As usual I am behind blogging. So much is going on in my life and even though this is Miller's blog, I have to share! I have mentioned it before but I am opening up a small business for dog training in the wamego area. I have joined the APDTA and am meeting with a small business consultant tomorrow. I have lots of questions and lots of excitement so looking forward to ironing out some details. I am still not stuck on a name and have contacted the local Wamego OZ theme person and she is helping me to think of a name and a tag line. My homework this weekend is to watch the Wizard of Oz and read the book looking for cool names. I love the name, Run Toto, Run, but this is the name of a wine at Oz winery so don't want to copy them. So far the best name we have come up with is Ozsome Dog Training and the tagline is "we will train you and Toto too" or "we will train you and your little dog too". Still thinking about this so nothing is set in stone.
I am so excited yet so scared too! My worry is that this will take over my life and my real job. I love what I do, could never not be in science or at a lab bench doing science. I also want time to work on my own dogs as I have so many aspirations for all of them still! I still want to do agility and tracking with all of them and get into herding with Deuce and Harley. I want this to be a side thing and not my life. I have a life and i like it. The book I am reading talks about how you have to set boundaries if this is a side job. For instance, if someone calls, not answering it and calling them back until you get off of work and having set hours to do paperwork on think about classes. I know me and I am very impulsive so it will be very hard for me to do this.
I will have to admit that my head is spinning with all of the possibilities i need to think about. Insurance, having others train with me, finding a location to have group classes, and what type of small business i am going to become are all things that i need to think about and process. I sometimes feel very overwhelmed and I haven't even started!!!! Then comes all the issues that come with teaching such as the people themselves. I feel like I am good with dealing with people but you get so many different kinds in classes or lessons. They mostly want a quick fix, don't want to do their homework and sometimes have dogs with issues that are truly behavioral, which I am not trained to handle, especially any type of aggression. Those will be the tough cases as I will have to turn them away as I not in any shape or form trained to handle these cases. Maybe someday, when I win the lottery, I can go back to school and take behavior courses and do internships at shelters or behavior training facilities and become more knowledgeable in these types of dogs, but I figure that won't happen for a long time if ever. I am going to try and read as many books as I can but reading books does not make you an expert in any way. Firsthand
experience with a knowledgeable expert helps and I have no clue how I would get that.
Okay, enough of my ramblings about my small business. This weekend was a good weekend for the Miller man with a double Q on Sunday and a single Q in JWW on Saturday. We would have had a perfect weekend but for whatever reason, he refused the chute in standard. It is weird chute, i will admit, but he has been in it before so this is not the first time we have done it. This is the only club that uses this type of chute in our area. It is a dog house and the barrel is in the house so the dog has to jump up in it and then go through the fabric part. Oh well, you win some, you loose some. We need one more Q for AKC nationals and then like 2oo points but I am not going this year so it doesn't matter. I guess it would be nice to list that we qualified 3 years in a row though? Anyway, Harley had a silly weekend where his contacts fell apart in standard and he knocked bars in JWW. In the video, the JWW run where he knocks the triple, we measure and he took off 8 feet before the obstacle!!!! I think Harley's theme song was I Believe I can Fly!!!!! I hope this isn't a trend for Harley, to become inconsistent again. He is doing so well in open practice and I am really pushing them and making him try hard things, just like Lori did when he was in her class. When he tries to get away with rears, I make him do all fronts or whatever to get him out of his comfort zone. One of the things that I think I finally got through to his head (which shouldn't have taken this long) was that he does not do contacts the same in class as in practice. I got him to working on a true running a-frame tonight and I hope he will continue to practice this. Harley seems so much happier when he can run the contacts but he needs to truly run, not run part of the way and then superman off. Tony was really surprised he did as well as he did tonight just using the hoop and the Frisbee to get Harley to focus ahead.
