Happy 10th Birthday K-man!

Kaleb turns 10 today. For K-man, age is just a number.

Thank you buddy, for being there and making us laugh when all we want to do is cry. A true comedian, a crazy driven mental man, who deep down has a sensitive soul.

The dog who lives by the mantra "Don't worry, be happy."

Happy 10th Birthday K-man!, originally uploaded by sarah ....

K #5, grateful

Today I am grateful I still have K at one week shy of his 10th birthday, and for having Jane beat the odds with her disease, she is nothing short of a medical miracle at nearly 13.

For many breeds turning 10 isn't a big deal ...but with owning a flat-coat, the sad reality is it is - especially to have him healthy, active and crazy ... still. The older my dogs get, the more I love them ... if that's possible.

Hug your dogs.



"Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really."
~ Agnes Sligh Turnbull

K # 6, in your face

If you haven't figured it out, Kaleb is nuts. I've been collecting funny photos on Flickr for years ... Enjoy ...

In your face on Flickr

K, #7: gun toting vegetarian.

The things we do for our dogs. After K retired from SAR (Pete went back to do his Masters degree and couldn't commit to the hours and be on call), Kaleb needed another job ... because clearly the dog didn't have enough to do .... :)

So we though it would be fun to train him for hunting, and Pete thought it would be fun too. Sure why not. Hey Kaleb, here is a bird. It's like he was bred for it or something. He was super easy to train ... he picked up his first bird at 4.5 years old, and is a wonderful hunting partner for Pete. But I trained him - don't tell that to Pete :)

I held dead birds, carried a fake gun, trampled through ponds ... all for the love of this dog.

Here we are at his WC test ....

While we were in Saskatoon for his tests, we got some extra training in at his Breeders. This is Kaleb with Hans Berin. You can see the mutual love! One of my fav photos.

Proud Flat-coat family after earning their titles ...

Then some REAL hunting .... nothing beats that. I only SHOOT photos ... Pete does the other shooting. Kaleb LOVES to hunt.

Such a good boy. I'm so glad we have been able to let him enjoy the thrill of the hunt, and I've been happy to capture those moments from behind the lens. There is nothing like watching Kaleb work tirelessly in the field.

#8: K, the Search and Rescue Dog

When Jane was a year old we got the opportunity to work with the Search and Rescue group - she needed LOTS of training, and we were lucky enough to work with the group doing obedience on a regular basis. Our trainer LOVED her and said she would make a great Search dog if she was bigger and wouldn't eat other dogs. So that led us to SEARCH for a second dog - we both loved SAR and Pete wanted to pursue it with a second dog. After looking at breeds: Tollers, Goldens, Labs ... we found the connection with the Flat-coat. We both loved the breed and were fortunate enough to get to know some here in Lethbridge.

We found our breeder and the litter we loved would have great working dogs ... so we waited for months .. and he was born. We requested a puppy that never gave up - persistent to no end, huge fetch drive and outgoing. I think our breeder knows what they are doing ... all those things are what we needed for a potential SAR dog.

Kaleb certified as a SAR dog with the RCMP CSDA one month past his 2nd birthday. To this day, he is one of the youngest - if not the youngest to ever certify in the program. Pete worked his butt off with Kaleb - atleast 20 hours of a week training: Scent work, Tracking, Obedience.

Like everything Kaleb does ... he does it with a style of his own ...

To this day ... he always defaults to SAR mode. Lose your Keys? No problem! Last year at the Agility field 2 people lost their sets of keys in 2 foot tall grasses in the adjacent field. They had been searching for them by foot for half an hour - I brought K in and even with the contaminated area of multiple people trampling through the area to find the keys ... he found them!!! He alerted, layed down on them, I asked his to show me, he picked them up and there they were!!!! I have witnesses. True Story. That is only one story of a few (I lost my cell phone once in a HUGE park ... he found it: )

Though super obnoxious and annoying most of the time ... he is a rather useful dog at times :)

Kaleb's top 10: #9

I still remember the day we picked the puppy we had been waiting over a year for .... he showed us how he could fetch his baby bumper and delver to hand ... there he goes ... even at 10 weeks old, he never gave up, and had that trademark tongue!!

Grammy was there when I picked him up ... she was the first one to hold him :)

Bryan my Bro was there too ... Kaleb still has the same waggy tail ...

and to this day, Kaleb still loves his Grammy more than anyone ...

The boy is turning 10.

Kalebs big 1-0 is in 18 days (March 12th to be exact). So every other day leading up to his BIG DAY ... I'll write a little post about K-Man. I still remember the day he was born and I still have the email from his breeder!!!

Hard to believe his double digit birthday is so soon. I feel so lucky to have him at 10 years old. He is healthy, happy and still full of the enthusiasm and obnoxiousness that he always has had.

K is from a litter of 10 pups and in his litter had his breeders first Yellow Flattie. I have a picture of her somewhere. The pups were DNA tested for the yellow gene. K doesn't carry it.

This is K's dad ... from Sweden (K was born through the magic of AI)

WW-98 NordV-99 Int Nord UCH Almanza Something To Talk About AKA "Leo"

This is K's beautiful mom Ramona who lived to be just over 13 years old.

Ch Prairielight Abracadabra CDX JH WCI amWC

Here is Kaleb with Ramona and his two sisters Ylva and Lily :)

Stay tuned for more Kaleb in the next 18 days ... the countdown is on!!

He is also taking requests if anyone would like to ask him any questions like "what the hell goes on in that head of yours, dude??"

Soundtrack on their lives ...

a couple little clips with soundtrack courtesy of the "Presidents" ... Feather Pluckin' and Kitty ... come on ... these songs were written for them :)

Here is a quicky run of Gyp in jumpers, I was really proud of this run - over 6yps and I felt so connected, and went for it.



This a couple clips of runs of K ... I loved his Challenge run even with the off course - great weaves, great enthusiasm. Something I tell my students is if the off course happens, keep going, as if it didn't happen, chances are it was you and the dog was just doing what he thought - in this instance, Kaleb found the straight line and I did nothing to tell him otherwise ... can you spot the error on the video?? The less I make a deal out of the error the better - for me and him - don't stress it, keep running, keep having fun!!!!

And I had to add his wonderful end Gamble ... :) Such a good boy!

crazy little thing called love ...

my lil' wood nymph :: 6/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

It was our first Agility trial of the year this past weekend. I had taken half of December and January off to give the dogs some time to recoup and refresh for the busy trial Season coming up. Just what we needed!! I HEART my dogs, I HEART Agility, I HEART my friends ... life is good.

I've been worried about K - I freak out as he is coming up 10 and I don't want to push him to hard if his body can't do it ... His first run of the weekend he seemed a little stiff in the poles, but otherwise a great run. The rest of the weekend - he was BANG ON ... managed his same times and YPS ... no knocked bars, no popped or uneven looking weave poles. I love this dog. I had so much fun running him this weekend - and all the comments I get on how great is running and looking are sure nice to hear. He got MEGA warm-ups - twice as much as normal, lots of tugging backwards to engage that rear end, massage 2x day, and extra work to his stifles and hamstrings. It seemed to do the trick .... judging by his performance. He brought home Qs in Standard and Gamblers.

And then there is Gyppie ... she was great too! We were honoured to wear Tag's Agility LEash into the ring with us ... the first run was a little hard ... I was thinking of him and we tried are hardest for him this weekend ... Gyppie even channeled a little of his naughtiness I am pretty sure! But thankfully she also channeled his brilliance! She was fast, fun and lovely. She brought home Qs in 2 Standards, Jumpers and Snooker.

Go! Dog! Go! Students ROCKED also!!! Lots of great moments, Q's and some titles to boot!!

I had my first ever "Hangs Head in Shame" moment on course ... Lets just say DO NOT CHANGE YOUR GAMBLE PATH LAST MINUTE without thought. Because what might happen is you do 2 back-to-back end obstacles in a row right off the startline TWEEEEEET!!! OMG it was hilarious ... I literally hung my head, and everyone was laughing - I got razzed about it for the rest of the weekend - it was pretty damn funny!!! I redeemed my self with Kaleb in the Gamble and he was one of the few dogs to get it!!! GOOD BOY!!

More on dog/human relationships this week ... and my observations at the trial ... i've said it before, it can't be faked ... and the true honest relationships between dog and handler are the ones who are most successful on and off the course. more on that later ...

simple pleasures.

Grammy got a new car. She took us for a car ride. It has a sunroof. Life is good!!

This week, Kaleb got a full Health Check, bloodwork the whole deal. Seeing as he is a double digit next month ... it was time for his "Old enough to know better, still to young to care" check up :)

He still wants to be active and runs like the wind when he gets the chance. But his body is finally starting to catch up with him. Its nothing major, but I want him to stay active. He can get a bit stiff and sleeps alot deeper after a big work out or a weekend of Agility. His joints are great for an older dog - he is in great condition - but I notice he does not having as much muscle as he used too - comes with any animal aging, even us humans have to work harder at that as we age - so we will work a bit harder now at keeping tone with extra ball work targeting the certain muscle groups I feel that need it, as well as more massage when he needs it too. He has a bit of possible arthritis in his right stifle, something from an old injury that might be showing up now as there is a bit of scar tissue in the area where I have noticed a bit of stiffness after lots of activity. We might treat with with an extra joint supplement as well we are upping his lipid mussel/glucos. supplement to a therapeutic level, and not a maintenance level.

His bloodwork overall was very good. Titres back with really good vaccine levels and his Thyroid is low - though he doesn't display classic symptoms of that - we will treat it homeopathically first and see what we get.

We feel so lucky to have him healthy, happy and still crazy at this age .... yep ... just one month ...and the boy will be 10 years old!!!

the mind of a genius ...

