Christmas 2006

Harry met a Swiss Father Christmas (apparently from Bern). Father Christmas asked Harry, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Have you been a good boy this year?" Harry answered "Yes!" strainght away. "Have you always stepped on the contact in agility trials?" Harry thougt about it for a while and just realized that he did not miss even a single contact this year. So he answered "Yes!" again. Father Christmas smiled and gave him lots of good treats!

Find it!

The forest is now completely covered by fallen leaves. It was beautiful like a red carpet first, but after two weeks, the leaves started being rotten and returning to the soil. It is not easy to find Harry's ball once it gets lost in the forest this time of the year. Harry knows the ball is somewhere under the leaves. But the leaves are all wet and very heavy to lift. Harry has to work really hard to search the ball under the leaves. Still Harry thinks this game is great fun! Can you find Harry's red ball in the photo?

Evening Glow

Harry was looking through the window rather seriously. He seemed to be enjoying the evening glow. The colour of the sky was changing from blue to orange. It was beautiful indeed. "Can dogs recognize such suttle changes of the colour?" While Harry's master was sinking into deep thoughts, Harry kept looking through the window. Then there passed a black shadow. He was only gazing at a big black cat living next door.

Doggie GPS

Harry walks through a forest to go agility training. He just has to keep on walking East on a long narrow path, until the turn to lead to the training centre. One day, Harry's master missed the turn, as the forest looked completely different. The colour has changed and the leaves were falling like snowflakes. But Harry did not miss it! He always knows his way no matter how different the forest looks.

Ginkgo Nuts

There were many ginkgo trees near his old apartment in New York. They grew tasty nuts in the end of autumn every year. Harry found a ginkgo tree near his new house in Switzerland too. He found it by chance, when his ball got lost in the park. And in the end of autumn, that ginkgo tree also bore golden nuts. When the nuts were grilled in the oven, the smell of Autumn spreaded through the house.

Backyard Agility 2

Harry has even got a small A-Frame in the backyard. The A-Frame was hand-made by Uncle Amu. Uncle Amu is an agility friend of Harry's master in Tokyo. He is genius when it comes to making agility equipment. Now Harry can practice contacts very easily anytime! He sticks his nose on the ground in the 2-on-2-off position just like in a real agility trial! Thanks to Uncle Amu's A-Frame, Harry became even more reliable with contacts.

Backyard Agility 1

Harry used to live in a small apartment in New York. He did not have a backyard there. So he practiced agility in the Riverside Park in the early morning. Harry and his master had to wake up while it was still dark and carry heavy weavepoles and jumps to the park. But now, they have a backyard in their new house in Switzerland. Although it is just large enough to set 12 weavepoles, Harry is extremely happy with it.

Wooden Stairs

Nobody imagined Harry would ever be afraid of walking down stairs. But unfortunetaly it happened. There are old wooden stairs to the celler in the basement. Harry slipped in the middle and fell down to the bottom. Then he got very afraid of the particular stairs. So Harry's master brought her clicker again. Harry was treated with a clicking sound whenever he could walk down the stairs all by himself. After two weeks, he started using the stairs confidently again!

Dreams

Harry did not sleep deeply when he was young. He was a very cautious puppy and could be woken up by the slightest sound of his master's foot steps. After three years, he has grown to a more relaxed dog. Now he sleeps deeply in his favourite Sherpa Bag. When he is dreaming, his mouth is chewing something as wagging his tail busily. Harry must be dreaming happy dreams.

Wintergarten

Harry lived in the living room in his old apartment in New York. In his new house in Basel, he chose to live in the Wintergarten. The Wintergarten is a balcony with glass walls and ceilings. It gets a little chilly in the morning and the evening. But Harry does not mind it at all! Harry can greet small birds at the window in the morning. He can enjoy the sun during the day. He can see the beautiful moon at night. He can hear the sound of rain without getting wet. It is almost like camping outside every day!

Housetraining Again

	Harry and his family found a new house in Switzerland. Now they live in a historic quarter of Basel. There are many old buildings, museums and parks nearby. Remember! Harry should never pee on stone walls built over 500 years ago. So he had to learn to pee and poop in a designated area.
	This is Harry's new toilet. He is treated with a clicking sound when he eliminates here. He quickly learned where he has to pee and poop. Thanks to the clicker. It was very easy to re-housetrain Harry.
	On a rainy day, Harry does his business in the backyard. This is another new house rule. When his master opens the backdoor, Harry quickly runs to the far end of the backyard. Then he returns inside as soon as he finishes his business.

The Incredible Dog

Harry was happily playing with his bone. But by accident, the bone was vacuumed under a big black sofa. Harry's master tried to help him get the bone with a broom. But Harry could not wait and quickly sneaked under the sofa. Under the sofa was only about 10cm high. And Harry is a dog 29.5cm high and 3.4kg heavy. It was as if his body was made of latex. Did Harry use to be owned by the Incredibles?

