Awful Merlin Nightmare!

I had a long nightmare about Merlin again last night... I don't know why I keep having them!

I was sitting on a building rooftop with Merlin, drawing the phases of the moon, when my brother came up, and I confessed I was terribly worried that Merlin would fall off the building. It started to rain, so I grabbed my umbrella and opened it up. This scared Merlin, and he backed away from me, right over the side of the building. My brother sort of half-chuckled, and said something like, "Well, there he goes."

I was absolutely TERRIFIED. I was sobbing, heartbroken, and the sense of loss was completely real.

A bit later in the dream, I found Merlin's body at the foot of the building, completely stiff like you see in cartoons, with his legs straight up - it looked like he landed on his head. Then all of the sudden, he started moving a bit, though clearly severely injured. I grabbed him up and drove like a maniac to MedVet.

The dream ended while I was waiting at MedVet - except suddenly Merlin was fine, and I had Popper and Roofus there with me too. There was some sort of play area for dogs, so I put those three in it. Apparently, I had driven to MedVet for my tortoise, who wasn't eating.

Completely bizarre dream. Merlin is getting lots of hugs!!!!

Wild Weavers CPE Trial

Saturday, the day after Merlin the corgi's birthday, we went to the Wild Weavers CPE Agility Trial. Merlin was entered in level 2 Fullhouse, Standard, and Snooker, as well as Level 1 Wildcard. We were both really working well together, and Merlin earned himself four Q's in four runs! He had two exceptional runs in which he got first place, one of which was Snooker (I really love snooker!).

The best part of the whole day was how well we were meshing, something that I was wondering when would start to happen. Merlin has almost totally stopped skipping obstacles, and while he can't seemingly "read my mind" yet, I can catch him before his attention starts to wander and get him back on track. His daddy managed to hide quite well for all four runs, so Merlin never did a Daddy check, which is awesome because we've lost many a Q to daddy checks!! That doesn't mean he wasn't scanning the crowd for him, because he was - but he didn't run out into the audience, nor did he run and sit at the gate searching for him. HUGE improvement!

So now all Merlin needs to complete his level 1 CPE title is Jumpers. This is his "cursed" class, because the last two times we attempted it, we didn't Q because of a single jump. The first one, Merlin ran and did a Daddy check right before the last jump and would not return. The second one, which was the last trial, I either totally forgot to have him take a certain jump, or I directed him to it and he didn't take it. The next trial, we are entering him in Jumpers both days, so hopefully we can finish it out. :)

Popper's Eye Appt and Happy Birthday Merlin

Yesterday was Popper's ophthalmology appointment at MedVet. Long story short, he does NOT have progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), thank God! He does have some small cataracts in his left eye, which the vet did not think was impairing his vision, but we have to keep an eye on. She said those were inherited, and he'd probably had them since birth. He's four years old - why hasn't a vet seen them before now? So we're going back in six months for a recheck. If nothing else, the visit was worth it to discover those.

After the dilation, she had another test to see if he truly did just have bad night vision. Not only does he not have bad night vision, he has AWESOME night vision. So his nastiness to the other dogs at nighttime is not eye related. At least now I know how to react when one of these incidents occurs... I can probably curb the being a jerk, but if it was PRA, there was nothing that could be done for him. So his agility career is still safe. :)

I've been sleeping with my fish tank light on for him, though, and he hasn't attacked Blossom when she jumps on my bed in the middle of the night. Which is weird. Maybe he's just afraid of the dark?

Today is Merlin's birthday! He turned 5 years old today. We're going to go to PetSmart to buy him a birthday treat, and maybe stop at the ice cream place too!

Roofus, Rally, and Popper

Monday Roofus went to a rally class at Anything Goes for Dogs. He's enrolled in the next class, next year, but she wanted to make sure that we were familiar with all level 1 signs first, because the next class focuses on level 2.

First, I was uber impressed at the new facility. SO much bigger! She even has a separate area for crating and "massage." It's like a doggie heaven! I went ahead and made a private lesson after our next class for Popper. He's ready to return to agility (Thank God!) and I really needed somewhere, supervised, to do it. A nice gentle reintroduction after his, what, seven week hiatus? It's only a half hour, which should be perfect.

