Fall Brings Willow's First Heat Cycle :o)

Thanksgiving has passed and Fall has quickly turned to snowcover with a bitter 22 degrees ... the rowboat rests upside down on the shore and the kayaks hang from the porch rafters ... the tractors are winterized ... the first birdfeeder is out ... the chimney and Glenwood cookstove have been cleaned and firewood fills the woodbox ... feels comfy to come in from the windy cold after a morning of "brush-cleaning" our woods  ;o)

 

Willow came into her first heat at 9.5 months and seems to be finishing her heat cycle as she turns 10 months today ... here she models her designer "Pants" that she must wear at her Agility classes  ... she had just one day that she didn't seem like herself ... she seems to continue to love her various classes  ;o) 

Sutter needed her Holiday bath early ... she found something really "STINKY" to enjoy rolling in ... she smelled really bad ... now she's all soft & fluffy and both Willow and I enjoy smelling her shampoo coat!

I'm in the process of learning about the workings/settings of my new Canon Rebel camera and am limited in the photos that I can post at this point ... something called "resizing" of photos that I've taken already ... the 2 photos above were managed after changing camera settings ... just imagine if you will the cutest photos that are just too BIG to post today ... also gotta get going on creating & changing our Winter Blog photo!

A COZY FIRE ... SPECIAL CUDDLY GOLDEN MOMENTS ... and YUMMY COMFORT FOODS 
Does it get any better than that  ;O)

15th Homestead Anniversary and Work of the Beaver ;o)

In the Spring of 2009 when I started my "Meadow" project and finished it in the Fall of 2009 with satisfaction and "conditioned" back/leg/arm muscles, I envisioned perhaps some Agility equipment but certainly a wonderfully green grass area for whatever ;o)

  :-(  This is what that special project looks like today, a year later-FLOODED   

The reason ... a Beaver who has taken up residence and built him/herself a lodge in the narrows between the pond and the marsh (in the distance you can see our log home) ... at daybreak every morning the girls accompany me (in my new black "polk-a-dot" high-water boots) to make 3 run-off points at the spillway bridge to lower the pond water level ... then every night the Beaver does his work and plugs up the run-off spots! ... some of the logs are pretty hefty, as you can see by the ones Willow examines in the wheelbarrow :-O
OK ... does Mother Nature have something else in mind for my "meadow project" ... perhaps an arched bridge from which to view the hatching/birth of pond life ... I've noticed that pond creatures like the new shallow gravel bottom ;o)

Celebrating 15 years of home ownership this month ... mortgage-free and filled with "Golden-Love" ... the "Golden Embers" name chosen to celebrate the much anticipated birth of our 1st litter of Golden puppies in 2009 ... the "Cedar Pond" name chosen in memory of the sweet Golden that Graced the purchase of this home on 11-10-95  ;o)

House Warming Gift from nephew Fred & Chrissy

"CATCH" Sister's 9th Month Birthday Visit ;o)



The SunKissed "Catch" litter sisters Willow & Dazzle, celebrated their 9th month birthday with a very busy weekend get-together at Golden Embers ... every day started with clouds, fog, sprinkles and finally sunshine ... chilly temps certainly didn't keep Dazzle and Willow from starting their day with a swim in the pond ... just a fluffy toweling by the woodstove readied them for their different adventure everyday :o)

Willow

Willow & Dazzle

• Thursday evening they shared pizza with Sutter before bone chewing and rough-housing that never stopped!
• Friday at 3am the girls thought play-time should begin ... "Oh No You Two" ...crate time till daylight!

• Friday was a sunny Fall day and we headed for Sutter's "Tracking" session in Massachusetts with dog friend Carole and her 4 dogs (we've been Tracking/Obedience friends since early 1970's ... she was instramental in getting my husband & I together ... but I digress) ... the girls watched as Sutter successfully tracked her first "stranger" ... afterwards it was a romp thru the huge hayfields with sis Dazzle on leash ... of course Sutter felt her sudden freedom and ran at her "gazelle" speed across the field and across the road to explore the big farmhouse on the hill (she's always drawn to homes!?!) ... the sisters slept right through the night ;o

• Saturday we were off early to a workday, pot-luck lunch and meeting at Pillsbury State Park ... walks had to be on leash and with supervision the girls enjoyed the sun on "camping" bungie-leashes attached to the car ... such good WATCH dogs!!!

