The final installment of team B is none other than Allie, aka The Mule. She comes by that nickname honestly. She's stubbornly slow around the house. Call others' names and they usually come with a little pep in their step. Allie? Not a chance. That is, unless you know how to turn on her switch. Some dogs are low drive, some are medium, some high. Allie is either low or high. There is nothing in between. Put food in the equation and it's on!
Allie came home to stay in 2004. She had a brief career in lure coursing, achieving her Field Champion title and 3rd place finish in the 2005 International Invitational. Due to her inability to overcome her desire to run into other dogs on course, I opted to finish her career in Singles. One particular course of note was run in Cartersville with two Greyhounds, The Colonel and Icy, both belonging to a good friend of mine. Coming through the final turn, Colonel had the lead. Allie looked at him and thought, "I'm going to plow into him". Now, keep in mind, Colonel has 10lb easy over Allie. He shrugged off her advances, causing her to break stride. Here comes Icy. Icy ran right over Allie and spun her around. It was scary to watch, but with no injuries resulting, I thought it was good lesson learned. Don't mess with kennel mates, they stick together!
We moved on from coursing to tracking. Allie took to it quickly and we still enjoy it to this day. Lot less impact and, in my opinion, more fun. How cool is it to walk around for 300-400 yards, drop a glove, come back and get your dog and watch her find it?
While Stacker and Julie brought me into the Greyhound fold, Allie has opened my eyes to doing more with them. She was able to pass Jen's clicker class and earn her Canine Good Citizen award. It was Jen's class that got the two of us talking. Funny how things work out, huh? As I'm typing this, Allie is enjoying the coveted sun-soaked spot on the bed behind me. I feel truely blessed that throughout life's nooks and crannies I've managed to end up where I am.
So there you have it. My dogs, the B squad. Those that are cursed under muffled breath for being too slow, too unresponsive, or "no good". It's tough living in a house with an A team like this!
5 comments:
I tell all of the dogs lovingly that they are "no good".
Jen
Finally! Thanks for introducing Allie to the world. Allie has come such a long way. You had Stacker and Julie, the calm dogs, and then comes Allie, the "rowdy dawg", and now look at her! Thanks to you and Jen's clicker training, Allie has been able to go with the "A" squad some.
Way to go Allie! We're proud of you!
It's funny how the currents of our lives take us take us where we were meant to go. Thanks for introducing Allie. I love the pics - especially the second one of her running, she has such a joyousness bounce to her stride.
I'm so glad to meet Allie! She's a real beauty, and apparently a pretty sassy lady.
I'd love to try tracking with one of my guys. It really does sound fun.
Addie
Tracking sounds like fun.
I love the last picture...Allie sitting and smiling...she looks so bright-eyed and happy!
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