Jan got the electric outlets working in the kitchen island, so he was able to make progress on tiling the backsplash.


The day after Christmas we ran some errands. I boxed up some books and we took those and some other household items to Goodwill. Stoker and Ecko took turns helping by climbing in my boxes.
Christmas Day was sunny and bright, but also cold and windy. All the dogs got to go for a walk, which also burned off some calories for the humans. Jan went with me on my last walk so we got some photos of Chili and Stoker.

Monday Road Trip

Ecko and her brother Cooper went on a drive with Julie and I to Aumsville (about an hour) to go for their OFA x-rays. Brother Reef met us there with Dick and Ginny. Ecko and Reef got both hips and elbows x-rayed, while Julie opted for just hips for Cooper since PWDs are relatively low risk for elbow dysplasia. The vet gave all three pups a "thumbs up" on their x-rays. They have been submitted to OFA and now we wait for the official opinion....Couldn't resist getting a quick photo of Ecko (above) andCooper (below) with my iphone. I ran them through some filters and "posterized" them.

Cooper's Win Photo

Julie, Darlene and I got together for a walk in the woods with the dogs today, and Julie brought along Cooper's win photo from a couple of weekends ago. We're still so tickled that he got his first points so quickly! He was QUITE done with stacking by the time they tried to get the photo, so he got to sit instead. Thanks to Shelby for the super handling job.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday Ecko, Mako, Cooper, Subi, Chloe and Reef (in birth order so as not to show bias!)
Happy Birthday to you!

The Deadliest Catch litter turned two on 12/13/09. It is hard to believe they are two years old already. Hugs to the pups and a big “thank you” to their people for loving them and making them part of your family.

Subi is visiting with us for a few days and we got some photos of her and Ecko on Saturday. The two sisters are enjoying playing together and we keep doing double-takes because Subi looks so much like her Granny Chili (especially that face!).

Photos are of Ecko reclining on the back of the couch (Subi is better behaved and does not go on the furniture), Subi lying in the back yard, and Subi playing keep-away with a stick as Ecko follows behind.

Cooper Jumps for Joy

Cooper is a winner!

Cooper, Ecko and Reef were entered in a dog show this weekend.

Cooper showed on Saturday only (Julie had to work on Sunday) and took Winners Dog for his first two points! It was his first time in the ring with my friend Jennifer's daughter Shelby, who is an accomplished Junior handler. Cooper was pretty worried about the situation, but Shelby stayed calm and upbeat with him and they pulled off the win.

Ecko and Reef didn't fare as well on Saturday but basked in Cooper's reflected glory. On Sunday, Reef won his Open dog class and took Reserve Winners dog and Ecko won a competitive Bred-by class. No points for these two, but a nice consistent showing for the weekend from the three pups.

The puppy that took Winners Bitch on Sunday looks like she could be Ecko's sister doesn't she? Not related at all! This pretty pup is owned by Mara Hertzberg.

Reef & Ecko, relieved to be done with all the grooming for a while...

Thanksgiving Agility Weekend

We enjoyed a relaxing agility weekend at "Camp Stargazer" with Sandy and Jim. Arrived on Thursday afternoon after a long slow drive up from Beaverton in the rain and traffic to enjoy way too much of a tasty turkey dinner with all the trimmings. We all kept our eyes open just long enough to watch a movie that Sandy's niece Cari and her fiancee had brought with them and then fell into bed for the night.

Jan and I ran agility with the dogs on Friday and Saturday.

Jan had two really nice runs with Stoker on Friday for their first time out together. They missed a Q in Novice Jumpers with one knocked bar and a Q in Open standard when Stoker fell off the dog walk. Their runs were really nice, so it was a little disappointing that they didn't Q in either. Stoker likes running with Jan.

Chili spent the entire weekend looking for Jan on the course while I was running her. She still had a good Exc Standard run, with an off-course due to my handling. Grrr! Bad handler! Her Jumpers run was a complete and total train wreck and I am not sure there was room on the scribe sheet for all the faults. She even ran up to the judge to ask him if he knew where her "daddy" was. On Saturday, we tried having Jan stand at ringside near the start line so Chili would know where he was. That seemed to work a little better. She had a decent Standard run again but NQd with an off-course early in the run. We kept things together with a nice run in Jumpers in the afternoon for our only Q of the weekend and finished her AXJ title.

