D'Oh!

I took several pictures today on our soon to no longer be traditional Friday hikes, and after I uploaded the pictures I accidentally deleted ALL of them! D'oh! I hate it when I do that (obviously not the first time). I had some lovely pictures that I was going to include on this post, but instead I'll include a few pictures I took of the dogs on an outing this time last year. Please take note of how FILTHY they are!

In case anyone is wondering, I saw the midnight showing of New Moon last night and it was GREAT!! Loved the movie! I was so happy because I really love the books but really didn't like the first movie. And Taylor Lautner......he he he......shirtless.....he he he......one word, yummy!>:o)

Tonight we've got agility league and during the "down time" until we need to leave for that, I have the pleasure of starting to process all of that wonderful meat! Bleck! On the up side, since it's colder out, the meat isn't thawing very fast. On the down side, since it's colder out, the meat isn't thawing very fast. I don't expect to get a whole lot done today. Just picking away at the outer layers of each of the blocks-o-meat-parts.

Tomorrow my mom is coming up and we're doing our annual kick off to the holidays shopping!! I can't wait!! We're going to hit up some of our favorite stores for Christmas decorations, eat lunch at Honey Bake Ham, and finish everything off by stopping at JoAnn's Fabrics to pick up some material to make Christmas coats for the dogs!! I'm also hoping that I'll have time in the evening to get down all of the many boxes of Christmas decorations so that I can be all set and ready to start decorating after Thanksgiving!!

From Excited to Bummed....

Lately I've been trying to keep things more positive. I've been aiming at focusing on the positive in my training with Heffner and Bess, but I also want to be more positive just in general. I was so happy and excited after last night. Just in a really great mood! And I thought that feeling was going to carry over through today since tonight I'm going to the midnight showing of New Moon with some friends!! Hmmm....well, it would appear that going to work unfortunately changed all of that. One of the technicians in the lab was given notice yesterday that she was being let go and that Friday would be her official last day. I would like to say that it's sad to see her go, but considering the amount of extra work that she has generated for me while she's been here and the amount of things that have gotten screwed up, I'm more relieve than anything. I know, I'm a bad person, but after a year and a half you tend to expect at least a minimum level of competency from a person who has performed certain procedures countless times. I'm sorry, but that's just the general expectations. When those expectations just aren't meant and budget cuts are necessary, that person's salary is an easy out. I know, Negative Nancy! But I'm getting to that.

I don't do so well with changes in my schedule that I don't initiate. With this employee leaving I was alerted that there was going to be a slight change to my duties during the day. Okay, fine, I can suck it up and it's really not that bad. Then today, the other manager in the lab and I had a meeting with our boss to go over the technicalities of how we were going to handle having her gone just so that everyone was on the same page. That's when he dropped the bomb on me. My work schedule is going to be changing from four ten hour days (which I LOVE) to five regular days and working Monday through Friday. This sucks! This on top of adding duties to my list that I was happy to be freed from initially, makes me a wee bit unhappy. Not only have I had to deal with things that this employee has repeatedly screwed up, but now my entire work schedule, and therefore my after work schedule, is completely screwed up and getting turned on it's head. All because of this one person. Annoyed. And that's putting it lightly.

You might be wondering, exactly how does this affect the dogs (since the blog is centered around the dogs!). Well, it pretty much eliminates our ability to go on hikes and makes it so that I'm going to have to use my vacation time to fit skijoring in. Like I said, annoyed is putting it lightly.

I thoroughly enjoy taking my dogs hiking on a week day. Even if I didn't have the dogs, I really prefer hiking without other people around unless it's people that I choose to hike with. I like the seclusion, I like the quiet, I like the peacefulness, I like the time to just let my mind wander, and I especially like to have the time to just enjoy my dogs by myself in a natural setting with no interruptions. It's my little bit of zen. The weekends are when most people hit the trails. And I also like to let my dogs off leash. We both have a more enjoyable time if they're allowed to run as they want and sniff and bounce and have a grand ole time while I hike at the pace of MY choosing. Not many people are horribly appreciative of two exuberant giant dogs coming up to greet them. I'm aware of this and try to be courteous. Therefore it's just more enjoyable for us to hit a trail during the week.

