"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom."

I did a lot of Bacon training today, plus we had our puppy class in the evening (we worked a lot on recalls). She is stacking beautifully, I am loving how she is looking. Walking and gaiting on the leash, not so much...it's a struggle, especially since we are stuck inside with bad weather and there just isn't much room to practice. I am working a lot on her focus, eye contact, and of course all the little things like impulse control. I do feel at times like I am just spinning without a direct goal in mind. I need direction, but not sure where to find it. It's hard when we don't have a clear-cut future to work towards. Our future is very murky, and that's hard for me as I am a major goal-setter and I like to have clear cut objectives to be working towards.

It's been a miserable week of snow and cold, so the dogs got very little exercise outside. On Wednesday I took Bacon to Home Depot and worked on her gaiting on leash, laternating with just some general socialization. She met some little children who she loved! Bacon might be the only dog I have who actually loves little kids. Her gaiting improved on leash, which made me happy. I struggle with gaiting her on leash in the house. For some reason she doesn't want to go forward. In the open aisles of Home Depot she was much more willing to move out next to me.

On Thursday I opted to leave Pizza home from agility class to let her paw pad continue to heal. Noodle got double duty as she had class on Wednesday, but did Pizza's class on Thursday also. She was actually even better on Thursday, she ran really well. We worked on threadles and such, and she has a pretty decent threadle verbal. Dolphin did ok in his class, though as usual he was pretty unmotivated. He just does NOT like running at our training place for some reason.

Dolphin and I headed to an agility trial in Cincinnati today. We haven't trialed here in quite a while. He was wonderful! He ran with such amazing speed and enthusiasm. After our jumpers run, I had several people comment to me about how great he looked. That made me so happy...people rarely comment on a run unless it's some crazy fast border collie. I know it's silly for me to think this, but I feel it's nice that Dolphin is finally getting some respect.

We nailed FAST and tied for 1st place, but ended up third by just a fraction of a second. His jumpers run was amazing, he listened so well even with the various off-course traps. We ended up 3rd, also by only fractions. I was SO hopeful going into standard, and he was running fantastic, but then he veered off and took an off-course tunnel. In watching my video, I could see that it was MY sloppy handling that sent him to the tunnel. I sure can't be mad at him for my mistake! Although we blew a double and triple Q today, I was really happy with the way he ran. Oh, and I should mention that he only knocked ONE bar all day and that was in FAST (coming out of a tunnel at full speed). He has definitely improved in that area (I hate even mentioning it in fear that I may jinx myself).

I have been pretty lax about posting this week. It's amazing how one little puppy can suck up ALL of your free time! The weather was off and on good/bad this week. On the good days we spent a lot of time outside. I can see I definitely need to work on her recall as the more she got to spend time running with Dolphin and Noodle, the less she wanted to come back to me. I get it, I am much less fun! I will have to work more with her one on one on the property to fix that. Unfortunately it won't happen any time soon as a big snow storm is heading our way this weekend, plus single-digit temperatures.

I have been doing a lot of training with Bacon, working on a myriad of things - basics like sit, down, and stay; introducing a 2 on-2 off position, cone circling, and plate target rotation; and the most important concepts of hold and retrieve. She is really doing well! It's been a blast training her, I have really missed training a puppy. She is like a cute little sponge, she absorbs everything.

I judged a hunt test on Saturday and it was bitter cold - in the mid-20's. By afternoon the snow rolled in and we ended up with 6 inches. Thankfully I had already pulled my entries for Sunday, because Sunday's morning temperature was 6 degrees. I won't run my dogs in those temperatures, I would never risk it.

I spent the past 3 days doing a LOT of training inside. Not much else to do, I guess! Bacon is doing wonderful with her training. However, I know that this is a bit of a false sense of security because I am sure that our training will go out the window away from home with other distrations. That's the plan for later this week, it is definitely something I need to work on. Bacon is much different than Dolphin. Dolphin always had a LOT of focus on me, I was always his #1 priority. Bacon is much more influenced by outside distractions.

Today I took the show on the road - Bacon and I headed to our agility training place and worked on focus and training in the mat area while class was going on in the turf area. Well, let's just say we have a LOT of work to do. She was WILD when we got there, way over-stimulated by the people, dogs, all the barking and running. About the only thing she would consistently do well was her cot work. She was very successful in stayong on her cot while people and dogs walked by. She really didn't focus on me much, she was interested in everything going around her. However, she did stay on her cot pretty much the whole time.

