Backpacking Meet up

Five of us enjoyed the Saturday morning back pack meet up.  We hiked a trail between  trees , up the Mt Pleasant hill on the west side, back down the hill,  across the top of the parking lot and then wove our way  through the trees to the finish.  The trail was 810metres long, some of the dogs were carrying a sixth of their weight which is what is required for the DDX test, some carried less and others just wore empty packs.  A couple of dogs came along for the hike without a pack.  We went in 2 separate groups  so those with 2 dogs could take  each separately.    

 

Reese went in the 1^st group  and  Nugg and Toscane went in the second group.  Nugg was trying out her new low profile backpack and Toscane did not have a pack yet so walked along with Bonnie. 

SK MB NUN AAC Regional Qualifier

On Sunday after running a fast, fun and clean Jumpers round, Reese and I qualified to represent our Region at the 2016 AAC National Championship in Montreal, PQ.  Yes indeed it was a squeaker as we earned 353 pts while needing 350 to qualify. Although I won't be making the trek to Montreal , I am very proud to have Qualified along side those who will be representing Team Saskatchewan.


Here is Reese's final Jumper round; video,  map and scribe sheet.  As someone pointed out....she talked me all the way through it. :)

Reese ATChC

ATChC Del Brave Flying Colours, CD, JH, WCI , DD , RE , CRXCL On Nov. 1/2015 at the Moose Jaw Dog Club Halloween Howl, Reese earned her 3rd and 4th Master Snooker legs to complete the requirement for Agility Trial Champion of Canada ATChC. The final leg came on judge Bridgette Hunters course. It was a great weekend 2 other dogs and handlers earned their ATChC the day before. They were Dr. Ann and her Cairn Terrier Tigger and Darla Montgomery and her Retriever mix Bailey. The Moose Jaw dog club presents the handlers that earn an ATChC title at their trial with an embroidered patch to commemorate the occasion. Love the idea.

On Sunday morning we started off needing 2 Master Snooker rounds to complete the ATChC requirements. My plan was to attempt all 4 reds then go into the closing, if I did this I would only need to complete the 5 obstacle which was 6 weave ploles and I would have 41 points, one more than the 40 needed to qualify. Reese and I stuck to our plan despite being the 2nd last dog to run and watching plenty of successful runs that provided lots of pressure to change the plan. Number 6 was a serpentine that provided lots of opportunity for wide turns and the ever tempting teeter

Early spring training

This year spring came early, most of our snow was gone by the end of March so in early April, I started back with field work. We are working mostly on handling drills. Reese has done a fair amount of this, but I'm amazed at how fast Nugget is catching on to them all. Here are a few pictures taken by Lianne last night while we were doing a lining drill and 3 leg pattern drill.

Happy New Year

In 2015 keep your eyes on all that matters. Give it all you've got and enjoy your friends and family.

Christmas 2014

2014 Training Group

Nugget~Reese~Danno~Tim~Torque~Emy

 

Brandon Sun - Reese Master Jumpers

This picture of Reese was on the front page of the Brandon Sun March 24, 2014.  It was taken in a Master Jumper round.

Reese and Nug sled Craven

 

 

 

What a great day to get out and do some sledding.  The temperatures hovered around 0 degrees and there was a bit of a wind.  We started from the Craven Big Valley Jamboree grounds and travelled a little over 3 miles on the creek, stopped for some lunch and the dogs played a few snow games.  This was a 1 sec clip that was slowed down twice and then sped up again.  It was a whole lot of fun.

Master Jumper Dog of Canada

On February 16, Reese ran clean in all 3 Master Jumper rounds to earn her MJDC title.  All 3 courses were designed and judged by Dave Langen and are just the kind Reese likes fast and fun. 

In this run I was pretty sure I had a refusal in the back corner.  When talking to Dave about refusals, he explained that he couldn\t call a refusal if she never looked at the jump.  She never did, it was difficult to get her to stop looking at me, which is a product of no motion. Something to work on for sure.

This is the 2nd round and was the round her title was earned on.  She ran it in 27.11 sec which was faster than any other dog in any class or height ran it.

Round 3 , Reese broke her start line and I felt like I was playing catch up for the whole run.

