"It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop."

I did something a bit different today, I did an all-breed dog show. Noodle and I headed to Fort Wayne, Indiana last night, stayed the night and then got up early to show in breed. They had a veteran's specialty today so I figured why not? Unfortunately Noodle was the only Weim entered. We opted to skip the regular group, and did the veteran's specialty and owner-handled group. Noodle was a little squirrelly on her gaiting, but she stacked like a dream. No placements, but it was fun to bring my old girl back in the ring again. I may do it again in a few weeks just for fun. The best part was hanging out in the van watching TV with her, we both love that one-on-one time together.

I spent the weekend judging an AKC hunt test in Circleville, Ohio. Man, I've had a ton of judging assignments this fall...I love it! This is one of my favorite places to judge because I get to do it from horseback. I really miss riding. It was such a massive part of my life, and what made me ME. Now it's pretty much gone from my life, and while I have filled the gaps with many other things, there is still a part of me that feels incomplete. Maybe some day I will get back into it again. Cadence is young, I have a good 15+ years I could breed her...maybe some day? My heart is still a little too broken over that whole situation to even think about it again. I am not really sure the horse show industry is for me anymore. It has changed so much.

Dolphin and Pizza had agility class in the morning. After class I took Pizza and Noodle out to the bird dog club to train with my friend. It was a very good session. Noodle trained with my friend's master hunter. Both dogs did some nice honoring, and some beautiful steady points. Pizza trained with my friend's 5 month old puppy and that was extra fun! She was steady as a rock. These girls of mine are so amazing. I am blessed!

I knew I shouldn't do it, but I entered Noodle and Dolphin in an agility trial at our local training place where I train. Both dogs just hate running there, but it is only 3 miles away and I had the day free, so....

Well, Dolphin was a complete poop. He ran 4 runs, and knocked a bar in each of the first three runs. Jumpers was such a nice course, he knocked a bar early to dash my dreams, but ran the rest OK...not fast and not enthusiastic, but OK. Time 2 Beat was a course perfect for him - wide open with lots of running. Yeah, he was the worst in this class, also knocked a bar. In FAST he knocked a bar, and then sat down and scratched right before the send. He got the send, but we rean out of time. He did that in FAST the last time I ran him - last month in Zanesville. I am sure the scratching is a stress signal, but not sure why he does it only in that class? We did manage to eke out a decent Q in standard. It wasn't great, but it was acceptable.

Noodle had a better day. She knocked a bar in jumpers even though she was really running well. That's so unlike her, but that happenes occasionally. Rather than waste her energy, after she knocked the bar we just did a few more jumps and exited the ring. She actually got a Q in FAST - it's been a hot minute since she Q'ed in fast, so that was nice. She had a pretty nice Q in standard also. That definitely saved my mood, because by the end of the day I was teetering on the ledge, if you know what I mean. This is so frustrating and I question why I have such little success at a sport that I work so hard at...I know I should not compare myself to everyone else but GEEZE...it seems to be so much easier for everyone else. Don't mind me, it's just my frustration speaking. I'll wake up tomorrow and have a better attitude.

Today Dolphin and Pizza got to run in a mock hunt test at our bird dog club, for training. Dolphin was in the first brace. He still is a little squirrelly at the breakaway so I had to get after him a bit. His bird work in the field was steady! He had an OK retrieve. His honoring left a bit to be desired. Today it was like he had never honored before, and had no idea what the concept was. This has been the most inconsistent thing in our training. One week I think it clicked with him, and the next week it's like starting over from scratch.

Pizza, however, was stellar!!! She found and pointed three birds and was rock solid. Her first bird was shot WAAAAAY across the field. It was a super long retrieve. I sent her for the retrieve and it took a little bit for her to find it, but when she did she RAN that bird straight back to me!!!! Probably the best retrieve I have ever had with her. The retrieve has always been a sticky point with us. I've changed how I worked her retrieve this fall - I have been playing with her in my yard for some one-on-one time, having her retrieve bumpers and toys to me and throwing big parties when she brings it straight to hand. This has gotten her excited about retrieving, and her retrieves have gotten faster and faster. I have done the same with Dolphin, but for some reason this method has not been quite as successful. Of course, I know better than to get TOO excited. We will see how she does in a true pressure situation - a hunt test in 2 weeks.

