Great weekend, HUGE compliment!

Awesome! sounds like it was a GREAT weekend Congrats to the both of you, what a team!

Thats Great

Keep up the great work!!

Way to go. Now to keep it up and really impress everybody.

Way to go both of you. You have so much to be proud of with a compliment like that. It's so nice to hear stories about rescued dogs (and mutts) that can go and perform with the best of them. Sounds like all the work you've put into Keeta has paid off and you have a wonderful dog by your side. Congratulations.

Thank you all for all the nice comments. I think I have to go and buy a new hat because now my head is so swollen, my old hat doesn't fit anymore!

I've always said that I am grateful for having a "difficult" dog, because she forced me to be a better dog owner, a better dog trainer, and in the process, become a better person overall. Though I brag about all that I have accomplished with her, the miracle is how much she has taught me along the way.

Thank you Ruth for the encouragement! I know that Keeta (and all dogs for that matter, except perhaps Jean's "project" dogs ) have an unlimited potential to learn, but all dogs are limited by their amount of drive. Drive cannot be learnt, it is something innate that the dog is born with, and this is what will limit a dog's potential to succeed in such endeavors as herding, retrieving, or Schutzhund. You cannot put more drive into a dog than what they were born with, so there is some limitations in working ability in that respect. Does not diminish the heart and effort Keeta puts into her work. She may actually be giving us MORE heart, MORE effort, and MORE courage than all the other dogs, as they have it in abundance, while Keeta has to reach deep within herself and give 100% all the time.

Quote:That's our Keeta!!

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Ha! I feel like she is becoming something of a celebrity here. Now, will the subtle pressure for her to prove herself worthy be her undoing? Stay tuned for more adventures!

Catalina, twenty years from now, I'll be . . . old. Too old! And the reason there aren't any training pics of Keeta is because usually I'm in them too, and I want to spare all of you the agony of having to see that! Actually, we haven't trained all winter - so no pics, and I hate bugging people for pics, and I'm usually out in the morning or the evening when the light is soft because I have a minor disability and I am very sensitive to bright light, so morning/evening light, overcast days = action pictures of poor quality.

One club member took a lot of pictures on the weekend. I have no idea if there are any good ones of us, or if he will even share them with us, but perhaps there might be something worth posting.

Jaimie, you are right on with your comment about rescues, and mutts. To think that the previous owners of these dogs saw no value in them! What total idiots! I keep thinking about Keeta's fate if I hadn't adopted her. The black dogs, the big dogs, the dogs that look like GSD or Rottweiler mixes don't get adopted, and are often euthanized before smallre, lighter, cuter dogs because they don't really stand a chance.

But that's me, always bucking the trend!

And thanks again everyone, I finally feel like a somebody!

WTG!!! Keeta!!!

My Max is my difficult dog and I learned how to train with him. even tho I had previously trained and titled 2 GSD's in AKC obedience. He had a lot of behavioral issues and dog aggression and I learned to deal with those because of him. There are many times he frustrates the CRAP out of me but I will always be grateful for what he has taught me and continues to teach me about dealing with problems.


I think when we are compliented on our problem dogs we should be proud of them and ourselves. When we moved from Kentucky to Oregon I stopped into the vet to pick up the medical records for the wrecking crew and the vet came out to say goodbye and give us a hug. I bought Max with me just to take him out for a positive visit. Dr. Taylor hugged Max too and told him he was one lucky dog because anyone else would not have put that level of effort into him. I don't know if Jack was right or not but I still remember those words and I am proud of Max and myself. Who would think that the problem child would ever be able to earn titles?

So pat yourself on the back, buy a bigger hat, and give Keeta huge hugs form Max.

Please don't let a lack of available light stop you from taking action shots. There are a few things you can do. 1. You can use the flash, even in the daytime. Most, if not all, semi-modern cameras have a feature that allow you to turn the flash on/off manually so you don't have to depend on the camera's autimatic features. 2. You can use a higher ISO. If you are shooting with a film camera, you simply buy a film with a higher ISO rating, maybe something along the 800-1600 range. If you are shooting with a digital camera, it may have a feature that will allow you to manually choose a higher ISO. The only problem is that the higher ISO you use the grainier the picture you may see. For most people, though, that isn't a problem and I'm sure everyone here would rather see a somewhat grainy picture of Keeta than no picture at all. I would probably start out at around ISO 400 and see how that worked. If you don't like the results, try 800 and then 1600 (which would definately be fast enough, but lower would be better if you can get by with it.) until you get the results you want. Maybe this will help you and I would love to see pictures of Keeta the Super Trooper soon.