Totally MIA

Hey guys! So sorry this blog has been dead for a while. School got nasty :(

It finally started snowing this past week. It's been a pretty warm winter overall (thanks, global warming!). Winnie got to experience her first real snowfall! She has been to Big Bear before (a ski resort in Southern CA) but it doesn't really count because it's mostly man-made snow :) She's never experienced the real thing before!

Note the snow and ice stuck on her chin/whiskers :)

It's been a crazy fall semester. I realized that I've been in 6 different states this past month! NY (where I'm now, obviously), NJ, CT, MA, MD, and PA. And they've all been horse-related, hah. This past week has been insane --> FINALS WEEK. Ugh. I have my last final on Thursday and I'm going home, YAY!

Winnie will be staying here in Ithaca with my friend and the entire pack- Ava, Hansel/Juneau (the Shelties), and Brandt- remember them from this summer? :) I hate to leave her here, but she'll be a lot happier staying here rather than flying back and forth from NY to CA. I know she'll have a good time- it's me who'll miss her! We won't be able to spend Christmas together :( Thankfully I'll only be going home for 3 weeks. I'm so ready to actually get a full night's sleep!

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL holiday break :)

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Pig on a pig

O hai. I can haz a treat?

CorgiButts contest

Gibson of Corgi Butts is holding another contest in honor of gaining 100 Followers!

Click here to enter to win a custom blog heading or a custom illustration of your dog :)

AKC Star (sort of...)

I got an email today saying to "look for Winnie in this issue of your AKC!"

It turns out that her photo was one of those displayed in a thing called "Photos from YourAKC Readers". The general theme seems to be a dogs-at-the-beach sort of thing. I honestly can't remember when I ever submitted a photo of Winnie, but hey!

Click here to see her photo. It's in Row 4, Column 3 :)

Mission Squirrel: SUCCESS

Winnie has finally fulfilled her lifelong dream of catching a squirrel. Twice.

No joke!

On Thursday she actually caught a squirrel in the Arts Quad. In the squirrel's defense, it was either a) really really stupid or b) slightly injured and thus unable to run fast enough. It might've been a combo of both, since the squirrels here tend to be pretty smart about avoiding or not avoiding potential threats.

Anyway, Winnie managed to catch it. And then she let go...and started herding it!

Uh, yeah. She started herding the squirrel. This is where the whole "the squirrel is an idiot" comes into play- instead of just running up a nearby tree, the squirrel decided to instead run in circles. Winnie decided it would be fun to herd it and bark at it...*roll eyes*. After some time Winnie got bored with this squirrel who was making a half-ass attempt to run away. Eventually it just ran back up a tree.

Then on Friday night, we were back on the Arts Quad when it was really dark and slightly rainy. Winnie managed to find another squirrel, although I wonder if it was the same one from the day before, since it too was slow and slightly stupid.

Anyway, the gist of it is that Winnie caught a squirrel. Twice. And the squirrel(s) didn't die. Which I'm slightly relieved about. They are kind of cute. At least, when they're not dropping acorns on your head when you walk under a tree.

Today we had graduation for obedience class. Today was admittedly one of Winnie's worst obedience days. She broke her sit/stay and down/stay numerous times and her heeling was pretty bad. Despite that, she did better than the other dogs and scored a 1st place (and a nifty little trophy). Hah. Not too deserving since both she and the competition kind of sucked today, but who am I to complain? :P


We also showed off one of her tricks- backwards circles- and won a squeaky toy, which was promptly ripped just moments after we won it from her constant tugging.

She had a grand ole time running around the fenced-in agility arena during the post-graduation party.


And...it seems as though my pictures are finally uploading! Here are some pics of Winnie on the campus Arts Quad. I had planned to upload these earlier but wasn't able to until now:

Winnie at Ezra Cornell's statue. Some visiting tourists saw this and also wanted to take a picture of Winnie next to the statue for their friend who is a Corgi lover, lol!

Small dog, large campus

*Grumble*

For some odd reason, I'm unable to post new pictures on this blog. I took a couple pictures of our agility course today, as well as some pictures of Winnie running around the Quad. And I can't put up any of them, argh!

We'll have to make to without them, I suppose :(

Today was the 5th week of agility (technically our 4th, since I had to miss one class a few weeks ago). We are now doing all three contact obstacles (dog walk, A frame, teeter) at half-height and all the other obstacles (chute, tunnel, jumps, etc) except for the weave poles.

