Agility - Canada Wins GOLD

World Agility Finals 2010 - Canada's 1st Gold Medal

Get inspired!!!!

The Sheltie is Kerrera Flying Dice. Kerrera is the kennel name of Gill Shields of Quebec.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nASHlbt8b9g&playnext=1&videos=6EMXpK7niiY&fe

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A FALL MORNING

The morning air is crisp, dew still on the grass, the sun shining over the crab apple tree ... humm the swimming pool needs to be put to bed (that's today's job), grass needs cutting (it's rained as much or more than any other Sept), my plants need putting to bed ... but .... let's let a couple of dogs out for a run ...

YEEEE HAAAAWWW!!!!

Mary-Anne with Rush getting treats, and Chinook heading my way

here comes Chinook ~ always has a happy face on

Rush a galloping ....

Chinook on a TEAR ... it was how fast can I go???

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Grooming - Before & After

I've loved what Penny found and has had on her Blog for sometime now http://ruffleithshelties.blogspot.com/

It's certainly a true explanation of what we do as dog groomers!

Top Ten Reasons Why It Costs More to Get Your Pet Groomed Than Your Own Hair Cut

10. Your hairdresser doesn't wash and clean your rear end.
9. You don't go for eight weeks without washing or brushing your hair.
8. Your hairdresser doesn't have to give you a sanitary trim.
7. Your hairdresser doesn't have to clean your ears.
6. Your hairdresser doesn't have to remove the boogies from your eyes.
5. You sit still for your hairdresser.
4. Your haircut doesn't include a manicure or pedicure.
3. Your hairdresser only washes and cuts the hair on your head.
2. You don't bite or scratch your hairdresser.
1. The likelihood of you pooping on the hairdresser is pretty slim.

It's coming that time of year when most dogs need a good grooming. The undercoat must be coming out, the summer dirt has blown up into the coat and more than likely they have greasy ear hair from all the loving they get. A good shampooing done at least 2x over, and hand blown dry helps get rid of the last remnants of dead coat and opens it up for the new coat to come in. Any skin problems can also easily been seen when this is done.

Last week I did a full groom on a new client's dog. Would you believe, he's 11+, and I thought I'd post some before & after pictures.

TJ before

TJ after

Consider making a booking today.

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BLUE ALGAE TOXINS

PLEASE BE AWARE OF THIS

GARDEN POND OWNERS NEED TO KNOW; STANDING WATER WHERE YOU MIGHT EXERCISE YOUR DOG IN PARKS, FIELDS etc

Something I've never heard of before is that, even here in the Ottawa area, any type of standing water, ponds, water features you may have in your yard that might contain blue-green algae can produce serious toxins, when the weather is right; they form enormous blooms or CyanoHABs. These are recognizable as blue-green, brown or white floating mats. They're responsible for causing illnesses in humans and animals exposed to them by drinking or swimming where a bloom is present. These blooms aren't always present at the surface as it depends on a lot of conditions.

The story - a client of mine let their 2 dogs out last Thurs for last potty, then put them to bed. Within 20 mins they could heard signs of distress with the male, Maxx. Down they went to find this boy vomiting blood and diarrhea blood. In less than 45 mins of attending to him he went 'down', totally 'out'!!! They rushed him to one of the 24/7 emergency vet clinics for treatment. At this point they were told not to hold up any hope of him making it through the night. What could it have been that caused such a violent reaction so quickly? They went home and searched the property to try and find what he might have gotten into ... nothing could be located; no mushrooms, nothing. Then they searched the internet and found out about these blue green algae (BGA)!!!! hummm their garden POND!!!! had to be it.

This BGA has been found in fossil form going back 3.5 million years, and produces neuro & liver toxins. BGA neurotoxins can kill animals within minutes by paralyzing the respiratory muscles, while the hepatotoxins can cause death within hours by causing blood to pool in the liver. Some of you may have heard the term Red Tide which is the same in large bodies of water, but is not associated with tidal movement.

Maxx and his sister Chloe, after his grooming

I heard about this on Tuesday, as Maxx needed to be cleaned up, and to fix his chopped up, shaved rump as best I could. To me, Maxx was the same. No ill effects neurologically at all!! TG. The vets say they haven't seen a case of recovery from such an ill dog in many moons ... they really held out no hope, except, it was for his will to live that brought him thru it all. So Maxx got my special treatment :)

Maxx's liver values aren't normal yet but they are way down. He's on special food and meds and will return in two weeks for follow-up testing. They had gone up to 3150, normal levels should be less tha 100!

SO canine friends, this is probably as freaky to you as it is to me hear; take heed on this if you've got a garden pond in your yard, any standing or running water on your property as this toxin hits HARD and FAST. Don't waste time in getting to a vet, and if you don't know a 24/7 emergency vet #, look it up now and paste it up where it's always handy for anyone in the household.

Just do an blue algae canine toxin web search and you'll find more info. Learn about any garden or fish ponds you might have and how to properly care for them, as this BGA can come and go in a short time frame.

I hope this info helps more owners & their dogs.

