Surprises in the mail

We got two packages in the mail today.  In one, our friend from Tennessee, Karen Edmondson, sent us a beautiful embroidered towel with Victory Dalmatians and a Dalmatian that looks remarkably like Victory embroidered on it!  Such gorgeous work, Karen is very talented and can embroider pretty much any pattern.  I am going to see if she can do a Dalmatian quilt.  Rog is sitting here while I’m typing this blog, with his favorite little lap dog on his lap, Vegas, of course.  She is just the right size to sit on laps, she only weights 32 pounds and 19 ½ inches tall.  What a cuddler.  I got a great picture of Rog and Vegas, along with towel that Karen embroidered.  We also got a Christmas package from my sister, Amy, with gifts for everyone.  Amy sent me a gorgeous blue fleece jacket with horses and horseshoes on it.  I just love it, exactly the kind of thing I love to wear!  We are having gorgeous weather today, with a projected high of 72 degrees.  I am heading out the door to ride horses and motorcycles.  Happy New Year, and blessings in 2012!

Christmas 2011

We had a very blessed Christmas with good friends and family, including our spotted best friends.  Attached are pictures of the dogs and Luke enjoying Christmas.  Luke gave the dogs their Christmas stockings, and of course Victory knew what his stocking was all about and couldn’t wait to see what it held.  Wishbone is 12 years old, and very laid back, and is just happy to be in the middle of everything observing, but he will play with a new toy every once in awhile.  Vegas had to grab her new toys and run to her crate and hide them from the other dogs.  Such entertainment.

We went to see the movie, War Horse tonight.  What a great, epic war movie, as well as a touching story about a young man and his horse.  The war scenes were very moving and emotional, and the horses in the movie were beautiful, kind, smart, and just plain awesome.  There were some really emotional and touching parts, but the ending was good.  Highly recommend this movie.

Merry Christmas, and many blessings to you in 2012!

Reflections on 2011

I have been watching our Fall color with pleasure this year.  It seems that whenever we get a horrible drought like we had this year, the Fall leaves are beautiful.  At least the leaves are beautiful on the trees that didn’t die this year because of the heat and drought.  I’m attaching some pictures of my favorite trees by the horse barn.  I have also been reflecting on 2011 and the many blessings we have enjoyed as I wrote out about 50 Christmas cards to far away friends and family.  I am grateful for each and every one of our family and friends, for food, clothing, a home, the beauty of nature, and our wonderful pets.  As I reflect on the true meaning of Christmas, I know that if you believe in Jesus, keep His commandments, love God and love one another, He will bless you abundantly, as He has us.  Merry Christmas and many blessings in 2012!    

Dallas Show 12-11-11

Another nice show day today for Victory and Vegas.  Vegas was winners bitch and Victory was select dog.   We showed at 8:00 A.M. this morning.  Victory now has 7 grand champion points and Vegas has 10 points.  We are looking forward to no shows for the next few weeks.  I need some horse time!  Attached are pictures from the Dallas show today and a lovely picture that Cilla Wichman took yesterday of Vegas.

Dallas Show 12-10-11

We had a successful dog show today in Dallas.  My whole family, Rog, Luke, and Mom came to the dog show today.  It seems that whenever Luke comes, he is good luck, as he has been at the dog show for some of our nicest wins.  Usually he is our support team at home, taking care of the horses, goats, ducks, geese, and Wishbone.  We appreciate Luke’s help very much.   Vegas got winners bitch, winning over her sister Diva, who usually beats her, and Luane Williams’ girl.  Vegas also got best of winners, so she picked up a point today.  Don Boyd did a nice job showing Victory to a select dog placing for him today, so it was a good day.  We had a nice lunch at Eatzi’s with Lori Finlayson and Deby Harber after the show.  The dogs got homemade turkey soup on their dog food tonight as a treat for doing such a nice job today.  They really enjoyed that.  Here are pictures of all of the lovely dogs in the show today.

Surprises

We received a huge surprise at 3:45 A.M. Wednesday morning.  Vegas started barking like crazy, so I got up to let her out of her crate, and she went tearing outside barking and wouldn’t quit.  We thought it might be coyotes howling.  Then the geese started honking like crazy.  Pretty soon the phone rang.  We wondered what in the world was going on?  We got a message on our answering machine saying someone was sitting in our yard.  Rog looked out the window and there was a car with Iowa plates.  Surprise, it was my Mom and brother.  My brother, Greg, had to come to Texas so he brought Mom along for a quick visit, and they wanted to surprise us, since they knew I was missing all the good people in Iowa.  My brother, Greg, is such an awesome guy, who does so many acts of kindness for so many people.  He is a blessing to our Mom, and to so many people that he helps.  We think the world of him.  And, it’s always great to have Mom visit.  She is so much fun, and we have a good time.  Her baking is out of this world, and so is Rog’s cooking, so we all gain weight when she is here.

