Saturday catching up

Ringo has been here for a tad over a week, so he's about 7.5-8 weeks old now. What a cutie, that's all I can say! He's funny and quirky, but loves to cuddle which is totally part of his charm. Admittedly, he's in that "always underfoot stage", especially when I am trying to cook something, but it has it's endearing parts. Like this morning, he dragged the puppy bed over to be just by my feet, while I am blogging. You know, 2 feet away is not close enough!!

He's doing stairs like a pro and is super food motivated so I suspect when I actually have a moment to teach him something useful like "sit", he'll learn it fast. He is a bit shy when meeting people, but once he warms up to you, he's all about being close to someone to cuddle, or play at their feet. He'll wander off a bit to explore but comes running back to check in.

His housetraining is going great; little monkey can sleep 8 hours at night and has never had an accident in his crate!! Housetraining itself is going better than Murphy's even (silly terrier! She'll be a year old next week and still has the occasional whoops!)  He will actually go to the back door when he needs out; of course if you don't move it fast enough, he can't hold it to wait but wow! That's a huge step towards actually being housetrained.

He loves to wrestle and play with Murphy. The big dogs don't spend much time with him, but at least he's made friends with Murphs. It's great for both of them!

Say goodbye to Murph's coat... I've been stripping it all week. Finished product to be revealed eventually, haha!

It's a busy weekend around here- everyone has agility (yeehaw! Update on Sophie tomorrow, I hope!) and I have my dad staying here. He's in town for a track meet, so he is crashing at my place. Of course, that meant, he got here at midnight last night and left again at 7:30 this morning, but at least we have a dinner planned tonight. Spike loves that he's here; little turkey spent the night, curled up, under the covers with Dad, in the "dog free" guest room! Guess I'll be washing blankets even after dad leaves! Ah well, such is life!

Spike napping in the barely big enough dog bed. He tried to stay up waiting for dad to arrive. :)

Ringo, hanging on the couch. He has funny facial expressions!

Grumpy Sophie... " you woke me for this?!?" :)

What a difference a week makes!

What a difference a week makes is for sure!! Last weekend, on Sunday it was cold. Very cold in fact. And, I picked up a new foster dog named Boston, brought him home and realized within minutes it wasn't going to work for lots of reasons. (but mainly his fear of Sophie, which I can't entirely blame him for!).  Anyway, he went back on Monday and I committed to take a puppy. Well, since then, the weather has warmed up to melting temperatures, Sophie has gone back to agility classes (but, I think she deserves a post all to her own, about that!) and I brought the pup home.

His name is Ringo, although that doesn't really suit him, to my way of thinking. I call him Porkchop and Piglet because he's a rolly polly pup. He's a farm special dog; in other words, who know what he is?  There's likely some lab in there, possibly some border collie but there's also maybe some shepherd, looking at his siblings. All I know is that he is CUTE!

Ringo is 7 weeks old at best guess; his momma was rescued when he and his siblings were about a week old. She was tied to a dog house and had very little food. It was cold, and New Hope had to take them.  So, here they are and Ringo is a sweet little thing! I love puppies this age because they are all potential and promise; who knows what this dog could become?  I can tell you the base of his personality is sweet, cuddly, mostly quiet but still full of puppy play. He plays with Murphy then crashes on my lap for a nap. He's learning to stand up for himself a little because Murphers is relentless in her pursuit of play. In comparision to Murphy, he's laid back and fairly moderate in his energy levels.

He's fairly quiet in his crate; he'll settle in there nicely at night, but watch out, once he's awake, he lets you know loud and clear! He's actually doing fairly well with his kennel training. He's keeping his crate clean, which I am so impressed about, but we'll see on Monday when I am gone to work all day. In any case, he's doing better than Murphy even does in her crate, LOL. He's even doing quite well on housetraining.  There's been very few accidents (like 1 or 2 since Friday night) and he'll even cry a bit when I suspect he needs out. He's even rung the bell at the back door, which is Sophie's way to tell me she wants out. So, while he can't be considered housetrained for a long time yet,  I think he's a smart one and won't take long to figure it out.

Really, for anyone looking for a cute, cuddly boy who might end up on the larger side of medium, they can't go wrong with this little gaffer. He really is a lovely boy!!  I am quite smitten with his little socks, his sweet personality and how gentle and friendly he is.

