Hellfire English Springer and Sussex Spaniels

Heat Wave

Thanks to all the rain and now sun - we finally have some training cover!

Puppy Posterity

His back feet are all stacked wrong - but I had to get a puppy photo for posterity. In another year or two Maverick will look much different. Maybe it reminds me of all those years  (decades)  showing horses, but I had a blast in the conformation ring! It's not something I'd want to do every weekend, but I had a lot of fun and I see why people say it's addicting.  

Me and Maverick - 4 points @ 7 months old

 

Tick Borne Repeat

 Ice came down with tick borne Tularemia.

Wood tick

I pulled a tick off of both he and Maverick Saturday during the Great Falls shows. There were a gazillion prairie dogs in the airing field and I assume  that's where the boys were attacked. Both ticks were lightly attached in the inner thigh/groin area, not embedded. So far Maverick seems fine.

Sunday I thought Ice was a little tired from the stress as it was our third day of getting up early and getting to shows. I know I was. By Monday I knew something was more than a little wrong, but just figured it was exhaustion and dehydration - it was hot and humid in Missoula. On Tuesday he was very sluggish in the morning classes of rally and we got last place (we are usually rally rockets and win about 99% of the time) and by the afternoon he went down at the high jump in obedience and I had a very hard time getting him up again. We made a mad dash home. He was very lethargic and his eyes had a weird dullness to them. Very scary!

I've already been through Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever with another dog - and that was awful, ruining him for life.  Ice had IV fluids and will be on antibiotics for 3 months - but should be okay. This is a good reminder of how fast lightning can strike and how evil those little blood sucking buggers are! 

In Montana we have two kinds of ticks - the brown dog tick and the Rocky Mountain wood tick. 

It's been fairly chaotic the last couple of weeks, but now it's time to put the foo foo stuff aside, get back into the field and shoot some stuff!

Naval Success

Senzi (Toby X Navy) - New Senior Hunter!

Love it. Craig was another one of my puppy buyers who just wanted a hunting dog. I think Navy has produced more performance dogs than Maia did. I've lost track of all the hunt test kids!

It's All Good

Good prizes in Missoula! Baby Maverick did his first group showing today and competed against nationally ranked, very experienced sporting dogs. It was so much fun! He even got cheers from people in the audience. I want to go again.  Ice finished his CDX and RAE. On to Utility now!

Best of Winners

Two days in a row for 4 points.

The 2013 Rose Garden Prognostication

Much more reliable than a Magic 8 Ball - which is what TV news people use. 

"Love" is promising.

"Oklahoma" endures everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Tiffany" is a girl's best friend.

"Peace" is looking frazzled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wish us luck as we head into 5 straight days of dog shows.  The primary mission is to survive it. Show people can't be any worse than the field trial people, right? ;)

Puppy Love

A beautiful Singer X Brows daughter

Just do it

Hoping for two more next year. They make versatile paper weights/coffee coasters.

Seasonal Syncopation

As the rest of the country gears up for summer, spring planting season has finally arrived in Montana! Although the rule of thumb is never plant anything before Father's Day, the kale, chards, bok choy, beets, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and squash are now all in and ready to be tortured by Mother Nature. It's not easy having a green thumb when you live in a middle finger state.

The goal this year is to have something in the after shot.

Let it grow, let it grow, let it grow!