Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Moose

I figure I better introduce my new monkey before he's come and gone... he has a meet and greet in a bit, but you never know right? He might not hit it off with them?!?

Anyway, here's the cutie, himself...


Moose is an 11 week old Lab X of some sort. Sweet as the dickens and LIVES for people. He's been the easiest foster so far as he is basically crate trained already and almost makes it through the night- sometimes he has to go out once but he wakes you up, then is happy to go right back to sleep in the kennel.  He's only had one accident in the house so far and it was totally my fault- that was Friday when he first arrived.  He's playful and cute. Seriously, did I mention he LOVES people?!?  


Yup, he has a tiny hint of puppy mischief in him, but nothing to serious, to be honest. He's chewy, that's really his worst flaw.  But, how can you resist that little face anyway?


Moose is going to be a bigger boy, I suspect- maybe 70 pounds?!? It's so hard to know because we were told Lab/BC mix but really, we have no way of knowing. Lab for sure. In any case, he's waiting for the perfect home and in the meantime, I'm soaking up the puppy cuddles!! :)

He was sooo funny at the vet yesterday for his puppy checkup as nothing really bothers him! He didn't even notice the microchip needle going in as he had a dog biscuit to munch on, then he proceed to turn around and kiss the vet. And, he insisted on meeting EVERYONE in the parking lot on the way back to the car. So, yup, he's a doll. Someone is going to be very lucky with this pup!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Delinquents

It is a BEAUTIFUL, HOT, SUNNY day today. I need to say that loudly as it's POURED down rain here sooo much lately. Not complaining, but I do love the sun. The perfect lawn cutting day, to be honest, so I headed out to cut the side/front lawns. I always leave the dogs out while I putter in the yard as I have one of those reel mowers- the no electricity/gas mowers that require lots of energy from me, but do not cause any issues with safety. There is no need to keep the dogs out in the yard while lawn cutting. In fact, Sophie and I often practice heeling while I cut the lawn.

Anyway, the dogs were out, and Spike for some reason decided he needed to be in. I could hear him, so I periodically yelled to knock it off, but finally had enough and went to check.  This is what I found...


Yes, that screen IS shredded.



Yes, this IS the guilty party.


Sigh. Every. Single. Summer.


Some of the remains off the deck floor.


The innocent?!? party....

Now, the screen was already wrecked because last summer the back doorknob had fallen out and I had to cut my way into the house. Then, it was further aggravated by Murphy deciding it was a doggy door that she could leap in and out of at will. I do have video footage of this, however blogger is not letting me upload it. :(  Just use your imagination and picture a furry little Jack launching herself through it, at will.

So, well yes, today was my final straw. Time to fix the window. And, smart me bought DOUBLE what I need because I doubt the screen will make the summer.


Half done! This isn't taking very long at all, phew!


Sophie watching me work.


Murphy scheming about leaping through her doggy door.


I'm SURE Spike is sorry, really I am!


Voila, a whole new screen. Just in time to enjoy the beautiful day. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

Apparently Spike likes agility

I went to an AAC trial this weekend, held in Saskatoon. I wasn't going to go; I wasn't feeling great on Saturday morning and the weather was truly atrocious!  It poured down rain off and on all day Saturday but we went and everyone there made the best of it. That's what you do if you want to run some agility outside in Canada after all!

So, Spike and I were second dog on the line, at about 730AM, Saturday AM. I wasn't sure I was awake enough to run yet, but I thought, let's just try. End result? Our first ever Q, in Starters Gamblers of all things, with a first place finish to boot. We ran standard next and I have to admit, it was a hot mess. Starters Jumpers with a Q and a first place finish next (and a smokin' fast 24.56 sec time, standard course time of 38 seconds, phew!).  Last run of the day, I decelerated where I shouldn't, taking for granted Spike had enough speed over a final jump to head to the correct end of the tunnel. Hmph, MY mistake pulled him off. Ah well, 2 for 4.

