Footlong Racing
Ammo waking up the morning of the races
On Sunday I took my Dachshund, Ammo, to the Keystone Dachshund Races. I had pre-entered him months ago and was very excited to attend. The event was held to raise money for the Keystone Dachshund Rescue – I’m always up for supporting a good cause…especially if it involves animals. I had been practicing with Ammo for this event – mainly working on his “Come” – which being a puppy of 8 months old was somewhat difficult. I knew he would be plenty fast enough (he can keep up with my australian shepherd/lab mix no problem) it was more a question of would he listen to me.
Ammo gets ready for the start of the race
Well my suspicions were right – Ammo was more interested in touching all of the other puppies than to running to me. He even sat down in the middle of a race to give himself a good scratch. He didn’t even want his treats (a huge first for him!) and despite my best efforts he didn’t win a single race even though he was the largest and oldest puppy in the divisions. But despite my puppies’ failure I was still very proud of him, aside from not listening when I called he was very well behaved. I felt like a proud mom attending their child’s first sporting event (so this is what it feels like!). My husband and I (along with many of our family members) had a great time – hopefully we will be able to attend next year. I thought it was wonderful to see all the different colors and sizes that dachshunds come in. We saw a whole array of Dachshunds – even some in baby front packs and strollers. Ammo’s buddy, Trooper (my parent’s dog and Ammo’s best friend), tagged along for support. People commented on what a strange Dachshund he was (weighing in at 55 lbs and legs 10x’s longer than the average Dachshund) – I had to laugh.
See all of the photos from the event here.
Ammo stoping inches from the finish line for a good scratch
The day after the races I had to take my poor little guy to have a baby tooth pulled that wouldn’t fall out. When I picked him up he looked at me with the saddest eyes and ran straight for the car. I felt horrible – he spent the rest of the day moping around – I’m sure he will forgive me in the future….but I couldn’t help but feel like a terrible mom. He got extra kisses that night…and I even snuck him into bed with me…he just needed his mama. 🙂
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Ammo proudly displays his ribbons from the day
Pedestal Work
My weekend was filled with family, horses and dogs – those are always the best kind of weekends. On Saturday I spent time with Minnow working on new tricks – getting him ready for his upcoming performance in Chincoteague. I’m starting to feel the crunch – I have a lot still to teach him and not a ton of time.
I’m determined to teach Minnow to stand on his pedestal with all four feet before pony penning. I think it would be quite impressive, and he’s just about there…hopefully I have enough time to polish the trick. You can watch the video below of me clicker training Minnow to perform this trick.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Minnow Donates
Here’s an ad I just finished designing to promote the PonyPaintings.com website in the ad book for MGAA Nationals 2009. Unfortunately the ponies and I will not be able to attend, but we wish all the competitors and our friends lots of luck. Minnow donated 6 paintings to be used as prizes for the event. Hopefully the recipients are thrilled to receive them!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Make a Wish
Happy Birthday Blitz!
Today Blitz turns 7 years old! He still acts like a yearling sometimes though, I think he will never fully grow up. His younger brother Boomerang (who is 6 years old this year) is more grown-up than Blitz. But thats part of why I love Blitz, he has a playful attitude which is always fun when trick training. So here’s to never growing up!
Yesterday I went out to the farm after work to mess around with the horses. Boomer gets access to a small paddock and his stall during the day because he tends to stock up when left in. I had been leaving the ponies’ pedestal in the paddock because its an easy place to work with them on a regular basis. I had been noticing that the last couple days it seemed as if there were hoof marks on the top of it – indicating that Boomer was using it while I wasn’t there. Well sure enough when I arrived at the barn, there he was just hanging around on the pedestal. Pretty interesting considering just a few months ago Boomer was so awkward and unsure of his feet that he nearly toppled off the pedestal everytime when asked to stand on it. It was evident he was much more aware of his feet now. I was able to snap a few photos of Boomer hanging around on his new favorite spot.
Later I pulled Minnow out and worked on getting him to stand on his pedestal with all 4 feet. We had a breakthrough in that he began offering me 3 feet consistantly and I even got him to stand on it with 4 feet for a few seconds. I think its going to take a few more tries before he realizes how to balance himself – but I’m confident that I can have him doing it by Pony Penning time!
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
Minnow goes to Camp
KD pictured on the right riding Niatross during a drill team exhibition at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show
Recently I fell back in contact with my long-time childhood riding coach – an FEI rider specializing in Dressage Training. As a youth I attended camps and lessons at her local farm – where I had help training 2 of my horses, Oopsie Daisy and Niatross. Oopsie was my very first Dressage mount who always seemed to be in the ribbons with his cute fluid gaits until I moved up to my much larger mount, 16.3 hand Nitro. Nitro was a difficult ride, but with the help of my instructor I was able to school him up to 2nd Level. With a local team we pulled together we even competed in the Region I USDF Championships in 2000 and 2001 – earning Reserve Champion Overall. We did extensive drill team work as well, and we were one of the first groups in the area to be involved with drill team demonstrations. Pictured above is a photograph from a drill team exhibition we did at the Ludwigs Corner Horse Show several years back. I had to manage riding my handful of a horse, Nitro, while wearing a full daffy duck outfit – complete with giant duck butt – I’m not really sure how I managed to stay on…let alone do a sitting trot.
I ran into my old instructor at the Devon Horse Show this year – where she mentioned she had heard of my trick ponies and was interested in bringing a group of her campers to see them. We have since organized two dates where the campers will come to watch the ponies perform, and then afterward Minnow will paint each of them a t-shirt. I plan to go over a little bit about clicker training as well – I always jump at the oppertunity to teach new people about this amazing training method. It should be a fun time, and I know the ponies will love it – they love to perform, Minnow always becomes such a ham infront of crowds.
-KD
www.ponypaintings.com
