Summer Fun and Puppy Plans

All is well.  My apologies for the lack of blog posts, but since most of you are Facebook friends as well, you already know that everything is fine.

The dogs have had a great summer, with Max enjoying his swimming adventures in the Mississippi

 

River and Argus and Fern enjoying Sunday trips to the Dog Park, where they run with other dogs and splash in the pond.  Only Max actually swims - he thinks nothing of taking off across the river in pursuit of a stick - or as in the picture above, a floating log which he was determined to retrieve and bring back to shore.  Fern prefers splashing in the shallows, just like Argus does.

 

Not sure how I thought I was going to raise two youngsters that are only six months apart in age, since I live in the city and do NOT have a lot of yard.  It's surely a lot of work, but they are turning out well - and I'm staying fit with all the walking!  Both pups are high energy and enthusiastic, but very smart and willing.  Or at least Max is willing.  Fern is a bit of a hard head about some things, but is turning out to be an excellent housedog and companion.  Max is endlessly entertaining, and I don't regret for a moment that I kept him too.

Fern is off to a good start on her Championship with a major and a Group placing in just a few outings, but Max has had only one show weekend so far, and will miss the next one we had planned for him.  No hurry I guess, as it's a lot of work to show two dogs and I should concentrate on Fern anyway.  A weekend of UKC shows in September will give me a chance to put some work into Max, and perhaps he can go along to the Kansas Specialties.  Because I will be showing both Fern and Max in Bred By Exhibitor Class anyway, Max really doesn't have to be shown as a pup.

Current news involves Puppies!  We're planning a litter!  No, I don't plan to keep one, but do hope to co-own one locally.  We're doing a breeding for pedigree, combining an Argus daughter with a dog who has a very Paisley pedigree.  I'm trying to pick up some old pieces of the Paisley line, and the dog I will be breeding two is "very Paisley".  Although he does not carry a Paisley name, I co-bred him, and suggested the breeding to the friend who co-owns his dam, a Coral daughter. 

The mama-to-be came in season just this week, NOT very good timing on her part, but it is what it is.  She'll have to ride along with us next week when we go to the Amana shows, and the dog she will be bred to will meet us there as his owner is showing too.  At least that's the plan right now.  We'll see how this goes.  I don't like traveling with bitches in season, and it means that Max has to stay home.  Not enough room to carry four dogs, and not fair to a 9-month boy to have to travel with a bitch in season!
 

Mystery Solved!

As many of you know, we feed our dogs a raw diet, and that occasionally includes chunks of pork neck which has a harder bone than their normal fare, and requires a bit more chewing.  Dogs always eat in their crates or outdoors.  Fern isn't a big chewer or a big eater, and occasionally sets her pork necks or chicken back aside for later, under the edge of her crate rug - so Josie always checks Fern's crate in case it needs a bit of "housekeeping".

I'm absolutely paranoid about doggy odor, having visited too many breeders whose houses smell, well, doggy, something I would hate to live with.  When I walk in the door I always do the sniff test and can tell if a pup had an accident that Ron missed, or if anything else is amiss. I can't rest until I've solved the mystery.

When I came home from Waukesha Sunday night I noticed an "off odor", as if one of the dogs had barfed up half digested chicken.  All the rugs were clean, all the furniture throws were just washed, all the crates smelled fine, all the dogs smelled like warm fur.  I checked the fridge, the potato bin, everywhere.  Nothing.  I noticed it again on Monday, not a strong odor, but something "off", and again I checked rugs, crates, furniture throws, dogs, fridge, everywhere.  Nothing.

Tuesday it was too wet to mow when I got home from work, so I decided to sweep and vacuum the family room and kitchen which had not been done over the weekend as I was out of town.  As I pulled out one of the chairs in the family room, the smell got stronger.  I didn't notice anything at first, but when I took the broom out to sweep the corner, there was  something dark pressed against the baseboard.  Ah hah!  I grabbed a paper towel and picked up a very stinky chunk of pork neck!  Someone (that means Fernly, who inherited Grandpa Argus's habit of burying things) had squeezed between the chair and the wall to find a safe place to keep her uneaten dinner from being stolen by someone else.  We had pushed the chair back in place, effectively keeping her prize safe.  Ugh!

Mystery solved!

Much Better, Thank You

This was my post to Facebook last week -

Whew! A call from Ron to tell me Fern had run into the rabbit fencing and had a WIRE IN HER EYE! Needless to say, I was home in record time and off to the Vet's. The wire went between the eyeball and the skin - in the socket but down and out. A tiny scratch on her cornea, a skin puncture and some bruising. Dr. S says it SHOULD heal uneventfully. Please say a prayer for Fern and now I will start breathing again.

Fern's eye continues to look good, but she goes in for a recheck on Tuesday to make sure that the small abrasion on her cornea is healing properly.  The injury did not keep her home this past weekend, and we attended shows with good sized Dal entries despite all the excitement.  Fern didn't win either day, but we both learned a lot!  She's still a bit immature and would probably benefit from sitting out for a few more months, but I need to be back in the ring.  Although I have shown for many years, I have not seriously trained and shown a class dog since 8 year old Argus was a pup, and haven't shown a bitch since 10 year old Josie was a youngster (other than just a couple times in the ring with Amery but Jess did the training there).  The shows this summer are more about training (retraining?) ME.  Once Argus was trained, he was very easy to show - which Fern is NOT, at least not yet.  Her ring behavior was MUCH better on Sunday, with a LOT of extra work after her lousy performance on Saturday.  (Most of which was my fault, I might add.)

