Colton at 14
Today Colton turns 14.
I've just sat here and stared at that sentence for a bit. I've been hoping for ages to be able to type it. For a while in November I wasn't sure I was going to be able to. Somehow it seems easier to think about letting him go when the time comes now. 13 was too young. 14 is better. 15 would be better still. But for now, I'm happy that he is here and we can celebrate today together.
Last night we had a party at the agility class I teach. Two flatcoats (one will be 10 next month - most FCs are dead by 8, so she is positively ancient by FC standards!), two IGs and two mixed breeds helped us celebrate with liver brownies and a free-for-all in the barn. All the handlers forked over free cookies. The dogs were in heaven.
After class, we went to the high school for a quick walk. Colton was ecstatic and RAN the whole time. It was a short walk, but he was positively thrilled to be out walking with me since C has been walking him a lot lately while my knee is getting strong enough to handle two full walks. This is probably his favorite thing to do and I'll have to make sure he gets another whole walk tonight as well.
Tonight we'll have another party with more liver brownies, more/different dogs (conformation ring-ready class that I teach in Cornelius), and another round of shameless begging from Colton no doubt. He can go back on his diet next week :-p
Colton is still a bit of a headcase, but the other night he was actually able to take and eat a piece of turkey neck with Brin doing the same right next to him in the kitchen. Neither froze or even looked like they paid any attention to the other despite the presence of food, the small space and me in the picture, all of which are triggers for negative interactions that I've been working hard to eliminate over the past year.
Then on Saturday while they were eating dinner, Colton in his spot in the garage and Brin in his crate, something exploded in the neighborhood. Brin wanted out of his crate and into the garage to his safe spot on the grooming table which meant going past Colton. As he went past Colton, Brin froze and I thought for a moment we were going to have a fight, but then Colton stiffened and jumped at Brin who unfroze and scooted past him to the grooming table. It was something of a breakthrough for both of them - no fight over the dinner, Colton didn't flip over Brin freezing on him, Brin didn't flip over the explosion. Way cool!
Colton is so dear to me. He came to me when he was already three with lovely house manners, but not much in the way of problem solving. He still doesn't think independently and would much prefer that I simply show him what I want done. He'll then do it the same way until something happens that he perceives as a correction...at which point he just shuts down. He's been a huge challenge to train and yet we've achieved so much together. He was the dog that got me hooked on dog training because it was such a challenge. Because there is a microscopically fine margin with him between just enough and too much pressure, I've had to become a much better trainer than would have been required with most other dogs. It took almost two years to get him to play with a frisbee and now he's obsessive about them and I have to keep them away from him. He doesn't cuddle, yet he has spent countless hours in bed plastered next to me after surgeries or with migraines. He is a study in contradictions.
You never have another dog like the 'first' dog that you work with on this level and I don't think I would really want to. A first dog for any kind of performance endeavor, especially one that you stick with beyond the point where other people think you're nuts, one that you know isn't really cut out for the things you want to do but who gives you 100% anyway just because you are there together, and then together you achieve things far beyond your expectations - that dog is a dog you carry with you in your heart forever. Colton will be with me forever.
I've just sat here and stared at that sentence for a bit. I've been hoping for ages to be able to type it. For a while in November I wasn't sure I was going to be able to. Somehow it seems easier to think about letting him go when the time comes now. 13 was too young. 14 is better. 15 would be better still. But for now, I'm happy that he is here and we can celebrate today together.
Last night we had a party at the agility class I teach. Two flatcoats (one will be 10 next month - most FCs are dead by 8, so she is positively ancient by FC standards!), two IGs and two mixed breeds helped us celebrate with liver brownies and a free-for-all in the barn. All the handlers forked over free cookies. The dogs were in heaven.
After class, we went to the high school for a quick walk. Colton was ecstatic and RAN the whole time. It was a short walk, but he was positively thrilled to be out walking with me since C has been walking him a lot lately while my knee is getting strong enough to handle two full walks. This is probably his favorite thing to do and I'll have to make sure he gets another whole walk tonight as well.
Tonight we'll have another party with more liver brownies, more/different dogs (conformation ring-ready class that I teach in Cornelius), and another round of shameless begging from Colton no doubt. He can go back on his diet next week :-p
Colton is still a bit of a headcase, but the other night he was actually able to take and eat a piece of turkey neck with Brin doing the same right next to him in the kitchen. Neither froze or even looked like they paid any attention to the other despite the presence of food, the small space and me in the picture, all of which are triggers for negative interactions that I've been working hard to eliminate over the past year.
Then on Saturday while they were eating dinner, Colton in his spot in the garage and Brin in his crate, something exploded in the neighborhood. Brin wanted out of his crate and into the garage to his safe spot on the grooming table which meant going past Colton. As he went past Colton, Brin froze and I thought for a moment we were going to have a fight, but then Colton stiffened and jumped at Brin who unfroze and scooted past him to the grooming table. It was something of a breakthrough for both of them - no fight over the dinner, Colton didn't flip over Brin freezing on him, Brin didn't flip over the explosion. Way cool!
Colton is so dear to me. He came to me when he was already three with lovely house manners, but not much in the way of problem solving. He still doesn't think independently and would much prefer that I simply show him what I want done. He'll then do it the same way until something happens that he perceives as a correction...at which point he just shuts down. He's been a huge challenge to train and yet we've achieved so much together. He was the dog that got me hooked on dog training because it was such a challenge. Because there is a microscopically fine margin with him between just enough and too much pressure, I've had to become a much better trainer than would have been required with most other dogs. It took almost two years to get him to play with a frisbee and now he's obsessive about them and I have to keep them away from him. He doesn't cuddle, yet he has spent countless hours in bed plastered next to me after surgeries or with migraines. He is a study in contradictions.
You never have another dog like the 'first' dog that you work with on this level and I don't think I would really want to. A first dog for any kind of performance endeavor, especially one that you stick with beyond the point where other people think you're nuts, one that you know isn't really cut out for the things you want to do but who gives you 100% anyway just because you are there together, and then together you achieve things far beyond your expectations - that dog is a dog you carry with you in your heart forever. Colton will be with me forever.