Girls Double It Up

(Boulder City, NV) I was so sure we'd driven from Phoenix to Las Vegas. But I think the RV had a mind of its own and went back to Las Cruces. You can pretty much tell you're in Las Cruces in March when the wind is blowing 20 - 40 mph steady. Well that's what it's like here in Las Vegas this weekend. It is crazy! Tents are blowing all over the place - even though they were staked down, dogs (especially small dogs) are having trouble when they make a turn on course and then have to run directly into the wind, and everyone is so bundled up in the first half of the day that you can't see who is who.

But Wazzu has always loved cool/cold. Combine that with wind, and Wazzu turns into a super speedy, super fast dog. Man alive! I only got to see her do one run on Saturday but it was definitely one for the highlight reel...had I videoed it! But I did get a picture of her flying over the A-frame...her favorite.




I've never seen a picture of Wazzu in full gallop in her 11 years of agility. Wouldn't you know, I finally get one and there is a pole in the way.




Who says dogs can't smile? This is just the fourth obstacle on the course and it looks like she's looking right at me being so happy and proud.




Unlike most times, every picture I took of Wazzu this weekend she had a huge smile.




And we're sure (since the judge said so!)that Sparkie set a speed record in her Chances run. I'm not kidding, she was running low and fast. I think maybe she was trying to stay below the wind! She looked like a snake going over the A-frame she was so low. I don't know how her knees didn't hit the top...or how her chest didn't hit the ramp. We've never seen her do an A-frame like this before but she was really going.




Sunday afternoon there was an extremely hard Chances course. Very few dogs got it - neither Wazzu or Boogie even came close. But Sparkie made it look easy. Here is the hard part. First the dogs had to go straight away from you to do two jumps and a tunnel. You can just see the red jump standard to the right of the picture. And if you look closely you can see the tape on the ground - Mike must stay on this side of the tape. After coming out of the yellow tunnel, almost every dog came in to do the purple jump - you can see Sparkie leaning that way. But Mike gave her a strong "out" to another tunnel - out of the picture to the left....very difficult but Sparkie did it.





After the tunnel you don't see, the dogs had to come back and do the purple jump, red jump and two hoops. As you can see, Mike was very proud of Sparkie.




Okay, so Sparkie still does bark on course.




While it wasn't on the Chances run, both girls earned NATCH's on Saturday. Sparkie earned NATCH #17 and Wazzu earned NATCH #14. This is the fifth time that they have earned NATCH's on the same day. That's amazing. But then again, they have always been great friends and love doing things together. It was way too windy to get a picture...those big ribbons really blow around. But we'll get a picture soon and I'll be sure to post it.

The last run on Saturday was Tunnelers. Mike came back to the RV and said Boogie came in 5th place...behind four other Border Terriers. I was feeling a bit dejected that Boogie was the slowest Border. Oh no, what is happening to little Boogie? He used to be so fast.

But my spirits were lifted first thing Sunday morning when Mike reported that not only did Boogie beat all the Border Terriers in his first Regular run, but no dog beat his time until you got to the Border Collies and Sparkies! In fact, he was over four seconds faster than the 2nd place dog. Gosh, I guess he does still have it...when he puts his mind to it.

Although I must say, I'm amazed he can run at all as much as he barks. He makes Sparkie seem so quiet. What could he possibly be talking about? As you can see, he's saying it loudly and emphatically.




Still barking....but going fast!




I wonder how far Boogie can jump. He always takes off so early and then just keeps on soaring.




No barking! But look, he's checking in to see where to go next.




Even though the wind blew hard most of the weekend, it did let up for a little bit Sunday afternoon. The skydivers took advantage of that small window of time to get a jump in.




Looks like it was a tandem jump. Sure brings back good memories!




I took a few pictures of our very good friend's dog. One turned out really good so I just had to share it. This is Allison's dog Grizz. He is one fast little guy! Look, no feet on the ground.




