New Supplement

Photo by Wendy Devent

I have always given my boys a supplement to help with aches, pains, arthritis etc.  Even Kort has gotten something from about a year of age as he has had a sprained shoulder, as well as stiffness in his hips.  He has been xrayed & is not dysplastic :)

Today I got my shipment of Green Lipped Mussel.  I have a few friends who swear by it so I thought it was time to try it.

Green Lipped Mussels are native to the coastal waters of  New Zealand where they are farmed. The mussels in the pristine New Zealand waterways feed on a special variety of subarctic plankton which is rich in antioxidants.
When Green Lipped Mussel powder is extracted from the raw mussel, it remains a whole food and retains the same nutrient profile as the raw mussel.  It contains protein, chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate, complex carbohydrates and a unique combination of fatty acids that are not found in any other marine or plant life.  The Omega-3 concentration is very high and said to be over 200 times more powerful then the Omega-3's in Salmon oil.  The combination of ETA's ( a type of Omega-3 fatty acid ) and glucosamine play an important role in reducing inflammation and pain and improving mobility in dogs affected by arthritis.
It has been proven that when added to the food , significant improvement in swelling, inflammation and mobility is shown in just 6 weeks of treatment.  It has also been successful in management of degenerating joint diseases.

The great news is that it is safe , free of any known side effects, and among the most researched anti-inflammatories know to natural medicine.  How cool is that!!

To Change or Not Continued

Huxley 2000-2010
Grandfather to the puppies
Photo by Blazingstar

 

I am really enjoying the suggestions people are making for my blog title , to change or not change that is the question:)

I laughed when I read what Sarah wrote, herding & birding the 2 things I don't like doing lol!! I hadn't even thought of that, duh!  However.......I am thinking of doing the retriever hunt stuff with my Flatcoat!!!  I think it is something I will really like, & how awesome is it that all my friends know how to do it already & can show me, and not to mention that Liz has the awesome house on the prairie that has it's own fields & a river to practise at ;)

I am writing down all the suggestions so feel free to keep them coming , & there definitely will be a surprise for the person who comes up with the name I choose :)

So fun!!

To Change or Not

It is no secret that I may be adding a new puppy to my household this year.  If Mother Nature cooperates my puppy will be born in March.  I am so excited, a few of my friends may also be getting new puppies this year so it will be so awesome to be able to socialize our guys together.

This got me thinking, when I started this blog it was called One Collie, because I had one collie, clever I know , then Kort came along, so I added the Two Actually.  So here's my dilemma, if I get my puppy, he will be a Flatcoated Retriever, so do I totally change the name of my blog???

One suggestion I had was Herding & Birding, I like it :)  So what does everyone think? 
If I do end up changing it, I'm going to make it into a contest, so start thinking , I will have a prize for the person who comes up with a name I like.

Don't give me your suggestions for a name yet, wait until I decide if I'm going to change it, I will let everyone know, but do let me know if you think I actually need to change the name.

Re Posts

I am re posting pictures on here that most of you have seen of Facebook already.  I just found out that Tate's breeder, Peg Vohr, occasionally gets on here & I want to make sure she see the pictures of Tate :)
So enjoy them again, or go visit another blog :) :)

Tate's Show Picture...... my Handsome boy ♥

Gorgeous Head Shot taken by Amanda......

Two Shots on the grooming table before going in the ring......

In the ring, that is Kort's mom behind Tate, Ch Lachki Rosewood By Request ROM, she also competed in Veterans

Me grooming his feet, he's so impressed :)

I love this shot!  Tate says, "hey....you lookin at me ??......

This & That

I've been trying to wrote a blog post for a long time but it just never seems to happen.  As I read through friends blogs I see that alot of them are suffering from the same thing, maybe it's something in our water here .

I haven't been myself for sometime, just lots of things have happened, not only recently, but over the last couple of years, that have just been overwhelming for me.  I have always been a strong person, I've had to be, but this time I had to admit that maybe I wasn't so strong after all.  Thank goodness for friends that are supportive, I can't imagine what it would have been like had they not been around.

Thanks goodness for my dogs.  They are my saviours, seriously.  Often, the only time I felt ok was when I was out walking my dogs.  I would keep walking until I could feel the strain & pressures leaving me.  The joy of watching my 2 boys run around & play together always warms my heart & makes me smile.  Tate, who is going to be 11 in April, makes me cry all the time, but in a good way.  I feel blessed to have him still.  I am lucky he is as strong as he is at this age.  I saw that most recently at the Collie Specialty last weekend.  He was so excited to be there with me & I was excited to have him on the end of the leash again.  I got so many emails from Collie people saying how wonderful it was to see him & how much they could see the bond between us.  I don't want him to be 11 , I don't want him to be old, the time went to fast,  it always does. 

Kort will be 5 in May.  When did that happen?  Geez, my baby boy is going to be 5.  There are so many things I still want to do with him, but I have to concentrate my time on just one thing.  I realized I just can't do it all anymore.  Kort needs 1 Intermediate Standard leg, & 1 Intermediate Jumpers leg in CKC Agility.  I will finish off those titles, but then will retire him from Agility for now.  Perhaps when he is 7, & I can lower his jump height, I will rethink it. 
I will continue to try for his CDX, but I am no longer obsessed with getting his UD. I will also continue to let him play in Scenthurdle, he loves Scenthurdle :)
Tracking remains high on my list of things to do with him as well, but I am not going stress if I don't do it right now.

