Happy Belated Darbi!!

I'm a bad, bad doggy owner.

I forgot Darbi's birthday.

Darbi turned 7 a few days ago. SEVEN!!

I don't feel so bad though, I usually forget my own birthday until my mom calls me singing sometime in the day.

I won't sing to Darbi though...I love her too much.

Not dog related

Not dog related at all...sorry.

While WORKING today (hee hee) I was pulled out of duty to ride in the Millarville Ride For STARS. STARS is the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (air ambulance) that we use quite often in the EMS service I work for.

Every year they have a big ride as a fundraiser and I have ridden almost every year.

The ride is held on John Scott's property close to where I live and within the district our ambulance service serves. I think over 250 horses and riders were there.

It was great weather and fun was had by all. John Scott donates the horses for the day to the EMS riders like myself.

I'm sad to say, I didn't even know my horse's name, but he was fun...other than when he tried to dump me (3 times)...unsuccessfully.

All photos taken on the greatness that is my iphone.

Huntin' Harper

Amazing how fast they grow up. Seems like just yesterday Harper was little "pink collar".

Now she's a big girl and had a great time on her first hunt at 11 months old.

Harper is from the Prime x Darbi litter of 2008.

Not much to say

Not much to blog about these days.

Trials are done.

Too hot to hunt yet.

I'm expecting Miikka in season ANY second now.

You can bet once that ball gets rolling, I will be blogging a ton.

So Sad

Maiya and I.

I have introduced you to my friend's dog Maiya several times. She is owned by a colleague of mine.

I got to know Maiya very well on my many walks with my friend.

Maiya was put down today due to inoperable Lymphoma.

She was only 18 months old.

I am heartbroken.

I am so sorry Mike and Ray.

Getting old

Man, those kids of mine wear me out. I ain't as young as I used to be.

Picture taking drama

Dottie's owner and I tried to get a nice side by side shot of mother and daughter.

As you can see, Miikka was annoyed with the process. Oh, to be young again, eh Peanut?

Miikka sure knows when to turn on the cuteness...as does Dottie (with human assistance in the "stay" department).

Then Mom showed daughter "how it's done" in the fun bumper retrieving area. Over and over.

It was nice to see that "stick killing" is indeed genetic. Dottie shows off her good genes.

Family Affair

A good week-end for Elmingo!

Shaq x Miikka puppies finished 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Junior Stake in Red Deer this week-end, and Adey (Tiger x Darbi) WON the Qualifying in Montana.

What was the most fun is that FOUR Miikka pups were in Red Deer and I hadn't seen most of them since they were 8 weeks old. Maggie (2nd place), Matti (3rd place) and Eider (4th place) all competed in the field trial and Dottie came out to watch her siblings run.

Here is a pic of Eider in the holding blind before running a test.

And here is Maggie...

And Dottie.

The four siblings together. From left to right. Dottie, Eider, Matti and Maggie.

We tried, albeit briefly, to get a picture of the pups without any humans, but that experiment proved fruitless.

I got to run Matti to her third place finish. Thanks to her owner Tim for allowing me to run her!! She was a hoot and reminded me of Miikka at her age.

Did something crazy

So I did something crazy yesterday.

I bought a horse....or PART of a horse.

I own a share of "Cactus Cut" now.

He is a gray thoroughbred yearling who will hopefully make it to the races next year.

Horses are my first love and I was heavily involved in them until about 10 years ago. Before I went to paramedic school, I even got an Animal Science diploma with a major in Equine Science in Wyoming.

I rode/trained/showed mostly Quarter Horses, but was also deep into the racehorse world via my family who owned a large breeding and racing stable.

I'll post pics of him and updates from time to time. He left the sale to be turned out for a while and will be broken to ride later this fall.

Red Deer Week-end

Had a good week-end in Red Deer.

Miikka finished the Open the first day with a CM. She ran a very nice trial, but had a Gorilla (with a capital G) hunt on the last bird of the day. I was so pleased with her work.

Darbi went out in the first test. She faded with the wind and couldn't recover. She showed a bit of her old spark, but not all of it. Maybe she's just burnt out. She's been working pretty hard since going to Texas in January, so a nice break this fall with some duck hunting may be all that she needs.

I judged the second day and had a great time with my co-judge. As usual, I learn a lot every time I judge.

Next week-end is another trial in Red Deer. That will be my last Canadian trial for the year, and maybe my last trial this year period. I'm expecting Miikka to come in season soon, and Darbi probably needs a rest.

