Mothers Day at Point Pinole

Posted on May 12, 2013 by

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. This last week has been pretty nuts- last weekend went to Vegas with my girlfriends and enjoyed a very action packed long weekend there, came home to find out I might be losing my job next month at the same time I’m closing on a condo and taking a trip out of the country for my best friend’s wedding- to say I’m a bit stressed is an understatement. But despite all of the above, I’ve found nightly serenity in taking the dogs for extra long walks and staying offline. The last few days have been hot here though and I haven’t had time during the cool hours to take the dogs out so by today they were looking at me like WTH mom?! So they told me we were going for an extra long walk today somewhere good so we headed out to Pt. Pinole, where the cool coastal breezes and lack of rattlesnakes would make for a pleasant and safe afternoon.

Just taking mom for a walk on Mother's Day!

Just taking mom for a walk on Mother’s Day!

I love Point Pinole- its off-leash for the mutts, pretty bay views the whole time and there’s a nice 6 mile loop that is all flat so good for days I don’t feel like climbing hills. And since it’s rattlesnake season in the valley all of our hikes will be coast side for the next few months. Pt. Pinole is great for families looking for nice picnic or play areas, dogs, fishermen and history buffs. There’s a long pier where people fish and there are historical plaques along the way telling you about the history of the area. There’s a long beach on the south side of the park but it’s sadly littered with garbage and glass… we sometimes walk along it but have to be careful.

Indian Outlaws

Indian Outlaws

Anyhow, it’s always lovely to escape the high temps in the valley and go to the coast for a nice hike. The dogs are tired after romping around for 2 hours and the silence is music to my ears :) I hope everyone is having a great Mother’s Day! I feel so fortunate to have such great little dogs that make me happy everyday despite the chaos that may be going on- they give me great purpose and structure which makes me feel good!

IMG_1566 IMG_1563

Point Pinole Regional Park

Pros: Miles of trails (both paved, gravel and dirt), water and bathrooms ever mile or so, nice coastal views from most trails, poop bags available, good place for families (picnic areas/playgrounds/BBQ pits/etc., nice long pier you can walk out on, mostly off-leash except for on the paved trails, a lot of pretty wildlife viewing

Cons: Beach is a bit dirty and littered with glass/garbage, there’s a shooting range near by so if you have noise sensitive dogs beware

 

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SMART USDAA Fun

Posted on April 29, 2013 by

We attended our first SMART trial this weekend down in Prundedale (near Monterey). Me and the dogs had great fun and it took my mind off all the stresses that going into buying my first home. I really just enjoyed the time away with the dogs and our friends and didn’t think about finances too much. Luckily I’d signed up to work the score table all weekend so we got a free entry into the trial- that helped a lot. I had a great time working ringside all weekend and watching all the Masters runs as I helped score. Talk about high intensity fast dogs! It was very exciting and I actually learned a lot from scoring and had a blast. Rookie had a very lazy weekend at the trail since I didn’t get any nosework practice done with him sadly. But he was a good sport and sat quietly ringside a lot of the time.

Thanks Ellen for the great photo of Rookie relaxing on me.

Thanks Ellen for the great photo of Rookie relaxing on me.

Juno had a great weekend… no fear of judges at all! She was running pretty fast and was feeling good overall. She finished up her Advanced Performance Dog title with a nice Standard run on Saturday and also got her Advanced Gamblers title that day. On Saturday she ran her first 2 Masters courses- a jumpers and snooker and she took first place and a super Q in a tricky snooker run! On Sunday she was in Masters all day and got another Standard and Jumpers. Surprisingly we normally do best on games but she didn’t get either game on Sunday which was shocking but also nice (I’ll take a Standard Q any day!). We did good on the opening of the snooker but I was in the wrong place in the closing before the teeter and it caused her to refuse it. In the gamble she did great until the last pole of 12 weaves where she popped out to come to me- something we practice a lot and she does solid at class but probably not at a trial with all the stress factors for her- that or maybe I dropped a hand or moved to soon- no video to go back and review. Overall she ran 7 out of 9 runs clean, fearless and all while having fun- which is all I really care about with my little girl!

HappySpring

On Saturday evening we headed down to the Monterey pier with a friend and the dogs and ate clam chowder and sour dough on the pier overlooking the water. While the Manzanita park where the trial was held wasn’t my favorite venue, it wasn’t horrible and being close to the coast was really nice. We camped on Saturday night and when I went to take the dogs and me out to potty before bed, we hopped out of the van and into a cloud! I had my head lamp on and it was seriously like walking in a dream-state down to the bathroom… kind of spooky not being able to see 2 feet in front of me.