I attempted to do some 2 on-2 off and front feet plate training but that did not go well. She did a couple successful reps, but quickly lost focus and was leaping around on leash trying to go see everything going on. Even though I knew this was going to happen, it was still a bit disappointing. We are going to try again tomorrow. Keep on keepin' on!

We finally had a day above freezing! It's been at least a week of way below-normal temperatures. I took the opportunity to head to the bird dog club with Noodle, Dolphin, and Bacon. I didn't plan to do any actual training, I just wanted to get the dogs out for a good long run to blow off some steam. I also wanted Bacon to have a chance to run in some varied cover and terrain.

Bacon immediately discovered the "monkey brains" (Osage Orange) in the woods, picked one up and ran with it in her mouth for quite a while (even though Dolphin tried hard to steal it from her). Bacon got to experience woods, deep mud, water puddles, thorny cover, high cover, thick cover, you name it! In typical Bacon fashion she ran with confidence.

The best moment of the day was when Noodle went on point near a bunch of high cover, Bacon saw her and stopped and stood still, staring at her. Was it an honor? I'm going to go with it and say it was. It was pretty darn cool! I just love love love it when dogs have a natural honor (i.e. Pizza), it looks so dramatic and beautiful. I am really hopeful that Bacon has this.

The dogs ran for about 45 minutes. Bacon was pretty tired! We headed home and she napped the rest of the afternoon. I delayed dinner, and I fed everyone but Bacon around 6pm. Instead of feeding her, we headed to our training place to do more training while agility classes were going on. I brought her entire dinner in a plastic bag, and used that for training. Well let me tell you, it was a night and day difference from yesterday! Bacon was WAY more focused. We did a lot of cot work and she was wonderful and stayed put, even when various dogs from class walked right past her cot. I was able to not only do cot work, but also front feet target, sits and downs with stays, and just simply asking for eye contact. I was so happy with how she was, yesterday was so defeating to me. It was nice to have some success. A lot of it was probably because she was definitely tired, and definitely hungry. Hey, whatever it takes at this stage, right?

Bacon got to play with her littermate sister after the class was done. It was fun to see the two girls together again. Bacon was pretty wiped out by the time we got home, it was a jam-packed day for her. I am happy, I feel like we finally had a smidge of progress. A smidge is better than no smidge!

Pizza and Dolphin both had really good agility classes today. Pizza was really straing and fast. Dolphin actually ran well for the first half of class, then he remembered he doesn't like class and he pooped out.

After class, I headed back to the bird dog club. This time I took Pizza with Bacon. Pizza's run was spectacular. I don't think she stopped running in the entire 40 minutes we were out there. She covered a LOT of ground and was really running big. Man, I love watching that dog run, she is super powerful! Bacon couldn't keep up, of course, but she tried! The ground was extra mushy as it reached 50 degrees today and all of the snow was melting. It was a nice day to enjoy, knowing we were back to temperatures in the 20's tomorrow.

I got the basement cleared up (kinda) so I can move my training down there. It brought back a TON of memories training Pizza down here, especially during those COVID months when we couldn't go anywhere! I think she was the last puppy I trained down there as Dolphin came here at the beginning of summer, so our little training group met to train outside every week.

I am loving how Bacon is training. We hit speedbumps every now and then, but for the most part she has been steadily progressing forward in her training. She is so smart! I am having a blast, but even with the joy of training (my favorite thing on earth), there is that dark cloud that looms overhead because her heart defect makes her future very very uncertain. I have bad moments when I get inside of my head and I wonder if I am doing all of this training for nothing? What if she can never handle the real hard work that comes with agility and field training? There is a strong possibility that this is so, in fact the odds are greater than not that she will be unable to handle hard exercise. I have these moments and I wallow deep in my head and sometimes it is hard to climb out of it. That's when I look at everyone else and am overwhelmed at my own bad luck. I need to stop that, because for whatever reason, she is the puppy that was destined for me and I have to do right by her. Damn, it's hard though. If she is deemed unfit for hard exercise, I don't know how I will handle that. I guess my negativity is helping me prepare for that eventuality?

This evening I signed Pizza up for agility run-thrus at our training facility. It was about as trial-like as you can get without being a trial. Lots of dogs and people, lots of barking, electric timers and the 'Go" voice, bar setters, leash runner, and a judge. This time Pizza is healthy and sound, so it's time to see how all of our training has worked for us.

