A couple of Darbi kids

I've had some pics sent to me recently of Darbi kids.

They are too fun not to share.

"Spur" (Elmingo's Lone Ranger - Prize x Darbi 2011) is growing up to be a handsome guy.

"Bode" (Elmingo's Bode At Full Tuck: Tiger X Darbi 2006).

Bode's owners told me that instead of geraniums this year, they decided to go with "potted lab".

A fitting photo from Bode's owners.

Better week-end for Libbs

Miss Libby got SECOND in the Qualifying this week-end and became Qualified All-Age in the US.  She ran great and we had fun together.  Looks like I got my little girl put back together.  That's one thing we love about her...it doesn't take much to get her working good again when she gets loose.  She's easy, tries hard and is a very bright little dog.

That was Libby's last Qualifying.  She'll move up to the Open now full time.  It will be times of bumps and bruises, trials and tribulations for her, but she's ready and it's time.

Libby's littermate Zink also finished fourth in the same Qual.  Way to go kids!

Darbi made it to the water blind in the Open and then gave me no effort OTHER then getting off the point real pretty.  We hacked our way through it, but I wasn't pleased.  As Kenny has told me, they get unreliable at her advanced age and water blinds are generally the first place they start to "sour".  After running a real nice set of marks, and doing a fabulous double land blind, I was for sure disappointed, but I don't hold a grudge and Momma D owes me nothing.

Ahti ran her third derby...and after blowing up int her first one, she's starting to come together.  She was dropped for a couple of hunts after three series this week-end.  We're a little unsure about her right now...unsure if she has the "it" factor to be a successful trial dog, but we're plugging away and not ready to throw the towel in yet.  She can be a worry wort in training and she's been having a hard time catching on to new concepts, but she's getting better every day.  We decided to start trialing her so that she can see what we're training her for, and she was getting better and better every series this week-end.  Don't get me wrong, she's not a slug when she runs, but she can worry herself into bad spots.  Fingers crossed that these trials show her that this is supposed to be a good time and it seems to be working so far!

Just as expected...

Sorry I've been blog lazy since I've returned from Canada.  I've been busy catching up with life and ran a trial the day after I got home.

As expected, the girls I took up there were more then a little loose after running 10 days without a collar and getting no training...just testing.

I include a picture of Libby running last week-end as proof.

Test Dog

I stole this pic from the NRCC website.

It's of Meg and I running test dog in the first series of the Canadian National Amateur.

Her and I have had a blast and the tests have been fun.

We head home to Colorado tomorrow to run a trial this week-end.

All I can say is that after a number of days running as "set-up" dog...with no collar...Libby and Darbi are more then a little loose.  My expectations are fairly low for the trial this week-end for those two.

Canada again!

I'm back in Canada again.

If it seems like I was just here...I was.

I'm helping out at the Canadian National Amateur Retriever Championships in Red Deer, Alberta.

I volunteered a couple of years ago and I'm a woman of my word.

I'm running "set-up" with Darbi and Libby and using Meg as test dog for the first few series.

Since I can't run the Amateur anymore, it is a good fit and the perfect way to give back to all my wonderful friends in Canadian Field Trials.

While I obviously can't say a word about the tests, I think it will be a fun week for contestants!

If you want to follow the National Am, which starts Monday, you can do so at www.nrcc-canada.com

Good luck to everyone competing!!

I don't think you'll hear much more from me until I get home next week.

Picture Day

I grabbed my camera and took some pics for Kenny's website today.  We've had a good run as of late and it's fun to immortalize it.

Darbi's son Turq (Backwater Smokin Turq).

On the right: Darbi's daughter Meg (Elmingo's Prime Suspect), along with "Danny", who we train.

And the three two year olds we qualified for the Canadian National.  It's pretty impressive.  Two of these pups are Miikka kids and I'm very proud of them all.

