Back to normal

Alright folks, it's been a rough few posts around here, but I'm feeling MUCH better, much more back to normal. And I need to share some photos and share the joy (even if I AM feeling very bummed that my very fav blogs of all time are in danger of shutting down. You should read Three Woofs and a Woo, and 365 Days of Puppy Pics. And email Sheena and tell not to sell her camera equipment! DON'T DO IT FOOD LADY!)

Anyway, I have a dog walker extraordinaire as you may or may not know...Rebecca from The Poop Guys comes and plays with the kids on days when I have to actually work and attend Grad School both. Yup, it's true. I am spoiled rotten. She found my camera yesterday on the counter, and took some photos, mid play. So, I thought I would share!! :)

That's a great shot of Soph, mid catch. Well done, Rebecca, well done! :)

For the love of a good Jolly Ball.... Soph again.

Spike, holding a nice sit, waiting for his soccer ball I can only guess.

Please, will you kick the ball??

We must play! :)

And of course, what does Sophie do, post play today? Well, steal the ball off the counter, of course! HA! Silly monkey... I was starting this blog post when I could hear suspicious shredding sounds from the other room. And, on closer investigation, this is what I found...

Who me? Shredding the bouncy ball?? NAH!

Really, I was just spread out here, Ma, minding my own business....

That really DOES look like a face of innocence, doesn't it?!?

Just feed me already... forget the cute Sophie in the other room... feed me.  (By the way, notice how my poor boy is going greyish white. Sigh. Black dogs show their age WAY TOO YOUNG! :( ).

And, for good measure, since I have had several requests to see the new glasses.... here goes!

Pair #1.... they are black, with light colouring inside which actually adds a really interesting highlighting around my eyes. You can't see that in the pic.  I like them though as they are not something I would normally pick out.

Now, I know you are thinking these look LOTS like the others. But they don't. For one, they are solid metal frames. For another, they have quirky turquoise colouring down the arms, with cut outs. And, finally, they just ARE different. LOL.

you should adopt this dog...

... because she's a cute little (well, not so little) goof ball! If you are looking for some kind of husky like dog, she's the gal for you! :)  I am not fostering this one myself, but I have met her and Spike gives his stamp of approval on her- he thinks she's great.
Check her out at her own petfinder page.
Simba

A little perspective

So, I have been worried about Sophie and her hips this week amongst many other, petty little things, but I had a complete reality check today.

I recieved news this morning that a good friend lost her foster dog in a house fire last night. Her own dogs are going to be ok, I think, from what I have heard but spent the night at the UofS Vet College in ICU. She herself spent the night in hospital as well.

So, to borrow a phrase from a fellow blogger, hug your hounds. Be grateful for the time you have. And, say a prayer for Gwyn and her crew as she recovers from this devastating event.

A disaster of a training weekend leaves me with....

The Good (ish), the Bad and the Ugly.... yup, it's true!

Miss Sophie was the star of the good this week. She was great at Rally Obedience class (compared to week one when she threw up and week two when she decided my friend's dog Buddy was  to be hated). One little growl at Tetley the cocker who got a little close for her comfort to her treat bag; poor Tetley had no idea! But, she worked for me and we learned some "stuff". Soph and I are prepping for a trial, against my better judgement, so we are working on straightening out her formerly great fronts (that she now consistently thinks should be "get in") and stand on command. She still swings her bum around in front of me when she's standing, but hey, she's getting the concept.

The Bad and the Ugly... I refuse to call myself the ugly, although that very well might have been closer to the truth! Anyway, flyball was a hot mess for Spike and I. He loves to do the run and understands the concept of flyball, even the "race" part as he HATES being beaten to the box. But, passing, well passing is hard. We were working on this with Rumble, a delightful Border Collie who was very good at ignoring Spike and I through the process, content to do his thing. Spike however has a meltdown when he can't see me, causing him to jump lanes, and miss jumps. Of course, when I say "jump lanes" it really wasn't- he did the run, then ran into the hallway at our training building, which happened to hold two other dogs and owners. Sigh.  End result- me having a complete utter meltdown! Sorry Karen, our lovely coach!  I howled after this practice as I am frustrated! Spike COULD be great- he's smart, he's fast, he just is scared to pass and I was overtired and frustrated. So, I cried. Sigh. I'm usually as stoic as a lab.

Of course, agility was a mess too. I was feeling much better by agility class, but it WAS a challenge. I am not exactly in the best of shape to be running courses yet, and we did a 14 obstacle run. I was tired after class. Spike was tired before class. Anyway, first few tries, he blew his contacts and missed a jump. Then, he crossed my path TWICE, nearly taking out my knees. And, he lacks forward drive (shocking, I know, considering his scaredy pants passing experience, as he needs to know where I am!). Our final attempt at a run, he grabbed a course marker rather than taking a jump- I think by that point, he was tired, frustrated too and was telling me he didn't fully understand what I wanted.  And, I left class thinking we have SO MUCH work to do. So, I am buying and making a little more equipment for the yard and Spike and I have been working lots this week to get him running forward. And LOOKING FORWARD.

Who you looking at??

On a sadder note, Gemma is on trial. I kinda miss that pup. But, I am taking a break from fostering until April... I need to get through this heavy course I am taking at the University before I can sacrifice anymore sleep to puppies not belonging to me! Good luck Miss Gemma, I hope they fall in love with you completely!

What's as cute as a Gemma puppy?

Well, a Frankie puppy of course!  Last weekend I had an itty-bitty scrap of a Golden Retriever needing a warm place to stay for 3 nights. And, it was fun (despite the sleepless nights a 7 week old puppy can do to a person!).

And, so, without further ado, here's Frankie...

Who wouldn't love that face?  I have to admit, I had to pin the poor puppy there to get a shot of him- he was all wiggles and wormies and squirmies as he was delighted to have 3 other dogs to play with!

Spike loves puppies!

What a face!  I won't tell on Frankie ; he nipped my finger as I was taking this photo, nearly  causing me  to drop the camera.

He looks postively blissful, getting the check over by Sophie and Gemma

Two against one? Hardly fair! Don't worry, there were no puppies harmed in the making of this blog!

What is it with puppies and chair to hide under?  Obviously, that's Gemma's bum, but Frankie was under the chair and the spent most of the weekend wrestling that way. Gemma loved Frankie and wandered around a bit aimlessly after he was gone, looking for her little buddy. Frankie has gone to his new home already and Gem is back to normal. And, life is good. 

Gemma loves her food too

Gemma has really grown on me the last few weeks, I have to admit. She's super cute and she has lots of good going on for her. She's nearly housetrained and is solidly kennel trained- able to go as long as my big dogs do without any accidents. And, she seems to like her little den. Gemma is agile, and able to do crazy spins mid air, in excitement- it makes me super excited to think of her as an agility dog someday. And, now that Gemma is comfortable hanging out, she does some super cute little quirky personality things.

One of those things makes me wonder if she's part Sophie. I have a habit of taking a scoop of kibble to her crate, and filling her bowl there. Then, I forget the scoop on the kennel, which Gem can reach. And, she now brings it to me, as if to say "FEED ME! I'M HUNGRY!"  And, she probably is- she has hit a growth spurt and has hit that leggy, skinny stage. I have to admit, this little face, carrying her scoop is pretty irresistible!

There she is, clinging to it, as she brings it over.

Can't you see it, poor girl is wasting away... haha! :)