Spring must be coming right?!?

Spring must be coming, the days are getting longer!! I leave the house for work at 7:50 most mornings, and it's been very dark until this week. I realized suddenly this morning that this was the scene...

That is the view from my front doorstep and YES that's a hint of the sunrise to come!!  That MUST mean Spring is coming right??  I sure hope so because it's been cold (not bitter yet, just cold) at consistently in the  -20s the last week, with windchills down into the -30's.  Tomorrow morning, they are saying the windchill might dip to -41!!  (That's -41.8 in F, for my American readers!)  BRRR!!  The only consolation I have is that beautiful hint of blue!!

The Cracker Dogs of Black Dog Blog... Mango Minster entry

I would like to introduce everyone to the Cracker Dogs of Black Dog Blog....  All 3 are crackers, on any given day, but for the purposes of this contest, I think it's safe to say the GIRLS are the WORST offenders of CRACKER DOG behaviours!!  I suppose, you could almost call them BAD SPORTS, but they are too nice and funny about their behaviours to be that! There is no ill intent behind their goofy, quirky behaviour, that's for sure!

So without further ado, here they are!

Murphy qualifies on the basis of CRAZY CRACKER DOG JACK RUSSELL status. Need I say more?  Sophie should because, LAB, hello?  Everyone knows they are crazy and fantastic! haha

So, to build a case, I have a smattering of photos from over the years...

I moved into my house in August 2009 and my landlords very kindly had planted a garden for me Spike and Sophie to eat!  That's Sophie above stripping the corn clean out of the garden. They would run around smacking each other in the head with the stalks. TOO FUNNY!

A sample of what Sophie steals from the sink... who needs to wash dishes when you have a lab who does it for you?!? Last night she stole a COOKIE SHEET from the sink, dragged it to the living room and licked it clean!

Murphy in action! That pillow was NO MATCH for her!! 

And, of course, the customary napping, after distruction... on the DIRTY LAUNDRY of course!

Murphy's tug toy for agility class.... yes, it's a RAW CHICKEN WING in a SOCK. It's the only thing that really works. She's a Jack alright... motivated when she wants to be!  Sign of a cracker dog?? She does things her own way!

Oh, and of course, licking the rubbermaid tub clean, after I've thawed meat for the dogs. I was lucky that when I walked into the kitchen  I caught her with all 4 paws in the tub.... she of course thought she was in trouble for a moment, and kindly removed the back two paws but couldn't help herself, she had to keep cleaning it out. When I got back, she still had 2 paws in, and 2 paws out, getting blood on my clean kitchen floor! LOL 

The annual destruction of the Christmas tree.  This particular picture was from my first Christmas here... I've gotten wiser about WHERE I put the tree so this doesn't happen 3-4 times a season!

A garbage bag with NO FOOD in it, except this lowly milk carton, in the bottom. Please note, I washed it out even. Sophie STILL found it, picked it out and left it for me, as if to prove a point.

My box lid I use for the game "101 things to do with a box and a clicker". It was no match for Murphy. How she got it off the bookshelf, I'll never know.

My coffee cup. Sophie finishes my coffee everyday for me. This was the first time I caught her that morning.

Second time... she had gone back to clean up her mess a little more, LOL

This is the dog blanket that was on my bed the other night. Murphy had already gone out for the night, and insisted in coming right back in and PEEING on this blanket, on MY BED. Yup, silly, silly girl!

Too bad Blogger isn't "feeling well" this morning and is refusing to up load my videos, or I'd have further proof. But, there's many, many stories. For example, the time Sophie drank so much water at Rally Obedience class that she threw up, mid heeling pattern. I cleaned it up, but she refused to walk through the spot, the rest of the class; she would go around it. She managed to maintain a gorgeous heel, just not at my side, lol.  Everyone else walked there, but NOT SOPHIE!  Or, the time Murph and Soph were playing soccer in the house and managed to knock down a picture, off the wall AND my cute little knicknack shelf. Nothing was broken, but they really SHOULD stop bouncing off the walls!

I could go on and on, but they are hysterically funny, trust me on that!

So with that, I give you the Cracker Dogs of Black Dog Blog. They are never dull, never boring and keep me laughing all the time! Hope you consider us for this fantastic award this year!

