Rogue had an appointment for her spay in June. In order to get out of that surgery, she gave herself a concussion a few days earlier and was still showing signs of it on spay day so the surgery was cancelled and we have to reschedule. Signs your dog may have a concussion
Honestly, the vet said there probably wouldn't be any complication with the surgery but said she felt better putting it off until the little monster was fully recovered. I had to agree.
This allowed us to go to the Skyhoundz discdogathon at Purina Farms outside St. Louis. This was Rogue's first disc dog event. Since Rogue is still a bit young for all the fancy freestyle stuff and since she's really only been catching discs for a month or so, it was a perfect event. It consists of five different 'games'. You can find them here. Four out of five of them are just different challenges for a handler throwing the disc to their dog.
Rogue had never participated in a disc dog event before. We hadn't really done any road trips since a couple weeks after I brought her home so this was a new experience for her. My goal was for her to score points in every event... even Freestyle and I'd be happy.
Don't worry, we didn't do anything fancy with Freestyle. It was more to just get her out there and throw the discs and see what she'd do. A friend of mine recorded her very first freestyle routine. It may not look like much, but I was thrilled. She did score points in every game and we took two third places in the senior division (obviously, senior handler, not senior dog). By the last event, she really seemed to have an idea about what was going on and was bringing all the discs back. Initially, she would only bring it back if she actually caught it and I spent a lot of time running after them.
It was hot and humid and she had to spend a lot of time in her crate, but I was so very proud of her. I hope to look back at this video in the years to come and be amazed at how far she's come.
A couple weeks later was our very first dogs included vacation. We drove to Omaha to see family. That meant staying with a friend who had a dog of her own. This was the second time in under a month that Rogue was staying somewhere that wasn't home. She was a little punk and our friend's newfoundland very gently put her in her place when she got uppity. It was a shame because Kenzie, the newf, really wanted to play with her.
One thing about many young dogs, like kids, they don't always want to go to bed when they're tired or... overtired. We ended up with a very overtired little girl at one point and the crate was the only thing we could do to get her to relax and finally sleep. I think she was out for around 9 hours after that. Did I mention that overtired deaf dogs bark nonstop at full volume? At least this one did.
She also got to prove again how good she is with kids. She loved every person she met though she still is having some problems not barking at other dogs. This is something she's going to need to get a handle on if we're going to get her therapy dog certification. We've been working on distracting her with treats when other dogs are around but it's a work in progress.
My niece and nephews adored her. She would let anyone throw a disc or a ball to her and would retrieve it with glee. We taught everyone the 'find your toy' sign and she was really good about obeying whoever happened to be telling her what to do. Watching her with the kids was a delight.
At one point, she was tethered because there was no fence where we were playing and she played on the tether as if it wasn't even there and didn't try to run. I figured she wouldn't at this point, but strange place, strange people, the tether made sure that if I was wrong, she'd be safe.
We had some house training issues, some barking issues and some bratty dog nonsense, but overall, she handled it pretty well. The kids had a great time, she seemed to have a great time and at some point, when our hearing returns to normal, we may do this again.
What's next for the Princess? We're still practicing mostly toss and catch with her, prepping for a disc dog demo in Wisconsin in August and another competition in September.. We're still working her around people and dogs to get her therapy dog certified. Still a lot on this special little girl's plate and I'm enjoying (almost) every minute of our journey.
Honestly, the vet said there probably wouldn't be any complication with the surgery but said she felt better putting it off until the little monster was fully recovered. I had to agree.
This allowed us to go to the Skyhoundz discdogathon at Purina Farms outside St. Louis. This was Rogue's first disc dog event. Since Rogue is still a bit young for all the fancy freestyle stuff and since she's really only been catching discs for a month or so, it was a perfect event. It consists of five different 'games'. You can find them here. Four out of five of them are just different challenges for a handler throwing the disc to their dog.
Rogue had never participated in a disc dog event before. We hadn't really done any road trips since a couple weeks after I brought her home so this was a new experience for her. My goal was for her to score points in every event... even Freestyle and I'd be happy.
Don't worry, we didn't do anything fancy with Freestyle. It was more to just get her out there and throw the discs and see what she'd do. A friend of mine recorded her very first freestyle routine. It may not look like much, but I was thrilled. She did score points in every game and we took two third places in the senior division (obviously, senior handler, not senior dog). By the last event, she really seemed to have an idea about what was going on and was bringing all the discs back. Initially, she would only bring it back if she actually caught it and I spent a lot of time running after them.
It was hot and humid and she had to spend a lot of time in her crate, but I was so very proud of her. I hope to look back at this video in the years to come and be amazed at how far she's come.
Who is awesome? This girl
A couple weeks later was our very first dogs included vacation. We drove to Omaha to see family. That meant staying with a friend who had a dog of her own. This was the second time in under a month that Rogue was staying somewhere that wasn't home. She was a little punk and our friend's newfoundland very gently put her in her place when she got uppity. It was a shame because Kenzie, the newf, really wanted to play with her.
Pretending not to play with Kenzie, the newf.
One thing about many young dogs, like kids, they don't always want to go to bed when they're tired or... overtired. We ended up with a very overtired little girl at one point and the crate was the only thing we could do to get her to relax and finally sleep. I think she was out for around 9 hours after that. Did I mention that overtired deaf dogs bark nonstop at full volume? At least this one did.
She also got to prove again how good she is with kids. She loved every person she met though she still is having some problems not barking at other dogs. This is something she's going to need to get a handle on if we're going to get her therapy dog certification. We've been working on distracting her with treats when other dogs are around but it's a work in progress.
My niece and nephews adored her. She would let anyone throw a disc or a ball to her and would retrieve it with glee. We taught everyone the 'find your toy' sign and she was really good about obeying whoever happened to be telling her what to do. Watching her with the kids was a delight.
Paying attention like a good girl.
At one point, she was tethered because there was no fence where we were playing and she played on the tether as if it wasn't even there and didn't try to run. I figured she wouldn't at this point, but strange place, strange people, the tether made sure that if I was wrong, she'd be safe.
I even make a tether look good.
We had some house training issues, some barking issues and some bratty dog nonsense, but overall, she handled it pretty well. The kids had a great time, she seemed to have a great time and at some point, when our hearing returns to normal, we may do this again.
Does this boy make my tongue look big?
What's next for the Princess? We're still practicing mostly toss and catch with her, prepping for a disc dog demo in Wisconsin in August and another competition in September.. We're still working her around people and dogs to get her therapy dog certified. Still a lot on this special little girl's plate and I'm enjoying (almost) every minute of our journey.
