Marley's Adventures: April 2009

Monday, April 27, 2009

Agility 2.1

There is only one word to discuss our beginning agility class, disaster.

First of all, it was so much harder than I expected. This class is more about training me on guiding Marley through the course. I have to remember the placement of my shoulders and my feet. I can see how this will benefit us in the long run, however I'm kind of klutzy and this is hard.

Secondly, Marley was a hooligan in class. She was so excited to be there, she spent about 15 minutes just wiggling and yipping. She also decided recall was an optional command.

We are now learning sequencing and this is a bit on how our disaster went:

Jump, Jump, Teeter: Marley likes these different activities. During class Marley decided she was going to run around the second jump and do the teeter (which she loves). She ran around the teeter and ran it again. She ran away and did a jump and the teeter.
Weave poles, dog walk: This actually went well, however Marley was wearing her leash the entire time.
Pinwheel jump (the jumps were in a circular pattern): Marley kept trying to go around the jumps.
Pinwheel jumps, tunnel: Marley decided the tunnel was optional and she wasn't interested.

I need to find a way to control or direct her excitement, it was just too distracting and it took her too long to focus. We also need to spend some time working on the basics, recall is never an optional command in my book.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Pet First Aid Class

I just completed the pet first aid class at UC Davis. I learned a lot and I feel confident about taking action should anything happen to Marley.

We learned

how to approach an injured animal and how to check its breathing and pulse
how to administer CPR and we were able to practice on a first aid dog doll
discussed muzzles and why its important for your dog to be comfortable wearing one*
practiced bandaging an injury on a leg and on an ear
the first steps to take when you think your dog has been poisoned
discussed disaster preparedness

As a first time dog owner, I learned a lot and I highly recommend this class.

There is still time to sign up for the next classes which are offered on May 16, June 20 and July 18th.

*Tip: All pets have the potential to bite when in pain or injured and it is best to place a muzzle on an injured pet. It was recommend we practice placing a muzzle on our pets that way when they are injured it does not become another stressor. She recommended starting slow and have play time immediately afterward.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Agility 7

This was our last Intro to Agility class. We will start Beginning Agility class next week.

Dog Walk - This was introduced this week and Marley just ran (yep ran she didn't walk) up and over the dog walk.

Weave poles - We have moved from the cage weave poles to the guide weave poles. The cage weave poles have a x-pen on either side guiding the dog in the correct direction. The guide weave poles have a thick wire that guides the dog through the weave poles in the correct direction. Marley had some trouble with this transition. She thought it was more fun jumping over the wire rather than running through the poles.

Teeter - This was moved to position 2 (which is higher) and Marley was quivering with excitement while waiting for her turn.

Chute - Marley has no trouble with this at all.

I really need to start working on her contact and target skills. Marley would like me to start looking into buying equipment. I'm sure she'll enjoy our next class.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Pet First Aid

I was pleasantly surprised at the number of places that offer pet first aid in my neighborhood.

PetTech is offering classes at the UC Davis School of Veteranary Medicine In April and May.

If you are in a different part of the country or if you are interested in becoming a pet first aid instructor, you can contact Pet Tech (not the same site as listed above)

I'm very excited about this class and I hope to be pet prepared for any emergency that may arise.