That Blew a Few Cobwebs Away:)

Yesterday morning we bit the bullet and went to the beach even though the weather was looking a bit iffy.  It was very windy when we got there but no rain:)

Beryl loves it at the beach:)

So does Frankie!

While the wind wasn't cold it was strong enough to blow Beryl's lips out of shape!

Beryl sucking it in!

So I stuck to the damp sand hoping I wouldn't get any of it blown into my camera like last trip to the beach:)

We only saw one other person and that was on our way back.  An older man driving a little mini moke who came over to us and asked if Beryl was a Greyhound.  He wasn't sure at a distance as she doesn't have a tail, lol.  So I had to tell him the story of why she hasn't got a tail!

It was lovely to have the whole place to ourselves and just mooch around.  Beryl did some ball fetching

I got it for you, Mum!

Beryl's skid marks;)

I'm bringing it back real quick, Mum!

She dug a hole ...

And then Frankie rolled in it!

That's not why I dug the hole, Frankie!

Frankie coming back for a drink, looks like he really needs one!

Beryl running back for a drink:)

Beryl did some cross country jumping:)

And some more running.

We were there for over an hour and I expected them to sleep the rest of the day (and night) away after all the fresh air and exercise, but no.  Within about half an hour of getting home, having a bit of a power nap they were both raring to do it all again!  I've created a couple of monsters, lol.

This afternoon we went to the park and Beryl met new foster dog, Lily, for the first time.  I also had a great reunion with Lucy and Louie who I hadn't seen for a few weeks.  Beryl isn't impressed with me and Lucy smooching!

Oi, what about me, Mum?

Beryl, Frankie and I went to the river after this and enjoyed the sunny afternoon.

Frankie is faster than Beryl over the stony ground:)

Tomorrow afternoon Beryl and I are going on a GAP walk so hopefully more photos and more new friends:)

We hope everyone is having a great weekend too:)  And I think we'll join in on the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop today.

If you want to join in too, go to any of the first 3 links, who are the co-hosts of the blog hop, for the instructions.  Happy blog hopping!

Almost Wordless Wednesday - She's Done It Again:)

The cream sheets won't be on the bed long, lol!

I hope to get a blog post written sooner rather than later, but right now we're not doing anything or going anywhere and it's hard to get inspired.  We need a trip to the beach to clear our heads and maybe get some photos!  But I'm enjoying reading all your blogs:)

Wordless Wednesday - I Don't Remember Leaving It Like This?

More Doggie Dancing Training Videos:)

With less than 4 weeks to go and lots to do I thought I'd better do another video when we had a training session early this evening. Beryl and I really should have gone to CGC class but it's a miserable night out there and after her training session she finally seemed ready to have a sleep! So I thought we'd stay home and I'd edit some video instead:)

This was done after she'd had her tea, lucky for me she's very food motivated. On the minus side she is reluctant to do anything if it's unrewarded, lol. Our training session was way too long, I took 10 minutes of video! But she was on fire tonight and she gave herself a couple of breaks when she got bored, although they didn't last more than a few seconds.

I made 2 videos, the first one is of her 'marching' progress plus a couple of other things we're working on. The second one is a few bloopers and also showing how a new trick can be shaped by making the most of opportunities as they arise:)

A few of you might be thinking things would go a whole lot quicker if Frankie wasn't there and you might be right, but they are used to doing training like this. It's mostly Beryl being trained and Frankie getting treats for staying out of the way. Plus, Frankie isn't quite himself at the moment, a bit  subdued for him and I don't know why. But I do know that if he was shut away he'd be miserable.

Anyway, if Blogger lets me, here are the videos, hopefully for your enjoyment:) Comments, questions and constructive criticisms are welcome! Oh, and be prepared, I never shut up during either of them, lots of high pitched praise, I even jump up and down myself at one stage, lol. I'd love to put music over me rabbiting on but then you wouldn't hear the clicker, which is hard enough to hear anyway with my enthusiastic YES at the same time. Which is because I don't always have a clicker on me when we're training as I do a lot of it when we're on our walks at the river and Beryl doesn't know she's being trained then:)

Blogger And I Are Back ... More or Less!

First of all the real world impinged upon my cyber world a couple of weeks ago with some events that made me very stressed, tense and emotionally drained.  I wasn't in a fit state mentally to blog or even do any training with Beryl ... so I just didn't.  Once that was sorted I was plunged into full on work which left me physically and mentally exhausted.  And then Blogger has such a hissy fit that I couldn't even see some blogs, let alone comment except on Wordpress blogs.  Even now the videos on my blog aren't visible to me, just a black square where they used to be.  Hopefully they'll reappear.  I think the Blogger people are having some R&R over the weekend before getting everyone back to normal.  I hope so anyway.

There hasn't been much time to do doggy things recently but yesterday morning a contingent of 4 Greyhounds took part in a local pet parade.  We were a hit with the kids and everyone took home a load of stash, which was totally unexpected.  There were only 8 dogs there all told and Beryl was the only one not in fancy dress of some sort as I couldn't think of anything she could go as!  Imagination isn't my strong suit:)  I took my camera but didn't get much opportunity to take many photos and those I did take aren't good but here are a few.

Foster dog, the very handsome Hugo, went as a bumble bee:)

Lucy was Minnie Mouse and found it all very tiring:)

Hugo and Beryl - Beryl went as a pretty Greyhound!

Beryl enjoying a pat

Miss Mischief, Dotty, aka the Ninja Turtle.  She was into everything:)  She's a 7 1/2 year old puppy!

Our training for Honey's DWTDS competition is somewhat sporadic but we're managing a bit most days now and hopefully Beryl will be able to 'march' a few steps at least, in a week or so.  I'm also working on a couple of easier things but have no idea of how I'm going to put everything together yet, lol!  With only 4 weeks to go I'm kind of hoping for camera failure!  But hey, it's all about having fun and bonding, not winning, and we're doing that just fine:)  I'm learning how Beryl likes to be trained, lots of noise and praise and TREATS!!  When I'm beginning to teach her something I'm quiet and give her time to mull things over and go back to something she knows and likes to do.  Once she's got the basic idea she seems to need to be revved up a bit to get her to try more things and when she's wrong I just ignore it.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Seeya:)

Our First Doggie Dancing Training Video!

As you probably know, Beryl and I have entered a Doggie Dancing With The Stars competition being run by Honey The Great Dane.  It's going to be lots of fun for competitors and spectators alike I think.  And I'm so happy because I've finally chosen some music, yay!!

The most complex thing Beryl is going to learn for our Doggie Dancing Debut is to 'march' and we started learning that on Saturday.  She is VERY left handed so the first thing I had to make her aware of is that she has 2 front feet:)  She already knew how to put a paw on something on the ground so I concentrated on clicking and treating only for using her right paw.  This video is of her second lesson which was this morning and I think she progressed very well.  I took a bit more video which I haven't edited yet and might put up a part 2 if it's worth showing:)  I've put little explanation thingys in the top left corner through the video so you can hopefully understand what I'm doing.



This is my first attempt at videoing anything other than Greyhounds running outside or my kids inside and I didn't exactly dress for the occasion:)  The second bit of video I took is better than this one as I moved the camera back a bit and Beryl doesn't get her legs cut off as often, lol!  Anyway, we've started Honey:)

And we've got time to squeak in on the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop which is hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.  Pet Bloggers rock, so why don't you have a wander around some of them, say hi and make new friends.  If you want to join in the instructions can be found on all the above mentioned blogs:)