Fall CKC trials

In early November, I entered Piper in a two rally novice runs and one obedience pre-novice run at the Georgina Kennel Club Trial. The trial was held in Lindsay, about half an hour from my parent's house, so travel was easy. It was probably the largest trial we had entered, with rally, obedience, and two conformation rings. The whole arena was full of dogs!

Piper was first dog on the line in the obedience ring, and rocked her final pre-novice leg. Yahoo!

We then had to wait about two hours for our first rally run. She already had a leg from the previous winter, and had her ASCA RN from the summer, so I was nervous but didn't doubt she would qualify. Hubris haha. I walked the course and it was a little awkward, but not very many fronts (which I struggle with). When it was our turn, we seemed to breeze through...until we got the second last sign and I thought "hey, I thought there was a similar sign near the beginning of the course...oh shit". I walked right past the third sign on the course. Stupid, nervous Kelly! So we didn't qualify in that run, even though everything else was beautiful. Oh well.

Waiting around another few hours for our second run, we chatted with a woman who had a Toller set up next to us. Turns out I had met her before through a mutual friend. My mom and her friend also stopped in to watch our last run. Now all of a sudden I'm surrounded by people I know and the pressure's on!

Piper warmed up beautifully as we prepared to go into the ring. The judge is already in the ring as we walk in. All of a sudden, Piper won't stop staring at her. I get her attention to start the course. Once we get going, she looks back at the judge again. The poor judge can't figure out what she's done...I can't figure out what she's done! Piper continues to half pay attention to me and half to the judge throughout the entire course. It was super sloppy, with tons of out-of-position marks off, but the judge passed us. I actually can't believe she scored us as well as she did! The only thing I can think of that threw Piper off was that there may have been a noise as she entered the ring. Maybe she associated it with the judge? It was just an odd run.

I do for sure think we both need practice at trials, specifically with ring nerves and proofing. We are going to do our best to find a few mock trials, or maybe even enter a few trials as exhibition.

So now Piper was only one Q away from her CKC RN, and boy was I determined! I found out there was a trial only an hour from Bracebridge the following weekend, and our old instructor was judging! After confirming we were allowed to compete under her, and confirming we were allowed day-of entries, we arrived at the trial the following weekend.

It was a much smaller trial, and Piper was the third dog on the line. I've noticed our early-in-the-day runs are ALWAYS our best. Anyways, it was a phenomenal run. We came out with a score of 99 - only 1 point off for out of position. My faith was restored after our crummy rally runs the weekend before.

Piper heeling in our 3rd qualifying RN run. She really is awesome :)

We are now in an advanced rally class to learn the new signs and practice working off leash. I hope to join our old friends at the Peterborough Obedience Club for their May trial. I was also hoping to try entering in novice obedience, but I'm not sure I will be confident enough for that. Time will tell!

OSPCA volunteering

In August I connected with the manager of the Muskoka OSPCA and asked about volunteering to spend time walking, training, and generally socializing the dogs. It took a little while to get organized, but I've gone pretty much every week for the past 6 months.

I've met some pretty awesome dogs, and a few who definitely pulled at my heartstrings. A few others who drove me crazy. I'm certainly learning what I like in a dog and what I don't. While I tend to prefer herding dogs, there have been a few anomalies who have been phenomenal dogs. Good thing I have no room for more animals in my apartment! That will all change when I move to a house with a fenced yard, hopefully in the spring. Kidding...I'll likely hold out for another Aussie, a few years down the road. I do enjoy helping the local dogs, and hopefully teaching them a few core skills, like sit and wait, to help them acclimatize to their adoptive families.

Generally when I get to the shelter, I check in to see if there are any dogs who can't be walked (usually due to recent surgeries), and who is most in need of a walk. Usually these are the dogs who are super high energy, or really nervous and in need of extra socialization. I take them out into the little off-leash pen and let them get their zoomies out, hopefully at the same time learning that I have lots of tasty treats and that they can offer things like sits to get them! Then I pop them on a leash and take them out on the little trail behind the shelter. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk the trail, I wish it was a longer route. Leash walks are sometimes successful and sometimes super frustrating, depending on the dog, their food drive, and their existing leash skills. 

I plan on continuing to volunteer indefinitely, and eventually to help further develop their volunteer program.

This little female was super cute, very friendly and outgoing. Some type of large breed mix. Already adopted, but I always try to spend some time with puppies when they are in :)

Porter was a 3 yr old boxer cross (nudge nudge - doesn't look anything like a boxer to me) who totally stole my heart. He was surrendered by an owner who could not afford the vet bill to remove porcupine quills from his poor pooches face :( He was in the shelter a number of weeks, and was the most gentle dog I've ever met.