I also usually do skijoring practice with the dogs during the week. We always go to the snow parks on Mt. Hood for the wonderful trails that they have up there. We need trails that are at least somewhat groomed by snow mobiles so that it's more enjoyable for the dogs and not a miserable trek through knee deep powder for everyone. Trust me, I've tried it before and none of us had any fun! The snow parks are also packed on the weekends. And people do have a tendency to get up there pretty early to boot. Again, unless I'm racing, I prefer the serenity of the snow covered forest, skiing along with my dogs.

So my schedule is all sorts of nuckered up and I'm feeling incredibly cranky about it at the moment. Add to that the fact that I went and picked up the dogs' quarterly meat load (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3), which means I'll be spending a good chunk of my weekend bagging meat. And it basically adds up to Negative Lindsay. I'm sorry, I just really had to get it out of my system and sort of wallow in my own misery for a bit.

I've obviously had a little bit of time to think (and stew!) on this change of schedule, and I have actually managed to start thinking of how to turn it into some positives. On the up side, I'll be starting work at 8:30am versus 7:00am. I realize that most people would choose to capitalise on the chance at more sleep, but I'm going to continue getting up at the normal time and use it to work with the dogs. After processing this load of meat, I can get the Ball Studio back in shape and get a schedule of core conditioning and other exercises worked in regularly. I plan on doing some shaping of random behaviors with the dogs. I'm going to make a list up this weekend of stuff that I would like to teach them to do. I could also use the time to work on some foundation work for agility, something that I've really been meaning to get back to. I think I just breezed through that training phase with the dogs and didn't really give it the time and attention that it deserves. I could also use the time to work on obedience work with them since we'll be starting actual training for that in January.

During the month of December, I also plan on picking one week day a week to take off and head up to the mountain. Our first race is at the beginning of January and I really need to get them practicing on the snow. Scootering is great, but it just doesn't beat practice time on the actual snow! After that I'm going to shoot for hopefully taking off one weekday a month to take the dogs out for a real nice hike. I just can't give up on hiking all together. That would SERIOUSLY send me over the edge! My new schedule is really only supposed to last until June when we should be able to hire another employee (although it took a year for me to be moved off of working weekends!). Of course at that time the weather will be warming up again and I'll be cutting back on the hikes because of it. But by next fall I'm hoping that things will be back to normal and the way that I like it.

DATD: I am appreciative that my dogs have no idea what I'm bummed about, but want to give me big sloppy kisses any how!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

I'm a little short on time tonight, but I wanted to just make a quick post. I had a total blast tonight and it was even without the dogs!:-O I know! I was invited by the PDX Danes group to come and give a talk about tips on picking out a great dane, finding a reputable breeder, and health testing! I was pretty flattered and excited to give the talk. I made handouts and had a Power Point presentation put together to better illustrate what I was talking about. I really wanted to put an emphasis on the health testing aspect of picking a dane and a breeder. Health testing is so important and I just don't think that it gets explained well enough to people why it's important, what's involved in the testing, and why it's so expensive. I really feel that once people find out what all is involved with the various tests, how often they get done, and the costs involved, that they have a better understanding of why it's so important to purchase a puppy from a reputable breeder and why the cost of that puppy is going to be more than a couple hundred dollars.

I'm hoping that I didn't talk too fast or too much. It was a really great group of people who were able to make it out and they had some great questions. I left their feeling really excited and just great about being involved in this breed in general and feeling like I actually have something to contribute. I know it's a cliche, but seriously, even if you only have one person who gets it; one person who really appreciates the information, it really makes all the difference in the world!:o)

I want to thank Kennedy and the rest of the PDX Danes board of directors for inviting me out and putting together such a great educational event. I'm really thrilled about the new and strong emphasis that they're putting on education and the efforts that they're willing to put into it.

And since I conveniently have all this information stored on my computer and it's all so fresh in my mind, I'll be doing a post here soon regarding the recommended health tests for great danes, their purpose, what's involved, and the general costs as I've experienced them. Now that I'm all jazzed up, lets see how long it takes me to get to sleep tonight!!

