tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41648284846695324702011-12-11T21:18:55.203-06:00Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.comBlogger501100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-26796479503209300532011-12-11T17:42:00.001-06:002011-12-11T21:04:57.433-06:00

OK, so I can hear you saying what the heck is that?  Also - why bother?  Here is the deal.  I came across the Cyber Rally-O concept thanks to Kate.  You download signs, courses and rules.  You choose a course, set it up, tape the course, the "equipment" and the run and send a link to the tapes to the Cyber Rally-O people.  They tell you whether or not you qualify and send you a ribbon if you did.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-38452369127907448592011-11-23T22:59:00.000-06:002011-11-23T22:59:12.959-06:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving. I have heard several people lately tell me how much they love this holiday.  No gifts are required, no major preparations other than fixing a meal.  We get to eat, drink, laugh and spend time with friends and family.  In my case the holiday does not involve television, but does include both two legged and four legged family.  I really love

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-40947746824901972492011-08-21T15:32:00.000-05:002011-12-11T21:05:43.963-06:00

I haven't written in a long time, but I really wanted to update everyone on life after three knee surgeries in less than one year.  Jazz had his last surgery - to repair torn cartilege in his right knee the middle of last February.  He was released from all restrictions the end or March.  We have done most of the recommended rehab work.  (We have not done anything in the water.  No access and a

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-46285911804857932552011-03-26T19:43:00.001-05:002011-03-31T21:11:18.193-05:00

I do not know who wrote this, but it certainly wasn't me!  I love it very much and since I am too busy to post much, I thought I'd pass this along.  Probably most of you have seen it, but it's always worth re-reading.  If anyone knows who wrote this - let me know and I will give them credit. (It was written by Sandy Mowray.  Thanks Melinda for telling me and a big thanks to Sandy for writing this

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-18938775544438214062011-01-30T12:12:00.004-06:002011-01-30T12:53:03.489-06:00

I looked at Coach's nose this morning and saw pink and red marks on it.  My first thought was, "OH NO - not another unpronounceable disease!"  Luckily (?) it turns out it's teeth marks.  Careful investigation shows that these teeth marks match Jazz's teeth exactly!  What a surprise. I have watched them "play" for over a year now and I am still fascinated by the whole process.  Jazz always gets

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-18344532677248985862011-01-09T17:50:00.000-06:002011-01-09T17:50:41.227-06:00

It seems like a lot of my four and two legged friends are having health problems.  So I just want to tell everyone to hang in there, my thoughts are with you all. Jazz has been recovering much more slowly from his second knee surgery than he did from the first.  I suspect it's more mental than physical.  I think he's much more insecure about it all.  He actually refused a teeter and acted afraid

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-22454668112508370112010-11-26T15:11:00.000-06:002010-11-26T15:11:02.022-06:00

I asked for, and received, "The Complete Dog Book" for Christmas in 1961.  (This was the new revised edition of the official American Kennel Club listing of breed standards, histories and descriptions.)  I was nine years old and I pored over that book for about 40 years!  That book lists six groups of dogs as follows: 24 sporting breeds, 19 hounds, 28 working breeds, 20 terriers, 16 toy breeds

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-34160498573732061702010-10-23T14:05:00.000-05:002010-10-23T14:05:36.279-05:00

I have been considering calling the animal communicator for a long time, but Melinda's blog finally pushed me over the edge.  I made the appointment for 7PM and Jazz tore his knee about 7AM of the same day.  I almost called and canceled, but I was hoping she could help him get ready for surgery.  I'm so glad I called her.  She's so much fun to talk with and I learned a lot about my dogs.  I will

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-14241992385992710622010-10-11T19:24:00.000-05:002010-10-11T19:24:04.866-05:00

On the 12 week anniversary of knee surgery on the left knee, Jazz tore the right knee.  This time the ACL was completely torn (only partial last time) and the miniscus (sp?) is intact (torn but left in last time.)  I just don't have the heart to get too dramatic about all this.  As my husband said when I asked for a divorce - I'm pretty disappointed. The knee tore on Wednesday and I had him in

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-91372267813924326902010-09-24T19:31:00.000-05:002010-09-24T19:31:56.514-05:00

I tried to make a list of all the words I use to tell my dogs what to do - or not to do.  I sorted the list by categories - home, obedience, agility.  Many of the words are used in all places.  Stay always means stay, but OK means get up and move around in obedience, free means stop staying and run like a crazy dog in agility.  I keep remembering more words I use or creating new ones.  We are

