Ardi's Rose

 Today we planted this rose for Ardi along with some of her ashes. It is kind of our memorial corner.The corner also has the  St Francis bird bath that was my Dad's  and Kitt's rose bush .  

The rose is a Morden Fireglow bush rose.

 

 

St. Francis watches over Ardi and Kitt's roses and all the birds who come to drink and bath.

 

Good-bye Ardi

Ardis~Nov. 26 2000 – Feb. 5 2016 This morning we said goodbye to Ardi. " Oakenpride's Ardwinna CDX, JH, WCI, RN, Onyx, MAD, SGDC, SMGDC, CRXMCL, CRA-T SJAT “We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own, live within a fragile circle; easily and often breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we would still live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan.” ― Irving Townsend

I'm her keeper

At night, setting a book down, closing a lap top or turning off the TV, signals the end of the day at our house. The dogs know how it goes and begin their own bed time routine. A drink of water, finding a kong to take upstairs and last call for outside. Now that Ardi is 14, she sleeps very soundly and doesn’t always see or hear the cues. I’ve noticed lately that Nugget has added one more job to her routine. At the 1st sign that it’s bed time Nugget starts looking for Ardi in her usual sleeping spots and wakes her up. Once she has her up she wags and wiggles until Ardi follows her upstairs or to the door. It is really heartwarming to watch.

Last night the snow was swirling and blowing when the dogs went out for last call. When I opened the door to let them in, Reese and Nugget came bounding up the deck. As usual they were both trying to be the 1st one in the door. Just before Nugget hit the top step, she stopped spun around and ran back around the garage. She stood in the wind and snow , not budging until Ardi came around the corner. She then wagged her tail, waited for Ardi to pass her, stood on the deck until Ardi was up the stairs, shook the snow off herself and then bounded up the stairs. This is something new, usually the 2 younger dogs race in jostling to be the 1st in and Ardi comes tootling up the stairs without fear of being knocked down.

Christmas 2014

Ardi shows us how it's done

Reese started an Utility obedience class on Saturday and part of her homework is to get used to picking up the metal dumbbell that is used in the scent discrimination exercise.  The temperatures here have been between -24 and -40, so all the dogs need a little homework. 

Here is a video of Ardi showing how much fun retrieving a metal dumbbell can be.  She is wearing boots on her back feet to stop her from scratching a bad ear.  The boots don't seem to be bothering her too much.

A busy summer!

We have been enjoying a fun filled summer outdoors.  Filled with playing and training.  

Nug, Ardi and Reese



Christmas Bandits 2012

~~WANTED ~~

in 4 Provinces and 6 States

Wild Eyed Reese, Baby Face Nugget and Ardi Oakley.


This gang is Trouble with a capital T.  The little one with the snow beard appears to be the ring leader in frequent early morning barking, unsoliciated boistuous greetings that include licking and jumping,  Don't be fooled by the tail wagging, they will stop at nothing to steal your heart, your time and empty your wallet,  Then remarkably,  leave you with a warm feeling. Sightings of their antics usually  leave you laughing and unaware of their mischief.  Approach with caution if you ever want to see your heart again.





 



Happy 12th Birthday Ardi

 Today Ardi, turned 12 years old. She had a great year.  In March of this year we started feeding her and Reese a raw food diet.  This has made a huge difference to her energy level, skin, coat, teeth and just her over all health.  We love this girl and thrilled she is doing so good.  Her cake is made of peanut butter and bannana topped with yogurt and turkey biscuits to decorate.

Reese @ 4yrs old, Ardi @ 12 yrs old and Nugget @ 6 months.

Nikki's 11th Birthday - Swimming and Retrieving with friends




Ardi @ 11.5, Nikki @11 & Chaser @ 9

 

Happy 11th Birthday Nikki

Today was Nikki's 11th Birthday and there is no better way for a retriever to celebrate then swimming and retrieving with old friends. 



The 3 old timers retrieved a few bumpers and dokkens and did a little swimming. 

Ardis



Chaser



There were a few youngsters that enjoyed the birthday swim as well.



