Month: August 2018

Ribbons For Guilty

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This month we finally entered Guilty in a couple of hunt tests. We entered her in a hunt test this spring but she didn’t fair to well so we decided to concentrate on training her and enter her this fall in some tests.

The first test we entered her in was a UKC HRC Seasoned Test put on by Muddy Waters Retriever Club on August 5th. Guilty received her first seasoned pass. She needs 4 passes for her Hunting Retriever Title which won’t happen until next summer as the HRC events are over for WI this year.

The second hunt test that Guilty ran in this fall was on August 18th, it was an AKC Senior Hunt Test this time and host club was Island View Retriever Club. Guilty passed her Senior test receiving her first pass out of 4 needed for her Senior Hunter Title. We are entered into a couple more Senior tests this weekend so we shall see how she does. I will be handling her which I haven’t done in a test since we got her Junior Hunter Title last fall. I do train her a couple days a week but John is the one who always handles her in the hunt tests, so this should be interesting,,,, stay tuned!

I’m outta here, come back later to see how I did this weekend!

Have a great day!

The Dr Is In #Chewyinfluencer

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Chewy White

The Dr Is In – Dr. Lyon’s that is at Chewy.com.

Dr. Gman is here to tell you all about one of the Dr. Lyon’s supplements that are available at  Chewy.com.

Dr. Lyon’s Skin & Coat Support Soft Chews Dog Supplement does exactly what the name says – helps support your dogs skin & coat.

Description: Help support your dog’s skin and coat health with Dr. Lyon’s Skin & Coat Support Soft Chews. Guided by science and inspired by nature, they’re formulated with key nutrients chosen for their coat-enhancing properties including salmon oil, which is rich in omega-3, 6 and 9 fatty acids as well as EPA and DHA. This targeted blend of omegas helps maintain healthy skin and a lustrous coat, as well as promote normal shedding levels for dogs of all sizes and coat types. Plus, these soft chews are naturally flavored with cheese and liver so they’re a delicious treat you can give daily for skin and coat health maintenance. ~ Chewy

The soft chews were gobbled up as fast as I could get them down at mouth level for Dr. Gman. He thought they were pretty tasty. I normally give the pooches a fish oil gel capsule and sometimes they don’t eat them up like they should this solves that problem these will be eaten up with out even batting a eye.

Key Benefits:

  • Formulated with salmon oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, plus omega-6 and 9 fatty acids to help support skin and coat health.
  • Balanced blend of omegas is formulated to help maintain healthy skin and a lustrous coat, plus normal shedding levels in dogs of all coat types.
  • Naturally flavored with cheese and liver for a supplement dogs find rewarding; give them daily for skin and coat support.
  • Soft and chewy so they’re easy to give just like you would any treat, according to your dog’s age and weight.
  • Comes in a convenient container with an easy-to-open lid to preserve maximum freshness.

Dr. Lyon’s has other new supplements: Calming Aid and Liver Support. You can buy the 90 count bottle at Chewy.com for $19.99.

Why Chewy.com

Because: Chewy.com has more than 300 brands to choose from and is ready to fetch it and ship it, direct to your doorstep, anytime of the day. Have a question regarding the best food for your pet? Call us 24/7 and our helpful customer service team at Chewy.com is ready to listen.
Chewy.com lives and breathes pets. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Chewy.com’s dedicated staff is committed to providing quality pet products to our customers in a fast and easy way. That’s why we have warehouses located throughout the country – so the products are delivered quickly and efficiently. Bottom line, Chewy.com delivers pet happiness – and there’s nothing really better than that. Their products are 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed (if your not happy call them and they pay for shipping the item back), they have expert pet care and product advice, over 200 of the best pet brands and 24/7 customer care. Another great benefit of Chewy.com is they have autoship for your pet food needs and orders under $49.00 are a flat rate shipping cost of $4.95.
Chewy.com 200 SW 1st Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 1-800-67-CHEWY
What’s new at Chewy.com? They now have autoship.

I was given one Dr. Lyon’s Skin & Coat Support in exchange for a honest review from Chewy.com.

chewy

 

Rally Obedience 2 ~First Time Pass

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This past Friday Gambler and I were entered into our first Rally Obedience 2 event. We received our Rally Obedience 1 title last May so this summer we were working on the new signs offered in Rally Obedience 2 and putting them together with the signs we already knew from Rally Obedience 1.

Dodge County Canine Club in Beaver Dam, WI was the host club. Rally was offered Friday night and conformation was offered Saturday and Sunday with two shows each day.

This was the first event that I was able to wear my new memorial arm band by Petsessories Interchangeable Armband Number Holder.

