Shadowbar Shepherds Elite Boarding School

Castle at work!

2012-01-22T12:12:00.002-07:00

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No Fun Match for Us

2012-01-15T08:35:00.000-07:00

Red means danger. Boo hoo. We were so ready to go to Calgary this morning at 6:00 a.m. to play at the Shiba Inu Fun Match. Not to be. Although it is just fine in our little corner of the province, the roads to Calgary are showing as poor. Vicky reported that she made it to Claresholm and turned back home to Lethbridge. So it's out to the garage for our own tiny show. Saved fuel, meals, and entries and Darryl
is making stew for supper, so all is not lost.

Yesterday I had the pleasure to meet a really nice dog. Maddie is a year and a half old large breed X. Her owner, Richard, was considering leaving her for a month's professional training with us at Shadowbar. You had to be there to see her leap out of the canopied truck, lose her halti and attached collar and veer crazily around the truck and kennel area like a balloon losing air.

It gets funnier. Richard collected her and put her gear back on, and handed the nylon leash to me. Around the driveway & truck I went like a balloon losing air. I should have had an in tow sign on my back.
Maddie was absolutely focused on nothing except the environment and she intended to check it all out in 10 seconds or less, with or without me. Actually, except for the added weight, I don't think she even knew I was at the end of the leash.

I managed to hand her off to Richard, went to the house and dusted off my old choke chain, yes, horrors, a Choke Chain, and I picked out a nice leather leash and returned to the 'circus' . I flipped the chain over Maddie's head, put it up high on her neck, and we walked off in the same direction sort of. Amazing. Of course, Maddie jumped forward to do her "in tow" trick, and before she hit the end of the leash, I called her and gave a quick collar correction and release on the leash. The dog was back beside me in less than two seconds and received cookies and yes's and pats and praise. In less than five minutes the dog had gone from a zoony to a happy, focused, tail-wagging partner.
She was amazing. I walked her past the kennel runs and she calmed down and walked along as though she'd been doing this for years even though the shepherds were barking like mad.

Richard confessed that he had tried to do a clicker class with a buckle collar and in his mind, he just felt absolutely inadequate with an out of control dog pulling all over the place and disturbing the rest of the class at every step. He had treats in one hand to lure Maddie to at least pay some attention to him, leash in another hand, clicker in another hand. And a hand to pat his leg to show Maddie which direction to go in.
Oh, now I see why that didn't work. He needed four hands for this dog. Clearly, he was correct in not finishing his classes. This was not a win, win, situation and the dog had no place in the class.

I showed Richard how to use the choke chain correctly and sent him away with a mission: to work with Maddie for one month with me email coaching and video clips to assess. On February 14th, both will return to Shadowbar and we'll set out another month's program.

And, Richard will drop off his new Newfie puppy, Moose, to give him a good start here with us while Maddie gets one on one attention at home. The goal? To be able to walk Maddie downtown on a loose leash with distractions. Piece of cake. This is a great dog..with a good owner.

We'll keep you posted.

Judi

Just a Dog

2012-01-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion." - Unknown

From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's just a dog,"
or, "that's a lot of money for just a dog."

They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog."

Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog."

Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog,"
but I did not once feel slighted.

Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog,"
and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.

If you, too, think it's "just a dog," then you will probably understand
phrases like "just a friend," "just a sunrise," or "just a promise."

"Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust,
and pure unbridled joy.

"Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person.

Because of "just a dog", I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future.

So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future,
the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment.

"Just a dog" brings out what's good in me and diverts my thoughts away
from myself and the worries of the day.

I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog",
but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being
"just a man or woman."

So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog"
just smile...
because they "just don't understand."
Written by an unknown Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.
From the Therapy Dog Inc. News Magazine

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2011-12-26T22:23:00.000-07:00

May everyone have a good Christmas and a hopping good year in 2012.

Judi and the gang

Merry Christmas from the Gang at Shadowbar

2011-12-13T11:53:00.002-07:00

Vista Village Pics

2011-12-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

The Girls

Shirley and Kris

Nancy & Alf

Judi, Token & Drummer Boy

Sharlet & Ryder

One of the residents of Vista Village & the gang

Connemara's Drummer Boy RA, CGN, SHDX

Barb & Kipper

Our wonderful Therapy Dog Team did the Christmas Seniors' Photo Shoot at Vista Village in Pincher Creek yesterday and thanks to our patient photographer, Char Lazaroto, the care-givers at Vista Village, our wonderful dogs and handlers, we can boast some very nice prints to give the residents of the assisted living facility. This year it was decided that the numbers of dogs available for photos be reduced to just the dogs from the therapy team; those that visit regularly at Vista. I found that the strain on the dogs after being set up in four separate locations over three hours was a bit much. These dogs are absolutely amazing in that they managed, for the most part, to look animated and interested in their environment. Next year, we will have two teams, one for the 'cottages' and the other for the regular photos to save the dogs.

One to go!

2011-11-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Well, three of the Token/ Busch kids are now champions! Just one to go. This year, we will concentrate on showing Swayze in the conformation ring. He already has his PCD, his RA, a CGN, and one leg towards his RE title so the performance end is well-titled. (We know the dog has brains.) And, as you can see in the photo attached, the 'porch' puppy has turned into a very handsome dog. Hence our decision to share him with the world.

Watch for Shadowbar's Slow Dance in 2012!

Shiba Inu pup at work

2011-11-12T09:48:00.001-07:00

Castle is a shiba inu pup from Mountain High Shibas in Skookumchuk, B.C. He and his sister, Becket, were born July 9th of this year and they have been at Shadowbar for 6 weeks.
Both pups are doing very well in their training. Here is an example of Castle doing some rally moves with other dogs as distractions. Keep in mind that he is just four months old.

Vote for Drummer

2011-10-27T10:03:00.000-06:00

Hey, everyone reading this blog. Please take the time to go online to Fido Casting Call and vote for Darryl Snowdon's sheltie, Drummer, to become the rep for Fido phones! He is perfect for the job. He will carry a phone, he knows how to 'touch' with his nose or feet and can therefore answer a speaker phone. He barks when asked to. He knows how to do jumps. He is super obedient. And he is drop dead gorgeous to boot.
Please, please vote for Drummer.

Thanks,
Judi (the wife)

Arrrgggghhhh!

2011-10-06T13:12:00.000-06:00

Rain. Torrents of rain. Sheets of rain. Since 1:00 a.m. Jeez, already.
This is Alberta!!! You know, blue skies shining on me. Fibs. Rain.
And no end in sight for a day and night. Our team building class for agility was cancelled ..... rain. I thought I might get away from it by flying out to the mainland for the Canadian Kennel Club National Sheepherding trials, but guess what the forecast is for that area? Right. Rain.
The positive side to that?? You don't have to shovel rain. :)

Shiba sports

2011-09-25T13:56:00.002-06:00

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Fall Obedience Classes

2011-09-20T12:47:00.000-06:00

Dog obedience classes begin Tuesday, October 4th, at 6:30 p.m. at the Cowley Hall and run Oct. 11th, 18th, and 25th. Cost for registration is $100 per dog, payable the first night of class. Dogs need current vaccinations and must be four months of age or older to join.
Bring collar and 6 foot leash (no extenda-leashes) and soft, meaty, treats (Rollover, wieners, liver treats) and a hungry, empty dog. (Do not feed the dog supper before class. He will earn his supper.) A favorite toy is also a great motivator for the dog.
Please email the following information to shadowbr@telusplanet.net if you wish to participate in the class.

Owner/Handler's name and full address:

Owner/Handler's email address & phone number:

Name of dog:

Size of dog : _____ inches tall.

Age of dog: _____ months or _______ years

Castle & Becket

2011-09-17T10:49:00.000-06:00

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Shadowbar Boarding School For Dogs Day Five

2011-09-16T16:01:00.000-06:00

Road Trip to Osoyoos

2011-09-15T10:27:00.003-06:00

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New Champion

2011-09-05T08:20:00.000-06:00

Jodi Moodie's German shepherd, Shadowbar's Slow Hand, (Mo), gained his Canadian Championship in Cranbrook with handler, Larry Clark, showing him. What a handsome boy!!!

Introduction to Tracking Course Set for September

2011-08-26T11:53:00.000-06:00

Join us at Shadowbar for an introduction to Tracking this September.
We are offering 3 consecutive Saturdays of instruction and two methods of tracking beginning September 17th at 9:30 a.m.
If you have always wanted to try tracking with your dog, now is the time.
Email us at shadowbr@telusplanet.net to find out more about joining the "gang at Shadowbar".

Professional training CAPPDT member/ CKC judge

Tracking Course offered

2011-08-23T17:31:00.000-06:00

Shadowbar Shepherds will be offering and introduction to Tracking

beginning Saturday, September 17 and running September 24th and October 1st. If you know anyone who might enjoy learning the 'game' please let them know so they can email us privately.

shadowbr@telusplanet.net

New news!!! Sharlet & Ryder, Hunter, Drummer & I , and Cheryl and Jeff & Brenner travelled to Castlegar for their annual dog show.

Shar had Ryder entered in the Advanced and Excellent Rally B classes, I had Drummer and Hunter entered in the Advanced Rally B classes, and Cheryl and Jeff entered Brenner in the Conformation classes as a 'Special' which means that he is a Champion and competes against all other German shepherds entered in the show.

Also entered in the conformation ring in the Open Class with Professional Handler Larry Clark at the helm, was Shadowbar's Slow Hand, (Mo) owned by Jodi Moodie of Calgary.