Team Nugget & Reese

We again took advantage of some brilliant winter weather and ventured out to do some sledding.  This video was the most controlled part of our run which came right at the end, after we had gone for at least a mile.

There was turning on 1 runner at high speeds, clipping of snow banks as we went. There was passing of the other dog teams , of which I had 0 control. Just smiled and waved to my fellow sledders. There were screeching halts to check pee mail.  There was much running by me when 2 brown dogs took off,  if the lead teams flinched.

As in this video when we coasted Nugget did the lions share of the pulling.  But when we went up hill, turned or passed the other sleds Reese kicked in.  Crap Reese who accelerates on a turn.  Oh yes my arms are about 6 inches longer now.

 

Kicksledding

With the temperatures above 0, it was a perfect day for kicksledding. With a little help from Yo driving the quad,  Reese and Torque figured out it was fun to race each other.

Christmas Day Happiness!

 

Kicking a little snow!

After a real cold snap of -33 the day before, we were treated to a day time high temperature of +3C the day the Grey Cup was played in Regina.  Since the game didn’t start until around supper time. I thought it a perfect opportunity to get out with the kicksled. I headed out to  Lianne’s  place where her  yard  had just been freshly cleared.  The yard and the approaching lane provided a pretty good surface for our maiden run. 

One of my 1^st concerns was  how to hitch the sled bridal to the sled.  I had seen a few pictures of kicksleds that had rings welded to the top part of the runners.  My thought was to try using a couple of  rings that are attached to Velcro that were made to hold water buckets in soft sided crates with metal tubing.  So we fastened them securely, then attached the bridal and ganglines.  Reese was going to be the 1^st to give it a try, I doubted that Nugget being smaller would be able to pull the sled and I on her own. 

Reese did great at being harnessed as she is used of standing still for drafting.  Once hitched , Lianne stood a short distance away with a target and some treats and she fairly effortlessly pulled.  We did this several times and lengthened the distances we had her pull.  Lianne and I took turns riding the sled .   

 

Reese seemed to be doing well, so I brought Nugget out and hitched her up.  Again not to many problems with hitching and getting them to stand with the “line out”.  On the cue of “hike” they took off, but very quickly Reese started to hang back letting Nugget do most of the pulling.  We had the idea of unhooking Nugget from the sled, but leaving her attached to Reese by the neckline.  Reese was still attached to the sled.  This was even worse, at one point Nugget was actually dragging Reese who in turn was dragging the sled. 

What I learned is that Nugget can definitely  pull on her own.  Also after  talking to Erin, she told me that probably Reese just needs to gain confidence on her own before adding the Nugg.  So next  outing, I will do some one dog pulling with Reese.  Erin also said that using a quad that will stay just ahead of them can also be useful in getting the dog to move out.

We also hitched Torque, Em and Sonny up.  Using the target to get  them going, and  a person calling, worked fairly well for our 1^st time out.  Torque took me for a ride while Lianne called, and HOLY CRAP…all I can say is weeeeeeeeeeee!

 More Winter fun to come for sure.

Group Stays CONQUERED!

On August 24, 2013 at the Shamrock Kennel and Obedience Club's (Yorkton) show and trial held in Springside, SK.  Reese completed her final leg to earn her CKC Companion Dog title.  Our nemesis has been the group sits and downs, but today she aced them. In each of Reese's qualifying rounds she was High in Class. 

In the afternoon we moved up to Open, where we both had a lot of fun.  No qualifier though as she walked the broad jump and came back around the solid jump on the retrieve over the jump.  No biggy it was unbelievably hot upwards of 30 degrees and the mats were slippery from the humidity.  What I was most happy with were her solid group sit and down while I was out of sight, even with Best in Show judging going on in the next ring. 

A busy summer!

We have been enjoying a fun filled summer outdoors.  Filled with playing and training.  

Nug, Ardi and Reese



Christmas Bandits 2012

~~WANTED ~~

in 4 Provinces and 6 States

Wild Eyed Reese, Baby Face Nugget and Ardi Oakley.


This gang is Trouble with a capital T.  The little one with the snow beard appears to be the ring leader in frequent early morning barking, unsoliciated boistuous greetings that include licking and jumping,  Don't be fooled by the tail wagging, they will stop at nothing to steal your heart, your time and empty your wallet,  Then remarkably,  leave you with a warm feeling. Sightings of their antics usually  leave you laughing and unaware of their mischief.  Approach with caution if you ever want to see your heart again.





