First World Dog Problems

So you might have seen these memes on BuzzFeed about "First World Dog Problems" lately. (They have one for cats and horses...win!) They are pretty darn funny!

This is so totally LaMesa...and totally adorable!

So that made me think of what Dally and LaMesa's "first world dog problems" would be...

What would your dog's meme be? I can only image what it would be for the Brews Brothers... 

Wordless Wednesday: Throw the Ball!

(Notice the ball in mid-air? Great shot by our engagement photographer!)

LaMesa's (Frustrating) Trip at Hamilton

With Dally, I expect to qualify during a trial with her. It hasn't always been that way, but now she's known as "Dependable Dally". (Though she does keep me grounded at times, don't worry--I can't get cocky with her.)

But with LaMesa, it's a crapshoot if we'll qualify or not. We're still not 100% a team and still trying to figure each other out. That's OK--she's only 3. It just some times gets frustrating when I see other "young" teams very successful. But I know that time will come for us, too....soon....I hope.

Hamilton was a frustrating weekend with LaMesa. We're back to having weave pole issues. Whomp whomp. It's back to weave pole boot camp.

Case in point, our Excellent 12" Jumpers course on Saturday:

(Our Standard run on Saturday I left out about four obstacles. Don't ask me what I was thinking--I had just run that course perfectly with Dally. But I figured out that I was off course by the time we hit the table. Oops. Oh well, it was a good laugh for all of us.)

Sunday's runs with LaMesa were probably the most frustrating I've had in a while. Standard started with another weave pole pop-out, followed by a few missed obstacles. She did nail a tough discrimination that her sister didn't make, so that was a positive.




Finally in Jumpers, just when I was losing all hope, we somehow pulled off that rare Qualifying run. That's right--no "just one thing", no knocked bars, no popped-out weaves.




It felt good to know we actually can put together a full, clean, smooth run. I know we still have a lot to work on--my timing is off with my front crosses with her now that I'm doing those more than rears. I had wanted to throw in a blind with that course like I did with Dally's run, but I wasn't fast enough because I was worried to take my eyes off of her. I need to trust her, and she needs to focus a little more on the obstacles than me.

So now we'll work on weave pole boot camp and a few other things. We will be doing one day at the Derby City Agility Association's trial next weekend, then three days at the Hoosier Kennel Club trial (my dad's trial) the weekend after. We'll also be attempting FAST again for the first time since I first trialled LaMesa at the Hoosier, so that ought to be interesting.

Gotta Love Agility at Hamilton

This past weekend, we returned to the Hamilton Dog Training Club's AKC Agility Trial at the Game Time facility. I love this trial. I don't really know why, but I think it's because Dally usually does really well at the facility. Sure there are some negatives to it (it tends to get rather warm in there the later it gets, if it's tall to small the days are long for us), but it's in a nice area and the foot and equipment is wonderful.

Dally racked up another QQ on Saturday with two great runs. I was a little concerned with how she'd do, considering on Friday she started limping pretty badly on our walk. An emergency trip to visit Dr. Forry, her chiropractor, revealed it was more soft tissue than anything else--she was probably a little sore from the longer walks we went on the day before. So she was put on Traumeel (thank you Merinda and Melanie!), and she seemed to be fine the rest of the weekend!

Here's her Masters Standard run from Saturday--the speed demon! We ended up with 26 points on this run.


By the Jumpers, she was a little slower, but we still got 9 points:


On Sunday, she was moving and grooving so fast, I couldn't pull her off of an off-course tunnel. The chute was to the left of the tunnel, and they were supposed to go teeter, jump, turn left to chute. Well, she locked onto that tunnel and took it. (I made the mistake of calling "Tunnel" even though my body was turned towards the chute--my mind was reading that she was going to the tunnel and I was thinking "Not the tunnel!" So I said "Tunnel!" instead of "Chute!" Oops.) Oh well. The rest of the course was fast and she had fun. She made up for it with 6 points in Jumpers later that day.

Dally likes to remind me we can't be perfect all of the time, so I always have to thank her for keeping me grounded. I am loving running her right now--we're having a lot of fun and I don't feel stressed when we're running any more. That's the icing on the cake right there.

LaMesa has some good news to share from her time at Hamilton, but I'll save that for tomorrow's post. ;-)

Wordless Wednesday: Love Morning Walks

Crossing Paws & Holding Hearts for the Pets of Oklahoma

Not many know that I used to live in Oklahoma City. After completing an internship in Texas, I moved to Oklahoma to work for the National Reining Horse Association. Dally was almost 2 at the time.

Every weekend we'd go over to Lake Hefner, which was just a couple miles from my apartment, and hang out. I wasn't happy in Oklahoma, but I still have many connections there. My thoughts are with the people of Central Oklahoma who are recovering from the tornados last night.

The Stump Kids are crossing their paws that the misplaced animals will find their owners once again, soon.

Dally after a swim in Lake Hefner.

Here is a video of one lucky pup that was reunited with his owner during a television interview (the embed option wasn't working): Oklahoma Tornado Survivor Finds Dog Buried Alive Under Rubble

And you can help out the Central Oklahoma Humane Society by checking out their website: OKHumane.org

(I'll be posting a wrap-up from this weekend's agility trial later, I just wanted to send a quick note.)

Shopping Stump Kid Style

Going shopping with the Stump Kids is always an adventure.

First Dally starts sniffing for samples. We always start in the dog food aisles because those are the most fun.

Dally finds that it's her job to clean up under the shelves for the humans. She's not picky when it comes to flavor.

Agreeing on what treats to buy is a family ordeal. Both girls have to give their sniff of approval: If they bite at the product, it's going home with us, if they turn nose, it goes back on the shelf. On this day, both bags of Dentley's Chewies went home with us. And the girls love them!

How do you shop with your pets?

(Sorry for the blurry photos--the camera was in Indiana at the time, so the best we could do was the Iphone. The girls are fast shoppers, so they were blurs for most photos.)