Pug in Boots

Shake Shake Shake, originally uploaded by mandypug.

Well not a REAL snow day but I have the day off and nothing planned and Izzie was being a total ass so I though I'd take her out to play for a bit at the park.

She also could be a Ruffwear model. The coat fits as if it were made for her and she doesn't even really care that she's wearing the boots, I love this company. If only they'd ship to Canada. Sigh.

Anywho, enjoy some photos because I'm too lazy to actually write any more words haha.

Happy Holidays!

51/52: Baby, It's Cold Outside, originally uploaded by mandypug.

Izzie and I would like to wish you all happy holidays! Hopefully it's not as stupidly cold outside where you are.

Downward Facing Dog

Izzie is feeling good. No sign of a limp anymore and she's super feisty. She had a massage last night with the wonderful Sarah and she gave us the okay to do a little more. Izzie can now do some short walks and peanut ball exercises and lots of stretching. Yay exercise!

So we started on that today. We went for a 10 minute walk around a local green strip, then we did some doggy yoga. I'm luring it but also rewarding the behaviours in hope that I can name them have her be able to do some stretching on cue. Regardless her little Puggy downward dog is adorable and I have an excuse to drag out the lululemon yoga mat that's been gathering dust in my closet, it adds a little padding for her on my floor.

Anyway, recovery is exciting and I'm loving working with my dog. It'll be a learning experience getting her conditioned, slow but we'll make it fun.

Cute From All Angles

50/52: The Other Side, originally uploaded by mandypug.

Yup. She certainly is.

Feeling Good

Izzie is feeling much better. No sign of any soreness or anything. She's back to normal. 

Oh yeah I didn't mention it on here. Umm well, she started limping on Saturday at the trial after a couple runs. So I pulled her. We didn't think then, and still don't think now, that it's FROM agility itself but from overdoing it last week on our activities. No heat was coming off her tricep but it was tight and sore, like from after a hard work out. So she's been on rest.

I'll be letting her rest for the rest of the weekend and we'll get back at some exercise and training next week. Haven't decided the exact plan but we'll be taking it slower for sure on the walking distances. 

It's given me a lot to think about. This is her first injury ever and it's not really even an injury but it still scared the hell out of me. I don't want my dog to be broken.  

Candy Girl, originally uploaded by mandypug.

I lied.

No substantial blog post today. I don't feel like talking much about the weekend yet. I'd much rather dive into the candy I bought on the way home. 

Maybe later this week. There's still lots to ponder.

I have tinfoil on my head...

48/52: P.Y.T., originally uploaded by mandypug.

... And I think it's screwing with my blogging thoughts. So here's a photo of Izzie instead. I should have something of substance up on Monday.

Izzie's Favourite Things: Paco Collars

Pretty sweet no? I also got her a plain leather leash too but it's a leash, nothing special other than it's from Paco Collars and they're pretty awesome over there.

The design is called "The Pisces" originally designed much larger for a belt and since Izzie is a diva she needed some sparkle added so there's a few clear rhinestones substituted among the flat silver spots.

This is her third collar from Paco Collars. Her first can be seen in the header photo and was an x-dog mini, that now belongs to her friend Gyppie who wears it well, and the second one was a Swirl Deluxe that now belongs to the Roo-tard. Both given away simply because they didn't fit her any more (too big for her). So that left Izzie Paco-less for quite a while, a sad state indeed. 

Start to finish it took about six weeks to get the collar, two of those weeks were spend with me humming and hawing over what I wanted. The Paco peeps were ultra helpful with me and very patient, we finally came up with this and I said yes and we proceeded to production which took about two weeks as well. Each Paco collar is hand made individually at the time of order, you can buy sample collars or used ones if you're into instant gratification but each one you order specifically for your dog is made for them therefore you get the exact measurement you need to fit them perfectly. It's a small operation though so often there's a whole queue of collars that need making so it does take a little bit to get them made. Normally shipping doesn't take so long but I'm in Canada and the border enjoys holding my collars hostage for a while, it took just over two weeks to ship from California to my doorstep. 

