Paula's Precision K-9 Blog

Happenings

2011-08-01T12:24:00.005-06:00

I guess it's time to post again. Okay, it's waaaay past time. :o We've had a busy winter, spring and now summer. Ziva and Jeb had a find this spring on a search for a missing man. That was exciting! Ziva has done some neat search work, including historical work on the Oregon Trail just this past weekend. The history is fascinating! Jeb, now 12 1/2 is doing well. Suzie is 9 and hasn't slowed down yet. She is ready for action! I'd really like to get Ziva ready for the ring, so I've got to get busy!!! Business has been fantastic in 2011. I am grateful for all my blessings!

Here are some pictures from the past few months. Enjoy! Suzie in Feb being cute, Jeb at his best, lol and Ziva indicating on a known grave on the Oregon Trail as well as playing in the snow over Christmas in North Carolina. While these three keep us busy, we still miss our Jack of Hearths.

Jack of Hearts: Jan 26 2003 - Oct 30 2010

2010-10-31T15:43:00.006-06:00

We lost our beloved Jack to bloat last night. Rick and I headed out camping with the other hounds and the pointy eared one, Ziva. Jack stayed home. Saturday a friend came and took him to stay at her house. He got to romp and play and be as spoiled as he is here. Unfortunately, by late evening, it was evident he was in great distress and we got the call they were taking him to West Vet. Jack had some recent problems and I was a bit worried about his health and because of that I had spent some extra time snuggling with him in front of the tv last week (I am so glad!). Once at West Vet, they took xrays and Jack's stomach had twisted. Torsion. Ugh. We knew what that meant. Because of Jack's age and health we had talked that putting him through a risky expensive surgery would not be in his best interest. What was heart breaking is we could not get home in time to hold him. Our friends were there and held onto Jack as he peacefully passed away. We did rush home and were lucky enough to see him about an hour or so later and say our good-byes even though he was already gone.

Jack was a lot of dog and will be greatly missed. A gentle soul, yet a handful of hound that sometimes had an attitude. He was an absolute kick in the pants!!! We are so glad he finished out his final years with us. Godspeed Jack! We love you!!!! The best bloodhound ever--our big brown!!

PS: We were so happy to find out that Friday night the person taking care of Jack and the cats, didn't leave him at home, but took him to her house where he not only charmed his way onto her sofa and partially on her lap, but on her bed! He got to romp, charm and be Jack. He was excited to come home Saturday morning to get fed and get his chewy. Later he was picked up to do more romping. So we are happy that his last weekend here, even though we left him at home, was a fun adventuresome time. He deserved that and more. :) Miss you Big Brown JackJack!

Goofy Old Man

2010-09-21T15:06:00.002-06:00

We went camping last weekend and while on a short hike with Jeb, Suzie and Ziva we went down to Cascade Res. and let them get a drink and play. Ziva had played with the ball. Suzie got the zoomies in the sand and the old man had a bit of fun himself. We cherish these precious moments with him! He'll be 12 on Dec 8th! Bless his heart, what a silly boy!

Hiking in Sun Valley

2010-08-09T15:29:00.005-06:00

Jeb, Suzie and Ziva enjoyed a weekend of hiking in Sun Valley with Rick and I a few weeks ago. It was hot and the hikes weren't short. I was pleased with how Jeb held up just fine. The girls had a BLAST being doofuses. Suzie enjoys being a trail dog. Ziva loves everything, lol. Enjoy the pics!

The Journey: Jeb

2010-05-14T15:17:00.006-06:00

A lot has happened in the last year. I've reflected quite a bit on the last 10-12 years and the journey I've been on. This wasn't a planned journey, but it has been the journey of a lifetime.

It all began in March 1999 when that bluetick puppy I'd always wanted arrived via Northwest Airlines from Chicago, IL. I wanted to name him Blue, but one look and it was Jeb. I had already decided to give SAR a try with him....trailing. He was 12-13 weeks when I got him. His training began at 16 weeks. I still remember his first runaway for trailing and how great he did that day.

I was in heaven, I had a bluetick coonhound. :) The border collie mix I had at the time didn't appreciate him at first, nor did the cats. :o I was in love with that puppy. Who knew what all we would do together, where all we'd go, all we'd accomplish and how much my life would change because of it all.

Jeb and I have driven and flown all over the US together. We've met many people through SAR, competition obedience, professional training. The adventures are endless!!