Gambler and I had a great run, we only lost one point out of 100. I didn’t get to talk to the judge after the test to find out what my deduction was but I’m pretty sure on our last sign which was a sit sign when Gambler sat he wasn’t in a heel position sitting he was sitting with his nose facing my leg.

I was very happy with my run. Gambler was happy that I was happy and we got another ribbon. Gambler likes ribbons as then he knows he gets to have a photo shoot and those are his favorites.

My training buddies and I, left to right – Lynne and Diggs took first with a score of 100, JoAnn and Gambler took second with a score of 99 and Krista with Reese received an qualifying pass and a score of 86. We all worked hard and it paid off this night. Congrats to all, they did wonderful. It was fun to watch them compete.

Oh Gambler, thank you for not jumping up at me, biting me and for not humping me in the ring!

So proud of this boy, from therapy dog to hunting dog to rally obedience dog.

This is our first qualifying pass out of three needed for his RO2 title. I don’t think there is a test until December. For now we will keep practicing.

Thank you Dodge County Canine Club for hosting this event and thank you Judge Polly Dake-Jones for judging this event. It was a fabulous night!

Gambler In Pencil

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Gambler In Pencil

From start to finish.

I won a raffle back in April at my ACC WI Chessie Fun Day, which was for a pencil drawing from my friend whom I do my dog training with. Sandy paints/draws in her spare time, usually when she winters in Georgia, while there she also takes art classes each year. I had a hard time deciding which dog I wanted Sandy to draw. I finally decided that I wanted her to draw Gambler. I have one picture out of 2000 that is my most favorite of all which I go to when I want to post up a really nice photo of him.

I took this photo while hunting in Saskatchewan. I just love the detail of the duck in this photo, so crisp, clean and clear. I believe this is when Gambler was 3 year old.

Below are the photos from start to finish showing the progress of the drawing. Sandy would send me photos as she was drawing so if she needed to change something she could before she got to far and couldn’t go back. She would send the photos to her friends as well. I didn’t find anything that ever needed to be changed as I was loving it. Her friends told her little changes, when she made the changes it then improved the drawing.

Once the drawing was done I took it to Hobby Lobby to have it framed and matted. I chose the rustic look to the frame as I have tongue and groove walls in the living room. I chose the mat colors to help Gambler pop. The one thing that I would do differently is I would get anti glare glass. I thought about it but really didn’t think it would make a difference, well it did make a difference, I have many windows in my house and where I hung the drawing you can see reflections in it.

I just love this drawing. Sandy did such a fabulous job on it. What makes it even more special is that my dog training friend and chessie mentor Sandy drew it for me. I will have this drawing for many years to come and I will look at it and remember the special friendship we have.

Sandy does do custom work, if you would like to have a painting/drawing from her you can email her at sandy@cursan.com.

Gamblers Visit To Free S.P.I.R.I.T.

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Free S.P.I.R.I.T. Riders, Inc.

Special People in Riding Therapy

There Mission:

Free S.P.I.R.I.T. Riders, Inc is a non-profit organization committed to enriching the lives of children and adults with disabilities from Fond du Lac and the surrounding area through safe, therapeutic interaction with horses.

There Purpose:

To provide active therapy.
To provide a valuable experience that is enjoyable though challenging.
To promote the rehabilitation of individuals with physical, psychological and learning disabilities through equine-facilitated activities.

Gambler was called upon because of his Pet Therapy skills to come to Free S.P.I.R.I.T. for a therapy visit. Now Free S.P.I.R.I.T. is a equine facilitated therapeutic services for Developmentally Disabled individuals, so why would Gambler as a canine be asked to come to the barn for Pet Therapy?

Gambler was asked by one of the horse trainers (Monica) who happened to own a Sand Spring puppy at one time if he would come and let one of their riders meet him.

Luke one of the riders goes to Free S.P.I.R.I.T. for therapeutic riding. He opens up when he is riding and around the horses. Luke had a dog when he was really little but hasn’t been around on in a very long time so his mom is looking into getting him his own service dog. He is very shy and doesn’t open up to change very easily.

Monica being around my dogs and having one of my pups for a very short time knew what roles they played in Pet Therapy and thought it would be nice if Luke could meet a therapy dog and have him interact with him as well as getting used to a dog so his mom could move forward in getting him his own service dog.

Service dogs are different than therapy dogs, she wanted to start with introducing Luke to a Pet Therapy dog since he hasn’t been around dogs and she knew how Gambler would act around him. He wouldn’t scare him, he wouldn’t jump on him, he would sit there and let him pet him, read to him or dress him up, whatever Luke wanted to do with him he was there for a hour to do what ever Pet Therapy was needed.

