This week I was finally able to take the dogs to Agility class! With work and sickness and the holidays it has been TWO MONTHS since we last went! Far Far Far too long.
It was great to get out of the house. Great to spend 1 hour with each dog. They loved the mental challenge, exercise, cuddles, and lots of treats!
Luna did great. She remembered a lot. She was able to do a combination of jumps and obsticles. She loves the A frame again! Loves jumping and loves the tunnel. Oh and she remembered her weaves! 6 in a row with X-pens. I was able to run the weaves with her with me on the side of the x-pens, never have done that before! We did one rep of the dog walk, beginner level.
She still is terrified of the teeter totter. I was able to sit on it, pick her up and put her on it. I just sat there with her, gave her treats and a lot of attention and praise. I need to do something like this at home. Maybe I can get Nick to make me a tippy plank...
Luna really has come far in agility.
Penny did great! She was sooo excited to get into the ring. She almost went through the X gate things to get in the ring. Was too happy. We jumped a combination of 16 and 20 inches. I swear she concentrates more at 20 inches. But she was great. It was my handling that needed help. Hey I needed a refresher too! Wow Penny loves Agility. She is getting so much better at rear crosses (me too...they are sooo complicated!). And her weaves are getting faster and faster! My handling needs work.
Going to try to go to agility next week. If not the week after that. I am going to start going again at least every other week.
what does suck for agility is that I get home after Evie is in bed. But I do pick her up at day care and get to spend some time with her before I leave so it isn't that bad.
Showing posts with label penny. Show all posts
Showing posts with label penny. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Dogs and Chickens
I posted something about this on facebook a few weekends ago but never put it on here.
On halloween morning the dogs were going crazy because something was outside. Looked out the window, and there were TWO CHICKENS just wondering around, tormenting the dogs. They were only in our backyard for maybe 30 minutes in the morning. But that afternoon they were back!
We went out to the deck (have a gate so they can't go anywhere) and they were going NUTS! As you would expect a dog to behave with chickens invading their backyard....
I think Cleo sent the chickens to Penny and Luna. There were two chickens, one for each dog...
When I was in elementary school, living in the middle of California, we lived in a small town. We let Cleo (our family dalmatian) wonder the neighborhood sometimes with her buddy, Wallen, a springer spaniel. Katie and I were at school. I think I was in 3rd, 4th or 5th grade. Anyways, my mom was still at home getting ready. And Cleo was outside. She was out in the yard and Cleo came running with a chicken in her mouth! Feathers got all over the front yard from what I heard. Someone helped her get the chicken out of Cleo's mouth. I believe the chicken lived. But one hell of a prize for a dog.
The chicken came from one of our neighbors who had a chicken coop that was not very secure. Yes we should not have let her wonder the neighborhood, but we did and she rarely got in trouble (that is a whole 'nother post). But Cleo had such a happy and long life - 17 years!
On halloween morning the dogs were going crazy because something was outside. Looked out the window, and there were TWO CHICKENS just wondering around, tormenting the dogs. They were only in our backyard for maybe 30 minutes in the morning. But that afternoon they were back!
We went out to the deck (have a gate so they can't go anywhere) and they were going NUTS! As you would expect a dog to behave with chickens invading their backyard....
I think Cleo sent the chickens to Penny and Luna. There were two chickens, one for each dog...
When I was in elementary school, living in the middle of California, we lived in a small town. We let Cleo (our family dalmatian) wonder the neighborhood sometimes with her buddy, Wallen, a springer spaniel. Katie and I were at school. I think I was in 3rd, 4th or 5th grade. Anyways, my mom was still at home getting ready. And Cleo was outside. She was out in the yard and Cleo came running with a chicken in her mouth! Feathers got all over the front yard from what I heard. Someone helped her get the chicken out of Cleo's mouth. I believe the chicken lived. But one hell of a prize for a dog.
