Daddy's Home

Flash's daddy came home yesterday and Flash was so excited to see him. Today the 3 of us took a walk in the morning, stopping at Mom's house where Flash played with Honey for a few minutes. Flash was muddy from playing in the stream, so he couldn't come in Mom's house...my house either.

Along the way on our walk, Rachel called and said the Snake Aversion class was set up for tomorrow afternoon. I'm very curious and excited to see what happens. We signed up both Flash and Honey. Dennis will handle Flash and probably Honey, too.

I will be very relieved (assuming it works) because Flash is all over the place and I'd hate to restrain him. We haven't seen any rattlers yet, but they usually come out later than they do in Alpine. I really love Spring; too bad it's also snake season.

Right now Flash is hanging with Dennis somewhere, probably getting very dirty. Luckily he cleans up well.

Worn Out

Who do you think is worn out...me or Flash? Here is what we've done together today so far (times approximate):

1. Walk at 7 a.m.; left Flash playing with Honey at Mom's house.

2. Joanne brings Flash back at 10.

3. Training session: Go-Gos

3. Horseback ride/dog run at 11.

5. Return home; play in back yard.

7. Nap

And then...Homero took Flash on a bike ride/run.

New Lessons

Yesterday we went to Rachel's for Flash's lesson. Once there we got stuck in Rachel's bead room for awhile. I was also impressed with her dog kennels and all the dogs! It was whippet city, not counting the boarder, a very nice rottweiller. The whippets were adorable.

While Rachel was showing me around, Flash got an opportunity to socialize with the dogs and I think he did very well. When we finally got around to working, Flash and Rachel reviewed and extended his Go-Go's. The next step in this exercise is to use a smaller target. Instead of the footstool we are using at home, I will use something smaller--a lid or something.

Then we did a new trick: the Hold. In this exercise Flash must take an object in his mouth and hold it until released with the Give command.

Flash gave it a good try, but he really didn't want to hold it very long. Practice, practice, practice.

Flash strikes again

Yesterday it was the Trail of Toys in the house. Today Flash struck outside. They say if you don't keep border collies busy, they will find things to do themselves. True, true, true.

This morning Flash ran back and forth with Dennis on his bike 4 times and played with Honey to boot. I did some training with him and took him for a walk in the afternoon. He looked tired.

Faker. While I was busy in the house he was very quiet, I thought. Probably resting.

Oh, no. I passed by the kitchen window and saw him chewing on a small rug. I went outside to rescue the rug and saw that he had tumbled over the recycling bins and grabbed the things I had put on top out of his reach--or so I thought. 

Plus, the hose was attacked again.

I need to teach him to run on the treadmill.

Trail of Toys

Flash must be feeling comfortable here now; he has his toys spread out all over. There's a trail of toys leading from the living room, where his toy box is, through the dining room and right to the kitchen door, where his dog door is.

 Poor little monkey.

Flash's favorite, the pineapple. All of his toys have names, but he really knows Pineapple and can dig it out of his toy box when we ask him to get the pineapple.

 Jack.

 Wubba.

 Cricket

 Ball

 Kong.

 Toy box.

Guilty dog.

What is he guilty of? Take a look at our hose:

Shots

Flash had his booster shots today. He was pretty good in the vet's office until they wanted to take him to the back to get his shots. I heard whimpering. But he came out bouncing so I guess he's ok. I bought him a toy and some toothpaste. He got cookies, too.

Flash and the Kong

Flash has developed some kind of fear of food...in his dish. If I put food in his dish, he won't eat it. So, at Rachel's suggestion, I put his food in the Kong and he goes after it with gusto. 

Flash and the Frisbee Video

Here is a video of Flash trying to get his Frisbee. I gave him the Frisbee outside in the back yard where he promptly took it to the pile of toys he's hoarding there. Later in the evening, he brought the Frisbee in through his doggie door. (I'm amazed at what he gets through that door.) The video is dark, but listen to the audio.

Go-Go Movie

Here is a short video of the results of yesterday's training. This shows Flash performing a Go-Go with Rachel Amado, trainer.

Daddy's Home

Flash loves his Daddy and wants to climb on his lap. But we have a no dog on sofa rule. Look carefully and you'll see Flash has one foot on the floor. That's fair isn't it?

Training Day

Oh, boy, did we have fun today! When Rachel Amado of The Maverick Way came to help me with Flash's training, I told her I was having trouble with the Go Outs. Flash understands that he's supposed to go get the cookie, so why should he do everything in between. That would be Sit, Stay and To; Charge and Get the Cookie he does just fine.

I was also having trouble getting his training collar on, but we worked that out.

Here is Flash not sitting. You can't see it here, but Rachel and Flash had "issues" with the Sit command. Flash had amnesia, forgetting his best trick. He sits for cookies all the time. But not today.

After a bit of nipping (bad dog) and correction by Rachel, Flash decides it's easier just to sit.

 With Sit under control, Rachel works with Flash on the Stay or Wait command. She starts by stepping only a foot away, then coming back. Good Stay, Flash.

 Flash is at the ready.

 When he does well, Flash gets a cookie.

 Look how far away Rachel is now.

  This is good. Another cookie for Flash.

 Now the lesson is over and Flash gets to play with his pineapple.

 But wait...now Rachel is teaching Flash to Give the toy back. Tugging is fun but you have to give the toy back when people ask you to give. Bummer.

 Eventually, Flash gave up the toy. Now Dennis is practicing the same thing when he plays with Flash.

Flash loves to ride in the car

I went to the car to get a grocery bag with my velcro dog by my side...or a few feet in front. He was so excited, thinking we were going for a ride. Bummer, he had to get out and go back in the house. :(

He looks good in red, though, doesn't he?

Flash rides again

Flash did great on the trail yesterday. This was the third time he ran along side Doc as we walked down the the trail around the ranch. Trainer Betsy walked as I rode Doc. All of us got some exercise. That was great! I can't believe the difference in Flash. He's now so comfortable around Doc, he'll lie down inches away from his back legs when he's tied at the rail....too close, maybe. I'm a little worried he'll get stepped on.

We still have more training to do. For now we've kept it at a walk, but we need to do some trotting to see if that bothers Flash. Our goal now is to have Flash stay out of the arena when we're working; either lying down outside the rail or wandering around completely ignoring us. He's pretty good at ignoring us, particularly when he's being called to come back from somewhere.

Flash is a very good dog.

Another Snow Day

Monday morning we woke up to still more snow. As usual, Flash went to work with Dennis, this time riding in the car instead of running ahead of the bike. When they came back for breakfast, Dennis said Flash had been outside the entire time they were gone. He sure was wet!

After a rub down with the towel, he was raring to go again.

So we took him on a walk around the ranch. That was hard work! The snow was 6-8 inches deep and we weren't wearing snow shoes. This did not affect Flash, however.

More Snow Photos

 

More snow photos of the ranch are posted at http://sandycreekranch.blogspot.com.

Flash LOVES the snow!

It's been snowing here since late last night. This morning Flash went out on his own and played in the back yard, coming in with snowflakes on his coat. Later, when Dennis went out to feed the horses, he and Flash walked all over taking pictures of the snow. Flash just loves it. These are pictures I took from the house.