Happy Mindependence Day 2019!
Half Birthday Celebration
June 21, 2019
On Monday, June 17th, we celebrated the Min Pins’ 11 and a HALF birthday.
I would have preferred a photo of just the kids with their cake, but Quest was not in the mood to sit with her sisters. I seem to be the only one smiling, if you consider my expression a smile.😬
Yum! This is a rare treat for this crew!
This is the second time I have purchased this cake mix from Amazon for my Min Pins. They LOVE it! Leftovers are frozen and enjoyed for weeks.
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New Beginning
June 21, 2019
dog agility, dog sports, Miniature Pinscher, Uncategorized Leave a comment
Despite our disappointing first trial, I did not want to give up my hopes for competing in agility with Malibu. Our previous instructor had not instilled confidence in Team Malibu. On the contrary, she stole our confidence and left me feeling doubtful about our future in the sport that I had quickly grown to love.
After leaving Cindy’s agility class, I decided to register Malibu in a class taught by Ann, Aspen’s instructor. Aspen and Malibu would be in separate classes, not just because Malibu had more experience, but I did not want to deal with the stress of having both dogs in the same class. I also enjoyed the one-on-one time spent with each dog.
It was fantastic to have Malibu in a class with an instructor who was fun and positive. Her style was never intimidating or authoritative and I didn’t have to worry about Malibu being alpha rolled or verbally abused. Unfortunately, I could see that the emotional damage from Cindy’s treatment was already done. Malibu appeared less certain of her abilities and lacked the enthusiasm that she once had while running an agility course. I felt incredibly guilty that I allowed Cindy to use punishment-based methods on my dog.
Managing Malibu during Ann’s class was easier even though she was still dog reactive. I had learned what worked best for Malibu and that was space. Providing Malibu with distance between herself and other dogs allowed her to feel more relaxed and less threatened.
We soon began entering AKC (American Kennel Club) trials. It did not take long to realize that AKC trials were highly charged environments where I could feel the tension in the air. At trials I could never let my guard down and remained focused on Malibu the entire time. Although the indoor trial locations usually had crating rooms, I crated Malibu in the car while we waited for our run to avoid adding to her stress.
We NQ’d (did not qualify) over and over at our trials despite doing a great job in class. Our Standard runs were mentally hard for Malibu. She would frequently avoid contact obstacles and the chute (AKC no longer uses this piece of equipment for safety reasons). Our JWW (Jumps with Weaves) runs were not as bad, but Malibu was still not focused enough to show her potential. I realized that even though Malibu was an agility rock star in our backyard and had solid runs in class, the trial atmosphere added additional layers of stress that may prove to be too much for Malibu.
In February 2011, almost two years after enrolling in our first agility class, Team Malibu earned its first Q (qualifying run) in JWW at Dream Park in South Jersey. It was an amazing feeling. This achievement, that at times seemed unattainable, filled me with incredible joy. I was extremely proud of Malibu for her commitment and dedication.
I left the trial that day with renewed confidence and excited that we were finally on our way. Team Malibu had jumped a hurdle, both literally and figuratively, and was ready to move forward in this fun and addictive sport.
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Game On
May 16, 2019
agility instructors, dog agility, Miniature Pinscher, Uncategorized Leave a comment
Malibu’s agility class experience was problematic almost from the very beginning. In my article, Bad Dog, I detailed our first class and instructor. When I look back at that time, I always feel a sense of “if I knew then what I know now”. As soon as I began to have doubts about Cindy (our instructor), I should have left that class. Instead, I allowed Cindy to bully Malibu for months.
About six months after Malibu began taking agility classes with Cindy, I registered Aspen for her first class at the same facility, but with a different instructor. Ann was a kind and patient teacher. She did not favor certain dogs or grab dogs and alpha roll them in an attempt to dominate them. I instantly wished that she had been Malibu’s first instructor.
From a very young age Aspen was an ideal agility dog. Fast and fearless, she had no issues with any obstacles on an agility course. “She’s very athletic”, commented Ann as Aspen flew over the jumps with ease.
Unlike Malibu, Aspen was not reactive in class which kept my stress at bay. Although I did not have to micromanage Aspen as I did Malibu, I did have to deal with a different issue. Aspen seemed to enjoy running agility courses, but she also showed great interest in going off sniffing and exploring the building. At times, I became frustrated. Here I had a dog with huge potential, but she would sometimes prefer to sniff. I was familiar with displacement/avoidance behaviors that dogs may exhibit when they are stressed, but it truly appeared that Aspen took great pleasure in the joy of sniffing. Unless I was able to get Aspen to remain focused on agility we weren’t going to get very far.
During this time, Malibu was still taking classes with Cindy. Things had not yet come to a head. By now, Malibu and I had been taking classes for almost a year and thoughts of entering our first competition began to enter my mind. A CPE (Canine Performance Event) trial was coming up in a few months and I decided to enter. About a month before the trial, I severed ties with Cindy. She had finally gone too far and I was finished with her and her delusions of dominance.
The day of the CPE trial arrived and I was both excited and nervous. No longer taking classes with Cindy, I was a bit on edge when I spotted her at the trial. She was not competing, but present to support another student from my former class. We did not speak to one another which was probably for the best.
After the judge’s briefing, I walked the novice agility course with my fellow competitors. It was a simple beginner course that appeared easy since our practice courses were typically on the challenging side. Not wanting to miss my turn, I kept a close eye on the running order as I anxiously waited to run the course with Malibu. Watching the dogs before us run the course I was confident that Malibu could successfully complete the course. Then, something happened that changed my mind. The dog running one or two places ahead of us stopped and urinated on the course. I had a feeling that this would be trouble for us, and it was.
It was finally our turn to enter the ring. Malibu began the course and was doing a fantastic job until she got near the spot where the dog had urinated. (Ring crew had diluted the grassy area with water as is customary when a dog eliminates). Malibu became distracted, and like a magnet was drawn to the area. Ugh! I couldn’t believe it and was so disappointed. Since Malibu stopped running and went “off course” we had officially NQ’d (did not qualify).
Unfortunately, this was to be the first NQ in a long list of agility NQs for Team Malibu. Not a quitter, I knew we needed a fresh start and planned to enroll Malibu in one of Ann’s classes. Her personality and teaching style would be a better fit for us.
Although our first competition was not a success, I enjoyed the trial atmosphere and looked forward to competing again. But which dog would be ready, Malibu? Aspen? Or, both?
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Happy Birthday, Twinkie
January 5, 2019
Happy Birthday, Twinkie. Twinkie was my first dog and the center of my universe. Because of her, I fell in love with this amazing breed. Although she has been gone for almost twelve years, I still think about her every day.❤️
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