Helen's Home World

True Colours - Tomato Red

2012-01-26T18:35:00.000-05:00

I'm not that much of a photographer. I just have a small digital camera but I thought I would give True Colours (Canadian spelling) a shot.

My Christmas Pointsettias, they are still going strong.

Tucker's Tomato Red and Gold Agility Trial Champion of Canada title ribbon.

And the twist, our tomato soup plant.

If you want to give the True Colours Challenge a shot, go to http://truecolorthursday.blogspot.com/

Celebrating Ceilidh

2012-01-21T07:42:00.000-05:00

Today, my little Ceilidh would have been nine years old. I'm sure she's having a party at the Bridge, spinning, dancing and jumping all around. Happy Birthday, Ceilidh girl!!!

Cold Snap

2012-01-20T20:49:00.000-05:00

Well, there's not been too much to write about.

Winter arrived just after Christmas, we got two days of snow on the 27th and 28th of December. Up until then we had no snow and the forecast was even for a "green" Christmas. But we had just enough snow on Christmas Eve to qualify as a white Christmas. This picture is of my backyard on Dec 23rd. I could have still had my agility equipment out.

This past Tuesday, we got snow, rain and freezing rain and since then it's been really cold. I did take Beckett to Red Gate for a practice on Wednesday. It was really cold but inside the arena it wasn't too bad. A friend of mine with two of her Aussies joined me for the practice and we went out to lunch afterwards. I worked on Beckett's A-frame and getting him to turn on to the A-frame from a tunnel.

Now my backyard looks like this and it's likely to stay that way until late March or April. It was another very cold day today so I didn't even take the dogs to the park for a walk. Yesterday, Tucker was sliding and falling on the ice on the path through the park and I was worried he would get hurt.

I go back to work on Monday. It's been nice having nearly a month off. I could get used to retirement quite easily.

Beckett and I begin the agility season with our first trial since November in just two weeks, then in March we have two trials and the season swings into high gear. We also are still taking classes and we have a seminar in Feb. I'll be taking Beckett to Regionals this year even though I have no intention of going to Nationals. But I am considering going to the Canada Cup this year. I've never been able to go before as your dog has to jump their Regular height and both Tucker and Ceilidh jumped as Specials; one jump height below their Regular height.

Like I said not too much happening right now so I might as well write about the upcoming agility season during this cold snap.

Time Well Spent

2012-01-10T20:17:00.002-05:00

Last week, I went down to Moncton, New Brunswick to visit my Mum. She lives in a Nursing Home in Riverview, having suffered a stroke a few years ago. This year was her first Christmas without my Dad so I wanted to spend part of the holidays with her.

I flew in on 1 Jan and my youngest sister flew in the next day. We were lucky, in that we were able to rent a military married quarter for part of our stay in Moncton. The house is a small 3 bedroom fully-furnished bungalow and at $35 per night, it was an ideal place to stay.

We took Mum out to the Casino on 3 Jan. I think she had a good time although she said the slot machines didn't pay out very big. We were generally only playing five lines on a 2 cent machine, so we were only betting 10 cents a spin. I'm not a big spender but Mum could have been as twice she played the max bet, 30 lines on a 10 cent slot. Mum and I still managed to play all afternoon on only $20, we won about $36 between us but lost it all by the end of the day. We divided the afternoon up by having a lunch in the Casino restaurant; next time we may try the buffet.

The Big Spender

The next day we took her out shopping at the Mall. She said she was glad we were with her as we kept her moving from store to store. She does like to shop. She bought a new purse, quite a few new blouses and a sweater. That evening, as Maureen was leaving the next morning, we went over after supper to see Mum at the home.

Two outings in a row really tired her out so the next day was a lazy day. I didn't go over to see her until after lunch and then I only stayed a couple hours as she wanted to have a nap.

The next day, we did a craft project together and made a winter wreath for the door to her room. It turned out really nice.

Winter Wreath

When I went back that evening, a friend of mine from high school was in visiting Mum. We had recently gotten back in touch by e-mail. He works in Moncton so he said he would stop in regularly to visit. That's so nice of him as many of her friends have hardly ever visited even though they said they would.

I was flying out late the next day so Mum and I just spent the afternoon chatting and watching television. It was a good trip and time well spent.

Grateful, grateful!

2011-12-30T15:50:00.001-05:00

This has been a tough year and it's been a little hard to be grateful for all that I have.

First, in March, we had a terrible event in the family that caused a lot of stress and anxiety amongst all of us; then in May, my father passed away from cancer; in June, we lost my niece's Westie Toby to cancer as well, and through it all I've been worried about Tucker's health.

Dad and Timmy

But still when I think that all that I have, I am really lucky. I have a very nice home, a good job, my health, wonderful family and friends, and two wonderful furkids. I am able to enjoy playing agility, travelling, and other outings without having to wonder too much if I have enough money for it all. Beckett and Tucker make me happy even when I'm a little down.

Tucker and Beckett

We had a wonderful Christmas. Not too much snow. I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at my sister's place with her family. It's nice to have them so close, their love and support is something for which I'm grateful. I hosted a dinner for them, my youngest sister and her daughter yesterday. I am grateful for the time we have together as those special memories will always be with us.

Daniel and Tucker

Jessica opening a gift

A Habs Fan, can't you tell.

I'll spend New Year's Eve with family too and then on New Year's Day will fly out to see my mother and spend some of the holiday with her. Spend time with your parents whenever you can; it's probably the best gift you can give to them.

Mrs Claus?

Mum - Christmas 2011

So even if life brings some hardships, I always try to remember that I am truly blessed, but I sure hope that 2012 will be a little less stressful.

Hope you all have a happy healthy New Year!!!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-24T15:08:00.000-05:00

We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!!!

Happy Howlidays

Luv Beckett and Tucker

Presenting the Tree

2011-12-17T17:02:00.000-05:00

My tree for Christmas 2011. The picture doesn't do it justice. I'm thinking maybe I should get some white pointsettias or some ribbon to fill it up a bit more.

Crisp mas is coming...

2011-12-09T21:45:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, is me Beckett. Ise ben reading Ludo's and Denny's, oops I mean Reilly's blogs. Weese ben getting reddy here for Crisp mas too. My Mums ben decorating all da rooms. I really dunno why but she puts up lots of lights and ornomints, she says to get into the spirit of Crisp mas. She says weese gonna get a tree in the house again too.

The family room is decorated with lots o snow mens. They is on the table and fir place mantle. They is even on the wall ore the couch.

She put a wittle village in the live-in room, I dunno whyse we call it that cuz we don lives in it very much at all. And there's flowers around it called Pointsetters but I don think they'se much like setters at all.

Mums even put some decorations in da baffrooms, even in da one that no one uses, how funny is dat.

Mums says weese got to be good or Santa paws wont bring us our pressies, so Ise trying to be a good boy. Is hard to be good all the time cuz I still likes to emptee the garbage can in the baffrooms for Mums. I cant hardly wait for Santa paws to come, Ise allways gots good pressies from him.

Denny, don you listen to ebery thins Reilly tells you about Santa paws. Tucker tells me fibs too, big brudders is like that sometimes, mostly tho they is nice to have around.

Good nights ebery one, be good or if you cant be good, be dog, haha thats a joke.

Luv, Beckett

Ssshh don't tell...

2011-12-06T19:27:00.000-05:00

I bought the last of Beckett's Christmas gifts tonight: an Angry Birds squeaky toy and The AMAZING Dog Trick Kit. I probably won't get around to teaching him the tricks but the kit has a flying disc in it. And we all know Beckett loves his Frisbees. Tucker and Beckett will also be getting new Christmas socks and lots of treats.

Another Angel

2011-11-29T19:39:00.000-05:00

10 Nov 1998 to 29 Nov 2011
Photo credit Len Silvester, TTL Photo.com

This is Shooz. I never met her or even her Mum who I only know from Facebook and the Canine Cancer Yahoo group. She and Ceilidh along with other dogs either fighting cancer or having lost their battle with cancer were featured in the 2010 Ontario Regionals Championship event catalogue. Ceilidh never got to go to the 2010 Regionals, she lost her fight just before the event. Shooz' valiant two year battle against cancer ended today.

Run fast, run clean Shooz. You're a champion.

He did, he really did...

2011-11-28T18:40:00.000-05:00

He did, he really did listen!!!

Two weeks ago, I told Beckett that I wanted him to get an Advanced Standard Q and an Advanced Jumpers Q at the Dream Fields trial and that he was to get an Advanced Snooker and another Advanced Jumpers Q at the Absolute Agility trial this past weekend. Well do you know what? That's exactly what he did. To top that off, I told him Friday evening before the Absolute Agility trial, that if he got his two Q's and, as a result, his Advanced Games Dog title that we could just have fun the rest of the day. Well again, he really did listen and did just that too. He got eliminated from his first Masters Standard event, didn't get the main Gamble in his first Masters Gamblers and skipped some poles in his weaves during Steeplechase. But we sure had fun!!!

We had the same judge as last weekend for our Advanced runs. The Advanced Jumpers had quite a similar layout but the sequence of the obstacles made the course quite a different challenge. Beckett still did awesome, he had a spin or two so I wasn't sure if we had any faults called against us until the results were posted. He finished with a time of 26.75 seconds and was his third Advanced Jumpers Q which was also good enough for first place. In his Advanced Snooker, I decided to try four reds in the opening. Initially after the fourth red, I was going to send him into the tunnel (obstacle 3), then begin the close by wrapping the tire (obstacle 2) and rear crossing obstacle 3. At the last minute while walking the course, I decided to rear cross the tunnel after doing the red jump, since there are no refusals in the Snooker opening and because Beckett doesn't always like rear crosses on tunnels so then it wouldn't do any harm if he did refuse. That turned out to be a very good decision as you'll see in the video. I also had miscounted and thought we needed the frame for our Q so I was very relieved to hear the judge call six as the buzzer went for time but it turned out we had our points with obstacle five.

Advanced Snooker Q

Now we are on an agility hiaitus until February, we still have a couple fun matches and classes, of course, but no trials until then. I hope to work on Beckett's A-frame and do some distance work that we'll need for Masters events before we trial again. Hopefully those Masters Q's won't be too elusive.

Making Advances

2011-11-21T16:13:00.001-05:00

This weekend Beckett and I were at Dream Fields for their last weekend trial of 2011. Beckett was entered in two Advanced Standards, one Advanced Jumpers and one Advanced Snooker. I told him Friday evening that I wanted one Standard Q and one Jumpers Q from him at this trial.

And, do you know what, I think he listened.

In our first standard run, Beckett had a little difficulty with his weaves, I don't think he collected enough and he popped out at pole 3 which I think he actually ran into; no faults there as he had made the entry. The rest of run was quite nice except that one of my front crosses was a little early and he took a bar down as he tried to turn in mid air. A 5 fault run that still was good enough for the best run of all mini-regular dogs.

The second standard started terribly, I was sure we were faulted for a refusal at the tire (obstacle 5) and then Beckett barrel-rolled out of the chute (obstacle 7) and the thought crossed my mind that things were going from bad to worse. Then I heard the call "No time" from the timer. One of the ring crew had inadvertently stopped the time when she tried to raise the bar on the last jump which had the electronic eyes for the timer. Whew!! We got to start over again. The next run ran so much better, no spin at the tire, no fall at the chute. My front cross was late from the tunnel into the weaves but Beckett still nailed his entry. I held my breath on the dog walk, half expecting him to leap off but he didn't and he sailed over the last jump for his third Advanced Standard qualifying score, another best run for mini-regular dogs and his title of Advanced Agility Dog of Canada.

Advanced Standard Qualifying Score

Next up, was our Advanced Snooker run. We got through the opening and I thought we would be home free from there but coming out of the tunnel (obstacle 3) to the double jump (obstacle 4) , Beckett landed on the second bar of the double; that was the second time this has happened. I'm going to have to do some more training with the double as I don't think he quite realizes it's coming up and perhaps I need a different verbal command for the double. The spread doesn't seem to cause him any problems but with that jump I'm sure he can see width of the jump which I don't think is as obvious on a double. No qualifying score as we only had 27 points.

Our last run of the day was an Advanced Jumpers. There was a couple tunnel to tunnel entries that I thought would cause a spin or two but Beckett took them quite in stride. We had a beautiful run. On a course with a standard course time of 37 seconds, Beckett finished with a time of 26.99 seconds, running almost at 5 yards per second (4.95 yps to be exact). This was his second Advanced Jumpers Q and his third best run of the day.

Advanced Jumpers Qualifying Score

So we made great advances on the weekend and now have only two more qualifying scores to go (one each in Advanced Snooker and Advanced Jumpers) for his Advanced Games title. Next weekend at the last trial we are entered in for 2011, Beckett will run in his first Masters events. Not too bad, for a young fella who only began competing 11 months ago on 22 January.

Lets hope Beckett was really listening last Friday as I told him I wanted a Snooker and Jumpers Q at the trial this upcoming weekend.

I Started

2011-11-15T19:54:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, I started decorating for Christmas. It seemed rather strange as it was very warm (and has been all week) for November. I always put my outdoor decorations up right after Remembrance Day as I'd rather be climbing up and down a ladder when the weather isn't too bad but I don't turn my lights on until the beginning of December. I don't have my Christmas wreaths or my rope light toy soldiers up outside yet, I still think it's a little too early to look too much like Christmas. But I did put out my new little porch tree and decorated the fresh cedar bows that I used to hide the planter box.

I'm going to put up my winter village this weekend. Of the indoor decorations, it is always this first thing to go up and the last to come down. My Christmas tree, since I still get a real one, won't go up until the middle of December.

I also ordered a new Christmas decoration, a pillow of my sheltie boys waiting for Santa under the tree. It will be used in my family room decorations. I sent a picture with a special request to Foxy's Art Box, you can like them on Facebook, and then ordered the design from CafePress. Neat, eh! You can tell by the ears and markings that it is Beckett and Tucker snoozing under the tree.

And I received my first Christmas card today from a friend who will be moving to Israel in a few short days. Her husband is military and he is being posted to Israel as the Defence Attache.

Happy Boo-day!!!

2011-10-31T07:27:00.002-04:00

It seems like yesterday that I picked up my boy from the breeder to begin my Christmas holidays. Today, my tiny Tucker is eleven.

He was diagnosed with Cushing's a few months ago and has slowed down quite a bit due to arthritis but he still enjoys his walks (as long as we don't go too far or too fast) and he definately still enjoys his treats.

Tucker was a great Christmas gift!!

He was a happy little guy!!

His big brother Gryffon thought he was the bestest friend!!!

He was usually a gentleman with sister, Ceilidh!!

