Where did it all go???

Well, it sure has been a long time since I even thought about posting in my blog. I have been a very busy person, or at least I like to think I have been. Nimbus will be 2 in just a couple of weeks and so much has happened in the past year, I don't even know where to begin. We celebrated his 1st birthday with dog friendly birthday cake. He loved it, as did the schnauzers, they love everything we give them. Our dogs are just the best. They don't care what we give them, they always think it is something special :) Nimbus earned a few points showing last year, he's up to 3. Hoping we can get some majors in somewhere and hopefully a judge will like him enough so he can some of those points out of the way. We are showing this weekend in Terre Haute, IN. It's about a 3 hour drive, so not too bad. We will be staying as opposed to driving back and forth. It will be nice to have some Bus and momma time without all the other dogs. I love my minis, but sometimes it's so nice to just chill with Bus in a bed. He loves to curl up and have ears rubbed, and that is sooo relaxing for me. Jenn Stanley will hopefully be handling him this weekend. She came to our rescue in November after a very stressful three days of showing in Fort Wayne. Nimbus works well for her. He doesn't push so much to see what he can get away with. He tries, just not as hard as he does with me. I know it's because I'm mom, just sometimes it can get frustrating.

We had a wonderful visit with Donna last month. Donna is the breeder we got Nimbus from. It was so nice to let him play with Sammy family. He truly enjoyed it. We went to Las Vegas for my work, then spent some time with the family in Arizona, and then stopped by Donna's on the way home. It was so much fun seeing how much of a Sam Nimbus truly is. It's nice to know that some of what he does is 'normal'. lol. We also got to meet one of his litter mates, Khuno. Poor Nimbus is tiny compared to his brother, or his brother is huge compared to Bus. Either way, you could tell they were related, they both have the same look in their face. It was great. I am hoping to go to the Sammy Nationals this year so Bus can play with lots more Sams.

We have been herding a few times in the past year. He LOVES it. and, he's pretty good at it. I am also hoping to get more herding time in soon. We haven't worked a whole lot on agility. Mostly because we have been working on self control and focus. He gets really excited about things, especially four-legged, furry things. All furry, feathery, and even swimming things should be friends and if they are not they must some how become a friend. Oh, this also goes for the two-legged upright things known as people. I do believe that Nimbus would even try to make rocks is friends if he could find a way. I love his attitude and his spirit. He is very determined to make sure we know he is not happy if we do not let him greet everyone and everything that comes across his path.

I am sure I have said this before, but I will say it again. Nimbus is the best friend I have. I have never had a such a relationship with one of dogs before Bus. I am not sure how to explain it, but I am sure you know exactly what I mean. I know we were meant for each other. I knew the first time I saw him stacked that he was mine. I cannot thank Donna enough for the opportunity she has given me with Nimbus. I love him so much. Sometimes, I care more about him than I do my kids. I love my children unconditionally, however there are days when my children do not love us back unconditionally. Nimbus does. He doesn't hold a grudge when I have been gone a couple of days without him, he greets me with excitement and kisses always. He greets me that way even if I just stepped out the door for a few minutes. He also doesn't mind being our entertainment. He keeps us in stitches sometimes with his antics. I love how when he fetches something in the house he has to find something to jump over on the way back. It never fails, you could throw the toy where there is absolutely nothing in his way and he will go out of the way to jump over something coming back. I love how he will entertain himself with the cats for hours. Whether it be tormenting them while they try to hide, or getting as low as he possibly can to play bitey face with them. He is just amusing. The past 2 years has been an amazing journey. I cannot wait to see what the following year has in store for us.

This is sooooo over due...Sorry

Yes, I know it has been forever since I have updated the blog. I am not sure where the time goes but some how it does get away from me. I will try to remember all that has happened in the past couple of months...so here goes...

