13.01.2013
The wait was well worth it. Ultrasound showed 6 pups. Having said that, both Caya and Honey only showed 6 pups on ultrasound and they ended up with 9 and 11 pups!! I sure hope Spice won't have quite that many for both our sake.

24/26 & 28.12.2012
Spice was mated by Easy. Now we have to wait.....

08.12.2012
Joined a group of people doing agility training in a riding school in Sint Niklaas. Werner and Monique gives the lessons and it's so much fun. I'm so surprised that my girls with a bit of experience still remember so much after all this time and soooo happy to see how much the young dogs enjoy it and with the speed and enthusiasm that they do their excercises. They've hardly put a foot wrong! Amazing and so much fun! Just my knee that doesn't agree with me and hurts. I hope once the weather warms up that the pain will stop.

18.11.2012
Hofstade - 2nd last competition of the year and the end to a long line of victories. The results of Hofstade are not on line yet so I don't know if Hippie or Luke participated but Caya and Julie won once more. Unfortunately Caya started limping after the race and the vet on site thought problem is in hind left knee. So my fear of running an unfit dog has come to fruition and she won't finish the season. No more races without serious training which I very much doubt will happen. As of December I'll finally start some agility training again and see hope that it will get me interested in training full time again. I would also like to start up obedience again as it's easier to train and compete with many dogs as they all participate in different hours. Cross your fingers that these old feeling bones get some life shaken into them again after a winter training session.

11.11.2012
Velaine-Sembreville - once again Hippie did not get to run wheras Pollux ran twice. Such a a shame to run a tired dog when there's a good fresh dog available. Sorry to go on about it but it really bugs me that Hippie has been put on the shelf as I know that the kids hardly ever train with the dogs anymore. Hopefully Bart takes her out from time to time. Seems this sport has become as highly competitive as many other disciplines and more and more runners buy hunting dogs in order to win whereas their first choice of dog would have been a very different breed. I like people that stick to their preferred breed and do the best they can with it rather than to buy a dog they normally would not look at just to win. In the end you will find that each discipline with be limited to the participation of only a few different breeds whereas when I began in agility and canicross there was a lovely mix of breeds with people enjoying a passion for their favorite breed in a discipline they both enjoyed.  At least Julie still enjoys a run with a border collie taking Caya into first place yet again!

20-21.10.2012
Belgium Canicross Championships were held close to home this year so I finally went to see Caya run with Julie. As always the start was great but I found that Caya could have run faster at the finish as well. She tends to trot rather than galop now a days. Of course it's a long strided trot and maybe she finds it a more comfortable stride to go fast in a trot than slower in a galop if she finds Julie can't follow. As Julie is a good, lightfooted and fast runner I sort of dismissed this thought to start with but it could just be a question of striding rather than condition. In any case Caya and Julie won both days and were crowned as well deserved Belgian Champions.

Marie decided to run with Folly as qualified but she had not trained with her since June so I was not expected too much. So it was a nice surprise to see Marie fighting on with Folly coming home in a nice galop.

Gigi also participated with Luke and finished second over all. Stijn placed fourth with Hippie.

On Sunday Kute Kenzie came for a visit. An adorable, happy little girl clearly loved by her family. It was really nice to see her developping so nicely and what a cute little girl she's turned out to be.

13-14.10.2012
Caya went off to UK to participate at the European Canicross Championships with Julie. On day one they finished third with just a few seconds of difference to a first place. Unfortunately Julie never walked the course the second day as she understood it was the same course. It turned out the course had changed and she therefore crossed through the ropes in order to follow the course from the day before. Very sportingly one of the other girls called her back on track but she lost precious seconds that could have brought her into at least a second place overall. As it is she and Caya finished in a very decent third place with hardly any time difference between the three girls on the podium. As Julie is amongst the youngest and also very small she's at a disadvantage with should hopefully disappear over the next couple of years. I'm very proud of the two girls and happy that Caya has found someone to love and care for her since Robin has stopped his caring attention of Caya in the last year using her more as a running machine than his best four-footed friend. I guess it's a normal growing process but it's still sad to see how his best friend becomes just a means to an end not even bothering picking her up at the door or dropping her off. A rather nonchalent attitude not much appreciated by me. I believe Julie is still a true 'animal' lover but things will change as she grows. Often to no interest and then it will hopefully come back again as the teenage years are left behind. Of course some youngster do stick it out with their own dogs remaining their good friends and this is always nice to see. With a bit of luck Julie will be one of those kids as she's very sweet with the dogs and has a good way with them.

10.10.2012
Honey's pups were eye tested and all were clear.

07.10.2012
At Uitbergen Hippie did not even get to run as both Bart and Robin now opts for hunting dogs. I find it a real shame after all Hippie has done and because she's a strong and fast dog maintaining a more constant run than Pollux. Hopefully this is not the end of her competition days as she's a very active dog and would find it hard not to train anymore which she probably won't if she stops competing. With any luck Julie will run with her next season as I want to stop sending Caya since she never gets to train anymore and her condition is no longer what it should be. This can easily cause an injury which I want to avoid at all cost. As Hippie isn't as easy to control as Caya I've promised Julie she can finish the season with her and once more they ran a great race coming in first.

16.09.2012
At Banneux Julie ran with Caya finishing 1st with a time more than 2 minutes faster than the second place. In fact she had the second fastest time of all cadettes, boys and girls, being beaten only by brother Robin who no longer finds that border collies are strong or fast enough for him. I've seen other children being hurt by running with dogs too strong for them and just cross my fingers that this will not be the case for Robin.

09.09.2012
Bart ran the short distance with Hippie at Polleur and ended up in a very respectible second place with Robin winning a first place with Caya. Julie did not participate this weekend.

02.09.2012
Caya went off to run with Robin at the VCF Belgian Championships. The competition took place in Spiere Helkijn. Apparently Caya was in good form and Robin won the VCF Championships with her. Bart ran with Hippie and came third in the competition but it did not count for the Championships as he had not participated in enough VCF competitions to qualify.

21.08.2012
Big day today. Only 59 days after Honey was mated by Easy so still no pups expected. She's still calm and temperature has not yet dropped. I did however stay home in the morning as it was annual market and my street closes down and fills up with donkeys, music and a lot of people. As I did not want the dogs to bark at all the passers by I left the shutters down and stayed home to ensure that the dogs stayed calm. They behaved beautifully and I was finishing off some work on the computer in preparation to leave for the office. At 11.30 however, Honey suddenly went into the litter box and started digging around after having been totally normal all morning. I quickly had to scramble to get everything prepared for a possible birth which I still did not expect for hours if even the same day. I did, luckily, decide to call work and to tell them I was not coming in and 15 minutes later Honey had her first pup. Unbelievable. Her first litter and not a peep out of her at all. Most other girls start showing signs the day before, sometimes even earlier but Honey was cool as ice. No whimpering during the birth and she took care of her very first pup like an absolute star. Like she'd done it many times before.

As the x-ray had only shown 6 pups I figured we'd come close to the end when pup 7 was born. 7 pups in 2 hours for a first litter! Although some came out butt first they were all super easy births for Honey who remained calm through it all. Problem was the speed with which they popped out as she hardly had time to finish cleaning one before another one was born. Only sad thing was pup number 3 as he was born with a badly ruptured navel. As the intestines were coming out I decided to have him put down right away so he would not suffer. So it should be the end right? But no, I could definitely feel another one and lo and behold soon enough pup 8 was born. In less than 5 hours from the birth of her first pup Honey had no less than 11 pups!! Definitely a first for me and obviously also for Honey bunny! Tough to raise 10 pups when a first litter but she did a great job. Only problem was that she did not have enough milk for them all and even extra shots to stimulate milk production were not very effective. So I started bottle feeding the smallest once before and after work but I soon found this was not enough. Luckily Viviane came to the rescue in finding help which resulted in Marie coming to stay during the week for the first two weeks and then another friendly sole Viviane found helped out week 3. After that I was on my own and quickly got the pups drinking from a bowl to which I added oatmeal. They were all weighed twice a day and sometimes more in the beginning as I needed to make sure they gained weight with the bottle feeding.

It was tiring work but very successful even though some went backwards from time to time with me worrying, of course! However, once they were eating by themselves they went from strength to strength. Apart from a bout of diarreah touching some (not Giardia thank God) they all stayed healthy and grew. A wonderful litter and very easy actually except for the extra feeding necessary even though Honey was SUPER mom in the beginning. Once they could feed themselves Honey took longer breaks from the pups as there was always some pups wanting to feed and it must have been quite tiring for her. However, she still cared for and educated them well. With so many pups there were quite a lot of visits so the pups were well socialised by the time they left. They were never car sick, enjoyed their visits to the field with more space to run around in together with the adult dogs and loved the visits of new owners, especially the children. All in all, a fantastic litter with wonderfully colored pups.

31.07.2012
Went to the vet to do an ultrasound of Honey to see if pregnant. Only day 25 since mating and pups were still too small to see properly so we decided to do an x-ray to try and count the number of pups expected. Vet found it hard to see them properly but thought about 6 pups.

30.06.2012
I never thought I would have a dog living to his 15th birthday. Especially not Vhip since he's was paralysed on both hind legs at the age of 10. Swim therapy at Westpool brought the use back of one leg and the other one became good enough for him to join us for all walks every day for the last 5 years. It's marvellous to see this courageous dog keeping up to the pack. On top of that he's become totally blind on one eye in the last couple of years and his hearing has dimished but it's still good enough to find me back in the forest when I clap my hands and at home so long as distances are not too far between us. He's limping and has a harder time getting up from the slippery floor but sleeping on an anti-slip carpet is not in his vocabulary now that it's getting warmer outside. He's so incredibly courageous and has always been super sweet and working well. In a couple of weeks he's coming with me and the girls to Sweden what will most likely be his last trip to one of his favorite places. As much as it pained me to let Kiwi and Echo leave Vhip as started living again since Echo left. In the beginning he only went out in the garden with me looking around for Echo and now he's finally understood that he's not there he's going out into the garden again like he used to. With 5 girls having been in heat one after the other he's feeling like a young boy again even with his limp. Head & tail held high he goes out and tries to charm the girls. It's wonderful to see him living such a happy, carefree life towards the end of his time. This is the main reason I let Echo go and as much as I miss him and he was easy to live with, I can see that Vhip felt differently than me and I feel he deserves a descent final time here on earth. He looks so happy now and I hear Echo is as well in his new home with all the attention he's getting. So all well that ends well although I miss Echo, Kiwi and Tia an awful lot.

24.06.2012
So the good news of the day which made my trip to the canicross competition worth my while is that Honey has been mated by Easy. I could not decide for a very long time if I were ready for this but after the letter finally arrived from the commune I started living again. Guess the worry about losing still more dogs had gotten to me even more than I had realised because after the letter I do feel positive again. So a last minute decision was made (the day before) that I would try Easy on Honey although I was afraid it was too late. Since I had no definite plans and a lot of girls in heat at the same time, I had not paid attention to when she had started her heat. For this reason and the fact that she's only been covered once I have no idea if it will work so now the exciting waiting time begins...... The meeting with Easy was wonderful to see. I know he is a super stud dog as he's very gentle with the girls. Although he does not give up he charms them into a mating rather than forces them. Honey and Easy had a bit of a sniff, a quick run together and that was it. I did not even have time to get my camera out to take a photo of the actual mating as it was raining and everything was soaking wet. At least I have pictures of them being tied together for proof and my web site. I think it was one of the smoothest matings I've ever seen except when Easy covered Spice. A real pleasure to see. If Honey is pregnant and the pups turn out as sweet and willing to work as Easy and Spice's pups then I will be over the moon with the litter.

24.06.2012
Last VCF competition of the spring season so I went along. A disappointing day all around except for one ray of sunshine which I'll write about separately to the canicross competition.  Today we were in Engsbergen. No real famous results except for Julie & Spice and Robin & Caya who both came in 3rd. Seeing their departure and arrival I actually expected them to win, especially Robin as Caya seemed to fly. He was only 17 seconds after the winner but that's all it takes. Marie ran with Folly. Super start and finish. Again you could see they both gave their all. Unfortunately Marie is not in condition as she does not train like the others and ended up in 9th and last place. Still she's not even 2 minutes after the first place winner so there's definitely a chance for her to catch up to the top runners with a bit more consistant training. She's just lacking condition but you can see she's a real fighter giving it her best shot. Today Gigi ran with Luke in the long distance and came in third. She was also nice enough to run with Nim to give her some extra training but Nim did not want to run until she had some company she knew to follow. Still she came in 16th out of 25 dogs. I do think she prefers to run with children like Julie although the start order is very important to motivate her at this young and inexperienced age. Same goes for Tye. She competed for the first time but did not want to run until Caya past her. Unfortunately Robbie was hurt somewhere along the line and could not run so they came in 2nd to last with Robbie in real pain. Still he told me that the parts he could run Tye did good and her arrival looked promising so there's still hope. Robbie is a very positive young man and told me with a smile that he would like to try again which I did not expect. Most youngsters have to run with a winning dog and gets super disappointed when the dog does not perform from the very first day. That they need to train the dog to win does not seem to enter their mind. Children will remain children in that way and only the parents can guide them along the right road unless they are super motivated (I definitely know some that are). She certainly enjoys the training sessions but she still needs the support of her friends to give her confidence to run fast (and she really can run fast just like Nim and Honey can as well when not alone). Before Robbie got hurt he ran the long distance with Hippie and finished 7th with Bart coming in 8th place with Pollux. Bart then ran with Hippie in the short distance and finished 19th with Stijn taking a nice 4th place with Pollux.

So no 'wow' results but the most disappointing part is to learn that after putting my dogs at the disposition of everyone over the last few years all of a sudden they're not good enough to compete with at the European Championships. Yes I know it's in UK and there's a cost involved in getting the dogs there but I'm not even given the opportunity to pay for the passage myself. So all the points built up with my dogs during the year are for nothing as all of a sudden a younger, hopefully stronger dog comes along and takes the glory of the Belgian and European Championships. I don't find it normal that my dogs bring the people to the point of participating and with good places all year just to be put aside for the most important competitions. So I've taken a decision to retire them from canicross and enjoy more weekends being able to train with them myself. This way all get a chance to do something and I don't have to get so disappointed.  I honestly feel like I'm just there to serve until something better comes along. Sorry to be so negative but I feel totally used at the moment.

21.06.2012
Just about midsummer and big celebrations in my homeland Sweden. Here nothing special happens  this day and I just come home from a long, tiring day at work with another splitting headache. Worrying about the dogs and learning a new job has given me headaches regularly since the end of 2011 and today was no exception. Coming home with a mild migraine I found the dreaded and at the same time longed for letter from the commune. My hands were shaking as I picked it up from the floor and I felt physically ill thinking more dogs would have to leave and that I would have to start the whole cycle of finding new owners for yet more dogs. Opening that letter was like stepping into Aladin's cave. The letter I'd written to the commune had worked and I was allowed to keep the maximum number of dogs the commune can permit. This is 10 dogs which is precisely what I have now. The relief I felt is indescribable. It was like a heavy weight lifted from my shoulders and my migraine disappeared like a miracle. I knew I was suffering from the worry about the dogs and being allowed to keep them but thought I had it under control. Only once I received permission to keep the ones I still have did I realise just how much I've worried and how badly all the sleepless nights have affected me. In just a few days I started breathing again and started making plans that I'd put on hold for a long, long time. I can't thank Esmée, her colleagues and my ex-colleague Thérèse enough for their help in translating my letter into proper dutch to ensure that there would be no misunderstandings between me and the commune. All our efforts really paid off. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

10.06.2012
Last BCF competition before the summer holidays. They were held at Hockai where I've never been. Still I was not curious enough to go and have a look. Two more first places for Robyin & Caya and Julie & Folly. Stijn & Pollux came 2nd with Bart taking a 5th with Pollux in the long distance. Hippie came 9th with Bart in the short distance. Guess the competition is more difficult in the short distance as they don't split the groups as much as in the long distance runs. Hippie is not fit enough and a bit too fat to run a good long distance run from start to finish. She would have to get in better shape first although she definitely has the will to run as she loves it and has a very fast start.

