Alpacamundo Monday: Winter Water

Keeping the water free from ice is always a concern for me, especially until we get past the first real test... which happened last week, Thursday-Friday.

We got both a little snow and a hard freeze.

In the morning, everyone's de-icer had worked.  Hooray!!

We have simple sinking de-icers for the alpacas and goats, that I put in place about a week earlier.  No one has pulled it out or messed with it, which often happens when I first put them in place.

Ruby, the barn cat, has an electric water bowl.  The dogs have access to everyone's water along with several buckets that are indoors.

The chickens got a completely new watering system.... I introduced this to them about 10 days earlier, using this method, in order to ensure they all understood how to get their water.

The six birds are drinking about a half-gallon daily, which is consistent with what they were consuming prior to the new waterer.

Hopefully this solution keeps the water both clean and flowing.

Happy Almost-Winter!!

Podcast: Let's Boop Snoots

I mentioned a while back that I had started listening to Podcasts while riding the airport shuttle.

Since I'm no longer travelling for work, I am listening to Podcasts primarily while driving around town, spinning yarn, or grooming dogs.

I now have a sizeable list of shows I enjoy and a new one, in particular, that I want to share: Let's Boop Snoots.

I was looking for something specific to Dog Shows and discovered their episode on the topic.  So I decided to give it a listen.

I found the hosts, Heidi and Vero, to be quite entertaining.  I have since started listening to the series from the beginning.  They publish new episodes each week and I'm about half caught up.

Heidi and Vero are pet owners based in Canada.  They are entertaining, well-researched, and organized.

The series starts at the very beginning, before dog ownership, by asking the question: "So, you think you wanna get a dog?"

They then have conversations around important topics so you can be certain you're making the best choice for you, your family, and your life situation.

They have episodes on grooming, training, feeding, activities, end of life, and health concerns,.... really all of the things you should consider before you decide to bring a new dog home.

Let's face it, we all have to remember (myself included) before we go see puppies.... (1) all puppies are cute and (2) bringing one home should not be an impulsive decision.

I definitely recommend Let's Boop Snoots, whether you're a novice pet owner or experienced dog person.  I think you'll enjoy it.

Seven Years

Today, my horoscope suggested I stop and reflect on the recent seven years.

I often check in with myself in the spring, but usually I am focused on what is still to be done.  So I figured this could be a good exercise.  I do think it's a good idea to stop to look back at accomplishments and progress.

Seven years ago today, was March 2012.

We bought our farm in October 2009.  Our Alpaca Herd arrived on New Year's Eve 2009 after being agisted for 2 years.  So in March 2019 we had been on our own farm for 2.5 years, been full-time Alpaca Farmers for 2.25 years and had Tibetan Mastiffs for 1 year.

We have since bred a fine litter, learned how to show dogs in conformation events, had several BOB awards and group placements.  We have been invited to the National Owner Handled Series all but one year.  We are recognized as mentors in LGD behavior, specifically as it related to Tibetan Mastiffs.

Fiber-wise my skills have improved dramatically, both in spinning and knitting.  I have received multiple awards at our County Fair and donated a piece for auction.

I've learned how to put up shelf-stable food....both water bath and pressure canning.

I built my shearing business up to a point to where I had no time off and have since reduced it so we could spend the spring working on other important things.

Both professional photographers and documentarians have visited our farm and I've had my own photos published.

I've learned a lot about merchandising and how/what I want Alpacamundo's retail business to look.  We dropped our very first order off at a mill which means we will have commercially-spun yarn available for sale next winter.

We've made a group of wonderful friends in our chosen location of Northern Colorado.

I supported Hubba while he pursued Paralympic dreams and we celebrated our 21st Wedding Anniversary.

In addition to being a farmer, breeder, and fiberista, I have been a consultant and an employee.  I have traveled a lot, not so much, and am currently travelling a lot.

While I have been laid off four times in the last seven years, I was able to return to building Flying Objects three years ago and am currently working on a super exciting project.

Certainly this isn't everything we've accomplished in the last seven years, and I am still longing for the day when I can focus on being a full-time farmer, breeder, and fiberista.  This has been a good exercise and puts me in a pretty good mood.

Happy Almost Spring!

Grooming Tools

It's barely February and several of our dogs are well into blowing their coat.

The blow has been happening earlier and earlier.  It used to be in April/May.  We used to call May "The Merry Month of Molting."  So to be well into blowing now is crazy. 

Anyway, since I was chatting with a LGD friend this morning about grooming, I figure it's a good time to talk about tools.

Tibetan Mastiffs, like other Livestock Guardian breeds have a double-coat.

The harsh outer coat (guard hair) sheds water, therefore keeping the dog dry in rain or snow.  The soft undercoat (down, cashmere, wool) keeps the dog warm.  The outer coat is longer than the under coat.  The length difference is essential to the functionality of the coat and one of the primary reasons for not shaving a double-coated dog.

