Holiday most disappointing. Weather was not great, there was no sun to sit in and being confined to floating on water is not my idea of fun. Devoured a few books that were lying around and even jogged alongside the barge a few times - but what’s the point if you don’t have a dog with you!
Being with close friends was the only plus in my diary and it was so good to be back home again!
Both my professional house-sitter as well as my daughter and family were good at sticking to the rules; both dogs and the cat were well and Mac never picked up an ounce of weight.
We picked up training back on mini height and a week later put them up to midi height. Striding slightly off in his weaves and knocking the odd bar on turns means he is definitely trying to accommodate the difference in the feeling in his knee. Hydrotherapy is now only every 10 days and his walks are longer and more varied to include different surfaces and even steps. (Boring - would love to get back to the beach but one of us is too nervous?!)
We spend a longer time on midi height and eventually progress to maxi height jumping - limited to straight lines with tunnels, weaves, see saw and dog walk. (A-frame delayed until further notice).
We progress eventually into Marlize’s classes to test him (and me) on sequences. Marked improvement in his weave pole striding and his Back On Track is becoming my own “blankie”. His tight turns are still causing the odd bar to drop but he seems to be coping better than me. I’m continually watching him and not running smoothly. Not to mention that it’s been a while since I followed numbers!
6 months post-op and a long anticipated visit to Dawn Jones confirms we can enter SADAA Boland Regionals at the end of this month. I now have to relax and work really hard on not being a nervous wreck by continually watching his striding, but at the same time let him be my guide as to what he can/can’t do - I already know what he wants to do. I also have to make sure that I warm him up really well and then cool him down too - something many handlers are careless about.
It’s going to be an interesting weekend so watch this space for news of that.
Those that have seen him at training are amazed and very glad that Mac is back!!
Mac and Me
C’est la vie
