Rigby at Nine Months Old

It's been almost a month since I last updated Rigby's blog.  From April through September, while I'm working for the Pittsburgh Pirates, my work schedule is rather erratic and so most of our training takes place at home in the mornings and we aren't out and about as much to have adventures that are worthy of posting.

I don't want to totally pass by Rigby's 9-month birthday, though, and with the aid of some photos taken the week she turned 9-months old this post will memorialize this next phase of her young life.

Rigby's official 9-month birthday photo.
Taken by Barb Blanchfield

At nine months Rigby is a wonderful pup.  I look back on the Weim foster pups that I've had at 4 months, 7 months and 9 months old and it just astounds me even more that anyone can part with their dog at those young ages.  She is not perfect, far from it, but she is a well behaved young lady and a joy to have around the house. 

Rocky and Rigby continue to play together very well.  Their latest game has become a game of take away involving Nylabones.  Whatever bone Rigby is chewing becomes the one Rocky wants and, vice versa, the bone that Rocky has becomes the envy of Rigby.  It amazes us to watch their antics as each one works to find ways to outwit the other and steal their bone.  Rocky will resort to just very gently taking a bone right out of Rigby's mouth, but, of course, Rigby will sit on the couch and tease him with her bone, dangling it out of her mouth, holding it at the very end of it.

Last night Rigby discovered fireflies and was mesmerized by the sight of them and jumping in the air trying to catch one.  She is always watching for rabbits on our walks and would love to catch one.

Tonight there were four children, ages 7 to 12, waiting outside when I took Rigby out for a potty break and she was pretty well behaved meeting the kids, not jumping up and very little mouthing.  They thought she was just great and enjoyed petting her.  Of course, Rocky had already charmed the kids with his kisses and tail wags and warmed them up for Rigby.

Rigby accompanied me to the Westmoreland County Obedience Training Club's Friday obedience and rally trials where I was serving as the trial secretary earlier this month.  While there we were lucky enough to have a short photo session with Barbara Blanchfield and the resulting photos are precious, sweet and funny.  Rigby was quite well behaved and cooperated fully, although she did seem to get just a bit bored with the whole process.

Rigby did not try hard to hide her
feelings of boredom with the photo shoot.
Photo by Barb Blanchfield

This is a typical Rigby pose, giving that
  "what do you mean by that look."
 Compare it to the photo below from
 when she was about 3 months old,
rather similar!
Photo by Barb Blanchfield

One of Rigby's Christmas photos.
Photo by Barb Blanchfield

Another reason for the photo session with Barb was to obtain photos for an emergency I.D. tag for Rigby.  This tag will be attached to Rigby's crate in our car and if there would be an accident or something would happen to me it contains important information to ensure that Rigby will find her way to safety.

These emergency I.D. tags were sold by WCOTC
at their obedience and rally trials this month.

Photos and important information in case
 of an accident or medical emergency.

The photos and information are printed on card stock and it is inserted into a protective, plastic envelope that can be attached to a crate.  Very good precaution to take for those unexpected and unwanted situations.

And, yes, for these photos I asked Barb to make sure that all of Rigby's white markings were visible, as they are unique to my girl and could be a great way to identify her if she were missing.

Catching Up a Bit

I haven't posted for a while about Rigby and her exploits, so in order to bring the blog up to date this posting will be a mix of subjects, stories and photos.

As Rigby continues to grow and mature into a lovely young dog she is going through some mischievous times and her curiosity leads her to many new adventures.

BURIED TREASURE

The couch in our living room is a sectional that curves along a corner of the living room, creating a bit of an open space where we have a lamp placed.  Since Rigby's arrival, that space containing the lamp has also become a storage area for our throw pillows, keeping them safe from puppy teeth.

Recently Rigby has become more interested in the open space and she takes her toys to that area of the couch and holds them there while gazing into the void.  Now it seems that she thinks it's a hiding space for her treasures and, when we can't find one of her toys, that is the first place we look.