The chicken came from one of our neighbors who had a chicken coop that was not very secure. Yes we should not have let her wonder the neighborhood, but we did and she rarely got in trouble (that is a whole 'nother post). But Cleo had such a happy and long life - 17 years!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
dogs and baby
I have to say Penny and Luna are doing great with Evelyn!
When we first came home, Luna was more interested in Evie. Wherever someone went with her she was there. If Evie was crying Luna had to be in the same room. She would lay right next to her.
About 3-4 weeks ago, Penny started to take more interest in Evie. I think she realized that she was here to stay and was part of the pack. She loves Evie. Loves to come over and sniff and say hi. A few days ago I was in the shower with Evie in her crib. Penny spent the whole time sleeping right next to Evie's crib. So cute. Luna at he same time was right outside the shower door.
Yesterday morning Penny was sitting next to Evie and me on the couch and was licking Evie's feet. Evie didn't mind at all. And then when she was in her car seat, both dogs just wanted to sniff and be there with her! They love Evie....
We always praise the dogs heavily when they interact with Evie. Well only do that when they interact well, but we have only had good interactions.
They love to sit next to both of us on the couch. When I sit on the bottom of the stairs, they love to come up and sniff and say hi. Whenever Evie is in her bouncy seat on the floor, whenever they walk by they do a sniff hi every time they pass.
When Evie gets a little older, she is going to have two best friends!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Penny's First AKC Agility Trial
Penny and my first AKC agility trial was this past Sunday (7/11/10). It was so much fun and I was very happy by Penny's performance.
This trial was at the place we do our training, so it was our 'home turf' and it was near by. I think we are going to stay with trials that are very local. Much easier to get there and head home between runs than those that are farther away.
We got there around 7:30. I had to get Penny measured, which she DID NOT like. Need to find a way to get her used to this. I think the issue is that they have her go on the pause/down table to do this and she knows ok I am here I am not supposed to stand. and some odd person she does not know putting this thing on her back. Ugh.
I kept Penny in the back of the Subaru. Need to remember to get a towel or bed for her to lay on. Everyone there had these silver reflective things over their car to help keep out the sun, Need to look into this too. But with the windows open and moonroof open, the car was not too hot. And I kept putting ice in her water bowl, so she had ice cool water whenever she wanted. I went out there a lot to check on her, take her on a stretch/walk, eat a snack and just hang out with her.
So got there at 7:30, didn't have our first run until 1:30, the second run was around 4:30/4:45. Yeah. The runs for the day were small to big, excellent, open, then novice. You have to start out at novice, qualify, then get titles before you can move up a class. Mostly everyone was Excellent, not many open and a small handful of novice.
Placing is done by class (Novice A, Novice B, Open, Excellent A, Excellent B) and by jump height. Penny jumps 20 inches. She measured at 18.5 inches. She clears 20 inches easily!
The first run was a standard course. I did not find it challenging. I did overcompensate my drive to the weave poles, and forced Penny to enter wrong. We went back and fixed it. One odd thing about the A frame, I think she approached it with too much energy since she kind of spring boarded off the bottom. So that counted as a refusal. Penny held all of her contacts and did the broad jump perfectly (even tho we haven't trained it in a long time). Oh and she did great at the table! I told her down and she plopped right down. And stayed there till I released her! Was sooooo happy that she held the table!!!! We got first place (out of 2 dogs in Novice A) and we qualified! The Qualifying is the important thing! So we got 2 ribbons for this run (one blue one green - 1st place and qualifying).
The second run was a jumpers with weaves. This had 13 jumps, one tunnel and one set of weaves. I chose the total wrong line to start out with. It seemed ok in my head, but Penny is getting so fast and me being pregnant, I am having a hard time keeping up. So she was a little misdirected for a few jumps. OOPS. But she nailed her weave entrance. And we did great with the remaining jumps. I need to work getting more ahead of her. She is just gaining so much speed lately, which is a good thing, which means I need to gain speed. But she did fantastically! We were the only ones in our class for our jump height, so we got first and also qualified! WooHoo!
