Tag Archives: Winn

dogs

Maisie’s birthday week!

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On Saturday, May 14th, Maisie turned 9! I don’t really know how that is possible, the years have passed so quickly.

Since the day we brought Maisie home, she has been an absolute joy. Her greatest desire is to please those around her and she is the most perceptive dog I’ve ever known. She is so tuned in to human emotions, she can sense things before they become apparent to others. That quality is what makes her an outstanding reading assistance dog in Chicago Public Schools.

This year, Maisie’s birthday coincided with the Newfoundland National Specialty in Frankenmuth, MI. I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate her birthday than to travel up there and experience the week with Maisie!

In previous years, 2018 and 2019, Winn and I went to National and Maisie stayed home. I had never trained her in dog sports, and it didn’t occur to me that she would like them. The National Specialty in 2020 and 2021 were both cancelled due to the pandemic, so this year the organizers blended all three years into one amazing show. That set the theme of The Greatest Show on Earth celebrating 2020. 2021 and 2022.

We drove up on Mother’s Day so that Maisie and I would be ready to compete Monday morning. We started the day in a grand way by placing 3rd in Novice Obedience and her earning her Companion Dog title! I’m especiallly proud of this because we only started training about four months ago and I took her to her very first obedience trial the weekend before where she successfully completed the first two legs for her title.

On Tuesday, she earned her Rally Novice title with another high score and later that afternoon we gathered with all of the other regional clubs and participated in the Opening Ceremony. Each club interpreted the circus theme with costumes and floats. The local marching band was on hand and each club got to strut their stuff across the ring and then we all followed the band to the river front for a champaigne toast to kick off the week.

Wednesday was another successful day and the final day of our obedience events. Maisie and I bumped up to Rally Intermediate where she earned a perfect score of 100 and first place. I decided to move her into the Veteran’s Obedience class which is more of an exhibition class. Somehow she knew it was her last event and she showed off. She was her abolute best and most joyful, rolling over for a belly rub after her recall. She knew she was doing a good job and couldn’t contain herself! The judge was charmed and chuckled as she pointed us to our final exercise. She earned first place in that event as well and I was so proud of all she accomplished.

At this point in the show, the conformation judging begins and the building with the obedience rings turns into grooming central. Everywhere you turn, there are Newfies and their owners prepping for their time in the big ring. It is really a sight to behold! Maisie handled all the extra noise like a pro and seemed to genuinely enjoy being around all of the excitement.

Thursday afternoon, after the judging of the boy dogs concluded, there was an honors ceremony for dogs that have earned titles. I signed Winn and Maisie up for this and we stood ring side waiting for their names to be called. The dogs are called out by birth year so Maisie was first then we waited a bit for Winn. This is special to me since neither of them are conformation dogs and we get to parade across the big ring and celebrate their accomplishments.

Friday was our last day at the show. The female dogs are in the conformation ring and during the lunch break is my favorite event of the week, the Rescue Parade!

The Rescue Parade is something I wanted to do with Annie, but the timing wasn’t right for her, so I make a point of attending every year in her honor. I had three friends participating this year with their Newfs and it was emotional for all of them. Each Newf is called out with their owner and their story is read over the microphone. They receive a medal and have the option of running around the ring. To hear each of their stories, all so different, many heart breaking but also heart warming is incredible. They have all found their forever homes and are treasured and loved as they should be. The first dog called out was in memoriam, and his owner carried a stuffed newf in his honor. The remaining all took their turns and there were tears and smiles all around!

After a little more shopping, we packed up and headed home. This week was so memorable. I was happy to get back up there and participate in this big event after two year pause. I am also a lot more confident in my handling skills and to have Maisie by my side was so very special. The week flew by and as always, I can’t wait to go again next year!

Happy birthday Maisie, you are such a special girl!

Dog training, dogs

Newfoundland National 2019 part 1

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Last week, approximately 400 Newfoundland Dogs descended upon the town of Frankenmuth, MI for the annual big show. It is a week packed with events to showcase all of the wonderful traits of my favorite breed. There is so much to see and do and I’d like to highlight some of the special and unique events that occur in addition to the conformation ring packed with beautiful Newfoundlands.

