A long weekend full of Agility

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

We went to NZDAC (NZ Dog Agility Championship) over the Labour Weekend, 23-26 October. Every year the biggest annual Agility event in NZ is held in a different location, hosted by one of the five regions in turn. This year it was held in Tokoroa, about two and a half hour from our house, hosted by the region 2, the Central North Island.

Because Tokoroa is a small rural town, there aren't many accommodations. So, we stayed in Rotorua, forty minutes from Tokoroa.

As the event started midday on Friday, we left home in the morning on the day and arrived at the venue, Tokoroa Memorial Sports Ground around 9:30am. More than anything, we were overwhelmed by the size of the whole venue! We had never seen such big sports grounds. In addition to the space for 8 Agility rings, camping sites, day tent sites, and huge day car park areas, there were multiple spacious dog exercise areas (each was bigger than most parks in our neighbourhood!).

Over the four days from Friday to Monday, there were three Jumpers events and three Agility events. We had entered all of them, but on the last day we decided to scratch our entries for the last Agility event and came home early to avoid a heavy traffic of people coming home from their holidays.

In total Mint and I had eight runs each, and Mint got five clear rounds (CRs) while I got four CRs. We didn't get any ribbons, but I think that we did pretty well, considering that we hadn't done Agility much for the last six months as we had a winter break from Agility. We are especially happy that all our Jumpers runs went CLEAR! Now Mint needs one more CR in Jumpers C to get the JD (Jumpers Dog) title.

Overall Mint got three CRs in Jumpers C and two CRs in Novice.

I, Cinnamon, got three CRs in Jumpers B and one CR in Novice.

Apart from Agility, we also had lots of fun with other dogs every day!!

Our next Agility show will be at our club's grounds this month. I hope we will do even better!!

Dancing at Pet Expo again!

Hi! It's Cinnamon here.

I am sorry we didn't post anything in September because Mum was too busy to help us write a post.

On the weekend (both Saturday and Sunday) our dog dancing team "ChoreDOGraphy Connection" participated in Auckland Pet & Animal Expo again. When I participated in the event for the first time 4 years ago, we were a team of only two two dogs, a friend and me. The next year no other dogs were available, so Mint and I did it. But, last year there were nine of us, and the team consisted of eight dogs including us.

These photos are from Saturday.

I was the first dog to perform. As always, I barked a lot while dancing :-P

Woody did a nice Heelwork to Music routine.

Gypsy and Pip did a pairs routine, which looked like fun!

Fletcher's routine was dynamic!

It seems that many people thought Solace's mum was a real nun.

Sam's routine looked stylish :-)

Mint didn't bark like me, but he didn't look fully awake.

Sofie did an awesome routine as always!

On Sunday I did much better and I didn't bark at all while dancing! I did put my nose to the floor once, but it was Mum's fault as she dropped a treat!

Mint did better on the second day too, but Mum forgot the last part of the routine, so she had to do some improvisation.

By the way, can you see the stains on the carpet in the video? They were made by horse manure on Saturday after our show. When Mum and her friends found them on Sunday morning, they were very worried that we might get distracted by their smells. But, we were absolutely fine!!

I hope the audience enjoyed our performance as much as we ourselves did.

Has Spring come?

Hi! Cinnamon here.

Hope the heat peak of summer has passed in the Northern Hemisphere. It seems winter is coming to end here down under.

In the last week we found some signs of spring, although spring hasn't started yet according to the calendar.

The flowers smelt nice but didn't look like something to eat :-P

I liked the red colour of those tulips.

Early flowering cherry blossoms!

And we have started Agility training after having a winter break!

Mint's runs were very slow.

I couldn't help smiling!

I love spring!!

Cinnamon loves playing with a puppy

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Today, after seeing a physiotherapist, I visited my friend, Solace the Miniature Poodle, who lives near the clinic, and met this adorable puppy, Bear, there. He is a eight-month-old Shih Tzu.

