Wrapping Up 2009!

It's nearly here. 2010. The New Year. Where the heck did 2009 go?! It's been a crazy one, that is for sure.

I'm not really big on setting resolutions. I always end up breaking them. Instead, I like to have a general idea of the BIG picture goals for the next year.

Last year I set some goals, so let's start off by revisiting those and see how we did, shall we?

For 2009, our goals were ...

Gio
- finish his CARO Rally-O Excellent title
- begin working on his CARO C Stream Bronze title
- finish his CKC Novice Obedience title
- begin (and finish) his CKC Advanced Rally title
- continue on with therapy dog work

Gio did not complete his CARO Rally-O Excellent or C Stream Bronze titles ... there were only 3 CARO trials in the province last year, and we had to miss one because Gio ended up having a bad bout of seizures right at that time.
He did complete his CKC Novice Obedience title, though.
He also finished his CKC Advanced Rally title, as well as his CKC Excellent Rally title, again with a handful of High in Class ribbons along the way.
He continued his therapy dog work, as planned, with a total of 38 visitation hours in 2009.
In the midst of this, Gio had a horrible battle with pancreatitis induced by his epilepsy medication. I nearly lost him in March, the vets were not giving him a good chance of ever coming home again. Recovery took months, so there was quite a long down-time in there where we were only focusing on improving his health. My boy is such a trooper!

Romeo
- finish his CARO Rally-O Excellent title
- begin working on his CARO C Stream Bronze title
- CGN test (if there is one offered locally this year, there weren't any last year)
- begin (and finish) his CKC Advanced Rally-O title
- continue to train towards competition in agility (master those contacts!)
- continue to train towards CKC Open Obedience title
- continue visiting as a SJA therapy dog

Romeo completed his CARO Rally-O Excellent title with Magna Cum Laude. He also completed his CARO C Stream Bronze title and earned 4 legs towards his C Stream Silver title (one more leg to go).
There was no CGN test in the province again this year, though I hear rumor that there is one planned for spring of 2010.
He completed his CKC Advanced Rally-O title as well as his CKC Excellent Rally-O title, with a handful of High in Class ribbons along the way.
We continued to train for AAC agility, and he has some really beautiful contacts now! He competed in his first trials at the end of the summer of 2009 and earned 1 qualifying score in Jumpers with a 1st place in his class.
Open Obedience got put on the back burner when Romeo advanced so far through CARO Rally-O. Our focus was switched to the next level there, Versatility.
He also continued volunteering as a therapy dog with a total of 67 visiting hours in 2009.

In total this year, the boys collected 7 new titles in obedience and Rally-O and amassed 105 total volunteer hours for St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program!

Goals for 2010:

Gio
- keep plugging away at that CARO Rally-O Excellent title
- continue therapy dog visitations
- get out tracking more and aim towards competing for a tracking title
- keep the seizures down to the low frequency that we have achieved at the end of 2009

Romeo
- finish up the CARO C Stream Silver title
- begin actively competing in CARO Rally-O Versatility level
- continue training in agility, improve the weave poles, and try for a couple more qualifying legs
- continue therapy dog visitations

Normally, I don't like to make specific goals, as in "I want to get a perfect score at the Rally-O trial in June". Rather, I make goals I strive to complete by the end of the year. ... This year, it is a little different, though. There is the Canadian Shetland Sheepdog Association 2010 National being held in conjunction with the Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club (the dog club for which I am a trainer) being held here in Saskatoon in April/May. They are having Sheltie-only trials in obedience, Rally-O, agility, and conformation, in addition to the all-breed competitions that go along with the normal show. I REALLY REALLY REALLY want to take a High in Class with at least one of the boys in the Rally-O trials at the Sheltie National! I'm still contemplating whether I want to go for the Most Versatile Sheltie award with Romeo by competing in obedience, agility, and Rally-O. I think we might pass on that one, though, and just aim for Rally-O. Both dogs routinely get perfect scores in CKC Rally-O, so it is just a matter of being the fastest dogs to do so. So our training regime is all about SPEED in addition to precision.

Now that we've tied up loose ends in terms of goals, let's take another glance back at 2009. This time with pictures and music. (All together now ... "oooooooohh!" ... nicely done.)



And finally, our wishes to you!

Thank you for traveling with us through 2009.
We sincerely hope that you will stop by for a visit again in 2010.
Wishing you a year full of happiness, good health, wet noses, and warm toes!
Oh, and don't forget, lots and lots of Sheltie hair!

