Levi

The original plan was to get another Danish-Swedish Farmdog next year, before or after I retire. But I’ve actually been talking to a quite wonderful collie breeder (who will remain nameless for the time being) who is breeding this year. I’m still looking around a bit, though, so nothing is in stone. But I would love to have a drivey collie to do sports with. Agility and obedience mainly. Tracking, Herding, Flyball, if possible.

I hope the Danish-Swedish Farmdog breeders will still consider me in the future, since I do want another. Probably in 2014 now. I do want to get another DSF while Jet is still young. He loves to play with the small dogs we meet.

So perhaps a collie puppy will join our house this year. I am looking forward to it. It may not work out, but you just never know. My wish would be to get a blue-headed white collie. White collies are beautiful, and very healthy. There are unhealthy white collies but they have two merle genes and can be born deaf and blind. A healthy white collie has two copies of the white gene, which are separate from the merle gene. But I may end up with a blue or a tri. It all depends on what is born and who is right for me. I do want another smooth. I just don’t like all the hair!

So we may get back up to six dogs before we go down to five again. Loosing Levi will hurt very, very much.

Jet is almost three. Tatum is almost six. Muffit is about 7 and Chase is 8.5. So really I’d be okay taking another puppy training on. Chase may have another year left, but perhaps not much more than that. Muffit I don’t train, he’s my husband’s hiking dog. Tatum I train only occasionally. Jet is my main training and competing dog. So adding another dog for competition would be just fine.

I’d show a collie in conformation, too. Why not. Done it before, and I do love that Levi has his championship. So I will need to retire… because I have to much I want to do!

The Park

Levi, Chase and Jet have been doing more Cyber Rally. Levi got his first Q. Though every day I worry he’s just getting worse and worse, older and older. This park trip was a lot for him. I feel bad that he’s still not back to how he was before that darn party. Maybe he never will be. Breaks my heart.

Chase got his second Cyber Rally Q, and Jet got his third, for a title. It’s been fun, and with the lack of snow and the weather in the 50s here in Utah, we’ve been able to get outside, which is nice.

I’ve been staying indoors a lot, though. Maybe I should look for some Sous Chef Jobs for something to do inside. But instead I sit on the chairs and watch TV or read. I do like to take it easy.

Swivl

Well, it’s finally here. This is not an ad post… it’s just something I found. I’ve been looking, forever it seems like, to find a device that will follow me with video while I’m doing agility, or rally, or training, or whatever. Looks like finally someone invented the darn thing! Swivl

I have one of those big Canon Video cameras, though, which this won’t work with. But I also have an Android phone, which it will work with. I wonder if the big clunky cameras are just on their way out, and most everyone will eventually switch to phones or tablets for video. That’s fine with me, though of course it’d be a bummer if I can’t sell my camera eventually. But someday I do want an iPad. I just can’t justify it now. I have my Macbook, and I have my Android phone, and I really can’t afford a tablet. Maybe some day. And I love using iMovie to make my videos on my Mac. And as ya’ll know, I take a zillion dog videos of sports and of training. Usually I put my camera on the tripod. But sometimes I just need the camera to follow me around, especially in a small place like training, or a far place like an agility trial. I quite often don’t have anyone with me to video. Or at agility trials, I get tired of begging people to video. So many people just hate to video! This would solve my problems!

It’s not out until 2012, and it’s $160, but I actually think that’s a pretty good price. I’d use it ALL the darn time! I’d like it to be able to keep me zoomed in, but it doesn’t do that yet. Maybe eventually. And I bet there will be more manufacturers out there making more types like this soon. They are marketing it for bloggers… or vloggers, I guess. But heck, they should market it to the darn dog sports crowd. I bet they’d get a lot of interested parties!

Marzipan

The dogs got to go to the dog park this morning. I took Levi, Tatum, Jet, and even Chase. Though Chase is grumpy around other dogs so he doesn’t get to go much. Actually, I probably won’t take him again anytime soon. He thinks he wants to see other dogs, so he runs up to them, then after five seconds he growls at them and acts like he’s going to attack. So he got to be on the leash most of the walk. I wish he was more dog friendly but he’s just not. So he gets to do things that do not involve any other dogs.

