TJ enjoys a run through a dog agility equipment

Lately, we’ve been having a blast competing in dog agility trials – the sport that brought Online Dog Coach together. Watch our dog agility informational video to learn more about this exciting sport.

We’ve put together an online dog agility class with free video lessons. Teach your dog warm up exercises – like take a bow and circle – followed by some simple dog agility obstacles – jumps, tunnels, and a wobble board.

Build your own dog agility equipment using our simple instructions, or purchase backyard training equipment using our links to trusted vendors.

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It’s a beautiful evening in Colorado to enjoy a glass of wine and a Jewish pot luck dinner. Our dogs are home resting their paws after a three-day dog agility trial in Castle Rock, CO. The Online Dog Coach star of the weekend is Miss Yazzie who went 3 for 4 and would have been 4 for 4 if her Bubby had not misguided her. In addition, at 11 years old, Yazzie finished 2nd in Excellent Jumpers only to be beaten by Rain (who by the way is a Border Collie) – not too shabby.

Hunter also earned his Excellent Jumpers title. Rankine and Aaron became victim of the Table (sniffing, sniffing, sniffing)… videos to come.

Another highlight was the retired dogs run featuring Kelvin and Shiner. This event, hosted by Front Range Agility Association of Denver a.k.a. FRAT, is a first of it’s kind in Colorado and was a huge hit with the participants and spectators alike. We’ll post that video too.

Tonight we had…

Lamb Meatballs with Mint Yogurt Sauce
Fresh Baked Rye Bread
Carrot and Parsnip Ragout
Judy’s Tzimmis
Jewish Cabbage Rolls
Potato Kugel from The 2nd Ave Deli Cookbook
Cinnamon Cake

Recipes: (more…)

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Tonight we got together for dog agility training followed by a French potluck dinner. The training focus was on s’asseoir séjour – which is French for sit stay. Teach your dog to sit and train your dog to stay to help with control in a multitude of situations. 

Agility Training

Ryder sits and stays, waiting for his next command

Today Ryder and I worked on sit-stay. A good sit-stay is important in agility for two purposes – the start line and the table. At the start line, the dog needs to stay in place so the handler can get into a good position to start. At the table, the dog must sit or down-stay for five seconds before continuing. 

Ryder doesn’t do a sit-stay very well. To get him under control on the agility course I need to be consistent with the sit-stay. It refocuses him. After every couple of jumps I tell him to sit-stay and walk away so he knows that he needs to listen no matter where he is on the agility field. If he gets up, I return to him and have him stay before moving on. A successful stay where I release him means he gets to take some agility obstacles. Obstacles are a reward for Ryder – this method will not work with a dog who is not motivated.  

Since this has worked with Ryder in the past, we are working on it again while he gets back into agility after a medical leave of absence. 

French Potluck Dinner

This was a colorful and healthy dinner. When we picked the “French” theme, many of us wondered if you can make a French dish without a lot of butter and cream. Turns out, we found some great dishes. Some of the recipes can be found under “more” below. 

Provencale Potato Gratin – 240 calories, 7.5 g fat from Cooking Light. A new twist on potatoes with cheese. 

Crustless Spinach, Onlion, and Feta Quiche - 142 calories. It disappeared quickly and we didn’t miss the crust. A crustless quiche reduces the calories by more than half! 

Provencal Salad – We loved this salad and everyone had seconds. 

Canberry-Apricot Chicken Cutlets – 213 calories, 2.7 g fat. The most outspoken carnivores in the group had seconds of this colorful dish. The recipe is from the Weight Watchers 15 Minute Cookbook – which is a lie. It took significantly more than 15 minutes to prepare! 

French Vanilla Almond Ice Cream and Chocolate Cake – “Oh my gosh, that’s good!” “That ice cream is perfect with the cake.” Need we say more… 

Next week, join us for Jewish food. But don’t bring gefilte fish.

Try our recipes and let us know what you think by clicking on “more” (more…)

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Yazzi speeds through a dog agility course

We had a very nice weekend. Very relaxed trial, outside in the elements. Hot Friday,and Saturday and sweatshirts on Sunday. Yazzie was successful with 6 qualifing runs.

This was Ryder`s first outing in a year due to illness. No “Q`s” (qualifying runs) but he seemed to enjoy himself, and he did come close to qualifing, hopefully he is back to being a healthy dog.

We had fun and you can too. Try our free online Dog Agility Training Class.

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