January 2009Monthly Archives

Does Levi Look Stiff?

Here are Levi’s runs from agility last weekend. He’s such a good boy and I love running him still. We have been doing agility for five years now. Wow, five years! I don’t even know what I did before agility. I must have had a ton of time!

Levi is 9, he’ll be 10 in November, and I know that is the age where things can start getting stiff and dogs can start slowing down.

So if you think he looks stiff, let me know. His weaving is typical, and I don’t think we have time, or energy, to go about fixing his weaves again. So I think he’s probably going to be done with AKC trials. My goofy collie boy has been a good boy. He’s more than half way to his AXP, and has 3 legs to his AJP, and I think that’s good enough for both of us. He’s my boy!

Cynthia

January 28, 2009

Agility, Levi

5 comments

Agility, Levi

Chase Does Great in Agility

The AKC agility trial was fun. It’s nice to see Chase and I finally running together better! We didn’t get any Qs (Qualifying Runs) but we had fun and I think Chase did really well. He knocked bars on runs he would have otherwise qualified on, which is frustrating but something we can fix.

This first video is from Friday, Chase’s open JWW run.

This second video is from Saturday, Chase’s Open JWW run… someday we’ll pick up that last Open Jumpers leg and be able to move into Excellent. LOL

And this third one (I know, three is a lot for one post but I don’t want to break out another post!) is Chase’s Sunday Open JWW run. Again no Q, but he did great. He didn’t get that last jump before the tunnel but that was my fault because I knew a bar went down and so we wouldn’t have qualified anyway:

Overall three runs I’m quite happy with. He broke his start line in Excellent Standard on Saturday, I won’t bother to put that two second run up. LOL. I walked him off the course. I tried to lead out too far and Chase doesn’t have too good a start line stay and so I don’t usually test it in a trial.

His excellent FAST on Friday was pretty good too though he didn’t get the weave part of the send. And the FAST on Saturday was a hard one and hardly anyone got it.

I will make another post about how Levi did!

Agility Weekend

Well, I haven’t been posting this weekend because I’ve been doing agility with Levi and Chase. I wanted to see how Levi was going to do this year with his weaves… and Friday wasn’t too good. His course was okay, not perfect, but not as bad as it was last June. Though I’ve been told he’s starting to get stiff. He’s 9 now so I have to watch him. He didn’t Q… he didn’t enter the weaves the first time then the second time he popped at the 10th poll. I didn’t run him today.

Chase has been doing pretty well but, as is typical for AKC trials for us, we haven’t Q’d yet. I’ll post some runs on YouTube tomorrow or Monday after I get them off my camera. Chase has done good though he’s been dropping some bars. He’s paid pretty good attention to me but still not good enough to Qualify.

And though I’ve been trying to eat good this weekend tonight I had chocolate and bananas so maybe a weight loss pill would help me but I think being on my feet all day helps even more.

I’m dead tired… so headed to bed early. This picture is of Layla, the black tri sheltie who came to visit us, isn’t she a doll? I’m too tired to post more now so I’ll do it in a day or two, good night!

Six Clean Dogs

Well today was bath day. It was between bathing the dogs, and cleaning the kitchen, and bathing the dogs won out! And it’s a good thing, too. Lucy was the dirtiest. The water ran off her very, very brown! We haven’t given her a bath for a while because of her megaesophagus and we’ve felt bad she’s been sick. But it was time, for sure.

Lucy Wet

Lucy hates baths the most, but then again, Tatum hates them almost as much. Angel has to spend hours after her bath licking herself. We think she may have been outdoors and cold and if she was wet, it’d be worse. And she has such a thick coat that she takes a long time to bathe and a long time to dry, too. Lucy has a pretty thick coat too. Levi’s is next in line, and then Tatum. Then Muffit with his border collie coat, his isn’t nearly as thick. And then Chase has the thinnest coat of all. He always has. If you want to see pictures of Tatum, Muffit and Chase, you’ll have to visit Tatum’s blog to see them!