In the above pic Jeb is in the creek on a hike on Father's Day. At 11.5 he's still my best trail buddy. We'll be doing some nice hikes this weekend....I will post pics.

Stay tuned for more on Jeb, Suzie, Jack and Ziva. For now....below is what hounds do when bored (other than sleep). :p

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!!

2009-12-24T16:27:00.005-07:00

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! May you find peace and contentment this holiday season. Paula, Rick and the zoo (top to bottom: Ziva, Paula, Jack; Ziva; Jack; Suzie; Sir Jeb)!

Godspeed Larry - We'll Miss You!

2009-12-05T16:19:00.003-07:00

I was stunned when I received an email on Saturday, November 28th informing me that Larry Kurpiewski had died at a Kart race in Sonoma, CA. I must have read that email 10 times hoping I was not seeing it right, hoping there had been some mix up. It was unbelievable, unimaginable.

Larry and his wife Barb are students of mine. Larry and his GSD Nigel also joined our SAR group, Treasure Valley Search dogs. He and Nigel passed their certification with NAPWDA back in August in Billings, MT. Those two had come so far. I wasn't sure they'd make it in the beginning, but they did! Not only that, but Nigel was doing some really impressive work. I loved Larry's refreshing attitude. He was honest, hard working, caring. He loved that dog!

To loose a person like Larry is devastating. He is the kind of person the world needs more of. The more I learned about him, the more I admired him. And now, as I read comments from others that knew him, it's obvious that they all had the same experience. What a huge loss to us all.

Please keep Barb and the rest of Larry's family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. Services are Monday, December 7th:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/idahostatesman/obituary.aspx?n=larry-s-kurpiewski&pid=136838720

Beste Von Grunheide "Ziva"

2009-08-31T13:36:00.006-06:00

Meet the new kid on the block, "Ziva". It was time to look for that next SAR dog and OTCH prospect. Jeb will be 11 in December and is slowing down. Suzie is 7 and although I've gotten more out of her than I'd ever imagined (and that's an understatement) she'll never be the dog I need to "do it all". She's done some great SAR work and will continue with Wilderness. She'll hopefully get her OTCh and retire from obedience in 2010. Jack the BH is doing great trailing, but he'll be 7 in January, not a spring chicken for a BH. While I believe he could do cadaver work, it would be very hard to get him there. I believe I need to stop working so hard when there's a dog out there that wants to do the work. So, you can see, it's time to look forward.

I contacted a GSD breeder I trust because I've met her dogs, worked with a few of them and seen how successful she is. I wasn't looking for a GSD, but she had two pick females from an April litter that she knew would be all I ever wanted and more. So I figured that was most important and I went and brought me home a German Shepherd of all things. Since I have a truck with "Blutick" plates and my two blueticks in it wherever I go....I've been told no one will recognize me in our minivan (we recently added it as our 2nd car and it's wonderful for traveling with dogs!) with a GSD, lol. Ziva is from a "B" litter, so her formal name is "Beste Von Grundheide". She is the best!

Kaiser Monster

2009-07-13T13:10:00.004-06:00

Meet my latest in kennel graduate, Kaiser. Kaiser is approximately 20 mo old. He's a GSD from Albq, NM (and McCall, ID in the summer). His family said, "He is the devil. HELP!" They love him, but he is quite devilish. Just the kind of challenge I love! He was fun to work with and turned out great! I was sad to see him go on Saturday and wanted to share this great picture of "my" Kaiser Monster.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUZIE!!!

2009-05-01T19:20:00.009-06:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful blue girl - aka "Sparky", "Spunkster", "Suzie Uzi". She's a handsome bluetick, don't you think? UCDX Daugherty's Blazin Blue Suzie UDX2 Bh

I've been delinquent, but since it' Suzie's birthday, I thought I'd better post! :o Above is a picture of Suzie and one of her famous works of art. She chewed the center out of the pool and drug this part around, making quick work of it. She must have known I wanted to get rid of the pool. She's probably 12 to 18mo old in this picture. Above that is Suzie Cool (like Joe Cool, ya know? lol) from a trip to WI and That's My Dog! (www.thatsmydog.biz) quite a few years ago for a gather of graduates from the school there.

Today, May 1st is my little May Day girl's day! Suzie is 7 today and it's hard to believe. Today she not only got to enjoy time on the greenbelt with her "boyfriend" Barry, but she enjoyed a bully stick from Aunt Tiffany (Jack and Jeb enjoyed one too). We also fussed over her quite a bit and I had her "dressed" in a pretty collar. LOL Of course, Suzie has no idea why all the weirdness, but we enjoy it!

Suzie came to me at 11mo of age and she was a train wreck. Now she's working on her OTCH! We've come a loooong way together. I didn't get very into her at first. She didn't seem like she'd work well for SAR, no confidence. I observed her and saw in her what I needed in a SAR dog, so I set out to train her in obedience to build confidence and bring out that desire to hunt. It worked. Suzie is a terrific trailing dog now and working on other SAR work. Finally, in the last couple years I've totally bonded with her (yep, it took a while) and see the full potential in her and I myself have the confidence to go for it in obedience. She's tough and has thrown me some curves, but she's doing fantastic with a UDX2 and 38 OTCH points. I love my girl!

Suzie at 11mo when I first got her. Shaggy from living outside near Chicago and much lighter than now.

Back to the dogs....I'd like to post more of Suzie. We'll see if I can blog regularly for a few months. :o You never know what might happen..... Thanks for reading! Paula & the hounds

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEB!!

2008-12-08T10:24:00.011-07:00

Happy Birthday to my very special momma's boy Jeb! Today is Jeb's 10th birthday! Below are a lot of pics of my boy, so enjoy. The one at the bottom is from October--the old boy is looking good! Enjoy! It doesn't need saying, but I love that hound dawg.

The top picture is from the day Jeb arrived, he was about 12-13 weeks old and it was love at first sight. Below are some more pics of young Jeb. Jeb's breeder and family (L to R: Isiah, Caleb, Charlie and Dorothy Hildenbrand; Blueticks: Jeb's Brother Jim, Dam/Mom Sadie, Brother Popeye and Jeb).

Jeb's litter, January 1999. The one looking up at momma is Jeb, go figure! Below that is the picture I chose Jeb from, his litter name was Crybaby. No surprise there, lol! Below that is Jeb at about 4-5 months with his buddy Ian Kreisle. Two very cute boys!

Here Jeb is about 14 mo old and waiting to take his CGC test. That's how it all got started...a simple CGC that we had to pass to do K9 SAR. :o

Jeb in UKC Novice. He earned his UCD and UCDX at his first two UKC shows.

Jeb at the October 2008 Boise Show--looking handsome as ever!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2008-11-26T21:04:00.010-07:00

Jebbie Dork

I hope everyone has a relaxing Thanksgiving! We will be enjoying Cracker Barrel food here at the house and playing with all the critters and watching football. Aaaahhhh.

I know I have a lot to be thankful for and I remind myself of that daily. Here are a few of those things I'm grateful for ("the family zoo"):

Rick, Suzie and Rowdy Yates

Jeb and Tiger

Jack

Rowdy Yates on Suzie's head :)

Esmerelda (aka Pookie and Fang)

Jeb and Suzie

Salem, OR Obedience Trial Day One

2008-11-08T17:11:00.004-07:00

We're in Salem, OR this weekend showing. Today was quite a surprising day! Suzie blew my mind and tied for 1st in Utility B in a class of about 20 dogs. She didn't win the run off, but the 2nd place was good for 7 OTCH points! WOW WOW WOW! She had a 195.5. Jeb was lovely today, but he decided to blow off an article. I told him he was wrong and asked him what he was thinking. He did the 2nd article with great enthusiasm. I told him trying to make up was nice, but it was too late, lol. He did some lovely heeling after that too. Oh well....he went about 1 and a half years or more without ever NQing on articles...he's allowed to mess up once in a while. ;)

Suzie showed in Open B as well and earned her 15th UDX leg! She continues to improve on her heeling. I'm very proud of her!! I was really happy to see video of her and see how up she was. We're getting there!!! Enjoy the video of her heeling in Utility B (Signal Exercise).

Paula

More Day Care Fun

2008-10-29T14:51:00.004-06:00

Day care continues to be a blast. Our Monday crowd is a big one so we took more pics of the fun to share. I'm happy to report the ditch is about dry so no more baths needed before going home!

