Carting at Molly's

Newfs in The News

And in a follow up, Sue provided the link to The Worcester Telegram & Gazette http://www.telegram.com/article/20071216/NEWS/712160461/1004/NEWS04
with a lovely picture and writeup of our own Amos and Lydie.

Newfie Education Day - Auburn Mass

Newfie Education Day lucked out by squeezing in between two winter storms. We got a bright sunny day, met a lot of bright sunny people and their dogs, and introduced a lot of people to the breed.

When I got cold, Cheryl, Livvy and I went over to StarBucks for something hot to drink. While there, 3 families stopped by to ask what kind of dog Livvy was (yes, she had her santa hat on). When we got to talking, I mentioned that there were a whole bunch of Newfies over at the PetCo. Two of the 3 hurried over to meet the rest of the extended pack and one of them didn't even have a pet and had never been inside PetCo before.

Someday I need to research which breed has the greatest "draw". Although, on second thought, maybe I already know.

New pics are posted in the photo album.

Useful Links

Newfoundland Club of New England - Regional Newfie Club information
http://www.newfclubne.org

Newfoundland Club of America - National Newfie Club information
http://www.ncanewfs.org/index.shtml

Master Peace Dog Training in Franklin, MA - Obedience Classes, Seminars, and Run Throughs
http://www.masterpeacedog.com

Ms. December

You know, some of us have been talking about making a calendar for next year based in pics from our various get togethers. I'm not sure about the rest of the year, but I think Molly has December covered.

December 1 with John and Sally

Some of us just came to work. Many thanks Sue for sharing your experience with us.

but others brought the Christmas season with them. Extremely cute Molly

Putnam Parade Pictures Have Been Posted

Parade pictures are available in the MMN Picassa album.

Enjoy

Winter Draft Equipment

Sue's most informative Winter Draft Equipment pictures are no longer in the slide show, but never fear. They are all safely available at our Picassa Site.

Feel free to use this post to comment.

Many thanks Sue.

Newf-Mobile Experience and Recommendations

We're considering buying a Subaru Forester and dreaming of having a
Newfie. Have any of you experienced riding with a Newfie in such a car
with a compression dog fence installed behind the back seat and the
dog's leash or harness attached to the anchor widget by the tailgate?
Is your full grown Newfie comfortable riding this way? This would
mainly be a commuter car for my husband, but it would also serve as our
bad weather car and as the second vehicle when our whole family of 7
goes camping. I'm also contemplating Newton's law about inertia and how
it applies to ~130 lbs. of startled dog in a sudden stop or collision.

Reposted from SouthCoastNewfs.

Looking for comments.

Hey You Mugs

I have had good success having picture mugs made from

http://www.shutterfly.com/

You upload your pic and they mail you the mug. They are not necessarily the cheapest, but their quality has always been great including dishwasher safe. Comes in white or black background, portrait or landscape pics. We have one of Hannah and one of Livvy on the day of their CGC. I downloaded the CGC logo and added it in the corner.

Best and safest packaging I've seen, never broken one yet.

Nice Christmas Present

License Plate Flag Christmas Present

www.millerconcepts.com

November 17, 2007 -- Mall Walk

Today was another fun and productive training day. Sammy "the speedwagon" newf gave me a bit of a workout but it was a great chance to train with lots of distractions and teaching him he didn't have to always be in the lead. Livvy was an excellent representative of the breed with calm, steady problem solving skills as we maneuvered around some of those obstacles. Amos and Nimbus were also very impressive and seemed as if they have been doing this forever. I hope everyone feels as good about our progress as I do.

Kathy,

Introduction to Carting: Book Review (CD)

Embarking on a new Adventure: Get started in Carting, the Beth Ostrander way.

Beth Ostrander of Dog Works has produced a very useful one hour cart training CD. Her focus is on the human/canine team new to carting and she does a fine job telling the beginner what s/he needs to know. I'm a fan of the approach to training which breaks down the entire process into small self-contained activities which can be described, learned, and mastered one at a time. I really like her approach.

Major Author's Message: One small step at a time. Never ask the dog to do more than s/he is ready to do.

The video vignettes are clear, clean, easy to understand and the right length. Ostrander doesn't really lay out the names of the individual training modules and, sadly, the chapter titles on my CD don't really match the content. But as I outlined my notes, I found myself grouping them into the following training modules.

• Harnesses and how to put them on the dog
  
• Advantages of Carts and Wagons
  
• Introducing the dog to the equipment
  
• "Installing" the dog into the harness and the cart (she breaks this section down into a handful of steps in a way that makes sense and that worked for my dogs).
  
• Maneuvering, especially the turn
  
• The drag (pulling light weights before the dog is ready for the cart).
  

Minor Author's Message: Carting is fun for us humans, but is uniquely fun for the dog.

"How will I know whether it's fun or not before I start?" Good question. Ostrander observes that "Nothing draws a crowd like a wagging tail in front of a cart." I agree, the children we've given rides to at fund raisers agree, and members of my carting group agree. Will you agree? The best way to find out is to attend a group working session

http://midmassnewfers.blogspot.com/

or test and see for yourself. The final section of Ostrander's video is a video collage from here, there, and everywhere reminiscent of Funniest Home Videos. From where I stand, however, and I do think my dog has a sense of humor; the real joy of carting comes from the meeting of minds between my dog and me.

Dogs like to pull, Ostrander argues. "Don't we all have to train our puppies to stop them from pulling on the leash?" Pulling is fun and natural to them. But the main reason dogs love carting is that it offers a very unique challenge. Unlike obedience, where I say … you do, in carting my dog's intellect is engaged. She has to use her head to make decisions. These decisions have real and immediate impacts on the carting experience. The human/canine team has to cooperate to make tight turns through a forest of tall trees, to get sufficient momentum to pull a loaded cart up a small hill or to keep that same loaded cart from getting away from us on a downhill.

After successfully negotiating one of these challenges, I look at my dog and get a rush. I can only imagine that my dog gets a similar feeling.

This is a thorough beginner's training video if a bit dry (except for the slap-stick final chapter). I'm sure Ostrander has a sense of humor but it's not a side she uses in this video. Even when she closes with "embarking on a new adventure" … well, it's a pun, right?

Nice job Beth.

Epilog:

www.dogworks.com seems to have been purchased by Martin and Sandy Gabel a few years ago. I don't have sufficient information to evaluate the change of reins, but my credit card was promptly charged and the CD came within a few days. I can't argue with that kind of speed and the value of the CD hasn't diminished with time. I wish them well.

Leave Nothing but Tracks

Take nothing but pictures.

Great Weather, Great Food, Great Dogs

New pic from Fred. I like it, pretty day. Many thanks to Fred and Mary Anne for their hospitality today. The freight hall was both challenging (around the fence) and smooth (around the cranberry bogs). Livvy and I had a great time.

Bob