Loser

Lowri - I have the big L stamped on my forehead.  I didn't get a ribbon at all today.  I looked beautiful.  I moved beautifully.  But I LOST!  The beautiful Libby and Coco Posh are here with me.  They won it all.  Miss Libby even won the WHOLE Group.  I got a big L...

MC and her friend, Ms. Kim, went shopping.  Ms. Kim stopped to talk to the Dog Psychic.  All of a sudden, the lady said "Puppies?"  She looked at me, then said I told her I was going to have six.  TM is hoping that was six girls to go with the four boys.  I am NOT telling.  You're all going to have to wait until mid-late October.

Dog Show Weekend!

Lowri - I get to go to ANOTHER dog show this weekend!  I almost never get to go to two weekends of shows in a month.  I had my pedicure last night and my hot oil bath tonight.  TM used our new shampoo on my whites.  They are so white, they sparkle!  TM and MC are very impressed with it.  Last weekend in the Group place, the handler of the Pemmie asked MC what she did to get my whites so white. 

I am now hanging with MC for the weekend.  TM and MC met at a halfway point so that they could swap dogs.  TM is staying home so she can see PR.  Miss Monroe and Dinah are staying with TM.  I am not sure if I like that, but MC has promised me bait.  Drool!

I will have TM update our weekend on Saturday and Sunday.  I am not sure she can hear my thoughts unless MC has her phone on.  So everyone will have to wait until Saturday for my next update.

I AM A STAR!

Lowri - I just had my first interview.  I am a STAR!  I sat and preened for the camera.  At one point, TM gave the interviewer the magic word to get my ears up.  She said "bunny" and I came to full attention!  Then TM stacked me and held out some treats.  I started drooling - ON CAMERA!  How embarrassing.

TM was a bit nervous.  You will have to forgive her performance.  She isn't star material - like ME!  I predict MANY future episodes.  Maybe my supporting actress should be MC or MP.  MP already has been on TV.  She was fabulous as the Great Defender! 

We can't wait to get the link for the video! 

TV Taping

Lowri - My Television interview is tomorrow morning.  I am so excited!  TM has been removing the massage stuff from the living-room and putting up our CWCCA awards.  I haven't won very many yet, I hope the interviewer doesn't think I am a slacker!

I wonder what kind of snacks I should set out.  My raw food or maybe some kibble?  Can I growl at them if they make the mistake of actually thinking of tasting it?  After all, it is MINE!

Wow!  Dog shows on the weekend, herding on Monday, Massage Greeter on Tuesday and then TV Star on Wednesday.  Does life get better?

Weekend Friend

Lowri - I almost forgot to add that we made a new friend this weekend.   Ms. Diana Brumbaugh was there with her pretty puppy, Ula Mauna's Kittyhawk.  We visited with her quite a bit.  Ms. Diana also has Siberian Huskies.  While she had some at the show, she RACES them in the winter.  That sounds so cool!  I think the puppy must be the mascot.  I would like that job.  I could sit on the sled and bark "MUSH".  Wouldn't that be FUN!  Although, Ms. Diana said stopping the sled could be interesting some days.

Ms Diana was lots of fun to hang with.  I didn't get to play with the puppy, though.  She is a cute sable.  TM said she moved nicely too. 

We also met a nice Jr. Handler with an Aussie.  The Jr. was Miss Culver.  She was a very sweet girl.  They were set up right behind us, so we got to see them a lot.  Her Aussie was BEAUTIFUL!

Weekend

Lowri - I had the best time this weekend!  We went up to the dog shows in Huntington, WV.  After a potentially significant error - TM thought the show was in Beckley - we went to Huntington Saturday morning at about 3:30 AM.  We didn't get a lot of sleep on Friday night, so we were all tired for the show.

First off, TM noticed that we had a judge change.  Ms. Michele Billings was replaced by someone TM didn't know.  TM watched him judge some of the other breeds.  She decided that he was doing a pretty fair job.  MC groomed me up and we went into the show ring.  I WON!

