A Little More Tracking

Well, now that the weather has gotten nicer, Mom has finally started taking me out tracking again. When I saw her putting flags and gloves and CHEESE in the car, I was so excited! We went out to a campground park in the desert where we have tracked before to spend some time with Aunt Debbi, my tracking instructor, who is putting on a 3 week beginning tracking class. Of course, I am no beginner, but we thought it would be fun anyway. Mom keeps forgetting which card she is on in her tracking records so we did a couple of shorter tracks with one corner. It was super windy, but I did great! Mom is working on teaching me an automatic down when I find an article, but really I get so excited when I find the CHEESE that I sometimes forget. I will try harder though, for Mom.

Here I am modeling my tracking harness:

I really love to track! Sniffing things is my forte. I do it all the time. Even when I was done tracking and Mom let me run for a bit, all I wanted to do was track!

I am a master cheese finder.

We are going again next week and the week after, and then maybe Mom will start taking me to other parks and laying tracks for me more often. I really hope so!

Saber Does Obedience!

Hi, remember me? It's Saber the German Shepherd Dog. It has been a long time since I wrote, but I am pretty unforgettable so I am sure you DO remember! I have been very busy this winter: sleeping, eating, napping, fetching, eating, sleeping, tracking, and most recently, shedding! Mom is thrilled with all the giant fur balls I am leaving all over the house. She carefully gathers all my soft, beautiful hair in a large container called a "vacuum" (while I try to attack it, just for fun) and then I think she must empty it into a large treasure box somewhere. Probably in the same vicinity where she keeps all my poop. She likes to gather that, too!

Anyway, I also have been back in AKC Obedience classes with my Mom for the past 8 weeks. I have had a lot of Obedience classes, starting when I was just 3 months old. Wasn't I cute?

Just eight weeks later, I graduated at the top of my class with my AKC STAR Puppy certificate! Here I am with the medallion I earned. Mom said "sit" and "smile!" Look how obedient I was!

Wow, I grew! So, since I was such an obedience Star, my puppy class instructor told Mom I was ready to take real, grown-up obedience classes in preparation for AKC Obedience trials when I am older! Mom listened and right away she put me into Novice Obedience class at the local dog training club. For 8 weeks, I worked on things like heeling patterns, figure 8, stand for exam, a 1 minute sit stay, a 3 minute down stay, and eating lots of cheese. I was excellent at doing my job, especially eating the cheese! After 8 weeks, I graduated Novice class and earned a score of 180 in our Fun Match, which is a qualifying score and was second place in the class! Not bad for a 6 month old pup! I lost 2 points for licking the judge though. He smelled like cheese. Here I am after my graduation in May 2011.

Mom was so proud of me! In June she put me right back into Obedience classes for 8 more weeks to keep practicing. I needed work on my off-leash heeling. Then in the summer, we joined some club members to practice Obedience outdoors at different parks. The instructor set up temporary fencing in the grass and we'd practice all of our obedience skills, surrounded by trees, squirrels, geese, birds, and people walking their dogs and riding their bikes. It was very distracting, but I think that was the point!

In the fall, I took a class called Canine Good Citizen, which was pretty easy for me. The only hard thing I had to do was stay with a stranger while Mom left the building. I had to sit quietly without whining or trying to find her for three whole minutes! That was horrible! I wanted to go find my Mom right away! But Mom worked on it with me at home until I was ready. I passed the test and got my CGC just a few days after my first birthday.

In January 2012, we took an Advanced Novice Obedience class and it was lots of fun! Mom thought I was about ready to trial in an actual Obedience ring, but I had other plans. I was getting so bored with the same old obedience exercises, so I decided to spice things up a bit. When she'd say "come," I would run towards her, veer left, veer right, then run around her in a circle. When she said "heel," I'd add some very agile spinning while I was heeling. I also started sniffing the ground an awful lot, mainly because I was bored and there were always microscopic treat crumbs to be found. Mom said obedience stopped being much fun, so we took a little break over the summer. We just relaxed and went to dog parks, lure coursing, tracking, herding, and dock diving instead!

Finally this January, she thought I might be ready to try again. And I was! Somehow, it didn't seem as boring this time, and I love paying attention to Mom while I heel with her. I did so much better in the Novice class and Mom was beaming with pride! Last week, I graduated in first place with a score of 194! Much better, and Mom says I am almost ready to trial. We are taking one more class first: Advanced Novice again, to practice my off-leash heeling. It starts in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait! I love cheese! 

