Just wanted to take a minute and say thank you to Lindsay and Ace over at That Mutt. They have a great blog for any of you that haven’t had a chance to check it out. They are always talking about something thought provoking, whether it’s related to dog training or companion pet rescue.
Back to my reason for this post. I went to the mail and had a nice package waiting for me…(sure beats finding bills)! LOL A company called Zobo Pets had given Lindsay and Ace a collar and leash for a fun giveaway.
So, I just wanted to say thank you to both That Mutt, and to Zobo Pets for a little bright spot in my day!
As usual, it’s taking me about a week to get settled back into routine after being out of town. I meant to post sooner, but never had the chance.
Twist was entered in three days of Obedience this past weekend. Unfortunately, he didn’t qualify any of the days. The good news was that each day he did better. On Sunday he had finished all the exercises and was qualifying and actually in first place with a 191 when we went back in the ring for our stay groups. Then it happened. Right as we walked into the ring, (hadn’t even put the dogs in the sit yet), he squatted and pooped in the ring. Agh! That’s never happened to me before. So, we were eliminated and there went his Q. All in all though, I was really pleased that he was doing the exercises, and that he was holding his focus for three days straight. That’s a big accomplishment for Twist. I think that the next time he competes, he’ll qualify for sure. A friend of ours took these pictures of Twist for me. I just love them.
Dare also went along just to have the experience of traveling out of town and being at the trials. She did great. I couldn’t have been happier with her. Here are some pictures of her on a walkway that runs along the Snake River and the Falls.
Anyway, it was a great trip. I hope we get to go back again next year! It’s one of my favorite trial sites to visit.
A couple of people have asked about how Rogue is doing since we let her go for an evaluation to our friends at Sheltie Rescue of Utah. So, here’s a brief update of what I know.
As of yesterday, she was beginning to settle in to the point that she was beginning to play with another one of the Shelties in the house. That’s good news! She’s being just a little tricky about trying to eat her treat without getting the pill inside, but they are experts at making sure that the dogs are getting their meds, so I’m sure that’s a temporary problem. They tell me that she is being a really good girl, and that she has been easy to have at the house. I guess she’s like a shadow following Barbara around. (I kind of expected that). So, that’s about all I can update you on at this point. I know that she’s in very capable and caring hands!
After hearing from the vet about Rogue’s meds this time around, I find myself frazzled. It’s been 5 months since we started medicating Rogue, and even though I tend to be a pessimist…I think I set my hopes too high. I really thought that we’d be seeing some very noticeable progress by now, and so yesterday in frustration I called our friends at Sheltie Rescue for some advice. I know that they won’t sugarcoat things for me, if I ask for an honest opinion and I also know that they have a ton more experience dealing with anxious dogs than I have. So, here is what we talked about.
Of course, when I’m more rational, and my own nerves and emotions are less raw I had already considered that we may just not have found the correct medication for Rogue. We talked briefly about that. We also talked about the fact that sometimes the changes that these meds bring about are small enough that on a day to day basis I may not be noticing them, but that they may be accumulating more than I think. Also very possible.
I have some concerns about whether our home environment is adding to Rogue’s anxieties, so we talked about that. We talked about whether she might thrive in a home with more stable routine. Having the boarding kennel here means that some days I’m in and out of the house dealing with clients quite a bit, and that seems to stress her out.
Then another possibility was presented. I have to say that I was pretty unsure about it at first, but the idea is growing on me. They mentioned letting Rogue come stay with them for a time to give us a break from the situation and to give them some time to evaluate Rogue. After talking this possibility over with my husband, we both agree that this may be just what all of us need. A little break.
So, once they get back from the Sheltie Nationals in a couple of weeks, Rogue may get to for a short stay at the SRU house. That is, unless there is some radical development with this latest dosage change in her meds. In the meantime I want to express my gratitude for both Barbara and Jim giving of their time, (of which they have none to spare), and their continuing offer of support and help for Rogue and for us.
