Riffing

Sheepdog! (???)

2012-02-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

ML offered to introduce Riff to sheep yesterday. Woohoo!! So we went out to her sheep pasture, where Riff met her older dog "Pete" and young dog "Sam." Riff was excited....and nervous. A new place, new dogs, and - wow, what are those fuzzy animals?

Riff and Sam

The dogs got to know each other, and Riff got to look around, before M and Pete went into the big pasture to bring in the sheep.

Watching the flock come in.

M and Riff got acquainted before she took him into the small round pen with the sheep. Not knowing what he would do, she put a light twine lead on him. The lead was doubled up in her hand, but easy to lengthen, or pull out of his collar, if need be.

ML, Riff and Pete

First pass

Riff glanced at the sheep. He was nervous, though, and spend a fair amount of time looking for me. ML kept walking him around after the sheep, and he started to settle down. He never did get into a crouch or get all "sheepdoggy"...he was too confused and distractable. She said "This dog has no idea how powerful he is. These sheep don't usually move much for a soft dog, but he's got them on the run just from his presence."

She was very slow, gentle and patient with him. Soon, she dropped the lead. He would steal glances at the running sheep, but stay close to ML. After a short rest, she took him back in with no lead at all.

He seemed better without a lead on him. Still not entirely interested, though. ML brought Pete in so Riff could watch, and perhaps learn...

Pete

After that, ML said "shadow me" and we both walked around after the sheep, with Riff trailing along. ML said I was okay by myself, and left the pen. Riff's tongue was hanging out pretty far by then (you Bezel-baby people know what I mean!), so we didn't stay with the sheep long.

He seemed to be looking at them more often by the time we were finished, but he certainly never "locked on." However, I was pleasantly surprised to feel perfectly at home in a sheep pen. I thought it would be scary! But these sheep were a lot smaller and more pliable than the cattle I used to work with, years ago. Of course back in the cattle days, I didn't have a dog. Having a dog makes all the difference! I didn't even mind it when the sheep came up close to me...they're actually kind of cute little woolies, and although they came in close they never did step on me or offer to knock me over. (At least not yet.) The only part that was squishy for me was their poop. Heh heh.

ML was very kind about Riff's apparent lack of "natural" ability. She said he was just nervous, because everything is so new to him. She pointed out that all he knows is me telling him what to do next on an agility field. He kept looking at me for guidance...but there's not a lot I can do to actually guide him, other than hope he begins to understand that it's the sheep he should be looking at...and that he can actually move the sheep around by himself. Without that understanding, we can't move ahead with working sheep.

So - is Riff a sheepdog? Doesn't look like it, so far. But ML said to bring him out again next week. She thought his reaction was fairly typical for a "first timer," and she says there might be a sheepdog in there....somewhere.

:-)

Love

2012-02-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Yay, Riff!

2012-02-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

Riff hit his weave entries 100% this morning at AARF - six attempts from various speeds, angles and obstacles. He looked thoughtful, collected nicely for the entry, and sped through with his usual panache.
YAY!

Beautiful morning, after a rainy day and night.

Riff also looked like he might have a good handle on "out" and "here" when it comes to obstacle discrimination (like that tunnel/A-frame). 100% correct on those, too! :-)

Have I told you how nice it is to be back on an agility field? NICE, NICE, NICE!!!

Although Riff is starting to give longing looks toward the sheep in the next pasture....

Visitors

2012-02-12T12:52:00.000-08:00

This weekend we enjoyed a visit from out-of-town guests.
J offered to help Jeff trim a couple of dangerous branches off the old apple tree.
They got to wear fancy headgear. Aren't they cute? :-)
M helped me clean up all the bits and pieces afterwards.
(The wood! No tree trimmers were harmed during this production!)

Riff and Keeper had a lovely long walk...then helped me plant a few primroses and move a baby Christmas tree into a bigger pot. Haha! They are good gardogeners!

Later, we drove up to the Geyserville area to check out Francis Ford Coppola's winery digs.

The place was basically empty. Nice!
The winery features a lovely big pool, open to the public,
and a fancy restaurant.
The young lifeguard was bored silly.
The waiters were busy.

They have plenty of Coppola movie memorabilia on display.
Like the Tucker car,
and these skulls from Apocalypse Now...

...and the Godfather's desk and chair.
(Complete with random young tourist.)

The best part of our tour was playing a bunch of bocce ball.
I won one game. Yay!

After we looked at the menu for the Rustic Restaurant at Coppola's we decided to stop in Healdsburg for a sandwich at Oakville Grocery. Yum! We also stumbled into the Wild Steelhead Festival in the Healdsburg Town Square. My friends didn't understand why I bought a baseball cap with a fish on it...but I bet you do. We rounded out the day with a nice dinner (and a margarita!) at LaRosa Grill. Lovely weekend, all the way around.

Our other visitors were predators:

We've had a lot of hawk action this week.
They're noisily staking out territory in the tall redwoods behind our house,
where they frequently nest...
...much to the chagrin of neighboring scrub jays and small rodents.

Juvenile Red-tailed hawk. (I think!)
Beautiful.

Parkour, anyone?

2012-02-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

Drizzly weather caused our field rental to be canceled this morning (sad), but we did have a heck-a good time playing in the backyard (happy!).

Sipping on my coffee, watching Keeps and the Riffle run circles, teasing each other (each carrying a toy the other wanted), I got to wondering if Riff and I could play parkour in our backyard. Would it be possible to train him to think of "rock," "steps," "hedge," "chair," "bench," et al, in the same way as he does agility obstacles? Of course it would have to be a totally safe game, for my peace of mind and his well-being.

Then....if he got good at it in the backyard....could we play the game someplace like - Spring Lake? Annadel? The neighborhood park? Downtown?

Hmmmmm.....

Maybe I should've had this idea when I was in my twenties and had the ability to physically keep up. It would require plenty of scouting beforehand, too. (Which might be lots of fun....)

And. Distance training. Yes?

Hmmmmmm.

.......................

Saw a nice little video of Riff's littermate EX running a Starter's Jumpers course last week in - I think it was Texas.

Ex in 2011

Ex-in-motion reminds me a lot of Riff! Beautiful dog, very nice run. Ex does have a thicker longer coat, however, more white, and his ears were set to prick. You'll always be able to tell the difference between Riff and Ex. Heh heh!

.......................

Riff's last weave-training session on Wednesday was terrrrrific. He seems to be finally "getting" it: collect and enter at the first pole - regardless of the angle, speed of approach, or obstacle you're coming from. I'm very proud of my boy!

.......................

Last but not least, here's a sweet cartoon:

Tree of Love

2012-02-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

Cars I Have Owned

2012-02-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

It's a rainy day here. Agility lesson canceled. Hiking too muddy.   A few running loops around the backyard, a nice walk through the neighborhood.....and that'll do it for the dogs. (For now!)

Today I've been thinking about cars....

The car I learned to drive in was a little Metropolitan. It belonged to my Dad - a very brave man who to taught me how to drive a stick shift in that tiny car. His was a two-tone little gem that looked like this one, only in faded orange and cream. I flunked my driver's test first time I took it (something about pulling away from the curb in such a way as to scare the bejeezus out of the DMV guy)....but still managed to have a license by the time I was sixteen-and-a-half.  (Dad was very encouraging, after my devastating failure.)

So I started borrowing Mom's car, or Dad's car, to "go to the library."   Finally Dad said..."How did you put 80 miles on the car last night, while you were studying at the library?" "Oh, yeah. Sorry, Dad. I may have driven by the Q a few times....and I picked up a couple of friends..."     Isn't it amazing how life twists around? The cruising spot in our town was a drive-in hamburger joint named "The Q." Now, almost fifty years later, I'm driving to dog agility trials, trying to win Q's....

Metropolitan

By the time I was a senior in high school Dad decided to sell me one of their cars. It was a dark blue Lark VI Studebaker - not pink like this one! It had 200,000 miles on it (our family often drove to Louisiana to visit relatives), and he sold it to me for $100. I loved that car. My friends and I called it "The Blue Rabbit." I told Dad we called it that because of the way it sometimes got "jumpy" when I was shifting from first into second gear. (3 gears - on the steering column - and it was not always a smooth transition.) The car's name had absolutely nothing to do with the Jefferson Airplane hit "White Rabbit." Absolutely nothing. Heh heh.

Lark VI

When I moved to Northern California at twenty years old, Dad was afraid the old Lark wouldn't make it up the hills of San Francisco. He insisted on trading it for his newer VW bug. What a great Dad. I was thrilled!

first VW bug

It was a great little car. Very zippy, and the 4-on-the-floor was fun! Unfortunately it was totalled a couple of years later, when we missed a curve during a rainstorm out on Hwy 116. VWs are not made for rolling down a ravine into redwood trees. Thankfully, no one was too seriously injured. We were able to sell engine parts for $25.00, and the metal from the body netted $3.50. With that money I was able to buy another VW, for $50. My second VW was considerably older than the first. His owner told me the car's name was "Victor." Victor was faded red, and looked sort of like this car (I loved the tiny rear window), only it was extremely rusty and beat-up. I hadn't realized how nervous I would be, driving a VW, after the accident. When one of the back wheels came off and rolled right past the car, while driving down Stony Pt Road, Victor found himself SOLD for $30.00, as is.

second VW

But it's tough to live in California without a car (unless you live in The City). So I saved up my pennies, and was able to find a really cool Ford Falcon Ranchero. A sort of car/pick up truck, all rolled into one. I could haul hay for the horses in it (and soon had my own little crop of grass growing out of the back bumper). My dog Sammy loved riding in it. Back then I was probably the only person in the county to make sure my dog was carefully cross-tied when he had to ride in the truck bed. Not because I was particularly safety-conscious, but because he wanted to jump out and get in the cab with me.

A succession of cars followed. None were as special as my first few cars.

A yellow Vega we called "The Lemon"

A green Caprice with a rag top that was totally torn up, not nice like this one.
And it had a big dent in the side, from when a horse backed into it and kicked out.
And the passenger window wouldn't roll up.
But I could easily find my car in the grocery store parking lot.

And a big white station wagon - my "soccer mom" car.

And of course there were the pick-up trucks that we used to haul cattle and horses. An old red Ford 150, a new copper-colored Ford 150 (with matching trailer!), and a white GMC 1-ton dually with a blue and red eagle painted on the hood. The trucks were fun to drive!

Today I'm lucky enough to own a Toyota Sienna van...my "dog car." It's a wonderful vehicle.
We love it!

Last Night's Moon

2012-02-06T09:45:00.000-08:00

(I took this photo without a tripod...but it still looks cool...)

PS. Good job yesterday, Eli and the Giants! :-)

The best laid plans....

2012-02-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

....don't always work out.

Next time! I tell myself. Next time!

[Even though the fact of the matter is that TODAY is what is happening, and no one knows when Next Time will actually present itself...]

Yesterday we stayed at home. I let pruning and raking leaves totally distract me from taking Riff to the trial for some much-needed StartLine training on the practice jumps. My garden is a little happier, however.  That's good, right?

This morning we actually made it to the fairgrounds....YAY!   [Sometimes I need to pat myself on the back for taking even the small steps.] However, I did not work Riff on the practice jump. I told myself he was too tired from playing in the field. (Ha!) I told myself the people who entered the trial needed to work the jump, and we'd be in the way. (Not!) I made all kinds of goofy excuses...and never did get him on the jump. [Now the trick is to just Get Over It, and get him on a practice jump next weekend.]

To be honest: I woke up this morning thinking about not competing in agility anymore. Wow...I don't know...can that possibly be an option? I've put quite a lot of time, energy, study...even love....even heart and soul...into this sport...why would I be thinking about not competing?    I know I want to continue going to our lessons, and playing agility a few times a week - but I'm feeling much, much less certain about the competitions.

[Those of you who know how competitive I can be, how pleased I can be with winning a Q or a class, how much fun it is to jump and and down with my friends who win ribbons and Qs and titles....you-all may be surprised. Actually....I'm-all surprised.]

Caught a glimpse of Nancy Gyes this morning, and she came over and gave me a hug. (So nice!) She asked if we"ve been trialing, and I almost blurted out "No, no, I think we're done." but whew! I did not. I just said "Not lately" and muttered something about needing more training. She said, "We ALWAYS train...it never stops!" and rushed off to get one of her dogs ready for a class.

True, that. Life is a chair of bowlies!

In the meantime, Riff and the lovely Keeper had a marvelous time this morning, playing fetch on the big grassy field at the trial. Two tired dogs by the end of our session!

Enjoyed chatting with Channan and Kate E and some of the folks at the trial. What a terrific bunch of people. Love, love, love.

And y'know...I did work Riff's sit-and-wait (and down-and-wait) in the field. He was pretty darn good: I could throw the toy wa-a-ay out there while standing right next to him, I could release Keeper without him, I could run by him toward the toy, circle around him, etc etc. His StartLine was terrific....in the field.

Maybe I just didn't want to mess up his Glow of Success by testing him at the crowded practice jump.

Or...wait....does that sound like an excuse...?

Yearning

2012-02-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

yearn·ing (yûr n ng). n. A persistent, often wistful or melancholy desire; a longing: a yearning for romance and adventure.

Desire. Romance. Adventure. (?!) Powerful words.

"Yearning" has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I've heard it described as "a basic human condition," so I try not to worry about it much. Some mystics believe that all humans (perhaps even all living beings) yearn to be together, in some sort of "shared universal energy and understanding" - and that as long as we have individual bodies, we will feel that yearning. I used to think it was because I'm an identical twin (a once-whole egg that split in half) and that I was just missing my "other half." Or maybe, when I was little, I needed more hugs from my mom. Or. Something. Most of the time I'm too busy to think about it.

