Name Change

Notice is hereby given that an application will be made to the Department of Aragon Puppy Owners for a change of name pursuant to the provisions of the "Name Act" by me: Aragon Aroi Silver Lining of Sunol, Ca as follows: To change my name from "Sterling" to "Darby Crash" dated this 10th day of November, 2009.

Well, actually, I (Lisa) will be applying for him.

I would like to blame my husband, and say that he renamed him and that I really had no choice in the matter, but that would not be the truth.

I have a long history of renaming. When I was 11 I had a little boyfriend who lived down the street. His name was Ralph. As cute as he was, however, I just couldn't have a boyfriend with a name like Ralph. (no offense to anyone who's husband or significant other's name is Ralph, of course) In my prepubescent mind Ralph was another word for puke, up-chuck, hurl, vomit. And as an 11 year old girl, that was simply not going to work. So I called him Rusty. He objected repeatedly that his name was not Rusty. I told him if he wanted to be MY boyfriend that it was. Since it was a few days until my birthday and I was having a party at the local roller skating rink, Rusty-Ralph conceded to the temporary name change in lieu of a promised afternoon of rollerskating and unlimited video game playing. And then he 'broke up' with me in the van on the way home.

When I was in high school I decided that Lisa wasn't a creative enough name for myself, so I added an extra 's' to it (Lissa) much to my mother's chagrin and spent the next several years smugly correcting people when they spelled it the original, boring way. I spent significantly longer trying to get it back to the boring, legal, single 's' version once I grew up and got tired of being 'creative'. It wasn't easy, I had even convinced the DMV and they were not keen on changing it back to the original version.

When I started working with Sterling in earnest, I found that his name was difficult for me to call and make it sound 'happy happy happy'. Sterling was a very elegant and serious name. I needed something I could 'sing-song' to pump him up while working with him as well as abbreviate on a daily basis (there isn't a 'short name' for Sterling) My husband had called him Crash a couple of times because of his careless running habits and it hit me; Darby Crash, the infamous lead singer of one of the greatest punk bands (and my all-time favorite punk band) in the history of music, The Germs. Their biggest album was called "Nothing We Do is Secret". I smiled because nothing Darby and I do will be secret. If I have any say in the matter, this dog and I are going to make a lot of noise on the greyhound scene. So that was it; I called him Darby and he responded to it immediately and enthusiastically and has continued to do so ever since.

I know for a lot of people, he will always be Sterling, and that's okay. Some folks don't like it. Helen winced visibly when she first heard me call him Darby, and our friend Kathy frowned and chided me "Lisa, that's a Golden Retriever name!". And that's okay too, because he retrieves stunningly! ;) To me he is a little (okay, a very big) part of my heart....and his name is Darby Crash. Nothing we do is secret.

Combo Weekend of Highs and Lows

This past weekend was the Sir Francis Drake Kennel Club shows. They are a combination of conformation and agility shows.

Whisper was entered both days in agility in Excellent B Jumpers and Standard for Mach points. Lyric, Echo and Sterling were entered in the conformation shows.

I got to the shows very early perhaps too early?-before Sun up-oops miscalculated the times.Stumbled around in the dark a lot until the sun came up and I could see. At least I got great parking! It was on and off raining-a rarity in California this time of year. Footing was iffy and in fact a lady running her Beagle slid and fell, breaking her ankle. The ambulance folks came and took her away. Not a good omen!

In fact we did not qualify in either agility run. Although the courses seemed simple, errors occurred and we did not shine (nor did the sun).

In conformation Echo did not shine either. In fact, she placed last in her class!! Big Bummer. Lyric won breed but did nothing in the groups.

The bright spot of the day was that Sterling went Winners dog and Best of Winners for his second major! To top it off, he was also awarded Puppy Group 1! Congrats to Lisa and Sterling!

