Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Time to put the agility equipment to bed!

Just put the equipment away on Saturday and boy was it close to being buried in the snow. As I carried it piece by piece to the upstairs of the garage, I wondered how I would work my dogs now. There is such a thing as latent learning in dogs and maybe I can rely on that. Hopefully the break for the winter will be good for them, let them relax and maybe do something a little different. Two of my younger Shelties need obedience training and that is something we can do inside. We could work towards taking the Canine Good Citizen test in the spring.
The upstairs of our garage is not lighted or heated but when the sun is out and bakes on the metal roof it may be warm enough to do a little practicing and heeling up there. I did set up the weave poles and a couple of the jumps so we could practice a little. 
Max my Sheltie pictured on the first page of this blog will be competing two days after Christmas and I will just have to rely on his latent learning. I have not had him on the A-frame or the dog walk in several weeks. He has always been good with the contact zones so I think we will do ok. 
The holidays are upon us and I am looking forward to some down time in the new year. We have been so busy with getting ready, running here and there, that I actually can't wait to have time for myself and the dogs.
I hope to put some excerpts from my book on the blog in the new year. It is so close to being finished. I need to get serious when I have time and complete and publish it. I am pretty excited about the book. It is mostly about the Sheltie but I cover many aspects of owning dogs, rescuing dogs and loving dogs. You won't have to be a Sheltie owner to appreciate the book. All dog lovers will find something of interest in there. I will have a chapter that includes many rescue stories and a chapter of short fiction stories. There is a chapter on the animal welfare versus animal rights problem. I do talk a lot about the heart and soul of the dog. I truly believe that dogs have a soul, and a spirit. In many of the stories you will see the spirit and intelligence of the Sheltie portrayed. I will let you know when my manuscript is complete and on its way to the publisher. This book will be a must have to add to your collection of dog and Sheltie books. 
Hope that all of you have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy the season.