Lunch at the Lake

Nom Nom Nom Nom Nom

Holidays - Part III

We took our boat down to Montana with us as we planned on doing a bit of fishing.   We ended up on Whitefish Lake for the afternoon and fished til dark.    It was quite hot, so I was glad to have an umbrella on the boat and cooling blankets for the dogs.

The scenery was spectacular and I could have just sat and looked at the view all day - hey, I did LOL

Once we anchored the boat I took the dog's life vests off as they were so hot and just kept a tether on them.  They were so much more comfortable.

Molly is such a cutie…..she doesn't mind the boat at all

Zack keeps an eye out for, well, everything….

especially those fish, but when we catch one, he wants nothing to do with it.   Pete caught a little cutthroat trout, I hadn't seen one of them before so that was cool

Zack loves to sniff the air and all the mountain and fishy smells - he was in heaven

Eyes peeled again, the closer to the shore the more intense the search gets

Zack spied a little duck so I kept a tight hold - Just in case LOL

It's not a great photo but this was the little duck that kept everyone's attention for a bit

We were on the lake til dusk and Capt. Zack guided Pete back to the dock like a pro :) 

I looked at the wonder scenery as we got back

It was a great day - I could live down there that's for sure

Holidays - Part II

We learned Molly is a dream to travel with, accepting and settling in all the new places.   Zack, was well, Zack LOL

Whitefish has an awesome fenced in off leash dog park that now has a separate area for little dogs, doggy water fountains, a pond, a small natural agility course and a pavilion for the people.  

There were not too many dogs out the day we were there but there was a few.    Zack found a few dogs to run round with - he got chased pretty hard - even by the cute little shih tzuey thing !!!!

Molly was just happy to stay with her people, she doesn't play like Zack and even Zack is more picky who he plays with nowadays, but at least they got some off leash time which was great.   They ran a lot.

Of course, found smells to roll in

and found someone else's tennis ball and scarpered off with it, little bugger LOL

Who me ?

Great time at the dog park, now off to another adventure…..  Part III to follow

Holidays - Part I

Here we go again, I cannot fit everything into one post so I will be doing several posts to show what a wonderful weeks vacation we had in and around Whitefish, Montana.  It was a first for us, just Pete, me and the dogs.

We rented a cabin in the woods near Whitefish, Montana.   It was lovely, away from it all with a wonderful view of the mountains.  TV didn't work and WiFi was iffy but it didn't matter, it was nice to disconnect from the world for a bit.   Here is a photo of the outside of the cabin and the view we had every morning.   Can't complain that's for sure.

I was a little nervous of bears so every time the dogs barked I jumped and looked around.  All in my head as we didn't see one all week :)

On the first day we did a lot of exploring in the Town of Whitefish.  It was very quaint and "outdoorsy" loved it.  We found wonderful walking paths along the river and walked for miles.   

Zack had to stop and look for fish, Pete has taught him well :)

We then walked from the river into the Town and came across this quaint Fly Fishing Shop.  Of course Pete went in to look around while Zack stood guard outside.

 Actually he licked everybody to death that entered the store LOL 

So many more photos and stories to tell of our trip, more walking, doggy park, fishing, Glacier National Park etc.    Part II to come soon…..

Family Photos

As Pete and I are hardly ever in a photo together as one of us is always taking the photo, we decided to get family photos taken so we are both on one together.   Last week we had them done by Paws on the Run Photography and Wendy did such a great job.   I loved them all but here are just a few.    They were taken in our back garden, Pete, me, Molly and Zack of course.

After the finding out Asia (Fat Cat) may have bone cancer we included her in our photos as she is part of the family.   I just love this one of her - it means so much right now and will be a great keepsake.

She took some great photos of Zack and Molly too which I will post another day.   

Thanks Wendy Devent at Paws on the Run Photography.

Ups & Downs

Since posting last a lot has been happening in the White household, some good, some not so good.   

The Bad News:   I haven't been able to post about it til now cuz it was upsetting but we took Fat Cat into the vets last week cuz she was drooling from the mouth and we thought she lost a tooth.   Our vet booked her in for X-rays and dental surgery and she went in the next morning.     Once Fat Cat was under anaesthetic  the X-rays revealed she has a mass and her jaw was separated (fractured).   The vet did a needle biopsy but no cancer cells were found which was good, but it doesn't rule it out.   So for now the vet sutured her jaw back to stabilize it and see how she does over the next little while and see if it is cancer and whether a lump develops or not. 

She has been spoiled rotten since then, and it has been a week now and she is back to eating normally and seems to be a happy cat so we are just going to keep her going as long as we can.   She is on pain meds for her arthritis so she has pain relief.    I will not let her suffer if it does turn out to be cancer, we will just let her go peacefully.   I am not putting her through surgery or anything like that at her age.    It's just hard to come to terms with the fact she could have cancer and every day I am checking to see if there is any changes.

The Good News:   This last weekend Zack had his Advanced Rally Obedience trial.   In our first class on Saturday morning Zacky decided to ignore me and had no interest in doing anything we had practiced.    He was just as happy to gawk around and leave the ring twice!!    To get his attention I was clapping and calling him but I think that totally put him off even more.   We were disqualified.   I was a bit disheartened but thought I would continue.   Well in Saturday afternoon's class he was way way better. He listened, showed more attention (not perfect) and did really well.   We qualified with a score of 90 out of a 100 and won High In Class and got a huge ribbon!!   Talk about night and day.   I was so happy with him.   Here is his new ribbon that he won.

Sunday was like a repeat of Saturday, same thing in the morning leaving the ring.

Sunday afternoon he was brilliant.   He was way more attentive, did everything I asked and would have got a score of 97 out of a 100 but it was ME who screwed up a sign and lost 10 points.   We still qualified and came in second.   It was a great weekend.   

Here is a group photo of my classmates who also won some of their classes.

It was a great weekend.   I am now going to try and get Zack's last qualifying score in November at the trial in Lethbridge to get his Rally Advanced Certificate.

Molly is saying "hey, what about me"…..

Molly is not going to be left out as now the Canadian Kennel Club is allowing mixed breeds to compete in obedience and I am going to register her so that we can start  "rally obedience" with her too.  She'll do anything for hot dogs LOL

Visitor's Welcome

I love having an additional four legged visitor every so often whether it is Deuce of Zoey.  This time we have Deucy Doo staying for a few days.   Luckily all the rain that was forecast hasn't happened yet and so have enjoyed spending some time outside, walks and just hanging out.

Here are a few photos so far.

Deucy Doo has never seen Fat Cat outside before.   He couldn't figure it out LOL.   The warm sun seems to help Fat Cat's arthritis which must feel good to her so we let her out when we are outside with her now.

I got some yard work done this weekend and had lots of four legged company - although Zack of course got up to no good eating the soil and whatever else he could get.   I was chasing after him on numerous occasions so he was banned to the deck until I got everything picked up.  

Sunday afternoon was a lazy one.   It was so sweet how they all just settled together while I was reading my magazine.   Love that they get along so well.

Behind Again

I have neglected my blogging lately and have a ton of stuff to catch up on.    Life has just been really busy.    We have just spent the last three days painting the inside of our house.

The dogs have been doing well but Fat Cat not so much.  I know I joke about Fat Cat's weight but it is catching up with her and her arthritis is getting really bad.   She also twisted her hind leg and it stuck out in a funny position so she was in a lot of pain.  Luckily her twisted leg is improving and she is more mobile now.    Her pain meds seem to have eased her acute pain and she is still happy.    She has always been an inside cat but as she  is getting on and may be on borrowed time we have decided to let her outside just  on occasion while we are there so she can enjoy the warmth and grass.  It's not like she can jump the fence or anything now anyway.    She has snuck out on us a few times before but it has been a long long time.   I think she enjoyed her 20 minutes in the sun…..

We will definitely be doing more of that for Fat Cat as I am sure the sun will feel good on her achy joints.

The weather has been up and down and so have our activities.   One day we have snow the next it is plus 20 degrees and sunny.   So there has been a lot of wet and muddy paws in the house from our many walks.  My foot has improved, it will never be 100%, but whatever injury I had on top of my neuroma is doing a lot better.   I have been building up my distance for walking and I did my first 6km walk on the weekend with our friends Constance and Paisley the Poodle.    It was blustery and showery and we were all chilled when we got back but it was a great walk.   Zack loves when I  wrap him in the dog blanket when he gets back from a cold walk.  

I have taken my new bike "Ruby" out with the dogs in the basket and it is all that I hoped it would be.   Zack loves it and I plan on doing a lot of biking this year.  Zack loves the basket and riding about.

Earlier this month Zack was one of many dogs who was asked to participate in a 55 dog "stay" photo shoot.    It was quite the feat that the photographer was able to capture such a photo.   It was a bit chaotic at times but the dogs did really well.   I was so proud of Zack,  he held his stay so well even with all the commotion.   Can you see him, he is in the front row, just off centre and sitting next to a sheltie.   This was the end result and I think it is spectacular.

Molly is doing just fine, she is so much fun.   We started more training with her and now that the Canadian Kennel Club allows mixed breeds to participate in rally and obedience I have my sights set on doing a trial with her in November if all our training pans out.   She is so different from Zack when training she is so keen and Zack gets bored easily.   I am so used to trying to encourage and motivate and Molly wants to jump and play a lot.  I am the one who needs work and trying to figure out how to handle such a keen dog.   It is me who needs the training that's for sure.   It is lots of fun though.

There is a rally trial in June near where I live and I am thinking of entering Zack in his next level of Rally.   It will just depend on how his stomach issues hold up with the training etc.

Well that's it for now.   Deucy Doo is coming to stay for a week with us in May and June so I am sure I will have more to report when he comes to visit.