He's an Agility Trial Champion!!

He taught Beckett a thing or two!!

He speaks volumes with his eyes!!

Happy Birthday, Tucker Boo!!!

One Trick Puppy

2011-10-24T20:59:00.002-04:00

Beckett got his third Advanced Gambler Qualifying score this weekend so he will now be in Masters Gamblers. That should be exciting but I'm sure we will find that we have a lot more training to do as you'll see in the video all of his Advanced Gamblers Q's were essentially the same, so maybe he's a one trick puppy. He actually should have had the first gamble at this trial too, but because I waited for him to stop spinning on his own, we didn't get the gamble in time. The first gamble was out to the far end of a tunnel, 12 weaves and a jump, the buzzer went when Beckett was taking off for the jump. I've been working on a line up command to bring him in back at my side when he starts to spin, but I never even thought to give it a try.

One Trick Puppy

He did quite well in his first Advanced Standard of the trial but refused the table. He refused the table in the next Standard as well, it was curious. A friend watched our Advanced Jumpers where he spun and refused a jump as I started a rear cross; she said as soon as I decelerated he began to spin. So now we have something else to train and that will be to get him to go to the table no matter what I do.

Advanced Standard Runs

We also got another Advanced Snooker Q at this trial. We ran a very nice jumpers course for our Snooker as the only contact on the course was an A-frame and it was the number 7 obstacle. I did four reds, two 5's, one 6 (both were two jump, tunnel combinations) and one 4 (a two jump combo) before starting the close with Beckett. We ran out of time at the A-frame but still had 44 points, a qualifying score is 37 points.

Our next trials are in Nov with one again at Dream Fields and one at Absolute Agility. Beckett now needs only one Advanced Standard for his Advanced Agility Dog title; and one Snooker and two Advanced Jumpers for his Advanced Games Dog title. I'm hoping we can finish them up this year.

When I Retire

2011-10-13T18:11:00.000-04:00

I hope the days will be spent playing agility and the nights dreaming about agility.

Giving Thanks

2011-10-10T19:49:00.003-04:00

This weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada; the weather was extremely nice; almost too hot for October.

On Saturday, Beckett, Tucker and I went to Red Gate's Fun Match and we spent a wonderful day doing our favourite pastime. It's a tradition at Red Gate to go out to dinner afterwards. This time we went to a pub called Ballygiblins; the food and the camaraderie were wonderful.

Beckett - Advanced Gamblers

Beckett's Fun Match Standard Runs

On Sunday, I took a drive with Beckett and Tucker. The plan was to go to the Cumberland Heritage Village. It's closed at this time of year but it's still nice to walk the grounds and look at the old houses. Unfortunately, it was the day for the Fall Classic cross country run so it was packed with people. We turned around and stopped at a public boat launch on the Ottawa River instead. Sunday night I had dinner at my sister's place. It was just three of us for dinner, my sister, my brother-in-law and me. We had a very non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner, BBQ Chili pork loin, sweet potato rice pilaf, asparagus, sweet potatoes with turnip and stuffing but it seemed like an autumnal meal just the same. I made pumpkin cream cheese pie for our dessert.

Beckett and Tucker on the Ottawa River

Today, we closed down the Krazy Kanines field for the season. It seemed a shame to do it while the weather was so nice but that's the contract we have the owner of the property. Then I went home, had a quick bite to eat and did some much needed housework. I finished up just before 3 pm and decided to take a drive back to the Heritage Village.

Fearless Chipmunk

Autumn leaves in the sun

The 1900 House

Tucker and Beckett down on the farm.

It was quite warm so Tucker wasn't up to walking far so we didn't stay very long and, in any case we had to get home to make supper. But it was a wonderful weekend and it made me realize I have so much to give thanks for; my family and friends (even if I don't say it often enough, they mean the world to me), my health (even if my knees are giving me a little grief), my wealth (even though I complain about taxes it allows me to participate in a pastime I enjoy), my home (even if I don't always feel like housecleaning), my dogs (even when I have to clean up after them) and the freedom to enjoy a sunny afternoon (even though it meant the weekend was coming to an end).

TV Debut

2011-09-29T12:11:00.002-04:00

Beckett's TV Debut

High Flying

2011-09-27T17:52:00.001-04:00

This is my agility instructor, she's also a member of the Ottawa Valley Search and Rescue Team. Her dogs are trained for tracking and as cadavour search dogs. This was a fund raiser called Drop Zone for Easter Seals; 85 people and one dog made the rappel down an 18 storey building. Crazy or what!!

Over the Edge

Just Hanging Out

Snookered

2011-09-25T21:33:00.001-04:00

This weekend, Beckett and I trialled at Dream Fields where Beckett saw for the first time rubberized contacts. In his first run, it appeared that they would make quite a difference as he did a really nice dog walk and teeter but in subsequent runs he had a fly-off on the teeter, leaped from the A-frame and self released on the dog walk. He did have really nice downs on the table this weekend so maybe he likes laying on rubber.

We didn't get either Q's we were hoping to get, the Standard or the Gamble, but he did get two really nice Q's; one Advanced Jumpers and one Advanced Snooker. In Jumpers, he came second to another of his Sheltie buddies, a blue merle named Jasper. Beckett's time was 29.30 seconds on a course that had a standard course time of 40 seconds. Jasper's time was 28.46 seconds.

The other qualifying score we got this weekend was, in my opinion anyway, a blazing fast Advanced Snooker. Starting from the bottom right of the course map, we did red (one), then six a, b, and the far entry of the tunnel for c, then red (one) in the top right corner followed by the teeter, then red and four. It was really messy handling getting to four but we made it. Then it was the red (bottom left) to the weaves for five. Then it was the close, which ran so smooth. I thought the weave entry might be hard but Beckett was bang on his weave entries this weekend. We finished the close with a very nice teeter, then we ran the line of jumps to get back to the finish to stop the time at 55.25 seconds. I was told when the judge called the 7 for the closing teeter that the time was just over 46 seconds.

Beckett's Snooker run was also good enough for best run for the Mini-Regular dogs. When my handling is good, Beckett is just an awesome dog to run.

Framed

2011-09-19T16:00:00.001-04:00

If you haven't seen the video Bad Beckett Moments, you should watch it and you'll see the issues we are dealing with at the moment.

Bad Beckett Moments

Anyway, I'm trying to decide if I'll retrain Beckett to do running contacts. In the mean time, we are trying to re-establish two on two off as the criteria for his A-frames and to get him to drive down to the target position faster. So this week at Red Gate, we did a lot of work on the table and the frame, trying to make both of those places, a really good, exciting place to be.

I had noted at the last trial that the only time Beckett was seeing the small table was at a trial and wondered if that had anything to do with him not wanting to go down since he's used to the larger table. So at this practice, we only did the table using the small table. I just told him to table and gave no other command, neither the verbal or the hand sign. Once he went down, I rewarded the down with food and, once given the release, I rewarded the whole table behaviour with play. Hopefully, this table work will result in Beckett going down on the table on his own this weekend at Dream Fields. One more clean run in an Advanced Standard and he won't see the table any more.

On the A-frame, I added hoops to get him to put his head down and come right to the bottom of the frame. We also worked with the table at the side, so we could work just the target position and not the whole A-frame. We added the target dish and ham to build value for coming to the target postion quickly. It seemed to have some success. We also worked the 2o2o position with me calling out words other than his release word and by lots of movement (off camera so you can't see me jumping around like an idiot). I'm going to build-up value with a variety food on the target dish and once that's solid, we'll try using his favourite thing a frisbee.

Red Gate - A-frame Practice

I'm still going to make a hit-it box and do the flat work for a running A-frame over the winter. That won't affect how Beckett currently does the frame as for him there won't be any connection to the frame. Next spring, I can make the decision (or not) to try a running A-frames.

Summer Days

2011-09-12T20:13:00.005-04:00

Again this year, I took advantage of a program that lets me take leave without pay for up to 12 weeks but have my residual salary evenly split over the year. I had the month of Aug off work and will have most of January as well.

My first weekend off, I went camping with some agility friends, then the next weekend I headed off to New Brunswick to visit my mother. My sister Juanita and her husband were also there as was my sister Annette and her daughter Amber. Actually Annette, Amber and I shared a hotel room while Juanita and Joe stayed at his parents. My sister Karen and her daughters Alyssa and Kayla came over from Prince Edward Island during the week for a couple visits as well.

We took my Mum out shopping on Monday. Luckily, my parent's house had not yet sold so I was able to leave Tucker and Beckett at the house a couple times during the week. The agility demonstration was on Tues and although we had concerns with the weather, it was a great sucess. Wednesday evening, Annette, Amber and I went to the casino which was located next door to our hotel. We had a good evening. I won a whopping $21 but then I only played $5. Amber won $60 and she paid for our drinks and snacks after we had finished being high rollers. Thursday, Annette, Amber and I drove to the Gateway Village in Borden, PEI and met up with Karen and Kayla. We spent the morning shopping and had lunch together before heading back to Moncton.

On Friday, Annette and Amber went with Joe and Juanita to visit a winery and Hopewell Rocks, while I went to Riverside Agility with Beckett and Tucker. Beckett got his first official measurement recorded on his AAC card. We had a very nice weather that weekend for agility. Beckett got two qualifying scores, one in Advanced Standard (his second) and his first in Steeplechase. On Saturday night, there was a lobster supper. Karen and Kayla, who had joined me for the afternoon, stayed for the supper and then spent the night with me at the hotel as Annette and Amber had left for home that day. On Sunday, an agility friend, who was down visiting her family, drove all the way from Fredricton to cheer Beckett and me on. I spent another day in Moncton just visiting with my Mum before heading back home on Tuesday, 16 August.

Once back home, I had great plans of doing many tasks around the house that some how for the most part didn't get done. My parents house did sell so there were a couple visits to the lawyer's office to sign all the documents as well as doing a number of other calls and letters for my Mum's pensions and insurance benefits. I still have more of that to do.

On the Labour Day weekend, I went to Guides Canins in St Lazare, Quebec for the first time to do an agility trial there with Beckett. We went up on Friday and camped on site Friday and Saturday night. They have a wonderful facility that even includes hot showers in the training facility. Beckett got his second measurement needed to sign off his card so he now is officially a 16" Regular dog. The funny thing was that the same judge (from Nova Scotia) who measured him in New Brunswick was doing the measurements Saturday morning, so we had to wait until another judge showed up to get Beckett's recorded. There were no Q's during the weekend but some pretty awesome runs. Beckett's Advanced Jumpers was one of the fastest, even faster than many of the 22" dogs, but my handling caused two refusals on tunnels. He also had a 30 point opening in Advanced Snooker using all four reds, two sixes (a combination obstacle) and two sevens (which was 12 weaves).

I went back to work the Tuesday after Labour Day, boy, did 5 am come early but there was lots of work to keep me busy and the week went by pretty quick.

This past weekend, we went to the All Dogs trial. For me, this trial marks the end of summer as it is the last outdoor trial of the season for us. Beckett got an Advanced Gamblers Q, his second, so now we need one more to move up to Masters.

Beckett - Advanced Gamblers - ADSC Sep 2011

We also had an Advanced Snooker that made me think on feet. I had planned to do three 7's (the teeter) but when we were coming around to do the teeter a second time, Beckett took the one of the jumps of the number 6 combo, so I had to change my plan on the fly. We were doing good until, in the close, Beckett took the 6a jump in the wrong direction. That error came in handy for the Advanced Jumpers where the Snooker set up of the combination 5a, 5b, 5c, and the combination 6a, 6b and 6c was the same as obstacles 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 so I knew to use a false turn and his name between obstacles 5c and 6a to avoid the same problem. He had just an awesome Advanced Jumpers but he didn't like the rear cross that I did between two of the jumps and he spun incurring a refusal. The rest of the run was beautiful and he finished the course in a time of 29.18 seconds.

The problems we've been having on the A-frame and table just got worse. Beckett did have a little bit of Sheltitude this weekend and there are obviously some issues that we have to work on, but he sure is fun to run and he has a work ethic like you wouldn't believe. At our next trial, we'll see rubberized contacts for the first time, that should be interesting.

A Senior's Moment

2011-08-30T20:04:00.001-04:00

While I was home this summer, we did an agility demonstration at the nursing home where my mother resides. A woman from a local agility club, whose husband works at the residence, was kind enough to help me out with her Australian Shepherd, Gaffer. She was also able to help out with equipment and brought two tunnels and some additional jumps.

Tina and Gaffer

The weather in New Brunswick hadn't been great this summer and we wondered if we were even going to be able to hold the demonstration. Tuesday was scheduled for the demo with Wednesday as a rain date. The weather on Tuesday wasn't great. But with the forecast for Wednesday getting worse, we decided to set up on Tuesday and hope for the best. We set up on the front lawn so that seating for the residents could be on two side walks and some people could also watch from their rooms or from the corridor joining Canterbury and Monarch Halls. We were lucky, and although it was rather fresh, the rain held off.

Audience at Monarch Hall

We each took turns and did some runs with our dogs. Mistakes got the most laughs and the end of each run was greeted with applause. We then tried a down and back race. That didn't work out too well as Gaffer didn't like having another dog on course with him.

Beckett and Gaffer head to head racing.

I had also taught Beckett to jump through hoops so that I could get some people out to hold them so they would be more a part of the demonstration. I should really see for next time if I can cover them with tissue and have him break through when he jumps.

Agility Demo at Monarch Hall

My niece, Amber videoed for us but I didn't make sure of the video setting or tell her how to zoom so the quality isn't all that great.

Catching Frisbees was also a hit!

Beckett jumping.

Even Tucker got excited to show off his stuff and did a few jumps, some weaves and a tunnel. Maybe it was the thought of Beckett getting all the hot dogs that had him agitated. Anyway, I think everyone enjoyed the dogs and the staff said they would like to have a demonstration every year. It would be really nice to have a teeter and a few more dogs. We had fun and it was probably something a little different to the normal activities for the residents. I hope we can do a demonstration next year too.

In the Swim of Things

2011-08-01T17:12:00.003-04:00

We started our vacation with a girl's (and their dogs) weekend at Fitzroy Provincial Park which is only about an hour away from Ottawa. We had wonderful weather, perhaps a tad bit hot for Shelties but no rain and the humidity wasn't bad at all.

Our Campsite

Quite the tent, Beckett.

We were a smaller group than expected as some people had to work, others had family functions or childhood illnesses to contend with but those of us who went had a great time, hiking, swimming, playing games, and enjoying camp fires.

