cedarfield

Another great day today. I finally had time to ask a friend to help me get my boats out to our lake property. I plan to leave them there covered in a tarp and hope no one streals them. It's very rural out there and very isolated so if someone wanted to take them there would be nothing to stop them but I really want them to live out there so I can go for a paddle without a big production.
We took the dogs with us and let them run crazy wild through the woods while we transported each boat down to the lake. It's a nice little hike of about a half mile through the woods to the water and we had to take each boat seperately because we only had one cart. Even then we had to carry the boats the last 100 yards or so because there's not even a track at that point.











It felt so good to be on the water again. It's been years since I've had time to go paddling but I used to do it all the time. There's something so meditative about stroking through the water making no noise except the dribble of water from your paddle ends and the fish jumping nearby and the herons taking fright as you draw close to them. Since Farmer Lake is a reservoir, there are few people out there and if the marina is closed like it was today, there's no one at all.

Now I'm tired and relaxed, the dogs are snoozing and I still have an episode of the new Sherlock Holmes series on PBS to watch tonight without that awful "it's Sunday night which means work tomorrow morning" feeling to ruin it. Could life get any better?

I'm so thrilled! Zodi finally did an entire agility course at a trial for the first time ever. Not only did she complete an entire course, she did it entirely in extension and ran it perfectly. It was just an easy CPE course but she's been unable to do even an AKC Novice course without losing focus or trying to run out of the ring so I'll take it anyway I can get it. Her yps was only 4.1 but it was a standard course and I held her contacts so she was actually running nice and fast. Isn't it funny how your goals change according to each dog :-) Here's a picture of her wearing her first ever ribbons. What you can't see in the pictures is the smell emanating from her since the first thing she did when I got home was roll in something horrible. she may be a winner but she's also still my silly, stinky little nut case.

I'm just bck from camp which was just as great as I hoped it would be. I only took Zodi because we were told that we would be very busy and non-participating dogs would have to spend lots of time being crated. It was hard for me to leave Devon at home because I'm so used to having him with me everywhere I go but I'm glad I didn't bring him this time. Having just Zodi along allowed me to really focus on her in a way I don't think I ever have. We had some great bonding time and shared a twin bed for 5 nights. I loved having so much time to focus on her, she's such a sweetie and behaved like such a grown up. She was quiet in the room and didn't woof at anyone despite having some noisy dogs that barked at her every time she moved. She has impeccable doggie manners and seemed to be very popular with the other campers, staff and instructors. Here she is chilling out in our room with her new friend, Mr. Hippo.

We had a private room which was a great choice because the cabins weren't air conditioned and it got quite warm on the last couple of days. It was also nice that Zodi got to be loose in our room rather than crated as she would have had to be in a shared cabin. Our normal routine was breakfast at 7:00 and our first training session at 8:30. The camp was quite large and spread out so there was a lot of hiking involved. Luckily the organizers arranged for our crates and chairs to be picked up and delivered to each new training location so we didn't have to carry them.
Our first session ended at around 10:00 and then we'd meet up in the dining hall/classroom for a group lecture. It usually involved video demos of various dogs searching all kinds of locations so during the course of a week I probably got to watch about 100 different searches by about 50 different dogs.
The classroom was air condtitioned and adjoined the dining hall so we could drink much needed coffee and snack as we listened and watched.
After lunch we had another two training sessions in two different locations with two different instructors with a break between so we could hike to the new location. Usually I'd take Zodi to the pond so she could wade which she loved.

After our afternoon sessions we had a break before dinner and after dinner we'd have another lecture. I had no problem keeping up with this schedule until day 3 when I hit the wall and was tired all day. However, I recovered a little on day 4 and 5 and since it got hot in the afternoon, we took it easy and kept the search sessions short and motivational for the dogs and people.

I forgot to mention that on the first day when we got there we participated in something called a "sniff and go" which incorporated all four elements of a trial in quick succession. You could choose to search for food, food and odor paired or just odor. I chose to pair food and odor since Zodi's only been on odor for a few weeks. She did so well that I was thrilled. Her scorecard tells the story:




Oops! Sorry, I forgot to rotate the pic.

