It's Monday Already?

It was a big, and busy, weekend for the Horde.

Saturday was the CCWCC Specialty in West Friendship, MD.  Sam was entered as a veteran - his first time back in the ring in over 3 years.  He place 2nd in the 10+ year old class and had a BIG time doing it.  You would have thought it was his own, personal Mardi Gras parade.  The judge even commented that she wasn't sure he was in the right class because a dog that enthusiastic couldn't possible be a veteran.  We pulled from the regular veteran class though.  In between sweeps and the regular classes, Sam managed to back himself off the table, taking a pretty good tumble.  He's fine but, in the immediate aftermath his back was a little sore and I didn't want to aggravate that with getting on and off the table.

Then Moira got to visit with her sister, Scout.  It wasn't exactly a Southern girls sorority reunion - no screaming or crying.  Moira was much too worried about everything that was going on around her.  Scout was worried that Moira was going to try to take some of the things in her birthday gift basket.  We haven't downloaded pictures yet but you can see some at Janet's blog, Simple Things.

Bogey was along for the ride to the show too.  He had a great time too.  That little dog belies all the talk of Cardis having softer temperaments.  He's never met a stranger - in fact, I've decided that he is obnoxiously social.  He wants to meet everybody, whether it looks like they want to meet him or not.

Gin made a brief appearance at the show too.  She is basically a homebody and doesn't care for all the hoopla associated with dog shows but she did come out and got to see some old friends. 

Sunday, we loaded up the entire crew again and drove up to Burke Lake Park in Fairfax Station, VA.  If you are in the area, I would highly recommend this park.  It's huge with lots to do and dog friendly as well.  We were going up there to meet up with Christopher Briscoe.  Chris is a photographer from my hometown and he's brilliant.  I've had Chris shoot portraits of me twice - at 21 and 31 years old - and wanted another sitting but thought I would have to make a trip to Oregon to get it.  Imagine how thrilled I was to find out that he has clients on the East coast and flies out here regularly?  So, everyone piled into the Yawt early yesterday afternoon and we made the trip up north to meet Chris.  We spent about 2 hours in the park w/him shooting lots and lots of pictures.  The proofs should be available in 7-10 days.  I can't wait to see what he got.  We couldn't have asked for nicer weather (sunny, upper 60s) and the dogs were relatively well-behaved.

So now it's time to head into work for another week.  The Horde's next big adventure will only involve Bogey and Moira.  We're heading up to Ohio in 2 weeks for a weekend of herding with Dana Hasemeier.  It will be Bogey's first introduction to sheep.  There should be some interesting photo ops there......

Ch Sam ROMb

YAY!  I just checked the CWCCA website and Sam's name is listed under the ROMb stud dogs.  I've been watching his offspring/points for a couple of years, just waiting for him to break the magic point total.  Thanks to a couple of his offspring attaining their own ROM awards, he finally had the points he needed.  Oh, and did I mention he's also been tested normal (or as normal as Sam gets!) for DM.

We did toenails tonight in preparation for the show next weekend.  We all hate doing toenails but, it's a necessary evil.  We'll probably try to do them again one more time before Saturday....

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Let's Go to a Show!

The Chesapeake CWC Specialty is a week away and Sam is entered in both veteran sweeps and the regular classes.  It's been over 2 years since Sam has been in the breed ring.  I don't have any expectations, we are going to support the club and because Sam LOVES to go to dog shows.  He will bark his head off to let everyone know he's there, then nearly wag himself off the table.  For a dog that wasn't shown until he was over 7 years old, he sure does love the game.

Tonight I took Sam and Gin to our favorite DIY dog wash in Culpeper.  It's a wonderful set up - raised tubs, steps up to the tub, hydro-surge washing systems and even dryers!  Of course, I take my own shampoo and my own dryer; I want to use a particular shampoo on Sam's coat and my dryer has more horsepower :)  The prices are very reasonable and the allure of not having to clean up after myself makes the drive worthwhile.

Gin is typically a breeze to bathe.  She stares at me with deep, tortured eyes until all the wetting, lathering, rinsing and drying is done.  Tonight was no different and I had her bathed and dried in no time.

