Rudy Tootie's Blog

True Colors Thursday

2010-08-19T11:34:00.005-04:00

What? Oh I've missed so many Thursdays I've lost count and FINALLY we remembered!
We did find some things around here rainbow-like...

An old soda-can insulator-thingy Mom got at the beach 4 years ago:

Some little snake-y stuffed toy:

And here I am, Mom made me pose with some multicolored toys we have. I have a new haircut too so I'm cool as can be now!

Happy Thursday!
Rudy

Show Biz?

2010-08-11T09:04:00.003-04:00

Hmmm... I'm thinking about branching out into show biz.... this dog is auditioning for a talent show. Maybe I should stick to dog agility? He does have some good moments though!

Rudy

It Pays to be a Judge...

2010-08-07T22:35:00.004-04:00

So Mom came home from judging today with a green bag of goodies. This club really has some good stuff for their judges!

There's a bag of chocolates for Mom on the left, a purple toy, a pet store gift card so Mom can buy us more treats, a bag of TREATS FOR US, and a coupon for Mom to get a pic of me painted on an art tile. Of course she'll have a pic of me on it!!

If you look close there's a tile near the bottom of the page with a pic of our Deerhound buddy Coll on it. Small world! He takes Obedience class on Mondays when Ollie has his agility class. Cool.

I hope Mom goes judging more often!

Love,
Rudy

New Arrivals!!!!

2010-08-07T00:20:00.002-04:00

Cigars for everydoggie! Ollie's new kids are here --- 3 boys, 1 girl! They were born Friday morning (the 6th), and they are what we call 'blue'. They are born black and will lighten up to near-white or light gray by the time they reach 6 months. Human Mom has already been over to see the little babies. They all have a patch of white on their chests and all they do is drink and poo.... Doggy-Mom Jamie and kids are fine!

Ollie is my great-nephew so I must be a great-great-uncle to these pups?

Mom is staying up late studying something really hard. She's going to judge a Rally Obedience trials for the local 4-H Fair! Hey I used to do that -- we got all our titles, but I always loved agility better. Mom uses me as a guinea pig to test out Rally courses for the class she teaches. To me it's just another thing I can do to get cheese!!! mmmmmmm..

I better get her to stop and go to bed or she'll be one sleepy judge tomorrow -- later!

Love,
Rudy

Running with a Substitute

2010-08-04T22:31:00.003-04:00

Hi Gang!

Looks like it's time for my monthly report. I'm so slow with the blogging, you know Mom hogs the laptop all the time and I can hardly get it away from her. I do a lot of snoozing instead!
A couple of weeks ago at our last agility trials Mom pulled a hamstring (what is that -- sounds yummy!) while running me that Saturday. She couldn't run with me anymore so she got a friend of ours to run with me on Sunday. Hey I know the course, who needs a human?? I can read numbers... I don't mind running with another person unlike some dogs. I love running and I love people.

Anyway we did really well together and we qualified in Jumpers and almost got it in Standard. Mom got a video of us running in Jumpers. She's feeling better but still she gets people to run me AND Ollie in our classes..

Enjoy --

Mom hopes she's well enough to run me weekend-after-next. She better take care, I run pretty fast!

BTW Ollie may become a daddy very soon -- first girlfriend Jamie is very close to having some. Puppy watch!

Love
Rudy

Just for Fun Friday

2010-07-02T13:27:00.004-04:00

OK I just made that up... Mom found me a CUTE video of a little brown puppy trying to jump for the first time that she thought we should share. That little pup is having such a good time!

Huh, I don't remember my first jump, I was born jumping!

Enjoy and HAPPY JULY FOURTH!!!

Love,
Rudy

Earthdog Fun Weekend

2010-06-19T17:16:00.015-04:00

Hi guys!

No I haven't fallen off the edge of the world; I'm still around but boy is it ever hot today. Mom only lets us out a little while before we have to come back into the cool house. I don't know why; we can sit under the trees but she insists... could it be the tick she found on me the other day?

We all went up to New Jersey over the weekend of May 29/30th for an Earthdog Training and Fun Weekend. We get to see our old buddies and make new friends. This time there were a total of 15 Bedlingtons in attendance! Wow -- I got to see so many other doggies that looked like me, how about that.

I got to meet some great people, they have my year-old little boy Fizz. They all live in Vermont and made the long trip to NJ to see us and have some fun! I'm hugging Fizz's human mommy and his human dad is hugging Fizz's roomie, Willow. I LIKED their Mom, she had the BEST cookies for me!

Fizz is watching me eat cookies...

They had an ice cream truck come for a visit and he was pretty popular with the people! Mom kept wondering if the ice cream guy would come... but she's very bad about sharing any of it with me -- hmpf.

It sure was hot there -- here I am hanging around our tent campsite. Mom was good about keeping me cool. We Bedlies come from the north of England so I'm not a hot-weather type of guy.

There was a good turnout -- here I am in front of some doggies waiting in line for one of the games on Sunday.

Emmy said she wasn't interested in Earthdog anymore so we could go without her, so Mom took her over to our breeder's house and got my 8-month-old son Ringo to try doing Earthdog; he's never even seen a rat before. He gets along with everybody so we had no problem letting him ride in the car with us.
Here's Ringo sizing up the situation before his beginner class started:

Fizz thought if he barked loud enough he'd scare that rat out of its little cage so he could go chase it!

Fizz knew he couldn't get that rat so he's just looking at it:

Ringo, however, watched another Bedly pal of ours (the lady came over from IOWA!) bark at the rat, so he started barking too! Ringo did so well he got to run through a short tunnel a couple of times. That's my boy!

Ollie got to do some training that day, too. He's got some work to do but he's young yet, he'll get it. He's already doing the short underground tunnel and loves to bark at rats under there.

I, on the other paw, got to play the games the day after all the training. I got to play the 'Chuck 'n Pull' game where they have a groundhog skin over a liter bottle and they pull it through a tunnel and we doggies are supposed to grab it and pull it out. It's on a string so the people try pulling it back. I Looooove this game... grrr grrr grrr....

There were lots of other activities and at the end of the day they had the "Jersey Junkyard Challenge" where they put a rat in a PVC tube, mix it up with other empty tubes, and then place them all in a pile of boxes and junk in a fenced ring. Then we doggies get to go inside and find the right tube. Our mommies stand outside and tell the timer (yes it's timed) to stop time if they think we've found the tube. After every turn they'd mix 'em up again.
Mom couldn't get pics of me or Josie playing, but here's one:

This guy was from PA and he's not quite sure what to do!

When it was my turn, I found a tube in a tire and started chewing on the tire to get the tube out, so Mom stopped time and she was right! Of course I found it -- my time was 7 seconds which got me 2nd place. Josie went in and did it in 12 seconds so she was 4th place. I think 6 Bedlingtons were in the top ten, and we all got prizes.. I got a big stuffed skunk toy! Ollie likes it too...

So we all got together and posed for a pic with our club banner. Say cheese!!!
(Mom is the one in the red shirt in front) I'm standing by myself on Mom's left -- she had a hard enough time keeping Ringo, Josie, and Ollie in line!

So that was our fun weekend -- more is going on around here but I'll leave that for another post.

Stay cool and in the shade!
Love,
Rudy

So Long, Mom

2010-05-31T17:10:00.015-04:00

Hello again!

Been a long time since I posted --- so much has happened, where to begin? I've been to 2 or 3 weekend's worth of agility trials, met a doggie blog friend at one trials (small world!), ran at one Earthdog test, and just came back from a weekend of Earthdog training and games. This time of year is pretty busy for Mom; she's always taking us somewhere!

But for now I must mention we lost a member our our family... my doggie mom Clancy. She turned 14 on May 1st, and 2 weeks later suffered a stroke and passed away. All of us were pretty sad about it. She was a grand old girl; the first Bedlington girl to get a Master Earthdog title, got a Novice Rally Obedience title at 12 years old, became a conformation champion, and had 5 litters of puppies, all of whom survived. I'm out of her last litter.
Old uncle Nathan was the first Bedlington ever to get that Master Earthdog title, and now he and Clancy are at the Bridge, chasing rats and rabbits ... Emmy is the most senior of us now and she's 11. She and Clancy were roommates and now Em has all that space to herself in the laundry room.

'Til we meet again, mom.....

Rudy

A Little Down Time...

2010-04-22T09:52:00.015-04:00

Ya know, we're not always running around doing fun things.. we do have our down times...between fun things!

Ollie has discovered social media sites ---

I like to catch a few rays when I can --

On a nice day Mom and Dennis will do dinner outside -- yum, steak!! Dennis' latest hobby is wine-making, so that wine is his.

Josie and Emmy get some beauty sleep --

Uh oh Ollie is bored! (hmm who chewed the fringe off that rug?)

"What -- I'm not going to bother the girls, I'm just sitting here"

So what does he do -- he's making out with Josie!

Get a room!

Don't give me that innocent look... I'm telling!

Ollie spends 'wayyy too much time on the Internet!

Love,
Rudy

Tribute to an Old Friend...

2010-04-09T09:36:00.004-04:00

Hi all --

I'm back again! Mom has GOT to get off that FB site and let me blog more often!

But she did find me a sweet video of an old classmate of mine who passed away very suddenly last year. Jazz was in our agility classes and we saw him and his mom at agility trials a lot. He sure was a lot of fun!
Today is the one-year anniversary of his passing so I'm taking a moment to remember --
(sorry this is cut off -- we can't figure out how to make it FIT)

His mom found another little brown boy and named him Jeter (after the Yankees ballplayer) and he's a cutie. He's learning to follow in Jazz's paw-steps and become another awesome agility dog.

Fun fact: Jazz came from the same kennel as the President's doggie!

Run fast, run clean, old pal...

Love,
Rudy

On the Road Again

2010-03-15T22:36:00.009-04:00

WELL --

I'm finally back to tell you I'm going away! Not too far and not for long; we're going back to Kentucky to that big dog show and agility trials tomorrow morning. Mom let me blog tonight to tell you so you won't think I got buried in a snowbank.

We just had a lot of rain so MOST of our snow is gone, but boy did we ever get a lot. Here is what our back yard looked like while Mom was trying to dig us out some paths back there. She got tired of letting us poop on the deck!

This was the deck, believe it or not --- I'm off to explore the great white yonder!

But the snow didn't stop us from going out and having fun. A few weeks ago we went to a little agility trials, me and Josie and Emmy, at the place where we train. I was very good and the only one messing up was Mom!

I spent my share of time snoozing in a sweater on the couch. Shut that camera off so I can rest!

And this past Sunday, Dennis cooked a lot of food and he and Mom went out to the basset hunt, and while the bassets went out in the fields and woods, they fixed up all that yummy food and set it out for everybody when they came back. Ummm... smoked salmon... pork BBQ...potato salad...cole slaw...cheeeeezzzzz...crab salad...scallops...brownies.. cobbler...yum yum... We didn't get much of a taste; there wasn't much left.

All their friends sure liked it!

Well it's bedtime and Mom promises to get us up at the crack of the crack of dawn.. Josie and I are going to do 4 days of agility and Ollie will be in the dog shows on the other side of the show site. We're going in our breeder's van with 6 other dogs and altogether we'll have 6 people and 2 vehicles. Oh yeah and a trailer behind the van with all our stuff! It's a long drive to Kentucky from here -- at least 10 hours.

I packed my treats and my copy of PlayDog (shhh don't tell Mom!).

Later, sports fans!
Love,
Rudy

A Little Humor, Dog Agility Style...

2010-02-08T14:16:00.002-05:00

Hi all,

It's boring staying in the house all day with only snow to play in outside. It's cold out there! We found a funny video to keep us entertained ..

First the Bernese Mountain Dog shows what it's like to run a BIG dog (ouch!) and then the white Bull Terrier tries to convince her mom she Just-Can't-Do-It today! I recognize her from other trials around here. She's a riot!

This was taken where we trial up in MD a lot. I love to run there.

Love,
Snowed-In Rudy

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

It's the Big One!

2010-02-06T16:25:00.013-05:00

You've all heard of the blizzard that's hitting the VA-DC-MD area? We are right in the target zone, and I think it's the biggest snow storm that I can remember!

Hoo boy have we ever been "SnowPocalypse"'d up one side and down the other! It all started yesterday morning and just now looks like it might be winding down. Mom won't let us in the back yard at all. She says she can't find it! Huh??

You can see it from the upstairs bathroom:

And here's the other part of it:

But you can't see it from the back door:

Those trees in the yard aren't supposed to be touching the ground -- that's at least 2 feet of snow, maybe more. There are garden stakes 2 and 4 feet tall and the tall ones are almost gone in the second picture.

Mom let me go out on the deck and stand in a spot they cleared out to show you what 24 inches is to little ol' me...

The table on the deck in the previous pic measured 23 inches, but Mom just went out with the stick again and now it's officially 26 inches! Who knows what it's like in the yard....

Hey someone get me out of here! (the new measurement is 25 inches on the deck)

We are quite snowbound... the Jeep can get out but not everyone can!

Last night I stood on a snowbank and directed the snow shoveling: (9 inches on the ground then)

And checked around the corner for rabbits, there were none..

Mom's truck was covered,and overnight collected about 14-15 more inches around it ..

We had to be taken out front to do our business all day, and at one point Ollie made a break for it! Don't know where he was going but he said something about running to somewhere warmer...

He didn't get far! Maybe tomorrow Mom will let us find us just how DEEP our back yard really is --

Stay warm guys!
Love,
Snowbound Rudy

Snow Day Fun Video

2010-02-05T13:13:00.002-05:00

Hi all you snowy doggies!

Since we in northern VA are going to get up to 20 to 28 inches of snow this weekend, we found a great video to watch to keep us occupied. After watching this, Mom is getting ideas! Oh noooo...