Roofus was great at Rally. He really, really likes it. He is probably the most eager to please dog I've ever seen, and definitely the most ETP dog I own! Once he understands what I want, he is happy to do it. He's such a goofball. :) There were a couple new signs that we didn't know, but Roo handled them very well! We need to work on 90 degree left pivots, though. Nobody could do those - they're super hard!

Today, I set up a series of three jumps in the backyard for Popper, and ran him over them a few times. He was so, SO happy that I was letting him do agility. I thought that he was handling no agility pretty well, and then I saw how excited he was to be running again - an expression of pure bliss! We started off rocky, because he would do a jump and run straight back to me and sit, waiting for a treat. After he got comfy again, he was amazing. I'd point and tell him to go away from me (VERY hard for Popper!) and he'd zoom away like a pro. On our last run (I kept it very short since he hasn't done it in a while, and the ground is frozen solid), I threw in all kinds of crosses and directions and he was PERFECT. I can't WAIT to get back into the agility ring with him!

CPE Trial this Past Weekend!

This weekend was a BRAG CPE trial. I had originally entered Merlin AND Popper, but I pulled Popper out because of his groin pull. As a result, we had some really long wait times with Merlin on Sunday.

Saturday we had runs in Jumpers and Fullhouse. In Jumpers, either I completely missed a jump, or I had assumed Merlin jumped it and went on to the next one. So that was an NQ for us. He did very well on that run, though! Jumpers is Merlin's "cursed" class, just like Jackpot is for Popper. For some reason, we find it DEVILISHLY hard to get a Q. In Fullhouse, we had all the points we needed, and one of the tunnels ran Merlin straight at the gate. Merlin ran over because he saw Daddy, and when Daddy moved off, Merlin moved with him - right out of the ring. I called and called, and eventually the crowd shepherded him back into the ring. Well, I wasn't about to let Merlin do more agility as a reward for running out of the ring. I mean, he didn't even come back because HE wanted to, everyone pushed him back in. So I ended it. It's not a big deal, we already have a few Q's in Fullhouse, and I'd rather he learned that running out of the ring means no more agility. He really loves agility, so I think it's an effective lesson.

Sunday was the opposite, and we went 3 for 3. Snooker, then Standard, then Colors. So now we've moved up to Level 2 in Snooker, Standard, and Colors. Merlin even did the tire flawlessly, an obstacle he continues to have problems with. He also earned his first ever blue ribbon! I mean, he has blue ribbons from being the only dog that Q'd in his height class, but this is the first time he ever beat another dog. He got lots of cookies, hot dog, and we stopped for a hamburger for him on the way home. :)

In the Colors run (last run of the trial), he ran to the gate for a "daddy check," but couldn't see Daddy - and came back when I called.. eventually. That's the run we got first place on. :D

We've got another trial coming up in a few weeks, but thankfully it's just one day. This is the first time we ever did both days of a trial, and it was to try to get both dogs to finish their Level 1 titles before the end of the year. Without Jumpers, there is no way for Merlin to earn his... I'd signed him up for another Snooker and another Standard, but not the Jumpers. Oh well. :) If he gets his Wildcard at the next trial, he'll be like Popper - just waiting on that one devil of a run to finish out level one!

Cyber Monday Specials!

I've got TWO great deals for you today - but each one is ONLY good for today, in honor of Cyber Monday shopping! Traditionally, Cyber Monday is the Black Friday of online gift buying. So we made sure to round up some great deals for you and your holiday shopping.

At our Cafepress Store, you can get FREE shipping off orders of $75 or more! Just use the coupon code GO4CYBER. Our CP store URL is http://www.menageriemayhem.com

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Happy Shopping! Don't forget, in addition to fun dog agility gifts and breed specific t-shirts, we also have an awesome selection of parrot apparel, reptile gear, and ocean/aquarium gifts!

Action Packed Weekend!

Saturday, Merlin had a CPE Games Workshop held at BRAG, the local agility club. We were in for six runs: Fullhouse, Jackpot, Nontraditional Jackpot, Colors, Wildcard, and Snooker. I had taken the class last February with Popper, but desperately needed to work on handling skills with Merlin, so we signed up.

