Round 3, Class 2

The gorgeous Golden Retriever running the dogwalk is Jake's classmate Gracie. When Gracie gets offtrack, she always manages to make it look like some flowing and graceful interpretive dance move instead of the wild and craziness that Jake portrays when exercising freedom of spirit.

Agility was a grand adventure for Jake tonight. We did only two of the obstacles with a target. The stationary seesaw went well and none of the motion seemed to bother him because he certainly didn't slow down. Then came a series of two jumps. Jake was totally confused by no one waiting for him at the end of the obstacle. Once he figured out he was to run with me to the end, he knocked the treat out of my hand and he was off and zooming. This time around the teachers had me leave the yard. Jake raced around and around and then started slowing down once he noticed I wasn't there. He ran over to the gate to try to see me but I wasn't there (I was in the shadows of the trees.) He ran one more wide loop around the yard and then headed for the teachers with a very confused look on his face. From then on we left his leash on him and I would stomp on the leash when he stopped. After he got his treat, he would try to take off since no one had his collar but got nowhere with me being planted on the leash. It still wasn't the end of the zoomies, though. We backstepped the obstacles like we have been doing so he knew what to expect. One jump, two jumps, three jumps and then add the curved tunnel. Curved tunnel, one jump. Curved tunnel, two jumps. Curved tunnel, three jumps and he's off! I was able to call TUNNEL and get him aimed back through the tunnel but he was going so fast that three of us at the opening couldn't catch him. He at least did all three jumps again before racing off. I called TUNNEL one more time and myself and one of the instructors blocked the tunnel ends. He decided to hang out in the middle and we lifted one end so he would come out and end with a positive note with me and a treat. I was never so glad to see the weave poles and the instructor with the cheese at one end. I'd had enough zoomies for one night.

Jake and His Soccer Ball

To try to make up for the appalling lack of parental camera responsibility on the Herding Fun Day, we set out to take some action shots of Jake and his soccer ball. He starts shrieking the minute the soccer ball and pump come out of the upstairs closet. There isn't a moment of silence while you inflate the ball. It's a mad race down the stairs to the front door and we head to our semi-fenced backyard. Luckily for us, our landlord threw down some grass seed and the yard has bright green, skinny grass to keep the mud levels down. Jake will chase the ball if you kick it, pounce on the ball if you pass it back and forth, and go totalling airborne to head bonk the ball if you bounce it. I had no idea that my soccer skills would help entertain the dog so many years later. I've left my husband (5'10") in the pictures so you can see how high Jake is jumping to reach that ball. Keep in mind that Jake is only 16 inches at the withers.

Terrorizing the Woolies

This Saturday we met up with members of our Carolina Cattle Dog Club and had a Herding Fun Day in Siler City, NC. Those poor sheep -- they had no idea what they would be facing throughout afternoon! My husband and I were excited for Jake because he had such a great time when we did this last August and his best gal pal Pepper would be appearing to have her turn at the sheep. A club member had brought her five totally adorable, no-we-can't-take-one-home puppies for a little socializing so we fulfilled our cute quota for the day with a little cuddling.

First and foremost, you will notice an appalling lack of photos to go with this post. My camera bag was at home, a 3 1/2 hour drive away. Fortunately, other ACD parents had their cameras so I'm hoping to bum some pictures off of them to eventually get up here on the site. Bad Mommy. After signing the release form agreeing to pay for any damage to the sheep, my husband headed into the smaller pen with Jake for his first round of the day. Initially Jake was put on a long lead just to make sure he hadn't changed his nice manners around the sheep. Jake immediately started circling the sheep and kept circling and circling and circling and circling and circling. We were able to get him to switch directions just once for a single circle before he went back to circling right. My husband said he had so idea how dizzy he would get out there. Jake got some lovely compliments from our host, who again suggested we get Jake in some herding classes where he could build up confidence and training. After Jake's turn many of the other club members started showing up with their ACDs. Of course, we had to run and go see Pepper so they could perform their greeting ritual of twisting their leashes into one big knot. Pepper had brought one of her blue brothers from home, Zac. All three of our dogs together looked like they came from the same litter -- sleek, muscled, and blue.

The most explosive turn at the sheep came from Tilly. (Note: This picture of Tilly is actually from our previous Herding Day.) Tilly was in the pen living up to her cattle dog heritage. Tilly sent the sheep thundering towards the fence. The sheep didn't stop. One sheep hit the wooden fence with such force that the wood split wide open with a loud crack. It didn't phase the sheep one bit but my husband and I kept staring at the broken fence like a bad car accident.