Pizza was wonderful! We had 4 runs, and not one single visit to a bar setter! She did a little stress-sniffing at a couple of the start lines, and we did have a couple stress-sniffs on her 2on-2off contacts, but other than those few moments she ran confidently and cleanly! She is SO much fun to run. We are getting closer to hopefully being able to trial again. I am so hopeful...and hope is a scary thing (especially when it comes to this). I think if I can get her through some run-thrus without any stress-sniffing, we will be ready.

I brought Bacon along to agility run-thrus. She was crated next to her best buddy Doree (the photo shows them keeping watch in both directions!). She was actually really well-behaved in her crate! There was so much noise and activity all around her, it gave her a lot to watch. She got a little barky during the second hour when I was getting Pizza out to warm up, but other than that she was a model citizen. I did a little bit of focus work with her in between Pizza's runs, but just a small amount - my main goal was to have her learn that she can chill in her crate and just hang out. It was a good thing that we weren't planning on doing much focus work, because she had VERY little focus! Baby steps...baby steps.

It feels like it's been forever since I have been to an agility trial. The holidays will do that to ya! Dolphin and I headed to one of our favorite local-ish places for an agility trial. Bacon tagged along for some training and absorbing of the crazy agility trial atmosphere.

The courses all weekend were rough - extremely difficult for big dogs because the spacing was ridiculously tight (in some cases not even legal - we stepped it off to check!). Today things fell together in the right way. Dolphin worked REALLY hard to stay clean on these courses, and that meant crunching down on his stride in a lot of places to get through, but he did it! We ended up with a Quadruple QQQQ!!!! This is Double QQ #16 towards his MACH, only 4 more to go! I can almost smell it, it's so close. He was a great dog today, I know the courses were not fun for him but he gave the best effort to go clean.

Bacon was an absolute angel all day. She laid in her crate and watched the activity, took a few naps, and we did a lot of walking around, socializing, and doing some basic focus training while the dogs were running agility in the background. I am thrilled with how she was all day.

Today Bacon got to stay home, and Noodle came along as she was entered only today. Today was a good example of agility being a feast-or-famine sport. While yesterday Dolphin nailed a quadruple QQQQ, today he knocked a bar in 3 out of 4 runs. The courses were even more difficult today than yesterday. Interestingly, Dolphin didn't knock bars in the difficult parts, they were all in straight lines or a slight turn. He did win Time 2 Beat for the second day in a row, which was good.

Noodle came out and got FAST, and then ran the best she has run in about 3 years in Standard! I was thrilled! She was so fast I had to scrap my original plans of all blinds and fronts with her and do Dolphin's plan, which was mostly rears. She came out really well in Jumpers also, but knocked a bar (which is so unlike her!). Overall it was a great day for her, just one bar short of a triple QQQ. Mostly I loved her attitude. She was feeling good and it showed!

Today was a mixed bag kind of day. I will start off with the positives - Dolphin had NO knocked bars today! He got the send in FAST (which was hard - weaves, flip to tunnel in the back and layer the weaves to a jump) and did it so fast and smooth I decided to be greedy and go for extra points by going the A-Frame (which I had NOT walked). I didn't handle it well since I hadn't walked it, and Dolphin hopped off the side. By the time I got that corrected, we ran out of time and I didn't have enough points. Kind of mad at myself after working so hard on the send...but it is a lesson learned.

Standard was OK - he did qualify but it wasn't his best run (he was distracted by people yelling and laughing behind the netting at the start line). In Jumpers he took an off-course tunnel and that was totally on him! I reviewed the video and he clearly ignored me and veered off to the right to grab the tunnel. He came back with a third win in a row in Time 2 Beat, so the day ended on a positive note.

Noodle was not entered today so Bacon got to come again. She again was wonderful! I had a lot of free time today to do some training, and we worked a lot of her heeling with distractions. I just love how she is progressing. She does so well, she causes me to forget about her heart condition sometimes and start dreaming about our future. That's a dangerous thing because I know MY heart is going to be broken when she is unable to compete. Right now I am living by the ostrich method and trying not to think about it (other than last Thursday when I had a complete meltdown about it).

Pet peeve/rant: When someone is obviously working with their puppy in training, please do NOT let your dog come up to "visit". If I had a nickel for every person that said "Oh my dog just LOVES puppies" and then lets their dog get right up in her grill while I am training....UGH. Dogs have no need for social visiting of other dogs in their place of "work" - i.e. agility trial, etc. OK, rant over!

