Aragon Greyhounds

Echo's Second CD leg

2012-01-26T07:23:00.000-08:00

At the obedience show last week I arrived with no treats, no camera, no video, no lunch and no snacks-either people or dog. Talk about unprepared and then flustered when I realized everything was sitting on my kitchen counter. Luckily friends came to the rescue. One went to the grocery store for dog rewards(most important) and one took the video of her novice routine and one calmed me down. It was a day to be remembered-not often the goldens, shelties and border collies place below the greyhound in obedience.

Thank you Kathy, Susan and Terry for saving the day-and my sanity.

Echo's CD

2012-01-18T18:38:00.001-08:00

Whisper came along and spoiled me to expect attention while heeling. I love a dog that looks at my face rather than at my feet while working. Whisper came by it naturally so I never had to teach this behavior. I decided my next dog would have attention training and learn to work with their head up and a bounce in their step.

It started early with Echo. As a puppy I would hold a treat in front of her and move it out to the side. Of course a dog naturally follows the food but she wouldn't get the treat until she looked at me. Over time she learned to hold her look longer to get the reward. We progressed to moving(with food in my mouth) for longer and longer periods of time. The result-a dog who heels with their head up and happy.

We also worked on teaching heel position from all different angles. If the dog gets out of heel position they need to know how to find it again. In Echo's video her first halt on leash is slightly ahead of me and she moves back into heel position to sit. She gets distracted in the offleash heeling by the noise of an exhibitor dropping items on the floor but quickly catches up and gets herself back into heel position.

She earned her CD in three straight shows with a 198(1st place), a 197.5(first place) and a 197(third place). This was the second day of a two day trial for her CD. I am proud of her and her work ethic.

She is now Ch Aragon Black Ice VCD1 RE. A VCD1 title is CD+TD+NA+NAJ

Basic Puppy Obedience

2012-01-13T16:54:00.000-08:00

Breeze is Whisper's 5.5 month old puppy. One thing I like about Whisper's litter is their responsiveness to human voice and desire to work. When I evaluate a litter I look for the puppy that immediately turns and looks to a human voice and offers eye contact. All of Whisper's litter showed these traits.

Breeze learned to look and come quickly to her name. I also love her eye contact. Does she know her name or is she just responding to my voice? This was the first time I had asked her to work in a public place and there was a distracting little white dog running off leash just out of sight of the video. I am pleased she ignored it-for the most part-to pay attention to me.

She also is learning to sit and down on command as well as learning the basic steps of heeling. I have been using a clicker to mark the response(sit or down) that I want but I forgot to bring it to the park for this training.

I teach puppy heeling a little differently than an adult. With a puppy I have them come forward to me for a toy with all four feet on the ground. Then I quickly turn and have them heel to my side. This begins to teach them to heel with their head up. The toy gets them interactive/excited with me but they don't get it unless they come quickly with all four feet on the ground. Then the toy appears and they get to tug/play. This is only the second time we have attempted a turn and few step heel. Overall she did great despite the distractions.

Echo's Turn

2012-01-07T17:52:00.001-08:00

Echo has been training in agility since she was a youngster. Initally she enjoyed it but last year just as I was getting ready to enter her in a trial she hit a jump-and hit it hard. She cried and was lame for a while. Well that did it in her mind for agility. It would hurt her and was not to be played again. Having learned from her mother Lyric I gave her a long time off of training. She would come to class but only watch. After several months she cautiously would run agility but often would duck out of scary jumps. Slowly over time her willingness increased until by New Years Eve I was ready to try with her.

Three shows three standard legs all with a first place for her NA and three jumpers legs all with a second place for her NAJ.

And best of all she seemed to have fun. It was a good confidence builder for her.

More Agility

2011-12-28T22:26:00.000-08:00

It seems like all we are doing these days is agility. That will change shortly as we venture go into obedience and tracking season.

Along with Lyric last week Whisper ran in Excellent as well. She earned another QQ-that makes 6 towards her MACH2 and she had lots of fun. My timing was off with Whisper too that weekend and we had a crash into each other. It cost us a refusal at the weavepoles and thus our QQ that day. It is frustrating in that no matter how much practice or walking the course, stupid mistakes happen. It makes it more understandable when the dogs make a mistake-they have bad days and timing too!

A few fun runs with Whisper

I love her victory leap/circle at the end of her last run.

New OA

2011-12-23T19:01:00.001-08:00

Lyric has officially disliked agility since she got hurt in a tunnel 4.5 years ago. She also has always had a hard time with the tire jump-and I can't figure why or how to retrain it. She kicks the tire with her back feet and doesn't like it. She retired from agility thereafter to watch Whisper and Echo train. After watching for so long she seemed willing to try again so this fall I started splitting Echo's class with Lyric. She remembered everything we trained as a youngster and more. But agility is a game for the handler AND dog AND teamwork.

She ran Novice agility well but hesitant. As the courses got harder in Open I wasn't sure what she would do. She tried and tried hard and earned her title in three shows with three legs, one first place and two second places. Our teamwork was rusty and the second day we crashed into each other after the A frame but she kept trying and went on to make a particularly hard weavepole entrance.

By the third day she was obviously getting tired but still kept trying and qualified again with a second place. I realized she and I had never practiced a series of jumps to the table and then stick/stay the table. I noticed in the videos after jumps I would send her to the table tell her to stay and lean back as if to keep her on the table-well whatever it worked! She was able to jump and hold her table position.

I am as proud of Lyric's Open title knowing how hard it was for her to accomplish as I am of Whisper's runs.

And now for some much needed rest

Ch Aragon Morning Mist CD RA

2011-12-18T20:07:00.000-08:00

When I went to Helen’s in early 2009 to decide on a puppy from Lyric’s litter, I was very interested in one that I could show in competitive obedience. All my other obedience trained Greyhounds were adults when I started with them--I really wanted to start with a puppy. At 8 weeks Becca was the puppy that followed me around Helen's yard. She would check in with me as we explored the back yard together. Since she obviously had chosen me how could I not choose her? So she came home with me at 9 wks of age.

After obedience classes and Rally competition, we decided to get “serious” and pursue her CD title. At the Greyhound Club Specialty in July, she went High in Trial with a score of 189, and then at the Greyhound Club of Northern California Specialty in October, she earned a 2nd place with a score of 192. At the Valley Hills All Breed Obedience Trial on December 10, Becca finished her CD title with a 184.5, and as a couple of extra “bonuses” thrown in, she earned a 3rd place in the Novice B class with 16 entries and was High Scoring Hound at the Trial that day. Thank you Becca, for making me so proud.

Darby Gets Published!!

2011-12-15T15:13:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago Kira Stackhouse of Nuena Photography contacted me about having one of my greyhounds be the AKC purebred representative in her new hardcover book Project Dog!

Kira is a very talented and creative photographer based in San Francisco. In June of 2011 she left her full-time marketing job to pursue this project, and it is completely a labor of love. Love for dogs!!! Kira had over 4,000 submissions from all over the country (and more than a few out of the country) Nearly 1,000 of those entries were from the SF/Bay area. Project Dog is a 'coffee table style' book that features over 170 purebred dogs, one page for the AKC registered representative, and the opposite page for the purebred rescue/adopted representative of the breed. The entire book is over 300 pages of beautiful photography and a complete question/answer biography for each chosen dog! We were SO HONORED that she chose us!!

We met Kira in San Francisco at the California Museum of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, the setting she chose for Darby's photo shoot. It was raining, of course.

San Francisco in October = rain. Yuck. But it didn't stop Darby's enthusiasm. He pranced and strutted around at the end of his leash and sighted every single squirrel in the park. He schmoozed Kira and anyone hardy enough to be out strolling in the rain. He slowed down just long enough to pose and have Kira shoot some photos through the rain. When we got home, dry and warm, Darby and I sat down and filled out the questionnaire for the biography and then sat back and waited. After a few days Kira sent us the proof for his page.

Here's Darby Crash's spread in the book;

All total, it took Kira over a year of hard work, but the book is finally done! It went to print about 4 weeks ago, and the first 100 copies were delivered for Project Dog's official launch party Saturday at Wags Hotel (a posh doggy daycare and overnight dog-care hotel) in San Francisco. Darby Crash was one of the 50 dogs chosen for the runway show at the peak of the party!! We'll get to pick up our copies of the book while we're there. I'm so tickled.....Darby is in a real book!

For any dog lover, greyhound or otherwise, this is a fantastic book. The photography is creative and professional, but what's even better are the biographies and personal stories of each and every dog in the book. You start out looking at the pictures of all the different breeds, but then you get drawn into each dog's unique story. Before you know it you've spent an hour reading and haven't really gotten past the breeds starting with the letter C! If you're interested in getting one for yourself or someone you know who loves dogs, go to The Project Dog Book Page (hyperlink to http://nuena.com/projectdog) and order one. You will not be disappointed, and somewhere in there, Darby Crash will be staring back at you from his very own page! (by the way, if you flip through the sample spreads on the book order page, Darby's spread is the second sample!)

More Agility

2011-12-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

The same weekend Lyric earned her NA Whisper earned 3 QQs and more class placements. When I started agility with Whisper my goal was to try to earn a MACH. Along the way agility has become so fun that we are now working on our MACH2. In the last 6 trials we have managed to earn 5 QQs and numerous points. It now is a game to see if we can beat our previous best times and to try more distance handling. Generally the two go hand in hand. We are getting faster but I find I handle more cautiously in a trial, especially if a QQ is possible, than in class. I need to learn to let go and let her fly. Agility is a learning game for the handler as well as the dog.

She seems to have more and more fun running agility as both she and I gain confidence and experience running together.

New NA and VCD1

2011-12-04T20:01:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving we had a three day agility trial. Since Lyric has been willing to run agility again I decided to enter her in Novice Standard. We have had tire issues-she hits it with her back feet-for years. I stopped showing her the tire until after she got her Excellent Jumpers title. She is now very willing to jump the tire but hits it with her back feet-it is not pretty.

Well she qualified all three days with all first places to earn her NA. She also earned her VCD1(CD+TD+NAJ+NA). She is only the fourth greyhound to earn this performance title.

She is now SBIS GCh Aryal Aroi Stoney Ridge VCD1 RE AXJ SC

Puppies First Lure Course

2011-11-27T19:53:00.001-08:00

So far most of Whisper's puppies have had a chance to see and run the lure. At this age(four months) of course the introduction to the lure is very brief- short with no turns. They get to chase and catch the lure-lots of fun and reward. They next get to see the lure many many months later. Below are brief clips of several of the puppies encounter with the lure. All but one puppy is ready to chase it!!

Aragon Northern Lights aka Breeze

Aragon Tidal Wave aka Kahlua

Aragon Desert Willow aka Willa

Aragon Full Moon Rising aka Riser

Aragon Wind In The Willows aka Willow

Agility Fun

2011-11-23T23:13:00.000-08:00

Last weekend when Lyric earned her AXJ was a three day weekend of agility. The trial started Friday night with Excellent only classes offer. The following two days offered all levels of competition. Not only did Lyric do well but Whisper had a blast running, earning her first two QQs towards her MACH2 and 96 MACH points.

She earned her fastest speed to date in Standard on the second day with this run. She was 27 seconds under course time.

I am happy she is excited AND holding her contacts so well.

Agility Videos

2011-11-19T17:44:00.001-08:00

Lyric earned her third Excellent Jumpers leg her first time back in the ring since her injury. She tore her lateral collateral toe ligament again last February and has been out for months with surgery and rehab. She doesn't like the hot weather-and Whisper had puppies this summer so we took a long break from agility.
This is her first attempt at her third leg. She did it and under course time.

I also ran Whisper in the same course-it feels strange to run two dogs in the same class now.

New AXJ

2011-11-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

This weekend Whisper, Lyric and I went to a three day agility trial. As the weather was starting to cool down I decided to enter Lyric in agility again and see how she did. She earned her third leg with a second place and her AXJ title.

After the trial she was exhausted and required her beauty sleep!
Video to follow.

SBIS GCh Aryal Aroi Stoney Ridge CD TD RE AXJ SC

Echo's Weekend

2011-11-09T21:18:00.001-08:00

Echo had a great weekend at the DelValle Kennel Club and Greyhound Club of Northern California shows. On Saturday the Greyhound Club of Northern California had its specialty. It started the event with 6 obedience entries. Not only did Echo earn her first leg towards her CD her first time in the ring, she went High In Trial with a 198. Unfortunately the video got deleted. She may rival Whisper in obedience. Her sister Becca also earned her second leg towards her CD.

Then later in the day was conformaton. Echo earned an Award of Merit. Her brother Darby went Best Op Sex and her sister Bryn went Select Bitch. So it was all in the family.

