Some things I want to double back on this week.

31 Days to a Better Blog – The first task to 31 DBBB is to come up with an elevator pitch.   I just can’t seem to pull this one together, but I will continue to work on it and as soon as I love it, I will share it here.

I Have To Laugh – One of the main reasons I wrote this post was to share a story that had happened that morning, and then I totally forgot!  After I had fed the dogs their breakfasts that morning I was clearing up the dishes before I left for work.  I was standing at the sink and Delilah was next to me licking the floor.  A lightweight plastic container I use for storing their green beans slipped off the wet counter and bounced off Delilah’s back.  Delilah flinched slightly in surprise, but never missing a beat starting licking the inside of the container!  I did laugh at that.

Many of you wrote in to let me know that you have dogs that you’ve had from puppies who are still big food hounds and that Delilah may just be exhibiting the typical lab signs.  I appreciate with all my heart your words of comfort and encouragement.

There was something else though, that I couldn’t figure out how to work into that post and that is the scars that Delilah carries on her feet and legs.

These scars were much brighter and harsher when she first came to live with us; time has healed them as well as they will be.  I did ask the vet if she had an idea of what they might be from, but there really is no way of knowing.

Whatever Delilah has dealt with in her past she seems to have overcome.  She is for all her zaniness a really good dog and I feel blessed to have her in my life even though she does make me a bit crazy at times.

I hope you had a great week and an awesome weekend!

Dock Diving was on the schedule at one of the local harvest fairs this weekend.  I have considered dock diving as a sport for Delilah so we decided to check it out.

I thought I was prepared to see the way people hype their dogs up for this type of event, and was pleasantly surprised to find most of the competitors we reasonably reserved.

There were some people who were trying Dock Diving for the very first time, in which case a couple of the dogs were timid in trying.  This one little gal, wasn’t having any of it.  One of the “stage hands” tried to entice her by bouncing her ball in front of her, but she wouldn’t budge.

The young lady sitting next to me had a lab mix puppy and she was checking out dock diving because she thought her puppy would like it.  When this little gal wouldn’t go in I heard my neighbor say, “Push her in.”  I cringed inside and mentally pictured the dog ending up in a shelter because he was so anxious and she couldn’t handle him.

Later during the program I was pleased to hear none of the dogs are ever pushed, shoved or in the announcer’s words, punted into the pool.

There were three entries who worked on hyping their dogs up, two of them worked their dogs like this

But the third one, was the one that almost had me running out of the stands to smack her in the head.  The worst part is she is a veterinarian.

This was her second run through and I missed capturing the first one on video, but the first time the dog was up she was actually hitting his nose with the ball.

And yes, she is screaming about 3 inches from his ear.

Needless to say, if I choose to participate in this sport with Delilah, I will not be hyping her up.

Do you think there is a chance that these dogs can become reactive in other aspects of their lives?

What is your take on dogs in a competitive sport?