The fireplace is scary!!!

My parents frequently have a fire in the fireplace at their house. Dylan has never had a problem. I also had a gas fireplace at my old duplex. We used it often to heat up our basement. Dylan never thought it was scary.

Last winter, Dylan was scared of Paul's fireplace. For some reason fire inside of Paul's house is scary when it's not anywhere else. Dylan is an experienced camper and never had any issues with the campfire either.

Last winter we'd do some clicker training and eventually I got him retrieving a ball off the hearth when there was a fire going. He'd do okay as long as I didn't let him shut down too much before doing some c/t with him for working near the fire.

Last night we went to Paul's after fire. I was thrilled to see the fire crackling when we arrived. Dylan, however, was not happy. He decided that it was safest to hide under the dining room table as far away from the fire place as possible. I decided it was time to get the clicker out again. We used our homemade target stick to help Dylan gain some confidence around the fire. Dylan doesn't quite understand that he is supposed to touch the green end. I haven't been that picky when I used it in the past. As long as he touches the stick, he gets a click and a treat! It wasn't long before he was leaning over the hearth to touch the stick - right near the crackling fire. The rest of the evening, his tail was wagging! He avoids going too close to the fire but at least he isn't hiding! Guess we'll be working on this again this winter! Hopefully one of these days he will realize that the fireplace really isn't scary!!

It's not his leg...

I finally had Dylan in to have his leg checked for the second time. Turns out it is not his leg; but rather his right side of his body. Thermal imaging showed he has hot spots on his right shoulder and right hip. The Chiropractic treatment showed his sternum is pulling to one side. My vet said the muscles are tight and inflamed. Hopefully getting his spine back into alignment will help and I'll also be doing some new stretches with him to stretch out his spine. I love having a vet who is in tune with this stuff and understands the needs of a flyball dog! A regular vet was crazy if I had gone in and said I think there is something wrong with his leg but I'm not really sure!

He's been having a few issues with his box turn at practice. My new flyball club has a new and different training prop than he is used to. He's been turning really wide and doing some funky stuff when he gets up on that box. So my vet ordered that he not use it for a while - at least until we see if that helps him get better. He is fine without the training prop and does a great box turn consistently when it's not there so we might as well not use it. We can't race with a prop there anyway!

The Flyball Box is fun!!

Last Night we got together with our Friends Chase, Muffit, and Cynthia to do some work on the flyball box. They came to our house this time and it's great that they did. I cleaned all the walnuts but more fell during the day yesterday so we found a small patch of grass that was mostly clean of walnuts to work on.

I stole this pic of Muffit because I think he is so cute. I hope my friend doesn't care! He's a typical frantic border collie who at 5 years old had had no training. This is pretty normal for a border collie who doesn't get to work. Or at least that's been my experience. That's why it so important that people that get this breed - understand their need for work and mental stimulation.

All the new sights and sounds at our house were very distracting for him. I'm really glad he came over there though because he did really well. He had to take a few minutes to focus then go off and check things out. He also did some VERY nice box turns when he was there.

Dylan, Chase, and even Marley got to do some box work too! I was most impressed with Spicey Love Muffit though! He is coming along so well and I hope they know they are invited to come back and use my distracting yard anytime they want too!!

Time to see the vet!

I'm happy to say that we made it through the whole month of September without going to the vet! It's a miracle and I am nearly positive it's the first month this year that I have not been in a vets office with one of my dogs!

We are going in this afternoon though but at least it's October now. Dylan's going for a Chiropractic. They are having a special today and I have been wanting to take him in because he has been limping a little bit off and on.

So I get to take off from work early and take Dylan in to see the vet. I'm happy he is going in even though it's been a week and a half or so since I have noticed him limping!

Happy Dogs!

Just found this pic again and had to post it. Reminds me of last summer when I had Zip!!!

Are they tennis balls? Or Walnuts?