Because I went BOB, I also won BOB Owner-Handled.  I got to show in two Group places!  In the OH group, I WON!  I won it ALL.  Then I went to the Best in Show Owner-Handler.  That judge didn't think I was the most beautiful one there.  TM said it was okay, she was still taking home the best dog!

In the regular Group, I got dumped.  Completely, dumped.  We went off to find our motel.  We all climbed into our beds and got some sleep.

Today, we went back to the show.  The judge who dumped me in Group was our breed judge today.  TM and MC had no idea what she would do.  I ended up winning Breed, but it was touch and go there for a bit.  In the Group place, I won a quarter of it.  TM laughed when she saw my numbers for dogs defeated.  My last show I won something like 215 points for a quarter of the group place.  Today, I got 15 points.  TM snickered, but thought it was better than nothing (which I almost got).

We drove home and talked to MP and G'ma Janet on the car phone.  It helped the trip go faster.  I am glad to be home with Papa Ron.  TM is too. 

My Sister, Sally

Lowri - My sister, Sally, is a star too!  Today, she became a Grand Champion.  I haven't seen her in a while, but here is a picture from today.  She looks awesome!  TM stole the picture from G'ma Janet's facebook page...

Sally with her friend Ms. Cheryl

Here is a picture of Sally and me when we were babies.  We were playing at the herding trial.  My Daddy and Kearney got to herd.  Sally and I got to play.

Sally and me at a play date. 

My beautiful mama, Scout, has three Grand Champions from the same litter (me, Tommy and Sally).  I have another sister, Ginger, who is going to be a Grand Champion soon.  That will make four of us.  Then there is Abby, who has a family who loves her; Mary, who has her very own girl; David, who gets to play with horses; and Nicky, who has his very own boy and gets to roll in stinky stuff.  My G'ma Janet did a really good job of getting us all into the perfect homes.  Every one of us thinks our home is the BEST.

TV and Dog Shows

Lowri - It is TRUE!  I AM going to be a TV star.  They are going to interview TM about ME!  They would interview me, but they haven't learned to speak dog yet.  TM will share my thoughts with them.  I am sure I will have lots of ideas to help them with their program.  I am going to be a STAR!

TM just told me that we are going to dog shows this weekend.  Man, I am already drooling thinking of all that bait!  Liver, chicken, cheese, steak...yum.  We are going to leave very early on Saturday morning.  Almost as early as we left a week or two ago, when I went to meet my boyfriend.  I can't wait to go.  Tonight I am getting my hot oil bath and a massage and pedicure.  I wonder what TM will do to get me ready for my TV interview?

A TV Star?

Lowri - I just heard that I am going to be a TV star!  My agent is working out the details.  It is going to be a segment for the local TV station.  I am sure once word gets out, it will be picked up Nationally.  I wonder if I will have my own dressing room...oooooooooooooh, wow, I wonder if it will be CATERED? 

They want to interview me because I am so beautiful and smart and ...

TM - WAH, WA WAH WAH WA!

Lowri - I may have to fire my agent.  She is already trying to rain on my parade.

Sunday

Lowri - TM didn't take me herding today.  I had to sit in my crate!  That isn't fair.  Dinah got to go herding.  And it was with MY sheep.

TM took her down to the arena when MC came back from the dog shows.  MC had to hide by the barn because TM noticed that Dinah likes to run to MC when she thinks she has done enough.  She tries to avoid real work.  With MC out of sight, Dinah will work the sheep.  Today, Dinah did a really good job, right up to the end.  TM opened the gate to exhaust the ewes.  They ran out and Dinah ran out after them.  TM yelled at her to stop, but she was in full chase.  It was NOT good!

TM had to go to the far end of the field where Dinah had the sheep trapped.  TM made her bring the sheep back to the arena.  It took three tries before the sheep actually came back into the arena.  Then Dinah had to lift the sheep off the fence going each way before TM let her take the sheep back to the gate.  Dinah had to hold the sheep off the gate.  When TM opened the gate, Dinah moved to help them through.  Then she just stood still and watched the sheep exit.  Lesson learned!

