So Envy has come home to visit for a few weeks, with Callie, while Kristen makes the move from WI to NC. It's been sooooo much fun seeing how similar (and different!) the girls are. First, they are just BFFs. They love each other. It's so cute to watch them playing together and having so much fun. I was concerned there might be some snarkiness but they just get along so well. I was also SURE that Gypsy was going to be the more dominant of the two, but I was wrong. She totally defers to Envy. Dog dynamics are just so fascinating!! And what pleases me most is how incredible Envy is with all the other dogs in the house. She's just perfectly appropriate.
Envy is very, very herdy though! And with as many dogs as we have, Envy is always going around some dog to stand at the balance point. But then she doesn't want to come into me. And she's quite funny, because she constantly afraid she's going to miss out on some action---to the point where she doesn't want to eat. She just needs to get back to work!!!
What has surprised me most is her energy and drive levels. I was sure she was going to be more low key than Gypsy. But nope, Envy is her momma's daughter! An energizer bunny with incredible stamina. She does have a great off switch when tired, and is really awesome about self entertaining like Rave. Gypsy isn't great at occupying herself---unless she's putting her ball under furniture! Envy is a stronger tugger than Gypsy, as Gyps tends to do a lot of regripping. But Envy grabs it an just hangs on! On the flip side, Gypsy is a killer retriever and Envy is often too busy "working" the other dogs to think about retrieving.
I took both girls to the agility trial this weekend and oh my, Envy went a bit crazy watching the dogs run in the ring. I saw this behavior emerge in Gypsy quite early on and I nipped it in the bud quickly. But I had a very hard time holding on to Envy ringside!! Though she did tug like an absolute fiend for me. Envy was a social butterfly though and was outstanding hanging out in a crate in the car all day.
The trial itself was a mixed bag. Rival was just a tiny bit off Thursday and Friday when we went on our walks and in his first run Saturday morning, I could tell he wasn't right. He was super amped to run but when I released him off the start line to jump then weave, he weaved like he was 12 years old, super slow. And the weaves are by far his favorite obstacle, which he usually goes through whining. Then he drop a bar, and another. Which he never does. So I took him for a massage right afterwards and there was nothing obvious but going back to the car he was clearly quite lame on a front leg. :-( So rest it is!
Rave has an amazing day on Saturday. She's truly coming into her own finally. Part maturity, part training. I am learning how best to run her, and I am giving her much more credit for knowing her job. I was so focused on Rival for so long, she took a back seat. Now it's time for her to shine before her daughter takes over the spotlight!!
But then Saturday night, Rob took the dogs out for a quick game of frisbee and Rave landed badly and hurt her back. Showing how much heart she has, she tried to run Sunday morning, but I could tell she was hurting halfway around the course so I pulled her and ended her day early. So she's resting now too. It just wasn't meant to be a terribly productive trial, I suppose. At least the weather was gorgeous and we got to attend the most fun and crazy agility wedding ever.
I also need to note that Rave LOVES having her baby Envy back home. On Thursday, when I took them all to the farm for a good long run, Rave was so happy showing Envy and Callie around the playground. She was clearly saying "follow me, I'll show you all the fun spots". So cute.
On Friday, Ripp joined us for an 11 month old birthday party. Envy doesn't seem to recognize Ripp as her brother at all. She's super submissive to him. But he's such a good boy and just loves everyone. I LOVE how these babies are turning out!!
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