One Collie....two actually :)

A Seriously Long Video :)

2012-02-14T21:19:00.003-07:00

Here's another of my famous videos, very long, & probably very boring . I had fun making it though, hopefully you will enjoy watching it but I won't be offended if you don't cuz I'll never know LOL!!

Tater Tuesday :)

2012-02-13T12:22:00.007-07:00

Tate turned 1 year old in 2003......
We celebrated the big day :)

First a run in the park with his new toy ......

Then a stop at Robins doughnuts for a Robin's egg, we did this every night on our walk :) ......

Then home for a Birthday cupcake :).....

Tate's first show as an Open dog, Winners Male all 3 days :)......

Tate becomes a Canadian champion, July 2003, 18 months old......

Another Littermate :)

2012-02-08T21:44:00.002-07:00

While in Calgary on Saturday I got to meet the owner of another one of Kort's littermates! There were 11 in the litter so you can imagine I don't know where they all are.
This littermate is a sweet girl who goes by the name of Celine,
here are some pictures of her......

Tater Tuesday :)

2012-02-06T22:03:00.006-07:00

Proof that he used to enjoy laying on the grooming table to be brushed :)......

3 point major at his first show, Winners, Best of Winners, over the Open dogs !......

3rd place in Puppy Sweapstakes at his first show ......

Back in Thunder Bay after a big storm, 8 months......

Drumroll Please........

2012-02-05T21:11:00.002-07:00

The official video.... WE ROCK !

Calgary Scenthurdle

2012-02-05T14:05:00.007-07:00

NO NONSCENTS....left to right
Donna Epic,& Swift, Amanda & Pixel,Jolene & Kort,Tina & Jethro, Amanda (boxloader), Kim & Bosley, Sarah & Gyp......

We are home from out first Scenthurdle meet of the year & OMG we rocked!!!!!!
You have to understand how huge this was for us, in the past year of racing we have either placed dead last, or second last, never higher. Last night we lost only 2 races all night & out of the 7 teams entered we came in second place!!!! We even beat the top standing team once , whoo hoo!!!!
We have all worked so hard & we have a wonderful group of committed people.
I would also like to add that even when we were losing last year, we ALWAYS remained positive & upbeat & good sports, never did we get down. We were the same last night, win or loose we are always happy. At one point last night we skipped back to our places , all except Amanda who killed herself laughing instead! I am just so proud of us !!!! We were all giddy & we can't wait for our next race in Red Deer! We ended our night with each of us downing a shooter, which I might add gave most of us instant heart burn LOL!
Thanks to our team captain Amanda, who has pushed us to become better & for not giving up on us !!
PS there is video so stay tuned for that !
Thanks also to Sarah for taking the awesome pictures!

Kort on a misson !......

Kort at the box,
Kort Kort he's a sport, he is very very smort :) that's the Kort song LOL!......

This and That

2012-02-01T10:23:00.007-07:00

Not much happening in my end of the world these days, at least not much to talk about :)
I do have some good news, Joanne was in for her brachy yesterday,( internal radiation ),& her oncologist said her tumor has shrunk !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hurray !, I hope Joanne can beat this!

Other then that I have been doing obedience with Kort, last week at practice I was very happy with his retrieve over the high jump, he was enthusiastic, actually anticipating the retrieve, but I did not correct it, that can come later when he can take a correction without wanting to die LOL!
His drop on recall is good but we need to get him dropping immediately, right now he takes a couple of steps forward first, Kim sent me some ideas that I want to try out for that.
We did a 1 minute out of sight sit & he aced it but got up on his down, he never gets up on his down, there were alot of distractions that night so I'm not too stressed about it.

We are going to Calgary on Sat. morning for our first Scenthurdle meet of the year! I am looking forward to getting away for the day. Amanda & I are leaving early so I cam watch the Collie Specialty.

So that's pretty much my life right now :)
I leave you with a couple of pictures of my family ......

My mom. brother Brian & sister Debra......

My mom, sister Joanne & sister Debra......

Tater Tuesday :)

2012-01-30T20:13:00.007-07:00

Here is Tate at 8 months, he's all groomed & ready for his first Sanction Match which was held the next day. He got the breed & a 3rd in Group , that's my boy ♥ ......

A sitting picture the night before his first match ......

More stacking training :) ......

At 8 months his head was looking gorgeous & he was starting to grow into his big ears LOL!......

Another picture at 8 months......

Scissor Happy :)

2012-01-29T14:39:00.004-07:00

Today was Tate's bath day. I swear the older he gets the cuter he gets !
For some time now I have noticed his chest hair has been getting sparser & sparser. It looked like just a small strip right in the center, with short hair on the sides, I didn't like it, so today I took my trusty thinning shears to it & cut it off, yup, I cut off my collies chest hair!!! I love it, he looks like a puppy again & it's all one even length.
Doesn't he look handsome ? ♥

Drew

2012-01-28T17:15:00.006-07:00

Today I had the pleasure of grooming Amanda's dads dog. Amanda is super busy, & I needed the money, so it was a win win situation !!
His name is Drew & he is a Rottweiler X, I think he is a Bernese Mt. Dog X :)
He is SUPER sweet & so well mannered & good to do. He is an older dog but you would never know it. I just love him :)
Here he is, all groomed & looking very handsome !
So, I just talked to Amanda, apparently Drew is an Akita X , I can see it now !

Tater Tuesday !

2012-01-24T10:40:00.012-07:00

Tate at 15 weeks, he already showed the promise of great things to come ♥ ......

At 3.5 months he took the guarding of our house very seriously :) ......

At 4 months he took the guarding of his toys very seriously :) ......

Stacking practice at 5 months......

The "show" side at 5 months......

The "off" show side at 5 months......

At 5 months his ears were so big I thought he'd never grow into them :)......

Tate at 6 months, practicing stacking, so gorgeous ♥ ......
Notice the professional me practicing with a flexi leash LOL!!!!

Hurray for Kort :)

2012-01-21T15:42:00.004-07:00

Amanda & I braved the slippery highway & drove the 1 hr to Cowley again this morning. We went for Scenthurdle, Obedience & Rally.

Kort rocked! He was very focused, only slightly worried of the scary wall & floor vents. We won't talk about the floor :)
I had food in my hand this time so I could reward every single good behavior that I wanted. It was so exciting to have him coming back to what he once was. His left turns & left pivots are amazing thanks to all of our "perch" work. I didn't do any finishes or stays today though.

As for Scenthurdle he was 100% accurate, he sure loves that sport. Our first meet is coming up on the 5th of February in Calgary. So exciting !!

It's Tater Tuesday!!

2012-01-17T00:00:00.016-07:00

Tate came into my life on July 12 2002. He has been a joy to own, his temperament is like no other collie I have ever owned. He is fun loving, silly , perfect!!!
This year he will be 10 years old, hard to believe. I am going to post pictures every Tues. of him to show the story of his life, hope you enjoy them!

The Beginning......

Tate's dad, winner of the American Collie National......

Tate's mom pictured with Peg Vohr,shown winning the 11 & over Veteran class at the American Collie National......

Baby Tate just a few days old in the hands of his breeder Peg Vohr......

Tate at 2.5 weeks, he's the tri 2nd from the right......

Tate at 3 weeks......

Tate at 8 weeks taken by his breeder in their yard in Northfield Massachusetts......

My favourite picture of Tate's first day in Canada......

Playing in his water dish :)......

He was so cute !......

Playing with his daddy on his first day home......

All tired out & trying to stay cool ......

Tate's litter sisters at 8 weeks, Bobbi, Baker, Tess, & the other one I don't know unfortunately......

Delay

2012-01-11T11:23:00.001-07:00

Damn, can't get my scanner to work so will have to get that fixed before I begin scanning Tate's pictures, I've already started pulling them though!
Look for the post next week....I will be calling them TATER TUESDAYS ! :)

10 years

2012-01-10T11:01:00.003-07:00

This year , April 11, Tate will be 10 years old!! It is so hard to believe that 10 years has gone by, he is healthier then ever!
I thought it would be fun to do blog posts, once a week, with pictures of his 10 years with me. So I will start going through albums to pull out some of my favourites of his life.
I will be posting the first in his series tonight or tomorrow :)
Stay tuned

Hurray For Small Sucesses !!!

