Whiskey's Belly

I've been having some agonizing moments when I'm out doing chores. With Whiskey pregnant I've wanted her to have enough food and nutrients to grow the fetus, but not so much that she becomes obese. I fully realize that many people just feed their horses and don't think about it. But I do. I worry that if she's packing too much weight it will make for a difficult delivery come May.

So I feel along her ribs. They seem okay. She's a bit plump - definitely not working lean, but not fat. I can feel the ribs... Ugh... Normally, I like my horses to carry just a bit extra in the winter. That way if we have a cold snap they have some reserves to use if needed. My horses live outside. They have shelter, quality food, automatic water, and if the weather is particularly nasty I'll blanket to cut the wind. Ugh... the whole pregnancy thing is throwing me off my game... I suppose I'll ask Sam (vet) next week when I see her what she suggests.

Darn belly freaks me out!

Luke's Eyes

My mom thinks Luke's eyes are spooky. I think they're beautiful. His eyes are lighter than any of my other dogs and in my opinion - kinda neat. What do you think?

Blizzard

Over the last 24 hours, we've received at least a foot of snow. Add in strong winds and continuous flurries and you have some winter fun. The roads are bad enough my vet was in the process of pulling up my number to cancel my appointment when I called in this morning. She didn't think I'd make it down the road with the trailer. What this means is I now have a stuck at home day. Which I don't mind in the least. I took the dogs (less Bella) for a walk down the road. And then I we went and played in the barnyard. The corrals are normally plowed out so the horses and sheep don't have to hang out in deep snow. Here's Reba walking on to the sheep in formerly packed snow.

I was trying to take a picture to show just how much snow we have right now but couldn't find anything that showed it. So here's a nice snowy tree.

My Love

Today was a great day. I was able to spend part of it with my love. This time of year I often don't get to see my love. I leave too early in the morning, and I often get home too late in the afternoon.

But today was fabulous! Not only did I spend some quality time with my love at work, I waved goodbye to my love standing on the hill with my dogs. Okay, I know I shouldn't love the sun so, but I really, truly do! I'm a definite sun baby. I will soak up it's golden rays during the summer turning myself an unhealthy brown. And in the winter I chase it's elusive rays. Jumping at any opportunity to be outside in it.

Normally, this time of year I'm limited to weekend time. But today I was home by 4:30 and was able to sneak in a quickie. The dogs and I huffed and puffed our way up the very snowy hill - my path long since snowed in. It was so much fun. I've been having trouble motivating myself to bond with my treadmill, and I think it has a lot to do with not having my training partners with me.

And the bonus - it was WARM out!

Well, warm for winter here...

Wordless Wednesday

Good Babies!

Tonight was puppy class number one. The timing for me to get from work, to home, and into the city - is well, tight. But sooooo worth it! I'm so proud of Luke and Diva tonight! They are awesome! I had enough time to get my chores done, eat a grilled cheese, run the pups around the yard to try to encourage them to pee, and leave.

Once in the city, I carefully navigated and tried to find the place. Unfortunately, the address on the website was incorrect. Sigh. So when the class is about to begin I'm sitting in some industrial area madly scrolling through my BlackBerry trying to find the correct address. Sigh. Once found, I wrote it down and then begin to try and navigate to a different industrial section. This was not fun. It took me a stinking 40 minutes to actually find the place! Once there, we unloaded the pups, ran them to a snow bank where Luke peed, and peed, and peed, and peed. I was sooooo happy the little gaffer held it and didn't mess in the truck! Remember he's not housebroke.

Once in the class, both pups were wonderful. Luke was a bit more assertive and gave a couple of big barks, but within minutes both settled in, relaxed and got into learning mode. For farm dogs, who have had a limited amount of exposure to different things they were troopers. Diva, is super smart, eager to please, and soft. She was so easy tonight! Luke has a bit more attitude but it is still pretty darn easy to get him to do what you want.

Afterwards, we played in the snowbank, had another pee and drove home. They are becoming seasoned travelers. I'm a bit stunned at how sweet these guys are. You always hope for it - but reality means it doesn't always happen.

I can't wait to keep working with them to see how they continue to develop!

Town Time

With my mother's assistance, Luke, Diva and I headed into town. The goal: exposure to other dogs, people and things. Things that they will never see on the farm. First stop was PetSmart where I had to pick up doggy diapers for Reba (she's in heat right now - yucky!), and where we also swung by the toy aisle to get a few more toys for the babies.

Next, we went to one of the public park areas in Sherwood Park. It was wildly busy there! Luke was a wild man today. Normally he's a pretty good leash walker, but today he was full of himself. Bucking bronco, straining at the end. But he was happy and other than barking at a dog that was wildly barking at him he was a little champion. He's certainly showing signs of having a come what may attitude.

Diva was priceless. At PetSmart she wouldn't walk on the asphalt. Cement was okay, but where the cars drive... pancake time! In the park she was pretty good, very alert and interested in her surroundings and walking like a lady on the leash. Well, until we came to the wooden bridge over a frozen stream. We made it about a 1/4 way across when she went into pancake mode. She desperately wanted to go back the way we came, but I persevered and we eventually got her to cross the bridge - scooting along on her belly the entire way! You should have seen how proud she was when we reached the safety of "solid" land. It was a belly laugh moment.

Both pups traveled well, and didn't destroy or have any accidents in my truck so I was pretty pleased with that. Overall, I'm quite tickled with how they're handling things. I plan to take them to town again on Sunday, and Monday brings our first puppy class.

Sorry, no pictures. It was snowing like crazy all afternoon.