Variable Surface Tracking

We've been very busy here so I am sorry that it has taken so long to post about the Variable Surface Tracking Workshop. I worked very hard and learned a lot.

This is Ed Presnall, the tracking expert who taught the workshop. VST tracking is the hardest type of tracking and he set up lots of great exercises to help us dogs (and our scent handicapped people) succeed.



I met lots of nice dogs at the workshop. It was interesting to see the different ways each dog approaches tracking. As you know, I am pretty intense about my tracking but some dogs are more deliberate or relaxed about it. I actually have to learn to slow down!



We began with easy starter tracks and article games. I know them but Ed said it is very important to practice them often. I am not very good at article indication so we are going to be doing a lot more of that.

In VST we don't just track on grass but on pavement, sidewalks, near buildings, near cars, across roads, up and down stairs and such. Each track that Ed laid had a problem for us to solve and each track got progressively harder.



Here you can see that I've made the turn. Barbara has to read my body language to see when I've gotten to the turn. She also has to learn to trust me, that I know more about scent than she does!



I've found the plastic article on this leg of the track. I also had to find leather, cloth and metal articles.



Even though this is the fourth track on Sunday, you can see that I am still going strong. It was a lot of work but so exciting. The only time I stopped tracking and got a bit silly was when one of the tracks went near goose poop! I just couldn't resist and grabbed some before Barbara saw it and told me to leave it!



We were all very tired after two days of intense learning and tracking. My brain and my nose needed a rest from all the work.



If you are interested in seeing more pictures of us tracking go here. Grady's person took lots of great photos of us working. Maybe you and your person would like to do some tracking. You can go to Ed's website to find out more about next year's seminars. You will learn a lot.

I had a great time and of course we are trying to put into practice all that we learned at the workshop. It is too hot here in NC to do much tracking right now. Ambrose has stopped itching so much thank goodness and no longer has to wear his satellite dish. I am glad because I was getting sick of getting bashed with it. Tomorrow I will be practicing my freestyle routine because that competition is in 3 weeks! Yikes! I better get down to work.

Home Again

I had no idea that I was going on an adventure meant that I would have to get up at 4:30 AM! Way to early for me but Barbara was the one driving so I didn't have much choice! The dog-crate-on-wheels was crammed full of stuff for our trip - food, toys, treats, my tracking gear, presents, water and Barbara's suitcase. Ambrose is in his crate in the front of the car but you can't see him behind all the stuff!



I was a bit worried about spending 9 hours in a car with him in case he had one of his fart explosions. Fortunately Barbara has been adding digestive enzymes to his food so that problem has been taken care of thank goodness!

It was a very long trip and Ambrose and I slept most of the way although Barbara did make lots of rest stops so we could get out and stretch our legs. I was very glad to get to Aunt Debby's house and survey her big fenced yard and garden.



Ambrose particularly liked the petunias and ate many of them.



My cousin Coby is a very nice guy but I don't think he was too thrilled that we invaded his home. We were a bit rambunctious for him but he did get used to us, I think think he got jealous when Aunt Debby and Uncle Stan made a fuss over us.





I enjoyed roaching in the grass. It felt so good. We don't have grass in our yard, only ground cover which does not lend itself to roaching the way this nice, soft grass does.







While we were there, Ambrose got some kind of allergic reaction to something (we are still not sure to what) and was itching like crazy. He woke us up at night with his scratching. My aunt and uncle took him to the vet so that Barbara and I could go to our workshop. Ambrose had to get a shot and pills and have a bath in special shampoo and conditioner (Ha!) and wear the dreaded satellite dish on his head!



I think he looks even goofier that he usually does. He kept crashing into everyone's legs with the cone and it was hard for him to go up and down the stairs.



I'm exhausted from all the travel, the workshop and the visiting with the family. We had a great time but I am glad to be home. I'll post about the tracking workshop tomorrow and catch up with all your blogs soon.

An Adventure

Well her excuse for not helping me blog more lately is that she has been preparing for an adventure with us. It has involved making lots of lists, washing dog beds, drowning stuffies, packing and other frantic activities. Barbara assured me this adventure would be lots of fun. How can it be fun if it means that I have to spend time on the dog grooming torture table and have a bath?



Ambrose had to have a bath too. He cried like a baby!



The dog crate on wheels is finally packed and tomorrow morning we are getting up very early so that we can drive to New Jersey to see my Aunt Debby and her family and my cousin Cobi. He is a cock-a-poo that they adopted from a local shelter a year and a half ago.



While we are there, Barbara and I will be attending and 'Introduction to Variable Surface Tracking workshop'! I am so excited because it is being given by Ed Presnall who is an expert!! I hope to learn many new tracking skills (and I can only hope that Barbara manages to learn something too. I am sure that we will post all about it when we get back.

On another topic, please keep your paws crossed for my boyfriend Riley. You can see us having a great time in the dog park.



Unfortunately Riley injured his hip very badly and and had to have a big operation last week. The operation was a success but he will have to undergo a long and painful rehabilitation. He is such a sweet guy and I feel so bad for him.



If you haven't signed up for Tank's Whack-a-Squirrel campaign, please do so.



