Kya hasn’t really changed since the last post. I will be attempting to bring her to Midas’s agility class to observe and maybe look over the equipment and then we’ll see from there I suppose.
Now for the photos….
Photo Update (Plus Kya)
January 9th, 2009Mason – Update
January 9th, 2009Mason and I have been working hard on SAR. It’s been going extremely well. The training dropped off a little with school (what didn’t?) so we are a tad behind but overall I’m extremely pleased with my little dude.
(Click on the dates that are highlighted to be brought to the set to see more photos)
8/12/08
This was the first time working in his harness. Didn’t phase him at all, although I was disappointed with the light and ultimately ended up ordering a new one that I am much happier with. We decided to switch to backchaining and make sure the different legs were solid before we tied them all together.
8/19/08
More backchaining work, tying things together a little more. Some confusion from Mason but overall eagerness to do whatever I asked. We worked in dusk and in full dark, he didn’t seem to notice at all. A couple of people saw him work for the first time and were pleased with his happiness and absolute enthusiasm.
We tied all the legs together, wasn’t smooth but definitely a start. Did some out-of-sight work as well. The indication and Show me! was strong.
8/26/08
Eric took a photo of Mason and I for the K-9 One website 
Bumps were a little sloppy at this training, so we cued them for the exercises, the last couple were solid though.
Yes, this is his indication….
And this adorably puppy was also there 
We started out backchaining and tried the whole chain. We also tried getting the indication with no eye-contact. That didn’t go too well. Mason was acting unsure and confused so we went back to the basics, which he is still doing well with.
We also had Mason out on the boat to see how he did, he was real interested in the noise of the motor and the water but was great the whole time.
9/2/08
We worked in buildings this day. It was really fun. Mason had a moment of confusion when he couldn’t decide whether to leap off something high to get to me the fastest or to take the stairs. He chose the stairs and also led me back up that way. We still made sure that the indication was strong.
9/5/08
We’ve been missing a lot of agility classes with school and other various things that randomly pop up. Mason and I made this particular class, but Eric wasn’t there so no photos.
9/19-9/21/08
I took a Ground SAR class through KCSAR. I learned a lot and really enjoyed the night search techniques. No dogs for this training.
9/24/08
We hadn’t worked in the field for awhile, so when we started out Mason was far more excited than usual. He nailed the exercises but was launching himself from so far away that it was knocking the air completely out of me. In fact, by the end, he had actually cut my stomach with his toenails. But, it was actually a lot of fun! (not the blood part)
This agility class, Eric made it to. Mason is still knocking bars left and right but he’s also still trying his very hardest. He’s nothing if not enthusiastic.
9/29/08
Worked with Kent County, tried out a new subject. Mason was a little overenthusiastic about finding her but otherwise did fine. We did another dark problem too. Mason got hung up in a scent pool (where the subject had been previously) but worked through it with only a little help from me.
This was Mason’s last class. I am going to focus on SAR with him until school slows down and I have him x-rayed to check his hips.
10/5/08
This weekend was K-9 One’s Halloween Campout. I was really, really looking forward to it. But, the morning I was going to drive, Mason was sick with Coccidia. I was quite upset but Pat talked me into coming for the last day and a half, and I am so glad I did, it was a lot of fun!
10/11/08
I went with Pat and Doc to do a little dive work. It was a long day and interesting but ultimately disappointing.
We did some steep hill work and some farther out problems. By the end, the indication was fairly weak and he was refusing the sit command. I checked him over, and found that he had a swollen leg. Still worked hard for me though!
10/19/08
Adam volunteered to subject so that I could Mason out for some training. We went to a local part and just did some short problems, nothing too involved. First time that Adam saw Mason work, which was really fun.
Started out with the standard problem. Then branched into a longer more in-depth one. Mason hurdled an enormous brush pile to get to me the fastest he could (I almost had a heart attack) but then led me back around a better way to the subject. The next problem was even longer and left me out of sight, he was a little slow to come back to find me but did with some prompting.
My Grandma and Grandpa were getting ready to leave for the winter and I really wanted to show them how Mason did, since I had been talking about it all summer. Adam volunteered to subject again and we went to a park in Muskegon for a short demo. He got a little hung up around a previous hiding spot and also one set of picnic tables that were stacked up against a tree but worked it out.