We all had our days!!! Sharlet and Ryder completed their Rally Advanced/Excellent #V title with three High in Class placements.

Drummer picked up two High in Class placements and Hunter finished his Advanced Rally B title 3/3 attempts with two second place awards (to Drummer) and a third place (to Drummer and Ryder) so we were thrilled.

Jeff and Cheryl's Brenner won a Group first in the Herding Group on Sunday.

Mo picked up 6 points from going Winner's Male three shows over the weekend.

All in all, a great weekend!!

Rum Runner's Day Parade

2011-07-22T13:03:00.000-06:00

This year's Rum Runner Days' Parade theme was the Pinkest Little Town in the West. In keeping with this theme, Deb and I used RoZe and Walker to represent Shadowbar Shepherds Training and Boarding.

Drummer, our resident sheltie, accompanied the carts with Heather Alderson as his handler & our photographer.

Shadowbar's Time and Again, APDT R-L1, CD, DD

Ch. Shadowbar's Back to the Future PCD, RN, CGN,

EKKOC Results for us

2011-07-22T12:47:00.000-06:00

Connemara's Drummer Boy, RN , SHD*

Drummer finished his Rally Advanced title by tying for first place points 99/100 but taking second place due to time under judge Bud Milsom. Drummer is trained & handled by Judith Snowdon.

Shadowbar's Slow Dance PCD RA (Swayze) took 2 points towards his Can. Ch.

on Sunday under judge Shirley Limoges. Swayze is handled by Mary Ellen Whyte.

Shadowbar's Slow Hand (Mo) owned by Jodi Moodie, pictured with ME Whyte above, added 2 points towards his Can. Ch. handled by Larry Clark.

Planned Breeding for 2012

2011-07-22T11:12:00.003-06:00

Shadowbar Shepherds

"Quality pups for quality homes"

Planned Litter

2012

CH. VON HAMM BEDKAR GOLIATH OF OSOR, OFA H/E

SIRE: BISS SELECT AM. CAN. CH. LENLOR'S MAXIMUS, CD, ROM, OFA H/E

DAM: BISS AM. CAN. INT. CH. VON HAMM BEDKAR SHE'S ALL MINE, OFA

OWNER: JUAN CARLOS OSOR

CH. SHADOWBAR'S SHEZALLTHAT OFA H/E

Sire : CH. GROSSHIMEL'S ONECHANZNAMILLION OFA H/E CD. RL-2 SHDCH

Dam: CH. TAWNASHEE'S ROSE AT SHADOWBAR OFA H/E BPiS, CD, RE, CGN, SHDX, HT,
HS, International Therapy Dog

"If the stars align properly, Shag will be bred to Goliath in March of 2012."

If you wish to add this impressive bloodline to your breeding program or if you want to own a quality German shepherd dog, this may be the match you've been waiting for.

Cranbrook news

2011-06-26T21:32:00.002-06:00

Great time in Cranbrook. Came home with two High in Class scores from Drummer in the Advanced B class and Swayze in the Excellent B class with scores of 99 and 98. Drummer placed second in the Advanced B class in the afternoon with a score of 99. Not bad for his first time out in Advanced. Pretty happy with the boys.

Are you ready???

2011-06-21T18:32:00.004-06:00

Swayze working to hold his stack although I ended up over-extending him. I am so used to handling Hunter and Walker and Swayze is so different. He is finally starting to run out ahead of me. Does much better with Mary Ellen as he thinks he is supposed to stay beside me. It is what it is.

This weekend the Cranbrook and District Kennel Club is hosting two CKC rally O trials on Sunday. Drummie is entered in the Advanced B class. And we have actually been practicing. Quit laughing, Maureen. I do sometimes train my dogs.... I know. Mostly they are supposed to read Chapter 13 while I am at work and figure it out on course. And somehow they do. Anyway, he is actually showing signs of cooperation! No more, dummy Drummie. If the signs align, we can pass.

Next weekend July 2nd, we travel to Coalhurst to do scent hurdle racing. Yay, Drummer. You can do it!!!! And if you can't, it's okay because Token can.

Dial a Dog

2011-05-09T16:48:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was the greatest! Green grass, sunshine, and no wind made our work with Liz and Sasha, her GSD X, such an enjoyable time. And it helps that the dog is smart, smart, smart. Our purpose has been to introduce Liz and Sasha to the wonders and freedoms of the "e" collar. Yes, a collar that delivers an electronic stimulus to train precision heeling and immediate recalls in any distraction.

I have been reading lots of feedback on various social networks condemning the use of these collars, but I have to say that they have been of benefit to more people than I ever imagined. Liz is mobility challenged and to take on a young rescue dog that had no training was quite a task. After four quick lessons with the collar, Sasha now walks next to Liz at heel and she can be trusted to run in a field off leash with distractions and still return when paged with the recall vibration. We took Sasha and Swayze, my GSD, for a long walk after using both Drummer and Swayze as distraction dogs having them race up and down the fence line, enticing Sasha to join in the fun. Liz would allow Sasha to run up and down the fence and would then call her name, hit the vibration pager, and get out her treats quickly before Sasha raced up to her. Then she'd reward, pet, and release the dog to go again.

Our walk tested the training. I got to show Liz what to look for when Sasha was keying in on a scent and how to interrupt Sasha's thought train by calling her name and hitting the pager button. Liz was pretty happy when we spooked several deer in the draw and the dogs didn't rush after them. She was ready to dial up the stimulations, but didn't have to. Her comment: boy, it's sure nice to be able to reward my dog instead of yelling at her for chasing the deer. Yes.

Freedom for the dog. A reliable recall. And an owner that no longer has to worry about her dog getting hurt or having to keep it on lead forever. She gets to reward and praise, but has a back-up plan if everything happens too quickly. Works for me. Thanks again, Fred Hassan. I still believe.

Urban tracking

2011-05-09T16:44:00.002-06:00

Deb, Shar and I went to Olds for a tracking seminar put on by Donna Brinkworth of Spiritdance.

We had a great time and all three new dogs took to the methods easily. Our two older dogs did well, too, and although footstep tracking is not a method I personally will use for field tracking, it does help tremendously to keep the dog's nose low, and the dog concentrated on the task at hand. I was pretty stoked when I came home and it's always super to work with someone as energetic and enthusiastic as Donna. So, if you ever get a chance to do a seminar with Donna, just do it.

Training in Earest

2011-04-15T07:43:00.002-06:00

I am so blessed to have the quality dogs I own. They make training so easy. For example, Wednesday night, I took Hunter to dog club and decided to teach him then and there to do scent work. So I took Token's scent dumbbell, held it for 10 seconds, asked Hunter to take it in his mouth a couple of times (he doesn't hold it) and then I placed it on the tie-down board next to Ryder's bell. I simply waited until he was curious enough to go over and touch the bell with his nose. Then I clicked/treated. In five minutes, he was 90% choosing his over the other. Added Betsy's bell. No problem. Hunter chose his. So, what now? Well, we'll keep this up for another week or so and in the meantime we'll teach him the jumps (back-chaining) and then add a couple of other dogs to the mix. In addition, his heeling was superb and he was focused in spite of having Daryl walk beside and behind us. I will pull back from showing this summer except for Swayze who can work his Excellent Rally title. The dogs can spend the summer working at home and playing at summertime relaxation while I work with client dogs sent in for Boarding/Training school. Maybe offer a tracking camp for a week in the summer as I have had lots of inquiries about it. And then out to compete in the Fall with draft, obedience, conformation (need to finish Mo and Swayze yet) and rally. And who knows? With the help of my friend, Denise, you may even see me at some agility trials with Shaggy and Drum. Keep reading the blog. I'll post some every week with neat pics. If you have training questions, I'd be glad to address them. It's all about producing good dogs. Judi

Snowed In

2011-03-01T16:11:00.003-07:00

Drummer packing wood Since last night Swayze Boy

Blah!!!! I hate winter. We are two shelties high in snow right now. I am soooooo sick of shoveling.

We had a snow day from school today. Spent it digging out here. If the wind begins to blow, we are

doomed!

Carolyn Herle seminar rescheduled

2011-02-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Carolyn Herle seminar rescheduled

We have rescheduled our Carolyn Herle "Building Work Ethic in Your Dog" seminar! We hope you can join us on Saturday, March 19th. Please let me know asap if this will work for you. We look forward to seeing you on the 19th and until then, stop the wind and weird weather, will ya????

The Prez

Walker wins at Calgary!!

2011-02-08T17:23:00.003-07:00

Ch. Northfleet's Megabucks X Ch. Snowycreek's Dakota Rose, CGN, CD, RAE-1, HS, son finally hits the show ring.....

Brazilian judge, Ramon Podesta, awarded Walker Best of Breed over Specials (Champions) on Friday. His

comment was that this dog was exactly what a male German shepherd should be. I was pretty pleased.

When you win under an International judge, you know that politics didn't play any part in the choice.

We also got Best of Winners everyday so we gained six points in a weekend.

Facebook (10)

2011-01-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

"Was at a trial and Ally is now in Masters Gamble. She also got one more standard. I finally got some front and rear crosses and also a serpentine."
Good job, Ally and Brenda. We miss you. Found something else to do with the noodles. Check the blog page.
The Prez

Southern Alberta Weather

2011-01-16T21:19:00.006-07:00

Wierd weather today. We went from water running down the driveway this morning due to a nice, warm westerly wind, to an ice rink at 4:00 p.m. with a cold, miserable east wind. What a country. Oh, well, at least there aren't any bugs around.

