Sensei Hoagie

The boys and I enjoyed a nice SLODOG run through today.  It was another beautiful, sunny, winter day in San Luis Obispo.  (Though I miss ya'll out east, I love being back in CA.  It's hard to beat 70 degrees in January.)

As the new Rally Obedience organizer for run throughs, I had more on my plate than simply managing my two hooligans, but I think I fared alright.  Everyone seemed to enjoy my first attempt at designing a course, and importantly, I don't think too many people got lost mid-run.

Hoagie had a nice couple runs, but not before he taught me an important lesson.  Hoagie apparently shares a motto with Ben and Jerry's of ice cream fame: "If it's not fun, why do it?"  He reminded me that training, competing, and working with dogs is supposed to be, above all, FUN!

Hoagie does love ice cream.

I started practice today by marching directly over to the Rally course with Hoagie in tow, set my shoulders, took a breath, and walked towards the first sign.  I noticed fairly quickly that the pup wasn't terrible "into it."  His nose hit the grass and stayed there through the first two signs.  I gave him a couple gentle tugs to keep him moving. His gaze instead switched to the bushes on the other side of the park and he firmly planted his butt on the ground.  He wasn't having any of it; Hoagie checked out and left no forwarding address.

Sensing I wasn't going to get any more out of him for the moment, we broke course and headed over to the adjacent empty field.  There we watered a couple trees, and took a mental break.  We checked out the bushes he was concerned about, he earned a couple treats when he looked back to me.  Together we did a few of his favorite tricks.  I realized that when we started doing tricks, both of us relaxed.  His face softened up, he gave me his full attention, and instead of wanting to drag me around, he happily heeled by my side.  The light bulb went off above my head.

Good grief, my mom is dense sometimes.

I was being entirely too serious about running through the Rally course.  The reason we started Rally Obedience instead of formal Obedience competition was because of it's relaxed attitude, the ability to talk to and encourage your dog on course, and the emphasis on having FUN together!  Heck, part of your score in a trial is whether the dog looks like he's enjoying himself!

Once we were both more relaxed, Hoagie happily trotted back to the course with me.  I used an upbeat tone (and a couple nibbles of cheese) to encourage him through the signs, and he gleefully obliged.  We finished with a big hooray, a puppy high five, and a big bite of liver treat.

Oh yeah!  Gimme some paw!

Hoagie has been, and continues to be my master teacher in all things doggy.  Don't get me wrong; the folks at Gentle Touch Pet Training, and Canine Academy are amazing instructors!  I've also learned tons from incredible dog authors such as Patricia McConnell, Karen London, and Karen Pryor.  Hoagie however is the Mr. Miyagi to my Daniel-san.  He's taught me an unbelievable amount about how his little puppy brain works, the relationship humans have with animals, and the importance of learning to relax and have fun!

Teacher Hoagie wants you to hit the books.

Today Hoagie reminded me that we ought to do dog sports because our dogs enjoy them.  I could have forced him to finish that first attempt.  I could have yanked him around the course, scolding him for sniffing and pleading for his attention.  Would that have been fun for either of us?

Skeptical Hoagie is skeptical.

So, instead, here's to many more fun practices with my pooches!  Here's to happy pups and a relaxed dog Mom.  Here's to doing it for the dog, not for the ribbons and titles!

I look forward to many more lessons with my puppy professor.  As long as I'm ready to listen, Hoagie has plenty to teach.

And now, with Pretzel in the house, I have a second professional perspective to learn from!  (And you can bet the Terrier School of Doggy Education definitely has a challenging new curriculum for me to study.)

Professor Pretzel says:  "This will be on the test."

Have fun listening to your dogs!  They definitely have lots to teach, as long as you are willing to listen!


P.S.  Yes, I do love staging elaborate and silly dog photos.  Don't judge me!  You know it's cute!

"What a summer!" Part 1:

In which Hoagie visits his happy place and doesn't invite Mommy...


