Resq TailsThe trials and triumphs of rescued dogs

So, this morning we’re packing up the rest of what we’ll need for a three day ASCA agility trial in Farmington. Zoe is the only one I have entered this time. I had originally planned on entering both Zoe and Layla, but on re-reading the rules for eligibility for ASCA, Layla isn’t old enough to compete yet. In hindsight it was a blessing all the way around really. I thought her first AKC trial went fine, but it definintely showed me some spots that need training and more experience before we enter another trial, and when I entered Zoe in this trial my husband was still working…so money wasn’t quite as tight as it is now. So, all in all, for once it seems that things turned out just as they should have.

Anyway, I am just taking Zoe and Dare with me this time. Dare is going to be trying to get her CGC this weekend, and I also still needed to get her microchipped. So we’re making a stop at our friends with Sheltie Rescue of Utah and chipping her this afternoon, and then we’ll head on up to the trial. I’ll try to get video of whatever I can throughout the weekend, but no promises that I’ll get it posted before I get home Monday night. No promises for Tues either, since after I get home from the trial I have to turn around and drive to Cedar City for an appointment with our accoutant to get the taxes done.

Anyway…I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

So, I just want to let everyone know that you will probably start seeing occasional links in my posts that don’t really have anything to do with anything. Hopefully it won’t be too annoying and you can just keep reading without it bothering you!

The reason for the change is that a friend of mine has talked me into using the blog to generate some extra income. In light of my husband’s layoff from work, I’m game to try just about anything, (at least for a while), that will allow me to stay home with the dogs and the kennel. Anyway, I just wanted to let the few of you that do stop by on a fairly regular basis what in the world I’m doing. LOL

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!

I thought I better write a quick update. Last week passed in a blur as usual and I didn’t get anything posted.

I’ve been working on getting our little office/laundry room textured and painted, and now I’m just waiting on my husband to finish up his part of staining the cabinet doors and hanging them. Then I’ll post pictures.

Things have been incredibly slow for both the cabinet shop where my husband works and also here at the boarding kennel. They layed off employees again at his work. One was a close friend of ours. Feels like a repeat of last year already. The only good thing about it, without much work at the shop, it gives my husband some time to work on finishing up projects around here, like the office. The computer at his work had miscalculated his vacation time that was used last year and so he had some left, so they let him just trade it out for the materials that we needed to make the doors for the cabinets. As for the boarding kennel, things always slow way down after the holidays are over, but this is ridiculous. I haven’t had this slow a month since I started the business. I’m going for nearly a week at a time without a single boarder. It’s scary.

The dogs are all still doing great. Layla and Raven are entered in an AKC trial at the end of the month. Can’t believe it’s only a couple weeks away now. We’ve really been working on Layla’s tire and her broadjump. Hopefully, she’ll handle them both without any problems at the trial.

The weather is still cold, but warmer than it has been. We still have too much snow on the ground to train outside and we are supposed to get snow each day this week, but so far, it’s not turning into much.

I totally embarrassed myself on Sunday. I had gotten an email through one of the lists that they were bringing Jim Basic back again this year for another distance seminar. Well, I got all excited and emailed and said I’d love a working spot in the beginner part. Then, I looked through my bills and reality set in. Unless things really pick up, it’s just not going to be possible. So, I sent out an email explaining what was going on, and unfortunately…didn’t pay any attention and sent it out to the entire dog agility list, not just to the person putting on the seminar. Ugh! Talk about embarrassing.

Oh, one of my friends down here that has Belgian Malinois is going to have her first litter in about 6 years. I got to go with her to the ultrasound a few weeks ago and yesterday for x-rays to see how many puppies to expect. Looks like at best count, 8 or 9 but they were packed in there pretty good, so there may be more. I get to go help with the whelping, (don’t know how much help I’ll be), so I’m really excited!

I guess that’s about it. I need to get out and take pictures of the dogs and some video, but I haven’t done it lately. Maybe later on this week…

So, anyone else out there just have the feeling that you’re wasting your time? Not just by reading this blog, LOL but in general? I’ve been feeling that way a lot lately.

I know that part of my problem is that I hate winter. I could ramble on for pages about how much I hate this time of year. I sometimes wish I was one of those animals that just hibernates through the winter only to wake up when spring comes again. Well, enough of wishful thinking, back to reality. The reality is that I seem to find myself at about 5:00 each afternoon wondering how in the world I’ve managed to waste another day. Sometimes, it’s not even a logical thought, (since there are lots of days that I’ve really done a quite a bit before 5:00 rolls around), but nevertheless…5:00 hits and so does this now familiar state of slow motion panic that my day is gone! I scramble to get outside, clean up the yard, train/play with the dogs and start dinner. LOL

Well, I’m sick of it! So, I’m trying to look at things and see what is helping me and what is making matters worse around here. One of the things that I know is a kind of two-edged sword is all the time I spend on the computer. Depending on the day, (and sometimes the hour), reading about what everyone else is up to with their dogs and their training can really give me the motivation I need to get out and try something new with my training. Other days, I just find myself comparing what I do (or haven’t done) with what seem to me to be amazing dog trainers and people in general, and I get so discouraged with my efforts. Do you guys do this too?

So, what’s the solution? I know there has to be a balance, but I’ve never been good at finding balance. LOL I think I’ll work on coming up with something to help remedy my time wasting this week. I’ll let you know if I stumble across anything earth-shattering.

