I'm begging you

This is Legend's "pleeeeeze take me outside to play" look.

It worked.  I did.  She still isn't tired.  Story of my life. 

Memorial Day Weekend Funraiser

This was the hottest weekend at Purina Farms ever! Temps were in the 90s every day but fortunately the trial was small and we finished around noon every day, after an early start.

So the good news first.  Legend got two Elite Chances Qs!  That finished her title and gives us only 10 more to go for her NATCH (plus 4 regular and 1 jumpers). Who knew she would get her elite chances title before her novice touch and go!! But I'm so happy to see all our training actually pay off.  The courses contained several of the elements we had been working on and she did them like a pro.  She also did all but one discrimination and had zero A-frame refusals over the three days.  The bad news is that she only got 3 Qs total-picked up an awesome elite tunnelers Q in addition to the two chances.  She was back to running around some hoops this weekend, had a couple off courses, and a bar down.  So no really bad runs, but always just one thing.  But her tunnelers Q at the end of the weekend is probably her fastest ever at just over 6 yps.

Here is a video of one of the Chances runs.  She wasn't running fast but that really does't matter in chances.

Lyric was another story.  She did not have a good weekend.  Some of her early morning runs she was super wild and out of control  Very cute, but not productive.  Also it zapped some of her energy for the rest of the day.  And her obstacle commitment was terrible-she was running around stuff was right in her path which is not usually like her.  Plus she only did a ton of tunnel sucking and only got one discrimination correct when when she as supposed to take the contact and not the tunnel.  And then she just got too hot and pooped out on some of her runs.  But here is a video of her entertaining the crowd one morning.

For those of you who do NADAC we also got to try the proposed new barrel obstacle.  It's about as fun as a hoop but Lyric ran right around it like you are supposed to with no training.  We also ran the same course back to back for round one and two of various events.  That really didn't seem beneficial or detrimental to my dogs as they messed up different things or the same things both runs.  Or Q'd the first run and not the second.  In most cases I think I would just prefer a fresh course but when it's 95 outside less course building, waiting, and walking was ok.

We have a pretty light schedule the rest of the summer only about one trial a month, maybe two in June.  That leaves lots of time for training or better yet hitting the pool and the lake!

This week's observations.

I'm not sure why people insist upon having their dog's front dewclaws removed. I usually strongly discourage this nonsense but if you do choose this route I would not suggest taking off the e-collar because the puppy doesn't like it and then wrapping the foot bandages in duct tape.

I also don't understand why people request tail docks on mixed breed dogs. I always decline to do this procedure and quite frankly am super close to declining tail docks on any dog of any age or breed (except for medical reasons). But I'm not the only veterinarian in the world so rest assured this procedure does get done. Although I'm not sure what the point is.

And in a true WTF scenario I saw someone walking a SHAVED BOXER while I was at lunch yesterday. Seriously? Who does that benefit? People are so weird.

Just need to get through today then off to Purina Farms for some agility in the sun!

Is this better?

 This time we gave her a 1000 lb animal to play with!

 But seriously, she's a natural.  Never freaked out or acted scared-didn't even want to get off when the flies started to bother Squirt (Apparently, I'm out of fly spray).

 Looks like Squirt has found a new job teaching the next generation to ride.

And by the way, it's not easy getting a toddler and a fussy middle aged gelding to both pose nicely for the camera!

And a few more lily pics for the garden fans out there...

Not only did I keep them alive...

...They are multiplying!  This is just one clump of lilies I have blooming right now.  Don't they look great?  I'm not biased or anything.

My growing boy

Ready for more baby bunny pictures?  These were actually taken before I left for California.  I don't know what he weighed then, but he's a whopping 6.8 lbs now!  Three pounds more than when we brought him home!

Here he is playing with Legend's stuffed bunny-seems appropriate I guess.

 And getting a gentle bop on the head by Icy.

Now on a totally unrelated now here is Jerry on the guitar and Kennedy on the fly swatter.  Yep, fly swatter-clearly we know a thing or two about providing appropriate toys to children in this household.

