15 November 2010

Team Small Dog cliff hanger happy ending, from where we left off, sometime last week.


When we left off, Laura's face was swollen up like a monkey and there were pain pills and the car was in the shop needing half of a new engine and the dogs went feral and really. I had just had it up to here. I am gesticulating wildly right now at where the swelling was, just along side my nose and dropping down into my then paralyzed monkey lip.

Since then, I got the car back and it runs great! No smoke! New valves! And then some! The swelling went down and I went off the pain pills. And I even went to a dog show on Sunday in Turlock.

I am still missing a tooth though. Don't look too close if you see me in person for like, the next year. And if we go drinking, I can pop that fakie out real quick if I want. Just warning you.


We had a great time at the dog show though. I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to run. Among our runs this weekend was Otterpop's best run, ever in a dog show, ever in our lives. Did you hear what I just said? Did you see that one? It was her jumpers run with her fastest start line EVER. EVAH! And Gustavo brought home the family SuperQ in Snookers. He wore his good citizen badge of good listening, all day, all the time, everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

There were some not so great moments, Gustavo's wheels fell off in his Advanced Standard. OK, maybe the only moment of non good listening when he decided, not laying down on the table after one of those trainwrecky style runs. I think he has practically everything he needs for an ADCh now, except for the little matter of he's still in Advanced Standard. Such is life. That was the only run like that for him though. Really, I'm not joking about all the other good listening he did. The weavepoles! The running dogwalk contacts! Wow!


Otterpop's fast startlines deteriorated as the day wore on, but she did knock out one helluva gamble in Gamblers. I made a large steering boo boo with Hobbes in his otherwise lovely Grand Prix run. So our champion project, definitely a work in progress.

But we had some really good moments. Far more good than bad. I saw progress, in bits and sparts.

Wait. Is that supposed to be fits and bursts?

Fats and spurts?

Anyways. We had a good day. Not perfect. Far from it. We have a long ways to go in the champion department. But I think we're on the right track.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad you're feeling better!

Carol

Elf said...

Hey--that's right! I saw you this weekend and you didn't have a monkey face at all, and I didn't even notice any missing tooth!

Plus Hobbes did the same thing in the grand prix run, if I remember correctly, that Tika did in her Standard run on that very spot (backjumped the jump before the tire). I must say that I felt so much less bad after seeing that even an excellent team like Laura & Hobbes could do that same thing. Like, it's OK, it's a championship kind of thing to happen, not just a total stupid doofus thing. Am I helping you feel better about that yet?

Today's photo essay is excellent and informative. I do not want to get Eed on course, so I will try not to carry the wrong handbag in the future.

team small dog said...

Well, my mistake with Hobbes was sort of a stupid doofus steering issue. I was working so hard to make sure Hobbes hit his aframe contact that I was weirdo late turning to get in a front cross to the next jump and he missed it which makes him sad and want to stop at jumps if he thinks he missed something so I just sent him along.

Oops.

These are the champion details I'm trying to iron out so I don't make that kind of mistake anymore.

Anonymous said...

you're already a champion. you are maybe only 71% pure champion, but you are already champion or you wouldn't be doing all this. And now you're on your way to MORE championness... Championhood...Championdom...

Go Team Smalldog!

cw

Anonymous said...

Glad you're feeling better and back to agility! Sounds like a successful day yesterday! Go get 'em team small dog!

Beth & Lexi

Anonymous said...

teeth? highly overrated (unless you like to chew your food) but nice to have, even pretend ones.
do you think the awesomeness at your trial was due to the drugs? i mean, if you had been taking paikillers maybe you were so relaxed you didn't bother to worry too much. even if you were done with the drugs by trial time, maybe just having had a few days of relaxing monkey face was actually a good thing... NOT suggesting this as a way to champion status, but if the mindset worked, maybe it can be recreated without the drugs? just , like, totally relax, dude...
valpig