Jim saw an Owl last night sitting on the window ledge outside the bathroom. Rather neat huh?
We have baby mice. I was shocked. Went out a bit more than a week ago, planning on killing the ladies as I was NOT going to bring them in the house for the winter. Anyways, they had babies! A whole whack of them. This morning I checked on them (as I do in the mornings to feed and water) and their eyes are opening. 10 days old they are now. :) Some very pretty ones in the mix too. not that is matters, ugly or pretty they bring in 75 cents each. But they are handling being outside just fine. So thinking I'll just keep the ladies and one male from the litter over the winter. In the spring I can get me a new male and keep babies from a litter or two and start all over again.
Bunnies are doing well over the winter too outside. They keep quite cozy. I'll breed them in February to hit the Easter crowd and that's good timing as they'll be able to go out on grass too in April so they won't get overcrowded.
What else...Sassy's old injury is bugging her again.
Jim had a couple of crazy busy week's but this week is a bit easier.
Justin got over one cold just to get another one. :( ah well..life of a toddler.
My foot is feeling a lot better, my back is stiff in the morning lately...not much I can do about that, just keep moving! :)
That's it!
Showing posts with label the dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the dogs. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
His Sense of Humour is Developing
So last night I was doing dishes, Justin came in to "help". I asked him instead to let the dog in the house.
Off he toddled. I hear him at the back door (just like two steps away). Sassy coming? Sassy he yells. Then I hear the door open, then a giggle as the door shuts.
Sassy coming? He giggles. I hear the door open, I poke my head around the corner asking if he needs help only to see a boyo closing a door carefully just as Sassy tries to get in the house. He did this again. Sassy was being very patient.
I said "Justin are you teasing the dog?" He looked up at me and chortled.
I opened the door and let the dog in. :)
Told Jim about it. His response... He must have learned it from his mommy who likes teasing her animals too. :)
Off he toddled. I hear him at the back door (just like two steps away). Sassy coming? Sassy he yells. Then I hear the door open, then a giggle as the door shuts.
Sassy coming? He giggles. I hear the door open, I poke my head around the corner asking if he needs help only to see a boyo closing a door carefully just as Sassy tries to get in the house. He did this again. Sassy was being very patient.
I said "Justin are you teasing the dog?" He looked up at me and chortled.
I opened the door and let the dog in. :)
Told Jim about it. His response... He must have learned it from his mommy who likes teasing her animals too. :)
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Rainy Day
So... our life.
1. We miss our Riley dog, but it's getting better. Justin noticed today. he walked around the house today saying "an riley too? riley hidin?" What do you say to that? All I could say was "No buddy, Riley is all gone now."
2. Jim was away at Classis all day. Left at 530, arrived back at 5 p.m. He's tired. Says it was a good meeting.
3. Our van, the bearings need to be replaced.
4. Jim leaves to go up north probably next Tuesday. He will be missed. He is not sure yet if he is taking Sassy with him or not. Pros and Cons both ways. He's going camping in the cold with a bunch of men.
5. Harry's boys will take care of our critters the week that we're away. I'll pay them $10 for their trouble. They are just old enough to do it now. :) Peter is excited about taking care of the mice. :)
6. Mom and Dad are moving. I go up Monday to help. Jim is hoping the van will be done early in the a.m so it's done and out of the way. Kinda needs it fixed so that he can take it up north.
7. Justin is for the most part, potty trained at home during the day, as long as he isn't wearing pants. Going away is harder, and we're still figuring that one out. Good thing as his cloth diapers don't fit very good anymore and we've kinda given up on them.
8. Justin's room has been "fall-cleaned". All reorganized. He was a bit scared to go to bed tonight as it all looked so different. I lay down with him for one minute talking about his room and how his crib is the same, and mommy sleeps in her own room and he's just fine in his room. and such like. He settled down nicely after that.
9. Justin struggles with me going to work on Fridays. Yesterday and today he kept asking...Mommy home now? Mommy stay home now? AH!!!!! Makes me wonder how women do it all the time. How can they leave their little ones behind to go to work? I don't figure it too well. These two days make me want to just chuck the job. But I won't. I know he's fine. He is with his father. Life is good. :) Helps me pay off my credit cards, helps me get stuff that we as a family need. But ah....just tugs at me old heart strings it does....
Anyways, that's it. I have a dog to amble. Rabbits to catch and dishes to get done. Tomorrow is Sunday! YEAH!!! We get to worship God as a corporate body. :) Life is good.
1. We miss our Riley dog, but it's getting better. Justin noticed today. he walked around the house today saying "an riley too? riley hidin?" What do you say to that? All I could say was "No buddy, Riley is all gone now."
2. Jim was away at Classis all day. Left at 530, arrived back at 5 p.m. He's tired. Says it was a good meeting.
3. Our van, the bearings need to be replaced.
4. Jim leaves to go up north probably next Tuesday. He will be missed. He is not sure yet if he is taking Sassy with him or not. Pros and Cons both ways. He's going camping in the cold with a bunch of men.
5. Harry's boys will take care of our critters the week that we're away. I'll pay them $10 for their trouble. They are just old enough to do it now. :) Peter is excited about taking care of the mice. :)
6. Mom and Dad are moving. I go up Monday to help. Jim is hoping the van will be done early in the a.m so it's done and out of the way. Kinda needs it fixed so that he can take it up north.
7. Justin is for the most part, potty trained at home during the day, as long as he isn't wearing pants. Going away is harder, and we're still figuring that one out. Good thing as his cloth diapers don't fit very good anymore and we've kinda given up on them.
8. Justin's room has been "fall-cleaned". All reorganized. He was a bit scared to go to bed tonight as it all looked so different. I lay down with him for one minute talking about his room and how his crib is the same, and mommy sleeps in her own room and he's just fine in his room. and such like. He settled down nicely after that.
9. Justin struggles with me going to work on Fridays. Yesterday and today he kept asking...Mommy home now? Mommy stay home now? AH!!!!! Makes me wonder how women do it all the time. How can they leave their little ones behind to go to work? I don't figure it too well. These two days make me want to just chuck the job. But I won't. I know he's fine. He is with his father. Life is good. :) Helps me pay off my credit cards, helps me get stuff that we as a family need. But ah....just tugs at me old heart strings it does....
Anyways, that's it. I have a dog to amble. Rabbits to catch and dishes to get done. Tomorrow is Sunday! YEAH!!! We get to worship God as a corporate body. :) Life is good.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Crowing a bit About Sassy
I need to crow a bit about my dog Sassy for a minute. :)
This past weekend, I went to an agility trial at Jumping for Joy in Maryhill with Jim and Sassy. We camped over Friday night in the trailer. We've in the past brought Riley with us as he's such a calm dog that nothing bothers him that it keeps Sassy all chilled out to. Like me, she's easily made tense. :) Funny how our dogs mimic who we are at times.
Anyways, Riley was NOT up to traveling. He was really, really not feeling well. Eva came over to care for Justin and Riley.
That left the problem of how do we make sure this trial is a GOOD thing for Sassy dog. Our problem-solving resulted in: making sure she ate her food...took me 20 minutes of coaxing with her favourite..CHICKEN! Found a ball for a toy (which ended up not needing too much as there were apple trees around and Sassy loves chasing apples and then eating them. During the day instead of tethering her out, she stayed inside with Jim as he did his work. She only came out for her runs and for exercise.
First run.... standard run. Contains all the different obstacles: tire, jumps, a-frame, teeter (seesaw), weave poles, tunnels and so forth. The run looked do-able. But since Sassy hasn't trialled in such a long time I thought she was capable of just doing a no-brainer and not listen OR choosing to grin at me and then do her own course or listen really well and do everything great. Forgot to factor in her handler...me... Run went great until we got the table were we had to stop for a five count. My back said OW... my brain went left-field somewhere and we got a two count refusal for the weave poles. Blanked out completely. So in this run it was "great dog, pity about the handler". :)
Second run: team. Team is HARD to get. You depend on two dogs and two handlers both being in good form on the same day on the right course. WE DID IT!!!!! Little old Dexter and middle-aged Sassy pulled it off. Two estactic handlers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Neither of which believed we had done it until we saw it on paper. WE DID IT!!!!!!!! Sassy and Dexter "q'd" ah...what a wonder. :) so pleased with both dogs listening and doing their stuff so very well.
