Officially Announcing Sam!

Sam is ready for his new home now. He is a 2 year old neutered male homozygous merle australian shepherd. Due to his genetics, Sami is bilaterally deaf. Happy and sweet but also young, energetic and still a wee bit short on manners is our Sam! He prefers a home as an only dog. He likes to play with other dogs and meets/greets very well, but he does like to gaurd his person and attempt to climb up the canine social ladder as it were. No cats for Sam, it seems he is a bit obsessed over the kitties. He loves to play ball! He likes to celebrate by himself and do some victory laps before he returns it. I have been playing with multiple toys with him so he fetches one, and brings it mostly back and drops it while I throw the next one. Work in progress :)

Warning

This video is not for everyone, but I thought it was important to share. I'm not interested in scare tactics, making people feel guilty, or making more out of something than what is true. This is one of those things that goes on every day, and is indeed a significant problem in many places. We will never be able to save every dog, and not every dog should be saved but we can all try to do a little something to help.

Jake Hits the Spotlight with Supporting Actor Sam

Here are the boys doing what they do best, fetch!! Both live to play ball. Thankfully Jake is great at bringing it back, Sam needs to do a few victory laps first!

Back from Vacation

We had a wonderful time, despite missing camp and not one but TWO agility trials! Our adventure up north was well worth the agility rest however, and we are ready to begin training in earnest once again.
Jorja is working on her weaves, she has to weave for her breakfast every day now. It seems her work ethic leaves a little bit to be desired in the weave department (ewww, these things touch my FACE, maybe if I just run beside them that will work?). I struggled a bit with this one, she did beautifully with the poles right up until it came time to have them close enough to TOUCH her, then it was like they were the plague and she had never seen those sticks before! We have hit upon the jackpot with breakfast though, it is her happiest time of day and she is now slamming into those poles with gusto (and a little Jorja elegance as always :) ).

Mollie managed to consume 30lbs of dog food in one sitting while I was away, but in typical Mollie fashion she was quite okay (maybe a little fat). Note to self: do NOT teach the dogs to open and close cupboards and the fridge, this has haunted me now for ten years!

Marty is perfect as always, he came with us on our adventure and had much fun playing with the kids, chasing squirrels and receiving tidbits from Grandma.

Cai, well, what can we say about Cai? He is busy policing the house and ensuring that puppies do not get to have toys to themselves, and that all other dogs must be kept away from *his* girls.



Toque is a superstar. :) She won top starters dog at the DogOPogo trial, despite only running half the courses (I was judging). I was very proud.

SoBe is about the cutest little aussie you ever did see. She has mastered jumping on the kitchen table in a single quiet little bound. I pluck her off the table and crate her (bad baby) at least once a day, sadly I am laughing on the inside and she knows it. She has the funniest little impish grin on her face all the time. I can't wait to get her back to classes this week.

Ah but what about Heidi you ask? Well, she came along on the northern adventure (of course!). So much socializing, what a great trip for a baby. Her social skills are fantastic, she loves people.

In rescue dog news:

Trixie fell down the stairs twice this week, she is getting close to the end. She still has more good days than bad days though, and enjoys her chances to tell off the puppies in good collie style. She'll be off to the groomers soon to get her fur cut down, she drools in her beautiful mane (not so pretty).

Jake has an adoption pending, he is such a wonderful dog. I don't want to jynx it though until all the work is done. I'll be posting some Jake video soon (hopefully later today if the rain stays away!).

Moo is still Moo. He has found his voice! Moo's morning consists of: Bark at 5:20 a.m. high pitched and loud (yo dude, it's time for breakfast!). I get up, kick him outside with the now awoken and whining Heidi. "Moo it is NOT time to get up yet." Back inside at 5:45. 6:00 a.m. Moo starts pulling things off the counter/table and letting them crash to the floor ("yo dude! Gimme my breakfast!"). Like the dishtowel, with ALL the clean dishes on it!! Moo gets locked behind the baby gate at the back door. "Moo it is NOT time to get up yet!" 6:20 a.m. Moo starts barking behind the gate. One high pitched loud bark every three to five seconds. Bark!.......Bark!.......Bark!...... "Yo b*#ch! Breakfast!!" I get up, kick out Moo, Marty, Cai, and Mollie. Ah silence until a respectable 7:30. Moo is too busy peeing on everyone else's pee to bark. Breakfast is momentarily forgotten. Moo really loves breakfast. Once it is over he spends all day asking for supper. Now? how about now? now? I refuse to feed him on a schedule so he never knows when it is coming, hoping that he will quit asking from 11 a.m. on. So far, not so successful, we may have to change our tactics.

There is a new addition, Sam , who is a deaf aussie. He is currently being assessed, stay tuned for more info in a couple of weeks.

Mini aussie puppy mill update: court date is this Wednesday. Hopefully the dogs will be released then and we will at last get them up and settled. I hear that they are doing well though.

Summer antics

Just for fun!
Here is Toque attacking the lawnmower (she gets put away while I mow for obvious reasons!) and Toque, Jorja, Sobe and Jake with the hose. The barking is Mollie and Cai who were stuck in the pool. :)

Good Nite!

Nite has found his place in the world. Thank you John and Kelley! I look forward to hearing all about how the boy is doing in his new home. Lucky fella gets to have all the attention to himself! All the best Nite, may the squeak be with you......

Heidi the yodelling princess is getting bigger; 6.95kg up from 5.5 in just six days. This baby is growing! She is doing fabulously with her socializing, she has decided she likes starbucks coffee thank you very much. Watch out Toque, you have coffee competition! Heidi wants to eat...everything....as quickly as possible. So to torture her I give her turkey necks, she is forced to CHEW. Listen to her whining...she can't stand that she can't just EAT the thing!

For those of you who may have heard, here is the news story on the mini aussie puppy mill bust in eastern Washington. The aussie rescue of BC group will be bringing up ten or so of these dogs once they are released legally.

That was easy

I did a little shaping session with SoBe today. I was lucky enough to win an "easy" button at the last Kamloops trial (thanks Mary!). Gotta love the clicker! SoBe is coming along nicely with her shaping skills, she is doing less and less sniffing around after every treat. Here she is.....

In other news, Nite has an adoption pending! He went with me for a home visit today with his new family. He gave Kelley and John two paws up! He is packing his bags and can't wait for Thursday when he can have two of his very own belly scratchers all to himself.

Moo and Jake are still waiting...anyone?