2012-01-07T18:09:00.005-07:00

Today Amanda & I went out to Cowley for a mini seminar sponsored by SAWHDA & given by Obedience Judge Jeffery Lunder. There has been many changes to the Obedience rules this year & he explained them to us. This was followed by a wonderful turkey lucheon & then an Obedience Fun Match.
If you recall I have been struggling with Kort to get his ring stress in check. It has been a VERY slow process with not many advances. Today he did awesome however! We entered the ring & I asked him to sit, he sat. This was huge!!!!! I knew from the very start in trials if he didn't sit we were done, game over, he was already stressed & he would not work.
We ended up spending a couple of minutes talking about what exercises I was going to do however & he laid down, stress:(
I got him up & played around with him a bit before getting him back into heel position where he sat again, yippee :)
For the heeling pattern I just did an L with no sits, but changes in pace. He was doing awesome, focused, head up, then we did an about turn followed by a fast. Kort zoomed ahead, cut me off & charged right, I was like , what the heck! I tried it again with the same result, Amanda then & told me it was the wall plus the heat vents on the floor, right, I had forgotten he is worried about those :) We moved further away from the wall & he was better, he ended his last line of heeling with wonderful focus!!!! I was thrilled!! It has taken about 6 months just to get this point. Basically all I have been doing at matches is entering the ring, asking for a sit, then leaving the ring & rewarding. Even to get him to look at me in the ring before starting has been a real challenge.
I then got greedy & tried a retrieve on flat, he retrieved his dumbbell but dropped it instead of bringing it to me, that's new, stress. I tried a drop on recall, no drop, damn, stress again, my bad!
So that was that , I just pulled out his toy & was able to get him to play & then actually tug in the ring, oh joy!!!
My goal is to trial in 2013, so another whole year of training.
I am so excited that what we have been doing to build his confidence up is working!
Good Boy Korty ♥

Woody Update

2012-01-03T11:20:00.002-07:00

I think the smile on Woody's face says it all ♥

Through Coulee's Eyes :)

2012-01-02T15:21:00.005-07:00

Wendy got this super cool head camera for Christmas this year. She tweaked it a bit so Coulee could carry it on walks & get a dogs perspective. Yesterday on our walk Coulee wore it, you can see it around her neck in the group picture from yesterdays post. She was such a good sport carrying it with her but unfortunately it shut off after only 3.5 minutes so we didn't get any video.
Wendy was able to get some stills from it though, 1 was of Kort racing around & one was of the 3 of us walking! I think it is super cool!!! You can see the pictures below, you can also see Coulee's chin in the top of the pictures :)

4th Annual New Year's Day Walk

2012-01-01T16:27:00.010-07:00

This morning I met with Wendy & Amanda for our 4th New Years Day walk! Hard to believe we have done this for 4 yrs now. Sometimes we have different people & dogs join us, but we 3 have been the core every year.
It was a gorgeous frosty morning & the dogs had a great time running around through the tall grass chasing each other :)
Thanks again for the pictures Wendy! The Blog picture of Kort above of was also taken this morning.

Ok everyone, Stay!!!......

Release!!!......(notice Tate stayed in place LOL!)

Wendy managed to get one of Tate even though he was mostly off on his own sniffing or madly shaking the monkey toy :)......

Handsome ......

Kort was very pleased to have the monkey, even if he later lost it in the grass:(

Perkins was there too !!!......

Treatments Start Tuesday

2011-12-30T17:32:00.006-07:00

Joanne begins her treatments on Tuesday starting with Chemotherapy. There are 2 types of Chemo, one is Cisplatin & it is milder & you have much less hair loss, the other is stronger, called Carbo/Taxol, & you definitely loose your hair. We don't know which she is getting yet.
The results of her PET scan have not come back either, we were really hoping to get them quicker.
I am so sad that I am not with her, they took so long to get things going that both myself & our younger sister Debra are at home.( Debra leaves on Monday ) Joanne has my mom but I worry about her, she is taking this hard, she is 80 yrs old & just had a stroke last year. Mom is a miracle herself, she barely has any noticeable signs of her stroke except minor memory loss.
Joanne promises to fight as hard as she can & that's all we can hope for.
Mom with Joanne & Debra ♥

I Finally Started Kort Tracking !!!...And Then I Stopped :(

2011-12-28T18:19:00.002-07:00

Well I finally did it, I got Kort tracking , Whoo Hoo !!!! It's only taken me 3 1/2 yrs !!!
Yesterday was the day, after I walked the boys I drove down to the University & laid my tracks. Kort was friggen awesome!! I was so excited to begin with him.....& that has been the last time I went out since.
The night before last I woke up at 3 am feeling really awful, I have a hiatal hernia & I thought that was the problem, I got Brad to get up & get me a Zantac thinking that would take care of things, only it didn't. I am not used to being sick, I never get sick, seriously! So in the morning I did my usual walk & then tracking like I said above. By the time I was finished tracking I was very uncomfortable, whatever this was, it was getting worse. It was so bad that I drove to the Emergency thinking I had appendicitis. 4 hrs later, & in much more pain, the Dr. has the diagnosis of diverticulitis. Super :(
Like I said I don't get sick, but I'll tell you this has seriously knocked me on my ass!! I am on 2500 mg a day of antibiotics & have been downing pain killers every 3 hrs.I have 0 appetite, which I think is great, taking off a few pounds will do me good, I am drinking a TON of water though.
I hope I start to feel better soon, I have no time for this, I want to go tracking !!!!!
I videoed Kort's first track which you can see below, did I mention how excited I am to start him ? LOL!!
Enjoy......

Just Kort

2011-12-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

More from the Talented Wendy :)

2011-12-17T13:22:00.006-07:00

Wendy was at it again, taking awesome pictures of Tate!! He does pretty well when the bratty Kort isn't around pushing him for toys!
Here are some of the pictures!!.....

"Good" News

2011-12-16T14:45:00.004-07:00

Joanne has been invited to be in a research study to examine the role of a diagnostic test called Positron Emission Tomography, or PET, in patients with cervical cancer, in addition to standard diagnostic tests.
A PET test uses F-Fluorodeoxyglucouse (FEG). This is not a new drug, and was reviewed & approved by Health Canada. This drug will be administered intravenously & will travel through Joanne's body allowing the PET scan to pick up any more cancer.
UP to 288 people will be taking part in the 5 year study & there are 2 groups. One is Joanne's group which will involve the PET scan, the other group will be having CT scans as well as the normal cancer protocols, but not the PET.
The sponsor of the study is the Ontario Clinical Oncology Group.
I am glad Joanne got in this group, this PET technology is able to spot very small areas of cancer in their beginning stages, spots that a CT scan or even an MRI might not be able to detect. For Joanne this would mean that if she has cancer in any other areas she can be treated right now before they get any bigger or spread.
None of this is "good" news but it is good news as far as Joanne is concerned .

Smile

2011-12-16T12:36:00.008-07:00

Last night Wendy, who is looking after Tate for me, sent me some pictures she labeled SMILE :)
And Smile I did Wendy, thank you !

I'm Here!

2011-12-15T11:52:00.004-07:00

Yeah, I'm finally in Thunder Bay.
The trip was interesting , I left Lethbridge at 6 am, I was so tired & I have a problem dozing off, especially with the fact I was driving in darkness I found myself really getting sleepy. When I arrived in Calgary the Deerfoot was so congested, it was a work day after all. I got to the airport ok but missed the parking area & had to go back out & circle back to the parking. When I finally found a spot about 20 minutes later it was a long walk to the terminal. When I got to the terminal it was a long walk to the check in desk. When I got to the check in desk there was a long line up through security. By the time I was through security it was 5 minutes to boarding, yeesh!!!! I had time for a quick bathroom break then boarded.
The plane ride was uneventful, thank god!! We had to wait forever in Calgary & Winnipeg for de-icing & they made us change runways 3 times in Winnipeg. The pilot even came on once to ask if we thought he was driving us to Thunder Bay !
I arrived in Thunder Bay an hour late but I'm here & so glad.
I have posted pictures of my mom's gorgeous tree & the nativity set they have out, it still doesn't feel like Christmas quite yet, but hopefully soon.

Leaving.....

2011-12-13T18:10:00.003-07:00

On a Jet Plane .....
Tomorrows the day, finally.
I should be in Thunder Bay around 1:30, Can't wait to see my mom & sister ♥

Sick

2011-12-11T22:39:00.001-07:00

I was feeling pretty good today, but now I just feel sick, nauseated, & full of fear & dread. I can't wait to be home with Joanne. I just want to stay there with her & not have to return, but that is not possible is it :(
How can this be happening.

The Fight

2011-12-11T13:47:00.003-07:00

2 months of radiation 5 days a week
6 weeks of chemo once a week
3 bouts of internal radiation

Joanne will win, but it will be a long road to get there

Another Tragically Long Video :)

2011-12-10T14:17:00.002-07:00

Seriously, this is super long, maybe 10 minutes or so . I took it just because, & so I just had it for myself to look back on one day & see Tate & Kort enjoying themselves :)
Watch it if you like ......

