Finally, my FIRST dancing competition!!!

Hi. It's Cinnamon.

I am sorry I didn't blog for such a long time. My Mum was so busy that she couldn't help me write new posts. She is still busy but she agreed to help me write this post because we wanted to report on our VERY FIRST dancing competition at The National Dog Training Assembly (NDTA).

NDTA was held in Taupo, a resort town by Lake Taupo, the largest lake in the country

As the name indicates, many doggies gathered from across the country for the annual dog obedience and agility event. Earlier this year there were two local dog dancing competitions planned but they both ended up being cancelled because of lack of entries. So, this national event became my very first dancing competition.

I entered the Elementary class which fourteen dogs entered. I was the fifth in the running order. I thought that I would be very nervous in the competition, but I didn't get so nervous and instead I enjoyed dancing in front of a big audience of about two hundred.

I think I did pretty well, although I have to admit that I kept sniffing during our routine, as I just couldn't ignore interesting new smells other doggies had left. Actually my Mum was very worried that I might start looking for food during the routine, because some part of the dancing ring had been a waiting area for obedience competitions held before the dancing competition, where food was allowed.

After our performance, many people told us that our dance had been great. It seems that the audience's favourite part of our routine was the finish where I ran toward Mum, turned, backed up through Mum's legs, and put my fore-paws on Mum's shoulders.

Here is a video of my performance in the competition:

Although I didn't get placed (Prizes were given to top three dogs in the class), some people said to us 'You should've been placed!', which made both Mum and me very happy. :-)

Dacing on a stage and my allergy

Hi, it's Cinnamon.

Mum has been so busy that she couldn't help me post on my blog for such a long time!

Last weekend we did a dance demonstration again. As Dad didn't go with us, I don't have any photos from the event, Wag 'n Walk. But, my friend Bodie the Border Terrier's mum kindly asked her friend to video my performance (You can see it here). Thanks Bodie's mum and her friend!

Well, as you can see in the video, I didn't dance very well. In the first place, it was a very hard condition; we had to dance on a small stage with a narrow catwalk. Also, as soon as I got on the stage, I caught nice foodie smells under tables on the stage and couldn't help checking them. But, I couldn't reach the source of the smells because I was caught by a man, who was so mean that he took away a plastic tray for donuts and a cardboard box for a pizza that I had found!!

Then, just when Mum was trying to guide me to the starting position, the music started. Also, as I had never been on a stage before, I had to check every corner of it during our routine.

We are going to do this Lollipop routine once more at NDTA (National Dog Training Assembly) later this month. Although it is going to be our very first dance competition, Mum is thinking about making it the last time we will do this routine, as we have been doing the same routine since March.

Before I go, I will show you what a hard time I had to go through.



This strange object I am wearing is called an Elizabethan Collar. Have you ever had to wear it? I had to wear it for the first time recently. My vet says that I am allergic to a type of plant called Wandering Jew, so I had to be treated with some ointment and then wear this strange thing for an hour after that.

Mum, remember that you are the handler!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

Yesterday we went to an obedience competition, the first competition since I started training in the obedience class in early August. Do you want to hear the result? Well, I'd rather not tell it. But, I think I don't need to keep it secret either. I got the fifth place. However, to tell the truth, I was the last or the second from the last in the competition. Nevertheless I got a placing, because there were far less entries than usual.

In our run the biggest problem was that Mum and I walked too slowly in the heelwork. Otherwise, we did great. Mum says that she couldn't speed up because I was walking very slowly. But, I want to say the same thing back to her! She is the handler. So, if she walks slowly, I walk slowly! That's what an obedient dog should do, isn't it?

For the too slow speed of our heelwork, we got two points deducted, a big loss! After our heelwork, my dance and obedience instructor came to us and said "Too slow!!" Also, she said "YOU have to speed up" when my Mum said apologetically "But, Cinnamon was so slow." See? It was all Mum's fault!!

However, I can tell you that Mum was not so disappointed, or rather happy, because I behaved very well while I was in the competition venue. I didn't bark even when several other dogs around me started to bark, so she gave me lots of treats and praises, which was very good!