Third run: Gamblers. This one I didn't worry about at all. Okay...wee bit of a lie, got nervous which I always do, but chilled out once we started running. I saw what the main gamble was and said to myself... Sassy can do this. She's done this type of gamble before in practice...about two years ago. This... she can do. So I thought I'd play around a bit with the stuff beforehand just to see what she would do. i.e. could she do the mini gamble? Could she do the big point obstacles despite my back just killing me by this point? She could!!!!! she could!!!!! WE WON THE CLASS!!! Totally cool! :) We beat out the competition by 2 points we did!!!!!!
Yeah for Sassy listening so well. For not getting all stressed out and only wanting to get her toy and to go home! Yeah for me holding my back together long enough to get through three runs!!!! yeah for Jim being patient and just sitting with her in the trailer when I had to do my volunteer stints. :)
It was just totally bonus today folks, just totally.
At the end of the day she got three first places for her class (specials). and two of the more important "q" ribbons for doing everything just the way she was supposed to in the time allowed for her to do it. Those two ribbons go toward a bigger title which hopefully we'll finish off next year. :)
And to think I went into this trial thinking we'd come home empty. thinking that after 8 months off she and I would be too rusty to get through anything well. HA! I say HA to that! My dog is TOO good for that! (imagine a very big grin) So yes... I think I can be proud of my girlie. Sometimes I do wonder what she'd have been like with a different, better handler ..... I think she'd be national/international quality I do! :)
Okay.... all done crowing now. :)
This past weekend, I went to an agility trial at Jumping for Joy in Maryhill with Jim and Sassy. We camped over Friday night in the trailer. We've in the past brought Riley with us as he's such a calm dog that nothing bothers him that it keeps Sassy all chilled out to. Like me, she's easily made tense. :) Funny how our dogs mimic who we are at times.
Anyways, Riley was NOT up to traveling. He was really, really not feeling well. Eva came over to care for Justin and Riley.
That left the problem of how do we make sure this trial is a GOOD thing for Sassy dog. Our problem-solving resulted in: making sure she ate her food...took me 20 minutes of coaxing with her favourite..CHICKEN! Found a ball for a toy (which ended up not needing too much as there were apple trees around and Sassy loves chasing apples and then eating them. During the day instead of tethering her out, she stayed inside with Jim as he did his work. She only came out for her runs and for exercise.
First run.... standard run. Contains all the different obstacles: tire, jumps, a-frame, teeter (seesaw), weave poles, tunnels and so forth. The run looked do-able. But since Sassy hasn't trialled in such a long time I thought she was capable of just doing a no-brainer and not listen OR choosing to grin at me and then do her own course or listen really well and do everything great. Forgot to factor in her handler...me... Run went great until we got the table were we had to stop for a five count. My back said OW... my brain went left-field somewhere and we got a two count refusal for the weave poles. Blanked out completely. So in this run it was "great dog, pity about the handler". :)
Second run: team. Team is HARD to get. You depend on two dogs and two handlers both being in good form on the same day on the right course. WE DID IT!!!!! Little old Dexter and middle-aged Sassy pulled it off. Two estactic handlers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Neither of which believed we had done it until we saw it on paper. WE DID IT!!!!!!!! Sassy and Dexter "q'd" ah...what a wonder. :) so pleased with both dogs listening and doing their stuff so very well.
Third run: Gamblers. This one I didn't worry about at all. Okay...wee bit of a lie, got nervous which I always do, but chilled out once we started running. I saw what the main gamble was and said to myself... Sassy can do this. She's done this type of gamble before in practice...about two years ago. This... she can do. So I thought I'd play around a bit with the stuff beforehand just to see what she would do. i.e. could she do the mini gamble? Could she do the big point obstacles despite my back just killing me by this point? She could!!!!! she could!!!!! WE WON THE CLASS!!! Totally cool! :) We beat out the competition by 2 points we did!!!!!!
Yeah for Sassy listening so well. For not getting all stressed out and only wanting to get her toy and to go home! Yeah for me holding my back together long enough to get through three runs!!!! yeah for Jim being patient and just sitting with her in the trailer when I had to do my volunteer stints. :)
It was just totally bonus today folks, just totally.
At the end of the day she got three first places for her class (specials). and two of the more important "q" ribbons for doing everything just the way she was supposed to in the time allowed for her to do it. Those two ribbons go toward a bigger title which hopefully we'll finish off next year. :)
And to think I went into this trial thinking we'd come home empty. thinking that after 8 months off she and I would be too rusty to get through anything well. HA! I say HA to that! My dog is TOO good for that! (imagine a very big grin) So yes... I think I can be proud of my girlie. Sometimes I do wonder what she'd have been like with a different, better handler ..... I think she'd be national/international quality I do! :)
Okay.... all done crowing now. :)
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Weekly update - sept 20
Lifted the lawn mower wrong a couple of days agao..just a little thing. Sent my back into major spasm. VERY irritating. Just been a summer of irritation! :) develops character right? Side benefit though...JIM will wash the kitchen floor for me. I rather dislike our mop so I usually do a hands and knees thing, so the floor desperately needs a good cleaning so Jim has promised to give it a once over.
Jim thinks he has caught what Justin and I fought with over the weekend. Gave Justin a day of vomiting and diarrhea. me...If I ate I felt icky, but if I didn't I felt worse somehow. Jim has a general feeling of malise going on right now. Hopefully it will pass over him quickly. Changed his plans to go visiting an elderly lady of our church tonight. she's like... 98 or something like that. Lives in assisted living now. Just finished battling an illness so Jim's not real keen on helping her battle something else. :) Go figure eh! :)
Sassy is entering her first trial in almost 8 months this weekend. I've dropped her down a height level because I don't like how she won't do everything high that I ask, but otherwise seems fine. But she's full of zip again so I figure.. it's a small trial, let's see how she does. :)
What else.....I could just be really chatty and tell you EVERYTHING that I've done this week... do you want me to be that chatty though??? that's always the question. :)
Tuesday... laundry (ALL the laundry done!). Lawn mowed. Killed three bunnies to make into dog food. Rearranged all the critters to make fit the pens that we have constructed. Groomed Riley. Practiced agility with Sassy. Played with the boy child. Cooked three healthy meals! Even got most of the kitchen clean except for dishes..my back said enough is enough by the end of the day.
Yesterday... gardening. Have to admit, I asked Jim to help me with dig the potatoes loose. Justin helped me pull the onions. Learned a new thing... Had onions left from last year that had "hidden" themselves. Figured I'd just let them stay in the garden and see what happened with them over the course of the year. one... they flowered. SOME of them grew onions out of the flower head (like Egyptian walking onions do) Others just grew seeds out of the seed head, and some also grew babies like tulips do. Totally amazed me to see the differences in them as they were apparently all the same variety of red onion. Rather neat.
Also hmmm... Oh..processed all the free meat I got for the dogs off freecycle. Getting that ready to make my dog food next week sometime for them. it was funny. Had this HUGE roast that just daunted me to make into ever so many smaller pieces. Decided to whack it in half in give it to the dogs. Note... this was probably a 12 pound roast. VERY solid. Anyways, wanted to see if ever hungry Riley would still be hungry if he ate half of it. AND if Sassy could even manage to finish it. They both succeeded. Then they sate some ribs from a rib roast I could barely cut through. To make it meal sized would have required more work than I wanted to put into them. so Riley got two ribs, and Sassy got one and a bit. But Sassy... VERY rotund. No desire for supper. No desire for a walk...just let me sleep and digest please is her attitude. Riley.... Hey...where's supper now? Hey...food is good? Hey dumb human... I think you forgot something!!!!!!
Dumb irritating dog! You've had enough food for 2 days dog! actually enough for 4 days!!!! Ah well...he's old and semi-senile...what can one expect? Makes me laugh even if he is irritating. :)
Update on the dogs this morning: Sassy VERY eager and happy to go for a walk. Chased bunnies and squirrels, said hi to our regular morning walk people, with two normal poops. Riley, walked slowly, not a lot of interest in things, but walked nicely, one not so good poop which is normal for him if I change things on him. He's still hungry! Silly dog. no breakfast this morning for you! Your tummy is still full!
What else...not a whole lot. Justin went to bed well last night. Woke up during the night talking and playing, so now when I want to go to toddler time with him he's sleeping in! Silly lad. Jim slept fairly well last night and he isn't feeling as perky as he'd like, but better than last night. Hopefully he can do the visiting today that he wants to get done.
