GollyLog

Ramblings

2012-05-26T13:51:00.001-07:00

It's Saturday and feels like Friday because I'm here at the shop. Hope and I traded days off this week because she's at an Agility trial this weekend. Go Teddy! In fact, she just texted me that Teddy earned his OAJ title (Open Agility Jumpers) today! Yeah!! I'm sure Hope will post pictures in a couple of days. We're still waiting to hear how Hope and Teddy did on the Open Standard course. Hopefully we'll hear soon.

We're expecting a sweltering day here in Chicagoland tomorrow - well into the 90s and probably breaking records. So I'm planning to stay in air conditioning! We'll be grilling on Monday. Happy Memorial Day. Thinking about the brave men and women who serve and have served in the Armed Forces.

Tango's tired. I don't know why - we didn't even have class Thursday evening! Perhaps because since it's been so quiet here today we've been working on stuff more than usual? Hmmm. Poor fella. - Fran

New stuff!

2012-05-18T09:35:00.002-07:00

I could see Tango saying to himself, "Yawn... This same old stuff? Sit, down, over, weave. Not gonna happen." And he sat down and didn't budge. And, while it's true, that same old stuff still needs lots of work, we needed to mix things up. So I introduced a new behavior - jump! From a sit, I ask Tango to jump and he's supposed to jump straight up in the air. It's starting out that he's standing on his back legs for a cookie, but he'll get there, and he seems to like our new game. - Fran

First Tango sits...

Then he jumps up!

Everything was more difficult today

2012-05-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Why was everything more difficult today? Balancing the checkbook took 3 hours. And for someone who was a corporate accountant in a past life, that's bad.

Tango did not want to work today. Back to basics. Like, "what's sit?" Honestly?

And credit cards not working. Duplicate orders. People wanting 30 characters on a line of a tag. Grrr.

A bright spot, though - Sandra with her two Brussels Griffons, Jill and Joey, came to work with her trainer! Here's a picture of Joey with my Tango. Sandra is on the left and I'm on the right. - Fran

Back from paradise

2012-05-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

Tango enjoying the view from outside our camper.

Roc sitting on a picnic bench. He's wearing his Plaid Step-in Harness.

A beautiful Florida Keys sunset.

Tango and Roc joined me on a camping trip to the Florida Keys, and we just got back this last Tuesday. We worked hard, but enjoyed beautiful Knights Key. - Fran

Torturing Tango

2012-04-13T13:29:00.001-07:00

In our spare time here at the shop when we have our dogs around, we like to have them "model" items that we hadn't previously gotten photos with real dogs. Tango knows what's coming when I get the camera and treats! It looks like he's saying, "Oh mom - another one?" But I think he looks pretty cute in the Spring Vest by Puppia and the matching leash! - Fran

Will he be awake...

2012-04-06T12:46:00.000-07:00

Tango and I have an Agility trial tomorrow, but it looks like it might take some doing to rev him up to run! Yes, Tango is lying in his crate with the door wide open. - Fran

Naughty girl

2012-04-03T10:11:00.004-07:00

Dax made me proud at the Rally Obedience Trial a couple of weeks ago in Louisville. She qualified three out of three days - earning her Rally Novice title in just one weekend. Her achievement also won her an adorable, ribbiting frog plush toy from our French Bulldog Performance Palooza. Which she destroyed in less than three seconds today. So I made her wear it. - Hope

Mega fever!

2012-03-30T14:59:00.001-07:00

So, what would you do with 640 million dollars? Tonight is the world's biggest lottery drawing. I bought a few - couldn't resist. Let's dream for a little. I'd buy Tango a new collar - he deserves it! I'd buy me some neat stuff. And I'd buy a new RV to live in the Florida Keys. Buy a cool new building for Golly Gear and Dogs in the Ring. One big enough for a couple rings for an AKC Agility Trial. Sounds good to me. Meanwhile, back to reality and cranky customers, twitchy credit card processing... - Fran

Back from Louisville, with ribbons!

2012-03-23T10:16:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Hope and I went to Louisville for 4 action-filled days of dog shows! We both competed in Agility (Hope with Teddy, and me with Tango), and Hope competed in Rally Obedience with Dax. In just three days, Dax received her Rally Novice title! Tango and I had fun but only had one qualifying run in Open Standard. Teddy and Hope did a little better with two qualifying runs - one in Open Jumpers and one in Open Standard. - Fran

Dax weaving in Rally O

Teddy jumping

Tango going over a triple jump

Dax says, "Please!"

