It's that time again

Merry Christmas Grandma! Hope you enjoy reading about the last year.

Love, Nicki

For those of you reading that don't know I print my blog into a book for my Grandma at Christmas!

Lazy Blogger

I've really been slacking off this week! I'm not really sure what has kept me so busy but must have been something. We didn't even have agility class this week so in theory I had an extra free night. Anyway I'm happy to say that more than two weeks after having my wisdom teeth pulled I can almost open my mouth all the way. Apparently one of the complications is your jaw muscles can tighten up and lock down. Tonight I even ate a sandwich! I had to squish the bread down a little to fit it my mouth but it was still quite a success. I still have an open hole where the stitches came out one side but I'm hoping it's all closed up by thanksgiving.

I did get in some obedience work with the dogs this week. It's hard to work on some of the stuff now that it's dark when I get home but there is quite a bit I can do in the house.

I have a good portion of my Christmas shopping done, or at least have planned what I need to buy. I do have a few people I'm stumped on though.

This is the first weekend in months that I don't have anything planned. It's kind of nice! I don't even have to work tomorrow!

NADAC Trial

Our local club's NADAC trial was this weekend and we had a great time. I had to work Saturday morning but was able to make it in time for 4 runs yesterday and was there all day today. Legend did great. I was so happy with how she ran. She was fast, confident and under control for all 10 runs. She never showed any signs of stress or shutting down at all. Maybe her confidence and maturity are both starting to show at the same time. She ended up with 4 qs, and all of her NQs were pretty much one off course every time-just something little (not surprisingly most of them involved tunnels-but she's getting better).

The highlights were
1) Open Tunnelers Q-second leg
2) Open Jumpers Q-second leg and awesome run
3) Novice Chances Q-new title!
4) Elite Regular Q-first leg
5) Nailed her contacts yesterday-perfect 2020 and waited to be released. Today she did get her contacts and waited to be released but was creeping in to the zone. But it shows we've been working on it and she's stopping to think. We just have more practice to do.
6) We did some layering! And it was successful! Had some other good distance work as well.
7) Nailed her weave pole entrances at top speed from both sides. Weaved fast and finished all the poles. She actually missed one entrance but it was after a pretty ugly front cross on my part.
8) My dog and I both had fun-and isn't that what it's all about?

Also of note, our friends Chesney and Linda got their first agility Qs! If it weren't for those nasty weave poles they would have had more. Chesney did great and has improved so much, even since her last trial!

Senior Wellness

Senior Wellness

Pets are generally considered seniors when they reach the age of seven, although this can vary some with size and breed. Senior pets, like senior humans, need more visits to the doctor to make sure they stay healthy. In addition to twice yearly exams and annual blood screening, there are several tests that can be performed to make sure you and the veterinary staff are doing all they can to keep your pet healthy and happy for the as long as possible! Any and all of the items listed below may be needed for your pet-talk to your veterinarian about what is recommended for your special senior.

 Dietary changes: There are prescription diets available that can assist in treatment with many geriatric diseases. If your pet doesn’t have a specific medical condition then a quality senior diet is the desired choice.

 Tonometry: This test evaluates intraocular pressure (the pressure inside the eye). The reason for this test is that many breeds are predisposed to glaucoma-a painful disease where the eye pressure becomes elevated. This test is quick and painless and gives us valuable information about a potentially painful disease process

 Chest Radiographs: Radiographs or “x-rays” of the chest will help us evaluate the size and shape of the heart, as well as evaluate the lungs and large airways. This is a very important test for pets with heart murmurs, coughing, or abnormal airway sounds.

 Abdominal Radiographs: Radiographs of the abdomen help us interpret abnormal findings on bloodwork or on physical exam. They can help confirm a potential mass or bladder stone among other problems. Often these problems are easier to treat if confirmed early in the course of the disease.

 E.C.G.: This test evaluates the electrical activity of the heart as well as any arrhythmias (abnormal rhythm). This test is important in pets with any heart disease and in certain breeds predisposed to cardiac abnormalities.

 NSAID Trial: Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs are used in the treatment of arthritis or degenerative joint disease. This is a common disease of older pets and can cause stiffness, reluctance to jump or climb stairs or overall decreased activity. Your pet may be a candidate to try one of these very effective drugs. Note-there are many other therapies for arthritis that I will talk about on a different day.

 Urinalysis and ERD: Evaluation of a urine sample can help us get a better picture of the renal system and urinary tract. It can also allow us to pick up on infections, diabetes, and other diseases in conjunction with our blood work.

Nothin much

Not much going on here. I've been slowly trying to recover from my oral surgery. I woke up this morning still very sore-more so than I have been the last few days so I took large amounts of pain meds and took a nap. But first I had to drop Jerry off at work and then took Legend out to aunt Cheri to get her ears clipped again. She was looking like a Papillion, it's much better now. Also picked up some raffle stuff-our local NADAC trial is this weekend and I'm in charge of the raffle so I have a whole room filled with stuff to group together and haul to the trial site this weekend. Jerry is taking the car in to be fixed tomorrow so hopefully that will not be too long of a process. And that's about it!

The good, the bad, and the ugly

The good news is that my Scentsy party netted over $900 in sales and I got a lot of free stuff. Thanks to all who ordered!

The bad-I finally had my wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday, something I'd been happily putting off for a number of years. But I finally got a cavity in one and it was no longer advantageous to put it off. My jaw is still sore and swollen up like some sort of freak but will hopefully start to improve before going back to work on Monday.

The ugly-Jerry got rear ended yesterday. He's fine and at least the people had insurance but here is the car



It's actually is worse than the photo shows. We are hoping the weekend gets better!

Fall Photos and Training

I love this photo of Zodiac. Isn't he pretty?

Anyway I finally had a non-rainy, non-freezing cold afternoon off. There was even sun! So we got to do some training and playing in addition to our photo shoot.

Zodiac got to do some tracking-first time in weeks. He was excited about it and was ready to go. I thought he did pretty good but Barney was not helpful-he went out ahead of me and ate some of the food off the track. Then we also worked in utility and that went pretty well too.


Lyric worked on sit, down, and stay. She's doing much better for the limited amount of practice she's had. She has a hard time controlling herself over the food.

Legend got to work on agility and then on to Open obedience exercises. She loves the dumbbell-like it makes her insane. I think one of her trouble spots will be the broad jump-she wants to cut the corner. I may need to put a post up for her.

But overall I thought they all did great today. Now they are napping-but I'm sure that won't last long!

Show-me Canines Agility Trial

Legend, Linda, Chesney and I went to Columbia for one day of competition at the Show-me Canines trial. Legend ran great-I was so happy with her. She was fast, enthusiastic and responsive. But she knocked a bar in each class. Since down bars are a rarity for her it was hard to be too bummed about it-but it sure would have been nice to get the Qs. I'm just hoping this trend of improvement continues, even though we only have a few more trials before the end of the year. The photographer got a lot of great shots so even though I really don't need more pictures I went ahead and got a CD of all of them. Here are some of my favorites.

Is this animal abuse?

I got the dogs a cheap stuffed toy for Halloween which the border collies promptly shredded and destuffed. The head fit perfectly on Lyric-we had a good laugh over putting it on her. We didn't get the greatest pictures because she wouldn't hold still. But can you blame her-stuffed in a blinding carcass and all!

New England Photos

Obviously from the coast-I think these were all taken in Maine

At the Ben and Jerry's plant...

Pretty self-explanatory here

I don't know why there was a toilet in the street but it created a great photo-op

Along the Freedom Trail

Boston

Just to feel smart!

From a hike we took near Kelly and Nick's house