ears mcgee

ears mcgee :: 17/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

for some reason this nickname has always stuck with jane, well that and "little sh*t" among other things ....

18/52 52 Weeks for Dogs

- - -
jane had regular floppy JRT ears until she was about 8 months old, i couldn't imagine them any other way than BOINGY, like they are now.

Sweet Baby Jane

Baby Jane 14 weeks, originally uploaded by sarah ....

here she is at 14 weeks old .... before the badness, before her ears went BOING, before Kaleb and Gyp.

hard to believe she is going to be 11 in a a few weeks :)

a weekend quickie

a weekend quickie update ... that is.

saturday. one day trial. 2 dogs entered. i didn't fall. my knee and leg hurt a bit and was stiff, but it didn't stop me, nope, not gonna happen. iced it heated, repeat as necessary. it's a little better each time i'm in the ring. i'm a little determined and stubborn.

kaleb ran 4 runs, Qd in all 4. yep, it's true. he ran great. and i handled him pretty well. spunky monkey. love that boy, really love that boy. sometimes i want to kill him though. stephan ran him for me in jumpers got a Q with him. he is the hardest dog on the planet to run, but also super fun. i can almost taste the gold, we are getting closer each trial. i got asked 4 times this weekend how old kaleb was. for the record he is 8, years old. true story.

gyp was entered in 3 runs and Qd in 2. i'm too chicken shit to run her in snooker, not sure when it will happen again. made our jumpers re-debut. first in 3 months. Q'd in one, a bar in the other, i stutter stepped. she looked at me over the jump. it wasn't awesome, but not horrible. i need to get better on my feet. i did get 3 jumps ahead for a FC I didn't think I would get too, and I did it, almost the best moment of the weekend. i'm still a little cumbersome, though i am getting my speed back. i want to run like i know i can. she is a great dog, so responsive, and so forgiving. i couldn't ask for more. always does the right thing. love her, really love her. i love her big feet too.

our students and training group did awesome. like really awesome. almost had tears in my eyes for the dogs who made their first run debuts. i want a puppy.

sunday i travelled an hour one way to do an open obedience routine. it was totally worth it. once of kaleb's best efforts yet. we are clicking in the obedience ring, our confidence is getting better together. got some great tips handler wise. he was on. he didn't bark once in his out of sight stays. it's a bloody miracle, there is a first time for everything. amazing how actually putting time into training something pays off ...

that's all.

look ma, i'm a Border Collie.

look ma ..., originally uploaded by sarah ....

Gyp has been rubbing off on Jane I guess

she was stalking a shi tzu across the lake, well it was white and woolie, so she has the right idea i suppose. except for the fact she she probably wanted to eat it.

could be worse ...
... Jane could be acting like Kaleb :)

Then she stalked the shi tzu from a higher vantage point ... seriously, how friggin' cute is Jane?

just, jane :: 16/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Happy Friday Everyone!

The Agility Kid.

Not to be confused with "The Karate Kid" of the 80's

... Acey is "The Agility Kid".

Can you see the potential?

as well as learning from Sensei Gyppie AKA Mr. Miyagi, "The Agility Kid" is learnin' from her mama too.

look out world, in a couple years there's gonna be a new Kid in the ring!

She might only be 3.5 years old, but this Kid already has what it takes. She can throw a tennis ball, and in the world of most dogs, isn't that all that matters?

random, gorgeous, dogs.

Besides visiting with family this weekend, i also spend 2 days at Outreach. My knee held up, I just don't have the dig in the ground power 100% yet. But I managed to handle pretty well. And as ALWAYS I have a ton of things to work on. I've been in the program for 3 years, and it is great each time I go, just when you think you are getting it, you have so much more to learn! It was a fun weekend with a Saturday night pizza party, wine, dessert and a great host!!

In the mornings there was a puppy/novice session, and it just made me want a puppy that much more ...

This is my friend Cindy's dog Pike, he is a 5 month old Working Kelpie.

I want to steal him and his huge earz.

i gotz big earz., originally uploaded by sarah ....

Here are a few other cutie pies from the puppy/novice session ...

I also want to steal Stryder. I love this boy, he is seriously Gyppie cute.

stryder, originally uploaded by sarah ....

And Bounce, well I could just look at her all day. I want to steal her too.

