I will just get to the good part about my new puppy: SHE IS FANTASTIC!!! I know that it takes a few days/weeks for a dog to settle in and to really see their whole personality as they settle in, but OMG, this is one fantastic little girl. I do have to say this has been the easiest first 24 hours I have had with any of my puppies. It is obvious that my pup has been exposed to a lot of different things because nothing seems to throw her, and it is obvious she is entirely comfortable in a crate and that has made this whole day so easy.
I let the puppers sleep in a crate but I put it on my bed, so I could see her and she could see me, and the other dogs would understand she is part of our pack now. She got into the crate, made her little nest and went to sleep. She got up twice for a quick pee but then slept until about 8 am. No fussing, no crying because it was her first night in a new home without her birth family, she was perfect. I put her in an xpen with a crate for a nap in the afternoon and she just sat and looked at us and then went to her crate, curled up and took a nap.
As far as potty training, of course I am taking her out after she eats, when she wakes up and after she plays but we passed the first 24 hours with no accidents in the house, whoo hooo! The last two times she needed to potty she even went and sat by the back door. So I am sure we are just lucky and I know there are going to be accidents but we are off to a great start.
Little puppers was tugging and playing within minutes of getting off the plane and has been very playful today. When I took her to the back yard she was running back and forth across the baby dog walk we have on bricks, and she was playing all over the little tykes plastic toys I have for the dogs in the back yard. Nothing seems to throw her yet.
So things are going really well. Liz reacted to the pup by running zoomies, and the pup thought Breeze was her mom because they both have the same coloring, and Breeze wanted to make sure it was known she is not wanting to be a mother ;-). By the end of today everyone was working in a group doing sits and downs, and getting along beautifully. Gosh, it is so weird how easy today went.
I was supposed to be at a seminar today on playing and motivation, but I could not leave the pup-I just wanted to stay home and get to know her.
We still are debating on the name, and I know this little girl will be showing her naughty side soon, and I am looking forward to seeing that too, but gosh so far I am very impressed with how she obviously has been raised. Even though this has been the easiest first 24 hours with a puppy by far, I am still exhausted after the anticipation of getting her and just the whole trip to get her at LAX in the holiday rush hour traffic, it seemed like such a long day and we did not get home until 11pm on Friday.
This has been a busy couple of days. I had to go and get a bunch of raw food from the place that is very far away so I could get chicken necks which are softer and easier for a small dog to eat. I spent the other evening, the whole evening making some veggie/ground meats mixture of food-enough to last a few weeks. Then I had to go around the house and take away the open trash cans which the dogs are finally old enough that they do not get into the trash and those were replaced with covered trash cans. The toilet paper came off the roll and put in a wooden storage box. Little piles of things had to be cleaned out and put away, little baby gates went up all over the house and the kitchen table got shoved into a corner so the xpen could fit. What could be the cause of such commotion? How about a little ten pound bundle that is expected this evening at the airport. Here is a video of the cause of all this commotion.
I had been on several lists for puppies where the litters just did not end up happening, then I had really liked a little pup from another litter but I really wanted to wait until next summer and so I farted around and lost out on her. I had been ok'd to be put on the list for this litter, but had decided to wait until summer for a pup, and then when she was 8 1/2 weeks old I saw this video of the same pup I had really liked and I loved what I saw. I decided that the timing was not that bad and sometimes you just gotta take a leap and go for it. So I emailed and this little girl was still available, Brittney from Hillcrest said I could have her if I wanted, and here three days later she is flying down to meet us.http://www.hillcrestbordercollies.com/rumorxsinge.cfm
The things that I liked about this breeder:
1. she feeds raw
2. her dogs live in the house and she says she has no kennels-Rumor the pups mom lives as a pet/companion
3. The pups seemed to be exposed to other dogs, and I could tell from videos on Brittney's blog that other dogs are allowed to be around pups, which Ian Dunbar says really helps their doggie skills later on.
