Axel

New neighbors, Axel’s frisbee, Freya’s rally-o

July 5, 2009 by kathi

Since I’ve complained often enough about jagoffs in the neighborhood, it might be a surprise to hear that we consider our latest new neighbors a welcome addition. They are welcome indeed, since they are not jagoff humans. They are pretty birds, and in fact, our Illinois state bird.

photo credit: MsPixie

A pair of cardinals has built a nest in the neighbor’s rose bush. It sits up against our fence, and the nest is only about five feet off the ground. Last year, a pair of cardinals abandoned a partially-built nest in that bush. We blamed Axel, because he was always up on his hind legs, paws up on the fence, peering into the bush.

Hopefully, he won’t scare away this pair. We’ve seen the female sitting in the nest, so we’re trying to keep Axel’s attention away from the bush and the birds. I haven’t tried to get any photos yet, and if I do, it will be with a long lens and no flash. I don’t want to be the one to scare them away this year! (Those are not “our” birds in the photo above; I’m sure most of you figured that out from the credit line though.)

Speaking of Axel, he caught the frisbee twice today. Good boy, Axe! Rottweilers are not good candidates for frisbee dogs, and it’s a bad idea to throw the frisbee the same way you would for a border collie. But a low, straight throw is Rottweiler-safe, and he still looked cool hopping up just a little bit to pluck the frisbee out of the air just slightly above his head level.

I mentioned Freya’s upcoming rally obedience trial yesterday, and the need to get a training routine in order. Today’s task was to familiarize myself with UKC rules, since we’ve been practicing using AKC rules and signs so far. I’ve identified two exercises which are used in UKC Rally Obedience 1 that we’ve not practiced yet, as they are not part of AKC Rally Novice. One is Halt and Stand, and the other is Halt-90° Pivot Right-Halt. So we practiced those two exercises indoors today. If you know of any other exercises that differ between AKC and UKC, please let me know!

I didn’t want to train outside today, although it was a nice day. As I also mentioned yesterday, I expected the neighborhood jagoffs to finish off their fireworks today, and they did. I suppose I could have used it as an exercise in working through distractions, but I really don’t think we’re going to have to deal with fireworks or gunfire in a trial situation. At least I hope we won’t, or else I’m finding a safer sport.

Weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow, and after tonight I expect the jagoffs to be out of fireworks, so I’ll set up a practice course in the yard.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 5 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 162 of 274)

Disruption in the routine

July 4, 2009 by kathi

The July 2009 NaBloPoMo theme is “routine”

The new target date for Freya’s first Rally Obedience trial is now set in stone. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but I did mail in our entry last week for a UKC trial on July 25. So I definitely need to take a little time tomorrow to set up a training routine for the next three weeks. I’ll be trying to fit in any available run-throughs, fun matches, and drop-in classes. With the freakish weather that we’ve had lately, I also want to have both an outdoor plan and an indoor plan each day for home practice sessions. There’s not much space to practice in the house, but there are still a number of exercises that don’t need much space to practice: call front and finish, 270° and 360° left and right turns, spirals, sits, and downs.

I was going to start today, but the Fourth of July caused a huge disruption in our routine. I complained the other day about jagoffs who insisted on starting the holiday fireworks days ahead of time. I am not un-American, and I usually do not get overly bent out of shape about noisy celebrations until midnight or later. But my normally quiet neighborhood sounds like a war zone tonight. People are blowing off fireworks that are loud enough to set off car alarms, which they have, a half dozen times since nightfall. I’ve heard quarter-stick and maybe even half-stick sized “booms” tonight. Nothing that loud is legal in Chicago.

It’s almost midnight and there are still fireworks going off. The air is still thick with smoke. I am asthmatic, although it barely bothers me these days: except on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. I really don’t want to go out there and breathe that stuff, and I wouldn’t, except that the dogs have to go out before bedtime. I don’t really want them breathing that stuff either, but they definitely need a potty break. Neither of the dogs is actively fearful of fireworks, but Axel feels he needs to protect me from whoever is shooting at us. That gets a little stressful for both of us.

Needless to say, the early evening hours when we would normally train outside were not particularly conducive to learning or practicing today. I really hope the neighborhood jagoffs have used up all of their fireworks. Since it’s still the weekend, I’m concerned that their inconsiderate jagoff selves will choose to continue blowing off fireworks for one more day. None of them seems to have blown off a finger or set their own garages on fire, so karma hasn’t come around yet either.

