Hyper times

Summer is slowly coming to an end and it's time I report to you about what has been going on here. As you can imagine, the answer is – plenty, which is why I didn't have time to update you regularly. First things first…

A week after Sambo's burthday we attended to the unofficial agility trial in KD Barje. We like to do some swinging on such trials, that is change our original partners, and was wanted by three babes (not bad for a sixty-year-old guy, huh?). Since the weather report was quite nasty only one of them came after all, so Tina was the one who had the honour of doing some agility with the Black Death. Since this was the first trial after the summer break I gave up my running with Sambo since I didn't know in what condition were his joints and I didn't want to overdo it; you have to be a bit careful with a nine-year-old dog who had borreliosis, especially since he's not looking after himself at all. But since it's not proper to be on an agility trial without doing some agility, I borrowed Vista for my share. The four of us did great, but unfortunately Tina and Sambo experienced some technical problems (erm, Sambo's digestion problems); however, they did a great job with the second run. Vista and I did great too, so great even that we were second and if I'm not mistake, we were even the best un-original pair in open class.

A weekend after that passed by in – yeah, you know it, doggie style. Two national shows in two days were held in Trbovlje and my two boys went there with me on Saturday. Turns out that Sambo's so good that he doesn't even have to be entered to a show to get a prize ;). A young handler borrowed him for the junior handling competition and they were second! Congrats, Ula and Sambo! September's first weekend was, shockingly, doggie stylish as well. On Saturday we had a good time at an agility trial, which was as usual more fun than successful, and on Sunday we fought for fame and honour on a RO trial in KD Barje – and won! Both figuratively and literally. The competition was the biggest so far and among the 10 pairs in RO II we impressed the judge enough to get 162/170 points and win! A nice bonus to the event is that third place went to Ike, a Boxer that is even a few months older than the Black Death. Well done, fellas!

On Saturday, the 13th, I gave up Hrušica's agility trial with a heavy heart as I had an enormous ammount of work to do translating and studying and an exam on Monday, moreover the weather wasn't the most hospitable. Since my choices were either to risk a collapse of the immune system because of the weather, the superabundance of work and the lack of sleep or to stay at home, nice and warm, and to read 300 pages of a book for Monday's exam, I chose the latter. After a whole day of studying I had to have some fun, about which you can read next time... Meanwhile, Sunday started very early when Živa and I headed to Varpolje to the shar-pei club show, where we spent the day freezing at a barely plus temperature and on the rain. Nevertheless, we spent such a nice day with our wrinkly friends and, most of all, the judge, Mr. Law, that we decided to accept the invitation and join them for dinner too. We came home at 23.00, but my immune system and brains apparently didn't suffer as much damage as I thought they would, I passed the exam with a 9 .

And so we came to the last weekend, which was – unbelievably – canine as well. There were two international shows in Maribor, where I worked again (and spent the day freezing too, again). Gregor and Sambek went there with me on Saturday and finally we managed to do a fotoshooting of Sambo and Yar, who is developing into a very handsome boy. This doesn't go unnoticed by the judges – after getting second place in FCI I group in Trbovlje's show he got third place this time. Way to go, Olga and Yar!

As you can see we know no boredom, and currently we're especially looking forward for some things, planned for the near future – a week from today we're heading to Budapest to the European dogshow and the Hungarian club show and the next two weekends we have the last RO and the last agility trial this season. And how is Sambo spending the last days of his (first ;) ) reign as Europe's prettiest whiskers? With a smile on his face, what else! He's enjoying himself on agi trainings, learning new clicked tricks, showing how to behave to a Bernese gang and soon we're planning to start with a new series of '10 legged trips'. No boredom in sight!