In Loving memory "Kodiak"

Today is such a sad Day. Kodiak a gift from God. Although her life here on earth was short, she still lives on in my heart!









Run free and Happy Kodiak!

Love Terrie and Toby

Merry Christmas Everyone!

My how time flies! It seems just like yesterday that Toby and I were braving the cold out at DDS doing pre agility training. I can still see the lights on Patty's house as we drove into the parking lot and the tire jump made out of a Christmas reef. Toby has come a long way since last year in his training. No zoomies in the past month and a half. Great progress! His teeter is coming along very nicely. In fact last week we worked on a moving teeter. The instructor told me to feed Toby at the top of the teeter while she moved it with her feet. She said that it was not going to go down as far as the table top that we used to keep the teeter from going all the way to the ground. Well, when Toby laid down on the teeter while it was moving up and down the instructor decided that it needed to move more so she said all hell its going to the table. Toby rode the teeter down with out even a flinch! Toby has an awesome teeter! The last piece of equipment we have to conquer is the weave poles. We have been working very hard on them. I think he is going to be weaving by the end of the year! Yeah! I guess my Big Guy just had to mature, and that he is doing! It just doesn't seem like he will be 4 on the 30th of December. It seems just like yesterday when I found him out on the pack porch making himself a home in the Chimnea! LOL

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Toby is becoming a star!

Toby had class last night and it was AWESOME! He still has not zoomed. I think it has been at least a month since his last self rewarding behavior took place. I am so excited about his training now. We are have loads of fun in class. We are now ahead of all of our class mates. Next week we get to start working on a moving teeter. And I might add that Toby is the only one progressing. It might be just because he has done all of this before. But at least we are finally getting some where. Toby has learned to crouch at the end of the teeter so he can ride the teeter down safely. His two on two off on the dog walk and a-frame are coming along nicely. I need to spend a lot move time with the weave poles. That is one obstacle that we have not been working on very much. But we will have it down by next week. I am sure of it. The instructor has had only wonderful things to say about Toby here lately. She is loving his focus and how fast this guy picks things up. She totally gets Toby and is helping me get Toby. She told me that he is going to be a star when we start showing. She loves this package! I think some of it has to do with the fact that I have decided that we will not show until I find a job. So the pressure is off when it comes to getting him into the show ring. Before that was all that I could think about. That pressure was getting to me and Toby. I worried that maybe he was getting to old to do this sport and that I should have had him trained and ready to go by the time he was two years old. I thought that I should have had to spend only one year training. That might have been so if this was my second or third agility dog. Toby is my first and I have had to learn a lot of things myself. I think the biggest thing that I learned is that working with Toby in the mornings and making him work for breakfast has been the best thing ever. Not only does he love this but I am finding that teaching Toby tricks is a lot of fun. For the past week I have been teaching Toby to put Frankie in the box. Then we started putting his sheep in the box. I am hoping that soon he will be able to pick up his toys and but them in the box. I have also worked getting Toby to put himself into the box. I think Toby loves his shoe box!

Carpets look great!

He still loves his chair!

Much to my surprise all of the Red GA clay come out of the carpets. So you guessed it, Toby has been band from the areas of the house that has white carpet. Poor Toby, he gets to hang out in our huge kitchen when his paws are red.

Toby is doing great with his training. He has not zoomed in several weeks. I sure hope this keeps up. I was reading an article in clean run that talked about dogs that liked to run off and they said exactly what we did in class to stop his zooming. It works! I am still working on being able to work with him in the back yard. There are just too many distractions to let him off lead while working in the back yard. Maybe some day. Back to class, this week we worked on teeter, A-frame, and dog walk. Toby loves to hang out at the top of the teeter. I can't wait until I get to watch him ride it down! He is going to have the perfect teeter! The A-frame is going good. He hits the contact every time. I think that little incident at the park a couple of months ago may have taught him that it just doesn't pay to bail out early. Toby has an awesome dog walk! I on the other hand need to learn to keep my entire body out of the mix. When Toby is at the contact area I have been using my whole body to reward and treat him. No! it doesn't look pretty! And that is what I love about my instructor! She shows everyone just what they look like when running their dogs. What a rude awakening! So when we start competering I will look very graceful. LOL

Things are looking good!

Things are really starting to come together here. This weekend Dave and I got a lot done. We decided to forgo the Christmas lights on the roof. The pitch of our roof makes things very dangerous to be up on. Dave did go up but slipped and almost fell off. I just don't think it is worth risking falling and breaking a neck, hip, or leg. You hear of people having life changing accidents every year putting up Christmas light. I just don't think it is worth it! So instead we put Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause up in the Dormers and lighted wreaths in all of the windows. I might put some light up on the bushes later.

Friday I went out back and hacked on some bushes. They have not been touch in a long time and needed some trimming. What I was doing was practicing so that I could trim the front bushes and not make a mess out of them. In the back I am the only one who sees the hack job. I might have a professional trim the front for me.

This weekend we also put up a new kitchen light. The old light was track lighting and we don't really like track lighting. It just isn't bright enough. Dave also took out the dimmer switch and but in a rocker switch. Not sure why there was a dimmer switch for that light. We replaced one exhaust fan in the Master bath and plan on replacing the exhaust fan in the guest bath next week. Dave also put a ceiling fan up in the guest room with a remote control, which I love having remotes for the fans. I guess I am a tad lazy.

And for the Tobtsers, he has found a new friend. His friend lives next door. His name is Harley and is a white Esckomo. Harley loves Toby. His mom want let him get dirty so we walk every morning about 4:30 am and every evening about eight. I did not take Toby last night and let me tell you! I have holes all over my body from his glare! He loves his walks. We have been walking about a mile each time we go. Natelie is my neighbor and she is the one I walk with. She is almost 6 feet tall with very long legs so you guess it I am running to keep up with her! LOL. My legs are getting very sore. In fact my whole body is sore after all of the yard work this weekend with walking on top of that. Maybe I will finally get in shape!

Tomorrow I plan on steam cleaning the carpet. Toby and GA red clay just don't mix! That is if you don't like red carpet!

Getting a lot done!

I know it is Turkey day but Dave is home and this has been the first day he has been home in two weeks. I have a very long list of Honey do's. The best part is that Dave is doing them with out one negative word. I am not sure the real Dave is here but at least I am getting stuff he needs to do done. Get this! He has volunteered to help put up Christmas lights. I am hoping that this Dave comes home every week! LOL! Maybe next weekend all of the Honey do's will be done and he can relax. I think he is excited with our new home. Since I have unpacked everything and made the place look pretty he is happy. He says he doesn't care as long as it functions but deep inside I think he likes it when the house looks nice.

No class for Toby this week. Every time there is a holiday classes are canceled for the week. So poor Tobes. He loves going to school.

Hope every one had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Found this picture and it put a smile on my face! Toby misses his friend!

Hello from Charleston SC

I am sitting in a hotel room in SC. This morning Dave and I took Toby to the beach. You should have seen his face. I wish I had my camera with me. I did not know that I was going to be here until Friday afternoon. Needless to say I had to pack in a hurry! Dave could not make it home so his boss told him that I could meet him here on the company's dime. So I packed a suite case for me and the dog and off we went leaving the camera behind. For those who might be wondering Dave was placed back out in the field. This is only suppose to be temporary but who knows now that the economy has take a turn for the worst. I just wish that they would have figured this out before up rooting us and moving across the country.

Still trying to get the house in order!

This is part of the back and side yard

Veiw from the street

Well, we have been in our house for a month and I am still trying to get things put away. I have way too much stuff. I will post a pictures of the inside once I get all of my stuff unpacked. I will also post pictures of the fall color in our back yard. It was just absolutely gorgeous this year.

Toby did great in class last night. He has learned to crouch when he gets to the top of the teeter. The really nice thing is that not only does he crouch but he lays down and makes it his home. This will allow me to teach him to stay on the teeter until I release him. Not once did he try to zoom. I guess he has learned that if he zooms the fun is over and he has to do kennel time. What a great tool! The kennel. We also worked on weaves last night. He is just about weaving 4 poles. Once he gets the 4 poles he will be good to go for the rest. It is a great feeling to have now that Toby is getting it and so am I. Finally! I have also had a lot of time to work with him at home. Every morning for breakfast he has to work for every piece of kibble. I have been teaching him to put his back feet in a box. I am hoping this will help him remember that he does have back feet. Tonight I took Toby to PetSmart for some treats. While I was there I put him on the scale. Much to my surprise he is up to 44 lbs. He feels lean so I am hoping that the extra running he is doing is adding muscle which is making the scale read higher. I will just have to keep an eye on him.

Oops! been a while!

Things are still going good here in GA. Had a job interview the other day. Doesn't look very good. There are about 100 applicants for every job posted. Job postings are very far and few between. But on the other hand I have been getting a lot done with the house. I am almost done putting our office/computer room together. I just put up some sheers on the Windows beside the front door. It looks great!

