To Battle with the Garden Hose

The weather was really nice today, about 26C (78F) in the sun. So we took advantage of the weather and had a bit of a play time outside in the yard. Both boys LOVE fighting with the garden hose, so out it came. Gio prefers the nozzle attachment while Romeo prefers the oscillating ground thingy (yes, that is the technical term!).

Here's a fun (albeit poor quality) video of Romeo herding the water sprinkler.

The beast in action!



I then switched to the nozzle so that Gio could play his games.



Resulting in a very wet pooch.


Little prince charming doesn't like his face wet (just try to keep him away from water, though!), so insists on drying it off on anything handy. Today, some of the Cosmos in the flower bed seemed appropriate.


Nothing like a good shake.


Time for me to go inside and change into some dry clothes myself!

emo boy

This emo boy has the most awesome hair. Agree?

The Mighty Hunter

I feed my boys a raw diet based on the Prey Model feeding design (See links in the left hand column for information on a raw diet for dogs). In the search to expand the variety that I can feed them, it is possible for a raw diet to get expensive. As I am a grad student (ie. working on a limited budget), I strive to keep things as inexpensive as I can. It's pretty manageable, really. I average around $2/lb, and with the price of meat in this area, that is a lot higher than many other places in the world. Gio, my 40lb boy, eats about 1lb per day. Romeo, the light-weight at 15lb, eats about 1/4lb per day. So roughly $2.50 per day, give or take.

Part of my strategy to keep prices low is to take advantage of stores that offer discounts on meats that are approaching their "Best By" dates. There is an Extra Foods in my neighborhood that sticks wonderful little 50% off stickers on meat that is a day before their marked date. You've got to fight off all the other people, but by going to the store at just the right time on the right day, you can get away with a pretty good haul!

Today I was able to make off with 4 packs of turkey wings and 1 pack of boneless turkey thighs, all for half price. I also picked up two big packs of pork side ribs that were on sale. Yum Yum!

The boys LOVE shopping days ...

"Oooh! Ma got pressies for us!"

Look at all those wonderful pink stickers!

And the boys are always sure to "help" me package everything up for storing.

"Ma is a pretty good hunter. But we stick close by, just in case something tries to make a run for it!"

The finished product, ready for the freezer.


Unfortunately for the puppers, nothing tried to run away while I was bagging things up this time. Their guarding efforts were in vain. They may look sad now, but they will be eager to try, try again next shopping day!

"Quick, look sad. Maybe she will let us lick off the counter."

Friday Night Obedience Drop In

Every Friday evening we have a drop-in time at a local dog facility. A varied group of people show up sporadically and work on whatever they need to work on. With the SKOC trial coming up in a few weeks, I'm working the boys in CKC obedience and CKC Rally-O. Whatever we are working on, they are always excited!

"We're here! We're here! We're here!"

We started with some long sits ...


Then some long downs ...


Then I worked each of the boys individually on some obedience and rally tasks. I'm not yet talented enough to hold a clicker and treats, signal the dogs, and take a decent picture ... so you will have to use your imagination.

We always end with some play time. This week a fellow trainer was there with her husky cross, Addy. Addy is a real sweet-heart, and oh so keen, especially for Fishy Fudge treats! I love her expressive face, with the one floppy ear.


Romeo really likes Addy, and tries persistently to get her to play with him. But Addy wants none of that ... Shelties are too loud and barky for her. She's content just watching them run around like fools, and monopolizing the treat bag in their absence.

Gio's Ladies

It's Friday. And most Fridays that means that Gio goes off to visit his ladies. Gio is a therapy dog with St. John Ambulance (see the link in the right hand column for more info on the SJA therapy dog program) and visits a couple of nursing homes one Friday out of every month. Today was our monthly trip to Eamer Lodge.

"Come on, Ma! I can't keep my ladies waiting!"

"This way, I'll show you where!"

"To Irene's room! Irene gives good scratches."

"And then to Eileen's room."

"Eileen use to own and show Shelties. She knows exactly what we want ... food!"

Grooming Those Sheltie Feet

I have a bit of a pet peeve ... rogue toe hair! I LOVE the little cat-foot look on a Sheltie, and just cringe when I see the fly-away slipper feet. Not only is it not very attractive, but I worry that the overgrown hair on the bottom of the feet will not allow the dog to have proper traction for running around on smooth flooring.

