A slightly bouffant emo hair with side bangs that go across the forhead and are always parted to one side giving you a trendy yet elegant emo look. Popular colors for highlights currently tend to be blue, red and purple.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Adam Lambert for the win!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Back in the Swing of Things
I guess holidays are officially over. The boys' "dog stuff" is back in motion, after a couple weeks off.
Tonight there was a CKC Obedience fun match to support Italian Greyhound rescue with the Italian Greyhound Club of Canada. I took the boys with the intention of only running Gio in Novice. Gio needs one more Novice leg, and there is a trial in town at the end of February. We haven't done any "formal" obedience work since the last trial in September, so we were a little rusty. Gio still did very well (considering that he hasn't really found his feet yet after the introduction of his phenobarbital), and pulled off a 195.5/200 and High in Class! Since all the money raised was going to a good cause, I decided to throw Romeo into the Intermediate class as well. I had never seen Intermediate before, it is one of the new non-official classes that CKC has introduced and fits between Novice and Open. Considering that I had never seen Intermediate before, and some of the exercises Romeo had never tried before, he did really well, getting a 189.5/200. He just lost one or two points per exercise, except for the heel free portion where he lost 5.5. Those I am attributing to the fact that he was just SO FREAKIN' EXCITED to be back working, that the first half of the heel pattern he bounced along side me instead of walking and I needed a couple extra commands to remind him of what we were doing. Nothing major, and I'm certainly not going to fault him for his enthusiasm!
Gio just needs a bit more polish and he will be primed for the SKOC trial in February. If I can get Romeo cleaned up a bit, I might even enter him in Intermediate at the same trial. I was going to just skip all the non-official classes, but what the heck, why not!?
Tomorrow it is back to flyball, then Saturday Rally-O and agility. Things are finally getting back to our normal routine!
Tonight there was a CKC Obedience fun match to support Italian Greyhound rescue with the Italian Greyhound Club of Canada. I took the boys with the intention of only running Gio in Novice. Gio needs one more Novice leg, and there is a trial in town at the end of February. We haven't done any "formal" obedience work since the last trial in September, so we were a little rusty. Gio still did very well (considering that he hasn't really found his feet yet after the introduction of his phenobarbital), and pulled off a 195.5/200 and High in Class! Since all the money raised was going to a good cause, I decided to throw Romeo into the Intermediate class as well. I had never seen Intermediate before, it is one of the new non-official classes that CKC has introduced and fits between Novice and Open. Considering that I had never seen Intermediate before, and some of the exercises Romeo had never tried before, he did really well, getting a 189.5/200. He just lost one or two points per exercise, except for the heel free portion where he lost 5.5. Those I am attributing to the fact that he was just SO FREAKIN' EXCITED to be back working, that the first half of the heel pattern he bounced along side me instead of walking and I needed a couple extra commands to remind him of what we were doing. Nothing major, and I'm certainly not going to fault him for his enthusiasm!
Gio just needs a bit more polish and he will be primed for the SKOC trial in February. If I can get Romeo cleaned up a bit, I might even enter him in Intermediate at the same trial. I was going to just skip all the non-official classes, but what the heck, why not!?
Tomorrow it is back to flyball, then Saturday Rally-O and agility. Things are finally getting back to our normal routine!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Think happy thoughts ...
Today was just one of those days where it feels as if the whole world is out to get you.
Good thing I live with two puppers that are very good at providing comic relief.
Think happy thoughts ... think happy thoughts ... think happy thoughts ...
"MY toy. NOT gonna share."
"What snow?"
I've posted this one before, but it never fails to make me smile.
"I haz a happy!"
Good thing I live with two puppers that are very good at providing comic relief.
Think happy thoughts ... think happy thoughts ... think happy thoughts ...
"MY toy. NOT gonna share." 
"What snow?"I've posted this one before, but it never fails to make me smile.
"I haz a happy!"Sunday, January 4, 2009
"Cross Your Paws" & "Are You Sad?"
With the frigid weather, I'm trying to keep the boys busy indoors.
Romeo's list of "stupid dog tricks" is pretty pathetic, so I thought it was a good time to start on expanding a bit. We started working on "Cross your paws" and "Are you sad?". "Cross your paws" is coming along very well, the "sad" one is a work in progress.
How I teach "Cross your paws" ... (please excuse the scruffy paws, Romeo's toe-day is tomorrow)
1: Teach a "shake a paw" where the dog will place his paw in your offered hand.
2: Place the dog in a "down" and ask for the paw, only click/treat when they offer the paw while still laying down. Repeat ad nauseum.
3: Gradually begin to move your hand to the side so that the dog has to reach his offered paw over top of the paw still on the ground.
4: Eventually, you should be able to place your hand palm up on the ground on the opposite side of the still paw.
5: Once the dog is doing this step consistently, quickly move your hand out of the way as the dog offers the paw so that he places his paw on the ground instead of in your hand.
Gio already knows "Cross your paws" with the left over the right, so now we are working on right over left, which I am calling "Be a gentleman".
Both boys are also working on "Are you sad?". Gio already has this trick, I'm just working on cleaning it up as he's been getting a little sloppy lately. Romeo doesn't know this one at all yet, so it's right from step one for him.
How I train "Are you sad?" ...
1: Get a piece of tape (scotch, masking, electric, medical, etc.) and place it over the dog's muzzle so that it sticks a little bit to the fur and/or whiskers. Just enough to be irritating.
2: When the dog paws at the tape, click/treat. Repeat ad nauseum.
3: Once the dog is consistently and purposefully pawing at his nose, remove the tape and hope that he repeats the action. If so, click/treat, HUGE praise! If not, replace the tape, making it a smaller piece and not sticking it as much to the fur. Make the tape smaller and smaller so as to still illicit the response but gradually fading the tape away.
