I took this video in the summer but completely forgot about it until I saw a YouTube video with 3 German Shepherds in a pub in Britain. Tango loves to bite at the water coming out of the hose or sprinkler. She can do it for hours and never get bored.
Here is a link to the British YouTube video – click here. I think we are going to have to get one of those soda water sprayers to keep Tango entertained in the winter when the hoses are put away.
We took Don’s Mom out to the La Ronde for brunch today to celebrate the big milestone. The official day is actually tomorrow. All the kids/spouses, grand kids and friends send their love and best wishes!
Filed under Two legged family
One of the members of the search group got a new 9 week old puppy on the weekend. She is such a sweetie. She is joining a household with one senior German Shepherd (Sisko) and another one that is about a year and a half (Halo). I got my much needed fix of puppy breath and smooches. She doesn’t have a name yet but I’m sure it will be coming soon.
Here are a few pictures of Halo with her head and giant ears sticking out the cat door:
Tilly meeting Chief. You can tell by her body language that she is thinking…..”my what a big puppy you are…..Mommy help!!”
I’ve entered a picture of Tilly in the Modern Dog Magazine photo contest. If you would like to vote for her, click here
Filed under Tilly
We have Hope with us for a short visit and sleep over. We just love it when we get the opportunity to spend some time with one of our former foster ‘kids’. Everyone two and four legged enjoys the visit. I was up bright and early his morning and took them all for a walk and then we came back and had breakfast. Sleeping beauty, aka Don, was still sound asleep so we all ran upstairs and jumped on the bed to try and wake him up. As you can tell by the picture Don is a very skilled sleeper. Even with 4 dogs in bed nothing interferes with his beauty rest…..well maybe there is a little hint of a smile on his lips.
Filed under Foster Puppies, Tango, Tilly, Two legged family, Wally
We just received Tilly’s Canadian Kennel Club registration in the mail today (thanks Chris!). This was the final step in transferring ownership from the breeder to us. They combined the Kennel name with her name so her official registered name is Caruaidd Tilly.
Filed under Tilly
Today the skinny guy and I celebrate our 22nd anniversary. I guess that means we are old….we can’t deny it any more. We’ve been in our house for 20 years…..I can’t believe that either. Time just seems to fly by. We are going to celebrate at a restaurant that I’ve never been to before but Don has been there for a couple of business lunches and really enjoyed it. Ruth’s Chris Steak House. I am looking forward to it. I’d post a picture of the happy couple but we don’t have any. I’ve always hated getting my picture taken.
Filed under Two legged family
I blew it. Tango didn’t wake us up last night to go potty so I thought she was on the mend…..big mistake. I went to work this morning with plans to come home around 10:00am to let her out. Well I got busy, lost track of time and didn’t get home until noon. I knew the second I opened the door and my olfactory sense kicked into overdrive it wasn’t going to be good. The poor girl had projectile diarrhea on the mat at the back door, all over the family room and even upstairs on the hallway rug. I rushed in and opened the back door to let her out and she ran past me and exploded some more. Oh but the good news doesn’t stop there. I opened Tilly’s kennel and she was all wet. Guess who else has diarrhea. She went straight into the sink for a full muzzle to tail bath…..yuk! It’s a good thing that blogs don’t come with smell-a-vision and I won’t gross you out by posting any pictures of the fall-out. On the positive side, Tilly is all soft, silky and smelling wonderful. It’s a good thing I love my ‘kids’.
I’m working at home today because poor Tango has a bad case of diarrhea. I was able to capture this cute video of Tilly trying to entice Wally to play with her. She has a chewed up straw in her mouth that she wiggles in front of his face. When she drops it he grabs it and the game is on. You can see him pushing his muzzle in her face so that she can grab the straw and the game can continue. He is just such a sweet, gentle boy when he plays with her…..I just love my golden boy! Sorry the video quality is so poor. I had to use my phone to capture the moment because my video camera was in another room and I didn’t want to take the chance of interrupting the interaction by getting up and leaving the room.
For the last two days we have been blanketed with thick smoke from forest fires in BC. Visibility is quite poor and there are air quality warnings. They even cancelled Tango’s training session last night so neither dogs or humans would be exposed. I have asthma and I am noticing that my breathing is affected. Yesterday there was only a few blocks visibility…..today is a little better. Don took this picture from his office downtown. It looks like it is night time but the picture was actually taken in the middle of the afternoon. The wind direction is supposed to begin shifting tomorrow so hopefully that will improve our air quality.
Filed under Uncategorized
Last night Tango started training for her next level of certification. She is learning how to identify the scent of human remains. It is called cadaver training.
She did 3 trials and appeared to be getting the idea. As her training progresses she will learn to lie down when she finds this scent. They are out training again tonight.
Filed under Tango
Team Tango was at the search site until noon on Thursday when the search was called off because it was too dangerous to continue. It had been raining all morning and the trails became very muddy and slippery. Thursday night another request was made for dogs to search on Friday. Don took another vacation day and headed out to the command post at noon on Friday. Unfortunately the missing person was not located but it was an excellent opportunity for real life training for the dogs.
Tango has been taught to search for human scent. She found 2 laptop cases, a pair of rollerblades, 2 running shoes, a bicycle and last but not least….Tango’s personal favorite…a pair of men’s underwear. She came prancing out the woods with her treasure dangling out the side of her mouth. Don was particularly grateful that he was wearing leather gloves when he accepted that human scented article and told her what a good girl she was.
Filed under Tango
We took our kids and our house guest Hope for a free run. The grass was so tall that in places all I could see was the tip of Wally’s tail curled up high over his back. Forget about finding Tilly….it was impossible. She had a great time running through the grass and chasing after her much bigger buddies. I captured this cute video of everyone just being a dog and having fun….not to mention running into my camera. Check out Tilly’s giant ears flapping like wings as she runs.
Filed under Foster Puppies, Tango, Tilly, Wally
Last night the local Police requested dog teams to help with a search. Don was able to take a vacation day from work and bright and early this morning he and Tango grabbed their gear and headed off to assist. Good luck and be careful.
Filed under Tango
It is 6am and I am trying to survey the damage. It is still a little dark, more rain and storms today. I can’t believe that there is still tons of hail on the ground 10 hours after the storm hit. I braved the mosquitos this morning to video some of the damage and the left over hail.
Update: I came home at lunch to get a good look at the yard. I can’t believe how much hail is still in our yard almost 16 hours later. Our deck faces south and the current temperature is 26 degrees Celsius and yet there is still a layer of hail on my plants. It is so overwhelming and disheartening to see the damage. In Alberta, our summers are very short so you put a lot of effort into your garden and planters to enjoy a connection with nature…no matter how short the season is. To see all the blossoms and leaves lying on the ground and what leaves are left on the plants are sliced and full of holes, it is heartbreaking.
I guess it is important to remember that there is always a positive side to everything. We are all fine and other than damage to the shingles our house is still standing and protecting us. We are blessed.
Filed under Garden
I thought we had made some progress with Tango and thunderstorms but we have taken one heck of a step backwards tonight. I wasn’t sure if our house was going to remain standing. The rain and hail were coming down so hard and so fast that it was moving horizontally and driving towards our windows. At the peak I thought for sure I was going to hear glass breaking. The wind was so strong that it picked up our deck umbrella, inflated it and sailed it across the back of the house. The eavestrough and down spouts were so overwhelmed with the volume that it just poured out like huge waterfalls. When I thought the worst of it was over there was a huge bolt of lighting and all of a sudden our stereo turned itself on and the volume was at the maximum….how weird is that??? Poor Tango was just crouched low to the ground looking for somewhere to hide. When the hail stopped I grabbed my video camera and got these pictures of the damage to my garden and the huge piles of hail.
Filed under Garden
Just got an email this morning that the folks over at DrawtheDog.com have published the picture of Tilly looking out the front door. Check it out by clicking on this hot link…..Big World. How exciting!!!
If you are not familiar with DrawtheDog.com…..6 days a week they publish a cartoon inspired by pictures they receive. You can subscribe and get the picture emailed to you each day.
I think I am going to order a copy of the print. Thanks DrawTheDog!!
Filed under Tilly
I can’t believe that it has been 3 years since the E-litter was born. I can remember it like it was just last week. They were the 3rd litter that Wally sired. We had the pleasure of fostering Ebony for almost 14 months. She was so smart and so willing to please that she was just a joy to train. Here is a video of Ebony at 8 weeks old. In her first week with us she learned her name, come, sit, down, recall and she already had the beginnings of a pretty good retrieve with a set of keys.
By the time she was 5 months old she was able to turn on a light switch, pick up and carry items (even something as small as a dime), open drawers and cabinets and her retrieve was outstanding.
I have been thinking about her a lot lately and put together this presentation to send to her partner Sam on Ebony’s 3rd birthday.
Filed under Foster Puppies
I just love this image. Tilly’s cute, little orange body sitting in front of the giant door just quietly watching the world go by.
Filed under Tilly
They did it. Don and Tango passed all their certification tests. It was a long and challenging day but definitely worth it (to read the blow by blow details see the post below). They are now certified in 5 profiles:
Filed under Tango
We were up at 6am this morning to get Tango fed and Don off to his certification test. Unfortunately it is raining and there isn’t much air movement which will make it very tough for the dogs. The testing started at 8am and Don had strict instructions to phone me as soon as he completed each of the five tests. I still hadn’t heard from him by 09:30 so I texted him to see what was happening. Unfortunately things are moving slowly and he hasn’t even started his first test yet. The poor guy is soaking wet and he still has the whole day ahead of him.
11:00 – just got an update. They have competed the large article test and they passed. One down and 4 to go.
2:45pm – They just finished their small article search. This is the one we were the most concerned about. We know that she will find the articles but she doesn’t always lie down when she does. She did it! She found all 4 articles. Next comes the people search.
3pm – Obedience test completed. The wind has picked up so that is going to help. Don’s clothes are starting to dry out. He had to stop and drain his boots and ring out his socks.
