Basil is here! OH is being adorable doing positive reinforcement training with him to get him to settle in his crate
Just had a 1:1 training session to prepare for agility classes. I am so happy I decided not to just start with agility...so much to learn!
Your dog whisperer video on Instagram was too cute, Basil is just a little poppet. Oooh please share your experiences once you start! I love reading the agility and flyball stories, there aren't enough of them.
Coco woke me at 5:00 am to go out for a poo. He stuck his cold nose right into the back of my neck and gave a tiny whine. I haven't been out yet to see if it was loose. He's not the most regular dog - 2 or 3 poos a day at random times, not in often the night though.
I went yesterday so need to get up some videos for Fiona of the puppy judging and general photos - I'll do that in the next couple of days. This year there were NO chickens (sorry about that) but the theme seemed to be turtles. There were turtles everywhere, along with 4 meerkats, 2 donkeys and assorted small songbirds. It's meant to be the biggest dog show in the south of the country, but this is the second year that I've attended and the second year that it feels like it was put together by a committee of 8 year olds roughly three days before the event. Not boring, though. And it makes me wonder what they'll have along with the dogs next year...llamas and spiders?
Last night we decided to leave Axel free upstairs while we went out shortly. We put Odie in our bedroom just incase there was a play accident, due to size difference. I was so nervous, we were only gone for 20 minutes, but everything he likes to steal I left out. Such as pillows and blankets on the couch. But we came home to a happy puppy at the front door. Nothing was out of place, not even his toys.
"Look, mum, you can trust me. You really can. I am very very good. You can trust me with EVERYTHING. Next time, go away for longer and...just a thought...why not leave the fridge door propped open as you go? You can trust me, you know, I'm a really good boy. Look how good I am."
Spain sounds absolutely bonkers, but absolutely amazing (how do you switch from a German mindset to a Spanish one? Such different attitudes to life!). If only all dog shows were organised like that lol. Pretty please tell me you got some photos of the eeyores? Please?
Warning, woe is me ahead: Another appalling obedience class. Xena had her nose in the grass for most of the class, and when she wasn't sniffing it, she was eating it. You know what the deep sniffs are like, they don't hear you at all. I don't see how we're going to pass that class when she seems to be getting more distracted by the environment as the weeks go on. I'm hoping that it's just the heightened senses of adolescence that are causing this, because it's driving me mad. I cannot participate in a class when the damned dog won't get her nose off the ground, it's just incredibly frustrating. Then the instructor (he's usually the assistant but tonight he took the class) told me that I needed to be the boss because she's just too interested in other dogs. I know to ignore that kind of language, but on the other hand it does feel like that dog's walking all over me and that I need to be firmer. And I don't even have any wine to talk to about this, blerg.
My personal mindset is closer to German, but about the time all the German rules start to wear on me, I head to Spain or Italy where the rules generally go out the window. I enjoy the chaos for a while until I think, "I can't deal with all the craziness" and about then it's time for me to head back to Germany with all the organization and rules again...and the cycle starts all over until the next year. Somehow it all kind of works out! I didn't actually take pics of the donkeys at the show (it makes me a bit sad to see them in a small pen like that), but I've dug out some older photos from Ireland for your Eeyore fix. These are donkeys at an amazing sanctuary in County Cork where they are happy, well-loved and have lots of room to frolic.
How old is Xena now? I totally understand the "nose stuck on ground" training sessions. One day it was so awful that I dramatically said "that's it, we're NEVER going to get better" but then I saw the poor girl next to me trying to train her beagle and realised that there were dogs that followed their noses more than Ella! One instructor saw the trouble I was having and told me to grab some food and hold it in my left hand, on my thigh, just towards the inside. Once Ella stuck her nose to it he told me to start raising the food bit by bit until it was nearly at chin level. If Ella lost focus and stuck her nose down, I lowered my hand again. We did really short bursts of heel work using this method (lots of actual rewards for good focus) and I managed to get Ella's focus back on me. I did question the fact that I was luring Ella but he said that I needed to take a step back and encourage her to want to look up again.
I think Stanley and Xena are about the same age - 11 months? I totally feel your pain! Stanley has to sniff everything then mark it then sniff again. Then his nose is down constantly when we're walking. His new nickname is bloodhound! My new trick - it's probably not the best but it works for us - is to say "Stanley, what's mummy got?". Then he looks up with interest and when I've definitely got his attention he gets some treats and we carry on with whatever he was supposed to be doing. It works if I can see he's about to bolt as well, I just say what's mummy got then run the other way and he chases me and gets loads of treats for it.
I feel for both of pain! We go to gundog training with a load of other dogs who seem to be owned by gamekeepers and are beautifully trained! Then there is me my OH and Alfie doing his best cow impression while their dogs are sitting beautifully!! Ahhhhh lol
I just have to say I really adore my dog!! Had a terrible exam today but came home cuddled Alfie and walked him and now I feel so much better!!!