I didn’t find any guitar chords at the park… no one was playing. It was kinda dreary today. The fall colors are all gone, and there’s no snow yet, so it’s in limbo. I’ll try to get some pictures up. But I am full of Thanksgiving Dinner (without the turkey since I’m vegetarian). And I think it’s time for bed!

Jet on the Chair

I’ve been wanting a recliner since we moved our TV room upstairs. The room is too small for a couch, but we’ve really needed someplace else to sit. There are two of us humans in the house and sometimes we both like to sit on a chair instead of the mattress on the floor (yes there’s a mattress on the floor for the dogs, not a biggie. LOL).

Used furniture is always scary. Do you watch Big Bang Theory? Where they found the chair on the curb and something was moving in it? LOL that was a funny episode. So the chair is a bit dirty, hopefully I’ll get the gumption to find our little carpet cleaner and clean it up. But it’s in good shape and it’s comfy. It’s really pretty, too. The dogs were very interested in it when it came to our house. And it reclines, which I really super like! But it looks like it’s been well taken care of and it’s nice to have another chair in the TV room again. I’ve covered it with a sheet so that the dogs don’t ruin it.

Levi and the Chair

We can’t really afford a $500 recliner, so this will be it for a while. I could always wear some nursing scrubs when I sit in it. The dogs don’t care. It smells different but I’m sure it’ll take on our own house smell pretty quickly. Hopefully not by being peed on by Muffit.

Bye Littles

I am not as bonded to the cats as I am to the dogs… but it’s going to be hard regardless. I worry she had a good enough life. She was an indoor cat, and I didn’t give her much attention. She was my husband’s cat, really. He’s the one that spent most of the time with her, took care of her, and did a good job with her. She was a rescue, I adopted her back in 2000 just after I got this house.

So another rotten day today. It’s awful having old animals. Our other cat, Phoebe, is 8 years old, so she’s going to be around for a while. But we won’t get any more cats. I don’t think we do a good job of getting the cats and dogs to live together well, and so we’ll just stick with dogs for now.

Our pack is getting smaller and smaller.

This morning we went on a little hike/walk around the camp and down to the beach. It was about all Levi could do, and once we got to the beach he laid on the sand and took it easy. He’s doing a lot better than I thought he would do. He’s hanging in there on the walks, and his rear and back look just fine. He’s not slipping much when he walks.

Jet is also doing well. This afternoon he pooped, and it was small and fairly solid. So I think he’s doing fine coming out of the sedation. He’s also sleeping, and he went swimming, and is having a great time. Camp is just dog heaven.

Here are some pictures of our adventures today:

The Beach

Jet Swimming

Handsome Jet

In the Shade

Sleeping on the Beds

I have more pictures posted on Facebook if you look there. I’m tired and I think it’s time for a nap! Maybe I should have brought some lincoln ls custom floor mats for the cabin, as I’m getting lots of sand in here, and I need to sweep it out.

I’m sharing the cabin with one other lady, and she has a Chi. So there’s plenty of room for me and my three kids. Camp is awesome, so much fun, I wish I could come here more than once every four years!

Upstairs

Levi is having a harder and harder time of going up stairs, so today we finally moved the TV upstairs. Looking at my pictures, we were upstairs in Dec of 2005, and then downstairs in Jan of 2006… so yup, it’s been about 5 years. Wow, too weird.

Anyway, here’s some pictures of our upstairs before and after the TV. It’s a 42″ Vizio plasma. We got it probably in November of 2005ish. Or maybe it was 2006. Yeah, I’m still in past mode lately, all still sad that Lucy has died, and living in the past and all my memories. Ugh. But anyway, I’m glad I have pictures, or I wouldn’t remember when a darn thing happened.

Here are some more pictures of the upstairs, new and improved… well, not really. LOL.

With the TV

Unfortunately, we don’t want to move the couch upstairs… so we’ll have to see if the chair will be enough to keep us comfortable.

Tatum under the TV

I am thinking maybe the dogs can all learn to lay on the floor, but my husband thinks I’m dreaming. LOL

The Chair