Robine Hood Aidan Story

It's a heavy topic for so early on a Wednesday morning, but I just arrived home from a walk with my three dogs. I was able to do it with safety, no fear of dog packs, no fear of "what if one gets away?".  This story touched my heart because I know the issues in Northern Saskatchewan, when it comes to dog control.  This event happened in Buffalo Narrows, SK which is an hour south of where I lived for 3 years.

Dogs in Northern Saskatchewan are shot as a means of dog control. Each Northern community has a dog catcher and their job is to keep the dogs from packing up; this is accomplished by randomly shooting dogs viewed as a problem or as strays.  I know from experience, when the dogs pack up at certain times of the year, they are SCARY! They become mean and aggressive, but I also know there is a BETTER WAY than culling the dogs.

I lived in fear the entire 3 years I was in La Loche; I worried my dogs would be stolen, get off their tie outs, run off and get shot. I lived in a teacherage, supplied by the school division that refused to fence my yard properly and also refused to allow me to fence it, if I could have afforded to. So, I resorted to tie outs, the first 2 years I was there. By the third year, my dogs, Spike and Sophie NEVER were out of the house without me. I had caught kids throwing rocks at them, had been threatened that they would steal Sophie, and Spike had escaped his tie out a couple times. So, I kept them with me at all times. They got off leash runs, very carefully and both were taught a recall command that was as solid as possible. End result? We made it. But, many of my friends lost dogs to the dog catcher.

I know packing, stray and wild dogs IS a problem in Northern Saskatchewan. But, there has to be a better way! Noone needs to live with the fear of their dog being shot. Noone needs to go through what Nadia has gone through; please watch her story below.  And, help us find new ways to control dog populations in Northern Saskatchewan so the communities remain safe for the children to play without the fear and threat of dog shoot days.  If you want more information about this issue, please comment below and I can share more about how we might make a difference.  The volunteers of New Hope Dog Rescue are committed to finding ways to help make a difference to dog owners in Northern Saskatchewan.

Sophie's feeling better!

As you all know, Sophie has had problems with her hips for as long as I've had her. They've been there since puppyhood. Shockingly, 3 treatments at the chiropractor and she is FINE. Like as in, no pain medications, no lameness, just an enthusiastic, happy Lab!!

And to prove this, here's a couple videos of Sophers in action...  The first one is on the way out to the field behind my house. Sophie insisted on doing a weird, bouncy-pounce that just made me laugh.

The second is just Sophie doing a retrieve after her ball. It's really nothing spectacular, but for a dog who has not done anything in about a year, this is amazing! Everytime I let her run, she'd be on three legs so I just stopped. Now, there's no problems at all! 

So good to see no more Limping Sophie!! Bring on the agility, she's going to be one smokin' fast dog to run! 

Contest: Mango Minster 2011!!

Good morning all!  I am so excited to awaken to Mango's Mango Minster 2011 contest this morning.  Yes, it's true... I'm entering the dogs in a contest!!

In fact, I am so excited about it, I've offered to sponsor a category and make a brand new leash/collar set for them.

Of course, you all know that Sophie will be entered in the bad sports category... how can I NOT?? I'm even going to attempt to build a case for Spike to fit in that category too... it's a stretch I know, but I can't leave the boy out, can I? And, Murphers is a cracker dog extraordinaire, of course!  So, watch out all, I'll be taking photos and videos to prep for my entry into this exciting contest. I was even up at 5:20 this morning (thanks Murphy!), just in time to get some video footage of Murphy in full cracker dog action!  So, stay tuned! There might even be some crime reconstruction scenes (thanks for the great idea Khyra!!) of Sophie in action.

Plans are well underway... can you tell I am competitive and really want to win?!? Nah, not me!! :)

Things are looking up!

I am the proud new owner of a Canon Powershot SC 130, as of today. Only took two tries from the store, as the first one was faulty, but after another quick trip into Saskatoon (only a 20 minute drive from house to store!), I replaced it and was able to get some quick photos taken to try it out. The settings are very similar to my old camera, so that lack of quality in the photos you are seeing below has NOTHING to do with the camera, but rather it has everything to do with the subjects. Seemingly in the 5 days without a camera in the house, they have forgotten what it means to pose, HA!

