We had a walk with Honey the Great Dane and her humans again! This time we met at Mission Bay. Although Mission Bay is a very nice place for walks, we don't go there often because the beach is so popular that many people have a picnic there, which means there is a high chance for Cookie and Cinnamon to find food around.
As it was a rainy day, there weren't as many people on the beach and in a park beside it as usual. So, perhaps I was not paying enough attention to people around.
When we were walking together peacefully, Cinnamon suddenly dashed off toward a family who was having fried chicken and potato fries at an edge of the beach by a footpath. I ran after Cinnamon but it was too late. When I caught up with Cinnamon, she was poking her nose among the family sitting in a circle around their food and her mouth was almost reaching their potato fries!! It was fortunate that the family didn't look annoyed or upset, but it was still embarrassing.
After tying Cinnamon up on the leash, we started walking again. And, when we reached a point which I thought was far enough away from the family with food, I let Cinnamon off. But, as soon as she became free, she dashed straight back to the place where she had found food, and this time she succeeded in getting some fries!! Therefore, Cinnamon got to be on the leash for the rest of the walk.
In the meantime, Honey and Cookie enjoyed a walk together, keeping a distance, neither too far nor too close, from each other. They really looked like long-time buddies.
At the beach we found an interesting object. Visit Honey's blog to see what it was!
On Sunday, after competing in the Starters class at Waikato Agility Group (WAG) Agility Ribbon Trial held at Melville Park in Hamilton, we went to the Hound Racing Club's last coursing of the season at New Zealand Kennel Club Auckland Exhibition Centre in Ardmore. Because it rains a lot and the ground gets boggy in winter, we don't have coursing during mid-winter.
The coursing of the Hound Racing Club usually starts at 11am, but this time it started at noon as there was the club's annual general meeting from 11am. Although we couldn't arrive in time for the general meeting, we could participate in the coursing. Because only official members attended the coursing after the meeting, there were fewer dogs than usual. So, Cookie and Cinnamon ran as many as four races within just over an hour!
Both Cookie and Cinnamon were keen on the racing as usual, and they were very excited just by watching other dogs running.
I hope everyone had a great weekend. Our weekend was busy but exciting. We went to another couple of trials.
On Saturday we went to Cambridge Dog Obedience Club's Agility Ribbon Trial in Cambridge, about 140km south of Auckland. We entered three classes, Starters, Jumpers C, and Elementary B.
In the Starters class a challenge for us was again the Weave. Just before entering the Weave, Cinnamon started sniffing the ground. Although I somehow managed to bring her back on track, it took too much time. Just when Cinnamon was doing the second jump from the last, the judge called "Over time," resulting in a disqualification.
In the Jumpers C, I was worried about the Long Jump, as Cinnamon hadn't done it for a long time and, when she did it previously, she often passed by it. We made a good start without being held for a long wait like the previous week, and Cinnamon did the Long Jump beautifully. But, apparently she felt my relief and lost concentration. Just before the next jump after the long jump, Cinnamon started putting her nose to the ground again. I managed to bring her back on track, and Cinnamon did the subsequent obstacles perfectly up to the second jump from the last. I was almost feeling like 'Wow, we have completed the whole track without getting disqualified!" But, again Cinnamon sensed my relief, lost concentration, and passed the last jump. With my eyes following Cinnamon's unpredicted move, I ran into the last jump and fell over along with the jump obstacle!! So, we again got disqualified...
In the Elementary B class, Cinnamon ran well following my directions until she stopped at the Tunnel. Watching her move, I changed my course and ran on the outer side of the curved tunnel instead of the inner side. Then she somehow entered the tunnel and continued to run to the end. At first I thought that we might have got a fault by stopping at the tunnel, but I learned later that the judge didn't count it as a fault and we got our first Clear Round!! What pleased me even more was that we got the 6th place in the class!!!
It was a very long day for us, as our first competition of the day, the Starters class, started at 9am and it was after 5.30pm when we left the trial venue. We had to wait for hours between each class we entered, as there were so many dogs, and the Starters was the first program in the day and the Elementary B was the last one.
On Sunday we went to Waikato Agility Group's Agility Ribbon Trial in Hamilton, about 130km south of Auckland. We entered the Starters class only, because we didn't want to wait for a long time doing nothing.
