K9 Kindergarten

This is Calli enjoying a sunrise earlier this week. She loves to sit and watch the birds and squirrels in the trees. I only had my cell phone close to hand so its not as sharp a picture as I would like.... but I got the shot! She and I were up early as she couldn't sleep due to the bright daylight at 5:30 am, so she whimpers and whines. (Yes, her kennel was covered.) Calli is apparently an early riser. Others here, not so much!

So we have moved her kennel into a corner in our bedroom where roll-down blinds darken the room and  keep the sun at bay a bit longer. Presto! No more morning whine!  That's as close as she will come to our bed as I don't hold with animals sleeping on human beds. You only have to find one tick on your dog to understand the why-not's!

That just leaves the one remaining issue of being 'testy' around other dogs and we've been working on that. We just had our third session at the Intermediate classes at Petsmart. She is good with the basic training and so looks like an ace in the class with the younger dogs. We're there because of the other dogs.. she needs to be around other friendlies so to show her that not every dog wants to charge and challenge her.
So, first up, my apologies for the fuzzy pictures but the session can get to be be crazy with 4 dogs, well, doing a dog pile! None of the subjects stand still for long and you need 4 pairs of hands at times, so perhaps I can get better shots another class.

This little cutie is Hayden (aka Romeo) who has decided that Calli is the love of his life and dances all around her. He's a miniature Schnauzer and must weigh 7 or 8 pounds tops and she weighs 50.

I'm surprised that this picture looks as good as it does and both of them move at lightning speed playing!

This is Baby and she's a St. Bernard and only 7 months old. She weighs 70 pounds. Her companion is Junior and he's also 7 months old but weighs a lot more. I didn't get a shot of him but he looks almost identical to Baby but a bit larger. They move S.L.O.W.L.Y and only do a command if there is a treat at the end of it. They play too but they tend to wait until Hayden and Calli are tuckered out and tired. A successful training moment from Baby and Junior get a round of applause! They have their own personal ramp to get in and out of the car!

It appears that simple repetition and consistency with commands and routine is winning the battle and its been easier of late to get what we ask of Calli each day.  When it comes to 'other strange dogs' she still acts up (and sometimes even starts the fight) and so we have an electronic collar for when she lunges and barks. That's the only time we use it and it's a matter of  precise timing. (As one trainer said, its the dogs across the street that needs it... I thought the owner might like one too!  :)

Spring is in full swing here and we are doing a bit of yard clean up. Seems some critter chewed through the lawnmower cables so its gone to the shop for a tune up and repairs!  Bruce's tractor got stuck mid field and sat for a few days until he rounded up some scrap lumber to  use to get out of the muck. During this time in the field he found a lone small white rabbit tail and so it seems that little Peter was caught by a cat or coyote.

It's sad but Nature is a revolving cycle of life and death. The fiddle heads are up again..... and the trillium has bloomed again. I can't reach it to take a picture since the deck staircase was moved and maybe that's a good thing. It will last longer that way if it is left alone. I can see the white blossoms from the kitchen window and that's good enough for me.

On the fibre front: I have wound and beamed a warp on the Louet and will share more on this next post. I have been weaving on the towel warp and I think it will be far more interesting for you to see a finished project as they all look the same on the loom. I must admit that I don't get much time on either loom due to a variety of reasons, including back pain on occasion. I did get my CAT scan done this week after 4 months of waiting. We have been wading through documents for annual tax time and such. We also have continued viewings of our place, so housework is almost a daily thing. Then we are searching for a new home to go to and that has meant some re-examination of our wish list and our reasons for staying local or moving a bit further afield. Discussions happen daily but we seem to have found a happy balance and narrowed our search as of today.

So with so many stressful things going on, sometimes you can indulge in a nap.

or just plain old relax!

Clearly life is good!