Today we took Victory and Vegas to the dog show in Dallas.  Vegas has been in season for twelve days, so we are all exhausted from having upset dogs for the last two weeks.  We took two separate cars to the show, which worked very well.  It was an interesting and very disappointing show today.  There were 3 class dogs, and the judge, Ms. Terri Lyddon, decided that none of them would be winners dog.  I have not seen this happen in the 1 ½ years that I’ve been showing.  Vegas was the only female, so she got winners bitch, but did not get any points today, as she didn’t place in the best of breed class, and since there was no winners dog, she couldn’t get best of winners for a point.  Don Boyd showed Victory nicely for us in best of breed, and Victory got select dog, so at least we came away with a point for him toward his grand champion.  Here are photos from today’s dog show.

Victory and Don in front.

Vegas and Victory at the back of the line.

I am really unhappy with Victory’s champion photos from Garden Studios.  You have to pick out the photos you want on their website, and the photos were so fuzzy on the website, it was hard to tell which photos were good.  Well, I picked the photo of Victory’s championship that was not good.  One of the people had her eyes closed.  So, I have emailed Garden Studios numerous times about fixing the photo, or sending me a different one, but they will not answer my emails.  In addition, we had them take some pictures of the dogs and our Victory motorcycle at that show 2 months ago, and they aren’t responding with how we can look at those photos and pick out what we may want to purchase, so we haven’t even been able to see the motorcycle/dog pictures that were taken in October.  I am really disgusted with them, and don’t think I will be spending $100 on dog show photos with Garden Studio Photography ever again.  I really want to get pictures to Victory’s breeders of his championship photo, but I do not like the photo, and can’t get a response from the photographer about fixing it.  What a disappointment, after spending $100 to get terrible pictures.

Fun with Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas

We had a very fun morning today with our Dalmatians visiting Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas (DRNT) volunteers at K9 University in Garland, TX.   DRNT was having a Santa Paws pictures with Santa fund raiser today.  They had some awesome volunteers taking the pictures, handling the administration, setting up the shots, enticing the dogs, printing the pictures, and some neat Dal gifts for sale, too.  The photographer was awesome!  We got some really great pictures of our “kids” and the pictures were printed on the spot, and the photos were top notch.  We were really thrilled.  The picture packages were numerous and inexpensive, and the proceeds benefitted the wonderful Dalmatians looking for their forever home.  I cannot say enough about the fantastic volunteers for DRNT, and the work that they do saving Dals from dog pounds, handling their medical needs, and finding them loving homes.  We adopted Wishbone from them 10 ½ years ago, and he has been my best buddy ever since.  Who else would get up with you and go to the barn to feed the horses, rain or shine, hot or cold, at 4:45 A.M. every morning, and again at 7:00 P.M. every night?  No human would do it so happily, I can assure you!  But my Dals are raring to go to the barn every morning and every night, and always enthusiastic.  What great pals they are.   If you want an awesome Dalmatian to be your best buddy or just want to help the Dals in some way, go to www.dalpal.com, and check out Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas.  You will be glad you did.

Here are the Santa Paws pictures we got today.  Happy Holidays from Victory Dalmatians, Luke (son), Victory, Wishbone, and Vegas, and Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas!

Thanksgiving 2011

We had a really nice Thanksgiving with lots of wonderful food and blessings.  We got in a nice motorcycle ride last Saturday to Mineola, TX.  The fall leaves were beautiful, and it was a gorgeous day.  We ate lunch at Pappadales in Grand Saline, and the food and service were really good.  We went to The Pecan House in Mineola and got some Texas grown pecans in the shell for my Mom, and some that were shelled for our chocolate pecan pie that is a Thanksgiving tradition at our house.  We also got some honey roasted peanut butter that is made at The Pecan House and some pure natural honey made at Sharon Honey Farm in Chapel Hill, TX.  All the products were wonderful, and the shelled Desirable pecans were great.  We also walked across the road from The Pecan House to an unusual shop that carries antiques, tools, and interesting things of all sorts.  It was fun to look, but we didn’t buy anything there.  The motorcycle ride was great.

