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.

It's the little things

Had a lazy Saturday morning (photos on the patio and in the yard below), followed by a trip to the lake (in cool, overcast, rainy weather) to test out Martha's newly repaired boat. Picked up the pace a bit on Sunday with tomatoes and basil to plant and yard work to do...

Chili posing on the retaining wall.

Stoker showing off her toy.

One hand on the camera and the other tugging with Stoker...

Stoker and Ecko tugging.

Deckers turn to pose.

Siblings learning to jump from the boat. Ecko (right) and brother Cooper.

Argue for your limitations,...

...and sure enough they're yours. ~ Richard Bach

I love this quote and the book it is in (Illusions of a Reluctant Messiah) and passed out a stack of business cards printed with motivational quotes like it at my last water workshop. After we ate lunch on the second day and everyone was getting a bit tired, we sat around and read quotes and discussed them. In the same vein, I really enjoyed this recent blog posting by Susan Garrett.

Maybe it is the spring weather, but I am feeling motivated to get working (well, playing really....) with the dogs.

Yesterday, each of the dogs had a quick, energetic five minute session with the weave poles. I worked on weave pole entrances with all of them and limited myself to only motivating them with a toy. That was a bit of a challenge with Stoker and Ecko but they did really well and all of them made a bit of progress and pushed their understanding of how to find the correct entry.

Having done a few workshops this spring, there was money in the budget for chiropractic adjustments for Chili and Decker today. Both of them were moving a little tighter than I like to see and Chili had even been a little off in the front for the last week. They need to take it easy for a few days following their adjustments, but Stoker and Ecko each got a follow-up weave pole training session tonight and did really well. Stoker was really bounding out after the toy and even barked at me to get me to play with her with it. Ecko also did super and was very enthusiastic for the toy tonight. Brilliant dogs, just need to push the buttons right....

How does your garden grow?

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?"

My garden seems to be growing quite well right now and I am feeling very thankful today. In no particular order, here are some photos I took this weekend of just a few of the things I am thankful for.

Spring! Love this photo of four happy, healthy doggies playing in the yard.

• I am thankful they are happy!
• I am thankful for the beautiful spring weather and the big yard we have for them to play in.
• I am thankful for having such a great agility instructor who lets them channel their athletic ability. Thanks Venita, hope you will forgive Ecko and I for not practicing between classes....
  

Shasta, Decker's girlfriend who came to visit a few weeks ago.

• I am thankful Decker got a girlfriend and will be super thankful if he and Shasta have fantastic puppies who give their owners as much joy as Decker has given us.

A magnolia in our backyard. The velvety black background was provided by a PWD who wandered underneath...

• I am grateful for the beautiful things around me and for paying attention enough (sometimes!) to actually see them.
  

Our patio beautification project on Sunday.

• Time are tough all over and, like most, we are on a tighter budget than usual, but I am thankful that we can still spend money to make things pretty and bright around us.
  

Chili keeping a close eye on the patio beautification project.

• Thankful for our Chili-girl and the fact that the oldest member of our canine pack still has plenty "get up and go".
  

Stoker

• Thankful for the constants in my life: dogs that are always at my side, my honey Jan (who puts up with an awful lot), and good friends who are always there for me.
  

Weekend Fun

Had a terrific weekend, which could only have been improved by being a bit longer.

Spent a sunny Saturday morning brushing dogs and cleaning the house, then visited with a couple who were interested in meeting and learning more about PWDs. After meeting the dogs, they decided that the breed was a bit too big for them but we had a nice visit and they are doing a good job doing their research to find a breed that is suited to them.

Julie and Jessie came over with Cooper and Talent, so Steph and Dave were able to meet quite a number of PWDs all in a brief period. Once they said their goodbyes, we loaded Ecko, Cooper and Talent in Julie's SUV and drove to the river for a quick romp.

We had fun letting the young 'uns romp in the water, then took them up on the grass to run around and dry off a bit before heading home.

Dave and Rebecca came south for the agility trial in Ridgefield and stayed with us on Saturday night. We used that as a good excuse for a barbecue and had a great feed and lots of good folks to visit with. Rebecca and Mandy and their dogs Lucy and India had a super day at the trial on Saturday with 2 Qs for Lucy and 3 for India!

Slightly the worse for wear from the stiff Painkillers Jessie was mixing and pouring the night before, Jan and I pried ourselves out of bed and hit the agility trial ourselves on Sunday. Decker and Jan were the only ones entered from our pack, but they had a nice Excellent Standard run with a weave pole problem being their only issue. They had an awesome Excellent Jumpers run in the afternoon and Qd with a 2nd place to finish Decker's AXJ title. This is the first agility title for Jan.