Day Camp!

Last week, Meg started going to Ruff'n It Dog Day Camp. With the snow, ice, short days and no classes to go to, Meg has been getting a bit bored. I hoped Day Camp would give her exercise, socialization and help her gain more confidence.

On Tuesday, I went in to drop off her paperwork and I brought Meg so she could meet Dan (who runs the place) and sniff around a bit. Dan seems to really understand dogs and Border Collies. Meg sniffed him and then ignored him and he knew enough to take that as her acceptance of him and not try to pet her any further (which would have made Meg nervous).

On Wednesday morning, I dropped Meg off for her first day at camp. Dan said she did great and got along with all the other dogs. I watched her on the web cams from home. She quickly made friends with a boxer and a collie and hung out with them for most of the day.



When I picked her up in the afternoon, Dan gave me a set of pictures to commemorate her first day. So cute!



She went again for a half day on Thursday, where she made more friends and played with Jace, the German Shepherd who lives down the street from us.





She went back this week and met even more dogs. Dan said she spent a lot of time playing. She even met her 'mini me', a dog about half her size with similar markings. They followed each other around and played together for most of the day.

SNOW!!

Our last agility class did not go well. Meg has decided she does not like Penney anymore (the evil one who brings out the teeter) and barked at her straight off. So we spent a good portion of class working on that. Penney insisted we try her on the teeter again with it nearly flat. I reluctantly gave in. Meg still hated it. Then we worked on weaves a bit and that was all.

The next agility classes starts up in January. I'm not sure if we'll go. We may take some time off and work on things at home and try again in the spring. Partly because the last few classes have not been fun for Meg and partly because a deer rearranged the front end of my sister's car and we've been sharing mine to get to and from work. On top of that, the roads are covered in snow and I don't want to drive any more than necessary.

On the topic of snow, just last weekend we we had gorgeous golden brown leaves on the ground.



Now one week later we have two feet of snow on the ground.





Meg and Bear love it (as long as they don't have to stay outside too long). Here is a video of Meg and Bear and I playing in the snow for the first time:

Roll Over Beethoven...

Meg is learning to play the piano! I thought the noise might bother her but she seems to enjoy it. She isn't much of a composer, but its a cute trick to show off for visitors and another confidence booster for Meg. I'll post a video once she's had a bit more practice.

This week agility went a bit smoother as we did not attempt the teeter. Meg was hesitant on the dog walk the first time but once she was sure it wasn't a teeter in disguise she enthusiastically jogged the length of it three times with a very nice bottom-stay on the ending contact each time. On a tunnel-jump sequence, she wanted to go around the jump not over. We used some extra jump wings to block her and she happily went over the jump. The tire gave her some trouble at first too. I'm not sure why...she wanted to go through the gap between the tire and the support, not something she's done in the past. She was brilliant on the table. We've only worked on a table-down 3-4 times in class and not at all at home, but she knew what she was supposed to do. Later, in our handling practice, Meg has a very nice out and wrap, but I need to work on my hand signals still. I keep giving the same hand signal for 'out' when I'm asking for a 'switch' and Meg isn't sure what I want so I/we have some practice to do.

I'm sad to say today was our last class for Prep School. We had a play session before class and Meg was confident enough to run the perimeter of the yard for the first time (she usually sticks pretty close to me). She and Dahrma went for a run until the lab arrived. Meg did better with the lab in the yard than she ever has though. She ran around with her for a bit before deciding she had enough and coming back to me. When the German brothers arrived, they were pretty wired and a bit more than Meg could handle at the same time, but she still did ok.

When class started, Meg got to show off her new tricks ('pretty', wave, and roll over). Then she also showed off her down stay. She does very good as long as she can see me. If I leave her sight, she stands up to look for me (though she still stays in the same spot). Then she got to be the distraction for the other dogs, which was nice because we worked on loose leash walking through a maze of dogs. Meg played with Dahrma for a bit while everyone else got some pointers on stay. Then all the dogs practiced being calm and quiet while us people talked. Meg was so calm she fell asleep...lol. It was a great class, and we're looking forward to taking the Advanced Class with Lisa in January!

Let's Play!

This week in agility class, Meg once again let us know how much she dislikes the teeter. I think maybe we'll just skip the teeter for now since she is so adamant about not liking it. Most of the local competitions are NADAC anyway (no teeter). Meg also did not want to go through the chute with the cloth, though I think with a little practice, she'll get over that one quickly. We introduced Meg to the weave poles...she did well. This week we've been working with a triangle of buckets and practicing our outs, switches, and wraps. Meg does better than I do...my hand signals are inconsistent but she's training me and I'm improving (slowly).

