belle – J M Tuckerman

My Puppies Care for Everyone

Yesterday I recorded my whole drive out to WonderDogs, where Belle and I take agility classes and Mom and Luka take obedience lessons. When I stopped at Wawa I decided to leave the car running, figuring I’d have some video footage of Belle either not caring I was gone or reeking havoc in my car.

Instead, I have roughly 10 minutes worth of video of Belle crying in my backseat.

While I was watching (literally seconds ago) Luka jumped off my bed and went over to Belle who was sleeping by the door and licked her face until she woke up. She thought her sister was upset and went to comfort her!

But of course Belle woke up and was like “Wasn’t me.” Then they jumped on my bed an stared out the window like “There is a puppy out there who needs love and cuddles! Belle and Luka to the rescue!”

I’m just saying: it was cute and pretty awesome to know my dogs care about each other and other dogs so much.

Class #7

I didn’t post for class #5 and we couldn’t go to class #6 because Belle was in heat but lemme tell you about class #7.

We were a small class this week and one of my instructors was not there. We had an addition to our class this week, a corgi named Max.

We started with the chute (closed tunnel) which Belle notoriously does not like. But we made some big progress tonight. At first she went half way in, backed out, then followed me around the tunnel. So my instructor folded up the chute and fed her treats while she went in the tunnel, but after every treat Belle backed out. She did eventually go through the whole chute but only once I was at the end.

I am beginning to wonder how long it will take her to run through the tunnel without me at the end of it.

Woofing It: Interview Questions

Did you start agility by taking classes? What were they like and how long was it before your dog started showing confidence on the obstacles?
IF YOU DIDN’T TAKE CLASSES: How did you train your dog for agility?
What was your dog’s worst obstacle when s/he first started? What did s/he do?
What was your first competition like? Do you remember your 1st time? Was your dog as confident at the competition as s/he was in training?
How long before you knew your dog was competition ready? What behaviors were you looking for?
What do you find most rewarding about agility? What do you find is most demanding?
Has your dog ever sustained any injuries from agility? What were they and how were they treated?
Have you won a title? What title was it and what was your time, class, and jump height?
Do you find agility is easier with older or younger dogs? smaller or larger dogs? Do you have any breed preference? What makes them better?
Why did you start agility? What sparked your interest in Dog Sport?

Our 4th Class and Vlog #8

Just a funny side note: No one asked me why I was recording/taking pictures of class until I put a GoPro on Belle.

But now that everyone knows, people have been staying out of my camera shots! Hooray!

On to class:

We started with a low jump. Normally, Belle goes over these fine. I mean, she hesitates some but it’s not like she’s terrified to jump over anything… or on anything… or anyone… but she wouldn’t go over the jump at the beginning of class. As it turns out, someone had to poop.

Some Ideas for Presenting My Research

At the end of this semester I must present all the research I am doing. I’ve been meditating on that since I’ve involved so much media in my project. If I start recording some video diary entries now, I could do a lengthy vlogumentary, but I’m not sure how I would query that.

I also thought about making a picture book. I mean, I have so many pictures I’m sure I could just sue those and some Photoshop filters in order to make it all look like sketches, or I could color-pop Belle and I out… But would I make it a non-fiction picture book? or maybe write a fictional story based on my research?

I also think it would work as a short story or a novel, but writing about my experience would require it to be a little further along. In my proposal, I stated that I wanted the piece to end with Belle’s first competition and I just don’t think I’ll be able to do that. I didn’t realize that there would be so many obstacles to learn at the beginner level.

Honestly, I’d like to either write the novel length experience about it or do the vlogumentary. I’m just not sure that the vlogumentary would fly.

What do you think I should do?

The 3rd Class and Vlog #6

Wow, Vlog #6? I don’t believe myself. I must be lying. I think the third class is a great time to reflect on what I’ve learned so far.

Bring poop baggies. Belle likes to start class that way.
One bag of treats is not enough.
I must work with her everyday in order to see results.
Don’t tell Belle “no” when she messes up.
Be more energetic when training her.

The first two things might sound funny, but I’m tired of cleaning up after Belle even though I take her outside before class starts, and she eats a lot of treats.

Our First Agility Class and Vlog #3

Belle and I had our first class last night at WonderDogs, in Berlin, NJ. The class has mixed levels, meaning some people have taken agility classes before and some have not. I thought Belle might stand out and be the only large dog but she wasn’t.

One thing that surprised me was that we were not allowed to let our dogs socialize while we were there. It makes sense though, because as my teacher said, “You don’t want to be at a competition and then have your dog hop the fence in order to go say ‘hi’ to a friend.” And considering Belle is already so easily distracted, I spent a lot of time getting her attention back from dog butts to focus on me.

And with all the bacon treats in my pockets you would think I’d be the better choice.

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