nothing exciting

well my week so far has been pretty uneventful- nothing too terribly exciting. Work is great, I love it...the dogs are all good, classes are all good...everythin gis just good...Boring, I know.
Sam has an appointment tomorrow with a different vet...that's kind of new...and a little nerve racking. I'll be sure to report what happens. And, I still need to make a new apt. for Vito to be neutered....and Sunday I am going to Calgary for one day of an agility trial...

oh yeah, and I am going to buy a video camera..today actually...fun fun!


-amanda

Please!!!

Here is a teaser picture of my adventures last night. This is the little Sheltie X sitting very nicely for her vaccine!! What a Good Dog! (She is definitely the sweetest of the bunch!!!)

To see more pictures of all of the dogs check out our petfinder website

http://search.petfinder.com/shelterSearch/shelterSearch.cgi?shelterid=AB48&preview=1

Rescue Tails

So it is 11:33 pm on Sunday night. I should be sleeping as I have to work tomorrow morning. Instead I am so wide awake it would be impossible for me to even think about sleep! In the past 7 hours we (Natalie and I) have saved 5 lives. It is exhilerating. We made a trip out to a local reserve this afternoon and came back with 4 very, very adoptable dogs. It is always heartwrenching to go and I always am a little anxious but the feeling I have right now is well worth the indigestion!!!

The story of our afternoon:

On our way out there we saw a bunch of dogs in crates in a parking lot- it turns out that Pound Rescue from Okotoks was out doing their thing- they will take dogs for people, or just strays; spay/neuter them and bring them back. They took 28 dogs- amazing. They had trapped some from the dump and taken in dogs for people who can't afford to spay. They were heading out when we arrived.

Natalie and I figured that the dogs left at the dump would be pretty spooked so although we went out we didn't see anything. We did however pick up dog #1 (Polly) shortly thereafter. She had been saved by a really nice lady who has helped with rescue before. Polly is about the cutest thing on three inch legs. She looks like a kelpie (black and tan) but is short and stout. She is very submissive and falls to the ground when approached. She is a doll and will come around quickly with patience and love. With Polly safely stored in the back of the truck we did a quick tour through town- we aren't allowed to take dogs right from town as although they mostly appear to be strays they might belong to someone. I almost broke the rules with a little shepherd X pup- who looked to be about 7 weeks old, but there were too many people around when I wanted to grab him and when we returned later we couldn't find him. I thought of him alot today.

We saw a LOT of starving, neglected dogs. Dogs of all different breeds -not just mutts either- Rottweilers, Saint Bernards, Jack Russells, German Shepherds, Pittbulls. And of course your combination of all of the above. There are no fences, and the dogs are in rough shape, underweight, full of fleas or mange, scars and missing ears from fighting. Dogs limping around on three legs, dogs who have had litter after litter of puppies. We saw lots of young dogs- ranging from 7 weeks and up. It is a horrible situation- one that unfortunately will continue.

After finding nothing in the residential area we decided to try a new place- and after 15 minutes of the worst road ever we came across two little pups on the highway- about 3.5 months old and absolutely terrified of people. With Timbits from Tim Hortons and lots of encouragement I managed to catch one, a female. Unfortunately the other one would not be caught. The little pup is very cute- all tan and white with a little black grizzle on her face she will need a lot of rehab to overcome her fear of people. Getting her in a crate was really difficult. After much discussing between Natalie and I- the little tan pup will be going to a different rescue. We don't have a foster home that is willing to take on such a challenge.

About 1/2 hour later we found dog # 3- lying on the side of the highway.Yep. just lying on the road. As we drove by he didn't move, get up or otherwise acknowledge us. Instantly I noticed his best feature- SHORT LEGS!!! and He looks almost identical to the little female we already had!! (Polly) He was easily caught with just one Tim Bit- Natalie has dubbed him Tim. He is super cute- very stocky and about 13 inches tall. We guess he is about 18 months old. He really likes other dogs and is pretty friendly little guy. He is a little reserved right now but I think he is just a bit shocked at his life change!!!

