Sunday, March 23, 2008

P's and Q's


The redheads and I enjoyed another 3-day weekend of agility at Wills Park. Travis ran beautifully and earned 2 more double Qs with at least 1 first, 2 seconds, and a third. I honestly can't remember his placement from Jumpers yesterday..... whoops. His only non-qualifying run was Jumpers on Friday. He missed his weave pole entrance and skipped the first pole. Otherwise, he is running very consistently and smooth. It feels so good to guide him around a course. Some people feel really rushed and look really out of sorts out there. Some handlers sound really desperate or harsh with verbal commands even if they don't mean to. Others just can't put it together. So its nice when you and your dog finally put it together and run clean more often than not... when the run looks as smooth as it feels... when you are so in sync that your dog knows where he is going and you aren't constantly pulling him from incorrect obstacles. Travis is just such a super star.

Today everyone saw him in his penguin PJs because I was short on time..... so he got made fun of :-). But that's ok, he still ran clean :-).

Reagan earned a triple P on Saturday and a double P today. It was like she finally understood that she should take this opportunity to potty. She is working really well amongst all of the distractions. My best friend, Anna Rhodes from California, would like to predict that Reagan is going to my best greyhound yet......in fact her exact words are "I think she just might turn out to be your best dog in terms of winning a ton of different titles. I predict it NOW". So there you have it, Anna. Its in writing. I think it will be neat to look back ten years from now and read Reagan's blog with some young obnoxious greyhound (red, of course) at my feet. I will be wondering how this new dog will ever compare to my wonderful Reagan :-)...... dare to dream :-). Now if I could just get her to stop chewing on the old bed sheet's elastic, not stand over and stare face to face with Travis while he is resting (thanks for not killing her, Travis), and to not make a nest on top of Katie......... she might just see her first birthday.....stay tuned.

Katie looked good this weekend. We did some obedience work and she got to hunt squirrels at the end of a 4 foot leash. No catches, but it does make her strike a pretty pose.





Now, Katie's leopard PJs have special meaning. They belonged to Kate Crawford's Mandoid from Marz. Mandoid was the pioneer greyhound of agility and Kate's super diva. Katie later surpassed Mandoid's accomplishments and when Mandoid passed away, Kate wanted Katie to have her coat. So it is a very special coat and keeps Katie snugly warm in the van on cold days.

We also met a lady named, Kathy. She is adopting an 11 week old greyhound this week. This will be her first greyhound and she hopes to do agility and obedience with him. He is coming from a farm that was shut down due to a bad situation. He is supposedly the trouble maker and most outgoing of the litter. She hasn't seen him yet, but he is red (at least she got the right color :-). I told her she must email me pictures and updates. She lives in Gainesville, GA.