But my life is simpler these days, now that I'm not teaching at the college any more. I can sleep in late, if I want. Or I could if I didn't have border collies, and wasn't a total morning person. Nothing quite as wonderful as the sunrise! (Except maybe a beautiful sunset. And the full moon. And...and....)

Today I woke up yearning...for....um.....mmmm....not sure. That's the weirdest part about this feeling! What, exactly, am I yearning for? Life is good. Other than the relentless political scene of an election year. All the PACs, attacks, lies and counter-lies. And a few other more important clashing, grinding social/cultural problems.

Lately I've been thinking about this quote: "I don't want to be a consumer in a corporate world. I want to be a citizen in a community!" Maybe I'm yearning for.....a community....?

So this morning, filled with that mysterious yearning, I went outside and walked up and down the path in our backyard for 1/2 hour or so, as quickly as I could, while the dogs ran. Nothing like a brisk walk in the company of good dogs to soothe the soul.

This amazing oak branch winds its way to the sun above the lower path.
I love the beautiful weight and strength of it.

The camellia bushes are coming into bloom.
They're about twelve feet tall, carrying so many buds....
we'll soon have a corner carpet of red, white and pink.

Love watching Riff run.

A lot of folks I know are over at the fairgrounds, enjoying an AKC agility trial. There will be a trial at the fairgrounds (10 minutes from my house!) every weekend this month. I plan to take Riff over there to say Howdy! to some folks, and to work our start-line stays at the practice jumps. I don't feel ready to compete yet. But we're working on it!

Yesterday we had a nice practice session out at LeapDog. We worked on our contacts. I threw a couple of weave sets in, too....he was perfect! We also helped LP video some puppy-training with Clever. That puppy is so CUTE, and a real firecracker. She's getting big fast...I'll need to get some photos before she's all grown up.

I did manage to grab an iPhone shot of Riff running in the back pasture after our practice time. He loves those wide-open spaces.

WildLife

2012-01-30T16:44:00.000-08:00

There was a time when this post might've been about the night we took a bottle of whiskey into our improvisation rehearsal. [Does that sound like an oxymoron to you?  No, not the part about the whiskey, although it did turn some of us into morons that night...I mean the part about rehearsing an improvisation.  You may think "improvisation" means "no rehearsal" but that's not actually the case. Even those "Whose Line Is It?" guys rehearsed.] Anyway, we were improvising a play we called Long Days Journey Into Hollywood (based on Eugene O'Neill's wonderful play), and we were rehearsing, that night, by improvising the past...specifically, the day our characters met. I was playing the maid, and...       But wait. That's a different story.

This post is about the wildlife found a few feet behind our backyard fence. The pictures from my little motion-sensor infrared camera have been fascinating.  (Sorry about the quality...)

NOTE: We live within the city limits. Poppy Creek flows (when it rains) behind our house...but a lot of other houses march through the trees around us and on up the hill above us, so I never thought of our house as being "country." But these animals live in our neighborhood. Someone said they even saw a mountain lion in our area. I'd love to capture one on film....

It's no wonder we sometimes feel watched, during our walks at dusk or dawn. Occasionally the hair on the back of my neck stands up, and the dogs seem restless and worried. That's when we veer into the middle of the street, and think about heading on home....

Raccoons have been photographed several times.

Unfortunately, we've seen a couple of skunks, too.
These photos put a whole new spin on letting the dogs rush barking at the fence.

This little fox is my favorite. And there are at least two!
We got a photo of them chasing each other, but it's a very poor quality shot.

Lots and lots of deer. This one was curious about the camera.

We've seen a big buck napping under the redwood trees some mornings,
just behind our fence. Maybe it was this fellow.

This is my least favorite critter. Yuck! I try to think of rats at "owl food."
We do hear owls pretty often. Thank goodness.

And I think this is also a raccoon. Or is it??

Beautiful Day at the Beach

2012-01-29T16:53:00.000-08:00

Riff

Riff, Spree and Charter head down the beach

Riff says, "Whoa! Look at all that water!"

As you know, Riff is not a big fan of water....but he was adventurous today.
Spree and Charter helped.

Charter showed us his "Pretty!" trick

The Red Dog Pack - Charter, Spree and Riff

Happy Riff!

The dogs ran and ran....

....and then it was time to head home....

Cursive

2012-01-27T13:46:00.000-08:00

"If you could just explain what you want me to do, I could do it!"

Puppy!

2012-01-26T10:39:00.000-08:00

Clever and Riff

Riff was excited to play with Clever. He made himself tiny, and approached her from a crawly-position.  She was so energetic he soon stood up and offered to play. She roiled around happily, running this way and that between his legs, winding her little leash around and jumping on his head. Riff decided he'd rather play with LP. Maybe he thought jumping on LP would be more fun than letting Clever jump on him.  Or maybe he wanted to talk her into letting her puppy loose. LP explained to him "I'm trying to get Clever to pay attention to me, even when other dogs are around...!"
Clever is stronger and more confident, every day.  Charming Plupper Clever! She's now ten-weeks old. I feel like a lucky auntie...

Riff has been having a good week. Our Tuesday lesson was great!  Even though we worked several tough approaches to back-side jumps and weave entries, on Masters courses, Riff ran like he knew exactly what to do. And his peripheral vision was ON! From well-ahead of me, he turned back and forth through several jumps as though he were reading my mind. He had solid start-lines. At one point he picked up a decel cue in time to execute one of the tightest turns I've ever seen from him. Someday we're going to show up at a trial with this kind of mindset.  You'll enjoy watching him run....
:-)

Our weave-entry practice sessions have been going pretty well, too. Just two more are scheduled, but I may try to add two more after that. I'd like to test his weave entry with tunnels and contact obstacles, too.

Ever onward....

Trial Notes

2012-01-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

Practice makes perfect, I've heard....so Riff and I need to practice going to trials. What a rusty day we had at the BayTeam trial!  Our new plan is to go to as many local "fun matches" as we can. Usually I avoid them because I'm lazy, or busy. Or I really don't want to stand in the lines they've been having at the fun matches, trying to keep my reactive dog calm until it's our turn. (Which is surprisingly difficult at times.) But practicing more might help us calm down. Although....I did feel curiously calm at the start-line of both of our classes on Saturday. It was after we got going that my brain started to flail around in my head. Even though I played with Riff out in the field for quite a while before we went into the ring, he was thrumming along on a hair trigger while I was bumbling along.   More practice needed.

Attitude....try to hang on to a good attitude.  This game is seriously FUN, even if you put your dog into a "down" right after the first jump, because he didn't hold his start-line stay. Even if you leave the ring after the first jump. Even if you put your dog into a "down" after contact obstacles, because he didn't hold his 2o2o. (I didn't know what else to do! Is there something better?) The judge never did whistle us out...although I kept expecting him to. Riff was veering this way and that. After the first few obstacles I started laughing. It suddenly seemed totally funny to me.  I'm not sure the judge agreed, and the audience was perfectly silent when we were on our way out.  Maybe nobody actually watched our run - that happens a lot. But I still felt like hanging my head in shame. It took some deep digging for me to find "handler motivation" for our next class. I send a special "Thank you!" to LL, who told me "Don't you dare scratch your next class! You're just rusty after nine months off..." And helped me remember the whole "attitude" thing...

Trying something new: like crating out of the car, and taking Riff home between classes....can be an unexpected challenge. I didn't realize how strange it would feel.  It felt good to not schlepp a bunch of stuff around or sit for hours in the Lyttle Cow Palace, but I'm not sure which is better: Keep Riff in a quiet place during the trial, and relax at home between classes as much as possible, or keep him (and me!) close to the noise and action, so we get "acclimatized." Decisions, decisions....

Instigating 'Handler Motivation' is a cool way to spend your time between classes. Clap and yell for everyone's run! I wasn't very good at it on Saturday...too busy going to and from my van and my house....and worrying about the courses.  Next time, though, I plan to spend more time ringside....clapping and yelling! Wahoo!!

Enthusiasm is catching. Churchill once said: "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."  And I totally agree...but it's tough, sometimes. You work so hard to play this game, and then you feel like a doofus. Like you've been wasting a lot of precious time. But you have to remember that that's just Ego, trash-talking in your head.  Remember to go tell someone how wonderful they're doing, how beautiful their dogs are, how great the rain is. Enthusiasm is catching.

Never give up! Even if you had to scratch Sunday because your knee was swollen( for no good reason!) and your back was murderous. Don't give up! Old people can play this game, too. Don't give up!

Crewing is a great thing...but chairs are important. If you sign up to work as Ring Crew for a class...don't forget to bring your own chair or blanket with you. Those metal chairs are bitterly cold in the winter, and not good for bad backs.

Excedrin and Advil are fine drugs....but you'd be better off if you did your core exercises more often. Go on, you. Exercise!

Mud Dog

2012-01-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

Riff loves mud. He's not a big fan of rain, but he's always liked dirt...and mud is even better. Wahoo!!

Why stick to our backyard path when there are muddy trails through the brush? At times like these, I'm almost glad he doesn't have the same luxurious coat as his littermate Rampage.

Cindy diFranco mentioned Riff's lack of undercoat when she gave him a massage on Monday. She also laughingly noticed the random wispy bits of long fur on his sides, and around his ears. They are kind of cute, so I laughed with her. He has about a dozen lo-o-ng strands of red fur on each of his sides, and around each ear. Although I brush those areas religiously, the strange long bits never want to come out. She said he must've gotten only a tiny smattering of the "long fur genes" his brothers and sister got...

Anyway. This is how Riff may look when we go into the ring tomorrow for our Starters Standard class. Better to have him a bit tired, wet and dirty than jumping out of his skin or breaking his startline, yes? Hhhmmmm. We'll see.

To those of you whom Riff loves to greet with hugs and kisses....I'll do my best to keep his muddiness off of you.

Today I wish I'd signed up for all the Starters and Advanced classes Riff can be in. Today I'm thinking it would be more fun to be in a bunch of classes - for exercise and training - than to show up for just one or two 50-second runs. "But wait a minute, self," I have to say, "You kept the schedule ultra-light so that you wouldn't re-injure your back. Stick to the program. All will be well!"

Wow, speaking of "self"....Tori Self and her marvelous dog Rev were invited to represent AKC at the big Cruft's Show in England! Go, TORI and REV!

RAIN

2012-01-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

Riff doesn't want to believe we're finally getting some cold rainy winter weather. [Yay for plantlife. Boo for dog training.]

We'll have to shelve our weave-training for today, and work on rain-walking instead.
Back to the Land of Muddy Pawprints!

Random Riffing

2012-01-18T15:42:00.000-08:00

With the USDAA trial coming up on Saturday, my brain seems to be veering into a deep-freeze zone more often than usual.  In an effort to stay calm and thoughtful, I tell myself: "You only entered three Starters classes, for goodness sake. It's like Totally No Big Deal."

But that statement is increasingly littered with others, such as: "Holy crap, what have I done" "I can't even run yet"    "We haven't even made it through an entire course in class yet"   "Why do I do this to myself" "Riff would be World Class if he had a decent handler" and "If only I could figure out our timing" and...and....

So I have to counter-balance, out-weigh, and otherwise banish those thoughts with better ones: "Riff is adorable - and incredibly talented"  "Riff is having so much fun" "It will be super to see my old agility friends again" "Riff is a dynamite jumper and excellent weaver" "We're doing GREAT" and "Time to steer this nervous energy I'm feeling into universal acts of good will for all of mankind."
;-)
Oh, you know - stuff like that.

In the meantime, we continue to wend our way through our ReTrain Weave Entry program.  Today we got through Lesson #7 - "Work Riff 'down the arc,' with the weaves on my left, starting from a close distance (6 to 10'), and adding handler walking."    He was successful 75% of the time...ending with an EXCELLENT set of entries. (We also got to visit the loveliest puppy in the world - Clever!)

We did Lesson #6 yesterday, right before our LeapDog class. It was the same as #7, only with the weaves on my right.  He hit the entries exactly 100% then, all the way down the "clockface," and even on course during class. Wahoo! He's been hitting 100%, with the weaves on my right, the last couple of times. Hopefully we'll soon have the same success rate on the left side.

We had a lot of fun on Monday....with a nice walk in the morning, followed by Riff's first-ever Cindy diFranco massage. She liked him. She said he has "lovely structure," "no physical issues," and that he was very trusting, for a young "scared, shy dog." It was his first time on a table (although I suppose he was on some kind of table for neutering).  I did say to her, "I like to think of him as cautious, and selective." Cindy was incredibly nice, and she spent quite a bit of time with Riff. He seemed to really like it!

Later Monday afternoon Riff and I met up with my friend Sandy at the AARF field (where Riff did fairly well on Lesson #5). Sandy brought her 2-year-old Standard Poodle "Kenya" to check out the field. Kenya is a lovely RED dog, and is as sweet as the day is long. I loaned Sandy Laurie Leach's book "Agility for Beginners." Maybe we'll have a new player, soon. ;-)

Monday was MLK Day, so I watched his 'I Have A Dream' speech on YouTube. Marvelous. That evening, some theatre friends and I had a long discussion about class differences, and Occupy, and civil rights.  It was lot of food for thought....will it some day turn into action? Hmmmmm....

Yesterday Riff and I happily veered right back into agility. Our class at LeapDog was grrrr-eat. I left a bit early, because my back went "tweaky"...but we sure had fun while we were there.

Riff is eager for his turn.....

....especially when Uncle Charter is on the line.