Woody Update

2011-12-09T09:11:00.003-07:00

The rescue has heard from Woody's new family. He is doing well, his arthritis is a bit worse so they have shortened his walks & that has helped:)
Woody is pictured above in his new home beside his brother.
Hurray for Woody!!!

So It Begins

2011-12-07T10:56:00.004-07:00

The Innocence of Youth ♥ ......

Last night my sister Joanne got a call from the cancer clinic, she will start her treatments of both radiation & chemo next week, on Friday she goes in to find out the schedule.
My niece Sherri is a nurse & has asked to go with her so she can ask questions, things that Joanne will probably forget to ask.
I will be there next week so I can go with her to the treatments & help to take some of the fear away.

Yesterday's Walk

2011-12-05T13:49:00.009-07:00

Wendy got some more pictures of my boys on our walk yesterday. What would I do without my photographer friends !

This picture made my heart swell, corny I know:) but just the way Tate is looking at me , with my hand on his chin, such a great capture Wendy :) ......

This picture has captured Tate so well, he is a sweet sweet boy ......

I love this shot of Kort......

Bratty Kort Stole Tate's mitt......

Not Fair :(

2011-12-04T12:50:00.002-07:00

This morning I got together with some friends to get our dogs out for a run. I almost didn't go as it was early ( for me ) & I like to sleep in on weekends. I pulled myself out of bed however & was so glad I did.
We met up at the dog park with Wendy & Coulee, & Dave, Sarah & Tsuga.
The dogs ran around , barked, chewed sticks & played with mitts. Wendy & Dave took lots of awesome pictures of our kids playing. We finished off our walk with hot chocolate , Bailey's & Dave's awesome shortbread cookies:)
It was perfect, all except for the knowledge that it may be one of Tsuga's last walks. Tsuga has cancer, they found out about 2 weeks ago. It is a good thing dogs don't know these things, but oh so hard on the owners & friends who have known the dogs for years, we love them as well.
It is even harder in this particular case because Dave & Sarah lost their flatcoated retriever to cancer maybe just six months ago. How could this happen to 2 wonderful people & to both of their dogs all within a year? It's just not fair.
However I now have wonderful memories stored away of a happy Tsuga zooming through the snow, with Kort hot on his tail, & not a care in the world.
Give your dogs extra hugs & kisses today, I know I am :)

Tsuga......

Jasper......

Nothing Changes :)

2011-12-02T17:16:00.002-07:00

My chuckle for the day :)

6 months old......

3 years old......

Tate's Title

2011-12-02T15:52:00.002-07:00

I haven't had much to blog about lately but had to post Tate's certificate that came.
His first title with the Agility Association Of Canada, so proud of my Veteran Agility Dog !!

More Pictures from the Fire

2011-11-28T15:11:00.005-07:00

Crazy Sunday Afternoon :) or A Tragically Long Video :)

2011-11-27T18:57:00.003-07:00

Here is another of my wonderful crazy home videos :)
In some sections you can't even hear me talking the wind is so strong!!!!!

Family...

2011-11-25T10:34:00.009-07:00

Is there Anything Better :)

3 Words That Change Everything :(

2011-11-24T10:57:00.004-07:00

You Have Cancer.....

That is what my sister heard yesterday while sitting in a Dr's office.
In Joanne's case it is cervical cancer which has now spread to the lymph nodes in her stomach, as well as around the aorta in her stomach.
How does this happen when you do everything you are supposed to do? She has gone for pap tests every year, as a matter of fact she had a discharge last year, (sorry if this grosses you out), & when she went to the Dr. he said, "well you just had a pap test & it was normal" ,so he didn't do another, REALLY ??????
Then Joanne started to gain weight, she was always a thin girl, so back she went, the Dr. then says, well I guess we can do an ultrasound, surprise there is something showing , so maybe we will have a cat scan done. Another big surprise, yup, you have some kind of tumours surrounding your stomach aorta & something showing in your swollen uterus.
Let's do a biopsy shall we....gee, these are squamous cells, cancer cells that have started as skin cancer, broken off from somewhere, travelled around in Joanne's blood stream until they settled in her uterus, then as the cancer progressed they broke off again & settled in her stomach :(
Could all this have been prevented? I think so, Joanne has also been complaining of a full feeling in her stomach after just eating a few bites of food, she has been saying this for years. I used to joke that I wish I had her problem.
Joanne's oncologist wants all of her past pap tests to review, interesting huh ?
So now we go through the normal things of fear & anger & overwhelming sadness. Joanne will be starting radiation shortly, we don't know yet whether they will remove her uterus, she is 49 yrs old.
This year the entire family will be going home for Christmas, we will rally around Joanne for support & love, that's all we can do.
Ladies, go for a pap test....5 minutes of embarrassment is worth it, trust me.

Scenthurdle Video

2011-11-22T10:38:00.002-07:00

Here it is...our team No Nonscents in action this past weekend
Go Team !!!!!!

Dog Show

2011-11-21T10:19:00.013-07:00

On Saturday I hung out at the local dog show all day. I took Kort with me as we were doing Scenthurdle later that night.
It was fun to go to the show with no pressure of competing, but sad too. I sooo want to be competing :(
I have a goal, that is compete in Rally only next May in Medicine Hat, Kort needs just 1 leg for his Rally Excellent title. I may play around & go for Kort's RAE as well, we'll see.
I will probably not trial in Open until 2013, Kort will be 5 then & hopefully more mentally mature.
I also got to watch collies & flatcoats in the conformation ring, I videoed too :)
I took the opportunity to walk Kort around the building while heeling him , I used treats, but had him watching me. He did sooooo well with all the dogs, kids & people walking about, his eyes were fixed only on me !!
I was there to watch & support my friends who were trialing.
Princess Pixel was such a cute bundle of fluffy corgi :) but she decided that the drop on recall was too much effort & sat wagging at Amanda instead :)
Sarah & Gyp competed in Novice & rocked it, going High In Class at her first trial !! She also picked up an Advanced Rally leg with a High in class as well!
Kim entered Maggie her Bernese Mt. Dog, who has not trialed in at least 2 yrs & guess what? she went High In Trial !!!!! Way to go Kim !!!
Tina & her Sheltie Jethro are amazing, that dog loves her so much he never takes his eyes off of her, he finished his Rally Advanced title with 2 High in class!
Donna & her Belgian Epic did very well in their first Open trial. After his drop on recall he didn't return to Donna when she called, Donna said after, I never even thought about that !! She had trained him to down & stay put, but forgot the return to handler part LOL!!
Scenthurdle was awesome, we are improving everytime, Kort LOVES it so much! We came in 5th out of 6, but we had tons of clean heats for more points toward Kort's Scenthurdle Champion title!
I even watched Junior Handling , Gyp, Sarah's border collie played show dog ! Lupine & Tinbie Liz's flatcoats were also in the ring ! So cute to watch the little kids!
I also took the opportunity to officially tell Liz that if she breeds Cava next year I want a puppy. I want a show male, but if the males are not show quality, or Cava has all girls, I will take a girl :) It probably won't be until the end of 2012 but still, so exciting !!!
I have stolen the following pictures of my friend & their dogs to post here :)
Congratulations to you all !!!!!

Kim & Maggie......

Sarah & Gyp......

Tina & Jethro......

Pixel doing Scenthurdle this summer, isn't she the cutest :)

My Week

2011-11-17T09:43:00.007-07:00

Oh my am I having a week !

Monday I worked until 6, on Monday night was our Kennel Club meeting, got home at 9.

Tuesday, had to lug all my winter tires from the basement upstairs & into my van, picked up Perkins, drove to Can. Tire to have my winter tires put on, worked until 6, Agility from 7:30-9 then lugged my summer tires out of my van & into the basement.

Wed, worked the early shift, 6:45am-10 , dropped Perkins off, went home, changed, drove to Calgary for a Dr appt, drove home , got back at 6 pm, Scenthurdle Practice, 7:30- 8:30

Today, Thurs, work till 6, going to help set up for the dog show directly from work.

Tomorrow, Fri, work 10-6, going to Fun Match with Kort for 7pm

Sat, going to the dog show to support my friends entered, Sat night Scenthurdle Competition with Kort whoo hoo !!

Sunday, going to dog show to support friends again, home to do laundry & house work

I haven't seen Brad all week, he is on the 4-12 shift, he is gone when I get home & I am asleep when he gets home .

Just realized I haven't had supper in 2 days :) why am I not skinny !

