Focusing on the mission

If you've noticed a change in direction here at the GollyLog lately - you're right. We've tightened our focus to become more useful.

Being helpful to owners of small dogs was the original reason we started our shop - Golly Gear. As small dog owners all of our adult lives, we knew it was difficult to find the "right" stuff for our dogs - harnesses/collars/leashes that fit, toys our dogs could carry, treats that weren't larger than their meals, etc.

We may have wandered off that tight focus for a while - 2012 was a difficult time for us, as well as many of you. We've gotten back on track - reaffirming that original mission for ourselves and our shop.

Our focus at Golly Gear has tightened - emphasizing the needs of people like us, whose dogs are companions, partners, and family members - not accessories or fashion statements.

With a new website and renewed focus, we have a new energy to serve our Golly Gear community even better - finding and offering fun, affordable and practical products for small dogs.

Dogs are integral parts of our lives - both professionally and personally. We like spending time with them, training them, playing with them, and holding down the couch with them.

And one of the best things our dogs have brought us is the connection with other "dog people." We are members of the North Shore Dog Training Club - the oldest AKC-member obedience club in the U.S. And we're proud to be part of the "All Fours Agility Team" - even though we're not the most experienced or skilled team-members and we'll never be asked to play for the softball team, we're just that awful at throwing toys or treats.

GollyGear.com, NSDTC, and All Fours have brought us wonderful friends, people who we never would have had the good fortune to meet if we weren't all "dog people."

Dog people are among the best in the world. We've found, as a community, that most dog-lovers have a wonderful compassion for others - perhaps because we all know the real meaning of unconditional love. We may all be incredibly busy - most have jobs in the "real world" and make time for "dog stuff" when we can, but there's always seems to be time for dog people to lend a hand, or answer a question, or provide a shoulder to cry on.

We're lucky enough to know very few people who would say "It's just a dog." And we feel sorry for anyone who would.

Booker's first class!

Booker is about 18 weeks old now, perfect for starting puppy class with North Shore Dog Training Club! The main focus of the first class was focus and attention. Very difficult for a puppy who just wants to play with everyone! Fortunately, I had yummy treats, and after Booker tried to go over to the Viszla puppy, then the Boxer puppy, then the Chihuahua puppy, he came back to me and we had a party! The idea is for me to be more fun and more rewarding than the other puppies and people who don't have anything for Booker. (Interaction between puppies is discouraged in this class - people can find places for their dogs to play with other dogs on their own. Class time is for instruction.) The goal is for the people to build a strong bond with their dogs - both for work and play. So, we had a good first class - yesterday we took a walk in the neighborhood, even though winter is hanging on and it was below freezing! Booker is starting to walk quite nicely on  lead. - Fran

Obedience Trial

Yesterday was our obedience club's annual trial (North Shore Dog Training Club). If you've never been to one and you love dogs, you've really got to go! Fran, Emily and I were all stewards (helper-outers) in different rings, watching some of the top obedience teams in the country do their thing. It was a joy to watch. Above the dogs in Open B are performing a three-minute "Sit/Stay" while their owners are out of sight.

That's Emily on the left and me on the right being "posts" for the dog-and-handler team doing a heeling Figure-8. The judge has her back to the camera in this shot. Going to a trial is always inspirational for me - makes me want to run home and work with my own dogs. So I do!

The oddest conversation I had during the day was when a couple of women came into the trial to watch and one of them, looking at the dogs in the top picture, asked me "Are all of these dogs owned? Like are any of them available?"

I was completely taken aback, but tried to remember that most people aren't at all familiar with our rather esoteric hobby and asking questions is the way to learn. I explained to the woman that all the dogs in the trial do have homes, families, and are actually teammates of their owners. And that the performances she was watching were the results of hundreds and thousands of hours of training and competition.

I think she thought we were all a bit crazy, but she and her friend stayed to watch and learn.

Puppy Picnic

Last Sunday was the picnic for our club - the North Shore Dog Training Club. Unfortunately, it was a bit too warm for our dogs - Golly with heart disease and Dax being a French Bulldog, but it was a beautiful day - sunshine, good friends, great food, wonderful dogs.The little girl in the picture is Dot - granddaughter of one of our members. She's been coming to the picnics since she was three. Once a year we get to see what a beautiful young lady she's growing into. There was an abundance of Golden Retrievers at the picnic - no surprise for an obedience club!
But we had lots of other breeds as well, Shelties, German Shepherds, Dachshunds, Border Terriers, Dalmation, Husky, Weimeraner, Border Collie, Poodle, Keeshond, Doberman Pinscher, Cocker Spaniel - truly an all-breed club!
Double-Decker Dogs! Border Terriers MacDuff and Robbie on top, Dachshunds Hanna and Meg in the bottom bunk!

