12 hour Dusk 2 Dawn MTB race in Perth

I will fly to this event given it would take 5 long days to drive there.

New trails, new people & a bike race, sounds like a perfect trip to me already.

http://www.wa12hour.com.au

In the 3 years I have been racing I have noticed there are event organisers & then there are event organisers. Been to awesome & not so awesome events.

I have exchanged a dozen or so emails with the organiser of this event & I am confident it is going to be an awesome one!

See you roosters & hens there!

Cooking With Dogs

Cooking with your dogs can be an excellent bonding experience and fun for both you and the dog! Your dog might not be able to actually help, but hes just fine with eating them after you do all the work. No worries! There are several dog food recipes and treat recipes you can cook for your dog.

While cooking your recipe, to let your dog feel included in this process, you talk to them and even let them have a taste of the ingredients before they are done. Your dog will love this! If your worried about your dogs picking up begging after this, just be sure there is a fine line between when your cooking for him and when your cooking for yourselves. Have a good, out of the kitchen, command or a Go lay down command. When cooking with your dog, invite him over and let him in on the fun. Hell love these times!

Cooking with your dog isnt only fun for you and the dog, its also beneficial. Most dog food recipes or treat recipes are much healthier for your dog than the store bought ones. I bet they are a better tasting too! If you want to really feed a healthy food to your dog, Cook for them!

There are some great books out there with good recipes, such as; The Healthy Dog Cookbook: 50 Nutritious & Delicious Recipes Your Dog Will Love, Another great one is Woofing it Down: The quick & easy guide to making healthy dog food at home. These two alone will have your on your way to cooking with your dog and enjoying extra time together. Two others to check into would be Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals and Everything Cooking for Dogs Book: 150 Quick and Easy Healthy Recipes Your Dog Will Bark For (Everything: Cooking). All of those will get you on your way to feeding your dog healthier food. Start out with one and see what you think or if its really something your into, check into them all.

To top this off, since Tuesday is Recipe day, heres a fun treat recipe and actually my favorite to do with my dogs;

Dig NCheese

Youll need;

• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  
• 2 tablespoons softened margarine
  
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  
• 1/2 cup milk
  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream together cheese and margarine. Add milk and flour. Mold mixture into ball and roll dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut dough with cookie cutter and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until edges start to brown.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen

This recipe is from the book: The Small Dogs Doggy Bone Cookbook

No two days are the same

Here is an example of what generally occurs in a dogs day.

3am: Alarm goes of. Weatbix, hot chocolate, gear up ready to ride off at 4am. This is when my Ay-Up lights come in very handy.

5am: Part way around the 75kms of Tour de Redcliffe loop.

6:30am: Visit favourite bakery for post ride carbs.

7:00am: S...S...S

8:00am: Start work

4:00pm: Finish work, pick up one of my boys from Volley ball training, go home, cook dinner, surf internet, catch up with the "So, what happened at school today?" conversation with my boys.

A few domestic duties, share more time with Natalie.

7:30pm: Nearly ready for bed.

8:30pm: Zzzzzz....

When I write it down like that, the day appears so short & simple. Maybe it is, but some days feel long & complicated. Others are as simple as they read.

Boom Time Cycle Systems Boothy

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If you are out cycling on the road or on the trails in Brisbane & you get overtaken by a cyclist & you feel & hear a sonic BOOM! then you will more than likely see this written on their jersey

Boom Time Cycle Systems
Racing Training Coaching

If your interested in making your own BOOM! then check it out. Boothy will take care of you but he will not be gentle hehehe...

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Are you guys alright with this still

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That was the most understated question of Saturday night.

XPD is creeping up on us. Our team is complete. We were all available for a training session last Saturday night.

We found a 42km walk in Lamington National Park. 21kms between Binna Burra & ORielys.

Rain was forcasted for the weekend. Nobody knew that it was going to be the most rain this area has had in over 100 years!!!

We started our walk at 6:30pm on Saturday night. The first hour was just a few puddles & clouded in. As it got dark we arced up our Ay Up lights. Then it started raining. It got heavier & heavier. Shortly there wasnt any room in the sky for any more rain.

It dumped on our heads non-stop for the next 9 hours! The puddles on the track got deeper & deeper. Then the trail turned into a running creek.

Each of us would have easily had about 20 or so leaches on us at any one time.

The walk took us 11 & a half hours. Lots happened in that time so here is a point summary.

1. Dog is the new team XMO (executive morale officer)
2. Dogs can sing (not)
3. Poetry is awesome on long walks.
4. Walking while sleeping is possible
5. 5 minute power naps do work
6. Goretex renewing conditioner doesnt work
7. Team 145 L-Attitude is awesome
8. Bike nix are not good for long walks
9. A big breakfast, a bacon egg burger, 3 extra strength coffees is the best recovery breakfast
10. Doing something that takes you outside of your comfort zone is very rewarding.
11. Bear Grylls is our team mascot

Until next time.
dog


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Puppy Dog Training

Puppy & Dog Training

Discover How You Can Train Your Dog to Do Anything You Wish In Less Than Half The Time By Using Proven Techniques That Get Immediate Results!
Kevin Lynch, is the author of the hugely popular dog training book Puppy n Dog Secrets. This book is where he reveals the techniques and secrets used by professional dog training experts including:
Simple and Powerful techniques that will solve ANY dog problem such as house training difficulties, Eliminating such nuisances as unnecessary barking, digging, destructive chewing, general disobedience, and much, much more...
How you can train your dog to follow any command, from simple commands like SIT and STAY to the much more complex tricks like you see in dog shows
Remove the frustration of training your dog, learn how to communicate in a way that your dog will respond to quickly so you can increase the speed of your dogs training.
.....And there is much, much more!
To magically transform your dogs behavior and learn the secrets that professional dog trainers use, check out:

http://volaticaa.puppyndog.hop.clickbank.net/

Puppy & Dog Training

Tuesday Tip Day Food Lure

A food lure is basically the Second step to begin dog training!

