Escape Artist and Another Virus

The last few weeks our dog has been having some seperation issues. Or so we think. We usually leave him in our bedroom when we go to work and he recently has started trying to open the door. He even pulled down a curtain we had up in the bathroom trying to escape. So we decided he lost his privelege of being loose and put him in his kennel the other day. Well when I came home Cayman was running around the house. I went upstairs and this is what I found....

And this is what he had to say about it.....

I think he was quite proud. To say the least Ben and I are a bit baffled as why he is all of the sudden exhibiting this behavior. Nevertheless, we still love him and are trying to figure it out. In the meantime he is back to being loose in our bedroom until we can fix his kennel.

Our other child has come down with yet another virus. This one hit him hard. We have several days of this.....

this...

this.....

and more of this....

Thankfully we think we are moving on to more days like this......
....sitting on the stairs, one of his new favorite games.

Our First Trial

This weekend I entered Cayman in our first ever official agility trial. This was a USDAA (Utah States Dog Agility Assocation) trial held at the Davis County Fairgrounds conveniently located right behind our house. We have been taken lessons from a lady who recommended the courses we should run. We entered four runs--two Gamblers courses, a Snookers and Jumpers course.

Our first run was Saturday morning and it was a Gamblers course. This was the course I was most nervous about. We had practiced some at my agility lessons and didn't so well. The point of a Gamblers is you can select any obstacles you want for the first 30 seconds of your run. Then when a whistle sounds you have to go a do a marked closing or set of obstacles. If you do that set of obstacles then you qualify if not you don't. All of the obstacles are worth points that they assign to them and then you are awarded places based on if you qualified and how many points you got. My whole family came to watch Cayman and I and I was so nervous that Cayman would run off to socialize with the other dogs, I would fall flat on my face or do something else embarassing. However, this is what happened.

So we didn't do the closing perfect meaning he didn't take that final jup till I took him back over it, but you are allowed to do that and we qualified. And not only did we qualify but we got SECOND PLACE. I was so amazed that on our very first agility run we not only did well but got second place. I couldn't have asked for more. I went in with no expectations of running a qualified run. We maily just wanted to get our feet wet and had some fun.

Cayman did so well. He listened to me extremely well. In practices he often has a hard time watching the other dogs run. He gets very excited and out of control. However at this trial he listened so well to me and was able to be so calm. He couldn't have been a better dog. And most importantly he had so much fun. We was just prancing after he finished this run. He was so proud of himself.

Later on that day we ran a Snookers course which is a course where you have to take a red jump before you can do any other obstacle. Once you have completed all three red jumps then you have to do a marked course of obstacles called your closing. Cayman and I did so well hitting all the red jumps and then finding another obstacle to take. However, he knocked down the last red jump and apparently that means you can't take another obstacle you just have to go straight to your close. Since I am so new at this I didn't know that so we got whisteled off the course. Not Cayman's fault at all but his inexperienced mom. I am proud that we got so far though. Then we ran another Gamblers course on Sunday morning and again it was my fault he didn't do the closing properly. The whistle blew and I panicked and Cayman got on the wrong side and took a different obstacle. Then the last run we did was a Jumpers course. This is a numbered course with just jumps and tunnels. I thought Cayman and I could do fairly well at this course. Take a look and see for yourself.

So my lines were off a few times and I had to take him back to go over the jumps but that is allowed. The only reason he didn't qualify on this run is because he knocked down the second to last bar. Bummer!

Nevertheless we were still more than pleased with our weekend. It was long and tiring but so much fun. I have always enjoyed animals and I love being able to do something with them. I appreciated all of my family who came to cheer me on and help watch Logan so that I could focus on my runs. You can see how much fun Logan had.

I feel much more confident now about being able to do runs in the future as well. The next trial is in February. We are going to keep practicing our weave poles so that we can perhaps enter a standard run at that trial. Note: A standard run is a numbered course with all your obstacles (A-frame, teater, weaver poles, table, jumps, tunnels, etc.). Until then, however, we will keep practicing and having fun with our hobby.

Video of Cayman doing agility

Cayman and I have been practicing hard on our agility skills. Here is a video we took at our last pratice of a short sequence we were working on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha4S1xMgHyI Sorry I am not blog savy enough to know how to add a You Tube video directly into my post. Impressive right? We are still hoping to be able to compete in a trial in February. Until then we will keep practicing.

Me, My Dog and My new hobby

I have always loved animals. Growing up my family raised Guide Dogs for the Blind and Canine Companions for Independence. I always loved working with and training my dog. Many of you fellow bloggers probably know this but what you probably don't know is one of my latest hobbies--agility. For the last year and half or so I have been training my rescue red and white border collie Cayman on agility.

We rescued Cayman over 2 years ago from a back yard breeder. I decided I wanted a red and white border collie when I saw one in a show at Sea World. I thought they were pretty and was intrigued by all you can teach them. Of course, to start we took Cayman to basic puppy classes. We loved going to them and when they were all over I began to find myself wanting to continue to do something with him. We turned to try agility. One of Cayman's rescuers taught agility so I contacted her to help me get started.

According to the American Kennel club "Agility is a sport that appeals to young people and to senior citizens. It has great spectator appeal. Agility is designed to demonstrate a dog's willingness to work with its handler in a variety of situations. It is an athletic event that requires conditioning, concentration, training and teamwork. Dog and handlers negotiate an obstacle course racing against the clock." If you have ever watched animal planet it is the sport where the dogs run around all sorts of obstacles---jumps, poles, walks, etc. Ok so I may be the only one who watches animal planet but agility is one of the fastest growing dog sports in the United States.

To start agility, we started by teaching Cayman many basic things like to be aware of his hind legs. Then when he was two years old we started him on the obstacles. We have been working with a new trainer and at home to teach him the many skills he will need to hopefully compete someday.

He has come a long way, and I must say so have I. Going into it, I had no idea how much training and work goes into this sport. It truely is a working relationship with your dog. You have to read your dog constantly and help guide them through the course. We are still a ways out from ever competing professionally but we are getting there. And most importantly we are having fun.

Cayman is now starting to take his jumps at angles and do them in varying patterns. He is getting faster at his weave poles and more consistent at his contacts. He is also starting to rely less on me and take the many obstacles on command. This means I don't have to keep up with him which is a good thing. If you could see him run this course in full drive you would understand how hard it is to keep up.

Here are the two of us running through the course. Don't we look like we are having fun! This picture was on the 24th of July. Ben and Logan came down to watch Cayman practice--and take some pictures for me too. One of the things I like most about the sport of agility is that the dogs look like they are just having so much fun. Many of them bark the whole way through the course because they are so excited. It almost seems like a playground to them.

I am always amazed at how quickly Cayman learns this stuff. He really does think through different situations. For both being new to the sport we have come a long way. We owe a lot of thanks to our teachers who help us out each week. Cayman and I hope to keep getting better and hopefully enter a competition next year.

A cat in our Carrier

Ben and I got our carseat and stroller today. We ordered it about 8 weeks ago and it just came in. We were excited to finally get it and get it all put together. I instantly pulled out the carrier and put my Bundle Me in it that Carlee gave me. Then I put the carrier in our recliner. No sooner had I done this did our curious cat Paradise crawl right up in the chair and carseat to see what it was. She wasted no time and got right into the carrier and curled up. I guess she thought the Bundle Me just looked too cozy to resist. Here is a picture of her all curled up.