Obedience Trials January 2009

Dear Diary,

This weekend I finally did it. I completed by Open Obedience Certificate. We had our friends Carol and Jon come and judge and teach seminars for our Obedience and Agility Group. My friend Whyle and I had trained really hard since we went to Abaco in October. I kind of guessed that if I did not do it this time Lynn, my caregiver and owner was going to give up on me and just train my sister Chloe. Chloe is a very cute Aussie who really likes to train and she is already doing all the Open Exercises and just needed to complete her Novice.

I needed two legs and I finally did it - broad jump, drop on recall, retreive over the jump! Boy is Lynn every happy. My friends Whyle did really goods and got two legs in open - only one more to go. Chloe completed her novice title so she will move into Open - I couldn't let my two year old sister overtake me. Chloe also got one leg in Novice Agility.

So now I will begin to work in Utility. No long sits and down - no broad jump - should be a piece of cake. Chloe will go on to Open and may try for a leg in March. I will probably only do Rally in the show.

I am glad I made Lynn happy she loves me so much. More later Diary-

Signed

CH. Wenndale Skye CDX , Re

Back to School

Dear Diary,

We had a month off from training this summer. On Tuesday, it was back to class again. Diane, Amanda and Jean were there with Wiley, Sashi, Hank and Katie. We had a good class and I really did well.
I have decided to complete my open certificate so that I can move into the next class and Wiley is going with me.

We are set to go to Abaco for trials and we have to do well.
Jon and Carol will be there and I cannot wait to see them.

More later,

Skye

The Runaway

Dear Diary,

I really did it this time. It was early on Sunday morning and Chloe and I woke up early 5:00 am. We tried to be quiet but you know Chloe squeaking toys , panting, jumping up and down - of course she woke Lynn up. Lynn got up and let us into the back yard. Before she went in she stood outside to listen for thunder but there wasn't any at that time - so she told us to play outside and she was going back to bed.

Between 5:00 and 6:00 the thunder started, honest diary I don't know what gets into me - I run and bark and try and catch that thunder - I want to chase it away. When Andy got up at 6:00 I had broken through the back gate and the front gate and I was on a hunt for the thunder.

Lynn and Andy got up and began to look for me - they looked and called for two hours - the longest I have ever been gone. Poor Lynn at 9:00 she sort of freaked out - she began to think that she would never find me that I had been run over or worse that someone had me and might hurt me or try and keep me for ransom. She called her friends Amanda and Lynn and also Dana and Sandy and thus the Sunday Skye Search Party began.

Everyone was driving out east - along Yamacraw Beach, Elizabeth Estates all through San Souci and Winton and calling my name. As Amanda says she never knew there were so many black and white dogs in Nassau. Lynn kept coming home and checking the answering machine and she had decided to stop in the house and make some flyers with my picture on them as it was now 11:00. When she got in the house lo and behold there was a message - I was in someones yard accross from Mt. Vernon on the Eastern Road. Andy came and got me and there when I arrived were Amanda and Lynn to welcome me home - Lynn cried and hugged me and I sure was glad to be home.

No one knows how I got in the yard, but I know - I was running down the Eastern Road - the same way we go to The Trust for dog training and there is a boat ramp to the sea - I was hot and took a swim and there dogs playing in a yard - so I stopped to play. Thank goodness I had on my ID Tag and the nice lady - Mrs. Claridge called Lynn to say where I was.

I ate lots of bad things on my adventure, and had a terrible upset stomach the next day - Lynn had to take me to see Uncle Patrick and he gave me some medicine to settle my stomach.

So now I have to go in my crate if it even looks like it might thunder.
Lynn is trying to rub me down with Bounce Dryer Sheets because someone told her it helps with the static electricity which is part of what makes me so crazy - we do not know if it is working but I sure do smell good.

This is a bad problem and I want to say thanks to my friends who looked for me - it is good to know that I have so many people who care about me!

More later diary,

Skye

Thunder Drives Me Crazy

Hi Diary,

Boy am I in big trouble. It has been raining and thundering quite a bit this last week. Lynn and Andy have been very careful - I went to work with Lynn three times last week as she is worried about me running away as I have learned to open the gate and run up and down the road.

Lynn and Andy are really good when I am afraid - they usually put me in my crate in the office and turn on the TV so I cannot hear the thunder which really frightens me.

However sometimes they are at work when thunderstorms break and even though they try and get home to get me to a safe place sometimes I just lose it. On Friday, Lynn had meetings and Andy came home to put me up and I had escaped. Andy looked for me for over an hour before I finally came home - he was really mad and very scared that something had happened to me.

I have heard them talking about new gates and better security - Andy did not speak to me for the whole day on Saturday and only took Tibby for the drive to get Souse. I think I better try to at least stay in the yard next time or I might find myself being crated all day until the storms calm down.

