First Foundation Class is now finished and we’ve had such a great time looking at videos and discussing training with the participants. We’ve covered a lot of topics and given everybody feedback on their level of training. So it’s not just foundations, we’ve worked on recall with stand, distant control and many more advanced skills as well as great foundation skills. This is what one of our observers had to say after the course:
“I enjoyed all the lessons, the videos and the discussions and learned a lot. I feel so sorry that I did not go for ‘working participant’ as the course offered much more than ‘basics’ in my opinion and the working participants got so much personal feedback and guidance.”
Next foundation class starts on March 5th and you can sign up now! Thomas and I are really looking forward to working with a new group. Click here to read more and sign up.
Having three girls in heat in the house can be a challenge with three intact males. This is the first time that I have noticed that Epic really found girls interesting, and a new world seemed to open for him. Instead of trying to survive these days, we’re making the most out of this high value reward. Bitches in heat will be allowed in Swedish agility trials from this year, so it’s good to be prepared. I will let the video speak for it self:
I forgot to tell you that Thomas and Pogue went to an obedience trial yesterday to compete in class 3. They did a great job and got 290 out of 320 points, which is really good. They also won the class. Pogue was very happy and energetic and Thomas was very proud of him. He is now qualified for the highest class. We’re hoping that Pogue also will qualify for the highest classes in search and rescue, field trials and agility this year. I think he will!
Old picture of Pogue. I’ve bought a new camera that should arrive tomorrow and I can’t wait to take some new photos of the dogs.
Squid did her first trial of 2012, and her first since September, yesterday. It was a long day in a cold riding facility, and a long drive, but it was worth it. I realize that I have a lot to work on, her performance is far from how it is at home where she doesn’t get aroused by other dogs running agility. Last season, I felt that all the training i put in made a big difference and that it got better, but we’re back where we started at the beginning of this season. She’s acting like a different dog and the biggest thing is that she is ignoring decel and looking for tunnels and weave entries. It’s really boring training, but I realize it has to be done. I want to trial with the dog I have in training. Crazy Squid still managed to win both her runs and is now qualified for class 3 in jumpers. Exciting!
One of my online students asked me for ideas on how to teach the dog to always take the jump back, even if you for example throw the dumbbell badly so that the dog no longer has a straight line to you over the jump. This is one of the basic exercises that we do with our dogs. We let them run between the handler and a helper and we click for jumping. We gradually move to the side so that the dog has to think about what he is doing. If the dog runs past the jump, there is no click and the dog gets to try again.
You’re welcome to post any questions on this below.
Every year since I met Thomas and started working with dogs full time has been amazing, and I’m sure that 2012 won’t be an exception. The challenge is to prioritize. There is so much I want to do, but way too few days. Weekends are especially rare, all weekends until August are booked and that’s before they even published any herding trials. If I want to do herding trials this spring and summer, something else has to go. Probably agility trials. It’s hard decisions to make! I won’t write down any goals for the year, that never worked well for me and things never turn out as expected anyway. But I will share some thoughts on what we’re going to do this year.
Puppies
Fly (mother of Squid, Epic and Win) was mated with Ids in the middle of December. We’re expecting puppies in February. The latest report from Fly’s owner is that Fly is eating like a horse and steals food. Let’s hope that it’s a sign of pregnancy and that she is getting many puppies this time. She’s only had four puppies in both her previous litters, but one can always hope. We have high hopes for this combination, Fly has given us wonderful dogs and Ids is an amazing working dog that we just love.
…and Pogue becoming a father
Pogue, Thomas working cocker spaniel, is probably going to father two litters this winter, one in Sweden and one in Finland. Very exciting, we like Pogue a lot!
Agility trials
I am really looking forward to this year. Starting in February, I will have four agility dogs to run. Two in medium, two in large. One in class 1 (Epic), one in class 1+2 (Pogue), one in class 2 (Squid) and one in class 3 (Shejpa). I will have my hands full! I will prioritize class 3 with Shejpa to begin, she needs a few more results to qualify for this years Swedish Championship and we will try to qualify for European Open, which is held in Sweden this year. We’re also going to defend our team gold from last years Swedish Championships.