So the day was a HUGE success. Penny was so much more focused on me and what she had to do. I had a lot of fun watching and learning. I met some women there who ran very pregnant and ended up giving birth within a few days (crossing fingers).
I cannot wait for our next trial. Thinking about entering one in mid September. Going to ask my doctor tomorrow on what s/he thinks (forgot who I have it with, not sure if it is a male or female doctor).
Oh found it interesting there weren't as many mixed breeds there. When Nick was holding Penny at one point, he said someone came up to him and asked what she was. He said a mix, and she responded with "ooooo" all snootly and walked away. OK Whatever! Mixed Breeds have only been allowed to compete in Agility with AKC for a few months, and it is up to the club doing the trial to decide if they want mixed breeds or not. It was a corgi club doing the trial this weekend. Was talking to someone, and they had someone leave the club because they were allowing mixed breeds! Come on! How racist do you have to be! Or should I say breed-ist. Even the woman I was talking to was like breeds are not that old. At one point all dogs were mixed breeds! A dog is a dog, and especially in the sporting environment, who cares what they are, should only care about the dogs preformance!
This trial was at the place we do our training, so it was our 'home turf' and it was near by. I think we are going to stay with trials that are very local. Much easier to get there and head home between runs than those that are farther away.
We got there around 7:30. I had to get Penny measured, which she DID NOT like. Need to find a way to get her used to this. I think the issue is that they have her go on the pause/down table to do this and she knows ok I am here I am not supposed to stand. and some odd person she does not know putting this thing on her back. Ugh.
I kept Penny in the back of the Subaru. Need to remember to get a towel or bed for her to lay on. Everyone there had these silver reflective things over their car to help keep out the sun, Need to look into this too. But with the windows open and moonroof open, the car was not too hot. And I kept putting ice in her water bowl, so she had ice cool water whenever she wanted. I went out there a lot to check on her, take her on a stretch/walk, eat a snack and just hang out with her.
So got there at 7:30, didn't have our first run until 1:30, the second run was around 4:30/4:45. Yeah. The runs for the day were small to big, excellent, open, then novice. You have to start out at novice, qualify, then get titles before you can move up a class. Mostly everyone was Excellent, not many open and a small handful of novice.
Placing is done by class (Novice A, Novice B, Open, Excellent A, Excellent B) and by jump height. Penny jumps 20 inches. She measured at 18.5 inches. She clears 20 inches easily!
The first run was a standard course. I did not find it challenging. I did overcompensate my drive to the weave poles, and forced Penny to enter wrong. We went back and fixed it. One odd thing about the A frame, I think she approached it with too much energy since she kind of spring boarded off the bottom. So that counted as a refusal. Penny held all of her contacts and did the broad jump perfectly (even tho we haven't trained it in a long time). Oh and she did great at the table! I told her down and she plopped right down. And stayed there till I released her! Was sooooo happy that she held the table!!!! We got first place (out of 2 dogs in Novice A) and we qualified! The Qualifying is the important thing! So we got 2 ribbons for this run (one blue one green - 1st place and qualifying).
The second run was a jumpers with weaves. This had 13 jumps, one tunnel and one set of weaves. I chose the total wrong line to start out with. It seemed ok in my head, but Penny is getting so fast and me being pregnant, I am having a hard time keeping up. So she was a little misdirected for a few jumps. OOPS. But she nailed her weave entrance. And we did great with the remaining jumps. I need to work getting more ahead of her. She is just gaining so much speed lately, which is a good thing, which means I need to gain speed. But she did fantastically! We were the only ones in our class for our jump height, so we got first and also qualified! WooHoo!
So the day was a HUGE success. Penny was so much more focused on me and what she had to do. I had a lot of fun watching and learning. I met some women there who ran very pregnant and ended up giving birth within a few days (crossing fingers).
