So, like...I went to Albuquerque hoping to come away with a DAM Team Q and hopefully a couple Q's towards our ADCH. But I DIDN'T expect what we did get:
DAM Team - Q and FIRST PLACE!!
Masters Standard (Sat.) - Q and 2nd place
Masters Gamblers - Q and 1st place
Steeplechase - Q and 2nd place
Masters Pairs - Q and 1st place
Masters Jumpers - Q (no placement)
We needed Pairs, Gamblers and Jumpers for our ADCH. Before the weekend we needed 8 legs, now we need only 5! We CAN do it!!
We were so close to a GP Q. We were running beautifully, but at the 3rd last obstacle, a tunnel, I sent her in the wrong end. Grrrr. My bad.
Jam ended up getting pretty sick Saturday afternoon/evening. She had diarreha (sp?) and was vomiting. She was one unhappy Toller. She wouldn't even run after her ball...not good. I wasn't sure about Sunday. Sunday morning she woke up much more perky and happy. I didn't run her in Masters Standard (which was the first class), but I did run her in Snooker (in which I sent her over #2, and then she backjumped it), Steeplechase Round 2 (she placed 3rd...won $16!) and Jumpers (Q'd).
All in all, a rather excellent weekend! :)
Wishy and her family were at the show and thanks to them, I believe we have a name for the puppy!!! I called my hubby and he didn't pooh-pooh it right away, so I think it's gonna stick. And now, the name...
Formal name = Lakota's Tequila Sunrise
Call name = Quila (key-la)
Whaddya think??!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Roadtrippin'
Jam and I are heading to Albuquerque today for a 3-day USDAA show. We'll be RVing it with a friend and her 2 pups, so it'll be a bit different this time. We're used to staying at hotels so now we're going to see how the "other side" lives! :)
Jam is ready. I think. I mean, she's been doing well in class and in my backyard, so we'll see what happens on the field. She's 100% on her weave poles everywhere but at a show. Typical, eh? Though at the West Valley show in July she was 100% on her poles...not sure why, but she was. Maybe cuz that's the show in which I returned home from Wisconsin on a Thursday and left for the show on a Friday without having done a single jump...? They say practice makes perfect, but maybe not really...?
Can't end this post without a puppy picture! They are 7 weeks old today! The breeder has been fabulous. He's had them on live birds, has had agility equipment in the puppy pen, took them swimming in his pond and has taught them how to retrieve! I'm going to have a very well-rounded pup and I'm SO excited!
Here is Ms Yellow (Green) after a swim. She is SO CUTE!
I bring her home in a week and a half. Can't believe it's coming already!!
And now a name...a freakin' name. Now I'm looking at the names of beaches in the Caribbean. Her "formal" name could be "Lakota's Life's a Beach"...! :) Anyone, anyone? (OK, so maybe 2 people read this thing, but anyone???)
Catch ya on the road....
Jam is ready. I think. I mean, she's been doing well in class and in my backyard, so we'll see what happens on the field. She's 100% on her weave poles everywhere but at a show. Typical, eh? Though at the West Valley show in July she was 100% on her poles...not sure why, but she was. Maybe cuz that's the show in which I returned home from Wisconsin on a Thursday and left for the show on a Friday without having done a single jump...? They say practice makes perfect, but maybe not really...?
Can't end this post without a puppy picture! They are 7 weeks old today! The breeder has been fabulous. He's had them on live birds, has had agility equipment in the puppy pen, took them swimming in his pond and has taught them how to retrieve! I'm going to have a very well-rounded pup and I'm SO excited!
Here is Ms Yellow (Green) after a swim. She is SO CUTE!
I bring her home in a week and a half. Can't believe it's coming already!!
And now a name...a freakin' name. Now I'm looking at the names of beaches in the Caribbean. Her "formal" name could be "Lakota's Life's a Beach"...! :) Anyone, anyone? (OK, so maybe 2 people read this thing, but anyone???)
Catch ya on the road....
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Lots 'o stuff going on
Lessee...where to begin...
