a touch of class

Just a nice picture of the pups for the header...nothing related to the post.

Husband and I have been toying with the idea of me starting my own training classes. I've learnt so much from doing Foundation with Lumen that I feel very confident in being able to pass on that knowledge. 

Agility specific clubs here in Melbourne are full- there's 12-18 month waiting lists to get in with a Foundation dog. Everybody in the agility community knows me and what I did with Mallei so I have a good reputation as a dog trainer already... 

I've recently been doing small-group classes with another trainer and I feel like there's parts missing that I would really benefit from, or, which would be better done as a pre-agility/puppy class, and then a bit more of an advanced foundation class...

So I have lists of what I'd teach, and I feel like it'd be a really successful program that could be tailored for different people, and because there'd be essentially pre-foundation and foundation, you could either do more equipment, motivation, speed and turns in one (which is what we'd like to be doing) and more shaping, tricks, stays, games and playing, etc in the pre-puppy. 

As I'm planning to take a few Silvia Trkman classes, I could also work in what I learn from those to my own sessions, and since nobody here has taken her classes as far as I'm aware, that would be totally new and different. 

I already know people who would be interested in coming, and have access to a large client base through friends and other dog people... I could charge people $20-25 a class, and after a few lots of classes should have paid off the equipment I would need to outlay for (some nice jumps and actual proper tunnels would be a good start, followed by a dog-walk (I'd want to encourage running and it'd be great to have my own DW to practise on before trailing!))... I need to find somewhere that I can hold the classes in the evening- so an oval with lights somewhere, organise insurance... I think it'd be fun...!

tricky tricks

A prize-winning trick at the Lost Dog's Home Petfest.

I thought it might be fun if I made a list of all Lumen's tricks, because some of them are hilarious, and it would be good to know what we need to work on, and it would be fun to take photos of them and have like, a photo dictionary of tricks.
Of course, being only 6 months old, these aren't perfect, and wouldn't necessarily be performed in high-stress, high-tiredness situations, but I can usually get them to happen if I want.
So...

The basics

Sit
Drop
Stand (not great at this one)
Stay
Stand for exam
Shake (both paws)
Wave/Right (wave is the left paw, right is.. the right paw)
High-5.
Come
Fetch

A bit tricker
Roll over/Play dead
'Nose' (Paw on nose while on back)
'Beetle' (Legs straight up in the air while on back)
Sit pretty
Stand up
Stand on feet and walk forwards and backwards
Pray (front feet on arm, head down)
Back up
'Bang' (Roll over dramatically from a sit)
Scratch (Hind leg scratch behind ear)
Bow
Weave through legs
Go around legs
Cik/cap around an object
Nose touch
Paw targets
Stretch (lay on stomach and 'superman' front and back legs)
Frog (lay on stomach with back-legs out at sides like frog legs)
Close drawers
Push a skateboard

Complicated
Handstand (against hand, wall or upright thing)
Lift one or other rear leg.
Flip to either side.
Heel stuck to side.
Reverse figure-8
Lift both legs (at the moment up on a cushion or whatever)
Lift leg on someone (hahaha)
Get in a suitcase
Take (object) and put in box.
4 legs in a bowl
4 legs standing on pods.
Feet in shoes (progress to shuffling forward)
Kiss (meant to be a lick on the chin but ends up being a punch on the chin with her nose)
Leave it


Working on...
Chase tail
'Itchy' (scratch tummy with back leg while standing)
...Um.. we'll call this, 'scratch and bite' (laying down, scratches ear with back leg while biting her tail)
Lick lips
Cross paws
Sneeze on command
Snorkle on command
Yawn on command
Dog cavaletties (walk in boxes without demolishing them)
"Fleas!" (Sit and scratch behind ear)
Don't chase cats.


Eventually...
Wrap up in blanket
Dive into blanket
Shame/hide (hide nose under paw)
Hold it (hold an object in mouth)
Put one bowl into another bowl.
Cross-paw walking
Sit pretty to stand up back to sit pretty
Hold on to paw/toy/pole with front legs.
Hold your front leg in mouth.
Speak (maybe... she just gets a little enthusiastic about this one and doesn't do anything else if I click it)
Maybe 'beg' with paws down instead of in the air.

our way, or the highway.

Today, Husband and I took Lumen to the local dog club for the first time. We were intending to sign up because I used to train there with Mallei and they had a good agility program, plus there's a lot to be said for Lumen being able to work with all those other dogs around and under distraction.

We didn't join up today because we don't have our membership cards for Victorian Canine Association so it would have cost us $15 more, and that seems like a waste of money when they're on their way.

