USMRA

I joined the USMRA this year as a way to get involved in this interesting dog sport and I threw my name in and was selected to be on the Board Nominating Committee.   This is sorta funny because the nearest club to me is over 5 hours away and I have noone to train with.  Essentially, I am my own club right now which means I'm not a club because a club must consist of a minimum of 3 active members.  Since I can't be consistently active as a competitor from this particular NYS dead zone of dog sport this is my way to contribute to the growth of Mondio Ring.  My duties are purely administrative, info gathering and communications etc. but this is my first time doing this sort of thing so I hope to learn a little something while meeting or at least communicating with people from across the country.  I contacted our committee chair today to get things kicked off.  I'll update this post in the next few months if anything interesting should occur.    

NY-VT-NH

Vacation at last!  2 humans, 3 dogs, one car, 14 days, 1 wedding, no phone or internet service, many friends, many miles hiked, many views appreciated.  We packed up the crew into our little Rav4, me and wifey who do get along and 3 dogs that do not get along and hit the road. It was our little traveling circus that noone understands, our little family of laughter and fur.  How we pulled that off was a sight to behold.  Farrah strapped into the front seat with our backpacks in the footwell, then a wire cargo barrier strapped to the backs of the front seats, then 2 extra tall gates and a large folded dog crate in the footwell and then the back seat with me and Mr. Pants and zero leg room, then a large dog crate and a sleeping Tilly taking up the cargo area.  every useable cubic inch of space was filled with dog, human or thing.  No rear view so I had to be Goose to wifey's Maverick.  It was a squeeze but it was fun and 100% worth the 5 hour contortions.

This was a much needed vacation for us, the first in over 4 years and it was really perfect.  This all began many months ago with the announcement of a very special wedding to be held outside of Brattleboro, VT.  After scouring for a rental for weeks and weeks, I happened upon a small house on 10 acres near Brattleboro and made the contact.  Dan, the owner of said rental house was gracious enough to agree to allow our 3 dogs and that was enough for us so we locked it down.  Everything worked out perfectly.  The house ended up being 11 minutes of driving on old dirt roads from the wedding site.  Rented sight and location unseen, we lucked out huge.  Not only was the property located exactly where it needed to be, right in the middle of everything, we fell instantly in love with the town.  The house itself was a nicely appointed 2 bedroom 1 bath with a back deck looking out over the property's mini green canyon and it worked out great.  We played with the dogs out back and walked them down the peaceful road out front.  Tilly got to howl with the local dogs and track the owls swooping here and there.

The preparations and wedding went off without a hitch and it was fun.  The teamwork involved in tent putter-upping novices putting up a giant tent and in 100+ people organizing to get that wedding on track was impressive.  It was hard work but we did it and it was spectacular!  It was a joyful coming together of so many different people.  And the band and dancing that went down was amazing.   Congrats Chloe and Danny!

We did a lot of exploring around southern VT and NH and ate lots of good food.  We've decided to move back to our favorite state of VT after school is finished and we become real people again.  Unless we stumble upon something in the PNW in the next couple of years, we're hellbent back to our green mountain state and our cherished green license plate.  

At our house, there was a creek running through the property down a very steep switchbacked slope bordered by a huge drainage that flanked a small meadow where I worked Tilly several times a day in a loamy, mossy forest.  We were surrounded by old growth.  Just across the creek where the dogs loved to romp and splash around was another very steep hill that lead to a hiking trail many miles long.  The area is known for its maintained mountain biking/ XC skiing trail systems and in the summer, those trails seem to only be used by locals with access who know where to find them.  We saw only 2 people the entire 2 weeks!  Our first morning, Tilly and I took off at dawn and hiked 6 miles from the back deck not seeing a soul.

