Running the Rally ring

We had a few folks who worked shorter shifts all day, but by the end of the day, this was the crew who working during the last class of the day. There was a dog on course, and the judge was busy judging, so he's not in the picture. Left to right: Beth - Rhodesian Ridgebacks, does Rally and obedience with them; me; Patrice - don't know her breed, Rally chairperson for this show and one of the Kennel Club VPs; Catherine - Rhodesian Ridgebacks, competes in Breed, Rally, Obedience and Agility, also was one of my sponsors for Kennel Club membership; Janet - Italian Greyhound, Rally, Agility and also Therapy Dog work with our Therapy Dog Inc. group. Janet is timing, Catherine is working the judge's score sheets, Patrice is the executive, I'm checking people in and giving out armbands, and Beth is floating to help where needed. The check-in table was actually about 3 feet to the left of that aluminum post (displaying the ring activities, class and entries info, and course map), but I moved for the picture.

The Newfoundland and Weimeraner Specialty shows (translation: annual national shows put on by an individual breed club only for that breed of dog. Activities at a specialty vary by club and by breed. These are smaller specialties so they piggyback on a larger show - holds down costs.) were held in the same hall as obedience and rally. We saw some beautiful Rally performances by teams who were also showing in their Specialties. There was a very cute little Pug girl doing quite nicely, and several Yorkshire Terriers looking extremely hot as they gave very competitive performances and probably had a number of folks worried about their placements. Their owners told me Yorkies are very smart and highly trainable, but not a lot of people know that. We had about 150 entries in Rally today. That's a lot of Rally-watching and a lot of dogs. From ringside, we had a wonderful seat, but rarely got to see an entire run without an interruption. So - this is how you run a Rally ring at a major show.

It was great fun!! We were a real part of the show, without the responsibility of managing a dog or the tension of competing.

Update

Executive summary:

1. Rowdy's better but doesn't have his stamina back yet. Blood work is all beautifully normal. Still on bland diet for a few more days.

2. The birthday celebration continues.

3. We're all still tired.

Big dog show this weekend - starting today. Our club is very excited - we're the Saturday show. We have a record number of entries, and at 3200 dogs, this show is now established as bigger than the Atlanta show and in league with the Atlanta and Houston shows. We're a major regional show now. We also have over 300 entries in obedience and Rally, which is quite a turn-out. People like to show in Greenville!

I'm off work today and thought I'd be at the show all day long but when I sit down, I fall asleep. So I'm going to go do some more of that. More in due course.

Ups and downs

We had a great week last week, and enjoyed both our classes. We ran a particularly challenging Rally course on Thurday night and that was a ball!

We visited the Happy Cow Creamery on Saturday, and took Mother along. It was a really nice drive out there and we discovered several alternate routes along familiar country roads. We look forward to more visits, and eating their delicious cheeses.

Rowdy caught a stomach virus, and in the examination, the vet discovered he has also been eating more cat poop and would soon be sick from that. Since Tillie is also known for this disgusting backyard passtime, we need to run in a sample on her, too. We had a sick Rowdy on our hands yesterday, but today he has turned a corner. I'll be back at work tomorrow. Our vet offers medical day care, so your sick pet can be watched over during a workday, but I prefer to stay home if possible and do the nursing and supervision myself. I can't get too much done, since I have to stay in one place to keep Rowdy from getting a day's worth of exercise following me around. If I stay in one place, he'll snooze and I can be sure he's not taking a turn for the worse.

Meanwhile, I'll pulling Rowdy's entry for the show on Sunday. I want my dog to think that going to a show is ALWAYS one of the funnest things in the world to do. It doesn't matter how well we do - the most important thing is to have fun doing it together. A dog can't have as much fun if he's not feeling really good - shows are very exciting for everyone involved.

No pictures today - I'm running a little short on sleep. Ancestry.com is about as addicting as crack cocaine, and that' s not helping at all either.