Slugger and 2iggie were both very good couch potatoes with me all weekend. Early, on Sunday morning, before anyone else was up and about, Mike took Boogie and 2iggie out to the field to run. It's a totally enclosed baseball diamond so Mike let both dogs off leash and 2iggie just did huge laps around and around the field. Mike said the only way he caught her was that she had to stop and "do her business".

Other than the cold and wind, it was a great weekend. All the dogs had a great time (well maybe not Slugger) and we got to see our friends one last time. We'll sure miss them...especially when we get up north and it is cold and rainy and we think of them down her in the nice warm weather. So all of you up north - please start working on the weather for our arrival.

Debbie
3/13-14/10

What Time Is It?

(Las Vegas, NV) I'm the last person you should ask.

When we arrived here it was 3:00pm or so I thought. I was informed that it was only 2:00pm here in Las Vegas. So I set all the clocks back an hour. Wouldn't you know it, now tonight we have to change the clocks forward an hour. Wish they would make up their minds here! We'll be going back to Arizona in a couple days....they don't change their clocks there. Very smart people!

Anyway, so I'm now back on Pacific time. Please remember that if you try to call me.

There is a new feature on my blog. You can sign up to be a Follower. I believe you will then be notified every time I make a new post. I think it's easy. There are two ways to do this.

1) Look just above and to the left of where it says Tails of the Travelin' Trio. You'll see the word Follower. Click on that and follow instructions.

OR

2) Scroll down on this page and in the column on the right you'll see "Follower". Click on the word "Follower" and follow the instructions.

Remember to change your clocks tonight....if you're not in Arizona!

Debbie

3/13/10

PS Speaking of time...I forgot to mention yesterday that it was Wazzu's 11th anniversary of living with us. It's so hard to believe she's been with us that long.

Driving ... with Two Engines

Normally, Phoenix to Las Vegas is a one day drive. But with a new dog in tow we decided to break it into two days. Definitely one of our better decisions as 2iggie wanted nothing to do with her house moving!

We put her in a crate right next to Sparkie and only about a foot away from me. But before we could even start driving she was panting so loud she sounded like a freight train. And she was shivering so hard I thought she was trying to have a contest with Slugger to see who could shiver the hardest. It was a tightly contested event!

I tried to give her some treats but she wanted nothing to do with food at all. We drove four hours on Thursday and she panted and shook the entire time.

Today we drove just two hours and I'm pleased to say 2iggie did much better. She only panted for about 20 minutes then she actually laid down near the back of the cage the remainder of the trip. I caught her napping for a short bit a couple of times. So I think after a few more trips she might think this okay. At least I hope so!

We're in Las Vegas now for an agility trial over the weekend. Since we arrived early we had time to do some tracking with Boogie. He's coming along very well but shows no interest at all in the end article....which is the goal. He finds the glove fine but has no interest in it...he just wants to keep tracking. Hmmm.

Debbie

3/12/10

Playtime

(Ft. McDowell, AZ) Tomorrow is a driving day so we wanted to try to get everyone some good exercise today.

For Wazzu and Slugger that entailed a leisurely walk around the lake with some time spent sitting on the grass watching others walk.

Sparkie got to go out in a field near the RV park where she got to chase critters!

And the two little ones got to go to the off-leash park. This is a great park as it has three different areas. One is for large active dogs. This area is huge. Then there is another area for large passive dogs and another area for small dogs.

Today there were a lot of dogs in the small dog area. When we first arrived there were five Schnauzers. among other dogs. Boogie immediately went over to play with the schnauzers. All five chased Boogie at the same time. There was such a long stream of dogs that I couldn't get them all in the picture.




2iggie wasn't interested in the schnauzers - maybe because there were so many of them. But she had fun chasing balls by herself.




She's pretty good at bringing the ball back most of the time.

After a few minutes, 2iggie noticed another black dog. She decided this would be a great dog to play chase with as there was no way it could catch her. They played chase for a long time...although the other dog had to take a lot of short cuts to get anywhere close to 2iggie. It was some type of bassett mix.