Got home last night and Juno was out like a light the rest of the night and I finally practiced nosework with Rookie, something I’d been promising for a few days and felt so bad I was just getting around to it last night at 9pm. He was super stoked though and did great with some hard converging odor hides in our apartment. Sadly we don’t have any more USDAA for a while due to low finances while closing on the new place, and also 2 vacations in the next 2 months. But we do have 2 TDAA trials in the next 2 months and I’m so excited for those- we have a great group of small dog handlers who attend and the weekend is all about fun and no pressure! Off to Vegas this week so will talk to you all when I get home…

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Disabled From Allergies

Posted on April 17, 2013 by

I’ve had to get creative recently since both dogs have been suffering from such bad allergies which doesn’t allow us to go hiking or out and about as much as we’re used to :(
For a few weeks Rookie’s skin allergies where so bad that he was getting tiny scabs all over his waste down. The vet thinks he is very allergic to bug (especially flee) bites and since I did find a few flees on him over the course of a few weeks I had to up his Frontline dosage and start him on some Chinese herbs. The first set of herbs didn’t work after 2 weeks so we tried a different bout and they seem to be working great. I also switched his food which is probably helping a little too- he’s now eating freeze dried Honest Kitchen (Zeal).

Rookie was wearing a cone for a few days. He finally figured out how to remove it- after a struggle it looks like!

Rookie was wearing a cone for a few days. He finally figured out how to remove it- after a struggle it looks like! Can you find the cone?

Just about when Rookie starting feeling better (which made me ecstatic!), Juno began getting some dry skin and has been sneezing and reverse sneezing for about 4 days now. Just today the Zyrtec I’ve been giving her the last 4 days seems to be kicking it- she is sneezing noticeably less. I was starting to get worried she had a fox tail lodged up her nose and was trying not to panic!
With all the wind in the East Bay recently, I think allergies are at their worst. For me and most the people I know it’s been one of the worst years in a long time allergy-wise. I’m trying to stay off the hiking trails so Rookie doesn’t get bites and Juno doesn’t get foxtails and all of us don’t suffer more than we have to. Even at some of the local school fields me or the dogs have come home with a flee or tick on us so I’m really trying to just go on-leash walks for a little while. BORING I must say! I called last weekend my suburban housewife weekend with the pet dogs- me and the dogs walked on the Iron Horse (paved walking) trail each day to a local school (all of which had baseball games going on so we left), park or dog park, walked around town and got frozen yogurt, window shopped, all the while battling through crowds of families everywhere we went! I wanted to be at a dog show or on a long hike so bad! I’ve been having to do my old “wear the dog out any way possible” tricks- very long walks at night (like 2 hours), teaching tricks, body conditioning work, etc. I think by this weekend I’m going to risk it and head to Redwood Regional Park after all 3 of us take allergy medicine in the morning! We could all desperately use the exercise and fresh air.

Juno just waiting for me to do anything with her! She stares at me most days because she's always ready to go!

Juno just waiting for me to do anything with her! She stares at me most days because she’s always ready to go!

Anyone else’s dogs having allergy problems? How are you dealing with it?!

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Calling East Bay Dog Owners- New Agility Class in Concord

Posted on April 15, 2013 by

After a couple years of going back and forth about teaching my own agility class, I’ve decided the time is right so I’m starting a new beginner class in Concord (near the Treat & Cowell intersection) in May. The class is 5:30-6:30 on Monday evenings at Zulu’s Tough Love Agility Camp (Zulu’s TLC Agility whose website is currently down during construction). It’s $120 for a 6 week session. The facility is at a private residence and is artificial soft turf/grass- very nice!

Field

Here’s my bio for people who don’t know me yet:

Maura started agility training with Narae Kim and her rescue Chihuahua mix (Rookie) in 2008. She quickly became obsessed with the sport and rescued a second mutt (Juno) to further the addiction. She now trains and competes in agility with Juno the SuperMutt and Canine Nosework with Rookie. In 2012 Juno earned her Agility Championship, placed in the top three 12” dogs at the UKI US Open, and qualified for USDAA Nationals in 2013. Training these two crazy mutts has taught Maura a lot about patience, working with fearful dogs, and that the more fun and sense of humor you have while training the more you and your dog will accomplish. Maura loves working to help people build strong relationships with their dogs and overcome training obstacles. She believes that any dog that loves being active can have fun and succeed in agility!

Maura has competed in CPE, USDAA, TDAA, UKI and NADAC. She also volunteers her time at USDAA and TDAA trials.

aerialview

Class will begin in May hopefully when the class size is met. I hope to meet you and your dog soon! Please spread the word! Leave a comment if you’d like to sign up and I will email you with the class registration form.

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Look What Was On Our Doorstep When We Got Home Today…

Posted on April 7, 2013 by
Our CATCH plaque came in the mail this weekend!

Our CATCH plaque came in the mail this weekend!

A box was waiting on our door step when we got home today from an agility trail. I opened it to find Juno’s plaque for her CATCH that she earned back in October. So official looking ;) Now we have all the awards in place to make a Juno shrine at home.

Juno's CATCH Awards

Juno’s CATCH Awards

She was so scared in this photo… took me a few minutes to get her close to the that bar and the plaque- pretty terrifying objects ;) Poor girl- I’m so proud of what she’s overcome and can’t wait to see what the future hold for her! She is a smart yet sensitive girl who just wants some love!