Luke’s mom, sister and therapist were all there for the visit. The therapist took the lead and helped Luke get used to Gambler. Luke was very apprehensive he didn’t want anything to do with Gambler in the beginning. His sister and mom petted Gambler, helped walk Gambler to show him it was ok. I was using one of my double handed leashes for this visit and I was glad I did. The therapist asked Luke to help walk Gambler since he didn’t want to pet him so eventually Luke grabbed the end of the leash and I took the short handle and we all walked Gambler. That was a huge step forward for Luke.

We walked into the family room in the barn, there were books, toys, tables and chairs in there. I brought some wigs and hats for Gambler to wear. Luke still didn’t want to pet Gambler so the therapist would ask him what color hat he would like Gambler to wear and then if he would like to wear it. I had a fireman hat so that was the hat that was chosen. Gambler sat wearing his hat and Luke was asked to touch Gambler. Gambler sat there why Luke touched Gambler lightly, it wasn’t for a long time but it was a touch non the less.

I was amazed at how the therapist worked with Luke. They surely have a special place in this world. Luke trusted her and she got him to interact with Gambler.

After the visit Luke was going to have his riding time on one of the horses. Luke walked Gambler to his horse and showed us which one he would be riding. Gambler has been around horses so he wasn’t scared to walk through the barn and see all the big horses.

During our visit Gambler and I toured their sensory garden. The garden was beautiful with many sensory items in it, the riders had a place they could go and just relax and take it all in. It was cool that they used the horse manure to fertilize the garden, had horse items through out and even had halters from the horses in the garden. All the photos I took were from the garden.

I was proud of Gambler and of Luke, even know it seemed like Luke might not of gotten much out of our therapy visit I know deep down Gambler made a difference that day to a boy that has disabilities and it is the first step in hopefully getting him his own service dog to help him in the day to day life.

Thank you Monica for reaching out to me and Gambler.

Cuterebra ~ What The Heck Is That?

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Cuterebra ~ What The Heck Is That?

A couple weeks ago I brought Bones into the clinic with me when I worked because he had a squinty eye that I wanted to get checked out. He had his physical exam and got eye medications for the eye infection he had. He spent the night at the clinic and the following morning I got him out to cuddle with him before I started my day at work.

I was petting him and rubbing under his neck and I felt a matted clump of fur. I pulled the mat off and noticed a hole in his neck, I knew immediately what it was. It was a Cuterebra!

Cuterebra’s are fly larva that emerge into the Cuterebra Fly which is a non biting fly about the size of a bee. The Cuterebra fly lays it’s eggs near rabbit or rodent holes. The rabbit and rodents are it’s natural host. When cats or dogs end up with their face near these openings and the eggs are laid there the eggs get on the animals fur. They then will groom themselves and ingest the eggs. The eggs will then migrate and turn into larva’s which will make a air hole under the skin. It stays there until it is ready to emerge into the world. It will cause a fluid in the hole and that will mat the fur around the opening. That is usually how people notice there is a problem.

If you put your finger over the opening and make it so no air gets in the hole and release your finger the larva will poke it’s head in and out to get air.

These larva can be tricky to get out. Your Veterinarian may or may not have to sedate your pet depending on how still it will sit. We tried to remove Bone’s larva without sedation first but the larva was so small it was difficult to grab it and Bones was moving so much so we gave her a light sedation to take the edge off and get it out without crushing the larva.

Some animals can become really sick from these larva’s. When you are trying to remove them you want to be careful and not crush the larva. The chemicals released from crushing them can be leaked into the animals body and cause them to become sick. They can also have an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis.

Success, the larva was removed without crushing it. After it was out we checked out Bones to make sure there were no more larva hiding. We found one more air hold and larva so that one was removed as well. The second one came out faster than the first one.

The two larva’s, they were tiny ones. Each year we usually see at least one Cuterebra case. We have gotten some pretty big larva’s out. The longer they are in the animals body the bigger they grow. We caught Bones early which is good.

The Cuterebra is also called the bot fly. There are 72 species that target a specific host. Humans can get Cuterebra as well in the same manner as the animals get them but they do not get them from their pets.

It took Bones about a week to heal from the larva extractions. He didn’t even know there was a problem or messed with the openings after the larva’s were out. His fur is growing back and is kept inside now so hopefully no more bugs.

Article by Veterinary Partners can be viewed here.

Grain Free Goody Box At Chewy #chewyinfluencer

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Chewy White

Grain Free Goody Box At Chewy

The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades!

Gambler’s excited to see what Chewy has brought into their Goody Box line.

Chewy now has Grain-Free Goody Box for Dogs! How exciting is this for all the dogs that are on a grain free diet!