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-40746928164428579972010-09-22T20:46:00.000-05:002010-09-22T20:46:50.949-05:00

I sincerely hope my vet does not read this blog.  If she does - please forgive me - I am desperate! The latest health crisis at my house is ringworm.  (EEEWWW.  Not a worm, just a fungus.)  Coach has this obnoxious fungus and it has come to rest in a very delicate part of his anatomy.  I might have noticed this except for two things - I never look at "the boys" and I really have no idea what

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-30003892597722185202010-09-11T14:15:00.001-05:002010-09-13T08:11:52.211-05:00

It's been about a month since our last rehab post.  I reread the last post and am so pleased to see all the things that have improved. Jazz now walks with a very slight limp.  He willingly sits although the left leg sticks out to the side a little.  He runs, climbs stairs and jumps 16" agility jumps.  He seems happy and comfortable.  We had our final recheck and the bone is healing well.  The

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-58200636187036162792010-08-28T13:20:00.000-05:002010-08-28T13:20:36.255-05:00

Coach turned one year old on August 13th.  To say that he is at a difficult age would be an understatement.  I have never raised a puppy that was "normal" in terms of health.  Jazz was my first puppy experience and he was born with Lyme disease.  He was so sick for so much of the first year and still on Denosyl for the next year.  This is also my first experience with two dogs in my home at the

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-4304644107224364022010-08-07T13:01:00.000-05:002010-08-07T13:01:27.653-05:00

I have decided that the very worst part of this whole surgery is the incision.  If there were no incision we wouldn't have had to use that dratted "cone of shame!"  The last two weeks, the incision seems to be a bigger problem than the knee.  It continued to drain clear liquid, his whole leg was hot, and the drain incision at the bottom was swollen almost to golf ball size.  I took him for his

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-22597928819782360232010-07-25T21:08:00.000-05:002010-07-25T21:08:49.289-05:00

Jazz had knee surgery (TPLO) on Wednesday the 14th or July. The decision seemed inevitable by the time I talked with my vet and the surgeon. The cost is very high and I am grateful that I can come up with it. I am certain this decision will be much more difficult if he needs the other knee done in the next year. (They tell me his chances are 50/50 that he will need the other knee done.) I

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-70021492349339058612010-07-10T15:58:00.000-05:002010-07-10T15:58:21.622-05:00

We all know that life is short and bad things often happen without warning. In my case, I have had some warning over the last year or two. Jazz had been limping every once in a while for almost two years. We switched him to prescription joint diet food and I have been very careful to warm him up and cool him down when we do agility or other activities. He has always kept his weight down - he

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-80691664061654211692010-07-05T15:11:00.000-05:002010-07-05T15:11:10.243-05:00

Jazz and I finished our novice preferred standard AKC title this weekend. It was great and I am very happy to be out of novice. I am happiest to report that I have accomplished a few handler goals. My biggest goal was to stop worrying about titles and find something to be happy with in every run. I don't think you can fool a dog into believing you're happy if you're not. They hear what you

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-44405148949186182722010-05-29T15:05:00.000-05:002010-05-29T15:05:41.036-05:00

I suppose the title is a little much, but I think one of the things we enjoy about dogs is the wonderful feeling of falling in love with a dog. The relationship is so important to training and I don't know how to avoid falling in love with the silly things. Coach is finally turning from puppy to dog. I am not a person who loves puppies or babies. I like a critter that can communicate! Babies

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-76018805814671424072010-05-21T18:52:00.004-05:002010-05-21T19:20:01.673-05:00

One of the reasons I write this blog is to represent the "not so great" dog trainer. I am fairly new to dog training. I have Samoyeds, which are not supposed to be that easy to train. I don't train often enough. I'm not as organized or dedicated as I would like to be. I have had some real train wrecks in the ring.All that being said - I really wanted to put a simple little novice obedience

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-72013742784577789772010-05-15T19:01:00.003-05:002010-05-15T19:26:41.107-05:00

This is a continuation of my last post. I talked about Jazz lacking enthusiasm in the obedience ring. We have the same problem in agility. He used to have enthusiasm in the agility ring, but I think I worked real hard to kill that. I got too fixed on qualifying and let my disappointment show. I didn't take it out on him, but he knows when I am really happy and when I am disappointed. I

