Get The Popcorn...

We got movies!

Sort of. Due to some technical difficulties, all we have are the first runs where Daisey is being Daisey before she settles down to work. You know. The goofy runs. The what-are-you-doing runs. The Daisey runs.

First up: Weave poles! There was a little surprise for the pups. Instead of the usual 6-pole practice, they set up the 12-pole grouping. Nobody has ever done THAT before!

Looks like she got thru about 9 poles before she cheated. That darn treat at the end is too irresistible! Who can concentrate with that yumminess right in front of you??

It was all about the teeter on Daisey's next turn. Instead of  guiding it down now, the dogs are needing to learn where the pivot point is and "ride" the teeter down to the ground. Surprisingly, the bang at the end doesn't seem to scare anybody anymore. Daisey's still a little unsure about the ride though. It's kinda like Dog Surfing!

                                           Wave's up, Dude!

How's the popcorn holding out? Got enough for 1 more video?
Daisey gets to run a few obstacles. It's supposed to go: jump, jump,chute, dog walk, tunnel. For her it's : jump, jump, squirrel! oh..chute, squirrel! oh...dog walk, tunnel.

We love our little goofball. She makes everything fun and weird. And she does it all with sweet happiness. Maybe she's really trying to teach us the Secret of Life...

Daisey Needs a Hobby

 Q: Sooooo, what happens when you leave your year old puppy alone and she gets bored? A: She'll find stuff to do...and you're not going to like it. Antique coffee table, antique wooden chair, antique blanket chest 0. Daisey 3. I can't post any pictures of this...it's too painful.

 So Daisey started agility training. And you know what? She's pretty good! She's been doing it for 7 weeks and actually advanced to Beginners 2. (Beginners 2 is really more intensive training for handlers but Daisey thinks it's still all about her.) The class has about 10 dogs in it and most came from the Beginners 1 class so we've made lots of friends. There are 5 little dogs and 5 big dogs. We love watching them all! Some of those little dogs are so fearless. Daisey likes to watch the other dogs, too.

 

 

 Sometimes it's just so hard to wait tho.

 But when it's her turn, boy, is she ready to go! Daisey is almost too fast right now. She doesn't listen very well yet and often designs her own courses. The instructor calls it "running amok". Daisey's very good at amokking. The following are some pictures from Wednesday's class...the black blur is Daisey.

 This is Daisey sailing over the A-frame. It's impressive, true, but she's doing it wrong! She's supposed to be in a little more control as she goes down the back side. There are yellow contact areas that at least one paw has to touch before she leaves the obstacle. This was a no-paw-er. Fail.

 

 

 Next she did the teeter. Since these guys are still learning, usually the instructor will guide the end of the teeter down so it doesn't "bang" and scare the bejeebers out of the pups. Daisey's feet are so big, everyone thought she would have trouble on the teeter and dog walk. Nope. She's a natural. I think it's due to all the practice time she's logged standing on my coffee table.

 

 

 (Did I mention Daisey Bug's nubbin? Whoever had her before she went to the shelter decided to dock her tail. Probably the Boxer part of her is OK with that but I bet the Labrador side is a little ticked off.)

 Next was a little work on the pause table. Daisey doesn't pause. Daisey doesn't stop. Daisey doesn't listen. Daisey doesn't really "get" the pause table. Although, she does like the snacks that are served there!

 

 

 The last run of the night was a real test: Hoop, tunnel, jump, then pause table. Yeeeah. Again, black blur? Daisey. Running amok.

 So far it's been a lot of fun! Daisey really gets into the running and jumping and treats. She's made some new friends and she has something to do besides chew up expensive, irreplaceable furniture. It's a win-win for everybody! And if nothing else...agility is a really good reason to eat cheese!

This is Daisey Bug...

 She found us. She found us when we were sad and tired and she made us smile...except Hank. Hank had had a terrible, very bad, not good day. He wasn't impressed with her sweet nature or her hopeful eyes or her eagerness to please. Nope. He didn't even want to notice her. He WOULDN'T notice her. He refused. He would be polite and use his good manners but no way would he actually LOOK at her.

       This is Hank. He's huge. Enormous. Giant-like. And kinda big.

  He went on this trip with us, a mom and her young adult daughter on a search for a new furry friend to help heal the heartache left by an old furry friend. Hank was sad, too. He missed his Old Friend and decided food tasted too blah to eat and toys weren't fun any more and if you just look out the window hard enough, long enough surely your Old Friend, your BEST friend will come home to you. Our loss was deep.

 So off our Little Band went, in search of. Our first shelter stop was a 2 hour drive from home in a pouring rain and held a promise of a beautiful new love. But by the time we arrived, New Love belonged to someone else. We met many others but no one seemed to want us. SomeBody even bit Hank on his face. The nerve. There were new friends coming to the shelter, can you wait? they asked. We waited. In the car. In the rain. With the not small Spotty Dog. Who was in a mood now. We waited. We waited. We waited...for nothing. No New Love for us.

 Moms don't like seeing their Baby cry. One more try. Just one more. Call the other shelter, see if the black pup is still there. She is! and our Little Band journeys on. It's only another hour and a half...*sigh*. And there she was and she loved us and we loved her! Except for Hank. He didn't love her. He couldn't love her because his heart still loved the Old Friend.

 We all went Home to get to know each other. It's not a big car and eventually he looked at her (just once tho) and...she wasn't that bad. True she was black and not yellow like his Old Friend but she had the same floppy ears and the same brown eyes...nice eyes, friendly eyes...

 Maybe. Maybe it'll be OK. But she can't touch his toys. Or his floor bed. Or his food bowl. Or his favorite chair cuz it already fits his butt real good.

 

 

And then it was better! They play and snuggle and bounce and eat and bark and tug and sleep and always together. There's never really enough room when both Loves are on the near-side of gargantuan. It's a good thing Daisey Bug is very accommodating and doesn't take up a lot of room and certainly doesn't mind snuggling.

 I think it's all going to be OK...because Daisey Loves Hank...and Hank's heart is healing...