Tilly got worked daily and is proving to have quite an exquisite sense of smell.  The terrain was very difficult to work, even for a dog as agile as a small working Malinois, as the incline was extreme and the pitch was highly varied.  The obstacles were random and slick and the odors plentiful.  Not only was there water to work through but huge downed trees and massive boulders and heavy vegetation blanketed to entire area.  I used mostly toys made of hard rubber and plastic and Tilly kicked my ass big time.  I have watched her develop these past 12 months into a searching machine.  She is a joy to train and observe.  She has her moments of  inappropriate aggression but as far as her searching ability goes she is top tier.  I have no qualms about her ability to find people or anything I throw at this point.  The exercises I do with her I would not do with most dogs.  If you want to give it a go and try to push your dog a bit, please do so at your own discretion with the full understanding that you may knock down your dog if you push too far too fast.

I made a really good/bad throw one time and tricked us both pretty well.  I got to watch Tilly search for 42 minutes straight for that ball through dusk and into the night, covering 10+ acres.  What a treat to see the body language of fleeting or pooling scent and the decisive head swing and swish of a tail.  Watching a dog tick tack seamlessly up a scent cone several hundred feet long, upstream off of a piece of rubber submerged under 12 inches of water makes you appreciate the sensitivity of the hardware dogs are working with.  The videos I posted of Tilly doing nosework last month are nothing compared to how hard I pushed her in August.  The VT terrain alone added a new level of difficulty.  I pushed her as hard as I have pushed Mr. Pants and she's stepped up her game to meet the challenge.

When you can slow it down and just watch a dog work through something like finding a small piece of plastic or metal in a relatively huge area you see the most subtle changes in body language, you see a search process, you see speed changes and just how easily a properly trained and built dog should be able to find a stinky human or a bit of contraband under comparable circumstances.  The terrain is going to make seeing this kind of stuff possible.  Unfortunately, here in NYS, the terrain is pretty slow and flat.  Alternately, you could climb a  tree or sit in a tree stand.  When you can watch a good dog do this it is like the cloudy filtered blinders have been lifted and you see the true crisp colors of the world.  I can't get enough of this stuff.

We got back yesterday and are once again in the real world.  Our goals have been transformed with a destination in mind.  Southern Vermont was tons of fun and a preponderance of Toyotas, especially old Land Cruisers was just icing on an already delectable cake.  VT or bust.  

**BONUS!  We just got our damage deposit back too!  Thanks Dan.  How we managed to live in someone else's house with 3 dogs including lil devil Tilly and not destroy something is making me scratch my noggin.

Crocodile Bun-Gee!

We have been working on some remedial bitework the past few weeks.  I've had Tilly on the suit a few times and have been working her on leg sleeves and a linen sleeve with a large tug inside it to give it that realistic feel.  I'd like to work on her entries some, so I've been trying her on a bungee off and on a few times over the past few months and she has never been keen on it.  The problem is that whenever she is off line she does not enter a bite with her mouth.  She grabs the decoy with her paws first and then bites.  Its all very fast but that seems to be her style.  The first time I noticed it I was kinda proud of the little kid for the full commitment.  She wasn't gonna let her leg get away no matter what.  Anyway, on the bungee she always seemed to freak out when she hit some moderate tension.  Bungee sessions were never very successful and never lasted more than a minute just to keep it fun, but Tilly was never really herself on a bungee... until today!  Wow!  I was working her on a wedge inside since its raining but I decided to just hook up the bungee and get dirty so out we went.  She actually seemed to get a little excited when she saw the bungee line which surprised me.  I hooked her on and walked her out to the end of the line.  Out came the wedge and a bite command and WHAMMO!  She was all over it.  She has even learned how to navigate around the bungee and not get tangled or hung up when it is loose.  She used to just charge out but now she makes sure it is out of the way.  We did maybe 8 or 9 great bites of varying length and intensity and then I let her go with her wedge and we walked and tugged around the yard about a 1/4 mile worth.  Surprisingly, she maintained her original bite the entire time.  She's not really very possessive with her toys, as long as they are not food:) and usually just drops them after 50 feet of carrying so this was also a surprise.  I'm feeling good about today's session.  I think Tilly had a good time as well.

A trip to the vet and a pit stop for some grub.