4. Brittney does the early neuro stimulation protocol with the pups.
5. The pups seemed to be on a lot of surfaces, exposed to a lot of sights, sounds, kept clean, had lots of toys, etc.
6. From everything I could see or tell the dogs all seem to be very fit, kept active and healthy.
Things I liked about this pup from what I have seen:
1. From what I can tell she seems to have a nice activity level-she seems to be pretty active and wild but from what I could tell she does not seem over the top.
2. I love how she focuses on Lori in the video, she wants to play but the game is about playing with the person and she seems pretty focused on it
3. I love how she is tugging, and she retrieves the toy that is bigger then she is.
4. I think she is just as cute as a bug!!!!
It was just weird because things just seemed to work out with getting this dog, so hopefully this is one that is meant to be. She is not the color I was imagining I would get. I have NEVER picked out a pup like this before, I always have driven on down to a litter and picked up and cuddled the available puppies and just picked the one that seemed right. I have never shipped a pup before and I am a little nervous about that....But wish me luck, I am getting ready to head out and go meet my new little friend.
No name as of yet....although everyone I have run my names through has an opinion, LOL. So far I am thinking of Ivy, Twist, Twig, Cricket, Katie or Kellie(my younger daughters nomination and choice)--so any other suggestions would be welcomed, or votes for your favorites.
I am really nervous about having three border collies and two shelties....and training that many dogs, although we have been doing ok so far I think....I am nervous about starting over and the sleep I will lose and having to keep the wires tucked behind things and the toilet paper out of reach.
I had been on several lists for puppies where the litters just did not end up happening, then I had really liked a little pup from another litter but I really wanted to wait until next summer and so I farted around and lost out on her. I had been ok'd to be put on the list for this litter, but had decided to wait until summer for a pup, and then when she was 8 1/2 weeks old I saw this video of the same pup I had really liked and I loved what I saw. I decided that the timing was not that bad and sometimes you just gotta take a leap and go for it. So I emailed and this little girl was still available, Brittney from Hillcrest said I could have her if I wanted, and here three days later she is flying down to meet us.http://www.hillcrestbordercollies.com/rumorxsinge.cfm
The things that I liked about this breeder:
1. she feeds raw
2. her dogs live in the house and she says she has no kennels-Rumor the pups mom lives as a pet/companion
3. The pups seemed to be exposed to other dogs, and I could tell from videos on Brittney's blog that other dogs are allowed to be around pups, which Ian Dunbar says really helps their doggie skills later on.
4. Brittney does the early neuro stimulation protocol with the pups.
5. The pups seemed to be on a lot of surfaces, exposed to a lot of sights, sounds, kept clean, had lots of toys, etc.
6. From everything I could see or tell the dogs all seem to be very fit, kept active and healthy.
Things I liked about this pup from what I have seen:
1. From what I can tell she seems to have a nice activity level-she seems to be pretty active and wild but from what I could tell she does not seem over the top.
2. I love how she focuses on Lori in the video, she wants to play but the game is about playing with the person and she seems pretty focused on it
3. I love how she is tugging, and she retrieves the toy that is bigger then she is.
4. I think she is just as cute as a bug!!!!
It was just weird because things just seemed to work out with getting this dog, so hopefully this is one that is meant to be. She is not the color I was imagining I would get. I have NEVER picked out a pup like this before, I always have driven on down to a litter and picked up and cuddled the available puppies and just picked the one that seemed right. I have never shipped a pup before and I am a little nervous about that....But wish me luck, I am getting ready to head out and go meet my new little friend.
No name as of yet....although everyone I have run my names through has an opinion, LOL. So far I am thinking of Ivy, Twist, Twig, Cricket, Katie or Kellie(my younger daughters nomination and choice)--so any other suggestions would be welcomed, or votes for your favorites.
I am really nervous about having three border collies and two shelties....and training that many dogs, although we have been doing ok so far I think....I am nervous about starting over and the sleep I will lose and having to keep the wires tucked behind things and the toilet paper out of reach.
Deanna breaks things down a lot in our class and really teaches why things work or don't, so one of the things she constantly reviews, asks us about, etc... are her rules for the Front Cross, and they usually work mighty fine.
