So, why'd we go to Dixon?

Fallon was our first puppy-in-training. She is a hearing dog in Eureka, CA and a real treasure. She was so fun to train and a great pup to have for our very first CCI dog. Fallon will be nine in August. Her parents are Marilyn (deceased) and DeParis, a graduate dog in the Northeast Region (she's 7/8 Golden). Fallon's partner, Barb, commissioned a painting of Fallon. The painter, Paula, didn't really think her first painting was as good as it should be, so she painted another and gave both to Barb. Barb wanted us to have the first painting, so today, I met Paula in Dixon where she was running her Jack Russell, Romeo, in the agility trials. What a wonderful gift from Barb and Dan!

Agility Anyone?

Today, Izzy and I went to Dixon, California (that's another story) to some agility trials. It was a pretty big affair with at least three rings going concurrently. I'm not very up on agility, but we sure enjoyed watching. Izzy was very intrigued by the vast array of dogs - big dogs, little dogs, noisy dogs and VERY noisy dogs.

This dog was fun to watch and there was one of those corded dogs named "Harry." I thought that was a very appropriate name. The Bearded Collie seemed to tell off his handler every time he made a wrong turn. Very funny!

I really enjoyed watching the Border Collies because they really seem to get the biggest thrill out of SPEED. Total speed demons!

When I saw Helen last week at CCI, she reminded me that I had purchased some agility things and I was forced to admit that I hadn't taken them out of the box. Today, I was motivated to come home and put these three things together. Halor was thrilled, Izzy was curious, and Piniella was border-line interested. The princess, Miss P, walked through the tire and over the jump ~ just because I asked her to.

Hallie really gets it!

Hal usually misses a pole or two - so we'll have to work on it until she gets too big to weave...

Dixon ~ Been There, Done That

Dixon (Terry x Halor - sole fluffy cross of the litter) entered Advanced Training in the North Central Region in February at a bit of an early age due to his puppy raisers' upcoming baby. As it turned out, Dawson (wow, another "D" baby!) was born 5 weeks early, so I think Cari and her husband really appreciated the extra time. Of course, Dixon liked it better on the farm so he thwarted the plan and found a way to get home in time for Dawson's arrival - smart boy! Wouldn't you prefer the farm to the kennel in Ohio?? I think he looks a lot like his mother...

Now, he just dreams of those fun times wearing his gentle leader and CCI cape.

Working Hard (or, hardly working)

Izzy probably has the best job in the world.... Snoozin' away (tho' she appears to be keeping one eye on me), flat on her back, surrounded by great toys. What a life!

About Doreen (aka Dory)

This is Doreen (aka Dory, daughter of Halor and Terry). Dory has decided to not matriculate into CCI's Advanced Training next weekend and instead has taken the "early out" program due to her extreme allergy to bee stings. Dory has been raised by and now lives with Lynn and Fred who are 3 time puppy raisers of "Daniel Dogs." They have raised several other successful pups but I tend to concentrate on the ones I really know. We had planned to travel to San Diego (and Oceanside) to see Dory matriculate, but since she is not, we are still planning to travel to San Diego to attend graduation - but we'll make it a fun-filled and exciting dog extravaganza. I'm pretty sure we'll be meeting up with famous blogger "Irish" too! Dory has been working very hard for the San Diego Police Department and the DA's office helping children who are victims or involved in heinous crimes. In this photo, Dory is in the children's waiting room at the courthouse. Lynn reports that she does her best work here.

Dory has become quite the model - as you can see, opting in at any opportunity to pose in a beautiful setting. Lynn reports that this was another of the freak snowstorms in the mountains about 30 minutes from her house (which is just east of San Diego).

Pictured here, are Naya (rhymes with Hey-a) and Dory in the snow. Naya is Natoma's sister from Piniella's third litter by Gibson. Naya was released for a congenital kidney condition but is doing beautifully in Lynn and Fred's care. Lynn and Fred also raised Elsey from Piniella's fifth litter by Terry - Elsey is a service dog in San Diego.

After her medical release, Dory plans to keep working for the police department and the DA's office. I believe she has become such an important part of the children's program that they don't want her to stay home from work. No early retirement for her! Rumor has it that she enjoys swimming, travel, and long walks on the beach in her spare time.

More from NWR May Graduation

On the Saturday morning of graduation/matriculation, I assist the photographer with taking the matriculating puppies' and their puppy raisers' photos. The photographer is terrific ~ very patient and good at what he does. My job is to position the dogs while he directs the people and takes the shots. While Ed and I were getting the official litter shot of the "D" pups - Dara's puppy raisers took this photo. Left to right are: Desi, Dara, Diora, and Durham.