As you can see, this Monday was a few weeks ago (I was sidetracked and didn't finish this post). I thought the mud pics were too funny not to share. That bloodhound (our Jack) is lucky he was ever allowed back in the house, ha ha. Hunting those skater bugs in 3" deep muddy water took it's toll on him. :o

Happy Heeling

2008-10-29T13:45:00.006-06:00

Before the Boise show, I captured some video of some of my students in a recent basic obedience class. I was very proud of the work they were doing and how far they'd come since week one. Notice how nicely the dogs are heeling and the absence of corrections. Happy dogs and loose leashes = happy owners. :)

Boise Show Day Four

2008-10-12T19:14:00.002-06:00

I have more exciting news today! It was a great four days overall. Four new titles for students of mine, OTCH points for Jeb (158 now) and UDX2 legs for Suzie (she has 14). We were in the ribbons every day but today. Not too shabby! :)

Phyllis and Misti got a FIRST place in Novice A for their CD Title!!!!

Sue and Tessa earned their CDX today!!!!

Ann and Watson earned a 3rd place in Novice B today (and that was with a no sit--nice, nice run overall!!)

Tiffany and Mica earned a FIRST place in Novice B today with a 197 that held up for High In Trial!!!

Carla did much better with Indi today, but he got the itchies on his sit stay and stood up just as she came around to heel position. I am proud to say that Carla is not discouraged by Indi's creativity. She knows they'll get their CD. She's right!

Now time for some much needed rest!

Boise Show Day Three

2008-10-11T21:21:00.002-06:00

I have exciting news today!!!!! We have two new titles!!!!

Congrats to Ann and Watson for earning their CD today with a 2nd Place in Novice B!!!!!

Congrats to Tiffany and Mica for earning their CD today with a 1st Place in Novice B!!!!!

Sue and Tessa are one leg closer to their CDX earning their 2nd leg today!

Phyllis and Misti are one leg closer to their CD earning their 2nd leg today and a 4th place in Novice A! Congrats to you both as well!!!

Suzie earned her 14th UDX leg! She scored a personal best with a 197 in Open B for 4th place!!!! Jeb placed in Utility B with a 4th!

Indi continues to make things difficult for Carla. I cannot say enough about this young lady and the awesome work she has done with this very tough Weim. Indi is a doll, but I sure would be challenged showing him and here she is in Novice A with him!! I'm so very proud of Carla for working so hard and not giving up with this dog -- they WILL get their CD, it will just take longer than we'd like. They are winners in my book!

It has been an exhausting show and I'd like to focus more on my dogs, but I love being there for my friends and students. I hope tomorrow goes well for us all and we get some much needed rest afterwards.

Boise Show Day Two

2008-10-10T20:24:00.002-06:00

It has been another exhausting day! A quick recap: Tiffany & Mica and Ann & Watson both did very nice in Novice B today for 2nd CD legs. One more to go! Carla & Indi nailed the stand and recall today and did better on heeling. Indi broke our hearts getting up on the down stay. I don't know why the judge had the Novice A dogs in stays with their backs to the busy stands, etc. Oh well! Phyllis and Misti had a heartbreaker too. On the sit stay when told to "stay", Misti went down. DARN!!!! Tessa (Sue's lab) decided to walk the broad jump today (such a common Open A problem), so we'll fix that. Tony (also Sue's lab) did everything, but lost too many points for walking a lot in Utility A. Tony is improved and it's nice he's coming close to Q'ing. I'm proud of everyone and hate those heartbreaks have to happen to anyone. We'll get there! :)

Suzie didn't get a UDX leg today. It was her day to blooper. Oops. I especially liked the drop on the come signal. I signaled her, looked down and back up and she was in a down half way to me. Guess looking down (not sure why I did) wasn't the thing to do. :o Suzie q'd in Open today. She's really consistent, but we can't Q all the time. Oh well, lol. Jeb got a decent 195 in Utility for 4th place. All the placings were 1/2 point off (1st 196.5, 2nd 196, 3rd 195.5, 4th 195). It's nice that 195 is one of our not so good scores. I like that!

So...tomorrow is another day. Good luck to everyone!!

Boise Show Day One

2008-10-09T19:45:00.003-06:00

It was a looooong day so I'll be brief. I'd love to post video, etc, but I'm ready for bed! I left the house around 7am and got home around 6:30pm. Ugh!

It was also a GREAT day!!! Carla and Phyllis survived their first day in the ring in Novice A. Phyllis got her first CD leg and Carla lost out to a judgement call by the judge on the stand for exam. So darn! But with Indi being a Weim and so very tough, Carla did AWESOME today! Phyllis earned a 3rd place with Misti! Ann and Tiffany both earned CD legs from Novice B. Both did a very nice job too! It was a large class but Tiffany and Mica earned a 3rd place with a 196.5 (I think I got that right)! Sue Foster and her labs faired well. She earned a CDX leg with Tessa. CONGRATS TO EVERYONE!!

