I have been avoiding writing this blog and I am not sure why. Blame it on the fact that I have been getting up at 4:30 am to run. Yep, addicted, just like I am to agility. So the weekend went like this. Headed down to oklahoma city friday around 10ish. Traveled with great pal, the lady I rent the agility field from. We have similar traveling styles so we travel well. Got checked into the hotel and went to the trial site to put down crates. Crating was a little weird, not much just open space so you either crated on the floor of the arena or up in the seats. The bottom half of the arena was chairs but the top half was bleacher style so we just put our crates on the floor between bleachers. Made it back to the hotel in rush hour traffic and got dinner. Got in bed early but couldn't sleep. The other inhabitants of this motel 6 were having a fiesta which seemed like right outside of our room. Made going out to potty the dogs very interesting. Man, I really wish I knew spanish. Anyway, got up bright and early and headed over to the show site. The club had provided gift bags for each handler that had tons of goodies. We had seven runs that day. I didn't know how this would go with his bar issue. We had been practicing our jump grid work but you add in that extra does of adrenalin and all bets are off. Here is what my sleep addled brain remembers of each run. Will have to add videos later.
Jumpers: Bar. Will have to review video for other details. My sleepy brain is hurting right now. I do remember having to collect him on the start and doing my front cross too tight which flung him over the broad jump which he may or may not have seen in time to jump properly.
Snooker: Knocked first red. Set up, led out and tried to collect him prior to first red. He saw tunnel and wouldn't collect and took a jump on way to said tunnel so we got a big fat 0. Lesson learned, need to work on collection even if a tunnel is calling your name.
Steeplechase: One bar and missed the weave entry. Might have qualified with just one mistake. I pushed him really hard on this course and he and i both kept our heads so I was proud of this run. Did not give him enough info on the weaves but I think I was worried about the bar prior to the weaves if I pushed too hard.
Standard: Honestly can't remember what happened so will have to view the video.
Master's Gamblers: The gamble was not a skill we had in our tool bag. It was a jump to a tunnel under the dog walk and then they had to come back towards you and go up the dog walk. I tried standing there so as he came out, he saw me and i could direct h im. In retrospect i think going ahead and running and saying walk it would have worked better. He came to me and I think if I had been moving forward that he might have gone up the dog walk. Add that to the train that shit list.
Pairs: Very embarrassed. I did three front crosses in a row and was cueing the a-frame. He crossed my body and literally accelerated like a fire was lit under his ass and took a jump 50 feet away. Not joking. I have no clue what he saw or what he was thinking. A-frame was right there. Didn't get video of this run. I am afraid my pairs partner was not so happy about having a baby brained dog as her partner. Would have been a smoking run.
Master's Challenge Standard: God do i love these classes. These are my all time favorites as we actually get to USE the skills we train!!!! Loved this course. Got through the beginning very nicely. I can't remember what else happened so will have to view the video and revise this.
Was kind of sad but at the same time really happy. That was the first time we got through a steeplechase course with only a small mistake at the weaves. Was not happy about snooker but something to add to the train that shit list. Got some good skill work on the gambler's course and he didn't knock the first bar of the gamble as he has done so many times before.
Sunday's runs:
Masters Gamblers - The gamble was doable. Unfortunately instead of going back into a tunnel that was under the dog walk to line us up for the teeter and then the start of the gamble, he went up the dog walk and so when the buzzer sounded, we were NO where near the start of the gamble and were coming into it very wrong. He knocked the first bar and missed the tunnel instead taking a jump near me. I blame myself for poor handling and didn't put the bar on him at all. However, he did release off of my hand prior to me releasing him and probably would have been able to line him up better for the gamble had he not. I should have been tighter on the tunnel to q him back into it.
Masters Standard - Don't remember what happened, will have to review the video
Grand Prix Qualifier - Don't remember what happened, will have to view the video. I do remember his cue from table over a jump to the weaves which was a huge push. I had him super collected over the jump and sent him to the weave and he nailed the entry. The weaves were going straight into the wall and I think he looked up and saw the wall coming at him and stuttered and popped out. It wasn't like he was coming with me, it was like his feet got hung up and he just popped out. That was the closest I have ever seen weaves going into a wall but again, train don't complain.