We are now doing short sequences of about 6-7 obstacles. Winnie is doing GREAT at her contacts. Ideally I would like to spend more time working on running contacts using the Sylvia Trkman method, but obviously I don't have that kind of time or resource at the moment! Still, she's showing wonderful enthusiasm and drive, as well as control, for all the obstacles. The only time she screws up is when I screw up with my handling (go figure) or she gets distracted by some treat that fell on the floor next to an obstacle.

Since I also volunteer as an instructor for obedience/agility at our local 4H club, I use the time to have some extra "solo" agility practice on Monday nights using their equipment. Last Monday I was able to work with Winnie on serpentines using lead-outs and changes of hand. I really want to try those jump box drills from Agility Nerd to improve my handling...

Boy, this is one boring post without any pictures. I should probably get back to studying. Sigh.

Miss September

A couple months ago Gibson's mom from Corgi Butts started a calendar photo contest in which we got to submit photos of our lovely Corgis to be selected for the 2010 calendar. I immediately sent it a gazillion photos of Winnie, and we were one of the lucky 12 to be chosen! You can see the other winners here. Winnie is Miss September!

Here is the winning photo:


I can't wait until our calendar arrives in the mail. A big congratulations to all the other winners! Your photos look GREAT :)

Agility, exams, and flus

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't posted much in a while. I tried to post something last week but it wouldn't let me put up any pictures, so I pretty much gave up on that.

I've been somewhat bogged down with prelims (midterms). I had 2 prelims this past Thursday, one of which was Organic Chemistry. Need I say more? Tomorrow I have an Animal Nutrition prelim that I should be studying for. Except instead I'm blogging. Sweet.

I also got a big sick this past week. I woke up with a sore throat and congestion/mild headache early this past week. Thankfully our school's hospital confirmed that it wasn't swine flu, which has been spreading around our campus like wildfire. Eep.

On a dog-related note, we had agility class again today! I had to miss class last week because of something else I couldn't miss. Today we learned the chute and a low-set teeter. Winnie did great with both of them, and we ended the class with short sequences of about 3-4 obstacles, including a full-on chute. She shows so much enthusiasm for agility- I'm so happy that we have the opportunity to finally learn in a class setting!

My 2x2 weave poles are sitting in the corner of the living room. I have admittedly not been spending much time with it. I simply have not had the time to train Winnie with it, which really stinks. I do have fall break coming up in 2 weeks, so hopefully I can do some weaves with her then.

Sorry I have no pictures this time. I forgot to bring my camera to agility class!

Two words

Organic. Chemistry.

Blarggghhhh!!

Cornell Companions

This weekend was screening weekend for Cornell Companions, a pet visitation program here in the Ithaca area. Volunteers visit various facilities with their animals (mostly dogs, but we do have cats, birds, and the occasional llama!)- nursing homes, correctional facilities, hospitals, centers for children with disabilities, etc.

I thought it would be awesome to participate with Winnie, since she's here with me now. The screening sessions took place over a span of two days- Saturday and Sunday. Incidentally, I also happen to be the administrative assistant of Cornell Companions. I recently got the job a couple weeks ago for some extra cash. It pays a decent amount (for a low-effort job, at least) and I only have to work a couple hours a week from my own computer. This weekend was awesome because I got paid for several hours' work even though I worked on my own homework most of the time! All I really did was greet people, check them in, and tell them what forms to fill out. Good stuff.

My work station this weekend. Excel sheet, forms, scientific papers for me to read (my homework), and dog treats for Winnie. Oh, and an apple.

Anyway, I was at the vet school checking people in from around 8am to 3pm both yesterday and today. Since I was also participating as a potential volunteer, I had to get Winnie screened as well. I brought her with me today and screened her in the morning- and she passed! The screening test is basically a more relaxed version of the AKC's Canine Good Citizen Test. Winnie did really well!


Since I couldn't exactly go back home during the screening session (I had to check people in as they came for their screening appointments) Winnie sat next to me the entire morning/afternoon and acted as the unofficial Cornell Companions Ambassador.

Winnie "guarding" the gates to the screening room.

I used this as a training opportunity. She has gotten incredibly good at her "Leave It" command over the past few weeks (living in an apartment gives more opportunity for barking). I worked on keeping her calm and ignoring the other dogs, which she did fantastically.

I was really pleased to see her relax and even fall asleep a bit in this new environment.