We took a break for a potluck lunch with yummy pasta salad and mac & cheese, fried chicken, cut fruits and vegetables, sausage balls, and various desserts. A few of us let our dogs out into the fenced backyard to burn off any leftover excess energy. Jake got to meet our host family's foster boy Spin. Sensing another kindred spirit, Jake and Spin proceeded to wrestle, spin, play chew and race around the yard. Jake found himself trying hard to keep all appendages and soft body parts safe from not one but two cattle dogs as Peachy joined the play group. And don't worry, my husband was standing a few feet away keeping a careful eye on the our little man. P.S. Spin still needs a forever home! (His picture courtesy of our host family.)

And then the real parade of cattle dogs began! Little ones, big ones, red dogs, blue dogs, all had a chance to face those white woolly sheep. Pepper and Jake continued to try to squeeze every inch of their bodies through the wire mesh on the pen fence. They didn't understand that every turn wasn't THEIR turn. At one point, the sheep ended up in front of the gate where Jake had made another stand. He reached his little head through the gate and licked a sheep right on its little nose. If the sheep hadn't been trying to suck in oxygen, I think it might have run. Jake got a second chance at the sheep but everyone was tiring at this late hour. The sheep had seen more cattle dogs than they ever cared to see again. I decided to go in with Jake this time. The sound of thundering sheep was a little more intimidated than I thought it would be. I'm sure any photos of me out there showed a woman trying to appear as small as possible in the middle of lots of white animals. The sheep took up residence in one corner and there were no budging the exhausted trio. Jake, always a sympathetic creature, gave the closest sheep another lick on the nose.

After a few obedience tips, we piled in the car and Jake fell into a post-sheep coma in my lap. I didn't have the heart to throw him in his seatbelt harness. Before long, a pile of drool started on my arm underneath his motionless head. He was OUT! We drove two and a half hours to my in-laws to stay the night. Jake was rewarded for his long day rolling in sheep poo and itchy grass by a long bath in their doggy shower. Jake had reserved enough energy to jump on my in-laws' German Shorthair Pointer Sadie a few times but you could tell he didn't mean it. Another wonderful day of playing with other ACDs was a complete and total hit for Jake.

I Don't Want To Go To The Vet's!

Jake didn't want to go to the vet's today to get his Bordatella vaccine and he certainly didn't want me to put his seatbelt on for the ride over there. Wearing the seatbelt to agility class is one thing but the indignity of having to sport it for a trip for a nasty little shot is just too much. Oh, the drama! The vet staff at the office suitably made a huge fuss over "Superstar Jake". He rewarded them by not using his "I'm being killed" screech when he got the shot. He wasn't happy but did listen to the command to sit and wait on the scale. My little man still only weighs 29 pounds. I think I can safely say that he's done growing since he's maintained that weight for the last six months or so.

Don't pity poor Jake because he got to go to Round 3 of his Agility class last night! Two weeks was too long in his humble canine opinion and he was not alone this class. All of the dogs were feeling pretty creative. Some took detours, some took creative license, and some went exploring. We opted to take Jake through the obstacles backwards to conquer his ADHD -- show Jake one obstacle at a time and then add one so he had the whole set in mind as he raced for that yummy piece of cheese at the end. Just when I thought I was getting the hang of racing to the other end to pounce on Jake to avoid the zoomies, I get instructions to RELAX. In theory, if I am calm, Jake will be calm. Not only was I striving to RELAX (have I mentioned this word does not come easily into my mind), I was also doing my best to give Jake a reward from my hand. Jake was still lured to the target, someone else held his collar and his breathless mommy gave him another treat. After a threat to remove the offending hand, I tried even harder to get the correct hand to do its job (the correct hand is the hand on the same side as your dog). There was a moments confusion for Jake when he headed into a curved tunnel and didn't find a target at the other end so he ran back inside. He found both ends blocked by humans so he ran back and forth inside for a while until he noticed the treat extended in my hand. The most amusing part of Jake's performance for the night was the chute. He would head into the chute, barreling out the other end. Because Jake couldn't see in the chute, he would veer sharply to the right and directly into my path to the other end. Did I mention I was running as fast as I could? I had no idea that I would need to add aerial acrobatics to my end of the bargain. Fortunately, none of my crazy leaps into the air landed me on my rear end or on my face. While Jake was wide open and crazy in between waiting for his turn with the other impatient classmates, he did rather well on all of the obstacles and no yard zooming.

Sharing the Wealth

All of us should try to find a way to help rescue and I've decided that Jake's logo is just the right route. From now on, all of the profits generated from Jake's logo on Cafepress.com will be donated to the Tennessee Valley Cattle Dog Rescue, located in Georgetown, TN. Not only can you help support a worthy charity but you can sport Jake's logo or the generic versions of it. Use the top link above to reach the No Worries Jake store and help cattle dog rescue.