What didja bring me?

Crazy eyes

Tilly lookin a little nuts as her new personality begins uploading.

Problems in the car

Since our little vehicle debacle and not having Tilly in a car for months on end, when we finally got her back into a car, she was a complete and utter nutjob.  Her prey drive went sky high during her time away from vehicles and that coupled with all the inaccessible stimulation was just way too much.  Would she have been this nuts had she been in cars during those months?  Maybe... probably, but I'd have been able to work it out a lot sooner.  We've been crating her and cutting off all line of sight to the windows but even the noise of cars going past is enough to set her off on a bark and chase game in her crate.  Today was our 4th session of operation calm the F down.  We have not been able to work on anything resembling consecutive days, which is hurting progress, but we are making some headway.  Up until now we just didn't have the luxury of free time to address this issue, we still don't but I'm doing the best I can within this crazy schedule.

After the age of 6 months, Tilly would not even sit in the car if there was anything moving anywhere nearby.  Up until that point she was perfect inside a car.  Never got motion sickness, never got anxious, never made a sound.  She just laid quietly or fell asleep.  After her melt down period, she was constantly pacing, shredding her bed or anything in the crate, up on her toes, tracking movement, stressed, wanting to chase, barking like a maniac, totally out of control whether she could see the world whizzing by or not.  It was maddening and we felt really bad for her.  Crating was the only option to mitigate a complete self-destruct mode and a destroyed vehicle.  And she is still crated with no view of the outside world while driving.  This is all calculated, not a band-aid.

The difference I am seeing after our sessions is now she immediately calms herself in the crate.  No more barking or getting worked up.  Today, my little "mind meld," (not a very scientific term I know and not at all accurate,) took hold as cars zoomed by, trucks crashed around and people and dogs ran past.  

No we weren't driving but this is all calculated.  The first time she sat all on her own was such a good feeling.  Seeing her incrementally relax and eventually lay down while still tracking sounds with her radar ears but really not giving a damn made me feel so good for her!  Our initial goal of a crated relaxed dog while driving is 85% achieved.  Not too bad.  Everything else is gravy but if Tilly could get to be this relaxed in the front seat while driving, I wouldn't be upset:)  We'll see how far we can ride this.  Baby steps.  Click!   

Tilly getting reprogrammed.

Farrah in Cass Park

FARRAH IS ENJOYING THE WARM WEATHER BY THE WATER.

Ringsport Dabblers Unite

Anyone in Central NYS interested in playing around with Ringsport, preferably Mondio, give me a shout.  I'm not trying to compete just yet.  I just want to work some dogs doing some Mondio exercises and get something going in this part of NYS since we have jacksh*t here besides some Schutzhund which doesn't interest me.  We've got plenty of land to train on so bring your dog and let's try to work some stuff out.  I'm new to Mondio so no pressure, just fun.

Fun means I'm not interested in training with people who are going to be using inappropriate corrections on their dogs.  I don't have a problem with punishment as it pertains to behavior but I adhere to strict definitions of the word and am not likely to compromise on that.  Leave your e-collars and "dominant dog collars" at home.  I'm trying to do something different in this arena of dogsport and I will stand by the dogs.  I don't care about titles. I care about helping dogs achieve their full potential without force and I care about  having some fun.  If the dog can't do something then either we need to think harder or the dog can't do it, no reason to force the issue just to get bragging rights or points.  If its not fun for humans and their dogs its not worth the time.

I'm looking for people with open minds that I can learn with.  If you can't laugh at yourself or admit you don't know everything, we're not going to get along.  I have my own ideas about how to do things but I am always wide open to new thoughts and experiments and I appreciate communication.  If you can just sit and chill with your pooch and throw around ideas and build stuff out of wood or metal then we'll be just fine.  I'm not trying to be all stressed and on an itinerary about this and I'm also not thinking this will be an all weekend every weekend thing either.  A couple of hours on a Saturday maybe?  Play it by ear?  I don't know.  Like I said, we've got some open space to train on and I'm happy to drive to meet and train in your hood as well.  Let's do this.