Like the first two collars we've had, this one and the leash are no exception to the quality they produce. The leather is lovely and not stiff at all. This is something I especially like in the leash as I have bought some cheaper ones and have had them be super stiff and not nice to walk the Pug with. 

Paco Collars is a great small business started by a gal that wanted a nice leather collar for her Pit Bull that didn't have huge spikes on them, she couldn't find what she wanted so she set out to learn to make her own. That eventually grew into the Paco Collars that we know and love today. Their customer service is exceptional and they'll even accept bartering sometimes, I actually paid for Izzie's first collar entirely with treats and chews, they also have great designs and are willing to customize one or make a completely unique one of a kind collar for you too. I highly recommend them, definitely worth the price. 

So if you're looking for an awesome leather collar for your doggy pal, click here to check out Paco Collars. You won't regret it!

Just a Little Bit O' Izzo

What's that Izzo? You want me to blog photos of you being adorable?

I dunno if you're really THAT cute...

Okay. You win. You're fecking adorable.

This weekend is the first full weekend I've worked in months. Lamesauce. I'd rather spend it with the Izzo, training or playing ball. I'm sure she'd rather that too.

Oh she also got a new collar. More on that next time.

On Teachers, Trust, and Training

46/52: Don't Stand So Close to Me, originally uploaded by mandypug.

Some thoughts from my day off today...


I have the best teachers. They really work hard to ensure I have the support I need to succeed and the toughness to make sure I do my homework. Plus they're people to look up to. I see the success they have with their dogs and beyond that I see the great partnership and bond they have with them and I say to myself "I want that".


In obedience training or even life in general, trust is a huge thing. Izzie must trust me to not step on her, she must trust me to ensure her that the scary judge that's following us isn't trying to hurt her, and she must trust me to absolutely know what I'm doing so she can do what I want her to. If I question myself even a bit the connection is broken and she hesitates. In agility I need to run balls out but know what I'm doing. When I do, it's magical and we have great success. When I don't, we fail. I don't like to fail myself and I really don't like to fail my dog. I trust her to do what I ask and all she wants in return is to be able to trust me to guide her confidently. I'm working on it Iz, I promise.


I tend to call myself a lazy perfectionist in training (and life). I like perfection, I crave perfection, but often I don't have the drive to work for it. I do make excuses time to time and I can be a bit of a pill because I'm so competitive, but Sarah and Amanda are always there to call me on it and tell me to smarten up (and even if I snark back sometimes they still keep me around). I'm learning to be a better trainer and my dog reflects that. The one excuse you'll never hear me use is her breed. I did get a little angry at someone on Facebook because they blamed a problem we have on her breed. My dog's breed is not an excuse for my lack of skill as a trainer or my laziness. It bothers me that there are people in my breed, a large percentage of people actually, that will use the dog's breed as an excuse. That doesn't fly here.


Anyway, we continue to have fun working toward our goals whether we achieve them or not. Because really, isn't that the whole point of these games?


“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” - Greg Anderson

LDKC 2012 Recap

This will be short and sweet as I have to go to work, more substantial stuff to come tomorrow.

This past weekend was the Lethbridge and District Kennel Club show and Izzie competed in 3 rounds of rally obedience and one scenthurdle race. In rally she earned 3 qualifying scores with two high in class placements which completed her Rally Advanced title in one weekend! Good girly! Then in scenthurdle she debuted with our team, no nonscents, and actually did very well. She was a little hesitant to go up the line but she did it and she fetched the right dumbbell and didn't cross the line or drop the dumbbell at all. Super good girly. The scenthurdle people that were there were all very nice and really wanted us to succeed, even if it meant running up with Iz the first time when she stalled out. I think for a sport with such a small following right now it's important to encourage the newcomers like these folks did to me.

