Signed, Sealed and Delivered

I took the plunge, filled out the forms and mailed them. It's official - Moto and Pinch are entered in our club's upcoming Obedience trial. Both will try out the Beginner Novice class. Each has a separate goal.

I have a new theory in training Moto. Instead of worrying about overworking him, he gets trained every day. Since he lacks self-confidence, what I'm doing now is one day we work on stuff at home, in the safety of the yard or inside the house. He has absolutely no problems doing anything at home. The next day I take him some place new with mild distractions. We do the same exercises. It seems to be helping. I'm anxious to see if this new training method will give him the confidence he needs in the show ring. We'll see.

For Pinch, it's a pretty big step and possibly premature. But it's local and it's "just" Beginner Novice. I'm not in it to win it, I just want to see how he handles performing at shows. He goes with Moto and I when we go someplace new. He's so different! With Moto we need to walk around, look at things, take in the area before we begin working. All my Shelties have needed at least a little bit of this. Not Mr. Pinch. He gets out, looks around and seems to say "COOL! We ARE going to do stuff here, aren't we?" He's still very green and needs to be reminded of his Attention job. Completely fearless, his pitfalls will be in the other direction - geting overexcited.

It will be fun and challenging handling two completely different dogs in the same class. Ultimately, I want them to have a good ring experience. Moto's made huge strides in herding and I'm hoping for the same in Obedience. Interesting to note he's MUCH happier working every day.

Live and learn!

Lessons from an Old Dog

Dusty turns 16 today! It's a day of celebration as he is enjoying great health. As with all my furkids I learn as much from them as I do teaching them. Dusty is the trailblazer in teaching me life lessons.
He is my first Old Dog. Sunny also survived to 16 but he lived with my mom. This is the first time I am experiencing having an old dog. When the quality of life is as good as his, it's a rich, wonderful experience.
Dusty and I are growing old together. I got him just before my 40th birthday. I'm now able to get the Senior Citizen discount at Denny's. So I can understand and sympathize with the eyesight not being so good and some arthritic pain.
I'm also learning patience: he takes longer than the others to eat. Friends have told me their old dogs do the same thing. They are interested in their food, they just can't wolf it down like in their younger days.
And perhaps because his vision is failing him, he likes to be near me at all times. When we're separated by a floor level, he'll bark for me to come get him. He can still go up and down the stairs but it's a struggle. I carry him now. I don't have the guns of Michelle Obama but they're pretty darned toned because of this!
Compassion is another lesson. He frequently can't make it all night without having to go potty. Being the good boy that he is, he still awakens me to let me know he needs to go outside. Standing in the snow when it's -9 at 1:00 a.m. is not wonderful, but it's a small tradeoff to have him here with me.
The other dogs are learning better manners. When I open the door for the pack to go in/out, I say "FIRST is Dusty". They all back up and Dusty can proudly go through the door first without being knocked aside. He likes this.
I can see myself in him, should I be able to grow old. I make compensations for his increasing frailty, occasional mental lapses and deteriorating eyesight. It will happen to all of us when we grow old. One of my cousins named him "Dusty the Nobleman". It's very appropriate. If I can age with the grace and dignity of my old dog I will have been a worthy student.

Grabbing Moments

With all the recent life changes and foul weather, structured Obedience training has fallen by the wayside. It's too cold/snowdrifty (hey I LIKE my new word!) to train outside. Lots of time is also spent on the phone with my daughter, as well as processing the eventual surgery she needs. Then of course there's that silly job thingie (and I have two jobs), doctor appointments, meetings, and all the regular things that take up a regular life.
So finding time to train is difficult. I'm becoming a Master of Opportunity. For instance, I'm going into the basement to do laundry. Pinch is at the top of the stairs watching. Perfect time to do Utility signals. It's at a distance, he can't travel. Or Pinch and Moto are sitting together in the living room. Cool! A sit and down contest ensues, the fastest one gets a cookie.
It's supposed to warm up into the 40's this weekend - a heat wave! At least the snow will melt. Then we can go outside and do heeling and attention exercises outside the confines of our home.
I love winter, but I can't wait to train outside!

More Bumps Ahead

My daughter posted this on Facebook yesterday:
Looks like surgery is in my near future. My cardiologist is trying to make a case to get me in on a clinical trial to do a clip..which is much less invasive and recovery is much swifter...but only lasts up to 36 mos. But they need to address some other issues first. Prayers for swift answers.
Yes, heart surgery.
My beautiful young daughter needs heart surgery.
She has Mytral valve prolapse with regurgitation, an unfortunately very rare condition in someone as young as she. 1/4 of the blood being pumped is leaking out of the valve and not going where it's supposed to go. This condition was discovered as the doctors were looking for other things.
In speaking with several people the Mytral Valve Prolapse is fairly common and is most often discovered as hers was - looking for something else. Most people don't need surgery, but unfortunately with all the other complicating factors my daughter does.
In the meantime, to receive the clinical trial she has to go through some rigorous tests and check points before a case can be made for this surgery. Her cardiologist said it could take up to 3 months. Hence the prayers for swift answers. If she doesn't get the clinical trial, she will have the standard open-heart surgery where the valve is replaced. All fairly routine by doctor's standards but terrifying if it happens to be YOU.
So once again, life is sort of in the On Hold phase. Plans can be made, but I'm aware of the fact I may need to jump on a plane to be with my daughter once we get answers. Once again, all I want is for her to be OK. Nothing else matters. I want her to be able to go back and live a full, normal HEALTHY life. Why does this simple request seem to be so hard? I find myself being jealous of people talking about their children and their daily goings-on. I so wish I could be in the same position. It is true - when you have your health, you have everything. Please, if your life is just plain old normal, fall on your knees and give thanks to God.
For me, I am shaken to my core. I will take a deep breath and go about my daily tasks as we await the outcome of these tests and what is to be done next. I am anxious to some day plan a trip to California for a happy reason. I want to smile and laugh and not have to worry. I will look on the positive side that this all will come to be, and soon.
That's all I can do, for now.
And if you're reading this, please send positive thoughts and prayers for a return to normal for my daughter.