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 I came home to a nice surprise last night when I found that Fern's UKC Championship certificate had arrived in the mail on Saturday.  I hadn't even realized that she'd finished as I've never figured out how UKC counts points - I just use their shows for fun and practice.  In four UKC shows Fern had three Group Ones and a Group Two - guess that was enough for a Championship. 

Hopefully we can add an AKC Championship to that this year.  Then on to Coursing for Fern.

Max came along with us this weekend and did so well.  He's such a sweet boy and tries so hard to please. 

Backsliding

Day 2, Waukesha weekend. This has traditionally been one of my favorite show  weekends, and one we rarely miss. It's always hot and humid, but judges, entries and shopping are normally good and we've picked up lots of majors and finished a number of dogs here over the years.

The judging panel was satisfactory this year, so Gemma and Fern were entered and we were delighted to find the entry  included a 4 point major in bitches and 6 Specials - fun!  Things went downhill from there when Jess developed cellulitis in her leg from a bad reaction and subsequent infection from some kind of plant - like Poison Ivy on steroids.  Gemma was put out of commission too, when one of her housemates (a mixed breed rescue) punched a few holes in her. Then Fern got a wire In the eye (long story) but after a BIG scare, it turned out to be a relatively minor concern and I decided  to make the trip anyway.  With such a nice entry there was sure to be out of towners to chat with, Fern had shown well the previous weekend, Groups and BiS are always competitive, and I needed to purchase some supplies from vendors who are always at those shows.

Wrong on all counts! Cold and windy, overall show entry was way down, vendors were down, Fern showed like an ass, half the entry (and all the winners) were with handlers (which is really taking a lot of the fun out of dog shows), and the Groups were boring. What a disappointment!

A nice lunch with a group of Dal friends was fun, the collar guy was there so I ordered a new collar for Argus, and one of the stands had the 16 inch chain collar I wanted for Fern.  That's about it. Nice motel too, though it represents money I could have saved had I stayed home.

Fern's ring behavior was a combination of cold wet grass, wind, 8:00 judging, but mostly bad judgement on my part.  "Bad Sue, bad, dumb Sue.". How much had we practiced stacking and gaiting in the previous two weeks? Not at all.  Did I get to the show in time to work her? Did I take her for a long walk to settle her down? Did I stand with her in the ring area for long enough?  Nope to all of that.

I can't do much about the weather today, but Fern and I put in a lot of work yesterday and we'll do more of it today. She stacked fine yesterday and was solid on the exam, but her feet rarely touched the ground when she gaited. Hopefully we got that problem resolved. We'll see. Maybe she only shows well outdoors when it's hot! Hope not 

What About The Rights Of Others?

If all dog show folks lived in rural areas with no close neighbors and no zoning issues, things would be a lot less complicated.  Unfortunately, that is not the case and many of us live in residential areas with close neighbors and lots of restrictions.  Some of us prefer living in the city for convenience, easy access to schools, shopping, restaurants, elderly relatives or simply because that's where we lived before we got into dogs.  Others have found the cost of homes with any amount of property to be prohibitive, or to require too long a commute to work.  Whatever the reason, living in a neighborhood surrounded by other people brings with it a lot of responsibility.

It's not uncommon to read of a dog owner who is being harassed by neighbors, animal control, or their city because of the dogs, with the complaint generally being too much barking.  Far too many other dog owners immediately take their side and comment about "bad neighbors", "crabby retirees", "people with too much time on their hands", "troublemakers", "dog haters" and such.  But what about those neighbors?  Could it be that those complaints are justified?

When you own a home in a nice residential neighborhood and pay (often astronomical) property taxes, you expect to be able to leave your windows open and enjoy your yard on nice evenings.  Yes, there may be occasional noise from kids playing, loud music, late parties and early mowing, and an occasional dog barking when someone walks by the yard.  That goes with living in a community.  BUT the neighbors should not be expected to put up with endless barking from dogs left in the yard - OR left in the house with the windows open.  I've had a few inconsiderate neighbors over the years and I know how annoying even a small dog barking for hours in the yard or the front window can be.  What about a houseful of dogs?

Some people are not bothered by barking dogs.  You may not be, but many of us are!  Even though I am a dog owner, I truly hate listening to uncontrolled barking.  It gets on my nerves and makes me crabby.  I can't sleep, concentrate, or work in my yard.  You may have the right to own a dog - but I have the right not to have to listen to it for hours on end.  So do YOUR neighbors.  Why do you assume that your dogs' barking should not bother your neighbors?  Why should your neighbors have to put up with it?  Perhaps that neighbor works nights and needs to sleep during the day or has a serious illness that makes it difficult to sleep.  Perhaps the neighbor would like to sit on his patio without listening to your dogs.  Perhaps he'd like to work in his yard without having your dogs charge the fence.  Perhaps the neighbor would like to listen to the birds, or the sound of crickets, but all he can hear is your dogs.   How fair is that?

We are all in this together, dog owners, non-dog owners, and dog haters.  We are facing ever more restrictions on our rights to own and especially to breed our dogs.  Every inconsiderate dog owner who annoys their neighbors makes it worse.   Please, do your part.  Don't force your neighbors to put up with needless barking, and don't make things harder for the rest of us.  And PLEASE, don't use the excuse "dogs bark".  Yes, they can and do.  It's your responsibility as a dog owners to manage that barking, and to consider the rights of others.  To do anything less is to be selfish and irresponsible and will hasten the day when none of us will be able to keep dogs in the city.
 
 

Showdog!

Oops, time for some stacked shots of Miss Fern.  Looking through my picture file I only found "fun pictures" of her, but that's OK too, since our dogs are Fun Dogs a lot more than they are Show Dogs!   Although we only keep a new dog with the intention of showing it, the dog also has to be a good "fit" for our household, and Fern is turning out to be just that.  I've kept and later placed several young Dals over the past few years, waiting for the right one to come along and fill the vacant slot in my household.

