Third time is the what now?

IT WAS A DIFFERENT DOG. I guess the same way Tally has a big red "X" target on her, my house has a big red "X" target for all the dogs who run loose around the countryside. For the THIRD TIME in twelve months, and the second time in 30 days, a dog broke INTO my fenced yard (this one not by ripping open the fence, like the last two, but by mashing himself between the gate and post, bending the fence and stretching the wire holding it shut) and had a fight with my dogs.

Sadly for him, this dog is about as old as I am, and Rain was on the warpath. What I saw from the middle of the yard was Rain flipping something over the top of his head, then bearing down on it while Tally ran in under him and wise Jas stood five feet back, barking her little head off- "You get out of my yard! My brother Rain's gonna kill you! You get out now!" I first thought he had a coyote, then when I saw it was black I thought it was the little 30-pound Kelpie who lives next door to the pair of cattle dogs who did the last two break-ins here.

When I got there and pulled Tally out from under Rain, he was still holding the dog, a 60-poundish black and grey-from-age lab mix, down and trashing it. Unlike previous fights I've had to break up, where pulling Rain off takes all my power and I have to keep holding him back, when I pulled him off this dog he came with me and on command, lay down between my feet. He knew he was winning this fight, and was willing to leave it. I actually think he was a little confused by having such an advantage. As soon as my dogs were off the old dog he squeezed out the gate and took off in a hobble-step down my driveway.

I handed the dogs off to my roommate (who has witnessed the last two attacks) to take inside, and took off out my gate after the dog. He ran down the road and when we passed my barn, I went up the driveway and jumped in the truck to follow him. He cut through a field and I was able to ask a neighbor about him and now I think I know where he lives- in a house set well back from the road, behind a locked gate.

This is such a hard situation because I don't know what to do. I was IN THE YARD when this happened. This dog, and the dogs involved the other times, CAME THROUGH THE FENCE THAT HOLDS MY DOGS IN. I've said I'll shoot the cattle dogs next time, but is it fair to shoot a different dog the "first time"? Clackamas County dog laws say that a dog "chasing livestock may be killed instantly by any person" so I assume I can kill a dog for fighting with mine on my property, but how? Can't shoot into a dog fight. If I pull mine off and the other dog is running away, can I shoot him then or does he have to be coming toward my dogs?
And besides that, it's not always practical to get the gun. I was closer to the fight than I was to my gun, and I'm not going to go away from a fight to get the gun, not when it's a large dog who could kill my 15-pound dogs in a matter of seconds.
Same thing with taking a picture so I can prove to the owners (in the case of the cattle dogs, whose owner's don't believe it) or to animal control that the dog was here. I'm not going to let a dogfight continue so I can go get a blasted camera. If I could pull my dogs off and get them inside and have the other dog still trapped in the yard, that would be nice, but since the other dogs are coming through the fence to get here, they just go out the same way.

Even putting a camera or gun by the door isn't a practical solution, because like today, I was already outside when this happened. I just don't know what to do. I've spent hundreds fencing my yard in a way that keeps my dogs- small dogs, large dogs, intact males, in-season females, IN. I can't afford to keep every other blasted dog in the world OUT. This is so frustrating.

TDAA Judging assignment

Our friend Heidi Jankowski (Ivy's mom) just shared with me she has accepted two judging assignments for TDAA .

Congratulations Heidi!

We are excited for you. One is at Fido Farm in the Olympia Washington area in March. The other is for the TDAA Grand Prix in October. (which will also be in Washington state).

We are all planning to enter the March trial (I think). Too bad the Grand Prix is a conflict with the CTCA National Specialty in Pennsylvania! We will be supporting the agility, rally, conformation and earth dog there.

Congratulations again to Heidi..she is on her way!

NW Paws, no longer will we wander....

The question is this. Is wandering so bad? The answer: "If you miss your agility start times...YES!!!"

From now on we will be able to enjoy "informed wandering". We can wander if we choose, or we can go directly to events, places of interest, coffee shops, agility trials..you get the picture. Yes, I am excited. I KNOW, Dena has maps on her phone. Sometimes she isn't there. Besides, this way, we can all participates in the antics of the persona inhabiting the Garmin!

Santa Claus and the Christmas Spirit pics

just a few.

Hattie found her voice!

Sunday morning I dropped Kona and Hattie off at my friend Janices' house. They were to stay with her while 12 of my family and 6 of our dogs headed into the mountains.
Tonight Greg and I went to pick them up. Janice and Bill live on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. An area of old homes beautifully kept, narrow streets and sidewalks. While we were visiting, there was a knock at the door. My two and Janice's 3 cairns ran to the door barking. Janice opened to find carolers! A group of about 12 people strolling along and singing carols, they also had someone playing jingle bells while they sang. Hattie LOVED it! SHE SANG ALONG...YES, I SAID SANG!!!! This is the dog who has been trying for 2 years to get her second qualifying leg in Earth Dog for her Junior title. Someone from the group jumped out to take a picture of us standing on the porch, each holding one of the dogs. I guess I need to get a cluster of bells to get her primed to bark at the rats!
'

Santa Claus and the Holiday Spirit

By now you know my blogs are winded.. this one is certainly no exception. I hope you like this story, my experience today moved me so I had to share. I could give you a brief picture but that ain't the way this girl rolls ;)

For some reason I've struggled this year with the Holiday "spirit". My tree is up and it has lights but only 2 ornaments. No other decorations are out, not even the antler collect I so prize. Today changed that. Holidays are about family and friends and giving. Giving of yourself, not gifts. Love and caring, making people smile who otherwise may not be able to without some encouragement. Today I have felt the love and the warm, loving hand of God. I honestly saw it with my own eyes in one beautiful man and a little black dog. Here's how:

On very short notice the company I work for agreed to host the Candlelighter's Candy Cane Lane event that was held today. This event is held every year by the Candlelighter's (who are some of the most incredible people I know). I work with their president, his wife is their volunteer coordinator. Their story is a blog in itself.