Because of my tracking abilities I have been named Southeast Regional Commander. We need to make a big effort to do something about those annoying tree rats. And watch out! They are getting stronger every day!

K9 Kindercare and Rally

On Saturday Barbara drove us to K9 Kindercare. I always stay there when she has to go away. This was Ambrose's first time there. Barbara thinks it is important for puppies to learn that the kennel is a good place to stay by having a short, happy first visit. Then when they have to stay for a longer time, it isn't a problem for them. Little does he know that when Barbara and I go off to my freestyle competition in July, he will have to stay there by himself. HAH!



Ambrose did very well and played with lots of nice dogs. When he started farting, I pretended that I didn't know him.

Today he got to play with his friend Scout. She really likes the pool and keeps trying to encourage him to come in.



Of course they had to play a lot of bitey face. Now I always like a good game of bitey face but they are obsessed with chewing on each other.






I got to go practice Rally this evening. Here I am waiting my turn while my BFF Ayla got to practice on the course.





I'm doing a sit stay. Very boring. I much prefer the active exercises like the serpentines around the cones or doing the jumps.



We had a good practice though. Rally is good for building teamwork.



You may notice the fur on my left ear is much shorter than the fur on my right ear.



I blame it on Ambrose. He is always chewing on my ear! I look a little lopsided. I hope my fur grows back soon so I look good when we go to the freestyle trial. If it doesn't maybe I can get some hair extensions.

I am Four!

Today is my birthday and I turned four! The day started out as usual but when Barbara came home from her lessons she had a bag from Phydeaux, my favorite store.

I got two new stuffies for my birthday! The yellow one is a great tug toy.



You may wonder why I don't look terribly excited about my new stuffies. It is because Barbara is singing "Happy Birthday" to me and it sounds ghastly. I tried to hide my head and pretend I didn't hear it.



These are great stuffies though (even if I did have to endure her singing to get them). Now I just have to keep Ambrose from getting his puppy cooties on them or farting anywhere near them.

After I got my presents Barbara took me to the park for a walk and then a drive out in the country to a most wonderful place.



The cows at Maple View Farm make delicious ice cream and the store is filled with it.



Of course I couldn't go inside but Barbara went in and bought me a dish of Butter Pecan ice cream!



She fed it to me on the spoon because she was afraid if she gave me the dish I would eat the whole thing in one gulp!



It was delicious and when I was almost through she let me lick the cup to get every creamy, yummy drop.





What a great birthday treat! More please?



I am one lucky Gordon Setter.

Excuses, Excuses!

Usually I get to post about twice a week but it has been 11 days since my last post. This is disgraceful. Barbara has lots of excuses - problems with the internet connection, work, meetings, conference calls -blah! Blah! BLAH! It is not as if I haven't been doing anything, it is just that she says that she has been too busy to upload my pictures and help me visit all my friends' blogs. What could be more important than helping me blog?



Ambrose and I met a new friend at the dog park. Her name is Jazzy and she is a young Standard Poodle.



We had a good time running around the park. Jazzy is a fast runner. I hope we meet up with her again.



I've been doing a lot of training recently because I have a freestyle competition coming up in July. Barbara is pleased with how our routine is coming. My boyfriend Trotter comes out to the training center to practice too. We always have some playtime as well. We had a good game of tug with this duck.



Ambrose has been very annoying lately. I have had to correct him quite severely as he has tried to muzzle in on my morning ear rubs! This is my special time with Barbara and I will not have it interrupted. He is also developing into a serious thief. He stole a roll of paper towels and chewed it up. He got a jar of peanut butter off the counter and ate half of it! You can imagine that many HBO words were said around here.



But the worst part is that Ambrose has turned out to be a terrible farter! I hate to be indelicate but I cannot bear it. We were in the dog-crate-on-wheels and the stench was unbelievable. Barbara opened the windows but it was not enough. Ambrose and I are in crates in the dog-crate-on-wheels (I try to do the driving if I am loose) and I could not escape. You can see from this picture that I am about ready to expire from the smell.



I really don't know what I am going to do with him. All I can say is that he better get me a really good birthday present (my birthday is Wednesday) to make up for all I have to put up with from him.



We will catch up with all your blogs in the next couple of days. Hope you all had a fun Memorial Day weekend.

Social Secretary Wanted

I think that I need to hire a social secretary. Ambrose is constantly going on play dates and socialization outings. I have been severely neglected. I don't get to blog, or visit my friends' blogs, as often as I want. Barbara takes pictures of Ambrose but forgets to take pictures of me! A social secretary could keep our lives organized and make sure that I get all the attention and training that I need.

Ambrose had another playdate today with his little girfriend Scout.



They love to race around the yard and run through the tunnel.



After they get tired of running they play a lot of bitey face. They play in a very reciprocal way so it is all in fun even if it looks pretty rough.



It is a wonder that either of them have any ears left since they chew on them so much.



Ambrose is usually very tired after his playdates with Scout. This is a good thing because it means I won't have to play with him so much and can get my beauty sleep.