The ride home was good. Overall I think we have made progress. He has dropped weight, is playing ball a couple of times a day and I hope to get out to the agility field more these next couple of months. We had a couple of runs where he went off course and that bothered me. He had been really in tune to me last show and we had hardly any off courses. We have a break till regionals end of august. My teammates have decided they are not going to nationals so don't have a team so may not go or just may enter friday and pray I get that last local qualifer so I can enter saturday. If not, it may be a quick trip to KC and back in a day. Oh well, not doing team saves me money. Couldn't start my next session of classes due to extreme heat and rather than fighting the heat every week, canceled classes till the fall. Am pulling money out of savings to deal with that and will pay back when classes start. Scares me to do that (van you'd better not break down, knock on wood) but I know I will have sessions this fall. I think we are moving in the right direction. Will post videos as soon as I get them and can fill out my runs better. Overall, happy, so close on so many runs. Will keep plugging along and keep my chin up. My friends are really awesome and have been cheering me up so much. He has so much potential so I have to keep that in mind. Nationals for USDAA are out this year and next year is too far so no goals for that. Nationals for AKC are too far away for this qualifying year so no big goals for that. Just go out and have fun is my motto and goal and there is always next year:)
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Obsession
I start each weekend with a positive attitude. There will be NO bars this weekend. We DON't have a problem. Each weekend it happens. Bars. Again and again. I am beginning to doubt my abilities as a trainer and handler. Am I causing the bars? Some people say yes. Some people say it is a possible injury. I get lots of opinions and I welcome them. I am just as puzzled as everyone else. He's been checked out by a vet, a chiropractor and numerous massage ladies. Nothing can be found wrong physically. It's always different. Sometimes it is on a turn. Some times it is on the flat. Some times it is a spread with a mix of back bar versus front bar. Sometimes it is an absolute splat. Luckily we only had one splat this weekend and it was a single bar jump. I have been trying verbal corrections and while I haven't seen any net return in them, I do think it makes him aware he is messing up. This splat was right after one and I think he was thinking about the fact that I was not happy and not the fact that he needed to be jumping the jump that was in front of him. I need to really pull him from the course but I am having a hard time doing so. I know I have just NQ anyway so what is it worth to finish the run. This weekend it was the toughness of the courses. They are amazingly hard and amazingly fun. That is what USDAA is for me. It is like crack cocaine. We don't get to use our super cool training tools very often but this weekend, every course I got to try something new from my handling tool box. So i Just wanted to get to those parts and I did. But for what? Am I letting him think that the new normal is plow through jumps? I did a pretty harsh verbal correction after he had knocked his third bar on the jumpers run. By harsh I mean I used his first and last name. Yep. Pulled that card. He splatted the last jump right after the correction and then proceeded to squat in the ring. I luckily pulled him off the course before explosive diarrhea happened. Just over that one correction. So is pulling him going to be a good thing or a bad thing? In training if he knocks a bar, I do a down and i pick up the bar while making some unhappy sounding uh oh. That is it. Then he gets to get up and try that jump again and if he gets it, he gets a big party. So i don't know how to transfer that to the ring. Use to, when he knocked a bar, he would almost shut down. He knew instantly that he was in the wrong. I blogged about it before because it was almost too much recognition. I wanted to finish the course, not have him trot around looking at me like I beat him.
For the record, I have NEVER beat my dog, but he sure acts like it when he knows I am unhappy. In some ways he is SUPER soft but in other ways, super tough. He wants to be right and he knows via my body language alot of times that he has done wrong. So what am I to do? Starting NO BARS bootcamp that my friend Ami is developing. Already starting on homework this week. I welcome any and all suggestions. Heck at this point, if someone said stand on your head three days a week and eat brie, if it would prevent bars, I would. It is tough to have 10 runs, 7 with one bar, 2 with three bars (both jumpers) and one clean with a first place and a smoking time. It is like having a kid that you know could make straight As yet they make Cs and you are left scratching your head to figure out what is going on in their head. Yes, the footing was pure crap but he should be able to adjust by now. It was dirt and it was cloddy and deep until we packed it down later in the day. I am not concerned about that footing at all. He should adjust no matter what it is. Part of my strategy is that I am not showing till regionals in august. Planned a dog show and a run on the same day and can't get my money back from the run. Maybe, maybe might go down to OKC after the run is done and do one day of USDAA. That is it till late august. The goal of this summer is to figure out what is going on and how to fix it.
To end I will tell my tornado story for the weekend. I was getting ready to get in my car when I saw someone who lives down in OK post on FB that they were predicting it to be the worst tornado day of all. Uh, hmm, they just had a HUGE tornado down in Moore so what could be worse? I had planned on getting gone after my PT but couldn't resist a last minute lunch with andrew at daycare. So I didn't get going till almost 2 pm. I thought i would be okay till sun down (around 9ish) but boy was I wrong. As I drove further south, I could see storms brewing to the east but my gut was telling me that they were pretty far off. Then the weather alerts started. Unfortunately they were giving county names, not city names so I had no clue where it was going to hit. As I was heading into a town called sycamore, they announced sycamore as being in the path of a tornado. I could see funnel clouds but nothing touching down so I headed on south. Again I felt they were east of me heading north west so I felt like moving south was the best thing. Then I get to a little town called independance and the sirens were going off. It wasn't doing anything weatherwise at the time but you could see several rotations but again all to the east. I finally pulled off and went into a liquor store. I asked if I needed to take shelter. The clerk claimed the tornado was north of where i was and that if I drove south, I should be okay. SO i got back in my van and deuce and I headed south as quickly as my little van would take us. It was pretty scaring hoping that we were doing the right thing, not really knowing for sure. My gut was right but there were more storms on the way. A very large tornado was on the ground in OKC and fatalities were being reported. The hotel didn't have a basement so we were all gathering in the lobby. Deuce was in heaven because he thought they were all there to see him. For whatever reason, the storms headed right at us dissipated right before they hit tulsa and we were able to get some sleep. Everyone was calling and texting me, trying to check on me so I felt much love. Agility friends really are the best :) It really was a crazy weekend. I ended up saturday in my pjs, in bed at 8 pm watching Titanic (which I have seen 100 times before) drinking summer shandy and bawling like an idiot through most of the last half of the movie. Then at the end, when Jack dies and they show the dead frozen bodies in the water and they pan to a man holding a baby dead, I just lost it. Starting putting on clothes and vowing to drive home even though it was 10:30 at this point. Yeah, pregnancy has turned me into a hormonal crying idiot. Decided i had one too many shandys and put my pjs back on and instantly went to sleep. Yeah, thank you pregnancy for also fixing my insomnia issues I had. Anyway to wrap up since I am now rambling, it was a crazy, stress filled obsession about bars weekend but in a strange way, pretty much all of his runs were gorgeous, so I walked away obsessing about the bars but happy? It was a strange feeling.