On the way out of the building we bumped into a woman with two Aussies who trains at our Tuesday night place, and is one of the instructors at this club. We started chatting, and she told me how their agility training works.

There are different 'modules', essentially, and you have to pass each one to move to the next one, and you need to pass them all to start sequencing, going to the evening class for people competing and so on. Ok, no worries...
I asked her about the contacts module - said I was planning on training running contacts with Lu.
She looked awkward.
Well, she said, in order to pass the module your dog needs to do the whole dog-walk, then touch its nose THREE TIMES to the ground.
Uh...

So I'm familiar with two-on-two-off, and I'd like Lumen to be capable of doing that if I need her to - who knows, could come in handy, however, 3 nose touches? I asked what would happen if I didn't get her to do 3 nose touches, thinking I could cheat by getting a 2o2o just for the assessment, and do running the rest of the time. Apparently, this will not earn a pass.

Look, I know I'm going to be fighting an uphill battle in Australia with running contacts- frankly, nobody does them and everyone's afraid of them, but in this case, even this instructor (and apparently 90%!!! of the other instructors) agreed that 3 nose touches shouldn't be THE ONLY way to pass.

I just find it ridiculous that there should be such a restrictive requirement for this - as a teacher (or in this case, instructor), you're meant to be able to change what you do to suit the needs of your students (and their dogs). If I'm a fairly experienced handler who is going to be getting additional training (though Silvia Trkman's online running contacts course and probably private lessons ... somewhere...) and who trains at home to do a particular method, with my particular dog who, I'm willing to bed, will find much more joy and drive in running than stopping, then they should be able to tailor their program to accomodate that. And if my contacts end up being all messed up, that's my fault, not theirs. Trainers shouldn't ever assume that their way is the best (and only) way to train, and I think for most things (handling, weaves, whatever) they don't... so why are we all experts in contacts??

settle, petal.

Is this how we sleep on the couch? I've never done it before..

I've been having a bit of difficulty with getting Lumen to settle. We've had her 4 months now, and she was a GREAT stay on her- if I do it in a formal way, and has learnt pretty well that if I'm chopping things in the kitchen, that when she lays down behind me, she might get fed (and I know she's doing it for the treats, because if I don't cough up she starts to stretch herself out nice and long, tail wagging hopefully, squashes herself into 'frog' and generally tries to free-shape without pulling out all the big guns or getting up from her drop). But one thing I hadn't been able to do was just relax with her, out of her crate, of an afternoon or evening, in the lounge. Crazy. And I don't want to necessarily 'teach' her to settle, cos sometimes I need her to be revved up and savvy, but at the same time, I was really getting sick of having to crate her every time I wanted to, I dunno, write a blog post or watch TV. Otherwise, outside she'd go, where I know they both just wait at the back door to come in.

So yesterday I had the day off (strike!) and didn't do much more than usual, in fact, I'm not sure she even got a walk in the morning, just that I was able to hang out with her till 9, then popped her in the bathroom, came home, trained and played a fair bit, then chilled out on the couch. And it didn't take her long, but soon enough she was on the couch chewing a bully-stick and then... falling asleep.
I had to take photos as proof. Usually her crate is set up and open so she'd go put herself in there, but I hadn't given her the choice...

At first, it was like she wasn't sure what to do- she laid down and squished her snout against my arm- is this right? Should I sleep here? And grew sick of that as she got too warm and moved her way up and down the length of the couch from then on, finally stretching herself out long and lean on her side on the floor.

And this is how we spent most of the day, until about 4 in the afternoon- alternating between couch sleeps and floor sleeps. 

I'm hoping it's not just a one-off occurrence!

teeth

Lu is losing teeth, big time.

And I must say, that I'm beginning to appreciate what a stellar puppy she is. 

Right now, she's chewing very contentedly on a bully-stick on her bed, and so far (touch wood), all remotes, shoes, cords, electronics and so on are intact, sans teeth-marks.

Outside, she's been busy chewing sticks and, when she can find them, plastic plant pots (most of which have been removed by now). I know, I know, sticks can be dangerous, but honestly, it's better than chewing the sprinklers, or the plants (could be poisonous) or whatever. 

We're getting down to the wire with her teeth now- just the molars left to go, and a couple of pre-molars on the top (I think). 

I mean, this 5.5 month old puppy is moving from the dog bed to her mat to chew her bully-stick - she's not even doing it on the carpet!!! Mal could learn some lessons from her, I tell you. 

scary rubbish

So far so bad.
I must say I'm somewhat of a blog hoarder. I begin a blog and it falls by the wayside. Seems to be a recurring theme. Honestly, I don't have a huge amount of time to blog in the first place so possibly I should quit while I'm ahead, but I'd like to make a go of it.

I thought maybe some 'features' would be a good idea. Like: Tricky Tuesday (whereby I teach and film (fingers crossed) a new trick, or get better at an old one).
Or how about... Photo Friday - gives me an excuse to get more photos of Lu.
And... Well, maybe Monday can just be dedicated to wonderings, problems and rambling. Thursday could be 'Thoughtful Thursday' but Edgar's Mission do that so I'm stealing their idea. And Wednesday could be more of the same for now.


So. Today is Monday.

Tell you what, I'm super excited about hard-rubbish collection time. I'm not sure what everybody else calls it, but it's when you dump piles of old furniture, bits of wood, broken toys, old TVs and the like on the side of the road and it'll get picked up by the council, or by your friendly neighbourhood scavengers. Nic loves hard rubbish for the free stuff. I love hard rubbish because suddenly, scary, weird and strange-smelling monsters have manifested themselves all around our streets and it gives me the perfect opportunity to practice 'Check it Out'/Treat & retreat.

Big scary pile of stuff? Great - we go towards it to where Lumen is comfortable, she gets praised/fed, we move away, we go close again, treat, move away. We repeat this, and usually, it only takes about 5 back-and-forths before she is quite happily sniffing or climbing all over the object in question. Theoretically, I could probably just march up to the object myself and praise her for coming, but I see her big grin as we retreat, turn around, and get ready to start the game again that I know this works for her. I also see her 'check in' with me more often when there's scary things or cars, or something she's unsure about. Is she wondering if we're going to play the game? Checking my reaction? Showing me how brave she is? Making sure everything's ok? I'm not sure, but I get the sense she's trusting me a lot more lately, and I'm really enjoying watching her become a brave, confident, and well-balanced dog.

We also ran into a cat today, and getting her to 'leave it' or look away AT ALL (even when I stood right in her field of vision) was SO not happening. But that's another post for another day.

who where what

This is Lumen.

This was Lumen.

I had toyed with the idea of a blog documenting Lumen's journey when we got her, then decided against the idea.

And may have changed my mind again.

I don't want to be a crazy-person, blogging about their dog, but I think some of the things I've learnt so far have come about from other people's experiences. And anyway, she is such a sweet, serious, funny and weird pup that I can't help but want to talk about her. So here we are.

Currently 4.5 months, a blue merle Aussie shepherd with 1.5 blue eyes (one has a slice of brown through the middle) and a full (and abnormally long) tail. Named after a character from Dexter to befit her registered name 'Vigilante Justice'. 

Lumen has surprised me already by managing to learn more tricks than my previous 'super-dog' who, at 9, now gets rewarded just for laying down an not interrupting. She performs tricks she knows with a sharpness and clarity that I never knew I missed in Mallei, and whether that was my fault as a trainer, and/or his lack of desire to do the job properly, I don't know. 

Sometimes, in the evenings, or the middle of the morning, we hit this 'sweet spot', a golden hour where she goes crazy to work and learn (sometimes too crazy, but I'd rather that than completely disengaged)- where she wants to do everything at one hundred miles an hour, with this full-on gleam in her eyes that yelling at me WHAT CAN I DO NOW??

She's not wild (usually) or goofy (usually), but deadly serious and considering of the way the world works- I've had to teach her to laugh at herself, so instead of sulking when she embarrasses herself, she gets a grin on her face. When I try and teach her something new, if I hold the food in the right place, she draws on what she's learnt about rear-end awareness, and madly karate-kicks anything within reaching distance of her back feet - something that amazes me everytime. She negotiates her way around her clam-shell pool with her hind-feet on the edge like a crab, testing the edges and adjusting her balance as needed. She is showing me again and again that she'll just 'get' agility, from running and turning with me at 8 weeks old, to fearlessly tackling the tunnel the first time she encountered it (and she's not a fearless dog at all). 

She has none of the sookiness that drives me crazy in Mallei, unless she's stressed, in which case she'll move close and lean against me- not to hide, I don't think, but to know I'm there. 

In this blog I hope to share our journey as she develops, as we begin agility training in earnest. As we try methods, shape them, and make them our own. As we learn new tricks, and perfect old ones, I'd like to film what we're doing. As we begin herding, tracking, running and hiking together. As we overcome her fears and phobias, learn to leave the cats alone, and experience life as a working school-dog with a class full of 5 and 6 year old children (and maybe move into volunteering and visiting sick kids). 

Welcome to life, ilLumenated.