Anyway, it was also a trip to the vet day for Spike and Sophie both. Spike is continuing to have some problems with his neck and shoulder, so he will be going back in 3-4 weeks for another appointment just to make sure he's on track. I am trying to get him back healthy enough to maybe run a trial or two in April and May, so I have time to continue rebuilding his muscles to be ready for competition, but I have to just be patient and make sure I am actually remembering he still needs lots of just straight line running too! As well, Spike and I are going to do another Theresa Rector agility seminar in April, if all goes well, so I need him in shape for that.

Spike, looking dazed. It was SUPER hard to get him to look at me!

Murphy, in a rare moment she decided to sit still.

Sophie, just a split second before she moved, lucky me!

Sophie is one lucky dog at this moment! I am so grateful that Rebecca suggested I take Spike to Dr. Orchard as I randomly asked if she could help Sophie. Because of that one simple question I assumed the answer would be "no" to,  Sophie is completely well as of this moment. She has been approved to go back to Agility classes and can now start with low jumps. She has been free of lameness for over 6 weeks now, and has been without any medications for that length of time. I see no signs of pain, no evidence that she will return to her former incredibly sad state. What I'm left with is a mischievous, rambunctious, happy Lab!  At the start of the appointment today, before she had any adjustments, Sophie was leaping, straight up and down, all four paws off the floor, repetitively to give Dr. Orchard kisses, as she laughed and told me "there's no going back now...we can't tone her down, you know!"  Sophie is able to get along with other dogs, she is HAPPY and she's getting into TONS of trouble so I know things are on the upswing. 

I am still shocked at the difference between Sophie this winter and last winter. Last winter, I hoped I could manage to keep her around for another year or two before deciding I couldn't manage her pain. Now, I suspect she'll outlive me, LOL.

Sophie is getting into more trouble than ever before, however.  Consider the following:

Yes, that's Murphy with an empty Blizzard cup (thanks Rebecca for the blizzards today!! Lovely Saturday treat to go with the Tim Horton's coffee you brought me too!)

Murphy zoomed down the hallway to my bed where she tried to avoid the evidence. Nice try little brat! I KNOW you have the cup!

She's given up trying to pretend it's not her chewing on it.

Anyway, what does that above scene have to do with Sophie? Only Sophie can and will stretch herself out as far as possible, then use her paws to bat at things at the very back edge of the kitchen counter to get it down. She'll even do things like this in front of me, expecting I won't notice or care. Oh, I notice all right!   Sophie has gotten SOOO bad that I nearly tossed her out of the car before we even got to the vet today. I stopped to run a few errands on the way, one of which was a trip to the grocery store. It's my fault completely for buying that bag of Sweet and Salty popcorn, of course and that my trunk is broken on the car (it's an old car, and I am seriously getting sick of fixing things! I need to trade it in for a shiny mini van where I can LOCK HER IN A CRATE!) so the groceries were in the front seat. Now, I'm not stupid, they were locked in a rubbermaid tub that I imagined was Sophie proof. HA! She managed to nose her way in, and in the 10 minutes I ran into flyball for a quick visit, she ate the WHOLE BAG! Sigh. Needless, I had to apologize to poor Dr. Orchard because Sophie is some smelly now! Sigh, what have I done?!? 

Anyway, yup, life is good. Sophie might be a very bad dog, but I wouldn't trade her for the world. And, Spike is getting better so that's awesome. And, I am happy to have a new camera again! Life is good!

Friday Ramblings

Life seems to be one big ball of perpetual change of late. You know, change from holidays to work routine. And, that's not so bad, to be honest. I am a creature of habit, sadly and I kind of like my morning routines and all, so it's ok. The dogs obviously fair better with the routines too. Of course, if I could get my sleep back in line, I'd be doing better. I have been having a bit of insomnia of late- waking anytime after 2 or so, and am often not able to get back to sleep, so if I could manage that, I think I would be in excellent shape right now. Perhaps it's time to cut back on the coffee? I'm not sure, but that thought makes me a little sick to my stomach.

