KOA on the way. Highwaters and Poise Pads

Val drove to Vicki's Thursday morning so we could all get an early start Thursday afternoon when Vicki and I got off work. We got out of town around 5:30 ish... Final destination; San Jose California and the Cairn Terrier Club of Northern California's Specialty on Saturday. We were going to drive as far as Medford, OR and stay in one of the cute cabins at the KOA. We frequently use them on our Doggie Adventures as they are clean, warm, comfortable and cute.


Conversation was, as usual, wonderful. Dogs, relationships of the past, present and future. Bitches, likes, dislikes, an occasional "WATCH OUT!" from a passenger. Alice T. Garmin, our navigators Val got for Christmas from her sweet hubby (cuz he was tired of her excuse "I got lost on the way home") politely perched on the dashboard gently telling us to "drive". Pretty uneventful drive. We arrived in Medford about 10:30. The cabin had the heater going for us. We walked the doggies, put them back into the van and started readying ourselves for bed. We planned on a simple night: Sleep in our clothes, quick tooth brush, potty and good night Irene. We all had to go to the bathroom together; the women's bathroom was under construction so we were sharing the men's. Someone needed to stand guard to alert approaching men of the danger lurking within. It was pretty cold out.. Not frightfully cold, but cold. There was a foggy-foggy dew on the grass. Vicki was concerned that her pant legs would get wet and she'd sleep in wet pants. ... Well, that set us both off, we hiked up our britches and danced across the grass giggling like 3 silly school girls.. It's great to laugh like that, so cleansing... in so many ways :)

Sorry all.. during my blogging last night we had to go back to our 2007 trip to Montgomery and share with Heidi all that laughter... so this blog will suffer.. I'll try to catch up later.. probably when i get home.

Hello from The Home Front...February 2010

Several of The NW PAWS left yesterday for the NORCAL Shows in San Jose, leaving Marty, Mary and expectant Mother, Sammy with Sharon and Nanny C...and Sammy will be spending part of the time with Ryan. Everyone on the Home Front is sending good thoughts to OZ, Chloe, Jasmine and Sully who are each entered, and to the cheerleaders, Happy and Padme, and of course, to Betsy, Vicki and Val!

Townhome living & training

Oz and I are having issues with movement. Like the sweet dog he is, he had adjusted his normally lovely gait to my short stumpy leg movement so we are working on his reach in the hallway. :) Just thought I'd share.

Rose City Agility pictures of Kona

Here they are...finally. Agility at Rose City was fun, I can hardly wait until Kona is as good as he can be!

Look at the grin...makes me giggle!

Padme/May Ping

Today Padme was giving me the eye in Vicki's backyard. Had to share.

Love, Nanny C

Oz the AGility Wizard

Happy, Oz and I went out to the Columbia Agility barn this morning for a fun match. They were running small to tall so i needed to be there by 9 am... .EWWWW! I figured there wouldn't be many because there is a trial in Vancouver this weekend. I was wrong, there were probably almost 20 dogs/handlers. Only (4) 8", Happy was second, Oz was 4th.

Hap did a beautiful run, he didn't even hesitate on the teeter. I was winded but thoroughly overjoyed. I was totally prepared to be a bit disappointed in his performance, he's been too good lately but, alas, I was wrong to be so negative.

I took Hap to his crate and got Oz, let him potty and headed into the barn. He sniffed at all the good smells outside the arena.. I knew there would be a problem so I ran him on his lead. He did wonderfully.. I lost his attention a couple times but he came right along when the lead went tight. He did everything great, not bad for a dog that has never done more than 2 or 3 obstacles in a row up until last night. We did the whole course without any real issue, well, except for me loosing my place :)

Second run with Happy was better than the first.. Darn, I wish I could run faster, he actually is getting quite good at this. Even the teeter he went on without hesitation, that's unheard of!

I ran and got Oz right after Happy's run. Waiting patiently is not one of Oz's good points. He wanted out there and he wanted to do it right then! He grrrrr-ed at me so we played the clock-heeling game. When it was our turn I was thinking I'd try it without the leash. If he got distracted I'd use the "run away screaming" trick that works with Happy. We got into the arena and his nose hit the ground.. What lovely scents must be in that arena dirt! I had to tug constantly at him all the way to the other end of the arena where the first obstacle was. I had reconsidered the off lead decision, he's too distracted with all the smells. We got to the first jump, I set him up and it was just like a switch went off in his head. He looked at me with that Ozman look that said... Oh, Cool!! Let's play Agility. I can't explain the look, it was solid and I knew he was with me so I removed the lead and off we went TOGETHER!! His nose hit the dirt MAYBE twice but always was right with me. He did the ENTIRE course including all the contact stuff... it was a thing of beauty! This puppy that followed Happy around in Vicki's back yard less than 2 years ago was all grown up and lovin' life in the dirt. He's taken beginning agility classes and that's it!! He still needs lots of work, especially on the weaves and working on my right but OMG, I am soooo excited!!

Now, where's the rats:)

As always, I have to thank my friends that encourage me to move forward. Without them.... COUCH TATER FOR ME!

Oz Turns Two

Oz turned 2 years old yesterday(there is some question as to what side of midnight he was born ). Very uneventful day for us, nice "walkie", a tendon to chew on then bed. Today, however, I decided to take him to Agility class instead of Happy. This isn't your typical class, very informal and our goal is to have fun while learning some skills. Very close/small venue and challenging courses always use up some of the energy our dogs have at the end of the long work week. 2 labs, 1 mini (small) aussie, 1 silky terrier, a portuguese water spaniel and a beagle were our playmates tonight.

We were going tall to small tonight, a good thing cuz I wanted to see if Oz paid attention to the dogs in the ring. He definately took an interest in all the fun activity going on, that was a good thing. I shorted him a bit on his dinner so treats were a very good motivator. When it was our turn we entered the ring and I removed the lead. There is always a bit of fear when that leash comes off, we had to walk quite a ways to the first obstacle and there's always a chance they'll bolt and have fun on their own. I was actually surprised, he sayed right with me!!. He had his normal collar on with a "tab", just in case.

We always do 2 runs per turn. Our first was a bit rough but not as bad as some dogs that have been at it for awhile. He was interested in the treats, it's how I kept him on my right hand, he tends to default to my left. He sailed over the jumps, even a triple, through the tunnel like he was an experienced dog. He has no fear of the teeter but I still "baby" him over it. No worries on the table (he loves "splat" like Happy does) and he tried very hard on the weaves both runs. Runs 3 and4 were even better except, of course, for the teeter and weaves. By the end of the 4th run it was all about running and jumping and not so much about the treats and he stayed with me!!

Happy Birthday, Buddy! Tomorrow all 3 of us will go to the CAT barn for a fun match. I'll keep ya posted :)

THIS is Happy :)

Thank you, Val, for sharing. I'm so swamped at work... and by the time I get home I don't wanna play computer. Today I'm taking it easy, the morning is over and I'm going to eat my salad in peace at my desk. Hope I don't get in trouble for using this pic..