Among other amazing things the Candlelighter's assist families with children going through Leukemia treatment and recovery. At Christmas time they invite those who are struggling financially to come choose gifts for all the children in their family. The gifts they receive are collected by Angels over the year and stored until Candy Cane Lane event happens.

We started planning this just before Thanksgiving. This last Thursday the gifts were moved into our shop by a bunch of great guys. They were sorted, "priced" and arranged by a bunch of wonderful women. To give you a visual of what it looked like: Picture five of the huge rack sections at Costco - 3 high, another industrial wire rack with 5 shelves, five (maybe more) 6' and 8' tables all stacked and packed with gifts. Sorted by gender and age. I cannot even imagine how many gifts there were, I would guess thousands. It was certainly a sight to behold. I can't find my camera right now but will post pics when I do. Another area with stands and 12 - 15 people to wrap. A table with gift cards for the older kids and several other volunteers helping the parents "shop". Quite a production. And of course, Christmas Music for the mood.

My baby brother, Bob, land his wonderful wife, Gretchen lost Audrey, their second granddaughter to Leukemia 9 years ago, she was 6 months old. Bob is a gentleman and a gentle man. He talks big but is a pussy cat underneath. I knew he was the perfect Santa so I asked him and he graciously agreed to do it. He even brought his own elf, Beth, and his hand-maiden, Gretchen, to help.

We had crafts and activities for the kids in our "Tech Center". The parents would bring the kids in, get them settled then head to "Santa's Workshop" to pick out the gifts for their children. After "shopping" they would leave the gift choices with "elf" volunteers who wrapped them while the parents went back into the tech center to hang with the kids. We had some incredible teenagers and their parents there to help with the kids. There was cookies, hot cider, tea, cocoa, and Chex mix to munch on. Activities included: Decorating Cookies, Bingo, Facepainting, coloring, Holiday Card making, painting ornaments, and a little black Cairn Terrier named Happy to do his repertoire of tricks.

I'm not sure what the total head count was but I'm sure it was almost 150, not including the volunteers. The majority of them children, some in treatment, but you couldn't tell, they all had smiles on their faces.

My one hero is Brother Bob. Bob was the perfect Santa. He hugged gently, like the arms of an angel he would swaddle those who felt the Santa spirit within this wonderful, gentle man. I saw very few children pull away from him, like in the stores. Some would watch carefully from a distance how he interacted with others then, slowly, quietly, would come to him for a soft-spoken word or a tender pat of the hand. Ultimately, most would eventually snuggle close for a warm Santa hug. That's Christmas, warm, loving and giving of ones self.

Happy is my other hero in this story. Pat Gentry: I hope you know how I love this little black dog at my side and how he's changed my life. Thank you for trusting me with this precious little man.

Physically, Happy is 10" at the shoulder and maybe 12 pounds (that pre-neuter belly band just doesn't fit anymore). Emotionally and spiritually he is 10 feet tall. With no leash, (only a cute, white bow tie) and only dog treats for rewards he stayed with me. He waived, bowed, rolled over, played "bang, dead dog", went night night, spun, and danced for the children for 3 hours with only 3 short breaks. When I asked him to "pet pet" he would stay still for any number of kids to mob him. At one point, while laying "spread eagle" on his belly, he had 4 kids surrounding him: 2 kids on his side petting his back, one at his tail flipping the long hair hanging on the end, and the fourth at his head petting his fluffy ears. Not once did he worry about any of them, not once did he look at the child playing with his tail, not once did he ask to leave, not once did he move away from their little exploring hands. Throughout the night he did some shopping, picking up some cookie bits dropped on the ground. Once he accepted a gift of a marshmallow from a little boy...gently offered and gently taken, before I could stop him. All in all he was at my heal, ready for any direction I gave him. Although, ultimately he made the decision as to what was proper.

One girl that came (she was maybe 13 or 14 yrs old) was a concern of mine. When she arrived she was in a wheelchair being pushed by her Dad. Her eyes were sad, when she spoke it was monotoned, lacking the lustre of a teenage girl. I felt so bad for her, I knew she must be in pain, whether it was physical or emotional didn't matter. I got irritated at Happy when we first met her. When I asked him to greet her he turned his back to her. I was mortified! I picked him up for her to pet him and, again, he turned his head away while she begrudgingly reached to touch him. I had never seen him react that way. I put him down, her dad pushed her away and I headed for my office and his crate thinking maybe he needed a break. Then he saw another child arriving and wriggled to go greet him. Ok, he knows something I don't...

We saw this girl off and on for the next hour and a half or so. Each time there was more and more spark in her eyes. By the time it was time for her to leave she was beaming. When we came upon her for the last time she was in the same spot where we first met. I moved with Hap toward her and he trotted right up to her feet in the wheelchair. He then play bowed, gently stood up on his hind legs and rested his front feet on her knee. She reached over and patted his head and he got down. She had apologized and he had accepted. She then flipped the foot rests out of the way and got out of her chair, touched my arm to steady herself and sat on the floor! Happy jumped into her lap like they had known each other for years. I was terrified he would break her so I glanced at her dad to see if he was concerned. He, also, had a huge smile on his face. After petting Hap all over she reached for my hands to help her up, talking non-stop about her little Pomeranian. She pulled out her cell phone and showed me the cutest damn pics of her and her dog then said "oh, I should show Santa!". Dad got the chair and she said "no, I'm fine, just park it." I could tell he was pleased. By the time I got to Santa's area she was chatting like a teenage girl and showing Santa her pictures.. Santa also had noticed the sad little girl that came to us just a few hours before. He was as touched as I was.

So Happy and I have the calling. We'll work on Therapy Dog status this year.

Oz, my little big man, also got the chance to meet some kids.. His overwhelming enthusiasm was very appreciated but they stayed clear.. He'll be the snuggler Therapy dog when he grows up, I have no doubt. His bag of tricks will be different from his brothers.... He's the Ozman!

Thank you all for reading. I love ya all and decorations will go up before I leave for the CRCTC Holiday Party tomorrow afternoon!

Ridgefield shows

Last weekend was a two day show at the Clark County Events Center. It was the first show for me since October at the Cairn Terrier National Specialty. I entered Lou and Merl, took them and Sully and Kula with me. We stayed at Vicki's house along with Heidi, Dena, Betsy and Ryan. It was a lot of fun. Vicki cleaned and polished her house, had beds made up for all of us. Betsy had gone and gotten food and we were ready to celebrate.

To begin with, will someone be sure to remind me that the "reserved heated grooming" IS NOT worth the money they charge? Next time I think of doing that, I will buy a nice big heater instead! We had a nice big spot, Dawn and her son and grand daughter set up with us as well.

Because of an real concentrated effort, there were majors in boys and girls both days! Saturday Barb McNamee finished Manny. Susan Harper got the girl major with Misty. Sunday Vicki got the boy major with Jimmy and her puppy Spirit being shown by Susan McAlpin got the girl points.

Heidi with Ivy did a good job showing. Getting better every time they are in the ring. Lou and Merl were not used to the show thing, but they did fine. Lou actually did a little better than Merl on the leash. Lou pulled off to the right which caused him to look goofy when trotting. I have to figure out how to train that situation. Lou probably won't have to worry about it in the future. I won't do anything right now, waiting to see if he grows up enough to make it reasonable to show him.
It was a really cold and windy weekend. I had a wonderful time with everyone there, that is the reason I show the dogs and do all of the preformance stuff. It is fun doing the stuff with the dogs, but most important is the relationship with all of the wonderful people ring side.

Take Two!

A wise person learns from what now?????

Neighbor's same two dogs that got INTO my yard last Feb and caused $1500 of damage to Rain's face almost did the same today. They didn't get through the fence this time, although after I ran them off, there was a hole large enough that they could have come in or Rain (or Tally or Jas, also involved) could have gone out. So I guess I should feel lucky.....
Also I'd like to point out that all the white hairs in the second picture are from the last attack by these dogs.

Of course when I called the neighbor she said her dogs were "right out front, by the shop." Yeah they are. Because I just chased them off.

I replaced the 10-foot section of fence they destroyed with a better section, instead of 4x4 holes this one has 2x4 so it's a lot stronger, and no dog heads can go through it.

I'm tempted to take Rain to the vet just so I have a bill to prove damage, but last time the vet refused to write that the injury was caused by a dogfight ("I didn't see it happen"), and since the neighbors didn't pay anyway, it seems like it would just cost me money. Tally is emotionally scarred for life, I think because I ran up behind them all cursing and yelling and blowing an airhorn. She went under the deck first, and as soon as I got her out of there she went in Jas's crate and hasn't come out since. She'll probably need years of therapy.

Jimmy is Getting Insurance!

After another trip to the Vet...this time, another toenail removal...the human parents of Jimmy High Hopes Lannigan have purchased Vet insurance. They hope this will put an end to nose bites from squirrels, torn toe tendons and any other medical emergencies. In the meantime, he is now being called, Jimmy "High Maintenance" Lannigan!

Happy Birthday, Betsy!

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!

We love you!

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!

May all your dreams come true!

When you blow out the candles,

One light stays aglow...

It's the love light in your eyes

Where ere' you go!

We love you Aunty Betsy!

Nanny C and Zoe

Marty and Jimmy...Hangin' Out

Marty and Jimmy spent the afternoon at Zoe's house. They are BFF...Best Friends Forever!

Okay, so I had to buy the pictures...

The "Cairn Posse of Argus TDAA of 2009"

Humans from left to right. Heidi, Ryan, Vicki, Val, Betsy

Cairns from left to right. Bow, Brindle, Sammy, Mary, Kula, Kona, Happy

Here is Kula. She did it, she has come back from two ACL repairs to run agility again! We have some mental stuff to figure out, hopefully work through and trial in the future. She does deserve at least one agility title. She is THE one! Hopefully Ryan can help me problem solve this one.

Kona ran his first and most of the courses with so much promise. I am very excited about getting in classes with him. He really had a good time, went on every piece of equipment and in spite of the fact that he had never been on a full course and never had an official class had very little confusion regarding what I was asking! He had never been on an A frame or through a tire jump before. He had a wonderful time and I think we will have many more trials, both TDAA and AKC!

Now I can include them in personal stuff. ... I only bought my dogs and this one.

Betsy's version of Argus TDAA Experience

Val and I arrived at Argus Ranch early Friday afternoon. What a wonderful place to be. I left from my home in Beaverton Oregon about 10:30am heading to Auburn Washington’s Argus Ranch for a Teacup Dog Agility Assn trial. The weather was horrible, raining cats and dogs and blowing like crazy. I seriously thought I was truly insane traveling 3 hours to the north in the cold and rain only to be cold and wet in a barn doing agility with Happy. Then I thought ‘Wow, I’ll be with Val, Heidi, Mike, all our dogs and staying in Val’s warm, dry motor home. It will be fun! And to further the fun Ryan, and Vicki will be joining us on Saturday night. PARTY DOWN!

The further north I traveled the nicer it got. By the time I got to Chehalis the sun was out, dipping only occasionally behind some clouds. Still a few rain showers to tend with but nothing like what was in Portland/Vancouver with the windshield wipers on fast and still not getting it all and no cruise control allowed.

