Little Scottish Holiday Part 2

 

Happy 16th week to Sonic and sister Brooke

 

I had a good night sleep, not surprised with waking up early on Friday morning but I misjudged my alarm clock in the morning! I woke up an hour early before the alarm clock buzzer and starting my morning chaos ... the poor boys didn't understand why they have to wake up early again! After taking Sonic to toilet; then coming back to the hotel to feed them and go out for a good long walk and return to realise it is only 6am! Doh! Knowing me, I won't be able to go back to bed again, that is very annoying as I am still tired from travelling!

As the hotel only serves Breakfast from 7:30am, eventhough we request an early breakfast. I guess they are not used to serving early breakfast, so I didn't have time for my cook breakfast but I did quickly grab a toast and a bowl of cereal. Diet start from there!

After picking up Matt & Rhoda and they shelties, we head towards East Lothian Agility Show. I have entered Sizzle in the Champ class. For various reason, it didn't go well for me and Matt & Rhoda. The three of us got eliminated at the Champ Jumping. I think it is unfair for Matt as his running order with Bracken is 16 but he was called at number 4! I was in the queue as I have early running order with Sizzle. Knowing what the Champ is like, my panic set in as they called his name. I told the caller he is here and he is getting his dog ... well, as you guess, Matt got confused and ran from the carpark with poor little Brax tagging behind him. In they go ... all went well and suddenly it fell apart. I was devastated for them. Guess what? Later, he found out that these people has meesed up his ticket! His actual running order is number 16 and somehow they enter Brodie who supposed to be a medium under his name!!! Arrrggghhh ...

Well, my mistake is totally a handler mistake. I forgot to do a front cross before the pull through and I managed to save that but then when I ran into the box and realised I should layer the box which I didn't so Sizzle took the wrong jump and got eliminated!

here is the Champ Jumping:

I haven't got anymore videos on my camera but Rhoda had video us, so hopefully I am able to share a link later when she finished uploading them. The Champ Agility didn't go well either. I was rushing to get into position and was running diagonal to the bottom of the Dog Walk and he missed the jump before the cloth tunnel so we got a refusal, otherwise it was lovely run. I was especially proud of him doing a beautiful DW contact as it was a sharp left jump after that and I wasn't able to get there and have to work from far behind and my timing was just right. So, no final for us this time.

I've also entered him in two individual Agility run. In one of the Agility run, we got eliminated, I cannot remembered why but I am sure it is my stupid handling mistake and we got 3rd in the other Agiltiy run after a detour! Mmmm ... I think I need to wake up before my run!

We finished before 12, what a bliss! We took it casually and got back to Gullane around 2pm. It is less than 10 miles between the Hotel and the showground. We got a light lunch in the hotel, then we took the dogs back to Rhoda's dad and let them run around ... I wish all agility shows are as relax as this one.

Sonic and Brooke are 16 weeks on Saturday, so they are officially allow out near the competition rings. Sonic gets very excited watching the dogs doing agility especially those excited Border Collies. Many times, he nearly pulled my arm off when he sees them weaving, up the contacts and zoom into the tunnel. At one point, we were stranding behind a judge judging. He barked uncontraollably when the judge clap her hands for clear rounds!

I played tug and did tricks with him around the rings too to get him distracted and he was a very good boy. I am very happy with him. His focusing on me is very good as well as he is alert on what is going on in the ring. 

here are more random photos of the pupz playing in the garden:

 Matt and his girls

 Brax: Oooi! That's my daddy!

 and of course daddy Matt made up for little Brooke :)

 and these pictures made me smile everytime I look at it. Brax wanted Sizzle's toy. Sizzle being a gentlemen has been very gentle with her but little Miss feisty has other thought ...

 Sizzle: I don't mind sharing it with you ...

  

Brax: I don't think so ...

 Brax: It is MINE!

 Sizzle: alright, ladies first!

 ... but not for very long ...

 now the pupz want it!

 Sonic is determined!

 tired out!

 such tough life for a puppy, he was too tired to chew and fell asleep with the hoof stuck in his mouth. 

Ahhhh ...

While they are soundly asleep, I met up with Matt, Rhoda, Yvonne and her mum for a nice dinner in the hotel, catching up news and gossip ... hehehe

Little Scottish Holiday Part 1

I did the share driving with Matt & Rhoda to East Lothian last weekend. I took Sizzle and Sonic with me and they took all theirs. Matt & Rhoda stayed at Rhoda's dad and I booked in The Mallard Hotel less than a mile from them. We decided to miss the heavy traffic, so I woke up at 2am on Friday morning and drove up to them. We set off to our long exciting journey at 4am with Matt continue the driving and later changeover to Rhoda. The dogs were brilliant with this extremely long journey especially the two puppies. They slept most of the way and have been an angel.