Saturday at the Farm

Lowri - I am hosting Monroe and Dinah this weekend.  Mama Cheryl went to Greensboro so she could judge Sweepstakes!  She is having a great time.  She says everyone is treating her really nicely. She said her first judging experience was a blast.  She must have done pretty well because Best in Sweeps went Winners Bitch/Best of Winners and Best Opp in Sweeps went Winners Dog. She is a good judge!

I am trying to be a great hostess.  I have shared my people, my yard, my sheep and my ducks.  Fortunately, I haven't had to share my food.  MC brought them their food.  She is coming back tomorrow to pick them up. 

TM built a compost bin.  She built two bins so she could turn the stuff as it ripens.  I think she built it so we wouldn't get in the compost.  I wish she hadn't done that.  It was nice being able to go pick up a snack.  Now it looks like the stuff will become food for the garden. 

When she and PR got back from town, TM put peat moss and potting soil on top of the poor dirt in the raised bed.  Then she planted peas and lettuce and watered them.  One of us dogs went to see what she was doing and put lots of footprints in the new dirt.  TM was not pleased about that.  Then Aidan went on a mad tear - right through the cantaloupes and tore one free from the vine.  TM sighed, picked it up and we all went into the house.  It was a busy day.

B o r i n g!!

Lowri - Today was BORING!  Except for when Miss Ginger came.  I LOVE her.  I always have to say HI.  She scratches me in all the right places.  She is wonderful.  But, other than that, it was BORING!

TM went shopping while Miss Ginger cleaned.  I was locked outside.  TM worked with her clients.  I was locked outside or in the kitchen.  I didn't get to be a greeter for any of them.  Then TM mowed the lawn.  I was locked in the side yard.  And that is another thing!  TM has shut the gate so I am locked in the side yard.  TM says it is because I am in heat and she doesn't want any other dog to come near me.  I think it is because she is flexing her power to control.

TM worked with the power tools in the back yard.  I was locked up.  BORING!

TM says I can't go for a walk until I am completely out of heat.  BORING!  I NEED to see my bunnies.  I have to make sure that I can find them all.  They are out there just waiting for me to see them.

TM is Better

Lowri - TM is doing much better.  She is only a little sore tonight.  That is good.  I need her to feel good.

TM just paid for the picture from the Spartanburg dog show where I won a quarter of the group.  She said I could post it now, so here it is!  Doesn't MC look good?  She matches the flowers!

Uh Oh

Lowri - TM slipped and fell tonight when she went to PR's place.  The muscles in her ribcage are really sore.  Just wait until tomorrow, they will really hurt then! 

Actually, it is not true that she slipped and fell.  The fell part is completely true.  She "slipped" when Aidan jumped on her just as she started up the concrete steps to the patio.  She landed on her left hand in the gravel and thought she could save herself.  Then the muscles in the left ribs gave out.  Down she went.

I would have punished Aidan if I had been able to!  As it was, PR told him he was a bad, evil dog.  TM just said he was excited to see her.  She is already wincing at the thought of working tomorrow.  I see a lot of aspirin in her immediate future.

My Boyfriend.

Me and my boyfriend, Dickens. 

Lowri - My boyfriend is the fabulous Dickens, MBIS GCh Twinroc Santa Paws.  He is very handsome.  I was bred to him in the Spring, but nothing happened.  TM, MC, and MP decided to try again.  I went clear to Ohio to meet him!  TM was very thankful he wasn't in Florida or Maine at that precise time!




When I got home from Ohio, I got to go back to herding.  MC got this picture of me killing the coat from a hair sheep.  TM got it off of one of my ewes, but hadn't removed it from the field.  I had the best time "killing" it!

Me killing sheep wool.

Weekend Report

Lowri - I have had the most amazing weekend!  I haven't had one like it in all my life.  TM and I went to bed very early on Friday night.  I mean, we were in bed by 8:00!  I have only known TM to do that when she was really sick.  I checked in with her, but she was fine.  We just were getting all the sleep we could.  We got up at 2:05 AM!  Seriously!!!!  2:05!  That alone is mind-blowing.

