Leash Monsters

I just attended a fantastic seminar called "Leash Monsters" at 4Paws University.  It was fantastic!

A Leash Monster is a dog that goes ballistic when it spots a dog, cat, bicycle, etc... while on a leash.  It was cute she called us members of the Midnight Walkers Club. 

She started by sharing her story of her first dog that was a leash monster; he sounded like quite a handful.  We proceeded by discussing body language in dogs and we saw a few videos.  The discussion on causes was minimal due to the fact that many dogs are adopted and many times the reasons are unknown. 

She ended by showing us techniques she teaches her students. 

I loved he way she organized the class and the topics she presented.  I also liked the way she didn't try to make us feel bad we had naughty dogs. It was very factual with lots of helpful tips.

The best thing I learned:  Most of the techniques that were mentioned were already part of my toolkit. This made me feel like I wasn't harming or torturing Marley while trying to manage her behavior. 

4Paws University will be hosting seminars once a month for the next couple of months.  This seminar was so good, I may attend the whole series.

New Bill Signed to protect Abused Animals

The Governor signed SB1500 by Sen. Ted W. Lieu. 

It is very exciting.  

When a pet is picked up due to animal cruelty or neglect it will not be returned to the owner.  It is my understanding that pets must be returned if the owners can prove the pet is healthy and there is adequate shelter and food for the animal.  At this time the pet is held by animal control who takes care of it and therefore the pet is always healthy by the time this is in court.  This will allow an abused or neglected pet to be either released to a rescue organization or adopted much sooner than in the past. 

Here is the link for the news article. 

I'm not clear on the nuances of the law, I'm sure its pretty clear I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pleased an abused animal will not be returned to an abusive home.   If you know more about this law please share your feedback.

Pool Plunge at Cameron Park Lake

On Saturday we attended our favorite summer event, Pool Plunge! It is a fabulous event hosted by the El Dorado Dog Owners Guild as a dog park fundraiser. It seems every year the event is just better than the last and Marley has a great time, even if she doesn't swim.

This year we received a fun goodie bag with some flyers for local animal businesses and a few treats.

Yummy!

Nobody is looking, I can help myself, right?

Marley went swimming! 

Well, not actually swimming, she prefers to stalk the ripples in the water. It seems every year she wades further into the lake.  Maybe by next year she'll actually swim.

After wading in the water and running around we decided it was time for a snack.  We found our favorite vendor, Pups-n-Cups and we both had a tasty snack.  The donuts looked scrumptious and Marley thought they were fantastic.

After our snack / shopping break we went wading again.  Marley had a great time chasing the ripples in the water and running in the sand.

What, its time to go?

I am really impressed with the great job the El Dorado Dog Owners Guild did organizing such a fun event.  Every year they seem to make it better and bigger.  This year they added a Dog free 5k prior to the swimming event.  The raffle prizes were fantastic and there was a wide variety of prizes.  The volunteers are incredibly friendly and seem to have a great time hosting the event.  We look forward to next year!

Marley tried to stay awake for the ride home. 

Summer Heat

This summer has been unusually hot in our region.  Temperatures have been over 100 degrees for weeks and today was about 108 degrees.  Totally crazy weather.

Some of our tricks for staying safe in extreme heat are:

• I don't allow Marley to walk on asphalt or concrete if I'm not comfortable walking barefoot.  Her paws are sensitive and I don't want them to blister.  She walks on dirt or grass.
• We avoid the outdoors between 2-6 p.m., the hottest part of the day.
• I carry cool water with me on our walks.
• Marley receives  most of her meals from a treat ball, due to our restrictive schedule she needs additional mental stimulation.
• I brush her coat every evening to remove bits of dry brush or grass.  Foxtails are a huge problem and cling to her coat.
• We are working on our agility foundation exercises.
• Trick training is fantastic during the heat.

We have also started inventing  some fun indoor games, which I'll share with you soon.  This weekend we'll spend some time at the lake and the river, which should be refreshing.  I hope everybody is staying cool.

Here are some additional tips for surviving the summer weather.

I'm very proud of Marley!

Marley has been incredibly smug for the last week.

Do you want to know why?  

We were practicing weaving 6 poles and I thought, hmm...why don't I try 12 poles?  Marley looked at the poles and wove all 12 poles.  I thought it was a fluke and tried again...and again...and again.  I can confidently say, "Marley is weaving!"

I'm not sure when it clicked but she is doing it without skipping any poles or pausing.  We still have some work  with weaving such as proofing and sequencing; however, this is a huge accomplishment and I'm totally proud of my silly dog.

Of course I could weave!  I was just tricking you for more cookies. 

 Were you really worried?

Somebody is proud of herself

Our 1st Agility Trial

I know you're probably dying to know what happened this weekend at Marley's first trial.  Well, I have to begin by saying we survived the heat (temperatures between 100-106 degrees the whole weekend) and Marley had a great time.  We did Perf Jumpers on both Saturday and Sunday.  We are still having issues with Marley's height, I had her measured both days and the measurements are very different.

Saturday:  I found a quiet cool spot under a tree by the car to crate Marley.  I picked up my map and worked on my strategy. When it was our turn I lined Marley up at the start and took off her collar.  I released her and she took off...to make new friends with the pole setters and the Judge.  I managed to call her back and she kept finding new stuff to sniff.  Needless to say it was quite an experience.  I'm really glad I didn't have very many expectations.  Overall, I met my goals by staying on course and Marley met her goal by having a great time.

Sunday:  The quiet cool spot under the tree started to cause Marley some stress and I ended up moving her closer to the ring.   She kept an eye on me the entire time she was in her crate. It was a bit unnerving.  I spent time working on nose touches and heeling to help her overcome the distractions.  I also spent more time at the practice jump.  When it was our turn I set her up and slowly walked away keeping my eye on her the entire time.  I released her and she jumped over the jump and took off towards the Judge.  I used my no-nonsense voice and called her back. Once she was next too me it was fantastic.  She took all the jumps in front of her and didn't hesitate going into the tunnels.  It was marvelous until we headed towards the finish.  With one jump left she veered away and started running towards the scribe and timer.  I managed to call her back and jump over the last jump. It was awesome!


Our instructor met us at the exit of the ring and told me we did a great job and gave me some advice on cool down.  Our instructor is the best!

Overall, we had a great time and everybody was simply so nice and welcoming. I can't wait to do it all over again.