More later,

Skye

Farewell to Souter

Dear Diary,

I have not wanted to write in my diary because a very sad event happened in our family right before Christmas. As you know my brother Souter lives with Donna and Paul, Andy and Lynn's good friends.

Souter got very sick and the vet thought he had eaten rat poison. Lynn was very upset and she called everyone she knew and got a blood donor dog for Souter.
We thought that he had come through the event and was going to the vet for IV's and check ups and then he started going down hill. He stopped eating and got worse and worse and then he died.

I am very sad - as because he was so sick Donna and Lynn did not think that I should see him that I would get him too excited but I did not get to say good-bye to my brother. I know it was for the best but I miss him - if we go to Donna's house I look for him but I know he is gone because Lynn came home that morning and told me what had happened. It is a hard thing for me to understand especially since Souter was so smart and such a good dog. He behaves much better than I do and he loved Donna so much. She is very sad - I wish I could do something to cheer her up.

Well Diary that is all for this enty - I have more exciting news coming up.

Skye

Chloe and the pool

Dear Diary,

I have written to you about Chloe, my new Australian Shepherd sister, who has become a part of our family.

Lynn and Andy, my caregivers , are very concerned because Chloe is afraid of the swimming pool. They want her to be able to swim and cool off during our scorching Bahamian summer.

Andy had an idea today. You see the minute Lynn puts on flip flops and a bathing suit Chloe runs and hides. Totally opposite from me as flip flops mean frisbee and I am out the door and waiting by the pool. Anyway, Andy's idea was to tie Chloe in a shady place where she could watch us in the pool. It seemed to work - at first she turned her back but Andy , Lynn and I were playing Frisbee and having so much fun that she had to look. Finally she laid down and watched us swim and play Frisbee. Hopefully she will see how much fun it is and want to join in.

She is very pushy and competitive and I can't see her sitting out too many sessions where she could get attention. I think I want her to join us - I just hope she is kinder to Frisbees than she is to toys or there will be big trouble as Frisbee is my favorite game and she cannot be allowed to chew them into little pieces.

All for now Diary, hopefully we will have Chloe swimming soon.

Skye

A Blue Ribbon for Skye

Dear Diary,

Last weekend, I made up for my poor performance in the BKC Dog Show. I got a blue ribbon in the Parade of Dogs at the Humane Society Fun Show. Lynn was so proud of me, I should really try and get blue ribbons more often.

I am really surprised we even went as Lynn and Andy ( my caregivers and owners) were out very late the night before. Lynn's godson Christopher had his wedding reception - the wedding was in Harbour Island and Lynn left us home with Robin Lee. Anyway, they were very slow to get up on Saturday morning - Chloe and I had to jump on the bed three times before Lynn even opened her eyes.

Once she got up and had coffee things seemed OK. We went for a swim and played frisbee and then we watched a movie. Soon Lynn said time to go to go to the Fun Show. Well you know me - go means - new people and maybe my dog friends so I was ready. We went through downtown and passed three surreys and horses - Boy did I go crazy - horses make me run around and bark like crazy I just cannot seem to control myself. Lynn says she's getting a limo with roll up windows between the front and back so she can shut me out when I act demented ( as she says).

We pulled up in front of the Botanical Gardens and my heart dropped - Oh No! not a dog show. We walked in the gate and then had a long walk accross the gardens to the back area - and once we got there - I realized that it was a FUN SHOW! My friends Pete and Trudy with Sundance, Tonya with Foxyand Jingles , Jean and Hank and Donna with all her dogs were there. We did a dog demo and I was relaxed and happy to do everything Lynn asked. We even entered the Best Tricks contest - I caught the ball, shook hands, and spun around, I was supposed to sit up but I do not like to do it on the grass so I sort of flubbed that trick. There was one dog that could speak and roll over and catch the ball and high five - they got first. Sundance did tricks as well - she can crawl on the ground like she is avoiding snipers but she got excited and ran out of the ring to see Pete before fininshing her performance. Wow was I surprised when I got a third place - Lynn was happy again.

The only bad thing was that my friend Whyl E Coyote could not be there. He is a working dog and he had to be at Fox Hill Nursery to help Amanda.

Well Diary that is all for now. Lynn came home from work really tired and I need to go check on her and make sure Chloe doesn't wake her up. She needs to learn some manners where Lynn is concerned - she thinks Lynn should be loving on her every minute - she is just addicted to love!

Talk to you soon!

Skye

Chloe Comes to Nassau

Dear Diary

I believe that earlier this year I told you about our trip to Savannah. It was a fun trip and on that trip my owner Lynn met a lovely female Australian Shepherd named Chloe. Chloe was living with Carol and Jon Mett and they already had a large family and felt like Chloe would be better off in a smaller family.

