Here, There, Everywhere

Yaaaawn.  One big yawn for a busy couple of days.

I suppose the first thing I should get to is the vet visit.  Well, to make a long story short, Marge's blood is on its way out to California tonight for some blood tests, most importantly a thyroid test.  As I found out, my vet does not ship blood out from his office, so I had to do it myself.  It was a very weird thing having three vials of dog blood in my refrigerator all day..

Other than that, my vet honestly didn't have much to say.  I was about to go back to May and recap everything to him, but he stopped me and outright told me that he's not the person I need to be speaking to about these things of things.  Though I appreciated his honesty, that is NOT what I wanted to hear.  He later revoked this statement to some degree, saying that Marge is still leaps and bounds from where she was when I got her last summer and urging me to not make a mountain out of a molehill.  He DID say that her noise phobias do bother him, though, and gave me the numbers for three specialty hospitals where I might find a board-certified veterinary behaviorist.  He threw out the words "amitriptyline" and "clomipramine" as two drugs we could possibly try through his own practice before I go that admittedly tough and expensive route.  

I'm not going to think too much about it right now. We'll wait for the blood work and then make our next move.  Though my gut feeling says no, it's always possible she could show up with a wonky thyroid.  I've been amping up the clicking and treating on walks rather than simply avoiding the problem by walking Marge at dead times, and it seems to be helping.  She had a treat-free romp in a decently busy field today with no problem whatsoever, and I have started walking her at night again too.  

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The next order of business actually might deserve its own blog post, but I can't wait to spill the news...

I took a ride out to New Jersey to watch an AKC trial, where an upcoming NADAC trial will take place.  (Thanks so much for taking me out there, Louie.)  Though the name "East Freehold Showgrounds" sounded daunting to me (it's big enough for a horse show) and I was expecting to be let down, the place actually seems like somewhere that Marge would absolutely love.  Very quiet, a decent amount of fencing (the rings will be fenced with snow fencing, as usual), lots of trees and greenery to sniff, and it promises to be a small trial because there's an AKC one (and a Golden Retriever Specialty) that same weekend.

Of course, nothing is set in stone yet, but we may be debuting quite soon in the agility ring.  It may seem weird that I'm considering this based on our setbacks lately, but I honestly cannot convey just how different Marge is on the field (or even at a trial).  As long as I think she can handle it from a mental point of view, even if she knocks every bar and visits every ring steward.. as long as I think she can have a good time, we will go.  I've got five weeks to get it all together.  

I bought the super cool martingale leash in the picture above from Shadow-Max, a vendor who was there.  I have been looking for zebra stripes for a while now.. I like the way it looks on a black coat.  The price was too good to pass up, so the deal was done.  I like it so far!  Marge seems to get excited by it, too, but I'm sure it's just because she think she's going for a walk when she sees it. The woman was very nice and said I could mail it back for a new one if it didn't fit.

In other purchases, I bought a soft-sided, 42"(l) X 30"(w) X 37" (h) crate for Marge tonight.  Whether we trial next month or not, I think it'll really help if I get her used to staying in a crate.  We planned on doing this in the beginning, but, since I was a new dog owner, I kind of wriggled my way out of it thinking I was doing Marge a favor.  When it comes, I'll start by clicking and treating for her investigating the crate, work my way up into feeding her in it, then have her stay in it with the door open, giving her kongs in it, etc.  I expect it to take a good amount of time for her to be able to stay in it, but I think it's a good option to have, especially if we have any incompatible visitors to our house.

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In non dog-related news, I ask that you please keep my grandmother in your thoughts.  Though I am admittedly closer with my mom's mother, my dad's mom has been sick in the hospital and the news isn't so good.  I'm not quite sure where they're at right now, but I know the whole thing is a very much unneeded stressor to my family, especially my dad.  As a person with a problem-solving personality, it bothers me that there is little to nothing that they can do for her.. but, I know the reality is that she is ninety years old and her body just cannot take any more surgeries or treatments.

Along with this, though I don't think I mentioned it on the blog, my mom's car was hit a couple of weeks ago while she was parked (and in it) after two cars collided with each other and came smashing into hers.  She is REALLY lucky to have escaped unscathed.  Though the incident did lead to a nasty dispute with the insurance companies, my parents now have whatever (little/unfair) compensation they received for the totaled minivan and are looking to buy another car.  Since the dealers just cleared out their lots with the Cash for Clunkers program, the prices aren't looking so good.  It's times like these where I think to myself about how happy I am to still be nineteen.. I've got a couple more years of fully avoiding those full-blown adult problems.

I hope all of you in the blogosphere are doing well.. several of you seemed to have disappeared to some degree!  I've finally gotten myself back into the swing of reading the blogs again, so I hope to hear from you all soon.