Tails of the Travelin' Trio

Three Sunkist Generations

2011-12-06T23:19:00.000-08:00

Today we went to visit with our friend Billie. We haven't gotten to see her for a long time so I was really looking forward to spending some time together. As it turns out, there was another person there with her border terrier that is related to Boogie. Boogie’s dad is that dog' s grandfather.

We knew that with four dogs running around, it would be impossible to keep them from running over me. So we put gates all around me to protect me from being part of the racetrack.

Boogie, Book’n, and Luna all had a great time playing with each other. Book’n and Luna are great friends but they were very nice to let Boogie play with them. On the other hand, 2iggie felt a little left out as all the other reindeer wouldn't let her join in the reindeer games.

She was a very good girl though and waited until they were done with all the silly border terrier games and then she had fun running around with whoever still had energy.

Lisa, who owns Luna, was nice enough to use my camera and take pictures of the play date. From left to right: Luna six months, Book’n 2 1/2 years, Boogie 4 1/2 years.

By looking at these dogs you'd think it was a really hot day out. It was 54.

Book'n and Boogie

After they'd had a chance to wear themselves out a bit, Mike tried to do some agility. While he is used to running four dogs at a trial, it was a new experience to try to run four at once.

2iggie showing off for the three borders.

Of course you can't have a get–together without trying to get a family Christmas picture. It was quite trying to get all three of them to sit still at once. Boogie is a pro at having to pose for pictures so he sat still the entire time.

First theywere able to get Book’n and Boogie.

Then they managed Luna and Boogie.

Then finally, after much effort, they were able to get all three.

Book'n, Luna, Boogie

We really had a great time. Wouldn't it be nice to have more days like this.

Debbie

Disappointment

2011-12-03T23:01:00.000-08:00

I really don't understand people.

I started selling Girl Scout cookies the very first year I was eligible to be a Girl Scout. I don't remember how old I was at the time, but I'm guessing I was near the end of grade school. At that time, there really wasn't much to selling Girl Scout cookies. You just went door-to-door. People opened the door and when they saw your uniform they knew exactly what you were doing. You didn't really have to say much. They would just ask what kinds you had available, what the price was, or they'd say they were on a diet. There really wasn't much in between.

Even at a very young age, I figured out that the customer is always happier if you give them more than what you promise. That lesson carried over well into my sales job 20 years later. I always told my staff not to oversell. Always hold one thing back even if it is something small. If people get something they don't expect, they are happy and impressed. But if you leave off one little thing, no matter how well you did everything else, they are disappointed. While today, I was disappointed.

We went to a fundraiser for the Arizona Jack Russell Terrier Rescue. Boogie and 2iggie were honorary JRT's for the day. And I'd say they represented them well. We went to this event one time before (of course without 2iggie) about three or four years ago. The second we drove in the driveway, Boogie knew exactly where he was. Their memories are amazing. I wish I had a fraction of their memory skills. But that's another story.

Since I go out so seldom, I was really looking forward to this event. I had e-mailed back and forth with the organizers to find out exactly what would be happening and when. Racing was to start promptly at 9 AM. So we arrived about 10 min. early. The only other people there were the people setting up the event. As it turns out, they didn't start racing until 10:15.

Boogie had never done this event before but we decided to let him try today. I'm sure you've seen it on TV. All the dogs are required to wear muzzles (Boogie has never in his life worn one), then they are put in to a small box while they wait for everyone to get loaded up. Once all the dogs are in place, the fronts of the boxes are opened at exactly the same time and the dogs rush out to chase a lure down the straightaway while they negotiate jumps.

When they first put a muzzle on Boogie, he was so busy watching the races that he didn't even seem to notice.

When it was his turn, Mike carried him over to the boxes. I think he thought there would be a rat in there as he was anxious to go in.

It only took him half a second to realize there was no rat in the box. At this point, he was thinking this was a pretty dumb game and proceeded to immediately tear off the muzzle.

Fortunately someone noticed and they held up the race while his muzzle was put on… much tighter this time.

However, now that he knew there was no rat the box he wanted nothing to do with going in there. It took Mike and another guy a bit of time to get Boogie stuffed into that box.

They're off! Well, all the Jack Russells were off anyway. Boogie spent a second looking down at the ground for the rat. If you look closely you'll see Boogie in the back right of the picture, smelling the ground.

It only took that split second for Boogie to realize the lure was moving. And he was fast. He made up ground on those Jacks. He thinks they should start having this game at Border Terrier events.

On his second (and final) turn, you can see the Jacks left immediately while Boogie and the other first time dog on the left are still in the box.

But once he is out, look at him digging! He was fast as he caught and overtook them!

2iggie couldn't play that game as she would never fit in that little box and she also couldn't fit into little hole at the end that they have to run into.

They only did the races for about 10 or 15 minutes and then they moved on to lure coursing. There was a charge (per person) just to get into the event and then you had to purchase tickets to play the games. Mike bought quite a number of tickets so that the two youngsters could have a good time all day long.

Wouldn't you know, the very second they started lure coursing, it started to rain. Boogie was about halfway through his first run when it started hailing very hard. He didn't even seem to notice. It hailed so big and so hard that cars were white....looked like it had been snowing.

At that point, the line got too wet and wouldn't go. So they had to stop the lure coursing for about half an hour until the hail and rain stopped so they could dry the lure line.

Boogie was a maniac! This lure coursing is set up in a rough circle, completely fenced with five foot tall orange fencing and numerous jumps and obstacles the dogs must navigate on their way around. (The fencing makes picture taking difficult.)

It's hard to tell in the picture but Boogie was barking like crazy all the way around.

As you can see, he is really moving!

2iggie got in on the action as well although she was hilarious. The lure operator was used to running it the speed of a Jack Russell. As you might imagine, 2iggie is much faster than a Jack. This guy could not figure out how to keep that lure in front of her. But she didn't seem to care. She ran right by the lure and just kept running the course as fast as she could. She did this on all three of her turns.

We had many tickets left and wanted to do more when they suddenly just decided they were done and were going to break for lunch. There were hamburgers and hotdogs as well as some cookies. I swear, a cookie made of concrete would have been softer than these cookies. Talk about a tooth breaker!

The next event was supposed to be the one I was really looking forward to. It's called Tunnel Vision. It's like the tunnels they have underground for Earthdog except these are above ground and one side is made of plexiglass so you can watch the dogs as they race through the tunnel to find the rat. But no. No such event was taking place.

Another activity that was to take place was pictures with Santa Paws. After about a 45 minute wait, Santa finally appeared. So Mike got in line with the dogs. He was the fourth person in line. You would naturally think that your turn would be fairly soon. But they couldn't get the camera to work. As they fiddled with that, more and more Jacks came and stood with their friends. It wasn't long before Mike was about number 20 in line.

Based on all the time we had already sat around just waiting, then having events not even taking place, Mike was in no mood to wait around for pictures. So unfortunately, we will have no Christmas pictures again this year. In addition, we have many tickets that we are unable to use as all the events are either done or did not happen. Had we known they were not going to have so many of the events, we certainly wouldn't have purchased so many tickets.

The dogs certainly did have a great time at the things they did get to do. But I was extremely disappointed with the event. So now we are back to the lesson. Give people more than what is promised, not less. We will not be returning. Too bad for them as we always donated a lot of money via the entry fee and tickets.

It was a long six hours for me to lie in the car. It's just no fun being so cold for so long.… And bored much of the time.

On a completely different subject.… I hate bad people. I know hate is a very strong word, thus I use it very sparingly. I hope someday they all get what is coming to them. And I hope it inflicts more harm on them than they inflicted on their victims.

Go in peace and love.

Debbie

Peccary

2011-11-29T22:58:00.000-08:00

Boogie woke me up frantically at 6 AM Monday morning. He was sure that Mike had forgotten to set his alarm and that they were going to miss their first run. I had to break it to him that there was no agility today. His little ears went way back and he looked so sad.

To help Boogie get over his sadness, Mike took the three energetic ones out for a three-hour hike. Slugger got to stay here and chew on a bully stick. He didn't get finished but sure got a big smile.

So do you know what a Peccary is? How about a Javelina? For those of you unfamiliar, they are in the pig family.While they can travel in herds of over 100, they typically roam in packs of 8 to 15. They have short straight tusks which they use to defend themselves against predators. They do eat animals but their preferred food is plants and berries, although they have been known to injure and even kill humans.

Cute, huh?

Fortunately for us, that did not happen this evening.

Usually around midnight each night, Mike takes all the dogs out for their late-night potty walk. Tonight the first batch (the three old dogs) went out around 11 PM. Just as they rounded the bend, Mike saw one Javelina. He stopped and waited for it to cross the road. Needless to say, Slugger was barking and growling.

No sooner had the Javelina stepped off the road into the desert, when eight more started walking toward Mike and the dogs from a distance of about 40 feet away. Mike tried to walk away but couldn't go very fast as Slugger was pulling at the leash to go get the Javelina. The two girls wanted nothing to do with them and were hiding behind Mike.

About that time, the largest one (about 80 pounds) decided to charge. Mike was sure he and the dogs were going to be injured at best. When the Javelina got about 10 feet away, Mike stomped his feet and yelled and waved his arms. Fortunately, the Javelina begrudgingly stopped. He didn't leave, he just stopped. Mike and the dogs slowly backed away.

In all the excitement, Mike dropped his flashlight. He decided just to leave it.

They made it back safely but Mike still had the two little dogs to take out. He decided they would just go to the little fenced-in dog area for a quick potty instead of going on their long walk like usual. I could tell Boogie was none too happy about that decision when he returned as he had a lot of energy and wanted to do a lot of training.

While I was training Boogie, Mike decided to go back out and retrieve his flashlight. I told him to go in the car but he said that was silly. Ha – not so silly! When he got there, the Javelina were still hanging around. He did manage to get the flashlight, but tomorrow he is going shopping for pepper spray!

That's about as much excitement as we need for tonight.

Debbie

What a Weekend!

2011-11-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

A while back, our club sent out a survey to see why people didn’t work more at agility trials. As you might imagine, there were many different reasons. One of the main reasons, was that they are running more than one dog so they don’t have time to work. Mike is a very good example of how that logic doesn’t make sense.

Like every trial, Mike ran four dogs took care of a fifth, took care of me, and he still made time to work six times a day. That is dedication.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous again today. 79° and sunny. While everyone else sat in their tents in the shade, I laid in the grass in the sun.… And got to watch agility. I really can’t think of a better day in my situation.

And I was extremely touched. Allison visited for quite some time with her wonderful border terrier, Grizz, who earned his NATCH-3 and Versatility NATCH-3 this weekend. She also helped Mike out with his work assignments today when they conflicted with our photo shoot. Visiting Allison was probably my favorite time of the whole weekend.

And quite to my surprise, Alison and her young baby stopped by to visit. Alison is the one that showed Boogie for us in conformation. We hadn’t seen her in quite some time so it was a very pleasant surprise. Her baby is exactly the same age as Aria. They’re both such good babies. Seeing Alison was a very unexpected and joyous surprise.

I also had a very wonderful visit from Jeannine. She was one of the very first people we met in Arizona on our first trip down for agility in 2005. She had a dog named Jack that looked very much like Sparkie. So of course we were drawn to each other. We have been friends ever since. Jeannine has since added two dogs, Roy and Jill. In my perfect fantasy world, Jill would be my number one pick for my agility dog. Of course that’s just a fantasy as there is no way Jeannine would ever give that dog up. And I'm sure she has a list a mile long of people that would like that dog! Every time Jill ran, I was blown away.

Jeannine has always loved the way Sparkie smiles. So the two of them visited and did some smiling.… With a lot of barking mixed in. Again, it was a very pleasurable visit. I’m so happy she took time to come to see me as I know she was very busy not only running her dogs but being trial secretary as well.

It really meant a lot to me that the three of them would take time out to come and not only visit, but sit down on the ground where I could see them. Little things mean so much.

Of course the day was also enjoyable because I got to see all of our dogs run a run or two. They are all not only doing well, but even more importantly they all look like they’re having a blast.

Boogie continued his amazing streak going five for six today. His only miss all weekend was one very hard Chances run. But he got two of three Chances this weekend which I would take any time. So his grand total was 17 for 18. He ran fast all weekend. Good boy.

He did have something to say about Mike's handling on occasion though! And he said it loud and clear!

Sparkie did really well today also. Her only trouble was on her second Regular run. She ran probably her fastest run of the weekend absolutely perfectly… except for the very last jump. Instead of being straight ahead, the jump was just offset a bit toward the middle of the ring. Mike is used to running straight out of the ring....so he ran smack dab into the jump. There went that Q!

But they still make a great team.

2iggie ran really fast....but she seems to have borrowed Boogie's Superman cape. She lost 7 Q's this weekend due to flying off the A-frame. We really need to find a place to practice before the next trial!

Wazzu made up her own courses today but got loud cheering from everyone anyway. Too bad she can't hear any of it.

Fabulous weekend. I told Mike that I'm requesting all agility weekends to be nice and warm just like that. He said "request denied". That means we have to go home in the winter. Brrrr.

Debbie

On the Run

2011-11-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

Another absolutely gorgeous day! Sunny, upper 70's, happy dogs.

Boogie was perfect again today….another 6/6. That is super great considering there was a Chances run today!

This picture may not look like much but it is actually very telling. When he has his hind end really low in the weaves, it means he is going really fast. He was really pushing it today.

Sparkie was running nicely again today as well. Her only problem was on one of the Weavers courses. The dogs came out of a tunnel, had to make a sharp left into a set of 12 weave poles. The sun was directly in their eyes when they made the sharp turn and many dogs just didn’t see that set of poles and ran completely by them….the entire length. Sparkie was one of them. So she just missed time.

2iggie continued her great speed. We are so happy that her confidence has picked up so much that she is running full speed. That’s a problem sometimes as Mike is so far behind he can’t be there to help her know where to go in time. But they’ll get it figured out. Fixing teamwork is much easier than trying to “teach” speed.

Wazzu had fun in her Chances run….although she thought she had a much better idea for a good course than the judge. Her second run was Jumpers and it came in the late afternoon….right in the middle of her nap time. She did the course correctly but you could tell she was sleepy.

What a good girl. And how nice of everyone to give her such a big round of applause when she finishes. Too bad she can't hear it. But I can and I really appreciate it.

