Drive, he said*

Tristan was incredible at protection work today. His drive is amazing. Tristan absolutely loves doing protection. He was so pumped up when it was his turn that it was hard containing him as we went on the field. But then he was very attentive to me when I gave him the fuss command and off like a rocket at the revier command. It was great to have him really look to me for the command and wait to get it.

The drive is what will make Tristan a great Schutzhund competitor, however, it is probably a mixed blessing for me. It will be harder for me to handle him. Clearly the key is making sure his obedience work proceeds also. It's all about control.

Based on the trainer's feedback, I am getting a lot tougher about giving Tristan corrections. I tend to nag versus really correct him - meaning I pull on him rather than give short, sharp corrections that clearly communicate to him. It seems so clear and easy to do when talking or writing about it but I really struggle with it when I have Tristan on the field. It's hard to do the pop, pop, pop of correct corrections. It's important though since dogs respond much better to clear corrections and over time they get used to being tugged and just blow it off.

*Obscure movie reference

Make my day

Tristan's not too sure he wants to give up the Miata.

Miata memorial meander

Tristan and I took a final spin in the Miata. We're selling it tomorrow and I'm rather sad about it. It's a 1990 and was one of the first Miata's available. It was the perfect car for me, because while I'm not into cars at all, I love sports cars. It's been a great car, totally reliable and I've had a grand time driving it.

We drove north from Seattle and then over Steven's Pass. I only planned to go to the summit to catch a glimpse of sun since we started out rather late. The traffic heading back to Seattle was creeping along bumper to bumper and I couldn't force myself to head back that way by joining the line up. So we kept going and turned our jaunt into doing the Cascade Loop - Stevens Pass to Leavenworth then back over Blewett and Snoqualmie Pass.

It was a very introspective drive for me

Bummer

I'm totally bummed. I overslept and missed today's training. I slept through two alarms and finally woke up after 11:00. Curses, I was really looking forward to today's training - plus I'm in a mania to get in all the training I can because the BH trial only six weeks away.

Taking a tumble

Another fun day of training. I can't believe how much I enjoy it. Tristan did a slightly different track today and managed pretty well. The track spanned a five foot wide patch of dirt with turns on both ends and Tristan made the turns quite well. His only bad part was on the dirt. He didn't keep his nose down when he had trouble and seemed too willing to break off when he encountered problems with the dirt section. Mainly he didn't seem to want to bother with the treats in the dirt. How fastidious.

I regret to say obedience is our weak area. Tristan's first test for his BH is mid July and I have a hard time believing he will be ready for heeling off leash (or on leash for that matter). He got loose and wouldn't come right back to me. Instead he did a very joyous romp playing keep away. He clearly was having a grand time pouncing around. It was over quickly but not before I was thoroughly embarrassed. Then more embarrassment because our heeling is sub par. I struggle to get Tristan to heel well and look up to me for attention. The trainer took him and immediately Tristan's prancing around like he's ready for the trial tomorrow.

Protection was good as always. The routine is for Tristan to pay attention to me then do the blind search upon my revier command. He barks and holds until the sleeve is presented. This week he had to obey the out command to drop the sleeve while still in front of the helper. Nicely done. The only drama occurred when I brought Tristan onto the field. My knee gave out and I did a lovely pratfall. It happened in a flash and I was on the ground before I even realized it. I torqued my knee earlier in the day while laying track and it was painful all day but I didn't expect it to just plain give out on me.

So, recapping, a bit of a problem in tracking, truly abominable obedience and a nosedive in protection. Ok, maybe it wasn't such a good day of training after all. But the weather was lovely and it's all about being out spending time with the dogs.

Public nuisance number one

I received a letter Friday from the animal shelter that a complaint has been made about Tristan for creating a public nuisance by "barking, whining, howling, etc." I am very concerned about it. I really try to be a responsible pet owner and I understand my neighbors do not want to hear my dog barking just as I would hate to have a dog barking incessantly next door to me.

I'm in a bit of a quandry. My first inclination is to believe Tristan's barking is a major issue if a neighbor has gone to the trouble of a formal complaint. The problem, however, is that Tristan does not bark incessantly. He is never left outside to bark and he is never left outside when I'm not home. But clearly there remains a problem with a neighbor.

The pertinent language is "unreasonable noise" defined as "Loud and raucous, and frequent, repetitive, or continuous sounds..." Tristan's bark is unquestionably loud but it is not repetitive or continuous. It seems to boil down to the question of how frequent is frequent? I've started a log to track any barking by Tristan so I can try to be objective. It's clear his pattern is to bark two or three times and then he's done.

