Three Sunkist Generations

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

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

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

Debbie

What a Weekend!

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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