Morning Run

2012-01-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

Weave Entries

2012-01-14T12:12:00.000-08:00

With LP's help, I worked up a "lesson plan" for fixing Riff's weave entries. He's terrific once he's in the weaves...fast and dedicated...but 'angled-entries' have never been his strong suit. Neither has 'running into the weaves from a distance.' Riff likes to run - and jump - with an extended stride. 'Collection' is not a big part of his inherent vocabulary. Lack of thoughtful collection effects his weaves, and it effects his turns.  I'm not used to this because Keeper always ran "collected," as LP pointed out. And it didn't help that my back was injured and I began to encourage Riff's distance work...and, as a by-product, extension. So...we have plenty to work on.

We used the 2x2 method to introduce him to weaving, when he was a bipster, but I obviously made errors...so it's back to the drawing board. We haven't gone all the way back to the beginning, though. We start each lesson with 4 poles in a straight line, quickly introduce 2 more, then (hopefully) move onto the 12-pole weaveset for a couple of excellent entries before the lesson is over.

Basically, we're working our way "around the clock face" (or "down the arc," as I call it)...from each side, at various distances and, eventually, from various obstacles. We mark correct entries with the word "YES!" and reward with a toy on the line. When he doesn't hit the first gate, there is no word, and no toy.  One change I've made this time around is to take him to his 5-to-10-minute weave sessions a little tired. Not really tired, but with a bit of the edge off. It may be making a difference.

Last time we worked the 2x2 method, Riff had a tendency to become frantic and start running in circles from me through any weave gate and back.  He wouldn't even look at me....he would just run in anxious circles. Not fun. Back then he started the method very well, with just two poles, and he did great with four...but when poles were added he got so anxious to get to the "toy part" he'd just run by poles as fast as he could. Both sets of six. He's nuts for his toys, this pupster. We drifted away from the 2x2 method and into channel weaves.

This time around, I can happily report that he seems more mature. He's actually thinking about the game instead of trying to blast his way through it. He's beginning to understand that he needs to focus on that first pole in order to earn his "YES!" and then get through the rest of the poles to his toy. He's also understanding that he needs to "check in" with me before he gets another try. He needs to touch my hand, and look at me. He needs to be by my side. This part is still difficult for him, at times.  Riff has a need for speed, and when the RUN switch is ON, his eyes start swirling around in his head. (Or so it seems.)

But it's wonderful to watch his progress.   My "lesson plan" includes a total of 16 sessions.  So far we've done 4.

At one session a day (if we're lucky enough to get to a field with a set of weaves), we obviously won't be finished before the USDAA show next weekend. And we need to skip a couple of days. Ah, well.   All we can do is the best we can do....and right now the best we can do is "make good progress!"

We'll have to take the trial as it comes. He'll either get his weave entries or he won't. There's a lot we can work on at the show, regardless. Startline stays. 2-on 2-off contacts. Weave entries.  Trial nerves. Attitude. As always, our main goal is to have fun. Yes? Yes!

SFMOMA

2012-01-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

Spent Thursday in the City with my son Will. What a beautiful day! San Francisco hasn't seen this kind of weather (for this many days in a row) in many years. No fog! Are we worried about our lack of moisture? Yeah, actually, we are a bit worried. But in the meantime, we try to enjoy ourselves.

Will and I went to the Museum of Modern Art for a nice brunch, and to get cultured.

I tried to take a photo of us. Oops.

Will

Sorry, Richard Serra. I totally didn't "get" your exhibit. All black shapes.
Just flat black. All it made me think of was the million or so stage flats
I've painted black over the last twenty-five-some-odd years.
This is a nice photo of Will, though.

We pretty much had the whole floor to ourselves.
Which was kind of fun.
How often do you get to be loud and laugh and run around like silly goons in a museum?
But when we literally stumbled into three ushers, we learned that
"No running is allowed! No photographs are allowed on the 4th floor!"

We liked the Francesca Woodman photography exhibit on the fifth floor.
Cameras were allowed. :-)

The "Where's Waldo?" view from the museum.

And this light installation in the lobby is really cool.
It looks like a big box-shape of little lights hanging on wires...
but if you watch it for a while from the balcony, you'll see
shadows of birds flying round in it.
Excellent!
The only way I can show you is with a video.
Or you can visit the SFMOMA...
:-)

Nocturnal Visitor

2012-01-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

Last night I tied the infrared motion-sensor camera to an oak tree that leans over our back fence....

....and then he went on up and over....

Puppy Kisses

2012-01-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

LP's new puppy is adorable.

Look at her little white chin!

Clever loves her new mama.

Side view! (She's not sure she likes whatever's in her mouth, though...)
You can see the white spot she has in her ruff area, if you look next to her ear.
A "naughty spot" in reverse? She also has a freckle on her left front leg.

Puppy flew alone all the way across the country this weekend.
Still tired this afternoon...

....but willing to explore!

Puppy kisses! So sweet.

Riff and I had fun today, too!

We were able to go to the field out at AARF this morning, where Riff acted like an old pro. He took the contact equipment easily (although I'm still avoiding their teeter). Started him at 26" for the show on the 21st, and he sailed over the jumps beautifully. AARF has made some lovely improvements since we were last there (about a year ago).

This afternoon we had a "weave entry" lesson with LP, after which I mapped out a lesson plan. It's based on 2x2, but we'll be working with 4 to 6 poles - mostly 6.

Sunday Newsflash

2012-01-08T11:48:00.000-08:00

Last night I set up the new infrared motion-sensor camera that Santa left under the tree at Christmas.

Our fence is so tall (anti-deer) I had to extend the old tripod all the way, to get the camera facing down toward the creek. Another option is to tie the camera to the fence, but I was afraid I'd drop it...which would then mean trying to figure out how to retrieve it. But I might tie it to the inside of the fence tonight, down low, as long as I can keep the lens away from trees, wire, or our neighbor's windows. Or I might set it up on our back deck, because I'm curious to know what has been traveling (pitter-patter) across the deck in the middle of the night.

Photos from last night:

Buck!

And a mystery photo. Is this a deer butt?
Is a deer checking out the tripod?
Or is something crawling on the fence at 1:30am?
Hmmmm.

I love cameras of all kinds, and this one looks like it could be a lot of fun...

NEWSFLASH: Also received a very cool photo yesterday, from my friend LP.

She has a new puppy!!!! I am beyond excited. Riff and I get to meet her tomorrow. Woohoo!!!!

Clever puppy

Stuck At Home

2012-01-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I get stuck at home for a few days, feeling sick:

Books. Nothing better than cuddling up on the couch with a quilt, a fire, a couple of border collies, and a good book. (ROOM by Emma Donoghue - excellent.) I love everything about reading by the fireplace....except getting restless. Especially with BCs staring at me.

So we wander around the backyard a lot. I wander with a big jacket on, and slipper boots. The dogs run with their toys. It's been beautiful outside, but COLD.

Wednesday I took a photo of our horse sculpture, because we watched the DVD of BUCK and I was totally missing my previous horse-training life. Had planned to see the movie War Horse, but it didn't happen. Not yet, anyway.

Made potato-leek soup and ate a million vitamins.

Looked up the history of Kleenex. (Kleenex is a godsend! Can only imagine how many handkerchiefs I would've washed....) Originally invented in 1924 for Hollywood stars, as a throw-away tissue for removing cold cream and make-up. Love seeing Little LuLu and her cute dog in the ads. Didn't we listen to Little Lulu episodes on the radio? Or....maybe that was Lil' Orphan Annie. We'd listen to Sky King, too...while my dad made oatmeal for breakfast.

Wrote Christmas Thank you cards, but it was the day I had a fever, and I'm pretty sure I told a couple of people "thanks" for the wrong gifts. Oh duh.

Worked a jigsaw puzzle. (That's when you know - absolutely - that you've been house-bound far too long.)

The table is in the same room as the fireplace, so that was nice. All went well....until I was finished, and one piece was missing. It was a brand new puzzle! How aggravating is that??! I looked everywhere. Did one of the dogs eat it?

It wasn't until I was cleaning up my "sorting trays" that I found it.

How many times was I holding the tray in my hand, totally frustrated because I couldn't find that one piece? A lot. All that time it was stuck to the bottom of the tray. But YAY! There it is!

Now we have a long weekend stretching before us, with nothing scheduled. Bliss! Because I'm feeling better. Woohoo! We'll try a couple of short hikes.

We have a private lesson "weave entries" scheduled for Monday. Riff is getting ready for his USDAA Debut Part Deux, Jan 21. Can't wait!!

~ Breathing ~

2012-01-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

Hey! Got my entry mailed to the Bay Team USDAA show in late January! Two classes Saturday, and one on Sunday.

This weekend we were going to get an early start on re-training Riff 's weave-entries. Per LP's suggestion, I bought four white plastic fence posts - the kind that has a little step on the side, so you can poke them into the ground easily. I marked one of them so I could quickly set them up at 24" intervals. Maybe I should add a canvas strap or something that approximates the metal stand of regular weaves, too.

The plan was to drive around local parks until we found a comfortable spot for a few minutes of 2x2 training...assuming there won't be hoards of New Year's Resolution people jogging everywhere we go. I prepared by studying my old Susan Garrett DVD work pages and notes, and looking at videos. Tried to get a private lesson scheduled with LP, too, because in the past I've had trouble with Riff getting way too frantic and thought-less, while playing 2x2. I'm hoping we can figure out what to do about it, if it comes up again.

But now I'm sitting next to a Kleenex box, my head all stuffed up, wishing someone would cut it off. Not really. It's just....I don't get colds - hardly ever - never, even! Maybe once a year....except I don't remember having one in all of 2011. Haven't caught a cold in a coon's age, and I'm not a good patient and where the heck did this nasty thing come from anyway?!

For a couple of days I tried to just ignore it, but it's grabbed my chest and made it hard to breathe if I walk around too much.  Breathing is a good thing, and I hate to miss it.

Riff doesn't understand. He gives me that big-energy border collie stare whenever I sneeze, and he's wondering if playing with the Kleenex box is as much fun as it looks.

"Not fun," I keep telling him, but he doesn't believe me.   He wants to play.

Maybe I should've come home before midnight on New Year's Eve...but we were having fun at our friend's annual dinner party. The dynamics of the party have changed quite a bit over the years. Easing away from martini-infused 'whooping-it-up,' we've all mellowed into playing a number of games after dinner, just keeping each other awake until midnight. We're "old farts" now, but we manage.  We work together to finish a jigsaw puzzle before midnight - easily accomplished most years...but not this one! We play Tetris on the TV, Scrabble in the kitchen, or just chat out on the back deck, by the warm bbq....

Perhaps I spent too much time on the deck. It was very cold outside...but so warm by the fire...and the company was excellent.

At any rate, we easily made it to midnight. Then we all grabbed wooden spoons and pots and pans and ran up and down the sidewalk, making lots of noise and yelling about the New Year...the neighbors totally expect it, after twenty years or so....and they love it! Or so we tell ourselves, once back inside with a glass of bubbly. This year we ended up forming a big circle in the kitchen, making a few toasts. I love our old theatre friends - we're all so comfortable together.

Now, if I could only figure out how to be comfortable with this cold....

At least I'm getting it over with nice and early in the year. So....Yay!! (?!)

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T16:30:00.000-08:00

2012, coming right up. Woohoo!!!!

May all of your wishes come true.

Here's to Hope, Joy, Kindness...and Adventure!

A New Day

2011-12-28T11:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's agility lesson was fun. I did a spot of "running" again and oh golly, moving faster feels great! (Even though I have a special talent for running to the wrong spot, or arriving at the correct spot too late, or too early....)

Riff looked splendidly happy (even when he was confused), and he jumped well. We need to work on being able to tell the difference between a right-to-left rear cross and a decel right-turn into a 180, with me quite a ways behind him, and with an enticing obstacle off to the left. We also need to work on our weave entries. And brush-up on startline stays. And then there's the fact that when I do manage to get ahead of him on-course, he's pretty surprised to see me there. For about seven months I've been behind him.... But! If we can pull ourselves together a bit more....I think we might make it to the January USDAA trial. (Knock on wood!) It would be a 'training trial.'

Sandy the Vet surprised me this morning by dropping by our house with some Krill capsules for Keeper. She says a lot of people give Rimadyl to their older dogs who have trouble getting up, but she's seen some great results with this stuff. She also felt the lump on Keeper's chest. She thinks it's probably a fatty deposit and that I shouldn't worry about it. YAY! Of course she still wants me to keep an eye on it, and report any changes. Sandy is super nice.

When I photographed the sunrise this morning I had a feeling today might be wonderful.

Calling the Vet

2011-12-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

While it's true that I love our vet Sandy, I'm not wild about having to call her.

This morning I found a lump on Keeper's chest, very close to her right front leg. About the size of a marble. Not the itty-bitty kind of marble, but a shooter. I was sitting on the ground, one dog on either side of me, which is a pretty common occurence. Both dogs had rolled over onto their backs, and were very relaxed. It shocked me to feel this little lump, and I could tell Keeper wasn't happy about me manipulating it. I was trying to gauge exactly how big it is. She'd had her eyes closed when I found it. She didn't yelp or act like it was totally hurting her, but she was clearly uncomfortable - raising her head to give me "that look," and moving her feet around.

Let's hope it's nothing. Sandy suggested it might be some kind of fatty deposit, which sounds okay to me, comparatively speaking. I'm to keep an eye on it for the next few weeks, and let her know right away if it gets any bigger.

Cross your fingers? Mine are crossed, about ten times.

Keeps has been moving a bit "sore" lately, even though we haven't done agility. She does run around the backyard with Riff, though, and we've taken them on a couple of hikes...so....maybe it's that. She's gotten crabbier, too. She was delighted that my son Will was visiting, but she did get growly/snappy with him one time...and she's gone after Riff twice this week. None of us were actually in the room, so we don't know what Riff may have done - but we certainly heard the conflict. Are these signs? Should I worry? More than I'm already worried?