For the record, I have NEVER beat my dog, but he sure acts like it when he knows I am unhappy. In some ways he is SUPER soft but in other ways, super tough. He wants to be right and he knows via my body language alot of times that he has done wrong. So what am I to do? Starting NO BARS bootcamp that my friend Ami is developing. Already starting on homework this week. I welcome any and all suggestions. Heck at this point, if someone said stand on your head three days a week and eat brie, if it would prevent bars, I would. It is tough to have 10 runs, 7 with one bar, 2 with three bars (both jumpers) and one clean with a first place and a smoking time. It is like having a kid that you know could make straight As yet they make Cs and you are left scratching your head to figure out what is going on in their head. Yes, the footing was pure crap but he should be able to adjust by now. It was dirt and it was cloddy and deep until we packed it down later in the day. I am not concerned about that footing at all. He should adjust no matter what it is. Part of my strategy is that I am not showing till regionals in august. Planned a dog show and a run on the same day and can't get my money back from the run. Maybe, maybe might go down to OKC after the run is done and do one day of USDAA. That is it till late august. The goal of this summer is to figure out what is going on and how to fix it.
To end I will tell my tornado story for the weekend. I was getting ready to get in my car when I saw someone who lives down in OK post on FB that they were predicting it to be the worst tornado day of all. Uh, hmm, they just had a HUGE tornado down in Moore so what could be worse? I had planned on getting gone after my PT but couldn't resist a last minute lunch with andrew at daycare. So I didn't get going till almost 2 pm. I thought i would be okay till sun down (around 9ish) but boy was I wrong. As I drove further south, I could see storms brewing to the east but my gut was telling me that they were pretty far off. Then the weather alerts started. Unfortunately they were giving county names, not city names so I had no clue where it was going to hit. As I was heading into a town called sycamore, they announced sycamore as being in the path of a tornado. I could see funnel clouds but nothing touching down so I headed on south. Again I felt they were east of me heading north west so I felt like moving south was the best thing. Then I get to a little town called independance and the sirens were going off. It wasn't doing anything weatherwise at the time but you could see several rotations but again all to the east. I finally pulled off and went into a liquor store. I asked if I needed to take shelter. The clerk claimed the tornado was north of where i was and that if I drove south, I should be okay. SO i got back in my van and deuce and I headed south as quickly as my little van would take us. It was pretty scaring hoping that we were doing the right thing, not really knowing for sure. My gut was right but there were more storms on the way. A very large tornado was on the ground in OKC and fatalities were being reported. The hotel didn't have a basement so we were all gathering in the lobby. Deuce was in heaven because he thought they were all there to see him. For whatever reason, the storms headed right at us dissipated right before they hit tulsa and we were able to get some sleep. Everyone was calling and texting me, trying to check on me so I felt much love. Agility friends really are the best :) It really was a crazy weekend. I ended up saturday in my pjs, in bed at 8 pm watching Titanic (which I have seen 100 times before) drinking summer shandy and bawling like an idiot through most of the last half of the movie. Then at the end, when Jack dies and they show the dead frozen bodies in the water and they pan to a man holding a baby dead, I just lost it. Starting putting on clothes and vowing to drive home even though it was 10:30 at this point. Yeah, pregnancy has turned me into a hormonal crying idiot. Decided i had one too many shandys and put my pjs back on and instantly went to sleep. Yeah, thank you pregnancy for also fixing my insomnia issues I had. Anyway to wrap up since I am now rambling, it was a crazy, stress filled obsession about bars weekend but in a strange way, pretty much all of his runs were gorgeous, so I walked away obsessing about the bars but happy? It was a strange feeling.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Omaha