Anyway, time to go make money to pay for all this dog stuff. Here's the show photo I got for Izzie, it's a rare shot that includes me too.

Mishmash VI

Oh jeeze I haven't had a mishmash post for months now! I guess I haven't been thinking randomly for a while. Anywhoooo, another collection of ideas that are not quite big enough for their own blogs...

- There's a rapper called shorty shit stains, this fun fact courtesy of Sarah. Yup, google it, it's true. I laughed when she woke me up with that text message.

- I have cried in the past month when I come home from work. I think the general pet owning population is getting more clueless.

- I think a large percentage of people around me think I'm an alcoholic... Or at least the nice folks that work at the liquor store I frequent.

- No I'm not taking Rescue Remedy for the alcohol content... Though I think it's probably more socially acceptable to drown yourself in rescue remedy ring side than a bottle of wine.

- There's a couple of businessmen that sit in their BMW every morning shift I have and eat their McDonald's breakfast sandwiches. They leave when I go into my store. I have no idea who they are but we wave at each other now. They seem nice.

- I have a kick ass blender.

- I have the best dog in the world.

- My facebook feed is being filled with people talking about how CM is their hero.

- I don't care for that ^

- I have really bad ring nerves lately. I think I need to stop taking myself so seriously.

- Or buy mints to cover up the smell of my nerves from my dog and smack myself in the head when I'm losing it like Sarah told me to.

- I'm wearing my red shoes all weekend, even if they clash with my outfit. I absolutely LOVE my red shoes.

- This song is stuck in my head:

Thirteen pounds of pure cute.

Thirteen pounds of pure cute., originally uploaded by mandypug.

Just going to leave this here for you all. Try not to drown in all the adorableness.

Pain in the Ass

Photo by Wendy Devent of Paws on the Run Photography

Literally.

Izzie's a very healthy little dog. We rarely have had to see the vet save for her spay, her eye injury, a couple allergic reactions and now... Anal gland issues.

She's had 2 ruptures in the past year. Before 8 or so months ago there was no issues. She didn't lick/chew or drag her butt, didn't really even have enough soft poop to make me think there would be an issue. She's four and it's just this year that it's happened twice. Sigh. 

So 10 days ago we visited our vet again because her left gland ruptured. Not cool. Especially 3 days before a trial. A couple days of metacam and a round of anti-biotics and she's all healed up and was okayed to trial that weekend too. She even ran really well despite having an extra hole back there! Wasn't bothered a bit by it.

This has been a major pain in the ass, literally for the pug and figuratively for me. She'll be getting her butt checked and squeezed regularly from now on. I'm not doing it myself, no way. But luckily I have a friend willing to help me out haha (go check out her page).

Anyway, Izzie is back to her old self now and we're headed off to yet another trial next weekend in cowtown. I love trialling and Izzie does too, she gets extra treats though so I think that's mostly why.  

Something Evil's Lurking in the Dark

44/52: Something Evil's Lurking in the Dark, originally uploaded by mandypug.

Via Flickr:

Izzie wishes everyone a happy howl-o-ween!

What do you do when your biggest obstacle is you?

So this weekend didn't go as well as I would've hoped. We only Q'd one out of eight runs. Izzie did her best, but I certainly did not. We had a couple of great and clean runs but time was an issue. The standard run where we were 0.15 seconds over still stings and if I had video I could edit in a flashing red arrow exactly where we lost the most time (hint: it was where I completely blanked on where I was going). Same with our jumpers run where we were 1.52 seconds over, glaring red arrow in my mind of that run exactly where that time was lost. 

I do not blame my dog for any of this. She was a good girly all weekend and tried her very hardest. I found out some new things about her. For instance if we start a run and get buzzed by the timer to start again after only 3 jumps, she gets freaked out. I've never had that happen before and I've never really trained for that so I'm not sure what will help that. Maybe ending some courses early alternated with doing full courses just to party and start again?  

