2012 Officially My Best Year

Turns out there was some magic left after all! We went into the weekend needing to Q both days in Standard, which was not probable considering our recent track record in that class. In spite of that, we conquered two very tricky courses (with a first place yesterday and a fifth place today) to earn our ADCh! I am so grateful to Buster for his support, my friends and various teammates along the way, Jerri Carter for rescuing border collies, and especially Kelly Rossi for surprising me by getting it on film without me even asking. AND she cheered the loudest! :)

Thank you also to the nice photographer who was set up to do portraits but was willing to take our picture anyway and then just emailed it to me for nothing. Kevin Cartwright is super swell, be sure to check him out at future trials!

(Xander looks tortured, as usual, to have his picture taken ;)

Perry certainly holds magic for me, as that was the place where Kaylee earned her first MACH when she Double Q'd four days in a row back in 2005. This is so special to me because Xander is my first border collie, this was my first ADCh, and he is just the sweetest, goofiest, loving-est dog ever. I am so proud of my big mush and so happy I adopted that loud-mouthed, snuggly puppy four years ago. Thanks for the ride buddy!

For This I Am Grateful

Wow, what a year.

 

In light of the tragedies and difficulties that many people have faced (and some continue to face) in 2012, I almost feel guilty saying that this has been the best year of my life. However, I have faced my own share of difficulties in the past, so I will simply express the joy and gratitude that I feel for my own experience this year.

 

While not every moment of the year has been rainbows and unicorns, overall 2012 has been a steady stream of new and exciting events. Here’s a brief play-by-play:

 

February- We moved into our new rental. A townhouse with a small backyard, a full size garage, and roughly twice as much room as we had in our small apartment of the previous two years.

 

May-I married my best friend and the love of my life. It was beautiful, perfect, and story-like. We then celebrated for a week in the near paradise of Cozumel, Mexico. It was my first time out of the country (not counting our brief trip into Canada to visit Niagra Falls back in 2010)

 

June- We traded in Buster’s Mazda to get the new Odyssey van (aka perfect dog-mobile) of my dreams! I also equipped it with super-safe Ruff Tough kennels to give my pups the best form of transportation I can. The van is a luxurious ride and holds everything I need, and then some. Buster is also thrilled with driving the Element, which can haul everything he needs as well.

 

July-Through Buster’s networking; I landed a new job in the field I have pursued, and make almost 10k more a year. Best part: no more making copies!

 

September- I brought home our precious baby girl Trudy! She has been a nonstop source of love, humor, and excitement. I can’t remember what life was like before her! She has been a blast to train, has become best buddies with Xander (who FINALLY has a wrestling partner), and is just as sweet as can be. She is everything I could have hoped for.

 

November- My lucky scratch-off lottery ticket at a work holiday party scored me $1,000. I am now known throughout the office as “that girl who won $1,000.” No one believed that is was actually possible to win a real amount of money on a scratch-off (myself included), so I am now somewhat of a celebrity. So far I have paid for trips to the vet and bought a meat grinder, but we are mostly saving it toward a down-payment on a house.

 

I have also earned a bunch of titles lately with the incredible Xan-Man, began the adventure of making my own raw dog food, and done a variety of other things, but these were the highlights.

 

I am looking forward to spending Christmas with family, and then traveling to Perry, Ga to close out the year at the reportedly fun Sirius USDAA trial. We only need two standard legs for our ADCH, so we’ll see if there is any magic left in my 2012. If not, I certainly can’t complain, and it will leave something to look forward to in 2013!

 

Happy holidays to everyone. For those of you who have enjoyed 2012, I celebrate with you. For everyone else, I hope that 2013 brings you great happiness!

What's for Dinner?

It's official. I have taken the plunge.

I have toyed with the idea of "going raw" for years now actually, but the thought of it was too daunting and a bit scary. What if I don't do it right? What if I make my dogs sick or leave something important out? I read books about the BARF diet as far back as 5 years ago (and remember my friend Chris teasing me about the title of my book), but it never seemed like something I could realistically do. Frankly, given my previous financial situation, it would have been out of the question. However, years later, I have found myself in the position to give it a try, and so I have.

