Spyrock Cardigans and Friends

Agility Practice

2012-02-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

We've had a fun few weeks with girls. On Jan 28th we started taking some beginner agility lessons. We decided it would be good for the girls especially since herding isn't an option right now with the new lambs. They have been having a blast! Today was lesson 3 and here are video's of the runs at the end of the class.

First up is Zoe.

Then it was Minnie's turn.

This will be their last lesson for awhile. Minnie is starting to come into heat (YAY!) and that means no more classes for her. Zoe isn't going to go either as we have a couple busy weekends ahead of us including getting Minnie bred. :) We will go back to agility in the future though, it's just too much fun for both us and the girls.

Oh my, how time flies!

2012-02-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

Today marks 2 years since I made a very special day trip to Minnesota. I left Medford at 6 in the morning, flew into St. Paul. There I met Garrett for the first time and picked up this beautiful blue puppy who at the time was called Janey. I then got back on the plane with the puppy as my carry-on and we made our way back to Southern Oregon. I can't remember exactly what time I got home (it was 10 or 11 pm) and the puppy met the rest of the family. There were tears involved. This little puppy meant so much to my family (especially Glenn) as she traced 6 generations back to Glenn's original cardigans. We decided to rename her Minnie in honor of where she came and her registered name became Ebonwald A Minnesota Blessing, and a blessing she has been!

Minnie then... Minnie now

It was apparent from early on that she had a great interest in sheep ;)

When she was 15 months old, she saw and worked sheep for the first time. She had instant drive and desire to work.

Minnie at 2 years old.

We are so grateful to Garrett for allowing us to bring her home. In the two years that she has been with us she has competed in Rally earning her RE, earned her CGC, earned her STDs title with ASAC, and completed one leg towards her HTC with AHBA (we haven't had the option to test for the second leg yet).

We have several future plans for her as well. The biggest and soonest upcoming plan is that on her next heat cycle (due in the next month or so) she will bred to CH Tailbrite Dark Before Dawn "Crescent". We are really looking forward to seeing what this litter produces.

We also plan on training in agility (which we started last week) and will be competiting in that in the future along with more herding trials both ASCA and AKC.

Here's looking to another great 2 years/lifetime with her!

Seaside Fun

2012-01-03T17:17:00.000-08:00

We went to Seaside for the end of the year. We got in on Friday and met up with Ron and Kathleen and their Cardis Dixie and Radar. We went down to the beach and let them loose for a romp on the beach. They had a blast!

Minnie ran and ran until her tongue was hanging out.

Dixie, Minnie, Radar and Zoe.

Minnie hoping someone has a snack for her.

Minnie decided she'd try to play with Radar. He was a good sport. They played briefly until she squeaked then he decided maybe he shouldn't if she was going to make weird noises.

I love how Minnie has no feet touching the ground, she was booking it.

On our travel home we found a neat old time train and took advantage of some photos ops.

While we were in Newport the second ewe had her lambs. She had a ram lamb and an ewe lamb. Now to wait and see if the third ewe lambs. I figure if she is going to she should in the next week or so.

Minnie's Christmas Wish

2011-12-25T19:36:00.001-08:00

Back in August we were loaned 3 Dorper Ewes to practice herding. Their owner referred to them as "cheap sheep" so if anything happened to them they wouldn't be too expensive for us to replace. We also assumed that they are older ewes. These sheep have been wonderful for working Minnie and Zoe on. We have been using them off and on since we brought them home.

Minnie loves herding and loves being able to work the sheep. We now believe Minnie had a secret Christmas wish of more sheep. Well she must have been a VERY good girl because on Christmas Eve morning, 2 hours after doing chores, Glenn looked out to see that one the ewes had 8 extra legs. That's right she gave birth to 2 ram lambs. We had no idea that she had been bred before coming to our house. Mom and babies are doing great. We have named them Dasher and Dancer in honor of the holiday season.

This is Dasher, he has a black down his neck and a black spot on his back.

Dancer on the left, Dasher on the right.

The above photos were take yesterday. Today the weather turned to cloudy and threatening to rain so we moved the ewes and lambs into the barn. Yesterday we also noticed that a 2nd ewe has developed and udder. I looked at her again today and she looks like she could go anytime now (keep in mind I'm not a sheep expert). Here are some photos taken with my phone in the barn.

Here are the three ewes. The one in the middle is the one who just lambed. The spotted one on the left is the one that is bagged up and I believe will lamb soon. Then we have the one on the left. After spending some time looking at her, we also believe that she is bred and will be lambing in the next couple of weeks!

With more lambs to come, I'd say Minnie got her wish. ;)

(On a side note-we have spoken with ewes' owner and will continue to handle the lambing for her. She is busy with her critically ill husband. We haven't had a chance to find out if this was as much a surprise to her as it was to us. However I'm guessing she would have mentioned it or asked for the back before now if she was expecting it.)

Cardi Claus and OFA

2011-12-20T07:21:00.001-08:00

Wow, the girls and I received so many wonderful things from our Cardi Claus, Krystal Durre and The 7 Dwarfs.

Here is a shot of all the wonderful things that were included. There are some wonderful treats, a couple stuffed toys, a leash holder, scarfs, mix to make to more treats, a pin, and of course an ornament.

Here is another shot of all the items. The treats were made by Krystal herself. The treat mix and scarfs were made by MacroniMade on Etsy.

This wonderful pin cardi/sheepy pin made by Emily of DreamEyce.

A beautiful leash holder made by Krystal's husband. It will be my husbands job to hang it up this week. :)

Our lovely ornament which is painted to look like Zoe.

Here is Minnie showing off her scarf.

Then she noticed Rudolf and decided she must have him!

"Who me? I didn't steal anything..." (please excuse the lemon blossoms on the carpet)

Meanwhile Zoe was hoping her new trick would earn her more treats.

But then Zoe noticed Minnie and Rudolf and had to investigate.