In the Starters course, the Weave was the second obstacle. Cinnamon managed the obstacle much better than the previous times, without putting her nose to the ground. She nearly missed a pole but managed to recover. Although there was one fault by refusing the entry to the closed tunnel, we somehow completed the whole course without getting disqualified!!
After our run, our instructor pointed out that Cinnamon had refused the tunnel because she remembered she hadn't liked it when she went through it the first time (In this course, dogs had to go through the same tunnel twice). It was true. I should have noticed that, when I saw her stopping in the tunnel the first time, and I should have been more encouraging. Mmm, there are so many things that I have to learn...
Cookie and Cinnamon was given a great blog award called "Sugar’s Sweetest Blog Award" by a cool doggie blogger, Dennis the Vizsla. Thank you, Dennis!! If 'Sugar' doesn't go with 'Cookie' and 'Cinnamon', what else would!?
A great thing about this award is there is no rule!! So, I am going to take advantage of the privilege and pass the award to all our blog friends who haven't got the award yet and are leaving a comment on this post, as all our blog friends are sweet and deserve it!
However, last night I did something on the far end of the spectrum of 'Sweet.' As some of you already know, Cinnamon is very protective and doesn't let me cut her nails. Although I have been trying to get her used to a nail trimmer by rewarding her with food treats when she touches the trimmer, she still hates it and tries to bite me when I attempt to trim her nails. But, last night she looked so sleepy that I took a chance on trimming her nails. It was then that a bitter event happened! Perhaps you can tell what happened by now. Yes, I cut her nail too deep. It bled a lot! It was so upsetting that I felt like crying, though it must've been more terrifying for Cinnamon.
Cookie has broken his dewclaws, resulting in some bleeding, several times. But, because Cinnamon doesn't have dewclaws, she has never had that kind of problems. Instead, her nails tend to grow longer than Cookie's, so I always keep an eye on her nails.
This morning I took Cinnamon to a veterinary clinic, where a vet treated the damaged toenail with a tool, something like a soldering gun, and gave her an injection. It seems this kind of injury is not as serious as I thought. I thought that Cinnamon may not be allowed to walk outside for a couple of days, but the vet told me she may. Phew...
Thank you for all your support and good luck wishes! Yes, we ran at our FIRST agility trial!! I think Cinnamon did very well although we were disqualified in both of the two classes that we entered.
When we got up at 6am in the morning, it was not raining, but it started raining after a while. When we left home at 7.30am, the rain had stopped, and we headed for the Te Hihi Sport Reserve where the trial was being held, hoping that it wouldn't rain anymore.
We arrived at the site around 8am. As soon as we got out of the car, we were welcomed by familiar faces, our instructors from the Akarana Dog Training Club. They explained everything from how to apply for the entry to which ring our class was to run in, how to run the course, and where to wait and what to do when our turn came.
We entered two classes; Elementary B and Starters. There are two classes in the elementary level. Elementary A is for new dogs (may have experienced handler) and Elementary B is for new dogs and new handlers. In each class, there are three groups, Maxi, Midi, and Mini. All dogs can compete as maxi dogs. Dogs between 380mm and 460mm in height are midi dogs. And those not exceeding 380mm in height are minis (Cinnamon belongs to this category).
The competition started with Maxi in Elementary B, Midi came next, and Mini last. Today's Elementary course consisted of twelve jumps and two tunnels. It was not that bad at the beginning, but after the first turning Cinnamon refused a jump, and when I tried to guide her back in front of the jump, she jumped it from a wrong side, which got us disqualified. Despite our disqualification, several people who we didn't know came to me and said "You did very well, especially with a Beagle!!"
There was the Starters right after Elementary. Today's Starters course consisted of eleven jumps, three tunnels (two open ones and a closed one), a weave, and a tyre. When the pair before us finished, we entered the starting area and I gave Cinnamon all the treats I had in my pocket to get her attention as no food is permitted in the ring. When I was about to start, we were stopped by the judge. An edge of the closed end of a closed tunnel had torn and come loose, so it had to be fixed before we started. It was an unfortunate incident, as Cinnamon lost her concentration and started sniffing the ground. After a long wait, we were finally allowed to start. The first two jumps, the first tunnel, and the following two jumps were OK, but the weave was a disaster! She kept sniffing the ground, however hard I called her. In the end, I missed a poll without knowing and got disqualified again!!
