Happy Birthday!

Today Farrah (and the rest of the first Story/Nero litter) turned 2! To celebrate us humans enjoyed a delicious chocolate cake from our local bakery, and Farrah feasted on fresh rabbit and some choice biscuits with ice cream.

Now we get ready for the terrible twos!

another episode of 'bring your dog to work week'

Farrah's pretty good in the boat and field, but it would be better if she learned to carry marine batteries and gas cans up the hills... instead of just laying around looking beautiful!

Farrah loves sticks....

Farrah has always loved sticks. Out in NW Ontario where I work, there are a lot of beaver sticks, pre-cut to the perfect size for her.

After a long day, the floor just isn't good enough for the belle of the ball. A rare glimpse of her actually on furniture (she always prefers the ground) in our wee 13' trillium trailer

Farrah has a new boyfriend...

A colleague of mine recently adopted a new 2 1/2yr old male dog named Fozzy. He's a sweety, and Farrah sure thinks so as well! For the past two days they have been inseparable. He has a high level of play drive also, so their time together switches between moments of 150% play followed by brief rest breaks, staring longingly into each others' eyes and kissing. And Repeat.

Aren't they cute just so together?

Spring is here.....almost!

It's been quite some time since the last update, and a lot has happened since January. We went to the Ohio IABCA show at the end of January and had a great time and met +20 Shilohs and their wonderful owners. Farrah won her age catergory in 3 out of 4 shows, as well as winning Best Puppy in Breed in Show #1. She also won Best of the Herding Group in show#1 which put us in Best in Show. We didn't place, but had fun getting there. For shows 2,3 and 4 we finished 2nd puppy in breed, and the Shiloh that won the breed went on to win Best in Show! For the Shiloh Speciality, we competed in the adult catergory and finished 3rd!

We've also been rather busy with work, life etc. We've been doing Therapy Dog visitations for 4 months now, and are starting at another facility this week. Farrah is a natural at it and the seniors we visit really look forward to seeing her. This week Farrah and I are out in NW Ontario at the field station where I work, and I was able to snap some shots from our day off today. We spent most it hiking through the forest enjoying the changing of the seasons. She gets so excited being out here in the Canadian Shield, and being spring she is also shedding her winter coat. I also suspect she is very near going into heat, as she is exceptionally wild and sassy these days! Spring is definitely in the air!

Off to Therapy Work!

Sassy dog at Springtime!

we passed our Therapy Dog Evaluation!

Last night Farrah and I passed our Therapy Dog Evaluation! We will be working with the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program and will be finding out our placement later this month. Farrah wooed the evaluators with her sweet temperament and then confidently navigated through the various simulations assessing our ability to handle hospital and care-home settings.

From other Shiloh owners who have participated in similar programs, I have heard it is a very rewarding experience. Shilohs, with their gentleness and calm demenour, as a breed are well-suited for Therapy work. Everyone last night could not believe she is not even 1 1/2yrs old , yet so calm and collected.

Farrah and I with the St.John Ambulance Therapy Dog evaluators

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.