Then Zoe stole him, such a mean mom. ;)

So Minnie decided to play with alligator instead.

Zoe continued to chew on Rudolf, but ended up dropping him.

"Ha, she dropped him!"

Minnie then reclaimed him and took him to be with the alligator under her watchful eye.

In other news we got Minnie's OFA results back. I believe you can click on the picture for a larger image, but it states her elbows are normal and her hips have been rated as Good.

It's been a great week for us!

Pictures of a 2 year old Minnie... and some of her family

2011-12-04T18:41:00.001-08:00

Today we went over to visit Carolyn and Tom at C-Myste. Since Minnie turned 2 on the 29th of November we decided she needed some new photos, her last stacked one's being taken when she was a year old. She still has a bit of wave to her coat, but I figure not bad for using my personal hair dryer. HUGE thanks to Tom for taking the pictures and to Carolyn for baiting and stacking her. It wasn't an easy task as Minnie was sure she was supposed to sit and not stand.

Here is her off-side

"Are you sure you don't want me to sit?"

Her show side.

On the move.

She's sure Tom has something tasty for her.

Afterwards it was time to learn a new trick.

Zoe got to come as well. She hadn't been to Carolyn's since Minnie was conceived. She just helped herself like she was just there yesterday.

Daddy and Daughter photo.

Minnie say's sometimes after all that seriousness, you just need to be a goof!

Cardi Claus has left Oregon

2011-12-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

The blue girls and I decided to join in the Cardi Claus festivities this year. The package is on it's way east. I had fun time shopping for our recipients and hope they enjoy the items as much as I did picking them out. I don't know if our recipients read our blog, but if they do I'd like to apologize for the shredding paper inside the box. I packaged it up at work and wasn't able to find news paper to use. Now to sit back and wait for it to get to its destination. :)

Birthday Girl (plus late update)

2011-11-29T15:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Minnie!! Today is her 2nd birthday. Hard to believe she's 2 already. We've had so much fun with her these past 2 years and look forward to many more. Today she's spending her birthday as a relaxing day at home. This weekend we have "glamor shots" planned. We are going to go over to Grandma Carolyn's and get some help grooming and stacking for photos. Then on Tuesday she will be having X-Rays taken for OFA evaluation.

I was a bad blogger and didn't post about Minnie's latest show. She was entered at Roseburg in Rally Excellent. She was entered in 3 days and Q'd all 3 days to earn her RE title. I tried for video but with it being indoor it was too poor of lighting for my camera. We did have a title picture taken so I will post that once we get that.

In other news, Zoe was spayed a week ago today. She's been a trooper and been good at following doctors order.

That's all for now.

Another great weekend!

2011-10-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

We spent this weekend at the show in Richland, WA. We all had a great time. We saw a lot of great dogs. Minnie and Zoe had a mini family reunion. Her brother Pip (formally known as Almo) and his owners stopped by. It was nice to meet him. Tom took pictures of the girls with Pip and Huxley. Looking forward to see how those turned out.

Minnie was also entered in Rally Advance while we there. She already had one leg and we were hoping to get 2 more to complete her title. She did it. She qualified both days taking 2nd place on Saturday and 3rd place on Sunday.

Here are videos of her Glenn at work

Saturday

Sunday

We are just so proud of the progress Minnie has made. We are thinking we will continue on and work on getting her RE.

On our way home we stopped in Clackamas and had Minnie's CERF exam done. I'm happy to report that the results were Normal.

Zoe is doing well. I'm thinking about taking some obedience classes with her this winter. She's come a long ways, but there is still a ways to go.

We are also considering starting both girls in Agility classes this winter as well.

Weekend of Herding

2011-09-26T12:58:00.000-07:00

Minnie and Zoe had a very full weekend of herding. We competed in the Snowy Butte ASC Harvest Fair Trial. Both girl were entered in all three Started Sheep Trials. Saturday morning was very successful for them both. They both earned qualifying scores. Zoe's time was 1:55 and Minnie's was 2:13. The were running ASCA course B.

Here is Zoe's first run

Here is Minnie's first run

I didn't get video of the girls second run. It was late and my camera doesn't do well with video in low light. They were doing course B again under a different judge. Minnie earned her second qualifying score earning her (pending ASCA approval) her STDs. Zoe missed qualifying by one point.

Sunday morning Zoe had another chance to earn her second leg. They were running course E which is a harder course. She sure tried! She missed qualifying this time by a mere 1/2 point. If it was time based her run of 1:38 would have won. Glenn sure got his exercise this weekend. :) Here is the video of that run.

We had a lot fun this weekend. We are looking forward to more in the future. One of Minnie's cousin came and watched her. The cousin was very interested, maybe she and her Mom will join in on the fun sometime soon? :) In the meantime Minnie is entered in Richland this weekend in Rally Advanced. For those of you going, see ya there.

Zoe's lastest accomplishment

2011-09-18T21:54:00.000-07:00

I have been working this month off and on, around my graveyard schedule, with Zoe. We've been working on heeling (now that she's not handler dependant when herding) sit, down and stay. I have learned while Zoe comes off as a "blond" she's really not. She's more the "what's in it for me" type. "Oh you have a treat, ok I'll sit." and then there's "Wait no treat? I'm not sure I know this sit word you speak of." In all fairness she has improved greatly, but isn't a 100% with her response. I'd say we get sit about 80-90% of the time. She seems to have stay for the most part. I'm also very pleased with her come. Down is whole different story. Her downs are not pretty, treat or no treat. She is also very inconsistent with them. This being said we decided to try for her CGC. I was confident that she should pass almost all elements of the test. She heels decently, doesn't have a problems with distractions or crowds, and anyone who knows Zoe, knows she's never met a stranger. :) The only thing I was unsure about was the down. I decided that it would be a good experience and if she failed, no big deal it was only $10.

Well....

I am so proud of her!!!!

It will be awhile before she's ready for the rally ring. I think this winter we will take some obedience classes and get things consistent and fine tuned.

In the meantime we still have 2 full weekends ahead of us. This weekend both Minnie and Zoe are entered in a local ASCA herding trial. They will doing Started on Sheep. If they are successful they have the chance to complete their ASCA Started Dog title here.

Next weekend it's a trip to Richland, WA. Minnie will be competing in Rally Advance in hopes to complete her RA title. Zoe is coming for moral support as always. Plus both girls will get see Garrett and several other friends. Should be a very fun couple of weeks. :)

September is going to busy

2011-08-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

We have a busy month coming up. Both girls are entered in a local upcoming ASCA trial. It will be September 24 and 25th. Both girls entered in sheep runs Sat AM, PM, and Sunday AM.

Then the following weekend Minnie is entered in the Richland Kennel Club show in hopes of completing her Rally Advanced title. We'll see how it goes since she just came into heat and won't be able to go to class until she goes out. Hard to say how many classes we will be attend before the show, on the upside we don't have to worry about her coming in during the show.

A local kennel is offering CGC testing middle of Sept. I'm debating on having Zoe tested. She's a very well behaved dog, but we haven't worked much on obedience. Her healing is lacking and while she knows sit and down she's not reliable about it. We have a couple weeks, so between graveyard shifts this month (yuck) we will keep working on it and see where we end up at.

Here's the certificate

2011-08-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

Minnie, Zoe, and their friend Rocket's herding practice

2011-08-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

The dogs got some herding practice in today. We are very pleased with the progress the girls are making. Both girls have been entered into the ASCA trial being held here locally on the 24th and 25th of September. Both girls have been entered on sheep. We are excited to see how it goes.

Below are videos of the girls. I didn't take any time to edit. I will apologize in advance for poor cinematography. :) Also on Minnie's run I was fighting with focus, and losing, so it's not the best.

Here is Zoe, she was first up for the day.

Next up was Minnie, she was little distracted at first but turned on in no time.

Now we have Rocket. Rocket is Glenn's 8 year old Border Collie/McNab cross. Rocket hasn't worked stock in years and is so happy to be back at it. Here is the end of his run.

It's official!!!

2011-08-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hard to read, but Minnie is now officially Ebonwald A Minnesota Blessing RN. :)

Zoe's day at the beach.

2011-08-08T18:16:00.000-07:00

We went to Bandon this weekend for the Coos Kennel dog show. Minnie was entered in Rally, which you can read about in the previous post. Zoe went as moral support for Minnie and her former Minnesota roommate, Brewer, who was doing conformation.

On Sunday after all the events we decided to take Zoe to the beach with her new found Cardi friends. She had a blast!

Zoe and Summer running down the beach.

Zoe's standing in the surf, watching the tide come in.

Brewer and a VERY dirty Zoe checking out a hole

Zoe in the water

Hanging out by my shoes looking back up to the parking lot.

Here are videos I took of them playing. Cardis seen in the videos are Zoe, Brewer, Summer, Captian, and Malibu.

Rally Results

2011-08-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend we attempted to complete Minnie's Rally Novice title. I'm very happy to report that we did it!!!! Minnie completed all three legs of her title in only 3 attempts. Below are pictures of our final RN run.

Healing between stations.

Fast pace

270* Left

Since she completed her RN and we had signed her up for both days we decided to move up to Rally Advanced for Sunday. We had only worked her off leash in 2 different sessions so I was nervous how it would go. I'm very happy report that her Glenn were successful in earning her first RA leg and took first place. Below is the video of their run.

So now pending confirmation from AKC Minnie is Ebonwald A Minnesota Blessing RN CGC

Full house

2011-08-02T15:41:00.001-07:00

We have had a full house this last weekend. Fri-Sunday I was watching my sister's dog, Kylah. Then from Sunday until this Thursday we have Minnie. So that mean for several hours on Sunday there were 5 dogs in our house. I attempted to get a photo of them all together, but with 5 dogs all thinking different things, the few I have below are the best (and then to top it off, I cut off Minnie's nose.

Left to right:Minnie, Kylah, Bandit, Girlfriend and Zoe.

*Classic group photo where someone has their eyes closed. :p

Bandit managed to keep his eyes open for this one.

Zoe is a couch queen. I took this at my parents house.

Zoe and Bandit have become snuggle buddies. It's not uncommon to find them curled up together on the couch. It's amazing how almost everyone loves Bandit, including Zoe.

Zoe and Minnie spying on the neighbors. The dogs have learned if they stand on the hot tub (which doesn't work) they can see over the 6ft wood fence.

Then they proceed to bark at neighbor. How dare he be outside cleaning his travel trailer! lol

I took pictures of the girls' offsides. I think they look similar however Minnie is heavier on the "eyeliner"

There is also a new game in my house. The cat, Mosaic, has learned she can chase Minnie. It can be quite entertaining!

This weekend we will be headed to Bandon. We will be cheering on our Corgis friends in their conformation classes. We will also be attempting to complete Minnie's Rally Novice. If we are successful on Saturday with that, then we will also try for a Rally Advanced leg. Zoe is just coming for moral support. I haven't entered her Rally as she needs work still with her healing, but I'm putting that off until she is less dependant on a handler when it comes to herding.

Wish us luck!

The girls went herding...

2011-07-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

We are members of a local ASCA club and they had a play day yesterday. Both Zoe and Minne got to take turns working the sheep. Glenn handled them both. He loves herding and knows what he's doing. His first Cardi was a Herding Intermediate.

The girls had a blast! It's interesting to see their styles. Right now they are like night and day. Minnie is gung-ho and intense, while Zoe is more laid back and soft. It will be interesting to see they both progress in their working styles.

Minnie hadn't worked sheep since last fall when she tested for her first HCT leg. Her are videos of her first go.

Zoe was next. This was Glenn and Zoe's first time working together. They both like each other and are just getting used to each other. She is by far more comfortable moving the sheep in a come by motion.

Here is part of Minnie's second run.

