Lots of articles

 

Tracking and indicating articles went really well today. This is only the third time Tristan has officially worked on articles at training. He platzed on the first several articles when given the command and then at the next to last article he went down on his own. Yea! We broke off there so Tristan would finish on a really positive note having done it by himself.

Next time we will space the articles further apart.

Snow day

Snow? It's almost April and I've been taking lots of flower poses with Tristan but it was fun to have snow today. We found this cute little snowman. The young boys who made it had to scrape up every flake of snow to do it and they did a great job on the snowman. I watched Tristan very carefully because he kept trying to whack it with his paw. That would have been very bad form.

Thumper meets Tristan

Shades of Bambi meets Godzilla! Tristan apparently was venting his opinion of his Easter photo. I found poor Thumper badly mauled. Bad dog. No evidence of missing ear and eyes but I suppose it will come out in the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXCUBVS4kfQ

Magnuson Park

Magnuson Park had an unwelcome surprise for us today. It's undergoing a 43 acre project and it looks like they are fencing off all 43 acres at once including our usual spots. I'm sure it will be nice to have the improvements but for the next year or so access will be severely curtailed. It's close to me and I go there almost every day with Tristan so it's a huge loss for us. We've found several areas that work well for training and playing but they are all fenced off now.

Happy Easter!

Daffy dog

Here's to you, Paddy!

Tristan is sporting a wee bit o' green in honor of St. Patrick's Day and our friend Paddy, Irishman and fellow Schutzhund club member. Here's a smile for you, Paddy! I'm doing my part too by having an Irish coffee.

BTW, Is it just me or does the green derby look more like a German helmet on Tristan? What's the saying? I guess you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy :)

Tristan as private nurse

Tristan is on nursing duty today. I came down with a bad cold yesterday so instead of training today he is on nurse duty. He's tended to me very well by staying next to me and letting me sleep most of the day. He did take a break from his duties in the afternoon when I let him out for a while. He snuck back in and stole a shoe to entice me out to the back yard. When I went out to retrieve it, the chase was on. First, lots of play bowing and pouncing, then after grabbing the shoe, off to madly tear around the perimeter.

Tristan hasn't done the steal and chase routine for a quite some time so maybe he just wanted to cheer me up, or more realistically, he was letting me know that he still wanted some play time. I love that my noble stalwart protector is also so mischievous.

Bonanza ball day

Today was a bonanza day for balls. Tristan found five balls at the two places we went to play today. We're definitely ahead in the ball count since he often finds one or two but we've never hit such a jackpot before.

Spring training camp - keep checking back

We went to camp in February. Tristan and I spent a week in B.C. at the West Coast German Shepherd Schutzhund Club's Invitational Work Week. It was a grand adventure for us. I haven't been able to write about it yet so keep checking back for a February 19 entry. Here's a teaser. It's the après-hour set up in their clubhouse. These folks know how to party.

Thurber - update

Update to our 2/8/08 posting. Thurber (aka CH Casmir Creswick Sgt Pepper) is the No. 5 Clumber Spaniel in the U.S. I'm so excited for my friend Brad.

Flower pose

Tracking breakthrough

I think he's got it! I think he's got it! Tristan did really well indicating on articles today. It's been several weeks since Tristan's first real training with articles on a track. Today I again laid seven articles and the trainer worked with Tristan on indicating. After platzing Tristan at each article, the trainer knelt beside him (he can kneel and I can't) and gave him lots and lots of treats on top of the article. Then on to the next article while the trainer held his hand out for more treats which I quickly supplied. We were like a fine surgical team and I half expected him to snap "scalpel" at me.

Tristan gobbled the treats up and got better with each article. He platzed on his own at the final article and it seemed like an "aha" moment for the big boy. It's really fun to see the progression from quizzical uncertainty to a bit of a swagger when he gets it.

Mussel Beach Party

Our excuse today for heading to Whidbey Island was the Penn Cove Mussel Fest and the Spring Art Studio Tour. We had wonderful steamed mussels at the Fest in Coupeville and Tristan was a great hit with several groups of kids.

Time ran out and we didn't get too far along on the studio tour. We did stop to see the artists exhibiting at the Crockett Barn. I was totally bowled over because the 1895 barn is absolutely spectacular especially from the inside looking up to the rafters. The beam work is constructed using a mortise and tenon technique and the beams are secured by dowels. The craftsmanship is stunning. There's a fascinating blockhouse on the property too that is so small it looks like a playhouse. We asked permission and Tristan had a grand romp on the beautiful fields.

We scurried off to hit the beach while we still had lots of daylight. This beach has become another favorite. It was really windy and a windsurfer was having a blast leaping the waves and sailing through the air.



A rare moment between hauling logs up and down the beach.


It was a good thing I bought a Tilley hat in Coupeville. I love these hats. They are so geeky they're cool. I was feeling kind of guilty for buying another one but it was perfect for the really windy beach. Obviously I like it more than Tristan does. He goes for the wind blown look. But doesn't he look like an explorer on a great expedition?