Official

Meet Scamp...

Well ok, meet Scamp's tongue lol.  This photo cracks me up. 

Scamp has been staying with us on a trial basis...and I guess since today is our one month anniversary...and since today I also got his registration papers...and because Scamp belongs with us I should make it official.

Scamp's staying.

I absolutely love this photo...thanks Amanda:)!

In all honesty I've been back and forth about a second dog for the last year.  For a long time it seemed like the timing was wrong, and maybe it still is.  Or maybe its the perfect timing.  I don't know!  What I do know is that I didn't make this decision on a whim.  And while I love this dog already, if I didn't think we were the right match for him, and he for us, I would help find him that home.

Lots to blog about...but not today.  In the meantime, Scamp stayed with Amanda for a month and a half before he came to stay with us and has a few posts about him on her blog.

Waterton Adventure

Colleen and I packed up our kids for a Waterton Snowshoeing adventure...

The weather was perfect...it was so peaceful and pretty.

The dogs had a blast in the snow, although Ollie might have got stuck at one point:).

We were all pretty tuckered by the end...even Miss Crazy Pants...

This face melts my heart.

Thanks for a great day Colleen...any time you need snowshoeing buddies count us in:)!

6

Happy Birthday DJ!

Love always, Auntie Jen

A hole in my hoodie!

I’m exhausted, my brain is a disaster…no guarantee’s this will be coherent…

Crazy Pants had FUN at the CAA trial on the weekend…I honestly couldn’t be happier for her.

I need to see her happy and playing agility.  I’m not a quitter, I will work at something until I believe I’ve given it my best, but if my best still isn't enough, I will walk away at peace about it.  And I need to see that my best is making a difference for her.  For us.   

Agility is a way for us to detach from life and focus on our relationship. I know I’ve done an awful lot wrong with her…sometimes those faults feel so overwhelming…and I know some of these issues we will struggle with her entire life but that’s ok, its part of what makes her Neena. But it is a horrible feeling watching your dog melt-down, and my goal was/is to teach her how to work through and recover from those fears.  We've worked hard...and it's paying off.  Saturday I had a lady come up to me and comment on how far we've come, and she said Neena is a really sweet dog.  My Go! Dog! Go! friends see the true Neena, but one of the hardest things for me is that the other handlers only see Neena as broken down afraid dog...it meant a lot to hear different. 

We had some fantastic moments on the weekend…every run she was happy, we played on the start line, like arm biting, hoodie ripping play.  Occasionally she was on the verge of out of control zoomies.  It made me laugh...which as we all know made her crazier...it was fun.  And a couple runs we really connected...in a way that left me shaking with adrenaline and happiness...and fighting back tears.

A few things I think have really made a difference, I've been working hard to control my own emotions, which includes refusing to be part of or around negativity.  I've also been trying to walk calmly and doing focus work on the way to practise/league/trial run, the idea is to make the agility the party, not the walk too/from.  So a couple times this weekend I chose to reward on course for playing with me.  The focus work is also really paying off, especially at the startlines.  In fact we started doing Rally classes on Friday nights, and she's LOVING it...she stares at me with that happy little Neena grin for an hour straight:).

Of course there is always work to be done...for example I need to keep building toy drive, she had a minor meltdown when Darcy was calling numbers during snooker, and I still struggle at finding the balance between firm and fun.  But that's ok...there is always room for improvement...in agility or otherwise.

Ended the weekend by meeting a friend for a bike-path walk along the Bow River, the city lights were pretty and the air was crisp.  And Neena still had enough energy to provide some entertainment, I'll never understand how a stick can be so much fun lol.

Naughty Neena:)

Yesterday I went with Amanda to Calgary for Wicca's third appointment with Dr. Duvall.  This is my second trip, and it's been good experience for me...unfortunately at Woo's expense...but I do enjoy seeing a different aspect of veterinary medicine.  It blows my mind how much there is to learn...in a I can't wait to get started way!

On the way home we stopped at Louanne's for a herding lesson...this is Brit looking like a real border collie:).

She's a big girl...already working on her 'walk-ups'...

THIS...is Neena on sheep...

And this...

AND this...(please do note the crazy flying ears lol)

She's being a very, very naughty border collie...

And how did I feel about that?

I thought it was freaking hilarious.  I'm probably a bad mom.

BUT...here's the thing...it had been 2 1/2 years since the last time Neena was at Louanne's.  Back then, she was still a baby dog, and we struggled with confidence (big suprise huh!)...in fact, I had a hard time keeping her with me, if I put too much pressure on her she'd try to leave the pen.  Her dog equivalent of F-you.

So  I just can't lie...it made me laugh to see my scared-of-life border collie grip & chase.  And my giggles might have encouraged her to be naughtier.  Its a vicious circle.  Of giggling and naughtier.  How bad can that really be?

I wish I had the time and resources to pursue herding more seriously, it is truly a cool experience to see the natural ability & instinct your dog has...occasionally Neena even looks a little bit like a real border collie lol... 

Jenny Glen explained the instinct to Amanda as a type of 'deja vu' for the dogs...which is a cool way to think about it.

And while I can see it, I loved feeling how Neena responds to the pressure I put on her...

But for now its something we can play around with occasionally, although I'm not sure Neena's ok with that...she really wasn't ready to be done lol.

Thanks for the photo's Amanda!