New Titles

2011-01-03T22:36:00.002-07:00

Congratulations to MaryEllen and her German Shorthair Pointer, Tessa, who obtained her AKC Championship title in style with all majors in place!!!! Tessa has enrolled in obedience classes and will work towards gaining her RN and CD this year.

Snow

2010-12-29T18:16:00.003-07:00

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

2010-12-23T20:05:00.002-07:00

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!

2010-12-20T20:15:00.002-07:00

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.

2010-12-20T19:48:00.002-07:00

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

2010-12-05T21:12:00.004-07:00

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!!!

Parade dogs

2010-11-13T19:32:00.002-07:00

Super night last night for the moonlight parade of lights in the Pass. Fyre, Deb's dog, stole the show with her silver battery-operated bows, one on each side of her. She looked like a large butterfly as she moved down the parade route. Mesa and Ryder were a brace with Shar and they looked wonderful. I elected to take the sheltie with me and was glad I did. He was so portable and he had such a good time!

Today at club we had Swayze, Walker, Mesa, Ryder, Swayze, Token and Fyre in conformation, obedience, rally o, and scent hurdle. What a good time and what super dogs they were. We were thrilled with their performances.

Here's hoping they can keep it together at the show next weekend.

Red Deer Results

2010-11-08T12:17:00.002-07:00

Great weekend for us at Red Deer. Shar and Ryder are now #6 Rally Obedience team in Canada and gained even more points last weekend. She has Lethbridge and Calgary shows left to compete in and hopefully move even farther up the ladder.
Hunter picked up 2 points towards his Canadian Championship in spite of having me for his handler. What a good boy. Token did okay in scent hurdle and really didn't embarrass me at all. She hates the game and only does it because I ask her.

We head for Lethbridge in two weeks with Hunter in conformation, Swayze in Rally Excellent and Novice Obedience, Token in Scent Hurdle and Drummer and Ryder coming along for the practice afterwards. Should be interesting to say the least and I don't really know how we'll balance it all, but it's nothing new.

Last week we hooked up RoZe and Walker to the large wagon in preparation for our Fort Macleod Santa Parade. They worked wonderfully together. Maureen was going to have her sheltie, Levi, ride in the wagon. Well, since then, Walker has injured his back leg, so we have had to downsize our program and let RoZe pull the cart instead of the wagon. Unless, of course, we can convince Swayze, who has never worn a harness in his life, to assist.

We are going to join the Lethbridge scent hurdle team for a practice this Wednesday and it should be fun for sure.

Then it's the Moonlight Madness parade of lights on Friday night in Blairmore and Dog Club on Saturday. In between, if the weather holds, I intend to take Magic, my standardbred, out for a Fall ride.

And somewhere in the next month or so, I have three dogs to OFA as well. Yikes!

Never a dull moment here.

Judi

How cool is that?

2010-09-30T15:20:00.001-06:00

Very cool

2010-09-28T17:12:00.002-06:00

Finally the extra training has come into use for my dogs. One of my friends has recommended them to an animal wrangler who uses dogs for the movies. And, a plus, I get to train them, not someone else.

Which is a huge bonus for my beasts, who are used to my signals and commands. Because I have a day job, my first opportunity has to be missed as it was on very short notice, but the wrangler is very interested in my dogs (very well-trained and photogenic to boot) and will keep in touch. I'd love to do this kind of thing fulltime.

Skaha Results

2010-09-15T19:12:00.004-06:00

OMG! We had a great weekend at Osoyoos! Hunter picked up four points towards his Championship by going Winners on Friday and then Winners, Best of Winners, and Best of Breed on Sunday. Three points to go.

Mesa, Ryder and Drummer were entered in the rally obedience and Mesa received the Highest Score in the entire trial twice and Ryder got the award once. Mesa won High in Class in 6/8 of the classes she entered. Ryder was High in Class once.

Drummer was High in Class twice and then developed Boy Brain on Sunday. We made it to the second sign before I retired him to his crate. What a noodle. We had good weather for the entire show and took our time getting home, stopping to visit with Jeff and Cheryl and their big shepherd, Brenner, at Moir Park in Cranbrook. Got home just in time to unload the dogs and leave for Cowley to instruct Dog Obedience Classes. Whew..... no time to unwind, but what a weekend. The best picture of all, Mesa and all her loot, came today. Isn't it beautiful?

Cranbrook Dog Show Results

2010-08-30T21:07:00.003-06:00

What a weekend! Drummer the sheltie boy just a week over 8 months, finished his RN title 3/3 with 2/3 High in Class awards! So cute, too. Mesa picked up another RAE leg and two High in Class Excellent scores!

And Hunter, in tough competition, started his show career with Best of Winners and three points towards his Canadian Championship. Yippee!

And Token won the Veteran Class in the Fun Match over more than 15 entries. What a girl.

Bonus, too, for me to come home and find an invitation for Token to attend the Canadian National Herding Dog Trials in Niagara Falls in October. As I said, what a weekend!

Bucket List???

2010-08-22T12:53:00.003-06:00

We went to the Pincher Creek Fair Days Parade and stayed longer than we thought

we would. Token did NOT want to stay home and when we returned, her bucket

was overturned and Shar thought she should fill it. OMG! Doesn't Token look like

she's smiling??? Evil munchkin.

Scent hurdle

2010-08-22T09:35:00.004-06:00

If you have a dog that gets along with other dogs and is a fetching fool, we would love to have you join

us for scent hurdle. This game involves a team of four dogs, who run a relay race over four jumps to a

box that holds one scent dumbbell from each dog. The objective is for each dog to travel down the

line of jumps to find its own dumbbell and then retrieve it from the box of four over the jumps and back

to its owner. The event is timed and each team races against another team.

CKC registered dogs can join a CKC team, but unregistered dogs are welcome to join our demo teams.

We practice at the Cowley Hall in Cowley, Alberta, but can also travel to other areas to work as well.

Email shadowbr@telusplanet.net if you think you and your dog would enjoy the sport.

Also keep in mind that we have a tracking team which welcomes new members. We work once or twice a

week in almost all kinds of weather.

Summer at Last

2010-08-19T09:54:00.002-06:00

What a day today! Sunshine burning down. A true summer's day. Time to hit the river this afternoon with the gang.

Congratulations to Sharlet and Ryder who now have their Rally AE - II title. They have done a wonderful job. I do believe they are the first SAWHDA members to get the title.

Our obedience class which runs Sept. 13th at 6:30 p.m., has nine students registered. Room for another.

Two instructors to give everyone the individual attention needed.

Email shadowbr@telusplanet.net to register.

We track Tuesday evenings is anyone is interested in joining the group. It isn't easy to track on your own, and not

nearly as much fun, either.

Off to Cranbrook at the end of the month to do some conformation and rally. And see many friends we don't get a chance to see.

My Old Friend

2010-08-15T19:32:00.002-06:00

Ch. Grosshimel's Oncechanznamillion CD SHDCh HIC

My Old Friend

Today I said Goodbye to my old friend

I pray someday we get to meet again

Under one more clear blue sky

Up where the eagles fly.

And we'll go walking in the sunshine

With a big smile on our face.

Race the river to the ocean

Go splashing in the waves

And I'll wrap my arms around you

We'll be together once again

And I'll tell you how much I've missed you...

My Old Friend

Yeah, I know you're up there lookin' down

On that rainbow bridge that we talked about

There's a place for me and you

Somewhere up behind the moon

And we'll go walking in the sunshine

With a big smile on our face.

Race the river to the ocean

Go splashing in the waves

And I'll wrap my arms around you

We'll be together once again

And I'll tell you how much I've missed you...

My Old Friend

I will miss you forever.....Judi

Tracking, anyone?

2010-08-12T13:52:00.002-06:00

For those interested, Bogdan Gorny is offering a Tracking Seminar August 20, 21, & 22nd at his training facility in Kipp, near Lethbridge, Alberta. The course is for Beginner and Advanced Dogs and will cover classroom material Friday with field work Saturday and Sunday. The cost for the course is $150.00 for dog/handler teams and $100 for handler without dogs.

To register, call 5403 381 8305 or 403 394 9526.

Back to Reality

2010-08-08T11:18:00.006-06:00

Home again after a wonderful weekend at AKC. Thank you to everyone who made my judging assignment a breeze. I had a great time. What a club. The show was held at Spruce Meadows and the spirit of Spruce Meadows was carried throughout the weekend by the wonderful volunteer members of the Alberta Kennel Club. Token earned her Scent Hurdle Excellent Title thanks to our team members who display such patience with her. Thank you, thank you.

Our square dance number was very well-received and Donna and Epic were the greatest at the Disc Dog Freestyle demo.

And, thank you to Carol for offering her home to Token and me once more. This time, Token was much more fun with Hank and Emily than she was previously. And there was no Mesa to guard shoes.

Deb, I can't say thanks enough for looking after the kennel and our dogs and bringing me Token. Couldn't have happened without you.

Speaking of Deb, she, Shar, Cindy, Louann and I have been tracking once or twice a week and Deb's dog, Fyre, is a super star.

She loves the game, especially when there is a body at the end of the track.

Darryl has built the frame for a metal roof for dog run # two and it being next to dogrun # 1, makes the two of them look like a Spanish hacienda. My friend, Jackie, who trains all her dogs with Spanish commands says that the sign can say Meson de Mesa or Casa de Pastores, Home of the shepherds. I love it. Jackie is sending us a CD on 2 X 2 weaves. We'll work on them this fall/winter in the hall and come out with a vengeance for weaves in the spring. Yahooooooooo!

