WewereinthesecondgroupinfieldA,soafteranhour’s
wait,SusieandIheadedoutwithtwootherdogscomprising
ourpack.Susieshowedshe’snotjustacouchpotato.Forthe
firsthalfhoursheranandranandran,havingagoodtime
goingupanddownandaroundthemowedpathsand
spendingminimaltimeintheovergrowthwhereshemight
actuallyfindarabbit.Thesecondhalfhourshespentmore
timeactuallylookingforrabbitscent,butwasmainly
havingagoodtime.Theothersinherpackwerenomore
successfulinfindingarabbit.It’snotthattherewereno
rabbits—atonepointweheardquitealotofeagerbarking,
butitwascomingfromtheothersideofthefence,infield
B.Sonoqualifyingforusthatday.
Orthenext.Mondaywedrewalaterrunandwereoutin
fieldBaroundnoon,whenit’softentougherasmostself-
respectingrabbitswillbeasleepinaburrow.However,there
wererabbitstobefound—thegallerysawabunnywhile
Susieandtherestofourpackwereotherwiseengaged.But
Susiehadnosuccess.NohuntQsforheronthistrip.But
Susiefoundalovelymuddystreamandearnedanicecold
bathwiththehoseatthebeagleclubkennel.
Myinitialplanhadbeenthatwe’dspendTuesday
sightseeing.ItwasaglorioussunnydayandIplannedto
taketheself-guidedtouratGettysburg,whereonecan
purchaseacommentaryCDtoplayinthecaranddrive
aroundthebattleground,stoppingasoftenasonewishes,
totakeinthesightsandconsiderthebloodyhistoryofthe
CivilWar.Susiecouldrideinhercrateinthebackseat.
However,Iwasinvitedtoattendtheclubboardmeeting,
sowecheckedoutofMotel6anddrovedirectlytothe
Radisson,whereSusiehadtospendmuchofthedayin
afriend’sroomuntilIcouldcheckintothehotelmid
afternoon.IfoundthatIhadbeenelectedvicepresident.
Thankstoallwhovotedforme!
ThelayoutoftheRadissonwasveryspreadout.Ithought
IcouldhaveusedaSegwaytogetaroundthesite.Butthe
advantageofthelow-riselayoutwasthatmostofushad
roomsthatdirectlyopenedtotheoutdoorsforeasy
dogwalking.
Wednesdaywasmainlyagilityday.Duetoalast-minute
changeinlocationtheagilitytrialswereheldback-to-back
offsite.Thismadeforalongdayfordogsandtheirpeople.
IbroughtSusiesoshecouldbe
inacrateoutofthewayofthe
competitioninsteadofspendingthe
dayinhercrateattheRadisson.At
theagilitysiteIcouldtakeheroutof
thecrate,walkher,takehertothe
parkinglotandpracticeobedience
andrallywithher,andjustplaywith
her.Wegotbacktothehotelintime
forDr.JudithShoemaker’sseminar—
Susiewasslatedtobeademonstra-
tiondog.AnditwasagoodthingI
broughthertotheclinic.Ilearneda
greatdealfromDr.Shoemakerand
hadtheadvantageofhavingher
workwithSusie,eventrimmingher
nailsproperly—whichmadeaheck
ofadifferenceinhowSusiemoved.
AfterthewelcomepartyIwasgladto
returntotheroom,justspendtimewithSusie,andrelax.
Fortomorrowwe’dbeintheshow!
IknewitwaspushingitabittoenterSusieinnovice
obedience,shereallyneededmorepreparatorytraining,
butIenteredherintwoobedienceclasses,noviceaswellas
beginnernovice,plusnovicerally.Shewasenteredinall
threeclassesonThursdayfortheregionalshow,andon
Saturdayforthenationalshow.Iwouldhavepreferredthat
wehadanotherfewmonthsofpracticebeforecomingto
CampHill,butonthewholeIthinkSusiedidquitewell
bothdays,inspiteofherclumsyhandler.Amazingly,in
noviceobedienceshequalifiedtoparticipateinlongsitsand
downs,butonbothdaysshebrokethelongsitandcame
slowlywalkingtome,earningadisqualification.However,
inbeginnernoviceshestayedputinherlongsitwhileI
walkedaroundtheinsideofthering,somethingwehad
seldompracticed.DuringthisentireweekIwasnotfeeling
well,andtheearlymorningsdidnothelp.ButIwasproud
thatSusiequalifiedinbeginnernoviceobedienceand
novicerally.Nowwe’llhavetogetanotherlegineachof
thoseeventssoshewillgettitles.Andwe’llkeepworking
onthelongsitaswellaslooserleads!
Fridaywasanoffdayforuswithregardtocompetition—
theMidNewJerseyshowwasconformationonly—but
Susiewasatrooperanddonatedbloodfortheclub’sDNA
bankandhadhereyescheckedforOFA’sCompanion
AnimalEyeRegistryandthePOAGstudybyDr.Andras
Komaromy.Ihavehadmyeyescheckedannuallyormore
oftenforintraocularpressure,butitwasanotherthing
altogethertobeholdingmydogwhileshehaddesensitizing
dropsputinhereyesandthenhadtheeyepressure
checked.Susiewassogoodaboutbeingpokedandprodded!
Itwasasthoughsheknewitwasforagoodcause.
IwassurprisedwhatagoodtravelerSusieprovedtobe.
Previously,thelongestwe’dbeenawayfromhomewasa
coupleofnights.Forthistripwewereawayabout10days.
Shewasverygoodinthecar,thehotelroomsandinthe
groomingroominhercrate.Shedidn’teatalot,which
concernedme,butsherecoveredhernormalappetitewhen
wereturnedhome.Allinall,Susieseemedtoenjoythe
experienceandI’mlookingforwardtobringingherto
the2016show.
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ISaberTails
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