Thursday, September 12, 2013
Friday, September 6, 2013
Happy Gotcha Day Holly!
It's hard to believe its been 4 years since Holly entered my life. I owe a tremendous thanks to her former family for allowing her to come home with me. She's such a happy and fun dog that I can't imagine my life without her.
Thanks for 4 years of fun girlie...I hope we have many, many more years of fun ahead of us.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Letting Go of Ego
With Holly recovering from knee surgery and adding a new dog to my home, agility hasn't been seriously on my agenda this year. Even so, I decided to once again join in the Dog Agility Bloggers Event and do a post on Aging in relation to agility.
Please read all the other great posts on this topic here (http://dogagilityblogevents.
In my last post for this group, I talked about some of the ways that I'd like to see NADAC change. However, when it comes to keeping older dogs competing safely, I believe other agility organizations could follow NADAC's lead on a few things...primarily on jump heights.
Because I've only had one dog during my adult life go through the pains of being elderly (although, sadly, Holly is fast approaching this stage of her life), and because I haven't even hit 40-yrs old just yet (Ack!), I'm going to limit my discussion to just jump heights.
First and foremost, I think the 'battle' we wage on our dogs aging begins before they hit adulthood. Granted, some of us have adopted adult dogs (me included, twice over), so we didn't have control over this portion of our dogs lives. But, keeping our dogs joints healthy from the start can make a huge difference on whether many dogs will be able to continue to compete, or even just play the game at home, when they are older. I believe that not jumping dogs at full height, or for multiple repetitions, until their growth plates are closed can help prevent joint damage in many dogs. Keep in mind, that this damage might not be evident until the dog is much older.
Please note that I'm about to oversimplify things here...there are many combinations of things that you can sign yourself, or your dog, up for in NADAC that determine what height you'll jump and what group your dog will compete with/against. I don't personally think there is anything simple about NADAC rules, so I'm going to gloss over most of it and just touch on heart of things in relation to jump heights.
My first kudos to NADAC is that they do not allow dogs to compete before they are 18 months old...essentially ensuring that growth plates are closed before a dog begins to compete.
My second kudos to NADAC is that dogs do not jump higher than 20". Agility is about more than just jumping. And just because my 23.5" tall and lanky dog can physically jump 26", it does not mean that she should. She jumps 20" comfortably and beautifully. Anything higher than that and, in my mind, she looks awkward, with the jumping looking forced instead of relaxed and natural. I feel so very lucky that there is an organization that agrees with me on this and provides me a venue where I can compete with my freakishly tall dog, but not have to punish her body by repetitiously jumping 24"or 26" jumps.
NADAC also has a veterans group where dog's 7 yrs and older can take a 4" jump height reduction (and in some cases an 8" reduction). Having this choice for my dog is superbly and supremely awesome. Again, agility is about more than just jumping, so I believe that this choice of offering a lowered jump height can allow healthy dogs to continue to compete without punishing their 'getting older' joints.
A dogs jumping form will vary from height to height, but unless they are jumping so badly that they'll hurt themselves at a particular height, I seriously doubt any dog really cares at what height they jump. And, if given a choice, most dogs would likely choose a lower height over a higher one. Jumping your dog higher does not make you any better at agility than someone who's same-sized dog jumps 4", or even 8", lower than yours does.
I do wish that NADAC had a Double Digit Veterans group, where dogs can take an 8" height reduction when they reach 10 yrs old. Because dogs can't jump higher than 20" to begin with, a dog in the 20" group would then jump 12" as a double digit veteran. There is somewhat of a complicated version of this already, but it isn't for double-digit dogs...it's a mandatory drop for all dogs over 8-yrs old. Hopefully each of us knows our dog best and has their best interests in mind, instead of our own ego's. While I believe in lowering our dogs jump heights as they age, I still believe that we should be allowed to individually make the call when that should happen...not to systematically have all dogs drop a jump height just because they reach the age of 8-yrs old. Hopefully that call will be made by the handler before joint or jumping discomfort becomes evident. Because by the time your dog shows signs of aging in their joints, it's too late. The damage is there and now you are in catch-up mode. Instead, we should do all we can to maintain the healthy joints our dogs already have by using prevention.
Not too long ago NADAC eliminated the differences in championship titles between their 2 categories Proficient and Skilled. It used to be that a dog in Proficient received a NATCH and a dog in Skilled received a NATCH-S (or Medal for those from way back). Now, a NATCH is a NATCH is a NATCH. Heights and times are still different between the two categories, but the end title is now the same. There are many arguments on the pros and cons of this, but the main thing I see is that if you want your dog to earn a NATCH title (something that only the human side of the team cares about), you no longer have to jump your dog at a higher height, their whole career, to earn it.
