Showing posts with label much. Show all posts
Showing posts with label much. Show all posts
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Weve achieved public access and so much more!
Weve achieved public access and so much more!
Sorry I havent written in so long ... weve been busy: Hardys been learning some new tasks & skills and going all sorts of places with me while Laurel & I have been competing, mostly in agility with a bit of C-WAGS rally thrown in.
First, before I write about all weve been doing, I guess this is my last post on this blog. When I created it, I intended for it to chronicle our journey from finding a puppy through the public access test. Since Hardy just passed a tough public access test with flying colors, he has reached that point. Ill be putting up another blog, "From Public Access and Beyond" to chronicle the rest of my journey with both Laurel & Hardy. Although I have included Laurel in this blog, it was intended to be primarily about Hardy, the puppy & adolescent service dog prospect. My next blog will pick up my adventure with Laurel, now 5 1/2 years old and Hardy, 19 1/2 months old. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to have two service dogs working so well as a team. If one of them alerts, the other doesnt bother. If Im not doing well and one of them is with me, the other one is off sleeping or resting or playing. Then they will swap activities.
When I decided to look for my next service dog prospect, I was hoping that Laurel could teach that next dog to alert and Hardy now does alerts that are as reliable and accurate as Laurels! I also hoped that the two dogs could work together, allowing each of them to have time off when he/she wasnt focused on me. Laurel and Hardy have become the most remarkable team - they have accomplished everything I had hoped they would and much more than I actually expected!
Since I last wrote, our daughter, Kristen came to visit with her Pointer, Soapy! They were with us for 3 weeks filled with dog activities, running errands and time spent together! Soapy enjoyed coming to my classes but he absolutely loved the foundation agility classes! He was fearless on the contact equipment, figured out how to duck down to get into the tunnel and was doing some sequences before they headed on their way to NYC. Kristen came with us one day of an AKC agility trial. Laurel and I had an Open JWW Q and she jumped off the A-Frame in Standard.
Although I still intentionally leave Hardy home at times, especially when Brent is going out with me, he has been going to restaurants, a factory (Invacare, which made my wheelchair), the mall, the library, the doctors and all sorts of other places. He is really easy to have with me and without fail, I am so proud to be his partner and to be representatives for the other service dog teams that will follow us!
Weve also been working on his retrieve and carry skills. He doesnt hesitate to pick up all types of materials (wood, metal, plastic, cloth etc) and he willingly carries things that are relatively heavy. He can pick up a piece of paper or a coin from the floor but were still working on the delivery - his ability to put it into my hand without me having to reach for it. We are continuing to name items and he is getting better at correctly picking them out from the others. We are working on his tugging for tug-related tasks and that is coming along nicely. Im grateful that I have Laurel who can do the tasks I need for me and I was able to enjoy Hardys puppyhood (and let him have a puppyhood without being pushed) and didnt feel stressed over his adolescence. Now that he is growing up physically and mentally, we are working on more service dog tasks, competitive rally and obedience skills and agility!
Laurel & I also tried competing in USDAA agility. We NQd in Standard & Pairs Relay due to our contact issue but had a clean run in Jumpers. Unfortunately, we were half a second over time and NQd. We had a blast though and might try that venue again.
At the end of October, Laurel and I participated in an agility seminar on doing distance and layering. It was great and were hoping to get to do a seminar based on this one and going to the next level. We also competed in a C-WAGS trial. Laurel won the Zoom 1 class with a score of 100 and Hardy came in 3rd with a 96. Laurel also finished her ARF title - she now has every C-WAGS rally title (Starter, Advanced, Pro, Zoom 1, Zoom 2, and ARF).
The first weekend, we were back to agility - CPE agility. We continued to struggle with Laurels lack of A-Frame contact - you cant get a Q in standard without it! The frustrating part is that she has a two on - two off contact in class or at run-thrus. Its just the excitement of a trial - mine, hers and the general excitement! We have finished 3 of the 4 sub-titles that make up Level 2 (just the standard title to go) and have moved onto Level 3, which is much more advanced. We had a blast at the trial even though we didnt get lots of Qs! Hardy, too, had fun running through the meadows and woods around the training hall with Brent!
November 12th, Hardy and I did the Delta therapy dog test and he passed with perfect scores! The next day, he participated in rally and agility demos at our training hall, Canine Affairs Open House. Laurel participated too! And then a couple days later, he took his Public Access Test and passed it with flying colors too!