1. You have to be ahead of the dog, if you are several obstacles behind, a front cross is not a good choice ;-) simple but true
2. Keep your eye on the dog-when you do a front cross you need to keep your eye on the dog and make sure you actually picked the dog up when you changed sides, and make sure they read it and are where they need to be.
3. A front cross involves a change of side, you are going to end up on the opposite side of the dog
4. Place your front cross as close to the next obstacle as possible
5. This is the hardest one to actually see sometimes in my opinion, but a Front cross should be placed on a turn or a curve, . Now the thing that can be hard about that is that you have to look at the PATH OF THE DOG and not your path to make sure the front cross is on a turn or a curve. An example of where it could be confusing or hard to see where the front cross should go to place it on a turn or a curve is this exercise below that Deanna uses to show us that. In the first course, the jump where the front cross goes looks like a straight line if you just look at the placement of the jumps, but if you walk the actual path of the DOG you see that it is indeed a curve. So I think that is rather trippy.
Another pearl I got today in class with Breeze was one about your feet placement. I have always just thought well, I know the feet are way important and if your feet are not pointed and committed the right way then of course your dog does not see where you want to go. But I had sort of figured that dogs mainly looked at your upper body, for large dogs and the feet for smaller dogs. ACTUALLY the topic of this class was foot placement, and we ran a bunch of exercises and you were supposed to stop and FREEZE and look at your feet if your dog went off course. We also we not supposed to use our arms very much. Well, Deanna pointed out that the feet control the whole body. So if you turn your feet a certain direction, your hips open up and point that way, your shoulders turn that way your body orients that way, so no matter where your dog watches to get cues on where to go next, foot placement is going to have a lot to do with that, ahhh haaaaaa, another light bulb moment for me. I always knew foot placement was important but I guess I never fully appreciated why.
Another development I noticed about Breeze today in class, one I have been noticing the last few weeks..., that is good overall, but a little scary right now...BREEZE IS GETTING WAYYYYYYYYY FASTER. She finally understands to just look for the line I am setting up and she is awesome reading it and just takes off. I mean FLIES. Half the time she is soooo far ahead of me it is scary and sad. I had thought up until now that I was doing awesome keeping up with her and thought I had that handled, but this new confidence and excitement has her just smoking around the course, and if she gets any faster....I may be in some serious trouble for sure.
1. You have to be ahead of the dog, if you are several obstacles behind, a front cross is not a good choice ;-) simple but true
2. Keep your eye on the dog-when you do a front cross you need to keep your eye on the dog and make sure you actually picked the dog up when you changed sides, and make sure they read it and are where they need to be.
3. A front cross involves a change of side, you are going to end up on the opposite side of the dog
4. Place your front cross as close to the next obstacle as possible
5. This is the hardest one to actually see sometimes in my opinion, but a Front cross should be placed on a turn or a curve, . Now the thing that can be hard about that is that you have to look at the PATH OF THE DOG and not your path to make sure the front cross is on a turn or a curve. An example of where it could be confusing or hard to see where the front cross should go to place it on a turn or a curve is this exercise below that Deanna uses to show us that. In the first course, the jump where the front cross goes looks like a straight line if you just look at the placement of the jumps, but if you walk the actual path of the DOG you see that it is indeed a curve. So I think that is rather trippy.
Another pearl I got today in class with Breeze was one about your feet placement. I have always just thought well, I know the feet are way important and if your feet are not pointed and committed the right way then of course your dog does not see where you want to go. But I had sort of figured that dogs mainly looked at your upper body, for large dogs and the feet for smaller dogs. ACTUALLY the topic of this class was foot placement, and we ran a bunch of exercises and you were supposed to stop and FREEZE and look at your feet if your dog went off course. We also we not supposed to use our arms very much. Well, Deanna pointed out that the feet control the whole body. So if you turn your feet a certain direction, your hips open up and point that way, your shoulders turn that way your body orients that way, so no matter where your dog watches to get cues on where to go next, foot placement is going to have a lot to do with that, ahhh haaaaaa, another light bulb moment for me. I always knew foot placement was important but I guess I never fully appreciated why.