Part of what has given me the confidence to embark on this adventure is the book "Dr. Becker's Real Food for Dogs and Cats." I did some research and decided that I agreed with many of the good doctor's philosophies. I ordered the book, read it cover to cover twice, and have since made it my dog food bible. While Dr. Becker may not be the end all and be all in canine nutrition, the information made sense, and was presented in recipes and formulas that I could follow and reproduce.

The next step was to buy equipment. This included a food scale, freezable plastic containers, labels, a slew of vitamins, supplements, and bone meal, and most importantly: the food processor. Items still on my wishlist include a freezer chest and a grinder. Right now, I am purchasing boneless meats, chopping them into peices small enough to grind in the processor, and then adding bone meal for calcium. The most cost effective means to make food would be to purchase whole chickens and turkeys and then grind them, bone and all. As of now, I am paying more for the boneless meat and for the bone meal supplement, but given that a quality grinder is hundreds of dollars, and will need some place to live in the kitchen, I am compromising for now.

The first time I made a batch of food it took HOURS. Of course I am not used to buying organ meat, and so spent time looking for the ingredients: chicken livers, gizzards, beef heart (which I have yet to find) and beef liver. Also, I had to consider the fat content of the products I was purchasing, since these recipes call for 90-93% lean meat. I also looked for the variety of fruits and vegetables that make up a 25% of the diet, and weighing these items to procure the appropriate amounts. The next time I made a trip to the store, I knew better what I was looking for, where to find it, and how much to buy.

The prep time was a bit daunting, as I started from scratch and made 30lbs of meat (chicken, turkey, and beef mixes, as variety is important), and another 8lbs or so of vegetable/fruit puree. The fruits and veggies have to be chopped into peices small enough to fit in the processor and pureed into a soft enough blend that the dogs' bodies can process. The meat also had to be chopped and grinded and mixed with the organs, which is very messy work. Given that the processor can only handle about 2-2.5 cups at a time, this is a long process. Also, heat and air are enemies to raw meat, so the meat you are handling has to remain cold and the processor and other equipment have to be cleaned periodically during the process. I am also vigilant to the fact that I am dealing with raw poultry, so for the safety of the humans in the house, I bleached everything from the counters to the handles of the fridge and freezer. In the end though, I had a freezer full of 2lb containers of raw meat blends and veggie/fruit purees. We have just enough space to handle about a 10-12 day supply without much room for anything else. Hence the desire for an additional freezer.

At any rate, the dogs had been making the transition to raw food already, via the use of Nature's Variety Instinct Raw, which I was buying in 2lb chubs and feeding for the last month. I had started by mixing their kibble in with this until we transitioned just to the raw. I think this made it much easier for both them and I to make the switch to a homemade diet. I was already in the routine of weighing food and handling raw, but without all the prep.

In addition to the amount of  raw meat and veggies, they also get eggs and sardines added on alernating days for one meal each day. They also receive bone meal, as I mentioned earlier, fatty acid supplements in the form of krill oil capsules, and a mix of vitamins that I grind up in large supplies and keep in a mason jar. They also continue to receive Cosequin chews.

The feeding process has now gone from less than five minutes spent scooping kibble and watching them inhale it, to a fifteen minute process of measuring everything out, mixing it up, and watching them actually chew it for five minutes. As much work as it is, I feel very satisfied that they are receiving the best diet I can give them, and they have suffered no ill effects (ie diarrhea or vomiting). Their coats are looking fabulous, their energy is through the roof, and so far I am happy. It may cost me time and money, but if I can keep them happy and healthy into their teen years, it will be well worth it. Thankfully I have a husband who not only accepts my crazy obsession, but also encourages me in this endeavor. Thank you Buster for letting me fill the freezer with animal guts.

