Leap is a Bust

(Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ) Good thing we had an extra day this year as I lost a day today. My legs didn't allow me to be up today. So much to my dismay, Boogie, Skatt'r and Mike headed off to the show without me. Pout, pout.

Mike returned Skatt'r to Billie then he and Boogie ran down to meet Alison for some more touch up on Boogie's coat. She's really good and did what she could - but there's only so much you can do with the mess he's in. We really appreciate all she's done for us with Boogie's coat.

Mike was really nice and kept me well informed via the cell phone of all the show happenings. Alison showed Boogie and he did well enough that he once again made it into the group showing for the points. But once again we didn't win. Our same friend that won yesterday won again today. She was really happy as this was their Championship - so they are all done with this silliness. She said they are never setting foot inside a show ring again. Too funny...as we too can't wait for that day to come...if it does!

Mike was such a brave soul today. He has never ever done one bit of rally. But since I couldn't go today, he decided to give it a try. After checking in and getting the map he called me and we went over all the signs and how to do them.

Mike practiced with Boogie (with treats) and Boogie was perfect. Mike was feeling really good as he entered the ring with Boogie. But the second they stepped foot in the ring, Boogie new there were no more treats. He just stared off into space and totally ignored Mike. Each of the first four stations they had to try over as Boogie didn't do them correctly. Boogie's brain didn't even acknowledge that Mike was in the ring with him. It was totally hopeless. So Mike picked Boogie up and they eagerly left the ring. Oh Boogie you are such a bad boy!

Mike says that at 9.5 months Boogie went from a sweet cute little puppy to a big giant brat. Hopefully he'll pass through this phase quickly.

The big dogs were happy to see Mike get home. And Boogie was really happy to see that Skatt'r got to come home as well. Boogie wasn't sure how to play with Skatt'r in the beginning but now he is being the perfect little playmate. They are having a great time playing together. I think Boogie is just really happy to finally be the "big" dog - even though he gets down and plays at puppy level!



Later in the afternoon Boogie was out in the yard, like usual, and walked over to the outdoor table. He started barking and barking and barking...nonstop! After a while Mike went over to see what was going on. He was barking at the rat cages that are used for earthdog practice. So Mike just reached in and picked up one at random to show Boogie that they are empty. But to Mike's surprise there was a mummified rat body in the cage. Now Boogie was really going crazy. We're thinking that Boogie might do really well at his first earthdog test!

The immediate problem is that Boogie won't stop barking at the cages on the table - even though Mike disposed of the dead rat. I'll tell you one thing - Boogie's lungs are in good shape!

Here's to hoping I have four more years before I have another leap day...as there was no leaping for me. Sigh.

Debbie
2/29/08

Best Puppy

(Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ) We had an hour time change yesterday when we arrived in AZ. So getting up this morning at 5:30 really was 4:30 to our bodies. Finally, everyone else had to get up when I was awake!

Today is the first day of a five day dog show in Scottsdale. Border Terriers were the first dogs to show right at 8:00am so we had to be there bright and early. In fact, we actually had to get there at least an hour earlier as we were hoping to find Alison in hopes that she could do something to fix Boogie's coat a little bit.

We left the house at 6:15am with no expectations but high hopes...even though we know Boogie doesn't look like any other border terrier that is out there. When we arrived at the site we got out of the car and were getting all our stuff together when suddenly Mike noticed that our bike was gone.

We've had a bicycle carrier on the back of our car for years and have had the bike with us on the car for over three years since we've lived on the road. There was even a lock on the carrier that we thought made it so no one could steal the bike...but apparently not. We knew the bike hadn't fallen off as the plate that goes over the bike stem was still on there. Obviously someone had removed the bike and taken the time to put the plate back on the carrier before fleeing. Huge bummer - it was a great bike and we had just put on a brand new seat and new tires. No time to worry about that now though - we got a show to do!

We got here so early that nothing was really open yet. After quite some time we finally found where Alison was supposed to be but she hadn't arrived yet. By the time she got here she was really in a rush to get everything all set up. But she was really nice and took a quite 60 seconds to try and clean Boogie up a little bit. She is great - in just those few seconds she made him look MUCH better.

I scooped Boogie up and ran over to the ring. I got there with about one minute to spare. After checking in and getting my number I did my best to brush Boogie and get him looking all pretty. By then it was time to head into the ring for the Border Terrier Puppy Sweepstakes. In Sweepstakes the owner must handle the dog...that's me. All the little boys went into the ring and around we went. The 6-9 month old puppies went in first and a winner was chosen. Then the 9-12 month old puppies went in - that's us. We went around and Boogie was a fairly good boy. He was a little worried on the table hunching down a little when the judge tried to examine him. Then we went down and back. After the other puppy did the same, the judge had us go around together. As we were coming back, the judge pointed to us! Boogie won!

The same procedure took place with the little girl puppies and two winners were chosen. Then the two girl winners and the two boy winners went back into the ring. We again went around and around. The judge then did the pointing thing - and he pointed to Boogie first! Wow, Boogie won the Puppy Sweepstakes! He got a couple nice ribbons and $13. Way to go little Boogie. The professional photographer took a picture of us but we won't get it for quite some time. But I'll be sure to post it when we get it.

As it turns out, that means he had to come back at 2:30pm to compete against the winners of the winners of all the other breeds. But now it was time for the regular competition - which is what we really come for. Alison was really nice and handled Boogie for us. He was a good boy but was a little concerned on the table. (We went over later and just treated him a lot for being on a table - he thought that was fun!) Anyway, Boogie won his class! Yay! That meant he got to go back into the ring later with four other dogs to try and win the points. Alison had won with another dog in a different class so she was taking that dog back in the ring. She found someone she knew that grabbed Boogie real quickly and took him into the ring for us. Unfortunately Boogie didn't win. But at least if we didn't win our friend's dog did. Needless to say, she was super happy.

We did a tiny bit of shopping at the many vendors that are at this show before rushing back home to feed and exercise the big dogs before we had to be back in Scottsdale for Boogie's afternoon showing.



I'd guess there are 50 - 60 vendors here that sell quite a variety of stuff.





There were a good 20 - 25 puppies in the Group Sweepstakes. It was sunny and in the 80's and the dogs were really hot. I'd say we were in the ring a good 35 - 40 minutes. Boogie was impossible! He wanted to sniff here, there, everywhere. He wanted to visit the other puppies, pee on everything he could find, put his little paws up on a nearby table to see if there were any treats for him, and visit the people sitting in chairs around the ring watching. Finally it was our turn on the table. He was a little timid when the judge came to look at him but not too bad. The judge looked him over fairly good on the table but then hardly looked at him at all when we did our little trotting around. We didn't make the cut. A very cute Bull Terrier ended up winning.

Phew. Done for the day. We headed down to the agility area of the show to pick up Skatt'r - Billie's new little 11 week old Border Terrier who we are taking care of. Boogie was 11 weeks old when we got him and he was about eight pounds - Skatt'r is barely over five pounds. He is such a good little puppy! And happy! He loves to play with toys. When he plays it's like watching a little kitten play. Just too cute.

Wazzu was very good with the puppy. Skatt'r loves Wazzu and wants to be just like her when he grows up. HA! Believe me, they will not be alike at all. Skatt'r is happy go lucky and Wazzu is very serious and careful.

We had a great afternoon and evening playing with the puppy. What a character. But I guess between the long day at the show, playing with the puppy, and trying to do some laundry, it was just too much for my crazy body. ARGG!!

Debbie
2/28/08

On the Road Again

(CA to AZ) We got up bright and early today to head out of California. We'd been looking forward to leaving...but now the weather is nice so we're wishing we could stay longer. Oh, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

It was a nice day for driving so even though it was a long day it was an easy drive for Mike. As usual the dogs were so good, each in their own spots doing what they always do. Boogie is sound asleep on his back in his crate, Sparkie is totally zonked out, Wazzu is lying next to me just staring at me the entire time, and Slugger is on his specially made doggy seat right up front next to Mike. He's been awake the entire time watching the road navigating as he always does. We are so lucky to have four dogs that travel so well....since that is their life!

We arrived at our friend's house and got all settled in just fine. The dogs love it here and are so happy to be back to one of their "homes."

Billie was really nice and watched Boogie do a little agility and then gave us some really good tips. Unfortunately, when I went to show Billie how good Boogie was on the teeter, he went blasting full speed ahead and flew off the teeter big time. Each teeter is different and he doesn't know yet how to make adjustments. I should have helped him a time or two on a new teeter. Bummer. Now, once again, he is afraid of the teeter. Darn it!! Back to the drawing board...or teeter board as the case may be.

Debbie
2/27/08

Sad Goodbye's

(Oceanside, CA) Slugger hadn’t gotten any individual attention for a while so Mike decided to have a father-son outing. They drove to the off-leash dog beach in Del Mar that we all went to a couple weeks ago. Slugger got to swim after his toy in the water for quite some time. According to Mike, Slugger had a great time. I’m so glad as that really is his most favorite activity of all.

While they were out, I took Boogie on another walk on the trails around the park. I enjoyed it as it was so peaceful. Boogie enjoyed the nice fresh grass.



Since I’ve been having a bad case of “busy mind” I tried really hard to concentrate on the surrounding beauty and the joy Boogie was showing as he investigated everything in sight.



Since it was so warm out, we all went to Cold Stone for a little treat which seemed like a big hit. The guy working there was really stingy with the toppings though. I had enough hot fudge to feed a gnat and Mike got very little of each of the items he added to his ice cream. We won’t be returning to that Cold Stone for sure….maybe that’s why we were the only ones in the store on a nice hot afternoon.

But the highlight of the day for me was Boogie’s last agility class. We didn’t really do anything all that difficult tonight but Boogie was really into it. He wanted every turn to be his. And when it was his turn he was FAST – and accurate! I really love seeing him so excited to do agility.

Another big success tonight was that for the first time ever, Boogie did the full size teeter! We’d been working up to it gradually while we’ve been here at class and tonight he did it like he was a pro. I truly think it is his most favorite obstacle.

We were sad to have to say goodbye to the nice friends we made while we were here. Boogie loved his agility but he also loved his new friend he made that was in both his Rally and Agility class. It was a young (maybe 15 mo old) border collie name Casey that liked Boogie in return. I really wish we could have had more time to spend together as I really like both the dog and his “parents.” What nice people!

Our agility instructor was very nice too. He really gave me a lot of good tips on my body movement that will help Boogie better. I’m not used to such a fast dog so I really have to concentrate on giving early commands and getting my body in the correct position in time. Fortunately he was very patient with me! He’d tell me to do something and I’d say okay – and then I’d do it wrong. Poor Boogie – I hope he’ll be patient with me too!

So here is a fond farewell to the nice folks and dogs that we met in our Rally and Agility classes. We wish them the very best of luck and we hope to run into them again somewhere....someday.

Debbie
2/26/08

M&M's....for Boogie

(Oceanside, CA) Can you believe it?! We awoke to sunny skies today. Just as we are about to leave California for good, the weather turns nice. We’ll take a couple nice days for sure.

Boogie attended his last little Rally class today. He just couldn’t concentrate today at all. His little nose was glued to the ground and he was eating Rabbit M&M’s (I’ll bet you can figure out what I’m talking about). They were plentiful and they must have been fresh as even when I offered him treats he said No Thanks. What a pill – I think he may be starting to go through puberty…or his terrible twos…or something of that sort.

Even though I didn’t have much of a partner, I really enjoyed today’s class. We learned how to teach our dogs a lot of new exercises and got to try the Honor station while another dog did the course. I was so sure we’d do this perfectly. But I guess Boogie ran out of M&M’s in the spot where he was in a Down so he had to move…bad little puppy!

Here is a little portion of the course we worked on today.



This is one of the stations...you don't really leave your dog...but I couldn't do the exercise and take a picture at the same time so here is Boogie doing his portion of this exercise. Good Boy!



We’ll really miss this class. Our instructor, Jean, was really nice and was so helpful. Boogie and I were so lucky to have come across her classes. Interestingly enough, I first “met” her online on a Rally list I’m on. Then while we were at an agility trial I saw a flyer posted about Rally classes. I contacted the instructor – and wouldn’t you know, it was the person I had met online.

Boogie and I thank her tremendously! You know, you can learn Rally all on your own (as we did for some time) but we found it much more fun to have a little class to go to. Our instructor was so supportive of us – it really gave us a lot of confidence going into the shows. We’ll definitely think of Jean every time we do Rally.

After returning from class we had a leisurely afternoon. Mike took the girls on a long off-leash hike somewhere while I took Boogie on a walk on some of the trails around the park. It was a very pleasant walk other than the deep clay mud trails. If you look closely in the bottom of this picture I think you'll be able to see the mud.



There are wetlands on both sides of the trails (as you can see in the above picture) and as we walked we could hear critters of some sort jump into the water as we approached. Only once did I get a glimpse of any animal. The one I saw looked like possibly a muskrat of some sort. I have a feeling many of the critters may have been large frogs – but I have no real confirmation of that. As you can see in the picture below, it is hard to see the water so seeing the critters go in the water was difficult. But we could hear them and see the big rings in the water.



We rambled across a lake nearby that is very pretty.



As I mentioned the other day, there are a lot of ducks and geese here. I saw numerous people feeding them today – no wonder they come running toward you when they see you. Boogie wanted to play with them – what a cutie.

Debbie
2/25/08

Boogie's a NURSE!!!

(Oceanside/Del Mar, CA) Early this morning it was back to the dog show. We didn't show until an hour later than yesterday but we had to be there just as early as we had to try and find someone to groom Boogie a little bit for us since he's wrong.

Mike and I are both extremely upset with the groomer that has been working on Boogie for the last month. We put our complete trust in him and he took advantage of us. He gouged us on the price, groomed Boogie so that he looks like no other border terrier in the ring, and then this morning shunned us when we tried to go get some touch up done...like he said he would do. We truly hope we never have to see him again - this is a strong statement coming from us as we are very low key, mellow, and non-confrontational people and get along with pretty much everyone we meet. We were nothing but kind, polite, agreeable, and courteous to this guy. Unfortunately, we didn't get that kind of respect back.

Before going into the ring today, four different professional border terrier handlers came to me and in a very polite way told me that Boogie is not properly groomed at all. We then came across a lady that was manning the Border Terrier booth. She also explained to us that Boogie was groomed unlike any border terrier she's ever seen. She said there is no way that he has a chance to win today or anytime in the near future after what has been done to him. And we thought we were unhappy with our groomer before!

The drama for the day wasn't over. Our handler was supposed to meet us a few minutes before 10:00am. He had told me last night that he may have a conflict and wouldn't be able to show Boogie. He told me that if he couldn't make it then he would have another professional handler come over a few minutes early and work with Boogie then show him.

Needless to say as time draws near I am getting more and more nervous. About five minutes before show time, my phone rings. It's our handler...he says he is in another ring and won't be able to make it and that he couldn't find another handler for us. He says I will have to show Boogie. Well, crap. This is going from bad to worse.

So I go check in and get my number and try to get myself looking as presentable as possible. While I was dressed nicely, I wasn't dressed for the show ring. But at this point I have no choice. The winner from the class before (in our ring) wanted a picture. This held things up for a few minutes. Just enough that, our handler came running over and got there about 30 seconds before Boogie had to go in the ring. Phew. What a relief. But as expected (due to the poor grooming), Boogie came in third in his group. So no points at all this weekend. We're not upset at all that we didn't get any points. We're just upset that we had no chance due to the horrendous grooming job - and will have no chance next week during our five day show!

Before moving on with our day let me add this. I know it is possible to keep a dogs coat looking nice over a period of time. There is a puppy that has been at every show Boogie has been at. His coat has looked perfect at each show...which is evidenced by the fact that he keeps winning (not necessarily points but he has won his class at least once at each show we've been at). Okay, I'll get off that subject now.

No time to worry any more about this as we have to go over to the Rally ring. Today I am showing both Boogie and Wazzu. There is only one dog between the two of them so I'll have to do a quick change!

Like usual, Boogie thinks his job is to be the grounds keeper. How does he find all these things! Carmel Corn, Gum Drops, rocks, cardboard, band-aids (yes another one!), dog hair (lots!), chewing gum, bait, and probably lots of things we didn't notice him finding! But I was really hoping that he would start paying attention when we got in the ring.

Just as we got to the gate, he suddenly lifted his head and started looking far off into the building - this was very unusual! He spent the entire time looking off into space, paying absolutely no attention to me. I did a few stations over but finally decided if he wasn't going to pay attention the first time, it was doubtful he'd pay attention the next time. So I just continued on the best I could. I would stop and tell him to sit and he would just stand and stare off into the building. I'd wave my hand in front of him, snap my fingers, talk to him....I might as well have been talking to brick wall. And wouldn't you know it - at the second to last obstacle he had to scratch again. That made it clear to me that he is feeling some kind of stress - even though I'm doing everything I can think of to make this seem fun for him. We finally got through the course but I was not optimistic about our score at all.

But no time to think about that now. I had to rush down and switch dogs and put on the correct armband. Just in time! Now it's Wazzu's turn. I did my best to get her excited. But today, my best just wasn't good enough. She was lagging behind me. She wasn't just walking a bit behind me, she was actually plodding. Nothing I did sped her up. I'm sure this judge has never seen so much yawning from a dog in her ring in her entire career. Fortunately there are no deductions for yawning!

Those were the longest two Rally runs I think I've ever done. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the board to find that Boogie had qualified...by the skin of his teeth. It takes a score of 70 or higher to qualify and Boogie got a 72! I will take it! That means Boogie has three qualifying scores and therefore has earned his very first title. So now he is: Sunkist Shake Rattle and Roll RN. I know! It looks like Boogie is a nurse! But really it means Rally Novice (RN). Good job little man.

After getting over my shock of Boogie's title, I looked down the board to find Wazzu's score. She too had qualified but with a score of 90! Way to go Wazzu Puppy! This too was a title for my sweet girl. Two titles in one day! Yippee!

Doesn't Wazzu look happy!

Unlike Boogie, Wazzu never has to do Rally again. She let it be known that she hates Rally and she finds it very stressful. I got the message loud and clear! I was only having her do this because I thought she might find it enjoyable to do something with me. I guess this isn't the something she had in mind. So her Rally career is over.

Boogie on the other hand only has a LOT more work to do. He will be continuing on in Rally. It will be quite some time before he competes again (other than next week when week when we've already signed up) as in the next level the dog must be off-leash the entire time. We're definitely NOT ready for that! But I really think it will be good for this little terrier brain to have to work toward that goal.

Again today we had a really nice surprise. Our Rally instructor came by to root us on. How nice was that! I feel so lucky to have gotten into a class with such a great instructor. I just wish we could have done a little better for her but she was really nice and told us she was very proud of both my dogs. So nice.

I've been getting a lot of questions from people reading my blog wanting to know what Rally really is. So I'm going to do my best to briefly explain it for you all.

Rally is similar to competition obedience....except way different. Ha ha. In Novice Rally (which is what we've been in) the dog is on leash the entire time. There is a course set up with little signs that you must follow in order. Each sign tells you to do a different exercise. As an example, one exercise may be to have the dog Sit and then Stay as you walk around your dog. Another example is that you may have to weave through a set of cones with the dog in "heel" position. There are 27 different signs (exercises). For a Novice course the judge may pick any 12-16 of the different exercises to use in making a course.

When you get to the start line the judge asks if you are ready. Once you indicate you are ready then the judge says Forward. From that point on the dog must heel at all times between each station. Each time you get to a station you must perform that exercise. Points are deducted for things that are done wrong. For some incorrect things you will lose one point, three points, 10 points, or you can be disqualified or even excused from the ring. You start with a score of 100 and then the deductions are subtracted from that.

Some things that get deductions are: tight leash (the leash must always hang down loose), crooked sit, dog out of position (wide healing, lagging behind), incorrect performance of exercise, jerking leash, talking harshly to the dog, touching dog, skipping a station, handler error, etc.

Here's a map of our course today.



Hope that helps a little. If anyone has more questions about it, please ask.

Well, here's to my two nurses! Boogie RN and Wazzu RN. Who knew we'd have medical professionals in our family!!

Debbie
2/24/08

Good, Bad, and Ugly

(Oceanside/Del Mar, CA) Boogie must have known this was a big day as even though we had to get up very early he woke us up even earlier. He never does this.

We left the big dogs at home and off we went to the show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. We got to the parking lot and they said we had to pay to park. We're used to parking free at all the agility events so we're still not used to this paying stuff. Mike asked the lady how much she wanted and she said: $9. Mike, in his usual sense of humor, says: That's more than I'm paying for my motel. (The lady didn't laugh.) So he hands the lady some money and starts to drive off. The lady starts screaming asking him if he wants his change. Here he is complaining about the price but forgets to get his change from a $20. Too funny.

Conformation was first and we had no trouble finding our handler. In Boogie's little puppy class there were four dogs. Boogie acted just perfectly but came in second place. This meant we were done for the day and had no chance for points. As our handler came out of the ring he told me that he had to run but I should stick around as Boogie may need to go back in if this or that happens. WHAT?!

Then before I had a chance to ask any questions, this lady comes up to our handler and really lays into him saying that there is no way we'll win with him groomed the way he is and that he should go fix this dog up. Joe (our handler) immediately says that he didn't groom him but that this other guy (standing right next to us) did all the grooming. So the lady turns and tells our groomer that this dog needs to be fixed up. He starts going into excuses saying he's only had a month to work on this dog. The lady tells him it will only take a couple minutes to get this dog looking at least a little bit better.

By then my handler said he had to go and before I could ask any questions, he was off. So not only do I not know any particulars about when Boogie may have to go in, I now find out that Boogie really isn't groomed correctly...as we suspected.

So I turned to our groomer and asked if he would fix Boogie up. He said as soon as he was done in the ring he'd do it. So we stuck around.

We had planned to stick around anyway as we wanted to stay and root for Boogie's cousin. I had no idea why or when Boogie may have to go back in and wasn't expecting it to happen. Pretty soon a bunch of dogs go back into the ring and after a few seconds I realize the steward is calling for number 17. At first it didn't mean a thing. But after she called it a few more times I realized that was Boogie's number. OH SHOOT! We're supposed to be in the ring. I'm not dressed nor prepared for that so I start frantically asking people standing around if they'll take Boogie in. Of course they all say "no."

So I start taking off my coat, treat bag, phone, etc and go to put my number on but I didn't have a rubber band. So I rush up and get a rubber band...all the while all the other dogs are in the ring getting judged. Just as I am about to rush in the ring, this guy with a suit on comes up and asks if I'd like him to take Boogie in the ring. YES! I shove my number in his left hand and shove Boogie's leash in his right hand. Off he goes. But by the time he gets in the ring the judge points to the winners. Darn, we were too late.

But from what I know (which isn't much), I think that was for Reserve Winner so we wouldn't have gotten any points anyway.

Now we have Boogie back and our groomer is out of the ring so we kind of hang around out of the way waiting for our groomer to be done. But he hangs around talking and talking and talking. Finally we decide to go over and hang out closer so that he'll remember we're there.

He sees us and makes eye contact so we ask if he can do Boogie now. Suddenly he says he doesn't have the tools so he can't do it today. He says to meet us just before time to show tomorrow morning and he'll do it then. Any of you want to place any bets?

Okay, no more time to worry about that now as we have to get ready for Rally. Boogie is full of the wiggles and can't pay attention to anything but cleaning the grounds of everything on the ground.

So while Mike went to exercise Boogie, I went back to the car to give my legs a break. Mike ended up walking Boogie down to the beach (not in the water of course!) where he got to run around and play with some other dogs. Hopefully this will have taken the edge off him!

We then meet at the Rally ring and Boogie, while not quite so wiggly, is still being the street sweeper. So I started doing a lot of Rally work with him, treating him really often just to keep his nose off the ground! I'm looking around and notice that all the other dogs are just standing around waiting and Boogie is sniffing everywhere! Even the Beagle was standing patiently just looking around. I'm starting to wonder if this is such a good idea.

But I had anticipated this little problem so I brought along Boogie's favorite little toy. I had him do just a couple exercises and then I'd pull out the toy. Let's hope this helps.

Finally it's time for me to walk the course. While walking the course I am not only trying to learn the route and the exercises but I'm looking on the ground for anything that might distract Boogie. Right in front of one station I see some kind of treat that has been smashed on the ground. So I take my foot and try to do my best to remove as much of the treat as possible...of course I'll never get the smell of the treat away! As I continue on, I find a bright pink price sticker stuck to the ground in front of the next station. Man, that was hard to get off - but I know Boogie would have tried to investigate that!

Shortly it was our turn to go in. I'm trying so hard to think of everything and do it just right. We walk in the ring and head toward the start line. Boogie is already sniffing everywhere. So I put my hand under his chest and line him up. WRONG!! The judge comes racing toward me and says you aren't allowed to pick your dog up. (I didn't consider this picking up.) But he explained that I couldn't do that. I thought he was going to excuse me from the ring. I pleaded ignorance...which was totally true. I had no idea I couldn't do that. I thought judging didn't start until the judge says Forward. Anyway, I asked him if I could please start over and fortunately he said yes. Phew.

So this time I get Boogie lined up with no touching! Off we go. Wow, he's actually paying attention. He got distracted a few times but didn't do any huge sniffing. When he did start to sniff I was able to get his attention back by making a weird noise. We're going along great when all of a sudden he stops in his tracks and sits down to itch! Oh no. I had no idea what to do. So I stopped and waiting for him to be done and continued on. Then as we approach the next station I see a big 3" x 3" square bandage on the ground that had obviously fallen off the person that went before me. I immediately knew this wouldn't be good.

I was right. Boogie stopped to pick up the bandage. I said Leave It but this was just too good. So I had to pull him a little (a no no - but I really had no choice). Fortunately as I pulled him he dropped the bandage. We continued on and finished the course very nicely.

I was super pleased with how well he did. I knew we weren't perfect but I was sure we'd scored in the 90's (out of 100). But when Mike saw me, he said I didn't execute one of the stations correctly! I have worked so hard on that exercise and was concentrating so hard during that exercise. I just couldn't believe that I had messed up.

So after everyone was done I went to talk with the judge. He got out the score sheet and went over it with me. Sure enough we had a 10 point deduction because I had executed the exercise incorrectly. Guess I'll have to practice counting to three some more! We also got deductions for chewing the bandage (an unfair distraction if you ask me!) and because my leash got tight when he stopped to itch and for a (very) crooked sit. So in the end it was -12 for Debbie and -4 for Boogie. Guess I'm the one that needs to practice more! If it wasn't for MY errors, Boogie would have had first place. I just can't tell you how proud I am of my little puppy.

By the way, I was nice and went to the steward right after our turn and had them remove the bandage from the course so that the other dogs wouldn't have that unfair distraction.

But the big thing was that we qualified! Yippee! Way to go Boogie! Good job! And to top it off, one of the gals from our class came with her dog to root us on. How nice was that! That was special for both of us - Boogie really loves her dog so I think that helped him relax a bit.

Now time to get home to the big dogs. It's been a long day already and Boogie should be one tuckered puppy as he has been awake and busy at the show for six straight hours.

Now we have to regroup and get ready to do this all over again tomorrow!

Debbie
2/23/08

More Grooming!

(Oceanside, CA) We again had to drive, drive, drive.

It was Boogie's last grooming appointment before his big shows. So we all hopped in the car and drove an hour and a half to the little grooming salon. Boogie was petrified and didn't want to go in at all. We carried him in and he was still trying to leave.

We had been told this would take just a few minutes so we were planning to just wait. But when we handed him over they said it would be a couple hours. You've got to be kidding me! I guess I should be used to it - this happens every time.

It was pouring and we had nothing to do. We couldn't go hiking like we did the other times as it was just raining too hard. Then we remembered that we'd seen an ad that all Marie Callender pies were $5.99. So we drove around looking for a Marie Callender's. What luck - we found one! And it was packed. There was a line of cars out the driveway waiting to get in the parking lot. I guess everyone wants a good deal on a pie.

We, of course, just did take-out so we could eat in the car with the dogs. Since it was lunchtime we bought lunch in addition to our pie. The dogs thought this was a really fun idea. Poor little Boogie...no lunch.

It still wasn't time to pick Boogie up so we found a level parking lot, parked, and just waited for them to call us to say he was done. When two hours had passed, they still hadn't called so we just went to the salon. He was done when we arrived - they just hadn't bothered to call us...like usual.

When we walked in we saw two border terriers in cages. One was a blue (I don't know why they call them that as they look black to me!) and one was a grizzle (that means tan). Boogie is grizzle.

Mike looked at me, pointing at the cage with the grizzle dog, and said "is that Boogie?" I said, "it looks like it could be." They then went to grab Boogie but they grabbed a dog out of a cage that we couldn't see. Well, I guess we still can't recognize our own dog!!

When Boogie heard our voice he started screaming. He wanted to see us so badly. I must say, I am so glad that we never have to go there again. We had our puppy back...but interestingly enough, I don't think he looks nearly as good as when our breeder grooms him. In fact, I think he looks worse than when we brought him in here originally. Even so, we've sure had to pay a pretty penny for all this grooming. I think after this experience Boogie may just become a hippy!

Now that we had our sweet Boogie back it was time for the hour and a half drive back to our RV. Fortunately we once again made the entire trip safely.

I am certainly no expert in grooming but to our eyes Boogie just doesn't look right. I'm really worried. We have seven show days out of the next 10 days and Boogie just isn't right. I'm very concerned that we have a huge disadvantage before we even step in the ring. I'm so hoping that I am wrong! Please let me be wrong.

We'll see.

Debbie
2/22/08

All Wrong!

(Oceanside, CA) Once again it was moving day. Today we moved to Guajome County Park in Oceanside.

We had to make our reservations for the San Diego area quite a bit in advance - well before we got to California. We didn't know exactly what we'd be doing while we were here so we had no idea where we needed to be. As it turns out we booked our parks exactly backward. The activities we ended up doing in the beginning were north and we stayed south. The activities we ended up doing at the end were south and we stayed north. So we spent our entire time here just driving back and forth. As it turned out we did this all wrong!

Due to that, we spent most of our time just driving. It has been very tiring. We're actually looking forward to leaving California as it has really been draining (to us and our gas tank).

This park is very nice in the fact that there are many trails to walk the dogs...but they are VERY muddy. And the mud is very clay-like so it sticks like crazy. I think I was about 4" taller by the time I got back due to the mud on my shoes.

There is a nice lake here - with literally hundreds of ducks. They must be used to being fed as they all rushed toward us even though we had four dogs with us.

It wasn't long before before the rains came again. So we had to get Boogie back inside quickly. We all hunkered down and stayed inside the rest of the day and evening.

Too funny...you'd think people from Seattle wouldn't be phased by rain!

Debbie
2/21/08

Big Scare

(San Clemente, CA) Another boring rainy day. This rain is tough on us as Boogie isn't supposed to get wet - so pottying is really hard. So I spent all morning calling about 20 stores (up to 75 miles away) trying to find a certain coat that we really like that we have them for all the other dogs. But, get this, spring fashions are arriving so they don't have the coats right now.

By early afternoon we decided we really needed to buy him some kind of coat until we can find the one we really want. So we decided to run down to PetSmart and just buy something cheap. On the way to the car we gave Boogie a chance to potty. We got in the car and he raced into his crate like usual.

We hadn't been on the road more than a minute when I glanced in his crate only to see him lying there holding his leg up and looking very very sad. For such a tough little boy he sure was pitiful looking. Oh no! What could have happened?! He was fine just a minute ago. But he was definitely not fine now. I took him out of his crate but he wouldn't put any weight on his leg - in fact he wouldn't touch it to the ground at all.

I couldn't imagine what had happened as he was fine and then suddenly he was not. Oh no, he has two really big shows coming up and now he is lame. We were at PetSmart by now so we decided to take him in as there is a lot of rain in the forecast so he really needs a coat.

I think we must have tried on 30 coats - which is very hard with a super wiggly puppy. None of them fit and most of them weren't even water resistant. They were these frilly little foofy coats. This trip had not worked out at all!

We still had no coat but we had a lame puppy. When we got back to the RV over an hour later he was still holding his foot up. We had him lie down to take a nap right away. When he woke up a couple hours later he was fine. Our best guess is that when he went out for his potty walk he stepped on some sort of stinging plant. What a scare that was. I am so glad that he's my happy little puppy again.

Debbie
2/20/08

It's a NATCH!!

(Ramona/San Clemente, CA) This is our last day here in Ramona - one of our very favorite agility spots. The arena here is really nice and spacious.



And there is a lot of great crating space where you can see all the action...especially from our front row "seat." Good boy, Slugger!



The dogs were extremely happy again this morning. We'd really like to trial here all year round as all three dogs did great here. And they kept up the streak here again today.

Sparkie's first Regular run this morning was picture perfect. In fact, she couldn't have had a nicer run for her NATCH-11. NADAC presented Mike with a nice NATCH pin and Sparkie got her normal stick of cheese so they were both very happy.

But what Sparkie was really looking forward to was her run in the hills. Mike lets her off leash just a little ways outside the arena and off she goes completely out of sight.



She comes back all out of breath but with a huge smile on her face. But she is so anxious for her next turn that she lies in the ex-pen and whines. It was only a matter of minutes until her next run. Once again she ran a perfect Regular run and as with all her Regular runs this weekend, she came in 1st place.

But Sparkie wasn't the only one in the family that showed her stuff. Wazzu was perfect in both her Regular runs and Slugger was perfect in his Regular run as well.

During a short break when none of our dogs were running we took Boogie out to the outdoor arena.



It was a great place for dogs to play off leash. There was a lot of frisbee playing and ball throwing done here everyday by many dogs. Another great benefit of this place. We used it to wear Boogie out. Mike would stand at the far end and I'd stand on the near end. Then we'd call Boogie back and forth. He would run just as fast as his little legs would take him. We had him go back and forth about 30 times. He never lost an ounce of enthusiasm.

The big dogs didn't run out of enthusiasm as the day went on either. They continued on their winning ways. All three Q'd in both Jumpers and Touch N Go. Today was Slugger's first time in Open Touch N Go and he was 15 seconds under course time. Way to go Bumpkin!

The only flaw in our perfect day was Chances. It looked like an easy course. But looks can be deceiving I guess as the overall Q rate for the entire class was very low. I still don't understand why. Wazzu did her usual. She was to switch away from a tunnel to a distant jump. She started to the tunnel. I told her to stop and told her out jump. She started to come back to the original jump. NO! She again tried to go to the tunnel. NO! She looked all around and then said, oh forget it and just ran out and did the tunnel. Oh well - she does this all the time. Silly girl.

Sparkie is really good at switches. But for some reason she turned the wrong way and while Mike was trying to get her turned around she back jumped. So many dogs did that. I don't know why. Weird.

Other than Chances, we had a perfect day! The dogs were so happy until they saw us packing up to go. They were visibly sad. They really loved it here - we all did.

A couple last pictures to show you the area. The dirt you see here is where the house used to be before the fire. The arena you see is where we did the agility.



Here you can see where our RV is parked - if you look carefully. To the left of the dirt arena you see here is the arena where we did agility.



The main road back was still closed so we had to take the alternate route. But we made it with no problem.

Another great weekend....but we sure have sad (but tired) doggies. But we all know: A tired dog is a good dog! So we have four GOOD dogs.

Debbie
2/17/08

Too Fast

(Ramona, CA) Gosh it was cold this morning. There was even still some snow around. But fortunately as the sun came up it felt really nice outside in the sun. The arena was chilly but that’s how Wazzu likes it, so I guess all was good. In fact, maybe a little too good.

Wazzu was a nut! We got to the start line and I’d given her leash to the leash runner when they then said there would be a delay. Oh no – this usually shuts Wazzu down if she has to wait. But She was started doing crazy dog at the line – I was afraid she’d accidentally go over the line before it was time.

