Look what Mason got in the mail today!!!

Go little dude!!!!

The boys (and hopefully Kya in the future) are really starting to be competitive and earn some awards and certificates. I was keeping everything in one binder but that was starting to overflow so I separated and organized.

Binders:

Search and Rescue

Dock Jumping

Agility, Rally, Non-Competitive Obedience

Misc - this one includes things like their AKC/UKC registration, OFA, shot records, raw diet information etc

Tonight Adam came with me to walk the 3 blocks down to the elementary school’s baseball field. I actually walked with Midas on one side and Mason on the other and it went really well. They had to be reminded where they were supposed to be several times but there was no real yanking at all - which was really awesome! There was a dog in one of the side yards that made Midas start up with his whining, which in turn caused Mason to try to make him feel better - and cross in front of me, but that was a one-time thing

We got to the field and Adam watched one dog while I practiced with the other. I started with Mason because watching him usually gets Midas raring to go. He did amazing! It was so great!! Last year, I was just working on him chasing and pouncing on the toy - the beginning of The Chase technique. Now, he’s finally got the concept. His sit/stay are a little shaky and no where near the distance that Midas can go, but it’s there at least. He runs at me full-speed…and JUMPS!! He jumps now - and he CATCHES!! Consistently I couldn’t be more thrilled with my little dude!

Next, I switched them off with Adam and took Midas out to the field. He did lousy, similar to the last time we practiced and the last event. But, only for the first couple of times. After a warm-up he finally got it right twice in a row. I switched off again and Mason did well again and then I did Midas again. He was much more into it the second time. I’m not sure if he just got lazy over the winter, lost his drive or just forgot what it was all about. But, we ended up with one really spectacular run and jump so we called it quits on a good note and walked home. They were exhausted for the rest of the evening

Today was gorgeous out. Sunny and warm, I miss summer already. Anyway, Grandma Gray was really bummed that she was going to be unable to see the boys dock jump at any events this summer. So, we planned a trip to Hart Lake and the dock there to do an informal dock jumping event. It was an absolute blast! I am really apprehensive about using the Wubba as my throw item at the UAG because I’m not used to the feel and the weight of it, so I figured this would be a perfect time to practice.

This is my favorite photo:

Here’s an action shot:

Here’s an example of a horrendous throw…

See how his body is twisted? That is because I threw slightly too short and he tried to catch it while his body continued forward, this is bad. I can’t wait until I don’t have photos of bad throws every single time we practice/compete. *sigh* with practice I know…On the other hand Midas started to consistently catch it (if my throw was good) towards the end, showing that he remembers our land training. That was definitely exciting. I also know how to throw it so that the part he likes to catch (the tails) is towards him, making it easier and more fun for him. I was really excited to see how well he was doing with the catching Not so thrilled with how many bad throws I had though…

Mason has come so far in the last couple of weeks and I’m so proud of him. This was the second time he was asked to jump off of a dock and he had hardly any hesitation. The enthusiasm in his little body just makes me swell with pride. He jumps off (occasionally slides), swims back with tail wagging the entire time, and brings the Wubba right back to my hand before darting onto the dock again, no time for shaking the water off. It makes me smile just thinking about it. So far he does his best jumping when I run with him down the dock and then throw it. I would like to try throwing it, bringing him back and then releasing him but I think he would still hesitate. Anywho, here he is:

Waiting patiently for the word that it’s his turn

“Waiting” not-so-patiently He looks huge to me in this photo…

His first couple of attempts were definitely less than graceful - this looks like he banged himself against the side of the dock, but he didn’t

He finally got the hang of it - mostly

We decided to liven things up by letting them each go first and then be followed by the other one. When Mason went first he had to have at least a 15 ft head start or Midas would land on him. When Midas went first it made Mason brave enough to make an actual leap from the dock, instead of a shimmy or a slide. It was so much fun and we were all tired when we left. Grandma and Grandpa were thrilled they finally got to see what we were always talking about. Hopefully Mason will be this cooperative tomorrow and I’ll enter him in the DockDogs event.

