Dogster

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life : through the eyes of a lab .

Been.So.Long.

Well its been awhile since i have written, but here goes(:
Well my first trial *thinking back* woah that was way back in August...Time flys doesn't? anyway, Mom thought I did pretty well considering my ADD and other problems. No Q's No Placements, and not even a finished course. Mom was pretty happy, but a little disappointed. The video of that trial can be found here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS--tBLxdTc&feature=chan nel_page
Then we had a some pretty good practice sessions in between, one of them can be found here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qUQrKffLss&feature=chan nel_page
And lastly, we had a trial on 11/01, which didn't go very well until Mom did something different on the last tunnelers run and we almost finished it(: mom was veryyy proud of me(: she knows i took alot for me to but my ADD behind me(: lol Here is a discription of the Trial (the camera was not working)

Trial-11-01: We signed up for 2 weavers and a tunnelers and got there way too early haha. Weavers rounds were first. Anyway on Tobys first run he did the first tunnel, something caught his nose and he ran. Second run same thing. After that second round I was in tears. I took Toby, put him in his cage and went outside and walked around. My face was covered in tears. I just couldnt understand why he did this. I was in total disbelief and doubt. Had we come this far for nothing? Is Toby ever going to complete a course? What is wrong??? I stood outside for a good 10 minutes and came back in to see that the tunnelers briefing had already started. I walked the course, even though I was going to leave anyway. At this point I sat down and started talking with my parents. At first they wanted me to leave, and so did I. After about 10 minutes of arguing, talking, and trying to predict the future, my parents had done a total 360 and said, weve only been here 6 hrs whats another half an hour anyway? I was not even excited to go into the arena when my name was called. I just thought that I would end up chasing him back down anyway. But a surge of hope jumped through me. And for some reason I cant explain I decided that I would just walk/jog the course and let Toby take it in stride. He did AMAZAZING! I started him not in a sit, but in a stand and walked to the first tunnel. He went through that tunnel and my spirits started lifting. But a smell caught his nose. Oh crap I thought, this is it. But I just calmly said come and praised with my voice. He did the next 4 tunnels the same way. At tunnel 5 he ran off. I started to doubt again, but I put my doubts aside and calmly called him in the prettiest voice his ears would ever hear. He came and jumped on my and planted a kiss right on my face. I thought Whatever, at least hes having fun. And we continued on. At tunnel 9 he ran again. I called and he started to come, but instead of calling him directly too me first, I called and told him to take the next tunnel. It was a mistake. Instead of him going to the tunnel he didnt hear my command in time and ran to the dogs and people at the start line. I caught him and walked out of the ring. I could hear people cheering for me, even though they didnt even know who I was. I started crying, but this time it was tears of happiness and joy, not tears of sorrow. Words could not explain what I was feeling. Many of you may be reading this saying, Oh boy just 8 tunnels, thats it? Whats so great about that? You would have to understand and see my dog in order to understand why 8 tunnels meant the world to me. This dog is obsessed with anything that breathes moves or what have you. He LOVES everything in the world. My family and friends understand this, because they have met Toby, otherwise you cannot understand fully, even the people that meet Toby cant really understand fully. Only I can. So 8 tunnels may not mean the world to you, but it does to me. But you know what means more? Having Toby by my side to help me traverse that obstacle. Toby is my life, my world, my everything. And I owe him so much more.
I know, and it took me awhile to realize that Toby isnt like other dogs, he has his special qualities, some good and some bad, that make up who he is. I always thought that training Toby would be so easy, yet it has been the hardest challenge i have probably ever faced. It has made me stronger and a better person overall. Toby has changed my life, for the greater good and i am greatful beyond belief for the challenge he has faced me with.
And it is so true
I love you Toby, more than you will EVER know and more than you will EVER understand

Peace&Love
~Toby's Mom and Toby(:

8 days! =)

8 more days until my first trial! =) mom set up some new jumps in the backyard today! wooo! i did really good! mom says i could have been a little faster, but it was hot so she cut me some slack =)

I cant wait! i get to see new people and dogs there! WoOoOoOoOoOoOoT! =) exciting stuff!

~Toby

PS. you can see the video of it on youtube:
www.youtube.com/bigredchops

Please watch and enjoy! =)

Aframe fun =)

Mom finished the a-frame today! OOHHH BOYYYY! =) it is a full sized regulation Aframe (8ft boards) but it is awesome! I went over it and I was FLYING! =) (It was set pretty low though lol. It was so much fun and mom was sooooo proud of me!!! =)

~Toby