Black Water Border Collies

For Sale

2010-08-07T16:20:00.004-04:00

I chose the two pups I am going to keep. Henry and Rose are for sale. $500, will be ABCA registered. There was no real reasoning in picking which two. The litter is very even. They are all very nice. They all want to work and they all have solid temperaments. John seems to really like hangin with me and Nora is just so dang pretty... So see, no real reason. Rose would be an awesome "cross over" dog. She should have plenty of herding talent, but she is the fastest little thing and she is super intense. She'd be a great agility or other sport prospect. Henry is a good boy that is going to be on the large size, imo. They're 8 months now. They're crate trained and have recalls. The pups are HatsOff X DelMar bred. Cruz and Gwen will forever be my two favorite dogs! Both on and off the field.

Because my life is going to so drastically change, I am also selling Ivy. She's a 2 year old "sibling" to the above puppies. She has a rock solid temperament. She's fun and easy to work, and is good to her stock. She has a fair amount of eye, but we were moving right along thru that back when I was actually working dogs... She'd be a nice all-around dog for someone. She's ABCA registered. $500.

I am also having to part with Toss and Deal, but I'm hoping to have that worked out thru a friend. However, if you could provide them a wonderful home with WORK, we can work something out. I would never get what they are worth in today's world, but if I KNEW they were going to a stable, forever home with work to do, I would be very reasonable. Toss and Deal both have write ups on here, just click on their photo.

Life

2010-06-06T15:28:00.002-04:00

Well long time no write. So much has been goin' on in my life. Who would think that almost 38, being married for 15 years, and having children that 14 and 12 you would be so up in the air about your life. But I am.
My job. I love my job most days and I love most of the people I work with. Some days only having those people in my life has kept me from completely shutting down. They are truly my family. Not all of them, but a good handful. A good handful really care about me, and I them. That's not something everyone finds on the job. I'm blessed. I have wanted to throw in the towel more than once and they have been there to support me and tell me that's not the right path...
The dogs. I hardly have time anymore. I'm very uneasy and on edge about what to do in this area of my life. My feelings towards them has not at all changed, but the reality of working full time, plans of school and assistant mgr training for work, along with the the fact that we are living in a house that needs our every dollar and every available free moment... with a truly heavy heart I think I have to give up training and trialing. It's the only give in the equation of not having enough time. It's breaking my heart to see several of my die hard working dogs just hangin' out. But at the same time it would break my heart to let them go... I suddenly find myself at a very different place than just a year ago. I can no longer stand to live in a house so tore apart with no progress being made and I can no longer let myself completely depend on someone else to make all of the money and all the important decisions. What that will lead to in August when Ben returns I don't know.
Growth doesn't always come easy and that's what I'm clinging to right now....

Hooray

2010-03-06T22:46:00.002-05:00

for warmer weather and dog work. Yesterday was a pretty pleasant day- not perfect, but very doable. I got all of the dogs worked, which always feels good. I didn't have a lot of expectations because they have gotten quite little for work in the last 6 weeks or so. I started with Ivy, and she was delightful- the best she has been. I didn't fret when she would lie down. I would simply move to the side and once she kicked up, I lightly said "walk up". She can't resist a flank to cover, so moving to the side is the best way to get her up. It was very slight this time, and the idea of "shaping" her walk up cue began working in just that one session. Towards the end she was actually getting on her feet on just the verbal command- I didn't have to move to the side. In hindsight I am a lot less worried about this than I was 3 months ago. For a few reasons. One being that she is going in the right direction. The next being that I'm starting to see that she is simply a control freak like her mother, and because she was (is) too young to have a lot of natural pace, she was simply planting herself and then flanking to keep control, rather than walking on. She knew at the speed she would walk/trot on that she would push them passed me. So the smart little thing did her own problem solving and decided that simply flanking to cover and hold was the way to be. Is she going to be a bubble protector like her mother? Yes, I'm sure she will be- but I will take a dog that has wonderful feel for her sheep over one that just walks right thru it. The trick is getting them to trust that it IS okay to push that bubble if so asked. Gwen learns this more and more each season. Heck, I've gotten her to get in there and grip when she's taking and keeping them off the grain feeder. Her driving continues to get quicker and quicker and she is more and more willing to keep pushing without needing a bump flank to free her up. Interestingly, what I do with Gwen on the drive is the same thing I am doing with Ivy on her fetch in a sense. I was told about a year ago by Carol that to help Gwen with her driving I needed to give her little bump flanks when she would stall out. Rather than walk up, I would bump her, which gets just a bit of sheep movement, which would free her up. It worked like a charm. The bumps get smaller and smaller and less often as her skill and confidence grows. Another thing I have learned with her is that more I toot my walk up, the more she clams up. I think this is something she needs to wrap her own head around, and me tooting "walk up, walk up" is hindering that. Well, guess I just covered Gwen's day too. She continues to only get better and better, and pretty soon a Ranch level drive will be a cake walk for her. :-)

I also worked Clare. The girl that wanted her can't do it right now, and honestly I'm not upset. I jumped the gun with Clare and I'm quite pleased that she is staying. She has outgrown her somewhat handler-worry and is such a nice young dog on sheep. (which she's always been, I was simply concerned that I was "too much" handler for her) She has a very quiet, but powerful way about her and she is almost boring because she "just does it". No fuss, no muss. She does have Deal's eye and being that she is on the softer side, I will have to walk the fine line of keeping her square, but not give her reason to think I am being unfair. Like any good stockdog, her keeness to work is going to outweigh any worry she has about me. Waiting until the age she is now was good for her, she and I have a nice bond now and I feel like she trusts me. She took my "suggestion" of being a bit more square quite well. No matter how I set it up she was nearly perfect to the left, but not as free to the right. She has nice pace and uses her head. I have another nice dog the same age as Clare in mind for the girl who wanted Clare. I'm sure it will be a lovely fit when she can make the trip to pick her up. :-)

Toss and Deal were both very good. Toss seems to have retained his newly learned (but long since used!) whistles, so that's good. He was more on than I expected from him considering the time off they have had. He's going to be a really nice trial dog and now that he has matured, he is also a wonderful farmhand. He is still, and I suppose always will be a lot of dog. He is very come forward, and although he has stock sense and balance, he does not have the eye that most of my dogs have. He's a fun dog to work. Deal has never looked or listened better. She is quick to respond and willing to listen. We have come a long way team-work speaking. She is a wonderful dog and I enjoy her even more now in her "biddable years"! LOL!

I played with Emma for bit. Good Lord I have never seen such a drop dead serious dog at her age! The world truly melts away when she gets her sheep. She is straight on like her grandfather (Toss). She tore into them and then was confused at my dissatisfaction. I'm willing to let a pup go with gusto until one gets split off and kept off. Then I have a bit to grumble about.... She froze (locked on, but frozen) and I had Cruz move them around to get her back moving again. I couldn't get her cover. If I stepped too close her way she was worried about me. (never stopped looking at the sheep, but I would get that very low, wag, wag, wag) But if I stepped too far back she would mostly likely make a mess. (with gusto) (so really she is not ready at 9 months and it'll be another month before she gets another short go). So I quit trying to get her to cover and just walked with her, patting my leg. Sure enough, she drove. She very much enjoyed walking about 15' straight across from me- and with wonderful pace and control. We walked together and twice, thanks to the flow of the sheep I was able to step to the side and "flank" her. She's going to be a powerful, all business dog. :-) She was SO happy she got a turn yesterday. (she moaned and groaned with her head stuck between my knees while I oogled over her afterwards). She wants to be a big dog really bad. I gave her mama, Kit a short turn at the end and she did very well. Her sends are getting better and better. Everything else is there. With her, it's just simply stretching out what she does so nicely close at hand.

Tomorrow Ella will be here, so everyone will get some work again tomorrow. The dogs are staying in pretty good shape even during this dreary winter thanks to the 4 wheeler. Now that it's staying light longer I can take them for a run nearly each day after work. Right now they get a 5 mile run (2-3 minute breather/drink break at 1 mile, 2.5, and 4) once or twice a week and a quick 2 mile run 2 days a week. (yes, my 4x4 has odometer) I'd like to get them a run each day. They don't need 5 miles each day, but I'd like to do 5 miles twice a week, 2.5 miles 3 days a week and 1 mile 2 days week. Maybe 5 mile, 1 mile, 2.5 mile, 2.5, 5 mile, 1 mile, 2.5 mile. Or maybe on the 1 mile days play ball instead. They're happier, healthier, and smarter to train if they get that "burn off" each day. I always know when I've gone too long as that's when the yard is suddenly decorated with holes and littered with pieces of things they have gotten from somewhere. It's also when they seem a little bitchy with each other. I feel bad when that happens, so I need to get them on a non-working routine as much as they are on a working routine. Because lets face it, if they were pooped out and mentally satisfied after only a few sessions of stockwork a week they wouldn't be the dogs I love! A full time job during the winter pretty much sucks the life out of dog work. Dark until 15 minutes before I leave, and dark when I get home. Pretty much limited to my 2 days off. But... the days are longer now. The darkest months are gone for another year! :-)

Me and My Boy

2010-03-04T20:34:00.004-05:00

My 3 month old moose!

He is the best cuddler! He is always up for leaning in for a snuggie.

It's amazing the bond we have already. He has a huge hold on my heart and looks at me with that gaze of true love. Cruz means the world to me, and I adore Gwen like I have never adored another dog. In Cruz's eyes I'm his world, and it sure seems that Henry is going to follow in his father's footsteps. I can only hope I am that blessed!

World's Best Pup

Winter

2010-03-03T19:07:00.002-05:00

This seems like the longest, sloppiest, ugliest winter we've had in Virginia since we've been here. We just can't seem to catch much of a break. It's either rain, wicked cold (for the SE), rain and cold, snow, wind, wind and rain, and so forth. Since about November. I'm over it. The dogs are over it. The ewes have had their lambs are they are big enough to tag along during training- that is if I could ever catch a decent day on my days off. I can't wait until the sun is in the sky until 8pm! Patience I guess, but I'm tired of the gloomy, cold, wet days! It's supposed to be in the mid 50s early next week, but not without rain on a few days. I guess that's better than 39 and rain... The kids had a two hour delay this morning because of snow/slush overnight. They have had more snow days this year than I think they've had in their 8 years of schooling combined! Some of the school systems have added 20 minutes to each day until the end of the year, others are shortening breaks, and having school on holidays they would normally have off. I hope we have a spring. I hope we don't go from running the heat to blowing the a/c! I'd like to have a little open window weather! I imagine not having my husband here doesn't much help. It can make for some really rough days. I miss him. July seems a forever away. Weather slowed the crate training process, as they continued to need an inside area, an area in the insulated garage (aka, kennel building), as well as their covered kennel with a dog house. Their inside area was "converted" to their crate area on Monday. They had been doing very well in their area at night, sleeping quietly all night and very few poops in the cedar chip end of the area. So Monday night they slept in their crates- away from each other for the first time. (except for Henry due to the issues him and John were having so Henry had been in a large wire crate for a few nights prior) They fussed very little. They each kinda took one short turn. Well... maybe John's turn was a little longer. I got up once at 1am and let them all out to pee. I've continued to only get up that one extra time, and have slept peacefully all 3 nights. :-) I'm very proud of the babies. They have taken to this new step in growing up just as they have with every other "milestone". They are the most incredibly bright and easy to get along with pups. I'm so excited for nicer weather and longer days so I can start doing some fun stuff with them.

Lost, Tossed, and Too Much Cost

2010-02-26T20:52:00.003-05:00

Tuesday was orthodontic day 60 miles from home. It's a drag to have a day off eaten up by those kind of obligations, but what can ya do. The boys and I made a day of it by running some other fun-type errands including hair cuts for Charlie and I and some new (some were new/used) clothes for mostly my growing monsters, but also a new sweater for me at work. I'm phasing out the t-shirts and trying to wear more professional shirts and sweaters. I don't do much "grunt" work at work anymore, so I can wear nicer clothes now. We had lunch at Cracker Barrel, which is a rare treat and was very good. Charlie had a 4" thick slice of meatloaf and all 3 of his sides were the mac n cheese! LOL! Dylan had probably the best country fried steak he'll ever eat and just raved about his applesauce (simple pleasures). I had a grilled chicken sandwhich that was to die for in taste. :-)

We stopped at the PETCO to get feeder mice and look around at dog/puppy toys. I couldn't justify the prices. :-( I spotted a really nice rubbery type frisbee that looked like it would both fly and be teeth/gum friendly. 19 flippin' dollars!! What? And because it's $19 you know what would happen? I'd throw it once and it would end up on the peak of this two story farmhouse! Just like when I did agility I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED those heavy duty fabric frisbees Clean Run sold. They flew, they held up to ridiculous tugging, and you could shove them in your pants. (Oh how I miss grass and grit in my under-britches!) I had one, loved it. So when it came time for a new one I ordered it. They were not cheap, but it was a tool and it was worth it. I used to always ensure they didn't get left in the yard- hence the tool aspect, additionally although they held up to training, all day teeth work probably not so much. One day, proud of myself for NOT leaving it out, I plopped it onto the roof the van. Yup. You already know where this is going don't you? Yes, yes I did. But what's *really* sad is that I actually drove around LOOKING for it when I realized what I had done! Then there's the Go-fer balls (we call the "launcher balls" 'round here). They are my dogs' absolute favorite. They are a weird texture of a ball, somewhere between ratchet ball and foam. They are tennis ball size and have a loop of surgical tubing attached. Like I said, "launcher" ball. And they fly! Again, not a cheap toy and I could only find them online. But they were enough fun to be worth it. My problem? (no, not leaving them on the van- that's only frisbees) Two things. Launcher control and trees. Did you know that a 20" loop of surgical tubing, when attached to a ball and thrown can tie itself into 40 knots in exactly 1.2 seconds? Yup. There ain't no gettin' those suckers down! And we have tried. Ever watch a 6' tall man trying to control 25' of pvc while 10 revved up Border Collies are dancing around his feet? It's funny video worthy. Also funny video worthy are grown adults throwing just about anything they think just *might* break off the 1" diameter branch that suddenly seems as though it's made of unbreakable material. I think even bee-bee guns have been used. Remember this is a toy more expensive than it should be and is desired enough that it has been ordered.... I think one year I had 3 launcher balls proudly blowing in the breeze long after all the leaves had fallen. Only once the sun and the rain have eaten away all of the surgical tubing's stretch do we get our launcherless ball back- and then... well it's just another tennis ball. (insert raspberry and the look of 12 forlorn pitiful Border Collies here...) So even though my thought process was that it would be a fun new toy for all to enjoy, I remembered my past history with the "special" toys and with a heavy sigh, hung it back on it's hook. Today I bought a can of tennis balls. For 3 dollars.

Like Weeds

2010-02-25T18:56:00.007-05:00

Rose is big into "covering" motion and goes non-stop. She has the most expessionate face and it just screams "wicked smart!" I think Rose is going to be a super fun girl to work and bond with, she has a delightful personality.

John is still handsome as ever and becoming more personable. I think once they start getting one on one work I'll see a whole new side to John, he finds me more and more often and is quite loving. He isn't a "big" personality like his sisters, but I can visualize him being a very, very faithful, business is business type of worker.

Henry is still my man. We have quite the bond already. Even looking at his photos pulls at my heart strings! Henry is having to spend the daytime alone lately, as he and John are suddenly not each other's biggest fans. I don't have any problems with either of them with the girls, but they have gotten into a few too many quite serious fights with each other and I don't care to have them get into it in a 10x20 pen while I'm away at work. It's mostly Henry being dominant, and when John from time to time stands his ground, it never ends well. I've never seen pups fight like they have from time to time and for what seems just out of the blue. They can be fine all day and then all of sudden something snaps and once they get into it Henry will not let John be. I can get them apart, only to have Henry follow John... I've never had this issue with raising littermates before. For some reason the 2 boys just don't much care for each other. Neither of their parents are at all dog nasty, so hopefully this is a puppyhood stage and simply making sure they aren't together unsupervised for a period of time will be all it takes. They both get along with the girls, and the girls are far from submissive to the boys, so I'm not exactly sure why there's the occassional tension between the 2 boys. In my experience it's always been the bitches that can sometimes be... well, bitches.