Last night I bought myself this book:

I have always had the need to write things down, I had kept diaries since I was 11, I ended up throwing them all away about 10 yrs ago :(
I have no children, so when I saw this book it struck a chord, it is an easy way for me to document my life, to tell others what my life was like. Perhaps one of my relatives, years from now, will be interested. Maybe one of my nieces, or my nephews children, or grandchildren, will want to know what their great Auntie Jolene was like :)
So every night I will fill in a few of the pages . I started last night & it is hard. It is personal & they ask very personal questions, things like, how did you feel about yourself as a teenager?, or how many friends did you have?, or were you well liked?
One question I found interesting was decribing myself so someone could pick me out in a crowd :)
I said I'd be the loudest one & laughing :)
Anyway, I will give the book to someone, not sure who, probably my sister, or her daughter, we'll see.

Well, I gotta run, work is waiting & the rest of my crazy week :)

Limited Entries

2011-11-12T17:29:00.003-07:00

I had never heard of them until I moved to Alberta & started trialing in AAC agility events.
The trials fill up so fast here that the clubs have no choice but to put a limit on them. I know that almost all the clubs are fair in doing their trials this way, however I also know that some clubs play favourites, this is very hard to swallow for me. When I enter a trial I enter with the hope of getting in, I may have budgeted money , or made arrangements at work, or to travel with someone to share expenses. I enter with the hopes that the club will be fair when receiving entries & actually put the people into the trial as the entries come in the mail. I don't like to think that the entries are opened first & their friends are put in before people they don't know.
The other day I got the dreaded email telling me that due to overwhelming response to a particular trial, I did not get in & was on a waiting list. Am I bothered by this, you bet. It won't get me anywhere however, I just have to hope that I am not too far down on the list so I can get in if someone changes their mind & can't go. I wasn't the only one from my group to not get in , I know of 3 others, but the majority did get in.
I think also that it bothered me more as it is my last trial of the year, also I know there are people that entered after the opening day and I am curious to know if they got in.
I don't want comments debating whether my feelings are wrong, they are my feelings & I needed to voice them rather then let them brew inside :)
Fingers crossed I do get in.

Barn Night

2011-11-09T09:50:00.005-07:00

Last night we had our first agility class at the barn. We move there for the winter so we can still train. I wasn't going to go, I really dislike working in the barn in all that dirt :) Amanda convinced me otherwise. She said how am I expecting my dogs to go into a trial if I didn't continue to train them. She was right of course, which she often thinks she is, but I know better LOL! kidding :)
I didn't bring Tate as I had just spent 3 hrs bathing & grooming him on Sunday & I wanted him to look nice for a bit longer :)
Kort however, was amazing ! We did alot of work in that hour & a half & Kort never tired ! His weaves were fantastic . He got his entry every time. We did front crosses, rear crosses, distance, 270's, all into the weaves, & Kort was spot on. I can't tell you how proud I am of him! I did not teach Tate the same way & what a difference. We also did lots of table work which has become a problem for Kort in the last 2 trials. Last night Sarah had me make it a game, jump on, jump off, praise, Kort, not me, that is :) :) Then after a few of those I asked for a sit on the table, only twice did I ask him for a down & he was really good. Hopefully I can change his mind about the table into thinking it is a wonderful place to be.
We also did serpentines & my handling sucks with those. I'm either not fast enough to get where I should be, or too slow giving my signals :) I am a work in progress, Kort is doing just fine :)
I think the reason I enjoyed myself so much last night, & had so much energy, was that it was a small class. We only had 5 of us working, so that meant I didn't have to stand around & wait at all, there was always a piece of equipment to work on .
I am actually looking forward to next week in the barn, dirt, sheep poop, & all :)

Herding !!!

2011-11-06T15:04:00.012-07:00

It was soooo hard to pick just a few pictures from the 100 or so that Wendy took yesterday while we were out Alta-Pete farm.
Jenny was kind enough to work Kort for me as I know nothing !! I am also very nervous of the sheep speeding toward me :) Kort just loves the sheep & I will probably continue on with him because he does.
Here are some of the pictures, the entire album is on my Facebook page if you want to see them all.

Retraining My Training :)

2011-11-03T10:13:00.006-06:00

Ugh!!!
so I am now in the process of retraining Tate & Kort in 2 different dog sports.
I am retraining Tate to find his entry in the weave poles. In Thunder Bay when I started Tate's training it wasn't as advanced as it is today. It is very noticeable now that Tate is running in AAC agility & is in Advanced. In every run in our Training Troop trials he missed his weave entry, everytime!!! So, I am starting him back to 2 poles, just teaching him to find his entry from either side, & from every angle, it is interesting to say the least, & even though he knows how to weave once he get into the poles, he is having lots of trouble finding the entry, we have one more trial in December & I want to at least give him a chance to get a Standard leg in Advanced. This morning I took down my regular poles & put up 6 electric fence poles. I am going to leave them out all winter so I can train, this way they will freeze into the ground & I can just shovel out around them when it snows, no excuses now that I can't train weaves in the winter :)

Kort is retraining on his obedience ring set up. I am right now just having him sit beside me & give me his attention, we haven't even taken a step forward to heel in a month or so, once I have his attention for at least a minute I will take a step. There is a fun match at our show on the Fri. night, I am just going to enter the ring, set him up, & leave when he gives me attention, I will do this a few times & end the night by going into the ring with the Open set up, throw his dumbbell which he loves, & just informally ask him to retrieve it & bring it back for lots of praise, no sit in front. I am hoping I can bring the joy of Obedience back to Kort :)

Me & Woody

2011-10-30T11:02:00.003-06:00

I forgot to post this picture Brad took of Woody & I just before he left yesterday :)
It's a horrible picture of me because Brad is really slow to take them, & my face was sore from smiling!!...plus Woody kept moving !

Woody

2011-10-28T09:54:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow Woody leaves for Calgary. He is going on a trial with a family, they have an 11 yr old son & a 5 year old Pomeranian.
Paws crossed everyone in hopes this will be his forever home, he deserves it :)

Training Troop Videos

2011-10-25T19:35:00.004-06:00

Here are Tate & Kort's videos from the trials this past weekend. they show all the boo boos made by the boys & myself :) they are also fairly long & contain music I have used before, so you can watch them or not :)
If you do watch them, you will see that on Tate's very last run of the weekend he finally had to bounce around the ring , he thought he had been well behaved long enough!

Training Troop Trial

2011-10-24T09:23:00.004-06:00

Tate shows off his ribbon......

It was such a great weekend at the Training Troop trials in Balzac AB. The trial is fun & full of good sportsmanship & humour.
The boys were so good for me but we have things to work on.
Tate finished his Starters Standard title giving him his ADC ( Agility Dog of Canada ) award!! He is now in Advanced in both Standard & Jumpers. However, now that he is in Advanced we really need to work on those weaves. He wasn't trained in the same manner as Kort & I can really see how bad his weaves are , in particular, he doesn't even look for his entry. In Advanced he really needs to have weaves. Tate also competed in Gamblers but wouldn't go out to the tunnel, my fault, I should have backed up & sent him, live & learn :)
In Jumpers he had a clean run but I did some really sloppy handling in one tricky spot causing him to be overtime :(
Kort was awesome, he got a Gamblers Q & a Standard Q.
In both Jumpers & the other Standard runs he was clean, but due to "table issues" he ran overtime. The killer was yesterday afternoon when he was just 1.36 seconds overtime :(
My instructors, Amanda & Sarah, have talked to me about his table problems & I am ready to listen :)
At times I think I know what is best for my dogs, & I can be very stubborn, right Sarah :) :) , but I do listen to what they are saying, & I do take it in, it just takes me some time to sit back & process what I have heard & then make my plan to go forward.
The instructors I have here in Lethbridge are awesome, it shows in how good Kort is compared with Tate.
Tate is good, don't get me wrong , but in AAC agility it really shows the holes in his training. AAC is so much harder then CKC, less time for one thing, & slight mistakes like a simple spin in front of the jump will result in an NQ, it makes you become a better handler for sure!
All this being said, I will definitely go to this trial again, I loved it !!

More agility !!

2011-10-21T09:46:00.004-06:00

I'm off to my first, & the dogs first, INDOOR agility trial this weekend! I don't normally like to do indoor agility, I find it so hard to run in dirt or mulch, but I want to get in as many trials as I can before the year ends. This is also a very popular trial with lots of fun things going on like a Hallowe'en costume contest, stay tuned for results & video next week :)
Have a good weekend everyone!!!