The beginning of the week is dedicated to the working events which include the Draft Test as well as Competition Obedience and Rally Obedience. Winn and I participated in all three this year so we were very busy!

The first event of the week is the Draft Test. We were up bright and early Monday morning. I packed the wagon with her crate, a chair, weights for her cart and miscellaneous other things I thought we would need. Winn pulled her cart and I pulled the wagon down to the test area to join the other teams checking in and lining up their gear.

We started training about two months ago. I didn’t expect to pass (we didn’t), but with every test or trial we enter, I always learn new things for the next time. This was the first test for me and I did learn a lot. In training, I focused primarily on maneuvering, which we did really well, but there are a lot of details that are included in a passing score that we learned while we worked our way through the exercises. The judges were very supportive and gave me lots of feedback. Hopefully with our next test we will be closer to getting that Draft Dog title!

The fun part of entering these events is the camaraderie we develop with the other people that are also there. I had just as much fun (maybe more because it was less stressful) cheering for their success as I did participating. One of our friends entered with a team (two Newfies harnessed together). She didn’t pass either, but she gave it a valiant effort and of course I loved seeing another brown team. She was first and we were last, creating brown newfie book ends for this test.

The very first group to hit the conformation ring are beginner puppies. Puppies 4-6 months old bounding around the ring with pure puppy glee are my favorite. I don’t think there is much else to say except PUPPIES!

The final event in the obedience ring is Team Obedience. Take it from me, trying to get through the Obedience exercises with one dog is very challenging, Team Obedience includes four dogs and their handlers. Completing all of the exercises perfectly with all of teams takes a special kind of training. I love watching this and everyone gave it their very best effort. You never know what will happen, even with the very best trained dog and we’ve all learned to go out there and have fun. What will be, will be.

Junior handlers have their own competition within the show. Juniors are the future of all sports, and they participate in many events throughout the week side by side with all of the other handlers and their dogs. I saw them in the obedience ring and the conformation ring as well as lending a helping hand to other handlers as they were preparing for their own events. There was a pool party, a scavenger hunt and other fun activities for them during their downtime. I enjoyed seeing them coming and going and was especially excited to see them all in the big ring for their Junior Handler event.

As you can see, there is lot going on throughout the week. I need several posts to cover it all, so you can look forward to reading about the Rescue Parade, the Living Legends celebration, Brace class, Stud class and so much more!

dogs, traveling with dogs

Gettin’ ready for the big show!

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Next week, April 29th-May 4th is the Newfoundland National Specialty in Frankenmuth, MI. Newfoundland Dogs (and their owners and/or handlers) from across the country and even from other parts of the world, gather for a week filled with activities and events of all things Newfoundland Dog.

https://www.ncanationalspecialty.org

I went last year for the very first time and Winn and I participated in two events. We were there for three days, Winn earned her Rally Intermediate title and I did my very best to remain calm and not get overwhelmed by the magnitude of the show. My daughter joined me which was a huge confidence boost while I mingled around other Newfoundland owners that seemed to have so much more experience with this incredible breed that I love so much.

This year I decided to go for the full experience and will be up there all week. Once again, I am bringing my steady partner Winn and we are entered in 10 events (yikes!). The first one is the Draft Test on Monday morning for which we have been focusing our training over the last several weeks. Currently we are on the alternate list, we started as the 4th alternate and recently jumped to 1st alternate so there is still hope that we will make it into the test. (The test is limited to 15 dogs, so we are waiting for just one more person to drop from the test. ) If we don’t make it in, that’s OK, we will watch our friends participate and we have 9 other events to keep us plenty busy.

This show is the Granddaddy of all shows. I’ve been looking forward to it since last years’ show ended. I have focused on being even more prepared for the many aspects of the event. It seemed so far away for so long, but now it is next week and I’ve got a lot to do! I’ve had a running list in my head for the last few weeks that include: training, a very lengthy packing list, Winn will need a bath and fresh trim to look her very best and I need to gather my support materials for our agenda.

