So here we are at the beginning of 2021. We all know that 2020 was a shit show. Even without COVID there wasn't a lot that was great about it for lots of other reasons. Although we have been so lucky in Western Australia thanks to a State Premier that doesn't mess around and kept our border closed. Other than the initial outbreak and ongoing travel restrictions our life is pretty normal and we can do most of the things we would always do. On the other hand work has been so busy and incredibly stressful. We have multiple projects all with tight deadlines that are almost impossible to meet. There are many things I really enjoy about my job. It's interesting, challenging and in many ways rewarding. But this last six months I've woken up on plenty of days thinking that there must be more to life than this. Of course there are many that don't have jobs thanks to COVID so I am grateful to have a safe job and no financial stress that has been the case for so many.
The dog side of things has been interesting. I enjoyed the COVID enforced agility trialling break because it meant we did other really cool things like hiking. We would head out for all day hikes with friends and it was so much fun. I honestly didn't miss agility trials at all. With WA's hard border and no community spread of the virus we were back trialling in agility by the end of August. We got straight back into it but we were no where near ready and it showed. If it wasn't for the State Trial I probably would have waited. Given how badly we did anyway I guess I should have! I found trialling mostly frustrating and made a total mess of our runs until probably November when things started to come together again and we managed a few Q's. I think when things start going wrong it's really easy to lose your confidence and stop believing in your skills. Rain is such an honest dog, she goes where I tell her. And if I'm wrong most of the time it really doesn't help her at all. It felt good to get at least a couple of Q's although so much work to do to improve. That list is long, but Rain makes it fun with her boundless enthusiasm.
Obedience went a lot better. Rain is such a natural it continues to amaze me how good she is. She does the sort of heelwork that makes people stop and watch it is so powerful and animated. She had multiple classes where she got a perfect score for heelwork, including the State Obedience Trial but then we would completely botch one of the other exercises. A bit frustrating but we are both learning. She managed her first pass in Novice at the last trial of the year but her worst score so far thanks to her barking around her entire heelwork round. She just enjoys it so much and wanted everyone to know about it apparently... We have been working hard on her working through the arousal and keeping a lid on it. I'm really looking forward to doing obedience this year. I'm slowly working on the Open exercises so we aren't completely unprepared when we get through Novice. I don't think it will take her too long if I can get the barking under control. Utility is another matter altogether. We'll leave that for a bit later.
I'm holidays now until 18th January. I was beyond ready for some downtime especially after cancelling all my leave in 2020 thanks to COVID. With Christmas and New Year out the way it is all about trips to the river and beach to enjoy time with the dogs relaxing with some horse riding thrown in for good measure. It's been really hot so it's been hard to do a lot of actual agility training. I was trying to get in one running dog walk a week to keep Rain's skills fresh, plus things like cue checker, driving forward over jumps and especially driving ahead of me. We have also made a start on see-saw training. But anything we do if any is pretty short and sweet because it's often still over 30 degrees at 6.30pm. I'm looking forward to doing some sequencing again but its going to have to wait until it cools down a bit. But mostly it's about relaxing and just enjoying the less stressful things in life 😁
Sonic has had a tough few months. He has been mostly going really well. He is relatively strong for a dog of thirteen going on fourteen and has been really enjoying himself just running around and having fun. But he's now had two vestibulitis episodes in the last twelve months and has been diagnosed with stage 1 kidney disease. The kidney disease appears to be under control with a move off his raw diet and onto a prescription kidney diet that is easy for his kidneys to deal with. Unfortunately it has meant he's put on a few extra kilos but nothing serious. The vestibulitis has knocked him around. I feel so sorry for him when he's stumbling around like a drunken sailor. Nothing much we can do but give him anti-nausea tablets and wait for him to come good. I really do hope we have him with us for at least a couple more years yet.
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