Brita and the Herding Trial

She wasn’t herself during the practice the day before the trial and seemed to want to leave the pen and not herd so I put in an emergency call to Marilyn:

Me: tell her I know she can do the work and there will only be 3 sheep tomorrow.
Marilyn: is the trial at the same place you were today?
Me: yes.
Marilyn: she's showing me a hill – is it on a hill?
Me: there's a hill behind it and a road on top of the hill.
Marilyn: she's afraid that more sheep will come down the hill and surprise her.
Marilyn: she's telling me she can handle more than 3 sheep but doesn't want to be surprised.
Marilyn: is it a busy road
Me: Yes - Highway 10
Marilyn: I told her there were cars on the road and they would stay there.
Marilyn: she wants you to show her the top of the hill again tomorrow.
Me: No problem
Marilyn: did you show her today?
Me: yes we walked to a road under the highway and sat for a bit.
Me: tell her Bonnie's going to work her tomorrow.
Marilyn: she said good, she likes Bonnie. She said Bonnie's smart and explains everything very clearly. Not that you don't she said but Bonnie's really smart. You're fun.

Me: anything else she wants to tell me?
Marilyn: she said she wants water tomorrow.
Me: oh my gosh… she didn't have any today right away and it wasn't until later that I gave her some.
Marilyn: Ohhhh.. that's scary when that happens… lol

After the trial - Me: so.... she pulled it off and has her first leg of an HT. Is this what the hill looked like? (photo sent) At first she didn't want to herd and actually came to the judge as if to say I'll just stand by this lady thank you. Then Bonnie dropped the stick that's used, called her out and let her chase the sheep and then started directing her to the cones. The whole thing took less than 3 minutes and you are allowed 10 min. Behind where Bonnie is standing is more open space and I parked there overlooking the field so that's what she was watching all day and I took her to the other side of the road to show her there were no sheep.

Marilyn: That is SO weird! That's exactly what the hill looked like from her perspective! When you told me last night that it was by the side of the freeway, I was skeptical, because my impression of what the hill looked like and what a hill on the side of the highway would look like to me are two different things, but now that I see the pictures that's exactly what it looked like!

It is not the critic who counts

It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles,
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming;
but who does actually strive to do the deeds;
who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat.

~Theodore Roosevelt

Planting Flowers….

…..or… how to have a ton of fun with your dogs!

With a gift certificate for my birthday and Mother's Day from Candace and her family,  I bought some perennials for the yard. 

After deciding to clean out what used to be a sand box the fun began.  Brita was a 7 month old puppy who was being raised up by Teddy who taught her how to be a mudder and proud of it..  Olivia, Kobie and Ari were the 3 dogs who loved to play, especially Ari and Kobie who were often chasing after critters in the woods

Post script on June 1, 2011.  ......This adventure with the flowers had a lasting affect on the dogs.  When Ari talked to Marilyn, he showed her a picture of a fire in a firepit which was a puzzle to Marilyn until I showed her the picture here.  ......When Kobie spoke to Marilyn after she crossed, she told Marilyn to tell me to be sure to plant flowers.

 

 

 

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Brita’s First Michael Ellis Seminar

 

Brita was about six months old when she participated in her first Michael Ellis seminar and, of course, had a blast.

   

Reprinted from Donna Matey’s website, Banner Dogs, on January 10, 2009

Banner Dogs has enjoyed hosting seminars with Michael Ellis since January, 2005. With Michael's School for Dog Trainers grand opening in October, 2009, in Fairfield, California, this may be one of the last times to train with Michael in the Midwest.

If you have participated in our previous seminars, you know what a talented dog trainer, teacher and coach Michael is. For those who have not yet taken the opportunity to work with him, and would like more information about Michael and his training methods, check out his bio and some introductory video clips.

Kobie - Pancreatic Insufficiency

(written in May of 2011)

Kobie was diagnosed with Pancreatic Insufficiency in 2007.  She had lost weight and was uncontrollably hungry all the time.  For the rest of her life any food I prepared for her was supposed to have pancreatic enzymes soaked in to it. I specifically state food that “I” prepared because she was

(1) quite the hunter and
(2) quite the food thief.

