Hurricane Deck

Someone posted a question on Facebook about what to pack for a road trip with dogs. Since I travel for work, and I always travel with the dogs, I have quite the list! I have several totes that I take with me that have all of my “stuff” in it. So, my clothing and toiletries aside, these are the things that I always have when I am traveling: Dog First Aid Kit Imodium Baby Aspirin Flagyl Fish-flex Saline solution Neosporin Cortisone cream Benadryl Hydrogen peroxide Quick-stop gel Vet wrap Gauze Medical tape Instant cold packs Hospital grade super glue (handy for torn ears and pads) Muzzle Syringes Proof of rabies vaccinations ALL of my medications have the correct dosage for dogs written on a sticker that is placed on the side of the bottle for quick reference! Vehicle emergency tote Snow chains Fix-a-flat Jumper cables Water Flares Assorted small tools Duct tape Blanket Emergency cell phone charger Washer fluid Oil Tow rope Human first aid kit Fla

Part of my job as a landman is to "dig up" people, and sometimes that means going to the local cemetery! I made a trip to two cemeteries to confirm that someone had indeed passed across the Great Divide, and I couldn't resist taking some pictures. A grave marker at the Cheyenne Wells cemetery. There were so many unknown and unidentified grave markers that it was very surprising to me, as the cemetery is very small. There were also so many babies – I couldn’t believe the amount of children who had died under the age of two that inhabited the cemetery. This is about 1/3 of the Cheyenne Wells cemetery. My friend Sue loved the windmill and the cows that were etched onto this marker; I was more amused that it looked like an EKG that was flat lining! I wonder what his marker looked like. Not finding what we needed in Cheyenne Wells, we headed out to Kit Carson to visit the cemetery there. A jackrabbit was hanging out - he was HUGE! While the Grojeans we

The last few weeks have been very busy lately! Three of the crew came with me to Burlington, Colorado where a new project started up. We’ve been busy going to dog shows and exploring the area for places to run and play. Last weekend, Tracey of K2 and I went to Tulsa, Oklahoma to enjoy the show put on by Performance Events Trials and Shows. The site was fantastic with soft matting all over! Fritz won 3 of the 4 Best of Breed awards that were offered, as well as two Group 3 wins and a Group 4 win! He is now a United Kennel Club Show Champion. Miss Jada took 2 Best of Breed awards and two Group 2s, securing her place for now in the Top Ten race. It was a fabulous show, and I loved meeting so many fun new people as well as seeing old friends! This morning I went with Sue, a fellow landman and a fantastic friend to the South Republican River Wilderness Area to let the dogs run and stretch their legs and so that I could use Tracey’s fancy camera that she accidently left behind i

It seems like every once in a while the topic of brindle comes up in the Rat Terrier world. Teeth are gnashed and garments are rendered because brindle is not an acceptable pattern in our breed, and the standard says that brindle is a disqualification. The standard probably won’t change any time soon, and I certainly hope that it will NEVER include brindle! Why? The UKC standard says, in the very beginning, that “These terriers probably included crosses between the Smooth Fox Terrier, the Manchester Terrier and the now extinct white English Terrier… Some of these dogs were crossed with Whippets or Italian Greyhounds (for speed) and Beagles (for hunting ability).” Let’s take a look at the ancestors of the Rat Terrier and how their standards treat brindle: Smooth Fox Terrier UKC : Serious Fault AKC: Objectionable Manchester Terrier: UKC: Disqualification AKC: Disqualification Whippet: UKC: Any color/pattern accepted. AKC: Any color/pattern accepted. Italian Greyhounds: UKC: Disqualif

I took the Rat Pack down to a section of state land not far from where I keep my horses so that they could run and play in the creek and try to beat some of the heat we have been having! This was also Fritz's first time out without his splint, and he is doing very well with his healed leg. Bye Mom! My main men! Time to cool off. Fritz loved playing in the water. I love the movement on this dog - even in sand it is practically flawless. Fritz spent most of the hike perched in my arms, watching the big dogs. Raccoon tracks Jada invites Rodear to play Sniper surveys his kingdom Cooling off the pitty paws Rooster tried his best to catch some minnows but was unsuccessful! While pretty, it is not nearly green enough. Bring on the rain!

Happy 4th Birthday to Sniper! A little under 4 years ago, Diana brought a litter of 4 week old puppies to Tracey’s house, and of course I was there! I had wanted a puppy from this litter since the idea of it was first bandied about – a puppy from two of my favorite dogs? HELL YES. There were 9 puppies in the litter. Diana brought in an x-pen and set it up and then she brought in the crate full of baby Ratties. Before she had even opened the crate, a crowd of adult Rat Terriers had gathered around the x-pen to see what the newbies would look like. When Diana opened the crate door, one puppy bounded over the rest and was out of the crate like a flash! For a moment, he decided that he was bigger and tougher than any of those other dogs, and decided to bark and growl at them to tell them who was the boss! When the other dogs didn’t respond to his display of power, he decided to change tactics – he was outnumbered, so Plan B was to go into a play bow, wag his nubbin and try to make

Dr. Willer = Magic. Just to let you know how delicate the work is that he did on Fritz is, five of those screws are 1.5mm and one is 2.0mm. The plate is so small that it fits on a 3lb dog. I think that Fritz will be just fine. 2 months of rest and a few x-rays to make sure that the pins aren't causing any problems and Fritz will be good to go. Wow. Just wow. The plate.