Toby is doing great in his agility class. Tonight he did not zoom one time! This is huge progress. Our relationship is coming along very well. I think what is helping is that he now has to work for every piece of kibble he gets. I had gotten lazy about his feedings. I had just been putting his dinner in a bowel and letting him eat. Well not no more! Every morning for breakfast he has to do something just to get a piece of kibble. After he works for his breakfast he gets to go outside and run in his back yard. Then he has to come in and take a nap. After the nap I will take him outside and make him work with jumps. Tomorrow I am going to work with a latter. Toby needs to remember that he has back feet. I have not worked with him on this very much and it has been a while. I think this will help him with the teeter. Melissa, our instructor is teaching us all the little things everyone takes for granite. Like the proper way to perform the teeter. For the most part the instruction that I have gotten on the teeter is just for the dog to get comfortable with the movement. Tonight we learned how the dog should run to the end and ride the board down. I think that this has been the goal of other instructors however, since I am new at this I did not know how to get the dog to do that. Melissa showed us how to get that behavior. It doesn't automatically appear. This is something I just never thought of. I think I have finally gotten an instructor who understands that I just don't know how to train that perfect behavior. She adds in all of the tiny details that experience handlers already know.

Fence is up and the Dog has crashed!

Today the fence people came and finished putting up the fence. I let Toby out about 2:00pm and played noodle with him for several hours. He had a blast and so did I. Toby ran so long and hard that by 6:00 he ate his dinner and is now crashed in Daddy's chair. Thank Goodness Daddy will not be home tonight. I don't think you would be able to get Toby our of that chair even if a bomb went off beside him. A very Happy dog tonight! As for me, I am getting a lot of unpacking done.

At the Dog Park

Today I took the Tobsters to the dog park so he could get some running done. He ran no stop for 30 min. At the end of that 30 min. Toby ran over to the agility equipment that is in the park and took the mini A-frame. I was mortified! As I watch from across the park my dog was flying thru the air. I was screaming touch! Did he? No! I watch him leap off the top of the thing hit the ground and slid a couple of feet. He look as if he had buried his nose in a pile of sand. Needless to say he got up as nothing happened. I on the other hand marched over to him put his leash on took him back over the A-frame and we left. I don't like that park having agility equipment where the dogs can get to it. I think it is too dangerous for them. Toby has seen this equipment here and has not attempted it until today. I am going to have to be more careful from now on when we go to that park.

However, tomorrow the fence guys will be here to put up a fence around the back yard. We are only doing a 4 ft. chain link. We just can't spend the extra 1100.00 dollars for a 6 ft privacy. May be in the future once I find a job. What I am happy about is that I will be able to work with Toby and agility in a safe environment. I just don't trust him. I am afraid he might go zooming out to the street. The street we live on is not busy at all. But just my luck Toby will run into the street and get hit by a car. I just don't like to take those kinds of chances.

Whats this? Another post!

This evening I took Toby to his agility class. It was tough getting there. For the second time in a week I ran a red light on purpose! The traffic lights here in GA just don't want to work right. On Saturday I had to run a light because it just would not change for the direction I was going. After about the 3rd cycle I just went anyhow. Tonight I had to do it all over again. After the second cycle I just looked both ways and ran the stupid thing again. I see signs up all over the place stating that the lights are photo enforced. I just hope it was not at a light that had a camera.

Toby had a great class! Myself and one other student showed up. I guess everyone thought it was too cold. Yes it was a little bit chilly but I have been in class in Dallas where it was down right brutal! So we had a play night. I was able to working with Toby on focus. The instructor and I had a pack, If Toby did a zoom I was to call her name and walk out of the ring out of sight. Toby did zoom once, however, the instructor told me that she saw the best look on Toby's face. When Toby ran off and I turned my back and left the ring, Melissa told me that Toby got almost to the fence turned around and said Damn it I did not mean to do that! Which means we are making real progress. He still went to the kennel for a spell. After he stopped barking I went and got him and he was very focused on me. Yes! But I should have know Toby was going to do that because we spent too much time doing boring stuff. I should have listened to him when he started grunting and barking. He always does this just before he zooms. If I had listened I could have changed up what we were doing and add more fun with his tuggy. Maybe next time I will get it. You all know just how many times something has to be said before I get it. Ok! No comments please! LOL

The move

We are finally in our new home. It has been a long week! Now that everything is in the house I just need to find a place for everything. I have already filled up two huge boxes to give away and I am working on a third one. I just don't understand why I am such a pack rat!

Toby is adjusting well! He has already found a window where he thinks he can do his self rewarding behavior! Think not! That has been shut down forever! What I am waiting for is for the back yard to be fenced in. Man! what an expense. It would not be a problem if I was working. It just doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon. I know the job market is sad every where, but the hygiene market is non existence here. Looks like I might have to find another career.

One more thing I need to let everyone know that I finally got rid of my knee brace. How convenient. One week after the move the Doctor told me I did not need it anymore. Thank you ! I could not stand it another day. so now the knee and ankle seems to be all better now. I will see come agility class on Tuesday night.

After I get things put I away I will have a picture post. I am sure everyone is looking forward to seeing our new home.

Moving

Sorry for the long silence! I thought that I would have plenty of time to keep my blog updated. But No! Things have been very hectic lately. My knee is starting to heal. All I know is I will be so glad to not have to wear that stabilizer. It is so hard to drive with it on. Physical therapy has been going great. I am not sure how much longer I will have to go 3 times a week. I am hoping it will all end soon.

The closing on the house went very smooth. There is nothing like being paid to buy a house. lol

Last weekend Dave and I cleared out both storage units and I have been working on packing up the apartment. I am so glad that I did not unpack very much when we got here in July. I only unpacked enough stuff to make the apartment look homey.

This past week I have had to go to the state department of environment health to pick up a map a our septic system. That took all day. These people around here just don't give you all the information you need at one time. You keep having to go back and ask tons of questions to get the information you need. Anyway after asking questions for about 3 days I now have most of the information I need. I think I have become a walking encyclopedia on septic systems. The septic system is in a good place so in the future, if I ever find a job, we will be able to clear some trees out of the back 40 and extend the yard. The best thing about it is that our property backs up to 8 acres of woods. From what we have been told there will never be anything built behind us. So we can clear trees all the way to the property line and still be looking at a beautiful wooded area. Toby is going to be so pleased with his new yard once we get a fence up. Wow! what an expense! But I will have plenty of room to work with Toby on his agility.

Speaking of which, Toby did awesome in class last night. He came to me all but once. The plan is when he zooms I am to turn and walk away to a hiding place and the instructor will get Toby and put him in a kennel. Man did that ever "P" Toby off. Needless to say that is working great! If Toby zooms a second time in class not only does he get put into a kennel and his fun ends, I have to run another dog in front of Toby. Putting salt in the wound.

It may be a towards the end of next week before I can post again. Computer is getting packed up and moved this weekend along with the apartment. We have some friends from South Carolina coming to help with the move. I am getting so excited to be in our new home. Hopefully I will have pictures soon.

Closing day!

Looks like we are going to close on our house a couple of weeks early. Instead of waiting until the end of October to close on the house we will be closing on the 1st of October. Yeah! I get to decorate for Halloween! I know Toby will be so delighted when he sees his new back yard! I am sure the neighbors at the apartment are going to be glad. I am sure they are tired of hearing Toby bark at everything and everyone that moves. For the most part he is getting better at not barking but it is a continuous battle.

I took Toby back to the dog park the other day. It was almost dark when we got there but there were still lots of people there. This park stays very busy all day long and even into the night. The dog park is surrounded by several baseball fields and a outdoor skate park. When these parks are in use the lights carry over to the dog park so you can still see a little. Can't see into the woods but you can see where the dogs like to play. Anyway Toby and I got to stay there for about 1/2 hour. We are making progress when it comes to his self rewarding behavior. I think he has learned that if he doesn't play with the other dogs and instead goes into his self rewarding behavior 1) running around doing zoomies and barking or 2) going over to the fence and barking a the skate boarders or cars, game is over and we quietly pack up and go home. Smart Dog!

Classes are still going OK. Toby has not been allowed off leash during class. At first I thought man this sucks but in reality it is a good thing. There has been a couple of times that he has wanted to do the zoomies and instead has gotten a big correction. I did not do the correcting, he just forgot he was still on lead. Sorry Dude! Right now we are working on noises and different textures that he walks on. Every time I make a noise that Toby doesn't like he gets a treat. This way he is associating good stuff with the noise. Seems to be working. Its just hard getting to and giving a treat when you are sneezing. LOL

Wow! I guess I need to update!

I know, its has been several weeks since I last posted. I know I promised to keep up with it after the move. I just don't know how I had time for life when I was working. Its worse now that I am not working. We have made great progress with Toby's training. Saturday I took Toby to the dog park and it was awesome! For once he did absolutely "0" self-rewarding behavior. This time we stayed until he was totally exhausted. I figured that he needed to be rewarded for playing with the other dogs and not barking at the skate boarders. I was so happy to see that my work is finally starting to pay off. I have been working on making noises a fun thing for Toby. As loud noises are happening I have been giving him really yummy treats. This has calmed him down a bunch. I use to not be able to get out a trash bag or a piece of Reynolds wrap without him going ballistic.

