ready or not, here we come.

ready or not, here we come., originally uploaded by sarah ....

Gyp and Kaleb swimming their way to Montana ...

.... hey guys, you are going the wrong way!!

We are heading EAST, to New Brunswick! We leave Monday for our AAC Agility Nationals.

NOTE: We will be flying there, not swimming our way there.

my new favourite wine.

can you see why?

yeee haaa!

yeee haaa!, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Kaleb thought jumping off the dock was the bast thing ever, he had seen all the flickr flatcoats do it, so he had to try too!!

Sittin' on the dock of the bay

Sittin' on the dock of the bay, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Gyp, literally, sitting on the dock, at the (Bertha) Bay in Waterton Lakes National Park. We went for a nice hike today with a few pit stops - near water of course.

It was the dogs first dock experience, and this was a floating style dock. Gyp was the first to dive in, followed by Kaleb who had to outdo her in flat-coat style by catapulting off of it ....

There was no way for them to get back on since the dock was raised off the water, and the shore line here was a raised rock ledge, so we had to grab them by the collar and lift them back up. We thought this would deter them, NOPE, they kept going back for more.

NOTE: Jane looked over the edge for fish, she thought about diving in, but common sense prevailed.

P.S. Are dogs were never mistaken for bears on this hike :)

daydream believer

daydream believer, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Cheer up, sleepy JANE.
Oh, what can it mean.
To a daydream believer
And a homecoming queen.

kaleb is just a little ____________

It's the final countdown ...

Well this is it, almost time to go to New Brunswick! 12 days. The part the worries above all else is flying my dogs. Jane is a good traveller, she gets to ride in the cabin with me, but G & K must ride below. I am pretty sure I am not going sleep the day before we go.

I think I will need an extra dose of rescue remedy :) or a shot of whiskey.

Our training has been going really good so that is reassuring, we are ready to play with the big guys! I just have to remember to trust my training and not get intimidated out there running my dogs. I think I have a good handle of my ring nerves now. I just go for it, no holding back. Just a couple more training sessions before we go, and our training sessions have been very thorough with positive results.

Gyp has 30 dogs in her class, in a field with some very seasoned dogs, National winners, world team members etc.

Kaleb has 20 dogs in his class, again a pretty competitive class, I am excited!

Wicca is in a class with 10 dogs in 6" specials, from all over Canada, she'll kick some serious Corgi butt!

It is G and K' first National and it will be a fun trip.

Wicca and Gyp ride together in a Kennel, and Kaleb rides on his own.

We hope to keep our trip up to date on the Go Dog Go blog!!! CHECK IT OUT!

cowabunga!

cowabunga!, originally uploaded by sarah ....

my grammy is visiting and you wouldn't believe me if I said I was the first one in.

water = fish.

- Jane

there are more on flickr if you click this photo!

man's best friend ...

man's best friend ..., originally uploaded by sarah ....

This is why Jane needs a life jacket.

Too bad photos don't have audio.

You would hear the loud, rushing water, and a really high pitched whiney scream coming from Jane, very peaceful haha...

Pete and Jeff get rather annoyed with her, I think it is funny :)

Gyp

Gyp, originally uploaded by Lodgepole.

We went to Liz and Andy's for some training and a fun play in the river, imagine 9 wet dogs!!!

Andy took Gyp, Wicca and Boone into his studio and took some awesome portraits!!

Click on the photo to see all of them, it will take you to flickr

TIPS: camera self-timer.

TIP #1

First of all set the scene ... random dog leg in this type of photo is OK, it confirms your composition as good or bad.

TIP #2

Set the timer for 12 seconds, NOT 2 seconds. EEEH TRY AGAIN.

TIP #3

Set the loyal subjects in their appropriate spots, 

press the shutter and run like hell up the cliff, terrier in hand, and SIT!

TIP #4

True to my anal-retentiveness, try again to see if you can 

get a better photo than the last one, NOPE.

super friends

Belle and Duke, joined Gyp and K for a fun play in the river together.

Belle and Duke weren't interested in our Water Toy, they prefer sticks ... which is funny because our dogs weren't interested the sticks, they just wanted their water toy!

Poor Dukey is at the bottom of the totem pole in the group, Belle and Gyp love to beat him up (in a playful way, one dog on each side of his neck!!), and Kaleb had to join in too, to let him know he was top dog - well next to the main boss, Belle of course.