We are full at the kennel this weekend with 10 dogs in the kennel and two in the outdoor kennel runs as well. Keeps me running.

I have two older dogs staying with me this weekend and Kate, the 14 year old, is just a superdog! She is so much fun.

Avi, the older of the two avalanche rescue dogs staying here, is a member of the Fun Police. His job is to make Huck, his neighbor, grovel all day. Lucky for Huck, I can lock Avi in his own kennel and allow Huck to be the puppy.

Lexi, the Scottie, is back for some fitness training. Our Drummer Boy races her around up and down hills like a pro and she sleeps very well at night. Thanks, Drummy. Ashes, the Portuguese Water Dog is just a sweetie and gets along with everyone. She is so accepting of everything that goes on around her. I think it's due to a new baby girl in the family. Token, the cocker cross, is a great dog....... we board great dogs....... and of course her name is Token so that automatically gets her in the good books. Cooper, the great golden went home this morning and I always miss him. He is Mr. Congeniality around here; a wonderful representative of the golden retriever breed. Kimo, the biggest dog here, is happy to play 'kong' all day with me. He is my fitness program. Kuma and Koda, the Karelian Beardogs, a now yellowish white from rolling in the horse manure in the top pasture and I can't wait to see how many new trenches they have dug. Mojo is finding out that five acres is a pretty huge area for a 10 inch tall dog with short legs to cover. What a crew! What a weekend.

Canada Day

2010-07-02T08:04:00.002-06:00

We had a great time at the Canada Day Parade in Coleman. Lots of fun and activities. Enjoyed the Cranbrook Girls Drum and Bugle Band performance the most. Came home for lunch with Lee, Hank, Darryl, Deb and Sharlet and did some scent hurdle practice. Played Mahjong for the evening. A great way to spend our National Day. Oh, yes. We received second place.

Poor Swayze

2010-06-29T11:25:00.004-06:00

Oh, horrible! Last week, Swayze and Shaggy, while zipping along at top speed, tore down a pathway that converged so that it could only fit one German shepherd. The German shepherd was NOT Swayze and he hit into the corner of the shed so hard that the pupil of his left eye reduced to the size of a pinhead. Severe concussion. A huge bruise on his lung. Right leg and front shoulder muscles impaired. Neck and vertebrae compressed. God!!!!
X-rays show that he has no breaks, but the dog will take weeks to come around. Even offering to pet him makes him cry. He is on heavy doses of pain-killers and is so sad.
10 seconds can change your life.

And, be careful what you wish. Shaggy Muffin is in season. Good thing because she'll be out when I leave for the AKC show and I won't have to worry. The four boys will be a bit bent, but they'll live.

I was practising with Token at scent hurdle the other day and was blowing the whistle before I sent her to the box to retrieve her dumbbell as she is terrified of the whistle. I had the sheltie pup tied to a post so he could watch and I put his little dumbell in the box alongside Token's.
He sometimes shows quite an interest in the dumbell and has fetched it for days but only on his own time and volition. Anyway, he was causing a ruckus and barking his head off while Token was running up and back with her dumbbell, so I unhooked him from the lead and he took off to the box, grabbed his dumbbell and raced back to us! I was sure it was a fluke so we did it again.
Same thing. Out to the box, grabbed the bell and zipped back.
Good time to stop and let it be.

Who knows? Maybe he'll enjoy scent hurdle.

We have a Tracking Seminar seminar set for July 10th. It will be held from 9:30 - 2:30 at the Cowley Hall in the a.m. and out on the ballfield in the p.m. Handlers can register online at shadowbr@telusplanet.net .

We hope to track once a week from that time on.

Monday nights are open for recreational agility (dog aerobics to some of us) from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. for a drop-in fee of $5.00 per evening. A good time to learn new equipment or practice runs. See you at Shadowbar.

Our next dog obedience class will begin after the July 18th weekend. Email us for information.

Today is the last day of school and the first day of my freestyle routine work for Token and me. I think I'll start the sheltie, too. Lots of work to be done in the next month.

Send positive energy to Swayze.

Judi

|:

2010-06-29T11:25:00.001-06:00

Two new Titles in one Weekend

2010-06-14T13:56:00.002-06:00

Two new titles in one week. Mesa, Token, and I attended a Lynn Leach herding dog clinic where, after two 1/2 days of working one dog one day and the other dog the next, we were faced with two days and four tries for each dog to get her Herding Started Title.

We were lucky to have a day to watch the Cardigan Corgi and Australian Cattle Dog Specialty herding which gave us all some insight into the various levels of competition from Herding Tested to Herding Advanced. Amazing work.

There were fifteen entries in the Started Level of Competition and Token's first run was very nice and pretty much controlled. We ended up qualifying with second place, 1/2 point of the High in Class, so I was very much encouraged as Token is a bit hard for me to control speed-wise. She lacks a 'steady' but actually gave me a steady and some good 'downs' as well. One qualifying 'leg' towards our HS.

Mesa qualified in third place right behind Token with a tidy run to gain her second leg towards her HS. What a girl.

In the afternoon, I missed seeing my sheep go through the free-standing Y-chute twice because I was looking at my dog instead of my sheep and so I called my run and just penned the sheep with a beautiful hold off the gate. Not one sheep dared come towards Token until the gate was opened. What an idiot! We would have had another qualifying score. The pressure was on. Only two tries left!

Mesa qualified again in the afternoon to be the first of the girls to get her Herding Started. I was soooo proud because Mesa is nine!!! The best part was that I sent her on an outrun from the top of the the arena and she didn't cut in or slice off a sheep but instead, brought them to me at a steady pace..... I was running to beat the clock, and she put them through two obstacles and penned them nicely without my direction. Point made. Duct tape for handler.

Sunday dawned early and Token, under a new judge, obtained her second qualifying score with a special judge's award and a third place finish. The award was to the most talented dog; the one the judge would want to take home with her. In Token's case, it was probably to save her from having to work with me.

Mesa Sue, thinking that she knew everything, was pushy and I had a hard time getting her to stop locking her eyes on the sheep, looking right through me. God. She wasn't sure she wanted to follow through with "That'll do" either.

But she qualified for her 'insurance' round and I was thankful.

Because both judges had told me to forget the down's and just work with out's, I went in with Token, determined to let her run and not to interfere much with her and in the end, she got her lowest score but her fastest time and a new Herding Started Title. The run was very fast and it felt like a Disney Ride from time to time. We got it done but it wasn't the neatest performance.

Still, I have to say that I was super proud of the dogs because we have NO SHEEP and we drive 1 1/2 hrs. for 1/2 hr. of lesson time and then have no opportunity to practice. So they really haven't had continuity in training and yet they still pulled it off. No wonder I own GSD's!!!

Hot Summer Days

2010-06-02T12:56:00.001-06:00

This excerpt was taken from the Alberta SPCA's e-newsletter Animal Connect. Believe it!!!

Judi

A Hot Summer Day and Dogs in the Car: A Deadly Combination

On a hot day the inside of a car can reach 51ºC in as little as 10 minutes! In this time a dog can suffer irreparable cerebral damage or possibly death. Opening the windows, parking in the shade or providing water does not help alleviate the extreme temperatures that your dog will experience if left in your car. This can cause heat exhaustion and eventually heat stroke in dogs after a very short period of time.

Possible symptoms of heat stroke include heavy panting, glazed eyes, dizziness, rapid pulse, excessive thirst, salivation, lack of appetite, weakness, muscle tremors, a deep red or purple tongue, and vomiting.

What can you do if your dog exhibits symptoms of heat stroke? If your dog becomes overheated move him to the shade and apply cool (not cold) water all over his body to reduce body temperature. Apply ice packs or cold towels to his head, neck and chest. Ensure he drinks small amounts of cool water or licks ice cubes. Take your dog to a veterinary clinic right away!

Class one agility obedience

2010-06-01T06:38:00.002-06:00

Fabulous classes last night at agility obedience. All dogs worked heeling both sides and tunnels both sides and began

weaves both sides! Dogs with worries forgot about what other dogs and other people were doing and played and munched up

treats and wagged their tails. Especially pleased with our two Humane Society dogs, Lucas and Bailey, who have been with their new owners less than a month and are so well-adjusted.

I think LB, the sheltie, is going to be super at it all. Loves treats, loves to run, and will run ahead and give distance to go to the target too. Can't wait until next week.

Judi

Herding

2010-05-23T21:30:00.002-06:00

A good day today for everyone. The shepherds, both Australian, German, and Belgian all did well. Token and Mesa had a good time. Never moved off the sheep nicely. Bonnie has the walk up pretty steady. The weather held and we didn't have rain. Cross your fingers for tomorrow.
Judi

Sheep weekend

2010-05-21T22:30:00.002-06:00

Well, here we are at Carol's hoping that the weather will hold for our sheep herding clinic at High River this weekend. I think I have packed every piece of footwear I own, extra socks, five kinds of coats, a toque, gloves, & my trusty Cat in the Hat hat. I have towels for the dogs and I am glad I brought the van so I can keep us all warm when we need it.
Must be up at 5:30 as usual so I can be on the road at 7:00 a.m. in order to be on site at 8:00.
I even remembered my sheep stick. A miracle. If it snows, I should look like the Michelin man on course. Wish us luck.
We have waited for this for months.

Medicine Hat Dog Show

2010-05-18T10:34:00.004-06:00

Wowee, everyone. We did so well this weekend at the Hat.

Shar showed Mesa and got three legs towards her RAE Title and three legs on her own dog, Ryder, towards his second RAE title! And in the Excellent class, she and Mesa scored 99/100 and Shar only got five nips throughout the course! Amazing! What a way to spend a birthday.

