Grab Bag

Free to good home: many random thoughts bouncing around in my head.

Everything must go!!

Meaning...Yay random catch up post!

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First up- chiropractics!

Guess what- It works! It's not all broken spines and malpractice. I feel super. Or at least on the way to super. Don't worry, it's not like I've been duped into giving up my paycheck for the rest of my life as the chiro story goes. The best part about my Doctor (yeah, a Doctor! Not a "doctor") is that we have a PLAN. 1) Put everything in its place 2) Keep it there with a bit o rehab. "Rehab" involves this crazy muscle work (like massage in horror stories), then some movement correction. 1, 2, done. And I'm learning a lot. Very interesting stuff about mechanics.

Plus the actual adjustments are wicked. Wicked! I swear the doctor is a ninja. Or Chuck Norris. But he is crazy good and I feel so super!

Can you tell?

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I got to thinking that maybe this is what it's like for The Dog. Super feeling yay movement and jelly-like looseness. (Yep that was a sentence??) So when I noted some hinky moves from her when running the other day I made her an appointment with someone my vet referred.

Taadaaa! Now she is super. Vertebrae L2 through L6 OUT. Now back IN. Happy Dog prancing with jelly-like looseness. AND I learned a lot there too. This vet had some new thoughts on The Dogs musculature. And she wasn't Doomsday. She had great feedback on a few weaknesses and how to strengthen.

So now we both have homework on moving differently so we can get out of these phases of bad concrete-like stiffness and be only jelly.

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Whatelsewhatelsewhhhaaaaaatelllllssssse...

Frog Dog exists!!

So we are all rekindling our fun trick roots. I get to teach a super cool trick class for a bit so I need to run through the how tos again. The girls are quite happy with this arrangement. Many treats. Such a good work out too. Lots of core work involved (for them... Not so much me sadly) as we go though my impending lessons. Students are in for a fun class but it will definitely grow some skills and muscles! (Hm, note to self: class seems popular- next time be smart and sell spots for 5k to the highest bidders in my circle who have the best offers of free services and goods...I need someone to do my taxes- hint hint.)

I'd hoped to use The Pup to demo but it might be too mind blowing to come in and work without a warm up. She really can start focusing any day now in the face of excitement. (Though- big plus!- she worked around a person running their dog in a hovaround.)

To be fair though, she hasn't done squat for 2 weeks aside from some flatwork DAYS ago. Maybe once we put her back in business she will forgive me and chill out. She is cone free and not at risk for dumping her guts out so I'm thinking she can start in some tomorrow again.

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It's super imperative that she gets practice... Because... I registered her! Woowoo! As a 'canine partner.' (thhhhbt. I think it's lame that I had to claim her as an accident- like I don't know where she came from. They forbid you from using kennel names too. Pish posh.)

PROOF!! Ready for action with the Unknown Soldier.

Anyways, now she is all set for her first show which I will hopefully get into!! Three days after the 15th month mark!

(Please please I am a rock star worker!!)

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Including a possible debut, we have many a fun thing on the docket. Some shows coming up- our first UKI, then AKC, then USDAA. Oops. All in a row. How did I do that? At least we will have a stretch of dull following that (since we didn't get into an AKC show!!! Ga! May that never repeat!!)

For the UKI show we are experimenting. Time to let the cat out of the (grab) bag- I entered The Dog in 26". I really want to run her FEO at WTTO this year. Pending the outcome of the UKI show, we will start working on making that a sane decision.

I want to do this for a few reasons- first, it will make me accountable for continued working on The Dogs health homework. Next, challenge! New! Then, it will be really good to play with The Dog in that high stress environment.

After that, hmm, options. If its not a disaster I might see about keeping on with 26" in AKC. We will see. Just depends. She looks more comfortable at 26 than 22. In practice. A show setting though... Like I said- depends. I'm not sold on any one outcome.

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Other cool stuff- lots of Daisy action! A private for The Dog in February! Then a working spot for one of them in April when she comes back. We will be so smart! I am looking forward to her take on motivation and the mental game in regards to The Dog. And of course, assistance with handling and perfecting our dogwalk!

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That might be it for today. Definitely will report back with video after the 26" experiment. I will welcome feedback. Constructive feedback. No Haters!

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The Pup is a Hater BTW. She leaves stuffed animal parts around. As a warning.  Apparently I'm never allowed to shelf her again. Or else.