The house is just about a done deal. We have all of the paper work in order. We were told that we could close next week if we wanted too. That is not going to happen. That would mean that we would have to make an extra house payment plus an extra apartment payment. In fact we are having some problems with breaking our lease. It states in the lease that we would have give a two month notice and pay one extra month to break our lease. Well now they are saying that we will have to pay an extra 2000.00 on top of loosing our deposits security and pet. Plus because we were two days late in giving our notice. We gave it on the 5th not the 3rd we are obligated for an extra month. We will just have to see about that! The first 3 weeks I was here the police came and arrested someone each week. The one person was an FBI fugitive and was living in the apartment next to ours. We get woken up by a piano just above us. Nobody picks up after their dogs and frankly I am quit tired of having to clean it off of my shoes. The bad part is the complex has poop stations all around and they supply the bags. The other neighbor blares his stereo which upsets the upstairs neighbor so they argue in the hallway about it. Who wants to live in a place like this. And you say you are going to charge us WHAT?

The out look for a job is very bleak at this point. I have a couple of friends in Dallas that might be able to hook me up. Hygiene just is not the place to be right now. The job market is so saturated here. I can't even get a temp agency to call me back. I might have to change careers again. Dave will not let me go back into retail. He wants me to do something with my degree. I guess I am going to have to do some research to see just what path to take.

Lots going on!

Well first of all we are all doing great! Including Toby. His training is coming along. I have been able to teach him some tricks. I think the more I play with him the more he will become focused on me. The more focus the more we can train on agility equipment. At least I am hoping.

I have had a few health issues. As most of you all know if I eat something that is forbidden I break out in hives. Well, I am just going to have to set the record straight. I went to a specialist to be tested for food allergies. All the test came back negative. I was also tested for every thing under the sun. All of the tests came back as normal. So why do I get the hives. Well, They are not hives. I get a rash for what reason no one knows. When I scratch my skin will whelp up. So I think I am getting hives but in fact they are not. They think that my body just likes to attack my skin. What ever! Any way on Monday I am going to have an eco done. They Doctors decided that today because my feet and ankles were swelled to day. I think it was because yesterday while I was cleaning the bathroom some of the cleaner got on my feet and started to itch and then swelled up because I scratch them. What a vicious circle. I will let you all know what happens on Monday.

I know we have rented this apartment for a year and we have two storage units rented and paid for for the year but we started looking for a house. We were suppose to only be window shopping. However, Yesterday we happened on to a wonderful house. It is very big and sits on an acre of land. Flat land and some of this land is wooded. So we put an offer on it today. The offer is very low. However, the house has been on the market for a while and is sitting empty. Dave and I have decided that if they take our offer great! If they don't Oh! Well! and we walk. We are in no hurry. We have to give a two month notice and pay for an extra month to get out of the apartment lease. Whats that saying? No Guts No Glory!

New class New instructor

Tonight I took Toby to his new class. Much to my surprise the class was with dogs that have never done agility. The instructor was very surprised also. She told me that Toby was nothing like what the other instructor had described. She thought that Toby was a dog with no skills in agility and totally out of control. She was looking for a wild Sheltie. Anyway I spent most of the night working on obedience and toy drive while the rest of the class learned how to get their dog excited with the crate. We work on some of the crate games also. However, Toby and I have already have been playing the crate games so we were one step ahead. They also worked on coming to the hand or side. We worked both sides for a while then went back to toy drive. The last thing they worked on was how to jump. We worked on that a few times and then went back to obedience. I am going to stick this class out. For one I have already paid for it and it was not cheap. Toby can always use foundation work. I just hope he doesn't get too board with this. I was told by the owner after class that I will be moved to a more advance level after we work on focus work. So I guess it is not all that bad. I just think that the first instructor just did not want to take the time to help us. Plus her attitude towards us was not all that great. The instructor I have tonight is wonderful and she has me all excited about doing agility with Toby. She says that there is nothing we can't fix. Keep your fingers crossed.

Things are looking up!

Yesterday was an awesome day! First of all for all those who have been rooting for me, I got a Dental Hygiene License for the state of Ga. What a huge load off my mind. Now all I have to do is find a job. This may be a little harder since there are 1000 more active hygiene license than active dental license. But I am going to remain positive. I am also going to look for a job that is with special needs. This has always been what I was most happy doing.

The second thing that happened yesterday is that I found a trainer that is excited about helping me and Toby get to our goals. No zoomies! Her name is Melissa and she teaches at Sirius Dog agility. She was contacted by the instructor I had last week. Melissa emailed me yesterday and asked me to email her with the entire back ground of Toby's training and personality. I felt as if I wrote a book on Toby. A little later on in the day I received another email from Melissa. She told me that she was excited to be working with us and that there was hope. She even stated that I had the perfect agility dog. I get to meet her tonight. We will be in her class on Tuesday nights from now on. We will also be doing some privates with her. She gave me a lot of hope. There is nothing better than to have an instructor that is excited about working with a wild bratty dog.

Off to update my resume!

Giving up

I thought I would never say this. " We are giving up agility" After two almost 3 years and not getting past a pre novice level I Think it is time to quit. Toby had his first agility class tonight and it was a total disaster! The instructor told me that we needed to do privates and she did not have time for privates. She said she would ask around but I just don't feel like being a burden on anyone and that is how she made me feel. Toby is just way over the top out of control. So once again I am being told that he is not ready for class. So I think I am done!

Pictures!

Well let just say that I am not a very good photographer. I will see if I can do better on Monday. Monday I plan on taking the camera to the dog park. I will work very hard at getting better quality pictures there. For now here are some pictures of our Tempory home. We have already started looking for a house. Apartment living is very hard to get use to.

Peach Tree

I know Georgia is known for their Peaches but There comes a time when Peach Tree can be over used. Example: There is a Peach Tree Road. Peach Tree Lane, Peach Tree circle, Peach Tree Blvd, South Peach Tree, Old South Peach Tree, Peach Tree Industrial Blvd. I don't think I have listed them all but I think you all just might get the idea. No wonder I have a tendency to get lost around here. Today Dave and I went for a drive. He is so ready to be back in a house! He got lost. He turned down Suwanee Dam Rd when he should have turned on Mcginnus Ferry Rd. So he thought that he could just make another turn and get to Mcginnus Ferry Rd. At least if the streets ran the way you and I would think they would run. The funny thing is he now believes me when I tell him you can not use the compass on the car. He told me I was nuts. Well! guess what. Much to his surprise when he looked at the compass it said we were going north. How could that be if we were heading west and made a left turn? We had to pull out the Garmin to get home. You would think that by now he would at least listen to me just a bit!

Another Fun Day at the Park

Toby had a blast at the park today. Today there must have been about 15 dogs at the park. Toby has started playing with another sheltie named Rocky. He is so cute! Rock is about a year old and loves to be the one! His mom brings a camera with her everyday and takes pictures of all of the dogs playing. Yesterday she brought me a couple of pictures of Toby. She took one picture of Toby running and having a great time. 3 of his feet were off the ground and he was barking. Today she brought a picture of Rocky and Toby. It was so cute. It looked like Rocky was whispering in Toby's ear. And of coarse we are going again tomorrow. There are about 6 of us that meeting there every morning. We will be loosing one because she has found a job and will be starting next week. I think all of us are looking for jobs. So one by one the group will break up.

I went on line today to check the status of my application for a Dental Hygiene licence in Georgia. They still did not have my test scores from either the National Boards or the Regional Boards. So I called them to see what was going on. All they would say is that I needed to give them 10 days for mailing and another 15 days to review. They could not tell me if the scores had made it to my file. Just after 5:00 this evening I went back on line to check the status one more time and low and behold my National scores had been completed. Now all I am waiting on are the Regional scores. They should be posted by the end of the month. Then I will need Board approval and if that happens I will be able to work as a Hygienist in GA. Keep your fingers crossed. The Regional scores my not be accepted by the Board because they are from the Western Regional Boards and GA says they will not take them. We will see.

Watched my friend Bill and Star on "Greatest American Dog" They did great! Go Get them Bill!

Found the Perfect Dog Park!

Today was a wonderful day! I found a dog park that I can get to with out getting lost. It is amazing! Last night I met some more people in the apartment complex. They told me that there was a dog park just a few minutes away. So this morning I took the Tobester our for a ride. Low and behold I found this dog park and I did not waist 1/2 tank of gas and it only took us 10 minutes to get to. What was even better was we did not get lost coming home. After about 20 minutes at this park Toby started running and playing with the other dogs. It was a wonderful site to see. However, there was this one dog that was very dominate and he got rough with Toby. This dog ran full force into Toby and made Toby yelp. Needless to say this dogs owner wasn't watching her dog. I think that next time if this dog and owner at the park I will bring Toby home and go back when they are not there. This dog park is very large with lots of grass. It has an area with trees and lots of shade. It also has a mini dog walk, a mini A-Frame and a red metal box set up like a jump. I was so happy to see this. I think Toby had a wonderful time there and we are going back every day so he can met some friends. Two of the dogs that were there today reminded me of Toby's bestest buddies in Dallas, Bosco and Boomer. I think Toby really misses his buddies. The dog that reminded me of Bosco was a Red Border Collie. Very sweet! The Red Border Collie has a sibling that looked and acted just like Boomer. I hope we get to see them again. Toby liked playing with them.

