More photos from camp last weekend!!

This is the little boat we were able to take out and tour the lake. The dogs came along, too!This is the tiny private beach!!!! Did I tell you how deliriously happy Colby was? She was........deliriously happy! There were no frogs that we saw, but that didn't stop her from hunting. She hunting the whole time!!!! She worked that shore line relentlessly, deliriously.Right in front of the camp!!! The water was 72! It was SO nice there! The huge screened in porch was a plus, too!!Whoops, this is upside down. We saw these flowers everywhere!These grew in the marshy areas and stream beds everywhere!

The loon family we watched all day on Sunday. They fed their two babies right there in front of camp! Damn, they are big, loud birds!
The loons swam around the blow up trampoline/floating "dock" thingy they had in front of the camp. Talk about FUN!

We took a hike the first day, it was cloudy and "cool". Can you believe I have a sweatshirt on? It felt SO good! This was a rocky area where the dogs could actually swim. Colby loved exploring the shore line. Spur swam after sticks. We are not good at self portraits, especially on a cloudy day. :O
Roscoe had to check out the buffet table......... Of course he did!This "castle" appeared along the shore line when we were out touring. WHAT??? Seriously strange! This was at the far end of the lake. WAY out there!!A shot from across the lake. Nice, but I sure like fields...........

It was lovely, but I don't know if I would ever want to own such a place. SO remote, so far out there. The drive was under 2 hours, but it is pretty remote. GREAT fun to borrow for a weekend, though! When we hiked we saw disturbing signs........."Bear hunting with bait or dogs by permission only". Geez! They didn't tell us to be mindful of bear, but after reading the signs I was sure watchful and a little concerned. Our tiny dogs might make a nice snack! :O It sure was OUT IN THE WOODS and I am sure a great place for bear.

Such a nice featured obit!

I doubt I will make enough of an impression on lives around me to be featured? Do I want to?
It is an honor and she deserves it and her family should be very proud. I am proud. I am proud I knew her so well. I am proud she was my friend. She was a mentor and confidant. She helped me through some tough times with my dogs and cheered me on. I will never forget her. She helped me with tough times with people, too. She was always there if I needed to call and bitch about something. She always understood and would talk to me for long periods, encouraging me and being positive. She made a mark on my heart, that is for sure.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/evelyn-stackpole-78-loved-horses-dobermans-and-kids_2010-07-29.html

We will miss you Evelyn Stackpole!

If ever there was someone who poured their life into the dog world, it was Evelyn! She loved her dobes and her little chihuahua. She never stopped doing what she loved, even when her back hurt, her breathing was rough, she was out there tracking, going to obedience class, off to breed shows, agility shows. She was on the go all the time. She never missed obedience class unless her dogs were showing. She was there. Yesterday, she didn't show up. It is no surprise, but it is so very sad. She wasn't well this year. She touched so many people's lives, I can't imagine how they will have a service for her. It will be crowded, that's for sure.
Very few people love my Roscoe. Evelyn was one. Poor Roscoe has lost another of his few true loves. She truly loved him and saw the good in him. That's rare and I will never forget her confidence in us as a team.
She made me etched glasses with MinPins on them for our MinPin rescue raffles. I have some I will cherrish, always.
Such a sad loss.................she was a well loved person..................

Deliriously happy!!!

Delirious!!!! -

We spent the weekend at a friend's camp on Sebec Lake. Miss Colby Carlson was DELIRIOUSLY happy!!!

Full report to follow with more photos. It was a deliriously happy weekend! At least, that's what Colby told me! The camp was steps from it's own little, sandy beach. Water was 72 degrees. The loons fed their young right in front of the camp all day. We had a GREAT time!!!!

Really? He wants to get warm in the sun!!!???

I mean, really, it's like 90 degrees out and he has to go bake on the flag stones? Seriously, I worried his thin skin would burn? He didn't last long and was at the door panting to come in. He SO loves to be warm.He may not have lasted long because of the crazy land rape going on down the street and the noise and blasting and wierd sounds big scary trucks make may have driven him off his baking stones.

Construction has begun across the street. Poor Gladys is screaming from her grave, yelling at her greedy nieces for selling out. Which is money I am sure they haven't even seen, yet. Poor Mary, our 83 yo neighbor, living in the middle of it. Seriously, the asshole contractor is putting roads on both sides of her cute little cape. How insensitive!!! Like I would expect a land rapist to be? Sensitive? Strange thing is I SO love the trees gone. I LOVE open land and all those crazy oak trees felled kinds of makes me smile. I wish it was going to be grassed over for hay fields, but nope, tiny little plastic houses to perpetuate our mortgage crisis. What was our little town thinking????? No one knows, really. It is an unknown. Our little town survey said we want to keep our farmland, but the town didn't listen. The rapist doesn't have the financing to get this done, either. How did this get passed? We ask you this, Town of Cape Elizabeth. We checked. He has less than $900,000 to start this project. HUH? We are talking road work and sewer extension. I wonder how in the heck our world can get into such a mortgage crisis, then I see this happen. Makes one go hmmmmm......... Cape Elizabeth - perpetuating it all. Sad. The rape of the land is permanent. I mean, really, will the little plastic houses he builds be torn down some day and farm land plowed there again? Doubtful. Sorry Gladys, but if you hadn't been so suspicious we could have figured this out with your beloved land. Oi! But, heck with the rates so low maybe we should refinance. YAY for our recovering economy! Or maybe we buy one of the over 100 homes for sale in this little town. Thanks Cape Elizabeth for deciding it was best to start building another 24 homes. We SO need them here! **Poking my eyes out with hot metal prods!!***

Want a cute little pit bull? OK, I don't have all the details on this little girlie, but she is THE sweetest and cutest little pit bull girl, about 1-2 years old!! She was over-whelmed in a home with a bunch of kids and two other dogs. She gets a little nervous about loud noises and too much activity, but shows no aggression at all. She simply retreats. So, she is being fostered in a quiet home with one other older dog and doing GREAT!!! She is small, about 40lbs is my guess, very active, but has a nice "off" button. Smart as a whip and would make someone a great partner! Absolute luv bug! Interested? I'll try to get more details. She is in Cape Elizabeth with one of my clients.

Look who is a cover dog!!!

Jake, the spinone!! I walk Jake every Wednesday. He is a big boy, now! This photo was taken when he was a pup. His photo is he left hand bottom one. He will be on the Orvis catalog cover!!!



You can read the story here -
http://sarahwinchester.wordpress.com/2010/07/21/cover-shoot/

What a handsome boy!!!

Wow!

I just had THE nicest compliment!

I walk a neighborhood with a ton of dogs in it. If you don't like dogs, this isn't the neighborhood for you! I LOVE it. I walk a golden every day there. As I was passing a house with an australian terrier, his human yells out to me "HI Amy". I stop to chat for a minute. She tells me she has to say of all the people she sees out walking dogs, and she sees a lot pass by her house, I am the only one who looks like I am having fun and enjoying myself. :D I thanked her ever so much!

I DO enjoy my job. I LOVE to be out and about walking and I like walking at a brisk pace, especially with an active dog. So, I know what she means. I see folks out walking their dogs who just drag their feet and looking totally bored and tired and self absorbed. Or are chatting on a cell phone or listening to music. HUH? This is a beautiful neighborhood with kids, dogs, awesome flower gardens. Lovely neighborhood where folks wave and say HI and dogs greet and walk together. It's a fun neighborhood to walk. I SO enjoy my walks there and the golden and I walk with a spring in our step and move out and enjoy it!! We walk.......with purpose and with some place to go. It's what I do. I walk very few dogs who just want to plod along. Some do, but most want to move out!!!

The nicest compliment I have gotten in a while!!!

BARK weekend trial report!