When I bred Ch. Pauli to Ch. Louie, I was looking for a puppy bitch to keep.  Or female puppy if the word "bitch" makes you uncomfortable, but remember that show people refer to "dogs and bitches" (males and females).  Sorry, it's automatic!  Anyway, sometimes there are options, but in Pauli's litter the only brown-eyed bilateral hearing female pup with complete trim was Fern.  Her sisters were lovely dogs with terrific personalities and are doing wonderfully well in their pet homes, but one of them has unilateral hearing and the other has a blue eye.  Unis are fine for showing, but harder to breed as they have an increased risk of producing deaf puppies. The same is true of blue eyes.  They are fine according to the American Dalmatian standard and I don't mind them at all, but blue-eyed dogs are more likely to produce more blue eyes, and there is a genetic relationship between blue eyes and deafness.  We had no deaf pups in the litter, but that's always a risk, and breeding from unis and blues increases that risk.  (Yes, we keep and breed from really exceptional uni bitches, but it limits our options when picking a stud dog.)

Fortunately, Fern was always my favorite pup.  I admired her stylish good looks and sound structure, though I was not real pleased with how "white" she was as a pup, especially the enormous lightly marked ears.  My dogs tend to be more colorful, and Fern was decidedly more "open marked" than I was used to.  But she stayed, and I set about making a good companion and show dog of her.

Fern was NOT the easiest puppy to raise!  She was easy to crate train and housetrain, and very non-destructive, but she was more vocal than I liked, and inclined to startle and bark.  A very reactive personality, so she would see something new, startle, bark, and scare herself.  Not an unusual personality in some breeds, but not at all what I was used to.  We did our puppy obedience class and she did well until the night we played "pass the puppy" and she got spooked by people grabbing at her.  I saw her getting stressed, but stupidly did not step in to "rescue" Fern until she was thoroughly frightened.  Me bad!  By then the damage was done, and she was very uncomfortable with strangers.  One more thing to deal with, and because soon afterwards I broke my hand, puppy training was put on hold for awhile.

THEN she started to pace.  Rather than trotting normally, Fern moved with both legs on the same side moving at the same time, like camels and pacing horses.  It's an "easy" gait for dogs since there is no interference between the front and rear legs - normally the front foot lifts off the ground just an instant before the rear foot on that side hits the ground in the same spot.  "Timing" can be an issue for young dogs who then pace, sidewind, or straddle to avoid the interference between front and rear foot.  In Fern's case, her short body, hard back, and lots of angle made it difficult for her to manage her very long legs!  I was also concerned that she may have hurt herself slipping on the ice, but nothing showed up on a chiropractic visit, so we decided we would wait it out.

So Fern was just raised as a pet.  She went to another puppy class, went many places for extra socialization, and I concentrated on raising her to be a confident, well adjusted companion dog.  By then we knew she was a "keeper" because even though showing was on hold, Fern was already an excellent companion dog, and she was lovely as well.  Going through her first season helped a lot, as we had hoped, and Fern developed more confidence as she grew up.  We covered many miles on leash giving Fern a chance to "work on" her trotting, and she eventually began to trot more than pace as she developed foot timing and grew into her legs.

Last weekend was our test and Fern passed in style.  She was friendly at ringside  - a bit too friendly perhaps as she mugged many ringsiders - nothing startled her, and she was perfect on the exam.  She only won her class the first day and did a few "happy bounces" when she gaited, but no pacing at all.  On Sunday we finally felt like a team. Fern went Winners Bitch for her first major, got lots of compliments, and the judge told me later she'd considered Fern for Best of Breed.  Good dog, Fern!  It was a Cheeseburger weekend for sure!

It was definitely worth all the work, and we finally filled that vacant spot with a dog who is both a beautiful show dog and a wonderful pet. 

Check Off One More

Sue & Laurie - Stone Arch Bridge in background

There's a small list floating around in my brain called Things To Do Before I Die.  I've never put the list on paper so it just sits there with things added or removed over the years.  Some are eliminated because I've forgotten about them, a few others because I've actually done them.  Two things at the very top of the list were to see the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and to ride a Segway.  Now they are BOTH checked off - Australia a couple of years ago, the Segway just this month.

When Segways first came out there was an interesting display in the Technology Building at the Minnesota State Fair.  At that time it was predicted that the futuristic Segways would become popular and widely available for the average rider - the commute of the future.  Unfortunately that didn't happen, but they can be rented, and tours are available all over the country.

Laurie and I have been talking about doing a Segway Tour for several years and this year we finally did the Minneapolis Historical Tour along the Mississippi Riverfront.   I made reservations a week or so in advance, which was a good thing as apparently 4th of July weekend is their busiest time.  We were in a group of about 15-20 people, one of three groups scheduled for July 5th.  Segways are amazingly easy to master, and our tour included a quick private lesson, a 10-minute video, and another 10 minutes to practice as a group.  Although I felt awkward at first, it soon felt as if the Segway could read my mind and anticipate what I wanted it to do.  Amazing machines!

We did a 6-7 mile, 2 1/2 hour tour of the Riverfront, with stops at a number of historic places.  Our tour crossed the Stone Arch Bridge, and we rode on bricks, cobblestones, asphalt, concrete, gravel paths, wood chips and grass.  The tour took us along both sides of the river, with a short break at the Mill City Museum for coffee and cookies.  What fun we had, and I wished our adventure would never end!  Of course I purchased a t-shirt, and we took advantage of the free passes to the Mill City Museum and the discount at a nearby restaurant that were part of our tour package.  A very memorable day!

It was interesting to see how many people stopped to watch us as we passed, many of them smiling and waving.  I wonder if they added Segways to their own lists of Things To Do?

Note: Now I know what I will do when I retire!  I'll get a job helping with Segway Tours!  Then I can get paid to ride - what could be more fun than that? 

That Kind Of Day

 

 

Time to get back to work on my blog.  I've been shamed into it (you know who you are), but I do sort of miss it.  There's lots of posts lurking on the edges of my brain that I just haven't gotten around to putting on paper and there's certainly been lots going on in Paisleyland.  Plenty of pictures to use too, so starting tomorrow I will try to do better.  But for today . . . 

 

Ugh, not a good way to wake up! The sound of piteous crying finally penetrated my sleepy brain, cutting through the hum of the air conditioner and fans. (We sleep upstairs with the door closed when the window ac is running.) A terrible keening sound. Oh my gosh, what's wrong?

Dogs sleep downstairs, on various pieces of furniture, with Max and Fern in crates in the kitchen (poor Fernly crated... to keep Max company.). Seniors greeted me at the gate with happily wagging tails, pleased to start the day early. Fern still curled up in her rug (how can bitches make "nests" out of a single crate rug?) Max however had had an accident, "the runs" in his crate and was horrified - and how long had he been standing there asking for help? Eeeewww, not a good way to start the day. He's too big to carry and I didn't get that option anyway as he bolted from his crate and dashed to the back door, leaving a trail of "stuff" on the 5 throw rugs he stepped on getting to the door. Poor Max has never ever had a crate accident. He seems to feel just fine, so it must have been something he ate - wood, plastic, leaves, a dead bird? He gets to skip breakfast, and hopefully will be fine later today. And hopefully this is NOT something he will share with the other dogs. Haven't had an episode of loose stools in years. Sure hope there is nothing going around!

Hope it's not going to be THAT kind of day.

 

NOTE:  No picture to go along with today's post!  Thought you'd be grateful for that!

Wish I'd Written That!

Enough of this laziness, Sue.  You really do need to start blogging again!  That's true, I do, but already out of time this morning.  In the meantime, take a moment to read these terrific articles.  Wish I'd written them!

I Consider Him A Rescue

Does Adopting A Rescue Dog Make You A Better Person?

How To Buy A Puppy

Wish I had written this!  Excellent article.  Only thing I don't agree with is the title - this is what I would have called it.

How To Buy A Puppy

Sorry for all the missing posts.  Some of them are written in my head but not yet put to paper. 

Dog Shows

Well, we survived.  Max made his debut and I was not mortified by his ring manners, or lack of same.  Although he was incredibly silly, he did show somewhat better than Argus did at this age, and we mostly got good stacks.  Gaiting was more of a problem as he was so busy watching everything, and really wanted to play with the dog who was gaiting behind him.   I was pleased that he went Reserve at the first specialty under a judge I respect.  No more real shows for another month or so which will give us time to work on gaiting and we'll do a weekend of UKC shows later this month.  Much as I find handling classes boring, I guess Max and Fern and I will be attending them regularly for awhile!

Gemma got a great start on her Grand Championship, going Best Of Opposite the first day and Select Bitch the second, for two 5-point majors.  Best of Breed at the second Specialty was Pauli who had a good Spring, having also won the Top Twenty at the National.  This particular win was a bit of a surprise though, as Pauli really isn't the type of dog normally used by that particular judge.  Oh well, surprises like that are certainly OK.

Judging was decent, weather was perfect, show site and motel were good, the pot luck at ringside was overwhelming, and everyone seemed to have a good time.  It was really nice to see 5-point majors in Dalmatian girls - it's been a long time since we've seen a weekend of big majors other than the National.

Jess and I do a lot of discussion and planning on the long dog show weekend drives, and I think we've finally figured out how to breed Amery IF she cooperates.   Unfortunately Amery is due in season in July, but won't be two years old until August, when she gets OFA hip xrays, and I won't breed her until she's had her health testing done.  When you are waiting for them to come in season they are always late, but if you want them to wait they come in early.  Fingers crossed for some cooperation from Amery!

Make Then Earn Their House Privileges

How many pups have we raised and housetrained over the years?  I can’t even begin to guess since we often keep youngsters to see how they develop, later placing them on co-ownerships, as show dogs, or in pet homes.  We’ve also placed adult dogs that we were done showing and had no plans to breed.  Combined with all the dogs we've raised and kept over the past 40+ years, that’s a lot of puppies, and a lot of puppy raising experience.

I’ve never found Dals to be difficult to housetrain and most of them have not been particularly destructive.  Pups are all different of course, and some catch on to housetraining more quickly, or develop good bladder and bowel control sooner than others.  Some pups seem to play only with their own toys, while others are continually tempted by household items that look like fun and are hard to resist.

One thing I know from raising all those puppies is the importance of supervision.  Puppies are not born knowing they shouldn’t pee on the carpet, pull the drapes off the wall, shred the sofa pillows, or eat books and magazines.  It’s our job as responsible owners to keep a close eye on each puppy, get him outdoors at appropriate times, and prevent him from getting into mischief.  

Puppy buyers often ask when it will be OK for the puppy to sleep out (of his crate) at night, or have the run of the house during the day while they are at work.  The answer in all cases is LET HIM EARN IT.  Appropriate and consistent supervision will result in a puppy that knows the rules of the house and is trustworthy much sooner than a puppy that is given too much freedom too soon.

