Friday, October 16, 2009
Crazy Wallpaper
We have the craziest wallpaper in the upstairs of our house! Mommy and Daddy said it has to go, so me and Matthew are working on taking it all down. Well, Matthew is mostly doing the work, while I stand guard at the window.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Me
Here I am watching Daddy remodel our house. I am very interested in what he is doing, because someday, I might grow up and move away and have a house of my own to remodel. After watching Daddy, I will know exactly what to do!
Dogs/Guns Allowed
We parked our truck and took a bus from the parking lot to the entrance gate at the Game Fair. This sign was posted at the bus stop.
Me and Daddy really liked this sign because it meant that we could both ride on the bus.
Game Fair 2009
In August me and Mommy and Daddy all went to the Game Fair together and spent the whole entire day there. We got up really early because it was almost a 3 hour drive to get there. It started raining while we were driving and then it rained all the way there and kept raining the whole day. Mommy and Daddy were smart and packed their rain gear, but I don't have any rain gear so I just got wet, which is why I look kind of soggy in all of these pictures.
We got to walk all over and see all kinds of exhibits that had to do with hunting, especially hunting dogs. We went to some seminars, too. One was on how to use decoys to hunt geese; one was on British Labrador Retrievers cause Daddy might get one of those for his next puppy; one was on using electronic collars, and I hope we never do that!
Once when it was raining really hard we stepped into the Art Barn to look at wildlife paintings. I really liked this picture of the elephants and birds in Africa because that is where my ancestors are from, and I wanted Mommy to buy it for me but she and Daddy decided that we have to wait until we finish remodeling our house because we might not have enough wall space for it.
Next, we met some people who were putting on an Agility demonstration which was sponsored by my dog food company, Eukanuba. When the lady found out that me and Mommy were going to Agility classes she asked if I would be a part of her afternoon presentation. Since I really like my kibble, and I also like to do Agility, I was happy to help out.
Here I am going up and over the "A-frame" obstacle.
Here I am with Mommy doing the weave poles. Mommy had to help me a little bit, but mostly I did it by myself. All of the people watching me were very nice and they clapped whenever we did something that they liked, which was almost everything!
We got to walk all over and see all kinds of exhibits that had to do with hunting, especially hunting dogs. We went to some seminars, too. One was on how to use decoys to hunt geese; one was on British Labrador Retrievers cause Daddy might get one of those for his next puppy; one was on using electronic collars, and I hope we never do that!
Once when it was raining really hard we stepped into the Art Barn to look at wildlife paintings. I really liked this picture of the elephants and birds in Africa because that is where my ancestors are from, and I wanted Mommy to buy it for me but she and Daddy decided that we have to wait until we finish remodeling our house because we might not have enough wall space for it.Next, we met some people who were putting on an Agility demonstration which was sponsored by my dog food company, Eukanuba. When the lady found out that me and Mommy were going to Agility classes she asked if I would be a part of her afternoon presentation. Since I really like my kibble, and I also like to do Agility, I was happy to help out.
Here I am going up and over the "A-frame" obstacle.
Here I am with Mommy doing the weave poles. Mommy had to help me a little bit, but mostly I did it by myself. All of the people watching me were very nice and they clapped whenever we did something that they liked, which was almost everything!I must have been the only Rhodesian Ridgeback at the Game Fair because sooooo many people stopped to admire me and ask us questions about Ridgebacks. One lady had a booth and she told us that she was a Photographer and she was selling copies of her book which was called "A Photographer's Journey with Sporting Dogs". She showed Mommy a copy of the book but Mommy did not buy it because it was raining really hard right then and she did not want it to get wet while we were walking around the Game Fair. The Photographer said that I was very handsome and asked Mommy if she and her husband could come and take pictures of me for her next book since Mommy told her that I am a Hunting Dog. Mommy said she could but she hasn't come yet.
Then Mommy went for a shooting lesson because she wants to be able to hit
some of the pheasants I am going to flush once it is hunting season again. She did not get to practice very much because of all the rain, but I hope she at least got some good tips to help her.
some of the pheasants I am going to flush once it is hunting season again. She did not get to practice very much because of all the rain, but I hope she at least got some good tips to help her.
Lure Coursing Fun
In July me and Mommy went to Duluth, Minnesota for a 4-day dog show. We did terrible! And, instead of getting better each day, we just got worse and worse and worse. Mommy was not happy about that. She was so unhappy that she decided to take us home a day early to save $$$ on our hotel room, and we did not even dog show on Sunday even though Mommy had already paid our entry fee- that's how bad it was.
The weekend was not a total loss, though, because thanks to my friends Jeff and Danielle, we got to go and try lure coursing. Lots of people have invited me to go before, but Mommy always says NO because she is afraid that if I get used to chasing little white things on the course I will come home and chase our white rabbits, and the chickens, and the geese, and the ducks, all of whom free-range around our property. I used to want to chase the rabbits, but Mommy and Daddy told me "NO BUNNIES", so I knew I wasn't supposed to. Since we had gone to Duluth without Daddy we had nothing to do after our conformation classes, so when Jeff invited us to go lure coursing, first Mommy said No, then she said No again, and then finally, she said we could just go and watch the other dogs run. I was very excited to see what lure coursing was since I had never done it before.
