Rally

I haven't quite got the jist of this blogging thing yet but I'm trying!! The 2 pictures that I wanted to accompany this post are now below it & seperate!! So, just scroll down after you read this & you'll see the pictures!!
Any who!.... I can't believe that it was a year on March 24 that Tate received his first CKC rally leg! He got a 99/100 & a first place in his class....you can see us ( barely) below in the group shot ......take note, we beat the goldens!! Whoo Hoo!! In our second trial we took another first place, with a perfect score of 100/100!! That is the first picture, with me, Tate, & the judge.
Anyway, my goal was to have the first collie in Canada to get a CKC Excellent title & we were well on our way.....we finished Novice in June, Advanced in July & got 2 Excellent legs in Sept., just before we moved......there was a trial in Thunder Bay 1 week after I left. I'm sure we would have gotten our last leg.
We have been attending rally classes again here in Lethbridge, but Tate seems to have lost his heeling....if I don't have food in my hands he's bored & slow, I hope to get him motivated again & then quickly find a CKC trial & get that darn final leg! Wish us luck!

Baby Tate !!

I am sooooo excited! This is my favorite picture of Tate as a puppy, he is just 12 weeks old here. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have all these wonderful pictures of my 3 collies, but they were all taken before I had a digital camera. So they are all in albums & I am unable to share my favorites.

Well , Wendy from Paws On The Run, graciously offered for me to bring in my favorite pictures, & she would scan them, which would mean I would have them available whenever I wanted to use them! I didn't even know such a creature as a scanner existed......did I mention I'm really old!!

Anyway, I'm in seventh heaven with all the possiblities now for my treasured photos!

Isn't technology great? Thanks Wendy!!!

It all makes sense.....now!!

So,I figure that I have been around dogs & trained & worked with many dogs, that I actually know what I'm doing. Well I'm beginning to realize I STILL have alot to learn....yeesh!

Last night at rally class we were practising putting our dogs into heel position after our dogs came into the front position. Sounds simple enough, but Tate sits crooked 80% of the time....I know this, he always has, but I've always tried to "fix" it by moving forward & getting him to sit straight.

It took Amanda pointing out to me that I'm basically training Tate to wait for the second command.......this is Tate's thinking.......mom asks me to come front, I sit pretty for her & get a treat, then mom asks me to heel, I go around the back of her & sit at her side, but, because she has treats in front of her, I have to swing my butt so I can look up, & I always get a treat because I have made such of good effort at the task she has asked of me! But wait, now I have to wait for her to move , then I sit again & get another treat!! Easy peezy!!! I love obedience!

Sooooo, I took a long look at what I have been doing, things like holding the treats in both hands on my stomach, instead of holding the treat in my left hand, with my elbow glued to my side & the treat out front of Tate, not in front of me!!.....I did this all morning on our walk, & guess what? Not only does Tate stay in proper heel position, he sits straight for the treat! Duh!!!

There are other dumb things I have been doing, but I won't embarress myself anymore! Just when you think you know what you're doing...... oh well, back to learning!

As Promised

I promised you 2 pictures that I have of Ben my first collie, & Drake, my 2nd. The first picture is of Ben & it is an oil painting done by Cora Lee Romano of Thunder Bay. She was just starting out & asked if I had a picture she could paint, for free!! I am so thrilled to have it.

The second picture is of Drake. It was done by Brian Kronk in Thunder Bay. He was doing a pet series called Pedigree Parents for his business, Rocket Air Wear., offering note paper etc. & asked me for photos to use, again, for free! The picture is of Drake at 4 months of age & 4 years of age. I am so lucky to have gotten both of these portraits done.

Down Memory Lane

I was feeling a bit sad about the fact that I have had many other dogs in my life, but I wasn't able to share pictures of them. You see, because I'm "old" haha!!, I've never owned a digital camera & I just got this computer 2 yrs ago......so any pictures I have of my past dogs were only in my albums......But, today I had a brilliant idea! What if I took pictures of some of my pictures, & put them on my blog......so that is what I am attempting to do!
These first shots are of my very first collie Ben, I got him when I was 15. He had an Am. & Can. CD & 2 CDX legs, he was trained into utility, but because we never got that last CDX leg , we never got to enter. Ben was born in 1975 & died in 1988......also inclued here are shots of Buddy, our cocker X. Buddy was born in 1979 & died in 1997 at the age of 18!!! He was a wonderful little dog & he & Ben were best friends.

My next collie was Drake, he came from the same kennel as Tate, Mariner, & I loved him dearly. We travelled all over to dog shows, once we made the trip to Massachutes to visit with his breeder Peg Vohr, & to show at the American National Specialty in 1994. Drake had his Am. & Can. CD also.....he was born in 1990 & he died in 2001.

