Rock Solid Dog Training

Rock Solid Dog Training Accepting Zoom sessions until spring! Special pricing available! Our general philosophy is simple. We teach you how to work with and get the most out of your dog.

This applies equally to companion dogs and field dogs. We want you to be successful in achieving your goals with your dog. If that goal is to have a well trained dog that will play with the kids and stay in the yard, getting an obedience title or having an awesome hunting dog we are here to help you out. Our first visit is free. We want to make sure that we are a good fit for you and your dog befo

re you have to spend anything. If we can't help you we will refer you to someone who can. Over the course of our 23+ years in dogs we have developed a network of great dog people who can serve as resources. For more information you can contact us at [email protected].

RamblingsSo lots of stuff going on but don't necessarily have an overall theme this week but maybe that is the overall t...
05/24/2026

Ramblings

So lots of stuff going on but don't necessarily have an overall theme this week but maybe that is the overall theme, random thoughts and ramblings.

I listened to a podcast this week (don't ever remember what it was) but it hit on something that really stuck with me about my friend group.

I don't have a lot of "close friends" which I have always been fine with. I know a lot of people and chat with them as I see them, however I don't have a lot that I am in regular contact with. I have found that in the last few years that group has shrunk even further.

My thought is that I'm anti-social, which to an extent I am, but what the podcast shed some light on why this group has shrunk over the last couple of years. What they talked about is when you get older you simply value your peace and protect it far more than you did in the past. As I look back on things I do find that to be really true.

I have moved away from those that want to talk politics or yammer on for hours about things or only call when they have a computer or dog training problem. I no longer watch the news because there is exactly zero percent of any of it you can trust. Even sports which I have always loved I have cut way back on because when you are from Minnesota you know that they are only here to crush your soul. It is especially no fun when the teams are not even trying to get better. I lived through the Twins of the late 60's and early 70's so I have seen this show before.

I have a lot of acquaintances including many people that stop by here to read articles on Sundays. Most everyone are very nice people and all in on things written here. I do really appreciate everyone that stops by and leaves a comment.

All of this stuff sounds pretty depressing but it really isn't. Not sure I have enjoyed life outside of work more than recently. Getting to build models, do research, play with the dogs and have my family is really pretty awesome.

On Big Bang Theory Leonard talks about how he takes Sheldon to the park every other week to throw the ball for him so he gets his "outside time". Thor is taking care of that for me. I go to lessons with him every couple of weeks and interact with our trainer. We generally have a good time and if she's good I bring Penny (her favorite) to visit her and help clean out the treats from under the shelving in one of the rings. We have also known each other for way too many years now so we understand each other (my goal of not having a perfect dog in the ring, just a dog that is a good dog).

This week a memory popped up on Facebook for Murphy who 10 years ago finished his Utility Dog Title (higher level obedience title) and I realized just how long I have been taking dogs to our trainer and just how many times she talked me out of quitting which gives me hope that human interact actually is beneficial.

The memory also brought up other funny Murphy stories. We were in the ring together for the first time in Novice class.
That day the judge was wearing a long flowing and very colorful summer dress. Apparently Murphy had never seen a long dress like this and as the judge walked over to us to start our heeling Murphy stuck his nose under her dress. Fortunately she thought it was funny but for me it was a tough start having to apologize to the judge before we even started.

Another Murphy story when he was in Open. We were competing at the club we trained at. We got to the dumbbell retrieve on flat (no obstacles, just a straight line to the dumbbell) and Murphy decided it wasn't challenging enough. When I sent him to retrieve the judge was standing in front of the jump for the next exercise. I threw and he went off to the left right toward the judge and stopped. He stood and stared at her until she moved. She stepped to the side and he proceeded to jump over the jump, run over and grab the dumbbell and then head back to the jump. The judge was standing on the other side and this time did not move. Murphy stood and staired at her for what seemed like minutes but it was probably 10 seconds. He then kind of huffed derisively and trotted around the jump and back to me. As I took the dumbbell he looked over his shoulder as if to say "she was in the way" and then we finished the exercise.

Final Murphy story. We were at a trial on the second day of a back to back trial weekend. Murphy was having a good day in the Utility ring. We were about halfway through the event. Amy had come along to watch and was hiding behind the other two token guys who compete in obedience. We got to the part that we call articles or scent discrimination. Basically you have a total of eight leather and metal dumbbells. They take six of them and put them out in a random order and you put your scent on whichever one the judge hands you (you have to do one of each).