Squid is a little crazy right now after having such a long time away from agility last year. She was away with puppies from June until September, and we have done one trial since then. My hope for 2012 is that we get synched and find some stability. I don’t really know what to expect from her yet, she is much faster than last year, something has definitely happened there. First trial for Squid is on Saturday and that’ll be very interesting. Starting to trial with Epic will be really fun. I count on him finding new gears many times during the year and my job is to keep him as cool as he is now. Doing running contacts with a big, fast dog in competition will be another fun challenge. Pogue has a lot of capacity, but since I don’t train him much (it’s Thomas’ dog) we’ll just have to see what happens.
Obedience and Working Trials
I am not doing a lot of obedience right now, except for a little training for fun and coaching Thomas. I’ve realized that I should do agility while I’m still fairly young and fast. Obedience will always be there the day when the dogs or I can’t do agility any more. I still plan to make Squid an Obedience Trial Champion, but we’ve got plenty of time for that. Thomas is doing class III with Pogue soon and maybe he’ll start Win or Sarek too during the year. Pogue will also do search and rescue trials.
Herding
We hope that we’ll find the time to do herding trials as well. We’ve got several dogs with a lot of kapacity and it’s so much fun to learn more all the time. Training is fun and trials are fascinating. I just wish there were more weekends in a year.
Instructing
I have tried to work less on weekends this year, to be able to compete more. We can hopefully do some more online classes, which will free a lot of time for training and competing. We’re doing some instructing abroad. Thomas will instruct at ClickerCamp in Denmark and I’m booked in Spain. I also hope to be able to go to the U.S. this year. Some places have asked me to come and I would love to. Since it’s a long way to go, I hope to be able to visit a few places in the same trip. Let me know if you’re interested (will probably be in the fall). At home, we’re still doing some weekend seminars and I also have a weekly handling class that I love to teach. We have so much fun.
Attending seminars
We love to learn more! We already have some exciting seminars booked at home. Jo Agnar Hansen from Norway is coming back to teach us more about herding. Vappu Alatalo will come back for a jumping seminar and Jessica Martin (FCI World Champion 2010) from Canada will do a seminar on dog training and handling here.
I’m really looking forward to 2012 and I hope you’ll follow us here.
It’s the end of the year and time to make a summary. These are some of the things we’ve done this year.
January
Shejpa and I started the year with agility trials at a big dog show in Gothenburg and did well. Shejpa won a international class 3 and got a CACIAG (international certificate of agility). She was also 2:nd and 5:th in jumpers that weekend. A great way to start the year! I went to Norway and did a seminar and we had a lot of snow at home so we trained a lot indoors.
February
We started February with an obedience seminar with Maria Brandel. Squid did a few trials in agility class 1 and got mostly Q:s. Shejpa also did a local trial and got a second place in jumpers and first and third in open. The snow was still deep and we trained indoors. Epic and Win turned 6 months and we started some herding training.
Mija and Råttan in Kungsör
March
Squid qualifies for jumpers class 2 and does her debut trial in Rättvik where she wins both class 2 runs. Squid also wins agility class 1 and gets her second Q in standard. She also does her debut trial in obedience and wins with 192,5 points out of 200. At the end of the month we’re starting to see some bare ground and can do some hearding out on the field.
April
Shejpa begins the month by winning agility class 3 in a trial close to home. We arrange a herding seminar with Jo Agnar Hansen from Norway and we’re getting a lot of lambs at home. Shejpa swallows a sock and has to remove it surgically, which means that she misses some trials. I had to leave her at home for the easter trial in Skåne and brought only Squid. Squid did well, but got no results. Jen got mated to Loki.
May
Shejpa recovers well and our first trial is the world and nordic team tryouts. We’re doing well, but had a few too many bars down. Squid is mated to Hemp, father of Epic and Win. Thomas and Pogue win a search and rescue trial. I’m doing seminars in Tromsö and Stavanger in Norway. Squid does obedience class II and wins.
June
Squid gets her final Q in jumpers 1 and goes on maternity leave after that. Pogue does his debut in agility and gets a Q in jumpers. Shejpa wins agility 3 in Frövi. We’re teaching a lot, both at home and away. Shejpa and I win gold in team at the Swedish Championships. Jen gives birth to eight wonderful puppies. We’re attending a herding seminar with Derek Scrimgeour.
