Catching Up!!

Wow...it's been over a year since I've been here.  So much has happened!  I didn't even think about this site until I saw the link on my Facebook page.  (I had dropped off of there for awhile too.) 

I started this blog waaayyy back when I had my fingers crossed about getting an elkhound puppy from a certain breeding.  It didn't take.  Well here we are almost 2 years later and guess what!?  We are getting a puppy!  More details in the days ahead but we are getting a male and will call him Gray.

Tukka and Kia are doing well.  Tukka is now 5 1/2.  Her most recent accomplishment was to make a total fool of me in Novice Obedience at the Illinois specialty.  Very funny Tukka!!  She's a nut, but that's partly why we love her.

Kia is 4+ years now.  She has been taking the summer off.  She had a bad bout with cysts this spring.  I've had some back issues.  So we quit going to agility practice.  Not sure if or when we'll start up again. 

Both of them are showing their maturity and are so easy to live with.  They have been finding some deer but are great about not chasing.  I kind of suck in my breath when a deer pops up out in front of them but they've learned not to chase.  I've even had a little success calling Tukka off of chipmunks this summer.  Kia has been better about that too and so they are getting a fair amount of free time in the woods.  Of course now it's really too hot and we've had to curtail our outdoor activity. 

Here's a recent photo of Gray at 6 weeks.  I went to visit in Duluth and went to the dog show with some friends.  It was a great time!!

Lost Track of Time!

Gee, it's been quite awhile since I posted anything.  A lot has happened in the last couple months.  Like the NEAA National.  Whew.  That was fun but too busy!  We had a nice time, Kia ran agility and got a first place in jumpers with weaves.  I was so happy and very proud of her.  Rally was a different story as that happy little girl let out the clown and instead of doing what she was supposed to, she put on an act of all her tricks!  It was pretty hilarious and I'll always treasure the memory.

We were able to see many of our friends that we don't get to see very often, some only once every couple years!  And we met new friends too and enjoyed everyone's company.

We ran in a UKC trial this spring but I'll be darned if I can remember when!  We bombed anyway so there was nothing fun to report.  It was terribly disappointing because she only needed one leg to get her first title.  We ran again this weekend and accomplished our goal!  She was a happy, focused girl and after some teeter problems yesterday we got it together for one decent run that earned her title in Agility I and then a second run that was even better, she scored 199 and got first place.  Fun!  Even worth the sunburn I got!

I changed jobs a few weeks ago.  A great opportunity came along and I decided to take it.  It was difficult to say goodbye to my old job and the people but I am not sorry that I took the new job.  Still, it's been affecting me some, the change, even though it's good, is somehow bothering me.  So I've been tired and having lots of weird dreams, even some bad ones.  At any rate, it's Sunday night right now and I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow!

Been doing some fishing, having fun with that.  Debbie and Beka were here for a visit, we did some fun outdoor things and got the flowers and garden planted.  A nice mental health weekend.

I got the camera out today after quite a long hiatus from doing any shots of the dogs.  Here's my favorite photo from today.

Tracking and more

Last weekend Debbie came up to visit and brought her elkhound Beka along.  We took Beka and Kia to a tracking seminar.  It was very interesting and a lot of fun.  We both feel now as though we have enough knowledge to get started.  Our goal will be to try to get tracking titles on our dogs.  The dogs really enjoy tracking, they get to be the boss! 

On Sunday morning we laid a few short practice tracks and the dogs did well in spite of the dry, windy conditions.  I can't imagine worse scent conditions weather-wise than what we have had lately.  We have not had any rain in quite some time and the snow of course is long, long gone and all it's moisture too.  And windy!  My goodness the high winds we've had.  Fire danger is extremely high, I hope we get some rain soon.  It's actually dusty walking in the woods.  Which makes me wonder how dogs can sniff, sniff, sniff and not have to blow their noses once in awhile!

