Only Tatum and Jet went. I’m still not taking Levi. I don’t know, his park days may be over… we’ll see. But every day he seems a little bit worse. His poor old body just can’t repair itself anymore. Makes me very, very sad.

Tatum

Tatum and Jet

Blue Skies

Tatum and Jet

Playing

Why not take Muffit or Chase? Well, Chase isn’t dog friendly at all. He’s actually pretty dog aggressive. And Muffit goes hiking with my husband so much, that I don’t take him out myself. He’s my husband’s hiking companion.

Playing in the Snow

Dang, that’s a lot to be unsure about. LOL. I go back and forth from day to day thinking he’ll get it, to he won’t get it. I guess going in the ring is the test. It’ll be kinda fun, I think. And why the heck not.

I’m putting Jet in Beginner Novice. Which is all on leash, so I think he’ll be okay. Though I still think he’ll get nervous and I don’t know what to really do about that. I’ve been working on keeping him happy and playing games, but the ring… well, we have an ASCA obedience trial in Feb and I can get him in Rent A Ring again, so hopefully that’ll help. It’s at the same time as agility so that’ll be interesting to see how he does.

So anyway, that’s the plan for March obedience wise. I hope I can relax when I go. Maybe I need to look up the best ebook reader so I can sit and read in between. I love to read, it really does help me relax.

I registered up Jet, Tatum and Chase with Cyber Rally-O, you can check out their website: Cyber Rally-O Website. And they also have a Yahoo Group that I’ve joined, though I’ve gone Digest because I don’t keep up well with email lists.

The above video is Jet’s first Q. Woot! Three Qs for a title. I’ll need to pick some other courses and get them done, too. There are a couple of indoor training places here that I can rent and set them up. Nutshell: you set up the course and video and submit the entry. They tell you if you Q or not.

Some people may poo-poo it, saying well you can use treats and practice as much as you want before hand. But really, so what? I’ve always wanted do overs. And you still have to train everything first anyway. The dogs have to know how to heel and do all the exercises. You can’t lure them through with treats (that’s an NQ). And yes you can treat in stationary exercises. And if you have a reactive or shy dog that doesn’t do well at trials, this is awesome. Like I said, you still have to train for it, so I think it’s pretty cool.

Jet and Tatum

I’ve been taking it easy the last weeks, which is nice, no dog sports. Well, I did do some Cyber Rally-O with Jet that was pretty fun. I’ll have to post about that next time. Otherwise, I’ve been spending time with family and friends and taking the dogs to the park, going on some walks, and taking it easy. Been really nice. I wish I could have more time like this to just live. Oh I’ve been working, too, but that goes without saying. And in only another week, I’ll be able to say “I can retire next year…” oh that’ll be nice. I can retire in 2013, so I’m looking forward to that!

I haven’t been taking Levi to the park, though, just Jet and Tatum. I miss taking Levi. He still isn’t back to normal quite yet. I’ve been taking him on walks around the block, a mile or so, to work him back up to the park. But I think maybe next weekend he’ll be coming with again. His back still hurts. Maybe he needs a discectomy to help his back, but maybe not. He’s been getting a little better every day. And he’s being rather obnoxious at home which is a sign the’s feeling good. So that’s a good thing. I am realizing approaching EOL, which we say with software… (End Of Life), but as long as he’s happy and doing well, I’m happy with him too. He’s not going to keel over dead tomorrow or anything.

January will bring another agility trial. Maybe Jet and I can pick up another Double Q. We haven’t done agility in a couple months, now, but that’s okay. I think we will both remember how.

Jet Flyball

I’m not a big seminar person. I don’t like them much… sitting around listening to different types of training that I may never actually do. But when Jet was having a bad weekend last June, I kinda panicked, and signed up for this seminar. After that trial, he started doing really well and now I’m not sure I’ll really get much out of it. And it’s supposed to snow tomorrow, and be cold, and it’s a 45 minute drive. UGH. I hope Jet’s not too cold, I’ll bring his coats and warm bed for his crate, but still I’ll worry. I don’t think I’ll be wearing yellow box sandals this weekend, I’m going to have 20 layers of clothes on!

So, if I have time, I’ll post about the seminar this weekend. Or next week, or whenever I can.

This video is from practice last week. A team mate was running Chase, as we wanted to make sure the dogs had recent experience running beside another team.

The boys really do love it. Though it takes a lot of time for me to do flyball, so I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to continue with it next year. Especially since Jet is doing so well in agility, and I’ll probably be focusing on him and getting a MACH. That’s my life goal, get a MACH on a dog. Hopefully he’ll be the one!

