2021.10 Jake's 12th Birthday MONTH!

Jake had his 12th birthday last month so instead of just celebrating the DAY we decided to make it a celebration of the MONTH! Everywhere we went he shared his birthday muffins which were a great hit and he was, as he always is even though he struggles at times, a happy boy!

• Helping out with Lynsie's Scentwork class!
• The last swim and bath with Steph at SwimDog!
• Pat's visit brings toys!
• Hanging out at a rally class with Karma!
• Scent work practice at Winnegamie Dog Club!
• A visit to Dr. Jeff at Great Lakes Vet!
• Doing a demo at a rally class at WDC!
• A walk through the yard with wheels!
• Enjoying being the center of attention at Rally RunThru's at Winnegamie!
• Hanging out in the yard!
• The second to last ever visit to SwimDog!
• A party at Winchester Town hall with Cutter and Karma!
• A birthday celebration (including a peanut butter milkshake) with Laura at Culvers!
• Visits from Rhys and Mary Ann, Mica and James, Ryan and the gang, Winnie and Curt, and Marissa!
• Scent work and a party on the lake in Winneconne with Cutter and Pat, and OJ, Aubrey, and Laurie!

Click here for all PHOTOS from his special MONTH!

 

 

Detective Spy Glass

Last year Jake earned the AKC Scent Work Detective title. It was his last trial where he competed due to the unreliability of his back and balance. When Sherye Wise posted a photo of the Detective Spy Glass I decided it was a fitting keepsake for his Scent Work journey and I contacted her! I received Jake's personalized Spy Glass today and was not disappointed! It is amazing! Thank you Sherye!

Don't Count Him Out!

 "Don't count him out", they said! From wheels to better to wheels to better... Jake never ceases to amaze me!

Since swimming wasn't working well for his back and it took him days to recover from a 20 min swim, we stopped doing that and substituted "biting the water on the deck" fun! A little of that is first on the video, then some brain-games (aka nosework) and more back and rear end strengthening in the living room!

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Super Sniffin' Ribbons Displayed

Jake's AKC Scent Work and UKC Nosework final ribbon display is done and I couldn't be happier!  Every ribbon has a story (as Laurie reminded me when she saw the display) and, bottom line, these all will not just remind me of the fun Jake and I had together but of the friends who were by my side the whole time.

The UKC ribbons are on the right.  

1. The rainbow Elite ribbon was earned on my birthday which was also mother's day in 2018 at Beaver Dam and as I recall. Rose and Austin earned Elite that day also.  
   
   
2. The Elite Champion ribbon (the long one with the tear in the ribbon because it hung out of my van for who knows how long) was earned in 2020 in the Quad Cities.
   
   
3. At the same time the overall Nosework Champion title was earned.  There was no ribbon for the overall title and when I told Ester recently, she immediately offered me one from the Wausau club where Jake got most of the overall legs so that ribbon was added this past weekend!  

The AKC ribbons are on the left.  

1. On the top is Jake's Master ribbon earned in 2019.  After the trial, I asked Ester to take the photo with my phone that turned out so good that Pat framed it and surprised me with it.  That trial was bittersweet at the time because Jake's health had deteriorated and I retired him (for the first time) that day.  
   
   
2. Six months later Jake had improved enough to finish the Master Elite title in August 2020 earned one week after the UKC Champion title.  Again, the title was earned at a trial  in IL with no unique title ribbons so Lynsie surprised me with this special ribbon to add to the collection. 
   
   
3. Lastly, the big ribbon is for Detective earned in November 2020 in Ohio.  The club had a loaner ribbon for photos and I liked it so much that I bought one like it (which is a whole other story :))!   

My Teacher...

Thanks to the Central WI Dog Sports Club (CWKC & SWCCW) and judges Bonnie Gutzwiler, Tom Rezmer and Holly Bushard for letting JAKE play this weekend by being a DEMO DOG in most of the exterior searches!  The icing on the cake, as they say, was his demo search for DETECTIVE set by Erin Rezmer!  His improvement staying on his feet was apparent as he navigated both the exterior and then interior searches with barely a wobble and found the 7 hides in about 3 1/2 minutes!  

This dog teaches me every day that life is a blessing and not to waste it by feeling bad about what you can't do but rather do what you can do the best you can and enjoy every minute if it!  ❤

Searchin' on Wheels

 Jake is not fond of his wheels because he thinks he can do everything just fine without them (he can't) but once he gets started he cooks right along.  Sometimes a quick turn will tilt it so I have to be alert or it will topple over with him in it.  The few times it's happened, he's been pretty nonchalant about it and just stayed on his side waiting to be rescued and off he went again to whatever he was doing!!   

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Celebrating my Birthday!

My Facebook Post!

Thank you ALL for the birthday wishes yesterday!  I'm overwhelmed by your posts and plan to spend the next few days responding to them because I value the time you took to send those wishes!  Jake and I made our usual trip to Starbucks for a birthday frappuccino and puppuccino along with my friend Laura who always makes these trips memorable!  😁

And he does love his swimming!

Jake no longer gets to jump off the dock or run up and down the ramp like a crazy dog when he swims but he does get to retrieve his toy about 30 times twice a week when we go to SwimDog Wellness Center. While he needs help getting in and out of my van and sometimes up and down a ramp into the house, he is doing remarkably well for what he's been through in his 11 and a half years! Of the 8 German shepherds I've had, I don't think I've had a happier dog that smiles more!

National Puppy Day

Since it's national puppy day I thought I'd share this collage of Jake a few days after I brought him home way back in 2010. 😁

Karma and Jake after Scentwork

 Here's a picture of Jake and one of his favorite scent work partners, Karma (Jackie), after some searches at Sunset Park in Kimberly this morning! Even though he can't trial due to the instability of his back, we still train 3-4x/week with friends in different locations. 

Through the winter here in Wisconsin we haven't missed a week of training outside the whole season!

 Since Christmas he has experienced less stability in his back causing him to struggle with steps and consistently toppling over when he turns. Ice was not his friend! None of this has affected his attitude and his smiling face when he's having a good time! Never thought he'd still be here at 11.5 yrs old and for that I'm surely blessed.