I arrived at Argus shortly after Val… about 2:30. The first and only sign on the driveway I saw was “Water turned off at 33 degrees”.. uh oh. Oh Well…the sun is out and although it is a bit chilly, not bad at all. What an awesome place. Fenced paddocks everywhere and a big field for the dogs to run in (on leash of course in most) but wide and open. Mike and Heidi came a bit later. They started from their home in Yreka California on Thursday and stopped in Salem Thursday for the night. Walmart parking lots are the best places for motor homes and travel trailers to spend the night. I heard that Mike actually bought some slippers that night.

We set up camp, parking the rigs next to each other so we can see one another come and go J X-pens with tarps to ward off the cold wind and rain. Leave the canopies low just in case the wind gusts too hard. Eat a nice dinner, walk dogs then settle into the night with knitting/crocheting and Nintendo DS. Bedtime wasn’t too late, we had a busy day in the morning.

Val was up first, as usual. She’s so careful not to make any noise to wake me. I was awake anyway, excited and anxious to find out what teacup agility is all about. Cold cold cold… Yes, it was warm inside but the furnace and the heater had to work hard. We had our Lattes then walked the dogs. Frost on the pumpkin, fence, grass and ice in the kiddy pools!! BRRRRRRR!! It was cold. Now I understand the water shut off notification. No clouds so it should thaw but OMG is it cold… How I miss my hot flashes.

The barn was only about 100 feet from our camp… nice huh? We had set up our spot the night before so it was pretty nice, right under the heaters in the barn. Happy, Kona and Kula needed to get measured so we did that and went and checked in. They had an “Equipment familiarization” area adjacent to the agility ring. It had all the contact pieces plus a tunnel, chute and weave poles that you can try out. Happy nor I had never seen the stuff so we headed over. I was amazed! Yes, it is small in comparison to the huge regulation stuff but it is so Happy friendly. The top of the A-frame is about 4.5’ tall, the teeter is not a huge, noisy, slamming pile of wood and steel and the dog walk is not as tall or as long (I don’t think) but a lot narrower. Best of all; the contact items are sprayed with a rubberized texture. Since Happy has been…. Neutered he’s struggled getting to the top of the standard A-Frame but not on the Teacup stuff.

At first I was hesitant about using this small equipment, afraid that if and when we went to the full sized venue the dogs would balk at the size. SILLY ME! I know these dogs, they are terriers and nothing frightens them. Now, I can’t wait to do it again. I think this is perfect for Hap to build up his muscles again and Oz will love it too.

Our first time in the competition ring was exhilarating! Happy and I went thru a good portion of the obstacles, teeter included, until Happy saw another dog & handler running in the familiarization area. Off he went to tell them, in no uncertain terms, they should NOT be there while he is “performing”! After some persistent “coaxing” by me from a distance, he came back and finished the course with me, not perfectly but better than me carrying him out. The good news is we were only 8.81 seconds over time and NO faults. So, if he hadn't taken interest in the two practicing on the side we would have qualified. bummer.

The rest of the day I worked the ring. I find it keeps me moving (good thing for an overweight 50+, diabetic woman) and I get to watch all the different styles of running/handling. There was a great potluck all day and a wonderful raffle with drawings both days. I think I’m going to start doing that at the CRCTC events.

We ended the day having dinner with Heidi and Mike in Val’s motor home. Mike had made some very yummy Clam Chowder (my grandsons would be soo jealous), nice warm garlic and cheesy breads, and I made a salad. Good food, good friends and wonderful conversation. Heidi (another knitting evangelist) wanted to show Val a new knitting stitch so Mike went back to their trailer, I started my own fun with crocheting. Vicki and Ryan got there about 8:30ish. We were all pumped and stayed up too late sharing stories.

To save you from more boring blow by blows of our day on Sunday I’ll dig right in. It was raining... hard! I’ve pretty much blocked the first run from my brain, Happy and I did finish together but not without me working hard to convince Happy to come with me. He finally came but not quickly and with we finished with faults. He now has an aversion to the teeter… I know it’s my fault but no matter, I need to fix it. I’m still happy with what we did, even tho it was well below what he is capable of doing.

I wasn’t signed up for anything else so when they asked if we wanted to do a “For exhibition only” run I jumped on it! My strategy was to make Happy want to come with me so I told everyone not to be surprised by what I did if he “wandered” off. The “game” was called “Helter Skelter”. A spiral made up of jumps and tunnels that you start from outside to inside then back out again. We made it to the center and were heading out when he broke out. I started to turn to try to coax him then remembered NO, I HAVE TO GET HIS ATTENTION. So.. I turned away from him, Screamed “AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH” and hollered silly things as I ran the course on my own. I didn’t see his face but I’m sure he was a bit surprised. He caught up with me at about the fourth to the end obstacle. Did all except one and finished with me. Hopefully I can do that a few more times to ingrain that being with me is fun.

We had a blast this last weekend. I can’t wait to do it again and again and again. The people in the group are warm and welcoming and fun! One word of wisdom for anyone that is skeptical… Try it! The 3 hour drive was so worth this trip, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Val gave me a window sticker about two years ago that I put on my van. I felt kind of weird since I had never really 'done it' --> Addicted to Agility. Well, now I am!!
We had so much fun. Ryan and I drove up late Saturday night and bunked with Val and Betsy. Argus ranch is incredible!
In the morning we all helped out. I was resetting the jumps for the first 'game' and decided to try it For Exhibition Only - FEO. We did it and I survived.
I had signed up for both Standard Beginning Courses. I qualified in both with a fourth place and then a second place. We then signed up for another game called Helter Skelter (18 jumps/tunnels in a spiral in and then spiral out. Mary was only 6 seconds behind Sammy earning her another second place ribbon. Ryan and I changed dogs for FEO. Mary did great for Ryan and Sammy did OK for me but was definitely looking and heading to find Ryan. We then hit the last outer spiral and Sammy kicked into high gear and I was flat out running to keep up with her. We had such an awesome time. The best was the Agility A-Go-Go guy game me a set of weave poles to practice with for the next 6 months!! We then took the dogs -- Rain, Mary, Sammy, Tally, Padme, Jasmine, Oz and Happy into the off-leash field for a romp.
We all slept in this morning even Spirit. I think she had fun at Nanny Cindy's.

TDAA more fun than we could imagine.

This weekend was spent trying something new. Teacup Agility. From what I can see this is a burgeoning sport that will be catching on fast. It is agility scaled to the small dog. The equipment is smaller, the courses tighter, the people mostly a bit more laid back than I have experienced in other venues and really welcoming and friendly! Our friend Heidi got us interested when she mentioned that she was coming up to the Northwest to trial. Ryan, Vicki, Betsy and I jumped on it and decided to join her.
I took the motorhome down meeting Heidi and her husband in their 5th wheel and we stayed on site at Argus Ranch. Betsy met us on Friday, Ryan and Vicki on Saturday. Argus is a great facility (I would highly recommend staying on site if you can. The "bunk house" and showers are terrific!)
The dogs and I had a wonderful time. No "Q's" for us this time, but Kula was so happy to run again and Kona did an amazing job with no lessons and no training the last three weeks due to an ankle sprain (mine).
So the agility bug has bitten us again and Vicki is now officially an "Agility Addict" as her car window sign has predicted for a couple of years now! Ryan did his usual amazing job with what ever performance event he participates in. Betsy and Happy were the delight of many as Happy did his best best to ignore her and Betsy took off running by herself convincing him that indeed he DID want to run with her! They were the best! Heidi and her crew did a wonderful job, #1 driving the farthest :-), #2 teaching me to knit with two colors, #3 introducing us to TDAA, and #4 Quallifying several times and earning a new title!
Thanks Heidi! More to follow from the rest of the gang in attnedance!

Rally Bust, Conformation prize

Saturday Oz, Happy and I drove to Salem to partake in Rally competition. Happy in Excellent A, Oz in Advanced B.

Happy and I were first competitors in the ring... Unfortunately, Happy always picks up on my performance anxiety so he lagged behind. He did OK but his unwillingness to participate in my anxiety pretty much blew the whole thing out of the water. Once I decided we were screwed (the third from the last obstacle) and we wouldn't pass, Happy hopped into step and pranced proudly at my side, doing the last 3 obstacle perfectly... Damn... gotta take drugs or something to solve MY issues!! We were the only Excellent team NOT to pass!! And, I did the offset figure 8 wrong!!

It was Oz's first time in the competition off leash. Our practices were OK, he still has quite a love for the smells, but all in all they went well. My fear was the off leash, not the obstacles. He actually did pretty well considering. The 2nd obstacle was the broad jump and he hit it with his rear leg... I think it hurt. He sniffed the bowls in the off center figure 8 then came back to me and did the rest pretty good. Still not passing but not bad for a first timer.

Sunday Vicki, Cindi, Padme, Jazz Jimmy, Oz and I drove back down for Conformation... Cindi with her new shoes (yes, they can be worn to confirmations also). Oz won Winners Dog and best opposite, Poor Jimmy, he looked so good too... Padme won winners bitch, Jazz had fun :)

Happy stayed with Mary at home... Evidently he didn't look at any of her chewies cuz he was still alive when we got home.

On our way home we stopped at Rockin' Rogers on Market street for a late lunch. Cute little 50's style diner with nothing but yummy comfort food (they do have nice salads tho). We all stuffed ourselves as best as we could and headed home.

Nice time, great friends, good weekend. I'm taking beer to agility next weekend!!

Pal Joey

The name of this scruffy little character in the movie Pal Joey, is Snuffy.

This clip is the best one for capturing a bit of the terrier persona!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNTLcieagcY&feature=related

Peaceful night

There is nothing more relaxing than spending a cool fall evening with your buddies.

• Happy in his "downstairs" rocking chair,
• Oz on his favorite perching pillow on the couch
• Tom Kitty-Dog curled up in Oz's hand-me-down puppy bed.

AAAAAAaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh, I'm in Heaven on Earth.

Tom Sawyer appears

As if to prove her extreme intelligence once again, Tally just "Tom Sawyer'ed" Rain out of a bone.

After a very stressful evening dealing with skunk on Rain, some on Tally, and some on me (that one took a while, I couldn't figure out why Rain smelled okay close up but smelled worse from a slight distance), the dogs have settled in to chew bones.

Rain is chewing a rib bone that came to him fresh a few days ago. It's clean now, but still a yummy and high-value bone.
Tally has been watching him from a distance of 6 inches for the last hour. I finally got on the ground next to her and teased her- "You were in this house all day with that bone and never touched it, and now that Rain has it, you want it, huh?" She wagged and when I handed her a nearby Nylabone, held it tight with her paws and started to chew.

I moved back to the computer chair and looked back at the dogs. Tally was chewing her Nylabone right in Rain's face, and as he lifted off the rib bone to look at what Tally had, she scooted a few inches away from him. He scooted toward her and she turned a little further. He scooted again and reached his neck out as far as it would go, the rib bone lying between his paws.
Tally jumped up off the Nylabone, grabbed the rib bone and moved across the room, her back to Rain, to lay down and chew it. Rain investigated the Nylabone, decided what he had was better, then looked between his front legs for the rib bone. Missing it, he looked first at me, trying to hold my laughter in, then reached out and carefully took the Nylabone.

Interestingly, if anyone is wondering what to do about skunk, I learned just last week that an immediate reaction is best (before it "sets") so we all ran back to the house and pulled out the hose. Rain was bathed with all the dog shampoo in the house and, when that ran out, some of the human shampoo. He then got heavily sprayed with two different types of dog coat conditioner, both scented, then got rinsed.

