Keira
Keira and her brother (no longer with us) Frank
So, who is Keira?
Keira is a 3 year old beagle mix. Keira was born on June 27, 2008. I got her when she was only six days old. We raised her, along with her sister Piper, on bottles. Keira was the runt of the litter, and was born with a pink/black spotted noise. Keira is brown and white with big black spots. Her spots are like pictures, she has a 'heart' spot and a 'mickey mouse' spot across her back. Her eyes are brown and she has hints of ticking everywhere. She has white and black nails, and medium/short fur. She is 15in at withers, and is about 25-28lbs. Keira's registered name is 'Keira B Keira' and is officially an 'All American Dog'. She took an oral breed testing that told us that she was a Beagle / Brittany Spaniel / English Setter / Boxer mix. How accurate that test was is questionable, so we just call her a Beagle mix.
Keira is a 3 year old beagle mix. Keira was born on June 27, 2008. I got her when she was only six days old. We raised her, along with her sister Piper, on bottles. Keira was the runt of the litter, and was born with a pink/black spotted noise. Keira is brown and white with big black spots. Her spots are like pictures, she has a 'heart' spot and a 'mickey mouse' spot across her back. Her eyes are brown and she has hints of ticking everywhere. She has white and black nails, and medium/short fur. She is 15in at withers, and is about 25-28lbs. Keira's registered name is 'Keira B Keira' and is officially an 'All American Dog'. She took an oral breed testing that told us that she was a Beagle / Brittany Spaniel / English Setter / Boxer mix. How accurate that test was is questionable, so we just call her a Beagle mix.
Backyard Agility Course
It all started with a cheap hula hoop, and a lot of patience. I remember getting this hula hoop and taking Keira out to the backyard and I sat down with some hotdogs and then waited. She would walk through it, not to sure about the jumping part. We sat there for the longest time, and then she did it. Jumped through that hoop and who knew it would be the start of all this. We then proceeded to make a stand for the hoop, then later Dad built us a white jump. We had some re-barb weave poles, made a little wood and carpet a-frame, and I finally found, much later, a tunnel at a local store. There we had, it a backyard agility course.
Walking in the woods with Keira
After training her to do all the obstacles, we eventually added a teeter, proper pvc weaves, and some other things along the way. I also taught her many tricks, and Mairwyn and I would train together (her with Piper) sometimes.
So naturally I got more interested in this 'agility' and started to read more about it. I really liked the idea of it and started thinking about competitions and what not. Little did I know how much Keira had to do before that was possible.
Keira and her sister were very afraid of new people, dogs, places, ect. They used to bark uncontrollably everywhere we went, and could not even stand a dog in sight. They were scared of people who tried to pet them, just being in a new place would stress them out, and forget the dog park. So Keira had fear aggression, but luckily never attacked a dog, unlike her sister.
Eventually I got very sad that my dog could not play with other dogs. I felt sorry for her and I felt like I let her down as a puppy, because we didn't know they needed extensive socialization. She also had been attacked (never injured though) by several different un-leashed dogs. So I decided to do something about her fear, and it was my goal to teach her that the world was not out to get her.
We started by taking her to the dog park more, but that just seemed to stress her out. So I found an obedience school to take her too. Purely for the socialization, since she already new basic obedience.
So naturally I got more interested in this 'agility' and started to read more about it. I really liked the idea of it and started thinking about competitions and what not. Little did I know how much Keira had to do before that was possible.
Keira and her sister were very afraid of new people, dogs, places, ect. They used to bark uncontrollably everywhere we went, and could not even stand a dog in sight. They were scared of people who tried to pet them, just being in a new place would stress them out, and forget the dog park. So Keira had fear aggression, but luckily never attacked a dog, unlike her sister.
Eventually I got very sad that my dog could not play with other dogs. I felt sorry for her and I felt like I let her down as a puppy, because we didn't know they needed extensive socialization. She also had been attacked (never injured though) by several different un-leashed dogs. So I decided to do something about her fear, and it was my goal to teach her that the world was not out to get her.