Angel Wet

I don’t usually bathe all six dogs in a row. The water heater tank was empty when I finally showered myself off at the end, so the water was cool. Not cold, thank goodness! Muffit’s bath, his was the last, was a bit cooler than I would have liked. We bathe them in our tub. It’s too cold outside (snow on the ground and 32 degrees) and the dog washes are too expensive, even at $12 a dog, when you have six dogs to bathe.

Levi Wet

Do you bathe your dogs? I hear some people don’t bathe theirs ever. But with all the brown water that comes off, I can’t imagine not bathing them!

My back was pretty sore after. Lifting dogs in and out of the tub, and bending over to bathe them. I try to sit in the tub, but we have to move around a lot in order to get all the dog parts. All in all it went well, and it’s so nice to have six clean dogs!

Angel, Chase, Levi, Lucy, Muffit, Tatum

How To Create A Brat

Tatum Mat

For some reason Tatum just touched my heart as soon as she came into our home and I couldn’t let her go. That was just over a year now.

I’m a strong leader of my dog pack. The dogs stay in line, listen to me, do as I say, and respect me as leader. Even the pit bull we fostered for a week respected me. She was a great dog and I didn’t let her get away with any crap. I treated her with love and respect too and got the same in return.

With my collies, though, I tend to spoil them. Levi used to be the worst, but now Tatum is. And I just thought I would make a funny post of the things I have done with her that have caused her to think a bit too highly of herself!

So don’t do these things… because they are things I’ve done to create a spoiled girl!

Whenever you are sitting on the couch, and your dog stares at you because she wants a spot, don’t make room for her! You will create a dog that will whine and carry on until she gets a spot on the couch! (Actually Levi does this but Tatum is getting closer.)
Don’t give her a treat whenever you are eating or whenever she asks for it!
Don’t take her everywhere with you or she’ll never learn how to be comfortable when she’s alone.
Don’t dress her in pink sweaters and matching pink collars… ooo wait, Tatum has these!
Don’t baby her when touching her feet and she hates it. Be firm, put her on a grooming table, and be firm with her feet. She’ll be fine!

So yes, Tatum is spoiled! But she’s a good girl and she is learning. And with her, it was necessary to raise her confidence. She was a very frightened girl when she came to live with us. I had everyone give her treats so she reached the point where she wasn’t as afraid of people. I grab her collor and walk with her because she was so very collar shy.

Dogs are great to train, I am fascinated by each dog and how individual they are when they learn. It’s just a good thing that Tatum is not a pit bull or a large forceful breed. She’s a collie, and while she does have her overindulgences, I know her limits and mine and what I can let her get away with and what I cannot let her get away with.

She’s still my baby girl and I’ll spoil her for her whole life!

All The Fosters Are Gone

Sasha Happy

Well, our house is now empty of fosters. And it is nice and peaceful. Most importantly, Chase is happy. Chase does not like the foster boys, and it’s best if we just don’t have any boys. Girls occasionally, perhaps, but no boys.

Sasha went to Wyoming yesterday to her new forever home. The family lives in northern Wyoming and and they took the weekend to do the six hour one way drive to come and get Sasha. That is some dedication! Sasha will have five kids to play with in her new home. Sometimes I wonder about a home with lots of kids, but I think this will be a good one. Muffit was in a home with seven kids for a while, they are the ones that dumped him at the Humane Society. So that is why I worry. However, I think this family is a good one and Sasha will be happy there.

Sasha has her Pemphigus still, and always will, so we sent her up with her tetracycline and vitamin b3. It’s manageable, and we are glad she doesn’t have cerebral palsy. Here is a picture of her nose… she has hair growing back! Her nose looks so good. You can look at the old post of her that has a picture of her nose when we just got her. There is a big difference!

Sasha's Nose

She has a bit of a scab in the middle of her nose from when she was playing a bit rough with Tatum. But it’s healing up, too.

