AKC Invitational 08

Well, it was a wonderful experience.  Birta was the first dog to run on Sat...pretty nerve racking.  She ran clean and got a Q.  Loki was the 95th dog to run and ran clean but two seconds over the time, so he was NQ.  By Sunday afternoon, Birta was 58th and Loki was 60th out of 95 16 inch dogs.  This is their first year in agility and I was so pleased with the placement.  Birta would have been much higher but her handler(me) got lost on the second course.  :)))  It was a great weekend.

AKC Invitational 08

We spent the weekend competing at the AKC Invitational Dog Show in Long Beach, CA.  It was such a wonderful experience.  Spending all that time with your dogs was great.  There were so many different breeds competing.  My Icelandic Sheepdogs were two of four that were invited.  The other two dogs came from back East.  Everyone was so helpful and friendly.  We will be working hard next year in hopes of getting invited back again.  

Puppies Sleeping Alone

Puppies alone at night are "dead puppies" instinctually.  Everything eats puppies. Owls, cougars, bear, coyotes, fox, hawks, etc. When your puppy sleeps alone, away from the protection of the pack, she is just waiting to be eaten at any moment.  She doesn't sleep restfully. In her mind, she has no protection during the most dangerous time of her life.  

Puppies in the bedroom are SAFE puppies. Their leader, protector, mom/dad, are sleeping in close proximity on the big bed and the door to the den is closed and they can drift into blissful, deep, rejuvenating sleep. They have no idea, at that tender age, that their senses are far superior to ours.  They just trust their leader/protector not let harm befall them. Now we are in our rightful position s All High Exalted PROTECTOR.  

This time is ranked scientifically as the highest quality time you can spend with your puppy.  That's right, sleeping together at night is high quality bonding time.  this is an old trick for teaching potty training. 

A puppy raised in this manner will form a bond like no other. Puppies who sleep apart may grow up to be good dogs but they will never really give themselves to you.  They will never value your opinion over their own and never really trust you as they could have because after all you did leave them to raise and protect themselves, didn't you?