Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Lewiston shows 2010
Here is the group, lovingly called "Casey's Tour". She worked hard to get us all rolling along and lined up wineries to stop at and a lunch stop as well. It was a wonderful trip with lots of dog showing, 3 breeds represented and several new champions, several majors and lots of new friends.
You can't leave me yet Buddy, we're not done!
This last Sunday Happy came down with something while we were in Lewiston. He was sluggish, vomiting, squirty poop and just not Happy. I felt it would pass but this morning it was very evident that he needed to go to the doctor.
Liz H. is a wonderful vet, Cairn owner and caring person. She looked over Hap and we agreed he needed to stay and get blood work and fluids. The fluids helped a bit but the blood work showed nothing except indications of dehydration so they took x-rays. The x-rays show some "free gas" which may be an indicator of an intestinal perforation. A very scary thing for such a tiny little guy. He's now in surgery, I'm a basket case and need to write.
Over his life Happy has so lived up to his name. I beg God not to take him from me yet, we have rats to hunt, jumps to take and Happy laps to run, Obedience judges to make giggle & Rally judges to piss off! How can one Little 15 pound dog have such and impact on someone? I'll tell you, it's trust, unconditional love, respect, independence and peace.
TRUST: I trust him to tell me when to feed him, let him out and tell me to settle down when we're competing. I trust him to be him, no one else, just himself... cute, fuzzy and funny. He trusts me enough to sleep on his back, fully exposed.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE: No matter how mad I get at him for misbehaving, he loves me. No matter how loud I yell at him because he tripped me, he loves me. No matter how many times I let some little diva drag him on the stage, he loves me. Cute, fuzzy and funny.
RESPECT: We respect each others space. I sleep in the bed, he sleeps in the rocker. I sit on the couch, he is next to me. He respects my rules: no pooping or peeing in the house, no one upstairs unless it's bed time, no eating off the counters. I respect his rules; Walkies twice a day, treats when he does his jobs well, good food and clean water, play time on the bed, a romp on the grass when he feels the need, even in the rally ring.
INDEPENDENCE: He understands I have to go to work, I understand he needs to be alone in the front hall closet. I understand his need to walk at his own pace. He gives me space when I get home until he knows I'm ready for interaction.
PEACE: Quiet evenings at home on the couch. Walking in the new fallen snow on a cold, clear winter night. Sleeping on his back, jewels fully exposed, making me smile.
Oz is so sad and lonely, he's laying by my feet as I write and cry. He crawled into my lap and let me hug him, never trying to free himself. He misses his brother. We're waiting for a call, praying God will let me keep him here with me.
Liz H. is a wonderful vet, Cairn owner and caring person. She looked over Hap and we agreed he needed to stay and get blood work and fluids. The fluids helped a bit but the blood work showed nothing except indications of dehydration so they took x-rays. The x-rays show some "free gas" which may be an indicator of an intestinal perforation. A very scary thing for such a tiny little guy. He's now in surgery, I'm a basket case and need to write.
Over his life Happy has so lived up to his name. I beg God not to take him from me yet, we have rats to hunt, jumps to take and Happy laps to run, Obedience judges to make giggle & Rally judges to piss off! How can one Little 15 pound dog have such and impact on someone? I'll tell you, it's trust, unconditional love, respect, independence and peace.
TRUST: I trust him to tell me when to feed him, let him out and tell me to settle down when we're competing. I trust him to be him, no one else, just himself... cute, fuzzy and funny. He trusts me enough to sleep on his back, fully exposed.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE: No matter how mad I get at him for misbehaving, he loves me. No matter how loud I yell at him because he tripped me, he loves me. No matter how many times I let some little diva drag him on the stage, he loves me. Cute, fuzzy and funny.
