In any activity humans are passionate or invested in you’re going to get strong opinions. Expressions of the way things have, or should, or must be done. Dog agility is no different. Yet many, likely majority, of those expressions are…
Summer vacation
Sometimes I forget how nice (and needed) it is to get away from the house until we go. One of my best friends was graduating from Canine Companions for Independence with her very first service dog and invited us to…
Not a Traffic Barrel
A lovely morning for a walk. Tom guiding on my left, Dulce spaniel and Zora walking nicely on my right. Nearing the end of the walk, final stretch of sidewalk towards home. I live on the main road through town,…
Community
Last week on May 1st, I mentioned an event Tom and I were going to later that day. One I knew he was going to be excited about and enjoy. What I didn’t realize was how much I was going…
Training Dog Agility when Visually Impaired
On average I have 6-10 degrees of functional vision. In certain lighting conditions I have less. With my glasses on I have 20/20 central vision. In doing dog agility, or training dogs, I have to make some modifications. And often…
Gem of Today
Lyft driver: “You have a dog. I can’t take you. I just had my car cleaned. Your dog is going to pee in my car.” Me rolling my eyes, getting into his car as he’s talking cuz give me a…
2 Steps Forward, 3 Steps Back
I’ve been mulling over this since the news of Delta Airlines new service dog policy broke. Reading people’s comments, organizations responses. Thinking. Saddened. Frustrated. Really. On Sunday, when getting my husband an ice cream in a shop we’d never before…
Generalizing Skills
Zora and I have been making good progress on a number of our foundation obedience behaviors. Specifically working hard on consistency with correct front and sit at heel positions, grip on retrieve objects, position signals, and kick back stand from…
Rally Trial
We went to our first Rally competition today. 2 trials in 1 day. It was great fun! We were entered in Novice B both rounds, and earned our fist 2 qualifying scores. 100 in Rd 1 with 2nd place, and…
NADAC Championships 2017 – Round 7 & Finals or Day 4
Day 4! The final day of NADAC Championships 2017!! This has been such a fun week, I’m so glad we came. First a little about the scoring at champs. NADAC Champs is scored differently than many competitions. In each round…