attack of the clones

attack of the clones :: 47/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

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do you think the world could really handle 3 Kalebs?

sitting, waiting, watching

sitting, waiting, watching :: 11/12 Jane, originally uploaded by sarah ....

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the queen on her thrown ... the back of the couch to be exact. She was waiting for Pete to get home from work.

As you can see her belly looks big ... that is the fluid that builds up from the right side of her heart not pumping properly due to her Congestive Heart Failure. Each week she gets a procedure called Abdomencentisis performed ... she is a champ, such a trooper, never makes a peep and feels like a million bucks afterwards.

*

* :: 46/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

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*no cameras were licked in the making of this photo

Honest dog, realistic mama.

This past weekend was a busy one. Agility Seminar Friday with Lynda Orton-Hill - which was an amazing 4 hours I might add. More on that later ...

Saturday and Sunday, Gyppie and I ventured into the Obedience and Rally rings. One Obedience and one Rally each day. It was her Obedience Debut! Again, this is not the venue we are most confident in ... but we are trying our hardest to be confident. I could have gotten greedy and entered her in all 4 Obedience Trials in a small hope we could win High Aggregate Novice for the weekend (and I am not joking when I saw atleast 5 people asked me why I didn't - and only 3 times I was asked what Breed she was :) ) - but knowing me, and knowing my dog, I didn't want to risk losing the JOY in the ring, due to greed - I am learning both of our limits to maintain the enthusiasm I am getting and wanting to keep in this venue. I know from past experiences that Gyp often can get a little spooky as a weekend goes on - and sure enough she did. Saturday - she was totally confident. Sunday morning was quiet and there was random banging and echoing ... she does much better with lots of noise, so there is nothing for her to get spooked about. We played and played, and she bounced back with no problem, but it was work to get her back, and we had to be in the ring in 15 minutes!

On to the good stuff ... Gyp's first CD leg felt GREAT! She was upbeat and I loved every second with her in the ring. She earned a 194.5 and HIC!!! Her second time in the ring on the Sunday was almost as good - but a couple dumb handler errors (saying sit - um confused with Rally DUH and 2 points off for bad leash skills AGAIN in the Stand for Exam bad mama!) She ended up with a 189!!

She was awesome in Rally earning her first 2 Advanced B legs with a 99 and a 98 under judge Judith Snowden. Both HIC's!

Thanks for the Video Amanda ...

Gyp also raced in Scent Hurdle, she only did 2 races and did pretty good, and was just getting in her groove - she was very enthusiastic - can't beat that! It was too bad there weren't more opportunities to race her that night, but oh well, maybe next time more teams will be there and she can run a bit more. I think she got her Scent Hurdle title, but I am not sure. No Nonscents did really good, and it was a fun relaxed race! I was in my PJs by 8, glass of wine, good movie and 3 dogs snuggling with me :)

And possibly the cutest part of the weekend was Gyp got to be a show dog - I'm not shitting you! She was asked by a friend who was one of the Junior Handler organizers if I would be interested in having her show with a Junior, since she is so good with Kids - the girl was about 11 years old. The girl just LOVED Gyp and had so much fun "training her" for the show ring - Standing and Trotting around, Gyp LOVED her too and didn't even look back at me when they trotted away to go practice. The dog didn't have to be a show dog, but had to be entered in either Obedience or Conformation to take part - since they are judging the kid and not the dog entirely :) I brushed her, got a friend to put a show lead on her, and they were off! I felt like a doting mama who's kid went off to College for the first time. It was adorable to see Gyp pretending to be a Show Dog - she took in all in stride - let the judge see her teeth, did her stacking, and down and back, didn't miss a beat ...

One of these things is not like the others ...

when's my turn, mama?

when's my turn, mama? ::45/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

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i wanted to get a photo of K at Agility this year... we are now back inside training his favourite game. This weekend we were at a Trial and he ran GREAT! So did Gyp :) :) :) She had the most Gamble points each day, and had the fastest Standard Run on Saturday! Kaleb is coming up 10 and he still runs with the same oooomph he did as a young guy - he earned his 60th Standard and 2 Gambles this weekend . His times haven't slowed down hardly at all ...

