Jingle Bell Run

Hello to all! Happy Holidays.
Last weekend Piper and I did the Jingle Bell Run for arthritis here in Columbus. We signed up as a team with the MICU nurses. Piper did great and had a blast. She even dressed up as Santa and didn't mind the dress at all. The big white dog is Clover, Mary's Great Pyrenees. Clover and Piper get along very well, mostly because they enjoy ignoring each other. The dog in the back is Sara's Lab, Heidi. She was new to our puppy play group but did very well.
I was a little worried that a 5K might be too much, but I was mistaken. Piper couldn't have enjoyed her walk more. As long as no one tries to touch her, she is fine. She likes to maintain her personal space.
It was a great walk from the short north to German village and back. I would recommend this charity walk to anyone. Even in the cold, it was a blast.

Piper, Truman and Henry

Just taking a few moments to update a photo of Piper, along with her training buddies, Henry and Truman. Of course, everyone knows Truman. Henry is Wendy's new puppy. He is a Belgian dog and such a wonderful dog. Not that Quincy and Wendy's other Belgians weren't great, but we have all learned the value of temperment now. Piper and Truman are very much shelties in temperment and Henry seems more sheltie than Belgian. In fact, he is more like a Golden, but don't tell Wendy. He is very friendly and out going.sheepd

The three dogs are working hard on their tracking skills. Wendy has convinced Holly and I that our dogs will be ready to enter a tracking competition next spring. That is , of course, if we are out there working hard on tracking. It is a very fun sport and a great choice for the shy little Piper. No one has to touch her and she can be as antisocial as she wants. Truman also seems to enjoy it but his focus is still that of a puppy.

Holly and I have our harnesses and our little flags and we are working seriously on this skill. Both dogs love it. But really, I think they would spend the afternoon sitting in a phone booth as long as we were with them.

I'll try to get a photo of Pipers tracking soon. We'll be working on this activity all winter. Even in snow. Yikes.

Piper herding instinct

Piper went to a herding clinic and she did great. She is a great little herding dog. I was so proud. It was a herding clinic given by Hado-Bar farms, near Mansfield. We had a lecture in the morning and then time with the sheep twice that day. It was a great little clinic that I would recommend to anyone. They also have private lessons, which I think we might take next spring.
Piper was one of the best behaved dogs out there, she was very calm and polite. It took her a few minutes to get the idea, but fortunately, the intructor was very knowledgeable about shelties. There were mostly Border Collie mixed and Aussie mixes. Piper was the only sheltie. I think the instructor liked shelties. She said shelties are very sensitive and we must just calmly walk with the sheep and give Piper a chance to click. She did and she began to move the sheep. It was very cool to watch. Both instructors said she had an instinct and could be a herding dog. I thought that was very cool and I may pursue lessons in hopes of at least passing a herding test.
It was an interesting group of people and dogs. So many were mixes and very loosely mixed at that. I thought one looked like a black lab, but since it didn't have a tail the owner called it an aussie mix. There were also a few conformation dogs, both Border Collies and Aussies, in the group. It was interesting that the conformation ones did better and had better instincts than the mixes. Some dogs were very aggressive and their handlers didn't have control. That was frowned upon, no matter how strong the instinct. Thank God, my dog acted like a little lady. There was even a poodle there and he was wonderful. He had a nice style about it and was very calm. Who knew poodles would herd?
It was so nice to have such a sweet little dog that I could take. She was very confortable in the barn, waiting her turn. She waited nicely to enter the gait. Most others dragged their humans into the ring and the instructors said that judges would not like to see that. She was fine with all the other dogs too. I am still getting used to that and I love it. I was thrilled that she has an instinct ( not all the dogs did ) and herding might be another activity to do with her. She seemed to really like it. She never seemed stressed that day. I think Holly is going to try to take Truman to the Nov clinic. I hope he gets in. It was a great day.

Yippee.

We have power again. Who knew a hurricane could hit Ohio and knock out all our trees. Which knocked out all our power. We have just gone 5 days without an electricity and let me tell you, it was not pretty. My parents are still in the dark. It is very quiet and lonely. I feel for them and hope theirs comes on soon. Mike is also without power and I think he is probably about to go insane with the two kids at home.

I tried sleeping on the first floor in the guest room, but Piper totally wigged. She couldn't understand what we were doing. She likes to understand. In fact, I think she likes to be in control. But it is all over now. While the power was out, we had lots of time to walk around and meet the neighbors. It was great socializing for Piper.

Today we had a lesson with Wendy and we worked on tracking. I think Piper is really going to enjoy this. No one has to touch her.

The photo is from the Corey lake vacation. Piper again loved the water. It was like having a Newfie up there. I couldn't keep her out of the water. She loves swimming. I don't think all shelties do. Any thoughts on that from other sheltie people?

I am going to go enjoy the rest of my evening with lights and sounds. I would like to ask all to say a little prayer for Hex of Obay shelties. http://obayshelties.blogspot.com/

Piper in the Topiary Garden

On Monday, Piper and I had a lesson with Wendy. We got a brown bag lunch and had a picnic in the Topiary Garden downtown before starting. It was wonderful. Piper didn't beg or try to steal food either. It must have been because Wendy was there. She was on her best behavior.

Piper enjoyed herself and didn't seem nervous at all. She was hot though, as evidenced by her tongue and panting. But she was very solid on her sit-stays, giving the perfect opportunities for photos. I took a ton, but the one of Piper was the best one. The other one is of some of the topiaries in the garden. The photos don't do it justice. It is a very beautiful park.

Piper's attention is coming along and Wendy says once she masters that, the heeling will follow. She walks well on the leash, but she could be better. At least you could tell that I had worked on her social skills, she was not stressed at all. I think she is beginning to enjoy her adventures.

The social quest continues

Piper continues her quest for social skills. On 7/30 we visited Petsmart and Barnes and Noble. Piper has been to Petsmart often and she was great this time. Until a young boy tried to pound, um... I mean pet her on the head. She doesn't like that from anyone. She backed away and the boy thought she was mean. Of course, his mother didn't correct him and also didn't give him any guidance as to how to approach a dog. The situation was remedied by giving the boy a treat to give to Piper. Piper graciously and gently took the treat and I thanked the boy.

Off we went across the street to Barnes and Noble. That is where the drama returned. Piper was complaining and shaking when we parked the car. She had never been to this area before and obviously I have stumbled upon her Achilles heel. So we got out of the car, thankfully Piper is mild mannered and small enough to lift. We slowly walked around the car and she was allowed to sniff and get used to the area. She was improving until we passed a trash can with a liner that was blowing in the wind. Piper lost her mind. It was like the can was going to kill her. We continued walking and she relaxed once she was out of striking range from that monster trash can. We made it to the front of the store and were able to train. Piper was back to her old self and did a great job with attention and sit-stays. I was impressed. When we passed the trash can to leave, she didn't even notice it.

Now that I know her issue, we will be hitting the town looking for new places to challenge her.

I am open for suggestions!

The Diva dog has diminished

Piper returned to Obedience class tonight and she was much less of a Diva. More like a Queen. She was more social and paid more attention to me. I was finally able to get her attention for a minute during her sit stay. She also took treats by the end. As usual, she was friendly enough with Belinda and Bill.
I think she can learn to tolerate new things, but she will always be headed for the door. Which is what she did during her recall. And that was one of her strong exercises. I don't know where she thinks she is going, but she was bound and determined to get out of there.
I am off tomorrow, so we will work on her training in a new spot. Hopefully, she won't be too much of a Queen.
I don't have picture of her in class, so I put up a picture of Truman. He is standing there with his favorite toy, the ball. He loves to herd it all over the yard with his nose. I have two of those balls at my house ( one for Collin and one for Piper ) and he nearly strokes when he comes over. He doesn't know which one to herd. I wonder what he would do with a bunch of sheep?
My friend Wendy will be hearing about her potential new puppy on Thursday. Let's all say a little prayer that he grows a pair, if you know what I mean.