Wow, how time flies!

Well, I obviously didn’t do a very good job with keeping this thing updated.  We’re back to where I started, only a year later.  Ugh! 

So, let’s go over what I’ve managed to accomplish this year…

• Graduated college with a BS (yep, I’m officially a certified bullshitter!)
• Attended the Tom Rose School for Dog Trainers (meaning I took a brand new puppy, trained her, and tested and passed the following…)
  -Dog House Test (off lead heeling, sit and down in motion, down from sit, sit from down, recall) with 3 different dogs, one of which must score a 96 or higher
  -Canine Good Citizen
  -AKC Novice Agility
  -AKC Novice OB
  -BH
  -SchH2 Obedience
  -Send Out with Sit Indoors (and outside in SchH2)I have three things left to test for, and with holidays and weather I’ve been behind in training, but they will be done soon – AKC Open, narcotics (NNDDA equivalent), SchH1 trackOf course, we also had to instruct classes and train in-kennel training dogs, along with all of that.  So it was definitely a great experience and I am a better trainer and person for it. 
• I finally got my Doberman puppy.  Hoorah!!!  Her name is Pele and she came all the way from Poland from the Friend of Mine kennel.  She was born on July 15th so she is 5 months old and she’s a little red head!  She also helped me pass some of my tests at TRS!  Her daddy is Bojan v Havelland IPO3, VPG3, ZTPV1A, AD, a very handsome dog that can work!  He competed in the 2010 DV DM (German championship) and placed 10th with a score of 265.  I’m hoping that Pele will follow in his pawprints! 

The Holidays

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year!  We certainly did.  I took a few photos…

This is a photo of the dogs at my parent’s house.  Their dog (the Boxer, Tito) thinks Soda makes a great pillow!  They both love to lie in front of the heater, as you can see.

Everyone playing with their new toys that santa brought!

Rafe and Soda Video

Well, we decided to do a practice trial with Rafe (and, of course, Soda has a little video time, too).

http://www.facebook.com/v/574636586991

Rafe did very well on his down while Diva did her obedience routine.  His heeling is okay, but definitely not the best he can do.  A ton of people showed up that day, and random people were on the field (which he needs to get used to anyway), so he was a little off.  Yes, I’m making excuses… 

I was happy with his sit and down out of motion and recall, though they all could have been a little faster.  His retrieve on the flat is good, but obviously the retrieve over the jump and wall need more training.  I didn’t try the wall because after seeing the jump, I wanted to do more training with some help before trying again.  His send away was the first he’s ever done on the field (putting everything together), so I was really happy with that, even though it was short and a little hesitant.

His protection work is good overall.  He’s just started doing the blind search, and he’s understanding (I started quite close to the opposite blind, not in the middle of the two like normal).  He has a great out and hold and bark.  The transport was bad, but that’s my fault.  I should have done a little more training before trying it out (we’d done transports successfully before, but it had been a while).  I’m sure that won’t be an issue after doing a little more training.

I’m really just having fun with Soda.  She has a pretty horrible bite, and I don’t know if she’ll ever have a full bite, but I’ll still bring her out to play.  She seems to enjoy it.

Overall I was pretty happy with the day.  Thanks to Chris for his thumb action and putting the video together. 

Starting up a dog sport club…

A group of us dog enthusiasts are meeting tomorrow to try to get a training club going.  I really hope this takes off.  I’ve been wanting to do something like this for a long time!  Right now my main goal is to get us an indoor facility to train in during winter and inclimate weather.  No one wants to train when it’s cold and dark outside, and it would also be great to have a place to go at night (since that’s when most people are available) or when it is raining.  I’ll hopefully be able to talk to someone in Parks & Rec tomorrow to discuss the possibility of using one of their facilities.  Cross your fingers for us!

Our First Post

Well, I finally decided to make a blog for us.  Now hopefully interesting things will happen so I can blog about them.    So, to start things off, I guess I’ll introduce you to my two dogs and myself.

Rafe CGC, BH

This is Rafe, my psycho dog.  Well, actually I suppose they’re both psycho in their own way…  Anyway, I got Rafe at 6 months old in June of 2007 from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri.  He is supposedly a Boxer mix, which I could see as being a possibility.  I could also see him being an APBT mix, which is what a lot of people automatically assume he is.  He has a very odd tail – it’s curled over his back, and he has a half purple tongue.  Odd boy.  But he is a great dog.  He passed his CGC and his BH (schutzhund) and is currently working on his Schutzhund 1.  Rafe is a very intense dog, but he’s just such a “good guy.”  People that have never seen him work can’t believe that he does bitework!  He’s pictured here at Purina Farms (Grays Summit, MO) trying out being a disc dog.

Soda CGC

Soda has a very similar story to Rafe’s.  She also came from the Humane Society of Southeast Missouri.  She was 4 months old when she was adopted.  She was listed as a Greyhound mix, but she’s definitely not big enough.  I’d guess maybe Whippet, but there’s probably some pit bull in there somewhere.  She is a very different dog from Rafe.  She’s very affectionate, though she has her crazy moments with Chris, my boyfriend.  She’s just a very happy dog.  I’m hoping to eventually get Soda’s BH, and maybe even SchH1, but I won’t push it.

Me

My name is Ashley Allstun and I am addicted to dogs.  That should explain a lot!    I’m currently a student at Southeast Missouri State University majoring in Animal Science.  I am also a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers and am a certified AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator.  I instruct several obedience classes throughout the year.  In the spring, summer, and early fall I usually instruct classes for Deer Ridge Animal Hospital, where I also work as a technician.  Currently I am teaching a class for the Continuing Education program.  I hope to eventually have my own facility for obedience classes, but that still a few years in the future.