Yesterday was an ugly, rainy day, and I spent it at a jazz gig in Dayton. Today it was cool and sunny, and perfect weather to head back out to the field!

Noodle was stellar. I ran her again with my friend's 5 month old puppy. Noodle does such a great job of setting a good example for the younger dogs. She has tunnel vision when she is out in the field, she pays zero attention to anything but the hunt. I know, I know, it's shocking! Who would have ever thought that this crazy dog of mine would actually be the percet dog to run in the field with inexperienced dogs that want to interfere and play? I think back to where we were just 5 years ago and I puff with pride. I never ever ever ever ever would have thought back then that she would turn out like this. I hope I learned a big lesson in faith with her - and I hope I can continue to remember this lesson when working with Dolphin and any future pups.

Noodle had 3 or 4 points, a decent honor on a puppy she really doesn't respect, and two direct to hand retrieves from thrown birds. Can't ask for more than that!

Well, they can't all be perfect. Dolphin did a little bit of a backslide today. On the first bird, it flushed up and got caught in the cover and flew out over his head and he jumped to try to grab it. He got some tail feathers but that's about it. Bad boy! His next point was solid. His honoring stunk like poop today. This is where I remind myself he is a work in progress...remember Noodle and how she would avoid the honor constantly. Be patient!

It was a gorgeous day - cool and sunny. I took Pizza out to the bird dog club for a little one on one time. I put out 5 birds around the field and we worked them. Of course, my awesome girl was spot perfect on every bird! I got in the side-by-side afterwards and drove around picking up my field markers and tipups, and she ran alongside. After that, I decided it was way too nice to go back yet, so I headed into the woods with her on foot. Man did she RUN! She ran and ran big - ran out to the far reaches of the fields, and pretty much ran the whole time. It was beautiful to watch. Of course, i took a zillion photos of her on point (I happened to bring my good camera out with me this time!). Days like today make me wish fall could go on forever...

Well all good moods must come to an end. Actually the morning started off good - Noodle did really well in agility class. I had the opportunity to train Dolphin today and have the birds shot, so I jumped at the chance.

Well, our training session was a disaster. On the plus side, Dolphin was well-behaved for the entire session. He hunted decently. On the first bird, he was nice and steady to flush and shot. He waited for my release, and went out for the retrieve. the retrieve was messy, but he did complete it. It went downhill from there.

His honoring was very iffy. He had one decent honor, and one where he stopped well but since I was so far behind him he turned towards me. UGH! It's like we reverted back to early summer when he was doing that all the time! What the heck? There was an unshot bird that had landed in the trees earlier. Dolphin and his bracemate headed over there...his bracemate went on point and Dolphin went right up past him without stopping and GRABBED THE BIRD. Say what??? On the plus side (always gotta find one of those!) he brought the bird DIRECTLY to hand. OK, so I was mad that he stole point and grabbed the bird, but happy that he brought it directly to me. I couldn't get after him or let him know I was mad, because I didn't want him to think I was mad about the retrieve. Sheesh. What a mess.

Dolphin pointed two more birds. He was steady to wing and shot - and beautifully so. However, on the next bird, it was missed and flew off. I threw a dead one for him to retrieve, he ran out and picked the dead one up and then continued running out looking for the bird that had flown off. I never was able to get him to bring the bird back (he eventually dropped it). I picked the bird up and we did another retrieve in the opposite direction and he went and got the bird, but dropped it multiple times and was really rough on the bird.

The last bird was shot successfully, but the retrieve went downhill. It was awful. I ended up putting him up in the van for a while. Noodle was with me, so I got her out and I just ran her in the fields for about a haldf hour - she ran HUGE, and for the most part was hunting about as far away from me as she could be. I loved watching that.

After I was done running Noodle, I got Dolphin back out and threw a dead bird for him. When he started getting rough with the bird, I walked up to him and let him know he was wrong, and took the bird from him. I threw it one more time, and we got a semi-successful clean retrieve, so I decided to stop on a good note.

