There aren't many Freestyle competitions in the Northeast (or country for that matter), but one day soon, Charlee and I will be out there strutting our stuff and incorporating lots of things that we learned at the Carolyn Scott Freestyle seminar this weekend.

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that like many of you, I have a dog reactive dog. This weekend, Charlee left her snarks at the front door and acted pretty much like a normal dog. She was so good in fact that at the end, I became just a tad emotional and shed a hidden tear in her scruff because I was so overtaken at how far she has come. I am thrilled with how far she has come in training, our bond, and her overall performance level. I still am in awe that she recovered from her horrible bout with Pancreatitis. It was all just a bit overwhelming. It kind of felt like one of my human kid's graduation. She has come that far. I joke with all my students that trainers have amazing "kitchen" dogs to. We are finally ready to take our act out of the kitchen and into the fire.

Charlee strutted her stuff with lots of drive and enthusiasm and even grabbed quite a bit of (cued) big air along the way.
If we never do compete that is ok as long as she continues to love what she is doing.

As for Carolyn, what a sweet woman! We were truly inspired by her. Charlee and I were far from precision perfect, but we got tons of encouragement for having fun, and a good attitude.

One of the key parts of the weekend, was matching music to dogs. When it was our turn, I first tried the music we had been playing around with, Pocket Full of Kyptonite by the Spin Doctors. The music got a big, "Sorry"! from Carolyn and the attendees. We then tried several songs and ended up with this Spanish Flea by the Tijuana Brass Band. You all may know it from the Newlywed Game!!! Let me tell you I was blown away and NEVER would have come to that song if left to my own brain cells. Carolyn picked that song to showcase not only my dogs natural gait, but her humorous side. She totally got that me and the dog both have a good sense of humor. Picking the right song can make or break a routine and having my song picked by one of the top Freestylers in the world ain't too shabby!

Carolyn is a very warm person, both with dogs and with people and it comes across in how she handles, trains and teaches. I got a lot of it the weekend, and my head is spinning with new moves to teach not only my dogs, but clients dogs as well.

If you haven't yet checked out Carolyn and Rookie's infamous Grease routine, click here. When I mentioned to Carolyn that pretty much everyone I know cries when they watch it, she asked if I had seen the Musical Dog Sports tribute to Rookie.

You can view Rookie's retirement tribute here.

Sniff, sniff, wipe tears from my key board, and blow my nose and
repeat several times during the 5 minutes of footage.

I suppose I am may be extra sensitive to Goldens with only a short time left on the planet now that Brewster is staying here for a while, but that clip is a powerful piece of doggie love.

Rookie has done more to promote Canine Freestyle than any other dog. I think both clips bring out emotions in animal lovers because the human canine bond is so very evident and strong.
I LLLOOOVVVEEE that all her training is 100 % positive.

For sure we will be doing Freestyle at my monthly tricks clinic this Saturday.

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