My Bad

Shame on me. Five months since my last blog entry. No wonder my head hurts with all these thoughts and doggie news stories to share. If you've found me on Facebook, then you know 8 beautiful puppies arrived safely, quickly, and without event on July 7. Though initially hell-bent on having them on my bed, I did manage to convince Belle that the whelping pool was THE place to be. An absolutely gorgeous litter, I had a helluva time deciding which puppy to keep ... so I kept 2. The others are in wonderful homes, locally, in BC, and a few in the U.S. Belle's breeder Nancy has her pick, he little blue girl I nicknamed Bunny who is now Mindy. Nancy is very pleased with her, and I'm sure Mindy will make her debut in the show ring one of these days. Little red merle girl is living in Indiana and will be shown as well. The others are super little tricksters and I've had the opportunity to meet up with a couple of them at weekly puppy classes.

Will, Casselcreek Great To Be King, is staying here with us and has already begun some early training and light exposure to the sheep, and is showing lots of promise. He'll hit the show ring when he's ready, but like most males ... will take a bit of time to mature. He's becoming quite the seasoned farm dog and LOVES accompanying Glenn on morning chores. He's totally enamored with Bridger and really looks up to his "big brother". When they're in the kitchen in the evenings and I peek in to check on them, he's usually snuggled up with Bridger and they're both enjoying a nap. He's not totally perfect just yet, and seems to struggle a little with the house rules ... having swiped a couple of toasted buns off the kitchen counter!

Aspen, Casselcreek Luck Be A Lady, is my pick puppy in the litter, and I am soooo excited to get her out into the show ring in early 2012. She did very well in her first session of puppy classes, and is registered to start CGN classes in January. She came with Capri and I to a few shows this Fall and has easily fallen into the routine of the show building, potty business on a leash, blow dryers, grooming tablets, and sleeping on the hotel bed.

Capri has had another very successful year of showing with multiple group placements, and it looks like she's finished the CKC year in the top 10 for Australian Shepherds in Canada. In May, she spent a month in Wisconsin with my friend Brent Kindred where he showed her in ASCA for a few weekends, put a Best of Breed on her, multiple Winners and Best of Winners, and had her back home to me a new ASCA Champion in just 27 days!

As an ASCA Champion, we were able to compete in the Best of Breed ring at the ASCA Nationals in late September, where Capri earned Premiere Awards in 2 of the 3 pre-shows, and a Premiere at the National Specialty! We had an incredible time in Wisconsin!

With the show year winding down, I've started to have (crazy) thoughts of boarding out my Warmblood and maybe riding again, at least for a few months.

Happy Trails ... Theresa