Thanksgiving weekend, Nimbus showed in his first UKC Conformation show. He also finished his UKC Championship that weekend. I was so proud of him. He did wonderfully, not only in the show ring, but being away from home for the weekend. He did well in the hotel room and at the show. He did get a little stressed the first day, but after some time he started to calm down and did quite well. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but I know he exceeded those expectations with his behavior. I met some nice people that also handle Sammys that weekend. It was refreshing to see people who were willing to help or offer some advice and not have ulterior motives. I was quite disappointed in what Nimbus did lose to the first day, however, I know that is going to happen. We are just going to keep having fun with the sport and see where he goes from here. Our next show is in February. It's an AKC show in Indianapolis. I am hoping to pick up some points that weekend towards his AKC Championship. I am sure he will do well. He has been maturing some the past couple of weeks and looks nicer every day. Biscuit ears and all. Oh how I love my 'bus.

We have started some light agility training. No jumping or anything like that, but we have started working on post turns and front crosses and putting "jumps" together. He runs thru the standards and the tunnel. He seems to enjoy it. Honestly I think he would do anything I asked him to do as long as we were doing it together. He loves to work. It doesn't matter what we are working on. I have noticed tho he would rather work with me than the husband or the son, but he will tolerate working for them if need be. Especially if I am there "supervising".

Nimbus loves and I mean LOVES the snow. He will go outside and root around in the snow for hours if I let him. He will pounce and paw at it. Sniff in it, lick it, eat it, roll in it. He absolutely enjoys being out in the cold, wet, snow. I am not a big fan of freezing, but I have learned to at least tolerate it for about 15 minutes at a time to give him some time to play in it when I take him out to go potty. He is just so amusing when we go outside sometimes, the freezing myself is almost worth it. There are sometimes tho when he would rather just come back in and snuggle on the couch. I love those times much more than the "hey, momma, look, I found an icicle that fell, oooooh shiny, what was that in the snow?" Or I'm gonna knock you down and roll you in it. We have gotten to the point of letting out in the yard with the minis for a time so he can play with the neighbor's dogs thru the fence. They like to run up and down the fence and bark at each other or sniff each other...I have even caught Nimbus trying to get them to play tug thru the fence like he does with Harley. They don't quite grasp what he is trying to do and they have this "you are a strange puppy" look on their faces.

Nimbus believes everybody and everything should be his friend and want him in their face. We are working hard on this. I am so afraid he's going to get hurt greeting a strange dog in this manner. However, it's not just dogs he feels this way toward. Kolton recently got a rabbit and it's amusing to watch Nimbus try to be as small as he can be so the rabbit will play with him. He does with the squirrels in the back yard and stray cats. Pretty much anything he thinks should be a play mate he will do this to. Last week I watched my younger niece and nephew and the first thing 'bus did was splat on the floor wagging his tail trying to be small. It doesn't take long for him to forget that he is not a small creature and gets over excited and intimidates someone or something. He is just so friendly and wants so much for everyone/thing to love him. Gotta love the puppy brain.

Talking about puppy brains. OMGoodness, training has become entertaining to say the least. I forgot about the whole teenage stage of puppy hood. If he listens to the command, I get back talk before he decides he wants to perform the command. That's if he listens...most days he just waits to see how he can wait before not getting the treat. Lately that time frame has become shorter and shorter. He needs to know that when he is told to sit, he needs to sit or whatever the command is he needs to do it when told. He has been testing this theory a lot. We have made some headway with loose leash walking. He has started to realize that there is a person at the end of the lead and that person may have some good treats if he does not drag them to the point of interest; oh and that person my not budge should he be trying to drag them. We have been trying to get a good measurement of him so that I can order a harness for him. He definitely needs a chance to do some pulling, even if it is lightweight pulling. I want to start training commands for a rig, so that when he does mature he can do some kind of rig work. I am positive he will enjoy it.

Christmas came and went in a whirlwind. We did not forget about the dogs tho. For Christmas all of the dogs received an antler for chewing. Nimbus loves them. He will chew on an antler for hours. The minis like them enough...that is when 'bus is not hoarding them by stealing them and then laying on all of them while chewing on one. I have a small box for the dog toys and every night I put all of the antlers away in this box and the next morning when we get up he goes and gets them all out, has them spread all over the living room until the minis are up and then he starts again with hoarding them. Nimbus all got a tangiball for Christmas. It is from Discovery Toys. He loves this ball. It is strawberry scented and has nubbies all over it. He likes the fact that it squeaks when he bites it...but I like it cuz he can handle it without putting a hole in it. It was well worth the money we paid for it.

