Mercy!

Last week took me places that I had no idea I’d be going!

Tuesday I left work a bit early and went to Juli and Dan’s wedding.  There were tornadoes in some places and down pouring rain in other places.  It had been raining off and on all day.  But the rain stopped long enough for them to do pictures and do the wedding ceremony.  The wedding was held in Minneapolis at the Rose Garden.  It was very pretty there.  Juli and Dan seem very happy.

 

I was intregued by this really neat turtle fountain at the Rose Garden.  I have lived her my whole life and I did not know that such a place as the Rose Garden and the other gardens around Lake Harriet even existed.

 

So, Wednesday.  Wednesday on my way home I wasn’t feeling so good.  I started having abdomen cramps about 5pm.  I was in a rush to get the dogs pottied and loaded up to get to obedience class on time.  I figured the cramps were due to the large amount of fruit that I ate for lunch and I figured it would pass by the time I did the hour drive to class.  I was getting off 35W at my exit to Forest Lake and the pain was getting worse so I decided to head back home.  I called my mom and the tears started flowing.  I had been in a lot of pain for awhile and I was starting to get scared that something was wrong.  Mom suggested that I go to urgent care so I did.  They made me wait an hour to get in. Then it was 8pm.  They closed at 9pm.  The ran blood tests and gave me some GI Cocktail thing to drink and did a UA.  The cocktail did not work and all of the tests came back just fine.  Since they were closing they said I could go to the ER or get a prescription for Vidodine and go home and then see my doctor tomorrow.  I opted for the Vicodine route as I did not want to go sit in another clinic for 2 hours for nothing.  Karl arrived just as I was leaving and we drove home together.  I also remembered that I had Vicodine in my bag from the CPE Nationals – just in case.  So I took some right away.   They said to take 1-2 pills every 6 hours.  I took 2.  It helped for 3 hours as I was able to doze off but then I’d wake up again.  Finally at midnight the pain was getting so bad that I got up and put my shoes on and went downstairs to announce to Karl that I needed to go to the ER.  So he drove me to Mercy.  They got us in pretty fast.  The nurse saw us fairly quickly.  As he was leaving I asked him for some pain meds.  He said the doctor would be in “in a few minutes”.  There is no such thing in a hospital.  Time has a new meaning.  I got physically ill from the pain while I was waiting for the doctor and I was dry heaving.  I don’t remember the order of events but they had me drink some stuff in Gatorade.  Then 30 minutes later I had to drink some more stuff.  Then they did a CT.  Then I had something in my stomach to throw up so it didn’t hurt as bad.  On the CT they only found that my small intestine was inflamed.  So they figured I had a virus in there.  They also found a spot on my liver.  They did an ultrasound the next day on the liver and my other organs and it was all good.  Just some blood cells.  Once they started giving me drugs I was able to fall asleep finally.  I was exhausted.  They had decided to check me into the hospital but were waiting for a room to open up.  I woke up at 8am and told Karl to go home.  Karl went home and took care of the dogs and was able to get a few hours of sleep.  About 1pm they moved me to a room.  It had a window and was more spacious than the ER room which was refreshing.  I slept alot.  Karl came to visit me about 5pm.  Dad and Dianna came about 8pm.  They all left around 9pm as that is when visiting hours ended.  I had started to eat a little bit Thursday night.  The doctor figured it was safer to keep me overnight just in case and I could go home Friday morning.  Friday morning there was some miscommunication so I was actually there until 3pm.  I was starting to go a bit stir crazy by then!  I figured that was a good sign.  When Karl came to pick me up, he brought Copper along with him.  The dogs were happy to see me but no happier than if I had been at work.  That shows how comfortable they are with Karl.  I guess Copper did look for me a bit out the window.  And Thursday night when Karl put Letty in her bedroom kennel she looked on the bed for me in case I was hiding under the covers.  Karl did great!  He took care of me and the dogs and the house.  I can’t imagine how hard it was for him to see me in so much pain and not be able to do anything about it.  It was so nice knowing that he would take care of everything and I just had to worry about getting better.

