Today I got the cortisone injection in my hip....the Dr. said it will be about 2 days before I notice the full effects...can't wait!
Before I got the injection I asked to see the needle, the Dr. said that they don't usually show the patients the needles as they get squeamish. Of course I laughed & told him that my dream was to be a medical examiner & that I love watching all those gory shows on tv. So that led to a conversation about how my Dr. got to see an actual autopsy while he was in medical school, but I will spare you all the fascinating details!
Anyway, in the end he ended up showing me the needle to which I replied "holy crap!" LOL! He laughed when I said, oops, sorry ! It was about 4" long & very thick, not like the usual needles you see. It has to be big enough to get through all the fat & stuff :) I had some freezing first but could still feel that thing going into my hip.....hopefully it will work, but if it doesn't at least I got to hear stories of autopsies!

Getting Old

This is what will be waiting for me & my hip on Thurs.morning!....eeeeeek!

Hide and Seek

Oh look, it's my freshly laundered comforter!......

What have we here??......

Look, it's The Perkins!!! and he's sleeping deep inside the comforter!......

Awwww, isn't he cute!......

Perkins Update

I have Perkins here for doggy sitting until the end of the month. I am posting this for his dad Brian so he knows that he is doing well & we have had no "accidents" so far, (knocking on wood)....you see, at Christmas when I had Perkins, he jumped up to grab a ball from my hand, pirouetted in the air & landed on his side with a big thump! That earned him a visit to the vet as he sprained his shoulder....poor Perkins. Then the last time we had him he rushed down the stairs to greet Brad & slid all the way down...eeek...thankfully he sustained no injuries that time!
However, we had one teeny tiny minor occurrence last night before agility class....I was ready to leave , had Kort loaded in the van & came back to get Perkins, but I couldn't find him...he sometimes hides when he doesn't want to do something, like go for a walk when it's cold out...anyway, I looked & looked for him but couldn't find him anywhere, I was just starting to panic when I tried the closet, there he sat, pleased as punch looking at me as if to say "it's about time you fool!", & then he calmly exited!
I guess he had wandered in when I was grabbing a shirt & I didn't notice, oops!!
Don't worry Brian, he was only there for about 10 minutes...totally safe LOL!, whew!

Another Day In The Neighbourhood!

A big orange hissing cat that wouldn't move off the sidewalk, a guy on a skateboard with his out of control brown lab running beside him, a lady, her child & an 11 week old beagle puppy, a screaming labradoodle with her dad, a black lab trying to jump over her fence, & a miniature pincher & maltese that escaped from under their fence & ran after us.....
These were a few of the things we saw on this mornings " relaxing" walk....big sigh :)

Scent Hurdle

Kort continues to impress me with how quick he is catching on to this new "game". Tonight at practice we did more scent discrimination & Kort picked his dumbbell each time, one time he picked his up, dropped it, went & checked all the other dumbbells, then decided he had the right one the first time! He has yet to get it wrong!
Then we split up into 2 teams & did a practice race, it was the first time most of the dogs had done this & they all were great. I put Kort's dumbbell in a different spot each time & he brought it back each time!
Kort & I are both enjoying this so much!
Here is a picture of Amanda's Wicca looking for her dumbbell during a race.

If you want to check out our team go to our Scent Hurdle blog listed in my favourite blogs to the right...we are called No Nonscents!

Are You Kidding Me !!

I can appreciate the beauty Mother Nature has to offer , but sometimes she just sucks!......
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A spring storm that whipped across southern Alberta Wednesday dumped wet, heavy snow that knocked out power lines, closed highways brought Lethbridge to a virtual standstill for most of day.

Snow reaching up to depths of 60 centimetres fell across all of southeastern Alberta, stretching from the Trans-Canada Highway south to the U.S. border and Highway 2 east to Saskatchewan.

The storm crippled Lethbridge as power outages left three-quarters of the city without electricity. Schools were closed while the hospital reverted to emergency power. Residents were asked to reduce water consumption because the water treatment centre was also affected.

Mayor Bob Tarleck said the city enacted a stage one emergency response — the lowest of the three levels — in response to the storm, which dumped about 20 to 25 centimetres of snow over Lethbridge.

