Breakthrough!

Tango loves to work! Loves, loves loves to do stuff! (I've said that before, I know. But let me continue.) And he loves to work for cheese! See Pam - I'm paying attention! String cheese cut into griffie-size pieces. Cheese is brought out of the refrigerator for training sessions, classes and our weekly lesson with Dee.

But from the day I got him, Tango hadn't wanted to tug. As most dog agility people will tell you, tugging is a great way to focus your dog and get him excited about working. So I've been working at it. I didn't want to overdo it, because that's the best way to turn him off. I tried to find a toy that he wanted to keep in his mouth, but at first he just let it go when I tried to share the toy with him. Then he'd let me hold the toy as well. Then he like to actually tug on it. But not in class, of course.

I tried a Tug-it (a mesh thingie that holds pieces of food with velcro at the top and a handle), but Tango didn't understand why he couldn't get the cheese that was inside it by licking it and got frustrated. But he like tugging on it empty. So we ran with that. But it didn't always keep Tango's interest in class.

But during Wednesday's lesson, Dee suggested that I try putting cheese into the Tug-it again. Eureka! Tango became a tugging fool! And during last night's agility class, the cheese-filled Tug-it kept Tango's interest over the other dogs walking by (mostly). Persistence and patience pay! But now I have to wash the Tug-it.

Improving!

Tango got his hair cut today. And Tammy (his groomer) said he was much better! I am so happy! I know that Tango's been better at home (except for a couple of minor skirmishes, particularly on Halloween) and at class, but this this gives me real encouragement. Maybe everything is clicking in his brain? Maybe Tango is realizing that good behavior gets him excellent rewards - praise, yummy cheese, more time to play with Teddy and Dax? Hmmmm.... and Ceilidh is even accepting Tango more these days!

Construction zone

Almost done with this phase of construction! Just the second coat of yellow left to do! Our trainer, Dee, asked us to build six more dogwalk trainers. This gives the correct angle of the dogwalk ramp, but without the length of the dogwalk itself. And it lets six people and pups train the proper method of getting on and off the dogwalk. And that's a good thing. Hope cleverly figured a great locking mechanism for the leg, to give just the right angle! Hope, Emily (our good friend and part-time helper), and I built the dogwalk trainers over the course of a couple of weeks. Next project - a table for Dogs in the Ring! - Fran

RV Adventures

This morning we took our new RV in for actual RV service - get the generator working, the heat working, and a myriad of other stuff that needs to get done in order for it to be really livable and fun for us. We knew we'd have to leave the Cookie for several days, so Hope drove the RV and I drove my car, so that we could both get home. The RV place is about 45 minutes from our house, and of course I got lost when I was almost there. I don't think we've mentioned that I can get lost in the Florida Keys, where there is one road. Anyway, I realized that I took a wrong turn pretty quickly, but Hope called my cell when I was headed back in the right direction. Despite the fact that she left after I did, and had to drive somewhat slower, she was at the service place first and called me. Story of my life. Lost... - Fran

Break to dog training...

A break from Hope's first RV adventure! I'm happy to say that Tango is starting - just starting - to "get it!" He's starting to understand the rules of the house - he does his business outside for the most part, although he can hold for much longer than any other male dog I've ever known (due to the fact that the first 11 months of his life were spent wearing a belly band). He's learning to settle down with a bone when we want to relax - he doesn't have to be on the move 24-7! Tango is learning to differentiate between "sit" and "down." Doesn't sound too tough? Well, usually it's not, but Tango's so operant that he'll still offer every behavior in his repertoire most times when anyone pays attention to him. Getting better, though. And he's leaving the other dogs and people alone during our agility class, mostly. Only a couple of barks last night! And Tango is learning how to "stay" - that one's really tough, though, because more than anything Tango loves to be doing stuff. I still keep telling myself that I've only had him 7 months. Doing things right takes time. Lots and lots of time. Weeks and weeks, and months and months ... - Fran