The Dog is a Lover. Of all toys. ALL TOYS. ALL TOYS BELONG TO DOG.

OK Dog, you win. Because you didn't threaten my life.

Implementing A Safety Awareness Program

If you don’t know, my real life job is in Human Resources.  (I’m so curious as to people’s reactions- does it ‘fit’? Did you see that coming?)  While I really try to avoid cross contamination of real life and dog life, I think for once my real life could be of some assistance.

You see, dog life has seen a recent significant rise in injuries and incidents.  What better way to tamp down and cut injury-related costs than to implement a new procedure? After all, Professional Me is a procedure making and enforcing MACHINE.

One of the things that we HR people love to do in a new procedure campaign is to make signs. It’s second only to sending out memos.  So I’ve made this sign to create awareness of our little problem, and to acknowledge the success…if there is any:

Anyways, the procedure is pretty simple. If I sent a memo, it would consist of “Attention all Dogs and Pups. Stop getting hurt. Hurting each other and hurting yourselves is no longer permitted. Thank you for your compliance.”

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The most recent issue was The Pup. I found a bump on her leg last Monday.  By Wednesday the bump became The Bump (very large and angry looking). Though it didn’t seem to bother her it bothered me. I made an appointment for Thursday.  Not fast enough for her I guess- while I was at work that day she attempted to self-amputate The Bump. 

The Bump (or what is left of him), it turns out, is a histiocytoma. Basically, puppies are growing so much that the cells just start manifesting into an odd little mass for lack of anything else to do. This mass would go away in a month or two, if she leaves him alone. Hence:

I am sure some of you are wondering what The Bump looks like- pretty gross actually. So to spare you, a dramatic interpretation:

Before: 

After:

Don’t worry about The Pup though. She loves her cone.

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The Dog, as we know, has also had her share of contributing injuries.  She has seemed just a stitch ‘off’ since the appearance of the ‘coffee table ding’ and the Great Broad Jump Crash of 2011.  (Occasionally coming up lame after a rough play with the ball and knocking more bars than is typical for her in practice.)  I’ve always been wary of the canine chiro/massage New Age Mumbo Jumbo (what if some unqualified voodoo doctor hurts my dog???), but decided that since the trial we went to was bringing in a real life vet from TOPS rehab to do chiro we would give it a whirl.  

Sold. Give us Mumbo Jumbo any day. Apparently The Dog was ‘out’ in ways to suggest the coffee table ding DID have something to do with it.  The vet was also able to tell how she tugs and the fact that she’s been tugging lopsided with The Pup based on the way her neck and jaw had shifted.  So she popped everything back into place and off we went on our merry, well-adjusted way.

Reasons I am sold: besides the vet being able to tell what happened without ME telling her first (not fishing for hints a la John Williams on the ghost psychic show), The Dog sat through it and let a STRANGER touch her (WOW.), which tells me it felt good at least, and the biggest reason? The magically good way The Dog ran all weekend.  She was…light? I hadn’t realized how awkward she had been looking until I saw ‘normal’ again. Back to feather jumping and showing good confidence on weave entries, Aframe and teeter.  Now the question is… where can I get good, reliable (licensed!) Mumbo Jumbo in MN?

So yeah. It goes without saying at this point (but I will say it anyways) that we had a REALLY good weekend.  I was thrilled to the point of giddy at how well The Dog ran. This was a pretty big show with a good size, FAST 22” class and The Dog was sitting well in placements all weekend. (Many Top Ten points! Hooray!) Saturday was probably her Best Day Ever. It honestly might make me a bit teary to dwell on it so I’ll just say she ran as FAST as anyone and the ever sought after TEAM component was there in spades.  She is finally having fun I think, and I’m finally trusting her.  Sunday she was wired all day (not complaining) and things weren’t quite on the same page (still not complaining), but it was still nice to see her running her butt off to the very end (of what was a looooonnngggg day of running).

Looking at her records, she finished her Silver Snookers title thing, and overall she knocked out 8 more Qs for her Bronze LAA- down to just 15 left of anything. And TWO of those Qs were second place Standard runs…could my dream of being able to run Standard (well, and not like a runaway train…with a bomb on it…heading for a metropolis) finally be coming true???

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To close, Puppy Fun Time (picture compliments of Katie H. Thanks for some pictures of the Velociraptor that aren’t blurry!!!), because who doesn’t love Puppy Fun Time? 

My favorite, illustrating the Velociraptor:

On Target Family Reunion!