We adore our dogs. Nothing is too good for them. Besides jility, they have been lure coursing (their favorite thing to date other than big jility), dock diving, beach combing, hiking and swimming, among other things. We try to indulge their fantasies whenever possible. Crush (our BC) told the Poodles how much fun it was to herd sheep so they insisted we take them herding. Here is how it went down . It was more like Sheep chasing than herding but what do you expect? THEY'RE POODLES! 12-17-06 Herding Poodles! Or Which One's the Sheep? Carolyn Wray set up a day for Poodles to test their herding skills. It was SO much fun! There were 27 Poodles, Millie (our feral dog) and Crush (our 7 month old Border Collie). We had more fun than I can even put into words! The Poodles and Crush had a great time too ;). Millie thought is was bunk and she knew from her feral days on the run that you weren't supposed to chase dem critters or you might get something thrown at you. Millie still loves lure coursing more than anything in the world! Here are some videos of the Horrible Hooligans Herding! OK, so they aren't Border Collies, but you have to admit, they are pretty dang cute! MACH Isabella Isabella ran out of gas about half way through like she does in jility but we let her rest and then she went to town again. She thought is was awesome to FINALLY get to chase something! She couldn't believe we not only LET her chase those critters but we cheered her on as well! Isn't she just the cutest??? MACH 2 Josephine No matter what she does, Josephine is a stand out! She always gives it her all. You can even see her "clacking" like the Border Collies do! Josephine is an amazing dog! MACH MiniMe At first MeMe wasn't sure she wanted any part of the sheep. She was a bit tentative but managed to move them around pretty well. No matter what MeMe does, she is happy little barker! Charisse Poodle, MXJ, AX It took Charisse a LONG time to figure out is was really OK to chase the sheep. She is THE MOST respectful dog I have ever known (and I have known a LOT of dogs in my long life!). She just knew that it HAD to be wrong to chase them but once we convinced her it was OK, she really went to town! I think she actually was the best of the lot once she got going! Miss Millie Angel, FDE (Feral Dog Extraordinaire) Poor Millie, she just knew she would be in big trouble if she chased those sheep! I am willing to bet that in her feral days, she got a LOT of things thrown and shot at her for chasing livestock. Her favorite thing to do is lure coursing! She is amazing at that! Crush Puppy (7 month old Border Collie) OK, so she isn't a poodle but Carolyn was nice enough to let her try too. She sure LOVES SHEEP!
Dock Diving With Josephine While at the USDAA Nationals, we took Josephine dock diving. She LOVED IT! Here are some videos of Josephine in action: 11-4-06Josephine's first try at dock diving. She sure loved it! THE HIGH DIVE! Josephine wanted to try the high dive.
12-02-06 Josephine and the Serpentine Move This was really cool. Mel did the Greg Derrett serpentine move on the jump before the tunnel. It worked very well but you had to be fleet of foot to make it!
11-25-06 Isabella Lead Out With Multiple Arm Changes Here is a lead out we have been working on a bit with our young dogs. I have never practiced it with Isabella but she does understand the lead out pivot so she easily picked it up the first try. I was late on my arm changes (AS USUAL!) but she did fine anyway.
Pastern Bends and Dew Claws Here are 4 different dogs landing, turning and pushing off. The video shows each one bending to the ground so the dew claw would come into play for turning. It also has a small pad that helps protect just as the pads on the feet do. You can really see it on the last dog as she turns. She digs in and the dew claws definitely is touching the ground.
05-24-07 A Day at Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester, MA One of our favorite things to do with the girlz is go to the beach. During our stay in Gloucester Massachusetts, at Cape Ann Camp Site, we visited one of the most beautiful beaches there is - Wingaersheek Beach! Cape Ann Camp Site is a great place to stay! They were so nice and dog friendly too!!! I grew up in Gloucester and really miss the beach. Good Harbor Beach is another great Gloucester place! We had to break up the video into smaller pieces so it would upload. 05-24-07 Catch Me If You Can! Crush tries to get the Poodles to chase her. She leaves them in the dust, then turns and looks to see where they are. Josephine wants to kick her little ass because Crush can outrun her. 05-24-07 More Wingaersheek Beach Fun! Josephine is getting tired of trying to get Crush and the others just want the ball. 05-24-07 Josephiend the Drowner! Josephinend (as we like to call her :) will go to any lengths to get the ball. If that means drowning Charisse, so be it. Aren't they just the cutest? 05-24-07 More ball Getting in the Water The Girlz would go forever if we let them! 05-24-07 Poor Crushie Tries to Get The Ball Before The Ball Hogs Crushie wants to get the ball in the water but Josephiend and Charisse just roll right over her. She is a great little swimmer though! Four Paws Kingdom Campground! 05-30-07 Swimming at Four Paws Kingdom Campground Four Paws Kingdom Campground is a fabulous place! It is located in Rutherfordton, NC on 35 acres of doggie heaven! They have agility equipment, Rally-O, large fenced dog areas and a spring fed swimming pond! Our girlz had a wonderful time! 05-30-07 More Swimming at Four Paws Crush is a great swimmer!
1st Annual Poodlepalooza! On August 11th, 2007 we held the 1st annual Poodlepalooza gala at our farm in Silver Creek, Washington. There were about 6 Poodles in attendance as well as another 5 Poodle wanna-beez. What a wonderful time we all had! We played jility and we ate and played fetch and we ate and we took a walk to the back field for the dogs to run through the tall hay and we ate and we visited with other Poodle friendz and we ate and we totally enjoyed ourselves and we ate... We hope to hold this every year around the same time. CLICK HERE are some photoz and videos.