So a great big "thank you" to Brenda for showing me how to trim those cute little cat feet!

I've had other people ask me how I keep the boy's feet looking so cute, so now I finally have a place to post the details!

I like to keep things cheap and simple. No fancy high priced tools for me. Here is the equipment you will need ...1) scruffy feet
2) a cheap battery operated razor (I use a lady's personal razor, $20 at your local drug store)
3) a small slicker brush
4) a small pair of blunt nosed scissors
5) a pair of thinning shears (You can get the professional ones for upwards of $100, or a cheap pair that works just as well for $15 from a drug store)

Step 1
I trim the hair on the bottom of the feet with the battery operated razor. Don't dig in between the toes as that can cause irritation. Just trim the hair even with the pads.


Step 2
With the slicker brush, brush the hair on the top of the paw backwards so that it stands up.


Step 3
With the thinning shears, trim the standing up hair short. Go slow until you get the hang of it as you can pinch the skin.


Step 4
With the blunt nosed scissors, trim the hair around the edge of the pads and the nails. I like to trim around the outside of the pads following the same curve that the pad makes. For the outside nails, trim the hair straight down towards the ground. For the middle toes, trim the hair straight across. The hair between the middle toes can be tricky to shape, so that might take some practice. I tend to trim it just slightly shorter than the hair surrounding the nail. That way the overall shape of the paw looks round instead of elongated.



The finished product! I find that once the dog is standing, things shift a bit so you may want to trim some fly-aways once they are standing, even out the edges, etc. In the below picture, the foot on the left is trimmed while the right is untrimmed. I keep their feet done up, trimming once a week, so the difference isn't all that noticeable.


The back feet are slightly more obvious.

Hobbit foot ...


Tidy foot ...



Other entries that I have written on how I groom my Shelties:
Grooming those Sheltie feet
Trimming Sheltie leg feathers and hocks
Trimming Sheltie ears
Homemade snood to prevent messy, broken hair

The Beginning

I'm just going to start this all off with some introductions.

About Me!

I'm a graduate student, nearing the end of her term, focusing on Holstein coat color genetics. I am fortunate enough to be working with a researcher that is just as much a "dog person" as I am. Much of her research focuses on dog coat color, a personal passion of mine, so when I am not working on my cattle project, I get to be right in the middle of the breaking research of dog genetics. I'm currently at the writing stage of my project, finishing up the final bits of my thesis. Soon, a date will be set for my defense, I will resume heavy drinking, probably cry a lot ... and then I will officially be a "big girl". Off to the world of employment after 22 years of school. I'm excited, scared, giddy, and in mourning all at the same time.

Outside of the lab, I am very involved in the local dog community. I have been involved in NAFA flyball since 2004. I began training with a local flyball club about a year later. Summer of 2006 I began my adventures with CARO Rally-O, tracking and therapy dog work. That led to CKC obedience and eventually CKC Rally-O. Winter 2007/08 I began training with a local kennel and obedience club, taking on some Beginner Rally-O classes and assisting with Novice and Advanced classes.

Now that is the end of the boring stuff ... on to the dogs!

About Gio!

Gio is a 6 year old, over-sized sable male Shetland Sheepdog. He was purchased by my parents from a back-yard breeder in 2002 and was given to me as a high school graduation present. I do not condone back-yard breeders ... but I wouldn't trade Gio for the world. He was dealt a difficult hand, dealing with structural issues in his back end and idiopathic epilepsy. Despite all this, he is an over-achiever and keener to the very end. He was my introduction to dog sports, beginning with flyball when he insisted that he really DID need a job. It was because of his health that he retired from flyball after only a couple of years. But he wanted to keep working, so we took on Rally-O, tracking and therapy dog work. He excelled, and continues to excel, at all of it. Breaking all molds and stretching all preconceived boundaries. He recently got his Performance Even Number (PEN) from CKC so will begin competing in CKC obedience and CKC Rally-O at the end of August 2008.

About Romeo!

Romeo is a 2 year old, tri-color male Shetland Sheepdog. He joined the family at the age of 9 months after not quite "measuring up" to be a show dog. But his breeder recognized his potential for performance sports and sought to find him a home that would take advantage of that potential. I was fortunate enough to pass the test and brought Romeo home in May 2007. He began training in flyball and Rally-O right away, competing in both by November of that year. Next was CKC obedience. He is currently training in agility and will begin competing in CKC Rally-O at the end of August 2008.