In agility news, we competed in our home AKC trial a couple of weekends ago with Xander Q'ing 5 out of 6 runs, earning his fourth DQ and his MXJ title. Considering we have only done three AKC trials this year, he is doing well! Add that to the Q's he earned from the one day of USDAA we had done the weekend before, and he earned 9 out of 10. I will take a 90% Q rate any day! We will be at our very favorite trial next weekend, Dog-On-It near Orlando, and hopefully chip away at the few remaining Q's we need for his ADCH. Also, there will be a special gamblers run involving Buster, so stay tuned for video.

Finally, I had a nice week of work last week, in which I taught two days of classes. The site we have been working at is "going live" tomorrow, so this week should prove more exciting than usual as well. Then the following week is Thanksgiving. Where did this year go?! It has been a good one, that's for sure. Married, new job, new van, new puppy (who is pricelessly adorable and precociously wonderful, as well as four months old now!). What more could a girl ask for?

Until next time, eat up!

Happy Times

Sorry I have been lax about updating. Again, I cannot access this site at work, which is terribly frustrating since that is prime blogging time; and at home, I am kept thoroughly occupied with Trudy.

We are having such a blast with her. She finds new ways to crack us up almost every day, as she lives with such joy and reckless abondon. Ah, to be a puppy. She and Xander also made friends the other day, and have spent their evenings engaged in play. This makes ALL of us happy, as it both occupies and exhausts the two most demanding members of the household. Evening the fun-police (aka Kaylee) has ceased to interuppt their games, as they play so quietly and with perfect contentment. She amazes me with her confidence and coordination at such a young age as well. Xander was such a floppy muppet with long legs and seemingly no awareness of the back ones, such that I didn't feel confident doing very much with him until he was considerably older. Trudy already can leap amazing distances and land like a cat, although we would prefer that she not leap from the stairwell to the back of the couch, often on Buster's head. She can push a skateboard, put at least three feet in a bowl at this point, and can perch effortlessly on a balance disk placed ON TOP of an upside down BOSU ball. This was not intentionally set up for her to do, she just decided to offer it as I stood gape mouthed watching her. She can also stand and take a few steps on her rear legs, demonstrating without any doubt that she is aware of how to use all of her legs, although she is not necessarily practical in her application of this skill.

Other than being early to bed and early to rise, which suits Buster's schedule but not mine, she has settled into a good routine with us. She is happy to ride in the car for as long as it takes without crying, as she knows we will be going somewhere fun. She gets in her pen for meals and goes in her crate for her bedtime cookie. She knows sit, down, shake each paw, hand touch, and we are working on wait. She is making progress on potty training, and has mastered the dog door at top speeds. Her new favorite trick is to make a high speed lap of our small backyard, come flying through the dog door, onto the couch (and usually in my lap or on my computer) and then go tearing through the door again. This is amusing unless you happen to be holding a mug of coffee or something similarly unfortunate.

On the agility front, she spectated at her first trial a couple of weeks ago in Charleston, NC at the Low Country USDAA show. I had never been there before, but thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to go back. It was a small, one ring trial with a friendly, laid back atmosphere and MANY people to engage in pass-the-puppy socialization exercises. She happily made many new friends, both human and canine, and met each new person bravely with a wagging tail. Much to my joy and surprise, she was quiet as a field mouse in her crate all day and was not bothered by all the noise and pedestrian traffic passing her by. Our friend Stacey let us hang out in her tent ring side, which was great fun, as we were able to watch everyone's runs in the comfort of our little space.

Her first night in the hotel was fabulous. She took everything in stride and thought it was a grand adventure. As we had woken at 4am to make the drive Saturday morning, by 7:30 that evening we were all asleep. Xander on the pillow next to my head, Trudy in her crate next to the bed, and me enjoying the comfortable mattress. That was the best night sleep I have had in weeks, even though we were all awake by 4:30 the next morning. Although the trial did not yield any Q's, we enjoyed the challenging course and had many close calls. The friends we saw and the experience we enjoyed far outweighed the lack of results, and I found myself so happy with Trudy's company, that I didn't mind it in the least!

