Zeeke is doing very well in the aftermath. I think Den and I have basically agreed that we don’t want to do any surgery yet - Zeeke just doesn’t seem to be at the point that he needs it. He acts the same, he does all the same things he always has, he’s still happy and confident. We just watch him more carefully when it comes to running and jumping, to make sure he doesn’t cause himself pain afterwards. But we still let him play indoors with Zoe, chase a ball across the living room, etc. We just watch for anything that is overly stressful on his hips, like wildly running after Zoe in the backyard. Which is really unfortunate, because not only did both dogs love that game, but it tired them both out too.

Today we had someone from the cable company come out to run a cable line to our bedroom and install a new DVR. This involved the guy being in our house for an extended length of time, and working in the bedroom where the crates are. I quickly realized that was not going to work, since I couldn’t hear the guy’s questions over Zeeke’s barking. The poor cable guy gave a little twitchy jump every time Zeeke barked. So while he waited in the other room I transferred Zeeke from his crate to Den’s office. Zoe followed, of course. So Zeeke barked the entire time, but it was slightly more muffled. And the funniest thing is that the guy only seemed to realize we had one dog - he never saw Zoe, even though she was right there. LOL

Today I cleaned the kitchen and I didn’t bother putting the gate back up when I was done mopping. Zoe was out the rest of the day with me and barely ventured into the kitchen. I tried to get her to come down into the basement with me for a quick trip, but she wanted nothing to do with that scary stairs. She crept into the kitchen and stuck her head through the doorway to peer downwards, then scurried back to safe ground. Whatever is down that dark stairway she doesn’t like and wants no part of. LOL

As soon as Den got home and let Zeeke out Zoe went running into the kitchen and started gobbling up the cat food. She went hours without touching it, but as soon as Zeeke is nearby, giving her confidence… straight for it. Brat.

Though that wasn’t the worst of it. I had let Zeeke out of his crate when I was done mopping, and he went straight for the kitchen. I figured that was fine - there was no cat food on the floor at that point, no kitty litter box to get into, the garbage was even in a corner. I figured it was safe. Not 10 seconds after that thought he comes streaking past me with a croissant in his mouth, which he had snitched off the counter. Oi oi that dog. I hate to sound unfair, but I worry much less about Zoe in the kitchen - she is simply too short to get into the garbage or the counters. With Zeeke’s height it becomes much more of an issue! (Especially since he is well willing to use his height to every sneaky advantage.)

So we haven’t put the gate back up today, we just have to keep verbally reminding the dogs to stay out of the kitchen. It’s tempting - with the cat food, and the cat himself… plus the fact that the kitchen is Off Limits, therefore Very Interesting. But they have done pretty well. Even when the cat was walking around, Zeeke would take a couple of steps in, I’d shoo him out, he’d stand there and watch intently for the next while. I think it’s definitely possible that we could transition from a physical gate to a mental barrier.

Yesterday was Zeeke’s x-ray.

Well I wasn’t wrong. It’s actually worse than we thought. The vet’s message on Den’s phone said something along the lines of, “Zeeke’s problem is marked hip displasia.” He showed us the film when we went in - his hip joint looks really bad… not smooth and rounded like a proper ball and joint, but very jagged and rough. No wonder he’s in pain. The vet said his leg musculature is really good, which is probably helping him a good deal, so we’re to make sure he keeps working those muscles through controlled movement like walking. But running, darting back and forth, jumping etc is probably not good for the joints - and we know that running and playing with Zoe in the back yard is what causes pain in his hip. Den’s probably going to have to really tone-down their wrestling in the house as well, as a lot of jumping and bouncing around occurs, not to mention slipping on the hardwood floors. I have no idea how we’re going to even attempt to control his movement. He’s a dog who does everything with exploding energy. He loves to jump and run. This is just so sad.

We’re taking some time to process all this information. Right now he’s on Cosequin to help his joints out and slow the progression of the hip displasia, and Rimadyl for the pain. Neither are very cheap meds! I’m looking into buying generic brands online. The vet said the only way to fix it is a complete hip replacement surgery. He’d have to go to a specialist for that - we may check the vet schools to see if they perform HD surgeries.

