Shorties

I call the short dogs "the shorties"- Pixel, Wicca and Vito. As someone on FB said- it's kinda like a gang.

 It's interesting to see group dybamics- now that Leo has joined the group it has definitely shifted a bit. For the most part the shorties hang out together, and the border collies mirror each other or are generally off doing stuff, and then Boone is off by himself in his own little world. It's kinda like highschool. lol

 In this case I took only the shorties to a new swim spot. I needed to be sure it was "boone safe" before I took him, and the BC's had had plenty of exercise already in the day. The Shorties had a great time- bossing around Cindy's kelpies and just generally having fun. I took a ton of photos, but here are just a few of my favorites.

August Long Weekend

The dogs and I headed to Calgary for the weekend. The big Alberta Kennel Club dog show was the first on the agenda for Saturday. Pixel and I were wrangled into participating in a Team Obedience competition. It was fun! And we did manage to win, despite Pixels dismal attempt at heeling. I just don't get her sometimes. lol. Regardless we had fun- the whole team was comprised of good sports so we all were laughing at the screwups.  I would definitely do it again, but perhaps a practice or two before hand would be helpful. lol

Saturday evening No Nonscents raced, and we won every heat, every race, and won overall for the night. That has NEVER happened before. None of the dogs made any mistakes and we were bang on each time. I was super impressed with two of our newer dogs- Crawford and Catch. This was Catch's second race and he was awesome! And Crawford seemed back to his normal awesome/reliable self. Brit did not get to run- she has been a little off lately, and has been making lots of mistakes in training so I used Pixel instead. It was a great night of racing! There are photos somewhere that I'll post when I get them.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out- letting the dogs play and just be dogs. We are fortunate to have awesome friends who let us stay at their place even if they aren't home! It was a home away from home. The dogs loved every minute of it!

Sunday was designated as a sheep dog day. I headed to Louannes with the Border Collies for a day of fun. We started with a group walk which ended with Brit dramatically hobbling around and me freaking out. lol. Turns out it was a a thistle. So she sat out on all the fun stuff. Leo got to work though- and he was great. I am starting to be able to read him a little better and can get him into serious work mode right away now. We are working on teaching a solid "there" and extending our outruns. Sending him from my feet is my immediate goal. We are getting there! The place we worked dogs was absolutely incredible. The sky was full of storm clouds which made it all the better for photos. I am so lucky to have places and people like this to train with!

Oh, and believe it or not I had a drink or two... Really.

Those who know me in real life know that this is pretty amazing. Michelle makes a good ceasar! The night ended with some yummy food, and lots of laughs. Ever heard of "The Game of Things?" I highly reccomend it. The most I've laughed in a long time!

The dogs and I spent the day recovering from the weekend. It was much needed, and I am feeling refreshed for the week! A work week without a monday can only be called awesome. ;) 

Last Chance SDT

photo by Michelle Bryan

 What a great weekend we had! I worked all day Saturday and Sunday- and by worked I mean did things that were awesome. ;) Set out was fun, I love sheep. And what could be better than getting to hang out with them for half the day. I also got to scribe- which was interesting. It's a learning experience for sure as you get to hear first hand about the why behind the score. And in this case the judge was also pretty funny so it was entertaining. Brit and Leo got to help out the odd time- we moved some sheep and Brit even got to exhaust sheep (push them back to the barn after other peoples runs). She thought that was pretty fun. Leo tried to be useful but he's a little too untrained for that sort of thing. Pushy is his middle name.

Monday was finally our turn to play. Brit and I were entered in two Novice runs. The morning was cool so it was perfect- I didn't have to worry at all about Brit in the heat.

Our first run was great- I was confident and not at all nervous. Brit listened really well- and worked hard to cover the run away sheep. I know that field, and the sheep, and had watched them try to break to exhaust all weekend so was ready when it happened. Thankfully my dog tends to overflank so we managed to get back on course. This part was much improved as she has learned since the last time to give ground to get it back. The drive continues to be awful. I am sure we lost most of our points on that. We did make the panels, but it wasn't pretty.  I need to get her actually driving- and plan to work on the small stuff including that for the next while. But we made the pen!!! I was super excited as we've been struggling with that so that was my goal. We placed first in our class and won some cash even!!




