I hope this Blog proves to be both fun and educational for anyone interested in Showing and/or Breeding Dogs. Spend some time with us and you will really understand the time and effort and emotions that goes into this hobby. Join me here for the good times and bad times, the joys and sorrows, the wins and losses. Welcome to life at Vista Dei!

Nothing going on here in the last few days, we are all just content.  Raining again, so the dogs are playing indoors.  I finally found the fabric I want to make their new bedding from, it is a nice sage plaid berber fleece.  Now I have to figure what I want for the foam interior.  The egg crate stuff is now wavey instead of lumpy, however it says to "spot clean" and of course I want to be able to toss in the washer.  The foam in the fabric/craft department isn't as dense and doesn't look as if it will hold up too well.  I could go with quilt batting, but wanted something a tad stiffer so the pads lay flat rather than end up in a wad in the front of the cage. Well at least I have the material.  I do not think I will get these done for Christmas, so they will be a winter sewing project.  They will be done just in time to make new ones in cooler summer fabric!!

Posted by: Vistadei at 08:10 | link | comments (2)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 FROM ALL THE DOGS OF VISTA DEI

(email us for details on how to send Thanksgiving leftovers to needy dogs.. that's US.. we need turkey yes we doooooo!!)

Posted by: Vistadei at 10:51 | link | comments (2)

Last night Darby and I went to a nursing home to do some Pet Therapy work with the residents.  It was nice, and a very interesting experience.  Different than I expected it to be, I was glad I went with Denise and her collie Spirit.  Most all the residents seemed to enjoy seeing and petting the dogs, I hope it helped them some.  I know if I was stuck in an institution I would love to see an animal, being a person that had always had pets all my life, that would be a difficult thing to know you were shut in an institution from this day until you die, never to see or have your pets again.  It must be hard.  One lady had pictures of her cats hanging on the wall.  I was alot more tired than I expected afterward, I tend to think it was emotionally draining, tho I felt good while doing it.  I believe the next visit Darby and I are scheduled to go on is to a drug and alcohol re-hab place, that will be a whole different atmosphere.

Posted by: Vistadei at 07:48 | link | comments

We have been writing in this blog since right before Destiny's litter was born, debating on her size and if she would make it for "show quality".  As of last night, she was 9 months old, and 13 1/8" tall, and we have decided that she is a "keeper"!  She has been living with my daughter now, but came over to get groomed and I took a picture of her so you could see her, she has grown up really nicely..

Posted by: Vistadei at 10:43 | link | comments (4)

I left the hose that runs from the house to the outdoor run turned on.  I leave it turned on all summer so I can hose clean if there is a poopie, or fill up the water dish ect.  Opps. Temp went down to 29 this week.  I knew it, but I figured it wouldn't freeze solid.  I was wrong.  Yesterday it went up to nearly 50 outside, and my son calls at work "Mom, did you mean to turn the back yard into a swimming pool?" eh???  oh well apparently the hose has split and been running all day

 

This week we start actually doing active therapy dog visits.  I am a little nervous, I am not sure what to do, but I hope it all goes well.  Again, I am sure the dog will do fine, it will be me that will do something stupid.  That seems to be a general theme in my life, doesn't it?

Posted by: Vistadei at 10:56 | link | comments

Cricket and her mom and dad "R and R" stopped by for a visit yesterday!  It was so nice to see them again, since they live in Indiana, they can't come by too often, but I hink visit about once a year.  We had a lovely visit, Cricket enjoyed herself until R and I got out the nail trimmers.. then she wasn't as happy, and decided it was time to get back on the road again! hahahah  I think Cricket made about 13 1/2" full grown, she is smaller than Diana but larger than Destiny.  A real
"looker", we puffed up her hair and her bumm got as wide as Darby's!! The original fuzz butt! Thanks for bringing her for a visit, guys!

Posted by: Vistadei at 09:35 | link | comments (1)

We don't beg at the table.. honest, we DON'T.. but milk and fresh baked Chocolate Chip COOKIES.. are just too much to resist!

Pretty please??

