SS - Sleeping In Advance

Just like children, puppies never sleep on Christmas Eve!

Because of this, young Ethel has made up her mind; sleeping now will help her prepare for her obviously sleepless night, and ensure she doesn't lose any sleep. Logical!

We are delighted to be cohosting the Sepia Saturday Blog Hop alongside Ruckus The Eskie! We send many thanks to our fellow host, and you can join in below.

Tight Left Hand Weave Entries With Ethel

Tight left hand weave entries can pose a small problem for some Agility dogs and their handlers. Because of the incredibly tight entry, a lot of dogs end up skipping the second weave pole because of this. And, before this training session, Ethel was falling into this trap. It's mainly an issue regarding the dog's stride in the weaves, and therefore for many dogs, this problem is resolved when the dog become more confident with their stride pattern. Remember, all dogs are different when it comes to how they clear the course. Ethel, however, has mastered this!

Ethel

I'm sure by now you're wondering what on earth tight left handed weave entries are! Well, here is an example of Ethel successfully, and, in one clip, what often goes wrong, doing this in a home training session.

As you can see, Ethel has perfected her stride, and can now tightly enter the first weave pole and whip round into the second, continuing the weaves with speed and accuracy. Also, from the video, you can see what can possibly go wrong. It has been an issue previously, and now it has been resolved. Also, when she misses a pole, you can also see she was sniffing before she entered the weaves. Although there wasn't time for me to notice before leading her in, a distracted dog isn't focussed on the task at hand, meaning she's unlikely to succeed. She wasn't thinking about what she had learnt and what was expected of her. I'm guilty of sometimes forgetting how young she is!

DO MORE! DO MORE MUM!

On the course, handlers don't HAVE to put their dogs into a tight entry, however, wide entries cost the dog many precious seconds on the course time, and therefore training tighter entries end up being more successful in the competition ring.

I love running Ethel. Although it may sound slightly strange, I often run Ethel and think she's my more advanced dog. The thing is, I never taught Earl from a young (but safe) age like Ethel. And I never trained Earl specifically with competitions in mind. She can do more than her big brother, and she isn't even two years old. I can't get enough with running her! Although it feels amazing, with my little man, I can rely on him to know what he's doing at all times. Agility really is a thrilling sport.

We're joining our hosts SlimDoggy, To Dog With Love and My GBGV Life in the FitDog Friday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

Canine Travel During The Holidays

There's nothing nicer than having your beloved canine companion accompany you on an outing, especially during the excitement of Christmas time. As a matter of fact, I cannot recall the last weekend where I travelled somewhere without Earl and Ethel by my side, bright eyed and eager faced. I, for one, am definitely someone who always raises the below question of 'can we bring the dog(s)? wherever we may be going... are you? Here are some of the facts regarding people travelling with their pups, all summed up in one incredibly festive infographic, courtesy of Kurgo.

WITH THANKS TO Kurgo.com FOR THIS INFOGRAPHIC

Do you often travel with your dog, and if so, how do you do so?

We're joining our hosts 2 Brown Dawgs and Heart Like A Dog in the Thursday Barks And Bytes Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below. 

What A Mouthful

Earl

And this is the dog who's hoping for more of these for Christmas (coupled with Ethel, of course...) There's only so many one dog can squash into his mouth!

We're joining our hosts, BlogPaws, in the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

Dogmas #2 - Agility Equipment

Hello and welcome to the second week of Dogmas here on our blog! Only 17 days!

Dogmas #2 - Agility Equipment

Dogs love running, jumping, weaving and generally expelling their energy. Therefore, Agility equipment for home and garden use will make the ideal present for any dog this Christmas. And if the December weather appears uninviting, the equipment you buy will do nicely for when Spring comes around.

Ethel

You can buy dog Agility equipment on Ebay and/or Amazon. Cheaper equipment is often available for purchase is small sets. For higher quality equipment, often sold separately, you can purchase equipment from First Contact (the equipment from First Contact is used in a competitive and professional Agility scene).

Dogmas 2015 - Here on our blog, we're recommending some brilliant canine products that you could buy for your dog/dog loving humans for Christmas each week throughout the festive period.

For a collective bunch of Dogmas 2015 recommendations, see the Dogmas 2015 album on our Facebook page. This album is continuously being updated as we recommend more.

We're joining our hosts Snoopy's Dogblog, Alfie's Blog and My Brown Newfies in the Monday Mischief Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.

There is an issue with the linky list at present.