Trixie's day of agility

No pictures to show for it, but yesterday I took Trixie to an agility foundation seminar taught by Susan Perry. After working with Timber, who even in his craziest state will stay close to me and come when called simply because he's a herding dog, I was a little nervous taking Trixie off-leash in an open arena. Trixie has a good recall. But she is a shiba and no matter how much I've trained, the chickens next door, a sparrow flitting through the arena, the grass waving in the wind outside the arena can all be way more exciting for a one year old shiba that me with my bag of treats.

So I put her in a wait, led past the first jump. She stayed nicely. I called her over the jump. She came to me perfectly. And then... she realized she didn't have a leash on. I could see it in her eyes, like a light bulb going off. She did that shiba thing where they duck away before you have a chance to grab their collar. Without time to even exhale, I pulled out a toy and took a few steps away from her. OK, the toy was more fun than running off. Now I can breathe. We played tug until I could grab her collar and then I took her over two jumps, and then three and four. She stayed with me off leash through the rest of the class. I even think she thought agility was fun.

I know that people with other breeds don't have the same fears as those of us with shibas. But the first time you're in a place that's not fenced like Ft. Knox and you slip that leash off, as a shiba owner you can't help but say a little prayer and hope that when you open your eyes that the dog isn't a 1/2 mile down the road.

Trixie's photo winning BOS

I'm so proud of my little girl. Doesn't she look great in this photo?

Denise and Kari want recognition...

I got crap today from Denise for not naming her in my last post about going to the dog show. Denise is my friend who owns Tomo and Odie (both sons of Tama, Tomo is Trixie's 1/2 brother and Odie is her littermate). So, Thank you Denise and my other friend, Kari, for going with me to the dog show. You two are the best! Thanks for the fun, the laughs, and for breaking my crate handle in the middle of the crosswalk with only 4 seconds left to cross. Thanks for being Trixie's "royal" entourage and helping to carry all her show stuff. You both made going to this show a bunch of fun.

So, here's Denise with her two shibas, Tomo and Odie, and Trixie. ...



Trixie and Odie...



Denise, Trixie and Odie...



Denise and the puppies...



Odie...



Kari and Denise...

Wow, what a day.

I have to say that in all my years showing dogs, today was a first. I took Trixie to the Tacoma Kennel Club dog show this morning.

I didn't sign up for yesterday's show because I teach obedience classes on Saturday. All week long I wondered if it was even worth driving to the show on Sunday because our show time was first up after the national anthem at 8:00am. I've been telling my friends that I just wasn't into getting up at 4:15am driving all that way for an early showing, just to be done by 8:30am and then turn around for a return drive home. A couple of my friends agreed to go with me as Trixie's support team. Of course I promised them lunch, lots of fun, excitement and shopping afterwords. And, I also need to include Valerie, my long-distance conscience, who called me daily to make sure I WAS going to go. Thank you Valerie.

So, now that you know how close I was to almost missing today, on to the excitement of the day. The boys showed first and Kenji (Trixie's littermate) won "Winner's Dog". Then it was the girl's turn and Trixie won "Winner's Bitch". There were no specials at this show, so it was Trixie and Kenji (littermates) up for "Best of Breed". Kenji won, Trixie took "Best of Opposite Sex". I have no complaints - AT ALL. It was fantastic seeing two dogs that I bred still in the ring at the end! Whooo Hooo.

So, Trixie is no longer a bridesmaid. She has her first points! And I'm more than thrilled that I went to the show today.

And, by the way, I guess I should have gone to the show yesterday, too. Kenji also won "Best of Breed" on Saturday.

Go Kenji... Go Kenji!

I'm unbelievably happy with Tama's last litter: disposition, conformation, friendliness, drive, and willingness to work. And I love their funny little personality quirks that all the puppies seem to have; from jumping on the door to go in and out, to using their paws like hands to grab things, carrying a toy in their mouth, and retrieving over and over and over. The whole group is a bunch of incredible little spirits.

If you've been reading my blog, then you know that Kona has done well in the show ring. And after this weekend, now Kenji has a Best of Breed under his belt.