Other things were not new but became glaringly obvious. I've been told it before but Izzie is constantly tuned into me to a freaky aware level and if I'm unsure then she's reading that loud and clear and is going to start melting. That's why we lost the time, that's why she's not sure about the weaves, that's why I want to cry thinking about how I caused her to fail. Even though I'm sure she is not one bit mad at me because I cost us a ribbon, I still feel like I let her down... Not because I feel worse for not getting a ribbon, but because I know as a team we can be great and my dog will bring it if I bring it too. 

I went out there this weekend, shaking in my barefoot shoes for almost every run. Thinking "Well I know she doesn't like to weave in this barn" or "Do I do a blind cross here? What about all these front crosses to speed her up" or even "Where the fuck am I?" when I'm actually out on course. 

The only run I felt truly confident on was the last run, a snooker run. I hate snooker, I'm terrible at planning my path and it stresses me out. I don't like choose your own adventure books and that's what snooker is to me. So I requested some help from Sarah. She's great at snooker paths and this one was no exception. I promised her wine if we Q'd and well I've gotta take a trip to the liquor store because we smoked that snooker run. Now if only I could trust my own brain as much as I trust my instructors. Or maybe I just need to drink more to loosen up so I can forget it's a trial and just run without inhibition... I doubt my sports psychologist from my skating days would approve of that last bit though haha.

Whatever I need to do, I better hop to it. I know we can blow these courses out of the water, Izzie has the skills. I just need to get over my demons. 

It Snowed Yesterday

We all know the Pug is cussing about the snow in this photo...

Things that are not as fun for me as agility...

... But that I do because they're still pretty enjoyable and Izzie seems to enjoy them too.

Rally and Obedience. 

I like them don't get me wrong, but if I could only do one sport for the rest of my life it would be agility. It's my passion.

However, I do appreciate a well trained obedience dog who's happy to work with and loves their handler. That's a whole 'nother post that I doubt I'll ever write... But I digress. 

Izzie and I travelled out to Cowley today with Sarah to go to the fun match at the Southern Alberta Working Herding Dog Association (wow that's a mouthful! SAWHDA for short). There was two rings set up, one for rally and one for obedience. Izzie and I ran through a novice rally course a couple times, once on leash and once off. As usual our off lead heeling is a million times better than off leash (I can feel you giving me that "that's why I make you work on leash in class" look Amanda...) and the distraction of working at the same time as Sarah and Gyp in the obedience ring was a huuuuge challenge for Izzie as she loves her aunty Sarah and idolizes her cousin Gyp. She worked through it though with encouragement, what a good girly. 

She really liked Gyp's pointy nose dumbbell even though it squished up her cheeks.

In our training for obedience, besides duration in heeling with no verbal lovin's from me, her issue is her long sits and downs. Long sits are hard physically for dogs, if they're going to stay in one place for a longer amount of time they're going to lay down vs. sit. So this means endurance has to be built in the muscles to hold that position, especially when you're mentally and physically tired from the rest of the obedience routine before the sits. Practise practise practise though and we have been and I'm happy to say that she did not down on a THREE MINUTE sit. Very good girly! Her down? well that was another story, she started licking the floor like a weirdo and ended up getting up, twice. Oh well, practise and finding out these things are the purpose of fun matches. 

Nailed it!

After Cowley we headed home (in partially snowy weather) to go for lunch. Thanks for buying me lunch Sar, I owe you big time! Then we headed off to Perfect Pooches for another match. I wasn't entering Izzie but it's good for her to be in those places to get used to new environments anyway. 

We watched novice obedience and then it came time for the sits and downs for that and Izzie and I were encouraged to use it as practise, so we did. Izzie nailed the one minute sit AND the long down, despite a very resistant Border Collie next to her. Again, good girly!

After watching Sarah and Gyp do their open routine, we headed back to the city and to our respective homes to have naps. I am very proud of Izzie, she's come a long way from being paranoid of me stepping on her during heeling and freaked out by me being too far away from her. She's getting more and more confident the more activities we do! Can't wait for our rally advanced debut next month and hopefully a novice obedience debut in the new year!

