It must be called the dog and pony show because the word dog, which is one syllable, comes first. Pony and Dog Show sounds more awkward. It’s like the combined names for couples. The male name, often single syllable or abbreviated, comes first, and the female name, double or triple syllable, and never abbreviated, comes second. Has anyone ever noticed this? Around here it’s Pete and Alys. My parents were referred to as Bob and Sarah. Pete’s brother and sister-in-law were referred to as Pat and Ray Lynn. Pete’s sister and brother in law are referred to as Dave and Sara. So, the male name, abbreviated, generally comes first. Something to consider when naming the female child.

Shadow going from table to teeter

And so it is and will remain the dog and pony show around here. No matter what, ours is a tough act to follow.

Mid-morning we took Shadow to agility class #5. Next week is going to be the final class in this sequence. We won’t immediately be taking another class because of Covid concerns. Claudia Sihler is doing a wonderful job of keeping dogs and people apart from one another; in fact, too good a job. I had hoped to make some like-minded agility friends, but because we are all at the distance, this has not come about.

I’ll instead take the second level course in the spring, when we can do what we do so well outdoors. The indoor training is good because there are so few distractions. However, I think that by May, Shadow will be mature enough to work in a focused fashion outside. Another reason is that we’ll have more room in which to approach and circumvent obstacles.

In the meantime, I have a lot of equipment here so I can, once it warms up, start working more with Shadow in the Playground of Higher Learning.

Shadow did very well today. It helped that I had my new treat bucket on hand. It is a Tupperware container that attaches to me via a belt. I can fill it with horse or dog treats, then put dog or horse treats in my other bag. Treat bucket notwithstanding, she had a good time jumping up on and walking along the A-frame and teeter, leaping over two jumps consecutively, negotiating the weave, and racing around the barrel and blasting through a hoop.

Shadow is very fast. I have to scramble to keep up with her. There are, I think, two reasons for this. First of all, she’s very confident. And at the same time she’s fit. At some point she’s going to have to slow down – I might, here, have to take her for a long hike before doing agility.

And today I had the thought that I’d again like to resume doing agility with Ryder. She’s about 8 years old but very fit. The only reason why I most likely won’t is because the classes are so expensive.

Once on the home front, we first took Tinni and Hrimmi and the dogs for a walk on our trails. Then we took Tyra and Raudi for a walk around the loop. The snow machine noise didn’t seem to bother our animals.

Next: 335. 12/6/20: Listen to Your Animals