Back side view

Posted by: Vistadei at 16:37 | link | comments (4)

This has been one of those rare weeks when everything is just smooth, nothing unusual happening. Weather nice for fall so the dogs spend the mornings playing outside in the leaves. Now I start my winter "dreaming" I am looking in spring to extending the fence line much further up into the woods hopefully adding in another area of about 80 by 120 or so, BUT have to clear out any underbrush, that area gets pretty tangled up and has some briars, and I am not sure how to eradicate the briars.  Cutting them is only a brief solution.  I am also planning on extending the out door roofed runs, plan on doing that as soon as Christmas expences are passed.  I will be adding the fencing for 2 additional 12 by 6 foot runs, but will be setting them in a way so they can all be opened into one long run if the dividing doors are left open.  That should give me 144 sqare feet under roof, with concrete floor, and I hope will help alot on rainy days when the dogs do not want to go out in the rain and mud.  It is always fun to think about these things, but much less fun to start the work!! hahahah

Posted by: Vistadei at 09:36 | link | comments

Agility class went well last night, I am so impressed at how quickly Darby learns.  Just a few differences in my movement with my arms or my timing of commands and everything just falls into place.  A reminder that he is always following my direction, I just need to focus on what signals I am sending.

  I am already starting to make plans for the next breedings, so I guess I am over the disappointment of the girl's false pregnancies.  I am definately going to breed some of the girls to my males, I wonder if the stress of staying away from home doesn't some how contribute to the failed breedings.  Problem now is that I have 3 girls that all need bred at the same time.  If I do not breed Diana and Dew-oh on this next heat cycle they will be hitting the point were they are older (over 3 years old) for their first litter and sometimes that increases complications.  Best that they have their first litter around 2 years of age, which is what we just tried.  So both really need bred on their next cycle when they are 2 1/2 years old.  Daisy also needs bred, this will be her 9th heat cycle and she has only had one litter if we do not breed this next heat then she will be over 4 years old with only one litter, and that is not good either.  Definately need to breed her again to keep her healthy and fertile too.  Unfortunately, they will all come into heat at the same time so that will be impossible, and again I have to make some hard choices.  I guess that China has come into her first heat cycle, how time flies!  It seem just a short time ago I was showing you her baby pictures.  Of course she will not be bred, but still it is a mile stone in her life, she is all grown up now!  Destiny has been at my daughter's house, so I will have to tell her to start watching to see if she is in.  They are both 8 months old.. wow..

Posted by: Vistadei at 08:40 | link | comments (1)

ohhh doing the happy dance, got my refund check back from sending in the weight circles from the dog food backs.. it was overf $60 rebate this time... wooooo weeeeee.... guess I am blowing through alot of dog food, eh?

Posted by: Vistadei at 13:23 | link | comments

Yesterday we went to an agility run through in Westmoreland county.  I took Darby and went with Dave, Denise, Drifter and Spirit.  We had a good time of it.  Drifter took a nasty fall off one of the obsticles, but appears to be OK.  Drifter did GREAT for his age, he is so well trained. This was Darby's first time in a show type setting, full size course, and about 20 or so dogs and spectators. Darby stayed right on course with me, did his tire jump very well every time from the right, which is his weekness on the tire, he does it fine from my left and sometimes not so well from my right, but he did great.  We just blew off the weave poles, he isn't ready to do them, but without them, we did a great job in both the standard jumps and the perfered hight jumps.  I was proud of myself too, as I didn't get lost on the course, and did plan a stradegy for a more confusing entry for him and executed it properly with the desired results.  Yahhhhhh...

Posted by: Vistadei at 10:00 | link | comments

Thanks for the dog food cupons "R"!!  We eat another day!!! hahahahhaha 

Agility class went well last night, but now we are focused on the HARD part.. ME!!! yipes... I feel like a bumbling idiot, we are going over ways to move wisely on the course so I don't have to try to out-run the dog (yup like THAT would be happening!) and so I see and am line up for the next jump or obsticle to direct the dog correctly through it.  Sounds easier than it is.  I really feel like I am lost and walking around in circles, hard to co-ordinate where I am, were the dog is, where I want to go, what I need to say, hahahah  I bet it is funny to watch!  I some how completely lost my hot dog treats last night!! Got to class and they were GONE! Thought I left them at home.. nope.. checked the car.. nope.. will have to wait to see if something starts smelling funny in a few more days then I will find where I sat the bag of them!

Posted by: Vistadei at 10:41 | link | comments (2)

Tonight we start the second set of agility classes with Darby.  I was very encouraged as the teacher said if we just get his weaving better and work out one glitch he has with the tire jump we should be ready to start competing.  cool beans!

Last night was the kennel club meeting. Getting reservations for the Christmas dinner already. wow.. I want to make new pads for all the dog crates for part of their Christmas presents.  Have to find some nice wooly fabric of a good quality to hold up.  I think I will make them like Wanda did for some of mine.  She took that egg crate foam and sewed it into pillow cases so it didn't slip around, and then made me cotton covers that go over the pad, so just the covers can be washed, or the whole thing.  I want to do the same, but with fleece and wooley fabric for them to cozy in the winter.

Posted by: Vistadei at 11:30 | link | comments (2)