I know, a little late, but you have to understand how I feel in the heat...........I HATE IT!!!!

OK, so this was a slightly rugged trial. First, it is a three hour drive there. Second, the heat outside was BRUTAL. Yes, we stayed in an AC hotel, we ran agility in an AC sports arena, but STILL we had to walk and potty the dogs and get our stuff in and out. It was HOT! Third, it was not a good weekend for dad's.

Friday we arrive and set up and have dinner. We leave the dogs in the truck with it wide open. We can watch it from the restaurant. At some point we all notice something strange. Our friend Nicole is sitting on the pavement next to the truck. Her car is there, too, but it's strange that she and her friend are sitting there. Turns out her dad had just died unexpectedly. Poor Nicole, it was very sad and very hard. She just lost her mom three months earlier. I guess he couldn't live without her. Nicole stayed for the trial, but the poor thing, it was so hard.

The next morning we arrive and are getting going and I get a call that MY dad had a heart attack. MY DAD? He is a hard working organic farmer? But, he is 73 and these things happen when you are that age. He is fine, but that call was FREAKY!!!! It was pretty crazy. Stress, stress, stress.........

We set the dogs up in an x-pen. First time doing that. Douce (shih tzu), Roscoe, Colby and Spur. We line the pen with covering so it's only open on top. It seems more comfortable, they can move around more and stretch out. Easier for us than bringing in four crates. Howeverrrr.............The Spurminator had other plans. By the end of the first day he figured out how to escape. It happened once while I was there organizing my treats. Next thing I know I have a dog in my arms. Guy next to us says....."Nice catch!". Um, thanks, but dude that's not a catch I wanted. BAD Spur, back in your pen!!!

About a half hour later I am watching the Master's ring and Pam comes along with the Spurminator in her arms. This is a THREE foot tall x-pen! Little buddy, that's a BIG jump!! Crate time for The Spur Man!!! >:/

The next day Douce escapes! DOUCE! He's an 11" tall shih tzu. Surely he didn't jump it???? We are thinking he climbed it. Crate time for The Douce Man!!!! >:/

Roscoe ran great for a few runs, then looks a little sore. I am thinking he "pogo-sticked" too much at the x-pen. That would be jumping up and down each time I came over, in hopes I would pick him up. He can't do that in a crate, so we'll see next time. He just seemed a little sore by day two.

OK, so the x-pen was a good idea. In theory. In practice - NO! Crates all around, next time!!

It seems it was a "run-a-way" weekend. This was Spur's last run, jumpers and he takes a WEE detour to say HI to the judge. "Hey there judge, watch ME run!!!! YAY for ME!!", she just stood still. I squeek out "SssspuRRRRR" and we continue. Yeesh! I knew that would happen one day. He's SO loves his fan club!



Even with all these strange events this was a VERY fun trial. AC worked great inside this place. In fact, at one point I had to put a coat on Colby!!! The hotel was LOVELY and relaxing. The trial ran very smoothly as BARK trials always do. Spur finished his PII title, so he is now in PIII completely. Those are MASTER'S classes!!! :O OMG, Baby Spur in Master's classes?? He ran his first two standard PIII, with a nice Q in his Sunday run. Saturday we had some issues. It's harder. The in-gate is WAY busier. The courses obviously harder. It will be an adjustment for us.

Spur - PII dog! We still need to get more speed and confidence, but I see that coming.........slowly and methodically, it will come. As with everything Spur-like, these things will take time. He did have two iffy dog walk contacts. One was called the other was not. I need to re-group and go back a little in my dog walk training with him. As with all things Spur-like, this will take time. We take August off from trialing, so I have time to get some good work done with it.