On the positive side, she was very, VERY sweet last night during our "Boxing Day Beef Bourguignon Dinner"....especially with KC. She and KC fell hard for one another. KC kept saying, "You all know I don't like dogs...but THIS dog...Oh my god, she's really special...!"

Riff was there too, of course. And he did have a couple of fans. But he's a shy dog, in a crowd, so he kept his distance. Mostly.

I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas Holiday.
Hugs!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve eve: The kids tear into DREADFLEET (a pirate board game)!
Reminded me of when they were little.

Christmas morning, Riff and I explore the "hill trail" at the quarries...

...a beautiful day for a hike. (And boy do I ever need to lose some poundage!)

Good boy Riffster

Beautiful lake.

Will brought his new guitar and has been playing it every day. Yay!

Later went to mB's for her annual Christmas Lasagna Dinner. Good friends. Good food.

:-)

For you....

2011-12-23T16:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Lesson

2011-12-22T11:54:00.000-08:00

Riff and I had fun catching up with our missed Tuesday lesson at LeapDog yesterday. It was so warm, we started out the afternoon in shirtsleeves! But don't get too upset, EastCoasters....by the time the lesson was over and the sun was low on the horizon, we were all shivering in our thick coats. (Secretly, I'm wishing it would rain rain rain. It's DRY around here.)

We worked quite a few weaves, going through the courses. Some of the weaves had odd entry angles. Riff hit well-over half of the entries, which wasn't too bad, considering. I was happy with him! (Nevertheless, I bought some more fence poles to stick in the ground at local parks. We're going to try "back to 2x2 basics" right after Christmas. It would be grrreat to have consistent weave entries.)

Riff and I are still trying to work out our communication regarding which jump to take. Try as I might, I can't seem to predict whether he's going to go wide around the outside of a jump and take one further away, or come in too close and go off-course that way. Is he paying attention to me? Our instructor says he definitely is...but he's still getting used to me being so far away. I know he's ultra-willing, and that he tries really hard to do his best. Hells bells, I'm still working out the cues and their timing, too. It's not easy. There are days when I feel completely discouraged....but yesterday was not one of them. I kept noticing how beautifully Riff jumps, and it made me smile. (When you're some distance from your dog on course, you get to notice stuff like that.) I think he has a great jumping style.

But the best part of the lesson occurred during one of our attempts at the second-half of a course. It included a jump / teeter into a somewhat distant 180 entry on the weaves, then an angle-away toward a jump / tunnel and back around another tricky angle to the last two jumps. I had to "escort" him to the weave entry...which he finally got after two false starts...then I had to beat him in the weaves to that angled jump-into-the-tunnel, so I could front-cross there, and front-cross again right after the tunnel. Riff is a lot faster than I am, even when he's weaving...but I decided to try it anyway. All that to say: We made it! Our instructor said, "Wow! You were really moving by those weaves!" And so my BIG CELEBRATION is two-fold: I got ahead of Riff in the weaves without him popping out, AND I got ahead of Riff in the weaves. I actually really ran for a few strides! And my back is only a bit tweaky/creaky today.

YIPPEEEEE!

PS. Riff was good on the startline, even though I purposefully hustled him out there whenever I could while classmates were still walking the course. (Hopefully he will get re-acquainted with "action" around the startline.) AND he hit all of his 2o2o contacts.
:-)

Flower Lion

2011-12-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

framed

scanned, prior to framing

Flowers and leaves used in this one: Dianthus, Helleborus, Clematis, Mum, Shasta Daisy, Viola, Marigold, Tree Fern, Japanese Maple.

A few photos of the "process" (sans gardening and pressing...!)

....along with a few prayers/comments to the flower gods....

Riff Art

2011-12-18T15:43:00.000-08:00

Tamra just sent an iPhone pic of a 15x15" painting she did of Riff. She said the colors may look a bit darker in the photo than they are in real life, and the picture is a little fuzzy. She just ordered a frame - it will be the same color as the dog. So exciting!! I can't wait to see it in person! RIFFLE!

Procrastination

2011-12-17T14:08:00.000-08:00

Procrastination is a fine art.

As Mark Twain put it: "Never put off until tomorrrow what you can do the day after tomorrow."

Hey, I'm not really procrastinating, because I'm filling up my time with other things. True procrastination is "doing nothing." Right? Or...um....maybe the word actually means "putting off doing something," as in "something specific"...

I'm definitely doing stuff! Just not Important Christmas Stuff. But I got a few little Christmas-y things done today. The first batch of candied walnuts is done, and I wrote a stack of Christmas cards. You have to admit that's progress...and that it's only the 17th. Pppffft. Plenty of time left for the biggies. Like shopping. Like mailing packages. Yes?

Okay - I'll admit it. I'm procrastinating. I do this every year. Just really, really not a shopper. (How do you shopping-types do it? With one foot stepping into dotage, I still don't have shopping figured out...)

But Riff and Keeper are happy, because we've been playing a lot. (NOTE we play with Christmas colors!)

There's an AKC trial going on over at the fairgrounds, but Riff and I stuck to the neighborhood early this morning for our walkies, and we've been hanging in the backyard for our training and playing.

Because I thought I'd go shopping this afternoon. (HA!) Well....maybe I'll go out this evening. Or...tomorrow....

Here's an even better quote:

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have." Yes!

Tom Waits

2011-12-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

I like Tom Waits.

Does this have anything to do with dog agility? Hmm. Maybe...

Listen to a few of his songs. Try "A Little Trip to Heaven."   You can google it. My middle-son Brett chose this song for his wedding dance, back in September. It's a nice number.  You can think about your agility dog while you listen to it! :-)
It's not the song that first made me like Tom Waits, though.  That was a video / movie / live recording of a tour called "Big Time"...made in the late 1980's.  I rented it from a downtown video joint (many years before Netflix) and watched it three times.

Please understand that I'm far from a Waits expert (try Wikipedia for that) but I know what was good about "Big Time." It was was the heart-and-soul of the man, laid right out there in the lyrics for all to see, the catchy melodies, and the marvelous driven percussion in his band. (Wow!) It was the way he had about him. Waits seems to understand a lot about life - specifically the "underbelly" of life, but he also understands the flights a soul can take. His singing is not average, in any way. He gets into his music, and just "goes there," without reservation. Some folks think he's too weird. His early recordings are amazing - try the CDs "Small Change," or "Closing Time." He's a terrific songwriter. He's been in movies - a genuine character. At ACT I once saw an opera/musical he wrote. He still hits notes that resonate with me. He's a cool mixture of open-eyed-recognition-of-how-things-are, and the-wonders-of-dreaming.

I've seen him a few times, around town. He lives near by. I watched him look through a magazine at Sawyer's News. I once stood behind him at the Valley Ford general store. I was waiting to buy a box of Junior Mints while he was shooting the breeze with the couple behind the counter. I wanted to say something, or - really - I just wanted to hug him. I wanted to thank him for his music, but I didn't. When he glanced back at me, his eyes seemed to signal "not now"...and so I just shut up and bought my candy.

"Groupie" does not generally describe me...but maybe it does, when it comes to Tom Waits. Maybe, if I see him again, I'll speak to him.   I'll say "Love your music, and Thank You!" which he's probably heard a million times. But what the heck...life is short....and there's always room for a little more enthusiasm.

Iraq

2011-12-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

Today it seems to be truly over...this war in Iraq. Holy Moley, Hallelujah, and Thankyou, Obama.

It looks like Everyone is coming home by December 31! Can this be true? Thank goodness!
(Everyone....except the approximately 4,500 American men and women who sacrificed their lives in Iraq....plus the English and European troops, and countless Iraqi citizens....)

I well-remember the day this war started some ten years ago. We had tickets to the "Broadway by the Bay" production of THE PRODUCERS. We went to dinner with friends, then walked to one of the premiere theatres in San Francisco, to see the touring show. I was totally out-of-sorts, knowing that G.Bush was pushing war. Shortly before we went into the theater, we heard that WAR had indeed been declared against IRAQ. Why? Because they had "Weapons of Mass Destruction." (And now we all know how true that was...)

THE PRODUCERS was well done. But during the show-stopping number - "Springtime for Hitler" - while everyone around me was clapping and laughing - I dissolved into sobs, and couldn't stop. We were at war. It horrified me, it left me devastated. My poor husband whispered, "What's wrong?" and offered me Kleenex. I was speechless.

"Springtime for Hitler" - from the 2008 SRT production of THE PRODUCERS

After we got home that evening, I lit a candle and put it into the window, determined to keep it there until our boys came home. Later - for some strange reason - while looking at GW Bush standing in front of a "Mission Accomplished" sign on one of our aircraft carriers, I decided to put the candle away. It was a premature action, to say the least.

I still don't know exactly what to say about this war. If only I were clever....if only I had the words to express my feelings about war....and about the end of this war.

Perhaps the best I can do is 'Thank God It's Over.'

I still hope for the best, regarding All the Rest of It. Afghanistan. The Middle East. Russia. China. The Ghettoes of America.

YIKES! My plan was to celebrate the end of Iraq....but I'm totally depressing myself!! Time to get up and move!

RIFF! LET'S GO FOR A WALK!!!!!!!! COME ON, KEEPER....LET'S GO!!!!!!

Puppy Lust

2011-12-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

Okay - so, really. How many dogs does the average champion world-class dog agility person own? I'd say four. Maybe five.

And they probably keep an eye on breeder websites, and often think about adding to the pack. (Listen to me use the term "they"....like they're someone else!  Well the "world-class" part is definitely someone else...but...the rest of it? Hmmmm....)

Puppy lust. It strikes at the oddest moments.

NO NEW PUPPY FOR ME! I make this statement loud and clear.
(While...in my heart...I...want...a....new....NO! NO! NO!)

I have all I can handle with two dogs. Riff is so young. He still acts like a puppy.  Puppy zoomies at least twice a day. Yep - he's a big a puppy!  Plus, we live with a Two Dogs Only rule. That alone sets me apart from the Totally Serious Dog Agility Person. They have at least three dogs. Most often four. Yes? Except...Ashley has only two dogs. And...I can probably think of others. Or....maybe not. Who else?

If the world-class competitor is married, or co-habitating, which is the same thing in my book, their partners are probably also running dogs. Or their partner Works in Another State and is Gone A Lot. Or they live in a huge house with a huge yard and maybe even a kennel, and running the dogs is a breeze, and their partner isn't constantly "annoyed." Plus they probably have a Terrific Dog Sitter, so traveling is easy peasy.  Plus they probably have a king-size bed, and sleeping with multiple dogs is NOT a problem.
So I guess my question is: How do married dog agility people (those with a partner who isn't really a dog person) manage to have more than two dogs?   Are you one of those lucky people? Want to tell me how you did it? Or...maybe you better not.

Because, no....I really, really don't want a new puppy. Honest.

Christmas Day, 2008

Getting Ready

2011-12-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

Brought our tree in, and decorated it. She's done about a bazillion Christmases, and I've been thinking about putting her in the ground after this round. I even bought a baby tree, the same size as this one was when I got her. We'll raise him into Christmas-Future.

Or, maybe this tree will last another year or two. We'll see. You reach a point where the pot is too big to move, and you have to make a decision...

Or, maybe we'll just go somewhere next Christmas. Maybe we'll run away from the whole traditional homestyle thing and kick up our heels somewhere else. Hmmmmm.....

...stolen from FB, for my Hanukkah friends....

It was a Weekend....

2011-12-12T12:37:00.000-08:00

...of discovery and tradition, with a bit of regret mixed in. I regretted not competing at the Bay Team trial - Riff and I had planned it as our "come back" show. Instead, we just visited. As luck (good or bad?) would have it, 'not entering' was the right decision. It was mighty cold. My back ached like the devil, and my leg was cramping like mad, in spite of all the Advil. [Sometimes you begin to think you're supposed to get tough and just run through it. Especially when you see videos of people in wheelchairs at competitions. Or you watch someone who's waiting for hip surgery run through courses, then limp around between classes. It's a weird thing. You begin to wonder if you really didn't enter because your dog just isn't well-trained enough. Or did you not enter because you can't fake running, and your dog doesn't get it? Are you just a big wimp? Or...are you hanging on to this crazy idea that you'll actually heal, if you take it easy for a little while longer...?]

LOVED seeing many of my agility friends, though. And Riff had tons of fun. So the bottom line = it was a good day, dammit!

Rampage and Riff play well together.

Goombah and his tug toy.

Channan tested Riff's sit-stay. He was a good boy!

Big hugs for Aunty Channan. (She enjoyed them. Really! I think.)

Big smile for Aunty Kathy.

Jeff and I went to two art galleries over the weekend. A friend is part of a new show up at Hammerfriar in Healdsburg, and they were having an artists' reception. Nice. Most of the art was really pricey (jeez!) - but it was great to be out and about. We played our usual "museum/art gallery" game, which is to go into a room or section, pick a favorite, then guess which one the other likes the best. Always good for a few laughs. I took some iPhone photos of paintings, but they didn't come out well. Here's a photo from the parking lot. Haha!

