Freestyle & Thyroids

While I was away on vacation, I received a nice surprise in the mail, my freestyle pictures from the Tulsa competition. I finally have some real freestyle pictures, not just some blurry frames captured from our videos. I'll share a few of them below, but to see all of them (and you can use the links on the page to find other people's pictures or even other dog events) go here and here. I joke that you could probably flip through the pictures and it would be like watching a video of our routine. :) Special thanks and credit goes to Sirius Photography for the pictures.

OK, I look really stupid in this picture, but I think it's funny because it looks like Teddy is trying to tell time.

I like to start with a jump early on because Teddy loves it so much.

Here's the famous bunnyhop! This is my favorite one: And here's the final pose:

Now for the second part of my bipolar post. Teddy has had a hypothyroid since he was around 3 years old, or at least that was when he began showing symptoms of it. I knew something was wrong when he would play with a toy for about 30 seconds and then just lay down next to it pitifully. It would take him days to re-energize from an obedience or agility class. After a lot of testing, we landed on a hypothyroid diagnosis, which was a relief when I thought about what all could have been wrong with him. Anyway, he's done great on the medicine. It really brought him back to his former self.

I get him tested about once or twice a year to make sure that the medicine is still working. I've been thinking lately that Teddy has been acting a little poopy, but every time before, his test results always come back on the low end of normal. Well, about a month ago, my vet determined that Teddy did need a higher dose of his medicine. I can't believe what a difference it has made in his attitude. He is extra bouncy again and happy, and his energy level is through the roof. I've been concerned lately because of the increasing temperature and humidity, but it hasn't seemed to bother him much.

We didn't have a day off from doing something, whether it was a therapy visit or an agility or obedience class for several days. I thought Teddy would enjoy spending an evening at home, just chilling out. Nope! He was driving me crazy, while I was trying to work on a project, bringing me toy after toy. It's so great to see him so happy to get out and play and work. Now I can feel better about how he will feel the next time we have a trial weekend. But- be careful what you ask for- with energy comes the need to find a way to use it up!