I knew I was in big trouble as this Tunnelers course was proving to be a nightmare for the fast dogs. The only way it was possible was if the handler was fast enough to get to a certain spot…and so far I hadn’t seen anyone make it. I considered asking Mike to run Wazzu as he might be able to make it but then I decided that I’m not really doing this for the Q anymore at all – I’m just out to have fun with my dog. And boy did my dog ever have fun!

Wazzu took off like a rocket – she was so far ahead of me I felt like I was trying to run in quicksand. By tunnel number three it was all over. Wazzu was out there running around so fast it was like she was a blur. She decided she didn’t need me at all as she could make up a perfectly good course on her own. And she did. It was a really nice and tricky course – just not the one the judge had made up. We didn’t Q but we were a definite crowd pleaser…and Wazzu was very pleased with herself as well.

Mike and Sparkie were a crowd pleaser as well – but it’s because they were the ONLY fast team to do the course correctly. They had no bobbles at all – they ran a perfect and efficient line and they were FAST! Good thing Mike can run fast as he was the only one able to make it to the correct spot to save the dog from going off course. This was one of the hardest (but very fun) Tunnelers courses we’ve ever seen.

Wazzu continued her crazy ways the rest of the morning. Her first Regular run she just missed the dogwalk contact as she was going SO fast. Her second run she was doing fabulous. She was flying through the course. We just had three obstacles left to go when I decided to do some major distance. I guess I hadn’t been watching as this part of the course provided much difficulty to everyone including the Elite dogs. And since I had left my poor dog way out there all by herself we encountered the same difficulty. But she had a great time anyway.

Sparkie loves this place as right after every run, Mike takes her out and lets her loose to go chase the bunnies over hill and dale. The minute she is doing eating her celebratory cheese stick she pulls Mike out to the field. I guess she’s so excited to get out there that she does her agility runs even faster than normal – I didn’t know that was possible. But she was a blurry streak running these courses and never had one step or lean even in the wrong direction. She was truly perfect. Until it came to Chances.

Neither of the girls got their Chances run. We’d done this course before so I remembered exactly what our mistake was the first time and I was going to make sure we didn't have the same problem. The dogs went over two jumps and you then had to call them toward you (away from the dogwalk) to another jump. Easy! Wazzu always prefers to be near me so this should be easy. But the first time we did this, Wazzu did the dogwalk. I couldn't believe it. So this time I was going to make sure to call her early and loud and use lots of body language. I did all that and she STILL took the dogwalk. What is up with that?!

Mike and Sparkie went next. Seeing Wazzu (and some other dogs) take the dogwalk, Mike made sure to call her nice and early...but as it turned out he called a little too early and called her off the jump and she crossed the line. Darn!! He sent her back out and she did the entire thing perfectly - but of course it doesn't count once she crossed the line.

Then it was Slugger's turn. He was so pumped. It was really fun to see him so excited. He ran like he was late for dinner. In fact, he was going so fast that he got to the second to last obstacle which was the A-frame and hit the board in the contact zone and never touched it again until he hit the bottom of the down contact! We don't know if it scared Slugger but it scared everyone else in the building. All Slugger had to do now was go over the last jump and he'd have a Chances Q. But Mike was so worried about Slugger that he just instinctively went to check on him so they didn't do the last jump. But it was a great run!!

Slugger's Regular run was exciting as well. He was running as fast as he possibly could yet just nailing the course. Second to last obstacle was the dogwalk. The up ramp on the dog walk is extremely bouncy. He'd been on it a couple times before and it didn't scare him one bit which we were very surprised about. Same thing this run...he ran up the dogwalk as fast as his little legs could take him. Well actually as it turned out, he ran faster than his legs could take him and his feet got all tangled up and he took a very bad fall off the middle of the dogwalk. Mike picked him up and petted him a bit. They continued on - just as fast as they'd started. And while he did the course correctly, of course it wasn't a Q.

But in Jumpers he was flawless. Mike had me run him in Hoopers. We Q'd but it was quite comical. Slugger was not fast like he'd been all day - he was back to his strolling around and sniffing cones, etc. But somehow I managed to get him going enough to make time. Good thing I'm so skillful or we'd never have gotten this Q. Tee Hee.

Boogie, since he wasn't allowed to do agility, was really into his earthdog mode. He was going to find himself a critter.



He was so "into" it that Wazzu had to take a peak at what might be down there.



But Boogie went right back to digging. And boy did he dig. Wazzu wanted to have another look and I think she may have been surprised by how deep Boogie had dug.



Actually at one point I was a little worried that Boogie might actually disappear.



Or that he may find something he shouldn't.



But he was having a great time and I figured as long as I could reach his tail we'd be okay.



So as you can tell, everyone had a good time again today.

Debbie
2/16/08

Frosty Toes

(Ramona, CA) This weekend we were making the trip to Ramona in the RV. Normally it would be a breeze. But the weather here the last couple days has been anything but normal. It SNOWED here! Yup, in sunny southern California! So the road that we need to take to the trial is closed. We spent all last night and early this morning checking the road conditions – but the road is still closed. So we had to find a different route – it added quite a few miles but at least we have the chance of making it.

We did fine until we arrived at the ranch. The driveway and parking area are on a hill and it’s all dirt. Well normally it’s all dirt. Today it was deep thick mud with water running down the hill. We were very concerned about getting stuck. But if we didn’t move no one else would be able to get in as we blocked the entire road (it’s a VERY narrow road). So we decided to give it a try. It was very scary but due to some great maneuvering and handling by Mike we just made it. Later we would hear from others that they were holding their breath watching us try to make it in. We sunk about half way in our huge tires.



Everyone was very excited to be back at the ranch even though it looked much different than last time. Remember the dirt river I told you we walked in – well today it was an actual water river. In fact, it was going over the road that led to the arena. The only other way to the arena was over this small bridge…which also had water over it but not nearly as much as was flowing over the road. It made for interesting trips into the arena to get everything set up.



When we finally got through the river we had to walk through the ice to get into the areana.



But the dogs thought it was fun! They hadn’t seen patches of snow in a long time and we never make them walk through rivers so they thought this was a lot of fun. We’ve found that how much fun they have at an area determines how excited they are for agility. So they were really ready today.



Wazzu ran her fastest YPS (yards per second) ever in Weavers. I couldn’t believe this was my dog! She had her head down and she was single stepping it through the weaves – FAST! Wow, this was truly a blast – and she was doing it all from a fairly good distance. I hope I never forget this run.

Sparkie ran Weavers perfectly and fast of course! Sparkie is amazing as she can enter the weaves from any distance and any angle. It really is her best obstacle. I sure hope Boogie can be as solid on weaves as Sparkie.

Both girls ran especially fast and Q’d in Hoopers coming in 1st (Sparkie) and 2nd (Wazzu). Neither of the boys got to do agility today but they had fun walking in the vast land on this really nice property.

Oh, and today is Mike’s birthday! I was really nice and announced it during the agility briefing today (Mike just loved that – NOT!). I did say that regarding Mike’s age I wouldn’t reveal it but that he isn’t as old as his dog! Everyone liked that.

Poor Mike didn’t really get any kind of celebration as I can’t get out on my own to get him a card or a present. Poor guy even had to cook his own birthday dinner…which was actually just leftovers. But Sparkie got him two Q’s today which made him very happy.

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Debbie
2/15/08

Sunny? Southern California

(San Clemente, CA) Miserable. Wednesday it rained all day. And it was cold! The big dogs could take short potty walks but it was hard to get Boogie out to potty as he's not supposed to get wet! What do people with these foofy show dogs do? Teach them to use the toilet? Poor Boogie. It was a loooong day.

We thought Wednesday was bad. Thursday was even worse - it was super cold and wet. Another boring day for all. And worst of all, it snowed so hard that the road between our campground and the agility trial tomorrow is closed.

The three weeks we've been here so far just have not been the sunny Southern California days that we thought we'd experience. But I guess this winter hasn't been very good anywhere. But it was big news here as San Diego just doesn't get snow.

We spent most of the evening watching the road reports and trying to figure out an alternate route to get to the agility trial tomorrow morning.

In addition, we don't get cell phone reception at this park.

Like I said recently....it's always something.

Oh, I guess today is Valentine's Day in the real world. Hope you all had a good one.

Debbie
2/13-14/08

The Art of Grooming

(San Clemente, CA) Oh gosh, drive, drive, drive. Seems like that’s all we do! This morning we drove close to two hours to take Boogie back to the groomers. We were told this appointment wouldn't take long so we had planned on just waiting. But when we got there they said it would be a couple hours. Obviously Boogie did not it enjoy it here last time as we couldn't get him close to the door. The poor little guy pulled with all his might to keep from going into that shop.

We left him and went to IHOP (International House of Pancakes). Mike just happened to see a commercial yesterday saying that today was International Pancake day. And to celebrate, IHOP was offering a free short stack of pancakes to everyone that came in. I love pancakes so there was no way we could pass on this offer. And as luck would have it, there was an IHOP just two blocks from where we left Boogie for grooming.