She WISHES she were as good as this trainer!

Love,
Rudy in the Snow

Punxsutawney Phil Take That!

2010-02-02T14:13:00.003-05:00

Today is Groundhog Day, and that little fuzz-ball just said we're having 6 more weeks of winter! Oh Nooooo.... our area has had more snow so far than the previous 3 winters, and 15 inches over our average! What is that little guy smoking???? This week we're having not one, but two snowstorms and it might keep us from going to agility. OK little buddy, I have an answer for you --

Someone in our town put this video up on You Tube and this is what we have to say to "Phil".... (don't watch if you like groundhogs)

We want spring!

Rudy
(and why did they name the groundhog??)

Dog Show!

2010-01-28T22:38:00.022-05:00

Oh yes, Ollie went to another dog show a couple of weekends ago in Fredericksburg VA. His pal Darcy went along too. We wanted to show you all, like Fenway did, what a dog show is like.

At our breeder's house, Ollie had to give Mr. Darcy the Deerhound a pep talk over the door so he'd be psyched to go in the ring:

Ollie doesn't usually like bigger dogs but he and Darcy are special pals. Here Darcy's thinking about what Ollie told him, to behave in the ring for once!!

So at the show Darcy started looking around -- he's either thinking about getting a massage or he's girl-watching... Hey Darce, get your head in the game!

They were judging Deerhounds first, so Darcy here is getting a pre-show rubdown from his mom (our breeder):

"Now remember what I said -- no shenanigans out there!"

He's standing up lookin' good...that's his pal Selina handling:

And he's just a big gray blur!

There he goes!

Heyyy he won a ribbon! yeaaaa! Good boy Darcy!

The judge loved him so much she came out of the ring afterwards to say how good she thought he was. He still has to grow up a little (hey isn't he big ENOUGH already??) but he should do well.

This dog looks like a bear! He's just a little guy but Mom knows the handler is a good one so he should do well in the future... he's a Leonberger. They get gigantic!!

I bet the same Poodles were at this show that were at Fenway's show in Annapolis...
They are such patient dogs being groomed so much.

This guy looked like he came for some fun --

And this pic came out strange 'cause a clip got in the way over this dog's head, but this is a different-colored Borzoi than we're used to seeing. Our breeder used to show Borzoi but hers were the white type, not like this one. Cool!

Ollie had a long time to wait before his class so he spent the time napping in a crate.

Only a few minutes 'til showtime so it's time for the brush! Here's Jamie, I think she's Ollie's half-sis, getting a little scissoring... most of our grooming had been done already at home.

Now it's Ollie's turn --- not the face! not the face!

Now for a final back-comb and they're all set --

Mom had a tough time getting pics of Ollie 'cause she couldn't get too close to the ring. Everything is blurry if you embiggen the pics but they look alright like they are here...

Long story short, he won Best of Breed! He's such a pretty kid, I must say. They didn't get a pic with the judge, but the weekend before in NYC he won the breed over more dogs, so here's a pic of that win:

Now Ollie needs one more point to get his CH title, so next week they're taking him to NJ again. Good luck little man!

Love
Rudy
(I'm so glad I'm through with dog shows - I had a couple of placements in the Terrier Group and that's plenty for me!)

Christmas around the House and Ollie's present to Mom...

2010-01-02T23:49:00.011-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Mom got sick starting Christmas Eve so she hasn't felt like helping me blog at all for the past week or so, so that's why you haven't heard from me this time. We had a quiet Christmas since we didn't go anywhere for the holidays. We were going to go to Grandma Mary and Grandpa Roy's until Mom got sick so we spent a lot of time helping her get well. Ollie and I took turns keeping her warm and we all helped keep her entertained. Bored humans, well, you know....

Our tree looked pretty good this year -- before she got sick I helped Mom put up stuff on our BIG tree in the living room:

I'll tell you, it sure was hard to put that angel on top of that tree... that big thing drops more needles than a REAL tree! It's so old, every year Mom thinks it's the last.

Anyway, I also helped put together a few deco's on the table in the living room. Much less reaching for me!

We put some decorations and blue LED lights on last year's agility ribbon tree
and put a big red ribbon on top! Notice the Kleenex box -- never very far away from Mom this holiday season...

More decorating, and then last but not least, the Nativity scene:

Hoo that was a lot of work! I curled up with a pink pig stuffie and took a nap after all that...

Our plastic Santa got to come out of the basement and say hi to the world outside. When he's plugged in, he's so bright we don't need any other lights in the yard.

OK, so Ollie had this bright idea he should get Mom a pressie especially for her on Christmas Eve. Trouble was, she couldn't use it. Ollie didn't realize she wanted a live rat from the pet store to practice Earthdog with, not a fresh dead one from under the deck! Mom is not sure everybody wants to see it so she's not going to let me post a pic. Awwww Mom.... it was a big brown one! (MOM: yeek!)

It was so big Mom thought Ollie had a squirrel in his mouth -- nope, wrong type tail. He came up to the deck with it and was nice enough to drop it for Mom. Good boy Ollie -- great little hunter. He's the very first one to find a rat outside. Hmm.. Mom's kinda worried now!

So instead of a rat pic, here's another vid of Ollie, me, and Josie running around when our big snow first started the weekend before Christmas. Ollie's being big and bad, patrolling the back fence, and then I run up to help, and then Josie (who's much darker) runs the fence. More running around, then last but not least we find Clancy in the purple/red/yellow sweater. She gets in an embarrassing position so in the name of privacy, Mom ends the tape...

Mom's feeling much better but Dennis is sick now! We were helping him get warm tonight. Lots of work when the humans get sick. It's what we do..

Happy New Year everyone,
Rudy

Woohoo! Record Snow!

2009-12-20T00:19:00.007-05:00

Hello from Snow City!

It was the best today, all that snow that suddenly appeared and changed our world. Ollie had the most fun, he's the youngest and the cold doesn't affect the young'uns that much. I have a really short haircut right now so I feel the cold more than he does. Boy did we have a blast today!
Hanging out in the kitchen before our adventures outside:

Ollie says he's ready to see the snow, Mom!

Josie didn't think much of the snow -- she also has a short 'do' and even a sweater wasn't enough for her..

She says Hey! Let me in! Now!

Dennis was out bright 'n early shoveling snow so we could run around in the driveway today.

First we had to run around the back yard:

That was fun -- now for the front of the house!

We had at least 20 inches of snow today --- that's taller than we are! That'll be it for now, it's time for bed. More fun later!

Love,
Rudy in the snow...

Yea! Christmas time!

2009-12-18T22:08:00.009-05:00

Hi all!

I can't believe it -- it's SNOWING outside tonight. Mom says it might get so deep we won't be able to see over top of the snow by tomorrow night! I can see lots of fun for us doggies tomorrow in the snow .. At least for me and Ollie, we LOVE it. My doggie mom Clancy and Josie's grandma Emmy don't like it much. Josie can't play with us these days, she's in season so she has to go outside by herself or (she says) we'll drive her crazy. I think she drives US crazy, but that's another story...

We've been doing Christmas. Mom decided this year to put up the big ol' artificial tree (no peeing on this one, it doesn't smell right). It's from the days when old Nathan was a youngster so it's looking pretty worn out and crooked.

Last year if you remember we just had that little tree on the end table with the agility ribbons on it. Glad she decided to do more this year even though we're not allowed in the living room where it is!

I even got to pose under the tree with the crooked snowman guy... he's not some kind of crook, he just bends over and can't straighten up. Mom has days like that too!

Some of the craziest characters show up this time of year. This bunch was flagging down cars at the corner, I have no idea what they wanted but we just drove on!!

We decided to get Mom an early Christmas present. Ollie and I wanted to get this purse for her -- had Dennis get it special made and everything. Mom ABSOLUTELY LOVED it!!!!!
I hope Santa's paying attention and gets us some nice goodies for our stockings!

And I've been a very good boy this year...

Love,
Rudy

Last Agility Trials of the Year

2009-12-07T11:37:00.005-05:00

Well I had a great weekend -- went to our last agility trials of the year in Maryland, and on the second day it snowed! Good thing we were indoors. Ollie came along to keep me company and help keep me warm in that big crate Mom likes to bring. Ollie needs to get out anyway and see new places. He did pretty good -- next year sometime he's supposed to try running a course, too. Betcha he can't run as fast as me! haha.

Here I am relaxing with a friend while waiting to run -- I have a LOT of friends. Mom tried out the video on her new camera -- say cheese! My friend and his wife have German Pinschers. I was wondering, do they pinsch??? I don't want to get THAT close to find out!

So here I am running our first course of the weekend. Wait and see at the weave poles -- I start messing up and then really lose it later on while passing the A-frame. I loved it so much the first time I decided to do it again! Then I tried to leave early by jumping the last jump (out of frame but I come back). Hey it could've been worse; a couple of years ago I used to tear around the ring like a maniac! zzzzoooommmm.... (MOM: the first course of the weekend is ALWAYS a problem)

Made up for it later by being a good boy in Jumpers and qualifying. The next day I ran well in Standard but missed that dog walk contact AGAIN(for all you agility fans you'll know what I mean!) so there went that. Then we went home 'cause Mom was getting nervous about the snow, so I didn't get to do one last Jumpers run. Aw, Mom! Now I have to wait a month or two before we go again. Bummer --

On Thursday I had a major haircut - I hadn't had a trim since September so I was VERY fuzzy. Before her camera died Mom took this pic of me in the tub at our groomer/breeder's. I don't even look like myself there.

So I was aerodynamic for the agility trials without all that ol' hair. Works every time!

Love,
Rudy

Another Birthday Boy!!

2009-12-02T19:53:00.019-05:00

Hi everydoggie!

Ollie here -- Rudy said I could blog this time since it's MY birthday today -- Mom says I am one year old. She says she can't believe how much I grew since I came to this house. I can! I couldn't get up on the couch and lay on Mommy's lap when I was a little baby, and now I can jump up and lay on her anytime. I'm a big boy now!

Mom makes us wait for-ever for our supper.. I wait by my bowl in my special place in the kitchen every night. The rules are we eat where we're supposed to and this is my place. I like it 'cause I can watch Mom's every move...

She's fixing some of the yummiest food in the whole wide world. It's some recipe she got on the computer by some guy who's a vet and has a recipe for some tasty doggy food that goes on our kibble. It's supposed to be really good for doggies but I don't care, I LOVE it. We're sharing this plate full, but I could eat the whole thing if I could!

Oh this is the best time of day!

Any leftovers up there?

We have some Christmas lights on the deck already so Mom wanted to show you all how they look. If she would go in the yard and take the picture it would be better but it's raining tonight!

All the other doggies like an after-dinner nap so it's the perfect time for a little roll on the floor with my favorite toy --

I like to bite it hard and make it squeak so loud the people have to turn the TV volume way up high! Hahahahaha -- try to sleep through this, Rudy!

This is what Mom and Dennis had for their supper -- PIZZA!!! We get to share some of it. Mmmmmm.. if they could make some pizza dog food that would be heaven!

So after a while I got a bit tired and got up on the couch and sat by Mom -- got a pet from Dennis as he walked by -- Thanks!

Great-grandma Clancy almost didn't make it onto this bed, ya think?

And Auntie Em is hogging this whole doggy hammock. She needs to do some sit-ups to tighten those abs, too!

Even I couldn't resist a little nap-time on Mom, my favorite pillow!

Rudy insisted to Mom that I wear that silly birthday hat even though he wouldn't for his birthday. He said 'The kid has to wear it this time!'. Now I know -- I hate this thing! I had to pay my dues...

This was a bit blurry but heeere's my Frosty Paws ice cream! Happy First Birthday to me!

And we dove right in -- Josie doesn't like her stuff frozen, so she's licking out a couple of the containers in her bowl. Such a princess!

Whew -- good eatin' tonight. Mom promised she'd take me to PetsMart so I can pick out something for my birthday, but I think it's time for another nap right now ...

Good night all!
Love,
Ollie Ollie Oxenfree
(Mom LOVES to call me that!)

Ollie and the Deerhound

2009-11-20T22:59:00.012-05:00

Hi all --

Not much happening at the time, but I thought you'd like to see Ollie and our Scottish Deerhound pal Mr. Darcy when they were at a dog show up in MD in October. They had a lot of fun!

Ollie was all dude-ed up and pretty. He's all growed up, at least on the outside. He's still a pain in the neck if you ask me! Mom still loves him though. But she loves me BEST! (haha Ollie)

So they were hanging out on the benches across from the vendors after the judging -- Ollie won and got a point in the dog classes -- with nothing to do...

Sooo, they got bored, and then started to play...

Bitey face!

'Ooh, I can get on top of you!'

'Oh no maybe not...'

'What a big face you have!'

'Agh he's benched me!'

'More close-face action...'

Ollie came home and said I was easier to play with, at least my head isn't twice as big as his!
Josie and I spent the weekend relaxing; we didn't care much anyway.

Enjoy the weekend!

Rudy

Oh it's my Birthday!

2009-11-16T22:55:00.002-05:00

Well it's time to wake up now, Mom says it's my birthday --- we've all been so busy on weekends, we just sleep a lot inbetween times. Meanwhile Mom's been taking pictures and NOT updating my blog like she promised. WELL!

I put my paw down and refused to let Mom put that ridiculous party hat on my head, she does it to us every year! She didn't try this time, but she put my name on my birthday Frosty Paws ice cream. It's hard to find the letters in candles so she used a star instead of the "U" and it worked out OK.. the candles were slightly used from Mom's birthday cake from last week...

Oh yeah, I approve!