After a lot of running by both dogs, a couple shaved Wheaten Terriers showed up. By then 2iggie had gained a lot of confidence and she decided to join in the fun too. This is what you call a Three Dog Bow.




Then of course the chase was on!





It was interesting how 2iggie was a bit leery about playing chase at the beginning. But after a while she gained a lot of confidence and participated in all the games while barking the entire time. We are finding that at home as well. She is feeling more confident all the time and is getting much more bold.



They had a great time running and playing for about 45 minutes. Since Boogie had been involved in chasing the entire time, he needed a breather.



This is the face of a tired but very happy dog.



Wouldn't you know. Every day we come here, Boogie and 2iggie drink out of the doggie fountain together for a long time before we leave the park. Today when I have the camera they weren't that thirsty since they'd been drinking from puddles during playtime.




Hopefully we have five happy dogs tonight.

Debbie
3/10/10

Stormy Weather

(Ft. McDowell, AZ) We had an unexpected breakthrough last night. All five dogs can now peacefully co-exist in the RV without any doors or blockades separating them. That sure makes things so much easier on all of us! Of course we still have to manage them carefully as there are some hurt feelings among the bunch and they can get testy easily if there is too much commotion. But hopefully that will fade as well in time. I'm very proud of our bunch for being as acceptable as they are to a new dog in the mix.

For 2iggie's part, she is trying ever so hard to fit in. And she's a huge copycat! I think about 80-90% of what she has learned since she has been here, she learned by watching the other dogs. Our biggest problem is that she is so completely attached to Mike. Today Mike took a couple dogs out for a walk and left 2iggie back with me in the bedroom. The second she heard the RV door shut she started howling, crying and jumping around. There was nothing I could do that would calm her down. This kept up until she heard Mike return home. Then she was quiet and calm as could be. We've never had a dog like this before...even with all our fosters...so we're not sure how to help her change this unwanted behavior.

We can't do much outside today as it is hailing so hard. The hail is just a little smaller than the size of ping pong balls. That's big for hail. And inside the RV that is very loud! Mike and 2iggie had to run fast to get inside when that started as neither of them thought that felt nice at all. 2iggie really didn't seem to care too much. As long as she is with her daddy she is the happiest little dog you've ever seen.

After the hail and rainstorm passed by in a few hours, we decided to take Boogie out for his tracking lesson. What a little trouper that guy is. The wind was blowing steady at 35-40 mph and it was in the low 40's. Of course the wind chill was much colder than that.

Boogie absolutely loves tracking. He lies at the start and shivers to beat the band. Then when I tell him to "Go Track" he races off. I am not ready for running! Today was painful as he was too fast for me. He did great on this first two tracks but the third one was very difficult. The wind seemed to have shifted between the time we laid the track and the time he was to start....3 minutes. The poor guy was trying so hard but he kept losing the track. I could tell because he would stop and look back at me and cry. Poor guy. So I helped him a bit and we celebrated big time at the end. But this was just too much wind for a new little tracker.

On our way home we stopped at the little off-leash area so Boogie and 2iggie could play. And play they did. We just can't believe how fast 2iggie can run. And jump! Oh my goodness she jumped over a five foot long puddle like it was the size of a dime. If Mike can ever harness her attention she will be an awesome agility dog. I think she has the potential to be a good distance dog....like she'll forget she's playing with Mike and she'll run off to the next county! Guess they better work on a recall.

Debbie

3/9/10

The First 24 Hours

(Ft. McDowell, AZ) I forgot to show you yesterday how 2iggie meets everyone...each time she meets you...dog or person.




It became obvious to me very early this morning that 2iggie isn't on the same sleep schedule that I am. In fact, I'm sure most dogs and people in the world aren't on my schedule. Usually I finally fall asleep around 3:00 or 4:00am. Last night it was 4:00am and once I wake up I can't go back to sleep. At 5:15, 2iggie decided it was time to get up. Oh no, this is not going to work for very long. I must get more than an hour and a half of sleep a night. All the other dogs are so good - they don't stir at all until I get up....usually around 7 or 8 am.