Today = crap day. Well, it started off great with a private lesson Bacon and I split with Doree. Bacon was outstanding, I am so proud of her and loved every minute of the lesson - so great to have some direction of where to go from here!

In the afternoon I took Pizza to another local training facility that was having agility run-throughs. My coach thought it was a good idea to try her someplace away from home to see how she does. The weather was horrible and I debated not going. Now I wish I had stayed home. Pizza was completely stressed. We did three runs, and the first one was the worst - just ran over to various people to visit, did a lot of sniffing and ignoring me, it was rough. Second run was marginally better, and the third one was a lot better (but most of the people had left by then). I honestly wish I hadn't gone, then I would still be in this positive frame of mind thinking we were getting somewhere with her training. Normally I don't feel this way, but I have worked so damn hard the past few years on her that I wish I was still ignorant in thinking we actually made progress.

The day was topped off when Mark accidentally dropped a whole container of grapes on the kitchen floor while Dolphin was eating ice off the floor. We don't think he actually ate any grapes, but we really weren't sure (he's a fast grabber!). After researching and speaking to a vet, we opted to take him to Med Vet to induce vomiting and be checked out. They found no evidence of grapes in his stomaach, but they did a blood test just to be sure. While we can't be 100% positive, we belive everything is OK. He was back home by 2am, and we are watching him carefully. Yes, grape toxicity is a thing, even just one or two grapes. ~Grape Toxicity article~

Tonight I took Pizza to our training facility for more agility run-throughs. She was awesome! I could tell she was still a little tense, but she worked great in the ring for me. My coach was there and gave me some structure. the first run I only did 3-4 obstacles then ran to a jackpot reward, dod 3-4 more, reward, etc. Second run I did 8-10 obstacles then a jackpot reward, etc. The last run I did the entire course without stopping and she was perfect! This gives me some valuable information. Her stress is greatly amplified when we are away from our regular training facility. Good to know, something to work in in 2026.

I brought Bacon with me to do some training. There were a LOT of high energy barking dogs, so it was very tough to get her to focus. It is a work in progress...

Well it's that time of year, time to evaluate my goals and see what I hit and what I missed! Here we go...

2025 SHORT TERM GOALS

1. Earn Dolphin's Master Hunter title Got it done in February at my favorite hunt test. Yeah!

2. Earn 20 QQ's in agility with Noodle (PAX title) We are close, but not quite there yet.

3. Earn 10 QQ's in agility with Dolphin Boom! We are up to 16 QQ's now!

4. Earn Pizza's Master Hunter Advanced (MHA) title Got it done with a 100% pass rate!

5. Earn Dolphin's Master Jumpers Bronze (MJB) title Got it, and getting closer to silver now!

6. Earn Dolphin's Master Fast Silver (MFS) title Got it!

7. Earn Noodle's Master Bronze Agility Preferred (MXPB) title Got it!

8. Earn Noodle's Master Bronze Jumpers Preferred (MJPB) title We are so close, only need 2 more

9. Earn Noodle's Agility Master FAST Excellent Preferred (MFP) title Got it!

10. Raise a healthy, talented litter out of Pizza, OR get a new puppy for myself Well, sadly I do not have a litter out of Pizza. However, I did get a new puppy, Bacon...and we will see where this goes!

11. Successfully compete in agility with Pizza with no visiting! Well, we did a ton of very good training, but she is not quite ready to compete. Patience!

2025 LONG TERM GOALS

1. Earn Noodle's 50th Master Hunter pass This goal may not happen with her age and health. We are at 37

2. Earn Noodle's PACH It's going to haapen January 2nd, 2026!

3. Earn Noodle's RACHGetting closer, only need 3 triple QQQ's and some master points.

4. Earn Dolphin's Master Silver Agility (MXS) title Got it!

5. Earn Dolphin's MACH Getting close enough to smell...4 double QQ's away

6. Earn Dolphin's Rally Novice (RN) title Got it!

7. Earn Pizza's Rally Novice (RN) title We never actually competed in rally this year. Maybe next year?

I crushed a surprising amount of goals this year, even with everything crazy happening in my life. I am also crazy close to several of my MAJOR goals I have been working for since I started this dog sport journey, and that's even more exciting. Here is my 2025 recap: