Going to try to keep this short...I've been/I am just a wee bit busy. Quickly, the weekend...it was really great to visit Paul & Rita Friday night. I hadn't seen them since they moved to Calgary last summer, man do kids ever grow fast!
I've been spoiled staying at Andy & Nancy's, it was a long drive from the SE to the Fezdome Saturday morning:). Neena was really excited to get to the trail...its amazing how 40lbs of border collie can rock a sunflower lol. We ran a jumpers course almost right away, she was starting to get a little worried at the startline but Amanda helped me pump her up and off we went. It was a good run, she wasn't quite as happy as I would have liked to see her but she stayed with me and I think we had fun.
We Q'd and this is where I fess up to a blonde moment...I thought we needed 3 starter's jumpers Q's before we moved to advanced...we only needed 2, ooops:). Turns out we are also in advanced gamblers! Anyways, our gamble was the last class of the day, I tried to get Neena out every hour or so for a little walk and fun time but by early/mid afternoon she was starting to get worried. I started to get worried. Stupid girl emotions.
I finally took her outside, ran down the road with her like a mad woman, smacked her around a few times and she decided it was game on. We had a good little session of tug and fetch and were both a lot happier and relaxed after.
Our gamble...she was still struggling so I tried to find a course with flow that would let her do the obstacles she likes best. I thought for a second I was going to lose her at the startline, she was thinking about running out of the ring. But she stayed with me and although it was 'technically' ugly I really didn't care. She ran with me and didn't melt down completely. I'm proud of her for working through it.
It was still emotionally and physically draining...I was tired and cold by the time we were done, and I struggled a little after we left. Agility is something fun for us to do together, its good for her and its good for me. At what point do I say this part isn't fun for us? I'm not convinced we are there yet...after all look how far she's come in a year...but I wonder.
Anyways, we had a High River sleep over last night. The kids had a puppay partay all night and most of Sunday while the beautiful, ambitious gal and I had a study partay. Believe it or not we were surprisingly productive...for real!
Sheesh...this turned out longer than I had planneed! Its going to be a crazy, busy, long week...but I still wanted to squeeze this in:
#22 - 32 of a Thousand, Endless gifts
~ sun dogs
~ holy hell its cold socks
~ cattle liners
~ audio streaming
~ puppies
~ spooning with Mack Daddy
~ Neena asleep at my hip...as in touching me...on her own free will lol
~ pole position TWICE!
~ cutting grapefruit with a necropsy knife
~ open door policies
I think if you are not having fun then your dog isnt either. I also think it takes a while to find your groove at trialing. The dog needs to understand the routine and whats expected. Once they get that idea, things will go better. Congrats on your weekend.
ReplyDeleteYou and Neena have come a long way and each time it will get better and better.
ReplyDeleteI think you need to trial more, and do more things in a day. Waiting around is giving her time to worry.
Remember that she is sensitive and picks up on your moods really easily- stop worrying about what she might do and just have fun. Who cares if she runs around like a mad woman or misses a jump, or whatever- as long as you guys are having fun that is all that matters.
Maybe you need to run Kaleb. That'll lighten you up a bit. :)
Its a bit of a vicious cycle, we feed on each other! We are getting better at breaking that circle, but I agree with you both, we need more practise and things will continue to come together! I just need to find more time and money:).
ReplyDeleteYa ya I've been told I'm a 'little' uptight...I'm working on it!!! lol