The other gallery space is called Feed Barn (here in Santa Rosa), and is run by the founders of the Handcar Regatta, plus a few other folks. We didn't see an art show there, but went to a Crafts Fair. Lots of tables loaded with interesting steampunky stuff, and the place was crowded with young people. I swear we were the only "gray-hairs" there, but it was a comfortable environment....I loved it. They were playing excellent loud music on a great sound system, and we found a beverage bar (were they serving alcohol? possibly...), a coffee/cookies bar, a big comfy couch, a yummy chicken tamales stand, and everyone was super friendly. Beautiful artistic crafts were presented both indoors and outside. The outside section was framed by an old white school bus and a rope that looked like it was once used to attach a cruise ship to a dock. One of the Handcar creations was sitting by the door. I stole the photo below from their website. This one was taken in front of an old rope factory in Petaluma. (I remember going in there to by rope for our braided horse halters and leads that we used to sell, many-many moons ago...) This gives you a good idea of the size and look of the handcar at the Feed Barn.

There was no 'cover charge' for the Crafts Fair - just a donation jar. (Nice!) Have since discovered that this Feed Barn is a bonafide new venue "for worship[?], DJs, live music, art exhibitions and many other events." (Yes, I once bought a bale of hay at this place.) Sounds like fun. Check it out!

Last, but far from least, we went to the Annual Snowflake Party at our friend J's place. J makes the Best Holiday Sugar Cookies Ever. Everyone brings marvelous munchies, and/or a bottle of wine, and their favorite scissors. J then tapes as many snowflakes as she can onto her big picture window, as part of their decorations. As we've done for many years, we also watched the old cartoon version of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. We know all the words to the songs! And we're mighty proud when one of our snowflakes makes it to the picture window. :-)

I hope your holiday season is unfolding just as nicely as this last weekend did for us....

J and J, pre-party....

Busy snowflakers. :-)

Friday Practice (iPhone Pics)

2011-12-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

40 years ago...

2011-12-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

Christmas was fast approaching. I'd been employed at the downtown Library for only a few months, and my finances were still running amuck on the wrong side of the street. It was one of those years when I made Christmas cards for family gifts, then scrounged for the postage. My roommate, an old friend from SoCal, had gone home for the holidays. He offered me a ride, but I didn't have any vacation time and couldn't leave work.

My first Sonoma County rental.

The folks I worked with had a few days off, and vamoosed the caboose. My job for the holiday was to 'hold down the fort' in the book processing department. The department was in the basement. It was basically a large work table and several old chairs, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling shelving. The shelves bulged with hundreds of both broken and brand-new books. We handled books from all over the county system. A side cupboard was filled with plastic sheeting for covers, and manila pockets for front pages. The table was littered with glue pots, brushes, rulers, scissors, paper cutters and rubber stamps.  That Christmas a half-dead 4" poinsettia reigned supreme in the middle of the chaos. Off to the side, a small typing table carried our precious IBM Selectric and a stack of blank catalogue cards.  A manual Underwood was on another table, to be used as a "back-up" when the Selectric broke. Several book carts lurked nearby, waiting to be either emptied or filled, excited about the prospect of a trip upstairs, or perhaps a real adventure on the county truck.

Libraries are considered quiet places, but I never found that to be true. Libraries are filled with the noise of people and books. Paper rustling, books thumping, covers sliding and complaining on conveyor belts, books of all sizes skittering into tall tenuous stacks, then slamming back out....   Books are not quiet.   Even though many librarians prefer the company of a good book to a roomful of people, library staff members can be a noisy bunch. The radio in the breakroom was usually on, and staff members were always chatting and laughing...or...so it seemed to me.  No worries about getting in trouble for being too loud at Christmas, though.  Most of my new work buddies were gone for the holiday.

It was my first Christmas on my own, away from any family, and I was looking forward to it...or so I thought. My dear old roommates in Oakland were spending the holidays with their families, and expected me to do the same. I didn't make any announcement about my total lack of plans because I didn't want to get scooped into their family scenes, described the previous year as "incredibly awful." I decided to just forge ahead and celebrate on my own - "My First Christmas As A Grown-Up!"   (Having just turned 21...) Besides, I wasn't alone. Sammy was with me.

SAMMY - Christmas Day in Oakland...before we moved North

As Christmas Day approached, I had to fight off a big Loneliness Bug. The department was way too quiet. I tried singing loud Christmas carols, but my scratchy little voice was soaked up by the basement walls. I danced around with a big picture book about Rudolph-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer, but that didn't work either. A few tears followed. That evening I decided to spend five precious dollars of food money on a tiny cut tree, and make a paper-chain for decorations.

The next morning one of the librarians sought me out. She came into the book processing area (a rare trip for a glorified librarian), and invited me to join their family for Christmas dinner. "Just my husband, our two daughters and their husbands and kids, plus a few of the cousins...." "Thank you so much, but no, no. I'm good, thanks." "Are you sure?" "Yes, yes, I'm sure...." I felt terribly shy about barging in on someone's family time, and my shyness was magnified by the fact that I barely knew the lady's name, much less anything about her.

She came back downstairs after lunch. She had two small boxes in her hand, and a big smile on her face. "Well, you have to take these then. I don't need these crummy old things any more. I have a lot of decorations. These are too old. Please, just take them."

The most beautiful little ornaments ever. I was charmed. The lady - I soon realized - was one of the kindest people in the world. She gave me a hug, too, even though I wasn't into hugging, in those days.

Sammy and I enjoyed a mac-and-cheese dinner on Christmas Eve, and I gave him a nice bone. We hung as many ornaments on the tree as we could. I treated myself to a glass of whiskey. I'd had some beer in Oakland (blech) but this was my first very-own half-pint of "serious alcohol" - a gift from my roommate. I thought it tasted awful.   But that didn't keep me from bringing it along when Sammy and I drove out to the beach on Christmas Day.

It was a gorgeous day on the coast - bright, clear, and COLD. Sam and I spent the entire afternoon at the beach - we were the only ones there.  I had water and whiskey, crackers and cheese. We made a huge peace sign out of footprints in the sand. I sang a few Christmas carols and Sammy (understandably) howled. I'd been worried about the Lonely Bug, but it was no where to be found. The coast was far too beautiful, the sea shells far too plentiful, and my precious dog was most excellent company.   My thoughts often drifted to the kindness of the old librarian.

Today, after forty years of acquiring all kinds of marvelous Christmas ornaments, the little heart she gave me is still my favorite. I even gave it a name.

Kindness

Remembering the Good Parts

2011-12-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

December is Operation Riff-Is-My-Best-Buddy Month (Subtitle: Always Look On the Bright Side of Life).

We've been going on morning walks without Keeper. I even took him to Riverfront Park - alone - after many apologies and some extra treats to Keeper. We had a fabulous time.

Heading out.

Running!

Riff the Shadow

We're working on a new trick - crawling. He's just about got me trained....(hahaha). Might have to video that one sometime - you'd get a laugh out of it.

Our Tuesday agility class was fun, too. The social scene was terrific, as always - oh, those ladies can make me laugh - but I need to remember the good parts of Riff's work, too. Otherwise the bits that seem to be (!)utterly and completely untrained(!) will leave dark twisty trails all through my brain - a well-known cause of handler motivation malfunction.

Riff's wraps were decent. He was very attentive - which is to say he did not design his own course this time. (Yay!) He had excellent startlines, with lo-o-ong lead-outs. His lateral work was great. Once he loaded into the weaves, he was fast. Once he was weaving, I could get as far away from him as I wanted (quite far) and he still sped through to the end. He didn't knock any bars. We got to play lots of tug. [I know, I know...the back says No, but the brain says Yes - so the compromise is "don't lean over."] His down on the table was lovely. He seemed Happy! Also - and this is the most important - he looked handsome.
;-)

Well, I do have a list of things to work on. Couldn't help it - I left with a couple of notes. We need to continue working on fundamentals while our instructor, classmates and agility friends get ready for the big Bay Team trial coming up this weekend. (Jealous? Me? Maybe. Kinda. Sorta. Yeah.)

Riff's Holiday Cheer

2011-12-04T11:09:00.000-08:00

Riff wears holiday colors...

Good god, it's December...

2011-12-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

....and time to make presents for Christmas.

It feels good to give little gifties to people. If only I could afford to give gifties to EVERYONE - if I had a big enough supply of creative juices and extra time, and maybe even baking supplies - I would give anonymous gifties to every single one of you. Can you feel the love? I hope so.

Recently saw an article published in WIRED, titled The Five Best Toys of All Time. What a great list!  It points to how simple, basic - and happy - our lives can be.

THE LIST: Stick, Box, String, Cardboard Tube, Dirt.

#4 was our favorite, followed closely by #1, #5 and #2. We had some great dirt around the horse ranch, and in the vegetable garden. (lol!!) In the old days, wrapping paper was stored on terrific strong cardboard tubes. They were heaven on earth. Paper towel tubes used to be stronger, too. Even now, my heart skips a beat when I come across a good cardboard tube. (As long as I don't think about trees too much...)
:-)     Actually I was the kind of mom that worried about string, so my boys didn't get to play with it much. Tape was pretty good, though, if we had enough to use on a game. And nothing quite equals the joy of having big cardboard boxes, and someone willing to cut windows and/or portals.

A blanket over a table is good, too....and couch cushions on the floor, standing on end. Fort!

After I marched in protests against the Vietnam War during the late 60's and early 70's, I was determined to keep my first boy away from the trappings of WAR and its ravages. My early Christmas advice to relatives: "No plastic toy guns, please, no GI Joe figures..."        Then I find my sweet-faced toddler making a gun with his fingers. Thumb up, forefinger pointed, the rest of the fingers curled back into the palm - BANG! BANG!    Then he discovered sticks. There were about a million sticks in the shape of a gun, in our yard alone. By the 80's, most of the cardboard tubes were lightsabers, and Jedi knights ran unfettered around the back pasture....          And so it goes, with boys and toys.

My puppies loved empty water bottles - best toys ever! What a great noise they make. The pups also explored many dirt possibilities.

And piles of crunchy leaves. And bags and boxes and tubes. And a few soft plushy toys.

As they grew older and stronger, they began to rip everything up in less than 30 seconds (looking like they wanted to EAT every single bite), so they had to graduate to "big dog" toys. Ah well.

Our toys have evolved, too. (Sigh.)

75 degrees!

2011-12-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

It was WARM today...unseasonably, strangely warm. The wind hasn't been too ferocious in our county, thank heavens, but it is as dry as a good martini. I wish it was still Wintery, with rain and cooler temps. (But maybe I shouldn't say that out loud....)

Jeff is gone this weekend, and the dogs and I are on our own. We had a couple of nice walks (all three of us) and they helped me prune a bush and rake a boatload of leaves in the backyard. (You can imagine how much help they were.)   I also took Riff to the practice field for a while.

Riff did well! He scored 100% on his weave entries, even when I took a couple of good long lead-outs, with him on my right. We worked a few angled entries from rather distant jumps.    We also practiced 270's and a serp or two...but we mostly played "retrieve" games.  I'm fighting a cold and it felt good to stand in one spot for a while. I love that my dogs enjoy bringing toys back! Which they do - mostly - with good speed and enthusiasm. Except....every once in a while, they'll run out in a big circle with the toy, then come back. I like to blame that on their border collie herding instincts. Hahah!

After the retrieve games I got myself into trouble, by asking Riff to do just one more weave-with-a-long-lead-out. I wanted to see what he'd do from my left. What was I thinking?  He missed the entry twice, so I moved my lead-out down to just two poles, and changed his starting point, and he was successful. I could tell he was hot and tired before I even asked for that last weave... Bad trainer! But at least we ended on a good note. Then we simply walked around for a few minutes. He got to cool off, and I got to play with my little camera.

I love how quickly dogs forgive us for our mistakes. I wish we could all be like that, with each other.

Tonight we're takin' it easy. Watching a little TV before we go to bed...

Groundspeed / Tight Turns

2011-11-30T13:37:00.000-08:00

My two dogs are examples of each. Riff has shown some decent groundspeed, and Keeper specializes in tight turns. I used to think Keeper was both tight and fast, but Riff changed my mind.

Keeper is good. She is still moves along at a respectable rate. She's does not reluctantly trot, for instance. She does not mosey along, looking at distractions. (Personally, I would quickly find something else for my dog to do, if he moved that slowly on an agility course.) She is actually running, and running with enthusiasm.

And she used to be fast, I think. At least, people told me she was fast, when she was younger...and I thought of her as fast. She looked fine in videos, and she won her fair share of classes (especially Gamblers), considering she was my first agility dog. Admittedly she wasn't all that great in the weaves....her shoulders convinced her she needed to keep her head up and her front feet together...and nothing I tried ever changed her mind. That's the way she weaved, and she taught me to just shut up and appreciate it.

Keeper 2009

Keeper 2007

But her questionable shoulder and hip structure taught her a thing or two, during the last couple of years, about the comfort of moving more carefully. She either slows way down (especially in the weaves and on contact equipment), or she pays the price.

She still works hard at being tight around turns, though. Last night, due to a funky late front cross on my part, she worked so hard at correcting her path that she lost her front legs and took a nasty little sliding header into the grass.  She looked like a plow, and the peanut gallery gasped. Ms. Keeps popped right up though, and said, "Jeezus, clean up the cue, Dude!" and we went back through the exercise correctly. Happily, all she came home with was a grass stain.   But I'd been running her in class for an hour by then, and decided to take the girl home before I made her well-and-truly sore.   When you only do agility once every couple of months - even if the jumps are 10" lower than you used to jump, even if you aren't doing any A-frames - you need to take it easy.

Riff, on the other hand, can be fast. But he has plenty to learn about turning tight. He's all about striding BIG, and jumping BIG. So I take him out for five minutes of "patio practice" a couple of times a day, every few days or so, in order to help him figure out how to wrap around the stanchions of jumps. I keep the bars on the ground (although he starts out jumping a few inches of air), the jumps fairly close together (we don't have much room), and the sessions uber-short.