I know that you all like to see pictures of Ambrose since he is supposedly such a cute puppy. Well I was pretty cute when I was a puppy too. My mom Misty sent me this photo of me when I was 3 weeks and 2 days old.

Happy Mother's Day Misty and Maisie

Ambrose and I are so lucky that we have such great Moms!

Here's my Mom, Misty.


Ch Tri-Sett Living Legend CD, JH, RE


Ambrose's Mom, Maisie.


Pointsetter Fantasia JH

They are lovely ladies with excellent noses and temperaments. We are fortunate that they passed those good traits down to us. They took great care of us when we were little puppies. They kept us clean, safe and warm. They fed us so we could grow up to be healthy and strong. As we got older they helped socialize us and show us how to be good Gordon Setters.

Thanks for everything Moms!


xoxoxo
Niamh



xoxoxo
Ambrose

Ambrose Has a Busy Day

Monday was an exciting day for Ambrose. First he and his friend Scout got to go tracking. They do little tracks with lots of articles and rewards. Then Ambrose went to the lake for the first time!

Scout has already been to the lake once so she knew just what to do.



Ambrose went into the water but kept looking back at Barbara to see if it was ok. She encouraged him with lots of praise and some treats and threw little sticks for him.



Ambrose did not know what to do with his feet! Should he splash the water with his paw or try to swim?



He is not sure if he wants to go back in to the lake or just watch Scout swimming. Next time I will go with him and show him how much fun it is to splash and swim.



Afterwards they both rolled around on the grass to dry off and played a little bitey face.



Monday night was the Junior Puppy Class graduation. The puppies got to show off their tricks and do a mini obstacle course. They tried to get a group picture but it is hard to get 9 puppies to sit still at once!



The puppies have grown so much in seven weeks (Ambrose has more than doubled in size) and learned a lot. I hope all the puppies continue on with classes so that they will grow up to be great dogs. A puppy's mind is a terrible thing to waste.

New Bandanna

I always know when i am going to get to march or perform with the Drill Team because Barbara gets out my team bandana. The Animal Protection Society of Orange County recently changed their name to Paws 4Ever so the people on the team had to get new T-shirts and sweatshirts and us dogs got new bandanas!



I think it looks good and it contrasts with the peoples' new T-shirts.



Today we performed at the Carrboro Day festival. We did our two group routines and Barbara and I performed our individual routine. It was very hot but I think we did well and we got a lot of applause. Afterwards lots of people came up to pet us and to find out about dog training.

Of course Ambrose had to stay at home. He does not know enough to be in the Drill Team and if he got a new bandanna he would probably tear it up like he does everything else. We will be entering pictures of some of the things he has ruined in the Pointer Pandemonium Naughty Dog competition. He might win on sheer volume of naughtiness.

For those of you who like to see his goofy face, here are a couple of photos of Ambrose. He is getting big. I just wish his brains would grow as fast as his legs.

Sniffing with a Purpose

As you know I love to track. I get to use my nose to find interesting things, solve problems and get big rewards! What is not to like. Some of you have expressed interest in tracking and I am sure that you would love it if you tried it. If my goofy little brother Ambrose can do it, you will be brilliant at it. I thought I would show you how to get started.

Here are some of my tracking articles that I get to find. They can be cloth, leather, plastic and metal. All you really need is some of your person's socks. Barbara puts my articles in a plastic bag with a t-shirt that she has worn to get the articles nice and smelly.



You can start with just your flat collar and a leash. After you get into tracking you will want a non-restrictive tracking harness, and a long line. Mine is from climbing rope because I am so strong and Barbara has to wear rappelling gloves because I pull so hard and the rope would burn her hands. Tracking is the one time I am allowed to pull so it makes it a lot of fun.



I am modeling my harness. They come in many colors but you can never go wrong with basic black as a fashion statement. I only get my harness put on right before we start to track.



Then your person or a friend has to lay the track. It is vital that your person knows where the track is so they can use survey flags to mark it (gardening stakes with surveyor's tape works well). Here is a flag with the start article, a black sock.



All your person has to do is take a couple of steps and put a treat down in their footstep. See the piece of string cheese by her foot? They do this a couple of more times and then put an article down with treats. Then a few more steps and another article.



Your first tracks should be very short and your person should help you a lot and of course praise you. They should make an extra big fuss when you find the articles. I don't need the pieces of treats at the beginning of the track anymore because the scent is enough.



Barbara and I have little routines that we do at the start of the track to help me get ready to work. I have to lie down near the start flag and sniff the article. This is boring because I really want to just run the track but Barbara wants me to think.



Then off we go with me with my nose down, following the track. What is it that I am smelling? Some of it is the crushed vegetation from where it was stepped on. Some of it is smell from the person. People think that with all their baths and showers they are so clean but they are shedding skin cells and smells all the time. They have no idea because their noses are almost useless compared to ours.



The scent behaves differently depending on the weather conditions and the terrain. It is fun to figure out where the track goes and of course get the big reward at the final article! Look what I found this morning!



If you and your person want to start tracking there are good books that can help you such as Try Tracking by Carolyn Krause and many others that you can find at Dogwise.

Use your nose!!

