Internship Update & Flyball Close to Home

Before I left for Seattle I finished my food service management rotation for my internship. I actually loved my food service rotation, which is very suprising. I didn't love it as a career choice, but I loved being there and learning from my amazing preceptor. Now I just have to finish clinical and I will be finished! I am now a little more than 1/2 way done. This week I start a class on clinical nutrition before we go to the hospital for the real thing. I will be at Baystate Hospital in Springfield, MA for the majority of my time until June. At which point, we still have no idea where we will be going.

My desk at Noble

They brought me this cake for my surprise going away party, which left me speechless

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Friday was a crazy day. My flight out of Seattle was delayed 2 hours. Then after waiting and sitting on the plane for 5 hours I drove from Newark, NJ to Central Mass, four hours......for a flyball tournament. I would have driven back to Mass anyway, but Friday was followed by two very long days of flyball. It is a lot of fun, but it is not the least bit relaxing. Its loud and non-stop. It is always difficult to sleep too. I was so tired, I was tempted to crawl into one of the big dog crates with thick cushions and take a nap. I wonder if other people find flyball tournaments as exhausting as I do?

Kerry & Joe

Our crating area

Chase and Hunter dressed up for Mardi Gras

Indy's team mate Slingshot getting wrapped

Our sad Mardi Gras decorating attempt


The winning Mardi Gras set-up. They won a free entry to next years tournament
adorable parson jack russell puppies

Sue and Joe's crew of dogs

Indy raced with the same team as usual. We came in last place of division 1, but we had fun and the dogs were happy and tired. Indy very much enjoyed the intense competition and ran several times below 4 seconds with a passand got her FM title. We are going to put her in start position at the next tournament for a few heats to see if she can break 3.9 seconds.
She either decided that she would prefer lower jumps or that she hates waiting after a false start, so she busted through 3 inches of jump slats. Our other mishap involved me putting her leg wraps (protects her legs) on too tight...ooops. She decided to sit out the last race because her legs felt too tingly.

Indy busted through a 1" and a 2" slat

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Week in Seattle - Part II

Ari did not have the TPLO surgery. We knew this was a possibility since there were no xrays taken until the morning before the surgery. We were still shocked when the vet tech called at 3 pm to tell us Ari was doing well and the surgeon decided to not do the TPLO "at this time". Another 2 hours went by before we heard from the doctor. That was hard because we had a million questions. Why didnt they do the surgery? Would they need to do it at another time?

It turns out that the xray and examination showed the doctor that he is not a current candidate for the TPLO because there were no signs that he had a tear. This is good news, however he did have some fluid build up in his knee. His diagnosis will be more clear after the pathologist looks at this fluid and a radieologist sees the xrays. The worst case would be that he has a very minor tear that will eventually tear all the way depending on how hard he plays. We are also hoping that he does not need NSAIDS for the rest of his life to feel good enough to play.

I am in the process of looking into how to heal him with crate rest, or to find out if that is an option. To speed Ari's healing Ben will be giving him a few supplements that help with different things. He is getting: fish oil, arnica, glucosamine, probiotics, and dog gone pain (Feverfew, Celery Seed, Wheatgrass, Boswelia, Bromelain, Papain, Corydalis Root, Cayenne, Turmeric, Shark Cartilage).

We decided to spoil him and get this lovely very thick and comfortable new bed

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Today we went over to Diane's farm, our friend and herding trainer (the best trainer in my opinion). I have not seen her since I left in August, so it was nice to visit. We also want to introduce Teal to the farm and to Diane. I had fun taking lots of pictures of all the border collies and farm animals.

Teal's first sheep exposure. Good thing Tess has them under control!


The house dogs - Tess, Rainy and Nan

Teal didn't seem to notice the sheep at first, so we helped her out.

We need to get our border collies some Jolly Balls- they love it!

One of the reasons that Diane is the best- she let our puppy herd her chickens!

Another reason - she gives us eggs!

Teal in her first crouch, watching movement



Ducks are the cutest


Diane cleaned the kennels and let everyone out to play




Tess working hard for Ben - practicing for next weeks trial


You can sort of see Ben trying to close the pen and one sheep getting between his legs.

Frank is watching out for his sheep




Kuro is all grown up now, we watched him when he was a pup.

Crazy muddy baby border collie


Anson is my favorite. He is a handsome boy and Tess's puppy.

Tess is the oldest and most treasured dog on the farm and will be Ben's partner in the trial on Sunday.


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My Week In Seattle - Part I

My visit started out at my favorite restaurant, Pho Binh. I enjoyed every bite of my fresh spring rolls and noodle soup and I intend to go back at least once before I leave.