The next day was DelValle Kennel Club the all breed dog show. Echo was entered in Rally Excellent and earned her third leg for her Rally Excellent title with a three tie for first place. Way to go Echo. I think she is starting to grow up.

Training

2011-10-30T19:36:00.001-07:00

Emma and Goose are learning some new skills for their future performance careers. Big dogs have to learn how to handle their bodies in both obedience and agility.
Costa and Janet have taught both of them how to handle and move their rear legs independant of the front legs. Last week Donna and I went over to visit them and the puppies immediately ran to the stool to show off what they have learned. They love playing this game. I like to call it the "stool dance".

Puppy Reunion

2011-10-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

The Whisper pups are growing and getting into mischief. They recently had a small reunion at Helen's house. We thought you might enjoy some pics of them getting together and playing. They really enjoyed the chance to run and frolic together again!

The puppies are 13 weeks in these pictures and weigh around 30lbs. The only two puppies that are not represented in these photos are Willa (Smudge/Jewels) who moved to New Mexico and Bruce (MJ) who is in Washington state.

MACH Runs

2011-10-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

With all the puppies off to their new home, things are settling down in the house and I can start focusing on my dogs again. Since Whisper's MACH runs haven't been posted yet I will start with a little bit about them.

Whisper was back competing in agility exactly 9 weeks to the day after having and raising 9 puppies. We had exactly one lesson of practice together since mid June when she started feeling pregnant. I went into the ring with very little expectations of a QQ and was amazed she and I could do it. We look alittle rusty together, not quite reading each others cues but she is an amazing dog and pulled it off.

The MACH has been the hardest title I have put on a dog-and the most fun.
I am so proud of you Whisper!

Puppies New Homes

2011-09-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

At eight weeks the puppies started leaving for their new homes. It was a sad day to see them leave but a happy day to know new families were waiting to add them to their life and home.

MJ now known as Aragon Helios Blue Spruce or "Bruce" is owned by Sheryl Bartel and Chris Mott of Helios greyhounds. He has several great aunts(dogs) to teach him the ropes.

Little Wisp now known as Aragon Northern Lights or "Breeze" is staying with me.

Brodie now known as Aragon ??? or "Goose" and Bluebell now known as Aragon Emerald Hills or "Emma" are now running the home of Costa Colbert and Janet Stringer.

Dove now know as Aragon Tidal Wave or "Kahlua Kai" is owned by Shelby Bond. She is her first show dog and she is looking forward to to venturing into the show world.

Jewels or Smudge(she has two names) is now known as Aragon Desert Storm or "Freyja". She is owned by the Janice and Ed Senior who also have Lyric's two brothers. She is waiting to go to her new home soon.

Bret is now known as Aragon Full Moon Rising or "Riser". He is owned and loved by Marie and Tommy Hamilton who also have his relative Bryn.

Batman now known as Aragon Eye of the Storm or "Thor" and Midnight now known as Aragon Wind in the Willows or "Willow" are are owned and loved by the Catherine and Leonard Dumas as well as Haley and Drew. The puppies may teach Drew and Haley how to be Junior Handlers.

Whisper got her MACH!

2011-09-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today, Whisper earned the final QQ she needed for her MACH! This makes her only the third greyhound to earn a MACH and the first greyhound with a conformation championship to earn a MACH!

MACH Ch Aragon Lunar Eclipse VCD2 TDX RE JC

More details about the trial and hopefully some pictures and video will be forthcoming!

Breeze and Freyja

2011-09-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

And then there were two. All the puppies have left for their new homes but Freyja(aka Jewels) and of course my puppy Breeze(aka Little Wisp-collar on). In the next post all the new owners and their puppies will be presented.
In the meantime the two puppies are having a blast playing and chasing each other.

Final Week

2011-09-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

The pups have been busy growing and gaining independence. Here are a few short videos and photos of what they have been up to.

Developing their gymnast skills.

Perfecting their future agility star skills.

Learning to eat raw food.

Honing their wrestling skills.

Spending quality time playing with Mom.

Taking lots of naps to conserve energy for use at their new homes.

A busy busy day

2011-09-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

The puppies had a very busy day today!

They had their first outing. We put 2 pups at a time in a crate in the van and drove them to a local pet store. Each pup rode in a shopping cart (to minimize exposure to pathogens) for a trip around the store. Lots of treats were dispensed and they got to meet some very friendly strangers too. It was interesting to compare their reaction to this trip with the scores they received on their puppy temperament test (they were tested using Shelia Booth's Positive Puppy Preview).

Once they came home they got to play in a tunnel. These puppies are developing a real respect for agility equipment!

In addition the tunnel, they have have some balance discs in their pen. They have been romping on them all week. Today we gave some of them treats for getting all 4 feet up on the balance disc so that we could get some decent video. They seemed to really enjoy the challenge of getting on and staying on!

With so much activity, everyone crashed out at the end of the day. Tomorrow will bring another adventure!

Seven Weeks and Counting!

2011-09-04T23:08:00.001-07:00

The pups are now 7 weeks old. They have one more week with the puppy pack before they go to their new homes.

Here is a day in the life of an Aragon puppy.

Greeting old friends and getting to know new ones.

Playing with siblings.

Eating together as a family.

Learning some lessons from Mom.

Ending a busy day with a nap.

Ch Aragon Mystic Pearl

2011-08-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

Bryn earned her championship last weekend at the Reno Kennel Club shows! This makes Lyric's litter an all champion litter.

She was a beautiful puppy!

She is a gorgeous adult!

Congrats to Marie, Tom and Bryn for achieving this goal!

Puppy party!

2011-08-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Whisper's litter enjoyed a puppy party. It's a great way to socialize the pups with other people. A few the soon to be owners were there trying to get a feel for who each the pups are and to think about which one might be coming home with them!

Here are a variety of of pics of the pups enjoying the party! They are a tad over 4 weeks here.

Becca's Lompoc Report

2011-08-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

Less is Sometimes More When Training - from Donna and Becca

Becca and I have taken a break from obedience training for the past couple of months due to a variety of life events. When the entry deadline approached for the obedience trial at the Greyhound Club of America Specialty in Lompoc, I hesitated to enter Becca. However, I also wanted to support the Club! Eventually, I went ahead and entered her in Novice B.

It is said that 99% of the missed points in the obedience ring are the handler's fault. This day was no exception. I was pretty nervous at the trial and made the same mistake not once but TWICE while in the ring! I anticipate the command to halt at the end of both the on- and the off-leash heeling. Sigh. Nonetheless, Becca did what she was asked to do and we still qualified! Thus she earned the first leg of the three she needs for her CD (Companion Dog title). I was very proud of her!

The next day, there was a lure coursing trial that Becca and I went to watch. Since Becca seemed so keen on the lure, I took advantage of the fun runs after the trial. It was a nice way to “reward” for her performance the day before. Slipping Becca was like releasing a tightly wound rubber band. She had great follow and was blazing fast. It was amazing to see her perform on the field as only a greyhound can. I am now contemplating pursuing some field titles with her. She is in complete agreement!

At the end of that day, she was definitely tired. I enjoyed the contented look on her sweet face as she dreamt about catching that “bunny”.

Pupdate Day 19

2011-08-10T07:38:00.000-07:00

The pups are pretty active and starting to play.

Jewels

Dove

Bret and Brodie

The puppy pile

Jewels from the top

Dove

Dove says hello to Echo

Bluebell and Bret

Batman

Batman is leaving the box with a little help from Echo.

Puppy video

2011-08-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

Taken when they were 6 days old. You gotta love the adorable little squeaks and grunts. These pups are all quite active as well. Future puppy owners, look out! You are going to have your hands full!

The pups are three weeks old today. We will be uploading more pictures and videos this weekend!

Obedience Prospect?

2011-07-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

One of the obedience problems greyhounds have is their reluctance to sit or down on hard surfaces for any length of time.
Perhaps if they start young enough or they think it is their own idea it will make it easier. Jewels found her own sleeping area away from the pack. Maybe she won't mind the long sit or down on a less than ideal surface?

Broken Tail

2011-07-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

Greyhound injuries seem to happen when you least expect it. Lyric is not a busy dog nor hard on her body. We all have been having alot of down time from dog shows and training since Whisper has had her puppies. Well I came home one night and noticed Lyric had broken her tail. How is a mystery since she had sleeping most of the day on the couch.

At least as far as injuries go it is relatively minor. Johnson and Johnson clear tape wrapped several times over the fracture and extending above and below the injury typically "sets" it in a normal position. The tape is replaced only if needed. After several weeks the tape is removed and the tail has healed in a normal position.

Pupdate Day 4

2011-07-22T19:27:00.001-07:00

Pupdate Day 3

2011-07-21T21:54:00.001-07:00

The pups are still doing well. Whisper is a great mom! She is quite busy trying to keep up with all nine of them but doing wonderfully.

Pupdate Day 1

2011-07-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

Whisper is showing good mothering instincts. She is nursing and cleaning the pups and taking good care of them. Everyone seems to be settling in and doing well.

Here are a few first day photos of some of the puppies. The pink collars are the girls, the blue collars are the boys. Thank you Lisa for making it easy to ID puppies!

As of today we "puppy named" all the puppies. These are their call names until they go to their new home then their name changes to whatever the person wants. It prevents calling them "puppy 1" or Blue puppy etc. So when we upload pics they will be called by that name.

Puppy 1-Blue brindle boy=MJ(Merlin Junior)
Puppy 2-Black and White parti girl=Little Wisp
Puppy 3-Dark red brindle boy=Brodie
Puppy 4-Red Brindle parti girl(small color spot on rump)=Dove
Puppy 5-Red Brindle parti girl(no color spot on tail all white tail)=Jewel
Puppy 6-Dark red brindle boy=Bret
Puppy 7-Heavily marked Red brindle boy=Batman
Puppy 8-Black female=Midnight
Puppy 9-Blue brindle girl=Bluebell

Happy Birth Day!

2011-07-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

They're here! They're here! Thanks to Lisa for taking the pictures!

The litter was born via c-section. Everybody came out healthy and vigorous. Whisper is recovering nicely. We will continue to update the blog so you can overdose on puppy cuteness!

This was from before the surgery. It is important to know how many are in there before you start fishing! How many do you count?

The surgery was performed by Gary Brown, D.V.M. of Veterinary Orthopedic and Surgery Service. Here is a pic of Whisper and some of the surgery crew during pre-op. We knew Whisper was in the best hands with the crew from VOSS!

Here is the puppy crew. It is nice to have at least one person for each puppy. This way, each puppy gets the individual attention she or he deserves from the very moment it is born! Hmmm, do we have enough people?

All done. How many do you see?

In the end, we have 9 puppies! There are 5 girls and 4 boys and a nice mix of colors. There are 5 solids (2 blue brindles, 1 black, 2 dark brindles) and 4 parti's (1 black and 3 brindle). Here is the breakdown.

Here they are one at a time:

#1 Boy - Blue Brindle

#2 Girl - Black and White

#3 Boy - Dark Brindle

#4 Girl - Brindle and White

#5 Girl - Brindle and White

#6 Boy - Dark Brindle

#7 Boy - Brindle and White

#8 Girl - Black

#9 Girl - Blue Brindle
We will continue to update the blog with pictures and reports as often as we can. Come back often to get your puppy fix!

Boundaries

2011-07-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

I finally had enough of being mugged (and visitors being mugged) by our pack of Greyhounds every time the front door was opened. It was becoming more and more obnoxious as they fed off of each other's behaviour, so I decided to do something about it. The command "Perimeter" was born. Now it can be said from outside the door and you can hear them retreat to the carpeted area. They respect the word when guests arrive, retreat and wait for permission to greet. They hold "Perimeter" until the release of "okay" is given. Amazing.

Darby Crash is about the smartest in the bunch, and graciously demonstrates his understanding of the word "perimeter" when given the command in the entry hall of our house. This command has been just about the best thing they've all learned, second only to "Go Potty, NOW"
Guests in particular love to watch an entire pack of greyhounds retreat and hold their enthusiasm until they're released with the "okay" command. Sometimes we release them one at a time, which is an advanced skill the pack has learned. It's pretty awesome! Please note: normally I would not call Darby to come, and then immediately give him the perimeter command. It was done only for demonstration purposes to show how well he knows and respects the command. Also note that I'm not moving towards him when he backs up to the perimeter, he does this move on his own and keeps eye contact the entire time.

Expecting!

2011-07-11T21:06:00.000-07:00

Aragon greyhounds is pleased to announce that we are expecting another litter. You may have noticed that Whisper has had some down time recently. She was bred in May and it is official, she is expecting this week! We are expecting a litter of pretty puppies with great attitudes and abilities. Stay tuned for new puppy pictures.