I cannot wait for our next trial. Thinking about entering one in mid September. Going to ask my doctor tomorrow on what s/he thinks (forgot who I have it with, not sure if it is a male or female doctor).
Oh found it interesting there weren't as many mixed breeds there. When Nick was holding Penny at one point, he said someone came up to him and asked what she was. He said a mix, and she responded with "ooooo" all snootly and walked away. OK Whatever! Mixed Breeds have only been allowed to compete in Agility with AKC for a few months, and it is up to the club doing the trial to decide if they want mixed breeds or not. It was a corgi club doing the trial this weekend. Was talking to someone, and they had someone leave the club because they were allowing mixed breeds! Come on! How racist do you have to be! Or should I say breed-ist. Even the woman I was talking to was like breeds are not that old. At one point all dogs were mixed breeds! A dog is a dog, and especially in the sporting environment, who cares what they are, should only care about the dogs preformance!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Pathetic Bath Dog Time Photos
Have seen these online and find them so cute...so I remembered to take some pictures while I was giving the dogs a bath on Monday!
Penny had a bath first (she knew it was bath time and I had to drag her into the bathroom....she just hates bath time)
Next Luna. I got her into the tub, but she jumped out. From watching Penny's bath, she didn't want one either.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Dog Park
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Penny...Penny....Penny
After Agility tonight, I stopped at taco bell to pick up some dinner since it was already 8:30. Went inside and ordered and they were quick. Went outside and she was in the front seat..digging. She found the leftover lunch meat I brought to Agility for her... Very typical of her. Nick's response..."She just followed her nose!". Yeah that is penny..all about the food!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Penny's vet appointment
So Penny had her annual vet appointment today. It went sooooooooooooooooo much better than last year! This time we had a female vet that Luna has been to. Penny has lost 5 pounds since last years annual exam. I still want her to loose 2 more pounds - to help counteract her food stealing.
Poor Penny still had a hard time at the vet. She got so scared and started shaking when she got her temperature taken (I can't blame her....I wouldn't want that stuck up my butt either). Poor girl - felt so bad - and her eyes looking at me saying "What are you doing to me, why arn't you stopping them"... She had her blood taken, which she was better, but still shaking. Then she got a break and they brought in the shots. The first one went ok - she felt it going in. Then after that they started petting her in multiple areas while she got the shot and she did much better. Afterwards she got lots of treats.
When we got home - it was too nice out and I wanted to get some pictures of her next to the blooming bleeding hearts. Tried to get some pictures of Luna, but she was too exited and wanted to sniff everything to get a picture. I have a lot of the top of her head and her bum/tail.
Then we went inside and I rewarded her with a bully stick, which she really enjoyed!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Agility!
Luna has completed 12 weeks of intro to agility. She goes on almost all the equipment (everything but the tippy plank - tiny teeter totter). She is a timid dog and gets skittish easily. So after 12 weeks, thought I would try her with Julie (the instructor I use for Penny). Brought her yesterday for a drop in.
The drop in with Luna went really well. Julie saw what I was talking about with her needing a leash and studder stepping for jumps. So she suggested that I remove the leash and the jumps are on the ground. I go over the jumps with her and feed her for each and every one. This seems to be working well. Since Luna loooves tunnels, she isn't getting paid for them anymore, we are mainly working on jumps. But what surprised everyone was that she ran up the A frame (full height!) and held her contact at the bottom!
Oh I was so surprised! So she had issues with the dog walk in her intro class. It was at a lower level, to make it easier for dogs. But yesterday, with it at a higher level, she was so much better with it and not as freaked out! I think that is because it was sturdier! Go Luna! Yes she needs a lot of work, but this was helping her a lot! Once she gets her confidence up and is not as skittish, she will be a great agility dog - she is so fast and is agile - she jumps on things outside and I am surprised how high she jumps!
