extra photo

just 'cause I got several nice photos.... And I can't choose.

Return to Stockholm

We're back after a week spent in the wilderness of Södermanland. It was super nice. The only bad thing is that Vazy hurt her leg the first day, chasing some animal in the forest. So now she's not allowed to run or go for any long walks until she gets better. And I can tell you, it's not easy to keep her from running for several weeks! I guess we have to start doing some intense training..
Luckily my mum is here to save me, cause I can't leave them alone now, they would go crazy.
Anyway, I let the pictures tell the story...

Soon christmas..

I'm probably gonna take a break with the writing now over christmas.
My mum is here and we've got lots of stuff to do all the time.
Yesterday I met up with Kicki and we were talking a bit about what we're gonna do this spring, with all the training and all. I think it's gonna be great, with the new flat and everything!
So.. that's all for now!

Merry Christmas and happy new year!!

evaluation

today I thought of an idea for the training holidays. I thought of making an evaluation of what my dogs already know, to know what to train this spring.. I sent a mail to Kicki, that I'm gonna train with that went like this (sorry all foreigners.. I'm just too tired to translate...);

Aila älskar att träna och är väldigt motiverad av både lek och godis. hon kan bli lite överexalterad ibland, då måste man lugna ner henne. ibland kan det vara bättre att träna med godis när hon blir sådär, för godis har en lugnande effekt, medan leksaker hetsar upp lite.. alltså, om man vill göra nåt med precision så är det bättre med godis, och för snabbhet bättre med leksak.. jag tränar ofta med klicker.. hon kan shaping och tycker det är jättekul!

fotgående;
hon har en ganska bra utgångsposition och har förstått att hon ska sitta nära och rakt.. det var bra att jag lärde henne detta ganska snabbt, och jag belönar bara bra position... hon tycker det är kul att sätta sig i position och även gå fot.. men i fotgåendet kan hon "flacka" lite.. hon går ibland längre ifrån, ibland närmare.. ibland så går hon iväg.. det är något jag måste träna på. hon måste få uthållighet och bli mer jämn.. hon kan inte nåt kommando för fot än.. här tränar jag mest med klicker och försöker bara att belöna när hon går så nära som möjligt.. hon har även börjat förstå det här med bakdelsvändningar i vänstersvängen.. det är kul att träna bakdelsvändningar eftersom hunden blir mer uppmärksam.. mina hundar gillar också att göra lite "cirkustrick" vilket gör att fotgåendet blir lite roligare då... har inte lagt på något kommando än...

platsligg:
hon har ett bra platsligg, men måste träna på kommando från utgånsposition, och att kunna ligga kvar i närheten av hundar hon inte känner..eftersom hon är lite osäker på andra hundar, är det något jag måste träna.. kommandot är någorlunda säkert, men inte till 100%..

tandvisning;
hon är ganska lugn när man tittar på tänderna, men osäker med främmande människor och kan därför dra sig tillbaka.. detta måste tränas på!

inkallning: inkallningen är bra, hon kommer i bra position, men kan ibland sätta sig lite snett och ibland hoppa sig in i position.. man kan träna lite på snabbheten...

ställande under gång: hon kan inte stående.. jag har tränat några gånger, men hon har inte förstått än..

läggande under gång: hon kan ligg bra i olika situationer, men är inte helt kommandosäker.. jag har provat lite ligg under gång, och hon förstod lite.. men jag måste träna så att hon inte lägger sig alltid i utgångsposition, för efter träningen ville hon gärna göra det.. jag måste alltså se annorlunda ut när jag gör läggande än vanlig utgångsposition.. något jag måste träna på, men som jag tror kan gå ganska fort att lära in...

apport: hon gillar apportbocken och blir jätteglad när hon ser den.. jag måste träna in kommando, att hon inte får ta den innan, och att hon ska hålla i den utan att tugga.. hon kan hålla den i någon sekund..

hopp över hinder: har aldrig provat, men tror inte att det ska vara så svårt... vi måste hitta något ställe vi kan prova detta på..... är du med i nån klubb?

Vazy älskar också att träna. hon är van att träna med klicker, hon är mest van att få godis med klickern, men har nu förstått att leksak även kan komma och tycker det är kul.. (förrut så kunde jag ta fram leksaken men hon väntade ändå bara på godisen)..

hon kan alla moment i klass 1, men kunde bli bättre på apporten! speciellt eftersom hon inte är så kommandosäker.. jag måste ofta ge dubbelkommando.. detta uppstod efter hon slagit av en tand.. men hon kan hålla i apportbocken medan hon går fot, eller sätter sig eller lägger sig.. så hon kan hålla i den.. det svåra är att få henne att ta den med större vilja och snabbare, kraftfullare.. hon behöver även träna utgångsposition i inkallningen eftersom jag förrut hade henne gå runt och sedan till position, men försöker träna bort det nu.. blir bättre position när de kommer direkt till vänster... inkallningen kan även ha mer fart, ibland är det bra, ibland för sakta... läggandet och ställandet kunde även vara lite snabbare...