Dog Grooming Torture

Both Ambrose and I got the promised session of dog grooming torture this weekend. Since Barbara cannot groom and take pictures at the same time, there are no graphic photos of the actual torture. These are just some of the evil implements that were used on us.



Even though I get lots of cheese while I am on the torture table, I am not thrilled about the whole thing.



The miracle is that I am not bald! Barbara was very careful and only used the new clipper blade a little bit. This is a good thing because she is a trainer, not a groomer and I think that she should stick to training!



She says that as my special person it is her responsibility to keep me healthy and part of that involves bathing and grooming. She checks my skin, ears, toes and all over to look for lumps and bumps, ticks and other ickies. I know that she is just trying to take good care of me but I wish it did not involve dog grooming torture.

Ambrose had his turn on the table which he doesn't seem to mind. He hasn't had the clippers used on him yet but Barbara turns them on so he will get used to the sound.



He has a lot more hair than I did at that age. He had to get the hair on his feet trimmed as well as his little feathers on his legs brushed! I bet he is going to have a lot more coat than I do which will mean lots of dog grooming torture in his future.



But don't worry, it wasn't all torture this weekend. We had several good walks and I got to practice freestyle with my friends. Ambrose went to the park for socialization and had a playdate with Scout.



They love to chase and play bitey face.



Hope you all had a good weekend.

Award and a Package

Look what I got!



Scottie, Sophie and Hazel, my English Pointer friends, gave me this great award and said very nice things about me on their blog. Thank you so much. We sporting dogs have to stick together.

“This award is presented to those dog bloggers out there who know the meaning of GREATNESS. Their blogs are consistently interesting, funny, or informative. Their KINDNESS is extended to others without expectation of it’s return, and their FRIENDSHIP inspires others to do EXTRAORDINARY things. These are the blogs you can’t wait to read everyday. In short, they are AWE-INSPIRING, full of wonder, and simply PAWsome!Pass this award on to 4 others who you feel exemplify a “Paw”some Blog, and leave a note saying why you think they deserve the Pawsome Award!”

I would like to pass it on to the these four awesome dog bloggers:

Stanislaw and Big Pupi
Their raw feasting adventures make me drool. They are so good about keeping us informed about the latest in health issues. But mostly because they are so darn cute!

Mango His Relentlessly Hugeness has been a great inspiration to me on how to keep little brothers in line and nobody meditates better.

Agatha and Archie They are the best tour guides around and they bring that terrier enthusiasm to everything they do.

Royal My Drill Team buddy has lots of great information on his blog and he is pretty cute too.



Barbara took Ambrose on a socialization walk at Fearrington today. There are always lots of people walking around there, admiring the flowers and going into the stores and restaurant. Lots of people wanted to know what breed he was and gave him treats. She also wanted to try to get some good pictures of Ambrose since he looked so goofy in the last set. I fear that this may be an impossible task.



I am not sure why she even bothers.



Remember the topiary moss dogs? Well Ambrose found this topiary cow. I prefer the real thing as they smell so much better than moss.






Yesterday a package from Pet Edge arrived here. I always like those packages because they have great stuffies and chewies. I was very disappointed to realize that Pet Edge must be sold out of every single stuffie and chewie because the box had none. There was this boring shade canopy.



I was really shocked when I saw the other item in the box. I will not horrify you with a close up of it, but it was another evil dog grooming torture implement!! Did we really need another wicked blade for the dog grooming torture clippers?



If you think that I look worried in this photo, you are right. Barbara says that she is going to have me up on the dog grooming torture table this weekend to "practice" with the new blade! Practice??? She is not very good with the clippers. The next time you see me I may be bald!

Sharing the Blog

Several of Barbara's friends have asked when will Ambrose be allowed to post on my blog. The short answer is - not in my lifetime!

Does he look like he has a thought in his head worth posting?



Would you want someone who looks like this to post on your blog?



I realize that Joey is now sharing his blog with Zeke (who seems like a very thoughtful guy), Maggie lets Mitch post, Big Pupi and Stanislaw compliment each other very well on their blog and even Mango lets his pee wee brother, Dexter, post sometimes. Many of you share great blogs. But none of you have been saddled with a goofy brother like Ambrose (for which you should be very thankful). So unless he miraculously grows some brain cells, don't expect to see him post anytime soon. Barbara, will of course keep putting his pictures on the blog because she thinks he is so cute.



Ambrose did get to go to Phydeaux, my favorite pet supply store, today for an all important fitting. He was Red Boy in the litter and his breeders gave him a nice red collar and leash when he came home with us. Barbara put an id tag on it and he has been wearing it ever since.

Every week Barbara checks the fit and adjusts and loosens the collar because Ambrose is growing so fast. It is important that collars fit just right. Not so loose that we can back out of them and not so tight that they choke us. When Barbara worked at an animal shelter she saw many dogs whose evil people left chain collars on their puppies and never changed them. The puppies grew up and the collars got embedded in their necks! That of course is real cruelty.

Ambrose is now 31 lbs! Notice that Barbara can barely get two fingers between the collar and his neck. There is no more room to loosen it so it is time for a new collar.



Here is the one they picked out and Barbara added his silver rabies tag.



