Wordless Wednesday - Happy Burns Day

 

 

Walktober

On Sunday, we joined a Sheltie Walk organized by local members of the FB group Sheltie Lovers of Ontario. It's the third time that local area Sheltie owners have had a walk, but this was the first time I could join them.

I worried about what Teddy would do as he is reactive to other dogs on our normal walks, but he has been good at agility trials. Well, I needn't have worried he was just fine even with all the over excited young dogs and puppies. 

Liam wasn't the only big Sheltie in the group. There was a blue merle named Wilbur, who I think might have been a bit taller.  Liam and Wilbur had a good game of chase when we let them off leash. 

Since it was so close to Halloween, most dogs had costumes on. I forgot Liam's devil horns, but he fit in well with three bi black Sheltie Draculas. Teddy went as a wizard. 

We did more socializing than we did walking but, in the end, we did walk around the large field at the opening of the park.

It was the largest Sheltie meet up they've had so far with 17 Shelties. Lots of sables, quite a few bi blacks and merles but only one tri colour Sheltie. I hope there's another walk over the winter, perhaps a little closer to home. This was a 50-minute drive to the west end of Ottawa. 

It was fun to meet people and their dogs that you've only seen on Facebook.

Holiday Cards

So we sent out all our Christmas cards, so now I can let people see the designs I selected.

The first card we used for a Sheltie card exchange so I decided that there would be no picture of me on the card.  The second card was for family and close friends so I used the shot of all three of us. 

It's fun playing with all the designs that are available. The price isn't too bad but I wish postage was cheaper as it does get expensive to send out the cards especially the international ones.  I do like receiving cards as well but not many people send cards any more, that's why I joined the Sheltie card exchange last year.

Wordless Wednesday

Guess who?

Changes

Well, there are some big changes this year to the agility scene in our area. The biggest change is the closure of Red Gate as a venue that you can rent for personal practice time or a location to host seminars.

Red Gate also hosted some of the best fun matches and had a wonderful birthday party open house every year.  Although the fun matches were held over the winter months and it wasn't always the warmest place to be even with the propane heaters, the camaraderie always kept you warm. The Saturday fun matches ended with dinner at a local restaurant for those who wanted to attend which was a great chance to get to know people outside of an agility setting.

Red Gate will still be there but the owners have decided to expand their livestock business and need the room that the arena provides for an expanded flock of sheep.   They also have alpaca, geese, peacocks and chickens.

So today at what was our last practice at Red Gate, we let the Sheltie boys have a little play time before we did our agility practice; who knows when they'll all get to run like this again.  Probably not until the summer when we are down east again.

Sheltie Palooza

We have been lucky to have Red Gate as place to go and practice and we're still lucky in this area to have other venues available to us. Change is a part of life and we'll continue to play in the agility ring but just not at Red Gate any more. Next week, we'll see if the practice helped at all as Beckett has his first trial of 2013. 

Ise a Big Boy Now!

Hello eberyone, is me again, Beckett. My Mums lettin me write the blog today cuz Ise a big boy now. Is my third birday today and Mums says thats means Ise all growed up, mentally as well as fisicklly. Mums now calls me the yung man.

Beckett and his brothers Tucker and Keltic

Mums gots me a new leash for gility for my birday gift, cuz the slip lead gets cots in my hair. Don't cha think I'll look good in red? The leash wuz hand made by a lady just for me, Mums picked out the colours and the ribbon.

Agility leash by Lindsey

Ise gettin used to habin a little brudder around. Hes not as much of a bother as I thaught he miht be, xsept when he steel my frisbee. Weese startin to play bitey face as Reilly and Denny calls it; Mums calls it joustin and weese had zoomies together a couple of times. Weese eben started to wrestle a bit. Of coarse, Ise gotta let Keltic boy win as hes now da baby of the famlee.