Debbie

Taste of Perfection

2011-11-25T22:24:00.000-08:00

Today was the first of three full days of agility. We are at a trial in Phoenix, AZ. Probably one of our most favorite trials of the year. Mostly because every year it has been sunny and warm.... while our friends at home are doing agility in the ccccold and wet!

Besides the weather, another reason we enjoy this trial so much is the format. I’m not sure the exact “real” term used but I think it’s called a two trial format....hmm, that doesn't sound quite right.

There are two rings. Half the people entered are in group A while the other half is in group B. While everyone is scored together, you don’t actually run with those in the opposite group. Generally speaking, small dogs are in one group, and big dogs in the other group. There is some crossover as people with multiple dogs are never split between groups. As an example, we have both large and small dogs and we are in group A. They do their best to make sure there are close to the same number of dogs in each group.

To help explain…..Regular round one will be set in ring one and regular round two will be set in ring two. Then group A will run in ring one while group B runs in ring two. When each group is done running in their ring, they switch. It is really amazing how much this speeds up the day as well. This trial always finishes faster than any other trial we attend.

There are many advantages to this system. Main advantage….absolutely no conflicts for anyone! This makes it easier on the handlers and easier to volunteer to work. The disadvantage is you don’t see the runs from the people in the opposite group as much. But you certainly can make the effort if there are dogs you really want to see.

They always have a really well stocked hospitality tent as well. In addition, they have a lunch vendor that typically has really good food. Only problem was today he left so early. Mike went over at 12:30 to get his lunch he earned for working and the guy and his set up were totally gone. No announcement that he’d be leaving early or anything….at least not that Mike heard. So no lunch for hardworking Mike. He runs four dogs and still managed to work two classes before lunch…..and no lunch. Too bad.

The dogs were really “on” today. Boogie and Sparkie were each perfect going 6/6. Wazzu was perfect going 1/1 (yeah, Wazzu!). 2iggie only managed three Q’s but she was blazing in all her runs and just had very minor errors in her other three runs. But when she and Mike get their teamwork figured out a little better, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with! 2iggie is FAST!

2iggie had a great time. She got to see many of her “childhood friends” as well as her former owner. She seemed to remember all her old friends…..both human and dog. Amazing what great memories dogs have. I could sure use a bit of that trait!

Debbie

Thanksgiving All Around the U.S.

2011-11-24T22:14:00.000-08:00

Well the turkey hunting was a bust so no turkey for Thanksgiving dinner for us. Next year I’ll have to remind Mike to schedule this activity a few days earlier!

So even though we didn’t have a good Thanksgiving, other family members did.

My brother competed in his first half marathon - with 12,000 other people – in Atlanta! I understand it was a pretty hilly course. Even so, he finished in 1 hour 58 minutes. Pretty impressive for an old guy. Ha ha. He’s going to love me calling him old….especially since he’s four years younger than me!

My dad went golfing in Palm Desert. Not unusual as I think he golfs a few times every week. But my dad was extremely grateful today as he got his first ever Hole In One! Best part was that he had witnesses. How cool is that!

We were all spread out this year for Thanksgiving…. Mom: Olympia, Dad: Palm Desert, Dave: Atlanta and me: Scottsdale. I think Dad and I are the smartest…..we’re in nice warm places.

View from RV window this evening.

Debbie

Boogie Woogie

2011-11-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

Every day I get up for two minutes thirty seconds.

Boogie and I got out to work on our dance routine. We both love it so much. I don't know that he is all that keen on dancing but he likes doing things with me....and he likes treats!

Look how closely he is paying attention.

How cute is he....here he's high stepping.

And finally, doing his figure eights.

Two minutes thirty seconds sure goes fast.

Debbie

Three Dog Night

2011-11-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

Not another song.

Normally 2iggie sleeps on the bed, Boogie in his crate and Wazzu on her bed. But last night 2iggie took part of Wazzu's bed. So poor Wazzu had to sleep with her head hanging off. She was a very good girl to share her bed.

Debbie

Not Much

2011-11-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

I'm sure you've all heard the song that starts with the line "Stuck inside these four walls" (Paul McCartney, Band on the Run). Well that's how it's been this week for me....too many weeks these past few years.

We've only been here five days but it seems much longer....to me anyway. Daily routine - Mike walks a couple dogs then comes back and takes a couple more, then comes back and takes the last one. When that is done, he rests a while and then starts over. Everyday. I think he and the dogs both miss having a yard.

Today was big excitement. We received our first batch of mail from home. Boogie got first dibs on getting to open it.

First you take the strip off....and then start to pull mail out - one piece at a time as grandma instructed.

Ah, forget being dainty. Let's just go in for it all.

This evening we had our first beautiful sunset. This is the view from inside the RV.

I hope we have many more!

Debbie

My Cover Boy

2011-11-16T00:03:00.000-08:00

When we were here in 2010, we had a family photo taken along with individual photos of the dogs. One week later we got 2iggie.

So on our wall of individual dog photos, there is an empty space where 2iggie should be. Today I decided to call the photographer who did the photos so we can get one done of 2iggie. To call the photographer, I went to her website to find her phone number.

When her home page came up, lo and behold, there was a picture of Boogie on a magazine cover! Turns out the photographer does a lot of work for different magazines. For a cover of "Dogs...Naturally" she chose to use Boogie one month!

How cool is that?! Notice one of the articles is "Road Trip Tips....Traveling with your Dog". Pretty appropriate I'd say.

On a different note. Why can't anything just be what it is? I was so excited to be in warm weather. It really lifts my mood tremendously. So why can't it be left at that. Seems simple enough.

No....there needs to be a flip side. Two stink bugs in my room today. Why? I guess the universe just has it out for me. Sure would hate to let Debbie have anything remotely pleasurable.

Debbie

Rude Awakening

2011-11-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

Before I get started. Remember I told you about the offleash park. Thought I would show you a couple pictures since it is unlike any other dog park we've seen. It is called "See Spot Run Dog Park". The interesting thing about it.....the surface is gravel. Seemed odd to me but the dogs didn't seem to mind.

As I mentioned, we were at an agility trial over the weekend in Boulder City, NV. We, along with four or five others, parked near the field in our RV's. You had to fill out a form in advance and make payment to the club.

Originally we had planned to leave right after the trial on Sunday, but due to some circumstances we decided we'd like to wait until Monday morning to leave. So Mike checked with the trial secretary to make sure it was okay to stay Sunday night. She told us it was totally fine and that there wouldn't be any extra charge. Cool.

So we had a peaceful evening of TV watching then went to bed. About 2:30am there was a loud banging on our door. I was still awake (of course) but it woke Mike and dogs up. Mike looked out and there was a policeman with his huge spot light on us.

Mike through on a coat and went outside. Turns out it is against the law in Boulder City to camp overnight. They wanted to take Mike down to the station. I don't know if they were going to arrest him or give him a ticket or what.

They called in all of Mike's info (name, license number, etc) over their radio....probably to check to see if he had any warrants out against him.

Poor Mike had to explain over and over that we had permission and had explicitly asked ahead of time if it was okay. LONG story short, we got a warning and were allowed to stay the night. Mike sure got a big lecture. As you might guess, we are going to let the trial secretary know about our little "nightmare".

Monday morning we got up quickly and left town. Phew!

Stopped for lunch along side the road between Wickilu and Wickenburg. As Mike says...."The middle of nowhere".

Made it to our destination in Ft. McDowell which is just outside Fountain Hills. For those not familiar with Arizona, this is near Scottsdale....which is near Phoenix.

This will be our "home" for the next two months. Weather is GREAT! Mid to upper 70's.

Debbie

Agility weekend

2011-11-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

Had a three day trial in Boulder City, Nevada. We really enjoy this location for a trial. It's at a beautiful park complete with beautifully maintained baseball diamonds, soccer fields, man-made lake stocked with fish for fishing, trails in the desert, a skateboard park, a picnic area, an offleash dog park, and more!

The agility trial is held in the outfield of one of the baseball diamonds. The grass is very lush and the fields totally flat and level since they are used for baseball. As you can see, they have super duper lights - which we only had to use on Friday evening.

The grass had just been cut and the dogs loved eating it. Fortunately, they only ate between runs.....I guess agility even tops fresh cut grass.

Here Boogie is picking up a big mouthful.

Good stuff!

Looks to me like he didn't quite finish....

Compared to other weekends, this one wasn't the best for our dogs on paper. But they all ran really well and were running fast and with confidence.

Saturday, Sparkie had a beautiful Touch N Go run and earned her Versatility NATCH-19.

As always, there were skydivers right above us both days. The weather was nice although it felt warmer than the thermometer showed.

I got to go out once each day so I chose to watch Chances since all four dogs do that run. Between runs I asked Mike to bring Boogie over to see me. (Wazzu was with me the entire time....sunbathing.)

I was so excited to see him. All he did was watch for Mike. Hmmm. So here is the world from my view.

Finally when Mike came over, Boogie at least faced my direction....sort of.

Debbie

Well Dressed

2011-11-10T23:43:00.000-08:00

Even though I hardly did anything on our outing Wednesday to Sedona, I paid big time. Too much pain....means absolutely no sleep.

While in Sedona, Mike visited the Life Is Good store. He bought himself a shirt.....and two for little Boogie.

This one is very appropriate for a dog name CH Sunkist Shake Rattle And Roll.

And of course, this one tells of his favorite activity.

This morning we left Cottonwood.....one of our most favorite places in the country. We're on our way to Nevada for a trial. Stopped for the night in Kingston, AZ. We stop at this place quite often on our travels. The perfect RV park for a quick overnight stay.

Debbie

Seeing Red

2011-11-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

Late this afternoon, Mike took me for a ride so I could see some scenery and get out of the RV. Of course this is not much fun without dogs so we took Wazzu and Boogie.

We went to Sedona (only about a 30 minute drive) to see the beautiful red rocks.

It was a beautiful day but was cold.....notice the snow. Brrr.

The dogs enjoyed going along but totally didn't understand why we'd get out of the car, walk about three feet, take some pictures and get right back in the car. This was torture for Boogie as he truly hates getting his picture taken.

Here are the "best" ones. For every one you see here we have 25 of him looking completely the opposite direction from the camera.

There was a huge crow yelling at us at this stop. This is the only picture we got where Boogie wasn't looking straight up.

Thought I'd see if it was fun looking up. All I really notice: "how can a person be so white"!

The other thing I notice is that our pictures are not nearly as beautiful as the ones I could get when we used to hike around here. Pictures from the side of the road just aren't as striking as what you can get when you hike through the wilderness.

More posing...

Finally at the last stop, Mike decided we had tortured the dogs long enough. So he took them on a five minute hike a short way down into this very steep canyon. The steel beams you see are that of a HUGE bridge that goes over the canyon. Long ago we hiked all way down to the river you see below.

On the way home we stopped at our favorite store in Sedona (Wildflower Bread Company) and bought a nice huge loaf of super nummy bread. Suddenly Wazzu forgot she was bored!

Debbie

Hold On

2011-11-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Sunday was another earthdog day much to Boogie's delight!

From what I was told, only one ribbon was given out all weekend. I'm thinking the club made it really hard because they were short on money for ribbons!

In Master, the dogs couldn't find the rats. You know something is wrong if Boogie can't find them. He was so frustrated. They were very nice to let a small bit of light in right at the end so Boogie could find his way. He let those rats know all about his frustration!

In Senior he did his same trick of not wanting to come out. The judge said she was hoping so hard for him to come out because he was the best worker she had ever seen. You can bet on that.....Boogie really works!

When he came out I let me him look in the bucket so he could see the rats were in there. Big mistake! He grabbed the five gallon bucket and wouldn't let go. It took four of us to get him to let go of the bucket.

He may not have got any ribbons this weekend but he had a blast. That's really what matters to me.

It is still so cold and rainy here! The park makes everyone unhook their water at night because the pipes are freezing each night. Brrrr.

The monkeys and Sparkie got to go to the offleash park today. Mike said they had a great time with a couple Dobermans that were there. The monkeys ran and ran letting the Dobermans chase them. Sparkie was really smitten and was flirting big time.

Then Mike went up to the small town of Jerome that was an old copper mining camp. It's known as "Amercia's Most Vertical City" and the "Largest Ghost Town in America".

It's a quaint little city on the side of a very steep mountain/hill. At its peak back in the 1920's, the population was over 15,000. Currently it has a population of just 450. Now it's just a tourist town and artist community.

Mike enjoys walking around town looking at all the fun little shops. I used to enjoy that too. There is a super cool fudge store there. They make all the fudge fresh everyday. I don't remember how many "flavors" of fudge they make but it's a lot. Today Mike came home with Caramel Fudge and Texas Tea Fudge. They are both so good!

Slugger went to Jerome with Mike today. He enjoyed walking around town and getting attention from the other people strolling around. They had to sit in the car at times to wait for the rain showers to pass. And up at 5,200 feet it was even colder than down here.

Just talking about it makes me crave some hot chocolate. This will be my last cup as I'm out of my favorite hot chocolate mix.....Ghirardelli's Double Chocolate. Nummy.

Debbie

Too Smart

2011-11-05T21:27:00.000-07:00

When is being smart not such a good thing? When you're so smart, you outsmart yourself.

But before we get into that, I thought you might like to see Boogie and Gidget's puppies growing up. Sorry for the quality...wish people would send me pictures instead of using Facebook. Here is mommy and puppy.

They have names....something about after different fables....but I don't remember what they are.

Playing must be hard work!

Today was earthdog in Cottonwood, AZ. The turnout was much smaller than normal. Hope that's not a trend.

The weather was much nicer than expected. No rain, a little wind and once it warmed up (low was 34) it was pretty nice....high of 54 but sunny.

Boogie has figured out that once you come out of the tunnel....your turn is OVER! So he has decided to just stay in the tunnel and work his little heart out. He has outsmarted the game. Fortunately he didn't figure this out until he had earned all his titles.

Problem with that..... Mike has decided not to do earthdog again until Boogie learns to come out. In the first Senior round today, Boogie wouldn't come out for anything. Technically you have 90 seconds to get the dog out. A lot of people have trouble with this portion of the test. It can take many dogs up to five minutes to come out.

But not Boogie. Twenty minutes went by and Boogie was still in there working as strong as ever. Everyone had given up on being able to get him out so they were going to have to dig up the tunnels! Nightmare! Just as they were starting to dig him out, he came out on his own. Oh, Boogie. Big sigh.