I Suck At Blogging

Seriously.

I've been working a ton lately, like an actual adult. I don't think I like this being an adult stuff. Now if only I could win the lottery... Yeah, that'd be good.

Really you haven't missed much and I don't have much to blog about besides the fact that Izzie and I are very much alive and well.

The most fun we've had lately is a trip to the "beach" with the older Amanda and a few of her dogs. Izzie isn't much of a doggy dog, but she had fun playing for the most part! It was nice to see her run around on her own!



We've worked so much on her fetching that she's not afraid to pick up and put things in her mouth, even if it's just to chew on them and make faces. She never used to be a mouthy dog until she learned that yes indeed you can put it in your mouth.



We ran into Wendy too and Izzie met Lacey for the first time ever. She's much smaller in person than I imagined, about the same size as Iz but more heavy boned. She didn't seem to mind Izzie but I don't think I'd say they're BFFs or anything despite how much Izzie seemed to want to be.



On the way back we stopped at a field where there was a bunch of hay bales and I've always wanted to put Iz on top of one, so I did. The clouds from the rain that day were pretty angry looking which made the photo look pretty moody. I quite like it.



So that was the beach trip in a nutshell. Izzie and I both enjoyed it and it's a pretty cool place for photos too! 

Back to Back Agility Weekends: Part 2

I'm a slacker blogger lately! Izzie and I went to the Flashing Canines trial in Medicine Hat last weekend and the Pug did awesome! She brought home 1 Advanced Standard Q, 1 Masters Snooker Q and 1 Masters Standard Q. The Advanced Standard Q gave her the Advanced Agility Dog of Canada title too! Hurray! All her runs were great, especially her Masters Jumpers runs even though we were over time by a few seconds on each (my fault, I slipped and made handling mistakes). So I am very pleased!

The Masters Standard run was awesome. Izzie and I have been having trouble making time and that is no secret if you read my blog regularly. This run however was lovely, it was her first Masters level Standard run and we ended up being something like 12 whole seconds under time. That's huge! She nailed her weaves and was generally yippee skippy out there. So proud!

No luck with that last Advanced Gamble Q at that trial unfortunately. Oh well! I definitely know that our distance skills need work and that's something that I'll be working on over the winter in the barn for sure!

So in just over a year Izzie's in everything masters in AAC except Gamble. Not too shabby for a dog that some people said would never be able to qualify past starters level. 

Here's some video of our runs:

Oh and something else that might not seem like a big deal to some, but Izzie made the top dogs list for 2012! She's earned 11 Qs and 1 title this year with what they've recorded so far (she'll be up to 14 Qs and 2 titles when they get the ones from this weekend on that). Proud of the little Puglet. 

Super Kawaii!

Here's some of the photos I got from Izzie's supermodel shoot. Enjoy!

Thanks again Wendy!!!

Back to Back Agility Weekends: Part 1

Izzie and I have returned from our trial weekend in Kimberley, BC. I entered last minute as I wasn't planning on going but really the funds were there, they needed entries, and I get weekends off now. So why not? Just like last year it was a beautiful venue and since it was a smaller entry we were done in the early afternoon both days! How nice is that? 

Izzie ran well and she was feisty and I made mistakes in her first standard leading to just over 50 faults, my bad. Her gamble opening was fast and fun and she even got a mini gamble, but again I messed her up on the end gamble. See a theme here? Anyways, her jumpers was clean but unfortunately just 2 seconds over time. Story of our life. So no Qs on day 1, I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bummed and I whined to Sarah in text messages that night. Sorry Sar. So day 2 began with snooker and Izzie and I nailed it, Q and a first place which moves her up to MASTERS! Woo! Our first event to get into masters with! Then we had another standard, Izzie and I were on and running quickly and accurately and we Q'd with another first place. Last event of the weekend for us was another Jumpers, I was nervous about making time again but Izzie ran her heart out and with a whole run of only blind crosses we pulled it off with about 2 seconds to spare! Good Pug! That was the last advanced Q we needed in jumpers as well so now Izzie is in Masters in 2/4 events! 

