Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season! Thank you so much for keeping up with the blog posts! Promise to post more in the new year!
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| Chai Chai & Daddy |
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| Mama & Charles T |
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| Mama & Starlet |
Monday, December 26
Monday, December 5
UKC Champion
Chai got his UKC Champion title in one weekend!
He was bred by exhibitor for the first set of shows. Then Matt & I showed him in the classes after. He placed 4th with me and 3rd with Matt.
This show was WAY easier! UKC judges base their decisions on what a dog's duty is versus the AKC judges who base their decisions on the prettiness factor. The shows were much less snooty and, therefore, tolerable. We actually had alot of fun!
He was bred by exhibitor for the first set of shows. Then Matt & I showed him in the classes after. He placed 4th with me and 3rd with Matt.
This show was WAY easier! UKC judges base their decisions on what a dog's duty is versus the AKC judges who base their decisions on the prettiness factor. The shows were much less snooty and, therefore, tolerable. We actually had alot of fun!
Monday, November 7
Big Boy
My apologies! It has been awhile since I last updated the blog.
Chai will be ONE year old on November 16. In the past seven months that he has been with us, he has grown and changed SO much! He is currently 30" tall (measured from his shoulder to his toes) & 90 lbs! YIKES. Great Pyrenees grow in height and width up until their third birthday. While he is already much larger than his father, his great uncles were 32" tall & 130 lbs. We have been told he will max out at around 115 lbs and probably stop growing in height. BIG big boy!
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| Good 'ol Fashion Cuddle Time |
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| Halloween 2011 |
We missed the sign up day for the dog show this weekend in Pueblo, NM. It's probably a good thing though since it's 3 hours away! Some people take this dog show stuff a little too far! We will, however, be going to the specialty shows in February. Apparently it is 5 days of non-stop grooming, fluffing & running the rink. Chai will most likely be there atleast 3 of the days with a handler or the breeder, if he can handle all the excitement. We have decided if we don't get any points that weekend we are probably done :0) It's a little too discouraging to put that much time and effort into grooming, training, drive time, fluff time, and rink time just to get second place (which gets ZERO points).
Other than showing him, we will be moving (very shortly) to a new place with a yard! Chai & Star will have lots of room to romp around. Not to mention, Mom & Dad will be out of the house less dealing with the commute!
Other than showing him, we will be moving (very shortly) to a new place with a yard! Chai & Star will have lots of room to romp around. Not to mention, Mom & Dad will be out of the house less dealing with the commute!
Sunday, August 21
Our First Dog Show
What an interesting weekend we had.....
Friday, we rushed from work, to the breeders, to Four Paws to give our filthy Little Man a bath before his big day. We made it there with 40 minutes to go! (As some of you know, bathing a Great Pyrenees takes at a minimum of 90 minutes- 20 minutes to suds him up, 10 minutes to rinse & 60 minutes to blow dry him with a cattle dryer.) Well..... lo & behold- when there's a will, there's a way! We borrowed our breeder's dryer & the resident groomer's and got him remotely dry by the time the doors closed.
Ever since Chai was a glimmer in our eyes, it was always Matt's dog, more specifically Matt's responsibility. When we found out we would have to show him, we, meaning Ashley, also decided that this would also be Matt's responsibility. Somehow, Saturday morning at 7AM I was dressed & ready to be in my first dog show, not Daddy Matt. ..... mmhm ...... After a caffeine pick-me-up, we drove up to Greeley for the day.
Well, dog show people are a breed of their own. It's like a bunch of non-athletic people got together and decided that since their dog was "SUCH a good looking dog" they'd show the dog off instead. Needless to say, dog shows are not for us. The amount of cockiness and competitiveness was astounding. Here we thought that we would have just as much fun as we did at the MHGPC Annual Fun Match..... more friendly, carefree competition, but no. There was definitely a certain "I'm better than you" air that we are not privy to....
Regardless, after two days of shows the judges apparently did not like my novice handling skills or Chai's superior good looks. Or maybe they were baited with some hundred dollar bills by the other handlers. We ranked 2nd & 3rd out of three male puppies. No points. We went home empty handed.
Friday, we rushed from work, to the breeders, to Four Paws to give our filthy Little Man a bath before his big day. We made it there with 40 minutes to go! (As some of you know, bathing a Great Pyrenees takes at a minimum of 90 minutes- 20 minutes to suds him up, 10 minutes to rinse & 60 minutes to blow dry him with a cattle dryer.) Well..... lo & behold- when there's a will, there's a way! We borrowed our breeder's dryer & the resident groomer's and got him remotely dry by the time the doors closed.
