tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292Sat, 05 Oct 2024 02:06:44 +0000tricky t-dayagilityjenn crankclasstrialwordlesswednesdayagility practicechutevideoakcJWW courseweavesstandardtraining challengeagiltydogwalkhandlinggrandparentsdumbbellexc BFenzi classdog tricksdiscriminationnovice competitionexc AparkspringtunnelwalkWilsonbeginning intermediateinjuryopenspring flowersbackyard practiceforward motion front crossfunrear crossrecallssicksnowChristmascoursefalljumpslevel 1 agilityobediencetoy playvisitadvanced intermediatecarsclass 1cousinshandling skills and drillshikinghold itserpentinewalksJohannclass 3class 7clubcold weatherfront crossheatphotosretrievevomitweave challenge2008270advanced obediencechallengeclass 2class 4class 5double front crossdouble jumpsflowersholidaykayaklead out pushmetro parkphotorecall to heelsan diegosillysnaketaggedterrierswhetstonewindstormwinter2009DebHocking HillsReillyalum creekantrim lakebackwards circlebacky uppybackyardbland dietbroad jumpbuilding agility equipmentcampingclass 6diarrheadistancefood playgardeninggiveawaygotcha dayicejump exercisekikopuplakelateral sendleaveslong linemileynovice fastpet trailpre agilityrainshoulderstartlinesuitcasetargetthanksgivingtrainingtreibballtripleweatherzoomies8"Catherine ZinskyFlipKyleSandyYouTubea-frameautumnbackbangbath timebirdingblind crosscampgroundcanecardscemeteryclear creekconcert in the parkcontestcottonwood fluffcrate gamescreekcrocuscross pawsdigeareasterexcfetchforward sendfreestyleget itindoor agilitylimpludomeasurementmomneighborhoodnonturning obstaclesobedience invitationalsobedience trialoff-leash walkopen the doorparallel sendpersonal playpinwheelplaydatepresentpresentspullpuppy in a bowlpuppy playingpuppy videoremotering stewardrunning contactsandsendsshapingshelfsiansleepstraight tunnelsummerthings I liketurning obstaclewatchzsianz110 things180180 agility class20102nd advanced class2nd birthday3rd birthday4th birthdayBilJacBindiBugCGC testEmilyFASTFenziFront and FinishGabrielle BlackburnJean ClodwickLabor DayP1POTC trialPlay classRickySeptember 14activitiesadvanced obedience herding cornea scratchaggressive dogsallergyangled jumpsanniversaryannual vet check-upaspirinawardaxjback leg liftbackwards weavebackyard birdsbagbarkingbaseline videobasketbeachbeginning obedience pinch collarbig red ballbirding dog classbirthday partyblanketblogbluebirdboiled turkeyborder colliesboredombox workbuja boardbunny furbutterflycatchcharcoalchincirclesclassesclassical musicclean runclicker trainingclostridium perfringenscolitiscollectioncolumbusconecool weathercop copcorncornercourse mapcourse openingcowscrabapplecrashcrate restcrosses on the flatcutedaddaffodilsdaxdazzledeceleratedeerdeer antlerdietdirected jump recalldisasterdistractiondog classdog parkdownstreamdrivewaydryduckduckseditingelephantevafarmfavoritesflatflyball for foodfocusfree timingfreezefriendsfrogfroggyfront legsfunny photogamblersgamegardengeeseget ingiraffeglovego aroundgo outgood mannersgoofy gamegrain free foodgrillhandstandhannah brighthappyheronhidehighbankshoophowling howliday giveawayhughummingbirdhyperlinksindependentinvitationalsirisesjump chutesjump cupskatsdogskayak dog trainer puppy classkittykiwaniskleenexknocked barlane rd.lateral distancelazylead outlead out pivotleftletter gamelogloonmadeleinemarrow bonemaymerry christmasmike lifermisc.mom's birthdaymotivationmouse padmudnaturenature's varietyneck painnestnew agility school?new businessnew cameranew foodnew yearnewbear95northam parknovice competition classnovice titlesnumber 6 drilloff-leashohiooldone yearone-year anniversaryopen crateover backover underpackagepaintingparallel rear crosspatiopawprintperegrine falconsperformancepick up toyspillowpivotplay musicplease mompoint lomapositive reinforcementpray. trickspreferredprivate lessonpuppy behaviorpuppyhood talespuzzlerpvc dog class agility equipmentrainbowrallyrandom thoughtsrecoveryrightrimadylroll oversafari parksagirasandhill cranesannescioto-audubonscootscratch backseparationsequencessheltie birth datesheltie craziesshow n goshut the doorside legssimpleslideslippersslowsnobsnow foundation agility birthdaysnow meltingsoccer fieldsockspeakspeed circlespring walks trickssprinklerstack bowlsstack the bowlstaystormsstring quartetsuccesssunsurprisesusan crankswanswimmingtabletassilo95teeterthank youthird placetide poolstree branchtrial phototrickstriptuggingturfupdate pet tagsusdaavacuumverbal commandsviolawater iriswatermelonweb camwedding anniversaryweek 1week 2wheelbarrowwhisperwildflowerswrap upwrapsyummyzig zagThis is my story - living, learning, and loving it all!http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)Blogger620125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-2202656990960810324Wed, 15 Jan 2014 13:15:00 +00002014-01-15T08:15:21.003-05:00Fenzifood playPlay classYesterday was our first agility class of the year and the first one post play class. Ricky had a great time! I did a lot of the food play games - they put you in a completely different mindset - you are really playing with your dog. I know we say agility is a game but there are a lot of rules involved and pressure to perform correctly. So Ricky and I stayed happy playing the food games and it http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2014/01/play-class-pays-off.