Agility III - Week Four

Well we are more than halfway through Agility III (for the third time) and Chopper is making some wonderful progress. Half the battle with him is always getting him to not bark at the dog he has decided he hates in every class for the entire class. This time he knew all but two of the dogs - one doesn't pay any attention to him, which is what he prefers, and the other is a giant puppy that wants to be his friend. Chopper does not want to be that poor dog's friend.

After Week 2 was spent with that dog running over and Chopper barking at it and then all the dogs barking - I decided to take Chopper for a nice walk before class. Sure he would be tired and maybe not run as fast (but speed isn't' really his thing to start with) but maybe he wouldn't be the problem child in class. The other dog went for a walk first too - so everyone was a bit calmer.

Last night was even better (we went for a walk and the dog food store). Chopper went through all his runs almost perfectly (but with some lazy jumps) and waited for his turn very nicely (albeit while eating a treat every three seconds). The other dog appeared exhausted so she stayed in her own area. All in all we had a good class.

I think Chopper is ready to go back to Agility League - he could be a contender if he would just go a bit faster. The stopping and scratching or running to the water bowl doesn't seem to happen anymore (now that I said that he will inevitably do both next week) so his time may improve just by not taking breaks. Either way he enjoyed it but I get a little competitive and wanted him to be a little faster. Chopper is whatever the opposite of competitive is and some of his medicines that help him be calm also make him slower. So looks like we are going to be slower.

Busy Summer

I've been super busy this summer.  First, my grandpa came to visit and we had to entertain him for a week.  We went to the beach and Starbucks a lot.  I love Starbucks.  My mom lets me eat the crumbs from a scone. 

Then we started Agility 3 a few weeks ago.  I have done that class before but there is no more Agility to take.  And the best part is that Mumble is in the class and my other friends Peach and Zelda who I have known for a long time.  Since before Mumble was even born.  There is also another dog I know from my Scent Discrimination class.  Plus two other dogs that I'm still getting used to.

Then last week I had to be boarded because my mom went to Disneyland for the whole weekend.  And Mumble had family visiting - so he's bragging about his kid all over the place.  His kid threw me some treats so I think she's ok. 

One of my favorite treats is also growing in our garden - tomatoes!  My mom will pick them off the vine and give me one.  Yum!  The best tomatoes I have ever eaten. 

The best part of the summer is walking at the beach even after my mom gets home from work!  And getting frozen yogurt for a treat.

Hope you are all having a fun summer too!

Chopper's 5th Birthday Party

So now that it has been over a month since Chopper's birthday I am finally getting around to sharing some pictures. We had a rainbow themed birthday party (mainly because I wanted to try out all these rainbow recipes and crafts).

We made sure everyone knew it was Chopper's big day.

 

I made Chopper this cape for his party and I ordered him a crown from Young Urban Puppy for the occasion.

I decorated and made sure there were plenty of birthday sweets.



There were lots and lots of sweets.  We still have some of those Oreos laying around.



Rainbow birthday cake.



Rainbow dipped Oreos - really sweet but super cute.

I really liked the way they looked.

Rainbow dipped dog bones were a big hit!

Pupcakes!  The pupcakes came from Sprinkles and I added the Chopper heads and rainbows!

The whole dessert table!



Yes this was all a little overboard - but I had the tablecloth already and it kind of went from there.  Plus you only turn five once.

Chopper's favorite treat was the people rainbow cake - I only got one shot of the inside and it was me bribing him with the top of the cake I had to cut off to make the cake nice and flat. 

So Chopper wasn't the only one in a rainbow outfit there were corsages for the doggy guests!



I made these corsages with some felt, glue and Velcro.

Chopper's favorite part aside from the cake was opening his presents - this dog figured out how to do this at his first birthday - we haven't seen if he can open a wrapped present yet but I have a feeling it wouldn't be a problem.



I think Chopper got a little tired of having his picture taken but he looked so cute in that hat I couldn't help it.

Chopper got some birthday blues.



Dreaming about all the cake he was going to eat.



A few weeks after all this it occurred to me that Chopper looked like someone famous in that hat.

Yep - I made my dog look like Jughead.  They have the same appetite and both have long noses (although I think Chopper's looks better on him) - so I am surprised it took me this long to figure it out.

Chopper is a Good Citizen!

Chopper and I have been MIA for awhile over the last few weeks. First, Chopper's Grandpa was visiting from Pennsylvania so I took some much needed vacation time to hang out with my two favorite guys. I took them to the beach (they both love the beach) and took my dad fishing (Chopper stayed home for that one) and a host of other fun stuff.

We've also been practicing all of our skills from our Obedience 2 Class at the Zoom Room. Classes Four and Five were pretty much the same as the first three classes but all the dogs started to slowly improve. Chopper's main area of concern was the groom/vet check. We worked on it slowly with giving paw and leaving it at that. At the start of class Chopper was not so good with the down stay. He would stay while you walked away but as soon as I turned around he would come to me without being called. We practiced on our walk everyday and now he's an old pro.

Anyway last night was Class Six - the day the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test was being given. We had already signed up to take the class a second time as I didn't think six weeks was going to be enough time for the Chopper to be conditioned for all the distraction tasks and the body check. I actually forgot yesterday that we even had class until about an hour before (we made it in time). I was a little bummed on the way over because I thought everyone would pass except for Chopper even though I had already decided we would need extra time. But then I thought - let's see if he can do this - if not we'll try again.

I kept Chopper away from all the other dogs before we went in to prevent any pre-testing jitters and then we took a quick walk with Mumble and Carrie when they got there. Before we went in I turned to my dog and told him: "If I can pass the bar you can pass this test."

Well that seemed to the trick - that and the fact that all the other dogs seemed to be on their best behavior. The barking puppy didn't bark quite as much (and was as far away from us as possible) and all the other dogs were angels. Also the people who had moved around and clicked away for five weeks all stood quietly next to their dogs. The Zoom Room has never been so quiet before.

The test started with the examiner coming around and shaking hands and then coming around and petting. Chopper thought he had treats so tried to follow him when he left. We then did the body check. Chopper got his paws and teeth checked and acted like it was no big deal - that's when I first thought that maybe we had a shot at this.

Next it was time for the walking. Chopper is an excellent walker in real life (with the exception of garbage day) so this has been frustrating for me as he has not always been great at walking in a circle with the other dogs. So we did the parade once with the dogs on the outside and once on the inside - no problems (I was constantly telling Chopper to look forward and heel). Now I was thinking that we were going home with that certificate.

After that there were even more distractions but not quite like we had practiced (e.g., dropping a box, the tennis balls flying around, noisy toys) - no this time each dog took a turn walking down the middle of the room and the dog walking had to be good and the dogs waiting had to be good. I spent a lot of time talking to Chopper and telling him he was a good boy. When he seemed to be even just a slightly bit interested in turning around to see what was behind him I would tell him it was just Mumble and to look at me. Yes I lied to my dog but did I mention that there were NO TREATS allowed during the test. This dog will do anything for treats - if you don't have treats though you're on your own. So I would do it again.

Then it was time for the separation part of the test. Chopper knows the trainer so this has been going well - the first few weeks he was given treats but since then he's just been waiting nicely. (Some weeks he would pull when I first got back in the room to get to me with that big goofy grin on his face.) Chopper has improved a lot over the years in this skill in real-life situations. He will now go willingly with someone when being boarded and because we use the same groomer he goes with them as well (he doesn't like being groomed so there is some "screaming" that happens once in awhile in that situation). Even at the vet's office he will go with someone as soon as they take the leash.

So here are the ten tasks as listed by the AKC:
1) Accepting a friendly stranger
2) Sitting politely for petting
3) Appearance and Grooming
4) Out for a Walk
5) Walking Through a Crowd
6) Sit and Down on Command/Stay in Place
7) Coming When Called
8) Reaction to Another Dogs
9) Reaction to Distractions
10) Supervised Separation

And Mr. Chopper passed all of them!!! Five minutes after it was over he did bark at the dog who was there just to take the test and hadn't been in the class but we were off the clock and that's just Chopper.

So now we get to mail our form in and get an official Certificate!



Mumble and Chopper right after they passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test



Happy Birthday Chopper

Today is Chopper's birthday!