Below is the proud father Ch Aroi Aryal Remarkable aka Brego .

Bryn's Solution

2011-07-02T11:01:00.000-07:00

After the last toy post Bryn requested and got a Tug A Jug toy. And she has yet a new way to get food out. She promptly ate the rope off and began tossing the jug into the air. Now she carries the toy around by its neck and throws it in the air when she wants treats. Of course all her housemates follow her around waiting for "free" treats.

Getting Close

2011-06-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

The following week we entered another agility trial in Salinas Ca. It was beautiful, old Coast Oak trees with hanging spanish moss. Wide open uncrowded venue, except for the rain it was perfect.

Saturday the rain was severe. Whisper hates the rain, I think she is afraid she may shrink into an Italian Greyhound. In fact I wasn't sure she would run in the rain. Not only did she run in the rain she won her Jumpers class.

However in Standard we accidently took the wrong jump. I got behind her in a box formation and she turned and took the wrong jump. Oh well, we tried and had fun.

The following day June 5 she earned her 19th QQ! Despite the fact she is feeling very "hormonal" and not running with her normal enthusiasm and speed.

Holding her contact position is improving.

We are getting so close to the elusive MACH.

Agility Again

2011-06-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

Whisper and I recently started competing again in agility. After her tendon was reinjured again in March and the ensuing rest, then coming into season and having to wait out the three weeks it has been along time since we have run together as a team. Many times after coming out of heat they are moody or slow for a couple of months. Whisper is no exception however slowness has worked to our advantage. She earned her 17th and 18th QQ at the TRACS trial over the memorial day weekend.

She ran in FAST as well as the regular Jumpers and Standard. Thanks to practing contacts in FAST by the 18th QQ runs I think I finally have learned how to get to her hold her contacts at a distance.

A Little Bit of Heeling

2011-06-08T07:50:00.001-07:00

Once in a while, we try to video ourselves doing obedience. This allows us to check for little things that we may be doing wrong. For example, some people have a hard time walking a straight line or might unknowingly step into the dog when they stop. I recently had a friend take some video or me working with Tanner. He really is coming along quite nicely. I like his attention to me and he does a great job getting his rear out of the way on the left turns.

The things I see in here that need some work are his right turns and his sits. He tends to drop his head a little on the right turn and often goes a bit wide. This is easily fixed with a clicker and treats. He also tends to swing his butt out a bit when he sits. Right now, I have been ignoring it in favor of rewarding a quick sit. Soon, I will start to ask him to bring his butt in as we are stopping.

Things I need to work on are using my shoulders properly to cue turns and stops as well as cleaning up small pieces of my foot work. This is easily fixed with a clicker and chocolate ;)

Holy Mackerel!

2011-05-31T21:52:00.000-07:00

Actually, this is a sardine.

Tanner loves sardines!

Once a week, Tanner gets a couple whole frozen sardines for breakfast. It is pretty funny to watch him carry them down to the bottom part of the yard to eat. Of course, I couldn't get a good picture of him carrying the sardines because he runs down there and starts chowing down immediately!

The omega-3 oils in the fish are good for his skin and coat. Plus, I like having some variety in his diet. Since he really loves the fish, it would make a great jackpot for training as long as I don't let it thaw!

Problem Solving

2011-05-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

Each dog has their unique way of approaching and solving a problem. Food toys are a great way to observe a dogs reaction and problem solving skills. Tug A Jug is a food toy my friend Tamara gave to my dogs. It has proved hours of enjoyment for the dogs and for me as well watching their ability to figure out how to earn the reward/food.

Tug A Jug

The bottom screws off, kibble or small treats are placed inside and the bottom is reattached. The food comes out the top. The dogs can carry the toy around by the rope but it blocks the food from coming out the top. So the best way to get the food is tip the bottle over without holding the rope.

Whisper quickly learned to step on the rope and spin the toy around her foot. The food would come out but in the process she would step off the toy to eat the food. Then she would have to restart the process again and again.

Echo on the other hand simply pushes the toy all around the yard, jumping on it, standing on it and pushing it with her nose. All of these efforts make noise which she likes and makes the toy spin away from her. She and the toy will go all around the yard during the process. It takes quite a while to get all the treats out of the toy.

Lyric has the most efficient style of all. She simply lays on the lawn, picks the jug up in her mouth and shakes the treats out. Quick efficient minimal energy exerted and she is ready for more.

Movie Star

2011-05-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

Due to her recent celebrity status Becca has had to start going out in disguise. Because of her responsiveness to strangers, trainablity and photogenic appearance, she has gotten a call to another photo shot. Stay tuned.

Light!! Camera!! Action!! Becca Does Hollywood (By Donna aka Becca's Stage Mom)

2011-05-14T22:04:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail via my obedience club that an agency was looking for a greyhound to be in a Comcast website filming that will be used at their trade shows. I promptly sent off photos and Becca was selected!! Her role was to run across a 60-ft stage so they could film her in action.

The film people wanted the lighting and every foot step just perfect so this involved MANY re-takes, but no problem for her, especially with her energy level. After a couple of short practice runs, Gregg (from the animal agency) held her at one end of the stage, and I did an obedience recall toward me. She continued to run toward me enthusiastically through ALL the re-takes. A couple of times as she was running by the camera which was on a set of tracks parallel to where she was running, her head turned and she looked directly at the camera with a big smile on her face and never missed a step.

When the crew replayed it, there was much laughing about her "look at me" attitude!! They were able to replay a couple of the takes for me--these were in slow motion--seeing a Greyhound run like that is pure poetry in motion and it means even more when that Greyhound is your loving companion. It was such a fun day, and I was so proud of Becca and her performance--she received a round of applause from the crew when we finished up with the filming.

Echo's RA title

2011-05-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

We entered another obedience/rally trial with Davis Dog Training Club in Dixon. The grounds were a nice quiet residential park. She did well and earned her third RA leg with a 96. All in all she was a bit less motivated and laggy than two weeks earlier. Still she tried and until the Come Front and Heel Right sign only had a few lags. On that sign she got confused, came in front and then started back into heel position on the left. So a redo cost us 3 pts. All in all though a good trial.

Greyhound Specialty and Rally

2011-04-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the Greyhound Club of Northern California specialty. It is in conjunction with an all breed show so all performance venues(obedience and rally) are with all the other breeds. Bryn went Winners Bitch for her second major and 3 more points. She was the only Aragon dog to win anything in conformation that day. Lyric and Echo went unplaced but had a good time. The next day however Lyric won the breed.

The highlight of the show was Echo's performance in Rally Advance. This was her first time in the class and the first time off leash in competition. She not only worked with me the whole time but held her attention as well. She won the class over Border collies, goldens and other "typical" obedience breeds. It certainly was unexpected.

The next day she was in again but it was tight squeeze to run from the conformation ring to the Rally ring. As I ran up to the Rally ring they were calling for us and consequently we had no time to warm up. Once again she performed beyond what I could have hoped for. Half way through the video notice the rain. She stayed with me and worked the entire time. Once again she won the class with a perfect score of 100. Way to go Echo-I think the distractable puppy is finally growing up!!

TDX Part 2

2011-04-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

A tracking test takes alot of people and time to put on the event. The San Joaquin Dog Training Club Tracking Trial offered 5 TDX tracks plus 1 alternate track and 7 TD tracks. All in all it took about 25 club members, judges and two days of work to host the event. A big Thank You to the club!

Whisper drew 4th track of the day, the wait seemed for hours and the day started warming up. Warm weather ages the track faster amd makes for harder tracking conditions. All the dogs before her had failed their tracks for one reason or another.

Hers was the only track that we had to drive forever to the start. The drive out seemed like miles of dirt roads and rolling hills. At one point a stream/small river crossed the road and the bottom of the road wasn't visable. Not having 4 wheel drive in my van I held my breathe and crossed the steam imagining what would happen if my van got stuck in water in the middle of no where. We made it and continued driving and driving to the start. We were so far away from base camp only the judges and tracklayer were at the start flag waiting for us to arrive.

At a TDX start the track direction is unknown, the dog has to figure out which way to start. Whisper started off with confidence she knew the direction. Allowing the line to go out 20 feet I followed her. She easily found and made the first turn. On her second leg she stopped and as I sent her on to continue tracking she picked up her first intermediate artcle. Luckily she did as articles are not always visable. If the dog/handler team pass any article without the handler picking it up the team fails. So far so good. The third leg went up a steep steep hill, panting after her I realized I wasn't in as good a shape as I had been in years past. Up the hill then down the hill, turn into a forest and major milk thistle weeds. She didn't want to go through the thistle and came back to ask if I really wanted her to. Yes she needed to go and off she went.

Intense concentration is needed by both the dog and owner during the track. Watching the dogs tracking behavior is important to stay on track. Is the dog crittering(no), going off on cross tracks(no), past a corner and indicating loss of track(no), what is the wind doing to the track scent(?), roads may not be crossed directly but at an angle or paralleled-if the dog can't find the track did she/he search 360 degrees around the handler to figure out what happened to the track? That and a myriad of other concerns are always in the handlers mind tracking.

Whisper made it easy, she did the entire track with no help. Turns were spot on, articles indicated and picked up, roads crossed and track picked up on the opposite side with no help. Except for following along behind her I did very little and was suprised when the track ended, it seemed too short and easy. In fact when she stopped tracking on the 7th leg I didn't think we were done and tried to send her on tracking. She picked up the glove looked at me and tried to toss it at me.
We were done and the first team to pass that day.

TDX !

2011-04-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

The journey to Whisper's TDX is finally over-she earned it at the San Joaquin Dog Training Club trial April 10. The grounds were beautiful-the Comanche Hills Hunting Preserve in Ione Ca.

To earn a TDX title a dog has to follow a 3-5 hour old track for 800-1000 yards. Along the way they have to identify all the articles dropped by the track layer(3 plus the start article), ignore cross tracks which are fresher easier scent to follow and overcome significant obstacles(road crossings, steep hills, downed trees, water crossings etc). Trouble in any one of these areas will cause the dog to fail. Although I have earned several TDXs on my greyhounds it is never an easy title and typically takes my greyhounds about 30 minutes of intense concentration to complete the track.

This was our third attempt at a TDX trial. The previous two trials we made it to the second to the last leg before failing. The tracking pictures were from a previous trial as I had no one to take pictures at this trial.

The day was beautiful although we drew fourth track and by the time it had aged sufficently it was starting to warm up. She started strongly and never looked back, 13 minutes and 858 yards later we found the glove and she earned her TDX.

After all the dogs had run their tracks a pot luck was held the club and awards given out to the dogs that successfully completed their track. TDX trials typically have a pass rate of around 15% athough the trial that day 3/6 dogs earned their TDX.

Ch Aragon Lunar Eclipse VCD2 RE MX MXJ TDX NF JC (and Echo)

Shout out to Jen and Riley

2011-04-04T18:29:00.001-07:00

Recently, our friend Jen from Never Say Never Greyhounds and her greyhound Riley were invited to compete in agility at the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge.

They did a great job and Riley really showed everyone how competitive a greyhound can be. Jen is a great trainer in both agility and obedience and has been very successful with her greyhounds. You can read all about her experience at the challenge on her blog.

Small Dog Play

2011-03-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

In January, I had the honor of watching a friend's PBGV puppy for a long weekend. Rosanne was about 6 months old at the time. I was a little concerned about whether she would survive the weekend in my house with a giant doofus. Tanner loves to play with other dogs but the height and weight differential between him and Rosanne was large!

For the first couple of days, I left Rosanne in a short x-pen in the living room when I had the big dogs out. This way, they could get acquainted through and over the pen but she would not get squished. I also kept her on leash when outside so that she wouldn't run away and get mowed down. Tanner is a pretty laid back guy but when his chase instinct kicks in, all bets are off!

Eventually, they had interacted enough that I was confident that he would listen if she told him to back off. I let them play in my living room where she could get away if need be but there wasn't enough room for her to get the zoomies. I also kept reminding Tanner to lay down to play with her instead of squishing her. He did a great job! It helps that she was also able to stay under control. I do not like to let puppies get above threshold when they play!

I did not let Shine play with Tanner and Rosanne. You can hear her towards the end of this clip starting to whine from being left out. Don't worry, I was giving her treats for staying out of the way! In most cases, it is best to have even pairs of dogs or just two out at a time. It keeps them from ganging up on each other and allows them to modify their play for each other.

It is nice to have a dog that is small-dog savvy and able to interact appropriately with other dogs! I think Tanner and Rosanne will be life-long friends!