The second run I thought had better moments- but our score was lower because of the lack of pen. For the first time we got the fetch panels though!!! I was so excited I almost cheered on the spot. lol. The drive was sloppy again- I think walking with the dog is a huge disadvantage because I just always seem to be in the wrong spot. We'll get it though- it's a skill that will be hard for her to master. And we did not get the pen this time. I needed to back out of their space a bit more. I thought I was being plenty patient but I can see that I actually pushed them out a few times. And you can see that Brit really, really does not like penning. Like at all. It is too intense for her, and she doens't like that fast, short flanks and stops. I am going to teach her to like it though. lol. Because the pen is a fact of herding. She's gonna need to learn to walk in and hold the pressure if I need. We placed 2nd in our class- just two point short of first. Darn that pen. ;)




Overall I am just so pleased with her. Both outruns were pretty good- although the top was a little (lot) tight. I know her though, and was ready to flank her over because of it. But that is just one more thing for us to work on! I was so happy with how hard she worked, and she listened really well. Her best yet for sure. I am looking forward to having some time to train again and work out these kinks before the next trial. I'd like to move to Intermediate- as soon as I get whistles and the drive sorted out. Both of which should happen pretty quick! This winter at the latest!

A quick thanks to my most awesome friends and teachers for helping me so much! Brit is a dog that requires a lot of patience, and a lot of help and I really appreciate it! So thanks to Louanne and to Jenny! You are both awesome. ;)

Sheepdog Trial in Photos

The Barn looks the same at 7am as it does any other time of the day..

a trio

hemp the set out dog.

puppies everywhere! this is meg. who is adorable.

kelpie power.

big skies in alberta

brit "helping" to sort in the morning

i've got my eye on ewe. (sorry, I couldn't resist)

leo the copilot. he was dreadfully bored. I tried to use him to do stuff. But he was too charged up to be of much use. He must learn patience (among other things).

cutest lamb ever.

jed. who thought this pylon was awesome. ;)

Results and more words tomorrow. Today I'm tired. I will say it was a fantastic weekend. Laid back. Perfect weather. Great people. And just a whole lot of fun. Can't wait for the next one!

Stealth

Stealthy dog in pool

See, invisible.

okay, maybe not.

she's offended now. 

This weekend is a busy one. Starting tonite we will be a the Last Chance Stock Dog Trial at Altapete. Helping out most of the time, until Monday when Brit will get a chance to play. I'm looking forward to it, and strangely not nervous at all. ;)  Expect lots of photos of sheep, and dogs, and overheated people.

Like something out of a Dr.Seuss book

Boone got a haircut. I went a little clipper happy (as I always do)

So he decided to Celebrate

Rolling

Putting his whole little spotted body into it

Grunting and Snorting (imagine it)

And then getting up like nothing happened... .

*thanks to Liz for the idea for the title. ;)

Return of the Jolly Ball

I took my camera out to the backyard this afternoon. I haven't taken photos "just because" for a while. Which was evident when I was looking for a photo to post. lol.

So I've set up a few days worth of blog posts, so it's like two birds with one stone. Photos of cute dogs to redeem myself as a bad blogger.

We will start off with the Woo. Who I love even more each day if that's possible. Cause she is so full of awesomeness.

The Jolly Ball has been sitting around for months. And today it was the most exciting toy in the yard. Who knows why. But it made for some entertaining!

scratching at it to get the inside out is not effective. honest

nor is chewing it.

neither is chewing and scratching at the same time

it's valuable and must be protected from the border collies

Frustration builds. lol

Oh Wicca. Never, ever change. 

July Family Photo

I am so lucky. <3

firsts

First time hosting a "party" and by party I mean a few friends over for a Housewarming BBQ. Entertainment supplied by Nolen and some bad dogs.

And Leo's first agility demo! He did pretty great. And we both had lots of fun.

This is Leo's first agility photo too!! Photo by Jenny Glen. Thanks Jenny!!!

Brit Update

Summer Day 28/52, originally uploaded by manymuddypaws.