In addition to allowing our dogs to jump lower heights, NADAC also offers four "games" classes...none of which have jumps in them. Courses that are comprised of nothing but tunnels, hoops or a combination thereof plus contacts and weave poles. The courses are a blast and super fun for dogs of all ages to play on.
No, I do not believe our dogs should live in bubbles...not that I didn't seriously consider it each and every time Holly hurt herself last year. But one thing we can do for them is to try and prevent unnecessary wear and tear in agility. My primary suggestion for how we can allow our dogs to continue to comfortably play this game into their double digit years is to continually lower their jump height as they age, instead of dropping their jumps heights by the time they are already old.
Holly is almost 8 yrs old, a freakish 23.5" tall and has had multiple injuries over the last 3 years. Because I value her ability to still play this game (or any game at all) over the next few years, and remain healthy, I've decided that I will never again ask her to jump higher than 16". That is a choice that I make for her, not for me.
When it comes to our dogs...our beloved companions that are so willing to play this silly game with us...I believe that it's good to let go of your ego: Just because your dog can, does not mean that they should.
These are just some of my opinions...what about you? What are your feelings on your agility venue's jump heights? What are you concerned most about in relation to agility and your dog getting older?
Please read all the other great posts on this topic here (http://dogagilityblogevents.
In my last post for this group, I talked about some of the ways that I'd like to see NADAC change. However, when it comes to keeping older dogs competing safely, I believe other agility organizations could follow NADAC's lead on a few things...primarily on jump heights.
Because I've only had one dog during my adult life go through the pains of being elderly (although, sadly, Holly is fast approaching this stage of her life), and because I haven't even hit 40-yrs old just yet (Ack!), I'm going to limit my discussion to just jump heights.
 |
| 10-yr old Casey rocking 12" jumps |
First and foremost, I think the 'battle' we wage on our dogs aging begins before they hit adulthood. Granted, some of us have adopted adult dogs (me included, twice over), so we didn't have control over this portion of our dogs lives. But, keeping our dogs joints healthy from the start can make a huge difference on whether many dogs will be able to continue to compete, or even just play the game at home, when they are older. I believe that not jumping dogs at full height, or for multiple repetitions, until their growth plates are closed can help prevent joint damage in many dogs. Keep in mind, that this damage might not be evident until the dog is much older.
Please note that I'm about to oversimplify things here...there are many combinations of things that you can sign yourself, or your dog, up for in NADAC that determine what height you'll jump and what group your dog will compete with/against. I don't personally think there is anything simple about NADAC rules, so I'm going to gloss over most of it and just touch on heart of things in relation to jump heights.
My first kudos to NADAC is that they do not allow dogs to compete before they are 18 months old...essentially ensuring that growth plates are closed before a dog begins to compete.
My second kudos to NADAC is that dogs do not jump higher than 20". Agility is about more than just jumping. And just because my 23.5" tall and lanky dog can physically jump 26", it does not mean that she should. She jumps 20" comfortably and beautifully. Anything higher than that and, in my mind, she looks awkward, with the jumping looking forced instead of relaxed and natural. I feel so very lucky that there is an organization that agrees with me on this and provides me a venue where I can compete with my freakishly tall dog, but not have to punish her body by repetitiously jumping 24"or 26" jumps.
NADAC also has a veterans group where dog's 7 yrs and older can take a 4" jump height reduction (and in some cases an 8" reduction). Having this choice for my dog is superbly and supremely awesome. Again, agility is about more than just jumping, so I believe that this choice of offering a lowered jump height can allow healthy dogs to continue to compete without punishing their 'getting older' joints.
 |
| 9-yr old Casey having fun jumping 12" |
A dogs jumping form will vary from height to height, but unless they are jumping so badly that they'll hurt themselves at a particular height, I seriously doubt any dog really cares at what height they jump. And, if given a choice, most dogs would likely choose a lower height over a higher one. Jumping your dog higher does not make you any better at agility than someone who's same-sized dog jumps 4", or even 8", lower than yours does.
I do wish that NADAC had a Double Digit Veterans group, where dogs can take an 8" height reduction when they reach 10 yrs old. Because dogs can't jump higher than 20" to begin with, a dog in the 20" group would then jump 12" as a double digit veteran. There is somewhat of a complicated version of this already, but it isn't for double-digit dogs...it's a mandatory drop for all dogs over 8-yrs old. Hopefully each of us knows our dog best and has their best interests in mind, instead of our own ego's. While I believe in lowering our dogs jump heights as they age, I still believe that we should be allowed to individually make the call when that should happen...not to systematically have all dogs drop a jump height just because they reach the age of 8-yrs old. Hopefully that call will be made by the handler before joint or jumping discomfort becomes evident. Because by the time your dog shows signs of aging in their joints, it's too late. The damage is there and now you are in catch-up mode. Instead, we should do all we can to maintain the healthy joints our dogs already have by using prevention.
Not too long ago NADAC eliminated the differences in championship titles between their 2 categories Proficient and Skilled. It used to be that a dog in Proficient received a NATCH and a dog in Skilled received a NATCH-S (or Medal for those from way back). Now, a NATCH is a NATCH is a NATCH. Heights and times are still different between the two categories, but the end title is now the same. There are many arguments on the pros and cons of this, but the main thing I see is that if you want your dog to earn a NATCH title (something that only the human side of the team cares about), you no longer have to jump your dog at a higher height, their whole career, to earn it.
In addition to allowing our dogs to jump lower heights, NADAC also offers four "games" classes...none of which have jumps in them. Courses that are comprised of nothing but tunnels, hoops or a combination thereof plus contacts and weave poles. The courses are a blast and super fun for dogs of all ages to play on.
 |
| Elderly Casey doing a "Tunnelers" course |
No, I do not believe our dogs should live in bubbles...not that I didn't seriously consider it each and every time Holly hurt herself last year. But one thing we can do for them is to try and prevent unnecessary wear and tear in agility. My primary suggestion for how we can allow our dogs to continue to comfortably play this game into their double digit years is to continually lower their jump height as they age, instead of dropping their jumps heights by the time they are already old.
 |
| Holly doing her "Super-Dog!" impression over 16" jumps |
Holly is almost 8 yrs old, a freakish 23.5" tall and has had multiple injuries over the last 3 years. Because I value her ability to still play this game (or any game at all) over the next few years, and remain healthy, I've decided that I will never again ask her to jump higher than 16". That is a choice that I make for her, not for me.
When it comes to our dogs...our beloved companions that are so willing to play this silly game with us...I believe that it's good to let go of your ego: Just because your dog can, does not mean that they should.
These are just some of my opinions...what about you? What are your feelings on your agility venue's jump heights? What are you concerned most about in relation to agility and your dog getting older?
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Actual agility. Seriously.
After several months of missing out on weekly agility club practices, I finally drove down and joined in the fun today. And after months of not posting about training and agility...I mean geeze, 'agility' is in the blog address afterall...I'm actually writing a post about training Danee today. Will wonders never cease?
Danee hasn't been to the arena since May. And while we've been training on obstacles at home, I wasn't sure where her state of mind would be with the busy environment and new dogs. So my goals were simple, and none of them really had anything to do with agility.
1) Practice taking her in and out of the x-pen she shared with Holly in a busy place. My criteria for the x-pen is that both dogs must sit when I open the door. Either of them pops up, I close it again. Then I leash the dog I want and release her by name, and the other dog must remain in a sit until the door is closed again. Danee rocked this. Holly...not so much. Holly was pretty certain I should only be working with her and not Danee. Jealous much?
2) Be able to go into 'working mode' outside of the ring, inside the ring, and focus on whatever the task is at hand. Danee rocked this. She was totally comfortable and able to dive right into working mode in the busy environment. And it was extra busy today too...there were puppies everywhere! She happily did tricks outside the ring, next to the ring while other dogs were running, and inside the ring right before her turn. No problem with focus at all. Not only that, but she did many short obstacle sequences and nailed each one. No hesitation, no hint of stress or confusion at all.
3) Chill out when she's not working. She was able to chill in the pen somewhat, but was not relaxed enough to lie down. She watched everything and stayed very alert. Then again, Holly can't chill either...but Holly takes it the next level and barks incessantly when she's overaroused. So, I'm calling Danee's chill attitude, compared to Holly's, a win.
4) If she wants, to greet new people and new dogs. She did. She took cookies with gusto from several people and shied away from no one. She also liked several of the new dogs, including another dog not unlike herself...a cute little terrier mix.
I was thrilled with Danee today. It was like she'd been doing this for years and had no problem with anything that got thrown her way today. Actual agility included. She sequenced 5 obstacles in a row and drove down to each obstacle with gusto. She even experienced the chute for the first time. Since I do only NADAC, I don't bother training the chute or table. But she hopped onto the table today and dove into the chute (held partway open) with glee.
And so not to be left out of her own blog, Holly got to play too. I only worked on distance and layering with short sequences. She rocked it too. Granted we did some pretty simple stuff today, but it's nice to ease back into things and build on layers of confidence instead of presenting her with nothing but challenge after challenge. If I did that all the time, the poor girls brain would pop.