This weekend we took Victory and Vegas to the dog show in Alvarado, TX.  Vegas got 2^nd in the 12-18 month class on Saturday, beat by her sister, Diva.  The judge thought they were pretty evenly matched and had us move the 2 girls around the ring several times, but she finally decided Diva had a little better topline than Vegas.  Vegas behaved beautifully, and I was very proud of her.  Victory was in the Best of Breed class, and he behaved badly on Saturday.  There were two girls in season, one in front of him in the lineup and one behind him, and he was wound up.  He got best of opposite sex.  On Sunday, we put a little Vicks in his nose, so he couldn’t smell the girls, and he behaved much better.  Lori Finlayson showed him on Sunday and he showed nicely and got best of opposite sex on Sunday.  Vegas showed very well again on Sunday, but her sister, Diva, got the win and Vegas got reserve.  She is such a plucky little girl, and we really enjoy her.  Attached is her picture enjoying the fire truck at our local fire department.  Victory at least picked up some grand champion points this weekend, so we are thankful for that.

Here is Wishbone, our Dalmatian Rescue boy, who is 12 years old, enjoying his time at the fire dept. 

And, here is Victory, having fun at the fire department. 

Victory’s hip x-rays

We took Victory to Rockwall Co. Veterinary Clinic yesterday to get his hips x-rayed so the results could be submitted to OFFA, Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.  They anesthetized him to do the x-rays so they could get the best pictures possible.  I don’t know what it is about putting animals under anesthetic, but every time I watch it, I get nauseous and dizzy and have to sit down.  I just can’t bear to see my animals in that predicament.  All of the horses we have gelded over the years, and every time it affects me this way.  Same with watching Victory’s x-rays.  I felt bad for him. I guess I’d never make a good doctor, nurse, or veterinarian.  Good thing I’m an accountant, instead.  Fortunately, it turned out well, they got some great x-rays, and Dr. Taylor said there weren’t any better hips than what he has, and he believes he should get an excellent rating from OFFA.  Great news!  Dr. Taylor also thought Victory was a gorgeous, healthy, and excellent Dalmatian.  We think so, too!  He has wonderful spotting, beautiful dark brown eyes, great tail carriage and gait, bilateral hearing, CERF is clear, very smart and great temperament.  He loves children and other dogs, and is a joy to have around.  I thought Dr. Taylor was a really neat veterinarian, and really seemed to have a wonderful way of communicating with dogs.  I really liked their vet clinic.  I mailed  Victory’s hearing and hip tests to OFFA today and hoping for that excellent rating from them.

Tips on dogs, cleaning, & money

Teaching a puppy to stack

I used a table with a non-slip rug when I first started training Victory to stack, a nylon slip collar and some treats.  He was a very fussy treat eater, and would only eat certain treats.  He really only likes the pure chicken treats, without any additives.  We practiced in very short sessions, telling him “stand” and positioning his legs, and if he moved them out of position, gently putting them back, and giving him treats when he’d hold the stack for a short time.  Once he did pretty well on the table, we moved to practicing on the ground.  I only practiced for a few minutes when he was really young, and then we’d play and run.

Cleaning tips

I think I got this tip from a Hints from Heloise column years ago, and don’t remember the exact measurements that were in the original tip that I read, but to clean a smelly sink drain, here is what I do, and it works great.  Put about ¾ cup of baking soda in the drain, add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of cream of tartar.  Then pour some white vinegar in the drain and let it bubble for a few minutes.  Then rinse with a lot of hot water, and you have a clean sink drain.

For dried stains on washable fabrics, you can use a mixture of 1/3 cup vinegar, 2/3 cup water, and 2 tablespoons mild dish liquid.  Dab with a sponge on the stain and let sit for about 10-15 minutes, and then launder.

Financial tip

I am a huge fan of Vanguard mutual funds because of their low cost expenses.  And, if you want an easy way to invest, you can have money deducted from your checking account or pay check and have it sent straight to your Vanguard account.  I like the Total Stock Market and Total Bond Market Index funds.  The expenses are .07% for the Admiral stock market index fund and .11% for the Admiral bond market index fund, and the returns as of 10/31/11 for 1 year are 8.03% for the Total Stock Market Index Admiral fund and 5.03% for the Total Bond Market Index Admiral fund.  We also like the Wellesley fund for college savings.  Its expense amount is .28% and its one year return is 8.14%.  The Admiral funds have a slightly lower expense than regular investor shares.  You need $10,000 to invest in Admiral shares. 