A quick taste, then it's off to the kitchen for the party --

Everybody dig in! Josie says Yuck, not that stuff -- she's a party pooper, she doesn't care for doggie ice cream. She licked it a little bit, and then her grandma Emmy swooped down and ate Josie's ice cream for her!

(left to right: Clancy, Emmy, Josie, me, and Ollie)

Mom had her birthday cake LAST week. Sure looked good! It was an ice cream cake too but she wouldn't share it with us... Dennis was lucky HE got any at all!

Emmy had to take a nap after eating her and Josie's ice cream -- ya think she had enough to eat??

Love,
Rudy

Dog Show pic

2009-10-26T23:55:00.004-04:00

Ollie wanted me to post a shot of him all cleaned up and pretty since he's been at dog shows lately. We haven't gotten his latest show pics but here's one of him a little over 3 weeks ago at a show in MD. Mom is bribing him to stand still and look pretty but it isn't working!

He has so much to learn... and after he gets home all he wants to do is jump in the garden and get DIRTY. Well, he's learned something after all!

Love,
Rudy

Post-Montgomery Earthdog Test

2009-10-23T23:47:00.012-04:00

Hi again --

Mom's getting lazy in her old age and she can't use that 'no camera' excuse anymore so I don't know what to do with her! I'm laying on her foot so she can't leave this PC without blogging something instead of visiting that social networking site she seems to love more than ME. Arrrrrr....

Here's a better pic of me and my little girl Shana from Connecticut when we met at the all-terrier agility trial. I'm a proud papa! She's a cute baby --

My Bedly pal Titus earned his MACH title, like I said earlier, and Mom made me sit next to his MACH bar (awarded to every dog who MACHs) so I'd know what I'm supposed to be working for... ahem... hey I can't qualify on EVERY run! It was chilly so I was wearing a snazzy sweater.

So we got home that Thursday night, and the following Monday morning (Oct. 5) we left at oh-dark-30 (4:30 AM to be exact but who's counting) to get up to the day-after-Montgomery Earthdog test in NJ. It's always held the day after the Montgomery Kennel Club all-terrier dog show in Pennsylvania.

Josie and Ollie went with us; Josie went in Senior for the first time and I did Master as usual. We found another Bedly pal of ours from Pennsylvania named Savanna and guess what -- she qualified in Junior! We met her in May at a practice at this same place. yeah! One more leg for her JE title! She participated in the Earthdog demo at the AKC Meet the Breeds in NYC on Oct 17th and 18th.

There was somebody walking around that Mom knows with the coolest Earthdog-type hat. Guess what's on it. She and her Lakeland Terrier got a ribbon -- should've gotten something for that hat too!

This was the Senior Earthdog tunnel set-up that Josie did. The judge and rat steward are on the right and the handler and dog are at left near the tunnel entrance. I have a lot of fun there, but on warm days everyone would rather be over by the swimming pool in the background!

Josie tried her best but she left the rats in Senior too early, thinking she had heard Mom calling her out of the tunnel. Check your hearing aid, you silly girl!!

And there was a cool vendor that Mom likes. They have a line of Earthdog collars, leashes, and shirts that we get, plus you can see a ton of neat-o collars and things. Love that red tent!

I love to sniff the daylily planter area just in case. One memorable day we were standing around it listening to the judge do his orientation speech and lo and behold a RABBIT bolted out of there! I instinctively went to chase it but >MOM< had a leash on me and wouldn't let me go for it. What a buzz kill!! Her friends said she should've let me go even though Bunny ended up running right through the Junior tunnel area where some dogs were working at the time. It would have been exciting to say the least.. so I come every time and reminisce...

And to top off the day, I qualified in Master again for the 22nd time! (it's only 4 legs to get the ME) I just love it, Mom loves to watch me do Master. You can see all the stickies I picked up from running around in the underbrush. Good thing I'm not a show dog anymore, that would've been awful... We didn't see those dog cookies that the judge was holding. Were they really people cookies and she ate them herself?? Hmmm..

It was a good day all around and Mom was really glad she brought us. Ollie says he wants to come do this next year. Then Mom will have 3 dogs to run in Earthdog! She better start working out ---

See you later!
Love,
Rudy

Our week at the All-Terrier Agility Trials!

2009-10-08T19:27:00.025-04:00

Hi everybody!

I've been offline a while I know but Mom broke down and bought us a CAMERA so we're back in the game! About time, we've been busy...

Last week was the big all-terrier agility trials in PA that we love to go to. Nothin' but terriers. Usually at a 'regular' trials the bigger dogs outnumber us, but last week there were more 8-inch dogs running than the usual 20's! It was amazing. I saw some of my Bedly buddies there and met some new ones -- well let's start with the pictures --

The weather was great, nice and cool like I like it. This was the scene first thing in the morning. Already there are people waiting for the action to begin.

Our tent was just to the right of these tents. Mom says it was like Woodstock for terriers. OK I'm too young to remember that Mom, how about you????

It's our ol' camping tent but we had a hotel room at this event!

This lady had 2 Airedales to run and she did a great job with them. Here she's running one in the Excellent FAST class where you make up your own course and have to send your dog 'waaay out (compared to the Novice course!) and get points for doing that 'send' right.

Here she is again later on in a Standard run -- it's hard to produce a good action shot with this digital camera, but you can see her Airedale at the far left on the dogwalk!

And there he/she goes off the dogwalk!!! woohoo! (oops this is from another course -- see if you can tell the difference...)

This was the Open FAST course on Tuesday; it's similar to the Novice one I ran with a little less distance. I think I could've done that Open send too which is good 'cause I got my Novice FAST title with our run that morning. Yea me!

Well there was quite a wait for me while Josie ran her Open courses so I just hung out 'til then...

Our Scottie pals Jeep and Einstein were there, so here's one of them getting ready to run:

OK Scotties don't fly as fast down dogwalks.. so what...

He sure was cute going through the weave poles...

I got to meet my baby daughter Sheyna from Connecticut. She's 4 months old and her people just adore her. She was kinda shy so I just stood there 'til they could catch her being still!

One day our Deerhound buddy Mr. Darcy got his mom (our breeder) to bring him up to see us run. He's heard so much about our agility stuff he wanted to see. This is Josie's sister's mom holding him. He wanted her to come see too!

We kept telling everyone that he was a Scottie on steroids... heh heh..

Our other Bedly buddies also ran -- this could be Daimler or Bogie getting ready to run. Wonder what's in that BAG?? Did they go shopping too?

And we saw the most amazing thing last week -- there's a fire station on the show grounds and they took out this truck and stretched it Waaaaaaay tall! Hey there's a guy up there! How's he going to get down now? A little boy and his daddy stopped to see that sight --

We had some little visitors too --

We sure were tired at the end of each day. Josie and Ollie are hogging Mom's bed at the hotel. I had the bed with Mom each night - those two had to sleep in CRATES - ha ha!

Our pal Colby who lives with Sheyna had it best -- at the trials he napped on his own air mattress. I just had a dog bed in a crate. No fair!

I did let the others share the bed when Mom wasn't in it.. Ollie's on top of the covers...

Now and then at the trials the timer wouldn't work right and the judge had to come help. It happened in one of Josie's runs, the judge said the timer wasn't working so they just gave us the standard time as measured by the judge. We just wanted that qualifying ribbon!

Josie did really well -- she got 4 blue ribbons and 2 more legs each in Open Standard and Open Jumpers and got both titles! She also got some rat toys as seen at her feet. I don't think Mom's going to let anybody chew 'em up though!

We had a group photo made of all us Bedlingtons. Mom's at the far right holding Josie on the left, Ollie in the middle, and I'm on the end, lying down patiently waiting for these crazy dogs to hold still!

BTW the dog on the far left and his Mom got their first MACH title (Master Agility Champion) so we celebrated!!! You have to get sooo many points and qualify soo many times for it, it's a real achievement. It'll be YEARS before Mom and I get that good! Yea Titus!!! (he's from Boston)

That was our awesome week -- we hated to have to go home. We'll be back next year!

More later (we did Earthdog on Monday after the big all-terrier dog show, too)
Love,
Rudy

Let's Dance!

2009-09-23T11:41:00.002-04:00

Mom found this doggie dance clip online and I think I can do that -- maybe... Josie does her prancing in place when she's excited but this guy has ALL the moves and some fancy white feet!

Go RiverDog!

Love,
Rudy

Look at Him Now!

2009-09-15T14:03:00.004-04:00

Hi gang --

Got this cool new pic of Ollie's win on September 4th at the dog show in New Jersey. Mom and our breeder went there, and Mom showed Ollie in the regular classes and he won Best of Winners (beating the best girl dog as well as being the best dog in the regular classes).

Then they had the Puppy Group judging. That's when the best puppy in your breed goes up against the best puppies in your own group, like ours is the Terrier Group. Ollie was the only Bedlington pup entered, anyway.

Mom decided our breeder should show Ollie since Mom doesn't feel experienced enough to show under such circumstances. The judge was the chairman of the AKC Board of Directors and he knows Bedlingtons pretty well. That was part of it! So Mom hid at the back of the tent and just about fainted when he picked Ollie! woohoo! He beat an Airedale, a Norwich, an American Staffordshire, a Staffordshire Bull, and a Cairn Terrier. Mom thought the Aire would win!

Here's the win pic. Doesn't he look all growed up now??? And what a cool silver tray he got.. Best Puppy in Show went to a big Newfie puppy. Mom was standing to the side calling his name to make him perk up and look pretty ---

That's a long way from the funny little fuzzy thing Mom brought home this past winter.

He's 9 months old now and last night he started his first beginner agility class. He's not going to be just another pretty face -- he's got to run agility and do Earthdog and Rally Obedience just like me, at least!

Love,
Proud Uncle Rudy

The Pics Are In!

2009-09-10T19:04:00.015-04:00

Hello again!

The pics just arrived from last weekend and I'm pleased as could be. They must have a new camera 'cause they got some good ones!

Mom entered me in that FAST class to work off some of my early-morning energy. I don't know what she's saying to me but it might be that I better listen to her or else..

Wheee! This is fun, especially early in the morning. I'm all wet down 'cause I tend to get too hot in summer weather and then I don't run so fast.

That moment before I head down the A-frame -- good grief I have grass thingies all over me!

Here I've got that 'look' in my eye that Mom recognizes too well. It means Watch out, Rudy's gone crazy!
Actually this was the second obstacle in the 'send' where Mom had to literally chase me from where the A-frame was to where the 'send' started. The first send obstacle was a simple jump. I was getting ALL cranked up.

And here is when I see Mom calling and kick in the afterburners. I can't believe I managed to stay upright here 'cause it looks like I'll fall down...

I got a second place in this FAST class so that made us happy. The next day they took pics of our Standard run, and here we are getting set to go. I must have been trying to flirt with the leash-runner lady (they pick up the leash and carry it to where we finish so we can leave the ring with leash ON).

I was tired of Mom's bossing me around all the time, so I did a little goose-stepping on the dog walk just to get back at her! I don't think she even noticed...

So just to rub it in some more, I started running straight instead of listening to her and made her work! She really had to keep an eye on me before I started making up my own course. (hahaha I do that!)
It was hotter that day than the day before so I had a harder time running..

So maybe I'll run in this tunnel, but will I come out, Mom? Guess!! (we did qualify in this run even though I was being hard-headed)

Josie was also there and she enjoyed her runs. Here she's getting on the teeter, one of her FAVORITE obstacles. Some dogs never learn to love it but not Josie!

She didn't qualify in anything and wanted to sniff the ground a lot, but she did jump most everything! She wins the prize for finding the bunny poop in the weaves. She's trying to find some in this picture...

But she certainly was cute -- she wants to do it some more, she told me.

We ARE going to another trials this weekend, so we're practicing in class and in the back yard some more. I enjoy class MUCH more than that boring old back yard... Josie does, too. (MOM: it's because class is air-conditioned!) Ollie will come with us to see how we do it. He's a party dude and he fits right in!

Have a great weekend everybody --

Love,
Rudy

A Banner Day a the Trials!

2009-09-06T18:31:00.005-04:00

Hi all!

Sorry to have taken so long to write anything; nothing much to report but Mom still doesn't have a decent camera (come ON woman!). This weekend we went to another local agility trials and it was F-U-N!

Saturday I was in the Novice FAST class (Fifteen and Send Time it's called and what sense does that make?). You make up your own course for points as indicated by the judge with flags on every obstacle and to get enough points to qualify you have to try the 'send', all within a certain time limit. The 'send' is where there's tape on the ground and your human has to stay behind it and send you to the right obstacle in the right way. Sometimes we doggies make it tough on our humans and have some fun with them! ('what? where did you say to go? Let me come back to you so I can hear you better')

Mom did it right and we completed the 'send' and got plenty of points to qualify and we got second place! Wooohoo! One more qualify and we get the Novice FAST (NF) title. I ran so fast she had to chase me to the 'send', hollering at me all the way to tell me which jump to jump. Haha she was tired after that.
This is fun!

Then Mom kept messing up (MOM: oh no Rudy you messed up too) the rest of the day so neither I nor Josie qualified in anything. She had enough friends to yack with to have some fun so she wasn't feeling bad. Josie was in the Open classes, Standard and Jumpers. It was a nice HOT sunny day and we were in the tent with some Corgi pals we know from class.

Today I wasn't entered in the FAST class so I could save my energy for the regular Excellent classes. Boy did I ever make Mom work for that Standard Q! (the qualify)
I tried to run behind her, I ran 'waaay out so she had to yell at me to come back, I pretended I didn't know where to go jump...! She wasn't sure if we did good or what, but her friends said we did good. Mom didn't even want to know at that point.

So later on we did the Jumpers class and I made her work again 'cause I LOVE to jump far out and run wide! I think the President heard her yelling at me all the way to Washington DC! This time she knew we did well and qualified so she was happy. Josie ran better today but still didn't qualify but she said she'll do better next time.