Kia continues with agility practice.  We did go to another trial which I did not write about earlier because I was disappointed that we ran 4 runs and never qualified.  I thought we were doing so much better than that.  But sometimes in the ring everything just falls apart, I know that my nerves are a huge factor in this.  Kia senses when I am nervous or upset and it affects her ability to concentrate.  She worries about me, isn't that nice?  I think it is because it shows we are pals but I wish, as her leader, I could be less worrisome to her.

Tukka is on curtailed activity because she is in season...for the last time!  Yay!  She is going to show at nationals and then she will retire until she is a veteran.  Hopefully late in July she will have her spay surgery and we can get back to working on rally and obedience.  For now, we just take nice long, on-lead walks to keep her in condition.

On Sunday, Tuuva came to visit.  She's a cute 5 month old elkie pup.  I had so much fun working with her to learn some new things.  She catches on quickly and is really willing to participate.  Made me realize how ready I am for another pup.  I absolutely LOVE watching them grow physically and most of all mentally.  I love the training and bonding with a youngster.  They payoff really comes when they hit maturity and you have the most wonderful, cooperative, loving dog.  We can see that with our girls now and I'm anxious to get started with a pup.  We'll just have to wait and see when we might be able to get one.

Games and Pizza

Last night I was watching Randy and Tukka play "keep away, take away".  It's like a game dogs would play amongst themselves.  Randy is good at being a dog buddy!  He gets down on the floor and does silly stuff with them.  They love it.  The bad thing is that when they were younger they did not respect him as much because he was more like a littermate than a dad.  That's not the case any longer, they listen to him but still love playing games with him.  They play with me also but all the training I've done with them makes our interactions much different.

For example, the other night Randy tossed the Chuck-it flying disc.  Kia ran for it but would not bring it back.  I told her to and she brought it to me and held it for me to take it from her.  I told him to throw it again and give her a command to "bring it".  She did.  But she handed it to me again!  That was so funny!  Dad is just a goofy guy to play with and he is a treat dispenser.  Just one look with those sweet, dark eyes and out comes a treat.  They love him so much and he loves them and it just warms my heart.  

Yes, it is heartwarming unless I catch him doing something like he did last night.  He took the last piece of pizza and divided it in two, cutting it in small pieces.  He put it in their dog bowls.  I walked into the kitchen just in time to catch him at it.  I could not believe he was feeding them pizza like that.  Okay, sometimes I give them a bit of crust but their own pizza slice?  No way!  No wonder they love him so much!  I got on his case and he kept insisting it would not hurt them.  I countered with, "if you were a bachelor they would each be 100 pound elkhounds, you'd probably fry them bacon and eggs every morning!" 

They do get plenty of exercise but the excess fat and salt can't be good.  Listen to me...I hogged down more pizza than I should have.  I should take care of myself like I take care of them!

Is it really only April?

The weather has just been incredibly nice this spring.  It is allowing us to get ahead on some projects that we need nice weather for and typically couldn't do in April.  We did have a reminder last week though that anything can happen weather-wise when we got a few inches of snow!  The dogs loved it.  We didn't mind it much as it melted quickly.

It's so dry though that fire danger is really high.  This past weekend a fire near a friend's camp had us really nervous.  Thankfully the firefighters were able to get it under control and out before it did a lot of damage and the camp was not in direct danger. 

Saturday I took Kia over to Escanaba for agility games.  She ran well and we had a good time.  Then went to the outdoor course and practiced some more.  She learned several new obstacles.  Still having some trouble with weaves but a dog doesn't learn those quickly so we just have to keep working on it.  I have a lot of confidence in her.  On the 17th she will run at a UKC trial again.  And I'd say she is close to ready for AGII, we might even give that a try on the 18th though we'll have to manage the weaves. 

