Finally Growing Up?

I think Dexter has finally found the folder called “Maturity” and checked out the contents.

Physically, he no longer resembles a thinly haired giraffe.  I started giving him coconut oil every day about 3 months ago and for the first time in his life, he has a Man Coat on him, thick wavy hair everywhere, even on his chest!  He’s finally filled out in the torso and while he remains lean, he is no longer starving-3rd-world-child skinny.  His body finally matches his giant head!

Mentally …

But seriously … mentally, he is finally growing up.  A few weeks go I ran him in my club’s Fun Match, and he surprised me with a qualifying run.  In class, he has started to maintain some level of concentration for longer than seconds at a time and is taking his “job” of agility more seriously.  I have been so impressed, I entered him in the PAC trial today – four runs!  I was expecting a (customary) meltdown.

I was wrong.

He qualified in Steeplechase with a 3rd place – would have placed higher but for one bobble where he ran around a jump two times before finally taking it, but as there are no refusals in Steeplechase  it cost us nothing but about 5 seconds of time.

He then had a lovely Starters Standard run, with just ONE refusal at the table because he rocketed onto it so fast that he tipped himself over the other side.  The rest of the run was very lovely, controlled and – dare I say it – sane.

His Advanced Gamble was incredible – first place and a Q, not a foot out of place.  Fast and furious, but taking direction and playing WITH ME.

Our last run of the day was Team with Julie and Pip, who had come up from Washington.  All 4 of us massively flubbed it and Dexter had a mini crisis of performance at the weave poles, but for most of the run he was trying very hard to do exactly what I asked.  Overall, he went 2 for 4, and most of his runs were awesome!  And he knew it too … he left the ring every time with a seriously sexy sway in his hips and jumped up to give me smooches of glee.  I am very proud of him.

I think my baby is finally becoming a mandog!

Or not.

Maybe he’s just a very slow to mature kind of dog.  He’ll be 4 years old this August, and maybe his brain has finally started kicking in. Nothing else has changed ’round here, so I think it’s all in his little pea filled skull.

Spring had a great trial too.  She wasn’t feeling too confident in Steeplechase and did a stress-miss of a jump before settling into the rhythm of the game.  After that, she was on fire!  She got a Q in Starters Standard, a second place behind Julie and Pip.  And she also Q’d the Advanced Gamble, just one point behind her big brother.  Her confidence is coming along, and with that confidence comes speed.  I am jumping her at 22″ right now because on her first measurement she was under 16″, but the next she was over 16″.  So this morning we had a tie-breaker measurement and she was under 16″ again (she is SO CLOSE to the line!) and she now officially jumps 16″.  But she was already entered at 22″ so I left her up there as she has no problems with it at all.  I am debating whether to drop her to ‘actual’ height or not – it’s beautiful to see her jump 22″, like a deer … but she’ll probably be more competitive at 16″ where she isn’t competing with long legged/taller very fast border collies.

Jumping is DEFINITELY not a problem for her!

Not much else is new around here.  Kieren is still with me, despite my many salesman-y type attempts to “sell” him to Julie, who is kicking ass and taking names with her TDBCR dog Pip.  I think she would make a lovely home for Kieren (are you listening, Julie??)

Winter is settling in.  Last week we had 4 out of 5 work days with a dry bellyband!  I think that means he’s finally housebreaking.  I also introduced him to the A-Frame at class (scariest thing ever, he wants you to know; at least it was until he discovered the bounty of cookies at the bottom and then he wouldn’t stop going over it obsessively).  But his favourite thing in the world remains his sisterwife, Spring. It’s getting so that I can’t even tell them apart.

Piper is a month of out surgery and she thinks IT’S TIME TO START RUNNING.  We negotiated 20 minute on leash walks every evening instead.  I’m going to scrape together some money to start swimming therapy with her as we gradually increase her exercise.  She is going to be so happy when her life is back to normal.

The WooTWoo remain … insufferable.

And in less than a month, Tweed is going to be 13!!

How’d that happen?

I promise I will try harder to blog more often … I just have had so little free time and when the weather is nice and I’m not at work, there’s so much to be done around the farm.  But I will try harder, I promise!

Now to ponder whether or not I want to enter my agility dogs in Regionals this year …