Kiln Trial–January 10 11 12–1st Trial of 2013

Maxie: 6 runs, 3Q’s, two 2nd place, one 3rd place, no QQ’s,  44 MACH points, 5 videos
Lucky Lucy: 6 runs, 3Q’s, 1QQ, MX TITLE, 7 MACH points, 5 videos

Kiln is generally a great place for RV’ers.  But 9 days of rain made for slushy grass, water filled ditches and puddles to slosh through. My freshly washed Papillons were filty at the first pottie break, and my freshly vacuumed interior was tracked with red sandy mud within minutes.  Fortunately I had old sheets to drape over the upholstered furniture and floors, except the dogs thought them great opportunities for digging. Worse, due to hard rain, we had left home at 4:30 p.m. instead of 1 p.m., which put us there to set up at dusk. While trying to maneuver into a high dry parking spot, I backed over a water spigot and broke the pipe.  It began gushing, we got drenched finding the cut-off valve, the ditches flooded even more, and a whole line of RV’s went without water Thursday night thanks to me. They were not very happy, but the repair guys had it fixed by next morning. Since I carry my drinking water, plus half a tank of water for flushing and rinsing out my coffee cup, and towel bathe or take showers in the arena, I don’t really need water, but I found out some others rely totally on their city water connection, even to flush. 

What I DO NEED is golashes!  Everybody had some but me.  My socks and tennies were soaked, so I made sure to dry my feet as soon as I got in.  And I had plenty of shoes and socks for a dry pair every day.

While packing at home between raindrops, I had discovered a new leak over the bed had dampened the quilt, sheets and mattress cover, fortunately in time to put them all in the dryer.  I had to protect the bed in case of further rain with a vinyl tablecloth.  Good thing John promised me a new rubberized roof as my Christmas present (sweet), but I haven’t done that yet.  Now I’m motivated. This makes 2 leaks now, at each dome roof window, caused by me driving under a low hanging tree branch and making huge scratches in the roof.

Due to the anticipated difficulty pottying the dogs in mud and rain, I decided to bring only Maxie, Lucky and Pepper. Willow screeched in torture as the rest of us departed! John reported she laid by the door for 3 days waiting for our return.  But it was a lot easier managing just 3 dogs.  Her travelling days may be numbered.

Ring conditions were horrible.  Even under cover, the ring dirt was saturated, and the more we tromped on it, the more the water rose.  Here’s how it looked by Day 3.  I’m surprised no one slipped, but I know I ran slower each day, and neither Maxie nor Lucky liked having cold wet feet. You can hear squishing on the videos.

Despite all these and other problems, I felt totally calm. I attribute some of this to working on my mental game, as outlined in my previous post.

FRIDAY.  (dogs ran small to tall, only one ring.)
Maxie was my first dog to run, but not til around 9 a.m. after the FAST class.  So I got to stay up til 11 and watch some TV.  My new air antennae was picking up 8 channels and all came in well despite the weather. I popped open a beer, watched a cooking show, and slept like a baby all night. I dont generally drink on trial weekends, but if this works again, I’ll replace my half sleeping pill with beer!

Maxie had a smoking good XS run, very fast, with a few bobbles but no saves required.  Alas, he took a wrong course near the end.  It happened so fast, I didnt see it coming.  Just an imperceptible push, or not enough pull, on my part.  Even with that WC, his time was 8 seconds faster than the 1st place dog.  I could hardly keep up, but I felt great and never got lost or rattled.  It was the most memorable run of the day despite the NQ.  His XJ run was clean and solid, with a 2nd place and no bobbles, and while an analysis of his SCT and personal time showing he ran even faster, it didn’t feel as fast as that first run.

Lucky Lucy got what I thought was her 1st QQ ever, running faster and surer in both XS and XJ, walking the weaves, but at a faster walk.  She didn’t get distracted.  We felt connected.  Her jumps at 24” were pretty, with ample clearance.  (I found out later checking her records, this was actually her second QQ!) To celebrate, I joined the Red Stick gang at the nearby Delsey’s Seafood restaurant, and bought the table some appetizers. I made Q’s out of the onion rings to decorate. And brought some hush puppies home for Lucky.  The food at Delseys was somewhat pricy but huge portions and delicious.  Lots of items on the menu, and the best onion rings Ive ever tasted, served with a dipping sauce made of Ranch dressing, wasabi, and cayenne pepper.  It kicked ass!