Henry is such a love bug and we really have a special bond already. My heart hasn't felt like this about a puppy in a long time! :-)

Nora is as full tilt as she is cute! She is a Gwen clone in personality. She's very, very smart and enjoys hanging close by. She has the most delightful little expressions. She's one of those that can speak to you with her eyes.

Henry and John

Wild Girl Rose and John

Pretty and sweet. Gracie is a special girl. Like her littermates, she's very bright and outgoing. She has Dylan wrapped right around her paw.

Fun With Adobe

2010-02-24T06:51:00.004-05:00

Perfect Winter Day

2010-02-01T12:03:00.003-05:00

Today is a beautiful day! It's going to be in the high 40's and all sun with no wind! :-) I really do miss this weather! Ben and I have always been on the fence about moving back to the mid-west, more specifically Wisconsin or Minnesota. Because I grew up in WI on a large horse farm, I am not ignorant to the winters, or the fact that summers there can also be hot and humid. This real winter spell we're having has reminded me how beautiful the winter really is, and that even though it has it's miserable moments, it's a season I miss terribly. I like being outside in the snow and the colder temperatures- I will take skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, etc over the beach and swimming pool. We've been in Virginia nearly 15 years now, and I can say with real conviction that I'm about over it. It's not as though we can pack up and move this year, or the next, but I feel like Ben and I have both reached the point where we're ready to make some real plans to get ourselves back to where we came from... Most of Ben's childhood was in sub-burbs of Minnesota. His family moved to Wisconsin when he was in high school. Just for kicks I looked at some on-lines properties in both WI and MN. Wisconsin has some nice land available that is all set to move into. I even found a couple really nicely put together beef or dairy properties that would not be an unrealistic price range. Although dairy farming is not at all my thought process, the barns etc can easily be converted into things like a boarding kennel- something I wouldn't mind doing. Or simply sheep/beef housing. This one would be at the top end of what we could afford, but wow, how perfect! This one is already completely fenced and has no neighbors! And the thought of owning 90+ acres, wow! How great for trail riding, atving, and snowmobiling! :-) Now the hard part is figuring how to make this really happen. How to get our debt knocked out so that when we sell this place we are not so bogged down with crap-debt that we cannot get the piece of land of our dreams! I believe we are going to have to really crack down on ourselves for the next 5 years. Extras have to go, and Ben and I have to get a real budget put together. Neither of us are good with money... Changing that is one of my goals while Ben is deployed until July. The first thing I have to get over is the fear and hatred I have of money. I hate knowing how much/little we have, I hate knowing how much everything is costing us, and I'm always afraid that we will never be able to reach our real goals because of debt... I need to get over it and instead of pushing it to the back of my mind, deal with it and start to turn our finances around.

We Are Tough, Yes We Are

2010-01-31T17:19:00.010-05:00

Henry with Nora on his heels.

Grace

Model Pup John

Henry, Grace, John, and Rose.

Rose

My model again. (John)

Pretty Girl Nora.

Henry

Nora has such an intelligent look. She reminds me of Gwen quite a lot.

Handsome Henry

Little Rose.

Nora

Dylan and his snowball making helper, Nora.

Nora, striking that wicked smart look.

Grace

My sweetheart of a boy, Henry.

Oh, how I see this boy getting away with an awful lot! LOL!

"Hi Toss"

Toss doesn't think the pups should eat up all the loves!!

Rose, John, and Henry (and Charlie)

Toss is sure Charlie has enough lap and hands for him too!

Not even a teenager can resist!

Today was nice, about 35 degrees, sunny, and no wind. But I didn't think the puppies would want to run around once they noticed the cold/wet ground. After being in their little kitchen cubby since Friday night, moving out to the insulated garage and into their 4x8' whelping box this early afternoon was not enough additional space to make them happy. They fussed and carried on, so I thought, "okay- here ya go, this is what you're missing". Much to my surprise, they acted just like grown up Border Collies- you know what I mean- that whole "what weather?" Not unlike how they have taken on every other growing up change in environment thus far, they just carried on. They would have played longer, but after 3 of the 5 decided to do the "polar plunge" into the stock tank that was half solid ice and half open water I decided it was enough for today and promptly toweled off my 3 polar bears, put them in their cozy whelping box, and got them some warm grub. It wasn't 10 minutes and it was dead silent in the once noisy box! :-) They are truly a wonderfully adjusted, outgoing group!!

Snow Day

2010-01-30T17:12:00.006-05:00

We went outside in two rounds today. I have more photos, but need to get some dinner in the human bodies first. I hope tomorrow the sun will come out so I can get some pretty winter pictures. Today it snowed all day, and was really windy. The 2nd time I went out with the dogs I went across the road and was blasted by the wind in the field. So I headed for the woods line. It was very nice once we had a wind block. You can see by the expressions of the dogs how windy it was in the field- they all have closed eyes! We have close to a foot of snow total. Nothing special when you're area is prepared for that all winter long, but here in south east Virginia, we are not... Only the areas close to hospitals and fire stations will be worked by VDOT. They try for the over passes and exits, but several are closed, as are some of the big bridges... It won't be above 35 until Tuesday, so the roads will be as they are until Wednesday I would guess. The kids joined the dogs and I in the woods and we walked probably another hour (after the dogs and I had been out there close to that already). Charlie rode my 4x4 out there, but then trekked in the woods line on foot. The dogs had a blast, and I know they are happily spent! I fed them all 3/4 of a meal at 4pm and will feed them again in awhile. I know they burned a lot of calories in the snow, and keeping warm, and most of the dogs will need some extra fuel to keep warm in their straw filled crates these next few nights.

Six Words

2010-01-30T08:33:00.007-05:00

My Babies: adorable, intelligent, big shoes to fill
Brock: Dylan's protector and best friend, silly
Emma: Wants to work, intense, bitchy, sappy

Edge: Does everything hard core, bed buddy

Mary Jane: Adores people, happy talker, stockdog, sold

Maddie: More intense than my Border Collies

Kit: One person dog, bitchy, loving, sheepdog

Toss: Silly, dedicated, serious, sensitive, awesome sheepdog

Deal: Bossy, tough, workaholic, mama, serious, stable

Jim: Fast, loves people he knows, happy

Clare: Loving, stable, great stockdog potential, sold

Cruz: My heart, teacher, irreplaceable, unbelievable stockdog

Gwen: Favorite, intelligent, responsive, intense, gifted stockdog

Ivy: Clone, cat watcher, sweet, good potential

Eight Weeks Today

2010-01-28T21:37:00.008-05:00

Gwen spending a little play time with her babies. They've been off her for a week now. It was a nice afternoon, so we took advantage and got outside until dark. The pups played and explored in the yard with nearly all the adult dogs today. They had a blast and they are such a lively, intelligent, bold bunch! They were very brave, yet appropriate with the adult dogs and there was no where in the yard they were concerned about going. I kept waiting for them to wear out and start to huddle together, but it never happened! LOL! After nearly two hours I put them in their sunny, straw filled outdoor kennel while I got my other chores done. Chores today included getting ready for- get this- as much as 9" of SNOW!! What??? It was 62 today! Snow is to come Friday evening, but it is going to drop like a boulder in temperature tonight. I am scheduled to work on Saturday, but being that I am here alone, I am not going to push the venture. VDOT does not have the equipment to get roads anywhere near us plowed, and I do not want to have to sit in my truck waiting for Wayne to come with his roll-back because I'm in the ditch somewhere between here and Franklin. The roads won't be plowed, and every road until I'm 5 miles from work is narrow (as in one truck and one car wide- not two trucks) with 3' ditches and of course it's also pretty much a snake drive. So look forward to some WHITE pictures in the next few days! There is a good chance we will get the most snow we've had since 1989!

Run, Henry, Run!
Lap Two

Henry still has his C "brand".

John

Petite Rose

Ms Grace

John

Rose

Henry- who's definitely smiling!

John, who's greatly enjoying the run in the sun!

Nora, being goofy!

If that look doesn't say trouble, I don't know what does!

Clare and Grace

John

Brothers, Jim and John.

I really like this shot. It captures Jim real personality.

"Hi Mama!" (Gwen and John)

Rosie

Grace

Rose

Clare and Nora

It's All Fun And Games Until Someone Loses An Eye

2010-01-28T20:52:00.006-05:00

*No eyes were lost during this photo shoot

Ivy

2010-01-23T20:44:00.004-05:00

Ivy was lovely today. She did very little work on her belly and was much quicker and easier to get up and moving once she would lie down appropriately. I was very, very pleased with her today. She is fun little dog, and I feel like her and I are now developing a nice bond of trust, which is only going to help her go in the right direction!

She was very sensible and fair to the lambs and none of the ewes ever tested her. I think this spring will be a fun season for Ivy and I as a team. I am not going to push her, and I am going to keep things fun for both of us. Last fall I questioned if she would come thru this belly thing. My love for her and the words of my mentor (who never seems to be wrong) kept me from making any rash decisions, and I'm thankful for that now. Things have looked quite positive the last few times out with her. :-)

Bella

2010-01-23T19:23:00.007-05:00

Today I was blessed with a new addition. Bella is a 2 year old female from the Toss X Mary Jane litter of Nov. 2007. Bella's owners love her dearly, but she has been a handful living the city life.
Bella was here over the summer for a short time when her owners thought it was best to part with her. After a couple weeks they missed her terribly and took her back home. She was never a lick of trouble here living the country life. I received an email from her owners last week saying that they knew she must be terribly bored, as the few behaviors that drove them crazy were not getting any better. There was never any doubt that she was a wonderful dog, she has a wonderful temperament, but Bella was making it clear her needs were not being met. Her owners have a dog that's probably about 5 now that they got from me, so they have some BC experience, but Bella just wasn't happy.
So after a tearful goodbye with her owners, Bella moved on to fitting in around here. Logan and Emma were being terrible teenagers, and I think Bella's arrival was more stressful on them than on Bella. The two of them learned quite a bit today- namely that they are not puppies that walk on water with me, and when they act obnoxious, I'm going to crank down on them!

So I thought I'd just let her see sheep. I was expecting nothing being that she really doesn't know me, she has never been on sheep and she had just been returned to me.

However, this is what I got!!

She was perfect! She covered nicely, she didn't show a lot of eye, but showed plenty of feel for the sheep. I thought she would probably be a little worried about me, but she wasn't. The few times I blocked her to stay behind the sheep, she was 100% comfortable, and responsive.

But my biggest thrill came when this ewe turned and decided to be ugly. Her lamb is only about 10 days old. Bella did exactly what she needed to do! She never focused on the lamb, she stayed locked on the ewe. She never dove in, and she never used her teeth. She simply held her ground and when I stepped back, the ewe turned back around to follow the other sheep. The ewe tested Bella several more times, and Bella's reaction remained the same- like a trained dog! Wow! I was really impressed!! Not many 1st time on sheep two year olds are going to #1 ignore the lamb, and #2 act appropriate with the ewe. To never back down and to never bust in- that's pretty cool! She has more eye than Toss, but not nearly as much as Mary Jane.

In both photos you can see how she is clearly only focused on the ewe. :-)

Good Girl Bella! I told her previous owners that I would most likely get her started and then place her in a trial or farm home. But fate always seems to pop up when you're not looking! She could very well already be in her forever home. She is spayed and she is used to being inside, so she will continue to live that way and be part of the "house dogs" group and come in the house at the end of day. The boys were already "fighting" over who's bed she would sleep in tonight. Currently, she is sprawled out between Dylan and I on the sofa! Along with working sheep for the first time today, she went across the road with us and all the dogs for another long walk like last weekend. She was perfect. It was like she has been here all along. I give her owners a LOT of credit. They love her- a LOT, but they knew they could not provide what she needed to be a fulfilled dog. That took a lot of courage. I'm thankful they were comfortable coming to me and trusted that I could provide her what she needs. Bella will be loved. I'm really, really excited!

Too Muddy to Work

2010-01-17T19:35:00.011-05:00

So we just play.
Took all the dogs for a walk in the 2 fields across the road.

They all had a blast. No 4 wheeler and no ball, we just trekked.

I really like this picture of Edge for some reason.

Handsome man, Toss.

Weird shot of Gwen. She was standing under a hole in the clouds. Kind a neat.

Jim being Jim.

Did I say it was too muddy to work sheep?

Pretty girl Mary. She'll be here for a month or so yet.

It poured most of the night and rained until almost 1:00. At 2:00 I took them all for a walk. When I got back I loaded up and went to the dump. I wasn't home but 20 minutes and just poured again. It actually stormed- weird to see and hear in January. Dylan was carrying in the first arm full of puppies and Charlie was just getting the dogs put up and fed when it let go!

The 2nd field was corn last year.

This is a really nice field to work in too, it's just a very long walk from the house. In the past I have loaded up the dogs and parked along the tractor road.

I love Border Collie eyes and ears. They speak volumes.

This is the tractor path between the two fields I've mentioned.

I have teeth, yes I do!

Logan is at the "all ears" age.

The Man

Go Girls Go!

First Day Out!

2010-01-13T21:12:00.013-05:00

John
Nora says "Hi Mom"

John.

Handsome thinker, John.

Sweet-Pea, Grace.

My little bug, Rose.

John, enjoying not being contained by baby gates!

Henry and Gwen enjoying the sun. Gwen worked hard this morning on sheep, so she was content to just relax and enjoy the warm sun with her pups. She rolled and rolled and then sprawled out in the sun.

Henry and Rose.

I must be bias, because they seem like the cutest, most intelligent pups ever!

Henry

Handsome Henry. What a pretty profile.

I think he's smiling.

Henry and Rose.

Clover and Henry.

Nora

Grace and Nora.

Rose

Clover, Nora, and I think John.

She just has the most intelligent look. (Rose)

Rose

Nora, showing off her gorgeous profile.

Does he even look real? John is probably the most classic looking Border Collie I've had.

This is the typical cat-dog relationship we have here.

John learning how cats tick.

Rose is learning too.

"Hi Clover, I like you a lot!"

Clover says she likes Rosie too- and Dylan's lap!

Good thing Dylan has two hands.

Grace is learning too. (I over did the contrast fix on this one- oops)

See? Doesn't that little face just say "I am wick smart"?

Nora

Wayne loves canine affection!

Dry grass, warm sun, and new puppies. Wayne thinks that makes for a pretty good day!

The rugrats! Grace, Henry, Rose, John, and Nora. They had a great time outside. They were not worried about being in the wide open spaces and just got on with exploring.

Yeah For The Sun!

2010-01-13T19:25:00.002-05:00

Well it was actually a very nice day today! It was a little breezy, but reasonable. I wore my insulated bibs, but I only needed my long john's shirt and a vest. I didn't have to lug around my insulated boots. :-) I did wear my hat, but didn't need gloves. :-) So a few less layers. I got all my dogs worked, which always feels really good.

I played with Ivy and it was pretty good. Carol says Ivy should indeed work right thru this stage of not wanting to walk in, so I'll just keep things light and pleasant. I started to tell her "walk up" when she was behind the sheep, in the hopes that she will learn what "walk up" is.

All the other dogs I worked in the big field. I pushed their outrun comfort zone (slightly beyond 300 yards) to see what I would have. Cruz got there without additional direction, but unfortunately I was trying to video tape and I could not see where he was on the lift. The sheep lifted offline, and he would not come off enough on the comebye flank to change the direction of the sheep (he was being outrun because he was too tight). Because I had the camera in my face I wasn't much help, and was seeing things way too late. He did some nice drive work, again I pushed our distance comfort zone to see where we are at. We're good until about 200 yards. Beyond that I start to get tighter flanks and have a harder time getting subtle movements. I'm not sure my whistles carry much past 200 yards very well.