Mike says not to worry that over time she'll get used to my schedule. Over time! I hope she figures it out by tonight!

But overall, she is doing her best to fit in. We are still in the juggling dogs between the front and the back in just the right combinations. It's very difficult and I really dislike being shut in the back all the time so I hope everyone can get this figured out soon.

Wazzu is feeling very persecuted. Even though 2iggie is a total Daddy's girl, Wazzu just isn't sure she has it in her to break in another dog. She's extremely good with 2iggie...of course. But she'd just as soon not have to share my attention with yet another dog. Wazzu never gets on the bed but last night she got right next to me on the bed. And in her usual fashion she would punch me if I wasn't petting her. But as soon as I would touch her she would push me away. Poor Wazzu is, and has always been, so conflicted when it comes to cuddling. Guess that's why she always hates it.

Boogie likes having a playmate but he is pretty put out by the fact that he isn't the center of attention anymore. He is used to being the "prince". And now there is a princess and he doesn't exactly care for that. Again, he is very good with 2iggie but when not playing he has his ears down and looks sad. There certainly is going to be a bit of an adjustment period.

Today we took Boogie tracking again but this time we had to take 2iggie with us as she screams, barks, howls, and cries when left in a crate. If Mike leaves and I'm around she carries on if in a crate. But she has no problem being in a crate if Mike is around. This is going to have to change as well.

Do you think Mike looks happy with his new dog?




After tracking practice, we took Boogie and 2iggie to an off-leash area to play. Overall they had a great time. But 2iggie is too fast! Boogie had a lot of trouble keeping up with her.




He would try taking short cuts to catch up to her.




I think the reason he had so much trouble is that he always had to carry a tennis ball in his mouth. It really amazes me how he can run full speed, carry a ball in his mouth, and bark loudly all at the same time.




Boogie does this thing where he goes grrr, grrr, grrr, with the ball in his mouth and charges at the other dog. But 2iggie is so quick that before Boogie's front feet hit the ground, 2iggie is a couple yards away.




Often Boogie would stop and chew on the tennis balls.




2iggie couldn't understand why he would want to chew on a stupid ball instead of running around playing chase.




So she'd stand there patiently and wait.




After running around a while by herself,




she decided that maybe she'd try out the running around with a tennis ball thing.



Hopefully they'll rest this evening...and sleep a long time!

Debbie

3/8/10

Potato Chips

(Ft. McDowell, AZ) I'm sure you've all heard the saying: Dogs are like potato chips....you can't have just one!

Well, we really like potato chips! Yup, today our family grew. We now have two people and five dogs in 150 square feet of living space. And I'm sure there is room for just one more! We NEED another little border terrier - at least Boogie and I think so. Although I must say, I think Boogie has forgotten about that for now.

Today started off with a quick trip to the Fiesta Cluster as Boogie was signed up for one run. He ran great! But he looked up at Mike once, barking of course, and just barely went by the entrance to the weaves. Penalty. But he entered the weaves then, did them perfectly and finished the course beautifully. So it didn't count for anything but he had a blast. Mike really thinks Boogie thought he did something wrong today as he looked very sad and subdued when Mike just packed everything up and left. Poor Boogie - he thinks this one run a day stuff is for the birds.

But Mike had to hurry home today as he was anxious to make the trip to go pick up 2iggie. Yup, that's her new name. I'll explain in a bit. Let me tell you a little about her.

She was pulled out of a shelter in Bowie, Texas, when she was about 6 - 8 months old, in early Dec 2008 by Sharon Nelson, the founder/owner of NADAC. We have no idea what the dogs story was before being left at the shelter. At the time of her rescue, Sharon named her Iggy since she was part Italian Greyhound. We believe the other part of her is Border Collie. Sharon kept her and worked with her until February of 2009 when another NADAC member adopted her and changed her name to KC.

Just a short time later, Mike saw the dog and immediately went over and said he wanted to adopt that dog. He was told that she had just been adopted. Mike never stopped talking about KC. Every time he would see her at a trial he would tell me how he wanted that dog. The yearning in his heart only became stronger and stronger even though he knew he would never get her as she had a home.