Kaleb is special ... I wish he spoke human so I could understand what goes on in there ....

this is how the game begins ... he's been doing this since he was a puppy ... if there is something to hide under ....blanket, bed, leaves, the chute in agility, a sock, in this case a box ... he is there ...



the end ...

_____ in a Box.

Pete builds a new table ... Gyp gets a surprise ..

he did it again! (something good this time)

For the 5th year in a row, Kaleb is the #1 Flat-coated Retriever in Canada in AAC Agility!

He'll be 10 years old in a couple months, so who knows what this year will bring, but knock on wood he'll be healthy and sound as he has always been.

What a journey with this boy ... I lost count at title number 40, but I think it is past 50 now. Oh to reminisce about the good 'ol days when he would steal people's toys from their bags and f-off over a 4' fence and wait to see if I would give in - he was such a bastard, let's not forget about pissing on top the A-frame and while running across the dogwalk ... good-bye testicles. He is such a wonderful working dog, and I'm glad I haven't squashed his spirit in the process, it would have been really easy to do with such a "high-spirited" dog. Kaleb can be a difficult dog, ya he is happy and fun, and everyone sees that side of him, but he is a complicated mix of being sensitive and dominant and really FUCKING pushy. As long as he is convinced it's a game, a super fun game - and he plays them by my rules, and I'm consistent to a T ... he will give you %150 percent, any time, any place. More than any of my others dogs, I've learned patience, lost my patience, practiced patience again ... repeat until exhausted. I've also learned how my emotions effect a training session or even being in the ring. I had MAJOR nerve issues in Obedience with him, and do this day I still can't believe I got through his CDX without the help of prescriptions drugs or booze. I learned "I have to be my best, for him to be his best", and that is something I will carry though for the rest of my dogs, for the rest of life, in every venue I endeavor in.

Good job buddy, you're an ass, but I love you ... keep on runnin'

One of my favourite K agility shots, from 2008 Nationals in Sussex, New Brunswick.

Sweet child o' mine

Or "Bratty kid o' mine" ... that might have worked better. Well that's a wrap with Kaleb's 52 Weeks for Dogs Project! And like Gyp and Jane's last photo of 52 Weeks I wanted a mural in the photo ... this one is perfect, so much colour and creative expression everywhere ... pretty much sums Kaleb up. And the best part of the photo is the empty fireworks container at the site "redneck ruckus" ... how did they know Kaleb was coming?

What a year this boy had, I cannot believe he will be 10 years old soon ... i love my boy, even though he is a jack ass most of the time ;) - he is always ready to go, ready to please, ready to make me laugh - and cry, and ready to do things just a little differently than the rest of world - I think that is how we are alike the most. We see things slightly differently and not everyone gets it.

Here is his slideshow ... his book is in the works and i'll have posted when it's done too.

everyone needs some down time ...

Well that time of year is upon us ... the time of year when I give my guys downtime. I try to give them 2 - 3 big breaks a year. This big break will be 6 weeks off Agility training. I know when this time is coming ...

I might need a break if:

- If I start to train for the sake of training, and if I don't feel I am training anything specific. It is hard when we have Arena time, to just want to go and play around "do little things" - but really is it a benefit? Is it making them better, or me a better handler for them?

- If I end a training session and haven't gained or learned anything - I need to have a break.

- I feel my dogs have been working more than having off days

- If I have big events coming up and me and the dogs need some time to refocus and refresh

- If I feel I am losing desire ... I don't want that to rub off on the dogs in any venue we take part in, I need to give them my 150% all the time - and can anyone really do that 365 days a year?

Off time of Agility doesn't mean we become couch potatoes and do nothing. It is really a time to forget about "that other world" and spend time doing other things - maybe learn a new trick or two, refresh some other skills. Also, making sure their bodies have some recovery time from the various impacts of the sport and keeping fit. Keeping up on all of our conditioning (that includes me!) - Long walks, coulee runs, Jogging (me & the dogs) Treadmill (mostly the dogs and a little bit for me - I work while they exercise :)), strength-training (peanut ball, pods, body resistance - active stretching). They get their weekly massages - now a little deeper if they need it, and so I can find any potential areas that might need more attention (clearly from the above photo - they hate it) This is just what I do for me and my dogs - and it seems to really work for us.

Gyp is also on a 6 week break from Therapy work - again I think she needs a break from it - it's not something that is physically hard, but I do think it is mentally draining on her - she sleeps like a baby after her visits.

I am looking forward to 2012! 2011 started out a little rough, but it turned out to be a pretty great year.

kiss attack ...

grammy!!! :: 49/52, originally uploaded by sarah ....

I finally got some photos that captures Kaleb's love for his favourite person in the world ...

his G R A M M Y!

i wuv u GRAMMY!

she's down! attack!

beware ... you could be next ...

attack of the clones

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

Via Flickr:
do you think the world could really handle 3 Kalebs?

*

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

Via Flickr:
*no cameras were licked in the making of this photo

when's my turn, mama?

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

Via Flickr:
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.

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?