Although almost all of the screened animals were dogs, we did have one bird- a cute Senegal Parrot. While the parrot and her owner/handler were in the other room during the test, Winnie took the opportunity to sniff out the bird cage.


Since she's more of a high-activity dog, we got placed in the Lansing Residential Center and the MacCormack Center. A nursing home wouldn't be a very good fit for her, hah.

Lansing is a correctional facility for youth females who have committed less severe crimes, and MacCormack is a high-security correctional facility for youth males who have committed more serious crimes. I'm really looking forward to going to MacCormack because it's the only facility that allows the dogs and facility residents to interact and play off-leash.

With Winnie's previous reactivity issues, I never thought I'd be able to do something like this with her. She has improved so much over the past year or so, and although she is still a work in progress, we're definitely progressing.

I'm really looking forward to our first visit in a couple weeks! I'll be sure to take some pictures while I'm there.

Finally an agility dog

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in so long- something called 'school' took my time away from the computer, can you believe that?

So far classes are going well..but I know that in a few weeks I'll be loaded with work and studying, eek! Thankfully, I have been able to arrange playdates 1-3 times a week with Hansel and his mom. Sometimes we go to the dog park, other times we let them run around the Arts Quad...

Aw, jeez, Mom..seriously?

...and Winnie and I started agility classes today, YAY! I'm so happy to have finally started, since the summer classes got canceled and I had to wait an extra 1-2 months.

Needless to say, Winnie totally ROCKED at the first class. The instructor introduced us to the basic equipment- standard bar jump, tire jump, pause table, shortened tunnel, chute (without the actual chute), and a dog walk (only the flat part). Winnie did each obstacle without any hesitation while some of the other dogs struggled to go through the tunnel or get up on the dog walk. Our homework for this week is to work on getting them to follow our hands as well as teach them how to target- both of which we already happen to know, hehe. But I suppose there's always room to practice more!


If anything, I spent more time (and treats) getting her to focus on me. She has had issues before with getting overexcited and overstimulated around dogs, but to my pleasant surprise she did an amazing job today! Before the class started I did some short heeling patterns with her (mostly going straight and doing a lot of left turns) to get her attention on me, which she did really well. She was very focused on me when there were dogs in front and behind her (we were in a line taking turns to use the obstacles). Most of the time, I managed to keep her in the heel position while walking around the ring. Only during the middle of the class did she start getting distracted by the treats that had fallen on the floor. Towards the end I managed to keep her mind off the floor by running around and asking her to go through the obstacles, LOL!


I'm super proud of what we accomplished today. She has gotten so much more confident around other dogs, and only rarely does she get overstimulated by them (e.g. if she saw another dog, she would rush toward them (WITHOUT any aggression) and sniff/meet and greet).

We stopped by a small pond for a quick drink on the way back to my apartment.

We have agility on Sundays and beginner obedience on Thursday nights. I don't doubt that she already knows basic obedience, but I signed up for the class in order to get her used to working around an overstimulating environment (e.g. hyper puppies). I'm hopeful that each class will benefit the other!

Snoozing after a hard day in class.

And so the year begins

Classes finally start tomorrow! It's kind of bittersweet. The nerdy part of me makes me happy that I'll finally be doing something productive now (it's been a lazy 2 weeks in the lab...my boss is on vacation, heh), but the other side of me knows I'll actually have to start studying soon, LOL!

Wally is doing well; he loves his time outside of his cage and he and Winnie are getting along just fine.


I've learned that rabbits like to do five things:

1) Chew
2) Dig
3) Hide
4) Toss
5) Scratch

The great thing about rabbits is that it's so easy to keep the entertained- in a very cheap way, no less! All you really need is a cardboard box and some scissors. You can cut a hole in it to make a burrow, stuff it with hay/shredded/paper, or just let them chew it or toss it. You can't get cheaper than that!


Wally is personally not a big fan of digging or tossing items, but he definitely loves to chew and eat his hay! I made a little hay box for him today. I took a regular cardboard box and cut little shapes on each side, then stuffed it with hay. He enjoys pulling it all out and making a big mess in the living room, haha.


I also used a small cardboard box (originally containing modeling kit materials) that came with my organic chemistry book set. Who knew organic chemistry could actually be useful? Hah!


In non-rabbit related news, Winnie is becoming a little star on campus. Almost everywhere I walk, people ooh and ahh over my little Corgi, haha. I think Winnie reminds a lot of students of their own dogs and pets back at home. Sometimes it's just nice to see a furry face amidst all the stress of studying and exams! Tonight there was an event out in the Arts Quad, and Winnie got quite a few belly rubs and ear scratches from a few freshmen.

