Kota vs the flies

We were all outside this afternoon enjoying the day....
We've had an issue with flies this spring, and it seems Kota had the worst issue with flies today ;-)
I caught this video and coudln't help but laugh... and to show how the flies were torturing him, take a closer look at this picture!

Poor baby

Win Photos from Casa Grande

So here they are! They're finally winners! :) Yay!

Sedona on 4/12 - WB for 1 point

and Chance on 4/13 - WD/BOW for 1 point.

So much better when you can cut yourself out of the photo!!! :)

Next show is in June.... Flagstaff.... the first show I took Chance to after bringing him home last year! :) We're going to retrace some steps! :)

BABIES!!!!!

Our beloved Maya Papaya had 7 babies today....
3 girls/4 boys via C-section....

I'll have pictures tomorrow :)

Stay tuned :)

Win Pictures here and accounted for (finally)

Now please don't cringe too bad.... theses were taken on my cell phone so i could share them sooner!!! :)


Both have beehive butts that I wish someone would have pointed out to me, but oh well... the next ones will be better :) Overall though, they're not too bad!

1 down for each... 14 to go ;-)

camera crazy on tax day

I guess I went a little camera happy yesterday..... but some of these turned out SO cute :)

She's snuggled up with one of her favorite carcasses.... one from the Canadian Goose grunting toy... She loves her carcasses :)

Too much head to hold up?

Up close and personal with my pretty girl...

Her with her carcass again :)

Chance head

"who me?"

"you beckoned?"

"will you just quit teasing, and give me the darned bone already?"

Kota didn't get in on much of the camera happiness.... I bet he's thankful!

If they weren't so darned entertaining and beauty-full, I wouldn't have to take so darned many pictures of them!! ;-)
The kids send their love~

this made me laugh.....

Ironically, yes, my pizza WAS inside the box at the time of this picture. I'm not sure what inspired me to look at the bottom of the box, but I did.... The picture is taken from beneath the box, looking up. I dunno, it made me chuckle!

Chance at the show

These are pictures that Renay took on Sunday (Thanks Renay!)


I can't wait to see his official show photo.... Not sure how long these photographers take, but I just hate the waiting ;-)

Reflections on a long weekend....

This weekend was a great dog show weekend... the first in a very long time, and I was long over due! :) We all had a great time, and I have three very tired dogs :) I wore my beautiful Cardigan pin this weekend... I've always wondered if it was lucky or not.... I'm going to have to say "yes" now :)



Thought it might be fun to have pictures with the dogs and their bounty from the weekend, so we start with Dakota.... the most amicable to anything... He'll do anything I tell him to.... Atta boy Kota :) Chance thought for sure because I was calling him over, that there was something wrong. When I did get him to come over, he sulked...
but boy was it cute!!!!

And then I got his attention :) I like these colors.... I could get used to these colors :)

Sedona was being a complete twit, as evidenced below.....
Begrudgingly, she sat up right so I could take a picture of her with her ribbons... but she wants it noted that she did not pose willingly ;-)

And all three kids with their toy winnings :) It's been a tradition since I started showing Ollie in February of 03, that when you win points, you earn a toy :)
Not sure what our next show is.... where it is or when.... Guess we'll have to figure that out :)

another brag!

Chance earned his first point today, going Winners Dog and Best of Winners! Sedona was RWB. They swapped!!! I was able to get a picture with the judge (squeezed myself in) so I'll make sure to post it when I get it :)

Overall, not a bad weekend.... Kota's Q on Friday, Sedona being WB on Saturday and Chance being WD on Sunday.... They all earned themselves a toy :)

Ah it feels good to have dogs with points again! :) It had been since 01/16/05 that I had won a point.... that's the day Kota finished... Thanks for all the well wishes and good thoughts :) They helped! (it was either that, or my lucky pin!)

The streak has ended!!!

My face lit up when the judge pointed to Sedona and I for Winners! It was supposed to have been two points in bitches, but Bella was entered here, and finished a few weeks back, so she was absent... But hey, I'll take my one point and be happy with it :)

Chance was Reserve, which bummed me out, but luckily tomorrow is another day :)

Pictures to come :)

Rally day...

Kota and I headed 35 minutes south to Casa Grande for the Rally trials. It was his first attempt at Excellent, and still, we've never had training... My biggest concern was the Honor exercise, which in retrospect was the LEAST of my problems ;-)

The first attempt was..... ok. His nose was plastered to the ground before going in the ring, so I wasn't sure what to expect.... he did *OK* all things considered... his heel isn't "perfect", but MUCH better than it was when we were in Advanced... the biggest problems were mainly ME, but he did refuse to do the "back" exercise staying in the heel position. Upon leaving the ring, the judge told me what was wrong with our performance... too much verbal stuff, tapping of the legs and I clapped to get his attention... and of course the "he needs to practice the "back" exercise" "yes, I agree, and thank you" I said as I left the ring knowing we didn't Q. BUT since we had several hours till our next performance, we focused on heeling better and that blasted "back" exercise. Oh, and we took the opportunity to take some photos ;-)

He's so darned photogenic... and such a good good boy :)

