Truck Broken :-(

Well that was a short trip! My truck started over heating a half hour from home. We limped into Chilliwack to a transmission shop. It will take them til 5p tomo. at the earliest to get it fixed so no early trip to Vernon. :-( Plus it will cost a fortune.... So I am back home in a PT Cruiser courtesy car. Good thing Owen isn't here as it was a squeeze getting 4 dogs squished into it. Blair curled up on the front seat while Dusty and Wyatt shared the back seat. Jayne ended up on the floor in the back I think.

Vernon here we come!

Didn't get any pictures on Sunday. It poured rain all day so everyone wussed out on working dogs. Then yesterday dawned beautiful sunny and warm. Gorgeous sunset last night. Would have taken a picture but too lazy to get camera back out of the trailer. Most everything is loaded up and ready to head north to Vernon for the trial next weekend. Just running the dogs this morning and stocking the fridge in the trailer then will be hitting the road. Hopefully no snow on the Coquillhalla and looking forward to nice dry weather all week in Coldstream. It will be fun to see Owen and access his progress as well as get Jayne out in a big field before the trial. Something like 17 Nursery dogs!!! So hoping we can fade into the pack. lol

Typical Spring day

Started off with rain then eased off to just cool and clouds. I wandered over to McLeods' and met Pearse Ward who was there to give his dogs some work. Very nice fellow, as imagined from his intelligent posts on the various BC boards. Has nice dogs too. ;-) Interesting round-a-bout trip he has made as he lives in Mn but was raised here in N.Vancouver. It will be nice to see him at a few of our upcoming BSDA trials in the next little while.
I just worked Blair for a bit today. He is doing so awesome at this close at hand work in their small field. One couldn't ask for anything more out of him. Now I can only hope to step up as a handler next weekend and be the handler this dog deserves.
I'll be heading up to Vernon on Tues. before the trial so offline all next week. Jayne is entered in Nursery......don't know what I am thinking...but it will at least confirm what I know as our weakness - needing to stretch out everything. Amazingly there are something like 17 entries in Nursery!! Almost unheard of for this part of the country....where it is tough to get 5 at most trials.
Will try to get some pix tomo. at the big field.

This week of working my dogs

No pix again. Worked them on Tues. and didn't want to get hate mail from Louanne and the other rabbletrash from the other side of the Rockies about our weather. LOL It was beautiful...shorts and Tshirt weather....work dogs then doze off while sitting in a lawn chair watching and visiting with the XXX+hospitality of Rose & Bruce. It is tough...feeling guilty keeping them away from chores etc....but was just too sweet...in the warm sunshine.
Anyway.....Jayne worked pretty good but we had to drill on the tight-come-by-along-fenceline. But after 4 times...she started getting the idea and listened to my 'Steady' command.
Today was a repeat except the weather was back to coolish and clouds.... But same drill was used again albeit in a different spot in the field. And she did some really really nice steady work on the lifts...fetches....close at hand which I dream will transfer to bigger distances next weekend in Nursery at Lee's trial.....hahaha. But all in all, I can finally say that we have made progress in the last year and we are building a tight close bond.
I worked Dusty last Tues. and as usualy he was Mr. Perfect on these familiar sheep. Then today was Blair's turn, so I got the whole 'group' from out of the back....and worked on shedding. I don't know if it was helpful for him, but I think it helped me....so probably a good thing no matter. LOL He did great; coming through about 20 sheep with very little 'hole' made and turning on the right ones....working them for a while.... Good stuff but still so 'artificial'. My dogs are so handicapped by not having real work.
Anyhow, the good news is that we hope to get out this weekend on 'Pam's big field' which will be a great work-up to the trial next weekend. I'll try to get some pix but it is supposed to rain all weekend...so....maybe.

Flyball weekend

What a fun weekend! I was blown away when I walked into the arena around lunchtime Sat. It seemed like bedlam, a cacophony of barking dogs and screaming people! It was hilarious. Amazing how so few dogs could make so much noise and also how some of them were just standing quietly and calmly waiting their turn. Big dogs little dogs sleek dogs furry dogs of every shape and color but all obviously LOVING what they were doing! Two races in two side by side rings going at the same time for a total of over 80 runs of 4-5 heats each. Both days were super well organized and ran so smoothly by my friends in 'The Kings' club. I also ran into some out of town herding friends as teams came from as far away as Portland,Ore. & Spokane,WA. as well as Vancouver Island.
I got seated at my 'work' station entering scores/times on a laptop - very cool program. But paying attention to the judge meant I didn't get to watch very many runs. However by the end of the day I had a better handle on the job so was able to take in more. I saw one absolutely amazing race between two teams from the same club - div.1 which were the fastest. They both were so consistant over the 5 heats with time differences only in hundredths of a second. And talk about FAST! Wow!
I think my cattledog, Wyatt would have loved this sport but as he is turning 8 this year I think it a little too late for him. Blair would hate the noise I think and he will be 8 as well. Jayne doesn't exhibit any ball drive and I know she would be loud when excited which would drive me crazy. However Dusty loves chasing balls although he never gets the ball before Wyatt. But....young Mr.Owen has shown a real aptitude for beating all the other dogs to the ball. I rarely play 'ball' with them as I am fearful of ACL injury but...Fly Ball would be different and I keep telling my pals that I am going to show up one Friday at their practice. Only thing stopping me is that they start at 9:00am in Cloverdale which would mean getting up and about much earlier that I am used to! LOL
Today is beautiful sunny and warm, maybe 20c mid-day. Shorts and tshirt finally! It inspired me to give all four dogs a good brushing, feet trim and toe clip. Well actually Dusty was looking very unkept with tufts of hair hanging off his hips and rear legs. I don't know why Border Collies can't have nice short hair on their feet like Cattledogs! Wyatt never needs trimming - never gets the 'Grinch' look as I call it...when the long hair of their toes starts turning up in pointy tufts like the TV cartoon show's Grinch shoes.

musing

No pix...nothing much to updt. My houseguests are gone so the week is passing slower. Worked my dogs yesterday at McLeods' as usual...no rain but rather grey cool day. Today was much nicer, way more usual spring-like. Poked in at the Cloverdale show barn to help a bit finishing up with set up for the Fly Ball tourney this weekend. Then went out for Dim Sum with a friend - yahoo! That was nice. Supposed to be good weather the next few days...and I'm committed to spending the afternoons at this Fly Ball thingy. Should be fun to hang out with friends and see something different that BCs excel at...no insult to the other breeds involved.
Got some feedback on Owen.....:-(.....not so good....he is not as 'keen' as one would hope at his age and he is a bit 'stubborn'. I am sure Lee will sort him out over the next 10 weeks but...last thing I need is another 'great farm dog' candidate. I can afford to carry Dusty but not another. :-( However I love him dearly so would be tough to part with....like not. Arrgghhh....it really sucks not to have your own farm/stock etc... What the h%$k am I doing, messing with these good working dogs?? Without having the real work for them? Or the experience or talent to bring them up to their ability/potential.
Awk...oh well....I'm going to experience a bunch of flyball dogs this weekend so can re-evaluate my situation afterward...perhaps it may change...or chill....

April Fool

Global warming? Yeah right! Check out the white crap on my front lawn. And one more shot of my Dusty getting spoiled by house guest Julie.