He was waiting his turn ... I love his pleading look and the action in the background! He is such a fun dog, and always keeps me on my toes. Love this crazy old man.

:)

Jaws, meet Jaws., originally uploaded by sarah ....

i needed a smile today ...

this photo is from a couple years ago, when jane had more teeth ... she is now missing the other 2 beside the gap :)

run potion #9

It's true ... Kaleb is getting old, and I am dealing relatively well with that reality. But you'd probably never guess he's coming up 10 years old. And he would never let you believe it.

I am very lucky that he has never (knock on wood ... hey K can I use your head?) been lame or off with an injury considering how much he does and the fact that he gives 'er no matter what.

Like any athlete, he gets very good pre and post care when he is going to be using that body of his for things nature intended (running, hunting, breaking through thick brush to hunt birds, swimming) and the things nature didn't intend (weave poles, jumping, climbing and decending the A-frame, slamming into me when he should be watching where the HELL he is going). He has gotten his share of chiro adjustments, massage, acupuncture over the years for maintenance, to keep him fit, limber and sound.

We have magic potion that seems to do the trick (again this is just for him coming up 10 years old, and it works) ...

General Conditioning

... for him at almost 10 years of age, it looks something like this ....He jogs on the "Tready" as we call it usually twice a week for 20min at a fairly good incline at fully extended trot, Peanut ball 2x week, stretching, massage, walks daily and jogging with me, swimming in the summer, a couple free runs a week and Agility training is in there too - but that is a minor part of his actual general conditioning. Agility is not his main source of exercise. We train really very little, and if the only exertion he got was on equipment, I don't think he would be very fit at all, seeing as we train for maybe 30-45 minutes a couple times a week. And that is over a few 2-3 minute sessions.

Supplements

Kaleb takes CoQ10, Salmon Oil, and a joint supplement daily, yum yum. To prep for an event (hunting, agility) we start with Traumeel - a homeopathic anti-inflammatory a couple days before, during and after an event. This really seems to help with recovery, he hunted once this year without anything, and Pete even noticed he was more stiff the next day, when he hadn't been on it. He hunted for 3 hours straight on Sunday, and I prepped him for it - not stiff at all today, in fact he is annoying me with his antics!!

His Magic Cape

Next we have the Back on Track coat. I have been using this for a couple years now, and I really believe in these products. I use one myself for my knee. Kaleb wears it pre and post event and often in between runs at a trial for different periods of time. If you aren't familiar with them - look into it!

And his favourite thing of all ... Mama's Magical Massage.

Now that I have somewhat of an idea of what I am looking for when massaging, and massaging my dogs on a regular basis really keys me in to their bodies, I really find I can make a difference with his well-being. For those of you who REALLY know Kaleb, I will have you know I can relax him into a deep snore with massage. If that doesn't tell you it feels good, I don't know what does! He has a couple trouble spots I keep an eye on and make sure that those areas get extra attention, before and after he givs 'er in what ever it is he is doing, to prevent a possible pulled muscle or having that issue lead to compensation in other areas - again it's about prevention. It is really cool to see him loosen right up and the recovery time afterwards seems to be better because of that too.

... Kaleb getting veeeeerrryyyy sleeeepy ...



... and, Kaleb looking rather dashing at 9.75 year young, if I do say so myself.

mr.k, bird watching :: 44/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

Here's to more fun and more running with reckless abandon buddy ... just try to stay clear of my knees ok?

Kaleb's shadow

... looks a lot like a Border Collie.

Kaleb's shadow ..., originally uploaded by sarah ....

back to handsome

back to handsome, originally uploaded by sarah ....

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Halloween is over ... back to being handsome ... for a minute.