On Saturday in our Prep School class, Meg did great in the pre-class play session. All the dogs were in the yard together and Meg wasn't the slightest bit nervous, even when the crazy lab was flying all over the place and Dahrma had to tackle her to remind her to get control of herself. Meg the workaholic just took it as an opportunity to come sit-lay-stand in front of me in an effort to coerce some treats from me.

During class, Meg kept trying to get everyone to play with her. She bowed, nudged, pounced, rolled, and wiggled for all five of the other dogs in class. A few took her up on her offer to play, but the German Shepherd pups got a bit too enthusiastic so we had to step in before things got out of hand.

We worked on impulse control exercises in class. Meg did great! We also worked on getting the dogs to do the basics (sit, down, stand, stay) regardless of what position we were in. Meg has trouble with this. She feels the need to be able to see my face at all times. So that's our homework for the week...getting her to understand she does not need to see my face when I ask her to do something.

In addition to training for her classes, we've also been working on a few new tricks. Meg already knows shake (right paw), paw (left paw), and crawl. She recently learned to wave. We've also been working on 'pretty' (sit up) and roll over. She doesn't quite have the balance for 'pretty' yet, but she's improving. I've tried to teach her to roll over a few times over the past few months, but she wasn't comfortable with it. We've been working on it for the past week with the clicker and have made progress; she'll at least go on to her side. This morning however, she had a bit of a break through and rolled completely over three times!

Distance Down

On Wednesday for our agility class, Meg was quite ornery. I think it was partly my fault because I lost track of time and had to rush us out the door so we weren't too late getting to class. Once we arrived, Meg immediately decided that the German Shepherd that was there from a previous class was out to get her (though he was ignoring her) and she barked, growled and lunged at him several times. *sigh*

Meg was all alone in class today, so we started her on the teeter, since that is where she needs the most work. On her second time getting on the teeter, she growled a little and showed her teeth at the trainer to show just how much she dislikes the teeter. After a couple more tries on the teeter, we moved to the A-frame. She tried going around it all together the first couple times (last week I couldn't keep her off of it). Same with dog walk. Then we moved to the tunnel. She likes the tunnel and started to settle down a bit after that, so we started stringing obstacles together. Curved tunnel to table, jump to tire, two jumps (angled) then tire. She liked that, but I need some work here. I have to remember to say "yes" every time she does something right. If I don't she keeps trying different things to figure out what it is I want, even though she's already done it.

Meg was in a great mood for Prep School today. When we arrived, Dharma and one of the labs were playing in the yard. Lise (trainer) suggested I try Meg out in the yard with the lab (after Dharma had worked with her a bit). We went out and Meg did very well. She even tried to get the lab to play chase, but then decided that was a bit more than she could handle and told the lab to stop (with a high pitched bark). This lab doesn't have much self control so we stepped in to help Meg out, and then all was well. Then the terrified little chiweenie Skippy arrived. Meg went up to sniff him, he was ok at first, then growled so Meg backed off (good girl!). She was ok with the German Shepherd puppies too!

During class, Meg started to play with Dharma. They get along great and it was fun to watch them swat at each other and play bow. Then Meg also went to the end of her leash to meet Skippy again. Skippy was feeling a bit more brave and let her sniff him and even came up to her to sniff her.

Last Saturday in our Prep School class, we started working on a distance down. Once again this week, due to work and the shorter days of winter, we weren't able to spend much time training. Today in class, we continued to work on a distance down, but Meg doesn't quite have it. If she is stationary, it doesn't matter where I am or how far away I am, she'll go into a down. But if she's moving, she wants to come all the way to me before going into a down. Telling her to stay before telling her 'down' doesn't seem to work either.

We'll keep trying. Hopefully we'll be able to train more this week and make some progress.

A Breakhrough (of sorts)

Wednesdays agility class was pretty uneventful. We just practiced on the equipment again. Meg loves the A-Frame, Dogwalk, and Tunnel. Jumps are a bit confusing, but we're getting there. The Teeter is out to get her! (she doesn't like the 'bang')

A few hours after class though, we had a bit of a breakthrough on Meg's dog-reactive issue. We went for a walk and as usual Meg flipped out and started getting all tense and barking the second we heard then saw another dog. Only this time I had the clicker. I did nothing and just waited. When she stopped barking for a couple seconds, I clicked the quiet. It was awesome...as soon as she heard the click she immediately relaxed and turned to me for her treat that she knew was coming.