This is huge for me because I actually made a goal this year, a smaller attainable one, and we're coming very close to making it with several months to go. All we need now is one more Standard Q and one more Gamble Q and we've reached our goal of getting into all masters events for the year. Makes me smile at how far this little Pug has come. Just last year at this trial she earned her second Q ever, a starters snooker Q. Kind of fitting that she gets the Q she needs to move into masters snooker at this trial eh? 

We'll be taking it easy this week in preparation for the Flashing Canines trial in Medicine Hat this weekend. Which reminds me! I need to email to move Izzie up in snooker and jumpers!

Oh and here's a photo for you all to enjoy =)

She's a model

You know what she means and she does her little turn on the catwalk. Yeah, on the catwalk. She shakes her little tush on the catwalk.



Izzie had the opportunity to model for Wendy from Paws On The Run. Of course like a crazy dance mom I pushed the Pug forwards (figuratively) on Facebook and said she'd do it! Haha. Izzie had fun and I love seeing the perspectives from other people taking photos of my dog, I find it very interesting and I love Wendy's work!

Here's one of the photos she took of the Pug, there will be more to come later when I get them!

A Flat Coat and a Pug walk in a Parade...

About a year ago one of my parents' Pugs attacked Kaleb at a trial. Before that he had just met Izzie at our city's annual parade and adored her and would lick her ears until they were soaked. After the attack he generalized that all Pugs equal bad news bears and he even would try and attack Izzie out of fear. Poor Bird. So for the past year we've been keeping them relatively separated but not avoiding the issue, after all we tend to travel together quite a bit. It's been a slow go but Izzie and K were able to hang out together for his special trip to Abbotsford in July and yesterday I walked them both together side by side in our parade again. He's come around and now trusts Izzie again and I am so glad he does. They're quite possibly the cutest pair ever and lets face it I love K as if he were my own dog, his cheerful personality is infectious and I don't think I could ever give up hanging out with him. 

They're so freakin' cute together. 

Tequila Monsters and Science

33/52: Drowning On Dry Land, originally uploaded by mandypug.

So we're back from camp and it was an amazing albeit hot weekend!

First of all, Terry Simons was there. I love when he comes up for seminars because he's a really great guy with a lot of knowledge and he really pushes us to work hard. It helps that he's very honest and likeable too, even if he does force me to use rear crosses.

Another highlight of the weekend was being able to learn from a Canadian world team member. Anneli taught the distance portions of camp and I learned so much. I have a whole bunch of stuff to work on with Izzie.

Things not related to agility that were hilarious and/or fun... Well I learned to not turn my back to Terry unless I want ice water poured down my back and tequila is rather pricey but is also better than wine even if it gives me weird dreams lol.

Anyway, camp was awesome and I'm so grateful to everyone who had a part in putting it on. It was a wonderful experience and I really hope we do it again next year!

Seven Pounds

Isn't that the title of a movie?

Since Amanda asked, I'll post about Izzie's waistline.

In this first photo, Izzie weighed 20lbs. This was taken back in February of 2011, she was at her heaviest then.

She was still slim for a pug her height, but chunky. Not fit enough for sport at all and she was uncomfortable, always shifting her weight and standing funny.

This next photo is relatively recent, probably a month or two old now but she's 13lbs. Mind the crappy instagram awesomeness. This is her lightest adult weight.

See how much more pronounced her tuck is? She's also far more muscular and her collar size actually went down so much I had to give away both her nice leather collars as she didn't fit them any more and they couldn't be resized.