Lyne, Jasmine and Fannie

Lisa, Walter and Lucy

Helen (Me), Beckett and Walter

For me, the highlight of the weekend camping trip was Beckett's first swimming lesson. I'm not sure he'll ever like to swim but he did seem a little more relaxed by the time he got out. At first, he was doing the air swimming, where his front paws were coming right out of the water, then he started to relax just a little bit once he realized he wasn't going to sink. When I sat down in the water, he put his front paws over my arm and just floated there. I don't think without the life jacket, he would have been able to relax as much as he did. He was very happy to get out; although it at least cooled him off a bit.

Beckett Swims!!!

All in all it was a relaxing weekend, well maybe Beckett doesn't think it was so relaxing.

Having fun yet, Beckett?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-27T08:56:00.000-04:00

Getting Ready for Summer Hoildays

2011-07-15T20:37:00.000-04:00

In two weeks, I begin my summer holidays. I'm taking the month of August off but I'm sure it won't seem long enough.

The first weekend of my holiday, I'll be going camping with some friends and their dogs. I've decided only to take Beckett with me and Tucker will have a sleepover at my neighbour Julie's house.
So this weekend, we're going to begin to get ready. I'll put my utility trailer in the garage and begin to pack my camping gear. That's the nice thing about the trailer is that I can pack it up and leave it packed, then all I really need to pack in the car is food and clothes. Tonight I bought Beckett a life jacket.

Beckett sporting his new life jacket.

Last summer on our camping trip, he didn't want to go in at all; he might have had a little scare earlier in the summer when he ran into the water at Cape Jouramain, NB and found himself being lifted off his feet by the waves. I've only had one Sheltie, Gryffon who liked water and even he didn't like to swim.

Gryffon

The following weekend, I'll be driving back down to New Brunswick. While I'm there I'm going to put on a little agility demonstration at the Nursing Home where my Mum resides and Beckett and I will compete in an agility trial in Shediac River.

I get back home on the 16th and right now I have no special plans for what I'll do the rest of the month. I may do a bit more camping and I've been checking out B&Bs that allow pets. I also have some things around the house that I'd like to get done and it's always nice when you don't have to rush.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-13T07:41:00.000-04:00

They are waiting for us ♥ :)

Kelbren Ceilidh Everlasting - 21 Jan 2003 to 26 May 2010

Glenns Toby of Mulcroft - 4 Jan 2004 to 7 Jul 2011

I Hate Cancer

2011-07-07T20:58:00.002-04:00

Today, my sister and her family had to let their wonderful Westie Toby go to the bridge. They had noticed that he wasn't eating so they took him in to their vet earlier this week and found that he had a large tumour. Today, they had an ultrasound that showed that the tumour was massive and involved both the liver and spleen. So without having had any other visible symptoms, cancer has taken another dog far too early. Toby was just over 7 and a half years old, just a little older then my Ceildh was when cancer took her.

Glenns Toby of Mulcroft

Toby was a good friend to my Tucker, Ceilidh and Beckett. He always greeted you with enthusiasm and was forever ready to play. He will be missed!

Toby Taught Us

A Little Canada Day Fun and Stuff

2011-07-02T10:32:00.001-04:00

We took a very relaxing Canada Day. Except for cleaning out the garage, I did nothing but walk the dogs and play a little at agility and Frisbee in the backyard.

You'll see Beckett doing the teeter in the video. I'm about 5 feet behind the teeter and sending him straight forward. One of the mini gambles at the Ontario Regionals was similar to this; a teeter about 10 feet from the gamble line with the jump back towards the handler and just inside the line. We've been practicing with Beckett as I have seen a teeter going straight away from the handler before so it will be a good skill to have once he gets into Masters level Gambles. It was quite hot so we didn't do a lot and once he headed for the shade rather than play Frisbee, I knew it was time to give him a break. Tucker, during all of this, was laying in the shade under the cedar bushes near the deck.

Canada Day Fun

I've seen lovely pictures of other people's gardens. I'm not much of a gardener but my Clematis do very well. This year, I put up new trellis so they had more room to grow. It still looks like I could put up an even larger trellis!!

I had shrimp and vegetables done on the BBQ with rice for supper. Later in the evening, Beckett and I went down to Krazy Kanines agility field to practice weaves and then I watched the Canada Day fireworks from Parliament Hill on TV. There wasn't many fireworks going off in my neighbourhood, so Tucker wasn't too stressed out. All in all a very nice day.

It's Official

2011-06-26T18:36:00.000-04:00

Beckett is now two years old and can now have his measurements officially recorded on his AAC card. Soon, we'll know for sure if he is a 16" Regular dog.

We weren't home on his birthday so I had to buy him some special cookies. One for Beckett and one for his big brother, Tucker.

Beckett's big present was delivered while we were away. Today after I mowed the lawn, we finally put it out in the backyard. I think the colour is just perfect for a bi-black Sheltie boy.

It also came with two pairs of tunnel bags but I think I'm going to order tunnel snuggers from Clean Run. Beckett also got a new toy, not that he needed another one, but hey you're only two once.

Our next trial isn't until August when we will be back down in New Brunswick. Hopefully, he can have both measurements done at this trial since he can be measured each day of the trial.

Happy Belated Second Birthday, Beckett!!!

Unfinished Business

2011-06-19T07:17:00.000-04:00

My Dad had started doing a puzzle of the Avro Arrow at Easter when I was home. My sister Karen and I helped him out with the plane and the border. When we left, he said we had left him the hardest part.

At the time of his passing, the puzzle still was unfinished. We just couldn't leave it that way or simply put it back in the box so we decided to finish it for him. All my sisters, brother-in-laws, nieces and nephews had a hand in completing the puzzle for Dad.

Today, on Father's Day, my Dad would have been 80 years old.

Happy Birthday and Happy Father's Day, Dad!!!

The slide show was prepared by the funeral home with pictures we brought to them. It had different music but when my nephew uploaded it as a YouTube video, he found that they were copyrighted so he selected another piece.

In memory of my Dad

Wordless Wednesday or close enough.

2011-05-31T23:19:00.000-04:00

Miss you already, Dad.

Ceilidh's Candle

2011-05-25T21:36:00.001-04:00

To mark the anniversary of the passing of my crazy Ceilidh girl.

I'll Be Missing You!

2011-05-13T13:36:00.003-04:00

Every step I take
Every move I make
Every single day
Every time I pray
I'll be missing you
Thinking of the day
When you went away
What a life to take
What a bond to break
I'll be missing you

It's kinda hard with you not around

Know you're in Heaven smilin' down

Watching us while we pray for you

Everyday I think of you

Till the day we meet again

In my heart is where I keep you friend

The first anniversary of Ceilidh's passing is fast approaching. On 26 May 2011, the anniversary of her passing, I'll be driving to the AAC Agility Regionals with Beckett. I was going to wait until closer to the anniversary to do this post but events here this week brought memories and emotions of those last days close to the surface.

This week brought the unexpected loss of two wonderful dogs from our agility community: Reisling, a seven year old doberman and Chase, a bi black Sheltie. Both dogs passed over to the Bridge on Wednesday, 11 May 2011. Riesling passed away in the Alta Vista Animal Hospital ICU where she had been since the Friday before. Chase passed away inexplicably at home while his family was away at school and work.

Chase

Riesling

Starter Games Dog of Canada

2011-05-09T21:20:00.001-04:00

Starter Jumpers Qualifying Score

This past weekend, Beckett got the last qualifying score he needed for his title of Starter Games Dog of Canada (SGDC). It wasn't the best run we've had but it did the job. He finished the course in 22.65 seconds for second place. Another Sheltie buddy, Jasper, finished first with a time of 19.51 seconds. The time allowed for the course was a very generous 42 seconds.

Beckett tries to take me out!!

2011-05-01T20:00:00.001-04:00

I arrived back home on Thursday evening from visiting my parents down in New Brunswick. My sister and brother-in-law picked me up at the airport. I was glad to get home to see Tucker and Beckett. I was off on Friday and I had planned to sleep in but the boys had better ideas and in any case there was the Royal wedding to watch on TV so we were up at 6am. I stayed up all night to watch Charles and Diana's wedding but I'm not as young as I once was.

After watching the wedding, I took the dogs for a walk, checked the mail that had built up for a week, finished unpacking and starting packing to head to Kingston for an agility trial. We headed out to Kingston after lunch. We went to the soccer dome to set up, watch some friends runs and went out to dinner with a couple friends before heading to my youngest sister's place.

Beckett was in four runs this weekend; a starter jumpers, a starter snooker, an advanced standard and his first Steeplechase. We only got one qualifying score in the Snooker but I was very happy with how he ran this weekend. He made all of his contacts but we have to work on weave entries at speed as I don't think he made one of them.

Starters Jumpers

Starters Snooker

With the Starters Snooker Q, Beckett now only needs one more Starters Jumpers qualifying score for his Starter Games Dog of Canada title, perhaps next weekend at Dream Fields. We were so hoping for a nice red and gold title ribbon from Morning Star but another blue and white one from Dream Fields will be nice too.

I'm not sure but I think Beckett was out to get me this weekend. He nearly took me out at the knees in the Jumpers run and then tried to give me a heart attack in Snooker. He sure is exciting to run that's for sure. :-)

Title Thursday

2011-04-21T11:50:00.000-04:00

We received Beckett's ADC certificate in the mail today. I hope we can finish up our Starter Games title soon.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T21:27:00.001-04:00

Fun Trial Advanced Standard

Red Gate Fun Trial - Apr 2011

2011-04-12T21:27:00.002-04:00

Last weekend, we attended another fun trial at Red Gate arena. For a change, the weather cooperated and we had a beautiful spring day; it was so nice to be able to take the dogs outside between runs and not to be freezing all day.

The runs this time were a Standard course and a Jumpers course. In the Standard, I did the Advanced course and then the Masters. Only the first Advanced Standard run was videoed but that turned out to be a good thing as I wasn't happy with most of the Masters run. But then I did go out planning to work on contacts rather than worry too much about the course. I'll post a video of that some other time.

For the jumpers, we ran the Advanced course both times as I wanted to see if I could get Beckett to do two straight tunnels (obstacles 15 and 16) without having to be right with him.

Advanced Jumpers - Red Gate Fun Trial

You'll see in the video that I don't go as far between the tunnels each time we run. We had never practiced this before and I wondered if he would just come between the tunnels to meet me.

We also practiced a lead out at the beginning. The opening of the Advanced course was the same as the Masters. My position was critical and since our results were mixed, this will be something we practice more, as obviously I need more work on determining my position.

I really enjoy the fun trials at Red Gate as even when the weather is messy at least we're indoors. I wish Larry and Irene hosted more but next month's fun trial ends the season until the fall.

Who Can You Trust!!

2011-03-26T17:49:00.000-04:00

We had some, what shall I call it, well really horrific news this past week about a family member. You think you know people, especially those who are close to you and then you find out something that makes you wonder if you can ever really know someone. And if you can't really know someone, how do you trust anyone?

My family and I, I am sure, will pull through this; it's already bringing some of us closer together. But I think the next few weeks maybe even months will be hard.

My brother-in-law's sister said:

"There are times in our lives that we simply can't understand why the people we love make such horrible wrong choices. We just keep going, hold our heads high and live our lives the way that 'we' have chosen."

So that's what we have to do now, hold our heads high and know that we are living our lives the best way we know how!

Agility Dog of Canada

2011-03-22T20:02:00.001-04:00

At Dream Fields this past Saturday, Beckett got his Agility Dog of Canada (ADC) title for completing three Standard runs without any course or time faults. We didn't get any video of this run. Getting people to take videos this weekend proved a little challenging. I guess some people have difficulty with technology. For this Standard run, the person who was videoing, using someoneelse's camera, zoomed in and then could not figure out how to zoom out, so all you could see in the video was the wall.

But oh well, we do have some video. Our first run of the day was Advanced Gamblers and it was the very first Advanced run of the day so Beckett and I had to be at Dream Field for 7 am in the morning. It was the beginning of a very long day. I didn't go in with great expectations as it was Beckett's first Advanced run and the distance obstacle of the main gamble was the dog walk. There also was no mini gamble where you have the opportunity to gain double the points of the obstacles. My plan was just to do a nice smooth course for him and see if I could get him out to the dog walk. He ran so well I ran out of things I had planned to do and we got a 35 point opening. When the buzzer sounded for the main gamble, I put him through the tunnel and called walk-it, he raced for the dog walk. I don't even think he glanced at me. He came back out to me on the line but when he scooted back and into the tunnel I knew we had it.

Beckett Advanced Gamblers

What made it really cool is that we were the first team in the event and I think we made it look easy. Beckett also got Best Run for mini Regular dogs and won a stuffed horse in addition to his Advanced Q and first place ribbons.

The person who took this gamble video couldn't have pressed the button all the way down to record. On my camera, half way down is "focus" and all the way down is "record"; it wasn't until the camera turned itself off that she realized she wasn't recording. But as you see she caught the most important part.

We now had a really long wait as the Starters events didn't begin until 1:30pm. Starter Jumpers was our next event. No Q there, as Beckett missed the chute coming out of the tunnel and he stepped on the fabric of the chute while spinning around. Next up was the Standard run that he did Q on.

It wasn't pretty but it was all right for a Starters Q. Beckett didn't get his weave entry as they were off-side, then since I moved to do on-side weaves, he spun before the dog walk and spun before the table all of which will be faulted now in Advanced. He did very well on the course after the table. Beckett's next course was another Standard, you'd think he knew that he didn't need it. The little "brat" wouldn't lay down on the table.

Beckett Starter Standard NQ

Our final run of the night was a Snooker run at 7pm in the evening; we did all of three obstacles before being whistled off.

It was a long day and I was glad to get home to Tucker. After getting unpacked and getting us all something to eat; it was off to bed for some well deserved sleep.

First Full Day of Spring?

2011-03-21T18:24:00.000-04:00

The Backyard - there was some grass yesterday!

The Front - the street was dry and bare when I left for work.

Snowing!

Easter Eggs - the weather was so nice on Sunday I put Easter eggs in the tree out front.

After just a few minutes outside.

We had a little bit of snow today but not as much as they were calling for, so I guess we should be glad about that. It shouldn't last too long at this time of year but it would be nice if it would stay warmer and drier than normal so we can get back outside to do agility.

Morning Star - Mar 2011 - Day 2

2011-03-17T20:23:00.000-04:00

Sunday, Day Two at Morning Star saw Beckett entered in a Starter Gamblers and two Starter Standards. Unfortunately there's no video of his Gamblers run.