Then just last month, we got an email out of the blue, saying that KC was being put back in to the NADAC Rescue placement program. But before announcing that, Sharon emailed Mike right away to see if he was still interested.

Oh, Mike was in such a quandary. He paced the floor for hours repeating: "We don't have room for another dog. But I want that dog so bad. We don't have room for another dog. But I want that dog so bad." I knew he would come to the conclusion that we couldn't get the dog because every time I mentioned getting another dog, Mike would tell me, "We can't get another dog until one of the current batch is gone." So I just let him stew about this on his own knowing what the outcome would be.

But a few hours later he came back to the bedroom and told him he'd informed Sharon that if KC was indeed available that he would like to have her. What?! What about the rules! Mike said he'd given it a lot of thought and that I could be the one to go. He said I was more work than all four dogs combined. Hmph.

So after many emails between Mike, Sharon, and the current owner, it was decided that we really couldn't take the dog now but that we could take her on March 16. But before we could commit we needed to have a meeting to make sure KC and all our dogs would get along. And, of course, we needed to visit with her to make sure she was okay with us.

We set up a meeting and went to meet KC. She was very timid and shy around us. But we were careful not to make eye contact and we threw little bits of food to her having the food land a little closer to us all the time. After about 20-30 minutes she would sometimes take a bite of food from us....before backing right up again.

So we brought out our dogs one at a time starting with Wazzu. Once she saw that Wazzu thought we were okay then suddenly she thought we were okay too. She met each dog one at a time and was fine with each one of them. We let them be off leash together except for Slugger as he was just too excited. Even so, KC wasn't intimidated by him in the least.

We were going to be doing a lot of traveling the next month so we wanted to wait until the middle of March and get her when we'd be parked in one place for two weeks. That seemed to work for all involved so we were set. Mike was so excited he just couldn't stand it. Each passing day was an eternity for him.

But then we got a phone call asking if we could please take KC right away. Oh, the person loved KC very much but just didn't want her around anymore as she said KC had run into one of her other dogs and injured it. Mike didn't want to take a chance that the dog would be given to someone else so Mike said he could take her on March 7th after we finished showing Boogie at the Fiesta Cluster.

Mike went by himself to pick up KC....or 2iggie as she'll be called the moment she gets in the car. Now I'll explain the name. We wanted to honor Sharon by using the name she had originally given the dog. But we didn't really care for the name Iggy. So since our home would be her second NADAC rescue home, I decided to put the number 2 (my favorite number) in front of Iggy. This becomes two-iggie. And if you say it fast it becomes twiggy. For those of you old enough to remember, there was a really thin model back in the early to mid-60's named Twiggy. Well 2iggie is really thin so this seemed like the perfect name for her! So, 2iggie it is!

After Mike picked her up, they started making their way home. She was a little spooked in the car. So after just a few minutes, Mike pulled over to let her rest and settle down. When the rain slowed down they took a little walk. Then more driving....and more stopping and walking. By the time they got home three hours later (if you just drove they were about 35 minutes from home), Mike and 2iggie were best friends and she was very comfortable in the car.

(This picture was not taken in the car.)

Look again....that isn't Sparkie!

One by one, Mike took each of the dogs on a walk with 2iggie. This was a great strategy as both dogs would be so busy sniffing that they didn't really pay much attention to each other. After all the walking was done, we put the three big dogs in the back and let 2iggie investigate the RV with Boogie as a chaperon. Those two couldn't stop playing.




Eventually we had to put Boogie in his crate so that 2iggie could rest. But all she did was go to the crate and say "what are you doing in there....why don't you come out and play." So out he came.




After a lot of different pairings of dogs here and there, Mike finally got to relax with 2iggie. Now all is right with the world.



2iggie is doing her best to fit in with all of us. She is very respecting of the other dogs and is very cuddly. Like we have said with all our dogs, they are very grateful to have been rescued and just want to fit in. A huge thank you to 2iggie's former owner for allowing us to have KC and a huge thank you to Sharon for rescuing 2iggie to begin with and for thinking of us when KC needed a new home.

