Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Extreme Makeover, Part II
Rex has learned to do the teeter now.
His first session at full height:
And here's his next few sessions:
His first sequences with the teeter, weaves and jumps.
And from yesterday, more sequencing. He's such a fun little guy to train. Can't wait to run him in a trial! But first, I guess we should learn the rest of the equipment. :-)
His first session at full height:
And here's his next few sessions:
His first sequences with the teeter, weaves and jumps.
And from yesterday, more sequencing. He's such a fun little guy to train. Can't wait to run him in a trial! But first, I guess we should learn the rest of the equipment. :-)
Sunday, September 26, 2010
All hail, the champions!
Congratulations to Patrick Shanahan and Riggs, the 2010 USBCHA National Champions. This proves that nice guys CAN finish first.
Although I like to think I taught him everything he knows about double-lifts. :-)
Although I like to think I taught him everything he knows about double-lifts. :-)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Extreme Makeover - Sheep Dog Edition
Hello. Rex the Dog here. You may know me from such hits as
Walking Gigantic Sheep Through Grass
or maybe you've seen me in Soaking in Tub Softly
How about my performance in Splendour in the Grass?
Well, I've embarked on a second career. Don't worry, I'm still doing the sheepie thing. But I'm also learning this new thing called agility. It's like doggy obstacle course. She Who Blows the Whistle gives me wieners and tells me I'm clever, so I like agility. To date, I've learned to jump the hurdles and to weave the poles.
At first, I just walked through a set of poles.
Then there were more poles.
And the wieners just kept coming!
Before I knew it, I was doing the weave pole shuffle, which makes She Who Whistles and Yells very happy.
Suddenly, there were a LOT of poles out there. Still, the wieners kept coming so I kept weaving.
Even in the rain, we practiced, which is weird because She normally does not let us outside when it rains.
So after a couple of weeks of training (though not every day, because She is too lazy/disorganized), I am now weaving 12 poles.
Apparently, I am going to learn to tip a teeter-totter next. Wick tells me I'm gonna get spray cheez, so I'm quite keen to get started!
But again, don't worry, my heart still belongs to the sheep. This is just a hobby, and a really good way to earn wieners!
Walking Gigantic Sheep Through Grass
or maybe you've seen me in Soaking in Tub Softly
How about my performance in Splendour in the Grass?
Well, I've embarked on a second career. Don't worry, I'm still doing the sheepie thing. But I'm also learning this new thing called agility. It's like doggy obstacle course. She Who Blows the Whistle gives me wieners and tells me I'm clever, so I like agility. To date, I've learned to jump the hurdles and to weave the poles.
At first, I just walked through a set of poles.
Then there were more poles.
And the wieners just kept coming!
Before I knew it, I was doing the weave pole shuffle, which makes She Who Whistles and Yells very happy.
Suddenly, there were a LOT of poles out there. Still, the wieners kept coming so I kept weaving.
Even in the rain, we practiced, which is weird because She normally does not let us outside when it rains.
So after a couple of weeks of training (though not every day, because She is too lazy/disorganized), I am now weaving 12 poles.
Apparently, I am going to learn to tip a teeter-totter next. Wick tells me I'm gonna get spray cheez, so I'm quite keen to get started!
But again, don't worry, my heart still belongs to the sheep. This is just a hobby, and a really good way to earn wieners!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Wick at the AAC Nationals
I've got some candid photos from our road trip, but this video summarizes how much fun we had in Calgary.
Thanks, Wick, for the wild ride. My life would suck without you.
Wick at the AAC Nationals from Kristi Oikawa on Vimeo.
Thanks, Wick, for the wild ride. My life would suck without you.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
USBCHA Finals - Webcast
The 2010 USBCHA Finals will be webcast live and FREE! Click on the poster below for more info.
From the Nationals website: For the first time ever, the USBCHA National Sheepdog Finals will be offered as a live streaming broadcast over the Internet. We will film and stream all of the semi-final runs on Saturday (40 runs) and all of Sunday's 17 runs in the double-lift finals. This web cast will be live, unedited, complete, and FREE. We hope you'll join us as we bring our sheepdog trials into the Web 2.0 age. Our partner in this endeavor is 5:00 Films, and we're delighted with them so far.
From the Nationals website: For the first time ever, the USBCHA National Sheepdog Finals will be offered as a live streaming broadcast over the Internet. We will film and stream all of the semi-final runs on Saturday (40 runs) and all of Sunday's 17 runs in the double-lift finals. This web cast will be live, unedited, complete, and FREE. We hope you'll join us as we bring our sheepdog trials into the Web 2.0 age. Our partner in this endeavor is 5:00 Films, and we're delighted with them so far.
Tuesday, August 03, 2010
Catching up from Calgary
Another very delinquent post! Here are some pics from the Hilltop field trial. How late am I in getting these pics up? Well, I'm getting ready to head back to Calgary for the agility nationals. I will probably post those pictures sometime around December.
If I get packed for Calgary in a timely manner, then I will upload the photos and video from the Calgary Stampede stockdog shootout thingy.
Anywho....
Annual "wide open spaces" shot. Isn't it a purty field?