My last litter of pups went to experienced dogs owners, people who had all raised pups in the past, though in several cases not for many years.  I always emphasize supervision – keeping a close eye on the puppy so it does not develop bad habits.  When the pups were about 6 months old I found out that one of the puppies was still having regular accidents in the house both day and night.  Turns out she was being given the same freedom as the adult dog in the household – left uncrated at night and loose in the house for several hours at a time when no one was home.  Of COURSE the puppy was having accidents.  She truly didn’t know, and was not receiving proper supervision.  She had never earned the freedom she was being given. 

My puppy Max is doing well, but he still sleeps in a crate at night and goes back in his crate if we will be gone for an hour or two.  Not because he is a bad dog, but because he is a puppy!  He easily waits all night when crated and has done it for a long time, but if he had the run of the house at night it’s very likely he would have to pee, and it would be on the floor.  His house manners are very good, and he asks at the door if he has to go out – but if no one was there to let him out, he would certainly go on the floor.  Not his fault.

Max is an active, mischievous pup who assumes that everything is a toy.  He’s normally good at playing with dog toys, but if something catches his attention and it looks like FUN, he will pick it up and play with it – and possibly destroy it.  The same is true with counters.  He knows he is not supposed to put his feet up and take things off the counters, but if something looks or smells particularly interesting, he just might decide to check it out.  If he is successful at this a few times, it’s suddenly become a habit and MUCH more difficult to resolve.  If he’s never allowed to do it, or is caught and corrected when he does, it never becomes a habit.

Fern will turn a year old on Saturday and is a very good dog.  She only plays with dog toys, and never steals.  Her house manners are excellent and she has very good control.  Next week we’ll try leaving her uncrated at night – I think she’s earned it.  If she does get into any kind of mischief she'll go back in her crate for a bit longer.  Because she’s been very trustworthy when loose in the house, she’s getting increasing amounts of freedom during the day, and if we’re gone for an hour or two we know she will behave.  Soon we’ll try some half days, but if she gets into mischief she’ll lose that privilege for awhile longer. I presume by the end of the summer she’ll have earned full house privileges.  We probably could do that now, but I don’t want her making mistakes and learning bad habit.

I’m not sure that Max will be trustworthy by the time he is a year old.  He’s such a mischievous, playful, fun loving pup, and everything is a toy.  We’ll see.  But hee’s very like his father Argus who rarely got into mischief and could probably have had the run of the house at a very early age.  We’ll see how Max progresses over the next few months.

To repeat, the dogs have to earn the privilege of being house dogs, and if they screw up then it’s back to crating and increased supervision for awhile.  The goal is a dog that does not REQUIRE crating, but is comfortable being crated while eating, traveling, or just to have a few less dogs underfoot.  I try to give each of the dogs some “only dog time”, crating the others so each dog has some special time for petting, training or just snuggling, without having to compete, and I don't want the crated dogs fussing about this.  Being crated is just part of everyone's routine.    

Works for me.

New E Dalmatians Is Available On Line

No time to blog.  I spent my blogging time looking through the new edition of E Dalmatians.  This issue covers the DCA National, so is very timely.  Not everyone advertises, but there's a nice cross section of winners pictured, and some of the ads are spectacular.

New E Dalmatians
 

Horticulture And Hounds

The Northern Lights Azalea was fantastic this year.  It's a 5 foot tall shrub that flowers reliably every Spring, but it outdid itself this year.  Hard to imagine that it could have had any more flowers than it did.  My mother gave me this plant many years ago, and she got to see it on Memorial Day, looking its best.  Just as well, because heavy rain last night took it's toll. Fortunately the flowers were past their prime already.

Two new Daylilies too, named varieties developed by my old friend Lynne Dauber.  Such fun to have special plants "created" by someone I've known for so many years.

The Showy Ladyslipper plant came through the winter again too.  This is a plant that once inhabited my grandmother's garden, was passed on to my brother who entrusted it to me when he moved to Costa Rica.  It's Minnesota's State Flower and a member of the Orchid Family.

More electrical projects completed, but still a few things left to do.  New ceiling fan and light fixture in the bathroom - finally enough light!  New track lighting over the bar (between kitchen and family room), but no fixtures yet.  Off to Home Depot tonight to take care of that little problem.  Still to do, the new ceiling fan for the dining room (but the old one still works for now) and the range hood in the kitchen (not a priority).  An open day for Travis on Monday, so hopefully everything will be completed then.  This is taking a lot longer than anticipated, but Travis has mostly been working alone, which I know irks him.  The price bid was by project, not days thank goodness, but we did add a few things later.  Hopefully I did not overspend!

Dog shows coming up soon, Max entered, Fern not entered. Max looks really good for his age, but probably is not ready to win against good adult males, and he needs some ring experience first.  Two Specialties and two Sweepstakes will give him lots of experience!  Am very pleased with Max.  He's handsome, sound, has very good breed type, and a wonderful temperament.  And he's smart and fun.

Fernly is looking good too, gaiting much better, trotting more than pacing, and developing the foot timing that she needs.   Goal is to have her ready for the August Specialties, though perhaps we'll hit some small shows before that.  Hopefully there will be Dalmatian competition at Waukesha in July.  Judges are good there, and it's always a fun show weekend.

Both pups are getting roadworked every evening, yes on foot, so with Argus to walk too I am getting a LOT of exercise right now.  Good for all of us though.

 

Day Five

Travis returned today for the fifth day of electrical work.  Today's projects include a new ceiling fan in the bathroom, a new fan & light fixture in the dining room, new track lights over the bar, and a range hood in the kitchen.  Still to be done, new boxes for the outdoor lights front and back, and replacing the outlets in the kitchen and family room.

