For Sam

SAMSON

It is with extreme sadness that I write this.

A good friend lost her best friend today. For those of you that have had multiple dogs, you know that each one holds a special place in your memories, never to be forgotten, impacts you in some way. But you also know that there will be those rare few dogs that not only hold a spot in our memories, but also in our hearts. These are Heart Dogs, and they are truly marvelous animals.


Sam is a Heart Dog. Forever staking claim to a small piece of his owners heart.


Very recently, Samson, an 11 year old Border Collie, was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. A large tumor had formed on his heart. He spent a number of happy days at home with his family after the diagnosis, but collapsed today and was helped to The Bridge.


My heart breaks for his "mom". Know that, as much as Sam has taught you and touched your life, your efforts and dedication to him matched step for step. Heart Dogs have no past-tense. They live as long as the heart they have touched continues. Sam is an amazing dog.

Delegator Dilemmas

I have learned something about myself in the past couple of weeks ... I really suck at delegating!

Hub City Kennel and Obedience Club is hosting their first CARO Rally-O trial in Saskatoon this weekend. Last year some time (or maybe it was only earlier in the spring of this year ...) I had agreed to look up the information needed for hosting a CARO trial. And, while I was at it, I decided to check into judges, and book our judge, and check into buildings, and book our building. And, just because I had all the information at hand, I wrote up the premiums and entry forms, advertised them online, and stupidly put my own name down as trial secretary to accept the entries. With that, comes the task of doing all the paperwork required to deal with the entries. So really, I've essentially organized this whole trial! No, that is not bragging, that is me beating my head against the wall. There are many fabulous, talented, and very capable people in the club that have all offered to help out in any way possible. But somehow, in my mind, it is easier for me to just do the job myself than to hand it off to someone else to do. STUPID! So, as a result, I am absolutely exhausted and just want this trial to be over with NOW.

My excuse (read: what I am telling myself so that I will feel better about being an idiot), is that now I know exactly what needs to be done. So I will be able to confidently delegate NEXT time, without worrying about overlooking anything. I can't very well lead a project when I don't know what has to be done, right? Right?! Okay, I will stick with that explanation.

In the mean time, the dogs are getting dusty with their Rally-O. We've had the past couple weeks off since my classes ended for the summer, and I really haven't been doing much with them. Some people have noted that Gio has been absent from the blog for a while. And he has been ... no denying it. Gio is doing wonderfully health-wise. No more seizures, and his pancreas seems to be holding up well after our scare a couple months back. He is back onto 100% raw diet, which he much prefers to the veggie crud or, even worse, the canned yuck. He's adding weight on again, so not looking quite so emaciated. He's still been going on his therapy dog visits, but I've been too busy to take him tracking as much as he would like. Romeo's agility adventures and this darned CARO trial have been eating up all my time.

If anyone is wanting to come out and check out some CARO Rally-O, our trial is being held out at SonDog Agility on October 3 and 4, 2009. Take highway 16 Northwest of Saskatoon. Swing a left on Lutheran Rd., then left again on 3070. Take your 4th driveway on your left and you are there. It's about 15 minutes out of the city, not too bad. Spectators are welcome, though please leave dogs at home that are not entered in the trial.

D&S Jumpers Trial

The D&S Jumpers Trial was held this weekend in Saskatoon. Romeo and I participated and it was a lot of fun! Great turn out, I think they said that this was the biggest AAC agility trial (apart from Nationals) held in the province EVER! Very cool, and a great way to celebrate D&S's 10 year anniversary (congrats Shirley and Diane!).

Romeo had a rockin' Starters Jumpers run on Saturday, taking his first Q and 1st place! Our Starters Standard round on Saturday was less than stellar. Romeo did great, but I wound up pulling him off a tunnel by turning too soon. It was all downhill from there. But these things happen, right? He did really well for the first half of the course, so we will take that success.

Today, Sunday, we were entered in two Starters Jumpers rounds. No Q's again, but Romeo pulled off some really nice stuff, nonetheless. The first Jumpers of the day would have been glorious, but again more tunnel woes. We are definitely going to be working on tunnel value over the winter!! Unlike most dogs we run into at agility, Romeo is not a tunnel sucker. Good in some cases, but very bad in others. I can easily pull him back out of a tunnel with just the slightest movement, and he will happily choose a jump or a contact over the tunnel, as happened in the second Jumpers round on Sunday and our Standard round on Saturday. Not cool. So we are going to work value value value over the winter!

I've heard rumors in the past about Saskatchewan having the nicest agility folks around, and I definitely saw proof of that this weekend! I'm lucky in that I know a lot of people there from other dog sport venues, but all of the new people I met were so helpful and friendly, fun to joke around with, and just really great to spend a weekend with. The weather SUCKED on Sunday, very very gusty and cold, but all of the participants were cheery and upbeat despite the frigid temps and winds that sent jumps, pylons, and plastic chairs flying across the ring at inopportune times.