Tanner + Oregon Winter = Wet Dog

2011-03-22T22:43:00.001-07:00

Many greyhounds do not like to get wet. In fact, Tanner does not like to go outside to potty when it is raining (but I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone). Here is proof that Tanner does not melt when he gets wet. In fact, I think he kind of likes it!

Doggy Discrimination - a tale by Tanner and Tamara

2011-03-16T22:27:00.000-07:00

Tanner knows how to do a nose touch to my hand (cue=touch) as well as a paw whack (cue=five). However, when I hold my hand out for either of these cues, it looks relatively the same. How does Tanner know what I want? He learned to wait for the cue!

I wanted Tanner to have excellent stimulus control (I only want him to offer the behavior in the presence of the cue) on these two behaviors for a couple reasons:

It can be annoying for him to constantly paw at me or try to put his nose in my hand every time I hold it out.
Teaching him to wait for the cue also teaches him self control.
It was challenging for me to teach.
It makes him use his brain. (watch for the steam towards the end of the video)

I started putting in sub headings in the pertinent points but then faded them out. A few things to point out; I often click Tanner for not responding to the hand alone, I want him to wait for the cue! When he makes a mistake, I take my hand back, pause a beat, then try again. If he does not respond at all, I take my hand back thus ending the possibility of getting a reward, pause a beat, then try again.

I do not tell him "No" when he does the wrong thing. I don't want to punish him for trying. Why? Because a dog that is not afraid to try things is easier to train. Besides, he "gets it" without the aversives!

Another thing to note is that both of these behaviors were trained pretty fluently at home. We have taken them "on the road" and used them in other situations as well. However, this is the first time I have asked him to discriminate outside the house. We are at our local dog training gym, a place very familiar to him. Although he does not hesitate or make mistakes at home, you can see that this environment is a bit distracting and he has to work a bit harder to concentrate.

Hey, I created a thinking dog! How about that?!

Darby Learns to Track

2011-03-12T22:05:00.001-08:00

Darby on one of his first tracks. He is still learning what scent means. Typically at this stage of learning three short tracks are laid. The tracks are double laid and with lots of food drops. In the beginning the dog is of course following the food drops. At first they are wandering along the track looking for food drops and wondering what is going on. The handler is keeping them on the track on a short leash. Somewhere along the line the dog recognizes scent and their behavior changes. As the transistion is made they are following the footsteps and often time skipping some of the food drops. It helps dogs to learn tracking by starting in tall vegetation. The tracking conditions/learning conditions are quite poor this year. This year the rains have been late and sparse so the vegetation is quite low.

Agility Marathon

2011-03-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

Every weekend the month of February had agility trials. After a month I am glad to take a break. Our last weekend was a good one, we earned another QQ. She is running fast and happy. Our trainer, Nancy Gyes, suggestion to play play play outside the ring with her, run into the ring at the last minute, then quickly get into position and release her has made Whisper run better. She is more focused and faster. The Jumpers run had a tricky weavepole entry. When the dog comes blasting out of the tunnel they are faced with the second weavepole and many dogs were NQ by entering incorrectly. Although our handling of the weaves was not graceful, we managed it and Qed.

The Standard run was fairly straight forward but I often can't get ahead in time to front cross and end up rear crossing. The tunnel to the jump is an excellent example, I meant to front cross before the jump but couldn't get there in time. One of the fun things about agility is thinking on your feet. No matter how many times you walk the course to plan your strategy, you have to be prepared to change tactics in a millisecond.

MACH Goal
Points-800
QQs-16

The Weekend Part 2

2011-02-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

In addition to tracking last weekend we had 2 days of agility. At least agility went better-2 more QQs and 79 MACH points. We are now maxed out for points and are just looking for QQs.

The first day was cold and Whisper ran well. Notice her collar in the first two runs-it has been been my obedience/performance collar since the early 1990s-Merlin's and Jesse's era. Stolen along with its mate that night at the hotel with all my dog stuff. The jumpers run had her fastest course time to date. She earned 17 MACH points and a 4th place. Her speed was 5.78 yards/sec. Love her weavepole entrances!!!

The standard course was fun and fast. Interesting opening sequence-the decision whether to do a lead out pivot or serpentine the two jumps. Since I wanted to do left handed weavepoles to nail the tunnel entrance I chose to serpentine the two jumps. Funny to watch her rear end in the weavepoles. We are still struggling on the A frame contact though.

The day after the tracking trial another QQ but she is not wearing the collar. Her Jumpers run was very good with a 3rd place but no video available. The standard run she earned a 2nd place and 33 MACH points. We don't have a table lead out and it is obvious we need to work on it. It almost caused us to NQ. Love her weavepoles.

Except for the tracking theft a fun weekend.

Tracking

2011-02-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was one day of agility followed the next day by a TDX test and the last day back to agility again. Agility will be posted in a later blog.
The night before the TDX test my van was broken into and all my dog equipment was stolen, obedience training bag, cool coats, hiking boots, tracking harness,line and fanny pack etc. Everything needed for the test that day as well as all my obedience training gear. I was shocked then furious that someone would take things that have no value except to a dog person. My tracking harness I had had since the late 1980s and had 5 TDXs and 8 TDs on it. My dumbbell had earned 5 CDXs on my dogs. I found out all the hotels in the area were hit that night.

The tracking people were great, everyone came to the rescue and I can't thank the tracking community enough. Whisper wore a German Shepherd's tracking harness, a sheltie's tracking line, a Corgi's fanny pack and boots. People even offered gloves and socks although I had those items. Needless to say I wasn't in a great mood to start the track and I think it carried down the line to Whisper. She didn't want to track that day either. We went to the start line and barely got off the line. She picked up interest as the track went on although kept coming back to me. We found 3 out of the 4 articles, crossed the road twice and paralleled the road once before we ran into trouble we couldn't overcome. She was tracking along side the road in a direction I was worried was wrong and put tension on the line to ask if she was sure. She came off, came back to me and never found the track again. I found out later we were on the track but Whisper must have read my insecurity and tension and stopped. We had completed all but the last 1 1/2 legs of the track-hard to come so close but to fail.

As upset as I was when I discovered everything was stolen I didn't get any photos of the test so the hotel photos will have to add insight into the dogs evening.

I hope whoever stole my stuff appreciates what they got but I am sure they just trashed it once they found out there was nothing resalable.

Where is Echo?

There she is!!

More Agility

2011-02-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

Every weekend this month is either agility or tracking. A busy month. Last weekend was agility only and once again quite humbling. Just when you think you know how to handle every situation, a new one comes along to teach you that you are wrong. Either my decisions for handling are getting worse or we are just going through a dry spell. Either way it is frustrating. Our Q rate is remarkably low. To think one time I posted we Qed 75% of the time in Excellent. Well no longer.

This last weekend we were entered in Novice Fast to practice contacts. It doesn't really seem to count Qing in that class. We only Qed one out of four Excellent runs. However the Jumpers run did have a hard weavepole entrance. If I wasn't feeling so discouraged at that point(last run of the weekend) I wouldn't have risked handling the weavepole entrance like we did. A push to the left and a rear cross. It was the best way to handle the course and it worked our only Q that weekend. Maybe sometimes I just have to trust that Whisper knows her job and stop micromanaging situations.

Toe Injury

2011-02-11T14:16:00.001-08:00

Swollen toe

Normal toe

Last weekend Lyric ran agility and played ball. The following day I noticed one of her toes was terribly swollen. It was the same toe that had surgery 2 1/2 yrs ago for a torn lateral collateral ligament. I knew it had retorn. It is frustrating as I don't know what she did to tear it. She has lure coursed with no injuries. Chased her foxtail ball endlessly with no injuries and run numerous agility courses with no injury. I bandaged it until I could get back to my clinic and have it looked at by the surgeon. A figure 8 bandage of elasticon works well at holding the toes together.

The following day it was confirmed and she went to surgery. The original surgery looked excellent, enough organized scar tissue to act as a collateral ligment, no arthritis had set in. Hopefully she will do as well post surgery as the first time. But it is now a couple of months of no exercise splints and later bandages.

Plans for future agility will have to be questionable since this is a second tear/surgical correction. Plans for coming out in Open obedience this spring are on hold. Even though she is a big dog she is not a highly active dog and thus is not hard on her body.

The day after surgery Lisa and Darby came down to wish Lyric well and give her a present.

Echo's New TD

2011-02-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Echo was in her first tracking test. Since the draw for the TD portion of the test was so early 7:45 AM we arrived the night before and spent the night in a hotel. Bryn and Marie came down for a quick lesson on clicker training sits,downs and recalls. Bryn and Echo also played a bit afterwards.

It is always a good idea to arrive early at the tracking headquarters. The draw started at 7:45 AM and any dog/handler team not present forfeits their spot to an alternate team.

Getting into a tracking test is unlike any other AKC events, it is not first come quaranteed entered. Once entries have closed, a draw is done about 10 days before the trial. However many tracks are available-in Echo's case there were 4 tracks-the first 4 names pulled out a hat are entered. In Echo's test there were 18 dogs entered, only 4 tracks were offered so 14 dogs didn't get in and were on the alternate list. It pays to be early to the draw and not lose your spot by being late. Once that everyone has checked in, the draw happens to determine which track each team will run. The first dog/handler team in catalogue order then pulls a slip of paper with the track they will run. In Echo's case she was third dog picked for the test and we drew 3rd track. What a coincidence.

Then the waiting begins for the tracks to age. California is going through another dry spell and the tracking conditions this year were less than ideal,no moisture and little green vegetation. Once the track has aged sufficiently the dog and handler are taken out to the beginning of the track and allowed to start when ready. Nothing is more humbling than to be at the start flags and know it is just you and your dog-well mostly your dog to navigate the 450-500 yards out in the field, multiple turns and find the glove. Echo started off gangbusters-she loves to track-and completed the track in my fastest time to date 470 yds in 6 1/2 minutes. There really was very little for me to do except hold on and follow her. She got distracted once by some old horse straw but with a little verbal cue went back to tracking. Turns were no problems and I was told she rarely came off the track. Six and one half minutes later she lead me straight to the glove and she eaned her TD! There is a special feeling when you pick up the glove at the end of the track and you and the dog are a proven team.

Ch Aragon Black Ice RN TD

Santa Rosa Agility Part 2

2011-02-04T18:21:00.000-08:00

Along with Lyric, Whisper of course ran agility that weekend. In the morning it was cold-you can see her breathe running the Standard courses. Contacts are a continous struggle as it is hard to correct in a trial. She is managing to hit her contacts-but just barely.

The first day by the afternoon it was warm and she was asleep in the car. Dumb mistake assuming she would be ready to compete with no warm up. I took her out of the car to potty, went in the building and did one practice jump and went into the ring. She was slow and as I tried to send her to a jump she just followed me. No QQ.

Learning my lesson the next day we QQed.

All in all agility is a constant learning experience. Just when you think you know what to do and how to handle a situation something comes along to make you humble.

MACH goal
13 QQs
678 MACH points

Santa Rosa Agility

2011-02-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago both Lyric and Whisper were entered in the Santa Rosa trials. Whisper of course in Excellent B Standard and Jumpers(more on her in the next blog) and Lyric in Excellent A Jumpers. Lyric did super and earned her first two legs that weekend. Ever since Lyric got hurt in a tunnel 2 1/2 yrs ago she has hated agility. A friend Lisa(of Darby) copied that run onto a DVD so I could post it here. If you watch with the sound up you can hear her reaction in the second tunnel-and certainly see her changed demeanor coming out of the tunnel. She wanted to be any place but in the ring.

It has been a struggle until recently to get her to willingly play the game again. Starting November of last year-when she earned her Open Jumpers title she has seemed to enjoy the attention and treats that go along with agility. She definitely is still a bit unsure of herself and what to do when the tension and excitment is on but she is now willing to eagerly try. Her two excellent jumpers runs are posted below.

Celebrating Greyhounds

2011-01-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome, new readers!

I am pleased to announce that the Aragongreyhounds blog was recently mentioned in the magazine "Celebrating Greyhounds". I am flattered that the blog was chosen to represent how smart, beautiful and talented greyhounds can be.

For new readers I, Helen, am the breeder of Aragon greyhounds. This blog, however, is actually written by several different people who each have a puppy from my last litter (Merlin X Lyric). Through reading our stories about training and competing with our hounds, we hope to provide motivation to readers.

We all would love to see more greyhounds and their owners enjoying the competitive sports!