Whatever It Takes

2011-10-15T15:32:00.003-06:00

Today I took Tate & Kort to an Obedience fun match. I wanted to see if Tate showed any interest in novice work in hopes of entering him in our Lethbridge show next month, sadly he was like Eeyore in the ring :) Ok Tate, I get the message, only agility for you :) :)
I had a plan for Kort as well. He has developed stress in the Obedience ring, most likely do to me moving forward too fast. The last few trials he has shown extreme stress when entering the ring, he won't give me eye contact, he yawns & folds his ears sideways, he also lags horribly!! Kort has always had good heeling, not great, but way way better then he has been doing in the Open ring :(
Today I paid my money for a novice run, but between dogs I took him in the ring to set him up only. My goal was just to get eye contact at first. It took a bit of doing the first time, I had to tap him on the head finally to get him to look at me. As soon as he did I said "good boy"! & ran from the ring to his crate to give him his reward. It took 4 times doing this before he entered the ring with less stress. Then I went from a sit to a fast, another sit , a right turn , sit & ran from the ring again for his reward. By the end of the day I was able to do a tiny heel pattern with his full attention !! I will continue this until he is happy again entering the ring, then I will bring back the other stuff, slowly this time though. I have pulled him from every trial I entered this year & I may not enter next year at all either. I will do whatever it takes, I am determined to get Kort's UD, but not until Kort is happy again :)

Still Looking....

2011-10-13T19:32:00.003-06:00

Woody has been with me for 6 weeks now, he is still looking for his forever home ......

I ADOPTED YOUR DOG TODAY
I adopted your dog today
The one you left at the pound
The one you had for several years and no longer wanted around.
I adopted your dog today
Do you know he's lost weight?
Do you know he's scared and depressed and has lost all faith?
I adopted your dog today.
He had fleas and a cold,but don't worry none.
You've unburdened your load.
I adopted your dog today
Were you having a baby or moving away?
Did you suddenly develop allergies or was there no reason he couldn't stay?
I adopted your dog today
He doesn't play or eat much
He's very depressed, but he will learn again to trust.
I adopted your dog today.
And here he will stay.
He's found his forever home and a warm bed on which to lay.
I adopted your dog today.
And I will give him all that he could need.
Patience, love, security, and understanding.
Hopefully he will forget your selfish deed
Author - Unknown

She Did It !!!!!

2011-10-09T11:42:00.006-06:00

My friend Diana who lives in California just fulfilled one of her dreams! She completed the Tevis Cup. I am no horse riding expert but this is a HUGE deal among the horsey people. It is 100 miles of endurance, through bush, hills, cliffs etc, and a huge section of it is at night.
Last year was supposed to be the year she competed but her horse Ali'i came up lame & she had to scratch, it was so sad as she had trained so long for it. One year later & she finished !!!
I am so happy for you Diana, big big ((((((hugs))))) for you & Ali'i!!

Here are some pictures of Diana & Khemali'i taken last year during some endurance training rides......

Tate, reborn

2011-10-06T09:51:00.007-06:00

Since Tate was neutered he has been feeling better then he has in years as well as gaining weight finally :)
He stayed with Wendy while Brad & I went to Waterton & as usual she captured the Tate I know & love ♥ thanks Wendy !!!!

Waterton

2011-10-03T19:59:00.010-06:00

Brad & I spent our 16th anniversary in Waterton, here's some pictures ......

At the Falls......

Our Building , our room was at the top of the stairs......

At Cameron Lake......

Brad at the Falls......

Some of the wonderful scenery......

Kort's Wish

2011-10-01T21:21:00.001-06:00

Sorry to everyone that has already seen this on my facebook page, but I wanted everyone to see it because it makes me happy :)

Signs

2011-09-30T18:49:00.007-06:00

I know Diana likes signs so I took some pictures of some in Waterton I thought she might like :)

Medicine Hat Agility Trial

2011-09-26T18:40:00.005-06:00

I had such a great time this weekend at the Flashing Canines Agility Trials in Medicine Hat. I love their trials, they are so fun!
The heat was almost unbearable, it was 35C both days, soooo hot. I even resorted to completely soaking down the boys with water so they could be comfortable, Tate enjoyed it, Kort not so much!
They were both so good, Tate out did his younger brother & Q'd in 3/5 trials. Kort Q'd in 2/6.
Kort blew one run by looking away & missing a jump, I was at fault with both Tate & Kort in a Jumpers run, with Kort I missed part of the course, & with Tate I pushed him too far resulting in him missing a jump.
Kort had some issues he's never had before, on 2 days he refused to lay down on the table, very strange for him, I "made" him do it the 2nd time, he was so mad :) He even jumped off the dogwalk one day.
Tate continues to amaze me & had the judges in stitches more then once with his puppy antics. I am enjoying trialing with him, he makes me so proud.
Kort is coming into his own & his weaves are awesome :), he also made me proud.
I would also like to add for those of you who have never done an AAC trial, it is so much more difficult then CKC!.... right off the bat in Starters you have 12 weaves, or 6 depending on the judge, this weekend it was all 12 :), in CKC their are no weaves in Beginners. The courses for Starters are equivalent to an Intermediate in CKC, with at least 2 side changes, & they are not all straight lines either. You are not allowed mistakes at any level as well, if your dog runs by a jump, even at the Starters level, it is considered a refusal & you get an NQ, you can however make a booboo at the weaves & still Q at the Starters level.
I enjoy it as it is much more challenging & makes you a better handler for sure :)
Here are some video highlights from the weekend ......

TATE......

KORT......

Off To Another Agility Trial!

2011-09-23T10:04:00.003-06:00

Tonight I am off to Medicine Hat after work for another AAC Agility trial !! Tate & Kort are both entered but Woody will be staying home with Brad this trip. The Medicine Hat trials are my favourite so I am looking forward to the weekend :)

Friends

2011-09-21T11:16:00.004-06:00

Friends are a wonderful thing to have :)
They are there to cheer you on, make you smile when you don't feel like smiling, & comfort you when things aren't going so well.
I had a bit of a tough day yesterday, my birthday, but as soon as I got to work my friends cheered me up right away, I got awesome gifts, a wonderful card & a much needed hug from Amanda, thanks Amanda, that's 2 hugs this year already !!
I had agility last night & my agility group made me feel so special with all the birthday wishes. They even tried to give me the birthday bumps, with no success I might add LOL!! I even got slobbery birthday kisses from Kaleb, Sarah's flatcoat :)
The picture below is of the wine from Wendy, & wallet with a hand drawn picture of Tate on it, from Amanda. I also got coconut cupcakes, but I can't show those as they are in our bellies :)
This will be a birthday I will remember for sure thanks to my friends :)

September 20, 1960

2011-09-20T09:50:00.006-06:00

The day I was born :) Happy Birthday to me, Queen for the Day as I like to say.
I've always loved my birthday, it's a day that is just mine, a day I can feel special. It doesn't matter how old I am, I don't care, I act how I feel, about 13 LOL!
I am 51 today, wow, time goes by fast. I don't remember every birthday I've ever had, but a few stand out, so I thought I'd post them, just for the lack of anything else to post :) :)
***************************************************************

1) 1968, 8 yrs old, mom decided to combine my birthday party with my brothers seeing as his was on the 12th, we each got to invite 5 friends :) I remember the cake & how each slice had a quarter wrapped in. A lot of money for a kid in the 60's!

2) 1969, 9 yrs old, the first year mom didn't let us have a party, bummer! I got a pink stuffed poodle I named Pinky, original I know:)

3) 1990, 30 yrs old, I hated turning 30 for some reason, I liked my 20's... mom, my sister Joanne & I went to Duluth MN, we had a blast, went to a bunch of bars & my mom got asked for ID, awesome !

4) 1993, 33 yrs old, my first birthday with Brad as my boyfriend ♥, we went out fishing to Silver Islet in Thunder Bay, it was really hot that day, we sat on the shoreline with my collie Drake, threw the lines in the water, drank a few beers, & I had a few puffs on a cigar :)

5) 1996, 36 yrs old, my very close cousin Judy died of a brain aneurysm, I spent the day & evening gathered with family, the only unhappy birthday I've ever had, later Judy's sister would tell me the last person she had called that day was me , the line must have been busy, I will always think of that & wish I was available to answer the phone, I could have talked with her one more time :(

6) 2010, 50 yrs old !!, my mom, & 2 sisters fly up to spend the weekend with me, it was the best birthday ever!!!

7) 2011, 51 yrs old, the first birthday I have ever worked!!, seriously, I have always taken holidays the week of my birthday, this year I decided to take them a week later so Brad & I could go away for our Anniversary, which is on the 29th. It feels weird going in to work, but ok as I enjoy my job & the people I work with. Tonight I have agility with Kort so that is fun as well :)

Here's to many more birthdays !

