Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Dog City!

Yes! Me and Jasper have been B-U-S-Y. It's all good though because our job is fun! Sure you may have to clean up accidents here and there, and sure you may have to walk the dog out in the Texas heat but it is so worth it. I mean, Jasper gets to come with me all the time, we get to attend classes and have play time breaks all day.

I am also learning a lot. It is so interesting to see how a dog from different environments pick up on things. You can tell which dogs get a lot of attention and training and the others that just have started the basics. I mean there are some dogs out there that have no clue how to think for themselves. For example, last week, me and Paula wanted to train tricks for class and neither puppy even understood how to target an object at all. They just were not picking up on it, and I mean, eventually they will pick up on it no doubt, but it is so different of how the way "our" dogs train. I mean Jasper and the crew of dogs I know would just "get" it.  These guys need many sessions to just get the basics of it and who knows if their parents will take the time and train it.
Alot of people assume everything will be taught in the matter of 6 weeks and in 6 hours time, one hour each week. Well, unfortunately it is not like that. You have to work with your doggy! :)

So let's talk about Dog City more! This Friday we start our nose work class where Jasper will start basics on scent work for canines. Then we will attend out regular Treibball class on Saturday and then start a therapy dog class soon. Treibball is going great. Jasper just started to understand his placement on a mat and a hoop "base." He needs a better push on his ball but we will get there.

Like I said, things have been busy, but I managed to get some shots of Jasper and his friends up at Dog City. Above and to the right is a Border Collie named Ivie. She is so cute. Everytime I said "Hellllooooo" she would tilt her head and smile. So adorable.


 And the two big dogs are Phil and Prada. The puppy, well I do not know! Cute little guy though! By the way, Jasper's toy drive is much better! I think it is because he is building more stamina and muscle and losing more weight. He will charge after the ball and for the first time ever, we used the clicker with a ball instead of a treat.. talk about faster drive! I will link the video below. It is a session to do with teaching a foundation skill for Treibball.



And here is Jasper about a week ago.. I can see he is losing weight and I can finally feel some ribs without having to dig! Yay!