After dropping the little tan pup off for pick up we decided to call it a day- no more dogs were readily available- and we still didn't have a shepherd cross! (of which we have a request for)

So back onto the highway to head home and we spy three dogs on the road. We stop and they all wag their tails. Dog #4 At first we guess Collie cross, about 4 months old. She is young and wiggly and very happy to see us! After a closer look we decide she is a Sheltie Cross who is almost a year old. She is adorable and is short and long bodied- (not as short as Polly and Tim though!) We decided we couldn't pass her up- We had reached our limit. We only had three waiting foster homes. Sadly we started closing the tailgate- the other two would have to stay. Then the beautiful shepherd cross sat, wagged her tail and tried to jump in the truck- how could we say no? We helped her up and closed the truck. The little lab pup had to stay. It was very hard to leave her standing on the side of the highway- but without a place to put her we were doing her no favours to take her. We can't save them all unfortunately and although harder than you can imagine those are the choices that people in rescue have to make. So we saved 5 lives, and brought 4 back to lethbridge.

Once back to lethbridge- vaccines, capstars (instant flea killer) revolution (for internal parasites) and a wound clean for the little sheltie and Polly. Everyone was set. We delivered three to their foster homes and Tim came home with me. I will have pictures tomorrow- and will be sending out a mass email in the morning. We did good today and although we had to leave some behind the ones we saved are very, very thankful. I just tucked Tim into a crate for the night- the gentle wag of his tail and a quick kiss makes it all worth it. And that is what rescue is all about.

-Amanda

What is a Title?

What is a title really? Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone

to a higher title, a title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a

way to honour the dog, the ultimate memorial. It will remain in
record and memory, for as long as anything in this world can
remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard. And
though the dog itself doesn't know or care that it's achievements
have been noted, a title says many things in this world of humans,
where such things count. A title says that your dog was
intelligent, and adaptable and good-natured. It says that your dog
loved you enough to do the things that pleased you, however crazy
they may have seemed. And a title says that you loved your dog,
that you loved to spend time with it because it was a good dog, that
you believed in it enough to give it another chance when it failed,
and that in the end, your faith was justified. A title proves that
your dog inspired you to that special relationship enjoyed by so
few; that in this world of disposable creatures, this dog with a
title was greatly loved and loved greatly in return. A title is
nothing less than love and respect, given and received, and
permanently recorded.

"What is a title" is written by Sandy Mowery of Wisconsin and was
written up in the AKC Gazette and Front & Finish in the 90's. I have read it before but never really read it, you know. Anyway, I really love it and thought I would share.

Something must have smelt realllly good...

Rolling...

Rolling.....

Smart one, Scored the chewie!!!

Growing Up

Wicca is really becoming a pretty good dog- lately it seems that she has really grown up...don't get me wrong, she is still very bad <grin> but in a good kind of way now.  She is a little more affectionate- and by a little more I mean she will actually come to me for attention, and asks to be petted. Amazing, I know. Also she has slowly, over the last few weeks, changed her sleeping position on the bed. She used to sleep on the far edge of the bed- as far from me as she could get. And all of a sudden she is sleeping up by the pillows- still not touching me, but close enough that if I dared I could reach out and pet her. Amazing, I know. :)

Sam is really not doing all that great. He is not as happy as he was and is actually becoming more obnoxious than before. He is whining an awful lot and being really pushy with the other dogs, he has also started to lick- which I HATE, and he is very insistent with the licking too, which annoys me more. It all comes down to him wanting more attention, more one on one time with me, and him needing more exercise. Too bad that the guy is hobbling around on three and half legs...I am going to have to figure out a way that I can get him doing something without injuring himself more....

Vito is as cute as ever- he is going to be neutered tomorrow. For some reason I am pretty stressed about it. Usually I am not really the type to worry about something so routine but....you never know. I actually think that I am going to cancel it and wait until I feel a little better about it...I am not a huge believer in karma and such but it is really unlike me to be worried about things like this.....