She lost seven pounds in a year. That's almost half her starting weight. She's much healthier for it and it wasn't that tricky to do. Her food was cut back and her exercise was increased. She's faster, more consistent and has more endurance now that she is at a correct weight. She could still have more muscle but we'll get there eventually now that she'll swim.

Anyways, there you go Amanda. A before and after of Izzie's weight loss.

I'm on a horse

So on Saturday the agility group headed out to a teeny little town called Nobleford to do a couple agility demos for their "day". We were even in the parade and won first prize in our category (we were the only ones lol). 

Me with my favourite borrowed big black guy of course and Izzie with her bestest kid.

The demos went awesome, Izzie was super cute as usual and is apparently a German Shepherd. Cool beans! I've always wanted a herding breed. 

She really lives for demos. Loves the crowds and all the cheering and attention she gets. She especially loves the meet and greet part where she gets lots of pets.

Oh yeah! And there were horseback rides for a twoonie (thanks to Sarah's mum for paying for me)! So Jo's kid, Acey rode with me to make sure I didn't fall off ;)

It was a pretty radical day I must say! Can't wait to be in the Whoop Up Days parade next week with LDKC, I really love parades. But before that, gotta focus on CAMP! Woohoo! It's finally here! I'm so excited, 2 days filled with agility seminars and great friends and cookies and then a games trial on the third day. Gonna be intense!

Come back next week for a post on our adventures at camp! 

(All photos in this post belong to Sarah)

AKC Summer Classic 2012

Another hot hot hot CKC trial and this time all our runs were back to back (I'm talking like 5 minutes between runs max) so I came home extra exhausted! Anyways Izzie ran awesome and thanks to some Glyco-Gen Energy Edge she kept a relatively consistent YPS and qualified in 7/8 runs. She also earned both her Agility Intermediate Select and Agility Intermediate Jumpers Select titles. What a good little girly!

So what did I learn this weekend?

- When I run confident and fast, my handling is a ton smoother.
- When my handling is smoother and I'm moving, my dog runs faster.
- Izzie knows what to do, it's time to stop holding her paw and push her.
- Remember what running Kaleb has taught me about handling like I mean it.
- Izzie and I can do "The Move".
- "YEAH BUDDY!" works, I should use it more.

So I'm resolving now to handle like I mean it, run fast, and push Izzie to be great because she definitely has the talent. Looking at the video footage I have, all the slow moments were because I wasn't being clear and I wasn't promoting movement. I need to fix that. I didn't get video of all our runs so here's some clips from the four that I did manage to get filmed! Enjoy.

The Pug Screams for Ice Cream

31/52: Happy Birthday, originally uploaded by mandypug.

Happy Birthday Smush!

Tonight after agility class I'm going to get her a Dairy Queen ice cream cone to have all to herself. She definitely deserves it.

On Dogs, Expectations, and Age

30/52: Bigger the Better, originally uploaded by mandypug.

I admire dogs a lot. Their pure happiness is contageous. Probably the reason I prefer to spend time with them over people (dog people being the exception). They've got this thing called life mastered. The sheer zest for life and appreciation of the little things is admirable. Like in the photograph above. It's just an ugly stick, found at your neighbourhood park for free. I had a squeaky tennis ball for her but she wanted the big ol' free stick. How many times would you choose something so cheap and simple over something costly and pretty? Perhaps it's something we should do more often.

What are my expectations of my dog. Well I need to think more on that, I'm sure they change every day. I really just want my dog to be happy, stay healthy, and do her best for me. My expectations for myself? Be fair, loving, and kind to this dog who day after day gives me her all. I must love her for who she is and I most certainly do. She's got a funky eye from an old injury and it's really hit me hard lately as she's been having trouble with light sometimes. She could just refuse to play, but we've worked so hard and she does truly love the game and really tries her hardest even when things get tricky. You can fix a muscle injury most times, not that I'd wish my never-been-lame-ever dog (knock on wood) would come up lame, but eyes are trickier and her injury cannot be fixed. This dog is not going to be able to play forever and I'm probably making it a harder blow than it is. She's my first agility dog and I want her to live and play forever, but neither of those things will happen. Should I lower my expectations despite her will to push through? Should I raise them and really start training and trialling hard before her eyes go for good? I don't think either is necessary. I think I will continue to expect her to try her best with me. She's a good little dog.