I was really surprised to find that the IHOP wasn't very busy. And I was also surprised to find that most of people that were there were ordering all kinds of things...but not the FREE pancakes even though they had signs about it on each and every table. The pancakes were great!! Of course I couldn't eat all mine so I put the extra in a napkin and then shared it with the dogs when we got back in the car. While they all enjoyed it, Wazzu was especially happy.

After that we went to the same park we went to last time we left Boogie for grooming. From the pictures I took, it looks like we're way out in the country.



But in actuality there is a very large busy road with businesses just 40 yards away. This is just one of the many reasons that the dogs must remain on leash. Even so, the dogs had a nice time getting out for a walk.



It didn't bother us that they had to be on leash as we were going to go to the off-leash beach after picking Boogie up. But when we picked Boogie up they told us to be sure not to bathe him. We said of course we know not to bathe him. I then mentioned that we were on our way to play at the beach. All three workers that were there just about hit the ceiling. NO!!!!! He's not allowed to get wet. Gosh, Boogie thnks that having to be a pretty boy isn't all that fun. Tee hee. So we just went back to the RV (such a long drive!) and took a couple walks around the park so that Boogie wouldn't get wet.

Only one problem....one of the big dogs peed on Boogie. Yikes! He's not supposed to get wet. So we wiped it off quickly with a dry towel but he stinks! I wonder which is worse in the ring: curly hair from getting wet or smelling like pee!

It's always something!

Debbie
2/12/08

Coyote Land

(San Clemente, CA) Up early again as we had quite the drive to Boogie’s little rally class. I wanted to enter him in a class for a couple reasons. I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to practice on actual courses – and it is. The main benefit I thought would be that he can learn to work with the distraction of other dogs and people around. As it turns out, he pays absolutely no attention to the dogs or people. Now the gophers that pop up right in front of the signs are a whole other story! He pays attention to those big time! I can not get his nose off the ground at all unless I have a treat in my hand. Problem is, treats aren’t allowed in competition so I’m trying to practice without treats. We’ve got big trouble!

As soon as class was over we had to rush right back to the RV as we had to get out of the campground by check-out time. What an interesting campground this has been. Great trails to walk the dogs…but we’re just not used to camping with people that live out of their cars or live in tents. I swear that each one of them had more stuff than we carry in our RV. I can’t imagine where they put it all when they have to move. We learned that most of the people live there for 21 days (the limit every 28 days) then go live on the streets for 7 days until they are allowed to come back. Nice people most of them…but what a tough lifestyle.

When we checked into our new campground, San Mateo State Park, they warned us that there were a lot of coyotes around and that they had been spotted in daylight hours roaming the campground. We’re always on guard but here we’ll have to take extra precautions.

This is much more like most parks we stay in – larger, newer model RV’s – no vans or tents. There is a really nice little grassy area behind the RV where we could set up a few little pieces of agility equipment. But I kept Boogie on a long line as I didn’t want to take any chances of him running off after one of the many bunnies or squirrels only to then get eaten by a coyote. I was still a little worried so I waited for Mike to come home so that he could stand guard while we practiced.

Boogie doesn’t know all that much agility yet but he sure likes running around barking just like Sparkie so I’m hoping I have a little star here in the making.

Debbie
2/11/08

Born to Run Free

(Bonita/Ramona, CA) Up at the crack of dawn again..well, Mike and I were anyway!

The first run of the day was Chances. It was a course we’d seen before but it was set much more spread out and the distance line was more than twice as far as last time. And it had Wazzu’s hardest challenge. Two jumps side by side (at about 15-20’ away) and she is to take the outer jump. Not a chance – she’ll always take the jump closest to me….which she did. But she did the whole course super fast. Other than that one jump, she was perfect.

Sparkie did the whole course perfectly too...except that she turned a little too sharp and just knocked a bar. What a shame as she really did it very nicely. Oh well, she had a great time.

The rest of the day was perfect for all three dogs! After that first run, Sparkie and Wazzu both went 4/4 and little Slugger went 3/3. Wow! Best of all, all three of them were fast. We just can’t believe the change in Slugger. He is looking like a competitive agility dog.

Sparkie especially loves it here. Right after every run Mike takes her out to the hills to chase rabbits. She comes back in with a huge smile and is panting to beat the band. Wazzu enjoys her outings as well but we take it more leisurely. We just meander up the dirt river.



Boogie didn’t get any great play time like yesterday but he did enjoy checking out the hundreds of mole/gopher holes. He found one that was particularly interesting. He was digging to beat the band...as you can see here by the flying dirt.



After a while I thought maybe he was going to go down and live with the gophers! As you can see there are many gopher hills around to choose from.



Boogie and I walked all the way up the dirt river where Boogie decided he'd like to be a rock climber. The reason for this picture is to show you the devistation over a very large area of hills.



We stayed around after the trial to help put everything away as everyone always scatters and Marj & Bruce (trial organizers) both had the flu. So it was really late by the time we got home. But I’d say our little family had a great weekend. The weather was perfect, the arena was great, the site was perfect, and all three dogs ended up with lots of Q’s. The perfect agility weekend!

Debbie
2/10/08

Herding...

(Bonita/Ramona, CA) We’re not used to getting up so early (5:45am) which was clearly evidenced when Mike and I got up and all the dogs stayed in bed. Go figure that! Slugger’s the worst. Even on a normal day he won’t get out from under the covers until he hears his breakfast being made. What a lazy dog.

Finally we managed to get everyone up and moving long enough to get them into the car for another long drive back to the agility trial location. They all seemed happy when they realized where we were.

Wazzu picked up right where she left off yesterday. Ever since we’ve stopped having her do 12 weave poles she has really started enjoying agility again. She doesn’t have to worry anymore I guess. I don’t know….I just know that she loves agility again.

And she also loves her walks in between runs here. We've been walking up the dirt river. Here you can see the couple remaining trees - although they are dead and black. You can see that see that a few weeds are growing back.



One of the problems these big wildfires create is that they take away all the vegetation. So when it rains there is nothing to hold up the dirt and big dirt rivers are created.



Just like yesterday, she was perfect! She Q’d and got 1st place in all her runs. And she was so happy! She was way out in front of me working distance like you wouldn’t believe. In fact, she got an Elite Chances Q! It was not an easy one by any means. The discrimination was two tunnels and they had to take the outside one…and she did it! Then she had to weave at a distance….and she did that too! What a girl.

That reminds me. This is a huge arena. And when they set the courses they use the entire ring area which means everything is very spread out. So where sometimes you might see 12-15’ between obstacles, here we were seeing a good 20-25’ between obstacles. It was actually fun as the dogs really got to go full out and use their speed….or lose their concentration as happened with some of the dogs.

Slugger was really into agility today too. We are beginning to see a pattern. If we set up with everyone else so that he is in the midst of the action, he runs very well. But if we work out of the car or the RV he just sleeps all day and can’t seem to wake up or have energy to run. This weekend we were set up right next to the ring – which was really nice as I could see all the action.

Slugger was running very fast today doing his best little head bopping possible. In both his Regular run and his Jumpers run he was throwing up dust. I couldn’t believe this was my little boy. He is really becoming a real live agility dog. And get this, he was the only Novice dog to get the Chances! But darn – he was .12 over time. Many of the Novice dogs were getting distracted in one corner of the arena. Slugger got distracted – but once Mike got his attention back he did the course fast and perfectly. Way to go.

Sparkie had a bit of a rough day. This arena, while very nice, is extremely noisy. About a year ago we noticed that Sparkie has trouble hearing in noisy places. So when Mike would need to give Sparkie a strong “here,” Sparkie wouldn’t hear it and would go off course. She hates making a mistake so she started getting scared. So she only ended up with two Q’s today – but she really was running nicely and trying really hard. She just couldn’t hear the commands. Poor Sparkie.

Boogie, while he didn’t get to do agility, was a good boy. He never once jumped out of the ex-pen once! He’d get excited when he’d see us walking toward the ex-pen…he’d bark and bark and then when we got there he’d jump out of the pen and into our arms. As long as he knows to stay in there until we say it’s okay then I guess we’re good.

During one of our breaks I took Boogie out into one of the fields. Just as we got there, four border collies showed up. The ladies said they were all good with puppies so we let them all off leash. Those dogs all played so nicely. They all tried to herd Boogie. He ran and ran and darted this way and that all the while with four border collies right on his heels. They all had a great time. Boogie sure needed the exercise as he was pretty bored in the ex-pen.

The trial was full so we didn’t finish until after 5:00pm. It was really late by the time we drove all the way back to the RV. Seemed like there was barely enough time to feed everyone and go to bed so we could get up early again tomorrow and start all over.

Debbie
2/9/08

California Wildfires

(Bonita/Ramona, CA) The drive from our campground to the agility trial held in Ramona is a little over an hour. But it was an interesting drive. As it turns out, the trial is held in the hills where the big California wildfires were just a few months ago. In fact, the fire went right through this person’s property.

I don’t know how many acres of property they actually own here but I know it’s in the hundreds. They have hundreds of horses and a lot of buffalo. All the barns were burnt to the ground as was their house. Fortunately they managed to save all the horses. The buffalo all scattered to surrounding areas. Amazingly they were able to round them up. I didn’t see any buffalo but with as much property as they have, that’s not surprising.