Patio practice makes a difference. At least, I try to convince myself that it does. "Your dog will never get trained unless you spend some time training." Once we're on a field, though, he sails loooong over jumps.  I like to imagine that he's getting more collected, and turning tighter. Maybe? A little bit?

Riff loves to stretch out. If the jumps are set up just so, he will bounce-jump them. He loves flying. He wants to stay in the air. If he were a disc dog, he'd jump way higher than the frisbee, then come down to catch it from above. He'd give his eye teeth for a handler who can REALLY RUN. Well, maybe not his eye teeth. He'd give a lot of doggy kisses, though.

Did you see the Aussie that won the 22" class at the USDAA 2011 Championships? That dog did not turn tight. He had a hella lotta groundspeed, though....and the young lady with him could run.

As much as I admired that Aussie (and I'm not a big Aussie fan), I'm still holding out hope for a fast and tight dog. My advantage with Keeper was that all she ever wanted was to please me. She's a prime example of a one-person border collie. She wants to turn and quickly as she can, and catch up to me. Riff, on the other hand, loves everyone. He gets distracted. And it doesn't help that I can't stay ahead of him on an agility field.   I do love watching him run, though - the faster the better. One of my favorite things is to turn him loose in a field and watch him boogey.

MY DREAM is to be able to SEND Riff out to obstacles and REEL him back in - all at a good fast clip. It can be confusing, though, when he looks elsewhere - like at other obstacles - even obstacles that seem too far away to think about (or so it seems to me)....

Heck, I wish I was a better dog trainer. (Sigh.) But hope springs eternal!

Perhaps the month of December will be "Riff's my buddy" month. I'll take him out alone more often. We'll have more frequent "just you and me" hikes. As much as I love going out with both of my wonderful dogs....maybe Riff and I need even more "alone" time than I've been giving him. And I'll try to teach him another trick or two. Keeper thinks tricks are kind of dumb, but Riff loves them.

Tuesday Lesson

2011-11-29T11:30:00.000-08:00

The lovely Ms Keeper, retired agility dog, is going to go with me to our lesson this afternoon. We'll practice with 16" jumps (or 12", depending on what the little dogs are jumping), and without A-frames. Hopefully she can help rekindle my "agility fire," which has been burning at a low ebb this week. Keeper LOVES agility. Her excitement is contagious, she's fairly well-trained, and I think I can handle her speed, which is slower than Riff's, even though my leg is aching....

Riff will wonder why he's not going, but I promised him a hike around Riverfront Park this week - just he and I, so we can explore the redwood path. Or maybe we'll sneak into Annadel, the back way. I believe Annadel has been officially "closed" by the State. Heh heh. I'd have to keep him on-leash, and hope we wouldn't run into too many 'yahoo' mountain bikers up there - I imagine they're pleased as punch there are no park rangers, these days. Hmmm. Maybe we'll stick to Riverfront.

I stole the photo below from Channan's FB post. This is Riff's littermate Rampage, wearing a new backpack. Isn't he pretty! And the backpack looks great, too. Rampage can now carry his own water on hikes. Good dog!

What now?

2011-11-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

(photo from FB...)

Amen. (Have you seen the movie Margin Call?  Decent movie.  Have you read the book The Big Short? Good book.)

I just watched a YouTube video of the Occupy Santa Rosa folks being "evicted" from the City Hall lawn. Lots of police in riot helmets lined the entire block - close enough they could link arms, if need be. Shields nearby, billy clubs in belts.  Many looked tense, a few looked bored. They barricaded the surrounding streets, too...just in case.

Just in case....what? The only folks left in those tents were a few lucky(?) homeless people who had managed to ride the protest movement into a 15-day camping permit. Active protestors left days ago.  Even I knew that, and I don't keep up with this stuff much.

During the video, I could hear the cameraman's footfalls, and he made a couple of remarks to the police (in an ordinary speaking voice), but that was all I heard. Quiet conversations among the police. A couple of cars driving by. No crowd noise at all. No yelling. No one was in the video except the police and a very few passers-by.

The Occupy encampment looked like a small, sad ghost town of 15 or 20(?) poorly-constructed tents, sitting in the dark, surrounded by troops with billy clubs and security vehicles with mobile spotlights. Absurd. What made the police force act like this? Why was this kind of major "eviction" action taken? Who paid for it?

There is also a compilation video of the kinds of police actions that have been taken, all around the country, against peaceful Occupiers. The pepper-spray incident at UC Davis, for instance. Several columnists claim (some with pride, some with disdain, some with understandable fear) that those actions were orchestrated/coordinated by Homeland Security, during a Multi-City Mayors Meeting some weeks ago.  Wow. Did all the city mayors get a memo, or something?

Hmmmmm......

And: Where did the Occupiers go?

And: I wonder how can we support and protect our young people, who are trying so hard to CHANGE the blatant inequalities they see all around them?

I tend to bury my head in dog agility activities, family gatherings, arts & crafts projects, gardening, work, reading books, even housekeeping. Politics is waa-a-ay off my radar.  But every once in a while I lift my head and look around, and listen...and I begin to wonder....

What next? What now?  What can I do? Anything??

15 Things That Can Still Surprise Dog Agility People

2011-11-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

1. The canopies on either side of yours looked fine after a gust of wind ripped yours to shreds.
2. Eazy-Up was just a name.
3. Bars dropped. (Or...um....all the bars stayed up.)
4. Your dog took off when the timer said "ready."
5. The Gamble buzzer.
6. The back side of a jump.
7.  A judge calling "up" contacts.
8. Your dog forgot what 2o2o means.
9. The other left.
10. The gate person kept yelling your dog's name even though you were standing right next to him.
11. Another dog has the same name as your dog. (Oh.)
12. The course maps were printed in 06 pt. font and you left your reading glasses at home.
13. The turkey panini was worth the wait.
14.  A 6-pound dog can jump the yellow contact zone on the dogwalk.
15. Red meant "recording" and Green meant "stopped."

Hidden Strength and Beauty

2011-11-26T09:50:00.000-08:00

He was just outside our backyard fence, watching me play with the dogs. So well-hidden the dogs never noticed him. (In their defense, they were focused on their toys...) He got me to thinking about the hidden strength and beauty the earth constantly offers us. We just need to slow down a bit, and set aside enough time to really look around.... .....and then we need to notice the GOOD as much as we notice the bad. Sometimes, for me at least, that's the tricky bit.

For instance - after I got home from my last agility lesson, I wrote a list of all the things that I need to "fix." Then I prioritized them, so that I might work them into a cohesive practice plan. Then I got depressed.

What I needed to do, perhaps, was to write a list of all the things that were GOOD about the lesson. Everything that Riff did well. Decorate it. Then frame the list, and hang it on the wall for at least a week. And smile every time I look at it.

Thank-full Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

Last night's small family dinner was a success. Brett and his lovely wife Emily and my youngest son Wesley were able to join us. The turkey was tender and flavorful, the pumpkin cheesecake was a big hit, and I actually remembered to serve everything I'd planned to serve (which is a minor miracle).

Riff was pretty sure I was supposed to put the turkey platter on the ground for him....

But of course the dogs had a super nice dinner, too. :-)

Today we head to Joanie's house for dinner with friends.

GRATEFUL for all life has brought to us: All of the challenges, the love, kindness and laughter, our cherished family and friends....and good stories.

Wishing you the Best Thanksgiving Ever!!

Thanksgiving Eve

2011-11-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

But first: The (difficult) Decision.
After a weekend workshop and our Tuesday night class, I've decided that Riff and I will need to wait until January for our USDAA Debut Part Deux in Starters. :-(
But we plan to drop in and visit everyone at the December trial.    :-) And play at the practice jump.

And now for Today!
My little local family is coming over for Thanksgiving Eve dinner tonight.  The apple pie is in the oven. Next I'll make the stuffing and get that bird into the oven. Woohoo!
Yesterday I made my first-ever marbeled pumpkin cheesecake. (Next time I'll "crush" the crust ingredients more.   So, yeah....we might be serving this with a spoon. But it will taste good.)

The table is started. (Micky - using your straw flowers!)

By the time I fill this gravy boat (one beautiful item left to me by my mom), we'll be ready to sit down and enjoy our turkey dinner. YAY!

And the kids will be gifted with plenty of left-overs.

Dear Riff,

2011-11-20T18:12:00.000-08:00

Thank you for the warm hugs today. Somehow, you knew I needed them.

Love, love, love....

November LeapDog Workshop

2011-11-19T16:58:00.000-08:00

There were eight students (maximum allowed) at our workshop this morning.
It was cold (California style) - mid 40's.
We were lucky it wasn't raining.
I wore my long johns and a hat.
It was a FUN group.

This was my favorite drawing. Geometry. Symmetry.
Have I told you that my next puppy might be named Symmetry, and called Sym?
DIBS on that name! ;-)

LP used her little stuffed dog as a visual aid.
Fawkes wasn't sure what it was.
She tried to figure out
what the little guy was looking at.

"No problem! All is well!"

LP used ropes on the ground to help us visualize the line of refusal
and/or the dog's best path through the obstacles.
She also used red feet, to help us see our target positions.
Of course all this stuff disappeared after the walk-thru.

We were very happy with our morning weather.
Some ominous clouds moved in during the afternoon.
Beautiful, but cold.

Here is a snapshot of the "timing grid" used for one of the exercises.
We concentrated on front crosses today. This exercise was an attempt
to see which approach worked best for each team.
The exercise involved going around the back of the #2 jump.
There were four jumps, pretty well spread apart.
Which approach was faster?
For Riff, it was the "push to the back of the jump, with a rear cross."
His time was either 4.46 or 4.66, I can't tell. Probably 4.66.
Either way he seemed on the slow side to me.
I can't run much and he wasn't sure what I was up to.
Little Crush, jumping 16," was the fastest dog!
She wraps tight around jumps, and is fast.
Wonderful dog.
Riff was the only dog schooling at 24."
He'll have to jump 26"if we enter the USDAA show in December.
He has a tendency to launch, and to land long,
but he seems happy, and has plenty of drive.
I was very proud of him today.
Go, Riff!!!

California Color

2011-11-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

To Enter or Not To Enter (that is the question)

2011-11-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

It's time to decide whether or not to enter the Bay Team USDAA trial in December. It would be our first trial since April 10.

A few months ago, I decided "when my back stops hurting, I'll enter a trial."  Well, silly poo-dunky idea.  I have an achey back and boo-hoo, get over it. So a couple of months ago the deal evolved to "when I can jog through a course, I'll enter a trial." I can slowly jog the length of the dogwalk now, and the length of the weaves. Can't keep it up - the old body breaks back into walking pretty quickly. But progress is progress! So about a month ago, I thought "when Riff and I can get through a whole course during our Tuesday lesson, we'll enter a trial."

Well that hasn't happened yet either. We have made progress - we're up to half-of-a-course. We can get through 7 to 10 obstacles before....something seems to happen. Usually it's an off-course, with Riff way the heck ahead of me, deciding on his own which obstacle to take next...

So - yes! enter the trial! or no? On the plus side - we've made progress. Progress! Riff needs the exposure. (So do I! I feel nervous just thinking about it.)  Riff's startline-stay has been solid at the practice field. (You may recall that back around February/March, and at the trial in April, we had to walk out of numerous classes, due to &$#@@! broken startlines. And then Nancy helped me work on them at the trial, and LP helped me remember how to train them at home...)   PLUS: The Bay Team trial is local and I could show out of my car, which means I wouldn't have to ask someone to help me schlep all my canopy stuff around and set everything up.

On the negative side - Saturday I was setting up a new little table for my flower-picture projects - nothing really, just a small plastic table, and I leaned over to pull up the table legs and boom! my right leg nerves suddenly screamed for about five minutes, just like back in April, and I had to lay on the couch and ice the back and heat the leg for the rest of the day....    Which was a total bummer because I'd planned to take Riff to the AKC show and work the practice jumps. We didn't go.

But hey, life is short. Everything is good. You gotta make hay while the sun shines.

Riff is jumping well, and enjoying himself. He's becoming a better distance-dog every week. He's amazingly willing (and forgiving), while I try to figure out how to handle him. [You've got to show him what you want EARLY...but not too early. Stop and turn at the right time, keep your feet moving when you want him to keep going...etc etc etc.] The courses we are on during our Tuesday lessons are Masters level courses, and often feature "international style" challenges. Love the courses. We can't get all the way through them without a correction....but we're doing okay, all things considered. Last night our instructor said, "Riff is doing incredibly well on these courses. You should be very happy! He's been through a lot, you know..."
So, yeah. Like that.
:-)

Riff competes at the Starters level in USDAA. (Except for gamblers, where he is at the Advanced level.)
Starters courses are a lot easier than Masters courses....aren't they? Simple, flowing courses with only one or two little switchbacks or discriminations. Maybe we can get through them.

So....shall we enter a couple of classes?  Just dip our toes in the water....?

Riff POV

2011-11-15T12:37:00.000-08:00

A stroll through the backyard (from Riff's point of view):

Winterblast, with an iPhone camera

2011-11-13T12:09:00.000-08:00

The South of A Street district in Santa Rosa has turned into
an "artist enclave" known as SOFA.
The artists like to close off the street once in a while, and party.

We walked by this great street sign, on our way to
Bliss Bakery (one of Kathy K's all-time favorite eateries).
It was closed, but the lady sold us a couple of
fresh-out-of-the-oven ginger snickerdoodles anyway.
YUM!!

We were searching for a cup of coffee, and found Brino Ism's gallery.
The stairway was posted "private party"....

....and we didn't go into the studio...

.....but I liked Ism's yard art.