Fast forward a couple of weeks to yesterday, which found us up early again for a day trip to Fort White, and the home of Rachel Flately. Here we competed in just one day of the Pawsitively Fun USDAA trial. We were off to a good start before we even had our first run, as Rachel gave a bag of Zuke's treats to the first five entries she had received. We were number four.

Soon enough, we were running Standard. This was also a small, one ring trial with a great atmosphere, and we felt almost as though we were running at our own practice field. This seemed to work for us as we FINALLY got the third leg we needed for Xander's Master Agility Dog title!! What a great way to start the morning. It was also cool that we got first place, and were the only dog to qualify. Stuart was there with Ares, as were a number of other quality competitors, so I must admit that felt a little good. I keep replaying it in my mind, as it felt so good while we were running.

Apparently we were on the same page yesterday, as the streak continued. We've had horrible luck in pairs, so I've basically let go of any hopes to Q consistently in that class, as it just seems to be one thing or another. However, when Travis Wall and Krazy Kali stepped to the line, they were solid and allowed us to knock the last bar and still earn 1st place. That girl is krazy fast for sure! We also had an amazing save on the weave poles. Actually, we had three somewhat miraculous weave entries yesterday, which I must attribute to Susan Garret's 2x2 method and all the time we've spent practicing wacky angled entries. Thanks Susan!

Snooker was next up. After two HEARTBREAKING rounds at Low Country, where we racked up tons of points in the opening only to have me mess him up in the closing, I decided to follow the advice I had gotten from several people. Be conservative, get through the closing, and the Super Q's will come. I didn't really believe it, especially after I watched Stuart and Ares clean up. However, we had the same plan as Lori and Moxie, and although I had one of those miraculous saves, but time-costly call offs before the weave poles, we made it through the closing. I thought there was no way we would get a Super Q with the small size of the trial, but as I watched many others fail to make it through to the end, I maintained a glimmer of hope. I finally checked the scoresheet and stared in disbelief as I saw Xander with a third place and the last Super Q for the 22in class! Now we only need ONE MORE for our title!! Hooray!

By the time Jumpers came around, I was on such a high that I felt nothing could bring me down. We enjoyed chatting with friends and playing with Trudy in a new place, on top of our three Q's already. (I didn't enter Gamblers, as we already have that title. When someone asked, I told them we were on the ADCh chase budget plan). A Q in Jumpers would just be icing on the cake. It was a lovely course I thought, and something that we could do, so we stepped to the line and did it! As we crossed the last jump, I had such a big smile and so much pride for my goofy boy who tries so hard. We were speaking the same language yesterday, and he listened so well, I was successful in a number of handling moves that had previously resulted in a fault. It's amazing what a bit of practice will do!

I was not at all sad that I had only entered Saturday, as there was no way we could top that performance on Sunday. And even if we could, I like being able to have fun one day and still have time to do responsible things the next day, like clean up the puppy inflicted disaster zone that is my house. And to write this blog. Which I haven't done in such a while.

At any rate, the agility filled month of October will conclude next weekend with our home trial at the equestrian center, which is nice, even though it is ACK. However, we will get to arrive late on Sunday since I am taking a break from course building and the multitude of little dogs will be running first. Ah, what a novelty it will be to arrive after 9am!

In parting, I would like to wish my amazing, patient, loving, generous, smart, funny, wonderful husband a happy 33rd birthday this coming Tuesday! He took Kirby with him while he played disc golf yesterday and while the collies were with me. It was such a wonderful, thoughtful and kind thing to do for the little crazy dog that doesn't play well with our dogs, but loves everyone else on the planet. Kaylee meanwhile sat at home alone either enjoying the quiet, or more likely, disrupted it with her incessant alarm barking. Sorry neighbors. Anyway, happy birthday again Buster, and I look forward to celebrating many more!