Kort's Kimberley Video

2011-09-15T15:32:00.001-06:00

Kort tried very hard but couldn't seem to pull it all together in any of the runs for a Q.
Next time :)

Kimberley Video

2011-09-14T23:13:00.002-06:00

I finally have Tate's videos from last weeknds trial ready, enjoy :)

Warning!

2011-09-12T18:14:00.003-06:00

This video may not be suitable for all ages, it may contain some extreme close ups of a sweaty half crazed woman.
View at your own risk, you've been warned......

Off to Kimberley!

2011-09-09T10:12:00.005-06:00

Bright and early tomorrow morning I am leaving for Kimberly BC and an agility trial :)
This is a huge deal as I didn't think I would ever be in an agility trial with Tate, or for a long time with Kort.
I had Tate in a trial in May & he was sick , which I didn't know, the poor guy tried his best but just shut down in the ring. Many tests later we discovered he had an enlarged prostate surrounded by cysts, as well as an infected anal gland. He has since been neutered & has gained back most of the weight he had lost. I put him in a demo a few weeks back & he was fast fast & back to his old self, enjoying agility the same way he always has.
I don't care if he Q's, but just to be in the ring with him again will be awesome :) :)
As for Kort, he was suffering from the mystery pain that caused him to scream out in total panic, he was put on 4 weeks of rest, he wasn't able to do anything at all, even play, this meant we couldn't even train for our weaves. In AAC agility there are weaves even in the starters class, in CKC there are weaves in the Intermediate class, so he needed to know how to weave. He finally had his light bulb moment 2 days ago, he gets it, he can weave!!! I have started him learning 12 weaves as well. I am not sure he can do 12 weaves in a trial but that is ok, again it is not about the Q, but the fact that we are even in the ring is reward in itself :)

Woody

2011-09-08T09:57:00.012-06:00

Woody had his photo shoot with Wendy last night. The pictures will go up on the Windy City Canine Rescue page in hopes someone out there will be interested in this wonderful boy :)
He is slowly becoming more himself, this morning he ran around the house with a milk carton that I had given Kort, much to Kort's displeasure :)
Except for the barking when he wants something, he is a very well behaved dog. He never gets up on the furniture & he walks perfectly on leash.
You can see in the following pictures that his previous "owner" cut off all of his tummy & rear end hair, jerk....it will grow back but still.
I think he is pretty special :)
Woody......

Hey Amanda!!

2011-09-06T10:00:00.002-06:00

Kort can weave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Best Day :)

2011-09-04T18:56:00.007-06:00

Brad & I had the best time today, we got up early & drove out to Waterton National Park. I am glad we got there early to beat the crowds! It was so packed later in the day you could barely move. We checked out all the gift shops & got some great bargins on jackets & sweaters. Brad got a suede leather jacket for $20, regular $90!! Things are winding down in Waterton & they are getting rid of as much inventory as possible. We will be back there in 3 weeks to spend our anniversary. At that time it is virtually deserted, just the way we like it :) This year Brad is driving up on his motorcycle while I drive, then when we get there I am renting a moped for the day & we are going site seeing, should be interesting, hopefully I won't crash the bike :) :)
Some pictures from today......
My honey & I :) Sorry for the squinty eyes, the sun was very bright !

Me with the waterfall behind me

Brad with the waterfall behind him

I couldn't believe my luck, 2 of my favourite things rolled into one, a birdhouse & chimes!!!!

Some of the wonderful scenery, these pictures do not do the water justice, it was so blue it was like looking at the ocean, gorgeous!!

I can't wait to go back!

Happy Birthday !

2011-09-02T10:37:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom who turns 80 today !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She is spending it in Vegas!!!
PS. sorry for the VERY old picture :)
I still haven't gotten all my pictures downloaded into my new computer :) :)

I Caved :)

2011-08-31T11:01:00.008-06:00

In one week from today I will have a visitor.
For the first time ever I have agreed to be a foster home for a dog. Not just any dog though, a 10 year old collie, you see, his owner was forced to give him up :(
I won't go into the whole story, but it is awful. This dog pulled at my heart strings as Tate is 9 1/2, almost the same age. I can't imagine being forced into giving him up right now, or how he would feel if I did. At 10 years a collie is already considered old, collies only live for about 13 yrs, 12 is the average. The poor boy will be so stressed. He is now with Joyce, a collie owner who first brought him to my attention. She picked him up last night from his "owner", wonder how that went? did his "owner" cry? did he feel bad?
On Monday he will be travelling with Joyce's son to Saskatoon Saskatchewan, where he will be met by Vicky, who will take him on his journey to Lethbridge & me.
I have always refused to foster as I am way too emotional. I can only hope he gets a family quickly before I become attached, even if he does it will be hard for me to say goodbye, that is just who I am.
His name is Woody & he is beautiful :) I spent the day yesterday getting ready for his arrival. I have made room in my livingroom for a giant crate to keep him in while I am at work. It will be just until he gets used to the house & I am positive he is ok with Tate & Kort. My livingroom is small as it is, it's even smaller now, but that's ok too.
I made a spot for him to eat as well.
Here are some pictures of Woody from his "owner" Feel free to spread the word about him. He will be with the Windy City Rescue here in Lethbridge so you can read about him there as well. Hopefully there will be someone that is willing to give this guy a home for what may only be 2-3 yrs.
Also for my collie friends that are wondering, he has no papers, he was from a backyard breeder who wanted extra for the papers so the "owner" did not buy them :(

Woody......

Woody's new bed...notice Kort's crate is now an end table for the lamp :)

A Picture of Tate !!

2011-08-28T15:23:00.004-06:00

Hurray!!! A picture of Tate during the Whoop Up Days Demos!!! Thanks to Amanda S. for capturing it!

Amanda also captured Kort during the barrel racing, he loved this event !!!!

Crazy Week

2011-08-28T11:17:00.006-06:00

It has been a busy week. I was doing demos all week long with both of the boys. If I worked until noon I did the 3pm & 7pm demos, if I worked until 6 I just did the 7 pm demo.
Perkins was here all week & left on Fri., then Izzy came . Izzy leaves today & Perkins returns :)
I guess keeping busy keeps me out of trouble anyway LOL!

Here is a video of Tate that I got yesterday, & another picture of Kort & Izzy.
Unfortunately no one got any pictures of Tate :( He was so happy to be doing agility again.

I asked Amanda to run Tate in the Intro loop as my ankles had had enough by the last day, he ran so well for her, except the bugger wouldn't do the weaves for her, brat!......

Kort on the table at the end of our Intro loop......

Izzy can make herself comfortable just about anywhere :)......

A New Visitor

2011-08-27T12:10:00.003-06:00

This is Izzy the beagle, we are looking after her this weekend for the first time, she had no trouble making herself at home :)

Whooping It Up !

2011-08-26T10:49:00.006-06:00

I have a few pictures from the demos at our Whoop Up Days, the following are ones of Kort, hopefully I will get some of Tate tonight :)

Kort & I getting ready to do our intro loop......

Kort soaking up the attention at the Meet & Greet after the demos......

Kort is all smiles :) ......

They're Baaack !

2011-08-24T10:40:00.003-06:00

Last night was the start of Whoop Up Days. I am participating in a number of demos with my GoDogGo Agility Group, as well as my Scenthurdle team No Nonscents.
Last night was the first time Tate has done anything since May, & being neutered a month ago. Kort has done nothing for a month. Both dogs did so well !!!!
Tate flew around the ring & even jumped into the weave poles doing all 12 with gusto, I was so proud of them!!! It was hard to see Tate so sick in May & not even wanting to do agility which his his favourite thing in the world :)
The 9 year old still has it, & Kort never lost it, he just needed a break ♥
The picture above is a picture of the both of them from our triall here last year.

Well Done :)

2011-08-22T19:44:00.005-06:00

Perkins is here for the week, this is him outside tonight, I'd say he's just about cooked :)

Kort got up long enough for me to get his picture :)

Whimp :)

2011-08-21T14:57:00.002-06:00

Kort won't get his lazy butt out of his kennel so I can get a picture of him after his bath today, so I took him in his kennel, what a whimp, he thinks he's tired LOL!!

Chillin

2011-08-20T19:18:00.002-06:00

Tate is pictured relaxing in the yard after having his bath. He took me 4 1/2 hrs to do!!
It is Kort's turn tomorrow so you can look forward to his picture as well :)

She's Gonna Blow!!

2011-08-17T11:01:00.002-06:00

Wendy was sure my head was gonna blow off on Sunday I looked so hot, she kindly took a picture to prove it :)

Hi!