Sunday at least I got to the show after the sun was up. In Jumpers (agility) we again had some silly mistake. They were either Whisper's or mine, I don’t know. I was getting discouraged at this point. The last run of the day was in Standard. We did slightly better and qualified with a second place and 18 MACH points. Our first points towards to the massive goal of 750 pts for a MACH! We also need to double qualify (qualify in both jumpers and standard on the same day) but we will need to do that 20 times to earn Whisper's MACH. Yikes this MACH thing is going to be harder to accomplish than I thought.

We got our run on video. Why is it that one always thinks they handle better than in fact they do. Maybe my handling wasn’t top notch because I was wearing conformation show clothes and was confused? Okay, maybe not. We just need to keep going to class and keep working.



In conformation Echo beat her mother for the breed. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later but I thought it would be later. To have a 9 month puppy beat a top special is unusual to say the least. Echo is quickly closing in her first title-breed Championship.

Crime and Punishment (but mostly crime)

Most greyhound puppies are only transiently “chewy” on inappropriate objects. They quickly learn to leave things alone and chew only on their toys. Not so with Lyric’s litter-I have never had such a mouthy litter. Certainly it didn’t come from Lyric, as a puppy she ate maybe 2 leather leashes in half and that was it. She was trustworthy almost from the get go and by 4-5 months could be trusted absolutely. Merlin was similar-rarely chewed anything wrong. Of course when I had Merlin I lived on a farm and he ran almost constantly. Maybe he was too tired as a puppy to do wrong things.

Back to the litter from H……..I think Echo is in the lead-almost can’t keep things out of her mouth. I kept thinking as she got older she would outgrow it. Well so far-not so with any of the puppies. The girls are certainly much worse than the boys as you can tell by their list of chew toys(transgressions?).

I realize after reading through this list it might be tempting to think “well duh that is an easy fix, just kept the puppies away from objects”. All the puppies from Lyric’s litter are in experienced greyhound homes and are closely monitored. However, it only takes a second and some of these puppies have developed an unusual sense of stealth!

So onto their crimes.

Echo

I have had greyhound puppies since 1983 so know how to monitor them. Echo is unusual to say the least in her chewing ability. I keep thinking it is going to ease up but instead she gets worse. She can be the sweetest dog and then turn into a shredding machine. When caught she acts surprised as if she had no clue it is inappropriate to eat couches or any other object. I use mouse traps to teach the dogs to stay off the furniture. I remember many years ago Shattab (Echo's grandmother and Merlin's mother) and her two puppies Jesse and Merlin were all in the living room together. The puppies tried to get up on the couch and the mouse traps startled them so they ran screaming from the room. Shattab watched them and as I later reset them I caught her pushing the cushion with her nose to set off the trap-and then climbed up on the couch. Her granddaughter Echo however eats the darn things!!

So her list:

4 leather leashes

3 leather collars

3 pillows

2 pairs of shoes

Rug fringes

Mouse trap-training aid to keep the dogs off the furniture

Couch cushions-the piping around the cushions have been nibbled

Lounge whip(training toy) that one she got when in an xpen,she worked until she pulled it in then ate it in half

Toys-hers so they don't count I guess but too numerous to count

Dog bed

Kong (empty no treats inside)

Redwood tree bark, she goes out and peels it off the tree

eggshell foam pad under the dog beds in the car

couch pillows

part of the couch

Sterling

He hasn't completely destroyed anything. But he has 'creatively altered' one antique ammunition box and a table top wine barrel-slat candle holder. Wood is his preferred chew, apparently. I've caught him toting around my clothes, but he doesn't chew them, he arranges them on a dog bed and then lays on them. To his credit, I've invested a small fortune in 'authorized chew things' (as Helen will roll her eyes and verify) so he really is pretty overloaded with stuff to keep him busy. But I'm guessing the root of it is that he really is an angel. ;) He did, unfortunately, inherit his mothers talent for table surfing. Fortunately he inherited an unusually active conscience (most definitely not from his mother because she has none) and reliably doesn't follow through with his 'steals'. Items dropped in a wave of guilt:

1 Eight ounce New York Steak

1/2 a Caprese salad

1 plate of assorted cheeses ( plate was dropped face up, unharmed)

1 bowl of assorted Greek olives (that one stained the carpet pretty bad)

He also has a habit of nabbing items off shelves in the shops we visit. We have yet to be guilted into purchasing any of his selections:

1 hideous silk scarf

1 hand sewn cloth trinket bag so ugly it would make your eyes bleed

2 handcrafted knit scarves, one uglier than the other

1 bunch of silk flowers, with attached floral foam

He doesn't damage the stuff he plucks from the shelves, he just hold it and nudges me with it eventually. Or presents it to the shop owner (yes, he did).