As you may know, I am not good at playing with other dogs, and that's why Mum started training me seriously six years ago. Recently I have been able to control myself much better in encounters with other dogs on our walks, but I still can't help but bark at other dogs sometimes, especially when they suddenly appear in front of me. But, I am usually better with puppies perhaps because they are non-threatening.

Bear was one of those non-threatening puppies. I didn't need to bark at him whatever he did to me. In fact he kissed me a lot and sniffed my bottom a lot. He even hamped me! But, strangely I found them enjoyable!

These photos are a proof!

Anyway I really enjoyed playing with him. I hope I can meet him again soon! Hope he doesn't mind playing with a middle-aged lady like me.

Practising playing!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Recently Mum has been very strange. She wants to play with me, but she doesn't give me any treats or offer any toy to play with. How strange!

Mum says that playing with no food or toy is called "Personal Play" and that if I learn it I will be able to ignore other dogs better, or at least that's what Mum is hoping.

Here is a video of our practise session yesterday. As you can see, Mum was moving around overly excitedly. Sometimes I even found it a bit overwhelming.

This morning Mum was doing a little better, although I lost focus from time to time.

Now I wonder what our play will be like when we have mastered it.

Cinnamon at 8 weeks old and at 8 years old

Hi. Cinnamon here.

Mum hasn't given me any birthday present yet.

As she doesn't celebrate my birthday, I have decided to celebrate it on my own.

Do you know how I did it? I dug into my old photo album, found a photo of me at 8 weeks old, and compared it with a photo of me taken a few days ago.

Wow I was so tiny when I was 8 weeks old!

Was Cinnamon's birthday forgotten?

Hello, everyone. Cinnamon here.

Yesterday was my eighth birthday. Can you believe that I am eight years old already? I can't!

But, it seems my humans didn't remember that it was my birthday, as they didn't do anything special for me.

All they did was:

Give me a bath...

Get excited to see what arrived in mail (but they didn't look like my birthday present)

And take us for two walks as usual.

I know that my humans were busy yesterday. But, I am sure that they could have done something special for me.

I hope they will make up for this on the weekend!

Yes, Mint can STAY!

It's me, Mint, again!

Today I have great news! Well, it is not such great news for myself but it is for Mum.

On Saturday I went to Hibiscus Coast Dog Training Club Obedience and Rally-O championship. The news I want to share with you today is about Obedience. I didn't break my stays for the first time in the last two years and won the Special Beginners for the first time!

When I was younger, Mum was thinking that I had potential to become a good competitive obedience dog and that I would go up to higher obedience classes easily. However, after I started having seizures, I became unable to stay still with other dogs in group stays in obedience competitions. I was able to stay at home or in a park, but I couldn't stay in a competition environment. Well, it may not be because of my epilepsy, but somehow I always stood up and walked to Mum in competitions when I was supposed to be staying with other dogs.

Because I always broke my stays, I missed a chance to win so many times. I don't remember how many times I have heard people, including judges, giving Mum advice on how to improve my stays. Staying is boring you know, but Mum made me practise them almost every day. Nevertheless, I couldn't help moving and standing up when doing stays with other dogs in a competition ring.

However, this time I somehow didn't feel like standing up during my stays. This time I didn't feel anxious at all. I was comfortable staying with other dogs. I think that practising with some other well-behaved dogs in a therapy dog class that I had attended just recently helped.

What surprised me was that I won the Rally-O Advanced A too! Well, we left the competition venue before the prizegiving. So, when we left, we didn't know that I had won it. But later my friend's mum let Mum know the result.

Don't you think that I have been doing too well lately? To be honest I feel awkward. Is it Ok for me to be such a good boy?

A typical walk in winter in NZ

As you might know, it rains a lot in winter in New Zealand. Usually we have some fine spells even on rainy days, but it is really hard to predict when we have them.

Today is one of those typical winter days. Luckily we had a morning walk without getting wet.

It wasn't so cold either :-)

But look at this! On our afternoon walk we got soaking wet!!

I, Mint, don't like wearing a raincoat!

