I've been woefully behind on celebrating the dogs' birthdays! Mosby turned 11 in July, Gemma and Ref were 2 in September and Claire turned 9 at the beginning of this month. While I wished them all "happy birthday" on their special days and gave them extra attention, I didn't bake them birthday treats.
Yesterday, I got caught up and tried a new recipe I had been saving for the occasion. With my granddaughter's "help", I made Peanut Butter Dog Treat Balls. It is a super simple and fast recipe to put together--even with a toddler by my side!
The dogs got their treats this morning and it was huge success! I think this recipe will be used for holiday gift baking for my dog walking clients.
Claire's birthday celebration isn't quite finished. She will be coming inside for a bath, then will become a house dog. I miss having a dog inside, now that Ben and Sophie are gone. I had planned on making both Claire and Phoebe house dogs this winter but will have to make do for awhile with just one inside dog. Even though Mosby is older, his coat is always so thick that he would find it hard to adjust to the warm house. I'm keeping an eye on him though, and Lauren, too (who will be 9 in January). Maybe if the forecasters are correct and we have a snowy and colder than usual winter, they'll be ready to be full time house dogs, too!
Showing posts with label Hillcroft Play by the Rules. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hillcroft Play by the Rules. Show all posts
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Show Results
The fat balls worked! Both Ref and Jackson put on weight in time for the shows this week-end. Ref was in perfect weight and Jackson was close, then the heat wave hit. He was only picking out the fat balls from his food, so at least he didn't lose weight but he didn't quite hit the goal we had hoped for.
As far as the shows themselves, mixed results. Both boys showed well, improving each day. I was very pleased with that! They both had great movement, Jackson doing a better job of standing while the judges went over him. Ref didn't act like he enjoyed the show at all on the first day and I drove home thinking his show career was finished and we would need to look for a companion home for him. The next two days showed dramatic improvement (thank heavens!) Then, by today, his eyes were shining, he jumped up on me, he wanted to play and acted game for anything I asked of him. Ref was obviously not today's judge's cup of tea, but yesterday he was Winners Dog for one point! I was hoping the major would cross over but I couldn't get him to "show"when it was needed. I did learn some valuable tips that I used today so I improved also!
Jackson did not win or even get Reserve in the four shows, which was very disappointing as he responded very well to Ellen (our handler), had lots of fun and looked great.
Ref's past issues of car sickness is now history. Jackson didn't travel well the first day but improved each day. That's something I need to work on with him so I think long distance shows with Ellen will be put on hold for a bit. Both dogs were relaxed at the show site, sleeping most of the days and generally quiet, even when the dogs in the next set up were barking or their handlers were eating lunch behind our crates.
Proofreading my post makes me think maybe this was a better week-end than I first thought! I didn't have to clean up car sickness, the dogs had fun, I had fun, I visited with friends, I learned some handling tips, discovered a grooming comb I've been wanting is still available and Ref got a point. Yeah, this was a good week-end!
As far as the shows themselves, mixed results. Both boys showed well, improving each day. I was very pleased with that! They both had great movement, Jackson doing a better job of standing while the judges went over him. Ref didn't act like he enjoyed the show at all on the first day and I drove home thinking his show career was finished and we would need to look for a companion home for him. The next two days showed dramatic improvement (thank heavens!) Then, by today, his eyes were shining, he jumped up on me, he wanted to play and acted game for anything I asked of him. Ref was obviously not today's judge's cup of tea, but yesterday he was Winners Dog for one point! I was hoping the major would cross over but I couldn't get him to "show"when it was needed. I did learn some valuable tips that I used today so I improved also!
Jackson did not win or even get Reserve in the four shows, which was very disappointing as he responded very well to Ellen (our handler), had lots of fun and looked great.
Ref's past issues of car sickness is now history. Jackson didn't travel well the first day but improved each day. That's something I need to work on with him so I think long distance shows with Ellen will be put on hold for a bit. Both dogs were relaxed at the show site, sleeping most of the days and generally quiet, even when the dogs in the next set up were barking or their handlers were eating lunch behind our crates.
Proofreading my post makes me think maybe this was a better week-end than I first thought! I didn't have to clean up car sickness, the dogs had fun, I had fun, I visited with friends, I learned some handling tips, discovered a grooming comb I've been wanting is still available and Ref got a point. Yeah, this was a good week-end!
Friday, June 29, 2012
Fat Balls
Earlier this year, we decided to not do any more shows until the fall, giving Ref and Jackson time to mature and develop. Funny, how quickly plans change!
One morning, I looked at Ref and he had seemingly changed overnight from a gangly, leggy boy to a male with more muscle and mature body. I looked over at Jackson and his coat was blooming and he was standing with a nice arch to his neck and a beautiful expression on his face. Hmmmm...should we reconsider our decision? I barely broached the subject to David, who interrupted me to say, "have you noticed that Ref has put on weight"? We decided to plan on entering a cluster of shows the first weekend of July, but on the caveat that Ref needed a bit more weight before the entry was due.
I researched the internet to see if there was a better way to put pounds on a dog instead of just adding more food to his bowl. That method usually leads to diarrhea, which seems to defeat the purpose of adding the food! To my surprise, there are actual recipes for "Satin Balls" or "Fat Balls" to help in this situation.
There were several variations, many involving cereal, which I didn't want Ref to have. I chose this recipe:
10 pounds of uncooked, ground beef
10 ounces uncooked oatmeal
6 raw egg yolks
10 ounces wheat germ
10 ounces molasses
Mix well, roll into balls (I make meatball size), refrigerate enough for a few days and freeze the rest.
I've been mixing one to two balls into Ref's dry food at each meal. He loves it, of course! Within a few days, he had put on the extra weight we wanted and I mailed in the entries.
Jackson has some sixth sense about dog shows and started his old trick of not eating all of his meals once the entry had left the mailbox. It's hard to maintain a good weight on him anyway, so now Jackson is on "fat balls". I'm giving him more meatballs at each meal, using two to three, to basically coat his dry food so he eats it all. I have a week, we'll have to see what happens!
One morning, I looked at Ref and he had seemingly changed overnight from a gangly, leggy boy to a male with more muscle and mature body. I looked over at Jackson and his coat was blooming and he was standing with a nice arch to his neck and a beautiful expression on his face. Hmmmm...should we reconsider our decision? I barely broached the subject to David, who interrupted me to say, "have you noticed that Ref has put on weight"? We decided to plan on entering a cluster of shows the first weekend of July, but on the caveat that Ref needed a bit more weight before the entry was due.
I researched the internet to see if there was a better way to put pounds on a dog instead of just adding more food to his bowl. That method usually leads to diarrhea, which seems to defeat the purpose of adding the food! To my surprise, there are actual recipes for "Satin Balls" or "Fat Balls" to help in this situation.
There were several variations, many involving cereal, which I didn't want Ref to have. I chose this recipe:
10 pounds of uncooked, ground beef
10 ounces uncooked oatmeal
6 raw egg yolks
10 ounces wheat germ
10 ounces molasses
Mix well, roll into balls (I make meatball size), refrigerate enough for a few days and freeze the rest.
I've been mixing one to two balls into Ref's dry food at each meal. He loves it, of course! Within a few days, he had put on the extra weight we wanted and I mailed in the entries.
Jackson has some sixth sense about dog shows and started his old trick of not eating all of his meals once the entry had left the mailbox. It's hard to maintain a good weight on him anyway, so now Jackson is on "fat balls". I'm giving him more meatballs at each meal, using two to three, to basically coat his dry food so he eats it all. I have a week, we'll have to see what happens!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Sunday Dinner
David received a nice gift certificate for Father's Day from our oldest son and daughter in law so we ate out tonight! MacDowell Brew Kitchen has outdoor seating, allows dogs there and I realized I needed to add to my blog list of dog friendly restaurants. (this might need to be my summer project!) We've eaten at this Leesburg restaurant before so we know the menu is great but took Ref along to judge the atmosphere for the canine contingent.
Ref had a great time! The outdoor dining is beach themed--sand, tropical plants, wooden tables, music and a play area for kids. Ref enjoyed the attention from the restaurant staff and fellow diners. He watched the little ones play in the sand, snuffled in the sand himself, then laid under the table while we ate. I tried to share my fish and chips with him, but Ref didn't care for anything but the fish (although he did seem interested in trying David's beer!).
It's always fun to take one of the smooth coats out and hear the various guesses from people as to what breed of dog we have. Tonight was a new one--a man thought Ref was part beagle! We're always quick to let people know that a smooth coat collie is a terrific breed and let them pet the dog so they can experience some collie love. We held up traffic in the parking lot as one group spent so much time petting Ref and asking questions about smooth collies. I think at least one person in that group will want to add a collie to their home!
Ref had a great time! The outdoor dining is beach themed--sand, tropical plants, wooden tables, music and a play area for kids. Ref enjoyed the attention from the restaurant staff and fellow diners. He watched the little ones play in the sand, snuffled in the sand himself, then laid under the table while we ate. I tried to share my fish and chips with him, but Ref didn't care for anything but the fish (although he did seem interested in trying David's beer!).
It's always fun to take one of the smooth coats out and hear the various guesses from people as to what breed of dog we have. Tonight was a new one--a man thought Ref was part beagle! We're always quick to let people know that a smooth coat collie is a terrific breed and let them pet the dog so they can experience some collie love. We held up traffic in the parking lot as one group spent so much time petting Ref and asking questions about smooth collies. I think at least one person in that group will want to add a collie to their home!
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| Ref got a sandy nose from snuffling so much! |
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| Surveying the dining area. |
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| I shared my fish and chips but Ref didn't like the batter. He only ate the fish! |
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| Relaxing in the shade of the table. |
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| A Rhodesian Ridgeback came out for dinner, too! |
Monday, February 28, 2011
In Training
Earlier in the month, we took Ref and Gemma to a match in Maryland. Both the pups behaved horribly, bolting around the ring, backing away from the judge. Ref was so bad, I truly wanted to just put him back in his crate! The match judge said (after three attempts at the down and back), "I've yet to see that puppy move".
But, it showed what I needed to work on with the babies and they've been receiving daily lessons. One mile walks to improve leash manners, time on the grooming table to accept nail filing and whisker trimming and close monitoring of their ear carriage.
Yesterday, it was time to put all the lessons together and try another match. After taking out the braces in Treasure's ears, I decided she needed to stay home as her ears were not in placement yet. Ref's ears are breaking over way too far, but I felt it was more important to have him in the show atmosphere again after his last experience.
Ref was terrific at the match! Everything he did wrong last time, he did right this time. He moved nicely, stood for the judge's exam and even stood confidently enough that I could move to the end of the lead instead of standing next to him. Gemma, however, did not show as well. She was in a headstrong mood and would not gait correctly. She did stand nicely for brief periods, though. Ref won the Variety, then placed third in the Puppy Group!
Even though the forecast had called for cooler temps and the chance of showers, the afternoon was warm and sunny. We decided to celebrate the puppies' improved behavior with relaxing the rest of the day at Casanel Vineyards. We shared our cheese and crackers with Ref and Gemma, who were not content with their snacks. Ref was determined to eat the cigarette butts in the large container and Gemma knocked over a glass of wine, then lapped it up, which caused a sneezing fit. Not even six months old and they've developed vices!
Today was back to work. Ref and Treasure have braces back in their ears and all three puppies took a trip to Buckeystown so Ellen could see their progress. I had a nice visit with Ellen and a good lunch--it was a great day!
But, it showed what I needed to work on with the babies and they've been receiving daily lessons. One mile walks to improve leash manners, time on the grooming table to accept nail filing and whisker trimming and close monitoring of their ear carriage.
Yesterday, it was time to put all the lessons together and try another match. After taking out the braces in Treasure's ears, I decided she needed to stay home as her ears were not in placement yet. Ref's ears are breaking over way too far, but I felt it was more important to have him in the show atmosphere again after his last experience.
Ref was terrific at the match! Everything he did wrong last time, he did right this time. He moved nicely, stood for the judge's exam and even stood confidently enough that I could move to the end of the lead instead of standing next to him. Gemma, however, did not show as well. She was in a headstrong mood and would not gait correctly. She did stand nicely for brief periods, though. Ref won the Variety, then placed third in the Puppy Group!
Even though the forecast had called for cooler temps and the chance of showers, the afternoon was warm and sunny. We decided to celebrate the puppies' improved behavior with relaxing the rest of the day at Casanel Vineyards. We shared our cheese and crackers with Ref and Gemma, who were not content with their snacks. Ref was determined to eat the cigarette butts in the large container and Gemma knocked over a glass of wine, then lapped it up, which caused a sneezing fit. Not even six months old and they've developed vices!
Today was back to work. Ref and Treasure have braces back in their ears and all three puppies took a trip to Buckeystown so Ellen could see their progress. I had a nice visit with Ellen and a good lunch--it was a great day!
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| Gemma gets a whisker trim |
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| And a bath! |
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| Waiting for the match to start |
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| Ref relaxes at Casanel |
Saturday, January 8, 2011
First Win
After going back and forth on how many puppies to take to the match, who it was going to be, the decision was pretty easy. I couldn't show the puppies in Sweeps with their ears glued, or with braces, although I could in the regular match class as they were being entered "For Exhibit Only". Ref's glue came loose on Friday and his ears were in good position so I decided only one puppy was going to the match. Plus, after their vet visit on Friday, I had four slobbery, car sick puppies and didn't want to have to deal with four baths on Friday, then four spot clean ups at the match site.
I took Jackson to the match, too, just to give him some exposure to a show site and noise. There wasn't a lot of activity as the entry was quite small, probably due to the bit of snow we had this morning. Jackson was very good, interested in the goings on and was quite relaxed.
Ref settled in pretty quickly, too. He showed pretty much as I expected, holding still for part of the exam, generally moving forward when I wanted him to. He did stop a couple of times to scratch at his collar--it suddenly bothered him that he was wearing one. Liz Manuel of Raebeth Collies was the Sweeps judge and she liked his chest and his expression. Ref was Best in Sweeps! He was also Ellen's pick for best smooth in the regular match class. Not a hard decision, Ref was the only smooth collie at the match!
For his efforts, Ref won some treats and two toys. The treats were shared with Jackson, who also got some ring experience, even though he wasn't entered in the match. Jackson wasn't intimidated by the ring mats or running a ring pattern. He is a bit underweight though, and needs more development in his back legs to have proper movement and be a strong contender in competition. I have entered him in his first shows this coming week. I can get some weight on him pretty quickly, but with winter re-appearing, will probably not be able to get much conditioning done, if any. Oh well, it will be good experience for Jackson just to go to the shows.
I took Jackson to the match, too, just to give him some exposure to a show site and noise. There wasn't a lot of activity as the entry was quite small, probably due to the bit of snow we had this morning. Jackson was very good, interested in the goings on and was quite relaxed.
Ref settled in pretty quickly, too. He showed pretty much as I expected, holding still for part of the exam, generally moving forward when I wanted him to. He did stop a couple of times to scratch at his collar--it suddenly bothered him that he was wearing one. Liz Manuel of Raebeth Collies was the Sweeps judge and she liked his chest and his expression. Ref was Best in Sweeps! He was also Ellen's pick for best smooth in the regular match class. Not a hard decision, Ref was the only smooth collie at the match!
For his efforts, Ref won some treats and two toys. The treats were shared with Jackson, who also got some ring experience, even though he wasn't entered in the match. Jackson wasn't intimidated by the ring mats or running a ring pattern. He is a bit underweight though, and needs more development in his back legs to have proper movement and be a strong contender in competition. I have entered him in his first shows this coming week. I can get some weight on him pretty quickly, but with winter re-appearing, will probably not be able to get much conditioning done, if any. Oh well, it will be good experience for Jackson just to go to the shows.
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