Tuesday, July 9, 2013

The check is in the mail


Here it goes! My entry for Champs is finally going out. Nothing quite like putting it off as long as possible (well maybe not quite as long as possible, since entries close on August 1 or something like that).

How many entries are in that envelope, you ask?

Three.

Yup, I caved. I'm running all three. Secret's been running happier than ever lately -- never mind that it hasn't been at NADAC trials. I'm hoping that with only two runs per day she'll keep up the happy for four days. Ultimately it's going to come down to, "How fast can I run?" And that's why I'll keep pushing away at improving my fitness through the end of September. If I run, she will, too.  :o)

Holy heart attack for the amount of money in that envelope, though. Three entries and $50 in stall rental fees. It's worth it to have that stall, though. Last time I just let the three of them run loose in there the whole week and I brought a yoga mat so that I could lay down and rest between runs, too. Not only that, but this year it sounds like it's that or crate out of your car, so I didn't really have much choice in the matter. I know a lot of people will share stalls, but then you can't do all that stuff I just mentioned, and I think it's worth $50 for my dogs to not be in crates for four days.


I said I'd share when Kaiser's harness labels came in -- They actually arrived on Saturday, but obviously I've been a little preoccupied since then. I put the labels on his harness on Sunday, I think, but I didn't manage to set him up for a picture until tonight.

Personally, I think it is the most awesome harness in the world. He rocks it.


Little Miss Lucy is doing well! She looks like she's going to die in this picture because we just got done with her longest walk to date -- We did 2.6 miles in the heat tonight (around 90, I think), but she did better than she did last night when we put in 2 miles for her first time on the trail. Lucy isn't fat, but she isn't fit and there's a big difference between her stamina and that of my dogs! She's a trooper, though. I let her set the pace on the way back and the little squirt got her second wind and made me run more than I'd planned in this heat. lol

Lucy is helping with that fitness goal of mine by guilting me into taking the dogs for a walk in the morning before work. I feel bad that she sleeps in a crate all night and then spends all day in the crate as well. We've done about 1.5 miles the last two mornings before work and it's not so bad.


My dad has been stopping over to let Lucy outside at lunch so she's not holed up in a crate for 10+ hours. Somehow I don't think he finds it to be too much of a burden.  ;o)  He had to run down to Chicago tonight, though, so tomorrow I'm going to cruise home from La Crosse to let the little stinker out. I don't mind being late back to my all day meetings that are going on for three days straight...

Things are going better between the girls. I still watch them like a hawk and step in at the first hint of any sassing from either of them. It would be nice to let them play when they act like they want to, but I just don't want to risk it.

Lucy is figuring out the dog door on her own. I was kind of hoping she wouldn't... She already comes inside on her own, which means I now have to use the door lock to keep her outside when separating her and Secret. And OH! Just this very second she went outside on her own for the first time. Uh oh. This could be trouble. lol I kind of liked her not knowing how that worked.

I made Lucy's spay appointment today. We'll be going to the vet Monday afternoon for a wellness visit and all of her pre-op stuff, then she'll go in for surgery on Tuesday. Normally I'd put my foot down and say I'm bringing her home that night, but I'm kind of keen on the idea of them watching her all day Wednesday for me and picking her up after work... So I think that's what I'll do, because it's one less day of worrying about her.

I'm excited about our AKC trial this weekend! It will be Secret's first time in Open! I am a bit nervous about how Lucy will behave, though....

14 comments:

  1. Whoop! I think it's awesome you're entering all three, can't wait to see them run.

    I'm going to have to hope and pray for second chance entry since we're still 5 short...could be worse though!

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    1. Neither Secret nor Luke have fulfilled the actual requirements. They both have a million points in Regular, Jumpers and Chances, but Luke has 0 qualifying runs in the games and Secret has that one Tunnelers run I entered her in at the last trial. I don't care; they don't run games.

      She'll cash my check, I'm sure of it. ;o) Did you send your entry yet or have you been waiting? I'd just get it sent in. When was the last time Champs actually "filled?"

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    2. I haven't sent it in yet...I'm really good at procrastinating LOL!

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    3. Send it in! I have friends who are short & their checks were already cashed :)
      I always pretend that I may not go, but I do have my entry sitting here all filled out... :)

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    4. Alright, alright, I'll send it tomorrow ha! At 3 years young we don't have high hopes but I plan to have lots of fun with the baby dog!

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  2. Hope you have a great time! How many people usually go to the NADAC Championships these days?
    Bet you will be plenty busy running 3 dogs!

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    1. I believe the stated entry limit is 250 dogs. The way Sharon always says it works is that entries for "qualified" dogs remain open until August 1, then, if there are still openings, she opens it for the next week to dogs who "didn't quite meet the requirements."

      Personally, I've never heard of a dog not getting in to Champs since I started. Last year one of my friends was focusing more on USDAA and did 2 or 3 NADAC trials the entire year. He said that his older dog should get in based solely on the fact that he won his division at Champs in 2009. lol Not sure how he justified entering his younger dog who I believe literally had two Q's towards Champs qualifications -- but Sharon let them both in.

      There are only two runs per day Thursday - Saturday with the final round on Sunday -- plus Finals if you make it. With a dog in 8", 12" & 16" I figure my days will be nicely spread out. :o) Of course it also means I don't get a break, since I'm guaranteed to be running in the first height group every day...

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  3. Have fun at Champs! When is it?

    How long are you keeping Lucy? I just can't believe what has happened to her - what a crazy story!

    That harness color looks great on Kaiser - we actually have that same color for BattleStar. Now everyone thinks my girls are boys because I constantly have them in blue/camo/red :)

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    1. Champs is September 26-29 in Springfield, IL this year. That's the same location that we went in 2011 and I loved it, so I'm hoping for an equally good experience this year.

      Right now we have a projected date of the weekend of the 27/28 for Lucy to go to her new home. She should be all healed up from her spay by then (which happened today!) and ready for her big new start. Hopefully that goes off as planned -- we've encountered some additional medical expenses after learning that Lucy tested positive for Lyme disease (not surprising after her big adventure in the tick-infested woods). I'll find out the total tomorrow and will confirm with her potential adopters if the addition expense makes it a no-go or not.

      I really like the Julius K-9! And this is by far the most "manly" color of anything that Kaiser has ever had. lol

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  4. Love the harness! At least I get to split my entries since lyric is going ad a second chance! And we are doing free crating.

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    1. When you say "free crating" do you mean you are crating out of your car? Because according to what I read on the forum, they are not allowing crating in barn 13 this year or in the outdoor arena (both were stated as free crating last time). Sharon made it sound like it was a stall ($10/day), your car or your RV if you have one. Kind of a bummer, but I would have gotten the stall anyhow.

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  5. Hmm. I did not know that. They need to put that kind of crap in the premium. Guess we will be looking into a stall.

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    1. That's NADAC for you.... Feel free to request to stall near me if you like. :o)

      I have no idea the logic or reasoning behind not allowing people to crate in barn 13 or outside. Apparently it's all included in the rental of the coliseum, but Sharon decided for some reason it's not going to happen this year. I don't recall anything negative coming of it in 2011.

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  6. Oh well-I guess I'll work in getting my request in. I don't have time to read the forum every week to stay up on the new stuff. Grr.

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