Bounce, originally uploaded by sarah ....

making friends ...

i spent the weekend at visiting my aunt and grandma, then headed down 2 hours from there to an agility seminar. here are some photos from the first leg of the journey ...

hi I'm Gyp.

hi I'm yogi, nice to meet ya.

now fuck off!!

when gyp met yogi., originally uploaded by sarah ....

i must mention that Yogi is 24 pounds .. Gyp is also 24 pounds.

mega meow, originally uploaded by sarah ....

this is Lexie, my aunt's dog ... isn't she a beauty? she has the most wonderful temperament, i had to keep telling my aunt how how lucky they were to have such a great dog. She loves everyone and everything, fetches with her chuck-it non-stop, and her tail never stops wagging.

road trippin'

i'm off road trippin' today .... 1000km and 3 days later we'll be home. heading 4.5 hours north to visit my gramma, my aunt, heading back south 2 hours to visit a couple friends, a bunch of cool dogs, and playing at an Agility Seminar (Outreach).

this song gets played at least 3 or 4 times on any trip, enjoy ...
(also my favourite band evah)

Happy weekend everyone!

that's better...

the grass is greenest, originally uploaded by sarah ....

i was sick of looking at the photos from yesterday with a foot of snow, so instead here is a photo of kaleb in 2 feet of some sort of green crop.

there i feel better!

... the snow is melting as a rapid pace, it's bright warm and beautiful today, i'm sure the snow will be gone by Saturday. thank doG!!!!

Snow Day!

this must be a bad dream ...

it's all a bad dream :: 15/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

our region has been hit with a brutal spring storm. 2 out of 3 dogs are enjoying it. we had no power for 4 hours this morning, so what to do, what to do?? play with the dogs in the snow, of course!

Gyp loves the snow.

she REALLY loves it.

kaleb even broke out his bucking bronco moves, yee haa!!!

jane says, fuck this shit, i'm staying inside.

hurry up

rollin' rollin', originally uploaded by sarah ....

i want ... spring, warm weather, i want to roll in the grass, i want to go outside in my shorts, i want to be able to train outside with no wind, no rain, no snow!! April showers bring spring flowers, my ass.

i'm getting impatient. i thought spring was here!!!

but Mother Nature, you lie. you are a cruel nasty beeotch.

Mind over matter...what a weekend.

Not sure where to start, but all I know is self-doubt and lack of confidence go a long way, but confidence and believing in yourself go a whole lot farther.

It was an amazing weekend for my dogs and me, and our group did unbelievable also. I'll update the GDG Blog hopefully tonight. stay tuned ...

I had K in 4 runs, and Gyp in 5 - but she ran 6 :) My knee held up, not a lot of pain if any, my knee brace, "Knee Brace 5.0" limits my mobility a bit (you'll see in the video, but I was proud of how I ran and handled), even if it was a little awkward looking at times.

Masters Standard

The first run of the weekend and I was feeling overwhelmed and not confident, could I handle it or not? The dogs ran pretty good, but my head wasn't in the right place and it showed. I've never had to worry about "not being able to get there" I can always get there. Well not on that run, I could have if I planned for it, but I didn't. I took a step back after that run. I said screw it, I can do this, I just need to make a couple adjustments. And well .... the rest of the weekend was awesome. Sure I might not be where I was, but my dogs are running great and I am thankful I can do rear crosses and have good verbal directionals.

Gamblers

Gyp rocked the opening with the most Masters points and nailed the end Gamble. (video below)

K-man had a a great opening, but no end gamble for him.

Challenge

I had my pinch handler Kim walk it with me, and her and Jo encouraged me to do it, they felt like I could do it. So I did. It wasn't the most perfect run, I had to hold the teeter and dogwalk longer to get into place which cost us a bit of time, but the hard stuff we nailed, and as always Gyp made me look like a better handler than I probably am :) (no video of this one)

Jumpers

I didn't enter Jumpers, but asked if I would be able to add in a run. I knew I couldn't run it, my leg had enough for the day. BUT Kim said she would ... and OMG ... the video says it all. nailed it. 2nd fastest masters time. Wow great job Kim.

Steeplechase

Just Gyppie entered, again not sure if I could do it, but figured with a long enough lead out I could. And yep, we did, a little confidence goes a long way. Gyp had the fastest qualifying time. Good girlie. (video below)

Standard 2

Kaleb was awesome, a really good run for him. Focused and feeling fresh, I gave him a really good massage and 2 long warm-ups. It showed in his running, he was alot more limber than Saturday. It was his 47th Masters Standard Q. Here is the video ...

Gyp was great too. She didn't miss a beat, and I was feeling really good running her. She had the second fastest Masters time. (video below)

Snooker AKA the Game that nearly killed me.

I only entered K as I am "not ready to go there yet" with Gyp. Kaleb is a great Snooker dog, if I can find a fast flowy course, his run was great. We finished to number 7 with a few seconds to spare even!!!

I learned so much this weekend, mind over matter really is a powerful thing. We had a great little pizza party Saturday night, drank 2 bottles of wine and had a lot of laughs. What a great group of friends, honestly such a supportive and encouraging group.

To top it off there was an E draw at the end of the weekend. Gyp won it for her "E" in the Standard on the first day ... we won a 40oz of Kahlua (more on that later). So funny, we were rewarded for that run that I actually learned so much from!!