Travis seems almost like a member of the family now, and even Fern had nothing to say about his arrival.

Lost Weekend

Mirror mirror on the wall.  Who's the fairest of them all?

Sat at the computer yesterday evening, feeling sorry for myself.  Seemed as if everyone else had gone camping, to a picnic, or attended a dog show over the long weekend.  Me, I sat home.  Well not exactly.  I bought yard plants and worked in the yard, took the dogs swimming and for interesting walks, took mom out for pizza (too wet and cold for a picnic), but mostly I just worked around the house (and played on the computer of course).  So how did I use up four days so quickly?  Three gloomy wet days, I might add.

I cleaned!  Yuck, just about my least favorite way to spend a weekend, but one that needed to be done.  A shame to do it on a Holiday weekend, but the weather made it somewhat easier, and he electrical work made it necessary.  Looking at the pictures in the recent appraisal really drove home how cluttered things are looking too, so I spent my time cleaning drawers and bookcases, throwing out papers, gathering up usable items for Good Will, dusting walls, washing baseboards, sweeping, vacuuming, and throwing things away.  The recycle guy will NOT be happy with me this week, unless they get paid by the pound!  And Ron said, ENOUGH for the trash this week.

Still to be done is ribbons and rosettes.   Boxes and bags of ribbons, mostly for the past twenty years, the rosettes from specialing Rob (just a bit), Morris (extensively), Watson (moderately), and Argus (extensively).  All the class wins, Sweeps wins, Specialty majors, Specialty BoBs, Group wins and placements, and the Best in Shows.  Not only at AKC shows, but at a few Canadian, UKC, and Int'l shows.  That's a lot of ribbons and rosettes.  Flat ribbons are easy, take up little space, and would be easy enough to discard, but I love rosettes and am not ready to get rid of them.  If I had the money, I'd have some of the best ones made into a quilt or wall hanging.  There are people who do that, but it's expensive.  Maybe that's a good hobby for me when I retire.  I really need another hobby.) The rosettes are in piles in the middle of the guest bedroom (which is/was clean) so I need to get this project finished!  Sooner, not later.

And someday I will tackle 50 years of pictures and scrapbooks, thousands and thousands of pictures.  But not this week.

Too Many "Things"?

Raining.  Again?  Still?  I'm losing track.  This has been great for my new grass seedlings, and they are filling in the Japanese Beetle grub damaged lawn very nicely.  Mowing will be a problem though - not sure the electric will be able to get through this hay field.  Just as well Ron insisted on keeping the old gasoline mower too.  Now, if it would just dry up.

Day Two of the Electrical Project, which I am guessing will take four, rather than the projected three days.  Travis worked hard all day yesterday, and didn't even finish work in the basement - but I DO have ceiling lights again, will be able to get rid of all the power cords running between rooms, and have a dedicated line for the heater/dehumidifier for the fishroom.  It was too cold and wet for walking, and I intended to play with the pups in the basement last night, but too much "project material" laying around, and when Max started running around with a light bulb in his mouth (fortunately he did not bite down or drop it) the pups were escorted back upstairs.

A copy of my home appraisal came via email yesterday and was interesting to look at.  House considered "average" for maintenance and marketable "as is".  Everything looked about right in the report, but the pictures, oh my the pictures!  Can you say CLUTTERED?  I guess everyone who knows me and has visited would consider my house cluttered, but I live here and really don't notice.  The pictures sure showed it though - no available wall space anywhere.  Furniture and pictures everywhere.  And things.  Too many things!  No wonder I go crazy several times a year and start hauling stuff to Good Will!  And no wonder my daughter feels claustrophobic here.  But what to do with all the stuff?  The accumulations of 40+ years spent in the same house?  It's not really junk, and it's not a trash house.  I'm not a hoarder.  I just own a lot of things.  Someday I'll have to move - oh my gosh!

A Me Day

A day at home with no plans or projects.  A Me Day perhaps.  The last day of taking the medication for a presumed attack of Diverticulitis, and I will be very glad to be finished with it as it makes me nauseated.  Some days worse than others, and today is one of the worse days.  At least I think it's the medication that's doing it.  Hopefully it's not something else to deal with. The pain is gone, so it worked on that I guess, but I'm looking forward to feeling like myself again here soon.  Everything else checked out fine, so hopefully this is the end of it.  I'm rarely sick, and am not a good patient - not a patient patient.  I intend to take it easy today - whether or not it works out that way remains to be seen!

The good thing about this was finding a doctor I actually liked.  When my regular doctor retired, I tried another who I ended up actually disliking.  Kept thinking I needed to change, but since I rarely saw her, I never bothered.  When she left (I hope they fired her) I tried several others without much luck, and the ones I wanted were not accepting new patients.  When I tried out a new doctor this time, I actually liked her.  Young, funny, easy to talk to, and she was good at explaining health issues and the alternate ways of dealing with them, AND she was accepting new patients.  Good deal!  I'm very happy with my health care provider (Health Partners), really like my dentist, and now I may actually have a doctor I like too.  Hopefully I won't need to see her very often, and hopefully she'll stay at HP.

Suppose I could go back to bed, but that doesn't really help much.  Maybe I'll go into work at noon if I feel a little better.  Hate using up my sick leave, although I have a lot of it since I only use it for appointments.

The houseplants went outdoors yesterday.  Hopefully Mother Nature is done with the snow and cold and they will be safe.  I only keep a few plants now, and they are all HEAVY, so moving them in and out isn't easy.

Entries are in for Max's first show.  Now, IF I could only get him to stand still for an exam!

