A Dogs Life

It is hard to believe that Penny the Pup came into our lives a little over six months ago. Even harder to believe how quickly she has adapted and grown (not physically, but mentally). Through lot’s of training, patience, and tough love, Penny has become the ideal dog and I couldn’t imagine a life without her! Sure she still has some things we need to work on, but overall, she is one amazing puppy dog who has just completely enriched my life.

When UMM is away at a fire assignment, she is there to keep my nights less lonely. Not to mention, Penny the Pup is my number one running buddy, always down for a running adventure! Just recently, I took her for a run around Jenkinson Lake where I took the bold step to let her off leash! I couldn’t have asked for a better running buddy as she would speed ahead, stop and look behind at me as if she was saying “hurry up you slow pokes.” She came when called and always ran in sight. It was progress and I was very proud!

Last week was certainly a busy week for Penny. She took her CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test and happy to report she passed. This program is offered by the AKC that helps promote responsible dog ownership for owners and basic training for dogs in a ten step test. Because Penny is still under the age of two, she is very much in puppy mode, not to mention that she is Miss Independent, so I was a little concerned, but like I said she passed and I am a proud doggie mom!

On Saturday, Penny attended her first agility trials competition. She has only been doing agility for a few months, but has excelled quite quickly. What started with a fun way to bond and train my dog turned into a family hobby. Penny, UMM and I all enjoy it, so off to the CPE trials we went.

It was a very long day! Running has nothing on agility. Sure you wake up early, you run, you cross the finish line and if running a marathon or less, you generally have the rest of your day to put your feet up and feast! With agility, we were on the road by 5am to get Penny measured by 6:45am. After that, we waited around for her first trial which did not start until 9am. Then you wait some more. And pretty much that is how the day goes. And when you are a ball of nerves like I was, the waiting is tiring and brutal. We were out of there by 5pm. Yep..A long day!

Agility dogs and their groupies!

Because it was Penny’s first trial in a strange place with strange people watching and dogs everywhere, I did not know what to expect. I really thought Penny’s nose was going to be to the ground the whole time or just simply rolling around in the grass. Surprisingly, she did none of that. For the most part, she ran the courses and listened well...For the most part. Again, she is Miss independent so she would go and do her own thing, and minus one trial, she kept running out of the ring to myself or UMM (basically whoever was not in the ring with her). The one course she did complete, she placed 2nd, but did not qualify. A qualify in agility means that she could go on to the next level assuming she qualifies in two standard trials and games. Okay, it is a bit confusing and since this is a running blog and not a agility blog I will spare you the details, but if interested,I can tell you all about it!

Family photo

Nap time between rounds

Penny the Pup didn’t qualify it’s true, but she did gain popularity as everyone loved her and was quite impressed with how fast she was! In time, I really do feel that Penny the Pup will be a fine tuned agility machine! And we will be back for more. Practice, Practice, Practice. Even though it was a long day, it was very fun and we learned a lot!  Can’t wait to do it again as with running, it is certainly an addicting sport!