True (10months) and Torque (8 months)



Torque having a ball.





KAOS Drill Team

From the 2011 Queen City Exhibition, the KAOS Drill team.  This is just the second performance for the group. The team was made up of a Chesapeake Bay Retriever , a Labrador Retriever, a Duck Toller, two Golden Retrievers, a Mini Long Haired Dachshund, a Standard Poodle, a Rough Collie, a Boston Terrier and a Shetland Sheepdog.

What fun they were to watch and we hope to see more of them at upcoming dog events.

Peake Sisters

                           Ardis @ 10 1/2 and Reese 2 1/2

Ardi's day in the Sun!

Today was one of those days for me to take a step back from training and give youngster Reese a day off.  Not only was it Ardi's day in the sun, but it was her day in the sand and water to.

Ardi came along to our training group gathering and  enjoyed following us to set up land marks.  A few bumpers got tossed for her and she hammed it up for treats.  The real excitement for her was getting to the water marks and for the 1st time in a very long time she did get to bring back 2 birds. At 10 years old, Ardi is still thrilled to get out and bring back the birds.   She later had a few long marks thrown with the launcher, which she enjoyed a nice leisurely swim out to and back.  She is one happy and tired girl.

Booted and Suited Up

This morning we woke up to -34C with the windchill it feels like -46. Windchill you ask, how do you figure out the windchill,? Well Wikipedia has a very scientific explanation of how to calculate the wind chill index. In unscientific terms, it is very cold, too cold for man or beast.

As luck would have it, Canada Post delivered a parcel from Eromit Labrador Retrievers and Pet Supplies this afternoon. Inside were 2 pair of fleece dog boots, one for Ardi and one for Reese. Thanks to Erin, Ardi and Reese are able to spend enough time outside to take care of business without freezing up. No need to chase the squirrels, not even they are brave enough for this weather, but the yard did recieve the customary patrol for varmints. This weekend the weather promises to be warmer, so there is a good chance they will get a chance to try their boots while I snowshoe.

Reese and Ardi booted and suited up.

Pet Expo Practise - 3 Point Barrel

Reese

This video is of Reese, Ardi and Bliss practising 3 point barrel. They are preparing for the end of January when our club will be performing a number of public demonstrations at Pet Expo. Pet Expo raises funds for the Regina Humane Society and features a number of booths, demonstrations and mini workshops geared to the pet owner.

This demonstration is fashioned after the rodeo event of barrel racing. The object is for the handler to direct the dog around a clover-leaf pattern of preset barrels in the fastest time. In some of our demos we race dog against dog, with the fastest dog winning. While other times we pair kids and dogs, each takes a turn to run the course and their times are combined. The fastet combined time wins.

Ardis

The barrels are set fairly close together in this video, mostly because of the building size, but they are also placed closer together while the dogs are learning the pattern. Reese and Bliss are fairly young and new to this type of demonstration, while Ardis is an older dog out to get a little exercise. The handlers of the young dogs are concentrating on tightening up the dogs turns to get a better time. Both young dogs are doing well in their training. We will see if they have perfected their performances enough to be included in the demonstrations at the end of the month.

Bliss

My favourite photo of 2010

St. John Ambulance Therapy Team

Ardis and Bonnie

In 2010, Bonnie and Ardis completed 100 hours of community service as a Therapy team. Together they visit William Booth Salvation Army Home and take part in various St John's program visits.

Ardis and Bonnie have been part of the St John Ambulance program since 2007 when they were successfully certified as a Therapy team. Certification consists of being evaluated by a qualified evaluator. The dog is evaluated on thier obedience and temperament and the team is put through a number of scenarios they may encounter during visitations.

I am very proud of the work that Bonnie and Ardis do in the community and know that they find it very rewarding.

THERAPY DOG PRAYER
"Creator of all things,
Grant us the humility that the works
We behold with our eyes
Through our Therapy dogs
We may accept in our hearts
As a revelation of your love
For all humanity. "

Ardi and Reese's Geo Coin

Today is exactly 1 year since Ardi and I headed out on an adventure armed with the GPS receiver from the car. On December 4th last year I found my 1st geocache and today while out with my sister Judy and Ardi , I found cache number 390.

