The Spaniel Annals

Since the writing of the previous post of Journey earning her UDX in February of 2018, I resolved that we only show in Utility, as Journey turned 11 in June.  Utility is where many of the OTCH points are, and she only has to jump twice.  But our showing went into a rapid decline in the months that followed.  There were only a few OTCH points gained here and there, and after March, we kept failing, mostly the signals.  I’ve come very close to deciding to retire her.  I am so grateful for everything she’s given me, but we’ve just run out of time.  I have wanted this next year to be just be a “play” year for her as a 12-year-old.  She might show in rally, try barnhunt, and develop a little senior freestyle routine for the National, which will be in Bellingham in 2019.  What fun!  I began to let go of OTCH dreams, and felt full of gratitude for the great run we’ve had.

However, it was only a few weeks ago in preparation for her last trial at the WSOTC Labor Day weekend of trials, that I realized she was struggling to see my signals.  It was just little hints here and there, especially as I returned to doing signals at great distances.  She was looking right at me, but responding in often puzzled ways, going halfway down, or a sudden movement as if she thought I “said something” but wasn’t sure.  I remembered that the vet had mentioned her eyes getting cloudier at our last checkup.

What if she just couldn’t see my signals as well?  So in the last 2 weeks before the trial, I changed my signals to more outside my body, and thought about the best shirts to wear for the trial.  All of a sudden, her signals became more confident and quick.

At the 2 trials on Saturday, she passed both utility classes, winning the first one and taking a very close second in the second trial.  Eight OTCH points after months of nothing!  Her signals were crisp and confident, and she did none of the small stepping forward that has affected her scoring in the past.  I’m wondering if that movement forward was simply an effort to see me.

Sunday I wore a green shirt, which I thought would work fine against the white background.  (Saturday I had worn a dark blue shirt.)  She returned to struggling to see me, which puzzled me.  Shouldn’t the green provide enough of a contrast?

So I did more investigating and found this article:

https://pethelpful.com/dogs/How-Does-a-Dogs-Color-Vision-Affect-Canine-Sport-How-do-Dogs-See

So green could look like a washed out or dirty yellow to her!  Plus there were many slashes of light on the floor from the skylights above at the show that day.  So despite that Sunday result, I’m convinced we’re on the right track.

And so the OTCH journey begins again.  A final 27 points.  In some ways, it has felt like pushing and prodding a sleeping elephant up off the floor; I had already started to let that dream go and moved on.  It almost feels like I had to go through that letting go process to have it return so positively, putting a new spin on the Joseph Campbell quote, “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”

So these last points, or at least the journey through them, deserves its own journaling.  I feel like we about to learn more about ourselves, Journey and I, two old ladies who refuse to let go.