I watch this movie every season, but somehow managed to miss it this year:>( Not to anyone elses dismay, I might add:>) So in the spirit of not losing sight of traditions, I did manage to see the summary version today! Featuring Cricket, Sasha, Nixie, Brenda and Katie. Splendid remake, if I do say so myself.
First they haul in this tree. It is big. And I don’t get to play with it! THEN a sheep appears. Almost as big as me. Follows me around and even tries to sit on me! Friends come and go and everyone brings treats – num! AND THEN there is all this commotion and celebration and pictures being taken and food being eaten and laughing and more laughing and even more laughing. AND THEN I FINALLY GET TO TAKE A NAP! Whew. It’s hard being a baby dog sometimes.
What a splendid day:>) Flyball with the border collies this morning was most excellent. Katie ran Sasha like the wind. Cricket is faster than the blink of an eye. We are struggling a bit with recalls – she seems to want to return the ball to the box instead of to me. But she’s getting better and had some great runs this morning. We are trying to get reaaaaaaaaaaaaady for a UFLI tournament in Canada at the end of August. Katie will race Sasha on the team and I will debut the Crickster in singles. The BC’s were bushed after practice – and it is hot. So frozen yogurt for all!!! This is just small cups of plain organic Greek yogurt frozen in their little containers. The dogs love it – and it’s good for them:>) Can’t beat that with a stick.
Brenda’s son and family are visiting and hanging this weekend. So for all the Cooper’s who follow the blog, here are a few family shots. Buddy is their dog. Nixie loves Buddy. Buddy also liked the yogurt treat:>)
It is HOT. It is the 4Th of July. The dogs are HOT. The wading pool is full of cold water and ice. The big dogs are wet and lying in front of the fans. The baby dog has taken her frozen bone and retreated to her shady cool place in the garden. I see her peeking out every once in awhile. Mostly she is hidden from sight. We did some jump training early this morning before it got too humid. It is so warm, in fact, she hasn’t even been bugging me to train all day long:>) Fortunately, she does not notice fireworks. Neither does the Nix. Sasha will cower behind a toilet all night. But we’ll plug in the DAP (Dog Appeaser Pheromone) and put on some music and try to behave as if nothing bad is happening. DAP is the stuff that momma dog’s secrete in their milk to soothe their baby pups. It is odorless and has no impact on people or other animals besides dogs. I doubt it works on every dog, but our three zone out in bliss when we plug in the infuser.
The worst thing you can do for a fearful dog is coddle them. It reinforces the fear – afterall, if you are all mushy and treating them like they are eggshells, there must be something really scary going on. So it’s best to do what can be done to support them, keep them safe and inside and out of harm’s way, and carry on with the rest of life. We are all waiting for the sun to drop so it cools down enough to start the grill. Marinading the roast beast now, then throw on some corn and asparagus. Pour a little wine. Sit back and try to stay cool for the evening and keep everyone safe and calm. Then FLYBALL practice early tomorrow morning – YEAH!
Summertime in the NW – and a month early! Can’t beat that with a stick:>) We are on countdown here. Five and a half more days of school! WhooHoo!!! Katie has been working double time to finish up year end projects, meet her committments in track and the school musical, and just stay alive. This collage is a web page from a personal website she’s building as her tech project at school. There’s a home page, a number of tabs (hobbies, pets, rice, forest ridge, Three Dogs Blog, etc) and this is the entry to the Pets tab. I think she did a really nice job with it, especially the way that Cricket’s ears fit into the star!
Otherwise, it is HOT. I mean like 90 degrees and melting hot. The dogs are panting with no exertion. All the fans are out and busy moving around hot air. The plants in the yard and in baskets have just exploded over the last week what with regular watering and the heat. One has to walk carefully around the house to avoid the bodies sprawled across the cool tile and wood floors.
We’re having the house painted in a couple of weeks which means moving plants and “stuff” away from the house. We broke down the dog run this weekend but there remains much to shift around. I am hoping it cools down a bit this weekend so we can muddle through the rest. And then Katie and I will be off to Kansas for a week. Brenda to Tennesee to speak at a conference. And the dogs go to the doggy spa, Cascade Kennel, in Woodinville. Where they will be wined and dined and played with, have some basic training reinforced, get groomed, and generally have some down time. Not sure what the Crickster will think about that. New experience for the pup!