It was a great experience no matter what the result was!! I learned a lot from this experience and I was also reminded how lucky we are, having so many supporters, including all of you - our blog friends and readers, our instructors, and my husband.
The prospect of our first trial tomorrow is becoming hazy. It started raining heavily just before lunchtime today. Is the trial really going to be held tomorrow? Mmm... just fingers crossed and hope the weather will improve!
The count down has begun. There are only three days to go... On Saturday Cinnamon and I are going to compete at an agility ribbon trial for the first time.
It's been nine months since we started agility training. When we started at the beginners class at Akarana Dog Training Club in September last year, both Cinnamon and I were extremely nervous. While most of our classmates became off-leash after a few sessions, I couldn't let Cinnamon off leash until the last couple of sessions of the course.
Then, there was a long break after graduating from the beginners class in early December and before getting back to the training again. When the non-competing class, which we attend now, started in February this year, Cinnamon was sick and not allowed to run around. So, we waited for her to fully recover and started agility training again in March.
Cinnamon did very well at the first session after she resumed training, but at the second session she behaved like a little devil and refused to do whatever I asked her to do. It was a nightmare. But, in the following week, we were back on track, thanks to our blog friends' encouraging messages and advice.
It's winter here and it is also a rainy season, so our agility class is often cancelled due to the bad weather. However, for us who have ambition to start competing this winter, it is very important to practice regularly. So we have set up an indoor agility course in the lounge by pushing all the furniture to the sides of the room to open up a space for it.
We don't even know how many times we can run at the ribbon trial. But, we will anyway give it a try. So, wish a good luck for us!!
Cookie and Cinnamon played with Honey the Great Dane for the first time yesterday.
When Honey was still living in a house just a couple of blocks away from Cookie's house, they sometimes met on the street during walks. But, every time Cookie saw Honey in a distance, he tried to turn around and walk away with his hair on the back standing up, so Honey's human and I could hardly talk to each other.
But, yesterday they got on so well. At first Honey's human was a little nervous about how Cookie and Cinnamon would respond when they came across such a bid dog like Honey, because she remembered how Cookie had behaved at previous times. Although Cookie stayed away from Honey for the first while, Cinnamon immediately showed interest in Honey and tried to invite her to play together.
* The photo in the centre is courtesy of Honey's humans
I want to thank Hsin-Yi, Honey's human, for her consideration as to how to introduce the dogs to each other. Firstly she suggested letting them meet up at an off-leash dog park, as dogs are more relaxed when their movement is not constrained by a lead. And, at the park where they met yesterday, she told Honey not to play roughly so that neither Cookie nor Cinnamon would get scared.
Cinnamon looked so happy playing with Honey. She didn't mind the difference of the size at all. When Honey stopped running after Cinnamon, Cinnamon barked and called Honey to play tag again.
Here is a message to Honey from Cookie and Cinnamon:
Thanks for playing with us, Honey! It was SO MUCH FUN!! But, you are REALLY BIG!! Cinnamon had never met such a big girl like you (Although we visited you when you performed a canine freestyle routine at Devonport Dog Parade in April, we couldn't chat with you as you were so busy then). Also, we were impressed that you were so well-behaved and listened to your humans so well. Our mum is very happy that we have found such a nice friend who we can learn a lot from. We can't wait to play with you again!!
Warning: Turn the volume down before playing the videos, if you don't want to hear me yelling commands and Cinnamon's name hurriedly, which may be disturbing for some viewers. Cinnamon's agility class starts at 8 pm, so we practice under the night lighting throughout the one-hour class in winter.
Cinnamon usually does the Tunnel without any problem, but this week she was so scared of the darkness in the long curved tunnel that she didn't want to enter it. So the instructor had to block the entrance to encourage Cinnamon to head for the other end where I was waiting. She did the Weave beautifully. It seems she likes it!
When Cinnamon was at the start position, red tail lights of a car in the car park beside the training club's ground turned on. Because the car park was very dark, it looked like only the two red lights were glaring in the darkness. Then, staring the red lights, Cinnamon started barking aggressively. Once she gets overexcited, it's hard to control her. I somehow brought her back to the start position and tried to guide her to the first obstacle, but she was so excited that she couldn't do what she usually can.
