Stinky Mutt...

...still stinks! The skunk smell is still in full force whenever Abby gets wet. It won't go away. I have washed her more times than I can count now. I tried a new skunk-off solution today along with some of my shampoo afterwards. The result? Still stinky. I am so glad it's only Abby though and not Ryan too.
We went to a trial yesterday. Ryan Q'd in his standard run (moving him up to advanced) and in advanced gamblers. He was great - stuck all his contacts again and had perfect weaves. Abby got a jumpers Q ..but none in standard. I have to stop thinking about those 2 elusive Qs that we need for her AtCh or we will never get them. The jumpers run was beautiful - I should just concentrate on that! Leaping off the contacts in standard is not quite as beautiful but do I sacrifice the run every time to make her stick her contact? I don't know what to do. Her contacts are great in class since they are reinforced so often, but she knows that I let them slide in the ring. I did go back and fix her sit at the start line every time and that was much better this trial.

I just moved into an apartment for the first time - no yard for the dogs and it's taking some getting used to. We're on the ground floor at least and Abby and Ryan are doing very well with the move. The only issue is that Ryan recognizes the sound of my car pulling in and lets out some "woo woo wooooowoooooo!"s when I get home. I don't think there is much I can do about it...by the time I'm at the door he is quiet and I'm fairly sure they don't bark when I'm not home. He also barks sometimes at noises outside but I've been throwing him a cookie whenever there is a sound and that's working well...same deal when the front door phone buzzer goes. Abby is so quiet inside - she never barks, even when people come in the door. They were both good for the cable guy this morning. I made them stay in my room but with the door open when he came in and fiddled with the tv for 20 minutes. They stayed in the doorway quietly the whole time. Good dogs!