I have been holding my breath since I had Ridley's films taken for her PennHip. Not because I was worried that they wouldn't pass-- I had seen the films and thought they looked great-- but because I was certain the numbers would be so low I could barely wait to shout it from the rooftops!
Today the letter arrived. I was surprised to see her results were .42/.46. Her dam has the best PennHip scores of all Dutch Shepherds in the database. Her dam and siblings also had terrific scores. The sires scores were not as stellar, but still nice enough. Damned if Ridley didn't take after the sire's side of the family! There are currently only 89 dogs in the Dutch Shepherd database and the median is .41. Statistically I know that this isn't a fair representation of the laxity in the breed as few people use PennHip. Heck, there are still quite a few breeders out there who don't Xray at all and instead will tell potential buyers "well, we've never had a problem..."
I will probably have an OFA film taken when she turns 2, just out of curiosity. I've seen the films and they look so darned good, but the laxity is what PH measures. I like her temperament and her drive, the size and the better rear angulation. She has a wonderful full, calm grip. There is just so much to like about her that I was sure hoping the hip scores would have been better.
I do not hide from the results and scores of my dogs, whether it be in trialing or health checks. So there it is. Having seen and owned dogs with horrible, horrible hips, the flip side is that hers aren't bad. They just aren't as good as I had hoped.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
The Evil Genius of Nook
While I am referencing the Barnes and Noble product, the Nook, this post is directed broadly at all e-books. It is dog-related only in the fact that I own dogs and dislike the Nook. Bear in mind that at one time I also disliked the Blackberry, aka: Crackberry, but that was before one apparently became surgically attached to me. However, as I was reading the old fashioned way over the breakfast table this morning, my mind wandered-- as it often does-- and I pondered (a real book word if ever there was one!) the demise of the paper paged book in this electronic age.
I came to the realization that e-books are part of an evil plot not only to strip us of our individuality but to set up this nation to be further controlled by media. You heard it here first, boys and girls! Or if not, it's only because I have been busy reading books and training dogs, and didn't see it posted on Entertainment Tonight.
There was a time when we were identified by the books we carried and people made assumptions based on them. If I carried the biography of Sarah Palin, people would assume I was a right wing supporter. Tuck a copy of one of Obama's hope-and-change missives and folks would likewise view me as Democrat brother in arms. Want to appear upwardly mobile? Perhaps something by Stephen Covey would appeal to you. And if you are preparing to fly then make a selection that might evoke commentary or interest from a suitable seat-mate. Most certainly, you would not be found boarding with a copy of "My with Osama Bin Laden" or "how to explode planes in mid-air".
With the advent of e-books, all that has changed. See someone carrying one of those little babies, and you have no idea what is contained inside. The gentleman across the aisle on your next flight could, indeed, be reading the recipe for combining ingredients for an explosive and pulling up charts on the optimum placement. You don't know if they are reading "War and Peace' or an autobiography on Adam Sandler. Which may be why e-book owners are left to personalize the product with snappy little covers. If you can't read the book, at least check out my cover!
Naturally, I realize that the same could be said for laptops and the fact that e-books are nothing more than laptops just for books, so some of this is simply facetious. The real core of the matter is the loss of paper pages and bound books, and sitting in a comfy chair at Barnes and Noble admist the comforting smells of other books. Does it really have the same effect to imagine assorted customers, lounging about, reading from their e-books? Not to me.
E-books do not encourage sharing. They reward recruitment. You cannot freely exchange books with friends or acquaintances; those can only be shared between members of the same e-book cult. Nook members share with Nooksters, and Kindles only share with kindlers... you get the picture. You actually purchase a viewing license, not a book. It isn't yours. It belongs to Da Man. There was a movement a few years back that I recall, where a person would leave a book they enjoyed but no longer wanted in a public area for any other person to pick up and enjoy, and the progress of the books was tracked on a website. Imagine doing that with an e-book? hahahaaa! "Nook left on bench at bus station. No location subsequently noted.."
As to the downfall of humanity, if all books are maintained electronically then once you pull that plug and limit energy usage (and thus, recharging) or simply stop producing books for electronic media OR control whose books you produce then our knowledge of a world outside ourselves will be limited by the puppetmasters. I know this sounds much like a whispered conspiracy theory, but if you recall, there was a time when knowledge and power were controlled by not allowing everyone to learn to read. Now that we know how to read, the only control mechanism is restricting what we can access to read.
