OH! This Weather!

So, when I left Grammy's house, the weather was nice. Sure, there were some warm days but nothing - absolutely NOTHING - like it is here at Mommy & Daddy's house! Wow! We have already been seeing temperatures in the 90's and it's only mid-June! We had temperatures in the 90's in April and May. Now, Mr. Fox and Gimme Mom may not care too much. But believe you me, Trekkie and I care!

Sure, Mommy and Daddy have air conditioning but they didn't want to turn it on too early in the year. Daddy does nothing but complain about the cost of it. So, the months of April and May were tough months to get through. Now that we are in June and the temperatures are staying above 80 most days, the A/C is on. When it works <sigh>. Boy, has that been a project for everyone! First, we had to get someone out here to do some preventative maintenance on it. Then, we had it running for just a tiny bit of time and the fan motor started dying! O.M.G.! Will I never get comfortable again??!! It's hot hot hot around here!

OK, it's getting more comfortable. The A/C is on now again and Daddy soon won't have a reason to complain about it. I hear we are getting solar panels from Solar City to help us. The solar panels mean that we won't be paying Excel Energy bunches of money. YEAH! Maybe that will mean I will get more toys or treats! Yeah! Yeah! That's the ticket! I bet I'll get more toys! Or treats! Yummmm!! Laugh Laugh!! But until then, I guess I (we) suffer through the hot temperatures. Yuck! I'll be sure to give an update when the solar panels get installed.

Thankfully, Mommy & Daddy sometimes leave the back door open at night for Trekkie and I. It's cooler at night but we have to worry about Gimme Mom's puppies. We don't want them to get too cold and they are close by the back doorI, so it's kind of a Catch-22. For now, I guess we (Trekkie and I) will just continue to wake Mommy up at 4:30 in the morning (give or take a half hour) so she can let us out then! Trekkie does a good job of waking up Mommy. She walks over to the bed and starts panting in Mommy's face. Works like a charm!! Laugh Laugh! I suggest all my internet buddies give it a try one night! Laugh Laugh!!

The weather has also wreaked havoc along the entire state. Many, many forest fires have started already this year - and it's not even forest fire season yet! That's usually later in the year. It's not only been hot, it's been really dry. Awful, awful! The biggest fire of the year is burning right now near Ft. Collins. More than 50,000 acres are already burned and the fire is only about 15% contained. It's been burning for 7 days. So many people and their animals need help. The Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/), The Salvation Army (http://www.imsalvationarmy.org/), and Larimar Humane Society (http://larimerhumane.org/) are all accepting donations for evacuees and victims of the High Park Fire.

Speaking of the puppies, I suppose I can give a quick update on them too. Because they are just adorable! I love them soooooo much! And I can tell they love me Laugh Laugh! They all play with me!

The puppies are 4-1/2 weeks old now and range from 8 pounds to 11 pounds!! They are growing so fast! It will be a long time before they are as awesome as I am even if they are cute now! Just a couple of weeks and they will be gone. I will be so sad! Hopefully we can babysit them occasionally or see them at the dog shows! They will be my buddies forever!

Well, I'd better get back to shedding my heavy puppy fur! Laugh Laugh! I realize I've lost a lot of it already in the underwater treadmill (which I still do at least once a week) but this hot hot hot weather is making me lose and fast!

I hope every one of my internet buddies has a cool house to stay in and a warm human embrace to love in!

Alf

Quick Update

There has been so much going on!! For a while, it was so busy around here! I went and saw my favorite vet Dr. Beth Lewis again. She watched me walk around and around (and around and around) and said that no, she didn't think I had a neurological/spine issue. And she cleared me for more physical therapy! I loooooooove my physical therapy!! And Jenni loves me! But of course, who could resist me?? No one I tell you. No one. Laugh Laugh!!

Daddy has taken me to work a couple of more times which always makes me happy! Sooooo many people to see and stop and pet me and love on me!! And of course, we go to Home Depot all the time during Daddy's lunch hour. And so many MORE people to see and stop and pet me and love on me!! But Daddy tells me that I am no longer welcome at his job because it's not "professional". Oh whatever. I might not be professional but I sure am super-cute and what else really matters???