This event always gave us fits. We started our training over in this event SO many times. Murphy would be locked in on it and a week later acted like he had never seen the exercise before. Well on this day we got a combo platter of Murphy.

First we set out the leather article. Judge took it, walked it out to the pile (Murphy was looking over his shoulder so I am pretty sure he was cheating) and then told me to "send your dog". We turned together and I sent him out find the dumbbell. He searched around two or three times and then confidently picked up the correct article and started to trot back. The judge gave me a thumbs up and just then it happened, Murphy dropped the dumbbell turned around and went back to search again.

There was an audible gasp from people that were watching, I don't remember what I was thinking because I am pretty sure my heart stopped beating. After two more rounds Murphy simply jogged over to the dumbbell that he had dropped, picked it up and continued to me to finish the exercise. I swear I hear him say "psych". We then prepped for the second article which he went straight out, picked up and brought back without issue.

On all three occasions Murphy qualified but it was rarely without just a little bit of drama!

Murphy was a very special boy and a good partner. He always worked really hard at whatever we did. If the field her ran like crazy, he loved hunting and finding birds. In the ring he liked being the center of attention. He was a very simple boy however. He was not blessed with deep thought, only a really good work ethic. No dog we have owned has ever tried harder to understand what we wanted from him. Also no dog was nearly as charming to judges who judged him. He was indeed a very good boy and a good friend to me.

While I have to protect my peace I also have to remember the four leggers around me. They lead to some very not peaceful moments but they have also introduced us to many people who have become friends.

I hope you have peace in your life this week!

-Dave

[Today's photo is of Murphy]

05/24/2026

New Content tomorrow‼️

Sammy BOkay, I will admit that the title of today's rantings is a bit puzzling.  Was our dog Sam called Sammy B?  No, ou...
05/10/2026

Sammy B

Okay, I will admit that the title of today's rantings is a bit puzzling. Was our dog Sam called Sammy B? No, our field trainer was the only one that ever called her Sammy but it is not her.

Sammy B was a World War II Destroyer Es**rt (ship) which was sunk off Samar Island in the Philippines. Sammy B (The USS Samuel B. Roberts DE-413) participated and was sunk during the Battle off Samar in which a bunch of smaller US Navy ships took on some of the biggest ships of the Japanese Navy. This is a very well-known event in Naval history because of its heroism with these very small ships attacking a superior force in order to delay the Japanese from attacking the US invasion force going into Leyte.

Is this article about the Sammy B? Well, you know a bit more about where it is now and hoping you may actually go look up the story for yourself. It is a great story of sacrifice in the face of overwhelming odds.

So, no, this is actually about the expedition to find the Sammy B in 2022 or it is at least about the unintended words giving away the true intention.

In June of 2022 Victor Vescovo, a former Navy officer and now super rich guy, and his Caladan Oceanic Search group were searching for the Light Carrier Gambier Bay near the Philippines. They were in very deep parts of the ocean (6840 meters) and started to see debris. The debris however was not that of the Gambier Bay but it was of the Sammy B.

Caladan has made a vessel that can go deeper than anything before it and has amazing technology in it. It was built for this specific purpose, to find wrecks deep in the ocean, as well as map out many undiscovered places far below the surface.

The group never thought it would be possible to actually find the Sammy B as it is merely a tiny blip on the ocean floor. As they neared a spot where they had calculated the Gambier Bay went down, they started to see debris. The debris was unique to only one class of warship so they had suspicions as to what it could be.

A second dive was planned and on this dive they found the Sammy B. Still very much intact, beaten to hell by the Japanese ships, but still very clean sitting on the ocean floor. Wow! (There is full video of the expedition on the Caladan YouTube Channel.)

On both occasions of finding either debris or the actual ship, the first thing the crew of the sub said was "this is the deepest discovered ship wreck debris in history". Each time they have found something (watching their other videos) they are very impressed by this same fact. This seems to tell me that the search for the ships is secondary to setting records. What seems like a little bit of a bragging comment exposes a bigger motive in what they are doing than just finding these ships.

This comes back to my time teaching obedience and what people would casually tell me. "He's a rescue", "She was abused" and my favorite "this is the dumbest dog you will ever see". People will lead with what is important to them and that is telling.

When we had Charles I will admit, I did talk about his "show" record. I was pretty proud of it. After him, we have had a couple of show champions who are now just announced by their names "this is Thor". This is because Thor is far more interesting than Show Champion Thor.

