My Lollipop again!

Hi! It's Cinnamon.

When I performed my Lollipop routine at NDTA (National Dog Training Assembly) 2010 last October, my Mum told me that it was our last performance of the routine and that she was going to start choreographing a new one for me. But, she hasn't done anything with our new routine yet, because she was so busy renovating the house, selling it, moving, buying a new house, and moving again until just recently. So, when we decided to participate in demonstration of Paws N Music (dog dancing) at Pets Picnic in the Park held by the Humane Society of New Zealand last weekend, we had no choice but to perform the same routine again.

Our dancing team on stand-by

Last Thursday we practised the routine for the first time after the NDTA. Until then, Mum was worried that I might not remember all the moves, but in fact I didn't only remember them all but also really enjoyed doing the routine!

When we did the same routine in the same event last year, I kept picking up acorns and eating them from the start to the end. So, Mum was anxious if I would be able to show some improvement this year. She always worries too much!! Of course I have improved a lot in many ways.

I must admit that I was very naughty a year ago, but I changed after I attended a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Foundation course at Manukau Dog Training Club last year. Mum says that it looked almost reckless to attempt for CGC with me. Back then, I never let anyone touch my muzzle. I never failed to snip anything or anyone trying to touch my muzzle. I always jumped up to anyone who came to greet me or Mum. And, needless to say, I often barked aggressively at unknown dogs when they came close to me. But, Mum gave it a go anyway.

When I was attending the CGC assessment preparation course, the instructor of the course recommended that we try competing in obedience trials because she thought that I was really good at heeling. So, I started competing in obedience and also attended competition obedience class after successfully gaining the CGC Foundation status. But, it didn't go as well as Mum wanted. It was not only once that I lunged at my classmates in the class. To be honest I was not comfortable in the environment. The class was held in a large building where as many as sixty or seventy dogs trained at the same time. So, late last year Mum switched my training from group training to private one, which made a huge difference!

A good thing about the change is that my private instructor is a completely positive trainer - she never uses physical corrections, which makes me more relaxed and less anxious. Mum says that, since I started training privately, my reactivity to other dogs has lessened and my focus has improved a lot, leaving aside my competition obedience skills.

Oh, I've got off the track. Getting back to talk about our demonstration on the weekend, I think I did really well, considering that I had practised it only once before the demonstration. Yes, I did sniff the ground a little bit, but it was because Mum dropped a piece of food in the middle of the routine!! Who could have ignored dropped food?

Do you want to see how much I improved in the last one year? Here you can see how I did last year. I missed so many moves!

And this is how I did this year. I still did some sniffing but much less than last year.

I hope you agree that I made a big improvement!

Now that we have moved to our new permanent home, we have more time to practise. Now I look forward to seeing the second routine Mum is going to choreograph for me. It seems she is going to make a routine for Mint too. Way to go, Mint!!