Sunshine and Clouds
So, the whole week has gone by and I still haven't found the energy to catch back up with blogging. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I've been neglectful! You see, I'm back to a five-day schedule at college, after a winter of sleeping in every single day (and before that, a three-day schedule). I need to wake up before 8 more days than not, and I still haven't gotten accustomed to it. I've taken naps both yesterday and today.. and I NEVER nap.
The weekend's looking pretty busy too. I'm probably going for agility run-thrus on Saturday morning at the same place I went to last month, so long as I don't manage to catch a cold in the coming days (I feel the warning signs, but have felt this way for about a week). I really wanted to take it easy on Saturday, but practicing in a full-size ring is a luxury I don't have very often right now; with the April trial fast approaching (we got our confirmation today!), I consider it pretty important. Then, Sunday, we're doing some Rally training with our Westie friend again, and Monday, I have ring time at the hall in between classes. Hopefully, after this, things will slow down for a while.
Marge and I haven't been doing much. It's still nearly impossible to walk in the field, so we're severely limited as to when/where we could go out. A bright spot occurred today when we walked on the main road and Marge felt fine, despite the people that were around. A man walking by accidentally brushed Marge's tail with his leg, and what do you know.. she glanced at him and then IMMEDIATELY made eye contact with me. That is exactly what I want. I was even more ecstatic because the man was wearing a hat and sunglasses - two things that are sometimes very scary to her. More and more, she is looking to me for guidance rather than handling the situation by herself.
(We also walked around the block tonight. Uneventful, as a stray cat basically led the way, which put Marge into tunnel vision mode so that she noticed nothing else around her. Convenient, I suppose.)
Bear with me a little longer. I have super cute pictures of Marge watching her favorite breeds at Westminster, but am too tired to go through the whole shebang of transferring and uploading them now. Stay tuned for that soon.
24 comments:
I'm really glad you got into the Freehold trial. I'm hoping that I'm able to go and watch.
Layla liked watching Westminster too. The Field Spaniel that was in the Sporting group is in one of her agility classes, and the Belgian Malinois is owned by our show handling instructor, and was shown by a junior handler that's in our show handling class. They didn't do anything in the group, but it was cool to see them on TV.
wow, all your counter conditioning must be really paying off with a guy with so many triggers and Marge automatically looking at you, wow, how HUGE is that? I hope that cold never materializes...and you have a great training weekend, it sounds like some great opportunities.
How khool was that?
Woo go Marge!
Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
PeeEssWoo: Don't worry about 'us' here - it is way more important fur WOO to get your routine worked out!
The April 17th/18th trial is the JAG one at an airpark, but it's not like a commercial airport. It's where they have our county off leash dog park and the county fair. The planes that they have are usually the little single-seater ones. I can't remember actually ever seeing one take off or land, but I guess it's still in use since they still are in business.
That whole tail brushing, look at momma is HUGE! Worth all your hard work. She is looking to you to tell her when things are scary or not. You get yourself plenty of rest and don't worry about blog land.
Mango Momma
Yay Marge...looking at mom!!!! That's awesome!
WhooHoo for Marge! And you of course. lol Diana
So glad to hear that your hard work is paying off. What a great feeling. take care of yourself and don't get sick!
YOU ROCK !! I'm just sayin'.
Great, you're starting to see your hard work pay off. If Marge didn't freak at a man in a hat and glasses, you 've come a long way.
Whoo hoo! Way to go Marge and Marge's Mom!! You guys are soooo awesome and a great team!!
One of your favorite breeds your watched was the GSD right?!?! RIGHT?!?!?! :)
We can't wait to see the pix of Marge watching Westminster!
We eat breakfast at 0600 here at Ao4 HQs, so we get mom and dad up by 0500, if not earlier. Ha roo roo roo!
Play bows,
Zim
Ugh, changing schedules is always rough. I hope you're able to wade through it and not get sick.
It's so good to hear Marge is beginning to look to you more for guidance. What a reward to see all that hard work paying off.
A hat AND sunglasses? What a great success!
I am slowly learning to make an eye contact with my Mum when I encounter a situation that I am not sure how to handle, such as meeting a strange dog on the street. In a walk this morning, I met so many dogs, but I didn't make a single bark, which made my Mum so happy!!
Sure you are having a busy schedule now!
It takes time... but you will get used to it! Good luck!
Have a nice weekend with Marge
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza
Any chance you can hire that stray for daily walks? Good diversion. :)
Hope you et some rest this weekend!!
Woofs and Kisses!
Our Lucy enjoyed watching the dog show as well. Amazing how it hold their interest, isn't it?
Our momma got sads when she read about the stray cat...sigh. Second time this evening that she has read about stray animals and for someone who does rescue it always makes her teary-eyed. We keep telling her that she can't save them all - but she still feels bad. We think that we will cuddle with her extra lots tonight and maybe a few licks on the lips, too☺ (Don't tell her that we might have nibbled a poop-sicle☺
Sorry you haven't had any good places to walk.. We sure can't wait for pictures... hint hint...
Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie
I'm having trouble keeping up with blogs, too, and I missed this one totally.
Based on our 'conversation', I've been working on what you call a formal retrieve with R. He has to go get a dumbell or any other odd object and deliver it to my hand (my version). We had some funny issues, as you'll see when I post the video. But, I'm wondering what a real formal retrieve is? Can you tell me? kynabear5(at)gmail(dot)com.
It is amazing to see genetics at work. This came so naturally to him that it was mind-boggling. Now, we're moving onto objects that he doesn't like picking up, like pill bottles, keys, etc.
We love that Marge is looking to you for reassurance!
We know from your earlier posts that there was a time where she would have been quite freaked by that casual encounter!
She is doing great with your help. The relationship between you is evident.
Don't worry about keeping up with the blogs - we have given up!
It is supposed to be fun - we all do what we can to keep up but everyone understands that life gets in the way.
Have a great week.
love
Martha & Bailey xxx
You guys need some well needed rest! Please don't overdue and don't worry about all of us. We'll always be here to cheer you on.
Luv,
Riley and Star.
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