Here is part of Zoe's second run. She started to get comfortable with away to me. :)

Zoe had a third go with the sheep but I had left by then to go to work. Glenn reports that she continued to improve and is very pleased with her progress. Her progress will continue as we will be getting some sheep loaned to us. This will be great because then Glenn will be able to work the girls on a regular basis and we can get them ready for the trial our ASCA club will be putting on during the Harvest Festival in September.

I also took pictures of the girls. However I'm an action mode addict and have over 500 pictures to sort through so I can find a handful of good ones. I'll probably put off doing that until Monday or Tuesday.

Until then...

The good, the bad, and the ugly

2011-07-18T10:38:00.001-07:00

The Good-

Zoe is out of heat. My house is back to normal now. While I don't have any intact males, my JRT thought she was pretty cute. Other times Zoe thought he was the pretty cute one and would try to have her way with him. Nice to not have to ref the two. :)

Zoe got a knuckle bone yesterday. I actually bought two one for her and one my GSD mix, however Zoe is sure they are both for her, and Girlfriend just allows her to have them. I however don't think she needs both seeing how they are almost the size of Zoe's head!!

Mmm... Tasty!

She loves the "extra" bits there are to get off of the bone.

The Bad-

Zoe starting having accidents in the house. First was on my bed in the middle of the night and then she had a second one in her "panties". The second one was only an hour after she had been out for a potty break. After the second mishap I made her an appointment at the vets. I was unsure if the potty issues was due to stress of living somewhere new, trying to establish dominance over me or my husband, or if there was a medical reason for it. So before deciding she needed to be re-housebroke off to the vet we went. Good thing we did. Poor girl had a bladder infection! So she is now on day 8 of a 14 day course. I'm happy to report there has been no peeing in the house since she started the antibiotics! :)

The Ugly-

Minnie had lump. Started out small and was noticed on the 7th. By the 14th it was the size of a golf ball. Then what seemed like over night it got MUCH bigger! It was about as wide as my hand and stuck out about the size of half a tennis ball. So off to the vet she went. The vet lance it and out came blood and serum. Vet's guess is she got pinched in the neck when playing with other dogs and it just grew from there. She's draining and healing now and has a shaved spot on her neck. Thankfully she will be healed in time for her Rally competition in Bandon the first weekend in August.

I didn't get any before pictures, but here are the afters.

Poor resolution on this one, I had my camera on the wrong setting.

Here's another shot

You can see what swelling is left in this shot.

And so long as you're not taking pictures of it, she's still a happy go lucky girl.

Random Photos-

Zoe at my parents house.

Zoe attempting to be a pointer.

Even at my parents house, Zoe is queen of the couch.

Week in Review

2011-07-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Zoe has fit right in as a member of the family. She not a fan of having to wear her "panties", but tolerates it well. She does however roll on the carpet in an attempt to get them off.

Her and my other dogs and the cats get along great. We have nicknamed her the "fun police". No one is allowed to have too much fun without her being involved. :)

Zoe and I will be looking into starting some obedience classes once she's out of season. She heels nicely but when we stop she turns to look at me and stack. I'm working on teaching her to sit when we stop. She looks at me like "lady what is your problem? I'm doing it right, you're the one messing up". I would say she's a show girl through and through. :)

Here she is in her Large/XL dog box. We went to buy one for her and this was the only size they had in stock, so she gets queen sized accommodations.

She has adopted the hedgehog for her own toy. It will only be a matter of time until I'm picking up its innards from the carpet. :)

We took Zoe over to visit Minnie yesterday. I was able to get this picture of them. (Please excuse Minnie's color. She had a bath a week ago, but she's a farm girl who loves to get dirty)

Minnie's mini family reunion...

2011-06-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

Minnie and I went to Eugene and met up with Garrett. It had been a year since he had seen her. He got to spend some time looking her over and seeing how she's grown. Minnie was also reunited with her mom for the first time since I flew back to MN and picked her up in Feb 10.

Minnie chilling in the parking lot.

Daughter and Mom side by side.

I didn't get many pictures of the girls there, but I am excited to report that Minnie's mom Zoe came home with us. Minnie lives with Glenn and Zoe is living with me, however we only live 1.9 miles apart so there will plenty of "family get togethers"

Zoe laying on the dog bed she has claimed for her own.

Bandit seems to think Zoe smells good.

Zoe getting some belly rubs.

A different picture of Zoe on "her" dog bed.

Zoe hanging out on the couch with Robert.

Zoe is cat broke... ignore the glair in the cats eyes, I believe she is telling me to share my pancakes if I value my life. :)

Bandit trying to get Zoe to play soccer.

She decided she'd rather ref. :)

And then take the ball for her own.

Ok we can play together.

And then he got the ball back.

Hanging out by the laundry room steps afterwards.

Thank you again Garrett for letting us take her home. She could be a better addition to our family.

Roadtrip Next Weekend

2011-06-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

Minnie and I are taking a day trip next weekend. Not sure if it'll be Friday or Sunday, but we are going up to Eugene to see her breeder Garrett Ramsay. He hasn't seen her since he came last year for the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. We are excited to show him how she's growning up and we will be bringing back an addition to the family, and no it's not a sheep. :)

Goodbye Gabbi Girl

2011-05-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

(Taken in September 2008)

(Taken with cell phone January 2010)

It's with great sadness we announce the passing of Gabbi. We lost her Saturday night. Glenn and the family returned home after my wedding to find Gabbi unable to get up. She was carried upstairs where she was examined by my sister who is a vet tech. She was unable to stand in the hind end and when supported she had no proprespetion (spelling?) in her hind end. She had very delay response in her front end. Upon further examination her gums were white and she had a glazed looked in her eye. We decided it was time to say goodbye and let her go. For those of you who don't know she was diagnosed with cancer in January 2010. Our feeling is the cancer had spread and we believe at the end, as she "crashed" in a matter of hours and base on symptoms, that perhaps some how it caused her to have internal bleeding.

