Life Adventures

If I had to pick one of the best training exercises I ever did for Braddock it would be Speed Circles.  (Thanks to Laurene Galgano for the coaching). I had certain goals with Braddock:  to build drive,  build confidence, and teach him to see the lines.  The latter allowed me to achieve distance with him on course, so that I can be in better position to cue turns.  The exercise is run with lower jump height (I use 16 inch for a 24 inch dog), 2 rows of 3  jumps spaced around 21 feet apart.  The 2 rows should be curved to make an oval.  The oval should be slightly wider than the tunnel, which will be positioned at the outer end.  On the start you can either have a crate or tunnel.  I prefer the crate. I explain the exercise more fully in the video below. Once you achieve the basic foundational exercise, then you can use the same principle to start building drive in working sequences and turns.  In the video below, I have set up a course to join two speed circles, where instead of a t

"Men are that they might have joy!" Here is a montage of some things that bring me joy:  hiking with my dogs, picnics, sharing goodies, and relaxing at home.  (Note:  Footage was all from the year after losing Noel, Dec 2013-2014). Favorite Hiking day trip:  Sky Meadow State Park Favorite Picnic location:  King Family Vineyards Dog's Favorite Goodies:  Brusters Icecream and Starbucks Blueberry Scones Favorite parts of this video:  Braddock rolling in grass, Logan plopping down on the grass, Logan hanging with the Band, Braddock watching TV, Cadia daintily taking her scone while the boys are maniacs.

March 2017 We visited one of our favorite parks, Sky Meadows.  Weather had turned bitter cold this weekend, but we were staying in Winchester for the agility show and the park is only 30 min away.  When you watch the video clip and see the dogs excitement as we arrive, it might make a little more sense why we are willing to freeze ourselves for a hike here. Now, the first day we came, I  hiked up the grassy hillside on the North Ridge trail and back down the Piedmont.  Probably a bad choice given the harsh wind and cold.  If I had chosen the woods, we'd been protected against some of those harsh elements.  Poor Braddock's ear tips split open as I didn't have his snood on.  The positive thought is that Logan was able to complete this 1 hour hike without difficulty. On the next day, we walked the full loop starting at the South Ridge Trail, then turning left on North Ridge to Appalachian, then the fields of the Ambassador Trail, and finally back down North Ridge. It&

The park isn't our favorite, but there's a nice ride along the James River to the parking lot.  The trail runs along the river to offer some breath-taking views. We chose this location because it's easy to push the stroller for Logan and close to StonyPoint mall which is dog friendly. The headline for this blog really is simple.  It is February and Logan is still doing well.  It is amazing how well he has adjusted to the stroller.  His favorite game is hopping in, popping out his head to face me, and holding up his paw indicating he wants a treat.  After the park, the dogs get to go to StonyPoint and visit the dog bakery for some treats.  They also get tons of pets from local shoppers. 

The Westminster Master Agility Championship experience can be summed up in 3 words:   Excitement, Energy, Achievement.   I believe every agility enthusiast should attempt to go at least once if they can.   This year, we weren’t sure we would be able to make the trip (as I mentioned previously in Logan’s blog).   When Patti (who has been treating Logan) gave me confidence that he could make it, we decided to go, but to keep the trip short.    I’ll have to wait for another year to visit the museums, take in the good music, and enjoy the food while we are up there. I believe a true road trip means actually getting off the road every once in a while to allow yourself the chance to take it all in.   I find the best way for us all to enjoy the thrill of being on the road is to go on a hike.   In this spirit, on the trip up, we stopped at a couple of our favorite parks.   First was a quick walk at Prince William National Forest off exit 152 on 95N.   The sun hadn’t risen yet so this was

The Trip We had an easy drive down on Thanksgiving Day, mostly because we left early.   We camped at the show site T. Garrison’s arena, and arrived around 2pm.   Our RV site was #27 but need to remember in the future to try and get on the end as it gets packed when you are in the center. We unloaded and immediately went to the Botanical Gardens.   It is amazing that dogs are allowed at this place.   Yet, new this time, was a marked path that didn’t allow dogs.   That was a pity.   But there’s plenty of walking around the pond and the paved roads surrounding the gardens.   It’s still possible to get the beautiful views of the foliage and flowers.   The fall colors were still in bloom and we enjoyed the bold red and orange trees. The paved roads make it easy to stroll Logan too.   Although, he really didn’t need it much.   One day was warm and he needed to be in the stroller more, but the other days were cooler and he enjoyed jumping out and meandering along.   In fact,

On Monday after the show we decided to stay close to the campground for the day.  Also the morning temps were already soaring so we didn't want to go far with Logan.  So, we headed up to Lake  Louisa at 8am, when the park opens, to walk the dogs.  There are paved roads throughout the park, making it easy to stroll Logan around.  We started our walk at the little lake near the cabins and entered in on the equestrian trails.  Logan walked that trail for about a mile, and then we exited back to the paved roads to put Logan in the stroller.  We circled around the RV campground there, which is very nice, but only electric and water. After the walk we headed to the Lake Louisa section to sit out for a while and enjoy the view of the lake.  Logan enjoyed lounging in his stroller and the other guys laid in the sand and watched the squirrels dance in the trees. We spent the rest of the day at the campground.  I took a swim and got in the hot tub.  Then we bik