Running yearlings

I took the B team out and ran the 3 yearlings for the first time. Odin and Zeus took to it like they were old pros. At hook up, they stood there, waiting to go. No twisting and jumping. Way cool! Peiper, though, decided to snap at Plato. I was a bit worried, because I was afraid Plato would just lay into the pup...but, to my surprise, Plato just tried to get over away from Peiper. Before take off though, Herod, old dog that he is, decided to mix it up with Riley back in wheel. Herod ended up with a strip of skin missing off of the top of his nose. Man did it bleed! I wasn't going to take him...but Manny got a paper towel, cleaned it and I saw that it was missing a bit of skin. Well, maybe that would teach Herod to leave Ri-ri alone. It must have...Herod didn't pull any more shenanigans for the rest of hookup or the run. Odin and Zeus pulled fantastically! From the start, they were laying into their harnesses and pulled great. Peiper necklined a bit for the first 1/8-1/4 mile...but soon figured it out and started running nicely as well. I kept the dogs down to about 7-8 miles an hour, not letting them go over 10 mph during the run. They worked hard and came in looking good. It's harder for us at this point, as Manny is still working...so we're having to run after work. He doesn't get home til about 7:30pm, which is just about the kids' bed time. A good thing though, is that my brother, Jimmy is moving up here on Friday, so he'll be around to help run dogs. What a relief until Manny is off of work for the season and back to running dogs full time.

Laters all! I did get some pictures...though Devlyn took them with the regular film camera and not the digital. So, you'll have to wait for pics! Ok, off to get dinner. Phew!

Running in the mud

Manny took the dogs out today, well, at least 14 of them. Of course, since I'd just sewed up the 4 harnesses that had been chomped; Sunshine decided to chomp another one while we hooked up the rest of the team. Danged dog!!! And while all of the other dogs, though very rambunctious, didn't do any damage to gear or themselves...Sunshine decided to also chomp on Jericho. I guess we moved too slow for him, so in his frustration, he kept laying into Jericho, his partner. Luckily, there was no blood letting. The dogs did well, though I guess Just decided that he didn't want to pass by another team, so ended up balling the whole team up. I guess he's back to his old bull-headed stuff again this season. By the end of last season, he was taking commands nicely and running great lead. This fall, he's back to going where HE wants to go. "Oh, you said Gee? I don't think so! Whose the lead dog around here, huh?" I can just see him saying that, if he could talk. What a booger! Speaking of Booger....he and Ahab went out of here as white dogs...they came back brown. Manny said that the rain yesterday (or day before?) left big old mud puddles along the trail. That's ok...good to keep the dogs cool. But, so much for my white dogs!!! Ha ha ha! We'll see how Spike, Banjo and Odin look tomorrow. I'll try to remember to grab the camera and snap some photos.

Rabies clinic in the morning. Manny didn't want to put the dog boxes on the truck just yet, as we still have to haul hay in a week or so. Jodi was going to loan us her box to just put on top of the truck bed...but it wasn't wide enough. So, we're going to be using kennels. Yay! So much for looking professional, eh? Ha ha ha! Oh well! At least they'll get their rabies vaccines, no matter how we get 'em there. ;o)

Jake is BACK!!

Jakers is back! He has been missing from Leonora's dogyard since June. Jake retired from racing this year and as promised, went back to Leonora, his original owner. But, just about a week or so after arriving, Jake went missing. It looked as if someone had let him off of his chain, but we'll probably never know. Jake wasn't one to wander. He got loose at our house once and stayed right in the dogyard. However, he disappeared back in June and though many of us looked high and low, he wasn't found. Until today. Actually, it was on August 21st that Animal Control picked him up, in the same area that he dissapeared from. He was well fed and looked cared for. A mix up with his paperwork (he'd been listed as female on the paperwork) and a miss in the shelter database (they revamped their missing dog reports in July, which meant that since Jake had been reported in June, he was not entered in the new report) which all resulted in them not realizing that Jake was our missing dog. I happened by the shelter today and as soon as I saw Jake, with his little black scar across the top of his nose, I knew we'd found him. Ironically, my son Devlyn had just mentioned Jake this morning, and I said that I doubted we'd ever know what happened, since he'd been missing for so long. Then, lo and behold, there he is on house G in the shelter dog yard. I immediately looked closer to verify that this dog was our missing Jakers....then, went to the front desk to tell them that this was our missing dog. I asked if they found a Quest microchip and my #3 Quest tag on his collar. They said they sure did. Righteous! We'd found Jake. They allowed me to spring Jake from the shelter so that I could take him back home to Leonora's (a promise is a promise).

