So last time I posted I showed some photos of my Christmas Card Mishap. Today I’m sharing the good ones! It wasn’t all chaois during our Christmas Photoshoot, so here’s the Trick Ponies at their finest!

So..which one do you think my parents chose to feature on their Christmas card? Which is your favorite? I’d love to know!

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

So as I posted before, my parents decided to feature the Trick Ponies on their Christmas Card this year. The idea was simple – get them to stand together holding fake berry swigs in their mouths. The reality was – its never that easy.

I knew I probably should have worked them on targeting a stationary spot on the ground first (like a carpet scrap or piece of wood), but of course I never got around to it. I have taught all of my boys to stationary target the pedestal. Meaning when I put out their pedestal – get them upon it and ask them to stay put, they will all do so. (well Boomerang needs a bit more practice with this one). But since I only have one pedestal, the problem arose, how do I get all 3 of them to stand together? The answer is – I never actually did! Ha!

In fact, I have never worked all three together at the same time. Not because I don’t want to – but mainly because I didn’t want utter chaos, and currently Minnow is the only one I trust to “behave” properly when the food pouch comes out and there are competitors for the treats.

So anyway – that will all be a task for another day…now onto the Christmas Card. Below are a series of outtakes from the attempt at a Christmas Card (all before the sun set). I did end up getting some nice ones, but I will have to save those for another post. I hope you enjoy a good laugh at my attempt to “corral the wild Chincoteague Ponies”.

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

Ammo at 8 weeks old taking a ride on Blitz

My Dachshund Ammo has been assisting the Trick Ponies since he was about 8 weeks old. He loves pony rides, pony kisses, laying under the easel while the ponies paint and of course eating pony poop. So after 1 full year of “assistant” duty I decided its time for Ammo to join the ranks as an official member of the Trick Ponies of Chincoteague. What do you have to do to be a member? You have to be able to paint!

So a couple weeks ago I started working with Ammo on his paintbrush skills. We began by targeting a paintbrush – which Ammo took to in no time. Then he was rewarded for licking the brush, and eventually putting his teeth on it. We’ve now progressed to picking up the brush on his own and pretty soon I will ask him to target the brush to the paper. Below is a video of Ammo practicing his new brush skills.

Dog Paddling over to Chincoteague

Although this is the first time Ammo may be picking up a paintbrush – its actually not his first painting. After a painting “mishap” ammo helped Minnow to create this wonderful work of art! Its now proudly hanging in my Studio at home. I can’t wait to add lots more of Ammo’s creations to my walls.

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

Since 2005 I have been attempting to make Christmas Cards for my family. I usually design one for my parents to send out and I (along with my graphic designer husband) design one for us to send out. Usually the cards feature our pets and/or the family and we TRY to come up with something funny to say. Here’s a little history of past cards we have sent:

Now that we’re well into the 2009 Holiday Season, its that time of year to design some Christmas Cards. This year my parents have opted to do something with the Trick Ponies – and I plan to feature our Dachshund Ammo yet again.

…Stay tuned because tomorrow I’ll be posting some photos of my attempt at a Trick Pony Photo Shoot. Sometimes 3 ponies isn’t better than 1!!

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

Sharing a video of my mom painting with Blitz. While she was away visiting her sisters in Arizona a few months ago I taught Blitz to paint. I originally bought Blitz in the Summer of 2008 but eventually sold him to my mom when I discovered he was much happier to go a slow a steady pace (I was looking for a speedy pony).

So when my mom returned home from her trip I announced that I had taught her boy to paint. Since then we didn’t have time to work with him again, but on November 29th I pulled out the easel and got him painting again. I asked my mom if she wanted to try it with him….after a few “But I don’t know how to do it” I convinced her to give it a try. So here’s the video of Blitz and my mom painting.

Oh and yes – Ammo the Dachshund gets painted in the video. His favorite spot to hang out when the ponies paint is right under the easel. He’s hoping the ponies will drop a Cheerio or a bit of grain for him to nibble on. This time he caught a paintbrush on the head. By the end of the session he looked like he had a multi-colored mohawk.

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

When I was a kid Breyer Horses were always on my Christmas and Birthday lists. I wanted them all! I would spend hours adorning them in hand-made blankets, taking them on trail rides in my back yard, and practicing dressage tests in my tiny dressage arena. (Don’t judge – I was the abnormal kid who loved to do dressage and definitely didn’t think it was boring).

