Cooper's Big Weekend

I am really behind on the blog so I will try to get caught up. 

October 2014

My little guy had quite a week. First I received an email notice that he was ranked #6 in the National Owner-Handled Series and got an invitation to attend Eukanuba!  Nothing better than that, right?  Then, on Friday, the 24th, we got up very early and went to a dog show. We left home at 2am on Friday to go to the dog show in Benton, Arkansas for one last try at finishing. Loooong drive!  Neither dog was even tired after being in the car for 14 hours. We were exhausted!  Saturday, Cooper got BOW for that last major!  To say I am thrilled is an understatement.  How excited was I, you ask?  Most people document all major wins with an official photo with the judge.  I was so excited about Cooper finishing, I totally forgot about the picture.  On Sunday, he got Select.  It was my first time taking a special into the ring.  I am so proud of my little wild one. 

Now, pending AKC approval, he will be known as, Ch. Jo-Lyns Captive Heart THDN.

I have pulled all nighters before, but I was much younger then. Much. I don't remember when I have been this tired before. 14 hours there and 14 hours back.  Was it worth it?  You betcha!

When the mail came after we got home, there was more!  The "official" invitation to Eukanuba came as well as two Therapy Dog title certificates.  Sadie received her Therapy Dog title and Cooper received his Therapy Dog Novice title.  

This picture was taken at the show. It will have to do as his show photograph. 

We decided not to go to Florida for Eikanuba. I am sure he would have done well and it would have been a wonderful trip. One of the best things about dog shows is that there is always another one. 

Pet Partners Therapy Dog testing

Pet Partners (formally Delta Society) requires testing every two years in order to maintain certification. Sadie's license expires in June so we needed to find a place to test. The place we used to go to in Albuquerque no longer participates so last time we went to El Paso. What a great group of people!  So, this time when the time came, I emailed to see when they were testing. February 16 is a ways before the June deadline, but you take what you can get.  On a whim, I signed up both dogs to be tested. I fully expected Sadie to pass, but Cooper was iffy at best.  He has never had the experiences to prepare him for some parts of the test.  

First order of business is to make an appointment with Dr. Becky, the veterinarian.  Pet Partners requires a current rabies certificate to even be tested, plus there is an extensive health exam needed for certification.  Of course a therapy dog must be free of parasites an otherwise healthy in order to be good at their job.  So, load up the car and off we go.  It is always an adventure when you take two keeshonden anywhere.  Everyone wants to touch their beautiful coat.  There is always a lot of questions, too.  The health exams went well.  Both dogs are glad to see Dr. Becky.  They love her so much, they don't even mind the shots.  

Next on the list is training.  While I have worked with Cooper some, Sadie has been neglected in the training area lately.  So, I began with her.  We started with simple things that I was sure she would do.  I always try to begin and end on a positive note.  So, Sit.  Well, she did sit.  Only for about 2 seconds, but it was a sit.  She got a treat for sitting on command and then I went from there to making her sit for longer periods of time before she got the treat.  Finally she remembered.  She would even do both a sit/stay and a down/stay.  Talk about cramming for a test.  We had about a week to get ready.  Cooper was easy.  Just about 5 minutes of practice and he was ready for anything.  

Third thing we need to do is grooming.  Part of the evaluation is grooming.  They check their coat and their nails and sometimes their teeth, but not always.  Again, if you think about what it takes to visit with your dog, it would need to be well groomed.  Both dogs enjoy grooming, but I think Cooper likes it the best.  He will sleep on the grooming table however long it takes for me to get him combed out.  Sadie thinks of it as a massage.  But, she wants both sides to be massaged equally so will sometimes roll over to the other side before I am finished.  I use a Dremel for their nails and round off the tips so they don't scratch.  Both have certain toes that are more ticklish than the others, but most of the time it goes smoothly.  Once I was satisfied that they were both beautiful, they each had a short training session and then we all went to bed early so we could leave on time for El Paso the next day.

El Paso is almost three hours from here.  So, we had to leave before 7 am to get there before the 10 o'clock testing time.  This was the first time the dogs had been in the new crates in the new car.   Sadie thought she was being punished. She wanted to be loose and not in the crate. But, they both liked the new crate pads I made and both went to sleep as soon as we left the house. 

Finally we get to the testing site. Thank goodness for GPS. We got there in plenty of time to walk around outside and take care of business plus get some water. It was warm, but not too hot so we walked a few blocks to get some of Cooper's energy down. These are country dogs, not city dogs so they are a bit unused to walking on concrete.   The parts that wasn't concrete, seemed to be covered in goat head stickers. Sadie was a real collector of the ugly things.  Seems like I would just pull them out of her feet and she would go a few steps and get more. She was thrilled to get back to the testing place so she could go inside. 

The actual test is in two parts. The first part is mostly obedience type activities. Like walking around an area with a loose lead, sit, down, and stay. The second part is an aptitude test. The dog is tested to see how they react to loud noises, to rough petting or extremely loud and unrulely people. There is also a part with large crowd of people with medical equipment. 

After the testing and the usual questions about the breed, they told me that BOTH dogs passed!  As a reward, we went to McDonald's. The dogs shared a hamburger patty. All in all, it was a pretty great day. We even got home at a decent time. Now it is a matter of taking pictures for the licenses and filling out the paperwork. 

Of course, as soon as I decided it was a good time to take photos, it started snowing. But, it adds character. Plus, on the actual license, the photo is really small so it won't be noticed at all. 

**Update**  new "Official" Pet Partner license arrived in the mail today. In hindsight, I should have used different pictures. Because they were taken on the same day, I have on the same shirt, and they are both sitting on the same rock. To the average person, it would seem that they are the same dog since they look so much alike. So, next time, I will make sure that I, at least, change shirts so the photos will look more different. 

Mouse

To those people who call me names behind my back.  You know who you are.  I have heard rumors that "certain" people call me the "Bleach Queen."  All I can say is, you have no idea.  

A couple of weeks ago while doing laundry, I noticed it got a bit steamy in the utility room.  That has never happened before.  The dryer vents outside to the back deck.  When we checked the vent, it seemed to be stuck.  The little aluminum cover was bent a bit.  Probably one of the dogs was laying against it at some point.  We straightened it out and things seemed to be working good again.  Or, so we thought.

I keep my dog food in a large metal can with a tight fitting lid (it was a promotional piece from Eukanuba).  But the can isn't quite big enough to hold all the food from a 50 pound bag, so there is usually some left in the bag until they eat enough out of the can to add the rest.  The other day, I went to pour the rest of the food into the can and there was a small hole in the bottom.   It is a very sturdy bag made of plastic.  But, it was no match for the sharp little teeth of a MOUSE!  It was late that night so nothing much I could do until the next day, except put out a trap with some cheese.  First night, we caught a fat one.  Guess he grew fat on that grain free dog food.

My utility room isn't big.  It is bigger than some I have seen though.  We have a washer, dryer, upright freezer and a sink and cabinet in there and there is still room for me to use the grooming table.  I knew I was going to have to move all the appliances out one at a time to clean behind them.  We started with the dryer because it is the one next to the outside wall.  Lots of mouse signs behind there.  When I removed the dryer vent, there was a hole in it about two inches across.  Perfectly round.  A lot of talent there.  

I cleaned the entire area with bleach.  When bleach reacts with the ammonia in the urine, it starts to foam and produces noxious  fumes.  I had both the front and the back doors open, but it was pretty intense.  Why, you say, would I use bleach if I knew what kind of fumes there would be?  Can you say Hanta Virus?  Here, the main carrier is the deer mouse.  Years ago, it was almost always fatal.  Now there is treatment, but it takes a long time.  It is spread when the urine dries to a powder, gets into the air and you breathe it in.  The best way to prevent it is to spray all affected areas with bleach and always wear a mask when cleaning in areas where it might be a problem like sheds and garages.  

We got a new dryer vent hose and vent with a rodent guard, then pulled out the washer.  More mouse signs (and a lot of dog hair hiding under there).  After everything was clean there, we pulled out the freezer and found even more!  Evidently the little guy really liked it under the freezer.  This was where the stash of dog food was kept nice and warm.  

This mouse (or mice, so far we have only caught one) must have thought he had found Nirvana. Here he had a nice covered entry way, all the food he could eat and since this is also where we store the recyclables, all the newspaper he could want for bedding.  A warm, dry place in the cold winter.       

All in all, I used over a gallon of bleach.  Everything has been cleaned.  The floors, of course, but also all cords, hoses, plugs and walls.  In case my father is reading this in heaven, yes, I did unplug everything (mostly) before wiping any wires or cords with the wet bleach.  And, yes, I did wear a mask the whole time.  My throat and eyes still feel a bit raw, but I am sure it isn't a bad as it would have been without the mask.  

We have put out three "bucket traps".  One in each side of the shed and another one in the utility room.  On one of the YouTube videos on how to make these, they caught the mice alive and then let them go.  Now, I think mice are very cute.  But, if they thought they would be relocated to a farm or something, they are sadly mistaken.  I don't care if they live a long life.  Just not in my house.  I will not say what will happen to them here.  

