It turns out I was overthinking the Stop and Down. I reread the exercise description:
While moving with the dog in heel position, the handler commands and/or signals the dog to down as the handler comes to a stop next to the dog. Once the dog is completely down, the handler moves forward, commanding the dog to move forward from down position. (from the AKC Rally Regulations)
One main point is that the dog cannot sit before the down, so the timing of the “down” command is pretty important. It has to come just before the handler actually stops, since most obedience trained dogs will automatically sit when the handler stops. Axel doesn’t really have an automatic sit at the moment, since he’s been shown mostly in conformation and has been taught to stand and hopefully stack handsomely when stopping. For the purposes of this exercise, it sort of helps that he doesn’t sit automatically
He does know down in motion (my delusions about one day returning to Schutzhund have actually been quite useful for Rally), so it became a matter of timing the “down” command and timing a smooth stop on my part. Going straight back into heeling from the down wasn’t a problem either so I think we’re good on this exercise.
I have to make sure Axel is still bilingual and practice with English commands this week. I usually train and trial using German commands. Yes, again partly due to the Schutzhund delusions. But my original reason for switching to German commands for training is because it’s so nice to have both casual and strict commands. So if I tell a dog “down” in the house, I don’t really care if he takes a little while to get comfortable or if he lies down next to me or in the other room, or if he gets up and lies down again somewhere else. “Platz” on the other hand means drop like a rock on my command and don’t move at all till I tell you to.
Just a week to go, I’m going to miss my big obnoxious puppy!
(NaBloPoMo | October ’09: 18 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 240 of 274)
Today was the last class of Freya’s current group obedience class session. Much of the class was devoted to our final exams, where we each ran through a series of exercises similar to a Novice obedience routine, and received an oral critique from our instructor afterwards. The best-performing Intermediate dog and the best-performing Advanced dog each get small trophies.
Today the best-performing Advanced dog was Freya! It was nice to have the star student at the other end of the leash. I’m more accustomed to my canine teammates being class clown or junior gang banger, although they all come around eventually.
Freya always spends a good part of the afternoon napping after we return home from class. Thinking apparently wears her out.
I took the opportunity to work with Axel on the AKC Rally Novice exercises he hasn’t learned yet. The Call Front-1, 2, 3 Steps Backward actually went very well. He caught on right away to what he was supposed to do. Stop and Down didn’t go quite as easily, so I stopped before he… make that I… really screwed something up and we’ll work on that tomorrow.
(NaBloPoMo | October ’09: 17 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 239 of 274)
I was not going to bother to write about Balloon Boy because everyone else already has.
But there is something that truly bothers me about this, and all fabricated (yes, I said fabricated, as in made-up crap) and self-inflicted “emergencies.” Why should we-the-taxpayers have to bear any of the sometimes considerable costs of deploying law enforcement, search and rescue, and emergency medical teams on this type of wild goose chase?
I understand that the cavalry has to be called out, and that these incidents have to be treated as actual emergencies until proven otherwise. I believe that once they are proven to be garbage, that the instigators need to pay for the services they abused. Not us.
Also. What happens if a rescuer is injured or killed in the process of “rescuing” one of these faker jagoffs? Obviously, as the spouse of someone employed in emergency services, my mind goes straight to that awful possibility. My husband, and everyone who signs on for that type of career, whether paid or volunteer, is well aware of the risks. But if a rescuer and their family has to pay the ultimate price on behalf of a faker jagoff, how can anything ever make up for that?
(NaBloPoMo | October ’09: 16 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 238 of 274)
You might remember that we started out training for rally obedience with Freya doing the AKC novice exercises. We switched over to UKC in late spring since there were going to be UKC trials during the summer and fall. When Axel’s conformation handler offered to do his Rally Novice title as well, I started running Axel through the practice courses I’d set up for Freya.
