When Dogs Fly...

Hey guys!
Hope everyone is enjoying whats left of the summer! I start in a few weeks :( but I'm super happy that I'm only taking 15 hours this semester. I felt like I needed a little break.
Well, this month has been such an awesome, crazy, busy month! We have been gone almost every single weekend that I didn't have to work! The first weekend we took a little weekend trip down to Mexico City Beach, FL. Lee's Aunt and Uncle own a home down there and invited us to  come for July 4th the weekend. On our way down, we stopped in Thomasville to see our little man, Tide. When I last talked to yall we were planning on naming him Drake, but after meeting him, we decided Tide was a better fit (especially for a future dock diving champ ;)) He was about 5 1/2 weeks old and already huge! When we first met him, he was wary of us. Pretty soon he warmed up and started playing, but I was nervous about him. Lee's parents picked the puppy for us since they had the pick of the litter and we could not drive down to pick out which one we wanted. I was nervous that they had picked the most unconfident dog in the litter. Although this is ok for most puppies, I wanted a confident dog that would be high energy and be able to handle many situations without problems. Yes, it is harder to handle a super confident dog, but easier to train them. If they want to learn, then its super easy to teach them new things. If you want a sports competitor, you almost always want a high energy, confident dog. I got lucky with Maddie.. she has a solid temperament, but is not high energy. I cannot work her as hard as I would like. Although she wants to learn, she physically cannot handle long periods of training. This was great for me to learn from, but now I am ready for a challenge. The dogs who challenge you in the beginning are the ones who end up being the best, because you absolutely HAVE to work with them constantly.

Anyway, after we visited Tide we went on down to the beach. It was so nice to hang out on the beach on saturday, we relaxed in the waves and chatted with Lee's cousins. Sunday we went out on Lee's uncles boat early in the morning to go fishing. The fishing was not too good. I caught the most with 5, but none were big enough to keep. After that we started setting up for the 4th of July party. It was a good party and I was able to get to know Lee's extended family a little better... including his cousin, Luke Bryan. Most of you probably don't know who he is but if you remember riding in my truck while I tortured you with country music, you probably heard him then ;). He even gave the whole party a little private concert on Lee's sisters guitar. Needless to say, it was a very cool night for me. He has been one of my favorite singers since he first came out when we were freshmen.

Mary Elizabeth (Lee's sister), J.D.(Lee's cousins son) and Luke Bryan

Two weeks later, Tide got to come home. I swear I was absolutely neurotic worrying about if I had everything ready. Lee's mom drove up from Thomasville to Atlanta for a doctors appointment, so she brought Tide to us. The first night was absolute torture. Tide howled all night, and not just regular puppy crying. I am talking full blown panicky screaming. It was AWFUL. Now, I have had 5 puppies since January. None acted like this on their first night home. With all of my preperation, with everything I had read, with all of the puppy classes I had been to; I could not for the life of me make him stop. I think I got an hour of sleep. Maybe. Now I was super sure that Lee's parents had picked the crap dog of the litter. Boy was I wrong. It is crazy to look back at that first week, full of frustration and regret that I had not picked the dog myself, and realize that I was completely wrong. Tide is the smartest damn puppy I have ever had. He responds quickly, he is alert, he loves to learn and he is by far the smartest dog in his puppy class. He is cautious about some situations, but with guidance, recovers quickly. He has really shown me that I was completely wrong about him and he has wiggled his little self right into my heart. I have no doubt that he is going to be awesome at everything he does and I can't wait to start training agility and dock diving with him.

Two weekends ago, we went to Thomasville to visit and we brought Tide and Maddie with us and got a picture of Doc, Tide and Maddie. It was super cool to get all three colors in a picture.

This past weekend we traveled to Cherokee, North Carolina for the Carolina Dock Dogs Dock Warrior Competition. It was Maddie's first competition with this club. Dock Dogs is very strict, but very prestigious. To be able to jump with this club is very big for us. The dog has to be able to stay at the end of the dock, as there is no double handling. For most dogs who LOVE this sport, it is super hard for them to stay. I have to make Maddie lie down if I even want a chance of her staying. For her first competition, she did awesome. She won second place in the Junior division. The junior division consists of dogs that jump between 10'0 and 14'11. The dogs jump in different waves to determine their divisions. Maddie jumped 14'10, which put her in first place in her division going into the finals. She jumped 14'11 in the finals which is awesome! She was beat by Sam, the Border Collie who is a PTSD Service Dog. We are ok being beat by such an awesome dog who does such amazing things for our soldiers! It was a great weekend, we made a lot of new friends and had a great bonding time with our dog! Plus we won $75! haha, it's not about the money, but its nice when Maddie pays for her own entry fees!

Maddie and Tide in the hotel room

CHOMP!



Me and the Champ on the dock!



Maddie with her trophy and ribbons. I don't think I have ever won a trophy as big as my dog has....



All the finalists from the Dixie Dock Dogs!



I hope everyone is doing well, I hope to hear from yall soon. Either on here or wherever! I miss you all and I totally agree with Kelsey, we need to plan a trip!!! Can't wait to hear from yall!
Bri