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Woke up feeling good, got to Keller, paid them my entry, sat down and couldn’t get back up!

Knee has been bothering me every since.

However, we had some good runs.

Macy is up and fast.  I think she Qed in Intermediate, she was clean, but we have that nasty course time issue.

Dulce did everything, but had some extra obstacles in.  Not bad for a little girl who likes to panic and run out of the ring.

I took her leash off, told her tire, and she danced around and ran out of the ring.

I am not pleased and  not waiting around for JWW.

Macy had a decent JWW run, slow, and had two refusals at the weaves but got them.

DOTC is another weekend!

BTW when she ran out, I knew where she was headed (my treat bag), and I wasn’t going to allow any behavior but coming to me be rewarded.  That’s why I kept saying “No, Ma’am” and ignored her until I had the treats in my hand and THEN called her.

It was interesting – right now, I compete very early, and then wait all day, and do all three classes at once.  Not fun.

Dulce ran in Novice standard and was not listening.  I was ready and had a plan.  I stopped, called her to me, ask her to do a few more obstacles, she refused, I excused us from the ring, went to our leash, and she came up and I was able to leash her.  Walked her back to the car, put her in her cage, and got Macy as her run was coming up.  Made a big deal out of her both before and after her run (she ran clean but over time).  Then when it was time to run Dulce, worked on her focus, and went into the ring.  She acted up again, I called her, settled her down and started again.  This time she did what she was told.

Sometimes punishing a dog works (I removed the opportunity to get rewards for the behaviorists).

Had a good run in Excellent Standard A (our second), and she took an extra jump at the beginning.  Since we no longer had to worry about a Q, I made her do all the work by using our distance skills (probably why she took the extra jump).

Also had a refusal at the tunnel, but even with those two mistakes, she was 5 seconds under course time.  And I didn’t have to run as much.

I was talking to someone today about how Computer Science people solve problems, and mentioned my dog stress issues.  I forgot about one.

When Marcie got really sick with pancreatis, I know that one of the factors in her final care had to do with cost.  Shortly after we put her to sleep, I put Macy on VPI pet insurance.  It is a huge relief to go to the vet and not have to worry about the vet bill being unaffordable.  It doesn’t cover all the costs, but does most of them. 

The second stress reliever was surveillance cameras on the dog room and dog run.  We got our first two for the front of the house after the drunk driver drove through it, but while I was experimenting with the cameras, I discovered I REALLY liked them in the dog room.  I  know have two in the dog room and two on the dog run (those the dog run cameras also cover the back yard entrance).

The third stress reliever was putting GPS devices on their collar (Pet Tagg).

So with the last two, I know they are home and where they belong when I’m at work or doing other things.

It’s a BIG thing.

Not that programming and teaching aren’t fun, but spending the day with my dogs and my dogs friends are a totally different type of fun.

For example, I’ve taken quite a bit of care to make sure that I’m NOT the responsible adult in the room.

There is still stress involved.  Dulce might right away and not come back.  Macy might steal all the treats.

Well, Macy came close to doing that.

But it’s a different type of stress.

Macy was a trooper and did everything I asked in JWW.  I didn’t have high enough rewards in the ring with Dulce the first time, and I had to shove the chicken in her face the second time.

Macy was a bit worn out and didn’t really want to play, but did all the contacts in Standard.

All in all, a good day.

By the way, the Pet Taggs found both dogs where they at – Prosper on a Horse Farm, which is pretty cool.

I think I have had every possible interaction with Customer Support and it has been good.  I got my first Pet Tagg on Tuesday afternoon, and had some problems getting it activated.  With the help of customer support we got it up and running. 

Once I had tested it, I ordered the next two days.  The second tag activated with no problems.  The third tag was dead.  After a conversation with tech support, putting the third tag on the charger for a while, and a third conversation, it was determined that the Tagg didn’t charge.

They emailed me a shipping label, shipped a new Tagg, and it arrived today.  It also activated with no problems.

I do need to charge two of the tags, but I’m going to rotate out so that Maggie, escape artist, always has a TAGG on her. 

I will say between having cameras in the dog room, and the TAGGs on them, I feel more secure. 

After testing Maggie’s Tagg, and finding it worked, I ordered two more with overnight shipping.  They arrived this morning.  The second tag, which I put on Macy, worked immediately, no problems activating though it needs more power.

The third tag acted completely different and both I and the tech thinks it needs to be on the charger.

Maggie is wearing the Tagg with no problem, and it’s nice to know that she’s where she belongs.  I’m sure that will also be helpful with the other dogs.

I think the price point is very reasonable, and am very happy with their website, text messages, and emails.  The iPod apps works well too, and I would LOVE for a Window Phone app, maybe they will let me write one for them.  I can’t test the Android app as it isn’t available for the Amazon Fire.

I took Maggie to the library at the other end of the park, and got a text message that she wasn't at home, and that she was with me. So when I got home, I sat down and ordered two more. The TAGG will at least narrow things down a bunch.

One big question I have now, can the girls wear them when they are competing in agility, and if not, I'm going to fight for it to happen, as they lay flat against the collar, and are a safety feature. Dogs DO get loose at trials.

I currently have things set up so I get both Text Messages and Emails. Both give maps and both maps work really well with the Windows Phone. I have an iPod Touch and haven't been able to log into the app. But as long as it works well with my phone I am happy. I think it will work well with any phone that accepts text messages, and will work even better if it has a way to get to a map link. The emails are great, as they show the map:

Tagg™ Alert

Dec 27, 2011 7:12 PM

Maggie outside the Home Tagg zone

within 55 yards of 2899 Valley View Ln, Dallas, TX 75234

Get Maggie's locations by clicking Track, or request a single locate to see Maggie's current position. You can also text the commands TRACK or LOCATE from your registered mobile phone to xxxxxx to get a reply with Maggie's locations.

Tagg™ Alert sent to
Kathleen Weaver (email,mobile)
Richard Weaver (email)

If you have questions or need additional help, please visit the Tagg Support page.

If you have a Tagg account and want to change how you receive notifications, please visit Tagg Notifications Settings. If you are a contact for the Tagg account holder and want to stop receiving notifications, please ask them to remove you. If you can’t reach the Tagg account holder, forward this email to support@tagg.com with the subject line "Remove Contact."

Thank you for choosing Tagg – The Pet Tracker™.

Sincerely,
The Tagg Team

	© 2011 Snaptracs, Inc., a Qualcomm company. All rights reserved. Tagg—The Pet Tracker, Tagg, and the Tagg logo are trademarks of Snaptracs, Inc.
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I assume that each dog will know have Verizon phone numbers.

So I sent husband and dog away. We haven't gotten an alert she is gone yet, but locate tells me where she is at.

The map says she is where I sent him, so there is a bit of a delay.

Now the map shows she is home again.

Sent from my Windows Phone