When that happens, I will still have my fine collection of hard-bound books. And your battery dies or your power goes out, or the flight attendant advises you to power-off electronic devices, I will be reading my books. To my Barnes and Noble compatriots I say "do not abandon the paper page." May they continue long past the expiration of this... ahem... electronic blog.
I came to the realization that e-books are part of an evil plot not only to strip us of our individuality but to set up this nation to be further controlled by media. You heard it here first, boys and girls! Or if not, it's only because I have been busy reading books and training dogs, and didn't see it posted on Entertainment Tonight.
There was a time when we were identified by the books we carried and people made assumptions based on them. If I carried the biography of Sarah Palin, people would assume I was a right wing supporter. Tuck a copy of one of Obama's hope-and-change missives and folks would likewise view me as Democrat brother in arms. Want to appear upwardly mobile? Perhaps something by Stephen Covey would appeal to you. And if you are preparing to fly then make a selection that might evoke commentary or interest from a suitable seat-mate. Most certainly, you would not be found boarding with a copy of "My with Osama Bin Laden" or "how to explode planes in mid-air".
With the advent of e-books, all that has changed. See someone carrying one of those little babies, and you have no idea what is contained inside. The gentleman across the aisle on your next flight could, indeed, be reading the recipe for combining ingredients for an explosive and pulling up charts on the optimum placement. You don't know if they are reading "War and Peace' or an autobiography on Adam Sandler. Which may be why e-book owners are left to personalize the product with snappy little covers. If you can't read the book, at least check out my cover!
Naturally, I realize that the same could be said for laptops and the fact that e-books are nothing more than laptops just for books, so some of this is simply facetious. The real core of the matter is the loss of paper pages and bound books, and sitting in a comfy chair at Barnes and Noble admist the comforting smells of other books. Does it really have the same effect to imagine assorted customers, lounging about, reading from their e-books? Not to me.
E-books do not encourage sharing. They reward recruitment. You cannot freely exchange books with friends or acquaintances; those can only be shared between members of the same e-book cult. Nook members share with Nooksters, and Kindles only share with kindlers... you get the picture. You actually purchase a viewing license, not a book. It isn't yours. It belongs to Da Man. There was a movement a few years back that I recall, where a person would leave a book they enjoyed but no longer wanted in a public area for any other person to pick up and enjoy, and the progress of the books was tracked on a website. Imagine doing that with an e-book? hahahaaa! "Nook left on bench at bus station. No location subsequently noted.."
As to the downfall of humanity, if all books are maintained electronically then once you pull that plug and limit energy usage (and thus, recharging) or simply stop producing books for electronic media OR control whose books you produce then our knowledge of a world outside ourselves will be limited by the puppetmasters. I know this sounds much like a whispered conspiracy theory, but if you recall, there was a time when knowledge and power were controlled by not allowing everyone to learn to read. Now that we know how to read, the only control mechanism is restricting what we can access to read.
When that happens, I will still have my fine collection of hard-bound books. And your battery dies or your power goes out, or the flight attendant advises you to power-off electronic devices, I will be reading my books. To my Barnes and Noble compatriots I say "do not abandon the paper page." May they continue long past the expiration of this... ahem... electronic blog.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Search for Missing Boy
Our search team, People and Paws, was activated yesterday to search for a missing 8 year old Reedsburg boy. The boy had left his home around 3:45 the previous day and was reported missing to Law Enforcement several hours later after an unsuccessful search by family members. When I received the call, I quickly canceled the private lessons I had scheduled for the day. Everyone was understanding of the priorities and I appreciate that.
The location is about three hours from here and most of our team arrived at around the same time to discover a parking lot filled with fire department and rescue vehicles, horse trailers, squad cars and school buses. It seemed the entire town had emptied to assist in the search. On a personal level, I question some of the well-intentioned who were accompanied by young children. I cannot believe they had an understanding of what they might find and how shocking that might be to a child.