I always wear a well fitting collar and my jewelry (id and rabies tag). I have several collars but I am wearing this plaid one here. It is important that we wear our jewelry so that if we ever go Astray someone can help us get back to our people. I am also microchipped as is Ambrose. I hope you are too.



I think his new collar looks pretty nice and I hope he doesn't grow out of it too soon.

A Birthday Party

You know that I that I think socialization is vitally important for puppies to grow up into good dogs but this is getting ridiculous. Ambrose is only 15 weeks old and he went to a birthday party today. And the worst thing was that he was invited but I was not! I can tell you that I am quite miffed. I went to Royal's birthday party last year and it was so much fun. I cant believe that he got to go to a party and I had to stay home.

Ella, a miniature poodle, turned three and her person threw a little party for her. Ambrose brought her a present of treats and tug toys.



Sunny and Slim were party guests.



They all got to run around Ella's yard and chase balls. Ambrose tried to make Ella play with him, but jumping all over the hostess was probably not the way to go about it.



Then all the dogs got a dish of peanut butter ice cream! I can't believe that I missed this.



Look at all the ice cream on Ambrose's nose.



Then everyone got party favors of Paul Newman treats.



The whole thing makes me sick. I am sorry that I didn't crash that party.

And to top it off, Ambrose is now in a YouTube movie with his little friend Scout. Trotter's person, Chris, filmed this last week when they were running around the yard.

Family Photos

Happy Easter, dog bloggers. I hope you are having a good day and not eating any chocolate bunnies, delicious as they may be.



Yesterday Ambrose and I took a drive in the dog-crate-on-wheels. Barbara took us up to Virginia to her friend, and my breeder, my Aunt Karen. I got to see my littermates, Tori and Travis! We got to run around in the yard together and had a great time.



Tori and I played some good chase games.



Travis was more interested in kissing Barbara than in chasing me but here he is running too.



Then we went across the way to Karen's parents house to see them and my mom Misty. Isn't she beautiful?



She is also very accomplished. Her full name is Ch Tri-Sett Living Legend CD, JH, RE. All those letters mean she has her conformation championship, her Companion Dog title in obedience, her Junior Hunter title and and she recently finished her Rally Excellent title.




I was so happy to see my mom. Misty let Ambrose and me run all around her yard. She even let us come in her house and play with some of her sutffies. Fortunately Ambrose did not disgrace me and Barbara by peeing in the house.




Of course everyone had to make a big fuss over dopey Ambrose. Look how goofy he is.



But Aunt Karen and her parents were my family before Barbara became my special person so they were very glad to see me and I know that they like me better than Ambrose!

Karen's dad laid a nice long track for me on their land. I think I did a good job on it except when Barbara got caught in some stickers and had to extricate herself. Then she got me a bit confused, but I recovered well, got back on track and got lots of roast beast for finding my final article. Misty has never tracked before but Barbara laid a short track for her and she did great. I guess I get my good nose from her!

Ambrose got to do a little track too.






I had a great time visiting but was shocked to learn that Karen's dad had built a special dog grooming torture room in their house! It had shelves and peg boards covered with all sorts of evil dog grooming torture implements such as clippers, thinning sheers and combs. Karen is very good at the dog grooming torture and had me up on the dog grooming torture table to show Barbara how to clip around my ears and to trim my feet properly so they don't look like bedroom slippers. I did not like it one bit but did get lots of liver and roast beast which helped a little.



I think I look pretty good after all the dog grooming torture.



I was so glad to see my mom and my sister and brother. I hope we can do it again soon.

Tracking and Topiary

My favorite dog sport is tracking. I really enjoy Rally and Canine Freestyle but when I track I get to use my nose to find interesting things. It is great fun to go out on a beautiful morning to the fields with Barbara and meet our friends and do some tracking.



We are really beginning to work as a team. She is reading my body language and trusting me to stay on track.



Of course besides the lovely smells I get delicious treats. This morning it was sausage biscuit and cheese!



My BFF Ayla tracked too. She is very good at it and I know her person was really pleased with her work. Here she is getting into her special tracking harness.



Considering that we both have a big silly streak, our people are impressed with how hard we work when we track.

Ambrose got to do a little puppy track. Of course Barbara and Sandi carried on about him like he had found buried treasure instead of a few gloves and things that were only 10 feet apart!! It really is sickening to listen to them praise him constantly.

He is getting big now. I think his ears are getting very long. Or maybe I have stretched them from chewing on them so much!




Barbara took Ambrose on a walk at Fearrington and saw these cool topiary dogs.

Ambrose had to take a good sniff to figure out that this terrier was made of moss and not fur.



This big one looks a lot like our Airedale friends.



Look at this green version of Stanislaw and Big Pupi.



And who does this look like?

Mail, Tag and more

I love to get mail. Yesterday this great package came in the mail from Addie and Lucie. For their 200th post their mom decided to donate a pound food to the animal shelter for everyone who commented on their blog. I thought this was a great idea so of course we had to comment. It turned out that we got randomly picked to receive a present for commenting.

I had to stick my head all the way in the package to check it out.



Look at all the goodies in side! Candy bar stuffies, chew sticks with chicken, a squeaky tennis ball and a lovely card.



