If you’ve checked out the Online Dog Coach video lesson library you know that we have lessons like Circle and Bow that are designed to teach your dog a trick, but also serve as great warm-ups for activities such as agility.  That being said, as I was warming up TJ for his standard agility run a few minutes ago, I bent over and was greeted by a sharp pain in my back.  Now, I sit here writing this blog with an icepack on my back and the hope that my agility friend will be successful running TJ.   

So, I thought it would be a great time to remind the Online Dog Coach community that warm-up activities are just as important for us humans as they are for our four legged friends.   There are a variety of simple warm-up activities that can be done in a few minutes without equipment.   If you are looking a great resource that is tailored to agility competitors, check out Lori Hansen’s Human Agility Training Video.   Lori has great warm-ups and activities to help prevent injury and improve footwork in the agility ring.  I have had the opportunity to train with Lori as she is a Colorado local; I only wish I had practiced what I already know!

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This weekend Diane, Steve, Judy, Dave and Donna along with Yazzie, Ryder, Hunter, and Eli hosted a dog agility demonstration at the 3rd Annual Intermountain Humane SocietyDog Walk at the historic Meyer Ranch in Conifer, Colorado.  We had a blast sharing the sport of dog agility with fellow dog lovers.    Needless to say the dogs were a little tired from a day of demoing so this evening we took it easy practicing start line stays while the sun started to set in the Colorado mountains.  Update from the injured reserve list … Rankine gets his stitches out tomorrow and will be as good as new!

Speaking of Colorado our dinner theme tonight was Colorado grub.  Our menu included buffalo corn bread casserole, anasazi bean and squash harvest medley, western BBQ chicken, quinoa poppy seed muffins, and Donna’s famous peach cobbler.   The dishes were all delicious, but the award for best new recipe goes to Aaron for the buffalo corn bread casserole.  On a personal note, Aaron is quite the chef preparing dinner at our house almost every night.

Western BBQ Chicken – This recipe is a Judy creation from the Western BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe from Colorado Collage and the Norelco Microwave Ove Cookbook.

Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic.  Let marinate in the fridge several hours.  Mix together remaining ingredients except the onions and green peppers to make the BBQ sauce.  Place chicken in microwave dish layering & coating with liquid BBQ sauce.   Place onion and green pepper on top.  Cover and cook in microwave on high 20 minutes stopping halfway to turn over the chicken.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

• 3-4 Chicken breast cut in to serving size pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Anasazi Bean and Squash Harvest Medley – This recipe is from American Food – A Celebration Collins Publishers 1993.

• 1/4 cup dried Anasazi or pinto beans
• 1 piece Hubbard squash (about 1 1/4 lb)
• 1 cup long-grain brown rice
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 6 green onions, chopped
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Quick-soak the Anasazi beans by placing them in 1 cup water in a saucepan and slowly bringing to a boil.  Boil for 4 minutes.  Turn off the heat, cover and let stand for about 2 hours.  Drain.  Place beans in water to cover, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 1 hour or until beans are tender but still firm. Drain.

Either microwave the squash for 6 to 7 minutes, until soft when pierced with a fork, or cut into several pieces and steam fro 15 to 20 minutes until soft.  Remove rind. Dice squash.

In a saucepan, bring rice and 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes.

Mix together the vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and pepper to make the dressing.  Toss beans, squash, rice, and green onions with dressing to coat. 

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For those of you in the Denver area, the Front Range Agility Team is holding an American Kennel Club dog agility trial at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, CO Friday June 11th through Sunday June 12th.

If you are in the neighborhood, stop in for this FREE event and check out local dog agility stars. Also, there will be a special attraction, the Retired Agility Run of Glory, to honor our four-legged friends that have retired from the sport. Online Dog Coach stars, Kelvin and Shiner, can’t wait to join in the fun!

Click here for directions to the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

As always, please do not bring dogs that are not entered and always remind kiddos to ask permission before approaching a dog.

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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.

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This past weekend was the Front Range Agility Club’s United States Dog Agility Association (USDAA) trial at the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland Colorado. Rankine and I have been working diligently on weaves to improve entry and speed. In early February we attended a weave seminar where I learned different methods for improving weave entrances including the two by two (2X2) method. Every night after work, I spend 5-10 minutes working on weave entries using the tennis ball as a reward. Our efforts paid off this weekend when Rankine made his weave pole entry on every course. Although we weren’t perfect this weekend, we did walk away with qualifiers in standard, pairs, and snooker.

Props also go to Rankine’s older brother, TJ, who qualified in pairs, snooker, and jumpers!

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