Ultimately we would move our command post away from that scene, to a location nearby where the dogs had shade and we could deploy away from the prying eyes of media. I have great respect for the Incident Command System in place for our team and those we work closely with. There are other teams whose knowledge, certifications and expertise dove-tail with that of PnP and who we work jointly with on numerous searches. K9SOS and WolfSAR were two of the other teams who worked the incident with us.
I will not go into detail about the search except to say that I was extremely impressed by the work of Lynn Gardiner and her bloodhound, Abby. Abby is a youngster but demonstrated ability and a strong work ethic. In the end, there is a tragic post script to the story; the young lad had apparently entered the Baraboo River and drowned. I dislike the term "closure". Does a family who loses a child ever truly close that door? But he is at least returned to them to say good-bye. Pray that this family finds strength to deal with their loss.
The team will be answer the call to locate another missing child in the future. We will pack our gear, load our dogs, and hope for a different outcome, never forgetting the families who are waiting to bring their loved ones home.
The location is about three hours from here and most of our team arrived at around the same time to discover a parking lot filled with fire department and rescue vehicles, horse trailers, squad cars and school buses. It seemed the entire town had emptied to assist in the search. On a personal level, I question some of the well-intentioned who were accompanied by young children. I cannot believe they had an understanding of what they might find and how shocking that might be to a child.
Ultimately we would move our command post away from that scene, to a location nearby where the dogs had shade and we could deploy away from the prying eyes of media. I have great respect for the Incident Command System in place for our team and those we work closely with. There are other teams whose knowledge, certifications and expertise dove-tail with that of PnP and who we work jointly with on numerous searches. K9SOS and WolfSAR were two of the other teams who worked the incident with us.
I will not go into detail about the search except to say that I was extremely impressed by the work of Lynn Gardiner and her bloodhound, Abby. Abby is a youngster but demonstrated ability and a strong work ethic. In the end, there is a tragic post script to the story; the young lad had apparently entered the Baraboo River and drowned. I dislike the term "closure". Does a family who loses a child ever truly close that door? But he is at least returned to them to say good-bye. Pray that this family finds strength to deal with their loss.
The team will be answer the call to locate another missing child in the future. We will pack our gear, load our dogs, and hope for a different outcome, never forgetting the families who are waiting to bring their loved ones home.
Photos from the MR trial
Melissa Mims and Lykos, decoy Scott Dunmore
Lykos
Mongoose on Object Guard
Lisa Geller and Mongoose, DOH
Pi, decoy Dennis Bilik
Steve Garvin and Bogan
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Algonquin von Schoerling, UCD,11xSchH3/IPO3,MR1
WOW! We did it! Quinn earned his MR1 by earning qualifying scores both days. Granted, they were nothing to write home about but he did pass! And the only other dog to trial both days was not successful in his bid. Lisa Geller said later that she didn't think I realized what a big deal it was to have taken an almost 8 year old experienced schutzhund dog, with not much training, and earned a MR1 in his first weekend.
The other thing that Lisa said was that I am responsible for Mondioring in the Midwest. I hadn't considered that, but I suppose it is true. When we began bringing in Michael Ellis for seminars, after Ivan became unavailable, our area had never heard of ringsports. Michael introduced it and we began to teach our dogs proper entry on leg sleeves and how to do positions. We started to train a twisted schutzhund version combining portions of mondioring, including the environmental challenges, with the schutzhund requirements. I firmly believe this makes a well-rounded dog. Michael also sold his Loups du Soleil dogs to club members and I think that has forever changed the sport landscape as well as the presence of the malinois in this area. Ultimately, members who only wanted to do MR broke away from our schutzhund club and look where we are today!
I can't believe how nervous I was! In schutzhund, I am a zen goddess (though anyone who knows me understands not to talk to me before or immediately following my turn). I was so out of my element and sooo nervous. It is a little funny to look back on when I recall that I wasn't so nervous about Jinx but yet she failed her second day's attempt! I was petrified what Quinn might do, and he did even better the second day. I was very concerned about whether to even try again on Sunday. I had wanted to do some "clean up" to make sure I had an "out" since he had not been reinforced with multiple grips on Saturday. The last thing I wanted to do was to create the same problem we had in schutzhund where Quinn decided that releasing was not a priority. I spoke briefly with Michael Ellis on Sunday morning and he encouraged me to give it a try. I'm glad I did.