Lynn had been wanting another dog since her first dog Hook, a red Chow, had passed over the rainbow bridge. She would talk to Tibby ( my sister) and myself about what kind of dog would be best for our family.

When we came home from Savannah, Lynn kept talking to me about Chloe - how pretty she was and I had seemed to like her and wouldn't I like for her to come and live in The Bahamas. Well Chloe was nice to look at - she is a very petite tri-colored merle and when we met she flattered me and told me I was very handsome and how lucky I was to have an owner who took me places with her.

To make a long story short - Chloe came to live with us in April. Lynn flew to Orlando and Jon drove from Savannah with Chloe. They got on an early morning flight and arrived back in Nassau in the afternoon. Chloe was a bit frantic at the beginning but Tibby and I were nice to her. Lynn is very proud of us for the way we have welcomed Chloe into our home. She keeps calling me her "Angel Boy". I sure am glad I decided to be nice.

It is fun having a friend who likes to run and play chase - Aussies have a similar traits to us Border Collies . Unfortunately Chloe does not like to swim. Lynn tried to introduce her to the pool and to swimming but she does not want anything to do with swimming. She splashed and almost sank to the bottom and now she won't go near the pool. Wait until August this year - I bet she decides to swim them - it is the only way to cool off - I must swim at least 13 times a day in the summer.

The only bad thing about Chloe is that she is really hard on toys. She has demolished a whole basket of my favorite toys. One of my favorites was Canada Goose or "Goose Goose" - she ripped out his insides last night and Lynn says that she cannot repair the damage - no amount of sewing can put him back together. I plan to recommend that Lynn looks for Industrial Strength toys for Chloe - or I won't have any left .

All for now Diary. We hope to put a picture of Chloe on the page but she is scared of the camera and we cannot get a good photo of her.

Skye

The Dog Show- March 2007

Dear Diary,

Boy am I in trouble. I failed all my Open Obedience Trials. I feel bad but I just cannot seem to get it together for the dog show. I start out OK and then there is just too much going people. People and dogs everywhere. I guess if we had more shows instead of one once a year - it would not be so distracting.

I thought Lynn would be upset but she talked to me on the way home and said that I did better than last year and there would be other opportunities anyway it was part her fault as we did not practice enough because of her work.

The great news is my friend Whylie Coyote won Best Potcake again! We were all so proud and Indy my friend from Abaco got her Novice (CD) title. I plan to do better next show as everyone is moving out of open and I do not want to be left behind!

Will write more later.

Skye

Trip to Savannah- February 2007

Dear Diary,

I had an exciting February. My owner Lynn took me to Savannah, Georgia to Doggie Boot Camp. You see Lynn really wants me to get my Open Obedience Title so our friend Carol who is a great instructor and an AKC Obedience Judge invited us to her training school. We went with other friends: Corey and Rev ( another BC), Maureen and Splash( a standard Poodle) , Kim and Trooper ( sheltiecake) and Amanda and Indy ( a sheltiecake).

We had to fly on an airplane from Nassau to Ft. Lauderdale, where Corey and Rev picked us up. I was a little anxious because Lynn had to leave me with a luggage handler- however I saw her again getting on the plane so I knew she was with me.
Corey had a great house with a pond and Rev and I ran around and I of course went swimming. I tried to be polite and not go in the house until Rev invited me - he is very protective of his things and of Corey and of course we BC's have sensitive feelings so I did not want to get him upset.

The next day we drove to Savannah. It was a long drive but Corey has a nice Van and we each had our seat to stretch out and sleep.

Our first day of class was really great. I met Carol when I was about 5 months old - she is really great and for some reason when she talks to me I get excited and want to work. Sometimes Lynn can do this too, but it would be better if she did not have a job because sometimes she is too tired to sound excited and so I just tune her out.

Carol really worked us - healing and sitting and jumping and dumb bell fetching. I tell you everynight when we got home I was tired. We went to class at night and I met a blind Australian shepherd. But being blind did not bother her she just did what the other dogs did - what a special dog.

We even did agility - and I learned the basics of weave poles. I like agility - it is fun and I get to run and I even bark when doing agility- it is exciting.

Only one thing bad happened in Savannah - Carol proofed me for the dumb bell. I had been fooling around with Lynn - dropping it and throwing it up in the air when I was supposed to hold it and bring it to her. It upset Lynn, because she knew that I knew better. Well guess what - I will think twice before I do that again.

The only problem is that I do not like Obedience - it seems silly - once I do something I do not really want to do it again and again. I guess I need to let Lynn know that we have to make it more fun - she is so good to me and I want to make her happy so I guess I better try and do better.

All for now diary,

Skye