Well there has been no other episodes. So I am thankful for that. However I am a tad bit paranoid now. :(

I went to the farm yesterday and barely let her work I was so worried....

She doesn't know/care what the fuss is all about she just wants to run around like normal. Oh to be a dog. lol.

Head Course Builder and She who bosses people around.

Head Course Builder and She who bosses people around.

Those were my titles this past weekend. Our local kennel club held a CKC agility trial this weekend and I was kept busy pretty much every second of the weekend. lol. Although I was busy I had a great time. Which is surprising because I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it on the actual day. But it was actually pretty awesome. There were a few tough/awkward/sad moments. For example some people didn't know about Wicca, let alone Pixel being retired.... But those moments were few and far between.

The trial went smoothly and we had TONS of awesome volunteers which is great. So I had ample help for most of the course builds. It was SO nice to see at least some of my agility friends. I have missed them! It was nice to see my friends runs, and be able to cheer them on and offer support when they needed. I've been out of the loop for a while- so it was just nice to be there and feel that energy.

I brought the Border Collies and Pixel for Saturday (the girls ran scenthurdle), and just Leo today.  They had fun, and Leo schmoozed with lots of people, did some work on the sides, and was just a really good boy all weekend. I was proud of him just on his behaviour alone!

Scenthurdle was interesting. Brit didn't scent at all. Not sure what was up with that. Pixel was a rock star. We ended up quitting Scent early because of a severe storm (like hail so hard and fast that it made me worry about my windshield!). Which was crappy because we had a rough start as a team so it would have been nice to end more on a positive. But the storm had other ideas and it wasn't safe to be out in a field full of metal any longer. lol

So this weekend marks the second last big event I am planning/organising. I am glad this, and the obedience trial are all done. Our committee all worked hard- so I wasn't alone- but wowsers. It's a lot of stuff.... Next weekend I am running an afternoon of demos in support of a local rescue group. It should be fun- if not a little "fly by the seat of our pants". I think that Leo might even be able to participate! He's coming right along so I might try him once, even just during the break to let him work in another new place.

I leave you with a picture of my cat. Who pretty much photobombed every photo I tried to take tonite. lol

Hot Dogs and a Scare

It is hot. And humid. Which is SO weird for our area. Hot is normal. But the humidity is something we are not at all used to around here. It has us begging for air conditioning and a little bit of rain...

These photos are from a walk on the weekend. I met Wendy and thought we'd have a nice walk in the coulee. Ha! We picked a great time. When it was hot and humid. The bugs were horrible and we had no bug spray. Our walk didn't last long...

Even Pixel was hot!

the longest tongue contest

easily won by Leo

Pixel rarely gets hot, so you know it's reallllly hot

Hot Dog Totem Pole

Brit had a scary episode on this walk. Heat Exhaustion, or maybe BCC (Border Collie Collapse). There is no firm answer, and it is a wait and see if it happens again sort of thing.
We weren't very far into our walk (maybe 15 minutes) and she started stumbling and acting weird. Head really low, couldn't walk in a straight line. Shuffling her feet. She didn't actually fall over- though it was close. She was a little "off" and couldn't really focus on me. It was very scary. The worst of it lasted only about 10 minutes. We walked (slowly) back to the car and then home where I gave her a cool bath. It's weird because she runs all the time in the heat. And leads an active lifestyle- I've never seen her do that before. So now I will always make sure to have water with me and keep a super close eye on her. I've done some reading about it and if it happens once it is likely to happen again. She is perfectly normal now, back to herself with no obvious ill effects. I'm more than a little paranoid now though....

Two Peas in a Pod (well, pool)

Nole and Pixel have exactly the same expression

here too although you can't see Pixels...the body lanquage is pretty clear!

and again. lol. They had a great time playing in the pool this afternoon!

Change of Address

Well the move is done. Just a few little things left to do on the old house and have lots to do in the new house. But the hard part is over!

I love my new little house. It's roughly the same size as before but much safer and renovated so its more modern. The layout is great, hardwood floors, and the yard is as big!! It's all a win!

The dogs have settled great and already have their favorite spots picked out. And I'm feeling pretty awesome about my decision.

:) oh happiness, I'd forgotten what you felt like.