oooh, what a weekend

What a wunderbar weekend.

Had the entire weekend off for racing. Unfortunately, a number of my normal 'string' is in season(Focus & Dei) or out of racing for other reasons, so had to take a 'newbie'. . .Tipperary, a great granddaughter of my beloved Kyra. Tipp reminds me a lot of her half uncle Eros, and runs like he does, gangbusters, but once the bunny stops, she has no interest. Unlike him, she doesn't come to the handler when she's done, gave me a few scares this weekend, but we'll be working on that if she wants to go out running with me, and she likes the bunny, boxing well, breaking well as long as the box operator doesn't go in front of the box. If they do, she turns around in the stall to follow them. Silly red head. . .made a lot of friends, from human to iggy. . .Very very sweet girl. Her next event is PVBC's LGRA next week, should be a nice entry. She picked up 1 GRC point this weekend. Nope, didn't breed her, just enjoy running her

Gossip's slowly returning to normal running from post season slump, definitely was more herself this weekend, which pleased me completely. She picked up 4 NRC points, breaking the 100 NRC point mark, only the 2nd Borzoi to've done that.

Reba has been on fire(for her) these last two weeks. Last weekend she placed 3rd in an 8 borzoi meet to pick up 1.5 points towards her GRC, and this weekend she was 2nd both days for 2 more. She now lacks 2.5 points. . I am very pleased with Brooks red headed daughter. Plans are to get her out running on the coursing field next year, and Bonnie may have her out at shows. She is the world's sweetest, calmest little girl.

Brooks' twin son River went coursing and managed to pick up a 2nd major towards his FC. . now just some singles to go! So tickled for his mom/cobreeder!

Then to finish the day, we had some silly fun-ness. . .we have had some easy banter going back and forth between the owners of the 2007(me) and 2008(Fergie's mom) top girlie and both girls were raring to run again at the end of the day, so we ran them together LOL I actually heard someone say they expected Fergie to beat Gossip because of a BIF run she had done. . .but Fergie's pop stated it was Gossip, out of the box, pulilng away from the box and gone LOL Gossip was almost to the end of the run out before the RR got across the line and according to Fergie's mom, Gossip was still pulling away LOL It was great fun, and the girls enjoyed it immensely. Shows you really can't tell a thing about speed on a coursing field. LOL I'd love to see her run against the top greyhound, but alas, he's injured. I know he'd beat her butt, but it would be nice to see by how much. Wish Anne was still doing her speed study, I really would love to know how fast the spotted wonder is.

She curled up in her copilot chair and fell asleep hanging off of it. . .didn't even want to rouse herself for her double cheeseburger til I held it for her LOL Geez. . .but it tired her out, which is what I wanted LOL Neither of us moved once we hit the bed, darn!

Came home, and Umbra made the end of the day, by eating KIBBLE!!! WEEHEE!!!! :) All and all, was a great weekend.

cancer

cancer sucks

When someone you love has untreateable cancer you live day by day.

And it sucks.

Umbra's still going. I get up each morning wondering if today is the day. He's still bright eyed, alert, breaks into his show dog trot. he still comes for snuggles, and he still tells me he HATES being in the kennel during the day. He's not eating as much as _I_ want him to eat, but he's eating. He has kibble available all day which he nibbles at, and has been getting whatever he will eat, from baked chicken, to bologna to smoked turkey. In the last 2 days he's eaten 3 lbs of raw burger & a lb of raw turkey. I don't care, as long as he eats. He's not tired yet, he's not quitting yet, but i know it's only time.

Only good thing about this cancer is, if it takes him before he's ready to quit, it will be quick. He'll have a heartattack, OTOH, hate for him to go alone. Some days, I wonder if it'd be better not to know, rather than wondering if today will be the day. . each morning before I leave, I give him loving and tell him I love him, each evening when he goes into his crate, more of the same.