Rewind a Bit

I realized after publishing my last post that I sort of skipped a bit between the post where I said I had puppy fever, and the post where I said I was going to pick up a puppy. Much of this was discussed on Facebook, but sometimes I forget that the entire world is not on Facebook. Or looks at my particular Facebook. All twenty or so people that read this blog...

Anyway!

Trudy hails from the same rescue that I adopted Xander from four years ago. Jerri Carter has been running Southeast Border Collie Rescue League for over 25yrs, and I was lucky enough to find her when she rescued a pregnant momma dog four years ago, and hence came Xander.

I had gotten the puppy bug and was stalking a couple of litters, but also emailed Jerri to keep an eye out. Fatefully enough, she told me she happened to have a litter of 3wk old pups, which was exactly the age when I had found out about Xander's litter. The only difference was that Xander had been the result of a border collie/border collie breeding. I knew basically what I was getting.

This litter was different. Momma dog is a very sweet, black and white, split-faced border collie. She was dumped over Jerri's fence and gave birth a few weeks later. It is anyone's guess what the dad (or dads) identity was, as there are pups with very differing characteristics.

Some pups look very much border collie, others perhaps german shepherd, perhaps lab or aussie. Who knows?

Given that I love to do agility, and knowing what type of dog you are getting helps determine structural and behavioral compatability with the demands of the sport, it is a bit risky bringing home a dog of unknown parentage. At least, that's what I told myself when I went to see them for the first time at 5wks old.

There was immediately one pup that caught my eye. I knew I wanted a female (as the testosterone levels in my house were already high enough), so that narrowed it to five puppies immediately. The other six, although adorable, had penises, so they were ruled out. No offense boys.

Of the five girls, two were tricolor, and had sweet personalities, but one was somehow special.

She happened to be the smallest as well. Considerably smaller than some of her brothers. Confident, independent, curious, and balanced at five weeks, my interest was piqued. However, I cautioned myself not to make an impulsive decision, and decided to think about it for another week. As Jerri is located in Deland, around 1.5hrs drive south, I knew that deciding to make a return trip the next weekend would mean that I was seriously considering it, but still had the option to say no once I saw them again at six weeks.

Buster indulged me, although expressing valid concerns about having FOUR dogs. I thought long and hard about all the pros and cons throughout the next week as I looked at the pictures and videos I had taken during my first visit.

As I pulled into her driveway to see the now six week old pups, I finally decided to listen to my heart and let that make the decision. If I saw her again and felt that she was the one, that would be it...logical or not.

I saw her and immediately texted Buster and asked him not to divorce me.

So from then it was two weeks wait before I could bring her home. I didn't really talk about it much. I think I was afraid to jinx it.

Now that she is here, I am so thrilled. She is everything I could want in a puppy. She is condfident, affectionate, fearless, fun, bold, curious, sweet, and smart. She has adapted remarkably well in a very short time and is making my job relatively easy. Xander was the most difficult puppy ever and was afraid of everything and everyone. He is still a weenie....

Trudy is not daunted by anything and loves to make friends with new dogs and people, as well as experience new things. She does scream when initially confined, but settles eventually, and has gotten very good about her crate at night. She uses a potty patch in her ex-pen during the day, and wakes me up when she needs to potty at night, so no accidents in either place!

She LOVES to tug (which is of key importance to me) and on her very first clicker session switched seemlessly from tug to food and back and forth again. Love that! She also retrieved a ball the first few times, although now she prefers to play keep away ;) She walked happily on leash from the very first time and never looked back. She hasn't so much as whimpered for vaccines or to have her nails dremmeled. Truly nothing seems to phase her.

At 9wks and weighing in at 5.6lbs, I imagine she will be small, but I am not sure how small. My friend Alanna who is a vet is betting on roughly 25lbs. I did WANT a smaller female, but hopefully her dad wasn't a pomeranian. Either way, she is tremendous fun, and both Buster and I are completely smitten with her. Regardless of how she turns out, I am very happy with my decision, and glad I listened to my heart. I am both enjoying every second of her cuteness, as well as looking forward to what her future holds!

