It was the end of term party today at training. 30 dogs, 15 children, about 50 adults and 3 barbeque's. And surprisingly no problems!
As we were waiting for the barbeque's to heat up, we done some training easy training. Well, with the puppy classes as well we couldn't do anything too testing. Some walking on lead, sits, downs and round some of the agility equipment. Alan went very easy on us!
We settled down to some food and spent a very relaxing couple of hours generally chilling in the field. It was really nice.
We then had the award ceremony, I collected my bronze certificate with pride! I was secretly pleased to note that no one from my (intermediate) class passed the gold.
Alan is unsure whether he will continue the training in September. I hope he does. The crowd of people there are just so nice, and no one really cares about anything, except the dogs.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Vet trip
On Monday, we noticed Tommy was rubbing his eye more than normal with his paw and that there was 'sleep' on it. I cleaned his eye with water, but within an hour the 'sleep' had returned...a vet visit I feel...
Booked him in for earlier today. I was dreading it after the Silver Award which we don't talk about but tried to put that to the back of my mind - calm assertive behaviour otherwise it will go down the lead.
It wasn't Mr Gilmore who saw him which was a bit of a shame. Tommy skulked round the examination room but I put him on the table once I'd explained what was wrong.
The vet put some drops in his eye and looked through an ultra violet light. I was holding Tommy's head. There were no scratches or anything so the vet thought he'd probably just caught his eye when running through the long grass.
The vet put a treat on the table which Tommy ate. And then I realised the examination was over! Tommy hadn't freaked at the vet! I was so pleased...
The vet also mentioned that next time I could bathe the eye in tea (no milk or sugar) for 24-48 hours and that might clear it up without having to use drops or pay for the examination fee! I never knew that tea could do that! One to remember I think.
Booked him in for earlier today. I was dreading it after the Silver Award which we don't talk about but tried to put that to the back of my mind - calm assertive behaviour otherwise it will go down the lead.
It wasn't Mr Gilmore who saw him which was a bit of a shame. Tommy skulked round the examination room but I put him on the table once I'd explained what was wrong.
The vet put some drops in his eye and looked through an ultra violet light. I was holding Tommy's head. There were no scratches or anything so the vet thought he'd probably just caught his eye when running through the long grass.
The vet put a treat on the table which Tommy ate. And then I realised the examination was over! Tommy hadn't freaked at the vet! I was so pleased...
The vet also mentioned that next time I could bathe the eye in tea (no milk or sugar) for 24-48 hours and that might clear it up without having to use drops or pay for the examination fee! I never knew that tea could do that! One to remember I think.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Don't Do Dock Dogs
We had the Robin of Sherwood (!) country show on this weekend, they have a massive 'Discover Dogs' theme throughout as well as Mountain Bike displays, ferret racing and Falconry display. I've been a couple of years, but have never managed to get their early enough to try Tommy on the 'Dock Dogs'. This year would be different!
I got in the queue at about 2o'clock and waited for my turn. Typically, we'd turned up just as a competition was about to start - so annoying! So we waited. Whilst waiting, a couple of staffies joined the queue and I think the bitch was in heat - Tommy was desperate to say hello - so unusual for him as he normally ignores Staffies. When I was kneeling down he pulled me over to try and get to her! And he was play bowing and barking, he needed to smell this bitch! I tried to get him to sit, he even ignored the ham I waved under his nose! The owner of the bitch seemed oblivious, or didn't care. One of the two.
Anyway, after about 1/2 hour, it was our turn. I thought this would be easy, throw the ball, Tommy would jump in after, win / win situation and we'd all go home happy. It was not to be. Tommy was very interested in the ball, just not interested enough to jump into the pool or be distracted from the Staffie. Squeaky toy, not interested. The guy running it said maybe we could try him on the slope - he still wasn't having any of it. All he wanted to do was escape and sniff the Staffie. Which he managed to do. So I had to go and claim him back.
I'm a bit surprised Tommy didn't want to jump and swim for the tennis ball - I'm even more surprised he wanted to sniff the Staffie! Sometimes I wish he would focus more on what I want him to do rather than his very focused terrier / male dog instinct to do sniff dogs on heat! I mean, it's not like he could do anything, he's had the chop! FFS
I got in the queue at about 2o'clock and waited for my turn. Typically, we'd turned up just as a competition was about to start - so annoying! So we waited. Whilst waiting, a couple of staffies joined the queue and I think the bitch was in heat - Tommy was desperate to say hello - so unusual for him as he normally ignores Staffies. When I was kneeling down he pulled me over to try and get to her! And he was play bowing and barking, he needed to smell this bitch! I tried to get him to sit, he even ignored the ham I waved under his nose! The owner of the bitch seemed oblivious, or didn't care. One of the two.