For the opening, I did chute, jump to dog walk to get down to the mini; if I had to do it over again, we would have done jump, jump, dog walk as Beckett was turning into me after the chute and did not see the jump. I did hope to get the mini gamble by sending him out from the dog walk but he wouldn't go so I ran the mini with him and then used the next jump to turn him back over the mini gamble; this time he did beautifully and I was able to send him away to the tunnel (actually I don't think I could have called him off the tunnel). Then we played on the teeter and tire until the buzzer went. I tried using the spread to get him into the main gamble tunnel but it didn't work as well as I thought it would. A better option, that I saw people use, was just to run between the tire and the spread jump moving forward with the dog as they took the tunnel. Beckett did go back to the tunnel nicely the second time and getting him over the jump was no problem at all. I didn't know if we got the gamble in time as, although there was electronic timing the buzzer had been set for mini-veteran dogs who had 26 seconds for the gamble, dogs Beckett's height only had 22 seconds. But, we did get the Gamble Q, our second with 80 points. But again in the competitive 16" regular class, it was only good enough for second; a Jack Russell got a 92 point gamble.

Next up was our second Standard run, the less said about that the better. Beckett's evil twin came out to play and he jumped off the dog walk missing the contact and self-released himself from the teeter and A-frame. So with that, there went the chance of getting his Starter Standard title at Morning Star. Our final run was another Standard. The first contact was the A-frame, since I had made the decision to retrain for running contacts on the A-frame, I saw no point asking for a two-on two-off contact so I let him run off and wasn't sure if he had hit the yellow.

Beckett's Starter Standard

Beckett gave me a little attitude at the weaves and didn't want to down on the table but the rest of his run was nice. He loves the wide open running. It was another Q and this time he placed third; 16" Regulars is going to be tough.

So we ended the weekend with 4 Q's, a move-up to Advanced Gamblers but no title yet, maybe this weekend. Go Beckett Go!!!

Morning Star - March 2011- Day 1

2011-03-14T20:06:00.000-04:00

Morning Star in Kingston, Ontario is one of my favourite places to trial, not only because it's a friendly place and you don't have to worry about the weather but also because I get to see my youngest sister and enjoy some wonderful meals made by my brother-in-law.

This past weekend, we went up for Saturday and Sunday. Beckett ran in three events each day. On Saturday, he ran in Starter Jumpers, Snooker and a Standard. I don't have video of the Jumpers but he finished a course that had a 43 second course time in 21.97 seconds. Good enough for a Q of course, but in the competitive height class Beckett is in, not good enough for first place. He was 0.05 seconds behind the dog who came in first.

Next up was the Snooker run. As Beckett had never run Snooker, I tried to make the course as flowing as I could with wide wraps so he wouldn't back jump. We did the number 5 obstacle ( a tunnel, tunnel, jump combination) twice and the number 3 obstacle twice before beginning the close. I forgot the course for a split second, thinking for an instance that there was a jump between obstacle 4 and 5, but I recovered before Beckett had a chance to take any other obstacle. His first Snooker qualifying score and good enough for first place with 47 points and in under 55 seconds.

Beckett Starter Snooker

The last event of the day was a Standard run, perhaps we'll post a video of that later. He had a clean run but I insisted on 12 weaves so we were 1.71 seconds over time. He was also slow coming down the A-frame. The run was good enough for second place but we didn't take that ribbon, only the cookie.

Beckett's events were over early so I stayed around to see friends run before heading back to my sister's place. Dinner was lobster risotto in pastry shells with lemon asparagus, mmmm good and a nice way to finish up our first day at Morning Star.

Agility in Japan?

2011-03-14T10:38:00.001-04:00

The devastation in Japan is just overwhelming to see. This photo taken as the tsunami was rushing in shows an agility field in the foreground; while agility is important in my life, I'm sure that for right now there are things in Japan that are much more important to people whose lifes' have been so dramatically changed forever.

I hope that the people of Japan have the resilience and strength to rebuild from this disaster. And that some day in the not too distant future, there will be an agility field in this community again.

RIP Liam and Theo

2011-03-11T07:47:00.001-05:00

Lance Cpl Liam Tasker died in a firefight in Afghanistan, his dog Theo died of an apparent stroke later that same day. Perhaps it was a broken heart? They flew home to the UK together on 10 Mar 2011.

Now together forever!

International Women's Day ....

2011-03-08T07:19:00.001-05:00

or Happy Birthday to me!

My First Birthday

On the right are my youngest aunt and uncle and to the left are two of my cousins. Some of us look a little overwhelmed.

March Fun Trial - Part 2

2011-03-07T19:45:00.001-05:00

Here's the Advanced Gamblers that I did with Beckett at the fun trial. As I said I'm not sure if it would have counted as a Q as after the tunnel (marked with a 1 in a circle), he came back out to me rather than doing the dog walk. But he did the dog walk, tire, tunnel combination just perfectly; I never even called out the tire, just gave him his release word and called tunnel. I saw quite a few dogs that I know are already in Advanced come back out to their handlers.

He also had problems with the mini-gamble, the tunnel and A-frame combination marked with the 1 and 2 in squares. So one of the things we know we have to work on, is 180's coming out of a tunnel on to a piece of contact equipment.

Beckett Advanced Gamblers

In my second run on this course, I used the jumps leading up to the A-frame to get him up and over the frame to the tunnel. He didn't go up the first time, but I was able to send him back out the jump right before the A-frame from the line and that time he did do the A-frame and tunnel combination. He still had the same issue with the tunnel before the dog walk but I could see already that he tried to correct when I told him to "walk-it".

He's a good boy, my little Beckett; even if he does still chew things he's not supposed to if I leave him loose when I go out.

Fun Trial - Mar 2011

2011-03-06T16:22:00.000-05:00

I had hoped that we would finally have some nice weather for this fun trial; it rained all day and it was really damp but at least it was somewhat warmer. Beckett did great. I ran him on the Advanced Standard course, then did the Masters Standard course. The game this month was a Gambler, we did the Advanced Gamblers. He did awesome on the main gamble, not sure it would have been a qualifying score had it been a real trial as he came out past the dog walk and I had to send him back to it but he stayed out after the tire and got the tunnel. I'll post the video to the Gamblers later. The video is of our Advanced Standard run. We still need work on weave entries and my handling after the tire could have been a lot better but Beckett saved the day. This definitely would have been a Q as a Starter Standard run.

Beckett Advanced Standard Run

I hope he does as well next week which is an official trial. If everything goes as well, he could have his first title.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-02T08:32:00.000-05:00

Photo by Lisa

Happy Birthday Mum!

2011-02-28T20:12:00.000-05:00

Today is my Mum's Birthday. I wish that I could be with her more often but Canada is such a big country that I only get home one or two times a year. A few years back my Mum had a stroke and now lives in a nursing home about 40 minutes from their home. My Dad visits twice a week, my brother, who still lives at home, visits her every week as does my brother-in-law's sister who also provides wonderful support and assistance to both my parents. We are also lucky in that my cousin is the Executive Director at the home and she stops in almost daily for a few minutes to see how Mum is doing.

I thought I would celebrate her birthday by posting a few photos of her when she was just bit younger. Thinking of you, Mum, love you lots!!!

Anne (My Mum) with her older brother Terence

Anne with a doll.

Anne with her younger sister, Jeannette.

Mum and Dad on their wedding day.

Doldrums

2011-02-25T14:27:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is nearly the end of February; the time of year when I get really tired of winter but know that we still have awhile to go before we can really hope to see Spring.

Next month will go quickly though as I have Beckett entered into either a fun trial or an official trial nearly every weekend. I haven't entered him in anything in April yet other than fun trial but there are two AAC trials that he could do; I'm just waiting to see how we do in the first trial in March.

I'll also be going home to see my parents at Easter, hopefully since Easter is late, there won't be a snow storm while I'm there like last time. My parent's health is a concern right now. Dad has lost a lot of weight and has started chemotherapy again. Mum was lucky and didn't get the flu virus that was going around the Nursing Home but since no one was allowed to visit, she's been rather lonely.

Sure looking forward to warmer weather, spring flowers and doing agility outdoors.

Taste of Toronto

2011-02-20T15:06:00.002-05:00

My sister and I travelled to Toronto by train this past Friday to see Billy Elliot. Tucker and Beckett stayed with their Westie cousin Toby. The train ride was nice; I hadn't been on one here in Canada for years. We had a little delay when a freight train broke down on the tracks in front of us but they got the freight train moved off the line after only about 10 minutes. We arrived in Toronto at about 1:30 pm and made our way to the hotel, the Sheraton Toronto Centre. Across the street was the Toronto City Hall - Nathan Phillips Square, the ice rink and Old City Hall. After checking in we went down to the Eaton Centre grabbed a quick bite to eat and then just wandered around for a while. We went back to the hotel to get freshened up for dinner, then it was off to Big Daddy's Crab Shack.

After dinner, we made our way by the subway to the Canon Theatre where the Toronto run of Billy Elliot is playing. The theatre is very ornate and was originally built as a movie theatre; you won't see them like that any more. The musical was wonderful, too bad you can't take any video. The kids in the play are just fantastic dancers and singers. The boy, who starred as Billy on the night we saw the play comes from Burlington, Ontario and is only 12 years old.

Toronto by Train

After the play, we went back to our hotel for a couple glasses of wine. The wine was aptly named "Girls Night Out". The next morning we went to a restaurant called Eggspectation for breakfast, then after a bit of window shopping, back to the hotel to check out in time to go back to Union Station in time to get our train home. We were again delayed, this time by problems with signal lights and arrived back home about half an hour late. It was, even with the train delays, a great weekend, one to remember.

It was only a taste of Toronto, would have been nice to have another day or two. Maybe next time.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-02-16T11:17:00.000-05:00

It's Official!

2011-02-15T20:22:00.001-05:00

Beckett's Qualifying scores are now recorded on the Agility Association of Canada's trial results web page.

Beckett's AAC Achievements

Last weekend, we did another fun trial. We were late due to an accident with injuries that closed the highway. A trip that normally takes about 45 minutes when the traffic is light took nearly two hours trying to get past the part of the highway that was shut down.

I didn't get any video of Beckett's Standard runs but he did very well except on weaves. He has taken to popping out anywhere between the 6th and 10th poles. He also does not want to do off-side weaves at all. I can't wait until we can get back outside as there is no room in my basement for 12 weaves with or even without an obstacle.

The game at this fun trial was Steeplechase. I asked a friend to run the first Steeplechase. I figured it would be a good thing if he would run for someone else; that might come in handy in the future. Well, we found out Beckett is a Momma's boy. He would only go so far without his Mom before he came racing back. We'll try it again sometime but I'll get a third person to video so I can be in the ring until he gets use to the idea.

On the second Steeplechase run, you can see the issue with the weaves. He also misses the green tunnel, which he had done the first time round too. I probably needed to false turn just to check him in a bit but it seemed like quite a nice line when I walked it. Beckett does read my rear crosses really nicely.

Red Gate Fun Trial - Steeplechase Runs

Next month, we have a fun trial, then two official trials so weekends in March will be busy.

Desiderata of Happiness

2011-02-08T20:46:00.000-05:00

A member of the Canine Cancer Yahoo group posted a link to a poem called "A Blessing". It was so beautiful that I wanted to see what else was on the same web site. What I found was a compilation of inspirational poems and photos. This poem either called "A Prayer" or "Desiderata of Happiness" captured my soul. I just had to make a compilation of photos put to music to go with it.

A Prayer

Let me do my work each day;

and if the darkened hours

of despair overcome me, may I

not forget the strength

that comforted me in the

desolation of other times.

May I still remember the bright

hours that found me walking

over the silent hills of my

childhood, or dreaming on the

margin of a quiet river,

when a light glowed within me,

and I promised my early God

to have courage amid the

tempests of the changing years.

Spare me from bitterness

and from the sharp passions of

unguarded moments. May

I not forget that poverty and

riches are of the spirit.

Though the world knows me not,

may my thoughts and actions

be such as shall keep me friendly

with myself.

Lift up my eyes

from the earth, and let me not

forget the uses of the stars.

Forbid that I should judge others

lest I condemn myself.

Let me not follow the clamor of

the world, but walk calmly

in my path.

Give me a few friends

who will love me for what

I am; and keep ever burning

before my vagrant steps

the kindly light of hope.

And though age and infirmity

overtake me, and I come not within

sight of the castle of my dreams,

teach me still to be thankful

for life, and for time's olden

memories that are good and

sweet; and may the evening's

twilight find me gentle still.

~ Max Ehrmann ~

Winter Playground and a New Friend

2011-02-06T11:36:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, it was sunny and warm; just a beautiful winter day. My neighbour, Julie is babysitting a six month old female Airedale Terrier named Teddy. After lunch, I went over and asked if Teddy wanted to come over and play. The dogs had actually met the night before; Tucker was a grumpy old man but Teddy and Beckett seemed to hit it off.

While we were waiting for them, Beckett and I played with his Frisbee. As usual, Tucker just barked and I think even that tired him out.

We were outside for nearly an hour and a half. Funny but I didn't take any pictures of Teddy, only some video of she and Beckett playing together. Things got just a little bit out of hand once or twice but nothing serious. Beckett always ended up on the bottom in the wrestling but it didn't seem he minded much as he always went back for more. I should have taken pictures of the snowballs on him some were the size of baseballs.

Beckett and Teddy

The link above is to the same video on youtube, the quality is much better there.

I sure wish I had half their energy.

Woe is Me...

2011-02-05T15:34:00.000-05:00

Tucker can't or won't climb the stairs any more so at night I carry him up to bed. This is what happens nearly every morning when I go back upstairs to get dressed for work. If I didn't bring him up to bed at night it would happen at about 2 am as well; it's not so funny at that time of night.

Snow Day - Part 2

2011-02-02T18:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I wasn't sure I was going to get to my dental appointment; at 3:15 pm my street still hadn't been plowed. Good thing, it's just a little crescent and once I was on the main streets things were fine.

Took a couple pictures out the back window. Most of the snow, well at least half, came down in the storm we had today. It's still snowing but it's only flurries now. Before going to my dental appointment, I snowblowed the driveway, shovelled the deck and made trails in the backyard for the dogs. I just finished shovelling the driveway and front walk again. Tomorrow, I'll shovel the deck again.

The view from my family room window.

Yes, I still have my Christmas lights on this little tree.

Can we come in, it's cold out here?

Snow Day

2011-02-02T10:04:00.008-05:00

Well, today is Ground Hog Day and we are having our first real storm of the winter. Hopefully, it will be the only storm of the winter. I had taken today off work as I had medical and dental appointments booked so we got to sleep in. Later, I'll go out and do the driveway. My street is not plowed but the main street that I can see from the back bedroom windows seems to be alright. Good thing my dentist and doctor's offices aren't that far from home.