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Sudbury Road Trip

Sudbury - The Big Nickel

This past weekend, Marylou, my mom and I went up to Sudbury, specifically to attend the Purina Puppy Classic & 3 days of the regular dog show. This is our 3rd year qualifying for the Puppy Classic. This year we had BPIS Ch Shelamo's Riding The Sky HIC that qualified, and I also showed Penny Woodruff's boy BPIG Ruffleith's Barolo Di Rionda. This event was held on Friday night.

BPIS Ch Shelamo's Riding The Sky HIC in the Purina Puppy Classic

BPIG Ruffleith's Barolo Di Rionda in the Purina Puppy Classic

"Whistler" won a Group 3rd placement!

Saturday afternoon after the regular show we headed to an outlet and shopped! Figure we spent some 2 hours going thru racks of clothes. Dangerous place for 2 women :) That took us to the dinner hour where we enjoyed an all you could eat FEAST at the Red Lobster. OH boy! did I stuff myself. The sun was close to setting so we headed up to the Big Nickel which I hadn't seen for some 10+ yrs, Marylou had never seen that area ... the barren landscape that once looked like the moon has now been allowed to grow with many areas being reforested & grassed over ... what a lovely sunset.

We were back at it early Sunday morning, where "Whistler" took Best of Breed.Really didn't take my camera out to capture many other moments ... other than this one ... Rio doing his high jumping act while meals were being prepared by the handler next to us. He can also 'table surf' as we found out in the hotel room.

Hey ... over here ... what about ME???!!!

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Shelamo Jumping Jelly Bean

Meet one of our new boys! He's called Jelly Bean. He's joined BPIB Ch Shelamo Winds At My Back, and co-owned with friends Jan & Steve Silcox. He is out of our Ch Shelamo Sugar Shack, sired by Am/Cdn Ch Barwoods Jana JFK.

@ 5 months of age

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Dog Obedience ~ City of Ottawa Update

If you are registering for any of the City of Ottawa courses, like my dog obedience class you need to register today!

The great powers to-be have elected to have the contractor perform computer maintenance/upgrades, shutting down all on-line registration from Sept the 12th thru to at least the 16th. Thus all class #'s are being decided upon by what is showing up today, some of the good working staff will spend extra time at work and decide tomorrow noon. These #'s will be what decides if a course is a go or not.

So, if there is a course you're keen on this fall, get on-line and register now.

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Fall Dog Obedience

To my Ottawa area viewers - I know vacation is over, kids back in school, but have you thought of classes for your dog? Something to keep their interest up, a night out that the dog enjoys, a bonding time for you and your dog, and all to learn how to communicate better with your dog to live as a good neighbour. It's time to get on-line and register as many are starting soon.

My classes through the City of Ottawa start up next Wednesday, September 15th, Level 1 starts @ 6:45 pm; Level 2 at 8pm (must have completed Lev 1). You can go here ...

http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/parks_recreation/programs/guide/registration_en.html

and click on Go Register icon, search Dog Obedience, Wed, Ron Kolbus Lakeside Gardens.

Dogs of any age over 4mths can attend and must be up-to-date on their rabies vaccination. A dog is never to old to learn!

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Line up, Line up

With the 6 pups in our care right now it is imperative that they learn good feeding habits. They've been taught to "line-up" when it's time to eat (a Marylou's command). Everyone must be calm before I put the food bowls down.I get constant sits from the larger dark sable boy. He is so patient every time, some of the others have to do a few laps around till they settle into a spot to start waiting.

ML ... eat your heart out ... lol

So folks, if I can do this with no other hands helping me, with 6 - 14+ wk old pups, then any of you with one or two dogs should be able to ask/teach this behaviour also.

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Beauty & Brains

Just received some exciting news from Linda Howie .... "Whistler" went seeking a new title on Sunday at the herding instinct testing in Alfred, Ontario ... he passed all the requirements with flying colours!!!

He was able to work well with the handler, gather the sheep well & adjust to them, super temperament, with an "well done" comment.

Don't you tell me when, that's my job!!!

He is now

BEST PUPPY IN SHOW CH SHELAMO'S RIDING THE SKY HIC

Gosh Linda, this boy has gone from the show ring, to agility classes, to entertaining the ladies, and now trying his paw at herding. YIKES, he's just over a yr of age, are you going to have fun with this boy.

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Time of Year for the Monarch Butterfly

The monarch butterfly, as it fuels up for the long flight south for the winter. I remember as a kid on many of our camping trips, capturing the monarch caterpillars, watching them form into a chrysalis in a jar, and then into a butterfly. Just an amazing process.

This is a female.

Afternoon sun as it shines thru its wings.

Oppss!! A little breezy!

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Cesar Millan - Live In Ottawa

Guess what Ottawa??? Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer will be stopping in Ottawa, Wednesday, Nov 3rd, during his Victoria, BC to Montreal, Quebec tour. Check it out here. Want seats now ... read further down

http://cesarmillanlive.ca/

I'm on two mailing lists that gave me a passcode to be able to purchase the PackLeader seats, which as of last nite it was allowing me to do. This was only available until Monday @ 10am, if you knew the passcode, otherwise tickets went on sale to the public. You could only purchase 4 tickets, so fine I get 4 of us to go together. Last confirmation was late last nite, so I figured I'd go on and do it today.