Merlin was amazing! I got compliments from many folks on his stamina (all six runs full throttle), focus, and drive. Popper didn't get a single "fake Q" when we participated previously, but Merlin Q'd in every run except the two Jackpots. The second Jackpot Q was my fault when I picked a poor path, but the first one was Merlin's obsession with the a-frame and running to it when not directed to (repeatedly), and on the Gamble, the jump bars weren't set for his run. At all. So he ran around them (he's weird like that). Oh well, no biggie. :) I was very pleased with Merlin's performance! He had some awesome entries into the weave poles, something Popper has still never pulled off in a trial-like atmosphere. It's hard for me to run Merlin because he has an extremely different running style than my other dog, Popper. Basically, everything he does is opposite - he wants a lot of distance from me, he wants to go at the speed of light, and if I'm slow to make a decision, he'll go on and perform without me. Popper likes me close, tends to not run as fast as doggly possible, and if I slow down or stop, he'll turn around and start sniffing everything. Popper also needs constant interaction, eye contact and attention throughout the run, or his attention drifts. Merlin has a great work ethic and doesn't need the "good boy, yes, great" throughout the whole run.

Popper's main action of the weekend is that he is getting crated from now on when I leave the house, even for a few minutes. I'd noticed that things I'd put on the stove would mysteriously end up on the floor. The last straw was yesterday when I took Roofus for a quick walk. I had a small bag of pumpkin muffins that I set on the back of the stove, and when I came home, there was just an empty bag shredded on the floor. He would have had to jump ONTO the stove to get those muffins! I've also noticed small doggie footprints in the dust on my piano. He apparently walks on my piano when I'm not at home. So Popper clearly cannot be trusted to be loose in the house when there is no one to supervise, so back to the crate for him. He actually really does love the crate; I stopped using it years ago because he became quite aggressive about anyone near "his" crate, whether he was in it or not. The crate is in my SO's room, and his door is always shut, so it's not a concern now.

Last night, I was cutting away a clump of fur from Roofus when I discovered that underneath it was an open wound, roughly the size and depth of a small dog tooth. After shaving the area, cleaning it, and applying antibiotics, I believe it was an injury sustained a few days ago when Merlin got super excited when Roofus ran out of the kitchen suddenly. He attacked Roofus, and Popper got into the fray as well. I'm pretty sure one of the two sunk a tooth into him (grr!). I had assumed it was another hot spot and did not put two and two together until I saw the wound. It's looking much better this morning, although Roofus is pretty sad in an e-collar.

A lot of dog action this weekend at my house! I'm counting the days until I can take Popper on a three mile trek, run Merlin in a real agility trial, and take the stupid e-collar off my poor sheepdog!

Popper Gets Benched

Yesterday, I received news awful enough that I wasn't able to blog about it until today. Now, with a good night's sleep and time to mull it over, I'm just happy it wasn't worse.

We believed Popper had injured himself in some way, when last Wednesday I told the lead agility instructor about his sudden refusal to do weave poles. She had me feel down his spine, and when I got to his lower back, he jerked away from me and would not allow anyone else to even look at his back. She suggested a visit to the chiropractor.

Yesterday was his appointment. As it turns out, he has pulled his groin muscle on the left side. Apparently, that's a fairly common injury in dog agility dogs, but it takes a while to heal. She suggested 6-8 weeks at least, and estimated the injury occurred a couple weeks ago. Since we've already had a week of pretty much nothing except some short little walks, I'm counting that into his recovery time and anticipating that we'll be able to return to agility class in early January. I had to pull him out of two upcoming trials, as well as the class he's currently enrolled in.

I had been trying desperately to finish his Level One title before the year is through - we had only needed a single qualifying run in Jackpot, and we were finished. After I got over being selfish, and being ashamed for being selfish, I'll wait with Popper as long as it takes for him to get back to 100%.

This 6-8 weeks of rest entails NO running whatsoever. He can't even play ball in the backyard. This, alone, may kill my dog. Watching his brother Merlin go to classes while he has to stay at home - this also, may kill my dog. Walks cannot be longer than 25 minutes or so, and that's assuming there's no running and no PULLING! It's going to be extremely rough on Popper to participate in absolutely nothing. He's an extremely active and athletic dog, and being a cattle dog mix, if he gets bored (or angry, for that matter), he starts destroying things, barking incessantly, and other bad behaviors that are normally cured with exercise. Agility has been huge - HUGE - in controlling his bad habits. To say that he enjoys it is an understatement. Therefore, if we can only manage to go to class and walk beside the obstacles, I want to do that. I certainly won't push him into doing anything he is not 100% healthy enough to do, and I'm sure come January I will make the call whether we go to class or not. He's going to go to the chiropractor with Merlin regularly now, and she will monitor his progress.

