Flattering

I was contacted this week to have an old photo of Zephyr published in a book. As much as it was flattering, for various reasons I declined. This was the photo.

Other than that winter is here, the dogs don't mind however as long as we still get out for our daily hikes!
Also today was Chase's birthday. I know it is not good to dwell, which I'm not too much, only remembering. It's only been 6 months and of course I still miss him!

Enjoying Autumn

Well Zephyr has been having a great autumn....not as much trialing as I had planned, but daily hikes, agility training and a return to herding has made this fall fun for him! I am planning on trying to get photos of Zephyr working sheep soon!! For now some other photos!

Run Red Dog RUN!!!

He's back!! Feeling good and looking to trial this fall!

Cancer

Sorry I have been away from the blogs for so long....what can I say it's summer which is always busy, as well we've had a bit of a tough time with Zephyr. Back in July I found a mass on his chest, which I had aspirated right away and it showed to be a spindle cell tumour...not good at all. So then I took him in to see a specialist we did a biopsy which showed it be a low grade tumour which was good news as the chance that it had spread to other parts of his body remained low, and the lower grade tumour meant less of a margin when they did surgery.
Anyway to make a long story short he had surgery, the margins were clean and he has healed very well. It has all been a very upsetting and stressful time but I hope this surgery was a cure as the pathologists thinks it may have been. He is still not moving 100% he doesn't have the reach and looks a bit tight in the front end. But considering how much skin and tissue was removed it's no surprise and with all the swimming I'm sure he will be back to doing everything without a hitch soon!
Since getting the stitches out he has been enjoying the weather and this past weekend came with me up to my friends cottage and enjoyed the lake both in the canoe and swimming!

Regionals Photos

A big Thank You to Dave Geall who came out to take photos of Zephyr at Regionals. I know I mentioned this before but here are some shots that I now have to share. Check out his website and all his amazing work.

Canada Day Demo

Yesterday was a fun day doing our annual dog sport demo at Spencer smith Park in Burlington. Zephyr participated in all the shows and even Zen got to do her part! This is the 10th year I've been involved and look forward to it every year!

Summer is here!

The last two weeks have been busy with the new puppy, and enjoying the warm summer weather. Zephyr has been very good about the new addition so long as she keeps her teeth to herself!
Zen is totally smitten by him and follows him everywhere. He is a good dog to have around when teaching a puppy! Watch them here out on the trails!

New Addition-New Blog!!

After waiting almost 2 years for this planned litter, she travelled almost 900 kilometers on Sunday to get here! My big surprise!! Welcome Zen!!

The universe has a strange way of looking out for us sometimes. I put a deposit on a puppy from this planned litter back in August of 2008!! Back then I had no idea what would happen to Chase so close before she was to come to our house, and at first I was worried that it was going to be too soon after....but I think the timing is actually perfect. I think the energy will be just the pick me up that Zephyr needs and will be good for my son to learn that as much as Chase is gone new life happens as well.

She has fit in so well too, she has taken to the kids and the dogs, we have fallen in love already.

Follow along with our journey together on her own blog.

Day 3 of Regionals

Sorry this post is a bit late, catching up with the real world!!
Sunday proved a bit harder for us, than Saturday. Another hot day, and by the afternoon Zephyr was getting tired and not as quick to respond as usual. An off course for us in Standard and jumpers. Oh well!
Overall we placed 4th in our division and did qualify for Nationals! We had fun as always and it was so nice to see lots of our friends that we hadn't seen in some time and meet some new ones!
Also friend and student Dave Geall came out and took some AWESOME photos of Zephyr for me. He took lots of the other dogs too. Check out his website.

Day 2 of Regionals

Woo Hoo!! Found out today that we placed 1st yesterday in the steeplechase which puts us in the Steeplechase Finals tomorrow!!
Today we had 3 runs, 1 standard, 1 jumpers and 1 gamblers. The standard was a really tough course for the big and fast dogs, too much cranking on them and traps, it was tight. We ended up with a bar down and a refusal as Zephyr spun around in front of a jump. The jumpers round was tricky but flowed better. However the bars were flying for SO many dogs! We took one bar down here too, which threw me and we had another refusal this time I pulled him off a jump and he ran past (brought him back around to it) right after. Our last was the gamblers and I am happy that we got the main gamble!
I am not sure what any of my placements were today as they were announced hours after I left! One day left, 4 more runs, it's supposed to be very hot, hopefully we stay cool.