When she started barking again, I waited and clicked the quiet. She again relaxed and looked to me for a treat. I got in four clicks for quiet and didn't hear another bark on the whole walk (though she was still tense and searching for dogs at times).

Never have I seen Meg completely relax so quickly after she goes into her reactive state of mind. Even if I have her sit and look at me, she's still tense. The clicker is our new friend that will continue to go on walks with us.

Prep School, Class 2: Dog Interactions

We had a great day at class yesterday. We were the first to arrive, so we took Dharma and Meg out to the yard together. Thy got along great. Then a young yellow lab pup (5 mos old ) arrived and joined us. Meg had not met this pup yet. The pup was bouncing all over and getting in Meg's face. Meg showed her teeth and snapped at the air to warn the pup off. Pup wasn't listening. So Meg gave a bark (high pitched, half yelp). Pup still didn't listen. Lisa (trainer) stepped in to deal with the overly exuberant lab pup that was being disrespectful. Meg wasn't happy, but she proved that she is not the slightest bit aggressive even in situations where she has cause to be.

The other hyper lab and two German Shep pups arrived then. The bouncing labs went inside while the more mellow dogs stayed outside. Meg did well with the German Shepherd pups who were much calmer.

After everyone had a chance to meet, then settle down, we worked on clicker training again. I even got clicker trained by Lisa (rewarded with a dollar!).

Meg needs to work on Stand this week. She does great at the focus exercises.

Watching Meg interact with the other dogs was fantastic. I learned a lot about her this week!

Why go over when you can go under?

Meg and I began our Agility 1 class with Penney Morse today. Unfortunately, there's only one other dog in her class so it won't do too much for getting her used to working around lots of other dogs, but we still had fun.

First, Meg got to try out the tunnel. She thought it was great and wanted to go through again and again. Then she gave the A-frame a try...that one was a bit scary the first time, but with a little help, she got the idea and went over 2 more times, getting faster and more confident each time. Then we worked on the wobble board a bit, followed by the dog walk. The dog walk was scarier than the A-frame and Meg tried to jump off onto my shoulder on her second time over, but by the fourth time she was trying to run it like a pro!

Then we gave the pause table a shot...that was easy! And we listened to the teeter bang against the ground...Meg found that a bit scary, but tolerable.

And last came the jumps. Meg loves to jump and leap around at home, but these agility jumps were not impressive to her. Why go over them when you can go around? Or better yet, just go under? Or best off all, knock the bar off with your head and just walk right through?

With Penney's help, Meg finally started to get the idea after many tries with the jumps so we called it quits while we were a tad ahead. We'll have to work on it at home.

All that new stuff wore Meg out. After just 35 minutes of class, we came home and she curled up on my lap and was out! I don't think I've ever seen her snooze so soundly. It only lasted about 20 minutes, but I'm glad to have finally wore her out for a change.

Prep School

Yesterday was our first Prep School class with Lisa Lucas. We were the first to arrive which gave Meg a chance to settle in and to meet Dharma, Lisa's dog. Dharma is very calm and polite. Meg got to meet her off leash and did great. Meg was very unsure of the second dog to arrive, a bouncing, hyper lab.

We learned quite a bit in the first class. We started clicker training 'focus'. We also worked on 'Causing'...getting the dog to understand that their behavior is what causes the click then reward. We first asked them to lay down with a cue/hand signal, clicking and rewarding when the elbows hit the floor. Then we removed the hand signal and just waited for the dog to figure out what we wanted on her own, clicking and rewarding when they did it. It was great watching their minds work. Meg was the demo dog for this one and caught on very quickly.

At the end of class, Meg got to meet a German Shepherd puppy (off leash) and she did great. She also sniffed the lab, but when the lab started to get hyped up again Meg started to get nervous.

Lisa brought up a few interesting points about Meg and her reaction towards and interaction with other dogs:

1. She's a bit insecure. She gets very tense when the other dog tries to meet face to face. She's much more comfortable with sniffing the rear (the end without teeth).

2. She's a bit of a control freak. When other dogs are a bit wild and all over the place (like the lab mix in class), Meg feels the need to control the situation (typical of Border Collies I'm told).