A New Coursing Title!

Saber here! Last weekend Mom took me and my girl to Argus Ranch in Auburn, WA to do some more bunny chasing. It was really exciting! At first, I didn't know what we were doing there. I thought Mom had lost her mind, taking me out and walking me in a big field while it was RAINING. I live in the desert. I do not like rain. These little drops of cold water come flinging out of nowhere, from above it seems, and hit me in the eyes and ears. I do NOT like rain getting in my ears! So when Mom was walking me in the rain, which she NEVER does at home, I was wondering what got into her. And then, on the way back to the car, I heard it! The whizzing sound of BUNNIES!!! Actually it was the sound the string makes as it whirrs around the course in the field, but I knew that sound meant bunny chasing and I perked right up and got so excited that Mom had to stick me in my crate. Boo!

"Hello? I do not belong in here!"

Finally I did get out to run in the rain. My Mom wondered if I would run because I hate those pesky drops of water in my ears (which, by the way, are NOT the same as getting water in my ears when I dock dive. Not the same! Rain is pesky!) but I did run, I ran fast, and I got my 10th and last qualifying course for my CAA (Coursing Ability Advanced) title. I am so proud! I also ran again in the afternoon and qualified (both runs were exactly 60 seconds!) Since it was so rainy and wet, Mom did not take any pictures of me running, but here I am with my ribbons once we got home.

Now, something rather humiliating happened between my runs. I almost was not going to mention it, but it is something I did because I love my Mom, so here goes.

There was a Halloween costume contest around lunchtime. This is what Mom put on me.

Yes. A shark. She said it suits me. Sadly, I did not win the costume contest. I did not get any prize at all! I think if she had just left me in my natural state of beauty, I would have won just because I am so stunning. Alas, I had to wear this thing. At least it kept the rain out of my ears for awhile.

After we were all done chasing bunnies, Mom had a special surprise for me! She and her friend rented a huge agility arena for an hour so we could practice agility! I haven't done much agility since spring, so this was great fun! Mom was amazed that I remembered so much. We practiced weaves, jumps, tunnels, and chutes. We also practiced the tire, dog walk, A frame, and teeter! I am also an expert at the table. I can't wait until Mom starts training me to compete in agility trails. What fun that will be! Anyway, I got loads of treats and played with my friend Vera the Dragonslayer. She and I course together all the time. We went to the dog park together, too, but that's another story (and review) for another day.

Back in the hotel room, Mom gave me my own bed for the night because I am such a good girl.
A queen in a queen:

On our way home, we stopped at the Norm and Nellie Byrd dog park in Yakima. I've been there a couple times before and already reviewed it on my blog. But there was something new! Look, a pavilion! It is a shade-only pavilion; it has no roof right now anyway, but it was not raining so I didn't mind.

I love fall! Gorgeous, huh? Why thank you. The leaves are kind of pretty too.

I got to fetch my Frisbee for awhile...

... and then I got to play with my girl. She had a branch she was swinging around above her head and I was circling and chasing, making her giggle and laugh. I have such great focus!

After that, we headed back home. It was a fun trip, but it's always good to be home. I'll share some new dog park reviews soon! Bye!

Saber Reviews: Grandview Dog Park, Seatac WA

Hi again! I am back with another dog park review for you, and this was a great one. Grandview Dog Park in Seatac, near Kent, is a HUGE dog park: 37 acres! There is something for everybody here (except cats). You will love it!

Here is the view of the entrance from the parking lot. You can see that there is not actually a closing gate here, although the park is fenced. So you do have to be a good puppy and not run off. I am a good puppy so my Mom can take me here.

Really, it is such a huge park with so much to do that you'll forget all about that open entrance! There is a porta-potty for your humans right there inside the fence, see? And all through the park there are poop bag stations with poop bags for your Mom so she can collect your poop. I am not sure what Mom does with all my poop, but I must be very special because she never leaves it behind. She must have a massive poop collection somewhere, but I have never seen it. She sure does love me a lot!

After you go through the entrance, there is this big gravel path that goes all around the park. Your family can walk on it while you run free and sniff!