Smiley Dalmatian

Our Tattersall Dalmatian, Shelby, would smile on command, and any time she played a joke on you, or when you got up in the morning, or came home from work at night, her smile would be greeting you and brightening your day.  Every time she smiled at me, it made me smile and my heart sing.  She was the funniest dog.  She loved playing tricks on Rog and Luke.  For Rog, she would wait until he got up off the couch, and she would run over and steal his seat, and then when he came back, she would smile and smile at the trick she played on him.  And, she loved grabbing Luke’s toys and parading around the house in front of him, just grinning and wagging her tail as he would be yelling “Shelby, give me back my toy!”  She was such a great dog and a blessing to us.  Thank you to Bobby and Beth Hallman for breeding such a great girl, and giving us the opportunity to share our lives with her for 12 years.  Attached is a picture of her huge smile after she’d stolen Rog’s seat on the couch.

Training a Puppy

To get our puppies ready for the show ring, we started both their training and my training pretty early.  At just a few months of age, they learned to walk on a leash, stack, and have their teeth and bodies examined.  I had to learn to handle a show lead properly and to gait the dog properly, stack the dog correctly, and all of the details of entering dog shows.  Puppies don’t have a long attention span, so you have to train in very short sessions.  Stacking was hard for my Dalmatians, because they didn’t like to stand still for long as puppies.  Attached is a picture of Vegas winning her first major.  We were thrilled for her.

Coach Dogs

Our Dalmatians had a fabulous time today training to be coach dogs.  It was a gorgeous fall day, perfect for horse riding and training dogs.  Our old boy, Wishbone, is a great coach dog and has been going horse riding with us for 10 years, and even though he is getting pretty slow at 12 years old, he refuses to be left behind.  Since Victory finished his conformation championship, we are starting to work on his coaching training.  He absolutely loves going along with the horses and is a great student.  We have someone riding and someone walking alongside the horse with the dog on a lead teaching him to stay with the horse, but not so close that he will get stepped on or kicked.  And, he also must learn to pay attention to commands from the rider on the horse, which for him is more challenging than Vegas, our young girl.  Vegas is constantly looking up at me on the horse when she goes along, but Victory is always looking around everywhere when he goes.  But he watches the horse carefully, which is good.  We are training them to wait, when the horse stops, stay, sit, leave it, stick with the horse, and pay attention to the rider.  It will be awhile before it all comes together with these young dogs.  But, for them, getting to go along with their master and the horses is a blast, and our horses love to have the dog’s companionship on the trail.  Attached are pictures of the dogs, Wishbone, Victory, and Vegas, and horses, Jet (black POA) and Junior (Paint.)

To raise a champion dog, you must first get a really nice puppy from a reputable breeder, feed them quality food, make sure they have proper vaccinations and veterinary care, and socialize them.  To socialize, you’ve got to take them places, such as pet stores, flea markets, other people’s homes, walking through the neighborhood, and any place else where they will meet people, other animals, strange noises, and unfamiliar sights.  They must also learn to stay quietly in a crate, walk nicely on a leash, and go potty on a leash.  I will talk more about raising a champion in my next blog.

Texas Drought

We experienced the most severe drought in Texas this summer that I have ever lived through.  The whole summer was hot, with the end of June and all of July and August well over 100 degrees every day, and no rain during that time.  Pastures are barren, with only drought resistant weeds that livestock cannot eat, surviving.  Driving in the country, you see some cattle and horses that are well taken care of, with their owners spending lots of money on hay and grain.  Others are not so fortunate, and look terrible, ribs sticking out, and so sad.  We are fortunate that we buy our hay from a rancher who has a pond that he uses to irrigate his hay field, and we stocked up early in the summer.  I am so thankful that our horses are fat and beautiful and have plenty to eat. 

Texas ranchers were blessed a couple of weeks ago.  Many people driving by the Home Depot in Terrell, TX wondered what was going on, when trucks and trailers were lined up for blocks waiting to get into the Home Depot parking lot.  The excitement was caused by Midwest farmers (Rog’s brother, Phil, included) who sent hay free of charge to Texas for ranchers in dire need.  And, by the looks of all of those lined up to get hay, and the looks of some of the livestock here, the need is dire.  Thank God for the caring folks in the Midwest, the greatest folks ever!  Many blessings are wished for all of the kind people who helped out Texas.  Please pray for rain for all of us who need it.  And, see attached pictures of my beautiful and lucky cattle, who have had plenty to eat, thanks to our ability to buy hay early in the year.  I will share more pictures of my horses in a later post.