2011-08-16T15:42:00.007-06:00

I haven't been around for awhile, you have probably noticed :)
Not much has been happening lately, well, not much has been happening that I want to talk about.

Brian ( Perkins dad ) brought me the flowers in the picture above when he picked Perkins up last week, it's been a long time since someone gave me flowers, thanks Brian it made my day !

We had our local trial this past weekend, it was awful not being able to enter my dogs :( I hated it. I kept myself busy by being a volunteer, I did pole setting, coarse building, scribing & a timing! It was fun fun & it kept me busy so I wasn't too sad about not running my boys. I also won an awesome gift bag with toys for the dogs, a cup & a Tim Horton's gift card for volunteering !

The judges were awesome & very nice. We went out for supper on Sat. night & I had the pleasure of sitting across the table from one of the judges, he had tons of stories to tell from his years of judging & he was hilarious!

It was super hot!!!!! all weekend, I got a little sun burned even with sunscreen on as I was out in the sun for 2 days. Wendy took a picture of me on the Sunday & I will post it to show you.

The spirit of the people competing was for the most part positive, you always have those that like to blame the fact that they didn't Q on other things. Some examples I heard were the timer not doing the job properly, a bug was bothering my dog, & the click of the camera distracted him/her.

I was able to watch all the handlers up close all weekend, & wow was there lots of bad handling! I'm not saying I'm an expert but you really get to see the mistakes when you are able to sit & watch closely. Funny how everything else is the reason why the dog didn't Q when most of the time it's the handler :)

There are some awesome videos up on my friends blogs for you to enjoy.
Amanda's dogs did amazing & even Vito came out to play! Unfortunately I somehow managed to not press the record button during his run & there is no video of him :(
Sarah & her guys were wonderful as well, on the last day Sarah did a cartwheel during her run with Kaleb & it was hilarious, so it is a must watch video :)
Enjoy!

Have You Lost Your Smiley Face ?

2011-08-11T06:36:00.005-06:00

My friend Amanda wrote a post the other day that I loved. It was about finding your "smiley face" . I need to do that more often, so I am trying :)

Things haven't been going so well for me lately. Our local agility trial is this weekend & I had to pull both Tate & Kort. First I had to pull Tate as he was so ill & loosing weight. He has since been neutered & is well on his way to recovering, as well as putting weight back on, smiley face :)
Kort had to be pulled do to his mysterious pain episodes, he is still on strict rest & I haven't been able to do anything with him except some nice calm walks.
I will however be able to volunteer in everything all weekend now, as well as cheer on all the Go!Dog!Go! gang, smiley face :)
Other things in my life have been crappy lately, things I won't talk about, I am still working on finding my smiley face for those :(
I bought a laptop yesterday ! No comments please. I don't want to hear about how it was an expense that I can't afford, I know that. I don't want to hear that I didn't need one, I know that too. Did I want one, yes, am I glad I bought one, yes , do I feel just a little guilty about it , yes, but I'll get over it, smiley face :)
Next weekend is a CKC trial that I had to pull from as well, I'll put the money I'm saving on hotels to the laptop bill, smiley face :)
Anyway, you get the picture, life would be so much better if we all could just find our smiley faces, thanks Amanda for reminding me of that, smiley face for good friends :) :)

What A Pain In The Neck ! :)

2011-08-05T10:27:00.008-06:00

I had previously mentioned that Kort has had 2 episodes, in the past 2 weeks, of yelping in pain, then spinning around, tilting sideways & having his eyes bug out as he was so scared :(
I saw my vet & she found nothing to be wrong except perhaps a mild ear infection, certainly nothing to make him scream out in pain.
I wanted to get more answers so yesterday I made the trip up to Okotoks to see Dr. Catherine Pampiglionie at the Elizabeth St. Pet hospital. She is an animal chiropractor & came highly recommended. She gave Kort a complete exam.
She found his sacrum to be tight, not much movement there. She found 3 discs out of whack at the base of his neck & 3 out at the top of his spine. She adjusted those.
Could this have caused him to have unexpected pain? , she couldn't say for sure.
I have to rest him for 3 weeks & if he screams out again to have his neck xrayed to see if the spacing between his vertebrae have enough cushion between them, or perhaps they are pushing against each other.
Anyway it all just sucks, I have no real answers, I am glad he has been adjusted. I hope that was his problem.
It sucks because he was in a full month of trials & demos & races. Kort loves this stuff, & I love doing it with him, but his health has to come first.
I will make use of the time to do his rear awareness & strengthening exercises.

The Video :)

2011-08-04T07:01:00.004-06:00

So here is the final installment of Spruce Meadows :)
This is a video of Amanda who offered to take Kort in the ring when he refused to do anything for me :(
Amazing isn't it !
He got 99/100 & a 2nd place in a large Excellent B class for his 2nd leg.
I also want to note that out of 13 or so dogs in this class, he was the youngest at 3 yrs.

Spruce Meadows, more pictures :)

2011-08-02T18:23:00.005-06:00

Just a couple more fun pictures from our weekend, video coming soon :)

Amanda made this sign to identify our Stall :) ......

Inside our Stall, it was so cozy!......

This picture includes Boone as yesterdays did not :)...it is the only one he stayed for!......

Spruce Meadows, AKC Dog Show

2011-08-01T21:03:00.013-06:00

The Good, The Bad, & the Really Bad :)......

I am home today from the wonderful Dog Show held at the beautiful Spruce Meadows, I am exhausted, mentally & physically.

The Good....

1) I love this show, it is held on the famous Spruce Meadows Horse Jumping Grounds, & that alone is worth going for.
2) We got to stay at friends Jan & Dave's house, & it was awesome for the dogs, & us, to be able to go back to a house to rest.
3) Traveling with Amanda is an adventure in itself, we always have a ton of laughs!!!
4) Kort competed in Open & Rally, he did not Q in Open, but he got 1 Q in Excellent Rally with a score of 99/100 for his 2nd leg. He was handled in the ring by Amanda who he adores :)
5) Kort competed in Scenthurdle on Sat. night & our team was awesome. Kort finished his Scenthurdle Dog Excellent title!!!!

The Bad......

1) Kort did pretty good in Open for me, but had a meltdown in Rally. He refused to sit, & would not look at me, it was horrible & very painful :(
2) At the afternoon trial today when handled by Amanda again, he started to shut down for her as well, but manged to finish most of the stations :(
3) The mosquitoes :)

The Really Bad......

1) Realizing I have pushed my wonderful boy so hard that he is shutting down in the ring for me :( :( :(
2) While waiting to do his Honour Exercise, Amanda was playing with Kort, he suddenly screamed out in pain & started to freak out, he looked almost like he was having a seizure. This actually happened to him 2 weeks ago while I was in Calgary doing Scenthurdle. I was playing with him & he screamed & did the exact same thing, I am very worried & will be making an appt. for him tomorrow to be looked at :(
3) The judge made Amanda do the Honour Exercise, even though Kort had NQ'd & she had seen his painful episode :( :(
4) While competing in Scenthurdle on Sat. one of the opposing team members started saying some very out of line things about a dog on my team. It was childish & immature, & caused my team member to be upset. That makes me & all of my teammates upset as well, not good at all :(

So that is it, The Good, The Bad, & The Really Bad of the weekend, now please enjoy some pictures :)

♥ Tate & Kort ♥

The gang, minus Boone who wouldn't stay :)
Left to Right, Kort, Tate, Wicca, Pixel, & Vito......

Kort, Over !......

I think my face says it all :) ♥

Tired Kort, Day 3 :)......

My Scenthurdle team
Left to Right, Amanda & Pixel, Sarah & Gyp, Kim & Bosley, Me & Kort, Donna & Swift
Yeah No Nonscents !!!!!

This cracks me up!
Wicca, Pixel, & Vito, Amanda's dogs releasing from their sit stay !......

More pictures to follow in the coming days, thank you Sarah for the pictures of our Scenthurdle team, & in the Open Ring, & Amanda for the rest.

More Scenthurdle :)

2011-07-24T12:23:00.012-06:00

I love this dog :)♥♥

Thanks again Wendy :)

Bark In The Park

2011-07-23T21:46:00.007-06:00

Today was the 2nd Bark In The Park. It is put on by the Windy City Rescue to help raise money for the dogs in the rescue.
Kort & I did an Agility Demo with my Agility group, Go!Dog!Go!, then a Scenthurdle Demo with my No Nonscents team.
There were contests for the dogs & I entered Perkins for fun, he ended up winning for smallest dog! He was very happy with his squeaky toy prize.
I also entered the raffle & won a huge gift basket filled with all kinds of yummy things!!
Wendy was on hand with her booth but took time out to get some pictures of our team in the Scenthurdle demo, she sent me a few pictures to get me through until she has time to send the rest.
It was hard to pick the ones to put on here but so far these are my favourites :)......,

Cute Perkins Picture :)

2011-07-21T22:56:00.004-06:00

This is a picture of Perkins...I was vacuuming today & lifted up Kort's dog bed off the floor & put it on the chair....I turned around to find Perkins like this ! He is such a funny dog, he makes me laugh everyday ♥
This picture is for Brian ( Perkin's dad :) who is on holidays in Ottawa, & for Diana because she loves Perkins too & asked for a picture !
Enjoy!