We feel so aweful. So does Zeeke - he was whining all last night, had diarrhea multiple times (and still this morning), and just obviously wasn’t feeling good. Probably a reacting to the sedatives they gave him for the x-ray. Today he’s feeling better, but still has diarrhea.

It’s just so wrong. He’s so young, so full of energy… and yet his hips are that of an old dog’s. It’s so unfair.

So guess who is going in for x-rays next week. Dear Zeeke.

Last week we noticed him limping after a play session outside with Zoe, and we were concerned. He was favoring one of his back legs. I looked over his leg and paw and he yiped when I moved his leg. But hours later he seemed fine. And he stayed fine until the next strenuous play session they had, then he was limping again, and whimpering. But again, it went away. We thought he’d just pulled a muscle or something with the running they do, so we just kept a close eye on it and tried to keep him from overextending himself again.

Well yesterday morning Den was wrestling with him in the living room - in which room we have hardwood floors. During one of his jump-and-run maneuvers Zeeke slipped and crashed to the floor. Now this isn’t at all an unusual event, but this time he got up whining and whimpering and refused to sit. I said, “Okay, that’s it,” and called the vet right there.

So today was his vet appointment. Friends said he probably just hurt a muscle or cut his pad or something, but you know I just had a feeling that wasn’t it. Sure enough the vet watched him walk around (no limp) and felt over his muscles and bone and joints, no issue, no reaction. But when he picked up Zeeke’s back leg and flexed the hip Zeeke yiped and whined. And it’s only on the right side too, no reaction on the left. *sigh*

So next wednesday Zeeke goes in for a hip x-ray so they can take a look at his joint and tell if it’s the bone or if it’s a soft tissue problem. Ever since we got Zeeke I’ve had the worry that he’ll have hip problems, since he’s a purebred and a rescue of unknown origin. There are so many poorly bred purebreds out there.

On the up side at least we are getting an x-ray done before we start agility. I would absolutely hate to later find out he has bad hips and we made it worse. If it turns out he does have bad hips that’ll be the end of the agility idea for Zeeke, we’ll have to find something else for him to do.

Last weekend we had a party at our house, a birthday party for my brother-in-law’s twin daughters who are now 6. There weren’t a lot of kids, I think only three plus the twins. But all of them were begging Den to pleeeaaassseeee see the doggies. So Den took them in the bedroom a couple at a time to say hi to the dogs.

Zoe didn’t like that. Her crate was open, and while she wanted to see and be with Den and me, she was already nervous from all the people in the house (whom she could hear, even though she couldn’t see them). Kids like to try petting her, and that makes her nervous. She ended up under the bed.

Zeeke was barking to be let out of his crate. Den did let him out for a very short time, holding him by his collar to prevent him from knocking any of the kids over. Zeeke licked them excitedly. He was just so hyper.

So later, when the kids were outside, I leashed up Zoe and took her out to make a potty run. The kids followed us and I had to tell the one boy to back off and cut it out, he was trying to chase her (and he was the oldest of all the kids, he should know better). I just stood outside with Zoe and let her try to soak it in a bit. As much as kids make her nervous because they move a lot, she actually seems less intimidated by them, in a way. She won’t let adults pet her, but she’ll let kids - I think because they’re smaller and inherently less intimidating. She sat between my legs as the little girls gently touched her.

Then Den brought out Zeeke. That’s usually a good plan, it distracts kids from Zoe. And Zoe got excited that Zeeke was out there too - she just wanted to stick with him. The girls were generally a bit intimidated by Zeeke and as much as they wanted to “pet the doggy” they were too nervous to go up to him. When he tried bounding over to lick them the’d back off. But the boy liked him. So Den gave him the leash, explained how it worked (the flexi leash) and let Zeeke and the boy run around our yard for a while.

