Saturday, February 28, 2015

Lure Coursing

We did Marley's favorite thing today.  I signed her up for the 300 yard course and at the last minute it was decided she could do the 600 yard course.  She loved it!

I mentioned before the event how I couldn't let her see the course because she would go ballistic!  A friend laughed and said, "She's not as wild as the dobermans."  I laughed with her and as soon as the event started Marley lost her presence of mind and whined, yipped, and squirmed trying to get the lure.  My friend looked at us and said, "Oh my gosh, she is more wild than the dobermans."

This is such a fun activity for all dogs.  I saw a tiny chihuahua run the 300 yard course and she was awesome! We gave her a standing ovation for completing the course, she was so tiny she had to leap up to see the lure over some the grass.

Thanks to Joyce for taking such nice photos of both Marley and Piek.

Marley at full speed.

Check out her stride!

600 yards is a lot for a little dog!
Piek loving the long run.

Awesome stride!

Piek is so graceful!

Monday, February 16, 2015

Piek and the Magic Pants

Waiting for treats during their mid-day walk.
Piek is settling in nicely.  He knows Marley is in charge, Bob is to be avoided at all costs and Mojo is his buddy.

He spent his first month trying to convince me his name was not Piek and he had no idea what "sit" meant.  Once he realized I have magic pants that are filled with yummy treats he decided his name was in fact Piek and he might know a few things.

He is fantastic on his own, his lose leash walking is fabulous.  He'll look at me for cues and maintain my pace (mostly, he still likes to pee on everything).  He'll wait inside the door until I invite him to step outside.  He loves people and feels everybody is his friend.

He is awesome until Marley joins us on a walk...at which point he forgets everything and he pulls on the leash and allows Marley to trick him into barking at everything. It takes him a while to realize I'm wearing the magic treat filled pants and its in his best interest to behave. Marley seems to be incredibly amused and tries to trick me into giving her extra treats because she is such a good dog.

In the morning we walk to the local tennis courts and Marley and Piek practice recalls and stays.  Piek is doing fantastic, I can place him on a stay next to Marley and I can do jumping jacks and some of my cool dance moves and Piek will maintain a solid stay.  This is really fantastic!

He has also attended his first Jo Sermon Workshop.  Of course it was a puppy workshop and he was the oldest dog there and he did great.  Jo gave me great advise on how to increase his focus and attention.  She is a wealth of information and I highly suggest if you have the chance to attend one of her workshops, you should.

Right now we are working on some attention and focus exercises.  He is a lovely dog and Marley likes to pretend she doesn't care he is here but I've caught her playing with him.