Nuthatch Kennel

April 2012 – Fire and ticks and busy-ness

Marsha — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 06:03:23 +0000

In the last month and a half I have: lead a major production release at work (software) involving 16+ hour days, been evacuated for a fire, lived in a trailer in a field for a week, driven 2000+ miles to the Leo Specialty in Wisconsin, pulled nasty little ticks out of our dogs (what good are ticks? I ask you!?) and tried to keep some sense of sanity through all this.

Didn’t work. Sanity lost…

If any of you have tried to contact me during March/April I beg forgiveness. I probably haven’t replied. I’m just now slogging through emails trying to catch up. Please contact me again if I haven’t responded.

Just listening to you makes me tired, Marsha!

Sign me,
Loopy in Littleton

Skimmer is obedient. (Did I really just say that?!?)

Marsha — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:54:11 +0000

Big atta-boys are in order for Skimmer! He got 2 legs towards his AKC CD title at the Rocky Mtn Cluster Dog Shows in February. That’s another two-for-two: 2 trials, 2 legs. Day 1 he got a respectable 190.5 – pretty darn impressive for a big boy. I almost wished I’d put him in a 3rd show that weekend but it’s probably best that I didn’t; it was an exhausting weekend and we’d have been pushing it to try to get that 3rd leg.

Now of course we wait… and wait… there are no local shows for months and when summer hits we have no intention of spending the weekends inside, wandering around, waiting to go in the ring. Not when Water Rescue season beckons! So that obedience carrot might not get nabbed for a long time but I can still claim…

Skimmer, "smooch!". Yup, definitely obedient.

Skimmer is obedient!

Ripple wins a major

Marsha — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:26:56 +0000

I was waiting for a good pic of Ripple showing before posting but they all look goofy (after all, I am in them) so I’m gonna wing it…

Ripple took a 4-point major at the Plum Creek Dog Show in Denver, CO in February. This is pretty impressive considering she gets a little overwhelmed in crowds – or, wait, is it me that gets overwhelmed? – whatever, we both overcame our shyness and sauntered to a fun win. Ripple even had her own cheering crowd; several friends from a local social group were in the bleachers cheering her on. I think that’s why she won! Seriously. That and the extra brushings Ripple got from a friend right beforehand.

We enter about 3 shows a year. So far we’ve never competed against any other female Leos in the local shows, always having to best the boys to get points. It happens… and at this rate she might get her CH by …oh… 2015? Perhaps? or perhaps never, which is fine and dandy by me. .

Better than any ol' show pic anyway! Go Ripple!

Ripple remains my wonderful, perfect girly-girl in all things fun.

On to the National Specialty in April – only a few weeks away. Wisconsin here we come!

Two-fer-two at water rescue

Marsha — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 03:14:53 +0000

If it isn’t obvious already I have the awesome-est Leos ever…

The High Country Newf club held their Sept water rescue trials on Sept 17/18th, and both Ripple and Skimmer passed their water rescue tests! One day, both… that! doesn’t happen very often.

Ripple passed her Senior WRD (Water Rescue Dog) with nary a hitch and Skimmer, oh Skimmer, unbelievably, passed his Junior WD (Water Dog) title with a near perfect performance.

Just 2 weeks before the test I had tried a new method of training with Ripple for the 3-drowners exercise and, by golly, it worked. Ripple grabbed the rope w/life-ring and never looked back – one more drowning swimmer saved!

So, yes, the season is over yet again and I can cry about having to wait for 8 months

I was a good boy, wasn't I? I saved those people!

…alas… but I can look forward to next summer knowing that some really fun training is in order, WRDX! (and Senior for Skimmer).

Skimmer learns to jump, soon will be skimming…

Marsha — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 04:23:29 +0000

Without a doubt, the best milestone in water rescue is the boat jump! Sure, saving a drowning victim might be … practical… even heroic (if it were real)… but there is nothing better than watching a massive hairy beast take a swan dive off a boat.

My little hairy 135lb Leo boy learned to jump off the boat last week. My summer is complete; whether or not we pass any water rescue trials in the next coming weeks is irrelevant, my little boy jumped! And he’s going to be a beautiful jumper too, leaping far out from the boat with a great push.

There have been some big disappointments this summer – Ripple’s breeding didn’t go as planned, and my work schedule was so harsh that I didn’t get to train in water rescue seriously – but what I will remember from this summer is Skimmer’s first jump.

Test New Post

Marsha — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:21:46 +0000

Just testing

April may be here and gone, but “April” is here to stay!

Marsha — Sat, 28 May 2011 06:19:52 +0000

Playing pattycake with the water!

After the loss of Takoda we just didn’t feel right around the house. While the big dogs are a lot of loving, there was an open spot in our hearts to love another doggy, so Janet went in search of a dog to fill that spot.

We now have “April”, an 8yo Golden Retriever, who has stolen our hearts, a lot of toys, and 99% of the bed. She has worked her way quickly into “old girl, top girl” position with the Leos, who seem to take it in stride. We thought we might have trouble with Skimmer (a 2 yo male teenager) accepting her but it seems that we should have been more worried about her accepting him! She’s not exactly tolerant of the the young whippersnapper, but he has deferred to her in all instances, and she is learning that he’s more than just a mass of fur that moves frantically. All is calm on the homefront and April feels more and more comfortable each day.

I can’t say enough good things about Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies . If you’re looking for a Golden, check them out!

Goodbye Takoda Woda Schmoda

Marsha — Sat, 28 May 2011 06:06:02 +0000

Takoda, our 9 y.o. Chinook doggy, died in March. We don’t know what actually took her but suspect some sort of cancer. She didn’t look “quite right” for a while in the winter and just seemed to be a little “off’ – in Feb and March she slid downhill and we said our goodbyes at home.

Takoda, aka Takoda Woda Schmoda, Koda, and a 1000 other names (most of them nice) raised Ripple and Skimmer and was the best dog mom ever… bar none!

2011 water season is almost here

Marsha — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 04:10:26 +0000

This has been the warmest, driest winter in the Front Range that I can remember. OK, my memory is shot but I’m still sure this has been warmer and drier than usual. I think the 2000-2002 years (ugh, the Hayman fire years) were about the same.

Mixed emotions for sure. We need the snow and rain but I’m itching to get back in the boat and start water rescue work. Skimmer will be almost 2 years old and finally ready to concentrate on working… I think… I hope. He is, shall we say, a slow maturing dog…