When you have a successful food lure you can pretty much get your dog to go into any position or wherever you ask him to by using just food!

 

waiting for a treat! ;)

 

First your dog will have to know what his marker word or sound is so be sure to train your dog to know the word "good" or the sound of a click before you begin.
 

1. Start by having your dog in front of you

 

2. Put the treat up to his nose and move your hand slightly, if his nose stays attached to your hand use your marker cue and give him the treat

 

3. Start again by holding another treat up to his nose and  move your hand even further to the side, if his nose follows the treat use the marker cue and then give the reward

 

4. Do this repeatedly until he understand that his nose should follow the treat as a guide

 

Since it is easier to show than explain you can watch this video of how a food lure should look when you have successfully trained your dog to follow your lure!

Snoopys Dog Blog

Today we are featuring Snoopy! See him at Snoopys Dog Blog. Told from Snoopys point of view, youll find his blog very fun to read. Today is...

Join him, especially if youre a dog and have your own blog!

Not only does Snoopy have his own blog, but he also has his own book! Snoopy will teach you all about getting into Mischief.

Hi, my name is Snoopy. I’m a Young Bearded Collie Therapy Dog who lives in California. I have what’s called a blue coat and matching blue eyes (you can see when my fur isnt covering them). I thought it would be fun to share my special moments as I grow up, did I mention I like a Little Mischief?! :) I hope youre having a fun day :) Snoopy

Image Credit: Snoopys Dog Blog

Amy @ Talented K9
talentedk9@yahoo.com
www.talentedk9.com

Teaching A Dog Not To Jump Your Guests

Jumping, body slamming, mouthing....oh boy!  Having a dog can be challenging at times and a lot of work, when you dont have the proper tools or training to teach them a more appropriate response.  First, its always important to remember that dogs are dogs.  Meaning, they are not humans, and they do not know what we consider right, or wrong, unless we teach them.  Yes, we actually have to spend time and teach them what we prefer, and these lessons take time and patience.

If  you havent read my previous posts Teaching A Dog Not To Jump-You First and Polite Dog & Human Greeting Pt. 1 I highly suggest reading those first, then coming back to this post. Now that you are caught up, lets continue our talk about teaching your dog to keep four on the floor while greeting one of your houseguests. 

 

YOUR GUESTS Some challenges with polite greeting with your guests are that they dont listen (or care), their timing is off, you feel insecure about following through with a plan. How you manage and work through this situation will determine your dogs success.  If you truly want a polite greeter at the end, you must remember that your dog is learning all the time, so make sure he his learning what YOU want him to learn.  You live with him, not your guests or in-laws.

MANAGEMENT Management, management, management is always the best way to start a successful dog training program.  Have you ever wondered why dog trainers can teach a dog a reliable behavior effortlessly?  Its because we start all our training programs with a high management protocol.  If you are able to prevent your dog from running and jumping on your guest, you will then be able to teach him a better greeting behavior.  If, on the other hand, he performs this act over and over again he will get quite good at jumping, and this will become his ritual.  Planning ahead when you know guests are going to arrive and having a plan of action for when they surprise you are the best tools.  A prepared frozen treat toy is always a good backup for surprises.

Chew toy, should be on leash too.

TETHER, HARNESS AND STUFFED TREAT TOYS When you are expecting guests, put your dogs harness on and prepare a filled hollow treat toy.  Decide which room you and your guests are going to reside in and place a tether (leash) around a heavy piece of furniture such as a sofa leg.  When the doorbell rings, collect your dog and attach him to the tether by his harness and provide him with his filled hollow toy.

Go to the door and greet your guests.  Take off their coats, say hello and ask them to ignore your dog.  When you walk into the main room where your dog is chewing on his very delicious stuffed treat toy, sit next to your dog.  Occasionally add a bonus dog treat while he continues with his chew toy.  Once he is finished with his chew toy, attach his leash to his harness, then unclip him from the sofa, but do not leave.  Work on some of his obedience behaviors (sit, hand target, down etc.). Reward him for paying attention to you.  When  your dog can easily focus on you, proceed to the next step.  This may NOT happen in one session.

When your dog is ready for the next step, ask one of your seated guests to reach down toward their shin and wiggle their fingers.  As they do, walk your dog up to the guest and tell him to say hello.  As soon as your dog sniffs your friend’s fingers say "YES!" and quickly move your dog a foot away and give him a treat.  Be careful not to jerk your dog, remember hes still on his leash and harness.  This process is teaching your dog to politely sniff your guests fingers (not jumping up), and then by quickly removing your dog, he does not have time to get too excited, and start jumping up.  Remember, you are teaching your dog what to do, so you dont want to give him the opportunity to be wrong. Repeat this process for 5  repetitions.  As your dog gets the hang of this, you can allow a little longer sniffing before calling him off.  By calling your dog away from your guests to collect his reward, he is also learning that you are more exciting.

When you are done practicing, keep your dog leashed to you.  Only when you start to have a reliable behavior, with no jumping, should your dog be allowed to run freely with guests.  Remember, prevention is the key.  It will not do you any good to practice these lessons, then to unleash your dog for him to start jumping around on your guests.  If you do not wish to have him leashed with you, you can use another management tool such as tethering him in sight, baby gated, or put him in his crate. When you start to consider allowing him more roaming freedom, he should respond well to The Name Game.

REMEMBER #1 Management  #2 Practice and certainly #3 Patience

Check out these great toy options!

Do you need extra dog training help?  I offer in-person,  phone consultations, weekend dog retreats and public seminars.  Contact me today for details.

  

Whats that noise

I hadnt taken my xc race wheels (tubeless Mavic Slrs) for a spin for about 2 months. As I roll off there is a noise inside my tire. Go a little faster, its gone now. Slow down, back again.




After the ride I have a look inside the tire & heres what I found.

These amazing structures created from liguid latex. The one on the left was about 5cm across.

I must remember to check the latex in my tires more often ;o)

One of Australias up coming XC riders

This is what I saw when I looked over my shoulder!

