Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

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

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

You know I have to do this

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While I wait for official online confirmation on AKC’s site, you knew I’d just have to look up and post these shots from the Onofrio Dog Shows site, didn’t you?

APDT has trial records online as well, so I have been checking for Freya’s scores as well. They have posted updates for many of the January trials already and it looks like they are almost up to our trial weekend.

Now for the answers to questions that have, or have not yet, been asked.

Axel needs to go for his OFA cardiac certification. It is the only essential health test that he has not done yet. Although we may do it sooner locally, it is tentatively planned for a cardiac clinic at a show in April. Whenever and wherever it is done, it will be done by a board-certified cardiologist and we’ll also do a Doppler as well as auscultation because he is old enough that it can be used to rule out SAS.

Axel is already listed as a stud dog in The Total Rottweiler Magazine and on Rottweiler Nation, but he won’t actually get to be one until all of his health testing is complete.

Also on the breeding thing: Dan and I got our first purebred Rottweiler 16 years ago. Since then, we have owned six Rottweilers. We have never bred a litter of our own, nor have any of our males sired litters raised by others. We have never had an accidental breeding (and may I say that I no longer believe that some people’s accidents are as accidental as they say). We make sure our dogs get the best of care and appropriate show, sport, and/or obedience training. We have donated time and money to Rottweiler and all-breed rescue, and one of our own Rottweilers was rescued as a stray (we’ll always love and miss you, Missy). Regardless of whether Axel ever sires a litter or not, our actions now and in the future are not the cause of dog overpopulation. So don’t kill my joy with any breeder-hating crap, please and thank you.

Now I really should get on with those Freya videos!

(NaBloPoMo | February ’10: 2 of 28)

Short start to a short month

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It’s as if he had never been gone. Axe is settled back into our household routine and life is back to two-dog normal once again.

The photo from his final major win in Florida arrived today. Everyone was right… seeing those words “New Champion” really is exciting! His official championship certificate from AKC arrived on Friday. Sorry if you are on Axel overload, but you know I have to show them off here, don’t you?

Photo: Bill Meyer Dog Show Photography

And with that, Axe will step out of the spotlight for a bit and take a well-deserved break.

So now it’s Freya’s turn once again, and our immediate concern is her APDT trials coming up on Sunday. I am hoping to complete her Level 1 title at Trial 1 with a score of 190 or higher in order to earn the RL1 with an Award of Excellence. Or if things go south, we need to qualify in at least one of the two trials with a score of 170 or better, and preferably at both in order to get started on the 10 qualifying scores needed for a Level 1 championship.

I’ve got several of Freya’s training and trial videos to review here beginning tomorrow. I’ve already identified several things we need to work on during the week.

(NaBloPoMo | February ’10: 1 of 28)

The end to a successful January

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As I get older, I get wussier about long drives, especially after dark. Five and a half hours home from Lake St. Louis has just about wiped me out.

Axel ended a very successful January with Julia by qualifying in Rally both days this weekend. That gives him the three legs needed for the Rally Novice title, so he is now CH Precious Gems Axel vom Viersen, RN, CGC. I am beyond happy with his accomplishments over the past month, and beyond grateful to Julia for making them happen.

And I’m ending a successful January NaBloPoMo with this very short post!

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 31 of 31)

Greetings from Lake St. Louis

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While there have been no major disasters today, things haven’t gone quite as smoothly as I had hoped.

Freya is accompanying me on this trip to pick up Axel. She is a fairly good traveler and settles down pretty quickly in the van. She’s also pretty quick to settle down when crated at training or trials. I’ve never taken her to any out-of-town trials or seminars, though, so this is her first time staying in a motel with me. So far it has been kind of a pain.

Neither of us is very happy about the fact that pets-allowed rooms are also smoking rooms. Freya didn’t stop sniffing for so long I was afraid she was going to hyperventilate. I haven’t smoked in almost 20 years so I find the smell to be hugely noticeable. It kind of put both of us off our food.

Neither of us is very happy about the fact that we did not arrive in time to get a first-floor room. To make matters worse, both staircases to the second floor have open steps. Freya is not particularly fond of stairs and open steps are like a special kind of stair hell to her. And to me, since I practically had to drag her upstairs.

She has finally calmed down enough to watch TV and chew on a bone and allow me to type this. In about an hour, the stair portion of the bedtime potty break trip will be expedited with the most enticing food I have with me. Then we will both get a good night’s sleep. I hope!

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 30 of 31)

What a long week

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This has been an extremely long week. One of my business partners was out sick all week, and another was out for a day and a half. It wasn’t the swine flu, although it might be a plain vanilla flu. It does not seem that any of the rest of us are infected… yet. To add to the fun, our proofreader left for vacation on Wednesday (one of those vacations that are for a special occasion and can’t really be moved).

I’m sure I could write about this long week, but it would just be complaints about how a hundred minor things always go wrong, and projects that were put on hold always show up during the week that you are short staffed. And since most of you have lived that, you probably don’t want to live my version too.

So… have a great weekend, everyone! Freya and I are headed to Lake St. Louis tomorrow after her class to pick up Axel. I’m expecting a very exciting reunion!

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 29 of 31)