she weaves again and Christmas pictures

My dad bought me a set of 12 weaves when Amber was first starting to learn agility. They're spaced 20" apart. Amber and Rye never had a problem practicing on them even though at trials they used weaves set 24" apart for a long time. Indi has been learning on stick in the ground weave poles which feel a lot different than a real set of poles with a solid base. When she got the hang of six straight poles I attempted once to run her through my set of 20 inchers but quickly realized she is much too long and tall for them!

So Indi's Christmas present came a day late. A new set of six 24" weaves! (I'll have to save up for that second set)

Here she is the morning after bringing them home, weaving a real set for the first time. I thought maybe it would look and feel different enough that she wouldn't be able to do them right away but that was not the case. She does every once in a while get caught in them like I've seen larger dogs do.

She still doesn't always want to bring me back her toy and I think we need to work more on recalls! She was super excited though and that makes her more likely to do victory laps instead of returning.

The weekend before Christmas we went to visit our family in New Meadows, Idaho.
There, Indi got to drag Emma, my inlaw's Vizsla around with a toy.

Help open presents.

Help break down boxes for recycling.

And best of all, play frisbee in the snow!

We hope you all had a most beautiful Christmas day!

the river in December

Our once weekly foray to the river. It's getting low and that means, a little swampy and green. I really should give Indi a bath after getting in it but I am lazy. I use a spray on shampoo (argh, how do I get rid of these link thingies?) and brush her coat really well instead.
I gave Rye a haircut on Thursday. I love how shaving his coat down a bit really makes his spots show.
Here he is on duck watch, his favorite passtime. He usually doesn't get out any deeper than this in the water so he doesn't get smelly.

Indi has started to point!

Indi loves to stick her whole head in the water and take big mouthfuls and then turn around and RUN straight at me. She gets wild!

The scratch between her eyes happened while playing with another dog. I really hope the hair grows back in!

And finally, here is Rye being his beautiful setter self.

 

she weaves!

Four poles!
We've been doing the two by two method which is how Rye learned. Amber learned with channel weaves. I can't say either one was better for us since Amber almost always had really solid weaves and Rye didn't in competition but that may just be an individual dog thing. I do like the idea of the two by two method better. It feels to me that the dog really learns it well independently. It is working well for Indi since she is so toy motivated.

Next up, add two more off to the side and slowly move those in line with the other four. I started these about two weeks ago, working a few times a week and just yesterday she really had the idea down.

siblings!

Indi turned a year old this past Tuesday!
A few weeks before that we got as many of her 16 siblings as we could get together, which turned out to be only four, for a pre birthday celebration.
This is her brother Wilson. Also a crazy retriever/water dog. Wilson is about the same size as Indi. He was the smallest puppy in the litter.

I've included their puppy photos that I took for their webpage to show how they have changed.

Wilson at 8 weeks.

Her brother Enzo also loves to retrieve and swim and is just a little taller than Indi. Enzo's owner cooks for him!

Enzo at 8 weeks.

Here is Wilson and their sister Zeva. Zeva was returned to the Vizsla rescue a few months ago and still needs a home.  No surprise, she LOVES water and balls. She was the most shy out of the litter at 8 weeks and still is a little hesitant in new situations.

Zeva at 8 weeks.

Indi and her sister Zeva. Indi is such a big help!

Indi, Enzo and Zeva.

My beautiful, 62 pound girl, Indigo.

Indi at 8 weeks.

And, to illustrate Indi's personality perfectly, a photo from when she lived with her first owner. A puppy playdate with brother Wilson and a different black and tan sister, Daphne. Two against one and look who's winning?

Here is a little video of Indi doing some agility a few weeks ago, bars set at 12 inches.

And.......


B is for bone!

A seminar!

I am taking an online course called "Building Relationship Through Play". It's being taught by Denise Fenzi who's blog I have been obsessed with reading lately. I really admire the way she works and plays with her dogs. She values each one of her dogs for the individuals that they are and you can see that they feel that.
The coarse will be about three different play types; toy, personal (just you and your dog) and food play (why did I not think of food play before?).  At first I thought it would be focused more on toy and personal play, now I see that she believes it is wise to have a balance in all three areas. Each one is useful in different situations. If you don't use a form of play very often, it can become something your dog just doesn't find reinforcing. I am noticing that with food. I have been playing so much with a tug toy with Indi that food is just not as exciting. I guess I need to find a way to make it fun. She gets very excited for her meals at home, kibble dog food, but out in the world she isn't RABID about treats.
Since I signed up as an observer that means I can't post videos or ask questions but I still thought it would be fun to make a few videos and post them here.

 Here is Indigo playing with a toy with me.

I know that I need to stand up straighter (better for your back of course).

I need to remember to let her win the toy more often to encourage her desire to play with me. If she were to get this toy to herself she still has the tendency to  run away with it. She will bring it back if I call her to come, and sometimes she will bring it back to play with me but she mostly wants to run in circles with it, shaking it to death.

She is very fun to play tug with! She will tug on just about anything.





And just for fun (and cuz I'm a nerd), here is my first installment of "Things Indi can hold".

                                                                      A is for Abalone!