Junia Petunia the Lure Coursing Queen

(Photo by Robin French)

This week Julie and I crammed a bunch of dogs into her van and took them Lure Coursing. June may not be a very good sheepdog, but she is the Lure Coursing Queen!!! Holy Cow. This dealio was a fundraiser and was $5 per run. I took Linc and June but as it turned out we ran out of daylight so only June (and Pip, Phoebe, and Lark) got to run. Pip, Phoebe and Lark were at a bit of a disadvantage being their first time, but June was... probably the most in her element as I've ever seen her. June doesn't CARE if she brings it back. Oh no. She just wants to chase it. She's HAPPY to chase it. She might have flunked out as a sheepdog but if there was a job in life for her to chase a plastic baggie she'd be my go to dog. It cracks me up to see her ears become PRICK and she's OFF!!!

I've actually been feeling rather guilty because June doesn't get much in the way of work these days. Then again she doesn't really want it anyway. On the occasion that she seems to want to work I'll take her out, but most of the time she's just happy holding down the couch and catching an occasional disc. It made my heart all happy to see her lure course though. There was a guy there who might be starting up a club and if it's not too costly I might see about getting her involved. She'd love it.

What else? We worked on Linc's flank commands last weekend. Whooeee! Good dog - he was getting more than I thought. I haven't had a chance to work him this week, but hopefully will this weekend. That's the other downside to the economy - I'm blessed with friends nearby that let me come work my dogs - but not the gas $$ to do so as I wish I could.

Some of you saw me mention a little rescue Chihuahua on Facebook the other day (from my Neighbor's house), and it looks like I've got it worked out for her. She's absolutely adorable, and I really think she's going to make someone a fabulous little dog. I've coordinated with Chihuahua Rescue and Transport in NC/SC to get her into rescue, and it looks like I'll be fostering her. I'll probably post some pictures - if the little gal will slow down long enough. She's wide open, and just as sweet as she can be. Updates to follow soon, I'm sure.

Last thing - Nick gets his staples out tonight. It looks like his (neuter) incision is healed, and I'll talk to my vet about getting him back into shape to possibly run him at Don McCaig's. He's been on crate rest for almost three weeks now trying to get this thing healed. I think he'll be happy to get that colander off of his head.

Dude, I should get some pictures of that.

Attitude Adjustment

I need an attitude adjustment. Nick is getting one - via the great testicle exodus and now I need one to deal with HIS attitude adjustment. So far what should have been a simple procedure has been a PITA - to the tune of regluing, stapling, and so on. I think he's finally on the road to recovery though, but it's been a long drawn out disaster. Well, maybe disaster is too strong of a word. Mess. Between incisions that don't want to hold and blah blah blah it's just... ugh. My work situation has taken quite the turn for the worse, and while I'm quite grateful to have a job... still it sucks. So yeah, I need an attitude adjustment. I suppose I've not felt much like blogging while trying to slog through some of my life lately.

Linc, on the other hand, is being such a good boy right now that it makes me smile (see? attitude adjustment). These pictures are by Dan King who graced us last weekend with his really fun presence. Linc is a driving fool right now - and while his stop is suffering slightly it does my heart good to see him taking control, motoring along, and holding the lines pretty well all on his small bustle-butted own. I'm able to do most practical things with him - which is good given that Nicky boy is on the disabled list at the moment.

Thanks to Dan for this pic - it's beautiful. I found out this past weekend that Linc can hold sheep. I wasn't sure he could - but he did a nice job of it. Actually I wasn't sure he could let them go, but he seems to "get it". I do believe we're going to get along quite nicely. This weekend unless something more pressing rears it's head I'm going to try to see if I can proof Linc's flank commands. He seems to mostly have them, but I'd like just a little more (and lets face it - life would be easier with flank commands).

It's also been fun over at Julie's squishying puppies with Julie and Robin. See? Attitude adjustment. Something about puppies just makes my heart get all mushy. Having Dan (and of course Julie, Robin, and the other lesson folks too) around always makes for fun times, so a good attitude adjustment also.

What else has been up lately? Well, I got sent on a weekend trip to Asheville, NC to entertain one of our vendors two weekends ago. I got to see Biltmore again with fresh eyes, and drank entirely too much, ate entirely too much, but had a BALL. I got to stay in a hotel room, and didn't pick up a single dog turd for three days. That was more fun than I can really handle, so while in some ways it was good to get away it was also stressful to have to farm out dogs on a moment's notice and go be so... social. But hey... I'm evidently a little fun to be around according to the vendor, and the trip was a huge success. I managed to not get tattooed while there. That too was a big success.

So this weekend I'm going to play FarmTown on Facebook (yeah, OK, so I have a serious FarmTown problem), hang with the girls, and try to relax a little. I need it. Maybe later next week I'll have something to say.