Here is a family shot of the "D" litter with mom Halor and one of their two dads, Sequoia. Desi must have tired of the photo shoot since it looks like he was about to depart the photo! Left to right are: Halor, Desi, Dara, Diora, Durham, and Sequoia. The pups did pretty well, really - they aren't used to posing in group form - side by side, intact boys and girls next to intact boys and girls!

Dara's puppy raisers, Jason and Tanya, kindly sent these shots - this one is of Dara, Sequoia, and Durham. Dara, Durham, and Desi are Izzy's brothers and sister. In a totally unfortunate turn of events, Desi's puppy raiser was unable to attend graduation due to an injury. We sprung him from the kennel for official photos but didn't have much of a chance to visit with him.

Randy Randy IV

Halor

Randy IV

Now, tell me these aren't going to be GORGEOUS pups!

May graduation at NER

OK, so I'm a thief.... So many thanks go out to my CCI network - in this case, Sandy forwarded an email she got from Robin who was at the NER graduation over the weekend. I opened the Kodak gallery and what did I find? Photos of Davina and Dennis (for me to steal), two more pups from Halor's litter with Terrell and Sequoia. Dennis and Davina are Terrell's pups. Above is Dennis...

Here are Davina on the left and Dennis on the right.

This is cute little Davina. I hope these kids make us proud in Advanced Training.

May graduation

On Friday afternoon, we arrived at CCI to pick up Halor who had been sequestered in the kennel for the past three weeks. She seemed very happy to see us, but I think she had a great time with new boyfriend Randy IV. Halor and Randy are tentatively expecting puppies on July 9. Above, we have several beautiful Golden girls! Left to right are: Piniella, Halor, Dara, and Izzy. Petite little Dara entered advanced training on Saturday. She is about 17 months old and is such a cute little thing! We visited with Dara's puppy raisers, Jason and Tanya, and the girls got to play in the play yard.

On Friday night, there was the usual reception for everyone who is in town for graduation/matriculation. While us humans enjoyed the buffet, this gang was tethered and gathered a lot of attention. Clockwise from the top: Piniella, Izzy, Halor, and Kerinne's pup Solaris. He is not related to Piniella, but he sure looks like it!

I took this photo of Sequoia on Saturday after he had been playing ball in the play yard (hence the foaming mouth) or maybe it was all the pretty girls available to look at? Sequoia is the dad of Dara, Desi, and Durham - plus the entire "I" gang.

Here is a recent photo of Terrell, father to 7 of the 10 "D" pups. Terrell is known as Terry and has sired a bunch of puppies and has had lots of them graduate. His B/C, Linda, says he tends to take on this "pit-bull" pose whenever she is taking his picture. I think it is the weight of all those "#1 Dad" patches that he has to hold up off the ground!

This beautiful pup is Diora. She entered advanced training on Saturday also. Diora is one of the Terry puppies from Halor's "D" litter. She has the characteristic ridge down her nose and is a beautiful golden color. Note the white splotches on her chest and her light toes!

And this gorgeous gal is Helen - She is puppy raiser to both Halor and Diora. Hal can do so many cool things because Helen is such a great puppy raiser. She showed us how Halor can race through the weave poles, do the teeter-totter and the high balance beam. Then, Diora showed us that she can do all of the same things.


Here is Sandy's boy Durham. Durham entered advanced training on Saturday, but apparently had time to "smell the flowers" before he got there. Sandy put this photo in a thank-you card she took around to all of the places she and Durham frequented while he was a pup in training. He is one handsome boy - the current plan is that he will be in AT in the Southeast Region. I hope he enjoys Florida!

At the end of next week, I'm heading to San Diego with Kathy to attend the SWR graduation. I'm planning to hook up with Irish to see him for the first time since he moved south. I can't wait for that weekend!!

I got to see IRA and meet DARLENE!!!

Last week, I attended a conference in Atlanta - and it dawned on me about 4 days before I was supposed to go that Ira lived in or near Atlanta. I contacted his puppy raiser, Darlene, and she was willing to drive all the way into town to meet up with me. I was thrilled! My room was on the 35th floor of the Westin Peachtree Plaza. I think it was Ira's first time up in the sky looking down at the world. He appeared to be totally amazed... he kept looking out the window, then turning to us to see if he was really seeing what he thought he saw - then back out the window!

Ira is a beautiful boy - and a bit on the lighter weight side. He and Izzy are probably about the same height but he probably weighs a couple more pounds than Izzy. He has a very soft, fluffy and silky coat. He definitely has the look of all of the "I" pups that I've seen... I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Darlene - we had a terrific visit and I think we solved all the issues in the CCI world.

