Crate Config

With Ike gone, we revamped the crate configuration in the Element. Now everyone is in separate crates and there are three on the platform instead of two. We have the entire under platform and area behind the passenger seat for gear and packing. This makes life a LOT easier. Click on photos for  notes/labels of where everyone fits.

Herding Instinct Test

Kastle was introduced to sheep when he was little (around 8 weeks) and has been a little...wary of other farm animals as an adult (he barks like a looney and hackles), so I wasn't sure how he would feel about being up close and personal with the small herd of sheep at his testing. Luckily, after slight hackling and moaning, he enthusiastically hopped right in.

He was a little too excited at first and was chasing more than herding, including muzzle punching one in the face twice.

 Then he got ran over and that sort of pissed him off but a good whack on the noggin' cleared his head and he settled into a gorgeous, gaiting rhythm. The instructor seemed pleased with his behavior and thinks he can continue and trial.

The rest of the photos are HERE. And video :-)

Side note - Kastle got locked into going around the sheep to the left, and even when she helped him switch, he immediately tried to go back to left...his box turn direction...

Digging & Weaving

I'm working on teaching Kastle proper weaves using the 2x2 method in the basement - we are very close to four straight poles! He's starting to do the skip from paw to paw between them.

We also had a family "Scratch Off". We were challenged to teach all five dogs in five days to dig on command. At least 4 scratches in three seconds. We succeeded! Of course, we turned it into a competition.... ;-)

Kastle did really, really well! He learned the basics the very first lesson. Started with food under a towel and then moved to the tupperware, he transferred fine. I had him so revved for it he was screaming :-) I also experimented with having him down then release him to dig and then back down, he did great.

Almost Senior

Went to a very small Ultimate Air Dogs event tonight, Kastle was in two splashes. He jumped 14' and 14'5" the first splash and 14'10" and 14'11" - his new Personal Best and almost into the next division! Yay Kastle! :-D

Brief Park Trip

Still hot, humid, disgusting. The dogs have been cooped up for too long so we took them to the park to run. No toys or food or anything to *make* them want to run, just let them go until they got too hot and then we packed back up and headed home into the a/c.

He can be a bit of a derp...

 Full pack photo fail.

With the girls:

 With Finn:

Just my handsome guy:

Boys will be boys :-)

 Mirror images:

The rest of the pictures are HERE.

Trip North

It was so hot at my parents' when we went for our visit that the pups mostly laid under the shade trees with the humans. Kastle hasn't been feeling 100% lately (combination of food change, weather, etc?) so he was very mellow. Just as well though.

Ear floofs blowing in the breeze:

Tugging with Eden - she is holding the end with the smallest knot on it - she makes me laugh! He's so sweet and tolerant :-)

Weave

This video was taken after we did a reminder session with just one set of 2 x 2's and then he was hot so I just did a quick run-through with him with two sets and let him carry his ball. He is getting the hang of it - slowly.

Eden is in Charge

...even if she is the smallest.

Flyball Team Tourney!!!

Kastle ran in his first tournament on the team It was HOT (111* with heat index, 140* on the pavement by where we were parked), and he did great. I am SO PROUD! We have worked so hard and it was such a miserable, humid, disgusting day and he did his best. This was our first and last team run with Fly by Night because we are moving. I will miss this team and how far they've helped me come! There's a slow-mo section where you can see him sllliidddeeee into the box (and knock Lies crooked) and that is why he has to wear all of that gear! He is averaging about 4.5ish seconds with 7-10 foot passes (not because he can't pass, but because the dog he is passing into had an owner that did not want closer passes).

Anyway, video:

What happens when you miscalculate your start time...

Family Photos

I need to stop trying for group shots LOL They are always a disaster! It was extremely hot, extremely humid and I waited as late as I could for it to cool off and still have sunlight.

The outtakes...

The keepers.

Ike & Kastle

Ike has been sold, these will be the last photos of the half-brothers together :'(

Ike at 3 years, Kastle at 1 year:

The first time they have played together, really run and play, since Kastle smashed his teeth out.

The rest of the photos of the two of them together are HERE.

Ike will be greatly missed.

Tug Time

Eden has started to enjoy tugging just for the sake of tugging - including tugging with Kastle, which is soooo cute!

The rest of that cuteness is HERE.

We are using Finn's Kastle-drive to get Finny to care about toys and tugging, it's working really well so far!