I think that there are several very cool things about Nosework. Aside from the fact that it's very inclusive and is strucured so that almost any dog can participate, the therapeutic aspects of this sport are amazing. We heard story after story about very fearful and/or reactive dogs who's lives have been changed by doing nosework. The way the founders train and teach relies entirely on developing the dog's natural desire to hunt with their nose. By allowing the dog the time and space to do this comfortably, they gain so much confidence and enjoyment and trust that a confident dog becomes a master at it and a shy, fearful or even damaged dog learns that people can be trusted and life isn't only about fear. I don't mind telling you that many of us were wiping away tears as we witnessed many dogs make some amazing breakthroughs at camp and on videos.
This dog was in my group and is an 11 year old mixed breed dog who is a great searcher but can shut down in certain situations. One day her owner had to actually carry her out of the search area when she just shut down because of some distant thunder. The next day she wowed us by finding some difficult hides in the fastest time of any of our dogs. Here she's getting rewarded "at source" as she finds the odor by her mom. (The odor is birch which is a tiny amount on a half a Q-tip in a small tin hidden in the rocks)



In addition to lectures and training sessions we also watched a bunch of demos by more advanced dogs. Here is an instructor's dog who took about 25 seconds to search a field about the size of two agility rings for a Q-tip pushed down into the dirt. As soon as he finds it he alerts her to the location by lying down.

There were all kinds of dogs at camp, no one type or breed was more common than any other. Here a dog named Henrietta demos that she can search just as well as as the larger dogs.


It might take her longer to cover the ground but she had no trouble locating the find and showing her mom exactly where it was. In order to qualify at a trial, you have to be able to tell the judge exactly where the odor is so the dog has to learn to stay at the odor and not just find it. Henrietta's alert behavior was to stand with her nose on the odor wagging her tail like mad until her mom came over to reward her.

One of the best things about this sport, I think, is that it has the same kind of feeling that agility had when it was still a new sport. The community is small and very supportive and the focus is on the dogs having fun at all times. This camp has made me more determined than ever to increase my involvement in this sport. I think I'll be going up to MD next month to volunteer at a trial and we're talking about organizing a group locally to put on our own trial. I also plan to start working with the local no kill shelter to coach their volunteers on how to do some of these search activities with their dogs. It's actually been documented in several places that getting a shelter dog involved in nosework decreases their noisy kennel behavior and increases their rates of adoption. How cool is that?!

One more pic of Zodi at camp. I'm so glad we went, our relationship is stronger and sweeter because of it.

So far, so good! 
The weather is gorgeous, the dogs are happy I'm home, I've already scheduled multiple classes and private lessons for the next 6 weeks and I'm feeling like I made the right decision. To make it even better, I spent the weekend at an Earthdog trial where Devon got another Senior Earthdog leg (one more and we get to do Masters which is a whole lot more fun), I've been treated to dinner twice and Nosework camp starts next week.
But wait! There's more! I've read two books so far and haven't worn anything but jeans and tshirts.
Yes, I'm going to love retirement.

Got back last night at about 2:00am (we stayed an extra day to get in another hike at Tahoe). Our flight from Denver was delayed which meant poor little Devon had to hold it for a loooong time. He's a trooper though and was an excellent traveler despite hating to fly. Luckily he gets to do Earthdog this weekend and next which will make him totally happy. He's been pretty clingy this morning, wouldn't get off my lap while I was sitting on the deck enjoying the gorgeous NC Spring morning. Everything is green and lush which is such a contrast from Reno. Everything there is brown and dry and dusty although lake Tahoe was breathtakingly beautiful. I can't understand how anyone could go all the way out to Reno and not go to see Tahoe. It was barely 45 minutes by car from our hotel and one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.



We got to Reno on Wednesday afternoon and by the time we had checked in we were pretty tired having been up since 4:00am to catch our flight. Found this little lake with a walking path which was near the hotel to let Devon stretch his little legs:







On Thursday we checked in at the arena and then headed for Tahoe which was everything people said it was. Some of the best scenery around and fantastic hiking complete with giant pinecones (two of which I brought home in my luggage). Our first hike was to Prey Meadow which was supposed to be just a few  miles but we couldn't stop ourselves and instead we wound up hiking for several hours.