03.06.2012
I once more opted not to go to the competition so all I can tell you are the places. Julie & Folly as well as Robin & Caya came 2nd. So did Stijn with Pollux in the short distance. With Bart Pollux came 3rd in the long distance and once more Hippie running the short distance after Pollux in the long ended up further down the list in 11th place. Am really starting to wonder but at the same time I understand Bart wanting to run in both distances.

20.05.2012
Today the competition was once more organised by VCF. Meldert is not far from home but I did not go as I don't feel part of the team anymore hence no photos this time. Julie finally wanted to run with Spice again and came 2nd with Robin taking a first with Caya. Pollux came 2nd twice. Once with Stijn in the short distance and once with Bart in the long distance. Hippie once more ran with Bart after he'd run the long distance and came 10th.  I would love to see if the results would be different if he once ran with her without being tired out. That way I would know more if it's him being tired or Hippie not pulling enough. She always pulls very strong at the beginning and seems to finish fairly good as well so I wonder what's happening during the course.

13.05.2012
Baraque Fraiture turned out to be a pleasant day in the company of Viviane although I had a very bad scare in the morning with Vhip disappearing in the woods. Being that the woods are enormous and he's blind on one eye with a bad view on the other one and reduced hearing I was absolutely petrified not to find him back. Only 1 1/2 months before his 15th birthday and to lose him in those huge forests. The panick I felt was unbelievable and I was hurrying back to the car trying to gather up the other dogs at the same time. The fear in my voice transmetted to the dogs who suddenly did not listen like they usually do. Staying calm is definitely the most important thing to do when dealing with animals but I just couldn't being frantic with worry. Halfway to the car Viviane saw Vhip through some bushes but no matter how much I called he didn't seem to hear me or was disoriented by the direction of the sound so he moved away. After a little while he finally got the direction right and came to me. After this I had a great day but what a scare to start off with!! The results were excellant. Julie running with Folly and Robin with Caya both came first in their categories. Bart came 2nd in the long with Pollux and was super happy with Stijn finishing 4th with Pollux in the short. Unfortunately Bart always runs the short with Hippie when he's already tired after the long and I'm persuaded that he's too tired to get the result he could do if he was fresh. Coming up that enormous hill from the bottom of the skilift to the top has to be absolutely exhausting and still they finished 8th.

03.05.2012
I've learned from Viviane that Elia (daughter of Cyou & Xantho) has finally succumbed to cancer which she has apparantly been fighting for some time. After being operated on once or twice it was discovered that the cancer was still spreading and nothing could be done to save her anymore. Whether she died naturally or was put down I don't know as I have not been contacted by the owners. I've heard through Viviane that they preferred to wait to let me know she was sick and now I suppose that they are too upset to talk about her departure. I'm really sorry to hear this as I very much like to be kept up to date about my dogs and their health but I also need to respect their wishes to be left in peace to grieve. Any inforation would have been really useful especially since I found out at the same time that Cyou's sister is suffering from another sort of cancer. My vet says one has nothing to do with the other but without the right information from Elia's owners I can't give him all the informaton necessary to express a totally professional opinion especially since he's never treated Elia. He has treated Canja and operated on her removing a nipple and another part (don't know name in English). I've met Canja during and after the operation and she's been doing well. She had suddenly started being diabetic around her 9th birthday and needed to be stabilised. After the operation which included a sterilisation and with medication which could be diminished quite quickly her sugar levels have stabilised really well.

01.05.2012
Off to Givet in France for a canicross competition today. Stijn ran with Spice in the long distance which is, in my opinion, too much for her as she hardly has any training at all and then only very short distances. She came in 5th which I think is great but I believe Sijn expected more. I find it hard to make people understand that without training you don't win competitions.... He still finished in front of Pollux & Bart with their 6th place even though they train a lot more. Robin ran with Hippie today and finished 2nd with Julie opting for Nim winning a first. Not bad for my little beginner. In the short distance Stijn & Hippie took a 5th place, Robby & Caya came 6th with Bart & Pollux finishing 4th.

29.04.2012
Today Echo was picked up by his new owners. Well, after numerous phone calls and emails it was decided that they would come and meet my beautiful boy. I had a good feeling about them already before they showed up or I would not have invited them to come to visit. As it turns out my feeling was right and I enjoyed both his new owner and her sister-in-law who's active in agility with a border collie. I decided that they could take Echo on a trial period in their home. Seeing that Echo is a Mummy dog and very much attached to me it was a very difficult decision for me to let him go. I worry that he won't settle down without me around but I trust that Tonny will be good for him. He's living with her and her son and cat so he's not alone. Miranda comes for visits with her female dogs so he also gets the pleasure of seeing them from time to time. I know it will take time for him to settle down so I have to be patient and stay in contact a lot in the beginning. I know there are a number of sleepless nights ahead of me but I hope all will work out.

22.04.2012
Some positive news for a change! Today Folly and Nim went with my friends to run in a canicross competition at the Wenduine on the Belgian coast organised by VCF. This is Nim's first run. Julie asked to try her out as she's showing a lot of promise during training. Of course I worried about her not running when the other dogs are not there, nor me as I have a lot to catch up here at home today. Apparently I worried for nothing as I received an sms saying she's run very well and won her class with Julie. Robin ran with Folly as Caya is hurt. He also won his class with her although she never really pulled according to Nancy's message. I can understand if a dog does not pull all the time but Folly usually has a lot of spirit and pulls a lot of the times. Guess I'll hear more when they bring the dogs back. At least she didn't play with her leash as she can do at times. Maybe she's not in top form as she's been eating really badly the last few days? Bart ran the long and short with Pollux. Came 3rd in the long and 6th in the short. Stijn ran with Hippie and took a 4th place. Not bad for having been away in Africa for some time with his school and most likely not had the same training as here at home. All in all good news.

21.04.2012
Today Kiwi and Indy came for a visit in order to sign the ownership change documents. I obviously wanted to see how she is and if she seems happy. She was happy to see me (natural after only one week) but for the first time ever she and Nim had a little squabble which upset me. Nothing bad but you could see that after just one week apart they had lost a sense of the natural hierarchy they have established since puppy age. What was nice to see was that although she was ready to go into my car she just as easily went to her new owners and jumped into their car and settled in with Indy when it was time to go. I'm convinced that she's found the best of homes for her. She's never really wanted to work like my other dogs but she has so much energy and loves to run all of what she can do in her new home. Indy is also better since she's arrived as he's no longer alone and doesn't bother with other dogs during walks anymore. Not that he did anything bad from what I understand but he always had to go and check them out. Now he's stopped and stays close to his owners and Kiwi. I was proud of her when they told me she's even easier to live with than Indy. I must have done something good. As she's not had any of her attacks for 5 months now I hope this stays like this. Next week she's off to the Adennes for the first time in her life. I know she'll love this.

Why is it that bad news come in a cluster until you feel you can't handle any more? Apart from Canja possibly having cancer a daughter of Cyou has now also been analysed with cancer. She's been operated twice but now it's gone into the lymphglands and not a lot more can be done for her. She's just turned 7 so she's still young and she's a top level agility dog. So sad to hear. The owners have not yet contacted me and I wonder if they will but I have it on good authority that the news are not good. My vet said that what Elia has can not be compared to that of Canja and I should not be looking for an inherited problem. It's just bad luck but believe me I find that all the bad luck is happening at the same time at the moment and am starting to find it hard to take.

18.04.2012
I've been receiving only positive news over Kiwi over the last few days and today I received a message saying that they want to keep her. They think she's wonderful. Sweet, easy to live with and she's caused no problems with Indy either. I'm so relieved because she'll get more attention and love there than I can possibly give here with two hands for so many dogs. Don't get me wrong. My dogs have a lot of attention, cuddles and kisses, walks and generally a very, very good life but 2 people can cuddle better with 2 dogs than I can all alone with many more dogs. So I'm happy for Kiwi and have one less worry in my life even if it will take some time to accept her loss.

17.04.2012
AS if the news of Canja was not bad enough Caya hurt herself badly when I took the dogs to the field to let Gaëlle's daughter play with them for a while. It was freezing cold outside and after a while we all had a enough and I called the dogs in to put in the car. Caya came back on three legs. She was bleeding quite a bit on the inside of  her right hind foot. The vet was already closed but I called and Filip kindly opened up and took care of her. It was a deep cut touching her articulation so Filip could not promise that she would not develop arthritis and possibly having to stop both agility and canicross. Please God cross your fingers that she'll heal properly and can keep running. She loves it and is so full of energy I would hate to restrict her at such a young age.

17.04.2012
Another miserable day when it comes to news over my dogs. Stayed longer at work as there's a lot to learn still. When I came home I quickly picked up the dogs and went to the vet to meet Gaëlle and Canja. Canja was there for a check up after her operation to see if her sugar level stays OK. At least here the news was good and her level has decreased yet again. Her medication and food had to be adjusted in order to keep the levels in order. All started about a month ago when Gaëlle noticed she started drinking masses of water. It was then established that Canja's sugar levels all of a sudden had risen enormously. As she also had some lumps visible on a nipple and inside when doing an echo she had to undergo quite a long surgery. She was sterilised, a nipple was removed for testing and an organ (don't ask me what it's called in english) were removed. We're now waiting for tests to come back to find out if the lumps are cancerous or not. More than likely the result will show that she has cancer. In that case she would have to be operated twice again. Once to remove the nipples on the right side and once more on the left. I wonder if it's worth it myself? For a dog to go through three operations in a short period of time without a guarantee that the cancer is then gone at Canja's age is not something I would do without really thinking about it. Of course one has to take into consideration how her life will be without the operation too. There's also the money issue to consider as nothing is paid back like with people. Not everyone can afford three such serious and long operations. I think that if Canja can have a fairly pain free life without further opeations and her sugar levels can be kept under control that I would leave her in peace. At the moment she's looking really good and happy. She has the cutest face. Like a little bear. Although she's Cyou's sister her head is so much broader and she looks more like an Aussie/New Foundland dog. Quite cute. Gaëlle and her daughter loves her enormously so I don't know what they'll choose as solution once we know the results. The most important is that Canja does not suffer unduly.

15.04.2012
A cold day at La Charmille canicross competition. Today Louise and Elisabeth came as well. Louise did the bike with Angie coming in tired and muddy and ended up in 5th place out of 10 participants. For being so new to the game I think it's really great! She then ran the long distance with Folly coming in 4th out of 5 runners. You could see that she was tired and personally I think the bike and then right away the long is a bit too much. She told me Folly ran well and did not  play around with her leash which I find the most important news. Bart came 5th with Pollux in the long. For the short he decided to let Hippie rest to run with Faro (a rhodesian ridgeback) who he's been training with. It did not go so well this first time out as Faro is a bit of a mummy's dog and he was disappointed with a 12th place running with such a strong and potentially good dog. I obviously hope this means that Hippie gets to keep running but this is up to Bart. Robin & Caya took a first place as did Elisabeth & Gyp. Julie & Spice came in 2nd place with a 10 seconds difference to Elisabeth who definitely has the stronger and faster dog. After all he's a son to Spice! Gigi is still on rest after hurting her back at Maldegem.

14.04.2012
Today my heart broke just a little bit more. After having given up some of my best friends last year because of lack of work and income I'm now having to do so again. Of course I thought about moving but no matter where I go (even if I could afford it which I can't) the limit of 10 dogs still remains. I can't believe I have to live this sort of nightmare yet again within such a short space of time. All these years of living here in peace and with more dogs and now some stupid, insensitive person has the power to make me get rid of my 'children'. The only good thing about it is that I learned last year that my dogs are stronger than me and when going to good, caring homes they actually have a more fulfilling life with them as they have more time to cuddle and work with them. So I'm very happy to say that Kiwi has now also found a perfect home. She's now living with Tia's brother Indy. Here she has 2 people caring for 2 dogs. Lot's of space, walks and cuddles. They came and picked her up today for a trial period so cross your fingers for her that she likes them. I worry as it did not work out well at all in Germany.

After Kiwi left I went to an agility competition at Sloeber as I had an appointment with someone to talk about taking one of my dogs. Unfortunately the person could not make it in the end but I had a nice afternoon talking to friends and met Kit again for the first time since he left. He was happy to see me and the dogs but just as happy to go off with his new owners when it was time to separate. He looks happy and well taken care of which warms my heart!

11.04.2012
As I'm on holidays I went to the commune to speak to them about the complaint about my dogs. I don't know what's going to happen. All I know is that if I receive a permission to keep a maximum amount of dogs it will never be more than 10. At the moment I have more than that. I kept Tye from Cyou's last litter as I actually did not expect Vhip to live longer than any of my other dogs which has been around 14 years of age. As he was totally paralysed in his hind legs at the age of 10 and only recuperated partial use of his hind legs through swimming therapy I'm amazed that he's still with me. He's soon 15 years old and goes on every walk with me and the other dogs. Of course with him hanging on to the good life he has here and keeping Tye I'm over the limit of 10 dogs. So what are my choices? Putting Vhip to sleep? No way!! Giving some dogs up? If I have to do this in order to save the rest I will.  So I have started looking for new homes. My heart is slowly breaking! How do I choose which dogs go and which dogs stay? An impossible choice but I know I can't put Vhip down no matter what.

09.04.2012
Today I went to an agility competition to see if I could find a new home for Kute Kit. I'm really happy that I did this as Johnny Brackez decided to take him home. He's now living in a lively family with a number of dogs and goes to competitions with them in their mobile home most weekends. They are really happy with him and I hope it stays this way. Apparently he's adapted to his new family right away. So one less worry about the number of dogs living here. I also met Katch again. He's the most beautiful tri blue merle I've ever seen. He only had eyes for his owner and did not miss me at all. Of course you want your dogs to remember you and love you always but I'm feeling less pain and calmer when I see that my dogs have settled in so well that they now clearly prefer their new owners. It gives me the peace I need to sleep at night.

08.04.2012
2nd day at Maldegem (Kleit) and today it was a group start each time. I was looking forward to seeing Nim run for the first time with Gigi but it was not meant to be. As Gigi stood up to start her run with Luke for the long distance she hurt her back and had to pull up right away. So poor Nim missed her chance to run and an even poorer Gigi ended up in really bad pain. Kirsten ran the short with Luke instead of her own dog and came 3rd in a large group of 20 runners which would help Gigi feel a bit better. I wish I could have found someone to run with Nim too. Oh well, another day....  Bart & Pollux came 4th in the long with with Hippie he took a 6th place in the short. Robin was not pleased with his run although from what I saw Caya ran just as good as usual. He ended up 3rd with only 5 seconds difference to a 2nd place. Julie ran with Spice and won her class coming in 1 minute 20 seconds faster than the 2nd placed runner. Marie ran really well with Folly and came in 3rd out of 6 runners after a battle up the finishing stretch with another runner. She showed a lot of courage and Folly helped a lot.