Obedience. Last night was supposed to be Midas’s first Obedience class…which we missed all but the last ten minutes of. The directions I got were for Cherry St. downtown GR and really it was supposed to be in Ada . So, then we had to hurry home and get the real directions and then hurry there. I was really bummed. Really, really bummed. The class went over so we sat in the truck and waited….and waited…and then just for a change of pace, we waited some more. Finally it ended and I got to speak with the instructor. She was terrific. She told me to work on Midas with focusing on me. She also said that the prong collar might work out very well for me, if I use it correctly. After a lengthy conversation we headed home. I felt much better and not so depressed. Tonight after work I practiced some of the things she said and it worked fairly well. I also took Midas for his very first loose-leash walk ever !! I was so excited! It was lovely. The thing about the prong collar is that he self-corrects himself, I don’t have to do a whole lot. Once I taught him that the concept was to stay on my left, next to me, he pretty much did with no direction from me. There were a couple of mistakes, but it was our first walk so there’s plenty of time to finesse. I am hoping it will carry over to the dock jumping competition at Traverse City with Ultimate Air Dogs this weekend.

Search and Rescue. After watching Mason at my grandparents’ place hunt up the stick we throwing during fetch and have the determination to keep at it long after Midas had quit, I decided maybe he would excel at something beyond therapy training. After a little bit of research (very little, not a whole lot I could find on the Internet for Michigan), I found Mid-Michigan Kennels, Inc. I emailed the trainer and he requested that I call. I talked to him today after work and he was great! I am bringing Mason there on Tuesday. He’s way to young too start real training, but I can start playing some games with him to see if he even has the right “stuff” to do SAR. I’m pretty excited.

RAW Food. I’ve been researching the benefits of switching the boys to a raw dog food diet. We have a line and are probably picking up an extra freezer on Monday. This is not just for the dogs (if we even switch), we need the extra space for all of our extra food…Eric can not go by a bread sale and not buy at least 3 loaves. Unfortunately, everything I’ve found online is waaaayyy to expensive to switch. I joined a couple of raw yahoo groups in Michigan and am hoping to get some more info. I also haven’t contacted any meat shops in the area yet. If anyone has any additional info, good or bad, please let me know!

Dock Jumping. Tomorrow we are heading out bright and early to Traverse City to take the dogs to the Cherry Festival. We are staying with my parents good friends and they are going to be there too. It will be the first time either have seen Midas compete, I’m nervous! He is competing both days too. After watching all the photos that Eric took at Battle Creek, I realize I am throwing WAY too early for him to even attempt to catch the bumper, so I hope to work on this during the practice dock time. I worked on him in the backyard again tonight and it went very well. He’s doing really well with it, I can only hope it transfers to the dock. Mason has started getting out of the truck by himself now, so maybe he’s worked up the nerve to actually jump off the dock - only one way to find out .

Midas

Thus far, Midas has been jumping beautifully on his own without any training from me. Both events we were at, the announcers commented on the nice POP he gets from the end of the dock, which is exactly what I want him to do. He does not follow the bumper though and I would love to be able to compete in Catch It and Extreme or Ultimate Vertical. So, I’ve purchased a golf ball retriever, which I can jam the bumper into and practice EV/UV and many have advised to practice with a hurdle. I have printed plans for a hurdle made of PVC pipe that we can do ourselves. Unfortunately, the water at the dock we use is so low we haven’t been able to practice off of it at all lately. Therefore, we revert to land training. I put two chairs and a 2×4 out in the yard. The 2×4 was just sitting on the ground between the two chairs. This is to get Midas used to jumping over it and between the two chairs (for now). He did alright. He would only jump it if I directly asked him to though. Next I moved it up to the chair rungs, approximately 7 inches off the ground. He did alright with this as well. Then I tried tossing his toy for him while he jumps the hurdle. He did that. Then he apparently got bored because he laid down with a stick instead of coming back for more. Fine.

Mason

With Mason I’ve basically just been building up his drive for the object. It’s working great. As soon as I take any toy out of the “special” bag he goes nuts. He jumps, he drools, he spins, he snorts…and he inevitably trips and does a nose dive into the dirt . He’s so darn cute. So, I play with him with the new bumper and start The Chase technique, he’s definitely lunging after it now. He even occasionally catches it, but his eye mouth coordination isn’t quite that fast yet. Then I tried the hop over the board on the ground, oh sure, no problem. Then I moved it up to the 7 in mark and he sailed right over it before I was done getting it ready. I praised him heavily. He does great lunging at the bumper going over the hurdle. He even goes over the hurdle by himself without any direction (I think because I praised him so much for it). I have got one eager pup here whose training I think is going to be a breeze.