Karen, Christina’s mom, was thrilled to video my dogs on Friday if she could also video her daughter. What a sweet deal.  Too bad she’s just there for 1 day. I hate scrambling for people to take my videos.  I want a mom along who wants to record my every run!  But I if I brought my mom to a trial, she would soon be bored to death “watching dog after dog do the exact same thing”.  It takes a practiced eye to see the endless variety we see. No one but us knows the difficulties we face attempting the miracle of a clean run.
 
SATURDAY: (dogs ran Tall to Small, Lucky on the line at 8 a.m.)
Lucky earned her MX title!  That’s 10 Q’s in Masters Standard (what used to be called Excellent B).  She only had .87 seconds to spare in her XS run, but she made it! Her XJ began with a whimper but ended with a blast.  After falling asleep in the weaves and NQ’ing, she noticed the tripple bar jump, which she loves, and decided to run the rest of the way.  The half run that was good, was very, very good. Thats a sequence Ill play over and over in my head.

Maxie scratched in Jumpers, missing the weaves, but Q’d in Standard.  His times were good, not counting slow weaves.

SUNDAY: (dogs ran small to tall, Maxie on the line at 8)
Maxie Q’d in Standard, NQ’d in Jumpers, again popping out of the weaves, otherwise clean. His times were slower, I suspect due to muddier conditions. I know I was walking fast more than running.

Lucky NQ’d both runs, seemingly tired and not focused.  Her first run XS she stopped on top of the A-frame, plcking up Kens scent in the stands, went down and headed for the sidelines trying to get to him.  Lucky has a serious thing for Ken.  We always have to arrange for Ken to disappear during Luckys runs, but we both thought up in the stands was far enough away.  NOT. This is developing into such a problem, we may have to stop training together on weekends.  Lucky literally quivers and whines looking in the direction of his RV whenever I let the dogs out.

Didnt get video of either of their last runs.  Couldnt find anyone willing to take them.  I have to quit letting that bother me, but I feel Im missing valuable information I can use to improve.

Theres going to be a fun run in 2 weeks at the same arena.  Im going.  I cant wait to show some of these agility folks how fast and well Lucky runs when Im carrying her toy, and I pray someone will take her video then.

Im having trouble with my AVS Video Editing Software.  I discovered that one of my USB ports gives an unreliable connection, resulting in problems with voiceovers, and it sometimes takes forever for these huge HD videos to load into the program.  After futzing with it for several days and trying Windows Movie Maker again, I got AVS to produce something.  Its still better than WMM.

Maxies Composite Video, with commentary.  I learned that as Maxie improves, I no longer need to push or pull him very hard to get him to veer. I have to become more subtle in my corrections.  Without watching the videos, I probably would not have picked up on that.  Also need to time my front crosses better.
Luckys Composite Video, with commentary. I managed to capture a segment in slo mo showing Luckys beautiful 12 jumping stride, which no one seems to notice but me.  I may have a long ways to go with her enthusiasm for trialing, but I know Ive got great jumping skills to work with.

GOALS MET/GOALS SET:

• My goal of another QQ for Maxie was not met, but we racked up two more Qs in Standard and 1 in Jumpers, leaving only 1 more to go in each class for his Master Bronze Agility Titles - MXB, MJB.  (25 Qs in a class)
• Luckys 2nd QQ was a great achievement, plus her MX title. I dont know how long it will take us to get MXJ with 8 Qs to go, but I WILL GET HER THERE.
• Work on my mental game.

Otherwise the weekend was full of too many oddities to mention, including a see saw whose end got stuck in the mud leading to many fly-offs, how few dogs qualified in class after class, and some turse comments.  The courses were not that difficult, but some of those border collies were running wilder than usual.  Was it the weather?  The barometric pressure?  The wet ground? Handlers unsure of their footing?

There was one magical moment worth sharing.  My friend Sue Cohen handed me a thumb drive with info for a story were working on, said she needed it back tomorrow.  I promised to download it that very evening, and stuck it in the bottom of my wagon on my way into the ring.  But when I got the wagon back to the RV it had vanished.  I searched high and low to no avail, then retraced my path to the arena, searching the ground.  About tearing my hair out, I told another RVer about the jinx, and she suggested I look up St. Anthony prayer (patron saint of lost items) on my iPhone, say the prayer, and see what happens.  Said her mother swears by it.  So I went back to my RV, lit a candle, and did it.  Here was my prayer:

     St. Anthony, St Anthony, please come around.
     a thumb drive is lost and can’t be found.
     Dear St. Anthony, I pray
     Bring it back without delay.