Deal needed an additional directional whistle on her 300 yard outrun. She took it wonderfully, however when she checked up on the lift, she did not give me the additional flank like I asked for. At 200 yards she would have. I pushed her drive work as well. Interestingly at about 200 yards she was becoming reluctant to push forward. Once in awhile I need to go a step or two beyond where we are comfortable so I know what we need to work on, and towards.

Today was the furthest I have ever sent Gwen. She went nicely, but then didn't cover very well on the lift. Like Deal, she will normally take an additional flank like a star, but due to do the additional distance, she would not. One thing I realized I had never done with her was ask her all the way around on the fetch. I hadn't done this because she is such a big flanking dog and in her early days it was hard to keep her behind her sheep, pushing forward. So I worked on that today. It was a new concept for her, but she did quite well once she knew what I was asking. I would ask her around to various places and then ask her to drive a very short distance, then ask her around again.

Toss was the 2nd dog I tried to video and work, and that just doesn't work. If I video (or photograph), then I'm not really training, and these days between crappy weather and my paying job I don't really have "non training" time to spare. We went out really, really nice at a distance beyond where I know he would be right. Because I was trying to tape, he brought the sheep up the fetch like gang busters, and drove them off in a similar style... After a couple minutes of trying to drive him with the camera in my face I decided I needed to ditch the camera. Maybe it won't be too long and Ella can come out one afternoon and tape while I work. After I put the camera away Toss got back on track and worked very nice. His forwardness is going to be a blessing as we approach the distances that Open is going to throw our way. He was a big boy today and work off whistles very well. Once he realized I was on the ball, he drove nicely and flanked lovely much of the time. He is such a funny dog in a drive. He is so forward and wants to just push, push, push. He knows he is to walk, so he does this big, powerful walking stride. He does not lie down on his stop whistle while walking behind the sheep. He prefers to stay on his feet. He does lie down most of the time when I ask him to stop flanking. I really like working Toss. He was a long wait, and we had so many, many frustrating sessions, weeks, months, and years!! I'm glad I waited him out and I'm thankful I had a trainer who saw Toss' potential years before I did! He's a hell of a dog on the field, and a delightful dog to own. :-)

Fluff Balls!

2010-01-12T12:08:00.014-05:00

This is my little button, Rose. This past week she has bonded with me in some kind of way!! She is the littlest of the group, by a good amount, but she is a pistol, and she is the most personable. She already looks right thru me when I talk to her! It's almost creepy when a puppy of this age looks at you with such intelligence! When I play with the pups every evening, she is with me the whole time. She is a hard core playing pup, but if I'm in there with them, she is by my side.

The babies love their big "sister", Maddie. Maddie has been wonderful with them. In some of the pictures it may look like she's being rough, but I assure you she's not. She is 100% appropriate and plays down to their level.

"Hi Brock"

Henry and I think Rose.

Awww... Maddie and Henry

Nora and one of the boys, I think Henry.

Pretty girl, Nora. Nora is Dylan's favorite. She is the most independent of the group.

I remember Gwen looking like this.

John.

Oops, I guess that one got in here twice.

John.

John. He's such a handsome boy. He is more independent than Henry, but still very personable. Both boys have some good bone and should be pretty good size boys. It's clear now they are all going to be fully coated.

John

Henry.

Henry is more personable than John right now. When I sit in with them and play Rose is always with me, and I typically end up with a lot of Henry and Grace.

Henry does a lot of soaking everything in. He is going to be a thinker, that's evident already.

Grace, the polar bear cub- or baby seal.

Whata face!

I like Grace's attitude. She's in the personable circle and she is quite full of herself!

Return To The Midwest?

2010-01-08T12:53:00.006-05:00

We're from Wisconsin. Ben spent 13 years of his life in MN and 7 years of his life in WI. MN/WI, same difference. He grew up in urban/suburban areas. In each home they had a nice yard and maybe a cat or 2, but they did not ever have to be outside in -20 with snow drifts against the barn doors 4' high. However, I did. I grew up on a horse farm that was close to 90 acres in North West Wisconsin- an hour or so directly East of Minneapolis/St Paul, MN. We had our own show horses, brood mares, and foals that were sold each summer. Additionally, we had horses in for boarding. In my teens we cared for 20-30 horses year round. We had show horses that came into box stalls every night and were fed grain and wonderful hay every morning and evening. We had broodmares that started the same routine in February/March. We had "pasture horses" that were that, pastured. During the winter months they were fed hay under a lean to attached to the main barn and let into tie stalls for grain. The main barn was an old dairy barn. The dairy stalls my father made into tie stalls for the pasture horses. There were 10, maybe 12. Their front feet stood in packed clay, but the rest of their body was over concrete. They had wonderful mangers that held their feed buckets and flakes of hay. He made the stalls so the manure fell into the same manure "ditch" that the dairy cows used. It was just wide enough for a pick fork. The milk parlor was converted into our feedroom. My Dad had built a huge feedbin that held probably a ton of feed that was a custom blended sweet feed mixture. The mixture changed throughout the seasons, which dictated how much of what ingredient the horses needed. The feedroom also contained the well, which was heat taped, and heat lamped for several months of the year. All the water spickets were also wrapped in heat tape. Hoses were drug out, and then returned into the cemented laundry room with a drain, twice a day from early December until at least mid-February. There was probably less hose dragging as my brother and I got older and we could carry 2, 5 gallon buckets of water at a time... The pasture horses stock tanks all had electric heaters. I can remember my Dad had build plywood covers for the tanks so the horses could not pull out/knock out the heaters. The pasture horses were the true indicators of the weather. If it was cold enough, wet enough, dangerous enough- the pasture horses were kept in their tie stalls overnight. The visual remembrance of the pasture horses being kept in is horses coated with icicles. Ice on every exposed hair- eye lashes, nose whiskers, manes, tails, and balls of ice dangling from their fetlocks! We had metal "shedding brushes" that would be used to scrape off the ice. Even more of memory is my fathers own exposed hairs being covered in ice! Namely, his beard and mustache! We lived off a good size driveway. I'm not sure how long, but several hundred hundred yards anyway. The county would come and plow, but to wait on them would often mean days of being "snowed in". (although I can remember times when there was no choice but to wait for the professional sized equipment) My Dad would plow the barn yard and the driveway- many times in the dark. He and the good 'ol "classically aged" tractor- which may or may not be in the mood to fire right up... I don't have to think very hard to remember his rose-red, ice covered face! The things we did to simply make it until the next day on a farm in the mid-west!! We heated with a combination of wood and oil, but I don't remember relying on the oil very much. The wood was found, cut down, cut apart, split, loaded, unloaded, stacked, and hauled in by our 8 hands. Sometimes there was an additional pair of hands, but I don't remember that happened too often. We cut the firewood from our own acreage of woods. The woods was low-lying, so to go out and cut, split, and stack during the "un-frozen" times of the year was not doable. The only time we could get out there with the tractor and F250 was when the ground was good and frozen. It was a weekly event, and as a kid it was a miserable task. As an adult I only see the values it taught me. To be heating in the same manner now would please me beyond words!!! Of course as a kid I only saw the reasons it was a bummer. But what I remember as an adult is all of us being together, working to support ourselves. I remember the brush fires with roasted hotdogs and baked beans. I remember the laughable moments and I appreciate what having to be out there or be cold instilled in me as an adult- I don't remember it as being miserable. In fact I'm envious. I wish my own kids could look back on such experiences. I can remember times the drifts of snow were so deep and high that my brother and I could make snow caves several rooms deep and wide. I can remember drifts high enough that had you jumped from the roof of the hay barn, it would have only been several feet! I can remember cars that had been plugged in all night (southerns don't even know what that means) still wouldn't start in the morning. I can remember the barn cats having a heat light (and they were not pampered at all, so for them have been granted a heat light...), I can remember having to go inside to change gloves/mittens half way thru evening chores because the pair you had on were too crusted with ice to provide any kind of protection during the remainder of your chores. Then after the frozen tundra came the MUD....

Would we ever go back? I don't know. It is such a beautiful area of the country and provides both wonderful pasture and "livestockfeeding" croplands (ie corn, alfalfa) with terrain ranging from near flat, to gorgeous rolling hills. Somedays I think yes, somedays, not so much. My parents have moved to Northern Arizona, so being close to them in pretty much out. We can't afford land out that direction. The rest of my family is the same area I grew up. Ben's family is the same MN area he grew up. To move back to that area would mean we were 90 minutes from everyone but my parents. Land is reasonable. Land there, vs. land here on the east coast is pasture, or pasture/woods combination. Here it is either expensive crop land or all woods that needs to be cleared; a 50 acre farm that's mostly pasture is pretty much non-existent. Here, we deal with the summer misery of heat. We deal with parasites for both dogs and farm animals that never get "froze out" and really take a hold during the hot and humid months- sometimes regardless of how much we deworm and deflea!! But, we do not have to build barns and buildings for our animals that protect against the sub-zero temperatures, and we do not have to "feed" our livestock for as many months. It's all about trade-off and personal choice. We give up dealing with the sub-zero, but in turn have to deal with the summer months of 100 degrees and 98% humidity for weeks and months- not just a few days here and there. The mid-west has "house bound" months, and the south has it's "house bond" months- but they are at opposite ends of the year!! In one area you are miserable outside from Jan-March. In another area you are miserable outside from June-August....

We've been in the southeast for a long time now, but the hot and humid summers are still no less to bear, and are dreadful. Something in my gut says we will end up back in the mid-west! As I age I miss my family. I know the family that is there are not going anywhere. I miss the cold, and I miss the snow. I miss the weather that reminds you just where exactly you stand in the universe! I believe I have come to the conclusion that I would rather deal with the winter than deal with the miserable summers of the south east. 20 below does not last as long as 100 and humid. Although it can be difficult, making livestock comfortable and viable during the short lived 20 below is possibly more manageable than the several hot/humid/parasite infested summer months of the south east...

The midwest seems very compatible to what I want from life. I want to have livestock, largely to produce our own meat, but also as a small source of income. I want to have enough land to train stockdogs to the top level. I would like to have a garden large enough to produce the non-meat staples.

Busy Week

2010-01-07T21:34:00.002-05:00

Wow! Can't believe it's Thursday night already! It's been a busy week and I'm pretty exhausted. I did work the dogs on Sunday and they all did well. Kit did really well on her sends. She didn't make a single mess and stayed off them very nicely. I'm really excited about her progress on outruns. She does so nicely with everything else. She has a solid stop, reliable flanks (including off balance), short distance driving with flanks (including inside), and pens very, very nicely. Once she has a nice outrun she will really be a very useful dog and I would guess, fun to trial. Toss did a really nice job with only whistles. He's been such a good boy over the last 6 months or so. He's really matured and not that I didn't like him before, but he has really become so enjoyable to work. He is really a cool dog to own, and to have him coming along so nicely on sheep is a good feeling. I did what I said I wouldn't and I played with Ivy. I let her work the geese. It had it's good moments. Her and Kit are both in heat now. I worked with Deal and shed work. She's doing better. She has to learn to watch me a little more, so she knows where to come in. I'm not always really great either. Sometimes it all feels right, and sometimes I really have to think about which hip I'm turning in, which hand I'm calling them thru with, and which hand I need to have the stick in... I may get a shedding video so I can see it over and over again... I just need to do it right a hundred times- or so. Cruz got to work the geese and was in his glory. Birds and cows. They make him smile. :-)

The babies are ADORABLE and really a lot of fun right now. They are very clean puppies and are basically "potty training" themselves. They have been on 2 of those indoor rugs with the rubber on the bottom. I wasn't going to add newspaper until I needed to. Gwen kept it so clean, I didn't need the newspaper. The rugs are washable, so it has been a perfect "floor". This week I started putting newspaper at just one end of their puppy area and they only potty there. They quickly learned this week that their little routine is to be let out of their puppy home and into the entire kitchen while I make dinner the minute I walk in the door from work. They are a riot and have a total ball. By the time dinner is made I have 5 pooped-out pups! :-) They are all fireballs and into everything! They're all going to have coat and are unbelievably cute! I'll get some pictures of them tomorrow. Hopefully it won't be too ugly tomorrow so I can play with everybody outside and have a fun day off. I need it!

Ooookaaay....

2010-01-03T10:41:00.003-05:00

If we're going to have Mid-West temperatures, then I want Mid-West snow!!! Blah!! It's not even 30, and the wind is whipping so the temp feels more like about 18. News said the next few nights we'll have inland lows in the single digits. Not a big deal when it's the norm- it's all relative as they say, but here in the South East water lines are only buried several inches deep and our animals typically don't have the kind of shelters that do much for the cold. They are mostly shelters for sun in the summer and to simply come in out of the rain if they choose to. My dogs now have a 3 gallon horse bucket for water up here by the house so I can keep it ice free. They normally have an 80 gallon stock tank, but I dumped it Friday evening before running the dogs with the 4 wheeler. (I didn't want them jumping in it, thus being wet shortly before being put in their insulated, but not heated kennel building). Refilling the tank Saturday morning was a no-go as the house was froze. (I can remember having to haul the hoses into the laundryroom in the basement when I was kid in WI) At least the sheep don't drink a lot. If I just keep breaking the ice the 80 gallon tank will remain full enough until the hoses can be used again (I'm figuring). The couple years that I had horses I would have to re-fill the tank via 5 gallon buckets. Back in the good 'ol days I could carry 2 at a time. That's a little harder now... I need to check the goose pool as I forgot to ask one of the boys to do that for me yesterday.

I hope the wind will die down some later on so I can work Cruz, Deal, Gwen, and Toss in the big field today. Even if it's just a couple sends with flank work on the fetch line. I'm really, really going to try and hit some spring trials this year with the above dogs. Cruz is still one-foot-in-front-of-other, but to say he has lots of trial years left is probably being a bit overly optimistic. (although I tend to be pessimistic, so maybe it's really not...) Once the lambs are all born I will have more sheep and can really start working on Deal's shedding. All she needs to understand is that she needs to come in where I feel the split needs to be, and that none of the sheep are misbehaving, so no need for the occasional bite. She's a control freak, so even though she really does come thru nice on a shed, she still feels the sheep are "screwing up" by being in 2 locations, so they must be "told" they are wrong... She's getting it though. It's best to do early shed work on a large group so the dog can work each group that's kept back. The light bulb seems to come on sooner. So until my sheep group is built back up I'm rather limited with that. All my dogs can work a single really good at least! LOL! Toss is coming along on his whistles, but I feel like he's still waiting for the verbal back-up. Soooo today I am going to keep my mouth shut. I'm going to keep the work simple so he is right and he is close at hand, but he will only hear whistles... My voice is near becoming a crutch for him. Gwen just needs easy, but long drive work. Building her confidence. She has been wonderful the last two times out. She's going to be a quick student with shed work. She likes to hold sheep, and is almost too respectful of their bubble, yet she comes right thru when I asked- and like a bullet. Ella had Wren here a few days ago. She did a nice job. She is really a blend of her parents on sheep, so Ella has a very nice young dog! She is fast on her short sends, but she had wonderful, wonderful pace and feel for the sheep on a fetch. I had them do some corner work, kinda thinking that it was insecurity of closely covering sheep that was causing the rushing during a send. I was pleasantly surprised when she quietly and easily went into the corner both ways- no rushing, tail down. What's interesting is that at first Ella didn't say anything, just let her work off her body language. Wren was quiet and relaxed. Then the first time that she nicely gave her a flank, Wren rushed in... Her father is the same way on an outrun! Cruz is an honest dog, so typically he can be out while people (and me) work dogs all day and you never have to tell him a second time to stay close and out of the way. The couple rare times he has thought he was sneaking off to sheep he has done beautiful outruns. Carol and I went ahead and let him "sneak" off a time or two and both of us looked at each other like "where did that dog come from?" So I have tried to invent ways to send him, by not sending him... I almost have to let him question the send- then he uses his brain. If I send him, he just flys. (Oh to have him again as a 2 year old knowing what I do now...) Shhhsshh'ing (even gently) him does not work, that's still a send to him. He is such an incredibly honest dog, that what I've been doing lately is simply stepping to the side and letting him drift off- kind of letting him go on his own. (not something you could do with a lot of dogs) I have also tried sending him, then stopping him a short way out, making him stay put for a few, then giving him a whistle. This reminds him of outrun training where I would stop him, run out part way, and then make him get out. So that's pretty much what I get- which is nice, but then I'm taking a redirect hit right off the bat.... So I really don't want that to be our method. Age is on my side in some sense. He can still go like a rocket, but he is becoming more and more okay with not. But stepping to the post at a trial always gives him that extra octane boost, so that's not a reliable method either. LOL!