Jim thinks he has caught what Justin and I fought with over the weekend. Gave Justin a day of vomiting and diarrhea. me...If I ate I felt icky, but if I didn't I felt worse somehow. Jim has a general feeling of malise going on right now. Hopefully it will pass over him quickly. Changed his plans to go visiting an elderly lady of our church tonight. she's like... 98 or something like that. Lives in assisted living now. Just finished battling an illness so Jim's not real keen on helping her battle something else. :) Go figure eh! :)
Sassy is entering her first trial in almost 8 months this weekend. I've dropped her down a height level because I don't like how she won't do everything high that I ask, but otherwise seems fine. But she's full of zip again so I figure.. it's a small trial, let's see how she does. :)
What else.....I could just be really chatty and tell you EVERYTHING that I've done this week... do you want me to be that chatty though??? that's always the question. :)
Tuesday... laundry (ALL the laundry done!). Lawn mowed. Killed three bunnies to make into dog food. Rearranged all the critters to make fit the pens that we have constructed. Groomed Riley. Practiced agility with Sassy. Played with the boy child. Cooked three healthy meals! Even got most of the kitchen clean except for dishes..my back said enough is enough by the end of the day.
Yesterday... gardening. Have to admit, I asked Jim to help me with dig the potatoes loose. Justin helped me pull the onions. Learned a new thing... Had onions left from last year that had "hidden" themselves. Figured I'd just let them stay in the garden and see what happened with them over the course of the year. one... they flowered. SOME of them grew onions out of the flower head (like Egyptian walking onions do) Others just grew seeds out of the seed head, and some also grew babies like tulips do. Totally amazed me to see the differences in them as they were apparently all the same variety of red onion. Rather neat.
Also hmmm... Oh..processed all the free meat I got for the dogs off freecycle. Getting that ready to make my dog food next week sometime for them. it was funny. Had this HUGE roast that just daunted me to make into ever so many smaller pieces. Decided to whack it in half in give it to the dogs. Note... this was probably a 12 pound roast. VERY solid. Anyways, wanted to see if ever hungry Riley would still be hungry if he ate half of it. AND if Sassy could even manage to finish it. They both succeeded. Then they sate some ribs from a rib roast I could barely cut through. To make it meal sized would have required more work than I wanted to put into them. so Riley got two ribs, and Sassy got one and a bit. But Sassy... VERY rotund. No desire for supper. No desire for a walk...just let me sleep and digest please is her attitude. Riley.... Hey...where's supper now? Hey...food is good? Hey dumb human... I think you forgot something!!!!!!
Dumb irritating dog! You've had enough food for 2 days dog! actually enough for 4 days!!!! Ah well...he's old and semi-senile...what can one expect? Makes me laugh even if he is irritating. :)
Update on the dogs this morning: Sassy VERY eager and happy to go for a walk. Chased bunnies and squirrels, said hi to our regular morning walk people, with two normal poops. Riley, walked slowly, not a lot of interest in things, but walked nicely, one not so good poop which is normal for him if I change things on him. He's still hungry! Silly dog. no breakfast this morning for you! Your tummy is still full!
What else...not a whole lot. Justin went to bed well last night. Woke up during the night talking and playing, so now when I want to go to toddler time with him he's sleeping in! Silly lad. Jim slept fairly well last night and he isn't feeling as perky as he'd like, but better than last night. Hopefully he can do the visiting today that he wants to get done.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Oh, What to Update?
Went out for supper last night with a couple who are involved with the video ministry from another church. Boy...did we ever have a good time. Good food, good conversation and laughter. Justin ate meat! :) What can I say, he's not a huge meat eater so I like it when he does that. Lida is a good cook. (well, except for pie which she says never turns out for her so she buys it) We had apple pie for dessert, roast beef, potatoes, broccoli, salad and carrots. Good meal. So it was a good time out. Anyways, Lida reminded me that I haven't updated the View for a bit so... here I am updating. :)
Afterwards Jim had a meeting, and then Justin and I took the dogs for a walk to the park. Justin now knows how to open the front door by himself. NOT REAL THRILLED by this. We live on a busy street. So we'll have to keep the screen door locked I think for the next while until he learns to be a bit safer. Scares a mother's heart to hear the front door slam while hearing "Park, Park". Fortunately I also heard "stoller, stoller" as he ran to the garage to try to get his stroller out. yeah for strollers! :) Justin had a lot of fun at the park, we actually went to the school playground as the rec. centre play ground was jam packed with children from the baseball families. Anyways, he had fun playing with a little boy Griffin. 3.5 years, wanting to play with Justin's trains, but Justin doesn't know how to share yet (he's still at the MINE-stage) But they had fun together going down the slide and playing trains.
What else.... had a great yard sale on May 19th. Mom and Dad came up from Teviotdale to help out. Mom brought a few things with her to sell as well. Jim's mom was here, she was going to help with the sale as well, but Justin wanted to play in the sandbox so she helped him with that instead. Proved to be a huge help! :) It was SO much fun. Chatting with family, chatting with people who stopped by, making wheeling and dealing. Ah I LOVE IT! :)
Then I got to clean up and I actually like that too.... the picking and choosing about what to give away at the curb, deciding what to bring to which thrift place, deciding what I should keep (Jim's mom is having a garage in August so I'm giving her a few things to sell). Anyways, it was fun. :) Someday I get to do this again! OH.. made over $300. Some of which was spoken for, 30$ (approx) to Cheryl for rabbits, 50$ to pay Jim back for Sassy's clippers, 30$ devoted for dog food (from sale of rabbits) and the rest is mine to play with!
I'll use the change to outfit (hopefully) Justin this weekend at the Hensall town-wide garage sale. Hopefully for the rest of the year, depends if people had boy children born the year before Justin or not. We'll have to wait and see.
Had some of my joy stolen away from me Sunday morning by unkind comments made. I need to deal with at some point this week. Just have to figure out a good time and so forth.
What else, oh.. finished the front bed and ended up redoing the back corner bed. Nancy gave me so many plants from her garden so she's been a real boon to me in this. Got some plants I don't have which is always nice. I've managed to finish planting my veggie gardens, will have to replant my cucumbers as the hard frost we had this week seemed to hit them. All I have left to do of the hard spring work is weeding and digging out a bit the privacy fence/window garden. The creeping charlie is having a field day there.
Oh.. Sassy definitely has herding breed in her somewhere. I have 4 bunnies leftover that I haven't sold yet. ONE of them (littlest white) has learned if he wiggles when I want him to waggle he can get away from me. Hopping bunnies are hard to catch. SASSY HERDS him back to me. It's quite a distinctive herding behaviour. Much different than her WILD BUNNY must CHASE attitude. This is a "I'm bringing this critter back to where it belongs" behaviour. Very helpful. Makes me think she's a very smart dog. Certainly saves me a lot of leg work. I need to figure out a more fool proof way of moving these bunnies about.
Afterwards Jim had a meeting, and then Justin and I took the dogs for a walk to the park. Justin now knows how to open the front door by himself. NOT REAL THRILLED by this. We live on a busy street. So we'll have to keep the screen door locked I think for the next while until he learns to be a bit safer. Scares a mother's heart to hear the front door slam while hearing "Park, Park". Fortunately I also heard "stoller, stoller" as he ran to the garage to try to get his stroller out. yeah for strollers! :) Justin had a lot of fun at the park, we actually went to the school playground as the rec. centre play ground was jam packed with children from the baseball families. Anyways, he had fun playing with a little boy Griffin. 3.5 years, wanting to play with Justin's trains, but Justin doesn't know how to share yet (he's still at the MINE-stage) But they had fun together going down the slide and playing trains.
What else.... had a great yard sale on May 19th. Mom and Dad came up from Teviotdale to help out. Mom brought a few things with her to sell as well. Jim's mom was here, she was going to help with the sale as well, but Justin wanted to play in the sandbox so she helped him with that instead. Proved to be a huge help! :) It was SO much fun. Chatting with family, chatting with people who stopped by, making wheeling and dealing. Ah I LOVE IT! :)
Then I got to clean up and I actually like that too.... the picking and choosing about what to give away at the curb, deciding what to bring to which thrift place, deciding what I should keep (Jim's mom is having a garage in August so I'm giving her a few things to sell). Anyways, it was fun. :) Someday I get to do this again! OH.. made over $300. Some of which was spoken for, 30$ (approx) to Cheryl for rabbits, 50$ to pay Jim back for Sassy's clippers, 30$ devoted for dog food (from sale of rabbits) and the rest is mine to play with!
I'll use the change to outfit (hopefully) Justin this weekend at the Hensall town-wide garage sale. Hopefully for the rest of the year, depends if people had boy children born the year before Justin or not. We'll have to wait and see.
