Legend's turn

Saturday was weavers, chances and regular.  In weavers we were a little rusty and out of control.  She weaved well, but was not focusing on the hoops much.  By chances she had settled down a little but went off course both times (although not where I had anticipated) and blew her dogwalk contact both times.  So we will be working contacts between now and July! She picked up one regular Q and had one off course in the other.  So off to a bit of a slow start.

And I have to give props to all our friends and the always awesome man-in-charge Dwayne for finding ways to stall the trial giving Cheri time to get there and watch the Chances runs-just in case!  Gotta love NADAC that way-so laid back.

Sunday was Jumpers, touch and go and regular.  She finally, finally, got an elite touch and go Q!  She would have had both but missed a contact.  She also picked up both jumpers and both regular going 5/6!  Overall she was not as fast this weekend as she has been at other more recent NADAC trials and in fact seemed a little stressed as she did have one a-frame refusal.  Not sure why, but she still did well so whatever.

Here is her video.

 

Saturday we also went down to the terrier stuff going on so Linda could run one of her dogs in the lure coursing.  I let Lyric and Legend watch instead of leaving them in the car.  Legend went nuts-barking and lunging the whole time.  I'm not sure what she would have done when she found it was just a bag, but at least for now she seems to think walmart bags are much more intriguing than agility equipment.  Not sure how I feel about that!

Then we all headed out to our traditional group dinner at Hawthorne (really, the true reason why we go to this trial!).  Afterwards everyone gathered one by one in the off leash dog area at our hotel.  We ended up with 15 dogs all loose and hanging out together while we watched them play and visited.  It was really fun and everyone got to see the dogs we usually just see in the ring show more of their at home personalities. Lyric must have been standing behind me in these pictures, but you get the idea!

And, we got to pick up our cute bandanas I had a friend make for us!

Overall, another good memorial day weekend.  We did come home last night so I could have today to pack and get ready for vacation!!

What little girls are made of

First of all, Legend did not finish her NATCH.  She had a good weekend, but a Chances Q was not in the cards. More on that later.

This time, I have to brag on Lyric first.  What a little rock star she was this weekend!  She was only entered in two runs yesterday, and all six today.  I would have rather it been a little more balanced but with the schedule the way it was that's how it happened.  She doesn't run chances and I didn't think it would be worthwhile to run weavers (apparently wrong) so all she did yesterday was regular but turned in one nice Q and one almost.

But today...she had...A PERFECT DAY!  This is the first true perfect day (where we've been entered in every event) that I've ever had in NADAC with ANY dog.  And I haven't even done any training with her since the last trial.  And she nailed every single set of weave poles and all but one discrimination all weekend.  Go figure!

As usual for Purina Farms in May this entailed some rain, some sun, humidity, etc.  But she was a trooper the whole time and just as solid as can be.  She was definitely getting tired towards the end, but kept on fighting to get those Qs.  I think running her at the 4 inch veteran height helped facilitate this, but I'm still so proud of her.

So here is her video of some of her runs this weekend!

Icy

Icy loves this new dog bed.  She has been spending literally all day in it.

Same flowers. Different day.

Soon the lilies will be blooming and I can bore you with pictures of them.  But for now, here are more of the same.

Signs of spring

I tried to ride today, but Squirt is too sore so he will be seeing the horse vet in a few weeks.  He's ok to walk in the grass, but on the gravel or road not so much.  Anyway-he got a good bath and brush out-almost all the winter fuzz is gone!

And here is Oreo's tree-nearly 5 years later.  It has grown a lot and looks really pretty.

Other updates

Reaghan went home with her new family Friday night and today's update indicates all is well and they love her.  We look forward to more updates.

Legend seems to be making good headway in Nosework.  We've had two weeks off class and look forward to seeing to how she does this week when we go back.  

Tracking has had some setbacks.  She's having a little trouble staying on the track but a tracking friend indicated that there are lots of new smells in the spring (makes sense or scents...ha) so we are doing some basic work.  Straight lines with extra food put out.  And I'm stopping her if she gets too far off, not letting her get all the way to the end of her 40 feet.  It also helps to slow her down.  Runninng the track isn't necessarily bad but it can cause her to overshoot turns and miss articles.  So better to slow down.  I was hoping to get her into the local test in october but by the time we are ready to get certified it might be too late to enter.  Oh well.  We'll get there eventually. 

Some of my new plants are not doing well.  I'm not sure if they are not getting the right amount of sun, or too much water or something else.  There is only so much I can control though.  And most of them look good so I guess that's as good as I could expect. 

We are headed to our annual outdoor Memorial Day weekend NADAC trial this weekend.  We are only trialing two days this year.  We all have to work Friday and then I decided I needed monday to pack and do laundry and get ready to leave again on Tuesday.  Tuesday we only head to STL, and then our flight leaves bright and early Wednesday morning.  

And Legend will have a chance (two chances actually) to finish her NATCH this weekend so I guess I better go set up some equipment and practice a little!

Every little girl

Wants a pony. It's a little late, but I'm getting mine!

Meet Socks!

To be fair, he's actually a mini, but the cuteness is all the same!

He will come from a friend downsizing her old show herd...to good homes only of course! He's 12 years old and will be coming to our house when we get back from vacation in a few weeks. He loves attention and just really won us over with his personality. Plus he's adorable!

I'm sure there will be lots more pictures to come!

10 Years

Although it hardly seems possible, I graduated from veterinary school 10 years ago today.  My classmates and I would now be considered "experienced."  Some days, when I look over an appointment book full of routine ailments and wellness visits, and spay cats while having a conversation and listening to music, I feel like that is very much the case.  Other days though, I find it a startling realization that I should know what I'm doing!  There are still things I've never done, diseases I've never seen, topics I still need to get the book out for, dosages I need to double check, and subjects I wish I felt more comfortable with. 