Then this past weekend, Laurel and I competed in an ASCA agility trial. A friend, Judy, who I met doing AKC agility suggested we try ASCA because you are allowed to train in the ring. On Saturday, we worked on the A-Frame and Dogwalk contacts, got one Novice Gamblers Q and got two Novice Jumpers Qs for the Novice Jumpers title (JS-N). Sunday, she didnt miss one contact and we repeated the A-Frame and Dogwalk as much as we could during Gamblers. She got two Novice Regular (Standard) Qs, winning the classes and one Open Jumpers Q. We had a terrific time, got some Qs, a title and 11 nice placements and plan to go back whenever ASCA has trials in Washingtonville! And now I feel more confident about being able to handle her contacts, handling options and issues as well as her increased speed in a trial environment! And once again, Hardy loved running through the fields and woods!
So now, Ive had a minute to consider that I have 2 service dogs! Hardy does more than enough tasks to be my legitimate service dog and his public access work is pretty much beyond reproach. The day after tomorrow is Thanksgiving and among the many things for which I am grateful are my two comedians, Laurel and Hardy. Laurel gave me the gifts of alerting and then she taught Hardy to do it too. She also helped me teach Hardy so many other valuable things about being a well-behaved young man and a wonderful service dog! Hardy has benefited from all that I learned with Laurel and he has a really wonderful temperament for the work he is doing. Im glad to see how much easier it is for him! Its an amazing gift to watch them work together and I feel very blessed to have the luxury of two working service dogs with me right now!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ill be back with my new blog, "From Public Access and Beyond" along with new photos and videos some time next week. Im looking forward to continuing to write about both my amazing Labs and then, who knows? At some point in the future (3 1/2 years from now?), we should be searching for the next right puppy to raise with the help of Laurel & Hardy. For now, I have no idea on a name (Abbott, Costello?) or color. Should we do black so we can have one of each? Id like a nice red Lab myself even though I know we wont select based on color (otherwise Id have two yellow Labs right now)! Anyway, I hope youll join us in our future adventures from public access and beyond!
Linda
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Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Sunday, November 6, 2016
How Much to Feed a Puppy
How Much to Feed a Puppy
Bringing home a pet is full of responsibilities. A pet dog is a living creature who too needs food and water to survive. If you ask someone how to feed a puppy, they may probably laugh at you. The answer may come as, Its just common sense, feed him the amount that satisfies his hunger. However, I beg to differ. If you are asking the question how much to feed a puppy, then you are really a smart owner who genuinely cares for his pet. Just like you will not feed anything and everything to a human baby, puppies too need specific food in appropriate quantities. Correct dog food will help meet the growing requirements of your puppy and help in develop into a strong dog. Let us have a look at the correct feeding a puppy schedule in the following paragraphs.
Types of Dog Food
Which is the best puppy food and where to find it? When you visit a pet store or your local grocery market, you will come across a variety of types and brands of dog food. You will find there are three types of dog food available, dry kibble, semi-moist and moist. Puppies should be fed dry kibble as recommended by many veterinarians as well as dog trainers. This is because most of the moist foods are high in fat and contain more than 80 to 83% water. The semi-moist contain about 55% water and are very high in salt and sugar levels. The dry puppy food is better than the above two as it contain less amount of water content, high amount of nutrition and is much easier to feed the young pup.
Now, we come to choosing the right brand of dog food for your puppy. The best dog food for puppies is the one that contains good quality ingredients. You should not go in for the economy brands of dog food as most of them use substandard ingredients. The protein contents in these dog food has low digestibility. This means, your puppy will eat less and less and get none of the needed nutrition to grow healthy. You can go into for the regular brands of dog food, if you cannot stretch your budget for the premium brands. Speak to your pups veterinarian for more information, regarding the best brand and type of dog food for your puppy.
Feeding Schedule for a Puppy
When you get home a new puppy, you should make sure you ask the previous owner or dog breeder about the brand and type of food they fed the puppy. Feed you little pup with the same food so that you not upset his sensitive digestive system. Gradually, switch to a new feeding schedule over a time span of 7 to 10 days. You should only feed the dog the food he had previously for the first week at your home. Then, feed him 75% of the ongoing type of puppy food mixed with 25% of the new type of food you choose from him. Carry on with this diet for the next 7 to 10 days and gradually change the proportion to 50-50. Continue with this schedule for a week or so and then feed the dog 75% of the new type of dog food mixed with 25% of the old type of dog food. Finally, after 10 days or so, switch over to the new brand of dog food completely. This will not only help the digestive system of the puppy adjust to the new food, but also help the puppy develop the taste for it. This will also help you spot any type of sensitivities or dog food allergies due to the new dog food. Your puppy may vomit or have diarrhea due to food sensitivity. This will help you switch over to a new dog food that is suitable of the puppys sensitive tummy.