And there have been so many people around the house! Yeah yeah. They come over to see the puppies but they stop to see me first! They have to because they can't resist ME!! Laugh Laugh!

But the puppies! Oh how cute and adorable they are! I love the puppies! I love watching them and sniffing them and watching them some more! The puppies are just 2-1/2 weeks old but they are starting to walk around. Earlier today, they walked around and checked me out! They were SO CUTE! At least, they were until they started trying to nurse on me. And they've got teeth already! Poor Gimme!!

So there has been so much going on! It's hard to say what all has happened! Wowzer. I guess I'd better update more often so I don't forget what's what!

Thanks for listening and have a GREAT time!

Alf

Howya Doin'?

Boy, say one little thing about being bored and next thing you know... it's busy busy busy!

I've been going every week to see the physical therapist. Having a good time and last week I was on the underwater treadmill for 15 minutes!! FIFTEEN WHOLE MINUTES!! Boy was I tired when I was done! But it was a good tired! Daddy says Jenni has to clean up all my hair when I get out though. I guess it's springtime in the Rockies!! Laugh Laugh!! I am blowing coat and Mommy just can't keep up. 

I've been for slow walks around the block to help exercise my leg, and of course my exercises. Although Mommy and Daddy have been slacking a bit on the exercises. Bad Mommy and Daddy! I guess they have an excuse since there is a lot of other stuff going on around the house!! Good thing Daddy has taken me to work again recently!! And to Home Depot and PetsMart!! I love both those places! And everyone there loves me; Me; ME!!! But of course. Because how could you not love all this??

Daddy has been working on his favorite project - remodeling the downstairs. The bathroom is almost complete! The tiling is almost done and then Daddy can attach all the fixtures and it will be useable!! Mommy is SO HAPPY! She can't wait until there are two full bathrooms in the house! I don't see what all the excitement is about. My bathroom is the entire outdoors! I suppose the neighbors would be shocked if Mommy started to use the outdoors as her bathroom... that's too bad. But oh well. Laugh Laugh!

Mommy has been busy because Gimme Mom finally had her babies!! She has 7 suckling kids - 3 girls and 4 boys. I've peeked into the room where they are and she looks so content with them. But they are so tiny! I am quite sure I was not that tiny when I was little. And where is all their hair? I know that Gimme Mom has no hair but I figured that it just all fell off. I don't get it? But it's made Mommy very tired lately. And of course Gimme Ma'am has not had any time to spend with me and that makes me sad.

Good thing that Trekkie also has no one to play with. Hmmm, that sounds wrong. See, Trekkie normally plays with Gimme Ma'am too! But now that Gimme Ma'am is Gimme Mom she isn't playing with us. All she does is spend time with the little squeakers. So Trekkie <heart> has to play with ME!! And she is so fun to play with!! Play, play, play. OK. Maybe we don't play all day long. But we do play and it's so fun! It makes me so happy that Trekkie finally knows I'm alive! Laugh Laugh! It's great to be busy again!!

That's about it for now! I'll leave you with a picture of Gimme Mom and her babies and wish you all someone to play with!

Alf

They Listened!!

I have the best - the absolutely very BEST - Mommy & Daddy in the whole wide world!! As you know, I was recently whining because I was so bored. Mommy and Daddy listened and now I'm not so bored anymore!!

First, they took me to a new, special vet. She is a doggie orthopedic specialist. She made me feel funny and took some x-rays of my knee and leg. She confirmed that nothing was broken but she thought I had had a bout with HOD (hypertrophic osteodystrophy). Mommy couldn't believe it at first because HOD normally affects two legs at the same time; and usually starts in the front legs first. I am the right age and I am a large, fast growing puppy though... So Dr. Lewis had their radiologist take a look at the x-rays as well. And they said the same thing. I had had HOD. Hmmmmm. I guess that explains the unexplained swelling I had in my leg that we all thought was an infection. And why I didn't really play the last time I was at day care. Scary. It kind of explained a lot of things! I guess I'm just an unusual puppy for getting it in only one leg (and a rear leg at that!). But then, I knew I was totally special from the day I was born! But we were still looking at the possibility of a torn cruciate ligament too.