Ardi tries to budge Star55 into action

Geocaching is like a scavenger or treasure hunt using a GPS. Once you find the cache you can trade items or pick up collectibles or travelling game pieces.

The cache seeking provides the chance to get outdoors with friends and often Ardi or Reese come along. The hunt takes us to many places we may never have gone and the game gives us cause to document and log our trips.


Collecting and trading trackable game pieces is a whole other dimension of geocaching. Recently a fellow dog fancier and geocacher gave me a collectible called a Geo coin. It is a special coin called a Geo Dog coin.

Ardi & Reese's Geo Dog Coin

My plan is to take with me anytime I have Ardi or Reese with me and log every cache it visits with them. I will also take it to caching events and dog events so other cachers can discover it. Everytime I log a visit, the information is stored on the coins own web site (http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=1024566) and I will be able to track the mileage and places visited. Today Ardi travelled with me to 4 caches and we logged 26 kms. It will be interesting to see the log a year from now.

Happy 10th Birthday Ardi

Ardi celebrated her 10th Birthday today by going to a Rally O fun match and then coming home to have some Birthday cake with Reese.

Training group at Duckweed Pond

Retriever testing season for the group I train with is done and training is winding down. We had a very laid back night, where we took some pictures and did a few marks. Here is a picture of our training group, posed with our coveted pink bumpers. The picture was taken at a spot I call Duck weed Pond. This spring the area was nothing but splash water. With all the rain this summer this area is now a pond. It is green because it is covered in duck weed.

Missing from this picture are Heather with Haylee and Reg and Abby. Patti & Reese, Jill and Sonny, Lianne and TeeJay, Gail and Jack

This night was a great opportuniity to bring Ardi along. We shortened up the marks and gave her the whole nine yards of calls and guns. Ardi was the happiest I have seen in a long time. She even brought her signature move out of retirement, where she pounced on the bird from about 6 feet away. We left her out while everyone got pictures taken and she went from vehicle to vehicle grabbing dokkens and bumpers presenting them to anyone who would throw for her. She always liked to shake dokkens after picking them up, but after whacking herself a few times , she learned how to shake them gently, she pulled this move out as well . Ardi made us all laugh and hammed it up for more attention. Thanks Yo for the pictures.

Ardi

TeeJay

Sonny

Jack Reese

When it was all done we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

Live it and Love it.

A couple of weeks a go I was heading out to do some field work with Reese, I was only going to be gone about 3 or 4 hours, so Ardi was to stay home. She threw a complete fit, barged out the door and ran down the easement. This shocked me,as she is not a door crasher.

I brought her back in and finished loading the vehicle. The last trip was to pick up my sunglasses and water bottle, which I left on the step by the door. Both were gone. I looked around the corner to find Ardi standing over my glasses with the water bottle in her mouth. my heart melted and I asked if "she wanted to come"? She started slapping the floor and spinning circles. I had to rearrange the whole vehicle to fit her crate in, but come along she did. She even jumped into her crate on her own, which she has not done in over a year.

When I got to the retriever grounds, everyone was waiting, I opened the door to Ardi's crate and said "Hey everyone,look who's here" She ran around rooed and spun. Most of my training group had not seen her in a very long time. It seemed as if everyone got caught up in her excitement to be there, we all forgot about the young dogs in the crates waiting to be trained. I realized why I love this old dog so much, she makes me stop and enjoy life and remember it is meant to be lived and loved.

So much to do!

Today while walking Ardi at one of her favourite parks, I made a deal with her. The deal is: this spring, summer,fall and maybe winter, for the next 5 to 10 years. I am going to take her to all the places we trained and she is just going to walk, swim, sniff, dig, root and bird watch. She can retrieve if she wants, or she can spit the bird or bumper if she wants. I love my old girl, and we still have so much to do together.