On The Road

December 30, 2008
Senoia, GA

After days of drizzle and rain, the sun finally showed itself and we went for a road trip that took us through Griffin, Barnesville, The Rock, Dog Crossing (yes, there is such a place, and I had to let my dog cross it), Thomaston, Senoia, Starr's Mill and Atlanta.

On the left, Tessa poses at Starr's Mill, with a heron in the background that she just would not notice. She did find a huge fat worm though and was trying to eat it, which was pretty disgusting. She had no interest in the historic significance of this place, the historic marker of which reads as follows: "The property that became Starr's Mill was owned by Hananiah Gilcoat who built the first mill here before his death in 1825. This site, on Whitewater Creek, was less than a mile from the boundary between Creek Indian lands and the State of Georgia. Hilliard Starr, who owned the mill from 1866 until 1879, gave the site its current name. After the first two log structures burned, William T Glower built the current building in 1907. This mill operated until 1959, using a water-powered turbine, instead of a wheel, to grind corn and operate a sawmill. The Starr's Mill site also included a cotton gin and a dynamo that produced electricity for nearby Senoia."

Dog Crossing is located in Upson County near The Rock. There actually is a book by Ed Grisamore called "Smack Dab in Dog Crossing". This is the one.

On our way back, we came through the big city. It was Tessa's first trip to Atlanta, and I don't think we need to bother again - what a place! How can people stand it? But I thought Tessa should get a glimpse of it. The photo below was taken through the windshield and shows Atlantic Station, a fairly new and still growing area in downtown Atlanta, the motto of which is "Life Happens Here" and "Work Live Play". I can see where they work and live, but where do they play? I'd rather work, live and play in Dog Crossing.

December 30, 2008
Atlanta, GA

Upon our return to Athens, we headed straight to Lake Herrick for a little detox. Here, she is in a solid "whoa" but without EVER taking her eyes off the Orbee.

December 30, 2008
Lake Herrick, Athens, GA

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve started at 3:30 pm when the UGA Provost decided to let us go home early. Whereas many co-workers rushed home to get festive, I grabbed the dog and drove 6 miles to Sandy Creek Park to run her on this gloomy day before they close at 6 pm but alas! they had the same idea and were gone. We drove back to town and straight to the intramural fields which incidentally are walking distance from where we live...

15 minutes into our training and play session it started raining. Put the camera in the car and took Tessa back to the field on the check-cord to lunge her much like a horse - Tessa loves to run wide circles at the end of the 30-ft cord, and in a bind, it will do.

December 24, 2008
Lake Herrick, Athens, GA

For Christmas Day, we have been invited to join my friends' and adoptive family annual Coastal Christmas Extravaganza in Savannah, GA. We tried...we failed...Tessa's education has not progressed enough to make her eligible for the visit.

Tessa is still simply impossible around other people and whenever there is lots of interesting stuff to be found around the house - any house. We're working on it. But Christmas didn't wait for us to be done and I didn't see a way to pull off a Christmas party with 30 people which would include a pregnant woman, two toddlers, several elderly over 80, two of which had broken their hips before, another dog or two, a Christmas tree, presents, children's toys, decorations (orchids!) and food everywhere and all in easy reach. She would have DESTROYED that place. So it's just the two of us...not a bad thing, really. I'd rather have it this way, than not have her in my life at all. Because this is only one day, and my life is everyday.

December 25, 2008
Lake Herrick, Athens, GA

Christmas Day started just as gloomy as Christmas Eve ended, but in the afternoon, the sun came out for an hour and we headed to the intramural fields for a walk through the woods. It was a warm day - no jacket required, much less gloves or hat. In the photo below, Tessa jumps in pursuit of happiness in the shape of her Orbee ball. Many people commenting on this photo thought she looks like a golfer making an approach shot to the green.

December 25, 2008
Lake Herrick, Athens, GA

Let's Get Serious

December 21, 2008

Sandy Creek Park, GA

"Whoa", along with "come" and "heel", is the most important command a bird dog needs to know. Of course, even if we never go hunting, any of these commands could come in handy in many situations. "Whoa" basically means "stop and don't move until I release you". I started teaching this at home by making her hold a "whoa" before each meal, then utilized and practiced this command when taking photos. We have now progressed to working with distractions and temptations; here, I tossed her Orbee ball, but she did not break the whoa. I even had plenty of time to take a few photos of her, until I released her by telling her to "fetch".It may look impressive but we are still a looooong way from where we need to be. Ultimately, she will need to come to a dead stop and stand still like that in the field, even if in pursuit of prey, with 100% reliabilty and no matter how far out she is, and that requires much more complex training setups.

