Podengo

Tiny hound murdered a mouse! (with a little assistance from big sister Elsie!) Warning dead mouse photo below

I've never seen a leaky dog trailer. A well made one is waterproof and they stay really warm overnight. I travelled away with a group of friends for a week long agility seminar and show trip, and we had 8 dogs with us so took a trailer. It was pretty cold weather, and each morning when I opened the trailer up there was a big gush of warm air out of the trailer and all of the dogs looked really snuggly and warm. Elsie had her regular bedding in the trailer (a thick foam bed, a mink blanket and some polarfleece blankets). The other dogs had dry bed and a few other blankets.

I had Ping at the vet for reverse sneezing last week. I knew it was reverse sneezing, but I wanted it confirmed (had a video with it). My boyfriend thinks I just like spending money there :laugh:

Yeah a thorough check up would be my first port of call - perhaps he has issues crossing the slippery floor due to sore areas in his back or legs? Or vision problems? Maybe he slipped when crossing it and got hurt, that could be enough to upset a sensitive boy! Have they tried putting down mats for him to walk across, or using booties with some traction?

I worked really hard on Elsie's recall, and am doing the same thing for recall training Ping my little Podengo. I tried a few different things including some modified Susan Garrett recall games, some stuff from Leslie McDevitt's Control Unleashed program and bits from the RRR DVD too. Elsie's recall is pretty bombproof around everything except while mid chase after hares, I used to be able to call her off mid chase every time, but I have been really slack in my recall training with her over the last year and it's showing now. If I call her early enough I can get her back, but if she is in full flight and yelping after them I don't have a chance :) We walk 3 or 4 times a week in a forest that is rampant with hares and she chases at least 10 on every walk, so gets a lot of opportunity to practice chasing... I really should do more work with her!

I've only met a handful of them, and of course have read a bit and now have my own boy... But in my experience they're not as aloof as some of the other sighthounds and a LOT busier! But are very high prey drive and really movement oriented. Ping sees a leaf blowing across the field and just bolts after it without thinking! In terms of training, so far he is very different to Elsie and the other dogs (mostly working breeds) I have worked with. He enjoys training as long as the sessions are kept really short, you don't repeat anything more than two or three times and you keep everything happening quickly. He is really soft and sensitive, does not handle even being looked at the wrong way! Generally they're a really happy, lively little dog :) Lots of chihuahua x :) He is really tiny! 2.7kg yesterday!

Whippets and whippet mixes are some of the most popular flyball breeds :) Do a youtube search for whippet flyball and you'll see thousands of great videos!

That's the plan, though who knows with a hound, I hope we'll have a lot of fun at least :laugh: Ping got a new jumpers today, as it's been pretty chilly here.... I can't stop picking him and cuddling him because he is just so damn cute!!

Some new photos of my handsome boy :)

I've used 4cyte for Elsie, over our busy end of winter agility season coming up to nationals. I know of quite a few agility people that use it here for all of their dogs, not just the oldies :) I don't know if it made a huge difference to Elsie as she is young and doesn't have any joint problems, but she was in awesome shape for nationals and went through 4 days of competing on pretty soft ground and came out the other side in great shape.

Elsie has a back on track coat, it's gorgeous and sooo warm. Beautiful fit too.

Elsie loves drunk people haha, if we have parties she stays up way past her usual bed time and brings ALL of her toys out because all the suckers will throw her toys for hours!

Or as he has been lovably nicknamed by those who can't remember his breed.... 4P! (PPPP - Ping the Portuguese Podengo Pequeno)

First beach trip! He is taking everything in his stride, not phased by anything really! He will be entering his first breed show in May - a new experience for me, luckily they're a breed that don't require any grooming outside of a bath, teeth clean and nail clip :laugh: He free stacks beautifully, but isn't that fussed on being hand stacked yet and is taking awhile to enjoy having his teeth looked at... Hopefully he doesn't throw any tantrums for the judge. Will be interesting to see the reaction to his breed at the shows, as he is the first in NZ nobody knows what he is. We've had lots of guesses for Chihuahua mix, basenji mix and jack russell mix (in which case I say no, but the big one is!) He is such a fun puppy to train, very enthusiastic, but gets bored super fast. He seems to learn from watching Elsie a lot too. As Elsie has always been an only dog I never saw her doing that, but he does it all the time... Seeing her working on begging and that's the first thing he tries when it's his turn to work. Oh and he has a name now! Ping!

Neoprene lined gumboots! They don't flop around and give you sore legs, and you can get some with really good tread. Of course they're made for Canadian winters so may be a bit hardcore for Aussie!

I use it when we travel for shows, and occasionally if I feel lazy I buy the frozen one for the dogs too which works out a bit cheaper :)

Arrowtown and all of Central Otago are among my favourite SI places. Central is so bare, but so beautiful! Arrowtown is just picture perfect!

WAM is the weave a matics, ours is set like regular weaves but at the base of each pole is a little screw that you can undo to chance the angle of the poles. Sometimes we'll just adjust the angle on the second pole to make entries a little easier when working hard entry angles etc, but leave the rest of the poles like regular weaves. I've been involved in running the beginner classes at my club for 4 years and we're absolutely had the most success with 2x2, but our newbies do go through a class prior to starting in the class with weaves. Usually it's winter training that knocks our newbies out, not weaves!

We train with 2x2, WAM and have the channel weaves as back up. We like 2x2 for entries, and that it is very easy to train at home. In our introductory class the students are introduced to shaping by teaching wobble boards and various tricks, then once they have a good grasp of shaping (passed that criteria in the class!) they can use the 2x2. The WAM is good for reinforcing speed in the weaves once the dogs have the general idea. The WAM is only at club though, and the beginners only have access to it one training night a week - so can't teach weaves with that alone really. Channel weaves are back ups, but we really prefer not to use them as they're a pain to get out and we have found new agility people won't buy the gear to train channels at home. IMO if they want to learn to weave properly they HAVE to do their homework, and 2x2 is the easiest way to get them doing their homework. We have experimented with loads of different methods over the years, and have found 2x2 the best for getting them working it at all and actually putting it into practice. This is with absolutely new to dog training beginners, at a club with very few border collies too :)

Gorgeous photos! Every time I take a road trip anywhere I am just blown away by how beautiful the SI is! Glad you enjoyed yourself!

My two gorgeous doggies

Thanks! :D I don't mind at all. My partner and I wanted a second dog that was going to be a little bit more his dog than what Elsie is (she is very much a mummy's girl), so going along with what he likes in a dog our criteria was small, short/smooth coat, not a terrier or terrier mix (his words not mine!) and when looking at breeds we both liked pods and iggies. Pods won out in the end as I like their temperaments a bit better (more suited for our lifestyle I feel) and they're pretty hardy/healthy little dogs. I have met quite a few people online that compete pretty successfully in agility and obedience with them in Europe, so that was pretty appealing too :) Oh and they're darn cute!!

We've just got home from a massive trip from Christchurch > Picton > Rotorua for a 2 day seminar > Napier for a 2 day show > Christchurch. He has been such a well behaved puppy, could not have been better behaved in the car and he really enjoyed meeting all the new people and dogs. He is such a confident wee guy! Some photos from the agility show :)

Sooooo cooool!