Successful Dog Show Weekend

We had a great dog show weekend in Belton, TX.  Vegas went Best of Winners on Saturday and Sunday and picked up 2 points, making 8 points for her.  Victory got Select Dog both days with Don Boyd showing him, since I knew Vegas would be going into the winners/best of breed class and I was showing her.  We took our toy hauler and stayed at a neat RV park a few miles outside of Salado, TX called Tranquil Gardens.  It was in the country and was quiet, clean, and pretty.  We took in the art show in Salado, which wasn’t nearly as big as I remember it being when I went to it several years ago.  We also checked out the Salado Creek Winery, sampled some of their wines, and brought home a bottle of Lone Star Lime wine, which tastes like a mojito.  It was a fun weekend.

A couple of weeks ago, Rog’s sister, Mary and her husband, Gary came to visit us.  We took them to the state fair in Dallas, and to the Canton flea market where they found many treasures to take back to Iowa.  The Canton flea market is the most awesome place to find unique gifts, clothing, furniture, animals, and any kind of thing you can imagine.  It is huge, you could spend 2 full days walking and not see everything.  We have many unique pieces of handmade furniture and art from Canton.  Mary loves horses, and she rode Rog’s horse, Junior (also known as June or June Bug) while she was here.  Attached is a picture of Mary and Junior.  We really enjoy it when they come to visit.

We took a motorcycle ride last weekend to Lindale, TX and visisted the Miranda Lambert Red 55 wine store and sampled some of their wine.  The labels on the bottles are beautifully done, created by Miranda’s brother.  We brought home two bottles of wine, Electric Pink and Belle.   

Financial Tip:

Buy a new car and keep it 10 years.  Used cars from dealers are very expensive and you can get much better interest rates on new cars.  If you really want a used car, buy it from a private individual.  If you keep a car 10 years, you will get good use of your money for a longer period, and American made cars will last a long time.  My Dodge pickup is 11 years old, has 215,000 miles on it, and has only needed normal maintenance during the 11 years I’ve had it.  It is a diesel, so the motor is made to last a long time.

The Road to a Champion Dalmatian

I got my first Dalmatian 30 years ago from a farmer in Iowa.  Her name was Pepper and she was a beloved family pet, so smart and sweet.  She was such an obedient and wonderful dog.  She was a hunter, a watchdog, a dog who learned many tricks, and was so loved by our entire family.  When we moved to Texas, Rog’s parents were devastated more that we were taking Pepper with us, than us moving, I think!  Pepper lived to be 14 years old.

Our second Dalmatian was purchased from Bobby and Beth Hallman in 1992 and his name was Alex (Tattersall Alexander Bud) and he was out of CH Tattersall Night Moves and Tattersall Wabbit Twacks.    He was a gorgeous liver and white male, a great watchdog who loved children and other dogs.  When we had our son Luke, Alex was never far from Luke, and was in nearly every baby and toddler picture we took of Luke.  We lost Alex to bone cancer in 2001, but before we lost him, we purchased another beautiful Dalmatian from Bobby and Beth in 1997.  Her name was Shelby, and she was out of CH Tattersall Hights Jericho and Tattersall High Tone Glossy.  Shelby was awesome.  She smiled on command and learned all kinds of fun tricks and was a fabulous coach dog.  We took her on horse rides all the time and she just loved it.  She loved playing tricks on Rog and Luke.  She really picked on Luke, always parading around with his toys.  He was always so fussy about his toys, and would never break them, but she would chew them up just to aggravate him.  Her smile greeted me every morning and every night when I got home from work, and I miss her to this day.  She died at age 12.

Our 4^th Dalmatian came from Dalmatian Rescue of North Texas in 2001.  He was 2 years old when we got him and was named Wishbone.  He is my best buddy, a lovely boy who loves people and other animals and is an awesome coach dog.  He goes horse riding with me, and to the barn to feed the horses twice a day, rain or shine, hot or cold.  He doesn’t like me to ever leave him behind, and is a great friend.  He is 12 years old, and has been such a blessing to us.