I will be so glad when my foot heals. It is still very sore and stiff. The swelling has gone down a lot but now it looks like a golf ball instead of that soft ball. I think it is going to be OK for our first agility class on Aug. 11Th. I think if I wrap it I can get through class. I am hoping anyway.

I have just about found a place for everything we kept out of storage. It has been tough but we are getting there.

A Week Already

I just can't believe that I have been in GA for a week now! Monday we got our furniture and here it is Sunday and I am still trying to get things together. It seems that Dave and I were going around telling the movers different things about what was going in storage and what wasn't. Half of the stuff that was suppose to go into storage is here at the apartment and half of the stuff that was coming to the apartment is in storage. The big problem is what ever is in storage is just going to have to stay there. The climate controlled storage is stacked from the ground to the ceiling, from the back all the way to the door and no room to move things around. So what ever is there is just going to stay for a year. Hope there is nothing I really have to have. I was hoping that I would have my Sheltie picture at the apartment. The one that my dear friend from Iowa sent me for my 50th birthday. But we just can't get to it. At least I know it is safe!

The Tobsters is having a little bit of a hard time. I tried to make things easy for him and was doing great until Friday morning. I had been taking him for 2 mile walks everyday. However, Friday morning we were headed out for our walk when some how I managed to twist my ankle. It looks really bad! Pink, Blue and Purple. It is what you call a Kanckle? Nasty! Huge!. I have been staying off of it as much as possible. It is just hard because there is so much to do. Besides that Toby has not been getting his exercise. I am hoping I will be able to take him to the dog park tomorrow. He needs to run! I do have to say he is adjusting to having to be on a leash most of the time he is outside. We did bring a couple of gates from the storage place so that he can sit outside on the porch.

I have enrolled him into an agility class. We will be starting on Aug 11th. I know he will be very happy to be going to school again. I can't wait to see his face when we pull up and he sees the agility equipment. That is going to be a great site to see. The really good news it that I will be working with EE's best friend. I know that I will be in good hands. EE put me in touch with here before I left Dallas. The only thing left to do is find a good obedience class for Toby. I really liked working obedience at CCS. I miss my class mates. They are a fine group of people!

I still have not found the cable for the camera. I think I will be going to Wally World soon to get another. Must be in storage. LOL In the mean time I am storing up lots of pics for everyone to see.

Hello From Atlanta

Greetings everyone! Toby and I are in Atlanta. We arrived here early Saturday morning around 2:00 am. It was a long drive! Toby seems to be adjusting well. I was very concerned because he no longer has a back yard to do his self rewarding behavior. But that is a good thing! Toby has never been one to go pottie on a leash but is doing very well. I only had to use a match one time. LOL! Thanks Jamie for teaching me that trick! I think he was storing up for a rainy day. LOL. The first day I think he went about 3 times. The second day he went about 4 times. Now he is on a schedule and it seems to be working great! I know, too much information. Anyway, we got our furniture on Monday and I have been working none stop to get things put away. I did not realize that I had so much stuff. We ended up having to rent two storage units. One is climate control for my dinning room, Big chair and Autumn, stereo stuff and what nots. The second storage unite for lawn equipment and agility equipment. All I know is that if I need anything from the climate controlled unit I am screwed! It is stacked to the ceiling. But it is only for a year. Dave has been adding only for a year or maybe less. I think he is tired of apartment living all ready!

Toby has been getting a 3 mile walk everyday. There is a trail just outside of the apartment complex and it is gorgeous! Yesterday I took the camera and took lots of pics. I will get them posted as soon as I find the cable to down load them. I used the regular digital camera so I will be able to post them. Since I am a stay at home mom I will be able to learn how to down load the video camera soon.

Last night I was able to cook dinner for the first time since we have been here. I was getting very tired of eating out. Thought I would never be tired of not cooking! The kitchen is very small; however, I have managed to find places for just about everything that I kept out of storage.

Wednesday was our 14th Wedding Anniversary. Wow! 14 years! just doesn't seem that long. We decided that we will wait until we get settled in before celebrating.

I think it is past time to Toby's walk and he is letting me know so I will add more later. Take care my friends and know that I miss you all very much!

What! A New Post!

I know, Sorry for the long bit of silence! I have just been so out of my head. When we got back from South Carolina we hit the ground running. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday was spent packing and cleaning. Saturday Morning Dave and a few of his friends loaded up the Uhaul. Sunday morning Dave was gone. I then spent all day Sunday, most of the day Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday cleaning house. I even packed up some more. Man! I have too much junk! Friday afternoon we put the house on the Market. The first person who looked at it on Sunday afternoon fell in love with it and bought it. Yes, as of yesterday we have a contract pending. And what is really good is that we are getting almost what we asked for in cash. Thought that this was a very slow housing market. I was hoping that I would be here until September. Nope! I will be leaving on the 18Th of July for Georgia! I am going to miss everyone including Dori, Jamie and Wade, Kimberly and Les. All of my nieces and nephews like Boomer, Bosco, The Derblet, Cheetah, Aspen and Kodiak. I promise once I get moved and settled you can count on an update several times a week. After all I am going to be a stay at home mom for the Tobsters!

Home Made Twinkies

Finally tonight I had some free time to spend with a great friend. She came over to help me plant some flowers and to help me get my patio looking good. It sucks having the house on the Market. Around 8:30pm I got a phone call from my Realtor. She had some one who wanted to came look at the house tonight. They would be there at 9:00pm. Well, I had 3 dogs at my house with 3 dog kennels in my Kitchen. Dog toys and bowls all over the place. Well, thanks to Dori, we had all three dogs and ourselves stuffed into Dave's truck. The dog kennels in the garage, all the dog toys and bowls hidden. Even the weave poles and all of the dog gates Dave made for Toby stashed away. Floors swept and mopped and the glass on the back door clean. All of this in 29 minutes. All of this only to find that the lock box will not work after 8:00pm. So back to the house we went. We spent the rest of the night eating these wonderful home made Twinkies. They were absolutely marvelous! Thanks Dori for all you help and yummy desert! I guess they are coming tomorrow to look at the house.

Now a little about my Big Guy! We had another lesson this morning. Toby is doing great! He is learning that when I call him he needs to come to me. I am learning that Toby is just not ready for distance work. We are working on distance work so that Toby will get comfortable working away from me. I guess this is a sheltie thing. They like to be close. Anyway, since I have been staying closer to Toby he has not done any zoomies. The big thing for me is that I have a tendency to push Toby out. I have to learn to face the obstacle and not the dog. every time I turn towards Toby I push him away from me. When I do that he gets confused and wants to zoom. The big thing is that he is not zooming. He use to but is now coming back to me! Yeah!

I'm back!

We got home from Georgia and South Carolina Monday night. We had to hit the ground running. It is now time to start packing up the house for the move. While we were in Georgia we rented an apartment. Going back into an apartment is going to be rough. But I think I will be able handle it for a year. This apartment is across the street from a protected marsh land, there are miles of walking trails, of coarse use of a very large swimming pool, and work out center. I will even get two sessions with a personal trainer a month for the year. The apartment it self is gorgeous. It has almost 1300 square feet with a sun room. 2 full baths, two master bed rooms. The Kitchen faces the living room with a counter that I can see over. This is a plus. The house we are in has the kitchen hidden from the living area so when I am cooking and we have company they have to come to the kitchen so I can visit with them. This apartment complex is only 2 years old and is very pretty. Once I get to Georgia I will post some pictures for you all to see. And for those who know me well, yes your right I came back with no pictures of any kind. We had the camera with us but just did not think to pull it out. I didn't even take pictures at the reception we attended in South Carolina.

The reception in South Carolina was held at a yacht club on Lake Murry. Tom, Dave's best friend loves to sail and belongs to this club. This club wast started back in 1957. Tom's reception was the first event to be held in the new building. This place is just drop dead gorgeous! And of coarse it over looks lake Murry.

This was the first time to meet Tom's new bride. Everyone talked about how I look like her and that we had the same mannerisms. Poor Debra! I do have to say I felt like I was looking in the mirror the entire weekend. But let me tell you, she is the most wonderful person. I am soooo glad they found each other! They make a wonderful couple!