Ah yes, the pup that Cricket is kissing on the top left of the picture is Velo, a Hob Nob cousin:>)
The dogs and I spent a fabulous afternoon with friends in the country yesterday. It was hot! We played in the rotating sprinkler and the girls discovered the seasonal pond, much to the dismay of the temporarily displaced ducks. Wak Wak! There was much racing about and exploring, chasing of Frisbees, cavorting in the water as the afternoon sun just glistened. Sigh. Much happiness and relaxation was had by all. AND the girls slept like little toasted oats all the way home:) I imagine they wore out Brawnwyn, their corgi buddy, who is not used to cavorting and running about with the tribe. She held her own very well, though, and kept everyone in line:>)
I went to visit Dr. Evelyn last week. She’s a nice lady who loves border collies like me! I met her at an agility trial not long ago and her Hob Nob puppy, Velo (that’s Veeeeeeeeeeeelo with one of them long eeeeeeee’s). Dr. E is a vetrenary person who takes cares of pups. Velo is very lucky ‘cuz he gets to go to work with his mom! But he stays in one of those crates, like me, ‘cept when he gets to play. So he sure was glad I came to visit him! That meant he got to come out:>) He’s 12 weeks old. Mom says she bemembers when I was that little. I’m big now! A whole year old. And I get to have a spay. I think that’s a special present for grown up doggies or somethin’. Anyway, Dr. E said I was cute as hell and fit as a fiddle, whatever a fiddle is. I get to go back to get my spay in a couple of weeks. I’m trying not to get too excited about it since I don’t really know what it is – but when did I ever get a present I didn’t like? Woo Hoo!The World Team Agility competition will be in Austria in September. It’s akin to the Olympics of Agility. There is a long process that culminates in a “try out” to be selected to represent the USA on the USA team. Three sets of dogs seperated based on their jump height. The “large dogs” (lol) are those jumping the highest jump bars – 26″. The try outs for World Team were just held in MN and there was a veritable army of Hob Nob dogs competing, as well as Hob Nob dog owners cheering from the stands. The large dog team is comprised of four dogs – and TWO OF THEM ARE HOB NOB DOGS! Why do I care about Hob Nob dogs? Why – CRICKET is a Hob Nob Dog, silly! AND Scheme, her daddy, is the same daddy to the two HN dogs that made the team! So half the world team this year will be Cricket cousins! How cool is that?!? And half the world team this year were bred by Jan DeMello! How cool is that?!? AND Geri and Focus (Hob Nob Sharper Image), who were on the team last year, are returning to compete again this year. And are joined by Channan Fosty and Icon (Hob Nob Cult Classic) So for those who have never seen “world class” agility – here are Channan Fosty and Icon in the MN try outs:>) Poetry in motion!
What a great day – the whole weekend actually! Sunny and warm enough for short sleeves all weekend long! Dogs to the park. Dogs on walks. Sasha and Cricket got to go to flyball practice this morning. It’s our first time back to flyball since December when I pulled Cricket out because she was just over-the-top unfocused and crazed. And Sasha has been out since her leg injury last fall. They were sooooo happy to play the game again even though all they got to do was flat recalls this morning. We’re going to take this slowly. Nevertheless they were thrilled to be there and to be racing and barking their little heads off. Crickey is so much more focused on me now. She’s matured alot in the last three months and her brain is starting to connect with her body. I’m glad we took a break – it was the right decision. And then more training this afternoon. A friend came over and taught me some tips on control techniques and beginning circle work. So that was fun. And of course, it’s never enough, as you can see from the expression on the Crickster’s face after a full day of training, racing and attention. “What’s next, mom?”
Cricket creeps. Ever since she started perch-work in pre-agility class she has become very adept at squeezing her little butt into very tiny spaces. In this case, she eeled up onto the outside tile (6×6) edge around the tub, then evidently crept behind the Brenda bather (who was obliviously lost in a book), and secured herself a choice viewing spot in the corner. Now how anyone can not notice a 30# border collie puppy oozing around them in the bathtub, I cannot say. But it happened. Whereupon I was summoned to the scene with my phone to snap a picture.
Sasha, not to be upstaged, immediately threw herself back into her traditional lurking position, ready to grab bubbles and play in the water.