However, Popper is a very healthy, young dog, and as I intend that he will get the long rest he requires, I'm sure we'll be back in agility class for the next session, in one format or another. Even if we need to skip the first class or two.

Stupid Cats

It's not a big secret - I don't particularly like cats. In part, because my dogs will eat them, and cats will eat my birds. Also partly because I am deathly allergic to the buggers. If you own a cat, I can only stay in your house for a few minutes before I need my inhaler.

I'm very, very tired of cats coming into my backyard and using it as their litterbox. My dogs go outside, sometimes all day long, if I leave the back door open, and of course, they find it. And then they roll in it. I'm an avid pooper scooper - in the summer months, I'd scoop twice a day. This time of year, it's once a day. Popper has a chiropractic appointment this afternoon, and guess what he did?

Yup. Because some irresponsible fool can't keep their kitty inside, yet again, I have to give Popper a bath. And he'll arrive at the chiropractor wet. No doubt I'll attract stares for being a "mean mommy."

I've gone off on this tangent before - all cats should be indoor cats. Unless you've got this marvelous animal that you can let outside, it'll stay in your yard, potty in YOUR yard, and come back inside a few minutes later, your cat has no business being outside. If my dog pottied in your yard, I would certainly clean it up. But if you have no idea where your cat is while he's outside, you're not returning the courtesy. That's just rude. You're certainly not going to come over and bathe my dogs. Even though your cat caused the problem.

Someone told me that their indoor/outdoor cat absolutely never potties outside. I don't even think I can comment on the ridiculousness of that statement. Unless you're following the animal around 24/7, you have no idea. I can assure you the animal is using other peoples' yards as a litterbox.

Not to mention all these roadkill cats all over my neighborhood. It's a rare day that goes by when these kitties aren't found on the side of the road. How could someone let something they love so much roam around where they can easily be killed by traffic?

I've also heard that "cats aren't content to live indoors" and that "it's mean." If your cat is not happy to be an indoor cat, your cat is too feral to be a pet. It's utter nonsense. I would rather have an indoor cat than one that craps all over my neighbor's lawn, pees on their roses and sharpens its claws on their trees. Oh, and did I mention that the indoor cat lives a lot longer, since it's not smashed to death on the side of the road? Nor is it off creating more problem cats.

I think 90% of Popper's baths this year have been caused from cat poo in MY yard. I don't own a cat. I don't want a cat. Please keep your pets in your yard.

Oh, she NEVER crosses the street!

Today, I was walking Popper around by himself to practice not pulling. He's gotten really good at it, to the point where if he starts to pull, he'll stop, turn around and look at me. We can even go on regular walks now, although I'd be lying if I didn't admit sometimes it takes us a long time to get to our destination with all the turning around we have to do. Still, he is improving dramatically, and I'm so proud of him!
We were on the last leg of our journey home, when I saw this fat boxer-thing sitting on the sidewalk, no leash - but her human was standing in his lawn. Naturally, I crossed the street to get away from her. As Popper and I were passing her on the other side of the street, the owner called out, "Don't worry - she won't cross the street." Exactly one fraction of a second later, guess who comes barreling like a bullet across the street? Yup. Strange dog. As she's approaching, the guy yells, "Don't worry - she won't be aggressive." Okay, you were wrong the first time, why should I believe you now?
Luckily, it turns out she was kind of a big baby - which is fortunate, because Popper did not appreciate that he was walking along, minding his own business, tracking bunnies, when this huge behemoth comes up full throttle out of nowhere directly into his face. He tucked his tail, showed her every single one of his teeth, and tried to bite her face.
The guy kept calling that she was friendly as he ran across the street to retrieve her. I said, "My dog is EXTREMELY insecure on walks, and he is going to hurt your dog." That, and a strange dog just suddenly appeared in his face. The dude apologized about fifty times, but honestly - I'd like it if he just kept his pooch on a leash.
This perfectly illustrates the reason why I HATE when people think they can trust their dog 100% of the time. Walking their dogs off-leash, or letting them roam the front yard off-leash. There is ALWAYS a chance your dog will take off, no matter how well trained the animal is. At least once a week, we encounter this situation. Is it any wonder that Merlin growls at strange dogs, or that Popper gets so excited when he sees a dog? Not to mention, of course, all the loose dogs that run around in our neighborhood.
Sigh. Up until that point, it was really quite a peaceful, pleasant walk - which I've never been able to have with Popper before. I'm hoping to be able to introduce one of the other dogs into the walk sometime soon - probably Merlin.

