We were planning on attending "Bark in the Ballpark" up in Tampa tonight, but when we got there we found out it had been cancelled. Bummer! On the way home we decided to stop by the Ft. Desoto dog beach. Indy was soooo excited - she hasn't been to the beach in ages!
We had a great time, and even managed to spot a shark that was swimming *very* close to the shore. It was pretty big too - I heard someone say it was a hammerhead, but I couldn't tell. Fortunately the beach wasn't very crowded and we managed to get all of the dogs out of the water!
I just had to share what could possibly be one of most entertaining pictures of Indy *ever*...does she look like a happy (or crazed) spotty dog or what!?
I managed to get some really fun pictures of Indy this time - I'll try and post more later. Needless to say she had a blast and is now a very tired spotty girl! :)
We would like to thank the (Life with Dogs) Academy for honoring the House of Spots with a "Gold Hydrant Award"! We are truly honored and while the spotty dogs are still working on their formal acceptance speech, I thought I would go ahead and share the happy news.
Peyton is beyond excited...I'm not sure he knows why he's excited, but when I mentioned "hydrant", his eyeballs almost popped out (again).
If you have yet to experience the blog known as "Life with Dogs" - go ahead and check it out at www.lifewithdogs.blogspot.com - it's mostly amusing, sometimes disturbing, but always entertaining. :)
I got a new camcorder yesterday! It's technically a birthday present from my parents, but since my birthday falls between our DACOF and Perry trips (for those of you who wish to mark your calendars) I'll now have it to record all of the DACOF fun! My other camcorder is really nice, but it's really kind of a pain to transfer to the computer - this one has a hard drive and USB port so it's much easier. And it also has a little camera function built in which will be nice since I rarely feel like pulling out my big camera at trials!
I tested it out at our DACOF team practice last night and so far, so good! I think I probably need to adjust the settings a little, but it did fairly decent with the low light.
Here's one of our practice runs. Peyton seemed a little "off" last night - I'm hoping it was just the insanely hot and muggy weather (it's waaaay too hot to be running), but I'm going to keep an eye on him this week just in case a little visit with our vet/chiro might be in order.
I met Hunter and Oreo, the two Dals available through Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay, at the agility trial this weekend! Since their current foster mom competes with her spotty dogs in agility, she brought these two along so I could get some pictures.
These two are really great dogs! Even though I didn't get a chance to spend much time with them, they were both extremely friendly and seemed to handle the trial environment quite well. They definitely have a lot of energy, but I think with the right home, they will make great companions!
First is Hunter, who is around one year old. He is such a cutie and has the softest coat!
And here's Oreo - not sure if there's much Dalmatian there, but he does have spots! And those ears - love them! :)
Again, if you are looking to add a spotty dog to your family, please head over to the Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay to learn more about these two, and other Dalmatians available for adoption.
Peyton did great at the NADAC games trial in Ocala last night! He was such a good boy and was so much more focused and relaxed than our last night trial. We ended up qualifying in two runs, but more importantly - no zoomies and some great start line stays!
Novice tunnelers: I didn't get much time to walk either of these courses, but I'm not sure it would have helped much. I just don't quite have the distance or timing needed to handle his speed on a course full of tunnels. In the first round I managed to get pretty lost too. :)
Novice weavers: These were both pretty good runs, although I don't think Peyton really wanted to slow down to take the weaves. The second round I sent him to an off-course hoop, otherwise he would have been clean.
Novice touch n' go: Two nice runs - in the first round I managed to send him to an off-course tunnel though. He totally saved me in the next run as my handling was all over the place - I'm not sure how, but we managed to finish that run clean!
This was a great trial for us - I really feel like we're starting to sync as a team...although I still feel a bit like a drunken handler most of the time! :) The only downside was the weather - it was MISERABLE...extremely hot and humid and I felt like I was running in a sauna. I'm actually looking forward to our next few trials being indoors!
That's how I'm feeling at the moment. Starting tomorrow, Peyton and I will be trialing three out of the next four weekends. After spending way too much time debating over whether or I was asking for too much too soon, I finally decided to stop worrying and just go for it. :)
Tomorrow we'll be heading up to Ocala for a night trial. It's a games trial - tunnelers, weavers, and touch n' go - so it should be fun and will hopefully not run too late. Since our last night trial attempt was less than stellar, I'm going to make it a priority to work on keeping Peyton calm and relaxed. This will also hopefully be a good opportunity for us to work on some start-line stays and holding contacts.
