2011 Goals

Well 2011 is almost upon us & I looked back at my end of year post for 2009.
My Goals for the dogs for 2010 were as follows:


Tate:
I wanted to enter some AAC trials with him as he qualified for a double drop this year.
We entered one in August & Tate came home with 2 Q's, one in Standard & 1 in Jumpers!
I wanted to enter him in Veterans at a conformation show, I did this in Feb 2010 & he had a blast!!
I wanted to get him back out tracking, this I didn't do :(
So for 2011, my goals with Tate will be to get out tracking! ,to go to more AAC agility trials & hopefully get his Standard & Jumpers titles.
I would also like to go to some CKC agility trails, now that he can compete at the lower height, & get his AGXS title, as well as his Novice Jumpers title.


Kort:
I had wanted to finish his championship, we accomplished this in May 2010.
I wanted to do rally & obedience, & get his RN & CD.
Kort got his RN in August & his CD in December!
I wanted to continue in Agility with no pressure to trial, we did enter a AAC trial & Kort did awesome !!!! Way better then I had ever imagined.
I also wanted to get him tracking, this I didn't do....darn...I need to get tracking !!
For 2011 my goals with Kort will be to enter an Open trial & maybe even get his CDX !, to get his Rally Advanced title , a CKC Novice Agility title in both Standard & Jumpers, & get out tracking !!!
I will also be getting started in Scenthurdle racing & will maybe put a SHD title on him :))

So I accomplished all the goals I had set out for the boys (except for the tracking :(
It has been a wonderful year with the dogs & I'm looking forward to hopefully meeting all my goals with them in 2011!

Perky Perkins!

Today on our walk it was crazy windy! Perkins normally hates the wind, but not today !!! He was so happy & crazy... bouncing, jumping & rolling :)
Since his back surgery he has this funny little sideways gait when he runs, it is the cutest thing ever, Amanda managed to capture some of his antics today......




The rest of the dogs had fun too, it was not ideal conditions for collie pictures, the wind made their ears go prick, Amanda captured some good ones of Kort though, Tate was busy walking beside me on leash :)......

Kort & his buddy Perkins, Perkins loves to chew on Kort ruff :)......

Kort had a blast chasing Vito today !......


Kort, Pixel & Vito......

Amanda was so sweet to get this picture of me :)....insert sarcasm here !. I had to go get Tate who was in the weirdest mood today & didn't want to walk in the direction we were going...I kept crashing through the snow which was knee deep, bad Tater dog :)

2 Video of Perkins :)

ok, I promise , no more cheesy videos !!

Let's Try that Again, for Wendy & Brian :)

OK, I tried to lighten the picture but I noticed that it is blurry so now I have to go back & figure that part out :))
Enjoy!

For Myself

I ordered myself a special keepsake ornament of my dad & I...it came on Christmas Day, I picked it up yesterday ♥ I love it :)

For Wendy :)

Forgive the super duper darkness of the videos, I'm experimenting :)!!!

Boxing Day Walk

This was not the easiest thing we have ever attempted to do but it was sure worth it !
The whole gang from today's walk...
L-R Tate, Perkins, Coulee, Boone, Lacey, Vito(in behind), Wicca(in front),Pixel & Kort......

Kort......

Perkins strikes a pose......

Coulee says "if you aren't throwing it then just gimme it!!!!......

I love this shot Amanda got, Perkins wants treats, Coulee wants the ball :))......

Me & the Gang......

Perkins says...Wait for meeeeeee!!!!......

Christmas 2010

This year has been a very different Christmas, I have a house full of dogs which is interesting but fun, I have had no time for anything, my dogs didn't even get their Christmas baths!!! Oh the horror! I hope to at least get them brushed & their feet done before Diana notices LOL!
I did not cook my usual stuffing & chicken this year, we had a selection of M&M's goodies last night & tonight I made a pizza ,
I am missing home more then ever this year, I called mom last night to see if I could smell the cooking over the phone, no luck darn it!
I told my mom I want her to fly here for New Year's, I hope she thinks about it :)
Some pictures from Christmas Eve & day......

My very patient husband Brad♥......

