Comfy Critter

One thing we've learned about Indy:  He's not afraid to "let it all hang out" and get comfortable when he naps!!

Here's Indy snoozing upside down (a favorite position) in the dog bed in my office.

This is Indy on the couch in the sun room just last evening while we were watching TV.  By the way, Indy also likes to watch TV, especially programs with dogs. 

We've seen how Indy likes to use Jazz for a pillow.  Apparently, she also makes a pretty good foot rest!

Lastly, here's another shot from yesterday.  It was late afternoon by the time we returned from an agility trial and there was only a small wedge of sunshine coming into our sun room.  Indy laid himself across the arm of the couch with his head resting on the end table so he could fit himself into that patch of sun!  It was fun to watch the problem solving that got him into this position, too.  He had to really think about how to position himself for maximum sun exposure.



Indy at the Park

Indy made his first trip to the park today.  I've been wanting to introduce him to the sights and sounds of the park, but in order to do that, I need to focus totally on Indy, and I always feel guilty leaving the girls at home.  Today, Tess and Jazz are at an agility trial with Jim and the sun is shining, so it was the perfect opportunity to take Indy to North Park.

Indy's toughest training challenge is distraction, especially when the distraction comes in the form of another dog.  Of course, the park is chock full of these kind of challenges, so I was pleasantly surprised at how well Indy handled it all!  I am determined to train Indy without the use of a harness or head collar.  I want him to be like Jazz, who will go anywhere and behave well on just a flat buckle collar.  He did a fabulous job today, walking over a mile on his regular collar and dealing with distractions like cars, bikes, walkers, joggers, and, of course, dogs.  He got lots of treats for his good behavior, and we snapped the picture above to send to Tess and Jazz at the agility trial to show them that Indy got to go to the park while they are having fun at agility.

Play Time!

We were at a CPE agility trial in Latrobe this past weekend, which translates to play time for Indy!  While his sisters were busy running agility, Indy was making friends, both human and canine.

This beautiful girl is Cocoa, our friend Shari's Belgian Malinois.  Cocoa is about 18 months old and has just started running agility.

 Cocoa and Indy enjoyed their wrestling match.  Several times I thought Cocoa would launch Indy into space with her powerful legs, but she was a great playmate and Indy kept coming back for more!

Despite Cocoa's intense drive and her love of her tug toys, she was more than happy to share them with Indy and played so nicely with him.  Shari has done an awesome job with Cocoa's training and they are a great team.  Cocoa is doing very well in agility and has already titled in flyball, too!

Next up on Indy's play list is Cooper, a handsome Flat-Coated Retriever who was born on September 29, so he's just a few weeks younger than Indy.

Indy and Cooper spent lots of time happily rolling and wrestling.  They were so cute playing together that they attracted a crowd of onlookers!  Nothing like watching puppies play.

Cooper's big brother Remmington plays agility with Tess and Jazz and Cooper is going to start agility training, too.  Cooper's Mom says he's already doing some awesome retrieving work.   Since Cooper and Indy are so close in age, it will be fun to watch these two grow up and start to compete.

Speaking of competing, during all this play there actually was an agility trial going on!!  Tess and Jazz both had a good weekend, qualifying in 7 out of 9 runs each.  Jazz finished her Level 4 title and even finished a couple more Level 5 classes.  She's a little over 15 runs away from her C-ATCH and has several qualifying runs in the Championship level, too.  Tess continues to run well, racking up the points towards her C-ATE, which requires 20 qualifying scores in each of the seven classes in the Championship level, along with an additional 2000 points from any classes of the handler's choosing.  That's a lot of runs, but Tess is about halfway there.

Despite the snowy weather, we had a great time this past weekend.  I'm so thrilled that Indy just loves every dog he meets and can't wait to play and wrestle with them.  He's got a sweet temperament and is such a joy.  Even Tess and Jazz spoil him!

Spotty Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day!

from Tess, Jazz, and Indy

Leggy

Indy stretched out on the couch

This boy really has some long legs!

At nearly five months old, Indy is still all legs.  There are times when it seems like the legs operate separately from the body, but he's also had some moments of brilliance.  He is using the doggie fitness equipment, including the egg-shaped big ball, and he's learning lots of body awareness in his puppy agility class.  Last week in class, we did an exercise where the puppy sits right between your legs and puts a front paw on each of your shoes and "walks" along on your feet.  Indy made it nearly halfway across the room doing this!  He also excelled at a "surfing" exercise which involved a plank suspended between two balance discs, so I think this boy has some beach bum potential, and we're really excited to take him to the Outer Banks on vacation in May!