Jun
26
Weekend Fun
So, I had a rare weekend of no work, AND no agility trials. So I decided to go to the beach with some friends, and of course, the dogs. Trip and Ticket came along, even though neither one of them has been a fan of water in the past. In fact, the last time Trip went to the beach, she tried to hide under the car as soon as I took her out of her crate, and when that didn’t work, she jumped in a crate in a friend’s van and stayed there. Just sad. She was willing to play and chase the other Shelties along the beach eventually, but not the most fun she’s ever had. So, I wasn’t expecting too much this time.
TICKET was a nut. She ran down to the water as soon as someone started throwing a toy, and while she didn’t like the waves going in or out, she happily jumped and played in the water. Even Trip got in on the fun, though she was nowhere near as comfortable as Ticket. I think all those treats on the underwater treadmill during rehab may have counter-conditioned her a bit. She’s even willing to be dunked when she gets hot practicing agility now, where before she would have run away from any kind of pool. Goes to show you the power of positive reinforcement. 🙂 Which is great on the agility-front, because the summer heat is already brutal. I’m cutting back on training, trying to keep my sessions short, and focusing very hard on not overdoing it. It’s hard when you have a high-energy dog, but someone has to be the responsible one. 🙂
So, we had a great time, and it was a nice way to relax. We have AKC trials the next two weekends, then a week off before 4 days for Reliant. Really, our busiest time of the summer. I’m SO hoping for some QQs for Ticket, but we’ll just have to see how she feels. She will also get to meet her Grandma, AND show under her, in a couple of weeks. She is Ticket’s dad, Dillon’s, “mom,” and I’m so looking her forward to meeting his crazy wild-child of a daughter, and her equally carefree brother, Rugby.
Here are some happy summer pictures.