Last weekend, I took some pictures in the little park where I go to walk the dogs. I'm not much of a photographer. I took a few pictures of Beckett and Tucker and some of the snow on the trees and plants.

Tucker

Beckett

It's nice to have a park right at the end of my street. It's not an off-leash park but most people with smaller dogs do let them off leash. There is an off-leash park within walking distance of my house but for the most part the people who go there have larger dogs. Beckett has never been there yet as I don't think Tucker would have walked that far any more; it's about a 15 minute walk.

The next pictures are of Tucker and Beckett on the new playground structure the city installed. It made for a colourful contrast to the white snow and grey sky.

I also took a few pictures of the snow on the plants and trees while my little camera does have a macro focus, I'm not much into composition, shutter and aperture speed but in any case I do like the way some of the pictures turned out.

This is the tree in my front yard. I just liked the way the red of the whirligigs stood out against the white and grey.

The rest of the pictures are taken in the park. I just liked the structure of the tree or plant with the capping of snow.

I'm not much of a winter person but it is a very beautiful season when it's not too cold. Not looking forward to going out today but at least the wind is not howling so doing the driveway won't be too bad with the snowblower.

Here's wishing for an early spring.

Happy Ground Hog Day!!!

Agility Boy

2011-01-23T15:44:00.000-05:00

Well, Beckett is now an agility boy with his first trial under his belt. He did wonderfully although there definitely is room for much improvement for both of us.

Our first run was a Starters Jumpers. The first obstacle was a chute. I've only just started practicing lead-outs with a tunnel and so far we haven't had much success so I didn't want to try leading out at the trial. Otherwise I would have led out to jump 2 and run with Beckett on my left, instead I had him on my right and had to try a rear cross at the first tunnel. Beckett doesn't like rear crosses to tunnels and so got a little spinny before the tunnel. That incurred us 5 faults; something that's changed since I began with Ceilidh and Tucker is that now there are refusals in Starters on jumps and tunnels. The rest of the run was beautiful and we finished in 35.5 seconds on a course that had a standard course time of 54 seconds.

Starter Jumpers

Our next run was a Gamblers class. I wanted to put Beckett through the weaves as they were going to be in the same place for the Standard and they were also the four point obstacle. We messed around far too long on the weaves and I didn't get him to do them off-side, but we did get them done twice. The main Gamble was two jumps and a chute. There looked like there was a nice line from the tunnel into the Gamble and that's the way I walked the course too. But after having seen a few dogs curl back into their handler after the tunnel I decided to try and just send Beckett out to the jump. He did that part just fine but didn't stay out between jump 2 and the chute. He did finally get out to the chute. I'll have to remember to take a bit of time to get into the right position before sending him back. Without electronic timing, we didn't know if we got the Gamble in time.

Starter Gamblers

Beckett's First Starters Gamblers

Our next and last run was a Starter Standard. Beckett had nice contacts but he was slow on the frame and he was slow going down on the table. He also didn't collect enough to get the weave entry but once in them he did them beautifully. The scary part was a spin he did between the tire and the next jump. I was sure it would be called as a refusal but friends who were watching said the judge didn't call it. After watching the video, she may have given him the benefit of the doubt as the spin was early and he seemed to be moving forward in the last third of the distance between the obstacles.

Starter Standard

Beckett's First Starter Standard

Turns out we did get the Gamble with the minimum number of opening points and only 2 seconds to spare on the Main Gamble so we finished the trial with two Q's (qualifying scores); a great start to Beckett's agility career. I was very glad to be back in the ring competing. Beckett's runs had flashes of Ceilidh so I'm sure she was with us in spirit. Tucker was there too as Beckett's big brother, cheerleader and coach. The weather, while very cold, was sunny so the drive to the trial arena and the drive home were nice. Next up is another fun trial in February then two official trials in March. You never know I might have a Advanced Agility boy by the spring.

Go Beckett Go!!!

Memories

2011-01-20T18:21:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow, 21 January 2011 marks Ceilidh's 8th birthday. There are some days when I still find not having her in my life extremely difficult. This has been especially true when I've had a particularly good day with Beckett. At the end of the day I usually find, as the song "Just a Dream" says; "I was thinkin about her, thinkin about me. Thinkin about us, what we gonna be? Open my eyes, yeah; it was only just a dream." And it's hard waking from the dream as I had expected Ceilidh to be with me for many more years.

As hard as it may be sometimes, I do find it helps to look at old photos and video so I decided to do a video collage of photos of my three Angels at the Bridge: Duffy, Gryffon and Ceilidh. The rainbow clip in the video is due to the thoughtfulness of Lyne L and was taken at the first fun trial that Beckett was entered in after the loss of my dear little Ceilidh.

Remembering Duffy, Gryffon and Ceilidh

I hear people say that they have a "heart dog" and I find it difficult to understand how one dog could be a "heart dog" while another is not. My Angels were such wonderful souls, each different but each held a special place in my heart. Maybe I've been lucky and they were all my "heart dogs".

I don't want this post to be maudlin but rather a celebration of the time I had with them, just wish that time could have been longer. So I'll end this post with some lyrics from Just a Dream and Halo:

"And now they're gone and you wish you could give them everything."

But at least "Standing in the light of your halos, I got my angels now".

Never far from my thoughts and forever in my heart!!

Anticipation

2011-01-16T17:54:00.000-05:00

This weekend, Beckett and I had a fun trial at Red Gate Arena. Tucker came along as a spectator; I think he enjoyed being with us but was a little miffed at not getting to play, a few hot dogs helped him get over it. It was really cold in the arena and it was snowing outside all day but we had a good time.

The runs at this fun trial were a Standard course and a Jumpers. I had decided before going, we would do the Starters level and the Masters level for my two runs on each course. We ended up doing the Masters Jumpers twice. Unfortunately, only part of the Starter Standard run was videoed, Beckett did great except for taking the wrong end of one tunnel and not wanting to do off side weaves.

Masters Standard

Masters Jumpers

In the Masters Standard run, he wouldn't stay in the weaves. We've been having some difficulty with off-side weaves but I was happy that he got his entry from a tunnel. He also didn't get out to the number 8 jump but did really well getting out to the tire and wrapping the number 16 jump. The tunnel-jump-tunnel combination, I had seen in our Starters run and both times Beckett took the wrong entry but do you think I changed the way I handled it. No, why would I do that, so he still took the wrong entry. Bad Momma! We are working on get-outs in class and I can see that is still an area where we both need work.

The first time I ran the Masters Jumpers I led out to the wing of jump 2 which made Beckett go straight for the tunnel. Good dog, Beckett! I realized after watching a few other people run the course, that a lateral lead-out was needed. I knew I couldn't go as far as some people did, but tried leading out between jumps 1 and 2 with lateral distance towards obstacle 3. It worked and Beckett barely glanced at the tunnel. I again saw that we need work on get-outs when Beckett had difficulty from the tunnel to jump number 5. I saw a lot of dogs having the same difficulty though, probably because the dogs turn back to where they knew their handler was when coming out of the tunnel. In the video, we run the course twice. The handling, serpentines and rear crosses, at jumps 5, 6 and 7 and again at 11,12, and 13 gave Beckett a little difficulty but he was much improved on the second go around. I'm amazed at how he read the rear cross from jump 7 to the tire and that there was no hesitation the second time we took that same jump as number 14 and he was straight on to jump 15 and the tunnel.

Next weekend, we are anticipating good things at our first official agility trial. I hope the weather will be better than it was for the fun trial as it makes for a long slow drive when we get a lot of snow. Beckett will be in a Starter Jumpers, Starter Gamblers and we just this week added Starters Standard since he now can weave.

I've told Beckett that next weekend, he's no longer an agility puppy in training but a Starter Agility Dog!!! It will be exciting to begin the next stage of our agility journey.

Christmas Wishes

2010-12-24T10:47:00.000-05:00

It's Christmas Eve, all the presents are wrapped and the decorating done; now it's time to relax and enjoy time with family and friends.

I hope everyone has a very wonderful holiday. No matter how you celebrate, it is a time to reflect on all of our blessings: health, home, fur kids, family and friends.

My Christmas Village

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

from Helen, Tucker and Beckett

Tucker's Travels

2010-12-20T08:17:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, 7 Dec 2010, Tucker had a second ultrasound as his blood work from the previous week showed that his liver enzymes were still climbing. This second ultrasound was necessary in order to do a guided needle biopsy of his liver. They also took a urine sample while he was in for his ultrasound.

Tucker - June 2010

We got the results of the needle biopsy and urinalysis on 15 Dec 2010. There was good news and some not so good news. His urine concentration was normal and the needle biopsy showed no signs of inflammation or of cancer, thank goodness, but the specialist vet did caution that a needle biopsy is a very small sample and in this case of a very large organ. Tucker's liver did, however, show early indications of Cushing's Disease. Since Tucker is not showing any real symptoms as of yet, there is nothing we can do but watch and wait. We will have more blood work done in March along with some other urine tests.

I'm to watch for excessive drinking and urination but also for weakness and changes in appetite. Now I'm second guessing things though. Tucker hasn't been able to climb a long set of stairs for about a year and while, I've called him "gator mouth" for ages, I'm wondering if these are symptoms rather than just normal aging and, what I just thought, was Tucker's love for food.

He's still on Peptid AC, pancreas powder and Zentonil and he does seem to have more energy lately, tugging on toys with Beckett and keeping up with us on walks, so perhaps things are improving.

From Evergreen to Christmas Tree

2010-12-18T15:32:00.000-05:00

My 2010 Christmas Tree - a Fraser Fir

With just the lights

All Decorated

Tucker and Beckett wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!

Beckett Weaves!!

2010-12-14T20:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, Beckett and I went to a fun trial at Red Gate Arena which is about 45 minutes in good weather from our place. They have fun trials there about every other month but they fill up really fast because they are indoors. This might have been our last fun trial before Beckett competes at his first AAC trial in January. I sent in my entry for both the fun trial in January and in February and found out this weekend, that while we're in the February trial, we're on the waiting list for the January trial.

Beckett did just great at the the fun trial; weaves entries and rear crosses to tunnels are things we'll have to work on. And after watching the videos, I can see that I'll have to give him more information sooner so he doesn't have to check in with me quite so much.

The video above is a weave collage from both the Standard and the Steeplechase and the two links are for the Standard run, of which only one run was videoed, and our two Steeplechase runs.

Beckett - Steeplechase runs - Dec 2010

Beckett - Standard run - Dec 2010

Go Beckett Go!!!

Weaves - Wondering Why!!

2010-11-29T21:37:00.000-05:00

I began teaching Beckett to do weaves by taking a two by two weaves class; I used my PVC weaves to make my own 2 x 2's at home. I also used channel weaves at the Krazy Kanines' field. By the end of the outdoor season, Beckett would do six weaves on the channel weaves but only if I popped out the second pole just a bit. If I didn't put that pole out a bit, he would enter correctly but come back in between poles 3 and 4. Two by two's seemed to be causing him a little bit of frustration.

I e-mailed one of the better instructors in the area and asked her if I had made a mistake training with both 2 x 2's and channel weaves. She told me "no" that many people were doing just that. She also told me that many young dogs (or dogs just learning to weave) will miss poles or pop out; she said they have to find a way to "relieve the pressure". She told me that I should reward Beckett any time he came back in between poles 2 and 3.

I didn't really get a chance to try her advice as we had to pack up the agility field and once it started getting dark at night I couldn't even practice at home. I have since purchased two sets of 2 x 2 weave bases and have used them in the basement now for about two weeks. I didn't really get a chance to reward Beckett for coming back between poles 2 and 3; what I did was to start almost from the beginning with just four poles, getting Beckett to enter correctly and drive out to the second pair of poles. We progressed rather quickly to the eight poles that you see him doing in the video. He misses some of his entries but I think that's more my position since there's not a lot of room in the basement to work.

I was so impressed with Beckett's progress I posted this little video this past week on Facebook; but then we went to class on Sunday evening. Beckett wouldn't weave, wouldn't even try, although we were doing some pretty hard entries. Our instructor, Jeannie, did remove all but two poles for him and when she did that he did get the entry.

We practiced again tonight and I had him doing weaves following an obstacle, a jump. I'm hoping that will help him collect better. I also noticed that he doesn't seem to need much arm motion from me to do off side weaves. I always call it "go weave" when we're on the near side and "get out weave" for an off-side weave entry. It seems he's got that part.

Now hopefully I can get him weaving at a location other than my basement, certainly can't run a Standard course there. If the weather holds out and we don't get snow I may try some weaves with him out in the backyard this weekend where we can try moving a bit faster. I'm also entered in a fun trial on 11 Dec, we've been avoiding weaves at fun trials but this time I think we might just have to give them a shot.

I can see that training with 2 x 2's has had the result of a faster drive through the weaves. Tucker and Ceilidh learned on weave-a-matics and while Ceilidh was pretty fast in the weaves neither she or Tucker had independent weaves. Not good for Masters Gambles. Two by twos are also supposed to make the entry easier for the dog. Not sure Beckett has that quite yet, I may go back to one pair of poles and practice entries over the winter so that he nails them from any angle at any distance (well as far away as I can get in the basement).

Close Up and Personal

2010-11-18T20:04:00.000-05:00

Play with Me! Huh Huh Please!!

Just chillin.

I want my frisbee!

One Happy Dude

Wild Boy says, "Watch your tongue, Tucker."

Remembrance

2010-11-09T19:13:00.000-05:00

For most of my life Remembrance Day seemed like a historical event, remembering the dead of wars past. I had really no family or personal connection. My grandfathers were too young for the first war and too old for the second. My Mother's father was a pattern maker in the shipyards in Halifax during the second world war and so was likely also in a protected occupation. My father and uncles were all too young for the Second World War and none ever served in the Korean war either.

Major Ray Ruckpaul

Even though I was in the military, deaths of soldiers on UN Missions were few and far between and still I had no personal experience. That is until Afghanistan; now I have a personal connection with Remembrance Day. Two of the soldiers who have died on the mission in Afghanistan were colleagues and friends from my time as the Quartermaster of the Armour School in Gagetown: Maj Ray Ruckpaul and Sgt Craig Gilliam.

Sergeant Craig Gilliam

Every year I take the time to look at the photos of every person who has died while we have been Afghanistan. For those that say we should not be there, take a moment and think that there were also people who probably said we had no business taking a stand against Nazi Germany. It really is no different, oppression against a people even by their own government is still oppression. But really for the soldier, sailor and airman; it is just the job they have sworn to do, to go into harms way when so directed by our government. So please even if you don't agree with our role, remember the courage of the men and women, this Remembrance Day, who have served and paid the ultimate price.