Anyway, in other news, I am back down to 3 dogs for the moment. Henry was here for a temporary pitstop and he's moved to another foster home. So, I have to decide if I want to bring home a Ben-like dog (oh dear, me and my labs, I KNOW!) or take a couple week break until our litter of Labby puppies are ready to be moved and fostered on their own. I'll decide this weekend. :)

In any case, as requested, a couple photos of Henry... these are his petfinder photos as I didn't manage to get any others taken. Sorry!  I'm still limping along with problem cameras, but this weekend, I'll head into the city and take care of getting one.  My camera is officially toast, but my mother had one she gave me when the zoom went on it. It's another canon powershot, and to be honest, it's a great camera but without a zoom, it's tough!! I didn't realize how much I rely on that to get a half way decent photo for my foster dogs especially. Mom figured I'd need a backup camera at some point, because let's be honest with Sophie in the house, I'm constantly living with the thoughts  "what's going to break next?" or "what's she going to eat next?".  Poor Soph!

He really IS a cutie pie, and I kinda miss the little guy. Anyway, that's life in rescue; sometimes we need to shuffle dogs to make room for others and it's the way it goes.

Murphy especially is going to miss Henry. She LURVED that boy!! He was pretty taken with her too, and they loved to chase each other around the living room. :)  But, then, Murph loves any new dog in this house, so if I go get Boston this weekend, she'll love him too!! I hear he's bigger than Ben, but just as loveable.

Anyway, I've mostly gotten back into my walking routine. The dogs are loving it! They always get a run everyday, playing fetch, or just playing in the yard or the field behind my house, but there's something almost meditative about walking that I love. And, they are always game to go. Walking the three is not bad; Murphy is the hardest of them because she doesn't understand "walk" yet... she thinks it's a great chance to bounce around and grab Soph's ears to get her to play. Soph takes her walks VERY SERIOUSLY and does not appreciate the puppy antics much. Poor girl! But, it's good to be back at it and I am sure Murphers will eventually learn. Or grow up. Or is that too much to ask for a Jack Russell?? ;)

I hope to get my camera this weekend, as I said so I can get the dogs over to Rebecca's for a run/photoshoot.  And, Spike and Soph are both back to Dr. Orchard this weekend for a checkup. I am pretty sure Spike is fine; I have a feeling he won't need to see Dr. Orchard for a while, which is great! Soph has regressed a bit over the holiday. I've been straightline running her LOTS, but with Ben especially around, she was playing pretty rough with him and I think she knocked her back out a bit. But, I'll know more tomorrow... here's hoping she's gaining muscle tone!!!  Other than that, a little bit of agility with Murphers on Sunday and the rest of the weekend is back to the Thesis grind... working on my literature review!!

Introducing Henry!

Things have been a whirlwind around my place lately!  As you all know, I picked up Ben just a couple weeks ago, he had an amazing application for adoption within hours of being on the website and he's gone, on trial already! He's been renamed Moose and they have the patience needed to help a big, goofy lab find his way in the world!  So, that left me free to take another dog on and Henry has now arrived!

Henry is a sweet little corgi cross of some sort. It's been an adventure so far, having him in the house because he is sooo scared of making a wrong move. It's like he was tossed out by someone, and now he's worried he's going to mess up and get dumped again. :( It's heartbreaking to watch a dog go through that, but let me tell you, they make the best pets ever! (Just look at my Spikey... he was JUST LIKE THIS TOO!).

Anyway, Henry is settling in well. He likes hanging out, quietly chewing on a bone, but he's always ready to go somewhere, if I want to go. He's getting along as well as can be expected with my dogs; Sophie is lots of dog for anyone to manage and she needs some "finishing school" to polish off the rough edges. So, for Henry to handle Sophie with a certain amount of grace and resignation, speaks volumes about this gentle little soul. And, Murphy is RELENTLESS in her quest to get him to play. He will play, but mainly he just wants to hang out, sleep and cuddle at the moment. Henry LOVES Spike, following him around, giving kisses and the like. Sooo sweet to watch!

Henry's learning the crate, but is clean in the house. He's loving having dog beds to curl up in, bones to chew on, a toy box to visit. He has a grateful nature that is very sweet. He'll make someone a gem of a dog!! He is such a quiet, sweet boy, I can see him being a super star, therapy dog someday. I am smitten with this little boy because he's such a gentle soul and he is sooo grateful for food, a quiet corner, whatever attention he gets. He'd make a great pet for a family or an older couple, that's for sure. 

Stay tuned for pictures.... Soph accidently broke my camera the other day and I am struggling along without the ability to get a decent photo. Take my word for it, Henry is CUTE!  I'm hoping to get a new camera by the end of the week so I can post photos of what a goodlooking boy Henry actually is!

