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



Sunday, November 2, 2008

Max & Skye Were Superstars!


We finished up our agility year with a bang!

Peter was sick with the flu, so I took both of the boys down to Cannon Falls for our final agility trial of the year. I was a little nervous about running Skye, because he gets real cranky with me. Peter and I have very different handling styles, and I'm pretty sure Skye thinks I'm doing it wrong. And he has no problems telling me so. I have tooth holes in my trial pants to prove it! :-)

Long story short:

Max Q'd four of his five runs, and now has eight of the forty qualifying runs he needs for his Championship. He was running and following direction like a pro yesterday. As usual, his one missed Q was my fault. He was again the only dog in his category, so he brought home lots of blue ribbons. :-) Even better, his hips didn't seem to be an issue at all. He didn't even look stiff or sore later that night, so I think that for now we have the right mix of activity and meds to keep him healthy.

Skye was very forgiving of my handing this time around, and he Q'd three of his four runs. He was competing against about six other dogs and placed 1st twice and 2nd once. Go, Skye, go! His Jumpers run was a beauty! It was a tough course, and even though he has a tendency to knock down bars on twisty courses, but he navigated his way through this one without flaw. Good boy! Finally, he got very grouchy on his fourth run, so I let him sit the fifth one out. He lets me know when he's had enough for the day. He was perfectly content to wait in his kennel while Max did his last run.

It was a long, chilly day in the horse barn but the boys did great, and it was fun to see all our agility friends one more time before packing it in for the winter. We plan on continuing lessons, then going back to competition in the spring when I can get outside between runs and walk Max to keep his hips warmed up without trudging through snowbanks.

As a bonus, when I got home, it was just in time to see my Wolves take on the Dallas Mavericks. We lost, but we put up a good fight! It will be fun to watch how the guys learn to work together this season with some of the new talent they've got.

Now I have to go clean up my house, and I want to finish up Jonathan Kellerman's new book, Bones. And I need to write a review or two. And I want to see where the heck I'm at with some of these Challenges I'm not done with. Good thing we got an extra hour today! :-)



9 comments:

Michele said...

Congrats, Lezlie! Sounds like a wonderful day!

Anonymous said...

We love to watch the agility trials on TV. Sounds like a fun day.

Lezlie said...

Michele & Bermudaonion ~ Thanks! It was definitely a fun day. They get to be long and tiring, but spending the hours hanging out with my dogs and lots of other dog-minded people is always rewarding!

Lezlie

Ana S. said...

Congrats to Max and Skye :D

Lezlie said...

Thanks, Nymeth!

Max & Skye

Teddy Rose said...

A big congrats to Max and Skye from Aunt Teddy! Congrats to Lezlie and Peter on your leadership and love throught the successful year!

Lezlie said...

Thank you so much, Teddy, from the whole family!

Lezlie

Darlene said...

Awesome Lezlie. Great job Max & Skye! Sounds like such a great day. Too funny about Skye letting you know when he thinks you're doing things wrong. Dogs are so funny that way. I'm so glad Max's hips are doing so well. That's good news. Give them both a big hug from Auntie Dar.

Hey, I have Bones-I'll be watching for your review to see what you think.

Lezlie said...

Dar ~ Skye's a really smart dog, almost scary. He makes his wishes very clear about most things. :-) I'll pass on the hugs!

I should have the Bones review up within a couple of days.

Lezlie