Thursday, July 28, 2011

The boys





A few quick snaps , first time outside.

Mashed meals will start as well continually giving them new experiences.

Nails have been trimmed every few days, introducing the dremel.

New pictures sometime next wk.

We have 2 puppies not spoken for.


Serious inquiries only please.








The girls















Wednesday, July 27, 2011

another rabbit hole...

Just finished up with 2 ugly stretchs of nites with another wkend of work coming up. Did it to myself to arrange whelping time along with vacation coverage ( since staffing is limited )
A short notice trip to the city to send fresh chilled semen made for rebooking appts into this next wk.
Haying season in full swing. Supper is ate just before falling into bed. Rain , raking and breakdowns all part and parcel of this season. Makes for tired grumpy men in the house.
Finishing up with some orders from previous photo sessions withseveral bookings over the next few wks. People with their dogs which are always Fun to do.
Getting an estimate on new evestroughing for the training building as mine cant keep up with a hard rain....translates to wet carpets in the basement. Have the rooms tore apart, until things dry. Need to finish painting in and out and recaulk the windows since they are showing their time.
Puppies are growing , eyes are opened. Need to find one open day to bath / photos / process / upload !

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Teething...


Samson with teething ears going on. Thanks Kelly for sending pictures. He's growing nicely.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Bacchus

Congrats Mary Lou with Bacchus
-CKC Rally O Novice (2 high in class rosettes) title
-CKC Herding Tested title
and all of his Q's on JUMPERS with weaves in Agility
Enjoy your 5 days at Herding Camp!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

New RN title



Congrats to co-owner Laurie Albright on Shea's new RN title!



Sheba says 'props' for a job well done.

Monday, July 11, 2011

De- Cluttering...

Clutter, too many projects on the go at the same time...I AM my own worst enemy :)
Have a bunch of lists started, might help me get more things done if each area has all the needed projects listed on it
so things can get crossed off with some sense of getting 'er done.

Finally got around to taping my bamboo stick for stock training and using it for a little more reach. Used properly it's just to add alittle more pressure and release as soon as you get it...otherwise to traffic going by looks like a very long fishing pole resting on your shoulder while working your dog.

Working on getting more distance with Quade as well working on his top. With Fly , we are back to using the corners and bringing stock out of the corner and fetching back into...finding balance. I can reach her if I see her dropping her shoulder to come in for a fly by grip.Sting hasnt missed much of a beat on stock , she pushes nicely out. Hope to get to at least one other place with sheep to train on before Sheep camp.

Have told the CKC Herding Council I'm stepping down from being Alberta/NWT rep at the end of the year. One by one stepping down from club, council committments. As many years as I've been in dogs , I've been involved in all the behind the scenes stuff ...time to step back from the majority of it.

Yep, you've heard me say that several times but I seem to keep getting 'swept back in' :)

Need to get ribbons ordered for the Herding Trial coming up as well get my entries in now that the postal strike is over. I also need to pick up the prizes next time I'm to a bigger center.

Etching out time to take the two boys down the road for some brisk walks since I've let both get out of shape...I need the exercise as well. Now to make it habit forming instead of falling off the wagon a few wks into it...same with the training schedule.
Need to 'park' something else to the back burner for now.

Have 2 grad pictures to do still plus want to keep on top of my 1st year baby projects with grand daughter Jade and great niece Pyper.( It's a series of photo sessions taken at different miles stones in babies first year...need images to put on a long narrow frame for a display )
A few family picture requests this summer / fall. Hooking up with another person for practise photo sessions...canola fields blooming in a riot of yellow. Working on a few Grad books as well gift books for the kids for Xmas....that will be here soon enough and want to get a jump on that.

Need to get middle son to sneak hubby's Harley out before canola fields get cut so can do an evening shot with the field in the background...might just be cool on canvas. Barrett was thinking he'd like the same effect with his Mud Racing Truck ( CMRO circuit )

Have a Booth booked in Sept at EEOC Community Night awareness, planning on a few Xmas booths this late fall...ordering booth display supplies now. Will need to update my slide show closer to the dates.

Invited to son's friends wedding in fall so may be an opportunity to work on OCF skills.

A couple more days off before back to work on another series of nights....pups all doing well.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Majors...

This past ASCA show wkend being shared mainly between Ralf, Rayne & Derby. Congrats to the two 'Ice' offspring Rayne ( Jackie ) and Ralf ( Terry ) on your great wins and to finishing Ralf !


Heard the puppies did great in the non regular classes!


* Thanks Deb for showing the Derbster for me *



Saturday, July 9, 2011

The girls..quick snaps














The boys







A few quick snaps before tails / dewclaw removal.




Friday, July 8, 2011

Fly...

Plan was to trial Fly this summer on stock. Trial we did with 2 days of rain leading 'up to' and the 2 days 'of the' trial....4 days of rain on a clay base arena
translates to boot sticking and I mean boot sticking mud. Waiting for your stock to be let out meant moving your feet constantly in place to ensure you were not stuck. My worst fear was getting stuck in the quamire and having the dog push the stock completely over me as knew I'd never get out the way in time....had already kissed it in the clinic the day before :)
Fly gathered her stock and we managed to settle them nicely before moving them around the course...score sheet reflected only a few points lost there.
We managed to get all stock through the obstacles ...only to grip out after the second panel on first two runs. Fly still feels the pressure going in between the fence and her stock and does a 'fly by grip' on her way through...something I'll need to help her work through. Even though we didnt pick up any Q's I was still pleased with her performance given the little training this year....basically working with instinct and hodge podge training over past few years.
Have 1 day of AHBA & CKC trials after Sheep camp at Dog Tale Ranch next month. Now to get 'Stella back in the groove again'
Reno's continue at the training building - lighting this time. Next wk puppy classes start with Sheba as demo dog.
Haying season starting. Ditches walked for garbage clean up before the swather goes...and then again before the baler. Can be hard on the equipment
if the wrong piece of road trash feeds through either implement and minimizes hard wear problems in the livestock. A few magnets kept on hand to put down
with a pill gun if needed if a person suspects hardwear when feeding ditch hay in the winter.
Sheep prices good this year. Smallest lamb $120 - $150 for oldest lamb. Down to 4 head now which is a treat for chores. Last year to use the pink metal Ketchum tags...by Jan 1/12 everything has to be tagged like the cattle population in Canada with RFID ( radio frequency id )

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Glad this is a summer litter and not winter!

4 males and 5 females....busy ensuring everyone gets nursed for next few days. Wasnt expecting this large of a litter so have a couple of pups not spoken for, number wise , time of course will tell 'which ones' head to homes lined up for them.
Wonder if my sister remembers her promise to babysit while I go to Sheep camp next month....

New blog for photos






Had started another blog for my photography images / sessions....files in low resolution.






As well a Smug Mug website listed there as well.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Dare....


Deuce ( over 14 yrs ) started a personal trend here of waiting until the girls were around 4 yrs of age before breeding
....before it became a more 'common' practise with those breeding dogs.
The majority of the girls here are bred for the first time at the age of 4 and 5 yrs of age to ensure not only
themselves but their 'siblings etc' have a trackable health record as well. ( Waiting for some age also narrows
the window to achieve breeding goals )

Derby x Dare litter due first part of July
Dare had her first litter at the age of 5 yrs. We've decided to repeat the cross for a summer litter.
A nice change with the opportunity to actually get pups outside in decent weather instead of winter / calving season.
Her first litter of 3 red girls are going great guns in agility training (as well tracking )
The waiting list has deposits with a couple of open spots pending of course what shows up in the whelping box.