Anyway, after about 1/2 hour, it was our turn. I thought this would be easy, throw the ball, Tommy would jump in after, win / win situation and we'd all go home happy. It was not to be. Tommy was very interested in the ball, just not interested enough to jump into the pool or be distracted from the Staffie. Squeaky toy, not interested. The guy running it said maybe we could try him on the slope - he still wasn't having any of it. All he wanted to do was escape and sniff the Staffie. Which he managed to do. So I had to go and claim him back.
I'm a bit surprised Tommy didn't want to jump and swim for the tennis ball - I'm even more surprised he wanted to sniff the Staffie! Sometimes I wish he would focus more on what I want him to do rather than his very focused terrier / male dog instinct to do sniff dogs on heat! I mean, it's not like he could do anything, he's had the chop! FFS
Monday, June 13, 2011
And so to the silver award...
We had to wait quite a while after the bronze before we could start the test for the silver because we were waiting for other dogs to turn up. I started to get a bit bored; Tommy started to get very bored. He started rolling on his back, mock growling and biting his lead. Time for a short walk while we try to calm down just a bit…
Eventually the other dogs turned up and the test could start. The exercises are a bit harder than the bronze (obviously) but we had been practising a lot. The first exercise was ‘play with your dog in a controlled manner’ – if the examiner had been around 15 minutes before, she would have seen me play with the dog in a controlled manner / lose control / take dog for a walk to calm him, but still. Getting Tommy excited is no problem, and for some reason he was willing to work. When she said stop, I said down and Tommy dropped like a ton of bricks, tail wagging, waiting for the next instruction. I started to have some hope that this might go well.
The road walk went ok; some motorbikes went passed which freaked Tommy a bit. ‘It’s ok’ I said ‘nothing to worry about’. The examiner seemed to pick up on what I said and wrote something down – I hoped it was positive! Tommy was eager to jump in his cage in the car. Wagging his tail he circled and sat down. He almost seemed fed up when I let him out again!
The controlled greeting went well, as did the ignore food (I had to eat some bread pudding whilst Tommy wasn’t meant to be too interested). The sun came out for the two minute down stay (hurrah!) so I had to persuade Tommy that more work was coming and to move!
A basic recall was next – no problems at all (so why does he piss about so much over the park when I call him then!). The next exercise was come away from distractions off lead (the distractions was the other dogs). I was worried about this. Tommy had shown ‘interest’ in a couple of the other dogs – especially as he hadn’t had a class with them before. I took Tommy off the lead and walked towards the dogs. He trotted ahead a small amount and when instructed, I turned and called him for all I was worth! I broke into a jog and he followed! I was so pleased – especially as he went (waggy tailed) to say hello to a very bouncy bitch that he liked the look of!
Examination of the dog – the last exercise for Tommy - was soon upon us. I was nervous, too nervous really and I’m sure this ‘went down the lead’. Tommy isn’t great at being handled. I don’t know why. It must have been something from before we had him, and it can cause problems. B/f and I have no problems with him – I can do anything I like with Tommy with no fears but a stranger?? I was hoping that as the lady examiner had been around Tommy for a few hours he wouldn’t freak. I desperately watched how Archie behaved. He is the other ‘snappy’ dog in the class. He growled at her but all seemed under control – I felt encouraged. Another couple of dogs then it was our turn. I said straight away that I was dreading this part. Lots of good boys, clever boys and well dones later, the ‘business’ end was done. Then she done something I wasn’t expecting, she went round to the ‘other’ end to (I presume) check the balls (not that he’s got any) and rear legs. It caught me by surprise, I turned to look at Alan and in that split ½ second it happened. Tommy went for the examiner. She moves quickly when she wants to! She said that was just too close and I know it was. I felt sad, but always knew that would be his downside. And it’s my fault. I looked at what she had done with the other dogs – why did I not think she would try for Tommys rear? I felt silly and embarrassed.
She carried on along the line and then it was the questions again. Even though I knew I’d failed, I still went in to answer the questions. Just to rub it in, she asked me the same questions that she asked for the bronze – at least I got the puppy food one correct this time!
So that was that. I won’t be mentioning the Silver Award again. Although will try again next year.
Eventually the other dogs turned up and the test could start. The exercises are a bit harder than the bronze (obviously) but we had been practising a lot. The first exercise was ‘play with your dog in a controlled manner’ – if the examiner had been around 15 minutes before, she would have seen me play with the dog in a controlled manner / lose control / take dog for a walk to calm him, but still. Getting Tommy excited is no problem, and for some reason he was willing to work. When she said stop, I said down and Tommy dropped like a ton of bricks, tail wagging, waiting for the next instruction. I started to have some hope that this might go well.