GCh Ch Aragon Aroi Silver Lining RN

2011-01-22T18:39:00.000-08:00

I knew Darby Crash was special from the very start, but I never imagined he'd take something that had been so difficult and not a lot of fun for me and turn it inside out and upside down. Showing in conformation had never been fun until, it was just work and nerves, until I met Darby. The first show he and I went to was about a week after Georgianna gave him to me, he had just turned 6 months and was barely trained to stack. He got a 3 point major that weekend, the judge said it was his exceptional movement. That was the first of many times I would hear that from a judge. When he was 14 months old, we took a chance and drove to 1,400 miles to Ft. Worth Texas for the Greyhound Club of America's Southern Specialty. I was told not to expect much, the competition would be big, perhaps a little out of our league. He finished his Championship at that Specialty, I guess we weren't so far out of our league after all.

Now what? We were working on obedience, but as far as conformation goes, we were finished. He finished his Championship with 16 points, 3 major wins in 7 shows. Although impressive, it was a little disappointing; showing was getting to be fun, and Darby was still maturing and getting nicer and nicer looking by the month. When asked if I was going to 'special' him, the answer was an immediate "YES!". Of course, it would be a shame not to. Specialing a dog is not for everyone; it's expensive, time consuming and can be extremely political. Many people who decide to special a dog go with professional handlers and will heavily campaign a dog with advertisements in breed magazines. And for what? To garner a placement in the top 20 dogs in the country and secure invitations to exclusive shows: the Eukanuba Invitational, Westminster and on the International level, Crufts. Basically, to gain top recognition within the breed. Our goal was slightly less lofty; I wanted him in the top 20. I wanted an invite to the Eukanuba as this is the last year it would be held here in California (it's moving to Florida henceforth). In addition, the AKC had created a new title for Champions of Record this year; Grand Champion; I knew he could do that. And what's more? I knew he could do that with ME; no professional handlers, no big advertising, no selectively showing only to judges we were certain would place him. You know, we do it the hard way!
Here's how it works:

In conformation competition a hound is awarded points towards his or her 'Championship' title by winning in what are called 'Regular Classes'. Points are awarded based on how many other dogs are defeated in the class. Points are classified as minor points (1-2 points each win) or major points (3-5 points each win). A hound is 'Finished' when they reach 15 points total, with at least 2 'majors' under 2 different judges. The minimum age to start competing is 6 months old, all dogs start out with 0 points, of course.
For a 'Grand Championship' title, finished Champions of Record compete at the Specials level (Best of Breed competition only) and are awarded Grand Championship points by winning Best of Breed, Best of Opposite Sex or by being awarded 'Select Dog' or 'Select Bitch' points by the judge at each show. Each Champion of Records starts with 0 Grand Champion points and gains the title after being awarded 25 points with at least 3 majors under 3 different judges. Calculating these points requires a degree in higher math, and I firmly believe the formulas invented to decide how to calculate the points was invented by some bored idiot savant.

So we began anew in April, showing in Best of Breed, owner handled always. We didn't show excessively; one or two shows a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. In the the process, we worked our way up the standings. By the time invitations for the Eukanuba came out, we were #15 in the top 25. We were IN!

We went to the Eukanuba Invitational in Long Beach, California in December.

Darby showed very well, got to see Donna and Georgianna (who came to cheer him on!) and although we didn't place, we got to hang out with a lot of really neat people and hunker down in the 'Meet the Breed' booth when we weren't showing. The show will be aired on ABC this Sunday, January 23rd. Keep your eye out for Darby Crash, he was schmoozing with EVERYONE, cameramen included and may show up in the 'Meet the Breed' interviews. Sort of a "Where's Waldo" to get you to watch the dog show! Except this is "Where's Darby Crash?" We had a really good time, although I can say I won't be traveling to Florida to do it again!
In our last planned long show weekend, we traveled to Palm Springs to show at the Inland Empire/Palm Springs Kennel Club hound special. We got our last needed Select point and two Rally Advanced legs!
Our little Darby Crash is now GCh Ch Aragon Aroi Silver Lining RN. As of October, 2010 there were only 6 Grand Champion Greyhounds in the country (none with any obedience titling), Darby is now amongst them! Stick a fork in us, we are DONE. We plan on taking some well deserved time away from conformation so the baby boy can grow up a little. He finished his Grand Championship less than a year from starting it at the tender age of only 2 years, with 4 majors under 12 judges. Now we let him grow up. We'll work on our obedience, finish rally and start regular obedience competition. In addition to fetching a lot of sticks

Digging a bunch of gophers

and mastering control over his ears

I think his Merlin is showing.

Odd Behavior

2011-01-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

Some of Lyric's puppies in particular Becca and Echo love to burrow under covers or pillows to sleep. Echo in particular will stand beside a bed and put her head under the covers, hop up and quickly burrow under the covers-the disappearing greyhound. Now you see her now you don't, well except for nose sometimes.

As told by Donna-For quite a while now when Becca is lying on the bed next to me, she FIRMLY and repeatedly pushes her muzzle at the covers in my direction, like a dog does when it's trying to bury its food. Is she trying to push me out of the bed so she can have it all to herself?" I finally realized what she is asking is for me to cover her with a pillow. Strange!

Fun Agility Weekend

2011-01-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

In addition to obedience and tracking last weekend we also competed in a three agility trial. What a fun but exhausting weekend. Whisper earned another QQ-her 12th and fastest time to date in Jumpers-5.72 yds per second.

She enjoys agility as much or more than any other sport we compete in. Her tail never stops moving. Her weavepole entrances are super and I am finally learning to trust her to find and enter correctly as seen in the Standard run.

I think I am also finally learning to handle from a distance. What a blast to send her out to an obstacle, trust she will take it and cut to the next one to be ready when she comes in.

MACH goal:
12 QQs
616 MACH points

CDX and VCD2 title

2011-01-09T15:13:00.001-08:00

Although I enjoy showing my dogs in conformation I love training them in performance sports-tracking,obedience,rally and agility. Years ago my greyhound Spirit was the second greyhound to ever earn the VCD1 title. A VCD1 requires a CD,TD,NA(P) and NAJ(P). No greyhound had earned a VCD2 title-CDX,TD,OA(P),OAJ(OJP) and I had hoped Spirit would take me there. Unfortunately age caught up with her before she earned the last title an OAP so she never made it.

Her niece Whisper made it Dec 30 2010 and became the first greyhound to title to that level. She earned her third CDX leg in the below video despite the fact she rarely if ever trains indoors. I was so proud of her-you can tell she is getting insecure around the figure eight exercise but hung in there to earn a 194.5, third place in a class of 18 and her CDX title. She is now Ch Aragon Lunar Eclipse VCD2 MX MXJ RE JC.

Tracking Certification

2011-01-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was a busy dog show weekend. Between obedience with Whisper for her third leg CDX leg, a three day agility trial and certifying Echo for a tracking trial, I was exhausted by the end of the weekend.

To enter a tracking trial a dog needs to be certified,that is run a TD track under a recognized tracking judge. There are few trials for the number of dogs ready so a certification track proves that the dog is actually ready to enter a trial. I met tracking judge and greyhound breeder Gail Burnham of Suntiger greyhounds at the end of the first day of agility. She laid a 1/2 hour old track with 4 turns to test Echo. It was lovely tracking conditions, rain the night before, cool weather, no wind and moderate grass cover. Because of technical errors the video starts about half way through Echo's track. She had already made two turns before the video starts. Sorry for the video quality. It was hard to walk and video at the same time.

Darby and Patience (by Lisa)

2010-12-29T18:58:00.000-08:00

"Wait" is not in his Holiday Vocabulary

H called me about 2 weeks ago to tell me she and Lyric and Echo had a Christmas present for Darby Crash. We love presents, so we ran right down to gather our loot. When presented with a very simple brown box, I asked if we could OPEN IT NOW?!? We were told no, it's a Christmas present, you should wait. Darby and I sighed together and agreed, we would wait. So I put the box in the van and left it there (in the foot well of the front seat). Today (Christmas Eve Day), I loaded up DeeDee and Darby and we went to do a little last minute shopping.

Let it be noted that all of my dogs are very well mannered and trustworthy in vehicles. I travel often with one or all of them, and they never destroy or soil anything (seatbelts, electronic cords, seats, etc). At worse they've gotten into the trash or my training bag and scattered or devoured the contents. Not so today. I had forgotten Darby's obsession with cardboard boxes. Not paper bags, not magazines or newspapers, never blankets or dog beds. But a severe cardboard addiction, starting with chewing a corner until it's soggy, then going wholesale nutso ripping and shredding like a mad-dog until there's nothing but confetti remaining. But I had forgotten, and left the two in the van parked directly on the street in front of the store I was in without a second thought (other than how lucky I was to find a coveted parking spot in a busy shopping area). The alarm was set, the minivan was parked within sight, what could go wrong?

When I was done, I got in the van and put my packages on the passenger seat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that made me do a double-take.

The first thing I thought (and remember, first thoughts don't have to make sense) was "there's a dead monkey in my van????", and then actually turning around and looking closer my second thought was "somebody chewed up a wig???". Then I realized that I have neither a long haired black monkey nor a wig, so those first thoughts couldn't be correct. Then I took a good look at the bigger picture and saw the cardboard carnage, the nibbled/ripped greeting card envelope, and of course the dead monkey wig that I still couldn't identify and was a little hesitant to touch.....

It was about that point that Dee started doing a little prancy-dance and then dove onto the back bench seat to try and look as small and non-guilty as possible, leaving Darby 'holding the bag', or in this case the chewed box.

Maybe he was set up? Maybe Dee wasn't so innocent as she pretended and had arranged for Darby to take the fall? Not a chance. In his guilt Darby flooded me with snuffly face nuzzles and kisses....his muzzle was covered in glitter. A dead monkey wig, with glitter???? What was this mangled furry glittery thing that was liberated from the plain brown box Helen had insisted we wait until Christmas to open? Was this a deranged joke? I gathered up my nerves (a dead monkey wig was still in the top running as a possibility at this point, having no other ideas) and plucked the hairy, spit flecked thing from the floor of the van. It was a toy, a very nice quality wool 'chaser' toy, similar to a fox-tail, but wool. And scary-hideous if you have no idea what it is. I plucked the cardboard shreds and various pieces of tape and other wrappings from it and tucked it safely away in the center console, gathered up the nibbled card and smiled at the greeting from Helen, Lyric and Echo. The card is one of Helen's original Lyric photo Christmas Cards, so it was special from a mom-to-son perspective.

Glitter-lips continued his 3 part apology, further cementing his conviction as the gift shredder. All was well, but I should have known better. If there's ONE THING Darby cannot resist for any length of time, it's a cardboard box left unattended. He has stolen them from the recycle pile in the carport, he's nabbed them from the office, he's liberated them from the barn. No matter the size, no matter that he knows he's not supposed to destroy them, he loves cardboard boxes and they are not safe in his presence. But he's a good boy, and to be fair, it WAS his present. No harm, no foul. Still adorable, of course, which erases all wrong doing and resets the "Angel-O-Meter".

Bryn's Hidden Talents(by Marie)

2010-12-23T18:27:00.000-08:00

It’s December and I discovered I have a talent!!!!

Gator seems daily to get himself closed in the bathroom. He “oofs” until someone lets him out. Well, I decided I could be a good friend and help. So I pushed on the door with my nose and out he came. He really never even thanked me. I have done it several times in the past few months. Marie just tells me to go “let him out” and I do. Maybe someday he can help me. That’s what friends are for.

It seems like I was on a leash FOREVER!!! Well, at least, most of the summer.

The Lompoc show was fun (lure coursing), but the shoulder injury made me a “house dog”.

Tom or Marie took me for a walk every morning and night. Gator and Soda Pop got to go sometimes, but usually, it was just me.

Poppy sent me a new orange monkey and Marie fixed my old brown monkey. So I have had my old friends to keep me company. Gator seems to know that they are mine and let’s me have them whenever I want. (of course, I ask politely-like barking in his ear!)

I really enjoy hearing of the adventures of Tanner, Darby, Becca, Echo, Lyric, and Whisper.

Good news. I was able to go some shows. One judge was VERY soft spoken. He asked Marie if “I was a courser”. Now how did he guess that was my favorite game.

I did very well in the group(another new term for me) with my new friend, Robyn. She is a junior handler and likes to show me. She thinks I’m a real challenge.

Marie and I went to the Greyhound Club of Northern California Specialty. It was supposed to rain, but didn’t during the show. I got a couple of ribbons and another point for “Winner Bitch”. Everyone seems excited about points. I just want to be a good girl and behave like a show dog should. I’m learning about this new activity in every show .

The other dog in the picture is Soda Pop. He just takes a monkey beating and keeps on licking!!.

I love that guy.