 

 

Posted in Dog Agility, Juno | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Dog Agility After 2 Months Off

Posted on April 7, 2013 by

Not like we were trying to take a break, our trial schedule just happened to work out that way. I was very curious to see how June would do after 2 months off, although we’ve been training pretty good a couple times a week. She hadn’t gotten a Standard Q in a few trials and I was pretty much going to be thrilled if she just went out and had fun and didn’t show any fear of the judges.

The mutts and their agility friends!

The mutts and their agility friends!

We headed out to USDAA in Dixon yesterday morning. It was a very cool day but we had a blast with our agility friends, and Juno was SO happy that EEK (her border collie BFF and lover) and Narae (our friend and trainer) was there! She nailed her PII Standard run and even got her PII Pairs Q with a friend from out of town and her speedy little JRT. We were done early and even got a little Nosework practice in with Rookie. We decided to camp up there in the minivan so I could attend the BayTeam meeting last night and relax all evening in the van while the dogs ran around out in the big grassy field.

Keeping warm early this morning in the van

Keeping warm early this morning in the van

This morning we rolled out of bed at 7:30 and was the first dog on the line for Gamblers. I was so asleep still that I felt like we hardly ran yet finished in no time- Juno knowing what she had to do and getting the pretty easy gamble. Her Standard run was next and she ran beautifully- 2 Standards in 1 weekend- score!!!! Snooker was third and I swear someone slipped her some caffeine pills because I haven’t seen her run that fast in a very long time, if ever! I was talking to her on the course because I couldn’t keep up and was so impressed! Jumpers was last and again she soared! She must’ve been feeling so good today- no fear at all, running fast and clean and looking like she was having a blast!!!! She ended up with 7 Q’s out of 9 runs for the weekend and earned her APJ and APK- so we’ll be moving up to PIII in Snooker and Jumpers at SMART USDAA at the end of the month.

We finished by 12:30 today which was nice and it was so windy out that Rookie and I got some great Nosework practice in. I think he does much better in the wind than when it’s still outside- he was finding the hides in record time all the while leaves, trash, and other debris was blowing all around and into us.  After practice we stayed around to wait for the raffle and watched the Starters Jumpers teams run. I still love watching Novice handlers the best- people who are just SO proud and excited coming out of the ring after a good run. That’s something I don’t see as much in the more advanced rings since they are more competitive- these people just want their dog to finish and I love watching the relationships, so new and sweet :)

Rookie checking out the prize I won him in the raffle today- new bath products to help his dry skin- lucky guy ;)

Rookie checking out the prize I won him in the raffle today- new bath products to help his dry skin- lucky guy ;)

Well this concludes our 5th USDAA show ever I believe. While I miss the laid back all-for-fun atmosphere of CPE, I also love a challenge and these courses and rules are giving me and Juno something to really train for each week at class. We have lists of things to work on but overall, as long as she is having fun, I’m ecstatic! I also love watching the awesome handling and crazy competitive people too ;) So looking forward to another trial at the end of the month where I will also be in training learning the score table!

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Happy Spring!

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

Another beautiful Bay Area weekend to celebrate the first weekend of Spring! Me and the mutts got 2 hikes in- the first at Shell Ridge on Friday evening. These Friday evening hikes are becoming a very welcome tradition- something to look forward to after a long work week to kick the weekend off being active outdoors! Usually a nice easy hike followed by an evening of barbequing and wine. This Friday, I took my largest camera lens out with me hiking to try to capture some wildlife photos. Of course like hunting, as soon as you bring the shooting equipment out, you see a small fraction of what you would see if you hadn’t brought it. I got a few cool shots though and enjoyed slowing down on this hike in search of good photo ops.

On Sunday we headed out to Sunol Regional Wilderness to check out the majestic green hills this time of year and Little Yosemite. We ended up hiking 8 miles in about 4 hours, covering a lot of the park and really taking in the stunning vistas. We even found a pond that houses hundreds of turtles! The people who pointed them out to us had counted around 250 lining the shore. I’m not sure we would’ve noticed them if they didn’t point them out since they looked like rocks along the shore. The park’s lower trails were busy with people and families out enjoying the day but the upper trails were more empty as usual. We always end our hikes here at Little Yosemite so we can cool off in the crystal clear cold water. This time last year the falls were quite impressive but this year they were hardly viewable. We still were able to hike around the big rocks and cool off in the water before heading back to the parking lot. When the water level is higher, you see so many people come out and picnic on the rocks, swim, climb, etc. It’s like a little oasis in the middle of the dry rolling hills.

By the time we got home and I bathed the dogs (since they rolled in cow poop and went swimming in cow ponds), the dogs were out for the rest of the night. Silence is music to my ears! I think they are ready for a couple days of leisurely walks and massages :)  

Sunol Regional Wilderness

Pros: miles of trails that you can take a full day to hike, beautiful vistas of the hills/valleys, a lot of parking, bathrooms/poops bags/water stations at trail heads, waterfall at Little Yosemite (seasonal), off leash hiking

Cons: Cost $5 per car and $2 per dog to enter the park, cows/cow poop on some trails, I hear the wildlife is rampant here although I’ve yet to see much but wouldn’t come in the summer/snake months

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