I wanted to get the dogs back to the beach before the playoff game today. The weather is supposed to be bad for us tonight but it was clear early this morning so off we went. Gus looked so happy it brought a smile to my frozen face. The only problem with the beach in the winter is that cars are allowed on the beach until April. There is always ( Read more... )

I love the beaches in the PNW. Wide swaths of uninhabited sand. I thought there would be more people at the beach this weekend, but it was a bit chilly so that probably kept the New Year's partiers away. Gus is my only dog that truly loves the beach. He doesn't swim any longer but that is probably a good thing. I walked the dogs separately so ( Read more... )

I've found the courses at this year's 2016 WAO to be not very interesting. Last year's courses looked like more fun, this year it looks more like Snooker. Multiple courses where the dogs have to bypass obstacles without the handler being able to create a suitable line for the dog to do so. I really don't mind courses where the dogs need to ( Read more... )

I took the day off of work yesterday because it was my birthday. I always try to take my birthday off because it just seems wrong to be at work on one's birthday. It was proclaimed Geezer Day so I medicated Gus heavily so that he could run and took Gus and Lucy to the beach. Mid afternoon on a Friday, I figured the beach would be crowded but it ( Read more... )

I guess I've acquired the reputation of being a dog hoarder. In the past month I've been asked if I was getting another puppy soon, huh? I had Cru at the RAT trial last weekend and someone else thought he was my dog, huh? Granted, 4 dogs is a lot of dogs for just me but I think all 4 have a great quality of life and get a lot of attention. Just ( Read more... )

We ventured down to Northern California for three days with the OMD pack. Most excellent seminar. I was really impressed. I worked with Mikko for two days and Tuulia for one. Unfortunately there were a few schedule changes because the flu hit the instructors so there were emergency fill ins but everything worked out. We asked Mikko where his ( Read more... )

Wow, haven't posted for a long time. The weather gods smiled upon me yesterday so we had terrific weather for a winter puppy party. Another group of very nice and well socialized puppies. I think it's so important for dogs to mingle at an early age, they don't need to play with each other if they don't want to, but they do need to learn to ( Read more... )

Fun fun fun UKI trial yesterday wrapped up our competition year. Kona was a bit naughty but considering she hasn't been training I'm not too surprised. Merlin was awesome, he got better with each run, very happy with how he did. No video as the first person I asked for our first run said "no" and I got discouraged so I didn't ask anyone else for ( Read more... )

Home from the 2015 US Open. I really enjoyed the event again this year. Fortunately I have a dog that can tolerate the stress of air travel so I have the option of participating in an event such as this. The entries were down from last year, mainly because of Cynosport being held on this side of the country. Guessing that next year's entries ( Read more... )

Feels like a pretty crappy week for our little LJ community. Crap. I really thought Helen's cancer was survivable. She was stage III at presentation and there was a lot of hope after her surgery and initial chemo. Her cancer recurred early and then took over her body with a vengeance. Really the emperor of all maladies (http://video.pbs.org/ ( Read more... )