Jan and Decker are running better together with every trial. No Qs this weekend, but two nice Excellent runs on Saturday. Decker bailed off the up side of the A-frame and knocked a bar on his standard run and had a refusal in his Jumpers run. They got good weaves in both classes, which has been an issue for them. Learning Decker's signs that he is committed to an obstacle (and/or teaching him to send better) might be this team's next step. Think smoothness and flow....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHILI

Our little PWD princess is eight today. It's so hard to believe that eight years have gone by...

I wrote a sentence for Chili once upon a time when I submitted her for a cover contest and I think it captures her well: "This petite PWD goes from pillow princess to performance powerhouse in the blink of an eye". She truly is a powerhouse in the water and not too shabby in agility and obedience either. She's smart, energetic, playful, sweet, manipulative and co-dependent and has Jan and I wrapped around her little paw. Her prey/chase drive can make her a sharp l'il thing when she is in that mode and she gets in trouble for biting at my leg and anything else in mouth range when we first leave the house to exercise with the bike.

Chili and sister Sydney got a great b-day card from her sister Bella (with the help of owner Mandy's keyboarding skills). Chili, Bella and Syd are the three "performance" girls from the "sweet sensations" litter of eleven and since myself, Mandy and Val are all friends we get to see each others girls from time to time. Their daddy Kilo and mama Sabrina truly graced us with some wonderful companions.

We're looking forward to many more happy years with our Chili-roo and can't even imagine life without her.

Agility Weekend

The photo with this post really should be of Decker and Jan, but this photo of Chili is the only one we were able to get instant gratification on this weekend.

Decker and Jan got their first Q together with a 2nd place finish in their Excellent Jumpers run on Sunday. Jan has been running Decker for such a short time and this is only their second day trialling together, so I am very proud of them. Their jumpers run was really pretty and smooth. Woohoo!

It was a jumpers weekend for our PWDs, apparently, as Stoker Qd in Novice Jumpers with a 3rd place for her 2nd Novice Jumpers leg and Chili Qd in Excellent Jumpers with a 1st place for her 2nd Excellent Jumpers leg. No Qs in standard all weekend...

Chili & Decker Tearin' it Up

Chili and Decker in the Leaves, originally uploaded by Suz&Jan.

After grooming Stoker's sister Maggie in the morning (when it was still nice out) on Saturday, I got together with Darlene and Julie to go for a walk in the afternoon. Ecko, Cooper and Tsuzi were wet to the skin within minutes but had such a blast powering up and down the trail in the fall leaves that Jan and I were motived to take Decker and Chili out for a walk on Sunday. Gotta keep those agility dogs in shape, you know! Ecko and Stoker had to settle for biking that day...

What a weekend for the PWDs!

On Saturday, Chili's daughter JoJo (Lookout's Wind and Rain and Fire) earned her WWD title in Arizona with her owner Val Tangen. Val has done a great job with this spirited girly earning a CD title and assorted agility titles with her as well.

Also on Saturday, Dixie Matson earned a MACH with her girl Jude (CH Bayswater Jubilee Jude CDX MX MXJ CWDX). I got to watcyh Dixie and Jude run several times last spring and they are a smooth and pretty team to watch.

On Sunday, Stoker's cousin Sailor earned her AWD title with her co-owner/breeder Mandy Ford. Sailor really deserved the title as she did an awesome job in training with her owner Martha all summer.

Also on Sunday, Jan and I went to an agility trial in Albany with Decker and Chili. Jan ran Decker for the first time in competition in the Excellent class after having trained with him in classes for only a month. They didn't manage to Q, but had two really nice runs. I don't think Jan really has any idea how quickly he is coming along as a handler. Chili earned her final Q in standard with a first place to earn her AX title (three straight Qs in this class for her!) and earned her first Excellent Jumpers Q too.

The somewhat blurry photos are clipped from a video of Jan's jumpers run with Decker. You can see a video of their run here.

Sittin' on the Stairs

Sittin' on the Stairs, originally uploaded by Suz&Jan.

The steps up to the back yard are one of Ecko's favorite places to hang out.

