Spot-TTs!!

Today, five Dals from the Greater Pittsburgh Dalmatian Club took and passed their Temperament Tests!  It was great to see such a nice showing of Dalmatians at the test, and we're very proud of the Dals who earned their TT:

From the left is Chris and Ryder, Barb and Indy's Daddy Maks, me and Indy, and Twister, Susan, and Ripley.

The Temperament Test evaluates the dog's behavior towards strangers, reaction to auditory stimuli, reaction to visual stimuli, reaction to tactile stimuli, and their reaction to a "weird" stranger who starts out non-threatening and then escalates to threatening and then aggressive.

All these Dals did a great job on the test and we're very proud of the representation of GPDC and Dalmatians as a breed during this test!

Indy Turns 2!!

We celebrated Indy's 2nd birthday today.  Of course, he doesn't know what an infamous day he was born on, but at least he gives us a reason to smile on an otherwise sad day in history.

Here's Indy with his fall-colored birthday cake.

This is the only picture of Indy eating his cake.  It was gone too quickly to snap another photo!

Indy got a little help from Tess and Jazz in opening his birthday gifts.  They are much more experienced with these things.

Indy knows there's something fun in here somewhere!

All three dogs try out Indy's new stuffed bunny.  Amazingly, it is still in one piece!

I can't begin to tell you how much we enjoy this little guy.  He has his Daddy Maks' sweetness and he's smart and eager to please.  He loves everyone he meets and he makes friends wherever he goes.  Although it was never our plan to have three Dals, I can't imagine our lives without Indy.  The girls think he's the best toy we ever bought them...and Jim and I have a lot of fun with him, too!  We wish him many more happy birthdays.

Good Dogs...Good Cause!

Our friends from the UPMC Passavant Cancer Center invited us to join their team, the Passavant Teal Titans, in the Walk to Break the Silence on Ovarian Cancer this morning in North Park.

Here's Indy and Jazz in front of a teal balloon ribbon, the symbol for those battling ovarian cancer.

Before and after the walk, Jazz and Indy dispensed a good bit of pet therapy to those in attendance, from children to college students to ovarian cancer survivors.

Indy and Jazz at the start of the walk.

Almost there!

At the finish line with Blaze and Sammie.

The National Ovarian Cancer Coalition's Pittsburgh Chapter organized a great event, and they even had a "Canine Corner" with goodies for the dogs and information on the benefits of pet-assisted therapy.  The dogs got toys and treats, and they provided water and a cool-down pool for the dogs after the walk.

Jazz and Indy and I enjoyed the walk this morning with Aunt Mariann, Uncle Jim, Sammie, Blaze, and our friends from the UPMC Passavant Cancer Center, Judy and her Boxer, Rock.  We were proud to be a part of the Passavant Teal Titans and to help raise some funds for this great cause!

Future Cowboys

My great-nephews, Ryan (4) and Logan (3), came to meet Rocky last evening.

Ryan was ready to go from the moment he arrived at the barn and was anxious to get to know Rocky.

First, the boys each took a little ride with me, but Ryan was anxious to ride Rocky all by himself.

At first, Logan wasn't too sure about riding Rocky, but he warmed up to it pretty quickly and took many laps around the arena, both with his brother and by himself.

The boys had a great time riding Rocky in the arena, and when we were finished, they checked out the barn and what they called Rocky's apartment (his stall).  They helped me take Rocky's tack off and turn him out into the pasture, and then they visited with the barn's resident mini goats, Nacho and Salsa --  not a bad day's work for a couple of future cowboys!

Missing Dog!

Indy's best buddy Cocoa is missing!  Cocoa was at our friend's Dad's business on the North Side when it was robbed.  He was hit on the head with a brick, but he credits Cocoa with preventing further injury and chasing the robbers away.  Unfortunately, Cocoa has been missing since the time of the robbery on Wednesday.

There have been a few reported sightings of Cocoa on the North Side, so we are heading there to search today.  We are taking Indy with us, in the hopes that he will draw Cocoa out or perhaps be able to lead us to her.

Cocoa does not live on the North Side normally.  She was staying with our friend's family while our friend was out of town, so Cocoa may be trying to make her way home to Zelienople.  Please keep your eyes and ears open for any information about Cocoa's whereabouts, and, at the very least, say a prayer for Cocoa's safe return.  She is an awesome dog, owned by one of the sweetest, kindest people we know.

My Boys

This afternoon, my two boys, Indy and Rocky, got a chance to work together.  While Indy has visited the barn before, this is the first time he's been out while I'm riding Rocky.

Not knowing if Indy would understand that "heel" still means "heel" when I'm on a horse, we started off with Indy on lead until he could get the hang of things.

In no time, Indy was gaiting along off lead with Rocky like a pro!

Indy and Rocky practiced the hock, stay, and recall exercises.  I'd also say we practiced the distraction exercise, since the herd of horses from the barn was following us along the fence line, and our resident mini goats were in a pen adjacent to the riding ring, so Indy had plenty of distractions to work through!

Although we have much training yet to do to be ready for a road trial, Indy did great with Rocky and seemed to enjoy himself.

As for Rocky, he celebrated his new partnership with the spotted dog by a nice roll in the dirt to cool off once he was turned back out into the pasture!

CPE Agility Team Extraordinaire

Tess and Jim earned their CPE Agility Team Extraordinaire title (C-ATE) yesterday at the Splash 'n Dash K9 Sports trial at B&D Creekside Activity Center in Latrobe!

Here's a video of the Snooker run that put Tess at the required 5000 points in the Championship level for her C-ATE:

This is the highest title you can earn in CPE agility, and Tess may be the first Dalmatian to earn a C-ATE title (although one other Dal has achieved a Specialist C-ATE, which is a jump height 8" lower than the dog's regular jump height).  We were especially pleased to earn the title at this particular trial because it was our club's trial, and also because the judge was Becky Dean, whom we have always enjoyed showing under.

Here's a picture of Judge Becky Dean holding the C-ATE ribbon, Tess, and Jim:

All three dogs ran great this weekend.  Tess also earned her Extraordinaire Wildcard (ExWC) title, and Indy earned his Level 2 Strategy Games (CL2-S) title and Level 2 Standard (CL2-R) title, which finished out Level 2 and earned him the CL2 designation.  And while Jazz didn't earn any titles, she amassed several qualifying scores toward her C-ATE.

Big congrats to Jim and Tess for a job well done!