I was going for a smash session around Bunya this morning & looked over my shoulder to see this little dude wheel sucking! It didnt take me long to recognise him as a podium finisher at the junior, short course race that Tailwind Promotions ran in conjunction with their Merida 24 hour. Ty (Tear Their Legs Off) Powell

Needless to say I had to stop & have a breather. Ty pulled over & I asked if I was ok. What an opportunity. "Can I get a photo with you Ty so that everyone will believe I went for a ride with a legend?" After a telling me I should "Toughen up princess & keep riding!" he agreed to a photo.

After the photo opportunity, Ty gave me a few pointers on how to attack on the climbs & suggested I read the Jaman book of tactics if I wanted to learn how to rip legs off other riders.

Thanks Ty!

Preventing Resource Guarding The Dog Food Bowl

Preventing Resource Guarding In Dogs A very common and natural behavior in dogs is

Dont wait for a problem, prevent one!

resource guarding. Resource guarding is a term commonly used that refers to a dog that uses threats to protect items that he sees as valuable. Dogs can deem any item, location, space, or person as a valuable possession worth fighting for. Resource guarding is a survival instinct and once again a normal dog behavior but not something we want to see in our pet dogs. You are best served to work on a prevention program instead of trying to deal with a behavior that can be very severe and even life-threatening.

Today we are going to talk about preventing resource guarding around the dog bowl.

The Food Bowl You will be teaching your puppy that not only is it okay for a person to approach while he is eating out of his food bowl, but that it is a very good thing when they do. Of course, I am hoping you are using your puppys food for training and interactive treat toys, and not truly using his food bowl as a means of feeding.  But, it is still important to teach prevention with a dog food bowl in the event that your dog actually eats out of a boring dog dish instead of training games and interactive treat toys. ;)

• Approach the empty dog food bowl and your puppy put a small handful of his dog food in the bowl and allow your puppy to eat the food. As he is eating add another handful of kibbles (dog food). Practice this session once a day for three days.
• Approach the empty dog food bowl and your puppy, remove the bowl, put a handful of dog food in, put the bowl back down and allow your puppy to eat the food. Before he is finished, put your hand inside the food bowl and drop three high-value treats (100% meat treats or cooked meat) inside the bowl and remove your hand. Practice this session once a day for three days.
• Approach the empty dog food bowl and puppy, remove the bowl, put a handful of food in, put the bowl back down and allow your puppy to eat the food. Before he is finished, pick up the bowl add more kibbles and a few pieces of meat treats in the bowl then set back down for him to eat. Practice this session once a day for three days.
• Approach the empty dog food bowl and puppy, put the entire meal of food in the bowl, put the bowl back down and allow your puppy to eat the food. Before he is finished, place a handful of meat treats inside of his bowl. Practice this session once a day for three days.
• Approach the empty dog food bowl and puppy, put the entire meal of food in the bowl, put the bowl back down and allow your puppy to eat the food. Leave the room, come back into the room before he is finished eating and pick up the bowl and place a handful of meat treats inside his bowl and place the bowl back down. Practice this session once a day for three days. After your three days, repeat this process every other day for a week, then once a week for his entire life to keep the behavior and reaction strong.

Tips and Reminders

• Start each exercise over with a new adult doing the exercises, providing no aggression or guarding has occurred.
• Resource guarding is a behavior that can occur at any age, at any time. Therefore, it is essential to work on prevention throughout your puppys life through old age.
• If you have small children it is critical teach them at an early age not to bother the puppy while he is chewing, eating, or sleeping. Do not allow children to see you perform these exercises, as kids tend to do as they see, not as they are told.

If you ever see your puppy stiffen up, growl, or snap, or lunge around resources stop your exercises and seek professional help immediately. Do not attempt these lessons without professional assistance if you are seeing signs of guarding. 

A good resource for resource guarding is Jean Donaldsons book Mine!

Do you need extra dog training help?  I offer in-person,  phone consultations, weekend dog retreats and public seminars.  Contact me today for details.

LunarC 8 hour MTB

Jobs Done! 

Photo below is of Mark (Left) Dog (other) after 8 hours of smashing it out on our single speeds. Mark is a good mate & work buddy. Better described as an endurance, hard-man. Both endurance mtb racing & Ironman Triathlons

A Big "Thank You" to James from Photo Events

This was my first of many enduros for the year.

I showed up on my new ride. A custom, titanium, single speed, full rigid, 29er. More easily described as a sexy work of art

I popped an 18 tooth cog on the rear & a 32 up front. This was too big a gear for this course. First lesson of the season. If youre going to ride SS this season then pre-riding the course is essential.

The chain line was out a little on the bike. This resulted in the new chain that stretched a little falling off about 2 or 3 times per lap for most laps.

A Big "Thank You" to James from Photo Events

That aside, the bike is easily the sweetest mtb I have ever owned/ridden! It looks good. It is custom made to fit me & it is very fast! If you want something similar ask Shannon. He will build you one.


Nearly 130kms in the 8 hours. This gave me a 3rd in the SS category & 6th in overall solo.



My Ay Up lights with the latest upgrades work beautifully. They are customised too! You can check those options out here... These lights have never let me down. They have always provided me with all the light I need to train & race.



Again, Infinit nutrition was the base for my race nutrition. Customised too! This stuff really works.

What did I enjoy most about this event?

1. I saw my mate Ky have the best race yet. He has been training with Boom Time Boothy. That being said, Ky has had to do the hard work himself. Ky was pedalling smooth, no gravel rash, most importantly he looked comfortable on his bike. Even after 7 hours!!

A Big "Thank You" to James from Photo Events

A Big "Thank You" to James from Photo Events

2. Another inspirational ride by another good friend Nick Westwood. There is a lot more to this man than he lets on ;-)

3. An awesome ride by a dear friend of mine Rachel Edwards. This woman has always been fit & tough minded. She really only lacked in mtb skills & a little confidence. Rach finally got herself onto a decent bike (built by Shan) & some mad skillz. For the first time in a race I didnt catch up to Rach to lap her! Only 12 minutes behind me. Awesome Rach.

