chef wannaB - : Dazed, Confused but Victorious

Graduating with honors!

Tuesday was a tough, but rewarding day. It actually started Monday night. Being of the age where certain medical procedures are required, I had to prep for a colonoscopy. Now nothing is less descriptive than the solution required to prep for this procedure, GoLytely. I don't think so. After starving all day, eliminating all night, I had my colonoscopy at 11 AM on Tuesday. Tuesday night was also the final obedience class for Dylan where all the dogs are tested and graded. Getting home around 2:30 with the those wonderful drugs they give you to go through this procedure, I was naturally a bit woozy. The class started Tuesday night at 6:15, which came way too soon, but I was going to press on. As soon as we got there, Dylan was restless and inattentive. We had no warm up or the ability to watch a few run throughs when we were called to be tested.

First was the figure 8. Start in the middle and go around two cones placed about 8 feet apart without correction or verbal commands other than "heel". Dylan started out wide and was sniffing the ground the entire time. We lost points. Then came the "stand for inspection" command. Dylan stood and as I walked away, and in my somewhat altered state, I started with my left leg. WRONG! Dylan started walking with me because I did not start with my right leg. She broke her stand and we lost points.
We did some heeling and about turns and she sniffed the ground like someone had scattered kibble all over the ground. No points lost, but I knew she could do a whole lot better. Then came the sit stay for two minutes and the down stay for three minutes. All the dogs are lined up in a straight line, told to sit/stay and then told to down/stay. It was like the light came on and she was at her best. She did not budge the entire time as dogs were breaking all around her. She was one of only two dogs to pass both these tests.

The finally tally showed Dylan was best in class with only 4 points lost out of a possible 200. She pulled me through just like I know she will pull her new owner through when the time comes. What a great finish to a less than great day.