Then, this was the best part. I had just bought a huge bottle of unscented, plain Listerine, to use on Sammy as I was taught by Dawn (more on that later). I thought it might do something, so he got half the bottle worked into his coat, then got rinsed. Then into the house to dry off and warm up, and while still damp, was misted down with 1 part water to 1 part Listerine. Put into the laundry room to let that settle in, took care of Tally and myself (which were no where near as bad as Rain), then let him back in. Almost NO scent, only on his right shoulder, where he had actually been wet from the skunk spray. Yay for another use for Listerine!

Out of the mouths of babes

Been meaning to post this for a while.
As Moses Lake earthdog a few weeks ago, another Cairn owner, Clare, was there with her two wonderful boy Cairns and her human family. Scotch earned his Junior title there last year and was working on Senior. Her younger one, a Wolfpit dog, liked to run through the tunnels but mostly wanted to stare at the rats, erupting into work only when he could hear Scotch working above him.

On Sunday, after his two failed attempts at junior, I was saying good-bye to the little dog and teasing him about learning from his brother before next year. Clare's son, maybe 9 or 10 years old, piped up, "My dad says he's a union dog!"
Predicting where this was going, I turned and grinned at him. "What?"
"My dad says he just doesn't want to work, and that makes him a union dog!"

Although I think that maybe the dog was just holding out for equitable treatment of the other dogs and the rats.

Emergency Alarm idea

This idea was on a list I belong to.

Take your car keys to bed with you at night. If you hear someone in your house, press the alarm on the key fob (or course this is assuming you are lucky enough to have one of these..I am not, having lost the only one I had and too cheap to order a new one). The alarm will continue going of until your car battery dies or you turn it off with the button on the fob.

Remember to carry the keys in your hand as you approach your car in parking lots, for the same reason.

Here is an alarm system you have already paid for. Most assailants do not want the attention that the noise and flashing lights would draw.

A great idea, so I am passing it on!

Happy Laps return, Daschunds (1), Bunnies (0), Betsy (0)

Let me first let you know how much I love Happy... Silly little Black booger that he is. Tonight he tested me and lived to tell. You all know him, cute, funny, terrorist-terrier. Tenacious is his middle name.

After almost 3 years of various agility training I ventured to a training session out in the country. I rode with a friend, Heather, and her black Pug, Jac Jac. An awesome agility team that swore by this instructor.

When we arrived it was dark. It never occured to me that we would be running outside but it wasn't raining. The barn was closed up, we were the first to arrive. Potty the boys and wait patiently for everyone to show. Happy spots the agility equipment outside behind the barn and realizes what he was there to do.. Mr Waggy Tale is up and ready. The ladies that had arrived for class are talking about the grounds and wondered if the bunnies were all gone... Bunnies?? No worries, there aren't any steers here and he is totally focused and excited about the tunnels and jumps he sees.

Everyone is there, introductions are done and the class begins. First is a beautiful Rottie girl, 24" jumps, just a quick sequence; jump, jump, tunnel, a-frame, jump, jump, tunnel, table. Next is a great lookin' Ridgeback girl, nice runs both of them. Happy is focused on the agility runs, excited to take his turn. Then Woody, a golden. Beautiful boy and nice run. The neighbor dogs start barking.. Happy takes notice but when it's Jac Jac's turn he refocuses on the agility stuff. Jac Jac does wonderfully.

Then... (drum roll please) the neighbor dogs start barking. Happy swings to look at them, the other handlers say "oh no, not the Dachshunds!"... oh.... my.... friggin' God... NOT DACHSHUNDS!! Thems is hunting dogs, Rat hunting dogs!! Holy Crap. No, Happy is focused, he loves agility and had only 1/2 of his dinner portion before we left home, I have cheese and the rest of his kibble. We'll be fine, the weeners have quieted down.

Up to the start line we go, Happy prancing and watching me with every step he takes. I hand him a piece of cheese, pat him on his little cute fuzzy head and swing my hand to let him know to come to heel. I slip the lead off his head and tell him to stay, he's watching me like he loves me and the cheese I have in my pocket. One more stay command, I stand upright and THE DAMNED DACHSHUNDS START BARKING AGAIN!!! Happy spins on his hauches and launches himself in the opposite direction of the jump, off toward the fenceline to put those damned weeners in their place. By the time he got within 15 feet of the fence I had the whistle out, whistled once and he spun and headed toward me. After 3 bounds toward me his nose went up as his body came down... oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE BUNNIES!!

The hunt was on, I was screwed. The hunt continued for what seemed 3 hours. I called him: "Happy, come here, check this!!" Over he came, took one sniff and went back to his scent line where the bunnies really are! Damn... I told the other handlers if he makes eye contact (yeah, black dog in the dark, brilliant) tell him down. That didn't ever happen. The instructor said "walk towards him" I said: "I can't see him"(black dog in the dark)... she said, "yeah, I know" The only thing I didn't try was falling on the ground and crying, the method used when he was chasing the steers in Forest Grove. I'm not sure how long this continued, time was of no matter to me anymore... it just meant Hap would live that much longer.

Finally, Happy just walked up to me... just that easy... "here I am, wanna do some agility now?".

He spent the rest of the class in a box in the car. The instructor offered private lessons on a long line.

Now that we are home He is digging through the toy box.. No doubt looking for a friggin' bunny. Oz, my sweet boy, is snuggled on the couch next to me... I hope Hap finds the bunny.

Off I go to bed. Thanks for listening.

Schutzhund last weekend

I made another Schutzhund practice last weekend and got some great video.

Don't mess with Rain!


And uh, don't mess with... me?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KULA!!!!!!!!!