Bess gained another leg towards her RAE title with a 99/100 in her advanced class.

Mary Ellen showed Deb's shepherd, Walker, in conformation and took Best of Winners and Best of Opposite on Sunday for a point.

I showed Shaggy in the Bred By Class and then handed her off to handler, Larry Clark, who took Best of Breed each day with her as well as earning a Group 4 under Carol Graham and a Group 3 under Arley Hussin.

Bonus as Swayze completed his Rally Advanced title with 97/100 !!!

Thanks to Deb for taking care of The Place while we were gone, and to Steven and Sue Berner for their fantastic hospitality. Hope we can return the favor at Thunder in the Valley!

Ready for Summer Booking

2010-05-09T09:19:00.003-06:00

Professional Training by the week or month: Board included. Positive Results.

Now accepting new clients for summer 2010

Check Calendar for open dates.

Super dog

2010-04-23T08:03:00.002-06:00

Wow! What a great day for herding. Louann worked Token and had her settled down and moving the sheep easily within a minute. She couldn't put much pressure on her though as Token knows that she can remove herself from the situation and come over to the fence to me. Louann says she listens better to me so next Thursday it's up to me to step out of the box and work with her myself. I hope Louann can take her in and out of the pen with the sheep.
Mesa was superb yesterday. She was in work mode from the beginning and was gathering her sheep from a good distance, guaging her sheep and moving fluidly in response to the handler's body language. She took sheep in and out of the pen without incident and Louann makes it look so easy. My turn to work Mesa came and she was simply terrific. We moved sheep through panels quietly and smoothly and she gave me the confidence to let her gather her sheep without feeling the need to push her off. I loved it. I loved it. She loved it. We can hardly wait for Thursday.
We'll get four more lessons in before the long weekend in May when we attend the Vickland clinic at Phantomridge.
This is just the best spring.

Ouch!!

2010-04-20T19:26:00.003-06:00

Oh, ouch, ouch, ouch! My shoulder still hurts after almost a week! What a freak accident, anyway. My husband says that some people will go to extreme lengths to get out of splitting wood. What started out as a great lesson with Mesa herding turned into stupidity. Mesa pushed the sheep up to me and these sheep, being Velcro sheep, stuck together..... I mean STUCK together and pushed into me en masse (tight bunch). I was doing great and thought I could just ride it out by grabbing a sheep on either side as they went past, and it was a great idea until one of the damn dorpers stepped on my foot and wouldn't go past while the others pushed into me. I tried to pull my foot out from under the sheep and when it unstepped (is that a word) I came loose like a torpedo and spun forward onto the ground. It wasn't a hard hit, but I stuck out my arm to break the fall and wrenched my shoulder!

I thought I was okay and finished the lesson, which turned out great in the end with Mesa reading her stock well and moving them through panels very nicely and giving me the space I needed so that I didn't end up in another crush. The drive home was super painful and ended with me using one hand. Deb drove me to the hospital. Thankfully, after an X-ray, I got the good news that neither my shoulder blade or collar bone were broken and that only my AC muscle was sprained. I celebrated!!!! On good drugs, that is. And my neighbor helped Darryl split logs. Today, I have most of my range of movement back, but I am still really deeply sore. If it rains Thursday, I am not slipping around in sheep shit and carrying a mucky, stinky dog back home. But if the sun is out, I am game!!!! L'il Bo Peep, look out!!

Drummer, our sheltie puppy, is beginning to pay good attention in spite of distraction. What a smart cookie.

AKC Dog Show

2010-02-08T21:27:00.003-07:00

Shadowbar's Slow Dance, CGN, RN,

gaining his Pre-Novice Title

Shadowbar's Shezallthat Best of Winners

Best of Breed

Shadowbar's Slow Hand Winner's Dog

handled by Mary Ellen Whyte,

owned by Jodi Moodie

Last week, Shar and I packed up four dogs and their show gear and headed to Calgary for the Alberta Kennel Club Dog Show. Shar had Ryder entered in Rally Advanced and Excellent B classes in an attempt to glean the coveted RAE Title.

I had Mo and Shaggy Muffin entered in Conformation, in the Canadian Bred Class and the Bred by Exhibitor Class. Swayze was entered in Obedience with the idea being that he would emerge from the weekend with his third title, the Pre-novice obedience title. Token was entered in Scent Hurdle racing for the first time ever.

We stayed at the Blackfoot Inn and actually were bumped up into a non-smoking room without the usual $30.00 cleaning fee added on to the regular cost of the room. What a bonus for us!

Friday was wonderful. Swayze and I passed our obedience exercises and Shaggy Muffin went Best of Breed! What a rush!

Deb joined us sick as a dog with a cough that resonated right up from her toes. Yecht!!!!

Shar and I sprayed our throats and prayed, especially me, because I leave for Cuba this week and don't want to be sick. To top it off, didn't Shaggy Muffin decide to come into season when she is not due until March??? Of course. What a pain.

Saturday was another good day. Again the obedience dogs did us proud and Shaggy Muffin went Best of Winners for two points.

Sunday was, once again, a great day with the obedience dogs passing yet again, and in conformation, Mo taking Winners Dog for a point. Shaggy was out of the ribbons. Conformation classes are so fickle. I must state here that losing 12 pounds has made a huge difference in my ability to run around the conformation ring. I had no trouble racing around and was not a bit out of breath. What an encouraging moment.

Token was just happy that she had survived the scent hurdle, and the dreaded whissssssstle! Darn thing. Whodoknown that Token would be so sound sensitive. She had to race two days and every heat because we only had four dogs. It was really hard on her and she did not enjoy one second of it.

I was happy to get her home to the motel where she rebounded immediately and became Token once more. We shall start over at home with NO whistle and just Token and her dumbell. We'll keep you up to date on that one.

We drove home on roads obscured in fog which was so heavy that we missed our turn-off and ended up at the junction of 22 & 3, whereupon we turned around and headed back up the road more carefully. It was hard to get up for school today.

The dogs will get a well-deserved lay-off for a week or so. I wonder what they will do.

Recalls

2009-10-27T13:51:00.004-06:00

This shows how nice it is to involve another dog when teaching the reliable recall. Atlas,the young Karelian beardog, was not coming to his owner on the first call, especially when provided with a high-value distraction so when he stayed with me for boarding, I took the opportunity to make it happen. A working beardog, which is what Atlas is, really needs a reliable recall. You can see how easy it was. I just set it up so that it was easy for Atlas to do the right thing. The point is that one has to be somewhat interesting in order for the dog to pay attention to him. Actually, it pays to be way more interesting than what is going on in the environment because once the dog is off lead, you have very little say as to whether or not he comes to you. It helped me to have RoZe along so that Atlas had to hurry to me in order to get his pat or treat before RoZe got there. Competition is great!

It also helps to move quickly when you are working with a dog in heel position and to keep the sessions smooth and easy for the dog to accomplish so that you can reward him for being in position. It is called "choose to heel" and works really well in this case. I was especially excited to see the two dogs trying out for the position together. It doesn't get any better than that. Click/treat.

Fun while there's sun

2009-10-06T19:00:00.003-06:00

No snow today although the wind was pretty tough this afternoon. If every day was like this evening, it would be perfect. No wind,

light jacket needed, no snow, no wet. Perfect. And Yukon, the Berner, thought so, too. He was such a nut, racing up and down in the run, chasing back and forth along the fence terrorizing the old Golden, Abby. The shepherds took their turns in the top pasture, fetching and playing and racing around. Wet and cold expected for the next few days so we play on the good days. Hot tub and a glass of white wine to end the evening.

Who could want for more?

Just like I said, cold and wet. What started as rain has turned to sleet and now snow. Yecht!

Conformation checkdog

2009-09-28T06:41:00.005-06:00

Mary Ellen came over yesterday to do the adult check on our dogs. We took turns running them and stacking them, fairly successfully considering they haven't been worked with much in stacking. In the end, Mo and Shaggy will be the dogs

shown this fall.

Below are some pics of the gang. The dark dogs are Mo and Shaggy. The black and tans are Walker and Hunter, who still hasn't grown into his body. He'll go herding.

If you are wondering where Swayze was, he is working on his rally and search and doesn't have time at this point to do much else at this point. And Fyre is going to stick with Rally O and tracking.

What a beautiful day for it all.

AKC Dog Show Fun

2009-08-07T09:44:00.003-06:00

Ta Da!!! We are home, safe and sound. And what a weekend. Weather-wise it was unbelievable! Ten minutes from a clear blue sky to an angry purple cover accompanied by winds that tore down canopies and ripped tents from their pegs and deposited them in ponds. An agility wall left the ring to sit near the road.

The outhouses....... well the saying - - - - happens couldn't have been truer. They were tipped over in a heartbeat. Token felt the storm coming before it hit and we started limping our way back to the trailer and arrived just in time to save Sharlet from turning into Mary Poppins. She was trying to hold on to the canopy which was, in turn, trying to fly away. I yelled at her to let it go, but when she said she thought it would hit the truck, I yelled back. "Well, hang on!"

We managed to rip the cover from the frame, but in the end, all that was left was a bent and tangles mess. Thank goodness Jack and Denise showed up in time to do the fastest awning retraction ever. In the aftermath, people checked their neighbors to make sure that no one was injured. We turned the van and the truck bed into Hostels for the rest of the weekend as some of the agility people and their dogs were tentless. Good thing they decided to take us up on the offer, too, as another storm hit at 2:12 a.m. and brought with it a lightning and rain storm that was scary, scary, scary. Token and Swayze tucked in with me and Mesa and Ryder hopped in with Shar and we were actually surprised at how

calm they all remained as the trailer was hit again and again by gusts of wind and the thunder shook the ground.