Next we'll have DACOF which is over the Fourth of July weekend. As I mentioned before, this will definitely be a challenge...it's indoors, 3 rings running at once, and there will be 37 teams competing with 969 runs on Saturday and 646 on Sunday. Wow! It should be a fun event though and it's always fun to see lots of friends and familiar faces.
Then the following week we'll be heading to Perry, GA for a four day AKC trial. I'm still surprised that I decided to go considering how much I loathe long car trips! Seriously, I'm very impatient when it comes to driving and even though it's not *that* far, anything over 2 hours is far to me. :) On a good note, Peyton's BFF Riley will be going, as well as some of his other buds, so hopefully that will help his comfort level a little bit.
Training-wise, Peyton has been doing pretty well. And actually, when I'm where I need to be, he's awesome! He's just sticky enough that if I don't give him enough forward cues, I end up pulling him off the obstacle. And if I give him too much, I get really wide turns or an off-course. Hopefully one of these days I can find that nice balance of cues. :)
Poor Indy isn't going this weekend. I think it would have been a good trial for her, but after the last trial I decided that Peyton needs more than I can give him when I try to run Indy too. I feel really guilty, but I think she'll most likely enjoy a night away from the little spotted monster. However, that doesn't mean she won't give me sad faces...
Or her famous looks of disgust...either way, she sure knows how to work it!
As much as I would love to foster a Dal in need, I just don't have the space right now to do so. Well that, and I'm pretty sure the spotties would start their own "rescue us" campaign if I did! :)
Since I can't foster, I'm hoping that I can still help by posting some rescue spotty dogs here on occasion so if you're looking for a Dalmatian, please consider adopting one from the Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay. Also, please note that I completely support responsible Dalmatian breeders - and there are many wonderful ones out there, but as we all (hopefully) know, there are also way too many "backyard" breeders and puppy mills so make sure you do your homework if you're looking for a Dalmatian puppy!
With that said, please meet Hunter, a one year old Dalmatian currently being fostered by DRTB. I've been told that this poor guy was turned into the shelter by his first family for escaping from their yard and was then returned a second time for "getting into stuff" when he was left in the kitchen.
Obviously Hunter will need a family that is experienced and know what to expect from a young Dalmatian. My spotty boys are snickering because they *know* how much fun the kitchen can be. And that's why I keep a gate up! As good as my guys are (most of the time), the kitchen is just way too tempting. :) For more information on Hunter, and other Dalmatians in need, please visit http://dalmatianrescuetampa.tripod.com/. And a big thanks for passing this along!
Indy and Peyton had a grand time playing in the dirt yesterday! Usually I don't let them roll around like this, but they were having sooo much fun, and due for a bath anyway. :)
Peyton's expressions here crack me up...had to share them all!
Mouthfuls of dirt - yuuumy!
I especially love these last two...that's not water he's shaking off! :)
Two spotty dogs need homes! And no, I'm not referring to any of mine...although I will admit the thought crosses my mind from time to time - kidding! :)
Meet Buddy and Oreo, two spotties that are currently being fostered by Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay. I hear that they are both very good dogs who are just waiting to bring some smiles to their future forever families!
For more information on these two handsome boys, please visit Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay online at http://dalmatianrescuetampa.tripod.com. And if you happen to know of someone looking to add a special spotty dog to their family, please pass this information along!
For those of you not familiar with DACOF, it's a statewide agility competition comprised of teams from all over Florida. Indy & I have participated the last two years and it really is a lot of fun. However, last year I decided that I wouldn't be taking Indy to future DACOF events. As much as *I* enjoy the event, because of Indy's teeter issues, I realized that it wasn't fair to put so much pressure on her to perform an obstacle that I know she hates and only sees in a trial environment once a year.
I really didn't expect Peyton to be ready for this year's event, but since he's made such tremendous progress lately, we're going to give it a shot. I think it will be a big challenge for us, but hopefully it will be a great learning experience as well. This year it's at a new venue in Kissimmee and I've heard that it will be a little bigger than what we've had in the past - which is a good thing since it's a three ring trial! It will also be our first trial indoors. Yikes!
On a somewhat sad note, you (hopefully!) will not get to see a repeat of Indy's fast class performance from last year. If you missed it the first time, here it is again...
