October and November Catch up

All the training and finally in October things came together. I entered Sanity in two obedience trials at the Howard County Fairgrounds. Alison was kind enough to drive us there even though she didn't have a dog entered.

Both days our class started at 8:30 in the morning. Both days the classes were so small they were done before 9:30 a.m. What a sad state of affairs and one I never in the world thought I would ever live to see. But enough about that and on to us.

For me, the Novice class is by far the most difficult. With two heeling patterns, just the amount of walking needed is miserable. With these two trials being outdoors, the ground was rough and seemed to continuously try to trip me. There there was the dew. At that time of morning, with the sun barely starting to shine on the area where the rings were, the grass was slick as ice. I finally came to terms with the entire picture and decided I will just have to be happy that I managed to stay on my feet, do the necessary pace changes and turns and forget about how truly awful I felt I had to look.

Two day, two third place ribbons and two legs toward the Companion Dog title. I really mustn't complain. After all, it was exactly as a couple of people pointed out to me, it's not like I did a whole lot of work on our "formal" heeling.

So I came home and decided Miss Sanity and I really ought to try just a little harder. November 11 we again stepped into the ring. This time it was in Salisbury and an indoor trial. For starters, even though the heeling was still ragged, it was much better than outside. Guess, that means I really should try to confine myself to indoor trials. We shall see about that.

This time the class was a bit larger, as in more than twice the size. That was nice to see. We managed a fourth place, third qualifying leg and the Companion Dog (CD) title is now a reality.

Here we are, fat lady and company with our ribbons.


I was then faced with shopping. My major complaint about the Salisbury Shows has always been the blasted shopping. I just don't seem to have any "won't" power when I get down there. If I win, I HAVE to shop as a reward. If I lose, I HAVE to shop as a consolation. Either way, I always end up spending way too much money. This time was no different.

Since Sanity finished her CD, I figured the shopping should be for her. These pictures were taken on Monday morning at about 5:30. As you can see, Miss Sanity is still half asleep.

The slip collar and matching leash is handmade of Kangaroo hide and the beaded collar. Well, it's handmade as well and just cried out to come live around Sanity's neck.