I do have to say that even though it was a new location for the girls…I don’t think it was a huge challenge, because the only other person there was a friend of ours. I think for Raven especially I still should try to get to more typical park settings, with new people milling around and kids, etc.

Today was the UKI funmatch. Raven was the only one entered. It was held at a place she’s never been, but again she did well. Her biggest issues where not with the new location, but with the judge moving in closer to be able to see her contacts. Raven came to a near standstill on both the A-frame and the dogwalk. I think it’s just a matter of getting her used to someone else being out on the course with us. Definitely one of the disadvantages to training alone a lot. Other than the space issues with the judge though Raven did a really nice job. I didn’t get any video. Sorry!

We were going to let Dare meet some sheep today, but the person with the sheep was sick. So, that will have to wait for another day. We did have a good lesson with our obedience instructor yesterday though.

There is also progress on the fence project. I’ll try to get some pictures tomorrow.

Here is a picture of Layla, Dare and Maizey enjoying the perfect weather and gorgeous trails.

The girls had a great time. We all had a great time really, except for the snake, (which reminded me of Diana and Miley), and the cockle burrs. The girls all managed to find the bush of cockle burrs and poor Maizey had to sit for quite a long time while we patiently tried to free them from her pretty ears. Dare kept grabbing brushes out of the bag and bringing them to us, like, “Will this help?” “Do you want to try this brush?” Eventually she gave up on the brushes and started bringing us poop bags. LOL Maybe she thought we could use them to throw the burrs away. She’s such a nut!

Here’s a picture of the three pretty girls, before the cockle burr incident.

After a nice relaxing walk, we all piled back in my car, not the Toyota Corolla that needs a water pump and came back home. It was lots of fun. Thanks to Maizey and her mom for joining us on our walk!

I’ll just stop with two of the pictures. LOL I think you get the idea. The ones I ordered for framing are one of her in a headshot, one sitting and another laying down. The one laying down is my favorite. But I don’t have it yet, so I can’t share it with you. Maybe after I get them and get them on the wall, I’ll take a picture of the “gallery”.

Then we went to another park to train for a while. All the dogs did well and we had a few distractions which is always nice.

Then back to the house for lunch and to take care of the boarders. I figured I better keep working on the Distance Drills, so I did take Layla out and did the same drill as yesterday, but with a different obstacle. The weave poles were already out in the yard, so I decided to try to accomplish two things at once. I’ve been working on Layla’s weaves, thankfully…she did great on both the distance and the weaving part. Woot! I didn’t have time to set up the camera though. Sorry. I think tomorrow I’ll try then next step of the distance drills and I’ll try to get video.

Later in the afternoon I went down and picked up my friend and her puppies and we went to Parowan for a puppy play day. It was fun. Nothing really formal about it, but it’s a nice opportunity to get together with other puppies and work on whatever everyone feels they need help with. I have to say, I enjoy the play days, but it sure does make for a long day by the time I get home. I feel like I’ve been running all day. No need for Lipofuze today.

I thought I’d set up the first drill today from the beginner’s day of that Jim Basic distance seminar that we audited last year. For sure I’ll work it with Layla, and I might even see what Zoe thinks of it too. We’ll see how it goes. I have every intention of my younger dogs having better distance training than Zoe got in the beginning. I’ll try to set up the camera and post something later on this evening.

It’s always fun to catch with everyone and hear all the new dog news. A friend of ours is expecting puppies. That’s always exciting news, but at the same time, I’m glad it’s not me having to worry about prenatal vitamins and all that kind of stuff. I just like getting to play with the puppies that someone has to do all the work and worry about.

Zoe q’d in 5 of the 6 classes we ran today, one of them even being a Gamblers class. That’s the hardest one for us. I was really happy about that run. I did get some video of a few of the classes, but I haven’t had a chance to upload what we got yet. Maybe tomorrow after I get home, I’ll get the runs up for the weekend.

After the trial I took the dogs on a walk, thought I’d give Dare a chance to burn off some energy since she didn’t get to do much while Zoe was running at the trial. I got some fun pictures of Zoe along the way. I think she had a pretty good day.

I’m still getting used to it. Doesn’t quite look like my little wild child that I’ve grown accustomed to anymore. Honestly, I don’t know what to think. I kind of like all my shelties with their individuality and their not quite conforming to the picture perfect standard. But for now, Dare is a very pretty girl, and he ears look much more like they are supposed to look. No guarantees that it’ll stay this way forever though. LOL

When Dare came along and her breeder showed me how to get her ears to tip nicely, I was happy to oblige, although I really don’t think having tipped ears or not is earth shattering in and of itself. I really kind of figured that if I got the ears to tip, (which we did) that would be the last of the ear discussion I’d hear. Well…I was wrong. As of late, the hair on her ears has gotten a bit out of control. Here’s what I mean…

Several people have recently brought it to my attention that I really need to trim up these out of control ears. I find the thought a little daunting. I have visions of how my own hair has looked after I’ve attempted to “trim” it myself. LOL I’m convinced that if I tackle this on my own, Dare is going to look like the moths have been chewing on her ears.

No more procrastinating though. Today is the day. Nope, we’re not in a quest for diets for quick weight loss today. Today Dare is having pictures done with her friend Jet and I decided to break down and get her groomed up and get those cute little tipping ears looking proper again. I will tell you that I’m not doing it myself though. I’m taking her to a groomer friend and hopefully she’ll give me a little hands on tutorial on what to do. Stay tuned for how the ear “make-over” turns out…

Raven also qualified in Rally today. So, that finished her Novice Rally title. She finished with a first place too! Best of all, she was comfortable and happy in the ring. It’s so nice to see her looking like she does at home when she’s working. She can do some really cute work, but I think her nerves were just getting the best of her for a while there. Maybe she’s grown out of that now.

So, one of the really fun things about the Specialty is all the special prizes. Our friend that organizes the Obedience portion of the specialty each year does a fantastic job! She makes sure that no one goes home empty handed, and usually you leave with so many things that you have trouble getting it all in the car! Makes for a nice relaxed, cheerful atmosphere at the show. No need for wrinkle creams to get rid of frown lines at this show! Everyone leaves with a smile on their face. This year, Twist got the special prizes, (but he’s sharing with his sisters). Here’s some pictures from today!

Twist getting his High in Trial ribbon!!!

Twist and Raven posing with all their goodies

Maizey and Layla hit it off like they’d known each other forever. Here’s a picture of Layla, Dare and Maizey up the mountains.

Then we went to the lake. Maybe we could have packed some lifejackets for pets, but everyone seemed to do just fine without them. Penny didn’t seem to want to swim much, but I don’t think she needed a lifejacket. I just think she got sick of Zoe and Raven barking out instructions on how to swim out and retrieve the sticks, while they waited at the shore.

Then we went to my parents farm and visited all the spring babies and also all their dogs. Do you think we could find a few more professional beggers to join this motley crew?

After such a busy day, we came home exhausted. Well, I guess not all the dogs were exhausted, but I know the people were. LOL I spent a good portion of the rest of the evening searching for the best shampoos for pets, after all the sights and smells that the dogs had been busy investigating that day.

Anyway, we sure did enjoy being able to get out and enjoy the nice sunny day with good friends!