Shining Star

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Jamie

Hey now. You're a rockstar!

I’m really late in posting this writeup! Almost a month ago, Risa and I competed in freestyle again. I made this decision in June. We really love dancing and we tend to trial more in rally than freestyle. When I found a trial location close to home, I signed us up and we went.

Unfortunately, due to moving, I didn’t have the time to practice with Risa that I would have liked. We really hadn’t performed the entire routine in months. While I had done a couple demos with her, it wasn’t quite the same. We were not prepared.

Despite our lack of preparedness, we still did really well. Risa missed a ton of cues in the routine but we hid the mistakes well. Somehow, we managed to walk away with the highest scores we’ve ever received on Saturday! We took first place and also earned the final leg for our Intermediate title. Ris was also on her best behavior considering she’d never been to this location before. I even had her out during the day, off leash, and she was calm and confident. She even allowed a Golden to walk right by her as she lay on the ground (I was holding her muzzle as a precaution but I didn’t need to).

Two trophies to add to my wall of fame!

I moved us up into Advanced for Sunday’s performance knowing full well our Intermediate routine was probably not good enough to earn a leg at that level. I was right. While Risa hit her marks better on Sunday, the routine just didn’t have what it takes to earn an Advanced leg. Our scores were still good but not good enough to qualify. That’s okay, though. We got some really good advice from the judge on how to design a quality Advanced-level routine so all was not lost. While we didn’t earn a qualifying ribbon or a placement on Sunday, we did take home two trophies for high artistic score and high technical merit for the weekend. I was shocked. We were competing against some seasoned veterans and we were the ones going home with the trophies. What an honor!!

Now it’s time to try for our Championship. 🙂

Saturday’s performance:

Sunday’s performance:

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Don’t Forget to Advocate

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Jamie

With Risa feeling more confident around dogs, I can let my guard down some. But I still need to be careful!

Risa and I have been to several doggy events lately ranging from freestyle demonstrations at pet fesitvals/fundraisers to lure coursing. These events have been full of other dogs which is always a tough spot for Risa given her history of reactivity and fear. Lately, she’s taking it all in stride. At one of the demos, I pretty much gave up trying to keep her away from the other dogs. She let me know she was okay greeting and saying “Hi.” If she got a little uncomfortable, she simply turned and walked away. For the most part, however, she greeted normally and everything went perfectly. It was like she had no issues at all. I was pleasantly surprised and proud of my girlie for overcoming her fear of other dogs. In fact, one of the dogs she greeted tried to entice her to play. Her confidence level isn’t quite high enough to initiate play with a dog she barely knows yet so she simply turned and walked away. I felt so bad for her would-be playmate though. He was so sad she didn’t want to play with him!

It warms my heart to see Risa more relaxed and less concerned with dogs invading her space bubble. I was proud when someone used Risa as a distraction dog for training their own dog. (She is a complete lunatic when there’s coursing going on.) I was even more amazed when the guy petted Risa while his dog was right there. Usually, that triggers guarding behavior in Risa. While she wasn’t 100% comfortable, she didn’t snark at his dog.

Which brings up something I need to continually be careful about with Risa’s newfound gregariousness. I still need to make sure she doesn’t get in over her head or we’ll be right back to square one. Even though she wants to see other dogs and is capable of greeting them nicely, I need to make sure when she feels threatened or otherwise scared that I get her out of there before something bad happens. I didn’t advocate for her in the beginning when she was scared and I left her hanging in that situation. She learned to take things into her own paws because I didn’t. So I need to remind myself that, even though she’s more confident and comfortable, I have to still monitor the situation and take control of it. Even though she’s doing a pretty good job of just walking away on her own. 🙂

Posted in Lure Coursing, Reactivity, Training | Tagged | Leave a comment

When Good Dogs Go Bad

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Jamie

Dogs are opportunistic creatures. That's what has helped them survive all these years. It takes a lot of training to get them to ignore their instincts.