Jam...NO VALLEY FEVER!!! The test came back negative...woohoo!! :) I am so happy. :)
Calvin...he seems to have stabilized. He hasn't had a nosebleed in a week, thank goodness. He still isn't nearly as perky as usual, but that's to be expected. He is still eating like a horse, so that's good. He does go after the ball, but he takes his time. I just hope he continues to improve.
Puppies...they are 6 weeks old now!! The breeder sent video of them with live birds. They were going after them like good little Tollers! (no bird dies during filming!) The breeder has pretty much picked out the pup for me...the one I've been eyeing all along, Ms. Yellow (who is now wearing a green collar). Here are pictures of her being stacked...
Isn't she adorable?!! Right now she's one big puffball, but soon her "real" Toller coat will come in and she'll be as adorable as Jam! She STILL doesn't have a name though. I looked up some Caribbean facts online and like the name "Soca," which is a type of Caribbean music. My husband was less than thrilled with the name. Ugh. It's gonna be tough naming this one for some reason.
Our air conditioner...the upstairs one...it went out. And yeah, it's still freakin' HOT. And of course, it went out on a Saturday. One trip to Lowe's and 3 fans later, we were all able to sleep well last night. And luckily I was able to figure it out this evening and was able to jump start it back to life. Ugh. Hopefully we can limp it along until it cools off...like not until the end of October.
The girls...both are doing very well in school! We meet with Dani's teacher this week for parent/teacher conferences. We are expecting a good conference, so no worries there. And Erin continues to do well in Pre-K. They are both a bit rambunctious and need to learn to listen better, but that's age-specific and to be expected, I suppose.
Me...I got sick, really sick on Friday. And this was supposed to be my day on Friday...1) wake up, 2) wish husband a happy birthday, 3) head to the scuba shop to get his gift, 4) go to lunch with my boss, 5) lead "smoothie Friday" at Dani's school, 6) celebrate husband's birthday with gifts and cake. NONE of that happened. None. I was flat on my back (or in the bathroom) the entire day. I felt slightly better on Saturday, but still not too good. By today, I felt better, but not 100%. We were at least able to celebrate husband's birthday on Saturday and do some kid-oriented stuff today.
That's about it. Jam and I are heading to Albuquerque on Thursday for a 3-day USDAA show with DAM, Steeplechase and GP. It's gonna be at least 20 degrees cooler, thank goodness, and loads of fun. I'll be staying with a friend in her RV, which'll be way cool.
Show season is starting...woohoo!!
Jam...NO VALLEY FEVER!!! The test came back negative...woohoo!! :) I am so happy. :)
Calvin...he seems to have stabilized. He hasn't had a nosebleed in a week, thank goodness. He still isn't nearly as perky as usual, but that's to be expected. He is still eating like a horse, so that's good. He does go after the ball, but he takes his time. I just hope he continues to improve.
Puppies...they are 6 weeks old now!! The breeder sent video of them with live birds. They were going after them like good little Tollers! (no bird dies during filming!) The breeder has pretty much picked out the pup for me...the one I've been eyeing all along, Ms. Yellow (who is now wearing a green collar). Here are pictures of her being stacked...
Isn't she adorable?!! Right now she's one big puffball, but soon her "real" Toller coat will come in and she'll be as adorable as Jam! She STILL doesn't have a name though. I looked up some Caribbean facts online and like the name "Soca," which is a type of Caribbean music. My husband was less than thrilled with the name. Ugh. It's gonna be tough naming this one for some reason.
Our air conditioner...the upstairs one...it went out. And yeah, it's still freakin' HOT. And of course, it went out on a Saturday. One trip to Lowe's and 3 fans later, we were all able to sleep well last night. And luckily I was able to figure it out this evening and was able to jump start it back to life. Ugh. Hopefully we can limp it along until it cools off...like not until the end of October.
The girls...both are doing very well in school! We meet with Dani's teacher this week for parent/teacher conferences. We are expecting a good conference, so no worries there. And Erin continues to do well in Pre-K. They are both a bit rambunctious and need to learn to listen better, but that's age-specific and to be expected, I suppose.