Unfortunately, Thursday night the dogs missed agility class again.  😦  They also missed obedience class Wednesday night.  😦

Friday night we attended the MMBC club meeting.  It was pretty laid back and short.  I presented summaries on the March CPE trial and the CPE Nationals.

Saturday we slept in til 9am!  Then we went out to breakfast as I was craving French Toast and bacon.  Later we went to Juli and Dan’s wedding reception at their house.  It was nice and relaxed.  We stayed for about 2 hours then headed home.  We were able to stop at Eagle Brook and attend the 6:05pm service on the way home too.  As the day wore on and things were moving along in my body, I started feeling worse.  We stayed home the rest of the night and I went to bed really early.  I slept 10 hours!

Sunday we got up a little early.  Karl went with to training so he could post Letty for me.  We brought her, Vada, Narc and Copper just to get them out of the house.  Karl did a great job!  You couldn’t even tell it was his first time.  Letty did well.  She was a bit jacked up since she hadn’t been worked in awhile.  She gets exhausted really fast since she puts so much into it.  I think she just needs more conditioning.  Really, all the dogs need more conditioning.  I had decided to drop Seven’s agility class after this block is up.  I will keep the 6:30pm Masters handling slot and alternate Seven one week and Vada the other.  They trial more in the summer and they need more conditioning so I thought a week off would be good.  Plus, Tracy planted that seed about mats and it’s always in the back of my mind.  Really, I should be working them at home in the yard on our equipment more anyways.  Anyways, we had a nice relaxing day chatting at training and watching all the dogs make progress.

Sunday afternoon/evening we went to Nancy’s wedding.  I have never been to a wedding where the wedding and reception were in 1 room.  It was really neat.  Very elegant.  It was nice to see Nancy sooooo happy.  That was a pretty relaxing evening too.

Today is Vada’s 8th birthday!  Where does the time go?  She is such an awesome dog!  I hope that I am doing right by her.

I have no idea what is on the agenda for tonight.  A doctor’s appointment on the way home but that’s all I know for certain.  Leslie can’t come to train tonight and next Monday is the 4th and the following is the Denise Fenzi seminar so that brings us to the 19th.  Maybe our contacts will be done by then.  🙂

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Another Injury and Another AKC Trial

On Thursday Vada went back to class and did well.  The courses weren’t too twisty turny which was nice.  Seven made it about halfway through class.  We were starting our 3rd sequence and I was getting him ready by tugging.  He went to jump up to bite the tug and yelped and turned at his back side like he got stung.  Then he backed away from me like I was the one who hurt him.  I ended up catching him and then he was holding up his right rear leg.  I walked him out and he was walking fine.  But he was hesitant to stretch up to take treats or get the toy.  I did take him to the area where he felt the pain and tugged low with him to make sure that he didn’t have a bad association with that area or the tug (which is a strong possibility with him).  His tail stayed limp though.  Dr. Heather was able to get him in the next day!  Turns out he was out all down his right side (same as Vada!) from his breastbone to his sacrum.  His sacrum was out further back which is why it was effecting his tail (and Vada’s hip area).  So he got an adjustment, Metacam for 4 days, some Heel spaz pills and a doctor’s note to not play agility at the AKC trial.  His tail was still limp after the adjustment but you could tell by his whole attitude and body that he was feeling alot better.

After Seven’s adjustment I took the gang to Terry’s house for a private agility lesson.  I was rather disappointed with how Letty did.  It’s not like we’re working on anything major or new.  😦  She did make progress in some areas.  We started with doing start line stays and recalls from them.  Cooee and Letty were out at the same time.  We were across the yard from each other doing recalls and both girls were focused on their handlers.  Then we did them closer but one at a time while the other just fed their dog for sitting.  They did great at that!  Then we moved on to doing a bend grid.  I should have put Letty away in her crate especially since it was warm and humid out.  Instead I thought I’d work on having her relax while another dog was working.  I kneeled on her leash with both knees and fed her for lying down and not reacting.  She did well until Cooee did the straight line of jumps.  Kristin threw her toy to the end.  As soon as she said “break” Letty took off.  The leash pulled out from under my knees and I was not able to grab it quickly enough.  She beat Cooee to the toy and ran around with her prize and Cooee chasing her.  She was in heaven.  Eventually I was able to grab her.  Cooee did a few more and then it was Letty’s turn.  I got major poopy attitude.  I think another contributing factor was that she wasn’t sure what to do nor was I.  We should have broken it down more so she could be more successful.  She eventually quit trying and just laid down.  So she got put up.  Then we introduced her to the chute!  Cooee went first so Letty could take a break.  Cooee is in classes so she has already been doing the chute and she did well.  Letty has never seen it.  We did shape her going through the barrel part in Kristin’s class months ago but that was it.  Terry held up the cloth 2 or 3 times and then left it down.  She had absolutely no problem with it.  So we started adding distance (that she was setup from the chute and that I lead out) and a table.  I got a nice list of homework to work on for when we meet again in 2.5 weeks.