I tried to think of something memorable or profound to say about the last 10 years, but mostly I just reflected about my career in general. 

I have worked for the rich and the poor.  I have worked for people who appreciated me and those who did not.  I worked with technicians worth their weight in gold, those who were just warm bodies, and everything in between.  I learned to do a lot of things without help. 

I have worked in shelters, big clinics, small clinics, fancy clinics, privately owned clinics, corporate clinics, and low tech rural clinics.  

I have met people who will do anything for their pet, and those who will do next to nothing.  I have heard people say or do jaw-droppingly crazy and/or stupid things.  

I have laughed and cried.  I have saved lives.  I have ended lives.  I have watched lives slip away against our will.  

I have been bored, challenged, frustrated, and overwhelmed.  Sometimes all in the same day.  

I've made friends (and probably enemies) along the way.  I've seen the best and the worst in people.  I've seen the best and the worst in pets.

In the end, whether you hate this career or love it, the most profound thing I could come up with was that it is, without a doubt, unique.

Relax

Zodiac did a therapy visit to the local community college today to help relieve exam stress for the students. He's very good at this. And he even got ice cream (ok, we both did). 

15 seconds of fame

Actually, I'm not sure it's even considered fame if they don't give your name, but here is the short news story that aired about the Rabies vaccine clinic I did for the local low cost spay/neuter clinic.  We gave 195 rabies vaccines in 3 hours and signed up about 40 animals for much needed surgery.

And yes, I did video the TV with my phone to get this.  Very classy.

Flowers...again

We (really, it was me) managed to lock ourselves out of the house tonight while we did yard work. While we waited for our spare key holder to arrive I took more flower pictures with my phone. I edited them later. So, here they are. 

More flowers and other stuff

Lyric passed the CGC yesterday. So once we get her certificate number we can get on the list for therapy testing. 

I dusted off the old saddle and hopped on Squirt today. He mostly wanted to walk. Which will be just perfect if I do some riding around the neighborhood this summer. Also perfect since Kennedy came to ride today but then decided she was too scared. Although he looks pretty good at a walk his unwillingness to really do much else makes me think its about time to get another joint injection. 

And here are some flower pics I took and edited on my phone. 

Run like a diva

First of all, if you want to run a flat race, don't come to Branson, MO!  Really, for me it wasn't terrible, but others were less than thrilled. 

Anyway this was my friend Kristen's first ever half marathon, and on top of that she has a 4.5 month old baby. Here we are pre-race...still happy!

The weather was perfect, a touch chilly to start, but warm and sunny the rest of the way. The best weather I've ever run a half-marathon in for a change. 

My job was just to serve as companion and support system so my time and place are not really important but Kristen did a great job and we both finished in the top half of our age groups and overall. Although a few times I think she might have preferred to not finish at all!

Here we come! There was a boa and tiara station on the way to the finish. 

There we go!

Our "after" picture didn't turn out well, so here is a pic of the bling. 

End of an era

So the trial didn't go great.  As in 0/4.  Jumpers went ok, just little mishaps but standard was kind of a trainwreck for both.  Although Lyric did the teeter (very cautiously) it made her apprehensive about the a-frame and the dogwalk.  In fact she stopped dead in the middle of the dogwalk and crouched down all nervous.  She looked around like she might jump, so I just grabbed her telling the judge I didn't want her to jump.  He agreed with that decision!  Legend didn't do much better, caution on the teeter and refusing the a-frame.  She hasn't done that in forever.  Of course we have been doing mostly NADAC and both dogs seem happier there.  And if they are happy, I'm happy.

So, after many of years of AKC agility being our focus, I think we are moving on.  For the most part anyway.  We are entered one day of the local trial next month but I decided to pull my standard entry and just run jumpers.  That way we still get to have some fun and see all our AKC friends.  And we might do some at BC nationals or something like that.  But for now we will  focus on NADAC if we are doing agility.  But our big focus right now is nosework and tracking.  

Speaking of tracking, the trial site was at a rural fairgrounds arena with lots of fields, so we got in a track after our classes were done.  She did pretty good, only got off the scent once but she did overshoot the glove.  Also there were lots of bees in the field.  Which, if you have been reading this blog long enough you know that induced at least a moderate panic attack.  I did good though.  I just kept staring straight ahead and holding onto the line.  We made it!

Then we headed back home for a relaxing evening.  Everyone got in a nap (Zodiac accompanied us today but Reaghan stayed home) and then Legend got in some nosework and Lyric some CGC practice.  Now, more napping for them.  And tomorrow the Diva Dash Half-marathon!

Spring evening

Snapped this photo with my phone tonight-just love them!

I got off work early today, ran my errands, and was done with race check in and dinner with a friend by 7:30. Jerry is out of town so the dogs and I enjoyed a nice evening at home. 

In other news, Reaghan is getting adopted in a few weeks assuming the meet and greet goes well. 

We are headed down to Arkansas for one day of AKC agility tomorrow. 

Legend started with odor in Nosework and we are having fun presenting her with new challenges. She continues to think this is a fantastic sport. 

Last weekend we ran an 8k. Good news is we all got a PR. Bad news, that is relatively useless information since 8k is not a commonly run distance. More good news, 2nd in my age group. 

I gave Legend and Zodiac Nexguard today. For a "beefy chewable" it was pretty hard. But they ate it, which must mean it's pretty good since they refuse to eat comfortis or sentinel.