We did a couple of stops to stretch our legs and the last one before our destination, we stopped at Bamburgh in Northumberland. Oh, what a beautiful place, it is just like a heaven for the dogs that just did a long journey. We walked around the village to Bamburgh Castle and down to the beach! All five shelties were very happy running around ...

Sizzle posing in front of Bamburgh Castle

Catch me if you can ... with Sizzle leading ahead and Bracken and Brooke chasing him :)

 Catch me if you can ... little Brooke is catching up with big brother Brodie

Catch me if you can ... 3/4 brother to Brodie, Sizzle looks so alike in a smaller frame, so this sometimes confused little Brooke but she loves uncle Sizzle anyway.

 Or ... Sonic also muddled up with uncle Brodie thinking he is little brother Sizzle :)

Sonic: I am going to catch up with you, bro Sizz!

 can you see the similarity in Sizzle and Brodie?

 poor Sizzle been round up by the crazy girls!!

 Sizzle: come and get me then, girls!

and here are some random action shots from the pupz:

 Brooke is having fun her daddy

 handsome Sizzle, whether he is running with his ball or just posing :)

 ... and so do Sonic. Oh I know I am bias :D

We got to Rhoda's dad just passed mid-day and we had a relaxing lunch/tea break with them and my two lucky boys got to borrow a lovely big garden to run around ... again!

let the pictures speak for themselves:

We then head to our hotel for the day as we are all too tired ... we had a quick meeting up with Yvonne who has Sizzle's sister Ellie and Khandi, also joined us in the same hotel.

 poor Sizzle are just too tired to carry on ...

Sonic 15 weeks; Scara 21 weeks

I was feeling poorly for nearly a week now. Colin cooked a super hot chilli con corne on Monday that upset both of us. I think the spice hit me just right and I had stomach cramp for 5 days! I thought I will get better for the weekend but it got worst. I couldn't stand upright on Friday and have to give up agility! Arrrggghhhh ...

Sonic turned 15 weeks on Saturday. I can see a big changed in him in the last few days. If you remembered me saying that he is not a human-oriented dog. Oh well, he surprised me by saying hello to a few people in the last few days. Normally, I will let him approach people instead of asking people to make a fuss over him. I do not want him to fear of people. On Thursday evening, we took him out to the Common with the big boys. He saw a group of teenagers sitting on the grass drinking beer, he happily ran over to them and jump on their lap. My first reaction was Oh My God! I was worried about these people will pushed him off and do nasty things to him and thank God, these are nice kids. They fuss all over him and played with him. I can't say thanks enough to them to do such good job which he needed the most. Then, we saw a man with a big dog. Again, he ran over to him to say hello. He was jumping up and down on him and as a dog lover, I was expecing him to be kind to a little one which he did. So another good experienced for Sonic. Then, on our way home, we met a jolly woman on the pavement. Sonic was so happy to see her and he was jumping up and down to say hello, this lady was very good and make a big fuss out of him. I was hoping this is not a one off. On Friday evening, we met a man in the Common without dog, I was a bit worried as I do not want him to push Sonic off if he go up to say hello. Sonic just stood there and watch him and I was watching him like hawk. The man totally ignored him, so I thought maybe it is good to call him off, just in case nasty thing happen to him. He was very good with his recall, he came with me as I called. Later, we met a dog owner which I knew, so I let him going up to him to say hello. He was very good boy, he was jumping up and down but he let him stroke him and stood there calmly. I was very pleased with that. I thought this is a great improvement from him. Maybe he is just a slow developer!

His training is coming on well, he has learned a couple more tricks this week, one of them is my favourite, SHY! He was very good boy and he seems to pick it very quickly. I've also taught him "IN" the box. He always get very excited and his paws were all over the place but he knew only when his four paws in the box that he will the treat. It is funny to watch him tried to get all his four paws in the box. Maybe I should give him a bigger box but its too late to go back now. He is one cleve little boy. I tried to video these tricks but you can only see half of Sonic, mmmm ... my focus is getting so bad! I need to wait for Colin to film us.

In the garden, we do a lot of playing and racing up and down still, on top of that, I've added the play with jump wings in it. I've taught him left & right and go on, so on Sunday, I decided we will add figure of 8, pivot turn and out around ...