Mom finally looked and found out we DID qualify in Standard, so that meant that we earned our first agility Double Q!! That means we ran clean in both classes and have 1 of 20 Double Q's required for that holy grail of agility, the Master Agility Champion title, or the MACH. One down, nineteen to go! Mom was so happy, now she says she knows it can happen. Oh I've been saying that for a long time, she just messes up too much!

We have a bunch of pics on order so I'll have to report in later to show 'em to you.
Now Mom owes me another piece of agility equipment...she gets me stuff when I do really well. I'm going to keep on doing well just to make her suffer. She's going to need to buy us a shed to keep all this stuff in!
Maybe one of these ---

Naah, I want a FANCY place of my own so I can have the ladies over to MY house and party! Like this one --

Hmm.. something tells me I should get that MACH first...

Anyway, here's an older pic of me at an outdoor trials -- more to come when that order of pictures comes in!

By the way, if anyone wants a Bedlington pup like Ollie, here's your chance. His littermate brother is coming up for sale again; his family decided they weren't dog people after all so he's coming back to our breeder. He's 9 months old and was the first pick of the litter so you know he's pretty. He's a blue, so that means he's kinda gray like Josie is instead of beige/brown like me. Let Mom know if you're interested and we can give you the details. If he's anything like Ollie he's a sweet little guy and very smart. He could do just about anything you'd want!

Later!

Love,
Rudy

Still Running!

2009-08-17T21:30:00.016-04:00

Hi guys!

I'm still running those agility trials; Mom got these pics back from last month and since we just did another trials this past weekend, we'll show you these before we get the new pics.

It was just Mom and me again; no Josie or Emmy -- Emmy's pretty much retired but she comes out once in a while for fun.

We had to start through a tire obstacle; this was pretty of me:

I took off faster than Mom expected!! hahahaha, she had to get the lead out real fast!

Now through the tunnel where Mom's waiting for me at the table. Looks like I'm balancing on one foot here...

Then it's hop hop hop through the weaves...

and Zooommm over another jump ---

Then I start my one-foot balancing act again ..

And hit that A-frame... that'll teach it!

Sit and grin at Mom while she's panting heavily (she'll never admit that!)

I went flying through the tunnel and then took OFF after the jump towards a wrong jump .. Mom had to call me hard to get my attention, and I'm turning at full speed to get to where she is.

I barely made it! The judge called it and Mom's friends said that wasn't cool -- no it wasn't! Argh... I was skidding like crazy.

Over a teeter, and here I'm doing my amazing levitating dog act:

I had a LOT of fun running, worrying Mom if I would try the zoomies again. She was lucky this time that I didn't!

So hey, judge, judge this! (bwaahahahahaaaa) Love that butt shot...

That's enough for now -- hope it was entertaining! Stay cool everyone, we're just hanging out in the house avoiding the heat as much as possible ..

'til next time,
Rudy

True Colors Thursday

2009-08-06T10:55:00.006-04:00

So this True Colors is a 'free' day; that is, we pick our own colors. Going through what I have, I'm picking pink and green.

This is an incomplete doll kitchen set that Mom found at a flea and antique market a few years ago. Now you wonder why in the world would she pay $$ for that -- she says it's the exact same as a set she had as a kid and has the Christmas morning pic to prove it. (we'll spare everyone that picture) The little oven has a light inside that works! She thinks she still has a chair and the refrigerator for it somewhere, but she's missing the kitchen sink...

And then there's Mom and her cousin wearing almost the same color scheme as that kitchen set! How weird is that --

One last pic -- we tried to bury Emmy in pink-and-green but couldn't find enough toys to do the job....

Cloudy and rainy today -- I'm so bored!

Love,
Rudy

Anatomy of an Agility Run ...

2009-07-28T22:05:00.019-04:00

Hi all!

Finally got some agility pics back, this one is from June. It's a Standard run and Mom messed up AGAIN, but what else is new.. we did qualify in something, must have been in Jumpers that day.

Getting set up at the start line. Mom always tells me to Sit and Stay -- why doesn't she just tell me the course and I'll go run it myself! I could do a better job..

Flying out of the tunnel -- gotta catch up with Mom or she'll beat me...

Hey can't we stop for a soda out of the machine? Mom?

La te da te da... wonder what's for supper tonight? Lots of air time over this jump..

What? You wanted me to do the weaves over there? Did I overshoot it??

Mom's applauding my weaving efforts -- she BETTER appreciate it!

And here's what I was zooming out of the weaves for!

Wow I can tell Mom's wanting me to turn left now ---

Aha -- over the triple jump and to the teeter --

Making sure I hit that yellow contact zone or the judge will give us a fault!

And it's a 'down' on the table. I can do either -- no prob, Mom!

And a dash to the dog walk -- it ought to be dog RUN, we're not supposed to walk it, really, or we're too slow!

Mom's real intent that I get IN that tunnel! Ok Ok I get it...

Hey where'd she go?

Well wouldn't you know she messed me up again -- should have called me as I was coming out of that chute -- so I'd know which way to turn. I ended up running a circle around the A-frame and THEN I found her at the tire jump. I wasn't in the right spot to jump it so I ran around a little and then threw myself through it! See what I have to deal with???

Well it wasn't pretty but we made it. Mom learned ANOTHER lesson. I hope she's writing this all down! I have more fun when she has her act together!

We had a good time last weekend, qualified in one Standard course like this one and another time in a Jumpers run (no stuff like the teeter or A-frame or dog walk) so Mom was happy. No, I was happy 'cause she didn't mess me up!!! Our next trials isn't 'til mid-August so I have a couple of weeks to rest up and stay cool. Josie and Emmy will join me then and we'll ALL have some fun. (MOM: And I get to run my legs off!)

Love,
Rudy

True Colors Thursday -- Emerald

2009-07-23T11:00:00.009-04:00

Another Thursday and being camera-less it's a challenge, but since it's EMERALD it's not that difficult...thanks Blue for having True Colors Thursday.

One of our sleepy-blankets is a bit green -- this is a car trip we took to NJ for some Earthdog fun a while back.

We celebrated a birthday with some green bottles --

And I was TOTALLY embarassed to wear this stuff for St. Patrick's Day...
I was the laughing stock of the agility school that night!

And this is "our" emerald, CH Jewelbox Emerald, born on St. Patrick's Day. Yep, that's her name, ya know her and ya gotta love her -- Josie's grandma Emmy, 10 years young!

Another agility trials for me this weekend. Got more action-packed pics coming from the previous one, whenever we get them. I can really fly -- just ask the photographer!

Love,
Rudy

RIP Gidget the Taco Bell Chihuahua

2009-07-22T15:17:00.001-04:00

Oh nooo, one of my favorite doggies has passed!

Rudy

(from the Net)

ASK NOT FOR WHOM THE TACO BELL TOLLS... IT TOLLS FOR THEE

In a marketing category crowded with creepy plastic Burger Kings, endlessly cheery Ronald McDonalds and spelling-disabled Chik-Fil-A cows, it's sometimes hard to remember what true fast-food royalty once looked like. It's been a long time since the late Dave Thomas and Clara Peller trod the boards. But Gidget, the gentle-yet-firm Taco Bell Chihuahua, was the real thing: the commercial face of the brand who inspired not just hunger, but joy; not just commerce, but compassion.

Although Gidget's softly accented voice was provided by Argentine actor Carlos Alazraqui, her eyes were what sold the goods. Somehow, looking into those big, brown pools of sympathy, viewers knew she wouldn't sell them a bum burrito or a chintzy chalupa. Like any good pitchman (or pitchwoman, or pitchdog), she put herself on the line, using her unspoken integrity to capture the hearts and inspire the trust of a generation of fast-food consumers.

And, ultimately, Gidget was well rewarded for her efforts. As humans, we may look askance at her short 15 years upon the earth; however, it is worth remembering that in dog years, she was a centenarian who lived a good, long life. Gidget died this morning, having spent her last days basking in the lazy warmth of a southern California sun, according to her trainer, Sue Chipperton.

Although Gidget's Taco Bell gig ended in 2000, she continued to enjoy a successful Hollywood career, appearing as Bruiser's mom in Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde. But for millions of Taco Bell fans, she will always be the ambitious canine who led a fast food revolution to capture our hearts -- and stomachs.

Te queremos, Gidget. Rest in peace.

Off to do more Agility...

2009-07-17T18:01:00.007-04:00

Hi all!

As promised, Mom's getting me ready to go up to MD early tomorrow morning. She gave me a bath and blow-dry... she says the photographer will be there and I have to look smashing for my public! She's also taking me over to our breeder's this evening to see if Miss Mischief wants a date (glad I got a bath after all!), and to borrow that nice air-conditioned car so I can ride up to MD in style! (aahhhh)

The pics came back from our July 4th weekend agility trials here in Virginia, here are a few:

I think this is the Standard course we did well on. I'm blasting off over the first jump in my usual earflaps-up style!

No time to look at the view up here -- gotta get down the other side!

And blasting off the teeter, looking at the next obstacle! Mom loves this shot --

Get those weaves!

OK now I'm psyched --- have a great weekend everyone!

Rudy

True Colors Thursday -- Peach

2009-07-16T14:15:00.007-04:00

It's True Colors Thursday and I haven't played in a long time, but we found some pics that might fit in with this week's color. Thanks to Blue who sponsors True Colors Thursday!

I guess you could call some of this 'peach', even if it is dog shampoo and conditioner.

Josie and her crate are a little bit peachy --

Ohhh yeah, can't forget that lovely peach comforter on that big bed of ours!
(that tie is so not me don't you think?)

Peach is everywhere, where you least expect it. Here's a pic Mom took of the annual Virginia Foxhound Show last year near our house when they were pinning the Juniors and someone was there in a peach blouse taking pictures. I know, the kids and hounds are more interesting!

This weekend is another agility trials for me. It's indoors thank goodness, up in MD where we usually go. Can't run when it's hot - I can't sweat so I'm useless in the heat! (MOM: Well I can and I'm still useless in the heat!)

Love,
Rudy

Big Daddy Rudy

2009-07-13T15:49:00.009-04:00

Hi everyone!

Mom found some pics to use so I can post something again. Last week my puppies started going to their new homes and Mom's a little sad but happy for them. One went to Pennsylvania, one just went up to Connecticut, this week one's supposed to go up to Massachusetts, and one lucky girl gets to stay at our breeder's house! Mom can see her all the time if she wants.

Here is little Blueberry who's staying. She's about 5(?)pounds and very cute according to Mom. She used to be "Lion-tail female" 'til we figured out a name for her. Every litter gets a pattern shaved on their tails so we can tell them apart before they go home, and this one had a lion-tail pattern. Cute!

Just for comparison, this is the resident Deerhound at the kennel. He's a year old and almost 100 pounds. He can easily take things off the kitchen counter without really trying -- just sniff and grab! He was too big to play with us Bedlingtons when he was only 10 weeks old.

Some wildlife stopped by -- he was lost and needed directions. He was a little guy even for a fox! He wasn't telling us how much he weighed...

And I hear I'm going to have another 'date' soon! AND -- it's Ollie's mom I'm having the date with. How cool is that? I'm going to have to get a job to help support all these kids I'm having. Puppy food isn't cheap, and then try to pay for all that education and health care ---

All those kids to support....

I haven't told Ollie yet about my upcoming date with his momma. He's just now discovering women but he doesn't know yet what to do with them. Haha!

Love,
Rudy

Agility Cartoon!

2009-07-02T10:12:00.002-04:00

Hi all,

Talk about the lazy days of summer -- Mom's been lazy about letting me BLOG. sigh!
We found a cute cartoon in the paper yesterday, thought you might like it.

Love,
Rudy

Ollie's First Dog Show

2009-06-15T09:50:00.011-04:00

Hi all!

Ollie tells me he had fun yesterday at his first dog show! Mom had to handle him after all, our breeder was going to do it but Baby Ollie got too nervous before going in the ring. Good thing ya bought that new outfit at Kohl's Saturday night, huh Mom??

He got to meet other Bedlingtons who show and they were really helpful:

Cousin Vegas was there telling him to look pretty and have fun. He's had a LOT of show experience and was just visiting that day. I used to show against him now and then.

Ollie getting a final comb-out before the long walk to the ring.

Ollie said he was SO relieved to see Mom and have her take him in. He's waiting with Jamie, who's Josie's half-sister, who ended up winning 2 points in her class. Yea!

"Ooh this isn't so bad. And Mom's wearing a DRESS -- wow!"

"mmphfmmfphhh.. she put her finger in my mouth!"

"Yeah, let's get away from her!"

"And here we come back again... hey Mom it's hot out here.."

Since Oll was the only 6-9 month puppy entered, he won a blue ribbon! Yeaaa!

So then he had to come back for Winners Dog against the other males who won their classes. He was the littlest guy there and so young.. but so pretty, everyone said. Didn't win but that's totally OK. He did beautifully, Mom said.

That ring in PA was so wet. Mom didn't want to get down on the ground to stack Ollie but she had to. Ew! His next show is in southern MD in 2 weeks with Mom handling again, probably.

Mom also said I was lots worse to handle at my first dog show -- I wouldn't even walk up to the judge, I was afraid of him! I think Mom's making that up. Who me, afraid?? (MOM: No, you WERE afraid of the judge!) I can't believe it...

Next weekend it'll be MY turn to shine -- agility again! 'Bout time, I'm getting bored..

Love,
Rudy and guest blogger Ollie

Puppy Mania!!

2009-06-11T21:46:00.009-04:00

Hey, I promised puppy pics and here they are finally. My boys and girls are now about 4 weeks old, eyes open and toddling around. Mom says they don't chew real hard now but their little nails are sure sharp when you're wearing shorts and they try to climb on you. They'll all turn gray/white as they grow up, but I was born chocolate brown so I'm technically a liver color. All my brothers and sisters were born black except me. I'm special, I was more like my daddy!

It's a little hard to get a lot of detail with them being so black, so click on the pics if you want to see more clearly.

Hanging around the food bowl -- they've discovered dog food tastes good..

Now how many puppies can you fit in one bowl?

Ohh boy -- urp -- that was gooood food!!!

Hey where's the bowl? It was here a minute ago..

So they all started a search party...

Ah! Here's Mom -- she'll do!

I love you Mommy!

Aren't they sweet... I have lots more but that's enough for one post. I'll put up some more later.

Love,
Rudy

2009-06-09T23:21:00.004-04:00

Well since I'm not doing anything exciting at the moment, let me talk about Ollie's upcoming debut in the show ring!

PREMIUM LIST
98th and 99th All-Breed Dog Shows
& Obedience Trial & Rally Trial
(Unbenched)
BACK TO BACK SHOWS
Bryn Mawr Kennel Club, Inc.
(Member of the American Kennel Club)
Ludwigs Corner Horse Show Association Grounds
Ludwigs Corner, Pennsylvania 19380
(On Rt. 100, North of Intersection with Rt. 401
4 miles North of PA Turnpike, Exit 23)
SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2009
SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2009
THESE SHOWS WILL BE HELD OUTDOORS
Show Hours: 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. Each Day

Yep, Ollie's going to get pretty on Saturday and then on Sunday he'll go up to PA with Mom and our breeder Linda to the big dog show! We'll get pics of that. He's going to be in the 'Puppy 6-9 months' class and I think there's going to be at least one other little Bedlington puppy there. We'll see how Ollie behaves for Mom!

Our big Deerhound buddy who lives at the kennels will be showing there, too. He's about 10 times taller than any of us Bedlingtons but he's very gentle.

Wish them luck!

Love,
Rudy

A Really Fine Day to be Outside

2009-05-31T22:47:00.016-04:00

Whoa was it ever beautiful outside! It was a rainy start to our Sunday (Mom was grumpy as we got to the agility trials) but she got better as the sun came out.

We got some pics from the show photographer so you can see just how much fun I had.
We had entered the FAST class first (well you'd think every class was a fast class, that's what you want, but this was a game). We had to make up our own course but each obstacle has a point value and you're supposed to get so many points and also try the distance challenge. That's when Mom can't cross this tape on the ground but she has to direct me over a few things while I'm a distance away from her. Today she finally understood the rules so we had a blast. We got the most points in the shortest amount of time and we got the blue ribbon! Doesn't happen often, let me tell you.

Then it was time to run my Standard course.

Gettin' ready, and I'm grinning in anticipation:

OK Go!!!

I clear Jump Number One with the greatest of ease...

Then I blast through the chute:

Eventually I go over this jump where I can show off my superb jumping form in front of the judge:

Then I flash my winning smile to the audience while posing on the table:

Then it's up and over the A-frame!

And over the dreaded triple jump that's right after the A-frame and right before the corner of the ring. Lots of dogs told me they had trouble with this one. They didn't jump high enough and knocked part of it down. Uh oh, that's not good! As you can see I had no problems!

I'm coming out of the tunnel and looking for my next obstacle here:

That's all the pics but I finished in fine form and we got a ribbon. Mom was happy, and in Jumpers we ran really fast (Mom says I beat her again!), but she messed us up at the last jump. Ohh nooo! It was a fast run though. We'll go again in 3 weeks up to Maryland to try our luck. Ollie came with us to see everything but he wanted to take a nap after a while. He's still a baby!

Going to go rest up now --

Love,
Rudy
(p.s. my puppies are opening their eyes now! Mom says they're adorable...)

Ugh not more Rain...

2009-05-29T16:26:00.002-04:00

Hi all,

This is ridiculous, more rain today?? Mom's promised me a nice sunny weekend and so far I see no sign of it. That rain better clear out or she's got some explaining to do!

Since our camera won't work anymore it's been hard to blog about anything! I'm waiting for some pics we can post from our latest agility trials and Earthdog weekend that other people took of us.
We did have some climbing-out-of-the-pen issues with Ollie lately. He can get out of the big pen we have for him. We found a video of another Bedly puppy that also climbs.
Picture a brown Bedly puppy climbing out of an ex-pen in this video!

So we borrowed a huge crate for a Borzoi (Russian Wolfhound) which is tall and has a top for it and that stopped that! It's like a big ROOM for Ollie now. He loves it!
He'll be 6 months old on June 2nd and he's getting to be a big boy. His first show is on June 14th in Pennsylvania and MOM has to show him!!! (MOM: Oh nooooo!)
He's been going to Puppy class and does pretty well on a leash. Mom would rather do most anything than show in the conformation ring! She thinks if the dog loses it's her fault. I'd rather do agility or anything than go in the ring, myself; showing is BO-RING!

Love,
Rudy
(going to another agility trials on Sunday in Maryland. woohoo!)

Cigars All Around!

2009-05-14T13:59:00.005-04:00

Heyyyyy, I'm a daddy again! Last night, sometime in the wee hours, my girlfriend Belle surprised everyone and had our puppies behind our breeder's back, and had them in her crate three days early! She didn't want any fuss and told me she knew how to do it and didn't need any help from anybody. That's my girl!!

Three girls, two boys, all blue and healthy. I wasn't expecting any brown babies 'cause Belle isn't related to any brown Bedlys in her family. All are healthy and so is Belle. They're all just little black blobs that drink and poop but I think they're beautiful!

Belle was my date in Kentucky when we were there in March. She lives in Virginia at the breeder's but we decided to meet up in Kentucky while at the dog show. Mom is so excited to go see them when she gets some time. Our breeder has already picked out a name for the girl she's going to keep. It's "Chelsea's Blueberry Smoothie".
Since I'm "Rootbeer Float", I guess we all have to have that kind of name. Mom thinks it's cute.

So we have some new arrivals. Mom wishes she could keep a little boy -- ohhh no, I have enough on my paws with that pest Ollie!

Love,
Rudy (puffing on my cigar)

Me Too???

2009-05-04T17:14:00.004-04:00

Hi All,

We got a link to a post that describes the New York City Public Housing Authority's new list of banned dog breeds on their properties starting May 1st. Half of these dogs I've never heard of, but wait'll you get a load of who else is on the list!
Watch out, Mack, Tanner, Doofus, and your cousins!

Akita Inu, Alangu Mastiff, Alano Español, American Pit Bull Terrier,
American Staffordshire Terrier, Argentine Dogo, Bedlington Terrier,
Boston Terrier, Bull and Terrier, Bull Terrier, Bully Kutta, Cane Corso,
Dogue de Bordeaux, Dogo Sardesco, English Mastiff, Fila Brasiliero,
Gull Dong, Gull Terr, Irish Staffordshire Bull, Korean Jindo Dog,
Lottatore Brindisino, Neapolitan Mastiff, Perro de Presa Canario (Canary Dog),
Perro de Presa Mallorquín (Ca de Bou), Shar Pei, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Tosa Inu.

What the ??? To quote this blog, 'How many out of control Bedlington Terriers are there in New York public housing projects ?'

This link was sent to one of the Bedlington lists so you can see for yourself:

http://bluedogstate.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-york-city-housing-authority-bans-27.html

Not being in NYC I don't know whatever became of their banned breeds list, but I sure hope they've changed it by now! My feelings are hurt...

Love,
Rudy
(p.s. Mom and Dennis are still working on the camera issue)

Rainy and Bored

2009-05-03T12:20:00.001-04:00

Hi gang!

Yesterday it stopped raining for most of the day here, so we got outside and Mom chopped weeds in the garden. Ollie went nuts 'cause she usually tosses weeds to him so he can chew on them, but he's too small to jump in the garden. He was really upset so Mom tossed him a few to play with. He and I got our legs really green from Mom mowing the grass! This morning she washed our legs 'cause the sight of us was too bizarre to take anymore. Green-legged Bedlingtons..

Mom has promised me she'll look for a camera while she's out today, so while the rain comes down and we're doing NOTHING, here's another video of a really smart dog.
We don't have a nice scratchy hill to slide down like he has!

Looks like fun!

Love,
Rudy

While I'm Waiting...

2009-05-01T12:04:00.002-04:00

Hi all,

Mom still hasn't broken down and gotten a new camera, so while I'm WAITING, we found a funny video of a parrot I'd like to take dancing lessons from! He's got the beat!
At one point he's got a little head-banger action going on...

And when will the SUN ever come out again? It's been so cloudy and wet and dreary, all I want to do is nap...

Later,
Rudy

Techno Difficulties

2009-04-24T10:35:00.004-04:00

Hi gang,

Sorry for not posting much but Mom's camera is on the fritz again and won't load pics for us! I have stories to tell and nothing to back it up... rats...

Anyway, last weekend I did good for Mom and SHE was the one making mistakes at the agility trials. I qualified in Jumpers on Saturday which made up for her mistakes in Standard that morning. Then on Sunday I decided to go even faster in Standard and ran Mom half to death. We ended up 5th in our class which was a personal best for us! woo hooo!

Josie got her first leg in Open Jumpers on Saturday and then decided the walls had rats in 'em on Sunday, so Mom had to take her out of the ring. Maybe it was that groundhog hole she almost disappeared down on Saturday. Mom had to pull her out by her hind legs, Josie just kept on disappearing down that hole! I was laughin'!...

Yesterday Josie went with Mom and her friend to a lure coursing practice in PA in the late afternoon. She came back and said she ran the WHOLE course twice!! She said Mom was in shock! Darcy the Deerhound who lives with our breeder got to run and did really well, too. I'm jealous but if I run a practice Mom says I'm an idiot in the agility ring. What -- I just love running! I can't help myself!

Here she is jumping at Louisville last month --

Maybe the camera will get over its flu and behave itself -- meanwhile have a good weekend, we'll be doing agility again up near Baltimore and it's going to be HOT weather..... here I am at Louisville last month.

Love,
Rudy

True Colors Thursday -- Lime!

2009-04-16T07:53:00.007-04:00

OK, I thought finding a lime color around here would be hard. Mom doesn't even have any of the 'real' limes in the house, other than maybe an old bottle of lime juice..

But we did find a few things --

Ollie wouldn't sit next to this, but at least you can see the grocery shopping bag behind him. Mom's decided she likes this reusable-type bag much better than those pesky plastic bags that break and clutter up the place. I like 'em 'cause they retain those yummy smells when she gets meat from the store!!! mmmmmm....

That's Emmy under a pile of lime-colored toys. She's so lazy!

Ollie found another lime toy --

And here we are with an old towel Mom uses to dry us off. He's still at that teething stage where anything'll do -- old towels, toys, my face, whatever's handy, he'll chew!

Off the subject a little bit, Ollie had a 'beauty' pic done at the breeder's and he's now officially 'cute'! He has 2 more months to fill out before he can go to the dog shows. This is him at 4 months now:

Love,
Rudy

Rainy Earthdog Fun

2009-04-11T21:41:00.011-04:00

Hi all --

Mom had this bright idea, why don't we go do some Earthdog practice today, even if it's raining. Well I'm always up for anything involving RATS! Josie needs to get some practice if she's ever going to get that Senior title someday, but the real question mark was little Ollie. Mom wasn't quite sure if she should bring Ollie or not, he's just a baby of 4 months, but he needed an adventure so we brought him too.

It rained, and it rained and it rained. Hmpf - the weatherman promised it would stop! It didn't! He owes us a LOT of nice sunny days now here in the East. Hear that, Weather Channel???

Anyway, I got dirtier than Mom had ever seen me in the Master tunnel (she FORGOT to take my pic so just picture a pig in slop!). Inside the tunnel next to where the rats were was totally wet but I didn't care! Ollie and Josie didn't get near as dirty where they were. (MOM: Yeah!) She found a hose and washed me down; I couldn't get back in the car as filthy as I was. Now that was cold in more ways than one!!!!
(but Mom did dry me off and put a warm coat on me afterward)

Ollie had a good time. He's thinking about the whole scene here ("what are they doing here? What am I doing here???") All the doggies barking got him a little afraid but that didn't last long.

Now he's looking at the lady bringing the rat cage...

It took 3 separate attempts at getting Ollie interested in the rat, but he finally did it!

You can't tell by the pic but he was barking his little puppy bark and following the cage around. That's my little buddy!

Mom didn't take him any further, she just wanted to get him to bark at a rat for now. When Josie was little bitty, she was afraid of that rat. Now she's out there going nuts like everyone else. I was never afraid... (ahem!).

So we dried off and spent a few hours at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandma liked him! Ollie met Grandma and they had a great conversation. I think he likes her too!

I had to stay in a separate crate 'cause Ollie was pestering me so bad Mom thought I'd be better off getting some rest by myself. Whew what a relief -- Josie had to put up with him instead....

We'll get to do some more Earthdog practice and games next month in New Jersey. They have some GOOD Earthdog games! I just lose my brains out there!
But for now, Josie and I have back-to-back agility trials this coming weekend and next. By next month I'll be ready to get 'down and dirty' again. Josie and Ollie will come with me for some fun too!

Stay tuned --
Love,
Rudy

True Colors Thursday -- Scarlet

2009-04-03T15:08:00.015-04:00

I'm back with the "Scah-lett" edition of True Colors Thursday. (that's the way they pronounce it in one of Mom's favorite movies, Gone With The Wind)
No Scarletts around here, but there's plenty of scarlet!

One of Dennis's ties is about right, so Mom made me model it. I hope you can't tell she never learned to tie a tie...