Me...I got sick, really sick on Friday. And this was supposed to be my day on Friday...1) wake up, 2) wish husband a happy birthday, 3) head to the scuba shop to get his gift, 4) go to lunch with my boss, 5) lead "smoothie Friday" at Dani's school, 6) celebrate husband's birthday with gifts and cake. NONE of that happened. None. I was flat on my back (or in the bathroom) the entire day. I felt slightly better on Saturday, but still not too good. By today, I felt better, but not 100%. We were at least able to celebrate husband's birthday on Saturday and do some kid-oriented stuff today.
That's about it. Jam and I are heading to Albuquerque on Thursday for a 3-day USDAA show with DAM, Steeplechase and GP. It's gonna be at least 20 degrees cooler, thank goodness, and loads of fun. I'll be staying with a friend in her RV, which'll be way cool.
Show season is starting...woohoo!!
Monday, September 15, 2008
So Tired
I judged a show this past weekend in California. Nice show, nice site, nice people, etc. The show site was on a slight incline, so I was basically walking up and down a small hill all day, two days in a row. I felt it in my glutes, so there is some benefit there for me!
By the last class of the weekend, I started to feel the old familiar signs of heat exhaustion. My head started to ache and my stomach started to feel queasy. I also had a hard time focusing. Luckily I was able to stand in the shade to judge the last class, and I didn't feel too badly until the last dozen dogs or so. Right after the class, I sat down with friends and drank some water and Propel. It all ended good, but today I am TIRED.
I took Jam in for her Valley Fever test today. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the test comes back negative. She was coughing a bit after a ball-throwing session today and my paranoid mind kept telling me that she has Valley Fever. God...I sure hope not.
I haven't heard much puppy news in the past week. I am STILL looking for a name though. I just can't decide. What to do...
By the last class of the weekend, I started to feel the old familiar signs of heat exhaustion. My head started to ache and my stomach started to feel queasy. I also had a hard time focusing. Luckily I was able to stand in the shade to judge the last class, and I didn't feel too badly until the last dozen dogs or so. Right after the class, I sat down with friends and drank some water and Propel. It all ended good, but today I am TIRED.
I took Jam in for her Valley Fever test today. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the test comes back negative. She was coughing a bit after a ball-throwing session today and my paranoid mind kept telling me that she has Valley Fever. God...I sure hope not.
I haven't heard much puppy news in the past week. I am STILL looking for a name though. I just can't decide. What to do...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Valley Fever
It's a disease localized to the desert areas of Arizona, New Mexico and parts of California. This disease is contracted from either the dust in the air, by digging (dogs) or just inhaling the "fungal spores." It is very treatable, though it can be fatal.
Why am I telling you all this? Because we just found out that Calvin has valley fever. :( Not only does he have it, but he has a very severe case of it. A normal Valley Fever positive titer is 1:4, sometimes going up to 1:32. Calvin's titer came back as 1:256. Wow.
The ONLY clue we had that anything was amiss was the fact that he woke up Monday morning with a bada$$ nose bleed. Like blood all over. I took him to the vet that day and they ran the Valley Fever titer. We got the definitive results today. The drug of choice is Fluconazole, so we started him on it immediately. Hopefully it will start to make him feel better soon.
Given the severity of his case, he will most likely be on this drug for the rest of his life. He's taking it all in stride...still chasing after the tennis ball, though not quite as quickly.
This disease is not contagious, rather it's environmental, so we're gonna have Jam tested. Both live in the same environment, so it stands to reason that Jam's chances of having the disease are slightly elevated. It is called the "silent killer" since there really are no visible signs.
In honor of Calvy-Walvy, here are some of our favorite pictures...
Why am I telling you all this? Because we just found out that Calvin has valley fever. :( Not only does he have it, but he has a very severe case of it. A normal Valley Fever positive titer is 1:4, sometimes going up to 1:32. Calvin's titer came back as 1:256. Wow.