Once the initial excitement was over, they were all good buddies playing and running and shaking on us ....

livin' on the edge

livin' on the edge, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Jane is a permanent fixture on ledges along the river when Pete is fishing, except for the couple times she nearly fell in, not in the low part, but near the waterfall, I was soooo ready to jump in after her. She nearly gave me heart attack, so we went on our merry way leash attached, and continued down river away from the almighty fishing rod. I don't worry so much about K in the water, but Jane rarely actually swims so I know she wouldn't be a very strong swimmer.

I think I might buy her a life jacket, seriously. Or better yet, her own fishing rod.

fun in the water and sun

Kaleb and Gyp, trying their best to be patient as I take a photo and hold their water toy in my other hand.

um, maybe you didn't hear me the first time, woman! throw the toy, and quit taking pictures!

We had a great time camping this weekend, and we are all tired! It was Burt the Boler's maiden voyage too!

Stay tuned for more pics!

a.m. dog breath

a.m. dog breath
Originally uploaded by sarah ...

Jane loves to ambush me with random kisses while I work, yes this morning I am working my couch with my laptop, comfy.

Taken with photobooth on my MBPro.

Touchdown.

Well not sure if it did, but it was between the two goal posts .... er .... power lines.

We have had some wild weather lately, i was training today and as i was walking back to the car i turned around and saw this.

i went home ... but it followed ....

* NOTE: this is not a political statement ...

... it's just funny, that's all.

You might recognize this dude, from such places as the Whitehouse or as the ultimate EVIL DOER fighter. 

Or as he is known in OUR house, a fun dog toy named George.

Are dogs good judge's of character??

Kaleb is very gentle and kind to George.

Gyp grabs and bites him ... and shakes him whenever necessary.

Jane, well she won't have anything to do with him ...

"You know, I guess I'm like any other political figure: Everybody wants to be loved."

-George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., July 12, 2007

One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.
- George W Bush

OUCH. Gyppie, be gentle, what did George ever do to you!

A new technique in dog training

A swift kick in the arse always makes them go faster ...

OK maybe I was just cuing a rear cross, but perhaps this method could work for Kaleb?

A flat-coat moment.

A flat-coat moment.
Originally uploaded by sarah ...

photo by Wendy Devent, Paws on the Run

Kaleb has been competing for just over 3 years, and his "flat-coat moments" ie. Running up to the judge, running up to polesetters, face licking random people etc. etc. happen very rarely, I actually can't remember his last "moment", until this weekend...

We were running Team and Kaleb spotting Judy (who is a fellow flat-coat owner), he hadn't seen her that day, so why not jump on her and give her kisses!

Amazingly we still Qd in that Masters Team Run.

Gotta love a flat-coat!!!!

Agility Addicts Anonymous

I think I need to join, as well as everyone else from our group! We hosted our second trial this weekend, and it was a lot of work, but even more it was A LOT OF FUN!!!!!!!

Our group DID awesome!!!!!!!

Maggie and Kim, Kristy and Belle were chosen as the Judge;s choice

For the Level awards: Wendy and Coulee were chosen as the Starters Team!!! Dave and Pearl were chosen as the Masters Team!

How awesome is that!!!!!!!

Now on to my dogs, now that I've had a good sleep and unpacked, I can absorb it all ...


Janerama: She ran the best she has almost ever run! She is now a veteran and run WELL within regular times, and was just given' er, I ran her in 4 runs and she Qd in 3 (Masters Jumpers 31 seconds!! She was only 6 seconds behind Gyp!, she also Qd in both her steeplechase runs! for her 12th Steeplechase Q)

I wish she always had the confidence she had this weekend, but someone commented to me, "I think you run her better know because of Gyp, you run harder" THANK YOU! That has been one of my BIGGEST goals, is to no holding back when running my dogs, RUN HARD and giver'. I love my Janer.

The Bird Dowg, Bitzy, other wise known as Kaleb:
He ran great! I kept him wet before each run and gave him lots of walks inbetween so as not to get grumpy from being in his crate. He brought home 3 Q's.

- He rocked his Gamble, but the last bar came down!! :(
- His first Standard was one of his best, clean and fast, he ran it in 47 seconds - which is really good for him, only 3 seconds behind Cavall, who is my benchmark for speed and our Team partner too!!! His 23rd Masters Standard Q.
- He ran great in Team - and during his run had a flat-coat moment and had to go jump on Judy and kiss her ...we still Qd and that is Kaleb's 6th team Q.
- His steeplechase runs were really good, but just a bit over time - we need to run SMOOTH, no one blip or no Q.
- His snooker was awesome and he Qd in that
- Jumpers he was really good too, but had one bar, but he kept up his speed and enthusiasm all weekend, so I was really happy!!

new brunswick here we come .... gulp.