Becca "Unleashed" (Donna Arcaro)

2010-12-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

On December 11 and 12 the Valley Hills Obedience Club in Southern California held their 2-day obedience/rally trial so Becca and I entered both days in Rally Advanced. In Rally Advanced all exercises are done off leash. At our last trial, Becca ran out of the ring at full greyhound speed after a jump, so needless to say I was alittle nervous. Once a greyhound gets used to leaving the ring when they choose it can be a hard habit to break. I had made a point at practice of calling her immediately after a jump, rewarding and back to heel position. She seemed fine doing this at home, BUT in new territory, it could be a different story.

The first day of the trial was incredibly windy--leaves and debris blowing everywhere--visual and scent distractions all over the place. However she remained focused on me and easily qualified.

The second day it was very calm weather and she was a bit tired from the day before. Once again she was fcoused and working hard. She qualified and earned her RA title!

This is the 4th title she's completed since July of this year--Breed champion, Rally Novice, Beginner Novice and now Advanced Novice. Excellent job, Becca!!! We plan to concentrate now on Novice Obedience training to get ready for competition sometime in the future.

Mud Dabbers and Farm Dogs

2010-12-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

In between training and competing, my dogs have a fair amount of down time just being dogs and doing whatever interests them.

Recently I had to go down and work on my rental farm, grading roads, clearing culverts and other hard work. The dogs got to run and play their hearts content.

Two full days of working on my avocado farm gave the dogs lots of free time to investigate and run the hills. Birds, coyotes and bobcats were all around.

After the weekend although the work wasn't all done the dogs were through. A tired dog is a happy dog.

Wow Weekend

2010-12-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went off to an agility trial at my favorite location in Rancho Murietta. It is an indoor covered horse arena that is often cold which helps the dog run faster. In addition to Lyric, I of course, ran Whisper. Although we didn't QQ we had some great runs. The second day she won her jumpers class of 22 dogs with this run. She earned 26 more MACH points and ran it in her fastest time to date. Definitely a fun run.

On the last day she had an equally fabulous Standard run and won her class of 20. She earned another 48 MACH points and ran it in record time. As she likes to jump the dog walk and A frame down contact, I am working hard on getting her to hold until released. This weekend she did! Her jumpers run was great but tight and twisty. We knocked bars which caused an NQ.
She was having a blast running in the cold.

Echo went out tracking one of the days on our down time. She is almost ready to certify and enter a tracking test. A fun weekend for all.

Then They Turned 2!

2010-12-05T10:07:00.001-08:00

Hard to believe that 2 years ago today, Lyric and Merlin's pups came into the world. Five little spuds and five lives irrevocably changed for the better!

Here they were 2 years ago today.

Here is a current picture taken in October of this year at the Northern California Greyhound Club Fall Specialty.

Happy birthday to Darby, Echo, Tanner, Bryn and Becca! May all your birthday wishes come true!

Lyric Runs Agility

2010-12-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

As mentioned Lyric earned her third Open Jumpers leg this past weekend. Keep in mind in the video she and I have not run a full agility course in a year. We are not able to read each other as well as Whisper and I. However we pulled it off. Yes I was planning to front cross on the fourth jump but forgot so it was ugly handling but she and I did it!

New OAJ

2010-11-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

SBIS Aryal Aroi Stoney Ridge CD TD OAJ RE SC aka Lyric

Lyric has disliked agility since she got injured in a tunnel years ago. Despite everything I have tried she remained indifferent to running agility again. Last year she earned two legs on her Open Jumpers then remembered she disliked agility and tried to leave the ring on her next attempt. So I quit and kept working with Whisper and Echo. Lyric watched them train for months. Although she and I have been working mostly on Open obedience she has been asked to do a few agility jumps. She has seemed willing and eager for her training time. I decided to enter her again this past weekend in agility and see if she was willing to try again. Realizing we haven't run an entire agility sequence in close to a year I didn't have a lot of hope of qualifying, I just wanted to see where she was mentally. Not only did she easily qualify, she won her class, earned her title AND she was happy to be in the ring.
Video to follow

Whisper's Back

2010-11-21T17:36:00.001-08:00

After Whisper's tendon injury she was laid off for a month. We did no agility or real exercise for four weeks. She was leash walked for one week before the agility trial Nov 14. We practiced agility together for the first time 3 days before the trial-and at a lowered jumped height. Needless to say I was nervous jumping her and my handling showed my indecision to push her too fast. Still in her qualifying standard run she was 21 seconds under course time so we weren't that slow.

Although we only qualified one run-the standard run on Nov 14 it was fun being back in the ring again with her. Our jumpers run was a blast but unfortunately I couldn't call her off an incorrect jump. But she obviously was having fun again.

After the weekend she was tired and earned a well deserved rest.

Becca’s New “Boy Toy” (as told by Donna Arcaro)

2010-11-16T21:07:00.000-08:00

Over the past several months I have been borrowing another greyhound, Brego, a 5 year old red brindle male, to play with Becca. This was necessary because Shawn, her housemate, is a true greyhound couch potato playing but infrequently. I have become quite attached to Brego as his playfulness, inquisitiveness and temperament blended well into the household. It appeared he was becoming attached to me as well.

At some point I wondered if it would work to permanently add a third greyhound to the household. He is so sweet, affectionate and well behaved. It turns out Brego who had recently finished his breed championship was available to the right home. I was concerned whether both boys Shawn and Brego would live together peacefully. I shouldn't have worried as both boys ignore each other. In fact I think Shawn is relieved to have more couch time as Brego wears Becca out. They seem to play 24/7!

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Becca’s Halloween Trick AND Treat (as told by Donna Arcaro)

2010-11-10T21:26:00.000-08:00

I am a member of the Pasanita Obedience Club; since our annual obedience/rally trial was during the day on Halloween this year, that meant the members volunteered to do various tasks to get ready for the trial. I volunteered to help with the set up in the park which began at 6:00 AM. I also entered Becca in Rally Advanced and Beginner Novice obedience. When my alarm went off at 4:00 AM that morning, Becca never even pulled her head out from under the pillows to see what was gong on—this is a position she likes to sleep in when she’s very tired. I also felt like putting MY head under the pillow and going back to sleep!! Nevertheless, we got packed up and arrived at the park at about 5:45 AM. We had a great turnout of Club member helpers so we were ready in plenty of time before the trial started; the weather was absolute perfect. The trial started with one of our members singing the National Anthem—she does a most moving rendition that can bring people to tears.

The Trick

We entered the Rally Ring for our attempt at her 2nd qualifying score in Rally Advanced, and things were going pretty well, despite Becca being off leash. However, when we got to the 5th sign which was the bar jump, she sailed over it and continued to sail out of the ring, running flat out as only a Greyhound can run, doing “zoomies” by the ring, with a big smile on her face, fully enjoying her experience. I was in shock as she’s never before even looked like she would run out of a rally ring. If nothing else, some of the spectators were amazed and entertained to see exactly how fast and powerful a Greyhound can actually run. When she started heading back to me, I said “Becca, here” and she came right to me in the ring. The judge said he was sorry and I said the same. Oh well, we brought the entertainment of the day, but obviously that was the end of rally for us that day. More training ahead for both of us!!

The Treat

Many hours later our number was up for entering the Beginner Novice ring which consists of rally and basic obedience. Becca’s “treat” was getting her 3rd Beginner Novice leg, completing her title, with a score of 194 out of a possible 200—I can now add “BN” after her registered name. Yippee!! She’s the first Greyhound in our Club with this title and I believe the first Club member to earn this title since this titling class became effective for competition in July of this year. I was most proud of her!!

So that’s how we spent Halloween—trick AND treat from Becca to me.

Tanner Stomps

2010-11-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

There is a new trend in dog sports and fitness called canine conditioning. It takes all the information we know about human core conditioning as well as yoga and pilates techniques and adapts them for four legs.

One of the first steps you would learn from a canine conditioning coach is to teach your dog a command for "feet up" or to put their front feet on something that you indicate. There is a lot you can do once you get this behavior.

The thing that I am the most interested in is to teach Tanner how to use his back end to maximum effect. At not quite two years old, he tends to be a big goober at times. I think if he is properly conditioned and body-wise, he will be less likely to hurt himself or someone else. Plus, I am a bit of a training geek and wanted to try teaching this behavior.

I didn't get every training session videoed but hopefully enough that you can see the progress.

Here is one of our first sessions. I apologize for cutting off his head (this is what I get when I put the camera on the floor). At least you can see his feet. My criteria at this step was one foot touching the object. I try to give him his treat when his foot is still on the target. This video is a little long about two minutes but you can get the gist of it rather quickly.

Tanner is consistently giving me one foot on the target. My criteria is still to click for one foot but I am feeding him extra for two feet. We also had an issue where he wanted to lay down on the target. I don't know if this is because I had previously taught him to lay down on a different target or because he is lazy. Either way, it is just behavior and can be molded. I give him his treats up, in other words I hold the treat in such a way that he has to stretch up a little bit to get it. I also do not click for laying down on the object and instead ask him to do something else to move him off the target to reset.

In this next video, Tanner is really getting good at Stomp. I haven't added the cue yet. This session took place during a break a training seminar. I was pretty impressed that he was so eager to perform even with the distractions. From this session I can see that the behavior is where I want it to be and we are ready for the cue.

Here we practice with the cue "Stomp".

Now that he has the behavior on cue I switch it up and ask him to "Stomp" a stool. I click for one foot up the first time or two to get him going.

On to bigger and better things! We were taking part in a small canine conditioning class and Tanner got to try out his new behavior on some equipment. The squishy disc reminds me of a Bosu ball. When Tanner gets both of his front feet on it, he has to work to keep everything steady. Because he has such a good reward history with stable things and this behavior, he has no problem trusting me and attempting to do this.

Now he gets to try the peanut ball. This ball is easier than a plain round one because it can only roll in two directions instead of 360 degrees. Eventually, if we work at it, we will work up to the round ball without my need to stabilize it.

What a good boy!

Many of these videos were made at My Dog's Gym in Salem, Oregon and the rest were made in my messy living room.

High In Trial

2010-11-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

Obedience seems so much harder than agility to keep a dog happy and motivated to work. At least in agility the dogs are running and as long as they perform the next obstacle correctly it doesn't matter how they get it done. In obedience it is much more detail oriented. For instance on a recall not only must they come to you briskly, they also must do a correct front and finish. Points are deducted for each little mistake even if the exercise is performed correctly. To teach all of these components and not be demotivating can be a challenge. On a recall if a dog comes in very quickly(good)and does a straight front(good) but does an automatic perfect finish(bad) points are deducted. To correct a dog for this mistake can make a dog not want to come in quickly or give a perfect front. Training for obedience has to be very creative to get what you want with a happy fast working dog.

Whisper is probably the best working greyhound I have ever trained.
We entered the obedience portion of Greyhound Club of Northern California specialty and Whisper earned her second Open leg with a 194 and High In Trial.

Now to try to find our third leg-and title.

Becca's Northern California Adventures (by Donna Arcaro)

2010-10-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

Becca and I decided to concentrate on her performance at the shows in Northern California, including the Northern California Greyhound Specialty. So I loaded up the vehicle (mostly with dog accoutrements!!) and headed north. I went up 2 days before our first event as I liked to have my dogs get used to environments that they don't visit often--hopefully to help with ignoring all the distractions and enticing smells. We went to the show grounds, wandered around, did some shopping and did a little training while there. Our first event was Rally Advanced which is entirely off leash (yikes!!). I did not feel like we were really prepared, but thanks to Helen's "persuasion", I had entered. I was most pleased AND surprised with Becca's and my first attempt since she earned her first leg.

I know what we need to work on (the left pivot was a real challenge; we finally went on to the next sign after two attempts. I can only blame myself and not Becca for this due to not much training on pivots.) I was also happy she did not look like she was interested in the leaving the ring. This is a real problem I had with Tess, my first obedience dog--I still remember this from the mid-90s. She would race out of the ring once she knew she was not on a leach. FINALLY was able to break that habit with training at match and people blocking the ring entrance. Also I changed the off leash heeling command to happy "let's go". She did earn her CD.

The next day at the Specialty, we were the only entry in Beginner Novice. I was really hoping for her second leg and I was not disappointed!! There was one part where she was most interested in the ring tape for some strange reason, but overall I was very happy with her performance, especially her recall. I made a handler error on returning to her on the wrong side after I walked the perimeter of the ring with Becca sitting in the middle. Fortunately it was only a few points off--I will NOT make that mistake again!!

It was a most successful, fun weekend for us; it's also always wonderful to see Becca's siblings and owners.