Good bye ambivalence

Went to obedience class last night and said good-bye to our ambivalence with the sport. Despite the impressive number of offensive humans we've met in the sport, we have met some nice people and some nice and accomplished people. Mostly though, the whole point is "What have you accomplished with your dog?" and "Are you AND your dog having fun?" So future encounters with jerky humans will be met with polite dismissal and an immediate onset of amnesia. Well....if it's a judge, onset of amnesia will occur after I write down their name to avoid them in the future.

We had a great time in class last night. Rowdy was SO excited to be back - walked in to the class area with his butt wiggling like a hula dancer, looking all around to see who was there, and making excited noises. We learned a doodle to help with Fronts. We worked on heeling. We learned a few training techniques to help them learn to remain focused even when very excited, and to make showing more fun for the dog. Toys, food and the clicker were involved - Rowdy's Holy Trinity.

The Happy Cow Creamery

Click on the pictures above to make them bigger.

Today we went out to Anderson, and enjoyed a Greek meal at an Anderson diner. How fun is that? The diner owner is Greek, a naturalized US citizen, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch. Then we went to the hospital, where Mike did a little work while I knitted and then we shot a little basketball before heading home. All this is a roundabout way of explaining how we decided to take a turn and see if we could find the Happy Cow Creamery (www.happycowcreamery.com). Without any problems at all, we found it and arrived 10 min before their store closed. What a nice place! It turns out it's probably closer to our house than downtown Greenville, making it our new grocery store for most dairy items. They also trade with a ranch that offers antibiotic-free, hormone-free black Angus beef, and an egg farm that offers drug- and hormone-free, truly free-ranged chicken eggs. So they are able to sell these in their store as well - giving us a local supplier of beef, and a second supplier of eggs. We need to find a local chicken supplier now. Today they had sold out of the home-grown blackberries, so we will go back next week and look forward to some blackberry sorbet. We bought some grits grown on the South Carolina plantation that has been operating continuously since the Revolution - recall I got some rice from there at the Farmer's Market, and we also bought some locally made strawberry bread to eat with Happy Cow cream cheese, and some Happy Cow 3-yr cheddar. They won a national award in 2002 for sustainable agriculture practices. Their farm is amazing - it doesn't stink; the cows look as clean as can be (do they wash them every day?). I'm certainly no judge of cattle, but when my dogs look as good as these cows, I'm very pleased. The cows' eyes were clear, soft, alert, and relaxed; their hides were remarkably clean with bright colors. I didn't see a sore or skin injury anywhere on them. We're planning a trip back next Saturday and will give ourselves plenty of time there.

Here's the finished socks! The patterned stitch didn't show up too well, but they are knit from the cuff-down, in Regia sock yarn on US 2 needles. The pattern stitch is from Charlene Schurch's first book, Simply Sensation Socks. I'll have to try again to photograph the stitch pattern.

I spent the week swatching different stitch patterns for the next pair - made from a yarn that is a blend of wool and silk fibers. Finally found a combination that looks good and have started work. These are knitted toe-up; I'm about halfway up the first foot. Stay tuned - they're knitting up quickly as the pattern is simple and easy to read on the needles.

Yawnnnnn

As I was still recovering on Monday, we skipped obedience class but did keep our appointment for a 3-mos checkup on Rowdy with the rehab vet. Dr Maria was very pleased, and made some recommendations to help relieve some tension she found in his shoulder muscles - probably an old injury. He got a chiropractic adjustment - only his second since he was pre-op - and some serious massage. So now Rowdy gets MORE massage therapy - you know he's lovin' that!

I seem to have escaped the bad cold that took Mike down briefly. But today I'm a little short on sleep thanks to Rowdy. Rowdy does not always remember his priorities when it comes to certain doggy chores. We have a number of pre-emptive strategies to re-direct Mr Distractable back to the A section of the To Do list. Last night during our 9:30 pm outing, he was simply too busy with the bazillion distractions in an empty, dark backyard to remember his A-level priorities. But at 3:30 am this morning, he decided these matters were urgent and notified me accordingly. I gotta tell you, after I get up and get my wits about me sufficient to dare to step out onto the staircase, there's not a lot of point left in returning to bed at 4 am only to get up at 5:30 am.