Day 2 was MUCH nicer; sunny, warm to the point of t-shirts and shorts and I even got a bit of a sunburn. We started again with Starters Gamblers, 1st place finish and a Q. Standard was next and I learned a lesson from this run. It was the nicest Standard Spike and I have EVER run- truly lovely, I think! BUT, I didn't decelerate and call Spike out of a tunnel to the teeter and he blew off the end. So, 10 faults for bailing on it. But, lovely, fast run otherwise. Last two runs were both Snooker and we nailed both with 1st place finishes and Q's. Yes, the 22" class was very small and sometimes Spike was the only dog running in that class, but I am still proud of him and his 1st place finishes- especially when there were 3 or 4 other dogs entered. And, all those Q's.... WOW!!  Really, it's not about the placements, it's about the team work we had this weekend, the fun I had with my dog and seeing the joy on his face as he flew around the course. He truly loves agility.


He looks tired here, but trust me, he's not. He came home from a full trial (our first ever full 2 day trial), ran to the yard and grabbed his soccer ball. He wasn't tired a bit. And, people at the trial were surprised to hear he's nearly 6 years old. He just loves, loves, LOVES to jump!!


Spike and his ribbons... the red and white ones are the Qualification scores. Underneath each are first place ribbons too. It's quite a haul. And, I am shocked in the span of one weekend, we ended up 1 leg short of his Starters Game title with AAC. What a dog!!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Sugar and Spice...

My girls, the rain dogs...




My boy, the completely "I hate getting wet/dirty/cold" dog. Poor Spike, stuck inside (and maybe unable to run agility this weekend in the trial if this heavy rainfall warning keeps up... pouring down out there, sigh!)

Monday, June 13, 2011

Tired

I was at Rebecca's kennel all weekend, while she went to play flyball with her dogs. I take all 3 dogs with me, as it's a treat for them to run and hunt gophers. Spikey killed 2 himself this weekend, I believe- I can't prove it was him, but he hunted in that field a good chunk of Sunday.  Murphy was outside for 7 hours straight on Sunday, playing with her big siblings along with Chase the Chihuahua and Quinn the Jack/Chi cross. Sophie loves to just run around, chasing birds or balls.  It has been GORGEOUS weather and with the heat comes even more tired dogs.

Good thing these two slugs have agility class tonight... wonder if they'll find any energy to work tonight?



Better get out my yummiest treats; looks like they are going to need some motivation! Nothing like tired dogs. :)

We're back!

It's been awhile since I blogged, and to be honest really read any blogs either... sorry blogland, it's been a rough few weeks, none of which I want to go into here. Suffice it to say, I am starting to get back to normal and as a result, I'm back to taking pictures and wanting to share. :)

So, what were we up to?

Well, I went with my buddy Rebecca to look at these creatures...


That's Boston. 


Boston, and his buddy Tango.


The herd. They have LOADS of alpacas there!


Boston and Tango in the shelter, waiting to be haltered.


That's Boston. He's my new bud I am taking for a walk, haha! Funny way to spend a Sunday afternoon, but the end result is that Rebecca now has Boston and Tango living at her place. There will be loads more photos to share over the summer, I am sure because I am quite fascinated by them! And, can't wait to sheer them in the spring and get knitting with their wool!!

Other than that, Spike and I ran in our first agility trial of the spring. I am really pleased with how we are working together and that Spike is such a responsive little dog... love him! No Q's from the weekend, but glimmers of potential, I think. And, honestly, we were 2 points short of a Q in gamblers, which I happen to think is fabulous considering I had never run a gamblers course before!  We weren't much short in Snooker either; one wrong tunnel entry was all that did us in! :)

SOPHIE debuted in agility at that trial too. She earned a whopping 4 points in Snooker, but I am so proud of her!! She had never seen a 22" jump before, and had never done anything like this. But, the time was right to run her, so next June I can double drop her heights down to 16" and really truly run her. She's hysterical and actually grinned after her run for about an hour, haha!

Other than that, I've been hanging out, avoiding grooming Soph. She hates it, but it was time... in the span of 3 minutes, which is all she'll sit for, I managed to pull this out of her left leg.



I know it doesn't look like a ton, but for Sophers to tolerate that much grooming is amazing! 

Ah well, off to enjoy some sun in my garden before I get my day started.