As I sit here typing there is 5 dogs out.  Kane is counter surfing as I yell at him now..hold on….well, he did not get anything worth while off the counter.  If he wants to lick crumbs that is fine with me; it means there is less for me to wipe off later tonight.  Beret is snuggled so close to Tim she is disappearing into the couch cushions. Kahlua is holding her toy “bebe” in her mouth, happy as a clam.  Mini is on my feet; has been all night as I have done school work.  I never have to worry about socks, she is my foot warmer.  Mighty is lounging on the couch taking up 2 cushions…she doesn’t seem to care that Kane just sat on her face.  Cooper and Mini went with us again to Glacial Lakes State Park.  They ran and Tim and I walked (2.4 miles)…I do have to say a small bird became victim of Mini’s quick grab…sorry little birdie.  Clip wing pigeons provided retrieving material for my puppies.  Mighty is doing good.  Kane is ready to go on fliers.  Beret is ready for fliers as well. I am going to be so excited when I can get out int he field and have gunners shoot for them.  It just so happens all of the training group is at field trials the next 4 days so, I will have to wait….did I mention I am not always the most patient person….O well, this will have to wait though.  The weather is gorgeous and I can’t complain.  I am excited to get SoBe back from Chuck and I am also anxious to see how he does with her next weekend in southern Minnesota.  The bed only housed Mini, Tim, and I last night…it is amazing how much room you have with only one dog in bed instead of 3 or 4…I have to say I do draw the line at 5.  Enjoy your furry companion and remember vehicles are going to start getting hot in the sun so, park in the shade and have the windows down far enough for air flow.  Smile the weather is only going to get better….Dog dock launching is only a few weeks away.

Another pigeon bites the dust…that is ok because when the puppies (Mighty, Kane, and Beret) retrieve them they can only last so long…I mean how many times can you be thrown up and land on your head?  Beret retrieved first and the pigeon was alive and kicking….it was a clip wing (it had its wing taped so it could not fly far) and she chased it and caught it and brought it back flapping.  Mighty was next, the pigeon was less enthusiastic about flapping but it did make a descent effort; by the last toss with Mighty it was ready to call it quits….But no, we had Kane left to train.  After throwing the pigeon into the wind and it coming down to the earth with a thud on its head it was obvious it had seen its better days.  Kane finished off the retrieves well.  All the puppies have soft mouths but, like I said after a while the poor sky rat just could not take any more.  After Kane we gave Cooper retrieves with the less than kicking bird….yep it was done…Tim looked at it after Cooper’s retrieves and turned to me and said, “Dear, I think its done.”  I replied, “put it in the bird crate and lets see….” I have to say that hubby was right; the poor white pigeon was stiff as a board when I picked it up to check on it…O well, another pigeon bites the dust.

Mini and Cooper….Minicooper…giggle went with us on a trek through Glacial Lakes State Park.  They romped and played while Tim and I walked the 2.4 mile trail.  Cooper listens great and did not get to far away; Mini on the other hand…lets just say she is not to worried about getting in trouble.  Ace cuddled with Tim and I last night in bed.  Miata just got thrown in a crate via ears (don’t worry she is fine; her tail was wagging the entire way) due to her counter surfing; yep she got a prize, half of a fresh pizza.  Cooper is hanging out on Tim’s feet…no need for slippers here.  SoBe is still with Chuck in Wisconsin; like I made mention before she was bred to Tanner.  Tyrael was out this morning but quickly earned a trip outside due to an impromptu vomiting session; he ate fuzz and it did not sit well in his tummy.  Like I said, all is normal and cheerful here at the house…… I am headed to bed shortly with Mini in tow; I will let you know who Tim decides to invite to bed tomorrow.  Enjoy the fantastic weather; I know I am planning on getting out in the field tomorrow!

The weather is fantastic and training continues.  Here is an update of what is going on here at the Gorecki house…. Chuck has SoBe; she was bred to a fantastic dog named Tanner in Wisconsin.  Chuck will be running SoBe in the Open here in Minnesota.  Mini is chillin’ with me now and I have been working with her to get her momma fat off…she is still a little bummed out about the puppy she lost or I should say I am still bummed out.  The puppies (Mighty, Beret, Kane) are doing well on pigeons; I have a crate full of them to train with so that is nice. Miata is doing great with buoy launcher retrieves and her delivery has come a long way;  I can’t complain.  ace is cuddled by my feet on a blanket…he makes a great foot warmer, no need for slippers.  We have a guest dog that will be looking for a new family soon; his name is Cooper and he is out of Kahlua x Ace.  He is a very animated happy dog.  We got him tonight and have already gave him pigeon retrieves and took him on a 2 mile walk; he did good.  I am hoping to get my dogs out in the field this week and put the puppies on some flier pigeons…should be fun!  Enjoy the weather; take poochie out for a walk!

The boys are no longer on house arrest!  Mini is no longer in heat; they can now join the rest of the household.  Tim had the girls out today: Mini, SoBe, Miata, Mighty, Kane, Beret, Kahlua, and Trixie (Kane is not big enough to be interested in Mini so, we count him as a girl….shhhh, don’t tell him that though).  I think that it is time for me to retire the pigeon I am using…it is missing the head and a leg; it is a pitiful site but, still great to use for puppy retrieves.  Mississippi is retrieving great for her age.  Mighty, Kane, and Beret are testing the waters but, I am keeping them in the shallow end for now. Beret is carrying around a beer can and is proud to show her support for Hamm’s; yes, i said Hamm’s, it was all Tim could find at the time.  Mighty is teething on a cranberry Ocean Spray plastic bottle; that will keep her entertained for a half hour or so.

The house is full of dogs; they have cabin fever and so do I.  The weather has been cooperating the last week or so; I was able to train the puppies on live pigeons out in the field.  Mighty, Kane, and Beret had a blast!  Mighty quarters the field well and is learning to use her nose; I planted clip wing pigeons for her.  Kane is a little hesitant in his run but, I believe that he will open up.  Beret is a little running machine; I think that she is going to make a great trialing dog.  Tim clipped the dogs toe nails tonight; some found it to be nothing special while others thought they were going to die….oh the drama.  Beret got a nice warm bath; she enjoyed the nice toasty water with the help of the jets that is.  Mighty, Kane, Beret, and Mississippi all did their pigeon retrieves tonight; they really enjoy it.  Not only did we work on retrieves but, we are teaching them HUP.  They are all fast learners. Trixie, Mighty, SoBe, Miata, Kahlua,and Mini are all out lounging on the couches….Mini is a little irritated that I am not letting her sit in my lap while I type this; I tried explaining to her I can’t type with her in my lap but, I don’t think she believes me.  I have made plans to send SoBe out to Ohio to be run by Chuck, that is if she doesn’t come into heat….keep your fingers crossed.

embedded by Embedded Video

Mighty playing in the living room with Tim….it is amazing that she does not touch the floor….it must be made out of lava!

embedded by Embedded Video

Never a dull moment in our house…as you can see even when the puppies are in their crate they are active and vocal.  The noise level increases while they terrorize each other.  Today Mississippi and Mint played int he kitchen with intermittent breaks of sleeping and trips to the cold outdoors.  Potty training is going great!  Mighty got into some trouble today; she went into stealth mode ( impressive for her age) and jumped up onto the stove where a nice pot of frying oil was waiting for her to slurp down…..she was able to consume 2 cups before Tim realized that she was missing from his lap…..lets just say that she is grounded to her crate for the night.  I can only imagine how icky her tummy is going to be; as I type, she is sitting in her crate right next to the door, walking circles,  ready for quick evacuation to go out.  Tim is over being upset now, and feels bad that she is going to have an unpleasant experience soon….poor baby.  The dogs spent most of the day in the house with us; we rotate them from their room co everyone gets plenty of attention.  I am still finding pieces of stuffing through out the house from their Christmas presents….the one day that we let them destroy stuffed toys….it looks like a cotton ball exploded but, they have a great time doing it!

Yes, each one of our dogs gets their own stockings….there is 12: Trixie, Tyrael, Ace, Baker, Mini, SoBe, Kahlua, Jimmy, Miata, Mighty, Beret, and Kane!  Tim and I are looking forward to stuffing their stockings with all kinds of fun treats and toys….stay tuned there will be video!

embedded by Embedded Video

Here is a peek at a typical evening at our home…I am doing homework (for nursing school) and Tim is playing with the “kids”.

The field trial went well….Mini did ok; she barked on a long retreive ( it was an 85-90 yard retrieve, across course).  She made it through the 2nd series.  SoBe had a great trial going through the 1st and the 2nd series.  The judge sent me on a retrieve that was about 150 yards over a hill.  SoBeworked hard for 5 minutes until he let me walk up the hill onto the other course.  He had me pull her because she was covered in blood from a tongue wound and she was overheating.  She gave me a 110% and she did not want to give up….but I dont htink the bird went down….so, it is hard to retrieve a bird that is not there.  Miata took 2nd place in the puppy; she did great!  She had a trap and a flier pigeon.  She ran the course fast and with animation.  What dog!  Tim stayed home with the others and is building Kahlua a whelping nest for her upcoming litter; she is still waddling around the house.  Tim said that she woke him up about 4 different times to go out the the bathroom from 3am-7am (he never got back to sleep after I left @3am for the trial).  The poochies that stayed at home spent the entire time out with Tim; they got lots of attention and love!  I have to say that I am very proud that my girls gave me the effort they did out in the field; you can not train that kind of drive and dedication!