4. Sharing the Friday night with my life partner, training partner, adventure buddy & wife Beautiful Kirstie.

She is off her bike for a short period of time.

Good for me because she is an awesome pit manager.

I am looking forward to seeing her getting back out there & smashing out the trails again soon.

5. I have no idea who it was but there was a guy that was clearly more than 120kgs. He was in the hurt locker. I saw him riding, walking, resting but all the time on the trails in some way or another. I love seeing gutsy performances like that!!!

A Big "Thank You" to James from Photo Events

6. Lastly & my all time favourite...drum roll....

My 16 year old son competed as a solo rider in his longest ride ever.

He rode his bike with respect for himself & respect for every other rider.

When asked how he was travelling his response was "Im ok, I just need a biddon of HTFU...!" ahhhhh...that is music to my ears.

For me, Jaxs overall performance was inspirational.

During the race Jaxs guts & determination motivated me to pedal that bit harder.

Thank you Jax!

Proud Dad moment.


Until next time:

3 things will make/break your endurance event.

Physical fitness/Strength
Mental Attitude
Nutrition

Want to know more about the essential 3. Ask away.

dog

Alcoa Dust to Yawn done dusted

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Dust to Yawn is just how it was. A 6pm start. It was still too warm to ride off with anything more than a jersey. Oh, I did have nix on too. After a few hours it had cooled so I had to put my magical, long sleeve Icebreaker top on.



The laps were about 17kms long. After 10kms we came past the transition area then headed out for the other 7km loop. I was getting them done in about an hour. Shortly into the second lap I heard a loud, vibrating noise when I went to use my front brakes. Its ok, I have only lost one of my brake caliper bolts. The second one was loose to. The only reason I can think this happened is because I didnt tighten them when I put the bike together after the plane trip. No bike shop mechanic to get grumpy at & blame only myself.

I took the second one out, wrapped the caliper around the other hose line & did the next 15kms with only a back brake. This was a really good thing though. I found that when riding on marbles (pea-gravel) front brakes bring you down. As I came through the transition at the 10km mark I asked my dad (support person for the race) to find me one of these please, grabbed a fresh biddon, mouthful of fruit cake then continued on. The old-fella found one. It took me a few minutes to fit & adjust.

My dad commented that one of my lap times was not as consistent. I said "that was probably the one when I head slammed & tree & sat down for a couple of minutes to make sure I was ok. oops, sorry tree.

I was in 2nd place for a short while. On about lap 14 or 15 3rd place caught me. I stuck on his wheel & had a casual chat. He then must have realised it was a 2nd/3rd thing. The pace picked up. I wheel sucked. It got a little faster, I wheel sucked. He then backed off a little, so I attacked. Along came a short climb, so I attacked it hard. I hope he pops soon because I am about to. I then see his lights getting a little further back. When the trail flattened out he caught me again. He was certainly stronger & faster than me on the night. 7kms of attacking each other was AWESOME x 10!

I have made some improvements to my race nutrition & didnt get an upset stomach all night! Now that is a first in a long time. This is one of the major benefits of using Infinit Nutrition I can adjust it to suit.

What is it like to single speed for 12 hours? I loved it. All you do is pedal. If a hill comes along pedal stronger, if its flat just spin it out a little, if youre going down, stop pedaling & enjoy the ride. The hardtail hurt my feet this race. Other than that & my poor choice of rubber the bike was the perfect assault weapon.

On 3 separate occasions I started working on excuses to quit. This always happens for me at least once. My body wants to stop the hurt & go to bed.

In this interview Jens Voigt says "Sometimes you can hear like your body start talking to you. It says, I cant do it anymore I cant do it anymore! Your mind then goes Shut up body & do as I tell you!!!"

I will track down some more photos & update this post when I do.

Time to visit U-Turn Fitness for a session & get back on track with training.


...

Attack! Attack again again Kapow!!!

Mount Nebo interval session with some well established climbers. Nice guy, Andrew Patten (4th in Grafton to Inverell 228km roadie race Div3) showed up & dished out some pain also.

To describe the ride would be simply to say it was a rapid succession of attacks for 37kms.
Post session coffee is a real treat.

I had a few things bothering me this morning & got a little distracted. This is what resulted. Bit of skin off my butt too.

Scott24 hour jobs done photos now added

Final position. 13th in the open mens. With 18 laps (about 325kms) I did enough laps to secure a position in the world champs next year to be held on the same course.

Spending the Friday night with TR & Rach was a lot of fun. Those guys area a great reality check.

Race Start: 50 mins for my first lap. Smooth, not too fast however not sustainable. I then settled into a more sustainable pace ;-)


After my first lap it was clear the service & seal replacement on my forks didnt fix the leaking problem. They stopped leaking before the sun went down. I would suggest because they ran out of oil. Oh, well. At least I have my eye sight.

At about 6pm I got a small stick that flicked in behind my glasses. The vision in my left eye became instantly blurry. As the night laps went on my left eye vision was fully a blur & I was unable to see out of it. So at 2am I went to the emergency tent, they sent me to the hospital, the wait at the hospital was 6-8 hours! WTF is that about?! I made a self assessment, went back to the race emergency tent, got them to put on a sealed up eye patch so no dust or crap could get in & make it worse. All the while this was happening I was fuelling up!!! 2 1/2 hours later I was back on my bike.

I went out for a night lap with one eye & it was fucked! I finished it but decided I would more than likely axe myself. So I sat back for 20 minutes & waited for the sun to come up enough. I went out & smashed out some more consistent laps. Jason English with 23. Matt_dog with 18!

It was going to be the last lap that TR yelled at me on some of the fastest & most fun part of the trail. "Keep riding dog, there are more hills!!!" I was so cranked up & hungry to eat some more climbingdidnt stop at the transition before heading out for another lap just before the course closed. I simply turfed my empty biddon, my awesome girl saw what was going on & just held out a full one for a hot swap.