Nimbus is now 8 months old. I can't believe it. His next show he will be in the 9-12month class. The past 6 months have flown by and I can't believe how much my 'bus has grown. He is still very driven and can be a bit stubborn...but I wouldn't want him any other way. I just love my 'bus. So until next time....oh yeah.. I am adding pictures from the UKC show. Hope you enjoy them.


Nimbus...what a handsome boy UKC Championship photo November 28, 2010

Can we say, "Teenager"?????

Yes, that's what I said. I truly think I have a teen aged sammy on my hands. Nimbus has decided that I am completely clueless and no nothing. However, I am holding firm to the rules and he pouts about it, but eventually figures out I am not giving in. I cannot believe how strong he is getting, and boy does he like to pull. We are working hard on that too. I am in search of a harness so that I can start trying to train him when it is appropriate to pull and give him an outlet for doing so. Nothing too heavy, but at least something to give him the chance to do so. Any suggestions on where to get one would be very much appreciated.

Today was Nimbus's last day of puppy class with Jenn. We had a great time using what skills we learned competing against our class mates in various dog friendly games. We didn't do so great but that's ok, we've come a long way and we are still working very hard on what we have learned. However, we did win a tug toy for being able to keep water in a measuring cup while walking on a leash. Granted, Jenn was very generous in allowing us to use treats and so therefore I kept a treat in front of him the whole time. It was a lot of fun. After class Nimbus got to play with Potion. Now, for the past few weeks we have moved into the barn because of the weather getting cooler. The floor in the barn is dirt, loose dirt at the moment. So when the two of them get to running around the dust gets stirred up. Then after a few minutes of bity face the dirt becomes mud, not mud on the ground, mud on the puppies. So I have a few pictures of what Nimbus typically looks like after a night of puppy class when he gets some play time with his best friend. We have decided that we are going to change his registration to liver/white and then change his bread to border collie since I cannot show a liver and white sam. I think that's all I have for now...so until next time

Bus tugging with Harley Look Mom, I'm a good dirty dog...:-)



After playing with Potion in the barn Only a face a momma can love




Sacked out after puppy class and playing with Harley

I Have an Awesome Boy

So today is Nimbus's 6 month birthday. Wow, I can't believe he is 6months old already. He had a very exciting day today. Today was Nimbus's first conformation show. I was so nervous. My stomach was all in knots and aching. It got better tho as time got closer to show. He was the only dog in his class, so therefor he won his class. But then we went on to compete against the other dogs for Winners Dog. And what do you know, my 'bus won. He lost to a very nice bitch in best of winners, but that's ok. He earned his first point today and I can honestly say I have a pointed dog. It was nice to share this accomplishment with Kenny and Jenn. They were both there for support and I appreciate it very much. I have a lot to learn about showing, but we are having fun learning it together. I have a few pictures that I will post soon. I am very tired from all the excitement and the emotional roller coaster I was on today. I just had to post about my awesome boy. I love my 'bus!!! So until next time...

I think I have met Houdini and he lives in my House

Wow, I have really been busy. Did that title grab your attention? Well I hope so because the text message I got from the hubby yesterday did. I was working a booth in Flora to promote my business and I get a text that says Nimbus has escaped his cage. I figured he meant the xpen in which I responded "Are you sure you latched it all the way down? Sometimes it looks like it is latched but really isn't and he can squeeze through the opening." He replies, "No, he got out of his crate in the bedroom." All I could do at the time was scrape my chin off the ground and scratch my head wondering if they truly got the latches on the crate closed and did they make sure both crate doors were latched. When I got home the hubby takes me to the bedroom to show me how they found the crate. Apparently Nimbus got the bottom latch on the side door of the crate open and squeezed through an opening no more than 4 inches wide, and that's at its widest. How we cannot figure, but he did. Even if the latch was not closed we cannot fathom how he fit through that itty bitty opening in the door. The good is we know that we can trust to be out. There were a ton of things he could have torn apart but didn't. He didn't even bother them. He did eat some wheat thin crackers, but hey, it could have been so much worse. So now when we are not home and have to put him in the crate we have to make sure to lock it with bungee cords because I live with Houdini.

