Milo

Hello. I'm Milo. My mom asked me to share information about myself, but that is hard because I am a bit shy. I live in Evanston with my mom and my bratty little brother, Tucker. I am now 11 ½ years old, but when I was young I found the world to be a bit overwhelming. At 5 ½ months I came to Chicago from the country, and it was very scary! There were all kinds of loud sounds and big moving things that made me very nervous. My mom tried to help me so we did lots of obedience training. Then someone suggested that she try agility to help build my confidence.

Agility was fun, and I got lots of treats. Everyone thought I did really well when I climbed on things and jumped, and my mom was so pleased. My mom and I went to our first trial with my friend Addie and her mom, Barb (you can read more about Addie at the Blue Dog Diary). Addie was so good! She even got something called a Q in her first trial. I tried really hard, but it was tough with so many people watching. And then I ran off the end of the board that tips. Boy was I scared! It was months before I would do that again, and I still don’t really like it. These days mom says I am semi-retired from agility. I still get to play once in a while, and I have lots of fun playing with mom. Last month we went to a place called Michigan to compete in the CPE Nationals. It was so much fun because I only had to jump 8”. Mom was so pleased with me and told me I was such a good boy. She said I was awarded High in Trial Poodle, whatever that means. All I know is that she kept getting water in her eyes when she talked about it.

My very favorite activities are lure coursing and fetch. My mom doesn’t let me lure course much anymore because I get very tired. But I can still retrieve the ball! I just love to run after the ball and bring it back, even if it goes in the water. The only problem is when Tucker tries to steal the ball so I will chase him. Doesn’t he know Poodles are retrievers? Although he can be a pain, Tucker is a good little brother. I let him think he is tricking me when he takes a toy. I just wish he would understand that I don’t want to wrestle or chase him around anymore. He really is a bit crazy.

That’s my story. It turns out it wasn’t so hard to tell you about me. Maybe I will share some more stories another time.