What good dogs!

Feeding the dogs at my house can sometimes be quiet the circus. Therefore, I have tried to get everyone into a routine so that dinner can be served with as little chaos and parental screaming as possible. Sometimes the big boys, Marley and Sterling, eat in the garage. Their kennels are out there (don't worry, they still sleep inside!), and as long as they are not latched, they will run over, nose them open, go in, turn around, and sit or lay down. They are so cute when they do this!!

When inside is not too hectic, all the dogs, Missy and Sparky (my mom's two older Dachshunds), Dante, Marley and Sterling will eat inside. It takes two trips to the garage to get every one's food together, and so I usually put Marley and Sterling in down stays. Tonight I did this, and went and gave the small dogs their food, and then set down the big dogs food. The phone rang, and I went to answer it and talked to Tom about this weeks arrangement for dog boarding while I cleaned in the kitchen. I walked back around the corner, and there they were, laying so still and watching me with big eyes. I had forgotten to release them!!!! Sterling even had a little puddle of drool going on from having to be so close to his food. Needless to say I immediately let them eat and gave them LOTS of praise. I just love my dogs.

Backpacking

Summer Fun

Well things have been pretty laid back as of late.  Just hanging out, working, and playing with the dogs!  Sterling got to go on a marathon SLC session with me two weeks ago when I took my car in to get its 60,000 mile service.  We walked to the Trax station and rode it to Gateway mall, where we hung out for 5 hours just reading, playing tug, and trying to grab plastic bottles (the last one being Sterling's thing!).  He was such a great boy through it all!!!  Heeling, being good in the stores, and sleeping while I read.  Later that week I also had to get new tries on my car (way too much money being spent on car stuff this month!), and while I was sitting there reading my book, the women next to me turns and asks, "So are you legally blind, because your eyes don't look weird."  LOL, sometimes I think I just give off a vibe or something.

Two weekends ago Tom took Marley and Hugo up into the Unitas for an 3 day backpacking trip.  While the trip got cut short due to massive amounts of mosquitoes, it was a wonderful success in terms of beautiful pictures and getting the dogs used to carrying their packs with some weight in them.  We still won't put much in until next summer when they are fully developed and done growing, but for now it definitely makes for great entertainment.

This past weekend Sterling, Dante and I spent Saturday at Bark in the Park, a fundraiser for my work.  It was a great success fundraising wise, and the dogs had a fun time!  Dante competed in the Doggie Dash, and was almost as fast as my boss's toy poodle (who has longer legs!).  Sterling was stellar in the musical sit competition, coming in third behind two adult dogs.  We also meet three CCI puppies, and compared the similarities and differences between the two programs.

This week is the kid's camp at work, and I cannot wait for it to be over!  I love the kids, but this does mean 10-12 hour days for me, and Saturday marks the start of my 10 day vacation, which ends with my trip to Fun Day in California.

Funday 2008

Part of my raising group has decided to make the trip out to California for Funday this year. There will be 8 people and 6 dogs. I was wondering if anyone else is going to Funday this year, and if anyone has any suggestions, tips, or stories from previous years.

The pups going are:
Sterling
Shaw
Melrose
Lisbon
Mario
Cosmo

One of our rasiers will also be getting a pup at Funday! It is from the first litter her breeder sired! So the ride back should be pretty entertaining...14 hours in a car with 4 pups, one of them 8 weeks old!