Doggie update

Basil got good news at the surgeons checkup last month.  We have another four months of recovery before we can see how good he is going to be. Crossing my fingers his other knee stays healthy. Dogs with one torn ACL have a 30% chance of tearing the other so I'm hoping we beat those odds. He is in good spirits and is enjoying running around in the yard again.

Byron is doing great in agility class. Last night we made epic progress on the baby teeter totter. He walked down it himself and tipped it himself three times. The fourth time he hesitated and scared himself a bit backing up but he recovered and tried again. I'm happy to see how much progress he has made since December. His little brain has matured and he can focus for nearly a full hour now. He loves his contact obstacles!

Weaves are probably going to take another 12 months or so but I'm not in a huge rush for anything. With him being my third dog I want to enjoy the process more and have fun with him rather than rush to competition. When he's ready I'll know. Our major issue with competition is going to be other dogs nearby so I may do some Control Unleashed exercises and see if I can get him to learn to stay with me no matter what pretty Aussie is sauntering by the ring.

Bernie is typical Bernie. I took her to agility with me last night just to run her through some obstacles.  She did her typical thing where she ignores me and then runs back when she feels like it.  I ran her through all the contacts and did some jump sequences before she decided to go say hi to a new student there. That was probably the highlight of her evening.



Those are some recent iPhone photos of her relaxing! It's what she's good at.

The boys did have fun playing with their new Chase It toy. I'm glad I got a new one.

Basil Agility Videos - NADAC Trial from February

These are videos from Basil's last agility trial in February 2011.  I finally got them! It makes me sad to know we won't compete or do agility again but I'm glad to have the memories of the fun we did have together on film so I can watch and enjoy. 

Basil was kind of over Start Line Stays for this run and just decided to go. He was a little stressed out at that ring due to the amount of activity going on in the parking lot adjacent. Missed his weave entrance but got it the second time (we were still working on off-side weaves). He was pulling to tunnels the entire course and took two off courses. I got good speed and he did many obstacles for me before we were finished so I was happy with that.

I got a fantastic start line stay and good distance on the first gamble line. Then I forgot my course and had to turn him around and he got a bit of the zoomies. Some nice rear crosses in here too. After our first off-course I just had fun out there trying to get the best distance I could knowing I already NQ'd.

Another great start line stay! We actually received a qualifying score on this run. I made a mistake pushing too much into him at the hoop after the clear tunnel so he shot past and I had to do a circle to get him through again. He had a great discrimination at the Dog Walk entrance and didn't pull to the clear tunnel. I was so proud! We had great speed on the closing. This was such a fun run to do.

Great start line stay on this run too! I signaled for a rear cross too late so had to double back and get that jump in the middle. On the very last jump Flying Arm Syndrome kicked in and he ran past it due to my bad flying arm. :( It was such a great run though.

I had to do a running start because he just wasn't listening to me at the start line. Something had him a bit spooked. I managed to get my send to the clear tunnel before he ran off. It was the parking lot distraction again. Then he came back at full Basil speed and I got my distance on the discrimination between the clear tunnel and the dog walk entrance! I was so excited. He was speedy on this run.

He was tired so I knew I wasn't gonna get a start line stay. This was the last run of the weekend so I decided to do a running start and see how it went. Once I caught up to him at tunnel 3 we were doing good. He got a qualifying score in this run.

Making Lemonade

This morning was the appointment with the orthopedic specialist Dr. Hay.  He looked at Basil's x-rays and then did an exam of him on the floor.  Basil was quiet and stood quite still letting Dr. Hay check him all over.  

So from Dr. Hay's experience he feels it is the beginnings of a tear of his right knee ligament.  He said it might even be so small it is microscopic but he could feel swelling and with the symptoms Basil has, he is pretty sure it is a knee issue.  He says corgis are lucky in that they are quite muscular so it helps to hold the knee properly in place and not let it luxate too much.  Basil in particular is in good shape and Dr. Hay loved his disposition saying how sweet and calm he was and that most corgis are quite feisty and don't like him to examine them.