Blogger Tuesday

My pick for Blog of the Week is The Thundering Herd! You have seriously got to check these guys out if you haven't already! I've heard that living with one husky can be crazy, but SIX?!LOL Check out their adventures, their beautiful pictures, and see what life would be like with six beautiful huskies.:o)

I also got into a mood this morning that I would like to forewarn those of you reading this blog. If you aren't a fan of Christmas, this blog is going to probably get down right UGLY for you once December 1st hits! I got into one of my bouncing-in-my-seat-because-Christmas-is-right-around-the-corner moods and I'm having a difficult time holding back!! Just wanted to warn ya!;o)

DATD: There's nothing quite like the feeling of coming home to my dogs who are THRILLED that mommy is home!! Tails thwapping away, usually Heffner spinning in tight circles, and Bess doing her funny little mommy's home rooing. Ahhhhhhhh.....home really is where the dogs are!:o)

Product of the Month

My pick for Product of the Month is the Diggler Dirt Dawg scooter! I was shooting for a less expensive scooter that I could use for dry land training with the dogs when I wasn't using a bike. This scooter is pretty much right up our alley! I don't do a whole lot of off roading with the dogs hooked up to the scooter, so the tire size and general size of the scooter fit our needs. And it has brakes!! Although I do recommend making sure that the brakes are tight enough BEFORE testing it out with a dog.;o) Cats and squirrels seem to have a knack for coming out when they think that you might have a lack of control! So far the scooter is holding up very well with my two dogs.


**Edited to add (I blame the newness of my daily addition for forgetting it initially today!) DATD: I love it when Heffner is drinking out of a water fountain! He gets this totally soft almost puppy-like expression on his face. And most of the drinking fountains are just the perfect drinking height for him.

Whidbey Island Dog Show Weekend

Without a whole lot of lead up, the most Bess and I did this weekend was to take a major reserve today at the dog show. It's definitely not something to scoff at to take a major reserve, but you don't get any points for runner up.;o) As it so happens I was actually the Reserve Winners Bitch queen this weekend also taking a major reserve with a puppy that is Bess' half sister (same dam, different sire). That was actually really exciting! But I'll start at the beginning of the weekend because there was also a puppy visit on Sat. night!!



Friday even we had a "lovely" drive through Portland rush hour traffic. It actually wasn't all that bad until we got into that stretch where I 405 meets I 5. Then it was stop and go and really killed my timing. Of course, once we got across the bridge to the Washington side, it was pretty much smooth sailing. The weather wasn't too bad, but it was raining a fair bit and made chunks of the drive a little more "interesting." We got in to Kim's house around 8pm and got unloaded. Bess got to meet Bebe and Liza, who she hasn't met in person before (she was in season the last time we stayed there and she was crated when I wasn't with her). And Tyson, who she has. She was a wee bit overwhelmed that night!LOL Especially since Tyson is HUGE and REALLY wanted to play with her, among other things.;o) Here's a picture I took of them in Kim's van on the way to the show. The picture doesn't do him justice. He's a very handsome boy. And you'd have to see him in person to understand just how huge he is, especially for a boy who just turned a year old today!

Saturday morning we got there early because there were three puppies of Georgia's (Bess' breeder) who were all in the 6-9 month puppy class in addition to a client dog that Georgia was showing. So she needed some extra hands to take the puppies in and I got to show Serena, who is a litter mate to Violet and a half sister to Bess. The puppies JUST turned 6 months old (the minimum age necessary to enter a regular AKC dog show) on the 7th, so this was their very first dog show! Needless to say, they were all just a wee bit excited at all the potential play mates that were running around the fair grounds.:o) This is the first time that I've actually met Serena and she was incredibly well behaved, especially for a puppy that is getting handled by a complete stranger in a very exciting, overstimulating, and potentially scary situation. I worked with her a bit before the show started to get a feel for her to see what she would and wouldn't let me do and to just generally get to know her. She's a very happy girl!

When it came time for us to go in for our class, we were the first ones in. And she did so well. She wasn't as wiggly as you would expect from a puppy of her age. She happily let the judge examine her teeth and go over her entire body. She didn't shy away when the judge got to her rear. She happily stood there munching on bait that I was holding for her! She was really pretty solid on gaiting. I would have liked to get her head up a bit more, but she otherwise moved pretty well without the sometimes expected puppy bobbles. She was totally fine with me hand stacking her front feet. Not terribly enthused about me stacking her back, but I kind of figured out what she would let me do without fussing by Sunday. The end result was that she won her class!! I was pretty excited!

When I took Bess in she was her normal solid self. We ended up going second in our class and didn't make it into the WB ring. I took Serena back in for the WB competition and she ended up taking a major reserve!:O) Definitely not too shabby for a 6 month old puppy at their very first dog show!!