07.04.2012
Another double weekend at Maldegem (Park). Only Gigi and Marie went for the 2 days. Gigi & Luke came 2nd in the long and 4th in the short. Marie stood on the podium for the first time taking a 2nd place with Folly. What a trooper she is!

05.04.2012
Today my nightmare of last year started again. It presented itself in the form of a letter from the commune. A neighbour has complained about my dogs after all the years of living here without any problems. I believe it's a fairly recent neighbour in a new row house actually living furthest away from me but I don't know for sure. I've spoken to my next door neighbours and they have no problem with my dogs. Apparently this 'not so charming' man has complained to the café next door that their tree dirties his garden with it's leaves (oh yey, we do after all live in the suburbs where trees grow!), has shouted at my other neighbours and at me last year when the pups were playing in the garden during the day. The letter stated that I have 15-20 dogs which is not true, that they are out barking during the night when they're sleeping in my bed and that I have too many litters per year. The last part is true as a new rule states that we're not allowed more than two litters per year (not per dog of course but per household). I've had three at times. Like the last year because Caya came in heat too early. If she had waited one more week the pups would have been born in 2012 causing no problem. It's impossible to change the heat of your bitch and when it's a bitch that's competing during the summer months you can't really wait another heat to breed with her. Of course I also had the accidental litter with Joy last year which made me go over the limit. As I saw Joy was pregnant when it was too late to abort I was not left with a lot of choice except for killing the pups which I refuse to do. So what do I do now??

17.03.2012
Canicross weekend in Spa. Louise, Elisabeth and Robin did not participate as they were all busy studying for the school exams. Wise decision. Bart did run and came 4th with Pollux in the long and 9th with Hippie in the short. Gigi and Luke came 2nd in the long and 3rd in the short. Julie ran with Caya for the very first time and came in 2nd with Marie and Folly finishing 4th.

18.03.2012
2nd day at the canicross weekend in Spa gave Bart a 7th place in the long with Pollux and a 6th place in the short with Hippie. Gigi & Luke came 4th in the long and 7th in the short. Julie & Caya ran better and won their class with Marie & Folly taking a 5th place. She's improving with practice and a better condition and did not come in last place this time. Well done! It does take courage to keep on struggling against the other competitors that have run for a long time. She does get along very well with Folly and they seem to make a good team.

17.03.2012
Canicross weekend in Spa. Louise, Elisabeth and Robin did not participate as they were all busy studying for the school exams. Wise decision. Bart did run and came 4th with Pollux in the long and 9th with Hippie in the short. Gigi and Luke came 2nd in the long and 3rd in the short. Julie ran with Caya for the very first time and came in 2nd with Marie and Folly finishing 4th.

11.03.2012
Only Louise and Elisabeth participated at the So Becheffa canicross competition. Louise also did the bike with Angie and came 8th. Apparently Angie really likes it. So does Gyp but he's a bit too strong and fast for the girls to handle on a bike as yet. She also did the short distance and here she placed 6th with just over 50 seconds difference to the winner. Not bad for having been around on the bike already. Elistabeth and Gyp won their class.

19.02.2012
As Karro was here to pick up Minna together with Helena we were in luck that there was a canicross competition very close to home. So we defied the cold and windy weather and even brought some pups with us. As it was a first competition for our club this year and the first for Caya since stopping as she grew to fat with her pups last year, I'm happy to say everyone did well. Julie asked to run with Tia knowing she was leaving the next day to go and live with my brother in Sweden and won her class. So nice to see but made me regret my decision a bit about letting her go as I could see she really enjoyed herself. Robin and Caya came in 2nd place and about 30 seconds after the first placed runner. Quite a good comeback for Caya after her long break. Gigi came 3rd with Luke in the long ladies and Bart 4th with Hippie. He ran the short with Pollux with yet another 4th place. Louise and Elisabeth were not present.

17.02.2012
The moment is here and the first couple of Caya's pups left for their new homes. First to leave was Kute Girl. I received a phone call already in the evening telling me all was going really well and that she's settling in with the other dogs. Marijke is over the moon with little Kute.

04.02.2012
Today the pups are 6 weeks old and it's off to the vet for their first vaccination and chip. They'll be wormed for the third time this weekend. Admittedly these pups have not been outside that much because of the cold weather although they have had some experience with the garden. So they have stayed nice and healthy, no diarrhea nor have I seen any worms when they have bee treated. They have all gained weight nicely and have good appetites. I can let them lose in the living and diningroom and the adult dogs that wish to come to play join them when they feel like it. The pups are fun and playful. Not shy or frightened and they enjoy playing as well as visits from the grown up dogs (especially Tye!).

02.01.2012
As nobody is asking to use Echo for a mating anymore due to rumours being spread by certain not so nice persons that he is affected with glaucoma (not true) I have finally taken the decision to castrate him. This decision was not taken lightly but there aren't that many of my girls I can use to mate him too as most are descended from Echo. I can still use his son Ice instead on the two girls I have with no relation to Echo. This way I can be assured that I won't have any more accidental litters at home as it was very unpleasant to suddenly discover your bitch is pregnant when too late to abort. I still have never figured out how he managed to get to my girls without me being aware of it as I kept and walked them apart but when it came to mating 'his' girls he sure as hell was very talented. So today the poor guy lost his balls. I now have to wait a while to be sure he's drive cools off and then I can keep him with the girls permanently which will make my life a lot easier.

25.12.2011
Caya gave birth to no less than 9 healthy and large pups for such a big litter. The first pup was born at 8 pm on Christmas Day and the last one somewhere around 2-4 am the next day. By this time I had gone to sleep thinking she'd had all her pups. Seeing that only 6 had been seen during the echographie I figured number 8 was the last one. Especially since Caya then left the litter box to go out for a pee and decided to have a small bite to eat. So once I had put everything back in order and given her a clean litter box to rest in with her pups I went to sleep. At 2 am all was still the same but at 4 am there was another puppy in the litter box. I never heard anything even though I slept on the couch downstairs with Caya. I have to say that this was probably the easiest litter I've ever witnessed. All the pups except two came out very easily. The other two came out bum first and took longer to push out but Caya remained calm the whole time. She cut every cord and cleaned the pups who actually came out very clean. The litter box never got that dirty and she has since taken care of the pups like the star she is. I'm so proud of her. Caya herself became way to skinny right away and I've been feeding her double portions as well as puppy food but she still stays skinny as she gives all to her pups.

04.12.2011
Last canicross competition of the year took place at Kortenberg. Again I did not join and therefore I don't have any photos to put on the canicross photo album site. Stijn came in 6th with Pollux in the long distance and Bart placed 11th with Hippie. In the short distance Stijn ran with Hippie and placed 3rd with Bart taking a 10th place with Pollux in his category. Louise finished 9th out of 25 runners in the Ladies Junior with Angie. Julie & Spice came 2nd and Elisabeth & Gyp finished 3rd. Robin was not feeling well so he did not participate.

21.12.2011
Today I lived one of my hardest days ever. After numerous conversations with Karen Vermeulen I decided to let her try to take Early home to live with her & her husband and son together with their 8 year old border collie Djagger. It's the first time I've let one of my older dogs go and I was feeling sick for days thinking about it. The reason I even considered it (apart from the money issue due to not having any income) was because I could see that Early was no longer happy here. Ever since I castrated him in August he's been more withdrawn here at home, hiding away behind the sofa or upstairs trying to stay out of Echo's way. So strange because they've always played together and Early used to challenge Echo all the time. Seeing that he was no longer feeling at ease at home and because I really liked the contact with Karen I decided to give it a try. We had to make sure the two boys got along first and went for a walk together. All went well so I invited Djagger into the house and again the two boys were calm together. So Karen took Early with her and over the next 10 days she called me every evening to tell me about the progress between the two boys. All has gone really smoothly from what I can gather and she's told me on numerous occasions that Early is a fantastic dog and really well behaved. I can see on photos that she's send me that Early looks happy again and he's living with the family without hiding behind the furniture. It's made my heart feel so much lighter. Not only because of the economical question but for Early's sake. Seeing him all happy and busy again has lifted an enormous weight from my heart. On top of everything he's started doing agility again and Karen says he's not limping anymore which he did here. I guess the dogs played too rough here and he has a weak spot that kept hurting in all the rumble and tumble. Now this also seems to have improved and I'M SOOOO GRATEFUL TO KAREN FOR HAVING GIVEN EARLY THIS SECOND CHANCE TO LIVE AS A TRULY HAPPY AND LIBERATED DOG AGAIN JUST LIKE HE USE TO BE WITH ME UNTIL THE LAST FEW MONTHS! THANK YOU SO MUCH KAREN!

20.11.2011
Today the canicrossers headed off to Hofstade but I did not join them hence no photos again. Bart & Hippie came 8th in the long distance and 11th in the short. Stijn ran the short with Pollux ending up third. Julie & Spice came 2nd as did Robin & Tia (Caya is now too far gone in her pregnancy to run). Elisabeth & Gyp won their class. They have really turned out to make a top team together with Elisabeth being super motivated. So nice to see. Louise did not participate this time.

The reason I did not join my friends at the competition is that I once more had to go to Germany but this time to pick up Kiwi as it did not work out with her and one of Berit's jack russels. Boy Kiwi was happy to see me again. I brought some of the other dogs with me as well and Viviane joined me in the car and then later for a lovely walk so that we got to spend some time together. The drive was so much easier with nice company and easy conversation. So Kiwi is home and she'll be staying here as she's very much my dog. I found it strange that she did not get along with Berit's dogs because she's used to living with so many dogs around and in the park and at competitions she meets lots of other dogs. She never, ever fights so why she should growl back at her jack when it behaved badly towards her is beyond my understanding. I think it's because she was feeling so lost without me and the security of the other dogs here at home that she did not know how to behave in any other way than to protect herself. Now she's here and has never again shown any bad behaviour to strange dogs. It makes me wonder what happened in Germany but the only thing that's important is that she's home and she's happy. She was very sweet with Berit's husband when he dropped her off in Köln so I'm sure that there was no problem between her and the new owners themselves. At least she's shown that she's a strong dog because I do not see any stress or trauma remaining in her now that she's home safe and sound.

19.11.2011
Videos have been added of Kwik Brie, Kwik Boi, Kind Litl Mü and Jolly Vicky. Thanks to you all for making them and forwarding to me.

19.11.2011
Ultrasound has shown that Caya is pregnant with 6 pups. Now we have to wait and see if this is correct and cross our fingers that all goes well.

19.11.2011
More stress today as Kami left for his new home. I'm sure he is in super hands and in a super family and environment where he will recieve a lot of love, attention and work! This really is wonderful for him but it broke my heart to see him go. I have a bond with Kami like none other. He just simply loves me unconditionally and sleeps on top of me if there's no space on the side. As close to me as possible is his motto. He is young and resiliant in a way I'm definitely not anymore and I know he's better off now. Especially since he loves attention and I know he'll be happy to work. Still it doesn't make it easier for me to let him go. I find him so handsome as well and a part of my heart went with him as he left with his sweet little face not quite understanding why he had to go into a cage in a strange car instead of the spacious interior of my van and all his friends. Monique give him a hug and a kiss from me with lots of love, cuddles and work until he forgets about me which I hope happens very fast. I know that if he can fit in with your other dogs he will be happier with you than here with the additional attention you can give him. I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR GIVING HIM A HOME AND A CHANCE FOR A MUCH MORE FUN LIFE!!

19.11.2011
News from Kiwi this morning was not so encouraging. She's attached herself to Berit for love and support which is great but she's not at ease and snaps at the other dogs. This afternoon Berit sent some better news which will hopefully give me a chance to sleep. Something that's been very difficult of late. Kiwi is starting to relax a bit during the walks and installs herself in comfort on Berit's bed or on the sofa. This is only day 1 really so hopefully she'll start enjoying her new surroundings and friends real soon. If not my doors are wide open to take her back but if I don't find a job the problem will remain of not being able to feed her and the others and then what do I do. Due to her previous attacks and her fixation on me she's the last dog I figured I would be able to find a home for. That Berit asked to take her where she can train both on sheep and in agility or just  be a loved family member is absolutely the most fantastic thing that could have happened for Kiwi. I hope she will understand and appreciate this real soon with all the attention she'll be receiving. We'll just have to wait and see and I ask you all to continue crossing your fingers for the future lives and happiness of my dogs that are leaving. Berit I can't thank you enough! PLEASE ALSO THANK ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR ALL THE FOOD THEY GAVE YOU TO BRING TO MY DOGS!! I DIDN'T REALISE JUST HOW WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW CAN BE IN THE TIME OF CRISIS. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!!

18.11.2011
More difficult than ever today as Kiwi left to go and live with Berit and Kind Little Mû in Germany. Kiwi is MY dog. She's so absolutely attached to me that this was the hardest thing I've done in my life. If it weren't for the fact that I know she will have a better life with Berit as she'll receive more attention and training than I can give her I would not have let her go. Berit is a kind and loving person. She drove 5 hours to come and pick Kiwi up after having been here not long ago to pick up Little Mü. After an hour or so she then drives back home for another 5 hours all alone. And this she does for a dog that's had epilepsie attacks or something similar. She really liked Kiwi when she visited to pick up Mü and I hope more than anything in the world that Kiwi will transfer the affection she has to me to Berit and fit into her new home. If it doesn't work Kiwi will come back and we put it down to a holiday in Germany to learn to be a bit more independant of me. Please cross your fingers everyone that she'll take to her new life.

16.11.2011
As some of you know I've had to take the incredibly hard decision to let some dogs go. This is due to lack of work and income which means I can't support the dogs in the manner that should be done. Nor do I find that I have the time to work with them as well as I should (and they crave) as I'm spending all my time job hunting. So after some sole searching and a lot of tears and sleepless nights I finally decided to find new homes for some of the dogs (to start with) until I can hopefully find a job with an income to support the rest. My obvious choice is the let the young dogs go first, especially the boys. A number of extremely nice and helpful people have been in contact with me giving their support in kind words, food for the dogs and suggestions or adresses where the dogs can find a good home. YOU ARE ALL INCREDIBLE AND YOUR HELP AND OFFERS TO KEEP DOGS UNTIL BETTER TIMES IS APPRECIATED MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW AND MORE THAN I CAN EVER EXPRESS. YOU ALL KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND I THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

Having set all this in motion Kwik Katch left for his new home today. So hard for me and confusing for him but he now lives with Jean-Marie Lesuisse in Belgium where he will get the work he craves in agility and a lot of love and attention. Hopefully also a goodnight kiss from Jean-Marie every night with well wishes from me. I miss his sunny happy disposition and gorgeous coloring. From photos I've seen and news I've received Katch seems to have found a wonderful home and he's certainly getting the attention he deserves which I was not giving him. I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER KNOWING THAT JEAN-MARIE IS KEEPING KATCH BUSY AND TEACHING HIM TO HAVE FUN!

06.11.2011
Today we headed off to Stambruges. I've never been there before but liked the place very much. It was further than Mons towards the French border and in a nice forest with open sand fields. Today all the starts were group starts which is always quite impressive to see. Great results as well with Stijn coming 3rd in the long distance with Hippie. Bart & Pollux came 4th in their long distance run and with Hippie he came 5th in the short distance. Stijn ran the short distance with Folly and took a 4th place. She was so happy to finally be allowed to run again after so long without anyone needing an extra dog to run with and it warmed my heart to see her run. Louise & Angie won a 2nd place in the Ladies Junior short distance same as Robin & Caya in the cadet class. Elisabeth & Gyp won their cadet class as did Julie with Tia (Spice was hurt) in the minime class. Wonderful to see as Tia has not run for a very, very long time.

