View from the top...

Or, it's all down-hill from here...

I took this photo of Ecko at the top of the steps up to the back yard early Sunday afternoon shortly before my cold kicked in full force and proceeded to kick my butt for the rest of the weekend.


Groomed a pretty six-month old pup this weekend. Menina was VERY well behaved on the grooming table and got to have some down-time exploring in the yard and playing with Ecko.

Ecko doing her best "kung-fu" impression while playing with Menina.

Actually had a pretty good day on Saturday, with a trip to the river with a couple of the dogs for a training session. We couldn't coordinate taking the boat with us and the weather was kind of crappy (high 40s and cloudy/rainy) but we still got a good session in.

Did some sending to the marker and secondary target with Stoker who did very well with that. I also worked a bit on her float line retrieve from shore with me standing in the water (brrrr!) and sending her to shore for the line with a food tube attached. She loves to swim and retrieve despite the cold, and we only saw small glimpses of her stressy behavior from last year's Courier training fiasco.

Ecko wasn't excited about swimming and I didn't push it because the water really was COLD! Played with her a little retrieving the food tube and then attaching it to her line for her to retrieve. We also worked on some multiple article retrieves in wading depth water and she did a good job fetching the buoy ball with the sinking line. I think she will be one of the clever dogs that figures out bumping the ball with your nose will kick the line up out of the water...

We ended with all four dogs taking a turn at doing the Courier pouch exchange in the field near the car. This was a good way to warm them up after their cold water swimming and a fun game for them to play.

Resting up from the weekend.

What's one extra PWD? Or three? Or four? If you said "exhausting", you got the right answer!

On Wednesday, 6-month old pup "Willa" arrived for a weekend visit. She was really a very good girl for her age. She didn't chew anything she shouldn't, she ate her meals when they were offered and she slept nicely in her crate (after a few minutes of complaining the first night).

She did give us a good scare when she decided that we were no way, no how gonna catch her in our extremely large back yard on Thursday afternoon. I spent over an hour after I got home from work trying to persuade her that I really wasn't scary and that being caught wasn't a bad thing. I finally enlisted Ecko's help and by pretending to ignore Willa and play with Ecko instead I finally managed to capture her. Needless to say, she spent the rest of her stay with us dragging a leash so we could catch her when we needed to.

Willa and Ecko had fun playing on and off while she was with us and she followed Decker around like he was her hero.

Ecko engaging Willa in a game of "chase"

Willa with a toy. Isn't she cute?

On Friday evening, Julie dropped off Ecko's brother Cooper and his housemate Tsuzi. These two have stayed with us before and are always easy to have around, but still..... seven PWDs in one house? Yikes!

On Saturday morning, Dick and Ginny arrived to spend the weekend with us, bringing Ecko's brother Reef with them and the total PWD headcount hit eight. The dogs all got on amazing well. Fortunately the weather was amazing so the patio doors could be open to the back yard pretty much the whole weekend.

We had a yummy dinner which Dick and Jan cooked on the barbecue Saturday night to celebrate Ginny's upcoming birthday.

On Sunday, we had a visit from this beautiful bird. We heard her first, and thought it was the Pileated Woodpecker that visits each year. After looking at some bird websites on-line, I think it is actually a Northern Flicker, which supposedly makes a sounds very similar to the Pileated Woodpecker. Flickers are members of the woodpecker family. The Northern Flicker is 11 - 12 inches long, has a wingspan of 17 - 20 inches and weighs 3 3/4 to 5 1/2 ounces. They are common in open woodlands and suburban areas. They nest in a cavity in a tree or post.

Reef was the first PWD to depart, heading home with Dick and Ginny Sunday morning. Willa's family came to pick her up mid-afternoon and Cooper and Tsuzi left late in the afternoon. Amazing how peaceful the house seems with "only" four PWDs.

One may go a long way after one is tired.

The title for this morning's entry is supposedly a french proverb. I hope it's true because I am feeling particularly sleepy this morning and have no "get up and go". I suspect it has something to do with being Monday and having a full day or work ahead of me instead of a day of playing in the sunshine....

Left - Chili posing with her Daddy's slipper before we headed out into the sunshine.


We had a gorgeous weekend of sunshine and warm temperatures. I spent almost the whole day outside on Saturday.

Saturday tally:

• show-groomed one dog (Photo right - Cooper resting after his trim...)
  
• pet groomed one dog (short lion trim for Stoker)
• brushed one dog (Ecko kept flinging herself on the table....)
• biked three dogs
• walked one dog
• did some laundry
• kicked back with a Marguerita and had a lazy evening.

On Sunday I called my mom to wish her "Happy Mother's Day", then scurried around the house and raced out the door to meet Julie for the drive to Elma and back for the dog show. Cooper was only entered one day and did not win his class, but we had a fun day anyway. We stopped at the lake on the way home and did a casual training session with Cooper, Tsuzi and Stoker - the highlight of the day.

This morning.....I'm tired.