I utterly despair of Solei. I have other news, but I didn't want to detract from the good with the bad - so we'll save that for my next post!

Last Saturday we went to a companion show and Solei did two obedience classes. He wasn't particularly happy, his heelwork was laggy/wide - though interestingly in the harder class he did we had heelwork with a change of pace, we did slow and his slow heelwork was lovely for most of the time we were in slow! Ground wasn't very good, so that could well account for that - he felt safer at a slower (less bumpy!) pace.

In the easier class I had to call him twice in the recall (unusual) because he wasn't paying attention....though to be fair behind him was a ring full of dogs doing fun classes, and behind that was a kennel full of barking dogs!

Harder class he decided he wouldn't retrieve, so that blew that! We've been having a few problems with retrieve since his meltdown a few weeks ago :-P It took such a long time to build his confidence up with the dumbbell, and he hadn't been retrieving it that long.

Stays were fine in both classes, but the whole thing just left me rather depressed really!

To cap it all I have now been waiting for a puppy for more than two and a half years - I've already been through numerous matings/litters - from bitches being mated and then having to be spayed due to pyometra, to litters of the wrong sex, mismarked...etc.

There were two litters due around a month apart. The first was born at the very end of June, only two of the right sex - one mismarked, the other the breeder is keeping. Ok, no big deal I think....second litter is coming up. They were born on August 1st....only one of the right sex, dodgy markings and she's spoken for anyway. Oh yay.

I'm seriously questioning myself at the moment....I'm so emotionally drained by it all. There's only so many times you can find out a bitch is pregnant, and however hard you try not to you get excited and start making plans....only for the puppies to be born and all your hopes to be dashed again. And again. And again.