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-51258437059635658082010-04-30T15:42:00.004-05:002010-04-30T16:26:03.176-05:00

I always enter one trial during tax season. My own club's trial is held early in April and it is the very worst time for me to be entering a trial, but it is my own club and I always enter. This year I entered Jazz in novice obedience - with high hopes - and Coach in Rally novice - with no hope.Jazz and I have been working very hard all winter on attention and enthusiasm. He has gone from

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-33381398651172107652010-04-22T22:14:00.004-05:002010-04-22T22:59:59.003-05:00

I am finally done doing tax returns and can write about my dogs again! I have been composing this in the car and during my commute for months. Now, I am not sure how to begin.I have never lived with more then one dog at a time. Jazz and I have been doing OK together for the last six plus years, but I decided to add Coach to our family last fall. The whole "puppy" experience is kind of like

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-25534275248084028982010-03-22T21:35:00.006-05:002010-03-22T21:54:33.880-05:00

This is the time of year that tests the mettle of any good accountant, but I found a little time to tend to the "dog yard."As I reported earlier, Coach ate a stuffed toy and required surgery. That in turn required some major cleaning up of the dog play area. I wanted to be sure there were no more toys he could swallow. Unfortunately, that was when the yard had about four inches of frozen snow/

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-24543865406424951442010-02-14T20:29:00.003-06:002010-02-14T20:45:32.834-06:00

I think my dogs are pretty smart. I could be wrong, but what is the deal with these interactive dog toys? Coach is driving himself and everyone else crazy, so I bought some of those toys. I agonized over how I could give him one of the toys and use the canned ID food that he is supposed to eat. (Yes, I have been stuffing a Kong with about 1/4 of his meals.) Anyway, I have been so careful to

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-22014306791758773772010-02-12T20:32:00.004-06:002010-02-12T21:26:28.425-06:00

I started this blog because I thought it would be fun to be a spokesperson for the "not so perfect" dog trainers out there. When I got Coach, I continued with the "not so perfect" way to raise a puppy. I have carried "not so perfect" too far. I let Coach and Jazz play outside for hours with dozens of toys and I didn't patrol the yard enough. Poor Coach has paid for that error.Last week Coach

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-17717013915891123802010-01-24T18:35:00.003-06:002010-01-24T18:50:23.883-06:00

I am very lucky to have so many older friends and mentors. I went to a funeral yesterday for the man who hired me at my present job. He was so smart that I often had to make him stop talking while I plodded through his explanation and caught up to his train of thought. I would then say "go" and he would continue explaining. I never did get good enough to understand his entire explanation

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-79283947214165391072010-01-06T19:59:00.004-06:002010-01-06T20:29:29.012-06:00

This is it, the final chapter in my personal puppy ponderings. This one is really ugly. I will not be including any pictures. Those of you with weak stomachs or delicate sensibilities had better skip this one. Actually - those of you that have weak stomachs might reconsider the whole puppy experience.The ugly part about puppies is mostly related to their eating habits. Puppies will eat

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-18183797202337209782010-01-05T20:13:00.005-06:002010-01-05T21:07:55.083-06:00

There are some bad things about having a puppy. At least there are bad things about having my puppy. That was a temper tantrum. It was a fairly mild tantrum, but when he has a bad one I can't hold the camera. He starts leaping at me and batting at me and screeching at the top of his lungs. Please don't tell me to ignore it! I do that. I timed him. He can yelp at the top of his lungs

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-20962865743961743482010-01-03T16:14:00.005-06:002010-01-03T16:51:11.494-06:00

Coach is fast approaching five months old and it is time to reflect on the puppy experience so far. My friends are all reminding me that I told them not to let me get a puppy ever again after Jazz. Jazz was cute and annoying and very sick, so he was expensive and scary also. I decided to get Coach because I really wanted to try the puppy experience with a healthy puppy and a little more

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-29893733189201124542009-12-09T11:15:00.004-06:002009-12-09T11:55:39.556-06:00

Thank you Melinda for sharing that lovely phrase with me. I wanted a lot of Qs this weekend. I needed some perspective.The ICDOC December trial is my favorite. I really love it because it is ours. I think we do a great job and I have so much fun. It was the first agility trial I entered and we got a Q the very first time we ran. We got a jumpers Q first run this weekend and finished our

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-37819830241960916012009-11-26T12:33:00.003-06:002009-11-26T12:56:37.251-06:00

