July 10, 11, and 12. Timber competed in his second agility trial. This one went much better than his first. We actually ran like a team! He's a fast dog and we had so much fun at this trial. No qualifying runs, but I was totally happy with what we did. Now we just need to work on communication and he needs more experience trialing. He is so far ahead of where my previous agility dogs were on their second trials. I have to keep reminding myself of that. It's hard because I have never been known for patience, and I want him up and running like they were at the very end. He has a GREAT foundation. We will get there. One trial at a time.
A friend of mine shot all these photos at the trial and put together a collage of Timber's runs. He's such a goofball. I love the photo with his tongue hanging out.
And here's a video of our last run. A little mistake at the yellow tunnel cost us a qualifying run, but he did the hardest parts which was working away from me at the other tunnels.
I was gone for a good part of July and missed the 100 degree weather in the Pacific Northwest. I signed up for a conformation show with Trixie in August, and came home to a bald dog. Drats. We went anyway and drove for 2 hours to get to the show. Showed for a couple minutes, shopped (my favorite part of the shows) and drove the two hours home. Two days in a row. We won nothing, but it was good experience for both of us, and it was also Trixie's first outdoor show which seemed to hold more distractions for her than the inside shows.
Here's Trixie and her boy...
The chicken's have grown up! And Don Juan has adopted them into his pack. He spent hours staring at them when they were chicks. All that time I figured he was picking one out for dinner. Instead, he really thinks of them as part of his family. Here's a video to prove it...
One afternoon I was working on my computer and I saw the chickens fly by in a panic. The dogs outside in the dog run started barking so I had to go out and see what was happening. I'm not sure what animal was out there. We have cats, coyotes and raccoons in the neighborhood. Whatever it was, the chickens and dogs weren't happy with it being in the yard. Don Juan slipped out the door behind me and started running circles around the chickens. I thought he was chasing them. I even yelled at him to stop. He looked at me like I was crazy and then he moved the whole flock of chickens back to the coop. He wasn't chasing them, he was just running large circles around them and by doing that he put the chickens in the coop. I locked the door to the coop just in case whatever animal had been in the yard came back. Yes, I officially have a herding shiba. And of course the real herding dog in the family is just looking to get close enough to the chickens that he could make one a snack. But we're working on that.
Kishi is still kicking. Her poor eyes are completely white. And her allergies and yeast problems come and go. Can you believe she's almost 12? Her favorite thing is laying in the sunshine in the grass. You can almost see a smile on her face when she's out there.
And that brings us to the big news of this post. Tama is off visiting her boyfriend, Lennie, again. We are repeating the breeding that produced Trixie, Kona, Kenji and Odie. To briefly give you the run down on these puppies, Kona went to Arizona and finished his championship quickly. Kenji has won multiple Best of Breeds and is just looking for those elusive majors to finish. Trixie won a Best of Opposite Sex, losing only to Kenji. And Odie. Well, Odie is one spoiled little boy with a house full of toys, treats and lots of love. And what do all of these puppies have in common? Personality. I always say that Trixie is just so full of JOY. I can't explain it any other way, she's always happy.
If all goes well, Tama's new litter should be born around her birthday on Oct. 23-25. They should be ready to go to their homes by Christmas. This will be her last litter.
