Something Different.

Mom, Dad, and the breeder. That's "Gogal" on the left, "Tuxedo" on the right, and Chris in the center, at the 2007 Dutch Salmon's Pack Hunt. I'll try and put better pics in the album.

Command Performance

For all those clamoring for more pictures.. here's a nice movement/construction image. Just look at those feet! He's going to be about Fanny's size.

One Smart Puppy

Forget everything you've heard about puppies.. especially kennel raised puppies. Here's a 13 week old pup who'd never had a collar on, never been on leash, never been in a crate, never been away from his siblings, etc. etc. etc.

Chris was at work when we left on Sunday, so we had to capture this kid on our own.. the plan was to take the big food dish to the puppy pen. All the puppies follow the bowl into the pen, which is when we were supposed to grab him while he was thinking about food. Well, guess who figured out something was up, and didn't go with all the other puppies? Un huh. Sandia. He stayed back, out of reach, and when I went to get him, he ran back to the garage, where I cornered him under a workbench, and got his collar and leash on.

He then did the "mule" thing, planting all four and refusing to budge. Not wanting to waste time, and he being a small pup, I just picked him up, took him to the van, and unceremoniously pushed him into his crate. We were packed, and ready to go, so Margaret got the gate, and I hit the gas, with Sandia yelping and screaming like he was being murdered. Fanny told him to shut up, in her inimitable fashion. It worked.

By the time we hit Texas, he was sound asleep. We stopped to walk dogs, and found he'd pee'd and pooped in the crate. After cleanup, he went back in without a problem. At our next stop, in Oklahoma, Margaret got him out of a clean, dry crate and walked him, where he pee'd for about 4 minutes, to much great praise. We slept in the van at WalMart Sunday night, but by Monday night we were feeling grubby, and tired and stopped for the night at a motel in Effingham, IL. By this point he'd kept the crate dry for over 30 hours, but hadn't pooped since we left. He promptly took care of that, twice, after getting out of the van... along with another long pee. He was now also walking normally... if you consider normal trying to trip me, or jumping up on me, or stopping to "sit and think" periodically. And most impressively of all, when we went into the room, he leaped onto the spare bed, curled up on the pillow like you see here, and spent the entire night there... next to a coiled telephone cord that would have sorely temped a lesser dog! Dog's not normal!

"I'm Not Gay!"

...My Gaydar says otherwise, you old Log Cabin Republican, you...

Introducing:

TSH WatermelonMan @ Shotonsite. ("Sandia"). Born 5/18/07. This little fellow wasn't originally available, but once he showed signs of getting a wire coat, he was. You don't have to ask us twice! He caught my attention the first time we looked at the pictures. The eyes have it!

Thank You Chris! Watch this space for more pictures... lots more pictures ;-)

Road Trip...

Dateline: Edgewood, NM
Yup. After weeks of trying to finagle ways to get a puppy from NM to wherever we happened to be at the time, we decided we might as well come out ourselves and actually see the live versions, and make our pick.

Wednesday, we dropped off the Express, and the Escape at Done-Right Auto & RV Repair in Mason, MI, hopped in a shiny white Enterprise Rent-A-Van (bare-bones cargo version... no cruise control!), with all the dogs and the cat and began our 1500 mile trip... which we accomplished in 29 mind numbing, and sleep depriving hours.

Finally confronted with puppies in the flesh, which one would we choose? Would it be "Kiko",

the tan boy we picked from the photos when our original pick was deemed to be "not quite right in the feet",

...or would it be "La Adelita",

that very same black and white girl who now seems to have normal feet?

Or would we like another puppy altogether...?

We're leaving tomorrow morning.. hope we've got it figured out by then! As I've said before... stay tuned.

What Are the Odds?

Ironic, isn't it? As I sit in Starbucks, waiting for the MWCC trial pictures to upload to our website, I'm browsing Slate.com, and stumble on this.

Happy Birthday! (Belated)

"Randir", born August 19, 1996. Keep chasin' jacks!

One More from the Sky

Couldn't resist one more overhead shot from the weekend. This is one of our favorites. Jack Helder's "Rev". If you think you've seen every possible view of your dog, think again!