Here we are again. Same song different verse except not really better or worse. We headed up to Omaha for a weekend of agility last weekend. Had to take Andrew, can't leave him behind anymore. Missed my runs on Friday, took my time going up to Omaha and didn't get all stressed. Had a friend run him in standard (walked in right as the 24s started) but he was in the where is my mommy mode and didn't run very well. Still had one bar per run in JWW and in FAST (got the send dammit, but knocked a bar in the send GAH) and in both standard runs he ran around a jump. One I didn't get him collected enough so there was no way he could have made it and one I tried to beat him out of a straight tunnel like some track star and he and I met and ran right past the jump we were suppose to do. I just knew in my heart that he would knock it if I handled it as a rear cross. I just can't take anymore bars. Especially the bar the precedes the perfect run. We seem to be having those alot. The JWW run on Sunday was that way. Heart breaking. Had lead out three jumps as I HAD to get a FC after a triple to keep him out of a tunnel trap. I guess he felt the need to rush to get to me and CRASHED the triple. Got up, finished the run with a beautiful rest of the course run. I do still feel like it is a matter of conditioning and I just haven't had the time to properly condition him. Toyed around with taking the summer off. Most of the summer trials are 4 + hours away which equals alot of money in gas, hotel and food. Of course gas just shot up once again to 4 bucks a gallon. So right now, have a show this coming weekend in OK, nothing in June, possibly one in July and then a couple in august in KC. Sucks but it is what it is. I feel like we are so close to really knocking it out but we just seemed perched on that edge and have been for quite a while. Am hoping conditioning will help. Trying to do more ball work and will have to take him on my shorter runs. Runs are usually stella only but I have to get him in better shape. Am also planning his neutering. We had a run in T2B where he was super disconnected and I think it is because the bitch three or so dogs ahead of us was coming in. Doesn't matter, is a training issue but if we aren't using him for breeding, won't hurt to go ahead and do the deed. Since June is so free, am going to do it then. Keep me in your prayers as he is my baby and I will have a super anxious day the day he goes in for the snip snip.
One thing I am focusing on right now is my health and my fitness. Really taking it up a notch. Running 5 days a week, biking when I don't run and strength training 3 days a week. Will be adding two days of yoga to that and hopefully some swimming lessons this summer as well. I needed me time. Andrew is my life now and I tend to loose myself in raising him. Just that little hour away is nice and helps me to refocus. Am entered in a mud run, 1 5 K, 2 10 Ks and a half this summer/fall. Who knows, maybe some day a marathon is in my future, maybe not. For sure a tri some time next year if not a dual this year. I kind of like splurging on me and my health. Am probably in the BEST shape of my life. Still have about 10 lbs to loose to go back to pre baby weight but my muscle tone is really good right now. My body is pretty much back to or better than it was pre baby everywhere but my gut. I was told to expect this and I am but it still sucks. My nutrition is still lacking so I know with better nutrition, that will go away. Just don't have a ton of time to cook and do the things I need to do for that to get better. And of course my grocery store needs to stop stocking blue bell ice cream. If they would do that, I would be golden:)
One thing I am focusing on right now is my health and my fitness. Really taking it up a notch. Running 5 days a week, biking when I don't run and strength training 3 days a week. Will be adding two days of yoga to that and hopefully some swimming lessons this summer as well. I needed me time. Andrew is my life now and I tend to loose myself in raising him. Just that little hour away is nice and helps me to refocus. Am entered in a mud run, 1 5 K, 2 10 Ks and a half this summer/fall. Who knows, maybe some day a marathon is in my future, maybe not. For sure a tri some time next year if not a dual this year. I kind of like splurging on me and my health. Am probably in the BEST shape of my life. Still have about 10 lbs to loose to go back to pre baby weight but my muscle tone is really good right now. My body is pretty much back to or better than it was pre baby everywhere but my gut. I was told to expect this and I am but it still sucks. My nutrition is still lacking so I know with better nutrition, that will go away. Just don't have a ton of time to cook and do the things I need to do for that to get better. And of course my grocery store needs to stop stocking blue bell ice cream. If they would do that, I would be golden:)
Thursday, April 25, 2013
KCDTC weekend
I wasn't going to blog about this weekend yet here I am. I have an experiment I am doing today that has 10, 15 minute washes. Bleh. Lots of down time where I can't really do much more than read emails or check FB or blog so here I am. This weekend was pretty good again, as I sound like a broken record, despite the lack of a single Q. Was fun watching lots of my friends with their successes. Many of them are really hitting their strides and qing like crazy. Several got their first QQs this weekend and some even got multiple QQs. With my trainer now in their neck of the woods, their hard work is really showing. Tried to get some of my runs video taped. The only run I got on tape was a standard run in which he had no bars (figures) but missed his weave pole entry. It was a super tight entry from a tire where if you pulled too tight, they missed but if you sent out too far to line them up better, there was an off course tunnel that caught them. It was the part of the course that got everyone, one way or another.
