Rottweilers

Finally official! Freya’s TT

July 19, 2009 by kathi

Yesterday we finally received Freya’s certificate from the ATTS temperament test we did back in May. She is now officially Sciroco’s Freya vom Viersen CGC TT!

The Letter of Certification emphasizes that a dog who passes this test is likely of sound temperament, but that the test is not a warranty of sound temperament. This seems sort of obvious, so I wonder if people have attempted to misrepresent the certification as being more than what it is. That would be sad, but not particularly surprising. Sort of like the people who try to claim that their therapy-certified dog (usually not a working therapy dog) are service dogs so they can get them into places that are normally off-limits to dogs, which is so wrong and makes it harder for those with a legitimate need to get their service animals admitted without question.

Finally, a word about the scoring. Responses for each subpart of the test are scored from 0-10, with the desired response being in the Average range of 4-6 where the dog shows either a positive response or a mildly negative response followed by quick recovery.

You can learn more about ATTS and the TT at the ATTS website:
http://www.atts.org/

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 19 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 176 of 274)

What a catch!

July 15, 2009 by kathi

As promised earlier this week, here’s proof that Axe can do more than just chase the frisbee. He actually catches it, too!

Good boy, Axe!

He now has his own frisbee photo gallery. Axe is special like that. Right now, there are a few additional photos in it that haven’t already appeared here. We hope to finally get that “money shot” and a few more action shots, and maybe a video, too, before we’re done.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 15 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 172 of 274)

Not just a pretty show dog

July 12, 2009 by kathi

Axe wants you all to know he is not just a pretty boy. He has x-treme sports skills, too. Well, I don’t know about x-treme, but he is getting much better at catching the frisbee. Unfortunately, I’m not getting any better at remembering to have a camera on me whenever we go outside. Plus, today Axe didn’t bring his “A” game and his catch percentage was on the low side. So we have no pictures of actual catches. These two turned out pretty nice, though. Once again, behold the beauty that is Axe!

Unfortunately, a later shot in the sequence showed the frisbee bouncing off his face. He is not allowing me to post it.

He still has fun with the misses. He chases after them and pounces on them like a cat. Remember, he was raised by Oliver, the kittyweiler.

Hopefully, we’ll soon have some photos of actual frisbee catches.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 12 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 169 of 274)

Rottweiler ramblings

July 10, 2009 by kathi

Freya is having another bout of IBS-related digestive upset. Since her last episode was only a month ago, I’m a little concerned. Her diet hasn’t changed and although we are trying to prepare for a trial on July 25, I didn’t think that we were training hard enough to raise her stress level in any significant way. Mine, yes: maybe she’s picking up on that? I’ve read a lot about the effects of diet and supplements on IBS. I know that stress can worsen IBS, but I don’t really know much about it. Time to do some research.

Axel almost gave me heart failure by escaping the yard to visit another dog. Across the street. Since we live on a busy street, and he is not always great with other dogs, this was a high stress situation indeed. He did not get hit by a car, he and the other dog sniffed each other and did not fight, and he was kind of oblivious to the other dog’s people. Yes, I am thanking God profusely for the non-dramatic outcome.

What bothers me the most, though, is that someone apparently unclipped the front gate sometime between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., which is why Axel was able to get out so easily. This is the front gate to our back yard, which is set back quite a distance from the sidewalk. The meter reader, the UPS delivery person, or our lawn service might leave it unclipped after exiting the back yard. None of them would have been there at that late hour. There is pretty much no reason for anyone uninvited to be near that gate in the evening.

There are a number of jagoffs in the neighborhood, but I hope this was just a one-time thing with some kid messing around. I don’t want to think that someone nearby is that big of a jagoff to purposely unclip our gate to create a potential problem. I really don’t want to have to put a padlock on the gate, and inconvenience ourselves, the meter reader and the lawn service guys just because of the existence of jagoffs.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 10 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 167 of 274)

A small Freya training update

July 8, 2009 by kathi

One of my business partners is on vacation this week, so it isn’t the ideal situation to fit in classes, drop-in training, or fun matches. Plus there is always the dilemma that several of the clubs who normally do once- or twice-a-month fun matches don’t do them during the summer, not to mention the rain that has been ever-present so far this summer.

That does not mean we have done nothing, just that we haven’t gotten away from the house to do it. Not a great situation, but there is still time before the trial to get out and about and fix that. Speaking of the trial, we received e-mail confirmation on Tuesday, so we’re definitely committed!

I think I’m the stupid half of the team. Freya knows all of the exercises fairly well. I’m the one who is probably going to screw up by misreading a sign or worse yet, tripping over it. During some dead time at work (which there is far too much of this summer, but that’s another subject entirely and one that far too many people are facing at their own workplaces) I printed out a set of the UKC signs and rules to familiarize myself with them.

Monday’s weather allowed us to work outside, but my Flip Mino was missing in action, so no video is available (it has since been found, not stolen or lost, much to my relief). Not so for Tuesday or Wednesday. Here is my lame setup for working indoors:

I taped a few signs for exercises that can be done in a small space to the fridge, door frames and a couple of taller furniture items. Hey, it is better than not practicing, or practicing in the rain. Oh, yes. I did train in Schutzhund forever ago, and yes, we did train in inclement weather. I suppose I should still do that, but I’m older, tired and don’t feel like getting wet.

That’s where we are for the moment!

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 8 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 165 of 274)