We are looking forward to see pictures of her as she heals up and progresses and plays with her new kids. I think she is going to be a great dog for kids, but then again, collies usually are!

As for the other foster boy we had, he’s gone… and where did he go? Well, we cannot say. It’s a secret! So we can’t really talk about him. Leave it to say that he’s going to a place where he will be happy and safe. I removed the posts of him from this blog for his safety. And no, there’s nothing illegal or anything, but he will be someplace warm and happy and he will have a great life.

And it’s most important for these rescue dogs to have a great life.

Oh and my arm is healing where Chase bit me. Chase is a good boy and I didn’t get mad at him. I didn’t go to the doctor… didn’t get a tetanus, mainly just because I’m lazy and too busy and a doctor appointment is just not something I want to plan into my schedule! Ugh! I will watch for streaking and infection but so far there is no sign. I probably should get a tatanus anyway… though I should look into what tatanus really is, because I’d like to know!

So our house is calm again, the dogs are sleeping, and it’s a down day for me. Tomorrow is flyball practice I will try to remember to bring the camera!

Collie, Rescue, Sasha

Finally Been Bitten

Well, dealing with so many dogs, it was inevitable! I was working with Chase today, having him find a treat under my watch and then clicking him when he got it (this is for him to focus on my watch when we do obedience) and then Lucy came down. Chase is upset because we have a visitor dog for a while… and Chase went after Lucy.

Chase and Tatum

Chase is a big resource guarder and this was no exception. Though usually he doesn’t go after another of our dogs if there are only treats around. He’s on edge because of this other boy dog who is in our house for a bit. So… I think the visitor needs to go, he needs another foster home. Ugh. I feel bad, but I do have to put Chase first.

This picture is of Chase, the black one, laying next to Tatum on a bed. When it’s just the six of us, he’s fine. He’s relaxed and himself. But throw another male dog into the mix, who is around for more than a couple of days, and Chase goes over the edge. Poor Chase. If we are away from home… in a hotel like a hotel in las vegas, he’s better. But still he has space issues and if dogs he doesn’t know stay with us, I have to keep him separate.

I have one puncture and one scrape and my arm aches pretty good! My husband says maybe I should get a tetanus shot, as I haven’t had one in over ten years. So maybe I’ll go in. Ugh. I don’t want to go to the doctor again! Oh well. Chase is a good boy, I didn’t get mad at him, though he did get some crate time.

We need peace in our house again.

Yup, It’s a Dog Shelf!

Making the Shelf

Well, I was sitting here watching TV a few days ago, with three dogs on the couch and more wanting to be on the couch, when I thought you know, dogs like to be on the backs of couches and our dogs are no exception. So why not put a shelf back there, make it comfy for them, and let them have their way? I proposed the idea to my husband and he emphatically agreed and so we put about to make a shelf for the dogs to lay on behind the couch. I had to move the laundry hamper out of the way as we built it, as well as the table and my laptop and some other stuff, but it worked out well. This first picture is of my husband putting it together. We have had this wood for a while, got it free a few years ago, and it’s coming in quite handy!

Comfy Dog Shelf

I tried to crop myself out of this picture because I looked horrible! LOL. But the dogs don’t really care. And, as we suspected, Muffit is the first dog to take a liking to the dog shelf behind the couch. He climbed right up there and laid down like he knew it was his spot.

We want to get some better padding up there, though. Because one reason the couch is so popular is because it’s cushy and soft and comfortable. Of course it’s also popular because it’s where we, the humans, like to sit and everywhere we like to sit must be the best place.

LOL yeah we know, we know… our house is made for the dogs. Well, maybe for us first, for our own comfort, and then for the dogs. And yeah yeah, we know, our dogs are spoiled rotten. However, they know they are not boss (most of them know this lol) and our pack gets along quite well.

So here ya go, pack! A comfy high shelf to lay on!