Sunday, March 22, 2009

A new adventure

In the world of obedience trials, the judge says "Exercise finished" at the end of each exercise. This means the handler can take a few seconds to tell her dog how wonderful he is and get ready for whatever comes next. Or she can do damage control . . . like when her dog pokes her in the butt on the halt. My dogs would never do that. Never. Ever. Okay, maybe once. 

That's what this blog is going to be like (no, not like getting poked in the butt), just a quick break to reflect on what's going on with my dogs and my life. Wait. That's redundant. My dogs are my life. Here they are:

This is Connor. He is a 14-year-old Shetland sheepdog. His favorite things are mealtimes and barking at things. It doesn't matter if there is actually anything to bark at or not.

OTCh., U-OTCh. Sunazie's Black Diamond, UDX5, MX, MXJ, RN


This is Jamie. He is a 9-year-old Belgian tervuren. His favorite thing is poking people in the butt. He's very good at it. He is also The Most Patient Dog In The World.

OTCh., U-UD Ariel's Escape Through Time, UDX3, TD, MX, MXJ, MXP, MJP, RE, NF


This is Phoenix. He is a 2-year-old Belgian malinois. His favorite things change by the minute: "Yeah, cookies! Wait, a ball! No, wait, a tug! Hey, agility equipment! Cool, a bone! Awesome, my dumbbell! Oh-oh-oh, a fuzzy squeaky! Whee, my bite stick!" See what I mean?

Carousel's Call of the Wild, AX, OAJ, RN

The focus of my life right now is getting Phoenix ready for his debut in Novice obedience this spring. It's hard to decide when to bring out a young dog. If you do it too soon, it may be a trainwreck. If you wait until they're perfect, you'll never get into the ring.

With that in mind, I have decided on the criteria I want from our first formal ring experience. Forget the scores, I want ATTITUDE! Ears up, eyes bright, bounce in the step, happy, confident, enthusiastic, working in drive, focused, joyful ATTITUDE!

(Thanks to photographers extraordinaire Meme and Sheryl for the pics. You guys rock.)










3 comments:

  1. Good Job YOU!!!!!! Very cute dawgs. Are they expensive? G

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  2. Awesome!!! Welcome to blogging!!!

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  3. This is really going to be fun. I'm enjoying it already.

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