Now that was one HAPPY dog. Zeeke had an absolute ball. He just loped around beside “his boy,” running back and forth and exploring the yard together. His tongue was hanging out and he had a huge grin on his face.

I guess that eases many of my fears about Zeeke and kids - it’s obvious he adores kids, at least older ones. This is not the first time he’s played with older boys and LOVED it. But that’s the one hitch - older boys. He still is just too excitable and boistrous for small kids. And with infants we have no idea, I am well aware that for dogs an infant and a child can be two very different things. I said to Den that Zeeke will have so much fun when our kids are older and Den just gave me a quiet look and said, “Honey, he’ll be dead.” It was a bit of a shock to realize that. German Shepherds live to about 12 or 13 in general, and Zeeke’s already 3.

Zeeke and I are on pretty good terms lately, strangely enough. He’s listening to me, and he’s cuddling with me - well as much as a very large, gangly dog can cuddle. He head-butts me and lets me give him hugs and kisses on the nose while he tries to lick my chin. He’s just been acting slightly deferential to me. Which is very good. He still can be a major brat, he’s still harassing the cat every chance he gets and stealing food that he shouldn’t have, but in relation to me he’s been good. And he’s taken very well to not being on the furniture… we moved his dog bed from Den’s office to the bedroom, so he’s been sleeping on it every night. Both dogs really love that dog bed. And Zeeke looks so adorable all curled up asleep on it.

Zeeke has used a prong collar since two years ago when we took him to obedience class. There was an immediate difference in his behavior, and for once I could actually handle him when on walks, even when he was misbehaving.

Since then we still always put the prong collar on him and hook his leash to it, but we rarely need to actually rely on it for anything - he knows where the end is, and only once in a while mistakenly hits the end. He heels well. He saunters along like a charm when on walks, doesn’t pull at all.

So why do we still use the prong?

Well tonight I took Zeeke out after I fed them. It was getting pretty dark. He ranged ahead of me like the dogs always do. Out of nowhere he bolts and hits the end of the leash, wrenching my hand and arm. It was a cat - someone’s cat was in our back yard and took off running when he saw Zeeke. Without a doubt, without that prong collar he’d be still chasing that cat through neighbor’s yards. With any normal dog - like, say, Zoe - getting loose would not be the end of the world. Zoe comes back. Zeeke… doesn’t so much.

Hubby is away for two weeks on business, so I am in charge of the zoo - good and bad, it’s all me.

The first day was rough. Normally I really look forward to that time of day when Den comes home and I can pass responsibility of Zeeke off to him and get him out of my hair. Right now I get two options during the day: he can either bark and chase the cat around, driving me crazy, or I can put him in his crate and I spend the day feeling guilty about it. And no matter what, he can’t stay in his crate all day.

First of all I’ll mention that since our labor day weekend vacation - we were both gone for 4 days and I had my boss come over to feed Jo once a day - Jo has been somewhat like sticky tape. He has definitely overcome his distaste for - and distrust of - Zeeke in order to be where we are, all the time. We are very happy to see Jo reach this point, we’ve been working on it for a year and a half, but unfortunately, Zeeke’s attitude has not evolved quite as much as Jo’s. He is still obsessed - and very, very obnoxious about it. So basically we spend all day with Zeeke following the cat around, growling and barking when Jo is in a spot he can’t get to. Plus they tend to knock a lot of things over, pull things off shelves, etc etc. I’m trying to keep this place clean and organized, and they’re like a little whirlwind of destruction.