Saturday morning Seven was very angry to be left home.  He was wiggling his butt and tail to show me he thought he could run.  But I left him home.  Doctor’s orders!  The new site that this show was held at wasn’t too bad.  It was only about a 45-50 minute drive which was nice.  The ground where I setup my tent was kind of rocky.  But the rings seemed fine.  Some people did not like them but I didn’t have any issues.  We were not able to park around the rings which was a bummer but not the end of the world.  Tenting was tight.  I got a front row tenting spot.  Copper and Letty were mostly really good all weekend.  Sunday I didn’t even cover anyone’s crates.  Vada was entered in Open Standard and JWW and Novice FAST both days.  Friday she Q’d in FAST.  We would have had the full 80 points but she came off the side of the aframe and lost those 10 points.  We had a few minor issues in Standard and JWW.  One was just the top bar of the triple dropped as I deceled at it to set the diagonal for the rear cross.  I got home early enough that Karl and I could go out to El Azteca for some dinner and margaritas.

Sunday Vada Q’d in JWW.  She did have a refusal as it was a double to a 90 degree turn to the weaves and she went wide.  No bars though!  Our Standard run was ugly.  She came off the side of the dogwalk and then I was out of position (and mad at her) and the rest of the run was kind of a cluster.  We regrouped on the table and the ending was a bit better.  We rocked in FAST again.  She would have had 79 points but there was a miscommunication between the judge and scribe.  They gave me the 5 points (in the Bonus) that they missed but he would not give me the 9 points for the tire as he could not remember for sure if we had actually taken it.  😦  But it’s still a Q.  So she ended up going 3/6 for the weekend.  We just can NOT get that last Open Standard Q but now we keep getting the JWW Qs.  Very odd!  Since the walk was a bit and I was tired of lugging metal crates, I dug out my Cabana crates.  They are extra large.  Vada had room to stretch out.  It was really nice.  I think it’s easier on their bodies.  I need to remember to bring them more often.  I got done with the show about 3pm and went home and weeded the garden to try to save the bushes I planted last year.  It’s a HUGE project and I made a tiny dent.

Sunday was also Narc’s 8th birthday!

Saturday and Sunday I worked Letty.  I worked her on SLS/Recalls and Focus Forward at the show site.  And on the bend grids at home each evening.  She is loving the training time and is starting to demand more.  I love it.

Monday night after work I took Letty tracking.  We have not tracked in almost 4 weeks and the last time didn’t go so well.  I went to Twin Lakes and laid a serpentine track from one soccer post to almost the other.  I had cut up some Natural Balance to use as bait.  I let it age almost an hour.  She was brilliant!  I think she may have missed 4 pieces of food on the entire track.  Some places were plush and deep and she had a nice deep nose to find the bait.  I put an article at the end to introduce her to articles too.  I wanted to swim the dogs but teenagers seem to have taken over all parts of the park including the boat launch.  😦  So I went home and let the dogs hang out with me outside while I cleaned out the van.  Letty has gotten so good.  She just kept bringing me a frisbee thing to throw.  She goes in the house and loads up in the van so nicely now.

Tonight I am going to my friend Juli’s wedding.  It’s being held at the Rose Gardens in Minneapolis.  I’m hoping the rain stays away so they can have a beautiful wedding.