I basically know very little about Mondio so there's going to be a lot of me saying "I don't know what's next, let's look it up." If you made it this far into the post, let's work some dogs!

I've fallen and I can't get up...

I pulled a muscle or 12 in my back last week and have been laid up for almost 5 days.   What started as a dull ache turned into the inability to stand or walk while I was out with Tilly.  We were in a park by the water and all of a sudden... no walkie.  Too bad the clapper doesn't make a hip mounted teleportation thingy.  I would have totally used it.  Clapper company, get on that immediately.  Tilly was really great.  She stuck right with me the whole hour it took to hobble/ crawl back to the car.  Every time I went into a tripod position, racked with stabbing pain, she immediately and of her own volition went to a "place" position looking up at me and scanning our surroundings, ears going every which way.  I'd open my eyes and there she'd be staring up at me then at everything that moved.  It made me feel better just having her there.  Her behavior made me appreciate the tremendous value of Service Dogs to their humans.  It must be very reassuring to have an attentive dog by your side not to mention their utilitarian functionality.  Anyways, it would have been way cooler if it didn't hurt like a mother!!

Fast forward to home and I couldn't really even move or lay flat without horrible pain for 2 whole days and aside from turtle hobbling around with the dogs, (looking like I just got kicked in the cojones,) and trying to toss a ball from a seated position without moving my head, legs, arms or back, not much has gone on here.  I still can't stand up straight or move around without excruciating pain.  The inability to stand up with a normal posture is starting to cause my whole back to ache and fatigue very quickly.  I'm all bent and twisted the wrong directions.

I was able to take some video yesterday.  I cut it in with some older video I had of Tilly messing around with the nose work.  I even used a tri-pod for some of it but it still looks like crap.  I think the problems are that our cameras are broken or really suck and we like to move around a lot and to catch it I we have to be either too far away from the camera or I have to try and keep us in frame and that is artificial and it sucks.  I'm thinking of getting a HD camera.  If I'm going to keep making earthquake videos they might as well be in HD!  I'll post the new video below whenever I can get to a wi-fi spot to upload.

In my recent videos you'll see the sort of hunt drive you might ask for from a SAR dog.  Tilly is a dog that has good drive, is focused, under control and clear headed in the work.  She's probably not the best search dog candidate out there but its not for lack of drive or focus.  She has that special sauce but too many spicy condiments overpowering the flavor.

You'll also see me make an unplanned really horrible throw that bounces the ball off a tree and over a fence.  No cues, verbal or bodily, are given to Tilly after I release her to search.  I move well after she moves.  That particular segment lasts less than a  minute and is near the beginning of the video.  The video is long... 7 minutes and for some reason it looks all robotronic with pixelized madness.  Oh well.  It took 6 hours to upload so I'm not going to try and fix it.   Yikes.  

Way too humid to hike but we're, (I'm,) not smart...

Holy moses it is a rainforest out there today.  Its the kind of day that everything sticks to you before you even start to sweat.  I could barely move my legs because my pants were stuck to my skin like freakin fly paper and I'm not a tight pants kinda guy.  Tilly and I have been gps mapping the trails in a local preserve this week.  It will be a sweet place to train when I get the trail system sorted out.  We were way up on a hill today so there was very little water to be found.  I packed a good amount on my back but it was just sweltering and we needed some fresh cool water to keep Tilly functioning.  Luckily I found a barely running creek with one tiny pool for Tilly to splash around in or we wouldn't have made it very far.  We tried to stay near the creek as best we could.  When we finally backtracked to the car I was soaked from head to ankle with sweat.  We made it a good 2 miles out.  Good thing there was no sun with which to contend.  Oh, it was bad.  Tilly had fun despite the humidity.  I kept her on leash for the majority of the hike so she'd not run around like a fool, spike her temp and kill herself.  She was a trooper and chugged along up the hills not missing a beat.  We mapped a whole new section of trail but it was brutal.