July
Squid gives birth to five puppies and we pick up puppy Tweet from the airport. She’s four months and from Wales. I do some trials with Shejpa and Pogue and Pogue gets a few more Qs. I use our big car as my bedroom when we go to trials and I really like it. We’re attending a herding seminar with Jonas Gustafsson with Epic and Win and I do a few herding trials with Fly (their and Squid’s mother) while Jen and Squid are at home with puppies.
My bedroom on wheels. It’s going to be hard to fit four dogs in there next year.
August
This month starts with “Obedience Rules” – a big obedience camp with instructors from the Nordic countries. We are just observing and it feels like a vacation. We also arrange a jumping seminar with Vappu Alatalo from Finland.
Epic and Win celebrate their first birthday at Obedience Rules.
Our house is full of puppies that move to their new home in the end of August and the beginning of September. We were going to keep a female puppy from Jen and Loki, but ended up with a boy – Sarek. Seven moved to Stockholm on breeding terms.
For The Win Seven (now “Twix”)
September
September is a bit calmer and we do a lot of dog training and a few trials (Pogue gets his final Q in jumpers 1). We teach a lot. Squid goes with me to Tromsö where we teach and meet Squid’s daughter Mist. Squid is back in training after the puppies (and very happy about it), while Jen is diagnosed with Anaplasmosis, a tick borne disease, and has to rest and eat a lot of antibiotics.
Squid i Tromsö
October
October is exciting! I travel to FCI World Championships in France. It was a lot of fun, and the fact that my friend and student Bodil represented Norway this year made it all a lot more exciting. Pogue did his first field trial and got the highest mark. Squid and I went to Belgium for Greg Derrett-seminars. We had a great time and met new friends. Epic turned 14 months and we started training weaves and running contacts.
November
Shejpa and I go to Rättvik for a trial and finally get a Q in jumpers (we need four to qualify for our national championships). Our team also gets a Q. We arrange a weekend for puppies from our breeding and have a lot of fun. Lots of wonderful puppies and great people. The puppies get to meet sheep and almost all of them are very keen. Jen is finally back and we do a herding trial (novice), where she is placed 3rd, just one point from victory. Shejpa is finally spayed.
December
December is mild and we can do a lot of herding training on the big field all month. Squid gets hurt and misses both seminar with Greg Derrett and a trial. Epic gets to go to the seminar and does great considering his lack of experience. Fly is mated to Ids. We also do some private lessons with herding guru Bobby Dalziel and Epic and I can take our training to the next level. Win is also doing great with Thomas. Can’t really tell how the year ends, because we’re planning on going to Norway for a herding trial tomorrow…
Herding December 30th
Results 2011:
Squid qualified for jumping class 2 (+Two Qs in class 2)
Squid qualified for agility class 2
Squid won obedience class I
Squid won obedience class II
Pogue qualified for jumping class 2 (+ Q in agility class 1)
Pogue qualified for the third class in SAR
Pogue highest price in novice field trial
Jen highest price in IK1 (novice herding)
Fly second price in IK1 (novice herding)
Shejpa wins the Swedish Championship in team
Shejpa qualified and started individual at Swedish Championships
We’ve spent a few hours with border collies and sheep in the big field while my family took the birddogs for a walk. Now, the dogs are content and we’re getting started with the food. I guess some of you are surprised that we’re a day early, but in Sweden we celebrate Christmas with good food and gifts on Christmas Eve, the 24th.
My family has arrived and we’re ready for Christmas. I had to excuse myself for a while to make this video where Sarek learns to put his head on the floor during the long down. This is a common style in Nordic obedience, where it can be a good thing with clear criteria for the dogs head. I trained it just to show you some more shaping (and because I have some students working on this), but maybe Thomas will choose to use it in obedience later on. We had four sessions, two around the sofa and two on the floor. I have cut out about half of the training, because the video would be too long and boring otherwise.
Sarek and I had our first session with sit up from down today. I thought it might be interesting for you to see a shaping session where a new behavior is shaped from scratch. It’s of course just a start. I’d do one more session to get more fluency, then try to teach him to sit pretty to get more strength and power. Sit pretty is a really good behavior to have on the repertoire if you want nice sit up from down.