It seems this is the year of the puppy for so many of my friends.  It is hopefully the year for me to get my Flatcoated Retriever.  If all goes well my bundle of joy will be due around St Patty's Day :)
I have waited 2 years for this puppy, but will wait as long as it takes to get him if it doesn't happen this time around.
I never thought I would have 3 dogs.  I struggled at first wondering if I had the time for 3 big dogs, but I do, of course I do.  My life is dogs, always has been.  It wouldn't be much of a life for me without them in it. 

I mentioned earlier in the post about being overwhelmed .  I have since dropped another day of work, so I only work 3 days a week now, it is perfect.  I no longer feel overwhelmed, like there is no time to do everything.  I am feeling like Jolene again :)

So there you have it, a summery of what has been happening in the little corner of my world :) 

Tate ♥

Na Na Na Na Na !

Because I really have nothing to say, or I do have something to say & just choose not to say it, I am doing short posts with favourite pictures for now.  Hopefully that will be enough for my following to keep them satisfied until I snap out of it :)

I love this picture of Kort, it is the "essence" of him.  He has just finished stealing poor Coulee's snowman, he has long since dropped it,  but feels he needs to run circles around her & gloat, yup, that's my boy ♥

The Long And Winding Road

Better Late Then Never, Right ?

Here is my Christmas Morning video for you to enjoy lol!
I know you all looooove watching them sooooo much :)


 

My Mom ♥



  

Mom went home on Friday, back to Thunder Bay.  She was here for 2 weeks , the house feels so empty :(

 

It was awesome having her here, all to myself,  Brad gave us lots of girl time :), we had lots of laughs & lots of crys as well .  We talked about life, & remembered our family members that have gone already.

 

It was strange, seeing my mom in the condition she is now.  She had a stroke in 2011. She now can't walk long distances, so she requires a wheelchair in places like the airport.  I have to slow my walk down to accommodate her, I have to offer her my arm when walking across roads or slippery spots. She gets tired easily.  It's scary, I don't want her to be "old"

 

 

The dogs love her of course! Perkins loved her the most I think, he followed her everywhere & even slept with her, she wanted to take him home :)

  

 



It was also great to have her cook a roast one day, omg I miss her roasts!!! She always made a roast every Sunday when we all lived at home, at the time we all hated that she expected us to be there for supper, we had better things to do you know!  Now I wish I could have her roast every Sunday :)

 

 

 Anyway, I am already trying to figure out when I will take a trip back home to see her again, you are never too old for your mommy ♥

 

It's A New Year

 

I have been very absent from blogging lately, you probably noticed.  Life has been crazy, and a bit overwhelming at times.  I'm trying to get a handle on things , trying hard :) Sometime I just want to escape & be with me, only me, & not have to think .

This is not a poor me post, I am not like that , but I did take a step back & looked at my life over the last few years.  I have had many many wonderful things happen! One of them bringing Kort into our home in July 2008, I love that dog !♥
But.....there has been other not so wonderful things go on as well.

2007, in October 2007 we moved to Lethbridge from the only place I had ever lived.  Brad had come here 6 months earlier for his new job, that meant I was in charge of packing up the entire house & all that goes with that, as well as closing down my own Grooming business. I also had to leave my family.  I really don't know how I did it, it was very stressful :(

2008, I started my new job with a Dog Daycare, I am still there, although I am slowly widdling down my hours.  The aches & pains in my back & hip are leaving me quite limited as what I can help with unfortunately.

2009, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, that explained alot !  I hurt all the time, all over, & because I hurt I can't sleep.  There are medications of course, but they don't really work, I just try to work through the pain but it isn't easy.  It makes me depressed sometimes as I am so young inside my head, but my body sucks!!! lol!

2010, my dad died :( 
It was horrible that I was here, I flew home & was able to be there when he passed away.

2011, Brad had his first bi polar episode since 2006, he couldn't work, & was hospitalized.  I had to keep on working , managing everything, house, dogs etc.
In Oct 2011 my younger sister Joanne was diagnosied with stage 4 cervical cancer, once again I flew home to offer my support.  It was a horrible ,draining experience, for all of us.  Joanne has since completed her treatments & at her recent PET scan there was no evidience of cancer anywhere else, & her original cancer has not grown , yippee!

2012, again less then 6 months later Brad has another bi polar episode, back in the hospital,  he is still not working almost a year later.  He comes and goes with his depression but he is fighting his way back :) 

Having my mom here over Christmas has been wonderful, but I have realized that I haven't been able to rest!  You know just chill on the couch, watch movies kind of chill.  I have been out with the boys for nice walks but I feel I have to hurry back as my mom is here, that's just in my mind I know, but still it's there .  Mom goes home on Friday & I am already sad, I don't want her to leave :( It has been nice to have her here to talk with.

There are some new changes coming this year , a puppy hopefully :)  I have some decisions to make with Kort regarding his dog sports, what do I want to continue with.  I just can't do everything anymore, it takes too much mental effort on my part & I just can't cope at the moment with too much thinking :)

Anyway, that the gist of things ,

Yesterday Wendy & I went out for a walk with Tate, Kort, Perkins(who I was dog sitting over the holidays) Coulee & Lacey, here are a couple of pictures thanks to Wendy :)