Another adventure!

Another day, another challenge, another adventure....it certainly has been one of those days since Saturday when Rusty broke his foot. I can't wait to see how this month goes, we've got a lot ahead of us.

Saturday, Rusty broke his foot. We had it confirmed by a vet yesterday. Poor guy is now on bed rest, except when he needs to go outside.

Now let me tell you a little bit about this aussie of mine. He's a very active, 44 pound dog who loves to run. We've been going into the field next to our home to practice agility - working on speeding up our weave poles, doing running contacts, jumping at odd angles. And playing Frisbee and ball. And after we're done with that, when we get home we do some trick training. Then we go back and play some more in the field. Add taking a walk or running by my bike, and you get the picture. He's strong, he's healthy, and he's very active.

The newest challenge to our training, is coming up with things he can do without getting up! I refuse to see this as a detriment, no we're going to go full force ahead. It's not going to be easy, and I'm sure there will be days when I need some encouragement. Regardless, I know this is an opportunity, and I'm going to take it.

Now the next part of my plan is to figure out how to make him more mobile. Rusty and I can't stand to be apart. And with him not being able to walk, I've ended up lugging him around the house with me. If he gains any weight from being down all the time (which he will!) it's going to make it that much harder to take him with me. He actually needs to put on a couple of pounds, he's getting too thin with all that running. It's not that he can't stay - he stays on his pillow very well. It's that I can't let him stay! The last thing I want for him is to be tired, alone, and quiet. That's not my crazy La Bamba. And beyond that, I can see the hurt in his eyes when I walk away.

Whatever it takes, we're going to figure out how to get him up. He can walk on his hind legs with his front ones on my arm, but that's pretty hard on his back, so we need another way of getting around. He also knows how to limp, so we'll try that too. I wonder what he'll think of doing that with his let bandaged up! So my ideas are to come up with a cart for him to push around, or one that he can fit into. I'm even going to go looking at thrift stores for a stroller so we can go on our walks.

Some may think it's crazy. Others may say to just tough it. But I want to over come it. It's not about training - though we'll have some fun with that along the way. It's about the special relationship we share. I just care that much, and so does he.

Any ideas for activities and games he can do while laying down would be appreciated. He's a thinker, and I can tell he's bored. He's got toys that dispense treats, I actually just got him a new one. However, he's so smart they don't last more than a few minutes, and on top of that, he's going to get fat!!! I'm going to have to find some really low calorie treats to give him!

Hypocrite or Human

How often do you find that someone can say something that you totally agree with, only to find yourself fighting against that very advice? Are we all hypocrites?


As a dog trainer, taking your own advice can be hard. I tell my students over and over how to train, how to interact with their dogs, how to handle situations. Then I go home. And I change. Is it that I'm only putting on a facade? Is it the same in other areas of my life?


I have to answer no. I truly agree with what I teach. However, putting it into action is one of the hardest things to do. My mind has been taught a different reaction than what I actually want to do. Do you find yourself wanting to be positive with your dog, because you know it really is your fault, yet you still act disappointed in your dog? If your dog doesn't behave well it's a 99% chance that it is your fault. So why get mad? But I still do.


I understand why people, who don't believe the way I do, call Christians hypocrites. I call myself one. I see it all the time in the body of Christ. But please here me out....Don't you do the same thing? If you're an agility enthusiast, after agility runs you know that if there were mess ups it was your fault. Yet you find yourself less than enthusiastic with your dog. You give them a pat and a few treats and call it good. You know that's not right, but that's how you feel. I'm the same way! In more than agility. I know that judging someone is wrong. Yet I feel it well up in me. Just as I must make myself reward my Rusty boy, I have to make myself give others grace...even when I don't feel they deserve it.

Think about anything in life. You know what you should do, and you know what you want to do. Sometimes what you want to do wins, even though you feel bad about it later.

I am no different than you. I'm not an amazing saint. I simply allow grace to cover me, and beg God to help me win in the moment by moment battles.  God is what is different, not me. As I surrender, he gives me more of him and I find there's less of me. And when there's less of me, there's less heartache. There's less struggle. There's less guilt. It's not that I'm gone, only that I'm more like him, and when I'm like him, I'm like I was made to be.



Even if you aren't a dog person, I hope you understand. It doesn't matter what in life you struggle to do. Do you realize that you shouldn't be mad but still are? Do you struggle to get out of bed? To work in the house? So do I. It's the same thing. Living as a Christian doesn't mean you have "more important, Godly things" to do. It means you do the same chores, you endure the same grumpy customers, you struggle in the same world. However, you do it with someone by you who will never leave. You do it with someone who knows every struggle of your heart. You do it with someone who gives you the power to be who you were made to be.


I'm not a hypocrite. I'm simply human.