Oh Yeah, You Blend

I’m really happy with her! You can tell we’ve been working the dogwalk a lot since it’s got a lot of value for her right now.

3:

4:

5:

6:

Today, at the Olean Kennel Club trial at Countryside Agility in Erie, Nina became Can CH MACH PACH Vastgota Nina Ricci MXG MJC MXP2 MXPB MJP3 MJPB XF T2B3!!!

I have been so very fortunate to have this amazing little dog to play this game with. She brings 110% to the line every time, even when I don’t (and she lets me know if I mess up). Nina was made for agility, it is her very favorite thing, and I am so happy she is still able to run fast and happy and sassy at 13. It is an honor to have her as my best friend and a joy to have her as my teammate and I treasure every run with her, Q or NQ. She is such a special dog in so many ways.

It was so awesome to earn her PACH under our friend and favorite judge Sherry Jefferson! And at a suggestion from Glenn and Rebecca, we did a social distancing PACH picture:

The day I stole her from Ulla was one of the best days of my life. Because of Nina, I know so many people I wouldn’t know otherwise. Because of Nina, I’ve gone places and done things I wouldn’t have done otherwise. She is my Ninabean, and there will never be another Nina. Thank you for the privilege of your efforts my Tiny Bean, I love you. 

Nina Jumpers (part 1 of PACH):

Nina Standard (PACH NINA!):

PACH celebration (the video got stopped and then started again so we didn’t get the celebratory elbow bump with Sherry unfortunately, but we DID get the celebratory hip-bump with Sue!):

Zhora Jumpers (QQ #131, second place, 19 points, 5 YPS):

Zhora Standard (QQ #131, first place, 30 points, 3.89 YPS):

Alice Open Standard (NQ but some really nice bits!):

Alice Open Jumpers (NQ):

Just some Alice videos. Video has been extremely useful for me, both in training and in trialing.

1:

2:

3:

Alice is the first dog I’ve attempted to train a running dogwalk with. It’s a learning experience and I don’t yet know if I will regret it or not (I trained a stop with Zhora and then stopped asking for the stop, so she runs through the contact zone now but has never once been called on a dogwalk contact in her entire career).

Here are some videos of training:
1:

2:

3:

4:

5:

We love Laura Kuterbach. But today Nina didn’t feel like a PACH. Another 19 1/2 day. Zhora won the Standard class but I sent her off course with a mishandle in Jumpers.

ALICE was the star today, NAILING her weaves in Standard and recovering from a slip in the weaves in Jumpers (after a big slip on her first attempt) to earn her second Open Jumpers leg.

Everyone wearing face masks, some with better grace than others.

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (NQ):

Nina Saturday Jumpers (Q, first place, 23 points, 4.8 YPS):

Zhora Saturday Standard (Q, first place, 27 points, 3.7 YPS):

Nina Saturday Standard (NQ):

Alice Saturday Open Standard (NQ, she was chasing her leash dragging on the ground after the leash runner, but NICE WEAVES!):

Alice Saturday Open Jumpers (OAJ leg #2, lovely run, slipped after stepping on the base of the weaves, 4.1 YPS even WITH having to restart the weaves!):

Jan and Lobo are in training for his Water Rescue Dog (WRD) title, which is the next step up from his breed-first Water Dog title. Water Dog is generally only done by Newfoundlands, and the titles and trials are offered through the Newfoundland Club of America. These test exercises are intended for a breed that weighs 100-150 pounds, bred specifically for this kind of water rescue work. Swedish Vallhunds weigh 20-30 pounds and are bred specifically for farm work: herding, killing vermin, etc. Many Vallhunds love to swim, but…Lobo qualified for his Water Dog title when several Newfies did not. (here is the post with video of Lobo’s Water Dog title test)

Jan sent me some videos of his training session yesterday and…holy crap.

Here’s what Jan says:

“Here are 3 YouTube links of Lobo’s work yesterday.  The gentleman who took the videos was the rower for the Take A Line/Tow A Boat so there was no recording there, but you have seen him tow a boat.  The only difference is he has to take the line to the boat so they can grab it and then tow it to shore 75′ instead of 50′ like in the WD.”

The order for WRD is:
Double Retrieve – didn’t practice yesterday.
Retrieve Off A Boat  https://youtu.be/DjUtQTdWvqY
Take A Life Ring  https://youtu.be/nPRzr2YnINM
Underwater Retrieve – didn’t practice due to steep dropoff.
Take A Line/Tow A Boat – didn’t record
Rescue  https://youtu.be/35jGuLftYbg

(shared with permission from Jan Robles)

Retrieve off a boat:

Take a life ring:

Rescue:

That’s some INCREDIBLE work for Lobo and some amazing training from Jan. Lobo has several breed firsts, including being the first Swedish Vallhund to earn a drafting title, the first to earn a Water Dog title, and the first to earn the Open Barn Hunt title.

Lobo is a Swedish Vallhund Club of America Versatility Champion and the first Versatility Champion to earn all his points on performance and companion events only. He has titles in herding, agility, obedience, Barn Hunt, drafting, Water Dog, FastCAT, Trick Dog, Farm Dog…. His name with JUST his AKC titles is Alkemi Beowulf Del Roble Ls UD PT FDC AX AXJ BCAT RATCH CGC TKA. He is a Tempest x Nina son from the B litter (my “pupsicle” litter from frozen semen) and is litter brother to Ollie, Cricket, Colby and Zhora.

Lobo and Jan are an incredible team. Jan was getting a female puppy from my B litter after waiting for 2 years. I asked Jan to evaluate the litter for me (Jan has evaluated guide dog litters and is a very experienced trainer and former breeder of Malinois), she was staying with us for a week to get to know the puppies and I was pretty sure I knew which puppy was going home with her (the puppy who would become Zhora, actually). Lobo (then known as Aniston, since he was the first born puppy in our “Jennifers” litter, where all puppies had “Jennifer” names since they were born on my sister Jennifer’s birthday) was first to be evaluated, Jan hadn’t seen any of them yet and she likes to evaluate in birth order. I heard her say “hello puppy” in a happy voice after I placed him in the evaluation room and left…and then I heard her tone change and she said “oh…HELLO puppy” and I just knew she wasn’t taking a female puppy after all (which was fine by me, since I’d already fallen in love with Zhora and was miserable at the thought of her leaving me, but I’d promised Jan a puppy and she’d been waiting for so long…). Then in the car on the way home from where we tested them, she said “So…are all the puppies spoken for?” and I said “That first male puppy huh?”.

I’m not someone who believes in fate really, but Jan and Lobo were just meant to be, Lobo would do Jan’s taxes if she asked him to. They’re incredible.

Jan also has Cora, who was Popcorn, from the C litter.

Our first trial back in four months. I decided to dip my toes in and do a few Saturdays to see how it was. Overall I was very pleasantly surprised, everyone wore masks and social distanced and it felt pretty safe.

Nina is just one QQ away from her PACH, and I cost us that QQ with an ill-conceived rear cross that wasn’t really necessary, which put her into berzerker mode.

Zhora QQ’d, she was thrilled to be back.

Alice earned her Open FAST title and had two really nice NQ’s in her other classes. Really nice to see her finding the value in the work, I was really happy with her.

It was so great to see my agility peeps!

Judge Robert Jeffers had some nice if tricky courses, a generous wheel, a generous eye on the contacts, and the fastest table count in the West, which STILL wasn’t fast enough for sassypants Nina!

Zhora Saturday Jumpers (QQ #130, third place, 21 points, 4.9 YPS):

Nina Saturday Jumpers (Q, first place, 26 points, 4.9 YPS and would have been even faster without the near-off course):

Alice Saturday FAST (Q, Open FAST title, LOOK AT THOSE WEAVES!!!):

Zhora Saturday Standard (QQ#130, third place, 31 points, 3.9 YPS):

Nina Saturday Standard (NQ velociraptor mode):

Alice Saturday Open Standard (NQ, really nice run, I showed lateral motion as she took off for the triple and she sliced and knocked the top bar):

Alice Saturday Open JWW (I pulled her out of the weaves, nice run though):

Ten years ago a young couple contacted me, interested in a puppy from my very first Vallhund litter. They were newly married, had just bought a house, and this would be their first dog. As it happened I had a male puppy available after his initial home had fallen through, but this puppy was very special, if he’d been female, I’d have kept him. I’d already turned down two other prospective homes for him. I wanted to be sure that he found the right home. So the first thing I said to this couple was that if they wanted to meet me, they could drive all the way to an agility trial I was at in Farmington. Even though they lived quite close to me. Because I’m a jerk.

So they did.

They were very nice, polite, funny, intelligent. I liked them. My dogs liked them. But I was a nervous nelly about my precious puppy and I still wasn’t sure.

So I told them they needed to get this book and that book and read them. Because I’m a jerk.

They did that too.

Eventually I decided that they’d jumped though enough hoops, and they just might be a good enough home for my special little Triangle Boy, last born in his litter, and one of those special puppies who stole my heart and whom I so wished had been female. They were thrilled and Triangle Boy became Riley, AKA Alkemi Aston Martin LS.

What a jerk I was for doubting what a great home they’d give him. In fact, they were such an awesome home that when they tentatively asked about a puppy from my next litter, three years later, I told them they were in the class of “PLEASE take another puppy”. Their Vallhunds are truly a part of their family. They played agility (Riley earned his NA and OAJ titles, and he ran fast and crazy like his mother Nina). They shared pictures on Instagram of the fun their dogs had, the awesome lives they led, their Sunday Funday walkies. They are excellent owners and truly love their dogs.

Last year Riley had a growth on his hind leg. We took the growth off (they come to the vet clinic I work at), the pathologist suspected it was an apocrine clear cell ductular carcinoma, but the margins were decent and no further treatment was recommended, just monitoring. Then in February of this year, Riley had a rash on his belly, and his people needed to shampoo his tummy a couple of times a week. So it just so happened that because they were giving him these belly rubs so regularly, they found a lump. The lump seemed ominous so we decided it should be removed. During the surgery it became apparent that it was this was a nasty-looking tumor with tendrils everywhere and we found weird little skin masses near it and we just knew it was something bad. The first pathology report said it was likely a clear cell carcinoma, but they recommended additional testing. Additional testing didn’t shed any more light so they recommended additional additional testing. It was a rare and unusual tumor and even after three rounds of testing and several different experts weighing in, the pathologists still weren’t 100% certain.

Given how weird the diagnosis was turning out to be, and how diffuse the mass was, we recommended they see an oncologist, ideally one at a facility which had advanced surgical and radiation therapy options. So, being the awesome owners they are, they made an appointment at Guelph, and also at Cornell, and were hopeful that either would be able to move them up the list and see them sooner. I reached out to a friend who’s a vet at Cornell, and he said he’d speak to the oncology department to see if they could move him up.

And then COVID happened, and both appointments were cancelled. So they went to a local oncologist without advanced radiation options. This doctor wasn’t very hopeful but started him on chemotherapy. Then he went lame, and we found the cancer had spread to his bones, it was in three out of four of his legs. The oncologist basically said there wasn’t anything else that could be done for him.

We started pamidronate infusions, which can slow the progression of bone cancer and improve comfort, and Riley felt quite a bit better. My boss, being the pain management guy that he is, designed a pain management plan for Riley to keep him comfortable. And, being the awesome vet he is, he also reached out to a friend of his who is an renowned oncologist, and they came up with an aggressive cancer suppression plan. Riley’s people were all in, so we started on this plan.

They got him a stroller so he could still enjoy walks even on the days his legs were bothering him. They built him a ramp so he could still see out the window and snoopervise the neighbors when he couldn’t comfortably stand up on his hind legs for long enough to get a good look. They fed him the right food, they gave him the right supplements, they did everything they could. He had everything he wanted.

And you know, he did really pretty well for a while. They paid real attention to his quality of life. But then he started panting more and x-rays showed it was in his lungs. And his mouth. And all over his skin.

And so on Tuesday they called me and we cried together on the phone. They said on his tenth birthday in January they were thinking about how they should hopefully have 5 more years or so at least with him. It turned out to be five months. They asked me if I wanted to visit him to say goodbye (because they’re that kind of thoughtful). I was so glad that I’d been able to spend some time with him on his frequent visits to the clinic, I snuggled him and told him he was loved and that while I might have been the first person to love him so many more people loved him now, and that his people loved him most of all and that they would do what he needed them to do. I told them it was better to let him go a bit too soon than too late. I knew they would make the right choice for him. They asked about how to help their other dog through the loss of his brother. They said that while COVID meant they didn’t get to see the oncologists they’d wanted to see, it also meant they’d been able to spend so much more time with him than they would have otherwise, since they were both working from home.

That’s the kind of people they are.

And then today I got a text from them that said: “We let Riley pass today. So peaceful, he was ready. Had the best walk out on his favorite trails this morning. Give your pups an extra hug from us.”