He's turning five and most days I can't believe he's that old but still only five. I have planned a party for him and we will share some pictures next week but for now I wanted to share five of my favorite things about Chopper (keeping with the theme of five).

1. His ears. Those ears have been the subject of quite a few vet visits (the time he cut one and it wouldn't stop bleeding and the world's longest ear infection) so I joke that they are the most expensive part of him but they are just so darn cute and they flop when he runs and spread out on the floor when he lays down. Adorable.

2. He will give anything the old college try. Between Chopper's anxiety and his neuroses and all the solutions I attempt to come up to combat those we have been through a lot of training, supplements, medications, products, diets and conditioning and the fact that this dog leaves the house every day still surprises me. Most 70 lb coonhounds don't do agility but it seemed like something that would make him use his brain so he wouldn't think about all the scary stuff in the world. And we loved it (even if he stops halfway through to scratch his ears). He lets me strap him into a Thundershirt or a Calming Cap for a car ride without putting up a fight. He will follow a garbage truck for two blocks getting treats all the way and trying his hardest not to bark.

3. The way he takes a bone. He will sit, sniff, inspect and then accept it and run away with it. Every time. It's like he is checking to make sure I haven't slipped some contraband into the bone.

4. That even at five people still think he's a puppy because of his goofy antics and jumping around and bowing to other dogs. I like to think this means he'll be around for a long long time.

5. He is always happy to see me. I know this is true of most dogs but it really is the best part of a dog. I can have to work late and be home two hours later than usual and he's not mad - in fact he's even more happy to see me. I can have dropped him off at the groomer's or handed him over to a vet tech for four vaccinations and when he comes back he runs to me with a big goofy look on his face.

There are many many more things I love about this dog but that's enough for now - I don't' want him to get too big of a head.

Obedience Two at the Zoom Room: Class Three

Well I wasn't too keen on going to class this week because my buddy Mumble was sick and had to stay home.  But then my mom broke out the turkey hot dogs, which we haven't had in months so I mustered some energy and went to class (after Mumble came over to say hi so I could make sure he was really ok). 

This week we did almost all the tasks on the CGC test.  First, our instructor went around and shook all the dog parents' hands.  I passed that one.

Then there was the vet inspection - as usual I was not to excited about this one.  I let the instructor get one look in my ear but then I was done.  All the other dogs think this is fun but I'm sure because I'm so much older than all of them that I know better.  My mom does not think so and says I need to get over this and she's going to keep trying until I do.  We'll see about that.

Next we practiced some distractions.  Our  instructor threw a tennis ball about a million times down the center of the room.  He would tell the parents when to give us a treat but my mom decided to try without a treat - since that is the way you have to do it during the test - and guess what?  I could have cared less about that ball.  I just watched my mom every time - some times she would tell me good job and rub my head but mostly she ignored me and I ignored that ball.  Next came the noisy baby toy.  My ears went way back when that came out and my mom took out the turkey hot dogs again so I didn't bark.

Then we had to do the down/stay and I passed like an old pro.  Then the separation and this time the instructor didn't have to give me treats (but I was very happy when my mom came back in - I ran to her - it was very cute I'm told).

Then the walking.  My mom is not happy with me about this part.  See she knew the vet inspection was going to be rough since I don't like the vet but she thought this was going to be a breeze because I walk great in my neighborhood on a loose leash or in a heel.  And I do well in crowds. (Have you ever walked through the security line and the entrance plaza at Disneyland?  Well I do all the time and I don't even care about the monorails - anymore.)  But I do not like doing this activity in class.  Sometimes I like to try and go up on the agility equipment (I miss that class), sometimes I like to sniff all the mom's purses (if they aren't using the lockers they must want me to smell them) and sometimes I just don't want some dog I don't know walking behind me. 

The solution?  My mom made me walk in a heel during our whole morning walk today.  I'm thinking I maybe should get my act together on this one.

World Oceans Day

Chopper loves the ocean and the beach and although today is not a particularly nice day here in Southern California (all gloomy and gray) we enjoy a walk at the beach about once a week (next to rather since dogs are not allowed on the beach near our house) and a few times a year make the drive up to the dog beach so that Chopper can explore the shells and the sand and the best part the ocean.

So on World Oceans Day we remind you - "Don't Trash Where You Splash!"