Dogs and Memorial Day – On Trail and At Trial

With a busy weekend of fun activities with our dogs, we decided not to get together for dinner. Here is an update on how our dogs did  on the camping trail and at agility trial!

Maggie will continue training in dog agility

Diane takes Hunter and Maggie to Compete in Agility

Hunter had a 40% success rate. My goal is always 50%. He and I are just not connected right now. I think lack of practice is our problem.

Maggie had one perfect Jumpers run, but in all other runs, she shut down. Still the lack of confidence rears its ugly head. Practice, again, at home and in other locales.

The good news is that my arena is now open for classes and personal practice. Today I included my own training with my dogs in my weekly schedule. If you don’t schedule it, it doesn’t happen.

Brianna and Aaron Take Rankine Camping

With training and practice, our dog will come when called

Although we did not trial this weekend, we had a wonderful time in Estes Park. Rankine was excellent all weekend, he was a pleasure to take camping (ok RVing) because we have invested the upfront training time for reliability off-leash even withstanding the urge to chase after wildlife.

Rankine managed to get pet by several dozen small children, most of whom asked permission before approaching him. Interesting side note, he’s still a little skittish around 3 to 10 year olds. He has grown used to the younger ones and will take an untold amount of abuse. I suppose this will change as our baby gets a little older. We also discovered that our baby knows what the phrase “give Rankine a hug” means. Very cute!

Suzy and Kalee Stay Home

Please follow the rules so we can keep playing!

While I did go on a hike, Kalee stayed home since her old body can’t handle the heat any longer. Instead, we went for a walk around the neighborhood once the sun went down and the temperature dropped.

On both walks, I noticed many people out enjoying the holiday with their dogs. Unfortunately, some were breaking leash laws – consequently scaring off the wildlife in the state park – and failing to pick up after their pets – making the walk a bit hazardous. While out enjoying your dog in public spaces, please remember to keep your dog on leash and pick up so that we may keep the privilege of taking our dogs along on hikes, camping, and to the local parks. At parks where off-leash dogs are allowed, make sure your dog has a really reliable recall – like Rankine above – before unclipping that leash.

agility, Dog Training Tips, Holidays, Memorial Day