After the competition was done all the runners from the club volunteered to help me get some training for the young dogs. Everyone took a youngster and Caya was allowed to join to give some drive and direction. Between them they did quite a few short runs on the open plain to give the dogs a taste of the competition spirit. Tye was too young to participate of course but Honey, Tia, Nim and Kami took part together with Caya. It was really great to see them go. Especially Honey who had gotten frightened during a training and didn't want to run anymore. Here she really ran like before and seemed to enjoy herself thoroughly. Man was I relieved to see them all enjoying themselves together.

During the competition there were a lot of horses and donkeys present all over the place as they had organised their annual benediction day at the same time as our competition. It all worked out fine between horses and dogs until after I had left to get home to care for the dogs that I had left behind. Then all hell broke lose in the canteen as a fight broke out between cowboys and dog owners. According to accounts I've heard it seemed a bit like a wild western movie with chairs flying and all. Incredible that adults and animal lovers can become so violent towards each other.

29.10.2011
Today Esmée kindly presented Kami and Nim at the Lovanium dog show in the hope to get their breeding certificate. Catastrophy as the judge didn't like Kami and all and said he's not a border collie! I ask you! So gorgeous that he is. Enquiries into what was wrong with him (such as eye color or god knows what) led to nowhere as she could not say one thing was wrong with him except that she did not like his eyes and he would never be able to push sheep. So I asked if his eyes were to light but that was not the case. The only answer I got was that she did not 'like' his eyes (so nothing wrong with them then) and that he was not a BC. Strange that because his sister Nim did pass her test and I find she presented herself a lot less good than Kami. So Nim and Kami coming out of the same parents are now two different breeds!! Good one that!

25.10.2011
Today Caya was covered by Karrider Cresta Run (Gyp) from Nice of You to Come Bye's kennel. If all goes well pups are expected just before New Year! Colors can vary between blue and red merle, black & brown pups. There's a chance of tri color as well so 8 different color combinations are possible.

18.10.2011
A whole bunch of videos have finally been uploaded under the video page. The videos are of Jolly Vicky, Kwik Wish, Kwik Brie, Jump For Joy, Jojo Cooper, a video of a walk with all the Doggone Dogs in Slovenia together with Irio who's owner Lana kindly made the video for us to enjoy and last but not least the Freelin Dreams kennel day walk with Echo, Kami & Nim (plus my two little monsters Tye & Katch as part of their education as they don't have any relationship to Freelin Kennels). Under the links page you will also find two new links. One is under Other Web Sites where I've added a direct link to the Doggone Border article written by European Dog Sport Magazine some time ago and under Other Border Collie sites you will find a new link called Move Your Paws. This site covers information of F'Cedric living in Germany who is a son to my Yessi together with NOYTCB Ready. Personally my German is not very good but you can see that Ceddy is very busy in search & rescue, obedience and flyball. Just a couple of weeks ago he won an obedience competition with 306/320 points in klass 2. He excels in flyball being part of the German winning team 2 years in a row and this year his team has recorded the fastest time ever in Germany with Ceddy being the fastest. WOW !!  His team finished in 7th place at the European Flyball Championships 2011. His owner Peggy says he's the best and he's already saved some lives as a rescue dog. What more can you ask of your best friend I ask you!! It gives me goose bumps to read her email which Viviane has kindly translated for me as Peggy's English is as bad as my German. Don't hesitate to have a look at Peggy & Ceddy's website www.move-your-paws.de

16.10.2011
I have no news from Poland yet but found a list of results and there I've seen that Stijn finished 28th out of 43 runners with Hippie in the men's class. Bart came 14th out in a field of 19 runners in the men's veteran 1 class with Pollux. Gigi finished 3rd out of 11 runners in the women's veteran 1 class with Luke. Louise & Angie came in 8th place out of 14 runners in the women's junior class but came in before quite a number of Belgian participants so she must have run very well. Robin & Caya finished 3rd in his class out of 10 runners with less than 25 seconds difference to the winner. WOW!! I'm so curious to hear about how Caya ran as she can be super good but unpredictable if she feels threatend by another dog. Then she stops to avoid confrontation. I prefer this to a dog that fights but it does make it difficult to know if she'll give it her all during a run at times when it's very crowded. Elisabeth and Gyp took a 3rd place as well out of 9 runners with less than 13 seconds behind the second place. So now we're up to 3 bronze medals for Doggone dogs at the European Championships compared to 3 silvers at the Belgian Championships. Isn't this marvellous!

Of course I kept the best news to last. Julie & Hippie WON their class. How great is that! Out of the 8 runners from 4 participating countries Julie & Hippie came in just over 20 seconds faster than the 2nd place runner. So, 4 medal places for Doggone Borders at the European Championships and many more for Belgian runners in general. Must have been fun to be there and participate in the celebrations.

15.10.2011
Received a message from Nancy letting me know how all the Doggone Borders are getting on at the European Canicross Championships in Poland after the first day of competition. All in all it sounds very good. Julie has to be accompanied by another runner which is something Spice did not seem to appreciate last year. As they also don't have room to bring too many dogs and their Hippie (from Doggone Borders) didn't have a runner they entered them as a pair. Hippie is a bit too strong for Julie still but with another person accompanying her it seemed the perfect combination. As it turns out it was as she finished in 1st place on this first day of the competition. Stijn who accompanied Julie then ran his category alone with Hippie and finished in 24th place out of 48 which is pretty good since he's only run with a dog a couple of times. Usually he runs track without dogs. Robin and Caya came in 4th place with only 28/100 of a second after the third place. I'm very curious to hear if she ran well as it was a group start or if poor Robin had to do most of the work himself. Caya does not like the group starts and falls back if she thinks there's a slightest chance of being pushed or attacked. Elisabeth participated with Gyp finishing 4th and her sister Louise came 7th with Angie. Gigi finished 4th as well in her class with Luke. Pretty good results and some with a chance for a medal if all goes well tomorrow. Cross your fingers!!

14-15.10.2011
Three of Joy's pups have now left to go and live with their new owners and only one little girl remains at home. Kind Magic (or as I now call her - Little Pixie which is what she looks like right now) is the only one to remain and looking for a loving home. She's really cute and not afraid. Rides without a peep in the car and can now be lose with some of the younger dogs. She follows me & the dogs in the park and causes no trouble at all. I sure hope someone I really like will come and claim her or another one will stay as she's creeping into my heart hour by hour that goes by no matter how much I try to harden it.

13.10.2011
More good news today! I have DNA tested all of Joy's pups to establish without a doubt that Echo really is the father and today SRSH called me to confirm this to be the case. So no doubt about the culprit of Joy's little surprise babies!!

12.10.2011
Took Joy's pups to the eye vet and all of them passed with flying colors. To cheer me up even more I received a message from Anja informing me that Jolly Vicky has had her hips and elbows tested for dysplasia. Both hips were scored A and her elbows 0. Talk about great news!

09.10.2011
I did not join my friends during the competition at Uitbergen this year as I was in France with my brother and his daughter enoying the Agility World Championships. For this reason I do not have any photos from Uitbergen to put on our site. Elisabeth & Gyp as well as Julie & Spice won their categories and Robin & Caya came 2nd. Louise & Angie came 4th in the girls Junior class with Bart taking an 8th place with Hippie in the long distance and a 10th place with Pollux in the short distance. Well done everyone!  In the meantime I enjoyed 3 days in France looking at the top agility dogs and handlers from around the world. It was definitely worth going to see but I have to admit I did not enjoy the courses with the new fad of jumping the fences from behind and there was definitely a lack of atmosphere from the side of the supporters when it came to singing and cheering compared to some other WK's I've seen.

02.10.2011
Same early morning as yesterday! No rest for the the wicked! On top of that I was dead tired as I only got home a bit before midnight from the restaurant the evening before. No choice though as the canicross competition was in Sprimont which meant a 1 1/2 hour drive to get there. As Nancy could not join us Bart needed to follow me there and I also had a runner for Tia for the first time in months which opportunity I didn't want to miss.  I'm happy to say I got everything done in time in the morning except for a precious cup of coffee and breakfast. Managed to stay awake in the car and we then enjoyed another beautiful sunny and warm day. Luckily most of the running was in the shade in the forest but the participants suffered from the heat anyway. Julie ran a great race with Spice and won her class. Robin seemed pleased with his run with Caya ending up 2nd. Stijn ran the long distance with Hippie to get used to her for the European Championships and ended up 7th in his class whereas Bart ran with Pollux ending up 5th in the veteran class. For the short distance they switched dogs with Stijn running a good race with Pollux ending up 5th. Bart came over the finish line with Hippie in a very strong pace placing 10th. All in all a very good day but the highlight for me today was the fact that Tia was allowed to run the short distance with Martine. She told me she pulled the whole way (sometimes stronger than others of course) which pleased me a lot. She finished 7th with a rather tired and hot Martine. I hope this means Tia will get to compete next time around. We will miss next weeks competition though as I'm off to the Agility World Championships as a supporter for Belgium and Sweden together with my brother, his daughter and also Viviane who'll join us on the Saturday. Looking forward to it. After the final run I took the dogs that were with me out to play in a field for a while and then headed home before the others as I wanted to keep an eye on Kind Kody who'd been feeling a bit under the weather the day before.

01.10.2011
Wow, talk about a stressful morning! Up at 5.30 to walk dogs and fix everything with the pups, feed the dogs etc. then off to a SRSH breeding admission show with Tia. I figured I had given us (Esméé & me) ample time to get to the show until road after road was closed off due to road works and we had to make long detours or were stuck in traffic jams. Talk about being nervous! Parking at the show was a nightmare but we were in luck for a change and got to the ringside with about 10 minutes to spare. Ouf! Talk about being nervous after such a drive especially since she didn't pass the first time and this was her last chance to pass the show so that she would be allowed to breed. To only get two chances in a dogs life to be allowed to pass a show for breeding purposes is ridiculous as you can easily fall upon a judge that doesn't like your dog and then you're out of luck. On top of that the second judging has to be done by two different judges so if one agrees and the other one doesn't you're still out of luck. Show judging is such a delicate business as judges all have their individual idea of what is good or not no matter what the standard says.

Tia is a great example of this. The first time her nose was too long and her ears too flat. Now two judges looked at her independantly and none of them mentioned this or made a fault of it. Yet this was the contributing factor to not passing the first time around plus her coloring. So I find it very biased and feel that you should have more than 2 chances  to present your dog as some judges will like your dog and some won't. With a bit of bad luck you fall on the last mentioned judge twice and all your plans are changed forever. When I brought her to the ring to give in her paper for the first judging I heard the judge say to himself 'a a black tri'! What! You can discuss her coloring as it's different but please don't tell me she's a black tri. Luckily I was more prepared this time and had brought photos of her moter and father plus the pedigree showing her ancestors. On this document you can clearly see she's a blue merle as a pup with her coloring looking very much like Spice apart from the tan inherited from her father. Problem was that the judge didn't want to look at the photos. Talk about panic. Finally he called in another judge who quickly looked at Tia's undercoat and declared her to be the merle I claim she is. After this  the first judge decided to judge her on the rest of her appearance and could find no fault with her. Muttering under his breath that he knew I insisted she's a merle because of her two different colored eyes he still signed off on her document.

Now we had to face the second judge and I was very relieved to see this was the woman that told the first judge that Tia really is a merle. She did then take a look at the photos and pedigrees where you could clearly see Spice as a blue tan merle as a pup. I asked about the possibility of her being a sable merle even though I don't know where the sable would come from and she agreed this could be a possibility. In any case she's definitely a merle according to her and she passed all the other tests as well. You would not believe the relief I felt when she signed the document as well and Tia was officially allowed to breed. I think Esmée was as nervous as I was which made our evening out in a Japanese Teppanyakki restaurant all the more agreeable as we could celebrate Tia's passing. YIPEE!!

24-25.09.2011
So here we are yet again. The Belgian Cup of Canicross! An exciting weekend with beautiful weather to put a smile on everyones faces. Unfortunately the competition didn't start so well for Julie & Spice who finished only third as Spice didn't want to pull at all according to Julie. As the course starts at the bottom of the ski hill at Baraque de Fraiture with a finish at the top of the hill you do need a little help from your four legged friend to get you past the finish line. Poor Julie was tired as she arrived in third place and more than a little disappointed. Next day Julie celebrated her 10th birthday and I told her to run the course as a training since I did not see her catching up to the other runners anymore. She was very positive and told me she would so that Spice would have a learning experience. It was important to me as she didn't run well at the same place last year during the European Open. Maybe she doesn't like all the struggling to get up the hill although she already ran with less enthusiasm than usual on the flat at the start so I'm not sure what's going through her mind. Maybe Julie is also a bit too nervous wanting to place well because on Sunday they sprouted wings when running without any great chance. I was so impressed when I saw Julie (who had to start after the 1st and 2nd runners by the time she had finished behind them during Saturdays run) catching up to the second runner at the beginning of the long uphill and surge past her over the finish line with quite an advance. This wonderful spurt of energy meant that she caught up in time just enough to put her in second place over all and she won a well deserved silver. It was a wonderful display of sportmanship to witness.

Robin ran well and finished 2nd both days with an overall second place so he and Caya also won a silver medal in their group. I know Robin wasn't so pleased with Caya's first run but apparently she ran better on Sunday and came up the last murderous hill with more steam than the previous day.

Elisabeth and Gyp also placed second the two days and thereby took home silver as well. I'm so happy to see Elisabeth doing so well with Gyp as she was always just outside the medals the year before. She's really improved herself and runs very well. With the help of Gyp who's quite a strong runner she gets the extra help and motivation that she didn't have before. They are a nice combination and seem to get along really well.

Louise and Angie placed 6th overall which pleased Louise although I know she would have liked to be even better placed. She's a very positive girl with a nice attitude from what I see. I should also mention that Louise who won a lot last year now runs as the youngest in a group of 14 to 18 year olds. So her odds of winning will improve with every year that she grows stronger and faster and runs against the then younger generations.

Unfortunately Hippie did not get to participate as Bart opted to run with his stronger hunting dog in order to help him up the steep hills.

For Gigi & Luke I was sure of a 2nd or 3rd place but these dreams were squashed already after saturdays run when Gigi unfortunately took a wrong turn somewhere and ran a much longer course than she should have. Better luck next year!

Folly also ran with Michel who competed for the medal with his own dog for the long distance run and ran the short distance with Folly but not for the medal as you're only allowed to participate in one of the distances for the actual medal. Michel told me that Folly actually ran the same distance as his dog the first day at a faster time even though it was the second run of Michel. So far I can't verify the times as the results are not on the site yet but I think it's marvellous that my little Folly can pull Michel up that steep ski hill faster than his own larger male dog on his second run. I'm proud of my super energetic little girl.

Christine was super kind and offered to run with Tia on the Sunday for the short distance so that she would participate again. She's not run since May when Ella got hurt and stopped running. I worried that she would not have the strength or energy to get up the hill at the end of the course especially since Christine was tired but Tia was a trooper and kept going. I hope someone will start running with her again as she enjoys it but needs to learn to pull a bit more I think. Christine seemed pleased with her so we'll see what will happen next weekend.

Louise also kindly took Honey and Nim (literally carried Honey) with her down to the start and then ran up the whole ski hill with them. As much as Honey didn't want to leave me (she loves her mommy too much to go off with strangers no matter how nice they are) she and Nim ran up the hill on wings. I would have loved for Kami to get a chance to train as well but we ran out of time (and energy!).

