Thursday, April 30, 2009

Stepping up the training


Well as you can see by the new countdown on the side of my blog( I had another one but PL2 somehow erased it and couldn't remember where she got it.........) I am stepping up on my training for my



E



I have been doing alot of running and digging(we have some lovely shots of our Arboretum which I must say is at it's loveliest) and Archie said as time is of the essence he has to speed this up a little...so now we are working on mental concentration(Archie says if you took out the word concentration after mental that would fit but I beamed him on the head and then he stopped laughing...Really doesn't he know the seriousness of all of this???) PL2 has been telling me that we have all summer to get this E but I want to start out on the right paw......Sooooo having said all of that, below is my latest exercise devised by my trainer.....I am on top of my bomb shelter, looking out the window,staring at A SQUIRREL( if you look closely you can see him TAUNTING me) The training is I must keep totally quiet and not bark............... This is part of my stealth bomb quiet technique some of you may remember that I employed last year while getting going through the tunnel to the cage.........quiet quiet quiet...........BLAM



The other part to this mental training exercise is that my trainer is on the floor AT THE ENTRANCE to my bomb shelter chewing on MY STUFFIE and I must keep totally silent........





Ladies and Gentleman this is not easy..........

26 comments:

Life With Dogs said...

Brilliant exercise - will it end with a snack, perhaps? ;)

TwoSpecialWires said...

Agatha - you are so focused! I'd never have known someone had one of your stuffies and was potentially distracting you! You look like a pro...just watch that head silently track that rodent with the furry tail! What was the reward at the end???? Squirrel pie? Or a squirrely stuffie? You deserve some good reinforcement. That's part of ANY good training program.

:) Jake and Fergi :)

Asta said...

Agatha
Youw self contwol is beyond amazing!
Even though he's sometimes a twial to you, youw twainew Archie is doing a spledid job..you awe going to be sooo weady!
See you on the plane
smoochie kisses
ASTA

Gus, Louie and Callie said...

You are doing a great job.. I had to learn to be quiet too while herding sheep..

Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie

Kasha said...

Wow Agatha is really focused! Don't you love it when they are focused on you and they turn their head from side to side as if to hear better? I think it is adorable. I also think your dogs are incredible.
http://www.trainingboerboels.blogspot.com/

Molly the Airedale said...

Wow! Great work, Agatha! We could never be as quiet as you are! Mom says we're way too chatty!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Scruffy, Lacie and Stanley's Place said...

Agatha...we have NEVER SAT THAT STILL when we have an invader!! Never...we would be throwin' ourselves at the window getting snart (snot art) all over it...we had some at least 5 1/2 foot high this week...it was crows...we hate crows...course we hate most everything.

Do you have to be that quiet in the tunnel? Oh my...I couldn't do it...my mouth just yaps even when I tell it not too....

Now, Agatha...I have Hootie booked for 52 dances starting at 10PM...I hope that's ok with you. Good.

I hafta go and finish packin'...

Barkies sweet dogs...

Laciegirlie

Scruffy, Lacie and Stanley's Place said...

Agatha...

Um Scruffy. Um..well...I saw the pix on his blog. And well they look very nice. Um well, I guess that's all I hafta say.

DO YOU WANNA GO SWIMMIN' THIS WEEKEND?

Scruffy

Lorenza said...

Hi, Agatha!
A squirrel taunting you and "someone" chewing your toys?? And you don't move??
That requieres a lot of concentration!
Good job!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

Dexter said...

You have to sneak up on the rat? That must be very hard.

Slobbers,
Mango

Kess And Her Mama said...

Agatha, You've been had! It's just an excuse for Archie to chew your toys without any interruption from you. Launch part 2 of your training - pouncing on the perpetrator, aka Archie!

Eric said...

Twinnie. Well I'm gobsmacked.Not a yap, not a bark.Hmmmm. Did you get beamed on the head too?

Earth dog medal..go girl!!!!!

Wiry wags Eric xxxx

Tee said...

Ohhhh evil squirrels ... ya knows since you already have such great stealthy focus, you could work on the laser eye look that way you could zap the bad squirrel without leaving comforts of warm room ... hehehe.

Licks and Wags

The Dog Woods Pack

Joe Stains said...

omdog you must eat your wheaties every morning to be able to pull that off. omdog, I cannot believe your will power.

Dughallmor Beagles said...

Great job Aggie, we salute you! We would have been going totally bonkers....aaaarrroooo!
Have a great weekend :D
Slobbers xx

Stanislaw said...

Good luck to you! Are E's tasty? Is it made of meat? I can't imagine another reason to want an E...

Princess Patches said...

Your concentration is overwhelming, Agatha! No one would ever guess that your trainer was munching on one of your stuffies! Good luck with your E!

Aire-hugs,
Poppy, Penny & Patches

tula monstah said...

A++ for Archie- go to the head of the class! That's some tuff training you're doing... i had a hard time just watching from ovah herah!

Luv seeing your training videos- keep them coming. Oh, my massage therapist has a space in Walpole, not far from 495 & rte.140. Here's her contact info if you're interested. Julie Robataille email: animalwellnessmt@comcast.net
phone: 508-245-9688

Go Celtics!

toodles,
tula

Unknown said...

A and A
What a tease- are you sure your coach archie is not tormenting you instead? Is this hazing for the earth dog club? Great work agatha-

Norwood

Unknown said...

oh.. how about the celtic bulls series.. glad we did it!
Norwood

the many Bs said...

it looks like you are doing well with your training. we're not sure about your trainer though. maybe Archie needs to get a little bit more serious. after all, this E is very important. we think you will get it this year. digging is very good training. keep up the good work.

woofs.

Sophie Brador said...

Blasted squirrels! I caught one once, you know. I have to say, it was pretty exciting and I vibrated for about two hours afterward. Mom was all grossed out, but what does she know. Prissy mom. You did excellent on that no barking thing. I can do that with cats, because mom dumps water on my head if I bark at cats, but it's super hard not to bark at a squirrel. Excellent work!

xo
SB

Toffee said...

Keep up the good work!
The only time that I can stay focussed is when I am getting some "treats" out of the kitty box!

see you next monday!

Dexter said...

Hey PL2,
I actually drove into Boston on Saturday (big adventure). I was headed to the waterfront, but in the tunnel became convinced I was being shunted to the aire-port and exited left and wound up in Chinatown. I finally located the turnpike west and then did an illegal U-Turn through the fast pass lane (I expect the turnpike police to be knocking on my door soon).

Anyway, I think I crossed the Brookline town line about six or seven times and was thinking how nice it would have been to have a city savy helper like you in the car.

Almost Earth Dog day!

Mango Momma

Dewey Dewster said...

Gee Agatha...

Ya look like yer really inta getting that "E" ta go with yer "J" this year......I don't know about me....Gram signed us both up fer an earthdog training session but she only mailed it taday and we're hopin' it doesn't get there too late fer us ta get in....trainin' on May 16 if w're on time......heck, I helped Mom kill a snake at camp last week...I'm ready ta go....we're sure ya are too......get 'em Agatha !!!!!!! Dirty RATS !!!!!

Dewey Dewster here....

Huskee and Hershey said...

OMdoG... you are soooo focused! MOm says my attention span is all of liek 2 seconds.. Heehee..