Former Lab Beagles See The Sunshine
Boy, this is a tearjerker – I am not ashamed to say I cried like a baby. Watching these sweet dogs take their first awkward, scared steps on grass…..puts a real face on the laboratory testing issue.
For the full article:
TRIAL HYMN OF SCHUTZHUND
We don’t participate in schutzhund (at the moment) but I received this from a friend and nearly died laughing. I think that all of us who work our dogs can certainly understand the sentiment behind it….
TRIAL HYMN OF SCHUTZHUND
(slightly edited to keep it family friendly for the younger members of the Alta Tollhaus crew, and Carole’s sensibilities)
Mine eyes have seen the terror of the coming schutzhund trial.
I have handed in my scorebook, but my brain is in denial.
I’ll be looking for the port-a-potty in a little while. I wish I stayed in bed.
Glory, glory, with a lightning fast retrieve,
Glory, glory, with a full grip on the sleeve,
A qualifying score is what I’m hoping to receive,
Because we train so hard!
I thought I was prepared to handle any circumstance,
My dog went down the first leg and I thought we had a chance,
Then he circled on the corner and I almost **** my pants,
The points are coming off!
Glory, glory, with a lightning fast retrieve,
Glory, glory, with a full grip on the sleeve,
A qualifying score is what I’m hoping to receive,
Because we train so hard!
The judge gave me the signal and I gave my dog a call,
He hit me like a freight train and he nearly broke my ******.
I’d have me a chihuahua, if I had some sense at all!
The points are coming off!
Glory, glory, with a lightning fast retrieve,
Glory, glory, with a full grip on the sleeve,
A qualifying score is what I’m hoping to receive,
Because we train so hard!
We went to do protection, it’s his favorite part, you see.
I sent him out to search six blinds,he thought that he’d run three.
He ignored me for the callout, he can be so ornery!
The points are coming off!
Glory, glory, with a lightning fast retrieve,
Glory, glory, with a full grip on the sleeve,
A qualifying score is what I’m hoping to receive,
Because we train so hard!
It’s amazing, it’s a wonder that we got a passing score!
My dog has done so many things he’s never done before,
But this schutzhund is addictive, and we’ll all be back for more,
I’m glad this trial is done!
Glory, glory, with a lightning fast retrieve,
Glory, glory, with a full grip on the sleeve,
A qualifying score is what I’m hoping to receive,
Because we train so hard!
by Troy Casa de Mandingo Jones
Pieka’s New CD-C Title
Hello, everyone! I’m happy to add another title to the Alta Tollhaus family. Pieka and I completed her CD-C title this weekend. This is the Novice Obedience title offered by the Companion Dog Sports Program. It’s similar to AKC, but has some significant differences. The exercises for the Novice title are: (1) Heel on Leash; (2) Figure 8 off leash; (3) Moving Stand for Exam; (4) Recall over Bar Jump; and (5) Honor Stay.
We earned very respectable scores of 195, 194, 193. Our scores would have been MUCH higher except that we had a bobble with the recall – completely out of the blue, Pieka starting coming in directly to heel. It happened once, I didn’t tell her it was “wrong” (being a trial and all) and she just stuck with it all weekend. 
This will be easy to fix, just a bobble along the way.
Here is one of our runs:
Aside from the recall issue, I’m very pleased with her performance. The heeling was tight and animated, she was correct in her position, she engaged nicely between exercises and she didn’t crowd me too badly at all. Pieka is now Alta Tollhaus Bali, CD-C, RL2, RL1x, RN, CGC. We’re hoping to finish her AKC title this fall, then on to Open next year.
Peika Summer Update
Happy Summer! I hope that, right now, all of you are enjoying backyard barbecues, fireworks, and all the fun things that summer brings. It is hot and humid in New England. Work has kept me very busy this summer. I will be traveling every week from mid-June to late July (though home on the weekends….at least that is the plan right now). I also have a ton of arbitrations scheduled throughout the rest of the year. With all the travel, it has been hard to attend training classes regularly with Pieka. We haven’t been tracking at all, which is very disappointing – I had hopes that this was Pieka’s year to certify and title. Despite my schedule, we did manage to finish Pieka’s APDT Rally Level 2 title and get one leg towards her Rally Advanced title. She is now Alta-Tollhaus Bali RN, R2, RL1X, CGC. Fancy, yes?
This is a fun heeling picture from one of our trials. Pieka is always a huge hit for her enthusiastic performances, which often include leaping finishes and very prancy heeling. I just try not to trip over my own feet and stay out of her way. We’re hoping to enter traditional obedience in early 2012. She could probably qualify right now in Novice, but I’d like to polish her up a bit and have her almost ready to go in Open before we hit the ring. Of course, to do all this, I am going to have to be home enough to train with her on a regular basis.
Winter in New England
From the posts lately, I can tell that Michigan and Minnesota are pretty well snowed-in. New Hampshire has it’s fair share too – I think we got roughly 30 inches over the last two weeks. Supposedly we have another foot or two coming this week…..oh, joy. As it is, I’ve lost my practice jumps in the backyard.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep…..until you try to slog through the snow to get there.
Shane decided to take his new cross country skis for a try in the yard. Cross country skiing is WAY harder than it looks! I think I’m more of a snowshoe person.
Louie and Pieka are enjoying the snow. Well…..Louie enjoys the snow where we’ve shoveled or Pieka has created a path. Otherwise, he would get lost. But he can still kick Pieka’s butt! Attack of the Killer Shih Tzu:
Louie, triumphant (if snowy) after his victory:
And…..we’ve had a foxy visitor at our house. We think that she (or he) is scoping out our drainage ditch for a den. It has entrances on either side of our yard and there are little foxy prints at both ends. She spent the afternoon just hanging out and digging around. Shane took these pictures through the front window, she’d hide in the woods if he came out.
It is going to be BAD if we have a little of fox kits here this spring. I am all for “letting nature take its course” in theory. In practice, there isn’t a snowball’s chance in you-know-where of me watching fox kits starve or be unhealthy. Not gonna happen. If she has selected us for her home, I sure hope she’s a good mommy!