2012-03-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

It's my turn next to go to Florida and have some intense remote work-time at the RV. Dax seems to know this. She has not been happy in the colder weather. Dax loves nothing better than to sit in the sun and bask, and she's being awfully nice to me. She's been sitting on my lap (when I don't even have cookies!) and giving me kisses. She seems to be singling me out for playtime, too. And she's even starting play sessions with Tango! I think Dax is saying, "Take me! Take me! See how cute I am?!" It might be working... - Fran

Extremes

2012-03-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

Today's weather runs the gamut - horrible stuff to the north and the southeast. Here in Chicagoland it's rainy, supposed to change to snow later this evening. But Wednesday it was bright and sunny, in the 50s. We took advantage of the great weather to shoot a new cover photo for Golly Gear's facebook page: facebook.com/GollyGear. Crazy weather!

That's Tango (Brussels Griffon), me, Payton (Airedale, holding our "Open" sign), Teddy (French Bulldog) and Dee, our Trainer-in-residence and Payton's mom. - Fran

Life is short...

2012-02-24T12:18:00.004-08:00

Life is short. Dance while you can!

-Fran

Tango's tired

2012-02-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

We're going to have to work on stamina. Tango is at work 3 days a week. You'd think he could show a little enthusiasm? To be fair, though, we did have agility class last night and taxed his little brain. We were working on weave pole challenges. Our instructor asked us to come up with the craziest ideas to distract our dogs in the weave poles. The thinking is that if we throw insane distractions at our dogs during training, they'll do fine with just normal show stuff at a trial. Some of the things just blew poor Tango's mind. We have some work to do... -Fran

Winter explosion

2012-01-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

Today is the coldest day of the season, so far. There's snow on the ground. And this is what greets us every morning! I don't know why our azalea is exploding in January - but I'm happy it is.

About a dozen flowers and tons of buds ready to open.

It's not a pretty plant - leggy and woody and kind of dull green. The flowers make up for that - and bring us memories of the dear friend who gave it to us many years ago.

Snow!

2012-01-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

Here in Chicagoland we got our first major snow of the winter yesterday. It was quite late this year - usually by the middle of January there's at least a foot of snow on the ground. We finally got dumped on, though, with 6 inches or so of the stuff. This brings to mind the extra care we must take of our little dogs in the winter. I had to shovel a path through the back yard for Roc - our littlest guy who weighs only 10 pounds and is just 8 inches at the shoulder. We have to make it easy for him to go where we want him to! And while it's not a problem at home where, if we spread any ice melt, it's the kind without salt or chlorides. At the shop, it's another story - we have no control over the stuff that's spread here. And the snow removal people spread a lot! So, it's worth it to take a few minutes and put Pawz boots on to protect our dog's paws from the salt and from ice pellets forming between the pads. Pawz are natural rubber and are semi-disposable. That means that the after they're worn multiple times, they'll probably wear out, so we just throw it out and take another one out of the package. They're sold in packs of 12. Dogs accept Pawz more readily than other boots since they can feel the surface they're walking on. - Fran

No resolutions!

2012-01-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I don't make resolutions - they're are bound to fail, just like diets. I'm going keep on trying to do what I've been trying to do for years. Be nice to my family, dogs and friends. Train myself and my dog for life, then for competition. Eat stuff I like in moderation, and try to really like more stuff that's good for me. Try to keep up with paperwork so it's not overwhelming later. Exercise when I can, as hard as I can. Attempt new things. There you have it. Fran's rules. - Fran

Weeks of firsts

2011-12-23T08:21:00.000-08:00

As you know, Hope and I are the proud owners of an RV. It's stored at Knights Key right in the middle of the gorgeous Florida Keys. Our intention is for one or the other of us to drive down every month and spend a few days relaxing and working. That's the nice part of owning a mostly-internet business - we can work anywhere there's an internet connection! So Hope and I thought I should go down first. I don't know why. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But, my car was ten years old and showing its age badly. I'd had to put more money than it deserved in it over the last few months. So, I traded in the old rattle-trap and got a 2012 Subaru Forester. Able to handle our vicious Chicago winters, and roomy enough to handle all the stuff I schlep. So in my brand new car and with Tango along, I drove to Florida. 1500 miles and about 2 1/2 days one way. I arrived at our campsite, where we'd directed the nice people at Knights Key to park the RV. I connected everything and set up my laptop! Here are some pictures.