He'd make a terrible crook. He'd roll over so fast on the others.

Pearl

One dog bed completely shredded all over the deck - covered deck completely in fill

4 very large dog beds over $125 each - destroyed zippers and pulled some fill - when pinned zipper - chews safety pin heads off - Completely destroyed one zipper area so cannot be pinned

Numerous catalogs and magazines shredded all over living room - fills large trash can- done many times

Bottom limb of Oak tree - just barren

Goes under 1 1/2 ft area under chair - over rail on bottom and crawls through to other side and gets pee pad I use for Bug - then crawls back through and shreds pee pad all over kitchen. - done numerous times

Chews off nose and ears on toys - other toys just pulls apart but can be sewn back together.

Brings every stick in from the yard and chews up into match stick size all over kitchen

Digs holes in yard

Pulls flowers off cucumber plants if she can get to them - so no cucumbers

Hearing Aid - punctured in two places

Cochlear Implant - over $800 damage to parts having to be replaced and no longer water resistant

Becca

Too many toys to count--either ripped a hole in them, tore off "parts" or destroyed the squeakers

Total ripped out zippers in 2 dog beds. Great fun running around the yard with them hanging from her mouth.

Plum tree (it is still living tho--just no lower branches)

Clothes pin (fortunately NOT the metal part)

Still working on one of the blankets in her crate

Made some teeth "dents" in corner of dresser and nightstand

Picnic table bench that now has rounded corners. The benches and the table now have an x-pen around them as she jumped up on the table and was peering in my living room window.

Ate hole in carpet of friend that I was visiting. Fortunately it was a small hole, and I still have my friend. J She is a "dog friendly" person.

Part of plastic liner I had on top of the carpet under one of the crates in my bedroom in case of any "leaks" from visiting dog-"evidence" is in one of the photos enclosed

Tanner

Tanner is a relative angel compared to his siblings. Perhaps partly due to the fact that we moved into a new house when he came home to live with us. Instead of having to puppy-proof the house, we just left most of our stuff packed up and out of the room. However, he has managed to get his teeth on a few things:

Foam from a dog bed

Several cardboard boxes (empty and full)

Several cheap dog toys

The strap on one black Keen Mary Jane Calistoga style shoe (still wearable thank goodness)

One half of a perfectly toasted Pub Bun with mayo that was on the counter

Ate a hole in the hideous green shag carpet in our new house

Lompoc Day 3

This was our last day at the shows in Lompoc and we had an 8 AM ringtime once again. Although everyone showed well, we didn't take any ribbons home.

Nonetheless, here are a couple more pictures from the show to share with you.



Once that was done, we took time to take a family picture. It was really great to have so many members of the Aragon Family together!

Then we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel to pack up the van.

The hounds slept soundly on the way home.

We really enjoyed our time in Lompoc. It was fun to be there with puppies with so much future to look forward to! I wonder what next year will bring? Regardless, it is sure to be fun!

Lompoc Lure Coursing (Day 2 Part 2)

We went to the lure coursing trial to watch the dogs run and see what the puppies think of the lure.

The puppies hung out most of the day and watched and waited for their turn to run.

Lyric really, really wanted to run but is still recovering from a jammed toe so she didn't get to.

All the puppies got to run a short straight and they all loved it! Here are pictures of the boys. They were very intent!

When it was all done they crashed in the car on the way back to the hotel.

A brief review of the big day

We will post more thoroughly about the specialty in the days to come. Meanwhile, we still have two more days of shows and fun! Here is a quick run down and a bunch of pictures from the specialty.

First up was obedience. Both Lyric and Andretti qualified with really nice scores. Lyric took High in Trial!