I think I am going to keep luna in this class. Julie is good at breaking things down and teaching a timid dog. And the class is smaller, and we get 1/2 of the arena (vs 1/4 in the intro class) so we can practice on things more. Luna cannot handle a full hour of class - about 10 minutes towards the end, her brain is mush and she is done.
It is so nice to have both dogs on the same night! And handling 2 hours in a row was not bad for me. So much nicer than a Monday and Wednesday agility night!
Penny did great at agility class yesterday too! We were doing threddles. Oh they are so hard, especially when Penny had energy and wanted to do everything. Since we were working on harder stuff (at least for me) and steering, she was only jumping at 16 inches. We did some at 20 and she was great, but I wanted to make sure that I was doing things correctly. She got most of them. And I have to make sure I don't give into her wanting to do things her way. Yesterday Penny had speed and power! Was so happy about that!
I am excited! In July we are hopefully going to enter an AKC agility trial! And this one is where we train so hopefully she will do amazing! Entry date is May 19, and the trial is July 10 and 11. Have to see what day I will do. Will Nick want to have his birthday alone to play video games, or will he want me around? May just do the Sunday. But excited to do our first AKC trial! AKC has the most trials in the area!
Yesterday I was a little bummed. There is a USDAA trial in may, that I completely blanked on and didn't enter. Yesterday was the closing date. Oh well. There is another one in June that I will try to go to!
Cross your fingers that we make it into the trials! My doctor said that I can continue agility as long as I am comfortable! I know I will be fine! But at least the entry dates are after my next ultra sound to see where the placenta is. So I will know more then. Yes I will be running agility up into the baby is born. Then will take 2-4 months off, but I do plan on getting back into it. This is my thing and I so enjoy it! It will be funny (if Nick is there) to video me running Penny in a trial with a big 8month - 9month pregnant belly!
The drop in with Luna went really well. Julie saw what I was talking about with her needing a leash and studder stepping for jumps. So she suggested that I remove the leash and the jumps are on the ground. I go over the jumps with her and feed her for each and every one. This seems to be working well. Since Luna loooves tunnels, she isn't getting paid for them anymore, we are mainly working on jumps. But what surprised everyone was that she ran up the A frame (full height!) and held her contact at the bottom!
Oh I was so surprised! So she had issues with the dog walk in her intro class. It was at a lower level, to make it easier for dogs. But yesterday, with it at a higher level, she was so much better with it and not as freaked out! I think that is because it was sturdier! Go Luna! Yes she needs a lot of work, but this was helping her a lot! Once she gets her confidence up and is not as skittish, she will be a great agility dog - she is so fast and is agile - she jumps on things outside and I am surprised how high she jumps!
I think I am going to keep luna in this class. Julie is good at breaking things down and teaching a timid dog. And the class is smaller, and we get 1/2 of the arena (vs 1/4 in the intro class) so we can practice on things more. Luna cannot handle a full hour of class - about 10 minutes towards the end, her brain is mush and she is done.
It is so nice to have both dogs on the same night! And handling 2 hours in a row was not bad for me. So much nicer than a Monday and Wednesday agility night!
Penny did great at agility class yesterday too! We were doing threddles. Oh they are so hard, especially when Penny had energy and wanted to do everything. Since we were working on harder stuff (at least for me) and steering, she was only jumping at 16 inches. We did some at 20 and she was great, but I wanted to make sure that I was doing things correctly. She got most of them. And I have to make sure I don't give into her wanting to do things her way. Yesterday Penny had speed and power! Was so happy about that!
I am excited! In July we are hopefully going to enter an AKC agility trial! And this one is where we train so hopefully she will do amazing! Entry date is May 19, and the trial is July 10 and 11. Have to see what day I will do. Will Nick want to have his birthday alone to play video games, or will he want me around? May just do the Sunday. But excited to do our first AKC trial! AKC has the most trials in the area!
Yesterday I was a little bummed. There is a USDAA trial in may, that I completely blanked on and didn't enter. Yesterday was the closing date. Oh well. There is another one in June that I will try to go to!