So there we are. The end of a long and tiring but very satisfying weekend. I had to drive back and forth all the time as my car is broken down and I couldn't pull my caravan with the replacement car. As I also have the pups at home it was easier like this with the dogs but with an hour and forty minute drive each way both days (actually 2 hours on the way back due to road works and traffic jams) all alone and then walking & caring for the other dogs on my return I was kind of nackered on Monday morning.  Very happy with the experience and please with the results but glad every weekend isn't like this.

18.09.2011
With the heart in my throat with worry that my car would once more break down, I set off to Polleur canicross competition this morning. We had a very pleasant day in nice September weather with sunshine and some dramatic dark skies at times but no rain washed over us. As usual at Polleur all the categories were group starts and it's quite a wonderful scene to see the bigger groups setting off all together. It seems like a never ending stream of runners & dogs passing by. Photos are uploaded on our Fideel club album site as usual and can be seen here http://www.canicrossclubfideel.mijnalbum.be/

Julie & Spice won their class and Robin came 2nd. Folly missed a third place by less than 13 seconds and this even though she didn't run as well as she can. She doesn't find long staights amusing and runs a lot better when paths are narrow and curvy. Bart ran the long distance with Hippie instead of Pollux as he feels she pulls more evenly the whole time compared to Pollux. Bart was pleased with her performance and they placed 9th out of 19 participants. The Hayez girls were not present this weekend. It was nice to see Viviane participate as well. She ran the long distance with Jump and ended up 3rd in her category which pumped her up enough to sign in Easy for the short distance. With an hour break between runs she regretted her decision as she became stiff with the rest but she was brave enough to go through with her run anyway. She finished the course in second last place in her category but give her the due she deserves as she was only less than 4 minutes slower than the winner. She actually ran at a faster speed than with Jump in the morning when you count kilometers/hour. I think it's marvellous and very brave of her especially in a hilly terrain and no experience. If she decides to keep doing canicross I'm sure she'll improve very quickly together with her dogs who also have to learn to pull better.

08.09.2011
Photo albums of Joy & Echo's pups from 2011 are updated as well as the complete albums of all the Kwik pups. Enjoy!

04.09.2011
As much as this turned out to be a great day I'm happy my weekends aren't this busy all the time. Up at 6 am and off to the park. Once home again I quickly fed the dogs and left for a canicross competition in Ottignies (Wavre) some 45 minutes east of where I live. I could only stay until 12.30 so I only saw the long distance runners and Spice's run with Julie. Then back home, change dogs and off for an hours drive to the west this time to join Denise and Freelin Kennels at their kennel day walk and get together. We were so lucky with the weather as rain had been predicted but the sun stayed with us the whole time. We had a lovely walk and luckily I had help of two lovely young girls to walk Tye and Katch so that I only had to handle Echo, Kami and Nim. The park we walked in requires dogs to be kept on a leash but there's a field where dogs are allowed to play lose and it was great fun to see all the dogs together enjoying themselves. My dogs behaved themselves beautifully and I was very proud of them. It was lovely to meet some of Echo's pups that I never get to see as well as litter mates to Kami and Nim. Photos can be seen under the kennel day on Denise's website - http://www.freelindreams.be/home.htm or on this link kindly sent to me by Ina Mittemeyer - http://www.mijnalbum.nl/Album=4AXBFLDQ

Meanwhile back in Ottignies the runners did well. Elisabeth won with Gyp, Robby came 2nd with Hippie, Robin third with Caya by 4.2 seconds difference to Robbie & Hippie, Gigi finished 2nd with Luke and Julie 2nd with Spice. Poor Louise ran the wrong course so she was out of the running.

02.09.2011
Today Kiwi managed to escape me when I opened the car door and she jumped out of the car and started running around it. I had to quickly help Vhip out before he jumped and hurt himself and in this time she managed two fast turns around the car. Just these two turns set off yet another attack whereas the other times she ran around for a longer time. This time I saw her going into the seizure with legs sort of buckling under her. She stayed like that for an instance before she went down and into the seizure. It lasted shorter than the other two attacks and the recuperation period was also a lot quicker. I think the whole thing was over in a minute and then she was once more normal and running around the park. This time too she went into the seizure within one meter of the same spot as the other two times. From now on I'll put her on the leash before leaving the car and tie her up at the fence whilst I let the other dogs out and get organised for the walk. This way I don't have to worry about her slipping out of my hands when I open the door.

23.08.2011
Happy Ty's photo album has finally been totally updated. Ty is a son out of Joy and Echo's litter born 19.03.2008

22.08.2011
Having assumed that Joy must have been mated at the end of her heat I figured the pups would be born beginning September. Today I decided to take her temperature to start monitoring it to be sure I would be ready for the birth as I obviously had no idea of approximate time of birth. When I saw her temperature was as low as 37.1°C instead of her normal 38 - 38.3°C I figured things were under way and quickly checked if it could be possible compared to when her heat was. Indeed it was if taken at the very beginning of her heat and before I separated Joy from the dogs then. No sooner had I verified this fact that Joy started breathing harder and soon started making a nest and clinging to me. So quickly I had to get organisied and bring in and clean the litter box and everything else needed for the birth. Not long after I had everything set up did Joy give birth to her first pup. It came out bum first and weighed 366 g so she had to push quite hard but did it like the start she is without a peep of pain or worry, remaining calm throughout the whole birth. In 3 hours 10 minutes she gave birth to 5 pups. 2 black tri girls, 2 brown tri girls and 1 black tri boy. They all look very much like Joy and Echo with colored front legs and very little white except one of the brown girls who had a white head. Where that came from I have no idea! I speak in the past over this little girl because she died in the evening. Weighing only 165 g at birth she was too small and weak to drink from Joy. I gave her milk out of a bottle and she took very well to this so I thought that she would survive with my help but when I came back for another feeding in the evening I found her with her head under Joy and lifeless. I assume she was too weak to pull herself out compared to normal pups as I've never had a pup stuck under a bitch before. I have a litter box where the mother can't crush a pup against a wall and that was not the case. She was lying under the nipples as if she wanted to drink. Maybe Joy moved and she got stuck or she died by herself and then got stuck under Joy. I will never know but it would probably have been a struggle to get her through anyway as she was so incredibly tiny. This is the smallest pup I've ever had. The other brown one is also small but still weighed 100g more at birth and this makes a big difference to their ability of climbing up to a nipple, grabbing it and holding on. The other pups are doing well.

19.08.2011
Hmmm, where to begin. I've not had an easy time lately when it comes to the dogs. First the 2 seizures Kiwi had (which still have not re-occurred since I stopped her running around in the tight circles around the car thank god - keep your fingers crossed for her) and as I called around to let owners of litter mates know I found out that another grandchild of Echo has had two seizures. The pup (5 months old) has been fed on Bentos Lamb & Rice Junior. It is a fact that some lot numbers of this food has been known to cause epilepsy and since the owner switched the pup to Royal Canin the seizures stopped. Problem is that the bag has long since been thrown out so we can't check if he received feed from a bad lot number or not. None of his pups have developped epilepsy or other problems and the breeder of Echo does not know of any troubles in his blood lines so I should safely be able to keep breeding with him but I've decided to wait a few months to see how things develop with other grandchildren. Obviously I'm a bit harsh putting the blame on my Echo right away as there are other bloodlines involved in both his pups and grandchildren but I prefer to be over cautious to start with.

Having taken this decision it obviously grieves me to announce that Joy is pregnant! Yet another accidental litter for Joy and I can only assume Echo will turn out to be the father of the pups. How it happened is beyond me as I've been home with the dogs during her whole heat and not once have the dogs been able to get to Joy. I can only assume I let them back together a bit too early and they did the deed during the night when I was sleeping. Having discovered this when she's about 6 weeks pregnant I right away consulted with my vet about aborting her. It could obviously be done but at great risk to Joy getting a uterus infection and having to be sterilised. This is a risk I don't want take. Knowing my luck at present things would go wrong and as Joy's mother Cyou was prone to uterus infections after giving normal birth I'm not taking any chances with Joy. So my option now is to let her have the pups and then what. If I keep them and sell without pedigree I risk losing my breeding licence for a time and a fine I guess. I could not ask SRSH where we register our dogs in Belgium as they are closed for holidays until beginning September and had to take my own decision. My vet said that if I was going to sacrifice the pups in an abortion I could have them put down as they have been born but this is something that goes totally against all I believe in unless I'm sure the pups will be sick. As Joy and Echo already had an accidental litter with 3 pups that are now 3 1/2 years old and perfectly healthy it would seem a sin to have them euthanised. Apart from anything else I don't know how Joy would react to this act either and her previous pups are really gorgeous and love to work. Another solution would be to give Joy away and sign her pedigree over to someone else and let her have her pups without pedigrees to avoid being sanctioned but it would look rather suspicious when I then take her back in my name.

In the end I opted for the only solution I can actually live with and that's to be open and honest about my mistake so I wrote an email to SRSH even though they were closed and outlined the situation. After the last litter they had warned me not to do such a combination again which is totally logical (although the last litter is gorgeous) so I assumed being granted pedigrees for this litter would be out of the question. The first time it was accorded because I've always worked correctly with SRSH and have done more tests then they ask for long before hip scoring for BC's was obliged in Belgium plus all the other tests they still don't require. Maybe for this reason and the fact that the other pups from the same combination parents are all doing well I have actually been granted permission to have pedigrees for this litter as well. You can not believe how relieved I am both for my sake and Joys. I want to thank SRSH enormously for taking my request into consideration and for granting the pedigrees AND to let me know even when they are closed for summer vacations. This has saved me some 10 days of agony waiting for an answer and wondering what to do. This gesture by SRSH is really appreciated. I honestly don't worry about epilepsy as Echo has not produced any epi pups and because the other litter are fine but I would have preferred to wait to breed with any of my Echo lines for another 6 months or so to give me time to analyse the whole situation.

I can now also breed with Crazy in peace and quiet knowing her pups will have their pedigrees. This was obviously worrying me as she's probably coming into heat soon and I might have needed to mate her before knowing if I would lose my breeders licence if I could not bring myself to euthanise Joy's pups. Now all is well that ends well. I obviously have to wait for Joy to have her pups before I can say 100% sure that it's Echo and not Early that's the father but already now I'm 99% sure. The pups will be DNA tested to establish beyond a doubt who the father is when the time comes just like I did with her other accidental litter. From now on I will also have to watched Joy like a hawk when in heat and keep her apart longer as she obviously incites Echo a lot. He's been presented girls in full heat and refused to cover them but he loves his Cyou (now sterilised), Joy and Tia and will obviously do anything to get to his favorite girls.

16.08.2011
Life really throws you some major curve balls at times with such sad consequences. On 7/8 and once more on 12/8 Kiwi had what I can only assume to be an epileptic attack. It's difficult for me to say for sure since I've never experienced this previously and also because according to different information collected she does not seem to fall fully into the criteria of an epileptic attack. Both attacks happened at exactly the same place and time with a difference of 5 days. When I let my dogs out of the car in the park they run at full speed into the park to blow of some steem except for Kiwi who starts running around in circles around the car until I've let all the dogs out and am ready to go for a walk. This is probably the time when Kiwi runs at her absolute top speed and she runs in rather tight circles around the car. I've not seen her actually go into the attack but each time I heard a noice behind the car almost as if two dogs were fighting. When I go to check she's on the ground already (in the exact same spot both times!) and her legs are having spasms with white foam forming in the mouth. The seizure last for less than a minute and when she comes out of it she walks groggily for a few steps (again less than a minute) and then she takes off at full speed with the other dogs into the park and comes along for our morning walk as if nothing has happened. When I say she comes along as usual that's precisely the case as she runs like an idiot competing with the other dogs. Here however, the difference is that she runs in straight lines or very large bends.  I have therefore decided to eliminate the mad runs around the car and keep her on a leash until I'm ready to leave the car behind. Once I've taken just a few steps away I release her and she knows that now it's the park that counts. She races off like the mad dog she is and, touch wood, she's not had another attack since then. This is of course very early days and I can only hope that no more attacks will be forthcoming. In the meantime I will obviously not breed with Kiwi as I need to observe her and see how things will develop. I've heard that epileptic attacks usually don't happen when the dog is in the height of action and more during rest periods but I just don't see what else it can be. If anybody has information of dogs having epileptic attacks when they are at their most active I would very much like to hear about it. You can email me at ann@doggoneborders.be

I have in fact realized that something has been different since the attacks started. She usually races around the car but not for so long as I leave it quite quickly after releasing the dogs. At the time of the seizures I had to keep two dogs on a leash as they had undergone surgery and by the time I let the main body of dogs out, attach the dogs that have to be kept quiet and realease the two young pups from their cage, I actually spend a lot more time at the car which means that Kiwi runs in tight circles for a lot longer as she never stops these sprints until I actually start walking away from the car. So I now believe that the circlng triggers her seizures and only when it goes on for too long. Like she gets dizzy and then goes into a seizure. Would make sense in my opinion as flashing lights can trigger seizures. I will be curious to see over the coming months if the seizures will continue now that I have eliminated this element.

14.08.2011
As some of you may know Easy from Doggone Borders has been hurt and for this reason Viviane has stopped doing agility with him as she wants to keep him in top form as long as possible. In order to keep him stimulated she's now started him on a new career in obedience which he has taken to like a fish to water. Today he competed in the debutant class at an unofficial competition for the first time and scored 97/100 which won him a first place. Many congratulations to Easy and Viviane and I wish you much success in the future with this new discipline.

03.08.2011
Good news day! Today I took Vhip back to the eye vet for a control. A month earlier I had been told his blind eye would probably have to be removed due to the high pressure. I really did not want to do this at his age as I worry about him not wanting to fight to live anymore during his recuperation period and therefore I'm over the moon now as his pressure has gone down from 44 to 15 (25 is really a maximum). So I can continue giving him the drops and save him the painful operation. Another great bit of news is that Cyou was sterilized today and apparently in the nick of time as her uterus burst wide open just as it was removed from her. Had it burst inside her she would not have made it. So today I feel doubly lucky! Early has also been castrated today. This is the first time I have castrated a dog. I'm curious to see if this will change his attitude a bit when I have bitches in heat. Certainly it will make things a little easier for me now that I have two new male pups and since Early has never been used for a mating due to being both TNS & CEA carrier I decided to give it a try.

02.08.2011
Anja came back for a quick visit with her whole family including Jolly Vicky & Luna. At a rather short notice I managed to get Jolly Flame, Jet and Lycka to come for an impromptu litter meeting. It was a success as the dogs all get along and seemed to really enjoy romping around together in the field. On top of everything we were so lucky with the weather as it was about the only day of sunshine in a long time. The Troha family stayed in my field in a mobile home and I ended up staying until almost midnight when the first rain drops started falling - yet again! Loads of photos were taken by Anja as usual and can be found back on the photo page under pup meetings. Please note that the photos of my two and a half month old pups on the A-frame were of their own doing. As we were all chatting away we never noticed the pups climbing up the A-frame and over the top. This was a first time but not the last so now I have to be very careful to keep an eye on them as they apparently love mountain climbing!