fjärrdirigering; hon kan alla kommandon på avstånd, men rör sig framåt..därför måste jag träna med target för att få henne att stå kvar med framtassarna.. något som kan ta tid!

inkallande med ställande: hon kan det, men är seg i inkallandet och seg i ställandet.. måste få mer fart! jag har ett tips för detta som du måste hjälpa mig med.. det gäller extern lekbelöning bakifrån (där hon kommer ifrån)...

sändande till rutan: hon kan gå en-två meter framåt.. måste träna med target som jag gör mindre och mindre tror jag. måste sätta ett annat kommando kanske.. just nu har jag "framåt" på franska; "en avant" det gäller för allt gå framåt, även i bruks framförgående.. vore kanske bättre att ha skillnad på framåt när jag går bakom, och framåt när jag står still..

fotgående: hon går bra om hon är pepp.. hon har bra bakdelskontroll och älskar att svänga på rumpan.. men ibland sätter hon sig snett, så det är något jag måste träna på..

apportering: hon kan det.. men skulle kunna bli mer kommandosäker (se ovan) och vara något snabbare.. måste även träna på att vika in i rätt position..

hopp över hinder: hon kan det också, men skulle kunna gå längre ut innan hon sätter sig.

platsligg: hon har en säker platsligg och det borde inte vara nåt problem att gömma sig.. men något jag ändå måste träna och testa..


så det är ungefär vart jag är... ganska mycket finslipning, och mycket att lära in hos aila.. hon har nyligen lärt sig det här med positionering, hon lär sig så snabbt! hon kan bli lite väl uppspelt och skällig när hon inte vet vad hon ska göra.. men det går bort när hon förstår, så det är inget jag korrigerar...

Moving flat...

We finally got a flat! In Skarpnäck, where we found the other one, that we didn't get. This one is even bigger. 75,5 m2, lots of space to train indoors even. Where we live now there is no space to do anything..

Yesterday I went training. But nothing really went the way I wanted...I was too tired and annoyed. Ofcourse the dogs can feel when I don't feel so good, so they were pulling on the leash and barking and jumping at other dogs, like they haven't done for weeks!

On sunday my mum gets here. So after monday I'm gonna have a break in training over christmas and new years. Hopefully it will get lighter outside so that I won't be as tired all the time...

That's it for now..

I don't have any new pictures, cause it's really shit weather outside, and has been for like 2 weeks!

Mud and darkness

it's crazy now! So dark all the time.. I feel like I never wake up during the day. It's hard to focus on anything.
There is no snow, but only mud and rain and grey sky during the few light hours.. Argh!

When I came home from the agility I had mud up to my waist, and more! I need to get some special training clothes, cause it's not fun to walk around in town with a jacket full of mud.. I can't get it off either, I washed it last week and it was looking so nice. But I can't wash it after every agility session.....

Anyway, Aila followed to the agility training on monday, and it was so good training for her. Eventhough she still barks a bit, she's getting better! (And everytime that I say that, she regresses and gets worse again.. hahaha).
Vazy seemed a bit tired, and I was doing a lot of faults in my handling (which also made her make faults).. So I need to pay more attention to little details, and everything will go much better.. And maybe Vazy will feel a bit more up to it when it's not crazily muddy and pouring down rain..

Tomorrow I'll go training with the laponian crew again. That will be fun! Me and Kicki has decided to start practising to compete in obedience class 1 with Aila and Izla this summer..
I've also decided to give my LP 1 3 more shots, and if I don't get 2 1st prizes in 3 competitions, I'll just forget about it and start class 2 anyway. I need to move on! I'm getting so sick of always doing the same stuff. Gonna be fun and interesting to teach Aila all the new things, and to start buildning on the harder things for Vazy and class 2..
I also hope to start competing in agility with Vazy this summer. If I don't start soon, I'll never manage... Could be fun to try!

Exhibition results..

So it didn't go too bad at the show. I was a bit tired from getting up so early.. There were quite a lot of Laponian herders (20), but only one more in my class (junior). We came 2nd and had a 1 (red ribbon) and an honors prize..
The juge said "Very good.. 46cm.. Mentality; nice and cute. Detail description; Good proportions, nice bitchhead, dark eyes. Good nose and bite, but could have had a more powerful "under" jaw (don't know how to say it!). Good top line and breast. Should be a bit better angled on the cross, knee and leg. Good front, moves with a bit of a short step and .... in (couldn't read)..Good fur"..
I'll write it in swedish as well to get everything correctly.
"Helhetsintryck; mycket god. Storlek; 46cm, Mentalitet; snäll och gullig. Detaljbeskrivning; Bra proportioner, fint tikhuvud, mörka ögon. Bra nos och bett men kunde haft kraftligare underkäke. Bra överlinje och bröst. Borde vara lite bättre vinklad i kors, knä och has. Bra fram. Rör sig med lite kort steg och tå....(?) in. Bra päls."

