Hot Dog'n

The Puget Sound region is in the middle of a heat wave. The humidity feels like it's 100% today too, making for a sticky, nasty feeling when inside and outside. The heat wave has been going on since Sunday really - that night Jerill and I went to the Harry Potter movie (2.5 hours of air conditioning). Then, I was in Spokane Monday and Tuesday morning for work. It was 96 degree on the top of Snoqualmie Pass. Usually, the mountains tend to be cooler than the valley so that was a warning served as to just how unbearable it would be when I got home.

I drove to Spokane with my friend and market research colleague Jeff. He works for a company called IPSOS and I've known him for nearly 12 years! We worked at a place called Northwest Research Group together for about 8 years until I left for Safeco and he left for other opportunities. Anyway, we get along very well and I was happy when I was able to hire Jeff and his company to moderate focus groups for us in Spokane (and Seattle, Anchorage and Juneau). Jeff is addicted to a burger joint in Ellensburg, WA called Rossow's U-Totem Burgers. So, we stopped on Monday afternoon for lunch and also stopped for lunch on the way home today! Jeff is addicted to the Ellensburger - which has beef AND a slab of ham on it. I tried that burger on Monday but opted for the Fishwich today. Yesterday I also got a marshmallow milkshake (my fave) but opted for Hawaiian Punch today. I have to remember to go to Ellenburg for the rodeo this year and to stop at Rossow's for a marshmallow milkshake!

Anyway, the heat is pretty bad and after I shut down my work computer tonight I re-filled up our small swimming pool with cold water and tossed an entire hotdog into it that I had cut up into tiny little cubes. The dogs were delighted with this game! Mattie ended up eating most of the hotdog (not surprising). Lucky didn't want to get into the pool so I ended up just giving him hotdog piecs by hand -- he's so cute, he didn't need to work for the hotdogs. Scott tried his best to stick his head under the surface but he wasn't too good at breathing OUT and sucking hotdog in. We helped him out a bit too. Eventually he figured out to kick up the piece of hot dog up into the water where it floated so he didn't have to stick his entire head in. While it worked for him, it wasn't the most efficient method.

It is undeniable that Mattie is the queen of this activity. Once she figured out those brown little chunks in the bottom of the pool were 100% beef frank, she began an instantaneous metamorphosis into becoming the first aquatic dog/Hoover hybrid. Seriously, she was blowing bubbles through her nose while sucking up the pieces of hotdog along the bottom of the pool. She is like a living, breathing snork. It was seriously cute but slightly disturbing as she was so efficient and effective at this activity. Is there anything this dog can not do? I also filled up a keg bucket too and she took a dunk in that. She looks pretty freaky/ugly though when her face gets all wet -- like Predator emerging out of the swamp.

Obscure Sheepdog Breed of the Month

So I have this super cool book of dog breeds that I purchased used from Amazon last year. It is actually a book that was a public library book in the midwest. It's mine now. The book is called Dogs. It is supposedly "the ultimate dictionary of over 1,000 dog breeds." It's written/compiled by Desmond Morris, (C)2001. It doesn't have photos of dogs in it, but for many of the breeds represented, it offers pencil sketch illustrations.

So, I got this book because it actually includes the Smithfield Sheepdog - my personal favorite obscure breed and perhaps the breed of my own dog Mattie. But, it's also a really great book to learn about other breeds from all over the world.

So, each month I'll highlight one obscure breed, starting with the sheep herders. This month, it is the German Sheeppoodle. If you "google" this breed in Google Images, you see just a few pictures - here is one I snagged...


So, the book describes the German Sheeppoodle as such:

The breed is also referred to as the Schafpudel, the Sheeppudel or the Poodle Sheepdog.

This is a rare dog which is little known today. Some authors have even questioned whether it may have become extinct in recent years. It appears to be completely unknown outside its homeland. In appearance this is a shaggy sheepdog, with a wavy, poodle coat and a tendency to become corded. One rather harsh critic commented that it is a dog of "heavy and uncouth" appearance. It has drooped ears, a long tail and a coat that is either white or pied, with various forms of shading. In height it is 24 inches. It has been described by various authors as clever, attentive, vigilant, good-natured, devoted, sociable, gentle, tolerant and affectionate. It is thought that its ancestors included the Barbet and the Poodle. The Puli has also been mentioned as a close relative and it is believed that the movements of flocks of sheep between Germany and Hungary in earlier times may have played a significant role in the development of this breed.

Mount Vernon Highland Games

So, last weekend Scott and I trialed at the Mount Vernon Highland Games. What a blast! It was an arena trial (smaller) set inside a baseball field. The course consisted of panels and a pen and then each run was a different configuration of figure 8's and loops.

On Saturday I had some serious issues though. The rules of the trial is that you can't move onto the next obstacle until you've gotten at least one sheep through the prior obstacle. You have 4.5 minutes to complete the entire course. Lines don't matter (unlike in USBCHA trials).

So Saturday, I was totally nervous and freaked out by the fact that I'd never run my known-to-grip dog in an arena trial before. Basically, if your dog gripped the sheep at all, you were instantly disqualified. So I was foremost concerned with keeping Scott off the tails of the sheep.

I managed to do that, but ended up getting so caught up in the event - there were 200 or so people watching - that I did an obstacle wrong but didn't realize I had. So, I kept going and actually did okay on the following obstacles, but because I missed obstacle 4 out of 7, I never got any points for the obstacles I did after obstacle 4. All in all, there are 28 points available and I only got 9 points on Saturday. So stupid of me!!

On Sunday, I felt a lot less nervous as I knew I could trust my dog and handle him far enough off the sheep to not put him in a predicament of having to bite them. Again, we have 4.5 minutes to complete the 7 obstacles. 28 points total.

Miraculously, we did the first two obstacles in record time. I missed one sheep when turning the post though (minus 1 point there), then got all sheep around the next obstacles and I penned all four sheep quickly! I did the run in a little over three minutes and got 27 points - it was one of the better runs of the day in fact! But, I still didn't make it into the finals (where the cash prizes were available to win). You qualified for the finals by being one of the top ten dogs from the two days combined! So, those 9 points from Saturday really hurt me. There is next year though!

Here are some pics from the trial (on Sunday)

Sending Scott to go get the sheep

Scott is driving the sheep away from/through obstacle #5

Penning with Scott... he is such a good dog!

Done! Exhausting the sheep back to their hold pen. I think sometimes this is Scott's favorite part of the run!

Some other interesting photos I took today...

So, who needs Uggs to keep your feet warm when you can have three dogs under your work station to keep your piggies toasty? Mattie was asleep too but woke when I grabbed the camera. The boys were actually having dreams (Scott was growling in his dream!).

Mattie is such a pretty girl. So unique!

Sleeping Beauty - soooo comfortable.

I bought this, and another similar cactus, this Spring. They didn't look this weird when I bought them (they looked like sea anemones). Then, they started growing all funky, and flowers are coming out of them...