It's amazing how a Tim Horton's X-tra double double can make things feel better. Thank you to Hank and Lee!!! The twisted frame of the canopy joined others as the clean-up crews folded and piled them higher and higher upon retrieval from the various sites. And through it all, the show went on. It was hard for many of us who spent our days in the obedience and rally tent because we just kept expecting Michelle Simpson to materialize any minute. I think when I signed the catalogue that was set aside for MIchelle's family, the terrible reality hit home and I had some difficult moments all day.

Our dogs did well. The Rally ring was 'hot' with high scores and new titles accumulating time and again. Here are some of the accomplishments that our members and dogs attained over the weekend.

Bess Golden Retriever Owned by Lee & Hank Hargreaves New CD and New RE Titles (97) (2nd in class)

Mesa GSD Handled by Judith Snowdon 4th place in RA (already titled RE)

Token GSD Handled by Judith Snowdon New RE title High in Class (98)

Swayze GSD Handled by Judith Snowdon New RN title High in Class (99)

Ryder GSD Handled by Sharlet Caroe 2 "Q's" in RE (already titled RE)

Ryder & Mesa GSD's Handled by Judi and Shar 2 'Q's in Brace Obedience 1 High in Class

Tripping out

2009-07-28T12:09:00.003-06:00

Alberta Kennel Club Dog Show looms. Dogs are not all ready, but they could surprise me and do a great job in spite of a lack of training. They have come through before. I really have not spent enough time with Swayze taking him to various venues and he will most likely be pretty overwhelmed by everything around him. Token and Mesa will be fine, as will Bess. I have four dogs entered in standard and rally obedience, with three of them in the same class, back to back. I am hoping that I can find someone to move their position so that I have a spacer in between to give me a bit of warm-up time.

Shar is even crazier than I am. She entered Rally and Agility and put Ryder and Mesa in Brace obedience. What a nut, eh?

I am paranoid about the trailer. I have both batteries charged and a solar backup. Thank goodness for generators. We had a lightening strike and the GFI breaker kicked out and I lost

food from the fridge, of course. Darn. We have had three - five interruptions of electricity per day for the last few days. The problem started back in April. Once or twice week. Then more. And now, it borders the ridiculous. I have kept the times and dates of the power outages. I phoned Fortis yesterday and spoke with a very nice lady who, I am certain, thought she was talking to a walking time bomb. Turns out that I need to phone Fortis every time the power goes out, and they will record the info for me. No, they won't take the info I already have. I have to start all over!!! Oh, and because the technician said they are still monitoring the problem, I thought I should ask what that entailed. It means that whenever the power goes out and is reported, they can go out and search for the weak link. As long as the power remains out, they have a chance of finding the cause of the problem. In our case, the power doesn't stay off. It goes off and then comes right back on. Just long enough to cause everything digital to need resetting. We have already purchased two new Star Choice receivers because of this and I am frustrated to the max about this. If the power has to stay off in order to track the problem, these guys will be tracking for the rest of their lives!! We are doomed, darnit! Doomed!!!

Wind, solar, and geothermal power is starting to look very economical at this point. These 'bumps' in energy could be very costly appliance-wise if they keep up.

We never had this problem in the early years of living here. When the power went off, it stayed off, and it had a good reason for being off, like a horrible snowstorm, or the like. Thank goodness, our end of the electric circuit is not the cause of the problem, although that might have been simpler.

Enough crabbing.

I need to top off the water tank and take some fresh water for the dogs and us to drink. I hate tank water, even for coffee. It's great to wash in, but that's about it. I have my set-up list....... the same one Mike made for Louanne. It involves a lot of really good advice.

Oh, myGod! Can you believe it? I spilled coffee on the Imac computer keyboard and ruined it. Now I need to make a trip to London Drugs to buy a new one. Jeez, already.

One wonderful thing about this week was that Skyline Trailers got my truck cap on and so now the dogs have a safe place to ride. I cannot believe that I, however, have shrunk so much over the past few years. I can't even reach the back window hatch to close it unless I stand on the trailer hitch. I bought the cutest gadget to help me with that. It's a retractable awning pull. Works really well. Now I need to look on the internet and buy a ramp that fits a truck bumper so the dogs, even the oldest ones, can enter and exit without jumping. If anyone knows someone who has such a thing and is prepared to part with it, please let me know.

Mary Ellen and her office crew had the best entertainment last week as I tried to convince Swayze that if he put his front feet on the tailgate, I would lift up his back end and hoost him into the truckbed. Oh, sure. I'd get his feet on the tailgate and as soon as I would reach for his back end, he's drop flat on the ground. It got worse. Pretty soon, he'd drop to the ground and roll over. Then, he wouldn't put his feet on the tailgate. So I'd put his feet on the tailgate and die with laughter as he slowly sank out of view with his head underneath the tailgate and his front feet held securely onto the gate by me. Oh, jeez. Finally, I jumped into the truck bed and gave a
tug on the leash and ordered the dog to 'get in here, already.... you..................." In he jumped!
Out came Mary Ellen, her sides almost splitting with laughter.

We are taking a holiday this year. We are going to Prince George to visit friends, Heather and Bob Alderson, and spend time in their part of the woods. A trip to Barkerville is in the plans.
Sounds appropriate for someone who is travelling with two dogs, no? They are even going fishing with us to Stewart Lake. I can just see Token on the 'barge'. She loves water but has never been on a boat. She hasn't even ridden on the back of an airmattress, like Rose did for years. Must remedy that! Tom will help drive.

We are going to visit a training centre and book some time for some practice for Token away from home. Should be fun. Tom can visit with the owner's shelties while we work. Then, it's off to Castlegar where Darryl and Sharlet will do a switcharoo with Shar showing up on Friday with three dogs for me to show, and Darryl going on home to help Deb with the kennel.

Well, must run. Choices to make here. Color my hair or race to Lethbridge for a keyboard(providing there is gas available at our stations as there was none yesterday when I had to travel to Calgary to pick Deb up from the airport. Good thing Fort Macleod had some.

Take care. Safe trip to all of you going on holidays or travelling to the Alberta Kennel Club Show.

Check out our set-up at the Terry Trailer with the green yard gate and cute sign. Shar and I booked two spaces so our dogs could have a yard and we could have our van and tow vehicles stay on site for dogs to sleep in. Yay!!!! No dogs in the bed. No dog hair in the food. How strange will that be?

Talk soon,

Judi

Herding at High River

2009-07-19T14:16:00.004-06:00

Oh, boy,

What a great two days of herding for Token and Mesa at the Rottwieler Club of Canada Herding Trials at Phantomridge Farms, High River, Alberta, July 16 & 17th. Finished Token's Herding Tested title and got a "Q" of 85.5 with Mesa under Judge Shelley Fritzke. Not only that, but, thanks to the Rottweiler and Aussie Clubs, we received a beautiful Rosette and stock stick by placing High Scoring German shepherd! Better yet, we were 1/2 pt. off the High in Trial score! Yikes! That is scary stuff, considering who was working the dog. It felt really good seeing the girls work. I was most impressed with Mesa's pen work. She went in quietly and the sheep trotted calmly out of the pen and settled right away. I felt really confident working Mesa because she doesn't operate at the speed Token does and that gives me time to position myself better. But I gain more confidence when I can work Token and have her pass because she has more energy and she reads her stock better so she is often right when I am not. Probably always. Well, maybe not always, but most of the time, I think.

Sunday, Token didn't have to run because she had finished her title and I had hurt my knee while

taking the girls out for a run at 5:00 a.m. and was definitely not able to do any herding.

My Good Girls

Thankfully, the other competitors and neither judge had any problem letting Louanne work Mesa for me and she got our second score towards our Started title with 84.5 . As a matter of fact, Shelley, who has the highest scoring

German shepherd herding dog in Canada ever, volunteered to handle Mesa if Louanne was not allowed. Wow!

The entire two days was spent in the company of the best people and a variety of breeds of dogs. There were Aussies,

Rotties, German shepherds, Cardigan Corgi's, a smooth collie, a Shetland Sheepdog, and two border collies. It was so

neat to be able to watch the different styles. Even the upright breeds had different working techniques. What an impressive

group we all were!!!

And, bonus.......... Mesa and Token got along all weekend with no hair-raising experiences at all. Even rode home together in the extended-cab. Probably helped that Token spent her trip hiding on the floor and Mesa slept flat-out on the seat. Worked well for both of them.

Anyway, as soon as this knee thing goes away, I am off and running again! Whoa! Just remembered. I have Swayze entered in

Rally at AKC. Something tells me I should be working with him so that we don't look like ditzes. He works great at home.

Time to get out in public right away. But I'd rather be herding.

Judi

The Plan

2009-06-26T22:00:00.002-06:00

Four herding lessons done and what an improvement!! I am so much more relaxed with both Token and Mesa. And the dogs are more relaxed with me as well. I love it when a plan comes together. One more lesson (wish I could sneak a couple in) before the trials and Mesa hasn't worked in the large arena yet. But I think she can do it. I need to practice taking the sheep out of the pen before then; that's for sure. And I need a plan for moving the sheep through the obstacles without me going first. A steep learning curve for Mesa and for me. Thank goodness Louann will be home to guide me through this.