So in the afternoon run, Mike was going to scratch him. But I hate to see Boogie miss out on any fun. So I said I would do it. Mike drove the car right up next to the tunnels so I didn't have to walk far at all. Mike carried Boogie and handed him to me right at the start line.

Here we are at the startline....don't blink....as earthdog is not much of a spectator sport! You can't tell but Boogie is shaking and whimpering as he wants to get to it. But my fingers don't work so well anymore and I couldn't get the darn collar off!

Boogie went like a shot and went in the correct entrance (in the morning run not one dog went in the correct entrance) so I was encouraged. It doesn't look like he's going fast but he was a flash.

This shot is just to give you an idea of how they fix the site. There are a bunch of hills and branches and rocks to simulate someplace out in the wilderness.

I was sure he would come out for me. Delusional thinking for sure! So here I am calling and calling. I might have as well been calling Wazzu who is deaf!

Nothing doing! So finally we opened the tunnel and he did his usual trick of backing up so we couldn't reach him. So I bent down and pretended to dig in the dirt saying "Look...here's the rat!" Well he couldn't resist that and out he popped!

I just want you to notice the guy in the background - he is called the "rat wrangler". He is holding a bucket which has the rat cage with the rats in it.

I decided to reward Boogie for coming out by letting him look in the tunnel. He stuck his head in for just a moment and realized the rats weren't there. But where were they?

HEY! There they are....can't fool him for long. (He just noticed the rat wrangler.) A split second later we were over pouncing on the rat wranglers bucket.

Of course we know he'll never fall for that trick again. But at least it worked once!

Debbie

WINDY

2011-11-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

Remember yesterday when I posted that I was loving the weather here. Well don't things change quickly.

The park rangers came around this morning telling everyone to get all their stuff and themselves inside due to the strong winds.

It was reported on TV that no one was supposed to drive between Tucson and Phoenix as large dust storms where predicted.

So all these warnings, and what does Mike do? He spends all morning and most of the afternoon out digging tunnels for the Earthdog competition that is being held here the next two days. This is always very hard work but today it was even more so!

This evening we had downpours along with thunder and lightening. Guess I'd better not compliment the weather any more!

If you've known us long, you know that I talk of how Boogie loves to be trained. He's always coming into the bedroom and standing on my head kissing me trying to get me to get up to train him.

Even though I don't often use clickers, he especially loves them as he knows that means training. I don't always use a clicker as I find it much easier just to say "yes" rather than be all coordinated and click at the correct time. But he has definitely made the connection between clicker, training, and treats.

One of the things we taught all the dogs early on was that when they want something they should do a "please". This means resting their chin.

Today when I went out to get a drink, there was Boogie doing a please. (Who knows how long he had been there....but he is patient.) He had climbed up on a crate and stood on an open drawer so he could reach the counter. Here he is doing his "please".....for the clicker.

He's too smart! Needless to say, I couldn't deny him. We trained for a few minutes and he was just as happy as could be!

Thinking maybe I should send this picture to Karen Pryor! What do you think?

Debbie

Lots of Walks

2011-11-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

We've been hanging out in Cottonwood the past couple days and enjoying it immensely.

The weather has been very pleasant....sunny and low 70's.

Mike has taken the dogs hiking everyday. The two monkeys and Sparkie have been taking three hour hikes each day. Sparkie and Boogie have been able to be off-leash the entire time and 2iggie has been off for about 10 minutes each time. Mike says they have all been on their best behavior.

Then Mike takes Slugger and Wazzu out. They're usually gone for 30-45 minutes. When on leash, Wazzu just wants to lie down....I guess in protest. So Mike will take her leash off and she'll walk right on trail as happy as can be. Only problem is Mike has a lot of trouble getting her attention now that she can't hear so he has to be extremely careful.

I have even been taking a short walk every day....about five minutes....but it's the best five minutes of the day. It's so beautiful outside....and not cold! Wazzu and Boogie both get so excited when they see me getting ready to go out. But they get so disappointed when we have to turn around after such a short amount of time.

I took my camera today so you can see our walk. So this is the view I usually see.

I decided to pose them near the little waterway. Getting Boogie to look at the camera was comical. In all the other pictures he has his head turned 90 degrees to his left. No matter what I said, he wouldn't look at me. And when I moved to that side, he turned his head 90 degrees to his right. I don't know if he is finding cameras intimidating or what but he has really started doing that all time recently.

Mike said the candid shots are much better anyway. When I showed this picture to Mike, he said it looked like Boogie had been run over. Fortunately not. He was just scratching his back like he always does on rocks or cement.

Hopefully my walks will get longer and there will be more pictures to share.

Debbie

Made It

2011-11-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

When Mike started up the RV, expecting to return to Albuquerque for repairs, the warning light didn't come on. So we headed west knowing that if the light came on we would immediately turn around and go east.

Can you believe it?! No warning light. We made it all the way to our destination which was Cottonwood, AZ - one of our most favorite places to stay.

It's a state park with over 300 RV spots. We got a spot in our favorite area. It's like being home....at least our home that we have known for the past seven years. It's right on a river and a lake and there are hundreds of acres for hiking.

This was the first place we came with 2iggie after we got her. If you remember, this is where she got "broken tail" or "broken wag". She is certainly in no danger of that happening anymore!

When Mike takes the dogs out around midnight for their late potty walk, they all want to chase the nice black kitty with the white stripe. Yikes. I warned them that anyone that has an encounter with that "kitty" has to sleep in the car!

Debbie

Going Back

2011-10-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, Boogie has been practicing a lot and he is getting very good at backing up. But that’s not what I’m talking about. More on that in a minute.

The dogs all did really well at the trial this weekend. I loved the trial site as we could park so close to the rings. I could see without anything in my way! (Sorry for the glare lines in this picture...took it through the window.) The trees were so beautiful too.

Sparkie only missed two Q’s. And both of them were while trying for the bonus line. So close too.

2iggie is really starting to have more confidence and therefore is picking up speed. She even beat Sparkie in a couple runs.

Boogie seems to get more driven all the time. He’s really running fast.

He missed four Q’s this weekend. Two were due to that darn Superman cape (it’s still for sale if anyone would like to buy it) and the other two were handler errors. But he did earn his Versatility NATCH-3 today.

While Wazzu has only been doing two runs a day recently, it looks as though retirement is getting closer. She really is feeling less and less confident on the dogwalk all the time. And I think going up and down the ramps is very painful for her.

On her first run of the weekend, she did the dogwalk but extremely slowly and did not look happy. It was the second obstacle of the course and once she finished that, she ran fast and smooth and happy… even earning an Elite Chances Q. But on her second run yesterday and her first run today, she refused to go on the dogwalk. So for her second round today, we switched her to Hoopers… which she has always hated. But at least there were no dogwalks.

She started out super slow because as I said, she hates Hoopers. But then Mike started running around being really silly and she thought it would be fun to chase him. So she ended up having a good time. So we will no longer enter her in Touch N Go. She still really likes to have a turn but finding a class she can do is getting much more difficult. I’m thinking we will cut her down to one run a day. We will try Chances and just take the “chance” that there’s no dogwalk.

When the trial was over we drove 90 miles east to Grant, New Mexico. Just as we got off the freeway the check engine light went on. Mike spent a couple hours doing some diagnostics on the engine and finally found the error code. However, when he looked it up in the book, that particular code was not listed. Of course!

Our planned route tomorrow takes us way out in the boonies through many mountains. Certainly not safe to do that with engine problems. So it looks like we’re going to have to backtrack 90 miles back to Albuquerque. Big bummer. Hope we can make it back and find someplace that can get this fixed in a day or two. Lets hope they can get us fixed for good this time… not just for a few days.

And finally, congratulations to Bushwhacker for becoming the PBR’s (Professional Bull Riding) bull of the year! Which rider won the title? Who cares. For me it’s all about the bulls.

Debbie

Don't Eat the Cookies!

2011-10-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the vet called to say the fungal test on Boogie came back negative. That’s a good thing. The bad thing… She still has no idea what the spots are. So she is going to treat it as though it’s a deep bacterial infection. Now we have an ointment to put on the spots twice a day and he is to take an antibiotic twice a day – both for two weeks.

In January, on one of the major networks, there’s going to be a show called the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge. There is an event called the Incredible Weave Pole Challenge. All dogs, no matter their height, compete against each other. As you’ll see, the winner this year is a Jack Russell called Major.

So this morning, Mike comes back to the RV and tells me that Boogie is competing against the Incredible Weave Pole Challenge winner. So I knew right away, the best Boogie was going to get was second place. Imagine our surprise when Boogie gets first place by over 2 seconds! Neither Mike nor I saw Major’s run but I’m going to guess he must’ve had a bobble. Boogie is a good weaver… but not that good. But still, it’s now in the record books. J

Have any of you ever eaten mold? Recently, I got in the habit of having a 2:00 AM snack. I would eat it in the dark so as not to wake up Mike. The first couple nights they tasted really good. The third and fourth night they didn’t taste good at all. Not only was the taste bad but the texture seemed really odd. I thought something must have happened to my taste buds as I knew I really liked these cookies. The next day, I really needed (okay, wanted) a snack midafternoon and there was one cookie left. So I got the cookie and a big glass of milk. Just before I took a bite, something caught my eye. I looked down, and the entire top of the cookie was thick with mold. Eww! No wonder those cookies hadn’t tasted good… they were all moldy! Besides the disgusting taste and texture, I guess they were OK as I didn’t get sick.

You’d think that would make me stop eating cookies. No such luck.

Debbie

Mystery

2011-10-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

On October 3 we were in South Dakota for the afternoon and overnight. While there, Mike took the Monkeys on a three hour hike....most of it off leash.

That evening, Boogie was sleeping upside down (as usual) and I noticed a black spot on his skin. It was on the inside of his back leg near where it meets his tummy. It was about the size of a quarter but not exactly round....a tiny bit oblong. It felt rough, like coarse sand paper.

I had never seen anything like that and was pretty worried. I called an emergency vet but they said not to rush in unless he had trouble breathing or stopped eating...that will be the day!

A few days later, I noticed another spot exactly the same on his front leg. Then five or six days later, another one on the other front leg. Then last Tuesday I noticed on on his knee.

So first thing this morning, after arriving in Albuquerque last night, we got him in to see a vet.

The vet's reaction: "I've never seen anything like that!"

So they took a scraping and took some hair samples. It will be about a week before the results come back. The vet fell in love with Boogie (of course)! Then Mike had Boogie do all his tricks and they kept calling people in to see the tricks. So he got to do them over and over, which he enjoyed as they kept giving him treats.

Here is a picture of the smaller spot on his front leg.

If you have any ideas, let me know.

Debbie
Oct. 24

Movin' West

2011-10-24T01:43:00.000-07:00

It was nice to leave the tolls and bumpy roads of Oklahoma. The following day we went through the "sticky uppy" part of Texas....it probably has a real name...and that's probably not it! Then just squeaked into New Mexico for a night to a place called Tucumcari. The dogs didn't like it. If you went off the pavement it was just all stickers.

Then today we made it to Albuquerque. For the first time in almost a month, 2iggie and Boogie got to be off leash in the great outdoors.

There is a gate behind the RV park that leads to hundreds of acres of desert land. Mike took the two Monkeys (that would be 2iggie and Boogie) and let them run free in the desert. 2iggie stayed fairly close but ran and ran. Boogie headed for the ONE bush in the entire area and laid down underneath. I've never had a dog that gets hot so easily.

There was a little rise in the land and 2iggie went running over the knoll. By the time Mike got there, 2iggie was nowhere in sight. Mike called Boogie and as he got near Mike, he stopped and his nose started twitching, and then he took off like a shot.....right in the direction of 2iggie. Mike gave him quite the treat when he got home to thank him for finding 2iggie.

Speaking of Boogie being fast. Here is his run in the Finals of the NADAC Championships. Out of 1,665 runs at the Championships, only 58 qualified as 100+ run indexes. Boogie had one of those.....it is in this run.

Since this was the last run of the Championships for our dogs, Mike decided he could suck up the pain in his knee and try to go for it. Here they are! (If you click the four little arrows in the bottom right, it will play a full screen. It seems a little blurry to me when you do this thought.)

Notice the great distance Boogie does too.

Here is Sparkie's run....she got 1st place in this run.

Debbie

Slow Going.....Fast Going

2011-10-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

We left Springfield, IL Wednesday morning for our trek west. Unfortunately we only made it a few miles before the RV started losing power every time we came to the slightest hill. So we had to drive on the shoulder all 31 times we got to an incline.

We made it to Springfield, MO but it wasn't safe to go any further until we got the problem fixed. Long story short, the following afternoon/evening we spent five hours at a repair shop. Most of the time was just waiting. Actual repair time....about 15 minutes. So now we are one day behind schedule. Fortunately we have time to spare on this trip.

Today we drove to Oklahoma City with a very smooth running RV. Phew!

But Oklahoma isn't our favorite state. We had to pay over $25 in tolls and the roads are the third worst we've ever been on. I wonder what they do with all that money....it certainly isn't spent maintaining the roads!

The results came out for the 100+ run indexes for the Championships today. There were 1,665 Regular runs at the Championships. Only 58 of those qualified as 100+ run index. Boogie had one of those! His was in the Finals! What a speedy boy.

Debbie

Visit

2011-10-18T22:36:00.000-07:00

Mike had another really nice visit with his Dad today. We were both extremely grateful that he was so kind to make the trip out to see us.

Mike made a nice pancake breakfast for everyone this morning before his dad had to head back home.

Bob was never lonely while visiting us. It seems like he had at least one dog visiting him at all times.

Slugger loves all people and was elated that someone came to visit him.

And Sparkie loved lying next to (okay, on) Bob. Until the phone started buzzing in Bob's pocket. I think Sparkie thought her insides were vibrating. She kept cocking her head back and forth. It really was quite cute.

We were sad to see Bob leave but were truly happy he came to visit. It's always very special when we get to see him.

Debbie

Day After

2011-10-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

Boogie woke up bright and early as he didn't want to miss his first run. He was really liking this routine of doing agility every day!

Around noon, Mike's dad arrived from Dayton, OH to visit us! This is always a delight and very special to us.

Bob was really popular with the dogs. I think every one of them ended up in his lap at one time or another. I hadn't realized Slugger turned his head when I took the picture. Sorry about that.

It started raining midday and hasn't let up once. So I didn't get a picture of Sparkie with her Champs awards but I did get a picture of the awards the dogs earned.

Oh the final standings came out. Sparkie ended up 4th overall and Boogie was 5th overall. Absolutely astounding considering the circumstances. I'm so very proud of Mike and the dogs.

Debbie

Champs Are Over!

2011-10-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

What a day.....what a week!

Both dogs did great in the morning run. Sparkie got first place! And I forget what place Boogie got… But I know he ran clean.

Mike was feeling relieved as it was now over and he could rest his painful knee.

But just a short time later, they announced who made it into the Finals. Both dogs made it into the Finals! Wow!

Sparkie was the first to run but the pain showed in Mike's knee. He was behind and Sparkie had an off course. But she was running super fast. Mike was so proud of her.

Mike really sucked it up big time for Boogie's run. It was a beautiful run. Fortunately there was a large portion where he could send Boogie out and didn't have to run much. Totally clean...and fast! He got second place… running faster than quite a number of the 16 and 20 inch dogs. What a finish!

When everything was over, they announced many awards. Sparkie was sixth overall in Lifetime 100+ DRI runs. The easy explanation for that is that there are only five dogs in the world that have earned more "super duper fast runs" than Sparkie.

The awards that you see in the front of the below picture are those given to the winners of each overall division. We didn't win those.

The ones you see in the background are Special awards and behind that you can just make out the ribbon wall where they post the ribbons for the winners of each round. We got many of those.

Sparkie earned three of these Special awards. I'll try to get a picture of her with all her awards in the next day or two.

Mike and four dogs have been sacked out for a few hours now. Boogie is wide awake running around wondering when his next run is going to take place!

Debbie

Good Try

2011-10-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

The day started off well with both dogs running clean. Sparkie got 3rd and Boogie got 6th.

Even though Boogie ran fast and clean he just doesn't have the stride that the larger dogs have. He is being placed with 16" dogs (he is a 12" dog). But I am extremely proud of him.

Sparkie ran clean again in the evening round but Boogie had about four seconds of confusion in one part and then he knocked a bar. So our guess is that will knock him out of the finals.

In any case, they are having a great time!

Mike took some pictures today! First is the Coliseum where the courses are being run.

There are windows all around the top which make very large light spots on the course. Today there was a light spot from the base of the A-frame out about three feet. One dog went running full speed into the A-frame. Poor dog never saw it. I don't know how that dog didn't break its neck.

Across the street is "Barn 14". The regular crating is in an outdoor covered arena. But with the wind it's pretty nasty. So in Barn 14 they have stalls you can rent for $50. Most people have their stalls all decorated up. Ours is totally bare.

The raffle is in that barn as well.

They post the top eight placements and ribbons on a large wall when the scores are figured out for each run. Here is one....Notice Sparkie's ribbon!

Here is one of Boogie's ribbons!

Here are the awards that will be given out at the end of the Championships.

Sorry...that's all I can do at this time.

Debbie

Cutting It Close

2011-10-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

At the end of day one, Sparkie was in fourth place overall and Boogie was in fifth. Interestingly enough, Boogie seems to be in a really tough division.

The first run today went very well. Both dogs were clean! Boogie beat Sparkie by three seconds! Yet Sparkie came in third and Boogie came in fifth. Go figure!

Second run of the day, Mike's knee was really acting up again. He just couldn't be where he needed to be and both dogs had an off course.

No live stream for me again. I must say, I am extremely bored and very frustrated knowing there is so much fun going on and I'm not able to see a bit of it.

Mike and Sparkie had a really close call today. He was puttering around working on the RV and I asked if he shouldn't be over at the coliseum. He said he still had plenty of time. I just had a feeling his timing was off. I told him he better get over there FAST. So even though he didn't believe me, he and Sparkie hightailed it over there. There got there exactly in time for their turn. Phew!

Poor 2iggie is bored out of her skull. And she knows the other two are getting turns. Poor 2iggie.

Debbie

Sad Day All Around

2011-10-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

Let's start with the better news. Scores came out for the first round. While both dogs are way off the lead, Sparkie got 4th place and Boogie got 7th place. So at least they each earned a ribbon.

They both ran very fast in the second round but Boogie dug out his Superman cape. Then he lent it to Sparkie.

The live stream still isn't working for me. I'm not a happy camper.

Then I got some extremely sad news this evening. Two of Boogie's little puppies died today. Even though I never got to see or hold either of them, it is heartbreaking. I've been through this many many times over the years.....but it just never gets easier. Godspeed Yellow and White.

Debbie
October 13, evening

Frustration

2011-10-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

I probably shouldn't do a post right now as I am extremely frustrated. Nothing is working. And they've changed the way you do this blog and I can't figure it out.

Other than that it is a fine day.

Yesterday, Mike and 2iggie did Tunnelers. With Mike still not running, it is very difficult. 2iggie did manage to Q on the second run and was only two seconds behind the very fastest dog!

Since I can't go in to watch the action, I decided to sign up for the live stream. This year it costs money. I see about 20 minutes of a black screen and then the picture finally comes on. I get to see about two dogs before it starts just doing freeze frame. I've been on the phone at least four hours today with the tech people trying to figure it out. All we've figured out is that it works on everyone's computer but mine. Go figure. Everybody else could just go in and watch.

Do you think they want to refund my money… no, because they say their system is working. Well it's not working for me and I'm the one that paid. Told you I shouldn't be blogging right now.

Sharon made a post saying that they would be done about 7:00 or 8:00 PM. Well it's now 4:00 and they haven't even finished the first round. I'm guessing it will be well after midnight when they finish unless the next course is a very short one.

The course looked very straightforward (it was anything but)...and long. 40 or 41 obstacles....very spread out....and of course a mandatory distance line that proved to be extremely difficult. All the dogs I was able to see, had difficulties.

Mike was able to trot a little bit but just could not be in position to help the dogs in certain places. We have no idea if they called any contact faults, but each dog did have an off course. They both ran very nicely though. Especially Sparkie. She just needed help in one spot and due to Mike's knee he just could not get there. It wasn't a hard spot at all for a healthy person.

So, of course, Mike is very discouraged. And 2iggie doesn't understand why she doesn't get a turn. As you can tell, the mood around here is well.....

More later. Back to fight with the streaming....

Debbie
October 13....midday

Ouch

2011-10-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

It was a rough day today. All three dogs were supossed to each do two runs of Touch N Go.

But Mike's knee was so bad he could not run at all. Unfortunately in this case, agility is a team sport. And when one of the team members is injured, the outcome is not good. The dogs tried really hard but just couldn't do it without their partner.

In the 28 years we've been married, I've never been able to get Mike to take an aspirin for anything. But he is now taking them every few hours and icing his knee often. So I know this is very serious.

While it's never good to get injured, this was the worst time it could've happened.

Will he be able to compete at all in the Championships? It remains to be seen…

Debbie
October 11, 2011

Trying Again

2011-10-10T23:57:00.000-07:00

It’s been over years since I’ve been able to work on my blog. But I’ve gotten so many requests recentlythat I thought I would try to do a little here and there.

Most recently, we left home on September 28 to head back toIllinois for the North American Dog Agility Championships.

We had some exciting news on October 6. Boogie once again became a Proud Papa.

His girlfriend this time was Gidget aka CH OtterEcho LittleMarvel. Here she is just a few daysbefore giving birth.

While most puppiesstart their life out in a whelping box, these puppies had a Whelping Palaceawaiting them.

By the time all was said and done, there was a six pack of girls. Boogie handed out “cigars” to celebrate the big occasion.

So tiny!

After nine straight days of traveling we arrived in Illinois intime for an agility trial before the Championships start.

All four dogs did very well. Sparkie went 18 for 20 and earned her NATCH-22!

Boogie went 15 for 20 earning his NATCH-3.

2iggie continues to learn and improve and went 11 for 20.

Wazzu was a crowd favorite running with a huge smile and lots ofenthusiasm. She did excellent going 2for 5. What an amazing girl.

Pre-Champs started today. Only 2iggie competed. She wasexcellent in her two runs today.

Unfortunately, about 6-8 months ago, Mike tore the meniscus inhis knee. Since the surgery for the samething on the other knee didn’t go as well as he would have liked, he decidednot to have surgery on this knee.

And wouldn’t you know, he hurt it some more today. Talk about bad timing. He waited all year for the Championships andnow he’s not sure he will be able to compete.

Crossing our fingers…

Debbie

Work Continues

2010-09-30T23:03:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) The work just continues to happen on our property.

Today we had three truckloads of gravel brought in to fix the driveway that was mutilated by all the trucks and machinery that went in and out the last week or two.

We also had quite a bit dumped over a grassy area so it would be easier to turn the RV around.

The driveway should last the winter much better now.

The driveway wasn't done three minutes before Boogie started rolling. It doesn't matter where we go, if Boogie sees gravel, he starts rolling.

Mike bought a chainsaw and suddenly he has become a tree trimmer. He is really getting this place spruced up.

We have this super huge gigantic (now that's big!) rhododendron just in front of the house. Mike tried to trim it but it is very difficult. He did get a portion of it trimmed and we found some logs and a huge stump underneath.

The dogs had been going under this plant since we moved in. Now we can see what they are doing. They are digging under this log. Looks like Slugger can just about fit in the hole they've made.

But Slugger didn't do the digging. That was courtesy of Boogie....

....and Wazzu.

Even together.

Normally 2iggie would be right in the middle of the action but today she was hanging out in the sun relaxing. Now that's one big yawn.

Debbie
9/30/10

Herding

2010-09-29T23:50:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) Wazzu had her best day in a long time.

Today, Shari invited Wazzu to go herding and we jumped at the chance. The farm, about three miles from our house, is absolutely beautiful and the setting so serene.

Wazzu got to go first. Since I can't do it, Shari took Wazzu in the round-pen. This worked great because Wazzu loves Shari....and Shari knows herding.

The pen was small and sheep were very soft so they kept Wazzu on leash to start.

She was using eye right from the start. Wazzu had the sheep moving nicely although she wasn't keen on the leash. (She's done a lot of herding but never on leash so it was just new to her.)

After a very short time after getting jerked on the leash, she would recover and be super happy again. I was having so much fun watching her be so happy that I didn't take a picture of the huge smile on her face. But believe me, Wazzu was on cloud nine!

Then it was Ozzie's turn. She's the pro out of the group. She has been in competitions and has won awards!

Finally it was Slick's turn. But let me ask....Who's herding who?

Slick may not have a lot of herding instinct but I would put him up against any dog with a tennis ball. No dog can catch a tennis ball, at any angle, like Slick.

Shari was so nice to get another turn for Wazzu. This time Shari let Wazzu go off-leash. Wazzu was so happy. She wasn't used to such a small area so a couple times she scattered the sheep but she got them right back together.

This day seemed to take a couple years of age off Wazzu. She is perked up again, she walks around more, and just plain seems happier. A huge thank you to both Shari and Shirley for letting Wazzu herd today.

What a truly fabulous day!

Debbie
9/29/10

Play Ball

2010-09-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) Mike was extremely busy working in the yard all day today so I did my best to entertain the dogs.

There has been a basketball sitting in the yard since the first day we looked at the property. The dogs haven't looked at it until today.

Suddenly, Boogie would do nothing else. He must have spent four or five hours playing with this basketball. Kind of looks like a pumpkin.

The entire time he chewed on it he was whimpering and crying....just like he does with tennis balls.

He got in every position possible throughout the day to chew on this ball.

But his favorite thing was to be chased. So every so often, Mike would stop his work and he and the other dogs would chase Boogie around the yard.

He had a blast with his ball. What a happy face.

Finally, after many hours, 2iggie got a turn.

But she didn't see the point in this ball and left it after a few seconds.

Debbie
9/27/10

AKC Agility

2010-09-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

(Monroe, WA) This weekend (Fri-Sun) Mike, Boogie, and 2iggie went to Monroe for an AKC agility trial.

What did we learn (again)? Mike hates AKC. I kept pushing them to do it as I really want Boogie to get a MACH. It's quite clear that the only way a MACH is going to happen is if I get healthy enough to do agility again.

Even though Mike was unhappy with agility this weekend, Boogie did earn his AXJ and AXF titles.

The big dogs and I stayed home while the others were away each day for the trial.

Slugger has never been able to sit like the other dogs due to his badly configured body. Normally he sits like this with his left leg way out to the side and he hunches over.

For the first time I can ever remember, Slugger was sitting "pretty". However, when he does so, his little bottom doesn't come anywhere close to the ground.

Now I know why he doesn't sit like this.

Debbie
9/24-26/10

Ole Super Schnoz

2010-09-23T23:02:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) Ole Super Schnoz is the latest name given to Boogie by his breeder. I'm so proud of that name.

Today we drove over an hour to get to the Odor Recognition Test (ORT) - birch scent. The dogs have three minutes to go into a building and search through two long rows of boxes (using their nose of course) to find the box that has the small tip of a Q-Tip dipped in birch oil.

The dogs have three minutes to find and indicate the correct box. The handler must indicate "Alert", then the judge lets you know if you're correct.

We lined up, I listened to the instructions (while Boogie tried to so hard to be patient), and then I gave Boogie the Search command. Remember, we need to hurry as we only have three minutes. Off we go. ALERT! Yes, says the judge. Time: 10.35 seconds. Ole Super Schnoz is born. That's my boy.

Unfortunately, there are no awards, no certificates, no nothing. So I have no picture to show you. But take my word for it - we were awesome.

So a two and a half hour drive for 10.35 seconds. What we do for our dogs.

Before going to the ORT we had a fun day. I actually caught Wazzu walking around instead of lying down.....

....oops. Down she goes. Guess she doesn't want to be found.

We had the most pleasant surprise today. Shari, Slick, and Ozzie came to play!

All the dogs get along well but it is most special for Wazzu as these are her true buddies from way back. And play they did!

Look! Wazzu is playing! She loves Slick.

And Ozzie too! Looks like a black dog party.

The three amigos. I love it when Wazzu does these huge play bows.

Here they are flirting with each other. Wazzu only does that with two dogs in the whole world.

They look like happy bookends. What a super great playtime it was.

Slugger isn't in to all this playing so much. He much prefers to just watch over the property...

....or sniff the air.

If there was a sunbathing contest for dogs, Slugger could win. He'll do it for hours.

Since we don't live in the house, there is no way I'm going to spend time or money decorating. So I walk in the house today only to find I have a decoration on the bookshelf!

What the heck was he doing. No one else was in the house. He was just sitting there like a statue.