There was only one run the whole weekend that I absolutely want to forget. It was partly my fault, partly his. I hate courses that you walk and you get super excited about because you feel like it is a totally doable course. Give me super hard, super tricky, there is no way I will get through this alive any day of the week because with those courses comes 0 expectations. This course had so many expectations on it that I was super nervous going to the line. I had planned a three jump lead out with a moving front cross. There was an off course tunnel right at that spot so an ill timed FC would send them right in the tunnel. I usually lead out and when I get to the spot, I look over my shoulder and release him. Probably due to nerves, I looked over my shoulder way to early, which i never do and he took that as a release cue. Now, okay is his release cue so I should have pulled him for doing that but I must admit, I should probably stop doing the moving release,should probably go back to stopping in position, looking at him and then saying okay. I didn't really even release he fully released himself till we met each other at the second jump. Why I thought I could get that FC in still was beyond me. My brain was not functioning so i tried to rush to get the FC, sent him in the tunnel, tried to pick him up and continue on course, made him miss two jumps and the weave pole entry. Called it quits after that. We left the course together, happy as it was my fault for the train wreck WAY more than his fault.
Had a gorgeous standard run sunday, one that you dream about. Tight, efficient, full of wonderfulness but he couldn't hold onto the table. I tried to yell out wait as if yelling and pointing would magically help him hold on but he just couldn't do it. Oh well. We had been discussing collection before the table since it was on a big outrun loop but I just felt like he would read my decel and hang on. He didn't:( Never the less, it was an awesome run and I was proud that we got the part that was biting most other handlers without a hitch and he got the weave pole entry after running full out extension for 4 jumps.
Had three runs with bars. The first two on friday were really nice, but bars in both. I did a verbal correction but that was all. Was fully prepared the next day to take him off and poof, no bars. Was good sunday in standard with no bars but then had one in jww but i didn't even hear or see it so missed an opportunity to mark it or correct for it. I will continue with a verbal correction and see where it takes us.
The best part of the weekend, other than nice runs and my favorite vendors at which i spent a ton of money, was the fact that my mom came up from TN to watch and help me take care of andrew. I have gotten to where if I can't take andrew, I don't want to go, but at the same time taking him is a monumental task and I need all the help I can get. I go home at night from the shows exhausted but happy because I love my little man. Mom did it all this weekend from changing and feeding to holding and getting him to nap while I walked and visited and shopped. Bought her a cute shirt from my fav vendor but that little shirt doesn't even begin to repay what I owe her for this weekend and week. Poor little man is teething something fierce. I think he has at least 3 if not more teeth all coming in at the same time. He doesn't want to go to sleep at night and is getting up super early so he has kind of been a grumpy mess. She has been keeping him during the day, all the while cleaning our house, playing with our dogs, cooking at night, and doing laundry. This women is a super hero! I so wish she was closer, not to use her more (although that part would be nice too LOL) but so she could see andrew continue to grow and change. Just in a week, he has really gotten good at balancing while pulling up and now will hold on with just one hand and will cruise. I think we are really close to getting the standing down without help and next come walking (BIG gulp). He is already terrorizing the dogs with his walker that he now goes forwards and backwards in quite well. They still seem to get their feet run over as they don't realize how fast he can move. Shows will be harder once he does start walking. Now he is quite content being held or being in his stroller, but I imagine we will have issues when he wants to be down and walking all the time. I trust most dogs but not all and would hate to put anyone's dog at risk for any nasty behaviors just because they have never been around kids, especially mobile, shaky little kids.
There was only one run the whole weekend that I absolutely want to forget. It was partly my fault, partly his. I hate courses that you walk and you get super excited about because you feel like it is a totally doable course. Give me super hard, super tricky, there is no way I will get through this alive any day of the week because with those courses comes 0 expectations. This course had so many expectations on it that I was super nervous going to the line. I had planned a three jump lead out with a moving front cross. There was an off course tunnel right at that spot so an ill timed FC would send them right in the tunnel. I usually lead out and when I get to the spot, I look over my shoulder and release him. Probably due to nerves, I looked over my shoulder way to early, which i never do and he took that as a release cue. Now, okay is his release cue so I should have pulled him for doing that but I must admit, I should probably stop doing the moving release,should probably go back to stopping in position, looking at him and then saying okay. I didn't really even release he fully released himself till we met each other at the second jump. Why I thought I could get that FC in still was beyond me. My brain was not functioning so i tried to rush to get the FC, sent him in the tunnel, tried to pick him up and continue on course, made him miss two jumps and the weave pole entry. Called it quits after that. We left the course together, happy as it was my fault for the train wreck WAY more than his fault.
Had a gorgeous standard run sunday, one that you dream about. Tight, efficient, full of wonderfulness but he couldn't hold onto the table. I tried to yell out wait as if yelling and pointing would magically help him hold on but he just couldn't do it. Oh well. We had been discussing collection before the table since it was on a big outrun loop but I just felt like he would read my decel and hang on. He didn't:( Never the less, it was an awesome run and I was proud that we got the part that was biting most other handlers without a hitch and he got the weave pole entry after running full out extension for 4 jumps.