NOT a chip...argh...

So the ortho guy looked at Darbi's x-rays and gave his report. The little piece of bone we saw on the x-ray is NOT a chip, but a normal part of her anatomy.

The only thing the ortho guy saw on her wrist x-ray was some arthritic changes to one of her toes. This can be enough to cause the lameness. There also could be an underlying soft tissue injury, but who knows. The vet palpated and moved her joints in all directions today without a flinch, but Darbs is pretty stoic.

I ran her on 3 blinds today (she is on Metacam) and she was tender coming back from the 3rd blind, but sound immediately afterwards.

I'll keep an eye on it and go from there. She has a nice long rest coming up, and maybe that is all that she needs.

Darbi vet update

I took Darbi to the vet 2 days ago to try to figure out why she hasn't been herself this summer. She has been eating and drinking normally and acting normal around the house, but sometimes acts as if she doesn't want to train or trial. She has also been limping on and off since January. Every couple months or so.

Blood work was done 2 days ago and I took her back in today for the results and some x-rays.

Blood Work-"perfect"

Chest X-Ray-"perfect"

Abdominal X-Ray-"perfect"

Physical Exam-"perfect"

Left wrist x-ray-not so perfect

BUT, I consider this good news. On the x-ray of her left wrist there appears to be a "chip" or a tiny piece of floating bone. This would explain why she has intermittent lameness and sometimes an attitude of "I don't want to do this". It HURTS...sometimes. When it doesn't hurt, she is just being careful, almost expecting it to hurt. When the floating chip moves away from the joint, she would be pain free, but when it moves into the joint, it would be extremely painful.

So, the x-ray has been sent to a veterinary orthopedic specialist for a consult.

Darbs will be on an anti-inflammatory until we decide what to do, and the vet told me it can be business as usual training wise, unless she is "off", and then put her up for the day.

I've seen this a lot with the racehorses I used to work with, and it can be easily fixed if that is indeed what it is, so overall good news.

Other than the likely chip, her ankle looks fantastic...no arthritis and a very clean joint overall.

I'll keep you posted.

Camping fun

Dottie sent a note to her mother Miikka to say congrats on the win, and how much she has enjoyed camping this summer.

Hot weather fun

My friend Lois sent me some pics of our time in Colorado.

One day it was particularly HOT, and I decided to ditch training to cool off.

NEW FTCH AFTCH

My little Peanut WON one of the Opens at the Alberta Field Trial Club trial this week-end. It was unbelievable.

This gave Miikka her Field Trial Championship and Amateur Field Trial Championship titles.

If you've been reading my blog, you have read about the struggles I've had with her. She is starting to put it all together...obviously...two wins this year. Believe it or not, we still have a ways to go, but man oh man, we are thisclose.

Here is a pic of Miikka shaking between birds of the opening series.

Last bird goes down of the test.

Here is a pic of Darbi on the opening series. Unfortunately she went out on the first test both days. She is NOT herself these days. And she hurt her ankle and was limping badly on the second day, so I picked her up. She then came home to have awful diarrhea and vomiting.

I'm going to get her in to the vet tomorrow to see why she hasn't been herself these past weeks and try to figure it out.

Finally, a pic of Miikka with her BLUE. Kenny has been a godsend for her, and it was so special for him to be there to see her win.

They're home!

Girls are home and hanging out on the back deck with me this morning.

We are headed out the door to spend a couple days in beautiful Banff before the field trial this week-end.

Pics to come later this week!

Second thoughts

I'm thinking that Darbi is having second thoughts about coming home.

She is just as spoiled at Horsetooth Retrievers as she is here, but she also gets FLIERS down there.

Kenny took this pic on his cell phone and sent it to me.

Trial Today

Darbi got dropped after the water blind.

Kenny said she was on line, but too many whistles.

Can't wait to see her again in 10 days.

I'm all settled in the new house, and the dog beds (and human bed) are waiting for them when they get here.

Good luck Darbi

Darbi runs the Open this week-end at the Centennial Trial in Colorado. Kenny is obviously running her and I hope she does well. If she doesn't, oh well, I still have a spot on the bed reserved for her.

Poor Peanut has to stay home as she is not qualified to run a "Limited" Open. It's too bad, as Kenny says she has had a great couple of weeks in training.