While the tear is small, this is a career ending injury.  The ligament will tear completely in the future at some point and doing agility will put too much stress on it.  So for now, we want to prevent that ligament from tearing as long as possible.  

I'm sad that I won't be able to train or compete in agility with Basil anymore.  He does have a lot of fun doing it and I love doing it with him.  Hopefully he will be just as happy playing with Bernie and Byron at home.  Dr. Hay recommended I swim him as much as possible to help keep his muscle tone so I'll be doing that a lot over the summer.  He loves to swim and fetch his toys in the water so that should be fun for us. I may bring him to a trial to do a fun Tunnelers course every so often since that doesn't require any jumping at all.

And now Byron will really start getting some agility training in!  That should be fun.  He is such a confident little big puppy.  He is quite heavy now.  I can't pick him up with one arm anymore because of how heavy and long he is. 

More Info on Basil's Hip

I just got off the phone with Basil's vet since I needed some clarification on what went on with his hip and how it could be going in and out of joint without showing signs of hip dysplasia.

She explained to me how they test the hips prior to the x-ray to see how well they rotate in the joint.  It is called Ortolani Sign.  He was positive for it in his left hip at about a 45 degree angle. 

The "Ortilani sign" is a test your veterinarian may perform during examination of your dog. Presence of the "Ortolani sign" indicates joint laxity in a young animal, but does not mean necessarily that the dog will develop hip dysplasia.

See video of it being performed 2 minutes in:

She told me usually when the hip does that she will see hip dysplasia on the x-ray but it didn't show up with Basil.  This means he has a ligament that has torn and now his hip isn't staying in the joint like it should.  

There isn't any way to tell if rest is going to fix it.  Dr. Ricci is hoping that rest will help more connective tissue to form around the area so the leg will stay in place better.  He does seem to be responding to the Rimadyl and glucosamine supplement, I haven't seen him limp since he's started them.   She will check and x-ray again next month to see how things have turned out.  

I asked her about surgery to repair the ligament and she said that is usually only done for dogs that have problems keeping the hip in joint a majority of the time and even then, the mobility the dog has afterwards isn't great.  If Basil was to get some sort of surgical intervention she felt he would be worse off than he is now.  

So I'm seriously looking at having to retire him permanently. I can have a specialist look at him to get a second opinion if we get bad news next month or the lameness continues.  I don't want him to be in pain just to do agility.  Bernie might have another pet dog in the house now. 

Doing everything I can to not cry at work now.

NADAC Agility Trial Summary

This weekend was Basil's first competition with the agility venue called NADAC (North American Dog Agility Council).  It was his second agility trial ever.  He did very, very well overall.  Photos first!  Obviously I didn't take these myself, I bought them at the trial and edited them in Lightroom when I got home.  I also purchased videos but I don't have those yet.













Results:

Packing

Bunny Butts Jump Cute

If you've ever been to a dog show you've probably watched people tug carts full of stuff to a crating area and then unload.  Conformation show people have even more stuff since they need a grooming table and grooming tools on top of regular show equipment.  Agility trials need lots of stuff when you're taking even just one dog!  one of the reasons I got a Honda Element was to fit all the stuff.  Here is a taste:

• Crate(s) - typically need one or two depending on if you're using a travel crate or a wire crate.  
• X-Pen - optional but some people prefer this to a crate.  I don't use one since Basil moves x-pen sides with his teeth.
• Crate fans - if it gets hot at all you will need fans to keep the doggie cooled off.  Some people freeze water in 2 liter bottles to put in the crate for the dog to lay against in the middle of summer.  I don't do many summer trials since my dogs have double coats so I have a crate fan and a cooling element that snaps to it to help cool the air off.
• Dishes - water/food
• Water - both for yourself and your dog.  I like to bring water from home that the dog is used to drinking already.  A couple of gallons at a minimum comes in handy.
• Ice - optional but I find that it is nice to have.  I usually get enough ice to last each day of the trial.
• Chair - something comfortable that collapses.  Mine has a cute little side table with a spot for your water.  Also has pockets which come in handy to hold cell phones, course maps, pens/pencils, dog toys, leashes etc.
• Rug - I'm finding lots of use for having a rug at the trial site.  In the morning when the grass is wet it is nice to have a dry spot.  Some people buy those large RV rugs to cover their entire crating area.
• Tent - I don't have one yet but they sure are nice to have on those hot or rainy days when you need cover from the elements.  
• Treats - bring several different kinds.  I like to bring cut up hotdogs, rotisserie chicken and some dry treats like Charlee Bears for variety. 
• Shoes - If you compete in turf shoes or cleats, you'll have to bring those on top of comfy shoes to wear in between runs.  Also recommend extra socks.  I will run in cleats if the ground is wet and I need extra grip.  I have a great pair of kangaroo Adidas cleats.  
• Leashes - I have 4-5 leashes I'll bring for different things.  I have several martingale slip leashes and a few snap leashes.  Something can always break so it is nice to have a backup.  Dogs can't run with a collar on in most venues so a slip on leash is a must.
• Human Food - Not all venues serve food so you're safer if you pack your own.  Most trials last from 7AM - 5PM anyway. 
• Sunscreen - I have super fair skin so this is a must along with a hat.
• Cart - to carry all this stuff to your crating area since oftentimes it is a distance from where you parked your car.  

There's lots more involved but that is just a little bit of it!  Also lugging along my camera bag to get some photos and hopefully video this time of us doing our runs.  Can't wait!

NADAC Bound

Basil has his first NADAC trial next month. I haven't competed in NADAC in over two years. I'm so lucky this trial is 20 minutes from my house!

I get the feeling that if we can conquer distance we will do well in NADAC. Basil is already starting to get confidence being handled 10-15 feet away on 2-3 obstacles in a line. It is hard to believe that six months ago we were quite a different team. My handling still had tons of Flying Arms and we were plagued by continuous start line stay issues.

I finally got another hard sided crate to practice crate games with last week. I didn't have a spare portable hard crate to practice with so in the meantime I changed my start line stay cue to see if that would help.

I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner. We play a game, basically it is chase but he does most of the running around. My cue is "I'm Gonna Get You!" but I whisper it to him and make little claw motions with my hands while bending over. He immediately goes into a down until I suddenly jump at him and then he runs around all crazy happy. This game has never been associated with stress so I haven't poisoned that cue. Something at some point poisoned my stay cue with him which is why my start line became such a mess.

Karen Holik also made a good point that if your dog breaks the start line don't keep forcing them to do it over and over, just put them back to the first obstacle and do a running start. I think that was another mistake I'd made was stressing him out more and more by making him do the start line stay when he was obviously not happy with me leaving him.

Basil has always been a bit "special". He is definitely a Momma's Boy. I think if he could stick to me like velcro 24/7 he would be thrilled. Little things can make him nervous and he can be jumpy at times. We've worked through a lot of it and he loves agility so much not much can phase him while he is playing agility with me.

It is nice to have a few weeks left to practice some more start line stays and weaves. My friend Ellen was so kind to give me a six pole set of channel weaves! I can work on Basil's entry at a distance and different angles and also start Byron on super wide channel weaves, running back and forth.

So yeah - First week of February should be fun. :)

Movie Review
The Green Hornet was not a movie I was itching to see. I like Seth Rogan and all, but kind of getting tired of the whole comic-turned-movie genre. Ringo was dying to see it and it wasn't so awful looking (I.E. - Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie) so I relented. I'm kind of glad I did, it was a fun movie to watch. I had no idea it would be more comedy than anything. It was not as bad as critics said it was.

Trial Results

Friday:

•  Jackpot - Level 1 - Q - 1st Place w/ 41 points
• We missed my planned opening, Basil got a bit stressed in the beginning and ran off.  I had to double back to get the correct gamble obstacles and avoid the incorrect ones.  It was a fun gamble (two contacts and a tunnel).  We did well on the contacts and he ran right for the table when I called for it.  
• Jumpers - Level 1 - Q - 1st Place w/ time of 37.90 and 5 faults
• Even with the judge changing the opening jump to something easier, I still lost him between jump 1 & 2.  I got him back, kept going and finished out the course that way.  I thought I'd completely missed Jump 2 resulting in a NT (no time, thus no score) but after checking the records we were only given a 5 point fault for an off course.  I was surprised.  
• Standard - Level 1 - NQ - Off Course
• Had start line stay issues on this one.  Tried a running start but completely lost him and he wandered off to smell the back fence line where the feral cats mark.  Then he ran completely out of the ring. 
• Full House - Level 1 - Q - 1st Place w/ 23 points. 
• I had a plan and mostly stuck with it.  Still had some issues starting out but once we got back together everything flowed pretty well.  He likes tunnel to tunnel entries!  Kept me sprinting that is for sure.  And they had the table wrapped around the jump so when I said table and pointed he took the tunnel.  I managed to get him up on to the table though so everything worked out. 

Saturday:

• Jackpot - Level 1 - NQ - Ran out of the ring.
• Thought we'd get the gamble but didn't and then the table was so close to the ring exit he just ran right out and peed on a tree.  I guess he really had to go.  It was a fun gamble though, I made the mistake of doing it the hard way by having him enter on the more difficult side because he happened to be over there.  
• Standard - Level 1 - NQ - ran out of the ring.
• Couldn't even get his attention after the first jump.  Did a good start line stay, then totally lost him when he refused the A-frame (obstacle 2).  He ran to the back of the course to smell the cat pee fence line and then ran out of the ring.  
• Colors - Level 1 - Q - 1st Place w/ time of 25.72
• This course flowed pretty well.  He ran around obstacle 5 but I managed to fix it and we finished the course just fine.  I avoided obstacles near the cat pee fence line and took the course that kept us away from that.  Start line stay was pretty nice, got a bit of a 1 jump lead out.  
• Full House - Level 1 - Q - 1st Place w/ time of 39.38
• He stayed with me really well on this course being that it was the last run of the day and I know he was tired.  Had great running contacts on dog walk, got the jump combo and ran to the table like a champ.  

Things I learned:

Quickie Post

Just a quick post before I go to bed - we had a fun day at agility today.  We got qualifying scores in three out of four runs that we entered and 1st places in all.  Fun day :)  Basil now has a title of CL1-F since he got "Qs" in both Jackpot and Fullhouse at level 1 today.  We also managed to squeak out a Jumpers Q.  Totally blew it on Standard - I'm not as much fun as cat pee apparently and Basil thought that was way more interesting.  We did get the opening before he ran off to smell the cat pee on the fence line.


Byron did quite well at the new venue too.  I managed to get a few pictures.

Tomorrow we have more fun!

A New Plan

My lesson last night with Karen Holik was fun and productive I think.  Basil was a little stressed in the beginning, probably because it was a new place and he has only been to a handful of new agility courses so far.  I explained our continuous start line stay problem and she watched us attempt a few segments.   He ran off the first time, came back and we attempted it missing one jump because I pushed in too much. 

Our segments were fine, especially when he was held for a 2 jump leadout.  I've been working on my flying arm syndrome and it has gotten a lot better lately.  Basil is more consistent too without me running around like a flapping chicken.  Byron will benefit from this later on in his training too.

My "prescription" was to work on crate games with him and use a crate at the start line.  I don't have a copy of Susan Garrett's Crate Games DVD but I know some of the basic things.  I just have never transferred it outside of my bedroom where the doggie sleeping crates are.  I ordered the DVD.  I'll be working on it as I have time before the trial next week and we will see where that takes us.

I also got some great tips on puppy agility training.  Byron is so young right now I've been doing little more than socialization and play which is perfect.  She showed me how to use a toy to begin training cues like a release, ready, leave it and go get it.  I'll do some crate games with him too so that he has a good start line stay foundation for when we begin actual training.  Karen said at this age you just want to PLAY with your puppy and get them excited about toys.  Overloading a puppy with cues and commands for agility just doesn't work and their little brains right now can't handle it anyway. 

I'm excited about our first real trial next week!  I hope he has fun and I don't get all nervous and mess up my handling plans.

Byron goes to daycare for the first time on Monday.  :)  I'm excited to see how he does.  I think he will have fun playing with other new pups.

Agility Frustrations & Puppy Fun

Just try to take it. 

