A Birthday Celebration

Since Reese kind of got screwed on her birthday. It was a beautiful day, but I was too exhausted from being gone all week and she was pretty tired from her trip to the kennel. So we waited a day to celebrate. I'll let Reese tell you about her day.

Went on a hike with my friends Toluca and Zuma

Took a little nap

Blew out my candles

and ate some cake!

And played with my new toy! A new BALL, whoo hoo!

This isn't just any ball this one is SPECIAL

This ball belonged to my friend Maddie. Grandma and Grandpa decided that I should have it now.

That was so nice of them. I will make sure I take good care of it, and I'll always think of Maddie when I play with it:)

My Little Girlie is 3!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Reese.
I can't believe you are three today. The last three years have given me many memories to treasure and I know there will be many more. I'm sorry I konked out on you tonight after a long week, but tomorrow we will begin our fourth year of adventures. Paws up to more adventures with you ReeCee BeeCee Girl!

Running Contacts

I have been training Reese on running contacts using Silvia Trkman's methods and she is doing really well. While we were training the 2on/2off method, it was never super solid. Therefore, I don't think this is going to confuse Reese. I think this method is going to be safer for her shoulders, and avoid potential injuries in the future. It will help us trim our course times too, which is never a bad thing. However, I will definitely need to be on my toes using running contacts and make sure I am providing clear information to Reese so she can make a clean transition from the dog walk to the next obstacle. Here is a video of our progress so far.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Last year at this time it was cold, we are talking sub-zero weather, the kind that makes your eyes water and then your eyelids freeze shut. It gives the term "brain-freeze" a whole new meaning and not a welcome one at that.

Last year at this time Reese was also spayed. Not a fun experience for either of us. She had a few complications, although thankfully they were minor ones and we got through them. However, she did have to wear some special head-gear for awhile.
She started out looking like this in the morning....




Then after she came home she looked like this for a few days...

And here she was feeling a bit better.

Here she is enjoying a game of tennis on the Wii!
"I know what to do with a tennis ball ya know!"

How about a little bowling?

Notice the cone is taking on a shape of its own!

Tricks Video

A new video of some basic tricks that Reese knows. Hope you enjoy. I will apologize in advance for the editing, but it is what it is.

Booties, and other Winter accessories!

Reese usually doesn't need booties for her paws except for extreme temps when we walk for short periods of time or on moderately cold days for really long walks, they are nice to have in case her feet get cold. The ones you can buy at the store don't last very long and this late in the season the stores are sold out and won't get more until next year. While I could have ordered some I decided it would be faster and cheaper to make our own. I bought all the materials for numerous pairs for the cost on one pair at the store. The first set we made was blue. I made six so that if one gets lost or ripped we have a couple of back-ups. While she was modeling them I couldn't resist adding a few accessories! No, she would never wear a scarf and hat in real life, but I thought it would be a cute picture. However, she didn't agree, so we cut the fashion show short.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

The snow is coming down again...uggg! Don't get me wrong I like the snow, hate the cold but like the snow. It makes it lighter longer to walk in the evening and it is lovely to walk in the soft fallen snow. As long as it isn't too cold, Reese's paws seem to be holding out - we are also taking shorter more frequent walks which has been helping.

Since it has been snowing, icing and generally freezing out yes, I'm talking -20 below tempertures and that is before you add the windchill, Reese and I have had many days inside to work on some things. This is a little movie of what we have been working on.