Sorry there is no photo of me competing this time. But, instead I will show you a photo of Mint and me waiting in front of a bakery while Mum was buying some bread. Mint barked when he had to wait there for the first time, but he doesn't bark anymore :-)

I've got too good a nose!!?

Hi! Cinnamon here.

It's been very wet here in Auckland for the last several days. We were planning to go to obedience ribbon trials in Mangawhai, one and a half hours north of Auckland, on the weekend, but we didn't go because my humans thought that it wasn't worth such a long drive if it rained, as the event was held outdoor.

Well, today I will show you what I start doing as soon as I catch smells left by another dog who has just passed by.

As many of you know, I find it very hard to stay calm when I meet other dogs that I don't know in the street. I know that my mum has been working hard to teach me to ignore those dogs, but it is still so hard, although I think that I actually have improved since I first started training not to bark at other dogs last November.

Mum always tries to keep distance from other dogs that we don't know, as I can stay relatively clam by playing 'Look at That' game*, if the other dog is at a distance like on the other side of the road. She also tries to avoid walking in a place where another dog has just walked, if she can, because I have got such a good nose that I just can't ignore the scent other dogs left. If I pick up such scent, I can't help tracking it. And, tracking other dogs' scent, I get excited and it becomes hard for me to stay clam.

*) In 'Look at That' game, I can get click and treat if I look at Mum as soon as I find a dog in the street.

Does anyone know how I could ignore other dogs' scent?

From Cinnamon's mum:

Today we went to St Heliers to have a walk in a break between rain showers. It seems many people thought the same way, as we met so many dogs there.



When we walk in St Heliers, we usually walk on a footpath along Tamaki Drive to Kohimarama. The footpath is relatively wide, but not wide enough for Cinnamon to feel safe. Also, you can't cross the road to the other side easily, because of the traffic.

When we were practising meeting other dogs in preparation for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) assessment, we went there several times in a week to desensitise Cinnamon to encounters with other dogs, as in our neighbourhood we don't meet many dogs that we don't know. Although we passed the CGC assessment with luck, Cinnamon's reactivity to other dogs hasn't been fixed yet.

Today in St Heliers Cinnamon reacted to other dogs so badly that I almost felt like crying. What made things worse was that Mint started barking at other dogs even when Cinnamon was well under control by playing 'Look at That' game.



It was a good reminder that I can't afford to have a break in Cinnamon's training, at least not yet.

Beagle Walk at Churchill Park

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

On Saturday there was a big earthquake in Canterbury region of New Zealand. As Canterbury is far away from Auckland where I live, actually on a different island, I didn't know about it until my neighbour told us about it when we met her in our morning walk. It must have been a very scary experience for people, dogs, and any other kinds of animals living there. This morning I heard that some dogs had gone missing after the earthquake. I hope they will reunite with their family soon and safely.

After we watched news reports about the earthquake on TV on Saturday, we went to Auckland Beagle Club's Beagle Walk. The club holds beagle walks every other month in various locations, and this time it was at Churchill Park, Glendowie, Auckland. As I hadn't been in a Beagle Walk for more than a year, I really looked forward to it. But, we had a heavy rain the night before, and it was still raining in the morning, so I was not sure if I could go until the last moment. My humans had said that we were not going if it rained. Luckily it stopped raining although it was still cloudy, so we headed for the park.

There weren't as many Beagles in the walk as usual, perhaps because of the weather, but I had a great time walking in new places I had never been to. Because it had been raining a lot, the ground was very boggy and there were many paddles. Usually I don't like to get wet, but I didn't mind it at all in the walk.



In the walk we walked through a few more parks, including Roberta Reserve that we frequent, as well as Churchill Park. In a park called Point England Walk my Mum let both Mint and me off the lead. It was so much fun! We enjoyed exploring on and around the track along a stream with two other Beagles who were also off the lead.

When we came back to our car, our legs and tummy were all covered with mud!! I liked the walking course so much that I am going to ask Mum to take me there again.