It’s been a long time since I’ve tackled a project like this. I used to change things around and re-decorate and stuff a lot. In recent years the thought of doing anything hasn’t really inspired me to action. So, when I got the urge to take on the dogs’ room I thought I’d better act before I lost the motivation.

I’ve had the Sheltie’s crates (where they sleep and eat), spread somewhat helter skelter throughout the house. It really bugged me. The obsessive/compulsive side of me wanted it better organized, but I couldn’t figure out how to fit 5 crates into one room nicely. Twist already slams himself into the closed wire door about once a week trying to get to his crate quicker. LOL Plus, I’m not much more coordinated than Twist and the thought of 5 open/swinging doors in one room presents quite an obstacle course for all of us.

So…I’ve been eyeing these Pet Gear Other Door crates and I love the design of the “garage door” that folds up into the top. I finally gave in and bought them. Then I decided that the room wasn’t nice enough for the new crates, so I pulled everything out and repainted in there too.

I have to say that I’m absolutely one of the worst people for breaking in the middle of a project to take pictures, so there aren’t very many before, and during pictures. Sorry. You’ll just have to imagine that there were three mismatched wire crates under that one window one the short wall, and a canvas ex-pen for the pups along one of the other walls. I still haven’t decided whether to put it back in there or not.

Here’s my favorite picture of Dare checking out the new room. Hehe, she’s such a cutie. I still have a bit more to finish up. I need to buy a new light fixture, get some new window shades and then finally replacing some of the old pictures on the walls with newer ones, but all in all, it’s done. Yay!!!

I keep looking at this blog thinking that I need to post something, but I just can’t seem to find the motivation to actually do it. It’s certainly not for lack of things to write about. We had an incredibly busy month in Oct. with agility trials, training and traveling…yet, I just don’t feel like writing. I find myself still checking everyone else’s blogs daily to see what everyone has been doing lately, but it feels a bit like cheating, since I haven’t written anything. Anyway, I apologize for the lack of interesting posts. Hopefully, I’ll feel more like writing again soon.

Our old foster boy Zack is back again. He’s here just for the week while his family is out of town. He still is just the same old Zacky boy. Incredibly stubborn, yet, endearing.

He will be here till either Friday or Saturday, so I guess his stay is actually nearly over. He fits in so well that I don’t really notice that we’ve got an extra dog here most of the time. Zoe doesn’t share my opinion though. She thinks that Zack could go back to his home anytime now and the sooner the better. LOL

It’s nice to be able to have him visit occasionally and see that his new family just adores him. It’s definitely one of those happy endings that you hope for so much in rescue. Makes me glad that we had the privilege of playing a small part in helping him find his great family.

Since I’ve been trying to expose Dare to something new each day, I’ve found myself buying all kinds of silly things. The other day I saw these Incredibubbles on Clean Run and thought that they looked too fun. They are advertised to be long lasting, (they don’t pop right away), and they are scented/flavored to be appealing to the dogs.

I have to say after letting Dare and then the other dogs try them out, none of my crew were just totally blown away by them. In fact, for the most part my dogs just thought they were weird. Or maybe I should say that they thought I was weird for trying to get them to look at the bubbes that I was blowing when there were obviously much more interesting things to investigate in the yard. LOL Dare did a bit of chasing them, but she quickly became bored and decided that she’d rather fetch and tug with the container they came in rather than mess around with the bubbles themselves.

So, if I was to sum up what we thought of Incredibubbles, it would probably be a mixed review. On the positive side, they definitely do last a long time even after they’ve landed on something. On the negative side, I thought the container that they came in was really small. I also found that when they finally did pop there was this weird residue, almost waxy or plasticy. So, all in all, we had a good time trying them out, but I don’t think we’ll bother to buy them again.

I did get some really fun pictures of Dare before she totally lost interest though. Enjoy!

It’s already Thurs. and I don’t know what’s happened to the first part of the week. A friend of mine is having a yard sale tomorrow and Saturday, and is letting me take some stuff that I’ve had sitting around here over to throw in with her stuff. There are just a couple of hitches to that. She wants to set everything up today, and it’s still cloudy and when I walked outside to take care of the boarders a bit ago I saw more lightning, so I don’t think that we’re done with the storm that came in yesterday. The other problem is that I need to go through and clean off all the dust that’s accumulated on the stuff that’s been sitting in the barn waiting to be sold. I guess I’ll do some cleanup this morning and try to get it hauled over there this afternoon.

Then tomorrow, I’m going to head to Parowan to do some Obedience and possibly some agility at another friend’s yard. She has open practice on Friday mornings, and since Twist’s obedience trial is coming up next weekend and it’s outdoors, I thought this would be a good chance to get some training in a semi-new place, with dogs that he doesn’t see each week. I think I’ll also take Layla since she’s never been there, and Dare for socialization. The bummer about it is that I’ll have to leave here by a little before 6:00 am to get there on time.

Sat. I need to help out with the yard sale, (since I’m pretty much taking my stuff over and then bailing out on her Friday), but my husband’s parents and grandparents are both coming in from out of town to visit. I don’t know how that’s going to work out. They aren’t dog people, so I’m always in a fit about trying to get the house cleaned for them, but this time…I’m just to rushed for time to do a whole lot. I never look forward to their visits even though they are just really nice people. I think it’s just that our lifestyles are so different… They are spending the night in a hotel at least, so I don’t have to worry about that part.

Sun. we’re supposed to have a barbeque at another friends house, and I’ve got to get the food together that I’m assigned to bring. I guess if I survive till Sunday, this will be the least of my worries. LOL