Very confident!

 

Tiny even compared to Kaylee!

 

I love to play!

And ocassionally sleep....

Sweet baby :)

 

Introducing Trudy!

Forgive me if this blog post rambles or loses its train of thought. I
blame that on puppy induced sleep deprivation. I passed my exit this
morning and made a costly 15min detour over a long and traffic
congested bridge this morning. Duh.
It is all worth it though!

Xander and I spent our last puppy-free weekend together at the
Palmetto AKC trial. We left Friday after work and drove to our friend
Terri’s house where she lives in Tampa. Terri very graciously lent us
her spare room and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her and
her dogs rather than staying in a skuzzy motel somewhere. (or sleeping
in a tiny tent on the ground. Although that was kind of fun the last
time we were in Palmetto almost a year ago).

We hadn’t been to an ACK, I mean AKC trial since February, and I have
to admit my mind wasn’t really in the game. For one thing, I knew I
would be driving home on Sunday and passing through Deland to pick up
our new little bundle of fun. For another thing, my mom came to visit
on Saturday and I spent the day catching up with her. And for another
thing, it is AKC, and AKC just tends to be boring. Long days, lame
courses filled with pinwheels and tiny tables and millions of dogs.
Hours spent waiting for a few runs. But it was agility, and we enjoyed
being there in spite of it all.

In addition to spending time with my mom, I got to hang out with a
number of cool people over the weekend, see lots of cute puppies (some
newer, some older), which made me long for Sunday afternoon again, and
play some Frisbee with Xander. We had a goofy FAST run on Saturday
morning, but were one of the few to get the send, so we Q’d. Although
I think I did the weaves in the wrong direction, and he knocked the
triple, so our points were not impressive. Oh well, I expected some
rust considering we hadn’t been to any trials at all since the
beginning of June. Standard was actually gorgeous except for one minor
problem. My formerly flawless table has been replaced with “gee mom,
do I really have to get on the table? And do I really have to stay on
the table?” Ugh. BUT our summer-long effort in practicing contacts has
paid off. His A-frames were GLORIOUS all weekend. Stuck. Held. Not
affected by my position or movement until verbal release. SO happy
about that. Hope I can manage not to break it again this season.

Jumpers on Saturday was just a train wreck. We pulled it together for
the second half of the run, but good god that was hilarious. It was
ENTRIRELY my fault though, since I was chatting with mom and one of my
former students and didn’t warm him up and barely made it to the line
as the were telling me “you are in the ring, NOW!” Ooops. Bad
distracted handler. Sorry Xan.

After leaving the trial, I took my mom home to their fishing village
in Bradenton, so that she didn’t have to ride the bus for another
hour. I was given a little tour of the area and made the return drive
to Tampa. My delightful GPS screwed me over on the way back and first
sent me into the Tampa airport, and then sent me back over the 7 miles
of bridge on 275. We drove over that damn bridge three times before
finally making it back to Terri’s house. Nothing a little girl’s night
our complete with an Artisian Cooler (super yummy drink) couldn’t fix.

Sunday morning I regrouped and gave Xander the focus he deserved. We
had an awesome Time 2 Beat run with a stellar A-frame again, and
earned 9pts toward that extraneous title. Standard was awesome again
with one minor flaw. A little too much momentum led to an off course,
BUT he had a beautiful table while I showered him with praise, and
another gorgeous A-frame. Love that boy.

Since jumpers wasn’t going to run for hours, and I had lots of driving
and a puppy to pick up before bed, I decided to leave early. My
friends Chris and Carol couldn’t believe I had waited that long. So we
departed at 1:30, finding out later from Terri that our class didn’t
run until 3:30 at which time it was pouring down rain. So glad I made
that decision!