3. She feels trapped by the leash. When she freaks out at other dogs on our walk, she is most likely trying to tell them to go away because she feels insecure and can't run away.

We'll continue to work on getting Meg comfortable on leash and trusting that I can handle the situation; she doesn't need to.

Looking forward to next weeks class! (And agility on Wednesday!)

Exciting Week - Pictures!

Meg had a great weekend. On Saturday she got to go to the tire shop (to fix a flat), to the bakery, and to the hardware store. She loved it and was well behaved.

On Sunday, we went to Valleyfest for Responsible Dog Ownership Day, where we watched the disc dog competition.

When we first arrived, Meg was a bit touchy and barked at a few dogs, but she soon settled in (hiding under a picnic table for a while) and focused her attention on the flying discs. Boy oh boy, did she really want to catch one! Perhaps next year.

We also visited the many booths for local shelters and dog-related business. Meg brought home bag full of free goodies including a new toy, a Petfinder bandana, and lots of treats to share with Bear. There was a ton of dogs everywhere and Meg did quite well at ignoring most of them. A few she focused in on and gave the Border Collie stare...we'll continue to work on that.


After Valleyfest, we went to lunch and then for a hike along

Off day? - Pictures!

Colors are changing everywhere and its starting to cool down outside. Perhaps its these changes that brought on Meg's weirdness today?

At least I hope Meg was just having an off day today. It started at 5:30am. She woke me up because she needed to go out. Nothing unusual there, but after she did her 'business' she refused to come back in. When I called her, she ran away from me and then turned and stared at me. I was tired and didn't really care if she stayed outside so Bear came in and Meg didn't. At about 6-6:30am, she started barking at something so Dad got up to bring her in, but she refused to come to him too. After that, she was quiet so we just left her out.
Later in the day, we went to agility class. Meg had been doing pretty well in training all week and I was excited to show what she could do in class. Meg however had other ideas.

I am the weak link...

Meg is doing great in agility! I on the other hand need some serious practice. I'm keep using the wrong arm to show her which way to go or I take my eyes off her and she ends up behind me. (Agility Rule #1: Never take your eye off the dog.) I'm also bad about having the treat/toy in the wrong hand. (Agility Rule #2: The hand closest to the dog is the 'active' hand.) Meg will have me trained sooner or later, but in the mean time she gets lost or frustrated with me until I get it right.

Meg and Bear didn't get much practice in last week because we (the humans) were out of town, but they still did pretty good. Today in class we expanded on some of what we did last week and worked on a few new things. When we arrived, the dogs did what I hope is their new pre-class routine.

Target!

Meg and I started playing a new game yesterday. She knows target, but is getting sloppy about it and won't actually touch the target with her nose and sometimes she will just walk towards it and then turn around and look at me. Other times we won't touch it with her nose...she'll just sit or lay on it, which is not what I want. Silly girl! So now we play target-soccer. I will kick the ball for her when she touches the target. Its fun watching her. She brings me the ball, she touches the target, I kick the ball. She brings it back, touches the target, I kick again. Hopefully this will help solidify her targeting and also help teach her not to come back to me to get a treat after she touches the target.

Yay....MAIL!

The post-woman and UPS guy have brought us some goodies!

Yesterday the new Frisbees I ordered from HyperFlite arrived. Up to this point, we've been using HyperFlite Fastback discs that I bought years ago for Bear's sister Matty (who passed away earlier this year). They are starting to get a bit beat up and not flying so straight (couldn't possibly be due to my throwing...lol).

I got Meg a couple of the SofFlite discs, the glow-in-the-dark Midnight Sun disc, and a Competition Standard Lite disc. We tried at the Midnight Sun after work last night.

Foundation Agility

Every Border Collie needs a job to keep them busy and out of trouble. Meg and I play Frisbee or ball several times a day. While it is fun and provides a physical outlet, I don't feel it is mentally stimulating enough for either of us. That's where agility comes in.

In August, Meg and I started taking a Foundation Agility class with Penney Morse of Sunara Dog Training. Meg has loved it right from the start, so much so that I decided to enroll Bear too so he can join in on the fun. He has bad hips so won't go farther than the foundation class, but he can benefit from learning something new.

In our first class,

The first few months....

Meg and Bear, the goofy 10-year-old lab mix, got along great right from the start. Anni, the cat, was quick to show Meg who's boss.