The ONLY clue we had that anything was amiss was the fact that he woke up Monday morning with a bada$$ nose bleed. Like blood all over. I took him to the vet that day and they ran the Valley Fever titer. We got the definitive results today. The drug of choice is Fluconazole, so we started him on it immediately. Hopefully it will start to make him feel better soon.
Given the severity of his case, he will most likely be on this drug for the rest of his life. He's taking it all in stride...still chasing after the tennis ball, though not quite as quickly.
This disease is not contagious, rather it's environmental, so we're gonna have Jam tested. Both live in the same environment, so it stands to reason that Jam's chances of having the disease are slightly elevated. It is called the "silent killer" since there really are no visible signs.
In honor of Calvy-Walvy, here are some of our favorite pictures...
Friday, September 5, 2008
And the beat goes on...
It's still hot here. Really hot. Like "unseasonably warm." Dandy. Just dandy.
Work has been slow so you'd think I'd make good use of this downtime...nope...not me. I am feeling entirely unmotivated right now and need a kick in the pants to get me going. I have courses to design which is NEVER fun so I'm practicing my avoidance tactics.
Jam is doing great, thank Goodness! I took her to class on Tuesday and she showed no signs of soreness or anything. I am very pleased. She has actually been quite a nuisance...wanting to play ball all. the. time. I finally had to give her a bone to chew on to get her out of my hair!
The girls seem to be doing really well in school. I still worry about Dani and her making friends and all that. I am trying to sign her up for socially interactive things (like girl scouts, science class, etc.) but nothing seems to be panning out. Hopefully things'll pick up soon. Erin is really doing well in Pre-K. She still has at least one "Erin-sized fit" a day (not at school, thank Goodness) so that is VERY annoying.
I have puppy pictures!!! They turned 4 weeks old yesterday, but the breeder sent pics of them at 3.5 weeks old. They are now out in their puppy yard and are getting so CUTE! He even put a couple agility items in the yard (thanks to my friend, Tammi!).
Ms Yellow (in front...green collar now)...she's the one I've got my eye on.
They have changed so much! This is a boy.
Learning 2 on, 2 off...! :)
Puppy recall...how cute is this??
I just love their little noises! Course, when I get my pup home, I have no doubt that I will NOT love those little noises at 3 AM!
Better get back to course design avoidance...
Work has been slow so you'd think I'd make good use of this downtime...nope...not me. I am feeling entirely unmotivated right now and need a kick in the pants to get me going. I have courses to design which is NEVER fun so I'm practicing my avoidance tactics.
Jam is doing great, thank Goodness! I took her to class on Tuesday and she showed no signs of soreness or anything. I am very pleased. She has actually been quite a nuisance...wanting to play ball all. the. time. I finally had to give her a bone to chew on to get her out of my hair!
The girls seem to be doing really well in school. I still worry about Dani and her making friends and all that. I am trying to sign her up for socially interactive things (like girl scouts, science class, etc.) but nothing seems to be panning out. Hopefully things'll pick up soon. Erin is really doing well in Pre-K. She still has at least one "Erin-sized fit" a day (not at school, thank Goodness) so that is VERY annoying.
I have puppy pictures!!! They turned 4 weeks old yesterday, but the breeder sent pics of them at 3.5 weeks old. They are now out in their puppy yard and are getting so CUTE! He even put a couple agility items in the yard (thanks to my friend, Tammi!).
Ms Yellow (in front...green collar now)...she's the one I've got my eye on.
They have changed so much! This is a boy.
Learning 2 on, 2 off...! :)
Puppy recall...how cute is this??
I just love their little noises! Course, when I get my pup home, I have no doubt that I will NOT love those little noises at 3 AM!
Better get back to course design avoidance...
Monday, September 1, 2008
Oye
Well, we went, we saw, we all came home in one piece! (Bay Team Regionals that is.)
We got to San Jose on Friday around 1ish. Got into the long rental car line and got my car (finally) and headed south for the 1 hour drive to Salinas. Jam, by the way, was the perfect "service dog." She sat on my lap the entire time and was a very good passenger. Anywho...we got to the hotel aroun 3ish, I got Jam's agility stuff out of the suitcase, changed my clothes and we headed to the show site. We were running in Masters Pairs which started at 5ish.
I had a fabulous partner for Pairs (Luka) so I was psyched. I chose the first half since I felt it was more "doable" for Jam. It did have the weaves on that half, but she's been doing them so well that I didn't think they'd be a problem. We started out beautifully, then got to the weaves. Grrrr. She popped out at 10 and I had a brainfart as to where to put her back in. We frittered away the time there, then finished up beautifully. BUT, as fast as Luka is, there was no way they could make up the time I had frittered. No Q for us. Pooh.
Saturday dawned foggy and misty. The fog stayed with us for a good portion of the day. I was a judge today, so poor Jammie had to sit in her crate under the scoretable and watch me all day long. I did go and visit her between rotations. I judged Round 1 of the GP and the Team/PVP Relay Finals. The GP course I felt was a bit on the easy side, and it showed. My Q rate was rather large! Good for all the folks who ran it and capitalized on it! I did have a lot of dogs missing the up contact on the dog walk however. I don't think I've ever called that many ups in any one trial. Very strange. Team/PVP Relay was fun! I did get ran into by a crazy BC, but thankfully I saw it coming and was able to brace myself. The entire time I was judging Relay, the other judges (there were a bunch of us) were ringside talking animatedly throughout. I told them afterwards that I didn't know which was more intimidating...having all the competitors watching me or the judges!
Sunday dawned a bit foggy, but it cleared pretty quickly. Jam and I were competitors today...yay! We started out with Steeplechase. She was a tad distracted the first 3 jumps, but then picked it up. And then came the danged weaves. This time she didn't enter correctly so I got her back in and she completed them, thank God! Then she ran very fast to finish, but pulled a bar. Needless to say, we didn't Q.
Next came Masters Gamblers. I really needed this Gamble and it was so doable! I had a plan, but then changed it midstream. We started out great...she was really running! We came out of a tunnel to a straight shot onto the dog walk...when IT happened. She must've taken a mis-step while charging across the walk because the next thing I knew she was scrambling to stay on, but couldn't, and came down hard off the top plank. I ran to her and she was just laying there with her eyes half closed, panting every so slightly. I picked her up to get her out of the ring and put her down to check her out. Others came around me to see how she was doing. After about 30 seconds - 1 minute, she got up, shook it off, and seemed perfectly OK! I got an Ascriptin from a friend and gave her half of one. I walked her out and she didn't show any signs of lameness. I was very hopeful, but worried.
Next was Masters Standard. I had others watch me trot her out and she didn't seem to have any issues, so I decided to run her. And run she did!! She did GREAT! We ended up Qing, so that was very nice. She had no issues with the dog walk and was her normal self. THANK GOODNESS!! When it was all over, I had the doggie massage/chiropracter person give her a treatment to ensure that she was OK. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have any ill effects from her fall. Whew!
I drove back up to San Jose that night (after a fun dinner with the other judges) and we flew out this morning for home. Again, Jam was the perfect passenger.
I must say that the Bay Team did a great job with the Regional. You could never tell that there were over 400 dogs there. The rotation schedule seemed to work like a charm and I had a good time. I even learned how to ride a Segway! :) THAT was fun!!
I also found out today that I now have a complete team for Nationals! A friend asked if I wanted to be on an all-Toller team...I was very interested, but one of the possible team members hadn't yet qualified. She had her chance to Q this weekend and thankfully, she did! All of the Tollers are 16 inchers, so it's a bit unusual. We're now in the process of thinking of a fun name. It's so nice to have that loose end tied up!
Jam and I have some work to do before Nationals...like proofing the weaves!...but I think we'll be just fine. As long as we don't take it too seriously, it'll all go well!