• Sunday we were off early again for "Anty" Diane's family brunch gathering ... to meet the 2 footed family and 4-footed cousins ... YIPPEEEE, an acre of fenced yard to run free with a chocolate Lab "Chance", a black Lab "Reuben", a yellow Lab "Cooper", a Rotweiller "Zane" and Goldens "Sutter", "Willow" & "Dazzle"  ;o)

It was a wonderful weekend of adventures and wonderful get-together for these sisters as they turn 9 months old ... they truly adore each other and were both exhausted at each day's end ;o)




HAPPY 9th Month BIRTHDAY "CATCH" pups: Willow, Dazzle and their littermates Scout, Jess, Skipper, Crosby & Murphy  ;o)

Willow "Officially" Begins Agility Classes ;o)

Since 8 weeks old, Willow has been exposed to various Agility equipment both at home and at various training facilities ;o)

This Tuesday she began her "official" structured "Intro to Agility" class with Kathy at AK9C ... there are 4 dogs in her class and of course even at 9am she thinks every new dog is potential chance for some "playtime"!

A ring that takes up 1/2 the inside training area is just packed with various colored straight & curved tunnels, many low 10" jumps, 2 baby see-saws about 6" off the ground, a 4' square purple tippy board mounted on a 4-6" ball in the center, a red-white-blue tire 10" off the ground, and a 12' long elevated blue "dog walk" about 3' off the ground with ramps at either end ... next week there will also be a low A-frame!

• With a hand-clicker and many, many, many soft treats, Kathy started everyone teaching their dog to "TOUCH" on command and with a CLICK & TREAT upon success ... first each of our hand palms and then a paper plate on the floor (that's our homework)
•  then we moved on to encouraging our dogs to get on a low see-saw, a tippy board, going through a straight tunnel and a low tire ... followed by a quick CLICK/enthusiastic PRAISE/yummy TREATs

Willow has the advantage of having been on/around Agility equipment and was quite successful in her first class ... she loved it all ... she's such a HAPPY girl to train and seems to catch on very quickly ;o)

This week's Teacher comment: "You have a very energetic pup there"  ;o)

PRACTICE...PRACTICE and more PRACTICE ... but in short sessions!!!

Sutter Starts Tracking Lessons ;o)

In February of 2002 a "wee Wild Child" called "Pinkie" was born the lightest golden color of 6 puppies on a Leyden Massachusetts farm outside Brattleboro Vermont ... her mom "Emma" a very sweet docile dark red Golden dam ... her dad "Mac" an exuberant dark red sire ... from her dad, I'm sure that Sutter inherited her uncontrolled "wildchildism"  ;o)

Since her "Puppy Kindergarten" classes, Sutter has loved to snoop, explore and steal toys from training bags of her classmates ... without possibly breaking this special girl's joyful spirit (and believe me many have suggested different positive & negative ways), it's been a long journey using only positive reinforcement training ... I've always thought that she would be a great "drug sniffing" or "tracking" dog, but since we were invested in training the fun/fast dog sport of Agility, a dog's nose to the ground is strongly discouraged!

While Sutter and I love her weekly Agility training classes together, she just isn't a reliable Trial-competition dog ... in the blink-of-an-eye, she can unpredictably lose concentration and be over the ring fence and off exploring! Interestingly, we took a "Tracking" seminar many years ago and the presenter said that Sutter was a "natural", so as Sutter approaches her 9th birthday, we're starting Tracking lessons together!

"find it"



"what did you find"



• place one flag at the start
• tramp the grass at the flag
• place a 5 cent size treat
• scuffle along
• after each 3 footprints place treat
• at 12 foot mark, put glove/treat down
• place 2nd flag a foot after the glove

I now get Sutter from the car on a 6' leash & buckle collar ... with a long rod to point out each treat, I say "find it" and we proceed slowly to the glove, where I tell her to "down" to acknowledge the glove ... TREAT, TREAT ... "WHAT DID YOU FIND ... GOOD GIRL" ... TREAT, TREAT, TREAT ... "GOOD GIRL ... GOOD JOB" ... TREAT, TREAT, TREAT ... and then we do 2 more of these short tracks!

Now it's our job to practice, practice, practice on different grass areas and increase the distance ... eventually corner turns will be introduced and then a stranger will start laying the same sequence of tracks ... hope it stops raining soon !!!  ;o)

*** IMPORTANT (lesson learned)
Instructor flag suggestions ... kind used by Electric company or Invisible Canine Fence ... Brilliant idea, I have plenty of white "IF" flags because we have 10 acres protected by Invisable Canine Fence!!!
*** WRONG (lesson mistake)
Sutter sooo respects her white "IF" boundry flags at home that she very reluctantly approached the white "IF" flags that I was using for Tracking ... she was visably uncertain what to do!!!
"Smart Girl Sutter" ... so I got some orange flags and she's OK with those ... she's already pulling me along the track faster than I can point out the treats along the track ... I'm having to slow her down ;o)

