*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.