National Specialty Road Trip Day 1

How is it possible that one person and ONE 7 month old Border Terrier could NEED SO MUCH STUFF for just 5 Days away. The car is PACKED and I do mean Packed. thank GOD I am only taking ONE DOG and NO ONE else needs to ride with me. I am not sure where they would sit.

 I have decided to split the trip into two parts . So as soon as I get my work done and I load Heddy into her Crate we will head for Emporia, VA for tonight that will be about 5 Hours then all we will have is another 5 hours in the morning. Maybe we will actually get there in time to see some of the tracking. We have never seen that. Oh what Am I talking About. WE have NEVER seen any of it. ARE WE THERE YET...........
Can you FEEL the excitement.
I have been reading Colin's Blogs to Heddy ( He is already there) Trying to get her ready for what lies ahead.
http://btsinmdspec.blogspot.com/  It sounds as if he is already having a wonderful time.
Well I guess if I ever plan to get on the road I had better finish working.

NO DUCKS ALLOWED

Heddy has decided that there are NO Fine Feathered Friends allowed anywhere near our property. That is all well and good except for the fact that I now have to take her out to pee on a leash in the mornings and at night otherwise at 6 AM in the morning she hits the ground running to make a quick check of our property and see that we have not been invaded in her short absence.
OK I could even live with that AND the fact that she takes a swim to check and make sure that no one is hiding in the boat slip. BUT what is a problem is the fact that she does this while BARKING at  full voice to tell those Critters GET OUT OF MY YARD!
Well I can except this she is a Terrier and she is allowed an opinion. AND I really do not want the Ducks and Canada Geese in the Yard, they make a terrible mess, BUT at 6 AM or at 11 PM I do not want the neighbors to want to strangle a Little Brown Dog.
Guess it has something to do with the fact that I complain about the neighbors NEVER ENDING BARKING MOPS! (Shitzus)
But when it is afternoon. Well no one ever told Heddy she was not a water dog. She swims as well as our sons Lab. I have the wet soggy cloths to prove it. How come when ever a dog is wet they just have to come and jump into your lap. And we are talking MUDDY Salt Marsh Water. Doesn't ever get better than that.

GOTTA LOVE A BORDER TERRIER!

A Brand New Look

Heddy has finally lost most of her winter fluff.

We drove over to Columbia MD and met Sandy from Happy Hobbits Border Terriers. Sandy had been nice enough to offer to help me learn how to properly strip and groom Heddy.

So we got up early and made the almost 3 hour drive.

About half way there I realized that I forgot my camera so I do not have any Halfway done photos as I had planned but I sure learned a lot. Heddy handled the whole procedure much better than I expected.  She really only complained when we got to the really tender areas. And so may I present my beautiful Border Terrier Loch Cu Heddwyn in her summer underwear.

 

Heddy Gets a Tunnel

When my husband heard that one of the things Heddy was going to try to do at her first show was Earth Dog he was concerned that she might not be able to go through a 9” opening or that she would be afraid of it since she had never tried it before.

I personally think it was just an excuse to use power tools and build something new.

But for what ever the reason Heddy now has her very own practice Earth Dog Tunnel and to say the very least she LOVES it.

She supervised the building of it. Having never seen a drill before she thought her nose really belonged where ever you were trying to work .

 

But at last we were done and ready to see what she would do with it. We had built it in six foot sections for storage and ease of moving it around.

So I tossed a Liver treat into and Heddy never hesitated even a little she was after the liver and out looking for more.

After a few runs with the liver she diced this was great fun and likes to hide from us inside her tunnel. And not only can she fit easily inside the 9 inch opening but she often turn around inside and come out the same way she went in.

      

Now I guess we WILL wait to see what she thinks of a tunnel with a RAT at the other end. I do not need a PET RAT to take care of.

I hate that tail.  Funny that Mice do not bother me.

Oh well she can wait to met Mr. Rat in North Carolina!

Double Trouble

As usual it seems as if Heddy is going to do everything the HARD way.  Before we left for Hawaii I noticed that most of her baby teeth were starting to be replaced with Adult teeth. No problems right. Not for Miss Heddwyn. She managed to lose all but ONE of her baby teeth and so she developed a double set of Canines on one side.

