Adventures in Training the Beagles

Oklahoma City and Pet Therapy Memories

Just ran across a CNN story about the babies that survived the Okalahoma City bombing.  Patty, UCDX Weaver’s Peppermint Patty, UD was a therapy dog and she worked with Brandon when he was in Dallas at a children’s rehab center.  It is so wonderful to see that he is doing much better than was projected.

Don’t know how he felt, but she really enjoyed being with him.  She always liked children the best.  Probably because they couldn’t throw her as far (okay, only one patient threw her and it wasn’t hard).

Getting back on track

Since our next trial is 3 weeks away, I’m working on our table skills – besides, it’s easier to keep a table in the living room than a teeter … 

Hotel reservations are made (and paid for), food is ordered, sub is requested and paperwork to be out is submitted. 

New Puppy

I really want to get the new puppy!  I have already asked the breeder if I can come and play with puppies and she said maybe in two weekends.  They won't be ready to come home yet, even if I get one out of the first litter.  Probably too young to know which are show quality, though the breeder is good!

I need to figure out how I am going to keep the puppy when it is too young to be in a crate all day.

Options include day boarding at a vet, day boarding at a doggy day care or fixing up something in the house or the yard.  Haven't decided.

Slight Puppy Disappointment

I was thinking of going and getting my puppy memorial weekend -- we have to work through June 4 but we typically have shorter days and longer lunches.  I was hoping to go home at lunch to deal with puppy, but we've got two training days that will start at 2:00 pm and last until 6:00 pm, and I think those days may be ending up to be too long.

Guess I'm going to have to wait until the afternoon of June 4.

Oh well.....

Housebreaking Issues

My husband’s dog, a rescue, is definitely not housebroken, which gives me problems with Macy and will also give me problems with the puppy.

We also have a very open floor plan which doesn’t help much in housebreaking.  There are lots of places the dogs can go even when supervised.

Last summer I made some extra money and bought some really nice pet gates.  I also took a part an ex-pen and made barriers with it.  Unfortunately Maggie is determined and knocks the barriers aside, but at least we try.

I have also finally convinced my husband that Maggie needs to be either crated, or left in the dog room.  I prefer crated as she has gotten through the fence before during a thunderstorm and I am afraid that Macy might go with her.  Puppy is even worse.  We’ll have to close the dog run when the puppy comes as there are some places small enough for puppy to get to and we won’t be able to get to her, or she’ll be out of the fence.

I’ve just barriered off the last area that is a problem.  I am also going to focus on litter box training everyone, since I have one upstairs and it could solve some of the problems.

However, I think our best option is to put Maggie down, get new carpets and subfloors, and start completely over but I’m not sure that is an option either.

Maggie is definitely a dirty dog.   I’ve seen her lay down in places she just peed in, though she does do a good job in the crate these days.  Both dogs pee in the dog room, but at least it is slate and easy to clean.  I keep housebreaking pads there.

Dogged Pursuit

My aunt, who also runs in agility (and is just a few years older), talked me into reading Dogged Pursuit.

Don’t much like the narrator at this point (I’m on Chapter 11, and he just had his first Q).  He is not much of a good sport, and in fact doesn’t seem much like anyone I’d like to be around.

One of the things I like about dog sports are the people.  My beagles have always had their own fan clubs, and Macy is no exception – though she was put on earth expecting a fan club. 

Interesting reading and I keep hoping the guy will turn into a decent human being.

Oh, and reading it on the Kindle for PC.  I’ll have to get a hot tub proof PC soon.

Dogged Pursuit: How a Rescue Dog Rescued Me

Agility – April 4 - McKinney

JWW sucked.  I tried to do a blind cross and it just put us at odds with each other.  Then she totally mucked up the weaves, and the more she mucked it up, the  more stressed I got.  Have to stop that.

Novice Standard was a bit of a mess, I think my fault again.  I know what is wrong – not enough sleep and exercise, and I’ll try to have it fixed by May.

Saturday – April 3 – Agility Trial

We’ve done our Open JWW run and I think she did better.  I lost her right before the weaves, but got her right back.  She missed 4 jumps but she was running with me the whole time.  Hard to say. 

We missed Novice Standard by two behaviors.  She wouldn’t down on the table and she tipped the teeter but jumped right before the yellow contact.  She looked happy and was fast. 

After watching her run out of the ring for a year, happy, fast and with me is good!

Reading: Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson

It’s an interesting read, and I am not sure I agree with the authors about dog behavior.  However, they don’t address beagles specifically.  The dogs they do discuss are dogs that have been bred to operate independently and beagles hunt as a pack and prefer being with other dogs.

She suggests that people only get a dog if they can be with them during the day, but I find our beagles do perfectly fine crated most of the day, and then are with us in the evening.  I have had beagles I could keep lose in a safe room, but right now I have a thunder sensitive beagle who escapes when there are thunderstorms in the area.

Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals

By the way, I’m reading the Kindle

Thoughts

We have a trial this weekend.  I am hoping to get some sleep tonight (see my other blogs), and I am hoping to get out of Novice.  But then again, we’ll be stuck in Open forever <smile>.

Agility class this week wasn’t good.  She wanted to eat the grub worms or June bugs, or whatever was buried in the grass.  That is somewhat excused because whatever she is eating isn’t distracting the next dog.

I have Rally class tonight, but I am thinking of skipping.  I am also thinking of making an adjustment in the class, and will have to talk to the instructor about it.  Get back to everyone later.

But the best news, is that I really do have a new beagle on order with my breeder.  She promises that there will be loads of puppies to choose from.  My favorite idea is a litter than was born last week that has 3 of Macy’s half sisters.  I love Macy so much, and that would be the closest I could get to cloning her.  The absolute closest would be to have a full sister, but I don’t think that bitch is breeding any more.  Macy is 4 years old, so knowing Mildred, she’d be 6 or 7 or older.

Lola is also in town and will be bred, and there is another Ben breeding in the works.  Plus lots of other dogs I don’t know.  Ben has produced a ton of nice looking beagles. 

I think I want to go down the weekend before exam week and get my girl.  That would be a good time.  Age difference is perfect – Macy was 4 in January.  And I’ve “done” all the beginner type of training with Macy and now we are fixing things and learning to trust each other when it comes to agility training.  I would like to do obedience with either dog, but I’m not sure that Macy is suited.  She liked Rally for a while, but lately would later sniff the floor.

My plan is to do conformation training this summer and start showing as soon as she is 6 months old.  I don’t know if beagles take a maturity break like some breeds do – that’s usually to grow hair, and let’s face it, there isn’t a lot of hair to grow.

I also will do all the normal agility puppy training.