Once the undercoat has been shed out, the outer coat works to keep the dog cool in the summer.  Think of why people wear robes in the desert.

This double-coat operates the same for other animals like Yak, Bison, Goat, and Musk Ox.  If you've ever had the opportunity to wear cashmere, yak or bison down, or qiviut you know how soft and warm it is.

Cashmere, down, and qiviut are collected by hand to ensure the outer coat is left behind.  The same is true for double-coated dogs (chiengora).

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that I collect our Tibetan Mastiffs' undercoat, as well as spin and knit with it.

There are three basic tools I use: de-matting tool, comb, and undercoat rake.

None of these tools are expensive; generally between $5 and $15 US.

I do own several types of rakes.  They have different tine lengths and spacing.  Some have spinning tines or multiple rows of tines.  I use them on different dogs and different parts of the dogs.

The most important thing about the rake is to get one that is long enough.  Ideally the tines should match the length of your dog's coat.  This allows you to pull out the deepest undercoat, which is especially important for preventing matting on dogs with less than a correct coat.

With respect to the de-matting tool, I like the ones with a curved cutting edge and mat-breakers between the tines.  This tool is an efficient remover of ear mats, which we get because we use head collars.

I use the comb for the short fibers on their legs.

We also have a grooming table, arm, and loop.  These are not necessary.  I use them because we have several dogs and show them in conformation events.  Which means I do a lot of grooming.  So the table helps my back go the distance.  ;-)

Then it's just on to brushing.  Which ever side or end they like works for me.  Each dog usually requires at least a few sessions.  So I brush them for as long as they are willing or time allows.

You can see how effective one stroke with a good rake can be.

Nobu's staple is about 2 inches.  So I would love to find a longer version of this rake.

But she looks much better after about 15 minutes of brushing with the above rake.

Even if your dog has a correct coat or don't plan to spin the undercoat, I recommend spending time brushing them.... for as long as they will let you.  It does wonders for building your relationship.... even if they do try their best Jedi Mind Trick... You are done brushing me.... you will let me go back to work so I can bark at whatever is going on out there... :-)

One final thought.  A lot of people talk about the Furminator.  I see they carry a rake now, but the traditional Furminator de-shedding tool is a stripping tool, and not appropriate for a double-coated breed.  This tool will cut the outer coat rendering it useless for shedding water (see my note above about shaving).  However, this was the best tool for our former Shar-pei/Rottweiler.

Dog Show: Greeley Kennel Club, 2018

Wilma joined our family in March.

She's been going to conformation class and learning about protecting alpacas.  Ramen took the early lead in mentoring her.

She has competed in 3 fun puppy matches in preparation for her show debut at the Greeley Kennel Club last weekend.

In the Puppy Matches she was awarded a Group 1

and a Group 4.

Wilma gets very excited when she sees other dogs.  So these matches are especially great for providing opportunities to practice being quiet, patient, and polite around dogs she doesn't know, in places she doesn't know.

We feel it's important for all dogs to have manners... especially large, independent-minded dogs.

These matches also provide an opportunity to practice being bathed and groomed.

The formal show was a bit overwhelming with so many new scents, scenes, people, and dogs.

So we took plenty of time to allow her to explore the grounds at her own pace and went into several of the buildings several times.  She especially liked the Royal Canin booth.  :-)

Most important was practicing having strangers go over her as if they were the judge and making sure everything was fun.

It was an unusually cool and rainy weekend, which is always a treat in August.

I'm so proud of Wilma and how she's maturing thus far.

Introducing Timberline's Colorado Yabba Dabba Doo, aka Wilma. :-)

A New Lead

Our friends at Windy Pine Cane Corso make beautiful show leads.  Hubba surprised me for Christmas by commissioning one.

Bonnie chose the beads and colors.  She made the lead thicker and shorter, since my dogs are bigger and taller than hers.

The bead is in the perfect location to weigh the lead out of the way during the standing portions, and to aid in handling during the movement portions.

It's beautiful.  The colors are perfect.  I love it so much.  swoon.

Dog Show: AKC Rankings

There are several rankings in AKC Conformation competition.  Three of which I've been paying attention to:

Breed:
This ranking is based on number of dogs defeated in one's own breed in a calendar year.  We generally don't have a lot of breed competition in our area, so I am happy to see our dogs anywhere on this list.

Ranking in the Top 5 as of October 31 results in an invitation to the Westminster Kennel Club show in February.

Ramen in currently ranked 16th.


All-Breed:
This ranking is based on the total number of dogs defeated in a calendar year.  So this includes group placements, Reserve Best in Show and Best in Show.