Teddy was a 10 year old spaniel...this little old man had enthusiasm and ball drive to spare. If I wasn't in an apartment, I would have taken him home in a heartbeat.

illness

The last week of July, both my dogs were sick.

We had been in Guelph on the weekend, visiting with Karen (Spark), Brooke (Canyon, Cessna, Rogue, and baby Arizona), and Karol (Winston). Monday morning I took them to a nearby park to run around for a few minutes. There was nobody around, so they had fun chasing each other around. I looked away for only a few minutes, to pick up after them.

Ace is crated (due to his gluttonous tendencies) but Piper was left loose while I was at work. I came home at lunch to let them out for a pee, and found Piper had puked up all her breakfast in my bedroom. Annoying, but sometimes dogs just puke. I didn't really worry about it too much. Cleaned it up and went back to work.

When I came home from work, I found bloody vomit and diahrrea on my front mat. Somethinthing was definitely wrong. I cleaned up and took her outside. She was definitely lethargic. Once the hallway was reasonably clear, I went to get Ace out of his crate, and found his crate full of the same - bloody vomit and diahrrea. I immediately started making vet calls. After a few tries, I found a vet able to see us. When I took them outside, I snagged a stool sample to take with us - we loaded into the car and saw the vet within about 15 minutes.

The vet looked them over, determined that yes they were lethargic, yes blood coming out both ends was not good, and was able to rule out poison. Not able to rule out something communicable, or some kind of poisonous plant. It was very scary. She was kind enough to spend about an hour and a half with us, and went through the options very thoroughly. She gave them an injection to stop the vomiting and sent us home with antibiotics.

It took both dogs nearly a week to recover their energy, and I never really found out what cause the illness. None of the other dogs we were in contact with ever got sick. And because they were both sick within a few hours of each other, I suspected they perhaps ate a plant of some kind at the park that morning. Even though I only had my back turned for a few seconds, and even though Piper NEVER grazes. 

It was a very scary experience for me and my normally healthy dogs.

Kinmount Fair

In early September, I jumped at the chance to be part of an agility exhibit at the Kinmount Fair. I go almost every year, and usually take a dog. It's only a half hour from the cottage, so its nice and close. There are great socialization opportunities (crowds, kids, dogs, horses, midway noises, food on the ground), but I love watching the horse shows and performers as well. This year my mom and friend Laura came with me. Laura had never been to a rural fair before, so it was a very new experience for her.

We were part of a relay class, so our run was timed and paired with a young horseback rider's time. Both dog and horse runs were jumper runs. No real handling practice unfortunately, since it was just a row of jumps, tunnel at the end, and another row of jumps. But it was a chance to get Piper out in a public venue, and to run in an unfenced ring in close proximity to horses and spectators! It was a lot of fun, I'm looking forward to participating in the same event next fall!

Toby, Ace and Piper hanging out on the dock at the cottage

ASCA 2014

On the August 1st long weekend, I packed up Piper, Ace, Percy, and Archibald to head south for the annual ASCA show. We stayed with my friend Karen in Waterloo (about 3 hours from home), and traveled another 1 1/2 hours each way to get back and forth from the show, which was in Niagara Falls. The cats had to come since I was going to be gone more than 2 nights - they would get hungry!

Saturday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn (about 5 am) to get ready. Piper and I needed to get there before 8:30 as we were doing day-of entry. We arrived bleary-eyed, but excited! Piper was entered in altered conformation with Wendy, one Rally Novice run and two Agility novice jumper runs with me! Busy day :)

I love the ASCA show, because I love to see all the Aussies...young, old, working, show, and everything in between. They offer outdoor conformation, rally, obedience, agility, and herding on ducks, sheep, and cows. It's an awesome venue!

Piper did not win anything in conformation, although a few kind competitors came over to tell me how nice she looked. There is a specific gait they need to have in the conformation ring, and I've never taught her to run a certain way. So because she paced, no wins for us.

We did pretty well in Rally, with a score of 186. We lost 10 points because I circled left instead of right at one of the signs...super annoying! But, it was her titling run! First performance title ASCA RN...yay!

Agility was in the afternoon, we were entered in 1 jumpers run, as we didn't have contacts at that point. Runs were only about $10 each, so I treated them as practice, and a good opportunity to get used to the trial environment. The first run was a mess, but live and learn! I think I know now what my mistakes were.

The second day Karen went with me to volunteer at the agility field and socialize her puppy Spark to the trial environment. Since the paperwork had been sorted out the day before, and jumpers wasn't until later in the day, we arrived around 10am. We did two jumpers runs. The first one wasn't great, but wasn't bad either. The second one was pretty great! Only one bar down, so I was actually pretty happy with that. More work to do for sure, but it was heartening.