Big night

Tonight's a big night for us - a new training hall for our obedience club and the start of the baseball playoffs.
As a lifelong Cubs fan, I can't believe I'm not even going to be home for the start of the game - but real life goes on. If Roc is ever going to get his CDX, we have to keep training. I've pretty much decided that if we hit 15 and 0 for qualifying legs, we're going to give up. (Our dismal record is now 0 for 13.) I can't keep beating my head against a wall. Roc knows all the exercises, does them beautifully in training, but can't seem to qualify to save our souls.
And the most important thing for us to remember - we play obedience to have fun. When it's not fun, it's time to move on.

What a weekend!

If I were the type to get teary, yesterday I would have. My obedience club honored me with the AKC Outstanding Sportsmanship Award. It was a total shock - I'm sure I gobbled like a turkey!

The occasion was our annual club picnic. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day - great weather, wonderful food, a chance to get together with our two- and four-legged friends. We always hand out the Club and Class awards at the picnic, so I got my camera ready for the awards presentations. I knew something was up when Fran took the camera away from me, then Mary Ann started reading this speech about the award and how this person deserved it for all the things she does for the club. At some point I realized she was talking about me!

I was touched and honored. Thank you to the AKC and the North Shore Dog Training Club.

I have an idea...(be afraid, be very afraid)

I don't know where everybody was last night, but only Janie and I (and our dogs Reggie and Roc) showed up for Open class last night. So we took down all the ring gates and used the whole place to work! It was terrific, especially since our teacher this session is Susan who is a fantastic, meticulous, fun coach.

We did some straight-line heeling, since we had room to move. And I was astonished that Janie and I work at practically the same pace. When you consider that Reggie is a Saluki and Roc is a Brussels Griffon - you'll understand why I was amazed.

But it got my devious little brain working - if Janie and I both heel at similar paces - how much fun would it be to put together an NSDTC Obedience Team? Team Obedience, Susan tells us, includes the Novice exercises with the addition of a Drop on Recall. Our dogs can do that! Now we just need a couple more people for the team.

And that's the tall and short of it!

Well-deserved success!

We are just thrilled for our friend and classmate Janie and her Saluki, Reggie! This weekend they got two qualifying scores toward Reggie's CDX!!

Janie and I have been in class together forever - the trials and tribulations of competing in Obedience with non-traditional obedience dogs is a bond we've forged over the years. To put it simply - we've felt each other's pain.

But now - Janie and Reggie are two-thirds of the way there! I'm going to miss them in class (they'll be moving up to Utility) but I'm really looking forward to the treats Janie's going to bring to class. It's a North Shore Dog Training Club tradition - you get a title, you bring goodies to share!

Congratulations, Janie and Reggie! (Sorry the picture isn't better - it was taken at our club picnic a couple years ago. Both are much, much prettier in person!)

Beauty is in the eye......

Our Dog Training Club's holiday party was Saturday night. Needless to say, there was a lot of discussion of topics that polite (read non-dog) people don't talk about in public, but it was a dog group, so everybody chimed in.

It's the only time in the year that the members of the North Shore Dog Training Club meet without our dogs, so we actually can completely concentrate on what other people are saying. Whenever you're responsible for a dog (or a child, for that matter), your attention is divided; half on the person you're talking to, the other half on the trouble your dependent is getting into.

Anyway, spouses and significant others are welcome at the party, so we see the non-dog-training halves. One of the highlights of the party is when we distribute the club calendar, featuring pictures of all of our dogs.

So Paul, Colleen's fiance, turns to March, which has pictures of my absolutely gorgeous dogs on it. Our calendar editor wanted my dogs pictured all panting, so they are. And he points at Dax, my incredibly gorgeous French Bulldog and exclaims "What an ugly dog!"

I didn't hear it, but the reports have been flowing in. What makes it particularly funny is that Colleen absolutely adores Dax and has been threatening to kidnap her since the day I got her. Paul is truly contrite, so we're allowing the relationship to continue. On a probational basis.