07/18/2019

I was doing some website updates, transferring domain names, switching servers, panicking when I thought I lost everything… again, etc. etc. and suddenly realized it's been over a month since my last post here. Yikes, right? But, you know… And then there's been this stretch of heat and humidity which are two of my most unfavorite things. Okay, enough with the gifs, that's not what any of us are here for. Let's see, short recap; my last post was about how I was talked out of benching Jig and only running her in farm trials because I wasn't having the success I thought I wanted. Since then, a second person whose opinion I value, concurred with the first. Actually, several folks concurred. So, I'm sticking with it and with Jig because I have a lot to learn yet. Jig has some stuff to learn as well. Stuff I should have taught her

06/10/2019

No, I'm not personally in a dark place right now. Not in general. A good friend of mine sent this to me after the trial this past weekend because of some conversations we'd been having around a decision I thought I had made. I say thought because that same friend gave me her much valued opinion on said decision. Which, in turn, caused me to give it some more consideration in a different light. The decision concerned my continued forays into the trial arena with Jig this year in the quest for finals points. I was using the trial as my litmus test. If we did well and got some points, we would continue on. If not, I'd still run her in Farm Trials and maybe give Post Advanced another go, but no more arena trials. To be fair, Jig and I didn't do horrendous. We had some really good moments, particularly

05/06/2019

It occurred to me that Dillon hasn't gotten a lot of press this year. It's been all Jig and Cian, Jig and Cian. In fact, it appears my last Dillon update was in October. Poor boy. Trust me though, he hasn't been ignored. Between my schedule and the weather, we really haven't had a lot of opportunities to train this spring. Yeah, I'm calling this 'Spring' even though I'm not entirely certain it's not still Winter, or possibly Fall. Could be Midwest Monsoon Season for all I know. Unfortunately, the weather isn't something I can do anything about. Back to Dill. The first several times I took him out this year one thing became very obvious: one of us had regressed terribly. I'll give you a hint, it wasn't Dillon. Toward the end of last year, after some observations by a friend, I realized I can't use a lot of verbal

04/12/2019

First Trial of the Season ~ Part Deux If you read my last post you know how the end of the weekend went, but how did the rest of it go? Of course I'm going to say it didn't go as well as I wanted, but it seems I always want more than I'm realistically prepared to achieve. I had to remind myself (and be reminded) that last year Jig and I went to two weekends of trials the entire year. One in the spring, one in the fall. That's it. This year we were able to train maybe 3 or 4 times prior to the trial. So expecting to lay down some awesome runs was me being unrealistic. Story of my life. Not to say I wasn't happy with a lot of what Jig did. She showed me the training we've been doing is paying off. No crack ears, quiet, calm, responsive

04/09/2019

First Trial of the Season ~ Part 1 of 2 First, a heartfelt Thank You to those folks on-hand for mine and Jig's debut in the Post Advanced field at Purina Farms over the past weekend. I want you to know the outburst of applause and cheers at the conclusion of our short run was heard. It was also totally unexpected and very much appreciated. It certainly helped ease the sting of disappointment at our less than stellar performance. For those of you who have never been to Purina Farms this is the Post Advanced field. Given that Jig and I have never worked in a field this large, I suppose my expectations were a bit unrealistic. I told myself I only entered to see how Jig would handle herself. After all, the entire weekend was meant to gauge where we're at and if a run for the 2020 Finals is even feasible.

03/24/2019 Thriving

My last post on Cian was a great example of the crashing lows epilepsy can bring in the blink of an eye. It wasn't, however, a great example of most days. The truth of the matter is, since this all began last November, there have been far and away more good days than bad. One of the worse things about epilepsy, however, is how it strips away your sense of security, making it easy to get caught up in the darkness of it. As usual, I need to learn a lesson from my dog and stop dwelling on what could happen. I have a plan for breakthroughs. I have a great support team. The control freak in me needs to let go. Like Cian, I need to embrace all of our good days. Days like these

03/06/2019 In Like a Lion

I have been holding off posting an update on Cian because I didn't want to tempt Fate. I figured if I didn't say he was doing awesome, Fate would turn a blind eye and leave us be. Apparently, just the thought was enough. After 4 months seizure free, Cian clustered. Six seizures in an hour and a half by the time I could get him to the ER. He spent the night there, and the fragile normalcy we had built shattered. I accept Cian will never be seizure free. I could handle one or two seizures a couple times a year. Watching him have one after another with next to no time to recover in between is like having someone reach into my chest and rip my heart out. It was a fool's hope that phenobarbital alone would manage his epilepsy, but we held it nonetheless. It seems, however, when working breeds get hit with this, they get hit hard. All

12/18/2018 Weathering the Storm

Sometimes, shit happens. No rhyme or reason. Nothing you could have done to prevent it. Shit just happens. Like a storm, it can pass quickly with minimal damage, or rage on leaving you feeling beaten and dragged. All you can do is ride it out, collect the pieces afterwards, and move forward. Our storm hit on an otherwise normal Friday afternoon at the beginning of November when Cian began to seizure. Not just one, but four on that first Friday. They would continue until the following Monday night before we were able to break the cycle. Over the next two weeks there were numerous consultations and trips to our vet, the ER vet, and a neurologist. There were many tests, a barrage of drugs, and long, sleepless nights. For a stretch of a couple weeks we feared Cian wouldn't come back to us. We tip-toed around the fear that the kindest

10/25/2018

If you've spent any time reading this blog, you will know Dillon has been a challenge. There have been times when I questioned if we would ever overcome our many issues. Many times frustration overcame good sense and I took it out on him by being blatantly unfair. All I can say is it's a good thing Dillon loves me as much as he does. He's willing to forgive and forget just about all my transgressions. And it's a good thing I pulled my head out of my backside and started training to his strengths instead of pounding on him for his weaknesses. I've gotten in some steady work on all the dogs the last week or so. None have shown more improvement than Dill. He gets to do the bringing in and sorting, then I'll give him a break and take him out after Jig and Cian for an actual

09/04/2018 The Year of Training Pays Off

At the end of last year I was so frustrated and upset with how the trialing season went, I decided to take a year off. Not so I could sit in a corner and lick my wounds, but because I was determined to fix as many of mine and Jig's issues as I could. I'd had enough of our melt-downs and non-qualifying runs. She's a better dog than that. I like to think we're a better team than that, though I'm definitely the weaker partner. I gave myself one trialing goal: finish Jig's WTCH. We needed only one cattle leg to do so. Jig and I both love working cattle though our methods are at opposite ends of the spectrum. I want nice, quiet control, power when required, and no rodeos. Jig seems to like rodeos, and has been known to actively go looking for a fight. After our failed attempt at