Pants are overrated
I whacked about 5 inches of Merlin's tail and rear leg feathers off today. I was watching him run around with the other dogs and realized that I couldn't see his rear legs at all, just a massive explosion of fur. I am planning to actually start training him, so in a move for which I'm sure I'll be ridiculed for many years, I whacked off the feathers today. He looks horrible, but I can see his legs. I might take him to the groomer so they can make it look like less of a hack job, but it'll all grow back. Looks like the time my brother cut off my ponytail.
Yes, feral puppy days are coming to an end. Merlin and Cru are going to take Justine Davenport's online foundation class. It was actually Desiree's idea, but quite timely as the boys really haven't had any formal training as of yet. I clearly needed an external motivator so I jumped on board. I even signed him up for her foundation seminar in August, which will give me more motivation to actually start training him.
Merlin is a fantastic dog. I didn't realize, however, that having an intact male would make him a target for other dogs. I was much more concerned about him turning into a prick, but he has been getting growled and snapped at a lot. I thought it was something that he was setting off, but he's been getting that response when he's just standing around minding his own business. Of course the other dogs' owners then try to set up their dogs to create a training opportunity, at which point I quickly exit, I really don't need for my sweet dork to be used as bait. It would be a horrible reason to neuter him, but I really can't control the response of other dogs to him so it'll probably be best for his safety. It's kind of sad because it would have been nice to have Merlin puppies, he's such a sweet dog.
The NW Regional was fantastic. The Argus footing has been redone, I think it's too soft now, but it held up pretty well through the weekend. There were a lot of great teams from out of town, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I do see why many people view USDAA as border collie drag racing, but it's still amazingly good agility. I thought Kona was brilliant. I feel like I let her down, we had a bar in the Steeplechase finals that was my fault and a teeter fault in the GP final which was also my fault. She would have won both classes so I did bash my head against a wall a few times when I got home. She did her job and was spot on terrific, I couldn't ask for more. Liz got a portion of the Steeplechase run. I forgot my camera (again).
We're off to Montana next weekend! It'll be gorgeous, looking forward to making some new agility friends.
Yes, feral puppy days are coming to an end. Merlin and Cru are going to take Justine Davenport's online foundation class. It was actually Desiree's idea, but quite timely as the boys really haven't had any formal training as of yet. I clearly needed an external motivator so I jumped on board. I even signed him up for her foundation seminar in August, which will give me more motivation to actually start training him.
Merlin is a fantastic dog. I didn't realize, however, that having an intact male would make him a target for other dogs. I was much more concerned about him turning into a prick, but he has been getting growled and snapped at a lot. I thought it was something that he was setting off, but he's been getting that response when he's just standing around minding his own business. Of course the other dogs' owners then try to set up their dogs to create a training opportunity, at which point I quickly exit, I really don't need for my sweet dork to be used as bait. It would be a horrible reason to neuter him, but I really can't control the response of other dogs to him so it'll probably be best for his safety. It's kind of sad because it would have been nice to have Merlin puppies, he's such a sweet dog.
The NW Regional was fantastic. The Argus footing has been redone, I think it's too soft now, but it held up pretty well through the weekend. There were a lot of great teams from out of town, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I do see why many people view USDAA as border collie drag racing, but it's still amazingly good agility. I thought Kona was brilliant. I feel like I let her down, we had a bar in the Steeplechase finals that was my fault and a teeter fault in the GP final which was also my fault. She would have won both classes so I did bash my head against a wall a few times when I got home. She did her job and was spot on terrific, I couldn't ask for more. Liz got a portion of the Steeplechase run. I forgot my camera (again).
Click to viewWe're off to Montana next weekend! It'll be gorgeous, looking forward to making some new agility friends.