A Snowy Egret walking past our RV

My workspace. I did switch things around so that I faced the water. Tango is relaxing on his cot.

Tango enjoying a new Himalayan Dog Chew!


Sunset from our site.		-Fran

Happy Day After Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T09:51:00.001-08:00

Happy Day After Thanksgiving, everyone! After digesting that huge meal, we're staying home! Who has time to shop? There's training to continue! Yikes - Tango and I have an agility trial tomorrow and Sunday. While we've practiced and trained, I always feel that there must be more I should have done to prepare. Well, we'll find out tomorrow! - Fran

Yin-Yang

2011-11-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

Hard to remember now that last year at this time Dax was doing her best to ignore Teddy's existence. She's finally figured out that he's warm, cuddly, and not getting out of her favorite bed. - Hope

Keep practicing everything!

2011-11-18T10:17:00.001-08:00

Last night was Agility Class, and our instructor included the broad jump in the courses. The broad jump is not an obstacle that we see on a regular basis, but it is required in Novice Standard, and can be included at any level. We hadn't practiced it in a while, and Tango walked across the boards. Boo. But, he was not alone! He remembered what that obstacle was about the second time, but at an Agility trial, you don't get a second chance at anything except the weave poles! Of course, today when I got to the shop with Tango, the first thing we did was practice the broad jump, the chute, and the low table. For dogs who jump 12 inches, like Tango, at a trial, the pause table is set to 8 inches. But in class, to accomodate the most dogs, the table is always set at 16 inches. Not a problem for Tango, but he has to recognize the 8 inch table as a table! So, keep practicing everything! - Fran

Thank you!

2011-11-11T09:24:00.001-08:00

Thank you to all the men, women and dogs in uniform. Now and before. Without you we wouldn't be where we are. -
Fran

Back to reality

2011-11-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Enough with the pretty pictures. We've been playing catch-up for the last couple of weeks. Finally caught up on orders at the shop - thank goodness in this technologically advanced age we were able to keep in touch with customers through email while we were away, and were even able to place tag orders remotely! (If you haven't seen the new Red Dingo Tribal-design tags, you should. I especially like Tribal Arrow.)
This last Saturday we hosted the first annual C.A.R.E. Scare to benefit the volunteer organization for the local animal shelter. Check out the photos! Everyone, especially the dogs, had a super-fun, scary time!
And on the training front, we've been working away. In Agility Class, our instructor has been bending our brains with mind-twisting, confusing layouts that make no intuitive sense whatsoever. (This is in the Intermediate Class....) She said her objective is to test the dog's ability to stay with the handler. OK, we both got it wrong!
Back to work! - Fran

Camping in paradise

2011-10-26T08:07:00.001-07:00

We love spending time in Marathon, Florida. It's in the "Middle Keys" - about halfway between Key Largo and Key West. It's usually beautiful, relaxing, and has the added benefit of our wonderful friends at the Dolphin Research Center (www.dolphins.org) - both human and cetacean.

The weather usually isn't an issue. It can pour torrentially for about 15 minutes, then it clears up and the day is gorgeous. Not so much, this time. We had "rain with no name" every day but one. With thunderstorms, lightening watches, tornado watches and over 10 inches of rain in 12 hours.

We had one beautiful day. And a whole wonderful vacation. Our campsite was right on the Atlantic, in this gorgeous spot, with amazing sunrises and sunsets. Can't wait to go back. - Hope

Working obedience

2011-10-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

A couple of ladies are practicing Open obedience in the ring (Dogs in the Ring) with their German Shepherd Dogs. It's inspiring me to perhaps start working with Tango in obedience. He's been so much better at following my instructions. Agility has really given both of us focus and direction. Tango already walks at heel without my saying anything! And sometimes he sits when I stop - again without my saying anything. Something to think about. Maybe. - Fran

A sensitive guy

2011-09-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

Does your dog pick up on your emotions? Tango does. When I'm happy, he's bouncy and silly and races over jumps and through his weave poles. If I'm stressed or unsure, Tango is, too. Figures. I really wanted a "box of rocks" who would do what I told him to, no matter how I was feeling. But Tango is going to MAKE me relax at class or wherever we are. I have to remember that at home, too. No more blowing up at the TV. I guess I need to practise more yoga. - Fran