Training:

Most of our training has been in Rally and Obedience. For the health of her joints, I needed to wait until Winn turned two, her birthday is March 6th, before we started focusing on jumping and pulling the cart. After earning her Rally Intermediate title last year, she can compete in Rally Advanced but that level includes jumps so we had to hold off on entering that level until very recently. Shortly after Christmas, I purchased a carting starter kit and slowly introduced the harness, the feeling of pulling something and then finally hooked her up to the cart about six weeks ago. She’s very good with all of the maneuvering, I think because it’s so much like rally, she just needs to pay attention to me and my commands. She doesn’t love putting the harness over her head, so we continue to work on that with lots of praise and rewards. Harness and Hitch are the first two elements of the course and she has to be willing to do that before we can even begin.

Packing list: this list seems to grow every day, but so far, this is what I’ve decided I need to bring.

For Winn:

  • Crates-2 soft sided 1 wire (large for room, lightweight to bring to sites, wire to set up for longer stay in grooming building as a back up), crate pads
  • chairs-2 one for show, one lightweight for sites
  • treats: training and reward
  • food: dry and fresh, supplements
  • food and water bowls/ extra water bowl and water bottle to bring to event sites
  • blanket/sheet for bed, toys
  • portable fan, charger and extra batteries
  • draft cart (disassemble Sat), weights, harness
  • draft cart repair kit: extra clips, nuts, allen wrench, large screwdriver
  • leashes: slip and leather
  • clean up kit: rags, wipes, poop bags
  • first aid kit, embrace ins. form and immunization record, copy of registration for eye clinic
  • bibs
  • brush, grooming spray, scissors
  • Winn’s robe/towels
  • training bag
  • cross bars for roof rack

For Me:

  • clothes for a week
  • outfit and hat for Derby Day party !!??!!
  • bathing suit
  • toiletries, brushes, hair dryer, curling iron, plenty of hair ties, ball cap
  • cooler with grab and go foods: deli meat, yogurt, soda, bread, snacks
  • camera, charger, lens cleaner
  • pillow
  • raincoat and rain boots
  • sunscreen
  • disposable cups, plates, paper towel
  • wine, wine opener
  • small scissors
  • laptop, iPad, chargers for all electronics, camera cord

How on earth is all of this going to fit into the car?!

Winn needs a bath and trim Tuesday/Wednesday

Misc.:

  • Take screen photos of all entry numbers and judging form for each day. Create a phone note for each day with the schedule of events and entry numbers as well as meals and downtime.

I’ve learned from being at different events that internet access can be spotty and slow. When checking in at past events, I’ve had to scramble a few times to find my entry number because reception has been bad. This time around, I want to have stored notes for each day with my numbers and the schedule for quick and easy reference. I don’t need to add to my stress level and I like to be prepared when I approach the stewards to pick up my numbers.

I’ll be taking lots of pictures and posting daily on Instagram and FaceBook. There is so much that we are going to be doing that I’m sure I’ll have enough material for several posts, so stay tuned, and wish us luck!

You can read about our experience at last years’ Newfoundland National here.

Dog training

Summer fun in the water

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I knew that Winn was something special when she spotted the newspaper on the sidewalk, made her way down the porch steps and brought the paper into the kitchen for a reward. She was only 4 months old! I had tried to show her how to do that two or three times a couple of weeks before but I didn’t think she was getting it and figured she was too young and we would try again when she was older. That was the first time that she showed me she really was absorbing what I was trying to teach her to do and could put it together at a later time.  I was instantly aware that I had a true working dog on my hands and we could explore all kinds fun activities together.

Last summer I observed some friends water training their Newfies and then I volunteered at our local Newfoundland Club’s annual water test. I had never been to a test before and was just beginning to learn about water work with Newfoundlands but after that experience I was hooked!

When I got home from that test, I knew it was something that I wanted to do with Winn so I purchased a recommended book that was dedicated to training for the three different levels of the water test.  We played retrieval games with bumpers and a life jacket.  I filled her wading pool with water so that she could dunk her face for carrots and hot dogs as well as diving rings. We went swimming in a doggie pool during the winter months, throwing in different articles for her to retrieve and even doing a little jumping off of the pool deck to encourage her playfulness in the water.

