Kimberly J Egan
Bio
Welcome to LoupGarou/Conri Terriers and Not 1040 Farm! I try to write about what I know best: my dogs and my homestead. I'm currently working on a series of articles introducing my readers to some of my animals, as well as to my daily life!
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Stories (112)
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Preparing for Obedience, Part One
Widget's New Goals A little while back, I mentioned that Widget would have new goals. I would love it if he could be a conformation show dog. He's turned into a stunning teenager. His side gait is amazing, with lovely angles and smooth motion. His color is brilliant. His markings are so well-placed they almost make me cry. He might be a bit big for UKC conformation competition, but he's bang on for AKC and can still compete in UKC companion and performance events. Still, there's that barking/growling/biting thing. He needs time to get over it and a diversion for his mind to help him do it.
By Kimberly J Egan4 years ago in Petlife
Little Hot Pink
What I do! I spend a lot of my leisure time with my dogs, on my homestead. My hobbies include training, competing with, and occasionally producing a well-bred litter from my dogs. In order to make my living, however, I work outside the house and off the homestead. I'd love it if the homestead were completely self-sufficient, but it's nowhere near that yet.
By Kimberly J Egan4 years ago in Petlife
Widget Tries Again
Did he show? No. Widget's experience back in November was terrible. For whatever reason, his little brain could not take in the activities at the Classic, even though he had been to a large show hall like that one on a previous occasion. It will be at least a few more months before he goes back into the show ring to compete for points.
By Kimberly J Egan4 years ago in Petlife
Want to Do 'Gility, Beau?
Heart Dog Many people say they have a "heart dog," that special dog that touches them down to their very core. Beau was mine. I purchased him in 2001 from Kajun-Fox kennel not because I thought that dogs from breeders were superior in any way, but because I had a specific dog that I wanted in mind.
By Kimberly J Egan4 years ago in Petlife
Widget's First Dog Show!
Why the Texas Classic? I'll be honest. The Texas Classic is no place to start a puppy, not even a puppy who has hung around at dog shows before. As a rule, I will start a puppy one of two ways. The first way is at a United Kennel Club (UKC) dog show, which will offer "non-licensed" puppy classes for registered and listed puppies starting at the age of three months. UKC shows are smaller than AKC shows. They are generally more relaxed and more family oriented than AKC shows. They also permit puppies to start at a younger age than AKC shows, which allow puppies to start at four months of age.
By Kimberly J Egan4 years ago in Petlife
A Prolonged Absence
I apologize for the length of this article, but it has been growing in my head for a period of a couple of months now. The truth is that you must always be careful when buying a purebred, registered dog. It is no different with registered dogs than it is with horses or cats or goats or even any high-value inanimate object. Always, always, always get the paperwork in hand before driving off with your new dog or horse or cat or goat or car or whatever. I know this fact. I have always, always, always followed that rule. This time, I did not.
By Kimberly J Egan4 years ago in Petlife
Weathering the Storm
If you have been following the news at all, you're probably aware that Hurricane Ida swept through the Deep South and continued up the coast as a major tropical storm. She was even more powerful than Katrina, hitting on Katrina's 16th anniversary. As I write this, over 500,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana are still without power from the storm. We were among the lucky ones. Even though we lost power, it was only for a couple of days. We had no structural damage and only a few trees came down. We were blessed.
By Kimberly J Egan5 years ago in Petlife
Widget has Fun!
As you may remember, I have goats. The bucks and does were supposed to have separate pens, which they did at first--until my bucks started dying at an alarming rate. I suspected that they were being poisoned by something and, to my dismay, I was correct. Part of the thicket in which they enjoyed resting during the day was literally rife with sapling cherry trees. Goats can eat fresh cherry leaves and dried cherry leaves, but wilted ones will kill them in a couple of heartbeats.
By Kimberly J Egan5 years ago in Petlife
Some Thoughts on Finding a Place in the World
If you've read my other posts, it will come as no shock to you that I breed dogs and compete with them in conformation shows and various sports trials. I breed very rarely and when I do, a lot of thought goes into the litter that will be produced. I have been "in" Toy Fox Terriers for a while now, but have just recently added Teddy Roosevelt Terriers to my home. It was a decision made over a few years, until I finally found the right dogs for my home and my living situation. Pip, the sire, is a high-quality male from a breeder who produces many UKC champions. Diva, the dam, is a high-quality female from a breeder who has been in the breed for decades and has shown several dogs to the AKC Certificate of Merit title available to breeds newly-accepted to the registry. They and all their puppies are dual registered, so that owners can participate in either or both registries.
By Kimberly J Egan5 years ago in Petlife
Green Lights
Green lights were never good. Okay. That was a really broad generalization. If she were running late to work, then a green light was a good thing. And then, there was the aurora borealis. The green northern lights, those were neutral, at best--or at worst.
By Kimberly J Egan5 years ago in Fiction
The Butterfly on a String
It's been hot and rainy, although not quite as hot as the average Mississippi summer (probably due to the rain). Widget has spent most of his time inside with me, getting to know me and the other dogs. He's also become comfortable with the diet here, which is largely free of kibble. As much as I like to start training when puppies are small, he's undergone a lot of changes in a very short period. He's gotten bits of handling training and not much else, which is absolutely fine when the weather is so formidable. If I had an enclosed training area with air conditioning, it would be different. Right now, I take things as opportunities present themselves.
By Kimberly J Egan5 years ago in Petlife
