"You Can All Go To Hell; I Will Go To Texas"

After a series of events, I found myself on a plane southward bound for the great state of Texas.  This was a trip of many firsts and I was feeling a confusing mix of excitement fear and anticipation (woohoo, I'm on vacation!/omg, what if Shelly hates me and then is stuck with me for a week/I can't wait to see this state that I really know so little about).  So, I concentrated on the first step, the flight.

Wednesday May 8

I love flying.  Love. It.  My favourite part is the moment the wheels leave the tarmac.  There is something so thrilling about this huge hunk of metal gracefully lifting itself into the air.  It is something I look forward to every single time I fly.  Anyways, we fly through the air, I hang out in Sea Tac (and managed not to get lost on that convoluted train system) and then venture on to my last leg of the trip, fly fly fly.

Sunrise on the way to Seattle

I landed in Houston Weds evening and am greeted by the ever smiling face of Shelly Hollen-Wood.  Ever since I got into aussies I've known Shelly's name and her kennel name.  She is a fabulous artist, educator, photographer, breeder and mentor and just a really great person as I was to find out.  This is a little bit intimidating for a little person like me, however I had nothing to worry about.

We head back to the house for a low key evening as I'd been up for a long, long time.  There I meet Shelly's wonderful husband Mike, had a delicious meal, walked the Mouse and learned about wildflowers and plants and the beginnings of my Texas education.  Finally head to bed for much needed sleep (after some doggie snuggles from the crew).

Thursday May 9

Breakfast a la Shelly - Migas with bacon.  OMG.  Yummiest eggs EVER!  I love trying new foods, especially foods local to the area.  Part of vacationing is trying the local cuisine and traditional foods of the area.  Texas has a big Mexican influence and that suited me just fine when it came to food!  Migas is scrambled eggs with spices and onions and peppers, often chorizo and served with tortillas, either in strips or on a bed of.  Shelly topped it with freshly made salsa and bacon.  It can also be served with warm corn tortillas and refried beans.  This is definitely something I will be making in the future.

Breakfast done and off to the gun range.  When I made plans to come to Texas I knew that I wanted to get the chance to go to a gun range.  I've never seen a real gun, let alone held or shot one.  We went to a beautiful new indoor shooting range http://athenagunclub.com/ and was led through the workings of various guns, how to load and unload, safety proceedures and finally getting to shoot under the watchful eyes of both Shelly and Mike.  It was totally foreign to me, however, it was fun and I can see how people because gun enthusiasts.  I was lucky enough to get to try different styles and sizes of guns.  I started with a Browning Buckmark 22.  This was my favourite as it was easy in the hands with little kick back.  However, as Shelly pointed out, I had little accuracy at a distance and did much better with the Glock 19 9mm.  A little bigger, but still easy to manage.  Next up was the Smith & Wesson governor 45/410, which was a beast of a gun, loads of kick back and was definitely not my favourite to shoot.  However, it makes an impressive photo.  Photo credit:  Shelly Hollen-Wood. 

Then went on to a Ruger LCP 380 and finally the AR-15.  I was able to learn about the proposals around gun control and what would remain legal and become illegal.  As I found through the week my host is well educated in all she does and it made my trip that much richer.  I wish I could have had a tape recorder going to have been able to retain and keep all that knowledge.  I came away from the morning with a lot more understanding of guns and feel more able to actually follow in a conversation on the subject. 

Onwards.  We decide to skip lunch and head off to the Houston Museum of Natural Science and Cockrell Butterfly Center and the beautiful rose gardens outside of it for the gentler side of Texas.  http://www.artshound.com/venue/detail/683/Hermann_Park_Garden_Center

Beautiful yellow rose with a small honey friend.

Tiger Longwing Butterfly - Heliconius hecale

We took the chance to wander through the beautiful gardens amongst free flying butterflies.  Beauty everywhere you turn.  Hot and humid for this Canadian chick, but totally worth it.  From there we took in the Houston Museum of Natural History http://www.hmns.org/  We walked amongst dinosaurs and took in science of the past and present. 

Photo credit: Shelly Hollen-Wood

All this learning and wandering worked up an appetite and we headed to The Armadillo Palace http://www.goodecompany.com/restaurant-arm for dinner.  Wanting to take in Texas and everything about it, I ordered a Chicken Fried Steak while enjoying the very Texas ambiance of the restaurant.

Don't all armadillos have horns and shiny metal armour?  Photo credit:  Shelly Hollen-Wood

And doesn't every good meal need a good dessert?  Amy's it is!  http://www.amysicecreams.com/
Ohhh, such yummy, creamy goodness.  A little buttercream and pecans (that's peh-CAHNs Canadians, not PEE-cans) with caramel sauce?  Yes please!

After a day of fun and food, it's time to get down to work.  Insert two blue merle puppies, a hose and some shampoo.  Kip and Tart get bathed in the rain and then promptly decide to play in the firepit.  *sigh* puppies.  Tomorrow we are Austin bound for the Eastex ASCA shows!

Friday May 10

I have always had a love for thunderstorms.  We don't get many on the coast and when I lived in AB I used to stand by the window and watch the lightening for hours.  Luckily for me, I got to experience a Texas thunderstorm overnight.  I woke up to flashes of light and booms of thunder.  It was just as thrilling as I remember them to be.

Morning arrives and we are Austin bound with Kip, Tart and Mouse along for the ride.  Stopped at a lovely Mexican place for breakfast and had Huevos con chorizo if I remember correctly.  Whatever it was, it was delicious.  Fed and pottied, we continued the drive, stopping only to gas up at Buccees http://www.bucees.com/ and to get snacks.  Shelly lamented about the winter and how it had affected the Indian Blanket bloom this year.  Apparently the fields and road edges that were blanketed in them that we came across later weren't enough for her.  ;)  Anyways, enough harrasing her about that. 

The farther we drove, the more the sides of the road were covered with these beautiful flowers.  Lunchtime found us at Shady Grove http://theshadygrove.com/ an amazingly unique and very yummy restaurant.  One Flat Iron Steak Salad later (and green chili cheese fries, how have I lived without green chili cheese fries?!) and a "Keep Austin Weird" tshirt and away we went again, to visit Barton Springs http://austintexas.gov/department/barton-springs-pool and Zilker Metropolitan Park http://www.austintexas.gov/department/zilker-metropolitan-park.  There we were able to watch people sprawled out across the park, including swimming in the always cool Barton Springs. We enjoyed a little train ride around the park and then packed up and headed off again. 

A couple canoers enjoying the nice weather.

 Dropped the dogs and stuff at Andrea's house.  There I met Cat's grandma Tipsy and her great uncle Jester.  Both incredibly sweet, sweet dogs who I just wanted to shrink and put in my pocket to bring home with me. 

To the dog show site to set up.  There is something somewhat surreal about meeting ppl who you've only met online.  We create this person in our mind about who they should be and then have to converge that person with the person that you meet in real life.  For the most part I'm usually pretty close - a lot of that depends on how true to themselves people are online.  I think it speaks pretty highly of Teresa and Jonathan that they are *exactly* the people I know online.  It is incredible to meet people who's name you've only seen on forums and on finally meet them in person.

We collected all the troups (Andrea and Lawrence, Teresa and Jonathan, Shelly and Mike and myself) and gave into Mike's demands for pizza and beer and went down to The Pinthouse.  http://pinthousepizza.com/  Very loud, but also good pizza and beer.  A nice end to a busy day.  Back to Andrea and Lawrence's where we all fell into bed exhausted.

Saturday May 11

Tiger Moth caterpillar

I think every town needs a good diner.  Even better if it's a good 50s diner.  The Austin Diner http://www.austindineronline.com/home.html fit that bill.  At least for breakfast!  One order of french toast and off to check out Hamilton Pool.  Drivedrivedrive, annnnd....it's closed.  https://parks.traviscountytx.gov/find-a-park/hamilton-pool Absolutely no reason noted as to WHY it is closed, but there it is.  No entry.  Not to be deterred Shelly Mike and I attempt to hike in from another point, but quickly realize that we're not going to make it to the pool.  In the meantime though I get to explore the wildlife and plants native to this area of Texas. 

Thistle not quite blooming

Winecup

Greater Earless Lizard

 Beautiful colours and textures surround the creek bed, something new everywhere you turn.  Including...fire ants.  I was being so incredibly careful about not getting eaten by a snake that I inadvertently walked into a fire ant hill and suffered a few bites.  But what's a trip to Texas without getting bit by fire ants right? 

All this adventure and we still have lunch a dog show to go to!  Back to Austin for lunch after collecting some people and we sit down at Stiles http://www.stilesswitchbbq.com/static/  my first taste of Texan BBQ.  This was a rather steep learning curve to figure out how to order and what combination to order.  I settled on Brisket, potato salad and coleslaw because this seemed straight forward.  I'm not even sure what animal brisket comes from, but I can tell you, Texan BBQ - we need to get some in Canada.  Nourished and off to get people and dogs cleaned up and ready for the ring.  I was designated Bucket Bitch and then climbed the ranks to be Rogue's official handler for the weekend with BB as my secondary roll.  Rogue is Cat's littermate sister and though there are things about them that are very different, there are little quirks that are identical.  There were many other Cat family members present and it was a fun experience to see little family traits that I've not had a chance to see being so far away from the majority of her family. 

CHEESES?? Rogue waiting to go in the ring.

Dog shows are no different in Texas as they are in BC, that was comforting to find out.  Not that I thought it would be terribly different, but you never know what regional differences there might be, grooming, prep etc.  After a successful day showing a big crew of us from the show congregated at  The Frisco http://thefriscoaustin.com/  Again, fell into bed exhausted.  It is a theme for this week. 

 Sunday May 12

 Up early and off to the dog show.  Showshowshow and sadly it was time to say goodbye to my new in-real-life friends Teresa, Jonathan and Andrea.  I hope I get to see you all again soon!  Time to pack up and head off to celebrate Mother's Day with Shelly's mom and back to Shady Grove for lunch.  This time I tried a green chili cheeseburger...must hunt down some of these hatch chilis!  Lunched and off to Central Market http://www.centralmarket.com/Home.aspx for gelato.  Who knew avocado gelato would be so yummy!  Really gives me the motivation to make that avocado based "ice cream" that I've been meaning to try.  And we're off again to head back to Houston.  Throughout the week I kept telling myself I need to write everything down.  I failed.  I don't remember where we had dinner, I think we might have skipped dinner?  I remember that conversation, but I don't remember how it ended...maybe it will come to me eventually.

Monday May 13

 Beach Day!  After a whirlwind weekend, a beach day is in high order.  Sunscreen -  check.  Chairs - check.  Cooler - check.  Cameras - check.  We're off to Galveston.  We arrive just in time to take in the warm winds and the view from the patio of The Brick House http://brickhousetavernandtap.com/locations/galveston/ From there we watch the cargo ships lining up to access the Shipping Channel into Houston carrying every type of goods that you can imagine.  These ships are stories high and almost so big that it's impossible to imagine standing next to one. 

Mahi Mahi for lunch, with a head of brocolli

After lunch we take in the Aquarium at Moody Gardens.  Growing up on the island, I'm used to seeing the Vancouver Aquarium with it's whales and huge tanks of marine mammals.  It was refreshing to see displays of smaller creatures with natural habitats from different regions around the world.  Although I love being able to get up and close to them, I dislike seeing these large animals such as killer whales held captive in ridiculously small tanks - no matter the size of the tank we can never provide anything reasonable for them.  The penguins entertained us with their antics and hanging out at the glass with us.  We entered the seas of the Pacific Ocean, the Carribean and the South Pacific.

Hawksbill Turtle - Eretmochelys imbricate

After leaving the Aquarium we were ready for some down time on the Gulf Coast.  We lounged, we watched the pelicans diving for fish, we walked, we sunned.  After a sufficient amount of sun and surf we headed off, did a little birdwatching and stopped in to a beautiful cemetery. 

Beautiful gravesites

 A cemetery on vacation you say?  It was gorgeous and worthwhile spending a few minutes pondering names from times past, the shortness or longness of their lives and what might have brought them to this part of Galveston.  The Indian Blankets and plethora of little orange flowers blanketed the cemetery bringing life and beauty and brightness to a place that usually thought of with sadness and misery. 

Kemah Boardwalk

 Back to collect Mike for dinner and Crazy Alan's Swamp Shack for dinner.  http://www.theswampshack.com/  My first time experiencing crawfish.  YUM ME!  Perfect amount of spice, butter to dip in, beer and good friends, how can you possibly get better than that?  Oh, a walk around Kemah Boardwalk of course!  http://www.kemahboardwalk.com/

Warm spring winds, some tourist shopping and wandering along the boardwalk was the perfect end to our beach day.  We finished up the day with indulging in some Blue Bell Ice Cream http://bluebell.com/ .  Yummy, creamy, amazing goodness. 

Tuesday May 14

Ready, Set, Go!  Today we were off to Brazos Bend State Park http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/brazos-bend for some alligator hunting, birdwatching and general nature bliss.  First a quick stop into Andy's BBQ http://andyshawgwildbbq.com/ for lunch (one meat plate of beef with a side of red potato salad and green beans please and thank you!).  Andy's is a neat little eatery located in the middle of a residential neighbourhood.  Fueled up and ready for our hike.  Four and a half miles to work off the ice cream from last night and see all that we could see.  And there was a LOT to see!  As we walked I thought of how much my dad would enjoy this walk with all the species of birds and photographic opportunity.

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

 We saw multitudes of species of birds, including Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Night Herons, Blue Herons, Green Herons, Moorhens just to name a few.  There were also many alligators looking seemingly harmless as they lounged at the lake banks.  Butterflies and Dragonflies and Damselflies flitted about and made it seem like the lazy days of summer at home.  Shelly did spot a water moccasin, however, I missed him.  Weather was hot and humid and I was happy that we were walking and photographing as that means a slightly less strenuous pace than just walking for the sake of exercise.  :) 

Black Crowned Night Heron

Powdery Thalia

 I was fascinated to see a few plant and bird species that we get on the island.  Such different ecosystems to support the same species is a bit mind boggling to me.  Another species that is very familiar but not at all native (and is becoming invasive here in BC) is the Red Eared Slider.  Many people get them when they are small as pets and then either get bored of them or they get too big so they set them free.  They survive here, a bit too well.  We were able to spot many of these turtles where they are supposed to live and lucky for us we saw a handful of females preparing to lay eggs!  At first it seemed a bit silly that they were laying so close to the trail, but as Shelly

Red Eared Slider digging her nest

 pointed out, they were actually being quite smart.  Close enough to the trail that humans would likely keep nest raiders away and also close enough that us bumble footed humans would be sticking to the trail and not wandering off to stick our head in an alligator mouth or something equally silly.

After our fill of nature, sun and walking it was time to replenish the stores and go eat. 

Met Mike at Chuy's http://www.chuys.com/ for some Mexican food.  A plate of delisciousness enchilada, taco and...ohhhh, I can't remember the third part, but it was all amazing.  I love Mexican food, likely why I am so fond of Texan cuisine and it's Mexican influence.  After dinner we started the task of cowboy boot shopping - Cavenders #1: unsuccessful. 

American Alligator

Wednesday May 15

 Whew, nearly time to head home!  Anyone still with me reading this?  A little sleep in and we're off on a laid back day.  We start on a quest to find cowboy boots.  It appears no one carries the line we're looking for...until...finally we find them, they fit, AND I find a cute little hat that matches.  Cross off two things on the "to buy" list.  From there we head out for some history and to see the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jacinto_Battleground_State_Historic_Site.  It was drizzly and rainy when we arrived so we drove around the battleground putting ourselves in the very area the Battle of San Jacinto took place back in 1836.  Each place a Texan fell or there was a battle of note, a marker has been placed.  We looked out upon the San Jacinto Monument and decided to leave it to the multitude of students who had descended on it prior to our arrival.  Next stop, Battleship Texas, an impressive, hulking ship which is sadly laid up and under massive repairs to get her seaworthy again.  For now, she is stuck in the mud, but impressive none the less.  Of course the logical place for lunch was the Monument Inn http://www.monumentinn.com/  There we snacked on some amazing warm rolls...AMAZING warm rolls, then had some alligator and finished up with blackened tilapia which was deliciously moist and tender.


Next step, find fancy cowboy boots.  This was actually accomplished fairly easily at our third or fourth Cavenders.  So many beautiful boots, and I finally found a pair that were not only beautiful but also fit my feet and were even on sale!  We mosied over to Bass Pro aka Beer, Bait and Beyond to admire the various creatures throughout the store and just to wander around.  Back to the house and then to Ichibon for sushi dinner http://ichibonhouston.com/  I ordered the best gyoza I've ever eaten and something called Beef Maki.  Basically beef wrapped around avocado, simply perfect.  Back to the house to watch Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin in Stand Up Guys.  Great movie, very funny to see these three actors embrace their diminishing youth.

Off to bed for my last night in Texas.  Bittersweet, I have so enjoyed my time, but I'm also missing home and my dogs.

 Thursday May 16

 Last day here.  :(  We head off for Mexican breakfast and I break my fast with Migas con huevo and chorizo.  Delicious as usual.  Back to the house to collect Kip and Tart and Fuzz and to the dog park we go.  Frolicking blue and black in a beautiful dog that we had all to ourselves.  It has been a fun week getting to know Cat's relatives and meeting the boy that will sire her puppies. 

Lizard tails

Don't despair the adventure is not quite over!  Shelly and I head off to Armand Bayou, a nature land in the middle of the city.  Oh, the lizards tails, I feel like I can still smell their sweet, delicious scent wafting past my nose.  Not only pleasant to smell, but interesting flowers as well.  Must look and see if I can plant these here.

 I was able to see a snake in the wild who turned out to be a brown water snake, also a copperhead who was safely behind glass.  This walk was one with less birds and more time to enjoy the plant life and an original homestead.  Beautiful to imagine being able to sit on the porch and look out over the water ways and then turn and see  your fields or pastures.  A beautiful and simple life it must have been.

From there we head off to the airport.  And so ends my Texas trip.  I am so glad that I decided to take this trip even though it didn't fulfill the original purpose of getting Cat bred (as she will likely come in at a time I couldn't get away, I decided to move up the trip and go down anyways).   Slight hiccup at security as apparently the sensors didn't like me and I had to have my hands swabbed - all was good and off I go.  flyflyfly.  Home in bed by 3am BC time/5am TX time.  These travel days seem to turn into two days somehow. 

Fellow Canadians, we have some work to do.  We are known as being one of the friendlier countries around, but we don't hold a candle to the friendliness of Texans.  Granted, most of those friendly folk were men and Shelly and I are pretty cute, we'll have to compare when she comes to Canada.  ;)  That does not so much hold over to their driving, particularly in Houston.  Not that they're unfriendly drivers, but holy aggressive!  I'm a pretty confident driver, but there's no way you'll ever get me driving in that city.  Wowsers.  Maybe they are all trying to get to one of the many donut shops.  I don't know if they were following me like the Night Hawk follows Shelly, but everywhere I turned, there seemed to be Donut shops. Shelly said that if she was able to send me home with a little bit of Texas in my soul she had done her job.  I can say, she was successful.  :)

In summary, what can I say about Texas?  Just this...I will be back.

A bump on the road

The best laid plans....sigh. Well, I'd been planning on getting some good training in this summer on stock for all four dogs, and I came up against an obstacle. On June 6th I had a stroke, venous sinus thrombosis. Which, in english means that I have a clot in my brain in the vein that drains the blood in the gap between the two sides of my brain. The past two weeks have been spent in and out of hospital and diagnostic testing machines and on the couch. The dogs are enjoying having me home all the time, but not so thrilled with my lack of energy to do anything with them. Herding will have to be put off until after my neurologist appt and MRI in Sept, I'm on a lot of blood thinners and I can't risk getting injured by sheep. Disappointing to say the least, but at least on the island we can herd most of the year. Just gets wet and mucky in the winter. As I"m feeling better I'll get back to busy on working on some Novice Rally exercises with the four dogs. I don't think it will take much to have everyone ready, and I'm really hoping to premiere all four at teh Oct/Nov trials in Novice. Crazy much? Yah, maybe a little.

Stay tuned for the upcoming exciting news!

Some quick updates

As I seem to have completely ignored my blog, but manage to keep Porter's somewhat up to date http://mylifebyporter.blogspot.com I figure I should probably update the kennel one! Of course, as it's been nearly a year, many many changes around here!

First of all, I tragically lost Argus the beginning of November 2010. Someone forced open my locked gate and all five dogs got out, sadly Argus was hit and sustained numerous severe injuries, luckily the other four were fine, although very emotionally traumatized. Turner has been struggling with increasing seperation anxiety since the accident, I believe he saw it happen, and being such a sensitive little soul it has really affected him. Argus' loss has left a huge hole and I miss him every single day.

We've also added a couple new bodies to the house. Bazinga and Zazzles, two purebred lynx point siamese joined us in December from the Nanaimo SPCA. I went fully intending on one cat, and somehow ended up with the two brothers. They could not be a better fit in the house, and they constantly astound people with their love of the dogs. They're often found curled up with the dogs, washing their faces or playing with Porter.

I've decided to take the year off dog activities other than training. No one is ready for trialing yet, so instead of pushign them to be ready, we're just going to take the year to work on Intermediate for Impulse and Turner and Started for Porter and Cat. Next challenge is actually getting to a lesson and for schedules to coordinate for that to become possible! I'm really enjoying spending time with the dogs and not having pressure to have them ready for a show/trial. Cat is coming along, and hopefully will be ready to show next summer.

I've decided this summer will be about getting the yard cleaned up a bit. A veggie garden is in the progress of going in, lawn areas have been extended and it's starting to look like I'm going to be very busy maintaining it all! The dogs are enjoying being helpers out in the yard.

I'll post some pictures soon, but in the meantime, Porter's blog that I linked to above often has the most up to date pictures in it. Stay tuned for some exciting news!

My oh so horribly neglected blog

I could make up some grande excuse why I haven't updated this...but I haven't got one. Reading back on MARCH's (how is it that long ago?) blog from 4 months ago, wow how much has changed!

So, many plans have fallen aside in the dog plans this summer, but there are also new exciting additions! First of all, Argus' CD is on hold for a little bit. I hope to get him in a class this fall and start trialing in the spring of 2011. The reality is - I don't train enough on my own. Never have.

Impulse started an exciting new venture, that of conformation shows. The first weekend out she was a bit bored, but played along. Second weekend out she realized how incredibly cool this game was, all you gotta do is stand around and get pets and cookies. What could be better? Well, she wasn't thrilled about the necessary bath/blow dry prior to. First two days Impulse took the back burner to her brother Gunny (Turner's littermate) who took breed both days. The next weekend there was actually bitch competition and Impulse took WB for a point the one day she was entered. She has matured nicely and looks pretty darned good out there. She'll hit the ring again this fall at our local show in October. Less than two weeks till our trial and hopefully Impulse finishes her HS with nice scores. We've been working on take pens and I think we both finally feel comfortable with this exercise. She's working really nice lately and I'm excited to get out of started and move on to the next level.

Turner is...Turner. He is also entered in the CKC herding trials in a week and a half and has also been doing take pen work. Turner is also doing really nice work...though I think his sister is consistently a better worker. I'm also hoping to finish his HS with a nice score, it would be nice to finish it with one more High in Trial so he finishes with three HITs, however I know there are going to be a lot of nice working dogs there this year. He is one of them though, so you never know!

Porter. Well, Porter's full name is Porter Piddle Pants, so that should give you some idea how he's doing in the potty training department. Good for the most part, but he and I fail and reading his body language to tell me when he needs out. The result is a puddle on the floor. Sadly from this, Porter has picked up the nickname of Piddle, or just Pid. Between Pid and Pants he is rarely called Porter anymore. The plan was to get this kid in the conformation ring maybe this summer, but he has gone undershot which is a dq in our breed. This is HUGELY disappointing as he won't be able to be shown and is a nice nice little boy. It also eliminates him from my breeding program. Porter has been on stock a couple times and he is going to be a firecracker! I'll wait until spring likely to get him started for real at the first clinic of the year next year. Porter is a sweet boy and I enjoy him more and more as he grows up.

I had a few big decisions to make this spring, and one decision helped the other. The first was to not go to Nationals in the fall. This was an extremely hard choice to make, but we're in an awkward spot for MVA (not ready for agility or obedience, both dogs done their HS but not ready for HI), and I have no one competatively ready for conformation. It just seemed like a lot of money to go out and visit with friends and be surrounded by aussies for a week. I also decided not to go to the ASCA trial last weekend and will focus on ASCA next year when I can do conformation and stock in one weekend at a couple shows in WA. I'd also like to have the dogs ready for OTD so they can move up as/if they qualify.

The next decision was a dog decision. Porter wasn't to be my next show puppy, and so other than Impulse who may be tough to finish - we'll see - I had no one to show. Also, Argus will not be bred again, Impulse I'm trying to decide and Porter will be neutered. So, with the emergence of nearly half the Argus x Impulse litter being undershot I'm at a crossroads with what to do with my breeding program. I'll likely breed Impulse one more time, but I may not. So, I was trying to decide if I should start looking for a show puppy or try to find an older bitch. I looked at a few litters and ultimately decided that I did not want to do the baby puppy thing again so soon. Maybe next year, but not right away. I would have much prefered to find an older bitch puppy. But who ever lets go of their quality girls? Also, did I really want five dogs? I inquired on a couple that either ended up being not available or just weren't quite what I was looking for in the end. Until I sent a quick msg to a fellow aussieboarder about her red merle girl that if she were ever serious about placing her to please send her to me! Well, arrangements were met, and we welcomed Cat (Shalako's Hello Kitty) to the house last month. I have loved Cat forever in pics and I would have MADE the timing right for her to come here. She's made having an extra dog easy and has fit into the pack really well. She is an awesome dog, absolutely drop dead gorgeous, works stock like a hot damn and is just a cool dog. I am still in disbelief that Cat is here to stay! She and I will take some time to get to know each other and she'll likely get her start on stock this fall at the next clinic. We'll fit conformation in there sometime when neither of us have nothing else to do. ;)

So, life continues on this summer same old same old. Busy with dogs, looking forward to trials and advancing in levels in the "older" dogs and getting some young dogs started in the months to come.



The entire crew enjoying a "swim": From the back and clockwise: Cat, Impulse, Porter, Argus (in the middle), Turner.

Time to buckle down

And get training these dogs! Argus has sat here for years being on the verge of being ready for his CD. He breezed through his Rally Novice and Rally Advanced titles no problem, so really a CD shouldn't be a stretch. Will have to wean him off talking to him though, he's still a little unsure when I'm not at least giving him verbal praise and is constantly trying to fix what might be right becuase I haven't told him he's good yet. Impulse and Turner need to get ready for Nationals this fall and be polished and ready for their Novice work as well.

The aussieboard has a CD Challenge group, which I conciously didn't join last month (bad me!) but have decided to put it out there publicly and post my goals. Maybe it will give me a kick in the pants to get to work.

Overall, by the end of 2010 my goals are:

Obedience
Complete Argus' CD
Get started, if not complete Impulse's CD
Get started, if not complete Turner's CD
Teach Porter to walk on a leash. Seriously, that is the sum total of my goals for him for obedience stuff. I am horribly neglect at teaching my dogs to walk nicely on a leash becuase they rarely have to. They run in the yard, are not walked on leash for exercise and make public appearances only at classes and shows generally. They are pretty typical farm dogs (though without the "farm", maybe "acreage" dogs is a better term). Maybe Porter will be different, we're not off to a great start though, he would rather be a sled dog.

Herding
Finish Impulse's HS (one leg to go)
Finish Turner's HS (one leg to go)
Finish Impulse's STDs (no legs yet)
Finish Turner's STDs (no legs yet)
Attempt Turners STDcd
Attempt Impulse's STDd
Compete in MVA with both Impulse and Turner at the Cdn Nat'ls

Conformation
Finish Juice's (really need to see if they've definitely changed his name or not) Championship
Show Porter to get some ring experience and maybe pick up the odd point or two

So, I have some work ahead of me. Luckily for herding Impulse and Turner just need to work on skills they already have, and maybe actually get some stock time in. They have not had much time on stock since the trials last June. Will aim for at least twice a month in the months leading up to July (trial month) and then through the summer to prep for Nat'ls. The pressure is on for them to be ready for Novice competition as we are starting from the ground up. They both know very basic heel position, and down, but that is about it.

Am trying to put in some time every night with each dog. I am starting a rotation, the first dog gets 15 minutes, second dog 10, third dog 5, and Porter just gets a few minutes of some basic stuff, nothing serious for him. Right now we are workign on how to stand still as he has his first sanction match on Sunday. He is doing great, but that is with no one going over him, and he does love people, so he could turn into a wiggly mushy not standing for anything puppy on Sunday.

Barriers here are definitely access to classes. I found classes in town (that is relative I guess, it is waaaay on the outskirts of town, but at least does not involve me drivign through a mtn pass, through a forest and around a lake to just get on the main hwy to then drive another half hour to class) but unfortunately there is no indoor facility so we train outside, which means we only train in the summer. And then because of lack of people doing doggie things in this town there isn't a lot of space to move up in levels, so will be forced to look into private lessons, which would still likely be cheaper than driving to other classes. I have also found some classes a little closer than others (but still involve the nature drive), I'm not convinced I'm liking them though. Fine for puppy socialization, we'll see how the advanced class goes. To find a class, and then find one that trains similar to what I'm looking for is next to impossible...until summer.

So far this week I've been working on polishing up Argus' heelwork and his stand stays. Heeling is coming along quickly and we've moved on from the basic position work to getting him started on nice sharp left turns. Made some progress there tonight, but a long ways from where I need him to be. NEXT STEP in heeling: starting figure eights. He is also getting his kick back stands about 98% of the time, not moving any feet about 80% of the time. Am starting to pull slightly on the leash for proofing and he is doing well. NEXT STEP in stands: Once he can hold that while I pull in various directions I'll start moving a foot out of "natural" balance and ask him to stay. At some point I will need to get him in a class so he gets used to the touching part of this...not that I'm concerned, he's an old hand at exams from conformation. Just started doing some basic drivey recalls, running for a piece of cheese thrown through my legs. He caught on to this VERY quickly and I think I'll have very nice fast recalls from him. NEXT step in recalls is proofing his "here" command and working it the same as heel position.

Turner I'm realizing is a lot farther behind where I thought he was. He has no concept of his back end, and we're right back to square one teaching him where heel position is. He is catching on quickly though, and is working nice and close to me. Turner can be a funny duck and does not like to sit close to me, so the fact that I can get him in heel position with him touching my leg is big progress. NEXT steps in heeling: We'll work on heel position over the next week or so, so far just doing right turns, one or two steps, pivots, and starting on about turns. Also working on his stand stays. Because he's not a fan of being touched by those he doesn't know this will be Turner's biggest downfall. I need to get him SOLID on his stand stays before we get to the point that someone attemps the exam so I can go back a few steps, support him through the big scary strange hand that wants to touch him and then help him work through it. I'll teach him absolute focus for this exercise so hopefully he can just zone out on my face. NEXT steps in stands: dropping the treat some of the time, and hopefully being able to get rid of my jab in the flank to get him to stand...giving him that opportunity to do it on his own. Once we get that, then starting with some short stays.

Impulse. What a little dream Impulse is. The slightest pressure on her collar and she hops her bum into the direction I want it. She is a bit farther along than I was thinking. We are still doign some position work, but will quickly progress to actual walking and proofing I'm sure. NEXT step in heeling: longer stretches of walking, tougher heeling position exercises, circles and left turns. And again, working on the stand with her. She will be the opposite of Turner and have a hard time not throwing herself at the judge to lick their face, so again, a solid stand and absolute focus will be essential for her. NEXT Steps for stand: same as Turner.

Porter: let's focus on not peeing in the house this week.

The Big Dog Series - Part Two

Time to continue the big dog series, today, Argus. Argus (aka CH Caitland Eyes of a Hawk RA, ADC, DNA-CP) is my third aussie, and my third aussie from Cathy. I had known that I wanted my next puppy to be one related to Jurny somehow. I loved Jurny's work ethic and everything about him really, and wanted to be able to continue on with a dog similar. When I heard that Cathy was doing an awesome breeding of Jurny's half sister Deuce to a working dog Bayley, I had to think long and hard. I wanted to jump on the litter, but at the same time, I was starting my nursing degree in the fall. In the end, I decided to put my name on the list and sometime in March 2003, Argus arrived on the island.

Argus has the same traits as Jurny as I was looking for. He has great work ethic, incredibly biddable, but has a bigger sense of humor than Jurny, and I often call him my "peter pan" dog, as he will never grow up. Argus loves like, he loves everyone, and he loves to bark. I could do without the latter. I dabbled in some agility with him, he took to it like a duck to water, though he did also enjoy leaving the ring to visit with kids who were watching. Argus' true love in life is obedience. He LOVES it. He thrives on the rules and knowing exactely what I'm asking of him. The grin that is always plastered on his face gets bigger and bigger when we practice obedience. Sadly for him, I had lost my desire to do obedience and needed to take a break from it. As I feared, school did take up a lot of my time, and there is so much untapped potential in Argus it makes me sad that I didn't have the time that I needed for him.

Argus and I have recently compromised on the obedience aspect and are working on rally. Our first trial and I had never even watched a rally trial, let alone take classes, he only vaguely knew the commands, and off we went. The first trial was not stellar, which him scoring somewhere in the 80's...I never knew how much you could coach them! For the rest of his RN and then RA (finishing in 6 straight trials for both titles) Argus and Jurny jockied back and forth for who would place higher than the other, with one or both of them always in the top three. Argus loves rally. This year we'll try working towards Excellent...which means I actually have to work with him and teach him some new exercises, and I just might go for his CD.

2009 was a big year for Argus as he finally got to be a dad! He was bred to Impulse, my dark red girl and they had six beautiful babies, 3 blacks and 3 blues. There was a slim chance that Argus was red factored, but it appears he is likely not. Oh well. Argus very much threw his type in the boy puppies, where Impulse is stamped all over the girls. His one baby, who is available, Juice is Argus all over again, especially in temperment. He is going to be a lot of fun for whoever ends up with him!

