Well, we are surviving the winter but it hasn't been easy. We have so much snow it's crazy ! The snow banks in the front yard are as high as our six foot fence. The backyard is a little better but the snow is still very deep and though packed down there are quite a few high spots that the dogs are using as perches to get into trouble. One of our six foot step ladders got frozen in the snow on one of my husbands attempts to clean snow off the back roof. Trinity, our youngest puppy has made several attempts to climb up it and if it were less chilly outside may have even succeeded. Who knows what her plans were should she scale it, but I think we need more than a warm day or two to dig it out. Hopefully I won't look out the kitchen window to find her on the roof one of these days but I wouldn't put it past her.
This week we resumed some agility and trick training and it felt really good to be working the dogs again. It's been such a busy couple of months trying to keep the business afloat there hasn't been much time for fun. On Thursday night I worked Rush, Zuma and Trinity . We mostly played on the equipment but we determined one huge fact : these dogs love to work and will have a blast with this sport ! We worked on gymnastics on the dog walk board, we did tunnels, the Aframe and even a little work with the weaves. It was so much fun to work them and watch them figure things out. All 3 are so confident and ready to learn, I love training my dogs.
On Friday I was able to work Tess a bit on her count her money trick. She LOVES to work and was so funny giving me so much enthusisasm and getting so happy about having my full attention. We worked on the tippy board too. Tess has never been fond of the see saw and so I've decided to start her out by working her on the tippy board. This is a 2 x 2 board witha tennis ball under it that moves in different directions when the dog steps on it. She was tentative at first about putting her paw on it but gradually got braver until she had all 4 paws on the board. Then it was a matter of clicking and treating her for gradually shifting her weight and tipping the board back and forth. We need to do lots of repetitions until she loves the board, right now she is just putting up with it to get her goodies but my plan is to get her loving it ! If she doesn't own the motion of the board and really love to be in charge of the tip I won't be able to convince her that the see saw is great thing. I'm not in a hurry so I know with enough time and patience we'll get there.
Cameo had her session at the training center on Saturday after a very long day of classes, a lecture and private session. It was nice to work my own dog and appreciate just how easy it is to train a dog that has had a good start in life. Cam is brillant and fun to train and we had a blast ! We worked on the ring toss game and after only a few tries she was putting the rings on the cone like she had been doing it for a long time. She also threw in a rollover at one point when she was frustrated and of course her spin, sit up and wave cues are also very spiffy. We had a great time and she was so happy to be working she took a nice long nap.
This week I'm hoping to get in more sessions and get a chance to work Bode and Rhys. I'd like to work on Bode's retrieve to hand and maybe some basics with Rhys. His stay has fallen apart a bit and his greeting skills need a bit of work. Let's hope that this week isn't as busy as last week and I can fit a little work in with everyone.