Anyway, I kind of forgot to write how good she was all day!! Amazing! With thousands of dogs, she was so calm and focused on me all the time. I went around the different rings, passing dogs by one cm, and she just looked at me! Barley any barking at all either.. Maybe I'm finally getting somewhere with that. I'm just so proud of my dogs!
It was also really nice to have some company. I met one of the girls I'm training with, Kicki, with her laponian herder Izla. She was doing quite well too. But the judge also thought that she wasn't well angled. Too bad! I would have liked her to get her Cert, and become a champion.
But they made the waiting much shorter, and that was nice and fun. It was all crazy, but I didn't really manage to see everything I wanted to. Maybe next year I'll go one day without the dogs, just to check out the Agility, freestyle and all the stands.
I went quickly by the Laponian dog stand, and the Aussie stand, and had some nice discussions with the people there... So, fun day! But I think I'll have to go to sleep earlier next time!

ps.. no wonder I didn't make it further, the one I was competing against (Venla, from Finland) became BOB!

Veterinary

Now I've been to the vet. And it was an infection. Got some drops for the eye, and I hope it will get better before the expo, but I doubt it. Feel really unlucky..
I mean, I really do everything for my dogs, and try to pay attention to everything. But still they seem to get stuff all the time... Annoying.....

How unlucky can we be?

Well... The eye infection is a lot worse today. I have to go to the vet.....again.

I can't believe this is happening all the time. And the expo is on saturday.. I guess I'm gonna miss that.

Am I ever gonna be able to go to an expo or competition? Something always seem to happen just before.

I can't really afford any veterinary, but what can I do..... I guess I have to buy some smaller christmas presents.........

Happy birthday vazy!!!

Four years old today!
Unfourtunately she's not allowed to eat anything else than her dry food, so no birthdaycake for her.....

Aila got something in her eye, i'm keeping her under surveillence..

A new week.. A new month..

December has started today. It's a new week and a new night for agility. Tonight it's gonna be muddy and cold. It's raining and bad weather.
The dogs are sleeping.. They haven't got as much training and walking as usually, since I've been working on a project. But they are fine..
We've been looking at a new flat last week. We have put an offer on it, and hope it's gonna be accepted. It's gonna be really nice for the dogs, since it's calmer and a huge forest nearby..
Only problem is that it's quite far from uni, so we might have to get someone to walk the dogs if I have full days (9-4). On half days I think I'll bring the dogs (we're getting a car) and I'll go for a nice and long walk after my lessons are done..
We would really become super swedish, owning dogs (although, normally it's only one dogs.. so...), a volvo and a bostadsrätt.. haha..

Comments for the picturemixes..
Hope you enjoyed the series of pictures that I put lately. It's kind of summary of the dogs lives. Felt right to put them now, one day before Vazy's 4th birthday! FOUR years old, already!!

There are pictures from different places in France, Spain, Austria and Sweden.. It's great to be able to bring the dogs everywhere!

The other dogs on the pictures are mostly dogs that had no homes (the white one and the boxer), that we took out for walks now and then when we lived in Nice. The other laponian herder is Fjällfarmens Ofelia "Quori", that I had for a weekend there...
The brown australian shepherd, and the border collie were dogs that I met when taking a dog training course in Bruxelles. That's where Vazy learnt her good "down/stay"..
The other australian shepherd puppies were from a meeting that used to be every week in a park nearby. There was a kennel which arranged it, to meet all the puppies.. That was fun. That was when vazy was still lying on her back in front of other dogs...
The husky mix breed is Apache, which is my friend Carolines dog. I got her a new puppy not so long ago, a laponian herder. I hope she's happy with her, little Balka..(further back in the blog you can see pictures of her..)

The picture with the church and the mountain is from a village around Grenoble in the alpes. A beautiful place!
The picture with the bench is from when my friend from Manchester came by, we went to Monaco..
The super nice lake with the cyan colour is lake "st cassien" (I think), which you get to when you follow "les gorges du verdon".. an even more beautiful place! That's where the pictures with vazy swimming is from. Speaking of those; have you noticed that she's got a fountain in front of her?? That's cause she was terrified of water.. It's hard to believe now when she loves it more than anything..
The picture of Mathieu with his parents is from the village we used to live in, "Biot".. a really nice village. But one of the reasons why Vazy now is sterilised. There were always so many dogs running around in this village all the time. People left them when they went to work, and they chilled around all day, hustling tourists for food at the restaurants, or baking in the sun..
There are also pictures from Lyon and the one next to a big river is "la saone", that is one of the rivers floating through Lyon..
The pictures with me, mathieu and vazy by the water is in Storön, where I've spent the last two summers.. Beautiful with the sun up all night and lots of boats and rocks going in to the water..
All places have their charms!

There are also pictures from the two clubs I was trainer at. The one with the mountain in the back is the dog club of Grasse, and the one with the people playing with Vazy is from the club next to Lyon, at Dagneux. Super nice clubs, both of them! Hope they're doing well!
If you look carefully, you can also see how Vazy has developped from a small skinny "rat" without fur, to a beautiful aussie with nice muscles and all... hehe..
My mum is there at a picture somewhere, and there is a lot with Mathieu on them. He loves to play like crazy with the dogs, as you might have noticed..

That's all for now folks!


ps. I made a trip to check out the forest next to the flat we might get, that's where the pictures are from...