WELL!! don't I find out that I can't get in on with the pass code I had?? Humm, so called the ticket company and am told there were only 12 rows reserved for this special time with Cesar and they sold out by midnight! OK, so can I purchase any of the other seats, with the code I had? nope, not on-line or thru them. That code was just for the PackLeader seats. So, how do I get in on the presales for any of the other seats? He said I would have to search the Internet to find another code, he wasn't allowed to give it out.

OK, so search the web and find one - CANINE. Go back into the ticket presales screen, and NOPE, that doesn't work. Search again and don't I find the one that I rec'd thru the SENS email list I'm on - CMVENUE. YEAH!!! that one works! Go here, follow to Cesar Millan show and click on the Promo/PreSales and try the CMVENUE code.

http://www2.capitaltickets.ca/en

So, we may not have the PackLeader seats, but we are on the floor.

Very interesting how this all works, how you get in on seat sales before the masses. How you get better seats, if that is what you want. American Express card holders also get in on the preseat sale option.

Learnt something new today. Just disappointed we didn't get the PackLeader seats. Can't wait to go!!!

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Brody

Received these photos from one of our puppy client's of their puppy Brody. He is from one of our litters born in May 2010. He's around 14 wks in these pics.

He's already getting the hang of the agility tunnel! NO problem here mom.
Playing goalie with the kids.

Chilling out. Am told he loves being outside on these nice August days.

Thanks Karen for these pics.

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SAVE - Purina Busy Bones

I am fond of using the Purina Busy Bones. You don't have to worry about soft chunks getting stuck on the roof of your dog's mouth, caught in their teeth, or gagging on pieces that don't go down right. These are bones hard enough for a good chew, but break away in teeny, tiny pieces.

Right now, at Shoppers Drug Mart, at least in the Ottawa area, they are on sale for at least $2.00 less than you will find at most stores. The sale is on until Oct 8th, 2010.

Check them out on your next stop.

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CSSA Magazine Advertisements

We will be showcasing our 3 new Champions this year, in the fall issue of the Canadian Shetland Sheepdog Assoc's magazine. This one of our BPIS Shelamo's Riding The Sky, owned by Linda Howie will be in colour.
Thanks to Pennylynn Woodruff for making this ad come to life. Next for Penny will be to deliver her litter by him mid September.



This ad below will be in B&W, of the two litter mates we finished. Ch Shelamo That's Amore and her brother Ch Shelamo Sugar Rush. "Rush" is already proven with a litter of 7, and we're happy to report all his testing is complete and is OK.

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Shelamo Ticket To Success

Hey folks, come watch Tic as owner Jack Richardson runs her in the Steeplechase at the Agility National that was held @ Spruce Meadows, Calgary AB early Aug. This little gal can really motor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHVDYattLys

Thanks Kate for being there and taking the video and working so hard to get it web ready. Can't wait for the other ones.

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LOST - Border Collie, Ikea Mall Area, Ottawa

Nice to know, as fast as I put this up Troy is safely home!!!!!

Just rec'd an email notice thru the dog obedience club I belong to.

There is a Border Collie, named Troy, 11.5 yrs old, that went missing Aug 13th 9-10pm. He has a black & white coat, and also walks with a pronounced limp due to fused knee joints. He went missing near the Ikea Mall, Ottawa (near our 417 hwy), Iris & Highgate Rds.

Phone #'s 613-226-1998 or cell phone 613-867-6245 - permission given to cross post. If I receive a photo I will update this post.

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Puppies & Kids At Summer Camp

Kodak & Taphee @ Summer Camp for Kids

Besides the 2 pups tearing up the toilet paper :) Marylou has also taken them to various Summer Camps for Kids around the Ottawa area. Part of these summer camps is to teach kids how to be, and not to be around dogs, and how to properly approach them.

Good for the kids to learn early in life & good socializing for the pups too.

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How Much Paper Is In A Roll?

Mornings never go right when you have puppies! Marylou is socializing 2 of our pups from our Rush x Sibelle litter, and guess they had a blast while no one was looking! She sent me this pic this morning.
Harley looking on 'You guys are in BIG TROUBLE!'

This is when you really get to find out how much toilet paper is in one roll :) tee heee

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Morning Dew Spider Web

As I go down our basement stairs to the dog kennel I can see out a window to the front garden. Yesterday morning was a foggy, dewy morning and don't I see a semi-circle of what initially appears to be a clump of loose dog hair. Hummm ... a lot to be dog hair and it's quite a ways from the kennel area. Once outside I have a closer look, and nope it's a spider web! It was one of the most awesome ones I've seen. Not at all the usual kind you see in the octagon form. In the middle was a tiny spider, with a bit of yellow on it. The main web seemed to only be held to the adjacent plants by about 5 strands. I moved what leaves I could without disturbing the form to get this picture.

Just had to share one of mother nature's creations. Don't see it this morn.

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