Snow

Last night when Deb left at 11:00 p.m. there was no snow at Shadowbar, despite the fact that it had been snowing in the Crowsnest Pass, sixteen kilometres west of us. Hence I was feeling pretty smug about that when I went to bed. Not so this morning. Penance, perhaps? Snow. Morbid east wind. Icicles beginning to form on my horses' coats called for blanketing. Miss Kitty happy to use her heated cat bed in her quilted condo in the barn. Kennel dogs happy to stay inside and chew on goodies for most of the day. House dogs still not stir crazy.... but I won't hold my breath about that. Snow and so-s0 visibility made the trip into the Pass a slow one but I wasn't in a hurry anyway. What a great day for a massage, brunch with a friend, and a leisurely drive home.

I love holidays. I'd love them more if I were on a beach in Cuba, but I do love holidays.

Spent time on the four X four rug training dogs to 'up sit' and 'ready', 'side-step', 'stand,

down and front'. Drummer even did a long sit with about 30 continuous seconds of 'watch' without a reminder cue. Put my High in Trial ribbons in their new shadow boxes, courtesy of husband, Darryl, done under protest. "No more." That was after the first two. I have four!

I win.

Two More Sleeps

We can hardly wait!!! Two sleeps and it will be Christmas. We are going to Sharlet's for Christmas dinner...yummy.... and Mesa is invited to have a sleepover! Not Token. Not Drummer. Not Hunter. Not Shaggy, or Swayze or RoZe. Only Mesa. Because she is Shar's favorite. So she will stay over and terrorize Ryder and the cows, and give Jonty, Shar's husband, conniptions because she will only listen to him if she thinks his idea is her idea or if it is accompanied by great treats and heaps of praise.

Otherwise...... it's "You talking to me??" .

We will spend Christmas Eve at home as we have a kennel full of boarding dogs who will be missing their families. I think we'll rent a good movie and watch it with them. Some popcorn and doggie treats and they should be more relaxed by the time we leave to come into the house and open presents.

As I write this, I am listening to some really great jukebox hits from years ago. I would love to share them with you.

A REAL working juke box OKAY, FOLKS, THERE WILL BE A SONG FOR EVERYONE. HAVE FUN. This is "WAY TOOOOO COOL'' ... and it really works Its a Juke Box! Click on any year and a Juke Box pops up with 20 hits of that year! 40's JuKeBoX 1955 JuKeBoX 1956 JuKeBoX 1957 JuKeBoX 1958 JuKeBoX 1959 JuKeBoX 1960 JuKeBoX 1961 JuKeBoX 1962 JuKeBoX 1963 JuKeBoX 1964 JuKeBoX 1965 JuKeBoX 1966 JuKeBoX 1967 JuKeBoX 1968 JuKeBoX 1969 JuKeBoX 1970 JuKeBoX 1971 JuKeBoX 1972 JuKeBoX 1973 JuKeBoX 1974 JuKeBoX 1975 JuKeBoX 1976 JuKeBoX 1977 JuKeBoX 1978 JuKeBoX 1979 JuKeBoX If you are younger than 30 you are out of luck. NOT REALLY! THERE IS SOME GREAT MUSIC HERE. http://upchucky.com/music-jukes/40s/player.html

Enjoy...... two more sleeps.

Yes, we have a SHELTIE!

Yes, we have a sheltie. Conemarra's Drummer Boy RN, will be one year old tomorrow. We cannot believe how fast time flies. It seems like yesterday when we landed from our trip to Cuba and drove to Lethbridge to get our new pup. He is absolutely the best! We thank Andrea Knibbs for choosing this youngster to be part of our family. Watch out world! Listen for the sound of DRUMS in the new year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

It has been a wonderful year for our dogs at Shadowbar Shepherds. We have added 14 titles to our versatile team, gaining conformation championships and titles in performance events of rally obedience (#6 GSD in Canada) Herding, Scent Hurdle Racing and Obedience. We also picked up titles for temperament in gaining our CGN titles and an International Therapy Dog title. It's been quite a 'ride'.

We continue to offer training for handlers and dogs in all areas of obedience, rally O, tracking, scent hurdle, and draft dog work.

Our Training/Boarding kennel is in operation seven days a week. We board GOOD dogs, and in doing so, assure that all dogs that stay at Shadowbar have an enjoyable stay. We reserve the right to meet the dogs in advance of their boarding date in order to have them familiarize themselves with the staff and facilities in the kennel setting. We take no more than ten dogs at any one time.

We offer private training and obedience classes year round, as well as a board & train program.

We are busy, busy, busy with dogs and all things associated with dogs.

We would like to take the time to congratulate those dog/handler teams who have trained at Shadowbar on all their wins in performance events and we wish them continued success in 2011.

We thank everyone for using our boarding facility as their dog's home away from home and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Best of the best to the best.

Darryl and Judi Snowdon

Shadowbar Shepherds.....oh, and the sheltie.too.

Training Pays Off

One of the best things we do with our dogs here at Shadowbar is to volunteer them to be part of the Photo Shoot at Vista Village Assisted Living Centre. This year we had 16 dogs of various breeds, all belonging to members of the Southern Alberta Working/Herding Dog Association, on hand to pose in a Christmas setting with residents and guests of the lodge.

I took Drummer, the sheltie pup, and Token, who is just very photogenic and so well-trained that she can fit into any photo and look fresh and alert forever.

Drummer did a pretty good job for a youngster and he will be a regular at this kind of thing because he is absolutely beautiful in any picture.

We look forward to presenting the lodge members with their photos so that they can be displayed at Vista Village for Christmas.

News flash!!! Mesa, pictured above with her ribbons from the Skaha Kennel Club Dog Show, in

21 trials this year (that is ten in Rally Advanced and 11 in Rally Excellent) is the #6 German shepherd in Canada, while her brother, Ryder, owned and handled by Sharlet Caroe, is the #2 German shepherd in Canada and #4 All Breed dog in Rally O competition in 2010.

German shepherds ROCK!!!