Where did the last year go?!?! Seems like they go faster & faster these days. I made a little tribute to our first year with Cooper…we’ve all come a long way in our training.
Puppies & Rainy Days
I suppose Hendrix is still a puppy at almost 17 months. Since she’s small breed, she seems pretty mature already. Cooper is at 18 weeks now. Honestly, he’s clearly very much puppy- but he’s no wild child. It seems the hormones are just kicking in for adolescence – so we’ll see if he gets a little more riled up or not…
This past weekend presented some special challenges! It rained most of the weekend, and that provided for some pretty stir crazy puppies. Hendrix generally is pretty energetic, and has several opportunities to train agility during the week. So, she can get amped up or settle down pretty quickly. On her own, I think it would take weeks of rain to really get her bored. However, Cooper is very young and that means he can easily get bored being cooped up all day. His first line of entertainment is to mess with Hendrix…and then the crazy running in the house games are off! By Sunday afternoon, our dynamic duo was about to make us crazy. Thankfully, both my pups like to play free shaping games with the clicker. I love that the mental challenge seems to wear Cooper out as much as a walk. Hendrix just loves clicks & treats period.
So, here’s a little video we made featuring Cooper learning the “speak” command. Training for puppies and playing with iPhones for Ronald & I = everyone is less bored! (I love the iMovie app for iPhone…they have some fun trailer templates that you can just fill in or customize.)
Just a typical morning with the dogs…
I think we’ve gotten into a rhythm now with the morning routine. Cooper usually wakes to have his morning outing and eat around 5am. I keep hoping as he gets older this can start happening a little later… Funny thing is – as soon as he takes care of business and is fed, he goes RIGHT back to sleep. Can’t complain too much – at least he sleeps pretty much 7-8 hours through the night. Hendrix just goes with the flow – she knows food, exercise, etc. will all happen in their own good time.
About an hour and a half nap – Cooper’s ready to get up and have some activity & Hendrix is happy to join in. This week, I’ve been trying to walk the two dogs together*, and then give them a little run around time. This morning, in lieu of the walk – we went to the dog park. As long as they get a little rowdy play time, they seem to settle in between 8:30am and 9:30am. Fortunately for me, they’re pretty much chill the rest of the day…until dinner time of course.
Earlier this week, Cooper picked up a discarded water bottle on our morning walk. We were on our way back home, and it was just a few houses down – thankfully. This has become THE featured play toy in the backyard.
I can’t say I used to be much of a “morning person”, but I think the dogs might have converted me. It’s so nice to get up when it’s still dark and get stuff done before some people even leave their houses. Shhh…don’t tell my Dad I said that. My little Hendrix & Cooper sure help me appreciate a lot of the simple pleasures! I love them for that!
*Training note- Although walking the dogs together requires some diligence and special leash configuration on my part – it really seems to have smoothed out some of the rough edges between Hendrix & Cooper. I’m a little worried about these walks impact on Cooper’s learning to heel properly. Even though I have not started him with a formal heel behavior, he walks very nicely on a loose leash on my left. He’s received reward/reinforcement when he’s making eye contact at my immediate left, and he’s realized the value in staying there and checking in with me. When we have our little “pack walks”, he’s a little more focused on keeping up with Hendrix & she’s a bit of a forge ahead walker. Interestingly, walking with him adds some complexity to the walk that slows her down and keeps her from forging too much. So, I think the group walks do a lot of good, but I’ve got to make sure I keep reinforcing Cooper on walks with just him. I’m actually thinking to get a back attach harness for him for the group walks…so he associates that set up with have a little more freedom on the walk.
Agility Fun Match Take 2
What a night! Little Ms Hendrix is already snoring… We just got back from our second ever agility fun match. We arrived just as the sun was setting, and the weather played pretty nice (for once). We made a bee line for the sign up table, and I decided we’d do only one run on the standard course. Next time, we may do jumpers, too. I think we should since most courses are primarily jumps versus other obstacles. I also signed up for the 12″ height because it would happen earlier than the shorter heights. 12″ will probably be Hendrix’ competition height, and she generally has not problem clearing it (I’ve recently started always practicing at 12″ or 14″ anyway). Then we made the rounds saying hello to all our What A Great Dog! friends. Ronald & I set up camp…just a few soft chairs & a water dish initially. 
Then, I decided we should bring out the crate & see how Hendrix would behave crated in all the hubbub. The hour or so we waited for our turn, she was mostly good. She made sure to throw in the occasional stranger bark; but overall, I was really pleased with how she was behaving in the crate. Our crate game work has definitely paid off! There were moments where I could even leave the door open and she would not rush out. She did get a little anxious if she saw I was paying attention to other dogs while she was in the crate (jealousy?).
As our group (jump height) approached, I took Hendrix over to practice a start line stay & jump just outside the ring entrance. She stayed…and I said “jump”…she looked at me…and then ran for me…then ran off. Fortunately, some friendly dog owners nearby helped me corral her pretty quickly. So, we went back to watching from the crate. After that, I was prepared for the worst…I thought she was bound to just run off & zoom. When our turn came, I opened the gate & entered. It’s nice that this fun match features dog proof fencing around the ring. I took her slip lead off immediately, but I realize now – I should’ve waited until we got situated in front of the first obstacle. She wouldn’t budge from the corner by the gate for sniffing the grass. Now, I had REALLY LOW expectations. No attempts on my part seemed to redirect her attention. So, I went over and picked her up, and set her down in front of the first jump. I think I saw an honest to goodness doggie lightbulb. She practically beamed with “OH! THIS is what we’re doing! A-ha!” So, I asked her to stay, and led off. I returned & rewarded her for the stay. I asked her to stay again, and led off then we went jump and full height dog walk. She nailed those. I hesitated thinking what I wanted to set up next. Since this is only our second time in a “real” course, I was not really following the course as directed. I was just picking and choosing for the sake of real competition like experience. In my moment’s hesitation, I lost her to smelling the grass again…but only briefly. I got her back and I was able to send her over a jump and then bring her over another. Then it was A-frame, tunnel, tire, and table. Those were all in a pretty straight line (or curve) so she nailed those. Because I liked her energy on that sequence, I sent her back through after the pause on the table…tire, tunnel, A-frame and we got the two jumps again. At that point, I heard “30 seconds”, and I said “We’re good!” We headed toward the gate, and Hendrix started mugging with the crowd. It was a crowd of WAGD! folk and Ronald…guess that’s why she was interested. I got her attention and her slip lead on & off we went.
Here’s a little video clip of tonight’s action –
It’s clear this little gal loves her agility! I’m really proud of how she stayed with me (ON GRASS!!!) and didn’t get the zoomies. I loved seeing that she LOVES the big full height contact obstacles, and LOVED that I was able to handle her through the turn in the 2 jump series (both times). I think it’s only a matter of time before we can run a full course. Honestly, I think it’s more about me learning footwork and handling skills than Hendrix learning anything. Once I set her on a course, she’s a fast little booger! This time we skipped the weaves (Hendrix hasn’t done 12 poles yet) and the full height teeter (though I think she might’ve done that one).
All in all – a great fun with the little four legged one & all our training friends!