Just where were the dogs during this invasion?  Good question.  They seemed very interested in the making of the traps, especially when we were putting peanut butter on them for bait.  They were particularly helpful in cleaning up fingers.  

A Kees in the Land of Enchantment

One of the long time favorite columns in New Mexico Magazine is called "One of Our Fifty is Missing."  It is humerous accounts of the problems we, as citizens of the United States, have when dealing with people who think we live in a foreign country.  Like, when ordering something over the phone and being told they don't ship to any countries except the US.  I have had many conversations with people trying in vain to explain that we are actually the 47th state.  I one time asked someone what they called that space between Arizona and Texas.  We are the fifth largest State, you would think people would notice something that big!  I went with a high school band to Washington, DC.  A lady at the Smithsonian ask the kids where they were from.  Upon hearing their answer, she said, "Wow!  You speak very good English."  To which one of the smart alec kids replied, "So do you!"  

Imagine the problems of living in a very misunderstood state with a pair of a very unknown  breed of dog.  You would be amazed at some of the comments I get while out with the dogs.  They have been called everything from ChowChows to Raccoon Dogs.  One lady asked me if they were a cross between a cat and a dog.  When I tell them what breed they are, people will tell me, "Oh, I had one of those when I was a kid.  Only mine was bigger.  Are these miniatures?"  Or, "Mine was so much smaller.  I would have recognized them if they were the right size."    Just today, a lady told us on our walk that they were as furry as a minx.  Not sure what she meant by that, but she did say they were beautiful, so I'm okay with that.  

Other weird things they get called include Ewoks as is evident from the first picture. All Sadie needs is a little leather vest to complete the look. When I take the dogs to the library, the preschoolers call them "The Cotton Candy Dogs". The little ones like to run their fingers through the fur as they pretend to read. So, I guess what I am saying is that in a place that is different from any other place, it is only appropriate that my beloved keeshonden get called many different names. 

A lot of people think that New Mexico is all desert. While there are desert areas, we also have mountains, wetlands and plains.  A lot of our mountains include tundra which is above the timber line. The ski areas here regularly stay open from Thanksgiving to Easter. Yes, it does get very hot in places. But, the humidity here is very low. How do our Kees cope?  Obviously if you lived in an area that gets hot, they would have to stay inside with air conditioning all summer. Even if you live in the mountains like I do, there are things we do because of the dryness. I drink lots of water and use lots of lotion on my skin. Because of the clear air and high altitude here (7,000 ft.) we have a high UV index and sunscreen is a must. My dogs always have lots of water available to drink and I spritz them with cold water every day. There are lots of shady areas outside to protect them from the harsh rays of the sun and we also have air conditioning as well as a humidifier to add humidity to the air indoors. With all these precautions, I still have dry skin.  The dog's double coats help, and I think spraying them with water also helps keep their coats healthy. 

So, what should you expect should you come to visit our fair state?  Well, for one thing, the food here is unlike anywhere else.  Not really Mexican and certainly NOT Tex-Mex.  It probably goes back to our roots as a Spanish coloony.  In northern New Mexico, they still speak Castillian Colonial Spanish, not the Mexican dialects spoken in the rest of the country.  So, with both food and the language different, how, do you ask, do you order in a restuarant?  Here, chile is a vegetable and served with every meal.  If you are not from here, don't order "hot".  Most people will say that the green is hotter than the red, but if you order "Christmas" (both red and green on the same plate) that is a moot point.  I personally prefer the taste of the red better.  

New Mexico is diverse climate wise as well.  In winter, you can sunbathe at White Sands National Park and see the snow on Sierra Blanca.  You can ski on snow in the morning and sand in the afternoon.  It is possible (and probable) to get a sun burn at both locations.  There is everything from desert to wetlands and high mountains.  

Unique climate zones means unique wildlife.  Becaue of the vast open spaces, animals from other places have been brought in in attempts to save an endangered species.  In one case, Barbary Sheep, there is a higher population here than there is in their native land on the Barbary Coast of Africa.  In the photos that follow, there is a herd of Oryx (also imported from Africa and having no real predators here, they have really multiplied).  Elk can be found in most of the mountain areas, and the Pronghorn Antelope are found in the plains. We have mostly Mule Deer here, but there are some White Tail deer in the southeast. If you live in the mountains like I do, your outdoor planting not only has to meet the planting zone, it is also helpful if it is "deer resistant". As you can see from the picture, lilacs are not. Again, the watch dogs just watch the plants get eaten to the ground. The last picture is one of our local Blue Herons. They like to roost behind the house in the mornings to get the sun. Huge, beautiful birds.