Tonight class was…interesting. There is one person in every class who does not pay proper attention to their dog. In this case, a poodle named Ginger. She attempted to attack Mason as soon as we walked in the door. It seems that as class has progressed, so has her reactiveness. Which is fine, if the owner recognized this and even tried to deal with it, which she doesn’t. Sweet Ginger is frequently free to follow and growl at Mason any time he is in her vicinity…

Anyway.

We started off class with a down/stay. Which Mason has seriously gone down-hill on. We’ll have to go back and practice this again. He broke twice and I ended up standing on his lead so that he had no choice but to lay down and stay. This was before that though:

Then we moved onto to the different stations. We chose the Weaves first. Mason does quite well on them in the backyard and tonight there was a set of six ready for us (with no guides, I might add ):

Mason nailed them about 90% of the time.

Next we worked on the Tire jump. He was hitting it with is feet in the beginning but quickly got the hang of it:

Then we switched to a series of jumps, there were two in a row and we had to work on both sides, both ways and calling off of the second one:

We did the dog walk next, he didn’t like it. He shook like a leaf (although no hesitation what-so-ever in following me) and clearly had no idea where his rear end was, but he made it through - we did it several times until he nailed it and had a solid Wait at the end:

We moved to the Broad jump after that, I was sure he would step one of the panels as he’s a little bit of a lazy jumper, but he did great:

(his eyes in this photo are funny)

The collapsed tunnel is no longer reason for any hesitation and he flew straight through perfectly:

Even running when he realized that I was going to add a jump to the end

Then we even added the table to the end of that - we need to work on Stays really bad!

We also need to work on gently grabbing treats, even in the heat of the moment:

The A-frame posed no issues, and he’s really getting the Wait command down pat, he’s becoming faster the more sure of himself he gets:

Then we added the A-frame with the Tire - which was really cool, he’s learning to wait for treats longer and doing well:

My favorite exercise involved the tunnel though. We walked by in a Heel, off-lead and I would randomly send him in, not every time we passed by and not in the same side every time. He did awesome at it, his heel was perfect and he never went in without the command!

Our last set was a circle series of jumps…that he was horrible at. He always knocked a bar. So, we had to take a little time to make him learn to pop his jumps a little higher:

He caught on

Then we all took turns running a mini course of our own devices. We chose as long as we tried to hit as many obstacles as possible. Mason got some great compliments about being fast (who would’ve thought!) and nailing the weaves! It was great!!! He was good while we waited our turn too:

Tonight was Mason’s scheduled MISAR evaluation. I was really nervous and he was really excited. It rained this afternoon and I wasn’t sure if the training would be canceled or not but it cleared up by the time we got out of work so we made the trek to Lowell for the meeting.

We were one of the first teams there. After everyone arrived Eric and I followed along to learn some field support techniques as a Bloodhound followed a trail. It was a two-mile hike and about half way through it, it started to rain. Then it increased somewhere between raining and pouring. Luckily, we were in the woods so it was decreased a little bit but we all still got pretty wet. It was a nice warm day and the rain cut the humidity so I was ok with it.

After we followed the Bloodhound, we followed two air scent teams into the woods to watch them locate one live and one dead “victim”. It’s important for them to alert on the live person before the dead because (for obvious reasons) they are priority in a real search. It was fun to see the differences in the alerting and working styles. Some dogs are all business and they move through the woods at a quick but controlled pace. Other dogs race through like they’re going for a romp, but they are just as successful. Some dogs alert by barking and some by jumping, some by sitting. It’s all different. They are rewarded differently as well. Some get treats and toys, some get to tug, again all variable.

After that we got Mason out for his temperament test. He passed easily. Some of the things he had to do included: going under a dark deck on command, being tied and left, being handled by someone else, meeting a neutral stranger, meeting a friendly stranger, meeting another dog/handler team, his toy drive was tested, along with response to treats. Next we headed into the woods.

