Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

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

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

Turn on the lights, brush away the cobwebs…

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Sorry I haven’t been around as much as I should be. I seem to have lost my way this month, with a NaBloPoMo fail and a definite shortfall of Mingling and Blog Hopping. I’ll play catch-up as best as I can, but I think I’ll forego any more attempts at NaBloPoMo until fall!

As you may already know, Freya’s training and trialing has not been a source of joy and wonder lately. A vet visit didn’t turn up any physical causes for our training and performance issues, but I didn’t have any lab work done at that time. I’ve been debating with myself about having a thyroid panel done. Her last one came back normal not quite two years ago. But she will be seven years old in November, so is now edging up to senior status (noooooooooo, she’s still my puppy girl), so at this point, maybe it is money well spent rather than a long shot. Hypothyroidism is also one of the only non-fatal things I can think of that could cause mood swings, hyper-reactivity, and weight gain (in her case a more subtle inability to get back to her ideal weight… hmmm… a problem for me, as well). Anything else I can think of is either much scarier, or else points back to me sucking big time as a dog trainer (this is actually the most likely possibility).

Speaking of health tests, I still need to get Axel in for his OFA cardiac clearance. I have been holding off in hopes of a cardiac clinic being offered at a nearby show, as the cost savings would be very significant (try at least 50%), especially if the clinic is also doing Dopplers. Since there have been no known heart issues with his parents or siblings, and I don’t have any immediate breeding plans for him, I guess it won’t hurt to hold off just a bit longer.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m going to mention it again anyway since it’s one of the things that has been eating up my time this month. Please think about subscribing to The Total Rottweiler Magazine. I am currently a volunteer (unpaid) proofreader and copyeditor for TTRM so I do admit some bias as I tell you it’s well worth checking into if you have any interest in Rottweilers and dog sports.

So that’s the short version of what’s been going on. I have a backlog of Freya training videos to analyze and comment on, as well as a couple of hopefully more informative short rally obedience-related videos that I’m editing in iMovie as time permits. I hope to also have some Axel frisbee video soon. On the technology side, I have some MacBook and Sony Reader thoughts to post. Oh, and I did manage to fit in the upgrade to WordPress 3.0 as well.

I know it isn’t supposed to be a main focus for this blog, but I still have some TV breaks that I never posted. Lucky for you all, some are no longer timely so you won’t have to read them, but at some point I still plan to tell you why Glee is the devil. I’m sure I’ll have at least a few new TV breaks once Rescue Me and Mad Men start up again on June 29 and July 25, respectively.

Sports break but still with Rottweilers

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Tonight, instead of concentrating on blog writing, magazine editing, or website updating like I was supposed to be doing, I got distracted by the hockey game. While I am obviously disappointed by the Blackhawks’ loss in overtime, it does mean that the series comes back to Chicago and hopefully a Stanley Cup win can happen here at home at the United Center.

Speaking of the Blackhawks, and since we always speak of Rottweilers here, check out this article and video from CSNChicago.com:

Passion for Winning Runs in Bowman Family

Go Blackhawks! Go Rottweilers!

(NaBloPoMo | June ’10: 2 of 30)

Hitting a rough stretch of road

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The last couple of months of our adventures in rally obedience have been like riding a motorcycle on a loose gravel road: rough, bumpy, and not very enjoyable. Although we did manage to get a few qualifying scores, Freya’s overall performance has been well below what she’s capable of. Obvious physical problems have been ruled out by her vet, and she usually enjoys her training classes.

Despite some good suggestions from trainers and friends, it still seems like we’re not making much progress. She doesn’t have specific exercises that she’s having trouble with; sometimes it’s an exercise she usually does well that has NQ’d us.

I’m debating whether to take a break and just let Freya be a plain old dog for a few weeks, or suck it up and work through it. I could really use one of those translator collars like in “Up” — it would make it a lot easier for Freya to tell me what’s really going on with her.

(NaBloPoMo | June ’10: 1 of 30)

Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop, Week 4

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Yes, I do know it’s not Saturday! I’m a little behind the curve lately, which I will blame on work, magazine deadline, and some recent dog training woes. Check back here for more details on most of those things.

Back to the point… this is the fourth week of the Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop, co-hosted by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers, and Nip and Bones!

This week, I’d like you to meet our oldest cat, Annie. Here she is, looking somewhat annoyed at Oliver’s arrival in May 2006.

Dan rescued her as a very young kitten from an abandoned semi trailer near his workplace in June 1993, so she turned 17 years old earlier this month. She is camera shy… in fact, very shy in general. People who have done cat sitting or even house sitting for us have gone the entire one- or two-week duration without ever seeing more than the tip of her tail retreating under the bed. Oh, and the obvious evidence in the litterbox.

We feel fortunate to have had her with us this long, and hope she sticks around for many more years to come.
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