The trial was over by 2:30, so we made friends with a few collie owners who were competing, and headed to the Lake Erie beach! Piper and Spark had tons of fun playing in the water and with the collies. Everybody headed home happy and super tired.

herding clinic 2014

In June, Piper and I attended a herding clinic at Have Ewe Heard, the same place we went for the herding instinct test last spring. The clinic was run jointly by our new friend Mary Anne and the Peterborough Obedience Club.

We arrived around noon, so I could set Piper's crate up on the grass near the sheep pen. We spent about half an hour watching the sheep being run by other dogs, then it was our turn. Piper seemed curious and excited to be around the sheep. When we went into the paddock, she took an explosive turn around the ring, chasing the sheep like stink. Then she stopped. Wouldn't follow them when they moved, all she seemed to want to do was stand there and eat sheep poop. I'll be honest, I spent more time herding sheep than she did, that session. She had to back on a long time, so I could try to lead her closer to them. The instructor and I were stumped... she had done so well last year at the test, and went into the ring with so much zoom! Discussing it after, the instructor suspected maybe she is a little sensitive and one of the sheep have her a good stare down we didn't notice.

Later in the day we had another opportunity to work a different group of sheep. These ones were a little flightier, and moved more easily around the paddock. Piper did much better, and by the end of the session she was able to calmly move around the little herd and bring them towards me. Good girl!

I was so happy to end the day on a good note. I would love to do more herding with her, and the farm where we go is only an hour from where I live now, so it's certainly a possibility. Hopefully in another year or two I will a) have a little extra money to spend on herding classes and b) be stable enough in agility to be able to afford the time to train in two vastly different disciplines.

Piper trying to gather the sheep. June 2014

new town, new job, more agility!

Well, the happy event finally occurred. I landed my first full-time, permanent, professional job as a Junior Planner for a planning consultant in Muskoka. I interviewed around the end of May, and was hired two weeks later, with a start date the third week of June.

That left me two weeks to find a place to live... no easy feat when you have two dogs and two cats. I looked at apartments in several towns, up to 40 minutes from my new workplace. Several were extremely scuzzy (no thank you!) and several were too expensive, or too far away. But I eventually hit the jackpot. I found a building 8 houses down from my office, with one apartment available July 1, and a larger one available August 1. I really wanted the bigger apartment, so was able to make arrangements to move into the smaller one for a month, then move across the hall to the bigger one! The building is clean, the kitchen, flooring, bathroom, and paint all very fresh looking. It is smaller than my beloved Guelph apartment, but big enough for my needs.

My job is also going well. I find the work interesting, and am able to get out of the office for meetings and site visits periodically. I am able to go home at lunch and let the dogs out, and have flexible hours. I am paid a professional wage that will allow me to live reasonable comfortably and pay off my debts. The best part is that when I get home in the evening, I am ready to go and do things! I don't get home from work and feel tired and grouchy - I want to run - bike - train my dogs - cook supper. No shortage of energy here. It's a fantastic feeling.

Now that A) I have the time and B) I have the money, Piper and I have been back in regular agility classes. We have been going out to Huntsville and taking classes with Muskoka Agility Dogs, specifically Lynda Yielding. She is a lot of fun, and is helping me to understand how to walk a course, how to weave, and do contacts. The only crummy part is that they don't hold classes through the winter, so we'll see what will happen then. I'm saving my pennies so hopefully I can purchase a few pieces of equipment that I can store in my trunk and practice with in the park.

I am only an hour from the cottage, so we have been spending many weekend there. Ace just adores it, as he can swim all day long! It makes me feel better that although I'm back in an apartment and leashes are once again required for even the quickest pee break, the dogs can go the entire weekend at the cottage without even wearing a collar. They are just my little stars.

Piper and I have been exploring a few of the many trails in the area. All have been beautiful and quiet, my favourite trail characteristics. Since Ace has been swimming so much on weekends, and I have to be careful not to over-tax his elbows, he has been staying home.

I also started volunteering at the OSPCA last week. I'm hoping to focus on training rather than just walking, to improve my training skills, and hopefully increase the adoptability of the dogs at the shelter.

Piper standing on a log over Muskoka River. Wilson Falls Trail.

Piper climbing on rocks. Wilson Falls Trail.

Piper standing on a log, overlooking Lake Muskoka. Huckleberry Rock Trail. She was wearing a harness because I knew it was a lookout, and was not sure how steep it would be. Thought I would leash her, just in case she accidentally took off running toward the edge! It ended up not being too bad.