I know these are really hard to see but it is the best I can do.....tommorrow I will post a couple of pictures of 2 special drawings I have of Ben & Drake.....till then! Enjoy!

My monster in the making!

Tate has never liked to sleep on the bed, however, in the last 5 months I have noticed him getting more "comfortable" with the idea!
It all started when we left Thunder Bay last Oct. to move here to Lethbridge. We had to spend a few nights in hotels along the way. This picture is on our first night in a Grand Portage hotel room. Notice the clammy is with him too!

Then after arriving in Lethbridge he felt it was his duty to guard his humans from the aliens while they were asleep.....a job he took very seriously......But then, I started to see him alone on the bed, even when no one else was in it!Then there was yesterday, I was changing the bed sheets.....I left the blanket & comforter on the bed & went to get the clean sheets.......here is what I came back to..............

Of course being caught in the act , he popped his head up as if to say..."but mom, it was the aliens again, they just picked me up & dropped me here!! Honest!!! "

Tate's Famous Background

CHIP:

Speaking of the Collie Club of America National.....I'd like to acknowledge Tate's famous sire, Chip, Am. Can. Ch. Fantasy Mariner Anchorman ROM, ROM-P, NAJ. He won the American National Specialty in 1998!! Tate was bred by Peg Vohr of Mariner Collies in Northfield Massachutes, & he is the 2nd collie that I have gotten from Peg. I feel so lucky to have had them both. Tate was born in 2002 & that is the last litter Peg has bred.
Pictured below is Tate's grandfather Brandon, Am. Can. Ch Fantasy Bronze Talisman ROM & he is the top producing collie of ALL TIME with well over 100 champions to his credit!! For those of you wondering, ROM stands for Register of Merit. A male has to have produced 20 or more Am. champions to receive it. The ROM-P that Chip has, is a performance Register of Merit, for this award they must produce a specified number of performance titled dogs.

BRANDON:

Tate has 2 littermates that are Am. champions...Baker, Ch. Mariner Chip's Ahoy NA.....& Cruiser, Ch. Mariner Seas The Moment.....

BAKER & CRUISER:

Tate himself is a Canadian champion & has tons of performance titles to his credit.......These are 2 ads that I put in of Tate......

Thanks for letting me brag......I am very proud of Tate, & his ancestory. By the way, the above ad of Tate was from last year, I have since added his RA & 2 RE legs as well as his CGC title.

Summertime

I'm cold!!!.....I want summer & sunshine.... enough of this cold, clouds & wind!!! Sunshine & warmth make me happy....I'm looking forward to the Lethbridge summer. In Thunder Bay it rains alot....it rained everyday last June! I remember because Brad was here working, & everyday when he called he would brag about how warm it was & I would be sitting in Thunder Bay watching the rain come down!
Here are a few photos of Tate & I out urban tracking at the univercity last June, on one of the days that the sun was out!

Happy Birthday Dad & Adrienne!

Today my dad turns 79 and my niece Adrienne is 12 !!

It is a unique day. My sister Debra met her future husband Pat, when they were 14 , in high school. Later they found out that my dad & Pat's dad had the same birthday...March 19......fast forward to 1996 when Adrienne was born & low & behold she was born on March 19th also.....how cool is that! Happy Birthday Guys!!!

This is the first year I haven't been with dad on his birthday...dad suffers from dementia, so it is possible he doesn't remember it is his birthday.....but that's ok, I have a life time of memories, enough for the both of us.

The Three Muskateers

My post from yesterday & the 3 collies reminded me of this picture of me & my 2 sisters !.....I know we're not chasing a frisbee, but we kind of look alike!...

Tate's Clammy

Tate has a favorite toy......we call it clammy. He has had this toy since he was about 4 months old. He is almost 6 yrs now.

However, the clammy didn't start out as a "clam".....it was originally a spider with 8 long legs! When I gave him the spider, many years ago, he ran outside with it & proceeded to stand on the "body" of the spider, & pull off it's legs one by one, until just the body was left.....that is when it became a "clam".

As you can imagine after 6 yrs the toy is pretty beat up. I can't remember how many times I have sewn this thing, & washed it . It is ugly to look at (see the pictures after this post ! ), but Tates loves it! He takes it to bed with him, really! When he sees us getting ready for bed, he searches for his clam & brings it with him. He usually has it in his mouth, just walking around the house, or if someone comes over he'll run to get it so he can show them his lovely toy! He has had many, many toys over the years, including a clammy look alike, in hopes that he will give up the original......but no, clammy is here to stay! Don't worry Tate, your secret is safe with me, .....& everyone who reads this post!!