What do I learn from these trials? That no matter how well or how crappy we do, I think my dogs appreciate our teamwork and that I do this super fun sport with them. They may leap out of x-pens and pogo-stick themselves sore, but they are not bored, they are not home living sedate lives curled up on the couch, they are mentally and physically involved in my life to the fullest and they work for me and with me and we work as a team and I think they appreciate all of it. I think they enjoy it and are fulfilled and certainly NOT bored. Maybe I am seeing my world through Rose Colored Glasses, but I LOVE those glasses, they fit me well and don't hurt the bridge of my nose!

And besides, they get tons of turkey and chicken and cheese and I KNOW that's really, REALLY important to ME!! I think it's the same for them! Especially the cheese! I love cheese! Turkey, chicken, cheese, baked potatoe, pizza crust, waffles, meatballs, egg sandwich, cheese covered enchilladas........Roscoe even likes his radishes! Yeah, we eat well at dog trials! I didn't bring radishes.

You wonder why I haven't been posting daily?

Cuz my cup runneth over!!! My gardens are in full bloom and need a little tending, the grass is growing like........well,.........grass, dog shows, BARK camp, lots of extra work since it's summer and folks are vacationing, it's just a BUSY time of year!!! I have my summer reading to do, too. I mean, really, THAT has to be fit in there somewhere!! I got 8 books for my birthday last week. :D

So, here's a sampling of our incredible gardens. They just burst with color this time of year and are actually fairly self-reliant. We keep splitting up the lilies, but they just end up bigger and better!!!

Doesn't the agility field look lovely behind the lilies???.........

My little porch set up. Do I ever have time to sit there? Nevah.........

Roscoe has been enjoying the over grown radishes. Yep, he loves his radishes!........

Won't let anyone near him when he has his radish!!!

Our lettuce is amazing!! Fresh salads every night!!

Did I mention the grass?? Jewel wants to know if it makes her butt look big? Well, YAH...........not just yer butt, Miss Jewel..........

This is a volunteer sunflower!!! The first photo was taken last week. Look at it THIS week!! Talk about a burst of growth from some heat and sun!!!

This lily clump is from ONE branch!!!!

Mrs. Bluebird. Mr. Bluebird.

My new vinyl sign for my truck!!!! $25! :D

I may not post again until next week. Off to my last summer agility trial this weekend. Then we take a break from agility. It's just TOO hot!! Thankfully, this trial is indoors in AC at a sports facility on field turf. Spur loved it there when we went last spring, so I am hoping he will love it again!! All three dogs are running. Colby is doing a couple of jumpers runs.

Wow, what a week!

OK, I could have had some nicer weather. HOT isn't MY favorite. Um, let me rephrase that.....HOT SUCKS!!! I was so unhappy to see such heat coming for my week off. Three days at BARK camp with 99 degree weather and nearly 100% humidity wasn't fun. I wanted to work Spur some, but working that little paw wringer when I am not at the top of my game isn't a good idea. I only brought him out a few times when I could make an easy course for him. Roscoe worked his heart out, good little bad dog!

Then over the weekend we did the Riverside USDAA trial. Spur FREAKIN' ROCKED!!! I am SO high from his last two runs!! We did have some down runs, too, though. I can't just forget those, he melted down a couple of times. Running fine, but not with his Monkey Pants on. Who knows what gets him, but my gut says it's all me and he reads my mind/emotions so keenly. His down runs were Gamble (I am not good at handling gambles, it took a long time for Roscoe to be good at gambles) and pairs, which I usually like OK, but I was worried about it a little because it was his first run of the day after looking pretty scared about the teeter the day before. I realised later, as you will see in these runs, that I had nothing to worry about!! :D

Colby finished her MAD with Jones - YAY!!! I haven't had a chance to load that run. It wasn't pretty, I wanted it CLEAN so she wouldn't have to keep trying. I wanted it with Jones and it took us five tries to get it, so this was really sweet!!!

This is Spur's Standard run yesterday to win his class and be the fourth fastest of all the heights of dogs in that division!! He ROCKED!!! His dog walk was perfect and we could have taken a couple seconds off his time had he gone down faster on his table. My table at home needs replacing, so I can't use it. Rich just cut me a new board, but it still needs paint. Gotta get that done!!! -



This was his Grand Prix fun. LOVE his teeter in this run!! Just perfect and the teeters at this trial were very loud and scary, but he just got more and more comfortable!!! GOOD LITTLE MONKEY PANTS!!!! -

I HATE this weather!

Would I rather it be snowing? Maybe? Would I rather it be 20 degrees? Maybe?

I find my productivity sinks to an all time low in this weather. I feel holed up in my totally closed up house with the shades drawn. Remember, we are passive solar. GREAT when it is 20 degrees, but 90 and humid, not so great. We have the AC going in the office and will probably sleep there tonight.

I am off tomorrow to BARK camp in NH. This may be my LAST camp. For several reasons.......Lo and George talk about moving. And I am SO tired of nasty weather for camp. I just don't remember nice weather for camp. It has either been brutally hot or raining. Neither are good conditions for dog agility. :(

The truck is clean, mostly packed and we are ready, but goodness I can't say I am all that excited and I LOVE BARK camp.

I haven't posted here lately because I essentially invited myself to the morning running contact sessions over the weekend out there. Val Henry was doing a two hour morning session and it was AWESOME. I LOVE her!! She has dogs who are not crazy, mental cases and has had to work on motivation (hellooooooo.....remind you of anyone.........named.......Spur?) and she has an incredible eye. She sees things going on that not many people see, so that was really cool. Spur was invited to be a demo and unfortunately between my "stage fright" and his reaction to it and subsequent melt down he didn't perform all that well. But, telling Val our story and our work and progress she feels I am on the right track and the work I am doing is just fine. That's cool. But, she feels I need to do more seminars, more classes and just conquer my stage fright. Not sure I agree. We end up practicing pokey and worried and not what I want to practice. I have to give it some thought.

So, my plan had been to work Roscoe for camp. It is a Masters/International course group camp and perfect for him, but not so for Spur. But, it is obvious Spur and I need the work? Or is it? I just don't know. I sometimes feel that maybe we should just train at home or in private lessons and practice GOOD work, instead of trying to work through our stage fright issues? I just don't know.........

And I feel like I have somewhat limited time with Roscoe. He is 11 and how many more years does he have? Probably a few, but now is the time to work him hard. He is in great shape and mentally doing pretty well. He has always loved camp.

Anyway, stayed tuned I may report in on Friday, but I won't be posting here until then, at least. This is vacation week for me!! :D YAY!!!! Of course, I would be a LOT happier if it were not 90 and humid and muggy. But, vacation is vacation, right??

Wimp.com has some fun videos

This one is so cute, although I keep wondering about this deer. Will he/she never be afraid of dogs? Still, it is FREAKIN' cute!! The last twenty minutes show two cats watching from the porch railing. :D

http://www.wimp.com/oneball/

My nephew stopped by!

With Shilo, his pit bull. She is SUCH a sweet dog! We certainly didn't introduce her to MY little MONSTERS. Colby would MAYBE be OK, but since she has become a total bitch in her retirement I wouldn't want Shilo to have to deal with that. Spur MIGHT be OK, but he has trouble sometimes with big dogs. Roscoe would be.......BAD......and Shilo definitely doesn't need to meet Roscoe. :O

Dug out of my purse my first photo of Roscoe. I thought I ought to preserve it digitally, since it is getting a bit worn. This was Roscoe the first week we had him. What a FATTY!!! Because he was so food motivated he kept getting cookies at the shelter in hopes that would make him nice? Um, no, Roscoe will take the cookie, THEN bite! Bad dog! Cookies do help, some, but really it was all the training and self control work we did that helped him. And the fact that we learned he doesn't WANT to be patted. So, why pat him? He's really quite good so long as no one TRIES to be his friend. He picks his friends and that's his choice. He doesn't HAVE to be friends with a lot of people. He just doesn't. He has few friends. That's just how it is.

Goodness, he was FAT!