass up.

A great weekend, all in all. The dogs and I are exhausted and quite ready for life to get back to normal ... whatever that is.

Delegator Dilemmas

I have learned something about myself in the past couple of weeks ... I really suck at delegating!

Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club is hosting their first CARO Rally-O trial in Saskatoon this weekend. Last year some time (or maybe it was only earlier in the spring of this year ...) I had agreed to look up the information needed for hosting a CARO trial. And, while I was at it, I decided to check into judges, and book our judge, and check into buildings, and book our building. And, just because I had all the information at hand, I wrote up the premiums and entry forms, advertised them online, and stupidly put my own name down as trial secretary to accept the entries. With that, comes the task of doing all the paperwork required to deal with the entries. So really, I've essentially organized this whole trial! No, that is not bragging, that is me beating my head against the wall. There are many fabulous, talented, and very capable people in the club that have all offered to help out in any way possible. But somehow, in my mind, it is easier for me to just do the job myself than to hand it off to someone else to do. STUPID! So, as a result, I am absolutely exhausted and just want this trial to be over with NOW.

My excuse (read: what I am telling myself so that I will feel better about being an idiot), is that now I know exactly what needs to be done. So I will be able to confidently delegate NEXT time, without worrying about overlooking anything. I can't very well lead a project when I don't know what has to be done, right? Right?! Okay, I will stick with that explanation.

In the mean time, the dogs are getting dusty with their Rally-O. We've had the past couple weeks off since my classes ended for the summer, and I really haven't been doing much with them. Some people have noted that Gio has been absent from the blog for a while. And he has been ... no denying it. Gio is doing wonderfully health-wise. No more seizures, and his pancreas seems to be holding up well after our scare a couple months back. He is back onto 100% raw diet, which he much prefers to the veggie crud or, even worse, the canned yuck. He's adding weight on again, so not looking quite so emaciated. He's still been going on his therapy dog visits, but I've been too busy to take him tracking as much as he would like. Romeo's agility adventures and this darned CARO trial have been eating up all my time.

If anyone is wanting to come out and check out some CARO Rally-O, our trial is being held out at SonDog Agility on October 3 and 4, 2009. Take highway 16 Northwest of Saskatoon. Swing a left on Lutheran Rd., then left again on 3070. Take your 4th driveway on your left and you are there. It's about 15 minutes out of the city, not too bad. Spectators are welcome, though please leave dogs at home that are not entered in the trial.

Yorkton Show Picture

My pictures finally arrived! At the Rally-O trial in Yorkton a couple of weekends ago, I had some professional pictures taken of me and the boys. I had a picture done when they finished their CKC Novice and Advanced Rally-O titles, so thought I should round it all off nicely when they got their Excellent titles as well.

Odd, though, as I don't believe they checked the order before they popped everything in the mail to me.

The carbon copy of the order form that was placed in the envelope with my order clearly has the option for "One show photo (8x10 or CD)" selected, with a great bit circle around the "or CD" part. I have no use for hard copy pictures. But I do like an electronic copy for posting on the blog and sending to friends and family. However, in the envelope with the order form, (you know, the one that clearly has "or CD" circled) are included TWO 8x10 hardcopy photographs. Not one photograph. Not a CD with one image on it. Rather TWO photographs.

Odd.

Very odd.

I'll have to make sure and check my credit card statement to be sure they only charged me for one (one photograph is the same price as one CD image).

But whatever. The picture is really nice. The dogs look great, instead of their usual goofball expressions. And I don't look half bad either, considering that I am highly allergic to cameras. Oh, you didn't realize that people could be allergic to cameras? Yes, it is true! A surprisingly large number of people are dangerously allergic to them. The key symptom is extreme puffiness, especially around the midsection, face, and upper arms. Deadly!

Anyways, seeing as I did not get an electronic copy of the picture, you will all have to make due with a picture of a picture. Not too bad ... slightly warped looking because the original has a bit of a curve to the paper and I couldn't get it to lay flat properly. But you get the idea!

We Are Excellent!

This past weekend Gio, Romeo and I took a trip to Yorkton to take part in a CKC Rally-O trial.

It's been a very long time since we have hit the road for a trial of any sort. It was really good to get out there again! We left Friday night in order to get settled in before the trial on Saturday and Sunday. And of course, take part in our hotel tradition ... cuddling on the bed with pizza and the TV remote*.

* TV remote not featured

Sure, we can do this any night at home. But somehow it is more relaxing in a hotel. Maybe it's not being surrounded by "other stuff I really should do". No internet (which normally terrifies me!), no house work, no commitments.