02.08.2011
Bad news day! An ultrasound of Spice has shown that she's not pregnant. Admittedly I worried about it as she was mated by artificial insemination this time around due to a badly injured foot and she could not support Echo's weight on her back as she could not stand on one of her back legs just when it was the right time to cover her. However, I was so sure it had worked as her attitude had changed soon after the insemination so I'm very disappointed that there won't be any pups. Especially since Spice only comes into heat every 10 to 12 months. I will now have to sit down and figure out what to do next but I'm would like to try mating Kiwi as I'm expecting her to come into heat in September and maybe even Crazy as well for the last time. I would very likely mate Crazy to my own Ice. You can see her pups with him from last year under the photo page under the Jump pup meeting that took place on 17.07.11 and read more about them further down on this news page. Personally I think they have a really lovely dark chocolate coloring and very nice coats. Their character is more on the submissive side rather than dominant but they are playful and like to work. All are friendly with people except for Bright who's been through some sort of trauma after being attacked by a dog and now he's not very trusting anymore although I met him a week before the puppy meeting and then again on 17/7 and the improvement in his behaviour was significant. With the right work, trust and exposure to other dogs and people I'm sure he will once more become the cheerful and loving Bright I knew as a pup.

28.07.2011
I know I'm dreadfully behind with all my photos but there are just so many of them. For this reason I have decided to put all the photos from the Jump litter puppy meeting taken by Anja on my website without putting names on the photos or cropping them. I've corrected the light in some of them so it's taken some time to go through them all but by not doing the work I usually do you get to see the pictures that much quicker. Some photos are really superb and we can all thank Anja for being so helpful in taking them for us. Enjoy! By chosing the Canicross Club Fideel link under the photo page you can now also see the photos from Givet on 01/05/2011.

26.07.2011
New videos have been uploaded. Under the video page you can now find several videos of Torfil (NOYTCG One by One) who is a son of Rebel and my Echo. A video of Kwik Wish has also been added at the age of 8 weeks filmed here at home and ending with the arrival back in Slovenia. This will hopefully be one of many videos that we'll enjoy following Wish over the coming years. A new video of Jolly Vicky at 13th month of age is also uploaded. There's also a video of Flashy running at the EO Juniors with handler Lisa and finally I've added a video from the 2010 EO Canicross competition made by Brazil (so all in Spanish) where you can see my gorgeous gang patiently waiting for their turn in my yellow van.

17.07.2011
Today we had a puppy reunion of Crazy's Jump litter in order to hand over the pedigrees. I have seldom seen such beautiful dogs in a litter in a rich, dark chocolate and gorgeous shiny coats (well Spot being a merle is different but looks very much like his father Ice). Some of them were rather timid at first as they were not used to all my dogs running around but by the end of the reunion they were all playing with each other or the children present at the meeting. Jumpy who kept running toward the gate at the beginning actually pulled on the leash to go back into the field with all the activities when it was time to leave and didn't want to end the fun. Nice to see that a dog can change attitude so radically after just a couple of hours of exposure to something so foreign to him as been faced with my pack of bandits! Apart from all my dogs Marianne came with father Ice and her two other Echo pups (well no full grown of course) and Maja came along with Flin and Lycka as well so it was quite a crowd present for the youngsters to face. We were sooo lucky with the weather as they had predicted rain which we had in the morning and evening but during the meeting the weather gods smiled down at us and kept us dry with occasional sunshine and even some warmth. I had a really, really nice time seeing the dogs and chatting with everyone and hope everone present felt the same.

16 - 17.07.2011
The European Open for Juniors took place in Holland this weekend. Four Doggone Borders participated from what I've seen from the result list. Tobe ran with Cay end finished 25th overall in the children's category. Junior who participated with Famous Ice in the childrens category came 2nd in both the individual jumping and agility which placed him first overall out of 59 participants. SUPER!! Maarten ran with Cme in the normal juniors and finished 62nd after a DK in the jumping. Lisa with Flashy also ran in the normal juniiors where she took 2 third places and 1 sixth place in both team and individual courses. In the individual she ended up 16th overall out of 77 participants. MANY CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL !!

10.07.2011
Dog Survival Day - So many Doggone Borders participated in the event and we had a brilliant day. Some of us walked the course whilst taking photos enjoying each others company. I'm proud to say we did all the excercises. The walkers were Flin & Maja, Lycka & Gerd, Joy & Ann, Crazy & Anja and Cyou & Lea. The runners did really well. Luke & Gigi ended up 5th out of 149 dogs in the ladies category and Hippie & Bart came 13th out of 123 dogs in the mens category. In the boys youth category Caya & Robin won with Tia & Robby finishing 4th out of 12 participants and in the girls category Angie & Louise came 2nd, Spice & Julie 6th and Early & Caroline 7th out of 17 runners. The youth category went from age 10 to 18 so one has to applaud our youths with Julie being the youngest at 10 and Louise & Caroline the oldest at only 14. To be that well placed against older youths is marvellous and I'm very proud of my dogs carrying out all the strange excercises with the kids without giving them a hard time.

08.07.2011
It's been a long time since I updated the site. So much has been happening and time has flown by. Today Anja and Lea arrived from Slovenia to stay for 10 days and then they'll be flying home with Kwik Wish.

30.06.2011
He made it to 14! After Vhip was paralysed 4 years ago and couldn't move his two back legs at all I thought his life was over. However both of us being rather stubborn with a love for life Vhip recuperated the use of one of his back leg and the right one works well enough to let him run around and keep a balance albeit a rather unsteady one. I'm very grateful to Bart and Waterpool where the swimming therapy brought Vhip back to me. Since then he's been good until this winter where he fell so sick twice I once more thought the end was near. Again, he fought his way back and recuperated so well that he's now running after the girls in heat thinking he's a young studly once more. I love Vhip. He has such a sweet character for a boy and he's won me the best dog of the year in grade 2 agility once in his hayday. Not so much for his speed but for being a very correct runner. He's also produced some really nice pups that love to work who in their turn have produced even more wonderful offspring. I'm proud to have Vhip here and I'm ever so chuffed that he's still behaving like a young dog even if he runs with a limp. At 14 he still comes for every single walk with the dogs which is great! Happy Birthday to my sweet Vhip!

27.06.2011
Two more videos of Cyou's Kwik litter have been uploaded to YouTube. You can find the links on my video page. Once more I thank Lea for editing my filming and addig text and music. Without her these YouTube videos would not exist. A video of Jump For Joy at the age of 7 months has also been added under the video page Jump litter. Honey's photo album has finally been added. It's a long one!

26.06.2011
The last canicross competition for the spring period took place today at Engsbergen and organised by VCF. Caya and Robin came in 2nd and only 6 seconds behind the winner which is also a Doggone Border, namely Hippie run by Robby. Julie and Spice came in first even though the distances at VCF competitions are longer and there's more competitors. Gigi and Luke (still so handsome I find) won a first in their category as well.  A doggone good day to end the season in other words. Congratulations to all the runners.

25.06.2011
Sad news today. Kami hurt himself 2-3 weeks ago and has been limping on and off. He's been to the vet already and as he did not react to any manipulations we decided that he's twisted his leg and needed some rest. So he's been walking on the leash but it's not getting better and I decided to have him x-rayed. The x-ray shows that he has a small crack in the shoulder blade joint on his right leg. So 1 month rest to start with and then we'll see. I worry about arthritis setting in and that he might fail his should displacia test later on because of this. Oh well, no point in worrying now as I can't do anything about it. Please cross your fingers everybody that he heels properly.

24.06.2011
Under my video page you can now see a video of Cyou & Number One (Ice) pups when they were 27 days old (so filmed on 18/06/11). Please excuse the sometimes bad focus of the footage (my fault). I wish to thank Lea who has been kind enough to edit the video clip and add the music and text as I'm not very fast at doing this yet. Am learning so hopefully I'll be doing more once my website is finally up to date when it comes to all the photo albums.

21.06.2011
Today I'm proud to say that an article of my kennel has appeared in the very first 'At the Kennel' in a newly created on line Euro Dog Sport Magazine. I have added a link to it under my link page for future reference but you can otherwise copy this link to open it.  http://dogsportmag.eu/2011/06/15/236/

19.06.2011
Last BCF canicross competition before the summer months (too hot to run then) ended in style with Julie & Spice, Robin & Caya and Elisabeth & Gyp all taking first price in their various categories. Louise ran in the long for the very first time and ended up 4th with Angie and Bart finished 9th out of 18 in the short run with Hippie. Michel & Folly came in 6th in their category. Well done everyone and we'll be back with more BCF results in August.

18.06.2011
Jolly Flame past her social test at Brabo which means she's now allowed to compete. Well done to Sven & Flame!

11.06.2011
I Am Happy's (Charlie) photo album has been completely updated. I just wish more photos would be added over the years. Today I learned that Yessis sister Yoka passed away a week ago. Too many wonderful dogs lost to us all over the last year and a half.

07.06.2011
A number of new videos have been uploaded on the video page. These include Frodo, Esprit & Haikka at the Belgian Cup 2011 as well as 3 new videos of Jolly Vicky and Jojo Cooper learning how to water rescue.

05.06.2011
After having spent a lovely day walking the dogs in the forest and then visiting an agility competition at BBCC where I met a lot of friendly faces that I have not seen for a very long time I came home to receive the worst news a breeder can get. Kiwi's sister Charlie (I Am Happy) has died after being hit by a train. I can't bear to think about it and how absolutely awful this is for her family to live with. Every time we lose one of our best friends we feel so guilty and think what if I had done this or that, walked later or whatnot. The guilt is just unbearable to live with as I full well know but an accident such as this only takes a few seconds and it really is nobody's fault. I wish Charlie's family lot's of strength and courage in this difficult time and you should know that I would not have a problem in confiding another dog into your home if ever you decided to take one. I trust you completely and know that you were busy going to the dogschool with Charlie and making progress. Myself I had the priviledge of having Charlie stay with me for a couple of weeks every summer and was looking forward to greeting her here in a months time once again. She was a very happy little girl who fitted in with my flock without any trouble and listened to me during walks giving her the freedom to run lose with the gang. I am so sorry that I now won't have a chance to give her a hug and a kiss again. My thoughts are with you little one. I hope you have met up with all my dogs already at Rainbow Bridge and that you'll have fun toghether like you did when you came to stay.

28-29.05.2011
This weekend the Belgian Championship (grade 3) and the Belgian Cup (grade 2) in agility took place. I was happy to see that the two first placed dogs in grade 3 are pups from Daley who is also Yessi's father and a very important ancestor in my blood lines. More exciting though is that Haika (a pup from Emmy & Easy from Doggone Borders) actually won the Belgian Cup and Esprit from Doggone Borders came 2nd. Cfrodo also qualified for the final and came 3rd in the final jumping although overall I believe he ended in 18th place due to having a fence down in the agility course. As Stéphane handled both Esprit (Nathalie could not run due to an accident just before the Cup) and Frodo you have to admit he spent a super weekend enjoying both his dogs and the weather. Furthermore, at this stage of the year Elia from Doggone Borders is classed in 1st place in the yearly overall standing in grade 3. Easy, Esprit and Elia are all brothers and sisters from one of Cyou's litters.  So with the help of some good handlers some of Cyou's offspring have excelled and I'm very proud of the dogs and their handlers. Many congratulations to you all for all your hard work! Hope you're having fun whilst getting to the top!

23.05.2011
Cyou's pups were born on the day I expected. I had been really been worrying about them arriving a couple of days early as I went to Sweden for my mother's 80th birthday celebration and only arrived back home in the afternoon of 21.05. I'm ever so grateful that Cyou waited to have her pups as she sometimes has them earlier than planned. She ended up having 7 pups just like I expected judging by her weight gain event though the ultrasound had only shown 5 pups. On top of everything they were born on my birthday so I now share mine with some of my pups which I think is lovely. The birth went super smooth and very quickly. Cyou is a pro and makes it all look so easy. I just wish she had had more girls as I really wanted to keep a little girl looking just like her from her last litter. Unfortunately she only had two girls. Both look like their mother but I just don't have the heart to keep one as they have been awaited for during such a long time by Jana and Lea. I know they will have a fantastic home with them so I have decided no to follow my heart and keep one of them. Hopefully one of Cyou's daughters will eventually give me another little tri girl looking like grandma and more importantly with her brilliant character. Cyou is really quite special I find.

22.05.2011
Spice and Caya participated at a VCF canicross competition in Meldert today. I could not present as I wanted to keep an eye on Cyou at all times so I missed the excitement of seeing Julie and Robin winning their categories. The excitement largely came from the fact that they ran against a lot more competitors than when competiing in a BCF competition and the distance was a lot longer for Julie. The age category is also different and Julie ran against a lot older girls than she usually does. A wonderful victory for both these young stars. I'm so happy my dogs are able to run with such young talents.

22.05.2011
Congratulations to Anja and Jump Up (known as Jumpy) who participated in their first club match today. Anja was really chuffed to be able to tell me that they finished third and brought home their first cup. Jumpy is more a family dog than anything else and Anja took him to puppy classes as she found the basic training as important as I do. Having no ambition to compete Anja must have become very motivated during training when seeing Jumpy's progress and willingness to work. Hopefully this success will ensure continued pleasurable hours of training together at the dog school. It just goes to show you that with a properly motivated handler wanting to teach their dogs the basics you can get 'bitten' by the bug when you have a dog that wants to learn and you end up going a lot further than you initially meant to do. WELL DONE indeed!

14.05.2011
Today we spent a lovely day at the beach at a new canicross venue called Wenduine. We had lovely sunshine but enough wind to keep people off the beach so after the competition we could let the dogs romp around on the beach for a while. It was nice to see them enjoying the sea again as it's been quite some time and a first visit for the pups. Folly & Michel ran very well and came in 4th in their category, Spice & Julie won, Caya & Robin came second after a very poor start as Caya started playing with him halfway down the beach. I think she was happy to have gotten out of the group start without being attacked and her joy made her stop running in order to jump up and down to play with Robin and the line. Robin ran one hell of a race to catch up afterwards and finish in second place after all. Hippie & Bart finished in a respectable 7th place.

01.05.2011
This time we headed just over the French border to Givet to run. Ella still could not participate and as I still want Spice to take it easy as she's limped a couple of time Julie ran with Tia instead. As the dogs had to pass a garden with pigs in it (not wild pigs but not the normal, cute pink domestic pig either) I worried about the children running passed because when Folly ran the long first she became so terrified she broke free of her harness. The pigs literally attacked her through the fence and as she jumped backwards the harness slipped over her head. Poor Michel worried about catching her but she stopped once she got away from the garden boundary and he could put her harness on again. He did have to carry her passed the pigs and then they were off again. Unfortunately they took a wrong way later on and lost valuable time. Still they ended up third in their category here in Belgium. Luckily Tia and Caya did not react towards the pigs as they were having a siesta when they ran passed. Julie & Tia came 1st and Robin & Caya 2nd. Early was allowed to participate for a change. Unfortunately the pigs were wide awake when he had to run passed and he ran straight into the forest with Christine in order to avoid them. A few scratches later they did end up in 5th place. Bart ran the short distance with Hippie and finished 9th in his category.

30.04.2011
Well it didn't work. Echo has not been showing a lot of interest in the last matings he's done with Zoe and Fujita although he's been going crazy trying to get to my girls when they've been in heat. So strange to see as he has always been a great stud dog gently persuading the girls but with determination. Fraya stayed with us 2 nights but she showed no interest in Echo either. If Early and Vhip came she stood and lifted her tail and they quickly tried to get lucky to no avail as I put a stop to it all. However between her and Echo there was no spark at all. So today Fraya went to try her luck elsewhere which is why I've removed the planned litter between them off my page.

25.04.2011
Interesting day to spend Easter Monday. Today a journalist from a local paper came to interview me for an article in the Klakson. All was done in Dutch and I'm very curious to see how it will turn out.