So we got to do some fun stuff this weekend, including some very good Italian homemade food on Saturday night (best lemon bars I have ever put in my mouth) and some very good KC BBQ on Sunday to celebrate miller's QQ. We even got to see a real steam engine come into Union Station while we were there. We also found a store we have been wanting to go to but it was closed. It is an architecture salvage place and we are hoping to get some cool doors for our house. I love when we get to explore but probably won't be able to do that much more as we have to take Harley and Deuce with us and leave them in the car as they won't behave in the hotel room like berry and miller will. We are going to buy a fan that uses a tool battery this weekend, which will help but not in summer time:( Oh well, we have had fun exploring this winter! Can't wait to go back to Omaha in a few weeks and go back to Upstream brewery and back to the antique shops we found there! One of them had antique door knobs and I am so excited!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Wichita Cluster weekend 2010
Back from the gym, trying to wind down and thought I would write a little bit about Miller and Harley's weekend. I am trying to make a mash up video of both dogs instead of separate videos so I can just upload one and be done. We only got 2 Qs videoed out of three between the two dogs but oh well. We left the video camera in the car for the first part of the morning as we were in a hurry since tony takes so dang long to get ready and he also wanted spangles this morning for breakfast. I normally just eat a granola bar but for some reason, forgot to pack them so had to eat out for breakfast. That much grease that early in the morning really does a number on my tummy!!!
Anyway, got to Wichita late friday night and swung by the show site to see if it was still open. I had heard that there was actually crating space this year so was hoping to get set up in a good location. I love this trial and I hate this trial. There is so much to do and watch including lure coursing, herding, agility, conformation, and obedience and so many vendors but with that comes tons of people, spectators, and not alot of space typically to set up your crates. To me, it looked like conformation entries were down this year because usually where we agility folks crate is surrounded by paid conformation crating and there was lots of space left for free. We have crated in the car in the past and i hate that because you never know what the weather is going to be like and it is usually too hot to leave them in the car.
Got to the hotel around 11ish and got checked in and drug all of our crap up the stairs. Four dogs have lots of crap to take with them in a hotel, even if it is just two nights. I had decided to bring a crate in this time since last time deuce decided to walk all over me all night and caused me to not get very much sleep. I tried leaving him out but about 3 am he decided it was time to walk on the momma and I couldn't sleep, plus his tummy was still a little unhappy from his dumpster diving antics. Saturday morning dawned way too early but at least we were set up and it was small to tall so we didn't have to be in a big hurry. I had two good runs with miller that weren't q runs. The weave poles in standard were going straight into the fence and I think I must have started slowing down and he popped out because i was slowing down. Who knows, he seems to do this alot here lately so it is something I am doing for sure. Other than that, he had an awesome run and had a great run going in jumpers too and knocked a bar. I was very happy with the way he ran even though they weren't Q runs. He was happy although he did break his stay in jumpers. I have got to get tough and make him stay as we were lucky this weekend that only one course really needed a lead out to be successful with the handling move I wanted to do. Harley was the star of the day, running fast and clean in JWW and getting a fourth place! I am so proud of tony and how he is coming along with harley. They are really gelling as a team and it shows! Harley seems so much more relaxed when he runs and alot of his issues are going away with the reduction in stress. Tony was really tickled that he did so well and that they beat out border collies for a Golden, Lab, Aussie, Aussie top four. Everyone is so supportive of him and all have been coming up to him telling him how well he is doing and he really loves it. I really miss running harley but I put way too much pressure on him and Tony doesn't and so he does better for him for sure!
We let Deuce do the herding instinct test (see deuce's blog for results) and then took the dogs out to go watch Barb's whippet do lure coursing. My dogs get so excited when other dogs lure course so I only had them out one at a time so we could really hold them. A whole bunch of agility folks came over and watched so it was fun. We went back to the hotel sunburnt and wind whipped and tired. I think we must have both laid down and died because we woke up and it was 7:30 at night! Tony really wanted to go to the dirt track as it was opening night and even though I wasn't hugely excited, I went. Just finding parking was horrible as I guess everyone in the little town of Park City comes to the races. I am not kidding, we drove around the parking lot for 30 minutes and tony had to race a guy for a spot and almost having a wreck in doing so. We had a good time watching the sprint cars and the modified cars and the kids racing but i was so tired and the nap made me feel worse not better. We didn't have our normal racing gear either so we got lots of dirt and rubber in our face and our ears got assaulted by the loud engines but it was fun. We left around 10ish and headed back to the hotel and died again!
