Cudahy Trial - June 21 & 22

Well, there was some conflicts, some confrontations and some resolve but I really wish I could just have fun running my dog without all the B.S. We did get to hang out with Kris and all her pups on Saturday and we had a good time. Thanks Kris! We also got to know some acquaintances a little better :) and make some new friends!

Saturday was interesting, I wasn't really mentally there for Ruby in our Standard run and sent her up the dogwalk by accident, then she popped her weaves and got a little crazy. I got her back and focused and the rest of her run was very nice. She had very nice contacts on her dogwalk and Alissa got a great picture of her on the teeter and going through the tire jump. Our Jumpers run was nice though I felt like I was running really far ahead of her and with the exception of her popping the weaves again (though this time between 10 & 11) it was a very nice run. After the trial we went home and she was even popping the weaves in the yard which is not like her so I'm trying to get her in for an adjustment with Dr. Mayer to see if that helps.

Sunday was a little better though we've been having problems with our start line. Luckily, she broke before I got a lead out and I was able to reset her in Standard. She ran very well though it felt awkward to me and we FINALLY got an Excellent Standard leg. She took 2nd place and I am very happy. In Jumpers she broke her start line again. This time I was too far away to reset her and didn't get the lead out that I wanted. Because of that, I wasn't where I needed to be for the next front cross and caused her to miss a jump. We continued and she nailed her weave entry but popped again at 11 - something is amiss with Miss Ruby - the ending was a serpentine and she read it beautifully, so I was happy with that.


Congrats to Tammy & Lexi and Wendy & Jack for their beautiful Jumpers runs on Sunday! Way to go girls! :)

Sunday, June 15th

The second day of the Car-Dun-Al trial was pretty scary. We had a lightning storm come up as we were walking the course and we were ordered to go inside or take cover. After it blew over the grass was pretty wet and by the time Ruby and I ran, the Jumpers course was pretty slippery. She was a very good girl though and kept all the bars up earning her 4th MXJ leg and 9 MACH points. I couldn't be happier with her progress after her horrible set back. Here's the video:

She wasn't so good in her Standard class later however. I had trouble with her in that ring all weekend with her focusing on something at or around the exit gate. She stopped right in front of the first jump and ignored me to miss the second obstacle altogether. I stopped, called her to me, picked her up and excused us from the ring. I have no idea what had gotten into her though we had a long wait at the entrance when the wind came up and they had to reset and sandbag a few jumps. Ruby doesn't have much patience, especially when I run out of cheese unexpectedly.

Cindy and Madison also had a very nice qualifying run in Standard. Only two more to go you guys! Good job!


After the trial we left for Romeoville to visit with my sister Toni and cousin Sable.

Sable and Ruby

"Seriously, why are we sitting here getting our picture taken? There was no mention of cookies!"

"Oh, wait! Sable??? Did you see that!?!?!?"

"It's a B. I. R. D.!"

"Cool!!!"

Saturday, June 14th

Ruby's first full trial back was this weekend at the Car-Dun-Al Agility Trial in Belvidere, IL. She had two very nice runs on Saturday but dropped a bar in each class. Overall she was a very good girl.

Madison at the trial

Cindy and Madison had two very nice runs on Saturday with a qualifying run in Jumpers. After the trial, we took Ruby and Zoey over to play with Jake.

Jake, the man.

Ruby, Jake and Zoey played for a bit, but Ruby mostly wanted to roll in the grass and obsess over the gnats landing on her.

Silly Ruby and Zoey

June 7th & 8th Weekend

On Saturday Ruby got all of her sutures and staples out and the vet said she looked great. We were cleared to compete at the Hanover Park trial on Sunday.

Ruby did very well but I can't say much for myself. I got lost in Jumpers and messed her up. There was also a tough downhill jump into the weaves that most of the dogs missed. Standard went much better and we just had one refusal going into a tunnel which I think was also my fault as I let her get too far ahead of me and she wasn't sure where she was going.

All in all a nice couple of runs and everyone thought she looked great for having so much time off. Cindy and Madison also had two very nice runs and took 4th place in Excellent Standard.

Ruby then had her best friend Libby over and chaos & hilarity ensued! Please see the previous post. :)

The Party Crashers

"Hey Roo?"

"What up Libs?"

"I think they're having a picnic over there at your neighbors."

"Where?"

"Over there."

"Yeah, so..."

"Well, we might be able to beg some brats or hotdogs. Worst case scenario scavenge under the picnic tables or lick some kids faces."

"Cool."

"You ready?"

"Let's do this."

Ruby & The Move

Ruby is just living the life, eh? Sometimes she's so human it freaks me out.

Ruby was to have her staples removed on May 28th but as I expected, she had to undergo another brief surgery to stitch her back up. The black roundish scab came off and left a big hole in her side that needed to be closed in order for her to heal more quickly. The other problem was that the first vet gave her the wrong size Elizabethan Collar. It was only 15" and she needed a 20" collar to keep her from licking the sutures. This was our last day in the apartment - notice the bigger cone.

Here's a close up of her new stitches:

I also had my sister Toni order a BiteNot collar for me. Here she is modeling the 5" canine version in her new backyard:

I HIGHLY recommend these if you have a long-necked dog (not to be confused with long-necked bottles :)) or have a dog that is persistant and can get an Elizabethan collar off. It's amazing and she doesn't run into things either, like her mom for example. It works like a whiplash brace for humans so she can't turn her head. Here's a better shot of the side:

The move to South Elgin from Chicago on Friday went as well as can be expected. The closing went smoothly until the checks needed to be cut, then the check printer went out. The movers got lost so poor Ruby & Cougar were left in the city until 7pm. Enough about my stuff though; this is Ruby's blog!

On Saturday Christa brought the boys over after the Manhattan agility trial and Ruby couldn't have been happier seeing her boyfriend Bentley!

Sorry about the empty boxes in the background but, Hey! We just moved! :) Here are the three pups together:

And cute little Royce offering a down for a cookie:

With any luck, since I seem to have none lately, Ruby will get her stiches and remaining staples out on Saturday. So yes we will most likely miss yet another trial - Hanover Park - or at the very least one day of it. The sad thing is that it's the closest trial to our new place, approx. 18 minutes away. Can't beat that! Everyone PLEASE keep your fingers crossed that they take the stitches out on Saturday as Ruby is chomping at the bit, so to speak and so am I!