Agility Class Rain Cancellation
Here's Jake looking so sad with his Squirrel and Cow, stuffed company to help him get over the disappointment of class postponement. Round 3 of our agility classes was to begin this week but the bottom fell out of the sky. It was raining so hard that even Jake, who normally can dawdle outside in any weather, decided his bladder was not as important as staying inside the house. So we played a new game with the mini marshmellows. We're focusing on games that build a relationship between us and cause Jake to make eye contact with me frequently. Marshmellow Kisses involves me sticking a mini marshmellow between my lips. Jake slowly and delicately reaches out to take the marshmellow. Meanwhile, his array of whiskers tickles the hell out of my lips and face! It's hard not to laugh and drop the marshmellow. Of course, other games involve him staying close by my side so we did lots of Up and Downs, as my husband dubbed them, on the stairs. Jake already takes the stairs at top speed so getting him to take them and stay by my side is the goal of this game. Jake has a hard time regulating his speed to my slow human legs and I need him to pay attention to where I am. Jake's showing he understands the point of the game and hasn't tripped me up since the first time he did it. I'm pretty sure at this point that I don't need a gym membership.

Thank doG for Kongs!

After several posts describing my wild and crazy man, I had to brag on his behavior this week. I suffer badly from migraines and this week was no exception. Normally I get a migraine, take my medicine, go to sleep for a little while and life goes on as usual. This time my headache stayed for a week. I would get better than swiftly find myself back where I started. Jake would dive into the bed to put his head on my shoulder and snuggle up. He licked the tears off my face when I started to cry. He didn't bark but would use his whisper. When I finally needed a change of scenery, I curled up in the chair in the living room with Jake on my legs. He would sleep for hours, only moving to get closer to me if I moved. I roused myself enough to play a few tricks with him on the end of the couch and introduced Jake to the joys of chasing Kix cereal (NFI) across the living room. I tried to treat Jake for his wonderfully sympathetic behavior with good treats, especially his small Kong stuffed with plain yogurt, capped with a spoonful of peanut butter and thrown in the freezer for a few hours. Jake gets totally lost in licking, licking, licking and gets the funniest look on his face while engrossed in getting every last bit out of the Kong. As much as I appreciated the calm this week, I'm sure it doesn't bode well for agility class on Tuesday!

Class 6 Good-Boy High

After a week of researching training and listening to the suggestions of other ACD agility parents, Jake and I were able to complete a class that ended with both of us being happy. We basically returned to Jake's obedience lessons to establish a stronger foundation between the two of us. The main goal is getting Jake to focus on me when I ask. It's actually had a slight calming effect that I didn't expect (I stress "slight" because in a dog like Jake even slight is appreciated). The largest surprise for me was when Jake escaped from my dad's house in full zoom and I was able to put him in a down-stay, which allowed me to approach him and put him on his leash. Inside my dad's house in full zoom with a crowd of people watching, I was also able to get Jake into a sit-stay. It was probably the most encouraging thing that could have happened to let me know that I was on the right road.

Tonight's class was such a relief to me! I had e-mailed our teachers earlier in the week to let them know that I was working hard to resolve the zooming issue. We first headed for the jump & curved tunnel, an obstacle set that hasn't ended well in the previous classes. Jake took the jump and the tunnel all four repetitions. The very last time he ran out of the tunnel with his rear end tucked under (i.e. sure sign of the zoomies) as he headed for the target. I practically dove at him at the same time as the teacher with the treat. A set of four jumps was up next on the roster. We decided to allow Jake to do them with two repetitions of 2 jumps, then 3, then all four. Jake sped over them all without pause and even I got a pat on the back for running so fast. I even managed to avoid running the teacher over! Jake ran the entire dogwalk every time but you could tell he still wasn't so sure about the up and down motion of the middle portion. He would speed of the ramp, slow down across the middle, and then speed down the ramp to the treat. Regardless of his uncertainty, he never tried to run around it. The chute was met with the same success as the curved tunnel and we ended class with Jake's personal favorite of the jump and A-frame set. He even threw in a little spin turn on his way to the treat. The spin turn, of course, took his feet off the safety zone so we took one more turn to end on the right note with those back two feet planted firmly on the yellow. I was so pleased with my little man. I gave him extra smoochies and hugs when we got back in the car. I almost cried with relief. I know that there will be days when we don't communicate as well but, for tonight, I will just bask in the good-boy high that Jake and I created tonight.