Goodbye TOD

The Sunday before last, our Beagle mix TOD (The Other Dog) got out of the house.  We followed all the proper lost dog procedures, but TOD never showed up.  On the following Tuesday, my mom and I went into the greenbelt behind our house to look for him.  We found his body in the creek bed, apparently sometime between Sunday night and Tuesday morning TOD was killed and eaten by coyotes.

We are still recovering from the loss of the best dog in the world.

--Olivia

Little Dog Lost

Today, Spryte and Brego went out to help get the newspaper, but Spryte never came back.  That was at about 9 am.  It is now past 11 pm and she still isn't home.  We have driven around to all of the areas where she was last seen, but none of our efforts have paid off.

So what should you do when your dog becomes lost?

The first item on my list is to alert the police, animal shelter, and emergency vet.  The police get calls all the time about loose animals.  I make sure I give a good description of my dog (most of my dogs have been out at one point or another), and I emphasize the fact that they have a microchip.

After calling those three places, it's time to put the microchip to use and alert HomeAgain.  They can put out a notice that a dog in the area is lost, so that people in the surrounding neighborhoods can be on the look out.

Lastly, I make "Lost" signs with a brief description (coat color and breed), and my phone number.  Unfortunately, the weather has been really crappy these past few days, and more storms and rain are in the forecast.  Usually here in Austin, it is hot and dry, so the signs posed a problem:  how to make them waterproof quickly and cheaply.

My solution:  An 8.5"x11" piece of paper fits almost perfectly in a  gallon size Hefty OneZip.  For further waterproofing, I inserted the paper upside down so that the zipper was at the bottom of the sign.

UPDATE:  Spryte is home!  She was found after a day and a half on her own.  Amazingly she crossed two highways without any injury!  She "got stuck" on the wrong side of the road and was too scared to cross back, but luckily some friends spotted her in their neighborhood and called us.

--Olivia

We Like: weave-poles.com

No doubt the hardest obstacle to train in agility is the weave poles. Many novice dogs and handlers tremble at the mere thought of performing the weaves at a trial. I say have no fear! Even though the weaves pose a unique challenge for the dog (they are the most unnatural movement for the dog), I think that everyone should train them with a positive attitude and a "this is just a game" mentality.

Over the years I have come across multiple ways to train the weave poles, each one working in its own way. At our club, the beginners class is introduced to channel weaves with guide wires. This method, while effective for some, did not work for my Papillon, Brego. He was just too small and could easily slip under the guide wires. After some research and asking around I came across the Weave-A-Matic training method. For Weave-A-Matics the weave poles are angled in a V shape so the dog learns to either single step or bounce around each pole. I used this method to train Brego's weaves.

After we realized that Brego would be our first actively competing agility dog, we invested in some weave poles from www.weave-poles.com. They are based in Houston, TX so the shipping time to Austin was very short (a couple of days). I love weavepoles.com because there are so many different styles to choose from! I chose a set of 12 indoor/outdoor weave poles that included two six pole ground placers. With the stick-in-the-ground attachments, these poles can go anywhere. They are great for training with distractions at the dog park. There isn't enough room inside the house to set up the full set of 12 weaves, but a set of six in the hallway is good mental stimulation for a rainy day.

Recently Emma and I were introduced to Susan Garrett's 2x2 Weaves training method (a subject for a later post). I watched the DVD and was instantly hooked. Here was a way to train the weaves using the same concept as clicker training! After a trial where Brego had some trouble with the weaves (not usual for him), I knew that I wanted to retrain using Susan Garrett's method. I went to dust off the neglected set of indoor weave poles and I realized that I could break them down into 2x2's! I set them up in the living room and got to work that night.

After a week of training (as per the 2x2 DVD) Brego was back to being a weaving maniac. Now Brego receives complements on his beautiful weaves!

--Olivia

We Like: FitSugar's 4 minute Ab Workout

We like to try and keep in shape so that we can keep up with our dogs on the agility course.  One of our favorite workouts is the FitSugar 4 minute Ab workout.  It's super simple, but super effective.  Also its hard not to enjoy the video because the coach is just so darn happy!

This is really great to use after taking the dogs on a walk, and it is easy enough on your muscles that you can do it every day without worrying about fatigue.  Just be warned:  when you are doing this workout you are in perfect, vulnerable face-licking position!  Check out more of FitSugar's videos http://www.youtube.com/user/fitsugar

--Olivia

We Like: Slip Leads

When preparing for an agility trial, you suddenly find yourself in need of things that aren't needed for regular agility class.  One of these items is a slip lead.  There are a variety of slip lead styles to choose from, like the martingale.  However, I like my slip leads as simple as possible.  After all, you will be trying to wrangle it onto your dog as soon as possible after you finish a run.

Also, if you find yourself debating over what length to of lead to buy, go with the 6 ft. instead of the 4 ft.  Trust me.  Little dog owners will appreciate the extra 2 ft. because it doesn't feel like you are strangling your dog, and big dog owners will like the space that it gives the dog when you take him/her outside on potty business.

Since getting our slip leads we have found that they prove useful in many situations.  For example, if your bad, bad dog, Tod, rolls in something dead and stinky, you can simply slip the lead over his head without having to touch him.  Then it is easy to loop the handle over the fence post so that he can't run off while you bathe him.

They are also handy for impromptu car-rides.

But the best use for the slip lead is in agility class.  You just don't realize you needed one until after you use one at a trial!

--Olivia 

We Like: Biscuit Buddy

One of the handiest tools in the dog training world is the treat pouch.  There is an abundance of treat pouches available in most retail pet stores.  We started using treat pouches about 8 years ago when our first agility dog was entering the intermediate class.  We quickly discovered that the treat pouch we were using had some flaws.  First, when closed, the pouch would collapse in on itself, making it difficult to open when we needed to get a treat.  But the biggest problem was in the belt clip.  While it is extremely handy to have your dog's treats attached to your hip, it is not-so-handy to have the treat pouch fall off of your belt (or jeans pocket as the case may be).

Just this year Emma purchased a Biscuit Buddy, a lovely treat pouch that has everything you could want in a treat pouch.  The Biscuit Buddy has a rigid edge so that it doesn't collapse when it is closed, making treat retrieval easy.  It also features a number of different attachment devices so that no matter what you are wearing you can secure the treat pouch to yourself.  But my favorite feature of the Biscuit Buddy is the extra zipper pocket!  So far I haven't found a use for it, but it's so cool that it doesn't matter!  Clean Run suggests that it would be an excellent place to keep an extra poop bag handy.

--Olivia

We Like: iClicks

We love clicker training.  It is our belief that dogs should be trained using only positive reinforcement methods of training.  When starting out, we found that the box clickers sold in most pet stores were hard to depress and sometimes even got stuck.  This can be a set-back since clicker training is all about precision and timing.  What happens when you drop a box clicker?  Since the clicking mechanism is inside the box, you lose and disrupt training time trying to retrieve the clicker.  Traditional box clickers also tend to be very loud, and as we discovered when training our dog, Spryte, sometimes the click can be very scary.

Soon however, we discovered the iClick.  The iClick is a sleek little clicker that was designed by clicker training guru Karen Pryor.  It can be depressed very quickly and easily because of its raised yellow button.  We also LOVE that if you drop it, the iClick will always land in a clickable position, which makes it a particularly good tool for handicapped trainers, or those who are particularly clumsy (like me).  But the absolute best part of the iClick is the sound of the click.  It is not a jarring pop like a box clicker, instead the iClick give a nice, soft Spryte approved click. 

Please enjoy our ridiculously short video showing off the iClick:

    

--Olivia

Trial Checklist

This weekend Emma and Kaitlyn have carted Aspen, Quiz, and Brego to Waco for a NADAC trial. An hour after seeing Emma off, I called her. The first thing she said is "Guess what I forgot!" She had driven off without a folding chair. Since an incident like this is a common occurrence for us, I thought that I would bring up the idea of making a trial checklist.


Next time you find yourself at a trial, start making a list of all the things you wish you had brought with you. If you are one of those rare people that never forgets anything, simply start listing everything you brought. My favorite way to make sure I've packed everything is to make two lists; one for me and one for my dog(s). Here is an example of a trial checklist I made earlier today:

• dog food
• water
• dog dishes
• crate
• crate cover
• ground mat
• folding chair (if only Emma had had this list!)
• towels
• baby wipes
• water bottle
• cooler with human food
• dog treats (our trial treats are super special, like chicken or beef)
• slip lead
• poop bags
• sweatshirt/jacket
• dog vaccination records
• first aid kit (for humans and dogs)
• trial conformation
• venue registration card
• height card

..and most importantly...

• THE DOG

This list is much shorter than our usual trial checklists, but I hope it helps!

Happy Trialing! 
--Olivia

Welcome to All Ears Agility!

Hey, everyone!

This blog is dedicated to the dogs! We (Emma and Olivia) created this blog in order to share our love of dog agility with all the other agility aficionados out there. We hope to provide insight into the world of training, exercising, trialing, and all the hard work that goes into the sculpting of a great agility dog no matter where you live. Sharing tips and tricks is what we're all about!

We caught the agility bug about 13 years ago when we got our first puppy, Mingo, an eight-week-old black Labrador Retriever. Two years later, we started training and competing in agility with Austin K9-Xpress Agility Training Club and haven't stopped since! We train primarily for NADAC, but Olivia's dog Brego occasionally competes in AKC agility. Even though we have been training and competing for a while, none of us are professional trainers, and we don't pretend to be. We share our methods of training and our thoughts about dog related issues with others because we love dogs.

Got a question? Just ask us--we're All Ears!