And no, these aren't my lounging pajamas, but one of Dennis's Hawaiian shirts that's about a thousand times too big on me.

We found a really red Christmas ornament that matches my red collar:

It's a bird -- it's a plane -- noo, it's a fake magnetic cardinal attached to one of the metal tiki torches on the deck railing. It's nice and green in the back yard and garden.

We have several birdhouses with license-type plates for a roof, and one of them is a Marines logo house ("ooo-rah!"). Nobody lives in it right now. Our Dr. Pepper birdhouse is occupied so I don't think the current occupants want us to take pics right now...

Mom even showed me some weird things that live in our garage... this thing helps Dennis pull out car engines!

Guess this thing is red so you can find it under all the junk!

If this weren't red we'd never find this either...

Hey -- it's a car! Wow!

This helps Mom and Dennis keep the dust down while they're working on the kitchen:

One of our favorite couch pillows:

The best for last -- a favorite Christmas card from our breeder!

Thanks to Blue who started this all, can't wait for next week!

Love,
Rudy

First Try at Dock Diving

2009-03-31T12:06:00.004-04:00

Hi all!

Not much is happening right now so I'm going to show you what I did a couple of Saturdays ago. Remember I was saying how crazy I get whenever I see Dock Diving dogs?
Mom finally got the videos uploaded from our first try at the Pet Expo so we can see them, and she cut them down so it's not just me barking at the ball in the water.. Mom thought it was a good first try. We were part of a bunch of people that signed their dogs up to try this between the competitions that went on all day. I had a GOOD time!

First I did the short ramp. Looks like I'd been in the water before this was taken 'cause I am soaked in this clip. Oooh, that water's deep! And cold!!!

And then we tried the BIG one. At this point, they brought out an experienced dog to show me how I was supposed to do it. See how surprised I got when he jumped off the edge! And see how I (accidentally) jumped off too. Another surprise!

So Mom and the trainer decided to call it a day. I wasn't ready to quit. When we were walking away, I jumped up and tried to climb up the side of the tank. When we walked near the green ramp I tried to pull Mom back up there. She just laughed at me..

Mom has promised to let me try again sometime... I hope it's soon. I bet there aren't many Bedlingtons doing this!

Love,
Rudy

True Colors Thursday

2009-03-26T22:44:00.008-04:00

Hi all,

Time to get back to my True Colors after last week -- today's color is BEIGE. That's an easy one for us --- we ARE beige, at least Ollie and I are.

We do have sort of a beige carpet in the den that Mom would love to get rid of:

Some Bedlingtons wear booties in the snow and I know a half-brother of Josie's wears these beige ones:

Here's me in beige:

When we fostered Rags last summer he had a partially-beige doggie bed that he loved to hide under like we couldn't see him or something! We still have that bed ...

I guess you could say cardboard would be beige-ish.. that's desperation, Mom!

This was a totally cute pic of one of Josie's pups from 2 years ago under a favorite doggy bed:

I just used Ollie's pic in my last post so I'll use one of his brother on the same day we all got haircuts. He's kinda beige too!

Thanks Blue for a great Thursday!

Later!
Rudy

Ollie's haircut

2009-03-25T10:44:00.012-04:00

Hi all --

Mom wanted me to talk about Ollie now and the day we had haircuts at our breeder's house. It was the first Friday of the month and everyone had to be groomed.

Josie and my mom Clancy waiting in a crate -- looks like they've already gotten their trims:

Emmy didn't need much but she had to come too (she says Why do I have to get a haircut, I'm not going anywhere!):

And I've already had mine and they stuffed me into an airline crate. Sigh!

This was probably Ollie's second haircut ever, but he was very good. What a shaggy baby!

Startin' from the back end... whooo, careful back there!!

Scissoring is an art form in our breed!

Whew, now she's done snipping hair off his back end:

And now she's going to cut off his head! I can't watch!

Combin' out his legs --

Then they took Ollie out to the driveway and took a pic of him on a show lead. Ollie says "gag they're strangling me!!".

He's too young to go to shows yet but my breeder wanted a fancy pic of him to see what he looks like at 3 months. Three more months of growing and he'll be ready for the dog shows! Probably in early July he'll go. I'll have to coach him so he'll know what to do.
Mom read his pedigree and Guess what??? I am his great-grand uncle and my mom Clancy is his great-grandma! Oh well, then, he's a handsome boy for sure!

Later!
Rudy

Back from Kentucky

2009-03-19T15:54:00.029-04:00

Hi all!

Whew what a weekend we had! Mom was real happy how we did, Josie and me. I even had a hot date near the end of everything... I sure DID have a good weekend. Mom says she heard that one of these puppies coming should have the name of Louisville Slugger! Hey that's cool -- Chelsea's Louisville Slugger, I like it.

Here's where I spent most of the trip in the van. Josie was across the way from me. I had a Deerhound to talk to when he wasn't sleeping which was rarely. His name is Darcy and he's about 9-10 months old and weighs 5 times as much as I do. Geez he's HUGE!!!

Gassing up the rig somewhere in Virginia -- we had stuff in that trailer for 10 people and 15 dogs! It was FULL. Mom and our breeder did the driving in the van and the other 8 people rode in 2 other vehicles. It took 10 hours to get to the hotel outside Louisville.

At one place we stopped, we got to get out and do our business.

I HOPE this 'Thunder Alley' is a bowling alley! It was pretty quiet when we got there...

At least there was a good place to eat there, too.

We had soo much fun doing agility. I also got to see old pals!

Here is my girl Scout from California, waiting for me. She went 6th in the 16-inch division finals at the AKC Invitationals in California this past December. She's hot!

Josie played tug with Scout's owner with a disgusting ol' sock tied off with some liverwurst inside. SHE thought it was fun -- Mom thought it was pretty yucky..

I'm standing next to one of the rings where all the action was. We had a ring-side seat all weekend, we were so close!

This chickie went strolling by pretty as you please -- you can't fool me -- that's no Bedlington.

I got to kiss my pals from last year. Here's a few shots of me meeting and greeting my friends:

My breeder came by to visit!

Some other show people came by to watch agility so I had to make them feel welcome:

Gettin' petted from above.

I wish I were taller so I could kiss the blondes!

I love you too!!

I don't know who this person was but who cares -- I love everybody.

Here's an old buddy of mine! She's nice!

This person had some treats in her coat -- I just knew it..

Hanging out with Scout and her mom --

Josie's littermate sister Gypsy was also there doing Novice. I'm sure we'll see her again in more trials as we go along this year.

Josie (on the right) met her half-sis Wish -- they have the same daddy. Wish is an awesome agility dog. Josie did so well Mom thinks she'll be pretty awesome too.

Someone brought a baby Bedly that looked like our Ollie! It was a girl, though.

I had to check and see ---

Hey lady! Down in front!!!

Posing with Mom with some of Josie's ribbons on our crate. I got 3 green ribbons that meant I qualified in Excellent. Josie was in Novice and Open this weekend and she did great! She got all first place ribbons and a cool blue-and-yellow New Title ribbon for her Novice Standard title.

Every day after we were done, we had to go to the grooming area to meet up with our show friends so we could eat and go back to the motel, and we had to wait 'til they were all ready for us. Josie was so tired she got on top of Mom's agility bag and took a nap..

I just waited patiently and with dignity..

No videos this time, maybe next post, but here's a grrrreat shot of me going up the dog walk. This pro photographer Tien Tran is the best. I qualified in Standard on Thursday and Sunday and in Jumpers on Friday. Josie earned her Novice Standard title on Friday and got her first leg on Open Standard on Sunday. We're on a roll!

True Colors and it's off to Louisville

2009-03-09T10:13:00.004-04:00

Hi all,

I'm posting a brief True Colors Thursday early 'cause Mom is so busy getting us ready to go for the big weekend in a couple of days. We have even less violet around the house but this will do for now:

Mom has these wacky violet-and-green agility pants she wears sometimes to run in. Here's a pic of us in Louisville in 2007:

She's not the only one with wacky purple pants in agility. In November last year even the judge was wearing 'em! (this is Josie jumping)

One more violet pic and we're off --- after seeing these pics, Mom quit wearing the purple pants! She might be forced to wear 'em anyway. Four days of dust and dirt in the arena is too much for just one pair...

See you next week!

Love,
Rudy

True Colors Thursday

2009-03-05T21:12:00.008-05:00

Hey, it's yellow this week!

We really don't have a lot of yellow around here... Mom once painted the kitchen walls a light shade of yellow, she thought, but it's soooo faint you can't even tell. Now she's going to pick out a new color since they're re-doing things but I bet it's not yellow anymore!

So anyway, we don't even have yellow doggie sweaters (oh I'm so glad she forgot about that Halloween duck costume!!! tres embarrassing...) Mom found a yellow water toy and made me pose with the thing --- talk about embarrassing ---

Then she looked in our mountain of dog toys and found ALL the other yellow toys in there and thought -- "Hmm! Let's pile them on Rudy!" --- ARGH!

Ollie sure loved that. He was pulling toys out of the pile and playing with them!

Then Mom found some pics of our other yellow stuff. I'm glad she quit piling stuff on me...

Our yellow-and-orange group crate that holds up to 3 Bedlingtons (or 4 if they're friendly):

The weird squash she grew last summer that's joined together (long gone by now):

Here's a quick clip of a Leonberger going through a yellow chute in agility last year. I ran that same course! Didn't qualify -- I got crazy and ran around a bit -- but had tons of fun.

And finally, some of my agility ribbons have yellow in 'em. Yeaaa!

I'll have to post early next week for True Colors Thursday if I can since we'll be in Louisville Kentucky doing a 4-day agility trials and Mom won't be able to get to a PC. She'll take plenty of pics though! They're having a Bedlington specialty conformation show at the same time but that's not as much fun as we agility dogs will have. Josie's going with Mom and me, and Ollie, Emmy, and Clancy are staying home.

Later!
Love,
Rudy

Finally some more snow

2009-03-04T23:38:00.013-05:00

Hi,

Boy did we have some fun on Monday when we got 6 inches of snow. Mom let little Ollie out to play with us and we all got pretty snowy!

Josie is looking out at the snow from the deck -- she's not sure she wants to get out there, she isn't dressed!

I got her out there and we're enjoying the view from the top of the hill:

Ollie toddled out and he thought this was a lot of fun!

He followed me down the hill to watch me inspecting the neighbor's yard for intruders. It's my sworn duty!

Silly boy thought he could race me up the hill. Eat snow, kid!

I ran around with Josie too. We love to chase each other around and around and around....

Whew -- time out -- catching my breath!

Mom almost got a good pic of me jumping out of the garden.

Ollie looks pretty cold! awww...he's only 3 months old.

I'm checking to see that we got everybody back inside, Josie's in the background. Can you believe that nobody but me would go out in this unless Mom dug a path on the deck so they wouldn't have to walk through snow? What a bunch of wimps!

Now this is more like it -- catchin' some rays by the back door. Ollie needed a warm bath to get that ol' snow off. What better way to warm up than this? (that's Josie, me, and Ollie)

Later!
Rudy

True Colors Thursday

2009-02-26T22:57:00.009-05:00

And this week it's all about the Brown!

Oh boy that's an easy one -- I was born that way... what a handsome young man I was.

When I wasn't ripping around the house I was usually dead asleep where I fell!

Our newest 'brown' addition's name is Ollie and he's about 11 weeks old and he's also a brown boy. Mom loves to put little shirts on puppies; she thinks they're cuter that way. His shirt says "Can I lick your face?". Ollie's not related to me, he was bred by our breeder Linda though.
He's here for a while, maybe Mom can keep him but we're not sure yet, depends on if he gets a new home or not:

We all eat this brown food -- supposed to be really healthy doggie food you have to order. Mom adds stuff to it, she's taken to cooking chicken and veggies and adding it to our bowls... mmmm.. Ollie thinks it's the best stuff in the whole wide world!!!

That rip in the vinyl is Josie's decorating idea from when she was a puppy... soon as the kitchen gets done that floor is going away!

We have a brown recliner that we like to keep warm in case Mom or Dennis decide to sit in it. Ollie's too little to jump up so Mom has to help him if he wants to sit with us! Here he is with Josie, his favorite playmate (I'm so jealous -- I try to take her away from him!).

Clancy's lying on one of our favorite doggie beds, the brown one with the doggie paw prints on it:

This got a little blurry but it's Ollie playing with his favorite toy, a brown bunny. He's so hard to get to sit still, Mom has more blurry shots of him than she'd like.

And this is Ollie again on our old dead brown carpet in the den that Mom would love to rip up and burn. It's seen too many doggies over the years, can you tell?

Thanks to our hostess Blue who started this fun Thursday posting. Can't wait for the next one!

Love,
Rudy

Blue Thursday

2009-02-19T21:47:00.009-05:00

It's Thursday again, and the color is BLUE.

Looking around, I find there are lots of blue things in agility..

We have TONS of blue jumps!

Blue ribbons for the lucky --

There are blue tunnels and A-frames to have fun with --

And then Mom wears blue a lot -- and we have my blue leash here --

I get to relax for 5 seconds on course on a blue-based table:

And nothin's as much fun as blasting out of a blue 'n yellow tunnel!

Next week we're looking for brown so since I was born brown, I'll be sure to show pics of me as a baby...

Later!
Rudy

Silver Thursday and a Fun Video

2009-02-12T10:00:00.008-05:00

Hi everyone!

It's Silver Thursday, so in honor of that I've dug up a couple of silver items we have here ---

The first is my Silver Medal from last summer's Pawlympics! woohoooo

Then we had a birthday recently, Josie's 6th, so there was silver everywhere. Josie is at that 'mysterious' age so we don't put her real age on the ice cream anymore..
Check out the "Woodchuck Draft Cider", that's from our Earthdogger pals. Dennis hates it but Mom thinks it's just fine..