Cinnamon tried the A Frame for the first time. I was pretty confident that she wouldn't mind the height, and in deed she had no trouble climbing up and down the obstacle. But, again she didn't want to get into the dark tunnel, so this time I threw in a couple of pieces of sausage! That's why she stayed in the tunnel for a while before coming out of it. Please keep it secret from our instructor!
On reflection: What I learned from this week's training is that I should stay calm first and give commands in an uplifting but firm voice.
We didn't think we would one day have to deal with a dog's excessive barking, when we had Cookie only, as Cookie had rarely barked since he was a puppy, although he had a problem of biting instead.
On contrary to Cookie, Cinnamon barks a lot, especially when she sees other dogs, though her barking is not an aggressive one, it is rather a barking from over-excitement and a bit of nervousness.
When I started walking Cookie and Cinnamon together, even Cookie started barking along with Cinnamon. They didn't only bark but also tried to jump at other dogs that they met on the street. It was so embarrassing that I tried hard to stop their unwanted behaviour.
Without seeing any good outcome from my efforts, I came to think that it was only Flip, an acclaimed dog behaviorist, who could change Cinnamon's behaviour. He had helped us solve Cookie's biting problem when he was a puppy.
One day I visited his training school without an appointment. When I arrived there, Flip was busy training a couple of dogs, so I talked to his assistant and told her what problem I had with my dogs. Then, she said "Barking is one of the easiest problems to correct. We use PetSafe's bark control collars." Of course, she didn't mean anyone could stop a dog's barking problem if he/she used that special equipment. But, Flip's training fees were over our budget. So, I decided to tackle the problem on my own using a bark control collar.
Remembering that Flip's assistant told me that the collar they used was a type which gives a static shock, I looked for a bark control collar of that type on New Zealand's biggest online auction site, TradeMe, as well as checking reviews of bark control collars. As there didn't seem to be much difference between PetSafe products and Innotek products, I bought an Innotek No-Bark Collar second hand at TradeMe.
The result was: Cinnamon reacted too much to the static shocks. Although the collar is designed so that it starts with a little shock and gradually increases the strength until the dog stops barking, I had no way to make sure the collar was working as designed. Cinnamon gave a yelp and hid her tail between her hinder legs when she was given a static shock. She was so scared of the collar that she became kind of traumatic to anything that she had to wear. So, in the end I stopped using the collar without seeing any success. Now she hides under a dining table whenever I bring a harness or collar to take her out for a walk, even though she loves walking.
Pros
The mechanism is simple
It doesn't do any physical harm to dogs
Perhaps it would work for some dogs (There are many review comments saying that the product worked well)
Yesterday was Queens Birthday, a public holiday, which means there was supposed to be no delivery of mail. But, when we went out to the front garden to do some maintenance work to our house, I found a large envelope sitting in our mailbox. As both my hands were occupied, I asked my husband to get it. Then, picking up the parcel, he said "It's from Honey the Great Dane!!"
What a nice surprise! Yes, we DID tell her that we wanted to play 'Paw It Forward'. But, it was really exciting to receive a gift from our blog friend. Thank you very much Honey!!!
At first, I let Cookie and Cinnamon examine the envelope, hoping to see them tearing it open. But, they didn't do anything further than just sniffing, so I opened it for them. Ta-dah!!
There was a note from Honey saying "Great for training! You can break it up really small and ...", so I cut a couple of strips into small pieces. Are they too small??
There was even a present for humans, Manuka Honey Hand and Nail Cream! It's winter here, so I really appreciate this present!
Checking the parcel
Trying new treats
Well, it's our turn to 'Paw It Forward.' Join us to play it if you like! The rules are:
"The exchange focuses on doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and ‘paw it forward’ in their own way. This is how it works…we are going to agree to send something fun, inspiring or uplifting to the first 3 blog owners who post a comment on this entry. In turn you will then post about this on your blog, link to us, then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog. There are no cost restraints, BUT don’t go crazy! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found. No biggie, just a gift that will make the person smile. Maybe something unique from where you live? And, remember that kindness doesn’t have to involve money; there are untold ways to help others every single day, everywhere you go – just look around."
So, if you would like to play this game too, please add a comment to this post and let us know clearly that you would like to take part in the game. When you do so, please remember to send your postal address to our email address which you can find in our profile page. We will 'Paw It Forward' to the first 3 humans/dogs to say so. So be quick!