By just short of 5pm, I had Trudy secured in her car
seat/backpack/rolling carrier in the front seat and was heading back
to Jacksonville. She screamed bloody murder for the first 30mins, took
a power nap, and screamed for a bit more until I pulled over for a pit
stop. She pottied quickly (good girl) and was not quite so dramatic
the rest of the way home.

Buster met us in the garage when we pulled up and was greeted
enthusiastically first by Xander. I took Trudy out to meet her new dad
and get reacquainted with Xander before subjecting her to any corgis.
Once outside of her little prison, she wagged her tail fiercely and
greeted us all enthusiastically. Xander was very patiently tolerant of
her. Finally we scooped her up and went out to the backyard with two
curious corgis in tow.

Everyone was very appropriate but intensely interested in this new
little creature. Buster was kind enough to bring out the camera as we
admired how adorable she was. Soon enough, we had pics loaded on
facebook to formally announce the newest member of the Pruett
household.

Although the first couple of nights sleeping in her new crate with her
new family have been a little rough, she is very quickly settling into
the routine and getting the hang of things. As she has gotten more
comfortable, her personality has continued to emerge. She is
confident, bold, fearless, thoughtful, brave, funny, playful, loving
and smart. She has good sense, except when it comes to heights, but is
respectful of the dogs. She has been using her potty patch in the
ex-pen during the day with great success, and we have only had one
accident so far which was my fault. She had no problem walking on
leash for the first time, made easy friends with the neighbor,
retrieved a ball several times, tugged fiercely in the face of
distractions and new locations, barked and screamed for meals before
devouring them ravenously, and overall been precociously adorable.
Buster and I are completely smitten. She has woken me every time she
needs to potty at night, and has gone from screaming like a Harry
Potter mandrake to crying softly. I have not had to clean up her crate
or her ex-pen, and she potties quickly once outside. Little Ally
McSqueal (as Buster dubbed her) does NOT like to be locked up out of
sight, but is getting better every day. She really prefers to be
directly underfoot or in your arms or lap, but she is beginning to
gain some independence and started exploring more last night.
After watching her climb like a monkey and find all the power cords
and tug on the doormat last night, we have a feeling she will be a
little terror very soon. She couldn’t be more perfect.

I am loving all of the puppy training and being sleep deprived and
looking forward to socializing her and doing clicker training and all
the wonderful things that come along with a new puppy. It will also be
exciting to see what she turns out to be. At eight weeks and only 5ish
lbs, I am thinking she will not be very big at all. Regardless, as she
gazes up at me with one soft brown eye and one intense blue eye, I am
hopelessly in love with my little pocket collie.

Welcome to the family Trudy!

Too Much Cake

Please don't mistake my lack of communication to mean that I have been entirely too busy to write. It's really just that my new job, although generous with copious amounts of free time, sadly has blocked this website. The computer I am using also doesn't have Word installed, and I have not felt motivated to write on the weekend. I felt guilty for not providing any updates however, so here I am.

I wish that I had glorious tales to tell about the exciting new work, but the truth is that it is cake. As in, I am not sure why I am there, nor the other recent hire, as there is not enough to occupy any of us. We hope for this to change soon, as the days are long and dreadfully boring, but I suppose I should not complain for being paid more to sit around and chat. I just hoped it would be more. Such is life.

I have terrible puppy fever and am longing for the worst part of the summer to pass so that my dogs and I can spend more times outdoors. Our playtime has been restricted to early morning or late evening in order to avoid heatstroke, and this has left us fat and lazy. I've begun the process of shaping Xander and I up as we finally approach the beginning of the trial season again. We have not been to an AKC trial since February, and are entered in Palmetto mid September. However, I am more looking forward to working toward our ADCH beginning in October when we will venture to Low Country SC for the first time. We will have another AKC at the end of October, as this is our home trial, but then we will focus solely on USDAA after that until February when our local trial offers ACK again. Agility is agility though, and after long missing it, I will be glad of either kind. I am sure Xander will agree!