At 7, Argus shows no signs of slowing down, or accepting the fact that he is officially a "senior" now. He is always ready for whatever he might be presented with, whether going for a run, working on some fun little exercises or hanging out on the couch. Although sometimes I wish he could just stop. think. and then do. I wouldn't trade him for the world. He keeps everyone here on their toes and makes you smile all the time.

So many changes

Haven't had a chance to post anything as life has been full of changes, both good and bad lately. The bad was the worst. On Jan 26 I let the big dogs out to pee when I got home from work and when I let them in 15-20 minutes later I knew something was wrong with Jurny. He was listless, depressed looking and just not right. Even at 11, Jurny was a happy, bouncy, busy dog. I took a peek at his gums and my heart broke. His gums were white, his body was colder than it should have been after a few minutes in the house, and it was like a reinactment of when I lost my first Aussie, Quest to hemangiosarcoma of the liver/spleen. Called the vet and took him over and to my absolutely devestation we found he had a hemangio in his heart that had burst. He went literally from healthy to dying in minutes. Even at the clinic I could see him going downhill second by second and chose to euthanize him then. Jurny was my heart dog, he was my right hand man and I'm not sure I've even begun to accept the fact that he's not coming back. I have to say, I am endlessly grateful to have found the vets that I did years ago, and so so glad that they do their own emerg calls (many of the vets around here rotate, so you're not guaranteed you'll actually get your vet in an emergency...the time when you want someone familiar). Both Jeff and Louise came to the clinic to see Jurny when I brought him in, and it was obvious they really cared about my little goober dog too, knowing him well enough to give him the bowl of liver treats to snack on in his last few breaths. Jurny lived according to his stomach. So, the last few weeks has seemed a bit empty around here, counting three dogs as they come in, three dishes to prepare, three dogs to crate up and let out, only three dogs on the bed at night. I take comfort in knowing that he didn't suffer and had no pain. It's just going to take some time to adjust to not having him here.

And on to some happier news. The puppies have been doing great! On the 31st I packed all the dogs up to Comox and with the help of some good friends we did the Puppy Aptitude Testing and conformation evals. Turns out...I was doing pretty good in deciding who was going where. Except for my own puppy, but more about that later. Everyone scored mostly 3's, with Eva scoring mostly 4's. I took last week off for vacation time so I could get everyone vaccinated, tattooed, do some crate training etc and off to new homes. The week was busy and helped keep my scatterbrained self occupied and not dwell on the sad week prior. By Saturday I was bathing Boston (now Bizi) and getting him bundled up to head off to his new home in Edmonton. He arrived safely and is settling in well. That night I got a nice little email from a friend who had finally been swayed to inquire about Chatter. By Sunday we were meeting and Chatter was heading to Campbell River to live with her new family, which includes one of her uncles, Habenero. Chatter is now Savina. Monday was back to the grindstone and only four puppies left. I have to say...it was nice. Tues had us all up in the middle of the night to make it to the airport by 5am so Luna could make her flight to Ottawa via Calgary. She has also arrived safely and is now in New York and on her way to Kansas tomorrow. And finally little Eva was delivered to her dad and is settling in. She has no doggie family to keep her company so she will have the biggest adjustment to make, but it sounds like she's doing just fine.

So. I'm left with the two boys. In the last week or so the house has been turned upside down with teh busy busy puppies. Turner took up residence in the spare room, Impulse avoided everyone, and Argus was really barky adn clingy. Things were not going with ease. Yesterday afternoon we got home and apparently the big dogs think that two puppies is acceptable. Impulse played with the boys most of the afternoon, and Argus let them crawl on him. Even Turner was brave enough to sniff puppies and not jump up when they got close to him. It is so nice having a small bit of normalcy back.

So, in all this I've been rethinking my decision to keep Juice. He's a nice puppy, but ultimately I was seeing that Porter (was Billy) was the nicer puppy. He's nicer put together and has really come into his own little personality. He's a bit quieter puppy, and doesn't tend to get in the big dogs' faces much. He likes to play, and then he likes to go in his fort and hang out with his toy. A good friend of mine told me that she thinks a part of a deceased dog's spirit goes into the new puppy. Well, Porter could have chosen a different part of Jurny to channel. I found his ass end up, little stub wiggling as fast as it could IN THE GARBAGE! Really...the garbage at 8 weeks? I see a lot of Jurny in Porter, which shouldn't be too surprising as Jurny's mom is the puppies great grandma on Argus' side and great great grandma on Impulse's side. Porter has some awfully big shoes to fill! So now, my big goofy clown dog Juice is available. It was an incredibly hard decision to make, but looking at where I want to go in my breeding program, what will fit in the household temperment wise and the puppy as a whole...Porter is the one. Juice is looking for a show home (but one that won't be overly upset if his nose doesn't fill by a year...it's still pretty pink) on a co-own, preferably on the island or with someone I know, and preferably in a home where he'll get to do agility, obedience etc. He is a busy busy boy adn will need to be kept busy.

So, that's a brief summary of the last few weeks...some tragic changes, some bittersweet changes as the puppies leave, and some changes as to who will get to stay here. I look forward to seeing the entire litter grow and excell in whatever it is they put their mind to!