RESPECT: We respect each others space. I sleep in the bed, he sleeps in the rocker. I sit on the couch, he is next to me. He respects my rules: no pooping or peeing in the house, no one upstairs unless it's bed time, no eating off the counters. I respect his rules; Walkies twice a day, treats when he does his jobs well, good food and clean water, play time on the bed, a romp on the grass when he feels the need, even in the rally ring.
INDEPENDENCE: He understands I have to go to work, I understand he needs to be alone in the front hall closet. I understand his need to walk at his own pace. He gives me space when I get home until he knows I'm ready for interaction.
PEACE: Quiet evenings at home on the couch. Walking in the new fallen snow on a cold, clear winter night. Sleeping on his back, jewels fully exposed, making me smile.
Oz is so sad and lonely, he's laying by my feet as I write and cry. He crawled into my lap and let me hug him, never trying to free himself. He misses his brother. We're waiting for a call, praying God will let me keep him here with me.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
You've come a long way baby!
Crofters Dream Zinfandel O'Cairngorm:
a
Last weekend in Lewiston, Lou won two 4 point majors! Monday he also won Best Of Breed. We had gone in the hopes of getting one or two majors for Alex..she did get one of those, now just one to go before she is a champion. Lou is more that half way to being a champion as well...wow, what a weekend! To top it off, I got to spend it with my dear friends Dena and Betsy and 9 of my favorite Cairns!
aLast weekend in Lewiston, Lou won two 4 point majors! Monday he also won Best Of Breed. We had gone in the hopes of getting one or two majors for Alex..she did get one of those, now just one to go before she is a champion. Lou is more that half way to being a champion as well...wow, what a weekend! To top it off, I got to spend it with my dear friends Dena and Betsy and 9 of my favorite Cairns!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Terrier in the Grass
Val, Dena, me, Happy, Oz, Alex, Lou, Merl, Sully, Tiger and Kula are in Lewiston Idaho at the Dog Show. Nice Fair grounds. We left The Dalles, Oregon Thursday morning with a few friends and caravanned here, taking it long and slow, stopping at a couple wineries for wine tasting and a cute little Brew Pub in Walla Walla. Good stuff.
Yesterday was fun, although tiring, We all got dumped for other Cairns in the conformation ring as the story goes sometimes. I've got some kind of cold so yesterday after all the festivities in the show ring I layed down and napped. See "Waiting to go to bed' for more thoughts on that activity. Last night we pooled our resources for dinner with our "caravan buddies (Border Terrier/Parson Russel Terrier folks). It was Casey and Paul's 22nd anniversary so the faire was golden. We donated hummus, crackers and our Creamed Tuna on Toast points with fresh Jalapeno slices for an extra kick, which was actually quite fabulous thanks to Val's brilliant cooking skills. Others offered more fancier stuff like pork loin, Cornish game hen, wonderful salsa, wonderful salad and I'm not sure what else but it was all very tasty. Our Border/Parson friends are: Paul/Casey, Steve/Carol, Wally/Carla, Gordon/Charlotte, what wonderful/fun people they are. Carol and Steve brought some Parsons pups for socialization, it was fun passing them around for loves, very cute little guys and very good for little ones. Wally and Carla broke out some Champagne they had stashed for a celebration. We were all tired so we called it an early evening and off to lala land we went.
9:00 ring time today, Saturday. We were up early getting dressed, Val did coffee and I am soo grateful to her for that! Happy had a 10:15 Rally Excellent ring time so I wasn't worried about any conflict, we'd have plenty of time. Oz took second in his Open class, not my wish but that's the gamble you take. THE GOOD NEWS IS... (drum roll please)..... Alex with Dena at the end of the lead took Best of Breed & Best of Winners!! Lou (Val's grand pup) took Best Opposite Sex. We were elated! Now Alex only needs one more major for her long deserved championship and we have 2 more days of shows.. ;)
When Oz and I were done with conformation I put Oz in his crate at ringside and went to get changed and set up at the rally ring. When I got there to set up a crate for Happy no judge but it was early. Walk through was 10:15 and it was only 9:45. I went back to get Happy from ringside, Val & Dena had stayed to help the Border people out a bit. I bid Oz and everyone bye, they bid us good luck and back to the Rally ring Hap and I went.