We started by taking her to the dog park more, but that just seemed to stress her out. So I found an obedience school to take her too. Purely for the socialization, since she already new basic obedience.
Keira taking her CGC test at the kennel club
So we took a six week obedience class in October of 2010. The first class, she barked almost the whole time. We had a little chair on a square mat and I used much of my treats just keeping her quiet enough to hear the instructor. The first class didn't look too promising to others, but she actually did much better than I thought. After that each week she got better and better. She learned a couple new things, and also was able to preform certain tricks she already knew! She still barked a good bit, but we graduated! That was one of the best days for me.
Even though I was happy with our progress, Keira was still afraid of dogs and still barked a lot. One day while we were at the vet's I saw a flier for an agility class, then immediately I went home and got on the website. They had a class starting in January, so I emailed the instructor to see if we could test in past the puppy classes. We set up a time and went to test in a week before the class started.
Although the test-in didn't show Keira's best side, the instructors still let us go in because she did know obedience. So then we had one week until the class.
Even though I was happy with our progress, Keira was still afraid of dogs and still barked a lot. One day while we were at the vet's I saw a flier for an agility class, then immediately I went home and got on the website. They had a class starting in January, so I emailed the instructor to see if we could test in past the puppy classes. We set up a time and went to test in a week before the class started.
Although the test-in didn't show Keira's best side, the instructors still let us go in because she did know obedience. So then we had one week until the class.
Winter walking with Keira
Our first agility class was very loud, I mean interesting! :) But yes the first class was much larger than her obedience and these dogs were running and jumping through obstacles, much more fun to bark at! They split us between two instructors, the more advanced class with one, and the new guys like us with the other. I believe we worked on jumps and a tunnel. Even though Keira did these tricks fine at home, these obstacles looked a little different and were much bigger. It took us most of the class just to do the tunnel, for one she was barking too much to think, and she was scared of the tunnel itself. Although we had these problems we eventually did the tunnel by the end of class, and I was so proud.
The next five weeks of our class got better and better, we were introduced to all kinds of obstacles, each time Keira was getting more and more comfortable, although still barking and stressed, still better. The last week we did a whole course, and in my eyes Keira did perfect. We were slow and skipped some obstacles, but I couldn't have asked for any better.
The next five weeks of our class got better and better, we were introduced to all kinds of obstacles, each time Keira was getting more and more comfortable, although still barking and stressed, still better. The last week we did a whole course, and in my eyes Keira did perfect. We were slow and skipped some obstacles, but I couldn't have asked for any better.
Jumping practice with Keira
So we had one agility class session under our belt. We went on to have two more agility class sessions, another obedience one which ended with Keira earning her Canine Good Citizen award, and one Rally-O class session. We also took many seminars with different trainers, and went to many run-thrus at different buildings.
By the next October Keira went to her first trial (AKC) and got first place in her standard run. We would have qualified in her Jumpers run too, but she decided to pop out of the weaves. :) I was so proud, the first trial ever and she placed first.
To this date we have gone to four trials (AKC) in all and has earned a ribbon for every run that she Q'd on, and she only NQ'd two. Keira also now has her NAP and NJP titles. This starting with her first obedience class has all been done in less than a year and a half. I couldn't have asked for Keira to do this any quicker or better, and honestly I never expected her to! This is our story, but it is not finished yet! We still have a lot more to do, and a lot more fun to have!
By the next October Keira went to her first trial (AKC) and got first place in her standard run. We would have qualified in her Jumpers run too, but she decided to pop out of the weaves. :) I was so proud, the first trial ever and she placed first.
To this date we have gone to four trials (AKC) in all and has earned a ribbon for every run that she Q'd on, and she only NQ'd two. Keira also now has her NAP and NJP titles. This starting with her first obedience class has all been done in less than a year and a half. I couldn't have asked for Keira to do this any quicker or better, and honestly I never expected her to! This is our story, but it is not finished yet! We still have a lot more to do, and a lot more fun to have!
Hope you enjoyed learning about Keira!