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| Wet Doggy |
Ever since Chai was a glimmer in our eyes, it was always Matt's dog, more specifically Matt's responsibility. When we found out we would have to show him, we, meaning Ashley, also decided that this would also be Matt's responsibility. Somehow, Saturday morning at 7AM I was dressed & ready to be in my first dog show, not Daddy Matt. ..... mmhm ...... After a caffeine pick-me-up, we drove up to Greeley for the day.
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| Clean & fluffy boy! |
Well, dog show people are a breed of their own. It's like a bunch of non-athletic people got together and decided that since their dog was "SUCH a good looking dog" they'd show the dog off instead. Needless to say, dog shows are not for us. The amount of cockiness and competitiveness was astounding. Here we thought that we would have just as much fun as we did at the MHGPC Annual Fun Match..... more friendly, carefree competition, but no. There was definitely a certain "I'm better than you" air that we are not privy to....
Regardless, after two days of shows the judges apparently did not like my novice handling skills or Chai's superior good looks. Or maybe they were baited with some hundred dollar bills by the other handlers. We ranked 2nd & 3rd out of three male puppies. No points. We went home empty handed.
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| Stacking the dogs... my hand should have been on the top of his collar... |
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| Stacked & ready! |
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| Judge examining the dog |
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| Happy turns! |
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| How the PROs do it! (TJ & Sandy) |
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| 2nd judge inappropriately checking out my ass..... |
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| 2nd & 3rd |
Friday, August 5
Sunday, July 31
Mile High Great Pyrenees Annual Fun Match
We attended the Mile High Great Pyrenees Annual Fun Match in conjunction with the Evergreen Kennel Club All Breed Match and had a ton of fun! We learned a lot too as it was our first match to be handling dogs. Matt handled Chai or Charles, as we call him in the ring, and I handled Nubikins, the breeder's dog, Chai's littermate.
Chai took Best in Sanctioned Match and Nubi took Best Opposite Sex in Match. It was a successful day! Too bad they don't count as points toward his champion!
The most fun part of the day was watching Freddy, the 5 week old Pyrenees, and Lacey, the 6 week old Bearded Collie, play together. Freddy is the only child so this was his first time meeting his match. Lacey definitely showed him who's boss!
Chai took Best in Sanctioned Match and Nubi took Best Opposite Sex in Match. It was a successful day! Too bad they don't count as points toward his champion!
The most fun part of the day was watching Freddy, the 5 week old Pyrenees, and Lacey, the 6 week old Bearded Collie, play together. Freddy is the only child so this was his first time meeting his match. Lacey definitely showed him who's boss!
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| The little kid doesn't shut his mouth! Lol :0) |
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| Our Awards! |
Friday, July 29
5 Week Old Pyrenees Puppy
We figured it out! A 5-week old Pyrenees puppy is about the same size as our chihuahua, Miss Starlet-- EIGHT whopping pounds. The breeder changed his name from Ice Man to Shaman to Fast Freddy, which now seems to be a worthy name. This little man GET AROUND! And apparently he's the worst troublemaker she's had in her 30 years. Fun stuff!
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| Big Boy! |
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| Freddy teasing Nubikins |
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| Freddy love his fan! |
Friday, July 1
8-day old Great Pyrenees Puppy
OMG! Got to hold the cutest little 8-day old Great Pyrenees puppy the other day. He is the only puppy in the litter and was born about 4 days early! He won't open his eyes for another week at the very least. The breeder is calling him "Fire & Ice" or "Ice Man" at the moment, but since he's so young that's apt to change. Heck! Chai was first named "Trouble" we later found out..... now it's his middle name!
Ice is VERY strong already for his size. He crawled all they way up my chest in search of a nipple with some milk! I literally had to squeeze him to get him to stay still. The breeder squeezed the wrong section of his little body while he was on my lap; I was lucky to discover he has diarrhea! NICE. Typical newborn, I suppose.
Ice is VERY strong already for his size. He crawled all they way up my chest in search of a nipple with some milk! I literally had to squeeze him to get him to stay still. The breeder squeezed the wrong section of his little body while he was on my lap; I was lucky to discover he has diarrhea! NICE. Typical newborn, I suppose.
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| Check out his belly!! |
Sunday, June 19
Playdate with More Litter Mates!
Ever since I started working, Chai has plenty of daily playtime with his sister, Nubikins. Last weekend we discovered that if we don't take Chai out for a walk or to the dog park for a couple hours on each weekend day, we will have a hyped-up Chai & an angry Starlet on our hands.
Two months ago we had a playdate with Nubikins & Jackson, Chai's brother who went up to Alaska which I blogged about here --> Three White Polar Bears. It's crazy to see how much they've changed in only 60 days! Yesterday we ventured out to the dog park to meet our breeder again who brought Nubikins & Tully, Chai's brother from up in FoCo.
Two months ago we had a playdate with Nubikins & Jackson, Chai's brother who went up to Alaska which I blogged about here --> Three White Polar Bears. It's crazy to see how much they've changed in only 60 days! Yesterday we ventured out to the dog park to meet our breeder again who brought Nubikins & Tully, Chai's brother from up in FoCo.
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| On Our Way.. |
Once again, we feel blessed we got Chai instead of any of the other males in the litter. Tully is aggressive when he wants to push his weight around! The breeder said in a couple more months, he wouldn't even be able to go to a dog park. Yikes! But for now... they can play nicely, for the most part!
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| Already lying down after 30 minutes of playtime.. |
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| Can you tell who is who?! |
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| White Fluff, Nine Legs - One Dog?! |
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| Nubikins instigating... |
Thursday, June 16
Fire on the Balcony
About a month ago, Matt thought a fire pot on our outside table would be AWESOME for the summer. We purchased one at Lowe's to create a little outdoor oasis for the summertime. The fire pot has citronella gel that you literally light on fire and can extinguish with this little metal disc.
After about a week of dining out, I cooked a simple dinner after work. While Bryan & I were getting seconds, Matt was sitting at the table ready to dig in. Chai, still thinking he's about 30 pounds & 20" tall, ran under the table and got his collar stuck. Panic-stricken, Chai backed up as fast as he could. Matt's plate, one glass, two sodas, silverware, salt & pepper shaker, parmesan cheese, and fire pot landed all over the outdoor carpet, the table landed on Matt's foot, and the fire pot landed on Matt's drying shirt. Fire spread to two of the chairs, Matt's pants (that were on him), Chai's whiskers, and up the wall where Matt's shirt was drying. Luckily, Matt put the fire out while I was grabbing the fire extinguisher. All is well! Thank God!
So...... how was your dinner?
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| Fire Pot |
After about a week of dining out, I cooked a simple dinner after work. While Bryan & I were getting seconds, Matt was sitting at the table ready to dig in. Chai, still thinking he's about 30 pounds & 20" tall, ran under the table and got his collar stuck. Panic-stricken, Chai backed up as fast as he could. Matt's plate, one glass, two sodas, silverware, salt & pepper shaker, parmesan cheese, and fire pot landed all over the outdoor carpet, the table landed on Matt's foot, and the fire pot landed on Matt's drying shirt. Fire spread to two of the chairs, Matt's pants (that were on him), Chai's whiskers, and up the wall where Matt's shirt was drying. Luckily, Matt put the fire out while I was grabbing the fire extinguisher. All is well! Thank God!
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| Chai's singed whiskers |
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| RIP Shirt! |
So...... how was your dinner?
Friday, June 10
BYE BYE SHOES -- AGAIN!
UGH!!!! PAIR NUMBER TWO. BYE BYE BANDOLINOS :0( Bye Bye New Shoes! If he does this to my Replacements he'll be DEAD! I can't afford to keep up with his shoe-chewing habits. Seriously..........
Sunday, June 5
Mini Rhubarb Pie Bites
For our Mile High Great Pyrenees Club meeting, these Mini Rhubarb Pie Bites went like hot cakes! Our breeder gave us homegrown rhubarb from her garden which made even more delicious. You can find the recipe and many more on Bake'N'Forth. Perfect for sharing & just the right amount of pie! Scoop some vanilla bean ice cream right on top too!
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| Mini Rhubarb Pie Bites! |
Saturday, June 4
Work
Mommy got a job! Finallyyyyyyyyy! Lots of changes for the puppies......
For the time being, Starlet will be holding down the fort for 10+ hours a day while Chai will be at his breeder's. He'll be able to entertain his sister all day in their playpen and, hopefully, sleep the rest of the afternoon with us!
We're looking to rent a house ASAP! Wish us luck!
For the time being, Starlet will be holding down the fort for 10+ hours a day while Chai will be at his breeder's. He'll be able to entertain his sister all day in their playpen and, hopefully, sleep the rest of the afternoon with us!
We're looking to rent a house ASAP! Wish us luck!
Thursday, June 2
Mile High Great Pyrenees Club
We are members of the Mile High Great Pyrenees Club. While Ashley volunteered for Ella's Walk checking vendors in and guiding pups along the course, Matt hung out with the ladies and the pack!
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| MHGPC at Ella's Walk |
Sunday, May 29
Coot Lake
We are lucky to live in a neighborhood with lots of dog owners. Our neighbors in the apartment below ours have a 5-month old puppy, Bandit. Chai & Bandit will bark at each other through the windows or will sneakily pretend they have to go out to do their business just so they can play together. Along with Bandit, there are many dogs that walk past our apartment. German Shepherds, Pitbull Terrior mixes, Great Danes, Shih Tzus, French Bulldogs, mutts, and Max, a "Shocker" (Shiba Inu & Cocker Spaniel). Max's mom invited us to Max's 2nd birthday party at Coot Lake near Boulder Reservoir.