Both girls took long naps when we got home. Next week, we play with tunnels!
Danee hasn't been to the arena since May. And while we've been training on obstacles at home, I wasn't sure where her state of mind would be with the busy environment and new dogs. So my goals were simple, and none of them really had anything to do with agility.
1) Practice taking her in and out of the x-pen she shared with Holly in a busy place. My criteria for the x-pen is that both dogs must sit when I open the door. Either of them pops up, I close it again. Then I leash the dog I want and release her by name, and the other dog must remain in a sit until the door is closed again. Danee rocked this. Holly...not so much. Holly was pretty certain I should only be working with her and not Danee. Jealous much?
2) Be able to go into 'working mode' outside of the ring, inside the ring, and focus on whatever the task is at hand. Danee rocked this. She was totally comfortable and able to dive right into working mode in the busy environment. And it was extra busy today too...there were puppies everywhere! She happily did tricks outside the ring, next to the ring while other dogs were running, and inside the ring right before her turn. No problem with focus at all. Not only that, but she did many short obstacle sequences and nailed each one. No hesitation, no hint of stress or confusion at all.
3) Chill out when she's not working. She was able to chill in the pen somewhat, but was not relaxed enough to lie down. She watched everything and stayed very alert. Then again, Holly can't chill either...but Holly takes it the next level and barks incessantly when she's overaroused. So, I'm calling Danee's chill attitude, compared to Holly's, a win.
4) If she wants, to greet new people and new dogs. She did. She took cookies with gusto from several people and shied away from no one. She also liked several of the new dogs, including another dog not unlike herself...a cute little terrier mix.
And so not to be left out of her own blog, Holly got to play too. I only worked on distance and layering with short sequences. She rocked it too. Granted we did some pretty simple stuff today, but it's nice to ease back into things and build on layers of confidence instead of presenting her with nothing but challenge after challenge. If I did that all the time, the poor girls brain would pop.
Both girls took long naps when we got home. Next week, we play with tunnels!
Friday, August 16, 2013
Vacations and Catching Up
I've been more or less on vacation the last 2-3 weeks while my parents were here visiting. I say more or less because I worked while they were here (more on that later) and they left for a few days to go visit my sister in another town....and with them went my car. So I worked while they were gone those few days too.
But more or less they were here and we did fun vacationy stuff.
There was swimming for the dogs...yup, after 3 years of convincing her that monsters from the deep were not going to come and grab her, Holly finally swims.
It was hot and my parents are water people, so we visited lots of lakes and rivers...
There was also huckleberry picking...I LOVE it when my family visits when the hucks are ripe. It means that we all go picking and then I get to keep all that was picked. I have over 2 gallons in the freezer now, and I didn't have to do all the picking myself!
We also visited some of their favorite places, like this old growth western cedar forest...they are so old and so large that they rival California's redwoods.
And lastly, because no vacation at my house is complete without a bear (seriously, ask my mom!), here is a picture of my parents with a grizzly bear that, for research purposes, I handled while they were here. They were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to come down and see the bear.
Please note that when this picture was taken this bear was humanely and safely sedated. The bear was sedated in order to place a tracking collar on it and to collect physiological data necessary for research. This picture was taken after all monitoring devices and oxygen were removed, and just prior to placing the bear back inside a culvert trap to safely wake up. The green bandage on his forearm is covering an IV line that is giving the bear fluids while he's sedated.
You can find out more about this bear and this grizzly bear population program at the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Facebook page.
But more or less they were here and we did fun vacationy stuff.
There was swimming for the dogs...yup, after 3 years of convincing her that monsters from the deep were not going to come and grab her, Holly finally swims.
It was hot and my parents are water people, so we visited lots of lakes and rivers...
There was also huckleberry picking...I LOVE it when my family visits when the hucks are ripe. It means that we all go picking and then I get to keep all that was picked. I have over 2 gallons in the freezer now, and I didn't have to do all the picking myself!
We also visited some of their favorite places, like this old growth western cedar forest...they are so old and so large that they rival California's redwoods.
And lastly, because no vacation at my house is complete without a bear (seriously, ask my mom!), here is a picture of my parents with a grizzly bear that, for research purposes, I handled while they were here. They were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to come down and see the bear.
You can find out more about this bear and this grizzly bear population program at the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Facebook page.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Reblog: Before You Breed Your Pet Dog...
This post was originally written by mymegaedog, a dog blogger who also volunteers at her local shelter. It's such a great great idea that I've reblogged it here. Click on the link at the bottom to read the entire post, or you can click here to go to the original blogsite http://mymegaedog.wordpress.com
My last post Please Stop Breeding Your Pet Dog seems to have struck a chord with some. I first want to say that I am grateful that none of the responses I’ve gotten (even the ones who disagreed with me) were nasty. I’m clapping for all of you who have been able to stay level headed about this! Click!
