The New Gibson

  I enrolled Gibson in a Basic Agility class in March through the Dulles Gateway Obedience Training Club and now we're taking a Just for Fun Agility Class.  What a difference this has made in him!  He's much more confident and is overall a happier dog.  He plays more with the dogs at home, has a twinkle in his eye and is mischievous like he was as a pup.  He's more relaxed when we take him to public places and is interested in the activity around him instead of being nervous.  We're hoping this new confidence will transfer to the show ring and have entered him at the Mattaponi Kennel Club shows in two weeks to see what will happen.
  Our Just for Fun Agility class just started this past week.  There's only five dogs in the class, Gibson had lots of run throughs in an hour!  He was pretty tired by the end of class and I had lots of exercise, too!  David was on vacation last week so he came along to watch and take pictures.  We ended a fun evening with dinner at Doener Bistro.  Gibson got his share of my doener and fries, of course!
  There's more pictures of Gibson on the Hillcroft Collies Facebook page.

Gibson Therapy

We are trying something else with Gibson to overcome his show phobia.  I bought a "Thundershirt" which is used to help dogs with thunderstorm anxiety, but also helps with general anxiety.  It's light weight fabric with velcro closures that puts pressure on the relaxation points of the body (also has a money back guarantee, another selling point).  Shortly after it arrived, I put it on Gibson and took him to Home Depot and the local Farmer's Market--two places that makes him anxious.  Gibson was more relaxed in the car, laying down in his crate for the ride to Home Depot.  But once there, he was his usual self, pulling on the lead, shying away from the carts and people.  At the Farmer's Market though, it was a huge difference!  While I could tell he wasn't 100% comfortable, he was much calmer than at Home Depot and willingly let kids come up to pet him.  Someone recognized the Thundershirt logo and asked me how it was working for Gibson.  We ended up talking for quite awhile and she could see Gibson relaxing as we talked.  At one point, the wind picked up a nearby vendor's sign and it blew right into Gibby--he barely flinched! 
  Today, we took Gibson to the Middleburg Kennel  Club show in his shirt.  When we first arrived, it was normal behavior for Gibson, but shortly after we stood at ringside, he started calming down.  Ears up, self stacking, relaxed lead .  The only time Gibson got anxious was when we walked around the vendors and were near generators.  So, now I know one of his anxiety triggers.
  After the show, we had lunch at Doener Bistro.  I could see that Gibson wasn't comfortable, but he was working to calm himself (something I've noticed he does since his reiki treatment).  Success!  Gibson was able to take (and eat!) french fries and some bread from my doener.  He watched the soccer game on the t.v. near our table and was generally the happy guy we see at home. 
  Gibson is very much my boy and I will probably have to be his handler in the show ring.  But, there is a definite difference in his behavior outside of the safety of home and now we can formulate a  plan.  It will be babysteps but so gratifying to see Gibson become the dog he should be!

Leesburg Dog Days

On our way home from New Jersey last Sunday, we stopped in Leesburg for an early dinner and to walk Dixie through the first Leesburg Dog Days. We were hoping to get some ideas for our collie club, but it was late in the afternoon and most of the vendors had been scared off by the rain earlier in the day. Dixie enjoyed herself as always and got some attention but not as much as she'd have liked. She didn't know what to make of dogs in costumes! As usual when we have one of the smooths out, we got to educate people as they tried to guess what mix of breeds Dixie might be--most people thought she had collie but then was crossed with greyhound or some other short haired breed. I heard one person say she was "definitely" part Norwegian Elkhound!

We entered Dixie in the photo contest, which was a fundraiser for the animal shelter. She stood very nicely for her picture and the photographers thought there should be a new category next year--"best behaved"--now that's not something we hear about Dixie very often! After Dixie was entered in the contest we decided it was time to head to the Oktoberfest at Doener Bistro, completely forgetting to go back to the voting booth to support Dixie--what bad collie parents we are!!

Dixie tried to avoid dogs in costume and displays of dog outfits. She only wanted to visit booths with treats!

She did enjoy meeting these two guys, though!