Ramen is currently the #2 All Breed Tibetan Mastiff and has been since February 2017.

Ramen has been closing the gap on the #1 All-Breed Tibetan Mastiff.  However Bravo was awarded a group placement last weekend, so the gap will be widening.  ;-)

So far this year, only Bravo, Ramen, and Gemma have been awarded group placements.  Bravo and Gemma were both with professional handlers.

Owner-Handled:
Points are awarded for Best of Breed, Group Placements, Reserve Best in Show and Best in Show.  These points are awarded regardless of competition and are tracked from October to October.  The Top 10 in each breed as of October are invited to the Owner-Handled competition at the AKC National Championship in December.

Ramen is currently ranked 5th and Gunnar is tied for 11th place.


There are also rankings tracked for Top 20 in Group (no TMs in the Top 20 of the Working Group), Grand Championship (dogs that have at least a CH title by Breed), and Juniors (Handlers between 9 and 18 years old).

Dog Show: Arapahoe Kennel Club, 2017

Last weekend was our first time entering the Arapahoe Kennel Club.

Hubba got wind that a few other Tibetan Mastiffs would be entered and managed to convince me to enter both Ramen and Aspen.

It turned out to be a good idea.  Seven TMs were entered and six where exhibited.  This means a 4-point major was available for the Best of Breed, as well 2 points for Winners Bitch and Best of Winners.

Our Cane Corso friends helped with holding dogs ring-side.  I entered Aspen in the Bred by Exhibitor class and Ramen in the Best of Breed class.

It was cold and rainy.  Our breed rings were outside.  The dogs thought this was a grand idea.

Ramen won Best of Breed on Saturday and Owner-Handled both days.  He also placed 3rd in the Owner-Handled Working Group on Saturday.

Aspen showed well.

Ramen loves dog shows.  He loves it so much that I have to work to calm him down.... pretty much the exact opposite challenge for every other Tibetan Mastiff I have ever met.  lol.

It's hard to be mad at a 130-lb dog that is leaping in the air because he's ready to get started or galloping around the ring because he's so happy.  It makes it difficult for the judge to assess his structure and frustrates me because I know how well-built he is.  However, his joy is infectious.  I love how much he loves it.... and as I always say, fun is the most important part. :-)

We are now working on using less-exciting bait, in hopes that this will help calm him down... and we'll save the super-exciting bait for the other dogs.  ;-)

With these placements, Ramen now has 1 major, 2 defeats, and 7 points toward his Grand Championship.  This should also improve his ranking on the Owner-Handled list and maintain his 2nd place ranking on the All-Breed list.  I will be watching for the September rankings, due in a couple of weeks.

Aspen currently has 1 major, 3 points, and 1 judge toward her Championship.

Dog Show: Peak-to-Peak Working Dog Specialty and Evergreen Kennel Club, 2017

The Peak-to-Peak Working Dog Specialty and the Evergreen Kennel Club were held the weekend after Cheyenne.  We entered Ramen in the three-day show.

A friend who has been working with her Tibetan Mastiff also entered the show.

Ramen won Best of Breed two of the three days.  Our friend won one day.

This show is held on the same grounds as the Greeley Kennel Club show.  So Ramen has been to this site many times.  Each day he got audibly excited as we turned down the road to the venue.

I have to say, it's really fun having a dog that enjoys the entire event.

He has his doggie friends and people he enjoys seeing.  His favorite is a sweet Tibetan Spaniel that belongs to his dam's breeder.  They were camped just outside the entrance to our grooming area, so every time we went outside he had to go say hi to his best little buddy.

Aside from socializing with his doggie and human friends, Ramen loves it when people clap.  So please, if you ever see us at a show, clap for Ramen.  :-)

CH Colorado's Big Bowl o' Ramen
© Nor Cal Bulldogger

A professional photographer was ring-side and captured this great photo of the two of us in the Group Ring at the Peak-to-Peak Working Dog Specialty.

Ramen now has 3 points toward his Grand Championship.

Dog Show: Cheyenne Kennel Club, 2017

This was our first time entering the Cheyenne Kennel Club Show.

Cheyenne is a short drive from our home and the Dog Show was held on the famed Cheyenne Frontier Days grounds.

I entered Nobu.

She is sensitive to loud noises and was nervous at her last show.  So I wanted to practice with her at a smaller show.  Cheyenne was the perfect choice.

We spent a lot of time relaxing in the grooming area, relaxing near the rings, and talking to anyone who was willing to spent time with her.  She made a lot of progress.

Most people we talked to had not seen a Tibetan Mastiff in person.  It was a great opportunity to talk about the overdone "Chinese Mastiffs" versus Tibetan Mastiffs who are working Livestock Guardians, as well as the difference in appearance between males and females.  Much like the African Lion and Lioness, male TMs tend to be larger with more rough around the neck, which we also call a mane and adds to the lion-look most people comment about.