One follower (check her blog and her photography out here) made a comment that really stuck with me though. I’ll quote it off my last post just so I don’t mess it up.
It’s a simple thing, but very profound and honestly something that hadn’t occurred to me before. Her comment was the difference between being simply active about the situation (which, let’s face it, is what I was doing) and being proactive about the situation. I was being a bad positive reinforcement trainer and telling people what they shouldn’t do instead of what they should. That doesn’t negate what I said though and all of those things should be considered, I’ll add that as a caveat.
Volunteering in a local rescue or shelter opens eyes (I know it did mine). I think you’d find that some (if not all) of the reasons that you want to breed your pet dog fall by the wayside in the face of the realty of the homeless dog situation in the United States. It really gives you a little more perspective on some of the common myths.
Click HERE to continue reading this blog post at the original site http://mymegaedog.wordpress.com
My last post Please Stop Breeding Your Pet Dog seems to have struck a chord with some. I first want to say that I am grateful that none of the responses I’ve gotten (even the ones who disagreed with me) were nasty. I’m clapping for all of you who have been able to stay level headed about this! Click!
One follower (check her blog and her photography out here) made a comment that really stuck with me though. I’ll quote it off my last post just so I don’t mess it up.
"I think that people who want to breed their pet dogs should first foster/volunteer for a shelter/rescue for a while."
It’s a simple thing, but very profound and honestly something that hadn’t occurred to me before. Her comment was the difference between being simply active about the situation (which, let’s face it, is what I was doing) and being proactive about the situation. I was being a bad positive reinforcement trainer and telling people what they shouldn’t do instead of what they should. That doesn’t negate what I said though and all of those things should be considered, I’ll add that as a caveat.
Volunteering in a local rescue or shelter opens eyes (I know it did mine). I think you’d find that some (if not all) of the reasons that you want to breed your pet dog fall by the wayside in the face of the realty of the homeless dog situation in the United States. It really gives you a little more perspective on some of the common myths.
Click HERE to continue reading this blog post at the original site http://mymegaedog.wordpress.com
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Working dog, working dog, I'm a working dog
Danee was my work partner this week.
Yes, as part of my job, I get to hike for work. Don't be jealous, the hikes aremostly all up hill, the trails are in thick woods on the sides of mountains, don't usually end anywhere pretty (like an alpine lake), and they are quick 'get in and get out' kind of hikes.
Usually most of my work day involves driving, not hiking. I get far more windshield time than I do boots on the ground time. But this year has been somewhat quiet for me, so I've been out collecting bear hair from trees and other objects (like wooden trail bridges and sign posts) that bears like to rub on. Since the sites are part of a research study, they are marked and have short strands of barbed wire on them. You wouldn't think that a bear would like rubbing their backs and sides on barbed wire, but they do. And because they do, they leave us lots of hair to collect. The sites mostly look like this...
This week my intern was off doing other things, and since I wanted a little company on this hike, I took Little Dog. She's been out on some shorter hikes, but never on a longer one or on a working hike. Holly was jealous she got left behind. But if I take a dog for a working hike, I only take one at a time. I need to focus on work, not on keeping two wild dingos on trail with me.
I kept her on leash so she wouldn't outpace herself and get too tired on the way back. She's never been this far out in the back country so I didn't want her to have a negative experience (or lose her!) her first time out. She was wonderfully patient while I stopped at each of the sites to collect hair, enjoyed lunch with me at the last creek crossing, and I found out that she really likes huckleberries...she even learned to pick her own each time we stopped for a short break.
She even alerted me when she heard a larger animal move off the trail way ahead of us. What a good bear dog :) She was an excellent trail partner and hopefully this will be the start of many back country hikes for us.
Yes, as part of my job, I get to hike for work. Don't be jealous, the hikes are
Usually most of my work day involves driving, not hiking. I get far more windshield time than I do boots on the ground time. But this year has been somewhat quiet for me, so I've been out collecting bear hair from trees and other objects (like wooden trail bridges and sign posts) that bears like to rub on. Since the sites are part of a research study, they are marked and have short strands of barbed wire on them. You wouldn't think that a bear would like rubbing their backs and sides on barbed wire, but they do. And because they do, they leave us lots of hair to collect. The sites mostly look like this...
 |
| A rub tree alongside the hiking trail |
 |
| A close-up view of the tree |
This week my intern was off doing other things, and since I wanted a little company on this hike, I took Little Dog. She's been out on some shorter hikes, but never on a longer one or on a working hike. Holly was jealous she got left behind. But if I take a dog for a working hike, I only take one at a time. I need to focus on work, not on keeping two wild dingos on trail with me.