So Dr. Lewis recommended I see a physical therapist and start underwater treadmill work. Mommy immediately made an appointment for me and boy was THAT interesting!! And fun! Don't get me wrong! It was actually kind of fun! Jenni is really cool. And before we started the treadmill, she showed Mommy some exercises that I should be doing to help me strengthen my leg. And then she put a harness on me and walked me into this box. When the door was closed, it started filling up with water. Mommy was right there with me so I didn't panic at all! She kept saying what a good dog I was <blush>. It was when the floor of the box started moving that I got confused. Notice, I didn't say panicked! Not once did I panic! I just wasn't sure what to do. So I started walking. Mommy was at the front of the box calling my name and encouraging me too. That helped. It seemed like forever, but Mommy says it was only 8 minutes when the walking finally stopped. And then the water drained out and they opened the box and smothered me in kisses! And Jenni dried me off a little too. Jenni used a towel for this trip, but they even have a blow dryer for those that prefer it. Especially in the winter when it's snowy that is probably a good idea!!

Here I am on the treadmill.

My goodness, aren't I studly? Wow. Sometimes I just amaze myself!! Laugh Laugh!! Ladies, please! I am still too young!! Laugh Laugh!

But no. That wasn't enough! Dr. Lewis called Mommy back and said she would like to "tap" my knee to verify that the fluid she saw on the x-ray wasn't bacterial and causing me to still be sick. So Mommy went back and Dr. Lewis made me feel funny again. And then I started snoring. Or so I'm told. I am quite sure that I don't snore! The results were that it was not bacterial so that is good! However, Dr. Lewis said since I was knocked out a little more than the first time she did notice a lot more play in my knee as compared to the first time. This means the cruciate ligament might be totally torn after all. This bummed out Mommy & Daddy a lot. But no surgery or anything will be scheduled for my knee at this time. I am still too young and growing. So hopefully the treadmill and exercises will help build up my muscles and we won't need surgery at all.

In the meantime, Daddy took me to work with him again! Yeah! I do love going with Daddy to work! Everyone there loves me and pets me and hugs on me!! But boy am I tired at the end of the day!

And then the next day Daddy took me to Jenni and I stayed on the treadmill for 10 whole minutes! I am getting good at that!! I don't like my exercises much though. I make it really difficult for Mommy or Daddy to help me with them. I've been getting around good on three legs. I know I should use all four, especially if I'm going to be a TOP DOG like Mommy wants me to be. But I have to get my kicks in somehow, you know?? Laugh Laugh!

And lately, bunches of people have been over at the house too! Gimme Ma'am Soon-To-Be-Mom has been hogging all the attention, but they've had time to pet me too! It has been busy! Whew!

So that's it for now internet friends! If it stays like this I'll have plenty to blog about over the upcoming weeks! So keep an eye on this space!! Here's hoping you have a place to be warm, comfortable, and loved too!

Alf

I'M BORED!!

First off, let me say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Gimme Ma'am! Mommy & Daddy took her to the vet where they did an ultrasound on her and found babies! Gimme Ma'am will become Gimme Mom sometime around May 14 or 15. Mommy & Daddy are pretty excited about this news although so far I don't think Gimme Ma'am really is. She is on restricted exercise (Hey! Just like me!) and I don't think she's enjoying that so much. Her exercise wouldn't be restricted at all if she didn't like to throw herself down on the ground and let the rest of us pounce all over her! I guess that could be bad for the babies....

In the mean time, I'm BORED!! Bored, bored, boooorrrrrreeedddd <SIGH>. Mommy and Daddy won't let me do hardly anything! No running in the yard, no going to training (and who thought I would ever miss training?? Laugh Laugh!!), no trips to Bass Pro Shops or PetsMart... BORING!!