Toby got to spend the week at DDC, Woof Gang. He had a blast. Dori checked in on him while I was gone. Thanks Dori. I think Toby loved that place. I don't think he was happy that I took him from his friends. Sorry Dude! The people at Woof Gang told me that Toby was a hoot while he was there. They tried to feed Toby liked I asked, in Kongs, but Toby buried them in his kennel under his blanket. They found them the next day. I guess Toby was just too exhausted to work the food out so he was saving them for a rainy day. He also spit some of his herbs that he takes for allergies out long after the staff was gone. They also found them buried under his blanket. So they had to stuff the herbs down his throat and use bowls for Toby's food. They also got to witness Toby trying to make his cookie come alive. That is the most amusing thing to watch. I know Toby had a great time while he was there. Toby was very tired when I got him home yesterday. I think he slept most of the day way. Poor Toby! His whole world is fix"n to come crashing down on him soon. The only thing he is going to be happy with is that I will be a stay at home mom for about the next year.

Vacation!

OK, I think I will warn everyone that this will be the last entry for about a week. Dave and I are going to Atlanta to find a place to live once we move. Then we are off to South Carolina to a friends Wedding Reception.

Toby is doing great! We had a private with Windle last night. Things are looking up for us. We are working on Toby coming back to me when I call him. For the most part this work is really helping. Even when Toby gets upset with me he is starting to forgo the zoomies and return to me for a very yummy treat. The important thing is that we have been pin pointing what sets Toby off. For the most part when Toby is not really clear as to what he is suppose to do he will zoom. His zooms always start when he is learning something new or if I ask Toby do do something too many times. So hopefully in time Toby will learn that it is OK to not be sure. I do know that Toby is a very confident dog and loves being confident. It is when he is not confident about what he is doing is when we run into trouble. Cool! We are getting somewhere. If anyone wants to check in on Toby this week you can go to Woof Gang and watch him play with his friends. See you all in a week!

Toby's World

Yesterday I took Toby for his adjustments. That dog sure has it made! I wish someone would take me to have acupuncture and chiropractic adjustments done on me. He has such a life. Gets to act like a brat most days. Has fun at school and a cabinet loaded with yummy treats! Life just couldn't get any better!

Any way, I had to take everything that goes in, on, and around Toby to the Vet yesterday. I felt very weird when I walked in with three bags and my purse loaded down. Much to my surprise I did not hold the record for the most indulgent pup. I guess you can say I am proud of that. As most of you know Toby gets what he wants when he wants. Well, back to the events of the day. Dr. Ave did the arm thing again. Very freaky! Out of all of the stuff I took there were only 4 things not good for Toby. Clorox II, Nupro joint supplement, Hot shot detangler, and some all natural treats that had carrots in them. Everything else was OK for Toby. Including the cheese wiz and the Bill Jack. The Bill jack was very surprising! Bill Jack is junk food of all junk food. I don't like it! But sometimes you just have to do what will get the job done. Plus Toby only gets it for training about once a month. Dr. Ave explained to me that just because it is junk food doesn't mean that it doesn't agree with Toby. So there you go! She was very happy with all of the choises I have made with Toby's diet. Once again I need to thank Dori and Jamie for teaching me good nutrition for Toby. Thanks Guys, I could not do it with out your help!

As far as the acupuncture and the adjustment, I am not sure Toby was real pleased about that. He reacted to the pokes with needles in his feet and there was a place on his back that made him react just a little. I thought for sure after all of that that he would have a perfect straight sit in obedience class last night. But no! That was the last thing he was going to do in class.

Obedience class went so so. I do have to admit that is was very warm last night. You all know how Toby hates it when it is hot. We struggled with his sits all night long. He loves to roll back. I think that it is just more comfortable for him. I have been told other wise. Everything else was great!

Well this is Friday morning and Toby gets a day of barking in the back yard. He is not allowed to do it every day anymore. I have put a stop to most of the self rewarding behavior he likes to do. So Friday mornings I let him bark until it gets hot out side. He then has to be quiet or come in the house. This seems to be working. I spent some time watching his run this morning. It looks like he running is a lot smoother than before we started the Chiropractic work. All in all Toby seems to be very pleased with his life.

Temper-tantrums

Last night was Toby's first private with Windle. We got a lot done. It seems that Toby loves to throw temper-tantrums when he doesn't get his way. What a brat! The first thing Windle had us do was go over two jumps and I was to call Toby to me. In front the the two jumps was a tunnel. The tunnel had a gate so Toby could not go in it. Well, after Toby got to the end of the two jumps I call him to me. Toby had already made it to the tunnel and saw that he could not go in there. He got pissed! Sorry for the potty mouth! Toby proceeded into a zoom all around the building. When I finally got him back Windle told me to take Toby over to the tunnel and stand in front of the tunnel with my back to it and take Toby in the other direction over the jumps away from the tunnel. I was to call Toby to me when he finished the second jump. Toby was an angel! So we repeated this again. When Toby got to the Tunnel he once again got pissed because he could not enter the tunnel and once again went into a zoom. Next Windle moved the gate form the tunnel and we allowed Toby to run a short two jumps and a tunnel. What an angel. So then we moved to the other side of the building. We had to be very careful not to upset Toby and we both know that if I ask Toby to do something too many times he gets upset. So we changed things up for the Tobsters and Toby had a great class. We also took my handling out the the picture. I did some recalls over a couple of jumps and Toby's recalls looked beautiful. Even Windle complimented us on them. So then we worked some sends and moving away from me and coming back. It was a great class. Thanks Windle, I really, really appreciate your help!

Not much going on here!

Not much going on here! We think we are still moving to GA. Don't know when just yet. I have stopped investigating how to get a licence to practice Dental Hygiene in Ga. So far it looks like I will have to retake the boards. Maybe I can get one of my friends ie Dori or Jamie to be my patient. lol

Toby is doing great in basic obedience. Thursday night we had a wonderful class. His sits are getting better by the day. He no longer looses focus towards the end of class. Last night I was so proud of my boy. There was somebody over in the next parking lot squealing tires and revving an engine up to the max! Toby was very nervous about the loud obnoxious noise. I went on it seemed like hours. This was the first time I have heard all of this racket. My class mates told me that this goes on pretty frequent. Any way. Toby was very nervous but remained in his sit stay. His ears were pinned back and his neck had turned to rubber but his butt and feet did not move a bit. Very Nice Tobes! I think the obedience class is paying off. Today Toby was out side barking at someone using a weed eater. I went to the door and called Toby to come get a cookie. Toby stopped barking and come inside to get his cookie. Man that was a change. Most times Toby would not have heard me or much less listen to me when someone was mowing or weed eating near our back yard.

Monday night Toby and I will have our first private with Windle. We are going to be working on Toby's zoomies. EE is also helping. She told me that she has given Windle some suggestion to help us. At some point I will be able to have privates with Both Windle and EE. It is going to be great! I will be able to have more privates working with both of them and they will be on the same page. Maybe by the time we finally get moved Toby will be in the show ring. Keep your finger, toes and paws crossed.

New adventures for Toby

Thursday morning I took Toby to a new Vet in Plano Dr. Ave. I have heard stories about her arm thing. I really did not know what they were talking about until I experienced it for my self. Wow! I was totally amazed by everything that went on in her office. I was drawn in by her and the things she taught me. Toby was very relaxed and I think he rather enjoyed his visit. He even gave her kisses! Not many people get kisses from the Tobsters. I very rarely get them and I am the one who feeds him. Anyway back to what went on. I took Toby to Dr. Ave to see what we can do about his allergies and try to get him off of the benadryl. This is when the arm thing took place. Dr. Ave went through some Cases of things and pulled what looked like to me small bottles of things at random and placed them on the floor beside her. Then one by one she took the bottles and placed them on Toby. Then she placed these bottles into two different groups. She moved one group off to the side. The other group she had me place the bottle on Toby with my left hand and then hold out my right hand. I was to not let her move my right arm. This divided the bottles up into a smaller group. Then she placed some acupuncture needles into Toby. Then she had a couple of syringes and gave Toby some shots in different parts of his body. Once that was done she touched Toby's back lightly all the way down to his tail numerous times. It was so strange. The last thing she did was some chiropractic adjustments all the way down his back. There was one area that Toby let out a little sound. She said that that area will need more work in the future. All the while she was talking to me. She told me that Toby was very self confident. She said that most shelties go around there entire life with no self confidence. She also told me that Toby was very centered and calm. The whole time I was thinking" you have not see him on the agility field doing his zoomies." We talked about food. She was very impressed that Toby was on The fish formula of Orjen Thank you Jamie! Also thanks to Jamie, I learned that Grain free was the way to go! Dr. Ave also told me that treats that I give Toby are very good. I feed Toby duck and sweet potato. She said that both of these are foods that cool the dog down. I guess dogs that have allergies are hot most of the time. Their bodies produce a lot of heat. She told me that I should buy a box fan for Toby to keep him cool. She said that ceiling fans work a little but box fans were much better and cheaper. The entire time I was there I could not figure out what to think. Was this a quack or what. Well, let me tell you. I liked her and I think Toby is doing great today. He seems to be feeling great. His eyes look clear and he has not been scratching as much. Dr. Ave seems to think that the space behind Toby's right ear was not big enough but after she adjusted him he had more space. Yes, by the time I got home his eye had stopped draining. We are going back in 3 weeks for more adjustments and I guess acupuncture. Oh! she did give us some herbs to take. I also found out that although Toby is on fish food he still needs the omega's from a capsule. It seems that the minute you open the dog food that has the omega's in it they start to break down and are no longer good. So I have to go pick up some when I go the store tomorrow. What a morning! This was truly an experience. And I must say Toby did great in obedience class last night. I just hope that it carries over to agility class.