Everybody LOVES the peanut butter flavored Frosty Paws ice cream! Josie's taking a break while eating hers..

My new blue jacket has silver edges on it, too. (can't tell very well from this pic) Could be it's for seeing in the dark, maybe??

And now for some fun, we got a video of our Bedlington pal Scout from California in the finals at the AKC Agility Invitationals!!! She ended up 6th in the 16" division. You'll hear her owner talk about Scout getting overstimulated at indoor trials and then shutting down --- Mom has to laugh --- I'm overstimulated ALL the time and I just get crazy! Mom's just hoping I'll calm down enough next month at the agility trials in Kentucky to put in a good showing when all our Bedly pals (including Scout) will be there!

Doggie Shows to Watch on TV

2009-02-05T22:47:00.006-05:00

Hey in case you didn't realize, the big Westminster Kennel Club show is going on Monday and Tuesday the 9th and 10th and will be televised in the evening.
I'll never forget the time I went 3 years ago --- got all gussied up, went to NYC and they put a fancy leash on me. Although I didn't win anything, I got to meet the public behind the scenes. Here's a pic of me kissing one of my adoring fans in 2006!

BROADCAST COVERAGE (TV SCHEDULE)

NIGHT 1:
Monday, February 9
Hound, Terrier, Non-Sporting and Herding Groups
8-9 p.m. (ET) live on USA Network
9-11 p.m. (ET) live on CNBC

NIGHT 2:
Tuesday, February 10
Sporting, Working and Toy Groups, Best In Show
8-11 p.m. (ET) live on USA Network

I of course won't be there but there will be plenty of doggies out there ready to kiss and hug the public behind the scenes like I did! Tonight we watched the AKC Eukanuba classic on TV which was held in California in December, and they had a beautiful liver girl Bedlington just like me in the Terrier Group judging.

What I'm really looking forward to is watching the AKC Agility Invitational, which was held in December in California also, on Saturday night on Animal Planet! My pal and fellow Bedlington, Scout might be on -- she went 6th place in her division.

IMark your calendars: February 7, 8PM ET and February 14, 4PM ET on Animal Planet! I'm popping popcorn and we'll all be watching those dogs run!

Love,

Rudy

"I...Love...You!"

2009-01-31T12:16:00.006-05:00

I bet you never knew a Bedlington could talk! This is Rocco, he's practicing for an audition for some commercial. He waves, too, but Josie does it better --- enjoy the show!

Rudy

Well We got Some Snow..

2009-01-30T11:05:00.021-05:00

But not a whole lot!

This is about all we got the other day -- it melted just a little, so it's not like the storms old Uncle Nathan used to tell of back in his day. One year it snowed up to the top of the garden fence and Mom had to dig a path for him and Grandpa Joey to get through the yard!

Hey I'm happy to get ANYthing..

I even jumped into the main veggie garden to see if I could find any 'good' snow...

Josie jumped in to help me find any extra snow... hmmm, smells like bunnies in here!

Something's been chewing on this poor old collard plant....

See if they chew on it now! Ha!

I don't see any more bunnies -- my job here is done...

My mom Clancy is doing her part too -- staring at the piece of wire fence on the ground. Thanks Mom!

Time to get back in the house -- I've been bored stiff -- agility classes were canceled for weather this past week. The week before, Mom was too sick to take us.
I'll dream of agility trials to come... here's a pic of me flying over a jump in Columbus Ohio this past November.

Stay warm -- the East Coast might get more snow come Monday!
Love
Rudy

At last -- snow!

2009-01-19T11:42:00.008-05:00

Hi all!

Sorry I haven't blogged much lately.. Mom's been sick with a bad cold this weekend, and besides there's really not much going on. But something's happening today -- it's snowing! We thought we'd get out in it before it stops or melts away. If we get more we might take more pics, but for us this is special. Everywhere else is getting tons of snow but in northern Virginia it just hasn't happened yet.

Josie just doesn't believe her eyes -- and the snow's getting into her eyes --

You call this snow? This is September weather back where my daddy's from!

It's really coming down! (you can see the cool Bedlington weather vane in the garden)

I'm waiting for the REAL snow to start...

This is what happened to the pine trees that fell onto our garage on New Year's Eve... Mom and Dennis did it themselves with a chain saw and some heavy duty trimmers:

Emmy says enough of this foolishness -- let's go inside!
(as she stands next to the screen door we demolished by trying to squeeze through the doggie door in it all at once!)

I see the snow hasn't stopped yet --- maybe we'll get a inch! (woohooo)

Love,
Rudy

Happy New Year?

2009-01-01T18:22:00.010-05:00

Hi all --

Well we had our excitement for New Year's already. Usually it's a long evening and my people have some champagne at midnight then go upstairs, but before THAT, this is what they came home to last night after work. Mom's truck wasn't there when it happened, lucky for her!

There was so much wind yesterday I thought the roof would blow off! No wonder the neighbor's trees came down. One of them was dead already and it looked like the dead one brought down the other one as it fell. Ohhh Mom and Uncle Dennis are going to have a big mess to clean up!

They don't own a chainsaw. Should've asked for one for Christmas!

Then Mom noticed today they've got a little repair to do:

Maybe they should buy a taller ladder while they're at it!

Well, whatever they decide to do about it they can't forget this important item:

I'm not getting involved -- here is what I'M going to do while they go outside and deal with that mess!

I'm no dummy ---

Happy New Year!
Rudy

It's Christmas

2008-12-25T23:11:00.000-05:00

Oh wow were we ever excited to have Christmas --- Mom put the agility ribbons back on the tree 'cause she could't bear to go through that mess in the basement this year. Between that tree and the pre-lit rosemary tree it wasn't so bad.

We spent some time getting pics taken and laying around the place -- here are Clancy and Josie acting casual.

Clancy and Emmy --

I'm watching the fireplace in case Santa shows up...

But look what Josie got -- a new crate just for her! It was from our breeder Linda:

She tries it out for size. Perfect fit! Love that pink camo theme! So tough yet so feminine.

We got the usual doggie treats and jingle-bell collars, but I got an agility calendar from Mom so I can see where we're going to go and when. But it has Border Collies on it! Is that a hint? Mom says it's for inspiration... what I'm not running fast enough?

Mom got a cool present from one of her horsie friends -- 3 soap figurines! I LOVE the one in the middle, as you can see:

So that was last night, and today, Christmas Day, Mom and Dennis went off to her parents' house for more presents and food. There wasn't room for us to go so we all had to stay home by ourselves all day. I was bored...

I got in a bit of trouble though. I had a little accident.. see the spot on the floor to the right. I'm wondering now if have to return all the cookies and the agility calendar. Mom wasn't happy!!! She spent a lot of time working that spot on the carpet... I better hide!

Love,
Rudy (hiding)

Gettin' Ready for Santa Claus...

2008-12-19T21:49:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

We're counting down the days 'til Santa gets here. Of course to Mom that means the "B" word... dare I say it... here goes ... BATH! Not that we don't get them throughout the year, but especially around Christmas we get bathed for Santa. He doesn't like dirty matted Bedlingtons!

Another reason we got bathed, at least Josie and I did, was that Mom found THIS on the floor when we came in the house from outside:

It's good old red mud from the back yard. It's been raining all week and that means muddy paws and dirty kitchen floor. Finally she was so tired of cleaning up after us she got out the stuff to get us clean:

It takes a lot of stuff to clean us up juuuust right! Good thing Mom couldn't find he camera in time to take pics of us in the laundry tub. Instead she made us pose after the fact on the grooming table after we got all clean and blow-dried:

I look like a cotton ball! I'm not that big, that's mostly hair. I've almost got enough hair to go to the show ring, we Bedlies show with lots of hair. Mom prefers my hair shorter so I'm lean and mean for agility!

Here's Josie, she's all cleaned up too:

Should've had a 'before' picture of her. She wasn't so cute! The kitchen is still all torn up so it's a mess. SOME day it will be all done but don't hold your breath!
Then we weren't allowed back out in the back yard, we had to put on leashes and walk out front along the street! That's not as much fun as finding where the chipmunks live under the deck, not by a long shot...

We went upstairs to put these pics on my blog. I like to yell at my favorite rat Tweak who lives in the PC room:

Tweak needs to get ready for Santa too. His cage smells!

The other rat, Little Man (who isn't so little) lives upstairs from Tweak so I don't get to see him much. Mom brings him out for Earthdog training in the back yard so I get to say hi to him then. He's a lot calmer than Tweak but I enjoy yelling at either one of them, I'm not picky!

This weekend Mom and Dennis went out to walk around behind those bassets again. They chase bunnies --- Ohhhhhh I want to go! Those dogs have a great life!

They had a little something to warm 'em up before they went --- man was it ever cold on Sunday out there. hmmm wonder what it was?? (hint: it wasn't hot chocolate!)

And who WAS this character here? That's not Santa Claus, that's Dennis wearing his British military coat he bought online and a Chinese hat! A friend of theirs was in China recently and brought back a hat for Dennis to wear. With that red star nobody could mistake him for Santa Claus! (he's standing behind a post holding a ski pole they use for walking through the fields)

I just hope Santa's got something special in his sack for us -- I've suffered enough getting that bath and blow-dry...

Love,
Rudy

Six Folder Tag

2008-12-14T11:44:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

I think I'll play along with Six Folder Tag, too. We're not doing anything exciting this weekend, just watching Mom and Dennis leave the house and come home repeatedly. This Christmas thing makes 'em go a lot!

Finally figured out the thing with the strange Christmas tree we got. First of all, it's a rosemary tree with lights on it (that's why it smells odd for a tree), second, Mom's brother's family sent it, and third, someone messed up at FTD but who knows what really happened. And the other funny thing was, Mom's sister in NJ also got a tree from my brother at the same time, ALSO with a different card! This one said "To Grandpa Don". I sure hope "Grandpa Don" and "Daddy" got whatever they were supposed to get, too! How funny...

So here goes -- here's my sixth pic:

No really it IS my 6th picture in this folder! It's from last year when Dennis was told to put our big Christmas tree together. I sneaked into the living room to see what in the world was going on. Not much! Plastic Santa was in there supervising the whole thing so I knew everything was under control. You can't tell by this pic but the needles this old thing dropped was one of the reasons Mom decided to leave this tree in the box this year. It's older than my mom Clancy, it was new when my grandpa Joey and cousin Nathan were much younger, maybe 17 years ago!

So Plastic Santa refuses to come up from the basement, seein' as he has nothing to do this year. If Mom decides ever to decorate this little tree we have on the end table he MIGHT come up for that... she took all my nice agility ribbons off the tree, she wants 'real' decorations. Aw man... I hope she changes her mind, that was nice!

Love,
Rudy

Pee Ess --- hey check out my Bedly pal Baarney's blog. He's in a photo contest and he needs some votes! http://readmypaws.blogspot.com/

The I Don't Know Tree

2008-12-11T21:18:00.000-05:00

I've been relaxing at home after a great weekend with Mom doing agility up around Baltimore. She's learning to be a better handler, but I'm helping her along by being a good boy for her. She was SO PROUD of me! We got a ribbon (and second place) two days in a row over all those big ol' obstacles like the A-frame and the dog walk and teeter, but on the Jumpers courses I had to show her who was boss and run faster than her!
She says I got a title on Saturday, an AX (Agility Excellent), so she was happy (MOM: VERY happy!). I was happy running! She bought some video of our runs so maybe by Christmas she can show everyone our running style...

Here I am with my pal Snoopy and my ribbons hung up by the fireplace... we need stockings to hang this time of year, Mom!

Mom was looking around the house for something so she was poking around some stuff and found my birthday present from her. She lost it last month --- a new blue jacket! Wow -- I'm so cool in my new duds ---

She was trying to figure out what to do with that Christmas tree on the table in the den and thought she found the answer....agility ribbons!

Well, maybe not.. she needs to go through all our ornaments and find some smaller ones to put on it. She's got a lot to look through!!

Today we got another little Christmas tree in a box by the front door (grrr -- I barked when I heard the man come and deliver it -- that's my job when my people are away). It's too little for the table so it's going in the kitchen and it already has lights on it. Mom says she's got no idea who sent it. It was from the big florist people (FTD), addressed to her, but the note on it said "To Daddy" and something about hoping he recovers soon, Love Courtney and Brice, somebody like that. Hmmmm! Maybe "Daddy" is wondering who Mom is on the note he got in his box!!
I hope he wasn't supposed to get a Christmas tree!!! It's cute though -- Josie and I are posing on the floor with it 'cause we can't find the extension cords right now.

Mom calls it our "I-don't-know-tree" 'cause we don't know who sent it. As in the song 'O Christmas Tree' (Oh I-don't-know-tree, Oh I-don't-know-tree, I don't know if you belong to me!). Ha ha, Mom!

Love,
Rudy

Leftover Turkey

2008-12-04T22:46:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

We sure did get some turkey this week -- some in our bowls, some as treats. Josie even got a bit as training treats in her agility class Monday night! I'd jump a mile for some turkey... we also got a couple of dehydrated chicken feet as a special treat! Mom thinks it's pretty disgusting but we LOVE it.

Clancy wasn't feeling well this week and wouldn't eat much of her dinner, but as she got better she got some turkey even when she wouldn't eat anything else. She's better now, hungry and eating, so Mom says it must have been something she ate in the yard. Clancy does that a LOT.

We got to finish up what was left of a container of turkey and a little STUFFING. It's a good thing we all get along. I can't see the container!
(Clancy is in the stripey sweater. She's old and cold.)