So that's the plan for today. At least the sun is out. I think I'll just leave Ivy be for today. She was quite nice when Ella was here, but now she's in heat. She did not come in last year, so this is the first time her hormones have been all amuck, and I'm just not even going to go that route.

The puppies are beautiful and doing great. They are getting to the fun age now. I bought them a couple little toys yesterday. I found a clearance panda bear that's about the size of 2 puppies. :-) Their favorite though is one of my boot socks. They are still such a quiet group in the sense of never complaining. When they see you now they are all at the baby gate, tails wagging! They love attention and being played with.

Well, off to make a promised a brunch for the boys. Ben left yesterday and won't be back until July. :-(

First Attempt

2009-12-31T13:41:00.003-05:00

My parents sent Ben and I money for Christmas. I spent mine on the Adobe Elements 8.0. I was pretty frustrated at first, but I'm finally starting to get it. It's hard when you're a person who has little to no patience with yourself when it comes to learning something new.

Four Weeks (tomorrow)

2009-12-29T11:03:00.007-05:00

Nora is going to be so pretty, and quite dark. She was the shyest of the group today when I took them out of their "home" and onto this blanket in the livingroom. She didn't cry, but she pretty much just kept still.
Whata pretty face.

I think she could melt just about any heart!

Mr. Handsome, John.

John sporting his profile and his typical position- just sitting and taking it all in.

John on his feet.

Do they get more handsome?

I am Sooooo drawn to this pup! Everytime I look in on them he is the pup I see, and as soon as he knows I'm around, he never takes his eyes off me! It's definitely love at first sight for me! He has such an intelligent look. I get way to excited about him when he looks at me like that!

The picture says John and Rose, but it's actually Henry and Rose. They are easy to tell apart if you can see their body, or if you can see both of their faces, but when it's just one face it's hard.

Cutie Pie Rose, already doing the little "Gwen Tilt".

Rose is going to be the Gwen clone like Ivy was 2 years ago. She is the most petite of the litter. If she were to stay, only my closest friends would know that Gwen, Ivy, and Rose were not the same one dog! LOL!

Henry and Rose. I like Henry a lot too. I got very shots of him because he would keep crawling over to me.

Henry and Rose again.

See? There's John looking at me again! I can't take it- I just want to carry him around in a little pouch with me all day long!! I'm hopelessly in love!!

The crew. Henry, Grace, Rose, John, and Nora.

Grace.

Typical Grace- off exploring, tail curled right up. She is full of herself and freely speaks her mind. If Grace is pissed, we all know it!!

Pretty girl, Grace. She is white, but wow, what a beautiful dog she is going to be. She is bold pup as well. She is going to be really cool looking with all the ticking she's going to get, her black rimmed eyes, black feet, black ears, and what looks like the prettiest head ever. All the pups will have coat, you can tell that now.

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Names:

I forgot all about the idea of naming 2 of the girls after the wife and daughter Doles that are buried in the woods by the pond we visit often. It is quite likely they lived right here in this house. Ben's Mom reminded him I was going to do that when he called her on Christmas... I know one was Louise Byrd and the boys seem to think that the other was Elizabeth. So if the girls suddenly have different names, that is why. When I had researched the names, I found out which one was the wife and that husband was Julian. Gotta get outside and enjoy this sunshine!

Saturday's Work

2009-12-27T19:34:00.018-05:00

Mama Deal. Such a strong working dog, who has made great strides at becoming a team player I wasn't sure she would be. At a young age she was very willful, and we did not always see eye to eye. Talented from the beginning, and dead serious since roughly 12 weeks old. She is now nearly fully trained and will be ready to run in Open this spring. She has a wonderful, scopey type of outrun. Because of her eye, early in her training she had a tendency to curl in or check up on the lift. Now, she nearly always corrects herself, or freely takes a small flank whistle at the lift and does beautifully.

The photos below are of her nicely giving me an inside flank while driving the ewes down the fenceline. You can see in the first photo how her eye is curling her in slightly. The 2nd photo is her response to one quick away bump on the whistle. :-) Deal is a confident working girl who stands her ground and never stalls out or dives in. With age and experience she has learned patience. Early in her training she had little patience for stock that was not behaving as she felt they should. Her patience still needs just a bit more development during shed work. She has come a long way with this skill, and hopefully over the winter it will be fully developed! :-)

Saturday Deal and I worked on fine tuning whistle work and coming thru the sheep without the use of teeth. The field big was WAY too wet and it was full of hunters shooting away.

The weather was crappy on Saturday, but I refused to stay inside on yet another one of my day's off. I put the camera on auto because it was go from part sun to misting in a matter minutes all day long. So some of the pictures aren't too bad, and some are pretty gray. None are that great, but it was fun anyway. :-)

Ms. Gwen doing one of her famous stop-so-fast-I-roll-over moves! She is the most incredibly responsive dogs I have ever known. She is not at all freaky sensitive, but wow do you hardly have to ask her for something and you have it while the sound is still coming out of your mouth/whistle. She is like what I expect driving a 6 figure sports car would be like.

I love this dog, I love this dog, I love this dog! LOL! She is my absolute favorite to work and own. She is all heart and only stockwork makes this otherwise, goodtime-girl serious. She was a fun dog to start, and in hindsight I pushed her too much during that 10-15 month age. Thanks largely in part to my mentor, I backed way off when she was about 2, only going forward again this past summer. Gwen was a natural outrunner and was naturally square on her flanks. There is always a trade off, and the trade off was her getting bogged down on the drive. She would keep on if the stock kept on, but if they stalled, so did she. This was really only an issue because I asked for too much distance too soon. After backing off and building some more confidence up close and learning of a couple great tips given to me by my mentor that another top Open handler has had to do with her dogs, we are well on our way.

Saturday was a great session with Gwen. It was honestly the freest she has been on her drive work. As I mentioned, we couldn't work in the big field, and the small field here at home has a lot of pressure. I wasn't sure if I was even going to do any drive work with her, but she took to it great. I did a little corner work with her as well. Learning to relax and be confident in close/tight spaces is helping her drive work quite a lot. Having 3 week old pups doesn't seem to have set her back one single bit- mentally or physically.

Toss man worked like a grown dog on Saturday! LOL! He was able to contain his adrenaline and use his brain. Toss is a lot of dog, and when he's not using his head, things can get very fast, and rather spread out very quickly. Toss is learning to flank without leaning on sheep and to down shift sooner rather than later when asked.

Saturday's session mostly centered around whistle work, as I feel like getting him solid on his whistles is all that's keeping him from the Ranch level of trialing. His outrun work is wonderful, and he is very reliable on his stop at the top. His pace is rather quick on the fetch, but I'm okay with that. He is going in the right direction with pace and learning to read his stock better. Actually I think he has always read stock fine, it was simply that his exuberance over-powered his brain. He will flank nicely on the fetch or during the drive, needing fewer and fewer reminders to get off his sheep during the flank. He is beginning to listen for whistles and yesterday I started asking him for off balance flanks via the whistle and he did quite well.

Kit is going to end up working quite a lot like Toss. She is not as much dog to handle as Toss, but her working style is very much Toss. She is quite straight forward and confident. She has finally become mentally mature enough to take on real training. She was very slow to mature like Toss. She was immature in a softer sense, where Toss was immature in an intense way.

Kit covers nicely and has a good stop. Since she works like Toss, she will be a natural take to distance driving. She already has a stop, flanks, and inside flanks at a short distance in a drive with very little training. The flipside to that is she is going to take some work to put an outrun on. Toss was the same way- however once he could run about 75 yards from my feet he could immediately run 150 yards from my feet.... Now he is a very reliable outrunner. He is 2nd only to Gwen at spotting sheep, and rarely does he need an adjustment on his outruns of 200-250 yards. He will occasionally need to be reminded to stay off his sheep on the lift. Although I can't send her far, she has a nice stop at the top and a fast but balanced fetch. I'm enjoying her more and more as she gains confidence in herself

Ivy. My little happy girl. She is so much like her mother, Gwen. She also has a lot of heart, but was not as early-on keen as Gwen and I kind of stepped on her toes a little bit. I had to simply take her completely off sheep for several months. Again my mentor saved me and another dog by telling me I needed to back off and only do what's fun for her. I did that a few times and saw the light come back on. Yesterday was the first day in quite a long while since I have "played" with her out of the little paddock where I had been simply letting her cover the sheep. In the small area the sheep kept moving, so she would not hit the dirt and stick. I was a little scared taking her out of the paddock and into the bigger area where the sheep will settle and Ivy will lock up. I thought about this a lot and realized she is doing in a fetch what Gwen was doing in a drive. So I did the same thing to free up Ivy, and it worked. Will she ever fully mature out of this? Only time will answer that. She did very little of the photo above and seemed very, very keen to work. Like her mother she is a natural outrunner and square flanking pup. Gwen's reward for working hard on drive work that is slightly out of her comfort zone is to be sent to pick the sheep up, Ivy's reward for pushing the sheep forward when she'd really rather lock up is for me to step to the side so she can flank around them. It seems to be paying off. One of the most important and most easily forgotten thing about (at least mine) young Border Collies on stock is that they aren't trying to be wrong, so punishing them for not doing what you're expecting is really only taking your relationship in the wrong direction. And depending on the severity of your unfairness and the sensitivity of your dog, your relationship may never recover from being unfair and impatient. Your job as a trainer is to somehow (comfortably) get the behavior you want and then show them that is the behavior you desire. I have to admit I nearly ruined my relationship with Ivy several months ago by basically saying "you ARE going to get on your feet when I tell you to"... It wasn't fun for either of us, so what the hell was I doing? I was frustrated. (and disappointed) I let that emotion take over. I didn't want to have to handle her in what I considered kid gloves while she went thru some kind of funky stage (because she didn't do the belly thing as a year old pup)... Her reaction? "You suck, and I don't think I want to play with you". Justified. I did suck and I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful friend who has been around so much longer than I have and isn't afraid I'm not going to want to hear what she has to say when she knows she is right, but I probably won't see that for awhile yet... And this is one of those cases. She told me to make it fun, take the pressure off. I told her I wasn't putting any pressure on her, for goodness sake she doesn't even have a stop or flanks... That wasn't the point... So while I was soaking that in, and doing some soul searching (some dog related, some not) I decided to just put her "away" and be her friend away from sheep. When I did start playing with her again I did as my friend said and put her in an area where the sheep would be more "exciting". This also meant we were not working sheep in the same area where I was completely unfair to her. I love Ivy, and she is such a delightful, friendly, good natured girl. She is really just a baby, and I need to remember that.

Emma worked for a short time on Saturday and it will be the last time for at least a month. She has her grandmother's eye and I could not get her to cover. She just wanted to walk in and hold them against the fence, and if I let her go while they were in the middle of the field she would rush in and put them everywhere (because she wasn't casting around) then fearlessly try her best to right her mess. She is still fearless towards the sheep, but her response to my body language trying to get her to cover was to be intimated. She's keen, and that's all we need for now. If I can stand it, I really should wait another 3 months.

Cruz is such a man. Words just can't say it. He reads my mind and he reads situations like no dog I know. He is forever my "puppy helper" lending an eye and maybe some coverage from time to time while I work young dogs. I swear he learns each pup and as they mature he knows he can give them more and more "room for error". I also swear he knows my dogs names, and remembers who needs what kind of coverage. He lay up by the barn while I work a young dog and if the sheep start darting his way, he is on his feet ready to hold them off the barn for the young dog. Yet he can be in the same place and the sheep do the exact same thing with a more seasoned dog, and just stays put.... His stock sense is something I have yet to see in another of my dogs. He can handle everything and do it with that quiet power. He is never too much, and I have never seen him take a step backwards... His true skill is handling sheep that want to fight. He has that "baa-ram-you" gift. He will bite, but he usually doesn't. He has this gift that tells him just exactly where to step, where to look, when to bite, and when to back off. That's not training, that's just what God gave him. I have seen him so many times change a stubborn sheep's mind without ever having to lay a tooth. I feel like sheep trust and respect him. Trial sheep generally like him and that makes things like penning and chute work a whole lot easier! He is truly my once-in-a-lifetime dog. My only "regret" is that I didn't have him as a pup 5 years later. Although had I had another dog for my first Border Collie I would probably be writing a very different story. I owe Cruz more than I will ever be able to repay him!!! The photo above is the new ewe in my group and she had decided she was going to have a go at turning around, stomping, and even throwing her head down. Cruz, true to form simply said "just move along, it's really nothing to get your panties in a wad about..."

Names and Rambling

2009-12-25T11:07:00.005-05:00

I'm going to go ahead and send in the ABCA form the pups and put them all in my name since I am going to keep them all until they are 4-5 months. I'll train 3 pretty far along with the idea of selling 1 of the 3 as a nicely going young dog. Here are the names I'm going to use.

* Grace

* Rose

* Nora

Since I have already once had a "Grace" I will probably use Grace for the white female, as I doubt I will keep her- although it's not out of the question. If she is a superstar, then here she'll stay despite her color. She is already getting lots of freckles, so she won't be "Snow White" for long. She is going to be a beautiful dog, you can see that already. Nora will be the darkest female, as I like that name the best and right now I'm quite drawn to the darkest girl. I like the 3rd female too, but she is going to look nearly like Ivy, and keeping Ivy and Gwen straight now is hard enough! LOL! I told Ivy this morning she looks more like her mother each month as she is heading into full adulthood.

*John

*Henry

I like both names. Although it's kinda funny since it's John-Henry... I am SO drawn to both of the males, and typically my bond history with males is better than with the females. "C" boy seems to be seeking me out, and he is the outgoing pup in the litter. The 2nd male has the prettiest head and the most perfect, even marking on his face (not that either matter). He is a doer also, but he is pretty laid back. Although now I tend to want the most outgoing, biggest personality in the bunch, that is not what was picked for me with Cruz.... Cruz was a middle of the road pup. I'm so excited about these babies and forming bonds with them. By the time they are ready to start work my little flock will be well into good numbers and I won't be breeding every ewe I own. My plan this year for the 4 likely lambs is to leave one ram, band any others. Next year I will put that with 3 ewes. Of those lambs, no ram-lamb will be left unbanded. The following year I will be able to start turning over ewes and/or selling some lambs. While Ben is gone I plan to extend the sheep area.

