We finally made it to the top of a waiting list and joined an agility club.

We had the email from Donna of The Agility Dog Club of Victoria a couple of weeks ago.
"New Members introductory session on Wednesday 6th May"

Woohoo!

So off I went, no dog in tow, to meet some of the club committee and the new members and get the low-down on what to expect. Another intrdocutory session at the club ground a few days later (again sans-dog) then the big day (well night actually).

Friday night we tripped over the Westgate Bridge to Crofts Reserve in Altona for our first ever agility class. Gerard the instructor was great, the other class members were great, the dogs were all great (including 2 Springer Spaniels!) and Barkly was awesome. Because it's early days - we worked on some foundation exercises and got him familiar with some equipment. He breezed through all the equipment and exercises. Loved the tunnels, solid waits, no problems with the wobble board or the ground ladder, great focus and he even played tug in a distracting environment.

Can't wait till Friday for Lesson Number 2. We've been warned though - wear your running shoes. Eeek.

On the weekend, we attended a Clicker Training Seminar with Uta Bindels - a world renowned trainer from Germany. The event was organised by the Eagle Heights Sports Dog Club in Endeavour Hills and ran from Saturday to Sunday.

What a great weekend!

Uta Bindels is a German woman who trains Malinois (Belgium Shepherds) in the sport of Shutzhund.

"Schutzhund (german for protection dog) is a dog sport that was developed in Germany in the early 1900s to test whether German Shepherd Dogs exhibit the traits necessary for police-type work, rather than simply evaluating a dog's appearance. Today, many breeds other than German Shepherds can compete in Schutzhund, but it is a demanding test for any dog and few are able to pass successfully."
Schutzhund - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I was lucky enough to book in early and so secured a place for myself AND Barkly. Dog numbers were limited so I was very excited.

The course covered basic clicker training and allowed some hands on sessions to work on our clicker skills and training abilities, iron out some specific problems and increase our dogs precision.

I learnt a lot and it was wonderful to watch someone who was incredibly skilled do her stuff.

Barkly was a star. He had great focus and worked really well. Everyone was very impressed by his focus, eagerness and joy when working.

Barkly's first blue sash!

Today Barkly passed his level 2 obedience test at Croydon and District Obedience Club with flying colors. That means he received his Basic Obedience Sash and is now ready to start Intermediate level and also start in the agility classes!

I couldn't have been more happy with how we performed this morning. Barkly put in an almost faultless performance, even with dogs breaking their stays all around him and a few running off. Lots of barking didn't faze him and even the single nearby scuffle left him solid in his sit stay.

His on lead heeling was the best it's ever been, his recall was perfect and he hardly moved a muscle during his stand for examination.

His one minor fault - a break during his stand stay (he sat when distracted by a nearby breaking dog and approaching handler). Not enough to cause a fail though.

Of about 12 dogs and handlers in the class, only about 5 passed, so I was very happy with Barkly.

To cap it all off, we actually had fun. Barkly enjoyed his chicken rewards and his play between exercises and I enjoyed working well and the morning in the sun.

After class we were presented with our blue sashes and I took a few photos to commemorate the occasion when we got home.

Barkly is sleeping off his big day in his usually style - in his crate, on his back with his tongue hanging out.

Happy birthday Barkly!!!

Barkly was born on the 29th February 2008. Because it was a leap year - that makes today, 1st March 2009, his 1st birthday!

Barkly is 1 year old today. Hip Hip!
Happy Birthday Barkly.

What a year it's been.

Barkly is the first dog I've owned since I was a young tacker, more than 20 years ago. I constantly amazed by the bond that has devleoped over the last year. I've learnt a lot about dog training and animal training and behavior in general, joined 2 dog schools and met quite a few cool people.

Before I got Barkly, I used to go for walks at the local park (an off lead dog area) and imagine being able to walk with my dog, not just live vicariously through other people's dogs. Now I can.

He's been the source of a lot of pleasure and pain, fun and frustration and exasperation and exhilaration. I wouldn't swap it for the world. A special thanks goes out to his breeder Belinda, his groomer Andy and his vets Janine and Rachel! And a big thanks to DOL for getting us through this first year!

Elspan Barkly Blue

From this:



To this:



Still with the tongue hanging out.