Gabbi had been a part of Glenn's (my step-dad) life for about 14 years. I met Gabbi in 2005 and she was the dog that made me fall in love with breed. She was loved immensely and will be missed greatly. The house isn't the same without our boss girl. Minnie seems to be doing okay though. We were concerned the passing of Aunt Gabbi would upset her world, but she seems to be okay for the most part. Perhaps she new before we did just how close Gabbi's time was. Have fun herding those sheep in the sky Gabbi-Goo, you will be forever missed.

Minnie HCT Leg 1

2011-02-15T12:33:00.000-08:00

Herding pictures and video from this weekend.

2011-02-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

Saturday and Monday were working sheep days for Minnie. On Saturday we attended a beginners herding clinic and HCT test and then Monday was a private herding lesson. These were put on by the Snowy Butte ASC in Eagle Point, Oregon. The clinician/judge was Roy Sage who Glenn did herding years ago with Minnie's great-great-great-great grandma, Dixie, years ago. Turns out Minnie's LOVES sheep. On Saturday she earned the first leg of her HCT. She will have no problem filling the paws of Dixie and Gabbie when it comes to herding. In fact Roy made the statement that Minnie should come along faster than Dixie did. We are so excited to do more herding in the future and will be working on getting Minnie some sheep of her own over the next few months. Below are some pictures that were taken of her first time in the ring with sheep.

"Here sheepy, sheepy, sheepy"

This is the video of her actual HCT test. This was not her best run of the day. They brought in fresh sheep that turned out to be very light and one kept breaking off. She stuck with it and never shut down. After her test was done they swapped out the one ewe that kept breaking off.

....

Ok after fighting with it, I can't get the YouTube embed code to copy and past and when I type it in manually I get an error.

So I will make yet another post with the video. :)

Results and Pictures of Rally this weekend.

2011-02-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

Minnie had such a big weekend. She spent Friday and Sunday doing Rally in Albany, Oregon. She was going to earn legs towards her Rally Novice title. Glenn and Missy both handled her in the Novice A division on different days.

Here are the photos of Minnie and Glenn on Friday-

Getting focused before going into the ring.

Making their way through the course.

Minnie and Glenn after earning their qualifying score of 91 points and 4th place!

On Sunday she was handled by Missy.

Just after this picture was taken she broke her sit, causing us to redo the station for a 5 point penalty.

Minnie's come front.

Back steps and call forward.

Our weave cones.

We didn't place this day but are happy to report still received a qualifying score of 81. So she now has 2 legs toward her Rally Novice title. Just one leg to go. :)

Minnie's Halftime Report

2011-02-12T21:55:00.000-08:00

So far so goo and this long weekend's events. Yesterday Minnie competed in her first ever Rally class. She place 4th with a score of 91 for her first leg towards her RN.

Today was sheep day. She has found her true calling. She is seems to be a natural. She qualified today for her first leg towards her Herding Compatibility Test.

Pictures were taken of both events and I also took video of the HCT. I'll will post them later after our weekend events are finished and I get to a faster Internet connection than I have at home.

Tomorrow we go back to Albany in hopes for another qualifying RN score and then Monday Minnie has a private herding lesson scheduled.

More to come later. :)

Here comes our big weekend!

2011-02-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

Minnie has a big weekend ahead of her. As I type this she is in Albany with Glenn for her first attempt at her first leg of her RN title.

Below are a few pictures I took a couple days ago of Minnie and some of her favorite friends, Glenn's Border Collie/McNab Rocket, and my German Shepherd X Girlfriend.

A scequence of them playing fetch.

She may have the shortest legs, but she has no trouble keeping up.

Rocket stalking something

The Tongue-O-Meter at work.... we use it to gauge level of tiredness.

Minnie expressing how she truely feels.

"Ima gonna get ya"

"Who me? I wasn't doing anything"

Now it's Rockets turn.

Just hangin out...

Such a happy girl. :)

Minnies upcoming debut events

2011-01-21T17:16:00.000-08:00

Minnie is going to have a very Valentines day weekend. There is Rally being offered in Albany that weekend. We had originally planned on entering all four days for Rally but that has changed. We learned that there is going to be a AHBA herding event going on in Eagle Point that weekend as well so will be driving back and forth between both. On Friday Feb 11th she will be doing Rally in Albany. On Saturday the 12th she will be doing the beginning herding clinic and the first leg of the HCT. On Sunday back to Albany we go for her to do Rally. Then on Monday the 14th we have enrolled for a private herding lesson with the Judge from the events on Saturday. She is going to be a busy, busy girl. We plan on lots of pictures to mark the occasion. We are very excited for the big weekend!!!

And the results are in.....

2010-12-30T21:39:00.000-08:00

Well the screen shots aren't as big as I had hoped, but Minnie is clear for DM and a carrier for Fluff.

Wow, we've been slacking....

2010-12-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

It would appear it has been awhile since the last update on Minnie....

In October she successfully recieved her CGC certificate.

In November, on the 29th to be exact, she turned a year old. That prompted a visit to Grandma Carolyn to show how she's growning up. (Photos of that visit can be seen here).

Today we collected the samples to be sent off to see if she is a carrier for Fluff or DM. I'll post those results just as soon as I get them.

In the meantime here a few pictures of her taken over the past couple months.

Minne and Glenn watching Monday Night Football

Minnie in her favorite spot on the back of the couch

I don't remember what prompted the pouting, but she sure is good at it!

We did it!

2010-10-02T17:23:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact that Minnie missed her last two Canine Good Citizen classes due to being in heat, we tested today at the Responsible Dog Owner day at Riverside Park. We were the very first to go, and she passed on the first try!!!! So now, pending AKC approval of course, she is now Ebonwald A Minnesota Blessing, CGC! :) It was a great day.

Did you know....

2010-09-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

that when you leave the garden water on overnight you get this.....

and this....

and not to mention this...