So I’m trying to find some balance between me having some peaceful quiet hours, and Zeeke getting out to play and have fun. I think it’s going well - I am getting lots of things done and feeling sane, but Zeeke isn’t suffering too much. But with Jo out all the time, it’s time to face this problem head-on - or Zeeke will never spend any time out here. So we’re practicing down-stays - a lot. When he starts getting rough and pushy with the cat, I put him in a down. It usually takes 3 or 4 times of me getting up and putting him back before he “gets it” and gives up trying, but once he reaches that conclusion he’s doing really well. 15+ minutes I leave him there, with the cat walking around. The true measure, to me, is that Zeeke actually relaxes and puts his head down - still watches the cat - but isn’t on a hair-trigger. Currently I have released him from his stay, but he decided he was happy where he was and is asleep on his side. lol

Zoe has stopped blowing her coat, it’s back to normal with her - though she feels a lot thinner (no wonder, right?). And she has a lot of slobber on her from Zeeke. I used the rake to give her a light brushing today in the house (barely got out a handful of undercoat), but I’m going to have to use more tools tomorrow to get the sheen back in her coat and the slobber out of it. Yuck.

I took her to one of my meetings this week. The temperture has dropped to Fall levels, so it was nice and cool in the truck, where I left her - I didn’t want to waltz into the building with her. The ladies did come out with me afterwards to meet her. Zoe was far from impressed. She barely sniffed a hand or two, but she just wanted back in the truck, please and thank you - where she then hid. But I expected that. I hate seeing her like that, but if I don’t take her out to be around people, she’s never going to get over this. I was invited by the person who owns the building (my boss) that I could bring her in the room for the meeting - I’m debating whether that’s a good idea or not. I could easily set up a blanket in the corner or at my feet for her to lay on, and there’s only four of us in the meetings. But on the other hand I’m worried that it would be too much for her and that she might lose control of her bowels if she was freaked out enough. So I’m on the fence. There’s really no way to take her in before the other people. It might just be too much for her at this time. But I think I am going to continue bringing her with me and leaving her in the truck - quiet time in the truck is good for her to get used to being in a strange surrounding with nothing *active* happening, she can just chill and take it all in. (And she’s fine in the truck, she just lays down and/or naps. No chewing on things like Zeeke did/does.)

One thing I am thankful for: Zeeke and Zoe are both past the shoe-eating stage. Yay! I have left my shoes in the living room by the front door for I’d say over 6 months now, with only one or two small incidents (Zoe carrying one off, and looking puzzled when I take it away from her and give her her own toy - but no chewing has occurred). Zoe does have issues with my bedroom items - just earlier today I found she had gotten ahold of one of my small post-it note pads and chewn it. She also likes things like pens, ack (a few of mine have some dents in them from teeth). But honestly, unless she finds something on the tv tray or nighstand that she wouldn’t normally have access to (like post-it notes!) she’s very good. And Zeeke, at 3, is thankfully past that stage… though he will eat anything and everything food-like. Unfortunately the combination of Zeeke’s previous seperation anxiety issues and his propensity for pushing his way through barriers to get to things he really shouldn’t have, leaving him loose in the house when we’re gone is still something that makes hubby and I very nervous. Zoe, on the other hand… I’m considering that she might be at a stage that I can do that for short periods. Although I wonder if it’s even worth bothering - if given the choice, she would much rather be with Zeeke, wherever he is. So if he’s in his crate, she wants to be in her crate. I guess it doesn’t really matter one way or the other. It’s really too bad that the bedroom is her worst room, in terms of trustworthiness, or I’d start some trial runs.

In any case, our crew is doing well. All are currently sleeping, as I should be. Mom’s surviving. Let’s home I get through one and a half more weeks by myself.

Everyone is currently sleeping in the living room - everyone, including the cat. Zeeke is laying on the couch, as is Zoe, and Jojo is curled up on the floor (the floor!) in the hallway. I think Zeeke’s keeping half an eye on him. But holy cow. This is progress!

That clicker makes me enjoy training them more. Or at least gets me motivated. I see it sitting there - along with the treat apron - and it’s easy to just start. Only using kibble, though - I need to find some better treats to train with. Zoe isn’t too keen on the kibble (and she’s the chow-hound!).

Zeeke is doing flatly excellent with the clicker. It’s great to work with him because he learns so quickly - the clicker is just speeding it up even more. Although, we never used a marker word with him, so I don’t know if the clicker itself is helping or the marker. Either way, he really really likes that clicker.