CPE Nationals and Letty’s Birthday

I got 2 days away from the Washington County Fairgrounds.  I was back on Wednesday to help setup for the CPE Nationals.  First I had to meet Denise at the storage locker in Prior Lake to help her hook up the MMBC trailer so we could take some equipment/supplies to the fairgrounds.  We unloaded the equipment and parked the trailer for the weekend.  Then Denise went to her real work and I went to work on setup.  First we had to setup the ring parameters.  We put posts in every 10′ alternating those fiberglass posts and the big green fence posts.  2 guys worked on the green posts with pole pounders.  I worked on the white posts.  The ground was so hard that I had to use a hammer!  We setup 5 ring that were either 100 x 100 or 110 x 110.  Then some others put up twine and snow fencing.  Then I headed out to go to Woodbury to train with Warren’s group so Letty could do some bitework.

Thursday I was back at the fairgrounds.  Not as early as some but it had been a late night.  They were not going to setup tents Wednesday night but they ended up doing so.  It all looked so nice.  I helped set bars in the fun match and I ran Seven in it to get him on the equipment.  He was thinking it was a trial.  I was thinking it was training and I even had a tug and plans to reward weaves and contacts.  In class (which is where my mindset was) he nails his contacts often.  In trials he does not.  So he did not nail his contacts since he thought it was a trial.  Big glaring eye opener for me!  He figured it out by the end of our 2 minutes though and it carried over to nice contacts all weekend.  I hung around and helped with anything that anyone needed help with.  It was fun to see the people from out of town starting to show up.  My friend from Omaha, Melissa, commented that it was like a big agility festival and that summed it up well.   After setup I headed to On the Run for Seven’s agility class.  I ran him in Vada’s class so that I could go home early.

Karl and I went shopping at Walmart since he was in charge of the worker volunteer food for the weekend but I’m not sure which night it was.

Friday the competition started.  We ran Standard, Wildcard then FullHouse.  I was a bit concerned about Vada as her gait was off and she was holding her right leg under her.  She was doing this Thursday night too.  So I had Kristin massage her.  That made a huge difference and she looked normal again.  She had a good day – she Q’d in Standard and FullHouse with a 1st in FullHouse.  I totally screwed up her WildCard run and sent her offcourse.  I changed my handling after I ran Seven and it was a mistake.  I hadn’t walked it that way so I didn’t realize that there would be a jump in my way where I needed to turn her.  Oh well.  Seven Q’d in all 3 of his runs.  He placed 2nd in Standard.  Friday night I stopped at On the Run on the way home as I had Seven entered in the USDAA match that they were holding in order to become approved as a USDAA club.  I missed our Jumpers run but we got to play Snooker and Standard.  Here is our stall.

Saturday we ran Jumpers, Jackpot and then Standard.  The Jumpers course was pretty tight at the beginning and then opened up.  Vada bumped an upright and one side of the bar fell from the 24″ cup to the 22″ cup.  It was called as a dropped bar.  She still got a Q and a 4th place in that run.   Seven ran it well and Qd.  The Jackpot was a tough one.  Some people do goofy things and pull their dogs across the line and run around and then resend their dogs.  I try to handle it in the spirit of Gamblers and in flow.  But my dogs would not even send out to the 2nd jump in the gamble.  It was tight area to send then and I had messed up with Vada’s handling so we were having issues.  Neither of them Qd.  The % of dogs that Qd in that Jackpot run was pretty small though.  Under 20%.   We also don’t practice any distance skills.  I decel and they come in.  So it wasn’t a surprise.  Standard was our last run of the day.  Both dogs Qd in that class and Seven got 2nd place again.  Vada stayed nice and sound all day!