Jazz and I were at the NADAC agility trial in the Quad Cities last weekend. I don't know if he learned anything, but I learned a lot!I took Coach on Saturday to get him some experience with the noise and confusion of an agility trial. He was totally confident. He never appeared hesitant or confused at all. He waited nicely for me to release him to come through the door, sniffed and was

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-11021005145045395642009-11-18T20:01:00.003-06:002009-11-18T20:44:05.518-06:00

Last weekend was a real roller coaster of good and bad. Jazz and I competed in AKC agility at Muscatine. I didn't really enjoy Saturday at all. I'm not sure why, but it was just a down day. The crating was nice, the facility was nice, and there were real live sheep. Jazz was very happy about the sheep and not so excited about agility. I did every single thing I was not supposed to do. I

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-90027487925455240302009-11-08T20:28:00.006-06:002009-11-08T21:01:37.519-06:00

Hi - my name is Coach and I have floppy ears. Hi Coach - we feel your pain.I wonder if there is a support group for dogs whose ears will not stand up. I did some research on the Internet and it seems that there should be a support group. There are suggestions, questions, pictures, and general agonizing over the state of dogs' ears. Will they stand up, will they bend properly at the tips, will

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-12382343938327129992009-11-01T20:23:00.002-06:002009-11-01T20:54:42.054-06:00

I am a little relieved to see that Coach is not the "perfect" puppy. I would love to see a perfect puppy. Maybe I would even love to have one, but maybe not. Coach has given me "the paw" when I called him, peed and pooped in the house, chewed a rug and then waited until my back was turned to chew it again, and yelped for 25 minutes in his crate at bedtime. Now I know that Jazz was not psycho dog

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-1826320685236852272009-10-26T18:04:00.008-05:002009-10-26T18:42:55.650-05:00

He is here. He is the puppy formerly known as Yellow/Orange and his name is Tundra Ice's Put Me In Coach. Call name Coach. (No - I do not think he should be called Player or Coachee. We know who is the pack leader. ME.) He is all things wonderful and a few things annoying. I think you all know what I mean.He came complete with a cold and coccidia. The coccidia is under control and not a problem

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-27387964156309329142009-10-23T21:15:00.003-05:002009-10-23T21:31:21.193-05:00

Remember the Christmas Eve feeling you used to get? That amazing excitement? Wondering what you will get until you can hardly sleep? I feel like that tonight. Tomorrow morning I am going to drive to St Paul, Minnesota to pick out and pick up my new puppy! I have been seeing pictures and videos of the six puppy dogs for the last ten weeks. I visited them once when they were just four weeks old,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-37263152918112472082009-10-19T21:31:00.003-05:002009-10-19T21:55:43.967-05:00

My friend Peggy asks a very good question. What is your favorite part of working with your dog: The "light bulb" moment when your dog understands what you want him to do and does it, or the "dancing with your dog" moment when you and your dog are in perfect harmony as a team?I have changed my answer to that question almost daily since she asked. I love the challenge of trying to explain to Jazz

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-37893827360688899192009-10-15T19:25:00.004-05:002009-10-15T19:52:03.262-05:00

Last weekend we competed in a NADAC agility trial at the Quad City Dog Center. Three of our friends were competing in their first agility trial and it was so much fun to watch. Gary and Lola competed at four inches. Lola is so much fun to watch. She seems to scamper instead of run and is so cute. She did a great job and so did Gary. Next tallest were Kenzie and Joe. Poor Joe had an injured leg

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-81541502099083029832009-09-28T20:18:00.005-05:002009-09-28T21:16:19.997-05:00

I really love agility. I really love my dog. I really do! What an agility weekend this was for Jazz and me. We love to trial at the Quad City Dog Center. It is climate controlled, completely enclosed, no horses or dust, and great people. I also love watching runs from the loft. The perspective is great for seeing how a course should "flow."In spite of all that, it was a very strange weekend.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-21401319591190176592009-09-25T20:29:00.003-05:002009-09-25T20:52:19.110-05:00

Jazz and I competed last weekend at the Granger AKC agility trial. We drove up on Thursday evening and stayed in a motel for three nights. We have only stayed in motels a few times and never for three nights. I was a little worried about it, but he was such a gentleman! He was a much better traveling companion than my ex-husband - sorry David. He learned to ride nicely in the elevator and not to

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-1979062375599011102009-09-12T15:48:00.006-05:002009-09-12T16:08:17.122-05:00