As a adult grown up supposed-to-be grown-up person I still have Breyer Horses on my list. I have boxes upon boxes of Breyers in my basement – but the special ones make it to display on shelves around my home. And if you haven’t guessed the special ones are real-horse look-alikes. Mainly models that I have painted to look like my own real-life horses. But this year I’m making an exception to this (sort of), because I’ve found myself (and a Minnow) look-alike Breyer Model.

Thats right, Breyer has ripped off my likeness! Ok, well maybe not really – but I’m going to claim they did anyway so I can feel a little special. Breyer has come out with the very first mounted games rider and pony. I think the sport has finally arrived if we have a Breyer Model now! Yipee!

This model features a female rider with thick RED braids – tip off #1 that its me. When competing in mounted games I usually wear my hair (my RED hair) in 2 HUGE braids because trust me, you have never seen a red-head with as much hair as me. Not only that but the rider is on a paint pony, that may not look like Minnow’s clone, but there are some similarities.

So maybe I’m not the muse for this model (a girl can dream can’t she?) – but its fun to pretend. And if you have read my blog before, you know that a dream of mine is to have Chincoteague Minnow made into a Breyer Model someday. I’ll have died and gone to heaven when that day comes.

So if your a kid or a kid at heart like me and would like to own Breyer’s very first Mounted Games Model you can purchase one here.

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

61035
Classics® Pony Games Set

	breed: Pony pattern: sabino recommended age: 4 and Up related item: #61037 – Classics® Trail Ride Set date available: Nov 23, 2009
	description: Will this rider clinch the trophy for her team? She has to rely on her pony to gallop as fast as he can in the relay race and then stop on a dime so the next rider can go. In this event, the rider is part of a team and teamwork is what it’s all about! The set includes a Classics scale Sabino pinto pony, ready for the race with his bridle on, and a rider ready to hop on and ride for the trophy in her paddock boots and riding tights, vest and helmet.

"Fence Painting" by Chesapeake Lightning

I’m happy to announce the release of 4 new paintings. Chincoteague Minnow has painted 2 works of art and also for the first time EVER we are offering 2 paintings by Chesapeake Lightning (Blitz). Blitz only recently just learned to paint and I’m happy to report that he’s enjoying it just as much as his older brother Minnow. I find it fascinating that Blitz has a completely different technique when it comes to painting. Minnow prefers to be a little more “wild and crazy” with his brush strokes, while Blitz is very precise and methodical. He really likes to paint up and down strokes and is very deliberate about where he puts the brush. I like to call his style “fence painting”, because thats exactly what it looks like.

Anyway, you can check out all the boys work by visiting their online shop here. The paintings make a great gift for friends and family. And don’t forget that by purchasing a Pony Painting you are helping to support the wild ponies of Assateague Island. Two Christmas gifts in one!

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

Don’t forget to bid on Minnow’s Christmas Ornaments to help raise money for the Main Line Animal Rescue.

"Sugar Plum Dreams" by Chincoteague Minnow

Chincoteague Minnow - Head Painter

Since 2007 Chincoteague Minnow has been creating paintings. What started off as a fun project to do with my spunky little Chincoteague Pony turned into a way to give back to my community and evolved into not just one painting pony, but a herd of painting ponies. Since Minnow’s very first painting was created I have been donating some of his profits to some of my favorite Charities. This year we raised enough money to donate $150 to the Chincoteague Pony Association. All proceeds generated by the Chincoteague Pony Association goes directly to the care, maintenance, and support of the wild ponies of Assateague Island, VA for items such as – Feeding, Veterinary Bills, Farriers, Inoculations, etc. The wild ponies of Assateague have been on the island for over 300 years, and my very own Chincoteague Minnow was born on the island in 1993. I choose to donate to this organization because they use the money to help continue on a 300 year old legacy and preserve a breed that likely would have otherwise been extinct. Each year volunteers from the Chincoteague Fire Company visit the island to provide medical care to ponies in need, they also provide hay for the ponies when food is scarce and they bore holes in the ice so that the ponies have water to drink in freezing conditions.

Myself and Minnow with one of his paintings

I am thankful for those who care enough for this wild and ancient breed to donate their time to keep them happy and healthy. It warms my heart to know that Minnow (and the other trick ponies’) works of art can go towards helping their own kind, and their wild ancestors.

This year I have also decided to donate to one of my local animal shelters, Main Line Animal Rescue. Rescues are extra special to me, because Chincoteague Minnow was once a victim of irresponsible horse care. It took me a long time to regain his trust again, and I am thankful everyday that there are those out there that rescue and give love to animals just like Minnow.

