Bathurst, Three days

After absolutely no sleep and a very busy week training for work in Sydney I got up at 3 in the morning to go to Bathurst for a three day show.

This was to be our first time camping at a show and thankfully it wasn't too traumatic. However google maps once again tried to screw us and took us the 5 hour 'scenic route' although very pretty,did cause us massive hassles as half the road was around great bloody mountains and was dirt . . . not exactly good for our car which is not build for off road driving!

I did however get a chance to stop at a stunning little cemerety and take some pics, freezing my toes in the thick frost as I did.



I am not going to go on a day by day account of what happened, I am still exhausted and really couldn't be bothered. Lets just say that although Misty didn't get any points (bugger) we did alright with him at least placing with a runner up BOB, two reserve dog challanges and his class twice.

His beautiful grandmother was retired with her final bitch challange and Bud also gained his Aus champ title so a very good weekend really.

Icemist The Dream Maker (Bud)
I was also given the chance to show a lovely little girl all three days, it was so different handling her from my strong willed boof head and it was actually a nice change. I rather look forward to getting a little girl one day.

Icemist Snow Angel (Xena)

Camping itself wasn't all that terrible. My OH actually managed to get the tent up by himself (after we had been assured it was impossible to do)
and we did stay fairly warm in the minus temps overnight. It was a bit of a shock to see the huge amounts of ice covering it the next morning though!

Many photos where taken of some of the lovely dogs there over the three days:

Harry the Keeshond
Snuffy the Landseer Newf
And a beautiful Blue Dane and Saint Bernard girl, both dogs my OH fell in love with. I have a feeling we will end up with a giant breed one day.

We took the advice of some friends and found a much faster way home, no thanks to google maps . . . . .

So all in all not a bad weekend. Our quest for points however continues.

S.

When the cat is away, the mice will play

Or in my case, when mum goes away the boys are total bloody monsters!

I had to make a very sper of the moment trip to Sydney this week for work. It came at a very irritating time as we have a three day show starting tomorrow so I was hoping and praying my OH would be able to keep Misty as clean as possible so that I didn't have to bath him before leaving as I would have no time at all!

Well it didn't really work the way I had hoped.
The first day I was gone nothing happened, all quiet on the western front, it lulled my OH into a false sense of security.

Day two saw the distruction of a small box of tinned cat food. The cans survived but the box was totally destroyed.

Day three we had snow inside, well we would have if snow was made from flour, sugar and bread crumbs. Another box of cat food went to heaven along with a few plastic containers.

And day four, the final day, we had an oil spill, thankfully it was not along a pristine beach and only the kitchen floor suffered ill effects, well that and Mistral who had clearly thought it wise to have a good roll in it. Clearly thinking of us and helping in his own special way to clean up the mess.
Yes it did get rid of some of the floor oil, sadly however he didn't realise it would then stick to him.

So after a very long week of work, insane taxi drivers and delayed flights I came home to total mess.

I have cleaned Mist as best as I can before this show tomorrow . . . . . . pray for us, we will need it!

S.

Another Day, Stupid Amounts of Photos

We where meant to be attending the Orange show today. But thanks to my sleeping in (totally bizzare as I have not done so in many years) and somehow turning off my alarm we slept in late enough that when I finally gave myself over to consciousness again it was far too late to even tempt getting there. Shame really. But to make up for it we decided, in celebration of my new job and the on coming of some semi decent weather (we love you winter!), to take a trip to the beach.

So here, an absolute inundation of photos.

And last of all a cheesy family shot, minus the man behind the camera!
S.

ANZAC Cluster Shows, ACT Show 2

Better, today was definatly better then yesterday.

Still no points but he was much better behaved this time and I didn't crush the poor darling so it was good enough for me.

Anyway some pics I managed to get while there:

Bud (Icemist The Dream Maker), taking dog challenge both days.
Misty boy:
Both the boys together, Misty is on the right:
And finally Lestat, never forgotten, pictured here playing with Cujo the St. Bernard:

Once again all I can say is that I hope the next show is better. I need to inprove my handling skills and Misty needs more coat.
Gives me something to work on if anything else.
S.

ANZAC Cluster Shows, ACT, Show 1

Oh my god . . . . . . just don't ask.

Lets just say that Misty and I had a little accident in the show ring (he and I tripped and I stood on his back leg :( ) so he then totally refused to let the judge come anywhere near him . . . . . . . . *sigh*

What a joke.

Rainy Day

Not all that much going on at the moment, Easter is a non event in our house so we spent a few days doing nothing, just hanging out around the house and doing things with the dogs.

Its been raining a whole lot, finally (we really, really need it too) and the boys have been cooped up (they have been given chances to play in the mud but not wanting half the garden tracked inside I have limited their play time) more so then usual so when there was a good break today they had a huge play outside.

Some of the photos I took:



Misty, growing up very nicely:
S.

That Little Monster

Not my usual sort of entry but this was just so much of a shock I simply had to add it.

Almost 2 months ago (I think that date is about right) we had an issue with Mistral after he had chewed a plastic chicken toy and there was a worry that he had a bowel blockage (needless to say all similar toys have been removed from the toy box now).
My OH came home from work asap so we could get him to the vet.

In the end it turned out there was nothing more then a bit of pain and Mist was able to sort it out himself (thankfully) and everything was alright.

So a few weeks later (nothing had been eaten or swallowed to cause a hassle) he started showing the same symptoms again, making me worry about him and send for my OH again. Now Mist was acting as though he was dieing, nothing had ever been more horrible then how he felt at that moment. So offcause I am very worried about him, thinking that there truely was something wrong with him.
Eventually my OH gets home and suddenly Mistral is perfectly fine . . . . . .

I was a little surprised and explained everything to my OH who was, with good reason somewhat annoyed to come home and find the dog perfectly fine.

So we think, well maybe there was something, he had a stomach ache or maybe he was slightly constipated and it bothered him. Nothing all that unusual. After a chat with the vet we decide to keep an eye on him and if he is having anymore hassles we will take him in.

This happened again on Saturday night.
I was already dead tired after a long and exhausting week and was looking forward to a good night sleep and a long sleep in the next day.
Allas this was not to happen.

We go to bed late and just before I had drifted off to sleep Mistral starts pacing around the house and crying (the begining of this typical behaviour), he then vomits a few times (I find later that he had been eating the cat grass) and cries some more.
I get up and take him outside, more crying and moaning, fussing around and acting very odd. I am worried as he hasn't done this for a good long time and this time my OH is here, so here I am, innocently thinking there is something seriously wrong with my dog and that I would have to send him off to the vet again, dredding the money it would cost being a weekend but knowing it was the best thing to do for him.

This behaviour goes on and on for hours, slackening somewhat but still there. Eventually I am nothing more then a zombie, I was falling alseep on my feet and go and wake my OH, telling him what is going on and if he could please take my place so I can get a few hours sleep.
He kindly gets up and goes out with the little baby while I all but fell on the bed in sheer exhaustion. But offcause I couldn't sleep. So I go outside to see how everything is going.

And what do I find?
Mistral, once again perfectly fine, having a great time outside at 4.30 in the morning, chasing frogs, my OH annoyed and bemused at the same time watching him.

So there you go, my dog fakes illness to get attention from my OH . . . . . . . . . . . I am not sure what to think about that . . . . . . . I really don't . .. . . . . .

S.