First off, it's hot. Whew! We are such heat-sissies here in Sonoma County but today, it's HOT.
Next, the foxtails are still bad everywhere. This has led to very little dog work or practice. Coal's fur is very fuzzy and with him being closer to the ground with shorter legs, he seems to pick up everything. Ryme works more upright and his fur is coarser and slicker, and seems to shed the stickers better. Neither of them are immune however, and I am grooming them carefully to remove whatever foxtails get into their coats before they cause trouble. They've had partial haircuts already and I will thin them out more this weekend. And with Chiefie's fluffy coat, he is not being allowed anywhere near any dry stuff. Which leads me to my next random thought:
What in heck was I thinking - entering a dog trial in June? (when we have almost no chance to practice, due to foxtails)... Next year I hope I am more prudent and will just block out the month of June as a month of rest. Maybe I'll try to find a place to swim the dogs instead. But yeah, we have trials next weekend and we'll be going in with little practice, especially practice at any type of distance. It's the journey, right? That's what they all say.
Dog trials ...and more about bloggers. It is my opinion that we bloggers have some responsibility. Yes our blogs are our personal expression space. But I believe that just as in my speech with others, I need to monitor and filter what I say here a little bit, so that it doesn't cause harm or hurt to others. Say that a blogger was pretty down on a trial and blogged about a bad experience for them. That information finds its way back to the trial host. The problems discussed are mainly things that are totally out of the trial hosts' control, mainly due to good old Mother Nature. But this type of criticism is very discouraging to trial hosts, especially when they hear criticism from those who do not put on trials. In some cases that criticism may be enough to cause a trial host to reconsider offering trials any more. When I go to a trial at someone's place (and trying not to sound preachy here but I don't call Sunday trials the First Ecclesiastical Church of the Border Collie for nothin'...) it is, to me at least, a privilege and not a right. If there is something that doesn't suit my dog(s) or me then that is (usually) my problem and not anyone else's. I also try to volunteer and help at trials whenever possible. Just think about who might listen to or read what is said or written about trials. Trials are very fragile items. End of sermon and time for the chorus.
On that note...stay cool.
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