 

Two At A Time

Max is so very glad to have his "sister" Fern back, and I KNOW the adult dogs are glad she's back too.  Max & Fern spend many hours a day playing, and while she was in season and separated from the "pack", Max just about drove the adults (especially his dad Argus) crazy.  "Play with me! Please, someone play with me!"  Now that Fern is back he has a ready made playmate, although even she gets tired of his antics at times.

I wasn't sure if I could manage two Dal Kids less than six months apart in age, but it's working OK.  Because the other dogs range in age from seven to almost thirteen, it was time to add a couple of permanent members to the household.  I can't even imagine what it would be like to be dogless!  And I love watching the interaction between dogs.  I call it My Family Pack, and they are endlessly entertaining.

The main problem with raising two pups is the tendency to let them entertain one another, rather than putting the appropriate amount of work into each pup as an individual.  I've tried very hard not to do that, and both pups get individual time and attention and TRAINING every single day.  It may be just a walk, or a five minute training session in the basement, but each pup gets to be the special pup for awhile each day, and each pup spends some crate time every day while the other pup gets to be out with the adults.  Each attended a puppy class too, which was so helpful.

It seems to be working well so far, and although it takes a lot of effort on my part and patience on Ron's part, both pups are turning out to be good family members.   Their personalities are so very different, but each is a really nice dog and a good addition to my household.  Hopefully both will be successful show dogs too, but as companions they are already stars, and we live with our dogs far more than we show them.  

Summer At Last

Max in camo, and soaking wet

We knew it would happen this way of course, that we would go from Endless Winter to Sultry Summer.  Temperature is supposed to be in the 90s today - ARGH!  At least the house will have it's residual coolness, for awhile at least.  Suspect I will spend the evening in the basement with the fishes, as the basement will stay cool until the soil around it warms up.  I anticipate coming home at noon to water the grass seed - the lawn is coming back nicely from all the Japanese Beetle grub damage, but 90+ degrees of sunshine will be tough on all the tender new grass plants.

What I SHOULD do this evening is take Max to handling class.  If I want to start showing him in June we have to work on his stacks.  He stacks well if there are no distractions, but if a dog or person gets within his "kissing zone" it's a lost cause.  Like his father Argus, Max is distractable, very friendly, and way too happy for his own good.  He'll make a fine show dog some day, but no doubt I'm in for my share of embarrassment as he learns the ropes.

If all goes well, Max, Fernly & Gemma go to the Chicagoland Specialties next month.  LOTS of training needed before then!

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mother's Day to me.  It was a lovely day, and a real goof off weekend.  I couldn't sleep and got up too early, but the rest of the day was perfect.  Brunch with my mother, sister, and Ron, and a good brunch too.  The Chianti Grill (our favorite) was all booked up when I finally thought to make reservations, but Green Mill Shoreview did an outstanding job, and it was one of the best brunches I've had.  I don't need a fancy brunch menu, I just want really tasty egg and potato dishes, and good sausages.  Wish I skipped all the other interesting and tasty dishes, and just concentrated on the 4-Cheese Scrambled Eggs, Parmesan Hash Browns, and exceptional Sausage!  The cheesecakes looked good, but I'm not a cheesecake fan (lucky me, lots of calories there) and the brownie was outstanding.  Chocolate is always the best for dessert.

Although my mother is growing increasingly feeble and is losing her vision, she loves going out to eat, and she made a large dent in all the food my sister helped dish up for her.  Because we're never sure how many Holidays we have left, my sister and I try to share holidays with mom whenever we can.

The rest of the day was devoted to being a good Dog Mom.  The sun felt good and Argus, Max and Fernly all got individual and interesting runs.  Max went down to Hidden Falls where he remembered the pond he had played in several weeks ago.  Still plenty of water in it, and lots of sticks to retrieve.  He smelled a bit funky from the pond water but a quick bath took care of that.  He's such a fun dog, always enthusiastic and entertaining, and continues to be good off leash.

Argus has never been very good off leash, so his walk was entirely on leash, but it was a long and interesting one at Crosby Park, where we walked around the lake and hunted for wild flowers.  Because Argus does a good Sit Stay, it's easy to take flower pictures when he comes along, and I found the Marsh Marigolds I wanted to photograph.  Love these wetland flowers.

Fern's run was on the college campus later in the afternoon.  Not very many dogs or people, so she too got to run off leash.  It was good to see that she's trotting more and pacing less, so hopefully she will make it to the show ring eventually.

Nothing like good food, family, hiking, fresh air and sunshine to tire you out and I slept like a rock. 

Happy Mother's Day to me too!   

Coursing, Of Course

Pictured are the three newly titled coursing dogs.  They attended a coursing event on Sunday, and all of them passed - again.  Meribel, Argus & Josie got the first two "legs" of their CA titles when they ran coursing events last fall.  We've been eagerly awaiting a spring trial and a chance to finish the titles.  The scheduled March trial was cancelled due to two feet of snow on the ground, but the field was perfect for yesterday's event.  All three Dals ran wonderfully well, and the judge was very complimentary.  Argus especially was absolutely fanatic about running, and all three dogs recognized the place when we drove in on Sunday.  Oh, the noises they made while waiting to run!  I'll try to add a couple of videos when I have more time.

Fern still in season and getting her 4 - 5 daily walks, so time is still an issue in the mornings.
 

Excuses, Excuses

Writer's block and a lack of time . . .

Excuses, excuses.  The posting that I started several days ago remains unfinished.  I need to buckle down and write, but there are always other things to be done, and I try to keep writing from becoming a chore.  Good thing I've never attempted to write as a career - life on the streets would be tough!