You know you're in the right place when you
meet a snowman looking for a broom.

We wandered up and down alleys, and into and out of
several galleries and many artist's studios.

We sat for a while in the courtyard of Atlas Coffee.
Really good mocha.

The sunset was beautiful.

You wouldn't want to stumble into this
piece in the dark.

There were plenty of musicians around...

...and sofas. Winterblast features a sofa parade and a
marching street band named The Hubub Club.
A lot of folks planned to party well into the night.

As darkness fell, the crowd quickly grew,

and hula hoops took over the street.

We decided to go home early. Our pupsters were waiting for their dinner!

PS. Next year we'll bring folding chairs, a picnic basket, a better camera, and - once we're finished wandering through galleries - we'll set up somewhere on the street. Occupy SOFA!
:-)

NAF....not :-(

2011-11-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

We're not at the NAF USDAA trial this weekend, which makes me sad. So many friends and wonderful dogs are there.

Best of Luck to You All!

We're working our way back into trialing....slo-o-owly but surely. :-) We'll be able to drive down to Turlock, someday.

Our agility class on Tuesday was fun. Riff and I got through some "nasty" sections on the course, and we were mighty proud of ourselves. Woohoo! We also rented field time on Thursday, and practiced contacts and weave entries. That was fun, too....Riff is a FINE dog. And the weather held!

Loved the rain yesterday! - my gardens needed a boost. It's a beautiful day again today, thankfully. Partly cloudy...but the sun is warm and bright. I'll probably take Riff over to the AKC show at the fairgrounds and fool around with startline-stays at their practice jumps. Those breed people won't mind if a scruffy red border collie shows up out of nowhere....will they?

11/11/11 (and a book)

2011-11-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

A special Veteran's Day!

My dad, at Balboa Park in 1941

with many THANKSTHANKSTHANKSTHANKS to all military personnel, past and present.

xoxoxo

And a special hats-off Thank You to all Vietnam veterans. Some of my high school friends died in that conflict, and some came back from the front lines so fundamentally torn and shaken that they were turned away and/or ignored by many Americans. Those vets gave it their all - heart and soul - and they are heroes. Every single one of them. Even (or maybe especially) those who are addicted and broken, living on the sidewalk of some big city. I pray for them, and knit scarves for them, and wish them peace and happiness.

And, to the boys of Afghanistan and Iraq - or any of the Middle Eastern countries- or anywhere in Europe or Africa - I hope you know that we think of you all the time, and pray for PEACE, and for your safe return.

PS. Here is a "Veteran's Day" dog book I enjoyed. You're likely to find it in the Young Adult section, but it's definitely more "adult" than "young"....

PS....Handler Motivation at UKI

2011-11-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

Following up on my blog post of October 29, in which I blathered on about 'Handler Agility Motivation,' I decided to help motivate handlers at the UKI trial. [Would the acronym be HAM?  Um.... How about 'Agility Handler Motivation' - AHM. That's kind of nice. Or 'Agility Handler Energy Motivator'? AHEM? Ha!]

Anyway.

Yeah....it's difficult to clap and yell when you're wearing mittens and trying to write down the correct time on the scribe sheet, but I managed to get some "woohoo!s" out there. I did notice some clapping (muffled by gloves) and a bit of cheering. Because it was a small show, it was comparatively quiet - sometimes eerily quiet - especially on Friday. Lots of runs went by without a single peep from the onlookers. I could hear a few folks chatting behind me, but they didn't seem to notice the runs.

Some of the handlers and/or dogs had small fan-bases that supported them loudly - yes! And I really liked that UKI left a tiny section of stadium-seating up, so that people could settle in and have a splendid view of both rings. The set-up was AUDIENCE FRIENDLY! YES!!!   (Of course, people needed to have a blanket or cushion with them, to sit on that cold, cold metal....but we all knew that, right? Maybe not. Not too many people were up there.)

In between worker-duties, I was able to visit a few handlers for a couple of minutes, and comment on how beautiful their runs were (in spite of any knocked bars or missed contacts). Sometimes all I had time for was a quick thumbs-up "Nice Run!" as I hustled over to the restroom or the snackbar (did you try those warm cinnamon/sugar miniature donuts? Y-ummmm)....or the shopping (no I didn't buy a UKI sweatshirt, but I sure thought about it).

It was FUN to have a goal of sharing the joy of agility with as many handlers as possible. Loved it!

I wasn't there on Saturday....but by Sunday folks had loosened up considerably. Alright! The Finals were being run, and Deanna got ahold of the microphone and encouraged everyone to 'give it up for (everyone else)'    On Sunday the smiles were wider, the laughter was louder, and there was plenty of clapping and yelling....YAY!!!!!!!!

There's more than one good reason to play this game......

UKI Open

2011-11-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

On Friday and Sunday I was a "full-time worker" at the first UKI USA Open, here in Santa Rosa. Friday I was the Scribe for all of the classes, and on Sunday the Timer.

It was a small show (about 70 dogs) but the competitive level was pretty good in most classes, especially a few of those 26" dogs - wow! Loved watching Lori Michaels and her 2-yr old BC Solei (from Kansas). She seems to be a meticulous handler. She used every minute of the walk-thru, planning and imagining different approaches, then practicing her choices. It looked to me like she uses the "whatever works" method. For sure her pup is incredibly well-trained. She gives all the credit to her young dog, saying Solei is just "smart, smart, smart." Nice young lady! Fast dog. And I enjoyed watching Terry Smorch and Presto (from Wisconsin). He can really run - well, both them can. Terry stays in front, flying through the course on those long legs, but giving crispy-clear decel cues. Presto has one of the smoothest decel-collect-and-wrap moves I've ever seen. And all the local handlers and dogs were fun, too! YAY!!!! The judges were great, the courses were challenging but flowed nicely, the atmosphere was relaxed, the trial ran smoothly, and folks were having a Really Good Time. The overall high-point winners from the four heights won a spot on the World Agility Open 2012 team, and are eligible to go to Belgium in May and represent the United States. Awesome!

For more details regarding the new UKI venue (brought to the US this year by the Derretts), the UKI USA Open, and the WAO Win-On spots, check out the UK Agility International page on Facebook....or look at their website at http://www.ukagilityinternational.com/. (Okay, yeah, now I'm sounding like a commercial....)

Cellphone photos are below. Erika was taking trial photos - you'll probably see a few online...

Most of the time the weather was beautiful. Cold, but pretty.

Terry and Presto wait for their turn on the podium.

The podium set-up

Judge Dave Grubel checks out his course. The other judge was Sandra Katzen.

Laura and Greg Derrett gave the general briefing.
Laura worked the score table, Greg was chief course builder.

WAO - Spot winners:
26" Lori Michaels and Solei, 20" Maureen Strenfel and Kindle,
16" Anne Kajava and Manja, 12" Sandy Rogers and Quill

Happy Birthday, Riff! (tomorrow)

2011-11-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

THREE!

Riff at nine weeks old.

Riff at three years old.

LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!

Serp Update

2011-11-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

They say "Practice Makes Perfect." I think "perfect" is relative...maybe even imaginative....but "practice" is very real. Practice helps your body know what to do when you want to get something done.

We've been practicing serps for a couple of weeks now. Riff has been helping me figure out how to cue a serp when my back is misbehaving.

Riff isn't this big (although - admittedly - his head is on the large side), and
I'm not this skinny (sigh)....but you get the idea.

As I understand it, this is a good serp position
You're at the far stanchion of the serp jump,
raising your outside arm as your dog approaches, with your feet
pointing toward the next obstacle, and your shoulders turned back
toward the dog's path. This give him a clear cue: "Take this jump!"

....although you're probably running,
especially as your dog commits to the jump.

Sadly, I often look like this. Arms akimbo. Late, late, late.
"Oh, oops! You were supposed to jump that one!!"

And I try to catch up as Riff runs by the jump.

Or I've made it to the stanchion but Riff runs by because he doesn't see a clear cue.

So I try waving both arms around, and turning my shoulders as far as my back will allow.
It's like brandishing semaphore flags out on the deck of the USS Wannabe.
Sometimes it works!
Riff gets a treat.
Mostly it doesn't work, and Riff runs by the jump.

Yesterday, with my instructor's blessing,
I tried turning my feet back toward the dog's path.
This brings my shoulders around without painfully twisting my back.
It feels much, much better.
Even though it's against all the rules about feet.
Haven't figured out yet how this is going to bite back at me.
It might have something to do with landing-side front crosses.
Note to Self: Avoid landing-side front crosses.
It might effect how well Riff takes the next obstacle.
But for now...Riff is serping, even when he's on my right side.
Happiness and joy!
Knock on wood.

Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

There are gauzy ghosts with eyes, floating around the trees in our neighborhood.  Riff is like: "Wow! What is that? Is it scary??"   We've had many training opportunities during our walks this week.....and we've only been out during the day....

....because those ghosts are the simple decorations. Is Halloween the new Christmas? I've always enjoyed carving a pumpkin or two...but lots of folks around here string orange lights around their rooftops, and set up giant figures, fake doorways and elaborate scenery.   Weird white stuff covers many large trees and bushes, trailing giant spiders. One giant spider crouches over a life-size skeleton that hangs upside down, wrapped in cheese cloth ala Alien.  Mouth screaming. Giant zombie pumpkins look like they're munching on little screaming pumpkins. Bloody eyeballs are hanging from mailboxes. Witches are coming out of chimneys. Vampires and caskets and pirates are everywhere. Skeletons are climbing out of flower beds. A few blocks from here, you can even find an amazing re-creation of an alley from Jack the Ripper's London. Holy cow! If I was a kid today, I'd have to screw up my courage just to leave the house....and then, to decide which walkways are safe enough for Trick or Treat?  Ooooooooooooo.
Nice kitty.   Kitty kitty kitty.....    Ni-i-i-ice kitty....

....running....!

2011-10-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

Handler Motivation

2011-10-29T16:16:00.000-07:00

Recently, I've heard a few handlers talk about how discouraged they feel. These are handlers who've been playing the game for more than five (or ten, or fifteen) years. Most of them have competed with several dogs and they've all made good progress. Their dogs earned multiple titles, from multiple venues. Some of these handlers have won so many ribbons, they long ago stopped picking them up. And yet....they're feeling de-motivated.

"Why am I doing this?!"

I get like that, too.

For one thing, it seems difficult to be both highly competitive and totally satisfied. You often want more. Thanks to "Livestream Video / FaceBook / YouTube," you can watch more super runs than ever. You want to be able to run your dog like THAT.

Your agility instructor has watched many of the same videos, or he's heard his students talk about them, or his students have flat-out asked him to work the more challenging aspects of agility. He builds trickier courses. International style! He asks more of his students. He wants to turn out some winning dogs, too.

But what if you're not making visible progress toward your goals? *Sigh* Back to work you go...

Practice, practice, practice, train, train, train, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

.....and if you're still not getting there????

Practice, practice, practice, train, train, train, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

.....and if many months (or years) have passed, and you still don't feel much closer....

....in spite of workshops, seminars, instruction videos, etc etc....

What then????

Little things, like 'changing economy,' 'aging,' 'bad knees' and/or 'inherent clumsiness' (in both you and your dogs) may start catching up to you, chipping away at your resolve. You begin to think....'well crap, maybe I can't do this'....or.....'maybe I'll look for something else'....

So you take a few weeks off, to just run and play or go on hikes with your dogs. And, after your big break?? ..................your motivation is still at an all-time low.

So you look at your dogs. After all, they are the end-all, be-all of your agility life. Are they having fun?

They are! So you find motivation through your dogs. There's nothing quite as wonderful as working through an agility course in sync with a happy dog.

You can ride the dog-happiness-motivation train for quite a while....you don't even have to compete or attend class to feel it. You can rent some field time, and just enjoy being with your dog.

But...if you're like me....you may miss the feedback from your agility friends.

It feels great when people clap for your run. Recognition helps!

When we get recognition, we realize that all the workshops, the spiral notebooks filled with training plans, the early classes, the private lessons....the practice, practice, practice, train, train, train, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse....

...is worth it.

How do you know? Your agility friends told you so.

So here's how I see it:

Agility is getting more competitive. The standards are higher and the dogs are faster, and the training is more challenging.

We can help one another stay motivated, by making an effort to watch each other's runs during practice and trials. Clap! Holler! Say YAY! Offer positive feedback! (Even if all you can think of is "What a beautiful dog!")

It works for our dogs....can it work for us?

[And, if all else fails....bake a few cookies?]

:-)

A Pumpkin Party Tradition

2011-10-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

Joanie's annual pumpkin party goes back - over 15 years, for me.
I should ask Joanie how long she's been hosting it.
I'll bet she says 'close to 30 years...'

These photos make it seem like only gray-haired folks carve pumpkins,
but there were some 20-to-40-year-olds, a handful of teens,
and couple of little kids. Everyone made a pumpkin.
Everyone enjoyed homemade chili and corn bread, and yummy desserts.

Joanie

The pumpkins were lined up on Joanie's front porch, where the carvers
(and the neighborhood) admired them.

Can you pick out the one I carved?
The creme-de-la-creme, featuring intricate scenes, were
still being worked on when this photo was taken.

My personal favorite : )

Things I Love

2011-10-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Running.

Toys. Tugging. Fetching. Carrying.

Jumping.

My human Mom and Dad. (i hardly remember my doggy ma...not sure i ever met my pa)
My human Auntie Lauri.
My doggy BFF all-time favorite girl Wit.
My human Auntie Channan.
My doggy Older Bro Charter and his human mom KK.
My doggy Bro Rampage. (we get to RUN together)
My doggy adopted Older Sister Keeper. (except when she's mean to me)
My agility classmate Izzy. (maybe...we've never been let off leash to play together)

Running. FAST.

