a lesson in sheltie grooming

Today, Pinot and I visited Ann McMillan (Gratia shelties) in Calgary to get a few pointers on grooming and keeping a "non-show" sheltie looking like a nice, cared- for sheltie.

Pinot, my sheltie, is not ever going to be shown in the conformation ring - I got her to be my  "training" and "agility dog" - but I still like dogs to have a clean and well-cared for look and knew I had a bit of a learning curve ahead of me in regards to what to do with all of that sheltie coat...

What a great educational journey this was today! And what an amazingly friendly and helpful breeder Ann is! Thanks to this little lesson today, I think I now have the very basics (that is the absolute minimal basics) under my belt to know some ABCs for how to keep my sheltie looking good....what to do with all that hair on sheltie "pants".... in what order to use combs and brushes for best results, what to do with the hair under and on top of their feet as well as...the thing that has puzzled me the most: the ears and the "uncontrollable hair fire" coming out of the insides of the ears...

Below, a few photos....

At home I always brush and groom the dogs on the kitchen floor, so this was actually the first time ever for Pinot to be up on a grooming table.



Slowly getting used to the idea of being up here...



Here...the lesson on the "rear end"...



Then taking a look at the current "state of the ears"...(and part of Pinot's ear reality is that, because I just could not stay motivated to keep up with the glueing of the ears...the result is this unique "one UP and one down" ear style...which might actually make it easier to groom and cut as there is no real symmetry anyway :-)

And after Ann's nice and quick "touch up"...wow - what a difference that made!!



And feet... a few great tricks there that I definitely will remember to put to good use :-)



Rear



Front



 

Meeting the resident shelties...and asking "Are we DONE yet? Going soon?"

At home... posing for a final "that's that" photo. I just LOVE THOSE EARS!!! What a difference that made! Thanks, Ann - you made my day!

Toys in training

It's been a while since I have had time to blog. Much time lately has been dedicated to my own dogs and - in particular, agility training. In these travels, I have, though,  carried my camera around with me on a few occasions...and thought it's time to share some fun photos.

In any dog training (but especially agility!) There simply is no substitue for developing a really phenomenal Game of Tug and Retrieve.

If you are really lucky - you'll have a dog who is interested in toys already and you can just start playing :-) If you're not so lucky - it can take considerable effort on your part to develop the Game. I should know :-) I have a dog of each kind...Maggio - nuts about toys and a born retriever from Day 1...Pinot - not so sure about actually gripping hard and definitely not a born retriever. It took me a good 9 months + of dedicated WORK to build the desire to play with me to the point that she will now play anywhere and tug fiercly.

The dog in the photos here is Nacho - a born tugger...who's owner is working on getting a consistent retrieve... (it's definitely coming!) Isn't it fun though how you can see the joy in the game?!

And this last one blows me away. What an expressive face!

"And you think you're ever gonna get this toy back again?" "IT'S MINE!"

Oh the moments a camera can capture :-)

In Nacho's case - he is in great hands and worked by an owner who is not put off by such shows of "attitude". The work and training goes on. After return of toy to handler, some more tugging, his handler will take possession of the toy, run another little sequence with him and reward again with a game before ending the session. Dog gets put away - toy gets put away. There is no debating who is truly in charge of the toy or the game. Nacho knows that, and is happy to come out and continue working the next time.