In two days, Quinn did NOT eat the food on the food refusal. That is our biggest accomplishment, as he is a total chow hound! I had learned (darnit! have to read the rules some time!) that in the MR1 I could pick my dog up from the guard, so I opted to try that. I also decided to use voice only, rather than whistle. Clearly the whistle was not working for me the day before. Once the decoy hovered over Quinn and made eye contact, it was game on and he wasn't going anywhere. Of course, I will have to reinforce the whistle for the MR2 level, but in order to pass, I let him do his schutzhund guard and walked up to heel away. He released perfectly, too! I was so proud of him! The poor boy was handicapped by a stupid handler who cost so many points we are lucky to have passed. Score-wise, we did worse than the day before by 1 point, earning 168 points. 160 is passing! whew! However, on Sunday, it was almost all on me. Quinn did super but I lost my brain, failing to acknowledge the horn that signaled the start and end of the exercises. I have to admit that Melissa Mims had told me to practice with the horn, and I even bought one, but I was worried the dog would learn to pay attention to the horn and perhaps release too soon, or recall too soon. In the end, what I discovered was that because I had not practiced with it, it became back ground noise in my nervous head and I paid no attention to it! The one time it pierced my subconscious was in the heeling pattern, where it actually startled me and I stopped abruptly. My stop startled Quinn, who apparently thought he had screwed up and he remained sitting when I continued forward. We lost all the heeling points because of that error. No kidding, my awesome heeling dog failed heeling! arggghh. dumb handler!
That morning, Steve Garvin, who was an apprentice judge and a super nice guy, asked if I was excited. Excited? no. Nervous? you betcha. I just wanted it all over. I didn't even break my camera out of the case on Saturday. I just wanted the whole thing to be done, pass or fail. On Sunday the MR1 competitors were just me and Scott Dunmore, who did double duty as a decoy, as well, and has a very nice V litter LdS dog. I asked to go first, to get it over with! Once my turn was done, it took awhile to work up the courage to go look at our score but once I did, I was free to relax, chat and take photos. It felt so nice to be finished! For our troubles, and First Place, we received a nice bite pillow.
The location was lovely and Ed and Cindy were great hosts. I would have loved to have had the time to look around more, maybe even taken a drive around the area. Maybe next time. What?? next time? Obviously a glutton for punishment, we are now planning our move to MR2. Call me crazy.....
The other thing that Lisa said was that I am responsible for Mondioring in the Midwest. I hadn't considered that, but I suppose it is true. When we began bringing in Michael Ellis for seminars, after Ivan became unavailable, our area had never heard of ringsports. Michael introduced it and we began to teach our dogs proper entry on leg sleeves and how to do positions. We started to train a twisted schutzhund version combining portions of mondioring, including the environmental challenges, with the schutzhund requirements. I firmly believe this makes a well-rounded dog. Michael also sold his Loups du Soleil dogs to club members and I think that has forever changed the sport landscape as well as the presence of the malinois in this area. Ultimately, members who only wanted to do MR broke away from our schutzhund club and look where we are today!
I can't believe how nervous I was! In schutzhund, I am a zen goddess (though anyone who knows me understands not to talk to me before or immediately following my turn). I was so out of my element and sooo nervous. It is a little funny to look back on when I recall that I wasn't so nervous about Jinx but yet she failed her second day's attempt! I was petrified what Quinn might do, and he did even better the second day. I was very concerned about whether to even try again on Sunday. I had wanted to do some "clean up" to make sure I had an "out" since he had not been reinforced with multiple grips on Saturday. The last thing I wanted to do was to create the same problem we had in schutzhund where Quinn decided that releasing was not a priority. I spoke briefly with Michael Ellis on Sunday morning and he encouraged me to give it a try. I'm glad I did.
