She came right in and peed on the rug!!!!

The snow last night came down so hard it was nearly a white out. I decided at 10:00 to do some major shoveling so Colby would have some grass to pee on in the morning. Rich was pretty impressed when he let her out this morning, and she peed. I got up about two hours later (he is an early riser!!!) and fed her and then out to poop. Well, the ground is now coated with ice and she does NOT like that, so she just stood there. OK, in we go. Next thing I know she pees on the rug!!!!!! OI!!!!! Old dogs are sure a challenge!!!

We bought the rug because it is 100% nylon and easy to clean up these accidents, but STILL!!!! I have trouble getting mad at her, she is blind and going deaf and that has to SUCK!!!! I asked Rich if he SAW her pee. Um, we'll, he said he saw her start to squat and then went to fill his coffee. Hah!!! Yep, she doesn't just get it done any more, you have to stay with her and coax her and remind her, even in snow and on ice,..........you must pee, girlie!!!!!

OK, enough complaining about this winter. (Do you REALLY believe that???)

On to a happier note, I found is awesome hot plate at the garden store the other day!! SO easy to make!!! Rocks glued to a piece of felt!!!! I am going to start collecting rocks for gifts to make!!!! SO cool!!!

OK, so let say SOMETHING nice about the weather.......pretty, right???? hmmmmm....

My beautiful agility yard!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!!!

More snow. What else?

The theme for this winter. More snow. I am REALLY not happy, but it does mean we train tricks. Today's session was bow with Roscoe and independent handstand with Spur. Roscoe has never been taught bow. Silly little guy offers drumming in a down and frog first. Hahahaha!! Since he is nearly deaf I am going to use a pointed finger down to cue bow. This was our first session, looks like it should be really easy.
Spur's handstand is at a stand still. No pun intended. We are not getting much independence, so I decided to try against the wall. He has always done it with the big chair or pillow held. He was unsure at first, so this was probably a good exercise. He improved quickly. You can't see it, but he stretches his feet really high a couple times. Super cute!!!


Another view of Jones winning run at Westminster. This one shows his DW really well. I think he did a 2, 2, 3 pattern, which is better. At home he does a 2, 2, 2 and at trials sometimes a 2, 3, 3. Still not totally sure at trials, but this run Dee runs really hard and trusts him, so I think he did well. How nice, she can just run and trust him!! SO proud! And WAY more fun than asking him to stop!

One of my all time favorite snow photos of Spur!

Geez, this winter is brutal!!!!

the snow storms just keep coming!!!! Spur doesn't really mind, except when his paws get cold, which they have some lately. 

He gets pretty excited when the horses race Round!!!

Sweet Jewel getting frisky!!!

So, over the weekend Jones competed at Westminster in agility in NYC. I need to get video, but here is a photo of him after his win!! He WON his class!!!! And beat the sheltie we have been trying to get hm to beat with his running dog walk!! YAY Jones!!!! he looks less than thrilled!

The snow, annoying!!!!

We did manage a nice hike in the woods with Irene and her person. she is such a pretty girl!!! a bit much for Spur, but he is getting used to her. She is young and strong and vibrant!!! Noce girl!!!

I hear another storm coming. waaaaaaaaa..............

we went to the beach!

I haven't been to OOB in a while. Mostly because Colby can not do that long a walk these days, so I hate to leave her put. We have been making a point to take her to the park where the paths/roads are plowed and good for her. And less likely to run into other dogs, which she doesn't mind, except when they bound up to her full speed, which does happen at the beach. the park area we go is an on leash area, so we rarely run into off leash dogs. I let Spur off and he chases the squirrels!!!! but, last Sunday I just HAD to get in a nice, long beach walk. Met up with some friends, other early risers. The low tide was early on the morning. We had a BLAST!!!!

shona's two Aussies know Spur well and they all get along. We met up with some other folks, all dogs Spur knows, but they had to leave early and Shona and I went to the pier and back. About a five mile total walk. Wicked fun!!! The dogs can REALLY run at the beach. So nice and flat, they don't have to worry about footing, it is awesome!!!!

We ran into lots of others, but one stood out. A chick with a springer in a jacket. She looks at our three and says......"Are they a family." And I say...."Yep, Mom, Dad and the baby"...... And I said it with a straight face and quickly before Shona could answer. the chick says...."The baby has not grown much".......and I say..... "Nope, still a baby".......and we carry on our way with me and Shona bursting into giggles!!!! 