At first, I was very worried, as Jake wasn't very responsive and even looked sick (though he's really FAT). I got him to the car, and the boys and I just kept talking to him. Within 5 minutes, he started resting his nose on my shoulder (he was sitting in the back seat, just behind me). Then, he was responding to his name, kept nudging me and Devlyn to pet him and by the time we'd got him to Leonora's, he was jumping on me again, giving me hugs. What a happy dog he was to be home!! We are so very thankful that this old guy is safe and sound now. He's been missing for 3 months! We'd all but lost hope of finding him. Then, there he was. I wanted to bring him home with us....but, he's a retired Quest dog and he was promised to go back to Leonora, his original owner once he retired. So, he's now back and happy.

Moral of the story? Never give up. Something told me to go check the shelter, even though I hadn't been there in a few weeks. I'm glad I listened to that voice, because it was already late afternoon and I had thought that perhaps we should just head home. But, I listened to my instincts and found our boy. I guess I should have never doubted him...Jake's a tough, Quest dog. I'm so happy he's home!! Right on!!

Wes Rau Clinic

Just finished the 2 day clinic that TRDMA organized with Wes Rau. Originally, there was to be a 2 day Basic class and a 2 day Advanced class...but, we didn't have enough folks for both classes. So, we trimmed it down to a 2 day intense course. I have to say that for all those who missed it...you really missed out on an incredible opportunity. With 10 of us there, Wes was able to do a lot more hands-on and one-on-one training with all of us. That really made a big difference and we were able to learn a LOT about our dogs, how to diagnose problems, and then how to FIX them! If I'd known half of what I learned this weekend when I ran the Quest 300 last February, we would have been able to finish...and probably with most of my dogs, too. We learned how to diagnose shoulder issues, neck/back issues, wrist issues, and hip issues. Then, Wes walked us through how to help/fix each one. I gained so much, that I feel truly confident that I can now help avoid and/or alleviate joint issues...or at least figure out what is going on with my dogs if I see one of them start to limp, or pull funny, etc.

I took Radar the first day, as I thought he'd be a bit calmer and such. Turned out the opposite and he became Spazzoid dog! Plus, while working on shoulders, we found out that pointers tend to have straighter and even thicker bones/joints. I had a real hard time trying to get a scapula lift on him (though my partner, Jillian got it right away). So, knowing that we'd work on wrists today, I took Feather with me. I found out quickly that she truly hated to be put down on her side...which meant that we ended up with a squirming ball of fury most of the time. My partner had to leave right after lunch, so I was on my own working with the Ice Princess. Turned out to be the best thing that could've happened. I not only got Feather to lay down...but was able to do the techniques that we learned today. Then, because I didn't have a partner that needed to do the techniques, I was able to practice all of the things that we learned yesterday as well! This resulted in a dog that became relaxed and at ease. I could actually see and feel her relax/get more flexible as I worked on her. It was great! I am so glad that I went ahead and did the clinic. I feel more confident that I'll be able to care for my dogs 10 times better than I have in the past. Right ON!!! And, handling Feather on my own was great practice, because it'll be just me out on the trail...so it is good to know that I managed to work with Feather by myself. :o)

Here's the litte "Ice Princess" looking very satisfied after a well earned treat.

Well, I'm off because the clinic was intense and I'm beat. Happy Labor's Day to All! Cheers!