Who do you want them to be known as? A rescue dog? Well, that was in the past and hopefully you have moved past that and they are now Rex or Tim or Fred and here is why I named him that. They moved past rescue when you got them, now they are your dog and are just trying to adjust and fit in.

The folks that talk about their dog being abused, well for the most part they have no actual knowledge of that, it is a narrative that fits them not holding the dog to a standard. In many cases the dogs has simply learned to manipulate humans by acting a certain way to get them to stop what they are trying to get them to do.

Sam (Brittany Sam) actually taught me a lot about this with dogs in the field. We would get a dog in that had a terrible trainer/owner in their previous life and the dog was very unsure what to do. Sam would constantly come back to the dog and basically tell them that it was okay, just follow her.

Each time out the dog would venture out a little more and follow Sam a little more. A correction was no longer an issue because it was very clear and there was an opportunity to not be corrected. The dog would stretch out a bit more and eventually not need Sam anymore.

Now had the new owners believed what they were told about the dog not being able to hunt or being gun shy, both dog and owner would have missed out on some very good times.

I guess the lesson out of all of this is to listen to your words. Often times your words tell the story that you are currently living, not necessarily the story you could be living. It is funny how often we can make our own words come true both positively and negatively.

Figure out where you want to go and begin to use those words and think about that path. The past is done, there is nothing you can do about it. Start over and plot a new course and don't let anything get in your way.

-Dave

[Today's photos are of Sam and I as well as the Sammy B! If you want to read a great story of the battle check out Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer]

05/09/2026

As promised, new content tomorrow!

Birthday MonthSo in the next forty five days we have three birthdays.  First is Penny on May 1st, then Thor on June 1st ...
05/03/2026

Birthday Month

So in the next forty five days we have three birthdays. First is Penny on May 1st, then Thor on June 1st and Kara on June 13th. Taylor follows up at the end of July so everyone is actually pretty tightly grouped as far as birthdays go.

I sort of figured with the birthdays it may be a good time to give a general update on everyone as a couple of them have had a very busy last couple of months. We will go in order of age.

Penny just turned 15 on Friday. She got her birthday cheeseburger (you can watch that on the Rock Solid Brittanys page if you want to see the video) and she got to celebrate with her brother and sisters.

Penny had her eye removed a couple months back. She had to have emergency eye surgery a few years back when she luxated her lens (basically it disconnected). Everything was fine for about two and a half years and then she started having some issues. She was having problems keeping the eye open. When we took her into the vet they took the pressure on her eye and it was highly elevated. We opted to have the eye removed as Penny was in discomfort and she could basically only see light out of that eye since her other surgery.

The surgery was simple and really only took 20 minutes. Penny came out and just wanted to go home. She has suffered no ill effects due to the eye issue. She has adjust quite well to only having a single eye (her human's not quite as much) but she still can catch treats and is still spunky as ever. She got to go a month or so ago and visit her trainer. They had a lovely time and Penny got to help clean out the treats from under the shelves there.

She is doing very well over all. On weekend afternoons we have taken to taking naps. Penny gets a little impatient but we will go sit in the big chair together and she will fall asleep (as will I) and we will just hang for a while. There are a lot of things to do but none seem quite as important as hanging with Penny.

Taylor was diagnosed a few months back with an aggressive form of cancer that is actually on the inside of the chamber of the heart. Thus far, two and half months in, she is doing very well. She still runs and plays with everyone, barks into the wind when she is outside and has taken up shredding stuffies which it appears she is quite good at. To this point she is none the worse for wear and just continues on her daily routine.

The only change I have actually seen is that she has started to hang out with me more. She will seek me out and crash on me on the chair or at night she will come and lay on top of me while Amy is getting ready for bed. I mean she immediately bails when Amy comes in but it is nice.

I don't know what the future holds for her but for today she is doing great. That may or may not change we will just have to wait and see. For now we are just enjoying everyday.

Thor will turn five this year. I am not sure how that happened in what feels like a year and a half but here we are. He has grown up into a very good dog. He watches out for Penny all the time. You can often find them curled up next to each other.

Thor has been advancing in his agility stuff, continuing to move up through the classes and he is also now going to class to become a therapy dog. It will be something he is really good at if we can get our arms around the jumping up on people stuff that he does. He is very friendly and personable and Amy would like him to be a reading dog for kids. He will like that a lot.