So I got some knitting done. Those blue socks? Oh they're finished now and awaiting the photography. I started another pair - and re-started it three times using both toe-up and cuff-down construction until I found a pattern and design that spoke to me. They're now underway and looking pretty good.

I sent in an entry for a dog show in the Greenville cluster later this month - sent it in yesterday, via the internet, less than 30 min before closing of entries. What a shock - we're not in the "A" class anymore, and there's an AKC Rally title after my dog's name! Holy cow. We're not in the Rally nursery anymore. I guess it really IS time to start training for the higher levels, and quit fooling around with it. Whad'dya know? I guess my teachers actually know what they're talking about and we're actually going to be competing in some shows this year in both Rally and Obedience.

This month, we're only entered on Sunday in Novice (we already have the Novice title but can continue to show in the "B" class until we want to move up and try the Open level). On Friday I'm a spectator (and a shopper); on Saturday I'm a volunteer (and a shopper with Mike); and on Sunday we're exhibiting with help from Mike. It is hugely helpful when Mike comes along as our Coach. And equipment manager. And I guess I need to do more than browse the show calendars for the fall and winter.

Did you see "Guns, Germs and Steel" last night on PBS? Mike has read the book and convinced me that I would love it. From watching the first part of the show series, I'd say so.

The Fourth of July was a sort of bust around here. Mike abruptly came down with a bad cold, spent most of the day in bed, rallied for dinner and is fine now. But I'm now fighting it off - and fortunately had the rest of the week off work. Hopefully, my armamentarium of immunity-boosters will do the trick. Rowdy thinks fireworks and/or thunder are pretty much the same thing, and can only be ominous signs of doom. He doesn't get really upset, like Monty used to, but he moves to Mike's lap where he worries and watches to see if one of us is finally going to realize that danger is near. He finally opted for an early bedtime, as you can see. Sometimes just throwing in the towel and bringing an early end to a day is the best idea.

We were lucky to make it this far before the summer weather pattern set in. It's 83 degrees with 60% humidity at 11:30 am. I realize that in Florida, this is considered mild, but here it's hot and humid. The mornings on the deck are wonderful, as are the evenings. Fireflies are still glowing in the evenings.

Inspired by the Summer of Socks project, I'm knitting socks. I knit one in a new stitch pattern and re-learned the importance of swatching in gauge before starting off:

Very cool pattern in the self-striping yarn - just a tad too small to really work for me. After a washing or two, this thing is going to feel like an ace bandage on my foot. No thanks. I ripped it out and started over with a tried-and-true pattern. As I'm knitting it, I'm meditating on the importance of swatching in pattern, and tweaking the stitch pattern to create the desired size. Stay tuned for more sock-knitting - fighting off the cold is forcing me to stay still more than I like, so I'm almost done with the pair.

It's not all dogs, all the time

We do have some other activities going on....

We read. This is Mike's current book. The author has an astounding ability to explain astrophysics in a way that leaves you wondering, "Gee, why didn't I major in that? Why isn't this part of the regular elementary school curriculum?" He's an occasional guest on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" whenever Lou wants to talk space with an undeniable expert with outstanding conversational skills. You want to invite Tyson (or Lou Dobbs) over for dinner.

I'm reading:



The best feature of this book is the first section. It is a compilation of boilerplate recipes for vegetables in standard dishes - like stir-fries, gratins, quiches, roasted vegetable combinations, pizzas, and so forth. There's about 10 different basic recipes, and good instructions on the nuances of the variations. You can pretty much determine if a particular vegetable will work, and how to use it, from this section. The rest of the book is an excellent summary of the most common (and delicious) vegetables that come into season spring through fall. Apparently the author eats out during the winter.