jr ring

Last weekend our Aunty and Uncle from Thousand Oaks, CA stopped by on their way to Lodi and brought our mini Aussie puppy a present - the JR Ring.  Of course, Dash had a "toygasm".

At first Papa and I said, "Uh oh.  Dash will chew through this toy overnight!"  Thankfully, we were wrong.  We've had it for almost five days now and it is still surviving.  My favorite thing about it is the disc shape.  Dash and I have spent the last few nights playing catch with it, and I think it's really helping him to master the concept of catching the disc in mid air (rather than letting it roll along the ground first).  I'm guessing it's because the toy is soft and he can catch it in his mouth without knocking his teeth against it.

Once in a while he catches the toy flipped upwards so it covers his eyes, which is so adorable when he walks around blinded!  For some reason he prefers to catch it using the hole in the middle, not the outer edge.  Shrug.  At least he's entertained.

Thanks Aunty and Uncle!

disc lesson

Papa and I have been back in town for about a week now, after going home to Hawaii for a two week wedding whirlwind.  I am excited to post pictures of our special day once we get them back from the photographer, but for now I will catch up with a few mini Aussie field trips from prior to the wedding...

Dash and Papa have started visiting the new park near our house for disc dog practice sessions.  Most of the time our mini Aussie chases down the disc, grabs it, then brings it back.  However, once in a while he masters the mid-air catch!

We enjoy taking turns tossing the disc for Dash and laughing at his clumsy antics.  He is so fast and accurate with the tennis ball...  Too bad that speed and skill doesn't translate into discs very well.  One of the primary reasons for getting a mini Aussie was for their intelligence and athleticism.  Maybe practice will make perfect?

settling as pet owners and trainers

Papa has managed to find another excellent article while researching more about disc dogs.  This one talks about a couple's journey from one puppy to four disc dogs and all the important lessons they've learned along the way.  It seems like a good blog to keep bookmarked, not only for the disc dog aspect, but also because of their great perspective on dog ownership and training.

http://discdogblog.com/settling-as-pet-owners-and-trainers/

economics of distraction

Papa came across this AWESOME article during his research on training Dash to become a disc dog.  The dog, Rhythm, reminds me so much of Dash.  Our mini Aussie puppy is such a spaz when he's outside, but I know that with the proper training he could channel that energy into something positive.  Oddly enough, Rhythm even looks sort of like Dash!

http://k9athlete.com/k9disc-training-list/82-disctracted-dog-training