Indigo and Epic at the Dog Park!

Surprise Going Away Party!!

Today was bittersweet. I was so excited to pick up Ben and meet our newest dog Epic, especially knowing we won't be apart again. We also said our last goodbyes to our friends from Canine Mutiny.

They were very sneaky, telling me to stop by Amandas for a quick visit and then the whole team was there for a BBQ. The best part was a video compilation that Sue made for me of all our tournaments including a very sad slide show at the end. I almost cried it was so sweet!

We are leaving for our big road trip next Friday, so my next post will be our travel updates.


I got more dog photos than human, but what else is new.....

Mouse and her two borderjack kids Mustang and Stingray

Epic got along well with all the humans and animals and had a great time

handsome white boy, Yukon

Stingray!

Pulse

Hanna

Spring

last east coast tournament

Indy and I drove 5 hours to upstate NY to the Fetch n Fly tournament. It was memorable mainly because it was my last tournament with Canine Mutiny. It was sad to close this chapter of our flyball experience, but Indy and I both learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of division 1 racing.


It was a great venue and I was lucky enough to stay in Kerry and Dave's trailer with them. Walking across the parking lot and being there already makes the experience so much better. No luxury is spared when camping with this group. Another highlight was Indy running a new record time in single dog racing. 3.7 seconds and all three teams we entered won first place!


Check out this VIDEO!!

mmm Strawberry Shortcake

veteran dogs dressed up like old ladies.....trying to get a spot on the dream team

Slingshot, Selma, Indigo

My lovely accomodations

making funnel cake!

Enjoying a movie projected onto a sheet on the trailer with popcorn and funnel cake.

Teal is now Lava

Here is what Teal's(now Lava) new family has to say about her. I guess it was true that she just needed to be in the right environment with the right handler to thrive (that is to say her issues were clearly not genetic). Im so happy for her and her new family. Im sure we will be continuing to hear about how she is progressing with her agility training.......

"She has continued to show no signs of fear or aggression with dogs or people at class each week and plays every day with Fever. My students have been great at helping socialize Teal. As I and my assistant set up, we let her run around the building off lead. As people and their dogs come in she gets to greet and socialize with the dogs and play with those that want to play. There is only one dog in my class that is not dog friendly and I put Teal away before she comes in. Otherwise she has free reign to go up and interact or not as she chooses. I wanted to take people out of the equation to observe her dog skills and she has proven herself quite social and playful.

And then at an agility trial:

Teal met 15 dogs at least and at least five different breeds today. She had no fear or reaction to any of the dogs she met. She played with her half brother (a Corrie son) Tonk. She played with another very nice, lilac male Border Collie, Hank. She played with a female Vizla. She met a bunch of other dogs and had no fear at all including a giant Great Dane puppy and a Rottie. She was completely relaxed in the environment. She focused when we asked for focus, she hung out, she took a nap, she played with her toys, she met lots of new human admirers and had a great time. If I was able to choose from a list of the perfect behavior for what I would like to see in a five month old Border Collie puppy at an agility show I couldn't have picked better behavior then what Teal exhibited today.

its all about the dogs and the gardens

The first appreciable harvest of the summer: about 15 small berries and 4stalks of rhubarb. Those strawberries are the best I have ever had. They are very juicy and sweet and ripe. I should make a personal strawberry rhubarb pie, but I won't.

Walking the sheep around with Epic. We all went down to the big field this afternoon because I forgot to take any pictures when we were working up by the barn. This was a pretty big step for Epic and he definitely felt the pressure, but he handled it well, if not a little too pushy with the sheep.

Here is Epic trying to cram the sheep up my bum. I was getting a little bit frustrated with him at this point.
Epic walking up on the sheep.

Epic is looking proud of himself.

This is Epic's dad. He is looking a little sleepy today.

He perked up when the sheep started running around.

Here are Epic's first attempts on the chute. He is hanging up there a little bit, but I am glad he is at least jumping on and off confidently. He is definitely getting more and more excited about getting the ball and tugging on little stuffed animals.