More Pics and a Forgotten Title!!

In the excitement and fast pace of the summer I forgot about Wicca's new title! At the Cardigan Nationals she earned her Novice Jumpers title in CKC. Which really cracks me up because...well, there's jumps in Jumpers...and well...my dog can't seem to keep any up! :o)
Anyway, here is my new most favorite agility picture of Wicca- my friend Sarah (who takes all the good pictures of my dogs) took this for me.




And here is Mr. Sam- who is still lame and has not done anything fun for more than six months. So he doesn't feel anymore left out than he already is- here is a picture of him smiling- just happy to be, what a sweetie he is...I love this dog to death. He has got to be the happiest dog I know...well, Kaleb probably has him beat...but it would be close!

First Week!

Today signifies the end of the first week at my new job. And I must say I love it. Already I see the difference in myself and it's only been a week! Paws on the Run is a fantastic work place. It really is a dream job. I get paid to play with dogs all day. It is a 10 minute WALK in the morning to work, I am home by 3:30 and my dogs are tired after playing all day. I feel appreciated and that alone makes a huge difference. I feel that we are providing GREAT care for these dogs, and that too makes a difference in the way I feel. It is hard to "sell" a product that you don't beleive in. Or in my case work for something that you don't believe in. You can see pics at the POTR blog- (link located at the bottom of the page)

Not much to report in the way of fun dog news. I just reformatted the blog and noticed that there is not one picture of Vito on here, poor guy...so here is the most recent picture I have of him. On that note I am having a heck of time with this blog lately. For some reason unknown to me I can't get the Archive link to the right side, or my favorite link panel either. I thought that changing the template might help but it didn't...If anyone has any ideas I'd be happy to hear them!!!

Shouldice Speciality Weekend

It has been a long 5 days, and we are all tired but what fun we had!!!

The corgis and I headed to Calgary on Wednesday night for the Canadian Cardigan Corgi Club National Specialty. We spent 5 action packed days showing, shopping, visiting, and playing! Thursday was the settle in day- we got all set up, walked around, talked to lots of Cardigan people and just relaxed most of the day. Friday and Saturday Wicca and I played NADAC all day- she was amazing, NADAC's courses are very open, very fast, and all about distance. Wicca earned 4 Q's- tunnelers, jumpers, standard and touch 'n go. I was thrilled with her performance. She was controlled, responsive and had only a few moments of Wild Wicca. Sunday was THE BUSIEST DAY!! It was the day of the specialty and also CKC Agility, and CKC Rally Obedience.  We started the morning with a clean run at Agility. Ran to the conformation ring, I showed a dog for my breeder, ran back to the agility ring with Wicca- ran a standard course without walking it and knocked the first and last bars, ran back to the conformation ring and showed Wicca in Sire and Get- and we won- her Dad was quite famous in the "old days" and although quite old and out of shape now, has quite a few good looking progeny. ;o) Then I showed Wicca in altered and we placed third out of five. Wicca is a good litle show dog and knows exaclty how to stack herself and look cute, too bad she weighs less than half the other dogs in the ring!!! She looked like a midget compared to all those other dogs. Out of that ring and heading for Rally- I hadn't walked it and asked the judge if I could be moved to the next walk through- thank goodness he said yes!!! Back to the set up for a drink and some shade. We ran one more CKC Agility class-  clean and the fastest time overall! Go Wiccie Go!!! Over to the rally ring, confident with my dog- sign number four, Wicca is a bit sluggish but I chatter away to her and she perks ups, 1,2,3Step Halt. 1 step, Sit...AND WICCA DECIDES AT THAT MOMENT TO PEE!! She didn't just squat to pee either- she lifted her little leg and marked...what a little devil!!! Of course we were excused. I was pretty ticked off at her...but gave her the benefit of the doubt that she REALLY had to pee....I wanted to win the High Cardigan in Trial and we totally could have...Back to the set up, more shade, a nap for Wicca and one last CKC Run of the day- and she ran it clean! What a good dog!!! She has never had such a high Q rate before...Sunday night we slept well except for the poounding rain on our tent half the night!

Monday- the day that the agility counts for High In Trial for the Specialty....and Wicca blows them all except one. Her first run was amazing- Jumpers with Weaves and we nailed it- no bars, awesome weaves, no problem. 2nd Run...not horrible but I can feel that she is beginning to push it a bit. We had a knocked bar. 3rd Run, a standard. It was a mess- broke her start line, slid off her contacts, I eventually picked her up and carried her out. I was pretty dissapointed but she is a dog who will ALWAYS push and if I give her an inch she will take it. Sunday the contact equipment was slippery so when she slid off I allowed her to continue. Monday they replaced it with better stuff- and Wicca thought that she could still come off...she's a dog afterall! We had one more run to redeem ourselves, and it was almost exactly the same course as first thing in the morning. We knocked two bars. So no High Cardigan in trial for Wicca. Despite that I am still very proud of her, she worked hard and had some really amazing moments. It seems like each time we go to a trial she is better than before. It is the best feeling in the world. We got quite a bit of attention from some of the other cardigan people- and from people who hadn't seen her run, the woman who won the high Cardigan trophy had wonderful little dogs from Finnshavin who did great, and although they weren't as speedy as Wicca, it was really neat to see different Cardis run. It was also the debut for one of my students who has a cardi and Guiness got a Q and did fantastic at his first trial. He wasn't phased by all the noise and the people or anything. His owner did a great job with him and should be very proud! So it is Tuesday today and I have taken the day off from work to unpack, unwind, and clean my house. The corgis are all sleeping- Wicca is pretty tired and the boys are just bored I think...they didn't do much at all except play and have lots of walks. The both gathered a lot of attention where ever we went because they are so unique looking...I have alot of pictures and wil have some video too in a few weeks so will post them later!

 

-Amanda

Go! Dog Go! Agility Trial

Well the weekend is finally over. It was the longest two days ever. We hosted our first Go! Dog Go! AAC Sanctioned agility trial this weekend and it was great. Things went great, we didn't have any nastiness, and I got alot of positive feedback from competitors. I am however pretty exhausted- there is alot to do when you are hosting a trial and it seems that there is always something to be done. We had a lot of support from all of our students and everyone pitched in to help- so without them it wouldn't have run nearly as well.

It was the first trial for almost all of our students and I am super proud of everyone. We totalled the Q's and over a quarter of the total Q's were from our group!!! It was amazing to see them, and I got goosebumps, and teary eyed seeing them out there... :o)

I ran Wicca aswell and she did great. She is getting better and better all the time and there was no exception this weekend. We had two Q's this weekend and only one knocked bar (on snooker of course) We did however get out of starters jumpers finally- see the story in the previous post. Wicca was amazingly fast in the heat and didn't seem to be bothered by the high 30's temperature and the hot wind...

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend of Wicca

yay!

 WICCA GOT OUT OF STARTERS JUMPERS!!!!!!!! YAY! She almost killed herself in the process but we didn't knock any bars and it was beautiful, and done in 20seconds...I was thrilled...The almost killing herself part was the crash through the tire (the first obstacle) where she did a very flashy 360 in the air, landed on her head and kept running....my god this dog scares me....

 

more news about the weekend to follow when I have more time

 

 

 

The Countdown (s)

So lots of things are happening right now.
Our trial that we are hosting is in 3 DAYS
I have exactly 7 working DAYS at the kennel left
I am going to a seminar with Shannen in 8 DAYS
I am going to the Cardigan Nationals in 9 DAYS
and, the Daycare officially opens in just about 2
WEEKS!

Our first ever Go! Dog Go! Sanctioned AAC Trial is
this weekend- it has been lots of work so far but I am
pretty excited about it. It should be lots of fun- our
trial site is great and our core group of people have
been just awesome so hopefully everything runs
smoothly...I have taken Friday off of work so that I
can do all the last minute stuff....