Had some of my joy stolen away from me Sunday morning by unkind comments made. I need to deal with at some point this week. Just have to figure out a good time and so forth.
What else, oh.. finished the front bed and ended up redoing the back corner bed. Nancy gave me so many plants from her garden so she's been a real boon to me in this. Got some plants I don't have which is always nice. I've managed to finish planting my veggie gardens, will have to replant my cucumbers as the hard frost we had this week seemed to hit them. All I have left to do of the hard spring work is weeding and digging out a bit the privacy fence/window garden. The creeping charlie is having a field day there.
Oh.. Sassy definitely has herding breed in her somewhere. I have 4 bunnies leftover that I haven't sold yet. ONE of them (littlest white) has learned if he wiggles when I want him to waggle he can get away from me. Hopping bunnies are hard to catch. SASSY HERDS him back to me. It's quite a distinctive herding behaviour. Much different than her WILD BUNNY must CHASE attitude. This is a "I'm bringing this critter back to where it belongs" behaviour. Very helpful. Makes me think she's a very smart dog. Certainly saves me a lot of leg work. I need to figure out a more fool proof way of moving these bunnies about.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Mother's Day
So yesterday was Mother's Day.
Jim's mom joined us for the day. She arrived shortly before the morning service and stayed until just after the evening service.
As it was mother's day, all the ladies in the church received a flower. Justin thought he should try to beat mine up. :)
He was too excited yesterday to stay in church very long. He went to the nursery by the time of the second song which is a bit unusual for him lately.
We had a nice day.
Found out after church that a young lady from church is looking for a new male rabbit for her herd of rabbits so told her she could have our bun-bun. We had gotten a rabbit this week that was destined for the dog food pot but Justin and Jim well....they fell in love with him. Anyways, he is a bit too "friendly" shall we say, so I couldn't let Justin play with him. So Cheryl will take bun-bun and I will get some young bunnies from Cheryl. I will try to sell some of these wee bunnies at my upcoming garage sale and the rest will stick around for a wee while. :) If we get enough of them, hopefully neither Jim or Justin will like them too much. :)
We had mac and cheese goulash for lunch, followed by mom's lovely lemon pie. :)
Justin was having a hard time containing his excitement at "mamer" being over and was SO tired that we took a nice walk so that he could settle down and have a nap. That gave Jim time to relax for a while as well as he did not join us for a walk.
So Justin napped in the stroller while mom and I visited outside for a while. Mom thinks I did a good job on my big window garden too! YEAH! :)
We now have three baby birds in our nest. Two more to hatch!
Justin was so unhappy that gramma and daddy had to go to church, that I took him for a walk outside. We ended up at the neighbours house where Nancy's boy Owen was jumping on the trampoline. Justin naturally had to join him. :) Then Justin discovered that Owen has a tractor! wow!!!!! it moves fast when you stand on the pedals! WOW!!!! what fun for a wee boy. I think I know where this wee boyo will like visiting!
Anyways, that was our day in the life of "mother's day".
Jim's mom joined us for the day. She arrived shortly before the morning service and stayed until just after the evening service.
As it was mother's day, all the ladies in the church received a flower. Justin thought he should try to beat mine up. :)
He was too excited yesterday to stay in church very long. He went to the nursery by the time of the second song which is a bit unusual for him lately.
We had a nice day.
Found out after church that a young lady from church is looking for a new male rabbit for her herd of rabbits so told her she could have our bun-bun. We had gotten a rabbit this week that was destined for the dog food pot but Justin and Jim well....they fell in love with him. Anyways, he is a bit too "friendly" shall we say, so I couldn't let Justin play with him. So Cheryl will take bun-bun and I will get some young bunnies from Cheryl. I will try to sell some of these wee bunnies at my upcoming garage sale and the rest will stick around for a wee while. :) If we get enough of them, hopefully neither Jim or Justin will like them too much. :)
We had mac and cheese goulash for lunch, followed by mom's lovely lemon pie. :)
Justin was having a hard time containing his excitement at "mamer" being over and was SO tired that we took a nice walk so that he could settle down and have a nap. That gave Jim time to relax for a while as well as he did not join us for a walk.
So Justin napped in the stroller while mom and I visited outside for a while. Mom thinks I did a good job on my big window garden too! YEAH! :)
We now have three baby birds in our nest. Two more to hatch!
Justin was so unhappy that gramma and daddy had to go to church, that I took him for a walk outside. We ended up at the neighbours house where Nancy's boy Owen was jumping on the trampoline. Justin naturally had to join him. :) Then Justin discovered that Owen has a tractor! wow!!!!! it moves fast when you stand on the pedals! WOW!!!! what fun for a wee boy. I think I know where this wee boyo will like visiting!
Anyways, that was our day in the life of "mother's day".
Saturday, April 07, 2007
The week before Easter
Snow...that's what I can say... SNOW! We have in excess of five inches of snow on the ground.
It's supposed to be spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice thing about our walk this morning, I could just let Sassy run because no one else was up. Somehow fresh snow brings out the lagging behind abilities in Riley so we didn't quite make as good a time as I wanted, ah well, snow can be fun! We broke a fresh trail for almost the whole walk. We did meet a lovely Kelpie/Cattle Dog on the way back. She had a most excellent recall! I complimented her owners on that. And then we talked a bit about a raw food diet. They seem interested.
What has this past week been like?
Justin has a cold and is breaking two molars in at the back (I'm fairly sure) hard to check since he likes to bite down and those teeth of his are sharp!
Jim had a crazy week with meetings almost all day Tuesday, Bible study on Wednesday and so he had Thursday to try to get a sermon done for Friday, plus two more due for Sunday. He worked hard and got them done.
As for me, I had Coffee-break on Wednesday, it was a weird meeting to me. Started off sloppy but ended up with some good discussion where you could tell that people were thinking. Rather neat that part. I did dislike that they forewent the prayer share time in order to start the lesson after a lengthy announcement time. So that didn't help my feelings of dissatisfaction when the study commenced, so my guess is that the start of the study may not have been sloppy but more that I needed to get my head in the right frame of mind.
Justin and I had fun at toddler time on Thursday even though we got there late. :)
Good Friday sermon was well-done. People seemed to like it. Justin napped in the nursery (shocked me to hear that). Jim's mom came up for the service and for lunch.
Oh, and I got my order in to William Dam for seeds. So nice that they have their on-line ordering all set up now. VERY convenient, and saves a stamp too! I just ordered a bunch of different veggies.
It's supposed to be spring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice thing about our walk this morning, I could just let Sassy run because no one else was up. Somehow fresh snow brings out the lagging behind abilities in Riley so we didn't quite make as good a time as I wanted, ah well, snow can be fun! We broke a fresh trail for almost the whole walk. We did meet a lovely Kelpie/Cattle Dog on the way back. She had a most excellent recall! I complimented her owners on that. And then we talked a bit about a raw food diet. They seem interested.
What has this past week been like?
Justin has a cold and is breaking two molars in at the back (I'm fairly sure) hard to check since he likes to bite down and those teeth of his are sharp!
Jim had a crazy week with meetings almost all day Tuesday, Bible study on Wednesday and so he had Thursday to try to get a sermon done for Friday, plus two more due for Sunday. He worked hard and got them done.
As for me, I had Coffee-break on Wednesday, it was a weird meeting to me. Started off sloppy but ended up with some good discussion where you could tell that people were thinking. Rather neat that part. I did dislike that they forewent the prayer share time in order to start the lesson after a lengthy announcement time. So that didn't help my feelings of dissatisfaction when the study commenced, so my guess is that the start of the study may not have been sloppy but more that I needed to get my head in the right frame of mind.
Justin and I had fun at toddler time on Thursday even though we got there late. :)
Good Friday sermon was well-done. People seemed to like it. Justin napped in the nursery (shocked me to hear that). Jim's mom came up for the service and for lunch.
Oh, and I got my order in to William Dam for seeds. So nice that they have their on-line ordering all set up now. VERY convenient, and saves a stamp too! I just ordered a bunch of different veggies.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Toronto Sportsmen Show
We had fun. This is where we went.
We met a couple people from church while we were there, chatted just long enough to say hi.
Lots of good booths, lots of friendly people, many booth people were happy to rock the stroller for Justin while Jim and I filled out ballots.
Fascinating some of the pictures of fishing resorts. Also saw some of the biggest fish (sturgeons) and people catching them. Wow... big fish. Can't imagine bringing them in.
Seeing things with the eyes of a toddler. BO! he said very excited as he saw the taxidermy birds. MOO! to the moose.
