Mayhem, Confusion, and Insanity

Okay that may be a slight exaggeration.

Okay so its really a complete and total exaggeration. But its so much more exciting a title than "Trying To Figure Out What In The World We Are Doing. . . Again."

Plus I figure you are all tired of hearing me blather about plans, contrivances and purpose. I did get the 4Legged Full Life Harmony page up and running. It's not completely how I would like it but its a work in progress, I am still figuring out the whole google calendar thing, but eventually I might get it is visible to all.

We have been very busy with training. We had another lesson with our trainer to help with Maizey's reactivity and our tool bag of tricks to calm reactivity is filling up.

We have travels to tell of and tests to record as passed and big plans for the future, but for tonight it will have to suffice that we are still moving along in learning all our lessons and will tell the tale to all. . . someday.

Until then please let Maizey express our true feelings on the late night rambling:

"I give you all squinchy face at this insanity!"

And please also allow Meeka to reassure you we will fill in all the details as soon as possible!

"Do not despair of this rambling inefficiency, my crazymomlady will get things back on track soon. Until then 'keep your eyes facing forward' like me!

More Than Just A Name: Meeka

 Meeka

Usually when strolling through blogs "window shopping" if something really strikes me I bookmark it for proper credit given, alas, this time I did not. I'm sure Meeka would never have been so irresponsible.

Thus I hope to not step on any toes as I copy an idea that grabbed me on another blog. If this came from any of your posts please let me know and I will make proper amendments and commendations. They say imitation is the best form of flattery. . . or plagiarism. . . something like that.

(Yes, yes I know, a "they say" and a cliche  in the same sentence. As much as I shy away from both it seems the innocuous "They" and cliches do come in handy!)

The idea that struck me and stayed with me was to tell the story behind my 4legged friends name.

Meeka has the best story, although Maizeys' story is one that warms my heart. 

When I wanted to adopt Meeka she was being fostered about three hours from here. Mehusbandy and I went to check her out and make sure we could give her the best home. Once he met her it was an instant fit and we started talking names. We even got online and went through a bunch of those name lists, but I already had an idea. 

Synonyms for meek include: gentle, peaceful, patient. But in ancient greek the word meek has the connotation of being teachable. This was one of the first things I noticed about my Meeka- her teachableness. Little did I know that she would end up teaching me far more about composure and confidence, gentleness and peacefulness than I would ever teach her.

"Me teachable? I just The Big Goof!" 

My Meek-a Rottie

A note: the recently unveiled 4Legged Full Life Harmony feature of Lessons From and For 4 Legs is under construction and will return at a later date to a page tab near you.

What Kind of Vehicle Does Your 4Legged Friend Drive?

Maybe one reason I always feel so disorganized in my training is reflected in the last few weeks posts-they seem to be all over the place in subject, as I am in life. (sighs)

But to keep with that theme today is think about new car day. Our car is getting quite old and has many miles on it, but having no payment is always appealing to us so we keep driving it. It has so many miles on it that we have already replaced the timing belt along with other repairs, however it has a new shimmy to it that doesn't belong on any car and has sent me looking for mechanics to be my auto repair pals.

If I was in San Francisco I could understand this new vibration, apparently all of the hills are hard on car suspensions. As it is I think my car is just old.

Along with looking into repairs I have decided its time to start shopping for a new car. I have always had sedans, my first cool car, at least to me, was a Honda Accord. It had those flip up head lights, and I thought I was the coolest thing on the road. (Cut me some slack, it was the '90's and my first car was a brown Oldsmobile, lovingly purchased by my mom, but not good on the high school image!)

But this time I would like to buy a wagon. With Meeka getting older and being in more pain I think hopping into the back of a smaller hatchback would be much better for her. I also think with any future dogs in mind something where the seats fold down and have room for crates is the best idea.

So Today's 4legged lesson is how interesting it is that how over time our priorities are changed by our pups and what would be best for them. Never did I think to find myself dreaming of wagons and hatchbacks in the car department! I was the Jeep girl you know?

So what does everyone else drive to accomodate their 4legged friends? Better yet, what is your dream vehicle for you and your 4legged friends? Inspire me and maybe I will make it through this latest bout of car repairs by dreaming of that perfect 4legged friends car.

A Cavalier Version Of "The Princess And The Pea"

In the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tail, "The Princess and the Pea" a prince is searching for a true princess to marry. Apparently in 1835 there were a plethora of imitation princesses and the discriminating prince had to exercise due caution.

During a thunder and rainstorm a princess just happened to seek out shelter at the castle, but still he wanted to be sure she was the genuine article. So to discern the trueness of the bedraggled princess the old queen devised a test for her. She put a pea under a pile 20 mattresses and 20 eiderdown beds. Which makes me feel very bad for the poor eider ducks who had to give up all their eiderdown.