 |
| Lunch at a creek |
I kept her on leash so she wouldn't outpace herself and get too tired on the way back. She's never been this far out in the back country so I didn't want her to have a negative experience (or lose her!) her first time out. She was wonderfully patient while I stopped at each of the sites to collect hair, enjoyed lunch with me at the last creek crossing, and I found out that she really likes huckleberries...she even learned to pick her own each time we stopped for a short break.
 |
| Mmmmm...huckleberries |
She even alerted me when she heard a larger animal move off the trail way ahead of us. What a good bear dog :) She was an excellent trail partner and hopefully this will be the start of many back country hikes for us.
 |
| More hiking please |
 |
| One tired Little Dog |
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Mountains of Beauty
Our mountain lakes are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. I'm not much of a water person, but there is something serene in visiting lakes and ponds where few humans ever go. Only natural noises...frogs croaking, wind blowing, birds singing. No human related noises...no cars...no planes overhead...no people talking. It's wonderful.
And to prove to you that I haven't abandoned the dogs completely, here's Little Dog feeling mighty sorry for herself. She put a gash on her leg and is on the injured list. No more leaping over sharp pointy sticks in the woods until it heals.
Not only is she stuck on a leash for awhile, but wearing a t-shirt to prevent her from licking it hasn't improved her mood any.
But Holly doesn't care about poor, sad Little Dog...because as soon as I post this, her and I are headed to the river for a swim.
And to prove to you that I haven't abandoned the dogs completely, here's Little Dog feeling mighty sorry for herself. She put a gash on her leg and is on the injured list. No more leaping over sharp pointy sticks in the woods until it heals.
Not only is she stuck on a leash for awhile, but wearing a t-shirt to prevent her from licking it hasn't improved her mood any.
But Holly doesn't care about poor, sad Little Dog...because as soon as I post this, her and I are headed to the river for a swim.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
My Huckleberry Hound
Things keep rolling along this summer...work keeps me busy, though not as busy this year as it has been in years past. As a result, I can do some different things this year...like get out of my truck and hike more. Yay!
I hike to get to know my working area better, to look for bear sign and to check out how bear-foods are looking each year. One of the primary summer foods in this area is huckleberries...and I keep an eye out on how the berries are doing each year as they can tell me a lot about what the bears are going to do. I won't get into bears and berries here...so lets just say that when huckleberry (and other natural berry) production is good out there, my work schedule is pretty quiet.
Both people and bears alike search long and hard for hucks to pick each year. While this area of the state has excellent natural huckleberry production, good berry picking spots are coveted secrets...and I'm not giving any away here! On average, the huckleberries look pretty good this year and I look forward to picking them over the next several weeks...which is necessary if you want hot huckleberry pancakes all winter long, and I do.
Holly loves huckleberries (and thimble berries). Several years ago I showed her how to eat berries from the bush (which wasn't hard) while I was out huckleberry picking. So each year she goes with me to one of my berry picking spots where she can be off leash and eat berries to her hearts content. Unfortunately that usually means following me around lie glue and trying to eat each and every berry I pick...while I'm picking it. She gets some of them, but the rest get slobbered on while I tell her to bugger off and find her own stinking berries. Last year she was too injured to pick berries with me, so I'm looking forward to taking her this year...and also seeing what Danee thinks about all this berry picking nonsense. She's not really a fan of berries...yet.
In other news, I updated several of my previous blog posts about our shelter dogs...but I'll give a quick update on them here too. Cooper, the blind hound mix, was adopted. Susie, the coonhound, was transferred to a neighboring shelter as their area is more 'have a hound dog as a pet' community. Spud has someone coming to look at her tomorrow, but if they do not end up adopting her (keep your fingers crossed!) she will soon be transferred to different neighboring shelter that specializes in adopting out bully-breeds. In the last few weeks we've had 4 dogs adopted with another one hopefully being adopted tomorrow (that's pretty good for a shelter that has a 10 dog capacity). That will leave us just 2-3 dogs up for adoption...and while we have a mostly empty shelter, we'll be doing some kennel improvements. Whoot! It's so nice that these great dogs are finding great homes :)
Speaking of great dogs, have I shared how much I love this dog? Just sayin...
I hike to get to know my working area better, to look for bear sign and to check out how bear-foods are looking each year. One of the primary summer foods in this area is huckleberries...and I keep an eye out on how the berries are doing each year as they can tell me a lot about what the bears are going to do. I won't get into bears and berries here...so lets just say that when huckleberry (and other natural berry) production is good out there, my work schedule is pretty quiet.