I have made some hard decisions to move along the dogs I am not working a lot. As I mentioned Mary Jane is going to a lovely home in PA. Clare and Logan are going to what sounds like a super home, also in PA to a woman that trains working GSDs and would like to start herding with a Border Collie. She owns a bordering kennel as well. Clare will be her herding partner, as well as a house companion. Logan may or may not stay with her, but she will put a good foundation of work on him (be it herding, obedience, agility) and then properly home him. This is if the man in NW Virginia backs out on taking Logan. A co-worker has said he will take the two hounds shortly after the first of the year. He hunts on 30 acres and is going to build a small kennel on his house property. If the gentleman in Virginia takes Logan, I may see if the woman in PA that's taking Clare would be interested in Kit. Kit's a fun dog that would be fantastic at agility. She's nice on stock. She needs more time up close, but she is going to finish out nicely. I like her a lot, she just isn't "my type" on sheep. She works like Toss- straight on. Many compeditive people like this. They don't stall out, and they enjoy driving. I like a bit more natural outrunner, and a dog that's a bit more gifted in "feel". I'd rather work on developing confident driving skills than teach an outrun. It's taken me many years and dogs to learn what I want, and now that I do, I need to try to get my dog "population" back down to where I can properly work each one, and can afford to do something more than just feed and maintain them. (anyone care to know how much de-worming (even when it is the sheep and goat safeguard) and flea crap costs for 14 dogs? Or how many pounds per day of food they eat?) I sold Mary for a lot less than she is worth, but in doing that I was able to be picky about where she went, and put her into the price-bracket of real farmers- which is where I wanted her to go. I held out for what felt right for her, and the family in PA is perfect! Same holds true for Clare. Is she a nice dog? Yes. Will she be a nice working dog? Yes. Does she have a personality that will allow her to transition to a new home if the owner is knowledgeable? Yes. Clare is going to this woman for very, very little money- but like with Mary, that allowed me to say no to people that would not meet Clare's needs. Clare is very talented on sheep, but she is quite soft in my hands. She is going to be perfect for someone with some herding skills, and takes weekly lessons, but is not as far along as me- thus putting less "handler pressure" on her. This woman has worked with everything from abused English Shepherds to the the hardheaded, driven working lined GSDs and done a spectacular job at both ends of the spectrum. (she sent me oodles of videos) The woman in PA will not get Clare's ABCA papers for the price she's paying until proof of spay has been sent. And it's likely Logan will simply not be registered. If she were to take Kit it would be the same deal as with Clare.

I feel good about the homes these dogs have lined up, and I feel it is the best for all of us. Jim can't go anywhere, as making a transition even to an educated handler would be overwhelming to him. And due his reactions of fear, I could never in good conscience re-home him.

Well, it's noon now, so it's time to go outside for awhile, as it's as warm as it's going to be I'm sure. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer. I had heard rain, but now it doesn't say rain for tomorrow, it has it for today. It's quite "dreary" out, but it's not windy and it's not raining.... Maybe I can get a few pictures of the new little ram-lamb. :-)

Here Comes Trouble...

2009-12-25T10:06:00.007-05:00

Smile...

2009-12-22T20:19:00.003-05:00

Things for me to smile about today....

*Sunday evening I was kinda bummed that we didn't have any Christmas lights or decorations up again this year. (we didn't last year due to living/dining room destruction/construction). Monday night I came home from a frustrating day at work to a fully decorated house complete with lit reindeer on the porch roof! :-) Thanks to my hubby and kids! :-)

*Monday after work I figured even a Charlie Brown tree wasn't doable- I'd waited too long. I went to the hardware store across from work (we didn't have any live trees left). They had.... 2! Both were "orange tags"- meaning they were $46. trees! Ummm, let's go with.... No-can-do! I said to the guy (owner- family owned store) I can't do a $46 tree. He said $35. I loitered a bit, but ended up saying no. I turned to go and he said "25 bucks". I said "okay!" :-) It is a lovely tree, nicely groomed and even, yet narrow- just what we needed. :-)

*"My" first lamb was born today. When I went out before work to check on/feed the girls the one I knew was going to go first was toting around a water bag. (yet trotting around bleating for her breakfast!) Tonight when I got home there was a perfect Dorper ram-lamb. He was warm and dry and mama was talking back to him, so all things look right. I walked the paddock with the flashlight just to make sure there was not a twin somewhere. They are 1st year ewes, and she was not huge in the belly, so I was not expecting twins. I fed the girls their pellets in the barn and closed the gate to the barn. Better for the new baby; better for first time mama. It is cold for Virginia- overnite lows in the high 20's. He wouldn't last long if he got "lost".

*My husband loves me and his only request from me is that I return that love.

*Jobs. Ben and I both have good jobs that aren't going anywhere and that for the most part we are both quite happy going to each day.

*Health Care. Ben's military benefits cover us all, 100%- for less than a week's worth of lunches.

*My kids. Talented, bright, healthy, caring, handsome, little men. :-)

*My dogs. All of them. They are a huge part of who I am, and I would be lost without them. They have shown me dedication, love, grit, and heart I would not otherwise know!!! I owe them so much. There are many, many things I could do without in this world, but my dogs aren't one of them!! It's actually gut wrenching to think about the things I would give up to keep my dogs!

*My family. I have the best, most loving family- both immediate and extended. I have a Mom, a Dad, a Brother, a sister-in-law, a cousin, and a mother-in -law that would take me, Ben, my kids, and as many dogs as possible at the drop of a hat.

*Cruz. Yes, I already mentioned my dogs. Cruz goes above and beyond.

*Cruz's kin. I have Ivy, Emma, and 5 new bundles of wonder- all hoping to half fill his shoes!

Blessed? Lucky? Yes. Maybe.

No Work All Play

2009-12-20T16:58:00.015-05:00

Clare
Charlie and Deal
Some of ya get snow for Christmas....

....we get mud!

Did someone say mud? Gwen and Edge sporting the Border Collie's favorite accessory!

Smell that?

Happy Ivy!

Clare joins the mud club.

Kit thinks just a sprinkling of mud is the better look.

Clare disagrees.

So does Deal!

And Edge? Well he thinks those youngsters don't know what a good mudcake really looks like! Sure am glad Charlie's sheets were in the wash today! LOL! Thank goodness for smooths!

The sun poked out, so I had to take a couple more. I love how his eyes shine in the sun.

Pretty girl Hattie. She doesn't think girl Walkers should be covered in mud.

My Wicked Girl, Emma.

Sweet Boy Logan.

Toss Man!! :-)

Trouble...

Haaapppyyy!

Hi Gwen! :-)

She looks great for being 17 days post-pups! :-)

"Help, my sister is trying to eat me!!"

"See? She's doing it again!"

"Maybe she'll be afraid of my grizzly bear face!"

Kit

Mary

Spectator, Hattie. It was about 40, very very wet, but sunny so the trampoline was a smart place to watch all the Border Collie nonsense!

Kit and Gwen

Mary

Ivy

Deal and Brock

Ivy (see her breath?)

Yee-ha Jimmy!! :-)

Happy Jim!

I laughed when I saw this picture!

When I edited this photo I couldn't figure out what was across his body. Then I figured out it was his breath! Kinda wild.

Jim, doing the canine version of a sliding stop and a rollback all in one motion!

Jim can haul some serious ass!

Ivy

Clare

Ivy

Gwen

Eat Right and Work Out

2009-12-19T19:57:00.002-05:00

I haven't been doing either for about 6 months and it shows... As some of you may know I recently lost the near 50 pounds I had gained in a matter of 4 years or so. Being only 5'2", 50 pounds is considerable, in either a gain or loss. I had actually gotten a size smaller than I was when we got married. Most of my size 4 jeans I can still wear, but my 2 pair of "rock star" size 4's are pretty much off limits right now. I've been avoiding the scale, but finally stepped on the Wii step today and sure enough I've gained 9.9lbs since I last played this summer... It's not a shock, but I'm mad at myself. I worked so hard and was so careful for so long, but have gotten less concerned about what I'm eating each day, and now it shows. Ben had bought both the Wii Active and the Wii Golds Gym for me quite some time ago. I played it today and both are very fun. The Wii Active has several different ways to play and should last a really long time before becoming "stale". The Golds Gym starts out with boxing and was quite fun. I started the 30 day plan on the Active and started with the low intensity and dang if it still didn't have me feeling it afterwards. I guess at my age, just moving around (quickly) nearly all day is not enough when you want to be in shape and probably 2 sizes smaller than most would be content with. So I've revamped my work-out and eating plan and will be in perfect bikini shape again this summer when Ben returns from deployment. Looking good makes me feel good, so what's the harm? I need to once again turn my mental calorie counter on so I'm not over doing the calories. The good news is that I like fish and salads- but I hate making salads. Produce always seems to go bad so quickly, and to make a salad night after night gets tiresome. Maybe I can find some low calorie recipes online. Once I'm in the routine, I really do enjoy working out. I very much like how I feel afterward. I feel it is the best anti-depressant ever. So although I am disappointed in myself, I am not focusing on that. I am focusing on the fact that I am going to get back on the plan and stay there. I'm promising myself some nice clothes over the next couple paychecks if I stick to the plan. Last year I bought all new jeans and over the summer a load of tank tops, but now I have nothing to wear for this time of year. I need some new tops and my one splurge will be a new pair of cool boots. I love boots. I have lots of boots- of all kinds. I have my George Straight addition Justin's that are my everyday outside boots, boots I wear to work everyday, high heeled boots I love wearing with my jeans, etc... Many women love shoes, I'm a boot girl. My high heeled boots are actually from the Goodwill. I hit the jackpot one day and found 3 pair for like $8 a pair! My Justin's were my splurge of 2009. They were 50% off, but still expensive... But since my everyday outside boots which I loved were literally falling apart after about 4 years and many, many miles I decided they were justified. So... I'll pulling myself out of my warm bed an hour earlier than needed every day pissin' and moanin' until I'm half way thru the work out, then when I'm done I'll not only feel better, but will be back on my way to looking better. On a different note, I'm on day 2 of 3 days off. Yesterday was our last day to shop for the boys, so that's what we did. There was enough light left to run the dogs with the atv before the rain/snow started. They were all very happy to get in a good 30 minute run. It rained/sleeted all night and was miserable today. It was on and off, but even when it was "off" it was cold, windy, and way too wet to do anything. The dogs were put up and turned out in shifts today... yuck. I hope tomorrow brings better weather so we can do some things (like me working dogs) outside! One more day off yet- it feels so good. I still need to get a tree....

1850 Southampton Census

2009-12-19T14:16:00.002-05:00

Thought it would be fun to use names from the 1850 Southampton Co census. I also pulled up just the Doles (who's property and house we live in), but it doesn't leave a lot of choices.
Here's my list. (* favorites)

Females:

Grace*
Nora*
Rose*
Violet
May
Ruth*
Cora
Helen
Ada
Sarah*
__________________________________________________________________

Males:

John*
Henry*
Frank
Jesse
Philip
Calvin
Eli(jah)*
Owen*

Babies

2009-12-19T13:21:00.006-05:00

One of the girls. I think she looks like Keele.

She is the quietest of the 3 girls, but more vocal than both boys. She is the littlest of the group.
My "C" boy. His eyes weren't open yet, but he was up on all 4's movin' around!

Don't know where, but I'm going! I love this pup already!

The boys are both very burly and are vocally very quiet. They will just calmly find their way back to the group when you put them off by themselves- the girls tend to let you know they are not happy with having to worm their way back to the nest!

Do faces get any prettier?

She's white, but she sure is going to be a beautiful girl! She and the darkest females have just beautiful stops and short muzzles. Her dark skin on her feet, eyes, and nose are so pretty. She is already getting large spots on her body.

Hello!? I can smell you, but I can't see you!

2nd male, who is also very handsome.

Cloudy, but open! :-) Darkest female.

YAWN!

Too cute! :-)

Too bad mama doesn't feed us very well! They have grown and gained so much in 15 days!!

Eyes and Names

2009-12-15T21:37:00.002-05:00

Eyes are opening... first girl is "polar"- the white girl. I call her polar because she looks like a polar bear. She's so white, yet she has black feet, a solid black nose, and fully black eye liner...

Names will be presidents and first ladies.... John, Abigail, Theodore, Helen, Warren, Anna, James, Grace, Bess etc... I might have to add in revolutionary male names, because you really don't realize how many James, John presidents there have been!

Hard For Me, Best For Her

2009-12-14T21:06:00.002-05:00

The best home possible presented itself for Mary Jane. I was contacted by a family in PA that has a 100 acre meat goat farm. They were only keeping an ear out for a 2nd Border Collie, but not really looking. The home they have sounds just absolutely ideal for Mary. A farmhand/farmdog/pet. :-) Mary sounds perfect for their needs, and they seem perfect for Mary. They need a dog with a good temperament as they often have visitors, including the woman's 80 year old father who enjoys spoiling the dogs with treats. Perfect for Mary- she adores people. She will be perfect for meat goats and has more than enough talent and training to meet their farmhand needs. The woman has gotten only limited guidance with their first Border Collie, but it has been from some of the best east coast handler/trainers. Their first Border Collie (who is 5) they bought as a puppy from a very talented handler/true rancher in SD that breeds very seldom. They adore the dog. The breeder returned my email saying she would sell this family another dog in a heart beat. :-) I emailed back and forth to the woman in PA several times and then spoke to her twice on the phone. My gut says this is 100% the right choice. It's a hard one, but it's truly what's best for Mary. She deserves to be with someone who will appreciate her for all the fabulous things that she is- which are numerous!! The phrase "Bitter-Sweet" has never seemed so fitting. I will not be dry eyed during our good-bye....

Rainy Day Entertainment

2009-12-13T17:04:00.009-05:00

Not the dogs, not the computer, not the tv....

But the ferrets!!

Mmmm, what are ya thinkin' there Pyro?
Curtain Swingin' that's what she was thinkin'!!
Pyro and Boomer, Christmas for Dylan this year!

They are the funniest most clever little animals! Even with the cardboard around the pen it was FAR from ferret proof! Pyro soon learned she could jump above it and squeeze thru (since they can become not only paper thin, but have bones that apparently turn to liquid). And Boomer just simply pushed the pen away from the wall! They played and played and played for almost an hour. In the beginning they were running around doing the little "happy ferret dance"! They are an absolute joy!!

My Man

2009-12-12T23:00:00.004-05:00

Pretty spot-on fetch I'd say. :-)

Still handsome as ever!

Best part of this picture? This is with 300 zoom lens!! :-) Hoo-ray for the soybean harvest! See the little white specks out there?

Sure is nice to be able to this type of drive work! Again, this is with the zoom cranked to 300.

Hounds

2009-12-11T16:40:00.002-05:00

How does one find a good home for Walker Hound? We rescued 2 of them from the woods this summer while on vacation. They were maybe 8-10 weeks old, so that makes them roughly 7-8 months old. It was not my plan to keep them... My husband and youngest son thought otherwise. I finally got my youngest to pick ONE. He picked the female and she has spent the night on his bed for a couple months now. My youngest already has a Hound that sleeps with him, and just got part of his Christmas... we found 2 one year old ferrets, with everything, including the 4 story house (they are spayed and neutered) for $150. He has wanted a ferret for quite some time. Long story short, one child does not need two dogs and two ferrets (and the reptiles he has). I need to find the Walkers a home. My problem? I know they'll end up in a 30 dog kennel somewhere... If you are not familiar with the "hunting" practices here, they use these dogs to run deer and rabbits. Like everything, there are always the exceptions, but as a general rule these dogs are kept in big (as in numbers, not space) kennels, with little care, and then turned out to "run" during hunting season. Many end up dead and if the county picks them up, chances are the "owner" won't bother to go pick them up. I stood in the feedstore one day last season and listened to one guy bitch and complain because when he finally located the dog (they use tracking collars and receivers) she was dead in the swamp and now he was going to have to wade into the swamp to retrieve the collar. In other words it didn't mean a damn thing the dog was dead, but to lose that tracking collar was the hot topic of the day!! My other experience was 2 years ago when I called the number on a collar of a female that stayed on our porch for 3 days. Back when our property was not fenced in, we'd get them often. I learned to just ignore them and usually in a few hours they'd be on their way. This girl wouldn't leave. So I called the number. The guy says, "oh she's a young dog and didn't stay with the pack. She's been gone almost 3 weeks, I'd given up on her". Then went on to say "do you have a place for her to stay until tomorrow?" WTF?? If your dog had been missing for 3 weeks and someone is now on the phone with you saying they have the dog, would you ask if there's a place for the dog to stay until tomorrow?? Ugh! The two Walkers we have are gorgeous and true to Walker form, they have perfect temperaments. The male has a mouth when he's keyed up, but other wise they are quiet. They do not howl like Beagles do. I don't know what to do, or where to post them. I don't want anything but a good home for them. They are crate trained and have recalls, and like I mentioned the female sleeps in Dylan's room at night. I've had no problems keeping them in my fence. If there is someone that can help me, I'd sure love it! We really have a lot of "pet" dogs at the moment, so these 2 pups really, really need to go! Putting them in the local paper is my last choice as I know what their fate will be...