So many great memories created by this silly boy. I'd so wanted to play in the specials ring with him, but my life went in the toilet the year he finished and I never got the time. I'm so glad Kari got the picture of him for GNY in May. . .her reasoning? You never know when the last time will be. . and she was sooo right. He wasn't shown much, so there never were a lot of show pictures. My favorite is still one Janice Butkowsky took at a small show in NY.

They get old so fast.

And so, we take each day one at a time.

puppies and veterans

puppies. . you put so much thought, blood sweat and tears and time into them, into creating them, and then you have to wait, hope you picked the right one. . .

unlike a number of breeders, i refuse to pick when they are little. . .sometimes I'm drawn to a certain one, but I try and think with my head and to do that,IMHO, you have to wait until they're older, see what their personality is, see what they
grow up into, see what their prey drive is.

Two of the pups over the years I've been drawn to, ended up being the wrong choice. Both from the same litter, Poet was missing too many teeth to be showable in this area. Yes, her half uncle Mir finished with that many missing teeth, but in the NE it's a lot harder than other parts of the country, and her sister Titania didn't have a temperament I wanted to breed on from. . oh well. . .both are in wonderful homes. . .

By waiting, you also get a better idea of what puppy would be great for that home. . Timmy is one of those examples. . none of his siblings would've done well in his home, not calm enough, too busy, too rambunctious, but Timmy's always been a thinker, a watcher, an observer. He's fitting into his household quite well and got a clean bill of health from a greyhound vet in the area.

This weekend, I took the puppy who I watched grow up and prayed she'd be the one to turn out, to her first show. . .Ziva is everything I wanted in this litter and she handled her first show as a pro. Nothing really bothered her, Saturday she was the perfect little trooper, behaving herself, wasn't the judges type, but I didn't think she would be. .Sunday she was a hellion, channeling her half Aunt Rinka by not putting two feet on the ground at the same time, she was a great comic relief and the regular judge told me I'd have a lot of fun with her, once she grows up and settles down.

at this age, you're wishing they'll hurry up and be competitive, but the thing is, they grow up too fast, by the time you know it, they're veterans, and then you face the thought of losing them.

Seems when you have veterans, when one is doing better, another gets ill.

Pandora's going on 14 months past DX of thyroid. She had a bad bout of ??? $200 later and vet couldn't give me a clue. Started putting her in a 600 crate if I wasn't home, with food, water and kitty box, and gave her pepcid and some SubQ's for awhile, and she's bounced back, gaining weight as of last week from what she was at in May.(they didn't weigh her when she was hospitalized for the above vet visit). being away from ehr brat brothers allows her to eat and potty in peace. . .

When I got home from the LGRA Nationals, I found Umbra with a raspy breathing. . .worried he'd gotten soaked and chilled, I ran him to the vet, who didn't like what he heard. Xray showed pneumonia. . .and a shadow over his heart. Two of his sibs have died from hemangiosarcoma heart hit my feet. .

there's nothign you can really do with cardiac hemangiosarcoma. . you can spend thousands for surgery and chemo, and it may not give you anything longer than the original forecast. Even if I had the money, the outcome is so poor it's just not worth the stress of putting him thru it.

This has been the unhealthiest litter of all my litters so far. . .it's not known if it's genetic or not, it could've been the environment, there's just no information. . .and it's so frustrating and heart rendering. The xray today showed it's even bigger.

Umbra is my first BBE CH, my first owner handled BOB over top winning specials. . .no, he's not everyone's cup of tea, but he's my boy, made even more special by his mother's untimely demise. . .He's a litter I hadn't wanted at the time, an oops, and boy the stress that litter brought lasted months. . but I'm glad I've had the joys he brought me. One of my all time favorite times in Borzoi was making it down to the last 7 at the 2004 Nationals, surrounded by old timers. .. me the only 'nobody'. . .

I'm trying to prepare myself for the inevitable, as it's only a matter of time. . .Long as he's happy(and he seems happy right now), we'll keep going. . but this sure put a damper on my enjoyment of this weekends specialty. . I couldn't watch the sweeps, as we should've been in that ring.

