The World Dog Show!

We had a great time at the World Dog Show. We went to the "Amstaff Ring" almost immediately upon arriving, and there we met James brother Atlas. Atlas and his “mommy” were waiting on their turn to enter the ring, and we got a chance to chat with them for a little bit. Atlas received a "Very Good" rating on the quality judging part but was kicked out in the competition part, which I believe they are still happy with considering the fierce competition. When the Male Juniors were done, we headed to the obedience ring and the World Championship in Obedience. It was great fun to see. We only watched a few countries though as we wanted to head back to the Amstaff Ring and watch the Male Amstaff Champions compete. Wow, talk about beautiful dogs. The winning dog was actually an American bred dog, but now owned by a kennel in Denmark, and the dog that came second is owned by a well-established Swedish kennel. All the Champions were sooooo beautiful but I believe the judge got it right in the end. At first it almost seemed impossible to pick one out of all these beautiful dogs. But I really fell for the winner and the runner up, and I told Mr. L. when the judge had narrowed it down to five: “You watch. Those 2 dogs will come first and second”... and they sure did. It was something out of the ordinary with them; they had personalities that shine through.

After that it was time to do a little shopping. Hihi.. I got a new leather leash for James and a new show leash as well. Oh, he will be so pretty. :) I got a few other small things but that was about it. I was actually a bit disappointed with the shopping; it was not as much as I had expected and the prices were not that good either. Anyhow, we ended up going back to the obedience ring where we more or less stayed until it was time to head home.

Right now I am waiting on both my babies to come home!! :) I have missed them like crazy this weekend, so I can barley wait.

Atlas waiting to enter the Show Ring

A Day To Be Proud - Happy 4th of July!

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!!!

I may have been born in another country (i.e. Sweden) but no other country feels like home the same way the US does. I officially became an American after taking the Oath of Allegiance but I became an American by heart several years before that.

I am proud to be an American every day of the year, but especially today!

Happy Independence Day!

United We Stand!


The National Anthem Below:

For the Love of ...Tire

Started the day with play-time in the backyard. Alih has always loved playing with tires and has actively been training James to enjoy it too. I think he can give himself a pat on the back by now, saying: “mission completed”. :)

After this, the dogs were really hot as the heat is back, so we jumped in the car and went to a lake. They managed to destroy both dummies today, damn crapper ...I just bought the second one. But oh well, I’m sure there will be lots of shopping opportunities at the World Dog Show. :)

A Beach Boy

A Wild Child

My parents are coming home tonight, and I am heading home to the city... all by my little self. The dogs will stay in the country as we are heading to Stockholm on Saturday. It will suck leaving without a dog, but I have lots of studying to do tomorrow and we are are leaving early, early on Saturday...so I should survive. :)

Ya' all have a fabulous day today -

Ciao!

Yet Another Relaxing Day

So what’s been on the agenda today? Not a whole lot. Started the day by taking both dogs for a walk, came back home and dropped Alih off, continued on for a long walk with James. After that it was time to study. Boring, boring but a must.

Did some obedience training with James in the afternoon. My Gosh, since the training has been resting since Mid-May so much has been lost. Hmmmm, we have a long way back. :(

Tonight, I had dinner with my friend A – we both "pigged" out on salads. Yes, I know - I'm pretending to be a healthy eater. Hihihi…

I just came back in from having been out with the dogs again. They are passed out on the lawn right now … check them out (took the pic through a closed window). Do you think they think they are cool or what??? Guarding the yard, trying to chase off every dog that passes out on the road. Damn freaks, that's what they are. :)

Bike Training

I thought today was a perfect day to start practicing having James run next to a bike. I jumped on my mom's bike and had James run next to me as I was riding on the backyard. It was no problem, which didn't come as a surprise, considering how used he is with all the bikes in the city. Since it went great, I went and got a leash and had him run next to the bike leashed. It went great too. That is so cool, once he's a year old and I've had his hips and elbows X-rayed there will be lots of biking going on. Believe you me!

We already have a springer from our "labrador time" that I will have my dad hook up to the bike, and Jay and I should be set to go. I bought a springer in the US too for Alih and Carlos but it was only used a few times. Alih never wanted to run next to the bike as he was scared being that close to it, and Carlos just did not have the energy. hihihi... My Big Baby Boy. My Carlosis was like Ferdinand. He'd prefer to smell the flowers instead of running around acting all silly. :)

Excursion

The view from the top

Every now-and-then it's lovely being by yourself. Alih, James and I started the day by going on a little excursion. I decided to go to a nearby “mountain” where we could enjoy the view. After a somewhat short car ride, and a fairly short hike, we were there. It was great, except for a bunch of flies that annoyed the crap out of all three of us. :( But we stayed put for a little while before heading back to the car. Since the day started with sunshine it had become really hot, so next up on the itinerary was a visit to a close by lake. There the dogs could cool off and James could burn off some more energy, since the short hike was far from enough for him.