11/17/08
We went out to train today but on the first problem, Mason picked up the biggest thorn I have ever seen. It was wedged right into his paw pad a good 3/4″. Poor little dude. Of course, he finished out his problem and was getting rewarded before he even indicated that something was wrong. Good thing I had all my first aid stuff!
11/18/08
Tonight we tried something so drastically new that it probably wasn’t the best idea but…We tried three consecutive subjects, with Halloween masks on, at variable heights…and Mason nailed it!! It was amazing!
11/23/08
I got my HAM radio license!!!
12/7/08
Worked with someone new today. Did a lot more short problems in a row than Mason was used to. Also, switched subjects while he wasn’t looking. He was a little confused at the beginning but quickly picked it up. He’s also a tad out of shape for all the sprinting he did today haha.
Midas – Update
January 9th, 2009Well, I haven’t been able to post in a very long time, because of school. What’s been going on with that is on MY blog. Because I am so hideously far behind, I’m hoping to do a catch-up blog for each of the puppers and kind of generally cover all that’s been happening.
I left off in the middle of Midas’s agility classes. Which we continued until the end of the advanced class and then I felt that I couldn’t do the time or money during school so we quite 
. Here are some photos of the last few classes (click on the date to go to the whole set).
9/15/08
Our first agility trial. We did not qualify for our first run in Jumpers With Weaves but we not only qualified in Standard, we got first place with a perfect score. The videos are HERE.
I went by myself and met up with most of my agility class and kenneled next to them. Midas was very quiet and calm all day. Then he started puking and having soft poops. I wasn’t sure if it was nerves or not so we did the JWW course first, and there was some bad handling and some sniffing (seen in the video) but I was pretty pleased with our first attempt.
Our second attempt, Novice Standard, resulted in Midas yacking on the green right before our turn. I decided to wing it anyway and we got first place!!!! I have the actual course lay outs but am waiting for Eric to photo and upload them. For now, check out the videos. Oh, and the one and only photo I have (with my camera phone…)
Eric finally took the scary chance of running Midas himself, and did very well for his first time
On 11/20/08 Midas and I attended another open agility, by ourselves so no photos. He did well. On 11/29/08 we drove to MSU bright and early for our second trial, which was disastrous and terrifying. He took a wild leap off the top of the A-frame, skidded on his chest/face and then went on to leap off the teeter. Needless to say, I yanked him from the course and dropped the rest of the weekend. I was shaking and in tears I was so upset with recklessness that he had shown (there’s a video, to be posted later – hopefully). We’ve taken a long break and are hopefully going to begin going to classes again starting next week, I will decide from there whether we will be competing again.
Beyond that, Midas is still my heart-dog and the perfect house companion. I love the moody stinker!
Mason’s New SAR Harness
August 12th, 2008Mason’s new harness came in the mail today!
It looks awesome on him and I’m really looking forward to trying it out tomorrow at our next training. I ordered it from Canine Outfitters, it’s the Patrol Harness, and I love that it has his name on it as well!
Our New SAR Group(s?)
August 6th, 2008As of today, we are now an accepted member of K-9 One and no longer with MISAR. I am very pleased with this switch and look forward to posting many more SAR stories on Leapin’ Labs of our training adventures.
We have also applied with Kent County SAR and are awaiting our application to be processed.
Midas, Agility Round VI, Class #1
August 4th, 2008Tonight was an interesting class. The instructor made the suggestion that Midas lose 2 lbs. I found that interesting because I asked her awhile ago what she thought of his weight and she said he was perfect, he’s since lost 4 lbs.
Anyway, this was the first class that Eric had the new camera to use and it was awesome. He got a lot of consecutive action shots, which are really fun.
As far as class goes, we had some more hard work. First we started out with a series of jumps, 4, the last one was a tire jump in one direction or a regular jump in another, depending on what we were told to do. The first time through, I was able to talk to Midas to tell him what I wanted. The second time I could tell him the first Jump command and then be silent after that. He was to get his cues on which final jump to take by my body language alone. I did not think there was any chance at all he would be able to do this – but he nailed it!
Oh and did I mention that there was a cross after the second jump? Yup. This photo shows it, as he goes over, I ran behind him to the right for the next jump cue.
