Bowwowsers

Rally Homework

bowwowsers — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:06:49 +0000

Isn’t Rally Obedience fun! We got to do our first course today and I have to say I’m very proud of each and every one of you and your dog. You’re all doing great. So for homework, I’d like you to practice each one of the signs 3-5 times each week. Use your flash cards so you begin to recognize the signs and what to do when you see them (You don’t have to do the signs that we haven’t discussed yet).

Meetings 1/12/10 and 1/19/10

bowwowsers — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:39:26 +0000

Next two meetings do not include dogs. I’d encourage you to bring your record book so you can get some help if you need it, fill in what you can during the down times, and get a leader to help fill in the goals section in the Level 2 record books.

We are meeting at Pam’s House on 1/12/10 from 6-7pm and at the Commodore Commons on 1/19/10 at 6pm. The club’s 4H meeting will follow.

Happy Holidays!

bowwowsers — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:20:44 +0000

Hi everybody,
I have a holiday gift for all of you! We will start meeting at an amazing facility for our training starting on the 22nd of December!!! Yes, we will still be outside in an arena, but what an arena! We will be meeting at the Wacky Nut Farm horse arena. The arena is mostly enclosed and has a seating area for spectators that is heated and has cushy seats with fleece, and the arena’s footing is some kind of a rubber product that should keep our dogs much cleaner. Horse manure is regularly cleaned up, so the dogs should not be tempted to eat any…
They have agreed to let us meet there through the beg. of March, and I am hoping once they see what an awesome group of kids, dogs, and adults we are, they will let us keep coming back. We will have to make sure the dogs are allowed to relieve themselves before they go into the arena (just take them in the shrubbery before you take them in) and as always, clean up after them. I expect the horses will have been put away when we get there, but if not, please keep the dogs away from the horses.
We will each need to sign a release form which I will bring to the meeting on Tuesday (parents, kids and trainers). I will also have them on site for those of you who are not there next week.
In hopes of being allowed to continue using the arena for the long term, I have offered to pay $10 per meeting to help with power use, and also to offer some volunteer time once they start developing horse trails in the spring. We’ve had a similar arrangement with Countryman stables, although Cathy Countryman has not charged us anything yet since we helped her this fall with ferrying wood up to her house. She’s been awesome to us, and we may be back there for agility in the spring. For now though, we will be warmer and cleaner at Wacky Nut. Parking is much easier as well.
Training will be starting a 6:30PM (change from the 6:15 time till now). Beginners will train till 7:15 at which point they should clear the arena, so the more experienced kids can get their turn from 7:15 to 8:00. We’ll need to leave at 8PM, just as at Countryman’s, and I want to make sure the more experienced kids have their time with the trainers. Thanks!
Directions: Coming south on Blakely Ave to the area of Blakely Harbor (the end of Blakely Ave), go straight up the hill on Halls Hill Rd.
turn left of Rockaway Bluff Rd, and the first right into the Wacky Nut Farm. Drive straight in and follow the drive 90 degrees to the left behind the horse barn and park along the back. I will be there a bit early to direct you, and I expect Ulla, the manager, will be there as well.

I will be at the Commodore Commons next Tue from 6-6:30 to help with record books and the forms, but Lea has a band concert at 6:30, so we’ll need to leave the party
See you,
Luba

NO CLASS TONIGHT

bowwowsers — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:16:14 +0000

Sorry about the last minute notification, but due to cold temperatures, we are canceling class tonight. Lynn will be leading some practice sessions during the holiday break so you can work on what you’ve learned so far and be prepared to start Rally Obedience in January.

Next week is the 4H club’s holiday party – inside in the warm. We will have a brief meeting prior to the party. More information to come.

Week 5 Homework

bowwowsers — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:27:11 +0000

Countryman’s wants us to make sure we are out of the arena by 8:00pm, so to do so we are going to shave a few minutes off the schedule each week. Beginning class will meet at 6:15-7:00. Advanced class will meet 7:05-7:50. That gives us 10 minutes to clean up, put the horses back in the arena and get the lights turned off by 8:00.

Start saving plastic lids of all types. Each dog will need 5-10 plastic lids from Pringles containers, yogurt containers, cottage cheese containers, etc. I’ll show you in class what we are going to be doing with them. Bring at least one or two of them to week 6 classes.