The sit-stay on the other hand is easy to teach. First off, Tessa needs to sit before she gets what she wants: a meal, a treat, permission to come up on the bed, etc. It is also our counter-command (no pun intended) when she counter-surfs - she knows the meaning of "off" and I use it, but I found it more effective to replace the action of jumping with the action of sitting politely, especially while I am preparing her meal, probably because once a dog sits, it requires one extra step (getting up from a sit to a stand) to jump. It is especially effective if she is asked to sit just as she is about to jump. An unfortunate side-effect is that too much sit-stay takes away from the "whoa", so I make sure that doesn't get put on the back burner.

Now that she is approaching 6 months old, it is time to increase the pressure during training, by increasing duration and distance and introducing temptations and distractions. In the photo below, she sits in the far distance while I walk around the field.

Of course, there are plenty of rewards for a job well done.

Winter Storm

December 20, 2008
Southeast Clarke Park

My Tessaroo making a mad dash through the field in search of her "quail ball". It was a rushed outing. A few minutes later, the clouds dumped a load of rain on us - we got a good soaking but thankfully, the Nikon was unharmed.

That was yesterday. We returned today on our way back from a photo trip, and oh my God was it cold! Within 24 hours, temperatures dropped from the upper 60s to the 40s with a wind chill in the 20s - ouch!

"There it comes!"

The Last Of The Canines

December 19, 2008
It fell out!

These two razor-sharp canines have caused me much grief over the past two months and destroyed many a garment. The one on the left fell out about three weeks ago, but the one on the right hung on with all its little might. All adult (permanent) teeth are in, but that last little booger just would not leave, much to my dismay, as I really don't need a puppy with two sets of fangs. But today, finally, there it was, on the floor, looking pretty...dead.

Thankfully, Tessa recognizes the importance of dental hygiene. Gotta make 'em last!

Straightjacket Fits

December 13, 2008
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Per vet's suggestion, we had to order new gear - a harness. I am not fond of harnesses as they encourage pulling and hinder training, but Tessa had some unexplained pain last week and was diagnosed with possible whiplash or muscle strain in her neck caused by her incredible exuberance when out and about. The vet was unable to reproduce the pain during a very thorough exam and seeing that it took four people to hold her down just to get her temperature, while she was trying to spread her love among all of us, the diagnosis of muscle or neck sprain was made, in absence of other symptoms and findings.

The recommended course of action was 5-7 days of rest and no walks unless I can put her in a harness so as to not further strain the neck. Probably a good idea for her to wear one past the 7 days until she is able to control her love for the world. After some research I decided on the Ruffwear Web Master, and I am very impressed with its construction and functionality - it's simply incredible. These harnesses are marketed for hiking dogs, but also used in Search & Rescue where dogs need to be lifted in and out of boats and helicopters (yes, it has a handle, and it is fully padded). I think it will come in handy in many ways. Thankfully, she does not pull much more when in it and is easier to maneuver when over-excited around people.

"I can see Beijing!"

The Ruffwear harness allows free range of motion, and in no way hinders the Big Dig underway at the beach.

Life With A GSP [1]

October 26, 2008
[washing dishes]
November 5, 2008
[post-election hangover]
December 12, 2008
[watching "Cold Mountain"]
"Uh-oh, they're cutting up the cow!"
December 12, 2008
[dancing]

Tally Whoa!

November 15, 2008
Sandy Creek Park, GA

Just another day at the park...lacking a yard, this is where we like to hang out for work and play, often a combination of the two. Tessa's favorite command is "whoa". Of course, it's a long road to perfection, but her puppy whoa is pretty solid and I often take the chance to get some shots of my otherwise fast moving dog.

The next day, we did our first track and retrieve of Tessa's quail-feathered dummy. Just trying to keep things interesting for her.

Did I say interesting?

November 16, 2008
Big Yak Inspection