Perkins & Brad playing ......

Kort is such a good host, he let's everyone else have his bed :)......


What ya got ??? ......

I have all 5 dogs attention , look closely, Perkins is in at the bottom of the picture & Lacey is in the top right corner.....
No comments on my pj's please, my mommy gave them to me :)......

I received an unexpected & wonderful gift this year from my brother Brian, sister Joanne, & sister in law Wendy....
A glass ornament of my dad, it made me cry, I have been trying not to think about him not being here this year.
I will treasure the ornament, I like the spot that I hung it on the tree, dad is overlooking the curling rock ornament that I bought him a few years ago, it hung in his hospital room until he passed away in July, then my mom gave it back to me. The owl watches over it too, I inherited my love of birds from my dad, Merry Christmas Dad ♥ ♥ ♥......

Christmas Eve Walk

This morning I picked up Coulee & Lacey as I am looking after them over Christmas, as well as Perkins. I picked up Amanda & we went for an early morning walk , Perkins stayed home with Brad, where it was warm :))
Amanda took some great pictures, hopefully I will get some of Perkins when it warms up enough for him to go out walking :))

Tate.....

Kort......

Hurray for Kort, he got the Santa !!!......

Sweet Pixel, The Christmas Princess !......

That's gotta hurt !, Lacey body checks Pixel !......

Cuteness!!!!!......

Lacey wants the Santa Kong !......

Happy Collie Days Everyone !!!!

I'm Waiting !

Yesterday Amanda drew me another picture......
She thinks Diana should send me this for Christmas !!......

Move Over Kort....

" The Perkins" has arrived :)......

Wicked Winter Pictures!

Amanda & I made a quick trip to the top of Pavan Park this afternoon after Scenthurdle practice. I needed some new winter pictures & Amanda agreed to help me out. The above blog header was taken today as well.
Thanks Amanda they are awesome !......

I love this next picture....however it really shows what a brat Kort is! Tate was going for my mitt when Kort came running out of nowhere & crashed into poor Tate!......



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I'll be posting all the pictures on Facebook :))

Superstar

My little Superstar/Peanut's ad, on Collies on Line, turned out very nice if I do say so for myself :))

Urban Wolf Update

We are now into week 3 of feeding Urban wolf.
I am still trying to find what is going to work the best for Kort. The first week I added chicken, his stools where pretty good so I thought I would mix things up a bit & I gave him beef the 2nd week. That did not go over as well as I had hoped :), he was quite loose with the beef.
I also started feeding him some raw pork side ribs...yes, I said RAW !!! I wanted something to satisfy his need to chew because the Urban Wolf is soft. At first he wasn't sure about them, but now he is crazy about them, I just don't watch :))
I am not sure if it was the beef, or the raw bones that made him loose, so, I have stopped the bones for now, & have started week 3 with 2 parts of ground pork & one part ground chicken, this combo seems to be working great, so far so good! If his stools remain firm on this I will introduce the bones back & see what happens.
I think the problem was that I did too much too soon.
I hope I can find the right mix for Kort, he really LOVES this way of eating !

Happy Birthday !

I am very late in posting this but I hope I will be forgiven :)
I hope you had the best day Dianne!
Happy Birthday ♥

Proud Moment

The quote below is written by Dave Clarke, Kort's breeder.....this Specialty was held on Sunday in Japan. This is a huge honour! Kort & I are very proud of Dave & Shawn. The collie "Crosby" is Kort's half brother & was just sold to Japan.

The winning of awards and placements happens differently in Japan. Crosby won the open class first then moved up to what is known as the special class. He again won in this class. This is not a class of finished champions as we know the ...specials to be in North America. From there he qualified to move up to the Champion class to compete directly with finished Japanese Champions. Crosby won in this class once again which qualified him to move up to the Grand Champion class where he won yet another time putting him in the ring with the final group of dogs giving him a placement known as Semi Best Collie which is first runner up to Best of Breed!!!The easiest way to explain is that he was Best of Winners and First Award of Merit. A bit complicated I know and it took me a while to figure it all out. Crosby earned two Of what they call Challenge Certificates towards his Japanese Championship and it is all these levels of winning that has never been done by a dog at a Collie Club of Japan ever on it's history of 57 years. We are truly thrilled and honored to be part of history making at the Collie Club of Japan

New CD Video !