Both people and bears alike search long and hard for hucks to pick each year. While this area of the state has excellent natural huckleberry production, good berry picking spots are coveted secrets...and I'm not giving any away here! On average, the huckleberries look pretty good this year and I look forward to picking them over the next several weeks...which is necessary if you want hot huckleberry pancakes all winter long, and I do.
Holly loves huckleberries (and thimble berries). Several years ago I showed her how to eat berries from the bush (which wasn't hard) while I was out huckleberry picking. So each year she goes with me to one of my berry picking spots where she can be off leash and eat berries to her hearts content. Unfortunately that usually means following me around lie glue and trying to eat each and every berry I pick...while I'm picking it. She gets some of them, but the rest get slobbered on while I tell her to bugger off and find her own stinking berries. Last year she was too injured to pick berries with me, so I'm looking forward to taking her this year...and also seeing what Danee thinks about all this berry picking nonsense. She's not really a fan of berries...yet.
In other news, I updated several of my previous blog posts about our shelter dogs...but I'll give a quick update on them here too. Cooper, the blind hound mix, was adopted. Susie, the coonhound, was transferred to a neighboring shelter as their area is more 'have a hound dog as a pet' community. Spud has someone coming to look at her tomorrow, but if they do not end up adopting her (keep your fingers crossed!) she will soon be transferred to different neighboring shelter that specializes in adopting out bully-breeds. In the last few weeks we've had 4 dogs adopted with another one hopefully being adopted tomorrow (that's pretty good for a shelter that has a 10 dog capacity). That will leave us just 2-3 dogs up for adoption...and while we have a mostly empty shelter, we'll be doing some kennel improvements. Whoot! It's so nice that these great dogs are finding great homes :)
Speaking of great dogs, have I shared how much I love this dog? Just sayin...
Sunday, June 30, 2013
It's Summertime, summertime, sum-sum, summertime
Like always, summertime means my life pretty much is absorbed by work. It's all good though, I love my job. And it isn't just a job, it's a lifestyle, and I happily allow my life to be absorbed by my job every spring, summer and fall.
The dogs though? They are pretty unimpressed.
Summertime for others usually means attending training seminars, going to agility trials, training more, etc...but alas, not me. All my fun time, vacation time, and training time is planned for the winter...during my work down-time.
But despite working weird hours and longs days for 8 months out of the year, I still get the dogs out for plenty of walks and hikes...and I am thrilled to pieces that Holly is fit, healthy and really enjoying hiking again.
The dogs though? They are pretty unimpressed.
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| We are not amused |
Summertime for others usually means attending training seminars, going to agility trials, training more, etc...but alas, not me. All my fun time, vacation time, and training time is planned for the winter...during my work down-time.
But despite working weird hours and longs days for 8 months out of the year, I still get the dogs out for plenty of walks and hikes...and I am thrilled to pieces that Holly is fit, healthy and really enjoying hiking again.
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| Look whose covered in thousands of sticky grass seed after a morning hike |
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| Brush Me! |
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| Nap time... |
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| Going... |
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| Going... |
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| Gone |
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Time Rambles On
We've reached a new normal, and I love it.
Next week will be 7 months post TTA surgery and Holly looks awesome. She has no restrictions at all...she wrestles, runs, hikes, and generally beats the crap out of her body and has remained utterly and totally sound! Because of the spondlyosis in her back I'll continue to treat her for arthritis, and have chiro adjustments and acupuncture done every 3 months. It amazes me that her problems all of last year (mostly iliospoas issues) were all connected to her unstable knee.
Little Danee is loving summer. Summer time means warmer days, and warmer days means the dogs get to stay out in the yard all day long while I'm at work. I am truly fortunate to live in a place where I can do this...leave the dogs outside all day in their fenced yard...worry free. Initially Danee didn't think it was okay to be out in the yard without me. But now she insists on going out after breakfast and spending the early morning soaking up the sun while I get ready for work. She hasn't mastered the dog door into the basement yet, so I have to leave the door open. It's nice and cool down there, and they have many comfy beds to sleep on down there when they decide to take a break from all the glorious sunshine.
Summertime also means a busy work schedule for me. Actually, it's not so much of a "schedule" at all since I'm on call to work as-needed, and I also put in a regular 40-hr work week. It means that some days are short, quiet and I get to spend a lot of time with the dogs. And other days, I work 14+ hours and, aside from popping in on the dogs to let them in the house or feed them, I don't get home until after 11pm...which pretty much summed up my life this past week. Unfortunately, the dogs haven't mastered doing laundry, making me dinner or cleaning the house while I'm gone, so weeks like that can be tiresome when nothing gets done while you are out working.
