Surprise!

Do you like the look of my blog!
My wonderful boss had it made for me, as a surprise, for my 2 year anniversary working at Paws On The Run!!!
How wonderful is that!......I LOVE my job!!!
Thank you Wendy!!!!!
This is me, Wendy & Amanda at the movies...heehee!...sorry Amanda!

Last Night

We had our final agility class last night for 2 weeks. Amanda snapped these pictures of Kort enjoying the sunroof in his crate while waiting for his turn to play!
I received some nice comments on Kort this session from my instructors....one being on how well he is able to focus on me & his job with all the other dogs & distractions around him. Kort is not neutered so it is even more awesome!....good boy Kort!

It Came!

I'm so excited !!!

Frosty Collies

As you can see it was a frosty morning!  I took these after we got back from our walk today......cool huh!

Fort MacLeod

These are just some of the pictures Wendy took of Tate & Kort yesterday. I love how she always manages to catch the true spirt of my boys. I will post all the rest on my Facebook page.
Enjoy!

Sneak Peak

So here's a link to see some of the pictures Wendy took of the boys today
I will post the photos on the blog when I get my CD!
Thanks Wendy!!

Something New

It seems that with every collie I own I get into a new dog sport with them.
Ben was my first collie & my first obedience dog. Together we earned an Am. & Can. CD, plus 2 legs toward his CDX. He was trained into Utility, but because we never managed to get our last CDX leg we were never able to compete in it.
With Drake, he was my first show dog, earning his Can. Championship, plus 7 Am. points & his Am. Can. CD also.
Tate is a Can. Champion, plus my first agility dog, earning his AGI, my first tracking dog earning his TD., my first rally dog, earning his RE, plus my first CGN, TT, & HIC dog, earning him a Versatility Excellent Title, also a first for me!.
Now with Kort I will be doing all of the usual showing & performance things with him , but we are going try something new again .....Scent Hurdle! I don't know alot about it except the dog has to jump over a series of jumps, & retrieve his own dumbbell from a group of 4. This is done as a relay race. Our first practice is on Sun. & I'm looking forward to it!
Here are a couple of pictures I found of dogs going over the jumps in Scent Hurdle.

Reality

As a friend said to me yesterday, "there are eyes & ears everywhere". I suppose that is a sad but true fact in this computerized day & age.
It is however unfortunate that even on a personal blog, friends cannot make comments without being scrutinized for doing so....

Canadian Collie Does Well at Westminster

"DEACON".....MBIS BISS BPIS Am CH. Can Gr. CH. Uneeda Last Minute Wish CGN TT, just took an Award of Merit at the Westminster Dog show in New York with a very nice entry of some of the top Smooth Collies in the States.
Deacon is co-owned by Beth Rutherford, Ravensfolly Collies of Nova Scotia, Natasha Hollowaty, & Gordon Winstone. He was bred by Val Simpson of Uneeda Collies here in Alberta, just outside of Calgary.
Deacon was handled by Natasha Hollowaty to his win.
Huge congratulations to you all!!!!

Addicted!

I'm addicted to on-line shopping!! I admit it, I love to shop, especially on-line! In this last week I have purchased a new ex-pen, & today I bought the chair I have had my eyes on!
I will not buy anymore for awhile, but these 2 items I will get a ton of use out of at dogs shows & trials, so I don't feel guilty at all!
Here is my chair, except I bought it in my favourite colour, Purple! I can't wait until it arrives!

Obedience VS Agility

I just can't decide!!
At this point I can't afford to do both, so I need to decide which classes to continue with. "I" want to continue with obedience/rally classes. But, as Amanda pointed out last night, it's because "I" feel more confident with my handling & understanding of what is required in obedience.
I can't run fast anymore, haven't been able to for awhile, damn knees!, so I do feel like I am not very good in agility. I have always been a believer in letting the dog decide. Basically, whatever my dogs have the most fun at, & do their best in, I stick with that first.
Kort is doing well in both venues.....if I drop agility classes I will fall behind everyone else & my instructors do not offer beginners classes all the time. They are just too busy.
So I need to decide, what is best for me & Kort.

Calgary Dog Show/Collie Specialty Weekend

Wow, what a whirlwind of a weekend! I am exhausted but I sure had a great time....there were many "firsts" this weekend. I think the most exciting was the fact that I got to compete with Tate in Veterans for the first time, it was a very emotional time, but we had a blast & I was so very proud of him! Tate also had another first, he was asked to help out & be a Junior handlers dog! She was the sweetest girl, Adyesha was her name & she had pretty purple colouring in her hair! Tate went off with her without a care in the world, didn't look for me or care where I was, it was all about his new friend.
Kort had the biggest "first" however. It was the first time he behaved! Not really, but he is quite vocal in his kennel & on the table while being groomed, he was quiet quiet!! I was even able to go out with everyone for lunch & leave Kort & Tate in their kennels! Whoo Hoo! He behaved in the ring, mostly!!, sorry about your blazer Val , hee hee! Just a bit of chewing & jumping going on, trying to see what Val would let him get away with, he found out quickly that it wasn't much!
Kort did not come home with his last 3 points but he still came home a winner in my books!
The best "first" was the fact that my sister Debra surprised me by driving up from Sherwood Park to stay with me for the weekend! We had so much fun & she was such a big help, I was glad she was there. She took pictures & video which I would not of had otherwise. I have posted video on you tube for those interested. Here are some of the pictures, the others will be on my Facebook page in an album.

Calgary Bound !

I'm working until noon today , then we' are off to Calgary for the dog show/collie specialty! I am very excited to be showing Tate in the Veterans class for the first time!!! Hard to believe he will be 8 in April.....Kort just needs 3 point to finish his Canadian championship , so paws crossed everyone! Updates on Sunday or Monday!
Have a great Weekend!
This is a picture of Tate's mom, "Sugar", she is shown competeing at the 2009 American Collie National in the 11 & over Veterans class, which she won! Pictured with her is Tate's breeder Peg Vohr of Mariner Collies.

Going Waaaay Back !

My friend Donna of Spiritdance Blog posted some old pictures.  I asked if I could also post a couple on my blog & she agreed.

This is a picture of our "gang" from high school, most of us are still in touch & good friends.  We are all turning 50 this year! ......from left to right are: Jim Tarnowski, my cousin Lynda Livitski(now Tarnowski), Linda Siczkar, me!, Sandra Roberts, Donna Brinkworth & Joan Kivi. The blue collie is Linda's Bridy, an OT CH. & her Pekingese who I have forgotten his name!

This is a picture of all of our dogs, I have never seen this picture before & it brings back so many wonderful memories.
From left to right are, Lynda's Norwegian Elkhound Nakia, Donna's 2 collies Beau & Jessie, my first collie Ben, Joan's Karelian Bear Dog, Liika, & Linda's Bridy.
This picture is at Hazlewood Lake in Thunder Bay back in the 70's! Donna says it's from 79, but I'm thinking more like 76, 77.
Thanks for these pictures Donna, I will treasure them!