In the morning the old queen asked the princess how she slept and the princess said she slept very poorly indeed, for there was something very hard in her bed. Strangely this was the correct answer for the prince for only a true princess could be so sensitive as that!

At this point I would like to interject that in 2010 some would refer to this as "high maintenance" instead of princess like.

I'm sure there is a moral to Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tail but the moral of this story is one you may have heard before:

I keep telling you not all cavaliers are princesses!

We hope you enjoyed this bedtime story of "A Cavalier Version of the Princess and the Pea" as much as Maizey obviously did!

How 'Bout 21 Miles In 30 days?

Our 40 Miles In 30 Days Challenge is over. It turned out to be a 21 miles in 30 days challenge. But it was 21 miles we really enjoyed. And a great thanks to everyone who joined or supported us!

One thing I like about the challenges for myself and the girls is that at the end it gives a great chance to look back and evaluate how it went. This time I just got distracted. There are so many things I want to learn and so little time sometimes I have a hard time focusing!

I also found that with the weather getting nicer we were doing many more outside activities, and while not the physical exercise of walking, it is still good time together. Especially the training we are doing out on the yard now.

Its interesting how even the daily life lessons are different now that we are out and about more. A small thing, but very important to me, is the time spent in the garden which has led to a whole new kind of Zen, garden zen. As in, "No Maizey you and the Nellie monster can NOT have the zoomies in my newly planted garden!" Another garden lesson, "go out!" As in, "UGG! Quit rolling in the newly watered seeds and getting all muddy! In fact just GO OUT of the garden!"

Have I mentioned not all Cavaliers are princesses?

And overseeing it all is my serene Meeka, surveying her kingdom.

As for walking challenges? We will do a new one, and maybe next time the miles won't win!

What Is My Purpose Here Again?

Lately I have been really struggling with where I am going with Maizey's training. The Training Levels are a great program and we are still working our way through them. That's not really where the problem lies at all.


The problem lies more with me. Because when I got Maizey I had hopes of doing agility with her I started all my plans for training around that from day one. However after two patella surgeries agility doesn't seem to be in our future. 

"Having broken knees is bad-bad. I stick my tongue out at broken knees."

Of course that would never be a reason not to train her, but it seems that much of what we are getting to in training is passing "the basics" and seems more applicable to agility or obedience. I seem to have a hard time figuring out where those skills fit into our everyday "pet dog" life. 


She is doing great with a lot of important skills. Today on our country walk she gave me a lot of wonderfully enthusiastic recalls.

"At least I love to "comecome" crazymomlady"

Another issue with these more advanced skills is that I have never trained them and don't have a very clear idea of how to go about it. I've never been very good at just diving into things I don't know how to do so I think regardless of what we are going to do in the future it is really time for us to have a class or maybe a private session with a trainer.  


I also think the problem lies with me in that I tend to see the problem areas and end up only working on them, neglecting the more fun things. 


Generally I feel very unfocused. Generally that is never a good feeling for me. In no way do I feel she is a disappointment to me because of any of this, she is wonderful and perfectly happy the way she is.

"Ya crazymomlady, lets pay more fun games then I'll be even happier!"

But I see people who have performance dogs and they really have a structure and purpose to their training.  I also know people who have pet dogs and they are perfectly happy and loved. Certainly the problem is not in her but in my lack of direction for myself.

"Look out I'm gonna give you some direction!"

And then there's Meeka. For once instead of bringing me clarity she really clouds the issue for me. Because she has never been to class, doesn't have "training sessions", was trained mostly with methods I would never use now and look at her:

"It just doesn't get more perfect than me."

So the four legged lesson? I really have no idea. I have no more clarity now than when I started this blathering. Huff and sigh. Maybe someone else can straighten me out?

A small post script: I apologize for the crazy layout of this post, I have no idea why it is double spacing every paragraph break, but suspect it has something to do w/ my HTML script. If There are any HTML geniuses out there who can tell me how to fix it I welcome the input.:)

Are You Sure The Tortoise Wins?

We hope its true that the swift do not always win the race because we are off to a seriously slow start on our 40 miles challenge. The stomach flu will do that to ya!

But we did get a little start today. Between trying to get the garden in, being sick and all the other run of the mill things that keep us going around here we haven't walked in. . .oh too long to admit, but a while now.

Maizey and I  did get started on our miles tonight with a quick little mile and a half. It was gorgeous out there this evening, all golden and glowing with the end of the day light. In a city that is all edges and harsh angles to me that glowing light seems to soften the edges of everything and make even a bad day seem somehow not so lasting. As if the anxieties of each day will melt and sink into darkness with the sun, leaving way for nothing but the possibility of an easier tomorrow. Ahh if it were only that easy. But it was beautiful. The mountains are particularly pretty this time of year while they are still covered in their winter time icing, and the valley in the middle distance is getting green and lush. But I wax poetic and it can be so better captured in a photo.