Day 1 of Regionals

Today was the first day of the 2010 AAC Ontario Regional Agility Trial held in Fergus.
This morning was the warm-up rounds, and this afternoon was the Steeplechase Round 1 (the qualifier for the finals on Sunday).
I am really happy with how FAST and smooth Zephyr and I ran. The first of our 2 frame contacts was blown (typical for Zephyr in a trial especially the first class!) which was too bad. However even with the five second penalty he was still faster than some of the other dogs in the class....we'll find out on Sunday if we managed to squeak into the finals with the fault!
Looking forward to the next 2 days!!

Spring Hiking

We hike all year but spring is my favorite!

May 16th Agility Trial

Royackers held their May trial this past weekend. I was going to pull as I wasn't really feeling up to it after losing Chase so recently, but I decided that seeing some good friends would be good for me, and getting out would be good for Zephyr (who has been sulking around a fair bit since Chase left.)
Unfortunately I didn't get any video! We started with Master Gamblers and ended up with 76 points and a Q!! Our second class was another Master Gamblers and this time we ran SO well, 96 points and a Q!! What a rush!! Our last class was standard and if I hadn't had a brain lapse on course and sent him over the wrong jump I'm sure we would have done well!! (I haven't done that in so long, I guess a lot on my mind lately).
That was the last trial for us before Regionals next weekend!

Goodbye Chase

It was with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to Chase on May 12. After several months of declining it was time to help him pass with dignity and put him at ease.

Who would have thought that the terrified little puppy from a pig farm would have such an impact on my life. I feel that I owe him so much. Not only was he my constant friend and companion but he introduced me to dog training and dog sports and in turn so many amazing people and friends.

Thank you to our vet Dr. McLean who came up to our house so that Chase could be in the comfort of his home.

Because I'm better with images than words, here is my tribute to him...

http://s896.photobucket.com/albums/ac161/artofdog/Movie/?action=view&current=chasemovie.flv

I miss you so much.

Shine on Chaser Bug, I'll see you on the other side.

May 1st Agility Trial

I am finally getting around to posting the one video that I managed to get of Zephyr and I running at this past weekends agility trial. He ran well, but I have to get a move on!! Training indoors all winter in a small space I haven't had to run! Less than four weeks until regionals!

Suzanne Clothier Seminar

I just spent the last two days attending a Suzanne Clothier behavioral seminar in Guelph! I have always really respected her ideals and teachings and was thrilled to listen to her and watch her work with dogs and their handlers. All in all I would go and see her again and encourage anyone else to as well!
If you haven't read her book "Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships with Dogs" I highly recommend it! She is an advocate of dog training based in empathy, respect and balance to put it simply.
What a great seminar! It is also nice to know that the school I teach for and the way I have trained my own dogs is right on board with her teachings.

Ribbon Wall Quilt

Chase's ribbon wall quilt made by Michelle http://sites.google.com/site/mamcreations2/ is done and home to hang in our office!! I wish my photos showed just how awesome it is!!

Cold Winter Nights

First Agility Trial of 2010

I felt so great to get back into trialing this year. We didn't do as much agility last year with the new baby, we did disc and some flyball, but we're starting back and it was fun!!
We had a Steeplechase run and 2 Master Gambles. Our Steeplechase was clean and 20 seconds under time allowed for a Q. Our fist gamble was not as pretty as it could have been in the opening section but we still had lots of points and we got the gamble so a Q! Our second gamble started great, we had tons of points, got the mini twice but didn't get the final gamble. Still a great start back!! Can't wait for more upcoming trials!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMFpyP3RLMo

More Winter Fun

The View Playing ball

Can you see me?!

Us playing

Happy Chase

Winter

A few winter shots. We are doing lots of hiking this time of year and indoor agility training. Not much else to report :))