 In the yard she would always be chasing after critters and once she and Ari shared a rabbit (I left the picture).  Also one year she discovered the PEAR tree!  I think that year she was addicted to sugar!

Of course, there were no enzymes on the outdoor food and in addition there were no enzymes on some food she had in the house such as eggs she stole by the dozen, numerous “to go” boxes (brought home for me), and then there was the entire pot of a dozen brats that was cooking on the stove and the spaghetti I had prepared for the rare dinner guest!  You get the picture.

It is speculated that she may not have gotten enough nutrients from her food because of EPI resulting in Osteoporosis.  This would have weakened her bones to the point that the humerus bone split when she slammed into the wall.

We’ll never know for sure but one thing is certain and that is that she struggled with EPI always being hungry and sometimes having trouble eating the food with the enzymes. It’s not a disease that any innocent dog should have and it’s sad when one does. 

Click here for info about Pancreatic Insufficiency

Click here for info about  EPI in Dogs

 
One of Kobie’s favorite spots was by the bird cage. 
I used to say that Joshua was a food source for Kobie because he would feed her!

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You Almost Died You Know!

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..............after he almost died from an Addisonian Crisis how are you feeling?
*******pretty good…muscle ache between shoulder blade – maybe stress – maybe not stress

do you feel well enough to work?

*******Yes…doesn’t like the surprises like people coming from behind – this is disturbing to him.  Maybe too much pressure.  He likes what he can see.  He knows what to expect because it’s the regular guys…. when it’s a strange helper it bugs him.  He likes working in defense.


do you know how close you came to not being here?

******yes he does – at one point he really zoned and was balancing – he was very aware and so on the edge that he had no strong opinion. He is glad to be back and is excited about the working again. He’s sorry he stressed me out and when asked what he likes he answered being outside and being with girls.


I’m thinking about getting a girl puppy to train so when you can’t trial anymore we can still go and you can get fun bites…. What would you think about that? And a girl so you could hang out together.

******* A new puppy should be a girl and he could teach her to work very well. (I said bad things too like chasing the bus) and he said he can’t help it if she learns those things and that’s not bad anyway.

Addison's Disease (Ari) - 2007

Ari started having trouble getting up in the morning January of 2007. The first diagnosis was Lumbar Stenosis, then mid January he was diagnosed with Anaplasmosis, a tick related disease. Then a few weeks later he was not eating well and one morning I woke up and he was in a coma.

After I rushed him to the vet where he was given a 50/50 chance, I learned more than I ever wanted to about an Addisonian Crisis. He slowly came out of it and several days later came home for the weekend. The next week, no eating again and blood tests revealed that his liver numbers were 10x normal. More IVs. 
Read more about Addison’s here:   Addison's Disease

He now has to get a monthly Percorten shot and low doses of Prednisone to keep him going. Since then he stiffened up – Anaplasmosis again so once more being treated for that. In addition, he is borderline Pancreatic Insufficient and gets enzymes on his food and has some developed Spondylosis.

Ari aged overnight but his fun loving attitude never waivered. He still (September 2008) chases the school bus and keeps the yard free from critters. His Percortin shots have extended to 45 days apart and he seems to do well on 2.5 mg. of Prednisone daily.

During his Crisis he may have actually crossed over but returned because as I was driving him to Great Lakes Vet, THREE large deer crossed in front of me before my first turn. I turned the corner and again they crossed in front of me. It seemed a little weird at the time because they were so big and they didn't really hurry and I had to stop. After researching it I found this written:

The DEER represents entrance into the spirit world. Perhaps the symbol of the deer was used to represent the fleeting life review which occurs there shortly after arrival in the spirit world according to recent literature on near-death experiences.

When I talked to Marilyn Tokach, Animal Communicator, she had a very hard time connecting with Ari which was unusual but when she did, he told her it could go either way and was ok with whatever turned out. Because I'm a true dog lover, I told him that it was NOT ok and that he had more to do in THIS world!