A year ago today I was in Texas, preparing to fly Dolphin home with me. Oh how things have changed!!!! I love the photo of him in my lap when he was a baby, so I decided to try to recreate it this morning. Yeah, bot quite as easy when your "puppy" now weighs over 80 pounds! He is still that happy, silly, loving puppy he was a year ago, just in a much bigger and clumsier package. What a blessing he has been to our family.

I took my crazy trio for some field training today. We did some retrieving with all of them. Noodle was the only success story. Both Dolphin and Pizza did NOT want to pick up the dead chukkar. So frustrating, especially since Pizza was retrieving quail with zero issue last month.

Dolphin did pretty good in his field work. He worked with a 6 month old Brittany puppy. I still have him on a check cord so I can control his point and not let him grab birds. He is showing inches of improvement every time, so I guess that's something.

Dolphin and I traveled 5 hours north to a show in Midland, Michigan. It's crunch time - need to practice for our futurity coming up in a few weeks!

Thursday morning started off pretty good - Dolphin was a little hesitant but stood really well for the judge, and gaited beautifully. He is the only Weimaraner entered all three days, so this is all for practice. This also meant that he got a chance to practice in two groups each day. Today we had the regular sporting group first, and we had an awful judge that started yelling at me right away saying she did not allow bait in her ring. Seriously? Then she reached out to his head like an avenging demon and grabbed his ear. Dolphin pulled back (he had just recovered from a major ear laceration) and then she got even angrier. After that incident, Dolphin did NOT want to stand for any judge that went right at his head, his paranoia was in full swing. I was angry and rather frustrated, because these shows were supposed to be good practice for our futurity. Now I have a major training issue to deal with.

Luckily I had a great judge on Saturday morning. When I explained to him what happened, he was extra gentle and easy with Dolphin, and Dolphin ended up with a good experience. I left for home after that, with a training plan somewhat in mind. It's so easy to forget he really is still a big puppy, and he has had very little experience in the show ring. One of the penalties for finishing his championship so fast, I guess.

I worked a little bit with a thawed dead bird from my freezer, and Pizza and Dolphin both did two nice retrieves each. I quit after the successes. Our retrieving ratings test is in a week. It's crunch time!

I went over to ride Cadence today. It was so hot, we were both soaked to the skin when we were done. I wish I could get her to relax like she used to be, but she feels really tight now. When she does relax, it feels like a million amazing bucks. Hopefully this is just a phase she is going through. On the plus side, my canter transitions with her are much better. I am still taking it day by day, week by week with her. I refuse to plan too far into the future or set any big goals. Yes, I am a tad gunshy but this is the only way I can preserve my sanity. Gotta handle it in a way that works, right?

Pretzel and I had our weekly visit to my mom's today. It always amazes me how Pretzel is around my mom. He is SO careful, he knows how fragile she is. He also knows when she is hurting, and he stands by her chair and stares at her as if trying to will away the pain. He also follows her quietly when she gets up, and I swear he is watching out to make sure she doesn't fall. This dog has such a big heart, quirks and all. I love him to death!

The crazy trio did some more field training today. Everyone was stellar! Pizza and Noodle were steady on their point, and Pizza did a couple nice retrieves (after one fail). Noodle of course was my steadiest. I can't believe I am saying she is my most dependable, but she is. How crazy...how things have changed!

In the evening I decided to do some agility training with Pizza. I bent down to lift up the corner of the A-Frame to flip the wheels, and I felt something pop in my lower back. Instantly I had sharp, searing pain...bad enough that it almost made me pass out. I have a pretty high pain tolerance and can work through almost anything, but this was the most severe pain I have ever felt. I can't move, I can hardly breathe. I am terrified I did something really bad to my back, and especially terrified that I won't be able to make my trip to North Carolina for the retrieving ratings test, or the futurity in Oklahoma in 2 weeks. It's a little ironic, I obsess over my dog's health and soundness, but take my own for granted. Never again. I am praying hard...

Mark and I traveled with the three crazies (Noodle, Pizza, and Dolphin) to North Carolina for the retrieving ratings test. It was Mark's first time traveling since his accident on March 18. What a joy to have him back by my side!

Today was the practice day. It was sunny and 96 degrees...HOT! Dolphin did great on his practice retrieves on both land and water. Pizza was great on the water, but absolutely refused to pick the bird up on land. She would go out to get it, but then just stand over it. These were pigeons, and I don't think she liked all the feathers coming out in her mouth. I played with her and finally got her to pick it up and carry it, but tomorrow's test is iffy.

Noodle was stellar! She is doing the next level up so she has to do a double retrieve on land and on water. Below is a video of her practice runs, she was awesome!

Today the weather was not so great. It was very warm, but we had a downpour in the morning. Noodle had the worst of it - it was raining so hard you could barely see. She's a gritty girl and weather does not faze her, but she was pretty amped up. Unfortunately on her land retrieve, she hopped forward on the shot with her front feet right over the line, so she was disqualified. Ugh.

Dolphin, however, nailed his retrieve on both land and water, and amazingly Pizza did also! So the 8 1/2 hour trip wasn't a total bust - both Pizza and Dolphin earned their Novice Retrieving Dog titles. Noodle will have to test again in the fall.

I was on my way to scent work class with Pretzel when I got the devastating call. Mom was taken to the hospital, unresponsive after she fell earlier in the day. At 2am (Thursday morning) I received the second call that she was gone. My life has been altered in such a way that I can't fathom ever recovering. I talked to her at length Monday night on my way home from teaching in Delphos. We made plans to get ice cream (the orange and vanilla swirl she loved), and bake peanut butter cookies that she was craving. My garden is growing zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, and gourds for her. The garden continues to grow, but she is gone. I can't function. I can't breathe. I pray to God he get me through this, but I don't see how.

I have been struggling this past week. I fall asleep, but I am up by 3:30am, waking up in a complete panic, feeling sick and out of control. I have been averaging 3 hours of sleep a night. I cry at the drop of a hat, and often. The panic attacks are crazy, and something I have never experienced before.

We managed to make it to Oklahoma City. This week is the 2021 Central Futurity - something I have been working towards for the past year. My big goal for the week is to have both Pizza and Dolphin place in their classes. This would give them both the dual futurity award for placing in both their field and show futurities.

Today was just an all-breed day. I showed Pizza. She was pretty good, and out of 65+ Weimaraners entered she made the cut in bitches, and also won best of breed owner-handled. No love in group, but it was a nice start to the week.