Please contact me at alikaycurtis@yahoo.com if you have any suggestions- or want them! :-) I told my husband he could not feel sorry for any more animals!! (I guess I'm colder than he, because I saw the pups first- mumbled to myself "poor babies"- but kept on 4 wheelin'. Ben was behind me, and stopped....)

What do you do...

2009-12-11T08:58:00.002-05:00

when you have a very talented, very perfect dog in quite honestly every way. However the two of you just don't click? You've tried for multiple years, yet it's still not there. Do you hang onto the dog because you know how talented she is, and to sell her is foolish, not to mention you'd never get what she is really worth when you add up time, training, health tests, etc... Do you put her up for sale at a price you know she'll sell and then be incredibly picky about the home? Or do you simply hang on to her? You know if you keep her she'll get worked, but probably not appreciated like she would be if she went to someone who really enjoyed working her. I don't know what to do... Right now I have 2 interested people looking at her. Both sound good for her, and one in particular sounds outstanding. It's hard when I feel a level of guilt no matter what I choose. If I keep her I'd feel a bit of guilt because I have several dogs I enjoy working, and I know she would love to be one of my favorites- and she could SO easily be someones favorite. Yet I would feel a bit of guilt if I let her go because she's 5 and has been with us since 8 weeks old.... (however she is 100% the type of personality that would go to a new, caring home without a hitch)

I'm very torn....

Right Home, Right Dog

2009-12-08T14:41:00.002-05:00

I have a few dogs that I am willing to rehome to the right owner. They are not priced to make money, however many questions will asked to ensure they are properly homed. Please contact me at alikaycurtis@yahoo.com for more information. None of these dogs need to go, and won't go to just anyone, but they are good dogs in their own right and I would love to find each of them someone who would really appreciate them. They range from pets to nearly fully trained and from 6 months to 5 years.

Six Days Old

2009-12-08T09:13:00.006-05:00

Male #1
Male #1

Male #1

Male #1 He is a brute!

Male #2

This is female #1, I hate how occasionally blogspot will just decide to randomly put my photos wherever.... Anyway, I see Ivy & Keele in this pup. She's already getting freckles...

Here is the last shot of male #2, check out the "C" on his hip- things that make you go hmmm....

Here is female #1 again. From the top and right she looks like she has a split face, but she doesn't, just a wide blaze. She was very hard to photograph. Of course they all crawl back to the huddle, but she would do it so fast that I couldn't get a picture!

Female #2. She's really going to have a pretty head with a short stop it looks like. She is a solid, compact little thing!

Female #2.

Female #2. She won't have much of that white blaze left once she's grown up. I bet she'll end up with two pieces- a little tiny white "stroke" on the top and a freckled nose. She's really going to be a beautiful girl.

And of course the little white girl. She is a bossy thing that insists she is right in the middle of the pile at all times. I've watched her pick another pup right up with her head to get where she wants.

She is also already getting freckles. I can see that her "eye liner" will be black. Her ears are going to be black (they are getting freckles) and the pads of her feet are nearly all black. I think they are all going to have very pretty heads like their older siblings. Mama is doing great and is loosing up a little bit. Ben said she happily stayed outside for almost 2 hours yesterday! She seems to have healed right up and is in wonderful spirits raising a very healthy and content litter. When the babies are 2 weeks old I'll start letting her do some light sheep work. My females are in such great shape that they have always bounced right back from motherhood. I won't take mama off my property until the pups are weaned, but I'll certainly let her go back to work in just over a week. I'm sure she would/could do it now, but there's no rush.

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All the pups will be staying with me until they are 3 months. At 3 months I may let 1 or 2 go and the others will stay with me until I can make a solid decision based on early stockwork and attitude. (I will keep either 2 or 3) You don't know a dog's full abilities at a young, young age, but you do know who they are and if you pay attention you'll have a pretty good idea of what you're going to end up with. None of my now adults have surprised me. They are very much who they were as youngsters. When I make a decision based on "stockwork" with a puppy it's much more about heart, keeness, and sense than it is actual stock work. It's not so much what he's doing, but how is he doing it. Is he thinking or just running around like a fool, or is he not doing either one? Is he keen but still aware you are there or does he forget about you entirely, or is so concerned about your presence that he won't even look at the sheep? Does something in him go "click" and every other distraction melts away, or is he just kind of ho-hum and any other kind of action will cause him to lose interest? Do you have to let him push the sheep into the corner in order to be able scoop him up and when you do he knocks you in the chin as he swings his head around to keep his eye on the sheep as you walk away, or do you simply have to open the gate so he get the heck out of there? This is what I mean. I don't care (at such a baby-age) if he casts around, I don't care if he goes up the middle, I don't care if thoughtfully stands there watching every blink and ear twitch the sheep make but never really "gets in there". All I care about is that he is keen enough that the only 3 things that matter at that time are him, the sheep, and me. (this decision isn't made after only one time, that's why having your own pups is such a blessing) I believe all of this is in the "good ones" early on. I believe you can train a mediocre dog to be pretty good. But I'd much rather guide a talented dog with a big heart, who's every fiber is about his job and love for me, than train a mediocre one who has be encouraged and babied everytime the going is remotely tough, and/or really doesn't much care if he's making me happy (only in it for himself)... There's a lot we can train, and we do. But heart.... they are either born with it, or they're not.

Feels Good.

2009-12-06T19:21:00.003-05:00

I spent nearly all day outside with my critters. We fixed up the barn for the geese, messed around with the dogs, picked up some stuff around the place, and then I worked several of the dogs in the big field. I took Ivy over to the big field and she did a good job. She stayed on her feet and was using her head- what more can I ask right now? She was quite pleased with herself and that's where I need to keep her state of mind.

These pictures are of course my "Ice Queen", Emma. She is watching Deal push the ewes out of the barn and hold them out while one of my boy's filled their feeder with hay. She is incredibly serious, and incredibly intense about sheep. She is her Grandmother, Deal. She is not puppy-ish when she's with them at all. She is confident, smart, and fearless. It is going to be very hard to keep her at bay until she's truly mature enough to be on stock!! So far I think she is awesome!!

Goose House!

2009-12-06T17:47:00.003-05:00

We decided it was easiest, and the best to simply make a goose door at one end of the barn and give one 1/3 of the barn to the geese. So they now have a 12x8' indoor shelter. :-) Ben made a hole in the panel cattle that divides the sheep and geese. The piece that he cut out to make the hole became a door. He cut the bottom 2 sections of the gate piece off so it sits about 4" off the ground for easy opening. (He left the bottom 2 (and top 2) sections of the panel with the hole so we did not need to put two posts in for a gate.)
The geese love their new house. They spent almost all afternoon in the barn! :-) This will be a wonderful place for them to sit and raise a nice size family like they tried to do this summer when I didn't have them properly housed....

During the coldest months we put that heavy duty clear plastic on the little windows to help with the draft. The open side of the barn faces south. Even during all this wet, the barn is completely dry. It's a muddy mess right in front, but inside it's 100% dry. And the mud is much improved since we put the "gutter" above the door a couple years ago. Before we put the gutter up there would be a pool of water, now it's just mud.

Insulation Is Good

2009-12-06T09:50:00.003-05:00

It's becoming winter here in Virginia. Lately if it's not cold it's rain and if it's not raining it's cold, and yesterday it was both. They fore casted snow for areas just slightly north-west of us. We are really, really saturated right now so I hope the rain will slow down a little. I'm glad they got the soybeans across the driveway ("my" 30 acre training field each winter- and twice that if I walk far enough out to utilize both fields that are separated by a dirt road) up a week ago, because now the ground is so wet it will be quite awhile before they can take their equipment back to the fields I'm sure. The cotton on the other side of our property is not fully up. That field is huge, probably pushing 75 or more acres. That's the field I wish I could use, not so much because it's longer, but because it's more square in shape. In the field across the driveway my better outrunning dogs have learned to follow either the woods line, or the ditch line (which makes me ill, so I rarely send so that happens) for those 300+ yard outruns. (they don't have to go that wide to keep the sheep quiet- but I have a couple that do) I can set the sheep so the dogs run across the field so they can go as wide as forever, but then the distance is restricted to about 200-225 yards out. If I go further down the field, it does get almost twice as wide, so my trained dogs and I will be making that 500 yard trek from the house quite often this winter. There is a "tractor road" right where the field widens out (they usually plant something different in the next field) and in the past I have loaded the dogs into their crates in the bed of the truck and parked along that service road. That way I only have to make that long trek twice. (I don't trust the sheep to stay in the field so close to home, and it only takes once... Last year I tried and sure enough they bolted back across the road with my dog (who ignored my stop whistle)covering them right in the middle of the road. So now I do a big long assisted drive to the service road. No matter, that's always good work for someone. Or it's a nice long fetch for a baby dog.) Where the two fields meet is actually a good training spot. I like to set the distance so the dog either has twice the room towards the top of the outrun to cover the sheep, or flip it around and watch how he handles having less room (yet plenty enough to be right). The nice thing about the size and shape of the 2 fields I can use during the winter is that you can set the sheep in so many different places and never have the send be the same at all. Some fields are quite limited in variation due to draws, fences, barns, etc... This year I am going to talk to David about renting something from him. Be it the one field across the driveway (I'd actually rather rent the one on the other side of the service road. It's maybe a bit smaller in acreage, but like the huge field on the other side of us, it is more square in shape) or some other field I maybe don't even know exists. David owns hundreds of acres around here and rents all the crop land to the same farmer. And who knows, if he doesn't have something for me, he may someone that does.

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So in a little bit I'm going to step into my insulated bibs, pull down a hat, and work outside while I enjoy the crisp air, sunshine and the company of my family and animals!! (does it get better?)I've already fed the animals and pulled the hose into the sun so it thaws out. I left the goose gate untied (apparently) and they got into the sheep tank, so it needs clean water. I think Ben is finally going to help me make the goose "house", or at least get the frame made. I was going to get 2 pieces of tin roof yesterday at Lowe's on my home, but it was 40 and raining, (and dark) so I passed...

Babies and mama are doing great. I can already see they are filling out in size. They are the most content group. The only time they fuss is when she comes back in from a pee break and they have to work out who gets what nipple. Since she's been away for all of 10 minutes they are of course famished!! I have to start thinking about names, which is always fun. I'd like to make a list then wait until some personalities come out, then "assign" their name.

From My Two Best

2009-12-02T21:11:00.002-05:00

FEMALE

MALE
FEMALE

FEMALE

MALE

Mom and babies are doing great.

Growing Up

2009-11-30T19:56:00.004-05:00

Sibs.

Logan's beginning to leave the goofy stage and closing in on handsome.

Pups being pups.

I still think Emma is truly a wicked lookin' pup! :-) Both Emma and Logan are such well behaved, friendly, fun puppies. I'm blessed to have them both.

Goings On

2009-11-28T09:57:00.003-05:00

Well, I made it thru the day at work yesterday. Thankfully I didn't have to be there until 9am. There were still plenty of people and we still had way too much "blitz" merchandise to get to the floor. (we aren't supposed to call it "blitz" anymore because of the death in NY last year- now it's "The Event"...) There was still quite a lot of merchandise on the floor last night and as I mentioned, we didn't even get it all to the floor. People had full buggies though. I think parents have a hard time with the notion of a "light Christmas". I know we have in the years that it should have been. I bought one Christmas present on my lunch- a computer game for Charlie that Ben said was half price at the $25 I paid for it. It was a long day working 9-8. I had an hour to cut- and I was thankful for that! We pulled a lot of pallets of freight yesterday as the blitz stuff goes in the action alleys. This meant the blitz stuff needed to be condensed and the real merchandise for the 3 action alleys needed to be pulled off the trailer and pulled back out to the floor... Stack bases with 200 cans of yams on one side and, 15 cases of welch's sparkling cider etc are damn heavy!! Where are the stack bases of paper towels and foam plates when you really need them! LOL! Oh well, does a body good right? Last night I got caught in a check point on the way home. I once again got by with my 9 year expired WI DL... (but current military ID) He asked me if I thought driving around on a 9 year expired DL was right... I said I knew it wasn't. He asked me why it's been 9 years. I didn't want to tell him because in 9 years I've only been pulled over 3 times and have just been told to get myself a VA DL... I told him I wasn't really sure why. He said "it's not suspended is it?" I told him of course not- I don't even have a ticket on there. He ran it of course, and I got the familiar "Please just go get a VA DL, and if I do stop you again I will give you a ticket- I will have to." I asked him if he knew if I would have to re-take all the driving tests. He said (laughingly) "after nine years, ma'am I really don't know".

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Going to get all the k-nines worked and played with today. It's a little chilly, but it's sunny and will be close to 60 by afternoon. My ram is gone and I have another should-be-bred Dorper ewe. I'm looking forward to working with the young dogs again around the barn and paddock area. It's going to help Kit's lift a lot and it's a wonderful place to work Clare and Ivy. Everything is practical- there is not drilling. Best way for them to learn. If I had a big enough farm they could learn thru simple chore work. I don't, so I just pretend. All the dogs are doing great. For a short amount of time I second-guessed my choice of housing due to Ivy's choice to lie down and stare (like she does the cats) and Clare's choice to leave me a couple times when I was "drilling". My dogs live together (kenneled only when in season), and on the whole property (fenced in). I have never had an issue with this. My dogs love one on one with me and all my dogs have unwaivering work ethic. Work ethic is something a dog has or doesn't. Letting pups grow up in a "pack" is socially correct and it does not produce dogs that would just rather do something else. Poor training (in the sense that you have asked too much of the dog over and over, or have been unfairly hard) is a good way to squash work ethic. I think where people that don't raise their dogs in a "pack" get misguided is when they witness a pack with poor leadership. Poor leadership from both the human owner, and maybe even worse, poor leadership from the canine leaders. I'm lucky I had wonderful dogs for my puppies to grow up with in the very beginning. Each generation is a reflection of those very first dogs. I waivered on the work ethic possibly being compromised by the young dogs having "too much freedom". Being among their pack where they aren't getting into or watching stock, aren't running about mindlessly etc is not too much freedom. I have not and will not raise kennel dogs. Plain and simple. Some feel that in order for a dog to give you his best he must be kept up unless with you. BS. Not with a good dog. Not with proper leadership. Not with good training. A good dog is always going to want to work and try his heart out for you. If he doesn't, than he is a second class dog in my opinion. With the right leadership a dog is not going to leave you. He isn't going to stay with you because of fear, but rather because he views you as his leader- and the leader is respected and trusted. (trust is where most dog-human relationships fail) A good trainer is going to know when a dog is truly not trying/not listening and when there's a break down of communication. If you have a dog that trusts you, & respects you and he's not giving you what you want, then there's a huge (more than most trainers think) possibility that he is not understanding. Not understanding and not doing are not even remotely the same- yet so many, so many handlers treat it the same- with a correction! Keep correcting a mis-understanding and quite quickly you are going to start killing that work ethic you once had- because you're losing the trust the dog once had for you. All dogs are different and some can be squashed over and over, and some cannot. I believe a lot of trainer require a dog that can be squashed. There are various reasons. Sometimes they are not really that great of an owner/trainer, but a lot of times it's because they train dogs for a living and they do not have the time to train at the dog's mental speed. But back to my beginning thought... I will not change the way I raise my dogs, it IS the right way to raise them. As far as Ivy and Clare, I was temporarily impatient and unfair. Neither of them responded to that. Well let me re-phase that, they both responded to it- but it was not a positive response. Clare worked, but not with her heart and Ivy would freeze up. I was drilling them long before they could handle that, and I was not letting them work with their gut- which is where pups their age should be working from!! I'm thankful once again for my friend Carol who told me I was putting too much on them, and I needed to lighten up and make the work exciting... I have not changed their housing, only my training and I have my keen, happy pups back!! :-) My dogs live as a family. The people (myself foremost) are the leaders and then among them they have their own social order. I allow this social order unless I witness unfairness- which I don't very often. My dogs certainly have rules (more than most "pets" in fact) that are expected to be followed each and every day and they need that. My dogs also have a routine- another must. They are fed, turned out, put up, worked, played with etc on a very predictable schedule.