The last jump was at a pretty tight angle as well:
Then the next couple of times we went through the tire instead of the last jump, some dogs automatically headed for the jump we had been doing but all got the hang of watching where their handler was directing.
Canisters with treats were thrown to get away from treating our dogs from our hands. Then they were looking forward and out for rewards instead of twisting and looking for us. Midas then brings the canister to me so I can get the treats out for him.
After that we moved to doing one angled jump, a very tight turn to 6 weave-poles, a double jump, the teeter (bypassing one tunnel’s entrance) and then a tunnel and one final jump. Everyone ended with the teeter at first until our dogs found their rhythm and then added the tunnel and jump to the end.
Sometimes I wouldn’t go deep enough to make the weave entry easy and Midas would fly past it:
So we had to practice a few times, but then he got it:
We also went on the Teeter numerous times before he was allowed to do it on his own:
Then he got a turn to go through the Tunnel after the Teeter:
Next we did the exact same station but did the purple Tunnel instead of the Teeter. That went smoothly.
Our final station we never did get down pat. It was the dog walk, followed by two jumps and then the A-Frame. The jumps were set at such an angle that every single dog spun after the first one, to find out where to go next – even the instructor’s dog. We really need to work on “Go Out!” .
The dog walk and the A-frame were easy though
It took a really long time for everyone to work through that station…
At the end of the class, we did the alternating tall and short jumps for practice again (this is when Midas got the diet advice):
This was another chance to practice the “Go!” command again. Midas wasn’t sure the first time but when I pitched the treat canister ahead of us, he was perfect the next couple .
K-9 One SAR
August 3rd, 2008Today we got up bright and early and headed over to the Sheriff’s substation, by Millennium Park – only 2.8 miles from our house. Eric decided to come along with Mason and I for our first meeting with K-9 One. We skipped the MISAR every-3-week training to come to this one. I had heard great things about this group, they have strong ties to the Kent County SAR group and they were fine with me using a harness on Mason. Bonus that it was so close to home .
We got there early to see what we could help set up. Eric and I set up two EZ-Up canopies and I helped apply the official stickers to the group’s new boat (they have a boat!).
Then we got a talk about boater safety and unique aspects of this particular boat:
Then some plans were made using a map of the lake:
I was in the first group to go out because I would be laying a trail across the lake and around it for the bloodhounds to track later.
The path I was supposed to take ended up being split by a small river that was not on the map so there was a slight change in plans and I was picked up at a different point. Eric and I were split up at this point, he was the victim and I started to follow behind some of the air scent handlers so that I could get a feel for how they worked. It was fun.
After we did that a couple of times there was a meeting inside the building and then Mason got a chance to ride in the boat (his first time being in a boat) and I got a short driving lesson.
At the end of the day, Mason got to do some training. It was awesome! We were on a dirt road and my “victim” let Mason watch her run away and hide in some grass. He now knows what this game is about so he was straining, lunging and choking on the lead.
I revved him up a little more and released him with his search command and he rocketed down the path straight to her.
I made some noise until he was paying attention to me and then ran backward a couple of steps, encouraging him to follow me – which he did! He came bolting back toward me and I started asking for the indication “Speak”. He slid to a stop, sat, and it took a couple of tries but he finally barked and when I said “Show me!” he actually ran right back down the path – he was slower and he kept glancing back to make sure I was following but he did it right! I ran after him so that I would be there to praise him while he got some treats from our victim.
We had a discussion about the bark indication slowing down Mason’s momentum and that perhaps a Bump cue would be better.
It was resolved that I would try that this time. While the victim went to hide a second time, Mason was hid behind a giant tractor tire so he couldn’t see where she went. He still set out at full speed when I released him with his command though.
When he came careening back, I started to ask for the Bump and patting my chest – he wasn’t sure what I was asking so the jumps were a little…all over the place lol.
He did it though and when I gave the “Show Me!” command he ran full-tilt back to our victim, much more sure of himself this time around.
I raced after him and there were more treats and praises:
This was his last search of the day so he got his toy (the ball, now in a sock so that there could be more interaction) and got to carry it back to the van where he then received his very special treats. It was awesome!!! He’s catching on so fast!