It's been quite an eventful time for Barkly.

He's been desexed. Temporarily.
"Huh?" I hear you say.

Barkly is now the proud owner of a SupreLorin 12 implant. A slow release capsule that reduces his testosterone to zero for the next 12 months which was implanted under the skin between his should blades. So far it seems to be doing what it's supposed to. He's almost completely stopped marking his territory when we are out for walks and his testicles have shrunk by about 75%. Poor little fella with his little balls. Batter than none at all I suppose!

What else?
Well, school is finished for the year, no obedience school until the middle of January. We continue to train at home, with the odd private lesson with Hollie.

Oh yeah - Barkly had kennel cough. Argh. Probably picked it up at the local dog park - our vet said that she'd treated a few of the local dogs. Anyway, a course of antibiotics, some rest and no dog contact for a few weeks and he was right as rain. He's now 100% fit again.

At 10 months old, I think he's pretty much full grown. He'll fill out a little bit but he's at his full height now. He's a good size!

What's he been up to?
It's a dog's life. Runs on the lawn first thing in the morning, off lead at the park mid morning or early afternoon. Regular trips to the beach.

Barkly loves the water, especially running and wading in the shallows. He's not too keen on actually swimming yet, but he's getting more comfortable with every trip to the beach.
Yesterday we spent a couple of hours just wandering up and down the beach, from water to sandbar to water to sandbar. He had a great time. At one stage he got his head stuck in a Doritos packet. Silly dog. By the way, does anyone know if mussels are bad for dogs!?!?!

I nearly forgot - his first Christmas!
From his groomer (thanks Andy!) - a nice hide chew (stolen by Winnie the boxer on Christmas day), a mini pigs ear and a squeaky rubber chop and from the kids next door, a rubber squeaky bone.
He spent Christmas day at Nia's mum's place, romping with Winnie the boxer, finding tennis balls and generally being a very good boy. It was a very good socialization day for Orlando and Imogen - they've actually learned to like Barkly now that his jumping, crazy puppy days are behind him!

I suppose I should wake him up for a walk down the park. He's asleep on his office chair, but the minute I stop typing and get up, he'll wake up and start following me around the house.

Anyway, time for a walk at the park.

Saturday afternoon, Brighton Beach off-lead dog area and a chance meeting!

Barkly found a nice orange roan boy to play with. We got talking to the new cockers owner...Turns out, it's another Elspan cocker! Barkly and Otis (Elspan Mango Moon) are from the same breeder. Otis is around 12 months old so he's a bit older and wiser than Barkly. They had great fun playing chase on the beach.

New pictures of Barkly and a picture of Otis in the gallery!

Oh and I nearly forgot! We also ran into Dave Hughes, his partner Holly and...the OTHER Barkly!

Well, Barkly is now Seven and a half months old and he's the best dog in the whole world!

We continue to train and he's recently graduated to level 2 at both Croydon and Southside. He's a little star.

We are also getting our feet in the door of Agility Dog Club of Victoria, an agility club based in Altona. It'll be a while till he's ready to join the foundation class but once he's 12 months olde - we'll be ready!

Barkly, Nia and I are just enjoying life with Barkly. Walks in the park, at the beach, Sunday mornings on the bed (and I said he'd never be allowed on the bed...right).

He's just had his second professional grooming (thanks Andy!) and he's looking a million dollars. There's some new images taken on the Ardoch lawn in the gallery. How handsome is he!

It's Royal Melbourne Show time and for me, that means dog related activities.

Saturday was a great day, up bright and early to watch the agility competition.

It was nice to experience the Royal Melbourne Show atmosphere, a bit different from the Nationals. Lots of the general public really enjoying the show.

Standing in the crowd taking photos, I heard many comments along the lines:

• "Wow, those dogs are smart"
• "How to they train them to do that?"
• "I wonder how (insert spectators dog name here) would go"
  

The children seemed to particularly enjoy watching. Lots of cheers, lots of laughs.

It showed me what a great spectator sport agility is - even for those outside 'the scene'!

I seemed to do better taking photos at this event. I managed to get a good spot in front of the weave poles early on and got a few good shots. Then I decided to try to get some shots with the handlers in the frame, so I headed to the other side of the course.

