Lexi's Dogwalk

Because this is, after all, a training blog (I know, it hasn't been much of one lately) I just had to post this so I can remember it always!  Tonight our trainer told us that Lexi has the second best dogwalk out of all of her students!  I was totally flattered.  She said that it is her confidence, speed, strides, and absolute certainty as to her performance and criteria that makes it great.

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Too Much Sadness

Today a friend of mine lost her 4 year old sheltie unexpectedly.  She was young, spirited, and fun.  My friend is devastated.  I can only imagine how I would feel if I lost one of my two, and I've been depressed all day at the thought.

So today, I thought I would make a list of the 10 unique reasons why I love each of my dogs.  Everyone loves their dogs because they are cute, or sweet, or smart, or cuddly.  So here are some things that my dogs do that I just adore.

Bentley:
1.  I love that if you are late with a command in agility he lets out a bark.  I like to say that he "grrs" at us.
2.  I love that sometimes he goes and plucks a toy out of the toy box and just noms on it.  He doesn't play with it, it's a cross between suckling and chewing.  He closes his eyes and just looks so happy about it.
3.  I love that he tries so hard when you have a treat.  And if he can't figure it out, he just circles and circles and I can see the little wheels spinning in his head wondering "what does she want?!?!" because he wants to please us.
4.  I love that Bentley loves my husband and I equally.  One day at a park we ran in opposite directions to see what he would do, and he stood stock still, as if refusing to make a choice!
5.  I love the way Bentley wiggles his butt at us when we get home.  He doesn't bark, just wiggle-wiggle-wiggles everywhere.  Now when I spread my arms out like I want to give him a big hug, he starts the wiggling all over again.
6.  I love that Bentley puts up with Lexi's nonsense.  No matter how much she pokes and prods at him, he has never once so much as snapped at her.  He is the perfect big brother.
7.  I love that Bentley sees us as his protector.  When he has had enough, he comes over and tries to hide behind my husband and I.
8.  I love that Bentley was willing to try whatever I asked of him.  Obedience?  He's a natural heeler!  Agility?  ADCH!  I have to thank for the many amazing experiences I've had, and the many friends I've made through shelties and dog sports.
9.  I love that Bentley is the best napping partner in the whole world.  If you're sleeping, so is he, and he never gets tired of it.
10.  I love when Bentley looks at me with his slightly-too-round eyes.  I feel like I can see into his soul.

Lexi:
1.  I love that Lexi is in tune with everything around her.  She follows us from one room to the next.  She never sleeps deeply, because the second we are up, so is she.  She knew when a very minor earthquake hit (we couldn't feel it), she knew when Bentley was sick, and she knows when something is amiss.
2.  I love that Lexi can't take no for an answer, but it's somehow adorable.  If she wants to play with a toy, she will politely ram it into your leg until you throw it for her.
3.  I love that this girl is up for anything.  She will go for a hike, she'll catch a frisbee, she'll give flyball a shot, wading into the lake, etc. and she does it all with a joie-de-vivre and enthusiasm that is unrivaled.
4.  I love that despite her crazy, she always finds time to cuddle whether it's on my lap while I drink my morning coffee, or it's curling up on top of my pillow when we nap.
5.  I love that no matter what we're doing, she is giving it her all.
6.  I love that she trusts me implicitly.  I'm not sure why, but she has always been worried about things, but she knows that we will not force her to do something that will hurt her.  So she is brave for us--and always seems proud when she steps out of her comfort zone.  When she is scared, she crawls into our laps as if she knows we will keep her safe.
7.  I love that we can take her anywhere.  Boat, ferry full of people, restaurant, outdoor mall, local fair, and she is well-behaved and people can't get enough of her.
8.  I love that she tries so hard to please us.  She has allergies in the fall, and I discourage her from chewing on her feet.  I can actually see her trying not to bite at them just to make me happy.  She also wakes up in the morning and lays on my (or my husband's chest) quietly.  As if she knows we would prefer not to be woken (though clearly being laid on and stared at does the trick, haha!)
9.  I love that she seems to greet each day as if it were the best of her life.  She bounds out of bed, smile on her face, and gives a happy bark every single morning.
10.  I love that this girl sees right into my heart.  She is mine and I am hers.

Hocking Hills

Texts from Lexi

So something that I find absolutely hilarious is when my husband sends me text messages from Lexi. I don't know why, but the persona we have created for her just cracks me up. I've decided to share them here. 

So without further ado...a text from Lexi!

"Where u sleepin'? LULZ!!!!"

Wordless Wednesday

MIA

I know--I've been MIA from the blogging world for a long time.  I really want to keep up with it, and have so much to say, I just haven't had time.

Today is no exception--too busy and stressed to catch up on the past few months.

We've moved in with my parents as we look for a house.  While I'm super grateful for that option, it isn't ideal.  We don't have our own space, a friend is keeping our cat and we miss him (my parent's cat doesn't like him), our dogs are stressed out, we have no routine, etc.

I was feeling really down about life in general and then we found the perfect house.  We'd been looking for months, and I was getting really discouraged.  We have a specific set of things we want, a budget (obviously), and nothing was the total package.  I don't even think we were being unrealistic, just the market here is super competitive.  We put in an offer yesterday, and their realtor KNEW we were putting in an offer, and he didn't wait for us and they accepted an offer before they even reviewed ours.  Usually they do a "highest and best" and give us the opportunity to make a better offer (which we would have because we absolutely adored the house), but they didn't, and we lost out.

Now we will be in my parents' house for who knows how long.  There are no other houses out there.  I am so stressed.  I know there are way worse things in life, and I'm lucky to have all the things that I have, but my stress level is so high, so is Jonathan's, and even the dogs don't seem happy.

Beach Video

This is a short video, but you get the idea.  No wonder Lexi was so tired all week!

The Beach!

Vacations Rule!

Regionals Flop

Well, I'm still not ready to go through our videos from Regionals last weekend.  I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready!  And I doubt I'll ever share them, either!

I already posted on Facebook, but for those who didn't see, we had the worst weekend we've ever had.  I was so disappointed.  I would be lying if I said there weren't tears involved as the weekend unfolded.  It wasn't that we didn't win, or place, or qualify.  It was that we are WAY better than what we showed.  We just chose the worst weekend to have the worst weekend.

My frustration and disappointment was compounded because the trial was poorly run, and some of our runs were eliminated due to time (because our team was out of the running for placement).  And also because of time, as soon as you took an off course, you had to leave the ring.  Multiple times over the course of the weekend we were eliminated in the first few obstacles.  So I couldn't even focus on the positive.  Usually after an off course you have the opportunity to run the rest of the course--and sometimes those are even the best runs because you aren't worried anymore, you're just running and trying new things.  But, we were whistled and had to leave.  So the only thing on my mind were mistakes.

On the positive side, my girl is healthy and happy.  I always go back to this, but after we found out about her patellas I didn't know if we would get to play together again.  And I didn't know if she'd be able to trial, or hold up during a long weekend.  But she did--like a champ.  She was raring to go on every run, and had a blast doing it (even when I didn't!)

The positives from the weekend were few and far between, but on the first day we did really well.

Masters Gamblers:
The atmosphere was busy, loud, and crowded. But my crazy baby girl held every single one of her contacts until I released her.


Masters Jumpers:
So proud of this run.  Lexi won the class across all 16" dogs--and many, many dogs were eliminated.  Check her awesome back side of the jump before the tunnel.  Good girlie!

WW