Distractions, Distractions, Distractions

Winston's intermediate training class is quickly coming to a close.  This week we continue to work on walking with distractions and staying with distractions.  The whole class has made significant progress with Winston taking a leadership role and respected by all his peers.  Watch the attached video and see all the distractions our poor dogs must overcome.

Grooming day

The doggies made a trip to the groomer today.  So, just a few pics of them looking totally cute tonight!

They are all just too cute for words!

Get'n Down and Dirty

Having terriers for so many years I am so accustomed to their hunting, searching, lurching and digging to get vermin, lizards, cats, moles...pretty much anything that moves! If you have followed the blog, you know we took the whole crew to their first Earthdog event back in April this year. Carly and Elliott loved it. Winston was a wee lad and slept most of the time while others oohed and aahhed over him. We have always hoped that Winston would like Earthdog and be an exuberant rat chaser. Up until now Winston's only prey instinct has been the occasional nudge of a toad. Last night, however, Winston smelled a rat...really it was a mole but it still drew his interest and it was funny to watch him. Carly is an old hat at mole chasing and, left to her own devices, can destroy an entire yard in the search for one little mole. So, while normal dog owner mortals are yelling and screeching about their dogs destroying the yard in hot pursuit of game, I was filming. We had fun watching them and it gave us a ray of hope that Winston will grow up to be a rat chaser too!

Winston seems pretty proud of himself!

SO, he is terrier after all--loves getting dirty, chasing vermin and digging!

After the hunting episode the whole clan went for a walk. We have had rain here for 3 days almost non stop so getting out was a much needed break!

We did see a gorgeous double rainbow on our walk. Maybe we can hold off on building the ark!

Playtime the movie!

I shot this movie with my iPhone the other evening as we headed out for a walk. The doggies had so much fun. Carly is not usually this playful with Winston so it was fun to see them all playing.

Winston accompanied us to my parents place this week. They were preparing the calves for worming so Winston was able to see a bovine for the first time. He thought the cows were OK but he really was not too sure when one came in for a close up.

Winston still likes to help with the groceries. He likes to steal my reusable bags.

Look at what a handsome young man Winston has become!!

He looks so grown up here but he is still very much a puppy---just a 33 pound one!

Training Chaos

Tonight we focused on distractions. I can tell you a pet store holds a plethora of distractions. There are people, dogs, cats, fish, snakes, frogs, birds, food, treats, and more.
Winston did really good with stay and heel with our trainer Lindsey walking around squeaking squeaky toys and bouncing balls.


Here Jasmine stays alert, without breaking her stay. Good girl!
There is a full moon and the dogs were all crazy so we took a play break to, well, play. If you can't have fun, what's the point of learning?

Update on the busy boy!

In the previous post, we took Winston to the dog beach today and he had a great time. He has been exhausted all night! Just a few pics to show the end of his busy day!

Tired boy! He has hardly moved from his sleepy state... except when treats were involved!

Tracking Cam!

OK, I added music to the movie and I was unhappy with the decrease in quality so I deleted the post and I'm starting over. It still isn't as nice the original, but it gives you an idea of what we are doing. Here goes:

We've been so pleased with Winston's tracking progress. He gets really excited as soon as he sees his tracking harness (and starts whining...I'm working on it).

This evening Kelli slipped out the front door and walked around the house and out to the greenbelt. As usual, she left some treats along the the way to help keep Winston motivated. I'm not sure he still needs the treats as he loves the game.
This time I decided to record the event. It's really shaky and really too long (4 min), but it shows how much fun tracking can be with a motivated buddy.

Beachy keen

We took Winston back to the dog beach today. He had so much fun!

You can see the joy in his face!

There were a lot of dogs today. Most of them are much larger than Winston but he is not at all intimidated by that!

Winston says he can run with the big dogs--staying on the porch is for sissies!!

Look at all those splashy dogs!

Winston had to meet every new dog to check them out.

Here is a quick clip of Winston in action. He loves the water but is still unsure of going in too deep. Being a dwarf, that thick body and heavy head does not make make him an agile swimmer.  He needs a life jacket.

Time to go, so Winston has to be rinsed down.

On the way back to the car, we ran into  2 new friends, Penny and Barley.  Barley is a Border Terrier and they are as rare here as Glens! Turns out we "know" many of the same dog people since Barley is a master Earthdog! It was fun to meet some new friends.  Both of these dogs are sons of a Riley!

After we left the dog beach, we made a stop at PetSmart. We really just wanted to make sure Winston did not need to buy anything! I took this pic of Winston and Mark going through the sliding doors to just show how much progress Winston has made. The first few times we went to PetSmart, Winston was scared of the sliding doors.  Now, he goes through them with ease!  What a fun filled day! Bet he sleeps well tonight!

Winston had class tonight and he could not wait to see Titan!

Winston really likes Titan!

Brindee thinks these boys are crazy!

Tonight Winston learned a new command "stand."  Here, he and Mark practice. 

"Stay"

More practice!

"wait"

Just being cute.

Jasmine "waiting"

and Cocoa

Tonight we had to practice a very hard "stay with distractions." All the doggies had to line up and "stay" then each dog took a turn walking past all the dogs in a "heel" while all the dogs "stayed!"  Winston did pretty well until Titan came by!!! 

Winston and Mark prepare to run the gauntlet of staying dogs while heeling!  Winston did pretty good at the "heel" part!

Another great class and good performance from our favorite Glen!

weekend events

Winston after  his brushing.

Winston and Elliott in the puppy paddling pool!

Winston still loves to stretch all out!

Winston just loves to pose for the camera. He is growing into such a handsome lad.

If anyone knows me, they know I CAN'T wait to open gifts!!! I am like a kid! I usually open and get my gifts a few days before the event! My family always gives me a hard time about this so I made sure to "save" this gift from my sister to open on my ACTUAL birthday. Well, apparently Winston is like me and does not like to wait! He found this gift and began opening it. Fortunately, he did not damage anything and just made it through the outer layer! He usually never tears things like this up!!! He wants me to have my gifts early! :P

OH NO!!! Kelli's lost!

Kelli told me she was going to the mailbox to get the mail. Time passed and Kelli didn't come back. Soon, Winston and I realized that Kelli had obviously gotten lost on her journey. I grabbed Winston's tracking harness and we went in search of Kelli.
Winston quickly picked up her scent (ode de bug spray) and was hot on her trail. It didn't hurt that Kelli had left interesting tidbits along her way.
Wow, Kelli really messed up on her way back from the mailbox. She is waaaaaay off course. Good thing we have a tracking dog. I wonder where she is? She's been gone for 10 min now and is probably cold and shivering and lost in the hood. Where can she be???
Well looky here. Winston finds a mentally confused Kelli on the other side of the bushes between our home and the neighbors yard.
Joined again, thanks to Winston, our wonder dog!!!