Our Visitor, Makin's ABC's Class and Our Kids/Dogs

This week we had a visitor; Kiley the aussie. I must admit I was a little nervous about how much more work it was going to be adding another pooch to my daily routine. Things went well however. Lael had a few easy days this week so she had the the girls for two days while I only had them for three. Our typical day consists of getting up, feeding and getting the girls to go out then taking off for the park. After a minimum of 30 minutes at the park we are off to day care (my parents house) where the girls are lucky enough to hang out while I am at work. I typically go home at lunch for a break and a little run and then back to work. I then pick the ladies up and head home. Our routine was not altered at all and Kiley was a pleasure. She did herd Tessa quite a bit and Tessa is now exhausted and sleeping on my lap as I type. Makin, well, she was herself and kept to herself as usual. The picture above is from this summer when Tessa was still a wee little thing.

Makin has only two agility classes remaining. She had a bit of tough week this week though. She was not as happy as she normally is in the barn. I am not sure if it was noises or if there was a different energy in the barn. When we tried to work a pinwheel (set of three jumps) we were trying to be very upbeat, to get her excited, but were not successful. Katrin suggested that we tone it down a bit and that seemed to help. Toward the end of class Makin started to perk up though. We did the dog walk well with a good wait at the contact. Makin was quick and confident on the walk almost as though she had done this before. We also did a sequence of four jumps in a chute and worked the teeter ending with a jump.

On a different note The Regal Vizsla had an interesting post regarding the humanization of our beloved creatures. I must admit that I often do see the girls as my kids and they are frequently the center of my world. They are my companions but at the same time we try to ensure that they have structure and boundaries. Yes, sometimes this is a difficult task when you live with dogs that are extremely content at being your 40 lb blanket. We do training and agility because it is fun but also because these dogs want to work and seem to be happier when they have something to do. I can run them for hours at the park but the relationship we have is strengthened through working together. The author, John Katz, is referenced in the post. I have read a few of his books and a number of his articles and enjoy his perspective. He is practical regarding his relationships with his animals. I am not sure if I can be as practical as he is but a lot of what he says makes sense. I think that I am better at not putting my feelings on the girls now and I am happier as a result. I don't think they ever exhibited the emotions I was feeling for them. Tessa does not mind spending hours in her crate, if she did she probably would not go there when she feels nervous or stressed. I guess the long and short of it is that we need to treat our dogs like they are our dogs. They are our responsibility and it is our task to give them what they need as dogs.