When Jason English first lapped me sometime before midnight he gave me some kind words of encouragement (bloody nice guy!) I then told him "Hey Jason, I have been sitting back resting & I am going to put in my attack on you soon!" A little cheeky but a lot of fun when tired. I am sure he had a little laugh too.

Man, that guy rides so smooth. I guess thats how you become the worlds best!

So when you ask “what am I doing in October 2010?” I am going to line up for the world championships! Yeee haaaa….. So get back on your bike so you can smash me up those hills!


Lessons learnt.

My Scott Scale 20 hardtail is a beautiful bike. I now must get a full suspension bike. My legs & head were still strong, my back, neck & shoulders were smashed!

Tubless tires with UST specific rubber are an absolute must for this course. I have never seen so many people sitting on the side of the track changing flats! There were so many, it looked like a hill top crowd on Le Tour!

Pizza is fucking awesome race food!

GU gels are shit in cold weather. They are so thick. Shotz were awesome gels in the cold.

Merino under shirts are awesome! My 2XU jacket saved my race. Easy to zip down when climbing & zip up on the freezing cold descents.

There is always room for one more lap.


A spare bike/100% redundancy is a great idea!

All the stuff I have just typed above is not nearly as important to me as this next bit. My partner, Kirstie, was an awesome pit chick. We both had an awesome road trip & established a new level of mutual trust in our relationship.

Cat Mate Pet Fountain Review

I purchased this fountain last month for my kitty Zeus. It was for his 2nd birthday and partly because he kept stealing my drink from the bedside table in the night. I don’t mind sharing, at first it was rather adorable. However Zeus can be a little monster and after a while if the glass was empty or he couldn’t reach what water was in there. He would push the glass off the bed side table and onto the floor in a tantrum! So I decided to look at alternatives to the boring water bowl he seemed to have grown to dislike so much recently. And that’s when I came across this nifty little invention, the Cat Mate Pet Fountain!

Let me tell you why both me and my cat LOVE this pet fountain.


Positives:

• Simple to set up
• It has a built in filter to remove chlorine from tap water
• The filters are cheap and easy to obtain
• It gives cats three different drinking options -  the pool at the bottom, a smaller one at the top or the running fountain (which Zeus prefers)
• It’s quiet. I have it in my office and I barely register the noise from the pump
• Cheap compared to other cat fountains
• Easy to clean – dishwasher safe and easy to take apart
• It comes with a long lead which can be unplugged easily from the connector. So there is no need to unplug the whole thing when it comes to cleaning time
• It keeps the water oxygenated by pumping it around, unlike water from a normal bowl which loses its oxygen content over time
• The movement of the water ensures it is kept cool
• Zeus LOVES it

Negatives:

• It’s not the most visually appealing thing in the world
• It requires a weekly clean
• You need to change the filters once a month (more if you have more than one cat)

I wouldn’t ever go back to the normal bowl after having this. The weekly clean doesn’t bother me as I was having to clean his water bowl daily as sitting water seems to get dirtier quicker. So once a week is nothing. I top it up once every 3 days when the water seems to be getting a little on the low side. And no more waking up to water on the floor or the soft sound of his claws going ‘tink tink tink’ on my glass, slowly pushing it towards the floor!

You can get your own Cat Mate Pet Fountain on Amazon HERE.

Is your cat as fussy as mine?

Dog Breed of the Week Labrador Retriever

Labrador Retrievers are the Most Popular Dog according to AKC

And of course that is why this dog has to be the first to kick off my

Dog Breed of the Week mentions!

Labs are great family dogs! They are extremely loyal, smart, love attention and are eager to please!

Fun News: Maine is considering making Labradors the official dog of their state!

Awesome Labradors Doing Awesome Things: Lab leads Cop to Collapsed Owner

Here are a few pictures of our lab Molly!

 

Learn more about labs here

Let me know which breed should be next weeks dog of the week by comment/Facebook 
or else get another one of my choices based off my own completely biased opinion ;)

Dont forget All dogs need proper socialization, desensitization and training to be able to be good dogs

 so do your part in raising your pooch right!

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Finding Time with your Furry Friend

Finding time to actually spend with your dog can sometimes be a challenge. Dogs can need a lot of exercise, attention and stimulation to get them through the day and between work and/or kids it can be extremely hard to fill those needs. Not having time for a pet is also a big reason people place their pets for adoption but think of some of these alternate methods before making a choice such as that.

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Before getting a dog do research about the breed and the requirements that they will need, some dogs need more exercise than others and if their requirements are not met they can turn into "problem dogs". Make sure the dog you get suits your family. Not all dogs live up to their breed reputation but most research you do will give you a good guideline to follow.
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1. Schedule them into your free time - Whether that is once you get off work or during nap time, try and take them on a walk (for those moms that dont mind a napping child in a stroller). Taking them to a nearby park in the afternoon, after work or maybe when your significant other comes home, so that they can run around and play fetch is a great way to get some energy out and let them settle down before bed time. If your yard is big enough to throw a ball around back there that will also work and would be extra convenient for you! My husband will usually watch the kids when he gets off work so I can take the dogs on a walk or have some uninterrupted training sessions and it is an excellent little break for me!

2. Wake up a little earlier than normal - If you wake up at three because you work incredibly early or have a really long commute then you should probably disregard this option. If you work around 7,8 or 9 try waking up early enough to get them on a walk around the block or at least twenty minutes earlier to spend some time with your dog working on or refreshing basic training cues. Dog training is a simple way to give your dog some mental stimulation and can actually wear them out so after a quick little session in the morning they should be ready for the first nap of their day! I try to get out of bed before the kids so I can do some morning exercises and have a quick training session with my dogs. 