Nobu was the only Tibetan Mastiff entered, which means she was able to have Group experience both days.  The size of the Working Group and my choosing to enter the ring toward the end allowed her time to get comfortable with being in the ring and the audience clapping... no matter how much one practices, there is no real substitute for the show environment and this was invaluable.

I realized on the last day that her concern with being in the ring is associated with the duct tape used to hold the mats down.  I'm not entirely sure why... there are mats with duct tape at our conformation class.  My guess is that the show-site-duct-tape was new and shiny.... so shiny duct tape is on my to-acquire list for practicing at home.

This show was incredibly clean and well organized.  I'm looking forward to next year!

Dog Show: Greeley Kennel Club, 2017

For this year's Greeley Show we decided to bring Gunnar and Ramen.

Ramen needed one point to finish his Championship and Gunnar is slowly working on his Grand Championship.

One of our friends helped with the handling.  She is the first person to handle Gunnar in the ring that was not me.  Gunnar adores her, so I figured he'd be willing.  Which he was... to a point.  :-)

Ramen won Best of Breed both days, over his father.  This gave him the one point he needed to complete his AKC Championship and 1 point + 1 defeat toward his Grand Championship.

The Greeley Kennel Club Show was our first and remains one of my favorites.  It's a large show, extremely well run and supported.

The Greeley Kennel Club Show was in mid-August, so since I've taken so long to write about it, I can share that Ramen is now officially recognized by the AKC as a Champion.  We have received his certificate and official photo.... I keep reading the part that says he was bred by me and Hubba.  :-)

Introducing CH Colorado's Big Bowl o' Ramen!  Our second Champion and first Bred-by Champion.

Alpacamundo Monday: Quiet Weekend

As they say, I've been burning the candle at both ends for a while.  So with Hubba gone for a hunting trip over the weekend, I decided I needed some quiet time and cancelled or postponed most of my people-y things.

I brushed a few dogs that are shedding and gathered nearly two pounds of chiengora.

I spent some time with yarn and a favorite movie.

Spent some extra time with the alpacas and dogs.

I'm feeling recharged and have a massage scheduled for later today.

Fiber Arts Friday: A Little

The last several weeks in my fiber world have been focused on collection, not creation.

Everyone's shedding has been delayed and the wet spring has caused half of my shearing days to be rescheduled, including ours. I'm not shearing as much as in previous years, so it's not as challenging as it could be, but for a busy person with a lot of responsibilities, it takes work to make everything happen. 

All that being said, we have crossed the half-way mark for "dogs done shedding."  I am hopeful that we'll get to the the two-thirds mark this weekend. ;-)

The new day job is going well. I like it, the team and the work. The learning curve has my brain tired but it feels good to be accomplishing, growing and adding value in this capacity again. 

As a result, the arts part of Fiber Arts Friday has been on the back burner. Which is why this brain has been quiet for a while. ;-)

I did finally sit at my wheel on Tuesday for about 30 minutes.  I started thinking about this year's Tour de Fleece and I'm shocked to realize is starting soon. Apparently, it's almost July!

spinning Suri Alpaca

I have a new work friend who I really enjoy.

Well, to tell the truth I really enjoy all of my new work friends, but this particular work friend has dogs... Border Collies... and thinks making yarn from them is cool. :-)

I had shown her some of my Tibetan Mastiff Yarn a few weeks ago.  She decided to bring in some sheddings this week. So I made yarn for her.  :-)

Behold: the tiniest skein! 96 inches of Border Collie Boy Britches. :-)

I also started some yarn, from her girl.  I have a small amount left to spin.

I find it interesting.  Just as Suri and Huacaya are both alpacas, but have very different fiber characteristics, these two samples are both Border Collies with very different characteristics.

The black, has much more crimp like Huacaya and therefore a loftier yarn.  Where the white is longer and silkier, more like Suri with a denser, more twiny yarn.  Of course, you never know the full character of a yarn until it's been washed and worked into something.  ;-)

It was really fun watching her while I was making the first yarn.  She was almost in awe... Is it's fair to say that someone was in awe of something you were doing?  That seems grandiose.  It is fair to say she was quiet and watching with wide eyes and wonder.  It made me very happy. :-)

All of this only adds up to less than two hours worth of spinning... but that's a lot more than I've spun in a while.

Please take a look at my new work friend's blog.  Outside of her day job, she's an author, great story teller, and about as obsessed with her dogs as I am with mine.  ;-)

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

Fiber Arts Friday: Harvest Season

The dogs are blowing their coats, so I've been spending a lot of time collecting.

Alpaca shearing is next weekend.  The barn is just about ready to go.

Thoughts about what this year's harvest might become have been flowing through my head.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday!