Thursday, May 5, 2011

Breaks, Birthdays and Bubblewrap

Breaks. I don't think I'm doing very well with the whole "break" concept. Is there a support group for agility trial addicts? I ended up entering a local trial last weekend and then entered another one at the end of the month. I just can't help it...it's too tempting when we have trials so close to home! After that we're done for the summer. Maybe.

We had a *really* good day on Saturday...just one bar from a QQ. Peyton was running so well and was probably the most relaxed (for Peyton) he's been in a while. We qualified in JWW (!) and despite one ugly tunnel call-off (bad handler!), he still took 3rd in the class. Good spotty!


Sunday was a different story; our standard run was all over the place and JWW was just messy. I think I had 5 front crosses planned in the first 10 obstacles and each one I got just a little further behind and the last one I was so behind I sent him off course. Poor Peyton; I think he might have been a little mad at his handler after that run. :)

Overall, it was a fun weekend. Still looking for that magic recipe for keeping Peyton relaxed and happy, but even a bad (using that term loosely) day at an agility trial is better than most other good days. Love my wild, moody, complicated spotty boy!

Birthdays. Indy turned 7 last Sunday! She might not get a whole lot of blog time, but she *is* the only spotty who gets to go to Dairy Queen on her birthday. She thought that was pretty awesome. It's hard to believe she's 7...I swear she never changes. A (very amused) couple sitting next to us at DQ asked if it was her 1st birthday. :)

Bubblewrap. Apparently one should not joke about wrapping a puppy in bubblewrap unless they are 100% serious. Poor Derby. We're about to start week 4 of "taking it easy" after he (most likely) pulled a ligament in his left hind knee. Exactly *how* he did it is a mystery; he just started holding his leg up one evening.

Sigh. There is nothing fun about trying to keep a 7 1/2 month old Dalmatian puppy down. He was really good the first week, but since then he has made it perfectly CLEAR that he's over this "take it easy" nonsense.

On a positive note, he has been looking really good and I've not seen any obvious signs of limping since a few days after we saw the vet. Hopefully he's on the mend. I am, of course, a little nervous about his recovery. Did I mention he's not exactly graceful?



At least we got to take home pretty pictures. :)

8 comments:

Jenn said...

Happy Birthday Indy!!!

Good luck with that whole "take a break" thing. LOL It's so so so hard!!!! It is good to see Peyton looking a bit more relaxed. :-)

How much longer do you have to keep the Derby pup quiet? I know you have probably had all kinds of suggestions and been thru this before ..... hopefully he will grow out of this less than graceful stage soon!!!!

Lisa said...

Nice runs for Peyton! You both looked very comfortable and relaxed. I LOVE watching that boy run.

I'm going to have to come celebrate Indy's birthday next year, 'cause Dairy Queen is one of my favorites, too ;) A very happy birthday to our favorite Florida spotty girl!

Geez, this is not the kind of Derby picture that I'd like to see! Glad to hear that it's probably just a strain, but I don't envy you for trying to keep him quiet for four weeks. I think you should seriously consider the bubble wrap idea so you don't end up paying for more expensive portraits!

Kim said...

Thanks, girls!

@Jenn - Looking at at least 3 more weeks. He's getting mild exercise, but not nearly enough to help burn all the spotty pup energy off. :)

@Lisa - We would LOVE for you to come down for Indy's birthday! Hey, my birthday is in July...can you come earlier? ;) And yes, bubble wrap is seriously being considered, along with an extra large padded hamster ball! Know where I can find one?

Sherri said...

NICE HIPS, DERBY ;)

Sherri said...

and....your TAIL is kind of cute, too....(giggle) :)

Kim said...

Aw Sherri, Derby is embarrassed. :)

Achieve1dream said...

Oh great . . . I just made a bubblewrap comment about my horse! I hope that's not a sign . . . I'm glad Derby is doing better. And happy birthday Indy!! When everyone meets Storm (who turns ten years old this year) they think she's a year old too. :)

Aww YouTube is down so I can't see the video. :(

Kim said...

Ha! I'm sure it's not a sign, but just in case, you might want to refrain from any bubblewrap comments. :)

Thanks!