I had a good position in front of the dog walk and right next to the see-saw. I managed to get some good shots and this time, quite a few with the handlers interacting with the dogs.

Typically it seems (!), the rain came down and it got cold. It didn't deter the dogs but it did deter me. I didn't come prepared and in hindsight, wearing just a t-shirt wasn't such a good idea. At least the rain propvioded some nice atmosphere for a few shots.

Barkly is now 6 months old and growing fast. He's almost a man!

He's now going to grown up dog school:

• Southside Dog School
• Croydon & District Obedience Dog Club

He goes to school 2 days per week and we also have private tutoring every second week.

He's still cheaper than a child.

At Southern, he's in Basic One, practicing skills such as sit, down, stay, go to mat, walking nicely and paying attention in a distracting environment. He's the star of his class - but he barks a lot. I think he keeps saying "Hurry up, give me the food", or maybe "Come on, that was too easy. Give me something else to do. I'm bored".

At Croydon, he's been slotted into week 7 of Level 1 and is working again on Sits, Downs, Stays, Recalls, Go to mat, lead walking, and we are working on his barking during training sessions.

We train by ourselves a couple of time per day and he gets at least one off-lead walk in Alma Park every day.

Every couple of days we go to a great beach in Brighton, fenced and designated as off-lead for dogs all year round. He loves it there.

Last Friday was a beautiful day and the beach was packed with dogs. Everyone had a great time. All the dogs are very well behaved. Everyone loves Barkly - he's great fun to chase. His floppy ears are irresistable.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Royal Melbourne Show, it's "Cocker Day". I'll say hello to Belinda, Barkly's breeder and check out the cocker judging and watch the obedience competition as well.

The 2008 National Dog Agility Championships were held at KCC Park from the 29th to the 31st August.

Being a new fan of agility and hoping to compete one day with Barkly, I decided to go along to watch and take some photos.

I attended on Saturday and Sunday, and took quite a few photos. Saturday was spent getting a feel for the best positions, camera settings and techniques - it wasn't easy! Sunday I took a lot of photos. 

The weather turned nasty on Sunday, with thunderstorms, rain and freezing cold. By late Sunday afternoon, as the final events were being held, I decided to stop shooting so I could put my hands in my pockets.

A most enjoyable weekend which has made me more eager to get into the sport. The dogs love it. The competitors love it...everyone has a great time.

I've created a gallery of some of my favorite shots from the weekend.

Just returned from 16 nights on Magnetic Island, off the coast of Townsville in Far Northern Queensland.

Over 2 weeks of blue skies and warm days.

For several reasons we decided to take Barkly with us: I couldn't bear to be without him, I thought it'd be great socialisation for him and some time for extra training!

For our 06.05am flight from Melbourne-Brisbane-Townsville, we had to check Barkly in at Australian Air Express at 04.30am. That meant waking up at 03.15am and driving to the airport at 03.45am It was a very, very early morning!
So, at 03.45am, Barkly into his airline approved crate, crate into the car and off to the airport.

Everything proceeded very smoothly and at around 10.30am, we picked up a very happy to see us Barkly at Townsville airport. Taxi ride to the ferry terminal, then the 20 minute ferry ride to the island. Hire a car (a mini Moke!!) and drive to the house. Woo hoo! We made it!

Barkly seemed to cope pretty well with all the drama of the flight and ferry trip. Fortunately, he's been sleeping in his airline approved crate since he was a tiny pup, so that was familiar to him.

Anyway - the house had a great big fenced backyard with lots of sticks for chewing and...COCONUT SHELLS!

Barkly fell in love with coconut shells! He loved to split them open and then shred them to pieces. He went though at least one coconut shell per day. Toward the middle of our holiday, I decided to restrict his intake - he was becoming obsessed with them!!

We quickly settled into our holiday routine.

7am - Wake up call from Barkly. Let him out of his crate for toilet and get ready for his walk on the beach. Take him for a walk from the house to the beach (about 200m) and then walk along the beach to the local cafe (Arcadia Store - great breakfasts!). Barkly would run, sniff, dig, wade and generally have a blast on his way to the cafe.

