Cross Your Paws

This is going to be a big weekend for Duncan – its his first sheep herding trial! On Friday, we’re driving to Berryville, VA. I’m hoping to get there early enough to see some of the ranch herding, as that’s what Duncan and I will be aspiring to. The regular trial events will be Saturday and Sunday. As this is our first trial, Duncan is registered for the Herding Certification Test (HCT) class. Our trainer will actually be handling him, as I don’t want to ruin his chances just because I don’t know what I’m doing. HCT is considered a pre-trial level, and its only qualify/non-qualify. There’s a Junior Herding Dog (JHD) class, which is also considered pre-trial, and I might do a day-of entry for that, if I can get approval from the trial host. Each HCT run will take at most 4 minutes, and the JHD class only allows 8 minutes. So we’re driving 11 hours round trip for 4 to 16 minutes of sheep time. Crazy, I know, but we have to start somewhere, and there aren’t more than a couple of trials a year in North Carolina. The big problem right now is that Duncan has developed a sinus problem, and if he’s visibly sick, they won’t let him run. Of course, even if it isn’t visible, if he isn’t feeling well, he probably won’t do his best (unless the sight of the sheep just completely overwhelms the cruddiness). We have a vet appointment for tomorrow afternoon. I’m not sure if I’d rather hear its just a cold or it’s a sinus infection. We can treat a sinus infection, but there’s a chance the antibiotics would make him queasy. Of all times for him to get sick…. Well, cross your paws or your fingers or your toes, or even your eyes, if that works for you, and hope for the best. I’ll be posting pics and videos of his runs this weekend.