Getting ready for the CPE trial next month I've been trying to work on my start line stay.  The mat seems to help Basil target something better but he gets so stressed at the start line and then I lose my focus on what my handling plan was as he runs around the jumps to go look at something else after being released.  That was the first 5 minutes of our class last night, him staying, me walking out 20 feet to do a 2 jump leadout and then me releasing him to watch him run around everything and run off.  Rinse, repeat 4 more times to a very frustrated Katie.  Doing the standard course with a running start worked much better and I was able to do my handling plan with the front cross without a problem. 

I noticed Basil limping last week on his right rear so I wondered if maybe that had something to do with him refusing jumps on the jumpers course.  I stretched him and felt each toe individually.  He didn't protest at all and I didn't feel any heat in the leg.  So I'm thinking it has something to do with the start line stay issue. 

I think for now I'm going to do running starts until I can get a handle on the start line stay stress.  Bernie did the same thing.  I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.  I've got a lesson planned with Karen Holik next month before the trial so maybe I can get her insight into my training issue.  She's been on the World Team seven times so I'm sure she can show me the error in my ways. I'm also hoping to get some advice on starting a puppy in agility. 

Byron was a little ham at agility class last night.  He has totally come out of his shell and loves being on the field while Basil and I run.  I even let Byron walk over the dog walk following some hot dogs for the first time last night.  He did pretty good and was careful for most of the way.  I watched his back end as he's still a clumsy puppy doing stuff.  I've been doing some shadow handling with him and treating him for that.  He follows my hands really well right now. 

He is a fearless little puppy.  I can tell I'm going to have to be careful with him when he tries stuff out.  Teeter bang noises don't bother him at all, he doesn't mind the dogs running over the a-frame or doing the weave poles.  I let him explore the weave poles last night and poked them with my finger a bit to have them move.  He didn't care.  He just looked at it, acknowledged it and was like okay.  He is so laid back and just a happy guy.  I think he will be a nice blend of what I like best in Bernie and Basil for agility. 

Tomorrow night is the first puppy class for us officially so that should be fun.

Agility Improvement

Right now my agility handling is still coming along.  I'm working on getting rid of Flying Arm Syndrome and that is going well.  Basil handles much better when I've got better control of my arm signals and I don't fling them around.  His rear crosses are getting better and I'm fitting in more front crosses where I can.  He takes wide turns and I've got to work on him pulling into me better after a turn or change of direction.  I've tried some jump wrapping exercises but he hasn't totally got it down yet.

Basil doesn't like 22" spacing on weave poles.  He only consistently does 24" spaced poles.  I find that interesting. 


Next month is the CPE trial.  We've got 4 weeks to practice for it.  I entered him in 8 of 15 runs and we will only be there for two of the three days. I don't think either of us is ready for a full three day trial with all 15 runs.  I love the CPE games so I entered us into Standard, Jackpot, Fullhouse, Jumpers on Friday and Standard, Colors, Jackpot and Fullhouse on Saturday.  Definitely not ready for snooker yet, that game gives me a heart attack.

NADAC is hard for me because they love to put lots of jumps in straight lines and Basil doesn't send out like Bernie does.  He will do two or three jumps and then pulls off if I can't keep up with him.  Probably why I prefer the tighter CPE courses too.

Byron seems to enjoy running around and chasing toys.  He leaps off the ottoman to tackle Basil and shows no fear.  He loves to climb all over the living room furniture and continually tries to climb up from the floor but can't yet. He has this infatuation with Bernie that I don't understand.  She doesn't really play with him much but he absolutely LOVES her and goes out of his way to lick her muzzle and play bow in front of her.

I might pull out the play tunnel this weekend if the grass dries off and let the dogs play out in the yard.  See if Byron wants to do the play tunnel.  I bet he will.

I've been focusing on people socialization right now.  I'll probably begin some training this weekend and next week.  He's settling in well and is very happy.  Not much concerns him.  Sometimes a noise might startle him but for the most part he's a pretty confident, goofy guy.  He does love to bark sometimes though!  His little bark is so funny.  It is true that Cardigans make all sorts of noises about everything.