Thirty minutes later Nia and I would settle down for a leisurely breakfast with the newspapers. Barkly would be tied up, sitting on a bench, up high so he could see us. We would spend the next hour or two eating breakfast and reading the papers, while Barkly would enjoy pats and cuddles from everyone who passed his bench. He must have met a hundred different people on that bench.

After breakfast, we'd head back to the house for a little rest. We'd read books in the backyard or watch DVDs and Barkly would entertain himself with a stick or a coconut. I'd slip in some training excercises - heel work, sits, stays, shake, spin, etc.

Lunch was usually at the house, a BBQ, a sandwich, biscuits and cheese. After lunch - we'd often head back to the beach for an hour or so, reading, walking, playing in the water or we'd take the Moke to another part of the island for some sightseeing. An afternoon nap was often on the cards. Dinner was usually at the house: more BBQs!

We weren't completely lazy. We did manage to go for a few long walks, we hired a boat for a day and cruised around the island (Barkly doesn't like noisy vibrating boats!).

The Barkly highlights:

• Riding around on Nia's lap in the Moke
• Being oohd and aahd over at the cafe by everyone
• Walks along the beach
• Digging in the sand at the beach (he loved it!)
• Tearing cocunuts to peices
• Wading in the water

I've added some pictures of Barkly's beach times to the gallery.

An afternoon walk at the beach and the weather was a little breezier, colder and wetter than we bargained for.

Que sera sera, a walk is a walk is a walk (of course). A great opportunity for some windy boofy head photos and some waves for a backdrop.

I wish I had long fluffy ears to keep the wind out!

About 3 weeks ago we were playing at Port Melbourne beach. It was a beautiful winter morning. Blue sky, freshly cleaned white sand and the bay as flat as a big blue pancake. Barkly was romping in the sand and I'd even taken my shoes off to wade into the water. Barkly followed for his first tentative footsteps into the sea.

Quite a morning!

After our little wade, Barkly took great delight in chewing my nice clean white sneakers on the nice clean white sand, with the lovely blue water and sky backdrop.

The photos were great!

After our fun and games we headed back to the car.
I put my camera on the footpath while getting Barkly into his crate in the car.
I drove home.
With the camera still sitting on the footpath.
Argh.

I realised pretty quickly and returned to the spot. Alas, no camera.

A silly mistake I hope never to make again.

Goodbye 20D, goodbye 70-200 f/2.8 L IS.

And the worst part...goodbye great photos.

The good news...

My insurance company have replaced all my gear. Woohoo!

So...that's the main reason why there haven't been any updates for a little while. I've had no camera!

In the several weeks since my last post, Barkly continues to grow up. He's becoming more mature and a little bit less the 'frantic crazy pupy'. We go on lots of walks (Alma Park, Port Melbourne Beach, Gas Works Park), do some obedience training, he has sleeps under my desk while I work. He watches TV with us at night. He likes movies.

Three weekends ago, we had a little break down at McCrae on the Mornington Peninsula. We rented a house set on a few acres of 'natural rustic gardens'. It was the ideal place to let Barkly run free, nose down, bum up, rushing along the trails. He loved it! Up little hills, down into fern gullies, across little bridges over little streams, bounding through long grass in the green meadows, what a happy puppy he was!

I've now got a new camera, thanks to the insurance company and today we took some photos at Alma Park.

Barkly is getting accustomed to playground equipment, in preparation for his career in agility, he likes jumping up on platforms, running across beams, going through tunnels and climbing up stairs.

What's new?

Typical puppy stuff.

He's getting more and more confident and sometimes even a little defiant. He's testing the boundaries.

The cat no longer bothers him despite it's hissing and swiping. He thinks it s great joke and barks and play bows at her (which we are discouraging!). We've started clicker training the cat to be more tolerant of Barkly. We've now decided it's Possum who's the problem and she is the one who needs to behave. Handfeeding Possum tuna when she's tolerant of Barkly seems to be paying (small, slow) dividends.

He had a great romp with Winnie the boxer and got tuckered out running madly around Belinda's very green backyard. He's met lots of new dogs at the beach and at Alma park.

He's had another session with Erin the traininer and his training is going very well.

We are about to teach him to ring a bell when he needs to go outside - that'll be fun. He's got one of those 'hotel desk bells' and he'll learn how to make it ring with his paw. Cool hey!