Here is the card with Addie and Lucie's paw prints.



I love the candy bar stuffies as they are just the right size to carry in my mouth and squeak.



Since the package was addressed to me, all the presents are mine. However, generous big sister that I am, I will let Ambrose play with one of the toys and maybe have a chew stick.



Thanks so much Addie, Lucie and your mom for donating to the shelter and for my neat presents.

.
A Game

Barbara was tagged by the Dughallmor Beagles to play this game awhile ago. She finally figured out all her answers!

1. What is your name? Barbara
The following answers must all begin with the first letter of your name.
2. A four letter word? Boss
3. Girl name: Brigid
4. Boy name: Brendan
5. Occupation: Baker
6. Color: Blue
7. Piece of clothing: Blouse
8. Food: Bacon
9. Item in the bathroom: Bathtub
10. Place/City: Boston (where many of our blogging friends live)
11. A reason for being late: Barbara has never been late in her life!
12. Something you’d yell: Blegh!
13. Movie: Brigadoon (Beagledoon)
14. Something you can drink: Bourbon
15. Band: Beach Boys
16. Animal: Baboon
17. Street name: Broadway
18. Car: Buick
19. Song: Born to Run
20. Activity that includes more than one participant: Baseball



I sent Ambrose off to Trotter's house yesterday to play with Trotter's new little sister Scout. The puppies got very silly when they played.



Ambrose's legs have gotten so long. I am afraid that he may be part giraffe.



Scout hid in the tunnel and Ambrose did play bows to coax her out.



When she got tired of their play she rested on the broad jump.



Ambrose continued to run around the yard with a chicken stuffie in his mouth.



Scout needed to cool off in the shade of the pause table.



All this playing with Scout wore Ambrose out, thank goodness, and I was able to rest last night instead of having to play endless games of tug.

Puppy Training

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) thinks it is vital that all puppies get trained. I do too. Ambrose is bad enough as he is. If Barbara wasn't training him I don't want to even imagine how bad he would be. Barbara started teaching a new Junior Puppy class the other night. Of course I went to demonstrate and Ambrose came too. The puppies are pretty cute but they are all very silly

Goldie



Abby



Milo



Ambrose made friends with a Lewellyn Setter named Chief.



They practiced doing their sits.



My boyfriend Trotter's special person Chris came with their new Golden Retriever puppy named Scout. Poor Trotter. Now he will be neglected the way I am while Chris spends all her time with this new puppy. I have a great idea. Trotter can come to live with me and I will send Ambrose over to Chris to live with Scout. Then neither Trotter or I will have to deal with icky puppies.



Ambrose gets lots of training at home. Barbara takes him out into the woods to climb over logs and to practice his obedience. She says it will make him confident and strong. I think that he is too confident and strong already. He has tried to put his paws on my shoulders, the little brat!



He climbs over logs.



He crawls under branches.



When he isn't looking at her, Barbara will hide behind a tree and call him.



Ambrose races to her and gets bits of hot dogs. This is a great game to help with the recall. I love to play hide 'n seek.



Here is a photo of the two of us. You can see how big he is getting.



Now we are off to play bitey face. I've been tagged for a game and received an award. We'll get them up in the next day or so.

Canine Freestyle Workshop

I just got back from a most exhausting, but educational and exciting weekend. Barbara and I do Canine Freestyle and we belong to the Carolina Canine Freestyle Guild. Our group organized a seminar with Kristen Scicotte to learn all about music and choreography for freestyle. I had a great time and learned so much.



We had to bring Ambrose along but he knows nothing about freestyle yet. Everyone made quite a fuss over him. It really is quite sickening.



But he had to stay in the crate most of the time while I got to work with Barbara on our freestyle moves and of course I got lots of cheese, hot dogs and praise for doing so well. Ha!



Here are some photos of my freestyle friends doing their moves. Smudge can actually put her paws on Sue's feet and stay there while Sue walks forward!!



Takoda and Ellen working on their moves while Kristen, the seminar leader, watches.



I was one of the three dogs chosen to show off their choreography at the end of the seminar. Everyone admired my beautiful movement and elegance. Unfortunately, even though Barbara had her video camera with her, she forgot to ask anyone to film us! I am so annoyed because I did my piece very well and we got lots of compliments.

Kristen is a wonderful teacher and she gave us a lot of good advice for our practices.



Our Carolina Canine Freestyle Guild worked hard to put on the seminar and all the participants, people and dogs, had a great experience. Here are the Guild members with Kristen.



Canine Freestyle shows off the joyful relationship between dog and handler. You can see great routines at the Hall of Fame on the CFF website.

Barbara and I have a lot more practicing to do because we are going to enter a competition in July.

Jealousy

I spent the weekend at K9 Kindercare while Barbara went away to celebrate her Mom's birthday. I like going to K9 Kindercare because they take great care of me and I have lots of fun with the other dogs. But Barbara didn't bring me back a present from San Antonio. I feel very sorry for the dogs there if there are no treats and toys in the entire city.