Agility Class Recap

Gee, I really wish Merlin were in the group with the other small dogs instead of being with a border collie, wolfhound, and a big ridgeback-ish mix. Maybe then I could focus on agility instead of Merlin's aversion to large dogs. I almost think it was intentional - last night the little dog group only had 2 dogs in it, and one of them (and sometimes both) jumps the same jump height as Merlin. While it may be good for him to be forced to deal with the problem, I feel like I'm stressing out about it and it's affecting how Merlin learns and performs (and focuses). Last night he reverted back to growling and not focusing on me at ALL - like all our hard work just went down the drain. I think working that closely to these big dogs was too soon for him, and we may get thrown back to square one. And I'll have to go back to recreational agility again to de-stress.

Last week at class, we were working on weave pole entries - Popper did the set exactly once, and then would not even attempt the poles again. He normally loves the weave poles. He may skip a few poles, he may enter wrong - but he loves to weave. I figured he was just burnt out, and one of the instructors told me to take him back to channeled weaves instead. I worked on channeled weaves at home, but his work was sloppy and awful: he'd pop out a lot, and very, very rarely did I get a run-thru that was passable. I was discouraged.

Then this week, my other instructor found out about it, and feared he may have sustained some kind of strain or other injury in his back, since he just suddenly stopped weaving. She had me pat down his spine, and when I got over his very lower back, he flinched and backed away from me. She went to feel for herself, but Popper had wised on to us, and sat on my feet with his spine pressed into my legs. So, the chiropractor, who was JUST at our building the day before, and whom I had JUST seen to get Merlin's back adjusted, is being located at one of her many stops so I can make an appointment to get Popper's back possibly adjusted.

Hopefully, that's all it is. Both on the weaving front, and on the injury issue as well. We already take Merlin to get adjusted, so taking Popper too isn't a large problem (other than he is very excitable and clingy while we're there). However, if I continue to have problems with Popper's back, I may remove the weave poles entirely from his agility life and we'll just do level one forever. :) I don't anticipate this will happen, but then I never thought Popper would strain his back either. He was perfectly happy jumping, leaping, climbing, etc last night. Just would not weave. He did exactly one pole, and then ran alongside them.

Weird dream...

Last night I had a really strange dream...

I was playing paintball with some friends, but instead of a regular paintball field, we were playing above a huge indoor swimming pool. I don't think they make pools as large as this one was, LOL. There were metal railings everywhere to walk on, so footing was treacherous. As I progressed along, tagging more people, I would find my dogs, swimming in the big pool. First there was Roofus, who was pretty happily treading water, and then I found Popper.

The next dog was Merlin - but he was underwater and not moving. I started screaming, jumped in the water, and began to pull him out. Even as I did so, I realized, it wasn't Merlin, but some other corgi, a female, that had a tail. After she was free of the water, she started sputtering and moving around again. I found her mom, who was nearby, crying, and so happy I'd saved her dog.

And that was my dream.

And I've been hugging Merlin and watching him very carefully, as if he'll somehow wander into some water. In November. Inside my house.

Corgis are NOT strong swimmers (legs are too short!) so be sure to carefully supervise your pooch any time they are in or around water.

And no, I have no idea what my dream means.

It sure is cold... hey, wait a minute!

The past few nights, I've been waking up in the middle of the night, shivering. I curl into the fetal position, grab my fleece blanket I have on standby just in case, and go back to sleep. When I wake up for the day, I only have a vague recollection of being cold at some point.

Two nights ago, I figured out what's happening.