Not sure how I got on that.... but I better get going to the feedstore and then enjoy this beautiful day!! Maybe I will take some pictures. Emma and Logan are really growing up. Emma is full of ticking now and is such a stunning girl! She is my kind of girl. She's rough and tumble and is going to move right on up the pack order, but yet she's very biddable and loving. Perfect! :-) She's dead serious about sheep- but will not be on them again for many months- except I may take her to Carol's and let her go around sheep a few times just for her to see. Logan is getting his adult coat and looking handsome. He's a pup with a good amount of bone. He is the lone dog in the house right now. Ben has claimed him, and that's fine. Logan will make a wonderful pet for Ben. What would be nice is if Logan is one of those "easy" dogs on stock and I can help Ben train Logan to just do simple chores at home. That way in a few years when I have more stock and I leave more often (and longer) for stockdog trials Ben will have not only a buddy- but a reliable chore dog. :-))

Border Collie Day

2009-11-24T18:42:00.002-05:00

Well it was far from what I would call a "nice" day, but I spent a good part of it outside with my dogs anyway. I went across the road with the trained dogs and it felt so good to send them further and have them do some distance driving without all the pressure of the yard and barn. They all did a very nice job. Toss got a little confused a few times with the additional distance on the drive. (under only whistle direction) He is SO forward and for some reason was taking the stop as being wrong and would look back at me with confusion. He just needs distance and whistle work. I was proud of his outruns and how he held the long fetch line on his own. All the others went out nicely as well. Gwen tested my nerves on her outrun. She is such a big outrunner. When I sent her, she went way out to the far side of the uncut soybeans.... I wasn't surprised by her path, but it was still a little unsettling waiting for her- given that's it woods beyond the soybeans and if she had continued to just run the back side of the soybeans she'd a mile away before they ended... I waited confidently though, and sure enough she popped out of the uncut soybeans in just the right place. Her drive work was the best she's done yet. :-) Cruz has never made a better outrun, and I think he is finally understanding that last piece of the puzzle. Today I actually saw him looking ahead at his sheep on the way out- that is not the norm for him. Deal and Gwen do it every time. It was a delight to see to Cruz relaxed and thinking during a send of that distance. His form was much more confident- vs. just plain fast.

I had a good time with the young girls in the paddock and barn. Ivy was fantastic. She's very strong and fearless, but has a wonderful head on her shoulders. She never clapped down, not once. I even took them out of the paddock and around the yard for a few loops, and she hung with it. :-) It was fun to do so much work with her and never have to say a word. :-) That's such a nice thing for them as well- they can just learn. If I'm not saying anything, the pup can soak in so much more stock sense. Young dogs need to just do to learn. Learning the verbal commands comes later. Right now Ivy and Clare need to learn stock- not commands. Right now it's my job to make that happen for them. It's when you put too many things on a young dog at one time that you run in to trouble and as handlers we don't always remember what all a young dog is taking in each time she's on stock. And quite frankly, if I can't just shut up and just let my young dog do it's job, then it's probably not a dog worth spending a whole of time on! Young dogs need to learn via simple "jobs/chores". I knew this a long time ago, and had gotten away from that.... I kind of started just working on sends and fetch lines... it was boring. I was bored, my girls were bored and we all got a little frustrated... The last two sessions of going back to working them like they are doing something practical has made a world of difference. :-)) Kit did a lovely job in the barn. That was good work for her. She was quiet and settled the whole time and can now flank completely relaxed in the 12x24' barn. I sent her a couple times in the yard and had to stand (myself) closer to the sheep. She's like her father. She is going to take some time to put an outrun on. But the rest is already there- even close at hand inside flanks during a drive. The back-to-basics work has been a huge plus for Kit too. I'm very, very happy with all of my dogs right now.

Well, apparently a billion dollar aircraft carrier cannot pull into a pier because of fog. What a bunch of bullshit. Ben was supposed to be home yesterday, but probably won't even be home tonight. I miss my husband.... (and now after 2 days off I work till the weekend.)

Time To Suck It Up

2009-11-24T09:55:00.002-05:00

Well, day 2 of ugly weather. I worked in the house yesterday and got caught up on some much needed rest, so I need to get outside today. I'll need to pull on the Gor-Tex and head out to work and play with the dogs. It's not pouring, but drizzling like all day yesterday. I think it's a little warmer today and not windy like yesterday. I'm anxious to work the young girls in the barnyard and barn again today. I think I'll do some gate work with them as well. In and out of the paddock etc. I'm looking forward to my ewes lambing so I have at least double what I have now. I may even go ahead and buy a few more lambs off someone over the summer. I have some really talented dogs and I need to get back to working like I did 2 years ago. It's been an emotional 18 months for me, but I've come around and I've decided these dogs, and training them for stockwork is my passion and I am not going to let anything get in the way of that! I don't think everyone finds their real passion, and fewer yet get to live it. Admittedly, my "picture" is not completely painted, but it will be and I have an awful lot right now I need to remember I'm blessed to have...

This payday I need to look in the trading post paper and see if I can't find some local horse-quality hay. Ben and I had talked about it and I really need to go get 20 bales of good hay and put it on the atv trailer to store it. Right now I'm paying almost $9/bale for alfalfa hay at the feed store. I prefer to feed alfalfa and little to no grain, vs lower quality hay and more grain. I miss the mid-west and it's abundant alfalfa fields! Hay here is pretty low quality. I know some people have bought really nice hay from people that run up to PA to bring a huge trailer load back. I hadn't fed any corn to the birds or sheep until this week. I try to hold off until I think they need that "heat" during the night. I bought a bag of corn and a bag of sheep feed and bird feed and mixed the one bag of corn into the 2 bags of other feed. So it's not a lot of corn. Now that the ewes are looking bred I'm going to feed the some grain-corn mix once a day.

My mama-to-be is getting pretty big. (she slept with me again last night) I'm really getting excited as I have thought long and hard and worked so many different "kinds" of dogs, and for better or worse these 2 dogs are the "type" I love to live and work with. These 2 dogs will no doubt be the foundation of many generations of dogs for me. Better dogs, more notable bred dogs, dogs with more trialing proven ability? Of course. But these are the 2 dogs for me. In my short amount of time training Border Collies, I have worked with so many personalities and styles. More than most people will ever have the opportunity to work and own. Even among the dogs I currently work with there is a huge range, but I have my favorites. Even out of these 2 dogs there will certainly be individuals, but I do believe there will be an "Ali dog" stamp on all of them. So far the pups I have raised have not fallen far from the tree at all. There is no doubt who's out of and who's by who out there! What is my type? Heart. Without heart the most talented dog on the planet is useless. Work Ethic. Talent means nothing if a dog won't work "till the cows come home". Biddability. Talent means nothing if a dog is in it for himself. Those are the big things, the things that matter to me. Of course ability should have been written first, but that was a given. And not that looks matter beyond being functionally built- but I love a pretty face with an intelligent expression.

Gloomy

2009-11-23T14:23:00.002-05:00

It's icky outside. Cool, wet, and drizzly... What really stinks is that yesterday they almost completely picked up the beans across the road. Darn! Had it been nice today I'm sure they would have finished it. There's plenty of room to go out there and work dogs, and I might- or I might not. Ben is supposed to be home this afternoon. I've done a little cleaning and need to run to the feedstore. I'm looking forward to finishing my little "pig lot" this winter. I'm going to use the last available side of the barn. That way, just like the geese will have, the pig will have a lean-to built off the side of the barn. I will need to buy 3 more cattle panels. I don't think I'll need to buy a pipe gate. The chicken pen has two. It has a 4' gate as well as an 8' gate. The 8' one isn't necessary. I've been reading what I can find about pig care, and none of it seems complicated. The most important thing seems to be to get it butchered before it reaches more than 200-225#. I'm hoping the guy that said he would take my ram tomorrow will get here tomorrow. I don't want him around when the ewes lamb. I might need to find another male goose because this summer one of them died, and I have a feeling it was the male. I would like to have another half a dozen or so geese to better keep up with the dog training. I'm starting to get excited because my last new bundles of joy for a very, very long time will be here in just a couple weeks. Last night their mama didn't eat so I let her inside to sleep with me since I don't have her spot in the kitchen set up yet. She took to that like a duck to water! She got on the bed and never moved all night! She even went back to bed with me after the boys got on the bus this morning. :-) Well, time to get on with my afternoon. I'm anxious for them to finish the field so I can put some cones out there and do some course-type work with some decent distance! :-))

Almost My Weekend

2009-11-21T20:38:00.002-05:00

I work tomorrow and then it's my "weekend". I'll be glad to have two days in a row again. I've been really tired this past week. Friday the boys missed the bus because I turned off my alarm at 5:30 (it was my day off) and fell dead asleep until 7:02!! Bus arrival? 7:06... And last night I was in bed by 8:00. I work 11-8 tomorrow, but I'm about to ready for bed so I can get up and do a few things before work. Ben will be home Monday afternoon! :-)

I worked most of the dogs on Friday. Some on geese, some on sheep. The young dogs I worked in the paddock and barn. I used to do that all the time when my now trained dogs were young, and I need to get to back to that with this new group of young dogs. Ivy did much better in this situation. She did a fine job bringing them to the barn, scooping them out of the barn, etc... Yes, I let her "yee-ha" a little, but my only goal (and by yee-ha I don't mean take a hold and not let go etc... but letting her get up in there some? Yes indeed.) was to get her heart in the game and keep her on her feet as much as possible. This seemed to be a lot more exciting for her than just simply fetching them about the yard- and I have to agree. Kit needs this type of work because she tends to be a little hot and heavy in the tight spots. She's more mature now and more confident, so I was able to fuss at her a bit when she was a tad bit too much. After just a couple to-the-barn-in-the-barn-out-the-barn, repeat, she settled right in. I'm a firm believer that if a dog can't do stall/small barn/trailer loading etc, then you probably shouldn't send him 200 yards on an outrun. Even if he can do the outrun. If they don't have the skills and stock sense to work close and tight and do it with quiet authority, then you're setting your dog up for failure somewhere on the course. I think it usually shows up in the lift and the drive.

I did not play with Emma on sheep or geese and plan to keep her from them until the 1st part of the year. She is incredibly keen and confident, and that is not going to just go away. There's nothing she needs to be doing on stock at 5 months old...

Well, it's 9:07 and I'm draggin', so it's time to let the dogs out for their last drink and pee before bed. I ordered Dylan's new frames today and they should be in around Weds. $106. Not too bad I suppose. The exam was covered via insurance and I get 20% off the frames at work, so I guess I shouldn't complain. One in glasses and one in braces... Even WITH insurance Charlie's mouth is $200/mo!! Oh well, what's the option? There isn't one!

Gloomy

2009-11-20T08:50:00.002-05:00

Well today's my day off and it's pretty darn gloomy out there. If we were in the midwest I'd say snow is in the forecast, but since we're in the southeast it'll just be a cold, windy rain. Poop. Hopefully it'll just stay gloomy and not rain until Sunday like they say. I want to work a few dogs today. I'd like to put Ivy on the geese and see if I get more action out of her. My best friend/mentor/trainer said I just need to keep it fun with her and don't ask for much. I didn't think I was, but I've yet to be told something by Carol that ended up wrong. She has always been spot on. Since she has a decade or two more experience than I do she can usually spare me a lot of the live and learns- since she has already done it... I really, really like Ivy and being that she is my Cruz X Gwen pup, how could she possibly turn out a complete flop. It's genetically not possible. Not when she is so much like them both. As I posted before, at her current age is when her mother went thru the worst of her "don't poke that bubble"- it's just that Gwen was so much further along in her training, so it showed up in her driving more than it did her wearing/fetch work.

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I did find someone to take the ram, so that's good. He trading me a most-likely-bred hair ewe, which is perfect. I'm sure mine are bred as well. I need to get back up to about a dozen. It's not good to not have any variety. Last year I was so down that I just about quit everything so now I'm having to build everything back up, and being that I don't have money to buy sheep, I just have to do it via reproduction. ;-) From the group of lambs this winter/spring I'll band all the rams except one. During the summer I'll build him his OWN paddock. That's where I failed with Rambo. Now, after being with "his girls" all his 3 years of life he is frantic when I separate him off from them. And a frantic ram is dangerous... Cruz can handle him, but I see some hesitation and I get concerned that at Cruz's age if Rambo really nailed him it wouldn't be good. It's no lie, when you get older you heal slower. And Rambo can really get a lick in sometimes. Deal can move him, but it's not worth the frustration every single time I want to use the ewes. If I had kept him alone from the get go he would not be so stressed about being away from them. And no fence holds him when he's stressed. The last time I tried (without chaining him up like I do now) he broke off the 4x4 post at the pipe gate. Yup, broke the 4x4! I could lock him in the barn, but he'd just tear it up. So now I have a tow chain around an oak tree. Having a ram get loose while you're working a young dog is NOT a good thing! The last time that happened I was pretty dang sure he was going to slam me good! I had a pup with no real stop and only knew to fetch stock to me. So over and over, at a full run he came flying towards me!! Playing matador with big, horned, ram with a full head of steam is NOT *AT ALL* fun!! Especially when the young dog thinks she's doing the right thing by continue to drive him into your lap!! Not cool!

Well, it's 9:30, so I best get outside. It does look slightly brighter and the breeze has quit.

Wet N Windy

2009-11-10T21:36:00.003-05:00

Jim with his big smile says "HI MOM!" :-)) (this was almost a really good shot of him- but I still think it really captures his personality. Handsome boy Jim. He is the last puppy I will ever give a 5-7 way vaccination too. There is little question in my mind that what happened to him was caused by his vaccination. There are no diseases that have similar enough symptoms. I have found references to other people having the same thing happen to their vaccination-aged puppies. Heck, my oldest son was in ICU for 2 days after getting his 18 month old MMR shot. His body basically would not quit killing his blood cells. If you touched him, he bruised... Had he fallen in that state I'm sure he would have died. We were "lucky", because with blood transfusions he recovered. Some need heavy and repeated steroid treatment and some never recover. (ITP) I sure was scared to death when Dylan had to have his. Yup the school can make you. Unless it's your religion, you have no say- it's get the shots or don't send them to school.... Just like now every 6th grade girl has to have that HPV vaccination. Yes, has to in the state of Virginia. But I'm not going to go down that path tonight, it's too late and since I worked a 12 hour shift today, I'm ready for my bed. I got home and let the puppers out for their last pee break. The kids fed them for me at dinner time and put them up. This routine ensures that at 8-9pm everyone has just done what they need to- we all sleep better that way. Emma and Logan stayed out loose in the house when they can came back inside. They roamed for a brief while, then they each pulled up a section of rug and are *crashed*! Out all day/play all day makes for good babies at night! :-) Routines are good. I fussed at Emma earlier because she had my shoe. She quickly changed her mind and while walking around found one of her toys- smart pup she is looked at her toy, then threw a glance my way and I smiled. She smiled back and pranced off with her toy. LOL! I love bright pups. Some of them just "get it".

