Rottweilers Ate My Laptop — Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Random thoughts

July 9, 2009 by kathi

I don’t have enough to say on any one topic, so you get to listen to… ermmm… read… this “brain dump.”

I’m awaiting the arrival of my WordPress 2.8.1 automatic update bar. It is sad that even the five-minute update is too much work for me now that I’ve gotten accustomed to the automatic updates, which work great for me. I know some have had issues with the automatic updates. I am not one of those users. If I were smart, I’d be backing up my database and files while I wait, instead of waiting for the update bar to remind me.
I really enjoy Thursday’s Monthly Mingle and the bloggers I’ve “met” there. Thanks, Indigo, for the fun that is the Mingle!
As part of my rally obedience education (remember, I’m the dumb half of the Freya and me team), I joined one Yahoo! Group devoted mainly to AKC rally, and one specifically for UKC rally. I am truly appreciative of the good information that is shared freely in messages and files, and I hope to be able to contribute in time as I do in other groups where I actually know something useful about the subject matter. However, the signal to noise ratio of forums and e-mail lists just amazes me. So many people just don’t seem to care about netiquette, or maybe they simply never learned it. There was a time when only “smart” people had computers, but there was never a time when only polite people had computers, so what gives? This isn’t about the two groups I just joined, by the way. It’s an observation about forums in general (these two actually have a very good signal to noise ratio).
Bird neighbor update: I haven’t seen the male cardinal in a while, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he hasn’t been around. I think we keep very different hours. The female cardinal has been sitting on her nest daily. According to several different sources online, cardinal eggs take from 11-13 days to hatch, and the babies leave the nest in about 10 days. I’m not sure when the eggs were laid, but based on when we first noticed the cardinal pair, I’m going to start being very careful with the dogs near the rosebush starting late next week.
I’m really amazed at how many hits have come here as a result of searches for “Mary Wild” or “show dog deaths.” That awful incident has been in my thoughts as well quite a bit ever since it happened on June 22.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 9 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 166 of 274)

One of my business partners is on vacation this week, so it isn’t the ideal situation to fit in classes, drop-in training, or fun matches. Plus there is always the dilemma that several of the clubs who normally do once- or twice-a-month fun matches don’t do them during the summer, not to mention the rain that has been ever-present so far this summer.

That does not mean we have done nothing, just that we haven’t gotten away from the house to do it. Not a great situation, but there is still time before the trial to get out and about and fix that. Speaking of the trial, we received e-mail confirmation on Tuesday, so we’re definitely committed!

I think I’m the stupid half of the team. Freya knows all of the exercises fairly well. I’m the one who is probably going to screw up by misreading a sign or worse yet, tripping over it. During some dead time at work (which there is far too much of this summer, but that’s another subject entirely and one that far too many people are facing at their own workplaces) I printed out a set of the UKC signs and rules to familiarize myself with them.

Monday’s weather allowed us to work outside, but my Flip Mino was missing in action, so no video is available (it has since been found, not stolen or lost, much to my relief). Not so for Tuesday or Wednesday. Here is my lame setup for working indoors:

I taped a few signs for exercises that can be done in a small space to the fridge, door frames and a couple of taller furniture items. Hey, it is better than not practicing, or practicing in the rain. Oh, yes. I did train in Schutzhund forever ago, and yes, we did train in inclement weather. I suppose I should still do that, but I’m older, tired and don’t feel like getting wet.

That’s where we are for the moment!

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 8 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 165 of 274)

Update: show dog heat stroke deaths

July 6, 2009 by kathi

I’ve tried to keep my June 26 post about Mary Wild and the heat-related deaths of the show dogs left overnight in her van after a show weekend updated with new links as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has posted additional articles.

Today’s update reported that Wild has been charged with eight counts of animal cruelty, and is free on $2,500 bond.

While I absolutely think that Wild was criminally negligent and that criminal charges are appropriate, I was a little surprised to find that this would still be considered a misdemeanor; specifically a Class A misdemeanor, which could involve up to one year of imprisonment and up to $1,000 in fines.

I say a “little” surprised because in the past few years, many states, including Missouri, have made changes to their animal cruelty statutes. But as in most states, the death of an animal, even in a case like this, would not be a felony unless it was a repeat offense or unless torture was involved. I’d put heat stroke up there as a horribly torturous way to die, but I don’t believe that is how it will be seen by the courts.

We’re about to get another wave of high temperatures here in the Chicago area this week. Put the safety of your human and animal family members as a major priority. If you see someone stupidly putting their children or pets in danger, get help or get involved. Stay safe and cool, everyone.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 6 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 163 of 274)

New neighbors, Axel’s frisbee, Freya’s rally-o

July 5, 2009 by kathi

Since I’ve complained often enough about jagoffs in the neighborhood, it might be a surprise to hear that we consider our latest new neighbors a welcome addition. They are welcome indeed, since they are not jagoff humans. They are pretty birds, and in fact, our Illinois state bird.

photo credit: MsPixie

A pair of cardinals has built a nest in the neighbor’s rose bush. It sits up against our fence, and the nest is only about five feet off the ground. Last year, a pair of cardinals abandoned a partially-built nest in that bush. We blamed Axel, because he was always up on his hind legs, paws up on the fence, peering into the bush.

Hopefully, he won’t scare away this pair. We’ve seen the female sitting in the nest, so we’re trying to keep Axel’s attention away from the bush and the birds. I haven’t tried to get any photos yet, and if I do, it will be with a long lens and no flash. I don’t want to be the one to scare them away this year! (Those are not “our” birds in the photo above; I’m sure most of you figured that out from the credit line though.)

Speaking of Axel, he caught the frisbee twice today. Good boy, Axe! Rottweilers are not good candidates for frisbee dogs, and it’s a bad idea to throw the frisbee the same way you would for a border collie. But a low, straight throw is Rottweiler-safe, and he still looked cool hopping up just a little bit to pluck the frisbee out of the air just slightly above his head level.

I mentioned Freya’s upcoming rally obedience trial yesterday, and the need to get a training routine in order. Today’s task was to familiarize myself with UKC rules, since we’ve been practicing using AKC rules and signs so far. I’ve identified two exercises which are used in UKC Rally Obedience 1 that we’ve not practiced yet, as they are not part of AKC Rally Novice. One is Halt and Stand, and the other is Halt-90° Pivot Right-Halt. So we practiced those two exercises indoors today. If you know of any other exercises that differ between AKC and UKC, please let me know!

I didn’t want to train outside today, although it was a nice day. As I also mentioned yesterday, I expected the neighborhood jagoffs to finish off their fireworks today, and they did. I suppose I could have used it as an exercise in working through distractions, but I really don’t think we’re going to have to deal with fireworks or gunfire in a trial situation. At least I hope we won’t, or else I’m finding a safer sport.

Weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow, and after tonight I expect the jagoffs to be out of fireworks, so I’ll set up a practice course in the yard.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’09: 5 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 162 of 274)