“Army language” has been replaced with gentle euphemisms

My wife is a competitor in a number of different venues (that means, “she plays a lot of different dog-sports”, for those of you on the outside of the industry/mania). Like many a husband out there, I have been a “dog-sport widow” – left, alone, for however long it takes, while my Missus has been out of town (or, out of State), pursuing the little ribbons that represent successes or titles in the various games out there. I have been “the Kennel Biscuit” (yes, this is one of the euphemisms – you folks “in the know” can figure out what I’m talking about, here), on many occasions, in order to avoid the “widow” status – like many other husbands, who want to support the hobby.

I have attended, and helped with the logistics for, many different kinds of competition:  agility, obedience / rally, tracking, and herding training iterations and trials (most of the sports having three or four “alphabet soup” organizations proctoring courses, and dog-competing hobbyists always play in 50 to 7,000 different organizational endeavors)…

Our household is a dog-nut’s paradise – in the basement, we have a grooming tub, a grooming table, and a “hide the body” freezer stuffed full of dog foods and treats. In the back yard, we have agility equipment of various types, and we have more, in the basement, including replacement parts.  My wife owns a micro-business that is dedicated to dog training – I create dog-training templates, and edit them in accordance with client wants and needs. Dog Training Fever has burned through this place, leaving an indelible mark – but, I have never been the one going into the ring, come competition time.

I have been the Logistics Monkey, the Camera Monkey, the “Take the Critters Out to Potty” Monkey, and the Monkey-Who-Holds-the-Competitor-if-She-Cries (and, I have been the Monkey who says, “that Biscuit!”, at the appropriate time, when no one else “could” say it, or when it was what my wife wanted to hear me say).

…and, then, along came Nose Work

Watch for the next 2 posts we will publish this week continuing Peter’s thoughts on Canine Nose Work! Subscribe to our blog to receive the newest posts right to your inbox! Thanks for reading!