Rally then off to a pool party

So today I took Cash to her training class at Anything Goes for Dogs. She absolutely loves the trainer Kym and she is really getting excited about learning the dynamics for Rally Obedience. Today we refreshed the basics like sit stay, and down stay as well as sit,down,sit, and we added on learning about figure eights and serpentine patterns. Cash does great on these exercises going to the right , but when we change it up and go to the left we need some more work. She is getting more motivated and seems to be having lots of fun. I am planning on continuing her training once this session is over. I don't know that we will ever compete but we have fun playing around with it.

So once class was over today we headed over to Acme Canine for Spike's pool party. We were suppose to meet my friend Jan there with her dog Gus, but Jan got there before me and Gus was bad so they left without playing with us.  Apparently Gus humped a dog and peed on a lady so he is going home to be grounded.  Even though Gus was gone Cash still had plenty of other dogs to play with and people to love on her. She made fast friends with another yellow lab named Stanley and a Brittany spaniel. 

At the pool party Cash not only got to play with people but she also got to play several water games. The first one was a dog pool that had ball in it .The object of the game was to retrieve as many of the balls and diving rings as she could. She got 4 which got her a second place and a new toy.  The second game was a version of musical chairs. There were hula hoop on the ground and a sprinkler in the middle and when the music stopped the dogs had to find and empty hula hoop and sit in the center of it. She also got second place in this game.  The last game was a slip n slide that had water shooting up through the center and the dogs had to heal while getting sprayed with the water. Cash got a prize for this contest as well. I got very wet!!

We are back home now and Cash is sound asleep on the couch. Avery is just glad we are home so she knows where every one is and Tank stole Cash's new toy.  All is right in the world.

Training for a 5K

So I got the bright idea that I wanted to try and run/jog a 5K. I did some web surfing and found one that allows dogs to run with you and its held at Alum Creek.  Sounds like a winner, plus its not until the end of September so it gives me time to practice. So far my time sucks but there is plenty of time to improve that. Cash on the other hand looks at me like I am crazy when I am bent over trying to catch my breath, she want to keep going. I tell her she has 4 legs and I only have 2 so bare with me. 

Wish us luck!!

Rock, Walk and Wag

Cash and I got to participate in an event today representing the dog scouts of America.  It was a fundraising event for the union county humane society. There were lots of people and dogs around so Cash got lots of attention and treats. Our club did a small demo that consisted of the dogs playing a musical instrument all at the same time. It was fun, Cash play the bells. 

We got to inform pet owners about dog scouts so maybe we will get some new members from the event. 

Cash and I did a 1 mile fun walk then Cash played in the kiddie pool. What more could a labrador want. She got to play in water , get lots of attention and extra treats.

The Gables - in Marysville

After going to the previous nursing home several times I just wasn't feeling comfortable with the set up so I did some checking around and contacted the activities coordinator at The Gables here in Marysville. My contact person was Leah, and she was wonderful. I took Cash today for her visit.  We were greeted right away at least Cash was I was just a person attached to her leash. Leah took us around an introduced us to a lot of the patients and I was so impress that she knew which ones liked dogs and what kind of pets they had. She also seemed to know who would benefit the most from longer visits and who liked to just look at the dog from a distance. We even got to wander in to the activity hall and hang out for a round of Bingo. Who knew people got so excited for Bingo. Everyone seemed to enjoy Cash's company and she got lots of attention. When we were finishing up to leave I could tell Cash was getting tired. There was a resident sitting on a couch in the hallway and Cash went right over to her and laid down at her feet and just stretched out. The patients face just lit up and she was so excited. What a perfect way to end her first visit. I can't wait until next time.

Darree Fields Dog Park - Dublin, OH

Through some friends I found out about a new dog park in Dublin about 20 minutes from our house. Of course I had to check it out. It was fabulous. Cash and I had the place to ourselves except for two other black lab mixes. It was several acres fenced in with several agility obstacles to play with.  They had a tire jump , teeter totter , jump , and tunnel. Cash loved the tunnel. She kept running back and forth inside of it. The other two dogs that were running around were scared to enter the tunnel so Cash quickly figured out that she could run through the tunnel with a toy to hide from the other dogs.

What a perfect day, I just wish I would have had Tank and Avery with me.

Beginner Rally Obedience Class

Cash and I got involved with a training facility (Anything Goes for Dogs) through her Therapy dog testing and because of the facility's information we also were able to find out about The Dog Scouts of America. Now we are on to our next adventure... Rally.

I had heard of rally obedience but really had no idea what it involved. Cash is a great dog, but she lacks speed and motivation sometimes so I didn't peg her as an agility dog. Rally is a nice step for us. It is basically obedience but a lot more fun. In the competitions you have different stations you go to and each station has a task to complete. We took a workshop on it a few weeks ago and Cash seemed to really like it so I signed her up for some classes.

Today was her first formal training class and she loved it. I have never seen her get so excited about anything. We did a few off leash exercises and she had a blast. We practiced healing of leash and weaving around a pole the drill was called "fly" . She really picked it up fast and had fun doing it. We also did off leash drills of walking in large circles and then small circles. It doesn't sound like much but I broke up the routine of basic healing and I think she really responded to the change. I don't' always realize that dogs get board doing the same basic commands over and over again.

We have homework with this class to keep practicing on what we learned so I better keep up. I really want to keep my dogs happy and keep life fun for them. After all that is why we have dogs.

Happy 4th of July

As a photographer I love taking pictures of my pooches ... the girls love being models but Tank is to tough to act like he enjoys the extra attention.

As you can tell Cash is the happy model , Avery is the old Pro, and Tank just looks like he wants to be out in the field retrieving ducks not wearing cute outfits.

So today being the 4th of July we went to our local Marysville parade. My husband and I took Cash and Tank ( Poor Avery once again got left at home ). It was their first experience at a parade and they loved it. A few of the parade participants even threw out dog biscuit instead of candy for the furry parade watchers. Cash even found a friend named Maddie to hang out with during the festivities.

Thanks for reading my blog , and everyone have a safe and happy holiday.