Once we got there, Mommy was careful to keep me away from where the dogs were running. I stayed in the van while she watched, but once she saw how much fun the other dogs were having she decided to walk me up by the line just to see if I acted interested. Was I ever! That line went whipping by me so fast I could hear it zinging! Then I saw the white bags on it and I just wanted to run after them and see if I could catch them- and I didn't even know what they were, but they sure looked like they were moving fast!
Finally, Mommy decided that I could try chasing the lures, but because we had not entered for that day we had to wait until the next day. We went back on Saturday after our dog showing and Mommy entered me in a Singles race. That meant that I would be running by myself instead of against any other dogs just so that Mommy could see if I would really course. Sometimes the clubs hold practice runs, but there weren't any that weekend.
Some of our friends loaned us a blue jacket for me to wear and a special lure coursing collar and a slip lead so Mommy could release me really quick at the starting line. Then we went up to the starting line with the Starter and my friend Jeff, who was telling Mommy what we were supposed to do. When the Starter was ready, she yelled "Tally Ho!" really loud, and that was Mommy's signal to let me loose. Just as the lures went past me, she let go and I raced after those lures like I was chasing the wind!
I was having so much fun! I ran and ran and ran and I watched those lures and I never stopped trying to catch them. Even when they went around corners I never let them out of my sight.
Look how strong my muscles are- I am RIPPED!
The weekend was not a total loss, though, because thanks to my friends Jeff and Danielle, we got to go and try lure coursing. Lots of people have invited me to go before, but Mommy always says NO because she is afraid that if I get used to chasing little white things on the course I will come home and chase our white rabbits, and the chickens, and the geese, and the ducks, all of whom free-range around our property. I used to want to chase the rabbits, but Mommy and Daddy told me "NO BUNNIES", so I knew I wasn't supposed to. Since we had gone to Duluth without Daddy we had nothing to do after our conformation classes, so when Jeff invited us to go lure coursing, first Mommy said No, then she said No again, and then finally, she said we could just go and watch the other dogs run. I was very excited to see what lure coursing was since I had never done it before.
Once we got there, Mommy was careful to keep me away from where the dogs were running. I stayed in the van while she watched, but once she saw how much fun the other dogs were having she decided to walk me up by the line just to see if I acted interested. Was I ever! That line went whipping by me so fast I could hear it zinging! Then I saw the white bags on it and I just wanted to run after them and see if I could catch them- and I didn't even know what they were, but they sure looked like they were moving fast!
Finally, Mommy decided that I could try chasing the lures, but because we had not entered for that day we had to wait until the next day. We went back on Saturday after our dog showing and Mommy entered me in a Singles race. That meant that I would be running by myself instead of against any other dogs just so that Mommy could see if I would really course. Sometimes the clubs hold practice runs, but there weren't any that weekend.
Some of our friends loaned us a blue jacket for me to wear and a special lure coursing collar and a slip lead so Mommy could release me really quick at the starting line. Then we went up to the starting line with the Starter and my friend Jeff, who was telling Mommy what we were supposed to do. When the Starter was ready, she yelled "Tally Ho!" really loud, and that was Mommy's signal to let me loose. Just as the lures went past me, she let go and I raced after those lures like I was chasing the wind!
I was having so much fun! I ran and ran and ran and I watched those lures and I never stopped trying to catch them. Even when they went around corners I never let them out of my sight.
Look how strong my muscles are- I am RIPPED!I got a very good score on my first run, and then I had to wait until all the dogs had finished running and then I got to run again, only this time, I had to turn around and run the course in the opposite direction! I was so excited when I found out that I was going to get to run again that I practically dragged Mommy all the way to the starting line. She could hardly hold me while we waited for the lures. Finally, we heard those magic words, "Tally Ho!", and I was off! I ran like the wind and I just kept running all the way around that old course, right up to the finish line where Mommy was waiting for me.
This time I had to wear a pink jacket even though I tried to tell the grown-ups that pink is for girl dogs. No one was even listening to me, but pretty soon I got busy running and forgot all about the color of my jacket. I had just as much fun running opposite, and I chased those old lures right back to the Finish line.
After every dog had finished running the judges added up all of the scores, and guess what? I got Second Place! And I only missed First Place by 1 point! Mommy said that I was awesome and we can definitely do more lure coursing next time. I can hardly wait!
Mommy says the best part of all was that after we got home I never even tried to chase the rabbits, or the chickens, or the ducks, or the geese and she wasn't at all sorry that she took me lure coursing after all. She was very proud of me for being such a good, smart puppy dog.
Tracking!!!
Me and Mommy are practicing for my Tracking Certification Test which I am going to take in August. I have to pass this test before I can enter a real Tracking Test, to show that I am ready to be tested. I like practicing my tracking, especially when Mommy puts lots of hot dogs in the gloves for me to find! um, um, Good!Daddy's Wheel Hoe
Daddy is so smart that he made this wheel hoe all by himself, almost completely from scratch. He bought the blade part because our shop does not have the tools he needed to make that part from scratch. This is going to help Mommy and Daddy and Matthew keep the bad weeds out of our garden this summer.
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