The other morning, as I was preparing to take Rigby for a walk, I could only find one of my tennis shoes sitting by the couch where I had left both of them.  I searched high and low, room to room looking for my other shoe, not understanding how one shoe would be where I expected, but the other one totally gone.  Then it hit me, Rigby must have taken my shoe.  Sure enough, when I looked behind the couch, there was my shoe in her special hiding place!

CRATE GAMES

Rigby's favorite crate game is not one you'll see on any video for training dogs to love their crate, it's one she has developed and perfected on her own.  She loves to take her Nylabones and stick them through the openings in her wire crate and drop them on the floor.  Now, as you might imagine, this takes a bit of skill to get the bone positioned in her mouth just right so that she will have the correct angle to line the bone up with the openings in the crate, then to push it far enough through until it falls out of the crate.  Sometimes she will even use her paws to get the bone into the desired position.  

She knows that when Rocky hears the bone drop he'll come to get it and go chew on it.  Then she protests loudly, crying and barking, until Dan or I fetch the bone from Rocky's mouth and return it to the crate.  Because she has several bones in her crate, at times there will be two bones laying on the floor near her crate that she has pushed through the bars. 

IN THE PINK

Rigby loves pens and so we try to keep all writing utensils out of her reach at all times.  The other night, though, I fell asleep on the couch with a red marking pen in my hand.  It must have fallen onto the couch where Rigby was chewing a toy beside me.  I woke up to the voice of my husband telling Rigby, No, and him trying to wrest the pen from Rigby as she was totally destroying it.  There was red ink on a couple of the throws we had on our couch as well as Rigby's legs and her chest.  She did a pretty good dye job on herself, but we're just pleased that no ink got on the couch.

Aww, don't tell everyone what I did!

You can see the pink on the white spot on her chest!

Rigby Red Legs -- she might start her own baseball team!

This shows the ink on her chest and her legs.

These stories show just a bit of Rigby's personality, the crazy puppy side.  For the most part Rigby is maturing into a well-behaved family dog, who listens pretty well.  She has been accompanying me to many different places and meeting people along the way.  Her manners are improving nicely and it's seldom that she attempts to jump on people.  Her mouthing has gotten to a minimum and usually only happens when unknowing people dangle their hands above her head as though they are toys to play with.  Her play time with Rocky has taught her to enjoy other dogs and she is always friendly and happy to meet new friends.

A PUPPY CELEBRATION!

One of Rigby's sisters, Roxy, (formerly known as Miss Yellow) had a big day with her family earlier this spring as she reached an important milestone in a puppy's life -- at least a Jewish puppy's life -- when she celebrated her Bark Mitzvah!  Here are some photos from the celebration, as well as some family photos.

Roxy at the synagogue.

Roxy and her family.

Aunt Danielle got in the photo, too!

The perfect pose -- Roxy is ready to follow in her
mom's footsteps for a modeling career!

Roxy on the day of her Bark Mitzvah!

Frankie, The First Dog in my Heart

Frankie should be known as The First Dog because he brought so many firsts into my life.
He was my first Weimaraner.
He was my first rescue dog.
He was my first obedience dog.
He was my first rally dog.
He was my first agility dog.
He was the first dog I took to the Weimaraner Club of America's Specialty week.  (I dubbed him National Frankie during that time)

It was because of Frankie that I learned that obedience training clubs existed.  He was a dog who was very smart and needed a job and I'm glad we found so many fun things to keep him occupied.

If you know me because of anything to do with dogs it is because of Frankie that we met -- and that's a lot of my friends and acquaintances!

Frankie came to us at almost 4 years old.  We were at least his 3rd home.  He had fear aggression and a fear of men.  He was a beautiful dog, but a poor example of a properly bred Weim.  He only had one coat and was nearly naked on his belly area.  He came with a blanket that we always called Frankie's blankie and when he left this world he was resting on that blanket.

Frankie was retired early from agility because of health issues and just because although he loved to go to shows and activities, he just got too nervous and it was very hard on him.  He came with a lot of baggage, but he learned to love and he loved so many people.  If he met you once he remembered you and would greet you enthusiastically.