The trial started up on Saturday with two Rally-O trials. And the boys totally rocked it!!

Trial 1: Romeo took High in Class in Excellent B with a perfect score of 100/100 and a time of 1:26.88. Gio took a score of 99/100 with a time of 1:36.10.

Trial 1 Qualifying Excellent B Dogs

Trial 2: I messed the boys up by accruing a number of handler errors. So Gio wound up with a 94/100 with a time of 1:34.85 and Romeo took a 96/100 with a time of 1:26.28.

Trial 2 Qualifying Excellent B Dogs

Day two included two more Rally-O trails.

Trial 3: Romeo took another 100/100 with a time of 1:30.19. And Gio was a total dink, just couldn't stop the excited barking. None the less, he pulled off a 93/100 with a time of 2:06.07.

Trial 4: Gio pulled it together and took a perfect score of 100/100 with a time of 1:39.81, and Romeo followed closely with a near-perfect 99/100 with a time of 1:34.12. And I have to add that the judge, Jan Leach, pencilled in a couple of comments on Romeo's score sheet. Commenting that he has a "beautiful back up [backwards heel] and moving stand". *CHUFF*

So with those performances, both boys started and finished their Rally Excellent (RE) titles this weekend! I had a professional photograph taken by the photographer on site. But it is being mailed to me as they were too busy to get them all printed off before the end of the trial. So I will have to post it here separately when it finally arrives.

Romeo won a squeaky plush soccer ball for his High in Class on day one. So that kept the boys entertained at the hotel.

"AAH! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOFF!"

There was a great showing of Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club members participating in the trial. Everyone did really REALLY well, so we all got together for a picture with our pretty blue loot!

From left to right: Verna and Sasha (earned their Rally Novice title), Jill and Tetley (had great success in Utility level Obedience), Gisele with Gina and Katie (new titles, High in Class and High in Trial awards for Obedience and Rally-O), Jeannette and Gem (new Rally Advanced title with High in Class), Dayna with Gio and Romeo (new Rally Excellent titles with High in Class), and Elaine with Harley (High in Class in Rally Novice and great success in Open level Obedience). Not featured is Claire and her Havanese, Petey, who did really well in Open level Obedience but flatly refused to be photographed.

It was a really great weekend overall. Of course, just to add a little bit of drama, my car decided to be temperamental. Saturday morning when I got us all loaded up to head to the trial venue from the hotel, the "check engine" light popped on. It did this last time I got an oil change, and I just had another change last Thursday, so coincidence? The car was running fine, so I decided to ignore it (smart, eh?). Later that evening, light still on, I checked all the obvious things ... gas cap, oil level, various other fluids (of which I have no idea what they do). Everything was fine, nothing leaking. So with that, and the ever-helpful tips from the two guys leaning out the KFC drive-thru window across the parking lot, decided that it wasn't important. One of the guys suggested a dead battery (thank Einstein ... I'm not that stupid, the battery is fine). The other guy said "oxygen sensor". That sounded smarter, and less important, so I decided to accept that diagnosis and continued to ignore the light. The car made it the rest of the weekend and the 3.5 hour drive home, so whatever the light is trying to tell me can't be all that important.

We are home now. Exhausted, but very pleased.

And Romeo and Gio weren't the only ones that got new toys!! I picked up a Mars Coat King for what I'm hoping is a reasonable price. Last time I took Romeo out to visit his breeder, she attacked his rogue butt hair with a Coat King, and I was awed and amazed by how easily it tamed the butt fluff. So when I saw some at one of the vendor stands, I snatched it up. Will attempt to use it later this evening!

Pets in the Park 2009

Today was Saskatoon's Pets in the Park, an event hosted by the Saskatoon SPCA, New Hope Dog Rescue, and SCAT street cat program. Local vendors and pet-related groups set up tables and displays by the scenic Saskatchewan River and various dog groups give sport demos throughout the day. A stage provides live music, and there is lots of room for pets to gather and play with new friends!

Posing at the booth with therapy dog buddy, Lily, and her handler, Liz.

Gio says "PFFFT!" to standing still for pictures.

Romeo and Arthur relax in the shade while on the job.

The boys and I spent a long (LONG!) day at the event, working the St. John Ambulance therapy dog booth and helping out with the Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club booth and Rally-O demonstration.

At the end of a long day, all that is left is two Sheltie-shaped puddles.

The St. John booth was located in a prime spot, right at the head of all the action, so we got lots of attention and hopefully a lot of interest from new potential therapy dog teams and facilities.

There was a really great turn out this year, with an estimated 6,000 visitors! Hopefully there were lots of funds raised for the great dog and cat rescue and shelter groups!