We had company in the form of my mom and our part-time boy Charley. He walks so sedately, as if he has learned that even if you don't zoom all over you still get just as nice a walk. He totally shows Maizey up for the frolicking baby she is. It was fun to have them. I appreciate very much having company on our walks.

Charleycharley says, 

"If I grin really big can I please have that treat?"

So tomorrow will come soon. Hopefully we can get the garden tilled and ready to plant and certainly get some walking in. Who knows maybe we will even get back in sync with our daily training which has been sorely lacking lately. You never know, tomorrow could turn out to be an easier tomorrow!

Not All Cavaliers Are Princesses

A few pics from me and Maizey's trip down south. We had a great time and got some great posed shots of the dogs, which I am not very good at.

"See crazymomlady-I do know how to wait!"

Layla says, "pishh...thats the shortest wait ever!"

Dare says, "Awwe, your both beginners-I'm the only truly dignified one around here!"

"Common crazymomlady gimme the treat!"

It was really fun how much Maizey and Layla got along, they really buddied up.

"Don't we have pretty tails?"

"Whatchu lookin at?"

"Are we STILL waiting?!?"

Layla says, "Hey! Where's my treat?"

"C'mon lets blow this wait game and have some fun!"

"Well I'm outta here!"

Layla says, "See?? I told you I was the good girl! See me waiting?"

Of course Maizey being Maizey got hot half way through our walk and decided a good roll in the dirty snow would be just the ticket to cool off. 

"What are you doing? You're getting all dirty!"

Insert Dares rolling eyes here

"Ahhh this snow feels nice."

"Me dirty? Who cares? I'm not one of those fluffy shelties ya know!"

We finally did some cute pics of all three pups.

"Aren't we pretty?"

But of course Maizey says, "Mmmm, chicken liver's the best!"

"Walks in the mountains are the best too-but not as good as Chicken liver."

Maizey and Me Walk In The Rain

Yesterday it rained. I don't mean the kind of slight gray drizzle that just discourages a stroll down the block, but the kind of outright downpour we rarely see in the desert. The kind of rain that has the pups shaking out the drench before you hit the end of the driveway and the neighbors whose house backs the park, saying, "Yeah Mildred, there's some girl out there with a little dog making the dog lay down and stuff. . .Yes its dumping rain!. . .No I don't know why she's out there!" It was the kind of rain that when we put big brother  charleycharley's sweater on and let him out for our walk he made it to the end of the garage before he hit the solid sheet of rain, came to a skidding halt and rooted himself to the spot with that, "Are you totally nuts? It raining you know?" look. Big brother Charleycharley didn't go for a walk in the rain. It was the the kind of storm that when you look outside you are actually justified in saying, "Uh. . .no four legged walk today."

But there are some benefits to having a pup who throws herself into every puddle of water or snow she sees-she is a willing walking companion in the drenching rain. So we did our mile to the park and then we did recalls, sits, downs, stays, even some distance "go-rounds" with 4 perfect successes!(insert me cheering!) And it rained. And rained. Every time we started shivering we just started doing chase recalls and got warm again. It was great!

The four legged lessons learned? Maizey needs to learn to "down" on cold wet grass. And my four legged lesson? Learn how to shake the rain off like Maizeydoes you stay a lot drier!LOL

In his defense big brother charleycharley does love to go for a good run when its not raining:  

Our Favorite Walks

With all of the walking we have been doing lately I have been trying to find new places and routes to walk.

I'm a country girl. True, I have lived in the city for more than half my life, but the country is in my heart. Blue skies, blindingly bright sunshine, the soft green of new grass coming up in wide open fields where there is nothing in your view but the mountains and the soft smell of sage brush. So in the area of favorite walks, that would be my ideal. This is what the ideal looks like:

Ahh. . .but alas I am a city living girl so it is my constant goal to find places to walk that give me glimmer of my ideal. One place we are really enjoying is the Jordan River Parkway. It is a paved trail that runs along the Jordan River. It is a peaceful place and of course the girls love it for the abundance of sniffs and ducks and geese to chase.

There is one draw back in that the river is part of the cities water treatment plan and sometimes it sniffs not so pretty! Maybe they could use N-Viro International Corporations.(http://www.nviro.com) To avoid wasting energy and forge ahead in renewable and alternative energy sources N-Viro converts wastewater sludge into opportunity fuels, clean coal, and many other market rich applications.(http://www.nviro.com) For more information check out: http://www.nviro.com

So I guess even though I live in the city there are many opportunities to find: "Beauty In The City."