What is a Goody Box from Chewy?  It’s a mystery box filled with goodness, it can be filled with treats, bones, toys anything that Chewy thinks would be a great fit for your pet.

Gambler is checking out all the items in the Goody Box. He needs his shades so he can see all the treats better and pick the one that he wants to try first.  

This box was loaded with 7 items, the box was fill with goodness.

There was a great variety of different treats, food mixers, canned food and of course they couldn’t leave out a toy, what dog doesn’t like a toy, right?

Oh boy oh boy which one do I want to try first?

Of course I want to try the treats that have duck in them. I’m a duck dog and love duck treats.

Or do I want to try the sweet potato’s in broth?

It all looks and sounds so yummy I want them all! Gambler gives this Grain-Free Goody Box 4 paws up, I still can’t believe all the different variety of treats. It was a great mystery box. If you have a cat on a Grain-Free diet you can get them a Goody Box as well both boxes are $19.95. You can get the dog one here. These boxes along with the regular Goody Boxes would make great surprises for your friends pets as well. You don’t know what to get them go ahead and order a Goody Box and have it shipped to them. They will be pleasantly surprised!

On a side note Chewy now has a pharmacy. Get your pets medication through Chewy.

chewy

I was given one Grain-Free Goody Box in exchange for a honest review from Chewy.com.

 

Arm Band Memorial ~ Petsessories

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This spring I had Petsessories make me some Interchangeable Armband Number Holders for two junior handlers Willow and Sophia, if you didn’t see the post you can read it here. I then had an armband custom made for my buddy Tom who show’s one of my puppies Josey. Since Tom is a hunter and Josey is his hunting dog I thought it would be cool to have a armband made in camo with a shotgun shell as the jewel for the middle to hold the event number.

Armband custom made for Tom.

Amy did a fabulous job and made just what I wanted so then I had another request. I thought about a custom armband for my friend and I using camo ribbon, a shotgun shell from one of our own shells we have used during hunting and then ashes from our beloved pets that have left us. I felt a little strange emailing Amy and asking her if she could full fill my request. It started out asking her if she could put some ashes behind the shotgun shell and seal over it so our dogs could always be with us at events. I didn’t know how Amy would take the request and I’m happy to say she was so open to the idea and was honored to make us a memorial armband.

Ashes and spent shells.

I then asked my friend for some ashes of her two dogs that have passed away and then a shotgun shell that she wanted to use in a craft I was having made. I didn’t tell her what I was up to and she got me what I needed. I got ashes from Norman and Nellie my two foundation Chesapeakes at Sand Spring that have passed away. I then took a spent shell from my last hunt with Norman in Saskatchewan and sent the works to Amy to have her work her magic.

JoAnn’s armband front and back.

Amy kept in contact with me through out the whole process, she showed me what her thoughts were and then the progress during the making of the custom armbands.

The front of the cover.

The covers are removal or Interchangeable as her logo describes. I can take the cover off the armband and change it out with another cover if I want to. I can put either side out so people can see it.

The back of the cover.

While designing the memorial piece Amy asked for pictures of our dogs. I sent her some photos of my dogs and my friends dogs. She incorporated them into the memorial. I asked that she put the ashes behind the spent shell but Amy was able to find a locket where she could put a picture on one side, the shell on the other and have the ashes in between where they are visible no matter what side is showing.

She then went further and attached the memorial locket with a lobster claw. It can be removed from the cover. I loved this idea and was hoping I would be able to remove it as I was thinking I would love to wear it around my neck when I’m not at an event, that way I could enjoy it and show it off more times through out the year.

A video of the ashes moving in the locket.

Selfie time showing off the memorial locket as a necklace. I am so happy with my purchase and so happy with the results. A multi functional piece.

Amy did a beautiful job on my friend Lynne’s armband. Her’s is made with ashes from her first chocolate lab Katie and GSP Daisy. She hadn’t opened their ashes ever after they were cremated. I was honored that they trusted me enough to open them up and see them to give me a little piece of each of them.

Daisy and Katie.

Lynne’s first two loves.

A couple weeks ago I gave Lynne her memorial. She was in awe with the piece and thought it was very special.

When Amy sent her work back to me she included the spent shells and ashes that she didn’t use. Some people are creeped out at remains so I can’t thank Amy at Petsessories enough for full filling my request and not thinking twice about it. She did a beautiful job on both pieces and now we have our dogs with us at all times. I’ve already had many compliments on my piece while wearing it around my neck. I don’t have an upcoming rally o event until the end of August so until then it will be around my neck.

If you would like to follow Amy on Facebook you can visit her page here. Visit her Etsy shop here.