Jo said "she would shit her pants if I Gyp's name was drawn in the Q draw", not sure if she shit her pants or not ... BUT I did win the bottle of Champagne. A nice reward :)

I think I figured out the secret to success in Agility ....it's all about the booze, good friends, and being in the right state of mind I'm pretty sure.

a few of Gyp's runs ...

Something in the Air.

WIND, a whole lot of f'ing wind. I HATE THE WIND! Sure it's nice and warm out, but if you can't walk outside without being blown over, it can ruin a NICE day FAST.

I think it is driving the dogs crazy too.

Crazy 8, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Nevermind. Kaleb always look like that.

the k-man, originally uploaded by sarah ....

I love the wind, I love it.

(Hey K, your tongue is looking a little tongue tied there buddy)

tongue tied, originally uploaded by sarah ...

The girls enjoy it too, I think Jane likes the tail wind ...

catch me if you can :: 14/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

if the dogs are happy, i'm happy right?

We're off to an Agility Trial this weekend, now THAT is something I'm excited about!! And it is indoors ... so no worries about Gyp getting blown off the dogwalk!

OH AND ... my FitPaws Peanut Ball came yesterday, YAY! I can't wait to use it!

92 days

It's been 92 days since my injury. a long f'ing 92 days.

The last 2 weeks have been awesome - the best yet. I've got yet ANOTHER Knee Brace. I've named it "Knee Brace 5.0" - as it is my 5th Brace, I like to name things, it's what I do. Really it is, people pay me to name things.

I also have custom foot orthotic 2.0 and they are great. Instead of just supportive like the first set I had made, these are corrective, and I can run so much better in combination with the Knee Brace 5.0 and Foot Orthotic 2.0.

It's OK if you picture me like Forrest Gump, you wouldn't be the first one to call me that. I don't mind, he could run really fast and played ping pong like nobody's business.

I'm at the Gym 4 days a week now and picked up the intensity with more biking, I've added the treadmill with 2-3 of jogging/running over 5-6 minutes, wobble board squats and a TON of stretching, and no pain while doing so. I'm bumped up my "Agility Training" at Physio, and that is really good for my confidence. My sore leg muscles are another story, but I am getting my strength back, and my right leg is 1" thinner than my left, so I have a way to go. I have some weird muscle and tendon things so on, so if I keep that all under control it really helps big time. I usually heat my leg in the morning before i stretch and before i go to the Gym to help loosen things up quicker, then I am still icing after exercise.

THE BIGGEST NEWS ... last night at training I Front Crossed, more than once, and pretty darn well - I got better as I went. I could keep up with Gyp again (mostly) and I did a couple threadles, serps and push-thrus. I still have a way to go until I am back 100% to how I would LIKE to be handling, but heck, I am pretty proud of my progress so far in the past 2-3 weeks.

I am thinking positive and keeping my head up and knee aligned, and hopefully that will be enough to get back, better than ever.

what's cookin'?

somethin's up, originally uploaded by sarah ....

mama's in the kitchen, and the food processor is out.

that only means one thing ... DOGGIE CRACK!!

2 cans of tuna (don't drain)
1/2 cup of pumpkin
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp parmesan cheese

blend ingredients in food processor until a good consistancy, i add a bit more flour if it is too gooey. spray a cookie sheet or muffin tins. spread the mixute evenly and cook 25 min at 350. cut the fudgey goodness into squares, and store in the freezer and use as needed.

voila, there you have it, the best dog training treats ever.

(seriously, i have only ever used the food processor for making dog treats and grinding veggies for the dogs, i should get adventurous and make something for human consumption)

the good life

the good life :: 13/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Jane's uncle jeff is visiting this weekend. there aren't too many people she leaves my lap for, jeff is one of the lucky few. i'm pretty sure it's the not stop head and neck rubs that keep her there for hours.

hope everyone is having a relaxing long weekend, we sure are!!

oh the good life.

13/52 :: 52 weeks for dogs

Way back when ...

I posted these pics a couple years ago, but I only had 2 blog readers then, now that I have 5 blog readers I thought I would re-post. These photos bring back great memories and always put a smile on my face, hopefully they make you smile too :)

I started out riding Western when I was around 11 - 12, I Barrel Raced competed in Western Pleasure, rode in local Gymkanas. When I was 15 I started to also ride english, I was a Pony Clubber, I taught summer camps and Pony Club to the young kids, and I competed in Hunters and Equitation. I can still remember going over my first jump on a horse. And that was that. If there are significant times in your life that shape who you are today, this would be one of the biggest. Somedays it seems like yesterday that I was in the saddle, the memories are so vivid.

It all started with horses (the original post) ...

i was 17 ... me and BJ

i was 16 ... me and Rusty

1 was 15 ... me and Skip

i was 14 ... thumbs up, dork.