And boy oh boy.... the fun of climbing on ATV's, boats, canoes and so on. The life for a wee boyo. Fun Fun!
We had hoped that Justin would fall asleep early afternoon, but although he was very tired that didn't happen until later on. Made for lots of slow walking and quiet areas as we tried to help him sleep so he could cope with the rest of the day.
I enjoyed the Golden Whistle Retriever trials. Was unable to see them all due to a very busy boy running ALL over the place (even while wearing a harness) who suddenly decided he had had enough! (the trials were the last event of the day that we were staying for). So he had enough, I had enough and so we left. :) But we did see dogs hesitate at the water pond. One dog did everything it could NOT to get wet... rather funny that. I don't think the handler ever got it to go into the water. One older (looked female from the build) dog that did a wonderful job on a blind send. Straight through the water and back. Nice line just like you want to see. We also saw a fake duck take out a fake goose. That was funny. AND one fake duck tried hard to take out one of the black labs.....dodged quickly that dog did! :)
Justin was TIRED! Long day for a 20 month old. He fell asleep on the way home, I took a wee bit of shut eye and Jim got us home safely. :)
Got home at 11 p.m. to a very poopy kitchen. OLD DOGS>>> ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We met a couple people from church while we were there, chatted just long enough to say hi.
Lots of good booths, lots of friendly people, many booth people were happy to rock the stroller for Justin while Jim and I filled out ballots.
Fascinating some of the pictures of fishing resorts. Also saw some of the biggest fish (sturgeons) and people catching them. Wow... big fish. Can't imagine bringing them in.
Seeing things with the eyes of a toddler. BO! he said very excited as he saw the taxidermy birds. MOO! to the moose.
And boy oh boy.... the fun of climbing on ATV's, boats, canoes and so on. The life for a wee boyo. Fun Fun!
We had hoped that Justin would fall asleep early afternoon, but although he was very tired that didn't happen until later on. Made for lots of slow walking and quiet areas as we tried to help him sleep so he could cope with the rest of the day.
I enjoyed the Golden Whistle Retriever trials. Was unable to see them all due to a very busy boy running ALL over the place (even while wearing a harness) who suddenly decided he had had enough! (the trials were the last event of the day that we were staying for). So he had enough, I had enough and so we left. :) But we did see dogs hesitate at the water pond. One dog did everything it could NOT to get wet... rather funny that. I don't think the handler ever got it to go into the water. One older (looked female from the build) dog that did a wonderful job on a blind send. Straight through the water and back. Nice line just like you want to see. We also saw a fake duck take out a fake goose. That was funny. AND one fake duck tried hard to take out one of the black labs.....dodged quickly that dog did! :)
Justin was TIRED! Long day for a 20 month old. He fell asleep on the way home, I took a wee bit of shut eye and Jim got us home safely. :)
Got home at 11 p.m. to a very poopy kitchen. OLD DOGS>>> ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
March 14, update
Okay... I've recently realized I haven't updated you all on our lives recently.
The dogs - Riley continues to age, sometimes poorly, sometimes not. He slips and slides on the ice. Occasionally has diarrhea, is starting to smell "old dog", but still is soft mild-mannered dog, who tries to be good. he really tries. he enjoys treats for running away from Justin. :) Loves to go for long walks along the river.
- Sassy...become "FAT DOG" over the winter. She is currently under a lose weight regime, sorta like the other female in the house. :) Winter was hard on us that way. Hoping to get her into an agility trial in May.
The cat! LOVES Jim. Loves to sleep with Jim. Loves to run away from the boy (not that I blame him, I wouldn't appreciate a tail grabber either). Remains a nice cat.
The piggies - the four we have left are good pigs. Tanse had a cold recently, seems to be getting better though. Topper enjoys the stuffed fish he has for a cage mate. Helps him eat. Tasha and Itch continue to be good pigs though their dominance roles appear to be switching. Itch gets first dibs on everything lately.
Justin... ear surgery was a success. he talks more, and more clearly. Has more words to his vocabulary. He can sign please, more and milk- though not always appropriately. Goes through spells of favourite words, one week it was HAT. hat this, hat that. On hat, off hat. Has our coming in the house routines down pat. Coat off. Boots off. and will come after us if we leave any of the fore-a-mentioned on.
Jim. These past two weeks have had their challenges for him. Sometimes it's hard to be pastor. But it's had its good moments to. He had a lovely visit in Whitby with a pastor friend and his wife. He learned stuff at a workshop (he likes that!). He got a tool so he can properly fix the brake lines on his Sunrunner.
Me... well..life continues! I had a good visit this week with one of our shut-in ladies. Made a new meal that Justin and I like. The house is not looking like a tornado recently passed through, but does need a bit of work done. I had a good visit with my parents last week, and then good shopping and visiting in Kitchener. The weather is warmer so I'm able to get out more with Justin. AND my sprained foot is for the most part, feeling pretty good.
My brother-in-law Paul continues to heal from his recurrent illness, which helps my sister be less worried. Last word was that he wasn't better yet.
My dad is back to puzzling. their basement has been all fixed up. Looks pretty good. He still has pain, hates being shut in during the winter. They are looking to sell the farm this summer and move somewhere in town.
My neice from my middle brother is doing a project on Haiti that I can help her with IF I manage to get my Haiti stuff up to her before it is due. Kinda neat that I went to Haiti and therefore have some things she can use. :)
So I think that's about it. talk more next week! :)
The dogs - Riley continues to age, sometimes poorly, sometimes not. He slips and slides on the ice. Occasionally has diarrhea, is starting to smell "old dog", but still is soft mild-mannered dog, who tries to be good. he really tries. he enjoys treats for running away from Justin. :) Loves to go for long walks along the river.
- Sassy...become "FAT DOG" over the winter. She is currently under a lose weight regime, sorta like the other female in the house. :) Winter was hard on us that way. Hoping to get her into an agility trial in May.
The cat! LOVES Jim. Loves to sleep with Jim. Loves to run away from the boy (not that I blame him, I wouldn't appreciate a tail grabber either). Remains a nice cat.
The piggies - the four we have left are good pigs. Tanse had a cold recently, seems to be getting better though. Topper enjoys the stuffed fish he has for a cage mate. Helps him eat. Tasha and Itch continue to be good pigs though their dominance roles appear to be switching. Itch gets first dibs on everything lately.
Justin... ear surgery was a success. he talks more, and more clearly. Has more words to his vocabulary. He can sign please, more and milk- though not always appropriately. Goes through spells of favourite words, one week it was HAT. hat this, hat that. On hat, off hat. Has our coming in the house routines down pat. Coat off. Boots off. and will come after us if we leave any of the fore-a-mentioned on.
Jim. These past two weeks have had their challenges for him. Sometimes it's hard to be pastor. But it's had its good moments to. He had a lovely visit in Whitby with a pastor friend and his wife. He learned stuff at a workshop (he likes that!). He got a tool so he can properly fix the brake lines on his Sunrunner.
Me... well..life continues! I had a good visit this week with one of our shut-in ladies. Made a new meal that Justin and I like. The house is not looking like a tornado recently passed through, but does need a bit of work done. I had a good visit with my parents last week, and then good shopping and visiting in Kitchener. The weather is warmer so I'm able to get out more with Justin. AND my sprained foot is for the most part, feeling pretty good.
My brother-in-law Paul continues to heal from his recurrent illness, which helps my sister be less worried. Last word was that he wasn't better yet.
My dad is back to puzzling. their basement has been all fixed up. Looks pretty good. He still has pain, hates being shut in during the winter. They are looking to sell the farm this summer and move somewhere in town.
My neice from my middle brother is doing a project on Haiti that I can help her with IF I manage to get my Haiti stuff up to her before it is due. Kinda neat that I went to Haiti and therefore have some things she can use. :)
So I think that's about it. talk more next week! :)
Friday, December 29, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Update on Feeding our Dogs
As you know, our dogs are being fed a B.A.R.F. diet.
It's going well.
Riley, our senior dog, has the most trouble adapting to this diet. We learned with him, that he needs his food frozen so that he would scarf it down without chewing! We learned that he needs beer in order to keep his tummy working well. Three times a week he gets 1/3 to 1/4 can of beer.
Sassy likes her food in small pieces. She is VERY particular about her food. She learned that fruit is once again something to be enjoyed! Now if only I can keep her OUT of the raspberry bushes!
They get fed twice a day. Between 8-10 a.m. and between 630-830 p.m.