Here’s your homework for this week. We have a lot to practice in the next two weeks. After the holidays, we will be starting Rally Obedience. So, we need to get the basics down this week and next week.
1. Watch me in the heel position – not moving.
a. Dog in heel position. Tell the dog to “watch me”.
b. Bring your right hand in to your face if the dog doesn’t look at your face immediately.
c. When the dog looks at your face, reward with the left hand.
d. Eventually you want the dog to look at you without you moving either of your hands to your face.
2. Transition luring stand into a hand signal. Do this in the heel position.
3. Obedience style stand for examination
4. Loose leash walking
5. Leave it while in a heel
6. Moving down while in a heel
7. Go to your place in a down stay using blanket or towel
8. Sit, down and stand stay, go to the end of leash, return to dog, repeat

Advanced class:
Practice everything from the beginners class – Do off-leash if you can and adding distance.
Play the down on towel target game.

Week 4 Homework

bowwowsers — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 22:03:49 +0000

I know it’s Thanksgiving week, so enjoy time with your family. Don’t forget your dog, and practice what we’ve learned so far. We’ll review in class on Tuesday.

What to work on this week.

bowwowsers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:06:07 +0000

Since we had our meeting on Tuesday instead of training, keep working on Week 3 homework this week. See you on Tuesday for Week 4. And don’t forget to bring a towel.

Mary’s shiba inu puppies…

bowwowsers — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:37:27 +0000

People were asking me for the link to see my puppies in action… they are 18 days old today.

Week 3 Homework

bowwowsers — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:31:31 +0000

Sorry that I’m posting homework so late this week. I just finished with a monster project that’s been eating up all my time.

Special note: We have our 4H club meeting next week. You do not bring dogs to this meeting. I told everyone that it would be at Sakai. But since then I received an email from Kristi Barr. The meeting has been changed to the Commodore Commons so we have more space. If you did not receive that email from Kristi, please let me know so I can give you the details. The dog project will be meeting prior to the club meeting at 6:00 at the Commons. We have lots to discuss so hope to see everyone there.

Bring your Training Report! There will be a surprise for those that have kept it up!

Beginning Class:
I want to tell everyone how proud I am of you. I can tell that you’ve been working hard the past few weeks. You and your dog have really bonded and I’m seeing great success.

• Work on loose leash walking. Practice going around obstacles and people and keeping your dog watching you and staying in the heel position.
• Work on Sit and Down Stays (remember stay means you never call your dog to you – you will always return to your dog when you tell it to stay). There is a link to the left on how to teach your dog a reliable stay.
• Practice walking around your dog without it moving.

Don’t forget to bring a towel or something for your dog to lay on to class next week.

Advanced:
• Continue adding distance to everything you train. I’d like to see you be able to sit and down your dog from 15 feet away this week. Next week we’ll add stand to that (yep, that’s going to be really hard!)
• I’ve added the dancing dog video to the links area. Watch it and pick one move that she does and try to copy it with your dog. Make sure it’s within your dog’s abilities. If you have a dog with physical problems that prevent it from doing something, please don’t push it to try something it may not be able to do. I’m going to have you demo what you’ve taught your dog this week and then teach how you did it.

Also bring a towel to class!

Week 2 Homework

bowwowsers — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:42:44 +0000

Great class last night! Here is your homework for the week:
1. Puppy in the middle – grab some family members and call the dog to each of you. Make sure every member in the family is consistent and using the same word (preferable “come”).
2. Hide and go seek – remember to keep it simple and jackpot the dog when it finds you.
3. Restrained recalls – have one member of the family hold the dog while you walk 10-15 feet away and call the dog to you.
4. Have the dog stand on your left hand side.

Advanced class:
1. Add distance to your puppy pushups
2. Add duration to your stays (sit and down)
3. Work on automatic sits. If your dog pulls to the front and sits, don’t have them return to heel. Too many dogs are thinking that is the behavior they are to do. Practice one step, sit, one step, sit, one step, sit. You can do this along a wall if you want to. Reward only the correct sits.
4. Practice stand for examination with other family members or friends as the judge