Sonic @ 15 weeks:

His retrieving skill is getting better each day. He now confidently retrive anything I throw with me running away from him. If I am standing still or sitting down, he will tease me to come and get the toy off him. Very cheeky little man! This way, he is very much like Sing. Sing always tease me to get a toy off him if I am sitting down! Now, who is the boss? I am a loser :)

He loves to play, anywhere, anytime. He is getting very good in retriving the ball when we are out in the Common, unless something distract him but we are working on the distraction. I have to say, he is very good with distraction and I am so proud of him.

His unique way of retriving the tennis ball

 with so many pretty girls around him, his best buddy is still Uncle Sizzle!

Oh! He now earned another nick name "big ears"!!! His ears are beginning to stick up now, I need kaolin & poultice to fix them! The right ear is a little stubborn compare to the left, so I decided to apply some of kaolin & poultice to both ears and they are now look a bit droopy :(((( Oh Shelties ears!!!! This means he is coming to teething stage and I am expecting more stuff to be chew off!!! He is a great destroyer. He likes to chew cardboard box, the empty loo roll, tissue paper, newspaper ... luckily nothing valueable like shoes and cables. I just need to have plenty of supply of cardboard boxes and tissue papers! Oh and someone to hoover my lounge after that!

 ... or a piece of lamb chop

Scara turned 21 weeks on Friday. She is a very happy girlie. She is always busy and "ready to go". I am still trying to find her off switch! She seems to have never-ending energy while all the others are fast asleep and she is still quite awake looking for some fun.

do you like my smiley face?

Training wise, we are progressing slowly. I think she still need a lot of sociliastion. When we take her out walking in the Common, she is more interesting in chasing joggers and bicycles. This is the last thing I want if I have to let her go off lead. She comes out walking with the big boys in the morning while Sonic joins the big boys in the evening walk. She is also a busy sniffer. It is hard to distract her from sniffing, not even with a roast beef or yummy ham! We are still working on some basic training.

She is very friendly with all people, so taking her out meeting people is not a problem at all but she is a bit unsure towards the dogs we met in the Common. She is doing very well though, she is getting better with the dogs she has seen before, hopefully before long she gains her confidence to meet more dogs.

I am still trying to interact with her with toys. She like to retrieve the tennis ball in the garden but she will not retrieve or play while we are out walking. She is easily distracted and I need to find a way to make myself more interesting than the distractions :)

 fetching the tennis ball

 who gets the ball?

 Scara: this is my ball

 Sonic: this is my ball too!

 Scara and her lamp chop

catching up ... Part Six... puppy training with Scara

Scara has been with us nearly 4 weeks now. She is settling in very well. I am not rushing her into any form of training, she has a lot of socialisation to catch up. She has been out and about at the dog shows, she is 6 weeks older than Sonic so she is allow out near the competition rings but not Sonic. She is a bit nervous as well as excited when she sees the dogs doing agility. She is not sure about those excited dogs barking and running and at the same time, she wanted to join in. I am sure she will get confident sooner or later.

As mentioned in one of my earlier post, she has been a naughty girl at her first camping trip with us to Axstane. She tried to escape from the garden area 7 times on Saturday morning. I wasn't sure how she did it, she either jump over the fence (easily) or crawl under (easily), either way, that is not allow! At the end, I have to keep her in the puppy pen for most of the day, only let her out when I am supervising her. If everything goes well, we are going to camp at Wellingborough show this weekend, we will see if she behaves then.

I have taken her out a lot for the last three weeks, mainly to walk on the pavement to let her get used to noisy traffic, walked past bus stops and schools and stations. She doesn't like the crowd at the bus stop. Every morning, I choose the peak hours to take her out, so hopefully she will get used to them soon. She is absolutely fine with the school children. How weird!

Training wise, I've done very little with her. She is a fast learner and very keen learner too. She is greedy, that is a good start to clicker training. She can do sit, down, left & right and hand touch. I am still trying to get her to play with me. She will play anything with Sonic but if I interact, she will stop. She loves me but she hasn't got the idea that she can play with me. She is very bouncy, very happy little girlie. She hasn't grow or maybe grow very little since we have her. We love her for whatever she is.

Many people ask me if I will breed from her, the answer is ONLY if she grows big enough to carry babies inside her :) She is 5 months old now and I don't see she will be big for that :) Whatever size she comes in, we love her!

She is a gummy bear at the moment. She is loosing her baby teeth FAST! Daddy Colin being a good daddy. He is very good in catching up his training with Scara too ... to take her out for a little walk everyday on her own after he comes back from work, no matter how late that is. Colin loves Scara too bits and Scara loves daddy too! Happy ending!

Now, here is a little video of Scara doing her sit, down and left & right and hand touch; and also introducing her to the scary Rocker Board:

catching up ... Part Five ... puppy training with Sonic

I am still trying to catch up with news ...

