Updates

[erykah1310]

I see there are LOTS of new people here now and still a few of the regulars so I thought it was about time to do an update on everyone here.
I don't have any pics of the cats uploaded but they are all doing very well. Mr.Floyd has gone almost 2 years now with out any medical issues or parasites (whahoo) Miss Mia is still MIA most of the time in the house hiding in the rafters in the basement and only coming upstairs to pester us as we sleep but that is exactly what we love about her the most. She is basically our imaginary kitty and NEVER bothers us for anything. Orange Cat ( Cheese Croissant) is a big bully.. and by big I mean BIG. He's getting a bit over weight now that he spends ALL his time indoors because its cold out. All in all the cats are perfect and still a super big part of our family.
As for the horses, they are all doing well, we almost had to put ol man Calvin down just before winter but I didn't want to give up on him and have given him all the vaccinations needed to feed him silage, he can start eating it in a couple weeks and here's hoping it will help him with his weight issues. He is currently on a very strict feeding guideline that is costing a small fortune but he is worth it in every way.
He still isn't retired from riding though as he needs to keep moving but his hacks are very short and slow but he loves getting out.
Sir Viggo is now green broke and a STELLAR gelding. He will hit the trails and not flinch at a thing, he is still growing so all his riding is at a walk and brief trots but he is coming along nicely.
Miss Fe, I had traded for a truck 2 months ago with a buy back option. Last month I was offered her back, she is a stubborn mare and has gotten flighty lately but we are working on that right now.
The dogs,
The dogs are fantastic.
Kita is getting up there in age and slowly showing signs of it but not slowing down much which is great.
The 3 TM's are all doing well and are currently in training for dog sledding (which is proving to be quite harder than I anticipated but we are having a blast trying)
Elmo is also a member of our dog sled team and is great for speed but not so great when it comes to having brains or focus lol
Little Rambo is being a bit of a jack... he has officially had his "cute puppy" pass revoked and is serious training now for manners and respect but otherwise doing very well. I am anticipating him finishing his CH this spring as he only needs 3 more points and has his 2 point win. He took a group fourth at 7 months of age at his last show and has only matured since then. Pretty excited to get him finished and focus on the TM's more in the ring. This year I will basically be buying my CH on them, as that is the sad reality of how corrupt the show world can be when no one is entering against you.
I was recently contacted about 14 TM's needing rehoming but have not heard anything back after it was figured out who it was that was rehoming so I am hoping they are all safe and sound. I just hope it isn't said breeders old tricks of "cleaning house" and moving out "breeding stock" to make way for new ones. Its sad to find out that even the best looking breeders have some deep dark secrets, it sort of makes one want to just be sick.
Any way.
here are some pics taken of the doglet gang here doing what we do every day.
Enjoy.
She may be 9 now and stiffening up a bit, but there is no denying this is one happy healthy girl.


Here she is again with Tibby doing recall work.


Karma off exploring at her steady pace ( she's now 4 year old, where does the time go?)


You can never get a nice family picture around here with out some clown jumping in and ruining it


Monster Marv has started challenging Elmo to zoomie races, When Marv gets going that big beast can really go. He is going to be 2 on the 10th of Feb already and going in for his hip and elbow evaluations. Always a stressful wait for that. He is gaining weight like crazy lately and building some insane muscle up from our dog sledding training. Last weigh in a few months ago was 138lbs.


Marv's evil smirk while running full tilt.


And here is Rambo, Mr. Attitude himself

[erykah1310]

And... there are talks in the works of us adding another furry to the family maybe this year
After attending several french ring seminars over the past year I have officially been "bitten" by the bug.
I am looking into getting either a Belgian Malinois or Dutch Shepherd as the dogs I have just do not have the drive needed, and where Elmo has the drive he is too nervy to really enjoy or excel at the sport.

For now though, here are a couple more TM pics.
Miss Tibby's first day leash free


And Monster Marv

[Digston]

What a beautiful furry family you have!! I was seriously considering a TM when I was first searching for a dog, they are gorgeous!

[erykah1310]

They're addictive if you like a challenge
I got off easy with my first girl Karma and that is why I have 3 now. They're a different breed and are quite the challenge to live with but if you aren't super serious in any one sport but like to dabble, they are perfect. My guys humour me and try everything out, somethings they excel at like tracking, and other things are on a case by case basis lol.
Things they have done and done quite well are tracking, dock diving ( Miss Tibby is amazing at it) dog sledding, skijoring (Karma excels at this) ringsport basics (Marv) obedience is Karmas thing and she is good at it, all 3 of them went to a herding seminar with Rambo my corgi and the TM's walked out with herding instinct certificates and Rambo has to try again this year lol.

[Dog Dancer]

Erykah they all look wonderful. Thanks for the update. Kita looks fabulous and as spunky as a puppy.

[hazelrunpack]

That's funny about the herding certs, erykah! No wonder Rambo has a complex...heheh

They do all look wonderful! Love that shot of Tibby off-leash!

[Shaykeija]

So how much horse power was the truck? LOL good pictures of them having fun and off leash....they all look like they like the snow.

[erykah1310]

The truck was way more than one horse power buts good to have Miss Fe back already because the transmission needs to be rebuilt in the truck already so we just got another one lol.

[marko]

Hey Erykah1310,

Thanks for that update and for sharing all those wonderful pix. I really dig pix of doogers in action!

[growler~GateKeeper]

Great to see an update on how everyone is doing.

Originally Posted by erykah1310

You can never get a nice family picture around here with out some clown jumping in and ruining it

That cracked me up!

[erykah1310]

hazel, funny thing is, a while back a member here had stated that " the only way to know your dog will have brains is to make sure that they are out of champion titled parents" or something along those lines. It was in reference to my dogs in a discussion and what made me a craptacular breeder basically, which made and now makes me laugh even more
Here is Rambo, out of many MBIS lines on both sides of his pedigree, his pedigree has not ONE untitled dog listed there which means... he looks like a corgi.
But there is an amazing article I had read a while back after spending a lot of time around french ringsport people and mondioring trainers that someone had sent me. It was called rosettes to ruins and one part in there had shown that many conformation dogs are becoming hollow shells of what used to be a working dog ( in reference to herding, working, terrier, hound ect dogs)
But yeah... a show CH is the ONLY way to know if your dog has brains
Here's hoping Rambo can get somewhere with his herding this year cause my "brainless" TM's ( but they have plenty of show CH's in their pedigree too granted) are cleaning house around here when it comes to brains, and don't even get me started on the brains my mixed breeds have lol

[erykah1310]

If you are serious about getting a healthy purebred dog with a brain and a decent temperment - then titles should be a bare minimum.

This whole thing was in reference to show breeders.
That was the exact words used LOL, needed a good chuckle so I went looking for it.
healthy dog= titles... of course
brain= titles... of course
decent temperament=titles... definately
What would anyone be thinking if they ensured healthy dogs by health testing all dogs used for breeding, ensured "brains" which I can only assume was meant to be intelligence, by working the dogs, and decent temperaments by watching lines and/or temperament testing?
Thats just a silly waste of time and money apparently, all one needs to do to ensure this is buy a Ch title ( which in many breeds is SUPER easy to obtain if you have 3 or more dogs,OR have the money to play the political end of conformation showing and putting your dog on a well respected handler...) but thats something that most pet people just don't understand.
Ahh, how fun it was walking down laughing memory lane

[chico2]

Erykah,I had a giggle when I saw Elmo(the clown)juming in to the picture
Beautiful pics!!
and little Rambo,is he intimidated by the big guys?? It does not look like it

[ownedbycats]

Erykah, I somehow missed you getting Rambo. He is cute! Thanks for the update on the others, they look well cared for and fluffy (well, the TMs look fluffy and Elmo looks sleek and shiny.)