2iggie has now found her "forever home".


I'll leave you with this:

Why own a dog? There's a danger you know
You can't own just one, for the craving will grow.

There's no doubt they're addictive, wherein lies the danger
While living with lots, you'll grow poorer and stranger.

One dog is no trouble, and two are so funny,
The third one is easy, the fourth one's a honey.

The fifth is delightful, the sixth one's a breeze (see Mike I told you so, let's go for six!)
You find you can live with a house full, with ease.

So how 'bout another? Would you really dare?
They're really quite easy, but Oh Lord, the hair!

With dogs on the sofa, and dogs on the bed,
And crates in the kitchen, it's no bother, you said.

They're really no trouble, their manners are great.
What's just one more dog and one more little crate?

The sofa is hairy, the windows are crusty.
The floor is all footprints, the furniture's dusty.

The housekeeping suffers, but what do you care?
Who minds a few noseprints and a little more hair?

So let's keep a puppy, you can always find room.
And a little more time for the dust cloth and broom.

There's hardly a limit to the dogs you can add.
The thought of a cutback, sure makes you feel sad.

Each one is so special, so useful, so funny.
The food bill grows larger, you owe the vet money.

Your folks never visit, few friends come to stay,
Except other dog folks who live the same way.

Your lawn has now died and your shrubs are dead too,
Your weekends are busy, you're off with your crew.

There's dog food and vitamins, training and shots
And entries and travel, and motels cost lots.

Is it worth it, you wonder? Are you caught in a trap?
Then that favorite comes up and climbs in your lap.

Her look says you're special and you know that you will
Keep all the critters in spite of the bill.

Some just for showing, and just to breed,
And some just for loving, they all fill a need.

Winter is a hassle, but the dogs love it true,
And they must have their walks though you and numb and blue.

Late evening is awful, you scream and you shout
At the dogs on the sofa, who refuse to go out.

The dogs and the dog shows, the travel, the thrills
The work and the worry, the pleasure, the bills.

The whole thing seems worth it, the dogs are you life.
They're charming and funny and offset the strife.

Your lifestyle has changed, things just won't be the same.
Yes, those dogs are addictive and so is the dog game.

(Author unknown)

Debbie

3/7/10

My LBD

(Ft. McDowell, AZ) Mike and Boogie left this morning to go back to the Fiesta Cluster. Unfortunately, the past couple days had taken their toll on me so I was unable to go along. I was very disappointed...but I'm actually pretty used to that.

They were in Excellent Jumpers with Weaves today for the first time....along with LOTS of other dogs. There were many border terriers there and Mike said he knew most of them. Not all were Sunkist dogs but many of them were. Boogie ran well for Mike except that he just wasn't focused in the weaves. Mike said Boogie was weaving but not paying attention at all. Finally at pole number seven, he popped out...mostly because he just wasn't watching what he was doing. Mike didn't want to demotivate Boogie so they just kept going as though nothing wrong had happened. Boogie may not have been paying attention today but, as you can see, he does know how to concentrate.



Early this evening, we headed out to try tracking again. It was only Boogie's second day but he made such improvements just since yesterday. He was tracking fast, staying right on the track and even passing up some treats to get to the article at the end. So far he is very excited about this new game. And why not? His favorite thing is to walk along sniffing the ground anyway!

Here you can see how intently he watches the tracklayer....Mike.



A few weeks ago we had some pictures of taken of Boogie. He is such a clown...and oh so cute. Here are just a few of the tricks Boogie learned in just two short three-minute training sessions before our photo shoot.

Hello!




He is getting quite good at walking on his hind legs and staying up like this for well over a minute.




He literally learned this pose after me asking him to do it one time. And he'll stay in this position until you release him. I think we took thirty pictures of him like this without him moving....and only then because we released him.




Nothing fancy here, just my cute boy.




