On Speed

SUMMARY: heat, age, toenails, prednisone...

I knew that Boost's toenails had gotten long again, before last weekend, and I meant to trim them. Carried the Dremel tool with me all weekend, but nooo.

Finally got around to it today.

So, tell me, how do Tika's toenails stay fairly well worn down all the time, but Boost's front center toenails were, please forgive me, at least half an inch beyond the quick?! It took a while to hone them all down.

Maybe that's why she was running a bit more circumspectly this last weekend--toenails uncomfortable?

Or was it the prednisone?

Or is she just getting better from running in agility circles around the yard rather than focusing on specific drills?

Tika was pretty danged fast the first two runs Saturday, then slowed down a bit, then sped up for the 6th run of the day. Fairly fast first thing Sunday, too, and had slowed significantly by the last run of the weekend.

The differences that I noticed seemed also to correspond to how cool and foggy it was: The cooler & foggier, the faster she got. So maybe it's not vision or arthritis, but simply that, as an older dog, she no longer has the tolerance for heat, even minor heat, that she once had. Given how much she flagged on the last hike we did, I'm realizing that I just might not have a fast dog when the cloud cover clears away. So strange to be saying this, as Tika was always On On On and the weather be danged.

So, anyway, the mysteries of my dogs' changing speed and successes keeps me guessing, but I am once again mostly looking forward to this weekend, and a large part of that is Boost having done so much better than usual last weekend. Hope it lasts.