Me Again

Trooper enjoyed the hotel room

Wow, it's been over a month since my last post. Things have been busy with me and the dogs. Nothing overly exciting, but still busy. Let's see if I can catch you up.

Trooper's first shows were last month. Despite all my preparation, we had a last-minute change of plans. He and I had been practicing our ringcraft a couple times a week. I forgot that I'm 50 and don't move like I used to. During handling class I twisted my right knee. It was swollen hurt like crazy for weeks. I ended up having someone else take Trooper into the ring. Trooper was the only one in his class, so he walked away with a blue ribbon each day. That being said, he didn't seem to enjoy himself. I think he was stressed. He moved nicely, but shied away from the physical exam. Grrr. Both judges said really nice things about my dog. A professional handler friend of my breeder really liked Trooper too. The consensus is: he's promising, but needs to get over the "strangers touching him" thing.

That same weekend Jedi competed in three Fast CAT trials. He ran the 100-yard dash between 10.01 and 10.66 seconds each time. That's pretty damn fast! By my calculations he earned the 150 points required for his BCAT title. However, the AKC is really slow about posting results, so I don't have official confirmation yet.

Look at him go!

Two days after the shows we had Jedi neutered. His OFA test last year revealed a wonky elbow. Dammit. I decided against breeding him, so keeping the hormones and urges tied to them would be cruel. Also, he's six now. Middle age brings prostate complications. Neutering removes these problems. And on a purely selfish level, I didn't want two intact males in my small house. I figured neutering Jedi before Trooper reaches sexual maturity would help keep peace in my home. The vet did a wonderful job. The internal stitches were dissolvable, and instead of external stitches, surgical glue was used. Jedi never appeared uncomfortable or itchy, so we didn't have to use the cone. Everything healed up beautifully.

Goofy pup won't sit still

The following week Trooper became an AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy. Yay! A certificate and medal came in the mail over the weekend. I tried to get a good picture, but he wouldn't sit still. This is as good as you're going to get!

See, we've been busy!!

So what's next? This Sunday I'm taking both boys to Barn Hunt trials in DeLand. Jedi is still working towards his open title. He hasn't been on rats since April. I hope he remembers. I signed Trooper up for the Instinct test (since we're going to be there anyway). We'll see if Trooper's got it. We haven't been able to train anywhere, so I may just be eating the $20.

Saturday there's a German Shepherd only match just outside Ocala. The White German Shepherd Dog Club of America is holding their National Specialty shows this weekend. They are offering a match (kind of a practice confirmation show) just for "colored" German shepherds like us. Fortunately, they're only taking entries day of. I'm waffling back and forth over entering Trooper. He's still weird about strangers, and I haven't been working on it like I should. He's in his second fear period and I don't want to traumatize him. At the same time, the longer we wait the further behind we're going to be in his training. So . . . more decisions.

Mostly I'm frustrated. And I'm tired. All. The. Freakin. Time. This is making everything more difficult.

• We're not practicing at home as often as we should.
• I've blown off handling classes for naps.
• Jedi's not getting his walks in the park and his restlessness is annoying.
• Trooper is not getting regular socialization field trips.
• My weight loss has stalled, and I've put 8 pounds back on. This sucks. (I'm still down 26 pounds from December, so it's not all bad news.)

These guys need to get out more

And to add insult to injury, my ancient cell phone has become unreliable. Every time something updates, something else screws up. I may or may not be able to blog, post to Facebook, take/view pictures or text at any given time. The picture quality stinks, with more photos blurry than not. BUT -- and this is a big but -- my Galaxy S4 is paid for. (Yes, I realize that the S9s are out. I said ancient!) Honestly, I don't want to spend that kind of money, especially during dog sports season!

Want to hear something sad? I've started and deleted a half-dozen post in the last month. I felt they were just too negative -- even by my glass-is-half-empty standards. Truth is, I have a hard time sharing when I'm feeling surly and tired. Right now I'm having trouble thinking clearly. It's soooo annoying. I hope whatever funk I'm under goes away soon.

So I guess you're up to speed now. I'll try to be more timely with news, phone willing. And I'll try not to be too grumpy -- but no promises. Later, -- K