Rust

Based on a diagnosis last November of arthritis in Lumi's hips and left wrist, we stopped doing agility entirely at that time. I had considered Lumi to be retired from the sport.

But at our last visit to Carol Lundquist, our holistic vet, she said that Lumi does not necessarily need to stop agility entirely. She suggested that we introduce one obstacle per month, similar to a food allergy test, watching to see whether a particular obstacle shows a return of Lumi's wrist pain. For this month's obstacle, I chose the weave poles.

Because of weather and competing priorities, we've only had time for two sessions so far. Yet I've been surprised by how little Lumi's long lay-off has affected her performance. Yesterday with our steel-based weaves, Lumi ran 12 poles in 2.85 seconds.

Though she's had faster times at lakeside with swimming as the reward, that's one of the fastest times Lumi ever had in our training field, where she's working for her tennis ball.

It seems that if there was any rust after four months, it flaked off quickly.