MACH2 Keegan

Keegan finished MACH2 in Burnsville, MN on August 22, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXGinMRjonk&feature=recentlik .  I was pretty frustrated with him that day because he ran so slowly...my husband is fairly convinced that he knew it was the last Double Q we needed; therefore, he ran slow to prevent me from screwing up.  Those of you that know Keegan, know that's likely right...he is definitely that arrogant.  The funny part was that he proceeded the rest of the weekend to run his normal fast self. 

This weekend (September 17, 18, 19, 2010) Keegan ran his fastest times EVER.  A couple months ago I was certain this was his last year competing due to the leg, but thanks to a wonderful vet in town, cold laser therapy, and chiropractic work, he looked and ran spectacular this weekend.  Even when I fell on my rear this morning in JWW, we still managed to recover, qualify, and win the class.  Now I need the chiro work!

5 Months!

Wow. The summer has really flown.  The girls have kept me very busy. This past Saturday they turned 5 months.  Shelby made the long drive back to Indiana with her mother last weekend.  I was pretty sad but happy to find out how pleased the breeder was with her.  She'll be shown primarily in UKC and I look forward to someday having her back to do some agility with. 

Shadow is proving to be a delight to train.  About a month ago I had posted a note on our lists to place her. Then I started training her. Now there is no way she's leaving...how's that for good plans?  She is super fast and delightful to live with. She reminds of Keegan all the time...even looks like him.

Leia has definitely turned into the naughty puppy with her mother's fiery attitude.  Both girls are so fun to train.  While working on typical puppy stuff (sits, downs, stays and self control) they have also been introduced to agility.  They are learning how to be very obstacle focused puppies.  They can drive with nice distance already through tunnels and jumps without bars.  They're comfortable on all boards that wobble and have been run across planks and introduced to contact obstacles low to the ground.  I have to say it's been a great deal of fun and I blame them for my not posting regularly on the blog.

I look forward to a weekend in Minnesota with Keegan, Trinkit and Karma.  Keegan only lacks 1 Double Q from MACH2.

16 Weeks!

Leia - 16 Weeks

Shelby - 16 Weeks

Yes, the girls are already 16 weeks.  Worse, it's been a month since my last post.  It has become a busy time since they are now actively training daily.  Shelby (ShiVK Firing on all Four) is leaving in 2 weeks to go be a show dog in Indiana.  I will continue to co-own her and follow her accomplishments in the breed ring.  She likely will come back to me after she finishes her Championship.  Leia (ShiVK Her Father's Fire) has become the dominant - pushy girl I knew she would be.  She is developing some nice sequencing skills through tunnels and jump standards without bars.  Shadow (ShiVK Small Fiery Inferno), is crazy fast. Everything she does, she does it in squirrel speed.  She's a very interesting puppy...seems a bit shy and aloof until you start training.  She never loses focus, her attention is very natural, and her toy/tug drive is amazing. 

Shadow - 16 Weeks

Instant Karma MX MXJ NF CGC

(Photo by Rosemary Strasser)

With the puppies here, I think I've failed to talk about my brilliant baby border collie.  Karma turned 3 on March 15 and finished her MX title on May 9, 2010 with this run http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evQ3vyclWnM .  This was a course that I didn't think we'd successfully run. I was particularly worried about the line from the table to the right side of the tunnel, knowing I'd have to leave her on the table for a decent lead out.  She read it much better than I thought.  She followed that up by finishing her MXJ the following weekend with the fastest jumpers run of the day with this run http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8D6xBPBLs0.  I was pleased with the run except for being a bit too far behind at the end causing her to almost miss a jump. We did recover in time to fix it though.We repeated that the following day with another great jumpers run, again, the fastest of the day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4TuMzgkLGA. 

It''s particularly sweet to run Karma as she was a rescue.  Not knowing exactly what I'd adopted, I feel very blessed to have such an amazing dog.  Never did I imagine that I'd be seriously thinking about attending and competing at the AKC National Championship and now, that seems like a reasonable goal. 

Not only is Karma a delight to run, she's wonderful to live with.  She never tries to herd the little dogs and what I can't do with them (canicross, bikjoring and skijoring) I get to do with her. 

The Fun Part!

The girls just turned 9 weeks old on Saturday and have officially (IMO) hit the most fun stage.  They have been doing fabulous on house training and are now completely weaned onto a diet consisting 100% of raw meat (and yes, even a raw meaty bone in the form of chicken wings).  They got their first vaccinations on Saturday and traveled in the car beautifully.  They have changed a lot over the course of the past several weeks and all just shy of 2.5 pounds...they are still small enough to fit through the fence and are superb at finding the holes.  Shelby is still her father's daughter but has turned out to be the prettiest conformationally. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/cdikeman#p/a/u/0/SH7nSKwE_H4  Not only will she be great in the showring but she is a little lover as well.  Shadow is still our naughty puppy only from the standpoint of the fact that she's the first to tackle everyone else.  She loves to explore new things and I hate to admit that while I was playing with the others and turned in horror to see her racing over the dogwalk.  Yes, indeed folks, this one will make an agility pup and she already has a great recall that can be seen on this video http://www.youtube.com/user/cdikeman#p/a/u/1/JR-U7N8WNfQ  Then there is my puppy...Leia.  She is a very elegant little dog and pretty darn fiesty to boot.  While Shadow may start the fights...Leia won't let them end until she's won.  http://www.youtube.com/user/cdikeman#p/a/u/2/9_N3CSI2URs(pictured from top to bottom: Shelby, Shadow, Leia)

The Busy Dustcloud

Hard to believe the last two weeks have just flown by.  We have been a very busy dustcloud indeed! The girls are now 6 weeks old, eating great, miraculously are either pottying on their indoor potty or outside (hard to believe), and have the most adorable personalities.  Shelby is her father. The way she plays, looks at us, and even wanders off on her own, is so characteristic of Keegan.  Shadow is our naughty puppy. She loves Danny, already picks on the other dogs, and loves to get into stuff.  Leia is a very playful, yet laid back, and super sweet puppy...yet loves to tug on pant legs.  They don't seem bothered by anything. They got to meet their first new people this weekend and thought they were fun new obstacles to jump on.