This little guy just never stops entertaining.

Debbie
9/23/10

Smash

2010-09-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) Meet Farmer Mike. With five acres to take care of, Mike is becoming a farmer whether he likes it or not! He won't say so but I think he is enjoying it. He is doing a great job, working from morning until night. The dogs and I are extremely appreciative of all his efforts.

After getting all the rocks picked up, the field was still very "fluffy" and rough. So Mike rented a roller to smash down the ground.

The rental company brought it over and gave Mike a 60 second lesson.

Then it was off to work!

In addition to rolling, the machine vibrates to help pack down the ground. Mike thought that part was fun. But he mentioned many times that it was really hurting his back.

Not sure if you can tell from the pictures but this thing is HUGE!

And it sure did flatten the ground.

I was glad Mike thought it was fun as it took him the better part of two days. First he rolled the entire pasture. Then he spread grass seed over the entire area. Once again, he then rolled the entire area one more time.

This is what it looked like when he was done. Not sure if you can tell or not but there is a small brown dot in the field. That is Slugger just sitting there watching....who knows what.

At one point during the week, Mike walked around the yard trying to get out as many of the roots sticking out of the ground that he could. The dogs really enjoyed this activity and did their best to help.

Tugging

Pulling

Eating

I haven't seen much animal life since we moved in. I've heard a lot of squirrels - as have the dogs. But the one thing there is no shortage of are huge spiders and their webs.

I hate spiders! They are making these webs everywhere. Mike won't knock them down as he loves to see how big they'll get and see what they catch. Great.

Amazing how I didn't see any birds around here until Mike spread grass seed. It was like a seed alert was sent out around the city. Suddenly we had birds everywhere. The dogs tried to chase them for a while but gave up as they were totally outnumbered.

The only other thing I saw was a dragonfly. Fortunately he landed as I was having a heck of a time trying to get a picture while he was flying.

But the highlight of my sightings was the pileated woodpecker. He sure takes a big wind up before banging into the wood.

It was really interesting to see how big a holes he could make.

Speaking of wildlife, 2iggie had a great day today. She caught a mouse, a mole and a platypus. I saw her doing something under the deck that looked unusual. I called her and she brought me a mouse. Great....not!

Shortly after that she took Mike a mole! Yes! Catch all those you want little girl.

In all fairness, she had help with the platypus. Boogie actually caught it....2iggie just killed it. Here it is before its death.

Mike was working in the "basement" - the bins under the RV - and Boogie crawled in, hunted through a big bag full of toys and pulled out the platypus. It didn't last long once 2iggie got a hold of it.

Wazzu doesn't kill animals. I watched her for quite some time today as she was trying to make friends with a mole. She was so patient as it slowly came up and peaked out then dashed back down...over and over. You can see the little mound of dirt just starting.

The dogs didn't really know what was going on but they knew their daddy was doing lots of digging and pulling so they seemed to want to try as well.

Every time we go outside the dogs dig under this bush. There has got to be someone under there.

I have a picture of each dog under this bush. I can't imagine what is so interesting under there but it must be something good.

Today was the first day that 2iggie discovered the forest. She darted into the forest and was there about 20 minutes before Mike went to find her. She came out sopping wet.

The forest is too dense for people to get through....it's even hard for the dogs to get through. But Mike did cut a path all along the fence line. The fence is on the left side of the pictures.

Of course the days can't be all work....at least not for the dogs.

Sometimes you just gotta take a break.

How does she sleep with her head up?

2iggie

Sparkie

Doesn't he look so grown up?

Wazzu

Slugger

Great few days here at Flapdoodle Farm.

Debbie
9/20-22/10

Journey

2010-09-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) Friday morning the guy came to pick up the ten or so piles of brush. Even without Boogie's help, he managed to move the machine around to get all the stuff.

Picking up.

Going over dump truck.

Drop the load then push it down.

I couldn't believe it took them two full days to take away all the branches. That was a lot of blackberry bushes!!

We took off for the an agility trial on Friday afternoon at Argus Ranch.

It was a great weekend. All the dogs did super. I think we were most impressed with Boogie. He was running just about as fast as ever. Personally, I don't care that he didn't Q every run - although he did Q in most - I am just happy to see that he his having a blast and zooming around the course.

Mike made the comment, you could change his breed on the score sheet to read Border Collie and no one would blink an eye. His YPS was amazing! (Yards per second.) In every run, he had the second or third fastest time of ALL elite dogs....even with those tiny little legs of his.

Here's his secret. First, he runs fast. But where he catches those Border Collies (and Sparkie's) is that he is learning to really take great lines. No wide turns or missteps. He is very efficient.

This weekend Boogie earned his Superior Elite Regular and Superior Elite Touch N Go titles.

2iggie is really building up her confidence and it is showing in her increased speed. She is still making one tiny boo boo in many of her runs but she once she fixes that, she'll be a dynamo. For some reason, she'll go around one jump per run....hmmm.

But she did earn her Novice Tunnelers and Outstanding Novice Hoopers titles.

Once again everyone had a fun time - we can tell because they all pouted when we started packing up to leave.

Friday, two of Boogie's puppies went to their new homes. Norman (the only boy) didn't have far to go as he will be living in Seattle.

But one of the little girls had quite a journey. She flew all the way to Boca Raton, FL. The person went to the regular airport to pick her up but it turns out the puppy went into the cargo airport. So a policeman escorted the lady to the cargo airport....only to find out it had moved.

When she finally found the puppy, the workers had taken it out of its crate and given it water and were playing with it. How nice was that. So as you might guess, the puppy's name is Journey. How cute is that!

She went straight from the airport to the beach.

Wow, what a difference two weeks makes. She looks like a real dog! She was just a wobbly romping puppy two weeks ago. This pup is following in Boogie's footsteps. He too went to the beach right away as we spent his first three weeks on the beach....but on the Oregon coast...not on the nice warm beaches of Florida!

Debbie
9/17-19/10

The Work Has Just Begun

2010-09-16T22:44:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) With property comes work. But we didn't realize it would be this much work.

We had hired someone to remove one and a half acres of blackberries, juniper bushes, and other overgrown plants.

In addition, we had hired someone to till the entire pasture and then flatten it out. No problem....we were told.

When we got to the property, I immediately started complaining (can you imagine?!) that the pasture was bumpier than it was to start with. Mike assured me they weren't done. But the worker came and explained this was the best he could do. Why?!

Turns out when they tried to till the ground, there were gazillions of rocks and it was ruining their machines. So what we see is what we get.

Boogie is looking over his very bumpy pasture.

So Mike raked a very small section of the pasture. That very small section is a little better but now you can see there are rocks everywhere.

Imagine three acres of rocks:

Poor Mike then spent a couple days - from morning til night - picking up rocks, one by one.

He would fill up the bucket and carry it to the tractor. Poor guy, how many millions of times did he have to bend down and stand up again. Talk about exercise....the hard way.

After filling the tractor....

....he would then drive the tractor to a specific spot and drop the rocks in a pile.

Wazzu tried to help but it's a really big field.

She decided just to supervise.

While we aren't impressed with the pasture, Sparkie seems to think it is the perfect place for a relaxing back rub.

I've even zoomed in and the dogs look so small. I'm thinking this should be plenty of room for the dogs to play.

Of course, while Mike was out working, the dogs were helping too! Wazzu thought it was just way too hard! So she watched over the place.

The kids, however, found a lot that needed to be done. I guess Boogie wasn't working properly so 2iggie had to take him down.

Poor Boogie.

In addition to all the rocks, there were quite a few sticks and roots that needed to be removed. I guess Boogie is helping in his own little way.

Of course when there are bigger roots, it takes teamwork.

Even Wazzu decided to help.

Slugger spotted something going on so he ran to help.

He joined Boogie in some clearing....so he says. Looks more like hunting to me!

Sparkie never really did help...unless you call eating blackberries helping.

She would reach way up in the bushes to get to the ripe ones.

Then of course she had to teach the others.

Shortly thereafter, everyone caught on and got in on the action.

How cute is little Boogie...you can see his tongue sticking out as he tries to suck the berry off the vine.

And if you look closely, you can see a nice ripe blackberry just barely sticking out of his mouth as he captures his prize.

The closest Wazzu got to the berries was lying under a tree near the berries.

How sweet of Boogie to keep Wazzu company for a while.

After eating berries, Boogie went to the driveway near the loafing shed and found all the horse hoof clippings...(sorry I'm not a horse person so don't know all the correct terminology). They are very hard and full of calcium. So I'd say Boogie got about a years worth of calcium. You can see part of it lying in the grass.

Slugger would stand over Boogie and watch so closely....never coming close to taking Boogie's prize but he sure wanted one. So he searched with Boogie for more.

Boogie probably found ten. (Ha, and we thought we had picked them all up!) While poor Slugger never found a one.

2iggie joined in every activity and when nothing was really happening, she would just run and smile...and often times bark with enthusiasm.

A large piece of equipment was delivered. This will be used to pick up all the many large piles of blackberry bushes, juniper, etc.

While they were doing the clearing they found a whole bunch of tires. I never understand that...I've never had an old tire leftover to toss in the yard....let alone about 15 of them! They won't take the tires away....just the brush.

Leave it to Boogie to investigate.

I'd better get him down or pretty soon he'll be driving!

Here's what Wazzu thinks of all this.

Are you seeing a pattern yet?

Looks like Wazzu has about had it so I guess we'll call it a night.

The dogs are sleeping....a very happy content sleep....not a bored sleep. Ah, sure is fun to have a yard. Well, the dogs think so anyway. Not sure about Mike. He is one sore fella.

Debbie
9/15-16/10

Move In Day

2010-09-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) At 12:15pm today we drove into our new place.

Can't really say we moved in to our new house....as we aren't moving into the house. Can't really say we moved to our property...as there is a house. But whatever, we are here!

There has been a lot of changes going on since I've been here last. There was a lot of work that needed to be done before we could move in.

We needed:

A much wider gate so the RV would fit.
A 50amp plug since we'll be living in the RV.
A septic hook up for the RV.
Many large branches taken off a tree so the RV could get down the driveway.

In addition, we wanted hundreds of blackberry plants removed, we wanted many bushes/plants removed, and we wanted the front pasture tilled and smoothed, and an agility field built.

So all this work had been going on the last couple weeks. And when we drove up, the place looked so different!

Old gate:

New gate:

Old view of house:

New view of house:

Old pasture:

New pasture: not what we wanted (thought it would be smooth)

But no matter what it looked like to us, the dogs were very pleased with their new yard. They investigated everything.

Boogie wasted no time doing terrier things...which of course includes digging.

He'd dig, dig, dig, and then put his little nose down into the hole.

He checked the hole many times.

While his nose was in the hole, he'd breath in really deep.

Off course his nose would then be full of dirt. When he'd come out of the hole, he'd breath out hard....and out would come a bunch of dirt!

As you might guess, if there is dirt in his nose, there is dirt on his nose.

I guess this is a sign of a happy terrier.

2iggie seems to be a very quick study and has decided she wants to be an honorary terrier. I think Boogie was digging for moles. But to me it looks like 2iggie is a "mouser".

Wow, what a digger. Look how deep she got her hole.

That's hard work. Need to take a short breather.

On the other hand, Wazzu spent most of her time under this HUGE rhododendron near the house. I don't know what's under there but this bush has got to be trimmed....even though it is quite the source of fun for the dogs.

That didn't last long. She then found some shade under a tree and spent the rest of the time watching bugs and other things.

After the playing was done, it was time for the little ones to get to work!

Mike was cleaning junk up....and look what he scooped up!

Looking out over the property from an old large downed tree.

Debbie
9/14/10

Deep, Sincere Thanks

2010-09-13T23:26:00.000-07:00

(Olympia, WA) Things were a bit hectic at my parents house (remodeling) on my birthday so the family celebration had to be delayed....to today.

When you are growing up, you know that someday you will repay your parents for all they do for you while you are growing up. I certainly know that I always thought that when my parents got older and needed help, I would be there before they could blink.

It's now that time. It saddens to me to no end that I am physically unable to help them in the slightest. I'm always hearing of things they need help with. I want to dash right over and take care of it. But no can do.

Instead, my parents came to our RV today and spent many hours cleaning the RV because I can't do it. How backward is that. I should be helping them and instead, they are coming to me and slaving away. It's just so wrong. I will say, this is a source a great pain for me. My parents have done so much for me my entire life and now when I should be helping them, they are still having to do for me.

There aren't words to express how much I appreciate all they have done for me....and all they continue to do for me. I truly don't know what I'd do without them.

In addition to doing hours worth of cleaning, my mom slaved away all day yesterday making her famous cinnamon rolls that I requested for my birthday. It is my favorite food ever, hands down. Unfortunately, it takes hours and hours to make.

My mom has made those cinnamon rolls since before I was born. She's made them for all holidays, birthdays, and other special occasions. I can't count how many times Mom has made them to cheer me up and at times that were way more special than she ever knew.

Mom, thanks so much for working so hard to make cinnamon rolls for my birthday. I know how hard they are to make and how much time it takes. There is nothing better...for any occasion. I've always said I want my last meal to be mom's cinnamon rolls.

The weather today was beautiful. The view from my parent's house is so pretty when it's nice out. Their yard is landscaped so nicely and both the water and mountain are so beautiful.

Since I don't know how to make panoramic pictures, you'll just have to look and pretend you're turning your head. The pictures go from left to right (taken from my parents deck).

While I was outside taking in the beautiful scenery, a float plane went by.

Just seconds later, a helicopter went right over my head....I felt like I could just jump right in with them.

Mike and Slugger had a nice day in their normal position. This is not an uncommon position for them. From the time Slugger came to our house at six weeks of age (supposedly to die that night), he has been a lap dog. I think he still thinks he is one pound.

Slugger never sleeps well unless he is on top of you. This is how he sleeps every night....on top of one of us. And Boogie won't even be in the same room with us. Does this seem a little backward to you?!

Debbie
9/13/10

Columbia Cup

2010-09-12T10:22:00.000-07:00

(Ridgefield, WA) Over the weekend we went to the Clark County Fairgrounds in the Vancouver area....for an agility trial of course!

This trial is called the Columbia Cup. All dogs that go four for four in the Regular runs are in the running for one of these cups based on their yards per second.

Our dogs have done very well in the past at this trial. This year we came "oh so close". Each dog went three for four. Interestingly enough, all three dogs missed the very last contact (by a toenail) on the exact some run.

