Monday, June 22, 2009

Mr. Perfect

Yes, I said “Mr.”

‘Cause the Miss was not perfect this weekend. No special ribbon for her. Only 7 out of 8 Q’s. My 88th percentile dog. Thinking perhaps time to rehome.

I kid, of course. Kinda. Little bit.

Mr. Rumili had an A+ weekend. All Q’s. A smattering of good placements, too, if I recall correctly.
DSC_2322

Oh sure, he’s an Aussie, but he’s A Good Boy Aussie. Not Crazy Barking Aussie. Not Scruff Grabbing Aussie that pisses off Belly. Really great weaves, too. Better than Belly. Thinking Rumili may be BC with unfortunate tail accident.
DSC_2340

Such Mad Skillz that he uses judge as obstacle
DSC_2319

No girl pictures this weeknd. I think there are some to buy, so maybe Belly In Action in a few days.

Kate is really super tired of agility talk.
DSC_2354

Really over it
DSC_2353

I had a talk with Bellicious about her sucky weaves and A-frame rest stop. She very intently watched the fan behind me. Don’t think she was listening.
DSC_2358

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Bella v. Squirrel

Rainy day at ghetto DP means no running, no ball throwing. No running, no ball leaves ample time to, you know, act like a dog. The squirrels at said DP, however, do not act like squirrels. They have grown up surrounded by dogs that are surrounded by fences. They don’t run. They spectate.

Bella tries to spectate, too. Beat them at their own game.
DSC_2288

See the lump on the rock – upper left-hand corner? Yeah? Bella sees too.
DSC_2279

She really tries to keep it together. Show him he’s not the boss of her…
DSC_2275

Doesn’t last, though
DSC_2272

Hard to keep your cool while being taunted by food stuffs
DSC_2273

Why isn’t this working? You think you could you put down the camera and come throw me over the fence?
DSC_2280

Kate, in perfect Kate fashion, noticed a dead squirrel on the other side of the fence
DSC_2299

I didn’t have the heart to tell her
DSC_2314

Not one of the four times she noticed it, stalked it, got bored, walked away, noticed it again…
DSC_2296

What she lacks in brainpower, she makes up with cute
DSC_2310

There was a guy running with a bird dog of some type. His dog snagged the deal squirrel on the trail that Kate had been stalking. He stopped in a panic when he realized what was in his dogs mouth. Although, you could hear the pride in his voice when put it together. “You got him, boy, didn’t you?” HAHA. Yeah, headline, GREAT HUNTER CATCHES DEAD RODENT. You totally know he told all his friends about it, too.

Hey, at least I don’t do dumb.
DSC_2303

Friday, June 5, 2009

No Interwebs Sucks!

Sorry, folks. We have been out and about, but I have been lazy about pic taking. Not lazy so much, but not feeling the worth considering I have no internet at home yet. No webs, no posties. But today, I am at former house baby sitting repair guy here to fix the dry wall the movers jacked up. So, Yay! For webs and cable TV!

We have a new-new DP now as the old new one is being worked on. (Of course, 4 days after we move, they split it in half…*sigh*)

DSC_2265

Bella is obviously out of practice with the posing
DSC_2264

Not helping at all
DSC_2239

And when I get a cute shot, we have random eye boogers…!
DSC_2254

Kate is enjoying the footing. Although, still healing after an old DP trip
DSC_2259

She is also not quite used to polite dogs. Not trusting that the Lab chasing her own ball is not out to get her. Haha
DSC_2248

Funny how when you want to be ignored and you are it is just as uncomfortable as not being ignored.

Kate logic.
DSC_2258

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Packing Break

It is really nice to have time to move. To not have to pick up everything you own in one day. However, it also feels like I have been carrying stuff for a month. I am ready for it to be done. I’m sure they are too.

So, yesterday I took a break from all the packing, lifting, shuffling of goods to actually run the girls. I think they have been wondering what the hell they did to deserve the copious amounts of neighborhood walks and severe lack of ball throwing of late.

Kate was on a roll. Lots of actual ball getting yesterday.
DSC_2221

Not bad for the girl who is referred to by other park goers as The One Who Never Gets The Ball
DSC_2139

Some People just shorten it to The One Who Misses
DSC_2216

I suppose, if I’m being honest, they do have a point
DSC_2158

Then I yelled at Bella for something. Remember Bella?
DSC_2180

And Kate thought she was in trouble. If you ever want to learn about dog body language and calming signals you only need spend and hour or so with Miss Kate.

She put herself in a time out. Which is weird because I am so not a time out person.
DSC_2185

Then she sits there looking at me waiting for me to undo what I never did in the first place

Can I go now?
DSC_2191

Yes, off with yourself. Go stalk squirrels.
DSC_2201

It’s a shame that the only time she looks remotely Border Collie-ish is when she hunting. Boo for sheep-loser dogs!

She is a pretty little thing, though, right?
DSC_2226

And totally unrelated to Kate punishing herself…

This pic sums them up so well. Bella is firmly planted and still. Kate is on her tippy-toes ever so slightly leaning, leaning, leaning. I bet if I waited long enough she would just fall over.
DSC_2165

The end!
DSC_2196

Monday, May 18, 2009

New Running Digs

Took a drive over Sunday morning to check out what will be our new regular dog park in 2 weeks. I am thrilled to report that there will be no more iDirt! Woot! I’m sure Kate’s feeties are thrilled as well.

The new park is the faux grass, but not the longer kind that’s supposed to look like a lawn. It’s shorter, like, sports turf stuff. Not crazy slippery like the longer stuff. Looks like green carpet.

Kate was loving the cush
DSC_2080

Good gripping
DSC_2097

Squishy toes
DSC_2102

Much softer landings
DSC_2104

Bell was digging the feel so much she couldn’t keep her eyes open
DSC_2118

DSC_2109

All in all, a successful reconnaissance mission. Nice park. Good group of dogs. Bit of a relief, actually. Testing dog parks is like testing hairdressers. There never seems to be any in-between, right?

Although, I have to tell you, it will be tough to look at this surface everyday and resist the urge to bring a vacuum cleaner!
DSC_2122

And, we will bid a fond farewell to Fashion Feets!
DSC_1952

DSC_1849

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Bella's BFF

Bella generally doesn't care about other dogs. If she's not busy, she'll say Hi, do the obligatory butt sniffing, etc., but it usually ends there. If she is "on the clock" she will completely ignore other dogs. Unless that other dog is Max.
This is Max.
The girls have known him since he was a pup. Originally from a BYB, the first owners brought him to Now Owners DIL's work looking to find him another home. Now Owner was told there was a 10 month old collie looking for a place to hang his hat. Make that a 10 week old Border Collie and HolyCrapWhatHaveWeGottenInto! But, they do find a way to worm themselves into your heart. You can't help being impressed with these dogs. You thought you wanted a relaxed dog to stroll around the block with and now you find yourself standing out in the rain for 2 hours throwing a ball and discussing when would be a good time to add another Border Collie to your house. :-)

Poor Max has been struggling with some dermatological issues. About 6 months ago he was nearly all bald. Even though he is on the mend, he still looks pretty silly. The patch of hair making the quickest recovery is the it on his shoulders. He looks like someone taped a toupee on his back.

Border Collie stare not so effective when you look like a Muppet.

From a distance he can pull off the I'm Just A Smooth Coated Dog thing

But the tail and pathetic bum feathers give it away


Everyone that has met Bella and Kate in person after knowing them only online always comment that they thought they would be much bigger. I now have proof of their wee-ness.

Haha! I don't call him Ginormous for nothin'!