Debbie

3/6/10

photos on this page (except tracking photos) by Karen DeLong Photography

A First for Mike

(Ft. McDowell, AZ) Bright and early we headed out to the Fiesta Cluster again. It was really difficult for me but I was determined to go again today.

Boogie had to get measured before he could compete and his event was the first of the morning. We got there about an hour early so that Mike could walk Boogie around a lot to get him to relax his muscles so he would stand "shorter". This is also why we had Boogie groomed as short as possible. Let me tell you, as it turned out we needed every single hair off of him that Alison pulled and shaved. That coupled with a bit of work on Mike's part to get him to slouch this morning, he measured exactly on the limit. Phew!

The borders were showing (conformation) at exactly the same time as Boogie was scheduled to run in agility. I got to watch a couple minutes of conformation before I had to head to the agility ring. These two pictures are of our Sunkist friend, Simon, with Alison handling him. Unfortunately I had to leave before little Book'n got to show.





I could kind of see the people walking around the conformation ring from where I was standing to watch agility. I saw just enough to see that Alison stood in the Best of Winners spot again. How cool!

But Boogie wasn't concentrating on Alison today (he never got to go over to the conformation area today). He had agility on his brain. We only entered him in one run a day - Open Jumpers with Weaves as he just needed one more Q for his title.

As it turned out Mike and Boogie were to run right after a cute Italian Greyhound. Man, that dog was fast....but it ran fast right out of the ring after just a few obstacles to check something out. It eventually came back and ran like a flash.

Boogie was next. He and Mike were beautiful. Boogie got distracted for just a second at one point when he looked over to see what the IG had been looking for. But Mike got his attention right back.




They were so smooth! When the scores came out, Boogie ended up in 1st place! And there were over twenty 12" dogs. His time was faster than any of the small or medium dogs. It wasn't until you got up to the Border Collie times that he started having any competition. Way to go Mike and Boogie!




We decided we might as well move him up to Excellent for the remaining days. Get this: there are 54 dogs just in the 12" Excellent class. Excellent jumpers for tomorrow is expected to go from 7:45am - 2:00pm. This is one huge trial! We've never done anything in Excellent in AKC so this should be interesting.

Even though we had only been there two hours, I could barely walk at all. So unfortunately we had to take off right away. Darn, I really wanted to hang out in the sunshine, watch our friends and visit some more but it just wasn't in the cards.

We were home by 10:30am and the plan was for me to stay in bed the rest of the day. But at 4:30, Mike went up to check the mail and Boogie's tracking harness had arrived. I'd been anxiously waiting for that for a while so I was excited to go out for Boogie's first tracking session.

So we hopped in the car and went to the grassy area around the fountain at Fountain Hills (where Mike and I used to own property). We did three tracks, one each of 10, 15 and 20 yards. Since all three of us are totally inexperienced, we fumbled around and I'm sure we didn't do it exactly right. But Boogie was excited and participated with much vigor. Even though I don't know what I'm doing, I did find out one thing we need to work on. Article indication. We had worked on it at home and he was great. But out in the real world there was just too much excitement.

Even with Mike being tracklayer, I'm finding that tracking is very difficult for me with my current health status. It's so frustrating. And doing it when I was already in so much pain wasn't such a good idea. I know, Mike told me so. Blah, blah, blah.

This isn't the difficult part.


Debbie
3/5/10

Burt

(Ft. McDowell, AZ) We had a great day. The weather was beautiful and I got to be out and about....kind of like a real person.

Mike, Boogie, and I left home at 9:15am to head all the way across Phoenix to my doctor appointment. I really don't know why I bother. They always just say "hmm, I've never seen anything like that before".

But when that was finally over, we headed out to Westworld where the Fiesta Cluster is being held. The Fiesta Cluster is a huge five day dog show that includes conformation, obedience, rally, and four rings of agility. There are literally thousands of dogs there each day.

