California Girl Thanksgiving

I hope everybody had a great holiday weekend.

We went on a short vacation where Marley learned a lot of great stuff.  She learned:

• "Mom's fridge" is full of yummy stuff
• Moles are scary creatures
• If you turn your nose up at healthy kibble, somebody will reach into "Mom's fridge" and add yummy turkey to your bowl
• Fireplaces are warm
• Backyards are really fun
• All the cool dogs hang out at the beach

The weather was perfect, warm (around 84 degrees) and sunny.  Marley had a great time.  She peed on seaweed, swam in the ocean and ran around in huge circles along the coast.  She strongly approves of beach vacations.

I was worried Marley would misbehave and I was very careful to be a good guest.  However, everybody was impressed with her behavior and some of the compliments we received were:

• She doesn't jump (on people or furniture)
• She is so quiet
• She doesn't harass the cats
• She is so relaxed and mellow in her crate

I checked a few times to make sure I had my dog and hadn't traded her in for somebody else's  well behaved dog. All of our hard work seemed to have payed off and now that I know she'll behave, I see more vacations in our future. 

Calling All Super Models

In December 2010 the Carmichael Recreation and Park District (CRPD) approved the Carmichael Dog Park Proposed Renovation as part of the District-Wide Master Plan after hosting three community meetings during which CRPD staff heard public input regarding renovation and improvements at the dog park. The resulting Proposed Dog Park Renovation includes upgrading the infrastructure, adding trails, seating, shade, new fencing, and enlarging the small dog park.

Due to economic times the Park District offered to share the cost of renovations with the Carmichael Canine Corral (at times also known as Carmichael Dog Park Society).  This is one of the many fundraisers we will host in order to raise sufficient funds to start renovations for a healthier park.

Cover Girls Need a Whole Month!

The 1st Annual Calendar Photo Event will be held on December 17, 2011 from 10-1 p.m. at Carmichael Park. A professional photographer will ensure all dogs that attend will be in the calendar. There is no charge for participating.

My Cover Girl wants her own month. There is the option for all those fabulous Super Models who wish to donate $50 for their own month.

The calendar can be pre-ordered on December 17th for $15 or you can purchase your calendar at a later date for $17.

Vendors will be present and there will be Free Doughnuts, Coffee and Cocoa. See ya there!

Weave Trama

We have the best Agility Trainer!

A couple of weeks ago she said, "Next week we'll weave."

I became a bit apprehensiveness because we are not actually weaving yet.  We are at the 2 sets of poles about 3 meters apart section.  I thought about it a bit and decided if Susan Garrett believes weaving can be taught in 21 days, we can totally weave in a week.

It seems I may have forgotten to inform Marley we were going to weave like the big dogs. I started by moving the two sets about a meter apart and I figured within a couple of days we should be weaving.  The closer I set the poles the more Marley missed the second set.

I ended up sending our instructor an email confessing that not only were we not weaving but now Marley was skipping poles.  At this point I figured I was going to start at the beginning again and try to retrain the poles. By the time we got to class I was on the verge of tears.

Our instructor asked me to show her what I was doing and I sniffled the entire time as I showed her what we had worked on and the distance between poles.  Of course Marley didn't miss any poles and we actually impressed her with Marley's entrances.  She basically reassured me that we were fine and we should continue at our pace until we can weave.

I have to keep reminding myself this is a team sport and Marley is not capable of cramming for a test.

For our non-agility friends here is a brief synopsis:  weave training using the 2x2 method requires two sets of poles.  You begin with one set and build value for the dog for going through the poles.  Then you add the second set about 3-4 meters away and build value for the dog for going through both sets of poles.  Once the dog sees value in running through both sets you begin to shorten the distance between the two sets of poles until they are close enough.  I highly recommend the video.