Craig and Ray, in addition to being soldiers, were fathers, husbands, sons and friends.

With the going down of the Sun, we will remember them.

Halloween Humiliation???

2010-11-02T18:31:00.000-04:00

Beckett and Tucker waiting for Mum to take the picture so they can eat the muffins.

Beckett - the Pumpkin Pirate

Ready for the Trick or Treaters

Tucker says "Mum don't you think I'm a little old for Halloween"

Tucker Turns Ten - a Retrospective

2010-10-31T07:44:00.000-04:00

My tiny Tucker turns 10 today!!

Quite a big milestone in a dog's life.

Tucker is my third Sheltie, my second sable male and my second sheltie from Dierenvriend's Kennel where his big brother Gryffon came from too. He was one of a litter of only two male puppies; the first litter for Dienrenvriend Bonnie Wee Mattie. Tucker's sire was Can Ch Fairfax As Good as It Gets. Tucker's registered name is Dierenvriend's Mattie's Tucker. Not my choice for the name although the breeder did use the call name I had chosen.

Mattie and her two boys.

Don't ask me which puppy is Tucker in the photo with his Mom, I don't know. I used to visit the breeder's during my lunch hour. I almost gave up Tucker for his brother. My Gryffon was not the most social of dogs and I wondered how he would react with a new puppy. I had picked the smaller of the two puppies but then during one lunch time visit decided that I should take the larger puppy who was more outgoing. By the time I got back to work, I was feeling like I had abandoned Tucker and called the breeder to say I had changed my mind and would keep the smaller puppy.

Tucker - Christmas 2000

I got to take Tucker home just as I was starting Christmas holidays so I picked him up from the breeder on my way home to my parent's in Moncton. I think he started off being really well socialized that way, something that I didn't ensure for poor Gryffon, who was very shy with people and aggressive with other dogs.

Tucker discovers the Christmas Tree

But Gryffon turned out to be a great big brother. Tucker could crawl all over him and even fall asleep on him. Gryffon, in fact, seemed always to be very interested in whatever Tucker was doing. They played tug of war and jousted with their heads, mouths snapping at each other. The only thing Gryffon didn't share was his tennis ball, poor Tucker never got to get the ball, Gryffon was such a ball hog. That's why to this day I say all Tucker learned to be is a cheerleader since when we were playing ball all Tucker got to do was run back and forth, barking.

Gryffon watching Tucker intently.

Tucker - gangly boy!

Camping with Gryffon, Bogart and my niece and nephew Jessica and Daniel

My favourite picture of Gryffon and Tucker.

Tucker and I lost his big brother, Gryffon on 23 August 2002 from complications following exploratory surgery which found that he had an abdominal wall infection. Gryffon was only 7 and half years old. So far sooner than I expected, Tucker became an "only" dog.

Tucker and Ceilidh - Summer 2003

In March of 2003, Tucker got a little sister, Kelbren "Ceilidh" Everlasting. That summer we moved from New Maryland, New Brunswick to Angus, Ontario. I started obedience classes at Barrie Canine Connection with Ceilidh and, since they also gave agility classes, decided to put Tucker into agility. I had heard about agility but had never had the opportunity to take classes anywhere. We got hooked. Tucker proved to be a good agility dog, he wasn't too fast but he was a thinker. Initially, I didn't think that he would be all that succesful even though we got a qualifying score in Jumpers at our very first trial and he got his Agility Dog of Canada title in less than a year. Once we were out of Starters, Tucker had difficulty making the course times but as soon as he moved to Veterans, then we started to progress.

Tucker's first trial at Dream Fields which was before we even moved to Ottawa.

The summer of 2006, saw another move for Tucker, Ceilidh and I from Angus, Ontario to our Nation's capital Ottawa. By now both Ceilidh and Tucker were competing in agility and we quickly discovered the active Ottawa-Kingston agility community. The next summer, we entered the Ontario Regional Championship for the first time. Tucker did very well and qualified for Nationals. Tucker competed at Nationals in 2007 at Halton Hills, Ont, in 2008 in Sussex, NB and in 2009 in Ottawa, Ont. At Nationals in 2008, he placed he placed 8th in one of Gamblers events. It was the first time he completed a National or Regional main gamble. He would have placed 10th overall in his height class except that in the other Gamble event, I got greedy for points and tried to put him over a two point jump near the dog walk. Tucker took the dog walk instead and when the buzzer sounded, he was on the dog walk heading away from the main gamble. Tucker did do that main gamble but just not in the time allowed. At Nationals in 2009, Tucker placed in every event in his height class and placed 7th over all for his height class, 6" Double-Drop Veterans.

Tucker - 2009 AAC Agility Nationals - Ottawa, On

Tucker also completed all the title requirements for the Agility Trial Champion of Canada title, the Bronze Award of Merit and his Bronze Versatility Award during his agility career. Not too bad for a dog that I initially thought would have difficulty getting his Agility Dog of Canada title. So to use all of the letters for his titles after his registered name, he is:

Dierenvriend's Mattie's Tucker, SADC, VGDC, VAADC, VAGDC, VMADC, VMJDC, VMGDC, VMSDC, VMTRDC, VATChC, ExJ Bronze, ExSt Bronze, ExTR Bronze, Bronze Versatility, Bronze Award of Merit.

At Nationals in 2009, Tucker nearly slid off the A-frame in the rain and was having difficulty meeting the course times. After Nationals, he refused to do A-frames and he continued to have difficulty meeting the course times. I made the decision that it was in his best interest to retire him from competitve agility; he still likes to play for fun when there are treats in the ring and no A-frames.

Tucker and Ceilidh got a new little brother during the Labour Day weekend of 2009, Triadic's Glenciaran Beckett. Tucker accepted him pretty easily but Ceilidh was not too impressed.

Tucker and Beckett - Summer 2010

Sadly this past May, Tucker, Beckett and I lost our Ceilidh girl to Mast Cell Cancer. Beckett wasn't really affected by the loss but I think Tucker missed her; I know I sure did, still do.

Last Moments Together - Ceilidh and Tucker

Recently as a result of having pre-op blood work done for dental work, we have found that Tucker has what is suspected to be chronic pancreatitis. He is currently on medications and dietary supplements which seem to be working but we won't know for sure until additional blood work is done once we have completed the course of medications. He does, however, seem to be somewhat more energetic already so I hope the medications are effective and will clear up the pancreatitis.

Devil Prince

Tucker has been a great dog and companion, laid back he always takes everything in stride. I wish he had another ten years with me but I know how unlikely that would be. Today, we are going to enjoy the day together and then, this evening,we'll be giving out treats to the Trick or Treaters. The little kids always wish him Happy Birthday when I tell them Halloween is Tucker's birthday. I'm going to make him some low-fat pumpkin oatmeal muffins for his birthday cake. There's no doubt that my food hound will enjoy that.

Happy Birthday Tucker Boo!!

Tucker's Travels

2010-10-20T19:19:00.000-04:00

Tucker at Halloween 2008

In April, I had blood work done on Tucker so that we could have dental work done. We found out that his cholesterol and triglycerides were elevated. After testing for Cushings and hyperthyroidism, he was put on a low fat diet which my vets hoped would lower his cholesterol.

Last week, I had his blood retested and his cholesterol and triglycerides were still elevated so my vet did additional tests to see how his pancreas and liver were doing. Those results came back through the roof. Worried that it was acute pancreatitis, my vet referred me to Alta Vista Animal Hospital's Internal Medicine section for an ultrasound. Dr Rozen told me that often there was an underlying cause such as liver failure or cancer but even pancreatitis left untreated could be life threatening. They advised me to get into Alta Vista as soon as possible; that was last Thursday, 21 Oct. I called Alta Vista right away but the vet that I had been recommended to see had no openings until Tuesday; not wanting to wait, I asked if there were any earlier appointments with any other vets in that department. I was able to get in on Friday with the same vet who treated Ceilidh, Dr Bravo.

My appointment on Friday was for 11:00 am, Dr Bravo was so apologetic when she saw me. I left Tucker there for his ultrasound, not knowing what kind of results I would get. I worried all day that it would be the worst, which for me would have been to hear that he had cancer. At about 3:30 in the afternoon I got the call from Alta Vista asking if I could come back in for 4:45pm and that Dr Bravo would see me. That got me even more worried as my experience has been if its good news the vet tech will tell you when they call.

I was ready for the worst, but when Dr Bravo came into the office she said it was good new of sorts. I relaxed a little bit and began to breathe. Tucker's ultrasound was normal and so with no other symptoms other than being lethargic and the blood work results, her diagnosis was chronic pancreatitis. She gave us some medication that he is to take for 30 days, put him on a couple dietary supplements which he can take long term and also Peptid AC. She also recommended a low fat hypoallergenic diet. Try finding that! I have a feeling that I will end up cooking for him. We are to repeat blood work for him now every six months.

So we are now doing smaller meals twice a day rather than one big meal a day. I think both he and Beckett are enjoying that. Tucker seems to be a little more energetic already but that could be the crisp fall weather.

It was quite the scare to think about losing Tucker. I know the end is inevitable for all of us but I just didn't want to think about losing Tucker so soon after losing Ceilidh. He will be 10 years old at the end of the month and even though I know that means he is approaching the average life span for a Sheltie, I hope we have many more years together.

Have Ewe Herd

2010-10-13T18:26:00.000-04:00

Have ewe heard, Beckett is a sheepdog!

Beckett had a really busy weekend. On Saturday we attended the Krazy Kanines Fall fun trial. We were very lucky to have nice weather for the long weekend. The field was still somewhat soggy though as a result of all the rain the previous week. Beckett and I ran the Starters Standard and then the Advanced Standard. He did really well and I was really happy with his contacts. Beckett and I had to leave the fun trial to go to his agility class. I got back to the fun trial in time to let Tucker do a Jumpers run, after all the old guy still likes to play and the young guy can't have all the fun.

Sunday, my family had our Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's place but the dogs always get to join us. The sad part of Sunday was closing down the agility field that morning. As you never known in this part of Canada, we could have good weather now for weeks but we could also have snow by the end of the month.

But Monday was the day we were really waiting for, Beckett went for a Herding Instinct Test. It was a gorgeous fall day; a great day for a drive to Ewenique Farms in Alfred Ontario, which is about 55 kilometers from my place. We got there in time to see about five other dogs being tested. It was amazing to see the change in behaviour when dogs realized that they could move the sheep. Then it was Beckett's turn; he was the last dog to be tested. At first he didn't seem interested at all and then a little nervous when the Border Collie ran at the sheep. But he was a brave boy and kept coming back to me, each time he spooked. It seemed to me that our test took longer than some of the other dogs, maybe because we were the last dog but then maybe it just seemed long because I was in the pen just hoping that Beckett would show some interest in herding the sheep. Natalie, the tester, twice pulled a sheep from the herd for Beckett to check out. The second time I gently made him get really close, afterwards he seemed to catch on that the sheep weren't going to bother him and then he realized that he could move the sheep around. Then you could see those instincts kick in as he ran back and forth behind the small herd of sheep. He really seemed to be enjoying it by the end and was confident enough to move away from me and go herd sheep.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjw2ZGuMk2w

Beckett passed the herding instinct test, so my little Beckett boy really is a sheepdog and not just a "sheepish" dog. Well, maybe just a little bit sheepish.

We had a lot of fun trying it out. I went to the test just wanting to see what he would do but you never know, maybe there are some herding lessons in Beckett's future.

Thanksgiving with Family and Friends

2010-10-12T19:03:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was Thanksgiving, well here in Canada anyway. I like Thanksgiving as it is a nice time to just get together with family and friends before the Canadian winter hits. Thanksgiving is also a lot less hectic and stressful than Christmas.

This year my sister Juanita hosted Thanksgiving Dinner at her place. My youngest sister Maureen and her husband, Fred came up from Kingston. My nephew's girlfriend's family, the Jellett's joined us for dinner. But also in attendance was my Uncle Mike who is moving back to Canada after being out of the country for 23 years. The only sad thing was that Mike's wife Bon couldn't get her residents visa in time to be here for Thanksgiving but hopefully she'll be here for Christmas.

Mike and Juanita did most of the cooking but I brought two desserts: apple crisp and pumpkin spice cake. We had a traditional turkey supper with mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, bean salad, green salad, rolls and, of course, stuffing. Can't have a turkey dinner without stuffing; it has to be the best part of the meal. In addition to my two desserts there was also pumpkin pie and cherry cheese cake. Needless to say that no one left the table hungry.

I think everyone enjoyed the evening although Mike was a little jet lagged since he had only arrived the night before from Thailand. Even the dogs had a good time, Katie surveying the world outdoors, Tucker hoping for some leftovers (they all got a few bites) and Beckett and Toby roughhousing together.

It would have been nice to have more of the family together but distance makes that very difficult. But we certainly have many other things to be thankful for, our health, our homes, our family and friends.

Family Adventures Continue

2010-10-03T21:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (Saturday, 2 October 2010) I drove up to Kingston to attend a parade at the Royal Military College. A young cousin, my Dad's half sister Heather's oldest son Andrew, had been accepted this year at RMC. The parade marked the end of the orientation period for first year cadets and their official entry to the cadet wing.

In the video, you will see the second, third and fourth year cadets marching on to the parade square in their scarlet uniforms. The first year cadets, in their blue uniforms, are then marched on parade under command of an upper classman. After the presentation of a number of awards and prizes, the first year cadets received their RMC cap badges. Following the badging, the first year cadets joined the cadet wing and paraded for the first time as cadets of the Royal Military College. The fly past at the end of the video actually happened during the parade but it seemed to fit in better at the end. The aircraft is a Corsair, also known as a Grey Ghost. The fly past was organized by some ex-cadets to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Navy.

Andrew's flight also won the obstacle course which had been held the day before. The obstacle course is a test of strength, endurance and teamwork and winning the competition is coveted by all the cadets.

My Aunt Heather, her husband Brian and their other two children Christa and Brendon were also on hand for the parade. They had come up to Kingston for the weekend to see Andrew compete in the obstacle course competition and participate in the parades on Saturday and Sunday.

After the parade, Heather and I went to downtown Kingston to meet up with my youngest sister, Maureen. We had a very enjoyable lunch at the Kingston Brewing Company. We didn't get to see much of Fred , Maureen's husband, as Chili Fest was on this past weekend and Fred was volunteering in the Kingston Brew Pub's booth. Chili Fest is a fund raiser for a local charity in Kingston.