Hug your dogs, cuz you never know

Spring has sprung

At least, I think it has. . we went from 90 degree weather roaring into the week, to 60 degree weather at the end lOL

Umbra left with Kari today to prepare for GNY tomorrow. . I hate not having enough vacation hours that I can't do the Nationals AND BCGNY, but he's in her capable hands. Can't believe he's an 8 yr old veteran . .where does time go? Hopefully he'll be a good boy. . .while I wait on pins & needles to hear what happens.

Puppies are growing like weeds, msot of them are showing a lot of interest in the lure(YEAH!), but I'm trying to decide between the dark brindle bitch and the dominant black male. .I like 'em both, A LOT. Gibbs is a toy dog, which is very endearing, as I've not had a good toy dog since Obie. Ziva's got the I'm the bitch in charge attitude I love. Tony's as obnoxious as his name sake, and Jenny is as calm and all encompassing as hers. . the one black bitch & the sandier brindle bitch I'm having a problem deciding who's who. I'm enjoying them, a lot, and they're definitely pistols. .Gibbs came in and latched onto a squeakie toy not much smaller than he is big, and took off with it, burying it in the puppy pen last night. LOL Poor Surya, he didnt' know what to make of the loss to his 'loot pile' . .how that dog knows one toy out of 100+ is missing, I have no clue. But the giant pink pig has now disappeared into the puppy pen LOL

Gossip & I are fine tuning her Rally. . .one more leg, please? :) and working on the next stage(RA I think) Unfortunately we lost our agility training place. .oh, it's still there, but a falling out with the new owner and the owner of trhe equipment cost us all our equipment, so may end up having to drive down the beltway 40 mins to go to class, of course :P

And so, I leave you with puppy pics. . enjoy :)

Tony
Tony Again

And more Tony

Timothy

Not sure which black girl LOL

Light Brindle Girl

And puppies doing the coursing thing :)

Double Yeah!

Today was Umbra's day to shine. .well, three out of the four times he entered the ring this weekend he did.

Yesterday he won his veterans class under Carol Spritzer, especially sweet since her hubby finished him 3.5 yrs ago. . .A friend took him in for Breed, and it was so nice to see my boy move. . he wasn't sure of her, but moved nicely of him, only 2nd time someone other than Mom took him in.

Today he took Best Veteran under T Marshall(Chihawk Borzoi), and then went on to win his veterans class over a very hairy well known on the east coast boy under June Penta. . .unlike when he was in the classes, he now has decided showing means FUN and making a fool out of Mom LOL

Hopefully the picture turns out. . .

His newest cousins are on the way here. .got a call on the way home that two boys were here already, with at least 7 more puppies xrayed..yikes, glad they're not being born here LOL

Stupid dog owners & Vet visits

Took Umbra & Pandora in for checkups last night, Umbra needs his teeth cleaned and his rabies shot updated. . Pandora needed a CBC, I'm afraid she's got one of the three geriatric cat baddies(CRF, Diabetes or Thyroid problems)

Dr E gave Umbra a nice, very thorough checkthrough, and gave him a thumbs up in health except for those icky teeth. .heart, lungs & eyes all look good, and he manipulated every bit and piece of him looking for lumps and bumps and pains. . nothing. . We did find a fleshy tumour in his jaw :( And now I sit and wait in trepidation worrying about that until his teeth get done.

Pandora's lost over 2 lbs since January. Now it could be the 45 lbs of bratcats aren't letting her be in peace long enough to eat, but at almost 14.5, I worry. . when you're worried, never come home after a visit to the vet and search the internet, all it does is scare you shitless. . .I was upset last night thinking this was the end, even BEFORE the CBC came back. Why? Because Diabetes seems to be a hard ass disease to handle, Thyroid is not as easy as it is with dogs. CRF i've dealt with, those others seem scarier, which is sad.