Sonic has been a good boy, as you all know that we started our clicker training late due to him lack of interest in food to start with, he is very much into toys, he will play with any toys you present to him and he is a great tugger just like his daddy. Sometimes I think he is more of a mama's boy but lately, I can see Sing in him. He tugs just like his daddy :)

So, we are a late starter on clicker, from week 12 until now, week 14, we have done a few basic tricks, such as ... sit, down, left & right, rollover, paw, creep and hand touch. Some of you may know that he is not a human-oriented dog. He will approach you when he wants to but for the first 12 weeks in his life, I can never catch him! He would not allow me to touch him, let alone pick him up. This is why whenever we go out walking, I have to have a lead hanging on his collar or harness, that is for me to be able to catch him when we finish our walk. He is brilliant with his recall though, eventhough I cannot catch him, I have no problem calling him back to me. I always take a toy (mainly different kind of tug each time) whenever we go out walking. I used the tug as a reward when he comes back when call. He is 100% respond to my recall when we are out but not at home in the garden with the cat around. If the cat is not around, he is brilliant! How can steal the "value" of the cat?

He is very confident little man, no problem taking him anyway, to people's house with dogs or without dogs, walk on the High Street ... so long no one suddenly approach him unexpectedly, he is fine. He is bomb proof as I can see. When we were camping at Axstane a couple of weeks ago, we had thunder and lightning, all he did was stood on the caravan step looking for the sounds, no sign of fear or anything, hopefully he will be good for the Bonfire Night to come.

I have done a lot of work since he was 8 weeks old, that is for me to be able to touch him and pick him up. I spent a lot of time, maybe 5-6 times a day but very short period, not more than 5 minutes. I sat on the floor with either food or toy (depending what he wants but gradually move from toy to food and clicker when he realised food is great) for him to approach me and I gently touch him and we process from there. Or, when we play tug, I will try to gently put my hand on his side ... I want him to know that my touch is not that horrible ... there were no improvement between week 8 to week 12.5. I was rather sad, how did I bred a puppy that don't like me? Especially when Scara joined our family, she was so affectionate, like a puppy should be. That made him stand out even more. I have been thinking to rehome him at week 10 but I knew he is the one I have been waiting for so long, so I want to hang on ... at week 12, I was heart broken. I cannot have a puppy that won't let me touch him, hug him and pick him up. I beginning to seriously thinking about finding him a home ... I have been seeking a lot of advices from friends and people I trust and they all knew how much I love my little boy and they wanted me to be patient (that is the thing I lack of!). At week 13, I had a secret whisper with Sonic and after that, things changed. He will let me touch him and stay there to let me put a lead on his collar. HOW WONDERFUL is that? You won't believe I have tear in my eyes. Now, we can go out walking with lead off. HOORAY!! That is a big milestone for us!

We are set for the routine ... in the morning, normally after his breakfast while he is fresh and awake after a long sleep at night, we will spend 10-15 minutes to refresh all the tricks we have learned so far, then follow by a play with different toys. He will then have a nap for about an hour. Then, in the afternoon, just before the lunch feed or right after the lunch feed, depending on the day, we will have a game in the garden for 5-10 minutes. Mainly just racing up and down the garden with toys. I am hoping to develop that into "circle work" later. He then will have another long nap, normally between 2:30 to 5:00, when he wakes up, we will do tricks in the garden follow by play, just like our morning routine but outdoor. Then, just before bed time, we will have a little play for 5 minutes. 

I have taken some videos during our training for the last couple of weeks but I just haven't got time to edit and upload them; I took a couple this morning as you can see my focus is very bad, it is either too far or too close that you can't see his head. These are un-edited video clips ...

This is Sonic doing his morning routine tricks, in this little video you can see him doing ... sit, down, left & right, rollover, paw and creep. As he does not like the direct contact with me (yet?), so our paw is me showing him my fist and he will give me his paw, this way, I don't have to shake his paw but hopefully in the future we can have a proper paw in my hand:

This is Sonic on Rocker Board and Elephant Trick. I decided to buy a Rocker Board & Wobble Board Combi, they arrived yesterday. When I first show it to him, he straight on it like he knew what he is doing. Such a clever little boy. I am very proud of him showing no fear on the board. This is the 2nd time he is on the Board. I started teaching him the Elephant Trick a couple of weeks ago but I didn't do anything for 10 days due to the stress of the house chaos. We only just returned to re-do the trick and he performs better after a long break!

 And here is the clip of our morning play routine, please excuse him with the pink toys. I bought them when I have litter of puppies and it seems that all my previous litters were girls :) He has to make do with them.


And finally, this is one of our many afternoon routines: