I'll be on the couch tonight

Went to agility class on Wednesday night. Had parent-teacher conferences last night.

Two nights out in a row. Boy, will I need some couch time tonight!

Oreo had a great class. We did three different exercises. One involved two back to back pinwheels. I was shocked that I was able to remember the course. Highly unusual for me. We all know I have a tendency to forget things, i.e. courses, poop bags, treat bags...

We also did a really tricky jump sequence with back to back serpentines. Again, I was shocked I remembered the course. Oreo did superb. I was able to do things I hadn't planned on, and he read my cues beautifully.

He's awesome.

I had him and Misty in their playpen, while another dog ran. I was standing near the pen, and noticed Oreo walking in circles around the pen. It was behavior just like he does when I work with Misty at home. Every once in awhile, he would stop and watch the dog running, then go back to circling.

In the past, he has just stood in the pen. I took this as a positive sign. I think he wanted to get back out there!

After our last run, the humans were all talking, Oreo was hanging out by my side on the course. I decided to see what I could get him to do trick wise in front of a small audience. There was music playing, so we did some dance moves. He happily did weaving between my legs, some spins, and some paw raises. I was impressed.

My teacher mentioned that another instructor once taught a freestyle class at our school, and that I should mention it to her next time I see her. If there is enough interest, she thinks she would start a new class.

So, I'll do that next time I see her. I think Oreo would love it.

what's that smell?

On Sunday, Jeff was moving my car from the driveway into the garage.

When Jeff came back inside he said, "Your car smells so bad. I gagged when I got in it. Something must have crawled in there and died."

I laughed. Told him it was due to Saturday being so soggy. I was in/out of the car at our agility league, with muddy shoes and wet dogs. The car just needed to air out and dry. It happens every winter.

He said, "No. This is serious. You need to search your car. Something is in there rotting. You need to find it...blah, blah, blah. If you're not going to do it, I'll have to."

Whatever. You're so overreacting. Stop exaggerating.

I get in my car the next morning.

Hmmm. Smells pretty bad. Guess I'll leave my windows open while I'm at work. Give it some fresh air.

Kept them open in the garage that night.

Next morning, no bad odor. Problem solved.

Shut the windows during the day at work.

MISTAKE!

GAG!!!!

What is that smell?

Something must have crawled in my car and died!

I start thinking about what it could be.

Food? No. Dog puke? No.

What could possibly make my car smell this bad?

Uh oh.

What did I do with the poop bag on Saturday while we were at our league match? I vaguely recollect putting it on the ground by my car. Seeing a garbage bin with disposed poop bags, thinking, "Oh, I can put the poop bag in there." But did I?

Or, did I put it in my trunk to bring home to throw out, like I do at our agility school sometimes?

I think I threw it out.

Right?

Did I leave a poop bag in my car since my last class at my agility school....over a week ago?

No, I couldn't have.

Right? I would have seen it.

I get home. Open my trunk, and what do I find?

A lovely environmentally responsible, biodegradable poop bag, that is now biodegrading in my trunk.

I call Jeff and tell him I found the odor source.

Jeff thinks he deserves an apology.

I think I deserve a medal for solving the mystery!

Oh poop. I guess he was right....this time.

Misty's turn

OK, I had several comments about poor Misty yesterday. I know she looks neglected and underfed in the video. I assure you she is spoiled rotten.

Unfortunately, she is not a fast learner like Oreo. Not sure if it is lack of ability, or the fact that I never really taught her how to learn when she was young. As you will see, she gets very excited about the food, and really can't focus on the task at hand.

Here is a video of where Misty is in the progression of saying her prayers. My electronic clicker stopped working this morning. Apparently, it either doesn't work when the temperature is below freezing or I need new batteries.

Hope this satisfies my Misty Fan Club. I prefer posting accomplished tricks, but this is quite charming too. It's Misty. If you make it all the way to the end (I know it is tortuously long!), she does kinda do the trick. Even surprised me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3HXuBQpvMg

I taught Oreo this trick using a target stick, not a food lure. Misty is afraid of the target stick. So, I had to resort to treats. Maybe that is why it is taking longer for her.

tricky t-day~say your prayers

Sometimes we happen to be working on the same tricks as Ricky, sometimes we steal ideas from him! This is a stolen idea. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

I had to put a piece of rubber shelf liner on my bench, because the dogs were scratching the heck out of the wood as we practiced this trick.