A good game of jousting

Ise goin to the Gility Regional Champ in Ship, next weekend. Ise went last year but only competed in sum pre-events. Dis year, Ise be doin the hole thing. Wish me luck.

Beckett - Regionals 2011

Lots of luv,

Beckett

Beckett's Surprise

Well, I said the other day that we had a surprise.  I took Beckett on a long drive yesterday. It was a nice day, sunny but cool, good driving weather. The traffic was light so we made good time to our destination.  We went to a farm in Tweed that Beckett's breeder now owns to pick a new little brother. I'm not sure Beckett was thrilled with the whole situation. He played shy while at the breeders and wasn't much interested in the puppy when we stopped at a picnic site on the way home.

But he's here to stay, so this is our first post about Triadic's Keltic LivinontheEdge, Keltic will be his call name. We hope the CKC will accept the registered name, if not we'll make it simpler and just go with Keltic Edge. Keltic's grandfather on both sides is Bach's Razor's Edge. Keltic and his brothers were born on 17 Mar 2012, St Patrick's Day. He had three brothers, two sable and one tri-colour but the tri boy only lived a few days.

Keltic's First Day at home

Tucker was not too impressed although he reminds me a lot of Tucker at that age.  Beckett is already showing signs of interest but Keltic is two weeks younger than Beckett was when I got him, so I'm not sure Keltic's really ready to play with the big kids yet, although he tries. I'll give him a couple weeks to settle in and find his way into the pack before we let him roughhouse any with Beckett.

He's been very brave taking everything in stride yesterday; it always amazes me how you can take them away from everything they've known and, if they are loved and fed, they accept it all so quickly. He ate well, did most of his business in the back yard and slept through the night without too much crying; in fact it was Tucker who got us up this morning. A good start to his new life.

Welcome home, Keltic boy.

Masters Jumpers Dog of Canada

Beckett was the man this weekend. We only got one Q but we got the one that counted: Masters Jumpers. That was his fourth Masters Jumpers Q which gives him the title Masters Jumpers Dog of Canada (MJDC).

He had an excellent run in Steeplechase but his Mum blew it for him. I had planned to rear cross or front cross the weaves as there was just one last obstacle, a jump after the weaves but on the other side. As I walked the course, I didn't think I could get the front cross in so I decided to rear cross since weaves are judged at Starters level and we would only lose time if he popped out. Well, what did I do but stayed on the off side of the weaves and tried to get Beckett to turn out away from me for the jump. He went by the plane of the jump and back-jumped before taking it. He's fast but not fast enough to make up 10 faults.

Standards were the same old story, one elimination and one five fault Standard. Oh well, we are bound to get there sometime. Gambles, well, we had good openings and he did do the first obstacle of each Gamble but he just won't send out, something to practice on now that our equipment is outside.

Beckett's Fourth Masters Jumpers Q

In his Jumpers run, I couldn't believe he was moving so fast that he nearly took the decoy jump back in the corner. I had to call him off hard, someone said it was good call-off and I recalled Susan Garrett saying, there's no such thing as a good call-off. It means you didn't handle it properly. Then we very nearly had a bobble between obstacle 13 and 14 but I got him back on track before he faulted. I wasn't even sure of that until I was told that the judge had not called any faults. The Standard course time for mini dogs was 44 seconds and Beckett ran it in a time of 35.88 seconds, 4.43 yards per second. Not as fast as last weekend at AARF, but if you consider the extra yardage he did maybe it was about the same.

Beckett just got his last Advanced Jumpers in Nov 2011 and has only been in five trials at the Masters level, so I'm really proud of him for getting the Masters title.

Master Jumpers was Ceilidh's first Masters title too, maybe he did it for her. I'd like to think so.

I Started

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!!!

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!!!

Snookered

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.

Wordless Wednesday

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

Wordless Wednesday

Fun Trial Advanced Standard



Wordless Wednesday

Photo by Lisa

Tucker's Travels

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.

Halloween Humiliation???



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

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!!