Can I Bring the Dog?

to talk about recent agility trial fun, and the visit to cousin Eva’s we made early this week, but look,  look, look, the Chico Mug is here. Now the Lucy Mug has company in the cabinet.

One of the nice trails near us has a lot of brambles trying to take it over, so I brought the long handle pruners on a walk to do a little clipping.
It’s quite warm in the sun, so a little break on a log seems appropriate.  There’s a gentle breeze that must be full of smells because Chico has his nose into it, working hard. I’m quite content just feeling the air and listening to the birds.

A new air bed, a new sleeping bag,  and the Fluffie. The previous air bed was cheap junk, so I upgraded.  I tend to use a camping pad when we’re at agility trials, so this will probably end up being my guest bed.

“What?”

Sunday afternoon Chico and I went to a BARK-NH sponsored USDAA trial at the end of the day, just to do a couple classes. It was part of my Project Happy Dog plan. No teaming with someone else and her dog, no Lucy tagging along; just us. My goal was to run fast and hard, to let Chico just go, go, go – his favorite thing. First we did Snooker, which is based on the British table game Snooker. Some jumps are worth a point (the reds) and others have their own, higher, point values. You do a red, do a color, do a red, do a color etc, until all the reds are attempted, then you do a ‘closing’ of the obstacles numbers 2 – 7, in order. The goal is a high score, but if you rush and your dog knocks down a bar, you are out right then. You have to make up your own course. That was really hard for me at first, but I’m getting better. My original strategy for this game was flawed, I had a slow dog and we ran out of time. Yesterday, I was able to see a path that had a lot of running, and attempted all four reds, and set me up for a good entry to the closing. It has been pointed out to me enough times that maybe I finally learned it – my dog will go fast if I go fast. So I went for it and we beat the other dog in our class by .15 seconds

“Those things?”

The other class was Jumpers, another run and gun style class. We came second, by just a couple 10ths of a second, and I know where I made my mistakes – my feet didn’t indicate a turn soon enough and he went way wide, and I did something wrong that almost sent him off course, we lost a little time correcting that.

“Meh. I prefer a bone please. I know these are not for chewing.”

It’s acting like an early spring (not that we don’t get snow into April plenty of years) which means I get to learn where things get muddy when the ice (blessedly) finally melts. The door yard was a bit of a mess the other day.

Taken the day after it rained. It doesn’t look as bad in the sunshine.

There’s some wicked mookie places out there, hence the boards. The entire road is due for some work, so for now we’ll just make do.

The yard is a bit of a mess, I moved in just days before it started to snow, and I had happily forgotten the yard for the last couple months.

Chico chilled in the sun while I did my outside things.

The garden is becoming exposed again too, and I was pleased to see that at least a little of my transplanted rhubarb survived the winter.

Just one wee bit is starting to grow; that pinkish spot is the start of a stalk.

It was so nice, we went for a walk on Great Hill Road after chores. It’s not hunting season, but Chico is the same color as the road, it seems like wearing the vest will make him stand out a bit. For me and for the drivers who occasionally pass.

This walk has hills with trees and shade, flat open places with a view,

and old stone walls for a dog to climb.

The chipmunks and squirrels are getting active so there was plenty to chase in the woods. Love watching my boy race off after something, jumping logs, dodging branches, barking happily like a pup. And they tell me that is the best conditioning work I can do with him. How handy that walking also makes me strong and fit for agility.

And then I went to the horse barn and used Chico’s Furminator™ on Dakota for 45 minutes, producing a cat-sized pile of winter coat. And I bet I could go back this morning and do it again and get that much again. Ah, Spring … muddy paws and horsehair. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

After the collie show on Sunday Chico and I found a walk in Scarborough at a  beach.
It was low tide.

And hardly anyone was around.
And Chico is the most photogenic dog I know.

It was bitter cold and windy one day last week. Chico and I went over to White Lake to walk in the protection of the trees. There was someone kiteboarding on the frozen lake, taking advantage of the wind that we were hiding from. It sure looked like they were having fun, using that wind. It was just like sailing, tack upwind and then run back down.

Like I said, we were in the most sheltered spots I could find. But we got outside.
The lake is spring fed, and we saw a place where the inflow was slowly bubbling up through a hole in the ice. It was pretty neat.

This weekend Lucy was in the breed ring for the first time. Her coat was not up to snuff by collie standards, but they put her in anyhow so she could get some experience. She was a very good girl, she followed the handler just like she was supposed to, she let the judge touch her just like she supposed to, and she didn’t do a sit in the ring- just like she’s supposed to. And she was so happy to see me that she climbed all over me with licks and wags. But her coat was all fluffed up and stiff with hair spray and they trim her whiskers and all I wanted to do was take her for a swim and a run in some mud.
Both dogs and I have agility class on Wednesday,  with Julie, down at American K9 Country.  Chico is really very well trained, and it’s Annie who needs work, so we’re in and intermediate class where I get to work on skills and drills and Chico doesn’t have to jump very high or very much, & I will become a better handler. Lucy’s in a beginner class making sure that she really knows all the equipment before she learns all the fancy moves. She’s such an eager learner, so curious and confident, it’s very different from training Chico who was so fearful in the beginning. It’s a wonderful experience to get to work with a different dog. Especially such a sweet one.

This post is just for fun. Some great dog training went into this video:

Lucy is in the land of collies right now, and Chico has been enjoying being an only dog.
On our walk Monday we found a place we are some small rodent has been eating

a lot.
I made a small error in judgement when I thought this house was a perfect place for dogs. The house next door is rented as a vacation rental. It sits empty for weeks at a time, and then a bunch of strange cars arrive all at once, doors bang; from two windows in my house, right at dog height, there is a clear view of all the action. The house is also in clear sight when we go for a walk or go to the car. Last time there were guests, the dogs twice went running over there barking, and that seems to have upset them enough that they complained to the homeowner who forwarded their complaint to me. Until we perfect her recall, and/or I get some fencing, Lucy is going to be spending a lot more time in the land of collies than at my house.

Chico got a new back on track jacket, to help with any aches or pains he has. Its supposed to help increase blood flow. I have to presume that he is as generally achy as I am, because he’s in dog years just about as old as I am, and my vet says this could help with that.
Lucy has been learning to pee and poop at times that are convenient for me. She’s also been working on her agility very, very hard. Last Friday we tried the Intro level classes in USDAA, and she ran well three times. We were in the ribbons in Snooker, she even won the class. A little too slow to qualify in Gamblers,  but a very good run.
I’m interested in a breed of dog called the English Shepherd and have been looking at them, reading about them, and meeting them for a couple months. I am now approved to adopt from the National English Shepherd Rescue, and I am going to apply to foster dogs for them. The organization seems to be very good at matching dogs and people, they know about me and they know about Chico, they are not going to send dogs here that they don’t think will work out with him. And of course we all hope that one of the fosters they send here will be the dog that’s going to live with me and Chico.

And I spend far too much time just watching the river. It freezes and thaws, the water level goes up and down,  the ice paints pictures … it’s hard to take my eyes off it.