DACOF is held over the Fourth of July weekend this year - wow, I just looked at my calendar and realized that it's just 3 1/2 weeks away! We're going to have a really busy month as I'm entering Peyton in a night NADAC games trial on June 19th and I think we're going to be making a trip up to Perry for an AKC trial the weekend after DACOF. After that, I think we'll probably take the rest of July and most of August off from agility for a much needed mental/physical break. :)
I've been tagged by Jenn to share the story of how my three spotties came into my life. Before I start with Pongo, I have to say that I've loved Dalmatians for as long as I can remember. Since I didn't know anyone with a Dal, it could have been the Disney influence, but actually I think I just had an obsession with black and white spotted animals. In addition to a Dal, I wanted a spotted cow, but (smartly) my parents said no to both! :)
During my freshman year at Purdue, my boyfriend at the time (who remains a good friend) learned of a young Dal who would soon be headed to the shelter because he was too much for his family with young children to handle. This would be Pongo - and from what I understand, he was spending most of his time outside chained to a tree. Long story short, my friend picked him up and brought him to West Lafayette so that I could meet him. I still remember that night...Pongo was sitting in the front seat of a pickup truck and he had just finished eating a hamburger from McDonald's (yuck, although I'm sure he was thrilled!) I remember him being very calm, quiet, and pretty reserved - I think he was probably about a year and a half then, although I wouldn't be surprised if he was a little older than what we first thought.
Needless to say, it was NOT the right time for me to get a dog (I was living in the dorms at the time) but somehow we managed to work it out and for the first year, Pongo split his time with me, my parents, and my friend's house until I moved into an apartment my sophomore year. After that, Pongo was pretty much a full time college spotty! He handled apartment life very well and adored my roommates and loved having friends over. After graduating, he moved with me to Indianapolis and four years later we moved to Florida. Looking back, I was probably a little crazy for trying to manage a young Dal and college life, but Pongo always seemed to take everything in stride. To him, moving almost every year must have seemed normal. :)
Fast forward to spring 2004 - we had just moved to Sarasota and I was really missing my horse that I had to leave behind. I wasn't sure that Pongo would be happy adding a new puppy to the mix, but after several months of looking we found Indy at Animal Services. It was love at first sight! Although Pongo was less than amused, Indy absolutely adored him and they ended up getting along great.
Fast forward to spring 2006 - Again, I found myself with a mild case of puppy fever, but at that point I wasn't seriously considering adding another spotty to the family. I just happened to be (innocently) browsing petfinder.com when I happened upon the cutest little dal puppy in an Orlando rescue. And again, after a lot of agonizing over whether or not it was the right time for a puppy, I found myself making the trip over on a Friday afternoon and ended coming home with the little spotted monster, aka Peyton.
So that's my not-so-little story about my three spotty dogs! Here are a few pictures from Pongo's younger years. They are all old scans so the quality isn't great, but I still think that they show what a handsome young spotty Pongo was! I think the one on top is the first picture I have of him - when he was sitting in the truck on his first visit to Purdue. Sometimes I wonder how different my life might be now if I had chosen the slightly more sensible route of not getting a dog while in college - I really can't imagine!
I think I'm supposed to tag someone now - so I'm tagging Brittany to share her story (if she hasn't already)!
Yesterday evening I got to hang out with Peyton's bestest golden friends! Poor spotty boy didn't get to come along and he pretty much made his disappointment known by spending the night pouting. :)
I have sooo many golden pictures - these guys are really a photogenic bunch. And I have pictures of the new puppy Finn! He's waaaay too cute - *smoosh*!
You can see more golden pics over at my new blog - simplyspottedblog.com - but I had to share just a few here...
The brand new Simply Spotted Photography blog! Please check it out at www.simplyspottedblog.com - it's still a bit of a work in progress, but so far I'm loving the new look.
For my spotty dog fans - no worries - The House of Spots is here to stay! The focus will just be shifting slightly to include more training thoughts and general updates on life with the spotties. Of course I'll still be sharing lots of pictures, but this way those who are only interested in seeing my recent work will not have to suffer through all of my long training ramblings and videos. And for those of you who enjoy my ramblings, well...you'll be getting more of them! :)
And speaking of spotty dog training, I have several updates to share and lots of fun things happening in the next few months that I'm really looking forward to. Now that my new blog has launched, the spotties will be back here very soon!
If I could only say one thing about my spotty boy, it's that his enthusiasm and joy for life is absolutely contagious. I can't help but to look at his pictures and smile...he's just so darn *happy*!
And why is he such a happy spotty? Well, I would like to think that I have a little something to do with it, but this little guy below thinks otherwise... :)
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