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

The Sheltie-mobile

2001 - October 31, 2009

Today, I said "good bye" to the Sheltie-mobile. My little Chrsyler Neon made its final journey this morning.

My little car has seen many things in the past few years. Its tiny back seat reluctantly accommodating two excited Shelties on trips around the province for various trials and competitions.
Lugging around countless pounds of raw meat. (Including dog toys and tracking stakes on the floor.)
Toting all forms of "dog stuff", including awkward test props for therapy dog evaluations.
And galantly braving the crazy Saskatchewan seasons.
Today, it performed its final haul. On the way back from picking up a load of raw bison RMBs, some idiot, in his exuberance for a Big Mac, decided to snub the laws of physics and cut across my lane. Little Neon tried, but just couldn't stop in time. We rammed the back wheel well of the McMonster Truck, buckling anything bendable on the front end of the Neon ... and barely scraping the mud off the rear hubcap of the gas guzzling male ego booster.

All opinions point to my little Neon being written off. The police were called and the independent witness vouched for the McIdiot being in the wrong. The insurance company has been notified, and my little Neon towed away.

I can only be thanksful that the dogs were not with me in the car and that no one was injured. Well, no living being, anyways. My poor little Neon will never be the same.

Good bye, little Neon. You were a good car.

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.

Gio's Post

Since the last THREE blog posts have been all about Romeo, I am dedicating this whole post to Gio. Only Gio. I won't even mention that Romeo nailed ALL his contacts at agility practice today, including the teeter! Nope, not going to mention that at all, just talk about Gio.

First, an little epilepsy update. This past week we saw a recurrence of the S-monster. Gio had another seizure on Tuesday evening, nearly 2 months to the day since his last seizure. It was a grand mal, but short in duration and he recovered fairly quickly. Even though the seizures have lately been coming in clusters, this was a singleton with no more since then. So maybe my new routine of double dosing him on phenobarb after the first seizure is paying off! He went to the vet on Friday for his routine bloodwork consisting of a chemistry panel, CBC and phenobarbital level check. I don't anticipate anything to be wrong, just a regular check that we do every 4 months or so. We'll get the results back early next week.

Anyways, on to happier news! Down but never out, Gio and I went tracking this afternoon. He is doing really REALLY well on his corners. He was having trouble with them for a while, lacking confidence in deciding which way to go, and then getting frustrated and giving up. We got some tips a couple of months back at a tracking seminar we attended here in town, and they have really been paying off! By rubbing a little bit of food on the sole of my shoes at each corner and then dropping a couple of treats about 5 steps after the corner, it is enough motivation for him to keep trying. I could really see the difference in how he was working today. He would cast out at each corner to figure out which way to turn, and his confidence when he found the correct direction was tangible! I really like that he is willing to cast around when he is less than 100% certain, but quickly runs back to the correct track once he has made up his mind. He's a very thorough worker, that is for sure!

Here are the two tracks we worked today.


I have a horrible sense of distance, so I have no clue how long each track was. Each track had 3 corners and the straight portions were between 30 and 50 steps, "steps" being normal brisk walking steps of a 5'5" person. We aren't really working on aging the tracks yet, just getting his confidence up and increasing the distance. So the tracks were only about 5 minutes old. Gio clearly wants to keep going at the end of the track, often continuing to follow my return path after the final food drop, so I will increase the distance substantially next time. Then work on aging.

Again, these tracks were both laid in a busy park, between two baseball diamonds that are shared play fields for two near by elementary schools. I really like using public fields like this, one because the grass is kept at a really nice length, and two because there is so much "background" scent that it really helps Gio learn to pick out one scent and follow it while ignoring the rest. I'm hoping this will come in handy down the line if we ever get around to trialing. The TD test is done in rural areas without much background contamination (other than wildlife tracks), but the urban tests are all done in public areas like this. I haven't yet laid a track over any other ground covering but grass, but I think next time we go out I will try crossing over the paths in the park to see how he handles brief bits of concrete or gravel.

Here is a video of Gio's second track. Sorry for the "Blair Witch" style, but it's a little hard to keep the camera steady while trotting after a dog on a mission, slapping mosquitos, and trying to pick up all those darned stakes!