The wild child is at it again!

I know I have not posted i a while. Things are going somewhat the same. Toby and I are still working obedience on Thursday night. Last Thursday night we were promoted to the next step toward heeling off lead. I know I should be excited but after agility class last night I am just totally drained. For the past several weeks Toby has gone back into the zoomies. That sucker is fast! But what good is it if he can't play with me? He still wants to do his own thing! I even had very yummy treats last night. Yes I stooped to the frozen Bill Jack. I don't like that stuff. I don't think it is very good for the dogs but right now all I want is to get Toby's attention long enough to train him. I thought for sure that pulling him from agility and doing flat work and obedience was the best thing ever. It would have been if that cured the problem. It didn't so I am back to square one. Now I am thinking about pulling him from class once more. I think this time I am just going to do some privates with Windle and see if we can work thru this problem. Some how Some where I will get an answer. When we get a light bulb moment I will be in absolulty glory.

Great night sad week!

Monday night Toby and I headed off to our agility class at BF3. We had a very good night. Toby got upset with me only once! That's a record! What happened is I had to take Toby over two jumps and then go on tunnel. After the first jump I should have given the command go on tunnel so that Toby knew where is was going before he got there. After the second jump Toby had to slow down and look back at me to see where I wanted him to go. That upset him. At work we have a name for this, it is called Dev-T. Dev-T is anything that someone does that causes you to waste time getting what ever you are doing done in a timely matter. Man, I here Dev-T all day long at work who would think that the dog would be hollering Dev-T to me in the middle of an agility coarse. Whats up with that! Anyway, that was the only time Toby did a zoom. The zoom was very short and when I called Toby he came straight to me. So that was a great night.

The sad week is from several things that happened this week. First of all, on Monday afternoon during lunch I decided to go down the street from where I work to fill my car up with gas. Someone had hit a dog and left the dog in the middle of the road. If only I had been 15 to 20 min earlier maybe I could have saved that dog. The really sad thing was the dog was laying in the middle of the street across from a Veterinary office. How sad. The next thing that got to me was hearing about someone that I had just met a couple of months ago. A very nice person and someone I wanted to get to know. She has been very sick for a very long time and is getting worse. From what I am hearing she only has a couple more weeks here on this earth. A good friend of mine sent me a video clip of her last run with her dog. It was the perfect run in every way. From the skill of her handling her dog to the joy coming from her and her dog. Lis you are a Class Act!

Then I read an email about A sheltie dog show in Colorado. It seems that one of the dogs died due to heat and altitude sickness. I just can't imagine! Taking your dog to a show and having fun then before you know it they are gone. And to something so preventable. Turn the Air conditioner on Please! Dogs get hot too!

And of coarse dealing with moving and leaving all of my dearest friends. I know I will be OK once everything is said and final. But poor Toby. He also has great wonderful friends he is going to miss. But hopefully we will be able to visit a lot. The house in Georgia is going to be big enough for everyone to come stay with us from time to time. You just wait and see.

What a week

Well by now most of you all know that we will be moving to Atlanta Georgia. The move will take place sometime around late summer early fall. I am a little sad because I have such wonderful friends here in Texas. However, I am getting a little excited to meet new friends and be closer to our families. I have been promised a huge flat yard so I can continue to train Toby in agility. I have been told by several people that Georgia has some top notch schools for agility. So that is what is making me so excited about the move.

Last night Toby and I had basic obedience class. We did very well if I might say! I have been working on Toby's sits. He still wants to rock back into a slopping sit from time to time but for the most part he is doing great. I have been told that he has to develop different muscles before he will be able to hold a straight sit with out rocking back. The poor guy! During out sit stay exercise after a while I could see his front legs shaking a bit. I thing they were getting tired because he needs those muscle to be stronger. Once he develops those muscles I think he will be just fine.

After class I visited with a new comer to the class. Crystal and her dog Beacon has joined the class. Toby and I were in a class with her out at DDS. I was surprised to see her. Anyway we got talking after class about our dogs when she asked me if I wanted another Sheltie. Her neighbor found the cutest Sheltie in her yard about two weeks ago. Something about this Sheltie stood out in my mind. A couple of weeks ago I got an email from a friend that lives just a little way from me in the Duck Creek Home owners association area. The email was about someone looking for a Sheltie that had run off. So I got the information as to where this Sheltie was and went home to call my friend. You see I am one of those who delete all of my old emails so I no longer had all of the information about where this Sheltie belong. My friend was able to look up the old email and she gave me the number. I called this lady to tell her that I might know where her dog was. I know it was a long shot but something in my gut told me it was her dog. Well about an hour later I got this call from the lady who was looking for her Sheltie. IT WAS HERS! She thought that her dog was long gone but she was driving home with her baby. You could tell she was just busting with happiness. I was very happy for her. I just could not imagine loosing Toby. That would absolutely break my heart! The night ended on a happy note.

Sloppy Sits!

Well, tonight was basic obedience class with the Tobsters. It seems that I have never tried to train Toby to sit straight. I guess I should have been working on this since he was a pup. You learn something new everyday. Tonight in class I began to work with Toby on his sits. They are very lazy looking! Slumped over with feet sticking out. I just thought that Toby was lazy and that was the way he is suppose to sit. I guess it was me being lazy. The instructor told me that it was just a bad habit and that I would have to work really hard with Toby to get him out of this bad habit. OOPS! But I guess that Toby and I are getting use to correcting things that we have been doing wrong. But that is OK! Toby and I are having fun doing it. Plus I know once we start trialing we are going to be a force to reckon with!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane! Oh No! It's Toby!

Toby and I had class tonight out at BF3. It was a great night for everyone. Boomer got to celebrate taking first place in one of his runs this weekend. Boomer I sure hope you get more first places. Those Cup cakes are out of this world! Dave says "thanks" even though he did not get his all in one piece. I tried! Anyway back to the Tobes. The first run of the night was Tunnel to dog walk. Toby shot out of that tunnel like he had been shot out of a cannon! Up over the dog walk and off up into the air. For a minute I thought he could fly! No, no wings for Toby. He crashed to the ground unhurt and happy to be running agility again. Once I managed to put my heart back in my chest everything was OK. From there we worked on running some small sequences with the jumps dog walk and tunnel. We worked a couple of 180's. We learned about where to pick our dogs up after an obstacle to make sure they are square for the next obstacle. I guess that is why Toby flew off the dog walk. Instead of waiting for him at the tunnel entrance and giving him space to square up to the dog walk I ran over to the dog walk causing Toby to turn towards me and hit the dog walk at a not so good angle. I will definitely watch that from now on! Half way thru the class we moved into the barn. There we worked on turns and changes of direction. The most important thing of the night was that Toby did not do one single zoom. He came to me when I called him. I don't think my big guy likes to sit and watch the other dogs have fun while he is in time out. I do need to work on his wait. He just does not want to wait for me to release before running the coarse. After a couple of times of not getting any treat he wised up a bit. I guess this is just going to take some time. Right now all I know is this dog is fast! Can handlers where roller skates in the agility ring?

Class again tonight!

Man! we got to go to class again tonight. I was so glad. It seems that every week we either have rain or snow. Anyway, the beginning of the class was a little rough. Right off the bat Toby broke his start line stay and then went straight into a zoom. I put Toby into a 10 minute down stay and he had to watch all of the other students have fun. He did not like that. He laid there and barked at me. He tried to get up a few times. But I was right there on him. I was boss and he was dog. No question about that! Once he was allowed to play again he settled right down. I think the problem was that tonight I had flying arms. And you know what that means. Toby has no patients for sloppiness in commands. The second half of the class we went out side and I got to work with Elizabeth. She is just so great! Don't get me wrong I love working with Windle also. Windle has patients of a saint. That is something I just don't have and I wish I could get there. Maybe someday I will. Tonight we worked on the weaves. The weaves are not closed just yet but Elizabeth said that Toby had great weaves so far yeah! I think we are starting to make head way.

Thursday night class

Thursday night class was kind of off. It was not Toby this time it was me. Sometimes after a long hard day I find myself struggling to let go of the day and just have fun with Toby. Concentration on Thursday night is extremely difficult. Toby is doing well with his down stay and getting better with the stand stay. The sit stay some how has fallen apart. Toby does not like to sit. I am not sure what it is. But the last couple of weeks Toby slides down during the sit stay. My lazy boy. We have a lot of things we need to work on. The come front has been left behind for some time now so I need to work on that. We still need lots of work on the back. As far as his heeling, I would like to start to getting Toby off of the food and leash. I think this is going to take a little more time before we get there. I think that I am just going to need a little more patients. I guess I want Toby to be very obedient right now. I need to remember that it is not the end result that is so great! It is the journey!

Back on Track!

