The above scene is pretty much what our week has consisted of, sad to say. It has been HOT and HUMID all week long. You know it's bad when the dogs don't even pester you to go outside.
Monday evening we went swimming with Rascal & Bethany. I learned not to throw sticks towards the rapids (hoping that it would come downstream and make Secret's life easier). What actually happens is that said stick gets sucked *into* the rapids and then Secret goes out and swims, and swims, and swims, and swims, and swims some more while looking for a stick that she believes must be out there somewhere. I actually had a brief panic attack that she wasn't going to come back and that she'd get exhausted out there. For a moment, I worried that I'd have to go out and get her, but thankfully that didn't happen because she's a better swimmer than I am, anyhow! With much pleading and begging, she did finally give up her quest for the lost stick and came back to the shallow water. Lesson learned -- don't throw stuff towards the rapids.
Today we learned another lesson. We had a huge rainstorm this morning and the creek was super high and fast on our walk today. The boys both cautiously approached the edge for a quick drink & foot soak, but Secret plunged right in as she normally does. The creek usually comes a little higher than her chest at its deepest point, so I imagine she was pretty surprised to find herself not only swimming, but quickly getting pulled downstream. It carried her down a ways and she battled the current for a bit before scrambling over to the side and running back up. I think it scared her a bit, which is no surprise because I was worried, too. It's a good thing Secret was pretty much born with gills -- She's one heck of a swimmer, I'll give her that!
Of my three dogs, I will say that Secret seems to handle the heat about the best. Because of this, I decided to go ahead and attempt to do some jump work last night. She complied, more or less, but her enthusiasm was definitely far down from where it has been in the recent past. Later on in the evening, when it had cooled some and the yard was shaded, I played with all three dogs over the jumps using CHEESE and her excitement level went way up.
Speaking of cheese, time to stock up and start cubing. Secret will start to learn to *weave!!* soon and it seems as though cheese is by far the easiest treat for her to find in the grass. I'm more or less just waiting for better weather and then we'll get started with the beginning of the 2x2 program. I'm very excited to try this method for the first time.
Life as they know it will soon change slightly for the dogs. I got a (much needed) part time job at the Humane Society that will involve working full days on the weekends. My spoiled crew is rarely home alone for more than four hours, and that happens rarely. I'm curious to see how they will handle this. I will also need to start testing Secret a bit more on leaving her loose in the house, as I really hate to have her in a crate for 9 hours a day. Thus far, she has given me no reason to believe that she will have any problems.
I spoke to my cousin and it sounds like with her help, and probably with my parents filling in occasionally, the dogs should get to get out once a day while I'm gone. That would make me feel so much better, especially in the beginning while they are getting used to the idea of me being gone all day. I'm sure a play date with Rascal mid-day would make them all very happy!
This should be a quiet weekend for us. Tomorrow I am doing a quick transport for Secret's rescue -- The Border Collie Rescue of MN -- http://bcrofmn.org/ I'll be helping to bring up three young dogs from Kentucky, which is also where Secret originated from! I'm so happy to be able to contribute in one way or another to this great rescue.
On Sunday we are FINALLY supposed to get a break in the weather. Crossing my fingers here, because I'm kind of starting to miss training the dogs! If the weather gods smile on us, perhaps Sunday will be the day Secret starts her weave training. :o)
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