Had three runs with bars. The first two on friday were really nice, but bars in both. I did a verbal correction but that was all. Was fully prepared the next day to take him off and poof, no bars. Was good sunday in standard with no bars but then had one in jww but i didn't even hear or see it so missed an opportunity to mark it or correct for it. I will continue with a verbal correction and see where it takes us.
The best part of the weekend, other than nice runs and my favorite vendors at which i spent a ton of money, was the fact that my mom came up from TN to watch and help me take care of andrew. I have gotten to where if I can't take andrew, I don't want to go, but at the same time taking him is a monumental task and I need all the help I can get. I go home at night from the shows exhausted but happy because I love my little man. Mom did it all this weekend from changing and feeding to holding and getting him to nap while I walked and visited and shopped. Bought her a cute shirt from my fav vendor but that little shirt doesn't even begin to repay what I owe her for this weekend and week. Poor little man is teething something fierce. I think he has at least 3 if not more teeth all coming in at the same time. He doesn't want to go to sleep at night and is getting up super early so he has kind of been a grumpy mess. She has been keeping him during the day, all the while cleaning our house, playing with our dogs, cooking at night, and doing laundry. This women is a super hero! I so wish she was closer, not to use her more (although that part would be nice too LOL) but so she could see andrew continue to grow and change. Just in a week, he has really gotten good at balancing while pulling up and now will hold on with just one hand and will cruise. I think we are really close to getting the standing down without help and next come walking (BIG gulp). He is already terrorizing the dogs with his walker that he now goes forwards and backwards in quite well. They still seem to get their feet run over as they don't realize how fast he can move. Shows will be harder once he does start walking. Now he is quite content being held or being in his stroller, but I imagine we will have issues when he wants to be down and walking all the time. I trust most dogs but not all and would hate to put anyone's dog at risk for any nasty behaviors just because they have never been around kids, especially mobile, shaky little kids.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Bars
Bars. Not the kind you drink in. The kind you knock. Lots of bars. The story of my weekend. Beautiful runs with stinky little bars. Usually 2 a run. The footing was good. Thinking. Plan of action is? Not sure. Had him adjusted by his chiropractor saturday after his runs. No big issues were found, lots of little kinks. Sunday = no bars. I would like to think it was due to the adjustment, but monday he had bars again. Although, the footing was deeper monday but i digress. Kind of weird, was happy with every single run. Got a Q in JWW and that is tough for me and deuce. Even got a second place by like .1 of a second. We don't Q much period so one Q a weekend is happiness for me. More happiness is in sync runs and boy were we in sync. So much so that every off course was me sending him to that exact location. Good dog. Looking forward to the show in two weeks. Still contemplating bars. Both kinds:)
Thursday, April 4, 2013
There is always next year
Was just reading one of my favorite blogs and she had said her new statement that she says routinely is "I'm Fine". Well I guess I have a new motto or statement too, "there is always next year". I find myself saying this over and over and over. We are planning our big trip that we take once a year for tony's work meetings. This year it is in vegas and I am really excited because I have never been. Basically while he is in meetings all day, I get to do whatever I want till he gets out and then we get to go out and do stuff together. The company pays for our hotel and tony's airfare and all I have to pay for is my airfare and food. It's a really sweet deal and I had a blast in new orleans the last time we went to this meeting. Heck this year, may just lay in bed all day and drink and eat since the kiddo will be with my mom in KS. The only bad part is, I just checked the dates and well, it is the same week as USDAA nationals. Kind of relieved, kind of sad all at the same time. Relieved that I don't have that pressure to get to as many USDAA shows as i can that are 6 or more hours away. Relieved that I don't have to obsess about grand prix and steeplechase anymore and can just go out and have fun. You see something has changed within me and I hate to admit it. I feared this and have fought it tooth and nail but now it is here and i am going to embrace it. I don't want to leave my baby anymore routinely on weekends and if I can't take him with me for whatever reason, I probably won't go. The pull of dog shows, my passion, my obsession is being overridden by another more powerful feeling. I love my little baby and I want to be with him all the time. My work and teaching hampers this a little bit and of course the weekends I am gone for three days really suck. So, there will always be next year. Hopefully I will be able to train more now that the weather is warmer and it is lighter later. Going to just take the handful of shows that I do go to and make the most of it and have fun. Just read yet another post today of yet another dog that is injured and out for a while so just going to have fun with what i have, celebrate a healthy dog that I love dearly and hopefully plan for next year:)
Monday, March 4, 2013
What a weird weekend
Put this down in the books to one very weird weekend. I was suppose to go down to Wichita (about a 2.5 hour drive) on Thursday night with Andrew and deuce. Wednesday night, deuce started shaking his head and panting about 1 am. I got up and checked his ears and sure enough, one ear was very goobery with some black foul smelling stuff coming out. Great. He has never had ear issues before so I filled his ear with epiotic and cleaned what i could out with several q tips. Made a mental note to call my vet in the morning if he was still restless/shaking his head. Well of course, by the morning he seemed fine so I went about my life and went to work. When i got home, he was back to panting/shaking his head so called my vet at 5:13 pm and begged to have him look at him. He had a slight yeast infection in the one ear and the canal was very inflamed, probably from him digging in it with his foot. The other ear looked fine with minimal yeast/inflammation. They did a deep cleaning and gave him a steroid shot to help with the inflammation. Then they told me the good news. He would probably drink water all night and have to go out multiple times. Huh? I can't do being in a hotel by myself with a baby and be taking a dog out multiple times a night. Called my friend in a panic to see if she could cancel the room, which she did. Whew. Decided i needed to stay home and deal with this at home. At least if he had an accident, we had wood floors. .
