Smooth Collies, Border Collies, Danish-Swedish Farmdog

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Dog Show in Fredericia, Denmark

Today we went to Fredericia, Denmark, to show in the Danish Swedish Farmdog Club of Denmark’s show (dang that is a long club name LOL). It was interesting and we saw a lot of Farmdogs! There were 69 entered. These pictures are from the breeders group. Jet’s breeder, Stolta Ebbas, had enough dogs to enter the breeder group. This is Jet, his litter mate, and another of the Stolta Ebbas dogs, Caesar. Caesar is 2 years old.

Breeder Group - Danish Swedish Farmdogs, Denmark

The judge didn’t like Jet much at all. Unfortunately. But if you look at Jet, and then at other Farmdogs, Jet is a lot more lanky and leggy. He’s not so stout and broad as the other Farmdogs. I’ll get some other pictures of the other Farmdogs up probably when I get home so you can compare.

Breeder Group - Danish Swedish Farmdogs, Denmark

There are various ratings for the dogs… the best is Excellent, then there is Very Good. Then Good, then Satisfactory. Then there are a few worse than that… but Jet got Satisfactory. Which is very bad. :( But it’s really because he’s young and hasn’t filled out and gotten broad. So I think when he’s about 4 or 5 I’ll have to come back, rent an RV for a month or two, and drive around Sweden and Denmark and enter him in some shows and get his Danish Championship and his Swedish Championship. :) I think that’d be fun!

Breeder Group - Danish Swedish Farmdogs, Denmark

Breeder Group - Danish Swedish Farmdogs, Denmark

Breeder Group - Danish Swedish Farmdogs, Denmark

I also posted some different pictures on Facebook…

Click Here to See Facebook Pictures.

So.. I heard, many years ago about agility and dog competitions, that no matter what happens in the ring, you always get to leave with the best dog there. And that is the truth, I think Jet is the best dog, and I love him very much!

Excitement Getting to Copenhagen

Well, we made it to Copenhagen. The flight out of Salt Lake City was pretty uneventful. However, when we got on the plane, there wasn’t enough room for the carry on luggage and so I gave mine to the flight attendants at the entry of the airplane. Now I’m not worried about this because I do it all the time when I fly domestic and I just get my bag back at the end of the flight. However, I guess it’s different on an international flight or something… because when they took my bag, they were planning on checking it all the way through to Copenhagen, but I had my ticket and passport in it! Ugh! I didn’t know that! So when we landed in JFK I was suddenly short of one very important passport.

So I was in a panic. As you can imagine. I had to get my passport before we flew to Copenhagen. Yeah I know I know, I should have kept it on my person, but I always throw it in my carry-on and just have it with me.  So I guess I was being a dork or something I dunno.

Since they had checked my carry-on… hey had REALLY checked it, right with the other luggage. So they had to go and find it for me.  All the people at JFK were actually really nice and helpful, which was great.  They went searching for my carry-on bag and we only had a 2 hour layover.  We landed early, which was a bit of a help.

I took Jet with me and left Mark with the rest of the baggage. I had to leave the secure area. I figure while I did, I may as well see if Jet would potty. He didn’t want to potty on the pee pads I’d brought. He’s just too well house trained!  So when I went out of security, I also went out of the airport. It seems JFK is small, or it was where were were. And there was even a dog potty area right out the door! So Jet got to pee which was great, he really needed it after the 5 hour flight from Salt Lake to JFK, plus the wait time at the airports. So I was glad he got to pee.

Oh, I am flying Jet as a service dog… don’t ask why, because it’s private and I won’t answer.  But he gets to fly in the cabin and on my lap in the plane, which is awesome.

Well I’m fretting my pants off in the baggage area waiting for my bag.  Our flight was supposed to leave at 7pm out of JFK, and it was getting pretty close to 6:30. The lady helping me told me the flight was delayed until 7:30 so that was good! But yet my bag still hadn’t shown up even at about 6:45.

Finally the lady helping me ran to another terminal, and came back with my bag. Yay!  I was a nervous wreck. Ugh.  I had been waiting for it from when we landed at 5pm, to when we were supposed to take off at 7:30ish. I had to rush back through security with Jet (poor Jet, I was dragging him all over and he did so well).  Fortunately they got me in quick and I got through and then back to the gate, which was close to security.

Of course then the flight was delayed even longer.  So we ended up sitting in line as they fixed the lavatory for another half hour.  And then once in the plane, we waited yet another hour, so we left 2 hours late from JFK to Copenhagen. Ugh!  It was frustrating, but it did work out in the end. And I had my passport and ticket!

Koge, Denmark

So now we are in the Bed and Breakfast. The maps I got from Google were not all that great. Fortunately there was a tourist map along the side of the road near Koge and so we found the B&B just fine. We are beat, of course. The flight from JFK to Copenhagen was 7 hours 20 minutes. It went okay and we were able to sleep a little bit. And they fed us which was nice. And Jet slept on my lap most of the time. It was a short night, and now we are 8 hours earlier than we were in Utah. So we are sitting here dozing and watching TV but we don’t understand most of it. :) We are such dorky tourists! LOL

Before sitting down we took a walk to the nearby beach. These first pictures are of the B&B we are staying in tonight. Tomorrow we will head to Vejle. This B&B is really nice, the hostess is friendly and helpful. And the Beach is close. The weather is pretty nice. We are in jeans but we are pretty hot. I think it’s my 70ish.
The B&B We are in the basement of the house. There are two rooms, a full kitchen, and the quietest washing machine I have ever heard. :) There’s also a full bathroom with a shower.

Mark in the B&B

Jet had fun on the beach and got to play with a Staffie already. :)

Jet on the Beach

Of course I took a ton of pictures of Jet on the beach.

Jet in the Water

And the lady with the Staffie, when I said Jet was a Danish Swedish Farmdog, she knew what the breed is! LOL

Jet in the Water

So I am dead tired, I think it’s time to go to sleep and wake up tomorrow morning. We hope to wake up. LOL… I mean, in the morning, and not in the middle of the night when our bodies would normally wake up in Utah.  It’s just after 5pm here now.  I don’t even remember what time it is back home.  ;)

Jet Rolling

I hope this post makes sense… my mind is pretty fried.  I was able to sleep a couple hours in the plane, but not really that much. Time to take out my contacts and get into bed and sleep!

Last Post From the USA

Tatum and Jet

Yup, last post from the USA before my trip to Denmark! Jet and I are all ready to go. He had a bath and had his nails dremmeled. I have everything packed that I can think of. Jet has like 4 collars, 3 harnesses, 3 leashes… well 4 if you count the flexi. Maybe 5 if you count his show lead. LOL. He also has 2 small coats and 1 big coat for if he gets cold. His Mutt Mat. And various and sundry other things.

I have clothes and other stuff but my stuff is not as important as his! I hope the flight goes well. Good thing I won’t need allergy bedding when I get there. I’ll just need the regular stuff and maybe they will have comfy feather beds. :) It’s supposed to be 61 Degrees on Monday when we land. That’s pretty cool, but it should be pleasant. I only have a couple pair of shorts. Mostly I have jeans and capris and stuff to wear. I hope I have enough tops. For some reason I think I don’t have enough tops…

But my suitcase is 46 pounds. So just under the 50 lb limit. I can’t fit anything else. I also have a carry-on with lots of stuff in it. So I’m pretty much maxed out as is. Ugh. I hate the restrictions, but I can’t afford to pay $50 for another bag each way. Yuck!

Well, I’m going to sign off and hopefully blog from Koge, Denmark, in a day or two. Talk to you later!

Three Days To Denmark

Jet On A Log

Okay so all Jet’s vet appointments are done for Denmark and Sweden. The USDA Federal Veterinarian said that he would need to get dewormed 24 hours before going into Sweden, if we decide to go there. So I’d have to find a vet in Denmark to do that. But that’s fine, I have some good contacts in Denmark so I’m not worried about finding a good vet if we need too. It’s so nice to already be a part of the Danish Swedish Farmdog community in Denmark and Sweden. I’m so glad I have friends there, even though I have not met them yet!

The Federal Vet wasn’t too happy when we were there, but I think she was just kinda an unhappy person. One of the ladies was really nice and wanted to say hi to Jet. He said hi a little bit, but then he gets too busy and wants to check things out and sniff and stuff so he doesn’t say hi for too long. :)

So I only have Thursday, Friday and Saturday left to go. I fear that work, tomorrow, is just going to drag by. Why is it that time compresses and slows right before a trip, and then zooms by afterward? It’s just odd.  Well, I have some work stuff to keep me busy tomorrow. And then Friday I get my nails done at noon, might go to lunch with a friend, and I need to get my contacts lenses polished. I also need to pack. Which will take me all day, and I’m sure I’ll be stressed and my husband will avoid me. But it’ll get done! And I need to stay healthy, take some multiple vitamins so that I’m strong for the trip!

Going to Denmark!

Jet in the Snow

Yup, we are going to the Word Dog Show in Herning, Denmark in June! I am so nervous. I don’t know why. I’ve been to Europe before. Though never with a dog. That might be why I’m nervous. That and it’s going to be more expensive than I had originally anticipated. I do wish I had more money… good thing I’m not on social security disability because then I wouldn’t have any money at all!

I’ve flown with Jet before so I’m not really nervous about that. And I’ll have him in the cabin with me so that’s nice. I don’t want to put him in cargo or ship him as checked luggage.  He hasn’t been alone much in his life and I think that would really stress him a lot. Maybe if I was flying with two dogs, then they would both be okay together in cargo.  But Jet is my baby boy and I worry that he’ll be nervous and stressed and I really don’t want him to be!

So the flight from Salt Lake City to JFK in New York is about five hours. Then we have a two hour layover.  Then the flight from JFK to Copenhagen, Denmark, is about 8 hours.  So those are not too long for him to have a nap in his crate.  I just hope he will potty during our layover. I think I might teach him to pee on pee pads so that he’ll do it in the airport.  When we flew to Chicago he didn’t want to pee in the airport at all. He’s a good boy that he doesn’t pee inside! However, he’ll have to learn to do so for his own comfort!

So anyway, I’m excited!  I’m sure I’ll be talking a lot about it in the next while!

Back and Tired

A Dog in Honduras I am home! Yay! I love being home. Vacations are fun… but sometimes home is just better. I used to like vacations more when I was younger and had more energy. Now.. I like being home and sitting on the couch with my dogs. And my husband too, of course. I mostly posted on Luna Tail about the cruise, if you want to check out those posts.

I think I had just a touch more fun at dog camp… Camp Winnaribbun, than on the cruise. Okay, so that just means I’m a dog person right? LOL. I would love to go on a dog cruise… but I don’t know if that’s really practical. Oh well, I can dream.

The best part of the trip, for me, was talking to the lady in Belize who heads the Belize Humane Society and Animal Shelter. I’m going to have to dig up all my papers and emails and send her an email. She said they can use collars, and we have a bunch of old collars from old fosters that we don’t use. So I want to send them down there. The website for the Belize Humane Society and Animal Shelter seems to be down at the moment. I will check it later and see if it comes back, or else I’ll send them an email and see what is up.

The worst thing, for me, traveling to countries such as Belize and Mexico, is seeing the dogs in fairly bad shape. When I went to Mexico back in 1995 it bothered me then, too. People would hit dogs on the road without even seeing them. It broke my heart. I felt so helpless. I’m just so glad to see people helping the dogs now. It’s an attitude… people just need to be educated as to the value of the life of our dogs and cats, and to treat them well and give them the care they deserve. Hopefully it’s changing.