We're both settling into our new apartment well. I think I'm finally starting to feel more at "home", if you know what I mean!


I'm also very excited to finally enroll in agility classes this fall. Now that summer is over, a new set of obedience/agility classes will take place. We'll be in both beginning obedience and beginning agility (you have to take obedience if you want to take agility- their policy!).

Meet Wally

My roommate and I got a bunny. Yep, a bunny.


Don't worry, it wasn't really an impulse decision or anything. My friend, the one who made me the edible Winnie cupcakes for my birthday, had a rabbit named Coconut (or Cocobutt, as she affectionally calls him) that she just didn't have the time to take care of.


My friend is a 3rd year vet student who was somewhat forced to take in Coconut from her mother's friend who has brain cancer..,and you just can't say no to that kind of situation! Unfortunately, she also has a fennec fox and other animals in the house--the bunny wasn't getting enough "out-of-cage" time and such, but she didn't want to put him on Craigslist or give him to just anyone. That's where I come in. I (and my roommate) had been wanting a second animal for a while (not necessarily a dog, but just a second animal). Ferrets were out of the question because they're too much work, like young puppies that never grow up. A rabbit seemed pretty ideal. And there you have it- the timing and situation was perfect.


She dropped him off today. He got to explore his new surroundings and seems to like it. I named him Wally after the robot Wall-E in the movie. He's a very sweet little rabbit, a good "first time" bunny. He's calm, has no issues using the litter box, and is good with being handled and having his nails clipped. He is about 3 years old and most likely a cross-breed.


I have to admit, I was really wary of how Winnie would be around him. She has a very high prey drive and she has tried to chase after wild rabbits before. To my pleasant surprise, Winnie was great around Wally! Just a couple sniffs and following around, and that was that. Wally's not fazed at all by Winnie either. I think they'll be just fine!

*yawn*

Winnie is staring at the romaine lettuce, not Wally. She has taken a liking to them...

The best part is that Wally came with literally everything- his cage, food, litter, treats, toys, I mean everything. He is quite a spoiled little rabbit, minus the attention that he wasn't getting enough of!

Winnie stole some lettuce from Wally. This is her "nom" face, haha.

Don't worry, I'm alive!

Hi everyone! Sorry for being MIA this past week. I only just got Internet in my apartment yesterday (would it be bad if I said that not having Internet really really sucks? LOL).

I moved into my apartment this past Sunday. Winnie and I have adjusted pretty well, except for the fact that There. Is. No. Air. Conditioning. In Ithaca, where it's rather humid, not having air conditioning during the summer can get pretty nasty. I bought a tower fan and 2 smaller fans, so it's not too bad. I'm still on the lookout for air conditioners on sale on Craigslist.

Here are some pictures of my new place. My roommate's moving in tomorrow (yay) so I finally won't be so lonely anymore, lol! It's crazy how different an apartment is from a dorm.

First of all, you actually get closets. Large closets.

You also get bigger beds.

And couches, yay! (the other one is not shown)

The kitchen. For someone who loves food and cooking/baking it's smaller than I would like, but it'll do. And yes, that is Winnie in the background.

The dining area. The windows on the right lead to a nice, large patio! Too bad it's unusable for most of the year because of all the snow...

And there you go, a tour of my apartment. I have some cute pictures of Winnie from this past week, I just don't have my camera with me at the moment. I promise to put them up on Monday!

Anyway, aside from working in the lab and such I've been taking Winnie around campus, mostly North Campus because it's close by. North Campus is where all the freshman dorms are located. It has a lot of nice grassy areas, and Winnie has been having a blast peeing on every single lawn.

We did meet some deer face-to-face the other day! It was Winnie's first time seeing deer. She and I stared at a doe and her 2 fawns for a good minute or so before they took off. It was like a nasty staring contest! And of course, Winnie tried to run after them when they ran...silly little turd!

Speaking of North Campus, today was Move-In day for the freshman. I remember myself being in their place exactly last year. Frantic parents and students rushing around with maps...asking students for directions...trying to lug all their items into the dorms with 20 people crammed into one elevator...

Boy, I'm glad I'm not a freshman anymore.

Classes start on Thursday the 27th. I just got my booklist today. There goes another $250-300 down the drain. Sigh.

Winnie's whining at me. I think she needs to pee. Good night, everyone!