3. Find more "Dog people" to get together with - You can meet "dog people" at local parks or out on walks (assuming their dog is "dog friendly"). Dog people love their dog (or dogs) as much as you do and if you get a long (and your dogs of course) then try and schedule a time to get together with them for playdates or walks. This helps get you motivated to actually get you out of the house at a certain time to meet up with them. This choice is a great option since it also gives you an opportunity to make new friends. Having two dogs and two kids and a husband who works from before the sun rises until 4 daily, also throw in a couple days of him going to school during the week and not coming home until 8 at night, turns our little family into a lot on my plate, taking care of the kids, house maintenance, taking care of the dogs, while building a business! Im surely not wonder woman so there is definitely days where Im not as peppy as others, a lot of the friends I had been meeting since our move were absolute wonderful people but werent "dog people" and it almost made me feel like my dogs were more of an inconvenience than anything when they came around. That was until I met another person that loves dogs as much as I do, they made me remember why I got into dog training and how passionate I was about it. Dog people who understand your situation can be especially uplifting and help you find that time to spend with your dogs! Friends are always a must, but when youre a dog person, "dog people" friends are just as, if not more, important! ;)

4. Include them in your weekend plans - Even if your "weekend"(or any day you have off) is at some point during the week then plan a walk to the park or go to a dog friendly hiking trail, a lake or the beach! Bring a lunch and turn it into a picnic! This is something your whole family can do and a great way to get out and enjoy the weather and enjoy some family time!

5. Dog training daily - I used dog training in a lot of the previous recommendations but this really is a good way to bond with your pet and spend some time with them. It is also important! Dog training isnt just a one time deal, you have to continuously work with them and refresh their cues so that they continue to know what it means so even if your dog is fully trained it never hurts to refresh on the basics. When working with a dog trainer they usually have different cues you work on each week, say you spend a maximum of twenty minutes a day working on these cues you should break that training session up during the day, a few minutes in the morning a few minutes at night. Personally, I get into training with my dog and I lose track of time but you dont want to over do it, dogs can get tired and confused if you persistently work on a single or set of cues.

Along with the aforementioned, here are some alternate tips you can do for them while youre busy or away.

1. Give him toys while youre away - Toys that cant be destroyed easily (anything not stuffed) or that take a little bit of time during the day for them to figure out will give them something to play with while youre away or busy. I use the beehive shaped Kong, stuff it with some wet and dry dog food mix top it off with peanut butter and freeze it over night. This gives your dog something that will keep him busy while youre away and also lasts for a few hours. Another option is to hide treats throughout your house or backyard (if your dog does not stay in a kennel all day), they will either go hunt them down all at once after you leave or  every once in a while pick up the smell and go search for them.
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2. Hire a dog walker or find a doggy daycare - Finding a dog walker/daycare is a little like hiring a babysitter except for dogs, you can hire walkers to come daily during the week while youre working or busy, or even just a couple times during the week, whichever you decide to set up. Most dog walkers charge by hourly rates so if you can work out something you can afford with them then this is a great option to get them out of the house during the day, just be sure to stick to a budget. Websites such as care.com have access to dog walkers in your area and also allows you to post an ad that you are in need of a dog walker. This website can also do background checks for you but of course you will want to schedule an interview with the potential dog walker first and ask for references and experience to make sure they are the right fit for your family and needs. Search your area for reputable daycares and find out if your dog would be a good fit for that instead.

3. Give them a friend - Although this sounds like a step back in the whole "spending more time with your dog" ordeal, this can actually be a great option if you are too busy to give your dog all the attention he needs during the day. Giving your dog someone to hang out with while youre gone or busy can prevent them from feeling bored or lonely. If another animal fits your budget then it would definitely be something to consider. Also consider smaller dogs if you do have a big dog already, or maybe even a cat (if your dog is ok with cats).

If worse comes to worst and you absolutely need to rehome them because having a dog just doesnt work for you, give them the chance to find a real home instead of resorting to putting them in a shelter first. Ask family and friends to help spread word that you need help with them being rehomed. Use websites such as petfinder.com to post an ad or use your local newspaper or penny saver and do thorough checks on the home they could be potentially going to. Dog shelters are too over populated so we need to do our part to keep them out of there!

Also dont forget to spay and neuter!

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Tomorrow - Adapting Training into your Daily Routines.

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What is Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement. I say this word in excess when I tell people how I train dogs and that is because it is very important! So what exactly is it pertaining to dog training?

Well first off, there are two types of reinforcements. Positive and negative.

Negative reinforcement means that the dog will work to avoid something he finds unpleasant

 a few examples of negative reinforcement are

Water squirt to face, raising your voice, citronella spray, shaker can, being ignored, removing a food treat, pinch collar corrections, shock collars, choke chain, losing his play mate, removing toy

(Im going to group dominance rolls, stare downs and all other pack leader forms in here. I dont use them and personally dont think any other trainer should either but it happens.)

On the other end of the line with positive reinforcement the dog works to get something he likes. When you give your dog positive reinforcement after he does a desirable behavior he is more likely to repeat that behavior again.

a few things that could be used as positive reinforcement are
walks, attention, petting, treats, car rides, going outside, playing with their favorite toy, playing with other dogs

All trainers use different pieces of both positive and negative reinforcements in their training styles.
 

Negative reinforcements are imperative for dog training. For instance, if your dog isnt understanding a cue you can simply turn your back and ignore him which is kind of like a refresh so the dog can understand he is not doing correctly what you had asked of him. Ignoring him confuses him and makes the dog have time to take a small break from training. My style of training excludes most of the negative reinforcements that fall under positive punishment.

Now what is positive punishment?
Well, there are also two types of punishment and they BOTH involve negative reinforcements.

Positive punishment involves giving a negative consequence for an undesirable behavior the moment the dog does said undesirable behavior.

Negative punishment is the when you take away something the dog likes the moment he does an undesirable behavior.

To break that down for you, let me take all the examples from the negative reinforcement list and group them into positive punishment and negative punishment categories.

 

Positive Punishment

Water squirt to face, pinch collar correction, shock collar correction, choke chain correction, shaker can, raised voice, pack leader dominance rolls and stare downs etc.