The AKC Show is going to so much fun. It is 5 days of
visiting, shopping, hanging out with friends and
meeting lots of nice people and dogs. And of course
running my own dog...I am camping on site, and am
taking the three corgis...Kate is going to stay at my
parents. It will be Vito's first camping trip, and his
first time at such a big show. I think he will do well
though. Sam is coming even though he isn't doing
anything. I feel so bad leaving him at home, I figured
he could come and torment all my friends with his
barking....hehehe.....And Wicca is going to be running
her little tail off.

Mondays, Agility and the River

It is monday...I hate mondays. Mondays mean work. Specifically Mondays mean an extra long day- Work at the kennel from 6:00-6:00, and then teach from 6:00-9:00. It also means there are lots of dogs at the kennel. Which means lots of cleaning and lots of barking. This Monday I am tired. I have a kink in my back somewhere and I could really go for a nap (it's 7:59am) hehe...
But enough complaining...

Yesterday was a fun day, We did agility in the morning, which was fun- we had a course set up for our students to practice "trial" stuff - and to go over AAC Rules again. I ran Wicca and she was pretty bad...well, I was the bad one I suppose. For whatever reason Wicca has lost some of that great obstacle commitment she had- specifically jumps. She obviously has some anxiety about jumping now...*sigh*

After agility in the A.M. I took Wicca and Vito swimming at the river-Vito hadn't been to the river yet- he had so much fun! He was a little unsure at first, but got more and more brave about fetching sticks and toys. The first time her actually swam he went under for a second or two when he tried to get the stick, but once he got that sorted out he was great. It was very cute, too bad I forgot my camera....Wicca of course had a blast. I went with my friend Jolayne and her border collie Tag (and her human baby Aislyn) Wicca and Tag swam almost non stop for more than an hour- Wicca's leg actually had a cramp! She was pretty tired last night and slep from the minute we got home until this morning!

I am going out in about 15 minutes or so to work Weave pole entries with Wicca. Tunnels and Weaves....a set of 6, two sets of 3 and a set of 12...with lots of tunnels....My plan is to reward for entries so we'll see how that goes...

So that's my post of the day...I am finding posting is easy again- I am posting mostly through my email so I don't actually have to come to the blogger site...it's pretty handy...

A Day Off

So it is a Saturday and I am sitting at home wondering what to do with my day! I can hardly believe that I have nothing planned...Well, I have an obedience lesson at 10:00 but beyond that my day is free. That doesn't happen very often!

It is kind of overcast today so it isn't likely to get toooo hot today- which is a good thing! Tomorrow I am going out to do some agility- we are setting up a course and having some run thru's. It should be fun. Our trial is next weekend, I can't believe it! It seems like July has flown by. Thankfully lots of the stuff is done already, just a few last minute things need to be done...

I taught Wicca how to play basketball yesterday- it was really cute. My friend gave me this little toy basketball hoop and I thought it would be fun to teach wicca how to "score" She caught on really quick and is very proud of herself. I am going to teach Sam too, but I know that he will probably wreck the ball in his excitement!

So yeah, nothing exciting to report- just a relaxing weekend....

-amanda

Sunburned

So I am back from the CKC agility trials held at Indus
this weekend. First things first- it was hot...really,
really hot. I of course neglected to put sunscreen on
and am now burnt to a crisp. My shoulders are hot
enough that you could fry an egg or two on
them....Geesh. What was I thinking!

Wicca was great, actually she was better than great.
She was awesome. We had only one off course the whole
weekend, had fabulous weavepoles, I layered every
chance I got and she had pretty good contacts. We did
however manage to knock a bar EVERY run except one.
*Sigh*
Damn those bars, really. It makes me really
frustrated. Wicca is such a good dog but she has to
learn to pick up her feet- it is getting rather
ridiculous- and expensive. She would have Qualified
EVERY run except she knocked a bar or two. Never more
than two. Three times it was the last bar- and we have
been working hard on that but I will have to work even
harder to fix it.

We did manage to have one qualifying run- the last run
of the weekend- JWW. It was probably the WORST run of
the weekend but she didn't knock any bars. It was
choppy and we almost lost it when she didn't commit to
a jump, I had to take her back and resend
her....everyone was cheering for us which felt good,
but I am pretty frustrated with the one bar thing.

Oh, and another thing that popped up- going down on
the start line....she was pretty bad about it actually
and I had to reset her a few times. She didn't break
once though and got all of her contact except one (and
by got I mean stuck it until I released. Wicca hasn't
actually missed a contact since....never...)

So my new training plan for her- JUMPING. JUMPING..
JUMPING AND JUMPING.
I really want her to not knock any bars at AKC.
Really, really, really. It will really suck if Guiness
beats us...Although I may be hanfdling him
anyways...but still Wicca is an amazing dog if she
would just pick up her feet...
So we are going to do jump chutes EVERY day. I don't
care if I have to go out and do it in the dark, or
come to work half an hour early. We are jumping EVERY
day....that's that.

Vito and Sam got to stay home and my dad came over to
stay with them. It was a CKC event so Vito isn't
really allowed, and Sam gets too wound up....Poor
Sam...

-Amanda

Hot, Hot, Hot

Well it is mid July already- hard to believe. And it is VERY hot....Half the time I feel like I am melting. And it is only supposed to get worse....

Anyways, on to a cooler subject...(lame, I know but still funny)

I am changing jobs soon and I am feeling very, very good about it. The kennel has been a great place for the past year but I am getting more and more frustrated working there (becuase of things I won't discuss here) and when I had an offer from a friend to work at her just opening Doggy Daycare- AFTER some deliberation I jumped at it. I think it will be more like what I thought the kennel was. - A place where dogs can play, get exercised, stimulated and attention. I am really excited about it and will let you know how it goes. My current boss is still unaware that I will be leaving- he is in France for the month so I will talking to him as soon as he is back. I am debating about sending an email to him a few days before he gets back...The daycare will be opening the second week of August (the 13th) So in a little over a month I will be working at Paws on the Run....Fun!

The picture above was taken at the AAC Regionals a few weeks ago...same with this one. This one is funny because of her tail- she has always had a high tail set but this is ridiculous! :)

Wicca has been getting better and better. I am really happy with how she is doing. We have been working hard on our weave entries and jumping. Her contacts, startlines, discrimination and distance are all really great right now, but I know that one of those is bound to take a beating soon...We have a CKC Agility trial this weekend- hopefully we can finish up our Novice title. And then our Go! Dog Go! Trial is the 28th weekend- it will be very fun- but lots of work, and then the weekend after that is the big AKC Show in Calgary- it is the Cardigan National Specialty and I have Wicca entered in Altered...(hehee) Agility, and Rally...It should be very busy, and very fun.

Sam is still lame. It makes me sick.

Vito is growing up to be quite a good littel dog- thankfully he has been doing quite a bit of growing in recent weeks and is more and more energetic. Which is a good thing. We have done some agility stuff- but mostly we are working on just being a good dog.

I have a training plan made up for him

What he knows:

Sit- 100%

Down- 100%

Stay- 50%

Come- 80%

Touch- 100%

Target 75%

Watch 50%

Fetch 30%

Heeling- 80% (10-15 steps)

Swing 50%

Finish- (left) 75%

Bottom- 50%

Things to work on:

Fetch

Watch

Target

Swing

Heeling

Bottom

Things to Teach in the next 6 weeks

Stand

Go

Ready

Rear Cross

Front Cross

High Five

Left

Right

And I wonder why I am tired!!!!

Anyway- I won't promise to write more as it never seems to happen but I will try and make it here more frequently...

By a hair....

Well, once again I had great intentions to post more often but well....real life gets in the way I suppose...
So, on to the news..

This past weekend was the AB/NWT Regionals and Wicca and I competed and Qualified!!! It was a great weekend and I am very proud of my little dog. We have come a LONG ways in a year and I cannot beleive what a good dog she has become. We had some really stellar runs- and runs that made me go "oh my...that was rough." :o)

Over the course of the weekend we didn't have one blown start line or one blown contact. We had a few (I think 4 overall) knocked bars and of course some blown weave pole entries. We had AWESOME Gambles- we almost had the first one and she knocked the bar on the last jump (and we've been working SO hard at that...dammit ;o) )
The second one I rushed and she took the wrong obstacle but the point gathering was great. We got lots of mini gambles, and earned a lot of points. Her standard runs were not too bad- the one on Saturday was good. I did a decent job of handling her, the one on Sunday had a rough start- an awesome middle and a horrible end. She FLEW off the teeter- which was the second last obstacle, after doing the middle portion of the course beautifully- a long fast row of jumps without one bar down and then she goes and does a superman impression off the teeter. Her teeter fly off costed us 2nd place overall...not that I'm competitive... hehe
The jumpers were pretty good. Small amount of bars knocked, and only one weird Wicca moment...The saturday jumpers was good- Sunday was interesting. There were three tunnels in the middle of the course in clover leaf pattern. She was doing great- hadn't sucked into the wrong tunnel or anything. I sent her tunnel and she went OUT around them all...what a silly dog...she earned us a refusal and then with me scrambling to get where i needed to be I didn't give her directions soon enough and we earned an off course aswell....

So over all we earned 306 points..you need 300 to qualify....we made it by a hair and I am thinking seriously of going to Nationals...I still have some things to iron out but I think it will be something that I will always remember and I may not get another chance- they are raising the points needed next year by a 100 and well...ya never know...so I might aswell take the chance when I have it...
Oh- we placed third in our class and were only 20 points behind 2nd place...We did good, Wicca and I, and I am very proud of us....

I didn't get any pictures but there was a photographer there so I am going to scope out her website and see if she got any...

I will post more later about the other beasts...

untitled

So it is the end of may- and I haven't posted anything at all...

Sam is still lame- he does not seem to be really improving lately. It is pretty frustrating and I am not sure what I need to be doing now. I am going to contact a second canine rehab person- one that deals with dog sports. Maybe she might have more ideas or suggestions.

Wicca is great. She and I went into the Open ring for the first time a few weeks ago in Medicine Hat and it was pretty good. We didn't pass neither times, but her heeling was the best yet and she was pretty excited to be there! She broke her stays- and she walked over the broad jump once. So we have lots of things to work on. Agility wise we have been doing quite a bit. I went to a Terry Simons seminar and it was fantastic. I felt pretty good by the end of the weekend- usually I feel like I am not a good enough handler for my dog- but at this seminar I felt just the opposite! I did a damn good job with my dog and I am pretty proud of that.

I changed Jack's name to Vito. He came with the name Jack and I wasn't going to bother changing it but I know a few human babies named Jack and when I started thinking about names and the name Vito came up I knew it was him!
Vito is an amazing little guy- he gets cuter as the days go by. He is VERY border collie-like. He may be short but his little brain is hardwired to be a border collie! He is very smart and will pick things up after a few repetitions. Vito is sensitive but can be quite a little jerk all at the same time. He has been really fun so far to work with and he is becoming a toy maniac!!! He will tug just about anywhere and will actually work for a toy now. Vito is pretty much over his weirdness from when he first came. I have taken him everywhere with me and he is now running up to people and is pretty outgoing MOST of the time.

I can't believe it is APRIL!!!

Wow! It has been a while. I can't beleive I haven't posted anything since december.
Actually if the blogger people care most of the reason I didn't to begin with was the new google thing. Everytime I tried to log in it would freeze my computer. Ticked me off so I stopped trying.
Anyway...

Where to start.
There have been a few trials since December. Lots of fun training. A seminar which was awesome. Oh- and I have a new dog!

