Monday, August 27, 2012

August 28th, 2012 11 weeks old

Hi all,

Ari continues to be our household star. Primarily because she is the only puppy here now... and that's ok with me.

She is starting to do basic obedience with Tony. Always fun and always with reward. Sit, down, speak and the agility course. Using an agility course with a puppy is a tricky thing. There has to be enough stimulant of new ideas and not so much as to risk future bone or spine development.  So having said that, she only gets a few minutes a day on the agility course but she is doing fantastic. She was startled with the teeter-totter when it hit the ground and made a huge bang.  She has worked that out though. She slides, yes slides, down the baby slide and then runs herself through the tunnel and over the swing bridge. Sometimes she waits for Tony.

Her next big trick is learning to sleep outside in the kennel. Poor baby, leaving the crate beside the bed... She's been a trouper and has been quiet through the night. She is growing like a weed. Eats and then looks for more. She uses her front paws like hands. Grabs things and moves them around the kitchen. Wow, these guys are fun.

We were planning to update with a video but our young friend ended up in hospital again for another open heart surgery so I was busy supporting family and friends. I hear it will rain on Wednesday and Thursday this week soooo, we will have to wait until week 12 to get a video done. Ari may be too big to demonstrate her slide by then ;-(   Sorry all.


Hug your kids today like you might loose them tomorrow.... you never know how close that call is until it hits you!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

August 2, 2012 since I'm messing with the calendar of events timeline....

just wanted to share a message from Miss Heather:


HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Guys :)
I wanted to take a moment ( now that I have some ) to send a BIG THANK-YOU to the both of you & Bobi & Rush for producing such a quality dog. Our boy Rip is assuming his rule around the home just as we had hoped. Although the first couple of nights were ruff for all involved we pulled through with flying colours & are moving on now with the rest of life. He is attracting much attention from anybody who lays eyes on him & I've even had an offer from a friend to trade their child for the puppy ( still trying to decide who is getting the better deal ;) lol ... He has already brought 2 different unknown people to tears over their last shepherd. If you were still breeding I'm sure Rip could have sold a litter for you with just a look into peoples eyes. Very Powerful dogs to invoke such emotions in people, it's probably why we knew we couldn't go without having one in our lives again. The timing couldn't have been better, so with that I want to say THANKS again & hopefully see you for some training & fun.


Oh yaaa alomost forgot Abraxas is a God higher than that of the Christian God & Devil & combines all entities into one being. Also The word is found in Gnostic texts such as the Holy Book of the Great Invisible Spirit, It was engraved on certain antique gemstones, called on that account Abraxas stones, which were used as amulets or charms. Opinions abound on Abraxas, who in recent centuries has been claimed to be both an Egyptian god and a demon.[3] The Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung wrote a short Gnostic treatise in 1916 called The Seven Sermons to the Dead, which called Abraxas a God higher than the Christian God and Devil, that combines all opposites into one Being.

Our first night was okay he was quiet from 1130 to 130 & 141 till 515.

Leica on the other hand who was in a separate floor of the house & separate end went off like an alarm clock every hour on the hour :( 


enjoy ;-)

Aug 18, 2012 Video

Hi all,

I got a bit carried away with the excitement of August 19 and didn't post this in order. Sorry to those of you that tweak on this kind of stuff.

Ari went out to play with Vader at Kim and Sandy's place on Saturday morning.... leave Tony and Kim alone with a little time, a video camera and a couple of puppies and see what happens....



Have fun ;-D

August 19, 2012 10 weeks

Today we went out to a charity event that married two ideas - I was looking for a patient and family experience for my dialysis patients that would give them a day away from their realities and Danny, now of the Virtue Foundation, was looking at starting a foundation - together the annual event has been called the Renal Rodeo for the past 10 years. It is not a rodeo in the traditional sense... but rather a stunt rodeo that has volunteers from the stunt and movie industry... how cool is that???? Up until this year the only way to get an invite to this event was to know someone that was on hemodialysis in the Fraser Valley. This year we opened the doors to share with Big Brothers and Sisters and the Zajac Ranch.

I hope you enjoy some of the photos that came out clear enough to upload.

working high above the crowds this lady from 'Underground Circus' here in
Vancouver demonstrates a Cirque d solie type silks performance

we go to all lengths for exposure. Here Above the Law (Able) is meeting 18 month old Billy the grizzly bear.

Billy

Ari, too, gets introduced to Billy

Danny works grandson of the 'Black Stallion' from movie fame

wrestlers were on hand to delight the crowds and put smiles where they belong

Billy with Mark and Dawn from Beyond Bears have been a part of this event for 9 of the 10 years. This is Billy's first experience with a crowd of people like this. 

can you believe, 18 months and he's already taller than I am?  He is so soft. And look at those nails!!! 

If you look way in the back there are Ari and Able watching the motor cycle stunts and explosions below

I was talking and missed the fire cannon going off with this performance, the puppies just kept on playing

Danny's son, Clayton, is set on fire and walks around by the crowd. It is not possible to tell you how hot he is. The flames don't touch his hands because of flame retardant material, remember this is Hollywood dreams they are sharing

ok so there is an elephant prop from another movie and Able has to peek at the world from this vantage point

Ari is enjoying the memorabilia too. My camera misses so many awesome shots because there is such a delay on the flash ;-(

Tony and Ari with some sort of stage coach

the twisted sisters posing on the same stage coach

Tony and Ari on the more traditional western stage coach

and we have the new rides too!!! the girls are sitting off the road side here while these quads and motorcycles preform their stunts. I thought of running out of the way a couple of times but not them....

to end the afternoon's entertainment they have some huge, loud explosions.  here is a sequence....  watch for the horses running off in the distance
For anyone of the Neon Rider generation, this was where it was filmed.








on the veranda of the big house there are guests enjoying the hospitalities of Danny and Charlotte's famous post event BBQ
And the puppies just played through all this noise and ground shaking. Sometimes I swear they are deaf...

There was so much more to see and be a part of that I don't have photos for but the day was exhausting for the puppies. Ari actually tried to crawl up into the back of the car to get to her crate so she could nap. Tony and I got home and had a 3 hour nap.

A big THANK YOU to Danny and Charlotte Virtue and the Virtue Foundation, Eli - Danny's right hand man, Mark and Dawn of Beyond Bears, the many stunt volunteers that entertained us throughout the day, the volunteers that manned the BBQ and fed all of us, the Vancouver Ambulance Service that kept a just in case ambulance on hand for the day, the volunteers that organized the volunteers and handed out t-shirts to all and the patients, families and staff that came out to make sure this was the best show ever!!!

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Aug 10, 2012 Puppy training begins

And then there were 2!!!!!

Ari and her brother, Vader, are out at Kim's home doing some obstacle training and a little more....




Please be careful when you are working your puppies and be mindful of their physical developmental stages. You will see that Tony and Kim are careful not to have the puppies jump down off of heights and keep the training sessions short and interactive.

Have fun ;-D