Thanks so much to Sarah for taping & putting Kort's New CD video to music.....what a character my Korty is :) !!

He Did It !!!

This morning, very very early, Amanda & Pixel, Sarah & Kaleb , Kim & Bosley & me & Kort, drove to Calgary for an obedience trial.
Kort was a super awesome boy & finished his CD with a score of 186, & a 4th place in Novice A !!!!!
To say I am proud would be an understatement....Kort & I have been through alot together and he is teaching me more then any collie I have had before him. He is also the youngest collie to get his CD that I have trained. He is 2.5 yrs old.
He was super on his heel on leash, he sat each time! His figure 8 was great as well, then the heel off leash :))
Let's just say Kort thought maybe it was time to lighten things up a bit, during the last quarter of the heel pattern he started tugging on my pant leg..like seriously tugging & pulling, I could have killed him but it was so funny I just had to laugh, what else can you do.
I am super lucky to have had Sarah tape it for me, can't wait to post it for everyone to see :))
His recall was nice & fast, although he thought maybe he should jump up on me before sitting, then of course he couldn't remember how to return to heel, even though we had just practiced.
Time for the dreaded sits & downs came, he had me slightly worried, he really liked the smell of the Chesapeake beside us & busily sniffed the air toward her.....on the downs the dachshund broke & I'm sure he was thinking, oh looky there, it's Perkins!!!, Then the chessie beside him broke & returned to her momma, all the while Kort was watching his lovely smelling girl walk away , but he stayed !!! Good boy!!
Can't wait to start my open training with him!

Here are a couple of pictures from after the trial......

Kort & Pixel, NEW CD's !!!!......Kaleb, NEW CDX!!!!!

Sarah & I ambush Amanda with a hug because she LOVES to hug !......

Urban Wolf

I am trying something new with Kort.
It's called Urban Wolf dog food.....Kort suffers from chronic loose stools, I have tried many things, it clears up for awhile but eventually they come back.
A friend suggested this food to me, I like it because I can add my own COOKED meat to it. I do not care for raw feeding, however, I do agree with the raw feeders that kibble isn't always the best for our dogs.
Tate does well on kibble, he eats Go!, Grain Free & doesn't seem to be suffering. However, I may also switch him over to Urban Wolf.
Right now I am boiling up some chicken thighs to include in the food, along with the juice I have boiled them in. Urban Wolf suggests the food be boiled for pre cooking.
If anyone has used Urban Wolf & can add any suggestions it would be appreciated..
I want to do right by my dogs, already I have seen a difference in Kort's stools, they are much smaller for one thing !
The one downfall is that no one in Lethbridge carries it, I have to get it from Calgary, but I am hoping to change that & convince one of the pet shops to bring it in.
I have included a paragraph from the Urban Wolf web site below, I love the way they say you don't HAVE to feed raw to get benefits from this food, even though it was made to be mixed with raw food I appreciate the versatility of it.

From the Urban Wolf Web Site......

Urban Wolf is the world's original grain-free biologically appropriate real food diet mix for dogs that allows you to make your own powerful homemade dog food quickly, easily and very economically.
Cooked or Raw Meat? You chose your own fresh meat, use COOKED or RAW, like ground chicken!
This is a very important issue.
We RECOMMEND all dogs start with precooked meat unless your dog has already eaten a raw diet;
Then gradually transition to raw meat after a few months (if you wish to feed raw).
If you are unsure if your dog should be eating raw meat, we recommend you ask your Vet.

Some dogs that have spent their lives eating commercial kibble have a tough time with raw meat so please have compassion for your pet & PRE-COOK your meat. When using cooked meat with Urban Wolf you dog will not lose any of the benefits of this superb diet (*make sure you add all the cooking juices to the food).
We have had dogs eat nothing but Urban Wolf with cooked meat for years and
they have done as well as the dogs on raw.

Wish us luck :))