In two days, Quinn did NOT eat the food on the food refusal. That is our biggest accomplishment, as he is a total chow hound! I had learned (darnit! have to read the rules some time!) that in the MR1 I could pick my dog up from the guard, so I opted to try that. I also decided to use voice only, rather than whistle. Clearly the whistle was not working for me the day before. Once the decoy hovered over Quinn and made eye contact, it was game on and he wasn't going anywhere. Of course, I will have to reinforce the whistle for the MR2 level, but in order to pass, I let him do his schutzhund guard and walked up to heel away. He released perfectly, too! I was so proud of him! The poor boy was handicapped by a stupid handler who cost so many points we are lucky to have passed. Score-wise, we did worse than the day before by 1 point, earning 168 points. 160 is passing! whew! However, on Sunday, it was almost all on me. Quinn did super but I lost my brain, failing to acknowledge the horn that signaled the start and end of the exercises. I have to admit that Melissa Mims had told me to practice with the horn, and I even bought one, but I was worried the dog would learn to pay attention to the horn and perhaps release too soon, or recall too soon. In the end, what I discovered was that because I had not practiced with it, it became back ground noise in my nervous head and I paid no attention to it! The one time it pierced my subconscious was in the heeling pattern, where it actually startled me and I stopped abruptly. My stop startled Quinn, who apparently thought he had screwed up and he remained sitting when I continued forward. We lost all the heeling points because of that error. No kidding, my awesome heeling dog failed heeling! arggghh. dumb handler!
That morning, Steve Garvin, who was an apprentice judge and a super nice guy, asked if I was excited. Excited? no. Nervous? you betcha. I just wanted it all over. I didn't even break my camera out of the case on Saturday. I just wanted the whole thing to be done, pass or fail. On Sunday the MR1 competitors were just me and Scott Dunmore, who did double duty as a decoy, as well, and has a very nice V litter LdS dog. I asked to go first, to get it over with! Once my turn was done, it took awhile to work up the courage to go look at our score but once I did, I was free to relax, chat and take photos. It felt so nice to be finished! For our troubles, and First Place, we received a nice bite pillow.
The location was lovely and Ed and Cindy were great hosts. I would have loved to have had the time to look around more, maybe even taken a drive around the area. Maybe next time. What?? next time? Obviously a glutton for punishment, we are now planning our move to MR2. Call me crazy.....
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Quinn's First Mondioring Trial
This is one of those rare instances where having a one-legged dog is a good thing! Quinn made his Mondioring debut today at the Competitive Canines Mondioring Trial at the Leerburg propery in Menomonie, Wisconsin and earned a qualifying score. It wasn't pretty, and we were in last place, but he passed. That means he has one leg toward his MR1 title.
I am very proud of my Quinnster. He retired from schutzhund with 11 SchH3/IPO3 titles, including many regional championships and a number of National events. While earning our FH is still on the agenda, I thought we would make a detour into the world of Mondioring after discovering that Quinn really seems to enjoy the longer fight and grip of MR. I am doing this for him. I have not found the fun and comraderie in MR that I have in schutzhund and dislike intensely the concept of having to pay a decoy to get anywhere in the sport. And there seems to be a whole thing to which decoys work with which group's dogs. I just want to train my dog.
You would think that with all the competitions behind us, I wouldn't have been so nervous. After all, I competed in MR1 with Jinx, as well, but for some reason my stomach was bound up in knots this morning as I waited my turn. I was very worried about all the things that could go wrong with Quinn. We first walked through the exercises and were allowed to ask questions of the judge, Margaret McKenna. I scribbled what I needed to remember in a small notebook and innocently asked the judge whether I could review my notes between exercises. She looked at me as if I had suddenly sprouted a third eye and asked "are you serious?" She did not appear amused. Next the "Dog in White" walked through the same exercises. Finally it was time to draw for our positions. I thought I would be able to watch several other teams and confirm the exercises in my head...until I drew #1!
In MR, you report in to the judge and introduce yourself, your dog, club affiliation, your jump choice and whether you will use whistle or voice to recall. When I told the judge I had no club affiliation, she asked "then how do you train, if you have no club?" I told her I attend seminars. No need to explain that I am Switzerland. That I don't need the drama associated with club membership and prefer to be able to go where I like to train, even if that means I am an outsider. Or that I have not been asked to join any mondioring clubs!! haha! She didn't look as if any of that would have either interested or amused her.