It's not often we get to see one another so even though Kingston is a couple hours away it was well worth the drive. And the weather cooperated even though it was a tad chilly but it sure beat all the rain we had over the past week.

Mindless Musings

2010-09-23T20:00:00.000-04:00

I read one of my nieces' blogs today and found out that after having attended less than a month of university that she has decided to drop out as she is not 100% sure if university is where she wants to be right now. That's certainly her decision to make but it got me thinking about how my brother, sisters and I are so very different even though we have the same genetics and similar upbringing. Our views on politics, religion, language, you name it differs greatly amongst us. We also seem to have big differences in our attitudes about seeing things through to the end once you start which seems to have been passed on to my nieces and nephews. I had misgivings about university when I started and who knows what they want to do when they grow up, I still don't! But when I started university, I knew I could do it and even when, in my second year, I nearly had a failed year, I stuck it out and got my diploma. I think more than anything else I learned in university, I learned if you worked hard you would achieve some measure of success. What you studied might not even be directly related to your future career but the experience of university (or any other post secondary education) is of great benefit to any future endeavors.

Shaping Obstacle Performance

2010-09-21T09:41:00.000-04:00

With my young fellow, Beckett, I back trained, for the first time, the contact obstacles. Ceilidh and Tucker were trained by just having them learn the obstacles with the contact criteria coming afterwards. For Tucker, there never was two on two off; he just did running contacts. For Ceilidh, who began to jump over the contact zone, it required some retraining and we had different criteria for the contact obstacles. The A-frame was a running contact as her natural jump off point was in the contact zone and we trained for a complete stop in the contact zone on the dog walk and the teeter.

An interesting thing happened with Beckett. I had back trained the contact zone behaviour and I used the word "target" with a target dish for that behaviour. I didn't start using the obstacle name (frame, walk-it and teeter) until we were doing the complete obstacle. Shortly afterwards Beckett started to stop far short of the contact zone especially on the A-frame where he began to stay right at the top of the A-frame and the only way he would come down was to put his target or a treat down. I thought perhaps I had progressed too quickly with complete obstacle performance and started some additional back training. When I just asked him to "target" he would and when the target was in place, he would perform the full contact obstacle correctly but once the target was removed, he would again stop at the top of the A-frame or on the down ramp of the dog walk. The teeter wasn't as bad as his stopping point was four paws in the contact zone.

In class last Saturday, my instructor, Jeannie suggested making the target progressively smaller and not use the "target" command at all. So last night in my other agility class, Viv and I tried shaping the behaviour without the "target" command and by just waiting until he offered the "two on two off" contact behaviour. We started on the dog walk with the target in place at first. The first time, Becket stopped just as he started the down ramp of the dog walk but moved progressively down the ramp. Each time we repeated the obstacle, he moved further down the down ramp before stopping until finally he was coming right to the end of the dog walk. On the A-frame, it took quite a bit longer for him to come down and Viv and I had to move away from the frame and wait him out but in the end he was coming down from the top to his contact position. He still isn't driving to the contact position so that will be something we have to continue to work on.

I found it very interesting (and a bit frustrating) that he appeared to know what the "target" command was if that's all I asked him to do and knew the obstacle command as well but that using both commands caused him to stop where he was as soon as the "target" command was given. What goes through their minds is somewhat of a mystery to me. I hope we can repeat last night's obstacle performance and continue to "shape" the behaviour I want. Now if we could just learn to weave!! But that's another story.

Booming Times in the Office

2010-09-15T19:37:00.000-04:00

There's a new building going up right beside my work and since we face the construction site, its hard not to take some time to watch what's going on once in while. Last week we got the notice that they were going to begin to do some blasting which will continue until end November or early December. I brought my camera in to work this week and took a couple videos of them charging the holes and setting off the charges. It's rather interesting to see how close they can be to the actual explosion by using the blast mats which contain any of the fragmentation from the bedrock. What you see in the video happens three to five times a day, sometimes its a little more dramatic.

Definitely not as exciting as doing open detonations on a demolition range. It will be interesting, though, to watch the building go up beside us but there's no doubt that we'll be losing our view of the Gatineau Hills.

Beckett's Agility Fun Trial Debut

2010-09-10T10:52:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, I took Beckett to his first agility fun trial at Dogz, a training facility in the west end of Ottawa. We had trained there before so the location wasn't totally new to him. I decided before we went that I would try to run the complete courses (with treats provided at key locations) but if it proved too much for Beckett to handle we would just do short sequences. I also decided that we would not attempt the weaves at all but I didn't want to just run right by them. Fortunately in the Standard course, obstacles 3 and 4 (two jumps) were parallel to the weaves so I just did those two jumps a second time rather than run by the weaves. It was a good thing too, as it was 12 weaves that were set up on course and Beckett isn't even doing 6 weaves yet. We're getting there though.

It was beautiful agility weather, cloudy and cool with some sunny periods, although sometimes it was a tad warm when the sun was out which meant jackets on, jackets off. Tucker also came along as a spectator but I did take him over to the practice ring where he did a few jumps and tunnels for his favourite treat, chicken hot dogs. What am I saying Tucker's favourite treat is any FOOD!! Beckett also got to have some free play time with his best bud, Whistler, a sable Sheltie only 3 days older than Beckett.

In our first Standard run, I tried a false turn to get Beckett from the jumps to the tire, since we should have been doing the tire from the weaves, it made for a very awkward entry to the tire. The second time around, I did a front cross which worked so much better and put Beckett on a nice line for the tire and the next obstacle, a tunnel. We have to work on our contacts though, he likes to sit at the top of the A-frame now and usually stops way up on the down ramp of the dog walk but for a young fellow his teeter isn't bad.

In the Jumpers course, the first time around we did the Starters course and the second time we did the Advanced course. In the Starters course, he didn't get out to the second jump of a pin wheel and I wasn't in a good position, having tried a front cross, which put me behind him going up the field. When we ran the Advanced course, I didn't front cross but just stayed on his right side which worked much better. In his Advanced run, I wanted to try a hard false turn from a jump to a tunnel, unfortunately, there was another tunnel right there so in my mind I'm thinking "false turn, tunnel" so what did I do, but put him in the wrong tunnel. Even with the extra tunnel, he ran the course in 28.9 seconds and the standard course time for Minis was 47 seconds. I'm going to have to work on distance with that boy because when he gets going, I'll never keep up.

Some parts of the weekend were bittersweet though. Beckett looks so much like Ceilidh that there were times on the videos that it was her I saw. Two moments in particular stand out, in the first Starters course after running the course, we were practicing jumps to a tunnel with a rear cross and on the second attempt, Beckett refused the tunnel and began to spin and jump; it was classic Ceilidh. When I saw the video of the first Jumpers run, just the way Beckett sat on the start line and then sprung off the line, for the first few seconds I saw Ceilidh. At the beginning of the second Jumpers round it had started to rain but by the time it was Beckett's turn, the sun had come out again and there was a beautiful rainbow. I tried to take a picture of the rainbow but my camera batteries were running low. Luckily for me, Lyne had videoed a few seconds of the rainbow which I incorporated into my video on Beckett's debut. The video is long so if you don't have a fast internet connection, it will likely take quite a long time to download.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVl3msHlRq0

We are looking forward to our next fun trials, Krazy Kanines in October and Red Gate's in November and December. Maybe by then we'll try the weaves. Go Beckett Go!!

Family Adventures - Part Deux

2010-09-08T12:31:00.000-04:00

Well, I promised to continue the story of my family adventures with three of my sisters and two of my nieces. On Friday, 20 August, Karen, Juanita, Maureen, Jessica, Kayla and I went downtown to take a cruise on the Ottawa river. We took cruise on the Empress of Ottawa and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful day and sites from a perspective I had never seen before. Before we went on the cruise we had a few minutes to walk up to Parliament Hill. Jessica and Kayla had their picture taken with the Mounties, a very iconic Canadian symbol.

Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario The Eternal Flame
Chateau Laurier Hotel (where my Dad's reunion was being held) and the locks to the Rideau Canal.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization, the domed part of the facade was designed to represent a Haida Indian ceremonial mask.

At the Rideau River Falls

The Parliament Buildings with the rotunda of the Parliamentary Library.

After the boat cruise we had lunch at Darcy McGee's, a pub on the Sparks Street Mall. During lunch, Kayla kept us in stitches, like what do you say when a waitress asks if Pepsi's alright after you ask for Coke? You say, is Monopoly money okay?!?

We then took a stroll down the Sparks Street Mall. The Sparks Street Mall is an open air pedestrian mall, it used to be very vibrant but now could use some rejuvenation. After a bit of shopping it was time to head home.

I like this shot with Parliament Hill in the background, the street sign for Sparks Street and Maureen, Juanita, and Kayla in the shot. The next shot is just taken looking back up the Sparks Street Mall. There are always musicians on the Mall during the summer months. And what with a Scottish heritage, how ken ye nae love a piper?! The next shot of a sculpture of a bear eating a salmon, that I took just to see the spider webs! The final shot is of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the Honour Guard manned by Naval personnel during this the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Navy, although during a ceremony at the Cenotaph held for Air Force reunion that my Dad attended, the Naval personnel were replaced by Air Force personnel.

Dinner on Friday night was hosted by Juanita and Joe at their place. The evening ended as Jessica posted on Facebook, with an east coast kitchen party in the screen room.

Saturday was another shopping day. Maureen left, late morning, to head back to Kingston. I took Karen, Kayla, and Jessica to the Train Yards, an outdoor shopping centre, and to the Place d'Orleans Shopping Mall. I had Dad, Karen and Kayla over for supper as Joe and Juanita were attending a friend's wedding.

Sunday, was Dad, Karen and Kayla's last day in Ottawa. Joe took Dad and Karen to the Diefenbunker Museum in Carp while I took Kayla back to Place d'Orleans as a security tag had not been removed from a pair of jeans she bought. The Diefenbunker is an underground bunker designed to house the Canadian Government in the event of a nuclear war; it is now a museum to the Cold War. We had another wonderful dinner at Juanita and Joe's then it was back to my place. Dad, Karen and Kayla left my place on Monday morning extremely early, like at about 4:30am so that they would get back to Moncton early enough for Karen and Kayla to head back to PEI that same day. It was wonderful to have them up for a visit, hope it isn't so long before our next visit together. Perhaps Annette will be able to join us next time, so all of us sisters can have some more family adventures.

Family Adventures

2010-09-02T18:45:00.001-04:00

Since my Dad was coming up from Moncton New Brunswick for a military reunion, my sister Karen and her youngest daughter Kayla took the opportunity and came up with him for a visit to Ottawa. They arrived on the 17th of Aug about supper time after what my niece called an "uber" boring trip. The 17th of Aug marked the 25th wedding anniversary for my sister Juanita and her husband Joe so after a family dinner out they came over to my place for dessert.

After they opened a few gifts, we all enjoyed cake and coffee.

Karen and Kayla stayed at my place while my Dad stayed over at Juanita and Joe's.

The next day, Karen, Kayla, my niece Jessica and I went down to the Byward Market to do some shopping (mostly just window shopping) but a few purchases were made.

We had lunch at Zak's Diner, home of the best milkshakes in Ottawa, if you ever have a craving for one.

After lunch we headed up to the Rideau Centre so that Kayla could hit all the stores she can't shop at on Prince Edward Island. The store she especially wanted to go to was LuLulemon, where she bought herself a pink hoody sweater.

After some wishful thinking in the Apple store, we headed back to Juanita and Joe's for supper.

On Thursday, my Dad headed down to the Chateau Laurier for his reunion. Karen and I prepared for a BBQ supper as everyone coming over to my place for dinner. My sister Maureen and her daughter Caitlin came up from Kingston. Caitlin was up from New Brunswick along with a friend for a week long visit. It was really nice to have so many of us together. But to Juanita and Joe's surprise, I had invited a few of their friends to join us after supper to celebrate their anniversary.

Juanita almost ruined it by working late so I was beginning to wonder if we'd even finish dinner before the guests began to arrive. All of the food trays that Karen and I prepared during the day were hidden at my neighbour, Julie's place so that no suspicions were aroused.

The evening turned out very well and everyone especially enjoyed the scrapbook Joe's sister Yvette had sent to them as a remembrance of their first 25 years together.

I can't believe I just blogged about something other than my dogs, amazing!! Anyway, stay tuned for Family Adventures Part II and our girls' day out cruising the Ottawa River and trolling the Sparks Street Mall.

Camping with Dogs

2010-08-23T14:40:00.000-04:00

On the mid-August weekend, some agility friends, my sister and brother-in-law and I went camping with our dogs. We went to Sharbot Lake Provincial Park which is located about 2 hours from Ottawa. There were eight humans and 10 dogs. When the first group of us arrived Friday, it was a beautiful sunny day but not too hot. The weather the rest of the weekend wasn't perfect. It was cloudy and windy on Saturday but at least it didn't rain. On Saturday night we had a very noisy thunderstorm but luckily we got very little rain and were able to have a hot breakfast and pack up before the rain started on Sunday. So really, it was good weather to be camping with dogs!!

We had decided to reserve most all of the campsites on dead-end road so that we would have privacy in our area. That meant almost all of us had our own campsite and we also had a group site where we had our evening bonfires. I think next time we won't get as many sites, as most sites even if they said they were only for one tent would probably fit two.

This was Beckett's first camping trip and he handled it like a pro, even getting tangled in the picnic table many, many times a day so his Momma wouldn't get bored. Both he and Tucker slept well, even during the thunderstorm and even with squirrels in our campsite. Dogs running through the site after squirrels was another story and did cause quite a commotion.

Beckett didn't mind when I put him chest deep in water but he showed no inclination to go swimming even when the other dogs were splashing around retrieving toys. I'm thinking I should buy him a life jacket and see if that changes his opinion of water.

Tucker, an old hand at camping, enjoyed laying around the campsite and mooching food from us at the picnic table. But because of his age and hyperlipidism we didn't go for any long hikes, just short walks in the camp ground.

It was the first time that I had really been camping in years but now that I know that it's possible to get campsites in some of the parks around here on short notice, I will likely do a few more weekend camping trips next year. If we're not doing agility that is!!

I took a couple video clips of the other dogs swimming and I've attached the video here. The other dogs all seemed to be having so much fun in the water. It's my only regret about Shelties is that they don't enjoy swimming; my second Sheltie, Gryffon loved to play in water but not swimming.

Can't wait for next year's outing but maybe not at Sharbot Lake, the proximity of the highway made it noisy at night. Overall though, it was a great weekend of relaxation with the pups and friends.

On the Rocks

2010-08-05T21:08:00.000-04:00

Last week, I took the dogs, with me to visit my parents. No, we did not go to Newfoundland, which is also known as "The Rock" but to Moncton, New Brunswick.