Glamour Girl

Glamour Girl, originally uploaded by Suz&Jan.

Stoker lives up to the nickname Mandy gave her on a daily basis.

Multi-tasking

Sunday was a busy day for the dogs. Decker, Chili and I left the house with Cooper, Tsuzi and Julie fairly early in the morning and went to a fun match. Cooper and Julie played conformation (and quite nicely too), Tsuzi hung out and kept us company, and Decker, Chili and I did Open obedience run-throughs. Both Chili and Deck were pleasantly surprise to see that their "Auntie" CJ was playing "judge" for the match. Confidence is always Chili's "issue" and she was quite happy in the ring on most of the exercises. Most of her errors were anticipation errors which I am happy to deal with as it means she is really "in the game". We have a bit of confidence building and proofing to do on the drop on recall and broad jump. Decker was his usual merry self. Never the most precise worker in obedience, he always has a good time and puts smiles on the faces of those watching. He does a pretty job job "getting her done" too, just not quite as smoothly as Chili.

While we were off enjoying ourselves, Jan was left dealing with naughty Stoker and Ecko at home. The two bad girls slipped into the garage as I was hurrying out the door to the match and helped themselves to a box of chicken necks I had thawing there. Ten pounds of necks later, Jan discovered them and had the delightful chore of inducing vomiting to relieve their distress from their gluttony. Stoker was so full of chicken necks she couldn't even jump on the couch!

After the match, Julie helped mind Chili while I laid a few short tracks for her. Chili seems to be catching on to this new game pretty quickly and I just need to hope that I don't do anything to mess her up before I get another chance to track with a friend who knows how to do this better than I....

We goofed off for a couple of hours when we got home, then did a little agility (just jumps and weaves) in the front yard before dinner. Ecko is doing 6 closed up weaves pretty accurately now, even with a little more difficult entry and she is gaining speed and sequencing with jumps before and after too. After I worked her, Jan came out and worked all three of the other dogs. Wow! We worked with Decker on rear crosses and I think he is finally starting to "get" them. I can set things up in our small yard so it doesn't really make sense for him to spin the wrong way and just do small sequences to help him get things right. Stoker ran really well for Jan. He asked a lot more of her than I usually do and she hung in there with him and didn't try to quit on him at all.

A full time job

Keeping up with the four dogs is a full time job, and one I wouldn't trade for anything. Here is what we did in the last couple of days:

• Friday PM: spent about 1-1/2 hours brushing Chili out while watching TV (note to self - if you would do it more often it wouldn't take as long!)
• Saturday: Got up at 5:30, drove 3 hours to a tracking workshop with Chili, spent the day learning, drove 3 hours home.
• Sunday: Bathed Ecko and Decker, biked Ecko and Decker (thankfully Jan walked Stoker and Chili!), played around doing Rally with Stoker and Ecko (and Julie, Tsuzi and Cooper), went to a friend's house to help groom her PWD that is recovering from a cruciate tear
• Monday: agility class for Decker. While Jan was running Decker in class, I laid a couple of short tracks for Chili in the field outside the agility barn. Gave Chili a bath when we got home.

Now if only I didn't need a full time job to help pay the bills, I would have even more time to spend with the dogs.

Looking on the AKC website the other day I was pleasantly surprised to see that Stoker had finished her NA trial with Jessie at the trial a couple of weeks ago. I was thinking she needed one more leg, for some reason. Way to go Jess and Stoker!

Colorado Vacation

One of the highlights of my teeny-tiny vacation (just under 3 days) was that I got to go riding with my Dad and sister. Not a single photo of Mom and my three nieces! I really need to get a small, inexpensive camera that I can take with me when I am travelling light on my judging assignments...

My sister Taunchy on her Appaloosa (yes I do mean that) gelding Lucky and my Dad on Haflinger gelding Ike.

My sister Taunchy and I with mare Ginger.

Taunchy on Lucky takes the lead and Ginger and I follow along behind.

Having not been on a horse for around 20 years I was extremely out of practice! Riding Ginger made me think of my endurance riding days.

Reef

Some photos of Reef at 22 months and one shot with sister Ecko and mama Stoker. Ginny was stacking him in these photos and I "cloned" her out using Picnik. This was my first attempt to use the cloning feature and I obviously need more practice!