I hate when people say their dog is “bad” or “naughty.” Most of the time, the reason the dog is “bad” is because he behaves like a dog. What a surprise! Unless you train them otherwise, dogs will behave in ways that are appropriate for their kind but not necessarily acceptable in human society. Dogs do what works for them. If it gets them what they want, they’ll do it!

For a dog, it’s completely normal to snatch whatever food he can find (even if it’s not sitting out in the open). Dogs greet face-to-face and human faces are up high so they often jump up to reach us. Pooping, peeing, marking, sniffing, digging and barking are all natural behaviors. If a dog is uncomfortable, he may growl to warn you (or another dog) to stay away. Pulling on lead is normal too since most dogs walk at a faster pace than humans. Besides, if pulling makes him go foward, there’s no reason not to pull!

As humans, we expect certain things from our dogs. We’d like them to listen to us. We’d like to enjoy walks and not be dragged all over the park to sniff everything and see all the other dogs and people there. We’d like to sit down to a meal and not have to guard our food from quick canine mouths. We’d like to be able to have guests over without them being decorated with muddy paw prints. Humans have very high standards for dogs. The thing is, dogs don’t come knowing those things. You have to train them.

I think statements like “When good dogs go bad” are completely misleading. A dog doesn’t “go bad.” A dog who is “bad” by human standards is simply a dog who has not been taught how to appropriately behave in human society. Dogs don’t start out well-behaved angels knowing all the human rules and then, out of nowhere, decide they have forgotten their etiquette. Besides, a statement like that places all the blame on the dog not on the human who failed to set boundaries and define the rules.

Training doesn’t have to be hard and it can be a lot of fun. Through training, you develop a strong bond with your dog. And, when Fido isn’t tearing up the pillows or snatching your sandwich the second you walk out of the room, you feel a lot better about your canine companion!

So place the blame where it belongs if you feel your dog is out of control. Find a trainer whose methods are sound and jive with your beliefs and get to work. Your dog will thank you for it when he knows what’s expected of him.

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Breaking Down

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Jamie

Structurally, sighthounds are just different. No matter the original hunting function of the breed, they all follow a very similar blueprint.

After the Pat Hastings seminar concluded several weekends ago, I was left very concerned about Ris’ structure and was worried whether I should allow her to continue in dog sports. Using what I had learned, I felt like Risa was put together all wrong. That asking her to perform would cause her to suffer as she ages because of her structure. But, after a few days of letting things sink in, I decided I was overreacting. I remembered that Risa is not going to fit the idea of a golden middle dog because of one main thing: she is a sighthound mix.

One would think that wouldn’t make a difference. A dog should be moderate regardless of breed. But, even Pat herself, states that breed standard should be considered when judging a dog against this ideal average. Risa, being a mix, doesn’t have a breed standard. In most cases, it would be ideal to judge a mix using this ideal standard dog. But sometimes you need to look at what is in your mix to truly understand what you’re looking at. Especially when looking at a breed that has exceptions to the golden middle rule.

I did some research and looked into what comprises a good sighthound. Sighthounds should have very moderate rears; excessive length and angulation decrease the dog’s strength and ability to power forward. Typically, sighthounds have long loins and a slight rise over the loin that gives them a rounded appearance. The rise is muscular, however. A roach (where the spine itself rounds up and is higher than the withers) is not the same. Almost every sighthound I’ve looked at, regardless of the prey it was bred to hunt, has very upright shoulders. They also all seem to have shoulders placed far forward on the body. While Pat seemed to think this was less than ideal, it clearly serves a purpose in the sighthound. I wonder if perhaps having the shoulders farther forward increases the reach of the dog since upright shoulders decrease reach. While I may not know the reason, you can see that it’s commonplace in all sighthounds and must serve an important purpose in a dog built to run things down.

While Risa is less leggy and not as refined as a greyhound, you can see how they share similar structure. Especially in the front assembly.

