My Little "CHIC" a dee

The OFA website now has Trace's PRA test results listed and today I received his official CERF paperwork. According to the CERF website, that info should appear on the OFA website within 30 days and then...drum roll please...Trace will have his CHIC certification! One more item checked off the "Trace List". Later this month he'll get his first day of herding and after Collie puppies are gone we'll be back to tackle rally and obedience. So many things to do, so little time....
Until next time...

Chain Link and other building thoughts

Well not really, I'm very happy about all the chain link stuff out by the garage right now. I started taking down the kennel runs that we put in, July 08. They've served their purpose but it's time to upgrade. 2 winters including all the snow and wind we had this past winter really took it's toll on the welded wire and t-posts. And of course there are major upgrades being put in place for inside the "kennel" aka garage.
I've been spending some time thinking about the best usage of what I have now in order to keep what I need to get down to the bare minimum. I think 4 - 10 foot sections and 2 - 6 ft gates will be enough to give me what I need. What I have currently is going to become the cardigan kennels which I'll set up inside the existing dog yard. They won't have indoor/outdoor runs, only covered tops and dog houses, but it's not like they are out in inclement weather anyway. :-) I might have to purchase one more 6x6 panel to finish it all off, not sure yet. It's kind of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle.
Along with that I have a really cool idea for the front porch that only needs 2 more sections of lattice, a few 2 x 4's and a bucket of white exterior paint. And I'm off to Menard's on my Friday lunch break to pick up the lumber, etc for the whelping box.
I can see it now.. power tools and wood, and the cell phone hotline to Jean so she can talk me thru all these projects. Good thing she understands it when I say "the whatchajigit doesn't fit into the thingamajig." Gotta love great friends!
Until next time...

Gates and such

I picked up several different sized gates and a 6 x 6 kennel panel today thanks to Robin! The gates are all in the back of the TB and the panel's on the top. Fingers crossed that it makes it all the way to Manchester without blowing off. I am optomistic, after all it's either going to stay on or fall off. :-)
Robin also has quite a bit of chain link fence that I will attempt to get this weekend. That could be an adventure, I'm not sure how much rolled up chain link I can lift by myself. Perhaps I'd better buy a large tube of Ben Gay. Except I'll probably be too sore to use it. Hahahaha
Jean and Don put together several kennel panels for inside the garage and also 2 - 6x6 panels, so now with the gates I just need to figure out configuration goes together in the garage and what I'll have left to work with. Still pondering getting that 10x10x6 kennel from Norby's. I need to find out if they deliver, because I think I might have problems strapping THOSE to the top of the TB! ;-)
Until next time...

THE LATEST AND GREATEST FROM WATERLOO

This day did not start off well at all. First of all at 4:30 am it was raining, ugh, more wet dogs. And a cold wind. I dug out my winter coat and gloves again. Sahra and I headed out a bit before 6 a.m. and got oh about 100 feet from the end of my driveway. The serpentine belt on her van came off, thankfully it didn't break, just came off. We were back in the house at 6:10 a.m. I have simply the greatest landlords in the world and after waiting until a reasonable and respectful 8:30 a.m. time, I called and Rick came out and put it back on. Between 6:30 and 8:30 Jean, Sahra and I took a quick run into Manchester and had a hugely yummy breakfast at the local eatery.
Unfortunately, we weren't able to get back on the road until after 9:30 and by then it was too late for Sahra and Camille in Open, Sahra and Bryce in Rally Advanced and Sahra and Calvin in Smooth Collies. Basically, her day would have tanked totally if the belt had actually broken, but it was salvagable even without the chance at some more Q's and points. While we were all in transit, getting there and transitioning dogs, alot happened. Mary and Beyla earned her first Open leg, Mac got a 3rd in Open Juniors, Mary and Lucy missed a Q in utility by a glove retrieval (ooohhh so close!) and Amy and Lyra had WB in Rough Collies! Big congrats to Amy, Mary, Beyla and Lyra, as well as Mac for getting the MOJO going this a.m.!
Cardigans showed early this afternoon. Diana and Mac's Jenna was a bit naked so Amy and I tried to "add" coat. Well it must have worked because Jenna was BOB today over 2 other specials. We had 2 great judges this weekend and it was so gratifying to have a judge today that would overlook some missing hair and recognize the true quality of this dog.
More great news in Cardi-land today too, Diana showed Bode to WD, Jean and Flip were RWD. I asked Mac to show Rumor today and she was gracious enough to do so and went WB/BOW for another point. Bode was also best Bred-By today. I stayed for groups since I'm so close to the show site and watched a very professional looking pair of Mac and Jenna in group, followed by Diana and Bode in bred-by group where they had a Group 4.
Such an absolutely fabulous show weekend for all of us. No, they are not all like this, but it's been a very long time since I haven't had a hugely great time at a dog show, even without doing any winning. Winning is the icing on the cake!
So thanks to all my friends for making this weekend so much fun--I'm looking forward to the next go-round!
Until next time...