Challenges of an 8 Month Old's CGC Test ;o)



Thank You Linda for the photoshoot ;o)

    On a crisp 46 degree "last day of Summer" morning, the girls and I are off at 8am for Willow's 10am "Canine Good Citizen" (CGC) test!
Our 6 weeks of classes have been awesome with teacher-Ann, her "canine assitant Erin" and human assistants Linda & Cathy ... I'm not feeling over confident but feeling that Willow has learned all her lessons well and in fact all 6 dogs in class have shown great improvement ;o)
We got there extra early so we could play in the "Dog Park" and use up any excess energy ... Hah, an 8 month old with excess energy!!!!
On entering the training center, a new full wall mural is being painted on the wall over our class ring, the class movable partitions on wheels are arranged differently, it's unusual that the bustling Puppy Agility class isn't going on, training individuals aren't practicing and "Private" obedience sessions also aren't happening ... WILLOW IS TOTALLY DISTRACTED ... this is not a good sign and I'm beginning to feel my nerves on end :-0
We do some "healing" (walking at my side), for fun we quickly slip thru some Agility tunnels in the ajacent ring and then greet class assistant "Auntie" Linda (Golden owner of Willow's dad & cousins)!
Didn't know that we'd have to fill out a CGC form (darn, I don't have my glasses!)
First 2 dogs pass their test and Willow is next:

• Willow sits calmly at my side on leash at the ring entry ... I smile down at her, give her a lil' ear scratch and a soft "good girl" ... "Are you ready" teacher/evaluator Ann asks?
• "Forward" walk in and "Sit" to greet/shake hands with Ann ... Willow walks right past and no sit on command! 3 tries and she finally sits near me!
• "Forward" and Willow decides to say "Hi" to a poodle now practicing in the neighboring ring ... with much encouragement Willow is once again walking at my side ... we turn right at the big orange cone and continue walking, do an "about-turn" to greet assistant Cathy & dog Erin ... Willow does not sit and proceeds to "wiggle", greet and lick Erin "Oh Erin, so glad to see you" ... again with much encouragement and several retries, Willow finally sits, the handshake happens and we're walking again ...whewwww! I'm really feeling that we've "flunked" our test by now!!!
• Next, it's walk by my side as we pass assistant Linda with a moving cart ... Willow has had this senerio in past weeks and successfully ignored it ... NOT THIS WEEK ... she breaks her walk to examine the cart ... again needing much encouragement (no leash tug allowed) to return to my side and we continue our relaxed walk!
• Next it's move to greet Ann for Willow's "body exam & brushing" and the sit/down/recall on 25 foot leash ... done successfully, whewwww :o)
• Last part of the test is to approach evaluator Ann sitting in a chair, have Willow sit then lay down, hand Ann the leash and I leave the ring "out-of-sight" for 3 minutes (seems like forever!)
• Willow got up after 10 seconds but stood calmly beside Ann's chair ... that's allowed as long as the dog isn't frantic and pulling Ann off her chair!
• "Return to your dog" Ann calls out and the test is over ... "Congratulations on passing your CGC" and we receive our gorgeous Rosette and ex-large dog biscuit ... OMG, I couldn't believe it (our worst performance together in the 7 weeks!!!) ... it felt soooo bad  ;o)
• It's all about the dog being calm, friendly and under control ... I'm sure having just come off a long 3 night 7p-7a work weekend, Willow could sense my fatigue and increasing nervous state of mind!

So those are the happenings during our "CGC" test ... Sighhhhhhh  ;o) 

and next we'll move on to "Intro to Agility" in October ;o)

IT'S ABOUT THE JOURNEY TOGETHER and NOT JUST the FINAL DESTINATION ...

GOOD GIRL WILLOW and LOVING HAPPY 8th MONTH BIRTHDAY :o)

Golden Embers Blog Book Came Today!



Front Cover

It is certainly exciting to feel the thrill of being a "published author" once in one's life ... the Golden Embers Golden Retrievers Blog site has been made into a "one copy" 71 page soft cover book and it came out sooo well ... all the happenings and special photos saved ;o)
Since I started this blog on December 15, 2009, I've had many encouraging and supportive comments (both in the excitement and the grief) ... while it may have been therapeutic, my love of taking photos of the "Golden Girls" adventures certainly has made this a journey of LOVE  ;o)

Back Cover

I've enjoyed it ... thanks to all who "Follow" us ... I'm excitedly looking forward to the girl's Volume II adventures ... it certainly started with a BANG with our Ocean vacation ;o)



"Hey Sutter, we're in this book"  ;o)