At first, we thought it'd be nice to meet the neighbors and be able to get to know them instead of just letting our dogs play for a minute or two while on walks. Not to mention, we assumed it was a gated dog park. In the coming weeks we asked the locals about Coot Lake..... turns out there is no leash law here, just a "Voice & Sight Tag" program. "Okay?!" ...we thought. "So it's just a really big dog park, right?" BOY WERE WE WRONG!
The only thing separating the dogs from the road is a very old barbed wire fence with huge gaping holes, and a parking lot. Oh yea...... really well protected! The entire time we were at this "party" we were yelling "Chai" at the top of our lungs and running after him. Great Pyrenees were originally bred to protect herds of sheep by themselves in the Pyrenees Mountains of Spain. Being true to his breed, he was wandering right off by himself through this 10+ acre park with a 1.2 mile trail around the lake. Atleast there were trails for him to stay on?! UGH! We let him off leash so he wouldn't pull us around while playing with the ten other dogs that were at the party and so he, also, wouldn't get the leash attached on the rocks and trees growing in the lake. What a pain!
Meanwhile, all of our neighbors, self-proclaimed dog trainers, were trying to pacify us by telling us to think positively and that he would come back. WHAT?! Do you (1.) have a puppy? (2.) know our dog? and (3.) know the breed?! We think NOT! Keep your opinions to yourselves! Do you know what a Great Pyrenees off leash is?! GONE! Take that "dog trainers." We could only put up with opinions and Chasing Chai T around for about an hour and a half...
Mud laden and wreaking of wet dog, we took Chai straight to Four Paws and gave him a bath. Luckily our breeder was there grooming German Shepherds. She has the best dryer! It only took 30 minutes to dry him versus the typical 45 minutes.
Twenty hours later.... and we still have a groany, sleepy puppy on our hands. Thank gosh we rescheduled our play date with Chai's sister, Nubikins, for tomorrow. He would have fallen asleep at the park! What a day! Oh, what a day.
At first, we thought it'd be nice to meet the neighbors and be able to get to know them instead of just letting our dogs play for a minute or two while on walks. Not to mention, we assumed it was a gated dog park. In the coming weeks we asked the locals about Coot Lake..... turns out there is no leash law here, just a "Voice & Sight Tag" program. "Okay?!" ...we thought. "So it's just a really big dog park, right?" BOY WERE WE WRONG!
The only thing separating the dogs from the road is a very old barbed wire fence with huge gaping holes, and a parking lot. Oh yea...... really well protected! The entire time we were at this "party" we were yelling "Chai" at the top of our lungs and running after him. Great Pyrenees were originally bred to protect herds of sheep by themselves in the Pyrenees Mountains of Spain. Being true to his breed, he was wandering right off by himself through this 10+ acre park with a 1.2 mile trail around the lake. Atleast there were trails for him to stay on?! UGH! We let him off leash so he wouldn't pull us around while playing with the ten other dogs that were at the party and so he, also, wouldn't get the leash attached on the rocks and trees growing in the lake. What a pain!
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| Chasing Isa, 4-month old German Shepherd |
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| Barking at birthday boy, Max |
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| Isa, Chai & Max |
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| What do you call a Great Pyrenees off a leash?? |
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| Begging for treats. |
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| Half-Swimmer |
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| Lakeside with Shelby, 8-month old Great Dane |
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| Debating whether he should jump in... |
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| Chasing |
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| Isa & Chai on the rock ledge |
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| Stick found! |
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| LOL |
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| Stick hunting |
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| Found it! |
Meanwhile, all of our neighbors, self-proclaimed dog trainers, were trying to pacify us by telling us to think positively and that he would come back. WHAT?! Do you (1.) have a puppy? (2.) know our dog? and (3.) know the breed?! We think NOT! Keep your opinions to yourselves! Do you know what a Great Pyrenees off leash is?! GONE! Take that "dog trainers." We could only put up with opinions and Chasing Chai T around for about an hour and a half...
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| At Four Paws |
Mud laden and wreaking of wet dog, we took Chai straight to Four Paws and gave him a bath. Luckily our breeder was there grooming German Shepherds. She has the best dryer! It only took 30 minutes to dry him versus the typical 45 minutes.
Twenty hours later.... and we still have a groany, sleepy puppy on our hands. Thank gosh we rescheduled our play date with Chai's sister, Nubikins, for tomorrow. He would have fallen asleep at the park! What a day! Oh, what a day.
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