Here is Oreo "saying his prayers". I dare you not to smile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xstbb0y1fE
I honestly don't know how I can top this video. It was very difficult to get a good camera angle on this trick to show Oreo in all his cuteness, but I just love how he puts his head between his paws, and, well, pauses in thought.

Thanks for the idea Ricky! This has been a fun one to train. As you can see, Oreo has taken his own creative license with it.

good moment for everyone

Remember Mr. Moody-Pa-Toody, who filled up my complaint jar the other day? Well he surprised me and earned a 100 percent in his Social Studies class for the first marking period.

Wow. Not an easy task for anyone. Let alone a kid with disabilities. Especially a freshman.

I was really proud of him.

I decided to call his mom and tell her the good news. I've talked to her a few times already this year. Usually, calls home are to let parents know about problems.

What was the problem? Matt had walked out of his English class without permission a few times. This did not make the teacher happy. However, walking away from the situation is far better than yelling, swearing and throwing desks across the room.

Still, a phone call was warranted, even though I dread giving parents bad news. They already face enough struggles in their daily lives.

This latest phone call was fun.

During our conversation, I could hear his mom talking to other people in the room, "Matt got a 100 in Social Studies!"

"That's my boy!" I hear someone shout.

She tells me that Matt had been promised a new game for his X-Box if he improved his grades. Well, I guess that was a good incentive.

She could not stop saying, "Wow, a 100. I can't believe he got a 100."

I know!

At the end of the day, Matt stops by my room.

He asks, "Did you find out any of my other grades?"

"No, not yet. But I did call your mom today," I warn.

"Oh. Am I in trouble?" he asks.

"No, I told her about your 100 in social studies. I think you are going to be getting a really nice welcome home today."

Matt keeps his chin down, but I catch him smiling.

It was a good moment. For everyone.

In a teacher's life, you have to cherish these good moments. 'Cause the next day, Mr. Moody-Pa-Toody could be back!

first league match

Well my GPS was telling me to go one way to the league match today, while my printed out directions were telling me to go another.

What did I do? Followed the cars on the highway with dog stickers on their bumpers!

We all hit a detour, but made it there on time.

It was a miserable day here. Pouring rain. Yuk.

Our first run was a standard run. The building was tight. The floor matted. Acoustics...LOUD! We encountered our first non slatted dogwalk. Can't tell you how many dogs thought it was a teeter, and bailed halfway up the ramp. Weird. Guess they are so used to the slats, they assumed the teeter must be broken!

Oreo seemed relatively at ease waiting his turn. Being it was a small building, we were in very close proximity to other dogs/people. He was still taking treats though, and not shirking away.

However, the minute we left the startline, he was a bit out of sorts as you can see on the video. After Oreo got up on the dogwalk, I think he started gaining some confidence, until the very end when he had to jump toward the crowd.

Needless to say, we got an "E", since I used treats. I'd rather not show this video of my scaredy dog, but here it is. The videos kinda get cut off on my blog, but if you double click on them, it'll bigify on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o02bD26gS5c

I had no idea what to expect for our games run. Would he be more worried, or would he feel better? I had him do some simple paw tricks while waiting his turn. Then, we ran to to opposite end of the building to do our run. I think it was good that the run began as far away from the entryway as possible. We got off to a good start, and I don't think we had any faults (we'll find out the results later). The judge called one, when she thought we went in the wrong tunnel, but then corrected herself. I think we made time too.

Here's the video of our "bowling run". It was a fun game. Two courses of 10 obstacles. You picked which one you wanted to run first. If you got a strike (no faults on your first run) you got bonus points, and then went on to do the second course. If you faulted on the first course, you had to run back to the tunnels, and start the second course.

Confusing, I know. I got lost a couple times on the course myself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoGujwe1YXU

After that run, I was thrilled with Oreo. Being in a new place, indoors, with lots of people, the door opening/closing constantly, that was a lot for him, and he really pulled it off.

Most people seemed to be using the day for training, so I didn't feel alone or silly. I can really see this being a huge help for us in future trials.

One dog pooped on the dogwalk! Now, that takes some balance skills.