Last night was our first night at BF3. It was an awesome night. Toby had a blast. And if I might say so did I. We worked on sends thru the tunnel, front crosses out of the tunnel, tunnel thru the weaves, sharp turn from a jump to the dog walk, and the chute. Toby stayed in tune with me the entire night. Toward the end he started to get a little testy. I recognized his look and bark just before he goes into a zoom and was able to head it off. Just marvelous! All I did was bring out his favorite toy and played tuggy with him while we were waiting for our turn. I guess my little guy gets bored easily and I need to change things up a bit to make it more fun. So we made it thru the session without one single zoom! AMEN! We still need to work on the start line stay. Towards the end of the night Toby started to break them. Windle had me test him. I placed in at the start line and I lead out and did a little dance and then return to him for a yummy treat. I did this several times before releasing him to the jump. My class mates got a little laugh out of it. But it works. Toby needs to know that I have to release him before he can have his fun. The contact on the dog walk was awesome! I have been working with Toby to not leave the 2 on 2 off until I use his release word "free" He has been doing very well with that.

It was great to be back with my old class mates. I sure did miss them. However, Pulling Toby out of agility when I did to retrain foundation was the best thing I could do for my big guy. It also helped me to mature into a much more confident handler. And for those who know my Tobsters, he has absolutely no patients for sloppy and late commands! What a CHAP!

Now all we have to do is work on our obedience skills. I have until Thurs to work on the stand stay and the sit stay. I think the problem is that I have had to retrain the stay and the wait. So I think once we get past the transition phase we will be on our way! I will let you all know after class on Thursday.

My skinny boy!

Well, tonight was going to be Toby's first class out at BF3. But because it is snowing! In Texas! In March! Class was called off. We were so looking forward to start training on agility equipment again. Oh well. So instead I loaded the Tobsters into the car and took him shopping. We went to Pet Smart to pick out something to chew on. While we were there I took Toby back to the scale. GREAT NEWS! Toby has lost more weight. He is now 44lbs. He is looking so good! We have been working really hard to get his weight down. At first I thought that 45 lbs would be a good weight. Now I am thinking more like 42 or 43 lbs. For those of you who don't know Toby, he had reached 48 lbs. So as you can see he is not chunky anymore. I am just going to have to wait and see how he looks and feels pound by pound. I think I will know when we reach our goal. My big guy is getting skinny.

Three steps forward and one step back!

Last night Toby and I headed out to our obedience class. It was not a very good night for us. For one thing, my boss kept me until 6:00 p.m. when he knows I have class on Thursday nights. He just doesn't care if we have a life out side of work. All he cares about is $$$. Anyway, I was extremely rushed to get to class. I think Toby felt my frustration. Toby did great with the heeling and the down stay. However, last night the sit stay was a huge problem. I could not get Toby to remain in a seated position. He kept sliding into a down. I gave him several corrections but that did not get through to him. So Elizabeth tried to give him a correction. Well, I think that it became a battle of who was going to win and it wasn't going to be the instructor. What a pistol! A couple of my class members just turned and looked at me with astonishment on their faces. Man! Toby can be very stubborn! The instructor even tried to pick him up and put him in a down. Toby was not going to do it! No way in hell was he going to obey that command! Then when the instructor tried to grab his collar, Toby let out I huge scream! No! it did not hurt him. He was just being a brat! As some of you know Toby can really be a brat. I do have to be careful with Toby because one time in a different class he was really hurt. But last night he was not. I tried to give him a correction with the collar and pulled his hair a tad and he yelped. It did not hurt my baby! He was being a total brat! Anyway the night did end on a good note but man! What a dog! Just as I thought that we were back on track. Well we will see how his new agility class goes on Monday night. It will be a new class. We are still going to do obedience on Thursday night as well. I was hoping that Monday nights would be a nice reward for doing so well in his other classes. Now I am not so sure. I will let you all know how things go.

The Best Friend Like No Other!

Today I am going to speak of a most precious gift from God. I have this wonderful friend who lives in Iowa. I thank God every day for putting her in my life. She is the most dearest person I have ever known! She is always there when I need a friend to lean on. When we talk on the phone we can talk for hours and never run out of things to talk about. She knows all the things that I hold dear to my heart. She always finds the most perfect gifts to send to me. I just wish I could be just half as thoughtful as her.

For my 50th birthday she sent me a gorgeous print of a Sheltie barking because a lamb has fallen in the snow. This has to be my favorite picture to ever own. Yesterday I got it back from the framers. They did such a wonderful job. So I am posting for every one to see and admire.

Thank you Karen, not only for this beautiful picture but for being the friend that you are! I love you with all my heart. And I thank God every day for allowing us to be great friends!

The Tobsters has done it again!

Tonight was our last night at DDS. This was also the second half of the P3 test. We Passed! Toby did just marvolous! I was worried that he would not touch the plactic lid several times like A chichen. But he did. We have been working on this all week. Toby has a wonderful toy drive now. And his recalls are amazing! The joke tonight was that I will have to learn how to stand in the middle of an agility ring and point to the obstical I want him to take. Everyone commented on how fast Toby was tonight. The instructor even told me that Toby was ready for agility now. She also told me that the next agility class will not start for about 6 to 12 weeks. I have made other plans for Toby's training. I just could not see repeating P3 or just sit and wait for an agility class to start so I found a class at another place. Toby will fit in nicely there. I have been in class with some of the students before and Toby has made friends with some of the dogs. I have also worked with the instructor before and I really like his style of teaching. I think we will be in good hands.

Well, I have had a long and hard day. It is time to go nighty night. I don't think the Tobsters has settled down from having a good night in class. Right now he is playing with his blanket. I think he thinks that it is going to come alive any moment. He does the same thing with his cookies. I will give him a cookie and he will take it and run to the front room. Then he drops it to the ground and does a play bow and barks at it. It is just too funny. You would just have to see it. It is the cutest thing ever. Never a dull momment with Toby!

The ups and downs of training with Toby

The first thing I need to talk about is the Tuesday night P3 class. This past Tuesday we had our first half of the test that we have to pass to go on to agility. Toby did great. I was very proud of my boy! His sit stays and down stays are rock solid. The one thing that we had just a little problem was his drop. Toby has been doing the drop by verbal only. For some reason during the test I had to give him a quick push on his shoulders for him to go down. Other than that he was perfect.

The instructor asked everyone of what our plans where. Did we want to repeat P3 if there was not an agility class starting until Mid April. I think everyone said they wanted to move on into agility. However if there was not going to be an agility class they would all repeat P3. Well, at the end of the test the instructor told us that we all passed the first portion of the test. Great! The next day I got an email from the instructor saying that after talking with all of us and watching our dogs there will not be enough dogs passing to make up an agility class and that we needed to retake P3 and wait until Mid April to start an agility class. This did not go over very well with me. Toby is far from being perfect; however, I feel Toby needs to move on. I can see the bordum in his face and actions by the end of class both on Tuesday night and Thursday nights. I have already pulled him from the agility ring for foundation work which he is doing. I think it is time for my big guy to start haveing more fun. Just to watch him turn his head and look everytime he hears the teeter hit the ground pulls on my heart strings. I have always told myself that I would know when it is time to move on and start working on the equipment. Well that time is now. The only problem is where. I have been looking hard for a class that starts around 800 P.M. Right now I am out of luck. I am going to try to make a 6:45 p.m. up in McKinney on Mondaynights. I hope it will work out for us.

Our Thursday night class is really coming along. Toby was in a sit stay. The instructor come out of the shed with a toy that looks just like Toby's favorite toy. Do you remember when I was working on Toby getting a toy drive. I talked about this long stick with a rope attached to it and a fuzzy squeeky attached to the rope. Well, it seems that the instructor has a bigger and better one than what Toby has. When she come out with that all I could say was this was not fair. Just wrong and mean. The instructor walked over to Toby and kept dangling it in his face. I thougth for sure Toby was going to break his stay. But no! My big guy did stick his nose out and sniffed it but he did not move from his spot. What an awsome dog! Now all we need to do is work on his stand and stand stay. We have been working on it and I thought that it was comeing along nicely until we got to class. I guess we need to work on the stand stay outside of the house. I think this week is going to be a stand stay week.

Healthy Dog

On Wed Toby spent the day are the Vets office. He had his teeth cleaned, his hips x-rayed, thyroid, liver, and kidneys checked. I know poor guy was poked and proded all day. But everything came our just great! No worries for my big guy! He is also loosing weight. He started his diet at 48lbs. He is now 46.4 lbs. We are aiming for 44 or 45 lbs so we are almost there. Yeah!

Next week will be our first test week for P3. There are 2 weeks of tests before going on to agility. I think we are going to pass! Toby is getting very good at his sit stays and down stays. Last week the instructor tried to get him to grab a tuggie toy while he was in a sit stay. His ears perked up but he did not move. Great Job Toby!

As far as his obedience class on Thursday night we need lots of work on the stand. I have a very lazy dog. Instead of standing he wants to sit. Instead of sitting he wants to be in a down. As far as a stand and stay, Fat chance! We need lots of work on this!