So here's Kenji with his first points and a Best of Breed to boot.



Guess it's time for me to really start showing Trixie.

It's about time for a show update that doesn't include Kona

This weekend was the Peninsula Dog Fanciers Show at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds. This was an extra special show because it was Kenji's first show. Both days he got reserve winners dog with his owner handling him. It was the owners first time in the ring, too.

Trixie is out of coat. So nothing for her. But she was handled superbly by Lea, one of my 4H teenagers. Lea wanted to try handling at an AKC show and what better dog to try it with than Trixie. The two made a great pair. I would definitely let her handle her again when Trixie is looking a little better.

The exciting event of the weekend was when Lea took Trixie out to go potty. Trixie slipped out of her show collar and took off at full speed. Luckily Lea is a great runner as well as a good handler, because it took all she had to keep up with her as she ran around the entire building. A group formed to corral Trixie into one place. And finally two shiba people saw what was happening and jumped in and grabbed Trixie. All was well.

Of course, I was inside chatting away and knew nothing of the goings on, until Lea came back to the ring totally out of breath. And total strangers began to filter by calling Trixie "the runaway".

Not nearly as cute as shiba puppies

but still really adorable.



What? Yep, we're the proud owners of some baby chicks... two California Whites, two Sicilian Buttercups, and one Speckled Sussex. Very different from raising puppies.

Not sure how shibas and chickens will mix, but we're going to give it a try. Don Juan is standing guard at the crate right now, his paternal instinct kicking in (really he's thinking they'd make a good snack).

Looking forward to farm fresh eggs!

And sure enough, he's a champion!

The exciting news is that Kona finished this past weekend with four 4-point majors. The next day Valerie was talked into leaving him in the class to hold the major and he won again... another 3 point major. For a total of 19 points (all majors). They are going to take a break to let him mature. Maybe we'll see him in the ring with the specials.

YAY Kona!

You go boy... Here's the photo from 4-point major #3. It was a great win from judge Barbara Alderman.

Don't you love Kona's wagging tail, and the intensity of his stare. The photographer threw a toy and he just had to have it.



Keeping our fingers crossed for this weekend. Four days of showing at the Fiesta Cluster in Scottsdale, AZ.

Getting old sucks

Eleven years ago, Ed showed up at home with an adorable, almost 5 month old, shiba puppy. One of my favorite memories is walking in the door on my birthday to find her bouncing around my feet. She was a total surprise and it made me jump for joy right along with her. I never knew how much this dog would mean to me or how she would change my world. Her incredible spirit, endless personality, and her ability to rule to world with "kish-a-tude", made her my canine soulmate. I've looked for that personality in every shiba I've come in contact with, but there will never be another Kishi. They broke the mold when they made her.

And in a way, it's good that mold has been broken. And let's hope that it was thrown away, too. Because even with her unforgettable personality, her health problems throughout the years have weighed heavily on us. From the time she was 2 years old, it has been one health tragedy after another. As my vet recently said, "nothing she has will kill her, but all combined, she sure doesn't feel very good."

So the latest in the string of health issues for Kishi... you can add anemia and glaucoma to the list. The anemia isn't expensive to treat. Although it probably means there is some underlying problem that hasn't been discovered yet. Unfortunately, Treating the glaucoma is expensive. And it doesn't matter what option I pick, the price is in the hundreds to thousands of dollars to treat. Right now we are treating her with pain medication and eye drops. I'd like to say that is the cheapest way, but long term, it won't be. Surgery or removal of her eyes would be the next steps but I can't even fathom that.

So it sucks when your pets get old. I'd love to go back 11 years to when she was bouncing around my feet. I need a reason to jump for joy.

Kona and Trixie

I spent last week in Arizona visiting Kona and his family. I was fortunate enough to take Trixie and let the siblings play. What a great time! They are so well matched and even look like twins. During the time I was there, they were inseparable.

We took the pups to a dog show and Kona won Winners Dog for another 4 point major. He has 12 of the 15 points he needs for his championship. Trixie took Reserve Winners three of the four days. No points for her, but she showed her best and I was proud of her.