Anyway, got up at the butt crack of dawn and loaded Andrew and deuce up and headed to Wichita. Made the trip fine, no potty breaks for deuce and a sleeping baby pretty much the whole way. Got to the show site and set up and started walking the courses. Noticed that the dirt was a little loose but didn't think anything about it. Didn't even put my cleats on. BIG mistake. Ran T2B first which I love to use as a warm up. Almost fell 3 times!!!!! Deuce had like 5 bars and we watched team after team after team decimate the course. I am pretty surefooted and agile and I almost biffed it so I know the footing was super bad. JWW was next and I was beginning to think this was a huge mistake to even try to run. He had one bar and a beautiful run so that made me feel a little better. Standard had a HUGE pull to the close end of a tiny tunnel after a long straight line. I figured if led out enough and pulled, he would get it. He ignored the pull as he usually does and made a bee line for the wrong end. In hindsight, as far as I lead out, I could have done a FC on the landing side of the jump to help him but you know what they say about hindsight. Oh well, the rest of the run was gorgeous, well except for him not reading an ill timed, ill performed ketcher but i will take it.
Got back to the hotel room and went out to eat at the cracker barrel at which Andrew at dumplings, green beans and mashed potatoes. BOY is this kid growing up too fast. Was back at the hotel, had Andrew on the bed, turned my back for a second and he fell off. This is the first time he has ever fallen off of anything so I was very, very upset. Glad my roomie was very calm and kept me calm. Tried to remember what we tell students about their dogs falling off of obstacles but i was literally sick to my stomach with worry. Some part of him hit the ac unit and that thud is still stuck in my head and will take a long time to go away. I know you can't wrap them in bubble wrap but the rest of the weekend, he pretty much played on the floor the whole time unless I was in bed with him with a hand on him.
Didn't get much sleep that night worrying about him so figured Saturday would be interesting. Got a Q in T2B and beat some really nice dogs for my first run of the day. Still only got 8 points but it was a nice proactive handling run. JWW was next and we had a line of three jumps with a 180 going back the other way. There was a nice off course jump after the 3rd jump in the beginning line just calling their name. I knew if I didn't time it right that he would go full speed ahead and not read my lateral motion on the 180. So the opposite happened, i didn't support the third jump enough so he skipped it completely and came with. Nice read of lateral motion Mr. deuce! The rest of the course was nice till he dropped the last bar which was a double. Beginning to get a little nervous about this dropping doubles and triples. Standard again had a very hard pull to the end of a very short tunnel. He got the pull but spun in front of the tunnel and then went in. SO weird. He never gets refusals on tunnels but i remember as he was going to the tunnel i shouted GO WEAVE so maybe he was wondering where the heck the weaves where? Again the rest of the course was beautiful, no dropped bars per what happens when the mistake is on me. Took Andrew back to the hotel and just hung out and played the rest of the afternoon. Missed dinner because he was napping but got dinner later at mcds and got some ice cream which Andrew thoroughly enjoyed!
Woke up around 3 ish with a massive sinus headache. Couldn't get in any position to help the pressure. Finally got up and started pacing, was in so much pain. I knew if I didn't get relief soon that I would be puking. My roomie woke up around 4:30 and found me some advil. At that point, I was just praying i could keep them down long enough for them to work. Some how managed to keep them down long enough for the pain to go away but the stomach was already upset so I prayed to the porcelain gods for a while. I knew there was no way I could run my dog but I had no clue how I was going to drive 2.5 hours back home either. I some how rallied myself into some adrenalin high and post puking, drove home. It was the longest 2.5 hours I have ever driven but I made it safely home. I regret not running my dog but I don't think I could have handled the dirt again. The weird thing was, it didn't seem dusty in the arena at all so not sure why the sinus impaction. I have trialed for almost 13 years in dusty arenas and it seems like now, post pregnancy, I get sick every time I am in a dusty arena. It usually happens post show but this time it happened mid show. I really don't know what to do about this. There was a show in Lincoln the same weekend with about the same driving time but i hate the roads from here to Lincoln. All backwoods and scary and no shoulders to pull off on if you have car trouble or if you need to console a baby. I have an older van with much mileage so I prefer to stay on well traveled roads, least I break down.