Our 5^th Dalmatian was purchased from Atlantis Dalmatians in 2009.  He is out of GCH Paisley Nspird By Broadway (Argus) and CH Atlantis’ and Read All Over (Read.)  We named him Atlantis Wildcat Victory (Victory.)  He has a big V on his hip and a wildcat pawprint made out of spots on his back.  And, Rog loves Victory motorcycles and Luke plays for the Wildcats, so we thought we gave him a great name.  And, a great dog he is.   He is beautiful, smart and very friendly.  He loves other dogs and people, a bit exuberantly, as he will jump up and give lots of hugs and kisses, and wants to jump and play with any dog he sees, but mostly he likes the other Dalmatians that he sees.  I thought he was championship material, so when he was about 7 months old, I took him to Beth Hallman to see what she thought, and she really liked him and encouraged me to show him.  Well, that was scary, because I knew nothing about showing, having only gone to dog shows as a spectator.  So I started conformation classes at Top Dog under Verjean Lunenschloss in April, 2010 and went to my very first dog show in Denton, TX in May, 2010.  No points there, but learned a lot, and learned I had a lot of work to do.  Kept going to classes weekly until the next show in Dallas, TX in July.  Didn’t get any points in Dallas, but got a first and second place there, and was encouraged.  I met Lori Finlayson and Deby Harber at the Dallas show, and Lori really liked Victory and encouraged me that he was a really nice dog.  She also mentioned she was going to have puppies soon, and so I started thinking about getting another Dalmatian…  Then Victory went to Canton, TX in October, and there he got his first winners dog and a best of breed win!  And, from then  until now we won some points at most of the shows we went to, picking up our first major in San Marcos, Texas and finishing his championship today with a major in Canton, TX.  Many people have helped me along the way with tips, training, wisdom, and encouragement.  Thank you to all of you who have helped me, especially Rog and Luke, Sue and Jess MacMillan, Suzy Casey, Judy Guimont, Lori Finlayson, members of Dalmatian Club of North Texas, Don and Sharon Boyd, Verjean Lunenschloss, Strawberry Long with obedience training, Sharon Peters, Lesley Box, and Cesley Box.   Thank you all so much!    

In October, 2010 we got a liver and white girl from Lori Finlayson of Dalmino Dalmatians, out of CH Tuckaway Winged Foot and CH Dalmino’s Whoopdedo.  Lori had named her Gaga, but Rog did not care for Lady Gaga, and he is crazy about Victory motorcycles, so we decided to name her Dalmino’s Victory Vegas (Vegas.)  She is a very cute girl, very smart, beautifully spotted, and much loved by all of us.  She is Rog’s lapdog.  We started her conformation training in March of this year, and she picked up her first point in Beaumont, TX, two more in Dallas, and a major in Canton today, so we are feeling like she may be our next champion.

We had fun doing a Dalmatian meet the breed in Canton with some other members of Dalmatian Club of North Texas, and have attached some pictures of that event and some pictures taken at the Canton show.

Victory

Echo, Victory, and Taco

Vegas at the back

Meet the Breed

Judy and Echo

Meet the Breed

Meet the breed

Victory and Taco

Victory

Vegas

Vegas

The Versatility of Dalmatians

Dalmatians can do many things very well.  Their enthusiasm is a huge part of their charm.  They love to play fetch, be watch dogs (but mainly to bark and sound the alarm when someone comes, or something is amiss), go on horse rides and bike rides, learn tricks, go hunting, and be your best friend.  Our neighbor had some pet bunnies for his grandchildren, which the grandchildren were supposed to take care of, but they did not, so our neighbor turned the bunnies loose.  One of the bunnies decided to hang out at our horse barn.  He has been living free in our barnyard with the horses for several months.  I named him Mr. B Bunny.  The Dalmatians cannot wait to go see him every day.  Wishbone, my 12 year old, has learned the “leave it alone” command very well.  Mr. B Bunny comes running up to poor Wishbone every day like Wishy is his long last pal.  Wishbone will stand there and try not to look at B Bunny.  Victory is a true hunting dog, and will point at Mr. B Bunny.  I am trying to teach Victory and Vegas the leave it alone command, so that eventually we can go horse riding and pass distractions like cats, squirrels, rabbits, skunks, and other dogs without the dogs taking a detour and getting into trouble.  Wishbone is a very well trained coaching Dalmatian, and will follow the horses and stay out of trouble.  Wishy’s biggest thrill is staying with me and not letting me out of his sight.  He is a fabulous buddy.  Several of our Dalmatians have pointed when they see a bird or other wildlife.  Our first Dalmatian, Pepper, who we got 30 years ago, would point and flush birds, and loved to go hunting.  Attached is a picture of Victory pointing at Mr. B Bunny, and a separate picture of Mr. B Bunny.