Before Freya’s trial, I posted about the exercises in UKC Rally Obedience 1 that are not used in AKC Rally Novice. Because I am so smart and organized, I neglected to check on the AKC Rally Novice exercises that Axel hasn’t learned or practiced from Freya’s UKC courses. Much to my horror, there are five of them. FIVE.
Okay, breathe. Breathe!
Halt, 1-2 and 3 Steps Forward: This one shouldn’t be a problem since we’ve done it in general heeling practice since beginner classes.
Call Front, 1-2 and 3 Steps Backward: This one we will need to work on for the first time. Yikes!
Stop and Down: Dog downs as I stop? So it’s not a down, it’s not quite a moving down… again, yikes!
Halt, Fast Forward from Sit: Should not be a problem since Axel likes to move fast. Unless of course he moves too fast!
Left About Turn: As in a Schutzhund-style about turn. Since I constantly labor under the delusion that one day I will go back to training in Schutzhund, all my dogs have learned this early on. Whew!
Okay, maybe this isn’t the major crisis I thought it was after all! Now if it would just stop raining…
(NaBloPoMo | October ’09: 15 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 237 of 274)
As Axel’s departure date gets closer and the days get shorter, I don’t always have the chance to set up our practice rally courses in the yard, especially when the weather does not cooperate. So I am just trying to fit in little bits of practice wherever I can throughout our normal day.
Here’s the back sidewalk between the house and the garage:
Not very long as the entire lot from street to alley is only 125 feet long, but a few trips back and forth after each potty break time will allow us to practice heeling at all paces, 1-2-3 steps forward and backwards, all three types of about turns, and 360° turns.
The kitchen is small even after chasing the cat into the living room or dining room:
Small as it is, there is still ample room to practice all varieties and combinations of sits, downs, and finishes. Since the dogs are fed in the kitchen, it is a location where they are even more motivated than usual to do what I ask them to.
It all adds up, right?
(NaBloPoMo | October ’09: 14 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 236 of 274)
I think everything is back to normal and my posts for this week should now all be visible and up to date. Now to check on my feed reader and comments… I’m not ignoring you, promise!
I am one of four owners of a small prepress production company. I started out in graphic arts and prepress production as a typographer shortly after I dropped out of journalism school in the late ’70s. I’ve always lived in a city with at least two daily newspapers. Even my high school newspaper was a daily during my years there (one of only five in the country then, and I’m not sure when it became a weekly). So obviously, the news that an impending buyout/rescue of the Sun-Times Media Group is being stalled by six members of the Chicago Typographical Union Local #16 is of great interest to me.
I was never a member of the typographers union. When I joined that sector of the workforce, hot metal type was well on its way out. My only exposure to hot type and hand-set type was in school. All of my work experience was with computerized cold type. There was a fair amount of resentment about the change itself, some of which was also directed towards those who were not around during the days of hot metal. People like me, who were young, female, or worse, both.
I am not really anti-union. My family members have been part of the construction trades union, teachers union, and firefighters union, and I can think of a lot more positives than negatives that came out of their union memberships. I respect what the typographers union did to gain better working conditions for its members in its early years, the longevity of the union, and its strength through most of its lifetime. It was just not a good fit for me in 1979.
Honestly I was surprised to see that there were as many as six union typographers still employed at the Sun-Times. I had assumed that all production had long since passed into the hands of editorial, advertising, and graphic design departments armed with their trusty Macs. I am amazed to recall that the union was once powerful enough, and it was, to demand lifetime job guarantees for its members. While I do understand some of the hateful comments being directed at the holdouts, I also have to ask: isn’t a union supposed to protect its members and help them keep what they fought for? And maybe this shouldn’t make a difference, but the annual salaries of $45,000 they are fighting to keep is regular-people money. Not financial institution bailout money, not automaker bailout money, but regular-people money measured in thousands not billions. Maybe less than you… or I… make.
(NaBloPoMo | October ’09: 13 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 235 of 274)