Within 5 minutes, a voice said “look in the basket on the table”, where I found a thumb drive I had lost 3-4 months back.  I have NO IDEA how that one got into the RV!  Apparently, one has to be very specific in wording ones prayers to St Anthony.  I repeated the prayer saying “Sue’s thumb drive”, then a little voice told me to look again in the duffle bag I’d already gone through 3 times.  I did, and there it was, sealed in a ziplock bag!!!!!  I will not be forgetting St. Anthonys Prayer!

Is there a patron saint for agility?

Upwards and onward!

Read More..

Aggressive Dog Breed List Top 10 Breeds

Top 10 Most Aggressive Dog Breeds List


Dog aggression is a term used by dog owners and breeders to describe canine-to-canine antipathy. Aggression itself is usually defined by canine behaviorists as "the intent to do harm". Many dogs will show "displays of aggression" such as barking, growling, or snapping in the air, which are considered distance-increasing actions, those which intend to get the person or dog to move away from the dog. Some dog-aggressive dogs display aggression that is mainly defensive, and they will actually harm another dog only if they perceive that they have no other option. Yet other dogs may develop dog-aggressive behaviour due to medical reasons, such as hormonal imbalances.

Dog aggression is a common dog behavior, and can be seen in all breeds of dogs, although some dog breeds have a predisposition to display such aggression. The breed standard usually spells out whether dog aggression is common in the breed and to what degree it is allowed. Most of the terrier breeds and the bull breeds are believed to have a higher likelihood of developing dog-aggression upon reaching maturity. Individual dogs may or may not display the level of aggression that their breed standard suggests. It is the owners responsibility to ensure that these types of dogs are properly socialized and given a proper amount of exercise.

As well as breeding, a dogs experiences may affect his chance of developing dog aggression. A dog that is attacked as a puppy may develop fear-based dog aggression towards all dogs, or perhaps only towards dogs that resemble the dog that attacked him. Although people tend to bring these reactions out of dogs more often than dogs themselves, dogs only pay attention to what their owners allow.

Dogs that display dog-aggressive behaviour do not necessarily show aggressive behaviour towards humans. The two types of aggression are not necessarily related, and do not always occur in the same animal. Dogs have been bred for thousands of years, there is no way human aggression or even dog aggression naturally exists in canine breeds, why would anyone in history breed dogs that would bite or kill a human or dog? It is highly unlikely this is the case, dogs who display aggression towards other dogs were improperly socialized as puppies and are currently being mishandled by their owners.

Top 10 Most Aggressive Dog Breeds List

1. Pit Bull Terrier
American pit bull terriers today successfully fill the role of companion dog, police dog,and therapy dog;however, American pit bull terriers in general have a higher tendency towards dog aggression and constitute the majority of dogs used for illegal dog fighting in the United States.The fighting reputation of pit bull-type dogs led the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in 1996 to relabel pit bull terriers as "St. Francis Terriers"

2. Rottweilers
Rottweilers are a powerful breed with well developed genetic herding and guarding instincts. As with any breed, potentially dangerous behaviour in Rottweilers usually results from irresponsible ownership, abuse, neglect, or lack of socialization and training. Inherent breed characteristics are not a factor.

The breed has received some negative publicity. In the US, in a report by the CDC, the Rottweiler was listed as the second most likely breed of dog named in fatal human attacks, but at nearly half the rate of pitbulls. The report acknowledges that the broad popularity of the Rottweiler as the most popular breed in the United States in the same period may contribute to the relatively high numbers of fatalities, but suggests Rottweilers are still disproportionately represented in attack figures. The report states that breed-specific bite rates are not known, and less responsible owners being drawn to certain breeds may be a factor.

3. German Shepherds
German Shepherds have a reputation for aggression and have been banned in some jurisdictions as a result. In the United States, German Shepherds are responsible for more random bitings than any other breed, and have a known tendency to attack smaller breeds of dogs. Reports have found that statistically German Shepherds are the breed third most likely to attack a person. Another report found that German Shepherds accounted for almost half of the dog bites that required medical attention. These claims have been refuted on the basis that German Shepherds represent a higher proportion of the population than other breeds. However, reports indicate that Shepherds are still over-represented when the statistics take into account the difference in population.

