Now, those that know me well know that I'm more a 'get out there and make it happen' kinda gal. I don't particularly believe in fate. I'm not a big fan of sitting back and seeing how things sort themselves out.
But sometimes......
And indeed, this morning patience paid off, and my friend's email held good news and a wonderful resolution to a problem that had been PLAGUING me for awhile!
A wonderful start to the day!!!
I found myself mulling over that line again on my run today.
You have all likely heard me RAVE about young Missy and what a wonderful and talented young leader she is. One of the most naturally talented I have ever worked with, actually. A definite up and coming force in the team!
As a youngster Missy was a bit of a bully and really wasn't my favorite in the litter. Her sister Molly was a different story though. Molly was sweet, affectionate, and keen to please. I had my money on her as 'the' leader in that litter - and she was indeed the only one of the 'Explosion' litter to make the race team as a 2 year old.
A leader however, Molly was not. I worked with her a few times last winter and she got very stressed and flighty when I put her up front. The pressure was just too much. Oh well, she was still a great team member last year.
This spring/fall I played with her a bit more in lead, but didn't get much. Certainly nothing like her superstar sister.
The last few weeks Molly had been earning a lot of Gold Stars on our runs. Digging in and driving wonderfully hard all the time.
For some reason, this morning as I was drinking coffee and blinking, bleary eyed at my training spreadsheet Molly's name jumped out at me to lead.
Now I knew it was not going to be a good day for a insecure, young leader, as fresh snow overnight meant that we would be doing some trail breaking - and 'Gee Over' off tire tracks on the unplowed back roads is not for the inexperienced - but still....that name jumped out...
I surrounded Molly with lots of leadership 'depth' - See, Rocket (the best 'Gee Over' dog on the Planet) and Billie. Figuring they would keep her out of trouble - and they likely would have, if they had had to - but they didn't.
Molly totally didn't need them.
She was as driven in lead as she has been back in the team lately.
She was focused....
I've said for years that not all dogs mature at the same rate and that folks miss a lot of GREAT leaders by not giving them opportunities again and again.
“All things come to he who waits”.....maybe not all the time....but sometimes I'll concede!!!
3 comments:
I really enjoyed your moment of "all good things come to those who wait". I will think on this as I struggle with a 2 yr old male, Thor. He is a beast on sled and will haul till he drops. but he is such a 'kid' when it comes to listening to me. If he smells a deer track, well maybe he just won't Gee over at all. Of course he is not the lead dog. A girl handles that job just fine; but he still needs to listen. So I will take your advice and keep trying him. Maybe he will bloom a bit late.
Thanks for this reminder that not all mature at the same rate. See, I'm dealing with a 10-year old male who hasn't really begun the maturing process yet... and it's really hard to be patient sometimes.
Yeah, sometimes moms need the same reminder about their human pups!!
I "tried" when I was there. Glad she got a shot
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