Sam, however, is blowing coat right now.  He's really blowing coat.  I mean REALLY.  I brushed him out on Sunday at got at least a plastic shopping bag full of undercoat out of him.  Tonight, I brushed him again and got nearly as much.  While I was drying him, the hair was swirling around me and the wash stall.  I can't recall ever seeing him blow coat like this.  I'm not panicked though because, out of coat Sam has more hair than most dogs do in coat.  Being out of coat basically means that Sam will be easier to groom for the show.

At this point in time, you are probably wondering why I am bathing Sam a full week before the show.  Well, Sam's coat is temperamental.  When he's freshly bathed, he is a big fuzz-ball.  By bathing him a week in advance, the natural oils have a chance to get back into his coat and it ends up looking and feeling just about right.  Now we just need to cross our fingers that there is little or no rain for the next week and that Sam doesn't spend a lot of time in his Man Cave (under the deck in back of the house).  Wednesday evening we are going to visit Cathy O-C for some help polishing his look.

I'm excited about next weekend for another reason.  Moira's sister, Scout, is also entered in the show.  We haven't seen Scout since the 2008 National in KY.  Both girls were still quite young then.  On Halloween, they will turn 4 and, I can honestly say that Ra has matured tremendously in the last 6-9 months.  It will be fun to compare and contrast her and Scout.  I'm hoping we can get some family portraits too - Sam is the girls' grandpa and Ginny and Bogey are their aunt and uncle, respectively.

I have 3 clean (Ra got a bath last weekend) and tired red dogs waiting to go to bed.  Next weekend I will post show results and, maybe, some pictures.

Sam's Sweet Stomper - Rest in peace

This evening I received a tearful phone call from my dear friend and mentor, Marla.  She had to help one of her Cardis, Stomper, over the bridge today.

Stomper was Marla's son's dog and he was my Sam's best dog buddy.  The 2 boys were the "Front Yard Dogs" at Mar's for many years; greeting everyone who pulled into the drive in between long naps under the bay window off the kitchen.

Rest in peace, Stomps. I know Big Sam was waiting at the bridge for you.

Sam's Sweet Stomper
December 2, 1994 - September 24, 2009

Ra'gility!

That's what we call it now - Ra'gility.  Pu Head loves doing 'gilities.  I had hoped that she would be a herding dog but, she thought herding should be a speed sport and, oddly enough, the judges didn't agree with her. So I've decided to put her need for speed to better use.

We started agility classes this spring - before the National.  I lucked out and found a trainer who teaches classes less than a mile from the house!  Down side?  Classes are outside.  Normally, classes would have gone on hiatus for the summer because it gets too hot here to work outside in the summer (it does?) but an opportunity to rent an indoor facility in C'ville came up so, we've been there for the last 3 months.  When the current session ends (mid-October) we will move back outside.  These VA people are crazy!  Agility outside in the winter and inside in the summer????

Anyway, training Ra for agility has been a completely different experience than training Sam.  When I started training Sam in the winter of 2004, we did very little foundation work.  Sam had to complete an obedience class and then we moved on to agility.  In the agility class we did a little bit of target work and then moved almost immediately to what my current instructor calls "the sexy stuff" - running sequences.  I think I entered Sam in his first trial 10 months after we started classes.  I had a dog who wasn't reliable on weaves and totally couldn't weave on the off-side, wouldn't work ahead of me, knocked bars all the time because he was too busy looking at me while he ran, didn't do rear crosses - basically all the stuff you need to have a really successful agility dog.  Sam and I had a great time with agility though and I credit it with building and strengthening the close bond we share now.

Ra has been doing nothing but foundation work since March.  Just last week we did more than 2 obstacles in a sequence.  She is learning weaves using the 2x2 method - we are working on entries now and haven't done any real weaving yet.  She's barely been on the teeter - we are still working on not being afraid of the bang (a Pu Head issue w/noise).  It's a whole different ball game with a whole different dog.  Ra is much more obstacle focused than Sam ever was - once she knows we are doing 'gilities, there's no stopping her.  My handling is going to have to improve dramatically - along with my physical fitness.  This little dog is a lawn rocket.  I'm either going to have to keep up or learn to handle from a distance - probably a combination of the two.

I'm aiming for our first trials in March 2010; one indoor and a couple weeks later an outdoor trial.  Then it will be the National at the end of April.  It's looking like her sister, Scout, might do agility at the National too.  And a half-sister, Drew, will probably be there too.  What fun!

