Sweep - Skateboarding!

I had a very busy day today. My handler took me to the vet who stuck a needle in me - ouch! I don't like travelling in that car thing, it makes me bark and howl, my handler says I have to go out in it more often.

I met this little board on wheels called a skateboard and you have to put your paws on it and push it along, great fun. Gina took this video 5 minutes after I was first introduced to it.

Then I had some friends to play with who are Gina's cousins, they were great fun to play with. It is a bit hot though so I slept mostly during the day.

Sweep - Water Baby

It is so hot, my handler got a paddling pool out for me. I like to bark and the water then jump in and paw it.

She got that clicker thing out again and I sat and lay down and got lots of treats!

Sweep - Playtime!

Here are some photos of me playing (and sleeping!) today.

Sweep - Walkies!

Today my handler carried me to the local shops as she said that things called cars can be a bit scary but I didn't think so really.

I played in the garden with my tuggy and my handler had this great think that clicked and whenever it did that I got a treat! A clicker I believe. There was a large noisy monster in the garden called a lawnmower but I didn't think it was scary.

I met a ginger collie called Rum but he didn't really like me, I am not sure why as I haven't done anything horrible to him.

Sweep - A Busy Day & a Trip Out

Today I had lots of fun playing in the garden with someone known as my handler, all I know is she is great fun to play with and gives good cuddles!  I found a nice pink ball which I kept being told was a bit girly but I didn't care, I thought it was great as it got thrown for me then I would take it back, have a game of tuggy and chase after it again.

I met a little white collie called Cas who was a lot calmer and quieter than the sheltie but when I started barking at her to put her in her place she quickly put me back in mine. I can boss the sheltie about all the time.

I played with a human puppy and tried to get the balls out of her toy.

Then this evening we went to see someone called a vet who gave me lots of fuss and a treat. We took one of those cat things with us and the vet person jabbed something into his neck, it made ME squeak but he didn't seem bothered.

After all that I got back home and had a good play with that hairy sheltie! Oh and they keep shouting Sweep today a lot.

Puppy!

Introducing Ferrous A Touch of Danger, no pet name yet! He has come as a bit of a shock (in a good way) as mum had been thinking July time for a pup. However I had seen a photo of this boy and thought he was gorgeous then his breeder announced that his new home had fallen through. Mum and I talked and we just couldn't let him slip by as we didn't know where to start looking in a couple of months and I liked the breeder and lines of this pup. You feel guilty for recently losing Diz but he will never replace her and she wouldn't want us to stop living because of it, she hated seeing us upset. She loved collie boy pups too!

So pup came home, I am a great believer in that everything happens for a reason and what is meant to be is meant to be.

For the collie people out there he is a mix of canen and locheil lines.  He is bred by Donna Thorpe, he is a lovely cuddly, friendly boy.

I will post his diary on my Disco Dogs Blog

Vileda Style Sunplash All Purpose Cloth Review

Vileda sent us some products to test and I will review them one by one, our first product review is the Style Sunplash All Purpose Cloth.

For all of the other reviews please visit our other blog: Team Stokey Blog

 

I actually have been using this type of cloth in the kitchen for a while.  I find them really useful for wiping down the worksurfaces.  They soak up a lot of liquid so if you have spilt something (usually when I open a new milk carton it goes everywhere!) they come in very handy.  They also then rinse out really well and will wipe the surface down and not leave a lot of water everywhere so the worksurface dries quickly.

 

They are great as when they are getting a bit dirty they can just be thrown in the washing machine and come up like new.  I have found after 4 or 5 washes they do tend to go a bit thin and rag like so I usually will then replace and use the old one for dirtier jobs (like wiping down the utility room).

 

The only time I didn't find these brilliant was if you have a spillage on the carpet and have animals then they tend to pick up any hairs that may be about and then they are difficult to get off so you then can't use the cloth on worksurfaces.  I tend to therefore use an older cloth for jobs like this as they are good at soaking up spillages.

 

So overall I would recommend the product as they do come in very handy, it would be good if they did them in a range of colours though as they do only come in yellow.

 

Make it Your Race 2013

I have entered Abarth's Make it Your Race 2013 and would be really grateful for your votes, just have to click on my page and vote! :)

My Abarth Challenge Page

Here is my challenge video:

Mugged

Ember has been mugged!!

To keep up to date with us, please follow: Team Stokey Blog

Border Collie Collapse

I haven’t blogged for a while as I have been busy working with Rum.

Unfortunately I had some bad news.  On a couple of occasions recently he has collapsed, once after agility training and once after playing ball with Cas.  When I say collapse, he gets the wobbles and looks like he is drunk, the last time it happened he did eventually collapse on his back legs.

At the same time I had not long read an article on Agilitynet about a condition called Border Collie Collapse (BCC) which seemed to have exactly the same symptoms.  I videoed his ‘episodes’ and emailed them to the researchers in America who agreed it looked very much like the condition but unfortunately there is not yet a gene test for this, there is a similar condition in Labradors called Exercise Induced Collapse and there is a gene test for that, however they have discovered it is not the same gene in collies. 

He went into the vets to have all the standard tests to rule anything else out, they were very thorough and he had a full MOT – everything came back normal.  So it is assumed he is suffering from BCC – it is just a shame there is not a gene test yet so we definitely know, the videos were sent to a specialist neurologist who said it also looked like it and couldn’t think it could be anything else so there wasn’t any point referring him.

The vet gave me some information the neurologist had provided them with and suggested supplements being Co Enzyme Q10, L-Carnitine and Vitamin B2.  He is a right druggy.  The vet suggested I gradually increase his exercise to see if the supplements make a difference, there hasn’t been much research done so they don’t really know either way whether they do help at all. 

We were told his agility days are over but having now mentioned Rum’s condition in a public forum it seems there are a fair number of agility dogs suffering from this who continue to compete as long as they are kept a close eye on.  With Rum this means not queuing (as queues stress him out and stress can trigger an episode) and not competing in the blazing heat (doesn't happen much in this country and he always wears his swampie).  So, over winter I am going to gradually increase what he does and see how he goes, we never compete anyway over winter as he can’t cope with indoor venues.  He has never had an episode at a show, it has only ever happened when he has done a lot of agility training so I am 99% sure competing wouldn't hurt him, it is just whether I can train with him and keep him ‘agility fit.’ 

I love my boy so much, he is my shadow.  When I take them for a run he will literally bounce by my side with a toy in his mouth like Tigger, it doesn't matter what the others are doing he won’t leave my side.  If he can’t cope with agility then at least I still have my shadow and we can still enjoy many happy years together :)

On another note Ember is 9 ½ now, she has had a really good year, qualifying for the Circular Knockout at the UKA Grand Finals, Dovedale Speed & Power 2013 and also TAG Brace 2013 (with Cas).  Although we started the year having nailed the contacts a bit better, they seemed to slip towards the end of the year so again they need more work!

Cas will be 13 the beginning of 2013, she’s still quite fit and active, she has been a little arthritic in this colder weather but once she’s moving she’s fine.  I hope she can still enjoy veterans for a little longer as she loves it, although she isn't up to medium height so will only be running in shows where she can run over small – I was a little surprised at Dashin Dogs where the large dogs had to run over medium and it was then I realised it was too much – at the beginning of the year medium had been okay for her.