She and Jenny are off to do some competing themselves on an all girl holiday. Hope they have lots of laughs and some fine wins, too.

The kennel is full of very nice dogs. I love that. At Elite Boarding we are adamant that dogs need to be nice to stay here and it pays off for all the dogs. If we do happen to get a grump, it is easy to give it some space and a quiet corner run where it can relax without the play going on all around it. The wading pool is up and so far the only one to use it is my old dog Buschman, who plops down in it and stays there for a minute or two to cool down on a hot day. School is over for the summer and so I get to stay home and play with the dogs. What a treat.

Our entries have been accepted by AKC so we need to step up the program. There is a pups in the park day on Sunday at Henderson Lake Park and I think I will take Mesa, Token, Shaggy, and one of the boys to join the action. Tomorrow I am moving more pea gravel into the outdoor runs . And I suppose I will need to rescue the flowers from the weeds in their beds, too. For now, I will go and put the kennel dogs to bed and bring my own hooligans into the house for the night. Five o'clock comes early.

Talk later.

Judi

Cart Before Horse

2009-06-13T14:25:00.001-06:00

SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2009

Lesson on Monday!

I am soooo excited. On Monday, Token, Mesa and I head for High River for our herding lessons! I have waited so long for this. As usual, I have done everything backwards and have taken the chance (Gwen says I'll do fine) and entered both dogs in the herding trials in July at Okotoks. Yikes! Better get with the program and begin training. And why not just enter Token in Open obedience this summer as well? Oh, heck, why not Hunter? He needs some training and really should get off the farm now that the bionic boy is back on his feet once more; for how long we do not know. And what about Token's RE title? Should finish that off, too. And so, now that we have entered, why not go a step further and actually train the dog? Thank gosh for talented dogs to begin with. Oh, my! I forgot about BESS! We need to finish Bess's CD and her Rally Excellent and go on with some Open, methinks. Good thing I found my brain at that point and decided to forgo the trip to Great Falls and Missoula to do obedience and rally there. Maybe I'll actually have some money left to fill the diesel!!!

So out comes the logbook and the daily progress reports (or not) will be entered faithfully as I move along the road to competition.

Wish me luck.

Judi

sheepherding

2009-05-16T10:54:00.002-06:00

If anyone of you gets to take a clinic from John Carter, do it! I just attended a two day clinic at Foss and Jen's and it was super. Highs and lows but all the dogs / handlers showed improvement right away. And anyone who can go through an entire day with four sheep and not have the sheep stressed at all, is pretty experienced. I got to watch a Greater Swiss Mt. Dog work and she was really good. She got more and more turned on by the movement of the sheep and more and more focused. And.... bonus... my dog didn't injure any sheep but did grip more than a few times.

According to David Spence, we have two good days of weather before it turns cold and messy again, so this weekend will be dedicated to graveling runs and digging up flowerbeds. And cleaning out the garage and organizing the agility shed, and trying to repair the soft crate that has holes in it, and making a new cover for each of my cloth broad jumps. And working with the dogs.

Better get at it.

Judi

2009-04-29T23:07:00.002-06:00

Lazy Days

The past week has been a lazy one for training here at Shadowbar. The dogs are all recuperating from the Red Deer

experience and I have had a dental implant which is a bit of a pain. The only thing we have done that was fun was to

travel to Fernie to show off our carting dogs to friends and to visit Denise and her dobes. While there, I purchased some

soft crates and we got to watch Jagged run agility. Gorgeous.

Getting ready for new class sessions here at Shadowbar starting May 7th and May 11th so things will be hectic soon enough.

I get to go to Rocky Mt. House for herding May 8th. Don't know which dog is going just yet.

The PIncher Creek SPCA annual Dog Walk takes place May 9th. We are fortunate enough to have Jennifer Tomlin's trick

dogs come to entertain the walkers while they have their lunch. Looks to be a good time for all.

Our SAWHDA campout is the weekend after the long weekend and we will be treated to beardog work on Sunday afternoon!

Tomorrow I travel to Fort Macleod for a work session with Learning Support teachers. May take Token for company on the drive.

She goes everywhere with me anyway and she doesn't mind waiting in the vehicle while I work.

Spring has finally sprung.... crocuses, yellow bells and roosterheads in the pasture.

Judi

Rally Rocks!

2009-04-06T19:49:00.004-06:00

No one has seen so many German shepherds in a performance event like Rally O in Alberta!!! And we almost owned the Rally Ring this weekend. Deb's dog, Walker, was the dog of the weekend completing his Nov. B Rally Degree in three trials with two second place and one third place win and scores of 92, 96, & 98! What a team.

Swayze gained two legs out of two tries towards his Nov. B title with a third place win and a score of 96.

Shar and Ryder finished their Rally Excellent B title with a fourth place and a score of 98!

Mesa was the coolest! She got her Rally Excellent B title 3/3 tries with a High In Class score of 91 from Judge Rod Beaudry who doesn't give away free marks. Mesa has never failed a rally class.

Token, unfortunately, cannot say the same. She has to put up with me as a handler and although I am crisp and precise with my other dogs's handling, somehow, I just expect Token to know what to do on her own through osmosis. I blew her perfect 100 score on Saturday by giving her the wrong signal to jump and then, on Sunday, I gave her what I thought was a signal to move over to the left when we were leaving from the stand/down exercise and she interpreted the signal as a 'lift' into a sit and although I moved quickly to repair the damage, it was not quick enough to escape Rod Beaudry's pencil. Drat. As the judge said, "You have a couple of 100 dogs if you handle them well." How true. The crowd loved the performance and not realizing that I had lost 10 points for the exercise, clapped and cheered for us when we finished the course as though the performance was perfect.

Bess, my friend, Lee's golden retriever, was, indeed golden, giving me a High in Class performance from Advanced Rally B to gain that title and then going on to the Excellent B class and grabbing two legs from there. One to go and we are done!

Easter is finally here and although I am so disappointed that the herding fun match had to be rescheduled ( to a time in May when I am unable to attend), Donna McLaughlin has saved the day and invited Token and me (poor Token) to a freestyle gathering in Coalhurst Easter Monday. Here's hoping we can resurrect some moves and put a performance together for Pet Expo next weekend. No pressure.

May the Easter bunny be kind to everyone and may God Bless.

Club does well on all counts

2009-03-17T13:08:00.002-06:00

Great turnout for Rally and Obedience at the Cowley Hall last weekend! Members from Calgary, Claresholm, Lethbridge and Kimberley as well as a good contingent of local talent ran through everything from Rally to Obedience and Conformation as well as socialization of pups and old-timers alike. Emily, Carol Solkshinitz's new Bernese puppy made her debut and captured everyone's heart. What a beautiful little girl. Hunter, the bionic GSD, made a visit and showed that he is, indeed, a superman! When people tell me that they don't think pups under four months should be doing obedience, I have proof that this is not so and that time is not wasted when obedience is introduced to young pups before 16 weeks of age. Hunter has spent 8 months of his 22 month age in a 4 ft. X 4 ft. covered puppy pen when he wasn't on a six-foot lead to do bathroom duty. Yet he came out to the hall and did a wonderful job of focused heeling complete with left and right pivots and circles and finishes. This couldn't have been achieved had he not had previous exposure to obedience. Lucky me. He is a very large dog.

Our APDT Rally group came home with qualifying scores & fourth place, (Russell and Mojo) a title in Level 1 with High Scoring Mixed Breed (Shirley & Krissy) and a title in Level 2 (Denise and Jagged) Four High in Trial Awards (Denise, Viper, and Jagged) and an award for the Fastest Duo, (Denise and Jagged).

What a bunch!

Judi

All work and no play

2009-03-07T20:54:00.002-07:00

I absolutely so hate doing 'the books', especially when I leave it until the twelfth hour to do data entry. And so I have been plodding along with it and trying to balance three careers, none of which includes accountant. It has come down to the crunch and luckily for me, Deb volunteered to help this weekend. Boo hoo. No herding. No dogsledding. Instead........... the books. Doom. I have to tell ya, the very word, reconcile, brings panic to my mind. I'd rather no think about it. And who in the world ever thought Quick books was quick. One mistake and it's fifteen minutes to backtrack! I hate it! Because before one ever reaches the point of 'reconciliation", one has to have all the 'info' and receipts to back up the info entered. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Anyway, by 3 a.m. both Deb and I had endured all we could take. It was the tax prep marathon of the century. I fell into bed and could not believe it when the dogs woke me at 7:00 a.m. I NEVER sleep until 7:00 a.m. My God, half the day is over by 7:00 a.m.! I hit the deck running and had everyone fed ,exercised, and rekenneled by 8:00. Made pancakes for breakfast as a reward and also as a soother because I couldn't go herding and then started on 'the books' again. Things look vastly different when one is operating on four hours of sleep. The entire day was an exercise in giddiness, but we are armed and dangerous eight hours later and ready to input the last of the data into the computer, back it up on a floppy, and present it to the 'accountant' for approval in the next couple of weeks. I deserve a medal, I tell you, for being able to sit still this long. It's a miracle. If I had wanted to be able to sit still for this long, I would have taken meditation classes instead of dog classes. Deb deserves a medal for being so patient and having such a great sense of humor through the entire two days of torture. I think a mammogram is less painful than this! So, tomorrow, NO tax prep. NONE! I quit. Instead, I will work on a plot which will enable me to stay overnight next Thursday at Fort Macleod and work at the feedlot on Friday morning with Token alongside Chris and Marshall. Tomorrow I will practice Rally with Token, Mesa and Swayze and will let Atlas play with RoZe in the pasture. Tomorrow............ NO BOOKS.
Later,
Judi

New CD's High in Class

2009-03-02T19:12:00.002-07:00

I am absolutely beat! This weekend, Shar, Lee, Hank and I headed for the Big Four Building to try to gain titles for our dogs in Novice Obedience. What a good weekend. Saturday morning,Bess go ther first leg towards her CD degree with a score over 190 and High in Class. In the afternoon, Ryder got his CD with High in Class and a score over 190!!. RoZe finished her CD, too, with 186, which is great for RoZe. :) Bess would have had High in Class over some very tough company, Kathy Stoner and her lab, but she blew her sits and downs. Rats. But Sunday morning, we got another leg towards a CD with scores over 190 so two down, one to go.