Update four days later - Tristan's barks are measured in seconds. The worst was the first day I tracked. He barked with two woofs about every half hour during the afternoon. The next three days he barked three, two and six times respectively for the entire day. Since his barks last at most two to three seconds it's hard to believe that this rises to a reasonable complaint.

My biggest concern, however, is that I may have a neighbor who is not going to be satisfied unless he or she does not hear a peep out of Tristan at all. That said, I will do everything I can to keep any barking at an absolute minimum both for my neighbors' quiet enjoyment and for Tristan's safety.

Now look at this face - how can it be the source of any angst?

My Miata, my dog and me

We've started training on Wednesdays now too. The price of gas getting there is killing me! Every trip to the training fields in Snohomish and back is $20. Ouch! So I rolled out my trusty old Miata for the trip today. I kept it when I bought the Xterra since I figured it was worth more to me than any trade in I could get, however, I really haven't driven it since buying the Xterra. Yes, I bought a SUV just as gas prices started their climb. In my defense I needed an automatic transmission because my knees could no longer handle a manual for my work commute in stop and go traffic; and if I got a new car, obviously it needed to handle a large kennel.

When I got Tristan, my friends all teased me that I would have to buy a car for my dog. Tristan, however, actually does quite well in the Miata although we are quite a sight when the top is down. When he sits up, he's a lot taller than I am and he loves to put his chin over the front windshield. I have to admit it looks hysterical. With the top up though he curls up in the passenger seat and is quite comfy.

The downside to taking the Miata is that the dogs really need to be in a kennel when at the training field. I heard warning stories tonight of how they can get so pumped up that they will tear up an interior or go through a rag top. Hmmm. The trainers had me put Tristan in an open space in their kennel trailer so we averted disaster for tonight. I think he would be fine but these could be famous last words.

Tristan was great at the blind search today. He gets so excited when he sees the protection gear and starts deep barking as he should. The obedience is started to show. I was able to lead him onto the field and then gave him the fuss command to get into position and to pay attention to me. It took a correction but he fussed and then I could give him the revier command to search. He went right to the blind, barked to hold and bit the sleeve when threatened. Jason, a helper, said Tristan had the most powerful bite of all the dogs today.

It's starting to come together for me. I am still a complete neophyte but I'm starting to feel more comfortable while training. It feels more natural rather than feeling overwhelmed by trying to remember everything I'm supposed to be doing.

On the way home Tristan calmly climbed between the seats and draped himself across the shelf behind the seats and rested his head on my shoulder. He's never done that before but all 90 pounds fit easily which amazed me.

Exhausted but proud

Tristan and I are exhausted! We had a very long, cold, wet, windy, miserable day of training. Weather wise this was the worst day ever of training. I got through it by whining and thinking of all the martyr points I was collecting. I am a confirmed night owl so 6:00 AM Sunday morning is grim especially since I rarely get to sleep before 2:00 or 3:00 AM.

Tracking was decent. It was cold and overcast but not raining yet. The ground cover was mowed so I didn't have to do the high step routine of last week. Tristan did well finding the turns and not moving too fast. It was harder for me to tell where I had laid the track but Tristan knew so we did fine.

He's getting much better at obedience on the club field. Tristan is terrific at home but when we get to the field and around the other dogs, he gets so excited that he's hard to handle. Also I tend to get rattled easier and he picks up on this too. This week he was substantially more manageable and it felt a lot better. It seems to have finally kicked in with him that he's supposed to pay 100% attention to me and ignore everything else going on. Not that he actually did the 100% but it looks like we can get there. Huge improvement!

The really miserable weather started when we began protection work. It was windy, very cold and raining. Thank goodness I had my $1.98 plastic poncho. It was amazingly effective - I'm going to buy a supply of these. Besides I look so fetching in it - like I've detoured through the dry cleaners.

Tristan did great on the blind search. This week he knew exactly what to do. We did it three times and on the final time I was able to do the victory run (okay, amble) back to the car. Tristan had the sleeve firmly in his mouth all the way to the car. It felt great.

During our breakfast break Paul, the trainer, again talked about how good Tristan is. He says Tristan has so much drive that has never been released. He noted how incredibly strong he is and how even the big strong guys have a hard time holding him when they help me. I'm so lucky that Tristan is such a sweetie even with all his drive. Paul again said he'd love to have Tristan. Pretty impressive since Paul breeds GSDs and has his own great dogs. It's so incredibly motivating to me. It really encourages me to do everything possible so Tristan reaches his potential. Now if I could just be as good as Tristan.

A lot of new members are joining the club and were there today. We're really a diverse group and it's fun and interesting to get to know people that one might not otherwise meet. I love to see their beautiful dogs.

All this writing is after arriving home at 5:00 and taking a long nap. Now off to bed again!