The home where Frankie lived before he came to us was just not suited to a Weim and the people did not understand Frankie.  We were told he was constantly told, Bad, dog. Bad, Frankie.  I made sure, as he was slipping away, that I told him repeatedly what a good dog he was.

Frankie and I didn't take the show world by storm, we didn't impress anyone with our less than stellar performances, but we had fun together and I learned so much from him.

I'm going to miss this dog so very much, he was always by my side when I was home.  He slept next to my bed every night and every morning at 3:00 (almost on the dot) he woke me up to slip into bed with me under the covers.  Frankie was always happy to see me, always there when I needed him.

If you were lucky enough to have met Frankie you were very, very lucky.  I feel so fortunate to have had him for a companion for the years he was with us.

His full name was --
Frankie Blue CD RE NAJ CGC

Rest in Peace, Frankie        

                        1/20/2000 to 5/2/2013

Saturday in the Park... with Rigby!

Saturdays are our tracking days and we spend the mornings at Mingo Creek County Park in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania with our tracking friends!

It's been a while since I posted some videos of Rigby tracking, so here we go.  The one video is quite long, so if you're going to skip one, skip that one -- I'll post it last. 

The first video shows no tracking, it just shows how excited Rigby gets waiting to track.  In this video she is watching Ellen, a/k/a The Hot Dog Lady, lay her first track of the day.  She really is enthusiastic about tracking, to say the least.

This next video is her first track of the day today.  This is the first time Rigby saw two flags on her track. In a Tracking Test event there are two flags present, the start flag, where the tracklayer leaves a scented article, and the flag 30 yards away that gives the handler the direction of the first leg of the track.  Rigby did not seem phased by the second flag at all.

Rigby's third track of the day was shorter than the other two and went in a downhill direction.  She had finally settled in by this point and did a nice job on this track.  Today we also decided that at the end of each track I will sit down and play with Rigby to make the interaction at the end of the track more personal.  This seems to be a pleasant way to enjoy tracking with my pup!

The last video for today is of Rigby's 2nd track.  This was a long track, 100 yards long.  With the wind and the track laid across a hill Rigby had some problems at first and kept going uphill instead of staying straight on the track.  Once she figured out the scenting patterns she settled in and did well.  If you're not going to watch this whole video (and I don't blame you) at least watch the end and the fun play we have together.  To me that's the best part of this video and the best part of the day!

Special thanks to Rich Seibert for filming today's tracks.  It's not easy to walk in a hilly, rutted, grassy field and hold the camera steady and keep everyone in focus, et cetera, and Rich did a great job!!

A Walk In The Park With Rigby

 It was such a beautiful day for a walk, so Rigby and I headed out to Washington Park to hit the wooded trail.

I decided to take the camera along and record some of the things we saw along the way, as well as get some new photos of Rigby, who is growing into a very lovely young dog.

My view of Rigby during most of our walks.

There are a few areas of the park that have log cabins.
This area looks like a little settlement.

Rigby liked the split rail fence...

...I just didn't expect her to leap over it!

I think she enjoys these afternoons jaunts.

Heading down the trail.

Afternoons are quiet and we don't see too many people on the trails.

Rigby gets to stroll out ahead when the trails are empty.

A look at the trail.

Heading toward the next trail.

I took a few photos of things we saw in the park today as we walked along.

Of course there were many spring plants...

...and flowers.

Washington Park is the home of the Pony League Baseball World Series and there are many ball fields all throughout the park.  Today there was a girls' fast-pitch softball game taking place in one of the fields.

A boy and his 3-month-old puppy, Chloe.

Two guys throwing a Frisbee.  Rigby was enthralled watching them
and then when the Frisbee rolled toward her she tried to steal it away!

Another of the log cabins.

This building is in the center of the park.  It is open air and
has a dance floor and a stage and benches lining the sides.

Rigby thought she'd take a rest on the bench inside the park building.

Such a pretty girl!

Wish every day was a walk in the park!  Those days when you need a pick-me-up there's nothing better than spending time with Rigby on the park trails!

Rigby's Home Movies

Grab some popcorn, it's movie night with Rigby!  These are a series of short videos showing our training for some of the exercises that Rigby is learning.