First he just was let loose to romp around and show that he was comfortable working away from me but that he would come back - which he is and did. Then someone “popped” him (teased him with his tug) and ran down into the woods, Mason was allowed to watch for 10 feet and then I distracted him so he couldn’t see while the person with his toy hid. Then I released him. He went bolting off at full speed, nose working. He actually passed the person on the way by but he wasn’t looking with his eyes, he was using his nose - and he found them. His tail was going a mile a minute and he got to tug and win and proudly prance back to me with his reward.

We did this one more time and again with the person popping out and yelling. Every time he set out with the same amount of eagerness. Next we walked in the general direction of the cadaver that we had used earlier in the evening for training. Mason went flying past and it was like his nose jerked his whole body around, he had found the cadaver. He was a little bit wary of the smell and so he crept up rather slowly but he took a good sniff and then wandered away like it was nothing.

On the walk back he was horrendous on-lead, not heeling well at all. Something we’re going to definitely work on. But…HE PASSED!!!! Yay little dude!!!! We will be continuing his training with MISAR. Plus, because of his favorable reaction to the cadaver scent, with some positive reinforcement we hope to dual-certify him for human remains as well. We were told he has great instincts and is an awesome prospect for wilderness air scenting!

Before he can get certified I have to pass my field support training, along with collecting a bunch of equipment/supplies and getting some new gear (at least boots!). Eric is even considering becoming field support as well and would be a part of our team .

Eric decided to come with to Kya’s obedience class, to see what it was all about. So, there are now photos to document our story . He said he was very impressed with how far she has come!
She is much better about riding in the van by herself now and gets excited when I get the treat bag out - she knows what it’s all about. She is still a little pully on the way to the door, so we’re practicing that. The room was still decorated but still didn’t bother her.

The entire class time focused on sit/stays and recall, every single dog in class has some issue with one or the other. Kya’s is being left behind and then moving (creeping) across the room on her own.

She started with her tail tucked when I increased the distance outside of her comfort zone (notice we’re on the end of the room so she doesn’t have to go by anyone else):

Her tail slowly made an appearance:

But once she reaches me it’s a happy face and snorkel-snuffle to get the treat, she goes cross-eyed and everything, it always makes me smile .

Then back to the same spot to do it all over again:

Then we moved to a different part of the room and did it all over again:

She started to get more comfortable:

She even stopped to sniff the table on the way by…but she still wanted her treat:

Then we moved into a rough circle, placed our dogs in a sit/stay and walked away a short distance, allowing someone else to get closer to our dogs while we got closer to theirs. Something that generally makes Kya pretty nervous. Then we each took a turn and called our dog to us.

Then we did it in the opposite direction:

That was the end of class. Kya also took treats not only from the same lady she has since day one, but a brand new person she’s never even met, a guy too. But, once they start giving her treats, every time we even go near them, she is begging. Her little sad face and her gentle sniffs and stretches to get close melt everyone. She’s a treat slut lol

I went to Agility class tonight a little sad, as it was our last one. Then when we got there, I found out that it wasn’t - we actually could sign up for 8 more weeks. But, I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing because eventually school is going to start and I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with weekly 1.5-hour class .

Anyway, class tonight was fun . Midas was a little loud and jumpy - he bopped both of Michelle’s Goldens in the face with his stupid nose, but they didn’t know what to make of that so nothing happened. Then he was terrific the rest of the time, even lying right next to them and other dogs having toys and everything.

We started out doing a circle of jumps with the table at the end. The trick is that now we are adding the words Left and Right to our command, hoping the dog’s will learn directions.

The next station was a series of 6 weaves and then the teeter - both things Midas needs to work on. The difference? The guides are finally off the weaves!!! Yay! Midas did them about 50/50 perfectly .

