Storm finished up her Seasoned Hunter title on Saturday.
She ran great. She did well on the marks and handled nicely on the blinds. Her walk-up was quite nice. It was a challenging test due to the wind which was swirling. Thanks to Darrin for doing such a good job training her these past six weeks. Her handler had a lot of fun running her on this test.
The only real issue that she had was dropping some of the birds. That may not have been completely her fault though. She has a growth on her gum and this Thursday will have surgery to remove it. The vet warned me that it might be a bit painful for her to do a lot of carrying in her mouth. She ran the test with a lot of enthusiasm, so the dropping may have just been Storm being Storm too. (I did not attend the test so all of the training pictures on today’s post are from last week.)
I am not sure what her recovery time will be from the surgery. The vet will check her throat, tonsils and the rest of her mouth while she is under anesthesia. Of course they will also biopsy the growth. Whenever the “b” word is mentioned, it always makes you a little anxious, but the vet feels that based on Storm’s age, and general health, there is a good change that it is just a growth.
Thanks to Cindy, (Thunder and Freighter’s breeder) for noticing it because it is still small and toward the back of her mouth. We would probably not have seen it until it was much bigger. Actually I looked in her mouth because I noticed that she was not eating with her usual speed, but I did not see it.
Thunder did not make out quite as well as Storm on his Finished test. It was a very difficult water series to start. Thunder did a great water triple. One of the best so far, but he lost it on the water blind. The water blind was quite long with a lot of factors which made it tough. The factors did Thunder in because he had a few too many cast refusals. Silly boy. We are going to have to work on long water blinds with him.
Unfortunately, his training was cut a bit short last week because he injured his front leg and came up with a slight limp.
We are not sure if he pulled a muscle or just turned wrong, but sometimes he just runs so hard during training. Since we had entered him in the test on Saturday, we decided to rest him. The limp went away in a day, but he missed out working water blinds which may have helped him with the test.
In HRC, you can still run the land series even if you fail the water, but Thunder’s handler elected not to let him run the land. Why reward him for blowing off casts? Still, despite the problem with the blind, Thunder’s trainer/handler was quite pleased with his marks. Many of the dogs had difficulty with them as they were quite challenging.
I spent a lot of last week at the vet. In addition to taking Storm in on Thursday for her mouth, I had to take Freighter in first thing Tuesday morning. After Freighter did his crazy water entry, he must have gotten some of the pond water in his left ear because he got an infection over night. The first thing the vet asked me was, “Was he swimming?” Yep.
The vet swabbed his ear and looked at the gunk under the microscope. Sure enough there was some bacteria, (a little yeast, but mostly bacteria). Freighter was prescribed drops for his left ear for a week. Did you ever try to put drops in a squirming puppy’s ear? The infection was mostly cleared up after a couple of applications, but we continued the drops for the full week to make sure the all of the bacteria was gone.
Storm won’t be the only one having surgery. We have been watching a small bump on Nestle (the cat) for about a year and a half. The vet recommended having it removed because it continues to grow. It is growing slowly, but we agreed it is best to have it removed and biopsied. The “b” word again. Right now, I have Nestle scheduled for surgery next week. When it rains it pours. 🙂
Good luck with the surgery on Thursday! And next week too for Nestle. Storm looks great with his ribbon there too!
Great photos today! I sure enjoy this experiance. Good luck with the Vets!!
Congratulations Storm on great Runs and getting you Seasoned Hunter Title. Thunder’s almost there just a little more work. Good Luck with the 2 surgeries everything goes smoothly and hoping both “B” come out fine and then they’re gone for good!
You are certainly right, when it rains it pours! You have had quite a week. I am sending good thoughts your way for Storm and Nestle. Since the bumps are both small, being proactive will definitely help.
While Delilah was not a puppy, when she came to us she hated having you anywhere near her ears. I had noticed her shaking her head a lot and tried to clean her ears which resulted in her yipping and then being afraid to come near me. 🙁 I’m happy to say after 5 years of working with her, she now likes her ears rubbed. But forcing her to do anything like drops in the ears, ointment in the eyes or any kind of liquid is a nightmare.
Luckily as the week progressed, it became easier. At first it took two of us to get the drops in, but by last night I was able to do it myself. I just hope we won’t have to do it too much once his head matures, (and he learns to keep it out of the water). You have done such a good job with Delilah!
yay to Storm on her achievement! We luv Freighter’s crazy water entry photo, too. Keep up the good job – xoxox Vanilla Bean
p.s. hoping for a successful surgery
Boy you have had your hands full! I do know what it is like to put drops in a squirming puppies ears. LOL! I sure hope Storm and Nestle’s surgeries go okay! We will keep our fingers and paws crossed for a speedy recovery for both!
Thanks for the comment yesterday about optimizing my pictures. I didn’t know about that! 🙂
Storm – great job and congrats! Sorry about the surgery – paws crossed for you! Also for Nestle! I am also sorry about Freighter’s ear infection….happens to me in the summer when I swim a lot too! Thunder is working hard; his rewards surely will soon follow! So much happening there with all of you! You will be in my thoughts and prayers!
We’ll be sending good thoughts their way, and It sounds like everyone’s going to be doing some R&R. Congratulations to Storm!
Boy you’re not kidding when you say “when it rains it pours”. You really got hit! I hate the “b” word too, it always keeps you on edge. Please let us know the results of both Storm’s and Nestle’s surgeries, we’re sending positive thoughts their way.
I’m glad Freighter’s issue wasn’t too bad and is clearing up quickly. I still love that flying water photo!
And congratulations to Storm on her new title! Well done! 🙂
Congratulations sweet Storm…great job! Amazing pictures. Hugs and nose kisses
Oh, we forgot…sorry about all going on with the ear and surgeries. Keeping all in our thoughts and prayers that all goes well . Hugs and nose kisses
Congratulations Storm – great job and great award photo. Sorry to hear about the surgery.
Congratulations Storm! We hope that Thunder, Freighter and Nestle feel better.
Bella and DiDi
Huge cheers from the collies and I!! YAY!!!!! Way to go…. 🙂
almost forgot in the excitment… we are praying for your babies at the vets. May all turn out well!
God Bless You All!
the collies and chuck