Oh my god! I look like I had just had a bath!

We hope it stops raining by tomorrow morning so that we can have a walk without getting wet again!

Basic obedience class for therapy dogs

It's me, Mint, again!

From late May to last Saturday I went to a class for therapy dogs to learn how to behave well off leash.

I really enjoyed the class, meeting some new friends who were also therapy dogs every Saturday. Now that the class has finished, I really miss them!

This is Mo. I truly admire him. Mum always complains that I can't stay, but Mo is super good at stays! He can stay in one place without problem even if he can't see his mum.

This is Maddie. She is a super friendly doggie. She wants to say hello to every dog she sees.

This is Mandy. She is a charming and stylish girl. She always wears her bandanna that suits her really well. She is small but runs really fast when she goes back to her mum in her recalls!

This is Sally. She was the largest dog in the class but also the most gentle girl as well.

By the way that sweet looking black Labrador sitting behind us is Jess, our instructor's dog. She is my old friend since my puppyhood too.

On the last day of the class we sat for a graduation exam (we did a series of off-leash exercises, a long distance recall, an out-of-sight stay, and so on) and we all passed!

I got a nice looking certificate of completion of the class.

After the class, we all promised to get together again for walks. I can't wait for the walks!

Oh, I shouldn't forget to mention that Cinnamon was waiting in the car during my exam. Thank you Cinnamon!

Mum has become a certified trick dog instructor!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Although I didn't post anything for a long time, it didn't mean that I was unwell or anything. I was as fine as ever!

Today I have special news to announce.

As Mint reported in his recent post, he earned his Trick Dog Champion title recently.

I am sure I could have earned mine more easily than he earned his, but Mum somehow decided to do it with Mint first. I hope I can start earning my own trick dog titles soon.

Well, the news I have today is not about Mint's trick dog titles. Mum has become a certified trick dog instructor of Do More With Your Dog! 

In order for a human to become a certified trick dog instructor, the human has to take an examination that consists of a written test and a video submission.

So, Mum asked Mint and me to help with her video submission in which she had to demonstrate five advanced tricks with her own dog(s) and also how to teach a dog to do several different tricks. Of course we helped her willingly, as we knew that we could get a lot of treats if we did! And Mum passed the exam!!

Now that she has become a trick dog instructor, it seems that she wants to help other dog owners learn how to teach their dogs tricks. If you have any particular tricks that you want to learn or teach your dog, let us know. We would love to help!

Mint is an RA dog now!

Mint here!

I am excited! I am an RA (Rally-O Advanced) dog now!

Yesterday I went to a Rally-O championship and did two rounds in Rally-O Advanced A class.

If you get three qualifying rounds under a minimum of two different judges, you can get an RA title. Although I had been competing in Rally-O Advanced A for over a year, I hadn't got three qualifying rounds yet, partly because Mum often makes mistakes and, for example, she turns right when she is supposed to turn left or she doesn't stop when she is supposed to do so. However, I have to admit that sometimes I am not focused, giving Mum a hard time trying to keep my attention.

And yesterday I finally got my third qualifying round in my first round of the day and became eligible to apply for an RA title!!

As you may already know, I get distracted easily if Mum doesn't have food on her, and I know that she doesn't in competitions. So, I always feel temped to sniff the floor as soon as Mum says "Heel" at the beginning of my round in competitions. Yesterday again I couldn't resist the temptation and put my nose to the floor at first. But, Mum did a good job keeping my nose off the floor for the most part of my rounds.

This is my first round.

There were two judges in the ring, as one of them was a probational judge. When we were out of the video screen, I had an urge to check out a sign before me. But, Mum's yell brought me back to what I was supposed to be doing, and in the end I got a qualifying score, 97 points! And on top of it I got a 2nd place!!

The next is my second round.