Ann is taking agility classes with Bogey too.  Not to worry - he's not doing ANY jumping, yet.  Our instructor is very aware of the special needs of Cardis and won't ask him to do anything he shouldn't.  Bogey is already doing very well in class - his job is to clean the tunnel of treats after dogs who aren't confident enough to go through without some incentive.  I think this will be a great experience for both of them.  Obedience was a little too regimented for Mr. B, and Ann too, I think.  They both seem to be enjoying the class so far and it will certainly help build their relationship.

Next Post - Getting Ready for the CCWCC Regional Specialty

Why "The Heathen Horde?"

When you hear it, it sounds bad.  Like I have this swarming mass of undisciplined dogs.  That's not true.....most of the time :)  The name actually came from a neighbor in St. Louis, MO.

It was winter and we were in the midst of a snowstorm.  It was very early in the morning - still dark - when I let Sam, Ginny and, I think it was one of Ginny's daughters (a red), outside.  The 3 dogs ran to the bottom of the yard barking their heads off and refused to be quiet or come back in the house.  So I stomped after them to make my point.  I mentioned it was dark and snowing, right?  There was already 6-8" of snow on the ground and the wind was blowing making the temperature about 26 below w/wind chill.  I was wearing a bathrobe and slippers.  Yes, it was breezy and chilly....

So, I'm chasing the dogs to the bottom of the yard yelling at them when I hear my neighbor call out to me....

"What are you doing with that heathen horde?"

The name stuck and the more I thought about it the more appropriate it seemed.  There are days when Sam makes me think of a marauding Viking (I know, he's Finnish and not Scandinavian).  Gin, despite the genteel manners she learned in her youth, could easily be a Viking priestess or maybe a Valkyrie.  Moira - well, she's a little further removed from her pagan roots.  I would say Moira is the product of a Viking raid on an Irish fishing village :)  Bogey seems to be following in his father's footsteps but he's a smidge more civilized.

Next post - Agility!

The Usual Suspects

Ok, I'm a little slow to get started. Living with 4 dogs and working full time can make it difficult to get to something like blogging. So what do I do? Take a break at work to blog!

I think I should probably introduce the Horde first.

The first Horde member was Ginny (CardiRidge Red Ginger 'Spice'). She came to me in 2002, just before her 3rd birthday. Ginny, as you can probably tell from her picture, is an old soul. She has, in my opinion, the perfect red Cardigan bitch temperament and she rules the house with an iron paw in a velvet glove. She thinks 'boys are stupid' but absolutely loves older men (the human variety). She is practically perfect in every way.

Next came Sam (Ch Yardican Roland). Sam came a bare 5 months after Gin and is Ginny's father. Sam is a lot of dog. He's loud, charismatic, funny, smart, manipulative, loving....there's just a lot there. He came to me when he was 4 1/2 years old. He and I have come a long way together. He was my first performance dog (it's great to have a dog with a can-do attitude) and my first show dog (although others handle him for me). I love him dearly and now, at 11 1/2 years old he is an aging frat boy; enters a room believing he is the life of the party, plays too hard and then goes home and crashes while vowing never to do that again - until the next time.

Moira (CardiRidge Sweet Potato Pie HT), Horde member #3. She is Sam's granddaughter and Ginny's niece. She is a lot like her mother, Honey (Yardican CardiRidge Ella Elotuli). Ra is another sweet, funny red girl. Her picture on the blog says it all - Strange Dog. She has some oddities that make life with her interesting. She's a very cautious soul, changes in her environment must be carefully studied before they are accepted. New people must make her list before she will let them touch her. Moira has taken over as my performance dog. First as a herding dog (we have some test level titles) and now as an agility dog. I think agility will be her sport - it's fast and furious, which she loves. Moira has a plethora of nicknames; Ra, Pu, PuPu, PuHead, Red Pu Head, Evil Red Dog, Baby Red Dog.... It goes on and on because I love her so much and one word for love is never enough.

Lastly is Bogey. Bogey actually belongs to my housemate, Ann. He is her first Cardigan and she's getting the full treatment. He is a Sam son and, when all the paperwork is complete his registered name will be All Trade Fairway Xceeds Par. At just 6 months old, Bogey is exactly what you would expect. He's a BOY and we know what Gin says about that :) No, he's wonderful and loads of fun. He starts a foundations agility class next week and will meet sheep for the first time next month. Ann has lots of plans for him.

Next post - Why 'The Heathen Horde?'