Anniversary

This week marks the 4 year anniversary of Dan and Margaret's "Full Time RV'er" lifestyle... still relative newbies, we've met folks who have been on the road 20 years and more. How many more years will we do it? It's unclear, as the search for land in New Mexico continues. Stay tuned.

Schedule & Travel Updates.

The MGA trial "up North" was a mixed success. It was on the small side, but was actually bigger than we expected. 7 Ibizans?? Better sales on our end would have certainly been a plus. Most of the dogs here we've shot many times before, but with the overhead perspective from the snow-maker tower, they've never been seen like this before! Talk after the trials was to move the date to October next year, during that northern season known as "Fall Color". It should be gorgeous. And when word gets out how beautiful the location is, there should be more folks showing up.

So.. the travel schedule:

This coming weekend we'll be at the Midwest Coursing Club trials at the Racine, WI kennel club field. We'll apparently be sharing southeast Wisconsin real estate with thousands and thousands of Harley H.O.G. members. Motels are booked 50 miles out, and more, and the rates are doubled! If you don't have a place booked already, forget it.

Next week, the Express, in it's seemingly never-ending need for repair, will have to be left at Done Right Auto & RV Repair to have a cracked exhaust manifold replaced. So, we're letting Enterprise "pick us up", we're packing up the dogs, and we're all going to New Mexico to pick up the Galgo puppy. We think we know which one we're getting, but that could change when we get to see all our choices. So forget everything we've written before. ;) This, of course, means we will not be at the LARC LGRA as previously posted.

Labor Day weekend we will be at the OKIGO ASFA trials and fun runs at Twin Towers Park near Dayton, OH.

September 8-9 is the event we never miss! Wind Chasers Lure Coursing Club ASFA trials at Deep River Park, Hobart, Indiana. Pig Roast on Saturday night! MMMMmmmmm!

Monday through Friday, we may be at the Escapees big Fall "Escapade" in Goshen, IN.

I'm not sure what the rest of the month looks like... we will catch a LARC LGRA and fun trial in Oberlin, OH, and the LCLC trials in Romulus, NY. Other dates to be filled in as we know them. And don't forget the LGRA/NOTRA OB Nationals in Carthage, IN the first weekend of October. (Which means we miss the Loomis (NE) Dog Races.... again!)

Cwazy Wabbit!

This one's getting heavy traffic, but maybe some of you haven't seen it yet. HT to Frank Vignieri in New Mexico.

Or: Don't Cross Wanda!

View from the tower.

A Better Perspective

Here's a more telling angle of the field. The course was only 556 yards, but with elevation change of nearly 70 feet in that distance, it would probably equal a 900 yard soccer field course. Today I shot from the snow-maker tower you see on the right hand side. What a perspective, as the dogs ran directly below! Best crash of the year... coming soon!

Up North

To a native Michigander, that means anywhere above the tri-cities of Saginaw-Bay City-Midland. I've extolled the virtues of Northern Michigan previously on these pages, so you know we're happy to be back here. And this time we're here to work!

A few people from the Michigan Gazehound Association thought it would be fun to host a trial way beyond the ordinary latitudes...in fact we're just 2 or 3 miles south of the 45th Parallel. The location for this weekend's trial is a premier golf and ski resort known as Shanty Creek, and the dogs will run from the very top of the place. This is the view from the top floor of the Summit Resort lodge.

This is also the view of the lure coursing field! Dogs better be in shape! Maybe later this week I'll post a shot or two of the action.

Nature Shots of the Weekend

From Scattergun Reserve. Conneautville, PA....
Plant life. Any botanists (amateur or professional) out there know what this is? It was deep in the woods, next to a small pool, and it had no relatives nearby that I could see. A hermit. It sure is red.

Plants and animals... I know this image is kind of cliche'd, but I don't use my macro lens nearly enough. So here it is.

If you like them, I'd look for these and others like them at our Nature and landscape image website .

EDIT: Well, well, well... thanks to reader "Anonymous", we now know that that beautiful red flower above is known as the "Cardinal Flower". You can look, but don't eat it!