Holy patootie!  What a summer.  Full of dog related ups and downs!  I think because I have so much to tell (and because I have a slightly sub-par attention span) I will split this up into a couple posts.  I'll start with the not-so-great news.

Sad Hoagie doesn't like bad news.

In my last post mentioned the COAST ASC trial in Cayucus.  This was our very first Rally-O trial, and well...Hoagie and I bombed.  Hoagie essentially shut down.  After lots of thought, I believe there were two main reasons behind our double NQ (two non-qualifying scores).

First, I think the trial environment was way over Hoagie's current distraction threshold.  We were out on a working ranch, with a herding trial going on in the next field over.  In addition, Hoagie had the spectacular "luck" of having two cows walk right by the trial ring just as we started our first run.  *awesome*  In addition, the coastal wind through the little valley we were in was incredible; like sent-a-soft-crate-with-cattle-dog-inside-tumbling-across-the-field, incredible.  That poor dog may never trust his soft-crate again. 

Evil crate is evil.

The wind was so bad that the judges started taking down their shade tent during my second run to prevent it from blowing away.  The environment was definitely not ideal for a first trial; however I really don't think that was the main issue.

Unfortunately, I think the main problem was that I was way too stressed out, and Hoagie picked up on that.  I couldn't get him to pay attention, on- or off-course.  Poor guy wouldn't even look me in the eye, and I could tell he was feelin' my nerves.  It really would seem that Hoagie said to himself: "Wow, Mom is super stressed about something.  I guess there is something to be nervous about, so I am going to send lots of calming signals to everyone and everything."  He averted his eyes, sniffed the ground, and simply sat down mid-course and wouldn't move.

Between the environment and my stress, Hoagie demonstrated the doggie equivalent of: "screw this b.s., too much drama."

Exhibit A (please excuse the hiney picture.)

I tried everything to get him to pay attention, or even move, but he wasn't having any of it.  Thankfully the judge was really nice about it and told me that I got the persistence award.  I kept my cool, gently encouraged Hoagie, and never once pulled on his leash.  All my friends competing, even my Rally-O instructor, Cindy, said that I did the best I could, given the circumstances.  It just wasn't Hoagie's day.

So, moral of the story: I know what went wrong, I know what we need to work on, and I know that in the end, it was an educational day.  I won't pretend that I wasn't really disappointed.  That's probably why it took me so long to get up the nerve to write about the trial.  I learned a lot form the experience however, and I got to watch some great dogs compete.

Congrats to Cindy Decker who got High In Trial in the morning trial with Slick, and in the afternoon trial with Twill.  A very talented trainer with some spectacular dogs!

Yay Slick and Twill!

So, I shall save the good news for next post, and leave you with a picture Cindy took of one of the rare moments that Hoagie was actually paying attention.  At least he looked good in the pictures...

"Oh shoot, someone's taking pictures.  I better look like I'm paying attention."

*Hoagie: Selective Attention Pro*

A Busy Spring!

Hey guys!  I'm still alive!  Really!  And man have Hoagie and I been busy!  Last time I mentioned that I would keep you updated on Hoagie's progress in Scent Work.  (I know, I know, 5 months of no posts isn't exactly keeping you "updated."  Cut me some slack on this one!)  We completed Nose Work 1 and 2 classes, as well as 6 weeks of continuing nose work through Gentle Touch.  Best of all, on the 13th Hoagie passed his birch Odor Recognition Test, and can now go on to compete and work towards NW1! 

 Check out that birch sniffing machine!  Yay for Hoagie!