I have a huge walnut tree in my backyard. It makes for a decent shade tree but it also is a huge pain when it comes time to clean the yard of leaves and walnuts. It

drips sticky stuff all summer and so anything in the yard tends to be sticky. It drops literally thousands of walnuts in the fall. Luckily it only produces nuts every other year.

I tried to clean some of the walnuts up this evening. They were falling even as I as picking them up! It seems impossible to pick up all the crappy walnuts. I was worried that they were going to hit me in the head and knock me out!

Marley, however, keeps me quite entertained. She seems to believe that whenever a walnut falls - it may be a tennis ball. As soon as she hears one fall - she runs over and pounces on it. She seems disappointed to find out that it's simply another walnut. There's already a thousand on the grass (well maybe 500 now that I did some work out there). It must really be disappointing to her that it's not actually raining tennis balls. Dylan is of course, just scared of the walnuts when they fall. He really is afraid of anything that moves!

When I first bought this house, there were 5000 walnuts. It looked like they hadn't been cleaned up in years. Now that I am through my first 2 years of owning this place, I realize that the walnut tree is just so big that it drops 5000 walnuts in the fall. I have the joy of getting down on my hands and knees to try to clean them up. They get buried in the lawn so I have to literally pat it down to make sure they are all picked up. Of course, there are already more falling so I am not sure what good all this work does. I'll have to do it again next week and the week after that. Oh and I only got about a 1/4 of the yard done anyway. I hope that 1/4 stays somewhat clean so we can do some box work out there tomorrow. We are expecting some of our friends from Tip Tail to come and do some training tomorrow evening!

Sometimes I miss being a renter. I never realized how much work it was to own a house. Now I own two and man do I hate doing yardwork. Maybe next year I will be able to afford to hire someone to do it. That's probably wishful thinking though!

WW Poor Pathetic Dylan.

He'd like everyone to believe he is deprived.

Eating Healthy

I've been trying, when possible, to make some healthy meals. I'm a horrible cook and I usually end up eating something that doesn't taste very good as a result of my attempt to cook something healthy.

I love veggies and I was a vegetarian until about a year and a half ago. So veggies are a good easy and healthy thing for me to eat. I mostly eat them raw because I don't know how to cook them.

I got this recipe from Chris but I improvised. I didn't add any peppers and I added portabello mushrooms and yellow squash and carrots and tomatoes. Oh and some whole garlic cloves too. The recipe called for salt and pepper but I don't like pepper much and I am trying to cut down on sodium so I used garlic powder instead. My house stinks but it tasted yummy so it's worth it.

Oh, and D&M always eat healthy. It's sooo easy for me to deny them the yummy treats that people offer. Yet I can't turn them down when yummy treats are offered to me. I wish someone made all my decisions on what I could eat. It really isn't difficult to keep a dog at a decent weight if you just make wise choices for them. Healthy food and small but healthful treats for training and reward is all it really takes. Exercise is good too!!

I really love raw feeding these two. It's good for them and my vet insists on it. They get some healthy kibble too since I work for a pet food company. They usually eat it in the morning for breakfast though. It's about time I start feeding some chicken now that it is cooling down. That will be nice since it's a bit cheaper than beef. My friend got some raw green tripe and she said her dogs love it. I may have to buy some one of these days but I can't handle feeding it.

Glad we all had a healthy and yummy dinner. Tomorrow is a weigh in day and I haven't had a great week so hopefully the low calorie dinner tonight will help a bit.

Relaxation Time

Dylan and I attended a Relaxation class yesterday at Four Legged Scholars yesterday. It was a really interesting course that talked about using Tie Downs to teach a dog to relax. Johanna also did a guided meditation with the people and their dogs!

During our guided meditation Dylan told me that he would like to play more flyball and that he wants me to pay more attention to him when we are just hanging around at home. He also would like me to get the living room cleaned so that we have more space to play in there.

So today I am trying to get motivated to clean. Well, I was working on paying bills etc, but now I am procrastinating by blogging. I really hate how messy my house is but I also hate cleaning!!

Marley is the best medicine!