It won't be long before Toby is back on the agility equipment. He is really getting anxious. Last night while doing obedience there was an agility class going on beside us. Every time Toby heard the teeter hit the ground he had to look and stare and whine a bit. I know his misses being on the equipment but until he learns that he has to do what I want, he can't do what he wants. Mean, Mean mommies.

Toby loves school!

Took Toby to school tonight. How he loves going to school. He just sits in the front seat of the truck and whines all the way there. Sometime I think it is real cute and other times it annoys me. But as long as he just sits and not stands I am OK with that! It just confirms how much he loves to learn.

And of coarse Toby is the best student there. Tonight we got lots of complements from bystanders and the instructor. The dogs were given huge distractions tonight while they were in their sit and down stays. We had to jog away from our dogs in a circle. The instructor used her wooden animal that rolls on the floor making noise. Tonight she had a babble ball. Toby loves his babble ball. I thought for sure when she came by with a cooking bag making noise with it and saying she had cookies I would loose Toby for sure. He is the cookie monster of all time! He looked at her and his ears perked up but he did not move from his spot! The dog next to us kept getting up and Toby was watching that dog but the Tobsters did not move! I was so pride of him.

His toy drive is improving daily. When I showed him his toy before the instructor got to us I thought he would come unglued before it was our turn. All I did was show him a little tiny part of it and stuck it back under my coat. He kept trying to get at it and was jumping on me. Man he wanted that toy.

We only have a couple more weeks left in this class. I think we are going to pass! I know Toby will love getting back onto the agility equipment again. I see the look in his eyes when we are waiting for our class to start and there are dogs over on the equipment across the field. He always turns his head and watches them when he hears the teeter slam to the ground. I know he will be a very happy dog when he gets to play on the equipment once again!

How I love my Friends

Today was a great day! First thing this morning I took Toby for a private agility lesson. Toby was just super! We went to a place where Toby and I have never been. I took some really yummy treats! Plus Toby did not have any breakfast. So you get the picture! Toby only zoomed once. I placed him into a time out while Windle and I discussed why Toby went into a zoom. It seems that Toby got a little confused about whether or not he was suppose to leave the start line. When he left early ( which was my fault for not being clear and testing him beyond his capabilities at this point) I did not direct him as to where he was suppose to go and off he went! He only made one lap before he came back to me. That was good! After his time out he was an angel! I know that taking Toby out of agility when I did and putting him into obedience and kindergarten was the perfect thing to do. We are gaining confidence and that is what we need. I don't plan on showing Toby in agility until late summer or even this fall. We are taking one day at a time. I will know when the time is right! For now having fun and playing with Toby is all the joy I need.

Plus I can still go and watch my friends have a great time! I guess I am just getting older and wiser! I have a blast just hanging around and watching them have fun. Not only that but I am meeting a lot of new people. When I first started doing agility I felt intimidated by all of these dog people. Sometime I felt like I didn't belong. But today that all seems to be changing. While I was standing waiting to see if I could get a message for Toby, Dennis, a guy in my Thursday night class came over to me to say hi. I was so happy to see that he had taken 2nd place in one of his runs and got a Q. He was thrilled about getting a new puppy and told me all about it. This is a guy who I thought ignored me and did not want to get to know me in class. I was wrong. On my way out of the show this afternoon I stopped to tell another gal in my obedience class that I saw her run and that it was a very nice run. She just grinned from ear to ear and said thanks. She was the one who complemented Toby on his recall the other week. Sometimes I miss read people and I need to be mindful of that! Because at the end of the day I have found myself surrounded with wonderful people! And you all know who you are! I love you all!

AARP member

I know I just haven't had time to check in on everyone. As some of you know I have become a member of the AARP club. I do have to say that this weekend has been just the most wonderful weekend anyone can have. For my 50th birthday Dave gave me a huge surprise. We went to dinner and when we got home my house was full of the most wonderful people in my life right now. His guests were Hanna, Dori who made me the best tasting cake I have ever had, Jamie and Wade, Brian and Joy, Lana and Mark, Karl, and Franny and John from Ohio. Bless his heart. He flew Franny and John down from Ohio just for the weekend and my Birthday surprise. It was a wonderful night. There is nothing better than having such wonderful people in my life. I still have a bunch more wonderful friends. Poor Dave, he tried to get all of them but he had a hard time figuring out all of them by my emails and phone. The little sneak! He told me that he stayed up a couple of nights just to get numbers from my phone. So please don't feel left out. He tried very hard to include all of my dear friends but he missed a couple. Sorry guys! He just doesn't get to meet all of you because he travels so much.

On Monday night Dave gave me a pair of earrings that are absolutely gorgeous! They are called dancing diamonds. Each earring has 3 diamonds attached that have a hole in them made by a Lazar. The diamonds look like they are dancing. I am hoping that by the end of the weekend I will have my camera figured out and I will post a picture of them. They are just beautiful.

I have another dear friend that lives in Iowa. It just is not good to travel from up there in the middle of winter. The chances of getting caught in a snow storm are extremely high. However, she sent me a beautiful print of a Sheltie standing in front of a sheep barking to alarm someone that the sheep was in trouble. She also sent me a gift card so I can have my print framed. Once that is done I will post a picture of it. And of course what would a 50th birthday be without some old fart stuff. Thanks Dori. Love ya.

I know this is Toby's blog so I will stop going on about turning 50 and give you an update on him. There really is not much to say. It has been freezing cold and all of his classes have been canceled. Last week and this week. I do have to tell you he loves popping balloons. I thought for sure after the first balloon popped he would never come out for the rest of the night. Oh no! Not Toby! He came back for more. I think he popped two more balloons that night. There are still two more he can pop. In the evening he has been playing with them. Not sure if he plans on popping them or not. At least he is not afraid of them. My big boy is getting brave!

Anyway. I am exhausted from all of the festivities this week. I will check in again tomorrow.

Obedience class #1 of 2008

Tonight was our first obedience class of the year. You should have seen Toby's recall! The gal next to me looked at me and said " that was beautiful". You should have seen me. I must have been glowing in the dark. I put Toby in a sit stay and walked with my back to him out about the length of an agility field. Turned and when the instructor told me to call my dog, it was picture perfect! Toby look absolutely gorgeous! He ran not walked straight to me and sat down straight just in front of me. I spat the piece of food out and he caught it. Just marvelous!

We worked on heeling. we still need a lot of work on that! Toby wants to lag. I guess that is a no, no in obedience. We learned a new trick while heeling tonight. It is called ? something like shiatsu? Not sure how to spell it. Well, let me tell you. I suck at it. It is like a dance step. You step so that you are angled to the dog. Then as you step into the dog and around you bring the dog around you. Or something like that. I am going to have to get a lot of practice in on this one.

The last thing we worked on was our stays. I guess because Toby had not been to this training field in almost a month he was very rusty. All in all he did not do that bad. He just needed a refresher.

The other thing that I need to work on with Toby is the stand. He was being a little brat on this exercise. I thought that we were getting it. I have been working with him at home on this one. However, tonight he did not want to stand. We even got into a struggle. Man, when Toby doesn't want to do something he will put up a strong fight. I hurt my poor baby tonight. I just wanted to crawl into a hole. I don't think I really hurt him. He did not limp or act very hurt. He just yelped when I grabbed his collar to give him a correction when he absolutely would not stand for me. I think he was getting very tired by this time. I have noticed that by the end of this class he started acting up. He looked like he wanted to do zoomies. I just looked at him pointed my finger and said no. He started to run off. I called him to me and he came and that was wonderful! No zoomies. He thought about it. But did not do it. Great progress!

P3

Gosh, I can't believe that it has been so long since I last posted anything about the Tobsters. To catch everyone up to date. Last night was our first P3 class. I have to say, Toby did absolutely wonderful. His stays are really starting to rock!. His toy drive is just out of this world. The instructor was extremely impressed with how much toy drive this big guy has now. It was a very very good night. However, I felt a little lonely out there. Both of my friends and their puppies are doing a puppy agility class on the same night so they are not in this class. I know we will be OK walking this road alone. Its just that it was exciting to see them once a week and now I will only see them here and there. But at least they are were they need to be and I am OK with that! Those puppies are worth it! I can say that now that my friends are in a different class Toby has moved to being the Best dog in the class. I know I prejudice!

I just got done working with Toby on his homework. He just loves doing homework! It is getting to be a lot of fun for me as well. We worked on Drops, rights, lefts, around, targets. I know that was a lot to work on but as long and Toby and I were having fun I wasn't going to stop. We worked inside the house for a while and then we went out side. I was in the back and when Toby got distracted by a car going down the alley and run over to see, I ended the fun. Play with me or we don't play at all. Tough love.

Thursday night Toby and I will head off to basic obedience class. I think that this class has helped the most. I love hearing " don't let him get away with that" This is helping me see just what I am allowing Toby to get away with and helps me stop his neurotic behavior. I guess most Shelties have some type of neurotic behavior that needs to be stopped. All in a day of a Sheltie! Got to love them!