I have to say that it has been a blast and our instructors Katie and Darcy have been super knowledgeable and a great inspiration.  It's a great new dog sport that is absolutely perfect for "reactive" dogs like the Hoagster.  I would recommend nose work to anyone with any kind of dog.  I've seen everything from Dachshunds to Newfoundlands have a great time using their noses!  Even if you don't plan on competing, the activities are great boredom busters.  Searching for scent among plastic Easter eggs was Hoagie's favorite activity in class. (Here's a video of Katie's dog Brenna doing a similar egg hunt.)  Plus it's fun getting to watch a dog just be a dog, using his nose and working for his treats!  Check out the NACSW website for more info or to see if there is a group or class near you!  It's a new sport so there aren't too many folks teaching it yet, but keep an eye out cause it's spreading fast!

The other thing that has been keeping us busy is preparing for our first Rally-O trial!  Hoagie and I will be competing Memorial Day weekend at the ASCA trial in Cayucus put on by COAST ASC.  We've been practicing really hard, and Hoagie is doing great.  His attention is much closer to where I would like it, and I'm working on making sure I know all the ASCA signs (which are of course different than AKC and UKC signs).  As long as I can get him to focus, and I don't screw up too badly, we should hopefully do alright.  Keep your fingers and paws crossed for us!  I'll post how we do after the trial next weekend!  Till next time!

In the mean time enjoy some pics of us practicing hard at a run through at Santa Rosa park:

Hoagie looking at Stew taking pictures instead of focusing.  Such a ham!

Hoagie doing a good job ignoring distractions!

Trying his best to look cute for treats.

Lookin' cool in his shades after a good practice.

Fun day and fun videos

Hey all!  Hope you had a great holiday season and New Years.  I know many of us said it last year, but hopefully this new year will be better than the last!

Lots of good news on the dog-front.  Hoagie and I are looking forward to starting a nose-work class through Gentle Touch Pet Training this week.  We'll keep you updated on how that all goes, but it looks like it should be fun!

Hoagie has been making lots of progress in his training.  We've been working hard on fostering calm behavior at home and out-and-about.  Also, I am learning that calming myself down greatly helps in calming Hoagie.  If I'm annoyed and frustrated with him, he gets annoyed and frustrated.  It sounds silly, but I've had to remind myself that having a dog is supposed to be fun, not frustrating.  No matter what I do, he will still be a dog, still be imperfect, and like all our furry kids, a little weird.

It would however, seem that my new outlook and all the hard work is paying off.  Attention level is up, calm is becoming the norm instead of the exception, and everyone involved is feeling a little bit more sane (myself included).  Today at the SLODOG run-through I could have sworn someone switched my old dog with some new, well behaved doppelganger.

He wasn't snarky to any of the other dogs, even the three puppies taunting him with excited wiggles and puppy whines.  He was focused on me for a great Rally-O run through, and was so relaxed during the 3 minute group sit-stay that he decided to lie down (even though he was supposed to stay sitting) with a puppy not 2 feet from him, doing it's best impression of a 10-year-old hopped up on Mountain Dew.  Hoagie was a trouper today and made me really proud.  We've worked hard, and it's finally showing.  People who have known us for a while compliment us on our improvement, and people just meeting him see an even-tempered dog and a relaxed owner.  I couldn't be happier with his progress!  Even as I write this Hoagie is curled up on his bed like a little angel, enjoying a well deserved nap.

In celebration of a successful practice today I thought I would include some fun videos.  I have found that some of the best and most useful training help can be found on YouTube.  There are a lot of great trainers online doing some amazing stuff with their dogs.  Some of my favorites are the videos by Emily of Kikopup.  Her videos are really clear and well put together.  I also love that she only uses positive reinforcement techniques.  I found the video below to be especially useful in fostering calmness and sanity when I'm not actively working with Hoagie.

Be sure to check out kikopup's other videos if you want great dog training tips or just want to watch some fun dog videos. 

This next video is by Sian on her channel zsian1.  She is another one who does great dog training videos.  This one features some great training and canine freestyle practice footage.  Makes me laugh every time I watch it...

 

So enjoy some YouTube silliness, and most of all enjoy your dog.  The minute I remembered to do that was the same moment I got back a little bit of my own sanity (and a better behaved dog to boot)!