We are learning new tricks!

Hi! It's Cinnamon here.

Today I would like to show you my new tricks I have just learned and I am learning at the moment.

Well, Mum was thinking about teaching this trick to Mint so that she could use it in his new routine. But, before starting to work with Mint, Mum tried it with me. First she said "Mark", so I went to the hula hoop on the floor and sat in the hoop. Then, she said "Dig", so I dug under the hoop with my nose. It was so simple!! I did it successfully at my first try!

The next trick was actually not what Mum wanted to teach me. She wanted me to do the pivot with my front feet on Mum's feet. But, as soon as I put my feet on Mum's feet, I felt like jumping. So, I jumped!!

As many of you may know, I have done the handstanding leaning against Mum's leg in some of my dance routines. Because Mum didn't want to cause injuries in my back, she didn't try teaching me to do the handstanding with no support. But, because my physical condition has been so good recently, she started practising the walking handstand recently. This is still a work-in-progress and it may take long for me to master it, as Mum doesn't want to overdo it and cause any injuries. But, this is how I am doing it right now.

Finally, the following video is Mint's, not mine. He has been practising to catch a Frisbee in the air. Partly because of Mum's bad throwing, he has been struggling with it a bit. But, he has finally learned to jump to catch it in the air!!

We both love tricks!!

We met and worked for Sara Carson from The Super Collies!!

Hi! It's Cinnamon!!

This week we had a chance to meet the super talented dog trainer Sara Carson from The Super Collies and work for her as demo dogs at her dog tricks workshops!!

She was such a nice person that we all fell in love with her instantly!

It was so much fun to work with her!! And Mum, who is also a certified trick dog instructor (CTDI), helped Sara as her assistant.

Sara was kind enough to show Mum and Mint how to play Frisbee!

She even took these beautiful photos of us after three two-hour workshops on a hot day!!

We hope Sara will come to New Zealand again soon!!!!!!!! Next time hopefully with her own super talented dogs!?

*) All photos on this post except for the first one were taken by Sara.

We enjoyed our first Agility show this year!

Hi! It's Cinnamon again.

We went to our first Agility show this year on Saturday.

Although we had entered for both Saturday and Sunday, our humans decided to go to the show on Saturday only because rain was forecast for Sunday. We wouldn't have minded some rain, but our humans don't like rain!

On the day we left home at 9am in order to compete in the 2nd round of classes on the day. When we arrived at the venue in Tokoroa, two and a half hours from our house, the first round of classes were still going on. So, we had a walk around in the large field before preparing for our runs.

In the competitions I really enjoyed running and jumping, as you can see!

Although I got only one CR in Novice from my three runs in Intermediate 2, Novice 2, and ADX, I had a wonderful time doing what I love!

But, what made my humans and me even happier was that Mint was enjoying himself as well! At the same show a year ago he didn't seem to be enjoying Agility as much as I was, as I wrote in my post about the show here.

Mint was focused in all his three runs on the day and he even got his first CR in ADX as well as a CR in Novice!!

Now I can't wait for our next Agility show! And I hope to do better in the show!

Agility is SUPER fun!

Hi! It's Cinnamon ;-)

I am sorry I was absent from this blog for a while. But, it doesn't mean that I was sick or anything. As Mint wanted to write posts, I let him do so.

Time flies! The first month of the year has finished already! This week we had the first training night of the year at our dog training club, Manukau Dog Training Club, where Mint and I practise dancing.

Well today's post is not about dancing. It's about Agility.

As the title indicates, I have been enjoying Agility so much! This year I have been to two Agility competitions and got three 2nd place ribbons ;-)

It's been seven years since I first started learning Agility, but I have never enjoyed the sport as much as I do now. I have always loved running and jumping, but I had often felt stressed at Agility shows, because Mum always got nervous before my runs and there were other dogs near me around the ring. But, I don't get stressed any more as Mum doesn't get nervous any more. Both Mum and I have learned to enjoy the moment ;-)

Previously Mum always tried to keep my attention on her before my runs and she didn't let me put my nose to the ground. But, now she doesn't mind me doing anything as far as I am happy. She doesn't even try to interrupt me if I start barking from excitement before my runs. (Yes, I get aroused when I know that I am running soon.) Because she doesn't interrupt me, I can focus on my upcoming run. And, if I am focused, I don't care about other dogs.

I hope Mint enjoys Agility more than he does now. He is getting better but he is still often unfocused in the ring. I know he can run fast, but he somehow doesn't try his best to run fast in the Agility ring. At least his start on his runs has improved since Mum started guiding him to the start line by doing some dance moves, which prevents him from getting nervous. All he has to learn to do is believe in himself and be confident!!

By the way, at an Agility show in Tokoroa last month, all the five Beagles currently actively competing in Agility in New Zealand got together! It was a very nice reunion!! All the other three Beagles are more advanced than us. I am very proud of them as a fellow Agility Beagle!!

From Left Bella, Barry, Halo, Mint, and Cinnamon

I can't wait for the next Agility show!!

Happy New Year 2016!

Happy New Year!

We can't believe that another year has passed! Does that also mean that we got one year older? Oh my DOG!!

Well, what was the last year like for you? For us it was a fruitful year, as we achieved things that we had been working for, including many titles that we acquired last year, such as the AD (Agility Dog), RA (Rally-O Advanced), TDCH (Trick Dog Champion), R-F/N (Rally-FrEe Novice), MF-E (Musical Freestyle Entry), and JD (Jumpers Dog) for Mint and the JD, R-F/N, MF-E, and AD for Cinnamon. Especially it took Mint more than three years to collect 25 clear rounds required to gain the JD title if not having two wins.