Happy Happy Kota dog :)

And I think this is my favorite.... kinda cool :)

So then we went back to the car, I watched the rest of a movie (brought the portable DVD player since I knew I'd have time ;-) ) and caught some z's :) Before going back in the ring, I went to see what the scores were from our 1st run, and I found that NONE of the three dogs entered in Excellent A qualified... and to top it off, Kota and I had the best time! :)

We went back in to the building, practiced some, rested some and went back in the ring. His heel wasn't as good, and I had given a lot of verbal encouragement, but I made sure not to tap my leg, clap my hands or anything else "forbidden" :) And to make me even happier, HE DID THE BACK EXERCISE! :) He was weird in the ring, but in the end, we did all of the exercises and I felt ok about it. Worst case was that we NQ'd again... we had fun ;-)

We checked the scores and we QUALIFIED!!!!! And not only did we qualify, but we got SECOND place.

It was a good day for Kota and I... I think we needed it :) A bonding day without the kids :) In the process, I met a lady who does rally, obedience and agility training not too far from me, who is willing to work with me and my crappy schedule so I can get Kota better trained. I think with some real training, this dog could do all those things I wanted to do (get his CD etc). once we get through the Beginning Obedience/Agility course, we'll focus more on agility as I think he'd LOVE it, and I promised Trooper (rest his soul) that Kota would make him proud in the agility ring, since I knew how much Troop loved agility... Now we'll be on our way :) I'll also enter the other two in classes with Cindy too, since I think they can at the very least, earn Rally titles :) Its fun and SO not stressful :)

So overall, we had an ok day :) The bonding was well worth it :) Now we're a third of the way to our RE :) I love this dog so much.... and I could never thank Carolyn enough for convincing me I needed him :) Words will never be able to do how i feel about him any justice....

in other news...

I just finished week 3 of 9 in my new job.... it's awesome :) It allows me (and challenges me) to be creative :) And heck, kids that age (3-7) are awful cute :) Young enough to not be a little terd, but old enough to really interact with :) I'll be signing my contract soon.. I have to apply for a couple of licenses and then we take that "next step" :) Can ya tell....? I'm excited! :)

Here's a few pictures of my little classroom :)

Of COURSE I used paw prints.... !

for now, this is our table we work on... kinda small, but luckily, so are most of the kids! :)

In other news, the Element turned 100,000 miles at the end of last month.... As is tradition, I took a picture of it on 100,000 for prosperity :)
Sedona is just getting out of her "oh-so-special-time"... Kota still thinks she's quite sexy, but Chance has finally moved on and is finally eating again.... Oh was that challenging not to want to lock up the boys and throw away the key! :) But then SHE wasn't much better.... the little hussy! Well thank goodness it's over I guess... :)

Kota and I have 2 Rally trials tomorrow (today I guess...Friday). We haven't competed in over 2 years.... I think I felt better when I didn't really think about that.... Let's hope that Kota hasn't completely forgotten how to be a good dog ;-)

Baths for the kids, shows on Saturday (12:30) and Sunday (8:30). It's the first time in my recent memory I haven't complained about an early morning ring time....
Forecast says : 93. Yea. Early is A-OK with me, thanks! I guess it's better than the 96 I had heard earlier in the day... *ugh* here it comes....

Um... other than a lot of sleep deprivation, that's what's been going on here.... every other week I get no sleep... it sucks. But the end result is worth it.... I'm at the end of my long week right now... and I'm oh......so.......tired.

Will update tomorrow after Rally..... Think good dog thoughts for Kota tomorrow (today).... *crossing fingers*

Happy 6th Birthday Ollie!

from a letter I wrote to Susan & Ollie ....

(Ollie at just a few weeks old)

Dearest Ollie,

It was love at first sight, when I saw you at Grandma Carolyn's house for the first time... I loved your pictures, but nothing could have prepared me for the feeling I had when I saw you. You were such a cute fuzzy little 10 week old mischief maker and you immediately stole my heart.

Over the course of the next four years, you would grow and develop into such a smart loving young dog.

While I'm sorry I couldn't provide a forever home for you, I'm so glad that you have Susan to take care of. Most of the time I'm not sad about not having you around, but days like today are hard. I waited and waited for you... You were everything I hoped for in a puppy.

I know that you are making Susan VERY happy, providing her with laughter and lovies all the time :) You're a very lucky dog, Ollie bear... To have two women who love you so so much.

I hope you have the bestest of birthdays and that Susan lets you party like the rock star you are :)

I will always love you Bearbee... You'll always be my first... Have a fabulous birthday, and I hope to see you soon ok??

All my love, Mama Traci

Today the Dr. Suess litter of 02 turns 6 years old! It hardly seems possible that that much time has passed! while Ollie is no longer a resident at my house, I think of him all the time, his picture (with Kota) is mounted above my bed, and I remind myself often that he's in a much better place than I could have provided for him. He really is a good dog... just a bit.... snarky sometimes ;-)

(Ollie at 6 months)

Happy Birthday C-Myste Baledwr Wocket N My Pocket PHC, CGC!!

(Ollie at just under 3 years old)