echo unfortunately has a bum wrist, so she can't do any sustained running without hurting herself. jean is the speed gremlin (but she rides in a backpack when i take her cycling).
started a few days ago getting her acclimated while i walked beside the bike, and we took our first trip around the block today. she stood up a few times, but for the most part was comfortable lying down.
jean has earned 500 points in fast CAT since she started in february, so she got her DCAT title today (first was BCAT at 300 points). very proud of her! it has improved her recall and behavior around other dogs so much. 😊
we had graduation last night! we did some rally practice since all the dogs had already passed all the test items, and echo loved it. could not get her to look at the camera because she loves to look at me always, haha. very proud of this rescue pup who has exceeded my expectations when it comes to training. she really is the dog i've wanted since i was a teenager. ❤️
all about the beeple! 🤠
fellow invisible bi person checking in! 🫡
(kinda) got answers about my knee. it's not a bone problem, and it's not an artery problem, so i've been taking larger doses of ibuprofen and got a better knee brace for cycling. so far, so good!
little dog got her first agility ribbons! border collie is probably getting her trick title soon, and we have our first lesson with a new agility trainer wednesday morning.
went bike camping over the weekend, which was nice. just a short ~13 mile ride there and a single night. i felt strong, knee held up well, and we had excellent weather and a fun group. RAGBRAI is only a couple of months away, which means i gotta get serious about riding my bike longer distances. the good news is i think i've only missed three days of biking so far this month (yay, bike month)!
was supposed to watch a couple of my favorite (dog) clients last friday, but their owner missed his flight, so i just went and took them out for a walk. still got paid the full day rate. 😎
went to go watch a sheepdog trial on saturday morning, which was really cool! talked to several people there, including the lady who owns the farm. saw a couple of people smacking their dogs, though (including the owner), so i don't think i'll be doing any herding lessons there.
saturday evening we had our annual beer party (everybody brings a 6-pack of something to drink, and we throw them all together in a big bucket of ice). the dogs did really well up until about midnight when they started getting cranky, so i turned in early and let my partner watch the party-goers for the rest of the evening.
sunday was whiffle ball with friends followed by challengers, and oh my gosh, what a movie. absolutely loved the whole thing.
an e-bike on the road/path will give more exercise than an acoustic bike gathering dust in the garage/basement. ;)
hooray for fixed plumbing!
i mostly have dog news (no surprise there).
echo is officially part of the family as of saturday. signed the paperwork and sent it in! i've got her signed up for a trainer evaluation next weekend so she can get into a canine good citizen class.
i took the other two dogs (loki and jean) to a fast CAT trial on saturday as well. loki peed in the ring his first run (immediate disqualification, oops) and didn't seem to know what i wanted him to do. kinda kicking myself for not signing him up for two fun runs instead of paying for two scored runs. i swapped his second run to a fun run so i could walk down the length of the track, and he did way better that time. the lure spooked him at one point, but he recovered, and i think we'll do a couple more fun runs to see if he likes it enough to keep doing it.
jean absolutely crushed it! her fastest run was 9.477 seconds, which boils down to 21.58mph (34.93kmph). the slower run was somewhere between 10-11 seconds, but i forgot to write it down. she ran right to me at the end and leapt into my arms like a champ both times. she was also great around all the other dogs who were barking and yowling and generally being amped up. looking forward to seeing the photos that were taken later this week, which i'll be sure to post over on !animals@beehaw.org. 😊
loki & jean after the trial.
echo spending her day with another rescue volunteer.
jean is heading to another fast CAT trial in a couple of weeks, and loki has a rally obedience trial coming up the weekend after that. this year is really going to the dogs. 😅
i’ll never understand why cat owners think it’s totally fine to let their cats run all around the neighborhood unchecked. my sister does this with her cat, claiming the cat is street smart about cars??? infuriating to say the least.
“what gets you out of bed in the morning?”
something tells me they never want the real answer (my bowels). 💩
against me! and laura are such good things in this universe.
my first foster dog, chuck, is an absolute angel, and i don't say that lightly as somebody who is very realistic about a dog's personality. (my own two dogs are certified jerks, lol.) chuck gets along great with every dog he's met, loves kids, and the folks at the vet clinic said he just stood there while they did his exam, like nothing was even happening. i can attest to that, as i had to give him eye drops this evening. i've only had him about a week, and i doubt i'm going to have him much longer, because he's the dog everybody wants when they think of a great, chill pet.
haha, no worries! i have three dogs total, so even i call them by the wrong names. ;)