Ups and Downs

It's been a day or two of ups and downs, that's for sure....

For example, Sophie knocked my camera off the counter and broke it. DOWN. I get to go shopping for a new one. UP. Of course, I still wont be getting the Canon Rebel I really want, but that's ok. I hadn't planned on a camera at this moment so I'll be going with something a little more modest, but it's still fun to go shopping!

I got a new foster dog and Spike has growled at him while he's been growling at Sophie. DOWN. But, he's moving out tomorrow, UP! Apparently, it's just a temporary placement, so Mr. Corgi is moving on. And, Ben is going on trial with a fabulous family and has already been renamed Moose. UP!

I go back to work this morning. DOWN. But, winter break is just around the corner. UP. And, I am looking at all the positives of my job rather than the challenges. UP.

It's very cold out, DOWN. But, I have walked the dogs two days in a row, despite that. UP. They are happier, I am happier and whatever... I can always bundle up for the cold, right? I got my first dog as an adult, living in Northern Saskatchewan which is at least as cold as it is here, so I figure, I should be able to handle a walk here. And, I feel more like myself when I am walking the dogs regularly; there's something about nature and being outside, by myself, just moving that tunes me back up. Last year, I felt like I lost myself somewhere along the way so it's nice to be getting back to what matters to me. UP, BIGGGG UP!

See, ups and downs, and that's life right?  It's alright, I just am going with whatever happens, to be honest. I am heading back to work this morning and will make the best of it. And, I'll go shopping for the new camera and that's ok too. Not planned, but not the end of the world. My old powershot was having lens issues prior to this anyway.  See, it's a new me.... I'm attempting to go with the flow more and live in the moment more. That's a lesson from my Sophie girl especially. :)

Happy New Year!

So, welcome to 2011 and a brand new decade!! I've decided to take it pretty quiet around here today, in celebration and just chill with a couple dogs on the couch and a good book.

I chose to pick up the book "Room" by Emma Donoghue. And, I'm struggling to put it down again. It's the story of a little boy and his mother, locked in a room by a man named Old Nick. The boy has never been outside and has grown up thinking "room" is all there is; everything else is imaginary and not real. Donoghue decided to write this book after she heard the story of Fritzl in Austria who locked his daughter away for 24 years and she had 7 children, 3 of which were raised in a cellar, never experiencing natural light or the outside world.  And, Donoghue has done a masterful job of creating a disturbing sense of what that life must be like, told from the perspective of a 5 year old child named Jack. You should read it, really you should. Beautiful, haunting, awful and will stay with me for DAYS, I am sure!!  In case you're interested: Room, from Amazon

Anyway, in other news, the dogs celebrated the new year with a new collar each. I still make collars and leashes, when I have time and the energy. Of late, I have been hunting around for new trims to sew and I while I need to splurge and order a bunch of new webbing, I still managed to make these yesterday:

This one, above is Sophie's. This photo explains EXACTLY why I don't have a website, selling my collars. It's BRUTAL to get good photos of them, with the camera I have. I own a good little Canon Powershot, but sadly, I have no idea what setting to put it on to get good photos of light coloured collars; they tend to wash out, unfortunately. In any case, Sophie's collar is very pale (any guesses as to how long it will stay clean?!?) and girly. Totally suits her!

Spike's is a cheerful, 70's version of Sophie's. Yup, browns and oranges, but it seemed to suit him better than pale pink, haha. Notice, Sophie wears a martingale while Spike wears a buckle. Really, I don't walk Sophie on collar/leash ever (she wears an easywalk harness) and I like the look of the martingale. Spike can't wear one for Therapy work; it has to be a flat buckle so that's what he gets.

And Murphy's. Yup, it's girly. And, no she's not. I don't care; I've always loved these cheerful polka dots but didn't have enough left for a new collar for Soph, but there was enough for Murphers. So, my non girly- girl, will have to be happy in pink. :)

Anyway, here's to a new year of taking care of me... that includes reading all day, if I choose. :)  So, back to my book I go until I find the motivation to take the dogs for a run (it's REALLY, REALLY cold out here, right now!) and make cabbage rolls for supper. Yum!

Hope you are enjoying your January 1st as much as the crew and I are!