Eric took some photos while he was hiding as well, so the whole set is HERE.
It was a long but awesome day!
Mason, Agility Round II, Class #3
July 25th, 2008Eric was able to come to class tonight so there are photos to show what we worked on . When we first got there, Mason was very excited and had kind of a hard time concentrating. The instructor had to come over and say hello – he likes to greet everyone.
He always breaks the lay down/stay at the beginning of class, too excited to sit still.
But, after that initial wiggle-fest he is usually ready to concentrate on the tasks at hand so I usually try to have him do a stay while the instructor goes over the different stations that we’ll be working on for each class. Then he does the stay perfectly.
This is his calm, but attentive, face:
When the stations were all explained and everyone split up to work on separate ones, the only one open to us was the Teeter, so that’s what we started with. This week we actually walked the dog up the one end and down the other, the instructor held it so it wouldn’t slam and scare them while they hit the contacts and Waited at the end.
Mason is still struggling with where his back-end is and if I am hanging onto his collar, he leans one way or the other and then he usually can’t control his back-end and it slips off. Something we definitely have to work on!
We did it over and over, I made sure to keep my hand as light as possible on his collar (a heavier hand caused such intense shaking that the entire Teeter was swaying), until he was steady going up and down. He looked forward to the treats throughout the process and eagerly awaited his treat after the Wait command as well.
We borrowed a tab from the instructor because the tab I was using on Mason was Midas’s and Mason’s poor little foot kept slipping through the loop and tripping him. We’ll have to make or buy one that isn’t a loop that will work better for the little dude.
The next station we moved to was the dog walk. I figure the more practice that Mason gets, the better he’ll be about where his rear-end is.
He really likes the dog walk and likes to sprint the straight away – I think it’s eagerness to hit the Wait command and then get the treat at the end. He is learning the command Easy though so that’s good.
After that we moved to the Weaves. The guides still occasionally screw him up but as long as I go alongside him, he does them fine. He hasn’t quite mastered being able to do the Weaves by entering one end while I wait at the other – he skips several or comes out early etc. I tried lowering the guides all the way to the ground, so that they were out of the way for the most part and then he did them perfectly, without a hitch.
We worked on the A-frame next.
He has never had a problem with this obstacle and I really wanted to practice more on the Wait command (he does it so extremely well I want to make sure I don’t begin to expect it instead of praising for it).
Here is Mason slamming on the brakes!
And the big praises:
We moved to a tunnel and two jumps for our next station. The jumps are what we struggle with the most. Once he gets the hang of the station and what I’m asking for, he tries to add some speed – at which point his jumps become rather flat and he starts knocking bars. This is an area we definitely need to work on.
When we’ve had a bar-hitting spree, I usually set him up as close to the jump as possible, in a sit and then command him to jump Over, this teaches him to jump up.
The tunnel on the other hand, he has perfected. He never enters without a command and he is always very conscious of which end I’m directing him to, which is awesome.
Because of the jumping problems, we moved to the Speed Circle next. It was a series of 4 jumps in a circle that then leads to either the collapsed tunnel or through the tire jump, depending on the direction that we took with the speed circle.
At one point, Mason hit 3 of the 4 bars and knocked them down . So, we practiced on this a lot.
That summed up all of the stations for the one-on-one time. We took a short break while everyone else finished up.
It was almost the end of class so we gathered together and went through a couple of the stations as a group. The first station Mason nailed without any problems whatsoever. It involved the A-frame, weaves, tunnel and jumps.
The second station was the speed circle, the tire and the collapsed tunnel. The instructor had seen him knock down all but one of the bars on one of our practice rounds so she called on us to go first. I was nervous he would do the same thing but trusted that he would do his best regardless…
…he did not hit a single bar!!! He did awesome!! I was very proud of the little dude! Since we went first, we got to practice our down/stay again while everyone else went through and then that was the end of class .
Midas, Agility Round V, Class #4 – Make-Up
July 22nd, 2008We missed Midas’s real agility class time because I was trying out a new SAR group with Mason. Instead we went to one of the open agility times that anyone that is interested in can show up for and there were quite a few people there, including our regular classmates .
When we first got there, I tethered Midas to the wall so that I could check out the course we would be doing (a difficult one).