Now to wait. . .::SIGH::

As I was waiting to check out(I love Dr E, I always get out of there for far less than I expect LOL), this idiot comes in with a male Golden, off lead, who charges Umbra. . who I have sitting quietly next to me, in the corner by the desk, not a lot of room between the desk and the window. . .The owner's yelling at Chester to come(WTF is your leash DUDE?!?!), and I step around as he lunges at Umbra and give the huge growl that Bonnie's taught me, the dog stopped and looked at me strange, the owner gave me a dirty look(yeah, dude, well, it'd've been dirtier if my large, cornered unaltered male had put a hole in your damn dog!)

as I pull out money to pay, he leaves the exam room to get his other dogs, and damned if that damn dog Chester didn't do it again. . .

All I gotta say is Kudos to Umbra. .I'd've nailed the little puckerhead. . .But he was a good boy, just leaned into Mom instead of doing what I wouldn't've blamed him to, flipping that little idiot of a dog adn telling him off

More this and that

Blech, just got done making an appointment for Umbra for a dental. . one of the few bad things he inherited from his father, and bad peridontal health is one of them. I've had other breeders with dogs of the same lineage mention the same problem. . .hopefully most of his pups'll get Storm's teeth, not his. . even Bonnie'll admit some of the families in her own yard have great teeth, and some of them have horrid, so it's definitely familial. . .Umbra is only one of two dogs since I went out on my own in 91 that I've ever had to have teeth cleaned on, that's including my Greyhounds & nonsighthounds. Heck, Touchet's teeth barely need a light scaling, and I've never ever done a thing to her mouth.

It doesn't help he won't chew hard like the others will. Gossip & Dei come in the house, grab a knuckle bone, and go to town on it so hard it makes MY teeth hurt. OMG! But not him, even the chicken quarters he's dainty on, and Grins'll finish two before he's finished the one. So off to the vet's he goes. . and there goes my pocket book :P

The weather has been HOOOOOORRID!! OMG. . I did nothing yesterday i didnt' have to, the AC in the living room broke, so I'd do some stuff, then go cuddle with the kitties in their AC, once I cooled down, go do some more. Ick ick ick, even the storm last night didn't help. I had to make huge ice buckets for the salt water tank, the temp in that had risen to almost 90, and my poor little Duncan coral wasn't very happy.

Just saw a wonderful note that Boo(Mielikki's Twilight Taboo) was RWB at a specialty this weekend! Darnit, always the bridesmaid, i can't count the number of RWB to majors she's had. . she lacks one point, hopefully it'll come soon for Sara, who despite everything, hasn't given up on her. .

Of puppies & things

The wait begins.

I don't breed often, so everytime this event rolls around, I have to pick up my trusty breeding books, dust them off, and refresh my mind. I've whelped 5 litters in 11 yrs, my last one almost 3 yrs ago, things go vague in your mind. LOL. Especially with everything that's going on in life. And since the last litter I cobred (didn't whelp, only litter I wasn't there for) was the breeding from hell with an emergency C-section 5 days before the babies 1st due date, I'm a bit ansy. Thankfully she's in capable hands during the day while I work, but so far all seems to be ok.

She just keeps getting BIGGER.

Started taking her temp this morning, she was not pleased with that at all. I'll take it three times a day, within 24 hrs of it dropping below 99, the babies will be here, helps me plan my day.

And now looking to the future. Dei'll be bred next year, but my attempts to find a girlie for Umbra & Wings is just not going well. . .I was offered a girl I loved as a puppy, love the pedigree of, but her owner took horrid photos of her to send me, so not sure if it's worth the time & effort to get her here, for fear she will be horrid. OTOH, if she's as lovely as her photos were as a 4 month old puppy(and the promise she had at like 7 months), she's exactly what I need.