Devon loved all the extra attention of being the only dog between two people. He loves Susanna (who had just shaved her head to raise money for a children's cancer charity)and would look for her whenever she wasn't around. Susanna also just finished a house-sitting gig for us when we went to Houston so Devon has really gotten attached to her. I love this picture of the two of them on a break during our Prey Meadow hike. I'll talk about our agility runs in a different post, this one is just for all the great stuff we did when we weren't at the arena. Friday, after our two runs, we took a walk along the Truckee River which runs right through Reno. It was a gorgeous day and we just wandered around until we found a nice little place with outdoor tables who didn't mind us having Devon. They were so nice, in fact that they brought him out a bowl of water and two Milkbones. I call that very friendly! After that, Devon expected that they were bringing him more cookies every time they came out to serve the other patrons. Later that night I wasn't feeling so friendly toward the restaurant as I wound up with a bad case of food poisoning which kept me up all night but luckily I have perfected the art of puking my guts up quietly so I didn't wake Susanna. The next day I was unable to eat or drink until after my first run but adrenalin goes a long way toward helping you perform when you don't feel like you can even stand. But more on that in another post--I know you can't wait. The next day, Saturday, it started snowing so we opted to stay inside when we weren't at the arena. We ordered up room service for dinner and watched the snow fall on the Sierra Nevadas outside our window. Devon appeared fascinated by the view: But otherwise he just relaxed or played with his new friend, Mr. Flea. Sunday's weather wasn't a whole lot better, it rained part of the day, but since we were inside watching and running agility, it didn't matter that much. I can't remember what we did about dinner that night but I don't think it was memorable. Monday dawned clear and sunny which was great because that was the day we planned to spend entirely at Lake Tahoe. We had breakfast at Whole Foods and bought some picnic stuff and then headed for the road over the mountains to the lake. For reference: We drove along the east shore until we found the trailhead for our hike which was to Skunk Harbor. We thought that was particularly appropriate considering that Devon has an affinity for the critters and got skunked while Susanna was housesitting just a couple of weeks ago. But the name didn't do the place justice. We spent several hours there exploring and climbing around the hills above the lake. I could have stayed for days.

My amazing little man ran clean in Round 2 after a couple of exciting moments. I'm so proud of the way he's running. He just sees this as another trial, runs just like he runs anywhere and is having a blast being the center of attention.
I think we're in something like 40th place overall after two rounds so tomorrow I'm going to leave nothing on the table and run like my pants are on fire. I've got nothing to lose and everything to be proud of. In the 12 inch jump height there are something like 10 World Team members and about 170 dogs so to be sitting in 40th place feels pretty good for my first time at Nationals.

Got to Reno on Wednesday afternoon after a long day of flying. Being almost completely ignorant of US geography means that I didn't realize there was a three hour time difference here in Reno. Which means that I'm ready for bed at 8:30 and can't sleep past 5:00am.

However, we are having a great time. My friend Susanna is really easy to travel with and is doing a lot to help me with schlepping stuff around, doing all the driving and being someone to hang with during all the down time.

Thursday we drove down to Lake Tahoe and went for a long hike. It was gorgeous and we plan to go back on Monday for another full day of hiking.

Today I ran a warm up standard course and time to beat. The std course was a little rocky but we managed a clean run and the t2b was nice and smooth. He's being a very good boy as usual and is definitely enjoying being the center of attention of two people. He takes turns jumping from bed to bed to get fussed over and I bought him a couple of stuffed toys he could rip apart so he's one happy little terrier.

Now it's Saturday and I'm writing this from the motel room during a break of about 2 hours.

Yesterday evening we took a walk along the Truckee river that runs right through Reno. It was a gorgeous evening and we were able to find a place with outdoor tables so that Devon could join us for dinner. It's the first time I've ever eaten at a restaurant with one of my dogs and it was so nice that they brought him out a little bowl of water and two Milkbones cookies. After that he spent the entire meal looking for them to bring him more stuff.

We've been going to bed really early because of the time difference so we sacked out at about 9:30 but I woke up at around 12:00 with a bad case of food poisoning. Thankfully it didn't last long once I got rid of whatever was bothering me but I couldn't get back to sleep and my throat hurts so much today I can hardly swallow. It's so bad I can't even drink coffee and anyone who knows me knows I could be dying and still want a cup of coffee so you know it's painful.

Despite no sleep and no coffee we still had a good run in JWW, clean and fairly fast but still several seconds off the fastest times. I'm still very happy with our performances so far because in the past I would have choked big time by now and not been able to execute my handling plan. I'm nervous but doing the warm up rituals and the visualizations has really helped.

It also helps tremendously that I have Susanna's help with staying organized, getting to and from the arena and keeping track of the running order so that I don't have to. I know I wouldn't have enjoyed this experience nearly as much without her and her laid back but organized personality.