Zoe however isn’t paying it much attention. Neither the treats. She just seems kind of out in la-la land. She really doesn’t have that drive that Zeeke does - heck, she doesn’t have the drive that Oreo does (when it comes to treats). I’ve continued to use the “Yes” marker with her, it seems to work well since she knows it. And I’m worried about confusing the two dogs using the clicker for both of them.

Even when I’m involved in a book it’s hard to resist a sweet little dog begging you to play with her. She started with chewing on a toy - noisily - and when she noticed me watching her she ran over to flop down beside me on the bed and kick her legs in the air, grunting. Never fails to get a reaction out of me. So what else could I do, but put down my book and start playing with her?

I ended up getting up and throwing toys up and down the hall for her. But of course Zeeke swooped in, so it turned into me chasing Zeeke up and down the hallway, with him hogging both toys (he’d hold one in his mouth while chasing the other!), and Zoe standing in the hallway watching us both race past. Not quite what I had intended. Now he’s tired (flopped out on his side after taking a big drink), and Zoe’s still a bit restless. Oh well, what can you do.

A very sweet habit she’s developed: I moved my laptop to the dining table out in the living room and have been spending all my computer time out here. And every time I sit down here, she lays against the wall behind me. I have to be careful I don’t run over her tail or foot when I scoot around in my chair. But it’s just so precious! Zeeke likes to be in the same room as you, but he’ll find his own corner or take over the couch. Zoe, she has to be where I am. If I’m watching TV she’s either curled up beside me on the couch or laying on the floor right below me. She is just so precious.

What a great day today!! Today was Dog Dayz and we did end up going, but only for Saturday - unfortunately we didn’t know in advance if Den would be available for Sunday, and besides that, we own no camping equipment. Makes it a little more difficult.

It was a one and a half hour drive into upper New York state farmland. Zeeke didn’t do so well with the drive up there, we stopped once to let him empty his stomach. I just don’t know what it is with him. *sigh*

It was very exciting when we got there. People were doing agility run-throughs, there was a flyball demo going on, a dock jumping dog and owner doing some demos (which was really fantastic! I’ve never seen a dog fly like that before!), and even sheep in a pen for a later herding demo. There were also booths set up for raffles, border collie memorabilia for sale, grooming/nail trimming (which we should have done with Zeeke - hindsight), and some great leashes for sale. We didn’t buy any leashes or collars yet, but I’m definitely still thinking about it.

We spent some time walking around watching the demos and letting the dogs check everything out. Zeeke was, as usual in public, the perfect gentleman. He greeted strange dogs and humans alike with politeness, even the rare times when a dog snarled at him (someone’s foster dog, who is still working on socialization). Zoe was doing very well with Zeeke beside her - I knew it would be a good thing to take them both, even if they can be a handful (like when we split up to use the washrooms or whatever - they hate being split up or even just one of us parents walking off!). People really got to see the real Zoe, with her tail up and everything. She was approaching people to sniff them, though she stopped shy of being petted and would generally back off again. But she wasn’t spending the entire time hiding behind my legs, which is great!

At one point I got Den to bring out the flexi leashes so we could let the dogs play in the pond. Other people were letting their dogs off-leash, but our two aren’t at that point of trust yet. Even with the flexi Zoe didn’t so much as dip her little paws in - apparently water is not an interesting thing and she couldn’t seem to understand why Zeeke was in it. Zeeke definitely liked it. First thing he did when we approached the pond was go splashing in. Actually, there was a small kiddie pool filled with water for a water bowl for the dogs, and Zeeke got in THAT too (not the first or the only!), He didn’t go right for swimming, but he went in as deep as he could and still touch. So we took him up on the dock and encouraged him to jump in. He definitely was interested, he was just trying to find an easier way in! But we kept encouraging and finally he leaned down towards the water. He put out his front paws and held himself up by his back paws, leaning forward, leaning forward… until the weight was too much and he let go. SPLASH! There was a look of horror and panic on his face as he disappeared right under water, head first. He came up flailing with his front legs, apparently forgetting that he CAN swim (he has before). Finally he stopped flailing and started swimming and swam to shore. At that point both Den and I were doubled over laughing. I was nearly crying I was laughing so hard. The look on his face as he went under was priceless. He ran around up to the dock and, with more encouragement from us, did it again - so it couldn’t have been too bad!

