"Main Man" -- May 10, 2010                    

 

I hate it when I realize that months have gone by and I haven’t written a blog. How come I always have so much to do?!?

Sigh.

Bing turned FIVE years old last week! OMG he made it to adulthood! LOL. Yes, it does seem as if he really did need five years to grow up.

A few weeks ago, I took Bing and Acacia to a Rally Trial…just as an exhibitor! I haven’t done that in a few years, so it was really exciting for me. As a last minute bonus, Sue was able to join us…boy, we haven’t gone to a trial together for ages! She was able to keep the dogs calm and happy when I did walk-throughs or when I was running the other dog. The result was that Bing was able to remain much calmer than he otherwise would have been able to, and he got really amazing scores…206, 207 and 208 out of a perfect 210. He acted calmer and looked much more like he knew what he was doing. Believe me, it wasn’t because of any recent training! He earned his 8th QQ toward his ARCHEX, so he only needs two more of those before he’s pretty close to the top. I don’t know that I’ll do the ARCHMX with him because I am not sure he likes Rally enough, but I may revisit that in a few years, when he’s older.

Sadly, we have only been able to make it to one trial for agility. I made executive decisions to not go to two because of bad weather and illness, so we donated a bunch of money to the AKC. But in the one we DID manage to attend, he got his first leg in Open Standard, of which I was immensely proud, because he did a lot of great things, like 12 weave poles for the first time at a trial. What a pro! We still take agility class about every second week, and plan to do that as much as possible. I always feel so guilty for taking Bing to a trial, knowing I’m leaving a toddler at home, so I have to somehow come to terms with that in my head.

Bing has also been LOVING our newest sport…Nosework. WOW is it FUN!!!! There are some videos of it on the GreatCompanionsLLC Facebook page for those who are unfamiliar with it and would like to see what a beginner version of it looks like. I doubt that I’ll trial him in Nosework, but WHO KNOWS! He’s proving to be such a great all-around guy, that anything is possible.

And speaking of anything being possible, another development: I’m sad to report that Acacia seems to have decided that she is 90% retired. She rarely wants to train, demo for a class, help me with a private lesson, or do rally. Agility is a vague memory to her now. She does seem to enjoy Nosework in small doses (it is apparently rather exhausting), so we play at that, but she does become frustrated easily. This means that Bing has become my Main Man. I never thought I’d see the day, but he is. And he’s a wonderful worker. His main issues are the same…he does not like to be touched, and he’s extremely anxious in the car. I have managed his touching issue very closely (keeping fingers crossed) and the car is something that mostly prohibits him from being left in it alone. That causes its own problems (those of you who are familiar with the reactive dog work I do know the challenges this presents) which I always grapple with.

What does this all mean? It means he’s a dog with genetic issues who has learned, through consistency in management and training, appropriate use of psychotropic drugs, good nutrition and appropriate exercise, as well as endless love, that life is ok. He’s having a great time!

Bing Blog 49