The journey of a lifetime - Day 1

Ok, I have to admit, I haven't been keeping the blog up lately. And I'm sorry. There just hasn't been much to blog about. Trixie was out of coat and not showing. I cut back on agility with Timber - as much fun as it is, that's one really expensive sport, and I've needed to take finances into consideration lately. So, really, you haven't missed much... until yesterday!!!!

We're taking a trip. 1900 miles. 5 days. With 4 dogs in a very small Toyota Rav 4. Yes, we're crazy. My sister, Renee, flew to Seattle as a second set of hands. We're crammed in that car like a bunch of sardines. And as I pull dog after dog out of the car, people at the rest stops look at us like we are the canine clown car.

All my dogs are good travelers. They know to relax in the car, they get frequent breaks, and lots of love and attention from us and everyone they meet.

Yesterday was 500 very long miles. Almost 12 hours from start to finish. We took lots of potty breaks - more for my sister who was downing large Diet Dr. Peppers like they were going out of style. We made it from Seattle to Missoula, Mt.

Timber. Oh. My. Timber.
Timber has figured out how to get out of his seat belt. He's very stealty about it too. So, I'm driving along and the next thing I know there is a soft nose nuzzling the back of my neck and heavy breathing in my ear. Dear Dog... Get in the back seat!!! I'd stop. Re-seatbelt him and 5 minutes later he was again nuzzling my neck. I think it was the heavy breathing that got to me.

So we're off for the day. More updates tomorrow!

They're two years old today.

They've come so far and accomplished so much thanks to their loving and supportive owners! Let's all give a round of applause to Trixie, Kenji, Kona and Odie. It's their birthday today.

You might remember them two years ago as they were preparing to go to their new homes.


Here they are today:

In this photo, Kona, Kenji and Trixie, all littermates, won that day.
Kona (far right) - Best of Breed
Kenji (far left) - Winners Dog and Best of Winners for a 3 point major
Trixie (center) - Winners Bitch for a 3 point major

The next day Kenji and Trixie both won their second major, finishing Kenji's championship and putting Trixie 4 points from hers.

The one puppy from the litter not pictured above is Odie. Here's a recent photo of him. He's living the good life with a wonderful owner. That dog, seriously, wants for nothing.


A Big Happy Birthday to Tama's puppies! May you get lots of treats and toys today.

Peninsula Dog Fancier's Show update

Yes, Kenji won BOB both days, Trixie won BOS for another point on Saturday. But the big news... and the dog that really deserves the spotlight because he just doesn't get enough recognition in a house full of shibas...is that Timber, my australian shepherd, qualified both days in Rally-O. On Sunday, he not only qualified, but won a 4th place ribbon with a 97 out of 100 score. I'm so proud of my boy!!! And by the way, it's his third birthday today, so he gets extra hugs and kisses and a nice big chewy.



Not to overshadow Timber's success on his birthday, but here is Kenji's photo winning his championship in Arizona. Finally got the photos.

Growing up and moving on...

Sometimes there is a puppy in a litter that just tears at your heart. In this litter it was Edge - the fat faced, calm demeanor, cuddler of the bunch. A friend of mine visited us a couple weeks ago and fell in love with Edge, too. And today Edge jumped a plane and took off for Arizona to an amazing home and a great future. We'll miss him terribly, but I know he has the best home any puppy could ask for.





Don Juan and Edge


Timber and Edge


Tama and Edge

A dream come true.

Just got home from the Fiesta Cluster in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Before I left for Arizona, I joked about sweeping the show with the three littermates that were in attendance. "Wouldn't it be nice if Kona won breed, Trixie won winner's bitch and Kenji won best of winners?" But to do that at a major show with some hefty competition, the stars would really have to align.

They did.

On Saturday, during the Arizona Shiba Inu Association's (ASIA) sponsored event, that is exactly what took place. (And we all have beautifully engraved plates to prove it! Thank you ASIA) It was a major in the girls to boot, and Kenji, by taking Best of Winner's also won a major that day.

We almost did it again on Sunday, Trixie won WB, Kenji took BW, both receiving 3 point majors and finishing Kenji's championship. An exhibitor called for the wicket in the Best of Breed class, so all the champions competing for Best of Breed and the WB and BW were measured to make sure they were within the height range. It took a really long time to wicket the 8 dogs in the ring - all while standing in the rain. Kona was pulled out against one other male dog for consideration but the win ended up going to the other, also well-deserving, special.

We were keeping our finger's crossed for more points for Trixie on Monday. She currently has 11 points with both majors. But the stars unaligned, the clouds rolled in, it rained, it poured and the show grounds flooded. The show on Monday was canceled.

Here is a photo of the show grounds on Monday morning when we went to collect all of our belongings from our little set up.



Never the less, Lennie/Tama puppies kicked some butt this weekend... Kenji finished his championship, Trixie is almost there, and Kona racked up his 6th Best of Breed Win.

Thank you John for his showing expertise, and to both John and Carol for everything you did! Thank you Valerie for letting Trixie and I invade your house for the week. I already miss you, Jeff, Kona and Pet-Kai. Hugs to all my Arizona friends. I can't begin to tell you how much I miss all of you already! You make dog shows loads of fun. Can't wait until Nationals to see all of you again.

Kona


Trixie


Kenji


And when the dogs weren't showing, they got to enjoy time out at the pool.

Growing up

It's hard to see how fast puppies grow when you just see a photo of them all alone. I snapped this photo this morning of Edge sharing the dog bed with Tama (and Don Juan in the background). Edge is just slightly smaller than Tama at almost 18 weeks. He's still all puppy as evidenced by the teeth marks on the stair closest to Tama. Not to mention the handle on my husband's TV-watching recliner, hordes of papers from my office that look like they've been through a soggy paper shredder, My son's baby picture, lots of my son's toys and Edge happily de-fleeced my husband's favorite sheepskin slippers. No adult teeth yet, but I predict from all the chewing that they are coming soon.



The things we are working on are:
1. Edge goes to a weekly conformation class so we get some ring experience before he begins to show.
2. He goes to a weekly puppy kindergarten.
3. He consistently will sit and down. We're past the luring stage with treats, and working on sits and downs by hand and verbal cues only.
4. He has a very consistent "watch me"
5. Putting on a leash is still an issue with the boy. He's in his "Don't touch my collar phase". But once the leash is on he loves the walks.
6. Doing nails are also not a pleasant experience for anyone involved. We practice touching the paws and pretending to clip or clipping a couple nails daily. Lots of screaming still going on!
7. Daily socialization. I take him everywhere I go.

Messin' with Momma

Tama: "Don't talk back to me kid."


Edge: "Ya, Ya, Whatever mom..."


Tama: "You really think you're cute. Don't you kid."


Tama: "Anyone ever tell you you have a big mouth?"


Edge: "Ha Ha Ha"


Tama: "I'm warning you. You'd better keep quiet."


Tama: "Message Sent."


Edge: "Eeeek!"


But the boy still has to get the last word in... (somehow this rings true in real life, too)

The last puppy remaining...

Avalanche is off to his new home, and that leaves us with Mr. Edge. He's a cutie pie with a big wide head and thick forward ears. Speaking of which, I do believe his ears are fully up!!!

And be still my heart... are those white eye dots peaking through?

As far as temperament, he's a cuddler and he's calm. He stays by my side. I must say I like that trait in a shiba. He's not fond of collars or leashes and will scream every time I hook a leash on. But he loves walks, so he'll tolerate the leash once it's on.

I took a few photos for his 15 week birthday. Here are some of my favorites...









By the way, news from the Southwest is that Trixie won WB again today for two more points! Yahoo Trixie. Yahoo John!

Another Whooo Hooo Trixie!!

Trixie won Best of Opposite Sex and Winner's Bitch at the Saguaro State Kennel Club show today. A huge thanks to John for handling her, Valerie for her grooming expertise, Carol for all her love and support and Wendy for taking Kona in the ring while John stayed on Trixie! Miss all of you and wish I could have been there.

Video of Avalanche

Avalanche went to live with his new family this week. I was reviewing some old video of the puppies and found this one of Avalanche and Tama playing. That's our Betty screaming in the background!

Farewell to Avalanche. He's got a fantastic home!!!! And not too far away, so I'll get to see him occasionally!

My annoying bathroom buddy.

Dogs are cute when they want to be petted when you're indisposed. Possibly a little annoying at times, but cute never-the-less. I can't say that about my darling Don Juan. At 5:30 in the morning when my eyes barely have openings, he's not so cute. He's just downright annoying.