Morning meal: Riley gets 1/3 cup heaping of organ meats. Sassy gets 1/3 cup even of organ meats. Twice a week they each get a half cup. With this they get a 1/2 cup of schlump.
Schlump is a ground up mix of all types of veggies: carrots with their tops, turnips, lettuce, swiss chard, tomato (sparingly), cucumber, zucchini, bell pepper, beets or whatever I have on hand. Generally speaking 1/2 is leafy veggie, and the rest a mix of whatever I have. More above ground veggie than below. I also throw in 1-2 apples (depending on size) or a banana. SOMETIMES they are lucky (at least in Sassy's mind) because I'll give them cut up melon. I also put in all the egg shells from the week and have recently started adding some oil as I think they need something just a bit more, I'm hoping to add cod liver oil for the winter months (just need to find in bulk).
To this morning mix they also get all of Justin's leftovers from the day before. Yum Yum!
At night they get raw meat. As mentioned earlier...Riley's comes frozen. 8-10 oz. Sassy's is nicely in smallish chunks 10-12 oz.
They are both at a good weight. Sassy could stand to loose another couple of pounds. Riley shouldn't lose any more SO... twice a week Riley gets Sassy's portion and vice versa.
They have both nicely blown out their coats. They look shinier and nicer than ever!
We took canned fish out of their diets as they both consistently had diarrhea with it. And I figured I did NOT want to deal with that (and figured they didn't want to either).
What the dogs don't like is
1. empty food bowls! Riley grew up ALWAYS having food available, now it's not.
2. Sundays. They only get one meal. At night. And it's just a larger portion of their morning meal with yogurt and oatmeal added. All they get in the morning is ONE LOUSY dog cookie!
3. they have to SIT before I feed them, and
4. they are tied up to eat. Sassy doesn't mind, Riley hates it since he eats faster and likes to steal Sassy's food.
So what do I like about this diet?
1. Dogs are healthier
2. Sassy LIKES to eat now.
3. Easy to adjust if dog is a bit over or under weight or going to work hard (i.e. Sassy at a trial gets more the night before/morning of)
4. Costs about the same as feeding mid-range kibble
5. Riley occasionally plays again
6. Easy to vary what goes into diet to avoid allergy issues.
What don't I like?
1. more labour intensive with meal prep, clean up etc.
2. harder to travel with
3. hubbie dislikes feeding it himself, BUT likes that they are on it.
So that's our update on our dogs and their new eating patterns.
It's going well.
Riley, our senior dog, has the most trouble adapting to this diet. We learned with him, that he needs his food frozen so that he would scarf it down without chewing! We learned that he needs beer in order to keep his tummy working well. Three times a week he gets 1/3 to 1/4 can of beer.
Sassy likes her food in small pieces. She is VERY particular about her food. She learned that fruit is once again something to be enjoyed! Now if only I can keep her OUT of the raspberry bushes!
They get fed twice a day. Between 8-10 a.m. and between 630-830 p.m.
Morning meal: Riley gets 1/3 cup heaping of organ meats. Sassy gets 1/3 cup even of organ meats. Twice a week they each get a half cup. With this they get a 1/2 cup of schlump.
Schlump is a ground up mix of all types of veggies: carrots with their tops, turnips, lettuce, swiss chard, tomato (sparingly), cucumber, zucchini, bell pepper, beets or whatever I have on hand. Generally speaking 1/2 is leafy veggie, and the rest a mix of whatever I have. More above ground veggie than below. I also throw in 1-2 apples (depending on size) or a banana. SOMETIMES they are lucky (at least in Sassy's mind) because I'll give them cut up melon. I also put in all the egg shells from the week and have recently started adding some oil as I think they need something just a bit more, I'm hoping to add cod liver oil for the winter months (just need to find in bulk).
To this morning mix they also get all of Justin's leftovers from the day before. Yum Yum!
At night they get raw meat. As mentioned earlier...Riley's comes frozen. 8-10 oz. Sassy's is nicely in smallish chunks 10-12 oz.
They are both at a good weight. Sassy could stand to loose another couple of pounds. Riley shouldn't lose any more SO... twice a week Riley gets Sassy's portion and vice versa.
They have both nicely blown out their coats. They look shinier and nicer than ever!
We took canned fish out of their diets as they both consistently had diarrhea with it. And I figured I did NOT want to deal with that (and figured they didn't want to either).
What the dogs don't like is
1. empty food bowls! Riley grew up ALWAYS having food available, now it's not.
2. Sundays. They only get one meal. At night. And it's just a larger portion of their morning meal with yogurt and oatmeal added. All they get in the morning is ONE LOUSY dog cookie!
3. they have to SIT before I feed them, and
4. they are tied up to eat. Sassy doesn't mind, Riley hates it since he eats faster and likes to steal Sassy's food.
So what do I like about this diet?
1. Dogs are healthier
2. Sassy LIKES to eat now.
3. Easy to adjust if dog is a bit over or under weight or going to work hard (i.e. Sassy at a trial gets more the night before/morning of)
4. Costs about the same as feeding mid-range kibble
5. Riley occasionally plays again
6. Easy to vary what goes into diet to avoid allergy issues.
What don't I like?
1. more labour intensive with meal prep, clean up etc.
2. harder to travel with
3. hubbie dislikes feeding it himself, BUT likes that they are on it.
So that's our update on our dogs and their new eating patterns.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
The Woes of Having an Older Dog
Riley and Sassy (our dogs) went camping with us this past week.
Our camping neighbours LOVED our dogs. See...our dogs... they don't bark when we camp. They are very quiet, well-behaved dogs. Sassy also LOVES people and is a total wiggle butt and people seem to really like that. :) They even seem to like that Riley is a big stand-offish until he gets to know you. They aren't aggressive with passing dogs and they just lay out quietly watching the world. Sassy impresses people with her frisbee and ball catching skills and.... she even did some freestyle moves for our dog-loving neighbours.
Sassy (who is our barker at home) only barked one time and that is because she was eating her supper and a neighbour (Lee) tried to visit with her. It was more of a "hi, I'm friendly bark, but I'm eating so leave me alone." What can I say...she was REALLY hungry (that's what comes from not eating most of her supper the night before).
Anyways, Riley spent the last couple of nights we were camping OUT of the trailer. Why? Because he got the runs and didn't know it. He was still lying in it when I said JIm! Put that dog out! ICK!!!! We were up at 5 a.m. cleaning up the trailer and TRYING to do it quietly AND then Justin woke up and well....what can I say...it was just a mess. We did succeed though in keeping quiet. None of our neighbours got upset with us, or even seemed to wake up through the whole mess.
It was kinda funny later on. Riley was just a stinky mess, it had rained the night before, and I wanted him cleaner. Riley is normally a dog who will splash through puddles and wade around. NOT this morning! Oh no! When we want him too he won't! So here I am, the big meanie that I am, I make him SIT in a puddle and I swish him around in it. Got most of the poop off, he's complaining to beat the band (whine, whine, whine). I let him up. Note that he's still a bit poopy so the next big puddle I have the audacity to do it again!
You have to understand something here. When Riley is displeased by something...the whole world knows the life is not good. Must be the combination husky-shepherd ...husky's are talkers and Riley talks. Shepherds are facially expressive and Riley can pull this "Ah, life is not good look". It was funny. BUT he was cleaner! Not as smelly! YEAH!!!! yes, I know...I'm a big old meanie for washing him in a puddle....TWICE!!!
But on a sadder note, Riley has been doing this pooping thing without knowing it, much more frequently lately. I am getting tired of the cleanup - happening way to frequently lately. And there are days when he looks like SUCH an old dog. I don't like those days when he's looking so old and so sad. Makes me worried for him. And the days that he just seems to get tired going for a short walk ... He's getting old...
I called our vet the other day to see how much it would cost to put him to sleep. Not as bad as we thought...$35 - We'd have to bury him though. Jim says, the backyard, a big hole and a nice marker. It will be hard to let him go....but we're starting to think that in October (when the weather starts to turn too cold to let him out all day and early in the morning) That we'll have to say good-bye to this good old dog.
Oh...i was going to add...the last night we were camping two little coons came by our campsite. We had supper garbage bags hanging out and they were curious. I woke up to the "grr" noise that coons make. They had noticed Riley out in the x-pen and where making "we're not scared of you" noises "see how big we are". Riley's response seemed so classic "What? I'm here you're there. I"m not doing anything. What?" Stupid baby coons! :)
Friday, July 07, 2006
Our Dog Sassy
I know, following a post about our boy, it may seem silly to post a picture of one of our dogs, but this picture from several months back is a good one of Sassy at the K9 sports agility trial.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Silly Dogs
I have for the most part decided that we have two very silly dogs that share this household.