He has also been working on obedience as my life allows. He picks stuff up fairly quickly. He is not as good as Penny (who is) but better than Murphy was. He seems to enjoy himself at class and likes to work. Earlier in the year I set my goal as him being ready to go through all levels of obedience before we start competing. I believe we will get there but I do have to work with him more because he isn't Penny :)

Kara will be 4 next month. Again, how did that happen. Kara is very different than any other dog we have had. She is sort of personable but only on her terms. She is a little skittish around new people and takes a bit for her to warm up to them. She has been doing agility or as she calls it doing calisthenics for treats. She is actually pretty physically gifted and can run and do all the stuff as well as most any dog can.

A couple months ago Amy started taking her to "tricks" class. This really seemed to open Kara up to a lot of new things. While she is still a little bit of Michigan J Frog (you have to watch the old Buggs Bunny to understand that) she really enjoys the class and the instructor. She is on her second session of the class and she and Amy both enjoy it. Kara is very much Amy's dog. If Amy is home Kara is with her. I am at best a spare human for her which I am fine with.

When I get up at night to use the restroom Kara will come gets pets when I sit down to go back to bed. It is something Murphy and I had for probably the last 10 years of his life, it was kind of our thing and now it would appear to be Kara's and mine also.

So, there you have it. You are up to date on the happenings, health and training of everyone! There will be a new regular column next week!

-Dave
[Today's photo will be a surprise because I haven't picked one yet.]

05/03/2026

New content coming tomorrow!

More PossibilitiesI have often written about possibilities and how much fun to imagine what they are when you let your m...
03/22/2026

More Possibilities

I have often written about possibilities and how much fun to imagine what they are when you let your mind wander.

In the last couple of weeks I have completed a ship model and an aircraft model which left my workbench pretty empty. The possibilities of what was next got my mind racing. So many cool things to build, so many historic things to try to recreate, so many new techniques to try on new subjects!

You can see how this would get your mind racing a bit. If that doesn't work for you, imagine the next hunting season with your new shotgun or your daily commute with your cool new sports car or . It is indeed exciting. It is also a bit overwhelming.

In the case of my model building, I have a decent size collection of kits to build which are of many subjects. Ships can take 2 to 6 months to complete, aircraft and tanks are more the 2 month range if you stay focused. Either is a fair commitment of time and energy particularly when there are a hundred more waiting in line.

Now think of this in terms of a new puppy. All the things you can possibly do with them. Setting them up for classes, training with them or just going out into the woods with them and letting them chase stuff. Somehow we all have a very romanticized view of all of this. I mean that view is probably valid 20% of the time. 80% of the time puppies are a lot of work and I would say there are days where they are lucky they are cute.

As the puppy grows the 20% begins to swing also. They stop peeing in the house or tearing things up (well, most of the time) and they start to want to hang out and play with you more. They are less interested in chewing on your and more interested in getting pets. It is when they start to be cool.

This is also the time that you start to realize what the possibilities actually realistically are. Kara is a bit skittish around new people. She will warm up to them eventually but it is unlikely she will be able to be a therapy dog unless they are looking for a dog they can simply look at and think they are cute.

Thor on the other hand is probably a bit too friendly. He jumps on people and wants to give them the "Thor experience". This is "hi, I'm Thor and you will love me, right now." Thor has possibilities to fulfill this particular possibility as we just need to dial it back a bit. Kara will need to find other things to do.

Sam was a good therapy dog in certain situations. She loved high school kids but taking her to a nursing home with the very mixed energy was overwhelming for her and she hated it. She spent a lot of time with high school kids who I believe told her a lot of secrets and she helped a lot. She fulfilled almost all of her possibilities.

As I thought more and more about possibilities this last week I came to a couple of realizations about them.

First, not all possibilities are positive. When Taylor was diagnosed her possibilities didn't look great. Frankly we don't know what will happen with her but to this point she is doing great and still full of herself. In fact she and Kara probably wrestle more than they ever have. Her possibilities have made us reprioritized time with her and helping her have the best time ever. It would be a week a month or five years we just don't know. But she still has a lot of possibilities!

Second, don't get stuck weighing possibilities. They will never come to fruition if you never attempt to achieve them. I could easily weigh each of the hundred kits I have but nothing will get built and that is the fun of the hobby. Amy could think about doing therapy work or agility with Thor but without actually doing it, that possibility will be wasted.

Imagine your possibilities, whatever they are and then get out there and try to fulfill them. You will not regret it, even if you are unsuccessful. Even if unsuccessful you will learn from it, you can either make a plan to try again to fulfill it or you will write it off as not for you. Either way, it is really a success!

