Ahh!

I know I'm updating a lot recently but that's because my dogs are being so amazing!
Li and I did a little agility today. The plan was just to do tricks and cik/cap a little with lots of rewards while playing the "Give me a break" game. Well, whenever I gave him a break he would start jumping on me so I used his enthusiasm to practice some agility. His distance work was fantastic! And the best part.....he ran his first dog walk! I usually put him in the middle and have him run down because we have running contacts and are back training the obstacle. Well, he ran up the contact, past the middle, and down the other side and hit both contacts with perfect stride! I am ecstatic! I wasn't planning on asking for an entire dog walk for a while yet. I'm so happy with my boy, he didn't even look at the donkey today. Starting out with heavy rewards and making him ask -me- to train with him worked awesome.

I took Flick and Li for a 3 mile walk today in pouring rain, lol.

I am on an emotional high still because of what Li did!

Edit:

I sequenced with Flick as well and she did great with distance work. =]

I am going to read Control Unleashed. "When Pigs Fly" and "From the Ground Up" are also on my list. CU mostly for Li's focus. I'm reading "When Pigs Fly" for more info for future reference. Aaand I am working through "From the Ground Up" as well as Anthony Clarke's foundation books for Flick. =D

It is my birthday!

I'm happy! and it's my birthday!

Great videos, lol. We had a small party here yesterday for the relatives. Then we took all 4 dogs up to the woods for a long walk! That was great. I got some money- I can start to pay off dad for Flick. lol I found out that mom is paying for my dog walk...I argued that one a bit but she said that it is part of my extracurricular/sports thing. I agreed when she put it like that. After all, she used to dish out 110 a month for gymnastics so...

-Ria

Training Updates

Training today was great...Li has good running contacts. The 12' plank is set at 36" high. I am working on getting complete running contacts on a full sized dog walk, getting him to weave 6 poles, and teaching him left&right&go on before December. We have already made so much progress that it seems like we will reach these goals by November! haha

Flick is coming along slowly but surely. Her running contacts are crap because she, like Li used to, hops off the side of the board whether it is propped up or flat. My brother and I are back training her so she learns to run straight, lol. Our main goal for the rest of autumn is running contacts on a full sized dog walk and left&right&go on. She is doing better than Li so far in the directional commands aspect. They each have their own area of expertise- flick's is thinking and Li's is doing! xD

Li has a few new tricks. I really need to get a camcorder! He snaps at the air, sits with his paws in the air, sits while moving his front paws up and down in the air [we call that one "Stallion"]. He also invented a new one when we were free shaping. He turns so his rear is facing me, then looks at me, bending his head straight over his back to view me upside down. He is such a dork! haha I love my dogs!

-Ria

October Agility Training

Things are going well in general.

I tried some Ketschkers with Li and he was flawless. I will definitely be using these in competition. They are so fun!
Click here to view a video of them
Li is just working on these and different directional commands. We are also working on distance.

Flick is running the same courses as Li which is amazing! But I am emphasizing Cik and Cap as she doesn't have those down perfect. Also, she is learning to follow my hand because it gets annoying when I have my right arm out and she suddenly appears on my left, haha.

I was drilling tunnel entries with both. I think we did well all in all. If it not windy in the next week or so, Flick will be learning the Chute. I was doing channel weaves with them but I'm almost tempted to give it a rest fot the Winter. I am not competing until April probably so I don't have to train weaves until March. There are only 6 weaves in the first level of AKC so I'm not concerned. Knowing my dogs, they will pick up the weaves in a couple of weeks.

I am going to make my dog walk when the kit arrives. I won't make an A-Frame until November or December. My teeter base plan is in the "shop" but when my uncle gets around to it, it is as good as done. Anyway, the talk of Contact equipment reminds me that I should be working on running contacts as well, haha.

That's all for now. My birthday is in a week- I'll be 15. Only one more year until I can drive and I'll really be hitting the Agility rings! Thank goodness for a family that is into the car business...my mom assured me the other day that I don't have to buy my own car. That means I can focus on paying off all my agility equipment. xD

-Ria

PyreShep Rant

I am honestly so worried about the future of my breed. Dx

PyreSheps are in a delicate place currently as far as temperament and drive goes and I'm afraid that if more people get into the breed that only want to show, it will be a mess. A few breeders [I wont name names] don't even screen potential homes! And they talk up the breed like it is perfect! These things are naughty! And crazy, and hyper, and stubborn and an armful and a half!