However, these titles are simply milestones. What is more important is how we enjoy activities that we do. This year we will continue to enjoy various dog sports. For us winning is not as important as improving. So, we will focus on improving in every aspect of our training, especially reinforcing solid stays for Mint and further improving dog-reactivity for Cinnamon.

Of course, the most important thing for us is the health! So, we hope we stay active and healthy without any injuries or sickness (for both) and hopefully with less epileptic seizures (for Mint).

Finally, we wish everyone all the best for the New Year!!

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!!

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!

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!

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!

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?

Was it a success or a failure?

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Sorry I had a long break from blogging again. I repeatedly asked Mum to help me post something but all she did was say "Yes, I will when I have time". But, finally she had some time to help me today.

Well, l meant to post a video of a new trick every month, but Mum was not cooperative enough, and neither of us learned any new cool tricks last month. So, today I will show you something we tried for the first time instead.

Have you heard of Rally Freestyle Elements (also called Rally FrEe)? If you know Rally Obedience (also called Rally-O) and Canine Freestyle (also called Paws n Music or Heelwork to Music), you could guess what it is like.

Rally-O

In Rally-O you need to do exercises described in signs placed around a course. In Canine Freestyle you dance (do tricks) to music. Rally FrEe is something like a fusion of both. You are required to do exercises described in signs at stations on a course, but the exercises are more like dance moves and you will do them to music. There are also Free Choice stations, where you can do any move of your choice. Also, in Rally-O you don't only need to do every exercise correctly but also finish the course as quickly as you can. But, in Rally FrEe your run is not timed, although you may want to finish it before your music finishes of course.

Mum was very interested in this new dog sport but didn't have a chance to do it until recently. In early March our dog dancing team ChoreDOGraphy Connection and a few other people and dogs did Rally FrEe for the first time in New Zealand as a demonstration at a Rally-O Championship held in Mangawhai. Because it was a demonstration, we had been given the course a few weeks in advance so that we could practise before demonstrating in front of an audience (Normally the course is given to competitors a week before the competition so that they can decide what moves they will do at Free Choice stations). However, Mum was very lazy as always and we didn't practise it to music at all until the demonstration. So, now you can guess how it went, can't you?

Well, Mum says that I was very naughty, but I think I did well, considering the lack of practise. At least I really enjoyed it!! Here is a video of it. (The music stopped in the middle of the run because of flat battery but never mind!)

I think you can see how much fun I was having doing it. What do you think? Was it a success or a failure?

New Tricks 2014 - Jumping on Mum's feet

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

It's time to show another new trick I have learnt recently.

My new trick is "Jumping on Mum's feet"! What do you think I do in this trick? How could I jump on Mum's feet? Do you think it is something similar to so-called "Cop Cop" trick? No, this is something different.

I will give you a hint. Look at this picture. This is how I finish my new trick.

Now do you know what I do in this new trick? See if you guessed it right!

We are going to learn more new tricks, so stay tuned!!

New Tricks 2014 - Stacking

Hi! It's Cinnamon!

Do you remember that we took on the One New Trick A Month Challenge in 2012? It was a lot of fun to learn new tricks throughout the year. Last year we were so busy that we couldn't repeat the challenge, but this year we are going to learn more new tricks!

This is the first one we learned this year! (Well, it took me more than two years to learn it though (^_^;) )

Hope you enjoyed watching this new video of our new trick. Stay tuned for more new tricks!!!

Lure coursing at the Counties Dog Training Club

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

As many of you know, both Mint and I love lure coursing. It's exciting and so much fun!

Last Saturday a lure coursing event was held at the Counties Dog Training Club which Mint and I belong to for agility. It was the first ever lure coursing held at the club. We have been doing lure coursing at the Hound Racing Club since our puppyhood, but it was the first time that we participated in lure coursing at any other places.

It was the perfect weather for lure coursing, with some clouds and gentle breeze. At the beginning of the event we were all grouped into three sizes, Maxi, Midi, and Mini, and then each group was divided into smaller groups of three or four dogs. At the Hound Racing Club Mint and I always run together in the same group but this time we were placed in separate groups, because humans wanted us to lead other dogs in our groups, as most dogs had no experience in lure coursing and might not get the idea of what they were supposed to do.

The coursing started at a quarter to nine. Actually I didn't know what we were there for until I saw the first group start running in the course, but, as soon as I realised what they were doing, I got very excited and couldn't help barking! I don't understand why Mint could stay calm and quiet!

Cinnamon

Mint

On the day both Mint and I had two runs. Mint ran in the group before mine, but he was so stupid!! He lost the sight of the lure and got lost at the start!! Unlike at the Hound Racing Club where the lure is always in the dogs' sight, the lure was placed behind the dogs at the start. So, when Mum said 'Go', he turned around, trying to see the lure, and lost the sight of the lure which had already started moving forward! Silly Beagle!

Mint, why can't you position yourself facing in the right direction?

Mint finally found the lure, when the leading doggie was at the the first quarter of the course, and cut across the course to be back in the course just before the leading doggie.

"I am joining in!"

Mint cheated and joined the race halfway in the course.

Of course, I made a good fast start without losing the sight of the lure. But, well, I have to admit that I was clever enough to cut across the corners to take over the lure and waited for it to catch up with me.

Cinnamon cutting across a corner

Cinnamon waiting for the lure

In total 38 dogs participated in the coursing. Here are some photos of other doggies.

Are they Kangaroos?

Very focused!!

His mind must be running way before himself!!

Shanti  is smiling.

Quick is really quick!

Ha ha!!

Scooter is too obedient to run away from his mum.

It was so much fun!! I can't wait to go to the next coursing wherever it is, at the Hound Racing Club, at the Counties Dog Training Club, or anywhere else!