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Christmas time

Christmas has come and gone. We had a nice visit with Adrienne and Micah from San Diego. Micah always gives the dogs lots of company. He loves all of them, but seems to have a special bond with Sammy.

Begging for carrots

Sunday Morning Walk

I have been taking Truffle to a group walk on Sundays at 7:30 am. It is on a ridge overlooking the Blue Ridge where the Appalachian Trail is. Always lovely at that hour, and especially so this week with the snow. I don't give Truffie any treats on the walk anymore, because it makes her guard me more. So she goes and begs from everyone else. Remember you can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them.

First Snow

Here are a few pictures from the first snow of the season. Of course the dogs were in seventh heaven.

Stonecrop News Update

Since my last update, we attended the Atlantshaf (East Coast) Chapter Icelandic Gathering in Maryland (some photos by Jenifer Brimmer), and the first ISAA National Specialty in Wauseon, OH. At the Specialty, Truffle took First in American Bred in two of the three shows:

Show 1, Oct. 2, 2009, Judge Diane Anderson

American Bred Female
1st Runestone Truffle – Merton Kilpatrick
2nd Heimskauts Eydis – Leticia Watts
3rd Valhalla’s Heart of Gold – Penny Kelley
4th Sand Creek Maeja – Bill Shelton

Show 2, Oct 2, 2009, Judge Pat Putman

American Bred Female
1st Runestone Truffle – Merton Kilpatrick
2nd Heimskauts Eydis – Leticia Watts
3rd Sand Creek Maeja – Bill Shelton
4th Valhalla’s Heart of Gold – Penny Kelley

Show 3, Oct3, 2009 Judge Gudrun Gudjohnsen

American Bred Female
1st Heimskauts Eydis – Leticia Watts
2nd Valhalla’s Heart of Gold – Penny Kelley
3rd Runestone Truffle – Merton Kilpatrick
4th Sand Creek Maeja – Bill Shelton

Truffie passed a herding instinct test at Raspberry Ridge Sheep Farm and since she seemed to like it so much, I took her to a one-day herding introduction. We had a great time, and I would like to continue in the spring, although it will be limited by my budget.

I have also taken her to several agility practice matches, where we did a mixture of agility and rally during our run-throughs, because my main goal in attending was to accustom her to the environment of dog events. She is getting much better in her ability to stay calm and not react to the other dogs, although certain dogs at certain times still press her hot button. She will be getting her hips xrayed next week.

Not to ignore Sammy, he is my prize free-shaper, he never gives up trying to please, and also makes me laugh. Today we were practicing running into a soft-crate from a distance, and re-orienting to me when released out of it. After a few times sending him into the crate, he decided it was more fun to jump on top of it. It was too cute. He is in a Control Unleashed class now at my training facility Let's Speak Dog. He is very attached to Viva, our GSD.

April pictures

A couple people asked for some current pictures of Sammy (Reykjadals Séra Skolli ) so here are some at 10 months. He wouldn't stop wagging his tail, so you really can't see his curl. And the head shot is sort of pirana-like . Also, some random shots of the dogs, some taken through the front windows of the dogs outside. You know, you see them looking so cute, and you know that if you open the door they will jump up and run over, so you take the shot through the window... You can see that Sam and Viva are fast friends. Truffie is a little overlooked here lately, I will have to concentrate on her charms on the next post. Click on any picture for a larger view.

Reykjadals Séra Skolli at 8 months

He's getting nice and sturdy, and he's full of beans! Mert said I should have taken the collar off for the pictures, but I didn't think of it.

Truffie is here saying, "What a minute, I thought this blog was about me!" Her coat is so thick right now, I can hardly brush through it. Last fall it was so thin I thought I must have imagined her coat before. It's amazing how it changes. Having Shepherds, who shed ALL the time and always have thick coats anyway, I have to get used to these coat transformations.

Winter Updates

Now that we are hearing the woodpeckers drumming I guess it is time to get my winter pictures up before it is too late. Here are some photos of Truffle, Sammy, and Viva from the past few months.