OCTOBER 19, 2000
You all know what this little girl means to me. She was the beginning of a wonderful journey. I will always be thankful for that. She continues to enrich us daily with her wisdom, humor and tenacious terrier training...she trains all new members of the household. Her latest charge is Sully. Right now she is teaching him not to jump up and try to grab popcorn off of my lap. It is really funny. He won't challenge her and he is so frustrated. Wishing her many, many more!

Social times

Lest this blog become all about competition results and sway away from why we began it (to share our crazy stories about our crazy selves and our sometimes-sane dogs), I'd like to share a bit about the evening Val, Vicki and I had here in Portland tonight. (and Betsy, we missed you!)

We met up at Vicki's after she got off work, ready to head to our should-be sponser, Sushi Takahashi. Val had brought six dogs down for the eye clinic and Vicki had a few extras there already, bringing the total number of dogs to somewhere around "loud." They all pitched a fit when I arrived, Lou (Hattie's child, lives with Janice and Bill) crying to be let out of his crate (he couldn't believe he was being treated like a dog). His pitch was driving Homer crazy, who was in turn driving US crazy, but we didn't realize that was the problem until we were back at the house after dinner. All in all, it was a ton of dogs with a lot of nice boys who could mostly play together, except for the one girl coming in season and messing everyone up.

As we were seated at Takahashi we all made faces at the loud people seated at the next table over. It was hard to hear the stories of Vicki's bad day/week at work and hard for me to tell the story of Annie's 3rd Master leg today, but we were all trying hard to tune them out.
About halfway through our meal, Val and I both heard from that table a woman's voice saying, "When you do that, I want to light you on fire." We made eye contact and both used every ounce of maturity we possess (I might have borrowed some from Val here) to not laugh out loud. I filled Vicki in on the statement and she laughed into her napkin.

Fortune cookies arrived and poor Val got something about her lucky number being 7, but since I don't think you can play powerball at 7 7 7 7 7, I'm not sure it was that helpful. Vicki's was the best- "You deserve a good time after a hard day" or something which accuratly reflected the evening we were having.

As we were paying, a young-ish (my age bracket, as oppossed to Vicki's age bracket) woman with hair nearly as short as mine came over to talk to Vicki. She asked lots of questions, asking if Vicki rode a motorcycle (because of her waterproof pants), asking about the castle on Vicki's sweatshirt (which was from Prague) and then mentioning her cruise "with my husband" to Canada and how that has her interested in castles.....

If you're laughing now, just picture trying to stand there in the restaurant and continue to be socially acceptable by not laughing out loud.... the three of us barely made it out the door before Val suggested that what that woman needed was more Saki and Vicki and I began mocking her backtracking to the "husband" line (which we all know is a classic I-wasn't-actually-flirting-with-you move when one starts to feel rejected).

All in all a humorous evening with great people and a houseful of wonderful dogs. I left Val and Vicki filling in bubbles on the paperwork for the 207 dogs they are taking to the eye clinic tomorrow and came home to get some rest before Annie's 4th try in Masters tomorrow.

Sammy, JE

After FIVE YEARS of work, Sammy has earned her Junior Earthdog title in a matter of three weeks. Her first leg was under Phil Frielich at Turner and her second under Dix Dixon at Moses Lake.

Sammy is a testament to never giving up, or something like that. It never was a matter of her wanting to work the rats- it was a matter of convincing her to work the rats without help from a person. We got there, and have now started down the path of Senior tests.

This title for Sammy gives her titles in SIX venues. I believe this makes her the most versatile Cairn around. While there are many who have higher titles than her, and some who have more titles than her, I can't think of a Cairn who has titles in a wider range of official sports than Sammy does.

Conformation
Obedience
Rally
Agility
Flyball
Earthdog
CGC (if you want to count it, that makes 7 different venues)

Even happier than her recent successes in competition is the fact that she's back to acting like a normal dog in the home. She relaxes in the middle of my floor instead of trying to hole up under the computer desk. She races around playing with Rain. She looks confused when I shout at her for making eye contact with Tally.
I'm happy things are getting back to normal but already fearing the next few months- after all, she's due back in heat in December!

Kinloch's High Hopes is Two!

Jimmy, Kinloch's High Hopes, turned two on Monday.

He was born minutes after The NW PAWS, including his Mama Mary, arrived home after their 2007 trek to Montgomery. While everyone else was unpacking the van, Aunty Betsy mentioned that Mary was making interesting grunting sounds...good thing she noticed!

Tally's 20th Master Earthdog Leg

Last weekend at Moses Lake Tally earned her 20th Master Earthdog leg under judge John Shuster. She was also sporting a mohawk, which not quite enough people thought was as cute as it really is.

Her Senior run on Saturday left a little to be desired. She left the rats but stayed in the tunnel and returned to them before the judge could, at my request, pull them so she couldn't have them back.
When it was time for the recall I waited for her to pop above ground, which she quickly did. However, she made only a quick glance toward the judge before disappearing back down the tunnel, which she NEVER does. I waited and she came above ground again. I went toward her, she ran in a quick circle around the judge and WENT BACK DOWN THE TUNNEL. Now I was mad.

Since she had already failed, I didn't feel a need to follow the rules and remain at the main entrance. I went over to where the judge was and called her from there. She came back up and ran over to investigate the area, but when I stepped toward her, she RAN FROM ME and went back down. I was almost too shocked to respond. The next time she came up and went to the judge, I tapped the side of the large drum the rats were hidden in and called her to me. She ignored me as she checked out the quarry end of the tunnel. I stepped over and grabbed her before she could run off again, then held her over the drum so she could see the cage and feel appropriately silly for not coming when I told her I had them.

My theory on this incident is that Tally has never been bad, and she just had to try being bad once to see how it would feel. Since she hasn't been bad since then, I'm assuming she's back to her normal, totally non-evil Tally self. Although she is still sporting the mohawk.