Marley is the best medicine!

We went on our scheduled therapy visit last night. Sometimes I forget how much impact a visit from a dog can have on people.

Last night we visited the same Alzheimer's patients. Many of these are the same patients we have visited for a year. I've been frustrated thinking our recreation therapist didn't really understand our purpose there. Last night, however, was different.

We had been making our usual rounds when we found a few people in the dining room. We went in and Marley and I went from one person to the next to say hello while she let people love on her. Marley likes to perform her tricks for people and the rec therapist kept telling everyone that Marley would do some tricks. She set the people's chairs up in a small circle around Marley and I. Marley did some sit ups, high 5's, and spins, and twirls, and all that. When I asked her to roll over, she did her very distinctive plop down and roll over! One woman started laughing and laughing. It was if she thought it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

We've seen this woman before and she never speaks. She does always want to pet and visit with Marley and she's always with her roommate who appears to be her best friend. Last night, she separated herself. We visited and she made enough words for me to understand her questions about Marley. She laughed and smiled and grinned when Marley did tricks for her. She loved on her and Marley was a princess and loved every moment. Our rec therapist was amazed that this woman was laughing. In all the time she had been there, she had never heard her laugh. So we stayed and visited as long as Marley seemed comfortable. When it got time for us to leave, the woman commented that Marley seemed tired. In truth, Marley was fine, but it was a good time to leave.

Our rec therapist now wants to make a special effort to visit this particular patient. I think she now has a better understanding of the impact Marley can have on people. If my girl can provide a source of laughter, Marley really is the best medicine. We'll have a camera with us next visit so the rec therapist can take some pictures to put in People's rooms. I'm not allowed to take pictures of my baby girl when she's working but the facility sees some value in taking some pictures to put up in people's rooms to remind them of the dog that comes there to visit.

Marley is my very special girl. She has a way to know who is going to benefit from her love and affection. She's always happy to do some tricks and her Roll Over is the funniest thing I have ever seen! It takes a special dog to be a good therapy dog and Marley has proven herself to be wonderful at her job. She may never be the athlete and character the Dylan is. He tends to get a lot of attention when we are out and about. He's a strikingly handsome boy with a lot of personality. Sometimes I think he overshadows my little girl most of the time. Marley, however, proves time and time again that she's a wonderful little girl who has the ability to impact people in a very special way. Marley really is the best medicine!

WW -Dylan and the giant zucchini I found in the garden

We hate the bath!

Dylan despises the bathtub! He won't even come into the bathroom if I am in there getting ready! Marley is getting more and more used to it since

she has to have a bath every 2 weeks before her therapy visit. Last night was bath night and Dylan hasn't had one in a few months so I decided he needed one too. He was sure unhappy about it!

Marley has learned to do 2 shakes behind the shower curtain before she gets out. She's a pretty good girl but I can't get Dylan to shake and towel drying a dog doesn't really work well! So as soon as he jumped out of the tub he was shaking and flinging water everywhere!

I'm allergic to dogs oddly enough so having wet dog smell all over my tiny house isn't the best plan. We survived though and I even slept next to two damp dogs. Oh the joys of dog ownership! I can't bear to kick them out of my bed for the night and I didn't have time to bathe them early enough that they would actually dry before bedtime!

At least they are clean! I love soft clean dogs!!! Marley will have her therapy visit tonight and she will be all clean for the people to pet her! Dylan will smell better and will be more fun to cuddle with. That only usually lasts a couple of days around my house because I am sure the two of them will be out splashing in mud and water sometime in the very near future! Guess that it's just part of living with a two dogs!

Chasin Lizards is lots of fun!

We took the dogs out to the desert today to give them a chance to get out and run. This is Dylan's favorite place because he gets to run free! I try to call him minimally here because it's flat and I can see him and he loves so much to go out and explore. He does quite well and checks in on his own so I don't call him unless I have too!

