Snow play, puppy update, business idea...etc.

We played in the snow today! We drove up to Flagstaff where they have a LOT of the white stuff. We went to a designated "snow play" area and sledded down the fluffy, white hills. I believe the girls had more fun EATING the snow than sledding IN the snow! Regardless, a good time was had by all.

We also rode a small-scale kiddie train through a light display last night. the kids just loved it and thankfully it was worth it since we had to wait in line for 1.5 hours just to get ON the train. There were other things going on so we were able to keep the girls occupied during the wait, thank goodness!

Moving on...

Quila (the puppy) is doing great! She is super smart and very eager to learn. We are working on foundational skills before I even attempt to introduce her to anything agility-wise. Things we're working on include:

* down (she is about 85% on this)
* target (LOVES this!)
* stay/recall (about 65% on this)
* "around" (going around a cone...doing great as long as I'm fairly close)
* restrained recalls (LOVES this!)
* wobble board (ADORES this!)
* leg bumps...going over my legs (she thinks this is so much fun!)

My next steps are:

* teach left and right
* build more toy drive
* circle work
* stride regulators
* 2x2 weave method
* plank work

Which leads to my business idea. I'm getting a major kick out of this foundation training. I did a similar program with Jam and she hit the ground running and progressed very quickly through the ranks (USDAA-wise). I'm thinking of working with puppies/young/beginner dogs to teach these valuable skills. I can do it with the equipment I've got so no cost to build anything. I've started compiling videos of the skills I've taught Quila and I'm going to build a website around these videos. Now, I'm quite certain I won't make a whole lotta cash offering this service, but it'll be fun to watch the dogs learn these skills and then put them to use on the agility field.

It's all very preliminary, but I'm hoping I can make something of it.

Meanwhile, the job search still continues (for a Tech Writing job) though right now (holidays, end of year, etc.) there is NOTHING out there. I am looking very forward to the new year though as this current year has totally sucked!