The picture above is one of a dog in Isla Roatan. The only dog picture I took. I don’t really like to remember the state of the dogs, so I don’t take pictures of them. This was the last shore trip on the cruise so I snapped it.

I’m glad to be home, with my healthy and happy dogs. In my nice house and have my nice job and my wonderful friends and family. I hope to stay home for a while, so I won’t need to look at life insurance rates for if I travel to dangerous places. I have some dog training planned, but no trials for a couple of months. I’m looking forward to the training, and taking the time off trialing!

Which Crates for the Minivan?

Levi Van-1Okay, and now the big search for the perfect crates begins. I don’t know why… is it a dog people thing? But I love to buy crates. They are nothing exciting, really, so why are they so fun to buy and collect? I dunno. Oh well, a mystery, but it’s fun anyway.

The Minivan is about 48? wide at the bottom of the back, and 40? wide towards the top. As I measured, and believe me, I’m not too good at measuring so these are estimates. :)

A couple of good website resource out there are:
CargoDogs.com
and
DogCars.com

Which I have been reading over. And I think I’m narrowing down my choices.

First, I need a fairly largish crate for Levi. Currently he lives in, I think, a 36?L x 24?W x 27?H. And it’s a bit too short for him. And with the Minivan only being 48? or so wide, I think I want to stick to a 21? wide crate for him… which I hope he’d be okay in, and I think he will, I have a friend who I think has one so I can try him out in there. I like the side by side SUV/Minivan crates, they are 42?L x 21?W x 30?H which would be good, made by Midwest.

Then there are the rest of the dogs… usually I just travel with three dogs. Either Tatum, Chase and Levi, or Tatum, Chase and Muffit. Muffit is a lot smaller and can get by with a smaller crate, but Tatum and Chase are both about the same size, bigger than Muffit, so I’m not sure if I’m going to get a small crate for Muffit that I take out when I don’t need it, or get a bigger one that Chase/Tatum can fit in and just leave it there all the time. I’m leaning toward the latter.

I would love to have crates with doors on both ends. The narrow one above has this, which is great. I have not found other crates (yet) with doors just on both ends, but there are the tri-door crates by midwest. I am concerned that the single door on the side might catch with another crate (it did in my Dad’s blazer a bit), so that might be something to think about. But I could get two of these, the 30?L x 21?W x 24?H size.. I have two this size already (one single door and one two door), so I guess maybe what I should do is get the big one for Levi, and then put my two other ones in there and see how they all fit. Then I can decide on the smaller ones.

Hrm that’s a good idea. I just thought of that myself. :) I was kinda hoping I could stack the two smaller crates on top of each other, but the van is only 40.5? high, so two won’t fit stacked unless I get Muffit a fairly small one, but then if I don’t take Muffit I’ll need the bigger crates anyway.

Decisions decisions, they are hard to make! But fun too! I really want to just buy a crate… but I have to have patience, grasshopper! LOL

MiniVan for Me and the Dogs!

MiniVan-2Well, I did it. I know I know! I’m bad bad bad! But I couldn’t help myself. I get into buying modes and I just have to get it out of my system, usually with buying. LOL. So here it is, the new (well used) 2007 Hyundai Entourage I just bought. I am happy with it. It looks gray, but sometimes looking at it it kinda looks blue, and the paperwork says light blue. Either way it’s a nice color, and it kinda matches Levi, who is checking it out!

I posted some more pictures on Luna Tail. I’ll get more, of course, I’m sure, soon. I don’t know if this guy will fit in my garage… which means the Husband might get the one car garage we have, which will make him happy. So it will keep us all safe, too, I sure hope. No getting mesothelioma while riding in it! Though I don’t think that’s possible!

So this is the new dog vehicle! I need some narrow crates for it.. six, if they will all fit! I hope so! I’ll set it up and pull the seats out this Friday, probably. Or maybe wait until I get new crates ordered. I’m excited! And nervous.. dangit, new car nerves. Bleh. And I’ll have to sell my Outback, when it comes back from the shop, to pay this loan off!