But what really annoyed me is that Ambrose got to stay with my boyfriend Trotter, his big sister Dreamer and Chris. I cannot believe that I had to go to the kennel while Ambrose got spoiled at Trotter's house.



He got to play in the yard all the time and hang out with Trotter.



Chris always has really good treats and I bet she gave him a lot.



On Saturday, Chris took Ambrose with her to a seminar and I heard that everyone there made a big fuss over him. I am just sick with jealousy about the whole thing!

I got him back though. He tried to play with my fish stuffie this morning and I nailed him. He won't be doing that any time soon.

Tracking

I always like it when I see Barbara's friend Gretchen because it means I'm going to have a tracking lesson. Gretchen is a tracking judge and she has trained one of her Weimeraners to be a Champion Tracker, which is very hard to do.




Gretchen laid a very interesting track for me that crossed a ditch with water in it. I had no problem with the track but Barbara has to learn to do her part, reading me, better.

Ambrose got to do his very first track. Gretchen put down a track with lots of articles (cloth, leather, plastic and metal) every few feet. Every time Ambrose found one he got huge praise and lots of hot dogs and sausage biscuit. They made a big fuss over him so he will like tracking. He doesn't really know what he is doing yet but he did get his nose down to sniff.







Ayla's person, Sandi, took these pictures for us. You can read more about tracking on Ayla's blog.

I do love to track. It is always interesting and fun and I am sure, once Ambrose figures it out, he will love it too.

Tug o' War

Tug o' war is a great game but my big sister Selkie would never allow me to play it. She and Barbara used to play it all the time but if I tried to join in, Selkie would give me a very fierce correction. So I stopped trying since Selkie was in charge and I didn't want to get in trouble.

Ambrose and I have had a few good tug games which have been lots of fun. The pictures are blurry because we were moving so fast. Barbara really should have had the video camera out to capture the whole thing.



See how well Ambrose holds onto the rabbit. He is quite strong for a little guy. Of course I can yank it away from him anytime I want to.



Notice how wet his left ear is? That's because when we play bitey face, I hold his ear in my mouth and gnaw on it.

Socialization

It's all about socialization at our house these days. Barbara is obsessed with it. Ambrose needs to be socialized to this, Ambrose needs to be socialized with that, is all I hear. It is very important that puppies get exposed, in a gentle, positive way to all sorts of experiences when they are under 16 weeks old. So according to Barbara, the clock is ticking. Of course we dogs need to keep being socialized all through our adolescence but the early weeks are critical

I was very well socialized as a puppy but I am getting a bit sick of all the time Barbara is spending doing it with Ambrose. It means I get neglected while she takes him off to have adventures. I have to stay home and he comes back with the smell of cheese on his breath.

Today she took him to her friend Jane's house to socialize with her foster dog Cherie and to walk in their neighborhood. Cherie is a lovely young pit bull mix that Jane, who is a dog trainer too, is fostering for the Durham Animal Protection Society.



Ambrose liked Cherie very much and you can see how nice she was with him. They practiced their sits before they went on their walk.



Ambrose got to see bicycles and he and Cherie met a little toddler. I hear that they behaved beautifully. I, of course, was not a witness since I was stuck at home alone. Barbara says that she has to "concentrate" on Ambrose. How hard can it be? He isn't that big!



Cherie is up for adoption. She is about a year old, spayed, housetrained and crate trained, really good with other dogs, loves people and of course has learned a lot of obedience skills from Jane. If you know of a great home for her, let me know.



Thank you for all your concern about my eating the brownies. I was fine and I can not understand why there was all the fuss. Actually I think it is some kind of conspiracy to keep us dogs from tasting something that is so delicious that the people want to keep it all for themselves.

The brownies were delicious. Barbara says that she hopes I enjoyed them because it will never happen again.

I am in BIG Trouble

Yesterday was Barbara's Junior Puppy class graduation. She always gets special biscuits from the dog bakery for the graduates and bakes some treats for the people too. I love the smell of baked goods. This time she made a nut bread and a pan of milk chocolate brownies.

She put the bread on a rack to cool on top of the fridge and left the pan of brownies on top of the stove. Later she put Ambrose in his crate when she went to take a shower. She forgot about the brownies. I did not.



I could not blame this on Ambrose since he was in his crate. It didn't help that my muzzle was covered in brownie crumbs.

Most of what Barbara said is not printable in a family blog. She did refer to me as a "complete pig" though and said that I was "a bad example to my little brother". To be fair, she directed most of the HBO words to herself for foolishly leaving such temptation in my way. And of course she was very upset because I ate chocolate. Fortunately I am fine.




To further humiliate me she announced to the entire Junior Puppy class that the reason that they only had nut bread to celebrate graduation with, and not brownies, was my fault.

Bite, Bite, Bite

Ambrose has very sharp little teeth that he uses all the time. Barbara says he is a little barracuda. So it is really important for him to learn bite inhibition so that by the time his adult teeth come in and his jaws get powerful, he knows how to control his mouth.

Bitey face games, or jaw fighting, teach us to control the force with which we bite and keeps our mouths soft. Who knew that something so fun is also a good way to learn an important skill?

Ambrose and I had a good game of bitey face today. Notice how my mouth is open but I am not biting down.



