i dont love you anymore?

there's been some stuff going on in my own life (wait, i have a life outside of dogs?????) and it's not that i haven't had time to update the blog - i just really havent. i know, bad me.

training this week was short - no agility because deb is at USDAA nationals in az, no class on thurs since we all showed at the big cluster. so just rah in utility on wed - go outs were pretty nice. like at the match the weekend prior, he had a pretty good lock on his stanchion without seeing his toy, and turned off it lovely. we do need to work on his fronts, since hes jumping so extended (for a change) he's having a problem getting back to me and hitting a nice front. need to ask where i can stand - we worked on it with the jumps and how to fix it, but we can see if it will help the bj too.

articles - i had a terrible time because i got bitter lime in my mouth and wanted to die. but rah wasnt perfect, but he worked through a few things - first, lydia was on top of his pile pressuring him. i also did most of the retrieves restrained which amps him up and is more likely to get him just picking and grabbing without working. lydia saw again up close that if he smells the right article, he will pick up what is underneath his mouth - which if the pile is tight, is NOT necessarily the same article. i tried scenting less and we worked the pile REALLY tight together and forced him to work it out. he did!!!!

gloves - if i can work him in pivots before hand to make him understand that *i* give him permission to look at the gloves, i get lovely pivots. if we don't, he locks onto gloves (any glove) and cant think through enough to pivot, at least not enough to SIT at the end of the pivot.

signals - worked on the flexi again, when i do it RIGHT he is golden :) his issue wont be missing signals, it will be not walking the stand - he's so into this that he knows what is coming back.

showed thursday - biggest trial rah has been in. right before we went in the ring (2nd to last in the class of 25!!!!) rah choked on a cookie and he did his entire show while choking/gulping/licking his lips. i almost pulled him, but he worked through it - certainly not his best trial at all. but we took 4th with a 191.5 i believe (ill get the breakdown later, its in my car). much more relaxed considering he was doing weird things the entire time.

friday rah decided to be afraid of men again. in a nice change, he DID try his hardest to work through it in the ring - we q'd with his worst score ever, a 185.5 - with 2-3 substantials (no sits, no fronts) because of the pressure the judge put. rah kept giving him the eyeball, not wanting to put his back at him. he was 5th, no ribbons for that :)

berlin had her private lesson yesterday and we went back to basics (actually, mercury had one too as did my friends other dobe, eco - three dobe privates, god bless terry). we worked the entire hour on her pet behaviors - specifically staying with me. berlin is now tethered to me and will have to follow in the house with manners and will have to practice "with me" multiple times a day. what she does is when she's off leash, she decides when she is done and will leave me to go visit what she really wants - toys on the floor and food yesterday weren't so bad, but visiting people she knows, visiting with OMG quest and OMG!!! bunny - were the kickers. im sure barking at people she doesn't know will be something else as well.

so, that's where we are - i can see how this lack of commitment to the work we're doing is hurting us both. so now, my dogs become better pets. i am sure that despite the 20+ titles they have earned, the WALLS of ribbons in two rooms, wont impress my family as much as my dogs potentially having manners.