3:15 – Person search done. Yippee! Four profiles completed so there is just alleys left. They are leaving the field and heading to a residential area for the last test.
4:28 – Alleys….passed. It’s official….Team Tango is certified for another year!!!
Filed under Tango
Since Wally was a year old, he has been making regular blood donations to the Canadian Animal Blood Bank at NAIT. The blood is used to provide transfusions for sick and injured dogs across Canada. We were given this certificate of achievement to recognize his 21 previous donations. He has an appointment to give blood this afternoon so that will increase the official total to 22 donations.
Filed under Wally
It doesn’t matter where I go in the house, all the dogs have to come with me. My sewing room floor is covered with dog treats, toys and of course fabric and thread scraps. Every so often someone gets bored and lets me know……”hey Mom…..we need a little attention here”. It was Tilly’s turn today. She kept sitting in front of me with her rib bone in her mouth…..very cute. I happened to have my cell phone with me so I was able to capture this quick video. If you look on the wall behind Wally, you will see my Bargello quilt starting to take shape.
For the last 3 nights we have had thunder storms. In our house that is not a good thing. Things started to change last summer. When Tango would sense a storm coming, she would start pacing, licking and looking very anxious. Once the thunder and lightening started then all she wanted to do was sit on top of me. That’s 65 lbs of solid puppy on my chest or head. It appears that she is more anxious this year than last. I can feel her crawling up on the foot of the bed very quietly and carefully because she knows she isn’t supposed to be on the bed unless she is invited. As the thunder and lightning intensifies she gets closer and closer to me…..and then its “I don’t care if you know that I am on the bed…..I need my Mommy!!!!!!”. Poor girl. I don’t want to baby or caudle her because that will only teach her that there really is something to be afraid off.
It was the same with our first Shepherd Tasha. As she aged she became more and more frightened. It was a blessing when she went deaf because she would sleep through most storms. The good news is that Wally and Tilly don’t have any fear…..they just want to get their beauty rest. Let’s hope tonight will be storm free so that I can catch up on my beauty sleep too!
On the weekend we brought our ‘kids’ over to Susan’s house and they had a fun play date with Hope. She was so excited to see them that she was doing laps in the backyard. For a puppy who had several homes and a bit of a rough start in life…..she is doing so well. She is quite the flirt and she just loves men. As soon as Don sat on the swing she was right up there beside him. Susan says she never jumps up there normally. Here is a short video of all the ‘kids’ together.
Filed under Foster Puppies, Tango, Tilly, Two legged family, Wally
Today we are celebrating two milestones. Nine years ago today Wally joined our family as our first foster dog. He was only supposed to be with us for a year but we have been blessed with 9 wonderful years and hopefully many, many more to come. He has the most beautiful personality and a gentle spirit. He has fathered 51 puppies, many of whom have gone on to become guide, assistance, hearing or autism service dogs.
Over the years he has welcomed 7 long term foster puppies and numerous short term fosters. They have chewed on him, jumped on him, used him as their play thing and at the end of the day they have crawled on top of him and gone to sleep. For an intact male he is truly amazing. If it were possible to clone him and keep him in our lives forever, I would do it without hesitation.
June 22nd, 2001
And last but not least, little Tilly is 6 months old today.
I think summer has finally arrived in our yard. It has been such a dark, dreary, cold and wet spring. I finally got my last tomato and all my flower pots planted on June 17th….that’s crazy. We had snow several times in May and we got down to zero a few times in early June. Mother nature is truly amazing. It is hard to believe that we got from this……..
to this in just 5 short weeks.
Filed under Garden
It is the classic good news….bad news story. We got a phone call at 6am this morning. The Sergeant scheduled to do the certification tests today got called out on a Police call so he had to cancel. The tests will be rescheduled for some time in July. Having a little extra time to polish up all the different profiles and to work on Tango’s obedience is not necessarily a bad thing but everyone was all psyched up for today. I guess that means I can put Don to work in the yard today…..bonus!!!
Filed under Tango
Don and Tango have their certification test on Saturday. For the last couple of weeks they have been out training 5-6 times a week to make sure they are ready. Last night they worked on searching alleys. It was a particularly tough test for Tango because there was virtually no air movement. Instead of smelling an article many feet away and zoning in on the scent, she had to be almost on top of it before she could smell it. She got a real surprise when she found a hidden hammer just as a dog on the other side of the fence starting barking and charging the fence. Even with all the challenges, she managed to find all of her articles.
Filed under Tango
Wally’s favourite toy is his giant stuffed bear. It is bigger than he is but he will drag it around the house or outside so that he has it with him. Normally anything that is stuffed gets killed quickly in our house…..everything but Wally’s bear. Over the years he has never shared his bear with any other dog…..but for some reason he has relaxed the rule for Tilly. She has found a hole in the back seam and she is always pulling the stuffing out. Even though she just had 4 teeth pulled and has numerous stitches in her belly from her spay and hernia repair…..it doesn’t seem to stop her from wrestling with the bear. It’s feet are larger than she is. If you listen closely you can hear her snorting as she pulls at the red nose and the heart appliques on the paw.
Life In The Dog House 