All in all, Romeo took two 1st place ribbons and a 2nd place ribbon, with one qualifying round out of four. Not bad for our second weekend out! Definitely a lot of successes to be proud of, and a great trial to introduce us to the world of competitive agility! Thanks to everyone for helping us out, explaining what the heck Gamblers is all about, showing me tips on teaching directional cues, cheering and clapping after our runs ...

... and especially to Mike who took these BEAUTIFUL pictures of my boy!

TABLE!

TIRE!
A very fluffy SPREAD!
FRAME!
CHUTE!
HUP!
Another SPREAD!
TEETER!

Holy Flyin' Furball

A friend, Rebecca, caught some pictures of Romeo at a recent agility class. We were practicing jump work, so she really caught the fur flying!



Beautiful pictures, Rebecca! Thanks for sharing them with me.

Romeo's 1st Agility Trial

Today Romeo and I were entered in our first AAC agility trial! The club that we train with offers an annual Starters Trial, with only Starters rounds, to encourage new dog and handlers to get started competing in an environment that is somewhat less intimidating. No crazy Advanced or Masters dogs around to make us feel like fools!

I had Romeo entered in two runs, a Standard and a Jumpers. I knew going into this trial that whether we qualified or not would be completely in my hands. If Romeo were in charge, we would definitely qualify, no problems. But I hold the handicap in this team, and my handler skills are seriously lacking. Sure enough, Romeo did beautifully in the Standard round, but I was in the wrong place with the cue for a tunnel and Romeo ended up trying to take the dog walk instead. He went exactly where my body language was telling him to go. So I can't fault the boy. In the Standard round, everything Romeo did was awesome! He nailed all his contacts, took the teeter like a champ, and even got his weave pole perfect on the first attempt! The teeter and weave entries are our sticky point at the moment. We ended up taking 5 faults for the tunnel-dog walk snafu, but wound up placing 2nd in our division!

The Jumpers round wasn't quite as nice, but again Romeo held up his end of the bargain admirably. I wound up pulling him off the tunnel ... TWICE ... by starting my turn before he was completely committed. We took 15 faults, but it was good enough to get us 3rd in the division!

To make it all even better, Romeo pulled off these great debut performances in the most nasty weather! It rained all day long, not enough to reduce visibility or safety enough to warrant me pulling him from the trial, but just enough to soak you through to the bone. Add the frigid temperatures and wind on top of it and it was a nasty NASTY day! We've been home and in dry clothes for an hour how, and I am still shivering.

Despite the horrible weather that made me into a whining, grumbling she-beast, it was a lot of fun and a very positive first adventure in agility trialing! Now, we get to rest up and do it all again next weekend at a huge Jumpers trial! We'll be aiming for qualifying scores this time.

You Are My Sunshine ...

Just one of those days where all you want to do is find a nice patch of sunlight and have a nap!

Beatrice's New Friend

Meet Gertrude!

Gertrude was originally Guinness. Guinness had a piggy friend that passed away recently. Then her owners had to move to a condo that didn't have enough room for Guinness and her paraphernalia, so Guinness was rehomed to a friend of mine that teaches grade 5. Guinness was to be a classroom pet, and was renamed Bugsy. But one of kids in the class had horrible allergies, so Bugsy had to go. My friend knew that I had Beatrice and asked if I was planning on getting Bea a friend. I was, have been talking to a local lady that does small animal rescue and rehoming, and have been waiting on a good match for Beatrice to become available. So Guiness aka Bugsy came to me this afternoon and became Gertrude.

Gertrude is about 3 years old ... and has a bit of a weight problem. She was loved ... really really loved in the way that guinea pigs appreciate most, through food. But her super long coat is in great condition and her nails are nice and short, so I know she was doted on before an unfortunate series of events lead her to me. Gertrude will go on a bit of a diet now, if that is even possible. I guess portioned and measured feedings? Though with two guinea pigs in one cage, I don't know how I will monitor who eats what. And I have a feeling that Gertrude is going to hog all the food for herself. Might end up being Beatrice that goes on the diet!

The piggies had some floor time and a nice treat of mixed greens while we introduced ourselves. Gio and Romeo are perfectly fine with the guinea pigs, and Gertrude took the introductions like a champ. At least Romeo isn't terrified of Gertrude like he was with Beatrice in the beginning. The Shelties have just accepted that I am insane and take the new additions in stride.

In their cage, Gertrude and Beatrice aren't getting along swimmingly just yet. They were happy to eat together on the floor, but in the cage they are trading off teeth chatters and whining. And, so the interweb tells me, these noises are noises of unhappy piggies. Apparently a little bit of animosity is normal with introductions, so hopefully they will sort it all out between them soon. They are currently both resting in their individual hidey-holes, but Gertrude keeps venturing out to check that the food supply is adequate. That draws Beatrice out, and the chattering and whining begins. It has escalated to Gertrude chasing Beatrice around the cage a couple times, but nothing more than that. I have hope for them!