The road walk went ok; some motorbikes went passed which freaked Tommy a bit. ‘It’s ok’ I said ‘nothing to worry about’. The examiner seemed to pick up on what I said and wrote something down – I hoped it was positive! Tommy was eager to jump in his cage in the car. Wagging his tail he circled and sat down. He almost seemed fed up when I let him out again!
The controlled greeting went well, as did the ignore food (I had to eat some bread pudding whilst Tommy wasn’t meant to be too interested). The sun came out for the two minute down stay (hurrah!) so I had to persuade Tommy that more work was coming and to move!
A basic recall was next – no problems at all (so why does he piss about so much over the park when I call him then!). The next exercise was come away from distractions off lead (the distractions was the other dogs). I was worried about this. Tommy had shown ‘interest’ in a couple of the other dogs – especially as he hadn’t had a class with them before. I took Tommy off the lead and walked towards the dogs. He trotted ahead a small amount and when instructed, I turned and called him for all I was worth! I broke into a jog and he followed! I was so pleased – especially as he went (waggy tailed) to say hello to a very bouncy bitch that he liked the look of!
Examination of the dog – the last exercise for Tommy - was soon upon us. I was nervous, too nervous really and I’m sure this ‘went down the lead’. Tommy isn’t great at being handled. I don’t know why. It must have been something from before we had him, and it can cause problems. B/f and I have no problems with him – I can do anything I like with Tommy with no fears but a stranger?? I was hoping that as the lady examiner had been around Tommy for a few hours he wouldn’t freak. I desperately watched how Archie behaved. He is the other ‘snappy’ dog in the class. He growled at her but all seemed under control – I felt encouraged. Another couple of dogs then it was our turn. I said straight away that I was dreading this part. Lots of good boys, clever boys and well dones later, the ‘business’ end was done. Then she done something I wasn’t expecting, she went round to the ‘other’ end to (I presume) check the balls (not that he’s got any) and rear legs. It caught me by surprise, I turned to look at Alan and in that split ½ second it happened. Tommy went for the examiner. She moves quickly when she wants to! She said that was just too close and I know it was. I felt sad, but always knew that would be his downside. And it’s my fault. I looked at what she had done with the other dogs – why did I not think she would try for Tommys rear? I felt silly and embarrassed.
She carried on along the line and then it was the questions again. Even though I knew I’d failed, I still went in to answer the questions. Just to rub it in, she asked me the same questions that she asked for the bronze – at least I got the puppy food one correct this time!
So that was that. I won’t be mentioning the Silver Award again. Although will try again next year.
Monday, June 06, 2011
Bronze Dog
I was worried when I woke on Sunday to see that it was overcast - the one minute down stay for the Good Citizen Bronze Award looked further away than it did last year! But I thought there is no way round it, and I shouldn't rely on the weather for Tommy to do the down.
It's ridiculous really - how nervous and apprehensive all the handlers get. It does transfer down the lead and makes the dogs nervous and apprehensive as well!
The test was going well. So well I began to believe he could do it - we could do it. The exercises seemed to go smoothly. Then it was my turn - the questions -
'When do you stop feeding puppy food'
'Six months' I said confidently
'Would you like to try another answer'
'Three months? I've never had a puppy' I confessed..
'Well, between 12 and 16 weeks really'
And then the warden who was testing us moved on. The answer was acceptable.
We passed! (The fact that the whole class passed has nothing to do with it...) Tommy and I passed!
I now have a bronze trained dog!
It's ridiculous really - how nervous and apprehensive all the handlers get. It does transfer down the lead and makes the dogs nervous and apprehensive as well!
The test was going well. So well I began to believe he could do it - we could do it. The exercises seemed to go smoothly. Then it was my turn - the questions -
'When do you stop feeding puppy food'
'Six months' I said confidently
'Would you like to try another answer'
'Three months? I've never had a puppy' I confessed..
'Well, between 12 and 16 weeks really'
And then the warden who was testing us moved on. The answer was acceptable.
We passed! (The fact that the whole class passed has nothing to do with it...) Tommy and I passed!
I now have a bronze trained dog!
Monday, May 30, 2011
No car day
It was the air show this weekend and because of where we live, if the cars aren't parked home by 10:30, you can bet your life that you won’t be able to get a parking place within a mile for the rest of the day because of the day trippers.