I can't remember the trials very well. I will have to look back in my record book to see how we did. Training wise we have been doing a ton. Wicca and I are doing well. I am learning -still- how to handle her and I have seen a lot of improvements in her. We have been doing lots of jump work- still- and I dropped her to 6" specials in AAC. I was getting really frustrated about the one knocked bar thing and I really think that part of her problem is her build. Although we had Kim Collins here for a seminar in march and she disagrees completely- she said that it is me (of course) and Wicca not knowing how to jump. Which I kinda disagree with because we have done jump work- but not enough I do admit to that. So anyway- 6" is better for her physically regardless.
Sam was doing fantastic. He is such a good boy and we were working hard at getting some more distance work, better discriminations and jump patterns. And then he went lame. It sucks. I was very sad. I have since realised that he IS okay and will not die. nor does he particularily feel alot of pain so it is okay. It took a while to say that really. Anyway- it was a week before the seminar- I noticed he was a bit lame on a monday- put him on full rest for a week and he seemed to be better. Did a few things at the seminar with him and by sunday afternoon I knew something was definitely wrong. I waited a week- again lots of rest. Took him to the vet- he gave me anti-inflammatories and said no stairs, no jumping. It is for sure his right hind leg- but the vet could not diagnose the actual problem. We did xrays which showed good hips, good knees and no obvious problems. A week later and he was still limping. Again to the vet- a different one this time. She gave me more anti-inflammatories and strict crate rest. Sam is very unhappy. He is grouchy and miserable therefore everyone else is.
Last week however a dog physio lady named Genie came to see Sam and the difference is amazing. He is doing SO well. She has come a total of four times now and she really knows what to look for and what to do with him. We have been strictly following vet orders of crate rest, and between that and the physio he is doing well. He will be off his feet for at least another four weeks and off agility for at least 3 months. It sucks. He wants to play and really puts up a fuss when he is left home. Poor Guy...

On to other news, I have a new dog. There, I said it. I HAVE A NEW DOG!
wow.
His name is Jack or Jackson or Jack @$$, depending on the day. He is a border collie, corgi cross who is very adorable. His story is a typical one- he was purchased by a family with four children two of which have no idea about how to play with a puppy. So by 16 weeks old little Jackson had taken a few chunks if face off them and was a very suspicious and angry little puppy. I took him to foster. But after the first few weeks he has grown on me. I am a sucker for "problem" dogs I suppose. Jacks issues are food possesiveness, he can be a bit snarky with other dogs, he isn't always friendly to people and he really hates being told what to do!!! Besides all that he is a doll and I am growing more and more in love with him. He is a genius- really. He is very smart, very food motivated and has this border collie sweetness that I don't realy have with the corgis. I am in love, and Jack is staying even though I really don't need another dog, and I really didn't need a mutt, but oh well. :)

So that is my life the past few weeks in a nut shell. I have been working my tail off to buy a car, fix a car, insure a car, get a license etc. and then had to shell out the majority of that money for Sam.....some things never change I suppose.
Now that my computer seems to not mind the whole google sign in thing I will be back to posting on a regular basis.

-amanda

Wicca earns her CD

Wicca finished her CD degree last weekend at the Calgary Canine Center. She already had one qualifying score from Medicine Hat in the summer and recieved the last two needed on the the 26th of November. We have been training alot and she has improved so much in the past few months. At the trial however she was pretty rotten, she was actually nervous I think but even with encouragement do you think she would sit? not a chance. So we missed every sit, but we had a decent recall, good heeling, and she did her long sits and downs no problem. Now we can pursue our Open and Utility exercises full time. She has pretty much all the open exercises down pat and we just need to polish and fine tune some small stuff. We haven't worked much on out of sight stays though so will be tackling that fixing some other problems that popped up.

I am very proud of her even with her poor performance. She is a great dog and is still young, she has quite a bit of growing up to do, and she and I need to learn to work better as a team. It is all a work in progress I guess!