Sunday I felt like I had alot to do.  I got Vada massaged first thing before any of her runs to keep her feeling good.  I put in my worker tickets.  The worker raffle was huge!  Almost 200 things.  Karl didn’t have time so I did his too.  I put in for beer and coffee items for him.  I did end up winning a crate bed.  I also wanted to have a portrait taken of Seven and Vada for a memento.  It was a bit of work to get them posed as neither one wanted to touch the other.  We ended up redoing them in a different pose since there wasn’t a line and they stayed well once we got them posed.  I think it turned out well.  They had their heads tilted a bit too – super cute.  I can’t wait to get them in the mail.  I also had her take a picture of Letty since it was her 1st birthday.  That was a bit more challenging and I see that I need to work on proofing her sit more.  But we got a good picture.  I always think she looks like a different dog in pics then what I see in day to day life.  There was a lady selling girlie panties too.  She measured Letty, much to Letty’s horror, and will email me when she has more information about her product on her website.  She had some cute fabric designs.  Our order of classes for Sunday was Snooker, Standard then Colors.  I was super tired and not very awake.  I totally messed up Vada’s run.  I did 1 then 7 then totally got lost and couldn’t remember which red to send her to.  Then I ended up sending her off course.  Stupid!  It was such an easy Snooker to get 51 on.  😦  But when I ran Seven I made up for that.  He was kind of pokey but he got 51.  I think he hadn’t woken up yet either.  Neither dog Qd in Standard.  It was a nice course.  Both had gorgeous runs.  Both were very drivey and they tried hard.  Vada had 2 bars down and Seven did a weird thing and hopped off the teeter as if he hadn’t just come on a straight line to the teeter.  Then we ran Colors.  Vada had a bar or two down.  But Seven had a very nice run and Qd.  Then we got to start the huge process of cleaning up and packing up.  It ended up being quite stressful and not much fun.  I was able to make it back to the awards for a bit but then had to go pack up my dogs and stuff in the stall as some 4H campers were taking over at 8pm.  The awards were nice and plentiful.  They did awards for 1st and 2nd overall in Standard for all jump heights and categories (Regular, Veteran, Enthusiast and Specialist) and then also placements for the Games.  Neither of my dogs won any plaques.  Each host club received a thank you card, a thank you plaque and a wingless jump with the club’s name on it and 2011 CPE Nationals.  There were also specific High xxx in Trial awards that people had donated.  Overall the event went very smoothly and we had lovely cool weather.

We ended the weekend with Seven having 7 Qs and Vada having 4 Qs out of the 9 runs.  Vada stayed sound all 3 days!  Dr. Heather had called me on Monday and told me to keep in mind that if Vada comes up lame again that we should x-ray her to make sure she doesn’t have spondylosis or something else going on with her spine.  So I was worried about that and very happy that she stayed sound.  The rosettes were gorgeous!  Teal for Qs, rainbow for Level C Qs and then the standard colors for placements.  They had people handing out the rosettes at a table.  It must have been the best job as they were always such happy people.

Sunday my puppy turned a year old!  I’m not sure how I feel about that.  I think she’s been pretty mature physically and mentally for quite some time.  I am really happy with alot of around the house behaviors that she’s learned.  I can’t stand her barking in the crate and x-pen but I know it comes from her environment and the craziness of the other dogs and just the general level of chaos in the house.  She started out quiet and hardly barked for many months.  I feel like I should be further along in her training too.  But it’s hard with some many other dogs to train.  And I’m not exactly sure what our smaller goals are and the paths to get there.  I don’t really have anyone to follow that’s not using corrections or luring.  I’m excited for the obedience seminar that we’re going to in a few weeks.  Hopefully we can get back into a routine now and start making progress.

Monday we stayed home.

On Tuesday Angeli and I were going to walk around Lake Nokomis with our youngsters to socialize them but then it poured for hours.  So instead I took Vada to On the Run and gave her a bath in the hopes of getting her to blow more coat.

Letty did well in her obedience class at Total Recall last night.  Much less freaking out.  I know it’s a very stressful environment for her but she worked though it and loosened up as the night went on.  I had really good treats too.  Seven did well in his class too.  He held his sits on the recalls well and his heeling is improving already.

Today is Prozac’s birthday.  She turned 10 years old today!

Between Big Shows

Last week I was able to take Seven and Vada to Jacque’s agility classes on Wednesday since I had to setup the rings for the USDAA trial on Thursday.  I had no idea how late I’d be at the trial site but that relieved me from worrying about leaving to get to class in time.  It was a very smart move.  I would NOT have made it to agility class on Thursday night.