Everytime I hear someone say "I really want a PyreShep" I just cringe. I don't know why...I love the breed. I just feel so overly protective of it. At least one breeder I know of [again, not naming names] has at -least 3-5 litters PER YEAR. What the hell?

It makes me so sad to imagine my boy in a home where he doesn't get constant attention. In my opinion, not everyone is suited for a PyreShep...in fact barely anyone is. I'm not calling myself special...I just have a lot of time, willpower, and experience training stubborn dogs. Coming from a Siberian, my boy seems really obedient and "easy" but if I was coming from say, a BC or Aussie, he would seem like an impossible demon.

People love them because they are "fast and obedient" but what Pyres have you seen? Oh right! The -trained- ones at the agility trials. You didn't fall in love with the sense of humour, the charm, the crazy "try anything" attitude....you fell in love with the "pretty outline" or the fast run times. You hear that they need tons of socialization. You think "every breed claims that, of course every breed needs socialization..." but they are over the top. You hear that they need exercise but you think "So do all dogs..." but they are over the top. This breed is not for everyone. You may think "Borders and Huskies claim that as well..." but they are OVER THE TOP. Honestly, most people would hate my Pyre...and they do. Everyone that meets him either loves him or hates him...the latter being the majority.

They aren't like Borders. They aren't like Labs. They aren't like Aussies.

People let the insanely amazing "Pros" overshadow the insanely terrible "Cons". Sure, they barely shed, are fast, are a perfect size, and can be trained to do amazing things. But they bark excessively, their coat holds a ton of water and dirt and mud that they bring into the house, they dig like crazy, they get very dirty on purpose, they are bossy with other dogs, they chase cats, can be hard to housetrain, they take the wrong obstacle in a second when you run agility, and so on. Yep, people claim that most this stuff can be trained out. It can. But they of course don't tell you how hard it is. My boy is now a year old. And after battling accidents in the house, dirty pawprints on the carpet and my clothes, him constantly jumping the 4 foot fence into the goat pen, him chasing the horses and eating horse "apples", chasing the cats, purposely provoking other dogs, him barking and growling at every visitor and sometimes even members of the family that come home, and him ignoring my recalls, I am starting to see results. The past few months have been horrible- I didn't want to admit to anyone that my perfect puppy turned into a disobedient nervous wreck. I socialized him, did everything right and he turned out wrong. He is now comes when he is called most of the time, leaves cats alone, only barks a little when people come over, and doesn't have accidents inside anymore. But it was hard and the only reason it happened was because I started to do online schooling so I could be with him 24/7 to fix his problems. He still is reactive to people out in public, and even goes after our horses still.
If you can't commit to being with your dog at least most of the time-especially during the first year or two of life-then don't get a PyreShep.
Nothing prepared me for this experience, not research on the computer or meeting them in real life. Everyone I met talked them up like crazy and I only met well behaved dogs. Remember this post before considering one, please!

Flick and Li

I have my new Terv! Exciting much! Almost all of today was spent outside with the 4 dogs: Shadow, Libby, Li, and Flick. We figured out who is going to be doing what. I'm doing Agility with Flick and Li and showmanship with Flick.

I had a falling out with my dog show mentor though. Apparently she has been saying some nasty stuff behind my back. I've decided to quit the dog show scene. I'm so glad I had Flick spayed. I never want to do conformation. I am going to do juniors though I think occasionally. Look out for Flick and Li in agility rings around the Wisconsin and Minnesota area this Spring! Like one of my best friends, Sarena, said perfectly about showing, "Meanwhile you sacrifice your money, your family, your relationship with your animals (they don't like it, whatever people say, it's so stressful, and the ones that 'love it', really just love the bait, or the attention, or the 'getting out in the car') and your will power. It winds people up, it makes them competitive and fierce.

I'm not showing much anymore because I've realised that..." and agility. "I think that agility builds a much better, healthier bond between human and dog, though it's still very competitive, and it's better for the health of both partners."

Soooo, life is good. And I finally have a cell phone, lol.

Came to a Decision

I've decided to wait on a new agility dog for now. But I may be getting a retired sleddog that leads for bikejoring and recreational sledding. it could be fun, haha. It depends what my parents say.