Wednesday's Wrinkles

Tricky Tuesday

"Do More with Your Dog"
Trick Dog Champion
Audition Videos

1.  Coordination

Push a Skateboard

 
2.  Mouth Target

2.1  Retrieve Object to Hand from 12' Away
(white tape on the floor measures 12' from the wall)

 
2.2  Pull a Rope

3.  Paw Target

Ground Target - Tap Light

 
4.  Nose Target

Hand Target

5.  Scent

Nose-Work Box Search

6.  Distance

6.1  Go to a Pedestal 20' Away

6.2  6 Cued Behaviours on a Pedestal from 12' Away
(sit, stand, drop)

(drop, head down, bark, drop, head down, sit, bark)

 (sit, wave)

7.  Signals

6 Silent Cues
(heel, about turn, sit, wait, front, swing finish, heel, spin counter-clockwise,
wrap around legs, spin c-c, bow)

8.  Behaviour Chain

Push a Truck 6' then Tip the Bin
(trick shown from 2 different angles) 

9.  Expert Tricks

9.1  ETD List:  Fishing

9.2  OTHER:  2 Jumps:  one cue - from a distance

9.3  ETD List:  Pick Pocket

9.4  OTHER:  Yawn

9.5  OTHER:  Brief Rally Routine
(heel, 360 L, U-turn R, sit-down-stand, heel, U-turn R,
send to jump, call to heel, sit)

Fingers and paws crossed, waiting to hear if we have qualified!

Stay Tuned!

Vizslympics Day 4

Event #10:  The Recall

Result

Bodi:   1

Diva:   2

Miska: 3
 

Decathlon Point Totals (lowest score wins)

Bodi:   19

Miska: 20

Diva:   20

Although the Vizslympics are broadcast over BodiVision, the Int'l Vizslathlete Committee (IVC) firmly asserts that the games were not rigged and that the vizslathlete known as Bodi won fair and square!

Closing Ceremonies

IVC could not afford to provide medals for each event hence the umbrella title Decathlon.  There was a slight kerfuffle during the medal ceremony when the eldest vizslathlete hopped up onto the gold medal platform and refused to leave!

!!! FIREWORKS !!!

Vizslympics Day 3

Event #7:  Hol-ee Ball

Bodi cannot believe that he has been bested by Diva (a novice at this sport)

Bodi has to settle for second place

Result

Diva:    1

Bodi:    2

Miska:  3

Event #8:  Double Figure 8
 Bodi

Diva

Miska

Result

Diva:    1

Miska:  2

Bodi:    3

Event #9:  Recall over a Jump

Miska

Diva

Bodi

Result

Miska:  1
Bodi:    2
Diva:    3

 Vizslathlete Standings after 9 Events

                                               Gold                 Silver            Bronze

Catch                                       Miska               Diva/Bodi           -

Pylon                                       Bodi                 Miska               Diva

Proprioception Noodles              Diva                 Miska               Bodi

The Kong Bone                         Diva                 Miska               Bodi

Kong Bone Wrestling                 Bodi                 Miska               Diva

Lotus                                       Bodi                 Miska               Diva

Hol-ee Ball                                Diva                 Bodi                 Miska

Double Figure 8                         Diva                Miska                Bodi

Recall over a Jump                     Miska               Bodi                 Diva

Tomorrow brings us the final event of these games.  It is the most grueling of endeavours.  It will test every fibre of each vizslathlete.  It is a feat of strength, attention, agility, focus, obedience …  Vizslathletes train for this event 365 days of the year – there are no days off if one wishes to excel in this upcoming event!

Vizslympics Day 2

Event #4:  The Kong Bone

Due to a crooked set up, confusion on the start line leads to a delay for Diva.

Incredibly, Diva makes up for lost time to be the first to extract all 4 cookies from her Kong!

Diva presenting the empty kong to the judge

The Happy Winner

Result

Diva:    1

Miska:  2

Bodi:   3

Event #5:  Kong Bone Wrestling

First Round:  Diva vs Bodi

 Oh, no!  The Kong has been dropped!  There is no winner of the first round!

Second Round:  The reigning World Champion, Miska, will automatically take first place unless Bodi or Diva take up her challenge.

Diva takes a pass but Bodi is up for the challenge.

 

 

 What an UPSET!  Bodi wrestles the Kong from Miska's grip! WOW!

Result

Bodi:    1

Miska:  2

Diva:   3

 Event #6:  The Lotus

This is a brand new sport for Miska and Diva.  Neither having seen the equipment prior to today.

Miska

Diva

Bodi

demonstrating why he is the reigning World Champion in this event

Result

Bodi:    1

Miska:  2

Diva:   3

Vizslympics Day 1

Vizslympics 2012

Decathlon

The event organizers apologize for the low production value of this broadcast but the budget for the inaugural games was miniscule!

Event #1:  Catch

Results

Miska:  1 (5 catches)

Diva:    2 (4 catches; 1 drop)

Bodi:    2 (4 catches; 1 drop)

Event interrupted due to outside distractions.  In lieu of the opportunity for a tie-breaker, Diva & Bodi tie for second place.

Event #2:  Pylon

Diva

Nice tight turns but that false start will cost Diva points.

 Miska

 Bodi

Results

Bodi:    1 (9 foot line)

Miska:  2 (7 foot line)

Diva:    3 (5 foot line)

Event #3:  Proprioception Noodles

The event gets off to a rough start when the youngest competitor in these games takes off with one of the noodles.  That's too bad!  No bonus points for choosing the noodle with his country's colours. 

Bodi

That was a good performance but, unfortunately, interfering with the equipment puts Bodi into last place.

Miska

Miska has a clean run but that loss of focus at the end will cost her points.

Diva

Results
Diva:    1
Miska:  2
Bodi:   3

Liverlicious

As there was freshly cooked liver, we decided to take the game to a new level.

  

It's Yer Choice:  Liver Edition

While I maintain self-control,
I can look at the treats or

I can look at the camera
(but it causes white eye)

Assorted cookies on the sofa
mozzarella and freshly-cooked liver on my leg

Earlier in the day:

Unlike yesterday (6c), I had to sunbathe indoors today
because it was -4c (-12c windchill!)

Cheese

At today's agility class, I experienced the chute for the first time. After about six runs with the fabric being held up (and then let go), I ran through a few times with the fabric completely flat. FUN! FUN! FUN! And, yes, the A-Frame is still super-duper FUN!

This evening, we played "It's Yer Choice" or, should I say, "It's Yer Cheese."

Self-control don't fail me now ... it's ... dinosaur cheese!

YES, I can!

Rainy Day Fun

What to do on a rainy rainy day?  Play "It's Yer Choice."

Cookie Train

Balancing cookie #4 on an elevated paw

I know I'm doing a terrific job!

stack-o-cookies

Now, if you think Mom was hovering over me in case I had mischief on my mind, think again.  She took each of these pictures from 3 feet away (to keep the flash a safe distance from my eyes).

Drive with Control

We play a number of games that simultaneously build control and drive (to engage in play with Mom rather than run off and play/chew alone).  In this short video, I am playing the tuggie game on the deck for the first time.  As this is a new setting, the "picture" of the game is new so you will notice that I am displaying a little confusion/frustration (vocalizations) as I am working out how to play the game in this setting.  When you see how nicely I can hold a sit in the presence of a toy that I find very exciting, keep in mind that I am only 14 weeks old.

[There is a longer video in a higher resolution but it couldn't be edited down to fit the 100MB limit.  By the time the camera was adjusted and this portion was shot, we were both too hot to play any longer.  Even a few minutes of vigorous tugging in high humidity can be exhausting (especially for the human).]

Speaking of control, I've become so accustomed to waiting in a relaxed manner for my meals that this morning I pushed my bowl over to the mat and finished my breakfast in this fashion:

Learning Self-Control

I am learning life skills through positive training techniques. One of the games we play is Susan Garrett's "It's Yer Choice." This game teaches self-control and we play it many different ways in many different locations. Possessing self-control allows me to make appropriate decisions in life (eg., not running off with the Xmas turkey or anything else that may be on a kitchen counter). Here are a few images of me showing great control in the presence of food.

Playing 'Yer Choice' for the first time at age 8 weeks

Patience in the presence of two cookies

Waiting for lunch for a count of 30 !

Playing the game with a cookie on my foot

Clever Puppy

Today, Mom upped the skill level of (half of) my Nina Ottosson "Brick" game.  As you can see, I quickly zero in on the addition to the game and in a matter of seconds figure out how to deal with the new barrier to the treats.  You can also watch  me determine that the best place for this new piece is off the game board and away from the bricks which slide from side to side to expose the treats.  This game is rated "medium" skill level - not too shabby for a 3-month-old !  I wonder what the higher skill level games entail...