I haven’t posted about this before now because I wanted to make sure that our registration had been accepted first. I finally got the email confirmation that I’d been waiting for…yesterday! So, the good news is we’re going to Camp W in Lake Tahoe again this year in September! Woohoo!
We got to go back in 2007 and we had a fantastic time. I took Twist and Zoe with me that year. It’s just a camp where you have the option of trying out a ton of different dog sports, like herding, obedience, agility, flyball, tracking, lure coursing and carting. Or, you can just choose to take absolutely gorgeous hikes, relax on the beach, do crafts…well you get the picture. It’s a no pressure vacation with the dogs! Did I mention that the food is great too?!
These are some pictures from camp with Zoe and Twist. Now the big decision for me is which dogs or dog to take?
The other day we were visiting one of our favorite Sheltie blogs, Reilly the CowSpot Dog. If you haven’t already, you should drop by and read all about Reilly’s adventures! http://cowspotdog.blogspot.com/
Reilly’s mom had found these great little Sheltie Charms on one of their adventures, and she was sharing three of them with some of their readers. How fun is that? Well, we had a nice suprise in the mail today, a super cute card with Reilly on it, and the Sheltie charm!
After looking at the charm, I’m pretty sure that they must have modeled the super short sheltie legs after little Layla herself. LOL
I had to take a picture of the fantastic card that Reilly sent and the charm, and then I couldn’t resist taking a quick picture of Layla’s short little legs. Isn’t there quite a resemblance? Hehe, I guess being short is “charming”. Sorry, just couldn’t help myself!
This week is getting away from me quicker than I expected. LOL We had a really nice weekend! Friday started off with an obedience lesson for Twist and Raven. We have lots and lots to work on before the Utah Sheltie Specialty at the end of April. That’s good though.
Saturday and Sunday we spent at the DOCNA trial. I only had Zoe entered, but then they offered day of trial entries, so I broke down and entered Raven for the last run of the day on Sunday. Zoe had a nice weekend. She was really consistent and Q’d with first place in 8 of the 10 classes that she ran in. The other two were my fault. I got lost and sent her into an offcourse tunnel on one class, and realized it too late to get her turned around, and the other was a class called Strategic Time Gamble, and you make up your own course to accumulate points in the opening time period of 30 seconds. Then they blow a whistle and you have another 10-15 seconds to cross the finish jump. The problem is that you can’t finish too early or too late, it’s more a gamble of whether you can estimate how many obstacles your dog can complete in a certain amount of time, and I suck at that. We crossed the finish jump too soon, and lost the Q. Raven Q’d in her one jumpers run, which should have finished her Beginner’s jumper title.
Zoe did qualify in the North American Challenge Class though, and that is DOCNA’s qualifier for their Championships, so if we decide that we can get away (time and moneywise), we are qualified to go to Prescott, AZ in Oct. for the Western Championships. That would be fun!
Today is one of those days that you just wish you could have a do-over! I just hate it when a week gets off to a bad start, it’s hard to recover.
First we just got word that one of our friends had to say goodbye to their 14 year old Malinois this morning. He was just one of those dogs that was bigger than life. Even though he was 14, you just kind of expected that he was always going to be around. He had one of those personalities that you just can’t put into words! It would all just be an understatement when it came to him. His passing is just an incredible loss to everyone who had the privilege to know him.
Then I got a call from my husband that they are cutting everyone’s hours back at work. I’m still keeping in mind how fortunate we are to still be employed, but it’s scary…
So, we went for a walk yesterday and Penny found this hole in the snow. I don’t know what it went to, but the series of pictures that I got just cracked me up!
I just had to share a short little clip of Layla and Twist’s morning play routine. They usually play like this for a good 1/2 hour or so before they take a little nap and then start right back up again.
All in all though, I was really pleased that he was doing the exercises, and that he was holding his focus for three days straight. That’s a big accomplishment for Twist. I think that the next time he competes, he’ll qualify for sure. A friend of ours took these pictures of Twist for me. I just love them.