The only thing that didn’t burn was their very large aluminum arena. This meant we could still hold agility trials there. While we are very happy for this, it is so sad to see the devastation first-hand that these massive fires did when they ran through here. Notice how the hill behind the area is baren - just black rocks and no vegetation.



Today the trial started at 1:00pm with two runs, Hoopers and Weavers. Only the girls were entered in today’s events. While it was really nice and warm outside, it stayed nice and cool inside which is just perfect for the dogs.

We started with Hoopers and Wazzu truly was running as fast as I’ve ever seen her go. She was so eager to do agility! It really is fun to see such a big smile on her face. There were quite a few dogs there for today’s runs. And you want to know how fast Wazzu was? She got first place! Second place went to a very speedy Sparkie! That gives you some idea of how fast my girl was moving! Way to go Wazzu.

Weavers was next and I wasn’t sure if I should run Wazzu or not. But she seemed so happy that I thought I’d give it a try. Man alive! Who was that dog I was running?! She flew around that course. In fact, she entered the first set of poles so hard that she just about knocked herself out of the poles. But somehow she managed to stay in. She did every set with the perfect style and speed. Wow, that was FUN! Needless to say, she got first place in her class.

Sparkie was a weaving machine…like always. Weaves have become Sparkie’s most reliable obstacle. She can enter from anywhere and go way ahead of Mike. Due to the fact that she uses the two foot hopping style (that’s all she can do with her body type), she can’t quite keep up with the very fastest of border collies but she was right on their heels, coming in 3rd by less than a few tenths of a second.

Boogie still isn’t old enough (nor skillful enough) to do agility yet. But he wanted to let us know that he can jump with the best of them. He proved this by jumping out of the 36” tall ex-pen. No running start – just a straight up and over jump. Great, what a helpful skill….NOT! I guess we have some new training to do.

Debbie
2/8/08

A Trip to the Zoo

(San Diego, CA) Mike took the dogs out for a nice hike this morning to try and wear them out so that we could leave them alone for the afternoon. As soon as they got back, Mike and I rushed out to the San Diego Zoo.



I’d been to the San Diego Zoo twice before in my life. Once was when I was 11 and then again in my mid-20’s. From my recollections, the zoo has changed a lot. And, as was evidenced by our trip there this time, it will be changing a lot more during the next year or two. It seemed like over half the zoo was under construction. We didn’t get to see many exhibits as they were closed for renovation. I was really disappointed that one of the main exhibits closed was the giraffe area.

And since when did the zoo become so hilly! I totally don’t remember any hills…but I have a hard time believing they just added all these hills, so they could have been here before! One thing we found a little bothersome was that there was no logical route around the park. All the trails went every which way and intertwined here and there. There was no way to walk a route and see everything. You either missed quite a few exhibits or you had to backtrack and walk by numerous exhibits a second time to get to others.

The main thing I remember from my second visit here was a penguin exhibit. It was quite elaborate and was definitely the highlight of the zoo. But it no longer exists. I wonder what they did with all the penguins. Maybe it has something to do with that Walk of the Penguins everyone was talking about a couple years ago. Tee hee.

I was surprised to see that there really wasn’t a real wide variety of animals. There were a lot of birds and a lot of various types of monkeys but not many of the large animals you would expect to see at a zoo.

But we did see a lot of things that were interesting and/or pretty. Keep in mind as you look at the pictures that almost every one of them was taken through glass or wire mesh. It was very difficult to get good pictures. I found it interesting that I had the smallest lens of anyone there – of those that had cameras with interchangeable lenses. But the lens wasn’t my problem as lenses don’t make the animals turn around. My mom teased me some time ago about the “butt” shots I would post of the dogs. I don’t know what it is but every time I want to take a picture of any kind of animal, they immediately turn their rear end to me. Mike and I laughed all the way around the zoo because as soon as I would lift up my camera to take a picture the animals would turn around and give me their “best side.” If you’re really interested, I have loads of butt shots! Here's the one and only animal in the entire zoo that didn't turn around when I arrived.



Okay, now for the bad news. I didn't spend too much time reading the signs. I just enjoyed looking at the animals and taking pictures. I figured Mike would know the names of all the animals. Oops, I was wrong. So while I'll include a lot of pictures - I can't tell you what most of them are. Sorry about that.

We started out in one of the bird cages. The first thing I see is this huge Victoria Crowned Pigeon common to N. New Guinea above me in a tree. Of course since he was blue I thought he was very pretty.



A while later I saw him fly down from the tree onto the walkway. So I go over to take a picture and sure enough he turns around and walks away from me.



Now I'm thinking he is just following zoo procedure of turning his back to me. But then I notice he is chasing after a female Malay Great Argus Pheasant.



I really liked this bird cage as I could just wander around and see a lot of birds. This place was huge and was four stories high so the birds had a lot of room - but if you looked around you were certain to see some birds somewhere.

Sitting quietly in a tree I spotted this Pied Imperial Pigeon which is common in the Philippines.



I have no idea what kind of bird this is but in my eyes it was the prettiest. Even his legs are a pretty color!



If you ever go happen to go to S. Molucca (wherever that is) you might see one of these Grand Eclectus Parrots as they are common there.



I'm not sure what this little bird is but he seemed cold...I never saw him move.



This bird looks very common...but again I don't know what it is. But he's blue so you get to see him!



This is some sort of woodpecker. He's probably some exotic kind from far away but he looks a lot like the ones I saw in Florida last year.



These birds were all over and they weren't shy at all. I was probably only two feet away from them but they weren't concerned. Actually none of the birds we saw seemed to care that we were there.



I really thought their red eyes were cool. Maybe a lot of birds have cool eyes now that I think of it...I'm just never close enough to see their eyes.



Mike's not positive but he thinks these birds may be Lorikeets. Whatever they are they sure are colorful! Maybe it's because they eat such colorful food.



It was nice of this guy to stop eating for a second to pose for me.



But it didn't last long and he went right back to his meal.



This was another very interesting looking bird. I wish they would have had signs around telling us what the birds were. But I guess it's difficult when you have hundreds of birds flying around in such a huge area. They'd have to wear signs around their necks I guess.



This has got to be one of most unique heads I've ever seen on a bird. I'm sure there is some useful purpose for all this but I haven't the faintest idea what that would be.



This I believe is some sort of Hornbill. To me it just looks like he has a wooden banana on his head. He must have good neck muscles to hold up such a heavy head.



This is an Andean Condor who was nice enough to take off from the rock just as we were getting ready to take his picture. What a wing spread.



Next we came to an area where that had little ponds and creeks. Here we saw this very interesting looking Snake Bird with his wings spread so nicely for us.



This is a fuzzy white bird. That's not his real name I'm sure it's the best I could come up with.



If you read my blog last year you will recognize this Great Blue Heron as we saw many of them in our travels.



These are so interesting looking. It's called a Spoonbill. They use their bill kind of like a filter as they scoop stuff out of the water, sand and mud.



I don't know what this other than it's some kind of shore bird. That is one long beak.



This stork looks nothing like I saw in the pictures when it brings the baby to the doorstep. Must be a different variety.



Wow, take a look at the size of the stork's feet. Good thing they don't wear shoes or they'd need some almost as big as Mike's.



Of course no zoo or animal park seems to be complete unless they have Flamingos. Here you can see both the orange and pink varieties.



What coordination to be able to stand on one very tall skinny leg and then reach all the way down to the water to eat.



If you look closely in this picture, you can actually see that they eat with their beaks upside down.



They can spend quite a bit of time with their heads underwater as well.



But I find the most fun thing to watch is when they are bathing.



They really move some water around!





I didn't really understand the purpose of this next move. Here you can see the flamingo floating with her neck all the way back across her body.



Then she'd stick her head under water upside down. I guess this was just to prove how flexible they are.



There sure are a lot of different kinds of ducks. Each one has very distinctive and beautiful markings.



For instance, at first glance this duck looks like the one above until you look closely and then you'll notice many differences.



This is the same kind of duck but I liked how the sun was right on his head.





Just another interesting looking duck.



Finally one I know! This is a Merganser.



I was so discouraged that there were so many birds I couldn't name. So when I came across this one I had to take a picture as I finally knew a name! This is a Bird of Paradise. And he even posed nicely instead of moving all around!



The next area we went to had one Asian Otter. He tried to entertain himself as best he could but I'll bet he would have loved to have company. I wonder why they put some of these animals all by themselves. It just doesn't seem right to me.





I learned long ago about zebras so as we moved along I was happy to see something I recognized.



But the darn things just wouldn't turn around and face me so I could get a nice picture.



I tried and tried but it just wasn't happening.



Then I saw this sign and it all made sense. You actually tell zebras apart by the markings on their read ends. So now you should be able to tell who is who!



In the next cage I thought I was seeing more zebras but from what little I could see it seemed like the body wasn't striped. How weird. I waited and waited and waited for this guy to turn around...or even move at all. But no luck. It kind of looks like he is wearing zebra socks. So here is what I saw.



Since I couldn't show you the whole animal I decided to take a picture of the sign for you. Interesting guy for sure.