Mom's gotten lazy this Christmas season. She usually gets out this huge tall tree to put together in the living room and look what she brought home this year! She's so cheap -- got it from a friend at work who was cleaning out her dad's home in New York. It's in great shape! I hope Mom gets some energy to put decorations on it before Christmas. (MOM: only if you guys promise to leave it alone...)

It all depends on how much company we get for Christmas...

Anyway, we're going up near Baltimore this weekend for the last agility trials for us this year, just Mom and me. It's going to be a cold weekend, so I promise to run extra fast to stay warm. Mom better drink some Red Bull or something to keep up!
hahahahahaha...

Love,
Rudy

A Turkey Day

2008-11-30T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi all,

I didn't do much for Turkey Day, just stayed at home while Mom went off to her folks' house for the festivities. She thought her brother would bring that big black dog that doesn't like me so she kept me at home. Turned out the dog didn't come either. WELL -- what did the people DO for entertainment?

Seems they did just fine without us ...

That was Mom and her littermates (MOM: that's enough, Rudy!) and this is a shot of the guests of honor:

I did NOT see any leftovers but we had a turkey in the fridge at home that Dennis cooked later but we haven't seen any of that either..

Here are the people getting ready to eat the guests of honor (that's my Grandma Mary seated on the right):

They're engaging in some sort of hilarity after dinner, too. (MOM: my sis reading the words to Alice's Restaurant as her son, Mom, and daughter in the mirror laugh along and my brother accompanies them all on guitar)

Mom's brother plays really well, so it was a riot, or so Mom says. That's Mom's sis's hubby in the cool Hawaiian shirt...

So Mom got to see her folks -- did she bring us anything to eat? Noooo, we stayed home! I'm still waiting on that turkey, any turkey!!

Love,
Rudy

Columbus Agility Weekend and my Belated Birthday

2008-11-23T20:11:00.000-05:00

We've been recovering from last weekend, and I finally had my birthday pawty, as it was, so Mom's agreed to help me with the blog. She's been so stressed from work she hasn't felt like doing anything after work lately. She needs to take more naps like us doggies! (Mom: I wish!!)

The night before we left for the big agility trials in Ohio, we had to babysit ANOTHER PUPPY --- all Mom has to hear is the "P" in puppy and she says YES!!! She forgets about all the other P's in Puppy!! (peepee) Her name was Jamie and she's a little half-sister to Josie and that means she's another niece of mine. Mom just loved her! Jamie was going to spend the weekend at someone's house while we were all gone so she was staying here for one night. I don't pretend to understand the logic, I only live here.

The next day we packed up and went to our breeder's house to wait for HER to get ready so I had to wait in a crate. I'M all ready, you people hurry up!

We made it to Columbus Ohio after 8 hours in the van (zzzzz) and to the trials the next day (Friday the 14th). Our national club had their banner up:

This is what the ring looked like. It was a horse arena so things smelled pretty good to us dogs! Josie had to stop and sniff while trying to run her Novice Jumpers round so Mom had to get her attention several times. I was too excited to stop and smell the "roses", I just ran!

Mom didn't get very many pictures of us, but Josie did the best and got first places every day in her Novice Jumpers so she got her title on Sunday! She ran really well and we're all proud of her. She was tired after all that running. Mom got her a bag of dehydrated chicken feet and she got a purple stuffy dog as a prize! She can keep that stuffy, I want those yummy feet...

The pics taken of us will take some time to come back after they're ordered, so all that's left is me being kinda depressed I didn't qualify in anything. Gee Mom, I'll try harder next time! I was just having fun...

SO, today a week later, Mom and Dennis went out to watch those crazy basset hounds try and find bunnies in the woods again. While they were waiting in the woods, some curious beef came up to watch THEM: (hey! Who you lookin' at??)

Mom and Dennis eventually came home and we had a little birthday treat! wwwwWOW!!!
Just for us dogs!

Oh dog that smells pawsome --

Can we really have some???

I'll have a taste ---

Josie comes in for the kill --- she wants some too.

Hey no pushing!

So you promise we can have more later?? OK and I promise to listen better at the next agility trials! It's a deal!

And I am now 7 years old ---

Love,
Rudy

Guest Blogger

2008-11-09T00:51:00.000-05:00

Hi all!

This is Rudy -- I'm taking a break and letting my new pal "Snoopy" step in for a turn -- he's my birthday present to Mom that came on Friday... Next weekend Mom's taking me, Josie, and Emmy on a road trip to Columbus Ohio for a 3-day agility trials and we're excited! It'll be great to get away 'cause Mom's job is stressing her out like crazy.
See ya --
Rudy

***************

Hi everybody, I'm Snoopy and Rudy brought me home for Mom's birthday and she likes me very much. I'm making friends with everyone at the house --

Seems that everyone does a lot of relaxing in the evenings so I took turns meeting each dog.

First I met this amazing fellow who looks like the dogs here but he's a stuffie too, only I'm knit and he's stuffed. Whatever we're made of, we've got to stick together.... he's very cuddly just like me.

I had to show my appreciation to Rudy for bringing me home! He sort of looks like he's a bit embarrassed. Aw, where's the love???

Hey Clancy, wake up! (poke, poke)

Emmy was asleep so I whispered sweet nothings in her ear... didn't work!

As they say, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. Clancy finally woke up and got on the couch, laying backwards so Mom could rub her tummy. I didn't want to be left out so I did it too.

Then Dennis got up and started shredding the chickens he was boiling for the dogs for supper next week, and ALL the dogs woke up and came to beg for a taste. This is Josie trying to eat the stove.
I know how I rate!!! (MOM: Join the club, fella)

Catch that intent Bedlington stare ---

So after THAT was over, Rudy and I knocked off a couple of cold ones and watched some Animal Planet on cable --- A nice Saturday evening at home --- I think I'll like it here!

Thanks Rudy for letting me blog -- this was fun!

Snoopy

Weekend with the Horses

2008-10-22T22:26:00.000-04:00

Hi!

This past weekend Emmy and I were at a horse boarding facility doing agility in their indoor arena. Mom was afraid we'd be sniffing the poopies in the ring but they keep it very clean and we didn't have any problems with that. We actually liked it and will probably come back!

This is the arena from the outside --

We met the CUTEST little Boston Terrier girl -- I forgot her name but she ran great and I couldn't resist her!

This is the scene where people would wait for their turn in the Standard ring. That Lab looks like he's ready to go!

So I did my Standard run and now I have to pose before I get my treats????

Mmmf, mmmm, munch, munch...

Our buddy Coll the Scottish Deerhound was there, too. He was a busier boy than us that weekend -- dog showing the day before, or was it obedience?

I heard one of my grandpups was at the dog show up in MD where Coll was... wonder which one of my 'kids' had children??

Anyway, here's a video of my Beagle buddy Shelly and her mom running the 16" Jumpers course Mom and I qualified on (shhh--- we ran faster!!). Too bad Mom didn't get someone to video us running.

Our Scottie buddy and fellow Earthdogger ran the same course, shorter and slower than that but he sure was cute doing it!

And this is our booty from the weekend. I qualified in Excellent Jumpers B for the very first time and got sixth place (woohooooo!) and Emmy got first in her Open Jumpers class. I got a Bark Bar and Emmy got her a pink cellphone stuffie. I would've gotten more goodies but Mom kept messing up one time in each of our Sunday runs. I ran really fast anyway. I was haulin'!
Mom was VERY happy with how I did. Got all my weave entries too which was wonderful.

Next weekend I have off so I can rest up!
Later --
Rudy

Earthdog Training Day

2008-10-13T21:59:00.001-04:00

Hi!

Today we went up to New Jersey for an afternoon of training 'cause Mom says Josie needs some help in the Senior tunnel and I need a little more help in the Master tunnel. ME??? Mr. 21-legs-in-Master-Earthdog??? I'm a little insulted but it's more fun for me, I don't care.

Besides, on Sunday Mom and Dennis left us doggies at home alone while THEY went with a bunch of people to follow THESE dogs around the woods and fields...

They went in the woods and people just stood around and watched them:

And afterwards the people stood around and had a party --

While MY people just stuffed their faces!

I see Mom with her mouth full!!

So today it was our turn for fun. We got to sleep in and leave the house at 9:00 instead of in the dark like we usually do: (looking a little sleepy here anyway)

Finally getting there, we knew right away we were goin' ta see some rats!

Someone had to take a break before we could do anything!

Josie was first to practice in the Senior tunnel and I could hardly stand it! I whined a lot and Mom could hear me the whole time! Josie did very well once she figured out how Senior works and Mom hopes she'll remember this in November when we come back! She had never done this tunnel before but picked it up very quickly.

Emmy and Clancy were just along for the ride, we couldn't leave them at home so they were our cheering section... huh... they napped the whole time.

Then it was my turn --- ohhh and here's the opening of the Master tunnel. Rats live down there!

Of course it was a great time and I learned to stay IN the tunnel 90 whole seconds rather than leave when I felt like it. Mom says when the judge starts making digging noises at 60 seconds, I associate it with getting to leave so I do. Huh -- think what you want, lady! I'm in it for the fun...

This is the last thing we did. This was an exercise where we hunt for rats in PVC tubes in various piles of wood, under stuff, inside tires, or there could be empty tubes or shavings in places. Mom had to be able to tell if we had found something or not. It was even MORE fun! Josie had never done this before and she loved it too. Mom and the lady conducting the practice are walking down the path. You might be able to see me if you look close!

On the way home Josie spent a lot of time hanging over the cooler trying to get some McDonald's from Dennis and Mom up front:

Looks like she picked up some leaf litter on her head from that Earthdog tunnel!

Here I've convinced Mom to give me a piece of her chicken ---

Great shot of me with my big fat mouth open! Pretty soon we had to stop 'cause Mom couldn't drive and feed us too...

Oh OK, but how can you deny us with faces like these???

It was a long day but Mom says it was worth it! Next week is another big agility weekend so we're going to get ready for that. Mom says I'll be extra ballistic from doing Earthdog, and she's SO right...

Love,
Rudy

Post-Montgomery Earthdog Test 2008

2008-10-07T22:35:00.000-04:00

Hi gang!

So this makes the 101st post of mine, but who's counting. Wonder what I'll be talking about in post 200? Hmmm...

Well Mom and I had a good time at the Earthdog test in New Jersey on Monday even though we didn't get any ribbons. It wasn't for lack of trying! We got up at 4:00 in the morning (argh) and left the house at 4:30 and drove up I-95 to the Jersey Turnpike -- smooth sailing all the way. If I could find a picture of total darkness you could see what the drive was like! I was napping half the time. Mom was nice enough to keep the radio down for me, so to keep awake she drank a bottle of Dr. Pepper. That's quiet enough!

We arrived at the showgrounds about 20 to 8 --- I'm still a little sleepy!

People and doggies were milling about waiting for things to happen...

Finally the fun started. These are the Master and Senior boards so we could tell when it was our turn:

We had plenty of Westies and some Cairns and I see at least one Glen of Imaal terrier in this picture. The AKC photographer guy ran all around with two cameras all morning trying to get pictures of every breed that was there. They feature this Earthdog event on their website every year. Guess who was the only Bedlington?

"Ohhhh Mom there's rats over there!! Pleeeze can I go play???" (whine whine)

My Scottie pal from agility class and his mom just got finished doing Master and he had sticky plant thingies all over him! He had FUN.

Earthdog isn't exactly a big spectator sport. Here's a spectator's view of the Master walk-up to the den. Ho hum!

You can't tell but they're at the den site and Mom says it looks like they're waiting to see if the Westie will indicate to its owner the presence of the rats. That's one thing you get judged on in Master. The judge is behind the handler on the left:

Oh it looks like it's almost my turn! I'm in brace number 6 and we're next!

Here is my CUTE brace-mate, a Smooth Fox Terrier named Diva. We had fun together since we're both longer-legged terriers. We ran all over the place and hunted very well, Mom said. I want her phone number...

Like I said there wasn't much to see of our turn, Mom couldn't take pics as we went. But the AKC photographer guy got some pics! Check out http://www.akc.org/events/earthdog/post_montgomery/2008/ and my pic is in rows number 2,6, and 7. Cool!

Look how dirty I got -- I sure had fun. I also got a lot of sticky plant thingies all over me. Mom says the dirtier I get the more fun I had. Yep-per!

I was also entered in Senior; since I have my Master title I can enter any class, so this was just for fun too. I was sooo excited Mom let me run again I went in like a house afire and left the rats after 50 seconds, 40 seconds too soon. In Master I did everything right but left the rats after 90 seconds before Mom could get me out.(MOM: Argh!!!) I went right back in the tunnel for Mom to get me out of the tunnel end like she was supposed to. I'm just in it for the fun now.

Then we had lunch. That sandwich looks good Mom!!

Practicing for the next Bacon Bits commmercial -- i-i-i-i-it's BACON!!!

Someone had a big banner up for the Most Versatile Westie award. I had no idea! They sure are talented.

We spotted one of the rats sitting on the secretary's table. He obviously didn't read the sign (next pic)...

Here's the sign:

Mom talked to a lady who asked her how come we Bedlingtons weren't at Western PA's Earthdog test this last time. That's the one Dewey Dewster and Asta Marie were at I believe! The lady was a gate steward and remembered their names. We'll have to make a point of going next time. We used to go a lot back when gas was cheaper...
Small world!

Mom is still recovering from the long drive up and back in one day. How she went to work this morning is beyond me -- I slept all day and then Mom took me to agility class tonight. I proceeded to run HER ragged (Mom: Oh yes he did!). We'll go to another agility trials weekend-after-next, but on Columbus Day next weekend we're going back up to NJ for a training day. Woohoo! More rats!!!! Josie needs to practice Senior so she can run in November back up in NJ at their Earthdog test.

Have a great week --

Love,
Rudy