 

Negative punishment

removal of food treat, losing play mate, taking away a toy, ignoring the dog

Earlier I said I exclude *most* of the negative reinforcements that are grouped into positive punishment. By this I am saying there are some times when you have exhausted every other option, you may find that positive punishments are all you have left to try. I dont believe, however, that they are the first things trainers should try when working with dogs.

Let me get into choke and prong collars real quick.
I cringe whenever I walk by people who have no clue what theyre doing when it comes to using prong or choke collars. If you want to use these there is absolutely a right and wrong way of using them, so find someone who can show you the correct way so you are not harming your dog by the use of them. Also they are meant solely for training. Do not let your dog loose with them around the house or yard because they could potentially get caught on something and choke your dog to death. I do know the proper use but how about I give you an alternative instead! If your dog is having problems with training or learning how to walk on a loose leash look into head collars instead! They are a great tool with almost instant results!

Please click here to go to my blog page about head collars  if you would like to learn more.

Pro Tip: If you have a strong "no" cue with your dog you may be able to avoid using positive punishments altogether!

In summary, my training style is based off of Positive reinforcements and Negative Punishments. This training style has proven to be very successful because dogs learn by association! When your doggy is living life earning things he likes by doing good things it keeps you, the owner, happy and also keeps your dog happy! This type of training also builds a very confident dog because they will not live in fear of getting corrective punishments if they do not listen to you. 

 

My biased opinion says if you are looking for a trainer in your area try finding a trainer who bases their techniques off  positive reinforcements so your dog too can live a happy and confident lifestyle!

Frisbee Disc Dog Workshop Toledo

Frisbee/Disc Workshop-October 2, 2010 10-2pm We are privileged to have Scott & Deanna Jones for one day to put on a wonderful frisbee dog workshop. This one day workshop will introduce you & your dog to a life of playing frisbee for fun, or to compete in the growing sport. Do you want to see some disc dogs in action? Check out some of these YouTube videos.

Topics Covered: What discs to use-Getting your dog excited-Rollers-How to throw a disc-Disc catch-Recall-Getting distance & having your dog catch & a mini competition!

This workshop will be limited to 20 dog & handler teams & 5 non participating people, so sign up early! Held outdoors if weather permits. Pizza lunch & drink provided. Please feel free to bring a portable dog kennel.

Dog & people social (dogs are likely to cross paths, so they must be friendly), Current Vaccines (DHPP, Rabies & Bordetalla)

Hello My Lovelies!

I thought (after much procrastination) that I should just bite the bullet and finally get my very own blog. So here it is and here I am writing my very first post! I have so much to talk about and I’m very excited to share my world with you all.

I better introduce myself! I’m Jessi, I live in North Wales in the UK with my Fiancé, my cat Zeus, my dog Kai and my little old bunny Dandelion. Over the past couple of months I’ve made some major changes in my life and I’ve just come out of what I like to call a cloud of depression. I call it this because everything can seem very grey and instead of embracing life it makes you avoid it instead. I won’t go into things too much as I’ll leave that for another blog post. But I’m happy to say I’m finally out of the cloud, I feel like my life is bright again and I want to make the most of it. My Zest for life is back, I want to experience new things and go on adventures! And this is why I started this Lifestyle blog.

I want to document my life, the ups and the (hopefully not too many) downs. I want to share with you amazing beauty products, food recipes and pet products and whatever else excites me. And my biggest wish is to help others who may have gotten stuck under a cloud. That would be…truly amazing.

I have lots of plans for my future, maybe I’ll write a bucket list at some point but for now I’m just going to sail along and hopefully you will enjoy the journey with me too ?

Is Plastic Safe

By now you may have heard some of the buzz that plastics are harmful to our health and of course our pets health too.  Companies have been promoting BPA (Bisphenol A) Free plastics, or certain #x that are safe to use.  You may even have known that when a plastic gets heated it releases even more harmful chemicals.  Unfortunately, it does not seem like any plastics are safe to use!

In a recent study "scientists discovered that many unstressed and stressed, PC-replacement-products made from acrylic, polystyrene, polyethersulfone, and Tritan™ resins leached chemicals with EA (estrogenic activity), including products made for use by babies.  However, this study also showed that some PC-replacement products did not leach chemicals having significant levels of EA" (CertiChem, Inc).  Unfortunately at this time for a consumer it is difficult if not next to impossible to determine which ones.

According to veterinarian Dr. Judy Morgan, another pitfall plastics can cause is contact allergies.  Dr. Morgan goes on to say, "there is also the concern from toxic leaching of chemicals when plastic is microwaved or subjected to heat (like the water bottles left in cars). Also, melamine can be an issue if any of that is used in the plastic."

There are safer alternatives such as glass, ceramic or stainless steel.  Dexter The Dog uses a variety of these safer options.  For our everyday dog water bowl, he has a ceramic dog bowl.  Of course he doesnt have just one dog water dish, he has 2 in the house.  Inside his dog crate, he has a stainless steel water bowl that attaches to the dog crate.  This goes for the same in his car travel crate.  When we go on our dog walks & dog adventures, he uses a stainless steel dog travel water bowl.

I just feel its always better to be safer than sorry.  Maybe one day the scientists will be able to develop a safer plastic.  But until then, I will use glass, ceramic or stainless steel for Dexters dog food dishes, water bowls & treat jars.   

  

Outward Hound Tail Teaser Review

Dexter The Dog really has been enjoying his Outward Hound Tail Teaser Dog Toy! Its a dog toy on a stick, that squeaks and is quite fun. As a professional dog trainer, Im always looking for fun ways to engage my dog, and ways for dog training clients to have fun and play with their pups.

If you are looking for a fun, motivational dog toy, I highly recommend checking this exercising dog training toy out. The Outward Hound Tail Teaser is a great toy that can be chased, tugged and is quite strong!  The durable nylon chord and flexible, handle is great for tugging.  You can twitch it around and make it move in erratic ways, great for enticing your dog, or cat to play.