Thursday morning I was able to get Copper and Vada in to see Dr. Heather.  Vada got a maintenance adjustment.  Thought it would be good since Letty is hard on her.  She was out in her chest and hip and back.  Nothing major.  Copper was a mess.  He is not kind to his body!  So he got adjusted and then we made him to acupuncture.  He’s such a baby but he got lots of cookies.  Then I stopped at the Blaine Soccer fields on the way home to track with Letty.  I did a serpentine track.  She did ok.  It seemed like it was really hard for her.  The grass was pretty short and beat up and I’m sure there is tons of smells on there.  Maybe a little too much for her at this point.  I went home for a bit to pack up what I would need in the van and then headed to Woodbury to meet Jodi to get the poles to setup the rings.  Then off to the Washington Count Fairgrounds to start mapping out the rings for the USDAA trial that I was the chair for.  I was the most stressed about this part of the job.  That and the morning briefings.  The truck with the equipment arrived on time and everything got setup very smoothly.

The trial was Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It was pretty warm out but we had a bit of rain and a bit of clouds and a bit of a breeze to keep us cool enough.  Vada and Seven both ran really well.  I was very proud of both of them.  I had alot of fun and I was happy to be trialing outdoors again.  I think my attitude helped our runs the most.  And being in Masters was alot of fun.  The courses were very challenging but I felt like I was finally able to use the skills that Tracy taught me.  Vada Q’d in both Gamblers runs over the weekend and earned her GM!  She earned her last Gamblers Q in August of 2009!  She also earned a Snooker Q.  We need SuperQs though.  But it was a step in the right direction.  We had a very nice Standard run with one little silly bobble.  We tried our best in Grand Prix and Jumpers – no Qs but we did well.  Seven earned a P2 Gamblers Q too.  I thought he’d never get one but he did.  He was really close on the other one but he was too late and went over the last jump just as the buzzer went off.  He had alot of really close to Qing runs.  Mostly I screwed up his runs.  He earned a P3 Jumpers and P3 Snooker Q.  And was super close on a 2nd Jumpers Q.  The trial ran very smoothly.  Although I’m still not recovered from it.  Here are some pics of the dogs from over the hot weekend.

Sunday something didn’t seem right with Vada before I ran her.  I couldn’t pin point it.  I ran her in Gamblers (she Qd!) but after the run she seemed even more off.  So I had Kristin look at her.  She couldn’t find anything in her muscles but she was able to get her to whine a few times.  She guessed it was her right hip.  I pulled her for the last 4 runs she was entered in.  I was bummed since we had been running so well together but I didn’t want anything bad to happen and have her get hurt worse.  Plus, by the time I took her out of her crate to walk her a short while later she was pretty miserable.  I was able to get a little bit of drugs for her to make her feel a little better til we got home.  We were able to get in to see Dr. Heather last night.  Her lower back was out and Dr. Heather thinks that maybe she pinched a nerve.  She adjusted her and did some aquapuncture and gave her a weeks worth of Metacam to keep any inflammation down.  Vada was already feeling alot better this morning.  I also pulled her from the fun match on Thursday, class Thursday night and the USDAA match on Friday evening.  Just flatwork, maybe some bounce grids and then the CPE runs.  We have an AKC trial next weekend and then 2 weekends off from dog shows.  And if she comes up lame at the Nationals then I pull her.  But we’ll give it a try.

No Schutzhund tonight since it’s 100 degrees out.  Plus roads are buckling and it’s already hard enough to get to the training field in rush hour traffic.

Tomorrow we start setting up for the CPE Nationals!  I’m taking Letty to train with Warren’s group tomorrow night too.

Hello June

Monday I watched the House season finale, which was crazy, then took Letty tracking at the usual spot.

Tuesday I worked late since I had been to the vet in the morning.  It worked out well.  I told my Schutzhund club that I would not be out since I had to work late.  When I left work I came out into the parking lot to find a flat tire.  I called AAA and they sent a tow truck.  The truck could not fit into the ramp.  Luckily the tire was a slow leak and he had a thing that could fill it with air.  That allowed me to drive it up to Tires Plus.  I forgot that I had purchased my tires from there so the repair was free!  And for both waits it was shorter than they said.  So not too bad for what could have been alot worse.