Not so purty were the Angry Ewes. "We are very angry. And we are going to take it out on your dog".
Louanne, the future is out there. :-)
I call this next series "Ladies Who Shed".
Louanne:
Chris:
Lee:
Lisa:
Shout out to Brother Nic!
Lou and I approach the post with some trepidation (and not a few bug bites):
Such ... big ... sheep ... (whimpers)
It was going pretty well until we lost them on the turn from the crossdrive panels.
That ain't right.
My heroes have always been cowboys. :-)
If I get packed for Calgary in a timely manner, then I will upload the photos and video from the Calgary Stampede stockdog shootout thingy.
Anywho....
Annual "wide open spaces" shot. Isn't it a purty field?
Not so purty were the Angry Ewes. "We are very angry. And we are going to take it out on your dog".
Louanne, the future is out there. :-)
I call this next series "Ladies Who Shed".
Louanne:
Chris:
Lee:
Lisa:
Shout out to Brother Nic!
Lou and I approach the post with some trepidation (and not a few bug bites):
Such ... big ... sheep ... (whimpers)
It was going pretty well until we lost them on the turn from the crossdrive panels.
That ain't right.
My heroes have always been cowboys. :-)
Monday, July 19, 2010
Run Wick Run!
I'm totally delinquent in putting these up but here are the photos of Wicky at the 2010 BC and Yukon Regional Championships. My little minx ran her heart out for me. She was competing as a 16" Vet for the first time (she's almost 10, I think) and she wasn't really sure why we were jumping such puny jumps. However, as she does at whatever height you jump her, she kept the bars up, made all her contacts, none of her gambles, and even managed to pick up a 2nd place in one of the Jumpers rounds. At the end of the event, she had about 405 points and is qualified for Nationals at Spruce Meadows.
Wick, you don't get enough training time, you don't get to trial enough, and I'm sure that sitting in the van at sheep dog trials is getting really boring. I will regret not spending more time on you, because I will never have as talented an agility partner again. You rock.
All photos courtesy of Wild Hare Photography.
Wick says "Srsly, I'm jumping sheltie height here. And who are you calling old?!?"
Wick has always been very camera-aware.
After 9 years, she still rubs her hair off in the poles.
Go Wicky!
Pictures like this make me want to tape her ears so that they're pointy. :-)
Wick, you don't get enough training time, you don't get to trial enough, and I'm sure that sitting in the van at sheep dog trials is getting really boring. I will regret not spending more time on you, because I will never have as talented an agility partner again. You rock.
All photos courtesy of Wild Hare Photography.
Wick says "Srsly, I'm jumping sheltie height here. And who are you calling old?!?"
Wick has always been very camera-aware.
After 9 years, she still rubs her hair off in the poles.
Go Wicky!
Pictures like this make me want to tape her ears so that they're pointy. :-)
Monday, July 05, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Whidbey Island SDT
We went to the Whibey Island SDT on the weekend. What a glorious place! Gorgeous views, great sheep, and a lovely field. The shedding ring was on a raised plateau and mowed like a putting green.
Hello, girls!
Lou takes it in from the peanut gallery.
Lorne Landry's Cassie.
Brian Nelson's Pleat.
Little Lucy on Saturday.
Some kind of hawk:
Lou is overcome with drowsies.
Hello, girls!
Lou takes it in from the peanut gallery.
Lorne Landry's Cassie.
Brian Nelson's Pleat.
Little Lucy on Saturday.
Some kind of hawk:
Lou is overcome with drowsies.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Please...throw...da...ball
Wick isn't very subtle about what she wants. It kinda looks like she is about to burst into tears at the lack of ball throwing.
And yeah, that blurry tri-colour thing in the background is the Rexxon Valdez. It seems he infiltrates every photo that I take.
And yeah, that blurry tri-colour thing in the background is the Rexxon Valdez. It seems he infiltrates every photo that I take.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Patrick Shanahan Clinic - Coldstream, BC
We spent a great weekend in Coldstream, at a Patrick Shanahan clinic. The weather was fantastic, the field was out of this world, and a good time was had by all. If you have a chance to go to one of Patrick's clinics, I *highly* recommend you go. He has a way of making the things very clear, both to you and the dog, and he's pretty fun to boot.
On the first day and part of the second, we went over double-lifts. Then we each tried it, while the rest judged. It was interesting to see how different people took points for different things! Luckily, everyone was a good sport about it and no blood was shed.
As interesting is double-lifts are to do, they make for very dull photos. So instead, here are the usual "dog staring at stuff" pics.
Lee's Chica
Ruedi's Teak
Jennifer's Max
Ian's Imp Jo Jo
Holly's Rosie
And finally, Susan's puppy, True, who is True-ly lovely.
On the first day and part of the second, we went over double-lifts. Then we each tried it, while the rest judged. It was interesting to see how different people took points for different things! Luckily, everyone was a good sport about it and no blood was shed.
As interesting is double-lifts are to do, they make for very dull photos. So instead, here are the usual "dog staring at stuff" pics.
Lee's Chica
Ruedi's Teak
Jennifer's Max
Ian's Imp Jo Jo
Holly's Rosie
And finally, Susan's puppy, True, who is True-ly lovely.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)