Two dogs: Riley older husky-shepherd cross male. Sassy younger complete mix.
We've in the past couple of months switched them to a raw food diet (actually known as a B.A.R.F. diet) that stands for biologically appropriate raw food diet. To learn more go here.
They get fed outside because, well, raw food is a tad bit messier than kibble.
We've seen good changes in them, and can do it for about the same cost as mid-range kibble.
Anyways, why are they silly?
1. We tie them up when feeding because Riley is a thief. No other polite way to say it...he is an unrepentant thief.
2. So here is Riley, he is NOT done his own food. He is stretching out as far as he can on his lead-out with his nose in the air sniffing. And then he starts his infamous woofing. I want off! I want off! he woofs! I kept telling him to be quiet.
3. I go out to see what is taking Sassy so long to eat her food. What do I find? She's guarding her food against flies! Silly dog! Just eat! I told her to go ahead, eat! Even scared the flies away. She ate! ARGH!!!!
Silly dogs!!! Both of them!!!!
Neither completely finished their meal. That's not unusual for Sassy, and a good sign with Riley. I"m testing just how much he eats, and will give him filler (rice) to help him feel full so he won't woof and beg to be let off so he can steal from Sassy. (not that it worked tonight...perhaps I'm deluded in thinking I can change him....) Tonight I gave him just a tad bit too much filler. Sassy tends to eat her quota one day, and then the next day, she leaves some behind. She's a bit harder to figure on this new diet.
I used to keep the leftovers for the next day, but have stopped doing that. I either flush the leftovers OR if it's pieces of chicken, I dump it out in the compost for the neighbourhood stray cats (at least that's my assumption as it's always gone the next morning!). Besides, whatever is eating it, the scent gets Sass all excited the following morning! Good to have a rush isn't it? (grin)
Two dogs: Riley older husky-shepherd cross male. Sassy younger complete mix.
We've in the past couple of months switched them to a raw food diet (actually known as a B.A.R.F. diet) that stands for biologically appropriate raw food diet. To learn more go here.
They get fed outside because, well, raw food is a tad bit messier than kibble.
We've seen good changes in them, and can do it for about the same cost as mid-range kibble.
Anyways, why are they silly?
1. We tie them up when feeding because Riley is a thief. No other polite way to say it...he is an unrepentant thief.
2. So here is Riley, he is NOT done his own food. He is stretching out as far as he can on his lead-out with his nose in the air sniffing. And then he starts his infamous woofing. I want off! I want off! he woofs! I kept telling him to be quiet.
3. I go out to see what is taking Sassy so long to eat her food. What do I find? She's guarding her food against flies! Silly dog! Just eat! I told her to go ahead, eat! Even scared the flies away. She ate! ARGH!!!!
Silly dogs!!! Both of them!!!!
Neither completely finished their meal. That's not unusual for Sassy, and a good sign with Riley. I"m testing just how much he eats, and will give him filler (rice) to help him feel full so he won't woof and beg to be let off so he can steal from Sassy. (not that it worked tonight...perhaps I'm deluded in thinking I can change him....) Tonight I gave him just a tad bit too much filler. Sassy tends to eat her quota one day, and then the next day, she leaves some behind. She's a bit harder to figure on this new diet.
I used to keep the leftovers for the next day, but have stopped doing that. I either flush the leftovers OR if it's pieces of chicken, I dump it out in the compost for the neighbourhood stray cats (at least that's my assumption as it's always gone the next morning!). Besides, whatever is eating it, the scent gets Sass all excited the following morning! Good to have a rush isn't it? (grin)
Saturday, July 01, 2006
My Girlie ROCKS!!!!
The trial: Jumping for Joy Trial in Maryhill, Ontario.
The date: July 1, 2006
The judge: Billie Mclean
The organizing body: Agility Association of Canada (AAC)
The events entered: Advanced Standard, Advanced Gamblers, Advanced Jumpers.
MY GIRLIE ROCKS!!!!!
Yes indeedy! A hot day, camping with fireworks. Nervous girlie. Had a hard time settling, wouldn't eat her supper or her breakfast (needed to bribed of all things with BACON!!) She ROCKS!!!
The night before: dropped Riley (actually on thursday night at my hubbie's mom), dropped our son at my parents (on Friday). Headed up to the trial site. Camped. There were fireworks. Sassy was unimpressed. One of the participants drove onto a stump, that caused a kerfluffle, Sassy was unimpressed.
First the standard run. Sassy was one of the last dogs to run. NO OTHER DOG completed the course clean and under time. I got a tad bit nervous at that point. The standard course time was 67 seconds, Sassy squeaked...literally squeaked through at 66.70 seconds! WOW... call that cutting it close. Wouldn't have been so close if the weaves hadn't freaked her out a bit. Took three attempts to get it right, (she kept missing a pole here and there). BUT she did it. She got those poles completed, she picked up some speed, and we squeaked it through!!! YEAH FOR MY GIRLIE!!!!
Then we had the gamble. For some reason, I like doing the gambles but I find them somewhat nervewracking trying to figure out what I think is best to do for me and Sassy. BUT Sassy did EXACTLY what I asked her to do, at a rather pokey speed, but everything that I asked, I had planned a bit more in case she wasn't pokey, but that would have just been gravy.... She sended with 64 points! Yeah for Sassy.
She did the gamble!!! She was one of I think two dogs that completed the gamble. Comments overheard afterwards: "Nice gamble by that dog", "Good run!"
She started to relax....good dog! :) Ate some food! Yeah for stressors leaving!
The Jumpers course. Looked challenging, proven to be in some ways to almost everyone out there. I was conflicted about how to do the opening, to I run on one side knowing that would draw her to the wrong side of a tunnel farther down OR do I risk a harder opening and know that, that wrong tunnel will be less attractive? I chose the latter. So....Sassy unfortunately got a refusal at a tunnel because I didn't clearly indicate it enough thinking it was just a straight run. BAD HANDLER! BUT!!!!! She still came in first!!!!!! :) She had 3.23 time faults and 5 faults for the refusal. She gave it an honest try...just had a really sucky handler! Didn't help at all that we had taken the trailer down so we could get going as soon as possible after the trial was done so she was all stressed that we were leaving and she wasn't allowed in the van. She is such a silly dog sometimes.
Would I trial under Billie again? Yes, I like her open courses.
Would I trial at Jumping for Joy again? yes. I would love to not have quite so many mosquitos, but it was a good trial. Well run. Met lots of nice people. Calm, relaxed atmosphere. They treat their volunteers decent. Good place to exercise your dogs close by. Just very nice place.
The date: July 1, 2006
The judge: Billie Mclean
The organizing body: Agility Association of Canada (AAC)
The events entered: Advanced Standard, Advanced Gamblers, Advanced Jumpers.
MY GIRLIE ROCKS!!!!!
Yes indeedy! A hot day, camping with fireworks. Nervous girlie. Had a hard time settling, wouldn't eat her supper or her breakfast (needed to bribed of all things with BACON!!) She ROCKS!!!
The night before: dropped Riley (actually on thursday night at my hubbie's mom), dropped our son at my parents (on Friday). Headed up to the trial site. Camped. There were fireworks. Sassy was unimpressed. One of the participants drove onto a stump, that caused a kerfluffle, Sassy was unimpressed.
First the standard run. Sassy was one of the last dogs to run. NO OTHER DOG completed the course clean and under time. I got a tad bit nervous at that point. The standard course time was 67 seconds, Sassy squeaked...literally squeaked through at 66.70 seconds! WOW... call that cutting it close. Wouldn't have been so close if the weaves hadn't freaked her out a bit. Took three attempts to get it right, (she kept missing a pole here and there). BUT she did it. She got those poles completed, she picked up some speed, and we squeaked it through!!! YEAH FOR MY GIRLIE!!!!
Then we had the gamble. For some reason, I like doing the gambles but I find them somewhat nervewracking trying to figure out what I think is best to do for me and Sassy. BUT Sassy did EXACTLY what I asked her to do, at a rather pokey speed, but everything that I asked, I had planned a bit more in case she wasn't pokey, but that would have just been gravy.... She sended with 64 points! Yeah for Sassy.
She did the gamble!!! She was one of I think two dogs that completed the gamble. Comments overheard afterwards: "Nice gamble by that dog", "Good run!"
She started to relax....good dog! :) Ate some food! Yeah for stressors leaving!