Meg was a bit nervous those first few weeks, but she soon began to find out where she fit in. We had a great time getting to know each other. She was a bit shy at first, especially towards Dad. She's a fairly soft dog and would try to hide if anyone spoke too loudly (whether it was directed at her or not).

I quickly learned how little Meg knew...the extent of her training seemed to be 'sit', 'come' and 'leave it' (the latter two she had just learned while staying with Eileen at Ravensgate). She loved toys, but wasn't sure how to include people in her games.

After she had a few days to settle in, we began Meg's education, starting with 'down', 'tug', 'drop it', and 'shake', and we continued to work on 'come' and 'leave it'.

Her first walk revealed that she was a bit dog reactive. Dogs at the park, vet, or store were fine. While on a walk however, she would she bark and jump and spin in circles at the sight of another dog. She quickly learned where all the dogs in the neighborhood lived. She would react to houses where dogs lived even if the dog was not present at the time we walked by.

After she had about 6 weeks to settle in, Meg and I enrolled in an obedience class at Northern Tails Dog Training with Lisa Lucas. Meg did great! She loved going to class and having a job to do. We worked on sit, down, leave it, heel, stay, and manners. We also got some tips and ideas on how to handle her reaction to other dogs on walks.

During this time, Meg also learned two of the greatest games ever invented...fetch and Frisbee!

Must love cats (or at least not eat them)...

I searched for six weeks.

I wanted a Border Collie.

I wanted a rescue.

She had to be a 'she', young but not a teething puppy that would need potty training, fairly quiet (Bear does enough barking for one household). She had to have potential for Agility and Frisbee, which meant she needed to be healthy and active. I wanted a medium sized dog this time so she had to be under 50 lbs. Oh, and she had to do well with cats. Mom's cat Anni and I don't always get along. As much as I'd like to see her be herded around the house by a rambunctious Border Collie, I knew that wouldn't go over to well. So...young, active, quiet, content, dog loving, cat loving female Border Collie.

I searched several times a day on Petfinder, craigslist, and breed rescue websites, looking at the same dogs over and over to make sure I didn't overlook my girl. While looking on the Pacific Northwest Border Collie Rescue site for the billionth time, I found her...

She was a gorgeous blue eyed merle. She was pictured with a cat. She was active and seeking a job and a family. I filled out the application for her and called Eileen at Ravensgate BC Rescue. No answer. I was disappointed, but kept trying. After a couple days I began to panic. I knew this was the girl for me and I didn't want to see her go to some one else. Finally, I received an email from Eileen telling me to try calling in the morning and talk on the machine a bit to give her time to answer.

The next day I got through and we talked about my gorgeous merle girl for about 20 minutes. Everything started out well enough. Yes, she does well with cats. Yes, she gets along with most other dogs, though some she doesn't like. She can be a bit pushy. She sometimes barks like crazy while in her crate. She's got a pretty intense personality and doesn't really have an off switch. She will escape from the yard and go roaming given the opportunity...

Ok, so maybe this was not the dog for me.

I'm about to say 'thanks' and hang up, when I remember that Eileen had another female Border Collie foster. What was her name? The one without a tail? Meagan!

Yes, she does well with the cats. She gets along with all the other dogs at the house. She's good friends with the merle girl, but has never followed her on her ventures under the fence. She rarely barks. She's active and full of energy, but she will calm down inside. She's a sweet dog, she just hasn't had a lot of training.

She's perfect! We talked for another two hours about Meagan and Border Collies in general. THIS was the girl for me.

At around a year of age, Meagan somehow ended up in the Canyon County Animal Shelter in Caldwell, ID. After spending three weeks in lock up, she was pulled by a border collie lover and sent to a foster home in Kennewick, WA. From there she went to live on a small farm in Bellingham, WA where they intended to put her to work herding. It didn't work out and five months later she went back into a foster home, this time, with Ravensgate Border Collie Rescue on Camano Island, WA.

We drove seven hours to meet Meagan, the black and white, 40 lb tail-less rough coat gal that stole my heart. We went for a walk with Eileen, Meagan, four other dogs and a cat. After a round of kisses and a full body wag (Meg, not me), I knew that this was MY girl. She jumped in the car as soon as we opened the door. She was ready to go home!

So that's Meg's story. This is her blog.

Meg is my first Border Collie and I look forward to documenting our journey together and sharing it with whomever takes the time to read this blog.