Now my brags.....most of all, I was thrilled beyond words with Suzie today. She did nice heeling!!!!!!! Someone from the Eugene show asked if it was the same dog, lol (they were joking -- she looked THAT much BETTER!). She got a 194.5 in UB and tied with Jeb and another dog for 2nd place. She heeled nicely in the run off, but didn't win it, so she got 4th place. I was VERY happy with her!! Jeb won the 3-way run off for 2nd place! His run was lovely except the 3 points off for the auto finish on the first go out (almost an auto finish, about half-way between front and finish, lol). Suzie also qualified in Open B (193) for UDX leg #13!!! More decent heeling. We stayed for the match and I played with her and Jeb in the ring with a toy and did a couple go outs and did some heeling. I'm tickled pink with them both!

Now...time for some SLEEP. :o

Eve of the show

2008-10-08T20:08:00.004-06:00

Tomorrow is the start of the Boise AKC Dog Show! I'll be competing in Utility B with Jeb and in both Utility B and Open B with Suzie. I'm enjoying showing Jeb right now because he'll be 10 in December and it's been quite a ride--one I wish would never end, but it will. Right now he's healthy and feeling great, so I'm enjoying every day knowing age will catch up with him and retirement will happen. :( I love that hound!!!

Suzie has her UDX (12 legs) and a few OTCH points. My goal with her is an OTCH. However, we have a ways to go before we get there. So as I polish her up and get her scores up, we'll go for that UDX2. I wanted to work her a lot before this show, but I'm not sure we've done enough since our last show to clean up her act. :o These hounds are TOUGH! But hey, I love a good challenge. LOL

This year I have a few students competing. I'm most excited about the two in Novice A. I hope they have a great time and love the sport enough to become addicted like the rest of us. ;) I also have students in Novice B and Utility A.

Good Luck to Ann, Carla, Phyllis, Sue and Tiffany and to all of my friend Alice's students as well (Alice is who got me and Jeb started in competition. She has taught me a lot and I'm forever grateful for that!)! THINK GREEN and QUALIFY!

My plan is to put updates up each day! Wish us luck!

For more info on the show, check out www.icckc.org. The show is at the Fairgrounds. The vendors (lots of cool dog stuff to shop for!!!) and breed rings are in the big exposition building. Obedience is in the smaller building north of there and just outside of that building is Rally and Agility. Obedience starts at 8am or 8:30am each day and goes until about lunch and sometimes until about 2pm. The advanced classes are usually first (I have to be there early!).

Monday Dog Day Care Fun!

2008-10-06T19:04:00.010-06:00

Monday is our biggest dog day care day at Precision K-9. The weather was beautiful today and the dogs sure made the most of it! Indi the weim is a regular and will be at the Boise show this week in Novice A going for his CD (Companion Dog) title! Go Indi and Carla!!!!

There was much running, playing and enjoying the last week of water in the ditch. Us humans like it when the ditches dry up (no washing dogs!), but not the dogs. With the water dropping quickly, it was a water and mud fest! With room to run, ditches to play in and warm sunshine it was a perfect day. Here are some pics of the ditch dawgs:

A quick first post....

2008-10-04T18:00:00.000-06:00

Blogging seems to be the thing to do these days so I'm going to attempt it!

I've just finished up a day of lessons and training. Somehow we managed to dodge the rain! Each class began with sunshine and we were able to run for the garage to finish up training indoors. It was exciting at times with the thunder, lightening and pouring rain.

This morning we had competition practice -- our last one before the Boise show next week. I'll be sure to post show updates next week. After that training and a quick lunch break we had basic obedience class. We are on week three...this is a week where things begin to go from chaos to controlled. I'll be excited to see how much everyone improves by next class. Watching a class go from start to finish is the best thing ever! :)

We had sunshine long enough to get some work in before the storm hit. Magically, it cleared up for my advanced class. We were able to work outside a bit before having to retreat inside at the end to avoid more rain and thunder. What a day!

Tonight we'll go to a party for a friend that recently earned a CDX after much struggling to get there. Time to celebrate!

Tomorrow....Sunday....more training! (and hopefully some pictures to post here)

Stay tuned!

Paula