Sunday, February 19, 2012

Good Morning, Good Night


"Good morning Tibby.  Time to get up for the 2nd day of the seminar!"


I was very tempted to skip the 2nd day.  Really, really tired when my alarm went off at 5:45am.
I'm glad I didn't.  Today was much better than yesterday.  For starters, we all slept through the night.  Not a peep out of Tibby.  She woke up when the alarm went off, rolled over and went back to sleep.  Ah!  So tempting to follow her example!



I crated Tibby out of the car and it was much, much better for both of us.  She went to sleep in the crate and was behaving more like herself - i.e. doing a visiting loop (not quite a zoomie) around the room during our working spot.
I'll write up a full post soon, but I thought the session (Attention As A Behavior) this morning was better than yesterday.  I'm actually a little confused about why today's session wasn't yesterday, because having focus/attention seems to be the basic 1st step to do yesterday's heeling exercises.  I wanted to ask Jane about that, but I forgot.


Anyway, we made it home.  Tibby was happy to see her couch and she is crashed out there now.  First she had to chase Catty around the back yard and then she fell asleep.
I think the most interesting thing at the seminar was the people.  I met Crystal and Laura - it was fun to finally meet them.  And I got to pet Vito!!  :)

The other people were interesting.
Hopefully none of those other non-blogfriend people read this blog, because I'm going to talk about them!!
After our first working spot on Sat. two women came up to me and we had an odd conversation.  Maybe I was just tired and it was totally normal.  "Is she spayed?" 'yeah'  "Oh, too bad!"  Other woman to 1st woman, "Is she what you're looking for?"  1st woman, "Oh, yes.  Exactly."
1st woman to me, "She can really move.  She has excellent structure.  You know in a performance dog you want the whole package and I hope you know she is the whole package."
Me, "Well, I think she is :)"

I also made a new friend (Kirsten?) who had a working spot in the afternoon on Sat.  Her dog was a Brittaney Spaniel (Sparkles) puppy that did a nice big zoomie loop when it was supposed to be heeling.  Kirsten (well, I think that was her name) was crying outside the seminar room after the first rotation through the working spots.  Tibby and I were waiting to go back into the seminar room and I was able to give her a little support/I've been there/it gets better/don't give up pep talk.  She was nice.  I did feel bad for her, because I've been there and it sucks.  Like NO ONE understands until they have been there.

So to the people who were sitting next to me!!! - No, she doesn't need to get a herding breed, "because you can train one of them in half the time".  Really?  That's the point of dog training?  'cause that sure isn't why I do it.  I heard a lot of breed-ism this week-end, which was kind of odd considering the seminar material.  Lot's of, "Well, you might need to do that with a terrier, but not with my sheltie/BC/ect."  I guess I don't get it.  A dog is a dog.  They have good traits and difficult traits, but they are all dogs.  I wouldn't trade Tibby for any dog.  I have never seen another dog that I thought, "Ooo, I wish I had that dog instead of Tibby."  Why do I love Tibby?  Because we have learned together!  Everything is part of the journey.  Sometimes the journey is bumpy, like Sparkles Mom was experiencing or Tibby in the crate-dungeon-of-doom, but each part is an important step.

Every day your dog is with you you're training it.
SO
  Why would anyone be in a hurry to get to the end of the road?

7 comments:

Loretta Mueller said...

I'm glad today was better for you! And I agree with you...dogs are individuals, breedism annoys me :) I'm sure you already knew that! LOL

Laura and The Corgi, Toller, & Duck said...

Yeah I was really surprised what she had to group do in yesterday's afternoon session. It seemed very backwards to me especially when she is so great at breaking down exercises to their smallest levels.

I hope you had a great time working Tibby! Those foundational steps can be very hard to get, especially when forced to start in such a distracting place (the nature of seminars!) but the work really does pay off in huge ways. It really is about the journey!

And yes, all dog people are crazy. Some clearly more so than others :)

I wish we had been able to talk more, but I'm not very brave.

Kiyi Kiyi said...

Loretta - Yup! Well, where do you think I learned to be so relaxed and cool???? From my great teacher Loretta! :)

Laura - I know! I wish we could have talked more too! I was so distracted with making sure Tibby was ready to work and checking on her. Also, I'm not very good with conversation!! But it was fun petting Vito and I have a feeling this won't be the only time we see you :) After all MN isn't that big a state!!

K-Koira said...

Glad you guys had fun!

And, if you hear of people looking for Tibetan Terriers bred with sporting ability in mind, I have a breeder recommendation you can pass on, if you get many people disappointed in Tibby being spayed.

I hate the breedism thing. I get it a lot with flyball. People hear what sport I play, and they ask if I have a border collie. When I say my APBT and my corgi mix compete, and excel, they seem skeptical.

Diana said...

All dogs have issues. I dont know any dog that has been a breeze to trian. The issues are just different. In the end you have to live with that dog , so it better be a breed you like.

I think its good if your dog acts crazy at a seminar or lesson. I hope that the instructor was able to help that girl work through her dogs problem. If you dog was perfect you wouldnt need to be there. Better to have problems here and work through them , then in the ring.

Sounds like you had a good time. Glad the second nights sleep was better.

Loretta Mueller said...

Diana--SO TRUE! All my dogs have had their challenges...I think if you don't like herding dogs, they would be a REAL PAIN IN THE REAR to train!! I don't mind the staring...some do! I don't mind the herding behavior or over-stimulation I have to work through with each dog...my love of the breed helps I am sure ;) I have a terrier, and train him, and yet I am not a terrier person...even the husband will admit he isn't a TERRIER person, he is a CRACKERS person ;)

Kiyi Kiyi said...

I agree with you all!

Just as a side note: Having a supposedly easier to train breed doesn't mean that the WILL be easier to train.

One of the club's instructors was in the Focus As A Behavior session with her BORDER COLLIE - and she couldn't get it to look at her. What happened to ALL BCs stare at there owner?

Each dog is an individual - I think people have trouble training/understanding their dog when they forget that.