Weekend Get-Away

We loaded the dogs in the car on Friday evening and made a break for Dick and Ginny's house in Florence. They have a lovely house on Sutton Lake and we got some photos of the mist rising off the lake in the morning. On Saturday we drove a few miles to Carter Lake and the dogs got to have a romp and swim. It was a weekend of eating too much, napping and basically goofing off. Followed by a return to reality on Sunday evening....

Castaic Lake Sunrise

Got home late last night from a weekend Water Trial judging assignment in California. A perfect, albeit extremely tiring weekend: sunny weather, beautiful venue, well-run trial, nice folks and a decent number of passes. I took these photos with my iphone as I was eating my breakfast before judging began on Sunday.

Wednesday Morning Photos

Ecko keeping watch on the stairs.

Chili in the flowers.

Rosebud in morning sun.

My favorite rose. Beautiful colors and aroma.

I'm Walkin, Yes Indeed....

A number of years ago, I would get up every morning before work and go for a run. Half an hour, five days a week, rain or shine.... I was in decent shape and the exercise had the added benefit of giving me more energy and a mood lift too.

This morning, I got up at 5:45 (my usual time), fed the dogs and, instead of taking a nap on the couch for another hour before getting ready for work, I went for a 35 minute walk! The goal is to try to keep this up, but I know from past experience that it takes a week or two before this routine will become ingrained enough for it to be easy to get out the door in the morning....

The dogs had a blast on Saturday with a couple hour visit to the river at Cathedral Park. My friend Rosie and her friend Kim met us there. Kim thinks PWDs are pretty neat and is hoping to get one in the next year and Rosie has always been a big fan of Ms. Chili. We ended up with quite the gathering. Julie was there with Cooper and Tsuzi, another friend of Rosie's stopped by with her Lab and Dick and Ginny came by with Reef. The PWDs are loud and rowdy when they are in free-for-all retrieve mode at the water and if people still want one after they see them in this state, it's a good indicator that this is the breed for them.

Which Came First?

Well, Decker did obviously....

When Decker and I are out and about we get asked a lot whether he is an "Obama dog". My nieces spotted the Beanie Baby version of "Bo" in a store recently and told my sister they thought I would like it. They sent me a little care package, which was really fun to receive in the mail.
There is a strong resemblance, don't you think? In the second photo Decker is being a really good boy not to pounce on Bo and fling him around. He couldn't figure out why I didn't want him to play with the new toy.

My two older nieces visited us in Beaverton when Decker was around 8 or 9-months old. They really liked Chili and she would accompany them to the back yard to play, but they would always ask if we could keep the "baby bulldozer" (yes - that was Decker's nickname) locked in the house as he was just a bit too rambunctious for them.

Ups and Downs

I've been a little down lately due to some minor upsets. I really can't complain, things are going pretty well, but.... I had a pretty lazy weekend and thought I would focus on all the" good stuff" from the weekend:

• I got to sleep in three days in a row!
• I finished a good book that I've had a hard time finding time to read.
• Got to play agility twice with the dogs. We all enjoy that!
• Jan and I cleaned the garage just enough to feel like we had accomplished something but not enough to feel like hard work.
• Reconnected with a friend I hadn't talked to in a while.
• Gave Stoker a haircut. They always look so good when they are freshly trimmed.
• Jan made a batch of fresh spaghetti sauce from our bumper crop of home-grown tomatoes. Yum!
• Woke up with an achy back only to have Chili curl up against my back like a warm and supportive hot water bottle. What a good girly.
• Took Chili and Stoker for a walk on Sauvie Island. We got soaked, but had a good time. Photos below.

All in all a nice relaxing weekend to sing in the rain and stop and smell the flowers.