Well, gonna see of I can get a little nap in before it's time to run standard. I'll post pictures and course maps when I get home because I can't for the life of me figure out how to get them from my iPad to Livejournal.

I leave for Reno on Wednesday morning. I'm flying very early so that I can have the shortest flight time possible. We have to change planes in Las Vegas so that adds some time and yet there's not going to be enough time to get Devon out somewhere to potty and go back through security. And he hates to fly anyway so I'm always nervous about him being unhappy. However, it only lasts as long as we're on the plane. As soon as we de-plane he's as happy as a little lark again.
Last night I started packing since I have to try to get all of Devon's stuff and all of my stuff in one bag. It's not going to be easy since we're planning on staying a week and going down to Tahoe to hike on Monday. Although I was sweating it, Devon was completely unfazed by the whole project.




I've had almost no time to practice or to set up course like I had planned to do because I had to go to Houston for 4 days last week. Then when I got back Zodi started limping and then went three legged lame making me think she had broken a toe. One of her toes was slightly swollen on Tuesday and by Wednesday night the foot was swollen and by Thursday it looked like this:








Turns out it was most probably a snake bite. We've been having some heavy landscaping done near the house and I suspect some snakes were disturbed from their hibernation and Zodi stepped on one. I can't explain why it didn't swell up all at once as they normally do. Poor baby had a bad couple of days even with the Rimadyl and Tramadol and warm Betadine soaks. But she improved quickly with the antibiotics on board. I just feel like a terrible mother not to hve taken her in sooner. If I'd had any idea it was a snake bite I would have. She wasn't licking at it or anything. In fact it took me until Wed to be sure it was her toe and not her shoulder.

Anyway, she's fine now and it's hard keeping her on leash and in her crate as they recommend. At least she will be completely recovered for the Nosework camp we're attending at the end of April. When I thought it was a broken toe I was sure I'd have to take Devon instead and he hasn't done as much Nosework as Zodi and isn't nearly as keen on it either.

So, things have been pretty hectic and I've hardly had time to practice with Devon in the past three weeks. I don't know that it makes that much difference though. I think it's a little like cramming for an exam. At this point, if we don't have what it takes, trying to fix it now probably won't work anyway. I'm just going to do my best to make appropriate handling choices and use my cues correctly and most of all stay connected and aware of my partner so that I can make all those tiny adjustments that are needed throughout a run. I want to be really present for my little buddy and exhibit the kind of teamwork I know we're capable of. If we can do that, I'll be satisfied with our performance. And if we don't do that, I'll remember that Devon could care less how we finish up as long as he has fun and gets lots of chicken :-)

I'd like to invite anyone else who will be there to introduce yourself if you see me. I may not know you by sight since we mostly post pictures of our dogs and not ourselves. So please stop me and say hi. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the great teams at Nationals, I'm always so inspired when I'm reminded what a fabulous sport this is and how many really cool people and dogs are out there trying their best, just like Devon and me.

In 1989 when I enrolled in my first agility class, I knew so little about dog training that it was amazing I could get my first dog to even play the game. Back then the technique we used was to run around the course luring the dog with food over and through the obstacles. Gradually, by attending seminars in other parts of the country, we learned new ways to train our dogs and new ways to handle the courses. By then I was already competing with my second dog. I was determined not to make the same mistakes with him as I had made with my first dog and I didn't. I made new mistakes. And when I got my third dog, I found even more ways to make mistakes. Same with my fourth and now my fifth.
But despite all those mistakes, or because of them, I've learned a lot. I've learned several different handling systems and many different ways to teach the obstacles and even more way to train weave poles. I've learned five different ways to do a front cross and I've learned that all those blind crosses I used to use with my first dog are now okay to use again. I've learned how to give my dog cues much earlier than I used to and I've learned a much better way to train a stopped contact. And I owe all that knowledge to the many instructors and seminar presenters who I've studied with over the years.
But the most important thing I've leaned since that first agility class is about how none of that matters as long as my dog is having fun. If I can look back at my dog while we're training at home or running at a trial and see a pair of shining eyes and a big smile, I know that I'm on the right track. If my dog is pulling me to the start line at a trial, I'm already a winner. If my dog and I can share a relaxing walk at the end of a long day of agility, I'm satisfied that I've fulfilled my end of the bargain I made with my dog: to have fun.