Quote: Pam, enjoy the moment - every moment with your dogs at those shows and competitions and classes, and just keep doing what you love and you will meet other people to love and be close to.
I promise!
Livnlearn
Thank you LnL. That is exactly what I need to keep doing!
I did not realize the body feels emotional pain to the same extent but that would make sense for physical ailments when under emotional stress.
D likes to help people that are going through a rough time on HIS terms. Like J unhappy in her marriage, but I think it is only as long as it is his choice and not his, for want of a better term, expected responsibility.
He likes helping, just doesn't want to be a responsible party. Then it is time to run!
Pam
"We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
D likes to help people that are going through a rough time on HIS terms. Like J unhappy in her marriage, but I think it is only as long as it is his choice and not his, for want of a better term, expected responsibility.
He likes helping, just doesn't want to be a responsible party. Then it is time to run!
Big Deal! What is the point of "helping" someone in THEIR unhappy marriage while you trash your own???????
I always thought my H should start to show his concern and "charity" at home. But it is so much easier doing it far away from home and so much more ego boosting to do it in the limelight!
Livnlearn
PS OK, that's the last venting post from me for a good long while....
"The unexamined life is not worth living" - Socrates
Morning of the trip to the Sheltie Nationals with 6 shelties, ages ranging from 16 weeks to 16 years!
Somehow it seems nothing ever goes without a drama here. We begin the morning with Callie the puppy waking us all at 2:30 am with those infamous retching noises. Carry puppy to bathroom and clean up mess, all go back to bed, settle in and, yup here they come again! Back to the bathroom for some stomach bile. Settle back in and sleep for a bit. 5:00 am Breeze the 16 year old is retching. I have a mini panic but think ok, we aren't leaving first thing this morning lets just see how everyone is doing. Breeze at her age has a sensitive stomach and Callie will eat anything, both were acting fine last night.
This morning Callie is her usual boisterous self. Breeze seemed really disoriented at one point and I was afraid was going to seizure. We believe it may be caused by low blood sugar so I gave her some honey. She actually likes honey. She still isn't wildly perky but she is wanting food and went outside to do business and wander just a bit. No sign of any illness thank goodness!
Now for the grooming and packing I didn't do last night and to see if I can get honey off of 5 dogs without giving them baths!!!!
Pam
"We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
I chatted with K on IM and she suggested baby wipes for the honey removal. Worked pretty well! After I finished brushing all the kids and giving Shara a very thorough grooming I started my packing. Callie was really restless and I knew they were going to be cooped up in crates for the drive so I put her out, would have put them all out but when the contractor was having the yard next to mine graded they pushed one of the boards out on my fence and it is bowed so I can’t nail it back in. They have a work order to fix it. The neighbors now have a dog and mine are trying to run their heads through this opening and I’m afraid someone will ripe their face or an eye on the nails sticking out. Callie isn’t doing that so she gets to spend some time out in the beautiful sunshine.
I am packing and doing a bit of straightening up in the house as don’t want to come home to a total disaster and also have decided would rather not start out in the hottest part of the day. All of a sudden the doorbell rings. I’m afraid I have shamefully neglected any door type training on the kids. It will become something I am going to work on! So I have 5 shelties barking and jumping at the door. I step out and see my neighbor holding Callie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The kids had come in and told mom they had a dog in their garage and so I had the whole family and Callie on my doorstep.
I was soooooooo grateful they had her. I can’t tell you what it would have meant to lose my little baby girl. So we were talking and I told them about my fence board. We were trying to figure how Callie got out. Walked back there and it had to be where she got out as far as the board was away from the rest of the fence. But that isn’t the side she was found on! So she had gotten out and crossed my yard and ended up in their garage. He said I can fix that and he did. Then he said he would mow for me. I don’t have a lawn mower yet. So I moved stuff out of the way and waited till he finished. We ended up getting a rather later start than I intended. I visited with them for a while as I don’t know my neighbors very well yet and felt it was a good opportunity.
Pam
"We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
Finally, we are all loaded and headed out. First stop is for batteries for the camera as last time I tried to take pictures it wouldn’t roll forward. As I come out of the convenience store I realize I have forgotten my entry and they had mailed the number with it so I needed to take it with me. Return home and get number! Hit the road at last.
Things are going great, we have been on the road for a couple of hours and we are making nice time. Breeze has curled up comfortably in the front seat and the rest of the kids are riding quietly. The BLOND takes over! I was supposed to stay on I-64 to I-57. I come to Indiana 57 and off I go! The directions say stay on 57 for 61 miles so I do. I had started wondering if I was on the right road but with no map in the van no idea where I am at really. After no sight of I-70 after 61 miles I stop to ask directions. Yup! I am way off base. I get told of this zig and zag to get to a main road that will take me to I-70, in the dark I miss it and end up going all the way back to I-64!!!
