All Clean

Ash had his show bath this morning.  Now I need to keep him clean for the next 2 days before getting to the show, he likes to run around in the yard as well as dig so its going to be a task!  I leave Thursday am for Red Deer.  He looks really nice, but still has a lot of maturing to do.  I may put him away after this show for awhile and let him do that, maybe bring him out only for local shows for a bit.  We will see how this weekend goes. He only needs 4 point which is possible with the entry we have, so fingers crossed.

To Diet or Not

I hate the word diet, I hate dieting even more.  I have struggled with my weight since I was in public school.  I have come to a point where I know I need to loose weight but I really don't know where to start.  It is extremely overwhelming for me and I get anxiety even thinking about it.  It's not that I eat a lot, its not even that I eat the wrong things, its not my metabolism either.  I blame my age and my medication, plus the fact that I am not working right now, all which have helped me to be at the highest weight in my life.  I am embarrassed even talking about it but feel like I need to address it somehow.  It is sad that I am so uncomfortable. Its getting hard to do the simplest of tasks, things that I love like showing my dogs and participating in Agility. 
I will figure it out , I know I will.

Trial or Not?

I've been trying to decide if I should enter Lync in a rally trial here in May.  We have been training in obedience since Lync was a puppy but I am still not sure we should enter a ring situation.  He understands what is asked of  him while on leash but will he in a trial situation I'm not sure. 
We haven't had any opportunity to enter matches yet, something I would like to do before making my decision. I have a month to decide anyway so will just keep going to classes until then.  We tried off leash heeling last week and he was lost, stopped heeling with me actually, lots of sniffing and lagging so that is what is having me question entering.  I don't want to enter for the sake of seeing where he is at, I think that would be a mistake and set us both back.  I want to make sure I have confidence in both of us before.  Lots to think about !

Great Workshop

The workshop I took Ash to this afternoon is over and I was very pleased with how well Ash did!  It took him about 1/2 hour- 45 minutes to grasp what I wanted, which was for him not to react to other dogs, bikes, & people and to pay attention to me.  It was very rewarding to have him walk nicely at my side at the end of the class.....many thanks to my friend Amanda for putting on the workshop!  Now to just keep up the progress we have started.

Afternoon Workshop for Ash

I'll be the first to admit that I really dropped the ball as far as training and socializing Ash is concerned.  I started out with good intentions but then slowly as my life got in the way I stopped with the training.  It has now starting to bite me in the butt.  He is quite hyper when seeing and meeting other dogs, he gets over stimulated quite easily and as a result misbehaves on leash in public.  I have signed him up for a basic obedience class which we do on Thursday nights and today we are taking a leash reactivity seminar with Amanda.
Ash is a very bright young dog, its just a matter of me learning to harness his energy and give him a job.  I know as he grows up he will settle down as well but in the meantime I am determined to make up for lost time.

Joanne Update

Joanne is on my mind every second of my day.  I have only talked to her once since she was placed in the Hospice.  She is heavily medicated as her pain is increasing so it is hard to speak with her.  She is in and out of consciousness and is very weak.  My sister Debra is going to Thunder Bay this weekend to visit, I wish I was going back with her.  My brother and his wife are there every single night, it helps me to know they are there.  Jane is there every day so she is happy as well to have Brian there at night so she can be at home at night caring for the kids, I worry about her as well as she is just so lost , its all just so sad.

Comparison

Here's a picture of Brad's two motorcycles......you can clearly see the difference !  Brad will be selling the Yamaha

Dream Come True

For years Brad has dreamed of owning a Harley, he has a 1981 Yamaha Seca which he has owned for years.  He never thought it would ever  be possible that his dream would come true but today it did!  Brad is now the owner of a 1993 Harley Davidson, Anniversary, Fatboy motorcycle.  To say he is excited is an understatement! He's like a little kid at Christmas.  I am so happy his dream has come true. 
Brad works very hard everyday and I can't think of anyone that deserves this more, congratulations !!!

3 weeks

The puppies are doing well at 3 weeks of age, they are playing more with each other and starting to walk. Here are the latest pictures .....

The boy
 

girl 1
 

girl 2

Eyes are Open!

Update

Joanne and I in Thunder Bay

Joanne has been in hospice care now for a week.  She took a turn for the worse after I returned home from my visit.  I am not sure if she will ever get out at this point and I am scared.  The other day she had a CT scan which should have the results for us in a few day.  Her one doctor fears it is the tumour in her back causing all the problems.  He thinks it has grown and is pressing on nerves in her back and legs.  They have her at the top of the pain medication they can give her right now, any more and she will do nothing but sleep.  I just want her to be pain free.  I want to go back right now so I can sit with her during the day but cant afford to go back again so soon.  I really wish I had never left Thunder Bay now so I was there .   Its all just so sad.

CT Results......we heard from the doctor today and it is bad news.  All the tumours have grown and the one in Joanne's back is severing her spine , she will not be coming out of the hospice.  We knew this was coming but we are all just devastated.  Joanne knows all this as well.  Joanne has a strong will to live and a strong heart, I am selfish and want her to stay with us but also part of me just wants her to be pain free, I just feel numb.

Do you Believe?

Theresa Caputo is coming to Lethbridge in June!  I watch her show on tv, I think she is hilarious.  If you don't know her she is a medium, yup , she talks to spirits.  You may not believe in this kind of thing and that's ok too, I happen to believe there are people out there that do have the ability.  I believe that when we die we are not gone , part of us lingers on in some capacity or other.  Anyway it will be entertaining to go see her in person!

Clean dogs!

I love my dogs right after they have baths!  It is the groomer in me I guess, I disagree with those that say not to bath your dogs often, I think the opposite.  I like to bath my dogs every month as I think a clean coat is a healthy coat.  Ash had his bath today, he looks amazing, his coat is going to be huge, maybe getting to be a bit much for me, might have to hire someone to help me with his grooming next time!
Here is the result of todays groom .....

More Puppies :)

The puppies are pretty much the most exciting thing going on in my life right now, I am so bored!  So because of that you get to watch the puppies grow.  Roxanne is great about posting pictures of the puppies so I can pass them on here for you to see, here are the latest of them, they are chunky little babies for sure!

The only boy

Red girls face, so adorable!

Yellow girl

6 days

Lync and Autumns pups are 6 days old and they are so adorable!

Good bye little one

Last night Lync's littlest daughter passed away, she was having problems eating and was being supplemented.  Everything possible was done to help her, it just wasn't meant to be, we are all so very sad.

Catching Up

I am home now from my visit with Joanne, it was a brutal flight with a lot of turbulence the closer I got to Calgary.  I wont feel like flying for a long time now! 
My visit with Joanne was a good one, she had many days where her pain was bearable and we were able to go out to a few places like Vanderwees Greenhouse.  I used to take my mom there for a day of shopping and then we would have lunch.  That is what Joanne, Jane , Wendy and I did.  It was a great day and Joanne was able to enjoy herself  as we had her wheel chair so she didn't have to walk.

Getting things caught up at home always sucks, I spent all day yesterday cleaning and doing laundry.  The dogs are back home and getting used to my routine again. 

Here are a couple of pictures from our day at Vanderwees.....