Romeo isn't consistent enough to get a good picture, so here is Gio with his cleaned up version. It can be done standing, sitting, or laying down. What works best for you will depend on your dog. With Gio's long legs, laying down or sitting seems easiest. With Romeo's wee little legs, standing seems easiest.
Romeo's list of "stupid dog tricks" is pretty pathetic, so I thought it was a good time to start on expanding a bit. We started working on "Cross your paws" and "Are you sad?". "Cross your paws" is coming along very well, the "sad" one is a work in progress.
How I teach "Cross your paws" ... (please excuse the scruffy paws, Romeo's toe-day is tomorrow)
1: Teach a "shake a paw" where the dog will place his paw in your offered hand.
2: Place the dog in a "down" and ask for the paw, only click/treat when they offer the paw while still laying down. Repeat ad nauseum.
3: Gradually begin to move your hand to the side so that the dog has to reach his offered paw over top of the paw still on the ground.
4: Eventually, you should be able to place your hand palm up on the ground on the opposite side of the still paw.
5: Once the dog is doing this step consistently, quickly move your hand out of the way as the dog offers the paw so that he places his paw on the ground instead of in your hand.
Gio already knows "Cross your paws" with the left over the right, so now we are working on right over left, which I am calling "Be a gentleman".
Both boys are also working on "Are you sad?". Gio already has this trick, I'm just working on cleaning it up as he's been getting a little sloppy lately. Romeo doesn't know this one at all yet, so it's right from step one for him.
How I train "Are you sad?" ...
1: Get a piece of tape (scotch, masking, electric, medical, etc.) and place it over the dog's muzzle so that it sticks a little bit to the fur and/or whiskers. Just enough to be irritating.
2: When the dog paws at the tape, click/treat. Repeat ad nauseum.
3: Once the dog is consistently and purposefully pawing at his nose, remove the tape and hope that he repeats the action. If so, click/treat, HUGE praise! If not, replace the tape, making it a smaller piece and not sticking it as much to the fur. Make the tape smaller and smaller so as to still illicit the response but gradually fading the tape away.
Romeo isn't consistent enough to get a good picture, so here is Gio with his cleaned up version. It can be done standing, sitting, or laying down. What works best for you will depend on your dog. With Gio's long legs, laying down or sitting seems easiest. With Romeo's wee little legs, standing seems easiest.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
... It makes you feel ALIVE! ...
Sure, only because dead things don't feel this kind of burn! You know, you aren't cold if you are still shivering. It's when your body stops shivering that you know you are cold. In this sort of weather, you don't even start to shiver. It's your body's way of telling you that no life was intended to survive in these temperatures, so why even bother? In this weather, you head straight to the burning, where every skin cell screams at the top of their lungs ... "DAMMIT WOMAN! What the hell are you doing to us!? Get your chubby butt back inside and turn on the space heater!"
But then I see the two fluffs, happy dancing by the door at the prospect of bull dozing through the snow drifts. And that makes me bundle up in layers, take one last deep breath of indoor air, and march out the door, cringing as the storm door slams back with a rattle ... yeah, even the metal springs that slowly ease the door closed give up their will to live in at this temperature.
We've spent much too long indoors, curled up doing "winter" activities like reading or blogging. The boys and I are getting stagnant and "poofy". Well, not Gio. Romeo and I are getting a little cushier around the middle, but Gio remains slim and trim. Must be due to his new thyroid meds. Maybe that's my problem ... I should get my thyroid checked. Yeah, thyroid, that must be it, couldn't possibly be all the cookies, candies, chips, and deep fried goodness that I've been indulging in. If my thyroid were working, my body should just shrug all of that off, right?
Ahem ... a girl can wish.
So out we go, into the -31C winter wonderland, with the razor-blade wind that makes it feel like -44C. SHITE!
Make it quick, boys. 
Lost ball #1.
Lost ball #2.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm looking for it. I am!"
"Found one!"
Sheltie Snow Plow.
Hey, with a nose that long, you've got to use it for something.
The result of the Sheltie Snow Plow.
Lost ball #3.
We gave up at that point. There is now a red rubber ball with a dead squeak in the front yard and a purple tennis ball in the back yard. We'll find them again in the spring and the boys will be thrilled with the "new" toys.
But then I see the two fluffs, happy dancing by the door at the prospect of bull dozing through the snow drifts. And that makes me bundle up in layers, take one last deep breath of indoor air, and march out the door, cringing as the storm door slams back with a rattle ... yeah, even the metal springs that slowly ease the door closed give up their will to live in at this temperature.
We've spent much too long indoors, curled up doing "winter" activities like reading or blogging. The boys and I are getting stagnant and "poofy". Well, not Gio. Romeo and I are getting a little cushier around the middle, but Gio remains slim and trim. Must be due to his new thyroid meds. Maybe that's my problem ... I should get my thyroid checked. Yeah, thyroid, that must be it, couldn't possibly be all the cookies, candies, chips, and deep fried goodness that I've been indulging in. If my thyroid were working, my body should just shrug all of that off, right?
Ahem ... a girl can wish.
So out we go, into the -31C winter wonderland, with the razor-blade wind that makes it feel like -44C. SHITE!
Make it quick, boys. 
Lost ball #1. 
Lost ball #2.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm looking for it. I am!"
"Found one!"
Sheltie Snow Plow. Hey, with a nose that long, you've got to use it for something.
The result of the Sheltie Snow Plow.
Lost ball #3.We gave up at that point. There is now a red rubber ball with a dead squeak in the front yard and a purple tennis ball in the back yard. We'll find them again in the spring and the boys will be thrilled with the "new" toys.
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