 



Count down to the Draft Dog Test

The count down has started to the Draft Test this weekend.  When I signed up for the "Carting with your Dog" workshop this spring, my aspirations were simple.  a) hang out with my friends and have some fun b) hang out with my dog and have some fun.  Well I can honestly say that those goals have been met ten fold. You can see by Reese's face she enjoys it to. 

It is time to change gears, dig in and pull together as a team. 

These pictures were all taken at the Draft Dog Fun match about 2 weeks ago, even little 15wk old Draft Dog wannabe Nugget was on hand to cheer Reese on.

The Draft Test fun match was a chance for us to find out what the real thing will be like.  We were all put through our paces and I came away with the knowledge of what we needed to work on. 

The big thing was the ring exercises, I was to fumbly putting the harness on and the judge found a few twists in the harness...not good. I need to make the harnessing smoother. My off leash pattern was pretty good, but there is always room for improvement . On the 1 minute stand stay, Reese sat with 5 secs left. That is an automatic NQ, so practise, practise, practise  Reese did great on the 3 minute group down stay, which has been a problem, so this was great success. . Once I was harnessed and hitched, the cart manuevering went well.  The freight haul went well except for a spot where we were going up hill.  We got bogged down, because I slowed down to decide which angle I was going to approach at.   I should have had that figured out in the walk through and would not have needed to slow down and loose momentum.

I am very happy with how Reese and I have developed as a draft team and feel that we are well prepared for the test.  I am sure there will be a few anxious moments, but I  I have a wonderful partner and that is the most important thing. 

Summertime Fun!

Summertime, what a great time to have a brand new  puppy.  There have been so many opportunities to get Nugget out and about and socialized to people, places, sounds and other dogs.

On July 28th, KAOS was invited to perform 2 shows at the town of Chaplin's 100th Anniversary celebration. 

Nugget's part was to make her arrival carted in by Reese. It was 31 C degrees in the shade, and if you look really close you can see the Nug laying on her back in the crate as we wait for the introduction.

After a ride around the park. We stopped for Introductions and Nugget was sprung from her chariot.

Nugget handled the kids, the crowds and the heat like a pro. Of course the occaisonal dip in the paddling pool helped stay cool.

Chutes and Ladders - I can stay!

Every dog has a threshold of comfort and although it seems obvious now, I was left scratching my head often when Reese could not maintain a group sit or down stay when there were many occasions she could hold a stay.
The situations Reese can hold a stay in:
-in the field while I walk 70 yds to throw a double.
-beside Ardi in nearly every situation, with nearly every distraction in my yard or house.
-in the agility field while I change the jump heights on course.
-in the training center while I put equipment away.
-on the start line in agility – 80% of the time.
-can stay in another room while I get her food ready.

So like I said, what seems obvious now is that the group situation, with other dogs and handlers exceeds her threshold for performing a stay.

We have some motivation to get ready for the draft test in September and to be ready she will need to do a 3 minute sit stay in a group. There is also a stand stay, for 1 minute, but it is done alone with the handler only 6 feet away.

Waiting @ the Agility Field

Lianne reminded me of a technique for lengthening behaviours, in this case the behaviour is a stay. Sue Ailsby in her book “Training Levels Steps to Success”, calls it Chutes and Ladders. What it means is you start by only going as far as you have success, returning before the dog reaches its threshold (breaks) and click and treat. You then head out and go a little further, then return again before the dog breaks. If the dog breaks, you move back to the beginning and start again.

In the case of Reese, I am working at both lengthening the distance I can move away while she stays and the length of time I can be away. I have to be careful to not change the requirements of both at the same time and increase the requirements in small steps.

We have had the opportunity to practise with a few dogs Reese knows. To begin, I’ve established that her comfort zone is about 15 ft for 30 sec. So we are working toward 1 minute at 15 feet. After 2 sessions with 2 different sets of known dogs, she has been successful in a 1 minute down and sit from 15ft. So we will continue working on duration and then up the distance. The important thing is to move in small increments to increase the threshold of her comfort.