Training May 14, and thoughts on aging

On Tuesday we went to the field for the second time of the season. I set up part of a sequence from the "Backyard Dogs" article in the May 2013 issue of Clean Run, for Wall-e. I also lined up two sets of 6 weaves, about 15 feet away from each other, because Wall-e popped out of 12 weaves at our trial last weekend, and I'd hoped this exercise would help. (His entries were fantastic at the trial though, really happy with those!) 

We did more work on the weaves then I'd planned (just 3 reps, but I'm trying to keep sessions short with Wall-e because he's been less drivey lately), so I opted not to do the sequence and instead end the session. 

Then I took Mika out. I've been resting her because I noticed a couple weeks ago that she was bearing weight unevenly; she was very slightly lame in her front right leg. It's probably a sore shoulder; I gently felt around her shoulder and she started blinking when I felt the part of her shoulder near her elbow. 

But after training Wall-e this day, I took her out of the car and let her explore the field. It was her first time on the field this season, and the look on her face was awesome. She was just so, so happy to be out there. I loved watching her cheerfully galloping around the field (a slow gallop, not a frantic race that would re-injure her shoulder), around the 16" jumps that Wall-e had been using, then turn, smiling, towards me, with the sun shining behind her and lighting her fur. That was all it took to fully convince me that no matter what Mika's age, I'm never going to stop doing agility with her as long as she wants to do it too, and as long as it isn't hurting her. I want her to feel young for as long as she possibly can, and agility does that for her like nothing else. 

The only thing that I'm unsure about is trialing. I've entered her in a lot more trials this year in the hopes of making her feel important. I just want to keep this dog with me as long as possible while still being happy and healthy. If I thought that trialing was bad for her, I wouldn't enter her in any more ever again. I just want to do what's best for her, and I'm still not exactly sure what that is.

On one hand, trialing is stressful and involves a lot of waiting around between runs (and before and after). But then I think of how, although Mika is dog-reactive, her reactivity lessens at trials. She knows she's there for agility and that's what she's focused on. And trials get her out of her familiar environments, which is a good thing? Maybe? I don't know, there's just so much to think about and I'm hoping the answers will come to me. 

The agility field's opened for the season!

Wall-e enjoying a post-training gallop around the field.

Enjoying yogurt "pup"sicles

Every summer we freeze yogurt into "pup"sicles. This year I mixed together yogurt and water and then froze it. Mika starts off licking it, then moves on into chewing it. Wall-e starts chewing right away.

Mika and Wall-e Trials July '12 video

From last summer :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN6wNKv1p1U

Mika's groom - final result

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And summer begins!

I finished my exams last week, so now I'm off for the summer. I can't begin to describe how much I'm looking forward to hanging out with my dogs as much as I want again!

On Friday evening we went to a mini trial; both dogs did two Masters Jumpers runs (each). Wall-e got his first Masters Jumpers Q! I was really happy with the run and my mindset before during it; I was "in the zone." But as for the run itself, it was very speedy and flowy. Too bad it's not on video (the memory card malfunctioned), but oh well. It was my first time using a blind cross at a trial; at the exit of a tunnel. (I used a blind cross in the next course too.) The only thing we could have improved on in the run was a very late front cross I did on the second jump of a 180; I changed my handling of that part in my next run with Mika (on the same course).

Now that I'm regularly running Wall-e in two different Masters classes (Steeplechase and Jumpers), I'm really starting to appreciate the benefit of running two dogs on the same course. Wall-e is usually the first dog I run, since he's in Regular and Mika is now in Veteran, so he's kind of my "tester dog"; if something goes wrong with my handling while running him, I can change it in my run with Mika. Of course, I try to make the best handling decisions while running Wall-e too, but it does help to be able to make my mistakes with a dog who I don't have to worry about speed with (unlike Mika, who slows down if she gets confused).

Mika was great on Friday too. I recently noticed that she's been slowing down over the past year or two; yes, she has been getting older, but she's still only 8.5 years old and I'd like to keep her feeling young as long as possible (in all aspects of her life). She did have fun on Friday though, barking at the ends of both runs. Her speed was normal (not the normal it used to be, but the normal it's been for the past year or two.) Maybe increasing her fitness will help her speed...not sure. I still absolutely love running with her, even if she isn't as fast as she used to be, but I also want her to live the life of a young dog for as long as she can.

This weekend I've been giving Mika a much-needed haircut. Yup, it takes all weekend because I give her lots of breaks! She looks pretty funny at the moment; groomed everywhere except her head. Cute though! I'll be clipping her ears next.

Our St. Patrick's Day (no alcohol involved!)

This green box is pretty much one of the only green things we own, so I grabbed Wall-e for some photos, but ended up focusing more on him and pretty much forgetting about the box :P He was trying to do 2on2off on the thin edge of the box. As I kept telling him, "You're so strange! :)" Well, he started off doing 2on2off, then started raising his left rear foot in the air; kind of a 1on,2off,1in-the-air kinda thing :)
 
I couldn't pick just one picture; it's hard to decide between all his faces :P
 
(Totally not the best background for photos either, but oh well, we had fun :) He really likes the home-dehydrated beef that we've been using.)

Mister Handsome! 

 

 

I took both dogs for separate walks that afternoon; the sky was beautiful, and although it was a bit chilly, both dogs enjoyed it. I've walked Wall-e every day all winter, but I've only recently started taking Mika for walks again because she really doesn't enjoy it when it's cold. But she loved it on this day :) We have a game we play where she runs over to one of the little snow peaks and stands on it until I release her.

 

(Her beard is still a bit stained from her surgery last year; it got really stained because of her Elizabethan collar. I've been cutting it so it can grow out white. She's still as cute as ever, of course!)

What's up with that ear! It was WINDY! (No pun intended, ahaha...what's "up"...anyway, moving on... :P )

 

 

 :)