The first excercise actually began when I reported in. Contrary to the way we had trained, with being able to cue the dog at the prep line, we had to place the dog on a down as we reported in and that was part of the food refusal exercise. After the introduction, I turned around to face Quinn-- which was helpful--- as the food was tossed. When the exercise was finished and I went to him, he was still focused on finding the food, though. Next was the retrieve. Quinn likes to retrieve and the object was a plastic candle, so quite like a dumbbell. Quinn also did his positions on the first command, and I was very happy with that but since I had to whistle him to position and had forgotten to move my feet apart, I did that after I took my initial position earning me criticism from the judge. She was correct, of course; I simply forgot.
Next came the absence. Thankfully, it was not behind any objects tempting Quinn to peek over the top, but instead was also very schutzhund-like in that I placed him on a down and then walked to a blind. whew~! The send-away followed. I have had to work on this particularly, as in schutzhund we often send TO a cone or marker but in MR you are sending the dog between markers. The markers were plastic Santas, not cones and the handlers had elected to whistle back the dog once he crossed the line, without signal from the judge. Wouldn't you know, I watched Quinn run and was so happy to see him run past the Santas that I forgot briefly!! Then had to quickly grab my whistle. And oh yes, move the damned feet apart AGAIN. Quinn did turn back quickly but meandered his way to me a little, but that does not cost points, I learned. It is all about the dog running straight and crossing the line between the distractions. The judge also considered it "training" if your dog continued to touch the fence or look for a marker after you whistled back and took something called "allure points". There is a category outside the written rules, termed "general allure" which apparently allows the judge personal latitude. I learned that you must wear capris or long pants, no shorts, or you will be docked "allure points." Tell that to the gals at Hooters, I say! At any rate, the judge gave me a very strict "this is your last warning" for having moved my feet.
The heeling pattern was simple and I finally felt I could breathe! Quinn knows how to heel. I march right out there, moving quickly, getting it done. I've heard comments about that because the MR folks, with their leaning dogs, don't heel in the same manner. But in MR it doesn't matter, only that the dog stays with you and stops when you stop (without command). The hurdle was the last exercise in the obedience portion. I have not taught markers to Quinn so I relied on throwing a toy one way over the jump in training, expecting him to go further away thinking it was out there. He didn't go quite as far as I expected today, and nicked the jump slightly on the return. I was still very happy with his performance. To that point, the greatest detriment had been me!!
The order of the protection exercises were face, flee and DOH. In the first one, Quinn released on the whistle but needed two to leave the man and get back to me. After that, with the decoy bent over him and making strong eye contact, there was no leaving. Quinn guarded instead. In the second, I ended up recalling him by voice and in the last he didn't return at all. I had broken my whistle and replaced it with a different type that did not carry as well, but I don't believe that was it. Quinn just got stuck. I did not believe we had passed after that performance but we squeaked it out.
There is no critique, so you don't learn from the mistakes of others in the same way you do in schutzhund, but they do post the score sheets following each performance. That is more like AKC, but at least you do find out where the points were taken, if you didn't already know.
The weather has been ungodly hot. Today my van temperature gauge showed 99 degrees. I don't know if that is accurate, but it sure felt like it. By late afternoon I couldn't concentrate on anything but the sweat running down my back and I took a brief trip back to the hotel where Quinn and I could cool off in the A/C. When we returned, the group was clapping and celebrating and concluding the awards celebration. Aida and Bordeaux, after much work and persistence, achieved their MR3, so it was a particularly touching moment. My brain was so fried, I had entirely forgotten about any closing ceremony.
At this moment, Quinn is sacked out for the night and I am listening to the thunderstorm, trying to decide whether to risk competing tomorrow without having been able to clean that up. I'm not convinced he will let go two days in a row without reinforcement.
Sam, if you read this-- thank you! I know our scores aren't anything to be proud of, but we did pass, and without your assistance that would not have happened.
I am very proud of my Quinnster. He retired from schutzhund with 11 SchH3/IPO3 titles, including many regional championships and a number of National events. While earning our FH is still on the agenda, I thought we would make a detour into the world of Mondioring after discovering that Quinn really seems to enjoy the longer fight and grip of MR. I am doing this for him. I have not found the fun and comraderie in MR that I have in schutzhund and dislike intensely the concept of having to pay a decoy to get anywhere in the sport. And there seems to be a whole thing to which decoys work with which group's dogs. I just want to train my dog.