Anyway, it was just a weird weekend. The courses were super nice, fun yet challenging but the footing was super crappy. The club tried everything to remedy the situation so I feel really bad for them as I am sure there was backlash. Need to figure out how to remedy this whole getting sick issue. I just don't have time to be sick thanks to being a mommy now and having another life form dependent on me.
Anyway, got up at the butt crack of dawn and loaded Andrew and deuce up and headed to Wichita. Made the trip fine, no potty breaks for deuce and a sleeping baby pretty much the whole way. Got to the show site and set up and started walking the courses. Noticed that the dirt was a little loose but didn't think anything about it. Didn't even put my cleats on. BIG mistake. Ran T2B first which I love to use as a warm up. Almost fell 3 times!!!!! Deuce had like 5 bars and we watched team after team after team decimate the course. I am pretty surefooted and agile and I almost biffed it so I know the footing was super bad. JWW was next and I was beginning to think this was a huge mistake to even try to run. He had one bar and a beautiful run so that made me feel a little better. Standard had a HUGE pull to the close end of a tiny tunnel after a long straight line. I figured if led out enough and pulled, he would get it. He ignored the pull as he usually does and made a bee line for the wrong end. In hindsight, as far as I lead out, I could have done a FC on the landing side of the jump to help him but you know what they say about hindsight. Oh well, the rest of the run was gorgeous, well except for him not reading an ill timed, ill performed ketcher but i will take it.
Got back to the hotel room and went out to eat at the cracker barrel at which Andrew at dumplings, green beans and mashed potatoes. BOY is this kid growing up too fast. Was back at the hotel, had Andrew on the bed, turned my back for a second and he fell off. This is the first time he has ever fallen off of anything so I was very, very upset. Glad my roomie was very calm and kept me calm. Tried to remember what we tell students about their dogs falling off of obstacles but i was literally sick to my stomach with worry. Some part of him hit the ac unit and that thud is still stuck in my head and will take a long time to go away. I know you can't wrap them in bubble wrap but the rest of the weekend, he pretty much played on the floor the whole time unless I was in bed with him with a hand on him.
Didn't get much sleep that night worrying about him so figured Saturday would be interesting. Got a Q in T2B and beat some really nice dogs for my first run of the day. Still only got 8 points but it was a nice proactive handling run. JWW was next and we had a line of three jumps with a 180 going back the other way. There was a nice off course jump after the 3rd jump in the beginning line just calling their name. I knew if I didn't time it right that he would go full speed ahead and not read my lateral motion on the 180. So the opposite happened, i didn't support the third jump enough so he skipped it completely and came with. Nice read of lateral motion Mr. deuce! The rest of the course was nice till he dropped the last bar which was a double. Beginning to get a little nervous about this dropping doubles and triples. Standard again had a very hard pull to the end of a very short tunnel. He got the pull but spun in front of the tunnel and then went in. SO weird. He never gets refusals on tunnels but i remember as he was going to the tunnel i shouted GO WEAVE so maybe he was wondering where the heck the weaves where? Again the rest of the course was beautiful, no dropped bars per what happens when the mistake is on me. Took Andrew back to the hotel and just hung out and played the rest of the afternoon. Missed dinner because he was napping but got dinner later at mcds and got some ice cream which Andrew thoroughly enjoyed!
Woke up around 3 ish with a massive sinus headache. Couldn't get in any position to help the pressure. Finally got up and started pacing, was in so much pain. I knew if I didn't get relief soon that I would be puking. My roomie woke up around 4:30 and found me some advil. At that point, I was just praying i could keep them down long enough for them to work. Some how managed to keep them down long enough for the pain to go away but the stomach was already upset so I prayed to the porcelain gods for a while. I knew there was no way I could run my dog but I had no clue how I was going to drive 2.5 hours back home either. I some how rallied myself into some adrenalin high and post puking, drove home. It was the longest 2.5 hours I have ever driven but I made it safely home. I regret not running my dog but I don't think I could have handled the dirt again. The weird thing was, it didn't seem dusty in the arena at all so not sure why the sinus impaction. I have trialed for almost 13 years in dusty arenas and it seems like now, post pregnancy, I get sick every time I am in a dusty arena. It usually happens post show but this time it happened mid show. I really don't know what to do about this. There was a show in Lincoln the same weekend with about the same driving time but i hate the roads from here to Lincoln. All backwoods and scary and no shoulders to pull off on if you have car trouble or if you need to console a baby. I have an older van with much mileage so I prefer to stay on well traveled roads, least I break down.
Anyway, it was just a weird weekend. The courses were super nice, fun yet challenging but the footing was super crappy. The club tried everything to remedy the situation so I feel really bad for them as I am sure there was backlash. Need to figure out how to remedy this whole getting sick issue. I just don't have time to be sick thanks to being a mommy now and having another life form dependent on me.
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