Friday, October 28, 2011

Full Post Friday

Wow it has been an amazing last two weeks, I couldn't believe how fast they have gone. I started my placement within a daycare located in a high school. I am in a junior preschool classroom so the children are about 2-3 years old and boy are they cute. I am loving the emergent curriculum yet still miss theme. It is very neat to see it put into practice compared to just reading the theories. Of course all the children are excited for Halloween and the costume ideas are too funny. They range from witch ballerinas to super-bunnies and pirate spider man. I have also been laughing lots as these guys have the funniest things to say like;

"I'm not cross no more"
(upon being asked why he was sad)

"What can I do for you"
(after hearing name called)

My favorite being "dip" after the child
reached his fork and meatball into the
sauce on my plate instead of their own!

The work load is a lot but I am handling it so far, I will be happy to be completed placement in a few weeks just for that. Otherwise I am perfectly content doing my placement.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

"Rope, Koda get your rope"

Poor guy just looked at me with this sad quizzical look on his face as if to say
"my rope, what rope, my rope is gone"

Luckily we got the replacement last spring, didn't think that rope toys could last seven years
but I guess if you love them enough they will

Monday, October 17, 2011

A Bit of Education

I have always loved dogs and have been interested in history and genetics and how breed traits are passed down along lines. I find that many people who breed dogs or are interested in dogs are not keen on designer breeds. In theory it makes sense their are enough mixed breed dogs in the world why are you senselessly breeding more. One case in point is the recent popularity of the goldendoodle and the labradoodle yet both of these breeds have been bred for almost 20 plus years.




I have to say that I think only registered breeders should be allowed to breed since they are the ones taking the time to show, test and educate themselves and others. Many people tend to breed without ensuring they are adhereing to breed standards, health of their dogs and puppies. Let alone showing and taking time to truly learn about breeding healthy pets. That being said many of our well beloved breeds have evolved from breeding different breeds together to create a new or breeding size varients from an existing breed.



Recently I have fallen in love with the Australian Shepherd and decided that this was to be my lifelong breed amonst others of course but I have choosen to have Aussies as my showing breed. As I researched into the breed looking at how this breed would fit into my lifestyle that I hope to have, I discovered that some breeders have begun size varients. To be honest I was a little taken aback but then interested since a 60 plus pound dog is alot to handle. After owning Koda, I know that 80 pounds is alot to get in and out of the car, in and out of the bath tub, eats alot, and is fully able to pull me down the street if he felt like it. After looking into it more and realizing that these breeders are not breeding other breeds into the Australian Shepherd just breeding them smaller like they used to be bred. I quickly realized that this was something I wanted to be involved in.





To me having that Australian Shepherd in just a smaller package was perfect. I personally enjoy the mini size compared to the toy. I think that any size variants should look the same as the standard size just smaller or larger. I have done quite a bit of research into the breed and came across several different breeders. In fact these breeders are instrumental in creating the Canadian Mini Aussie Association. http://www.canadianminiaussies.com/ . Many standard breeders are very against breeding smaller aussies. As well neither AKC or CKC has approved the breedings either however they have begun accepting those breeders who wish to change their dogs names to the North American Shepherd. I think that this is wrong because no other brreds have been used to create a new breed. These are australian shepherds whose parentage can be traced back to AKC and CKC registered dogs, they are simply bred from small dog to small dog.




In my own research I emailed several breeders and all of them were very helpful however I did choose one. I have visited the breeder and met several aussies. I have also attended a herding clinic with many other different breeders also attending. I have flip flopped over colour choices but am currently stuck on red merles. I have actually now choosen the mother of my eventual puppy but she herself is only 1 year. This means that I will have plenty of time to continue my research and keep learning!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Some excitment around here

I feel like it was just yesterday that I posted by turns out a whole week has gone by already. It must be because I`m so busy that I don`t even notice. I was recently hired on at Petsmart, yay! I am always in there plus Indy is my only dog not on their brand of dog food, we do training, and salon visits there too. I am very excited to really get to know all the different aspects of working in such a big company an added plus is that I was hired on to eventually be a dog trainer! During my hiring I was told that potentially I would go for my dog traing training after christmas, super exciting. This means that I no longer have weekends to myself but I think I will enjoy the job and get lots of pet experience. Hopefully my organization skills will come in handy here as I try to juggle supply teaching at my daycare, school and working for my Mom in the mornings getting my siblings off to school and the house clean.





School is doing pretty good, I have my A average back which I am very greatful to have. I also start my very first placement on Monday. I am very excited to be in a different daycare which is in a bigger city so hopefully more exposure to have to plan inclusive activities. It should be a little weird transitioning from being a teacher to a student but hey no more changing diapers or cleaning up!










While I am doing my placement I will be living with my Dad and will therefore get to see more of Indy. Hopefully this will also mean more walks and photo shoots with him! Koda and Sophie are doing good, we battled fleas again after our visit to the cottage although thanks to finally putting them on advantage it was an easy battle with just one flea bath.










I hope to be doing some weekend pre-posts so that I can have time to post on my own blog and not just for Blair!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving



I hope that my Canadian readers had a great Thanksgiving and took some time to spend on themselves and with family. We made a trip to my Aunt and Uncle's cottage again to spend some time in the sun and even the water. We even found some time to write some blog posts!






Sunday, October 2, 2011

Hug Your Pets A Little Tighter

This week the most horrifying thing occured while I was driving home late one night from a friends house. I have not really hit anything in my life while driving aside from the occasional frog, snake or chipmunk. Even while hitting those I felt a little sick to my stomach. But this, this was way worse.

I was driving over the speed limit yes but I did have my high beams on. A little orange kitty darted in front of my car and even though I swerved and slammmed on the brakes, I did hit the cat. To be honest, I feel anything right then. I did quickly turn the car around and go back to see if the cat had died or not. I walked over to the cat and called kitty kitty but no movement came.

Since it was right near a house I got in my car and drove to the driveway. It was then that I started to shake. I knocked on the door several times before someone came out, I politely apologized for the late hour and asked if they had an orange cat. They said no but they had seen one living in the fields next to their house. They did ask if the cat was dead and I told them that yes I had checked and that it didn't appear to be alive. They then told me that it was a good thing that the cat didn't suffer. They also nicely told me that they would remove it from the road. I thanked them and went to drive home.

The way home I cried, couldn't control my breathing and couldn't believe that it had happened. When I got home I hugged my pets really tighter because I learned that our pets really can disapear in an instant. I was glad to know that I didn't kill anyone's beloved pet but I am saddened to know that I'm really the only one who cares about the cat.