The Queen

It feels like a Leeloo day today. We went to the beach and the dogs had a marvelous time. Over the course of next few days I'll cover just how much fun the beach was. Right now it's Sunday night and the dogs are comatose after their beach adventure. We were out for about an hour and that is about double our normal walk during the week so they are especially pooped.

Leeloo kept catching the scent of something on the wind, she was forever leaning into the smell to get a better handle on it. It took her a while before she dashed into the beach grass hunt down the source of the smell but a girl's willpower only gets her so far.

For now though she spent her time gazing about like the Queen of the Coastline, basking in the fading rays of sun and enjoying the change of scenery.

She certainly has come into her own, my little Bubbalicious. She is almost all grown up and these final days of transformation from a girl into a woman are something I am profoundly glad I can capture. Soon this time will be behind us and ahead we will be busy with puppies and doing grown up things. For now though I am taking every opportunity to hug and kiss my darling Toe-Toes.

A Christmas Story

I'm blogging this a day late because of my Blogger photo issue. Now that I've squared away enough photo storage to last about 40 years I can happily blog away and not worry about how many photos I am uploading.

So we took our annual Christmas photos after I assembled the Christmas tree and it was quite the torture session just as it has been in the past. This time I was not in the photo so there was no one to hold the dogs except threats. I think they came out rather well despite the almost countless permutations and arrangements. This was actually the very first photo I took and was probably the most successful.

Esme was 'helping' while I decorated, Can you tell? What red tinsel?

She was *so* good for her individual photos, she sat so pretty and would have gazed happily at a piece of food forever, this is probably what makes her such a great show dog!

Boy was good up until he got bored with the process. This be pre-boredom. Once he gets bored there is no getting his attention back, he just shuts down so you have to work fast if you want him looking interested and alert.

Another, clearer, photo of Esme. She was so cute!

Leeloo, like Esme, is very food motivated and would have stood and stared at food forever. She does insist on getting the food though. If you push it too far without actually giving her something she starts to get stubborn - I would too though right?

All the pretty lights with the pretty Leeloo. Her collar was so cute I left it on her for our walk.

And one of the cutest photos of the day. I wasn't sure it would work and I only got one photo but it came off pretty well. Happy Christmas everyone from me and the dogs!

Kill Bill (Squirrel)

I have been terribly remiss this week in updating the blog, I know it. Although, having Zero's Best of Breed win posted for a few days can't hurt right? I have been out most mornings this week for various reasons; dentist, taking Leeloo for her hip and elbow evaluations, and getting some errands done before work.

Last weekend we hit the beach for a walk and it was gorgeous out, I have photos but need to get work out some details with Blogger about how many photos I have on the site! Apparently I have reached my quota and I need to get more space ... how on earth would I live without photos on the blog?

In other news, Raimi almost ate his first squirrel the other day. The dogs found this squirrel in the trees and were following its progress through the branches. It stopped in a medium sized tree and I watched while it clung to a swaying branch (it was very windy) and stared down at Leeloo and Raimi who were manic about trying to climb the tree to get to it.

I decided, after a few minutes, that since I hadn't had my coffee yet we'd head home - plus it was a bit chilly and my toes were protesting. I knew they wouldn't just follow me, the squirrel was too tempting, so I approached the tree to put their leads on.

That's when all hell broke loose. Never mind that there are 200 pounds of dog under the tree trying to eat you, it's the person who is attempting to catch the dogs that sends the squirrel into a panic. As I approached the tree the squirrel shot through the branches away from me and of course the dogs followed it. So there's me, crashing through bushes trying to catch two manic dogs who are bound and determined to nab a squirrel who is moving like lightning through the canopy.

Did I mention it was windy? Because of the wind the squirrel had a couple close calls, tumbling down a couple feet and then catching itself just inches above where the dogs could reach. I tell you I was having a heart attack at the idea I was going to watch my dogs tear a tiny squirrel limb from limb. So, while finally grasping Leeloo's collar and attempting to stop her dragging me headfirst through the lower branches, the squirrel took the inevitable misstep and fell, literally, to Raimi's feet. Boy, never one to ignore a gift squirrel dropped in his mouth, grabbed it.

My repeated screaming of "NO! NO! NO!" probably sounded like I was being murdered in the woods but the effect on Raimi was to let the squirrel go and it shot back up into the tree. I glanced up and while it had some Boy Slime on its side where a tooth grasped it, I'm not sure if he actually did any damage. I was close enough to Raimi to get hold of his collar and I put their leads on to drag them away from the Kill Zone.

Since then I haven't seen a single squirrel on our walks, I'm hoping that means the squirrel learned its lesson and is staying out of sight(and told its friends to as well) and not that Raimi's attention was eventually fatal. There are several squirrels in the woods where we walk so the loss of one is not a tragedy, but I never take the dogs out intending for them to kill something. I love that they enjoy the hunt but knowing they would actually dispatch a living thing is an event best left to never. Or at least an event I do not witness.

The Gambler

Here are some photos of Zero from Eukanuba. Erin also sent me some video but because I am basically moving-picture impaired I cannot figure out how to link it to the site so photos will have to suffice. These photos are compliments of Tammy McGill of Ramnes Ridgebacks.

This is Zero free-stacking in the Best of Breed ring. Doesn't he look handsome?

And here he is again, showing off how well he knows his stuff. He's a super star show dog and a total natural - he loves the spot light and handles the stress of shows extremely well.