New Rally Title

2010-10-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the Greyhound Club of Northern California specialty. All breed shows before and after the specialty gave up to 5 days of showing in obedience, rally, agility, and conformation. I decided to enter Echo in her first performance trials and decided on something easy-Rally Novice. We entered three days of Rally. She did better than I had a right to expect. In preparation for the trials we only managed to attend two Rally classes and never have we trained indoors. Never have I asked her to hold her attention for so long and with such distractions. Some of the signs we had never practiced. The first day of Rally she earned second in her class for her first leg.

The second day the rains came in so Rally was moved indoors. At least it was partially matted. I have never asked my dogs to sit/down on concrete so I was nervous whether she would. Not only did she sit on concrete she won her class of 22. Two legs down and one to go.

Her third leg once again was indoors. At the end of the video the judge came up and told me I had done the first sign incorrectly. Luckily for friends video recording our performances at the end of the class I could replay it and he changed his score. Once again she won her class for her third leg and Rally Novice title. So three shows three legs (two first places and one second place) and a new Rally title. Now she is Ch Aragon Black Ice RN.

Cats and Greyhounds

2010-10-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

My greyhounds have always lived with cats. Some have been harder than others to learn that cats have rights too. Cats are not to be chased, displaced from where they are sleeping or harassed. In fact they often learn that the quickest way to please me is to ignore the cats. Bacchus my new black cat obviously had never lived with dogs when I adopted him. He didn't want to be on the dogs level. His running away behavior was him causing to be chased. However with time he has learned to be more bold, less fearful. Now he sleeps on the dogs bed whenever he choses-and the dogs will not try to push him off.

However a dog on their bed is not be haressed either.Dogs and cats generally stay in their own bed/spaces.

Many years ago I had a greyhound Merlin who rid my farm of all living small creatures-skunks,feral cats and would try for coyotes, deer you name it. He was the ultimate hunter. I adopted an awesome dogwise adult cat-Sherman. It took Sherman a little while to establish the rules of the house with Merlin and my other greyhounds. However establish them he did. As much as they tried to run him he would sit still, hold his ground and stare at them. If the dogs were eating and he wanted to see what they were eating he would smack them away from the food bowl-and they listened.If they were laying on a bed that he wanted-he climbed up and laid with them-and they learned to accept it.

Many dogs learn to live with cats in the house but outside is a different matter.
Since my cats are generally inside/outside if they choose it is necessary for the dogs to learn to leave them alone outside as well. Odd but the dogs do know their own cats. Mine will still attempt to chase neighborhood cats but are learning to leave their/mine alone.

Sherman and my greyhounds would go for walks with me around the farm, sometimes upwards of a mile. Although the dogs didn't wait for him to catch up to them they knew he was there and didn't attempt to chase him. A tolerate nonreactive adult cat like Sherman makes training the greyhounds to live with cats easy.

Bowed Tendons

2010-10-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

Last weekend while training obedience in the local park I had all three dogs with me working. After working I play ball or frisbee and let each one run for a few minutes. I was just finishing with the last dog Echo letting her run and play when the local police drove up and came out directly to me. Busted for dogs off leash I thought but no they wanted to see what the dogs were doing and wanted to see the greyhounds run. So I took Whisper off leash and did a few Open exercises then let her run. To show off I let Echo off leash too and the two of them went racing around the park. After about three minutes I called them in and Whisper was lame. Of course two weeks before our specialty with one day of obedience and three days of agility for her.

Swelling on the right side of the right leg.

Normal left foot for comparison

Both legs for comparison

She damaged her flexer tendons behind the metacarpal region-an injury called bowed tendons. After weeks of rest she should be okay but no agility next weekend-and maybe no obedience. Just goes to prove if you want to show off-don't.. bad things happen.

The Well Traveled Man(Dog) by Lisa Stine

2010-10-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

Cruddy weather did not plague us any further than Ohio, the weather for the Eastern Specialty was blue skies and sunshine. With over 60 greyhound entries, it was a very long day. We watched Sheila judge the Sweepstakes classes until it was our time to run our first-ever performance class (Rally Novice). There were 3 entries, and with trying to help Sheila with photos of here Sweeps entries I only had time for one very rushed walk through. I was a little shocked to learn there was no course map to study prior to going into the ring. And we were the first entry. No pressure there! No time for much of a warm up, just a little heel, sit, down, heel and our number was called....are you ready? Heck yes we were!! Darby Crash did me proud and scored a 97 out of 100! We got our first leg and a close 2nd place, I was so proud of us!

After a lot of hurry up and wait, we went in for Best of Breed, a class with over 20 dogs entered! Once again the handsome boy did me proud by showing well, doing everything I asked of him and made the first cut!

The competition was really heavy with quite a few very nice hounds showing at their best, unfortunately we did not make the final cut.

The next day was Morris and Essex, one of the largest dog shows in the country. There were over 45 Greyhound entries! Since we didn't really get a second glance from the judge, (I know....how could that possibly be?!?) instead I will provide a glimpse of the hats that were on display at this show.

It seems it's a tradition for everyone, men and women alike, to sport hats (fancy ones) at this event. It wasn't quite the Kentucky Derby, but it was about as close as it gets in New Jersey!

The remaining shows were fairly uneventful. Darby got sick to his stomach on the way to the Hatboro show (the first time on the entire trip), but he was okay the next and thankfully last show day and showed well enough to get Select Dog. 4 days of showing after 5 days of driving is enough to wear any dog out, so we were glad to be done with it all by then and headed straight for Dewey Beach which was only a few hours away.

We visited Sarah and her booths (multiple!) of sculptures. My favorite remained unclaimed/ sold upon our arrival.

We got up wicked early the next day to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic ocean. Keep in mind the sun comes up at 6:40 am, that's 3:40 am our time. Painful but worth it.

And then we turned west and started home.

Virgina and West Virginia were our favorites.

The fall leaves we almost in full color, so we got a few fall portraits at an especially colorful rest-stop in West Virginia.

Onward, westward, home.

Success

2010-10-09T19:21:00.000-07:00

Whisper and I earned our first Open obedience leg with a 196 and a first place at an all breed obedience trial(14 dogs in her class). It is our fourth show-and finally our first leg. The first was at our specialty-she didn't drop but otherwise was excellent and was carrying a 198. The second time was two weeks ago and she went down on the sit just as I was back in heel position. It shouldn't have been a fail only points off but the judge thought I might have been moving so she failed us. The third show was the day before-she went down two minutes and fifty seconds into the three minute sit. She was carrying a 196. It is frustrating to be so close to qualifying and have a second here or ten seconds there fail the whole performance. But that is obedience.

In addition to winning her class, she earned High Scoring Breed Champion, High Scoring dog from the A class and High Scoring Hound. Had I signed up for the special agility award(I forgot) she would have earned High Scoring Dog with an Agility title.

Obedience is the basis of good manners and can be so useful. The dogs can be left on a down stay for photos and know they won't break. Echo went along for the day but was bored. She got to practice short heeling sessions and recalls and was excellent. For the distractable puppy that she was she is finally starting to focus on working. Lyric was entered both days as well in Open A but since she just came out of heat I didn't expect much. She forgot to drop all the way on the first day. She thought going down on her elbows with her rear in the air was good enough. Otherwise she was qualifing with a nice score. The next she couldn't manage the retrieve on the flat, otherwise she would have qualified. Hormones in the girls can be a frustrating thing, however Lyric did better than I had hoped.

THE WELL TRAVELED MAN (by Lisa Stine)

2010-10-05T21:05:00.000-07:00

After getting a taste of the road with Darby Crash in March when we traveled to Ft. Worth to the GCA Southern Specialty (where he finished his Championship at the tender age of 15months!) it was apparent that he was a dog who loved to travel. He rides easy with no cares: no panting, anxiety, car sickness, etc. He just gets in, lays down and goes to sleep until we stop. Sometimes he'll come up and 'touch' my arm with his nose to ask for the side windows to be rolled down, whereupon he sticks his head out to surf the wind for a bit, and when he's finished he goes back to napping.

He eats meals at rest stops or even on the road, he's comfortable 'doing his business' anywhere at anytime and he's trained to lay down in the back of the van before I'll put his leash on (so he doesn't bolt or crowd the door when I first open it. This has been the most practical and often used obedience lesson he's learned to date!)

When the opportunity to travel to the Eastern presented itself to me the decision was pretty much a no-brainer. Circumstances allowed me the time, H and GM had allowed me the dog; we were going! I tried to keep it a secret from H and GM, until H asked me point blank if I was going and the truth came out. When GM sees the blog, the cat will be completely out of the bag. Sterling Darby Crash will be going to the Eastern to 'represent' for Aragon and Aroi! It's extra special because, as H informed me, no Aragon dog has ever been to the Eastern! Darby is the first.

The trip is long: California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and finally New Jersey.

We started in California and met our travel partner Cat and Ivana (greyhound) in Reno, from there we drove and drove and drove across the desolation that is Nevada and into Utah. We arrived very very late (a curse on Sacramento traffic that put me back 2 hours almost) in Park City Utah. Three states down, 8 to go!

Day 2 was Wyoming and Nebraska, both open and flat and fairly desolate (although they both have their charms)

At rest stops Darby meets and greets Joe American and family, charming everyone, of course. It's his nature!

We stopped for a potty break at the dinosaur museum in Nebraska and he got to pose with a 30 foot T-Rex (well, the T-Rex's feet)

Day 3 covered all of Nebraska and Iowa.

There's a lot of corn in Iowa, we've decided that Darby's color is officially 'Dilute Corn Brindle', he's practically camouflaged!

(i

Day 4 (getting a little tired of driving at this point) we crossed Illinois, Indiana and Ohio (phwew!) There wasn't a lot of picture taking, we mostly concentrated on driving with the occasional brief potty break.
We got pulled over in Illinois for failing to observe the speed limit (it wasn't our fault, the speed limit changed abruptly and the officer liked our California plates I guess). The officer was really personable and LOVED our dogs so much, we didn't get a ticket! He joked with us and talked about his favorite kind of dog (Neopolitan Mastiffs) and wished us luck at the shows. He cautioned us to be extra careful in Ohio because the police in Ohio aren't as friendly as the ones in Illinois. Well, duh!

And today, day 5, is Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Ivana and Darby are curled up together all warm and snuggly in the van as we drive. It's raining and pretty cold, so needless to say we won't be taking many photos outside the hotel room. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow for the specialty!

Becca and the Dumb Bell Retrieve (by Donna Arcaro)

2010-10-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

With my limited experience with teaching the dumb bell retrieve, it seems to me to be a very foreign "thing" to sighthounds in general. I seem to recall someone (I think it was Gail Burnham) who said obedience training is really "interspecies communication" which very aptly describes dumb bell retrieving training.

When Becca was a young pup, I started working with her to "play retrieve" and to hold a small, toy dumb bell. By putting the dumb bell right at her lips with a little pressure against her mouth, then telling her to "take it" she immediately received a treat. She learned if she started reaching for the dumb bell, she was able to get the treat even faster. In the yard, I'd throw a toy, tell her to "take it" and then "Becca, here", again rewarding her with verbal praise and treats if she brought the toy back to me or even in the near vicinity. I repeated these exercises a couple of times in a row and only a very few times a week.

So when Becca and I started our Open class about 8 weeks ago, it was an easy transition to a real dumb bell. Again by using TONS of praise and rewards, the dumbbell retrieve became a fun exercise. I always stopped leaving her wanting more. After she was doing well with reaching for the dumb bell, she was taught to hold it--when the dumb bell was in her mouth, I placed my hand gently around her jaws with the "hold", command, gradually only having to put my hand under her lower jaw to get her to hold it, and then just using a verbal command for this result. Ever so gradually I lowered the height of the dumb bell for her to reach for so it was closer to the ground until one end of it was actually touching the ground while I held the opposite end. Eventually I was putting it further out in front of her, on the ground asking her to take it, and then throwing it out a little further for her to pick up. During these latter steps, she was taught to pick up the dumb bell and turn to walk toward me. I used a LOT of verbal encouragement through all of the above, along with treats. To keep her excited we also played with a toy after each training session.

It's been a lot of fun watching her progress with this exercise. I really believe she has the potential to become a "dumb bell" junkie as sometimes she actually pounces on the dumb bell and races back to me for a treat. To be continued--

Cool Coats

2010-09-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

Years ago at a dog show I bought two shammy cool coats for the hot summer days. The coats stay cold for hours on the dogs and help keep them from overheating. They were expensive and the company stopped carrying them at the shows. Waiting for ringtime in the summer be it conformation, agility or obedience the dogs are definately more willing to work when they are not hot. I was bemoaning the fact the coats were no longer available to Bryn's mom Marie. She immediately said she could buy car shammies at Walmart for a fraction of the cost I spent on the orginal coats. A few other supplies, velcro and ribbon and in a short time she made Echo her own cool coat.