Next up was sweeps. Tanner won his sweeps class and Echo won hers. Echo went on to win best puppy at the specialty.

In the classes Sterling beat Tanner but was still too puppyish to go any further. Both boys showed well, got lots of great comments, and had a great time! Here is a picture of Sterling gaiting in the classes.

The girls went in next. Becca showed well despite the fact that she displayed some puppy antics in the ring. Right now, the most important thing is that the puppies learn to enjoy the show ring.



Echo also showed well and had a great time as is evidenced by the following pictures.



We were all surprised and pleased when she managed to work her way up to Winners Bitch! Here she is getting her picture taken after the show.

In the end, Lyric won Best Opposite and Echo went Best of Winners (5 point major)! Lyric also won Best Brood Bitch and it was fun to have all four puppies in the ring with their mom.

After the day was over, everyone took their prizes and headed back to the hotel room for some much needed rest.

The only thing that could have made the day better was if Pearl and Poppy would have been able to join us. We know they were with us in spirit!

Sterling's First Show

Sterling's first show (as well as Echo's) was Del Monte in Carmel Valley. I decided to get Andretti's CD the same show, so the weekend had potential to be very very good for the boys. With an ungodly show time of 8am both Saturday and Sunday and a 2 hour drive time, it was a pretty easy decision to stay in a hotel near Carmel. Carmel is such a nice place to visit, this was a weekend we were really looking forward to. The accomodations were fabulous at the Mariposa Inn in Monterey. Andretti's traditional hotel routine is to immediately jump up on the bed and bounce long and hard for little bit to prep it for our stay, of course Sterling was more than willing to help. We got video of this:

Saturday morning was perfect, the weather was wonderfuly cool and the dogs were relaxed and comfortable. Watching Sterling calmly accepting all the hustle and bustle of the dog show without blinking an eye justified every minute we spent walking around Berkeley, going to street fairs and busy parks and sitting at outside cafes desensitizing him to crowds and noise. I was even more pleased when he moved easily into the ring to be judged, stacked and held it, greeted the judge with a puppy smile, didn't flinch or move during examination and then gaited his way perfectly to Winners Dog, Best of Winners and Best Op. for a 3 point major!! He even held his stack (albeit briefly and not without a lot of fiddling and puppy-fidgiting) for his win photo! What an amazing way to start his show career!

After obedience with Andretti, and hanging out for Best Puppy In Show competition (which made for a very long day for the baby) we went out for a late lunch at Forge in the Forest with Sheila and her dog Treasure, and Helen and her kids. Andretti and Sterling were so exhausted, it wasn't hard to be well behaved. They mostly snoozed through lunch, occasionaly waking up to take cookies from one of the servers and of course to admire Sheila's Banana Cream pie. We all admired Sheila's banana cream pie, it was fabulous.

Sunday was a good day as well. Both Echo and Sterling got one point each and showed like puppy-pros. The handling classes Helen and I have been going to weekly paid off in spades this weekend. I also think that the constant and random stacking that Sterling and I do everyday is making it second nature for him. We still have a ways to go, but he just keeps impressing me more and more everyday!!!! Andretti got his CD on Sunday, complete with flopping over on his side and sleeping through the long down. And then promptly got stung by a bee going back into the ring for awards. He placed 4th in a group of 9 with a 187. Overall, a very very successful weekend! Thanks to the help of no less than a dozen dog show people, Andretti recovered quickly and Art the Husband came down for lunch and a trip to the beach after the show. Sterlings first trip to the beach was a blast! He played with other dogs and tried to drink the ocean.....this litter LOVES WATER!

Sterling and Echo's first show

This weekend both Echo and Sterling were entered in Del Monte Kennel Club show as a test run for Lompoc. Both Lisa and I have been working hard to teach the puppies how to show for the big sighthound show the end of July. The puppies were wild with excitement when we first arrived at the show grounds-so many people so little time to meet and greet. Both dogs did quite
well in the ring and both took Winners Dog and Winners Bitch from the 6-9 mth puppy class both days. The first day the puppies got their first points and first major! Sterlings performance will be chronicled by Lisa.