Rv adventure - Part IV

I had a lovely rest of the evening, talking with my neighbors, then settling in with a good book and a Diet Coke, snug in my new RV at the Cheerful Valley Campground. It was getting just a wee bit chilly, so I decided to turn on the furnace. It immediately turned on - a good thing. Blowing cold air. Not so good.
During this trip I had with me only the things I could carry on the plane. No extra anything. Including blankets. It was a bit of a chilly night.
Next morning was gorgeous. I woke up early and decided to tackle the infamous black tank dumping that everyone dreads from the scene in the Robin Williams movie RV - Runaway Vacation.
The first thing I did was get out my sewer hose and hooked it up to the RV. No problem. Stretched it out (it's built like an enormous flexible straw) toward the hole in the ground it's supposed to attach to. And could not, if my life had depended on it, get out the plug from the hole in the ground. I tried. I tried really, really hard. No luck.
So I walked up to the campground office to get some help. I'm never reluctant to ask for help from experts. It saves lots of time and energy. But the office didn't open until 9 a.m. It was 7:30 or so.
I took a walk, took the pictures in the previous post. Sat and read. And waited. Finally, about 8:45, I went back to the office and was delighted it was open early. I explained the problem and the "strict dad" from the night before met me at the campsite.
I'm delighted to say - I didn't get it wrong. Some idjit drove over the plug and jammed it in. It took tools to get it out. And the actual dumping part? Easy! No muss, no fuss, no bother. I can see how it might go horribly wrong, but it didn't!
Cleaned up, emptied out, ready to go! I set out on the next stage of my trip, with a stop that night at another campground west of Cleveland, Ohio.
On the drive that day I learned that the RV is water-tight (it poured in parts of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio), it likes flat country much better than mountains, and that I can, in fact, drive it and park it at a mall. There was a nice-sized mall at my interstate exit in Ohio and I really wanted to pick up some blankets for that night. If you're willing to walk - there's usually plenty of parking on the outskirts of most malls. While my parking job wasn't the neatest - it worked.
So on Sunday night I arrived 10 minutes too late to check in at the American Wilderness Family Campground in Grafton, Ohio. And if all, or even most, campgrounds are as nice as the two I've visited so far - I'm hooked.

RV Adventure - Part III

I spent the first night of my adventure at the Cheerful Valley Campground in the Finger Lakes region of New York. I'm sure it's an absolutely gorgeous area - unfortunately, I arrived well after dark and was unable to marvel at its beauty.
I was lucky that the incredibly nice couple who manager (own?) Cheerful Valley was still in the office. I checked in and the nice lady assigned a space to me, and explained how to get there: "Go around the Class A - you can't miss it it's 40 feet long, swing around over by the bathrooms and it's over on the left. Just back in there."
This is about the place where an absolutely panicked look must have overtaken me. I explained that I wasn't used to navigating the RV at all, had never been to an RV campground before, had never backed it up, and wouldn't recognize the hookups I was supposed to park near.
They took pity on me. "Carl will guide you down and show you how. But he's a tough dad - he won't do it for you!"
I loved that.
Carl got into his golf cart - apparently a very common feature at RV parks, and guided me down to my camping site. He was wonderful, patient, and a very good teacher. I was in place in no time.
And then I discovered a very cool thing about RV campgrounds - they're like little neighborhoods I'm used to, but in absolutely gorgeous settings and most of the people will talk to you, help you and be nice to you.
Jason and Cathy had the site next to mine. Carl was teaching me how to make the water and electrical hookups (not rocket science, but not intuitive, either) and Jason came over to chat, introduce himself, and help. We all decided I would tackle the sewer hookup in the morning - when we could actually see what we were doing. Good idea.
Jason and Cathy had a fire going (all camp sites so far have their own little fire pits!) and after I was all set (lights on, water on, motor off) we chatted for a bit. They actually live within a few miles of the campground - it's a frequent weekend getaway for them. I could see why - the neighborhood is kinda nice.

The land cookie all snugged into her spot.
Nice neighborhood

And the scenery was okay, too!