Catch-up Post

We are working on an ad and Daniel asked for feet pictures -- not sure why but I took a few. The above is a Zoey paw and an Asia paw.

Here is a picture of Zoey nosing Asia's paw.


This is a catch-up post so let's start with the Mrs. -- she is fine -- seriously. No problems with her chemo, which is just a pill every three weeks. It gets shipped from a pharmacy in Arizona and they even sent a dog cookie for her -- how cute is that?! So no change in our Mrs. Maize -- obviously all the good thoughts/prayers are having an effect! See for yourself how well she looks...


A Big Shout Out to Marti and Purna Kenzie from the F litter -- Marti is showing Purna herself (in the beauty pageant) and Purna won Friday/Saturday to earn her first points! Think good thoughts for today because they are showing again :)

Ruben Hudson, appropriately from the Glitterati, had a photo shoot recently -- he is a model to help his moms live in the style to which they wish to be accustomed ;) I suspect he is going to have to work a little harder though -- dog models are not as well paid as other Top Models!

Car accident update -- the trouble with the kind of work I do/did is that I know well it could be worse and so that makes me feel guilty for complaining about the fact that I have a messed up back from the accident :( So I have a messed up back AND a guilty conscience! How annoying is that?! I start physical therapy tomorrow but yes -- this accident has been highly inconvenient.

Dogs -- including Montana Mac -- are getting trained but not in anything that involves twisting, bending, running, etc. I am highly pain tolerant (except for anything involving needles) and so am willing to suck it up and train through pain, but not if it will make it worse so I am waiting to discuss this with the physical therapist tomorrow. And how convenient is this?! We have a physical therapy school/clinic on campus where I work :)

The van is being repaired and I have a rental van, which I discovered somehow locks itself. Unfortunately, the key was in the rental van when I learned this important lesson on Friday when I needed to go to work. I asked myself if the week could get any worse but stopped, knowing the answer and not wanting to tempt fate.

And yes, the accident happened on the first day of my semester -- and you can probably imagine that the first week of a university semester is especially busy. And so I am slowly catching up on emails and etc. and starting to feel normal again, except for the back and guilty conscience.

But lots to be grateful for this week!!! The other driver, who was at fault, has great insurance (State Farm) and I am very impressed by the person from the company who is working with me. Mrs. Maize is thumbing her black nose at her cancer diagnosis. Zed finished his championship from the comfort of home, and Marti/Purna are having great success this weekend. Cadi is not in season yet -- that would have just added to the week's chaos. Dear Husband LOVES his new car -- and he and his car live here -- YEA! And so on :) :) Roses and thorns -- always a package deal :)

Show Photo

I know Elizabethanne is going to give me a bad time about the black skirt -- sorry!!!! I won't do it again!!! And Zoey's eyes are half closed but here is the official show photo of Zoey in Palm Springs...



And in today's mail, the championship show photo!

The Importance of Math

I was checking show results from Portland and guess what?! Math matters!!! I counted 12 boys on the day Zed won -- but Terri thought there were only 11. I checked and checked again and again -- counted dogs and looked up the AKC Point Schedule.

Why does this matter? Because 12 dogs is a four point major and that is what Zed needed to finish his championship -- Terri thought he had a three point major and so needed one more point.

I demanded a recount (well, I suggested she check the show results :) and guess what?!

CH Kaibab'z Five Z's Zed

Wow -- a new champion and we didn't even have to leave home! Big congratulations to Terri and Zed, although she is depressed that she did not get an appropriate show picture -- now that is a tough problem to have ;)

Here are some baby pictures of our handsome new champion, Zed Dawson...






YEA!!! Isn't that great news and an entertaining story about how champions are made???

More on Cars (or less, as the case may be)

As Kim was happily driving his new car to Utah, I was driving to the bank when a very nice woman named Caroline did not stop at the stop sign and instead unfortunately drove in front of me.

Although I tried to avoid her, I was not expecting her arrival in the intersection (since she had a stop sign) and so we had occasion to meet. My van hit her truck, spinning her in a circle through the intersection -- luckily only smart people who wear seat belts were involved in the chance meeting at Oxford and Kent today.

Notice anything missing from my van??


My nice license plate looks a bit out of place now...


I have never been in a real accident and do not recommend them. First, it is scary and now I refuse to drive over 7 mph. Second, it is scary and now I feel traumatized and unsettled. Third, it is scary and I have some injury that requires that I -- for the first time in my life -- go to physical therapy and I have to take anti-inflammatories, which annoys me. Fourth, it is scary and I have to have a rental car, which is not conducive to my life with dogs. Fifth, it is very scary and is going to mess up my training schedule!!!!!!!! That is the worst!!!!!!!!

The good part is that nobody was walking on the sidewalk where her truck ended up and so on -- but before anyone reminds me it could have been worst, let me suggest it could definitely have been better!! And yes, I am grateful that it was not worse -- but my primary emotion at the moment is that I am very bummed that it happened at all and some joint I didn't know I had HURTS.

Sigh -- life is filled with unexpected adventures to help us be better people. I was pleased that as we were finishing with the police and so on, Caroline apologized for the tenth time and thanked me for being so nice, given that she had created a bit of a wreck, so to speak. Nobody intends to create wrecks in life (usually) and so what else is there to do but be gracious and understanding in hopes that when we are the inadvertently guilty party, someone will be decent to us?

However, might I end by suggesting that you always wear your seat belt and remember that stop signs are more than a mere suggestion :)

Oh -- and thanks to Lisa K. for not only being a good friend but also being a good friend in the insurance industry -- how handy is that?!

Retirement Gift

After driving patrol cars for so many years, guess who got himself a retirement gift???


Maize especially likes the sun roof and DVD player :)

Whew!!!

What a relief!!! Today is the day after which Cadi's can safely come in season and not mess up the Specialty with puppies being born prior to/during that week-- yea!!! We made it!!!

Yea for Zed Dawson!

Zed got his second major in Portland today so now has both majors -- and 14 points -- ugh... So he is officially a member of the Single Point Club and needs to find a small show to get that last point so he can match Zoey and be a champion. Zoey finished with 18 points so volunteered to send Zed one of hers but AKC frowns on that -- they are so unreasonable!

Congratulations to Terri and Zed!

Photos of Zed and his handler, Tonya -- Terri notes that Zed is quite bald now and will look even better when he has coat again...

CH Air Zoey TD

With her championship done, CHZoey got back to work on agility -- we had an advanced skills class today and I thought you might enjoy seeing her progress. The first little bit is special for Elizabeth M. :)

Remember that Zoey has not started competing yet so she is still novice but I think she is coming along well -- I welcome your comments...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUKscVbLI7g

Hope you are having a most excellent weekend!

Sigh....

When one leaves Galen in charge, one never knows what will show up in the camera -- here is Syd in her latest costume -- I think I like the Virgin Mary better...

Triathlete Challenge

The 2011 Specialty will once again have special awards for those berners who qualify in three different working events -- this award is called the Triathlete award. I especially value this award because it recognizes the versatility of a good working dog, and producing those types of dogs is something that is very important to us.

The person who developed and coordinates this award is Ruth Nielsen from Washington. She creates wonderful prize packages, and then tracks all those who have accepted the Triathlete Challenge at the Specialty -- but she needs our help.

In honor of your special Kaibab berner or perhaps in honor of Mrs. Maize who is everyone's special Kaibab berner -- I challenge all of us to help support the Specialty Triathlete awards. Ruth needs prizes and so we can donate a bunch of prizes and/or send her a donation -- large or small will be welcomed and will help out.

You can contact Ruth directly (rnielsen@nielsenlaw.com) about helping to support our versatile, working berners at the 2011 Specialty.

Thanks :)

Some Thoughts on Dog Shows -- and Life

Dog shows -- like most things in life -- offer opportunities for insights and life lessons; I would like to share two of these with you.

In the past 11 days I have traveled just under 4000 miles to finish Zoey's championship. I have spent more than an hour most days for almost two months on her grooming. We have practiced and planned, and been single-minded about this goal.

I calculated her rate of winning prior to Palm Springs at 88% (since June, she was Winner's Bitch seven of eight times, and Reserve once) -- and decided that it was reasonable to think she could get her two majors in five days of showing, assuming that larger shows would have a lower rate of success than smaller shows.

I was correct on both counts -- at large shows where majors were available, her rate of winning was 50% -- still very high -- and she did get her two majors in the planned amount of time.

Achieving goals is not something that just happens because we wish it -- success requires that we be objective about the steps we need to take, and then single-minded and focused on taking those steps. And we cannot plan the steps if we do not have a clear vision of where we want to end up -- this is why goal-setting is so important.

And so that is the first life lesson -- the importance of having a vision of where we want to go, and being very clear about the steps needed to get there. This is not simple or easy, but it is critical for success -- however we define success.

The second thing that I have thought a lot about relative to dog shows/life is the function of competition. Unfortunately, there are limited winners at dog shows and when one wins, many more are "losers".

I do not appreciate being a loser but even more, I do not like the idea that I am somehow better than another -- or that my dog is better. However, that is the nature of dog shows -- and life, to some extent. The Inner Game of Tennis helped me come to terms with all this...

The Inner Game of Tennis is a book about competition/life more than about tennis (for the record, I do not play tennis). The insight I gleaned from that book is that competition is not about beating others -- it is about being driven to be our best. In other words, our competitors help us become better -- they are doing us a favor of sorts.

Thinking about competition as a way to be my best changed it for me -- I am not trying to beat anyone (which makes me feel guilty) but rather I am trying to make myself better in whatever endeavor is at hand. When my fellow competitors raise the bar, they force me to try harder and do better -- and this is to MY benefit.

Not winning is part of life in all ways, but it is not the same thing as losing. Not winning is simply an invitation to do something differently -- and we get to decide what that looks like. Not winning helped me to carefully consider breeding decisions, become a better conformation handler, train my dogs for the conformation ring, and learn how to condition/prepare a dog for the show ring -- those are things about ME and not about other people and/or their dogs.

Other people show us what is possible and invite us to excellence -- those invitations should invoke gratitude and not bitterness/jealousy. And when we find ourselves enjoying success/excellence, we have to do so with humility, recognizing that it was only through seeing what was possible that we arrived in this place.

All of you who have followed Air Zoey from the time she was a wee baby are part of her story, and I hope you know that. It does seem as if we have a special girl -- as if we have arrived at a place of excellence -- but we did not do this alone, and it is not solely our accomplishment to celebrate.

And Zoey is not perfect -- my goals and competition invite me to train Zoey for the Group Ring, where she is not at all comfortable due to the presence of all those big non-berner dogs. In fact, Zoey tucks her tail and does not want to be examined when there are all those big, scary "other" dogs -- we have some work to do before she can move on to the next step of her breed ring career.

We are never finished in our quest for excellence -- we simply achieve goals, enjoy them, learn the lessons, and keep going. I hope that I never run out of things I want to accomplish, and I am grateful to those whose excellence inspires me towards things I never thought possible.

So dream those dreams and translate to goals, and then plan out the steps needed to get there. And embrace your competition as part of the journey towards YOUR excellence -- in whatever endeavors you seek to be excellent. Finally, when you are recognized as excellent -- which you will be -- know that you got there because of other people.

Thanks for being part of Zoey's journey towards excellence -- I hope that you feel my gratitude for your encouragement, celebration, and support. You may not be a dog person but that is okay -- I bet you are a person who understands what it means to achieve a goal :)

More Show News!

We are home from our very successful show trip to Washington. Zoey's littermate, Zed Dawson, was first or second in a large Open Dog class each of the three days, and yesterday he was Reserve Winner's Dog. I showed Glitterati Cooper Whitby in the Bred-by class and he placed in lovely classes two of the three days, including a second place today.

It was clearly Zoey's weekend -- the first day she was second in a very strong Bred-by class, and then yesterday she was Winner's Bitch for the five point major which finished her championship; she was also Best of Opposite Sex. Here are a couple of pictures from yesterday...



Now that Zoey is a champion (cross that 2011 goal off the list :) she can be shown in the Best of Breed class so I moved her up for today's show. This allows her to compete for points towards a Grand Championship, also one of the 2011 goals. The Grand Championship requires a total of 25 points and three "major" wins -- it is kind of complicated but that is the gist of it. Here is the line-up in the Best of Breed class today -- we are right in the middle...


ChZoey, as she prefers to be called now, was selected as Best of Opposite Sex and earned a five point major towards her Grand Championship -- a most excellent way to end the weekend :)

The Washington berner club, which supported the entry at this show weekend, is a GREAT group of people and that makes this particular show very fun and well worth the trip no matter how it goes -- it is also great to hang with friends so thanks to Jennifer for making the trek with Cooper :)

Our New Champion!

Today in Puyallup, Washington our cute Zoey got a five point major to finish her championship from the Bred-by class -- she was also Best of Opposite Sex. We are VERY proud of our new champion and thank you for sharing this journey with us :)

The Scoop

Pathology is more of an inexact science than any of us probably knew, but what we have learned by doing advanced testing is that Maize probably has histiocytic sarcoma. We met with the specialist this morning to discuss two things:

1. Benefits/Burdens of treatment with CCNU (chemotherapy);
2. End-of-life care.

RE: #1 -- we are going to treat her with CCNU. She is unlikely to have dangerous side effects, it will likely extend her life, it has the potential to improve quality of life, and it is not invasive -- it is an oral medication given at home. When we consider the benefits, we (Dear Husband and I) believe that they are greater than the known burdens -- at this time.

RE: #2 -- the specialist shared that he does not have any great tools to manage end-of-life symptoms. This is not unexpected -- euthanasia is end-of-life care for pets. Well, I know there has to be a middle road between suffering and euthanasia so I will keep working on that -- we don't need it now but we will, and I want to be prepared.

Mrs. Maize is not yet ready to give up her position as Chief of the Fun Police, and so we will do what we can to delay her retirement. Our goal is to keep her on the job for as long as she is happy to be here -- let's hope it is a long time...

Palm Springs Pictures

Thanks Marti!!! Here are a few pictures from Palm Springs...




I included this one so you could see one of the many palm trees :)

One Sick Chick

I know step-children do not always like their wicked step-mothers, but I never expected Jake/Cassie to be the ones to try and get rid of me!!!! However, it wasn't a poisoned apple they used but Mexican food -- and it almost worked...

On Monday night I went to dinner with Jake/Cassie and it wasn't too long before I realized something was wrong. We made it most of the way back to Montana with me not feeling well before it hit like a tidal wave and I was down/out -- as in barely conscious, fevered, delirious, thought I might be dying, and so on.

I could barely walk when we got home and Dear Husband put me to bed and there I stayed for 17 straight hours.

During the drive from Utah -- as I was feeling sicker -- I said to Dear Husband that I was going to have to ask someone to teach my agility class as it looked like I was getting worse and not better. I shared that I hated to ask because I didn't want to be perceived as a baby, and then I added, "...not that there is anything wrong with being a baby...", which made Dear Husband laugh for the next five minutes because even when poisoned and sick, I could not stop trying to be politically correct.

Anyway, please avoid food poisoning -- it is seriously not fun. And if you insist on getting it, make sure your Dear Partner is as good and attentive as mine was -- thanks Dear Husband...

Three things...

1. Thank you so much for sharing in my excitement about Zoey -- it really means so much when people take the time to write notes of congratulations because celebrations shared are really so much more fun :) So whether you celebrated with me privately or sent a note -- thank you!

2. Pictures -- Marti will be sending me some from Palm Springs (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) and I will be able to use Dear Husband's camera in the future so we should be back in photography-land in no time. Thanks Barb -- I will also clean my camera and make sure there is not something simple that is causing the issue.

3. I did not share that we were heading to Palm Springs but I will tell you that the next show is this weekend -- three days in Puyallup, Washington. However, it is a Supported Entry and the numbers are huge -- 36 girls on Saturday! Zoey and her littermate, Zed, each need one major win to finish their championship so we need good thoughts and lots of them. However, please hope Zoey finishes before Zed or Terri/Zed will taunt us...

Finally, the real sick chick is Maize -- this is not obvious as she acts perfectly fine but she does have cancer and is in the final part of her life's journey. This is not unexpected news and so we are more involved in planning for treatment options/palliative care than grieving at this point. And not one of us deserves to be mourned over while living -- and so Maize gets to experience our joy that she is here and not our sorrow that she will be leaving us...

Zoey's (and Mary-Ann's) Excellent Adventure!

With Maize happily enjoying special time with Dear Husband and Galen less happily watching everyone else, Zoey and I left on Friday for the place where the consequences of excess are perhaps most apparent: southern California.

I know many have an idealized version of southern California but here is the truth -- there are too many people!!!!! This causes all kinds of issues -- amazingly bad traffic, air you can see, crazy aggressive tailgating drivers, and so on! But I digress and you get the picture -- not my favorite place...

So, back to the adventure....

We (Zoey and I) arrived (after 11 hours of driving) in Indio, which is near Palm Springs, and staked out a sight for the set-up. The show (as in dog show - the purpose of the adventure) is at a HUGE horse place -- as in polo and other fancy horse things requiring lovely grass and lovely everything so a very nice sight.

Unfortunately my partners in adventure (Marti and Susan) were enjoying one of the consequences of southern California excess -- they were stuck in traffic. So Zoey and I had a leisurely late afternoon exploring the show sight and doing some grooming and enjoying the one redeeming feature of the area -- the warm winter weather.

Eventually my friends arrived and we set up our little show sight and went to the motel where Marti and I (and Zoey and her sister, Purna) shared a room at a Motel Six in Palm Springs. I went to sleep promptly, being one of those annoyingly cheerful morning people who is done not long after the sun goes down :)

But at 5 a.m. I was up and out the door and back to the show sight, where Zoey had a bath outside while the locals were all bundled in down coats and Ugg boots. We showed at 8 a.m. and Zoey won her class and went Reserve Winner's Bitch; this did not make me happy.

Zoey needs two major wins to finish her championship and we went to this show because each day was a solid major in girls. As I explained to Elizabethanne (via phone --she was not there) as I was driving to visit my Perfect Sister (more on that in a minute), the problem with Zoey is that she always wins and so it is shocking when she doesn't. I think Elizabethanne said something to the effect of, "listen dumb ass, Reserve to a major is not losing so quit being a such a loser" -- or something like that :) It was funny -- and true :)

So I met my Perfect Sister and my Perfect Niece in Pasadena where we walked Zoey and then were joined for a lovely dinner by my Perfect Sister's Perfect Husband -- it was very fun :)

Okay -- back to the show the next morning at the same cheerful hour of 6 a.m. where Zoey was once again soaked and groomed and etc. Off to the ring where I watched Susan's Woody get Winner's Dog -- YEA!!! We love Woody!!!!

Suddenly Marti was going in with Purna -- Marti did a GREAT job and we LOVE Purna!!!!! But where were the girls in the class before Purna?!!! Yes friends -- the major broke because someone left the show and took her girls home :(

Remember I drove all the way from Montana because Zoey needs majors and my goal was to come home with one -- and now the major in girls was broken -- I wanted to cry right there under the tent. But instead I said, "(insert bad language), I came all this way, there is a bred-by competition so I am showing this dog (even though she doesn't need the points since it is not a major)."

And so I did -- and we won the class and Winner's Bitch and it gets better -- Zoey went Best of Breed over three champions (2 boys and 1 girl), which then counted towards the points and gave Zoey her major!!!!!! So she was Winner's Bitch, Best of Winner's, Best bred-by, and Best of Breed -- a major the hard way and this is a HUGE deal and we are still on Cloud Nine...

And now I have to finish my drive home -- I am writing this from Mesquite, Nevada. I hope your weekend was as wonderful :) :)

Nothing New

Hoping for some news about Maize tomorrow but in the meantime she is with us in Utah this weekend and perfectly fine :)

P.S. The @#$% camera has given up the ghost and refuses to focus anymore. I understand that -- sometimes I do not want to focus either but when one is a camera, focusing is rather important...

Good Company

It is always good to start off the day with some company -- Asia thinks she could do with a little less of Zoey's up close and personal company but she has given up being annoyed about it...



A three-way tug -- the toy lasted less than five minutes :) This is Asia, Zoey, and Sydney...


Zoey and Sydney -- love Syd's expression: MINE!!!!!!


With a new year started and the Specialty looming in just three months, it was time to get back to work! I mentioned that Cassie gave me a journal that she made that includes Blog pictures and postings -- well, it has Asia on the cover so I made it Asia's tracking journal...

The first entry is as follows: "January 3, 2011. Back to VST! So fun & Asia was so excited! Went to Fort Missoula & used non-snow areas under pine trees to work on transitions. So did a short 2 right turn track in snow with 6 - 8 articles:
-- worked on motivation
-- worked on transitions
-- worked on article indication"

I have found training journals to be very helpful and note that I am not all technical about things -- that doesn't work for me. For example, there is no mention of wind/weather/map of track/etc. -- just a quick summary to keep me thinking about how to proceed and what the goals are...

I had a busy day yesterday in Missoula with a work meeting, training, seeing Galen in his new apartment, shopping, etc. but back at home, Dear Husband was busy!!! I came home to find a clean kitchen, the garbage taken to the can (not an easy feat!), laundry done, Halo walked, and so on -- wow! After all this time of doing everything myself, I am loving this partner thing again :) :)

I have a great Dear Husband and we are finally kid-free after 12 years!!!!!!! We love the kids but we also love not having to be parents first anymore... But don't you worry one bit that Dear Husband was lonely while I was gone all day -- he had lots of company and took pictures to prove it...

Heidi Marie and George stopped in to say hi and help with pruning...


I am sure this is apropos of nothing but Dear Husband seems to have attracted some new friends to our house -- wild turkeys! They are all named Tom and Betty...



And Chippy found the chopped apples I left out for Heidi Marie and George, so he joined Dear Husband's party...



Oh -- and look what visited ME on January 1 to usher in the New Year -- perched at the top of the tree where the bears were was my excellent omen for 2011...


I thought about names -- Legal and Rogaine -- but then decided that omens should not have a name because they seem too magical to capture with a word so my New Year's visitor is unnamed but appreciated.

I hope you have a magical day, complete with lots of fun friends, good omens, and toys that last longer than five minutes :)

1.1.11

The slate is cleared and it is a time for new beginnings (as opposed to old beginnings?!). The chapter of our lives titled "2010" is complete and now it is time to write the new one -- "2011".

A fact lost on too many of my students is that good writing always has a plan or an outline -- and so it is with this new chapter of our lives. Some people do not like to establish goals for a New Year -- why not?! The only way to hope for an "A+" on this new chapter is to start off with a plan.

Goals should be realistic, specific, and measurable; it is also helpful to have short-term goals, even if they are intermediate steps towards loftier ones. We should reflect on the reasons we want to achieve the goals, and even write those down to remind ourselves when the barriers to achievement start raising their persuasive arguments.

Finally, it is important to remember that we are human and that the path to our goal may be fraught with detours -- no matter! Just keep your eye on the goal and keep chugging -- detours are simply another way to arrive.

I have Hopes and Wishes for 2011 in various areas of my life, and they are written down with specific action plans. For example, I want to propose a presentation for a large 2012 veterinary conference; this is a work-related intermediate goal towards a larger goal of having a strong tenure application next fall. Note that I did not say, "get the proposal accepted" because I cannot control that -- all I can do is control whether I submit a strong proposal by the deadline in February.

I want to share the Kaibab dog goals with this caveat -- I have time and expertise to achieve these goals but not everyone does and that is okay. Ten years ago I could not have listed most of these -- the place we are in our lives opens some doors and keeps others firmly closed. For example, raising a family requires one to be focused in that direction and does not permit one to have extensive dog goals -- that is just how it needs to be (for now).

And so please understand that no goal of yours is insignificant -- achievement is not measured against others because none of us have equal lives, strengths, or priorities. I raised three kids and went to school/worked, and then added three more kids. I have paid my dues and now it is my turn to chase my dreams, and if this is not your time yet -- don't worry because it will happen for you as well. But whatever you are doing now -- it is important and it matters and don't compare yourself to anyone else.