I’m doing something I never do, and am hoping for rain and lots of it. I didn’t get my wish tonight, and it’s not looking good for tomorrow.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 4 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 161 of 274)

Gratuitous dog promotion

June 29, 2009 by kathi

Maybe even slightly pointless dog promotion, because Axe is currently on “summer vacation” and won’t be back strutting his stuff and playing the showdog game until fall. So I will be promoting him again right before he goes out on the road.

For now, though, I am still going to make you look at my wonderful dog’s latest advertisement which will be running in Issue 2 of The Total Rottweiler Magazine, due out sometime in July. Behold the beauty that is Axe!

click image for full-sized PDF version

I said last week that I would have more to say on show dogs and handlers, after the awful incident in which seven show dogs died due to what I would consider criminally negligent actions on the part of their handler.

Axel’s handler, Julia Foster, is a total professional. Axel adores her and thinks she is family, not “just” someone who is paid to show him (please do not let him read this and spoil his illusions). I trust her with not only his career, but his life. I could not imagine her ever putting client dogs in an awful situation like the one we talked about last week.

I would love to be able to show my own dog, but this is not an area in which I have any talent or skills. I have almost tripped over my own dog in the obedience ring. God knows what would happen in the conformation ring where I’d have to actually run with a dog. Competition in Rottweilers is serious enough that even a good and deserving dog won’t win with a clueless person like myself on the other end of the lead.

So in the fall, Axel will be heading back out to the shows with Julia, and hopefully he will come back quickly as an American champion. Yes, it was a big decision to send him out with a handler, and yes, I still believe it is the right one for us.

(NaBloPoMo | June ’09: 29 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 156 of 274)

I wonder if I need a smaller dog

June 16, 2009 by kathi

I was looking at the video I made on Sunday to help set up future videos of obedience practice sessions in the yard. I made a short clip of Axel so he wouldn’t be jealous that Freya’s clip was featured in Sunday’s post. Okay, not really. It was so I could figure out how to set up a video album in Gallery 2. The file size of Freya’s video was a little too large, so I had to make a smaller one.

Anyway, as I watched the clip, it struck me.

Do I need a smaller dog? Is my dog that big, or am I really that short? Or does the camera just make him look bigger, and me look fatter?

Once again, try to overlook the sloppy leash handling. We were really just working on the camcorder settings for the “real” videos that will be coming soon. If it ever stops raining, that is. Yes, sad to say that the rain has come back after two short days of sunshine. It’s supposed to be around on and off all week. We’re going to rust instead of tan this summer.

Oh. I don’t really want a smaller dog. With only a very short break, there has always been a large male Rottweiler here since 1994. The house would seem very empty without one taking up that space.

(NaBloPoMo | June ‘09: 16 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 143 of 274)

Rottweilers under the weather

June 12, 2009 by kathi

Computer and blogging posts have filled up most of the last couple of weeks. The Rottweilers have not gone anywhere, but are wondering why I’m preoccupied with technology instead of their fascinating lives.

They (and I) finally got a sunny day to enjoy today, and sadly, they are both a bit under the weather. How ironic is that?

Freya has a mild case of IBS, and today was a day for one of her infrequent bouts with stomach upset and diarrhea. The warm temperature (which sadly none of us have become acclimated to yet, because we have barely had any warm days) and a bit of overenthusiastic activity might have contributed. She wasn’t too happy about skipping dinner, but it’s the best thing to do right now to help her feel better, along with three to five days of metronidazole.

I’m also feeling like a bad dog mom because her right ear was very gunky and I’m just hoping it’s not also infected. All four dog ears on the premises got a good cleaning and drying, and we’ll see tomorrow whether a vet visit might be needed.

I’m wondering if Axel has some undiagnosed plant allergies. He was sneezing quite a bit and his eyes were a little goopy. Oscar used to have summer allergies with runny eyes and loss of eyelid hair, but no problems in the winter, and I wonder if this is what’s going on with Axel. He really can’t afford to lose eyelid hair before he goes out again to be shown so hopefully it doesn’t get as bad Oscar’s allergies were.

I hope my sweet puppies are feeling better tomorrow after a good night’s rest.

(NaBloPoMo | June ‘09: 12 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 139 of 274)