Excellent

Tristan received his OFA hip and elbow evaluations today. His hips are Excellent which is the highest rating available. According to the OFA "this classification is assigned for superior conformation in comparison to other animals of the same age and breed". That's my boy! His elbows are Normal which is also the highest rating available. Normal elbows are not ranked further by the OFA unless the elbows are abnormal.

This is glorious news. It's wonderful to know that Tristan's hips are so good and that he will be spared any issues with hip dysplasia. I wasn't extremely worried as the vet said his x-rays were good but it's great to get the official confirmation. The bonus is getting the Excellent grade. According to OFA records only 3.4% of GSDs evaluated are rated Excellent and 19% are dysplastic.

We're back

I haven't posted for a while. Tristan got into a dust up with another dog during training about a month ago. It's taken me a while to process it. Just as we put the dogs up after a training session so they can think about what they experienced, I've needed time to think through what happened. I try to write honestly about Tristan's training - both the successes and the relapses. Well, this was a significant lapse and, as always, it was my fault and a result of my inexperience. Tristan was off lead while training and did not come back to me. Instead he went to investigate another owner and his dog that does not like anyone getting close to his owner. I had Tristan off lead because I was teaching him blind searches and his lead was catching on the blind.

The training director did an excellent job of having Tristan and the other dog work through it. Tristan was required to remain in a down position while the other dog walked between Tristan and me. If I hadn't been upset, Tristan's reaction would have been rather funny. As the other dog walked back and forth he glared at Tristan giving him the evil eye - like 'just try messing with me again'. Tristan for his part looked everywhere except at the dog - 'What dog? I don't see a dog'.