Good Times

Its so great to have Reyna feeling better again! We had a fun weekend, and most of it, we couldn’t have done (or at least not enjoyed nearly as much) before she got her new hip.

Saturday morning started with an early herding session for Duncan. The poor dog, he was so confused at one point, and it was all my fault. By the time the session was done, though, we’d both figured out what we were supposed to be doing. Of course, he’ll probably retain the information better than I will, but as long as one of us knows…. The trainer and I talked a bit more about working Duncan on boundary herding, but I think we’ll hold off on that until the new year. We’ve got to at least get past the three upcoming trials before we throw in something new. The trainer also mentioned that Reyna might be a good candidate for boundary herding – she could work as much or as little as she chose, and she wouldn’t be able to get close enough to eat the sheep. Something to think about, but again, not until the new year.

After we got back to the house, I decided to take Reyna for a short walk so Duncan could eat his breakfast in peace. I’d intended it to be a short one mile meander since it was starting to get warm, but it didn’t work out that way. Instead of walking through the neighborhood, we went down the shoulder of the main road – I figured we’d do some “leave the car alone” practice while we were out – and on our way back, we saw a road leading into the woods. I know there are several roads/paths that lead into the woods behind our cul-de-sac, so I figured we’d take a more scenic route home. But I forgot to factor in Reyna. We got to a split in the road, and Reyna very intently and deliberately took the left path. Now, I knew we needed to go right to get home, but I thought the left fork might take us to the big sand pit where we typically start our tromps into the woods. Boy, was I wrong. It actually took us all the way around to where we generally turn around and head back home. Of course, Reyna found the only big puddle out there, and promptly covered herself in some nasty, stinky muck. So, two and a half miles and nearly an hour after we left, we made it back home. Reyna wasn’t at all bothered by the long walk (or the bath she received immediately after), and I think that was mostly due to the soft surfaces. She still shows a bit of strain when I push for two miles in the neighborhood, even though she tries to walk through yards for most of that.

Sunday, we went over to John’s so the pups could run in the pasture. I think we were there for about an hour and a half, and it was starting to get a bit warm. This was the first time that it was very clear that, while she’s moving easily again, Reyna does not have the stamina or endurance that she used to have. She ran and played and barked at the Horses!, but she also spent a fair bit of time resting next to (or in) her water bucket.



When it seemed like she was pretty much done trying to aggravate the Horses! (who were almost completely ignoring her), I took the pups for a stroll through the woods behind John’s house. He hasn’t done any clearing out there lately, so we had to fight our way through some tall growth, but we had a good time.



Reyna found the stream, naturally, and managed to get a bit more muck on her.



The sure sign that Reyna was finally tired was that when we got back to the barn, she didn’t make any effort to go back at the horses – she went to the back of the truck, instead, and waited for me to open it for her. When we got home, she actually crashed for almost an hour and a half. This morning, I could tell Reyna was still tired, but she wasn’t limping at all. I really like her tired. The hopeful part of me thinks maybe this will become more common, because she is getting a bit older, after all. The realistic part of me figures its only temporary until she gets back in shape. But I really like her tired.