There are some more pics in the gallery including his current toy collection! Oh and some nice images of Barkly rompng in the green green grass of Belinda's home.

Where to start?

Barkly has graduated from puppy school, spent another afternoon at the beach, been for coffee and brunch on Carlisle Street, meet many new people and dogs, recieved a few new toys, the list goes on and on.

The highlights?

Well, his new tug toy, a two-handed, sheepskin tug would have to be his new favorite. It's even eclipsed his well worn (and torn!) orange Water Wubba. He still likes his Wubba but his sheepskin tug is something special.

A trip to the beach is also right up there. Barkly just loves going for drives in the car. He knows something special awaits him at the end of the journey: new smells, new friends, tasty treats and new places. He scampers to jump up into his crate on the back seat of thecar. He can't quite make it up by himself yet so I had to give him a helping hand. Of course whenever we arrive at our destination he's super-keen to get out and discover where we are.

Did I mention his new pen? He was getting way to big to lift out of his old pen so we had to buy one with a door. We are teaching him to wait patiently when we open the door - he can only come out once we give him permission. He's such a good dog.

What else?

Lots of training, sit, stand, down, come, stay, give, take,  in your crate, leash walking, barking.

I've also been watching training videos. The In Focus series is teaching Barkly to become a 'play junkie' and to have great focus on me. This will come in handy when he starts his serious agility training!

A delightful 2 weeks.

PS - We must sort out the cat issue. Our cat Possum hates Barkly. She hisses at him when he gets within 2 feet and swipes at him when he gets within 1 foot. Something has to change.

I'm sure Possum the cat thinks:

"He is the most horrible cat  I've ever seen. He's a lunatic - he runs round chomping and barking, making noise - he's a psycho cat. He has the worst table manners I've ever seen - eating like a pig...chomp, chomp, chomp...drinking like a pig...slurp, slurp, slurp...then dripping water from his mouth all over the carpet...disgusting. Oh and he stinks. Really bad. He never washes himself. He comes inside and you can just tell he's been to the toilet. I bet he doesn't even bury it...disgusting cat, really digusting. I hate him. When does he leave?"

 Poor Possum.

Sunday was a big day for a little dog!

Barkly is safe to venture into the wider world now that his second vaccination is effective. Since it was such a nice day we decided to take a drive across the Westgate Bridge to visit the relatives.

Barkly got to meet Spencer, Nia's brother Ben's old German Short-Haired Pointer who is by far the biggest dog Barkly has ever seen. He handled it with aplomb. Mind you, Spencer's huge booming bark was a little startling at first. Barkly quickly got used to that though. He enjoyed a couple of hours wandering around the back yard, playing with the kids, chewing sticks and trying to steal garden ornaments and chips from the table. A great socialisation experience!

After visiting the relatives, we decided to stop at Port Melbourne beach on the way home. This was Barkly's first ever beach experience. I think he thought he was in doggy Disneyland. Every step bought a new smell and a new object to pickup and run with. He wasn't quite sure what to make of the waves. In the beginning, he'd scamper backwards whenever they got to close but after about half an hour he was brave enough to get his front paws wet.

He had a great time just walking along the beach with us, running in the sand, picking up sticks and playing chicken with the waves. He was very well bahaved, returned to us whenever we called and generally stayed with 5 meters of us. Whenever he did get distracted and get left behind a bit, a quick 'Barkly, Come Here!' and he sprinted to catch us.

He even got to meet several new dogs. The highlight would have to be the first one, a huge Staffy called Chief. Chief was a charmer, very cautious and gentle. Barkly was polite too for a change.

After our adventure at the beach, it was time to come home and get Barkly cleaned up. A quick bath and blowdry followed by a looong afternoon sleep for everyone in the lounge. Barkly's first real sleep on his new lounge bed.

A really great day for everyone.

Barkly is 12 weeks old today!

That's an important milestone because today, Barkly went to the vet to have his second vaccinations, his heartwork injection, his worming tablets and his microchip implanted!

He had the works!