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-4896651328215502705Sat, 04 Jan 2014 23:46:00 +00002014-01-04T18:46:06.872-05:00Fenzi classtoy playIn the play class, Denise says to start from a point of strength and go from there. Ricky has always gone nuts at the dusting rag. He jumps at it and wants to bite it the entire time I am dusting. So today I just went with it. When I finished, I started using the rag as a toy - he was trying to grab it and then I would make it disappear behind my back. Again and again - he was loving it and then http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2014/01/dusting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-8000058142275580824Tue, 31 Dec 2013 22:27:00 +00002013-12-31T17:27:56.254-05:00Fenzi classtoy playTo me! Ricky TUGGED with the bunny tonight! I wish I had video but you really don't need to see me running around the living room or hear me chanting encouragement. Just picture Ricky playing where's the bunny and finally grabbing hold and not letting go!Hope you all have a safe and happy new year! 2014 is gonna be an exciting one!Chris and Rickyhttp://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/happy-new-year.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-8781656186047990964Sun, 29 Dec 2013 23:51:00 +00002013-12-29T18:51:06.415-05:00Fenzi classfood playWe are working on food play in the play class now. Very fun! Ricky loves it of course. It's not just like doing a trick for food - it involves games that get the dog's prey drive into high gear. Today we played a game where I throw a piece of food in one direction, he runs to get it, and then I call him and throw in the opposite direction. Ricky was really moving to get that food. There are http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/food-play.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-255468262844747535Sat, 28 Dec 2013 15:43:00 +00002013-12-28T10:43:12.846-05:00So the last post with Merry Christmas was supposed to include Ricky's Christmas video for anyone not on FB with me! Haha! I didn't realize until yesterday that all I said was Merry Christmas. Pretty minimalistic even for me! Hope everyone had a good time this week! Chris and Rickyhttp://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/oops.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-103475168815193487Wed, 25 Dec 2013 05:00:00 +00002013-12-27T15:03:53.349-05:00http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/merry-christmas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-4875514892547769723Mon, 23 Dec 2013 19:28:00 +00002013-12-23T14:28:55.444-05:00bunny furFenzi classtoy playDiana suggested I try a toy with real rabbit fur to see if Ricky would like it more. So I got a couple of rabbit tugs from Clean Run last week when they had a buy one, get one sale. Ricky is not sure what to make of the bunny. He carefully smelled it and by the second time he saw it, he was getting pretty excited. But he still seems too respectful of the bunny and doesn't bite down hard on the http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/toy-play-with-bunny-fur.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-5221205459452924767Fri, 20 Dec 2013 17:44:00 +00002013-12-20T12:44:27.861-05:00The snow that has been on the ground here since before Thanksgiving has finally melted. I went out to rake a few leaves, and Ricky all-out herded the rake non-stop for at least 15 minutes. He got so tired he had to quit all by himself. Then when I vacuumed just now, he was too worn out to herd the sweeper.Genius or bad bad trainer?Is rake herding toy play or personal play?Hahaha!Chris and http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/you-decide.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-4538137352069877286Mon, 16 Dec 2013 22:17:00 +00002013-12-16T17:17:34.083-05:00Fenzi classpersonal playI did get some personal play on video! This was the second good session we had today. I edited out about a minute of trying to get Ricky involved. It was 3:00 PM and he was already thinking about his dinnertime. So he would come to me and make a play move and then take off in the direction of the kitchen. Haha! But he finally gave in and had a good time! I had just too much fun! Chris and http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/video.