Let's do this!

-Dave

[Today's photo is of Penny (the oldest) and Kara (the youngest). They do indeed show the range of possibilities.]

03/21/2026

New content tomorrow which includes a Taylor update!

UnexpectedSometimes results are unexpected.  The results can be anything from food you are cooking to a project you are ...
03/01/2026

Unexpected

Sometimes results are unexpected. The results can be anything from food you are cooking to a project you are working on to test results of all kinds.

Many years ago Sam went in for a simple removal of a cyst that was under her collar. We had it tested multiple times when she was at the vet and it always came back as just a cyst. After hunting season we brought her in to get it removed because it would bust open when she wore her electronic collar. It was not a huge deal as it didn't bother her and it was just a bit messy but she was too busying hunting to worry about it.

The day she was having surgery I got a call that they had a chance to look at the cyst after removal and it was cancer. It was a Mast Cell Tumor. These are very common in Goldens and Boxers but in Brittany's not so much. In order to fully evaluate it they would have to send it off to another lab to get evaluated.

My immediate decision was to take Sam hunting the next day. It was a cool fall day, lots frost on the grass and a lot of birds. Sam was running with a huge scar on the back of her neck but my thought was, if it was bad how many chances would we get to do this again.

About halfway through the hunt my phone rang and it was the vet. We called the dogs back to us (we were 300 yards from the van) and I started to talk to them. They asked where I was. I told them "hunting with Sam". The vet or tech on the line were quite upset that a dog with a dozen stitches across the back of her neck was out in the dirt and grime. "Well, after the news yesterday, we need to take every chance we get and I don't much care what you say."

That didn't go over super well, but then they dropped the bomb. She had a grade 3 Mast Cell Tumor. This is the worst you can have and typically it doesn't work out very well or very long.

After much testing we found out that Sam also had hepatitis. She probably had it since birth but it affected her liver. They also tested her organs and found that the cancer had not spread. We opted for an additional surgery to get wide clear margins. The option of chemo was very limited back them. Most of the "good stuff" filtered through the liver and would be very bad for Sam. After a lot of discussion and some advice from a vet friend of ours, we decided to do nothing and let her play out the rest of her life however that worked out.

Sam was just about 5 at this point. They gave her 7 months with no treatments but the sample size for dogs like her with her conditions really didn't offer much in a positive way. We stuck with our decision. In the end it was the right decision. She lived another 7.5 years and eventually liver failure got her. The cancer probably saved her life as we knew she had problems and we treated her liver to give her a good quality of life. She hunted and swe shot a lot of birds over her, she trained puppies and helped other dogs recover from bad training. She was amazing and she taught us a lot.

Fast forward to two weeks ago and Taylor.

Taylor is Murphy's daughter from his last litter. She is 10.5 currently. She is a little thing for the most part but is the sweetest and barkiest dog you have ever seen.

Taylor hurt herself late last summer. It would appear she pinched a nerve in her front shoulder which caused her to have some issues (that was the working theory). She went through rehab (not the Amy Winehouse rehab but PT rehab) and her episodes slowed way down. At one of her appointments the vet mentioned that she had a heart murmur which was unexpected. She graded it as a 3 but her specialty was in rehab and not grading murmurs.

We had her checked out by our vet who then recommended going to a cardiologist. Two weeks ago we saw him and got some very unexpected news. She has a cyst in the upper chamber of her heart. The cardiologist's best guess is that it is a hemangiosarcoma, cancer and a quite aggressive version of it. Again this is something that is prevalent in Goldens and Boxers.

Now he said that to be sure we would need to go to an oncologist and run a bunch of tests but most likely the treatment would only slightly prolong her life. Again, he said he wasn't positive and further testing would be required.

A little about Taylor and Murphy. They HATE(D) the vet, they hate(d) any building that looks like a vets office. Running multiple days of test on her simply doesn't make sense. The stress it would cause her if she does only have a short time left seems unfair to her. They have her on beta blockers to slow her heart down a bit so blood can flow easier through it when she gets excited. She has not had any type of episode since October.

Our choice is once again to honor the dog and what is best for her. I am doubtful that we will have the same results as we had with Sam but I am hopeful that with some suggestions made by our Golden friends we can do some natural things that can prolong her life without harsh chemicals and long days at the hospital.

We learned with Sam that you need to honor the things the dogs love. Taylor loves her treats, she loves snuggling with Amy on the couch and secretly snuggling with me until she gets caught and then she dumps me like a nerd at the prom. It's okay, we get our quality time.