Popper is the only dog that sleeps on my bed all night long. He has super short fur, and it's kind of thin, so he usually wears a sweater in the winter. Apparently, he's been dragging my comforter off of me and nesting it into a cozy bed. Last night, I got the hint, and turned on my heating blanket before laying down for the night.

This morning, my comforter was where it was supposed to be, and I was toasty. Apparently Popper was too.

Now I just need to remember that when Popper begins stealing my blankets, it's the time of year to turn the electric blanket on!

Rally and Agility

Roofus had a daytime rally class this morning. It went even better than the last one! He seems to be picking things up very quickly (unusual for him), which is no doubt because he is extremely eager to please. The only problem is that I have to have a treat in my hand the whole time, because he is very easily distracted at this stage. He saw we were being followed by a "judge," and proceeded to go visit her and root through her pockets looking for treats, LOL. He also doesn't like the door opening and closing at the building... He has a very strong flock guardian instinct, and he constantly has to know where everyone is. When people come or go, he feels like he needs to bark at them. I figure he's a bit annoyed that they didn't announce their plans to him beforehand.

One of the teachers told me Roofus is an awesome working dog and that he's going to do really well in Rally. I think he is too. :D In January, I'm going to sign up for Rally classes with Kym at Anything Goes for Dogs in addition to the informal classes at BRAG. She has such a positive, upbeat training style and Roofus responds really well to it!

Last night was week three of Popper and Merlin's agility classes, and they swapped good nights again. I'd love to have a good night with both of them, but apparently that's not to be. Last night was Merlin's great night. He had a crappy contact on the a-frame, but he did really, really well overall. Several instructors told me I need to trust Merlin more and give him some space. I'm really working on it, and I know I CAN trust Merlin, but I don't have quite the same relationship with Merlin that I do with Popper, so it will take some time on my part. I've also got to remember that while Popper may like me super close while he runs, Merlin would prefer I just let him do it without breathing down his neck. It's kind of hard to have dogs with such differences!

Popper's night was almost miserable. The highlight of his class was his beautiful rear crosses into tunnels. He used to be absolutely terrified of them, but I took a private lesson with Kym at Anything Goes for Dogs and we drilled them with tons of treats. I practiced big time at home, and they're just gorgeous now. He has no hesitation at all. However, that's pretty much the only time we can do a rear cross. I'd say 75% of the time, he's very scared if I try such a manuever with him. He'll stop running, put his ears down, tuck his tail, and look for all the world like I just beat my dog. Everyone tells me that with time he'll gain confidence and those reactions will fade. I sure hope so.

Popper also completely died on the weave poles. We've been having this problem, with 12 poles specifically, where he will speed up towards the end, and end up skipping poles. I've been working with him, but I can't seem to fix it. We got to class last night, and he did the poles once and absolutely refused to do them again. One of the instructors told me to reteach the weave poles, that it happens to everybody at some point. Sigh... I wish I had twelve poles of a matching set. Right now I have 2 sets of six - one is a very nice channel weave set, the other is a cheapo PVC set that doesn't channel, but bends. So I can't run 12 channeled poles at once, they have to be straight. And I think that's what I really need to do. I also wonder if having some word I can say while he is weaving would keep his spirit up and keep driving him. He has to CONSTANTLY be reassured and complimented while we run, or he loses interest and starts sniffing. Disengages. I think 12 poles may be too long for his beagley mind to go without something from me.

So, to sum up - Merlin's doing great, Popper's having some setbacks, and Roofus loves Rally. :)

Rally Class

BRAG recently started offering an informal Rally class (that's rally obedience, if you prefer), and yesterday, Roofus went to his first one. It was a bit disorganized at first - the first half hour we pretty much just stood around and watched the instructors' dogs do the signs. After that, though, they gained momentum as they fell into a stride, and we practiced several signs. The last hour was spent doing a run-through, which was a new experience for me.

Roofus did a Rally Workshop at Anything Goes for Dogs, and we loved it, but the facility was a little far away. She's now moved quite a bit closer, so we are looking into classes there for the new year. It's been a while since I've done a dog class with Roo (shame on me!), and I'd forgotten what it was like to work with a giant breed dog. While Popper may be able to spin on a dime in agility, Roofus needs quite a bit more room to turn around. Popper is at my side leaping into the air as we run, Roofus pokes my shoulder with his chin!