This was the first time that I asked him to do the teeter on his own, without physically slowing him down. He responded quite well to my Wait command when he was at the point where it goes down, then he noticed the treats - which he promptly knocked off in his excitement (cheese):

But, either way, we’ve now transitioned to him doing it on his own

After the teeter I sent him in front of me to a jump in the corner:

Where I then had to call him back (not back over the jump, but past it) and up the dog walk. Every time he cleared the jump he twisted to the right, clearly expecting me to go that way and I had to turn him back to the left and the dog walk. This would be a good spot to use the directional commands…

We practiced that series several times:

Our next series was the collapsed tunnel, an extremely tight turn to the broad jump and then another regular jump. Oh! All the jumps were set at 23″ tonight too

He actually jumped the broad jump instead of stepping on it this time!

Here we are, getting the explanation for the next group, obviously I’m tired already:

The next station involved the A-frame and then sending them through a tunnel, at the opposite end than they would be inclined to go:

Then through the Tire jump - Midas and I struggled with this, my handling skills were sub-par and I had a hard time getting him lined up properly from the tunnel to the tire .

After that, each handler had to stand on a target (yellow dot) and send their dogs in a figure eight pattern over two jumps. At first it was really difficult as he didn’t want to go that far from me, and at an angle. But, we got it:

Check out those muscles!!!!

That was pretty much the end of class. All 12 weaves were set up for anyone that wanted to try them. I decided to send Midas through on a whim…

And he did them!!! All 12!!!! How awesome is that?!?!

I was ecstatic!

He was so happy that I was so happy that I decided to send him on the teeter a half dozen times - and he nailed that too!!! Yay Midas!!!

What a fantastic “last” class!

Today I drove to Lansing to meet with the members of Michigan Search and Rescue to participate in a training, sans Mason. I arrived earlier than I expected (I was sure I would hit construction, but didn’t ), but a member pulled in right behind me.

The training was held at the old YMCA building. It was rundown, windows out and smelly. Birds had flown in the broken windows and gotten stuck inside so there were feathers and bird poo everywhere. But, overall it wasn’t as bad as I had been warned it would be.

I met a lot of really nice people and their various dogs, of several different breeds: GSD, Labs, Bloodhound, Tervuren…After a brief obedience lesson consisting of heeling, sit, stay and recalls everyone split into their separate groups: tracking and air scent. I went with air scent as that is probably what Mason will end up doing (tracking is usually for hounds).

First, I got to be a victim and hide in a room for a really friendly Golden Retriever to find me - which she did. Next I got to watch someone else get found. I also trailed after an Otterhound followed a track out and around the building and then into the building right to the person. It was fun and interesting. Not only did the dogs find live victims but there were also place human remains for them to find. The team apparently only works in buildings 1-2 times a year. The lack of availability of buildings is one of the biggest reasons. Also, most SAR involves wilderness. Because of this, some of the dogs had a more difficult time adjusting to the different environment, it was fun to watch them work through it.

After all the teams got to work through the various floors, I got to watch a temperament evaluation on a potential SAR GSD hopeful. The test seemed to be a meld of the Temperament Test Society test and the CGC test - Mason would do fine I think.

After that I talked fairly extensively with one of the leaders, who happens to be close to Grand Rapids. It is a rule of the group that members go to 75% of the monthly meetings but then smaller sub-groups also meet once a week closer to their home towns. Luckily, one of those sub-groups is in the general GR area . I am hopeful to fill out an app and perhaps go to the Wednesday meeting this week - where Mason will be evaluated. Not only for temperament but also for the type of SAR he would do best at. I am very excited, I think Mason is built for this work and will excel - I can’t wait!

Mason and I were solo at Agility class again tonight. It was a fun class, we worked on stations again and I really enjoy just him and I tackling one after the other. First we did 4 jumps in a row, me on either side of him and running both ways. He screwed up only once but did great the other times. The tire jump was smoother this time, he is having some problems with his sit/stay though, we need to practice that!

Next we moved onto the collapsed tunnel - he shot through with no problems! He seems to have forgotten he was nervous last time. I love that about him, once he’s done it, it’s old news and he can do it over and over. We did the regular tunnel next with no issues. I even practiced standing in the middle of the two entrances (or exits depending on how you look at it) and sending him with a hand motion. His biggest problem is anticipating and leaping to do what I’m going to ask before I actually do.