Taylor is still a happy little dog and we need to stay upbeat and happy as well. Her life needs to stay as normal as possible because she is also the biggest creature of habit that we have ever had.

I continue to remind myself that our dogs bring us so much joy in such a short time. They are like a 15 year joy injection. They prepare us for what/who is next and simply love us when they are with us. Even as life is so short that seems like a pretty good deal for us, doesn't it? Pet your dogs and feel the joy today!

-Dave
[Today's photo is of Taylor. She hates having her picture taken (runs and hides) so this one is from one of her visits to rehab]

In the MomentI have written multiple times about how dogs live in the moment and how people don't.  I have been guilty o...
02/08/2026

In the Moment

I have written multiple times about how dogs live in the moment and how people don't. I have been guilty of this for quite some time. I feel like I'm always working ahead in order to just keep up with things. This week I took full advantage of a moment and was happy that I did.

Every other Thursday Thor and I are supposed to have an obedience lesson. I am not sure it is more for me to learn to be obedient or him. There are days it is quite confusing.

I did these lessons with Penny and Murphy for a long time while we were working on their titles. Murphy loved going, he got to go in the car and not have the girls with him. He got to be the sole source of attention which was great… for a while. Murphy didn't like being pushed and when you are the only one there you get pushed a bit. He liked doing things and using at least a part of his brain but he wore out fairly quickly and needed a break.

When Murphy finished his title Penny started going regularly. Penny had been in classes but had not done lessons. She quickly figured out that she could make our instructor laugh by making me look dumb. Frankly, that is not all that difficult.

Penny loved going and she loved doing everything, once. Well, that is not true, she didn't mind repeating things but she did not want to do that back to back. When we would repeat things she got the idea that she did something wrong so with Penny being Penny she would make up a different solution which of course was wrong. When you told her this she would look at you like you were dumb.

From Penny's mind: "I did it the right way twice and you made me do it again. Let's try this… oh, this isn't it and the answer was the first two times were correct? What is wrong with you? Humans!"

Penny and Murphy could not have been more different. Murphy was a learn by repetition dog. Penny was more of a "show me what you want" dog. This lead to her figuring stuff out quite quickly, that is unless I was unclear in the way I explained it to her. So what I am saying is that most every mistake with Penny was indeed my fault and she would be happy to tell you that.

Penny was also a dog that other people very much enjoyed watching. In obedience you have traditional breeds which are basically Golden Retrievers, Border Collies and Shelties with a couple others tossed in. Brittanys were not in the top 50 breeds that people would consider doing it with. Why? Because it is far more difficult with their noses and often wandering brains they are often hard to control or at the very least to be consistent.

Everyone thought Murphy was a handsome dude. He was okay in the ring and always gave his best. I got compliments on him simply because he was able to complete the title and he was purdy. I was okay with that. We worked hard for that title and he sure made a lot of people smile.

Penny on the other hand always did well. She scored well, she did great once she was locked into what we were supposed to do. She went through Covid so we lost a couple years of showing and training in there. However when we kicked it in, she went. Even one of the grumpiest handlers in this area stopped her and I coming out of the ring and commented on how nice a dog she was. Not gonna lie, that felt pretty good.

Back to the moment. This week for Thor we finally got back to doing lessons. Life, injuries and many other world things had gotten in the way. It was also warm enough to bring a visitor to the lesson, Penny.

After Thor got done I brought Penny in. Our instructor does love Penny because Penny makes her laugh. She has multiple stories about her training time that she will remind me of.

When I took Penny out of the back of the van it is like she never left. She immediately went across to the potty patch to check out what the other dogs had been saying and after much sniffing of the snowbanks she consented to going inside. Once inside you could see she was in her element. She walked into the ring like she owned the place. She convinced the instructor that the throwing of cheeseballs for her was appropriate and proceeded to get as many as she wanted. (She is still able to catch even with one eye.)

She also greeted the other dogs as they came in for their class and walked by the ring. She strutted around, chased cheeseballs and just generally enjoyed being in a familiar place with familiar people. It was in that moment that I just took the mental picture of this happy girl living her best life. I was finally in the moment.

Penny will turn 15 in May but physically still looks great (minus one eye). She is getting around well thanks to her chiropractors and her spare hoo that does such a great job taking care of her. She will probably making additional visits for cheeseball therapy, although I'm not sure that is only for her.

Here's hoping you can live in the moment this week!

-Dave
[Today's photo is of course Penny]

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