Joyful Equine

Hunter was feeling good for the first time since his castration and was all bouncy and reflecting his old self, so I though it positive to take him out to the round pen for lunging. As soon as I gave the 'au pas' (walk) command he set off at a full gallop and started bucking and running as though he were on fire. He usually listens very well in the pen but today he was so happy he was deaf to any words, so I let him run to his hearts content. He kept it up for 10 minutes straight with very little encouragement. He was just so joyful and playful, and when I started getting ready to go inside he ran over to me making horse noises. He didn't want me to leave. ;(. I still have to inject him with penicillin and give him Phenylbutazone for 2 days (2x per day). And then he SHOULD be all better, and we can put him in the same pen as the mares so he wont have to be all by himself anymore. That makes me happy ;3 -dances-

And Karma is made of epicness. I got him to climb up a ladder today (well, an old vertical palette, but it's like a ladder). He's only 14 weeks old. We went up on different types of machinery too, he's such an awesome puppy. And Russ is starting to accept him now, no more growling and much more tolerant, he won't play with Karma but he lets Karma follow him around and whatnot. The cats are accepting him too, though they still don't like being pounced on. ;P

Kongs

I bought a Classic Kong (L) for Karma today, they were 50% off at maxi so it was only like 5 bucks. He just loves it whether full of treats or not. There were no Kong treats available but I bought him a bag of Natural Defence Digestive treats and he goes crazy when I stuff one in his Kong. He's such a silly boy. He's also mastered the command 'climb' and will climb up any obstical I point to. So far he's climbed up on giant metal poles, old pallets, a handmade log bridge, dirt bags, random blocks of metal, a giant wooden spool, piles of bricks and more random stuff that was in the company yard (don't worry, I make sure everything is safe before I tell him to climb it!). He's such a great little guy.

Camping with Karma + People Mockery

So last Friday (June 25-26th) , Dad decided we should go on a one night camping trip. Obviously I couldn't leave Karma alone for a day and a half so despite mom's protests he and his kennel were loaded into the motor-home with the rest of the family. The goal of the trip being a 9km bike ride I had to prepare means of transport for Karma, who at only 14 weeks of age, can certainly not run that long. The answer came in the form of a roots backpack, Karma all settled inside with only his little head sticking out. He wasn't sure at first, but quickly settled in and enjoyed the scenery, attracting attention and laughs along the way. Unfortunately we did not make the 9km since my sister's stomach started hurting at only 1.5km down the trail, I volunteered to go back with her since it was obvious no one else wanted to cut the trip. About an hour or two later, dad called with directions to an amazing beach. My sister was feeling better by then and was willing to bike for the 15 minute ride to the beach. I opened the backpack on the ground and Karma jumped in it and sat quietly and I zipped him into place and locked the zippers (so they wouldn't unzip en-route). I'm really surprised with how much he loved koala-bear riding, he didn't like the boat ride my uncle took us on however. He just slept on my lap wrapped up in a towel the whole way. Anyways, he's one of the pictures taken on one of the beautiful beaches we went to. I'll be getting some of him in the backpack shortly! :)


Also, a minute for mockery, I understand when most people ask me : "It's a German Shepherd right?" and "What is he a mix of?" but this one just made me laugh : "Is that a Great Dane Puppy?". I mean come onnn... he looks nothing like a great dane. I've also got these conversations that are worth the mention:

Stranger: "What breed is that?"
Me: "He's a Dutch Shepherd"
Stranger: "Like a German Shepherd, but from Holland?"
Me: -goes on about the history of the Dutch Shepherd and what breeds were used to create it, etc-
Stranger: "Oh, so it's one of those really mean breeds of police dogs then."
Me: *looks down at Karma, who's happily licking the stranger's fingers and wagging his tail* " -sarcasm- Yeah, it's a really mean breed."

Stranger: "What kind of dog is that?"
Me: "He's a Dutch Shepherd"
Stranger: -without asking anything about the breed, personality etc- "He's so cute, I want one! Do they stay that size?"
Me: -facepalm-

Stranger: "Wow, he sure listens well, I've never seen such an obedient puppy! What breed is he?" *as if his breed was the reason he's obedient...*
Me: *annoyed at that kind of person* "He's a Dutch Shepherd x Belgian Malinois mix, I paid ####$ for him and had him flown here by plane, I had to pay for a shipping crate too, he listens well because I trained him properly and I spend 24 hours a day with him 7 days a week."
Stranger: -priceless facial expression + jawdrop-
Me: "Yeah."

Stranger: -with two badly behaving barking adult dogs-
Me: -tells Karma to sit (he does) then faces the person-
Stranger: "Omg, he sat when you told him to! He's so young! I can't believe it! Did he come trained??"
Me: -facepalm- *resists urge to lecture owner about the fact that any 14 week old puppy SHOULD already know such a basic command..*

10 Facts

Created with : This Generator
Do it, it's sure to generate some laughs XD

1. There are no steroids in baseball. Just players Karma has breathed on.
2. When Karma sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Karma has not had to pay taxes, ever.
3. Karma cannot predict the future; the future just better do what Karma says.
4. As President Roosevelt said: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself. And Karma."
5. There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Karma allows to live.
6. Ninjas want to grow up to be just like Karma. But usually they grow up just to be killed by Karma.
7. Karma can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass. At night.
8. When Karma breaks the law, the law doesn't heal.
9. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed... unless it meets Karma.
10. Google won't search for Karma because it knows you don't find Karma, he finds you.