Oh, and Levi is doing lots better, yay! He’s recovered from his latest fall and he’s walking fine, jumping off and on the bed. Hopefully he’s not going to die anytime soon.. dang I still worry.

Jet's Ribbons This Weekend

Today he Qualified in Time 2 Beat in the morning, took first place and got us 10 more points for the T2B title. So far he has 5 Qs and 42 points. He needs 15 Qs and 100 points for his T2B title, so we’ll keep doing that for fun. I am not doing FAST with him since I haven’t trained distance on him.

This morning we got our Standard Q in a really nice run. The judge is Dan Butcher and his courses are actually pretty hard. Yesterday they were super hard, today they were not quiet as hard but still difficult. Lots of off course traps, lots of turns and side changes. Jet got 15 Speed Points in Standard this morning, which I think is the most he’s ever gotten in one run.

His JWW run was good too, he took first place and got 9 speed points. Wow, how cool is this, actually tracking QQs and speed points! First time in my life, after 8 years of agility. I’m still thrilled and grateful every day that Jet, my little Danish-Swedish Farmdog, is doing so well at agility!

So this puts him up to Three Double Qs and 70 speed points towards his MACH. At this rate, maybe we could have a MACH by the end of next year… dang! How weird would that be!

I use this free software, Agility Record Book, to track his runs. So far he has an 85% Q rate in JWW in Excellent B. And a 50% Q rate in Standard in Excellent B. Not too shabby. The software keeps track of all his points and QQs and Qs and percentages. It’s really nice!

Yesterday it was cold and rainy… originally they were going to have the trial outdoors, but moved it indoors because of the weather. I’m so glad! I would have needed some nice heated gloves if we ran outside. Today wasn’t too bad, sunny and warmish, but still I’m glad we were indoors. Don’t have to set up a tent, or worry about weather, or mess around in the cold.

So I’m thrilled at how well Jet is doing. We don’t have another AKC agility trial until January, which is a bummer. We have an ASCA trial the end of this month, though, which should be fun.

My Family

So when a dog does, a part of me dies. Even though at the same time a part of the dog lives on inside of me. Still, I feel empty and hollow and I don’t know how to deal with it. Since I don’t really have an after-life belief system, either, I’m not sure where they go, though I do have my ideas.

Anyway, where I’m going with this is that all my life I’ve really avoided getting close to people. I’ve had trust issues with people. Haven’t really trusted those who were trustworthy in the past, instead I’ve trusted those who were not trustworthy. Though I think that I’ve changed in that regard now, it’s still hard for me to get close to fellow humans. It’s always been easier for me to get close to dogs. And so the main support network I have in my life is that of my very short-lived dogs.

And so when they leave me, I’m pretty crushed. Though now I’m at a place in my life where I can finally trust people more, get close to people more, which is a good thing. And most of my life I’ve really denied the thought that I need people, and dogs, to rely on as close friends and family.

And I’m so worried about Levi. He’ll be 12 in just about a month. And sometimes I think that my entire world of sanity is balanced on his life. Which is way too much to ask any creature to endure, I know. Even though he gets extra attention now, which he really loves.

So I guess where I’m getting to with this is that today I had some sore of revelation. That it’s natural to love these creatures in our lives. And it’s so sad when they have to leave us. It’s just a natural part of life and it’s okay to love completely. I’ve avoided loving completely, because it means that when the object of your love is gone, then live is just about over and being crushed and miserable sets in. But it’s okay to have both, isn’t it? To love completely and still go on living. It’s natural and normal. Guess it took me a long time to realize this. But I have always loved my dogs completely, without reservation, unconditionally, just as they love me. They are so much easier than humans. So very much easier to love and live with.

I’ve been sick the last few days and feeling pretty rotten. I know it’s a combination of having too many losses, stress, catching some nasty cold, and also this underlying virus that I think I carry with me all the time. It all adds up, dangit. But today, or at least right now, I can look at our little graveyard of ashes in our cabinet that I have set up, and find a little bit more peace. At least for a while.

So I have to get back to the normal aspects of life. Missing those I’ve lost. Settling into a new life with the ones who are still alive. Maybe I’m a nut, I dunno. Maybe I just need a Steripen Adventurer Opti water filter to keep myself healthy… oh, and I joined Weight Watchers, to drop these awful pounds I’ve put on in the last couple of years. Still gotta take care of myself, eat healthy, and love completely the family I have with me still. And try to come to realize it’s okay to love completely, as well as lose completely. And still be okay.