Grooming Day

It is recommended that you groom every 6 weeks, just like human hair cuts, but I am slightly lazy in the dog grooming department. I only groom once every 8 weeks or so... whenever my dogs start looking really shaggy. I bathe them once every week to 2 weeks; I like a clean dog smell, not doggie dog. Hair is a long process for the poodles; it might take 2.5 hours for the male. Last week, I noticed that Steele was looking bad and swore I would get him done this weekend. On Friday and Saturday I found other things that I "had" to do, such as playing a new computer game and adding new pictures to amouragility.com. Today I thought I would do the small dogs, but once again other things came up. So my dogs are still shaggy and Kodi is starting to smell like a dog, but I made a "Gator on a Stick" for Steele. Steele was rescued from a breeder who didn’t want him because a medical problem made it impossible for him to show in confirmation. When they discovered he couldn’t show, he was kept in a small cage, never bathed, and not allowed to play. I have been teaching him that toys are fun but he hasn’t been accepting that. I saw the "Fox on a Stick" on an episode of "It’s Me or the Dog" (love Victoria) and had to have one. Steele likes to chase, just not balls. So today, instead of grooming, my mom and I went to Wal-Mart and bought a fishing rod and rope. Then we went to PetSmart to look for a fox toy. No fox, but we found an alligator that would work. So my dad drilled and sawed and tied, and taped it together and now I have a "Gator on a Stick". Steele loves it. He chased and chased until he was panting. I am happy he has a toy that he loves. But my dogs are still shaggy. I need some better time management skills...

Weekend Traveling

This past weekend we traveled to Columbus for a TDAA show. It was a small show - no more than 30 dogs entered. Boo and Kodi were entered in Sunday's runs, 5 in total. There were 3 standard runs and 2 games. Boo is in Superior level (the highest) and Kodi is in Beginner level. Kodi is a great dog, but lacks drive - so although he does all the obstacles, he does them at this slow pace. Boo is much better, she has good speed and is a great listener. Boo did not qualify any standard runs this weekend because of handler error. I got in her way a few times and did not make the commands known in time. TDAA courses are small, you have to be ready for tight turns and fast changes. However, Boo Q'd on both games. The first game, Helter Skelter, was basically a spiral jumpers course, full of jumps and tunnels. Boo placed 4th out of 9 dogs. Kodi did not make time. The second game was Futbol. An odd game that included 3 footballs the handler had to kick or toss through the tire. Most agility handlers have very little kicking/throwing ability so it was a rather amusing game to watch... not only that, but dogs are very prone to chase moving balls. There were several dogs who abandoned the course to chase the badly thrown ball, including both of mine. One dog actually stole the ball and hid in the tunnel to chew it. My Boo got 4th out of 7, not bad considering she wasted time chasing every ball I threw. Kodi, however, did not place because he got so excited by the ball; he ran around in a big circle and finally ran out of the ring. It was the fastest he moved all day!! Overall it was a really fun day. My parents went with me and we drove our new trailer for the first time. It is very nice to have the whole back of the car for the dogs to relax in. The trailer leaked, as it was raining the whole drive, and our chairs got wet, but that was a small price to pay. I also got to see one of my former students in her first show. They did great, I was so proud!! TDAA is my favorite venue, except my large dogs can not compete so we do not do them very much. Our next 2 shows are in March and they are CPE.

On monday I left for Washington DC to visit with my fiancée, Serge. We saw the Natural History Museum - my favorite parts were the Gems, Stones section and the Bones section. We also visited the Air and Space Museum - Serge knows a lot about the exhibits there. We walked around DC, ate dinner and just spent some time together. It was a lot of fun.

Rainy Day

Hello, welcome to Amour Agility Blog.  In this blog I will tell you about my adventures of being owned by 4 dogs!!  However, we are off to a sad start because today was Rainy (with a capital R).  Our backyard is a mudpit due to some summer and late fall work on our house so playing in the wet grass is out of the question.  So we are bored - what to do... what to do.  I decided to take my dogs to the basement for some ball chasing (I throw it, then chase it because no one fetches - It provides enertainment for all of us).  After an hour, when we are all worn out from watching me do all the work, I bring everyone upstairs. 

We are sad today, because our Foster Puppy, Dexter, went to his new home.  He was a delight and we loved him but it is better that he finds a forever home.  I feel good being a foster parent for needy dogs and think that it might again be in my future. 

We are preparing for an agility show this weekend.  We are only showing one day, Sunday, in Columbus.  Its going to be a little rough because unlike most shows, we are driving up the day of.  Only Boo and Kodi are showing... It is a TDAA show, which is for dogs under 17".  I am excited, Boo is nearing her champion title and every leg earned is a leg finished!!  More on agility later!!

Thanks for reading...

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Welcome to Amour Agility!