Last night Katie and I had the opportunity to do a little agility again.  It’s been a very long time since we have tried this, and I was worried that she wouldn’t remember anything.  I was wrong.  She remembered that she hates the dogwalk and the A-frame, refusing to begin them, and only tentatively maneuvering them when she was placed on top of each.  We didn’t even attempt the teeter.  She still likes to do the tunnel and she loves to run and jump.  She even did weaves pretty good with me guiding her through them.  Most of her weave problems were caused by me not being able to handle the hand with the leash (and her) and the hand with the cheese through all the poles.  The chute was OK, but someone was holding up the end so I think she thought it was just another tunnel.

Anyway, we had great fun, ran a lot and generally wore ourselves out.  Which is why I had great hopes for our first night this summer of CAMPING OUT in the back yard!  I’ve been having that soulful wish to camp out for awhile. Warm afternoon sun entices me to spend the night listening to the frogs singing in the cool summer night air. Since I am off work today, and lack of sleep wasn’t going to be a big issue, I put the tent up yesterday afternoon.  Katie and I explored it before we went to agility.  And late last night I headed out with tons of blankets, pillows, a flashlight, water…and of course Katie. 

She didn’t settle in right away; she had to circle the permiter of the tent several times, flop down, get up and do it all over again.  Finally she settled on “her” pillows near a little doggie window and stood guard while I fell asleep.  For a minute anyway.  I was awakened  by barking and her jumping on me.  We did this a few times before she crawled up on the blow up bed (I’m not THAT much into old fashioned camping and sleeping on the ground!) stole all my pillows and went to sleep.  I scrunched further down under my pile of blankets and went to sleep too.  For a minute.  I woke to her jumping on my head and barking.  After awhile we settled down again.  For a minute.  This went on for perhaps an hour, and then she sighed, curled into a small ball, her nose in her tail at the foot of the bed and we both went to sleep.

I think our first night of camping out might have been successful if I had not woke up in the middle of the night, about 3, having to go to the bathroom.  She was still curled in a tiny ball at the foot of the bed, sound asleep.  It was FREEZING, I think we were somewhere in the low 40’s and my feet and nose were cold.  I decided our little camping experiment could end, and I woke her up, put on some shoes and attempted to crawl out of the tent.  She didn’t want to go!  Silly dog!  I finally picked her up (good thing she’s a little dog!) and we tromped back into the house with it’s indoor plumbing, heat, and king size mattress.

My husband thinks Katie and I are nuts.  He’s probably right.