Our vet thought Narc’s bulla looked better.  But the radiologist did not.  He suggested a cat scan and a surgical consult.  Dr. Jina is going to look to see what other options we have.  I am leaning towards doing nothing.  So he can’t do bitework.  Big deal.  He can still tug.  He shows NO other signs and he’s happy.  I worry that it might cause problems down the road but I guess we just keep it in mind and deal with things if they come up.

Wednesday I went to obedience class.  I took Letty to the early class.  She was doing well til everyone started heeling.  That freaked her out.  Too much going on!  So I worked her away from the others and tried to keep her attention on me.  Then we did individual heeling.  She did great on that.  Then I worked her around the room on different things while the others heeling and worked on things.  She was alerting to a Newfy so I watched it and when it moved I fed her before she reacted.  She got better.  I quit class halfway through.  I figured that was enough for her and she had done very well.  Seven got to go into Nancy’s class.  I wasn’t sure if he was good enough for it but he did really well and surprised me.  I think we should have moved up and given ourselves a kick a long time ago.  Nancy gave me some advice for our forging too.  After class I worked Vada on Open and Utility exercises.  She was in heaven and did really well.

Thursday’s agility class went well with both dogs.  I brought Letty in after class and did a jump grid with her that was setup.  She even focused with another dog in the ring.  She did break once and run to the other person’s toy.

Friday we got the last of the AMBOR 2010 award trophies mailed out and the final 2010 MMBC award leash.  So glad to be done with those projects!

Saturday I went to Schutzhund training.  There were 4 club members and 2 visitors.  We just worked on obedience and chatted.  Narc did well.  We did lots of heeling and it was good again.  I worked Vada on some AKC exercises too.   Since there was so much sitting around and chatting I thought I’d get Letty out and do mat work with her.  It was very rusty.  She was good with the people til the male visitor sat down.  She started barking at him.  Then the female visitor was kicking her dumbbell and it looked like a sleeve/pillow so she pulled and barked to that.  She yanked the leash out of my hand and ran to the male visitor and stole his treat pouch!  We just let her run around off leash and she was good.  She even went up to 2 people and let them touch her.  Later I did obedience with her and she had really nice heeling – finally!  She was very focused on me.

Saturday evening we went to my friend Glenda’s open house.  I haven’t seen the house she bought a year ago so it was good we were able to go over there.  We had a fun time.

Sunday morning I got up early and took Copper, Vada, Letty and Seven on the 2 hour drive to Zumbro Falls for a CPE trial.  We ended up with a fairly nice day.  It was humid but cloudy and breezy.  It did rain but only for a short time and lightly.  Seven was on fire.  He Qd in all 5 runs!  Vada only Qd in 2 but I sent her off course in 1 and I totally ran the wrong course in the other one.  In Standard she dropped a bar and popped the weaves.  But really they both had really nice runs all day.  I was really tired but we pulled it out.  Seven was quite tired.  5 runs in 5.5 hours is very tiring.

Monday we slept in and then took Fringe and Letty to Lake Calhoun.  They both settled in nicely and did really well with all of the distractions.  Letty went into the lake deeper than she has before.   She loved it.  I think she is ready to learn to swim.  On the way home we stopped at Half Price Books.  It was Memorial Day so we had the day off.  I got sick from being out in the heat and humidity.  I was going to go tracking but figured it was better to just stay inside.

Last night I took Letty tracking.  Same place.  I need to find another place or two that is not an athletic field as the kids are using all of them all the time.  We did a big circle track and I used cut up sausage things.  It was super windy out.  She almost pulled me over dragging me to the track.  She went around the circle at least 4 times.  Nice deep nose and slow.  Got home and gave the dogs bones and started watching a cute movie called First Dog.  It was nice and peaceful (mostly – when Copper wasn’t whining).

Sally seems to be going downhill.  We forgot to give her the pain med last night and was in pretty rough shape this morning.  Sadly that is where her body is at without pain meds.  She seems to get stuck and fall down more often.  Maybe she just needs her nails and foot hair trimmed.  She’s still perky for food and she was so happy to get a bone last night.

I got Vada’s RL1 and Award of Excellent certificates in the mail from APDT.

June is here.  Let the crazy busy month begin!