Category: Blog

Now I don’t know if it is because I don’t run as well, but every single beagle I have owned, has run courses in direct correlation to my pain level.  Which is freaking aggravating, because I want to fight through it.

Last weekend I could barely walk.  I had it together enough to get Macy through a JWW course, but that was it.  Dulce wouldn’t even try.  Not just at the trial but in class too.

This weekend, I was walking better and even doing some running and the silly dog stayed with me and did all the courses.

I sure hope I am feeling good this weekend.

First run really sucked though she had nice weaves. Judge said she wore her out too.

JWW is a bit of a nightmare. Got dizzy twice walking it.

We got through the first six jumps but she blew me off when I sent her to the weaves.

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Just finished a nice run, sent her too far out which cost us a time fault but we were clean.

She is now
Tesoro’s Herald Square, NA, NAJ, OAP, OJP, T-BAD

Good girlie!

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My robot kids are a bit in amazement that I think we always need spare things.   Well, having a spare beagle came in handy last night.

Macy decided that she didn’t really want to do agility last night during class.  So I picked her up, popped her in her crate, got Dulce and let Dulce run.

Macy decided that wasn’t in her best interest and was good the rest of the night.

Glad I went.  Dulce did well, stayed in the ring and did most of the courses. 

Macy got another Q in Intermediate, she needs 1 Q for Level 2 games now, and 1 Q for the TIAD title.

Good news, is that the distance work is paying off!

Woke up feeling good, got to Keller, paid them my entry, sat down and couldn’t get back up!

Knee has been bothering me every since.

However, we had some good runs.

Macy is up and fast.  I think she Qed in Intermediate, she was clean, but we have that nasty course time issue.

Dulce did everything, but had some extra obstacles in.  Not bad for a little girl who likes to panic and run out of the ring.

I took her leash off, told her tire, and she danced around and ran out of the ring.

I am not pleased and  not waiting around for JWW.

Macy had a decent JWW run, slow, and had two refusals at the weaves but got them.

DOTC is another weekend!

BTW when she ran out, I knew where she was headed (my treat bag), and I wasn’t going to allow any behavior but coming to me be rewarded.  That’s why I kept saying “No, Ma’am” and ignored her until I had the treats in my hand and THEN called her.

It was interesting – right now, I compete very early, and then wait all day, and do all three classes at once.  Not fun.

Dulce ran in Novice standard and was not listening.  I was ready and had a plan.  I stopped, called her to me, ask her to do a few more obstacles, she refused, I excused us from the ring, went to our leash, and she came up and I was able to leash her.  Walked her back to the car, put her in her cage, and got Macy as her run was coming up.  Made a big deal out of her both before and after her run (she ran clean but over time).  Then when it was time to run Dulce, worked on her focus, and went into the ring.  She acted up again, I called her, settled her down and started again.  This time she did what she was told.

Sometimes punishing a dog works (I removed the opportunity to get rewards for the behaviorists).

Had a good run in Excellent Standard A (our second), and she took an extra jump at the beginning.  Since we no longer had to worry about a Q, I made her do all the work by using our distance skills (probably why she took the extra jump).

Also had a refusal at the tunnel, but even with those two mistakes, she was 5 seconds under course time.  And I didn’t have to run as much.

I was talking to someone today about how Computer Science people solve problems, and mentioned my dog stress issues.  I forgot about one.

When Marcie got really sick with pancreatis, I know that one of the factors in her final care had to do with cost.  Shortly after we put her to sleep, I put Macy on VPI pet insurance.  It is a huge relief to go to the vet and not have to worry about the vet bill being unaffordable.  It doesn’t cover all the costs, but does most of them. 

The second stress reliever was surveillance cameras on the dog room and dog run.  We got our first two for the front of the house after the drunk driver drove through it, but while I was experimenting with the cameras, I discovered I REALLY liked them in the dog room.  I  know have two in the dog room and two on the dog run (those the dog run cameras also cover the back yard entrance).

The third stress reliever was putting GPS devices on their collar (Pet Tagg).

So with the last two, I know they are home and where they belong when I’m at work or doing other things.

It’s a BIG thing.