They served lunch in a dirt-floor building that they obviously use for agility training as well. People were lined up with their dogs standing beside them on leash (not everyone, but some). It again made me proud of all these well-behaved dogs! Zeeke, being so tall, was just too interested in all that food so Den stood to the side with both dogs while I got our lunches. Eating it was a bit tricky, though, as we had to sit on the grass to eat…. and sitting, with food, and dogs? Oh Zeeke wanted our lunches very badly. Zoe at least only sniffs, and then sits back when I tell her to leave it. So it was a bit of a juggle to get the dogs to not eat our stuff, but we managed. In fact, Zeeke ended up laying down. Did I mention we were sitting on a hill? Well we were. And Zeeke, the doofus, tried laying down and almost went tumbling all the way down the hill. Ha! It took him a few tries to figure out that he needed to lay facing UP hill. Den was pretty tired as well so he layed down on his back after lunch…. and there was a “HUMPH” sound as Zeeke noisily layed down beside him, flopping his head across Den’s stomach. Cute award!

Then I talked Den into trying the agility lessons for newbs with Zeeke. I ended up trying it with Zoe as well, though I went in saying, “I don’t know how much she’s going to be willing to do, if anything.” Den wasn’t sure Zeeke would do much, either - he kept saying, “I don’t think he’s going to do well, his attention span is so short” and “He’s really not going to like that teeter totter thing.” But we tried it.

I was right about Zoe - she didn’t really want to do anything. The tunnel thing? HA! Her? Go THROUGH that? Are you kidding her? So we just praised her for going up to it, sniffing it, sticking her head in it. That was as far as we got. She wasn’t so okay with the tire at first, though I do think half the problem was the trainer holding her leash. But after a couple of tries (and eating treats off my hand while sticking just her head through the tire) she walked through it. Big praise! The jump (set very low) was okay with her, she hopped over it (slowly). She did a sit-stay on one side, I’d call her from the other. Yay. The teeter thing was another matter entirely. They had a tippy board (a board with something underneath in the middle so it “tips” when the dog walks on it - it’s what they use to condition dogs to it. So wouldn’t so much as put her paw on it. She saw it moving when Zeeke tried it - nope, nope. I did get her to approach it, put her nose on it, and then I got her to “paw” it, which was great! It was suggested that I either make a board like that, or just use a garbage pail lid upside-down on the floor, and teach her to touch it with her paws, and then walk across it. It’s obvious with Zoe that it’s going to be a very long journey with very small steps. Everything is scary to her, so we need to de-sensitise her to it, then work up to it in baby steps. It’s going to be hard on me, because every little thing I do makes a huge impact - if I rush her even the slightest, she’ll freak out. I can’t push her. If I bump something - or someone else bumps something - while she’s sniffing it it’ll put her back. So yeah, it’s going to be a lot of work. But, I think it will indeed be a good confidence booster for her, once she learns that things aren’t so scary as she thought they were.

Zeeke was another story entirely. We walked in the ring and as we were standing there, Zeeke attempted to climb the A-frame. Den got him off it, of course, but Zeeke wanted to so bad.