I guess I should backtrack and explain the situation. If you'll use your imagination here, you'll have to see the layout of my house. First there is the bathroom. When you leave that door you enter a little hallway and directly across from the bathroom door is the door to the bedroom where the puppies reside. In that room is a nice window that faces the front of my house, the walkway and the road. Some day I'll get the curtains up on the window, but right now the window in that room stands naked. With both doors open and the lights on in the house, from the outside, you can see all the way through the bedroom into the bathroom. So as you can guess, it behooves you to keep the doors shut tight when you are in the bathroom. You wouldn't want the neighbors to view the goings on.

I don't know if dogs can be claustrophobic. Don Juan has never liked to be crated, contained, or otherwise shut in. He can climb out of any fence. Open any crate and the latest and greatest, he has figured out how to open all the doors in the house, including the bathroom door. It never fails, on the toilet, the door flys open and there's Don Juan demanding his pets. But, I'm smarter than the normal dog - right? I know he's going to do that, so I shut the door to the bedroom and all is good. Ah ha.

But not this morning. He opened the bedroom door first, ate the puppy food, and then opened the bathroom door to expose me to the world in all my glory. Thanks Don Juan.

I looked up to see the door to the bedroom standing wide open. I'm sitting wide-eyed, exposed to the world, mad at a dog who thinks he's the most clever dog in the world. He then looks up at me, takes his furry paw and flips the big metal water bowl into the air, spilling what's left of the water. It crashes to the ground not once, or twice, but three times. He just had to let me know he was out of water with that metal bowl on tile sound at 5:30 am when the rest of the house is still asleep. The whole time I'm telling him in my stern voice, "Don't do that again.", "Don Juan, No." "No, Donny, No." really thinking, "Please don't wake up small child!"

He just smiled. What could I do from my perch on the john, the whole neighborhood watching? (OK, maybe not, I think everyone else was probably still in bed at that time. But if my neighbors are reading this please don't tell me that you were peeping through my window at the exact time this all took place. I don't think I really want to know.)

My Don Juan. My new training challenge is to teach him to close the doors properly when he enters or exits a room. Do you think at almost 11 years old he'll be up for that challenge?

Post-class socializing

All the boys were together in class today. So after class all the owners decided to head down to the coffee shop for a little puppy socialization time. Who can resist four adorable shiba boys? Everyone stopped to say "hi" and to meet the boys. And we got to sip coffee while answering "what kind of dog is that?" and "how big will they get?" and "they look like a fox. Don't they?" a hundred times. The boys are exhausted and should sleep well the rest of the day. I'd be ready for a nap, too, but I drank way too much coffee this morning.

Enjoy the photos of the boys. I wish I'd had my real camera. The quality isn't very good because these are all from my phone. Maybe I'll remember it next week!

From closest puppy: George (formerly K2), Edge and Avalanche


Avanche (left), Edge (right)


George


Left to Right: Joaquin (formerly Mogul), Avalanche, Edge, George (formerly K2)




Joaquin (formerly Mogul)

The boys at 13 weeks

Not the best photos. Sorry for the "green" eye in the photos. I took them at night and there wasn't enough natural light so the flash really did it's thing. I need extra hands - two to work with the puppies, one to shake the toy to get them to look where I want, and two to work the camera.

Avalanche, now Tazer: Kishi's Set to Stun










Edge: Kishi's Catch'n Edge

Whooo Hooo Trixie!!

Trixie wins BEST IN MATCH! That's the equivalent of Best in Show except it's during a fun match. Fun matches are for clubs to practice putting on a dog show before the real show. It also gives dogs and handlers an opportunity to practice in a show setting. Since Trixie doesn't really know my friend, John, who will be showing her in February, he entered her in the fun match today so they could practice together! She not only won Best of Breed over some really stiff competition (her sister Betty, now known as Kioko), but she also won group and then BEST IN MATCH. I'm just thrilled.

By the way, I guess I forgot to post it earlier when she flew off to the southwest, but Trixie is in Arizona. She took the rainy weather with her and we've had beautiful sunshine while they've had the cold and rain. I'll fly down and meet her in March for the Fiesta Cluster. In the meantime, John is going to show her at the 4 day dog show in early February.

Here are some photos of the day...

Stiff competition: Kioko and Trixie


Kioko all tuckered out:


Trixie in the ring:




Winning Best of Match:


A big thank you to Wendy for the photos. I won't go as far as saying it's just like being there, but since I can't be there, I really appreciate getting to see the photos. Wish I could have been there to share the excitement of the day for both of my girls.