Southern Oregon in June

June is a lovely time of year to visit in southern Oregon. Much of the area is still green, and the intense heat of July is still around the corner.



We took advantage of the last week or so of June to head up to Medford and visit Nancy and Robert at their farm. Everything looked beautiful! They are hard at work at upgrading the property and getting to know their land.




Raspberries were ripe and we picked a ton of them! Randy was thrilled to clip a field with a heavy-duty, 0 degree turn, riding mower. Next trip will no doubt find that city slicker ridin' the John Deere tractor!

May jaunt to Pescadero

We took a drive out to Pescadero yesterday. We dropped in at Harley Farms and sampled some incredible, fresh home-made goat cheese...wow!!





We stopped and had some playtime with the puppies. I think you will notice from their pictures that they are certainly enjoying themselves!!

Easter Stroll...

Here's a few pictures from a walk we took last month.














You can see by their faces that the little people are pleased by the sunshine and the outing!











I've included this quizzical grin from Trigger...

Sweet Valentine.........2/07

Here's Gladys just luxuriating in the sunshine....




there's a dreamy quality to these pictures....


I get s'eepy just looking at them!


It's titled, "Gladys in Provence"......can you smell the lavender?

January 2007

Here's a few pictures to bring folks up to date on the activities of the puppies!



I realize that it must look like they spend a lot of time chewing on bully sticks and just hangin' out together....but it's really a very full life!










Okay, this is just a pure glamour shot for all to enjoy!

Halloween Story 2006

Once upon a time there was a lovely young maiden named Gladys.
One day Gladys was frolicking along in the forest deep, when she was confronted by an evil creature of the night!!!
Back! Back you evil creature!!!





Soon the pair were ensconced in a battle for their lives!
Alas, but the young maiden was eventually overpowered and the evil Count Dogula had his blood meal!!! :-(




Gladys' powers grow stronger! Careful when you venture deep into the forest this Hallow's Eve, for that cute little doggie you encounter could be one of the UNDEAD!!

Poulsbo to the Medford Farm

We went as far north as Poulsbo to visit my folks. They live outside the cute, scandinavian style town of Poulsbo on the Kitsap Peninsula along Puget Sound.


On the way back down south, we stopped at my sister and her husband's new place. They bought a beautiful little farm outside Medford.

Trigger had a great time being a farm dog and running freely in their large yards and pastures. He always hung around nearby, and always came back when called.

This is of course, in complete contrast to Gladys. Although we've spent far more time and effort trying to get a reliable recall with Gladys, the sad truth is she only really comes when she feels like it!

Up the Oregon Coast

After leaving California we headed up the Oregon coast following the cool weather. We always try to stop by the Crazy Norwegian in Port Orford because he makes the best fish and chips.

Another Frey family tradition is buying freshly caught crab and enjoying a nice crab cocktail in the RV with a beautiful ocean view.

This year we also splurged for lobster dinners at one of the Indian casinos. It was quite good and on the way out, Randy made just one bet at a slot machine and won back about half the price of our meals!

Fun in Ferndale

After staying in Gualala, we continued north and camped at the fairgrounds in Ferndale. This is a nice fairground for a layover. Very quiet, rural and lots of interesting places to walk your dog. It was here we finally gave Trigger some off lead experience, and he rewarded us with faultless recalls!


This was also the first place I took Trigger rollerskating with me. Gladys knows how to run with me while I skate, but Trigger thought it was very strange although he did soon get the idea and seemed to enjoy it.

*Please note that the pictures although from our trip, do not necessarily correlate to the text. I'm just using pictures from our trip that I like.

Summer Roadtrip 2006

We left for our roadtrip at the start of the summer's worst heat wave. We had originally planned to travel up Hwy 5 and start our trip in Northern California or Southern Oregon.






However, with projected temperatures of 112+ degrees around Redding, we decided it made more sense to leave early in the morning and head out to the coast, and camp the first few days in the coolness of Gualala.

*If you look closely at the beach picture, you can see Gladys up ahead running free giving the seagulls a little attitude!

The Wranglers

Just a couple more glamour shots taken the morning of our departure from Indian Peak Ranch.












The guest house was a great place for dog training. The rooms were spacious and allowed plenty of room for practicing recalls, stays and other maneuvers.











In the center of the home was a wide, open staircase. This came in useful for sending Trigger running up and down the stairs until he was ready for a nice, long nap.

The Ranch Animals.....

Otherwise known as Hell's Creatures.
Please don't ask me what Gladys is trying to do to Trigger.




Here they are posing on the hide of a large black and white animal. Be assured that the afore-mentioned animal skin was already separated from the animal and serving as a rug prior to our arrival.

Their actual hunting is confined to flies and an occasional moth.

Belly up to the Nectar Bar!

If you enjoy watching hordes of hummingbirds feeding just a few feet away from you, then this is the place for you!










Even the dogs found the birds quite mesmerizing and periodically they would just have to jump towards the window causing the hummers to temporarily scatter.

Hummingbird Monitoring Network

Indian Peak Ranch is one of the monitoring locales for The Hummingbird Monitoring Network.







This organization is a group of dedicated and highly trained volunteers who periodically trap, band and record data for hummingbird research.


Additional information regarding this group can be obtained from their website at: www.HumMonNet.org

Indian Peak Ranch

We just returned from a very beautiful and restful stay at Indian Peak Ranch in Mariposa. This ranch is located on the top of a mountain about an hour's drive from Yosemite National Park.
There are two houses on this 120+ acre property. One house belongs to the hosts, Barbara and Duane Robinson and the other is the guest house.

The guest house is very private and has its own pool, hot tub and surrounded by decks with incredible views. It's the perfect spot to just relax and watch the multitude of birds that call it home.


Gladys and Trigger found it to be the ideal refuge for extended sleeping and wrestling sessions.

The Many Faces of Gladys

The camera has been out of commission due to the strange demise of it's charging device. (it met its fate in the jaws of the little man)

I'll try and get some good pics of Trigger and Gladys this weekend. They seem to have reached a new plateau in their relationship. Gladys is now the "crabby older bitch" who bosses her charge around mercilessly. Or at least until her nap time!

S.F. Baylands

These pictures are from a nice hike we took out at the baylands on sunday. A bit breezy but warm.

It's been a while since I reviewed what we are training at home. I'll just summarize from memory as best I can.

Sit
Down
Stand
Stay (In all 3 of the above positions)
Back up

Hand Targets
Target stick
Targeting Alley Oops (I started working a little with front crosses and sending him to the Alley Oops this morning. I think that the Alley Oops will be very useful for helping training flatwork)
Target (plexi glass target in various places)

Wobble board
Vari Disks/core and balance training

Get In (Gets into crate. I like this command for tunnels as well but we aren't training those yet.)
Recalls (Taking long line with me in unfenced areas. Seeing much better voice control now with call-offs/recalls from barking at things beyond the backyard fence)
Tug games with control (Leave it/take it commands)
Leave It

Eye contact games (now working on him coming around in front of me to seek out my eyes)
Settle
Self control games like balancing cookies on his nose or paws.
Grooming/handling/dremmeling etc.
Socialization

Loose leash walking (still using the Triple Crown collar/"modified pinch" style collar. I make sure to slide it in place up high behind the ears and he walks just fine with no pulling.)
Off lead heeling (Doing very well with this. Making sure to train both sides. Haven't introduced variable speeds but have done lots of turns and am careful that he does not cross behind me as herding dogs are prone to do.)

Right
Right spin
Left
Left spin