Hi

This is my blog documenting my life with my dogs. Yes, I'm a nerd. I'm okay with it. I am a wee bit obsessed with dogs and particularly my own. I am fascinated by the training of dogs and as a result my dogs have been experimented on for many years running the gamut of training techniques from dominace-based "dog whisperer" type theory to Pure Positive clicker training. I have concluded that the latter is the type that makes the most sense to me (and my dogs!) and I work very hard to be a fair and fun-loving partner in training to my dogs.

Here are the key players...

This is Cooper. He's an ass...but he's MY ass. Okay, that didn't come out right...*shrug*. Cooper is a possible Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mix and you will NEVER hear me refer to him as a "cockapoo" (okay, I did just there, but, never again!) As a result of my brief forey into dominance based training, Cooper now thinks that occasionally people do strange and scary things and, being a dog prone to fight over flight reactions, he gets a bit snarly and snappy when he has something in his possession that he values. (How's that for a run-on sentence... deal with it) He's also not a big fan of other members of his species. He is capable of getting along with a lot of dogs but he is prone to overreacting when they do something he arbitrarily deems as innapropriate. The good news...whoever had this dog before me did a fantastic job of developing his bite inhibition! He rarely if ever leaves a mark on his targets, mostly he just screams and gurgles and growls while flailing until someone interrupts him. Also, Cooper is an accomplished food stealer. There cannot be a scrap of food anywhere near a remotely accessible location or Cooper will find it and inhale it in less than .5 seconds (but only when I'm out of the room...yet another result of my misguided training ideas) Despite his percieved inadequacies, I ADORE this dog and wouldn't change him for the world!

<----THIS is Jazz. Jazz is a rare "Squishfacedblackdog." He is my first dog. My family had a few dogs before him but he was the first that was mine, ALL MINE. I got him when I was twelve years old and every day I look down at the deformed, misshapen, snoring lump at my feet and ask myself, "why?" Then, he looks up at me with his red, irritated eyes and flags his magnificent, floofy tail and I say "Oh, right. Now, I remember!" He is not pretty to look at, he has never fully understood the point of training (unless it has to do with agility, then he's ALL over it!) and he's a bit of a conformational and medical mess. BUT, he has a heart the size of Mt. Everest and has put up with me all these years and come out a reasonably well-adjusted dog, an accomplishment I can't help but admire. When people (who are dog-nerdy like me) talk about their first dog, particularly their first agility dog, you get similar reactions; Their eyes soften, they get a plastered on, lop-sided grin and they speak with a mixture of pity and admiration in their voice. This is how I react when people ask me about Jazz. He's a dog who somehow managed to catch on to the idea of agility despite the fact that I had no idea what I was doing and did just about everything possible wrong. I apologize to him every chance I get and attempt to make it up to him by letting him just be a dog for the rest of his years and leave my training experiments to my younger, less tormented dogs.

Finally, last but not least...The New Kid.

This is "Seven" on the day I picked him up about 3 weeks ago. Seven's a Vizsla and probably the only dog I'll ever get from a breeder, so we're making the most of his pure bred, registered status. I will be competing with Seven in as many different sports and venues as possible, including conformation (if his 2nd testicle ever decides to make an appearance) He's 11 weeks old now and I'm still getting to know this little bugger. So far he is pretty much the most perfect puppy ever born. Seriously. There is no better. I will be using this blog mainly to document the growth of this little man and to help me see my own progress as a trainer. (I love how I'm still thinking someone might actually read this blog!)

Bye for now!!