First up for Zeeke was the tunnel. He took a while to get what we wanted - like, say, 5 seconds or so - and then he ran through it. Daddy had a cookie at the end! This is pretty cool, says he. After that the trainer could barely hold him back from running through the tunnel until Den called him. The trainer ended up lengthening the tunnel for him. No problems, Zeeke flew through it. So after a while she put a little bit of a curve at the end, saying that most dogs have to start from scratch again when there’s a bend in the tunnel. Zeeke? No problems. Bigger bend - no problems! So she scrunched it up small again and got Den to “send” Zeeke through the tunnel a few times. A little more problematic, although Den remarked, “I think he’s suffering from Bad Handler.” lol So Den was directed on how to hold his body to make sure Zeeke went where we wanted him to - the tunnel - and Zeeke was off. No problems! This tunnel thing sure is fun, dad! The funniest part about the tunnel was that every time Zeeke successfully made it through the tunnel, Zoe would get super excited and jump on him (or jump up and down if she couldn’t reach). It was like, You’re back! You survived!! It didn’t eat you!! Oh she was so happy. And yes, I think his ease and success made it easier for her to approach the tunnel - she wouldn’t go NEAR it before seeing him go running through it. So I think he is going to be a big boost to her training.

The tire wasn’t even worth mentioning to Zeeke. “So I jump through the tire thing? Okay, next?” They did have a bit of troubles with Den running beside Zeeke and sending him through the tire - Zeeke kept going around it. (So then they’d go back to calling Zeeke through it to make sure he succeeded, before trying it again.) And for the tire thing the trainer just unhooked Zeeke’s leash. I think Den and I both had a little heart-hiccup when we saw him go running through it with no leash on, but he obeyed perfectly. He tried wandering off to sniff the fence (it WAS a mostly fenced enclosure for agility), but came with Den called him. So honestly I think that was a big thing for Den and I, to see him doing well even off leash.

Next was the tippy board. Den said, “He isn’t going to like that, this is what he’ll have problems with.” The trainer walked him around the tippy board. Zeeke stepped on it. Click! Praise! Treat! Zeeke’s eyes lit up. He started jumping onto the tippy board, then looking up expectantly for that treat! So they moved him over to the very low training teeter. Zeeke walked across it perfectly! Not one issue with it tipping beneath his feet. Click! Praise! Treat! So he was very eagerly walking back and forth across that thing! And while he was doing that I moved Zoe over to the tippy board to start conditioning her. And as I’m trying to get her to put a paw on it, Zeeke comes running over, jumps on the tippy board (bang as it tips over), and looks at me for a treat. LOL! He definitely knew how that thing worked! “I jump on it, it goes bang, I get a treat. Can this get any easier?!”

Den was SO proud of Zeeke. I was too. I expected him to do well, but I certainly didn’t expect him to go running through everything with no fear and no hesitation, acing everything in two seconds. So someone pointed us in the direction of an agility trainer, who as it turns out lives and trains only a half an hour from our house! She has shelties, which are known for being very anxious and scared of things like Zoe is, so she’s familiar with working with dogs like this. She seems very nice. So we exchanged information, and we’ll try to set up some agility lessons for both dogs! Woo hoo! We’ll have to start with just me handling them both, as Den’s going to be away two weeks in September, but I hope to have Den take over Zeeke’s handling. I think it’ll be a really wonderful thing for both of them. We are a little concerned about the cost - $90 per dog for 6 weeks. I do think it will be worth it, though. Just seeing the look of joy and accomplishment on Zeeke’s face - and echoed on Den’s. And of course Zoe will really benefit from overcoming her fears, though I don’t really see her ever trialing - Zeeke on the other hand… he has the potential to be really really good.

Oh and we ended up winning a raffle, too! A picnic set of dishes - I haven’t really looked at it yet, but it has melamine plates and big plastic tumblers and even some little votive candles. Sweet! And Den was saying how we never win anything.

The drive home was completely silent. I had THREE asleep in the truck - two dogs and a hubby! That’s the FIRST time I’ve ever seen Zeeke laying down and quiet in the truck for any length of time. It was amazing. We stopped on the way home to get some shakes and fries from McDonald’s, and then it was silence again. When we got home Den layed down on the bed and immediately fell asleep, and Zeeke went into his crate and followed suit. He didn’t even bother finding the cat first. And Zoe, well, she figured if big brother was sleeping in his crate, so should she. I found her laying there after my shower. And then I crawled into bed and we all had a nice nap! It was a wonderful day, tons of fun, and we are just exhausted!