Jake's Sore Foot

Just an update for those who might have seen Jake limping before I carried him off the gambler's course Saturday morning.

At the moment, his foot is in a big ol' bandage, which quite disgusts him. Looks like a white boxing glove. His outside toe on his right foot is swollen and painful. Vet thinks it could be a soft tissue injury about as much as it could be a hairline fracture or chip--doesn't think it's a real break in the bone. He offered to x-ray, but I worry about the anesthesia, especially for a dog who'll be 11 in 2 weeks, so I decided to keep giving it a rest for a week or 2 and see how it feels when we take the wrap off on Sunday.

So Jake won't be running at Madera. And he won't be in class this week or next.

Remington Not Moving As Fast Lately
I waffled about scratching entirely, since Remington hasn't been running his best at USDAA trials. But Becky Harsted kindly said she'd be willing to move Rem down to Performance, so I can see whether it's really the 26" height that slows him down--he's been running so FAST so CONSISTENTLY at NADAC and CPE trials, that I'm beginning to grudgingly think that the 6" difference is really a big difference for him in competition.

I'm not sure whether this means I'm giving up on ever earning those 2 standard legs Rem needs for his MAD. A PD III just doesn't have the same cachet as a MAD, and it's so infuriating that he's got so many of all of his games legs but can't get the standard ones... But if he's really much happier & more comfortable running the lower heights, maybe it's just time. After all, he's over 9 now, himself, and I thought he wasn't really showing it, but...