Today, was the pits!!! I took the day off work to do books and spent the entire day doing flood control. My arms and wrists and back are sooooooooooo darn sore I could cry. Typing this is an effort. I don't even know how I will manage to stay awake until 11:00 to put all the dogs in their kennels for the night. Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Oh, our club got an invitation to Pet Expo in Calgary in April. Free booth for two demos per day. If there is anyone who is willing to take this on in any way, please, please, let me know. We can most likely pay for a room at the Days Inn if needed. It would be great for the club.

Judi

Mats

2009-02-24T09:07:00.002-07:00

Hi, Everybody,

Just have to share the news that our club SAWHDA now has enough new rubber matting to fully mat our Cowley Hall facility. So now, any CKC club

that wants to host Rally O can use our club facility to do it. We have a fabulous hall and lots of parking space, too. Watch for seminars coming up in the near future.

We are going to Calgary for the dog show. My stomach has butterflies. Why? I am showing RoZe. I never know exactly what to expect on any given moment of any given day with this crazy girl, so it will be an adventure. A pass would be nice. Bess is even more of an adventure. Oh, well, people will certainly remember me. And I do like adventure!

Token is making great gains towards her Open and Utility and should be ready for her first Open try in Red Deer. Then I'll reassess and go from there.

She is putting 2 and 2 together on her Open course but we haven't done much in Utility except work the go back, the stand, and the dumbbells. Should be ready to get at it by June. So nice not to have to worry about her coming into season. Yes!!

Our Karelian Beardog Team will be hosting a Cougar Awareness day in the near future where people will be given a chance to hear what they should do when they encounter one of these big cats (many of which are munching dogs and cats in the Burmis Flats area) and to find out if their dog would protect them in the face of such an encounter. Cost and dates to follow soon.

Judi

On the road again

2009-02-12T07:51:00.000-07:00

What is this? The forecast is screaming for snow for the next four days. Must be my fault. I am heading for Calgary for the Sportsman Show as part of the Alberta Karelian Beardog Team and will help man the Bearsmart/Beardog booths with John and Kirk. Was looking through old training videos of the dogs when they first arrived in Alberta and it was interesting to say the least. How far they've come!Given the proper funding, they could really make a difference in the way wildlife is managed here in the province. I'd like to see a proactive approach as right now, it seems that the only thing we've done proactively is the train the Rocky Mt. Bighorns to stay away from the road in the stretch of Highway between Frank and Coleman. What we can do is way more!! The kennel is full this weekend and Deb will be run off her feet keeping all the boarding dogs plus our 8 dogs busy, busy. Two dogs are in season so that adds to the mix. Token is babysitting KohlB, an Aussie, and they are getting along pretty well. They absolutely shredded their cardboard outdoor sleeping mats yesterday ! Filled the black garbage back with the ruins! Thank gosh Chris came by and ran the two of them in the upper pasture for 1/2 hour. What a couple of monsters.Classes in Fort Macleod are going very well. What a super crew! Tonight we'll play some games and start rally O with them. They already have started heeling and they know how to sit and lie down, so it's perfect!!I'm doing this from work so I will sign off for now and talk later. Get out the shovels. Yecht!

TGIF

2009-01-16T15:21:00.003-07:00

I love Fridays. I love Fridays so much that at one time I even named my dog Friday. Even if I didn't work Monday to Friday, I'd still love Fridays. And this week in particular I am glad it's Friday. Wednesday I took Token into Fort Macleod to be spayed. Left at 7:00 in a complete blanket of fog all the way to the east side of Brocket. No scenery. Cold. Miserable. Foreboding. By the time I got home and drove to Coleman to work there was a message for me saying that Token had come out of surgery just fine. Whew.

As many of you know, Token is very high on the scale of 'Roses' here at Shadowbar so anything involving surgery is scary, scary.

Yesterday we drove to Fort Macleod to pick up Token. Happy, happy. Both of us. Drove home in terrible wind. Turned off Hwy 3 onto 22 and ........ no wind. Happy, happy. Until about 5:00 this morning. What a wind. Ridiculous. Hard to believe. And now?

Sunshine and not a breeze. The wind must be trying to circumvent the world. I hope it takes more than a couple of days to get back.

Token, of course went to school with me. No strenuous exercise for two weeks for Token so why not live under the computer desk? She's doing great right now. Same place, under the computer desk. Just a different venue. I am so glad I made the choice to have her spayed. Now, there is nothing to stop us from attending any event.

Doing loads of 'dial-a-dog' training right now. People are beginning to recognize how much freedom a dog can gain in a couple of lessons with this method and how positive it is for owner and dog. I work the response remote and the owner praises and rewards the dog.

Check the video of the golden retriever who came to the kennel dragging his owner across the grounds and went home heeling quietly at her side, waiting to get into the vehicle, NOT jumping out of the vehicle and coming when called. Two five minute lessons. One happy owner. One happy, educated dog.

We are resurrecting our canine drill, We Are One, from the Lion King. Tuesday evening at dog club we began the routine.

It was fun and the golden retriever was able to take part on a loose lead with no issues! Bonus!

News came from Portland where Tubby is competing at the Newfie Specialty with three of his dogs. Lexi qualified in High Score in the Rally Excellent Class. Simon qualified for his first leg of his US CDX with a High Score in Class. He also took High Score in Rally Advanced and finished his US RA degree. Michelle shopped!!!

Keep May 22-24th open if you aren't agilitying somewhere and plan to join us for our SAWHDA camp-out at Syncline Group Camp near West Castle. We are planning some really enjoyable events for people and for pooches, too. New members are welcome so please invite friends! We will have the area from 2:oo p.m. on Friday until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. Cost will be divided between all campers and must be prepaid, so let us know if you intend to join us. The more, the merrier.

Enjoy the weekend. See some of you Sunday at the celebration.

New matting has been ordered for SAWHDA use. Should be in soon. We are building a locked compound in which to keep them at the Hall.

Talk later. Enjoy the weekend.

Judi

No School Today

2009-01-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

No School Today!!! At 6:10 this morning, I started the van and tried to back up from my parking space beside the house. Oops. No control.

None. Nada. Kaput. Ice. Oh, boy, ice! Fancy driving saved the garage door and the covered dog run. I drove towards the pasture and backed up at a 'run'. Yes. Noooooo! Narrowly missed the front of the new kennel. Next question. Shall we endeavor to go down the driveway? "No, stupid. Of course not," said the rather rude guardian angel, but then, who was I to argue? Ended up phoning the school and explaining that I would be doing the afternoon shift. "Please cancel all meetings." No need. The school was closed. The buses could not negotiate the route. Ice. Rain. So today will be spent doing flood control in hopes that the wind will continue to blow and will dry up the water as it forms.

I am so thankful that Darryl used the front end loader and removed snow from the corral and the parking lot. Horses are safe for footing.

We, on the other hand, are not. Hunter has no idea that ice could possibly change his way of travel. This is NOT the day to wear gumboots when I'm on the other end of a six foot lead with a 85 pound dog with no brain. I think I'll stay inside until the ice melts. Put on another pot of coffee and work on Saturday's Rally O course until Darryl and the tractor have scraped the steep part of the driveway.

Talk later.

The saddest day

2008-09-03T16:31:00.000-06:00

Pres is gone. The vets made a valiant effort to save him, but he just couldn't rebound. His kidneys failed him in the end. Those of you who know me understand how much I love my dogs.... but those of you who TRULY know me know that my cats are everything to me. Our house is maintained mostly for the comfort of the cats. People who train here know full well that dogs that don't get along with cats must be kept under complete control at all times because the cats are sacred.

We work with cats on the computer and they sleep on the furniture and sometimes with the guests. They are admired for their grace, beauty and absolute conviction that everything should revolve around their immediate needs. Pres was the cat that came in from the cold. As a young tom, he wandered into the neighbor's yard and lived outside in their tack shed. When they had to move to the coast, there was nowhere for Pres to go, so we began the task of moving him to our barn. We kept him in a covered dog run until we thought he'd stick around. He lived in the barn and Darryl 'tamed' him so that he would put up with us being around him. At the time, we still believed in inside cats going outside (bad idea) so the window to the porch was always open. After spending an entire winter alone in our barn, at Easter time he made his move. I came home from school to find this huge lump of a cat sitting in the porch with three very bewildered cats surrounding him.

He never went out again. He was Mr. Mom to the tiny barn kittens Deb & I snatched up from the barn and continued to champion their cause for ten years. He would bunt our hands and arms with his head to ask us to scratch his head over and over and over. He was the king of cats but as gentle as could be. He followed me everywhere. He was famous for his wondrous ability to ask, "What now?"

More importantly, he was MY CAT and that made him even more special than all the other cats. I went to sleep every night to the sound of his purring. I will not have another cat. It is far to hard to part with them. They leave their footprints on our hearts.