Last weekend Nimbus was entered into his second puppy match. He really well. He placed 2nd in group, losing to a 5 month old boxer puppy, who was very well behaved and not jumping in circles during his down and back like the 'bus. However, Nimbus showed well and received several compliments. He will show in Fort Wayne on November 7, 2010 in his first real show. I am getting excited about this.

We have been working hard on loose leash walking and greeting manners. He can be so obnoxious when he greets other people and dogs. I have been trying to reward him every time he greets someone with all 4 feet on the ground and when he does not automatically think the other dog wants a big, white, and furry puppy in its face. He is getting better. Even the neighbors have noticed a difference in his approach to saying "Hello"

Well I think that is all I have for now...so until next time....

Where has the time gone???

Wow, I guess I hadn't realized that it has been about two weeks since I last posted. I don't know where the time has gone. I do know that in that time my Nimbus has grown up so much. He has become some what of an escape artist, well almost any way. He thinks that when left alone in the living room it is okay to move the xpen into the kitchen. So we thought we would out smart the boy...yeah, next time remind that out smarting a sam is harder than we thought...lol...we took a bungee cord and attached the xpen to the TV stand. Well Nimbus has learned how to unhook the bungee cord from the xpen...so now I have to figure out something new for my 'bus...

I am also going shopping this weekend for a bigger wire crate. He definitely out grown the one we had and has also out grown the crate for the car so it looks like we will be starting to use the great big blue monster crate we have for the car because I do not see any point in buying a crate for him to not fit in it in a month or so.

I really need to post some pictures of him. He is such a beautiful dog. We are always getting compliments on him. He loves children and loves it when they want to pet him. We have been working very hard on walking nicely on a leash and greeting people without jumping up on them. He is learning that he gets more cookies if he sits politely than if he jumps up on them. He has also started being nicer to the cat. He loves that cat and she just does not want anything to do with him, but lately he has decided that he doesn't have rush her when he wants to see what she's up to and we have noticed that the cat is tolerating him a bit more. I have printed of the premium for his first "real" show. He will be showing up in Fort Wayne, IN on November 7, 2010; the day of his 6 month birthday. I am getting really excited to start showing him. I don't know how we will do, but I know one thing...we will have FUN.

I promise to get some pictures posted soon. Things have been very hectic around here and I hope that I can get to it before the weekend...so until next time.....

Bath time was a Breeze???? :-)

Did I say that? I guess I did. Yes folks, it's true, bath time has become something of which Nimbus will now tolerate without much fuss at all and totally to my surprise. If you have read earlier postings you know the routine we had when it came to giving the 'bus a bath. (I love my 'bus) Just had to add that. Any how, Kenny and I had done all the usual preps in getting 'bus ready for his bath. He was filthy and stunk like he rolled in something of which we could not decipher. So, it had to be done. Kenny took off his socks and shoes, I changed my clothes, we put towels down on the bathroom floor and got the water, shampoo, and towels to dry him off with ready. Kenny put him in the tub and he just stood there. I turned the sprayer on and he tried to get out, but not like in the past. He halfheartedly tried to get out. I scruffed him and told him no and that was the end of it. He quietly sulked while he got his bath. I was so excited; but as we all know bath time does not end there. I still had to dry him out and comb him through. So we get everything ready, I turn on the dryer and sit on the couch with him (he no longer fits on my schnauzer sized grooming table) and dried him and combed him. My husband asked me how much I had to beat him and the reply was none at all. He quietly let me do what needed to be done. I even got kisses while drying his belly. Hey, can't ask for much more than kisses while getting groomed. I knew that we had come a long way and that we had an understanding. You do what I want you to do and you get lots of cookies. He didn't whine, cry, or try to break free, he just laid there. I was so proud of him.

Now we are working on getting nails and feet trimmed with the same type of behavior. I must admit it is getting better every time we do it.

Nimbus is growing so much. He has begun teething and has lost a few teeth. He keeps us on our toes and I love every bit of it. Like I said, "I love my 'bus". That's all for now, we have an appointment to go herding again this weekend, will let you know how it goes. Until next time...