What a beautiful, happy boy!

Happy Belated Mother's Day

Happy Belated Mother's Day to Mama Halor. I hope Izzy took good care of you. Sorry I couldn't be there but I was thinking about you the WHOLE day. Hope I get to see you soon.
Your big boy Irish



S

Greetings from Irish

My sisters seem to be having way more fun than me. Perhaps I should consider finding a re-home where I can be close to them and get to go to all those fun beaches and farms. What is a cow anyways? We don't have those down here in San Diego but we have some pretty big bugs and lizards. I saw this lizard the other day that must have been 3 feet tall. Okay, it wasn't that big but I decided wherever he wanted to go, he was welcome. Fortunately he decided to move on and didn't come in the house. This weekend we went to Viejas Casino which is about an hour away from my house. We picked up my friend Stef who is going into advanced training later this month. We had a great time and worked on our commands a lot.

Here we are by the waterfall. Looks like your nature pictures doesn't it? Only its fake but hey, its all I've got for right now. We got pretty tired walking around so we decided to take a quick nap in a tent. See, we go camping here in San Diego. Okay so the tent was inside an Eddie Bauer store but at least we are trying.
After shopping we went inside the Casino. So many bells and noises but really whats the big deal. Nothing was flying around for me to catch so I could care less. I tried to play blackjack but the dealer said I wasn't old enough so we just went and had lunch instead. Since there was nothing better to do, I decided it was a good time to take a nap. A lot of people stopped by to say hi and I did my best to entertain them. The manager came up and said we were very good and were welcome anytime. Maybe I should talk to him about not being able to play blackjack. He might have some pull and could bend the rules. My winnings would help pay for kibble and toys and other things that I might need. I'd send some out to my brothers and sisters of course. What??? You don't think I would win??? Haven't you ever heard of the luck of the Irish???
So finally our day ended and it was time to go home. We couldn't resist taking one last picture.
Thats it for me. No beaches, no swimming, no gangs of roaming retrievers, no boat races but still an excellent weekend. Oh and did I mention puppy class got cancelled tonight so I was free to just be me.

Ingrid goes to the farm

Dear Mama Halor,

My PR's didn't want me to scare the cows when I went to visit the farm, so they dressed me up in my cow coat. One of the mama cows named "Whole Stream" (Holstein) thought I was a real calf and wanted me to drink some milk. I politely replied that I was too old to drink milk anymore, but if she had a milk bone I would be happy to chew it. Then she offered me some of her cud; I politely told her that us CCI dogs (I mean calves) were trained not to eat crud. I don't know why, but then she gave me kind of a funny look. All in all, it was a very happy time visiting the farm and talking to all the animals. I liked playing in the hay pile with the two farm dogs best, except it made me sneeze and itch. I was sooo tired that night.

Love,Ingrid

A little volunteer work on Sunday

Today, we (ha!) volunteered as a timer at the finish line for the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association (WIRA) championships. Our masters rowing team helps out at the big regattas held at our home facility, the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on beautiful Lake Natoma in Gold River, CA. One of us worked a lot harder than the other.

Izzy was pretty curious about the different boats going by - but she did great with all of the cheering, air horns and activity around her. She did get a look at her first geese today - eyeball to eyeball - those things are pretty big.

That is the actual finish line - if you line the plumb line up with the black line on the white rectangle across the lake. The big red buoys are to the left of the finish line - we couldn't get a photo of Izzy with a race going by - I think that could have altered the results!

A little fun after class

This is about the same photo brother Irish has on his blog - different dog, different toy, similar level of joy!

There is a large bay on the north side of Pt Reyes Station called Tomales Bay. You may have heard of it if you eat oysters - Tomales Bay oysters are pretty well known. Lucky for us there is a beautiful fenced park on the beach of Tomales Bay and the tide was in, so it wasn't a big mud flat, as it sometimes is.

Kathy and I carpooled to puppy class and we decided to grab a sandwich and let the kids blow off some steam before the long ride home. They had a ball (or should I say stick) swimming and playing.

Prairie and Izzy haven't spent that much time together, but they got along very well. Here they are practicing sharing toys - hopefully this skill will carry over into advanced training and neither will get booted for "guarding toys!"

Prairie spent time with Piniella, too. They seemed to like looking for the smelliest things on the beach!

We had to leave when this huge horde of well behaved, well socialized, multi-sized yellow and black dogs arrived on our beach. Everyone got along well, but it was time to go!

A whole lot of butt-sniffing going on here! We finished off our trip to Pt. Reyes with a stop at Domaine Carneros Champagne Cellars, then headed home.