Had they gotten the contact, I think both Sparkie and Boogie had a super shot at being the winners in their height classes as they were both running so fast this weekend.

Mike made the comment he sure wishes they were going to Champs this year as they are both really peaking right now. It really sucks to be the reason they aren't going.

While it was pouring down rain up at "home" today, it was beautiful and in the mid-70's here.

When I got up Sunday morning, it was so pretty, I had to go outside and take some pictures. Each picture is taken just in front of our RV.

There are many barns here that you can walk around and between. Really a very beautiful place when it's nice out.

Sitting in the window (especially when it is sunny out) is a very popular activity in our RV.

It's not just a favorite activity for our guys. Don't these two look so sweet and peaceful.

This is taken AFTER the dog sitting in the above picture tore their window shade into smitherines. We tried to tell it to stop (owner's were away) but the little guy paid absolutely no attention to us!

All four dogs ran truly great this weekend. Boogie ran as fast as he's ever run. It was so cool to see his confidence return.

This was 2iggie's first full trial. We thought she'd be mentally tired half way through the first day. But not so at all. She was just as ready to go at the end of the day as she was first thing in the morning. She too is gaining confidence and ran much faster than she has in her previous trials.

Take a look at these happy dogs. What great form...and a big smile too.

The top bar didn't have any tape so it almost looks like Sparkie is airborne over nothing.

At this rate, Boogie is never going to knock a bar. Cute, but not really the most efficient jump style.

Very nice form!

Jumping seems to be fun.

Debbie
9/12/10

On Tippy Toes

2010-09-09T22:36:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) Boogie loves Nose Work class.

Class has been meeting at a different place each week. Today we went to a supermarket.

Our first hide was in some shopping carts....although the dogs even had to figure that out.

Boogie searched low and high.

Hides that are just nose height for most dogs are well above Boogie's nose....even when he's on his tip toes.

Good job little guy. He found it very quickly and is now getting his reward.

Our second hide was on some pastry carts. Again, the dogs don't know that. They have to determine that on their own.

Again, as you can see, Boogie is not one dimensional. He not only searches down at his level but searches high as well.

As with the first hide, he found and indicated the scent very quickly.

The third hide was on the wall. Many dogs just kept searching the carts and racks over and over. Boogie blew by both those and went straight to the wall.

This hide was quite a bit above his head. Even on his tiptoes he couldn't begin to reach it, while the other dogs could easily reach it without even standing up. This should have been extremely tough for Boogie.

But somehow, he found it in under 60 seconds. Wow. Look straight above Boogie, just under the ledge and you'll see a small silver dot. That's where the scent is. Boogie stood just as tall as he possibly could and started crying and crying and clawing at the wall.

Boogie felt a little gypped today. Each of his turns lasted less than a minute while every other dog in class took eight to ten minutes for each hide. Boogie really showed them how it was done even though he had a huge height disadvantage.

The other dogs in his class are much taller dogs....lab, german shepherd, and pharaoh hound. Yet they had a much harder time. What a little rock star, Boogie.

Debbie
9/9/10

So Long Swim

2010-09-06T23:50:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) It won't be long now before we move away from our premier spot.

Karen and Steve have been totally and completely amazing to us. Perfect hook-up, great hospitality, delicious meals, Guitar Hero, agility practice, swimming, and a nice yard. Pretty close to perfect.

So today we decided go for a swim in case it's the last opportunity.

Wazzu wasn't impressed, as usual, and didn't even want to come in the pool house. What a mean mommy....I made her come in even though I had no intention of making her swim. Doesn't she look happy!

The boys didn't waste a second getting into the water...and they didn't get in gently. Looks like Boogie's in some big surf.

A determined and very happy little swimmer.

It was night and it was cold out and even though the water is nicely heated, the skinny black girls wanted nothing to do with swimming. They went directly into the drying room and didn't come out the entire time. (Sorry about the monster eyes - had to use a flash.)

Well, at least the boys had a blast.

Debbie
9/6/10

Rats or Love

2010-09-05T22:56:00.000-07:00

(Whidbey Island, WA) This weekend we had an Earthdog test on Whidbey Island.

The weather may have been nice for the dogs but it sure wasn't for us people. It started off cold and drizzling. This is summer? Even the birds weren't stupid enough to come north this year.

For Boogie's first brace he was matched up with a one year old, very happy Border Terrier. This little guy is one happy fella. Notice the clothes being worn. Heavy coats, knee high rubber boots. I'm telling you it was cold, rainy and wet. Okay, I guess you know my feelings about the weather this year.

It was this little guys first time in Master so really didn't know what was going on. He was so excited to be off leash in a big field that he had no way to know he was supposed to be hunting for rats. So he was just running around happy and ready to play with this other cute Border Terrier running around....Boogie.

However, Boogie new exactly what they were supposed to be doing. Boogie loves to play with any dog, any time except when he's hunting rats. This cute little guy kept running up to Boogie wanting to wrestle. Boogie would turn away and continue on his hunt.

Finally Boogie got tired of this nonsense when the little guy jumped on Boogie's back. Boogie told him "knock it off"! After that they had a great hunt up and the little guy was very respectful of Boogie.

Any other time, Boogie would have been more than happy to romp and play. But in the hunt up, Boogie is on a mission. He has to find those rats!

And find them he did. In fact, he was so happy to find them that he wasn't going to leave them for anything. He knows when you pick him up out of the tunnel the game is over. So the second you open the lid to get him out, he backs up into the tunnel so there is no way to get him out. The only way is to get a rat and show it to him. Then, and only then, he flies out of the tunnel to get the rat. Oh Boogie, you've outsmarted us all.

Next he got to do Senior. As you can see, he already has rats on his mind...not sure what's on Mike's mind.

If you look closely you can see just see Boogie as he disappears down into the tunnel.

After finding the rats, and working them for 90 seconds, Boogie is suppose to come out. Here's Mike peering into the entrance eagerly waiting for Boogie to come out.

Ninety seconds has come and gone....it's now been over three minutes. Mike is now hanging his head in recognition that Boogie just isn't going to come out.

Yup, they had to resort to getting a rat before Boogie would come out. The entire time he is in the tunnel he is trying so hard to get to the rats that he is eating at the dowels. In doing so, he moves his head up and down so hard that the lid (which is latched shut) is banging up and down. The judge today said she had to stand on the lid to keep it from breaking open.

A friend said it is amazing Boogie doesn't get brain damage from all that extremely hard head banging he does.

Let me try to show you what I'm talking about. The three "bars" are the dowels. As you can see they are of good size - pretty big around. The opening you see is where they put the rat cage. On the other side of the dowels (where it is very dark) is where the dogs make their way to the rats. The idea is that they are then separated from the rats. Most dogs bark like crazy only biting the dowels a time or two. This is what the dowels typically look like after a day of earthdog.....

....except when Boogie and his dad are involved! They can chew all three dowels in half in less than 90 seconds. Oh, and see the latch....this is what I was telling you about. It is latched while the dogs are "working", then is unlatched and the lid opened so you can get the dogs out (in Master).

During Boogie's second Master run, he was matched up with a dog named Bob Barker. (Think about it.)

Same drill, great hunt up...found the rats in record time, great working....but wouldn't come out. Fifteen seconds after Boogie found the rat, the judge yelled out..."Boogie's completely through the first dowel". You've got to be kidding! It would take me that long to saw through it. No wonder his nickname is Chainsaw.

First day, four events....four times Boogie didn't come out.

The second day I was unable to go along. But the report was the same, until his last Senior run.

This time Weezie's (Boogie's sweethart) mom, Nya, was the rat wrangler. Boogie was in the tunnel and after 60 seconds had shown no signs of coming out...nothing unusual. Suddenly, seeing Nya there, Mike had an idea.

Mike said excitedly, "Boogie, Weezie's here". Mike had barely taken a breath before Boogie had shot out of the tunnel and was standing very erect and alert, looking around for Weezie. Mike grabbed him and Voila! They passed!

I'm thinking there is no way this will ever work again. But Mike immediately ran over to Weezie so Boogie could see her. Hopefully this was a good thing and it will work again sometime. Gosh, now we just have to make sure Weezie comes to every Earthdog test we attend.

The puppies were being handed over to the breeder weekend so it was my very last chance to visit and take pictures. I have gotten more request for puppy pictures than anything else! So here we go....for the last time.

They had a lot of toys in their little set-up. As true Boogie puppies, their favorite toy was a tunnel. And just like Boogie...they weren't in any hurry to come out.

And instead of working rats, the puppies were working a teddy bear...with great gusto!

Junior didn't quite have the idea of going in the tunnel. He must think he's a lumber jack as he kept trying to do the log roll.

The earthdog test this weekend was put on by the Cascade Dachshund Club. Looks like the little border terrier puppy turned into a loooong dachshund.

Mike played a game of tickle with one of the little girls.

She was having a great time....

...just too darn cute.

Doesn't it look like they are doing a conga line? Actually they are just trying to beat up on their brother...like always. Little Junior (aka Norman) is going to be so glad to get away from his sisters.

Poor Junior is getting tackled once again.

No use exerting yourself....just play on a nice hammock.

So many toys to choose from.

She's looking for someone to attack!

Boogie really wanted in the pen to see the puppies so we let him see them one last time. Like usual, they all rushed over to see him. Looks like they are giving him kisses.

Or are they telling him secrets?

The puppies each had their very first experience at being stacked to prepare for their lives at show dogs. I'm certainly no expert but they looked pretty good to me.

They each had their first lesson on walking on leash with mommy Weezie while Boogie looked after the others.

Boogie didn't want to leave...but it was time for us to say goodbye to the puppies forever. Looks to me like the puppies didn't want him to leave either as they chased him over to the fence.

This little puppy looks so sad now that daddy is gone.

Poor Boogie is watching as we pull away from his girlfriend and his puppies. What a good daddy he has been.

Debbie
9/4-5/10

Use That Nose

2010-09-02T23:07:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) Boogie has been having a great time with his K9 Nose Work class.

For those not familiar with Nose Work, it's where a dog has to learn to search for a particular scent - in this case Birch Oil. They have to find it and then give some sort of indication to let the handler know they've found it.

Today for class we went to a park. Boogie did awesome....as usual.

The first hide was at the bottom of a fence post and hidden underground. No problem.

Second hide was about three feet up in the trunk of a 50' tall tree. No problem.

Third hide was in a pipe sticking up out of the ground. Off we go. Dogs must be kept on leash at all times. Any type and length of leash or long-line is allowed. I use a Flexi.

The other person you see in the picture is our instructor.

He's closing in on it now.

He's now standing up on the pipe. He started pawing the pipe and looking up at me.

That is his indication to me that he found it. I look down in the pipe and sure enough it's in there. No problem!

While it was a large park area it took Boogie less than 90 seconds to find it. On this particular hide, the other dogs in class took anywhere from four minutes to 12 minutes.

This sport really shows me what a world is out there that we humans know nothing about. Truly amazing they can find such a small little thing just using their nose.

Good job, Boogie.

Debbie
9/2/10

Guitar Hero

2010-08-31T22:52:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) We rocked it!

Shari, Shawn, and James....my "other" family (and family is super important to me)...came over to celebrate my birthday. What better birthday present could there be than to play Guitar Hero with my little buddies.

Oh man, was I out of my league! But I think I was having the most fun.

I was on bass guitar, James played lead guitar, Shawn played the drums, and Shari sang.

Shari won't like this picture but I figure it's okay since I don't like this picture of me either. But had to include it as it's the only picture I got of Shari singing. And by the way, she did a great job...always getting like 99%.

James was a guy of many talents. He sang for a few songs too.

But I'm thinking Shawn was the star of the show. He is an amazing drummer. I could listen to him for hours. If I ever have a band (okay, so those days are over), I would hire Shawn to be my drummer for sure!

When we were done with Guitar Hero, the boys hid Boogie's scent so Boogie could show them his Nose Work skills. I'm really not sure who had more fun....the boys or Boogie. Shari and I had a great time watching them all have so much fun.

I know Boogie would like to play with them again any time!

Thanks to you all for the great "birthday".

Debbie
8/31/10

Mojo

2010-08-29T23:35:00.000-07:00

(Redmond, WA) For the past three days we've been at an AKC dog show in Redmond at Marymoor park.

First thing Friday morning Boogie and I entered the Obedience ring ready to show what we're made of. We'd been practicing our sit and down stays as that has been our only trouble at the previous shows.

From the very beginning it was obvious Boogie was showing signs of ring stress. This was shocking to me as I've been nothing but positive with him in the ring. But who knows what goes through their brain. It wasn't like he was sniffing the ground or being preoccupied with things outside the ring. He was just avoiding looking at me and walking very slowly.

We made it through although certainly not well. He did do absolutely perfect on his sit and down stays....but needless to say, we didn't pass.

Off he went to do agility. He was perfect in his first run of the day which was FAST, getting first place in Excellent. But when the next run came (Standard) he did three obstacles then just stopped, looking worried and licking his lips. Run over.

So in Jumpers Mike had a plan. Since Boogie does about three obstacles before getting worried, Mike made a super short course of three obstacles from the start to the finish line. They did those three, really fast, then partied big time with his favorite ball and cheese. Day over.

Saturday was even worse in Obedience. He wouldn't budge....literally. He wouldn't even look at me no matter what I did. So I did a very nice healing pattern, just as the judge called it. I was awesome....problem was, this is a team sport and my teammate didn't want to participate. So I didn't bother to stick around for the sits and downs. No need to stress him any more.

Right then, I decided to pull him from Obedience on Sunday. So we headed over to agility. Today he was really happy in the agility ring. Like yesterday, we again got 1st place in FAST earning his Excellent A FAST title. Same thing in Jumpers, also earning his Jumpers with Weaves Excellent A title.

In Standard he was running fast and furious. Third obstacle to the end was a tunnel....but Mike accidentally said tire. Boogie screeched to a halt looking around, saying in a frantic voice, "but daddy, I don't see a tire". In AKC that is a refusal so no Q. But they recovered quickly and finished the course perfectly. Bummer.

That was the first time Boogie has ever competed head to head with his dad, Higgins. Higgins ended up winning the class, and looking great, with a time nine seconds slower than Boogie. Darn those refusals.

Sunday he did very well again. Mike was so happy saying "I got my Boogie back". Nothing better than that. Boogie has found his mojo again!

Debbie

8/27-29/10

It's Ours

2010-08-26T23:11:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) Even though we had some really sticky moments with this transaction, against all odds, we were able to close today on our new (okay, really really old) house.

After picking up the keys, we all - for the first time - went to the property. Wouldn't you know, it was raining. But even the rain couldn't dampen our spirits.

So while Mike worked outside taking down the gate and some fencing, the dogs and I stayed in the house.

The dogs were so excited. They ran around the house a million miles an hour checking out every nook and cranny. It was so fun to watch them having so much fun.

But after about five minutes they decided they were bored. But they couldn't lie down...there weren't any pillows or furniture....oh, what's a poor dog to do.

When Mike finished working, we all went outside so the dogs could investigate the yard a little bit. They were having a blast. I'm excited for the day the property is all fixed up properly and we can move in so the dogs can just roam and play to their hearts content.

It was a good day. Oh yeah, and it was my birthday!

A friend of mine made me this beautiful cake. Have you ever seen a more beautiful cake?

Oh, and it wasn't just beautiful...it was just about the best thing that has ever gone in my mouth.

If any of you ever need a fancy cake, let me know and I'll refer you to Tallant House. She has won many awards for her cakes....and currently is in first place for Best of Washington wedding cakes. She's been in the top three for a number of years now. Her specialty is wedding cakes although she makes cakes for all occasions.

Someone had placed an order for little S'Mores cakes. This is what Mike saw when he was over at her house. How very clever is that!! And from what I've been told (by those who ate them) - they were fantastic! Of course!

A big thanks to Judy Tallant for such a tasty birthday cake....and all the other wonderful goodies she makes me throughout the year.

(For those wondering what else I got for my birthday.....Mike got me a bag of Cheetos Cheese Puffs....yup, that's all. Don't tell him, but that didn't really compare to the cake!)

Debbie
8/26/10

Need a Smile....

2010-08-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) It's always a good day when I get to spend a little time with Boogie's puppies. They are really starting to get around now. And they are biting much harder and with determination too!

And now that the puppies are moving around more, Boogie is beginning to think they are even more fun. So many people didn't believe me when I told them that Boogie would be a good daddy. But I think you can all see that he is a Champion daddy...in more ways than one.

When we first arrived, Boogie and Weezie got to have some adult fun....oh, not that kind of fun. Well, not because they didn't try! I can't believe that Weezie is still flirting with him - and of course Boogie is happy to oblige. They must really be in love, these two!

They were running around so fast that not only was it hard to keep up with them with our eyes but it was impossible to get a clear shot. So here is my super blurry shot for the day.

After Weezie was completely worn out, she was put in the house so Boogie could concentrate on his puppies. But at first the puppies had no interest in him. They just wanted to eat the herbs.

They make really quick work of these herbs. And it sure gives them really nice breath!

They aren't taking long at all to follow in Boogie's steps....look at this dirty little nose. Well, it's a good start but I think Boogie needs to give her a few more lessons!

Finally one of the puppies noticed this big lens pointing at her. She was very inquisitive and had to come over and check it out.

That got boring very quickly so then she had to use me as a mountain for awhile. I had a fun time with that game until puppy got bored and went to play with Boogie.

As soon as the puppies caught sight of Boogie they all came over to see him....they're all there....one is underneath trying to snatch a drink. Good luck with that little guy!

Boogie was really having a great time with the puppies....as were they with him. Quite a few times I saw him doing big play bows. Unfortunately I never caught it on camera but it was just way too cute.

Never once did Boogie even give them as much as a cross look. Nor did he ever jerk away.

Even when they tried to drink from him, he'd just lean down and lick them.

Finally I was able to get them to ignore Boogie for a few minutes so I could get some individual pictures.

Ah, nothing like your first tennis ball.

Or, your first sprinkler. Huh?!

Puppy 1:

Puppy 2:

Puppy 3:

Puppy 4:

Last time we visited we couldn't get the puppies to calm down at all. But today the puppies had gone to work and had a lot of visitors. I'm thinking we just might have a chance today.

So a little more play time with Boogie.

Or is that chew time!

Talk about a patient dog.

Weezie (the mom) doesn't even let them chew on her like this.

Three down, one to go.

Oops. Where did that one go?

Guess Boogie better go find him while these three start the puppy pile.

Found him. Sweet little Junior looking up at his Papa.

Gosh, could he be any cuter....or maybe I'm biased. Nope, he's downright cute.

Finally, Boogie tuckered them all out.

The feisty little girl just isn't quite ready yet...

So peaceful looking.

How is it that puppies can be so cute?

Well, they are all completely out so I guess this is the end.

Debbie
8/24/10

Thoughts

2010-08-23T23:33:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) Not a lot has been happening recently....which is not a good thing for me as it just means I have a lot more time to think about things. I call it "busy mind".

Like, why do people get upset about such small things. I mean, you may think it is a big thing....but if you think of it in the grand scheme of life, it's really not a big deal at all.

For instance, when someone does an agility run and it doesn't go perfectly (which is often for most of us), then they get mad at the dog. How does this help? Why does it really matter if you Q or not. The dog doesn't know about Q's. Are you doing this for titles? Or are you doing this to have fun with your dog? To socialize with other people? What?

Think about it for a minute. For those of you that do agility, stop reading this post and think about why you really do agility.

Do you know how lucky you are to even be able to go to the line with your dog? I would give just about anything to be able to go on course with my dogs.....even if we "messed up" every run. At least we'd be doing something fun together.

What if you had to stop doing agility immediately. How important would it be then that your dog Q'd on every run?

When I could run, my dogs thought they were perfect on every run. And we partied after each run as though they'd just won the Championships. They were so proud of themselves and so happy....and so was I.

Now that I just watch (when I can even do that), I see so many people that really get on their dogs because a mistake happened. They blame the dog. I could easily see from the sidelines that the dog was really doing exactly what their body told them to do.

Just think about it next time you go to a show. I used to put a quote at the bottom of my emails that said:

"The real joy is in the privelge and ability to step to the start line with your dog by your side, not in the crossing of the finish line victorious over others." Author unknown.

That is more true than you realize.

Since I haven't been up and around doing much, I'd like to share some pictures with you that have either warmed my heart each in their own way.

Look at these two dogs....so content and happy to have a friend to sleep with!

Doesn't Boogie look so sweet just lying next his little friend?

Ha, fooled you all. This isn't Boogie....but you could have told me it was and I would have believed you. This is actually Boogie's litter mate, StevieRay (on the right of course), with his "sister" Emma. He's quite the agility dog too. StevieRay and Boogie are exactly the same on course....run, run, run....but even more....bark, bark, bark.

Emma (on the left) is my hero. She is an extremely talented dog. I get my inspiration from her a lot. You go get 'em, Emma.

For those of you not in the Pacific Northwest, this picture was taken in Puget Sound. If you look closely you can see a Pit swimming way out in the water (exactly like Slugger likes to do) and the big white thing in the distance is a ferry....it carries vehicles from the mainland to the islands...and back.

My best friend has a beautiful property here in Washington that we are fortunate enough to get to visit from time to time. The dogs love it and we love it. It would truly be paradise....if it was warm there year round! Even these guys miss the sun and took advantage of a rare moment of sunshine to get some sun bathing in.

The final picture that was sent to me recently is a gorgeous scenery picture. My very special niece took this picture in Wales.

I'll leave you with the beauty of the last picture and won't tell you about all the other things my "busy mind" thinks about.

Special thanks to Marti, Lori, Shari, and Asami for sharing these beautiful pictures with me.

Debbie
8/23/10

Family Portrait

2010-08-17T23:25:00.000-07:00

(Seattle, WA) Today we went to visit the puppies. The difference was, this time we took Boogie!

(Let me apologize in advance for the pictures. I had envisioned getting all these great photos but something is wrong with my camera and most of the pictures came out a bit blurry. Time to get the camera checked.)

So here was the plan. We'd let Boogie and Weezie meet to see if Weezie would still like Boogie. We knew Boogie would like Weezie....he likes everyone.

These two picked up right where they left off. They ran around the yard at break neck speed for quite some time...exactly like they did the other times they met.

Then just as fast as they started playing, they stopped to try and make more puppies. What?! We couldn't believe Weezie was up for that. But she was just as inviting and accepting as when we wanted it to happen. Needless to say, we stopped that action right away - many times. Not posting those pictures!

But doesn't Weezie have a cute little shirt. She has many sores from the puppies feeding so much so this is to protect her a little.

It was obvious that we'd have to separate these two as they both just had one thing in mind. Boogie was heartbroken. He just stood at the back door and cried and cried and cried.

The next part of our plan was to bring the puppies out to let them meet their papa. The idea was to let them play for ten minutes or so until they were completely tuckered out. Then we'd take the family portrait.

The door opened and Boogie was so excited...he was sure Weezie was coming out again! Wait, that's not Weezie, who is this? Boogie was so interested.

He was so curious and very gentle.

Puppies just kept coming. Boogie was just as curious as each puppy came out. When all four were on the ground, he approached them very carefully...I'm guessing he was trying to be cautious not to scare or hurt them.

The puppies were just as curious...but not nearly as cautious!

Just as I suspected, Boogie was the perfect little boy. He was extremely patient and gentle with the puppies. This event was well covered. I took pictures and you'll notice that they're also being video taped at the same time.

We couldn't have hoped for this much. The puppies would follow Boogie around and when they'd catch him....they're so fast you know!...they would gang up on him and chew on his ears. He didn't care one bit.

They would get a good grip on his ear and then shake their head. Good thing they aren't real strong yet. Boogie was so sweet and just let them play with his ears for as long as they wanted.

One puppy decided to be brave and try to feed from Boogie. No problem. Boogie just let the puppy do whatever it wanted.

After about 20 minutes of playing with the puppies, Boogie was feeling his broken heart and went back to the door to wait for Weezie. We've taught him that if he wants something, to put his chin down on the ground. He stayed at this door with his chin down and crying for a long time. Weezie was on the other side crying out for him as well. These two!

So we turned our attention to the puppies. They were very busy. I brought them a new little toy and they thought that was fun for a while. This is the little boy....

....and this is one of the little girls.

What the heck is that?

One puppy needed a more challenging toy and went for the big ball. The puppy punched the ball, growled at it and bit at the big green monster. It was quite the battle.

All these nice toys we have for the puppies and they decide that shoes and shoestrings make a really fun toy.

Of course sticks are always fun too.

Probably the most popular activity was puppy wrestling. They punched, tugged, pounced, growled, pulled tails and tackled for all they were worth. This should make them tired for sure.

Hey, just like when we were kids. Sticking your tongue out at your sibling!

Finally the puppies noticed me lying on the ground. They thought I made a great mountain!

Finally instead of just a lump on the ground, they realized I was a person and I got some puppy kisses. Oh, what can be better than puppy breath!

After all the kissing I got a really nice hug.

I was feeling so lucky when another puppy came over to give me some kisses.

Ouch! These puppies can bite! How did Boogie put up with all this?

And then she called for reinforcement! Boogie....help!!

Remember how I said the plan was to let them play about ten minutes until they were all tired? Well, it's now been an hour and they haven't shown any signs of slowing down nevertheless being tired.

So we all decided that if we fed them they'd have nice full tummies and then they'd realize they were tired. This was a popular plan!

It even brought Boogie away from his door. But he really wanted to help with the eating.

Poor Boogie.

After all this eating, the puppies got thirsty and decided Boogie was the container. We were all amazed at how easy going Boogie was about this. He stayed like this until the puppies nuzzled under and started sucking on .... well, the wrong thing.

He didn't do anything but move a couple feet.

A couple of them didn't take the hint and followed him to try again.

This is when we decide we'd better give them some water.

Boogie decided to go wait for Weezie some more since he wasn't getting any food. One of his little daughters decides to go with him.

The puppies don't seem to understand the ramp yet.

So they just had to wait for Boogie to come back down.

Now an hour an a half has passed since we arrived and the puppies are still going strong. So much for the ten minutes we thought it would take.

These folks have things to do so we can't wait any longer. We have to try to do the family photo even though the puppies don't seem tired in the least.

It was not even beginning to work! The second we'd set the puppies down they would scatter and wrestle.

So we decided just to have people in the picture. Not at all what I'd planned. I took about 20 pictures and this is the ONLY one that even had one puppy looking at the camera. Weezie and Boogie never looked at the camera...they only had eyes for each other.

Just as we were heading toward the gate to leave, I noticed one puppy had finally conked out. So I called Boogie over and had him lie down next to the sleeping puppy.

Well, I got a picture of Boogie looking happy anyway. Maybe they'll let me try again another day.

Debbie
8/17/10

Cool Diggity Dogs

2010-08-16T22:23:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) After a meeting out at the new property, we came home and decided it would be a perfect day for a family swim. We figured with the temps in the 90's, even Wazzu and 2iggie might go in....it wasn't quite that easy.

For those of you that keep saying "more pictures please", this post is for you!

We started with the boys as they are the swimming mianiacs.

Boogie is much more talented than we even thought. Maybe we should start a new sport - water tail art.

The boys were wild today, especially Slugger. He swam/dove with reckless abandon.

Normally he goes in from the steps to enter the water. But today he wanted to dive off the side. Sometimes he had pretty nice form....

...getting the toy with such skill.

...and sometimes...well, not so much. Poor guy, this must have hurt.

And I'm not sure what kind of form you call this!

Even when going in from the steps he was diving instead of gently pushing off like normal.

Boogie was crazy too. He normally does his diving from the step but today he was diving from the side as well. As you can see, he is the one with amazing form!

The boys had a great time diving and swimming together with their pretty orange toys.

Notice how Boogie is wearing a collar. This is strictly for the purpose of keeping his head higher in the water so he doesn't swallow too much water. Even though we use this ball that is very squishy so his mouth can close most of the way, he still seems to swallow a lot of water. The collar helps....some.

The boys couldn't swim calmly very long. Soon they started having a contest to see who could splash the most.

Both valiant efforts but I guess you can tell who won.

The boys were then put away so the girls could have some cool down time. Problem is, Sparkie is the only one that will go into the water willingly. So Mike had to get in at this point.

Much to her chagrin, we had to force Wazzu in the pool. Once she's in she'll swim around. She won't go for a toy at all, she'll just paddle around and around.

You may not know this but we've taught the girls to do synchronized swimming. Here Mike is setting them up for the start of their routine.

Down to the other end and make the turn.

