Jo's Old Site

On Tuesday mornings a small group of dog triallers get together at Laidley, to train our dogs. And this week with the aid of using the canadian crutches, I was able to stay in class for a whole session: which made me very pleased.

This week we did some heeling, where our dogs have to walk beside us on the left side in either normal, slow, or fast pace. And inbetween the instructor tells us halt, stand, or down our dogs. We also took turns doing the figure of eight where we have to go around two people in the figure of eight pattern. Then we did stand for exam where we get instructed to stand our dogs, then leave our dogs, and while we are standing in front of our dogs the instructor run their hands over them and the dogs aren’t suppose to move while this is done nor are they to move when we return back.

Then the last two exercises were the recalls, and the sit and down stays, and as mum and I had to be somewhere else later that day, we only stayed for the first session.

I have been walking with one canadian crutch for some years now, and have been getting around well but lately it haven’t deterred me from noticing that I started having problems going down slopes. However as the people at the chemist gave me two, (which I brought after renting them) I decided to use the second stick, and it pleased me when I discovered that I had no problems going down slopes.

And as I also train a miniature schnauzer whose name is Ilse, found that she wasn’t put off by me having to use two sticks to get about. She is a very confident dog. 

Also when I was seeing the physiotherapist Katie told me that my left leg is overworked, as being very strong it supports most of my body weight.

Mum also told me yesterday after seeing me walking with both canadian crutches, that I walk a lot better using both. As together they help me to stay upright, as by using one made me more lopsided: I also feel that it takes away some of the pressure that my left leg had been under. And using both canadian crutches has made me more confident as I’m no longer doubtful and it has given back a bit of independence that I lost too.

Last Friday I was standing behind a mother, and her two boys at a checkout at Plainlands Shopping Centre. The youngest boy was aged about three, and he was sitting on the seat part of the trolley. Then not long after I had arrived he then decided to get his right foot out, and then he stood up on this foot as he was doing his best to get out of the seat.

His mother was totally oblivious to what her youngest son was doing, as she was busy putting her groceries on the counter. And she didn’t seem to be aware or even bothered that I was talking to him.

But I did manage to get the kid to sit down, and wait for his mother even though I had to repeat myself a few times. I also tried telling him to put his right foot back but he didn’t want to do that. Then after his mum finished with the groceries, she then turned her attention to her youngest son.

And this time she heard me tell him “wait, don’t get up” and she very kindly said to me: “he wont get up” and I just smiled and was left pondering that some mothers obviously don’t worry about their children, until something happens, and then worry about them.

As it is the second week of the school holidays, it is my two nieces turn to spend some time with us. They go back home tomorrow but while they are here they helped mum and me train our dogs. Mikayla and my youngest niece (forgot how to spell her name) acted as distractions for our dogs. As while Ilse, and I were going around them (as we were doing the figure of eight) they were eating chips. Then mum showed the girls what to do for the stand for exam and as I had my Pet Extendable Target with me with some peanut butter on it Ilse stood very well while mum and the two girls ran their hands over her. And Ilse only moved once when I walked back around her and then Ilse did two really good recalls with my two nieces standing on either side and on the second one mum knelt down beside Ilse as a further distraction.

As I now have to get about with a walking aide called the canadian crutch, one of the hardest exercises for me to teach Ilse is the stand for the exam. And in this exercise, we tell our dog to stand then stay and then step out in front of them. Then you get someone to run their hands over your dog.

The reason why it is hard is because if Ilse moves, I have to rely on people to move her back in the position I had left her, and the reason why she moves is because she is so friendly. The other problem I have is when I’m returning, the lead sometimes gets in the way. And this also causes Ilse to move, though I now put the canadian crutch on the side that I’m heading and go around Ilse that way and this stops the lead from getting in the way.

Then at a recent trial where Dita obtained her CCD someone suggested to mum that I should get a Pet Extendable Target. And now that I have one find it very useful when we do a stand for exam.

As Ilse now focuses on the little yellow ball that is on the target as I smear that with peanut butter and she licks that while a person is running their hands over her.

Targets is one of the tools used in clicker training, which is a method that encourages dogs to think and the idea is for them to work things out for themselves. They are also guided by the use of a clicker which their trainer uses, and to find out more about clicker ideas and products here’s a website address:

www.clickertraining.com

Stardust by Neil Gaiman is a book that I wanted for my birthday last year, but instead of getting it I got a different book that also is called Stardust.

Anyway I got the paperback version of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and it was published in 2007 by Headline Review which is a imprint of Headline Publishing Group. And the book’s ISBN is 978-0-7553-3751-4.

I enjoyed this book, and think that I’ll read it again and again as I like how Neil wrote it. He also explains in this book that he started writing it and then stopped: but about a year or so later he watched a star fall from the sky and this gave him the main objective for the story he was trying to write.

As the main character in the story is Tristan Thorn, and as he was walking Victoria Forester home he was promising her everything he could think of for a kiss and then shortly after they saw a star fall from the sky. Then as Tristan thought: that Victoria was the most beautiful woman in the world that he wanted to marry he rashly told her that if he retrieved that star that they saw fall, and came back with it to show her  will she agree to give him what he desired?

She agreed, and this meant that Tristan had to go to the land of Faerie to find the fallen star. But The Wall is guarded, and they let no one from the town go through accept every nine years (as this is when the people of Faerie hold their markets). But Tristan doesn’t realise at the time that he is in fact half Faerie and because his father whose name is Dunstan told the two guards that the rumours about his son are true they let Tristan go through the gap in The Wall which led to the land of Faerie.

As it is the school holidays, we have my two eldest nephews Liam and Connor over here at the moment. Mum and I picked them up yesterday after we went to Booval, so that I could shop for some clothes. I haven’t tried all my new clothes on yet but I’m pleased with what I got.

And as you are probably wondering where the fish ice cream comes in, we had that with the apple crumble and custard for dessert last night. Mum called it fish ice cream because it had little fish shaped chocolates that was mixed in the ice cream. Connor got the most fish chocolates (but we weren’t counting), and Liam had two in his ice cream while mum and myself recieved one in ours. Dad I think didn’t have any fish ice cream but he cracked a joke and made mum and me laugh by saying we can have it on a Friday. 

For the last three weeks mum and I have been training our dogs at Laidley as well as going into Ipswich for the ring runouts. And the result is mum’s young rottie Dita who has just turned one now has her CCD and my dog Ilse who is a bit older is almost ready to compete in the trial ring.

However, even though I have tried doing classwork I now realise that I’m better off training my dog on the sidelines, and doing the ring runouts.

As there is too much standing around for me as I have to go backwards and forwards to the chair that usually is a long way away from the class. Although I try to stay in class as long as I can and it was my mother’s suggestion to go in class but now I realise that it is too much to expect from people who don’t have to live with a physical disability. And another thing that I also notice is that there is rarely a person that has a disability that does classwork. Though you occasionally see a person with a disability working their dog in the trial ring.

So even though Ilse and I will be in the trial ring I have decided that I’m not doing anymore classwork, as I don’t like to be accused of keeping people waiting. 

Ilse my miniature schnauzer got beautiful white teeth and I’ll like to keep them in good condition, so I give her a few denta bones to chew on every week. But I have been thinking for a while that to keep a dog’s teeth in good condition they’ll need more than denta bones. As although denta bones must reduce the amount of tartar build up I find that to keep their teeth as clean as possible dogs also need their teeth brushed and given real bones to chew on.