Monthly Archives: October 2016

Today (well yesterday now that it’s after midnight) I worked with Voodoo to get on video the behaviors needed for the Novice Trick Dog title. I used the printable Novice application as a guide for behaviors to pick from. But when I went to submit the application on-line, I found the listing of Novice tricks was not the same and almost half of the 15 tricks we did were actually from higher levels! So they will get re-used for those levels 🙂

Anyone can witness the team doing the Novice behaviors so it doesn’t have to be on video. But I got it on video so that a Certified Trick Dog Instructor could view it and sign off on it (so I get a fancy seal on his certificate) 🙂 It just needs to be processed and we’ll get a fancy certificate and a ribbon in the mail and he can use the title NTD after his name. We will be working on the Intermediate level as soon as I can get all the props together and get it on video.

Here is the Novice video: https://vimeo.com/185400353

The tricks he did were:

1. Heel with auto sit (Intermediate Level trick)
2. Back up (Advanced Level trick)
3. Recall/come
4. Swing finish (Intermediate Level)
5. Stay
6. Down
7. Retrieve to hand (Intermediate Level)
8. Hold object for 5 seconds (Intermediate level)
9. Give
10. Get the leash
11. Leave it
12. Spins
13. Balance Ball (Intermediate level)
14. Barrels (go around) (Intermediate Level)
15. Kennel up

Today we had a lovely day at the Indianapolis zoo. I had no idea what to expect from Voodoo and was prepared to leave if it was too weird for him. I thought the large predators would be scary for him, but one tiger (that was completely ignoring him) was the ONLY animal he reacted to all day! And he was able to recover and get close to the glass it was behind.

He was too focused on the birds to go in the aviary, but the birds were the only animals he kind of obsessed over.  Everything else was like “Oh yeah, I see those all the time”  LOL We went on a really high sky tram and a little train and watched the dolphin show and he totally exceeded my expectations. The staff was amazed he was only 6 mo. old and said he acted better than most of the fully trained service dogs they have seen.

I was also impressed by the animals. I was worried he would upset them and was kind of hoping they would be curious about him so I could get some good photos.  But most were completely ignoring him, even after seeing he was there. They must see dogs more often than I thought. I was very glad they weren’t upset by him.

I took several video clips and LOTS of photos. Most are compiled into this video: https://vimeo.com/185265000

Voodoo did fantastic at the Working Certificate test today and came home with his very first title!  We had a very wet test thanks to the rain, but he showed no reaction to running/swimming through a curtain of falling water or being soaked even on the land retrieve  🙂  Video: https://vimeo.com/185172451

He was the first dog for the land retrieve (after the example dog), but there was plenty of scent in the area of the bird fall because loose bird feathers were spread around and a dead bird was dragged on the ground in the area. Unfortunately, he got a black pidgeon and so there wasn’t the visual aid like there would be with a white pidgeon. He practically ran over the fallen bird on his go out, but that means that in spite of having to go up a slight hill to get to it, he maintained a straight line. He was thrown off by the scent in the area and looked in a wider area before returning to the drop area and finding it. And he ran straight back to me and delivered it to my hands.

After everyone did the land portion, the water portion was set up and it started raining harder as you can see in the video. He was more than ready to get the bird when we walked up this time. I made the mistake of releasing him when the shot went off rather than waiting for the bird to hit the water, but the Judge thankfully didn’t seem to mind the one second timing faux pax. He swam out directly to the bird and brought it back in an almost straight line and delivered it to my hands.  I was trying to help him to the 2 foot wide section of the bank that was a bit more gradual and he did find it on the first retrieve, but scrambled up a steeper part of the bank on the second retrieve.

Of course, after we were done, the sun came out 🙂

I’m VERY happy with how well he did!  Now if I could just find a trial offering the next level, that is held on a weekend I’m available, and not half a state or more away, we’ll be all set!

In this photo, the two white dots in the upper left corner were 2 swans in the pond where we were doing the water retrieve. Thankfully they stayed at the far end, but one dog did notice them and think about trying to retrieve them 🙂 And Voodoo saw them when we first started walking around the area and sat down to watch them. Thankfully, after about a minute, he decided they weren’t all that interesting.

Here he is posing with his prize after the test. He really wanted to do another retrieve, not sit still and pose. But he’s good about humoring me  🙂

Posing with his pretty ribbon

The 6 dogs that qualified and got their WC title today!