Again I couldn't help but sniffing the floor at first, but later I became more focused. However, I don't know why but it took me a second or two to recall what "Stand" meant, and after standing up, I couldn't stay still. Looking at what I was doing, Mum got upset and forgot to stop at the end of the exercise when she was supposed to do so! Fortunately she realised what she had missed before the next exercise, and she requested a repeat, but it cost a three-point loss and my total score of the round was 93 points when I needed to earn 95 points or more to qualify.

Well, Mum still looked happy because I got my third qualifying certificate in Rally-O Advanced A. If Mum is happy, I am happy too!

Yes! Mint can dance without food!!

Mint again!

Tonight at our weekly dance training I proved that I can dance well without food!!

See?

It is not fun dancing a whole routine without treats!

Mint here again.

Cinnamon and I have been practising our dance routines in preparation for an upcoming international video competition. But, to tell the truth, it is not fun at all!!

Yes, I like performing with Mum, but that is partly because I can get a lot of treats just like when learning or practising tricks. But, Mum doesn't give me any treat when videoing a routine. And, my brain stops working if treats stop coming.

This is one of my videos recently filmed. 

As you can see, if treats stop coming, I start to wonder why I can't get treats, and I become unable to think about dancing. For example, leg weaves and paw lifts are very easy tricks. But, I cannot do them well in a routine without treats in Mum's hand or pockets.

Cinnamon has been having her own problem too. In her case, she can't stop barking if no food is coming! 

If she doesn't bark, she gets worried about the environment and keeps looking around during a routine. 

Does anyone know a good solution?

Mint is a Trick Dog Champion!!

Woo-hoo! I, Mint, have earned the Trick Dog Champion title!!

I didn't think I could make it so fast. But, it turned out that I had got a pretty good variety of tricks already. All I had to learn for the title was the Shell Game, where I had to find one with food hidden it it from three plant pots that were placed upside down.

This is the video that I submitted to earn my Champion title.

Is it Cinnamon's turn next?

Mint is a clever Beagle!!

I, Mint, am sorry we didn't post anything for such a long time!! We have been very busy for the last year, but finally we have got time to write a post here.

As you may know if you follow our Facebook page "Cinnamon and Mint the Beagles", we have been working very hard in every sport we do. We have been doing really well especially in Agility this year. We have been working very hard in Canine Freestyle as well, but we haven't had as significant achievements in the sport recently as we did two years ago. Mum has stopped competing in Obedience and Rally-O with Cinnamon, because she gets very nervous in the ring of the sports. Her anxiety in and around the Agility ring has improved a lot and now she rarely reacts to other dogs in Agility venues. Mum thinks that is because Cinnamon loves and enjoys Agility so much. In fact she has had two wins in Agility Championships this year and graduated from Jumpers C and Starters, and now she is competing in Jumpers B, Novice, and Intermediate. I have been doing well in Agility too, but I am not as fast as Cinnamon, so I haven't been able to graduate from Jumpers C yet.

Well, have you seen the title of this post? Yes, it's about how clever I, Mint, am!! Do you remember that we worked on "One New Trick A Month Challenge" three years ago? Wow, three years ago!? It's been a long time since! After that, we continued to learn new tricks but not as many as we did in 2012. Also, Mum has always said "Cinnamon is very clever and quick to learn new tricks, while Mint is very clumsy although he does them diligently once he has learned them". I thought that it was an insulting comment on such a clever boy like me. So, I decided to start performing my clever tricks to earn "Trick Dog" titles.

Do you know a world's famous dog trick instructor, Kyra Sundance? Her books about how to teach dogs tricks are very popular around the world. Recently we found out that her programme "Do More With Your Dog!" offers "Trick Dog" titles, and Mum decided to try them with me. When Mum told me about it, I was very excited because she chose me over Cinnamon!! Yes, she knew that I was a clever dog as well!! Yay!

Under the "Do More With Your Dog!" programme, there are five trick dog titles, "Novice", "Intermediate", "Advanced", "Expert", and "Champion." So far I have earned from "Novice" to "Expert". So, my next challenge is "Champion"!!

This is a video of tricks I performed to earn my Expert Trick Dog title.