Urban Tracking

About a month ago I participated in a tracking seminar held locally. There was a bit of discussion about "urban tracking", and I found out that that is what Gio has been doing all along! I was under the impression that urban tracking was all about tracking on concrete in busy city centers. Apparently, the CKC version of urban tracking only involves 1/3 of the track on "non-vegetative" cover. The idea is that the track is laid in a busy public area. I have been training Gio a lot in school yards or sports feilds since the beginning, and that is the situation he would be in in the urban tracking test.

We went out this morning to the school ground behind my house to do a couple more tracks. Three tracks in total, two shorter ones with one 90 degree turn each, and one longer track with 2 90 degree turns.

I also tried to video tape Gio's third track. Damn camera quit taping around the second corner, though, and I didn't realize it until we were on the home stretch. Gio got a little lost at the second corner and it took some encouragement and prompting to get him to keep working it. He got it eventually, though.

Wordless

No, maybe "speechless" would be more accurate. Because I can think of a lot of WORDS that I could say right now.

In my non-blog life, I have the mouth of a trucker ... who used to be a sailor ... and might have had some head trauma that results in him blurting out obscenities. I try to keep that reined in on the blog, though, as I realize that some Sheltie-loving children may be browsing through. However, today is deserving of some serious expletives!

It's been a long week. The only time that I have sat down in a somewhat relaxing fashion since last Sunday (when I played hookie from agility class) has been on the toilet. I am home only to sleep and shower it seems. So after this very long week, in which the world has tried its damnedest to be irritating, we finally reach Friday. Aahhh, a lovely Friday at the end of April ...

AND IT IS SNOWING!!

WTF, YO!? REALLY!

Yes, this is Canada, more precisely Saskatchewan, so snow isn't totally uncommon here. But at the end of April? Honestly? You're kidding right?

Okay, okay ... *deep breath* ... it does melt as soon as the sun comes out, it isn't really sticking on the ground much. Nothing that won't be gone by tomorrow, anyways. But the whole concept makes me shudder. It's actually quite pretty ... IN DECEMBER!

Good thing my dogs calm me down. I spent the afternoon away from work at a therapy dog visit with Romeo (have I mentioned I have the best boss ever?!). That always brings my blood pressure down a notch or two. And tomorrow I am helping to evaluate a St. John Ambulance therapy dog test, so hopefully we will have another dozen wonderful therapy dog teams to go out and spread the joy very soon! Then, this Sunday is our first weekend NOT having to teach rally-o classes in what seems like forever. The club I am with (Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club - of which I am also webmaster-extraordinaire*) usually takes a bit of a break in the spring/summer to allow our trainers to train their own dogs and travel to trials. Last week all of our classes graduated and now we are off to enjoy our break. What do dog trainers do on a break, you might ask. Well ... they train dogs! Yes, on Sunday, at the regular time we would normally be teaching classes, we are all getting together to go tracking with our dogs. And who says we don't have a life? Huh?!



* So, maybe I just made that name up for myself right now. Maybe I'm not REALLY an extraordinary webmaster. Maybe "web minion" would be more accurate.

This Nose is Made for Sniffin'

This nose ... yes, this one right here. THIS nose did a LOT of work today!



There was a seminar held today on tracking, put on by Carol Aitken of Regina, SK. The seminar was geared at brand new beginners to tracking but I have heard great things about Carol, so even though Gio and I have been playing with tracking for a while now, I decided to attend.

Definitely wasn't disappointed! Carol is a lovely lady and was very helpful and patient with everyone's questions. Very knowledgeable in the sport, both in training and competing, and was able to give great suggestions for a wide variety of breeds. She really knows her stuff!

Gio and I try to get out tracking at least once a month in the summer time. Not as often as we probably should, but with all the other activities that he does, we don't really have the time to do much more than that. Last summer we had sort of plateaued at a certain point. He could do a good length of track, probably a couple hundred yards with one 90 degree turn. But if I tried to add more turns, he wound up getting frustrated and lost. Carol gave some great pointers, suggesting that I lay articles after every turn so that he gets a reward more often. It had never occured to me to place more articles along the track, we had only been working with one article at the very end of the track. So I will definitely be putting this into practice. He has great basics and can problem solve his way through turns, but tends to lose motivation if challenged too much. Hopefully the extra articles will serve as reward enough to encourage him to persevere through the turns.

He had a great time out today, and was thrilled that the little one (aka. Romeo) stayed home so he got to go out working with me, just by himself!

Thank you to Heather for organizing the seminar, Karen for volunteering her beautiful home and property as a venue, and to Carol for traveling up from Regina to share your wisdom with us newbies!