So it was good to get out there again and get Roofus involved. He had a really fun time (but honestly, he has an awesome time doing ANYTHING - he's an Old English Sheepdog, after all!), and I even began to hope that maybe we could compete early next year, just to see how he does. One problem we have to really work on is moving downs. He just doesn't get it. Another OES issue. Once he figures out what I want, though, he'll never forget it. Another OES thing, and thank goodness, a positive trait! :D

OSU Demo and Classes

So yesterday, we had the OSU agility demo at the vet school. I elected to take Merlin and not Popper, because last time I took Popper, they had grills going, and it just overwhelmed his poor beagley senses. Merlin has only done one other demo, so I figured it would be good practice.

The ground was really soggy, and I guess there were all sorts of good smells coming out of it, because Merlin went nuts sniffing and pawing at the ground, and ignoring me. He never does that in agility. I was getting frustrated when Joanne, who owns Irish Wolfhounds, asked if I wanted to try some Captain Crunch. At that point, I'd try anything. It was instant success with Merlin - I gave him one, and he became fixated completely on the bag - which Joanne still had. So she gave it to me, and BOOM - instant and flawless attention. If he started to drift on a run, I just touched my pocket so the bag would crinkle, and he would switch himself back to me right away. Even later that night, when I showed it to my fiance, Merlin's eyes were large and attentive on that bag. I afterwards referred to it as the "Magic Bag of Noms."

It truly was magic - I took it to class with us, and Merlin managed to fix all the issues he's been having problems with.. He took the weave poles perfectly after other obstacles; he corrected himself when he was about to jump through the space between the tire and the frame, to go through the tire itself... I was SO PROUD of the little guy! He was awesome. I was even more proud when they told us he was cleared to go on to the next level of agility classes. Way to go, Merlin!

I kept the Magic Bag of Noms out for Popper's class too - and I was not disappointed. We were doing threadles, which were previously our downfall, and Popper ran them like a champ. I was astonished, pleased, thrilled - all those and more. Popper wasn't as obsessed with the Captain Crunch as Merlin (Popper is a hound - he just likes food, period), but I swear that bag was magic. He ran everything well, and ran the whole time, which is unusual for him because he doesn't do well in the heat/humidity normally. We had a bit of trouble with the weaves, but that was my fault because I have not been diligent in my practice at home. Popper was also promoted to the next level, which caused no end of joy for me, because we had already done that class once together, and I became so frustrated and upset with it that I had vowed to give up agility. We worked really hard, and took a recreational class to get the joy back into the sport, and that worked like charm; it was exactly what we needed to keep going strong. :)

We celebrated the awesomeness of the little boys with ice cream cones!

And yes, I have Peanut Butter Captain Crunch on my shopping list - never again will I underestimate the power of the Magic Bag of Noms!

Saved by Leashes - Twice!

I packed up Roofus, Popper, Blossom, and Merlin, and headed over to my parents' house for a few hours of fetch and frisbee. When I was a few houses away from theirs, there was a "Road Closed" sign. Not to be deterred, I turned around and went the back way.

The back way was blocked as well, and there were all sorts of people milling about. I rolled my window down to ask a man, who happened to have a large dog, why the road was closed. "Gas leak," he said. I thanked him, and in that instant, Popper bolted from the passenger side seat, through the driver's side window. I managed to snag his leash as it trailed out the window. The next second, Merlin got it into his head to go tumbling after him, but I was prepared now, and I got him before he had two paws on my seat, and stuck him on the passenger side floor. I got Popper back into the car, and away we went.

That has never happened to me before. I am very upset at Popper for having so little self control that he felt the need to fly out my window to go visit a dog. Merlin is reactive so I am not surprised at him, although he has never tried to jump out the window before.

When we got home, I put my dogs in stays, and opened my door. I grabbed Popper's leash, when Blossom decided it was her turn to bolt out of the car, and goes running down the sidewalk. Blossom is deaf, so the only way to get Blossom back is to capture her, praying the entire time she doesn't see you, otherwise she'll RUN. I shut the door, took off with Popper after her, and stepped on her leash. Thankfully she always wears a harness, so the jolt of a sudden stop wasn't too bad.