You would think that with all the competitions behind us, I wouldn't have been so nervous. After all, I competed in MR1 with Jinx, as well, but for some reason my stomach was bound up in knots this morning as I waited my turn. I was very worried about all the things that could go wrong with Quinn. We first walked through the exercises and were allowed to ask questions of the judge, Margaret McKenna. I scribbled what I needed to remember in a small notebook and innocently asked the judge whether I could review my notes between exercises. She looked at me as if I had suddenly sprouted a third eye and asked "are you serious?" She did not appear amused. Next the "Dog in White" walked through the same exercises. Finally it was time to draw for our positions. I thought I would be able to watch several other teams and confirm the exercises in my head...until I drew #1!
In MR, you report in to the judge and introduce yourself, your dog, club affiliation, your jump choice and whether you will use whistle or voice to recall. When I told the judge I had no club affiliation, she asked "then how do you train, if you have no club?" I told her I attend seminars. No need to explain that I am Switzerland. That I don't need the drama associated with club membership and prefer to be able to go where I like to train, even if that means I am an outsider. Or that I have not been asked to join any mondioring clubs!! haha! She didn't look as if any of that would have either interested or amused her.
The first excercise actually began when I reported in. Contrary to the way we had trained, with being able to cue the dog at the prep line, we had to place the dog on a down as we reported in and that was part of the food refusal exercise. After the introduction, I turned around to face Quinn-- which was helpful--- as the food was tossed. When the exercise was finished and I went to him, he was still focused on finding the food, though. Next was the retrieve. Quinn likes to retrieve and the object was a plastic candle, so quite like a dumbbell. Quinn also did his positions on the first command, and I was very happy with that but since I had to whistle him to position and had forgotten to move my feet apart, I did that after I took my initial position earning me criticism from the judge. She was correct, of course; I simply forgot.
Next came the absence. Thankfully, it was not behind any objects tempting Quinn to peek over the top, but instead was also very schutzhund-like in that I placed him on a down and then walked to a blind. whew~! The send-away followed. I have had to work on this particularly, as in schutzhund we often send TO a cone or marker but in MR you are sending the dog between markers. The markers were plastic Santas, not cones and the handlers had elected to whistle back the dog once he crossed the line, without signal from the judge. Wouldn't you know, I watched Quinn run and was so happy to see him run past the Santas that I forgot briefly!! Then had to quickly grab my whistle. And oh yes, move the damned feet apart AGAIN. Quinn did turn back quickly but meandered his way to me a little, but that does not cost points, I learned. It is all about the dog running straight and crossing the line between the distractions. The judge also considered it "training" if your dog continued to touch the fence or look for a marker after you whistled back and took something called "allure points". There is a category outside the written rules, termed "general allure" which apparently allows the judge personal latitude. I learned that you must wear capris or long pants, no shorts, or you will be docked "allure points." Tell that to the gals at Hooters, I say! At any rate, the judge gave me a very strict "this is your last warning" for having moved my feet.
The heeling pattern was simple and I finally felt I could breathe! Quinn knows how to heel. I march right out there, moving quickly, getting it done. I've heard comments about that because the MR folks, with their leaning dogs, don't heel in the same manner. But in MR it doesn't matter, only that the dog stays with you and stops when you stop (without command). The hurdle was the last exercise in the obedience portion. I have not taught markers to Quinn so I relied on throwing a toy one way over the jump in training, expecting him to go further away thinking it was out there. He didn't go quite as far as I expected today, and nicked the jump slightly on the return. I was still very happy with his performance. To that point, the greatest detriment had been me!!
The order of the protection exercises were face, flee and DOH. In the first one, Quinn released on the whistle but needed two to leave the man and get back to me. After that, with the decoy bent over him and making strong eye contact, there was no leaving. Quinn guarded instead. In the second, I ended up recalling him by voice and in the last he didn't return at all. I had broken my whistle and replaced it with a different type that did not carry as well, but I don't believe that was it. Quinn just got stuck. I did not believe we had passed after that performance but we squeaked it out.
There is no critique, so you don't learn from the mistakes of others in the same way you do in schutzhund, but they do post the score sheets following each performance. That is more like AKC, but at least you do find out where the points were taken, if you didn't already know.