Obedience Gong Show

This weekend is the SKOC obedience trial. As with most CKC obedience trials, there was a fun match scheduled for this evening. It serves as a fund raiser for the club, and also allows people entered in the show the next day to bring their dogs to the building and get them aclimated with the new surroundings.

I have Gio entered in two trials tomorrow as he only needs one more leg for his Novice CD. I took him this evening so that I could introduce him to the new building as he has never worked there before. The building that SKOC rents for this purpose is a community Metis center. Apparently some wires got crossed somewhere along the line as, come 6:00pm fun match start time, the building was still not unlocked. I don't know where the mix up was, but regardless, there was no way for us to get into the building for the match. Calls were made, and after much bitching and complaining and debating "What to do now", everyone went their separate ways. Some people went back to the SKOC training building, others spread out to the Paws n' Train building, and still more decided to heck with it and went home. I am part of the latter group. Since the sole reason for me to go to the fun match was to introduce Gio to the new building, there was no reason for me to trek across the city to a familiar building to practice. He doesn't need the practice, if he doesn't know it now then he certainly won't know it tomorrow in front of a judge. So we are home now. I can't say I am completely upset by it. It's been a long week (even though I only went in to work for 1.5 days!) and I'm quite tired for some reason. Looking forward to a quiet night at home with a bowl of popcorn and a good strong Cesar (the yummy drink, not the crazy dog "trainer", or should I say "behaviourist" ... same BS either way).

I don't know what is going to happen tomorrow at the trial. I am confident that Gio will do wonderfully and give 110% as he always does. The only questionable area is the long group sit. It's not that "stays" are a problem for him, but with his messed up back end, the sits are a cause for concern. On the slippery trial mats, he just cannot keep a grip and really struggles to remain sitting up for the required minute. More often than not he ends up sliding into a down at about the 40-50 second mark. We've been working on conditioning hoping to build up some muscle in his back end to help with the sits, but his legs are just getting worse as he ages so it isn't helping much. It's a shame really, as everything else he does in the ring is stunning! It's just that darned long sit ... and I can't even blame it on a training issue. He just can't physically do it. Poor guy, he tries so hard. I have decided that if he does not get his final leg tomorrow, we are going to call obedience quits for him. It's not an important title for me, and there is no question of us moving on to Open or Utility. The CKC jump heights are ridiculous and there are no allowances for disabled dogs. I'm not going to put him through that, what is it going to prove? So if he gets his CD tomorrow, great! If not, no big loss. I will just stick to Rally-O, tracking, and therapy dog with him. At some point in the future, I may decide to toss him into another Novice round and see what happens. But it is certianly not going to be an active pursuit.

Wish us luck tomorrow, anyways! If he can just hold a sit for one minute with minimal sliding, this will all end on a positive note! If not, he'll still get his cookies and cuddles because I know he will work his hardest.

Is a Shetland Sheepdog Right for Me?

Here are a few questions that I often hear from people who are considering adding a Sheltie to their family. They are important points to take into consideration so as to ensure that both you and the dog are happy together.

What type of homes do shelties thrive in?
Active homes that are willing to not only include the Sheltie in daily activities, but also dedicate a significant amount of personal time to the Sheltie to take care of its mental and physical exercise needs.

Are shelties good with kids and other pets?
Like any breed, they can be good with kids and other dogs, but not all Shelties are. If raised with kids that know how to properly handle a dog, they are a kid's best friend. But grabby or pushy kids are generally not accepted well by Shelties.

How much exercise do they need?
They are working dogs, so need a lot of physical exercise every day (more than just a walk or two). They also need a JOB ... some structured, routine activity that allows them to use their brain. If you are considering getting a Sheltie, decide whether you are interested in participating in agility, flyball, obedience, rally-o, tracking, herding, therapy dog, freestyle, etc. for the life of the dog. If you fail to give a Sheltie a mental job to do, you may run into a dog that is destructive or develops unstable obsessions or behaviours.

How much do they eat?
Not a lot. They are very easy keepers and will gain weight very quickly if fed too much food or poor quality food. Effort needs to be taken to ensure that the Sheltie does not get overweight, as they pack on the pounds very easily.

Do they shed a lot?
Yes. There is no way around it, a Sheltie will shed. Grooming is not difficult and can be done at home, though does require some dedication to keep the coat and dog healthy and clean.