Saturday night we went over to hang out with Karen and play with Mia's new litter of puppies! They were officially one week old and so incredibly adorable!! I don't have any pictures from the visit because I was too busy soaking up all the adorableness!! There was one particular mantle boy that I was holding for a big chunk of the time that we were there. It was just way too cute to have him sucking on finger and making those adorable little puppy grunting noises. He fell asleep a few times and was just a really nice mellow little boy! Thankfully I didn't end up getting peed on, but I did get pooped on. And let me tell you, puppy poo WREAKS!!!LOL Not that you would think it would smell like roses, but it was pretty gnarly! We spend several hours over there just playing with the puppies and chatting about dogs. I LOVE opportunities like this where I get to sit back and just really soak up the experiences of others who have been in the breed for a while. You can learn a whole lot by just listening!

Then it was back to Kim's to catch some shut eye and do it all over again in the morning. I showed Serena again this morning. She went 2nd in her class and so did Bess. However, the bitch that won Bess' class got the major and we got to go back in the ring to compete for reserve (don't ask why it is that they do it this way, that's just how it is!) and we got a major reserve!! So like I said, I was the RWB queen this weekend.;o)

Because the drive was so long (3.5 hours), I didn't really get back with enough day light left to take the dogs out and exercise them and I REALLY don't feel like taking them running tonight either. Heffner has been especially bouncy since I got home and I know that he could use exercise of some sort, but I'm just feeling too lazy for that!

DATD: I am thankful that Bess is such a solid dog in the conformation ring! She knows what it's all about and I can literally whip her out of her soft crate moments before stepping into the ring and she will still be on her game! I don't have to have anyone hold her for me to get her mentally ready. I don't have to stay with her until the moment we step into the ring. And I don't have to worry about having a misbehaving dog on my hands if things aren't "just right" before we enter the ring. She's just a very easy going girl who knows what it's all about and works well for her momma!:o)

Here we go!

Tonight Bess and I are travelling up to Sammammish, WA to stay at a friends for a dog show in Monroe, WA this weekend! It's going to be a major in bitches as long as everyone shows up. Therefore, today has been pretty laid back. I took the dogs on an easy hike this morning. Fridays are now our normal hiking days, so they were expecting to go some where.;o) Because it was raining (typical Pacific Northwest fair for this time of year, and I have to admit that I enjoy it) and a little chilly out, I brought coats along for the dogs. Originally I was planning on hitting one of our favorite spots along the highway on the way to the coast. As I was driving, I got to thinking about my time constraints for today and getting ready to leave tonight for the show and realized that the original plan wasn't a good one. That trail is really better for times when I don't have a list of things to get done in a relatively limited amount of time.:) So I decided to go hit up Linear Park instead! It's a nice easy trail with plenty of spots that the dogs can go off and do their own thing. However, the coats that I packed for them were a bit heavier than absolutely necessary for this trail. It ended up working out alright, but I would have preferred a lighter rain coat than the ones that I brought (one of these days I'll do a post on the break down of the different coats I have for the dogs and what conditions I use them for. I know, the more blog posts I write, the more my dog related OCD comes through!!). At any rate, the dogs had a good ole time! The jaunt only lasted about two hours, but I think it worked out well for them. I took just a few pictures to spice up this post.;)



Since Bess and I are heading out tonight, we're going to miss another week of agility league.:( I'm especially bummed because our agility instructor is out of town at the USDAA nationals (I think that's what it is) this week and we havne't had any practice. I was able to filch a little barn time from someone else at a different barn last night with Bess, but that wasn't a whole lot. We need our agility fix!LOL I guess that's just what happens when my schedule is so all over the place!


On the up side, it sounds like we're going to get to go visit some 1 week old great dane puppies on Sat. night!! I'm soooooooo excited!!! Mercerwood Great Danes had a litter born on the 7th and they look so stinking cute!


So keep your fingers crossed that Bess and I can pull off that Winners Bitch spot at least one of the days!! That would knock off her other required major and then we'd just have four singles left after that!


My Doggy Appreciation Though of the Day (DATD) goes out to my Bessy Boo! My girl has got some rock solid stays! Under distractions of other dogs and in different locations? Check! At a distance? Check! At trials? Check! She likes to chase and she loves the opportunity to go from zero to crazy speed in no time flat, so I started working with her on her stays at a distance in combination with her recalls as a way to improve these areas and to also burn off some of her energy. Once we did it a few times, she totally caught on and thought it was the best game ever! Initially she would get some serious zoomies, but her stays were always rock solid!