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-5225818311815044149Sun, 15 Dec 2013 23:23:00 +00002013-12-15T18:23:23.230-05:00Fenzi classpersonal playThis week we added the element of personal play to our play class. You know playing with your dog with just yourself - no toys or food. This is the play that I really want to develop because you can use it in the ring - like at the startline. Ricky has always enjoyed games with my hands and fingers - much like a cat would. But he also likes claw hand and bitey face. I don't have video yet but we http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/adding-personal-play.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-4331146094392957334Wed, 11 Dec 2013 20:08:00 +00002013-12-11T15:09:12.726-05:00agilityFenzi classfood playtoy playWe went to our last class of the year yesterday morning. It had unexpectedly snowed the night before and the roads were a mess! No snow removal and tons of traffic. It took twice as long to get there as usual and it was a very stressful drive. But I am glad we went. For the past few months I have been taking two classes back to back. I run my instructor's Sheltie Salsa in one and Ricky in http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/last-agility-class-of-2013.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-888865402557149754Mon, 09 Dec 2013 18:49:00 +00002013-12-09T13:49:19.863-05:00Fenzi classtoy play Here is a video of today's first toy play session. Similar to the first try yesterday. What did I do to turn him off right at the beginning? - he was obviously interested - and then it took over a minute to get him back. I was breathing hard by the time the 3 minutes was over. The video was only supposed to be 2 minutes in length, but it took so long to get him really engaged. This is http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/toy-play-day-3.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-2102609230295015443Sun, 08 Dec 2013 21:07:00 +00002013-12-08T16:07:33.010-05:00Fenzi classtoy playThis morning I took my raccoon, or squirrel as I sometimes call it, and ran around the living room like a crazy person pretending to be loving playing all by myself. Ricky stood there looking at me for a long time and then he finally decided to play too! This is huge because I initiated the play time. He has always tugged and played and enjoyed toys on long lines but ONLY when it was his idea! Hehttp://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/toy-play-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-2899943945444385446Fri, 06 Dec 2013 18:34:00 +00002013-12-06T13:34:22.033-05:00Fenzi classtoy playI am being bombarded with ideas from this play class! It is a little overwhelming - I don't know how the people in the Gold level are doing it all. This week is toy play and you know how great I am at that with Ricky. Today, just once so far, I got him a little interested in his raccoon toy (you know the kind without the stuffing). I put it on the end of a rope and when he would go for it, I http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/trying-new-ideas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-4291626182621981360Wed, 04 Dec 2013 23:33:00 +00002013-12-04T18:33:16.527-05:00baseline videoFenzi classThis morning I didn't get Ricky jazzed up at all (not that I can), but I made a baseline video of his toy play, personal play and food play. He wouldn't interact with me at all except with food. I expected this. Then when attempting to download the vids to my computer, I accidentally erased them. Stupid. This afternoon, I made another attempt. I cut up some cheese to use in the food play part. Ihttp://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/our-baseline-video-for-play-class.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-9165575542877981729Wed, 04 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +00002013-12-03T19:00:06.550-05:00It used to be so easy - Flip camera on the tripod. Then the Flip software stopped working for me and I could not download a new version. Enter the iPod touch. Easy to use for making videos but is not tripod friendly. So I stopped making them. Today I tried my old Fuji digital camera. Here is what I got - crappy video quality but a super cute dog! I need to figure something out so that I canhttp://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-to-make-videos.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-1168757266821513301Sun, 01 Dec 2013 21:30:00 +00002013-12-01T16:30:01.069-05:00Fenzi classtricksRicky and I are coming back to blogging! Kathy and Cricket encouraged us to sign up at the Bronze level for Denise Fenzi's Relationship Building Through Play class and it started today! So I think we are going to have something to blog about. Wow, I know. I trained Ricky completely with food. He learns quickly and easily with food and I didn't know any better when I got him. I am so interested http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/12/hello-out-there-can-anybody-hear-me.