Tracking

The weather was still holding sunny and glorious for today's training. I ended up tracking with Tristan by myself today and it went surprisingly well. I laid two tracks - one with turns and one with articles. Last week I started him back on turns after his time off.

Since the knees don't bend (well, they bend but they don't cooperate when trying to stand back up) I just have to stick my butt up in the air to work with Tristan on articles. I managed pretty well although it can't have been the prettiest sight. Good thing we were alone.

We ended up having a fun day together. I got to do the Sunday NY Times crossword puzzle which is usually bumped because of the day long training. Tristan got to cavort in water several times during the day so he was happy.

It's too hot!

I'm joking! After a very chilly spring, we're having a Seattle heat wave - meaning it's over 70. Actually it hit 90 today and it was wonderful.

We headed out of the city to our current favorite, Whidbey Island. The excuse was the Penn Cove Water Festival in Coupeville but it really was an excuse. After a quick stop we headed for the beach and it was perfect. The breezes off the water were just right so it was wonderfully sunny and still comfortable.

A charming young boy approached wanting to meet Tristan. Kids are so cool and so sweet with animals. I enjoy talking with them and having Tristan do tricks for them - kids are a much easier crowd than Schutzhund. The youngster spotted some of Tristan's balls in the back so I told him how he finds so many. Very confidentially he told me of a great spot for balls that he thought we should check out. A kindred spirit.

Later in the day I had a scare with Tristan while driving a country road. He had his head out the window which I only let him do if we're going very slowly and there is no traffic around to kick up debris. Suddenly he started howling in pain and laid his head on the seat. It was absolutely terrifying and I had no idea what was wrong. He had his head to one side so I could only see one eye and I couldn't tell if something was wrong with his other eye. Amid all the howling and yelping I finally saw that his paw was caught in the seat hinge. As I got out to open the the right door, he extricated himself. It was over pretty quickly and Tristan's paw was okay but I hope I never have to hear such howling again. His seat (actually the folded down right hand seat) is now covered with several layers of blanket so the mishap can't happen again.

The scare aside, it was a beautiful day filled with long awaited sunshine and nice encounters.

Ball obsession

This is getting ridiculous. I started the ball count because I started noticing how many balls Tristan finds. We hit the absolute mother lode at the lake today. Twenty balls! I had visions of a container filled with tennis balls being washed over the side of a ship plying the waters of Lake Washington. But I probably would have heard about such an event.

It was a surfeit of riches and too much even for Tristan. After retrieving the eighth ball, he turned his attention to a large quantity of wood pieces. Wonders of wonders, he started sticking his nose underwater to get them. Wow. He's always gotten frustrated and raised a fuss when something is underwater and he won't stick his nose in to get it. I think he finally figured out that I wasn't going to wade in to retrieve for him.

I have no idea why there were so many balls in the water. There were a lot of waves so maybe it shook them loose. It was a big bounty but it's more fun to see Tristan pop up with a ball where no one else can see or find it.

May 8
Ball Count: Found one yellow lacrosse ball, one tennis ball

May 9
Ball Count: Found one fluorescent green softball, one tennis ball

May 10
Ball Count: Found one black and yellow rubber ball, one baseball, one tennis ball

May 12
Ball Count: Found one white lacrosse ball

May 15
Ball Count: Found one large dimpled white ball

May 16
Ball Count: Found 20 balls, kept six tennis balls, one small orange rubber ball, one white piffle ball.

Look out Mr. Bond

The henchman Jaws is back. Isn't he cute?

Today was the big day. Tristan got his metal crowns. I actually don't think they are all that obvious but that could just be a mother's love. His upper lip covers the top canines so unless he's got his lips pulled back the top ones won't be seen. And his big old GSD tongue covers a lot of the lower ones. A smile and a glint of sun though will make for an impressive display.

Here they are in all their glory - and there's another matching set.

I really like the veterinary dentist and know Tristan received great care. I like the office too. There's a red fire hydrant by the back door and, Tristan's favorite, a hand pumped water spigot in a cute little yard in back.

Tristan has to stay away from balls and any mouth work for several days so I took him to a different spot where I was sure he wouldn't find any balls. Wrong, the guy's a lean, mean, ball finding machine. He found three tennis balls all in one spot. Later we went back to the park and he found a baseball where again I was sure there were none. Poor thing wasn't too pleased though because as soon as he found a ball it disappeared.

Ball count: Found three tennis balls, one baseball.

The original Jaws

Casing the joint

We had a great big fenced field at the park all to ourselves today so I let Tristan run free. If we're not playing fetch or training, he usually has his nose to the ground investigating who's been in the vicinity and where they were going. Today as he ranged further afield than normal I noticed that he started following a particular pattern very methodically. He followed the fence around the baseball diamond, first on the outside, then on the inside and in and out of the player cages. His nose was deep into the higher grass by the fence where the mower misses. I realized that he was conducting his own search looking for any hidden balls. I wasn't surprised that he was looking for balls but rather how he organized his own methodical search. And darn if he didn't find one.

Ball count: Found one tennis ball.

Training today

Tristan is continuing to do articles. Today he indicated on all of them so he really understands the process. His style needs a bit more refining though as he platzed too far away from several of the articles. Also, since food is left in the next step after the article, he's too interested in the food and doesn't always wait for the command to start tracking again.

I asked about the reason for leaving food in the next step. It's to slow the dog down so he doesn't start off too fast on the track again. My thought was that it might work better for Tristan not to have the food in the next step so he wouldn't try to start the track again and then he wouldn't need to be corrected. I think he gets confused about the correction. He needs to learn though to track with obedience so he needs to learn to wait for the command to start tracking again. None of that stretching his nose out to the tasty morsel in the next step.

Several hot air balloons were overhead as we tracked. The morning clouds hadn't cleared off completely so the balloons drifted in and out of mist and it was quite magical.

Tristan didn't do protection as I don't want to take any chance of a change to his teeth since he's had impressions made. Countdown: two days.

Weather: Glorious, glorious, glorious.

New park discovery

Tristan and I found another great park today. It's the O.O. Denny Park in the Kirkland/Juanita area. We only explored a small part of it but will certainly go back. It has lovely no bank access to Lake Washington. Beyond the wooden walkway is a great expanse of lawn with a low seawall and a small retaining bank to sit on a few feet further.

It was a good ball bonanza day too. It never ceases to amaze me how Tristan can sniff out balls. I've seen him go directly into some bushy underbrush and emerge with a football. I don't know how he knew it was there. Today he did his usual perimeter patrol and came up with two.

Countdown: Day three

Ball count: Found two tennis balls

Day four countdown

Ball count: Found one baseball, one fabric ball

Day five countdown

Five, four, three, two, one, fangs!

Tristan is going in on Tuesday for his new choppers. As much as I've regretted needing to get his teeth done, I'm getting excited to see his new look. I'm determined to get a before shot of his teeth but his big old GSD tongue keeps getting in the way.