BORED!

 So I've been secretly getting back at Mommy and Daddy for this. Well, maybe not so secretly. I think they have figured me out.

First, I wake them up every morning between 6:00am & 6:30am by jumping onto the bed. I can't actually get all the way on the bed so I just throw my front legs up and insist that they get out of bed and help me onto it. They are very well trained so of course they do! I then pant and be restless to be sure that they don't actually get any more sleep. I know Mommy thinks I'm hot but I'm fooling her. I just want attention and to be unbored! Laugh Laugh!! Plus, it freaks out The Parents because their old boy Doozer (UKC BIS Veteran-AKC/UKC/IABCA CH Sleephollows Doozer v Voyager RN CGC and a Top 20 dog in 2008) used to do that after he got the bone cancer. I know it's cruel but I'm BORED!!

What else? Hmmmmm, on the rare occasions they let me outside in the front yard with them, I follow every stranger who walks by making Mommy and Daddy have to chase me Laugh Laugh! I know I shouldn't because of my leg but it's so funny watching The Parents run after me!! And sometimes the strangers stop and say HI to me - which is my second goal anyway. Yipppeeeeee!!

Yep, it's a hard life being bored. Because you know, when puppies are bored they get destructive. And that's the third thing I've been doing! Paper, paper products, that kind of thing. So far, no electronics but we'll see. I quite enjoy chewing on the wood chair leg that Mommy sits in while she feeds Trekkie. It is starting to look like a beaver is trying to cut it down to make a dam! Laugh Laugh!!

Paper towels, paper napkins, paper tissues... Mmmmmmm all are SO SO yummy!! I don't know why The Parents haven't gotten pictures of that yet but they haven't. I'm sure I will give them plenty of opportunity to do so! Because I'm B.O.R.E.D.!!

Today, Daddy was working on the basement remodel and left some KERDI Waterproofing Band (used to seal the seams & waterproof showers and bathrooms) lying around. OK. He left a whole bunch of it around. He turned to look for it but it was gone. Of course it was... I had taken it and spread it all across the kitchen floor!! Yay Me! Good thing Daddy thought it was funny too! This is Mr. Fox Sir from years ago when he was young. He tore a toy apart and spread it all across a room. So this kind of gives you an idea of what that looks like...

And Mommy and Daddy know I could be so much worse so they don't really get too mad at me. Like I said, so far I've not chewed up any electronics or really any shoes (except my one designated shoe... but that might be because shoes are always in the closet out of my way!). Gimme Ma'am is a "sucker" and you should see what the comforter looks like! I don't do that. I tried rocks but that was short-lived. Hurt my teeth too much... I love plastic bottles but I wait until they are empty and one of The Parents gives it to me.

I could quite probably go on and on (since I'm bOrEd) but I wouldn't want you to be bored as well. So I'll quit for the evening. Hoping every one of you out there has a way to stay busy and not be bored!!

PS - No, Trekkie never tore anything apart! She is just not that kind of a girl!!

Alf

A UKC Dog Show

This past weekend, Mommy went away for days and days and days. OH! It just seemed like forever!! I am sure it wasn't really that long (forever) but to us dogs, it sure can feel that way!! It turns out that Mommy went to a UKC (United Kennel Club) Judge's Education Seminar. She was in Hickory, North Carolina (wherever that is! All I know is she is still complaining about the flights!! Laugh Laugh!)! She is waiting for the information on the UKC website to be updated but she is now a UKC judge!

As I did with the AKC shows, I will explain a UKC show....

In UKC, you must also be 6 months old to enter (whether it be conformation or obedience/rally/agility or whatever). Some shows include a non-licensed puppy class call Novice Puppy and you only have to be 3 months old for that. But not all clubs offer it and it's just for fun. You can't get points towards your championship.