Feeding a Puppy
The mothers milk contains antibodies and other nutrition that helps make the puppies immune system strong. Weaning puppies should take place gradually after they are about 4 weeks old. You should begin feeding your puppy with one part water with four parts of puppy food. This puppy food should be based on the weight of the puppy and recommendation from the veterinarian. You should add more water, if you find the puppy finds it hard to chew to food. Feed the puppy 4 times a day. This feeding schedule for a puppy needs to be followed for a 6 to 8 week old puppy. A puppy needs to eat more food than an adult dog.
Once the puppy is about 8 week old, you need to feed him a balanced dog food about 2 to 3 times a day. Make sure you include meat in his diet. Read for if the commercial dog food does contain meat. Once the puppy is about 3 to 6 months old, feed him 2 twice a day. Increase the amount of food, once you begin feeding him twice a day. After the puppy is about 6 months old to 1 year of age, you can continue to feed him puppy food. Once he is over 1-year-old, you can switch over to adult food and feed him 2 small meals a day. Veterinarians today, recommend a small breed dog can be fed puppy food till there is about 1-year-old and large breed dogs can be fed puppy food till they are 2 years old. For more advice in this context, speak to your puppys veterinarian for advice.
Feeding a Puppy Based on Weight
You should feed your dog the amount of food based on his weight. But, taking the weight of puppy into consideration is not enough, you should also consider the amount of energy it uses up with his daily activities. If he is a very active dog, then feed him slightly more than average. You can follow the following feeding schedule according to weight:
- 11 pound dog - 3 to 5 ounces food/day
- 11 to 22 pounds - 4 to 6 ounces food/day
- 22 to 55 pounds - 10 to 12 ounces food/day
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Sunday, October 2, 2016
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Why do music shows hold so much power when they only get 1 viewer ratings
Why do music shows hold so much power when they only get 1 viewer ratings
Article: How do music shows remain so powerful even with only 1% in viewer ratings?
Source: Sports Donga via Nate
1. [+184, -10] To regular viewers, it may seem like groups just come on to perform a song or two before leaving but these groups actually have to be there by early morning and are on standby for an indefinite amount of time until recording and the live broadcast. Then they have to stay for the live just to clap for everyone before leaving. The reason viewer ratings for music shows are so low is because fans dont have to actually watch the show to watch everyone else to wait for their favorite artist to perform. They can just grab a video link after the performance.
2. [+159, -4] The shows may not matter to popular groups but rookies or artists from weaker agencies need to pander to these music shows and its so sad... They also wait up to 12 hours for these shows just to perform for a couple of minutes on stage. Even then, viewers dont watch anymore because its easier to watch performance clips on Naver than sit through it all. Furthermore, music shows are heavily based around idols so people who arent interested in that wont watch.
3. [+106, -3] I just find the entire concept of music shows so boring. Having two MCs try so hard to be funny when theyre not at all is annoying.
4. [+17, -0] There used to be ballads and hip hop and dance performances back then... but now its just the same old sounding songs... ??
5. [+15, -3] SBS Inkigayo is the strangest for me.. theyre so biased towards YG, why is that???
6. [+12, -0] Music shows have always been known for abusing their power. Dont want to go on IAC? Well you can kiss your Music Core slot goodbye. If you piss any of them off, you can forget about being able to perform a full three minutes of your song ??? I also cant stand the camera work on these shows. Back and forth, swirling around ?? Zooming in on the wrong member when someone else is singing... what is the point of having 3-4 rehearsals when they just broadcast the first one anyway... ???
7. [+8, -0] These shows obviously put agencies at a loss but they have no option but to put them on them. I didnt know before but I found out that agencies have to pay for the stage setups too which is why theres such a stark difference in stage quality between all of the groups. That expense on top of all the hair, make up, different outfits for every stage, the fact that outfits are also produced by their own stylists or are luxury brands, on top of the 10+ hours of waiting so you cant schedule other activities...
8. [+8, -2] SM is even more powerful ? Their rookies get the best recording schedule and get to perform two songs while other nugu agencies have to be there by early morning just to wait around to perform a 2 minute song.
9. [+8, -0] No one watches unless youre a fan. Poor sound quality and the camera work is head ache inducing.
10. [+8, -0] Video uploading has become so much faster that you can pick and choose who you want to watch right after the show so theres no reason to watch the live broadcast
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