To raise money for the Main Line Animal Rescue Minnow painted 2 Holiday Christmas Ornaments on November 29th. We will be giving away these ornaments on the blog to whomever bids the highest. 100% of the sales will be donated to the Main Line Animal Rescue.

In order to be the highest bidder simply comment on this post with how much you are willing to donate. The two highest bidders will each get one of Minnow’s custom painted Christmas Ornaments along with a 4×6 photo of Minnow painting. So get into the Holiday Spirit – help a worthy charity – and get something unique for your holiday tree!

"horse-painted" ornaments by Chincoteague Minnow

HOW TO WIN:

Comment: Place a comment on this post with the total amount that you are willing to donate. You may comment as many times as you like – your highest bid will be used in the contest.
Prize: The two highest bidders will each receive a custom ORIGINAL painted glass Christmas Ornament by Chincoteague Minnow along with a 4×6 photo of Minnow painting. Payment will be accepted by paypal at the close of the contest.
Deadline: The deadline to bid is December 12th at 10am EST

100% of the sale of Minnow’s Holiday Christmas Ornaments will be donated to the Main Line Animal Rescue.
Don’t forget that there are lots of great paintings still available in the Ponies online shop. With each purchase you are helping to raise money to help feed and care for the wild ponies of Assateague Island. Several new paintings will be going up for sale soon!

-KD & The Trick Ponies
www.ponypaintings.com

I recently posted about the training I have been working on with my two shop dogs, Trooper and Ammo. My original plan was asking them to sit quietly when someone walked into my shop. It started off rather well – but Ammo eventually started barking even more in order to get his “reward” for then sitting. So I decided to take a different approach.

I read up on clicker trainer, Karen Pryor’s, method of teaching opposite cues. In my case I was going to use the Speak and Quiet commands to teach Ammo to be silent when someone entered my shop. I decided that working with Ammo first would be best, as Trooper’s standing on the gate is not as frustrating to me as Ammo’s barking when customers enter.

So last Friday night I set out to train Ammo – starting at home. I was worried if I did it at the shop (and did it wrong) he would just end up barking all the time, and I didn’t want him to associate the shop with any sort of barking. I sat Ammo down infront of me and made a knocking sound on the table – which immediately set him off barking. I clicked him, gave him a treat and as he was eating (in silence) I lurched forward towards him, he sort of lifted one leg and looked at me – I then clicked and rewarded. We repeated this for a while until I was fairly certain he had the gist. I then added some cues to it. For barking I said SPEAK, for silence I said QUIET. I had originally started using BARK as the barking cue, but I quickly realized it sounded too much like Ammo’s BANG BANG cue where he plays dead. When he started flopping around on the ground instead of barking I quickly changed the cue to speak. So we did this process for a while longer then it was time to test it.

I had my husband go outside and re-enter the house (thus creating a situation for Ammo to bark). As soon as he started barking I yelled QUIET. Ammo looked confused for a moment but immediately stopped barking. Click and treats again. We did this a few more times and each time I waited a little longer to reward him. When we were done I carried the treats and clicker around with me for the rest of the night. Anytime Ammo barked at something (usually any noise will set him off) I tried my QUIET cue. I occasionally asked him for SPEAK as well.

The next day it was time to try it at the shop. I opted to have my parent’s keep Trooper for the day so I could work on Ammo without Trooper interfering. The first customer came and Ammo let out a bark – I quickly yelled QUIET from the back of the shop and Ammo came running to me and sat at my feet…what a good puppy. We continued with this throughout the day – and a few times he actually didn’t bark at all (he got rewarded for this big time).

We did and have had a few slip ups where Ammo just couldn’t control himself and it took me a little longer to get him to listen…afterall he is a Dachshund, and if I have learned anything about the breed – its how stubborn they can be. And man can they be stubborn. Below is a video of Ammo “speaking” notice how at the end I try to knock on a table (which normally would of set him off barking) and he behaves nicely by not barking at all.

Here is a video of the QUIET command:

Overall I think the method is working fairly well. I’m not sure if I will ever eliminate his barking in the shop, but at least now I have a semi-foolproof method to silence him. I’m just going to keep rewarding when he does it correctly and hopefully over time he will only get better (fingers crossed). Next I will have to tackle Trooper’s jumping on the gate!

So how about you? Has anyone else trained any opposite commands like this? Did it work for you? Any other suggestions for me?

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com

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Ammo | A Dog Named Christmas

Vote for Ammo as A Dog Named Christmas’ Cutest Dog of the Season! Your vote will help us win money for our favorite animal charity! And we if we do win – you can help us decide on which charity we should give them money to! So help us out and cast your vote!

-KD
www.ponypaintings.com