The dogs spent most of the weekend outdoors.  Tukka stayed at the store on Saturday while Kia and I were gone.  She loves to be tied out there and watch the world go by.  When she's in the store she becomes a sales associate and follows customers around to see if they need her opinion on products.  The rest of the weekend they spent chasing chipmunks until Kia finally got a little carried away and lost her privileges of being loose.  She went out by the road and got carried home and tied up.  They've been so good about hanging out near the house.  We never leave them outside alone because they really can't be trusted that much.  However, it is really nice to see them just being dogs, digging holes, getting dirty, laying in the shade. 

They have a new ride too!  I put the shelf back in the van but arranged it differently and put their new wire crates on top.  Now we have more room and they are riding where we can all see each other.  Kia is right behind the drivers seat which is more comfortable for a dog that has a bit of motion sickness.  We could also add another crate in the rear for dog number 3 when the time comes or if we are going someplace with friends. 

Yay!  We get to see Debbie and Beka this coming weekend!  Something to look forward to as the work week drags on.

Counting My Blessings

It's so easy to get down sometimes, things don't go the way we hope, bad things happen, money's tight, someone is not well.  On and on.  That's life, always throwing it's curves.  But if you just stop and take some time to think you can find things to be thankful for.  Sometimes, when life is really giving you a lot of crap to deal with it's not easy.  I've been there.

But for now, life is good.  Especially today, I'm just feeling so happy.  We have an early spring that has turned business around at our store.    Some brisk kayak sales have really taken the edge off for both Randy and I.  Last year was by far the worst in the store's history and I have to tell you it was damn scary being in business.  But each day, like I've said many times before, we would look to the things that gave us a reason to smile.  How often was that our Norwegian Elkhounds?  Well every day of course!!

We have many other things to be thankful for, like full-time employment for me, decent health (when I have such aches and pains I remind myself it's nothing compared to what some are going through), a nice home that isn't paid for but has plenty of equity!  In rough times like we've seen the past 18 months that is enough to be thankful for right there.  I could go on and on with my list, friends, family etc but I think you already get the point.

This morning I got up early and took Kia for a 3.5 mile walk.  In spite of the problems causing me hip pain, I have to do this.  I have to do this EVERY day.  I need to lose weight and get stronger.  I have a real hard time staying motivated.  But it was so beautiful outside, the birds were singing and it smelled like spring.  Kia and I had a nice time.

I had the day off so I was going to spend it cleaning the house to get ready for company on Easter Sunday.  Instead, I ditched the dusting and headed outdoors.  I turned the dogs loose to play and do their doggie things while I raked and bagged dead grass.  What a great day.  We all had a good time.  I would look and see Kia's butt sticking out of a hole she was digging, Tukka laying nearby. When I didn't see them a whistle would bring them galloping to me.  That was really rewarding for me.

Now, I've showered and opened a cold beer.  I'm relaxing at the end of this beautiful spring afternoon before I make dinner and my best blessing ever comes home for dinner.  Man, I am one lucky woman!

Not Much Going On

Been pretty busy with work and business so haven't had much time for anything else.  I did get to agility practice with Kia on Monday, she and I are learning to be a team but some things, like rear crosses, are not coming to us quickly. 

Both dogs have really been enjoying being outside, they were out in their pen last weekend for most of each day.  And we have been faithful about letting them get a run in every day too.  They have been minding really well although Kia can't seem to hear very well when her head is down a chipmunk hole!  She is quite the digger!  We let her dig in the woods, it doesn't hurt anything there.  It's fun to watch them enjoying themselves just being dogs.

Still thinking about a puppy though we both realize that we sort of have it made right now with the girls being mature.  I told Randy that I think this summer we can sit on the deck to relax while they run around doing their thing.  They aren't much work anymore.  So perhaps a nice, quiet summer will allow us to get some projects done around home.  And spend a lot of time on the water in our kayaks!  The dogs like to go along too, so plenty to look forward to.  The ice is nearly off the lakes, it's the earliest I can ever remember it going out.