And so because I am kid-free (and remember I had two kids before I was 21 so it is about time I am kid-free!! ) and I finally have a dream house with room to train and I have a great job that I love and a great husband -- here are the crazily ambitious Kaibab 2011 Dog Hopes and Wishes...

Maize

I already shared that Maize's goal is to have fun and do fun things -- but there is more. My hope for Maize is that she is able to teach all of us things we need to learn as we walk with her towards the end of her life. Maize is not done with the accomplishments of her lifetime -- none of us ever are.

Halo deVil (aka My Little Calico Dog)

I took most of these pictures this morning, including that one. Halo LOVES that crate and thinks hanging out in there is most fun. She had just finished growling at Mac who dared to lay down close to it, oblivious to the fact that he had crossed the invisible crate door boundary :)

Anyway, Halo is eight -- what is your eight year old doing? Obviously one hope/wish is that Halo is alive and happy throughout the year -- that is a given for all dogs so let me say that now. But getting older does not mean becoming useless -- Halo's goals for 2011 are as follows:

1. Earn her OAP (an agility title), thereby becoming a BMDCA Working Dog Excellent (Goal #2).
3. Earn her NFP (another agility title).
4. Earn her RE (rally title).

Cadi-Bug


Cadi is going to (hopefully) have her second and last litter this year, and that will take up the first half of 2011. Once the litter is done and placed, Cadi has to get busy to achieve these goals:

1. Earn her CDX (obedience title), thereby becoming a Working Dog Excellent (Goal #2)
3. Earn additional agility titles (OAP and OAJ) to become a VCD 2 (Goal #4).

Asia


Asia's goal is probably to make her pesty little sister go away! I have different hopes and wishes for her -- she is going to be a bit of a specialist this year, concentrating on tracking (especially through August) with other things added in just a bit.

1. Earn the VST title, thereby becoming a Champion Tracker (Goal #2).
3. Earn her CDX, thereby becoming a BMDCA Working Dog Excellent (Goal #4).
5. Earn her two brace draft titles.

Zoey (see above picture :)
Zoey's hope/wish is that she can please be done with the beauty pageant crap so that she doesn't spend half her day wet with diluted conditioner!!!

I have a similar hope/wish because it is taking over an hour per day to groom her now -- and that should be a clue that we have some shows coming up soon...

Hopes and wishes for Zoey -- they are big...

1. Finish the championship.
2. Earn the NDD (draft title), thereby making her (with the CH) a Versatility Dog (Goal #3).
4. Earn a Grand Championship.
5. Earn her DD (draft title).
6. Earn agility titles through excellent, thereby making Zoey a (with the GrCH and DD) Versatility Dog Excellent (Goal #7) and a BMDCA Working Dog (Goal #8).

Sydney


Sydney's wish is to play the Virgin Mary now that she learned that doing so means riding a donkey! We can talk about that next December but in the meantime, the hopes/wishes for Syd in 2011 are as follows:

1. Earn her championship.
2. Earn her NDD and DD, thereby making her a BMDCA Versatility Dog (Goal #3).
4. Earn an agility title, thereby making her a BMDCA Working Dog (Goal #5)

Montana Mac -- the Honorary Kaibab Dog


Wait until you see Mac's new harness!!! Holy Fashion Statement -- all the other dogs will be supremely jealous and you will want to quickly get such a harness of your own -- well, for your dog, that is :) More on that soon...

The hopes/wishes for 2011 for Montana Mac are:

1. Earn his NDD (draft).
2. Earn agility titles, thereby becoming a Versatility Dog (Goal #3).
4. Earn his CD (obedience), thereby becoming a BMDCA Working Dog (Goal #5).

Mac also is hoping and wishing he and Cadi can get married!!

Of course we hope that 2011 brings us all health and happiness -- that is most important -- but likely even that requires some planning! There will be unexpected joys and sorrows, and so we also hope and wish that we have the internal and external resources needed to handle whatever the year tosses our way.

I wish blessings on all and invite you to email or post (in the comments) your dog hope/wish for 2011 -- and we will all do a Year in Review next December, celebrating our accomplishments and learning lessons from the goals that are yet to be achieved.

Congratulations on completing Chapter 2010 and best wishes on Chapter 2011 -- make it a good one :)