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Astonishing that 2012 is almost history. We're still here, so the Mayan people probably just ran out of room on their calendar. No doomsday (yet). We're expecting a new addition here in the Golly Gear family. That's Booker (Boston Terrier) and me a few weeks ago. Booker was about 4 1/2 weeks old in that picture, and I'll be getting him in a couple of weeks. I was lucky enough to meet Booker's breeder in person as she was passing through (almost) my area. Tango and the rest of the crew are looking forward to a new play and training buddy in the new year. You'll most likely also see Booker in new harnesses, collars and coats that we'll be featuring in the shop. It's going to be a blast! - Fran
A friend visited me in the shop today, to buy a few toys for a senior's little dog for the holidays. This friend loves dogs, but she's a cat person. Tango was not very nice to her at first. There was a stranger invading his space! Of course, a few cookies changed his mind about that. She asked Tango to sit, sit, sit, which of course he ignored and kept mugging her for the cookies. I told her to stop caving to his cute bearded face, and tell him to do what she wanted. With a more commanding tone, my friend told him, "Sit?!" Tango looked at me, I looked back but didn't say anything, and he sat! My friend was very impressed! I guess cats are different. - Fran
When you're training your dog, you want him to be focused and ready to work! So it's up to us, the trainer to be focused ourselves. That means: have a plan, stick to it, and keep sessions short! Go into your training session with an intention - work on heeling, get a straight sit, work on wicked weave pole entries, whatever! And work on that for 5 to 8 minutes. No more than that, or you'll both get bored and frustrated. (After all, in class you don't work for a solid hour, do you? No! There are breaks while you're listening to the instructor or when other teams are taking a turn.) During this session, Tango and I worked on heeling. He looks ready to go, doesn't he? - Fran
Oh, how I envy people with artistic talent. This drawing was done by a friend who obviously has buckets-full! Tony added the spats and monocle, of course, but aside from that, it's my scruffy Brussels Griffon (B.G.) Tango! He even got the feel of Tango's rough coat. How cute is this! I framed and hung the drawing over my desk here at GollyGear.com so that I can look at it every day. Tony said that he was working on something else and needed a break, so he drew Tango. Imagine that - to be able to just whip something like this out. I'm lucky to have friends with talent! - Fran
Close to the end of a long day, Tango's resting. We packed orders today, answered the phone, waited on customers here in the shop, and on top of that, we practiced some tricky agility moves! - Fran
Tango (Brussels Griffon, on the left) and Teddy (French Bulldog, right) struck this pose a couple of days ago here in the shop. I bring Tango to work three days a week and Hope brings Ted one or two days. Distraction? Sure, but the dogs make sure we don't sit for too long, staring at a computer screen. For five or ten minutes an hour we're forced to get up and play with a dog, or practice a tricky maneuver we learned in class the evening before. When Dax (also a French Bulldog) is here, she naps a lot and, like most Frenchies, snores. Many people might find it annoying. Hope and I find Dax snoring soothing. Actually, it makes me want to get on the bench and nap with her! - Fran
Last weekend Tango and I were at an agility trial and Tango qualifed in his first Standard run of the weekend! Woohoo! I was so happy. Not just that we qualified, but because he ran fairly well all weekend. It's been a hard road since March, the last time that he qualified in anything. Constant training, fun matches and more training. I've found that Tango responds best to clicker training. Our favorite clicker is Karen Pryor's iClick - http://www.gollygear.com/iclick.htm - it fits well in the hand, is easy to click, and it's not too loud. Patience is so hard, but it's crucial in training Tango. I can't be angry, or get frustrated. He's very operant, so I have to wait, and wait, and when I see a behavior I like, I click and give him a cookie. Hopefully he'll come back to that behavior and offer more! And more, and more ... And while one qualifying run out of four is not a superlative showing, it's better than none! More training and fun matches are needed! - Fran
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