Agility Update

Mom and I went to an agility trial last weekend, and while we didn't get any Q's, we had a pretty good weekend.

On Friday night, I wasn't quite sure if I would even be going to the trial. I was "off" all night, drank a lot of water, and when I went outside I gave a little "yip". All was well after I came back inside and projectile vomited all over the kitchen floor. Stinky, yucky puke. But just what the doctor ordered.

So mom packed me up the next morning and decided that we would come home if I didn't act just right. Well, I felt pretty good, so we went into the ring. On our first run, I got stuck in the chute. I tried and tried to push through, but it wouldn't budge, so I ran back out. Dang, busted that run. Otherwise, flawless. On our second run, I was a little pokey. I ticked a LOT of bars (although none came down) and I ran really slow. A bad handling move (caused by a change of plans because I was running slow) made me hit the last bar and down it went. Dang, busted that run too. Mom thinks I was still feeling a little punkish after eating my treats on a recovering stomach.

The next day, mom decided to concentrate on FUN and SPEED. So she got me spun up before every run. She knew it worked when I spent the time on the start line barking and mouthing off at her. We had a few missteps (went around 2 jumps) but otherwise we rocked that course. Here it is:

On our next run, mom got me even MORE wound up. She knew it was working when I flew out over a jump I wasn't supposed to take, and flew back to get into the weave poles. She told me what a good girl I am (it was a tough part of the course, and that jump was right there) and we continued on. I never ticked any jumps, I went over every jump, and I FLEW into the tunnel so fast she almost couldn't keep up. It seems to be just one thing that's keeping us from Q'ing, but that's OK - we'll get it together.

There were a lot of bright spots. I'm getting better with every run. I'm getting onto the table and staying there. I do my weaves perfectly every time. I pay more attention to mom.

On our way home Saturday, we stopped for some sightseeing. I'll put those pictures up in my next post.

She's all jacked up on Mountain Dew

Bellatrix inspired me to have mom video tape my signature move: The Spin.

Check it out here:

Or on YouTube:

Mom can't take credit for it, though. She says The Spin came factory installed.

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Baking project from last weekend: Chai cupcakes with Chai cream cheese frosting. 

Must have been inspired by the Indian movies we watched all weekend. 

Wordless Wednesday

What are you doing back there? OUCH!

Mom noticed that I wasn't quite myself lately. 

Then my instructor mentioned that 

I wasn't jumping like I normally do. 

I'm pretty rough on my body, so it would be 

no big surprise if I had hurt my back or neck.

So we went to a vet that specializes in getting

dogs back to jumping and playing. 

She was really nice, especially since she had mom 

feed me treats the whole time I was there. 

She not only adjusted my back, but stuck me with needles! 

Not to worry, it didn't hurt a bit, and I never even flinched. 

I feel MUCH better now.

 

The worst part was being on restriction for 48 hours. 

Which meant I was banned from the bedroom 

unless mom or dad could put me onto or off of the bed. 

Yesterday morning, I was desperate for a place to sleep 

(the couch was already taken by 

Arnie and Snap, and I didn't want to share). 

So I snuck into mom's closet, then 

I pulled down a pillow and tried to make myself comfortable. 

No coincidence that it's also the place she 

keeps my training bag, that holds my treats. 

I'm one of the 1000 Pugs!

In case you hadn't heard, 1000 Pugs is a fundraising vehicle for pug rescues. The brainchild of Puglet's mom, it's a series of pug-only photo shoots that will become a book.
http://1000pugs.com/

There is a "Tour" of photo shoots, and one of the stops is in Dallas/Fort Worth. The first stop, actually. Mom and Suki's mom decided they just HAD to be part of the 1000, so after phone calls, emails and texts, the sign up coordination was complete. Suki's mom can't sign up during work hours, so my mom got all the info to sign us all up together. Last Friday she was all set to go, but the internet foiled that plan.

At first, she was only going to bring me, but after talking to Suki's mom and listening to her heart, she decided to bring Arnie, too. Which is fitting, since Arnie was one of the first subjects on Daily Puglet, a long time ago.
http://dailypuglet.blogspot.com/2009/05/agility-pug.html

The sign up was changed to yesterday, and more info about photo shoot locations. So MORE phone calls and more planning went on, and the plan was in place. One of the locations for the shoot was a botanical garden. Mom loves botanical gardens, but not as much as Suki does.
http://shorttailsofsuki.blogspot.com/2011/07/garden-alone.html

In fact, when we went to visit her, we took a trip to the garden she loves so much. We even became pug soup there!

http://shorttailsofsuki.blogspot.com/2011/11/gracie-arnie.html

The day of the sign up, mom was ready. At a few minutes after the "time" she logged on, and all the slots for the gardens were full! On to plan B, and quick, quick, she signed us up. And we got in - ALL of us. 

Now, we just have to practice our posing skills and wait for the big day. Suki and her mom will stay with us that weekend, so more pug fun will be had by all.

Going to be a wonderful weekend

The sun is out, the temps are high, and we're ready for a relaxing and pleasant weekend.

New Year Adventure

We started the new year with a fun adventure. 

We went to a new dog park. 

It's close to our house, and voted 

one of the top 5 parks in the country. 

Not sure how we missed it, but we found it now.

Arnie can't wait to tell Suki that there's another park to visit.

First step, see who's been to the park.

What? They have a dog walk? 

We LIKE this place.

Arnie had a blast. 

As usual, he ran around with a big smile on his face. 

He LOVES dog parks.

These Westies were playing a mean game of frisbee.

The frisbee is bigger than he is.

Taking a break from frisbee to play chase.

Arnie hanging with his new buddies.

After warming up at the Dog Park, we took a walk by the river.

Photo op along the bank. Hey, you can walk on that dam. Let's go!

It was a long walk down, with dad holding tight to our leashes. 

Don't want to fall in there.

That's us, living on the edge.

We walked a little further, and found downtown Fort Worth. 

Another chance at a photo op.

Now back to car for the drive home, 

and an afternoon of relaxing.