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….
Archive for January, 2009
Photo Update (Plus Kya)
Friday, January 9th, 2009Mason – Update
Friday, 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
Friday, 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!