Looky what I won!!!!

A lot of us put our tickets into the pot for this quilt. I was the lucky one! I wanted it for Sully, he doesn't have one of Barb's wonderful quilts. It is too pretty. It is in my room

Still no quilt for Sully, and several of my friends are irked at me for winning. Good thing I am a good winner....

Right?

The official picture!

Here is the official real picture with the judge on Saturday. Thank you Jennifer M.

Our next adventure

Next month at Argus Ranch in Auburn, several of us are going to try our hand at Teacup Dog Agility! I am getting so excited. Kula hasn't competed since her first ACL tear and that was nearly two years ago! Kona will have his first agility experience. Betsy will be there, Heidi, Ryan and Vicki. Anyone is invited to join our merry band! If you don't want to compete, come and cheer us on! November 14 and 15th.

New Senior Earthdog!

ScotchBroom Thistle The Patriot SE otherwise known as Sully! This weekend, passed his final leg of his Senior test! It was not pretty, 87 seconds to the quarry, 84 second recall BUT, he was running TO me!!! Of course he had come up and goofed around looking for the rats above ground, went back under looking for them. He popped up the false, saw me bending over the entry on my hands and knees and game racing above ground to see what I was up to. The bond is growing stronger! I think I was more excited about that response than the title (well, maybe not quite..) ...we are moving forward! We will continue to work on long line in open fields and move to off lead in big enclosed spaces...next May, we will work on the Masters Q's!!!

Garden Gnomes

Padme and Marty are keeping watch over Grandma Zoe's garden, while Vicki and Spirit and Val and Sully play in Philly.

I thought of telling everyone that this is how we produce and grow Kinloch puppies...

Dynamite comes in small packages

In this photo, we have Rain The Good, laying next to the bed.
At the top, we have Tally The Tough, laying over Rain's full bowl of food.

See, the rule is, Tally's not allowed to eat out of Rain's bowl. Nowhere in the rules does it say that Tally must allow Rain to eat out of his bowl.

Dog Bed? I think NOT!

I won this "faux" leather/suede dog couch at the CRCTC Specialty in July at the Stumptown show in July. Since I'm in charge of the ways and means for the club the couch was at my house until the show. I had it out of the box to take pictures and after the pictures were taken had to kick the dogs off several times. Consequently, now that it has taken up residence at our home, the dogs won't use it. Tomcat, on the other hand, has no hesitation to relax and groom.

When do we leave?

We are off for Pennsylvania in a few days. Looking for the final Senior Earthdog leg for Sully's title! Of course, we have a few other activities planned...a tracking seminar the day we get there, watching some agility, watching some great dogs in the conformation ring, puppy sweepstakes next Saturday, education seminars, reconnecting with friends. It will be weird flying, weird doing so much "watching" and even more weird having only one dog with me. Right now he has his head laying on my elbow and is snoring. We are going to have fun!

Great Weekend at Turner

I know this is a bit late but had to post the pictures. :) Although the weekend started out quite rainy in Portland it cleared up in the afternoon in Turner. I only entered one dog into Intro - KinLoch's Homer in the Gloamin' "Chloe." She finally got down and started working. The judge opened the lid and she backed up. I got her to come forward as this was all quite new to her and the stupid judge grabbed at her as she started backing up - what an idiot. I did finally get her to let me pet her while she worked the rats.
Saturday evening after a great feast Ryan put on an above ground practice for the dogs. Marty did quite well as did Padme' - hmmm tomorrow Juniors. "Chloe" still wants to go over ground. Progress was made on other dogs as well.
Betsy let me bunk with her in the cold tent for the night. Val slept in her van.
Note to self: Do not spend the night with a sick person in a tent as it will come to get you later in the week.
Sunday was a leisurely day until the Junior run. Ryan ran Padme' with Sammy looking and screaming 'take me, take me'. Ryan ran back with Padme' (she never went down)as I handed Sammy off and off they went. We all waited - was Sammy mad enough to do it? YES!!!!!! Her first Junior Leg. She can do Masters quite well and qualified as the bye dog but 5 years to her first Junior pass.
Marty was next and after going potty, although never lifting his leg, he went down and worked great. Just too much time.

Betsy, Ryan and I then did some great practice in the buried Junior den and I think Padme' now gets she needs to go down first, "Chloe" ummmm not yet.
Now for the pics---"Happy" needed some pics for the yearbook - here are a couple that I took. He is so darn cute.

ChTC Cairngorm Shot in the Dark RA SE CG

After struggling with the "Recall" portion of the Senior Earthdog trial Happy finally, and very strongly, passed his third and final Senior Earthdog test Saturday morning. He is such a wonderful hunter and I was very proud of him.

Saturday afternoons trial we moved up into the Master test. We were paired with Dix and Mary Mac, a border terrier. I was so glad, I know they are both experienced. Our judge, Marie Quarles, is great and was very patient with my inexperience. Although we didn't pass Happy did an absolutely wonderful job. He came when I called him, he checked out what I asked him to look at, he found the rats both time. Our downfall was getting him out in 15 seconds. I didn't have any knee pads and I opened up the 'hatch' the wrong way and back he went into the tunnel. No worries, we'll get it with no problems.

Thank you Ryan for your training help, Thank you Val and Vicki for your support and encouragement. Thank you Pat Gentry for such a cool, game, little doggie. FYI, ChTC is Champion of the Terminally Cute.

A belated announcement...

Congratulations to Casey on the arrival of "The Fab Five" of the Border Terrier world!


Molly delivered 4 girls and 1 boy earlier in the month.
You can learn more about Casey and the puppies here:
tiltedkiltborderterriers.com

Earthdog this weekend in Turner, Oregon

http://www.oteec.org/

Come on out! It is fun, rain or shine.

Waiting for a Junior run!