Last night I figured I’d try teaching her to flip in the usual space where we do all of her shaping – inside on the carpet.  She loved it!  She did some little “umpa lumpas” and was very emphatic and focused.  I think I’m on to something!

This morning, she was extra amped and playful in her crate so I brought her out to try some more flip practice on the shaping carpet.  She was a disc monster – tugging and flipping and stretching to do more a real flip motion while coming back for more.  (Most often outside during training, she’ll take a tug but doesn’t hold or really pull on the disc.)

I have a new plan.  I’ll teach her to flip, catch butterflies and some short tosses on the carpet inside and when I feel she’s super confident, bring it back outside.  Hopefully building her confidence in the action itself, when she goes outside to practice, the stress of the training itself will be minimized or gone altogether. Check out a quick video of this morning’s session.

We’ve also put a couple more pounds on her over the past few weeks after Jason suggested it may be better for her.  She was very lean like the other girls – which is what I like to see in a disc dog.  However she comes from conformation lines and it seemed she was too lanky -and floppy.  She now seems much more balanced and strong and she didn’t flop at all during flip training – rather landed soundly.

I love the challenge that our girls have brought to us.  They are all very different and it has motivated me to be a multi-dimensional trainer versus just doing things the one way I know how.  We have one hardcore, one soft and one aloof.  I’m certainly looking forward to our next hardcore!!  Learning about the different personalities and training styles that are effective for each dog have taught me the value of assessing the individual dog for how they learn.  There isn’t a single perfect formula.  I plan to write a post soon about different training approaches.  The thought came to me after a great conversation with Apryl Lea yesterday – she helped me by figuring out what type of student I am.  Anyway…more on that later…

Leila taught me about the fragile nature and importance of puppy growth.  I could pick the perfect puppy, with the perfect structure and breeding and temperament – do all of the right training from the start (Susan Garrett’s Puppy Camp at 11 weeks old), provide the healthiest organic foods and all it takes is one topple off the bed at 4 months old to potentially wreck her performance career.  I mean, what puppy doesn’t slide of the bed onto a carpeted floor?

Leila’s got a date with an ortho specialist on Wednesday.  She’s a little wonky in her rear and walking stiffly.  The breeder – Ellen – thought that it sounded a bit like a ruptured cruciate…  “A What?”, I said.  Unfortunately it’s pretty common in dogs and the description of it is pretty much what happened and how she looks now…which is not reassuring.  We’ll get some new films and see what we’ve got.  I’m going to keep in mind that we’re just taking precautions – making sure that there aren’t any injuries that need immediate attention.  I’m sure she’ll be fine and she’ll be back to catching discs and jumping high in a few months.

In the mean time, check out how long her legs have gotten!!  She’s looking long, lean and mean and can’t wait to get back to our disc training routine.  Considering how much crate time she’s had, and how little physical training – she’s been a champ.

She is growing beautifully.  I think that her long legs will really help her vertical.  Who says that conformation dogs are too big and heavy to be great disc dogs!  She’s got a better build that Lilli – and Lilli is a superstar!  Keep the positive juices flowing…

Ami and Jordan brought Jake (their red tri super stud male), Chante (Jake’s beautiful blue “wife”) and Riot (a spunky and true-to-his-name male tri) for the play today and Sketch’s mom and dad brought her and her littermate Patch (who was a HUGE male with the funniest duck dive I’ve ever seen).

I’m amazed at how much hair we’ve pulled out of the pool so far!  We had 7 Aussies jumping, swimming, chasing, barking, smiling, wrestling and herding for a good 2 hours before anyone stopped to breathe, then start back up again.  We settled everyone down a bit, tied everyone around the perimeter and started some disc dog play.  Lilli put on a mini show of her latest vaults and Jake did some great flips and leaps for high discs!  I can’t believe he was able to get that high in the air!

Since today was “technically” about meeting Sketch…we did some initial disc play with her and she doesn’t show any drive for the disc yet, but has some ball drive.  She’s got a fantastic laid back temperament – not bossy or dominant at all and very sweet, playful and friendly with all of the dogs.  She even took on her first swimming adventure today and jumped right in the pool with the other pups.  By the end of the party, she was a swimming pro jumping in confidently and making her way to the stairs without being called.

Ami took some amazing shots of the party today and posted them on Shutterfly to share with the world – here’s the link. Check them out!

Today was so much fun that we’re planning the next Aussie Party for mid-August, right before we head to Ron Watson’s Disc Dog Camp in Michigan. We’ll keep everyone updated about Sketch.  She is such a beautiful girl.  Just debating whether we’re ready to train 2 pups at once for disc dog…not sure if we’d be biting off more than we could chew…

Here’s a great photo from today of Sketch.  What great structure she has!

This is Leilani at 9 weeks old – about 2 hours after we picked her up from the airport.  Wow.  Where did this little fuzzy meatball go??!!  Now she’s a firecracker!  Enjoy.

Thanks to Donna for the hot tip and for keeping an eye out for our new girl!

So the coolest part about sharing our new family member is…PHOTOS!

Now these are really cute…so prepare yourself to see the future agility and disc superstar!!!

Leilani at 2 weeks old

We are into the naming part now – her registered name that is.  We know that we want it to be related to Lilli’s registered name, Flying DragonLilli.  Also, Leilani’s mom has a Hawaiian name, CH Thornapple Island Kiss “Kauai” and her dad’s name is fire related – CH Thornapple Red Hot Outlaw “Scorch”.  Leilani is the flower necklace in Hawaiian, so that covers the mom and it’s a great call name – Lani!

Now we need to find a way for Fire, Hot or Red themed words, Leilani and Dragon to tie in somehow and sound awesome.  We need your help so if you have any thoughts or ideas…PLEASE pass them along in the comments below!

We are so excited!  Leilani flies in from CHILLY Michigan the week of March 16th!  We’ll keep everyone posted with more pics and updates!