Then there is my Gyppie Girl (this might go on a while, so grab a coffe, or go for a pee.)
- Her gamble was great, she nailer her min gamble a chute to the weaves 18' away, she has lots of points, I TOTALLY overhandled the end gamble so we didn;t get it, but I fixed it when I ran K, so he got it (but the bar fell so no Q)
- Standard 1 was amazing, I am feeling so intune with her, it was her second Masters Q, she ran it 24 seconds under time and it was the fastest run in Masters!!
- Our team was not pretty. Sorry Amanda :)
- Her Steeplechase was awesome on Saturday, again I am feeling really connected with her now. She won the Specials award and was FASTEST overall of all the dogs!
- her Standard 2 was going so well, I thought there was a part she would suck too, and of course I forgot to handle for it DUH, but I was really happy with the run overall!!
- Her Snooker was awesome, Jan helped me pick a really good path for Kaleb, so I ran it with Gyp, and I knew if we could keep it together she would finish well under time, and she did! for 57 points and the highest points of all the Masters dogs!!!
- Again her second Steeplechase was awesome. S he won the Specials award and AGAIN was FASTEST overall, holy crap!
- Then came Jumpers a tough technical course, she was great and I was confident GULP. 25 seconds, the second fastest time to Pepper who had an amazing run.

It's hard to believe that last year Our Trial was her first trial, and she was still a little fearful of people and was a little reluctant to Tug hard and was a bit distracted by the noises etc. This year a sassy, confident, sometimes wild dog was out there, what a dog, I really can't even believe it, she brought home 5Qs this weekend, she got her 9th Steeplechase Q, and even more crazy she only needs 5 Qs to her ATCHC, WTF?

Oh ya and too see a TV feature about the Agility Trial click on the link and go to July 4th ...
http://www.canada.com/globaltv/lethbridge/features/scene_and_heard.html

shakedown 1979.

moi.


x-mas morning 1979.

a good year.

and one of my favourite songs too :)


for FLICKR's: quilting madness: "When We Were Young" Quilt
www.flickr.com/photos/kellykm/2624625685/

My mom had these pics on facebook.

This is why I love me a terrier...

My dream dog.

On another NOTE:

Amanda has a good post today:

here is my response:

My dream dog was a horse named Big Ben.


I dreamed I would be riding in Spruce Meadows, riding a big chestNUT just like Big Ben.

Instead I have a big NUT named Kaleb.

But for real, I always loved shepherds as a kid, my Nanny had one and we were best friends - we slept together, ate milkbones together, and even used eachother as a pillow. Once I even took off when I was 2, I went down the street to go play with a ROUGH COLLIE that lived down the street, my mom found me and I had it in a headlock, hugging and kissing it.

Once I knew the horse dream was over, I wanted a Jack Russell, and got one :) I wanted to do agility though I knew nothing about it, besides seeing a trial at our stable and seeing it on TV.

Then K came around, Pete's dog. LOL

A Border Collie was never in my sights but I have one now and she is everything I never wanted, but at the same time, everything I could possibly ask for.

I am unsure I am a ONE BREED person, I am too A.D.D. to put that much focus into one breed.

I love all my breeds for their attributes and how unique they are.

Though all three are different, they have similarities, which more than the breed itself seem to draw me in:

- JRTS and FCRs are noted for their sense of humour and fun loving spirit, Gyp just happens to have a sense of humour, she is silly and wiggly
- Odd, but they are of british decent (so am I, among other things - a different post topic HAHA)
- I love the smooth lines and athletic look of these breeds
- They are noted for their high activity and energy level, plenty of endurance
- They are breeds that are still bred for working ability, the flat-coat being one of the few dual-purpose dogs in the sporting group, the same dog in the show ring, is the same dog in the field.
- Low maintenance grooming!!!
- And they are cute.

So I guess I didn't really answer your question Amanda. I love all three breeds I have, and I will always have a variation of this combo.

dog, tired.

it was a busy weekend for Jane.

It's a tough job being the host to friends and family.

Time to catch up on some ZZZZZZ.

Happy Canada Day y'all!

stay outta my sun
LMAO, someone said something funny!
Gyppie wishes her pals a Happy Canada Day
Happy 141 Canada!