New photo albums from canicross competitions at Spa, Esneux and Charmille are now available on the Canicross Club Fideel album page which link you can find on my photo page. There are some lovely portraits of the children with their dogs.

24.04.2011
Canicross Charmille turned out to be a very hot day for runners and dogs but they all struggled on and did well as usual. Julie ran with Tia for a change as I sometimes think that Spice is hurting due to a shortened stride. Since poor Ella couldn't run after her fall last weekend it made sense that Spice could have a rest. Julie ran very wall with Tia as well and told me she worked well and pulled good. Proof of this came in yet another first place for Julie. Caya & Robin came 2nd as usual and Hippie & Robby came 3rd which is great for his second run. Angie & Louise came 9th I believe which is normal as Louise has hurt her foot and had to take it easy around the course. Gyp & Elisabeth ran very well and came 2nd with Folly & Michel finishing 3rd on the podium. Michel kindly offered to run the short distance with Early and his wife Christine took Honey for her very first run. Early did well with a strong start and finish but Michel was obviously tired after having run the long distance. Honey was less good as she didn't understand what she had to do. She's only ever run with me and has become a bit of a 'mommy' dog so she didn't want to run away from me. Christine didn't want to force her and turned around after the long straight at the start taking a side road back. Once Honey turned towards where she figured I would be she ran really well and Christine said that she was strong as I've always said she is. It's unfortunate that she had the accident and operation at such a young age because she could never learn to run with the other dogs and other people and now she's quite stuck on me. With me on the bike she runs like the wind so I hope I will be able to transfer her energy and need for speed to spend it also when running with other people. As of saturday her training will be changing and she's going to have to leave with the other dogs and someone else in the hope that she soon gets the taste for it even if I'm not there.

21.04.2011
Last night I had promised Yessi that I would bring her home again so the early morning phone call from my vet telling me that Yessi had passed away was a terrible shock and not something I had expected at all. I thought that if the treatment did not help I would at least be able to put her out of her misery by euthanisation at home in my arms on the sofa where she's spent so many wonderful hours. This was not to be however and I will feel guilty for the rest of my life for not being with her during her last hours. I am very grateful to Filip as he went and checked on her during the night and was with her in the early morning hours when after a peaceful night she suddenly began to shake and passed away. She died from kidney failure at the young age of 11 1/2 years and the abrupt absence of my sweet girl is something that will take some time to get used to. She's left me a wonderful legacy in her offspring which I'm forever thankful for but there's an empty space in my heart all the same. Her page has beed adapted and her photo album will be updated as soon as possible.

20.04.2011
Although Yessi has still been running around playing and going for every walk I have seen that she's in pain and she's also suffering from 'cushing' the last few months. Her front feet have swollen up to double their normal size and she's been on pain killers and medication for 'cushing'. I don't like giving my dogs medication on an emptry stomach and the last few days Yessi has been eating worse and worse. Having a fantastic appetite this was to me a sign of pain or other problems. The day before the vet took another blood sample as we regularly kept checking her liver and kidneys due to the medication and the last test showed a decline in her kidneys. So when she would not eat at all this evening I took her to the vet so he could put her on a drip both for nourishment and to help clean her kidneys. Filip told me that it would be a 3 day cure but a bloodtest the following day would determine if the drip is actually helping and if it's worth continuing the treatment. I hated leaving Yessi behind but apart from not wanting to eat she was still really awake and playful so I was very hopeful the drip treatment would help her feel better. Filip explained to me that if the treatment did not show an improvement within 24 hours  she didn't have a lot of chance to survive but seeing her alert face we were sure we had time to try to help her.

18.04.2011
Today Cyou had an ultrasound done showing that she's pregnant. 5 pups counted but it can obviously be both more or less. Pups are expected around 23/5. Not such good news though is the steady degradation of Yessi and Vhip's health. Although Vhip is looking quite happy again his eye is getting bad and bothering him more and more. Eventually it might have to be removed but it's a hard decision to take to make him suffer from such an operation at his age and if it's actually a tumour making his eye swell and blind then an operation would not help anyway. As for Yessi her cushing illness is being treated with success but unfortunately she's showing more and more pain symptoms from arthritis all over her body and has had great difficulty standing up for the last 3 days. It pains me to see them both like this and I hope that they will improve with time and medication.

17.04.2011
Good news, bad news! During the canicross competition in Esneux all the Fideel members stood on the podium with Doggone Borders results being: Julie & Spice 1st, Robin & Caya 2nd, Elisabeth & Gyp 2nd, Robby & Hippie 3rd, Ella & Tia 3rd and Michel running for another club with Folly came 4th as well. Very sad news though is that Tia and Angie got tangled up just as they came to the finish line with the two girls falling. A scraped knee and a torn tendon for the girls which means that Ella is on crutches and out of the running for a while. Tia was very quiet all the rest of the day as she ended up underneath one of the girls but luckily I can't see her limping. Gigi was again not present at the competition with Luke and Early is still missing a handler to run with him.

02.04.2011
I only stayed in Spa for the Saturday competition. Ella could not come to run with Tia as she was sick. Louise & Angie came 3rd in their group, Robin & Caya came 2nd, Elisabeth & Gyp 1st and Julie & Spice 1st. Michel ended up 5th with Folly. On Sunday Julie once more won running with a non Doggone Border dog, Elisabeth & Gyp took another 1st place, Robin ran with Hippie and came 2nd again, with Louise & Angie finishing 4th although only 6,4 seconds behind the actual winner so it was a tight finish. Gigi wasn't present with Luke.

08.04.2011
Wonderful news! Pip has found a new home and has moved to Germany where he will be learning agility as well as Dutch. Sepp and Monika Tekula are the new owners and great agility fans. Pip loved them from the beginning by jumping up and greeting them enthusiastically when they first entered our house. As much as I don't like super curly coats you stopped seeing the curls in Pip's coat after you got to know him because he's just such a lovely, friendly dog that you see him and his character, not his curls. I have a very good feeling about his new home and am looking forward to news about him over the next few years.

05.04.2011
New video of Jojo Coopers first meeting with sheep has been added to the video page. Under Doggone Border related videos you can also find a lovely video made by Anja & Lea of footage shot during their Christmas holiday with me here in Belgium. Enjoy!

05.04.2011
Unfortunately Jojo Pip has to be rehomed as his owners don't find quite enough time to do him justice. Pip came back on Sunday but has been staying 2 nights with a friend as Crazy was just finishing her heat. I did not think it a great idea to bring a 9 month old male dog into the house to introduce to my boys whilst Crazy still had to be kept apart. Today he's arrived back with the whole family and it's all going quite well. Pip has proved to have a very nice character and is friendly both with people and dogs which has made his integration with my gang very easy. Now he needs to find a new, active home as he's full of unspent energy which has to be channelled through some sporting activity.

26.03.2011
New videos of Jolly Vicky and Jump for Joy have been added to the video page. Enjoy!

21 & 23.03.2011
Cyou started her heat just as expected and has now been covered by Nice of you to Come Bye Number One (Ice). Now the waiting begins to see if she's pregnant or not. If all goes well pups can be expected on my birthday 23/05 which would be a very nice present indeed!

20.03.2011
Canicross competition at Maldegem-Kleit produced some nice results for Doggone Borders with Spice, Gyp and Luke taking 1st place, Caya came 2nd and Folly, Tia & Hi Angie ended up 5th in their different classes. Beautiful weather and the dogs & handlers ran well. A nice day indeed!

19.03.2011
Honey passed her breeding certificate today. Unfortunately Tia didn't as the judge didn't recognise her color and felt her ears are too flat and her nose too long. She has one more chance to pass. Hopefully the next judge will know more about border collie colors and the breed standard as it states any color is permitted so long as it's not dominant white.

15.03.2011
Took Kiwi to be mated to Number One (Ice) yesterday and today with no luck. She flirted a little bit but mainly she stuck her tail between her legs and tried to get away. Every time Ice tried to take her she either snapped or sat down (or both). Out of curiosity I tried to mate her to Ready. This went better but in the end she refused him one time too many so we gave up. I suppose she'll not have pups without artificial insimination so next time I'll have to find a dog close to home so we can go to the vets together.  In my limited experience I've come across some bitches that are very difficult to mate for their first litter but matings after that have gone very smoothly. I hope that if I can get her pregnant in the future that this will help with future matings but this is a big IF of course.....

Due to this unforeseen complication and the long list of people waiting for merle pups I've decided to change Cyou's mating and cover her by Number One (Ice) instead of Caine. Hopefully this will then produce the required number of merle pups......  If all goes well I will then try to mate Spice to Caine instead. This could also be a tricky mating as last time Spice never had to be kept apart from the other dogs and with the litter before with Easy she never showed signs of being ready for a mating either. Luckily Easy turned on the charms and she was convinced to let him have his way with her. I guess next heat (they are very irregular and with long intervals) will have to be monitored very closely if it's to succeed.

06.03.2011
Spice, Tia and Luke took a 1st at the canicross competition at So Bechefa. Caya came 2nd, Folly 4th and Hippie 8th. Congratulations!

01.03.2011
Went and picked up Kami and Nim at Freelin Dreams. Took them for a walk in the park with the gang right away and everything went very smooth.  They have fitted in with the family so easily it's incredible. I'm proud of them but also of the behaviour of my adult dogs.

20.02.2011
Spice and Gyp took a 1st at the first canicross competition of the season at Vilvoorde. Luke came 2nd with Angie & Tia taking a 3rd. Early ended up 5th, Hippie came 16th and Folly 18th in their different categories. Nice result for both Tia & Ella's first competition. Caya did not participate. Well done everybody!

15.02.2011
Finally I have made some updates. The photo page has changed look with a link to my album page instead of keeping the photos on my web site. I've added some new albums and keep working on the rest. Current / planned / previous & other litter pages have been updated and some new video links have been added. As you can see under planned litters I have decided to mate Cyou to Caine instead of Ice. This is so that I can keep a pup that's not related to Echo in order to mate her to my Echo line later on.

26.01.2011
Fujita and Echo's pups are born. You can find a link to their web site under 'other litters by my boys' page. I had high hopes on getting a little blue tri merle girl from this litter but unfortunately this was not to be as all the merles are chocolates.

09.01.2011
Zoe and Echo's pups are born. You can find a link to their web site under 'other litters by my boys' page. I have decided to keep 2 pups from this litter. I just love the colors and it's very difficult to find a chocolate sable. The plus point for me of course is that they are Echo pups and so far I've not been disappointed in his pups when it comes to character and will to work. So in 8 weeks Krazy Nim and Kamikaze (Kami for short) will be integrated into the Doggone family.

26.12.2010
Pup meeting of Joy's and Folly's 2010 summer litters to hand out the pedigrees. We were so lucky with the weather as the sun came out just as we arrived at the field. Anja and Lea were over from Slovenia for a week which means that I could relax and chat with everyone as I handed out warm wine and hot chocolate whilst Anja took all the photos for me. You can see a link to my album page to view the pictures under the photo page.

02.12.2010
Crazy's pups are now two weeks old. As Crazy has not been allowed to run around a lot due to the cesarean and she's been a super Mom staying with the pups constantly. I've never had a litter that's so tranquil. Never crying for food or the comfort of their Mom because she's always around and full of milk. They weigh more than most of my pups from other litters have done at the same age and are looking nice and healthy. Yesterday Crazy had her stitches removed and can start coming for walks again although we still have to take it easy for a while and not go nuts like Crazy can do. She bears her name well!

01.12.2010
Honey is finally allowed to start exercising after being locked up in her cage for 6 long weeks. Of course it will be a slow process and the best workout is swimming so today we went to Westpool for her first session. She just LOVED it! Took to the water like a fish. Swam naturally and calmly without any panicking. Fun also to see that she right away swam to collect the ball and bring it back as this is an exercise I have not done with her as I've worried about her running too hard ever since she was hurt. She loves it when I take out the clicker and gets some attention and today she was over the moon to be alone with Mom and to be allowed to actually have some fun again. She even gave Bart a nice thank you kiss for letting her enjoy herself again.

19.11.2010
Happy Birthday to all the I Like pups who's just turned a year old.

16-20.11.2010
Well now it's been a few harrowing days and I honestly thought I would lose Crazy for a while. On Tuesday 16/11 she stopped eating in the evening and starting trembling, breathing heavily and making a nest for herself plus her temperature had dropped a degree. All the usual signs and I thought great we're under way. I did not expect the pups to be born during the night but I still didn't really sleep a lot because Crazy was awake most of the night and I kept an eye on her. As usual I left the other dogs in the rest of the house and Crazy and I kept to ourselves in the livingroom snuggling up on the bedsofa. Quite cosy. In the morning I called the vet to warn him that the pups would be here during the morning and to keep some time free to stop by to check them out in the evening. By 4 pm I called him to say not to bother as there still were no signs of any pups but she kept worrying more and more. Another sleepless night ended up with a first pup being born around 4 am and I stopped worrying thinking all would be OK after all. Crazy was already tired from lack of sleep and from hours of contractions so I was happy all was finally on track.

About 45 minutes later the second pup was born but she had a harder time than I'm used to seeing to push him out. Once out he did not move and I right away worried again that he was born dead. However, a finger in the month made him cough and he started breathing although it took some time before he started moving. You could see that even the puppy was tired from the long hours the birth was taking. After an hour I saw the next pup coming out a little bit and then get totally stuck. After a while the birth bag broke and the pup disappeared back inside. Nothing more. Just before 7 am I called my vet as I worried too much to leave things as they were. He came to the house and gave Crazy a shot to help her with the contractions and said the pups could still be alive and it could take hours still before coming out. So I tried to be patient but after another 3 hours and Crazy showing signs of getting weaker in her contractions I called him again. I then brought Crazy and her first two borns to the vet and we tried another contraction shot in the hope that it would help us get a hand around the back of the pup to help push it out. Crazy only had a half hearted contraction and then she just laid quitely on the ground so we decided to do a cesarian. First time any of my dogs have needed to have a cesarian so I was not at ease and worried about how Crazy would be after the operation and the care of the pups etc. The pup that was stuck was most likely already dead as the vet could feel the mouth wide open when feeling around to see if we could extract it. Only the head was reachable and pulling on it could be disastrous as it could become detached from the body. A dead pup that's not moving is always more difficult to give birth to as the movement of the pups helps the contractions. So the forgone conclusion was to get the pup out and to save any other pup stuck behind it.

As they prepared Crazy for the operation I quickly went home and cleaned up the litter box after the birth of the two first pups so that I could put Crazy in their in peace and quiet right away. Then I grabbed the puppy milk and went back to the vet. As I entered the first pup extracted was being cared for by my vets children and I started making a bottle of milk to feed it as soon as possible. As I did this the vet brought out yet another pup who was not moving at all and this was the pup who had been stuck all the time with the broken birth bag. I could see no movement at all and the pup was totally limp. However the vet told me it was still alive and to keep drying and stimulating it. I quickly got the milk prepared and started feeding the pup who still had not moved. You will never know the relief I felt when the pup actually started eating hungrily. So 4 pups and all of the alive after all this worrying. What a relief. A bit short lived as I then started wondering what was happening to Crazy since I'd not heard anything about her progress. I had been so busy bottle feeding the pups that I'd managed to put her out of my mind for a while. One worry at a time so to speak. As soon as a chance presented itself to ask I was reassured that Crazy was OK and being stitched up. As soon as this was done and she was brought awake I took her home to give her a comfortable and quiet place to wake up in fully. I kept the pups on a heated pad in her box to try to keep them away from her and bottle fed them again. When they were happy and sleeping and Crazy totally out of it I quickly took the other dogs to the park as they had not been walking for 2 days since I had never dared to leave Crazy who I thought would give birth anytime. Amazing how patient the other dogs were being shut out of the livingroom and my presence and no excercise. I think they are fantastic and love them to bits. Am so proud of them.