Left to right:  Zink (Elmingo's Little Man), Libby (Elmingo's Flip Your Lid) and Riot, whose a riot (LKY's Controlled Chaos).

If you remember, it was just over a year ago that I took a pic of the same three "amigos" for finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd in a Derby in Missouri...they have come a long ways.

So...the elephant in the room...Darbi is the only dog we took up there that didn't qualify for the Canadian National.  She's been running "up and down".  She went 8 series one week-end in Canada, and then went out in the first series both days another week-end.  Kenny tells me that is entirely normal for an "old" dog.  They are unreliable and generally only do what they feel like at this age.  Darbs will be 10 in a couple months.  But she's finished 3 of the 6 US Opens she's run so far this year, so it's not all bad.  We'll keep going forward with her, and I may make another swing up to Canada in a month or so if I feel like she wants another shot to qualify.

But Darbs has been put on a long term arthritis medication for now.  After a long examination and talk with my wonderful vet, we decided that it was best for Darbi.  She doesn't have any obvious lameness that people can see with their older trial dogs, but she does have some aches and pains and general body stiffness.

Darbi owes me nothing.  When she says she's done, she's done and that's that.  But she hasn't told me that yet...she bounces at the door to get on the dog truck and go training every day and she come off the truck at training a little (too) exuberant sometimes.

The vet said he saw no obvious issues with her eyes and it appears she sees mostly fine.  I guess she only looks at what she wants to look at.  I have no problem with it.  Every day I get to spend with her, trialing or not, is a bonus with a senior dog.

Whatever she wants to do is fine by me.

Harper's Colors

Harper is here showing off all her pretty ribbons from the Logan Lake trial in BC a couple weeks ago.

She is Elmingo's Violence On Request (Prime x Darbi 2008) and lives in Alaska.

Way to go Harper!!

I know my website is down.  I've been working on it.  It's my fault and I forgot to change the web hosting before MobileMe shut down.

I'm not very good at updating my website though, and I do most of it through my blog.  I need to add a Libby and an Ahti page, amongst other things, but it seems there's not enough hours in the day.

Good kids!

So happy to see Darbi and Miikka's babies growing up and doing well!!

At the Logan Lake trial in BC:
Elmingo's Violence on Request (Prime x Darbi 2008) WINS the Qualifying one day and had a 3rd and a 4th on other days.

Elmingo's Pacific Eider (Shaq x Miikka 2007) placed 3rd in one of the Qualifyings at the same trial after winning the Qual in Lethbridge.

In Saskatoon:
Elmingo's Little Man (Shaq x Miikka 2009) placed SECOND in the Open one day and qualified for the Canadian National at 2 1/2.

Elmingo's Prime Suspect (Prime x Darbi 2008), after her WIN in Lethbridge, went to the last series in 4 of the 6 Opens she ran up north.

Backwater Smokin Turq (Prime x Darbi 2008) placed in a couple of trials in Canada after, as as you know, recently qualifying for the US National.

And Miss Libby (Elmingo's Flip Your Lid - Shaq x Miikka 2009) also qualified for the Canadian National with 10 staples in her side!  She's such a trooper.  The staples are out and she is fully healed from her latest attempt to harm herself.

While Darbi and Miikka are both spayed, I have my eye out to the future of Elmingo Retrievers.

Libby is also spayed, which makes me a little sad as I think she would be a great addition to the gene pool.

Ahti is intact, but she won't be bred for a year or two at the earliest.

BUT Meg is going to become a mother later this year and I'm getting one!  Meg is Elmingo's Prime Suspect and she is being bred to last year's US Top Open dog FC Fresh Squeezed Juice.  Should be a fabulous breeding and I'm on the list!  I'm getting a little boy to raise and develop, but I'll get a little girl from Meg to keep for myself down the road and add to my breeding program.

If you're interested in this breeding, let me know as the waiting list has already started!!!

I may not have any litters myself coming up, but I'm so pleased to see my lines grow and develop and carry forward.