27 Feb
We had off and on snow showers mixed with sunshine yesterday, so anytime it got sunny, the dogs went outside to burn off some energy!
Excuse the blurry photos .. a good DSLR is definitely on the want list 
Lucero, Brandy, and Beam pose on the log
Brandy and Tilly looking for the ball
Brave Tilly trying to take down Beamer
Tilly loved chasing everyone else chasing the ball!
25 Feb
Tilly has decided to take on the household! She found her confidence, and willingly plays with Beam, Lucero, and Brandy. She loves the ball, plays tug with the other dogs, and wrestles. We had a great time clipping her toe nails – what a pleasant surprise to not have her have any issues of being on her back nor handling her feet. What a nice puppy she is. We had very little outside time today due to the off-and-on SNOW showers today. As we get ready for bed, I am so thankful for older dogs to tire out the pups – how do single dog households ever raise a dog?!
Tilly is contentedly chewing on a hard bone while I upload videos, and then it will be off to bed.
Our one goal tomorrow is less whining in the crate in between play sessions and eating her meals (she prefers to spill them in her crate and then eat when she wants, which doesn’t work well when I have 3 dogs ready and willing to pounce while she’s out on potty breaks!). She’ll get there
25 Feb
Tilly is in my foundation classes with her awesome owner Avery, and gets to visit us for 11 days while her family goes on vacation! She is a 4-5 month old border collie mix with adorable huge ears!
The first night was a bit rough as Tilly was being a very shy puppy. We spent most of the night yesterday letting her get acclimated to the house without other dogs around, and I eventually got her to play with me!
This morning was a different story! Allowing her to meet everyone individually is the key to success to allow her to gain her confidence. So Beam and Tilly hung out in the office while I caught up on the morning news and drank coffee. They had adorable antics and lots of fun!
I am really looking forward to watching this girl blossom and gain some confidence around new dogs and people over the next week. She’s such a lovely girl who loves to work and play She’ll be a fantastic agility partner for Avery!
29 May
Jack got to come back over Memorial Day weekend, and we’ve been utilizing every non-rainy moment to get all the dogs outside to play together. Here’s a super cute video of Jack playing with Beamer and Lucero (the puppy). What a fun and sunny afternoon! Now come back sunshine!!
12 May
It was a bright and sunny day today which meant we all tried to hang outside as much as possible. Lucero just loves Jack!! Jack will get puppy zoomies with Lucero every now and then but this is generally how they’ll play. They’re pretty cute together!
10 May
Jack is here to stay with us for a week, and we had an awesome day enjoying the sunshine! By the end of the day, my puppy Lucero had convinced him it would be really fun to play and luckily I had the camera out to document it. Unfortunately they were running too fast and most of the photos are blurry Here are some of the highlights!
Lucero enticing Jack to chase him
Not sure how Beamer ended up on top of Lucero
Jack chasing Lucero
Jack has the best recall! He loves to come to you
Blurry, but I loved Jack’s play bow!
Group photo of Yankee (typical pose for cameras), Jack (happy boy), and Beamer (wondering where the food is…)
We’re hoping the rest of the week is this nice to get in lots of play times out in the sunshine!
17 Apr
Riker came to stay for a couple of days while his parents went to Portland. He was such a great puppy! It was really fun since I have another puppy staying at my house named Bo, and they immediately became best friends. Riker held his own when Bo and Beamer ganged up on him. The photos are all blurry, because these puppies were non-stop action
(And yes, the puppies are both wet. After letting them wrestle in the outdoor kennel for a few hours, they managed to spill the water bucket and get really dirty. Baths for everyone! They got special puppy shampoo that is easy on their skin since I know Riker is a little sensitive. They sure smelled good afterwards )
20 Feb
Well on Friday it sprinkled some snow outside. I took a couple of photos through my window. You can see all my agility jumps – this is my outdoor agility field that will be getting resurfaced this spring, so we can do some agility at my home! The grass field is approximately 45′ x 100′, so just right for handling exercises like double box work. Supposedly we are getting more snow this week!
20 Feb
We have sunshine! It may only last for a couple of hours (they’re predicting more snow this week, which means lots of rain and snow sprinkles), so I thought it was my best opportunity to get some photos. Natural light just makes everything look better!
These are the 3 kennels. Two are 4′ x 10′ and one is 5′ x 10′. All concrete floors and secured on top by mesh wire to prevent anyone from escaping out the top. All the doors have clips for the gate-savvy dogs that know how to nose a gate open.
A view from the front of the 3 kennels and you can see the door to the outdoor dog yard on the left.
First view when you go outside from the kennel – beautiful little grove of trees that are gorgeous once they actually have leaves! Hard to believe these were overtaken by blackberries just two months ago! The creek is along the right side on the other side of the fence.
Give me a call or email to set up a time to come visit! The dogs love it
17 Feb
I have never experienced this before.
Just a few months ago, my job was a four-letter word. It stressed me out until I was constantly sick. I found little joy in the day-to-day tasks and received little support. I was out on an island in a big sea, alone with no sunshine.
As I was driving home tonight, it just felt so profound that my four-letter word of a career became a three-letter word.
Joy.
I receive so much joy from watching my students grow with their four-legged friends. Not only do I really like all of my students as people, but I get to watch and be a part of them learning how to communicate more clearly with their dogs. To see how far everyone has come in a few short months is just so much fun to watch. I know I can get a little giddy about this, but I just needed to shout out to all of my students a big, heartfelt
You rock my world, and I am so grateful for it.