I walked the course after catching up (I am really sad I missed class, I never realized what a huge part of my week seeing everyone is!), it was tricky and I did it multiple times to try to figure out where I could cross:
We went third, and by that time Midas was really revved up – but I was soooo proud of him, he did a little moaning and whining but nothing loud and he laid down and was quiet when I told him to!
First we had a jump at an angle from the start line (the jump behind us), then an angled jump (the one he’s going over)…
…and then right angled up onto the dog walk:
Then we had to run past the first entrance to the tunnel and he had to go in the second. The first time, this was no problem. The second time he went partially into the wrong end but came back out when I called him (we started over) and the third time he did fine as well .
After the tunnel we had a funky jump at an angle and then onto the Teeter. The first time he slammed the Teeter and jumped off the end, the second time he slammed it but didn’t jump and the third time I held his collar and he did it properly lol. From the Teeter it was onto the Table:
Through the Tire:
Then through the weaves. He knows what they are about now, that’s for sure. He also really wants to do them fast, but then he ends up skipping and popping out too early. But, he’s progressing quickly and I think it’s only a matter of time until he gets them down perfectly!
Then there was a jump. This jump then led to four other jumps, not in a row, no, that would be too easy. They were all set at opposite angles. So, I could choose to run on the outside the whole time (hard to keep up with my fast dog), the inside (and have to send him Out) or do a cross to optimize both.
Here is the first jump:
I tried running the inside first, Midas does not know Out very well and I had to do a little nudging with my leg and some exaggerated pointing but we made it…sort of:
In this one we are going over the third jump, but you can see the second jump in the background – see the angle? Hard.
Then I tried to do the recommended cross…it went like this:
He started to go Out, paused when he saw I was running past and tried to turn and we collided – neither fell and he did make the jump though so that was good lol. I went back and showed him what I meant by Out:
The middle jumps went alright in that one though:
Then I didn’t trust him to go out so I could cross in the last jump so I was too slow to move over toward the A-frame and he did a little turn trying to find me – oh well, practice makes perfect.
Our only problem on the A-frame was I didn’t say Wait fast enough (he was flying!) and he might’ve missed the contacts but otherwise he loves this obstacle! And I did it right after the first time:
Then we had an extremely tight turn over another jump:
Through the collapsed tunnel and we’re done!
Kent County SAR
July 21st, 2008Tonight we rushed around like crazy to head out to the Cannonsburg Game Preserve to meet Kent County Search and Rescue and see how things are run a little closer to home. We were a little lost and confused and weren’t sure we were in the right spot because of all of the bikers (as in bicycle not motorcycle) but then we saw this:
We discussed the various SAR training techniques, the different classes that KCSAR had to offer and the application process then we headed out to see how Mason would do.
We discussed where his training had been left off for the last week and a half and then how we would pick up where it had been left off – teaching the alert and the refind. I decided to try out a new toy because Mason doesn’t really enjoy tugging with anyone he doesn’t know but he enjoys fetching for anyone at any time. I bought a ball that he has never had and will never have at home – a larger, squeaky blue ball.
We did a couple of exercises where he was just finding the victims and then receiving his toy, like we’ve done in the past.
Getting ready to Search:
Then we started to try to work in the refind. He would find the victims, but not receive his toy like he was used to, then I would immediately call him back where he would be asked to Speak. As soon as he did, the victims would make enticing noises and scamper around until he came racing back towards them (with me rushing after him) and as soon as he reached them he would get his toy. We did this several times but he didn’t quite get the tie-together, although once treats were added he was much more enthusiastic .
So we decided to work on making it more fun for him to run back to me and then back to them specifically. I got a lot of instructions because I didn’t want to screw up on some vital timing.
Mason was taken with the “Victims” and then I had him come back to me, Speak and then race back to them (where he then got treats).
After he had been successful a couple of times, we decided to quit while ahead and Mason was allowed to keep his toy as his reward:
Everyone stood around and chatted some more, about upcoming meetings etc
Mason was pretty tired:
Although I felt clumsy and as though Mason wasn’t progressing as quickly as he should’ve; everyone else said that he did wonderfully and had great potential!
Later I even heard from other members that had not been out with us that they had been told that Mason did wonderfully and is looking good .