Past experience tells me that I need to put Hap in his crate until just before we go into the ring so that is what I did. He only snarked at a dog once while he waited in the corner so I was pleased. I let hm roll in the grass a few times in the hopes that would get it out of of his system, he so loves to do that.... I was first in but the only other Excellent A dog had a conflict so we traded with him and were second. I was pumped, he was listening and minding although he did remember there were treats in the crate he did respond to me well.
I entered the ring very confident in our pending success. Hap sat quietly while I removed his lead and the first few steps were very successful. Our first task was "down, walk around your dog", here's how it went:
ME: "Happy, Down." HAPPY "What?" ME: Happy... DOWn" HAPPY: "OH, you mean like this? DIVE into the grass, itch my face and roooooolllllllll around" Pop up long enough to catch a breath and do it again. JUDGE: "get him under control"... VOICE IN MY HEAD"yeah, right" ME: "Happy, here HERE !" HAPPY: "Oh, all right" JUDGE: "Try to start again" ME: "Happy, Heel, let's go buddy" HAPPY: "Oh YAY, we're doing again!" Repeat from the first 'ME' up to "Pop up long enough to catch a breath".
I looked up at the judge long enough to say "we should not do this on the grass, may we be excu...." Then it happened... The famous Happy Laps began. Up off the ground he leaped and headed for the jump, over the jump and around the first turn:
ME; Happy, Here!" JUDGE: "SIT" ME: 'HAPPY HERE!" JUDGE "SIT" ME:HAPPY HERE!! JUDGE; SIT, SIT MAKE HIM SIT" The judges last words were: "make him sit" really got to me.. I started to giggle as Happy cleared the jump for the second time and headed for the serpentine, he so fondly calls "weave poles" in agility. He completed the weaves and over the jump one more time for good measure and looked at me as he would in agility. He knows that if he looks at me he has to do what I say, he was done being a goon. I told him 'DOWN" and he downed looking squarely at me. I walked over to him, got his collar and left the ring.... giggling "MAKE HIM SIT" she said :) OMG, she doesn't have Terreirs, does she Hap...
That is the end of Happy's Rally on Grass career. We will only enter indoor events from now on.
We had a surprise visitor today. Becky Williams from Clearwater Lewiston (paper mill), her husband and grand daughter came to their first dog show and visited us in our camp.. Becky and I have worked over the phone together for years, she's one of my favorite customers. It was fun meeting her face to face for a change and getting to know her little family.
Alex and Dena's run in the Group ring was uneventful, didn't even make the first cut. I have thoughts on this one but... can't publish them. Alex looked FABULOUS and so did Dena, there wasn't any reason for them not to be BEST IN SHOW!! Anyway, they are BIS to me!
Yesterday was fun, although tiring, We all got dumped for other Cairns in the conformation ring as the story goes sometimes. I've got some kind of cold so yesterday after all the festivities in the show ring I layed down and napped. See "Waiting to go to bed' for more thoughts on that activity. Last night we pooled our resources for dinner with our "caravan buddies (Border Terrier/Parson Russel Terrier folks). It was Casey and Paul's 22nd anniversary so the faire was golden. We donated hummus, crackers and our Creamed Tuna on Toast points with fresh Jalapeno slices for an extra kick, which was actually quite fabulous thanks to Val's brilliant cooking skills. Others offered more fancier stuff like pork loin, Cornish game hen, wonderful salsa, wonderful salad and I'm not sure what else but it was all very tasty. Our Border/Parson friends are: Paul/Casey, Steve/Carol, Wally/Carla, Gordon/Charlotte, what wonderful/fun people they are. Carol and Steve brought some Parsons pups for socialization, it was fun passing them around for loves, very cute little guys and very good for little ones. Wally and Carla broke out some Champagne they had stashed for a celebration. We were all tired so we called it an early evening and off to lala land we went.
9:00 ring time today, Saturday. We were up early getting dressed, Val did coffee and I am soo grateful to her for that! Happy had a 10:15 Rally Excellent ring time so I wasn't worried about any conflict, we'd have plenty of time. Oz took second in his Open class, not my wish but that's the gamble you take. THE GOOD NEWS IS... (drum roll please)..... Alex with Dena at the end of the lead took Best of Breed & Best of Winners!! Lou (Val's grand pup) took Best Opposite Sex. We were elated! Now Alex only needs one more major for her long deserved championship and we have 2 more days of shows.. ;)
When Oz and I were done with conformation I put Oz in his crate at ringside and went to get changed and set up at the rally ring. When I got there to set up a crate for Happy no judge but it was early. Walk through was 10:15 and it was only 9:45. I went back to get Happy from ringside, Val & Dena had stayed to help the Border people out a bit. I bid Oz and everyone bye, they bid us good luck and back to the Rally ring Hap and I went.
Past experience tells me that I need to put Hap in his crate until just before we go into the ring so that is what I did. He only snarked at a dog once while he waited in the corner so I was pleased. I let hm roll in the grass a few times in the hopes that would get it out of of his system, he so loves to do that.... I was first in but the only other Excellent A dog had a conflict so we traded with him and were second. I was pumped, he was listening and minding although he did remember there were treats in the crate he did respond to me well.
I entered the ring very confident in our pending success. Hap sat quietly while I removed his lead and the first few steps were very successful. Our first task was "down, walk around your dog", here's how it went:
ME: "Happy, Down." HAPPY "What?" ME: Happy... DOWn" HAPPY: "OH, you mean like this? DIVE into the grass, itch my face and roooooolllllllll around" Pop up long enough to catch a breath and do it again. JUDGE: "get him under control"... VOICE IN MY HEAD"yeah, right" ME: "Happy, here HERE !" HAPPY: "Oh, all right" JUDGE: "Try to start again" ME: "Happy, Heel, let's go buddy" HAPPY: "Oh YAY, we're doing again!" Repeat from the first 'ME' up to "Pop up long enough to catch a breath".
I looked up at the judge long enough to say "we should not do this on the grass, may we be excu...." Then it happened... The famous Happy Laps began. Up off the ground he leaped and headed for the jump, over the jump and around the first turn:
ME; Happy, Here!" JUDGE: "SIT" ME: 'HAPPY HERE!" JUDGE "SIT" ME:HAPPY HERE!! JUDGE; SIT, SIT MAKE HIM SIT" The judges last words were: "make him sit" really got to me.. I started to giggle as Happy cleared the jump for the second time and headed for the serpentine, he so fondly calls "weave poles" in agility. He completed the weaves and over the jump one more time for good measure and looked at me as he would in agility. He knows that if he looks at me he has to do what I say, he was done being a goon. I told him 'DOWN" and he downed looking squarely at me. I walked over to him, got his collar and left the ring.... giggling "MAKE HIM SIT" she said :) OMG, she doesn't have Terreirs, does she Hap...
That is the end of Happy's Rally on Grass career. We will only enter indoor events from now on.
We had a surprise visitor today. Becky Williams from Clearwater Lewiston (paper mill), her husband and grand daughter came to their first dog show and visited us in our camp.. Becky and I have worked over the phone together for years, she's one of my favorite customers. It was fun meeting her face to face for a change and getting to know her little family.
Alex and Dena's run in the Group ring was uneventful, didn't even make the first cut. I have thoughts on this one but... can't publish them. Alex looked FABULOUS and so did Dena, there wasn't any reason for them not to be BEST IN SHOW!! Anyway, they are BIS to me!