Anyway, once you are old enough, you can enter a dog show. There is paperwork to fill out and money for entries to be mailed in. Wow. It is getting more and more expensive for Mommy to show me! Whew. Maybe it's a "good" thing I'm not showing right now...???

The UKC (United Kennel Club) is the largest registry in the world and has registrations from every state and many countries not in the US. While not as well known as the American Kennel Club (AKC) they are older. Every year they host their UKC Premier in Kalamazoo Michigan. And they have lots of events. Not just conformation but also rally, obedience, agility, dock diving, lure coursing, weight pulling, and terrier races. They also have what they call the Total Dog contests. The dog (like me) must compete and win in conformation AND compete and qualify in a performance event. At the Premier, those Total Dog qualifiers then compete in groups and a Total Dog Best in Show!!

Anyway, once you have entered a UKC show (and you can enter the day of show!!) you wait for your turn. Unlike AKC shows where you can only pre-enter so you know exactly how many of your breed is entered and what time - at UKC shows you go to the show early and just wait for your class.  The breeds are split into boys and girls and then by classes. The UKC classes are: Puppy (for puppies between 6 months & a year old), Junior (dogs from 12 - 24 months), Senior (dogs from 24 - 36 months (or 2-3 years), and Adult (dogs over 3 years old). Breeder/Handler is a class for handlers (or a member of their family) who have bred the dog they are showing. Mommy can't show me in this class since she didn't breed me; she only owns me. Gramma Rhonda or Grandpa Keith could though since they bred me. You will not find a professional handler in UKC unless they are showing their own dog. UKC discourages the use of professional handlers!!   Once all the boys have been judged, all the winners of the classes go back in for a final time. One of these dogs is chosen "Winners Dog". That is the only male of it's breed that will get points towards its AKC Championship. A Reserve Winners Dog is also chosen (If, for some reason, the dog that got the Winners Dog points is disqualified from showing, then the Reserve Dog will get those points). THEN, the whole thing repeats for the girls until you have only one girl who has been chosen Winners Female.

Once both Winners have been chosen, they both come back into the ring for Best of Winners competition. At this time, the judge chooses between these two - and these two only.

Immediately following the choosing of Best of Winners all the dogs that have already won their Championships come into the ring. They are not split into sexes. ALL Champions come into the ring together. From this group of dogs, a Best Champion and Reserve Best Champion is chosen.

Then the Grand Champion class comes into the ring. From this class, only one Best Grand Champion is chosen.

Finally, the Best of Winners, the Best Champion, and the Best Grand Champion come into the ring for Best of Breed competition. At this point, the judge will never have more than 3 dogs in the ring to choose from. The judges are encouraged to choose the BEST animal no matter what class it comes from.

This dog then gets to be the breed representative in the Group competition. There are eight groups (Companion, Guardian, Gun, Herding, Northern, Scenthound, Sighthound/Pariah, and Terrier). Groups are typically judged as soon as all the breeds are judged for that group. Once a winner has been chosen from each of the eight groups, those eight dogs then go on to Best In Show.

One dog is chosen Best In Show and one dog is chosen Reserve Best in Show. Gimme Ma'am tells me that she has won Best in Show twice, and Reserve Best in Show three times at UKC shows!! Mommy has also had another Great Dane Best in Show winner (Tia) and a Doberman Best in Show winner (Isis).  Mr. Fox Sir has multiple Group Placements and Doozer (Mommy's first Saint Bernard) won the Group once. Wow! Lots to live up to!!

It turns out, that you need 100 points to get a UKC Championship. You get 10 points for winning your class (even if there is no competition), 15 points for going Winners (again, even if there is no competition), and another 10 points for going Best of Winners (here, there must be competition). However, it's not as easy as it sounds!! Because you also must have three wins with competition!! This can come during breed judging (a class animal defeating a Champion for example; or a Best of Winners win).... or you can do it during Group judging. If you place in the Group (first through fourth) but there are more dogs behind you, then you get a win with competition. For example, if there are six dogs in the group, and you place fourth, you have defeated two other dogs and so you get a win with competition. However, if you win first in your Group because you are the only one in your Group... that is not a win with competition.