Nobody could have given Riley a better home, or taken better care of him. And I am so thankful that they included me as they did.

Rest easy beautiful boy, you were so loved.

(all pictures except “Triangle Boy” courtesy of Nichole & Chris Buryta)

….Zhora being Zhora, she once again has taught me something about dog breeding. (content warning: if you are squeamish about discussion of dog body parts, maybe skip this post)

Around two weeks ago I noticed she looked like she was coming into season, so I started blotting her twice a day so I could catch and note the day she actually started (a dog’s vulva swells when they are coming into season, and generally “day 1” is considered the first day you see a bloody discharge). Knowing when the season starts is important, because you generally start progesterone testing 5-7 days after the first blood is seen.

She was licking herself a lot, the other dogs were interested in her nether regions, and I kept blotting and blotting and finding…nothing. There was one day I thought there was maaaaybe a tiny vaguely pinkish tinge on the paper, and I thought “any day now!”. I put Ollie’s owner Kat on alert that we were getting close (this was to be attempt #2 at Ollie x Zhora). And then…nothing….

My only excuse for not thinking faster is that there’s a global pandemic and NOTHING is normal about ANYTHING right now. But I kept thinking “maybe I should run a progesterone on her”. So I did on Tuesday. And she was at 17.9 already! I emailed and called my awesome repro vet’s office, the awesome tech Renee (the one who saved Cora) emailed me and then called me right away. She said it would be a hail Mary for sure, it wasn’t impossible but it was likely that if she did conceive, it would be a tiny litter (raising a singleton puppy is a huge headache and almost worse than having no puppies sometimes). I asked about trying again and she asked what the breed’s lifespan was, and when I told her Zhora’s grandfather was nearly 17, she said it was worth a try, might be a smaller litter but wasn’t impossible.

Of course I posted on the wonderful repro group on Facebook, and several people said they’d had large litters with progesterone up to 30, so I frantically messaged Kat, started getting myself sorted out to tear ass to meet her on the Thruway, but then my repro vet said “progesterone level on the day of breeding is irrelevant. Days after ovulation is what’s important when determining fertile period. Identifying day of ovulation requires documenting a rise in progesterone beyond 4-8ng/ml with ideally at least a 2ng surge/jump over a 24 hour period. Remember that while the average bitch may end up about 18ng/mL on about day 3 post ovulation, one cannot expect that every bitch at 18 is on day 3. In fact, many bitches will stay below 10-15 throughout an entire pregnancy. With having only one level available it is impossible to determine days post ovulation. We can only determine that she did in fact ovulate. Now, as a breeder, if a particular breeding is critical and the stud dog is available then there’s no reason not to try – and there is a chance for a normal litter. However, one must be prepared for a miss or a very small litter (ie singleton) if the bitch is near the end of the window and allocate resources accordingly. Hope this helps clarify some things..”

So now, the D litter will be Ollie x Alice. Given Zhora’s history of not being the easiest dog to breed, the thought of going through all that panic and worry to have maaaaaybe one puppy….just not worth it. I learned from my experience breeding Zhora that I far prefer how I did things with Nina: first litter at 2-3 years old. So that’s what we’ll do with Alice. She’s due to come into season in August, so now we wait…

IF YOU HAVE CONTACTED ME ABOUT A PUPPY: please stay in touch! This litter should be bred in August and born in October if Alice follows the textbook (which Zhora has taught me isn’t always the case!).

(I VERY MUCH would like to co-own one or two puppies from this litter. If you might be interested in co-owning a puppy with me, ESPECIALLY if you are someone interested in showing or trialing your dog (agility, herding, obedience, I don’t care what), please email me. I think I am quite reasonable with my co-own contract, but I’ve only done it once so far. On a co-own, your purchase price is lower, and basically the dog is yours except for breeding. The dog lives with you, I just borrow it occasionally. Anything breeding related is paid by me (including show and trial entries if they are shows/trials I wish the dog to enter). The dog must stay intact until I determine its breeding/showing career is over, at which point the dog is sterilized at my expense and signed over to you at no further cost to you.)

My most beautiful Bean, my heart dog, turns 13 today (May 14). It’s so hard to believe that the sweet, sassy little puppy is 13! She’s doing amazing, especially since we thought we might lose her a year and a half ago to a horrific bout of pancreatitis.