Now on it's own not so bad. Of course if it was just that then I probably wouldn't post about it. Now add into one young blue merle corgi who LOVES being a farm dog and you get .....
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ONE DIRTY DOG!!!!!

It's a good thing she's cute!

The life of farm dog is just so hard.... :)

Minne is a learning.....

2010-09-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Minnie has successfully completed Basic Obedience II, the distance and distractions class. She does very well at learning, of course the pieces of hot dogs really help. :)

We have begun rally classes and she is starting to get the hang of it. We won't be doing the show this month after all since she still has so much to learn. So we are continuing those classes and will work on her Novice Rally title in the near future.

After completing her last obedience class I feel she is really ready to take the Canine Good Citizen test. Turns out they will be having a testing here in Grants Pass on October 2nd. When I went to the Rogue Valley Kennel Club's website I also saw that they are having a FREE 4 week course to prep your dog for the CGC test. I figure the extra classes can't hurt (especially when they are free) so Minnie and I will start those tonight. Then on the 2nd we'll test and hopefully she can earn her first set of letters to go behind her name. :)

Minnie's going back to school....

2010-08-10T13:05:00.000-07:00

We have decided to continue with Minnie's "education". This week will be starting Basic Obedience II class. We are also going to talk to the instructor about starting Rally classes. Thankfully the classes are on different days if we decide to do both. There is a show in Eugene in September Glenn would like to enter her in so we must get ready.

Guess who's getting ducks...

2010-07-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Minnie is! I'm going this evening to pick up 5 Indian Runners, 2 Mallards, 1 Pekin and a Mallard cross. Now we just need to modify the round pen with some chicken wire across the panels so they can't get out, and it'll be ready for her to start learning with them on a regular basis.

On the not so bright side, Gabbi had a check up yesterday. Her lump is now about the size of a golf ball. Her hind legs will sometime just give out on her. Something is also affecting her proprioception in her hind legs. Her right leg is a little slow to respond and her left was either extremely slow to respond or didn't respond at all. (I didn't see that one tested) The vet said it could be a couple different things. It could be a slow slip of a disk, it could be her cancer has mastitized (sp) on her spine, or even something else. So unfortunately it's only a matter of time on how much longer this dear and great gal will be with us. She is still her happy go-lucky alpha self for now.

Our trip to Eugene to see Garrett...

2010-06-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

was a great one. Garrett got to see Minnie in person for the first time since I picked her up on Feb 2. While there I also got to meet Emily from DreamEyce and she took some great photos of Minnie and Gabbi. Here are those photos.....

Garrett and Minnie

Minnie also made a new friend, Emily's daughter, Dea.

She also snapped these picture of our dear old lady, Gabbi. Sometimes it's hard to believe she'll be 13 this October.

I did plan on entering Minnie in a fun show on Sunday, but it got cancelled. So next on the agenda is our final obedience class on Thursday.

I found some pictures....

2010-06-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

so I now have two blog postings in one day. :) I got the following pictures off my sister's myspace page. She took them when she went down to the ranch in the end of April.

Minnie laying under a table outside.

Minnie and Kylah playing.

After all that playing, they needed a nap!

And I'm back...

2010-06-14T08:33:00.000-07:00

Made it back safely from training for work. While I was gone, Glenn and Minnie got to "play" with ducks for the first time. I hear she has great instinct when it comes to herding. The duck's owner, who competes in herding, even commented on her instinct. Unfortunately no pics where taken. :( On the upside Minne has been invited back so I'll be sure there are pictures next time.

Minnie I have a big week or so coming up. I'm going to do a drop in class on Wed and take a crash course in conformation. Then on Friday we are taking a day road trip to Eugene to see Garrett (her breeder) who will be there for a sheepy show/seminar. On Sunday we are doing our first dog show. I'm calling it a fun show since its our first and not sanctioned as far as I can tell. It's put on by a local Bulldog Club and has an All Breed Conformation Match and Sub/Novice Obedience/Rally Match. We are going to do 6-9 month conformation (hence us taking a crash course in conformation) and I figure we'll also do Obedience and Rally for the heck of it. I don't expect to place but I figure it'll be a good experience for her. I have recruited Robert, my fiancee, to play photographer, so I will have pictures to post.

That's all for now...

We are the champions....

2010-05-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

of the sit stay competition at class that is. Minnie did great. I put her on a sit stay in the middle of the room and proceeded to walk around her spiral outwards until reaching the edges of the room. She stayed seated there the whole time waited patiently for me to return to her. She was the only one in her class who stayed the whole time. I'm so proud of her. She also learned a down stay last night and we kicked up the sit stay a notch. She learned to do a sit stay while I move away from her w/ a chair and place it somewhere to sit down. Then get up, circle the chair and return to her. She mastered that in no time. Within 5 minutes I was able to take the chair to the otherside of the room to sit it in, and she stayed exactly where I told her to. Can you tell I'm proud? =) Minnie and I will have to postpone our graduation since we aren't able to attend class next week due to me being in Salem for 2 weeks at the Academy for work. So instead we are set for a June 24 final class

I took some video of her tonight playing with dogs where we're housesitting. They were taken w/ my cell phone so the quality may not be the best...

I'm thinking we are getting stay mastered....

2010-05-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

So I took Minnie outside this afternoon to practice what we have learned so far in our obedience class. I had horses out grazing in the yard so I figured they would provide for a good distraction. She is healing well, a pro sit, and getting down. I then decided to work on stay since we will be having a stay contest at class tomorrow. The goal is to see who can get the furthest from their dog and still have them stay. Well I dropped Minnie's leash and was about 10-15' from her plus my gelding was 5' from her and she stayed sitting right where I left her and waited for me to return to her side. I'm very proud of her. She likes to learn but gets bored easily so I find it best to switch things up on her. Now here's hoping she does just as well in class w/ 8 other dogs. =)

Gabbi and Minnie Updates

2010-05-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

Minnie is doing good w/ her obedience classes. She likes to learn but gets bored easily. I did however figure out that she LOVES to work for hot dogs! She has learned to sit, down, walk nicely on leash. This week we are working on heal, come and stay. She's a quick learner. =)

Gabbi's update isn't so good. The second tumor we found is growing in size. So unfortunately she still has cancer and it wasn't isolated. Now to look at her and how she acts you'd never know. She is still her happy, bossy, alpha dog self. So at this point all we can do is make she has quality life. When it comes to the point in time where she no longer does, then it will be time for us to say goodbye. Here's to hoping that's not anytime soon!

Time for school....

2010-05-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

Ok so I talked with the trainer and she is well now. So tomorrow Minnie and I will start our classes. The only draw back to this one week delay is during her 4th and final class I'm scheduled to be in Salem at the Academy for work. So I spoke with Terry and she said Minnie can just do her final class 2 weeks later when I get back. She said it wouldn't hurt her a bit. I'm thinking if I like this trainer I may do more than just the basic obedience classes with her. I'm thinking Rally would be something fun for me to pursue. I know Glenn plans on doing herding with her.

Minnie is resting up so she's fresh for school tomorrow. =)

Wish us luck....

2010-05-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

So the trainer got sick, so Minnie's class start date has been pushed back a week.

On the upside she went to visit her Dad and Grandma Carolyn yesterday. She had big fun. You can see pics and blog at Carolyns site under News and Blogs.

Minnie is enrolled in school...

2010-05-05T07:56:00.000-07:00

We start our 4 week obedience class tomorrow. It's been about 8 years since I've done any obedience classes. At that time I took my Jack Russel who ended up being the star of the class. Hopefully Minnie will be just a receptive. She's a great dog but is very much a busy body. She walks nicely on a leash as it is right, but does need to learn heel. Glenn and I hoping she will master her down. If she does, it'll be a nice change for Glenn to have a hearding corgi with a down, seeing how that wasn't her great-great-great-great grandma and great-great-great aunt's strong point. =)

Minnie coming on 5 months....

2010-04-22T18:17:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I attempted to get some photos of Minnie. I need to work on stacking more. She wasn't too interested once I ran out of crunches. I'll take any and all input! =) PS Weighed her today.... 28.4 lbs... from what I hear, she weighs twice as much as her sister... I wonder how big her brothers are...

No we haven't disappeared...

2010-04-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

I have just been super busy. I didn't even realize it's been over a month since my last post. Minnie is growing up fast. The vet was here two weeks ago (I think, it's all a blur) and she weighed in at 25 lbs. I'm posting some pictures, I looked at the date on the file and it would appear that they were taken on March 17th.

So holding her lip up with one hand and taken the picture with the other didn't work out so great but here are her first big girl teeth.

The pretty purple collar she came home with broke so it was time to buy a new one. I wanted to find one in pink or purple camo for her. Her Aunt Gabbi has a yellow camo collar. I was unsuccessful so instead we get the pink John Deer collar.

Minnie loves being able to get on the couch on whenever she wants. She likes to lay on the back of the couch and look out at the window.

She's a goofy little girl.

And of course we can't leave out Gabbi-Goo...

My goal is to sometime this week to get some stacked photos of Minnie. Also within the next month she is going to start obedience lessons. She may also have some visits to Grandma Carolyn in her future.

Dads, Cousins, Ranches and Rodents....

2010-03-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

Minnie has had a pretty big couple of weeks. She had her first trip down to the ranch with Glenn. She's now official been to our Spyrock Ranch. I hear she had a blast down there!

When the got back home to Oregon Minnie and I went to visit Huxley and Carolyn at work. It was very cute seeing daddy and daughter together.

I think it's safe to say she likes her daddy.

However, I'm thinking this isn't what Huxley had on his schedule for the day...

Poor Huxley, I think he's pouting because he knew I don't have photoshop for his owie.

Then Minnie got to play with Texas Bud.

Getting patted one last time before it's time to leave.

Then Minnie got to met her "cousin" Kylah for the first time. She had so much fun playing with her.

After such a big week, it was time for nap on the couch.

Candid pics and stacked photos of Minnie

2010-02-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

Some things never change... Here is Minnie taking a snooze with her ears taped. This is about the only time I can use the non-action mode. Because of the delay my camera has by the time it takes the picture she's gone and doing something else... hmm... maybe I just found an excuse to justify buying a new one. =)

I just love this next photo. Here is Minnie and her Great-Great-Great Aunt Gabby. The two were trying to convince me to give them more lettuce so I used the opportunity to snap a photo.

And now are Glenn and I's attempt at stacked photos. I think they would have been better if I had used the flash, but hind sight is 20/20. They are of the off-side (I'm using horse terms here) but I think they give an idea of how she's growing. She's 12 and 1/2 weeks in these photos.

Tomorrow Minnie goes w/ Glenn for her first trip to our Spyrock Ranch in California. I'm hoping Glenn properly photographs the experience. =)

Sheep and Ears

2010-02-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

Minnie got a new toy last week, a big fuzzy sheep (stuffed that is). It is her new favorite toy. If she's not sleeping or chewing on a rawhide she's packing that sheepy around and tossing it about! Bandit appreciates the break in playing that this sheep has created for him. She seems to be partial to stuffed toys of the sheep variety... perhaps it started w/ the little lamb that traveled back from Minnesota with us. Her lamb sleeps in her crate w/ her at night. Let's just hope she likes real sheep as much as she gets older.

Her ears started to fall over on the outsides so she got taped again last night... I think she was hoping if she stayed real still we may not see her...

Afterwards she went and got her lamb out of her crate to comfort her as she pouted on the kitchen floor...

It's just so hard being a Cardi puppy... =)

Blog help needed....

2010-02-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

Ok I'm new to this. I posted a new entry last night and now my "format" is off. My blogroll, about me, and followers are at the bottom of my posts as opposed to on the side... Any suggestions on how to fix this? Thanks in advance!

The tape is off...

2010-02-08T18:17:00.001-08:00

We took round 2 of the tape off today and I managed to get some pictures of her. I've decided for now the action mode on my camera where it takes several continuous shots is going to be my best option right now for getting pictures of her. It seems every time I have my camera out she's on the move. So I can take 50+ pictures, sort through them and have a handful to post. Fair warning I may have gone overboard. =)

Below the cat and Bandit were on the coach... if only she could reach them...

Coming out of the kitchen, something caught her eye....

She sure does love playing/chewing on Bandit...

Here are a couple videos I got w/ my camera.

Today's Adventures

2010-02-04T20:16:00.000-08:00

After breakfast and a morning romp it was time for Gabby and Minnie to take a break in the kitchen... can you tell why we call her Gabby's "Mini-Me"? =)

Then later in the day Minnie went and visited Grandma Carolyn. From what I hear it went really well. Minnie was the main attraction down at SOS this afternoon. Carolyn was great, taped her big ole ears up for us.

In the background here you can see Minnie's favorite plaything... my JRT Bandit.

Hmm... I see a good stock dog down here....

Playing peek-a-boo when Bandit jumped up onto the couch to get away from her.

Vet Visit

2010-02-04T07:58:00.000-08:00

So we had our mobile vet out yesterday. For those of you who don't know, we use Dr. Kraft and my sister is one of her vet techs. Well they came over yesterday afternoon since Gigi needed her Rabies shot, Gabby needed a follow-up from her surgery, and to look over Minnie and start her on her Lepo series of shots. Well this was Jaclyn's (my sister) first time meeting Minnie. Minnie came aboard the rig and just sat on the exam table. She just sat there quitley taking it all in. Jaclyn and Dr. Kraft tried to play with her, she just sat there. They gave her the shot, she just sat there. After awhile she stopped just sitting there and laid down for a nap instead. Afterward my sister told Mom and Glenn, well jeez you could have at least gotten a puppy w/ some personality... lol We explained to her that she has TONS of personality. Well a little while after they were done Jaclyn went into the house were Minnie proceeded to see her come in and greet her in a very wiggley fashion and tried to play w/ her. Jaclyn then got to see her being the happy-go-lucky Corgi we already know she is.

Gabby's checkup didn't go quite as well. =( For those of you who don't know about 3 weeks Gabby was diagnosed w/ breast cancer essentially. We had the tumor removed along w/ that portion of the mammary and had her spayed at the same in hopes that it would keep it from spreading. Dr. Beth said she's had some that 3 years later are still cancer free and others where it's back in a month. Well yesterday they found another tumor. So now we have to watch and see what it does. I'm not sure if it's just developed since the surgery or if it was there pre-surgery and we just didn't know. Either way it's a constant reminder no matter what, our time w/ Gabby may be limited. Cancer or not she will be 13 this year.

Here are some photos of Gabby I took a couple weeks ago w/ my phone...

The Newest Addition...

2010-02-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

Here she is...

This great pup, Ebondwalds A Minnesota Blessng (pending) comes from Garrett Ramsey of Ebonwald. I flew to Minnesota yesterday to meet Garrett at the airport to pick her up and bring her home to Oregon. We decided we are going to call her Minnie. This name works on so many different levels. Right away last night we started calling her Gabby's "mini-me". So she is Minnie, the mini-legged mini-me from Minnesota. =) Can you tell we're having fun w/ her?

Below are pics from our trip home waiting to board our plane.

Now once she's not in the carrier it's harder to get pictures of her. Here's a photo of her chasing after my Jack Russell Terrier, Bandit.

More of Dixie

2010-01-30T14:15:00.000-08:00

Ok since I'm new at this I'm not entirely sure what happened but it wouldn't let me upload all the photos I wanted to the first post. Not sure if it was a system thing or just user error... =) Anyways here are photos of her herding...

So now it's with great excitement that I announce I will be flying back to Minnesota on Tuesday the 2nd to meet up w/ Garrent Ramsey of Ebonwald to pick the newest addition to our family, the great, great, great, great granddaughter of Dixie.

The dog that started it all...

2010-01-30T13:57:00.001-08:00

My step-dad, Glenn Schieffer, experience with Cardigan Welsh Corgis started many years ago in Albuquerque at the National Arab Show. He was in a barn where he came across a very pregnant Cardi who wanted to do nothing but play fetch all day with him, he was hooked. I'm not sure when/how but he made arrangements to get a puppy from this particular litter. Turns out she had her puppies on her families travel back home to Alabama from the horse show. A little while later he ended up w/ a blue merle female, Dixie My Alabama. Dixie has been referred to by those who knew as a herding fool. Here are some puppy photos of her....

Intro to Us The Dogs

2010-01-28T08:12:00.001-08:00

We are located in Grants Pass, Oregon. We are a family with a love for herding dogs, especially Caridigan Welsh Corgis. Currently we have 3 herding dogs.

First is our dear Gabby, a 12 y/o blue merle Cardi. Gabby is very special to our family. My step-dad, Glenn Schieffer, was the breeder of her mom and has had Gabby pretty much all her life.

Then stepping out of the world of Cardi's, we come to Rocket a 5-6 year old Border Collie/McNab cross. Rocket loves to herd. Since we don't have any sheep at the house he has made it his job to make sure that there no "tweety" birds to be found on the property. He makes sure he runs them off... however because of this we have learned to not leave ladders propped against the barn. =)

And now we come to Gigi, our 2 year old McNab. We have hope for Gigi being able to enter the competitive world of herding. However when first introduced to sheep she did really good for a minute or but then got distracted by the sheep poo so we weren't sure how that was going to turn out. We haven't taken her back to the sheep in awhile, but it may be time now. She has recently decided that she like herding the mini-donkeys at our house when she can find a way into the pen, however I'm pretty sure the donkeys don't find it as fun as she does. =) Below are pics of her taken around 6-9 months when she was more puppy like.

Now we are expecting a new addition next week, but I'll save that for then.... =D