The first item on the agenda was walking Tommy. We cycled to the park. It’s the first time I’ve actually cycled anywhere with him! He ran nicely alongside the bike once he realised that we weren’t going to stop and sniff every few minutes. It’s only one kilometre to the park and only cycled at his jogging pace so he was still full of beans and able to play with Duncan when we got there. I put him in my rucksack for the ride home as I didn’t want him too tired for training. I had allot of ‘oh look at that dog – how cool’ from the people we rode past. I’m not sure if Tommy thought it was cool, but he seemed unfazed when we got in – and I could ride faster!
We caught the train to training. It arrived with two minutes to spare before the start of training. Unfortunately, I left his training treats on the train and Tommy was looking at me in a ‘huh, forget it. You’re by yourself today love’ attitude. Spice’s dad spotted this and gave me some cheese. I’m forever in his debt.
I didn’t catch the train home after training. With all the trippers going into Southend, I thought it unwise, so we walked. It was nice to start, once we got off the main road. Along a path and through some fields. Once we’d crossed the busy road again, we walked by Prittle Brook. Tommy was hot so he had a drink and a swim before we carried on into Southend.
I took a wrong turn over the fields and ended up walking along the busy road again. It wasn’t really the nice walk I’d envisaged so when I spotted a lady standing at the bus stop I asked her how long until the bus was due. About 5 minutes. We waited and then caught the bus the remaining mile home. Tommy, as ever, was good on the bus. He sat for a while taking it all in, but soon laid down with his eyes half closed.
After such a busy day for a JRT he snoozed in the garden while I dead headed roses. Until the planes got too noisy that is! Then he went to his safe place, under the sideboard.
The first item on the agenda was walking Tommy. We cycled to the park. It’s the first time I’ve actually cycled anywhere with him! He ran nicely alongside the bike once he realised that we weren’t going to stop and sniff every few minutes. It’s only one kilometre to the park and only cycled at his jogging pace so he was still full of beans and able to play with Duncan when we got there. I put him in my rucksack for the ride home as I didn’t want him too tired for training. I had allot of ‘oh look at that dog – how cool’ from the people we rode past. I’m not sure if Tommy thought it was cool, but he seemed unfazed when we got in – and I could ride faster!
We caught the train to training. It arrived with two minutes to spare before the start of training. Unfortunately, I left his training treats on the train and Tommy was looking at me in a ‘huh, forget it. You’re by yourself today love’ attitude. Spice’s dad spotted this and gave me some cheese. I’m forever in his debt.
I didn’t catch the train home after training. With all the trippers going into Southend, I thought it unwise, so we walked. It was nice to start, once we got off the main road. Along a path and through some fields. Once we’d crossed the busy road again, we walked by Prittle Brook. Tommy was hot so he had a drink and a swim before we carried on into Southend.
I took a wrong turn over the fields and ended up walking along the busy road again. It wasn’t really the nice walk I’d envisaged so when I spotted a lady standing at the bus stop I asked her how long until the bus was due. About 5 minutes. We waited and then caught the bus the remaining mile home. Tommy, as ever, was good on the bus. He sat for a while taking it all in, but soon laid down with his eyes half closed.
After such a busy day for a JRT he snoozed in the garden while I dead headed roses. Until the planes got too noisy that is! Then he went to his safe place, under the sideboard.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
RIP Pam
Tommy's dog trainer, Pam, lost her battle with cancer on 16-05-11.
She was a lovely lady - firm but fair. She filled me with enough confidence to believe that I can train Tommy to do anything I wish.
It was her funeral today. She requested that 'her dogs' were there. We were. Over 55 handlers turned up - some had left their dogs at home, but there were still over 30 dogs there. We lined the crematorium road where the horse drawn carriage came in. Some of the handlers didn't stay for the service. For those that did, there was someone in the carpark to keep an eye on the dogs, so we left windows and boots open on the cars so we could celebrate Pam's life. Her funeral song was 'Easy Like Sunday Morning'...
Her trip to Rainbow Bridge will be welcomed by all the dogs that went before her - she will wait there for the rest.
I will miss her.
Rest In Peace, Pam.
x
She was a lovely lady - firm but fair. She filled me with enough confidence to believe that I can train Tommy to do anything I wish.
It was her funeral today. She requested that 'her dogs' were there. We were. Over 55 handlers turned up - some had left their dogs at home, but there were still over 30 dogs there. We lined the crematorium road where the horse drawn carriage came in. Some of the handlers didn't stay for the service. For those that did, there was someone in the carpark to keep an eye on the dogs, so we left windows and boots open on the cars so we could celebrate Pam's life. Her funeral song was 'Easy Like Sunday Morning'...
Her trip to Rainbow Bridge will be welcomed by all the dogs that went before her - she will wait there for the rest.
I will miss her.
Rest In Peace, Pam.
x
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