Cross your fingers that we make it into the trials! My doctor said that I can continue agility as long as I am comfortable! I know I will be fine! But at least the entry dates are after my next ultra sound to see where the placenta is. So I will know more then. Yes I will be running agility up into the baby is born. Then will take 2-4 months off, but I do plan on getting back into it. This is my thing and I so enjoy it! It will be funny (if Nick is there) to video me running Penny in a trial with a big 8month - 9month pregnant belly!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
I heart Wednesdays
Wednesday is the best week day of the week!!! First of all, It is Penny's Agility Day! Second - It is pregnancy week change day (21 weeks!!!) ! Two good things for one day!
Penny was fantastic at agility tonight! We did really well with some complicated handling things. And Penny is getting fantastic at holding her contacts with the A frame and dog walk! Penny so loves Agility. She gets excited when I pull the agility bag out and start to fill up her treat bag! When we pull into American K9 country - she starts to whine! Today we didn't get out of the car right away and she was having a hissy fit. So cute about how excited she gets! Oh also, I need to do some research. Mass has some AKC agility events that accept mix breeds!!! Got her AKC number for trials. So cannot wait to do agility trials with her again. Just have to figure out how late I can continue to do agility - Dr said as long as I am comfy. So need to figure that out. But I want to do it as long as possible.. ugh don't know. Also wonder when I can get back into agility.
(Oh other note - my meyer lemon tree is blooming! took some pictures and will post soon!)
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Hello World
So I opted to make a blog! My thought is to write about everything, dogs, life, baby, cooking, agility, whatever. No real format so you will be surprised!
So who am I. I am a 27 year old woman. Married Nick on June 28, 2008. He is amazing and loves me so much. We have 2 dogs and a bunny
This is Penny and Luna. Penny is on the right and Luna is on the left. We adopted both dogs and found them on petfinder.com.
We adopted Penny March 17 2007. She is from Tenessee. When we adopted her she was 1ish years old. This means that Penny is now almost 4.5 years old! She is a golden retriever australian shepherd mix. Such a perfect and athletic dog! We do dog agility every Wednesday and try to compete in trials (CPE, USDAA, and AKC) when they fit into our schedule.
We adopted Luna September 12, 2009. She is from Louisiana. It was a little bit of a drive to pick her up in Main, but totally worth it! She is a fantastic dog and such a cuddler. We believe that she was a stray and wants nothing more than to cuddle with us! They estimate her age to be 2 years old. I am starting dog agility with her, and she is learning really well. This is a fantastic thing for her since she is a skittish dog and is afraid of everything. Now she is doing most obstacles without hesitation! Such a big step for her! In the 6 months we have had her, she has done a 180. At first she wouldn't come in the house, now she has confidence!
Luna and Penny get along so well together! They are just like sisters and play all the time! These two mesh so well!
This is Lilly. He is a male Dutch rabbit. Nick gave him to me for my birthday (22nd) my senior year in college. We got him from a pet store. We were not smart enough to adopt at that point. Anyways, he is now 5.5 years old! He is neutered. Anyways, when we got him, they said he was a female..so I named him Lilly. A few months later, he started humping this grey and white koalla that was about his size. And his manly bits dropped down. Yep, that was a surprise! He is a nice bunny, he has a temperament of a cat. He will let you pet him on his terms and will bite you when he is done. We have boxes all around the living room for him to play in. He loves his box house!
So what else to add. Oh yes! I am pregnant. Took a home pregnancy test on November 29, 2009 and it was positive! We both were very surprised about how quickly it happened... Anyways, the pregnancy is going amazing. Had a little morning sickness, but only nausea, and it went away early. I am due August 4, 2010! So I am 5 months in and only 4 left to go! Will make another post with some baby stuff...
Oh yeah, I wanted to post how I came up with the name for this blog. One of my favorite books growning up was called "Morgan the Magnificent". So thought it was fitting!
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