When spring rolled around, I was excited to actually start training for the test. We have good friends who have enjoyed doing water and draft work with Newfies for many years.  They were teaching a water work seminar for the Central Ontario Newfoundland Club over Memorial Day Weekend and I decided that would be a great way to spend the weekend with our friends, learning new skills and being surrounded by fellow Newfie lovers.

They went through each of the different exercises and showed us how to break them into small segments.  We learned tips and tricks to practice on land as well as in the water, and each exercise was introduced to each team individually in a gentle and fun way.

Land work: practicing going out and around and revving her up by having fun with her fetching articles.

Learning Take A Line, one of the most difficult exercises:

Introducing the boat, taking treats and pulling it in:

Swim With Handler, our favorite exercise that we had been doing all winter at the indoor doggie pool:

When we returned home, we had to wait a few more weeks for the weather to cooperate but we were invited to train with two other families at a nearby lake.  We spent almost every Saturday or Sunday with them and Winn took to it amazingly well.  We each took turns with our dogs, helping each other out with exercises by acting like a drowning victim, dropping articles in the water or rowing the boat. IMG_8075.jpgAs the weeks passed, Winn was executing everything really well.  When she was first learning Take A Line, we put a long line on her to help guide to the caller, then swim around them and back to shore.  After only 2 or 3 times with the long line, she understood what she was supposed to do and after that I didn’t put the long line on again. She was great at retrieval, was starting to understand Tow A Boat and was perfect with the Basic Control exercises.  I even found myself giving tips to others on heeling and recall!IMG_7773Once I was pretty confident with our skills, I started getting more excited about entering a water test.  There were several tests planned in our area, all on different weekends so I started filling out the paperwork and entered 4 different tests with the hope of getting into and competing in 2 or 3.  In addition to our own club’s test which would be the last one of the summer, we got into one in Indiana and one in Michigan.  I really hoped that we would have success in at least one of them.

We continued practicing, fine tuning each exercise so that we were doing what was needed to pass and building her strength and stamina.  She wore a life jacket during practice and I was planning on taking it off and doing a full practice run of the test the week before our first water test in Indiana. I wrote a post a while back explaining why Newfies wear life jackets when they train and you can read that here. Everything was going according to plan until the night before that designated practice and Winn went into heat!  I knew it was coming sometime soon but I didn’t expect it that night.  We would have to stay home and wouldn’t have any more time in the water until we showed up for our first test.  I would just have to cross my fingers and go for it. That would add an extra layer of difficulty, she would most likely be more distracted and would have a harder time focusing on me.  I had also severely sprained my ankle the week before and had skipped practice.  By the time we tested, it was 3 weeks since we had been in the water and she wouldn’t be cleared to practice again until 2 weeks after we got back and that was the weekend of the Michigan test.  It was time to have faith in our skills and go out and have a good time no matter how it may end up!IMG_8091next post: our first water test!

dogs

Happy Birthday Baby Winn!

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From the very beginning, Winn has loved to rummage around and bring me things. She proudly shows off her treasures and while it’s tricky,  I’ve tried to get a picture whenever possible.

What could be a better way to celebrate her growth over the past year than to take a look at her answers to my constant question “what’s in your mouth”?

She quickly discovered that the recycling bin held all kinds of fun items from containers:

to boxes:

She loves to chew on the food and water bowls and string them around the house. I’m trying to train her to round them up and bring them to me so that I can fill them. That isn’t going so well.

She likes to bring me socks:

and random s**t she finds around the house:IMG_3832

IMG_4338

My all time favorite was when she snuck upstairs, busted into the guest room, broke into the closet and pulled my sewing basket off the shelf.  She rummaged through all of the spilled contents until she found the perfect item and ran downstairs and posed by the treat cabinet ready to make an exchange. There was a long trail of ribbon behind her as she proudly waited for me.IMG_5186Last but not least, day 364, yesterday. She chewed on a huge box that I set outside to and then tried to hide the evidence in her jowl when I opened the door.IMG_5788She’s a character and has brought an unlimited amount of joy to our family.  Happy Birthday baby Winn, you are getting to be such a big girl but you are still such puppy at heart! Can I still call you my puppy and tiny baby now that your are one year old?IMG_1857