And now down the rails together.

By this time, 2iggie still wouldn't come in the water and the boys were in the RV screaming to come out and swim some more.

Mike decided to pick 2iggie up and put her in the water. But soon as he got near her she cowered and piddled.

He finally got 2iggie and Wazzu in together. Talk about a herculean feat!

It took about five minutes to get them in and less than five seconds for them to swim to the steps and get out. Notice how high she holds her head out of the water. No collar needed for her!

I then let the boys back in since only Sparkie wanted to swim. Boogie immediately dove right into the pool. Notice who is watching so carefully.

I don't know exactly what goes through 2iggie's brain but I guess once she saw Boogie dive in she figured this was the safe way to get in the pool.

Suddenly 2iggie was a diving fool. You can see the surprised look on Mike's face as 2iggie unexpectedly dives in the pool for the first time.

She would dive in then make a beeline for the steps so she could get out.

She absolutely would not come in via the steps. And if you asked her to come in the pool she would run and hide. But boy did she ever love to dive in....just so she could get out.

You probably think this is a lot of pictures of her diving in. But I just wanted to give you an idea of what our time was like.

She must have done this 25 times in less than 20 minutes.

No one could believe her. As you can see, spectators lined up to watch her in wonder.

Boogie won't come out of the water without his ball. And the only ball he will play with in the pool is his squidgy ball.

For some reason, Sparkie suddenly decided she would only swim for the squidgy ball. As you can imagine, this caused quite a problem. Sparkie would swim after Boogie and bark at him.

Then she'd try to take it from him. But he's the faster swimmer of the two so it really wasn't much of a match. Boogie should play water polo as he's very fast and can turn very quickly.

If we threw it for Sparkie, Boogie would quickly dive off the side of the pool, then even dive down under the water to get the toy so that Sparkie wouldn't get it. Poor Sparkie. But no one comes between Boogie and his squidgy ball!

I took this picture while Boogie and Sparkie were watching for Mike to throw the ball. This is the exact picture I wanted....

...this is one picture I got. Offer me a million dollars and I could never get this shot again!

Time for everyone to get out.

Boogie always gives the ball back...until Mike told him it was time to quit for the day.

Everyone had a great time swimming today for sure.

Slugger - who would, and could, do this for days if we let him.

2iggie - the wonder diving dog.

Boogie - what a cute little tongue.

Sparkie - our most graceful swimmer but nowhere near our fastest.

Boogie absolutely, positively won't get out of the water unless he has a squidgy ball in his mouth. We were drying all the dogs off when Boogie jumped back in the pool. But since we were done playing, there was no squidgy ball. Boogie treaded water for over five minutes before we decided we'd better throw a ball for him as it was clear he wasn't coming out.

As you can see, everyone had a great time today playing in the water and cooling down. Okay, not everyone. Wazzu tells the story differently.

Boogie likes to dry himself...he's our most independent dog. To dry off, he pushes himself along the ground with his back legs while on his side. He can go 30 or 40 feet in a matter of seconds. Quite the sight to see.

Phew. That's tiring.

Boogie swallows a LOT of water when he swims. So much so that he makes himself sick. He looks like a balloon and he moans and groans with pain. He has to potty every 15 minutes for the next couple hours.

Each time he goes out to potty, he literally stands there three to four minutes just going and going and going.

The third time he went out he was in so much pain that he just laid down to do his business....at least four minutes of steady stream while lying down. Poor guy.

When he finally got empty, he was one tuckered puppy. But let me ask...when there is a very expensive memory foam bed right there, why does he sleep on the floor right next to it?

They're all out now...I guess our day is done.

I sure love this weather!

Debbie
8/16/10

Hot Diggity Dogs

2010-08-15T23:25:00.000-07:00

(Auburn, WA) What a scorcher! This past week when we needed to be outside doing things (without dogs) it was cold and rainy. Then the weekend comes, the dogs need to be exerting themselves and it is sunny and 97. Go figure.

I've never been to a trial that had so many scratches. And of the dogs that did actually run, most of them literally walked...with tongues almost down to the ground. I've never seen so much walking on the course. But it really was too hot for all these black dogs and dogs with long coats.

Our dogs were hot but they had the luxury of being in an air conditioned RV between runs. I think that makes a big difference. And Mike completely drenched them before each run. Even Wazzu, who hates the heat, ran nicely.

This was 2iggie's first try at doing courses with contacts.

She did the A-frame perfectly. But the dogwalk was a different color than she's used to so she was afraid to go on it. Mike convinced her it was okay but she crept across all hunkered down. It was sweet and sad at the same time. She was afraid but she was trusting her daddy.

The most interesting thing with 2iggie was that she ran around most of the jumps. After we got home, Mike did some agility with her in the backyard and she did every single jump...so it's not a physical problem. Hmmm. But she did take a few jumps at the trial and did them very nicely as you can see.

She had really nice distance for such a newbie.

Speaking of distance, Boogie was The Man this weekend getting two (yes you read it right), two Elite Chances Q's. And he had some of his fastest Yards Per Second runs this weekend as well. He was really moving.

We think maybe it was the heat. He was too hot to bark much which meant he could concentrate better. See, we should have moved to Phoenix full-time!

When Boogie is weaving really fast, his rear end gets really low to the ground. So you can tell he is scooting here as his knees are almost touching the ground!

And I guess when you run super fast you have to use your rudder.

Great form, great speed...yup, that's my boy!

Most surprising this weekend was Wazzu. She hates the heat. Anything above 60 and she melts. But she ran fast and she was happy. How many dogs do you see smiling this big when they run!

We've never noticed Sparkie being bothered by heat or cold....during agility that is. She must be bothered by something as she barks the entire way around the course. You can see in this picture she is all watered down.

I rarely take open field pictures but this one seemed like it would be a little interesting since there were lots of tunnels in the shot. Sparkie sure does stretch out when there is room to run.

How many bars do you think Sparkie knocks? Tee hee.

Now for some show specifics. You won't find a nicer place to have an agility trial. Outdoors at Argus Ranch is the best. Nice surface, nice scenery, nice facilities, nice places for the dogs to play, great RV spots and hook-ups. The best!

And I normally love trials put on by this club. But in all our years of doing agility there has never been a trial that was planned so poorly...in terms of running order.

There were numerous times when the same level (Novice, Open, Elite) was running in both rings. Extremely poor planning. And they could have changed levels right at the trial to avoid this but they didn't.

Poor Boogie had to run Regular, in 97 degree heat, ....and he ran his little heart out in that run...and then he had to immediately go run Touch N Go. Mike and Boogie literally ran Regular, ran from that ring to the other ring and immediately did Touch N Go.

On a normal weekend that would have been rough. But in this heat it was unacceptable. Just ask Boogie. He did a few obstacles in Touch N Go then ran into a tunnel and laid down....he wouldn't come out. They could have let him rest a little between runs and it wouldn't have taken as long as it did to get him out of the tunnel.

I was not happy about that at all. Shortly after that, the same thing happened to 2iggie. She had to go from Chances directly into Regular. That's really not fair at all...especially for a Novice dog...and in this heat.

Sparkie had to run very close together...three dog break...twice. Very poor planning indeed!

But I loved lying in the sun next to the rings watching. Everyone kept telling me to move into the shade. Are you kidding?! I've been waiting a year for some sun, there is no way I'm hiding in the shade like everyone else! All that and not even a hint of a tan. Oh well, at least I wasn't cold.

Stat highlights:
2iggie got her Novice Tunnelers title and her Outstanding Novice Hoopers title.
Boogie got two Elite Chances Q's, 8 Q's all first place, super fast YPS.
Sparkie got seven Q's.
Wazzu ran in the heat!..and got a few Q's.

What a nice weekend.

Debbie
8/15/10

Diamond in the Rough....We Hope

2010-08-09T23:11:00.000-07:00

(Arlington, WA) Very unexpectedly we made an offer on a property on Saturday.

Mike has been keeping an eye on real estate ever since we returned to Washington in March. Friday he took me took to see a place, Saturday we made an offer and today (Monday) the offer was accepted. We hope to close in just 10 days.

The property is in Arlington...where the heck is that! The property is five full acres and is completely fenced with a 4' chain link fence. About three acres is pasture land and two acres is heavily forested. Between the two is the house.

Well, it's not exactly a house. It's a 35 year old double wide mobile home. And everything in the house is original....read: very old!

Here is a small tour.

This is what you see from the road. If you look just to the right of the two tall trees on the left, you'll see a couple little bright spots. That's the house. This view shows about 1/3 of the front pasture.

Here is the entry gate - on the left side of the property as viewed from the road.

This is the view as you continue down the driveway.

As you get to the end of the driveway (approaching the house) there is a structure on the left side. I'm not sure what it is but it seems fairly sturdy.

Looking to the right of the driveway is the front of the house.

After you pass the tree you see on the left in the above picture, you veer to the right and this is what you see. Parking is to the left end of the house.

Here it is the middle of August and it is cold and rainy...as you can tell by our clothing.

Here is a close-up of the left end of the house. The sliding door leads to the master bedroom.

There is a deck all the way around the house.

This is the view of the back of the house and a very small portion of the back yard.

As you can see, there is forest land around the back side of the property. In fact, about 1/3 - 1/2 of the property is forested.

In the backyard is a small shed...much newer and sturdier than the house!

The dogs gave the backyard their seal of approval. Wazzu is flirting with Slick as Ozzie watches on.

Now a quick peak at the inside of the house. As you enter the front door there is a family room and dining room to the left.

To the right of the front door is the living room.

From the living room is a pass through to the kitchen.

There is a seating booth in the kitchen.

There are three bedrooms. The second bedroom has a nice built-in desk and small walk-in closet.

There is a second full bathroom. Although I've seen larger bathrooms in most cruise ship staterooms.

There. After that big tour, we don't know for sure it will be ours. You never know until it actually closes.

Thanks to Shari for taking some of the pictures used in this entry.

Debbie
8/9/10

Olympia....It's the Water....And a Lot More

2010-08-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

(Olympia, WA) I think my parents are going to start hoping that one of the dogs has a health issue. Why would that possibly be, you ask?

Our vet is in Olympia so each time we need to see the vet we go down to Olympia and then spend the day with my parents.

But today is Sunday. Vet is closed. And we went to Olympia. Reason....my brother came down from Edmonton, Canada to visit. And of course when he comes to the U.S. then his daughter (our very special niece) comes to visit as well.

The weather was beautiful so people were out doing all sorts of fun activities. We watched from the house as these three kayakers went by out in Puget Sound.

The view is so beautiful from my parent's house. And their yard is beautifully landscaped. But most of all, when we all gather, the house is filled to the brim with love.

Wazzu was getting her share of love from her Grandma. I think they are both enjoying this moment.

While the house was filled with love, it wasn't filled with much furniture. They are getting ready to have their carpet replaced so all the furniture was gone except for the couch. The dogs think this is how a house should be. They made a huge racetrack out of the living room and chased each other around and around the couch and they each plopped. It was especially fun to watch as Slugger rarely wants to play anymore but he was full of vim and vigor today!

No wonder Dave and Yumi have smiles on their faces. They just finished having big bowls of ice cream!

The time just flew by and before I knew it, it was time for Dave to fly back home. Sure wish he lived closer. But I guess that's what they say about us as we travel the U.S.

Debbie
8/8/10

Alive....Phew.

2010-08-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) Mike was out hiking with the dogs and running errands. I was home in bed as usual....when the phone rang.

I answered to hear, "Don't worry, I'm alive." As you might guess, I was both relieved and alarmed. What happened? Are the dogs okay too?

Not to worry as you read this. Mike and the dogs are all okay.

Mike was traveling on a two lane highway when a large dump truck going in the opposite direction threw a large rock right at the windshield. It hit right in front of Mike, throwing glass in his face.

Fortunately the rock didn't come through the windshield. And fortunately, Mike was able to keep the car in his lane so as not to have an accident.

You can actually stick your finger through the hole. (Hard to see in the picture.)

Needless to say, we need to get the windshield replaced quickly as the cracks are traveling up the window at a very quick pace. They can't get us in for four days...hope the window stays intact that long.

This brought back memories of an acquaintance of mine (a client at the time) who was traveling on I-405 when a truck lost a huge boulder out the back. The boulder, as large as the big garbage cans we are all supplied, went right through the windshield, killing her immediately. Those of you who have lived in this area for quite some time may remember this.

There is no way to completely guard against this type of incident. But it's sure a good reminder not to travel right behind these trucks that haul rocks and debris.

Be safe. Hug your mates and your dogs. And thank your lucky stars every time they return safely from an outing.

Debbie
8/6/10

Playdate

2010-08-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

(Woodinville, WA) The puppies just keep on growing....which is a good thing. I haven't seen them in person since last week but I did receive a picture. Still just a puppy line-up....and oh so cute.

Today we went over to Shari's for a visit. We took Wazzu, Boogie and 2iggie along to play with her dogs.

Wazzu is always very happy to see Shari and loves hanging out with her.

Wazzu also really likes James. Wazzu was very happy to hang out with James for quite some time.

Wazzu isn't the only one that likes James...2iggie likes him a lot too. As do I!

We all had a great time hanging out together. Shari, Mike, me, Shawn, James, Wazzu, Ozzie, Slick, Boogie and 2iggie. How any of us can you find in this picture? Better look carefully.

2iggie tried her hardest to get Ozzie to play with her. (Hey, look, they match - black dog, red collar.)

But when Ozzie did decide to play, 2iggie went into submissive mode.

A good time was had by all for sure!

Debbie
8/5/10

Another NATCH

2010-08-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

(Kent, WA) This weekend, Mike and four dogs went to a "Games" trial in Kent. Our photographer (me) wasn't there so I don't have any pictures to show you....except one that someone took for Mike.

Sparkie just keeps on going. This weekend she earned her Versatility NATCH-16.

Mike was a busy boy running four dogs! On Sunday, Mike's two skinny black dogs were perfect!

The surface at this arena was very difficult for small dogs....which I guess is why there were only six dogs 12" and under at this trial. Ever seen that before?

The surface was a bark/mulch type surface and when the big dogs ran it made very large holes in the bark. So when Boogie tried to enter the weaves, there was a large hole....and he wouldn't go in it. He kept jumping over it which made him then enter the second pole and then there would be another hole. So he wouldn't weave. But he did everything else perfectly.

Wazzu had a good weekend going 3/4.

Debbie

7/31-8/1/10