On another note...Louanne is training Mack Daddy full time, he's a big boy working dog now and will make his trialing debut sometime in 2012.   

 It was awesome to see him, even if it was short...we miss our Mack Daddy:)!

Trial Update

Last week was a bit of agility over load after a month off where I'll admit we did nothing…no agility…at all. I've felt guilty about that for sure. Besides the guilt, I was extra ready to get back at it last week...I’ve missed my friends, the challenges, the working towards goals, the play time, the bloody knuckles, the banter…everything. And I'm pretty sure she did too:). Class was good, we had a few sniffy or worried moments but we worked through them and for the most part she was happy, motivated and focused. And later I realized she didn't go AWOL once...not that she does it all the time, and sometimes the zoomies can be kind of cute, but they aren’t safe, and they are an indication
of a weakness in our relationship. It was a great little realization!

Thursday night we ran a jumpers course in league, she had a minor meltdown our first run, and blew me off the second run. It’s a hard line with her between being happy, cheering her on, and playing WITH HER and being firm, trusting her to do her job and demanding she plays WITH ME. I'm learning. After we stuck around and did some focus work in the arena and around the benching area and by the end of the night I felt better about our evening.

Friday Neena and I headed to Calgary for the CAA trial at the Fezdome and I have to say we had a pretty awesome weekend:).

I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I know how hard we've worked, and I've seen her handle scary situations so much better than she has in the past. But it was still hard to know how to prepare myself emotionally for Neena. And I'm not 100% right now either...the last thing we needed was simultaneous Crazy Pants AND Crazy J meltdowns.

Fortunately neither of us had did...and believe me we both had plenty of opportunities too! But we dealt...and while I won't say we were our best, we were SO FAR from our worst:).

After the weekend I really wanted to re-read the "Reminders to Jen" post...that weekend was my game changing moment and I wanted to see if I've followed through on those goals, and if/how they've made a difference. Here are my thoughts:

Trust. I need to work on our relationship so she will trust me and stick with me on the course.
Neena walked with me to every startline...and there were runs I know she was nervous at the start line, but we got in that ring and we ran.  Additionally, there was 'several times when she thought about running off course...but a firm "Neena" was all it took and she chose to come back.  Every time.  I'd tell you how good that felt...but I can't.

Motivation & rewards (aka. Build Drive!!!)...I need to get better at varying rewards, and teach her that even if there isn't a visible reward on course she will get one at the end. Better yet if I can become the reward.  The length of time we can use toys as rewards in class has definitely increased, however she would barely play with me in the arena this weekend. We played outside, and she was happy to focus/work with me for food...sometimes for longer periods of time than I would typically ever work her in class (my timing to the start line sometimes still sucks lol). But we still have some work to do here...I want her to play with me to the startline. Although if her options are to either focus on me/the food reward or meltdown...we are making progress. Suggestion from Sarah was a goodie containers, which she also wasn't interested in, but I will start building their value in class/at home and hopefully they can be part of the transition from treats to play at a trial in the future.

Building focus. This is tied in with many of these points, but if I understand this right the more focused she is on me, the less she will focus on the 'scary' stuff...writing this here makes that seem so elementary. But sometimes I need to remind myself of the basics!!!  NO DOUBT IN MY MIND that doing this was key to helping Neena deal with her fears/stress this weekend.  Again, I just think about those startlines.  And she's avoiding me so many times on course in the past...one of my best moments from the entire weekend was her looking up at me from the table.  It was her relaxed, trusting, happy face...made me all melty inside and stuff.  That moment alone validated all the work we've done. 

Continue to build our warm-up/cool-down routine.  Check.  Right down to a bedtime massage last night which had the added bonding time benefit:).  But still always a work in progress.

Training. Class once a week and our regular 'work' is not cutting it any longer.  During the summer we had class once a week, and most weeks we made it to the field at least once more.  Like I said, recently I've been slacking here...no excuses.

Find a better balance between making agility fun and being firm, reinforcing this is a job that she is expected to do.  I repeat...I'm learning...slowly.  Lol.

~

Final notes...although her confidence and ability to recover is MUCH better, I still think we would have had more problems at the Balzac arena, turns out I'm wait listed for the December trial and I'm not sure I'm all that upset about that.   I need to have her head every minute so our distance (eg. in gambles) is almost non-existant.  And she was more worried about the judges than she has been in the past.  However, we are doing the right things to help her build the confidence she needs to work through these issues...its just a matter of time and work.

OH YA...AAAAND Neena curled up against my leg Saturday night and went to sleep. Voluntarily. Yep.

Neena...have I told you lately I heart you and your my bestest gal? xo

Thankful

I know I'm a few days late, and this is a lame addition for just how much I have to be thankful for lately...but I can't celebrate Thanksgiving without adding!

#318 - 337 of a Thousand, Endless Gifts

~wide open spaces 

~ escaping the city

~ fresh air

~ harvest

~ smoked beef loin

~ G'nite's and Good MORNINGS!!! lol

~ a boy toy for the daughter

~ HELMETS

~ motorsports

~ No-No and Auntie NEN

~ boys that never grow up

~ confidence

~ Crazy Eyes 

~ Saturday mornings, a good book and breakfast in bed

~ third author!

~ cowboys & rain & early mornings

~ that Neena gets shotgun

~ dinosaurs and piano keys

~ lunch dates & baby snuggles 

~ CAKE