Fenwick and I went back for day two of teacup agility action today. The weather was much cooler and we had a great time. Fenwick was awesome as usual and he ended up going 4 for 4 over the weekend, so maybe someday he'll get that TACh (15 Superior Standard legs and 15 Games III legs with some number of 1st places ... which isn't hard when we're usually the only dog in that height).

Standard round 1


Standard round 2

They did a great job putting on the trial, it was really fun with a great potluck BBQ each day and a fun raffle too.  I got some new (tiny) toys for puppy - the perfect size!  A very relaxed atmosphere and everyone was just there to have fun with their dogs ... and have I mentioned how ridiculously cute it is?  The dogs can even wear adorable little OUTFITS when they're running - Gah.  There are no other local TDAA trials currently planned, but I do hope to see another one of these days.

I brought some books I'm trying to re-read before puppy arrives, and one was Ian Dunbar's infamous 'Before/After You Get Your Puppy" series.  I hadn't looked at it since London was a baby.  It's a funny book, I can only assume he's trying to overstate his case in hopes that people will at least do the minimum.  I felt the statement that, "If your puppy doesn't know how to sit, down, stand, recall, rollover and go in his crate by 8 weeks old he will be DEVELOPMENTALLY RETARDED for the rest of his life," was a little, um, harsh.  And the whole book was like this, which I didn't remember.  Basically it put the entire burden of the nature/nuture argument on the owner's head and that if you didn't handle their first week home EXACTLY RIGHT the dog would be RUINED FOREVER.

London was our first dog we got as a puppy, and I actually did these 'magical' things he recommended - like for chewing, London got all his meals in kongs for the first few months of his life and he never had a chance to chew inappropriate toys.  To this very day London has absolutely ZERO interest in chewing on kongs and he is the worst toy destroyer in the house.

Then let's talk about housebreaking, which Mr. Dunbar also talks about how incredibly easy it is if you follow his 'error-proof' plan.  And I was home with London as a puppy, I followed his plan ... and London took 7 months to housebreak.  I remember those days, I was envying people that DID work - they could at least just not think about ttheir dogs elimination habits for at least a FEW hours.  Me, I was so busy trying to make sure he never had an accident in the house that it was mind-numbing.  And didn't work.  Admittedly London has some, um, 'special' issues in that department, but thinking about your dog's elimination ALL DAY LONG is not a fun way to live.  Nor, may I say, very effective.

Anyway, it was just sort of funny to read through these books and remember how I really wanted to do everythig RIGHT with London ... and how stupid putting time limits and special lists really is.  They are individuals, and you can try to guide them in the right direction - but there is no magic plan.  Sometimes dogs are shy ... even if you have had 100 different people over to your house to restrain your puppy within the first 4 weeks.  Sure, it's a good idea to socialize, to set your dog up for success in housebreaking by not letting them have accidents all over your house, to provide them with appropriate chew toys ... but there are no magic formulas, it all comes down to the individual. 

So that gave me a giggle, the bite inhibition part too - London was a total shark as a puppy, and we worked on that a lot.  Let's just say I do NOT wrestle or do any sort of 'bite-y games' with London as an adult, he now has very little bite inhibition despite the work we did with it - OW.  I think London disproved pretty much the entire book - well, maybe not the socialization part, of which we did tons. But I have my doubts that London would be any different if he grew up in the backyard and never saw much - I think that's just who he is, one very happy, friendly, confident guy.

I made the decision to go ahead and cancel the 'summer of herding' with London.  Well, for several reasons - but mostly just to be fair to London.  He needs, um, remedial sheep herding at this point, what with the New and Improved Herding London we have these days - and that's not what I signed on for this summer.  So my theory is that next summer, when I start working with lil' Puff, London can come along and work on the exact same baby stuff, which is what he really needs and I don't have the ambition to do with the heat for the next couple months.  I don't have any plans with London or puppy to actually trial or anything, I just find it really fascinating to play around with.

In the meantime, we're getting a puppy visitor that will be staying with us for a week or so - he arrives this weekend, 14 weeks old, should be an adventure and a good prep for the dogs.