Today was a good day too with Miller getting a double Q on some very fun courses. Harley ran past the weaves in standard, which I don't think I have seen him do since he was a puppy and then tony really pushed him in jumpers and he had multiple bars. I think Tony was bummed about his runs but happy because Miller got a fourth in standard today so we had reason to celebrate. I think that is our 5th QQ for our MACH 2 and our 4th QQ for nationals qualifying (even though we aren't going). I am hoping if we stay consistent that maybe MACH 2 will be a possibility. I know it was so awesome today to see Lynn and Scoot, who got there MACH the weekend after Miller and I did get their second MACH. Scoot is such an awesome aussie (i know, have run him:) and Lynn does such a great job handling him. They finished 26th out of 275 20 inch dogs at nationals which is a huge accomplishment for any aussie against so many border collies! Sara F also got her MACH this weekend with her little snazzie Maycee! It was so great to see so many people meet their goals with their dogs this weekend! I know how huge it is to get a MACH and I hope they all float on cloud 9 for a long time!
On another note, got lots of good books this weekend on starting my own doggy business. Dogwise was at the show so picked up three really good books. I am reading the business one right now and am learning so much! I am on the chapter about tax deductions and about what type of business you want to be and business plans and so far, I am not too scared yet! I really look forward to providing a service to the community and their pets and hope to get this up and started this summer. I have to get this going so that I can get insured so I don't get sued when I help people at their homes with their dogs. This is the main reason why I have decided to go through with this business thing and I really, really enjoy helping people and their dogs. I have been doing some one on one work at people's houses that I have met in wamego (met one lady at the track, one lady saw me working in the yard and stopped and started asking questions) but look forward to maybe having some group type classes and maybe even some puppy classes!
Well, better get off of here and go fold some laundry!
Anyway, got to Wichita late friday night and swung by the show site to see if it was still open. I had heard that there was actually crating space this year so was hoping to get set up in a good location. I love this trial and I hate this trial. There is so much to do and watch including lure coursing, herding, agility, conformation, and obedience and so many vendors but with that comes tons of people, spectators, and not alot of space typically to set up your crates. To me, it looked like conformation entries were down this year because usually where we agility folks crate is surrounded by paid conformation crating and there was lots of space left for free. We have crated in the car in the past and i hate that because you never know what the weather is going to be like and it is usually too hot to leave them in the car.
Got to the hotel around 11ish and got checked in and drug all of our crap up the stairs. Four dogs have lots of crap to take with them in a hotel, even if it is just two nights. I had decided to bring a crate in this time since last time deuce decided to walk all over me all night and caused me to not get very much sleep. I tried leaving him out but about 3 am he decided it was time to walk on the momma and I couldn't sleep, plus his tummy was still a little unhappy from his dumpster diving antics. Saturday morning dawned way too early but at least we were set up and it was small to tall so we didn't have to be in a big hurry. I had two good runs with miller that weren't q runs. The weave poles in standard were going straight into the fence and I think I must have started slowing down and he popped out because i was slowing down. Who knows, he seems to do this alot here lately so it is something I am doing for sure. Other than that, he had an awesome run and had a great run going in jumpers too and knocked a bar. I was very happy with the way he ran even though they weren't Q runs. He was happy although he did break his stay in jumpers. I have got to get tough and make him stay as we were lucky this weekend that only one course really needed a lead out to be successful with the handling move I wanted to do. Harley was the star of the day, running fast and clean in JWW and getting a fourth place! I am so proud of tony and how he is coming along with harley. They are really gelling as a team and it shows! Harley seems so much more relaxed when he runs and alot of his issues are going away with the reduction in stress. Tony was really tickled that he did so well and that they beat out border collies for a Golden, Lab, Aussie, Aussie top four. Everyone is so supportive of him and all have been coming up to him telling him how well he is doing and he really loves it. I really miss running harley but I put way too much pressure on him and Tony doesn't and so he does better for him for sure!
We let Deuce do the herding instinct test (see deuce's blog for results) and then took the dogs out to go watch Barb's whippet do lure coursing. My dogs get so excited when other dogs lure course so I only had them out one at a time so we could really hold them. A whole bunch of agility folks came over and watched so it was fun. We went back to the hotel sunburnt and wind whipped and tired. I think we must have both laid down and died because we woke up and it was 7:30 at night! Tony really wanted to go to the dirt track as it was opening night and even though I wasn't hugely excited, I went. Just finding parking was horrible as I guess everyone in the little town of Park City comes to the races. I am not kidding, we drove around the parking lot for 30 minutes and tony had to race a guy for a spot and almost having a wreck in doing so. We had a good time watching the sprint cars and the modified cars and the kids racing but i was so tired and the nap made me feel worse not better. We didn't have our normal racing gear either so we got lots of dirt and rubber in our face and our ears got assaulted by the loud engines but it was fun. We left around 10ish and headed back to the hotel and died again!
Today was a good day too with Miller getting a double Q on some very fun courses. Harley ran past the weaves in standard, which I don't think I have seen him do since he was a puppy and then tony really pushed him in jumpers and he had multiple bars. I think Tony was bummed about his runs but happy because Miller got a fourth in standard today so we had reason to celebrate. I think that is our 5th QQ for our MACH 2 and our 4th QQ for nationals qualifying (even though we aren't going). I am hoping if we stay consistent that maybe MACH 2 will be a possibility. I know it was so awesome today to see Lynn and Scoot, who got there MACH the weekend after Miller and I did get their second MACH. Scoot is such an awesome aussie (i know, have run him:) and Lynn does such a great job handling him. They finished 26th out of 275 20 inch dogs at nationals which is a huge accomplishment for any aussie against so many border collies! Sara F also got her MACH this weekend with her little snazzie Maycee! It was so great to see so many people meet their goals with their dogs this weekend! I know how huge it is to get a MACH and I hope they all float on cloud 9 for a long time!
On another note, got lots of good books this weekend on starting my own doggy business. Dogwise was at the show so picked up three really good books. I am reading the business one right now and am learning so much! I am on the chapter about tax deductions and about what type of business you want to be and business plans and so far, I am not too scared yet! I really look forward to providing a service to the community and their pets and hope to get this up and started this summer. I have to get this going so that I can get insured so I don't get sued when I help people at their homes with their dogs. This is the main reason why I have decided to go through with this business thing and I really, really enjoy helping people and their dogs. I have been doing some one on one work at people's houses that I have met in wamego (met one lady at the track, one lady saw me working in the yard and stopped and started asking questions) but look forward to maybe having some group type classes and maybe even some puppy classes!
Well, better get off of here and go fold some laundry!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Final Blog from nationals rescued from mom's computer
On the road again and time to blog on my mom’s laptop while she drives. I am so thankful she comes as she is a tremendous help to me and Miller both mentally and physically (my favorite kennel bitch) plus as an added bonus, she comes with her laptop! Again, I am sad that she will be leaving Tuesday so that makes the final day of nationals very sad as all good things come to an end. We had the hybrid round today and once again had to be at the show site at 6:00 am. I was in the third walk/run group so didn’t have to wait as long. We had an awesome run going and miller was so amped that he missed his a-frame contact. We do a running a-frame and unfortunately this can happen if he is really excited. I was just so happy that he ran so well that I really didn’t care. He has been pulling me to the rings every run and even when we weren’t getting ready to run. I can’t ask for any more enthusiasm although I would like my start line stay back LOL! He even gave me a big bark on the start line today which he usually doesn’t do so you know he is feeling great! I am so proud of all of my agility friends as so many of them had good runs and brought home lots of ribbons. I think everyone pretty much walked away from the experience happy with their runs. I know I was super happy with my handling this year even if we didn’t have the Qs to back it up. As I said before, the worst run I had all weekend was the run that I got the Q on. My favorite run of the weekend was probably his ISC standard run that he ran so tightly and fast on. Heck, pretty much all the runs he ran top speed and tight! I have a ton of time to decide about Perry, but I am still leaning towards not going. It is a long way just for a green ribbon and I could probably save my money and invest it in equipment or Deuce or Miller more massages! I am truly so happy with my weekend and my nationals that this might be a good one to end on.
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