I quickly learned with Echo one thing we need to stop working on is sitting for treats. In the ring when we stopped for the judge to go over the dog she quickly sat and looked up at me for her reward. I repositioned her and she again quickly sat. We did this several times-the judge was not laughing so I did and said well she is confused about what ring she is in. At least it made him smile. Except for the sitting thing she did great and I was really proud of her. When we went into the ring and stacked, I miscalculated and stacked too soon. This is a hard thing for a puppy to hold still that long and I should have repositioned her to give her a break. I kept thinking the judge would turn around so made her hold her position. It turned out we must have stood that way for 2-3 minutes. She was so good. Her gaiting was perfect. Lompoc here we come!!

Lyric showed equally well both days but Best of Breed went to another dog both days. Whisper wasn't entered but went along for moral support.

After the conformation it was up to the obedience ring to watch Andretti try for his third leg for his CD. Although he did super in the individual exercises the group sits and down were too much for him and he laid down to rest. Ah well there was always the next day. We then went over to the shade and lined up all the dogs for a group down stay and photo session. It is nice to have obedience trained dogs. Even puppies should be able to handle this. It was a little hard though since it was a new area and strange dogs kept walking around. However the picture proves all can do it.

Then it was time for some human fun. Some of the greyhound exhibitors went with us to Forge in the Valley, a lovely little dog friendly restaurant in Carmel Valley. Dogs are allowed to be with their owners on the patio. I think only at a dog show would one find 6 greyhounds, two Gt Danes, one Bernese Mtn Dog, one English Bulldog, two dachshunds, some little white dogs all sitting or laying quietly at their owners feet in a small patio area. I wish the public would take lessons from dog people on behavior, it would lead to a lot less dog restrictions and regulations.

The next day was more of the same-Echo and Sterling did super in the ring and again both went Winners Dog and Winners Bitch for one point each.

Andretti did qualify in obedience and earned his CD. Yeah!!!!!!!!

After they work hard showing for me, I like to do something for the dogs. They like free running best of all so Lyric, Whisper and Echo and I went to Ft Ord to run their hearts content. All in all a very busy tiring weekend.

Sterling's adventures in Northern California

Sterling came back up to Northern California for some handling lessons in preparation for Lompoc. He is staying with the god-mother of the litter, Lisa Stine and she will be chronicling his experiences.

Sterling is adjusting so well to all the changes! He has such a sweet and loving personality, he wants attention from everyone, all the time. He thinks he's a lap dog, but at 70 pounds, he's more of a lap-brick. He plays well with Q, the Italian Greyhound, and adjusts his level of bounce and paw-talk for Q's size. Not that size is something that Q is concerned about, if Sterling gets too rough, Q quickly takes him down and puts him in his place. All is forgiven quickly though, and they go back to playing tug and wrestling with each other. Andretti and Sterling are becoming good buddies, Andretti shows Sterling the ropes out in public as well as around the ranch. Sterling follows him around like an older brother; if Andretti is comfortable with something, so is Sterling.



A lot of running happens everyday, and Sterling is very good at it. Even through water, he loves to run. Now, if we can just keep him from crashing into things. 6 month old puppies are less than graceful sometimes.



This week we are working on several things, one of them being space issues. Greyhounds notoriously do not like to cuddle with each other, unlike some breeds like Golden Retrievers and Labs. Sharing personal space with other dogs can be touchy. All of Sterling's new pack are pretty good about sharing (toys, food, treats, beds, etc.), so Sterling has decided that in order to fit in, he will share everything, including his sleeping space. Good dogs!!!



As a side note, Sterling got a bath today. It was a good thing, as the water ran grey and silty from all the playing and running (a daily occurance with his sister Echo now). He is now squeaky clean and bright and sparkley. Fortunately he didn't hurt himself running back and forth on the freshly waxed floor with wet paws, although there were a few ice-rink moments when the only thing that stopped his wet-paw-skid was the wall or an unsuspecting bystander. Very entertaining!!!