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There is a Teacup Agility Trial coming up in July that I want to enter, and since Dog City was having a fun match today (probably still going on), I decided I wanted to see if the girls could compete there.

Macy ran first, and did very well.  I got her over their teeter three times and since there isn’t a worse teeter in the area (very loud and bounces since it isn’t fastened down like trials do), I think she’ll do fine.

Dulce was fabulous.  She had trouble at the start, it was a straight open  tunnel, jump and weaves, and she went in to fast for me to get to the jump.  I couldn’t get her to do it right at the beginning and tried again at the end.

However she did everything else beautifully including the weaves, sadly there wasn’t a chute for us to do – we haven’t had enough practice on that.  I haven’t decided how many runs she’ll do at the teacup trial, but I think she’ll do well. 

The nice thing about teacup is that it is a shorter distance to run, and the obstacles are closer so there isn’t as much opportunity to lose her.

Macy runs Open, and she’ll run beginners so they will be nicely spaced out.

Was a tad worried as she wouldn’t eat get last dose but I grabbed a Little Ceasar’s meal and chopped up the two together and she scarfed it down.

I take her or poop from her to the get but I think she is already a bit perkier.

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I found out more about Maggie's parasite, yes, yuck.

It is very rare, you don't see them often. Also you don't find them in fecal tests very often.

By the way, Dr. Esmond and I had a nice visit. I brought Dulce and he got to admire his handiwork.

Back to Maggie, we have always had problems maintaining her weight. This may be why. I give her pills three days in a row and take get back for a check.

I always feel bad for her because she is skin and bones.

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Maggie has a stomach fluke (I think), the tech said it was a rare  intestinal parasite, just got the results back, so we’ll have to pick up information and meds from the vet tomorrow, probably on the way to or back from my own doctor.

Probably why the poor dog can’t gain weight.

Super turn out this year, and very proud of Farmers Branch because of it.  One of the local vets, several boarding places,  and several dog food vendors were there.  Sewell Cadillac brought out several dog trucks.  They had several food vendors, including Marshall’s BBQ.  My poop scooper was scooping poop too.  Lots of miscellaneous vendors, and it was all good.

Proceeds benefiting the city facilities which can no longer be called a pound it is so nice.

Had a good class with Donna.

She. Is making very good progress. We worked teeter and chute. She's had teeter down for a while and still working on chute.

We also did some short sequences involving the tunnel, tire, and chute. Also did one box sequence.

I need to work on keeping her focus.

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First, if you read my other blog, you’ll know I”ve been having trouble with my lapband, and as a result, am at a weight that I really shouldn’t be running agility.  In fact, before lapband, Macy would not even try to run with me.

We went out to Fort Worth on Friday, even though it’s pretty tough physically to deal with the site.  I could unload everything easily, but it’s a long way to any parking.  Plus, the complex was very busy, so the closest parking was 4 blocks away.

Things went well though.  Macy had her fastest Jumpers run ever, she just missed the triple and I’ve found we really need to work on it.

She missed the teeter in Standard, and had trouple with the triple.

Saturday, I woke up having some difficulty breathing –basically can’t get a deep breath, which means running isn’t going to go well (I am still having the problem today).  I’m thinking some how, that and my blood sugar are related, because it is high. 

We got there, I got a slightly closer parking space, and we tried a run.  Macy stayed in the ring but basically wasn’t understanding what I was telling her.  It was a tunnel, jump, and she just couldn’t get it right.  We also got to the triple which she couldn’t do either, and then I asked to be excused.

I woke up in the same shape today, so I’m skipping agility entirely, we’ve worked really hard together to get some trust, and I don’t want to blow that with her right now.

Must reading for any dog training.  Back in the day, when I first got beagles, I followed all that crap but realized rapidly that the beagles didn’t treat each other that way at all, and that treating the beagles the way they treated each other got me further. 

You can also let him enter a room before you, and you can let him win at a game of tug of war, all without fearing that you will somehow signal that you are the submissive one and he is in charge. Contrary to long-cherished theories, dogs aren’t competing with us for position in the pack, but are largely performing for our approval.

How we came to misunderstand dogs – Pets. Animals. – Salon.com

EE left us a cool course and Julie subbed. It was fun and we got a lot of good stuff for the trial this weekend

For example, I have to stop and mark the first weave pole but the she can do the rest. 

I need to stop going in so deep into the tunnels but notice so quick she thinks she screwed up and I still need to be close to the down contacts.

Good stuff!

We have 3 days of trials on Ft. Worth starting Friday.

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Dulce has many of the same issues Macy has.  Claustrophobia, which makes tunnels and chutes interesting. 

We did some rear cross work with the Click and Treat (Manners Minder).  We also did a short sequence that involved a tunnel, the tire, and several jumps.  Dulce finally got it so I could send her into the tunnel.

We also did some chute work, and she’s almost ready for the fabric to be on the ground.

Really focusing on distance work, since most of the time I am as stiff as the tin man.

Thanks, Donna