Not much training this weekend, but lots of stuff

Hey all,

This weekend has been busy - today I had an agility trial, and yesterday I went to a friend's to train agility together. But first, I have some upsetting news.

Yesterday morning, either before I got up or while I was gone, Sparly barbered her right wing. She snipped all the primaries off in a nice short clip. If i were into clipping, it would be a great clip, all I would need to do is clean up the uneven ends and do the left side, and we'd be set. As it is, I find it totally depressing. Sparky was just getting her recall back, and we were starting to get in shape and into the training game. I guess she's grounded now for a while, and in the meantime I will have her do some non-flight training. She also snipped feathers on her chest and back, so she looks terrible, but it's the wings that are so important to her health. Maybe she'll molt soon.

The dogs, though have had a good weekend. Yesterday I went to my friend Annie's to practice together. All the dogs had a good session, and Annie got to run Bungee. She's the first person he has ever worked for besides me, and he really put effort into it, which was awesome to see. Dempsey's really showing promise when he's comfortable - he's FAST!

Today we had a show so we got up super early and headed out. Dempsey's 1st run was trigility, a team event where each dog runs a section of a course in turn. Poor Dempsey had never done a class like that before, and it completely blew his mind that other dogs could be in the ring and run a course. Plus, there were sheep less than 100 yards away, and he was sure he needed to check those things out and see what they were. So it was a long day for him, and tonight he's sacked out (which is awfully nice now that I think of it).

Bungee was a total professional, and we qualified for nationals with a really nice run. He and I really understand each other, and it is such a joy to play with him. It's taken years for us to get this level of understanding. I just am so grateful to be able to play with him.

Tomorrow it's back on track, and I'll be thinking about what Sparky can do while she's growing out her wings again