It's a Box

(Phoenix, AZ) This afternoon Wazzu had a chiropractic appointment with Dr. Tom. Boy do I ever miss Brandy. If I was super rich I would hire Brandy to fly to wherever we are every two weeks so she could work on all our dogs. But, needless to say, we can't do that. So we drove close to an hour, and then like most doggy chiropractors, he adjusted her for about 40 seconds and we were done....other than the $52 payment of course. Dr. Tom said Wazzu's back felt better but that her neck was still off a bit. He did say that ideally she should be adjusted weekly. We'll do our best but that is really hard when you travel full-time. Just trying to find a chiropractor in each place is hard enough. But then trying to explain to them her history over and over is difficult as well. There really is no continuity in her treatment that way. Oh well, we'll just have to deal with it the best we can.

After Wazzu's appointment we went to Billie's as she was holding a "Box Practice" at her house. They were working on the course from the final round of the Championships. Originally we had hoped that both Sparkie and Wazzu could practice but since Wazzu just had an adjustment minutes earlier she couldn't participate.

But what great practice for Sparkie. We've never been able to participate in anything like this before. No wonder all the Arizona dogs are so great at distance work - they actually practice it. I hear they even have distance classes as well. It was great practice for Sparkie. I was surprised at how well they did. I think she and Mike made some progress and they got some very helpful pointers too. I tried to watch, listen, and learn so that someday I can put this to use with Boogie.

Then it was time for a private lesson for Boogie. This is such a great opportunity for us. Boogie loves agility and is really energetic. I just can't believe how well he understands weaving. He was entering all on his own from angles that many dogs can't do after years of competing. We also worked on the A-frame, tunnels, pin wheels, and front crosses. He did them all with great gusto.

Then we came to the dogwalk which he loved when we were here last time. The first time he went over he was speedy and happy. So we tried to do it again. He went two steps onto the dogwalk and jumped off. After about three tries we realized we had some sort of problem and began back-chaining him. This was a slow process as now he didn't even want to take a step. Arg. We knew exactly what the problem was. He was worried it might be the teeter - which unfortunately he had a very bad experience with a few days ago. Darn it. I'm hoping after a few more sessions he'll be back to enjoying the dogwalk again.

But the overall lesson was fabulous. I learned a lot and hopefully Boogie learned even more than I did. Of course I can only practice some things as we don't have much equipment and even less space. Boogie is like Sparkie in that he barks the entire time he does agility. So practicing at RV parks is a little difficult sometimes as they will kick you out if your dog barks too much. So our practice sessions, I imagine, will have to last for about 30 seconds each time.

Little Slugger didn't get to practice which is too bad as he's entered in this weekend's trial. Poor guy. He really wanted to participate as he had just spent close to three hours in crate listening to everyone else playing. But he got over it quickly when he got a treat. In just a flash he was a happy boy once again.

Debbie
10/22/07