Me & My Dog :)

2011-07-20T22:42:00.004-06:00

Kort only competed in Scenthurdle last weekend so I had no pictures of him to post.
Wendy came out to the show on Sunday as she was photographing the lure coursing so I snagged her for a picture of Kort & I.....
I LOVE it ♥
thanks Wendy !

Catching Up

2011-07-20T09:55:00.006-06:00

I am going to try & catch up on the past weekend, at least what stands out about it :)

Amanda & I headed out for Calgary on Fri. after work to attend the Evelyn Kenny Dog Show. We had been invited to stay with friends at their house which was about a half hr outside of Calgary. What a great place they have!, first off it has a huge property & it is all fenced, whoo hoo!! After being in the car for 2 hrs we were able to let the dogs out to run around & play. They were quickly joined by Jan & Dave's 4 Shelties & a small Chihuahua/Dacshund X.
One of the things that is difficult for me when I travel to dog shows is not being able to exercise my dogs properly. When staying at hotels there isn't alot of greenspace around so you end up walking along sidewalks, usually with busy traffic near by.

Perkins is in my care right now so he got to tag along & play "show dog " He was sooo good! I was worried that he would find it all too much to handle. There is alot of nervous energy at shows & trials. I set up my ex-pen, put his bed in it & he & Kort shared the space. Perkins got to socialize with all kinds of people & dogs & took it like he had done this everyday :)

I had pulled Kort from the trials to re train his high jump, so all he had to do was Scenthurdle on Sat. night. I was nervous he might not run, especially after he wouldn't here in Lethbridge 2 weeks ago. I did not have to worry, he was awesome !!! All the team was, we won a few heats as well.
All my team mates, as well as Kort, came home with their Scenthurdle Dog titles ( SHD ) & points toward our Scenthurdle Excellent (SHDX ) title as well !!!! We were there to 9 pm though as Scenthurdle is always after Best In Show, I wish they would change that.
Again it was so nice to come back to a house rather then a hotel, the dogs got to run around & blow off steam after being at the show all day.
We had our own suite in the house, with our own entrance, it was perfect. Jan & Dave have invited us to stay the weekend of the 29th too. We are attended another trial & doing Scenthurdle as well.

I have been practicing with Kort on the high jump. His main problem is he doesn't want to release when I say "over", so we are working with low jump heights & I am putting a food bowl on the other side of the jump. I have him sit & watch as I put some food in the dish, I come back & give him the release word. It is working very well, he flies over the jump to get to the food, then flies back over to get his reward for a nice "front" as well. The next step will be to have him bring his dumbbell back over the jump to me. Hopefully he will have a better understanding of what I want in the ring.
We will find out in 10 days :)

Kort ♥ Brit

2011-07-14T23:20:00.006-06:00

Kort has lost his heart to a border collie named Brit.
She belongs to my friend Amanda. We went to a local park tonight to do some last minute training, afterwards we let the lovebirds run around for a bit......

After all that running they decided to cool off with a bit of a swim :)
Awwwww, young love :) :)

What to do ???

2011-07-14T06:36:00.005-06:00

I have a big decision to make before this weekend :(
Should I pull Kort from the obedience trial? He has been struggling with the retrieve over the high jump for some time now, he refused it in Medicine Hat in May & has not done it once in Fun Matches.
I finally have my own jumps built & he will not jump them in the yard or in the building we practice in. He will go over it for food, or if I run along side him, but give him a formal "over" to take him dumbbell, nope :( He isn't jumping.
Soooo, putting him the ring at this point I think will just demote him even more, he is a dog that likes to please me for the most part, but for some reason he just doesn't get this.
He is not doing it on purpose, dogs don't think that way, "maybe I'll screw with moms head today & refuse to jump over & over again until she wants to stab herself :) "
Anyway, you get the picture, training has gone wrong somewhere & he needs to have his confidence built up again.
I still have scenthurdling to do on Sat. night, & I have lots of friends competing with their dogs that I can watch, but it will be hard & I will be sad.
I will take the summer to re train, he has another trial at the end of July, we will see how training has progressed & take it from there.

1 Year

2011-07-12T06:41:00.006-06:00

♥ DAD ♥ March 19 1929 - July 12 2010

I hold you close within my heart
And there you will remain
To walk with me through out my life
Until we meet again

Open Fun Match

2011-07-10T17:29:00.006-06:00

Early this morning Kim & I traveled to Calgary for a Fun Match at Sit Happens. (I love the name !)
Kort did very good on most of the exercises, but now that we are making head way with the broad jump, he has started running around the high jump , I even called him a bugger in the ring :)
I am excited to have my own jumps now so I can finally get in some practice at home, seeing as we are in a trial this weekend.
Kort was also doing amazing on his long out of sight sits, but today he went down 3 times in the 3 minutes !! I had instructed the ring crew to put him back into a sit which they did. When it came time for the 3 minute down I made Kort do a sit again, this time he remained sitting :)
Kim got it all on video for me, except for the sits!

It's Never Too Early !

2011-07-07T19:33:00.004-06:00

Even though I won't have a Flatcoat for a couple of years, I couldn't resist buying these collars when I saw them :)
I couldn't decide which colour I liked better either, so I got one of each :)

Agility Pictures

2011-07-05T17:33:00.008-06:00

Here are a few pictures for my friends that haven't seen them on Facebook ( Diana :) )
Thank you to Wendy Devent, who gives up her weekends, to sit on the ground for hours, in all kinds of weather, to capture these wonderful pictures of our dogs, you rock !!!!

Kort going up the frame, I think he likes this obstacle the best !......

Kort taking a jump......

I love how enthusiastic Kort is about getting on the table :)......

Here is Kort coming out of the shute, doesn't he look crazy !!......

Here is one of the few pictures Wendy managed to capture of Kort competing in Scenthurdle, I think this was the only time he made it all the way to the box :)......

What An Awesome Weekend!!

2011-07-03T19:39:00.004-06:00

Holy smokes did I have a great weekend.
Kort is so amazing it blows my mind ! He has all of a sudden become this awesome, willing to listen, mature boy :) He made me so proud !
On Friday we spent the entire day doing an Agility & Scenthurdle Demo at the Canada Day Celebrations.
On Saturday & today we had Agility trials, 2 each day, & last night after agility we competed in Scenthurdle!
Kort went in all 4 trials & Q'd in them all with 1st places each day in his class! He now sports his first agility title, AGNS !!!!!
They only time he was "off" all weekend was last night at Scenthurdle, he just could not get it together. It was like he had forgotten how to play. It was sooo hot out & it was at the end of an already very long day. I do not like to make excuses for Kort but I think the poor guy was just done :( Luckily our newest team members Sarah & Gyp filled in for us & were just awesome !!!
Amanda put the video below together for me even though she also had a very long weekend & is on holidays :) She knows how crazy I am & impatient to see any video or photos of Kort.
Thanks Amanda!!!
Enjoy the video :)......

Tate Update

2011-06-30T19:14:00.003-06:00

Today Tate had his follow up appt. with our vet. It has been 2 weeks since he began his antibiotics for his enlarged prostate/infected anal gland. His prostate has definitely shrunk & his anal gland is better as well :) I knew he was better as his appetite has come back & he is his silly crazy self again :) He still weighs 60Ilbs but I am working on that.
I booked his neuter, he will have the surgery on July 12th. I am ok so far & not too worried. I may however be a basket case on the day, I always stress a bit when my dogs have anesthetic for the first time. Tate is 9 years old as well which worries me a bit, however I totally trust my vet.
He will be having laser surgery. I wasn't going to have it as I didn't for Kort, but my vet kind of insisted on it as he is an older dog & there is less "oozing" afterwards as she put it :) She did not insist the same when Kort was done so I totally trust that she thinks this is best for Tate. He will also have to follow up with 2 more weeks of antibiotics after, just to be safe.
This is the last time I will ever leave my male dog intact. The collie I had before Tate had an issue with his prostate as well, he was 8 yrs old when I had to have him neutered.
Live & learn I guess :)