But while I was there, I visited "Hopewell Rocks" on the Bay of Fundy with Tucker and Beckett. It's the site of some of the largest tides in the world. It's in the running to be one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world, the only other site in North America in the running is the Grand Canyon. Hopewell Rocks is very dog friendly, they are allowed on the trails and down on the ocean floor, the only places that they are not allowed is in the buildings (but I did take them into the pit toilets, didn't think anyone would mind that). I took the trail down to the stairs to the Flower Pots but there also is a shuttle. Not sure if the dogs are allowed on the shuttle although when I paid for my admission, they asked me if I wanted shuttle tickets and obviously they had seen the dogs. You do have to sign saying that you have read their dog policy and leashes can be no more than 6 ft long.

I planned our trip to arrive just after low tide; which was on the day we went at 8:45 in the morning. You can walk on the ocean floor some 3 hours before low tide and up to 3 hours afterwards. At high tide, you can take a kayak tour around these flower pots as they are called.

Tucker did really well on our little excursion. It was quite a long walk for him. The trail down to the stairs is about 900 meters and then there are the stairs which are open metal stairs with the last two flights of stairs having metal grate steps. I thought the dogs would have a hard time going up but it was actually going down where they needed a bit of coaxing since they could see the ground below, I think they were a bit nervous.

We spent about an hour exploring and then headed back up the stairs. At the top, we sat on the deck of the viewing platform to give Tucker a little break, one that both Beckett and I enjoyed too. Tucker was really tired out by the time we got back up to the top, he headed for some bushes and plunked himself down.

I also took Beckett to Cape Jourimain. It's a nature and intepretive centre just where the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island starts in New Brunswick. My sister Karen, her two daughters Alyssa and Kayla and a friend Megan came over on the shuttle from the Island and, after a picnic lunch, we spent the day exploring the beach.

When Beckett found a dead crab on the beach, I think he thought it was alive from the way he snuck up on it so tentatively. He also ran into the ocean chasing the little waves. He ran right in and when the water got a little deep he got a bit of a surprise having his feet lifted off the bottom. He stood there for a few seconds and then took a few paddles to get back where he could walk again. His first swimming lesson!

The rest of the week at home was spent visiting with my Mum and Dad. My Mum lives in a Nursing Home and all the residents are very happy to see the dogs. I even did a little agility demo for my Mum and some of the residents and the activity director asked if we would do one next year that all the residents could see. Maybe by then Beckett will be doing weaves!!

It was a good week at home.

Beckett Jumping Fool

2010-07-13T20:24:00.000-04:00

My young bi-black Beckett was a year old on June 16th. I'm not the greatest dog handler or trainer but in my opinion he seems to be catching on to agility nicely. We started with a puppy seminar this past winter and I had him doing some flatwork and jumps without a bar in the basement until the weather was nice enough to go outside. During that time we also were taking Basic Obedience, I started to notice then that he would pick up things quickly; exercises we barely had a chance to practice one lesson to the next, he still seemed to improve his skill level and understanding by the next class.

We started with a Beginner Agility class and a Two by Two weave class in May. Last week we began the Advanced I class but the instructor moved Beckett up to the Advanced II class. It is an advantage to have most of the equipment in your backyard and to already have an understanding of handling required of the human member of the team. I have been doing a lot of basic jumping skills with only one or two jumps, wraps, lead-outs, go, here, etc. I also back trained the target of the contact obstacles but have to take a step backwards and refresh that skill as right now Beckett seems to have forgotten or lost that part of the contact work.

I was really surprised that he nearly taught himself the teeter. I was back training the teeter and had the teeter lowered and the up end on a small patio table when he started jumping up on the middle of the teeter and running down himself. So I promptly took the table away and made him go up from the end, he showed no fear whatsoever. My teeter is still lowered somewhat but Beckett has done full height teeters at two different locations so he seems to have acquired that skill easily. But as I said we still have to work on the independent target part again.

Two by Two Weaves however have been another story. He doesn't seem to be interested in them at all and rather than getting much better has been getting worse. We had difficulty moving from the first set of two poles and then once we had moved on to two sets of two poles he seemed to do fine. But then all of a sudden he was by passing the first two poles and just doing the second set so it was back to just two poles. We are going try channel weaves and see how he does with those and we'll keep on trying with the two by twos as it is supposed to make the entry a better skill in the long run.

I don't plan to trial with Beckett until he's nearly two so we have lots of time to work on those weaves and other skills. So for right now, he's just my Jumping Fool!!

Tucker - Travelling On

2010-07-02T09:14:00.000-04:00

On Monday, I got the results of Tucker's triglyceride tests; there was no change from three weeks ago. The vet wanted to do a cholesterol test but when I asked why, it was just to see if there had been any change in those levels as a result of being on a low-fat diet. Since Tucker has really only been on the low-fat diet for two weeks (I took one week to convert him over from his old food) and since there really is no treatment, other than diet for hyperlipidism, I decided not to have any more blood tests done at this time. In mid to late September, I'll have the triglyceride and cholesterol tests repeated to make sure his levels are, if not lower, are at least remaining steady. The vet said that it is likely that he is predisposed genetically to having higher cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

We've cut out nearly all of the people food, he still gets two bites of my toast in the mornings and some vegetables and a little meat once in a while. For treats, he's getting sweet potato/duck treats and carrots. So I am also hoping that he will lose some weight, which certainly couldn't hurt.

I have noticed that he has a little more energy and that he has less difficulty laying down and getting up so perhaps even though the blood tests didn't show any change, there has been some improvement. I'm hopeful that if he continues to improve that maybe in the fall he can do some agility trials at least Jumpers.

Tucker's Travels

2010-06-11T20:37:00.000-04:00

All the while I was dealing with Ceilidh and her cancer, my older Sheltie Tucker was also having some medical issues. At his annual checkup, my regular vet recommended that he should have his teeth cleaned and two teeth pulled. Since we had just completed Ceilidh's surgery and were starting chemotherapy, I opted to wait awhile to have the work done. In late April, I took Tucker in for the pre-op blood work necessary because of his age to go forward with the dental work. The results showed that his liver enzymes were elevated and his cholesterol very high. We then began a series of blood tests to find out if he had either Cushing's Disease or Hypothyroidism. The test for Cushing's came back slightly abover the normal range but it wasn't high enough to be significant. The thryoid panel came back normal. So now he is on a low fat diet to see if we can get his cholesterol down. We will have the triglyceride tests done again at the end of the month to see if the diet has been effective. If it hasn't, we'll have to look at an ultra low-fat diet or home-cooked diet. The very high cholesterol is very likely the reason he is so lethargic. So for now, it is a low fat diet, no people food (except for two bites of my toast at breakfast) and only sweet potato and duck or carrots for treats. I certainly hope the diet works for him as I have read that medications designed to reduce cholesterol in people are only used as a last resort for dogs since one of the side effects is liver toxicity.

Ceilidh's Journey - The Last Post

2010-06-02T18:10:00.001-04:00

Kelbren Ceilidh Everlasting - 21 Jan 2003 to 26 May 2010

On 26 May 2010, I let my little princess go to Rainbow Bridge. We had our surgical consult on 14 May but as Ceilidh had not been eating well, Dr Liptak wanted to wait until she was eating better before putting her through the additional stress of surgery. Things didn't get better, Ceilidh hardly ate anything and on the Friday evening before the Victoria Day long weekend, she was barely drinking and having dry heaves. I contacted Dr Bravo's Vet tech, Donna Dempsie, who thought that I should bring Ceilidh into see the emergency vet at Alta Vista as she was likely getting dehydrated. Ceilidh stayed at Alta Vista until Sunday afternoon on fluid therapy and getting all of her medications by injection. I picked her up expecting her to have a little more energy but she was still very listless, although she was no longer retching. Monday, all I could get her to eat was MacDonald's French fries and a little chicken. I asked my sister to make arrangements to come with me on Wed to let her go. On Tues morning, Ceilidh was more alert and had breakfast with us, peanut butter and jam on toast. I debated whether or not I should call Alta Vista to make the appointment to let her go. I called later that morning and Donna told me that if for any reason I wanted to cancel not to hesitate. Tuesday evening, Tucker and Ceilidh laid by the fireplace together. I had never seen them that close; I think Tucker knew what was about to happen. Wed morning, Ceilidh again ate peanut butter and jam on toast but she laid by the fireplace and I had to bring it over to her. My sister arrived about 9:30 am, Ceilidh tried to get up and couldn't, when I helped her up, she couldn't stand. Her eyes were so tired and filled with dismay. At Alta Vista, they made the process very gentle. Ceilidh rested on my lap on a comfortable sofa and when we were ready, Dr Bravo gave her the injection to release her from the fight against this terrible disease. I received the call from Alta Vista today that her urn is back so later this week, probably Friday evening, Ceilidh will be home with me once again.

Ceilidh's Journey - Week 14

2010-05-18T15:15:00.000-04:00

Two weeks ago, we were over the moon when Ceilidh and I ran one of her best runs ever and it was in Snooker, no less. It felt almost like her first Masters Jumpers Q where I felt we were connected by an invisible band while at the same time having the feeling I was watching the run a split second before it happened. It was a really cool feeling that I never told anyone about for months, thinking they might think I was crazy. I've run every run since then to have that feeling of being completely at one with my canine partner. This Snooker run at Morning Star was almost like that, there were a couple of moments when I thought she was going to spin in front of a tunnel, but for the most part we were totally in sync with each other. We finished our opening and the close all within time, crossing the finish line at just over 57 seconds, a Qualifying score and first place. This was Ceilidh's second Masters Snooker. Since returning to agility after her surgery in Jan, she has given me some wonderful memories, her second Masters Standard, her first Masters Gamblers, her first Masters Team and that beautiful Snooker run. She is only 6 qualifying scores from her Agility Trial Champion Title.

Last Sunday we were at Dream Fields, no Q's but Ceilidh still enjoyed some wonderful moments on course. But late Sunday night, I noticed her licking herself and found what I thought was another tumour in her groin area. I was flying out to Washington D.C. the next day so I could do nothing about it until my return. On Friday afternoon, I was able to get her back into see Dr Bravo at Alta Vista. It was worse than a tumour, the swelling I felt was a lymph node; the cancer is now in her lymph system. Dr Bravo recommended surgery to remove the lymph node and to start her on the other chemotherapy. Tomorrow, 19 May 2010, we see Dr Liptak for a surgical consult, if I go ahead with surgery, Ceilidh will have the lymph node removed on Thursday, 20 May 2010 and then will begin another round of chemo ten days later.

I'm not sure whether I should put her through all of this. I thought once we stopped the Palladia, her appetite would get better. It's gotten worse, yesterday and today all I could get her to eat was ice cream, some white bread, and baked beans, she won't even eat the highly favoured chicken hot dogs something she's always wanted even with all the pills I've stuffed in them.

I withdrew her from Ontario Regionals which are being held two weeks from now as well as from the All Dogs trial in June. I had hoped to get her Masters Agility Dog title but now it seems as that is not to be; my wonderful crazy Ceilidh has become an old tired girl in front of my eyes.

And on top of dealing with Ceilidh, my older Sheltie Tucker was in to the vet's office four times today, 18 May 2010, for blood tests for hypothyroidism and Cushings. The results of those tests will be in tomorrow, hopefully we will get some good news there.

Sometimes life is just cruel.

Ceilidh's Journey - Week 10

2010-04-20T21:01:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow, 21 Apr 2010 will mark 3 months since Ceilidh's surgery to remove a mast cell tumour from her left hind inner thigh. Not a great anniversary to recall but so far she is doing well, although she has some issues with the medications including some diarrhea, some appetite changes and at times seems very fatigued.

Last Thursday 15 Apr 2010, we went to see Dr Beltran, a holistic vet at Blair Animal Hospital. A 90 minute consult, that was very overwhelming. He took a complete history of any medical problems she has had, did a complete physical and an acupressure physical. He also did a mini-Darkfield, a live blood analysis. He said that she was quite strong except for some stress in her large bowel. The Darkfield test indicated that she had eaten and she hadn't so he thought perhaps she wasn't metabolizing food efficiently.

He put her on a vitamin supplement, L-glutamine and arginine for her GI tract . He also gave us HMF powder, a probiotic, which is supposed to help with the diarrhea. The diet that was recommended was vegetarian (root vegetables) with high quality protein preferably turkey, lamb or fish ( but no tuna or tilapia). Ceilidh also got a B12 vitamin shot.

Dr Beltran also asked me, if and when I'm comfortable to talk to Dr Bravo, our veterinary oncologist about taking her off prednisone and possibly reducing the chemo drug, Palladia. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with that, I wanted the holistic treatment to complement the standard protocol but not to replace it. If Ceilidh has severe side effects to the drugs, I would consider just holistic treatment.

But despite everything, she still seems happy and, for the most part, very energetic especially in the agility ring. I sent in her entry for the 2010 Ontario Agility Regionals this week. I only entered her in the warm-up games and the Regional events. I don't want her to be overly stressed by the event. She ran well this past weekend despite having some diarrhea. We didn't get any Q's but had a good Jumpers run with only 5 faults and two good openings to her Gambles.

Last weekend, she was in five events and had a wonderful opening in the Gamblers getting 36 points including the mini Gamble which was a teeter out to a tunnel followed by the chute. She also got her first All Level Team Q with a Golden named Tessa. She also had a great time jumping off the teeter in Standards which came before the Gamblers event.

Hopefully the next month will see her remain happy and healthly. Enjoy every day, life is just too short.

Ceilidh's Journey - Week 9

2010-04-09T20:00:00.000-04:00

I missed updating Ceilidh's Journey last week as I was home for Easter visiting with my parents. All of my dogs stayed with my sister. I am so blessed to have family and friends that will help out with my dogs. I know, especially now, that it is a big responsability to accept.

Ceilidh had her two month recheck today. She has lost a kilogram (2 pounds) since January. She weighed 9.6 kgs (about 20 lbs) in Jan and now weighs 8.6 kgs (about 18 lbs). So even though her blood work came back normal, that weight loss is a concern. Ceilidh's next recheck with Dr Bravo will be in three months unless the weight loss continues.

We have an agility trial tomorrow . Ceilidh is entered in five events but we'll see how things progress during the day as she seems quite tired today and I don't want her to over do things. Not sure now if we will enter Regionals. It will depend on how things go tomorrow.

We have our appointment with the holistic vet on Thursday, 15 Apr 2010. I hope he'll be able to give us a diet and supplements that will support her immune system and protect her gastro-intestinal system.