He did fine on the weaves, although I’m not really enjoying sending him through the shorter ones when I know he has the concept and we just need to practice. The A-frame was new tonight, he never had an issue. He nailed his wait commands at the contact points too. The dog walk was smooth and simple, same for the contacts. He’s got the Wait command down, I can leave a treat on the target and he won’t touch it unless I tell him to.

Then we all got to run a mini course. It was pretty neat, I don’t remember starting out the courses this early with Midas. We struggled with our teamwork because we hardly worked off-lead during the stations, especially over the jumps, he was unsure of what I was asking but he sure tried. We started off with a tire jump and a very sharp turn to the 4 jumps in a row (that’s where we struggled), he did fine on those, he walked the dog walk and the A-frame fine, but broke his Wait on the A-frame. Next was the table, which we didn’t get to practice beforehand. He was a little hesitant getting up there but stayed in a down just fine and then into the tunnel was rough, he was going to fast and didn’t catch my command fast enough but he got it. Overall, I’m very proud of him!

I spent some quality time with little miss Kya tonight before we headed for her class. She was relaxed and happy until I loaded her up on her own but still in a decent mood. She was not too nervous when we pulled in and she hopped out, ears pricked and forehead wrinkled. She’s even started pulling on the leash a little, I think she recognizes this as a place she frequently gets a lot of treats.

The building was decorated inside with streamers and balloons, I thought for sure she would freak out by everything hanging from the ceiling but she was totally fine. She even sniffed several balloons and was done. Proud of her!

We started out with some basics in class, Look, Sit, Heel, Stay. Then we moved to a grid around the room. She did pretty well but there was a lot more pulling this week than before. That’s difficult for me because I don’t want to correct her too harshly and scare her but I also don’t want her to take advantage and learn that pulling is ok. She is the worst at the sit/stay and then recall. She does not like to be left behind and she comes to me in an awkward arch that puts as much distance as possible between her and anyone else in the room - and it’s slow and she does the creepy snake crawl thing. Hopefully she’ll get over this with time, we shall practice at home to get her more used to it.

Next we all moved into the cattery area of the Humane Society. She didn’t even notice the cats. Was totally fine moving around in there and even snuck up behind someone to sniff them while they were getting assistance at the desk

There is one lady that always tosses treats her way when we are around her (and not working on anything) and now Kya perks up when she comes by and tries to sniff her more - the same with our instructor - both excellent signs .

Next we moved outside. This was both harder and easier. She stopped pulling for the most part but was really interested in sniffing everything. Since I want to encourage her to be curious, I just let her sniff as long as she paid attention to where I was. We did some weaving around people/dogs again. She was much more interested in trying to meet the dogs this time and did a little whining and tail wagging as they passed. She even wagged her tail a couple of times around.
We went back inside for a couple more short exercises and then we were done. As we were sitting discussing any problems or questions, Kya actually laid down and relaxed!!! That’s a huge step - she used to not even lay down outside of her kennel at all, not even at home! I was thrilled! She got lots of treats while in the down position and then we headed home. A good lesson.

Another great night with Midas. He was rather loud but given the opportunity would rather behave then thrash around at the other dogs. I attribute his loudness at the beginning of class with being amped up and ready to go!

We had stations set up again. A tricky series of jumps, at awkward angles and including the tire jump and the collapsed tunnel. I went through twice to figure out the best/cleanest way to do it, and the way we were told was definitely easier. It was still difficult - it was tight and close and I had to call Midas back from going to fast a couple of times but he is so intune with me when we’re working that it was actually fairly smooth.

The next station we worked on included the weaves, which he’s really starting to get the hang of. Instead of having my hand right in his face, I was able to just go next to him repeating the command, which is progress!

We had one station with the dog walk, a tight turn to the A-frame and then the table. He did super on that, no problems at all. Another station involved calling them off of a couple of jumps, including one that faced right into the tunnel - he never even glanced over at it once the command was made!

The teeter was incorpo