Dylan wears an orange vest and his Muttlucks Booties. He blends in so well with the landscape that this orange vest helps make him much more visible. He tends to wear out his front pads on this dry terrain so the muttlucks help prevent that issue. They seem to stay on well but they get turned around so I have to stop him from time to time for an adjustment. My vet says he wouldn't have so many issues with his pads if his nails weren't so dang long. I really need to get working on the dremel but I've found it is very difficult for me to work on this alone. I think it would be easier if there were someone to sit there and feed him!!


There were lots and lots of lizards today and the dogs had the time of their life. Dylan especially loves to chase the lizards. The funny thing is, the lizards will run through the sagebrush and keep on going but the dogs seem to think they are hiding in the bushes. By the time the dogs realize they aren't there; the lizards are long gone!!

Paul and Leon just seem to belong together. Leon rarely leaves his side unless he sees a bunny or a squirrel!
Three tired dogs came home and took naps. I really need to get Dylan one of this round dog beds. He loves this one that is over at Paul's house!

And who couldn't love this boy? I had to post this last pic that I took after Dylan woke up!! Isn't he the cutest english pointer you have ever seen?

YAY for Flyball!

Time for another Flyball Demo!! I can't wait! I'm not sure if Dylan will be able to run or not but I am just happy to get to go out and do a demo with my team! It's always a good time!

I'm lucky my friend Cyn got a new van! She's going to let me ride down to Salem, UT with her! I hate driving and this way we can save some money on gas and do our part to help the environment!

Marley will get to go too. If there are any contests, I may enter her! She won the roll over race at the last event we went too! She's a fast roller!!

We will get to hang out with Tatum, Chase, and Muffit!! YIPEE!!! I can't wait for tomorrow!

Dylan's Leg

Something is still going on with Dylan's leg. I'm not sure what it is but when my vet looked at it a month or so ago she couldn't see anything either. She treats a lot of working dogs so she pays close attention to soft tissue injuries. So if she couldn't find anything, I'm pretty sure another vet wouldn't either. I may have to try to get him back in sometime in the near future for a more thorough exam.

He seems to be standing off balance sometimes and very bull-legged at others. Then there are days that he seems okay and acts like nothing is wrong? I need to start journaling everyday so that if and when we do go back to the vet, I have clear records of what is wrong.

Dylan is supposed to be running in a Flyball demo this weekend. I don't know if he will be able to. I don't want to allow him to push himself and make things worse. He's one of those crazy dogs that would keep going and going and going until he drops. He just doesn't know to stop when he feels pain!

Sometimes I think life would be a whole lot easier if dogs could talk! Then they could tell us what is wrong with them so we could take care of it!

My favorite cuddlers!

More pics of my favorite sleeping buddies. I love it when I have time in the morning to cuddle with them!

My Puppy fix!

I can't get a puppy. I know well enough that I can't afford one! So sometimes I have to borrow a pup to give me a puppy fix! Sometimes it's an adult and sometimes it's a puppy!

In reality, I actually bring home dogs from my rescue group during the super adoption. The out of town dogs have to stay crated over night and it breaks my heart. So I try to bring one home so at least that's one less dog that has to stay in a crate all night long out at the super adoption.

Today I brought home this girl. She's a 6 month old pup whose name I don't know. It doesn't matter though, I doubt she knows her name either. I love, love, love border collies so when the rescue told me about her I immediately offered to bring her over night. She's a maniac and wouldn't hold still for a picture. That's to be expected though with a 6 month old border pup that hasn't had any training.

I played a bit of chase games with her. Well I let her chase me! I also got out a clicker and some treats and just played a few training games with her. I had her targeting and she's very responsive if I just make little click noises to get her attention. She's definitely a fun girl and would probably be good to work with since she focuses so easy and is quick to respond when I want her attention. It's good that she's already been adopted! I think I'd be in love!