I am so glad that I purchased this interactive dog toy for Dexter. Look at how much fun hes having.

P.S. He had even more fun off camera.  Hes kind of camera shy. ;)

  

Dog Chasing

I covered the reason behind Dogs That Chase in todays article. So here I am going to go over how to stop unwanted dog chasing. I am also going to show you a few different things that will help you further in training your dog not to chase things.

For everything you do with your dog, there are different ways to go about training it. Most people out there now are all about Positive Reinforcement training. Hey Im with you! I love positive reinforcement training. Though you can use positive reinforcement training with dogs that chase, lets look at a few things first.

Using positive reinforcement for dogs that chase can take months of training at times and sometimes is never fully reliable. Another thing about positive reinforcement is most dogs find the thing they want to chase MUCH more rewarding than what you are trying to offer them. Still, using positive reinforcement can have great rewards when training your dog. Though it might take months of training, it can be quite effective. How reliable your dog becomes is completely up to you on how much you work with your dog.

If you use the removal technique, where you remove the dog from the situation every time they show interest, though it can prove to be effective but again it can take a long time before your dog catches on to what you are wanting. Even though it can take a while, its a good way to teach your dog how to act around that animal.

Now someone mentioned to me the other day, they were having trouble with their dog being obsessive with their cat, that they would rather not use pain or fear to train their dog. I didnt recommend pain or fear to train their dog, I was suggesting a trainer who uses the same technique a pack of dogs would use on themselves. A language dogs understand. Not pain or fear.

Besides the point, how about asking the cat about this? How do you think the cat feels being tortured by the dog on a daily basis. Do you think the cat would want you to take months trying to fix this problem or a few minutes? Im pretty sure the cat would disagree with the statement the person said above.

Now what if the dog had a serious problem of chasing cars or people on a bike and the dog was biting the person on the bike? You chose the positive approach, taking a long time to teach the dog and not always reliable. What if one day the dog got out and a person went by on a bike? Your dog has not had any discipline for chasing and biting the person on the bike and so does it anyways, even with you calling them to you. I bet the person on the bike would much rather you took the few minutes to teach your dog not to chase and bite as well. What if the same situation went on, but with the car. What if that time your dog got hit by that car? Wouldnt you wish you would have took the few minutes to teach your dog not to chase the car instead of the few months trying not to be mean to your dog?

I will point out again Positive Reinforcement can be very effective and in the long run can be very beneficial in teaching your dog not to chase.

Lets talk about Discipline for a minute shall we? All life forms need Discipline! Its they way of life. Try never giving your kid any discipline and see what happens. They will test you, usually become unruly, and do whatever they want. They will walk all over you. All animals use some sort of discipline on each other. Adults have Discipline too, if we didnt the world would be insane. Rules, the law, its all a form of Discipline. So why when it comes to our dogs do we think they dont need any? They most certainly do.

Discipline can be as simple as setting rules then reinforcing those rules with rewards or with holding of a reward. It can be a dog not getting what they want or it could be a correction with the use of a collar. Discipline could be a simple ah ah or no word, a tap on the shoulder to remind them to pay attention. Discipline comes in many forms. Please dont think Im saying to go hit your dog or anything of that sort!

Again I will say I love positive reinforcement training, it works very well and can be very effective. Though with out Discipline, what is to stop a dog that is about to chase a rabbit? You think you have a great recall, youve used lots of treats, then a rabbit takes off and your dog loves rabbits. Your dog takes off after the rabbit, you call the dog and the dog responds Be back in a minute for my treat! I have to get this first!. What if that rabbit was headed for the road? You see where Im going with this?

Depending on how well youve done with your dog with positive reinforcement training, depends on how that situation would actually play out. Maybe youve done a great job at training your dog and your dog whips right around and comes back to you. Thats GREAT! It is possible! So if you like Positive reinforcement training, then definitely go that route!

Im just saying it is something to think about when your trying to stand up for positive reinforcement training. Ive been there, Ive done the same, but my eyes have been opened. Of course there have been many people that are very successful with pure positive reinforcement training, thats wonderful. More power to them.

Yes I went off topic a bit in all that but it was something that needed to be said.

The system that I have, have tried, and has worked the best in the chasing things area is Don Sullivans Secrets to Training the Perfect Dog [DVD]. He shows you how to take his techniques and quickly put an end to Dog Chasing. No more chasing cats, cars, animals, or anything else. His DVDs cover a wide range of topics and are well worth the money.

Here are some videos on people who have used his system;



As you can see this dog also had an issue chasing the horses, its not mentioned but its in there. At the end you can see him walking calmly by the horse, off leash.



This dog didnt have a chasing problem, but you can see some of the other behaviors Dons system can help you with.



These guys show you a way to apply more boundary training, in the DVDs, he shows you how to train your dog not to run into the road at all.

Dons system does not use pure positive reinforcement, he uses a system of prasie, toys and freedom of being off leash and discipline. His system fixes the behavior quickly and long term.

If youd rather go a different route, you can try Dont Dump the Dog: Outrageous Stories and Simple Solutions to Your Worst Dog Behavior Problems. I havent read this book so I cant tell you if it will help or not. I also dont know if they use positive reinforcement or a different method.

You could also try Dog Training Secrets. They have a lot of things to offer you and looks like they could help in a lot of areas as well. I havent tried them so I cant tell you from my own experience.

If your against the Discipline, this looks like a good system, its called the Dog Training Tutor. Once again I cant tell you from my own experience how good their system is.

Take a look at all of them, read the reviews and see what you think. Hopefully you can stop your dogs chasing behavior quickly before somebody gets hurt. Train positively or use some discipline, choose what you want but do something about it. Dogs that chase is very unsafe for everyone and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. Use the method that works for you and your dog. Im not trying to talk bad about positive reinforcement, if it works for you and your dog then by all means use it! Its a great way to train and fun. If your against using treats in training or they arent working well for you, then try Dons system.