Hiking in Boyce Park

Group shot, don't they all look kind of annoyed? "c'mon, enough with the pictures already!"

We had to sneak out onto the "NO Dogs Allowed" soccer field, for some chasing and playing with their favorite new tuggy toy.

Another group shot. It got really dark, quickly and withon a minute of getting back to the car it started down pouring.

Dreaming of vacation

this place looks absolutely perfect www.sheepdung.com seriously I can't imagine anywhere could be better.

What I need to find is somewhere just like "sheep dung estates" that's just a wee bit closer, for an extended weekend. I'm trying to put together a little agility trial/hiking/eating way too much vacation in the finger lakes to coincide with a 4 day trial held there at the end of September, but so far it looks like I'm late on this, as all the nice houses and cottages are booked up, at least for the weekends.

Barking, lots & lots of Barking

It's been non-stop, round the clock barking around here. I don't know if we have new neighbors, if someone recently rescued a couple of dogs, or what, but the barking hasn't stopped yet.

There's the big dog barking, loud, low pitched and constant and the shreaky, screaming little dog, (maybe a puppy?) punctuating the big dog's barks.

I'm watching Luca, a litle cockapoo for the week and you guessed it, he's joining in with the neighbors! Abby's been grumbling a bit, with the occasional "real" bark thrown in.......

Who just lets their dogs bark non-stop? My dogs bark, but they're not allowed to just go on and on.

It's bound to get worse too, once people start setting off fireworks. Why I didn't I just enter that trial this weekend?!

Home Stretch!

Miss Kittie, Miss Kittie......had a perfect weekend at the Erie trial!! She's now at 19 double Qs, I can't even believe it. I'm running her very conseratively lately, just trying to be clean and keep all those bars up, but she still earned 83 points, woohoo!

Then there's baby dog Abby, a little of this, a little of that, but no Qs. There will probably be a whole post dedicated to my little stinker in the near future. I *need* to figure out what's going on in her little head!

No videos, the weather was crazy. Hot and sunny one minute, freezing and downpouring rain the next, didn't want to risk ruining my camera. There definitely will be video for our next trial....got to get that MACH run on film!

Free Pug

Really, would anyone like a 9 year old pug? Basically healthy, other than some allergies, pk, potential knee surgery...oh, she's also prone to total freak out, temper tantrum style fits.

I'm *mostly* kidding. Yesterday afternoon, about 5 minutes before I had to drive out to the barn for practice Rudy attacked Kittie. She used to be much, much worse, but she's gotten better. Not perfect, but better. I honestly have no clue why she goes after Kittie. Rudy has had issues with other dogs, and she's tried to pick fights with Abby, but Abby just ignores her and it goes nowhere....Kittie gets afraid and Rudy seems to feed off of it. Abby jumps in when Rudy attacks her sister, so I end up with a big, messy pile of fighting pugs. Part of me wants to just walk away, let them "work this out", but how on earth can you walk away, if something happened to one of them I could *never* forgive myself. I managed to grab Rudy, Kittie and Abby were shaking, completely freaked out, covered in drool and spit, but not a mark on them.

I tossed Rudy in their room without saying a word, let Willy just have the run of the house and left for class. Abby did fine, not really mentally there, but did well considering. Kittie was a mess, ran around the first jump, *never* completed a set of weave poles, totally not like her at all. We probably should have just stayed home, but usually within a few minutes everyone is back to normal.

Rudy's the first dog I've ever even gave a thought to rehoming, but I'll never do it considering her age and potential for expensive health issues. Even though actual fights are rare, I know Kittie is walking on egg shells around her...and it's just not fair to her.

What, no trial?

No trials for us last weekend. The only trial was a little over 3 hours away, and we've been going non-stop all Spring, so we took the weekend off. I try to schedule some off time, thinking they need it, but I'm not so sure. I know I always kick myself for not entering a trial, and I think Kittie would kick me as well!

Kittie was not pleased at all! Saturday morning, she was whining, pacing and barking at me. She got over it while we were out hiking, but as soon as we got home the little terror started back. We haven't done any agility since last Wednesday and she's been moping around ever since the weekend. Abby's more go with the flow, as long as we're doing something, she's happy.

They get in such a pattern, just like us. Kittie will be happy to know we're going to practice tonight and Wednesday and we have a two day outdoor trial this weekend....she won't be so pleased when she finds out we're taking the first two weeks of July off! August & September are jam packed though.

Birthday Girls

Rudy, the birthday Girl!!

Rudy and I both had birthdays this week, mine was yesterday and Rudy's was on Tuesday. Miss Rudy turned 9, and I'm now 33......we're both getting officially getting old!! I'm kidding, sort of, I can remember when anything over 30, heck anything over 25 sounded ancient. Rudy's barely slowed down at all and neither have I.

We celebrated yesterday by sleeping in, (we *never* sleep in) eating a big breakfast and spending the day in Sewickley Park.

Abby working on her handstand, Kittie and Willy are there to spot her, just in case.

The whole crew; Abby, Kittie, Rudy & Willy

More pictures Here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/westoverpugs/sets/72157605577249424/