Another new experience for me that I would obviously have preferred to be without. Crazy did not move until 2 am when she finally needed to go out. Her first meal she wanted to eat (and only in part) since Tuesday morning was Friday morning and she's hardly moved until Saturday morning 19/11. Now she's eating again though and she's never once rejected the pups when feeding. So much patience and the pups actually gained between 20-30 g the first day instead of dropping in weight as so often happens. Myself I've finally had a good night sleep. The pups never cry since Crazy let's them feed non stop so they're peaceful and growing. Guess they'll be rather fat little things within short. All well that ends well.

16.11.2010
Honey is now coming into her 5th week after her knee surgery. She's been really good and patient although she does like to jump up on anyone or anything she passes which is a big NO NO. In two weeks she'll be allowed to start short walks on the leash and I'll take her to swimming therapy of course. The wound has healed fantastically well and she's using her leg more and more. I really hope she continues to progress like she has been doing so far.

15.11.2010
Easy from Doggone Borders has become father for the third time together with mom Dune. You can see the pups on the following site: http://www.bordercollies.be/

13.11.2010
Amongst all the innondations here in Belgium and continued rain we still managed to organise our Canicross competition this weekend. Canicross Club Fideel members worked in pretty miserable conditions and the runners and dogs all came back covered in mud. I worried about broken bones but all my dogs and their runners came back safely. Robin & Caya as well as Louise & Angie came in 2nd in their categories. Elisabeth & Early ended up 4th with Caroline & Hippie in 5th place. Julie & Spice won their category. After a long break from canicross Peter has recently started running again and he was very pleased with his 9th place together with Folly who ran really well according to him. As I was not present to take pictures you can have a look on the official Belgian website: http://www.cani-cross.be/photos.htm / Boom OR on direct link: http://picasaweb.google.com/116395944931663087108/Boom131110#. Have a look at the descent on the grass hill which had turned into a mud slide which the kids thought great fun to slide down. I'm sure the parents were less happy washing all the clothes afterwards!!

07.11.2010
Echo covered Forever Zoë. Cross your fingers that she's pregnant. Zoë can be seen on the following site: http://www.freelindreams.be/

18.10.2010
I took Honey back to the vet today as he was working together with a specialist in order to have a second opinion. Honey has been limping ever since my car was run into on the motorway when she was only 2 months old. Subsequent x-rays have not shown any fractures nor could we be certain that her ligament was partly ruptured since she was so young and both knees were still fairly moveable. However, the last x-rays showed arthritis and her knee had startd to swell so chances were very strong that her cross ligament was ruptured. We had to put her in sleep to manipulate her properly as per previous exams as she's in too much pain to relax enough. The expert confirmed my vets suspicion and they operated on her immediately. A bit of luck in all this misery is that her miniscus has not been damaged. She now has some sort of prothèse around her knee which can stay for life or be removed later on in case it bothers her. She has to be kept absolutely still for 6 weeks in a cage (great fun for a 6 month old puppy) and then we have to build her up slowly again. The expert does not think she'll be able to practice sports such as agility or canicross which is so sad but the most important thing is that she'll have a quality of life that let's her run free and play with the other dogs without any pain. I've been told she might limp slightly for the rest of her life but if all goes well she should be able to enjoy a good run with her friends. I'm of course also concerned about future breeding possibilities as we have to pass a show in Belgium as well as the dysplasia tests. You never know what damage such an accident can provoke in the long run and until she's passed all her exams I'll always worry about her. In the meantime she's stuck in her cage but she's behaving very well now that the initial pain is gone she keeps herself occupied trying to get candy and frozen yoghurt out of a stuffed toy.

13.10.2010
Today an echographie of Crazy showed that she's pregnant. Only 3 pups were seen so now it's just a question of patience to see what comes out.

08 - 10.10.2010 - European Canicross Championship weekend
Everything did not go our way this weekend but I thoroughly enjoyed it and we ended up having gorgeous weather. On the way to the competition at Baraque de Fraiture in Belgium, Bart & Nancy's car broke down and we were stuck on the highway for about 1 1/2 hour. They had to be towed back home and come later in another car whereas I, Caroline and Robin continued to the competition grounds to get set up. With all the work done and the rest of the gang safely arrived we enjoyed a nice spaghetti and then joined everyone at the big tent for the opening ceremony. I was pleasantly surprised to see the countries participating being represented by a name board and flag as they walked up to the stage. Like a miniature World Championship event in agility. It's obviously a growing sport with 14 countries participating compared to 10 the year before. New countries coming in were UK, Russia, Ukraine and Spain. It all reminded me of agility when I first started all those years ago. In the tent you could appreciate all the people present whereas during the competion you don't notice so many since they are spread over the whole course which obviously covers a lot of ground. The atmosphere was lively and cheerful!

The first day consists of a group start which is exciting to watch but I find it dangerous especially for the children as the dogs are even more excited than usual and they have a hard time controlling them at times. Caya was attacked during the first few meters and being a sensitive dog she hung back after this and would not overtake the dog that bit her. When the chance finally came it was too late to catch the leaders and Robin ended up 7th. The next day all dogs started individually which meant Cay was not frightened and therefore ran well again so Robin managed to catch up on 2 of the dogs in front of him but could not catch the winners. So they ended up in 5th place overall. The second place winner is a Belgian competitor that Robin regularly beats so he had every chance to take silver or bronze at the very least. Oh well, these things happen but I sincerely hope that the committee will reconsider the group start scenario for the young runners categories.

Julie & Spice has been training and competing on their own all year as the previous European Championship rules were that she has to run by herself. This year the rules had changed and she had to be accompanied the whole way by an adult. Spice kept looking behind her as if checking for other dogs but I wonder if she worried about the full grown man running after her as she's not used to it at all. She never put her heart into the competition on either day as if she did not know what to do and they ended up with a 5th place overall. Third place winner was a Belgian girl that Julie regularly beats so a podium place was almost certain had Spice run the way she usually does. Having said this she ran so so during the BC the weekend before so maybe she's not enjoying it anymore. Only time will tell. I'm sure both Julie and Robin had hoped for a podium place as much as me since we all know they are capable of it. I'm sorry it did not happen but hopefully they have a better chance next year when they are amongst the older in their categories rather than amongst the youngest.

Elisabeth & Early as well as Caroline & Hi Hippie put in good performances in the young girls category but the highlight for Doggone Borders came from the superb performance by Louise & Hi Angie who ended up taking the silver overall in this same category. Louise who fell the first day lost a lot of time and was in considerable time but managed to finish 50 seconds after the winner on saturday. The next day she gave it her all and shortened the time between them but she could not catch up enough to take the gold. A very determined young girl who will move over to the junior catergory next season.

WELL DONE TO ALL DOGGONE RUNNERS!! I think you're marvellous and thank God I did not have to run up that last hill twice like you did!

I will be posting photos in the Canicross Club Fideel photo album as soon as possible. The link is under my photo page. In the meantime you can have a look at the official site for 2010 which is http://www.cani-cross.eu/website/index.php?lang=en

03.10.2010
What a weekend! First the Swedish team took gold for the large dogs at the Agility World Championships held in Germany and on Saturday the Belgian team also won a gold with the medium dogs. So exciting to watch as both my favorite countries took gold.

For me, however, the real highlight of the weekend was on Sunday when a number of dogs from my kennel participated in the Belgian Canicross Championships. Not only did our Canicross Club Fideel do really well with a lot of podium places but my dogs also ran very well. In the girls cadet categorie Louis won gold with Hi Angie from Doggone Borders, silver went to Inneke from our club and Elisabeth with Early from Doggone Borders came 4th with Caroline with Hi Hippie from Doggone Borders taking a 5th place. Tough competition in this category and so few places to be shared amongst a lot of girls from our club. Well done girls!

In the categorie cadet boys Robin with Fairstorm (Caya) from Doggone Borders won the silver medal and Sander from our club came in 3rd. These boys really know how to run fast! Congratulations to you both!

Kirsten and Birgit from Canicross Club Fideel took silver and bronze in the girls long distance race which merits another well deserved congratulations!

Gigi ran the short distance in ladies veteran 1 categorie with Folly from Doggone Borders and won another gold! In the same categorie Karin from our club won a bronze. Super run Ladies !

Magda who is also a member of our club won a bronze in the veteran categorie for the long distance.

Last but not least the minimes ran and Julie participated with Spice from my kennel and lo and behold yet another gold was won not only by a club member but also for the Doggone Kennels. WOW! I'm so proud of everyone who ran so good with my dogs giving them a chance to prove that they love the sport and the team work.

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL !!!

Photos can be seen on this link: http://www.canicrossclubfideel.mijnalbum.be/ OR via Canicross Club Fideel's albums to be found under photo page.

18.09.2010
We were really lucky with the weather and the kennel day proved to be a success from the feedback I've received from some of the participants. Personnally I was very happy with the day. The games were fun and the food was great thanks to all the hard work done by Georgette and her family and friends. I want to thank all those that volunteerd to help make things go so smoothly and hope to see you all back again next year. Pictures can be seen by clicking the link on the photo page.

12.09.2010
I Like Izzy passed her social test. Congratulations!

04.09.2010
I finally decided to give Yuppie the peace she deserved by putting her down. She's been getting worse and worse over the last couple of months and this last week she could hardly stand up without my help. She was in pain everywhere and limping hard on one of her hind legs. She had been diagnosed with osteoporose earlier this summer and had a very low red blood cell count which made her tired. She was receiving various treatments and pain stillers but nothing seemed to work. The last week she got much worse and after two visits to the vet to try even stronger medication I was told that if the last treatment did not help her there wasn't anything else that could be done. When I woke up this morning to her whimpers from pain when trying to get up by herself I took the decision to call the vet. Filip came to my house in the morning and confirmed that she was in quite a lot of pain and that it was time to give her some peaceful rest. Yuppie fell asleep very quietly in my arms on the sofa showing both me and Filip her full trust as always. She's now at Rainbow Bridge with her beloved Bright, Rascal, Scamp and Tess who's memories together with Yuppies will always be with me.

29.08.2010
Easy received the result of EXCELLANT at the Dogshow Tertre. Congratulations!

05-18.08.2010
Caya went to France to participate in the Trophée de Montagne with Robin. After a rough start with Robin falling and twisting his ankle they managed to win 3 out of the 7 races and ended up 2nd overall in all the 7 races. I'm really proud of Robin who has created a nice bond with Caya. Caya loves running with him and they are the best of friends.

23.06.2010
Folly and Nice of you to Come Bye Number One (known as Ice) pups were born. It took Folly all of 13 1/2 hours to give birth to 7 gorgeous looking pups. A very long, tiring night with the last birth around 8.30 am but it was well worth it as the pups have turned out terrific.

29.05.2010
Joy and Liza's Border Ouzo Red (known as Ready) pups were born. Joy had 8 pups in 3 hours time. Everything went super smooth until the last pup which was born dead unfortunately. I'm very pleased with this litter as are the new owners from what I hear. Very nice looking pups that are lively and very friendly.

10.04.2010
Today I took one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to take by having Tess put down. With Rascal and Scamp there was no choice as they were so sick or could not move anymore but Tess could still shuffle outside if I helped her stand up. I kept trying new medications over the past few months but nothing helped and they made her sick. I could not bear watching her suffer any more so I asked Filip to come to my house to put her out of her misery. When Filip arrived we discussed the problem once more and he agreed that there wasn't anything more he could do for her especially since the stronger medication made her so sick. Tess went in peace in my arms as we cuddled on the sofa. I obviously don't know what you feel at such a moment but I could not detect any pain. Filip first put her in sleep like for an operation and only once she was sleeping peacefully did he give her the injection that would let her join Bright, Rascal and her absolute biggest love, Scamp, at Rainbow Bridge. I hope to see her there when my own time comes together with all my other fourfooted friends.

2009
A lot to catch up on eh! I don't know where to begin and will probably add information of previous years later on as I go through my files when I find some time. This time should come soon enough as my job is moving to Sweden and I've decided not to accept the offer of joining the company there. So after 21 years with Volvo I'll be out of a job but this should at least give me time to finally catch up on all that I have to do to bring my web site up to date.

I've done very little agility this year due to stress from major decision making regarding work and it's also been very busy at work. Hopefully I'll start feeling like starting up again once I stop work although it all depends on what new job I might find. Wish me luck!

Highlights of this year is more in the canicross competitions where some of my dogs are running with other people. Mostly my friend Nancy's children run with them. Caroline (13) with Early, Robin (11) with Caya and Julie (7) has tried Spice once once or twice. Folly now also gets to run with another friend who's name is Peter and he seems quite pleased with her endless energy even with her small and light size.

In September Caya went with Robin to Hungary for the European Championships. Unfortunately they had a group start and Caya had to yield to the left when a dog went for her and then the dog on the left also lunged at her which made her stop running at first and then she was afraid to pass other dogs on the way. Still Robin finished 11 seconds after the winnar on the first day and some 47 seconds slower in total over the two days. This gave him a fourth place. He runs in the group of 11 to 14 year olds so he's part of the youngest in his group which puts him at a disadvantage of course. On the sunday they had a fun game anyone could enter to see who was fastest over 500 meters and Robin and Caya came home with a gold medal. So all was not lost!

At the Belgian Championship the next weekend Caya was still worried in the group start and hung back to protect herself and worried about passing other dogs. Still they managed to finish 3rd with some feelings of disappointment that Caya now seems to be scared. So we've been training running her past or with other dogs that she knows and it seems to have helped because last weekend she finished 1st in Robin's group with the 7th best time over all the different groups together over the same distance (meaning adult men & women as well as the older age group of children). Pretty good stuff for an 11 year old. Yesterday they won again and Robin finished first in the yearly ranking as the season has now come to an end.

Caroline has improved enormously over the year and is pleased to run with Early who's both strong and willing to keep going. They finished 4th in the yearly ranking in their category and Julie finished 2nd in her category.

19.07.2006
I took the difficult decision to put Filou down at the age of one week.  His pallet was split open and he could not eat from Yessi.  The puppy milk did not suit him and he got a very bad constipation. In one week he only gained 10 grams on top of his birth weight since he had dropped a lot of weight after the birth.  All in all he would have had to face a difficult future with possible bronchitis due to the open pallet and an operation to try to close it.  Being so small there really was no other choice than to let him go but it hurt a lot as he was a beautiful pup and a fighter all the way.

16.07.2006
Easy passed his agility initiation test and is allowed to start competing.  Congratulations to Viviane and Easy!

13.07.2006
Yessi and Ready's pups are born. 5 boys and 1 girl. Have a look under Current Litter.

09.07.2006
Early passed his agility initiation test and is allowed to start competing.  Phew!!

07.07.2006
Ely and Esprit passed their agility initiation test and are allowed to start competing.  Well done Christianne and Nathalie!

25.06.2006
Most of the puppies born beginning of 2006 came for a visit.  Unfortunately it was the only day of rain in ages and we were forced to stay at home rather than going to the field where the pups would have had more space to run around.  It was a great success even with the bad weather and I was pleased to see how well all the pups are doing.

Before coming Maja & Flin participated in their club championship and won the puppy class.  Well done to the club champions and keep up the good work!