We were at the zoo in the afternoon and a large majority of the animals were taking their afternoon naps. They had a fairly large exhibit for the Wallaby. But most of them were curled up sleeping. This one little guy did come out for a minute to check us out before he went back to his nap.



Another sleepy fellow was this Guanaco. But he did get up for a minute for a little snack of weeds.



This Singing Wild Dog didn't sing at all while we were there. But he did open his eyes just a bit from his nap so that we could see he was indeed real. He reminded us of a Shiba Inu.



This Warthog had no intentions of budging. So you'll just have to use your imagination on what he really looks like.



This Tapir really made us laugh. He had this huge dirt area with a few trees. But there was nothing there. After looking around for a little while we decided this must be another exhibit that was under construction. Just as we were getting ready to leave I noticed a fresh large marrow type bone. I figured they wouldn't put a bone in an empty cage. So we continued to look - nothing. Finally I got to where I could kind of lean over and look in a big cement ditch that I was sure was meant to keep him in. And there he was sound asleep sun bathing. This reminded us of Slugger so much as he loves to lie down on hot cement and sun bathe.



I don't know why the Tapir in the above picture had to be all by himself in his little pen area when these guys all got to be together. Maybe they are of a different variety.



This Buffalo looked genuinely tired. You may think it doesn't look like a buffalo as it doesn't look much like the North American Buffalo - if I remember correctly this type of buffalo is from someplace in Asia or Africa.



At least his "partner" managed to at least lift his head for us.



These two female lions must have done a lot of chores today as they look really sleepy....oh yeah, cats are always sleepy.



We saw many animals that I just can't remember what they are. Guess I should have taken notes - but I was never very good at that in school so no need to start now! So even though I don't know what these are, I thought I'd share the pictures anyway.









Then we came across the monkeys. At one point I was beginning to think they should name this zoo the Monkey Zoo. It seems like they had 101 different varieties of monkeys. Needless to say, I can't begin to tell you what kind you'll see in each picture.

But these little guys sure did have an interesting hairdo.





These monkeys are all black like the ones you just saw but they don't have the funky hairdo. I called these guys the swinging monkey's as they constantly swinging here and there.





But in actuality they are Siamang monkeys.



I'm not sure what this little guy is trying to say but he seems concerned about something.



This guy looked like a skunk monkey to me. Such long hair!



This guy must have the longest tail of any monkey around. I couldn't even get it all in the picture.



How about the tail on this Lemur?!



Talk about hairdos! I wonder if the zookeepers have to brush him daily?



This monkey had a golden color hair. I wasn't sure I liked him as he seemed to stare me down the entire time I was there. Maybe he just doesn't like his picture taken.



Another variety of monkey!



This poor little baby monkey looks a little scared. What a good mommy to snuggle with her baby to keep it feeling safe.



This is the rare Hanging Monkey Statue that is at the exit of the monkey area.



After seeing what seemed like hundreds of different monkeys we finally got to see something a little different - Orangutans.



There were quite a few there and none of them were moving much. They had a really nice play area but they seemed to be doing more lounging than playing.



This guy looked like he thought he was posing for his current model portfolio.



This guy was right up against the window (thus the reflection of a tree just to the right of his face). But with him being so close you could really see how big these guys actually are. Much bigger than I thought!



After a short walk we came to the entrance for the gorillas. They had quite a few little statues there but I could only get a picture of one as kids (and adults) were climbing on them.



The gorillas were very interesting and we watched them for quite some time. The youngster really seemed to like to entertain all us spectators.



He would do something and then immediately look over to see if we were all laughing. The bigger the laugh the longer he would watch us. As soon as the laughter stopped he would do something else. He really was quite a little show off.



Above the baby on a very large rock was another gorilla. He seemed quite bored with the shenanigans of the baby as evidenced by his constant yawning.



This other gorilla must have been bored too as he was sitting on a big rock picking his nose (and then eating it - Yuck!) - the kids at the zoo all thought this was very entertaining. Needless to say I didn't take a picture of that! But I did get him cleaning his teeth. He must have had corn on the cob for lunch.



The momma was close by just watching over the little guy do his silly kid stuff.



After entertaining us all for quite some time, the momma made a noise. The baby walked over to her and then sat down and pouted. It seemed like she was telling him it was time to stop playing and come do his chores. He didn't want to stop playing so he sat down and pouted.



After a couple minutes the momma convinced his he had to go and very slowly they started walking off together.



I don't know if you can see it well or not but after a short time the daddy went over and joined them. The baby climbed on the momma's back and off they all went.



One gorilla was sitting right next to the window. The glare was just too bad to get a picture of the whole gorilla but I did get a close up of his hand.



Time to move on for us too. Bye gorilla guy.



The next exhibit we came to was the Pandas. Unfortunately we missed the baby panda viewing time which was only in the morning from 9am-11am. Instead we got to see one adult panda.



From everything that I could see, all they do is sit around and eat bamboo.



It seems like it would be awful dry but I never saw him get up to get a drink.



In fact, we never saw him move at all. He just kept chomping on his bamboo.



While he was cute, we got bored after a while and moved on.

The bears were much more active and kept our interest longer. These particular bears are called Javan Sun Bears due to the light brown mark on their chests. When I first saw them I thought there was something wrong with them but that brown mark is supposed to be there!



This big guy was taking a little bath and didn't look dangerous at all.



But when we saw this guy guarding his big new bone, all of a sudden these bears didn't look so sweet and cuddly. Time to move on!



The exhibit that Mike was most looking forward to seeing was the Polar Bear. We were hoping to see him in the water but when we went to the underwater viewing area all we saw was water. So we headed up to the ground level and sure enough there was the polar bear just lounging around.



His paws are really large.



We were very surprised to see that they only had one polar bear. Poor guy must be lonely.



He looks so sad and lonely. (I'll bet Boogie could liven him up!)



But he did enjoy the little snack of fruit they threw to him.



The exhibit that I wanted to see most was the giraffes. But since that wasn't possible my second choice was the elephant. They were not cooperative at all and just wouldn't pose for me at all. I'd go around to the opposite side of the exhibit and they'd turn right around leaving me with a bad shot once again. So here is the best I could do.



My goodness do these guys ever have big feet!



Overhead were big metal containers full of hay.



They'd reach up in there and grab a mouthful of hay.



The amount of space they had allotted for the elephants was very small. But they are now constructing a new area for the elephants that will be six times as big as the current area and is expected to be done in 2010. That seems like a long time for these big creatures to have to stay in such small quarters.

From there we moved on to the hippo exhibit. The entrance to this exhibit takes you to the ground level. It just looked like another empty exhibit...until we went underground below the water level. There we saw two hippos that looked like they were totally in love.



They were so cute with their heads leaning against each other with these silly little grins on their faces.



Even though it looked as though they were sound asleep, they had to go up for air every once in a while.



As you can see, they didn't have to go far to get their air. Sometimes they'd go up together (as in the above picture) but usually they'd each go up for air one at a time but they always ended up right back together.



From above the water this is what it looked like as they came up for air. They didn't stick much of their head out of the water and they only stayed up for about one second.



Sometimes a little while before they would need to go up for air, bubbles would emerge from the hippos.



You may have noticed in one of the above pictures, or in this picture, how the hippos back legs were touching the bottom of the pool.



While they were this way most of the time, sometimes their backend would float up.



These hippos were very popular as evidenced by the fact that there were more people at this exhibit than any other we visited today.



The whole time we were looking at the hippos, Mike kept saying that Slugger looks just like them if you look at them from the side. Poor Slugger.



In a nearby exhibit they had something like a huge fish tank. There weren't all that many things in there but what they had was quite varied. Here you can see Mike trying to take an underwater picture.



This is what Mike was seeing. A few little fish and quite a few turtles.



There were numerous types and sizes of turtles. This guy reminded me of one of the turtles I had as a pet growing up. Quite the story...but I won't go into that here.



And for some reason there was one crocodile there too. Quite a little cot he found for himself don't you think.



The zoo was getting close to closing so we had to make our way back to the gates. On the way we saw a variety of animals. Here are some huge caribou.



In Europe and Asia they call these reindeer (Ragifer tarandus). Unfortunately we didn't get a very clear shot of them as they were hiding a bit.



This is a Kudu.



These are Striped Hyenas. From this picture it looks like they are sharing this bone very nicely. But in actuality one of them kept pulling the bone away to another spot and second guy would quickly run over and try to get a few chomps in before the other one pulled it away again.



There were two camels enjoying the afternoon warmth.



I just think these have got to be some of the strangest looking creatures. At the same time they are very amazing too!



One large area had quite a few different kinds of deer. I can't tell you what any of them are. But you can take a look.







This strange guy is a Peccary. The best way that I can describe them is that they look like big hogs with porcupine quills all over them.





This guy is a type of hog...but I forget his name.



And last, but not least, are the very cute Meerkats.



The are very busy fellows. While many of them are at work, others will stand guard....as you can see here.



Phew! I can't believe we actually made it around the majority of the zoo. I think the only area we skipped was the Children's Petting Zoo. I tried to convince Mike to go there but he was afraid there would be lots of kids there. Hmm, couldn't really argue with that one so off we went.

Debbie
2/7/08