a day at the park...

So now that her heat is over, it's safe to head back to the parks and woods for some off leash fun. Today we went up to Little Mountain Park for a stroll in Winnipeg's largest off-leash park. Didn't see many dogs, but we had a great time hiking through the labyrinth of trails.

annual visit to Cheeko Point...

Every year on November 26th we pack up the car, drive out of the city and head up to Cheeko Point to pay tribute to perhaps the most amazing dog that ever lived: our beloved and departed Cheeko. Farrah never met Cheeko, but he is one of the reasons why Farrah entered our lives. Elizabeth rescued Cheeko from the Edmonton SPCA in 1998 and he faithfully joined us on our life journey until his sudden passing in 2008. While it is unlikely Cheeko was a Shiloh Shepherd, he possessed all of the formidable traits that the breed is known for.


Farrah has been to Cheeko Point twice now. Compare her in 2010 vs her size in 2009!

Let's play!

Farrah at Cheeko Point in 2009

the Heat is officially on.....

This week we got 20cm of snow, and with that some chilly temperatures. Farrah took the cue and went into heat! This is her 2nd heat, and just like the 1st, is a little bonkers at the moment. Overrun with hormones she definitely has other things on her mind. Normally her recall is pretty close to 100%, but at the moment it is 0%. No off-leash at the park for a few weeks I'm afraid! Too risky...

Here are few photos from our walk to the library yesterday. She's always got her nose to the ground this girl. Snow on the Nose is a perpetual thing with her.

IABCA show: Day 2 results!

Day 2 of our first dog show weekend proved to be just as much fun as day 1! We arrived at the venue only to be greeted by Sue and the magnificent Smokey! What a looker! (see below) We were supposed to have shows at 9:30 and 11am, but delays caused us to be on at 11 and 11:15am. Then we wait.....

Farrah and I were in for best of group for show#4. There were a lot of great dogs in that ring, and we came out #1 out of 8! Our 2nd Best of Group on the weekend! For Show#3, we had to wait a long long time for the Australian Shepherds to finish. Farrah went to sleep, and then we had to wake her up and run right over to best of group for Show#4. I've learned she needs a few minutes to wake up (who doesn't?) and she wasn't as attentive (or I was less attractive to her?) as in our other group rings, and we finished 4th out of 9. Still very proud of our little girl.

We then finished Best In Show Reserve Puppy: Rare Breed and Best in Show Reserve Puppy for Show#3. All and all, a very fun weekend! After all that, Farrah got to play in the snow with Bruno out in a field outside of the venue. A few photos of that below, and a video of Farrah and Bruno playing post show .

Farrah's fancy ribbons:

2 for Best In Show Reserve and 1 for Best In Show Reserve Rare Breed Puppy

Her hardware for a weekend's work

Elizabeth, Smokey and Sue

Bruno, Virginia, Prom, Smokey, Elizabeth, Farrah, Stephen

Farrah and Bruno post show: the stakeout!

The Chase!

Farrah's First Show! Best in Show Reserve!

Today we attended the International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA) dog show in Hutchinson, Minnesota. This was out first dog show and also the first time Farrah met another Shiloh Shepherd since she joined our family.

Today certainly exceeded my expectations! First of all there was a huge snow storm, so everything was delayed. Farrah met Bruno (Virginia's gorgeous pup out of Emma/Yo-Na litter of Dec/09) and they fell in love instantly! Bruno had all of the right moves to attract the sensitive Farrah to his side. Silently they rubbed noses and looked longingly into each others eyes. The two of them certainly made a huge impression at the show! It was also great to meet Virginia. She's the first person off the Shiloh Forum that I've met 'in person' and such a great resource of information and a very nice person! We would have been lost if she wasn't there today to mentor us along!

Show #1. Despite waiting 2hrs before going into the ring for the first time, Farrah digs deep and wins best of breed. We then go to Best Of Group (herding) and we finish 2nd.

Show #2. Farrah wins Best of Breed and goes to Best of Group. It all happened so fast as Virginia had gone to take Bruno for a bathroom break, and Elizabeth was talking to some people about the pigeon show going on next door. Next thing I know I'm called into Best of Group and we WIN without either Elizabeth and Virginia seeing it all happen! It was very exciting nonetheless. Things happen fast when they're moving along.

Finally Best of Show. We've been here for 8 hrs already and Farrah is noticeably tired. Up until now we've been the front dog in all of the group competitions, but this time we're put at the rear. Poor Farrah had to hold her stack for all of the other 6 dogs to go through. She was starting to sit down and I could tell she was done for the day. But she hung in there for a few more minutes and it was enough to impress the 2 judges, and we won Best In Show Reserve (2nd place!).

I can tell we're doing better each time we go in the ring. There are over 160 dogs here and the 2 Shilohs here are certainly drawing attention. We've given away a lot of the Shiloh tri-folds as people keep coming over to our setup and asking about the breed.

tomorrow is another day. Here are some photos from today:

Our Best In Show Reserve: show#2

Best in Herding Group Award

Our very first award!

Farrah meets Big Bruno! Love at first site!

Shiloh Corner

The ever charming Bruno! He is such a sweet character!!

waiting for Best In Show

Virginia, Bruno, Elizabeth, Farrah

Top Dog....

It should be clear from this photo who runs the show around our place. Not only has Sebastien taken over the doggie bed, he now owns The Bone! Poor Farrah.....

2 week long playdate....

Last month, while Elizabeth and I went off to California for a wedding, Farrah went for a playdate with her good friend Tartan (lab cross) and new friends Timber and Aspen (huskies) for two weeks. They were staying in Northwestern Ontario on the Canadian Shield the entire time. This meant she had unlimited access to the pristine lakes of the Shield, which apparently she took advantage of everyday. Today I received 536 photos from my friend of her adventures of early October...here are 14 of the ones I liked best. Thanks Ken and Justin!