In walking back to the van, Dolphin looked a little off. When I got home, I trotted him on the driveway and sure enough, he was lame. You know, last week on Wednesday he was running on the wet grass and wiped out pretty hard, and I thought he looked a little off then, but after a day of rest and anti-inflammatories he looked fine. He is definitely sore today. Possibly he was sore, and that is why he ran so badly at the trial last Friday. Damn. I hate it when my dogs are sore. Dolphin has never been sore before, but I guess it was just a matter of time. I am resting him for the next 5 days, and giving anti-inflammatories. We will reassess next week. I need the time off from the field anyways, to get my head back together and figure out the next steps I want to try in training. I need a plan! I don't work well without a plan. Time to do some thinking...

Today Noodle and I did a Rally trial - first one in about 2 1/2 months. Rally judging is so weird. Looking at my videos I feel like my three runs (Master, Excellent, nd Advanced) were probably some of the best runs I have ever done...and yet I got some of the lowest scores I have ever gotten for successful runs. So strange. We did get QQQ #7 so that's good. It's just weird how the judging was so inconsistent from dog to dog. Is this the way Rally is judged? I guess Rally is very much a matter of opinion.

Regardless, it was a fun day, and Noodle brought her A Game. It's always fun when she is engaged and behaving. I need to get serious about doing more rally trials. It's just so hard to fit them in with everything else going on, but I think I need to make it a priority. I just wish there were more of them closer to home.

I have been resting Dolphin for the past 4 days. He looks 100% when he gaits, and let me tell you this boy is WILD from lack of exercise! He and I are heading to Cleveland tomorrow - he has an appointment with the repro vet to be collected, and I have an eye appointment. Fun times!

Monday - Dolphin and I headed north for a couple appointments. He had an appointment with a vet up there for a collection and freeze, and I had an eye appointment with my brother-in-law. I had a little time to kill in between so Dolphin and I stopped at my old hangout - Lakeview Park in Lorain. Lake Erie looked a bit gloomy today with all the clouds, but I still feel that pull whenever I am in view of the lake. It's interesting how certain things can have such a hold on me for a lifetime.

They weighed Dolphin at the vet's office...he is 92 POUNDS!!!! No wonder he is knocking bars in agility. Time for a diet (for both of us).

Tuesday - what an ugly, nasty, rainy day. In the evening after scentwork class I did take Dolphin over to the agility building and train for about a half hour. He was incredibly enthusiastic...I guess being cooped up for days will do that to ya. No signs of soreness at all after our light workout. YAY!

Wednesday - all 3 dogs had vet appointments today. Dolphin and Pizza had their annuals, and Noodle had her blood panel done plus a lyme vacc booster. Everyone was weighed - Dolphin at 91, Pizza at 75, and Noodle at 65. I think Noodle is probably the only one at good weight...the other two need to lose a few!

Noodle's blood test results came back from yesterday - good numbers! Slightly improved in both her protein and albumin levels. YESSSS! She is feeling good and it shows! This made my day.

I managed to spend 90% of the day NOT thinking about the fact that today would have been Pizza'd due date had she become pregnant. So many hopes and dreams dashed...not thinking about that today. NOT.

I took Dolphin and Noodle to an agility trial in Zanesville today. This is one of my favorite venues to trial at - my dogs really like running here. The morning started off with FAST. Noodle was a bit sparky this morning, and charged at the judge after 2-3 jumps. She just did a drive-by jump at him, but it caught me by surprise as it's been eons since she has done that. She came right back but then refused the tunnel in the send, so I walked her off. Quit while we are only slightly behind, yeah! Dolphin did a really nice job and got a Q and 1st place, and all under 22 seconds!

Overall the courses in both rings were NOT big dog friendly. Bad, tight spacing and u-turns galore. Dolphin had a nice standard run but missed his weaves - ran right past them. He also missed his weaves in his jumpers - entered in the 2nd hole. Time 2 Beat was acually pretty decent, and he got his weaves right away, but the course was NOT a typical time 2 beat course - it was really twisty with a lot of complicated handling and tight turns. Dolphin's time was 50.3 seconds, so even though he ran clean he NQ-ed because it has to be under 50 seconds. Almost no one Q'd in this class, this was a terrible time 2 beat course and it was really hard for the bigger dogs to make time. Dolphin was actually running pretty good, so it kind of shocked me that he didn't make time.