"Girls" will be home in 10 days or so. Can't wait to see them. We then run 3 week-ends of trials in a row here in Alberta. Then I "might" run a trial in Montana, and the girls go back to Colorado to run some fall trials in the US.

Plans are moving ahead for the Fall 2009 Shaq x Miikka breeding. She should be in season before the end of September, and she is lined up for a surgical A.I. whether it be in Colorado or Alberta, depending on where she is when she comes in.

Busy week ahead

A picture of Turner Valley, Alberta. A beautiful place to live.

I'm back from Colorado...without the girls. I already miss them, but they'll be coming home in only 3 weeks to run the last Alberta trials of the year.

I am expecting Miikka to come into season in only a month or so and it is confirmed that I am going to breed her to FC AFC Wood River's Franchise...a repeat of the 2007 litter I had. I am very excited and plan on keeping a puppy for myself. The pups from the first litter are doing fantastic.

I am moving next week to a house I purchased in Turner Valley, AB. I am SOOO excited. I met with the landscaper this morning and the back yard is going to be re-done with the dogs in mind so they can have their own "airing yard".

It's a new house (only 2 years old), so not much to do to get it up to par.

Turq & Week-end

Another fun week-end at the Colorado Women's Retriever club trial in Walden, CO.

Poor Darbi had to stay behind due to being in season. I missed her.

Kenny WON the Open with "Arson", a very cool young dog owned by the nicest people on the planet, Brad & Diane Clow.

Miikka went out in the first series of the Open and after the water blind of the Amateur. She is really starting to put it all together and was running the best she has all year. Still some work to do with her, but she has come a LONG ways since January. I was SOOO proud of her.

Turq is doing fantastic. He is off the table and finishing up his force work on the ground now. Kenny really, really likes him and says he hasn't made a wrong move yet.

Here are some pics of him doing yard work this past week. He will start force to pile and 3 handed casting in the next week or so.

Still here

Went to a trial this past week-end in Granby, Colorado. It was great fun.

I lost Miikka and Darbi both on the first series of the Amateur. They both had a difficult time passing the backside of the flyer station to the VERY long retired.

Darbi SMACKED the first series of the Open. A huge Quad with an out of order flyer. I was SO proud of her. Only 30 dogs of 90ish got called back to the second series.

In the second series, she was running a real pretty land blind and at the very end, Kenny needed one more whistle to put her on the bird and when he casted her, she couldn't see him as he was backlit. He was casting and casting and she just sat on the hillside. I felt bad for her as she tried so hard, but thems the breaks and I'm so proud of her efforts.

Darbi came into season the very next day, so it was all for the best anyhow. She won't be running any more trials until she is out of season. Miikka is entered in the Open and the Amateur this upcoming week-end, so fingers crossed.

Here is a pic of an Elk we saw on the drive to the trial. The road is the "highest continually paved road in the US" and it was WAY up there in the mountains. Notice the snow. We must have seen over 200 elk.

Here is Dave Winters running FC AFC Perpetual Dizzy Daisy. She also came into season this week.

Darbi and I running a marking test.

Miikka's favorite spot in Kenny's house. Laying on the bench and watching the world go by out the window.

Back In Colorado

I arrived back in Colorado at 1am this morning.

LONG drive.

For those who care, the "shortcut" to Great Falls is indeed a very, very longcut.

Hot down here, in the high 20's at least. Girls were happy to be back and jumped right into the routine again without batting an eye.

My friend Lois from Alberta also came down for some training.

Here is her and her dog Indy.

Kenny running Darbi's baby-daddy Prime. He looks great as ever.

We ran a triple as 3 singles and then a BIG water blind. I was very pleased with how the girls did all day. I'll take pics of my crew tomorrow or delegate it out to someone.

Turq is almost done his force fetch and he is doing fantastic. He has a great attitude. We ran him on both land and water marks today and he looks good. He is more of a wild man then what I'm used to, but he makes me laugh, and I love that more than anything.

Blog Lazy

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. It's been busy around here.

Not much for news either.

Turq is doing fantastic in Colorado and is flying through force fetch with his tail wagging according to Kenny.

The girls and I are heading down there on Monday to run a few trials and get in some great training time.

I can't wait!! I'll have lots to blog about there I'm sure.

Turq's New Adventure

Turq flew to Colorado today and arrived safe and sound. After a few days getting used to his new environment, he'll start serious training.

I'm going to Colorado in two weeks and will see him soon.