"Spring came in suddenly and ferociously," he said.

By late Wednesday afternoon, power had been restored to most of the city and officials were watching for flooding as the snow began to melt in the warmer temperatures.

Tater Dog

Guess Who's 8 today!......

I love my Tater Dog!......



Happy Birthday Tate!
Thanks Amanda for helping to make Tate's day so special for me :)

Roxee

There is a new Rescue group in Lethbridge, it is called Windy City Rescue. They are geared toward older dogs, but will take on younger ones in need as well.
I was trying to come up with some way to help them out & Wendy suggested grooming. The idea was perfect for me and today I got to help out my very first dog.
Meet Roxee, she is an Am. Cocker Spaniel. She is super sweet and was super good to groom!
Here are some before and after pictures of Roxee, hopefully she will find her forever home soon, who could resist her!
Before......

After......

Before......

After......

Before......

After......

Birthday Wishes

I'm sure everyone will join me in wishing Diana, aka: "Squishy's mom", a Happy Birthday today!!
Have a good one!

Ups and Downs.....

Tonight at our Scent Hurdle practice Kort blew me away!
Today has been a day of mixed emotions regarding Kort, let me explain......
This morning started out rather badly when I had to cut our walk short due to Kort refusing to stop barking. We had gotten about 10-15 min. into our walk when a couple of dogs walked by in the distance with their owner. For some reason today I could not get Kort back in control, & the barking & whining escalated into howling!, so, I turned around & went home, end of walk....this stayed on my mind all day, wondering if I was doing everything I could do to help Kort become the well behaved dog I know he can be.
Then tonight happens......to fully appreciate this I need to mention that Kort has "just" started to hold & pick up his dumbbell, like maybe 2 months, no more. So at Scent Hurdle practice tonight we worked on retrieving the dumbbell over 2, then 4 jumps, & bringing it back over the jumps. Kort had no problem, I put him in a stay, ran up to the end of the 4 jumps, placed his dumbbell on the box, returned & told him "take it"....he flew over the 4 jumps, grabbed his dumbbell & returned back over the 4 jumps with it in his mouth !!!! It wasn't just a fluke either, he did this about 4 times!! WOW!!... seriously !!! WOW!!
Then we worked on scent discrimination. Kort retrieved his own dumbbell each time. The final time it was his dumbbell, plus 2 others. He ran up, sniffed each dumbbell, grabbed his & returned back with it. He made me very very proud tonight....I love this dog, really really love him, I just wish he didn't mess with my emotions so much!

Wow !

What a difference 5 months can make!.....
Kort, October 2009......

Kort, March 2010......

I knew Kort's coat was in great shape but I didn't realize just how much length he had grown until I looked at the picture from last Oct.
Years ago I was told that my collies would never carry enough coat as I bathed them too much, but I didn't listen. I believe a healthy coat is a clean coat.
What do you think?

Crate Games

I didn't think I would ever see a crate in my living room again......not when I have 8 year old & 2 year old dogs !
However it became very apparent after my dog show weekend in Camrose that I need to do something with Kort. Kort is a wonderful , smart dog. Amanda says "too smart", & I agree. He travels in a crate in my van all the time, but when we are at rally, agility, scent hurdling practice , or at a dog show he is a different dog. He barks, constantly, whether I am away from his sight or in his sight. In Camrose it escalated to a terrible level, so bad that I couldn't leave our benching area without him barking. I would try to sneak away when he fell asleep, but within minutes I could hear him barking across the room. At one point our Sheltie neighbour told Dianne that she was tired of the barking. I'm not sure if it is me he is barking for, I didn't think he had separation anxiety, but who knows. He is a stubborn boy, always wanting his own way, spoiled , well, perhaps a bit !
I am embarrassed & annoyed at myself for not getting this fixed sooner. So, out comes the crate again. I am starting him over....making the crate an exciting place to be, many times a day I ask him to "crate", he runs in & I treat him for being inside, he can't come out until I release him with an "ok". Next I will be closing the door with him in it & building up the time I am doing that, if he is quiet he will get a treat. Eventually I will close the door completely while I am doing things around the house, or training Tate. Hopefully he will learn at some point he is not the center of the universe.
Anyone who has any other suggestions please feel free to post them!