If the pictures of Danee (aka Little Bit, Wee One, Small, Tiny or Short Stuff) in the planter or sitting next to Holly didn't give you a perspective on just how small she really is, here's a picture of her napping with Kya. Aside from her girth, Kya is a petite cat, weighing in around 9 lbs.
And lastly, since it's Saturday, let me share some information for one of our long-timer girls at the Kootenai Pets for Life shelter. "Long-timer" as in she's been in and out of our shelter since 2010.
Meet Spud :)
Spud is a lovely Bully girl, but no one seems to want her. Our small town has a BSL (breed specific law) and bans any and all bully breeds in city limits. This has sown fear and mistrust in Bully Breeds here and it's unlikely that poor Spud will be adopted locally. I'm working on getting her information out to social networks to get her adopted out elsewhere, so please pass on her information to help her find a home.
She enjoys killing squeakie toys...in fact, she didn't want to give this toy up until I traded it for a hotdog...playing fetch, snuggle time and going for walks. She's one of our sweetest shelter girls. Admittedly, she's learned a few bad shelter habits...barking at people to get what she wants (Bark, Bark "Give me a cookie dammit!"), and entertaining herself by fence running. But she's a really bright girl and I have no doubt that these will disappear with the one-on-one time she'll get in a home.
Know someone who could help Spud? Here's her PetFinder information and contact information for the Kootenai Pets for Life shelter in Libby, Montana.
Next week will be 7 months post TTA surgery and Holly looks awesome. She has no restrictions at all...she wrestles, runs, hikes, and generally beats the crap out of her body and has remained utterly and totally sound! Because of the spondlyosis in her back I'll continue to treat her for arthritis, and have chiro adjustments and acupuncture done every 3 months. It amazes me that her problems all of last year (mostly iliospoas issues) were all connected to her unstable knee.
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| Holly's favorite yard pastime...rolling on a dead worm |
Little Danee is loving summer. Summer time means warmer days, and warmer days means the dogs get to stay out in the yard all day long while I'm at work. I am truly fortunate to live in a place where I can do this...leave the dogs outside all day in their fenced yard...worry free. Initially Danee didn't think it was okay to be out in the yard without me. But now she insists on going out after breakfast and spending the early morning soaking up the sun while I get ready for work. She hasn't mastered the dog door into the basement yet, so I have to leave the door open. It's nice and cool down there, and they have many comfy beds to sleep on down there when they decide to take a break from all the glorious sunshine.
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| Her favorite sun baking spot. Well, it was...until I planted strawberries in it! |
Summertime also means a busy work schedule for me. Actually, it's not so much of a "schedule" at all since I'm on call to work as-needed, and I also put in a regular 40-hr work week. It means that some days are short, quiet and I get to spend a lot of time with the dogs. And other days, I work 14+ hours and, aside from popping in on the dogs to let them in the house or feed them, I don't get home until after 11pm...which pretty much summed up my life this past week. Unfortunately, the dogs haven't mastered doing laundry, making me dinner or cleaning the house while I'm gone, so weeks like that can be tiresome when nothing gets done while you are out working.
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| We are unimpressed with your work schedule... |
If the pictures of Danee (aka Little Bit, Wee One, Small, Tiny or Short Stuff) in the planter or sitting next to Holly didn't give you a perspective on just how small she really is, here's a picture of her napping with Kya. Aside from her girth, Kya is a petite cat, weighing in around 9 lbs.
And lastly, since it's Saturday, let me share some information for one of our long-timer girls at the Kootenai Pets for Life shelter. "Long-timer" as in she's been in and out of our shelter since 2010.
Meet Spud :)
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| Who knew Yoda played with toys? |
Spud is a lovely Bully girl, but no one seems to want her. Our small town has a BSL (breed specific law) and bans any and all bully breeds in city limits. This has sown fear and mistrust in Bully Breeds here and it's unlikely that poor Spud will be adopted locally. I'm working on getting her information out to social networks to get her adopted out elsewhere, so please pass on her information to help her find a home.
She enjoys killing squeakie toys...in fact, she didn't want to give this toy up until I traded it for a hotdog...playing fetch, snuggle time and going for walks. She's one of our sweetest shelter girls. Admittedly, she's learned a few bad shelter habits...barking at people to get what she wants (Bark, Bark "Give me a cookie dammit!"), and entertaining herself by fence running. But she's a really bright girl and I have no doubt that these will disappear with the one-on-one time she'll get in a home.
Know someone who could help Spud? Here's her PetFinder information and contact information for the Kootenai Pets for Life shelter in Libby, Montana.
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