Oh Yeah, You Blend

Happy Howl-oween (insert pun here).

Count Rakula

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Since I am sitting here sick (evil cold virus, why me?), I have been reading a lot on the intarwebs. Joanna at Ruffly Speaking is one of my favorite dog-bloggers, since she is clearly a very smart and educated lady and is willing to be upfront about many things that others in the dog breeding/showing world are not (I don’t agree with her about everything, but I really respect her and agree more often than not). Anyway, she has a post from December last year in which she discusses choosing a stud for her two Cardigan girls. So I thought I’d muddle through something similar.

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…are up here. More great Wendi Pencille pictures. We qualified in only one class (NADAC is harder to Q in than CPE), and Nina regressed to herding me again, but it was fun.

On August 15-16, 2009, Nina completed all of CPE Level 1 with her Strategy Games Level 1 title, and earned her first Level 2 title with CPE Handler Games Level 2 (CL2-H) at Boom Towne Canine Center in HOT weather.

…work is actually work. I love my job (pet health counsellor AKA veterinary receptionist) most of the time, I get to educate people about pet care, I get to help people make informed decisions about their pets…but some days…sure, the ignorant assholes drive me crazy. The “it’s just a dog” people make me want to smack them. But then you get nice guys like one client today, whose spouse died earlier this year, and who can’t face his dog dying too, so he’s doing whatever he can, spending a ton of time and effort and money, and it seems like we’re on the verge of losing the battle. He stood there in the lobby today, crying and talking to me about how he doesn’t know if he’s doing the right thing, if he’s being selfish, but he can’t face his dog’s death on top of what’s already happened to him. And I did what I hope was right, what I hope he needed: assured him that we would tell him when we thought it was time to stop; told him we would support him; told him not to give up just yet. But damn…it’s hard. Some days I’m a therapist more than anything else.

So Nina’s OFA results came back, hips Good, elbows normal. *gulp* So now we wait for her next heat, and then…the progesterone tests…and the driving to meet the baby daddy…and THEN! Hopefully…we have puppies 63 days later! Some days it’s super-exciting, other days, it’s just plain terrifying. I am so glad I have Ulla to mentor me!

Are up here. By the amazing Wendi Pencille of Horsefeathers Photography.

…about dominance theory and dog training.

On July 25, 2009, Nina earned her CPE Fun Games Level 1 title (CL1-F) at Ebb Tide Kennels with a clean run in Jumpers, after a thunderstorm, on a VERY wet field, and she ran her heart out, what a dog!

Thursday Nina spent the day at work, having her hips and elbows x-rayed for her OFA certifications. She already had this year’s CERF (eyes) done. We also did cardiac and patellas. So now we wait. OFA is saying there’s about a two week turnaround (their radiologists have to review the x–rays and decide on a grade). After nearly two years, this is crunch time, these results will help make the decision about breeding Nina or not (although if I don’t get the results I think she should have, I will redo the x-rays and try again before we decide anything for sure).