Xena just earned her CD this weekend!!!  Hurrah!  We have gotten over whatever issue we had heeling.  Now I bring a tennis ball and play with her constantly outside the ring to let her know a show is a fun place to be.

Xena is a nut, that is all I can say.  I got her from Linda and Richard Berberich in Dumont, NJ.  She always says her dogs need therapy, and, well....She howls like a banshee whenever we sing or play the piano.  Lance loves to play "Who Let the Dog's Out?" by the Baha Men for her so she can howl away with the song. She even howls with dogs on the TV.  I am in love with this dog!

She is very possessive of her leash and bowl and other doggie items, guarding these for hours against the dog leash thieves.  You never know, I guess.

She is rabid about the tennis ball and loves flyball.  Once, she broke from an off leash obedience routine I was doing and ran over to a flyball set up nearby. She jumped the jumps, got the ball, and jumped all the jumps on the way back.  Then, with ball in mouth, she returned to heel position next to me.  Oh, and her sit was a tad crooked.

She likes agility next best.  We try, as money and time permit, to get competition ready.  Have a dog?  Try agility!  I currently train with Betty Belliveau in Wilmington, MA. 

We are doing well in obedience and we have our next trial in September in Maine.   Xena is a very willing worker.  Many folks go for serious competition in obedience, but Xena and I just want to survive the pressure of being in the ring, all alone, in front of God and people.  I train with the Charles River DTC...these are a bunch of great folks that know a lot more than I do.  I had a private lesson with Lisa Rockland recently.  This was an incredible help and I feel blessed to have discovered her.  I now understand why Xena was not working well with me in obedience and we figured enough out in one lesson that I believe we will do fine this Sat.  Xena is very submissive to me and when I do not behave like a leader in the ring she is very lost.  Lisa showed me how to act like a leader.

Xena is quite energetic outdoors, but I love that she is mellow inside with us.  She seems to know when to chill out.  And if you are sick, she'll never leave your side.  Especially if she can sneak onto the sofa this way.