So off to the Vets to have a tooth extraction. Now when I have had a Tooth pulled it was a simple thing no Big Deal. And when one of the kids had to have a Baby tooth pulled because it was crowding the other teeth it was No Big Deal.

BUT when a dog has to have a PUPPY TOOTH EXTRACTED it is a BIG DEAL.  I had no idea. She had surgery to remove the tooth it was almost one inch long and she even got a stitch to close the opening they made.

$270.00 later she has the proper amount of teeth in her mouth.

Comparing the tooth the Vet removed to the one she lost her self I can see why the bugger never came loose.

 

And never missed a single chew on her favorite Pizzel stick.

YUCK!

I Went Away and Heddy Changed

It happens sometimes everyone changes but I guess I was totally unprepared for how much a puppy can grow in just 3 short weeks.

Unfortunately Heddy was not old enough to go with us on vacation this year.  We have a home in Hawaii and go there for Vacation. Hawaii has VERY strict rules as to allowing pets into the state and Heddy just does not qualify yet. We are working on it and she should be OK by next year. But in the meantime she got to spend three weeks at the Pet Spa.

Now this is no ordinary Kennel. This was a Pet SPA. It is run by a friend of mine that raises English Labs so I knew that Heddy would be fine.  But leaving her was still very traumatic for ME. She handled it just fine. Like a kid off to school not even a look back just wanted to go play with all her new friends. According to the staff Heddy had something to say about everything and was soon running the place.  She got along well with all the dogs so had lots of good social interaction.

Looks like I was the one that suffered most. If you can suffer in Hawaii.

The big shock for me came when first saw her after the Three weeks. Not only was she Bigger BUT WHERE DID ALL THAT FUR COME FROM !

So needless to say I am learning how to strip a Border Terrier and we are back in Obedience Classes she settled back in after a few days of being reminded that the BARKING was NOT going to work here it seems to have slowed up .

And so I guess I no longer have much of a Border Terrier Puppy but now have a Border Terrier!

THING TO NEVER DO ON A RAINY DAY

DO NOT GO RUNNING AFTER A SMALL BROWN DOG DOWN SLIPPERY GRASS AND DIRT BANKS AND THROUGH WOODS AND BRAMBLES!  IT IS NOT FUN!  AND YOU GET REALL SCARED!

OK I am back from a nice long run through the woods that I had NOT planed on.  BUT we are both safe and Heddy survived her escape and being caught.  I resisted all thoughts to strangle her and instead hugged and kissed her and told her what a good dog she was for letting mommy pick her up.
Now the story as to WHY we went for a run through the woods.
I took Heddy out for her usual after lunch time Potty. It is a NASTY day here in Delaware, Cold rain, guess just perfect weather for a Border Terrier. Heddy was having a grand time enjoying the smells I was miserable and really not paying total attention to her waiting for her to GO already. Suddenly she must have seen something I did not see and TOOK OFF. She hit the end of her 6 foot lead and her nylon collar did what all safety collars do it broke open and she was OFF. And so was I as soon as I recovered my senses enough to realize what had just happened. I was amazed at how fast that little Brown dog can run!  I am just very glad she was running to something and not after something. She took me through the neighbors yard down a hill and into the woods behind our office. BARKING ALL THE WAY. No problems following her.  I think the stream might have stopped her not sure any way when I got to her she was very busy DIGGIN for I do not know what but she wanted it NOW. She was so very busy that she did not even try to get away but let me grab her right up. 

Telling her what a good dog she was might have been the hardest thing I have done yet in dog training.  I know what my Dad would have done to one of his GSP’s if it had run off like that. Lets just say times they have changed. A LOT!

I was so glad she went into the woods and not into the street. Our office is right on Rt 26 and while not a busy street by city standards it is steady and I can not bear to imagine the what ifs.

Lesson learned NEVER NEVER again take her outside with out a chain collar on! 

Not even for a very QUICK POTTY Break in the RAIN!
I am just very glad to have her safely back tearing up her bed under my desk.

 Where do they get all this energy from?