I am trying to get as much training done with Teal as possible. On Saturday we went to puppy play hour and Teal showed us that she has a demon inside of her. That's what we tell her at least. She was perfectly calm, if not a little shy. Then, she went ballistic on a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel - a good choice in our opinion. It was pretty funny because she is such a tiny puppy and the spaniels owner was extremely worried that little miss growly Teal was going to attack her baby. I am working hard to make sure her demon leaves before I go back to Seattle! In an effort to get maximum socializing for our little girl, I took her to the dog self-wash. It went fairly smoothly, other than her trying to attack the dryer as if it was a King Chaaarles Cavalier Spaniel.

Joy, Kat and Polly came over later to play board games....always a fun time. Ezri (Joy's border collie cousin to Teal) and Teal played non-stop, which meant that Teal was so exhausted that she slept through the night. Friends coming over was a perfect excuse for me to make dessert. I made cupcakes after I realized I love cupcakes and never made them before. For my first cupcake experience I wanted to use a flavor combination that everyone (that isnt weird) loves - chocolate and peanut butter.

One of Ari's favorite humans - Polly

Ezri and Teal biting faces

Ezri

Joy and Polly

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

For the cake........

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 . In a small bowl, mix together flour cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
2. In a bowl, beat together granulated and brown sugars and butter until well combined. Add peanut butter, beating until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla until mixture is smooth. Alternately beat in flour mixture and milk, making three additions of flour mixture and two of milk, beating until until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Scoop batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Let cool completely on a rack.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

• 1/2 creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 Tbs milk or heavy cream
  

Beat together butter and peanut butter until creamy. Add sugar and salt, beating well. Add milk and until smooth and creamy.

My cupcake making days have definitely just started. They are so perfect because you get your own little cake and you don't have to share with anyone. I'm not good at sharing.

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On Sunday after puppy class, we also went to the very impressive farmers market in Ballard, in full swing even in February. Ben bought a pint of peanut butter ice cream and some meat. Teal was in my arms the whole time, getting pet and cuddled by many new people. She even met some kids and she loved them...our first dog that likes kids! Later we met up with Kate and Jacob and went out to lunch at Ray's cafe on the water.

We got home just in time to get ready for flyball practice. It was fun to watch and help where I was needed. Teal was extremely distracted and would not tug or chase the ball unless no other dogs were playing. We had some trouble communicating that need, so she didn't get much training. She did enjoy watching, especially when Ezri was running.

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Today I did some more socializing with Teal during the day while Ben was at school. We went to two little dog stores, a coffee shop and walked on leash in a few downtown areas. Conveniently we saw plenty of screaming children, buses, skateboards and some generally weird freaky people that might scare a dog.

After a hard day of socializing

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There will be more to write about before I leave. I will try to post again before I leave. Please send positive thoughts to our big boy Ari, who is having major knee surgery on Wednesday. I am very worried about him.

Teal Swimming

Teal is looking a little nervous, but she was a natural swimmer and very cute when wet.

Last weekend I went to Canada with my flyball club for a training retreat and tons of dog swimming. They practiced flyball in a very large greenhouse and went swimming in another greenhouse. I think that people got a lot of good flyball in, but I didn't participate in that because Ari has a bum leg and Teal is too little to actually practice. Teal and I worked on recall, walking on leash and tugging while no one was practicing.

But we really had fun swimming! It was hard to take videos and pics of the dogs swimming because the lens kept fogging up so fast. Also Teal was swimming like mad for the walls so videos of her are short. Ari did some therapeutic swimming, which he didn't particularly love, but he also swam after the tennis ball later in the day. I regret not getting a video of him going after the ball, but it was really foggy and wet in there.





The other night Teal and I went to Norm's. The bar in Seattle that allows dogs to sit under the tables. We went with out friends Jacob and Guthrie. Teal got passed around the tables and got a lot of good socialization. I was happy that she fell asleep in the booth right before our food came. This is a poor video of her sleeping and Jacob and Guthrie hanging out.

A One Day Flyball Tournament

Indigo and I drove to Manchester, NH with Amanda and two of her dogs, Hanna (Golden Retriever) and Chase (Rat terrier/Aussie Mix). It was nice to have a one day tournament, especially after a sleepless night of Chase and Indigo fighting for the same spot on the bed! Indigo's team did very well in Division 1 up against two other very well-practiced teams with very fast dogs. The biggest accomplishment setting a new club time record of 16.8 seconds. One of the dogs was running slower than usual, so we expect to break that record again very soon. I am definitely enjoying a day of flyball craziness followed by a day of relaxation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EPf5vTiDAs&feature=channel_page