Are they easy to train?
Yes. They are a very biddable breed, willing to work with and please their owner. Training a Sheltie does not, and should not, require force or threats, or else may result in creative a nervous dog that "shuts down" under pressure. Positive training techniques and a light hand are preferred.

How much will they sleep? How long can they be left home alone?
These two questions can be answered together. The amount of time that they sleep and the amount of time that they can be left alone are directly proportional to the amount of time you spend working and training with them. My evenings and weekends are completely full of training and competition time with my Shelties. As such, they are happy staying at home for 8 hours while I am at work during the work day. But if I did not spend the large amount of time training and working with them that I do, they would be very antsy and unhappy being at home alone during the day. Shelties are people focused dogs and bond very tightly to one or two special people in their lives. They should not be kept separate from their people.

Do most shelties have a lot of health problems?
Shelties are generally healthy and hearty dogs IF you purchase the dog from a reputable breeder. Be sure that the breeder has done testing for hips, eyes, thyroid, and von Willebrand's. Epilepsy is also somewhat common, along with skin and coat issues.

Are they one person dogs or family pets?
All of the Shelties that I have had have been VERY bonded to me, but content with the other members of my family. They are not overly social or accepting of strangers.

Do they still have strong herding instincts?
Many still do. They will attempt to round up all their toys, other dogs, people, etc. If not given an appropriate outlet (refer back to the mention of a JOB) this can manifest itself in nipping and obsessive behaviours.

Are they big barkers?
Generally yes, though it can somewhat be managed with training. But it is quite rare to have a completely silent Sheltie. Even the Shelties that I have had that do not technically bark, are big talkers.

Other points that I am always sure to mention to anyone considering a Sheltie ...

- Shelties require serious and intense socialization very early on in life and extended throughout adulthood. Shelties have a tendency to be fearful, shy, and timid and if that is not addressed very early on it can get way out of hand. Scared Shelties tend to tuck tail and run, and you will not catch up with a scared Sheltie. You just need to hope that it eventually gets its wits back in order and finds its way home. I have known too many Shelties that have not had proper socialization and exposure to "real life" that get startled and bolt from their owners. Only a few stories wind up with a happy ending.

- Shelties require a delicate balance between strong and confident training, and a soft hand. Shelties do not respond well to harsh training methods and will shut down completely if someone is too rough with them or if adversive training techniques are used. Smack a Sheltie once and it is nearly impossible to regain its trust. That said, they do need a solid, confident owner to bring them to their full potential. And knowing that Shelties are sensitive is no excuse to avoid training all together.

Creating Mental Balance in a Sheltie

It pains me the number of times I hear stories from Sheltie owners of their dog's various behaviours. Behaviours like stealing socks and underwear at any opportunity, following their owners around the house biting at their ankles, chewing anything they can get their mouths on from power cords to baseboards, obsessively sitting at the window and barking at anything that moves by, or "spitefully" destroying or urinating on items around the house. Worse even than these tales are the reactions of the owners, making excuses for these behaviours with comments like "Oh, he's just so energetic" or "She just doesn't like it when I leave without her" or better yet, laughing at their "silly" dog's antics.

I feel the need to point out that these behaviours are not normal. These behaviours are not exhibitted by balanced dogs.

When people are asked what is required to care for a dog, the common answers will be feeding the dog, walking the dog, picking up the dog's poop, and giving it lots of love. While these things are absolutely important, I am not trying to diminish their relevance in any way, they are not the be all and end all of caring for your dog. Dogs need more than physical care, they need mental care as well.

In order to determine what is required for the mental care of Shetland Sheepdogs, we must first look at the original purpose of the breed. There are numerous websites detailing the history of the Shetland Sheepdog breed, and the Sheltie as a "type" of dog before it was recognized as a breed in 1909, so I'm not going to go into detail there. One of the best sites regarding all things Sheltie is Sue Ann Bowling's website. In reference to the development of the Sheltie-type dogs, the UKC suggests that type development of the Sheltie began around 900AD. Recognizing this, we begin to understand the intensity of which these dogs were bred. They were originally intended as working dogs, be it as flock guardians, property guardians, or herding dogs. And, with the exception of the past 100 years or so, breeding of the Sheltie was intensely dependant on selection for workability and instinct. Prior to modern times, if the dog did not do the job it was intended to do, it was not kept around, and it certainly wasn't allowed to breed. Only the best working dogs were bred, resulting in the strengthening of the instinct and drive in the breed. This sort of selective breeding cannot be undone in the mere 100 years since the inception of the Sheltie into the Kennel Club of the UK, where breeding for physical type began to take preference over workability. 100 years is not enough time to "undo" the selective breeding of the 1000 years prior. As a result, the modern Sheltie still has an intense drive and instinct, and a very highly developed intelligence and workability.