Natural Cycle

	Autumn is here in Switzerland. Harry gets so many strange-shaped seeds on his face while he walks in the forests.
	Most wild plants in Switzerland grow flowers. Then they produce numerous seeds in Autumn. Small wild animals like birds and rabbits carry the seeds somewhere faraway. Harry is not a wild animal. Still he is unexpectedly helping the seeds spread. Harry is very happy to be a part of this wonderful natural cycle.

Poop Picking-Up

Harry's master cleans up after Harry with a poop-bag. Then she checks if the poop is healthy-hard, or if Harry has eaten something he is not supposed to. She thinks poop picking-up is not a nuisance at all. This is a ritual which has been performed every morning ever since Harry joined the family.

I'm not going!

Harry is usually a very good boy. But he can get a little crazy when it comes to agility. He believes the agility field is some kind of doggie heaven. Harry wants to stay there forever. So he sometimes resists to leave the agility field like this. Then Harry's master quietly says, "But Harry, don't you want to have dinner at home?" Then Harry quickly agrees to go back home.

How to make Harry love to swim

	All dogs can swim. But some dogs need to learn that swimming is really fun. 1. Carry Harry in the river, approximately 2M away. 2. Slowly dip him in the water. 3. Then let him go!
	4. When he reaches the bank, click and treat. 5. At this point, give him only mediocre treats. 6. Repeat 3 times and gradually make the distance longer.
	7. Walk to the middle of the river. 8. Call Harry showing a big chunk of roastbeef. 9. When Harry jumps into the water by himself, click. 10. Catch Harry when he comes and treat him with roastbeef. (Go to Clicker Training if you are not familiar with a clicker.)

Summer River

	The River Rhein is running across Basel City. The summer in Basel is very hot just as in New York. So Harry goes there for swimming in the evening. He jumps into the river. And he swims to the middle of the river.
	Then he quickly turns around. And he comes back to the bank. Harry is wagging his tail very busily while he is swimming. He really loves swimming in the river.

Harry has moved!

Harry has moved to Basel, Switzerland. Switzerland will be his permanent home country. In fact, he has already got his Swiss pet-passport! Now he is officially a Swiss dog. Please also have a look at Introduction to Dog's Life in Basel in Harry's World Jouneys.

Farewell Party

	Harry is moving to Switzerland with his family. It is sad to say good-bye to his friends in New York, especially his best friend, Yuki, the tomboy westie. Yuki's Mama held a farewell party for Harry and his family. Dogs had a lot of fun wrestling on the floor while people had Yuki's Mama's beautiful Japanese food.
	The view of Manhattan from Yuki's place. Harry came here almost every week for the last three years. Both Yuki and Harry liked to look out from the window. They seemed enjoying the view of the sky-scrapers. Harry will probably visit New York sometimes to see Yuki. Yuki also promised to visit Harry in Switzerland soon.

Accuracy Matters

Harry participated in IFCS World Agiity Championships 2006. As written in Dirty Dog, Harry is not a particularly fast runner. But he is extremely accurate. Harry ran clean in every single run in the three day championships. He came in 2nd place in the Individual All Around. Harry was the very first mixed-breed dog to be on the podium in the history of IFCS World Agility Championships! Please also have a look at IFCS World Agility Championships 2006 Report.

Dirty Dog?

"Harry the Dirty Dog" is Harry's master's favourite book. In fact, Harry got his name from the dog in this book. Our Harry can get very dirty too when he plays outside, but he loves having a bath and always clean at home. He may not run as fast as world top dogs, but he almost always runs clean in agility trials. So he should be called "Harry the Clean (Run) Dog".

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Dogs are said to become matured at the age of three. Harry turned three years old while he was in Japan. He had an accident just before his birthday near Mt. Fuji. He lost his toe-nail, but otherwise he was fine. So he went for a trip to Ise by ferry. Although Harry was still lifting his injured paw, he looked happy on his third birthday. Harry is not a puppy any more.

Contact Training with Stairs

	Harry often missed contacts in agility trials before. He wanted to practice contacts everyday, but he could go to agility lesson once a week or even less. And as you know, he lives in a small apartment in Manhattan. So he decided to use stairs to practice contacts. A yogurt lid was placed at the bottom of stairs. With the "Target" command, he had to touch his nose to the lid.
	Harry practiced this with many different stairs. So he could generalise stairs and real contact obstables. Every day, he became better at contacts. Every week, the yorgurt lid was cut smaller. Eventually, the lid became the sizen of a coin. Now Harry understands what he has to do at contacts. Even without the yorgurt lid.

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