Decisions, decisions decisions ;P

May just end up freezing Umbra, for future use. . unfortunately Sage is a continent away now lOL

And that's the other issue, breeding Sage again, tho there are two lovely males on that side of the continent that I'd love to use. One related, one unrelated to my stuff. So much I want to do, so little space to do it in ::SIGH:: At least this should make me happy BOo's owner is being uncooperative hunh? LOL

Thursday news

Got a pic of Hecate(FKA Rumour) and boy do I really want Touchet to have another litter of pupies. .that bitch has such a gorgeous head, and she was one of the three I could not decide between! (secret & Goose were the other two)

Umbra's looking absolutely FANTABULOUS after his bath last night, hopefully Kathy Wright'll love him as much as I do next month. . Hand hurts too bad to do his teeth tonite, but will do it again tomorrow.

Humpday news

Well, Gossip proved they're not known as bitches without reason: she's in season, 10 days before her debute after the injury. Going to the specialty beginning of next month wth Umbra and her is goign to be SOO MUCH DAMN FUN!!!

NOT!!!!

Progress is being made between Mr Wizard & Ms Touchet, lots of flagging, flirting courting, hopefully tomorrow the "deed" will commence in seriousness.

Spent some time working on Umbra's teeth. Of all the things I wish he had NOT inherited from his father, bad peridontal health is one of them. . .Rinka and Kyra both had great teeth up until their deaths, Garrett had horrid teeth before he reached 4. . .ick ick ick.


Waiting to see how much Bonnie enjoyed her first judging assignment.

Gossip's first show as an adult is this weekend. Hopefully she'll be a good girl. . and hopefully I can show with my bum finger. No idea how I did it, but managed to really f*ck up my ring finger on my right hand, OWWWWWWWW

Bone cancer

Sucks.
I hate having to call puppy buyers and say "Your puppy's "(Brother/Father) just died of bone cancer. . .::SIGH::

It's even worse because there's no test, no known inheritance, nada. It's a guessing game, and now I have it in two of the three ways I've bred.

Kyra, Rinka & Garrett, together at the bridge again

Garrett was a goober dog. Sweet, loving, a bit snarky over food, but adored his people. His previous home hated him and gave him to me. He came to me under socialized, under handled but sweet as can be. He'd never seen linoleum, didn't know how to act in the house. I'm not sure if he was ignored in his former home or what, but he acted like he'd never been out of his yard

In limited showing he picked up 5 points, and finished his Can Ch, he sired a litter for me, the twilight litter, giving me my very first BBE champion, and he sired a litter of two in Canada. Shortly after he came back from his stint in Canada, he almost died from a prostate infection. . .but I nursed him thru that, and then neutered him, and placed him in a wonderful pet home. His coat was hell to deal with (his nickname was Pig Pen) and the fear everytime a bitch came into season just made me think it was the best thing to do.

I got an email from his home the other day, that he'd been put down due to bone cancer in a rib. . .he would've been 9 this July. . .Such a sweet suckup boy. . .Emailed his sire's owner, and it looks like there's two, maybe three of the litter left, another sister died recently, haven't heard back from her owner what took her.

But, I'll take bone cancer over bloat. At least with bone cancer you have time with the dog, and if you're a good person, you take advantage of that time, spend a lot of time with your buddy, Obie went everywhere with me this time last year, he went to the Nationals with me, even when I was told I shouldn't do that to him, but he absolutely positively loved it. He schmoozed with all his buddies, I got to see him on the beach, watch him frolicking on three legs, and got to spend some good quality time with him. Losing him sucked no matter what, but at least I had the time

Bloat doesn't give you that. . if you're lucky, you catch bloat, but then you have to make the decision do you have $3000+ for emergency surgery that may or may not save your dog. If you're unlucky, you come home to a dead dog. . BTDT. . I'll take bone cancer, at least you get to say goodbye. . but they both suck giant turkey eggs.

And now I sit worried, looking at Umbra wondering if the cancer bomb will take Garrett's goober son away from me. . .hoping it won't happen. . .and trying to find a line I like that doesn't have cancer up close so I can take him to it, in hopes of continuing on with that litter. .unfortunately his first litter didn't nick like I'd hoped :( but that's the game of breeding.

Damnit, I miss my Obie :( And I know Lisa misses Garrett