Ahhh, the ups and downs of agility trials. When you get to the top levels of competition, there is no room for error, it’s all or nothing to earn those elusive championship qualifiers. I liken dog agility to gambling, every so often you hit the jackpot that keeps you coming back for more. In this video you see my 10-year old, normally consistent, cocker spaniel having a wonderful run until…

Since TJ is not the high drive border collie (especially in a big and somewhat overwhelming arena), I did a restrained start to get the motor running while whispering “ready, set, go”. He had a beautiful start making it past the “C-shaped” tunnel which I was extremely nervous about him taking the wrong end and even through the dreaded weaves (his least favorite obstacle). Once we completed the weaves, I thought to myself “yes, we are going to qualify” and with the adrenaline pumping we started into the closing loop of jumps. Just as I started to think we were home free, TJ turned 180 degrees to take a jump off course. I was so bummed.

What went wrong?? After watching the video, my hypothesis is two-fold.

1. I took my eyes off TJ for a second losing that all important connection. My mistake was thinking that we can run a sequence like this in our sleep so I started to let up.
2. You’ll notice that the chute tunnel is pointed out of the ring as if it is the last obstacle. I suspect that TJ thought he was finished with the run and he was trying to complete the final jump sequence as I have trained him to run ahead to finish the course.

Although I was disappointed, it was a great run with my best buddy who is quickly reaching retirement age. Any day I can run with him is a good day.

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You may think that it is more difficult to train a dog that cannot hear you. How would you get his attention? How can you call him to you? Those are valid questions.

Use visual cues when training your deaf dog. You can make up any signal, as long as you are consistent. Diane uses the standard obedience signals as described in Hand Signals for Deaf Dogs article in our Library section.

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Our four dog household is full of love… and hair. My husband, son, and I love to cuddle with the dogs on our navy blue couch. While one could question the intelligence of purchasing a navy blue couch when you have dogs with golden hair, at this point, I am stuck with the conundrum of either banishing my four-legged friends to the floor, vacuuming the couch on a daily basis, or purchasing a new couch (which doesn’t really solve the problem because then muddy paw prints would likely appear). So, this year for Christmas I asked for a Sure Fit Pet Cover for my couch. After a couple months of use, here’s my review:

How It Works: The Sure Fit Pet Cover is made of a quilted, durable material that covers the couch seat, arms and back. You simply tuck three fabric tabs in the back and sides of the cushions and flip the fabric onto the arms and back.

Review – Neutral: The Sure Fit Pet Cover is very easy to place and remove from the couch which I see as a major advantage over full couch covers. The fabric is very durable and washable. My only complaint is the fabric shrunk slightly after the first wash making the cover prone coming off the sides and back. Although it doesn’t stay in the correct position 100% of the time, I am still using it every day because it tends to attract more dog hair that the couch fabric, it keeps dirt off the seats, and easy to wash every week. I do think this product would be more effective for a couch with a lower back and arms.

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Rankine and I had a blast at the Colordo Kennel Club AKC trial over President’s Day weekend. We are finally starting to have fun, relaxing, and successful runs. Here’s a video of his standard agility run on Sunday – if you ignore the sniffing on the table, it was a great run!

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Speaking of dogs and babies communicating… my four dogs have taught my 1-year old what doggies say, check it out in this cute video!!!

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