He also knows how to let off a bit of steam! He comes by his bounce honestly although Halo was never this happy about showing, she always took it so seriously. This is Zero in the Hound group ... nothing quite like comic relief!

And down to business for both Juliet and Zero. They work so hard together and make such a great team, and the effort has paid off. I just know there are great things for Zero around the corner, whatever they may be is still in the cards, but he is ready play the hand he is dealt.  

Winner Takes All

The Eukanuba Championship show is this weekend and it's kind of a big deal. It's generally considered a warm up to Westminster like the Golden Globes are the the warm up to The Oscars. The AKC/Eukanuba show is an invitational type thing where you have to meet certain criteria to qualify and only Champions compete. This is one of the only shows that offers large cash prizes for winning something. My mom flew there with a Puli because she entered a few years back and really enjoyed it and this year decided that although her dog may not be one of the top Pulis in the US, he loves to show and will get a huge kick out of the event. Pulis show later today and I know my mom is enjoying the CA weather!

Also, Zero is entered at Eukanuba, as always expertly handled by his psuedo-Mommy Juliet and Erin, his real Mommy, is along for the ride to cheer Zero on - I gather he also has a large entourage as well! The Eukanuba atmosphere is very similar to what he will experience at Westminster so this is a good test for him. The Ridgebacks were on yesterday afternoon and I was checking the Eukanuba website to see how our home boy did. Well, I didn't have to wait for the website to get updated, I got an ecstatic phone call from Erin to tell me how he fared against some of the best Ridgebacks in the country.

Zero won Best of Breed! Apparently he looked fabulous in the Hound group too but didn't get placed although not for want of a loud and raucous cheering section! In the new year the show will be aired and I'll keep an eye out for when that occurs so that you can mark your calendars.
So here's a glass raised to Team Zero which is comprised some of the most wonderful and dedicated dog people I have the privilege to know. This weekend we toast our Canadian boy who was offered a taste of the campaign trail in the spring and decided to eat the whole buffet.

Get Well Soon

 We finally went for a walk yesterday much to Leeloo and Esme's delight. Raimi wanted to go for a walk too obviously but it was the girls who were really full of beans. I had them on lead for a short way so that we could take a different path than usual and they pulled my along eager to be set loose. Once loose they took off and disappeared into the bushes.

They did come back when I called though and were very self-satisfied indeed. Leeloo in particular was pretty smug about being able to burn off a bunch of steam racing through the woods. She's a pretty happy camper now despite being on a limited diet and anti-biotics.

Raimi did have a race about but because he was much sicker than Leeloo he got tired sooner. I could definitely tell that toward the end of the walk they were slowing down quite a bit (except Esme of course), meandering along and stopping to sniff for longer periods. You can tell in this photo that Raimi's tummy is sucked in a bit more than usual, he lost 4 pounds in the week he was sick but he'll gain that back no problem given his ravenous appetite the past couple days!

Leeloo was on squirrel patrol as usual but was not so serious about it as on previous walks. I'm sure the squirrel appreciated the 4 days of no harassment by Ridgebacks while they were sick!

And Esme still doesn't know what all the fuss was about. I'd love to know how she managed to avoid this illness but we will never be able to find out. I am just eternally grateful that she did not get sick however it won't prevent her from getting the 'sick dog' bath this weekend once the house is bleached!

Resident Evil

Things are gradually returning to normal with ups and downs over the past day or two. While Raimi was on the mend and looking at me with Big Sad Eyes when I didn't put any more than a cup of rice and some hamburger in his dish, Leeloo was turning her nose up at any food and shivering on the couch. I had rather hoped she was over her little bout but she seemed to have taken a turn. I called the vet who recommended we put her on anti-biotics as a precaution. She threw up all her rice in the kitchen at 4am Monday night and although she ate a little Tuesday morning that she managed to keep down during the day, she wouldn't eat Tuesday evening. I decided not to force the issue and let her dictate the terms of consumption.

Today has seen a drastic turn-around in her and Raimi's out look on life. Apparently the time for food is NOW. Leeloo is up to no good and demanding attention and Raimi is all bounce and no brains again ... status quo for my home. They will stay on anti-biotics for the next ten days but it seems as though the storm has passed. This weekend will be fun and frolick while I wash and bleach everything in the house.

The vet is telling me that there are different strains supplied by vaccination companies based on the area you live. I'm not sure I entirely believe this so I'll be calling the vaccination company to get the real scoop.  If there are different strains out there which vary from region to region then what is the point of vaccinating at all? I had assumed, based on information supplied by and assurances from vaccination companies, that once you vaccinate and maintain the boosters, your dog will not get the diseases in the shot. In my lifetime immersed in dogs I have never heard of an adult vaccinated animal getting parvo but it seems to be a trend for 2010.

I have heard from other sources that skunks and raccoons also carry parvo and if that is the case the dogs almost certainly are not vaccinated against whatever strains the wildlife sheds. Who knows what kind of mutant parvo a raccoon might carry? This bout has me questioning both dog's auto-immune systems but this doesn't seem to be an actual immunity issue, it seems to be more of a "they don't have the vaccination against it so they got it" and each to varying degrees. Auto-immune has more to do with a dog's immune system turning on itself, is less about external influences and generally presents as things like allergies, arthritis, and skin and gastro issues. Clearly parvo falls under none of these.

Who knows how or why they got sick, the bottom line is that they are and I just need to support them as the disease progresses and is finally beaten. It's been a very tiring and trying time for us all ... except Esme who stubbornly refuses to get sick at all.