That, of course, is not to say that everyone that has a Sheltie should go out and purchase a flock of sheep. Though I know many Shelties that would be thrilled at the prospect. Rather, we merely need to recognize that the dogs that we love so much are working dogs. They have the mental needs to have a "job" and an outlet for their instinct and drive, and if we do not provide that outlet for them, they will take it upon themselves to release that drive and energy as they see fit. That is when you get the destructive chewing or digging, the "herding" and nipping behaviours as the dog chases you or the kids around the house or yard, and the obsessive guarding or hoarding behaviours. Shelties are wonderfully adaptive dogs, and there are some out there that will be more than happy just relaxing around the house. But when you start to notice irregular behavioural patterns in your happy house dog, you may want to consider that they really aren't getting all the mental stimulus that they need.

Mental stimulus does not include walks, running in the park, or fetch in the back yard. These activities will tire the dog out physically, but do next to nothing to tiring them out mentally. While physical activity is important, so is mental activity, requiring the dog to use logic skills to solve a problem.

Providing your Sheltie with a job does not need to be a 7 days a week situation. Even one or two days a week of regular and routine "working" is often enough to curb unbalanced behaviours. This means looking into a dog sport of some kind and considering joining a local dog club that provides regular practices or training opportunities a couple times a week. This is more than just enrolling in an obedience class, but extends to joining a local kennel and obedience club and continuing on with classes beyond beginner or intermediate levels. The options available to Shelties are immense! So don't get hung up in the idea that you don't like one particular sport or a certain activity doesn't appeal to you. In the world of dog sports, there is an activity for everyone. And, lucky you, Shelties can excell at nearly all of them! I do realize that competition is not for everyone, but don't fret. There are many dog organizations out there that are willing to allow you to just come out to classes or practice times and have fun with your dog without the intent of competition. Don't think that you have to start competing if you start training in a dog sport. You can enjoy these activities "just for fun" and still provide the mental workout that your Sheltie is asking for.

Some options for Sheltie activities include:
agility, flyball, disc dog, dock diving, obedience, rally-o, tracking, therapy dog, scent hurdling, canine freestyle, herding, and lure coursing

Certain areas of the world do not provide all opportunities for all sports. This is not an excuse for denying your Sheltie a job. With access to the World Wide Web, you can get any information you could ever hope for! Check out Yahoo Groups for groups of people that are interested in a particular sport. There are also numerous online communities that are willing to provide information on certain sports. Google can be your best friend!

Please do consult (either in person or online) with a qualified professional trainer before embarking on a training regime in your back yard. If at all possible, please pursue a class offered by a professional trainer to get the basics of the sport down before attempting to do it on your own in your yard or basement. This is vitally important for the health and safety of your dog!

In addition to organized dog sports, there are lots of games that you can play at home! Check out the large variety of "puzzle games" that are available for dogs. These toys require the dog to think and flex its brain muscle to figure them out. Some favorites include:
Buster Cube
Hide-A-Squirrel
Hi.Q. Puzzle Toy
Or some of the toys that I would LOVE to purchase, but have yet to try, the Nina Ottosson games

Games you can play at home without purchasing special toys, include:

Hide and Seek - Put your dog in a sit-stay, show them a treat in your hand, then allow them to watch you hide the treat under a pillow, blanket, or towel. Release them from the stay and encourage them to figure out how to find the treat. As they get better, increase the difficulty when hiding. Utilize the furniture around your house, place a treat under the couch, on top of a chair, or behind a cupboard door. When your dog become really adept at the game, you can even put them in a sit-stay in a different room while you hide a couple of treats around the house. Then send them off to find all the treats. If your dog is not food motivated, use a favorite toy instead.

Scent Discrimination - Take two small plastic containers (sour cream containers work well) and punch some holes in the lids. In one container, place a sock that you have been wearing all day. Place the containers a couple of feet apart, and send your dog to "find it". Click/treat when they nose at the container with your sock, no click/treat if they nose at the container without your sock. Repeat, gradually adding difficulty by increasing the number of plastic containers. You can also begin asking for a "signal" when the dog finds the correct container. It could be a sit, a bark, a down, or picking up the container and bringing it to you.