Huck (we still have the darling foster boy) has turned out to be the sweetest big brother to the girls. He absolutely adores them and his patience with them is truly amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb0ztzB7hXQ

Keegan has picked up 3 more Double Q's, now putting us at 12 toward MACH2.  Pretty spectacular since he's only not double Q'd 3 times out of 15 days of trialing.  He's become such a fun, fast, consistent boy.  Last weekend he had his fastest Standard Run to date which makes me even happier that we are beating our best times.

Karma finished her MX yesterday with a really great Standard Run.  We have some consistency to work on, but for a 3 year old border collie, I'm pretty jazzed! She only lacks one leg to finish her MXJ...maybe that will happen this coming weekend in Omaha.

Little 4-Lb Trinkit was put on the team this weekend and entered in Open Jumpers with Weaves.  I wasn't expecting her to qualify as she's not seen 24-inch weave poles in training to date, nor does she really like running longer courses (after all, why on Earth should a tiny Princess have to work so hard?). She surprised me with 2 perfect scores both days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCi62B-iEyk

More from the Dustcloud soon! Cheers and Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful Mom, Debby and grandmother, Beau!!!!

First Food at Four Weeks!

The girls are 4 weeks old now and have developed into these amazing little blundles of energy. You can watch them on this video:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab2KGP-OFFQ

On Friday evening I gave VIP her last evening meal and Leia came bounding over and landed right in the middle of it. She immediately started to eat...so...they have now been getting their first meals from a bowl. I am starting them off on a rotation of high quality canned food, Esbilac, and my raw meat diet in a 1:1:1 ratio by weight. My raw diet may be beef, chicken, venison, or rabbit-based, and has been supplemented with vitamins and minerals (it is not just meat alone).

They have had fabulous solid stools with the inclusion of this mixture to their daily nursing from VIP. I continue to hear misconceptions about the feeding of raw diets to puppies. Like older dogs, the major risks and concerns associated with any raw diet feeding are related to the risks of bacterial contamination to the human handlers, not the canine consumers.  Additionally, some people that make their own raw diets fail to ensure the diets are properly formulated to meet nutrient requirements.  With over 44 nutrients to be concerned with, unless people have done their homework and spend the time and money necessary to properly make a raw diet, I do suggest purchasing a pre-made commercial raw diet instead. 

They are all responding well to Danny and I, and we have been introducing new things for them to explore, touch, and interact with daily.  I have been trimming their tiny nails and turning on the dremmel tool to let them get used to the noise. 

Additionally, I have been loading the sound of the clicker while they are eating and call them over to eat, rather than carry the food bowl to them.  Danny and I let them chase us down the hallway while we call their names.  I will begin to invite friends and neighbors over in the coming weeks to interact with the girls and add to the variety of people they see on a daily basis. 

 

3 Weeks!

I have no idea where the last three weeks went! The girls are growing so fast and changing daily. Just in the last week, they started playing, tackling Mom (or at least giving it a girl-power effort), and started experiencing new things.  I had to remove the box this week, as Leia got out twice (thinking there's an agility pup there!).  With the box gone, they were able to move to the linoleum on their own.  It certainly took them each some time to figure out how to keep their feet underneath, but as of today, they all 3 move back and forth from the blankets to the linoleum at will.  They also have started responding to my voice and looking toward me when I come in the room.  Yesterday they had their fist exposure to the grass and being out in the sunshine.  Shelby has started to exhibit her father's temperment (A LOT!).  She gets a touch frustrated when she can't get where she wants at that very second...honestly, the world should know it revolves around her!  Shadow continues to be the calmest, although she has become very playful. 

Feeding Mom

I think sometimes we manage to complicate feeding regimes.  VIP of course is only having to feed 3 puppies but it has been rather simple.  During her final 2 weeks of gestation she was fed about 1.5 x her normal amount split into 3 meals instead of 2.  Following the first 24 hours after birth, she got 2 x her normal amount split into 4 meals during the day and we've been maintaining that amount.  She's maintaining her weight well and has more than enough milk based on the growth rates of these kids.  We have supplemented her food with additional calcium but I will give her a couple tablespoons of Esbilac a couple times per week (more as a treat than anything else).  She is being fed raw and still gets her fish oil daily along with vitamin E.

One Week and Growing

The little girls are just over a week old and growing like little weeds.  The day they were born, I found out that 2 friends lost their beloved dogs that very day...their names were Shadow and Shelby.  We have been calling the oldest girl "Shadow" and the youngest "Shelby".  The middle child is "Leia".  I have enjoyed them daily and watching them develop.  Each puppy has been challenged with Carmen Battaglia's Early Neurolgical Stimulation exercises and those will continue through day 16.