Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Rottweilers.
Computers. Cameras.
World Domination.
Not necessarily in that order.

If this was it…

by

Today’s commutes, both morning and evening, were not bad at all. Too bad it didn’t stop with this, though.

Our street is a snow route, meaning that our street should be cleared early on in the process, and that we can’t park on the street when snow is 2″ or deeper.

Here is the back yard before Rottweilers run through it.

Here is a Rottweiler (Axel) running through it.

Here is a Rottweiler (Freya) running past it.

Here is the back yard after Rottweilers run through it.

It’s been steadily snowing for most of the night, so I’m almost afraid to see what we end up with in the morning, although it won’t be as much as the East Coast was socked with. This storm is heading that way and I’m sure they are none too pleased about that.

(NaBloPoMo | February ’10: 9 of 28)

Yes, it’s February in Chicago

by

So I suppose I shouldn’t complain about snow and cold, because that is normal for this place at this time of year. And I suppose it looks even worse to complain about a mere foot of as-yet-unmaterialized snow after what the East Coast has been getting.

That doesn’t mean I won’t do it.

It’s almost midnight as I write this, and although the 10 o’clock news said something about snow being sighted in the far western suburbs, there is not a single flake to be seen yet here on the nort’west side. The dogs are not happy about this. Sadly, they will probably get their snow wishes granted. We’ll see!

(NaBloPoMo | February ’10: 8 of 28)

New title for Freya!

by

As most of you know, Freya earned the first two legs towards her APDT Rally Obedience Level 1 title on January 24. I am very proud to announce that we completed the title at today’s first trial at Flying Paws Dog Training Club… with a score of 208 points (out of 210 possible points, 200 plus a 10-point optional bonus exercise) and first place in Level 1A! Since all three of our Level 1A scores were 190 points or better, we will also receive an Award of Excellence.

So Freya is now URO1 Sciroco’s Freya vom Viersen RL1 (AOE), CGC, TT!

Although we brought our “A” game to Trial 1, we did not fare so well at Trial 2 and NQ’d when Freya got up from a Down on the Halt-Sit-Down-Walk Around. Even though she was very distracted during this run, she is usually very solid on the stays for the Walk Around exercises so it was not only a disappointment, but an unwelcome surprise. The run was not great, but it would have otherwise given us a qualifying score. So, sadly, we do not yet have any of the 10 legs needed for the RL1X title.

The next APDT trial within easy driving distance won’t be until the beginning of May. There are some UKC trials coming up in March and April, so we need to learn the rest of the Level 2 exercises and get more practice working off leash. The other option would be to work on the AKC Rally Novice title. But since AKC trials are plentiful as compared to APDT and UKC trials, it seems to make more sense to work on the RN during the months that no APDT and UKC trials are available. Decisions, decisions!

(NaBloPoMo | February ’10: 7 of 28)

Randomness

by

Some random thoughts before I try to get a good night’s sleep. The training facility where we are going for Freya’s APDT rally obedience trial runs a single ring, so the two trials will run one after the other, not concurrently. So tomorrow promises to be quite a long day.

  • I think today’s pre-trial practice session helped with fixing Freya’s crooked sits and improving on sloppy turns. I hope I didn’t break something else though, as she was starting to shut down a bit on the last run-through. I am hoping that she, too, just needs a good night’s sleep.
  • Thinking about what time I have to get up and what time I have to leave tomorrow, I am reminded of why I drifted away from dog competitions: too many early mornings. I am so, so, so not a morning person.
  • The dogs and I watched the AKC Eukanuba National Championship Dog Show on Animal Planet earlier this evening. Freya and Axel are a lot better than some of the dear departed Rottweilers at watching animals on television. They did not chase or bark at the TV dogs, or better yet, try to get behind the TV to see where they went.
  • It was fun to watch the dog show even though, like all psycho dog people, I already knew the results.
  • I knew there were quarters minted last year for the District of Columbia and the territories. I honestly can’t remember ever seeing one until today when I got one for American Samoa in my change.

(NaBloPoMo | February ’10: 6 of 28)

Nothing much going on here

by

This will be one of those posts that serves simply to keep NaBloPoMo alive for me for February. I’ve opted to let sleeping dogs lie tonight rather than wake them for training or anything else requiring action of body or mind. I’m not sure why we are all so tired after doing not much of anything, and that includes my day at work. Freya and Axel like the cold and snow way more than I do. Even though we had less than an inch of snow here over this afternoon and evening, the dogs were determined to roll around in what there was of it. But it was far from their usual vigorous playtime. I’m sure they secretly wish we were getting big snow like the East Coast. I am glad that it does not appear they will be getting their wish.

I’ve just printed out maps to Sunday’s trial location and saved them to my BlackBerry as well. Dog crate pads and towels are clean and dry and ready to put back in the van. Freya and I will be attending our regular Saturday classes and using them to prepare for Sunday. Time for a good night’s sleep so we are bright and alert for class. Or at least awake!

(NaBloPoMo | February ’10: 5 of 28)