Along those same lines, she has become pretty adept at running across the dogwalk by herself! Another suitable activity for a three year old don't you think?  Good thing we don't have kids of our own right? And if you are wondering, yes, she also does weave poles but sometimes pops out. 

Jerry's new work out partner

This post needs little explanation.  Just watch and smile!

Finished!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words but this one is worth at least a thousand miles-between the training miles and the travel miles we definitely exceeded that mark!

Ok, so the important stuff first.  Obviously, we finished.  Now the details.  Our time was approximately 2:12:30 which was about three minutes faster than "gun" time, which means it took us three minutes from our place in the pack until we actually crossed the start line!  And of over 2,300 runners we finished in the first half both overall and in our respective age groups.  Not bad for first-timers.  I was holding back so we could run together which means next time I'm shooting for under two hours.  Oh, and those medals have actual corkscrews on them and we were afraid they would not let us take them on the plane so we checked a bag on the way home. 

Now, about the rest of the trip.  It did not start well.  As soon as we arrived at our gate in the Springfield airport we say our plane was delayed.  And then delayed again.  And then a little more.  Then, finally, we got on the plane!  And then back off.  Some mechanical issue this time.  So we missed our connection and spend 5 fun-filled hours in the Memphis airport.  We eventually reached our final destination at 3AM Missouri time.  Good thing we planned an extra day in there!

But Friday morning we woke to warm and sunny California.  Not.  It was cool and misty and foggy at the beach and remained that way for most of our trip.  Friday we did head up to the cute little Dutch town of Solvang, where the race ends, to check in and do some shopping.  At least it was warm and sunny there and we were hopeful the next day would be equally as beautiful.

But it wasn't.  Saturday dawned cool and foggy, even away from the coast and did not clear until we had nearly finished the race.  So we were pretty bummed to not get to see all the beautiful scenery we had been promised on the course.  We could see the up-close parts but not the vast vineyards and lavender fields. 

Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day with Cheri's family in Burbank, where it was warm and sunny, unlike the beach.  There were some lovely flowery backgrounds for pictures.

Me and Mom

Cheri, Me, and our Moms

 

Finally, Monday we had a (relatively) warm and sunny day at the beach.

 See the seal in this one?

One more critter for you-Cheri's cousin has a Desert Tortoise, coolest pet ever!  Meet Parker...

Funnies before I leave

Owner calls because her groomer noticed her dog had an infected toe and she wants to bring the dog in.  In my mind I'm thinking a hairy, unkempt farm dog that the owner rarely looks at.  In reality it was a smooth coated Daschund house pet.  Anyway, the nail is just broken, not infected.  So we trimmed it, put on some quick stop and sent the dog back up front where the receptionist relays the news.  Owner responds with "but the groomer said it was infected."  Really?  Did the groomer go to veterinary school?  Our somewhat blunt receptionist pointed out that the vet looked at it and says it's not.  Nothing against groomers here-at least someone noticed the dog needed attention.  Oh wait-turns out the owner did notice the toe bleeding off and on for a few weeks but didn't think that was a problem until the groomer told her it was infected.  Sigh.

Owner two, new client no less, walks in (grrr) around 4PM with a dog who has a skin condition.  A very chronic (no way it started yesterday), greasy, oily, thickened, flea-ridden, infected, skin condition.  Apparently she only sought medical attention because she also took her dog to the local groomer for a nail trim and they refused to see the dog stating it needed to see a vet.  Yay!  I guess otherwise they were going to just let this dog suffer.  Actually they still are-apparently they took the medications but declined flea prevention at check out.  Sigh.  Doubt I'll be seeing that one for a recheck.  Evidently she was was convinced the dog had mange and wasn't concerned about the actual problems.  I guess I should have told her it was mange and frontline will fix it.  Oh, and as a bonus she had her other dog in the car and offered to bring it in so I could see the difference.  Um, no thanks-interestingly enough I do know what a normal dog looks like.

Four more days!

After months of training and hundreds of miles our half-marathon is only 4 days away!  I'm so excited-the weather and the course both look to be beautiful.  We leave for california on Thursday-so just one more day of work for me!

I think the last time I mentioned Kahuna it was that he was not climbing out of the taller x-pen.  That is no longer true.  He is climbing out on a regular basis.  But we clothes-pinned a sheet over the top and that seems to have put an end to it for now.  Silly rabbit.

The girls got in some great distance work tonight. Lyric is catching on slowly but surely.  Legend did fantastic tonight.  Hopefully some of that translates to actual Chances Qs.

And lastly Legend is so happy that it's pool season again!  Her favorite time of year.

Not this weekend

So the general consensus is that she is waiting to finish at our local Springfield trial next month. Where we are still wait-listed for 3 of our runs.

Anyway-here's how it went.  Yesterday we had a shot.  After a slightly wild standard run all we had to do was a pretty fair jumpers course.  The second obstacle was the weaves and I planned a front cross after them.  That's where I blew it-I knew I needed to take a step or two after the weaves before I rotated to make sure she stayed in but I got anxious and turned too soon.  Oh well.  Today she had a really lovely standard run except for the off course jump after the teeter.  The opening was jump, dogwalk, jump, a-frame.  We all know the potential issue that causes for her but she did it all!  Then after the a-frame was  a U-shaped tunnel where they needed to choose the close end.  I started my RFP while she was coming down and she was already turning towards me on the down contact-what a good girl.  Then a line to the teeter including a tight front cross-perfect.  After the teeter I was supposed to push her away from me to a tunnel but she blasted away to the jump straight ahead.  I didn't think that would be too much of a problem but she did the teeter faster than I expected.  Just for fun I threw in a blind cross at the triple near then end, which she read beautifully.  Overall I think she's running well these days.  Her starts are not that fast but the rest of her runs I feel are consistently nice.

We left after standard to make better use of the day.  I don't really need to the points since we are not trying to qualify for nationals and it was getting warm so I didn't figure Lyric would get that many points even if she Q'd.  She continues to bail off the teeter (and refuse the table) and today she was even suspicious of the other contacts again.  So I've scratched her from standard in the June trial and plan not to enter her again in standard until fall.  Which really isn't that big a deal since the only other AKC trial I had planned for sure is Springfield's other trial in August.  In the meantime I am finding everyone local with a teeter and taking her there. Maybe things will be better for her this fall.  This year we might end up focusing more on NADAC.  I'm wanting to bring both dogs to champs next year since they should be in the midwest again and work on Legend's NATCH.  Next year hopefully Lyric will be more ready to succeed in AKC, in addition to eventually getting her MACH and qualifying for nationals, if she gets good enough I want to give her a shot at invitationals.  All big dreams right now since she won't even do all the obstacles!

Problems

Good news.  Both dogs weaved today.  Both got Jumpers legs.

Bad news.  Legend refused the A-frame (and then later took it as an off course!?!).  Lyric still didn't teeter or table.  So we bought a plank and put it over an exercise peanut to make a "scary" teeter.  I know, seems kind of mean but something had to be done.  I've done all I can do with my regular teeter.  I made it fall faster, fall slower, bang louder, bounce harder and move up and down while she's on it.  I probably could just take her around to other teeters but it would be so much nicer if I could get the same result using something at home (like I did with the chute problem-a box and a tarp if you haven't read that one).  One day might not be enough to correct it, and I may still have to seek out other teeters but it's a start.  Actually I'll probably be lucky if she goes anywhere near the teeter after tonight! As far as the table I can usually fix that if we train it enough and/or feed her on it.  It's more hit and miss but the teeter problem is pretty consistent. I hope I can get it fixed-she has so much potential if she will just do the obstacles.  What's odd is that she's never had a bad fall (any fall really) and she used to do teeters no problem.

To make ourselves feel better we all had ice cream on the way home.  It worked.

Ready

Yesterday was my last long training run before the half-marathon. I actually did the full distance of 13.1 miles. And I have the sunburn to show for it. So I am officially declaring myself ready. Just 10 more days to go!

Meanwhile we have a relatively local AKC trial this weekend. That means Legend has three shots at that last QQ. So hopefully she's for a big run as well!

And I also hope Lyric is ready to weave and teeter again-maybe she will actually be able to Q in standard now!

Kahuna has been staying in the taller x-pen so far. Which is good. That's about it for today.