We weren't entered in anything today but we went out to root on friends and get Boogie groomed. Two Sunkist dogs (Boogie relatives) were entered in conformation today. Both were being handled by Alison who was Boogie's handler. She is so great with all the dogs. In fact, a quick story: When we arrived we had to walk quite a ways over to the Border Terrier ring. Boogie had his nose glued to the ground big time. Mike tried to pull his head up but he was having nothing to do with that. He continued that the entire way. We were still walking when suddenly Boogie stopped, brought his head way up in the air and started air scenting. Suddenly he locked his eyes on someone and started pulling for all he was worth. We looked up and there was Alison about 20 feet away from us. He wanted to go see Alison! She was busy showing another breed of dog but Boogie wasn't going to move. He stood right there just staring at her. He was so excited when she finally had the chance to come see him. I think he was very disappointed as we stood at that ring for close to three hours and Alison took all these other dogs into the ring but not him. He really loves Alison so much.

While we were waiting for that to begin we saw so many people we know. It seems as though I never got to finish a conversation because people were coming up to me wanting to talk . It was great!! We got to see so many people we haven't seen for a while...and a lot of people that we've seen recently but still were nice enough to come talk with me.

I just can't describe how nice it felt to get to be out in the warm sunshine (okay so I still wore a t-shirt and a sweatshirt), talk with so many nice people, and see so many adorable dogs. We were hanging out at the Border Terrier ring so we knew most of the people there. But other people that were just passing by noticed us and would stop to talk too. I'm sure most (if not all) of you can't begin to comprehend but it was so nice to feel like a human being for a little while instead of just someone being useless holed up in a small bedroom all by myself for days and weeks at a time.

The border terrier ring was about an hour and a half behind schedule. The judge was painstakingly slow like nothing I've ever seen. There were 27 border terriers and it took forever once it finally got started! But I was having such a good time that I didn't really care. We had a great time rooting for our friends. One of the dogs we were rooting for ended up winning Best of Winners (for a five point major) on his very first show. Must be nice! We were so happy for them as they are great people and the dog is super nice...and a good playmate of Boogie's.

When that was finally over, it was time for Boogie to get groomed. And he needed it badly as you can see.




When he was done he looked so cute....well he's always cute but now he is especially cute and feels so soft like a little puppy. But he looks so different when first groomed that we have trouble recognizing him so we call him "Burt".




It was such a great day but I was really hurting by now. So even though I'd intended on doing some shopping at the many vendors on site, there was just no way I could begin to do that. Hopefully I can get some shopping in during the next few days.

Most people think being up for four hours in a day isn't a big deal - in fact they probably don't even think a thing about it. But all of you that are healthy, please enjoy every minute. I had four hours of ecstasy today, oh man it was great! I'm paying for it big time now but I had so much fun.

Many thanks to all the wonderful people and dogs that visited me today. And a special thanks to Boogie's mammu who talked with me on the phone today while I was at the show. What a day!

Debbie

3/4/10

Leaving Las Cruces

(Las Cruces, NM) Today was our last day in Las Cruces. So of course, Mike had to make one last trip to White Sands with the dogs. He decided to go early so the dogs could play before it got too warm. It was only supposed to be 62 degrees today but Boogie gets hot so easy. As it turned out, it was a really good thing they went early as the park closed at 2:30 today due to missile practice being held there this afternoon.

Due to the missile launching this afternoon, they closed the hiking trail where they always play. So Mike just had to pull off the road and hike from there. That meant there were no trail markers. And let me tell you, once you get out in the dunes, every direction looks exactly the same. So they couldn't go very far out at all for fear of getting lost.

Here are the last pictures you'll see of White Sands for this year. It's so interesting that Slugger just doesn't even want to walk anymore. But when they get to White Sands he runs around like he is a puppy. He and Boogie have a great time together...even though it may not look like it!




Even though they play in pairs at times, they spend most of their time all playing together.




Of course you always have to play a game of chase! Not sure where Wazzu is off to so quickly.




Mike was really tricky today - he took a picture of the dogs resting in the back of the car on the way home. (Slugger's spot is in the front seat.)



So long for now, Las Cruces.

Debbie

3/2/10