Freya

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)

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)

Finally FURminating!

July 3, 2009 by kathi

I know I’m very late to the party on this one, but I finally have a FURminator de-shedding tool. I wish I hadn’t waited so long, as it is really the perfect grooming aid for the lovely Freya and her Undercoat of Doom. The model I got is one of the new ones, the FURjector, which has a push button to eject the fur from the blade. It comes in only one size, 2.65″ wide, which corresponds with the original medium size, for medium and large dogs.

When we were researching dog breeds, one of the big huge lies that we were told was that Rottweilers do not shed very much. Did I mention this was a big huge lie? Apparently “very much” is measured differently on whatever planet that Rottweiler owner was from. I’m glad I don’t remember who it was that told me that big huge lie.

Rottweilers have many endearing qualities, so the shedding was not a deal-breaker. Our grooming tool of choice up until now has been a traditional shedding blade, which is a pretty effective tool that is quite inexpensive. This one has survived all six Rottweilers to date.

Some of our Rottweilers have had very little undercoat. Axel really doesn’t have much. Freya is another story. Her Undercoat of Doom is probably the source of most of the dog hair that buries itself into the carpet and upholstery. We used the shedding blade on both dogs the day before the FURminator arrived. The FURminator removed quite a bit of additional undercoat and dead hair from Axel. But we couldn’t believe how much more it got off Freya. And remember, this is after using the shedding blade!

An additional bonus is that it didn’t cost any real dollars. Though I was hugely disappointed that ThankYou Rewards no longer offers Amazon gift certificates as a redemption choice, they do offer rather a wide range of pet-related products, and the FURminator was one of them.

A definite “four paws up” for the FURminator. Next time maybe we’ll follow the trend a bit sooner.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 3 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 160 of 274)