• a weigh-in (from 4.1kg at 8 weeks to 6.4kg at 12 weeks, vet says he's in good condition)
• a few needles (including microchipping)
• a squirt up the nose (he didn't like that much, poor little tyke)
• TWO worming tablet (the vet misread his weight and had to give him another tablet, he seemed to enjoy it because she didn't get it down his throat but he crunched it up and ate it anyway)
• a thermometer up the you know what
• a peek in the ears
• a peek in the mouth
• lots of liver treats

Quite an experience for the little man - he coped really well - wagged his tail most of the time - he loves people, he gets so excited whenever he sees a person. Even a vet.

Soon he'll be able to go on outside adventures!

In 10 days, Barkly gets to leave the confines of leafy, lovely Ardoch and venture into the wider world.

Walks in the park, lots more smells, house visits, coffee on Carlisle Street, breakfast on Acland Street,weekends away, beach fun...You name it...the world is his oyster.

We are going to have a blast!

Obviously it's Autumn time here in Melbourne and for us, that means leaves on the ground.

Barkly loves running through the leaves, eating them, carrying them and posing in them. Everything about them. He's a real Autumnal puppy.

Here's some images from a romp in the carpark.

I almost forgot!

Last Saturday, Barkly had his second visit to Chloe's house. This time, I kept Barkly close for the first 10 minutes or so. Making sure he could be settled and not so frantic with another dog (and a giant orange one at that) around.

He was a good boy.

After about 10 minutes, I let him play. And boy did he play!

A very short session under lights for Barkly this afternoon.

He was a little impatient today. I think he's only posing to get dried liver treats.

When he started barking at me and getting frustrated with my 'off'...'off' antics, it was time to call it a day.

Nia dropped her apple core in the garden today. Barkly discovered the joy of chasing and eating  the thing he was chasing.

As the game went on, his apple core got smaller and smaller and smaller. I had to throw it away when it was a dirty, yellow-brown, crusty walnet sized thing.

He had fun. I got dirty fingers.

Our good friends, Dean and Phil own a Hungarian Visla called Chloe. Chloe is very good with puppies so she's the perfect dog to start Barkly socialising with other dogs.

So, on Saturday night we headed off in the car, Barkly in his carrier on the backseat, to Dean and Phil's house.

Boy did Barkly have a blast!

He was a little timid for the first few minutes and Chloe let him relax and approach her at his pace. Ten minutes after meeting they were wrestling, chasing, pretend-biting and doing all the other frantic, million-mile-an-hour things that dogs do.

It was great to watch!

After over an hour of playing, Barkly fell asleep in Nia's arms on the couch. He was exhausted.

All in all, a very, very successful socialisation visit.

Unfortunately, my flash batteries were flat (D'OH) and they were just way too fast for sharp images in standard room lighting. I've posted one shot of them playing on Chloe's cushion.

Barkly loves to run! Especially to chase a ball, a rubber hoop, a stick, a clump of grass, my feet, the neighboors children...

You name it he chases it.

Sometimes he evens brings things back (his ball, his rubber hoop, a clump of grass, the neighboors children).

Here's a few images taken in the garden today. I specially like the one with his tongue hanging out.

Is he too cute or what?

I'd like to introduce Barkly (aka Barkly Blue, aka Bitey Boy), the newest addition to the household.

Barkly (Elspan Barkly Blue) is a male, blue roan cocker spaniel.

He is 9 weeks old, born February 29th 2008 in country Victoria, about 2 hours outside Melbourne.

A leap year baby !!

He's my first cocker and actually the first dog I've owned for many years.

- Barkly is a blue roan boy and he's a Pisces.
- Barkly likes sleeping, chasing, biting and barking.
- His favorite toys are his tennis balls/rope combo and his hide chew with the knots on the end.
- He likes staying in for dinner and loves Eukanuba, chicken necks and liver treats.
- He lives in a pen inside my office (I work from home) and spends alot of time sleeping in his Vari Kennel carrier.
- Sometimes he goes out into the garden where he likes to chase his little rubber ball.

Me...I try to do the best by him. I read lots of books, watch training videos and try to manage his shoe/pants/feet biting.

I'm currently reading "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson, a fascinating book about dog behaviour and learning.

That'll do for now.

Click on the thumbnail above for the highlights of his first 'studio shoot'.

Many thanks to Belinda Petrowsky of Elspan Cocker Spaniels. A fine breeder and overall nice lady! Beautiful dogs too!