For my own reference (and for anyone who might be interested), I thought I’d note what I’ve done throughout her life to try and build on her good genes and keep her here, Nina-ing, for as long as she wants to be.

• good genes are obviously the single most important factor, her daddy Birk was 16 1/2 when he died, his mother (Nina’s paternal grandmother or farmor) Ebba was 17
• Nina has been lean and fit for her entire life, in fact an acquaintance who has Vallhunds (who are, to be polite, kept considerably plusher than mine) actually called Nina’s breeder Ulla to tell her how my dogs were far too thin. Given that I evaluate body condition as part of my job, and was taught how to do so BY A VETERINARIAN, I think I have a reasonable handle on body condition. Nina has been between 4.5 and 5 out of 9 for just about her entire life. Lean dogs live longer and are healthier. Now if I could just get someone to control MY kibble the way I control hers….
• I wish I could say diet was a big factor, but… She’s eaten everything from raw to the now-discredited grain free diets to what she currently eats, which is ProPlan
• she’s had a job (agility) her whole life and she loves it, plus it gives her a focus and a purpose
• she’s been on Adequan since she was 7 years old (and in fact I started Alice on Adequan at just 10 weeks since there’s a study showing benefits to doing that, and it has no contraindications)
• she’s been on a high-quality high-dose Omega Fatty Acid supplement (currently Catalyst Chews) since I brought her home
• she’s been on Cosamin ASU Advanced (human version of Dasuquin Advanced and much cheaper) for several years, after being on Dasuquin since she was a year old
• she sees a cardiologist every 6 months (not right now obviously), for her age-related valve disease, and she started cardiac meds (pimobendan and enalapril) as soon as they were recommended
• she’s been on Denamarin Advanced (liver supplement) for both liver support (as pimobendan can affect the liver) and brain support (it’s an antioxidant which can help with canine cognitive dysfunction)
• she’s been on ProNeurozone for a few months for brain support and I think it really makes a difference
• I fed ProPlan Bright Mind 7+ for a while and I really think it made a significant difference to her overall brightness and interactivity, but it’s a bit too high in fat for her with her pancreatitis issue so now she’s on the ProPlan Savor Weight Management Reduced Fat and she LOVES it plus she gets extra because she doesn’t need to lose weight and it’s lower calorie. Great to have a decent and over-the-counter lower fat food, it’s 8% fat which seems to be suiting her really well. I am seeing the same sorts of effects on the Denamarin and ProNeurozone, which is great. She’s often the bounciest dog in the house some days!
• she is hormonally intact. I had her hysterectomized (“ovary sparing spayed”) when her breeding career was over, but she still has her ovaries and the hormones they produce.

Here’s what I wrote on Facebook today:

In honor of her 13th birthday, here’s Nina’s QQ #19 towards her PACH (here’s hoping we get to actually run for QQ #20 at some point!) from March 8, 2020, which (as it turns out) was the last time we ran before the COVID lockdown.

If I’d known Nina’s JWW run here was going to be the last run we’d have for a while I….wouldn’t have done anything differently. Having had runs in the past where I was frustrated and let my dog know it, and then having had health scares with my dogs, I made a vow to myself and, more importantly, to my dogs, to always ask myself at the start of a run “if this ends up being your last run with this dog, how will you feel?”, and I try to run every run with joy and with the thought foremost in my mind that I love agility because of the teamwork with my dogs. I love agility because my dogs love playing it with me. I love my dogs before I love agility. But I sure do love agility. In large part because Nina loves agility so much. Her joy in her work is infectious and when runs go well, it’s like a Vulcan mind meld.

Nina has owned my heart since she first stood up on her back legs as a baby in the puppy pen at Ulla’s house and looked me straight in the eye. Her face said “take me home, I’m supposed to be yours”. She has always loved playing agility with me more than anything in the world, I am honored that I have played this game with her for so many years now. I am so very honored that she finished 2019 as the top AKC PACH Vallhund and qualified for the Invitational as the top PACH dog.

I hope we will have more trials in our future, I hope she gets that last QQ for her PACH one day, I hope we can run at the Invitational this year. But if none of those hopes come to be, I will still have the fact that this amazing little dog changed my life, I know people I would never have met because of her. She produced some amazing puppies whose families love them dearly. She is truly my heart dog and I wouldn’t change anything about her. Happy birthday my most beautiful, wonderful Ninabean. I love you so much.