Izzie will be 4 tomorrow. I know she's not very old, but it feels like I've had her forever. I can't imagine life withouther. It means I haven't had a puppy in the house in 4 years, which is the longest I've gone since moving to the city. I really want a puppy while Izzie is still relatively young. I've become a planner though, and I want to do things right this time. Izzie was a stroke of luck puppy re-home, a compromise so I didn't get a rescue Border Collie. It could've been disastrous, I could've gotten a dog that wasn't her and didn't have her energy or talent and I would be in a very different place than I am right now. Like they say (who they are, I don't know but they're saying it) you don't always get the dog you want but you get the dog you need. It's true, Izzie has taught me more about dogs and life in general than I ever imagined. Sappy but true. I wouldn't trade this funny little dog for anything, not even the most talented agility dog with good eyes in the world. Although, I still want a puppy real bad. I think Izzie would like a little sibling too, the other dogs in the house won't play with her. However, for now I can't dwell on my puppylessness. Gotta enjoy my little talented freakishly aware dog.

Bitches Love Bridges

Okay, at least this bitch loves bridges... 

On the second last day of our trip we went to Vancouver to visit with some of Sarah's family. She seriously has some of the coolest family ever by the way. They too make fun of hipsters.

This actually happened. I can't believe it actually happened and Sarah's aunt got a photo of it.

Anyway they live right down town so we decided to hoof it to a nearby music festival with the dogs. It went on for blocks and blocks! I don't think we even made it to the very end of the vast sea of people and merchants.

I quite enjoy festivals too. Almost as much as bridges.

The people at the festival were super fun. Lots of dancing and just people having a good time. Not just the performers but the spectators too. Although the dancing hot dog with ketchup and mustard back up dancers were probably the best part.

See? Hilarious!

Izzie however, felt that dancing hot dogs were a bit out there.

No matter where you go there's lots to see too. Whether it be purposefully built and natural landmarks or people making something fun out of a simple construction site wall. It's very cool, not something often seen where I'm from.

There was a whole wall of famous "Bills" along this construction site wall.

We created our own attraction with the dogs too. Not on purpose by any means but we have excellent dogs and people seemed to enjoy our very strange trio of canines and their great obedience skills. We put them in down stays in a corridor for some shade while we watched one of the bands play and hoards of people were squealing with laughter and taking photos as they walked by. It was so cool. Maybe they'll show up on the internet somewhere? At least 20 people stopped to admire our impromptu Vancouver petting zoo.

We have some very good dogs.

All the excitement made the dogs pretty tired and Izzie caught a snooze while we listened to more music.

Snore.

It's good they rested up. The dogs had no idea what was coming next for them. Okay maybe Gyp knew...

HOLY FUCK WE'RE GOING SWIMMING!

Yes Gyp, you are correct. Swim they did, all of them... Even the Pug.

Like a little Otter!

Can't say swimming is the Pug's favourite activity but hey, she at least knows how to now. Good Pug. She was pretty glad to get out of that wet stuff though.

And I enjoyed watching her try and shake the water off herself. Wrinkles everywhere!

Well other than dinner at a sweet pirate themed bar type place, this concludes the Vancouver part of the adventure. I may be able to churn out one more post tomorrow about how classy, sassy, and smart assy we were during the driving parts of the trip but you know it will probably turn into an overdramatic whine about how terrible winery wasps are and how I just might die from my possibly infected wasp bite. Or at the very least become an amputee that has to run agility with one arm. Fuck that's terrifying. I'm going to go feed my dog now, she looks kind of hungry and it is almost 11:00am here. Sorry Pug.