At this point I was pretty happy to get back into my house and stuff all the dogs inside it.

Twice in one day! I don't ever have a problem with dogs in my car. I think it may be time to reintroduce Popper to the doggie seat belt, and I believe I need to get Blossom one as well, since she is deaf now and a PITA to catch if she can slip out the door. This was quite an eye opener - just because your dogs don't normally do something, or have been trained not to do something, does not mean they will not do it at some point! I always fear the off-leash dogs that are "perfectly trained," because it only takes a second for something bad to happen. We all were lucky this time.

Roofus, I will note, was an exceptionally good boy the entire time and the only one I am not annoyed with at the moment.

And my dogs are still full of energy and have not gotten their exercise yet!! :( We're going to try back later.

Agility Run-Thrus

I was super eager for BRAG's agility run-throughs tonight.... I wanted to see if Popper's attention disorder really was an outdoor-specific thing, or if he was just totally ruined at trials.

It's an outdoor thing.

It's a huge obstacle to conquer. I don't know if we can do it. We're sure going to try - at least one of the games every time Merlin does an outdoor trial. So I will focus on the indoor ones and hopefully we can finish our level 1 title before the year is out.

Merlin, on the other hand - freaking amazing. I think Popper started out amazing, too, but I can really see Merlin going all the way.

Flash Point Agility Trial Sept 6th

Both my little boys participated in Flash Point Agility's CPE trial yesterday. They both did the last one, as well, which was last month, but it was at their facility. This one was held at the Morrow County Fairgrounds in Mount Gilead.

I'm pleased to say that Merlin obtained his first ever Qs this weekend! He Q'd easily in both Jackpot and Fullhouse, and unfortunately a bit of trouble with the tire in standard caused us to be over time, so we did not Q in that one. His first run out, he was absolutely amazing, incredibly responsive and FAST. We probably could have gotten first place if I hadn't been more worried about getting the jackpot and getting to the table immediately. We had plenty of time I could have used to get more points, the whistle hadn't even sounded for the "get to the table" warning. The second run was also very, very good. The third run (standard) he kind of lost it. I think me making him do the tire correctly (took quite a bit of time) really took a lot of the fun out of it for Merlin, and his focus just got all out of whack from it. That tire is really becoming a PITA to me. I'm not sure why my dogs hate it so much.

Popper, on the other hand, was completely out of it. A lot of it, I think, has to do with being outside, and also that we were at a fair, with a LOT of livestock close by, and manure everywhere. The beagle part just takes complete control. I was so happy because it was a nontraditional jackpot, I thought Popper would finally get his elusive Q in that game. Instead, he spent his time staring out of the fence, and bounding happily wherever he felt like it. I will give him the positive that his "GO TABLE" is awesome, I can tell him that from the other side of the ring, and he will zoom full blast to it, wherever it may be.

His second run, after I couldn't get his focus back, I said, Okay, goodbye! and started walking away (not out of the ring - I can't bring myself to do that *yet*) - and guess who comes running onto the dog walk? He stopped, looked at me, wagged his tail, so I ran over and we did the dog walk. I had his focus for two more obstacles after that, and then we had to go to table. I think this is what I'm going to have to do at outdoor trials from now on, until he gets the idea that in the agility ring, he has to focus on me and the obstacles. We don't have this issue at indoor trials or in class, so it's something I have to work on entirely at a trial. I'm not made of money by any means, so whenever Merlin has an outdoor trial, I'll just enter Popper in either fullhouse or jackpot and use that time to get my point across. That way, it's not a huge financial burden to me to at least attempt to get his outdoor attention loss under control.

Popper's Ball Obsession

We always thought it was Merlin with the neurotic ball obsession - but he's got nothing on Popper.

Before storms, Popper will always go outside, find his ball (which has been slyly repurchased and replaced over and over again - he's rather hard on balls), and put it on my windowsill inside the house, presumably to "watch" the thunderstorm from the safety of inside.

Since it's been cool out, I've just been leaving the back door open for the dogs to trot in and out at their leisure. Popper immediately gets his ball every morning (I keep it outside because it's disgusting, and he can be ball aggressive), brings it into my bedroom, drops it on the bed, and cuddles with it the rest of the day.

Yes, in this one respect, I think Merlin is definitely the less weird dog.