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-414332793142288510Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:14:00 +00002013-08-06T15:14:10.944-04:00A little exercise from class today:Put your dog on a stay 18' behind a jump. Walk up to the upright close enough to reach out and touch it. With shoulders facing forward, look at your dog and release him. You start moving laterally after the O in "Ok". Tell your dog to jump - or in my case - jumpjumpjumpjumpjumpjump - while continuing to move laterally but keeping your shoulders forward until thehttp://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/08/test-your-dog.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-6404429239757787907Tue, 16 Jul 2013 16:30:00 +00002013-07-16T12:30:49.452-04:00Our class was cancelled this week so we went to our favorite park this morning instead. It was already hot but we enjoyed it. We went to the prairie area which is gorgeous right now - cup flower, wild bergamot, echinacea, cardinal flower, queen of the prairie, coneflower, etc. All blooming up a storm. To get there we had to walk on the bikepath for a little stretch. Ricky heeled off leash with http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/07/six-years.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-5216128908183124338Wed, 10 Jul 2013 13:37:00 +00002013-07-10T09:37:15.919-04:00Class this week - straight tunnels. They are turning obstacles so you need to show your dog which way to turn coming out of the tunnel before they go in! I like them. We also did straight tunnels as part of a serpentine. Some dogs did not like that at all. Serpentines of any kind are a trained skill. So if your dog has trouble with them, there is no solution other than practicing them! :) SUPER http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/07/straight-tunnels.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-1206238186787326380Tue, 02 Jul 2013 19:16:00 +00002013-07-02T15:16:42.056-04:00That is what you need to be a successful handler - lots of tools to chose from and the ability to pull them out on the fly. Class today was about comparing rear crosses vs. front crosses. It is interesting to see each dog and handler and what works best for them. Some never use rears and some never fronts. But a problem could present itself on a course that might force you into doing something http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/07/tool-box.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-5839017310727348994Tue, 25 Jun 2013 19:09:00 +00002013-06-25T15:09:48.243-04:00Class today was about forward motion front crosses which are way better for me and Ricky than rear crosses. However, my problem continues to be that I get too far ahead of Ricky. So in one case, I was already rotated and finished with my FC before Ricky even got to the jump, and I presented him with complete collection cues. This does not work for my sensitive boy - he basically comes to a dead http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/06/keep-moving-forward.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-3539629903493863099Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:09:00 +00002013-06-19T22:20:57.646-04:00It was a picture perfect day today so we took Ricky to the Alum Creek beach. It is the closest thing we can get to a real beach any where near us. Ricky loves it! For a dog that does not like to swim, he sure enjoys himself every time we take him there. Pets are prohibited on the beach. It is a rule I don't mind breaking considering another rule is "littering is prohibited" and plenty of people http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/06/it-was-picture-perfect-day-today-so-we.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-5664604360241930351Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:08:00 +00002013-06-18T20:08:13.095-04:00Not an easy task in class. But today was all about rears - at the jump, on the flat, parallel. I understand them and so does Ricky but in class we do forced rears - I slow way down and keep telling him to go ahead and jump. He is more willing to do them at home. For anyone who is working on them, lateral motion into the dog is very important and also keeping your dog-side arm straight out in http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/06/rear-crossing-ricky.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2962113910976722292.post-7855026751995625346Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:28:00 +00002013-06-16T10:28:00.963-04:00So I have been incredibly lazy and unmotivated these days. Poor Ricky. But when we do train something, he has an extra little spring in his step. He is very enthusiastic. Last night we reviewed retrieving. I put out quite a few objects - plastic ice cream scoop, little bowl, nerf ball, basket, dumbbell, sock, etc. in one room and then go into another room and send Ricky to get items and bring http://rickyitsadogslife.blogspot.com/2013/06/retrieve.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Chris and Ricky)8