After awhile, the path winds around and down to a lower area with lots of space, trees, and grass.

There is even a big pavilion with picnic tables! Mom was in awe of the "grand view" as we came around the corner. I must agree I do look stunning. Also please note Mount Rainier in the background.

Once you get down to the bottom of the path, there is a great big "all weather play area" that supposedly does not get muddy in bad weather. Darn.

But look! I found a Chuck-It Person! If there is a Chuck-It Person in a 37 acre park, I will find them!

After a rousing game of fetch-someone-else's-ball, Mom took me over to this area: agility equipment! Very cool!

There is an A-frame, a dog walk, some tires, jumps, and weave poles. I love agility. I am, in fact, somewhat of an agility expert. I will have to tell you about that sometime. But it was a very hot day and I was getting tired from our long walk, so I just did the A-Frame a few times.

After that, it was time to go. There are some nice stairs to get back up to the entrance area, so we didn't have to walk all the way back up that long path. This is a great park! I hope we can go back again sometime soon. I highly recommend it!

Saber Reviews: Norm and Nellie Byrd Dog Park, Yakima WA

You may remember that way back in August, Mom took me coursing in Enumclaw. On the way there, we stopped at a few different dog parks to try them out. I wanted to share what I thought of each one, so here's the first in a series of four new dog park reviews! I know you're excited, so let's get started!

The first park we stopped at was the Norm and Nellie Byrd Off-Leash Dog Park in Yakima. It's a fenced area within the Sherman Memorial Park and the parking lot is right beside the Humane Society. It was kind of hard for Mom to find, but if you take the Nob Hill exit and go right, then left on South 24th and left again at the T in the road, you'll find it. Just park near the Humane Society and walk across the field to the dog park. Here is the entrance:

The park is double gated, has trash cans, a bench, and a picnic table. It's actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be; I'd guess between one and two acres. It's smaller than our home dog park, but still nice and a great place to stop and run or play a game of fetch on the way to Seattle! There are plenty of shade trees and lots of grass to sniff.

There's even a cute little wooden bridge over a dry ditch. This was fun to run back and forth on and I loved running through the ditch, too! I wonder if it gets muddy when it rains? That would be even better!

In all the pictures, you can see the fencing around the park. That should give you an idea of the park's size.

All in all, we liked this park for a stop on our long drive. It was nice to get out and stretch our legs a bit. It's a bit small, and there were no other dogs here, but we'll still come again sometime if we happen to be passing through Yakima.

Smell ya later!

More Coursing, Of Course!

Two weeks ago Mom took me coursing again in Spokane, where we've gone coursing before. It was lots of fun watching the sighthounds race around! We were there for two days and of course I passed both of my runs with flying colors. We finally got to see another German Shepherd running the course! We have never seen one at any of the other lure coursing events we've gone to. Sadly, she didn't qualify, but I made up for it and redeemed the breed with my super fast runs!

Mom didn't take any pictures of me running this time, but here I am wearing my two new ribbons:

(Mom loves my color so much that she built a new deck on the back of the house to match me. See?)

And here I am wearing my lure coursing collar. It has a quick release latch on it so that when the coursing person shouts "Tally Ho!", Mom can set me free in an instant! I have to run naked. It's the rules.

We also went to Riverfront Park on our trip where I got to play in the fountain! I love water.

Nom nom nom!

Hmmm, what should I do next?

I know! Nom nom nom!

I was very tired after all the racing and nomming, so we went back to our hotel for a rest.

I love going on trips with my Mom! Hopefully we will go on one more coursing trip before the season ends. Stay tuned!

Coursing, Round Three

Way back in August Mom took me on a trip to go lure coursing again! We had a great time and visited several new dog parks (and I'll tell you about those soon!) but the very best part of all was running free across the vast green fields chasing bunnies! Okay, they were not bunnies, but I can pretend, can't I?

Here I am ignoring the speed limit sign:

Bunnies!!!

I am super fast! My best run was 54 seconds.

Ohhh look, I almost have those bunnies!!!

I got 'em! Nom nom nom

Ahem. Afterwards I gathered myself for a dignified picture with my new ribbons from all four qualifying courses.

And then we went back to the hotel.

We'll be going coursing again soon. Only three more qualifying courses to get my Advanced title! Thanks for reading!