Shane

This is Shane.....shown on Feb.29 08 at 7 weeks of age. He is my sister's new golden retriever puppy. Brad & I drove down to Strathmore to meet them when they picked him up. It was great to see my sister Debra, nephew Aaron & niece Adrienne.Debra was a bit worried that her older golden , Riley, wouldn't be so happy about a new puppy. Riley is 10. I don't think she had to worry! See below......

Of course Tate was thrilled to meet his new cousin, & to see Debra, Aaron & Adrienne again!

Great News!!!

Today after reading my post about Dawson, Donna sent me an update on Shaman her 10 yr. old rough collie.

Last year Shaman was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, Donna has been religiously treating with supplements since then. At Shaman's last vet appt. there was no evidence of the cancer!!!! Lets all keep our fingers crossed that Shaman can stay cancer free & live for many more years to come......

Shaman is pictured in the picture above with his pal River....I love this picture of him....do you think he is laughing because he knows he is cancer free!!

Awesome Dawson

I met Katie & Dawson in the summer of 2003 at a tracking workshop. I didn't see them again until the spring of 2005 when we both signed up for Donna's tracking classes. We were paired together for a work session, & from that day on became friends as well as tracking buddies. We would go out evenings & weekends in all kinds of weather , once we were out when it was minus 40!!! I guess you can call that "extreme tracking! " The picture below was on Sun. May 20/07 when Tate received his TD & his buddy Dawson got his TDX !! What a great day!
This next picture is of Dawson & Katie as they walked off the field with their tracklayer, moments after finishing their TDX track!

In Oct 07, 2 weeks after I moved to Lethbridge, Katie & Dawson entered another trial & Dawson got his UTD !!! This is a new tracking title in Canada, and it was only Thunder Bay's 2nd UTD trial. UTD stands for Urban Tracking Dog. The last picture below is Katie holding up the final glove for the judge, to complete their UTD track!

My reason for this post today is because I am sad, you see, Dawson has cancer. It's not fair, he's only 7, a year older then Tate. I'm sad because I can't be in Thunder Bay to help Katie through this...he was just diagnosed in Feb. Katie calls me, & we cry together on the phone, then we talk about all of our tracking adventures together & laugh. I feel kind of helpless here, but I think about them all the time & send positive thoughts their way. I wish I could do more.....So if everyone reading this post can say a prayer for Dawson & also send positive thoughts, with any luck he will stay healthy for a long time. It would be wonderful if Dawson would be able to enter the May trial this year, get his UTDX , & become Thunder Bay's 2nd Tracking Trial Champion!

World's Best Agility/Sheep Herder !!

My breeder sent this me this picture and I thought it was just too funny not to share with everyone! It takes herding and agility to a whole new level don't you think?

Who's Afraid of the Big BAAA'd Sheep??

So, as I'm sure you have noticed, Tate is a collie, & a collie is a herding breed. A herding breed is meant to herd, that is their instinct......but what happens when the "owner" doesn't like herding?

Well , first you try conformation, no problem, Tate became a Canadian champion at 18 months.

Then you try out agility.....that went very well. Tate has his CKC novice agility title, as well as his intermediate agility title.

Then, you try tracking. That also went very well.....Tate received his tracking dog title on May 20/07.....I was so proud of him! The picture above this post was on the day he got his TD, in the field with the tracklayer. This picture was taken by the judge, Marie Babin.

Next, you try Rally......that went very well too! Tate received his novice title with 2 high scores in class , one perfect score of 100/100 & a 99/100! He then got his advanced rally title , also with high scores all over 95.....he has 2 of his Excellent Rally legs, also with high scores in the 90's....

Tate is also temperment tested , has his Canine Good Neighbour title & his versatility certificate from the American Working Collie Association.

Ok, so you get the picture, I have to give this sheep herding thing a try, right?

So I go out to my friend Donna's house, she has been herding her dogs for years & she owns her own sheep. Above are some pictures of my great herding adventure last year. This was the first time Tate had seen sheep & the first time I had been close to sheep.

Tate enters the pen & slowly starts to follow the sheep. Then he decides that maybe he should chase them! Now, take a close look at me(in the white), starting to get the picture? Then Tate sees one sheep leave the herd, oh he says, "I have to get that one!" The poor sheep of course realizing this wolf was going to get them , run toward Donna & I for safety.....do you know how big sheep really are & what they look like running full speed toward you? I do, & I don't like it!!! as seen in the picture, me with my arms in the air screaming for my life!

So, even though Tate is herding instinct certified , I'm not sure if this is the sport for me. I also don't like all the sheep poop & I don't like all the sheep poop on Tate!!......I know, I know, it's what Tate was bred for, but I think I will have to let herding sit on the back burner, at least for now!