We got to San Jose on Friday around 1ish. Got into the long rental car line and got my car (finally) and headed south for the 1 hour drive to Salinas. Jam, by the way, was the perfect "service dog." She sat on my lap the entire time and was a very good passenger. Anywho...we got to the hotel aroun 3ish, I got Jam's agility stuff out of the suitcase, changed my clothes and we headed to the show site. We were running in Masters Pairs which started at 5ish.
I had a fabulous partner for Pairs (Luka) so I was psyched. I chose the first half since I felt it was more "doable" for Jam. It did have the weaves on that half, but she's been doing them so well that I didn't think they'd be a problem. We started out beautifully, then got to the weaves. Grrrr. She popped out at 10 and I had a brainfart as to where to put her back in. We frittered away the time there, then finished up beautifully. BUT, as fast as Luka is, there was no way they could make up the time I had frittered. No Q for us. Pooh.
Saturday dawned foggy and misty. The fog stayed with us for a good portion of the day. I was a judge today, so poor Jammie had to sit in her crate under the scoretable and watch me all day long. I did go and visit her between rotations. I judged Round 1 of the GP and the Team/PVP Relay Finals. The GP course I felt was a bit on the easy side, and it showed. My Q rate was rather large! Good for all the folks who ran it and capitalized on it! I did have a lot of dogs missing the up contact on the dog walk however. I don't think I've ever called that many ups in any one trial. Very strange. Team/PVP Relay was fun! I did get ran into by a crazy BC, but thankfully I saw it coming and was able to brace myself. The entire time I was judging Relay, the other judges (there were a bunch of us) were ringside talking animatedly throughout. I told them afterwards that I didn't know which was more intimidating...having all the competitors watching me or the judges!
Sunday dawned a bit foggy, but it cleared pretty quickly. Jam and I were competitors today...yay! We started out with Steeplechase. She was a tad distracted the first 3 jumps, but then picked it up. And then came the danged weaves. This time she didn't enter correctly so I got her back in and she completed them, thank God! Then she ran very fast to finish, but pulled a bar. Needless to say, we didn't Q.
Next came Masters Gamblers. I really needed this Gamble and it was so doable! I had a plan, but then changed it midstream. We started out great...she was really running! We came out of a tunnel to a straight shot onto the dog walk...when IT happened. She must've taken a mis-step while charging across the walk because the next thing I knew she was scrambling to stay on, but couldn't, and came down hard off the top plank. I ran to her and she was just laying there with her eyes half closed, panting every so slightly. I picked her up to get her out of the ring and put her down to check her out. Others came around me to see how she was doing. After about 30 seconds - 1 minute, she got up, shook it off, and seemed perfectly OK! I got an Ascriptin from a friend and gave her half of one. I walked her out and she didn't show any signs of lameness. I was very hopeful, but worried.
Next was Masters Standard. I had others watch me trot her out and she didn't seem to have any issues, so I decided to run her. And run she did!! She did GREAT! We ended up Qing, so that was very nice. She had no issues with the dog walk and was her normal self. THANK GOODNESS!! When it was all over, I had the doggie massage/chiropracter person give her a treatment to ensure that she was OK. Thankfully, she didn't seem to have any ill effects from her fall. Whew!
I drove back up to San Jose that night (after a fun dinner with the other judges) and we flew out this morning for home. Again, Jam was the perfect passenger.
I must say that the Bay Team did a great job with the Regional. You could never tell that there were over 400 dogs there. The rotation schedule seemed to work like a charm and I had a good time. I even learned how to ride a Segway! :) THAT was fun!!
I also found out today that I now have a complete team for Nationals! A friend asked if I wanted to be on an all-Toller team...I was very interested, but one of the possible team members hadn't yet qualified. She had her chance to Q this weekend and thankfully, she did! All of the Tollers are 16 inchers, so it's a bit unusual. We're now in the process of thinking of a fun name. It's so nice to have that loose end tied up!
Jam and I have some work to do before Nationals...like proofing the weaves!...but I think we'll be just fine. As long as we don't take it too seriously, it'll all go well!
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