I am doing what trainers call self-handicapping. Instead of jumping on top of Ambrose, which I certainly could do, I am stretched out on my side to make the game more fair for him. This way he can lean over me and bite on me.




Then I take his muzzle in my mouth but I don't bite down.



This gives Ambrose confidence to play with me and understand that I won't hurt him.



Good bitey face games are reciprocal. That means that no one is in charge all the time. We reverse roles so that sometimes Ambrose gets to think he is controlling the game. Of course, I am really in charge!



Then I put my foot over his face. The game continues as long as Ambrose controls his mouth.



What usually happens is that eventually Ambrose bites me too hard and then I flip him off me and make him squeak. That ends the game and he learns that the game is over if he looses control of his mouth. After such a work out, we have to take a nap.



Ambrose also has to learn bite inhibition with people. Barbara doesn't play bitey face with him of course, but if he bites her hard when she is petting him, she gasps and takes her hands away. Already his bites are getting less intense. Puppies have a lot of things to learn. Now if I can only get him house trained.

Ambrose Visits the Veterinarian

Our people have a responsibility to help us stay healthy. They buy us really good food, exercise and train us. It also means that they have to take us to the veterinarian. Now I know some of you don't like to go to the vet's office but I really like my vets at Colony Park Animal Hospital. Barbara always makes the vet visits fun for me. I got lots of treats and petting there. Fortunately I am a healthy girl so I don't have to go very often, but I always have a big time when I do.

Ambrose had to go to see the vet for his vaccination and checkup. He seemed to really like the smells in the lobby.



Of course the receptionists and vet techs made a big fuss over him. Jessica gave him some treats too.



Dr. Allison was really gentle with Ambrose and gave him lots of peanut butter treats while he was on the table. When she looked in his eyes, he got a treat. When she looked in his ears, he got a treat. It was a complete treat fest, especially when he had to get his shot. He didn't even make a peep. Well he couldn't because his little mouth was stuffed with goodies!!!



I think he had a good time and will be happy to go for his check up in 3 weeks.

But outings are really tiring for puppies even when they are good outings. Ambrose came home and had to rest right away. Fortunately he is napping on his bed and not on mine for a change.

Snow Day

We woke up this morning to see that it had snowed overnight. I was very excited and did zoomies in the yard. Ambrose, of course, has never really seen snow but it did not phase him at all. He is a bold little guy.



He really enjoyed racing around in the snow and chewing on everything he could get his little mouth on.



It was hard to get good picture of him because he was always in motion but he had a great time.



We are getting along pretty well these days. We have had some good play times but of course I don't like Ambrose near me when I am chewing on a toy or eating. Barbara supervises us pretty carefully.



So after a lot of playtime outside we came in and Ambrose did some roaching on my bed with my fox stuffie!

My Boyfriends are Smart!

Two of my boyfriends, Roscoe and Riley, passed the Canine Good Citizen test this morning. They had to demonstrate that they could greet a friendly stranger nicely, sit politely for petting, be groomed, walk on a loose leash, walk through a crowd of people, do a sit, down and stay, come when called, sit politely to meet another dog, tolerate distractions and be left with a stranger for 3 minutes. They both did a great job.


Roscoe CGC



Riley CGC

Congratulations guys. Now they will go on to Therapy Dog class. They are both so friendly and sweet that I am sure that they will make great therapy dogs.


For those of you who are interested, Ambrose only peed 15 times yesterday. At this rate he will not get housetrained until 2012. Barbara says that all puppies do this and he won't have complete muscle control until about 16 weeks. She says I did the same thing but I do not think it is true. I was practically perfect as a puppy.

Ambrose is a fearless little guy and likes to walk through the woods with us and climb on logs and rocks.






He is also really good at destroying daffodils and crocuses.



We have had a few bitey face games, which have been fun, but it does not make up for his howling in his crate. He gets cranky in the evening and throws a temper tantrum when Barbara won't let him get on the couch with her. She puts him in time out for a few minutes (I think it should be for a few days) until he calms down. It is a lot of work being in charge of a puppy so I think I will take a nap while he is thrashing one of his little stuffies.

I am Trying to Like Ambrose

I really am trying to be a good big sister to Ambrose but it is very difficult. Let me fill you in on how hard it is to have a little puppy in the house.

First of all he pees constantly! I am not kidding. Yesterday he peed 17 times! Now most of those were outside because Barbara has him on a good schedule but a few times he did it in the house. I was shocked, I can tell you. I will not horrify you with the amount of pooping he did.

But the worst thing is that Ambrose has no personal space. I am a friendly girl but I do like to have some quiet times on my bed with a toy without being bothered. He came up to sniff me and I let him.



Then he sniffed my ear which actually was very nice.




We tried a gentle bitey face game (he has potential there).



But then he had to spoil it by trying to get my rabbit. See how stiff I have gotten.



Unfortunately he was oblivious to my body language and I had to growl at him. Ambrose ignored that too so I had to leap up and snap at him (no pictures of that). Then he got the message.

It is very exhausting to have a puppy in the house. I know everyone says that we will soon be great friends but I am not so sure.