TM took a quick shower and we jumped in the car and started driving...and driving...and driving.  We drove clear to the upper end of Ohio.  I remember we did that once when I was young, but then it wasn't in the middle of the night. 

We got there at about 10:00 in the morning.  There was mud EVERYWHERE.  TM finally found a place to park where she didn't sink to the axle.  We got out and walked around for a while.  Everyone was surprised to see us.  TM told them she just drove up to say "hey".  Finally, she said that we had driven up because I was in heat and all the boys were at this show.  Weird part was that made sense to everyone! 

I got to meet my boyfriend!  He is very, very handsome.  He is a brindle.  He thinks I am beautiful!  We played a bit.

The drive home was very long.  TM stopped halfway and we spent the night in a motel.  She was very tired.  Fortunately, she doesn't snore much.

Road Trip!

Lowri - Whoo hoo!!  We are going on a road trip!  I am getting a boyfriend and I actually get to meet him this time!  We leave tomorrow night.  I can't wait.  TM is going to take her camera and get pictures of him.  We are all very excited.  Well, PR isn't, but then it's a dog thing. 

I wasn't going to get a boyfriend this time around, but TM got to thinking.  You know how dangerous THAT is!  She figured out that I would have plenty of time to recover before Nationals.  She also figured out that my babies would be 6 months old just BEFORE Nationals.  Those two things convinced her to at least check in with Mama Cheryl and Mama Penni to see what they thought.  Everyone agreed that it would be interesting to at least talk about.  Low and behold!  I am getting a boyfriend!!!

Pretty Panty Girl

Lowri - I am in heat.  TM is making me wear panties when I am in the house.  She tries to make me feel better about it by calling me the "Pretty Panty Girl".  I am not amused!

So far, she has let me out twice still wearing them.  I have only been in wearing the panties for ONE day!  She has managed to call me back before I squatted, but still!  You would think if she puts them on me, she would remember to take them off.

Bunny Walk

Lowri - TM and I just got back from our Bunny Walk.  We saw eleven bunnies!

TM - Wah, wah wa.

Lowri - Nine bunnies!  TM says I can't count the same two twice - even though we saw them on the way out and again on the way back.  I am getting really, really good at spotting bunnies from a distance.  You can see their beady, little eye.  I even saw two bunnies before TM saw them!  TM was impressed with the distance I saw the one at.  He was a LONG way away, especially if you have short legs!

Aidan and I saw a bunny this weekend.  I didn't think TM noticed that we actually caught it...until the next morning when we only got half our breakfast.  Being on a diet sucks!  It wasn't even TM that fed us.  She squealed on us to PR and then told him to cut our breakfast back.  I did NOT like that at all.

Busy Monday

Lowri - I had an awesome late afternoon!  I finally got to go herding.  I waited and waited all day long.  TM and PR were a little too busy to attend to my needs earlier. 

TM built a 4 X 12 raised bed in the garden.  PR used the backhoe to put dirt in it.  Then TM raked it all smooth.  She is going to try to do smarter gardening next year.  I would have helped, but I was locked in the dog yard.

PR put the cistern the ground.  He dug a big hole earlier this weekend.  TM had to help with the placement.  Then they put this stuff in the gutters to clean the rain water before it goes into the cistern.  TM got to do the gutter work.  She sat in the backhoe bucket while PR lifted it up to the roof.  She said it was a little like riding a ferris wheel.  TM hates ferris wheels.  I would have liked to see it, but I was locked in the dog yard. 

PR and TM offed four of the pheasant.  They ended up as dinner.  PR did most of the work in getting them cleaned then TM finished cleaning them.  She put them in a brine and then into the smoker.  She tossed out four of the pheasant feet for us.  Aidan and Daisy found some, but didn't know what to do with them.  I shoved them out of the way and showed them.  Then I got locked back up in the dog yard.

