Dogs On a Sugar High

"It (sugar) ought to be against the law - and white bread also."--Dr Kelley DDS

Dakota had a lovely birthday. We bought these gourmet "dog" cookies (I use quotes because, though these were sold as dog treats, they were made from human grade ingredients and were simply shortbread cookies topped with various dog-safe sprinkles, or dipped in carob) and brought them to class to share. The dogs LOVED them, and most of the dogs that attend class are owned by folks who use all-natural, no bad stuff in is dog food and treats, so these dogs didn't get junk food regularly.

It showed.

Especially in the second class, the dogs were crazy in the beginning, bouncing off the walls, going off course, not listening ... but only in the first 2/3 of class. Then, all of a sudden, their sugar high crashed. At the end, it was as though no dog had any energy to do things. It was SO funny.

In any case, Dakota's friend Maxie brought in party hats (okay, I'll admit, it was Maxie's mom) and a good time was had by all.



Last night at beginning agility, I played "Let's push the mastiff over the dog walk, but don't let him see me because then he'll get nasty" game. He had two owners working him last night, but they're both ladies about 5'3" tall and he's a BIG dog. He's fallen off the dog walk before, which is what set him back, so we didn't want it to happen again, but he doesn't like other people touching him. So... I stayed in the back and pushed his butt as well as held him when he leaned (holy hundred pounds, Batman) and tried to stay hidden and out of his line of sight.

It was interesting, but we managed to get him over the dog walk three times. I was sweating at the end ... who needs a gym. Just push a 120 lb dog across a piece of equipment he doesn't want to go across.

This is a dog walk:

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DH's car is DONE!!! Finally. He finished it last night -- and it looks fabulous. He did an amazing job. He's really quite proud of himself (as he should be), but WOW was it a ton of work. He said he wouldn't mind doing something like that again some time .... but not any time real soon. LOL...

I'm just glad it's finished. Maybe now I'll get some sleep.

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Dog Sports

The feeling of sleepiness when you are not in bed, and can't get there, is the meanest feeling in the world. ~Edgar Watson Howe

The painting job is STILL going on, and I'm going to perish from lack of sleep if it continues... the guy who's helping us showed up around 5:00 to start wet-sanding the paint and ... whoops! ... not enough clear coat on the hood meant the sander went right through to the paint.

So, it needs another few coats of clear. Those were applied last night, late. It wouldn't be such a big deal if my bedroom wasn't over the garage, but sleeping through an air compressor being used is pretty near impossible. At least for me.

*sigh*

Of couse this was the night Dakota decided she had to get up at 2 a.m. to go potty as well ... so I'm tired. Hence the babbling. :-)

I found another agility class that is held during the day by a local dog gym that is seriously competitive. They host AKC agility matches at least twice a year, and the focus of their classes is to bring your dog up to par for competition. While we love our regular agility class, the instructor is VERY clear that it's a "Fun with Agility" class and not super competitive. Since DD wants to compete, we need to look into reaching that goal. So... I'm going to give up eating in order to pay for the new class and we'll hopefully start that in October.

Maybe Dakota will be this good someday?



This gym also has Rally-O and Fly Ball classes, both of which look like fun, too.



They're actually pushing a lever and catching a ball that flys out there at the stop at the end of the first set of jumps. Amazing and SO fast.

I'm telling you, this dog sports thing is addictive.

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You Are a Black Eyed Pea

You are a naturally energetic person, and you've always done things in your own, wacky way. You know that you'll never fit in perfectly, and you never really even tried. Most people consider you to be extremely lucky. You may find friends hanging around you hoping that your luck will rub off a little. You've done well for yourself in life. You know how to thrive, and you're good at keeping pests away.

What Type of Bean Are You?

That's me... doing things in my own, wacky way!

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