Sometimes when you feel overwhelmed, you might just BE overwhelmed....

Lately - well, let's be honest - most of the time, I feel like I'm lagging behind in my dog training. Susan Garrett would have her dogs speaking Mandarin Chinese by Cash's age! My teachers and local mentors would have their dogs all set to win their Working Trial Championships, Obedience Championships, and Agility Championships at Nationals this year right after try-outs for the World Team! LOL well, maybe not....

I spent this am showing the flag for our law firm at a boring video conference.  However, it was the perfect opportunity to sit there and think while looking interested in the TV screen. I began to take notes. Or well, I began to make notes about my dog training. I listed every game/exercise/event/behavior that we practice now. Holy cow. I had no idea we were working on so much stuff!! And I began to see how these pieces fit together to build the more complex behaviors. That's what my obedience instructor told me to do - sit down and figure out how the small pieces build up to the Utility title.

Aha. Not there yet, but much closer than I was this morning.

The Zen of it all

Owning dogs is really a lot of everyday Zen. There's plenty of existential angst for even Soren Kierkegarrd. Some days it's like a Fellini film, other days more like Bergmann, and always with a huge dose of Disney. Our rescue dog Hershey is much simpler to own. She's an easy keeper - and a really sweet girl. But the Aussies. Oh my. They are anything but easy keepers. So it's Dr Doolittle meets a philosopher with a lot of religion thrown in because my gosh, their lifespans are just too dang short and getting all spiritual is the only way you can bear it.

Cash had some kind of ruptured abscess last week, which I found apparently right after it ruptured. A nice round hole in his skin on his side. Soooo it was off to the vet. This didn't look like something I wanted to watch and observe. It looked like the Red Carpet Entrance for some nasty germs to raise havoc with Mr. Cash, beating him at his own game.  The vet agreed. Diagnosis is a 'ruptured inflammatory process' - most likely, I think, a wasp sting gone bad. This had to be one of my cheapest vet visits ever, and the wound got a nice cleaning and we came home with oral antibiotics. The meds are making Mr Cash feel a little draggy. Not sleepy, just draggy. So poor guy is wandering around, bringing his toys into a pile by my chair but not really interested in playing with them with me. A few mechanical tugs, a chase to retrieve a thrown toy and he's ready to lay down and just stare at me, or crawl up into my lap for 30 min of snuggling - totally unlike Mr. Cash.

And it's one more drag on the whole effort to do some training.....But the wound is healing, he's living in an Elizabethan Collar 24/7, and we'll all be glad when the 10 days of meds are over and he gets back to being a 20 month old Australian Shepherd. Remind me I said that.

The older dogs seem to be grabbing the chance to enjoy a little slower pace around the house. Rowdy makes sure that Cash knows Rowdy's still got it, but Rowdy is not making a whole LOT of effort to tease Cash when Cash slows down the playing.  Hershey seems pretty oblivious to Cash's big collar and draggy feelings.  As long as there doesn't appear to be any chance of Hershey being re-homed - her only worry - then she's a happy camper.