A New Pack

Soo, I took Karma to a friend's house today, she wanted me to see her boyfriend's horse that they bought this morning. He's a one year old solid painthorse with 4 white stockings. Really pretty boy. Karma had fun playing with her two dogs Chelsea (Border Collie x Lab) and Kenzie (Yellow Lab), after that some guy came over with a gorgeous 2 year old golden retriever named Baloo. Karma had a lot of fun with him. We went on a walk with all the dogs and the colt. It was great socialization for Karma. I so love taking him places ;3. I didn't bring my camera so no pictures... I have to remember to bring that. Rawr. Anyways ;D

Family Gatherings

21: 57 - I just love them. My cousins, Myriam and Jessica hosted a surprise baby shower for Teckla today. A bunch of us were there (Cousins: Willie& Isa, Carl& Nat, Jess, Myriam& Phil, Ollie, Jess, Annie-Claude, Sara-Maude, Karelle, Me, lauri, Leya, Reuben, Caleb, Alexie, James, Pablo - Aunts&Uncles: Mom& Dad, Claudette, Marjo& Guy, Lyne, Antoninne, Regine). Not a lot, but it was still alot of fun. Poor Karma had to stay at home in his Kennel while I was gone, he wasn't all that impressed. Poor little guy... It's 10pm now but I think I'd better go for a jog with him. Tomorrow I'm going to babysit Baloo for the day if Willie and Isa don't have any plans for him. He's a purebred 7 month old Bernese Mountain Dog. A bit big to fit in a playmate role for Karma, but it will be great for socializing, Karma needs a lot of that. And I'm sure Baloo will be glad to get out of the house for a bit, he hasn't been to the beach in a while. I'll be sure to post pictures! Oh, and here's a couple pictures I took yesterday with Karma. They're not a work of art or anything, but just thought I'd post them for fun :)

An Amazing Evening

20:11 - Mhmm.. started by taking Karma for a walk to the river, it was so nice and there wasn't anyone there. I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the scenery (and Karma of course). I've attached a few for your viewing. Karma was so well behaved it was almost sad. Whenever I stop walking, he sits nicely without me even looking at him or saying a word. He knows already that stopping means sit and wait, and he's not even 14 weeks old yet. He's a really great guy already to bring on a photo shoot. He's also such a camera hog and loves to pose. I have so much fun taking pictures of him! Russ is a nightmare to photograph. After our walk I headed out to my Grandma's house. It's my cousin Teckla's 33rd Birthday today and a bunch of the family was gathered around (about 15). It was nice to see Teckla again, she lives in Toronto so we really don't see her much. I hadn't seen her in over two years. So yeah, we had cake and talked for a while. And Karma met Lilou for the first time! Lilou was not impressed with my rambunctious pup. Though he's about half Karma's size, he had no problem showing Karma who's who. It was hilarious. Poor Karma.

After that, I came home and lunged Hunter for a while, then showered him and set him up for the night. Oh and I gave him some orange soda that my sister brought home from a party. He just loved it. (And I know he looks like a dirty beggar, he LOVES to roll and get messy...)

Reflections

14:21 - Karma and Russ on our walk this morning. I love these boys so much ;3
It's strange to reflect on how far my dogs can take me, how much they've got me through. I wouldn't even be alive today if it weren't for Russ. God gave him to me as a lifeline, and he plays his part well. There's nothing a dog looking up at you, the power and love behind those eyes. That look from either of them is enough to get me through the day. Russ taught me so much about life, patience, love, loyalty and so much more... There's nothing he wouldn't do for me, no secrets he keeps and I have no doubt he'd give his life to save me. He could of been killed on so many occasions... I've no doubt that Karma will educated me a lot too, I've only had him a few weeks and I've already learned so much from him. There's nothing that screams out love and loyalty more than your dog asleep at your feet. If you have a dog, go hug it now.

June Photographs

(I'll be updating this post whenever I have other random pictures to post for June :)
June 22 - 8:43 - Just a couple photographs of Karma taken a couple days ago. I need to read some animal photography guides. Photographing Karma is quite the challenge, he never seems to stop moving... and he's growing up so fast I can barely keep up with him! As much as I prefer adult dogs to puppies, I am going to miss a lot of his puppy antiques. Enjoy them while I can I guess ;D.