Friday, April 16, 2010
Best Buds or BFF
When I brought Oz home as a puppy almost two years ago I really had a small hesitation that Happy would truly welcome him graciously. Even though they would seek each other out and play non-stop in Vicki's back yard I still had doubts. Now, I have been assured that they love each other, that Happy, Mr serious, very much loves (if that is a dog word) Oz. He proved it tonight to me.
We were late for agility practice. Quick dinner, load into the car and zoom off. We have our routine and both are good with that. We worked hard on different types of crosses, not a hard run but very thought provoking as to which to use when and why. When it was time to leave I loaded Oz and his crate into the back end of the car then came back in for Happy. I got Hap out of the crate and put him in a down-stay while I chatted with Lisa and helped clean up so she could leave also. When we were done I took Hap and his crate out to the car and put him in the back seat floor. About 1/2 hour had passed since he had seen Oz.
When we get home from agility practice our routine normally is that I take both dogs out of the car and they run into the house to get their "walkie" leashes. Tonight, for some reason, I took Happy out first and headed into the house with a small load of stuff for the kitchen. Happy stood outside the door for a moment then reluctantly followed me into the kitchen while I dropped everything on the counter. As I turned to him he started barking, very anxiously, and bounced around toward the front door. I walked toward the front and he zoomed past me, barking the whole way, and stopped dead at the threshold (he knows he isn't supposed to go out without permission). I was a bit taken back by this, it's very out of character for him so I had stopped in the hallway. When he saw that I had stopped he got really anxious and bouncy and kind of "herded" me toward the door. I left the front door open, told him to stay and walked out the door toward the car, which seemed to calm him. I opened the back end up and got Oz out. Oz jumped out of the car and ran toward Happy and the front door like he hadn't seen him for days!! Happy jumped around and squealed like a puppy and off they romped into the house, wrestling like a couple pups.
That's the story.. Happy loves Oz. Oz loves Happy.
We were late for agility practice. Quick dinner, load into the car and zoom off. We have our routine and both are good with that. We worked hard on different types of crosses, not a hard run but very thought provoking as to which to use when and why. When it was time to leave I loaded Oz and his crate into the back end of the car then came back in for Happy. I got Hap out of the crate and put him in a down-stay while I chatted with Lisa and helped clean up so she could leave also. When we were done I took Hap and his crate out to the car and put him in the back seat floor. About 1/2 hour had passed since he had seen Oz.
When we get home from agility practice our routine normally is that I take both dogs out of the car and they run into the house to get their "walkie" leashes. Tonight, for some reason, I took Happy out first and headed into the house with a small load of stuff for the kitchen. Happy stood outside the door for a moment then reluctantly followed me into the kitchen while I dropped everything on the counter. As I turned to him he started barking, very anxiously, and bounced around toward the front door. I walked toward the front and he zoomed past me, barking the whole way, and stopped dead at the threshold (he knows he isn't supposed to go out without permission). I was a bit taken back by this, it's very out of character for him so I had stopped in the hallway. When he saw that I had stopped he got really anxious and bouncy and kind of "herded" me toward the door. I left the front door open, told him to stay and walked out the door toward the car, which seemed to calm him. I opened the back end up and got Oz out. Oz jumped out of the car and ran toward Happy and the front door like he hadn't seen him for days!! Happy jumped around and squealed like a puppy and off they romped into the house, wrestling like a couple pups.
That's the story.. Happy loves Oz. Oz loves Happy.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Waiting to go to bed
The pose of a relaxed, trusting, happy Terrier is a sight to behold.I sometimes ponder on how much it means to me to have friends I can trust. When I'm with my friends and feel a little tired I know I can lay down my head, where ever we may be, and take a little snooze. I know that when I'm off to LaLa land they have my back (or front as the case may be). I trust them with my safety, my sanity, my life. I trust them so much that sleeping with "everything" exposed is just a no-brainer to me.
Sleep well Mister Happy-man, I got your .... back!
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