Right now both babies are lying down next to me, snorting their butts away. :)

Hot puppies after the hike.

The puppy jumped up on a table, looking like his normal crazy self. :)

Old Man Tiger doing some research on his own...mmmm.

...and when done, this is how he looked like.

My crazy water dog - managed to have him sit still for a few seconds before he was back in the water, doing what he does best. Swimming like crazy!

The old man is proving he can retrieve a dummy too.

The beautiful, crazy puppy...

Bath time

My little Baby Blue just got a well-needed bath. For someone who loves to swim as much he does, it's surprising that he hates getting in the tub. However, it is not his decision to make, so in the tub he went. Now he’s a clean, blue, lovely-smelling baby. :) Alih went to the country last Friday, and he got a bath once there. So now I have 2 fabulously smelling puppies. Hihihi...

James and I are going to the country tomorrow morning where we will join up with Alih. My parents on the other hand are coming to the city for work, which means that Alih, James and I are going to enjoy some alone time for a few days. There will be lots of hugging and kissing going on... :)

By the way, we just weighed James and he weighed 29,7kg (about 65-66 pounds). I think he will weigh quite a lot by the time he is fully grown, considering how young he still is. He already looks like a little bodybuilder, not that that should come as a surprise considering how active he is - Mr. Super Active. :)

A little update on Jay's new food - he still likes it. Yeeesss!!!!

Time to watch some mucho interesto soccer right now. It is Germany - Spain in the final. Very, very exciting! :)

New Dog Food

Today, we started James on a new type of dog food. He has always been a bad eater, and a dog with his activity level definitely needs a well-balanced meal to stay happy and healthy. He has been eating Eukanuba Working & Endurance for some time now, and like everything else we have tried, he has gone tired of it already. The boy is as picky as can be; sometimes he does not even eat when I mix it with minced meat (ground beef). Alih was a picky eater when he was a young dog as well, but when he got ground beef mixed with the food, he'd eat. However, this was something he out-grew as he got older, so hopefully James will too. Carlos on the other hand never missed a meal. My big, gorgeous baby! :)

Well getting to the point, we bought this dog food called Klass Hundfoder. It is minced meat, but it contains a mixture of all kinds of meat (chicken, pig etc.). It was developed specifically for dogs to get a well-balanced meal, and this brand has actually been on the Swedish market since the 1960s. Obviously James has only had one meal so far, but he loved it. I hope he will continue to like it even after a while. I did mix it with his Eukanuba food though, and if this will work I will continue doing so. The only negative side with this food, is that it is frozen which means it takes a lot of space in the freezer and one has to remember to defrost it before every meal. But anything for the babies! =)

I’d heard about this kind of food before, but the one that introduced me to it “again”, was the owner of James brother. Atlas (Jay’s bro) eats something sort of similar called B.A.R.F (it can be found in the US too). The reason why we chose Klass Hundfoder was due to location and convenience. Anyhow, lets cross our fingers this food will work!

Next week Thursday, the World Dog Show starts. This year it will be held in Stockholm, Sweden. Its not just for show dogs, there will be agility trials and not to forget, the world championship in obedience (which is what interests me the most). Mr. L and I are planning on going on Saturday (the 5th of July). The Amstaffs will be shown that day, including brother Atlas, so we will have someone to cheer on. Jay will not be shown at this event; he will be at home with his old bro Alih and his grandparents having a fabulous time in the country. :)

Below are a couple of recent pics of Atlas - he is so cute I just want to eat him. :) One can actually see similarities between all the brothers.

Delicious Dinner

Went out to dinner last night with Mr. L, my parents, my 2 cousins (Caroline & Jackie) and their parents (my uncle and his wife). For dinner I ate a fabulous sirloin steak, and for dessert we had ice-cream. It all tasted delicious. The main event was my uncle’s birthday, but we also celebrated that my cousin Caroline recently had turned 20 (we never got a chance to meet on her b-day) and I recently finished my Swedish Master’s Degree (min ekonomiemagister). It was great fun to see them all, unfortunately we don’t see each other often enough. (My mom and my cousin Jackie took pics, so if I get any at a later point, I will add them to the post).

We had a late start today. Did not take the dogs out until after 10 A.M. Poor things, but they were tired too. We went to a recreational park that we used to go to a lot, but for some reason we have not been there in quite some time. The dogs love it there, as they can run around and play as they please. James jumped in the water at the first opportunity he got. When Mr. L told him he’d had enough, he got pissed and started bouncing around. That boy sure is special. But after a slap in the ass, from me, he calmed down. I had him lay down for quite some time, and he did not dare to budge. I guess a slap in the ass works. Maybe I should try that on Mr. L too when he misbehaves. lol.

It's study time... Ciao!

I've finally seen it...

..the Sex & the City Movie. Mr. L and I decided to go in the last minute, and no regrets. :) Great story, with a happy ending! And guess what was showing on TV when we got home? An old episode of SATC. lol. Can the evening get any better than that? :) I doubt it!