The Jumpers course. Looked challenging, proven to be in some ways to almost everyone out there. I was conflicted about how to do the opening, to I run on one side knowing that would draw her to the wrong side of a tunnel farther down OR do I risk a harder opening and know that, that wrong tunnel will be less attractive? I chose the latter. So....Sassy unfortunately got a refusal at a tunnel because I didn't clearly indicate it enough thinking it was just a straight run. BAD HANDLER! BUT!!!!! She still came in first!!!!!! :) She had 3.23 time faults and 5 faults for the refusal. She gave it an honest try...just had a really sucky handler! Didn't help at all that we had taken the trailer down so we could get going as soon as possible after the trial was done so she was all stressed that we were leaving and she wasn't allowed in the van. She is such a silly dog sometimes.
Would I trial under Billie again? Yes, I like her open courses.
Would I trial at Jumping for Joy again? yes. I would love to not have quite so many mosquitos, but it was a good trial. Well run. Met lots of nice people. Calm, relaxed atmosphere. They treat their volunteers decent. Good place to exercise your dogs close by. Just very nice place.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Raw Food Diets
We are switching our dogs from a mainly kibble diet to a mainly raw food diet.
Why?
1. research shows it helps with dogs who have attitude problems which our Sassy dog sometimes displays.
2. research shows it helps older dogs maintain their health longer
3. we can do it for about the same price or a wee bit more as we can feeding a mid-range dog food
4. defecation is reduced!
4 oz internal organs – the mix from Metzger's good for this
6 oz internal organs – the mix from Metzger's good for this
Monday night – oatmeal, rice and yogurt, veggies if any left
Tuesday night – veggies with meat
Wednesday night – veggies with yogurt, ½ meat, eggs
Thursday night – veggies, rice with meat – fish night?
Friday night – veggies with yogurt, ½ meat, eggs
Saturday night - veggies with meat
Why?
1. research shows it helps with dogs who have attitude problems which our Sassy dog sometimes displays.
2. research shows it helps older dogs maintain their health longer
3. we can do it for about the same price or a wee bit more as we can feeding a mid-range dog food
4. defecation is reduced!
After one week of doing this Riley was discovered happily playing in the backyard with an old sour cream container. I had never seen him do this with any type of vigor. Jim said Riley used to play like that all the time.
Sassy defecates much less often! YEAH!!!
Our dogs are roughly 50 lbs – means 1-2 pound of food per day depending on activity levels
so....looking at that what we will do isRiley
16 oz to start... we will see how he does
9.6 oz meat – bones, etc. (wings, necks, chunked meat)
2.25 oz veggies (this can be up-ed or lowered without effect overall)4 oz internal organs – the mix from Metzger's good for this
Sassy
24 oz to start... we will see how she does
14.4 oz meat – bones, etc. (wings, necks, chunked meat)
3.6 oz veggies – (this can be up-ed or lowered without effect overall)6 oz internal organs – the mix from Metzger's good for this
Tuesday's new mix made
Veggie mix – lettuce, carrots, turnip, peppers, broccoli...
- whatever isavailable with ½ of from above and below ground veggies
Weekly Menu
Monday night – oatmeal, rice and yogurt, veggies if any left
Tuesday night – veggies with meat
Wednesday night – veggies with yogurt, ½ meat, eggs
Thursday night – veggies, rice with meat – fish night?
Friday night – veggies with yogurt, ½ meat, eggs
Saturday night - veggies with meat
Saturday, April 22, 2006
I am So Proud
So....Jim and I took Sassy for the weekend. Jim's mom Eva took care of our son Justin for the weekend, and also our other dog Riley.
Jim and I stayed at Phyl and Barry's overnight and then headed off to the agility trial put on by K9 Sports. Sassy was entered into four events at this trial.
1. Advanced Gamblers
2. Starters Standard
3. Steeplechase
4. Starters Snooker
We had fun. :) The day started late and ended late. I was rather very unimpressed with that... but that all aside.... We were all bushed by the time the day was finished. Boy oh boy did we get tired. But things went fairly well.
Gamblers....well...we had fun. Sassy and I did well in the opening, and somehow managed to blow the final gamble. Not sure why but she decided the far end on the tunnel was what she should take, but that's what she did... So ah well...we learned lots, she did the mini gamble really well (Yeah Sassy!). Did her contacts wonderfully! She was a good dog with a good heart.
Standard...ah...we did it!!!! My Sassy dog nailed this course! We came in second!!! We "q'd" (as in we ran fast we ran clear we made NO mistakes!) My Sassy dog rocks!!!!!!! woohoo hoo hoo hoo!!!! (can you tell I"m proud of my girlie?)
on another rather cool note..... Sassy decided that she actually liked her x-pen. This the dog who hates being confined. LIKES her x-pen, even wanted to go into it. HA! Cool dog.
Steeplechase...fast, furious, man...we tried hard... but not today. She popped a weave, I wasn't sure if she had...took a chance...and well...ah well...for a first attempt at a fast and furious master's level course... we done good. Sassy worked hard, paid really good attention...but just couldn't hold those weaves. AND>>> we didn't get lost on a twisty course either! So there! :) What can you do eh?
Snooker....ah...the nemesis of my life. And that is what it continues to be. 5 tries at it...still no success. We (as in me, myself and I) planned it well.. and it all went fine until Sassy decided to take the wrong end a tunnel (hmm... do I sense a recurring theme?) :) but she tried so hard and worked her heart out for me... I honestly think that today would have gone better if the day hadn't been so long, and we hadn't gotten so tired. It was exhausting being around people and barking dogs all day long. NEXT TIME...I will take Sassy dog out for a good long walk in nature and just give us both a good break from it all. Even if all we do is go lay down and read in the sunshine. And now we are home and she is relaxing (even enjoyed some beef for supper - lucky girl)
Oh... before I forget. In getting that Standard "q" Sassy has achieved her agility dog of canada title (ADC). We now have the dubious pleasure of running advanced standard courses now (NO MORE REFUSALS ALLOWED!!!). Fun fun! My dog has her VERY FIRST TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it's time for bed.. talk more another day... :)
Jim and I stayed at Phyl and Barry's overnight and then headed off to the agility trial put on by K9 Sports. Sassy was entered into four events at this trial.
1. Advanced Gamblers
2. Starters Standard
3. Steeplechase
4. Starters Snooker
We had fun. :) The day started late and ended late. I was rather very unimpressed with that... but that all aside.... We were all bushed by the time the day was finished. Boy oh boy did we get tired. But things went fairly well.
Gamblers....well...we had fun. Sassy and I did well in the opening, and somehow managed to blow the final gamble. Not sure why but she decided the far end on the tunnel was what she should take, but that's what she did... So ah well...we learned lots, she did the mini gamble really well (Yeah Sassy!). Did her contacts wonderfully! She was a good dog with a good heart.
Standard...ah...we did it!!!! My Sassy dog nailed this course! We came in second!!! We "q'd" (as in we ran fast we ran clear we made NO mistakes!) My Sassy dog rocks!!!!!!! woohoo hoo hoo hoo!!!! (can you tell I"m proud of my girlie?)
on another rather cool note..... Sassy decided that she actually liked her x-pen. This the dog who hates being confined. LIKES her x-pen, even wanted to go into it. HA! Cool dog.
Steeplechase...fast, furious, man...we tried hard... but not today. She popped a weave, I wasn't sure if she had...took a chance...and well...ah well...for a first attempt at a fast and furious master's level course... we done good. Sassy worked hard, paid really good attention...but just couldn't hold those weaves. AND>>> we didn't get lost on a twisty course either! So there! :) What can you do eh?
Snooker....ah...the nemesis of my life. And that is what it continues to be. 5 tries at it...still no success. We (as in me, myself and I) planned it well.. and it all went fine until Sassy decided to take the wrong end a tunnel (hmm... do I sense a recurring theme?) :) but she tried so hard and worked her heart out for me... I honestly think that today would have gone better if the day hadn't been so long, and we hadn't gotten so tired. It was exhausting being around people and barking dogs all day long. NEXT TIME...I will take Sassy dog out for a good long walk in nature and just give us both a good break from it all. Even if all we do is go lay down and read in the sunshine. And now we are home and she is relaxing (even enjoyed some beef for supper - lucky girl)
Oh... before I forget. In getting that Standard "q" Sassy has achieved her agility dog of canada title (ADC). We now have the dubious pleasure of running advanced standard courses now (NO MORE REFUSALS ALLOWED!!!). Fun fun! My dog has her VERY FIRST TITLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
it's time for bed.. talk more another day... :)
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