Wee Wednesday

I entered both the boys in the Wee Wed trial last night where we did a masters' gamble, a masters' standard & a steeplechase run. (Blast ran FEO)


I was so pumped after Blast's great runs last week, & now the smile is gone....
He did some good things last night, but also was quite distracted by the mini horse poop ( a nice appetizer he thought) & the close proximity of the start & finish lines to the dogs warming up.
I know he thinks his role is to keep me guessing about how he will run the course! Of course these were regional prep masters courses, & had some interesting challenges for us.
He continues to avoid weave poles in trials, so I really need to fix that. I find that he really doesn't like to practice in the back yard so we try to keep our sessions really short & fun.


Boo & I are struggling with our timing right now - he's not responding well to my HERE! on the course when he sees an off course obstacle he thinks he's supposed to take.
He was quite funny in the final gamble - it was 6 weaves going away from the line, call in to the teeter & send to a jump - not that hard... however... there were also 6 more weaves at a 90 degree angle from the first set (parallel to the line but further out) & when I called him in to the teeter, he went & did the other set of weaves as well & gave me such a look like he was saying, hey, I"m not finished weaving yet! He did manage a Q in the steeplechase which was a fun course.

A Great Weekend

I'm still smiling ear to ear! I think Blast is growing a brain!

We had an awesome weekend in Medicine Hat - the weather was great & my dogs did so well!


Blast, my ADD dog, was such a good boy - he really didn't have any zoomies! I was a little worried since it was our first outdoor trial this year & he does get distracted very easily. He was the very first dog to run & he Q'd his first Starters Standard run! He then went on to get his Starters Gamble, Starters Jumpers, & 2 Advanced Snooker Q's! For me, the Q's & ribbons are very nice, but I was just so excited that he was listening & focusing & having fun.



You know, I was trying to figure out why he's now starting to pay attention... I started to think about what I've been doing differently... and I think I finally realized that for Blast it's all about the fun - treats are nice, but playing with a ball is more rewarding, so I've been training more with a ball & warming him up with his favorite ball.



Thank to Wendy from Paws on the Run Photography for the photos!














Boo also had a pretty good weekend. His Q'd 3 out of 8 runs, which is not his best, but he was running pretty well & he actually got a Masters Gamble - & not a really easy one!

Terry Simons Seminar

I decided to do the Terry Simons seminar on teaching distance.
I was originally going to take Bizzie, but she was busy, (ha, ha) so I did the seminar with Blast instead.
Blast usually does well at seminars, but starts to lose focus in the highly stimulating atmosphere of a trial. Anyhow, he did so well, I was very proud of him.
I really enjoy Terry's style of teaching, he is always very precise about the exercises & how to teach them & he's quick to point out what you are doing (when you think you are doing things correctly!)
This seminar was held on Friday, so on Sat night we had a practice & tried some tough gambles. I was so surprised when Blast did a difficult send out to the Aframe - he actually did much better than his buddy Boo, who has his masters gambles.... anyhow, that's another story..
So, my plan is to keep up with the distance exercises for all my dogs & maybe I'll finally have a dog that actually likes to gamble!

Dogsitting

We've been dogsitting for a friend with a large Golden Retriever puppy - about a year old. I now remember why I have small dogs! This guy is a wonderful dog, very patient, affectionate, & playful, but he's soooo big! He jumps on my lap on the couch & I'm flattened!

It was very interesting to see the other dogs respond to this big muppet.

Blast wanted Rye to chase him, then tried to remind him who is the boss, puppy is so good, tries to get down really low, rolls over, etc. They had lots of fun wrestling.

Cactus, in standoffish sheltie style, just gives him an Elvis lip & leaves.

Boo just accepts him & when Rye & Blast are playing he grabs a toy & growls & shakes the daylights out of it!

Bizzie just returned from being bred (I know, I still think of her as a baby!) so if Rye even looks at her she's all teeth & yipping!

April News

I took Boo in for a dental last week & he ended up having 11 teeth removed! Poor little guy - they were loose & pulling them was the best solution.

We did half the AAC trial this past weekend until I got sick - it's really not fair to get the stomach flu & a wicked sore throat at the same time!

Anyhow, Boo Q'd in 3 out of 4 runs - just can't seem to get those Gambles! He did some great weave poles at quite a distance though - too bad that wasn't the plan! Sometimes I think if he doesn't see any cones he figures he can take whatever he likes!

Blast got a Starters Gamble Q, but that's not too surprising since he doesn't really worry about where I am. He ran pretty well, had a couple of off courses in his standard rounds, but he's trying hard. He still has a problem collecting to do weave poles... not sure how I"m going to fix that - they're pretty good in practice.

Bizzie didn't run as she is in heat - the little princess will be bred this time - hard to believe -seems she was just a puppy herself!

Tuff Enuf to Run in Pink?

We had a pretty exciting time at the Olds "Cancer fundraiser" Trial yesterday! Most everyone was tuff enuf to run in pink - although the shirts this year were blue.
The dogs ran pretty well, Boo & I even ran Snooker in the dark! Yep, I think a transformer blew & we had no power for about an hour! So we opened the big doors at the end of the arena so we could see a little & we just continued! Fortunately, the power came on before the big "Dash for Cash" Steeplechase run.

Bizzie ran fast, but was a big tunnel suck, guess she'll have to go on a tunnel diet. I had several people telling me how entertaining her run was - now that's nice for the folks watching, but not so much when you're the one trying to keep her focus!
Blast had a major zoomie the first run of the day, which was standard, but he settled down quite well & probably would have Q'd in steeplechase if I hadn't screwed up - he did all the hard parts well & then I forgot to support him going into a tunnel... dumb mommy. I also had an oops in Snooker which he ran well too...
Boo Q'd 3 out of 4 - the snooker had too much mileage for him to get enough points; & we actually won money in the Dash for Cash! Yeah Boo!

The Ears Have It!

3 papillons, 3 personalities, 3 different sets of ears!

Bizzie has very erect ears, kinda curly, very cute!

She has a funny look on her face here!

Boo has very big ears, with long fringes - nice when they're up, but he holds them at "half mast" if he's not excited!

Blast can't decide - he has one up, one down!

Or maybe he's too busy playing to hold them both up!