Vote for Timber!!!

Vote for Timber!

Trixie's First Show

Trixie went to her first dog show on Jan. 10 and 11. She won her class each day with a pretty blue ribbon. But no points for her. I was very proud of her. She stood on the table nicely, showed her bite with only a little hesitation, and did pretty well on the leash. Not bad for a puppy in the 6-9 month class.

...and more snow

So we're still alive despite the SNOW. We have well over a foot of snow. The cover to the dog pen took a dive last night. I was talking to a friend and couldn't figure out why the gate wouldn't shut... it was because it was all imploding in on itself. A few minutes later the tarp fell from the weight of the snow. It bent all the metal uprights and put all it's weight on the actual fence. The dogs weren't in it at the time. Ed was up on a ladder in the dark and cold trying to shovel the snow off the top so we could take apart the tarp. So much for "castle shiba". While we were outside we could hear trees falling in the woods next to us. That's really a scary sound, especially the ones that are close by.

All the dogs seem to really like the snow, although Don Juan is having a hard time figuring out how to lift his leg in snow that is higher than he can lift his leg. J has spent more time outside the last couple days than he has since summer.

This is the 3rd day we've been without water. The well owners are saying it could be a couple more days before they can get the parts and have it fixed. Good thing we have our emergency water bottles, and because there was a storm coming in, I filled the bathtub up with water so at least we can flush toilets. But I'd do just about anything for a hot bath to help warm up!

Our electricity has been on and off all day. Nothing like roughing it the week of Christmas. Doesn't put me in the best "spirit".

We are expecting snow flurries the rest of the week. I guess I'm done shopping for Christmas until after the snow melts which could be after Christmas.

On a positive note - TImber just loves the snow. Watching him brings a smile to my face every time! His new favorite word is "snowball". It's amazing how the cold white stuff turns him into this...











And here's Trixie!

And more snow...

We got a bunch of snow for where we live. Normally we'll get a sprinkle and that's it. School was canceled. The kids had fun sledding this morning. And the dogs were really wound up. Timber decided the landing was so soft that who needs to take the stairs when you can leap into the pile of snow below...



And of course, when you're all done tearing up the yard, just stand around and look cute...

First snow of the season

We woke up this morning to about an inch of snow. While most of the shibas would rather not have to deal with the fluffy wet stuff on their paws, Trixie didn't seem to mind it. She and Timber romped through the snow and had a great time in it.

The big agility trial...

Timber ran really fast, stuck his contacts and made it through all the weave poles, but that's about all I can say about this boy's agility runs this weekend. The environment was so different than we had ever trained in and the atmosphere so intense that he was just insane. Insane! Turning around and jumping on me if I was behind him, doing his own course if I wasn't right there with him. Looks like we have lots more training to do.

He reminds me alot of the way Farley was in his beginning days. Looks like I have another bossy aussie in the agility ring. Now we just need to learn to work together better as a team.

The coolest thing about this weekend was that there was a huge field that we could let our dogs off leash in. To wear Timber out I started throwing some frisbees to him. By the end of the three days he was catching the long throws with pretty good regularity.


Photo by JoeCamp

The others...

While Kona was in the show ring, the rest of the litter had a little get-together. Denise and I played personal manicurist to 12 little paws while the puppies had time to play.

Denise and I faired pretty well. Only a few scratches and each of us got peed on at least once. Not bad for a days work. But, I'm sure my neighbors are wondering what we were doing to the poor little puppies with all the shiba screaming going on. Those darn shibas and their nail trim phobias.

But as you see in this after photo. They all survived.

Kona's on a roll

Today Kona won Winner's Dog and got another 4 point major! YAY. Both majors are out of the way.

BOW - WOW!

First show out in Tucson, Kona took Best of Winners and got a 4 point major to boot. WOW - OH- WOW Kona. That is awesome for a 6 month old puppy. Congratulations Valerie and Jeff for going through puppy hell to turn out a stable, wonderful boy that wows the judges like that.

Two more days of showing!



Thanks to Wendy for this photo of Kona from the match.