Coming home from work today it was 105 degrees at 5:30PM. Now I have three dogs, three coats and three happy dogs.
Thank you Marie, Bryn and Walmart.

Fun Weekend

2010-09-23T20:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a busy weekend packed with agility(Whisper) and conformation(Lyric and Echo). The day started off early with agility and later in the day conformation. Whisper had an excellent day Saturday in agility. She QQed that day but a problem is becoming evident. Although she holds her contacts reliably in training, when she gets excited she jumps off and barely touches them. In the standard run she was suppose to hold until I could front cross and send to a jump. It didn't work out that way since she jumped off, it was messy but qualifying. She was fast enough to be 21 seconds under course time but I would rather be alittle slower and better about the contacts.

She ran very well in jumpers and qualified. Her weavepole entrances are super.

Conformation didn't go as well as neither Lyric or Echo won neither Breed or Best Op.

The following day she barely made the dog walk contact and popped the A frame contact-not a big suprise but otherwise her run was excellent, fast and responsive. I decided in the Jumpers run since we couldn't QQ I would push the limits alittle in running, talk less, more distance handling-basically not play it safe so much. Although I talked more than I thought the run was awesome-until the last jump. I was told I slowed down at the last jump and she looked over to see why and hence knocked the bar. I don't see it on the video so am not sure what really happened. But we had a blast with that run.

Conformation was also good in that Lyric won the Breed but unfortunately did nothing in the group.

All in all a busy fun weekend for all the dogs.

Darby's First Real Job(by Lisa Stine)

2010-09-19T18:59:00.001-07:00

You know your kids are growing up when they get their first babysitting job. Someone trusts your kid to watch their (littler) kid. This Labor day Darby met a baby greyhound.

He was in awe, "I didn't know they came this small!". Yes you did, buddy, it wasn't so long ago YOU were that small. They're pretty little at 8 weeks old. But Darby didn't care, she was cute and fun, and best of all....Stripey like him! He showed her all his toys.

He held them up just high enough that she couldn't get them. She didn't care, playing with the big dogs is FUN!

Darby is a very gentle and tolerant dog. He shares his toys willingly (after the initial 'ha ha ha, look what I have and you don't' game)

The puppy bounced and tumbled and streaked, Darby Crash was soooooo careful with her. He wasn't tickled with the razor sharp puppy teeth, or the body slams she would execute on him, but he was as patient as a Saint (to my absolute delight). My other two greyhounds, Andretti and D-Square have very good puppy tolerance temperaments. Andretti will investigate, play a little, and then find a nice quiet kennel to remove himself to. Dee plays very gently, and eventually seeks higher ground. Q will race and play and then join Dee in her spot on the bed or couch. Darby had never been allowed to show what his temperament would be until Monday. He is an excellent babysitter, from what H tells me this is directly descended from Merlin, who was also an exceptionally gentle and tolerant boy.

After all the other dogs had retreated from the storm of an 8 week old puppy and the sun went down, Darby was left 'holding the bag'. She refused to leave him alone, which resulted in a slow motion chase around the fire hearth in the living room. Poor Darby wasn't sure why this little thing wouldn't leave him alone, so his solution was to keep moving. Around and around and around, each time he'd pass by me he'd look up and grin a big smile as if to say "Help please? It won't stop, okay, gotta keep moving see you on the next pass" as she bounced along behind him dragging a toy or grabbing at his tail. Eventually she wore down and, as 8 week old puppies are prone to do, collapsed in a little puppy heap dead to the world. Only then Darby lay down, about 10 feet from her, and took a nap himself. Babysitting is an exhausting gig, especially when you're barely out of puppyhood yourself!

Echo's Agility Match

2010-09-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

Echo and I entered her first agility match after the labor day weekend shows. She did quite well, working with me and not as distracted as she often is. In agility classes she will sometimes run over to people sitting on the sidelines watching or waiting their turn-say hi and run back onto the field. The agility match was in the afternoon but still plenty of people and distractions ringside. I wasn't sure if she would stay with me through the entire 20 obstacle course. It was a blistering hot 95+ heatwave when she ran. I would like to see faster weavepoles and more intensity but overall I was pleased with her performance.

Whisper's Agility Trials

2010-09-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

After taking the summer off from agility trials Whisper and I entered a three day Labor Day weekend trial. Unfortunately it was a blistering hot outdoor trial. By midday it was at least 95 on the field. Our first time back in the agility ring we not only qualified but won a huge Jumpers class and QQed that day. Although the runs/handling was rusty as can be seen from our first day runs we both came out feeling good about working together. During her standard run her A frame contact is weak(she runs off although she is suppose to do a 2on/2off position). Although I am not always good at directing her correctly to the next obstacle, at least I am getting to be a good enough handler to figure out how to get out of unexpected situations during the runs. I love her standard weave pole entrance.

The next day we NQed by a cats whisker with both runs. In the jumpers run she knocked a bar with her tail. In the standard run she went to the table and went to the back to jump on. She does not like the table because of the position required. Hopefully with the new AKC rule change to no position on the table she will learn that she can stand.

Our last day we earned another 1st place in Jumpers ,QQed again and picked up 82 points more towards our MACH.

Darby's Vacation Adventures (by Lisa Stine)

2010-09-08T21:43:00.001-07:00

Another Type of Puppy Test.....this time at 20 months!

Darby Crash has always been an brave and outgoing dog, he is the fastest learning and most adaptive dog I've ever had. Recently he was truly put to the test. Art the Husband and I took the Jeeps and the dogs into the high Sierra for a huge gathering of off-road enthusiasts. It was a weekend of trail runs with the Jeeps and camping in the mountains. Darby has been camping before, but he's never run a trail with me. My Jeep has been modified specifically for my dogs; the passenger seat has been removed and a dog bed takes it's place. A leash is always attached to the front dash, always attached to the dog and the doors are always on the vehicle when we are on any paved road.

Off-road the doors come off so I can see where my tires are on the trail. For Darby's safety I got some tubular steel, mesh covered trail doors. We don't move over 2 or 3 miles per hour on a trail, tops, so combined with the low center of gravity dog bed in the deep well where the passenger seat used to be and the dash leash it's a pretty safe, scenic and cushy ride.

The trail was fun, but dry and dusty.

And if it wasn't dusty and dirty enough, Darby fixed things to his satisfaction. He was so dirty at one point I couldn't see his stripes.

Thank you Donna for the portable waterbottle, it was filled and emptied several times on this trip. It didn't leak and it fit wherever there was room! Perfect!!

Darby Crash was the best behaved dog on the trail, and made himself the center of attention at every rest stop. The best place to be the center of attention is pooped out in the middle of everyone's conversation circle. And why get up to be petted, when they'll come to you? Smart dog.

Each day the trail run would last around 6 hours. There were lots of stops to rest. There was a creek that needed exploring, with kids to play with and lots of sticks to retrieve. What nobody told him is that it got real deep in spots, but that didn't matter when it came to getting the sticks. Lyric loves to chase sticks as well, I think he got that from her.

There was plenty of grass to bounce through and leaves that needed to be taken off trees.

And plenty of shady spots to relax and soak up as much dirt as his fur would safely hold. For the record, I think that must be somewhere around 20lb., approximately.

It was a fun weekend. It was, as I explained to folks who asked, what show dogs do on the weekends they aren't at dog shows. They go out and get dirty!

Tanner Tunnels

2010-09-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Tanner has being doing tunnels since he was a pup. Regulation agility tunnels can be between 22-26 inches tall. Tanner is 32 inches tall. However, just like in the dog door post, Tanner doesn't seem concerned about the size difference.

You can see that I throw a toy for Tanner to keep him driving straight through the tunnel. If I had an adult dog Tanner's size that I wanted to teach this behavior to, I would start with a hula hoop. I would want to dog to be comfortable to scrunching down to get through the hoop before I moved on.

The next step would be to have them go through a tunnel that is completely scrunched up and more like a thick hula hoop than a tunnel. I would gradually lengthen the tunnel while keeping a high rate of reinforcement up for the dog. Keeping training sessions short so that the dog is never tired of the activity is also important!

Tanner Learns to Heel(by Tamara DePue)

2010-08-31T21:27:00.000-07:00

I have spent lots of time working on the stationary heel position with Tanner. We worked on attention in this position until I was confident he understood what I wanted and could do it in a variety of places. Next we worked on taking the first step. Tanner wanted to drop his head and look forward on the first step so we spent a lot of time jumping forward for a treat on the first step. Meanwhile, I worked with him in front of me pushing me backwards for a treat. When he was really into that game I would turn around so that he was on my left side and click and treat. I also taught him to swing his butt in to me in separate sessions. Here, we finally put it all together into a formal heel.

He is about 20 months old and this is really the first time I have asked him to do this much heeling at once. I am pleased to see that after working on all the components separately, he was able to put them all together! There is still lots of work for us to do. But, I am pleased with the progress so far. What's next? We will continue to work on the components in a variety of places. I will keep the frequency of reward high to continue his great attitude regarding this work. I can see that I need to make sure his whole body is in alignment when I treat after the click. He is forging a little bit too and we will work on refining the heel position. In fact, the whole reason I asked my friend to video this for me was so I can see where I need to improve!

Simple Pleasures

2010-08-27T20:37:00.001-07:00

I ask a lot of my dogs, they perform in conformation, obedience, agility, tracking or rally and many weekends we are off competing in some event. However they also have their down time where they can just do what dogs do for fun. Whisper and Echo still like to play with each other-dinosaur mouth wars or just the regular chase game.

After the games end they are tired happy dogs for alittle while and then it starts all over again. In the evenings it seems like it goes on endlessly. Mouth wars, tugging, chasing, rest then up and start again.

Lyric however doesn't enjoy playing with anyone except her daughter Echo and only briefly . She finds her own amusement elsewhere. She-and her daughter love to "trance", they both find that behavior relaxing. Lyric's dad, her brothers and now her daughter all display the same behavior. I wonder if it like "nursing" is a genetic based trait. Whenever Lyric is no where around she can generally be found "trancing" in the sunflowers plants in the far backyard. It seems like an odd behavior to stand in or under plants that have leaves touching their backs/neck. They stand for minutes in one position with a glassy fixed look to their face. If called they snap out of the daze, back out of the bushes are ready to go. Funny but harmless behavior.

One thing Lyric has learned to love is the vegetable garden. Carrots, tomatoes or anything else that comes out of the boxes to eat-she is there waiting, with Echo close behind.

Becca's Obedience Career

2010-08-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

Lyric’s puppies were raised with a puppy nanny-Helsa-along with the breeder Helen. Between the two of them the puppies had continous human contact and training from the time they were born. Noises, cats, ramps, stairs, children anything they might encounter as an adult was introduced as soon as they were aware of their surroundings. Training was started when they could walk around. Holding a piece of food near their little noses can make them do marvelous things at a young age. By the time they were six weeks old all puppies would willingly sit or down for treats.

This has been the case for Becca. I continued this type of training when Becca went home with me and then into her puppy socialization class where she additionally learned the concertina down ( front legs down first followed by the rear) as opposed to the dog sitting first and then downing. While she was standing, I held a piece of food between her front legs and as she went to grab it, I continued to put the food further back and down between her front legs until her front legs were on the ground and her rear then followed to the ground. I’m hoping eventually to show her in open obedience and we are currently enrolled in a class for this. At this point in time, she is one step ahead of the class in the “drop on recall” training because she already knows the concertina down—I did, however, give this a different command instead of “down”—I ask her to “crash” and it has worked quite well for us.

BTW--I’m happy to report that Becca received a qualifying score AND a third place at her first entry in the Beginning Novice class at an all- breed obedience trial. This is a new AKC titling event that became effective in July of this year. It’s fun and less stressful (on the handler!!) than the Novice obedience class and makes a nice transition between rally and the novice class. It incorporates rally and basic obedience.

Maybe this planning ahead when the pups were so young will pay off in Becca’s obedience “career”—I really think that it has so far.

Odd Behavior

2010-08-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

Lyric likes to nurse toys. Never having a greyhound do this before I wondered if she was weaned before she was ready to stop nursing. It seems to occur only when she is ready to relax and sleep. Generally the nursing is confined to only two toys. I was suprised then to find some of Lyric's puppies-Becca and Echo-show the same behavior. Both Lyric and Echo have the same favorite "nursing" toy.

Knowing how they were raised and weaned I now wonder if if there is a genetic basis to the behavior. Below is Becca's story and video.

Nothing is more comforting that “nursing” your security blanket as seen in the video. Becca usually walks over to the throw in either the bedroom or kitchen; then with her paw, pulls back the edge to expose the fleece part and starts to nurse. Even though she’s 20 months old, she’s still very much a puppy in this respect.