Freestyle Fun and Friends

I am having a great time at the Canine Federation Freestyle Retreat! Besides getting to spend time with Barbara (without Ambrose and his cooties)and staying in a motel I am learning lots of new things and meeting new freestyle friends. I learned how to switch from left to right heel by going behind Barbara and coming up into heel. I know how to do it in front of her but had not done it this way before

I've also learned some distance work and done lots of practice on walking backwards. There are over 50 dogs here and many are from North Carolina. This morning we got all the NC dogs and people together for a group photo. You can't see me very well in the back row because Barbara is wearing black pants and I sort of blend in! But this is a great group and I am enjoying training with them.

Doing all these classes is a lot of work though and between exercises I rest on my mat next to Barbara's chair and watch the other dogs work. I have been very well behaved and I don't mind when another dog walks by right in front of me.

One of the great things about Canine Freestyle is that any dog can do it. It doesn't matter if you are big or little, it is just a matter of learning moves and then having a willing human partner who will choreograph your routines. While we dogs have been learning the technical moves the people are learning to be creative. I am not sure if Barbara can learn this but I try to help her by doing new things all the time. I have made many new friends at the retreat. There are lots of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels here.

I've sat next to Benny in a couple of classes and he is very sweet.

This little corgi is only 4 months old! She is as smart as can be. Look at the attention she has with her person. She is going to be a great freestyle dog.

I met this nice English Setter boy, Bentley. It is great to see another setter doing freestyle.

Teddy is my Drill Teammate and my traveling companion. He is doing very well in class.

Kiwi is tiny (I bet my ears weigh more than she does) but she does great freestyle and is very smart and cute.

I am having a great time but it is very tiring to think so much. I just crashed in the bleachers this afternoon.

Tomorrow is the last day of the retreat so I will try to get someone to take pictures of Barbara and I doing some of our new moves.

Road Trip

We got up early this morning and Barbara packed up the dog-crate-on-wheels with lots of stuff. Then we dropped Ambrose off at K9 Kindercare (yay!!) and I got to go on a road trip with Barbara. Look at all the stuff crammed in the car! She says that more of it is for me than for her.



We picked up my drill team buddy Teddy and his person and they crammed even more stuff in. Poor Teddy had to ride in Ambrose's crate. I was afraid he would get some of Ambrose's cooties but he didn't seem to mind.

We had an eight hour drive, which was pretty boring, but now we are at the Canine Freestyle Federation Retreat. I will get to practice my dance moves and learn some new ones. I can't wait. But the best part is that I get to stay in a motel with Barbara.




You may notice that I don't have curls on my head anymore. Barbara took the evil dog grooming torture implements to my head. She went a bit overboard though and left a bald spot on the back of my neck! She is dangerous.

I am not a Labradoodle

One good thing about having broken Barbara's finger for her is that she is unable to wield the evil dog grooming torture implements properly. This means that I have been getting only minimal brushing and no trimming. Yay!

However I am starting to rethink this. This past Saturday our Drill Team performed at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine's Open House. Thousands of people come to this event to tour the vet school. Our drill team always draws big crowds when we perform. We got lots of applause.

It was a bit rainy which made the extra long hair on my head get all curly.



At least five people came up to me and asked Barbara if I was a Labradoodle! Can you imagine? Now I like Labradoodles very much and have several doodle friends but I am a Gordon Setter. So I guess it is time for some extreme dog grooming torture so I get back to looking the way I should.