Tracking Games - With another family member or friend, find a dog-friendly grassy or wooded area. Have your helper hold the dog, then you run away from the dog and hide a short distance away out of sight (lay down in the grass, hide behind a bush or in a clump of trees. Once you are hidden, have your helper release the dog telling them to "find it(mom/dad/her/him/etc.)" This will encourage the dog to use their nose to follow your familiar scent. When they do find you, lots of play and fun! Move to a new area of the park, and do it again. Eventually increase difficulty by zig-zagging as you run away, pausing in one location before running off to a new hiding place, etc.

It isn't uncommon for any irregular or unbalanced behaviour to completely cease after only a short time of having a routine implimented. Remember, you chose the breed, so it is your responsibility to supply what they require to be a healthy and happy dog!

Tracking Fun

Not as often as I would like, nor as often as I should, I take Gio out tracking. It's just something fun that we picked up a while ago, so every so often we head out either by ourselves or with a couple of friends and lay a few tracks to sniff out.

This evening I went out with a friend of mine and her dog, Tetley. You may remember Tetley the English Cocker Spaniel from a previous post a couple of weeks ago. We went to another friend's place just outside of town. They own a couple of acres that are perfect for tracking, especially this time of year when everything has been baled up and the remaining grasses are quite short.

It's taken me a while to get it all straight, but I finally remembered to bring everything I need! There have been times when I've apparently been quite dense and forgotten just about everything except for Gio. This time, I'm quite proud of myself! A harness, long line (20 feet), 6 foot leash, scent article (this time a glove), bug spray (epilepsy safe pet bug spray), a large jug of water (all that sniffing makes a dog quite thirsty), a crate, treats, and some stakes (cheap portable fence posts from Peavy Mart).

We take turns laying tracks for each other, I find that Gio follows someone else's scent much better than he will follow my own. Maybe because he smells me so often, he doesn't find it odd to find my scent in a field? Just sort of tunes it out? No clue. Gio's currently just working on short-ish tracks, with only a couple of turns. Tonight he successfully completed two tracks of about 170 yards each, each with two 90-degree turns. Tetley is a pro, so he is working on tracks of 300+ yards. Of course, that means more walking for me as I lay the track! Tetley's owner gets off pretty easy laying little tracks for Gio!

I'm still at the stage where I ask the track layer to rub some stinky treat on their feet before setting off. Just a couple of swipes per foot with a chunk of treat and the scent is easier for them to find. Of course, the food smell fades quite quickly, but it it helps the dog find the right line to get started on. Then at the end of the track, a piece of the same treat is stuck inside the glove, the glove is dropped at the end, and the track layer stomps on it a couple of times.

I leave the track to age about 5-10 minutes, and then we are off! I switch the long line from his collar to his harness just as we are approaching the beginning of the track, and give the command to "find it". The nose goes down and off he goes! In some of the pictures you may see a small piece of blue tape tied to a piece of grass or brush. That tape is just to mark the corners so I know where I am going and can judge as to whether Gio is doing it correctly or not. The dogs don't pay any attention to the tape, when their nose is to the ground it is as if they are completely blind and deaf. Nothing matters but the scent. Because of that, it is possible to practice tracking in shallow bits of snow. The foot prints that the track layer leaves won't clue the dog as to the correct direction, they don't even seem to notice the footprints, just the scent.

Once they reach the end of the track, a great big party with the glove full of treats, I ask for a "down" (the signal I want him to use when he finds the article) and then reward with the treats from inside the glove. Back to the car to kennel the dogs and lay a new track.

It's getting dark quite quickly here now, so the quality of the pictures rapidly went down hill. I took Romeo out with us as the area that we were tracking in was perfect for a bit of a run. After Gio and Tetley were finished their tracks, we let all the dogs off leash to have a bit of a tear-about. The owner of the land we were on has an 18 month old English Cocker Spaniel named Abby. We let her out of her run and she joined the boys for a bit of a romp. Oh, how they would LOVE it if we had land like that. I would never be able to get them inside the house! It's bad enough now with Romeo, he would live outside 24/7 if he had the option. All 4 of them tore around for a good long while, until Tetley and Abby flopped on the ground, and Gio's tongue was nearly brushing the grass as he ran. Romeo gave up chasing Gio and Abby (he doesn't bug Tetley ... knows better than that!) and resorted to standing and barking at them. A quick drink of water and back in the car to come home. They are currently passed out, Gio on the floor and Romeo on the bed. Oh how I love happy and tired dogs!