WATERLOO SATURDAY UPDATE

News from the front lines--Waterloo show today. Despite the monsoon and ensuing flooding into the building the day went well. Mary and Beyla, Sahra and Camille both had NQ's in Open but both came back and had excellent results later in the morning. Sahra and Bryce Q'd with a 94 and 3rd place in Rally Adv. and Mary and Lucy debuted in Utility and came so close to qualifying and had some absolutely brillant moments including the scent articles and directed jumping that left everyone pretty speechless.
Onto the breed ring, I got to show a smoothie again and was in heaven showing Calvin. Calvin was RWD. Mac got a 4th in a large juniors class and the mojo in our area was in full gear. Jean debuted Flip today and was WD for his first point, Flip's sister, my Rumor was WB/BOW/BOS and Best Puppy for the crossover point, giving her 3 total points in 2 weekends so far. Diana and Bode were RWD. The mojo continued into roughs with Amy taking firsts in her classes with Gibbs, Lyra and Jordie.
We are all exhausted, but it's a good tired. Looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully more ribbons and points. The fun is guaranteed!
Until next time...

Be afraid...be very afraid....

SPICE AND BRYCE

Hoorah! Got a breeding with Bryce and Spice tonight! Calculations put a tentative first whelping date of 06/16/10. This means I'll be missing shows for a while but oh it is so worth it. It'll be a long wait, even tho 63 days isn't long at all. More updates to follow.

Hard to believe

I thought it had been 5 years since I last had some puppies. I was wrong. The flood wiped out all my past dog records but I looked it up on the AKC website and it's been 7 years since I've had a litter. In fact, they were born in April 2003. Holy cow time truly does fly.
Seven years seems like forever ago. Life has sped by in a scarily rapid fire flash. Now I know what grandma meant when she said the older she got the faster time moved. I'm also pretty sure that weekend-time and weekday-time are on different cycles. Weekend-time moves at twice the speed as weekday-time. And we all know that Mondays move at half the speed of UGH. Nope, I'm not a morning person, not a Monday person and definitely not a Monday Morning person. On Mondays I cannot ingest enough caffeine orally to make it any better, and to my knowledge a quick intravenous infusion of the stuff has not been tested. :-)
One thing puppies initiate in my office is the recycle mode. I'll put up a sign tomorrow and by the time puppies arrive I should have enough newspapers to fill the back of the Chevy. And I have a good source of discount items for puppies too. I can order those wonderful absorbent pads and any assorted medical type supplies too. I still need to replace my stethoscope, maybe I'll get lucky and we'll have an extra floating around that isn't in use anymore. Time to scrounge!
No doubt in the coming weeks this blog will become puppy watch central. Right now I'm so excited I almost can't sit still.
Until next time...

THE WAIT IS OVER

Yep, Spice finally came into season yesterday. It's been a year this month that she was in season last and I've been stewing about it for several months now. Imagine me, worrying about something like that. Hard to believe-not! Yes I'm a worrier. See the first step is admitting it. Although I'm not sure there is a 12 step program for worriers. :-)
Anyway this means potential puppies the first part of June and I am so excited. Spice's beau is UKC/INT Ch. Anstett's Allstar is Bryce, CD, RN. Bryce is an amazing dog who has trained in search and rescue, agility and doggie dancing along with competing in obedience and rally. He is currently working on his CDX and RA. I'm pretty sure he could rule the world IF he had opposable thumbs.
Making the huge assumption that she will get pregnant, this will put a bit of a crimp in the show schedule for the summer so I'll be digging deep to make as many shows before her due date as possible.
Puppies, puppies, puppies.....finally!