This last year was our first year competing in DockDogs with a “thinking” dog.  We started off the season with a three foot even jump.  We have been practicing all summer with decreasing the hesitation at the end of the dock before she jumps into the pool. I had been trying anything that was suggested to us to try and stop this pause at the end of the dock, and now at the end of the season I was rewarded with these great jumps.  In September we attended an event in Blue Springs, MO and she did GREAT!!! She jumped her personal best of 14ft 9 inches, with no hesitation at the end of the dock.  I thought that we had figured it out and just in time for Nationals.  I was so excited for this opportunity to compete in Ohio.  We get there and it is just above freezing and drizzling, Deke jumped a twelve foot jump on the first day.  I was relived thinking that the hesitation was still fixed, and then on Saturday and Sunday the hesitation was back.  I thought maybe the water was too cold or she just did not want to jump in the water.

 This fall we had a great opportunity to take Deke hunting, starting the Monday after Nationals .This dog was going non stop into freezing water to bring in the ducks up until the season stopped in December, so I have a hard time believing that the water was to cold at nationals.  Maybe she just wanted to lie around the motel room and watch animal planet??  They started having problems with her breaking as soon as the guns were fired, and did not have anyone to hold her in check as the gunmen were shooting, so I decide to go out for myself and just see if I can get this problem “fixed”. I get all my waterfowl gear on and went out with my Dad to this little pond that was just loaded with hundreds of wood ducks, teal and a few geese, to see just what “problem” Deke, the always thinking dog, was having.  Ten minutes until the end of shooting hours and the ducks start coming in to sleep on the pond.  I was able to get a hold of Deke’s collar just as they were starting to come in and then she saw them!  What happened next should have been in the story of Marley and Me.  After the third duck hit the water she could not take it any longer. She lunged so hard for the ducks,that she pulled me over on to my belly and was dragging me, and all of my gear weighing in at 200+lbs. With both hands on her collar she pulled me at least five feet through cattails before I was able to get her stopped!  I am now looking at this dog that has missed her first two hunting seasons to let her legs heal from having her ACLs fixed in disbelief that she just pulled me off my feet and on to my belly through the cattails! She has all of this drive to get the ducks weather you shoot them first or not, and I can only get her to jump into the pool only after begging her to get her toy.  How do I find the key element that will get that drive for the ducks to be transferred to jumping off the dock?  Now as we are starting a new season, I will take my “thinking” dog and try to out smart her to get that drive and determination on the dock that she has in the field. Maybe if we don’t get this done we will just have to change her name to “Sudoku”, since that is the only other thing that makes me use my brain this much and I still enjoy it as much as I enjoy spending time with Deke.

–Tamara Alexander

01/24/10 – How we got started

I was actually looking for an agility class for my 2 year old West Highland Terrier, Arden. We needed something to do to get us out of the house and help keep her lively mind and robust energy focused and under control. I saw an ad for Agility Training and made the phone call. Well the class was full but Sue Barnes of MyTDog had a Dock Dogs Training class coming up and invited us to join.

I had never heard of DockDogs before and even though I had a terrier whose instincts are to go underground after vermin, Sue made it sound so fun and interesting and said all sizes and breeds of dogs could participate. My husband on the other hand thought we were crazy…… “A Westie is an Earthdog and you think you are going to get her to swim in water after a toy?”  lol

Well we had nothing going on that day and Sue’s enthusiasm of the sport tweaked my interest. As far as Arden is concerned………… as long as she is doing something and with me; she is all for an adventure. So we got our list of stuff we needed: lawn chair, plenty of water for us, sunscreen, a floatable toy, towel and lunch.

So off we went to Gray’s Lake on a beautiful summer  day on our adventure with the sport of “Dock Dogs”  ………………..

–Leesa Sample

Check back for the continuing story on Leesa and Arden’s journey……you DON’t want to miss this!

Starting today, I will be posting blogs by some of our members.  Some of these blogs will be a whole story and some may be a continuing episode that you will have to check back to keep up with! 

I am very excited for our Team MYTDOG and club members to share the stories ….some will tell you about their journey’s to get that first launch off the dock, others may share about their successes and some about their challenges, others about the bond they’ve found with their canine partner and others about some of the fun and friedns they have found through the sport.  Regardless of which story they tell, I’m sure you will find them entertaining, heartwarming and a way for you to find your favorite dogs and handler to cheer on as they enter the 2010 season with the hopes of being the best they can be!

Please enjoy and feel free to leave your comments.  We all love it when we can relate to those that love dogs like we do and I think it will great that we can share our TEAM in a more personal way with all of you!

So……on to our first entry—-to be posted in minutes:  Leesa Sample and Arden, the Westie “How We got started!!

I want to thank Roberta for forwarding this to me……it moved me so much I had to share it!  This BETTER BE heaven……..

At MYTDOG, most clients opt for our UNLIMITED PROGRAM and want to train their dogs themselves….. and why wouldn’t you?  Does it really work if you send your dog away to be trained?  WIll they listen to their owners if a trainer has done all the training? These are all questions that people ask and the answer is YES…..because we make sure we don’t just train the dog, we train YOU TOO!  This program allows us to train the dog so that they are skilled and proficient when they come home to you and then all we have to do is teach YOU!  You will have a well behaved dog that has spent 10-14 days in our home learning to be a mannerly family member with people, and other dogs and has also experienced public training at pet stores and in the MYTDOG Group!  But don’t take my word for it, this is what one of our recent Fast Track dogs’ owners had to say:

We sent our 8 month old wild misbehaved yellow lab Hoss to Sue for the fast board and train. Hoss was a running jumping and non stop biting on our clothes, hands, and ankles kind of puppy. We had used another trainer and it was a disaster. We gave up trying to walk him on a leash because first of all it was a battle to get the leash on and then it was liking trying to walk a charging bull. Sue had him for 2 weeks and I was nervous when he came home not wanting Sue to leave thinking he will go back to his ways. It was unbelievable!! For the first time he listened to us and would heel, sit and go to his place. He’s been home 2 weeks and it has been the best 2 weeks ever. Sue has been here to check up on Hoss and us and helped us polish a few things. Her commitment to Hoss and us is so awesome. She really bonded with Hoss and we also feel so comfortable with her. Sue has made our home a peaceful place again and we can never thank her enough. Her training has done wonders with Hoss and we have a fun loving puppy that we can enjoy. Thanks Sue, Kyle, Janet, and Hoss

Hoss’ brother, Moose, has also been with us for the FAST TRACK and it will be fun to see how these litter mates progress…..I’m sure there will be a little competition between their owners to see who’s dog can graduate with them first! 

Call us to find out more about this program!!! Remember: we only take one dog at a time so call now to reserve your dogs FAST TRACK session!