4.Siberian Husky
The Siberian Husky has been described as a behavioral representative of the domestic dogs forebearer, the wolf, exhibiting a wide range of its ancestors behavior. They are known to howl rather than bark.Hyperactivity displaying as an overactive hunting drive, a characteristic of kenneled dogs, is often noticeable in dogs released from their captive environment for exercise - a behavior welcome in hunting dogs but not in the family pet.

5. Alaskan Malamutes
The Malamute retains more of its original form and function than many other modern breeds. If a dog owner cannot cope with a dog that will not comply with the owners every command, a more compliant breed should be selected. This dog has a long genetic foundation of living in the harshest environment imaginable, and many of its behaviors are evolved to conform with "survival of the fittest." Independence, resourcefulness and primitive behaviors are common in the breed.

6. Doberman Pinschers
Doberman Pinschers are the target of a mistaken stereotype of ferocity and aggression. As a personal protection dog, the Doberman was originally bred for these traits:it had to be large and intimidating, fearless and willing to defend its owner, but sufficiently obedient and restrained to only do so on command. These traits served the dog well in its role as a personal defense dog, police dog or war dog, but were not ideally adapted to a companionship role. In recent decades, the Doberman Pinschers size, short coat, and intelligence made it a desirable house dog. Although these dogs are mistaken for their aggression, they are extremely loyal. They can easily learn to Respect and Protect their owners.In response, they are excellent guard dogs that protect the ones they love

7. Chow Chow
Today the Chow Chow is most commonly kept as a pet. Its keen sense of proprietorship over its home, paired with a sometimes disconcertingly serious approach to strangers, can be off-putting to those unfamiliar with the breed. However, displays of timidity and aggression are uncharacteristic of well-bred and well-socialized specimens. The Chow is extremely loyal to its own family and will bond tightly to its master. The Chow typically shows affection only with those it has bonds to, so new visitors to the home should not press their physical attention upon the resident Chow as it will not immediately accept strangers in the same manner as it does members of its own pack. Inexperienced dog owners should beware of how Chow Chows encounter those it perceives as strangers; their notoriety is so established that many homeowners insurance companies will not cover dogs from this breed.

8. Presa Canario
Presas are of strong character and are dominant animals requiring early socialization and obedience training.In some situations, the Presa can be aggressive toward other dogs and suspicious of strangers.Once the dog has been properly socialized and trained, this becomes the exception rather than the rule. Many Presas share their homes with children, other dogs, cats, horses and other farm animals.

Presa are known for being extremely loyal and affectionate with their families and crave attention from their owners. They are extremely tolerant of children due to low body sensitivity or high pain tolerance, a trait which stems from selective breeding as big game hunters. Like all dogs of any size or breed, they require obedience training and socialization; no dog should be left unattended with small children. They are protective of what they perceive as their territory and will guard it against any intruder. They get along with other dogs as long as they have been properly socialized, but will usually not tolerate another dog trying to assert dominance over them and might not coexist peacefully with another dominant breed of dog. They can develop an aggressive or dominant temperament if not socialized with other dogs at an early age, particularly with other dogs of the same sex. Dog aggression per se is absolutely not a desirable trait in the Dogo canario, as it is at odds with its intended purpose as a pack hunter. A single "pet" Presa without a working outlet for energy and drive may feel himself to be "king of the mountain" and carry himself accordingly, though the same dog may work perfectly cooperatively with other males while hunting.

9. Boxer
Boxers are a bright, energetic and playful breed and tend to be very good with children. They are active dogs and require adequate exercise to prevent boredom-associated behaviors such as chewing or digging. Boxers have earned a slight reputation of being "headstrong," which can be related to inappropriate obedience training.
The Boxer by nature is not an aggressive or vicious breed, but, like all dogs, requires socialization.Boxers are generally patient with smaller dogs and puppies, but issues with larger adult dogs, especially those of the same sex, may occur. Boxers are generally more comfortable with companionship, in either human or canine form.

10.Border Collie
Though they can be a wonderful choice for some households, Border Collies are not perfect pets for all people. For example, as with many working breeds, Border Collies can be motion-sensitive and may attempt to control the movements of family members, cats, bicycles, cars or anything else that moves if not given enough mental and physical stimulation. These dogs are also generally not suitable for households with small children. Many Border Collies that end up in shelters or rescue groups are there because owners, who may have been attracted by their appearance and intelligence, were not prepared to meet their dogs daily activity needs.

Source (WIKIPEDIA)

Read More..