Quick Summary of Last Month

May was an incredibly busy month. Cold. Rainy. Wet. Busy.

It seems every spare moment I had outside of work were spent outside in the garden pulling up weeds. My garden had gotten invaded by a ton of these MISERABLE weeds that are apparently in the clover family. A cazillion sprouts. And that doesn't include the usual ragweed sprouts which need to be dug out rather than pulled. They have strong roots that refuse to give.

On the dog front -

I think I stopped at Week 3 (?) of the last session.

Just going over the last three weeks as quick as possible, the boy and I shored up on the different exercises, and we are signed up for a new session starting next week.

Week 4-5 were usual classes that seemed to get a bit more fun each class. It is always fun and enjoyable when you have your dog's full attention and he's doing all the exercises right.

Week 6 - was sort of like a fun match. Everyone got their turn in the ring and did what was essentially a proper novice run through. We did off leash healing for the first time in the entire session, and Jack did well. Only problem was the recall, because he came in crooked. Again.

May 26 (I think), we did a fun match at a local club. The same one where I took Jack to puppy classes. I discovered an issue that may come up when we get into the show ring. Jack is noise-phobic. He associates loud noises with thunder and immediately goes into an anxiety attack (shaking, panting, trying to get away from the noise). This was also our first experience training him in a place that was a little warmish. He was distracted and lagged during the routine - though I felt he did better than I expected going into the ring. When we went into the ring, I had a problem getting him to sit in place next to me. He was zoning out. By the time we got to the off leash heel, he was a lot better. This wouldn't help in a real show, where you only get one chance, but I felt that a second run through the ring would have been quite different.

Note to self- make sure he's warmed up before going into the ring, avoid outdoor shows, train him in places where there might be random noises.

THIS WEEK'S PLAN:

I'm planning to work on figure 8's (on leash) and then off-leash heeling outdoors. I'm working him outside despite the heat, hoping to train him out of the lagging. I'm keeping the training sessions short so it isn't too much.

Just:

# 2-3 figure 8 rounds.

# 1 Quick straight line offleash routine (three sits, two about turns, fast, slow).

#4 or 5 recalls, trying to get at least two perfectly straight recalls before moving on to swings

#2-3 Swings - working on getting a perfect swing on voice command alone. This is working out great.

#3 Retrieves - this is for fun and his reward for training. I'm using the dumbbell and am training him to come back and sit. I'll work on perfecting retrieve-fronts later, but at least he has a head start.

SOMETHING THAT WORRIES ME:

I was hesitant about posting this elsewhere, because I know somebody who suddenly lost her 1 year old dog. It is a reminder that death can come suddenly and it is ridiculous to be squaffling about the realization that your dog might have questionable genes.

This is my hypo side rearing up, but I was going through Jack's breeding line, curious about the types of dogs in his background. Just to see who he takes after.

He is two years old and starting to firm up into his prime. He's darkening to a warm golden color, his muscles are filling in, his coat is growing out, etc... <- I get resentful when people point at the blondies as the 'real show dogs', because of course Jack does have the correct confirmation if I wanted to show him.

I discovered that he has a Gold Rush background.... which made me a little nervous, because supposedly the Gold Rush goldens have a higher propensity for early cancer than other lines.

All dogs generally do die of cancer. I've somewhat reached a point where I feel that if the dog is 12-15 years old, then the cancer is simply the effects of his body starting to fall apart. Just as with people.

If the dogs die of cancer at eight or nine though... then that is a huge problem and a tragedy. When a golden is eight or nine ... that is when they transition into their third stage of life. Yes, it's old age, but it is when they achieve a dignity and sweetness. It was the time when our other old dog (Sam) earned his nickname "Sun Chaser" (his real name was Star Chaser Sam I Am), because he would happily lay in the sun along our patio door and watch sunbeams outside the window.

The odds are, Jack has plenty of other dogs in his breeding who are long lived and we can expect him to live 11-15 years.

Still, when I saw postings about Gold Rush goldens bemoaning the loss of their goldens at 8-9, I suddenly cringed at the thought of having only six or seven more years with him.

More than any dog we've had, I wonder sometimes when something is going to happen and wake me up. He never barks. He's content to sleep and relax when I do. He is going to be GREAT at obedience shows and already shows signs of going wherever I want to take him. He is just too perfect. I don't want to lose him too soon.