I can certainly understand Pat’s concern with straight shoulders. The less angle there is, the less impact absorption can take place. I have also read that this is less of an issue with dogs because their shoulders are not fixed in place. A dog’s shoulder is only attached by muscles and connective tissue which allows it to absorb impacts easier than if they were rigid. If this were an issue that caused sighthounds to break down early, this structure would not be so prevalent. It clearly serves a purpose in a dog meant to run full out versus most other working dogs whose ideal pace is a trot.

On top of all that, Risa’s breakdown points are all in her rear. She’s had back problems for a long time and her knees have started to bother her. She has significant arthritis in her left knee. Her rear is pretty well-put-together and very moderate; I would not expect problems there based on what I learned at the semniar. Yet that is where she is experiencing some trouble. Along with seeing the chiropractor regularly, I have started her on a joint supplement. I also recently came across a company that makes products for dogs to help them build their core strength and stabilizer muscles: FitPAWS. I haven’t purchased any of their products yet but I am using Risa’s wobble board to try and work on her stability every night. I also plan on asking her chiropractor at our next visit if there are any additional exercises I could do to help alleviate some of Ris’ discomfort in the rear while allowing her to stay active.

I know she’ll have to retire some day but I want her to be able to be the crazy thing she is for as long as I can. Hopefully some additional conditioning and supplements (that don’t set her gut off) should help her continue to act younger than her years for a long time to come.

Posted in Chiropractor, Dog Sports, Dog Training Seminars, Pat Hastings, Thoughts, Training, Veterinarian | Leave a comment

Keep On Dreamin’

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Jamie

Six years ago, I wanted a dog who I could take anywhere. I never dreamed that dog would be Risa.

“Some dreams keep on getting better. Gotta keep believin’ if you wanna know for sure.” –Eli Young Band

When I adopted Risa, I’d been looking for a dog I could take anywhere and do anything with. Anyone who knows Risa or has followed this blog long enough knows that Risa is NOT that type of dog. Whether due to poor genetics or lack of early good experiences with the wide world (likely both), Risa is not a go-anywhere-do-anything dog. She’s fearful and that restricts what we can do together.

Six years ago, I never would have believed I could take Risa to a baseball game. The crowds of people, the noises, the announcer, and the fact that she’d only be allowed inside when a multitude of other dogs were allowed in as well would have been far too much for her. I almost took her last year but I decided against it at the last minute. I didn’t feel she could have handled it. So we didn’t go.

This year, I won tickets to the game. I figured maybe it was a sign that she was ready. She’s been much more comfortable at dog trials, other dog events, and in general. I thought she was finally ready. I was still prepared to leave early if it was too overwhelming. Our relationship is built on trust and, if she felt like she needed to go home, I would have taken her home.

Our evening got off to a rocky start when we heard a loud banging noise on the way into the stadium. Loud noises really scare her and she was trembling with her tail tucked. I felt bad. . .but I knew it was only temporary. It took a while, but she was able to calm down again and not be so terrified.

She spent most of the night on my lap. Probably because it made her more comfortable. . .and not just because the floors are concrete.

We picked a good spot to sit though I did move back from the front row to the second. Partially because we were in the direct sunlight (and the seats made nice shade for Risa) but also because Ris couldn’t see the doggie traffic as well in the second row. She did bark a few times when other dogs started it. She barked at a kid who raced by and she growled at a Lab for standing in the walkway. 😉 But most people wouldn’t have noticed or thought anything of it. The crack of the bat startled her at first but she soon got used to it. The loud announcer didn’t even phase her. Even when the camera guy wearing all his equipment came over to video us for the big screen she simply stretched out to sniff and check him out. By the end of the night, she was trying to take a nap. If she weren’t comfortable, there’s no way she would have done that!

I never would have guessed, six years ago, that the dog I brought home could someday be a dog I could take anywhere. It’s not quite as simple as that, sure. There is a lot of work that still goes into taking Risa to crowded places like this. But we can do it and she can enjoy herself. I think we’ll do this again next year.

Posted in Fear, Reactivity, Training | Leave a comment