To get a Grand Champion in UKC, you must defeat any combination of at least 3 Champions/Grand Champions at least 5 times. So if there are 3 Champions and you win the Champions class five times you are a Grand Champion. If you are the only Champion but there are 2 Grand Champions and you win Best of Breed 5 times, you are a Grand Champion too!!

Points are the same no matter what breed you own & show or where in the country you live. It is much more simple than the AKC in that respect!!
 
Sometimes I wonder how Mommy keeps this all straight!! Laugh Laugh!!

So there you go, a very quick tutorial on UKC dog shows. If you want more information, Gimme Ma'am says go to http://www.ukcdogs.com.

Here is a icture of Gimme Ma'am winning Best in Show last year. Doesn't Mommy look SO happy??

 Happy Showing all you little dudes out there!!

Alf

A Breeding Takes Place

Yeah yeah. I know. It's been a while again! It's hard to find things to write about when I don't go anywhere! And Mommy and Daddy don't let me go anywhere since I'm still not walking correctly. They think I need to walk on all four feet to be walking correctly. I think I hop, jump, skip, limp and I'm good! I've been getting around pretty well!!
Anyway, we talked to some people and I got a nice massage out of it... and it sounds like everybody thinks I have a partially torn cruciate ligament. That's basically a torn muscle of my knee. It will take weeks and weeks of not a lot of exercise (or so I'm told). Yuck. I'm a puppy!! I need to play and play and play!! But I can't right now :-(

In the meantime, since I can't go anywhere, Mommy has decided to do a breeding. OK. She probably had already decided on the breeding but that timing sure was coincidental wasn't it?? Laugh Laugh! And no, it sure wasn't me that was being bred. Right now, I sure don't have any interest in that at all. In fact, Gimme Ma'am was in season and I barely even noticed. I sniffed, sure, but it meant nothing to me. Fox Sir is interested, but he's been neutered so he can't do anything either.

Gimme Ma'am (her full name is UKC Best In Show, AKC Grand Champion, UKC Grand Champion & UKC Rally01, IABCA Champion - Daystar Voyager Gimme Heaven - Rally Novice, Canine Good Citizen, CHIC#76689) came into season March 3. Mommy took her to the vet on days 5, 8, 10, and 12. On day 10 her LH had surged and on day 12 the vet said she should be ready to be bred via artificial insemination (AI) on day 14. Mommy took her to the vet on that day and she was bred using trans-cervical insemination (TCI) using frozen semen from IABCA Best In Show, AKC Grand Champion, IABCA Champion - Baysides Just Another Day in Paradise - Canine Good Citizen. His call name is Sean and he lives in California with his Mommy & Daddy - Vince and Joan Mulligan.

Trans-cervical inseminations are done by endoscope or the “Norwegian catheter”. The rigid endoscope is more widely used than the Norwegian catheter, and has the considerable advantage of providing the operator and the bitch’s owner with a view of the actual deposition of semen in the uterus by way of a TV monitor. Those skilled in the use of the Norwegian catheter can get excellent results as well. Trans-cervical semen depositions do not require any sedation at all in nearly all cases. The important difference between a trans-cervical insemination and a surgical implant is, obviously, that the trans-cervical does not entail the risks of general anaesthesia and surgery. Unless there is a pathological condition of the uterus, there is no benefit to doing a surgical.

I had to look that last paragraph up on the internet. I'm getting pretty good with this whole computer thing, eh?? Laugh Laugh!!

Mommy will take Gimme Ma'am to the vet in a couple of weeks for an ultrasound to see if she is pregnant. I sure hope so! I would love to have some Great Dane puppies to play with!! Puppies, if there are any, would be due mid-May and will be all fawn. I guess I would have to call her Gimme Mommy instead of Gimme Ma'am if that happens huh??

I'll try to update more often but my life is just really boring right now! Now it's off to bed. Night Night Dudes of the Internet!!

Alf