Another development I noticed about Breeze today in class, one I have been noticing the last few weeks..., that is good overall, but a little scary right now...BREEZE IS GETTING WAYYYYYYYYY FASTER. She finally understands to just look for the line I am setting up and she is awesome reading it and just takes off. I mean FLIES. Half the time she is soooo far ahead of me it is scary and sad. I had thought up until now that I was doing awesome keeping up with her and thought I had that handled, but this new confidence and excitement has her just smoking around the course, and if she gets any faster....I may be in some serious trouble for sure.
YIKES, it has been a very busy couple of days with a lot of running around to do. I had a ton of driving to do yesterday and a lot of time to zone out and think.
I was thinking about the class Liz had a week ago with Deanna. The focus on this class was contacts, and I have taken this particular class and done this course with Breeze and with Chloe, but I think this class brought on one of the biggest light bulb moments I have had with my training.
One thing is that Deanna always has said since we were in beginners that WE ARE DOG TRAINERS, WHAT???? I had never thought that before because I had not at the time worked and got paid for training dogs.....but she is right, she is the instructor and helps us, but WE ARE THE DOG TRAINERS. Fancy that, I am a dog trainer. LOL.
In handlers plus-which is Lizzie's class level right now...there is a homework assignment which very few people usually end up doing, but I think that homework has taught me sooooo much and really helped me be a much better trainer. The homework assignment is to simple write down your criteria, in detail, EXACTLY what you would like your contact performance to look like, so usually there should be one for the dog walk, one for the Aframe and one for the teeter. I put down how I want the dog to enter the obstacle, how they should go over it, the speed, where they are looking, when they should break stride, how they should go over the apex, and exactly what it should look like when they get to the end, should they be looking at me or looking low, how should their weight be shifted, what releases them off the obstacle. ANYWAY, so the light bulb part of doing that was that I realized that training is so much more productive and goes so much easier and faster if you have a very, very detailed picture of what you want in the end. You know what bits and pieces to not reinforce and you know what bits and pieces to encourage and the end product is a lot cleaner and the dog is way more sure of their job. Deanna is the most awesome instructor for being able to break things down and to really teach at a very basic level, these are basic rules for this, basic rules for that, there are so many things that when I go to a trial and am a little confused about say where exactly to put a front cross--I can stop a lot of times and think what are the five rules of a front cross....hummm, and then all of a sudden it becomes clear. I tell you I have been soooo lucky to have such wonderful instructors--so very lucky.
I have been watching the USDAA Nationals from Arizona. You can subscribe to the video, or watch the raw feed live for free. I am pretty bummed that when I could actually try to qualify to go next year... but they are moving the competition across the country-so I probably would not be able to go next year anyway ;-). I was reading through the results of the runs from yesterday, and seeing so many friends and dogs and trainers I admire, I really should have loaded myself into the agility mobile and went to watch the action even if we are not able to compete. Next best thing is watching the feed! They have the course posted and then you can watch people running, so I planned the course I would have run and now it is fun to see how everyone else is running it and how that is working for them.
VIDEO: Watch the action RIGHT NOW!
Right now, free live video is available showing the action in the main ring! Go
to http://www.facebook.com/l/75210;www.cynosport.com, click on video, and select
"raw feed." It will ask you to log in using your subscriber ID or competitor log
in credentials (if you own a USDAA-registered dog, you have these; there's a
spot for you to click to retrieve them if you don't know what they are). Only
register as a first time user if you aren't a subscriber and you don't own a
USDAA-registered dog.
VIDEO: Watch the action RIGHT NOW!
Right now, free live video is available showing the action in the main ring! Go
to http://www.facebook.com/l/75210;www.cynosport.com, click on video, and select
"raw feed." It will ask you to log in using your subscriber ID or competitor log
in credentials (if you own a USDAA-registered dog, you have these; there's a
spot for you to click to retrieve them if you don't know what they are). Only
register as a first time user if you aren't a subscriber and you don't own a
USDAA-registered dog.