The weather has been ungodly hot. Today my van temperature gauge showed 99 degrees. I don't know if that is accurate, but it sure felt like it. By late afternoon I couldn't concentrate on anything but the sweat running down my back and I took a brief trip back to the hotel where Quinn and I could cool off in the A/C. When we returned, the group was clapping and celebrating and concluding the awards celebration. Aida and Bordeaux, after much work and persistence, achieved their MR3, so it was a particularly touching moment. My brain was so fried, I had entirely forgotten about any closing ceremony.
At this moment, Quinn is sacked out for the night and I am listening to the thunderstorm, trying to decide whether to risk competing tomorrow without having been able to clean that up. I'm not convinced he will let go two days in a row without reinforcement.
Sam, if you read this-- thank you! I know our scores aren't anything to be proud of, but we did pass, and without your assistance that would not have happened.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Renewal
Life goes on. Despite thinking at times that it cannot, or that things will never be the same, the truth is: they never are the same. And still, life goes on.
My life has taken turns that I never expected. Some have been challenging, some thrilling and some terribly sad. To do less than look forward to the challenges of tomorrow would dishonor the memory of the wonderful people and brilliant dogs I have know. You know, of course, that I am still thinking of Jinx. We planted a tree in her memory that a schutzhund friend gave us, scattering some of her ashes there so that Jinx would live and grow again. It is a lovely baby blue spruce, planted so that we can see it from the living and dining room. It will give shelter to birds, and I can already envision decorating it at Christmas. Thank you, Chuck, for a gift that celebrates life.
As sad as that loss has been, if I would have stopped loving when I lost Eros, I would not have loved Sofie; if I had stopped at Sofie, there would be no Digit, no Quinn and no Jinx. And if I refused to surrender my heart after Jinx, there would be nothing for Cooper or Ridley or the dogs that may come after them.
The other day a man I know said that if his current young dog had bad hips, that would be it for him. That he couldn't or wouldn't handle another dog. I have to admit that this has never crossed my mind. To toss away all the good, all the lessons for one or even two set-backs? I have had more unexpected injuries, illnesses and issues than I have fingers on both hands. I don't know that I am more of an optimist than many, but I do know that l refuse to stop living, to stop learning and looking forward to tomorrow. I fully expect that a good dog will be at my side.
After taking time to reflect, the sad little faces of my under-worked dogs beckoned me. I started a walking regiment and every morning this week have taken a dog for a walk on the local recreational trail. I imagine the walks Jinx and I took there with fondness as I lay down new footprints, matched in step by a set of pawprints. I'm quite certain that sometimes, in the outer fringes of my vision, I see a malinois matching pace.
My life has taken turns that I never expected. Some have been challenging, some thrilling and some terribly sad. To do less than look forward to the challenges of tomorrow would dishonor the memory of the wonderful people and brilliant dogs I have know. You know, of course, that I am still thinking of Jinx. We planted a tree in her memory that a schutzhund friend gave us, scattering some of her ashes there so that Jinx would live and grow again. It is a lovely baby blue spruce, planted so that we can see it from the living and dining room. It will give shelter to birds, and I can already envision decorating it at Christmas. Thank you, Chuck, for a gift that celebrates life.
As sad as that loss has been, if I would have stopped loving when I lost Eros, I would not have loved Sofie; if I had stopped at Sofie, there would be no Digit, no Quinn and no Jinx. And if I refused to surrender my heart after Jinx, there would be nothing for Cooper or Ridley or the dogs that may come after them.
The other day a man I know said that if his current young dog had bad hips, that would be it for him. That he couldn't or wouldn't handle another dog. I have to admit that this has never crossed my mind. To toss away all the good, all the lessons for one or even two set-backs? I have had more unexpected injuries, illnesses and issues than I have fingers on both hands. I don't know that I am more of an optimist than many, but I do know that l refuse to stop living, to stop learning and looking forward to tomorrow. I fully expect that a good dog will be at my side.
After taking time to reflect, the sad little faces of my under-worked dogs beckoned me. I started a walking regiment and every morning this week have taken a dog for a walk on the local recreational trail. I imagine the walks Jinx and I took there with fondness as I lay down new footprints, matched in step by a set of pawprints. I'm quite certain that sometimes, in the outer fringes of my vision, I see a malinois matching pace.
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