Beginner Agility - Class Three

Romeo is currently taking agility classes through D&S. Tonight was his third class.

Wow, that boy loves agility!

I wasn't ever really keen on agility. It's never been something I was interested in ... but then again, neither was formal obedience! I started off in dog sports with flyball, then to rally-o. A tracking seminar came available a couple of years ago, so why not. And then a therapy dog test came up, so let's try that, too. When Romeo came along, he learned flyball and rally-o. But then because of rally-o, he knew what he needed for formal obedience, so why not do that, too? And now agility, because in training for rally-o Romeo decided that he really REALLY loved the tunnel and jumps and weaves.

What we don't do for our dogs, eh?

Tonight we were introduced to the dog walk and chute, and a bit more playing with the tire and weaves that we had learned last class. Romeo LOVES the dog walk, full on body shivers when I tell him to "get ready ... walk it!" Of course, "walk" is just a technical term. In reality, he's blazing across the dog walk already. With me running frantically beside him, arms out stretched, ready to catch him if he falls. But he didn't fall, just tore his way across again and again. Excited bounces once back on the ground as if to say, "I did it! Did ya see? Did ya? Huh?"

I have a couple of portable electric fence posts in the back yard that we use to practice the weaves. We are currently working on proofing entries. Romeo will consistently do 6 poles if we do a regular entry. But it's a bit sloppier on the off-side entries. So that is a work in progress. I need to rig up something for a tire, though. While he will go through the tire without issue, we definitely need some proofing. I don't think he quite gets the difference between going through the tire and going under the tire.

He's going to be really fun to run, once we get ourselves together. Yes, that is me using the word "fun" to describe agility. Something I never would have done even a couple of months ago. But things really are fun when you see your dog enjoying it so much!

The Beginning

I'm just going to start this all off with some introductions.

About Me!

I'm a graduate student, nearing the end of her term, focusing on Holstein coat color genetics. I am fortunate enough to be working with a researcher that is just as much a "dog person" as I am. Much of her research focuses on dog coat color, a personal passion of mine, so when I am not working on my cattle project, I get to be right in the middle of the breaking research of dog genetics. I'm currently at the writing stage of my project, finishing up the final bits of my thesis. Soon, a date will be set for my defense, I will resume heavy drinking, probably cry a lot ... and then I will officially be a "big girl". Off to the world of employment after 22 years of school. I'm excited, scared, giddy, and in mourning all at the same time.

Outside of the lab, I am very involved in the local dog community. I have been involved in NAFA flyball since 2004. I began training with a local flyball club about a year later. Summer of 2006 I began my adventures with CARO Rally-O, tracking and therapy dog work. That led to CKC obedience and eventually CKC Rally-O. Winter 2007/08 I began training with a local kennel and obedience club, taking on some Beginner Rally-O classes and assisting with Novice and Advanced classes.

Now that is the end of the boring stuff ... on to the dogs!

About Gio!

Gio is a 6 year old, over-sized sable male Shetland Sheepdog. He was purchased by my parents from a back-yard breeder in 2002 and was given to me as a high school graduation present. I do not condone back-yard breeders ... but I wouldn't trade Gio for the world. He was dealt a difficult hand, dealing with structural issues in his back end and idiopathic epilepsy. Despite all this, he is an over-achiever and keener to the very end. He was my introduction to dog sports, beginning with flyball when he insisted that he really DID need a job. It was because of his health that he retired from flyball after only a couple of years. But he wanted to keep working, so we took on Rally-O, tracking and therapy dog work. He excelled, and continues to excel, at all of it. Breaking all molds and stretching all preconceived boundaries. He recently got his Performance Even Number (PEN) from CKC so will begin competing in CKC obedience and CKC Rally-O at the end of August 2008.

About Romeo!

Romeo is a 2 year old, tri-color male Shetland Sheepdog. He joined the family at the age of 9 months after not quite "measuring up" to be a show dog. But his breeder recognized his potential for performance sports and sought to find him a home that would take advantage of that potential. I was fortunate enough to pass the test and brought Romeo home in May 2007. He began training in flyball and Rally-O right away, competing in both by November of that year. Next was CKC obedience. He is currently training in agility and will begin competing in CKC Rally-O at the end of August 2008.