She just can't go to her new home until she has been spayed. The foster said she had a lot of people interested in her so I really hope that she chose wisely. This is an active girl that is going to need lots of exercise and mental stimulation to keep her from becoming a total terror. I didn't meet the adopters but if I do tomorrow I will take time to see if they have any idea what they are getting into. B0rder collies are not dogs for just anyone! They really need a certain kind of home (well Marley is the exception to that rule - she'd be happy just about anywhere but I am glad she ended up with me!!)

I gave her a raw bone to chew on for a bit. She's being a good quiet girl in the x pen for now. Dylan's a bit upset but I baby gated him into the bedroom and gave him a raw bone too. So he'll be busy for a while and maybe forget that there's another dog in the house for the night!

Is he injured?

This is the second time in about a month that I have had to pull Dylan out of Flyball Practice. I'm not sure what is going on.

A month ago Dylan started limping during practice. I pulled him out and rubbed him down and stretched him out. I gave him some Arnica and by morning he seemed okay. We were headed to the holistic vet the next morning with Leon so I brought Dylan along and she checked him and watched his gate. She couldn't see a limp so we figured he must have just twisted something and seemed to be feeling better.

Last night, he was messing up on his box turn. He's been turning wide sometimes and I think it's because of the training prop. I asked them to move it out. I don't want him learning to turn too wide because of the prop. First turn without he prop was totally messed up. Then I noticed that he was favoring one leg. He won't put near as much weight on his right leg. He's spending a lot of time standing a little bull legged. I pulled him out, rubbed him down and stretched him good. Gave him some Arnica last night but this morning he was still favoring that left leg.

I can't remember if the first time it was the right leg that he was having an issue with. I need to call the vet today and see if they have it in their records.

I hope we can figure out what it is. I don't want my little boy hurting. Paul believes it's just a stubbed toe but I am not sure if that is the case. I have a feeling he's twisted or tweaked something in that leg that needs some time to heal.

I never get sick of this..

Yesterday Morning I actually got to spend some time just laying in bed cuddling with my pups. I'm glad I ended up with cuddlers (although I secretly believe I turn dogs into cuddlers!)... I never get to sleep in. My body just wakes up too early. But once in a great while I get to stay in bed a bit later. It's always fun to have puppies to cuddle with!

I never get sick of looking at them lounging around. They just look so cute!!

Dog Videos!!!

I stole this idea from my friend R3K9s. She recently posted some videos of her backyard agility star Maddie. Dylan's a backyard agility star too. I'd like him to be a real agility competitor but I just can't afford it. I'm a poor single girl with two very expensive dogs so getting up to trial level is not an option for us. We have some backyard agility equipment (including a training teeter, jumps, contact trainer, and ladder) and I'd like to add to my collection a tunnel (even a small one!) and some 2 X 2's for weave pole training and a Tire Jump. I have a plan for building the 2 X 2's and Tire jump but it seems money is always tight and I just can't afford to buy the stuff to make them. A table would be fun too.

I took these videos myself of us playing in the yard. It's hard to tell a dog what to do and video at the same time. Guess that's one big disadvantage to living alone. There's no one to videotape for you!

Marley is my trickster! She loves doing tricks and gets to do it a lot as a therapy dog. She had a hard time with her high five in the video which is odd becuase she was targeting to my hand instead of giving me a high five. Often she tries to offer a high five when I ask her to do a target to my hand that is out of her normal reach. LOL.

This is Leon at Flyball practice. This was only his 2nd or 3rd week training with me. He's doing quite well for a newbie dog. When I first thought about bringing him to flyball I was on another team. My club owner at the time said that there was no way he would play! Look at him go!! Some people seem like they just aren't willing to give all dogs a chance. Never underestimate the speed of a crazy curly coat! We still have a long way to go but I have high hopes for this boy!!

This is of Dylan at flyball practice. I have some actual tournament videos on Myspace but it won't let me embed them here. I had this video of him at practice but I was scolded for putting it online before without the club's authorization. Ever wonder why we changed clubs? I'm really glad to be with the new team! I wish I could have brought some of my old teammates with me though! It's much better for me and my dogs to be in a more positive environment!