Water Trial Weekend

Returned home exhausted last night from a weekend at the PNWPWDC water trial, but pretty pleased with how things turned out for most of our canine "family". In alphabetical order for fairness sake (VBG):

• Bella (Kilo's daughter/Chili's sister) and Mandy got their Courier (CWD) title on Saturday (and I got to steward for them!)
• Cooper (Kilo and Stoker's son/Ecko's brother) and Julie earned their Apprentice (AWD) title on Sunday after a super effort on Saturday that fell just short of qualifying
• Ecko (Kilo and Stoker's daughter and our "great white hope") and I earned her Junior Water Dog (JWD) certificate on Saturday and AWD on Sunday
• Pansy (Kilo grand-kid and daughter of Mandy's girl Bella) and Mandy earned their JWD with great enthusiasm
  
• Rebel (Kilo grand-kid and son of Mandy's girl Bella) and Jessie earned his AWD title on Sunday after coming REALLY close on Saturday

We're super proud of family members Martha and Sailor (Kilo grand-kid and daughter of Mandy's girl Bella) and Val and JoJo (Kilo grand-kid/Chili daughter) who both had super and enthusiastic performances but had just enough go awry to miss out on that elusive "Q".

Some random "post-trial" thoughts:

• Those in our training group that were fortunate enough to "Q" were NOT those that did the best in training during the summer. There is a definite element of luck involved sometimes!
• The Deep Lake trial site was a stressful one for Ecko and perhaps for other dogs as well. It has a curved shoreline and is surrounded by trees - much less open than any place we have trained. Having strangers floating in boats and standing quietly on the shoreline seemed to unnerve her when she had practiced with people she knew all summer. I've only worked this site at the upper levels before with more seasoned dogs so didn't anticipate this.
• Sharing a common interest can make an opinionated bunch of people from different walks of life come together and work like crazy toward a common goal quite successfully.

Trial photos will be posted on the photographer's website at http://www.petscapesphoto.com/petscapesorderinfo/ when they are available. Can't wait to see them!

Cooper is a Champ!

Julie called me last night to say she had received an envelope in the mail and was surprised to find it was Cooper's UKC Championship. We knew he had enough "competition wins" but thought he needed points still. What a nice surprise! Julie and her family have done a super job with Cooper. Super duper Cooper! Now on to that next water title and AKC championship....

In honor of Cooper's accomplishment, here are some photos of him from earlier this spring.

Showing off his nice side gait.

Posing for the camera.

Roly Poly Fish Heads

About once a week or so, the dogs get fish for dinner. I buy 40 lbs of Tilapia at a time and keep them in the freezer in the garage. Each fish is bagged individually, which makes it easy to grab a couple bags in the evening and thaw them in the sink for the dog's breakfast. The fish are gutted but otherwise whole (fins, head....). Two decent sized fish make a meal for the four dogs, with each fish getting cut into appropriate portions for the dogs. Cutting the fish up early in the morning is not a task for the shrinking violet....

One evening a week or so ago, Chili got on the bed in the middle of the night (she rarely gets off once she settles in for the night, so that in and of itself was unusual...). She stood next to me doing a little nervous tail wag and licking her lips. I wondered sleepily whether or not she had an upset tummy, but since she settled down and went right to sleep when I encouraged her to, I didn't think much more about it. Until the next morning......

A certain some-dog had mosied into the kitchen in the middle of the night and managed to snag a fish out of the sink. Chili is a bit height-challenged, so I think the fish must have been leaning up against the front of the sink and the plastic bags they were in must have been JUST within her grasp. I was immediately sure of who the culprit was given the telltale signs during the night. The little sneak had taken her midnight snack up into the back yard and eaten every last morsel, leaving only some shredded plastic bag pieces as evidence.

Needless to say, naughty Chili did not get breakfast!

Whenever I feed the dogs fish, it makes me think of the song by Barnes and Barnes:
Fish heads, fish heads
Roly-poly fish heads
Fish heads, fish heads
Eat them up, yum!

find the birdy

We've been enjoying some little birds that have nests in some of the shrubbery in the back yard. Jan caught some on them with the camera a few days ago. The baby birds are really noisy at feeding time!

Can you find the bird?

There, we made it easier for you.

This little bird is flashy with it's bright red head.

too hot for words

With record high temperatures in the Portland area over the last few days, it is truly too hot for words. In an area of the country that rarely has more than a few days over 90 all summer long, it isn't surprising that many people have no air conditioning. We've been hunkered down trying to do as little as possible the last few days with the roar of many fans in our ears and glasses of ice water in hand.

Here are some photos of Stoker trying to beat the heat with a little help from Jan.