Finally, I got to go herding.  TM and I drove down to the barn.  I stayed locked in my crate while TM caught the chickens and moved them to the enclosed bird house.  Then she got the ducks, trimmed the feathers on one wing each and put them in the outside yard.  FINALLY, I got to get out and go get the sheep.

I went out into the middle field and brought them all to the duck arena.  I won't say it was flawless, but I did succeed at bringing them in.  Then we herded.  TM worked me on picking the sheep off the fence in either direction.  I did a VERY good job of that.  Then TM told me to hold the sheep while she walked away from them.  That is kind of interesting.  I am supposed to keep the sheep from following TM AND keep them from leaving the other way.  Lastly, I got to hold the sheep away from the gate while TM opened it.  I was the VERY GOOD dog!  Then I went to water and cooled off. 

Release the Beast

Lowri - I got to go herding again today.  It was great.  I helped TM separate the sheep into two sets.  It took a LOT of work.  The sheep were not cooperative.  It took TM wrestling them one at a time, me telling the rest not to move, and MC handling the gate to get them separated.  I worked hard.  I got to do several nice outruns as I retrieved the sheep after they busted out.

I got to go to water.  Then MC got Dinah out.  When TM took her into the arena to work, Dinah did not do stellar work.  She mostly wanted to watch TM move them.  After trying to get her to engage, TM looked at MC and said "Release the beast".  That is ME!

MC let me into the arena.  I quickly took control of the situation.  Dinah figured out that I knew what was going on and she fell in with me.  We moved the sheep in tandem.  I remember I got to work with Kearney in the same way.  I think the idea is the older, better trained dog (that's ME) shows the younger, less trained dog (Dinah) how to herd.  TM has been doing this for years.  It has always been very effective.  TM and MC think it will work with Dinah too.

Herding Again!

Lowri - I had the best time today!  TM called the sheep to come down for grain.  They wouldn't come.  They knew she had more on her mind than just feeding them.  I got to go out into the big field to fetch them in.  I did a nice, wide outrun.  The sheep decided to go to TM.  That was a good choice!

Then I got to herd the sheep in the arena.  I did a great job there too.  I put them in a corner and held them there.  TM trimmed the coat off one of the ewes.  She will be much cooler without all that coat.  I made her stand still while TM worked on her.  I made the other four sheep stand there too.  Afterwards, I got to move the sheep around the field.  After they tried escaping several times, they gave that up too.

After I got to go to water and cool off, TM let me work the last set of sheep.  I LOVE making them mind.  It is so much fun.  If you put just a little too much pressure on the lambs, they try to escape.  Then you get to cover them and make them stop.  It is great! 

Disappointing

Lowri - I have to say it...I am disappointed in TM.  She was working in the side yard with the gate to the back yard wide open.  The tiny baby bunny popped out from a bush and TM DID NOT CALL ME!  I wanted to.......see it.  Yeah, that's it, I wanted to SEE it (wink, wink).  TM just herded it out of the yard.  What was she thinking?  I am the HERDING dog.  I should have been called so I could herd it...I would definitely have helped remove it from the side yard.  I would have made sure it NEVER entered our yard again.  I don't know what TM was thinking!

Allergies

Lowri - TM hasn't been willing to write my thoughts.  Shoot, she has barely listened to me the last couple of days.  Her eyes have really been bothering her.  She made some wonderful smoked turkey soup.  Apparently, she is allergic to something in it.  All I know is that I am getting to eat the remainder of the soup!  That's how I can say it is wonderful!!!  She is going to mix it up in my food tomorrow when she makes me a new batch of raw food.  I am the luckiest dog ever!

We are playing a new game.  TM is helping me up onto the grooming table and leaving me edible presents.  I am really good about putting my feet up and asking for a boost.  I LOVE presents.  Twice she has fed me my breakfast on the table.  I could learn to love the grooming table!  I keep eying the table to see if maybe she is ready to play the game.  If there are boxes and stuff on it, I know I won't have a present there.  If it is cleared off, I am all about getting up there!