&I've been listening to Nickelback a lot lately. Some of his song have really good lyrics :)

The Beach Pack

17:00 - I took Karma to the river today, it's on our property across the road and it's so lovely there. A couple of my cousins look after it so the grass is always cut by Phillip, tubes and a hammack chair permanently left there by Ollie, a man made beach/added sand as well as a giant Tarzan rope installed by Phillip, Carl and Willie. Anyone in the family has full access to it so there's usually always someone there. And they, of course, always bring their dogs. The 'whole' beach pack consists of Sammy (Labernois), Maya (Labernois), Charlie (Labernois), Gallion (Labernois) Maggie (Black Lab x Golden), Baloo (Bernese Mountain Dog), Lilou (Pomeranian) and of course, my Karma (Russ doesn't get to go because he is dog aggressive towards other males). So I don't confuse you; Sammy, Maya and Gallion are all Maggie's pups. Maya and Gallion are from the same litter. Sammy belongs to Phillip and Myriam, Maya to Fred and Ollie, Gallion to Elie-Jeanne (Myriam's sister), Lilou belongs to Jess, Baloo to Willie, Charlie to Marie-Michelle and Jeremie (Phillip's brother), Maggie to Étienne and of course, Karma belongs to myself. We are all related, except for Phillip which is Myriam's husband and Jeremie which is Phillip's brother and Marie-Michelle who is Jeremie's wife. But who cares, they are like family anyways. Now, have I confused you all yet? Anyways, back to the beach pack. Sammy, Charlie, Maya and Karma are the 'regulars' that go almost every day. The others are rare additions. Anyways, so, today only Sammy and Charlie were there, and for the first time since he's known them Karma initiated a game of chase. He usually doesn't want to interact with them since they are so much bigger than he is. It was so fun to watch them all play. I'll try to get some photos of them tomorrow. Sadly Charlie can't play for long, even though he's only 8 months old he already has a bad case of hip displasia. Unfortunately thats often the case when you buy a 4 week old puppy from a backyard breeder who's just getting rid of them asap cause they cost too much. Gotta hate those... Well, that was my rant for now.

20:04 - Well, I decided to take Karma out to the Vieux Port. I was his first time out in Public since I've had him. He was so good. I'm amazed with him. We've been working on leash walking for a while now, but I thought with all the excitement going on (there was some type of party going on there) he'd forget his manners. But he didn't. He sat on command and quietly let everyone (ages 1-40) pet him all over while cover them all with doggy kisses. I'm so proud of my boy ;3. I thank God for him everyday. I'll most likely start taking him there daily while my mom roller skates. It's great socialization for him. Especially if we go down to Baie James for the summer where we'll be isolated from society for a couple months.
--Thanks for reading.

Introduction

Hello all :). I've created this blog as some sort of an 'outlet'. Where I'll be posting pictures and updates of my pets, day in general and well as random other things. For starters, here's some pictures of everyone :).

Rusty: Rusty is the oldest of all my pets, and the first. He's an 11 year old GR/Rottie x GSD mix. He's been my best friend since I was 6 years old. I bought him for the memorable sum of 25¢, from my uncle who's dog Kimo had been 'got' by dog on the other side of the fence when she was 9 months old. He's a grumpy old coot, but we get along most of the time as long as I remember that I am tied to the leash for safety reasons, and not the other way around.

Hunter: Hunter is my recently gelded (as of 06/10/2010) Palomino PaintxQH horse. He will be 3 years old on July 12, 2010. Hunter was a big step for me. Last March (2009) My horse, who I'd had for 5 years, passed away from an unknown cause (probably poisoned by a neighbour). My dad bought Hunter for me on September 5th 2009. Already, Hunter and I are best of friends. He follows me everywhere, whinnies and runs to the gate when he sees me. No bad for a stallion ;3. I love my boy.

General Weed: More commonly known as Sourweed, an alias reflecting his temper, is my eldest cat. On June 21st, 2010 (today ;3), he turns four years of age. Though it is said that neutering a cat makes him friendlier, it had the opposite effect on poor weedy ;(

Kitten (not pictured): Sourweed's younger sister from a different litter. She is now almost four aswell. Kitten was born in early winter, from one of the semi wild barncats at hang around at the stable. Her mother, Maggie, had to be put down due to us finding her with a broken hip and femur. When their mother failed to return a a 3.5-4 week old litter of nine set out to find food. We were only able to save 5 of them, kitten being one of the lucky ones. We found her in one of the heated horse water buckets. There was only about two inches of water and a tiny wet kitten in the bottom. He feet and tail had frozen so badly that most of her tail as well as for toes had to be amputated. She has several claws missing aswell. Out of the five we saved, kitten was the only one we kept (the others we placed in good indoor homes). Kitten is a very sweet cat, as soon as she's picked up she becomes limp as a ragdoll and drowns you in purrs.

Chocolate Fox: Chocolate Fox is Kitten's son. He is currently 10 months of age, and is the friendliest cat I have ever seen. He is currently sporting the 'lion cut' and loves it. He's a housekitty at heart, but loves his outdoor moments.

Karma: Karma is the newest addition to the pack. His sire is from imported working lines and is a purebred Dutch Shepherd. His Dam is a purebred Belgian malinois also from imported working lines. Karma is the small fry of his litter, his tail is a bit short, but other than that he is absolutely perfect. He will be trained in personal protection work if I can ever find a trainer in the area. For now, were working on basic obedience and socialization. The original idea was to get an older puppy/young adult Belgian Mal, or Dutchie from a rescue group. But after 8 months of searching for the perfect match with no success, I decided it was time to look at other alternatives. Karma was the result ;3.