 The rest of the Kastle/Finn pics are HERE.

Kastle loves toys :-D

Also, Kastle now has a little brother - an Australian Kelpie, named Limit:

Dremel!

Getting back into the habit of dremeling the dogs' nails. I used to do it with my other dogs and have failed to get into it with Eden and Kastle. Then, when I decided it was time, the Dremel battery was dead, not available to buy in any store. Well, it finally came in the mail so I got down to it this week. I'm very pleased with how lovely they look.

 His floofs are awesome!

The rest of those pics are HERE.

Flyball with Slammers

Since we were over on the East side of the state anyway, we stopped to visit Slammers during their training. Finn's breeder is on the Slammers team so that was neat for her to see him and us to see his dad run. There were also a slew of amazing puppies for me to Squee over. Lots of nice people and fast, FAST dogs to watch! I got a lot of help with Kastle. I now have a new way of starting him that feels much more natural for me and him and we are both more comfortable with it. He was a little flaky but new building, new people etc etc. Plus, Craig ran him a couple of times to show me how to do the things I need to work on. I also need to work on dragging my tug, not pulling it up last minute and also his mattress hitting - saves the shoulders but he needs to practice hitting it. He avoided it and took me out behind the knees and I totally wiped out one time. Luckily, I sort of cushioned off of Kastle and didn't get hurt really at all. :-) Had a GREAT time and learned a lot!!!

"Real" Agility

We've finally had a break through! Kastle is finally realizing that agility is a sequence of obstacles in which he does not need to, and should not, stare at me throughout. Yay! :-D I was REALLY, REALLY, REALLY happy with tonight's session as the last session left me feeling like we had a HUGE amount of work to do. Guess he thought about it and decided he could do agility after all. He was collecting and paying attention to the jumps, watching my body signals well without being too clingy and we even did some crosses. Very happy!

We worked on backing up to the contact obstacles - One Rear Toe On method and then sequences:
-Jump-Jump-Tunnel
-Jump-Jump-Jump-Tunnel
-Jump x3-Tunnel-Jump
-Jump x3-Tunnel-Jump-Chute
-Jump-Jump-Tunnel-Jump (blind rear cross)
-Jump-Jump-Tunnel (front cross)

The crosses were fun, especially the front cross because we would never have been able to do that before. :-D

Flyball Gear

Kastle's skid boots came in :-) Lies also helped me to fix his wrecked tug with a Chuck-It ball, conveniently blue so that it matched the rest of his gear, of course. He looks pretty....blue now haha Love it!

He's so cooperative, love him!

Even more photos are HERE.

Team Flyball

Tonight we worked on the team that Kastle will be on for the tournament in July. Phoebe, then Kastle, Jive. He has never passed into Phoebe and he's never been passed into by Jive, who is small. He did great. He never once looked at the other dogs. We started with really wide passes just to see how they did. It was HOT - 90 degrees, the building is not air conditioned and there was hardly any air flow at all. We did a few runs per turn and then packed up and called it a night - we were still all soaked by the end and Kastle was tired but did so well and I was very happy :-D

United Kennel Club Premier #4

Today was raining all the way to the Premier. I had an unfortunately bad experience that made us leave earlier than planned yesterday and I just wanted to get today over with. We appeared early but the UAD desk wasn't open yet and then when we came back there was a line...so we went to lure coursing first. It was dead there, due to the rain that left the grass damp and slightly slippery but Kastle did fine. I was extremely happy. The judge turned to me and said what a nice dog I had :-) That was awesome and he earned his CA title - yay Kastle - his first title!!!! :-D

This was his last day dock jumping, he went into the pool more-or-less straight off the lure course and earned 13'8" and 14'5", which gives us his 5th and final leg of his Ultimate Junior Jumpers (UJJ). Yay Kastle, title #2!!! :-D

Turns out he made it into the finals but I was so cranky due to some bad experiences that we just headed home immediately after his jump. Oh well, next time :-) I am proud he made it that far!

ETA: His certificate came, only one for some reason but both new titles are on there.

United Kennel Club Premier Day #3

Leg #2 of Kastle's CA title was earned today:

Day three of jumping in UAD. He earned two more legs towards his Junior title, only one more to go (and only one more opportunity to get it too!). 9'10" and 14'4" for his first jump and 12'3" and 10'1". New personal best is earned at 14'4".

Still so flat....

Rest of today's pics HERE.