Hi all,

This week has been as hot as an oven, so I haven't taken Peepers out to the barn. He's been a little unhappy about it, and has even taken to putting himself in his carrier and then calling to me to get my attention. Poor guy. I think I will have to take him out there even if we bake really soon.

Sparky has gotten in enough feathers now so she can fly about 30 feet. She doesn't gain any altitude, and landings are a bear for her, but she has started using her wings again to take her as far as they will, then walking the rest of the way. So now I am constantly on the lookout for little miss greenjeans on the floor. It's awesome to see her start to get her mojo back, and I can't wait til she's cruising around the house like she used to :).

Dempsey has been a rockstar with his flyball training. At practice this past Sunday, only one thing of note happened - we lined him up for recalls against a little dog named Kix. Kix is small, but mighty, and is of the philosophy "say it loud, say it proud". For the first recall, Dempsey was watching Kix and missed the jumps. We changed it up for the next few recalls, letting Dempsey go first, and he got his head together and recalled like he's supposed to. He needs lots of practice with this kind of distraction, just to make it clear to him that he can do his job even when other things are going on.

I borrowed one of the team boxes, and Dempsey has gotten to practice his box turn at home. He's been totally awesome for the super short sessions we have had. When he gets tired, he hits the bar he's supposed to be jumping over, so I am making sure that I don't give him the tug for those efforts and also am trying to be more aware of how tired and hot Dempsey is getting. I think he's going to get it really soon.

I also tested Dempsey in the field behind the house to see if he would drop the ball when presented with the tug during a retrieve. In flyball, the dogs have to carry the ball over the line, so some dogs need to be taught to carry the ball to you in order to get the tug. Dempsey's inclination was to drop the ball just as he got to the tug, so for now I shouldn't have to do anything to teach him about bringing me the ball. Yeah!

There's a cool front coming through in the next few days, so I am hoping to get outside with everyone and train a bunch of stuff. I'll be crossing my fingers...