Toys. Hide and Seek with toys. Hide and Seek with people. Hide and Seek with people who have toys.

Jumping.

Toys. Toys. Toys.

Agility.

Running. Faster.

Tracking squirrels in the backyard. Running.

The nice people at Occupy Santa Rosa.
(but not those violently drunk thieving transients)

Treats and Toys and Running and Jumping.

Learning a new trick. Yummy treats.

Watching birds fly overhead. (but i advise against trying to take a walnut away from a crow)

Spring Lake. Annadel Park. Riverfront Park.

Anyone who draws my picture.
(even if the picture is funky-looking, like those my mom draws. must admit i've actually looked funky before - but only for a lifetime total of less than 3 seconds....)

Anyone who draws any picture. Drawing is cool. Painting is cool. So is writing on the computer. Pens and notebooks are cool. Singing in the shower is great. Dancing is exciting. (stumbling and falling on me....not so much.)

Agility.

Tug toys.

Running.

Getting up early.

Peeing on plants in the backyard.

Going places. Sniffing and peeing at new places.

People singing. Especially when they clap, too.

The sound of vegetables being chopped up.

People sneezing. The louder the better.

The cupboard where Mom keeps our food.

Baseball on TV. Any pitch. Especially homeruns. Especially Giants' homeruns.

Running.

Running faster.

Toys.

Toys.

The back door opening.

Jumping on people I love. (i can sit pretty, but it's not as much fun)

Mom.

Dad.

You.

And my super-comfy bed. (anytime after 8:pm)

Keeper

2011-10-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Thinking about entering Keeper in USDAA Veteran's classes. She'd jump 16" instead of 22". Would she hold up well on the lower 5' Aframe? I'll bring her to a couple of practice sessions and check it out....

ART

2011-10-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Although Earth is ART, in and of itself.

Earth has given us beauty, symmetry, surprise and wonder since Day One. Inspired by all forms of life on earth, we celebrate it in our own ART. All kinds of art! From the spoken word to the splashiest dance. From a knitted cap to an abstract oil painting. From the well-trained dressage horse to the happy agility dog to the tiny flower seed.

ART!

Last week, with a couple of friends, we explored the local ArtTrails event. About 100 artists, all located around the Santa Rosa area, opened up their studios for a weekend. It was great to check out what some of these folks have been up to.

I bought this small print - an artist's rendition of sandhill cranes (not a very good photo, but you get the idea)...

...and asked the artist if she'd be interested in working on a portrait of one of my border collies.

She is! Hopefully, one of these days, I'll be able to share that adventure with you.

(Yay!)

The Serp Conundrum

2011-10-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

So. Do I continue to serp Derrett-style, with my off-arm coming up to cue the jump (turning shoulders back toward the serp-jump as I'm moving past it) or do I incorporate a Mecklenburg style, keeping my body straighter, and using the near-arm to encourage Riff to take that middle obstacle?    The old back says: "Do NOT twist me!" so it's become a conundrum in my brain.

Conundrum!

Do we practice both methods?   We've used the Derrett method almost exclusively.  Riff is pretty darn good when he's on my left. It's that twist to the right that really bites me...and I've noticed he's not as good serping when he's on my right. He has a tendency to run by the jump entirely. Does he know I'm hurting?   Or is my cue too late? We've tried the Mecklenburg method a couple of times. At first he was great - then he seemed to get confused, so I stopped...

.... ....

but

.... ....

Having been told by my doctor that it could be another six months (damn!) before I'm ready to RUN (and twist)...I'm tempted to bring some Mecklenburg back into the mix. Can I do it without confusing my young dog? I don't want to teach him anything I won't be using for years to come. Will I use it? (We could really need it, someday. And I'm a big believer in the "whatever works" method...as long as it doesn't confuse my dog...)

Argh! What should I do??? Train both methods?   Can I pull it off without messing up something else?
Or
Run all courses without serping for the next six months? AND without running??
Or
Give up agility for a while, and take Riff to sheep?   [ooooof....that makes my addicted-to-agility genes wince...]

I feel like an Occupy protestor, trying to decide what to put on my sign.

"Decide already! Then....move...smooth and steady as you can! Let's go!"

Smiling Dog

2011-10-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

Riff is one of the the smiling-est dogs I've known. He's got them all...from the smirk to the sly grin to the big goofy smile. One of these days I'll try to capture a photo of his huge "Hello, Aunty Channan!" smile. What a charmer he is....

Riff also has a very definite frown. Luckily we don't see it too often. Once in while, if Keeper gets after him for bugging her too much, he'll frown. Or if he's agonizingly bored because no one will get up to let him out, or play with him. Maybe I'll grab a photo of his frown some day. It's tougher to capture, because he thinks cameras are great fun. I'll have to keep the "spy camera" handy, and try to sneak up on him....

(Ha!)

Hope Springs Eternal!

2011-10-20T12:13:00.000-07:00

Riff and I will head back to the rental field tomorrow morning. We plan to expand on the work we did during "patio practice" yesterday - serps and wraps and threadles. Riff was terrific on the patio, working tight jumps (with the bar on the ground), and paying close attention to my cues. It's when we pick up a little speeeeeeed that it gets interesting.
Wahoo!

Aging....like a fine wine?

2011-10-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

Our "birthday group" is made up of a few friends who celebrate one another's birthdays by going out to dinner together. This week some of us got together to see the movie "Ides of March," then enjoy a rather spirited political discussion at a Mexican restaurant. As often happens, the subject of age - and health - came up. They noticed I was limping [just a tiny bit!] after the movie and wondered aloud how my back is doing. "Fine!" I said, "Getting better!" [Sitting still for long periods of time does bother it - then the leg starts hurting...] They looked at me with the knowing eyes of women-of-a-certain age, so I added, "Mostly." Because mostly, I like to think positive. If you think "I am well!" you will be well. Right?

Then I distracted them by pointing out the buffalo painting on the side of a van. "The painting you see on cars these days! Is it some kind of photographic process? It must be..."

Yesterday, on our way home from Riff's weekly group lesson, we were stuck in traffic for an extra 20 minutes or so - resulting in a back-ache that flared from "nagging" to "nasty." Today, I am taking it easy. Rest. Ice. Recumbent exercise bike. Ice. Rest.

Perhaps trying to jog during class added to the aggravation? Not being able to move out of a goofy long-strided walk is frustrating beyond words, when you're trying to work through a master's-level agility course with a talented young high-drive Border Collie. We enjoy working "bits," but we love running courses. Patience is not my strong suit. So I've been trying to jog lately. Just a little, jog-like stride....

But the back has continued to bother me, pretty much 100% of the time.....week after week....so I dropped a quick email to my back doctor, asking for advice about jogging. Her surprise reply: "It can take a year to recover from the kind of injury you had [a YEAR...?!!!] and you should not be jogging at all until your back doesn't hurt any more." Last time we talked about prognosis, she said six months. Crikey.

She also said, if your back still hurts and your leg bothers you, you have several options - 'a new mix of medications, one more epidural (but it would be your third, and last), or surgery.' Her advice is to talk to a surgeon now...because surgery is 'more successful earlier than later.'

What I'd like is to just age like a fine wine, with my bottle intact (so to speak) and no need for additives or adjustments. Now I have a few things to think about.

Ah, well.

So I'll leave you with one of my favorite Winston Churchill quotes:

"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."

Ever onward!!

Train People

2011-10-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

Admiring PASSION - of all stripes and shapes - we decided to check out the Train Show at the fairgrounds. Train people are not the same as Dog Agility people. Mostly middle-aged men, they don't seem to get a lot of physical exercise. But the gleam in the eye is similar, and so is the dedication.

This was the largest train at the show.

Some women (wives?) were showing their paintings, in one small building...but trains seem to be largely a male pastime. Is this because women are/were not allowed to become train engineers?
Must admit I've never been on a train, except at Disneyland.
It's on my bucket list.

A huge hall, full of train models.

There were a few kids, too. Kids like model trains.
Perhaps because they're like tiny dolls and action figures? Or is it specifically a TRAIN thing?

Trains mean travel, travel means adventure, adventure means excitement.

In the middle of the hall sat a huge model, tiny trains (with whistling steam engines!) winding their way
through forests, tunnels, and turn-of-the-century mountains and villages.
Looked like California's "Gold Country" to me.

This is the man who built that glorious tiny world.
How many hours? How much passion about trains does it take, to build something like that?
I wanted to quizz him for a while, but all I said was,
"It's breath-takingly beautiful...thank you so much for sharing it."
Maybe if I'd played with dollhouses as a kid, I'd already know what it takes.
Still - it sure looks like ART to me. Passion and dedication.

Below are a couple of the many scenes that were included in this one model.

Miners camping.

A burial at the cemetary.

A feed lot.

Downtown, saloon and outhouse.

2011 USDAA Nationals....Random Notes

2011-10-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Watching the LiveSteam of the 2011 USDAA Nationals (aka. Cynosport World Games), I jotted down a few notes:

Post Turn - Keep Moving! Do Not Stop! If you stop, your dog may think you're doing a tight front cross and back-jump.

8" dogs....is this what I'm headed for, as I get older? A tiny little dog that I can keep up with? Some sort of wire-haired rat terrier? Oh, my.

Stand up straight! Leaning over cann "push" your dog off the line.

Efficient blind crosses are AWESOME!

Remember to take an extra step outward if it sets up a better, faster line through the next two obstacles.

SMOOTH and STEADY WINS.

Tight turns win, too! Although....a faster dog CAN beat a tight dog. (ie. 22" winner - an AUSSIE!)

Groundspeed ROCKS!

Waving at your friends in the stands as you approach the start-line in the Finals - looks like FUN!

Quite a few of the performance dogs are young.

Get Keeper ready for Veterans? Can she handle 5' A-frame? She's great on 16" jumps...

These days, dogs are thinking twice about taking the next obvious obstacle, due to increasing number of approaches from the backside...so the dogs need CLEAR CUES.

Quote from 12" winner...."I don't remember any of it. All I remember thinking is RUN!!"

Find one of those cool-looking halters?

The best handling = WHATEVER WORKS. Try to make sure your dog is used to a variety of situations.

Keep your eye on your dog!!!

If you go off-course - keep going! Don't give up on your dog. Have FUN, and share the fun with your dog!

Try to find a nice polo shirt with dark stripes down the side and over the shoulders. They look cool. Would they make me look thinner? Heh heh.

Stand up straight to cue tight turns!

Fort Worth TX May 9-15, 2012....IFCS.

Ashley and Luka - you did it again!!!

Channan and Icon - awesome run!!!

Smorgasbord Saturday (and Cynosport)

2011-10-15T15:58:00.000-07:00

We love empty Saturdays. We can fill them up with Whatever We Like.
For instance:

We finished the spare room floor....

.....finally got the baseboard and thresholds DONE!

A late breakfast at Mac's, downtown. One of our favorite places.

And, of course, we had to check out the Occupy Santa Rosa crowd, down at City Hall.
These are the early folks.

The speakers began at about 2:00. More people showed up. YAY!!

We didn't stay at the protest, though. Riff and I wanted to get some "patio practice" in....

....and we had to get back for the USDAA Nationals, Live Stream broadcast from Kentucky!
We have a few friends competing there. We wish them The BEST.
And we hope to learn something, watching these splendid handlers and dogs.
WOOHOO!

LeapDog Workshop

2011-10-15T15:10:00.000-07:00

Riff and I enjoyed a fun workshop at LeapDog Agility Friday morning. We practiced serps and threadles, and a post-turn or two. I practiced getting to the correct position in time, and motion / stop motion...and Riff practiced collection.
:-)

Workshop participants walk the course.

LP used her cute stuffed pup and a pair of red feet on the ground,
to illustrate position and timing for both handler and dog.

And I brought my video camera! But about one hour into the four-hour workshop, I realized my camera had stopped working. WTF? Didn't I charge the battery? After I brought it home, I realized not only was the battery not fully charged, I'd actually mixed up the "red" and "green" lights. Red = RECORD! D'oh! How many times have I told people that? So....I filmed a lot of the ground, the top of Riff's crate, and the inside of my black bag, with an audio of participant "chit-chat" fading in and out. Brilliant. Not!

Luckily I had my trusty cellphone with me and could take a few photos. Tried to figure out how to put the phone on my little tripod but couldn't. Too shy to ask anyone to deal with holding it up and trying to video us. Auditors are there to audit, right? Not to film. But maybe I really need to work on getting over it, and just ask!

Below are some of the points LP wants us to think about. She also gave us great handouts of each of the short courses we practiced, and accompanying notes.

A Trick

2011-10-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

This trick was tough for Riff to learn - possibly because of the length of his back, and the narrowness of his hips. I used my arm or hand to steady him at first, but he always sort of melted sideways without help, although he seemed willing to try. We attempted the trick once every week or two, for less than a minute each session. I had made up my mind to try it Just Once More, when he suddenly decided to splay his back feet out to the side to keep his balance. And he seems to use his tail for a "tripod effect." I guess he needed extra time to figure it out on his own. Or perhaps he needed to grow into it? Now he sits-up willingly, and easily. Such a cute boy!

Bath Day!

2011-10-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

***Note: 85 degrees, no breeze, and the hose is hooked up to the sink in the garage, so the water is warm, too. In case you were worried... ;-)

with Best Wishes for LUCK and FUN! to all the competitors at the USDAA Nationals in Kentucky. Whoooeeee!

Wish we were there....

2009 Performance Team at the USDAA Nationals - Filly and Keeper.
One of my all-time favorite teammates. What fun!
:-)