NOTICE: (Updated March 5, 2010)

Beginning December 19, 2009, Books 'N Border Collies will be posting but only intermittently while I pursue personal goals. I plan to share some reading I'm doing, but there will be no reviews. I will, however, be sharing my exploration of vegetarian cooking and the cookbooks and websites I use to educate myself. I hope you enjoy it!

Lezlie



Saturday, June 14, 2008

You Can't Win 'Em All


I have to make it quick, because we're having a big storm right now, but I promised a report! :-) The first two runs went fabulous! Both Q'd and got 2nd place to start the day. Same with the second run for each. Then it got ugly, because I made the HUGE mistake of showing Max where the kiddie pool was and letting him spash around before his run. Max is extremely obsessive even for a Border Collie, and as soon as we finished his run and I said, "Good Boy!", he suddenly bolted for the pool before I could get his leash on him. That's bad, as he could be eliminitated from the run for leaving the ring off-leash and, even worse, out of control. The judge was very nice though and chose to ignore his little mistake, since he's never done anything like that before. Then, on the next run, half way through his Jackpot course (which was going amazingly at the time), a switch flipped in his little brain and he thought, "Oh, yeah!! POOOOOL!", and bolted out of the ring and ran to the pool. I had to take him out of his final run for the day, because I couldn't risk him taking off again like that. Naughty man. We'll be doing a some serious work on pool distractions over the next month.

And did I mention that Peter woke up sick with the flu, so I had to run Skye, too? He was awesome for the first two runs, then apparently decided he'd had enough today and was a huge brat for Jackpot. I ended up missing the last run with both of them and taking them home. We're skipping tomorrow, because Peter is still sick, and Max will most likely still be darting for the pool. Better to miss a day and get some extra obedience training in.

Before I start sounding like Ms. Doom and Gloom, I have to say there were some really great moments out there on the courses, and I was really proud of some of the things we did. It's just that sometimes you suddenly learn you have issues that you didn't know you had. It's all part of the game. It's what makes it so frustrating, but sooooo rewarding when you conquer the problems. The boys got kisses and treats and they'll get a day off. And we'll get 'em next time!

Lezlie

PS Peter is feeling much better now, and says thank you to everyone for the good luck wishes and nice thoughts!

6 comments:

Andi said...

Sorry to hear it didn't turn out just right, but they'll both be ready next time. :) Glad Peter is feeling better!

Teddy Rose said...

I'm so sorry to laugh, but I can't help myself. We brought Robbie to 'Dog Days' today. We entered him in the bobbin balls contest. You know, bobbing for apples, but instead balls in a kiddie pool.

While we were waiting for the event we walked around the lake and Robbie waded with some new found friends. Then he found something stinky stuff to roll around in. Then poor thing, I made him take a shower at the people beach. When it was time for the bobbin, he looked at me like " you want me to do what? Are you crazy or something. Thats too beneath me" The human kids that were there had a good laugh at him.

It's okay to roll around in some stinky stuff but bobbin balls was beneath him. LOL!

So the day didn't go as planned for you! Better luck next time.

zetor said...

Hope Peter continues to improve. After a day off I'm sure they'll be good results, can't help but smile at Max's dash for the pool!

Lezlie said...

Andi ~ We've been doing so well lately, we were due for a rough spot. It keeps us humble. :-)

Teddy Rose ~ LOL! They are funny little beings, aren't they? Skye likes to roll in stinky stuff, too. Max, however, would have jumped right into the water and bobbed for *all* the balls! His two favorite things: Balls & Water. Doggie Heaven! Sounds like Robbie had himself a good time anyway! :-)

Zetor ~ If it hadn't been so incredibly naughty, it was pretty funny. It's like his brain falls out when he sees a pool!

And a thank you to everyone from Peter. He is feeling almost himself this morning.

Anonymous said...

Shame on me, but you had me laughing with Max and the pool. If I were a dog, I'd be like him. :)

So, so sorry about Peter. Glad it wasn't something that stayed with him longer. Maybe it was something he ate?

Lezlie said...

J. Kaye ~ I probably would be, too. :-) It's so hard to be mad at him, because he's such a happy dog! He gets away with *way* too much. Hence, our current issue. . .

Peter is feeling much, much better. We think it was a 24-hour flu bug.

Lezlie