Bottom line I add 2 ½ hours to my trip. I keep hoping at this point that my room is guaranteed with a credit card as otherwise I won’t have a room! I arrived at midnight, lady at the desk said she was very glad I made it. I told her she couldn’t be as glad as I was!!!!
Pam
"We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
My next blond moment was being tired and anxious to get us all in the room I take all the dogs on their potty trip together. It isn’t close either! I have two on regular leads and 4 on extenda leads. It doesn’t end up a pretty sight! I won’t try that again!!!!
We get in the room and as it is so late I only give them half of their dinner, we are getting up at 5 am so not that long till breakfast! Callie is wild after being cooped up for that long so I try playing with her a bit knowing we aren’t going to get any sleep with her this wound up.
Next the party starts outside! Three of the six shelties have never stayed in a hotel before so they aren’t used to this at all. Callie is barking lots and I finally grab her and hold her. Shara and Shimmer also bark off and on. Normally Frostbyte is my barker at home but not here. He had been laying up close to my head but when this started he went to the foot of the bed and stood facing the door for a bit, then laid down still facing the door. Whenever a loud voice came close to our room he made this low very deep rumble and if I had been on the other side of it would have considered he meant business! I was surprised as I would have expected him to bark but he was really very quiet other than the deep rumble when something was really close. I didn’t discourage him as he made me feel safe.
Next morning I meet one of the ladies that is in the room next to mine. Her friend was the one that made the reservations and boy was I glad that room was guaranteed! Told her I would like to follow them to the show site as I didn’t want to pull another blond stunt. I had to hustle to be ready when they were to leave but made it. Of course that left no time to fill the van up and I hadn’t done it the night before as so tired. HOPED I had enough gas to get to the show and back to a gas station on my way home!
Pam
"We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
Good thing I followed them as it was several twists and turns to the farm. After arriving and getting things organized a bit in the van I go to find T. First thing she says is she is probably pulling the one dog she has entered if the owner doesn’t mind and we may pull Shara! The sheep are terrible. On Saturday they were jumping out, pushing through gates and climbing fences.
Shara’s health is my first priority and if she feels we might take a chance with her safety then we pull. We did her last lesson worked on her trial sheep so knew she could handle sheep above test level, but these weren’t even good trial sheep is what I was told. FLIGHTY!!!! One on Saturday that they had been using then delivered back in the pens. I didn’t think you were supposed to use one that pregnant.
Ducks were first. The ladies I had followed were both entered in ducks. The one had a great run and ended up High In Trial on ducks!
I got most of my kids walked between watching dogs run. Wanted to be sure Shara didn’t need to go in the ring!
Pam
"We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
The judge called the handler’s meeting and you have to remember this is the first time I have ever been to a herding trial. She sounded TOUGH! I thought no way is Shara going to pass and of course luck of the draw Shara is first dog in the ring!
The judge walked in with everyone for the HT and T told her as they walked in; this dog is 11 years old and if it gets rough I will pull her.
Shara did her sit and wait!! WHOO HOOO!!! Of course as soon as she moved the sheep moved, no chance to get close to them or for T to be able to calmly walk ahead of them. It was a rather wild, fast, drive up and down the fence line, not pretty, but doing what is asked and what could be done with the stock and level the dog is at.
Stop of course is Shara’s big bug a boo and the judge said at the beginning that the stop and recall must be a recall NOT a swan dive after the dog! LOL
So T is trying to get Shara to stop and come to her, Shara proceeds to blow her off and wander off hoping T will follow her as I used to do. Which allowed her to get around me and back to the sheep!!!! T of course isn’t going to fall for that trick. Then the llama comes up and sticks it’s head over the fence. Shara is like ewww…what is that? Broke her sheep focus a bit. Then she wandered over by the judge, who growled at her so maybe she would lay down. She didn’t but T was able to move towards her a bit and with all the distractions finally got Shara to come to her without her diving back to the sheep!!!! YIPPPEEEE!!!!!!!!!! Shara now has an HT leg! Took under 4 of the 10 minutes and I bet a good part of that was the stop and recall.
Judge wrote on her test sheet that it was a shame the dog hadn’t been started on sheep younger. I can’t tell you how many knowledgeable people have told me that about Shara.
Oh yeah, forgot my camera after getting batteries. So hope the photographer got some action shots.
Pam
"We must be willing to let go of the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us"
That is exactly what I need to keep doing! 
I have a mini panic but think ok, we aren't leaving first thing this morning lets just see how everyone is doing. Breeze at her age has a sensitive stomach and Callie will eat anything, both were acting fine last night. 
The kids had come in and told mom they had a dog in their garage and so I had the whole family and Callie on my doorstep. 
Then he said he would mow for me. I don’t have a lawn mower yet. So I moved stuff out of the way and waited till he finished. We ended up getting a rather later start than I intended. I visited with them for a while as I don’t know my neighbors very well yet and felt it was a good opportunity.