Her dogs are both boys. Nevis and Rankin. we have gotten this before, I just never could pull it off without losing it.

they do look like a nice family!!!

Later that day....Spur's hair seemed to fluff from the salt air!!!!!

No beach walks today. We are back to a blizzard. Just when the birds were singing and enjoying snow free coverage, BAM! Back to deep winter reality! Sucks, Colby had just enjoyed wandering the yard with no snow. 

Sorry, little chickadee, but winter has taken hold again. Damn it!!!

Wow, nearly a week???

Since my last post!!?? Everything takes longer when it is cold, that is the plain and simple of it! I saw a cleaning service at one of my jobs yesterday and the guy says to me........"Oh, your jobs must be a lot shorter these days". Huh, well, maybe my WALKS are a bit shorter, but certainly the jobs are not. It takes just as long. Getting in and out of houses with my hat, mittens, ice cleats, coats on dogs, etc., just all takes so much longer. And my chores at home take longer. There is the woodstove, the water for the horses, the heater disks for the barn kitties. Everything takes LONGER in this weather. And then at night, I am DONE by 7:30. Collapsed on the couch wondering why I am so tired. The dark, too, adds to that. Very thankful to have a couple sunny days. It sure has been a dark and dim winter.

OK, so as seems to be the trend, more trick videos!!! What else can we do?? The dogs, even the 15 year old Pin Heads, are driving me nuts! Spur has been out snow shoeing with me some, but some days it is just too cold.

So, our latest is Spur learning to roll a ball. Session number three. I first started sitting down, but then he just leaned on the ball and so Silvia told me to stand up and reward up with him standing on the ball. He sure seems to have this one and should have it fluent pretty quickly!! I will go to a smaller ball next!!!

 

And this is from the trial over the weekend. Spur did GREAT! His best favorite friend Mary was there and she sure knows how to get him excited before he runs!!!! :D

Some videos

It is STILL SO COLD. So, no long walks for us lately. The dogs are BORED!! So, we work on tricks. The mental work totally tires them out nicely!!! :D Roscoe STILL isn't totally figuring out the skateboarding, but it is better!!! The hopping is cute!!! Funny style, but perhaps he is still worried about his toes getting run over? The barrier helps, but he needs more practice.

Spur working on independent hand stand. I let him cheat too much because he then stretches his legs way high and it is SO cute!!! But, he needs to work on lifting himself a bit more. That takes some strength and balance, so not easy to do.



Jones' latest running dogwalk work. We are using the carpet to hide the contact and  try to get him to stop making the unnecessary adjustments on the down. It is working, but I need to not work on handling after. He doesn't need it, he is very responsive, so we just need him driving more and feeling it without trying too hard. He is nicely in if he just runs. The carpet is working, but he doesn't drive as nicely on this DW probably because it isn't rubber? It is a little slippery. But, if we work on just straight, easy exits and driving forward I think he would be back to his good footwork. Can't do much, this place is an hour drive. This session was three sessions with at least 10 minute breaks. I would never do this many reps at home. But, there will be no work at home for a very long time, damn winter. It is horrible here. Solid snow pack, really cold, just not nice weather. I am not happy about this winter, it is too cold for even woods hikes at the moment. >:/


I can't remember if I put here Spur's latest penguin trick. This was last week. We have only worked on it once, since then and are not much farther along. This is a tough trick, so it may take a while for independence. When I click he grounds his front feet, so I am trying to get him to stay up even after the click and take the treat and keep trying. It is SO cute!!! One of the cutest tricks, I think!!!!

So cold!!!!

Last week was SO much nicer!!! I took care of my friends dogs and was able to let the cat out for some social time. she is not safe with the border collies, so they had to stay out. I call this border collie torture. They not only watch the cat, but watch the little dogs play. Poor border collies. Sweet old kitty totally ignores them.

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Tuckered out the Pin Heads going to the beach over the weekend. we went early before anyone else was up!

Saw this beautiful natural art!!

Rich guided blind Colby with her leash, but she did not really need it, she did great!!!

Now, it is just too cold, we probably won't be heading back for a few days. :( I want last week back!!!!