The first video shows our start of work on the Retrieve Over High Jump.  This exercise is designed to teach Rigby to go over the jump turn and come back to the center of the jump.  The idea is to give her the muscle memory to pick up her dumbbell, turn quickly and come back to the middle of the jump, no matter where the dumbbell lands when I throw it.  Here I'm just throwing food for her to retrieve.

The second video is just some dumbbell retrieves, first with her plastic dumbbell and then with a metal scent article dumbbell to get her used to having the feel of metal in her mouth.

This video shows some short heeling patterns with Rigby and then a couple recalls from a short distance, followed up with a bit of a recall game to keep her coming in quickly when called.

Here is Rigby playing one of her favorite games, retrieve the glove.  This is to teach Rigby to love gloves as she needs to find a glove at the end of each of her tracks.  This lesson has carried over and although she is not yet picking up the glove at the end of her tracks, she does play retrieve with the glove as a reward when she finishes each track.

Here Rigby practices her fronts and then some drops that, in time, will develop into her drop on recall in the Open Class.

And, in working toward the Utility Class, Rigby is learning to watch my hand direction for the Directed Retrieve.  Here I throw a treat and direct her toward it with my hand and then release her to go get the treat.  She returns and does a front and then lines up to do the exercise again.

Finally, this is just a bit of fun, Rigby playing and being herself.

THE FOCUSED PUPPY -- TRACKING MODE

One of the books I purchased and read a couple times before getting my puppy is called, The Focused Puppy, and I learned a lot of training ideas that I've been using with Rigby.  My desire with Rigby is to train using positive methods to end up with a happy dog who loves to work.  Thanks, Deb Jones, for a wonderful book that has helped me in many ways.

Today Rigby showed how focused she can be and how much she truly enjoys working and especially tracking.  Wish I had a video to share of today's fun, but I didn't bring the camera this time.

Rigby's turn to track today came at about noon and, because it was a beautiful day, the park was pretty busy.  Just as we took Rigby to the small field to begin her tracking training a family with small kids pulled up to the parking area and as they exited their truck the level of commotion in the area increased and my heart sank as I thought, oh, shoot, we waited too long.

Ellen, who was going to lay Rigby's tracks, told me she'd make the first one short and we'd just see how Rigby did, but if Rigby could handle this situation she'd handle anything.  As Ellen started to lay the first track the noise level and activity continued to increase.  I tried to focus only on Rigby, but there were barking dogs, screaming kids and the kids also had brought out a big, colorful ball and were playing just behind where Rigby was waiting for her track to be ready.  All this was happening within 30 to 50 yards of my young pup.

Rigby was quite excited, sometimes watching Ellen lay her track and other times watching the kids and dogs around her.  When it came time to run her first short track Rigby was all business and once we stepped to the flag and I told her to find the glove, her head went down, she started finding hot dogs and she continued along till she got to the glove, her focus never waivering from the job at hand.  I was quite happy at the end of her track, too, as she did a couple glove retrieves, showing again that she could keep her mind on the business at hand.

We did two more tracks with Rigby and her excitement to track increased and her interest in other happenings around her decreased.  Her last track was 35 yards in length and just as with the first short track, she kept her nose down and followed the track to the glove and then happily played with her glove at the end.

I thought her level of concentration and her work ethic were wonderful for a puppy only 6 and a half months old.

Last night Rigby was enjoying her nightly playtime on my bed before being put in her crate for the night.  I was laying on the bed with her keeping an eye on her and doing some reading and, before I knew it, I heard snoring.  This was the first time Rigby had ever fallen asleep on the bed like this, she is always too busy playing and doesn't sleep till put in her crate.  She was so adorable laying there that I let her sleep most of the night with me till I woke and put her in her crate.

I have a few videos I'm going to load here for your viewing pleasure.  Two of the videos are from earlier this week, one with Rocky and Rigby sharing some playtime and one of Rigby on the couch chewing a toy.  The other video is of her tracking last week and you might notice that she is now tracking in a leather harness, as she has outgrown the nylon harnesses I had.