Amazing James: 2008-12-21

Saturday, December 27, 2008

No, I don't wanna be sick...

I stayed up late last night, it was probably around 3 A.M by the time I closed my eyes. I could not sleep so I made myself comfortable in bed (Mr. L sleeping right next to me but not hearing a thing) with my laptop in the lap and with the Sex & the City movie running. Yeeees! Now we're talking! ;) I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Unfortunately, the smile was all gone by the time I woke up. My throat & ears were hurting, I had a headache and an itchy runny nose. :( We were supposed to meet the Hazelhill team at 10 A.M. for a walk but ended up cancelling it. Mr. L & my Dad took care of the dogs instead. By the time they were back the sun had managed to come out so I just had to go out and take some pics. I probably should have stayed inside considering I feel like crap now.

Once the photo session was over, Jay and I did some obedience again. He's really good, it's like he needed the break to let it all sink in. I love it! We worked on heel free (fritt följ), moving down (läggande under gång), recall (inkallning), moving stand (stående under gång). He also got a chance to do a little search - boy does he love that. His tail wags like crazy while he's working... and he works and works and works.. hihi.

I also did some heel with Alih - of course - the old baby needs to feel good about himself too and he was so happy and content.

Here are some pics:

My grandpa is visiting today... we're stuffing our faces with even more Xmas food. I will explode soon, I swear. ;)

Not feeling too good, it sucks that I feel worse now than when I woke up this morning. It's not going in the right direction. I hate being sick!!! (well who doesn't?) Maybe it's time for a nap 'cause tomorrow I will be FINE. You watch. ;) I don't have time to be sick, I have way too much school work for that. Yes, school work ... we don't have Xmas breaks at the Swedish Universities... the fall semester does not end until the middle of January. So not until the 19th of January am I done with my 2-Year Master's Degree in Business Administration (majoring in Management, Leadership, Organization & Marketing). Cannot wait!!!

Sleepy Heads

Friday, December 26, 2008

Tracking & Obedience on Boxing Day

Nothing much has happened today other than having been out with the dogs in the forest again. I laid 1 track and my dad laid 2 tracks. When we came back from the walk, Jay and I did some obedience training. Considering the obedience training has been on hold for awhile, I have to say he did really well. I used his tug-of war-toy as a motivator the whole time though (a little cheating). His position may not have been the best at all times, but overall, he did great.

Someone asked me if I always speak English to the dogs, and I do. We do. However, when it comes to obedience training, I made a conscious decision to use Swedish commands with James, considering we live in Sweden and we only train with Swedes. Other than that, James is a native English speaker just like Alih even though Jay was born in Sweden. :) You should hear how it sounds at training sometimes - commands in Swedish and everything else in English. A real nice, confusing mix. It's called SWINGLISH. lol.

James and I came back home a short while ago. We went back out to the forest and did all 3 tracks. My plan was to bring Alih along for one track but I ended up leaving him at home since he was deep asleep when we left. Hihi… Jay took the first 2 tracks quite easy, but on the last track he got lost for a short while. This was one of the tracks my dad had laid, so I did not know myself where the track was… I had to trust James to do his work and eventually he found his toy. It’s real easy to start interfering when they track, but the best thing is to let them do their own thing… ‘cause they will find the end in due time.

My mom actually filmed James and I as we did obedience, unfortunately we used Mr. L's camera and he left the cord at home so I cannot download it. :( Oh well. Maybe another time.

Time to eat (like we haven't eaten enough during this Xmas Holiday!!!) ;)

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Working on Xmas Day

A pic of Jay from yesterday - Dec 24, 2008

James had a busy Xmas Day. Mr. L and I took the dogs for a walk in the forest this morning. They were both running around acting crazy, having a fabulous time. Even old man Alih was in the mood for some play time. ;) I also laid 2 tracks. Mr. L had to hold on to the dogs as they badly wanted to follow me. :). After the walk we dropped Alih off and took Jay for a long drag weight walk. Having him pull a chain is excellent training.

When we came home my dad brought out an old dog sleigh we have. Jay began by pulling my dad, and after a few pulls, I forced my mom to get in to the sleigh too… So Jayness was pulling both my mom and dad at the same time. :) It was a sight, believe me! hihi.. James had to work hard to get the sleigh going, but once it was in motion it was not particularly heavy for him. Even Alih got to pull the sleigh a little bit, obviously with no weight but he loves to work or he will easily feel left out. I don’t blame the old Tiger. ;) He was so proud as he walked around with the sleigh.. hihi… I doubt he even felt it behind him but proud he was. :)

After the “WP session” my parents, Jay and I went back to out to the forest where I had Jay do the 2 tracks. Alih & Mr. L stayed at home. They are both old and get tired easily. hahahaha...

Jay has not tracked in a long time so the tracks were fairly short. He didn't stay exactly in the track but he did really good, especially the 2nd track. He was dead on and found the ball I had hidden in the end in no time. What I also noticed was that he didn’t track fully as fast as he usually does, I guess he was somewhat tired after the walks & the WP training which was good ‘cause it made him more meticulous. I will most likely lay some more tracks tomorrow.. some longer ones, and I will also have Alih come along to track.

My young & wild baby has been pooped for the rest of the day... went for a walk this evening and it's starting to get a little cold (- 8 degrees Celsius = 17 degrees Fahrenheit) so his cover had to come on. Alih is always hot no matter what so he thinks James looks like a lady with that "thing" on. lol.

A collage from Christmas Eve

Above: My grandma & mom. Also, some yummy Xmas food. ;)

Above: Mr L. & my Dad

Above: Jay opening up his Xmas gifts.

Above: Alih sure knows how to open up gifts... in no time. ;)

Above: Can a baby be any cuter than this??!! J

A Lovely Christmas

We had a nice X-mas. In Sweden we celebrate and exchange gifts on the 24th of December, on Christmas Eve in other words, so our BIG day was yesterday.

It began with our regular tradition which means breakfast at our cousins. The boys are so big now, that there is no Santa Claus coming any longer.. hihi.. In the afternoon my grandparents came over to us (meaning my parents house). My mom had cooked and prepared lots of delicious Xmas food. After dinner it was time for the exchanging of the gifts. The dogs loved opening up their gifts. :)

Since we don't celebrate Xmas with any extended family, our Xmas has always been very nice and relaxed.. no stress involved.

Mr. L's family is obviously celebrating Xmas today in New York City. We just spoke to them, and gifts had already been exchanged & opened up. ;) We wish you a continued fabulous Xmas Day. Same goes to everybody else (friends and others) in the United States ...

XOXO from Sweden.