I'll be so glad when Fern is out of season.  Argus has been "good", no howling or frantic behavior, no digging at doors or destructive behavior of any kind, but he's not my dog right now and I want my dog back.  He walks around with a mournful expression, sometimes shaking, often talking to himself.  He KNOWS it is time to breed Fern, and he can't understand why I am being so stubborn.  Explaining that she is his granddaughter, and too young to breed anyway, is meaningless to him.  He only knows what his instincts tell him - that it's time to make puppies.  Sorry buddy.  Yesterday he went on a hunger strike, something he rarely does.  He nibbled a bit of chicken, and took a few treats, but would not eat his meals.  This morning I lost my patience and force fed him ground beef, rice & cooked kale.  It's a little messy, but only took a couple of minutes, and Watson was more than willing to clean up the crumbs.

Sunday is Coursing, and Argus, Josie and Meribel need to qualify just once more to get their coursing titles.  It will be cold and muddy, but I'm sure the girls won't mind and will run well despite the conditions.  Not so sure about Argus.  Will he run, or will he stop and sniff, looking for girls?  He ran well last time out, but was not distracted by "more important matters".  Wish I'd had a place to board Fern for the past week, but it was not to be.  So we'll hope once he gets away from home, he will forget about Fern for awhile.  In a few more days she will be going out of season, but of course it will take a few extra days to convince Argus of that.

Snowing, yet again.  Will it never end?

It's THAT Time Again

I'll have to be more organized in the mornings if I want to Blog before going to work.  Fern Louise is finally in season (almost 11 months old) and moved to the basement on Sunday when Argus informed me that she needed to be bred, and SOON.  (No, I don't plan to breed her, despite Argus's suggestion!)  Good dog Argus, very sensible until day 11 - then he lost it and walks around moaning softly (no howling yet, thank goodness).  I really should have moved her down the previous day.   It's easier here if girls in season move to the basement and get hand walked, as it's the smell when they pee that really triggers the strong responses from the boys.  So now she gets 3 or 4 walks and 1 bike trip a day, for the next week or so.  Takes a big chunk out of my mornings, but I love the early morning walks.  I've been biking Fern for a mile every evening and it's already helping a lot with her gaiting as she much more likely to trot than to pace when we do our walks.  Goal is to start showing her in June.

Busy weekend with Horse Expo on Saturday - I have no particular interest in horses, except that I like to watch them, and study the differences between the breeds.  I also enjoy evaluating their structure, and trying to decide why they move the way they do.  Couldn't believe the crowds, all the concession stands and all the food stands.  Did people go to look at horses, shop, or eat?  From the look of them, many must have come strictly to eat.

Later in the day Argus and Max went to Hidden Falls Park, where I discovered that Max loved the water, and particularly enjoyed retrieving sticks.  He was fanatic about doing that, even though is tennis ball retrieving is rather hit and miss.  Water and sticks seems to be the thing for him.  Poor Argus got his leash attached to a tree so he couldn't sneak off to say Hi to other dogs and passersby.

I made it up to Argus on Sunday, when I took him went to the Dog Park where he ran hard and sniffed even more.  I had worried that his obsessed frame of mind would lead to mounting behavior with other dogs, but he was his perfect gentlemanly self there, and minded his manners.  He really seemed to enjoy having some special time without being harassed by his granddaughter and son who try to make his life miserable.

A picnic on the deck with Ron and my mom was a great way to finish up a lovely weekend.  Weather could hardly have been better, and hamburgers, potato salad and 3-bean salad (actually 5-bean with my recipe) were even better eaten in the sunshine, on the deck, with family.
 

Up And Running

I'm back!  New modem installed and computer working just fine.  Although I have the Blogger App on my phone, it's way too much work to do Blog postings on an iPhone.  I need a real keyboard for writing.  My call to CenturyLink went to an overseas call center (of course), but the gentleman I dealt with spoke good (enough) English, and although the conversation was a bit rough as he read from his script, it was not as aggravating as such calls sometimes are.  The new modem was mailed promptly, and I was able to install it myself. 

As I installed this DSL modem, I thought back to the first modem I installed, oh so many years ago.  My first computer was used as a word processor, and the Internet was something only businesses and techie geeks used.   Not something regular people needed, just a fancy typewriter really. We didn't even have computers at work then.  Chat lists were in their early days, and a couple of computer savvy friends would mail me printed copies of the discussions from the first Dal list on Prodigy - yes, they were printed out on the continuous feed printer paper with the little holes along the side.  Dot matrix printers? How long ago was that?

One day as I walked through a computer store, there was a display of modems on the counter, internal modems.  On a whim I bought one, took it home and installed it - yes, I bravely took the case off the little computer, followed the directions and screwed the little gizmo into a slot.  I'd seen an advertising for The Concentric Network, so I ordered their product, installed that as well, not having a clue what I was doing, and somehow it worked.  Not instantly, of course.  I remember the frustration as it took me a long time to get things figured out, but I also remember how excited I was when it worked.  I also remember how slow the downloads were, but at the time it was magic!  Still is! 

Am on my 7th computer now.  Hard to believe there was actually a pre-computer time in my life!

Had planned to address this question, but it will have to wait.  It's a very interesting question, with no one right answer.  Stay tuned.

Would like your opinion on a rather heated and well debated topic. Is it okay to breed a dog or bitch who is not a champion, so long as they have the proper health testing and a nice temperament? I have a three year old male who is out of champion parents. He's never been shown through AKC but he has completed all of his health testing except cerf which he gets done in two weeks. He has an outstanding personality- very friendly and affectionate. Loves other dogs and new people. I would like a puppy out of him and some breeders have encouraged this, given his pedigree/health testing/temperament. But others have advised against it since he is not a champion. Your thoughts on the subject in general?