Noodle earned her superstar status after her FAST fiasco. She laid down a fantastic standard run with a 1st place and 21 points! She topped off the day with a Q and 1st in jumpers, for double QQ number 10! We are making progress towards that PACH, we might actually make it before she has to retire, if I get serious about trialing her. You guessed it, I'm about to get serious about her - 2025 we will map out a schedule to make more progress. Time is running out as she is 8 1/2 now. I hate that...this girl needs to live forever!

Noodle

Dolphin

What a day! I judged a hunt test yesterday at my local bird dog club. Today I was not judging, so I entered all three dogs - Noodle, Pizza, and Dolphin - in Master Hunter. Going in to today I had in the back of my mind how cool it would be if all three passed MH on the same day. Yeah, it would be cool, but my last training session with Dolphin did not go well, Pizza hasn't been to a hunt test since December of 2023, and it's been over a week and a half since anyone trained because of rain. Not a good recipe for success...but we got 'er done!

Noodle was in the first brace, and she was stellar. She had a super nice long distance honor. She went on point quickly after that, and wouldn't you know it she was smack dab between two birds - one about 5 feet in front of her and another about 10 feet directly behind her. She first pointed the one in front, but as the wind changed she spun around in place and pointed the one behind her...then the wind changed again and she spun around and pointed the original one. This went on for a while as we had to wait quite a long time for the bracemate to honor. I decided that once the gunners got to us, I would flush the bird in whatever direction she happened to be pointing. It went perfectly, nice and steady and nice retrieve, and a nice pass #34!

Pizza was next, and she was amazing. It's hard to believe she hasn't done a hunt test in almost a year. Of course she had a beautiful, dramatic long distance honor. She went on point on a walking bird and was steady as a rock as that bird walked out in the open and kept going. I had to leave her and walk about 20 feet to flush the bird. She held steady, and had a pretty nice retrieve. This was her 7th MH pass, and her second Master Hunter Advanced pass. 3 more to go!

Dolphin, as you know, is a work in progress. I really appreciated that he handled his bracemate tagging him really well, and came back to me without reacting. He hunted pretty close, but then I kind of kept him closer than the girls so I could help him when needed. His honor was so-so...still wants to turn towards me after he stops but we got through it. He had a beautiful point and was steady steady steady! His retrieve, well, that needs a LOT of work. He got it done, but it wasn't pretty. Still, it was good enough for a nice pass #3...only 2 more to go for his title! Unfortunately we won't get it done this year as we are running out of tests, but heck - I really hadn't planned on testing him until next spring anyways. We are way ahead of the game.

I took advantage of what looks like to be the last nice days of weather, and spent two days running my dogs at the bird dog club, getting them in shape. Tuesday was Dolphin and Pizza's turn. You would think Pizza would be the least in shape, having spent 2+ months out of commission after breeding (and waiting), but she ran for a solid 45 minutes. By ran, I mean she RAN! The only break she took was to jump down the bank into the river and take a quick drink. At the end of 45 minutes she was still running far ahead of me. I love that about her!

ON Wednesday I took Dolphin out again, with Noodle. We ran for about 30 minutes. It was a great couple of days exploring new trails in the woods and just letting them run in the fields without any pressure of birds (though they certainly looked hard!). The temperatures drop this weekend to well below freezing and it looks to stay that way for a while, so that makes training a bit more uncomfortable for me.

Noodle and I headed south to a rally trial with our friends. It was a great day for us! Noodle was very sparky and motivated today. She had some great scores, inlcuding a 100 in Excellent B, to earn triple QQQ #8 towards her RACH (Rally Championship). I am really getting serious about trying to earn this title. Time is a-wasting, so I am going to push it higher on my priority list for the next year. It was a great day, and extra fun when Noodle worked so well for me.