I am sick AGAIN!! I don't get sick that often, but I seem to have the virus from hell. We used to call this a summer cold, but I have now been told that this is the flu. When I was a kid, throwing up meant you had the flu and colds involved nose blowing and coughing. Now a cold is the flu - what is throwing up? Anyway - none of it is pleasant and I am very bored with coughing, sitting,

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-29114502087448686582009-09-10T17:53:00.003-05:002009-09-10T18:12:49.703-05:00

Jazz and I entered the Des Moines trial last weekend both Saturday and Sunday. I promised myself and him, that qualify or not, we will rebuild our heeling between now and next spring. We will stick to agility in the mean time.We went into the obedience ring for Novice A on Saturday morning. I felt very calm and relaxed because I decided that if we failed to qualify, I could sleep in on Sunday.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-11771635446223103172009-08-31T18:44:00.000-05:002009-08-31T19:46:40.169-05:00

Jazz and I did not qualify at the Amana trial this weekend. We entered Friday and Sunday. Friday was our usual terrible heeling. The judge was generous and we only lost 29 points in total. That would have given us a 171 and the barest qualifier you can imagine. I was feeling pretty confident after he managed to stay in a sit position for the whole long sit. (Our only problem in long sits

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-14116802355302843972009-08-26T21:05:00.003-05:002009-08-26T21:58:36.304-05:00

It seems like only yesterday I was thinking I had weeks to prepare for the end of August and early September obedience trials. My plan was to work very hard to finally master the fine art of heeling. I was certain that I had tried everything. I was wrong. I don't think I ever really made up my mind to teach the dog to heel.The biggest problem I had with heeling, was my unwillingness to ask the

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-27551425880913489742009-07-27T17:25:00.003-05:002009-07-27T17:43:32.409-05:00

I guess that's a pretty ambitious title for a silly little blog. I often bite off more than I can chew.I was thinking the other day that I have been very fortunate. I have a lot of four legged friends. Their lives are so much shorter than ours and I have not lost very many of them so far. I know that will change.Someone commented that children who become very close to dogs may get their

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-2536629616162074092009-07-13T20:30:00.000-05:002009-07-13T20:30:00.940-05:00

Jazz and I had a great weekend at the Quad City Dog Center. We entered the Ready Steady Go NADAC trial and had a good time as usual.My plan for this weekend was to try to be smooth and not to get too far in front of Jazz. It seems to slow him down instead of speed him up and we really need to speed up. We had an almost perfect jumpers run Saturday and we even made time, but I distracted him at

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-67274046782498132802009-07-13T17:30:00.004-05:002009-07-13T17:56:44.603-05:00

My daughter bought a Wii Fit. I thought it sounded like fun and decided to give it a try. When you start using the machine, it lets you design a little cartoon person to represent you as you exercise. I had such a good time choosing her clothes, hair, glasses, face shape. It was like paper dolls when I was little. I was feeling really good and she was a cute little woman wearing leg warmers

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-90765660346842536872009-06-29T20:36:00.003-05:002009-06-29T21:20:41.659-05:00

Jazz and I competed in the NADAC trial this past weekend at the Quad City Dog Center. That is such a great place to show! They keep the temperature at 69 degrees. Jazz loves that and I do too - no hot flashes at that temperature!I think our first love is NADAC agility. I really like being able to compete hourly (approximately) for a whole day. We always enter all twelve events over two days

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-67903595718058954182009-06-24T21:51:00.005-05:002009-06-24T22:37:07.317-05:00

I had always supposed that the first qualifying run in novice obedience would be a joyful experience. As usual, things didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped.Jazz and I entered the Hawkeye Kennel Club trial last weekend. We were entered both Saturday and Sunday in Novice Obedience A. (The A means we are totally new to the obedience ring.) We have tried several times to get a qualifying score.

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4164828484669532470.post-22026242558505761592009-06-23T22:23:00.007-05:002009-06-23T22:51:31.350-05:00

I am a novice dog trainer. I have a Samoyed named Jazz who is six years old. I did not plan to enter the "sport of dogs." (I love that phrase - Ron Reagan uses it during his commentary on Westminster and it sounds so impressive!) I really didn't even begin training my dog with any kind of plan. I've tried to figure out how I got into this, but it all seems kind of blurry!What I know is that

Kathyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16843229866930009738noreply@blogger.com3