It's gonna be wet and windy the next 3-4 days.... A good 'ol Nor'easter. For us an hour or so inland, the Nor'easters usually get use worse than the Hurricanes. I don't think it will amount to a great deal where we're at- maybe some swollen rivers and over flowing ditches and whatever decides to come down/off/over in 30-40 mph wind (sustained). I'm glad Ben's Mom is here for a visit, that way the dogs can be let out a few times during the day, rather than me having to make an all-day choice of either out, or put up before I leave for work. Tomorrow I have to run Charlie into Newport News for his braces appt. I need to take Dylan along so we can maybe find a walk-in eye exam somewhere. Last week a student knocked his glasses off and stepped on them. Yup. Dylan says he didn't step on them on purpose, but he did knock them off on purpose. The one and only good thing is that he was a couple months from needing a new script and glasses. But it wasn't something I was planning on now. Not to mention he now has the ever so famous taped up glasses look! Ugh!! He too close to needing a new script for me to just order new frames, that would be foolish.

Off to bed I go!

Hooray For Great Weekends!

2009-11-09T19:10:00.005-05:00

The babies are right about 5 months now. They're both quite a lot of fun and very friendly, outgoing, smart, and personable pups. Ben has claimed Logan as his own, and that's just fine. Emma is my girl! She's going to be character and is not always going to be easy, and that's just my type! :-) I have some more pictures of them just having fun, but it's getting late and I'm working 8-8 tomorrow... time to turn dogs out one last time and then hit the hay!
Good Gosh, I think even an elephant would move for that ice-cold stare!!

Sisters, Clare and Kit. (different litters) Clare is Emma and Logan's Aunt.

Below is Kit, Ivy, and Clare

Ivy and Clare are quite close. They pretty much hang together.

It dawned on me that I have never published any pictures of our house. Too bad I didn't think of that while the Crape Myrtle trees were full of color!

It's an1880's (documented babies being born in the upstairs bedroom in 1901) farmhouse. This corner right here is where the bathroom was built on. Between the bathroom roof and the ceiling is part of an old porch... yeah, it was never taken off, just built over. The bathroom is serious project #2 on "the list"- kitchen is currently #1.

The top photo is the side that faces south. I counted one time and I think we have TWENTY NINE windows... might have been 31, but I think it was 29.

This is the side that faces west. Someday this will be a big beautiful southern porch again! It's probably serious project #3, unless something else like a new roof bumps it out of the #3 slot while projects #1 and #2 are being completed!! LOL!

This is the north side.

This was one of Ben's big projects over the summer! (east side- under a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE Sycamore tree- actually it's 3 trees planted together) Whata cool deck huh? The deck around the pool is probably 3' wide or so and the rectangle deck off from it is very generous in size. You could easily fit about 4 picnic tables on it. Ben is so talented. He never does anything half-ass and all of his work looks like you hired the job out to someone with 20 years experience! :-)

The building next to the pool is the 2 car garage (insulated and on it's own power) and the "apartment". The apartment is serious project #52... It's not finished, but all studded for a nice little apartment. It would really be a cute little set up. It'd be great for a home office for someone. The garage has a small septic that is separate from the house. You couldn't run laundry, etc... but you could have a bathroom.

This was one of the first things Ben built for me for the animals. This coop is probably going on 5 years old now. It's a perfect little coop, complete with nesting boxes inside.

My geese have the newest spot. It was either move them and build them a shelter, or let them go. I decided to move them. The now have a very nice size pen and when Ben returns home, they'll have a very nice enclosure, similar to the drawing above. I want to build a lean-to off the barn, starting about that window height and slant it just enough for run off. Then enclose at least the 2 short sides. I don't think in our climate they would need the front made into doors- especially when the open side will face east. So that will be very nice for them. I'd like the lean-to to come out as far as that post- that's why I left it there. So that's quite generous, given that the barn is 12' deep. Their enclosure will be approx. 12x8. Pretty darn cozy. :-)

It's hard to see in the picture, but below is the rest of their pen. It looks very, very nice done up with the cattle panel (or hog panels, whatever...) I had for the round pen I never need. I only had to use 3 panels because of the already existing fence on 2 sides.

It felt good to get that little goose project done this weekend. (and work all my dogs) My next project is making a serious enclosure for 2 pigs. ;-) Oh, I saw the best news tonight on my way home (in the dark)... A farmer harvesting his soybeans!! Yaahoo! That means it can't be long and the farmer that rents the field across the road will be doing his and the dogs and I can once again work on the big field over the winter. I'm sooo looking forward to that, as even my young dogs are in need of more space and less pressure everything single time I work them! (probably what Ivy needs tremendously) I may head over to David's one day this winter and ask him with some real seriousness about renting some land from him. Even if it's not the 30+ acres across from us, I know he has lots and lots more! Truth be told, if I found somewhere close to home to rent or buy (speaking just a big field) we would probably make this our forever home... don't know... might not be a reason to up root and start all over if I can buy enough land for a small farm close to our house.... It's a real serious possibility. Only time will tell. Ben has decided to finish his Bachelors Degree while in the Navy and then do his Masters in Math in relation to teaching.... He has 6 years left if he wants out at 20....

Well.... off to bed!

What Happens When

2009-11-04T12:36:00.005-05:00

... you realize who you were at 20 suddenly isn't so different from who you are at 37? When I was 19 I was what most people would call a "hippie". I wanted nothing materialistic, only my car. I owned no more than a suitcase's worth of clothing (and for living in WI, that says a lot), thought the government sucked, and just wanted to live peacefully and not be bothered by the "real" world. My serious other half was the same, maybe even more so. A a very talented artist (still one of the best I've seen to date) who only wanted to smoke his pot and live every day with a smile on his face. When I was 21 something in me switched my gears and I felt like in order to "make it" I had to be main stream. I ended the relationship, moved back in with my parents and got a job. (I had a very good job at 18, but took the lay off pay out) That's when I met Ben and the rest is Apple Pie history. A very normal life, and still a very normal life, which is perfectly lovely. But for some time (a few years) I've been funky. I wouldn't go as far as to say unhappy, just funky... like I'm craving something, but I don't know what it is. Everyday I feel like there's just a little something that is missing. I am NOT unhappy with my life, I just feel a little "lost" in my life. Today I think I have figured it out. Simple and satisfied, that's what I want. I want to grow what we eat, I want to raise what we eat, I want to cook what we eat, and I want to be so busy doing that, that I am not worried about what I don't have that I think I want. Although I don't think I will need busify myself into contentment, since I think simplicity and contentment is what I've been craving. I want to have gardens and flowers and birds, and a few meat animals to tend to daily- hourly. Working hard and caring for animals is what I need to be content I'm now believing. When I think back a few years, the happiest I was was when we had a hobby farm. A little bit of everything. Not a big number of anything, but a small number of a lot. (chickens, geese, rabbits, goats, sheep, and even horses) Problem was, I didn't utilize the animals that could have benefited us, and they were only money pits and eventually had to go. Now I wish for that back, and to use it wisely. My own biggest flaw is that what I want, I want now... I'm going to really figure this out and make it my 5 year plan. Not a weekend project, not something I get depressed about because I can't do it all right now, but a 5 year "phase-in" if you will. Will I become obsessed about it? Most likely, that's what I do, but I am going to promise myself that I will only let that drive work in my favor during this endeavor. Dylan has 6 years left of school, so that's good timing. Ben (hubby) is much more materialistic than I am, but I think he'd go along. He is about easy and convenient, but is also very good about getting the projects too big for me, done. My oldest son is also all about making it easier. He will be an inventor someday, I have no doubt! He is SO smart. He has this amazing ability to imagine something and then make it. It's really mind blowing what he comes up with sometimes! My youngest is the type that at 19 will take nothing but a back pack and $500 and heads off to some long lost country in the hopes of finding proof that dragons or some other legend did indeed exist. They are SO different. In respects to them being happy I can see Charlie being one of those people you see in movies that have gadgets that make their toast and shave their face and robots that mow their lawn etc... LOL! And Dylan I see exploring the world with his back pack and notebook. But anyway.... not sure how I got off on that subject. Back to the previous subject. I do really want to make this happen. I hope that by the time the kids are done in school I can either quit my job or step down to a part time floor associate position. Maintaining a self sustaining type farm (or any farm really) is not something I'll be able to do while working away from home 40 hours a week. If this is my serious plan then I need to also have a serious money plan, as we have considerable debt. (which is the only reason I have to work) If I want to work more on debt am I going to have to cut back else where. Elsewhere meaning animals that are not "giving back" and purchases of material things I don't really need. I may also have to look into trialing. Although I don't really trial all that much anyway. But... my hope was to start to be able to trial more in a year or so, but maybe that is the wrong direction. I can't do it all. Just like at work, I can't let myself get spread so thin that I am no longer doing a good job anywhere. What is the saying? Jack of trades, master of none? Something like that.

Well, I just felt like I need to write this down. I'm off to clean out the chicken coop and get them some fresh straw. I have to figure out what to do with the geese. I either have to let them go, or make them a winter shelter...

Musings...

2009-11-04T10:08:00.003-05:00

It's been so nice to have 2 days in row off. I worked 11-8 on Monday, and got a lot of house work done before I left for work. I'm trying very hard to just buckle down on stuff, rather than fretting about it. I'm also getting drop dead serious with the boys about their treatment of this house! I think my new position at work is actually helping me here at home. My position requires me to find hands to get the jobs done, I am no longer a one-woman-show; I'd never get it done. This was hard for me (still is sometimes) and it's hard for me at home. I tend to either do it all myself, or just let it go undone. I felt guilty giving them chores, or even keeping up with their own room, and just like so many of the associates at work, my kids knew it and took full advantage of that. But no more. I can't and shouldn't have to do it all alone! Today I need to get the kitchen and the bathroom picked up. I hate the kitchen, I really do. It never stays right and to be honest by the time I get home at 6:30, make dinner and eat dinner, I sure don't want to clean up dinner! We've gotten better though and the most I let get left anymore are the pots and pans I used. But somehow the kitchen is still a disaster.... :-(

Yesterday I picked up outside and worked all the dogs. I had to fix the fence (again) because the ram busted it while I was letting Emma go around the sheep. He's becoming a real serious pain in the ass because I just don't have the funds to build him a shelter so he can have his own area. So I resorted to taking one of my dog chains (that I use to tether dogs when I'm training at someone's place) and chaining him to a tree in the paddock.

All the dogs worked pretty well. Toss is really coming along on his whistles. He wasn't wanting to give much ground on his "away" side when given as an inside flank to hold a cross-drive type line, but did eventually understand what I wasn't pleased with.

Gwen worked nice and didn't stall out. She was a little wild, but she gets that way if she is not worked a lot. She's a dog you could work hard everyday and she would not burn out.

Deal was very nice and if we can just get this shed thing figured out between us, she'll be ready for Open. She gets really intense and will often use her teeth. I need to consult with Carol on what I should do, because I hate to keep fussing at her. I don't want to make hesitant to come thru. I want to make sure she knows it's the grip I'm displeased with, not the coming thru. So for now the shed work is on the back burner with her.

Mary worked nicely for awhile and then started to slide. I worked on insisting she stop immediately on the first whistle. She doesn't like to stop- especially on the drive. What's interesting is that she has wonderful pace, but to get her honest about her stops is something else! I worked on driving sort of in a square, close at hand. She started out doing pretty well, but I could see I was losing her after not a lot of time. She went from walking thru the stops, to giving me 95% honest, and back to walking thru the stops. So I let her put them thru the chute and quit with her. Mary's such a nice dog, and she really is very talented, but there is just something about the 2 of us... She thinks I'm too demanding, and I think she's a bit of quitter...

Cruz seemed a little odd. I'm not sure if he was having trouble hearing me in all the leaves or just what. I think his body is finally getting a little older and he knows it. I ended up working on stopping and tight inside flanks. He's so funny because as soon as he knows I'm going to "drill" him on a task he goes into textbook mode. He knows where I stand and how I act when we have to step back and drill some tight flanks (his hole in the beginning) and he just pops right out there and doesn't really even watch the sheep- he goes mechanical, so I don't do that with him very much, but he needed to be reminded yesterday. It's not often I have to "train" him, I just have to work him and expose him- he just gets it. He was also not stopping sharply, which is why I think he couldn't hear me very well. Given his age and his honesty, I no longer ask him to lie down. If he wants to stand on a lie down whistle, he has earned that privilege.

Clare was very nice, she is maturing and I think she'll be very much like Deal- just not as much to handle. I've been very light with her as I could see I had a huge influence over her. It was me she was somewhat hesitant about, not the sheep. We did some short fetch work and short send work. She sends and goes around very nicely at a short distance. She likes to stay on her feet, and that is OK with me. In fact I don't think I've seen her lie down now that I think about it, but she has a very solid stand for such a youngster. She'll either be a dog that can stand honestly, or later, when she is more confident I will ask her to lie down, but for right now there is no reason at all to put that kind of handler pressure on her.

Ivy. She is my bummer story of the day. I can't get her off her belly. She'll send and fetch, but once everything is going nicely she plops down and I cannot get her up. I've tried various things. I've tried lots of cheerleading, no voice at all, I've tried just continuing to walk, I've tried to wait her out and stay put (she'll get bored right? Wrong.) The only way to get her back on her feet is step over enough that she has flank. But again, once she has them nicely going she stops and will not get back up. My sheep work nice and when she stops, they stop (and don't run off). If I keep walking the sheep stay put- so she should go ahead and get up and get them to me. If they were knee huggers and didn't even need a dog to stay with me, I would give her the benefit of the doubt. But that isn't the case. I'm concerned this is going to be a forever hole. That even if I get her through this part, it'll show up later when sheep stall out on cross drives and tough pens. I don't want that. I don't at all enjoy telling a dog to get up. I'm much better at reining a dog in. I feel like at her age this shouldn't be an issue. I feel like at her age I should have "yee ha" issues, not "get up" issues... I really like her as a dog, but if she isn't going to come on, then I'm going to have to make a really hard decision...

Emma was fun. She's really going to be a fun pup to bring on! She's so full of herself, yet she is a sweetheart. She's very smart and very stable minded. Her and Logan are both in here with me curled up taking their late-morning puppy nap. Logan is Ben's pup, so he has a forever home. In fact Ben told me if I could find Maddie (the Lab) a home, he was okay with that... Logan is an on/off pup and will melt into snoring sleep in your lap in about 5 minutes! Logan wants nothing to do with stock yet, but oh well.

Kit worked very well. I can now send her from my feet and she does an outrun instead of a bowling ball. LOL! I knew it would come, only because her father was the same way. I just kept it close at hand and did a lot of standing between her and the sheep until she understood. She understands now, so it will be great for her to get to work in the soybean field over the winter. By spring her outrun should be solid enough for ProNovice. She already has flanks and a stop and can do pens and chute work. She has a short drive and will even take an inside flank. So stretching out the drive work and outrun will be her winter work in the big field. :-) She is a very straight forward, hard pushing driver like her father, so I don't forecast stretching out the drive to be any trouble. Probably about time to start putting some basic whistles on her.

Well, time to get some stuff done inside so I can go outside for the afternoon. Maybe today I can just quick play with each dog and take some new photos of the dogs I don't have many of. I didn't take any yesterday because I wanted to really work them. It's hard to train and photograph. When I take their pictures I pretty much send them and then walk around.

My Kids are really growing up!

2009-11-03T11:09:00.001-05:00

Dylan 11, Charlie 13

Better Late Then Never...

2009-11-03T10:12:00.008-05:00

These are from our trip in late June to West Virginia. The above photo is an example of some of the trails we rode. The picture really doesn't does show the steepness of the trail- add in the ruts and you have quite a ride ahead of you! The trails were beautiful all through the mountains. Many trails ran you right along the edge of ridges- ridges that if you did go over the edge I'm not sure what kind of shape you'd be in! Some of those rides were pretty intense. I was fairly panicky a few times thinking about the kids...
This is the little cabin we stayed in. It was just perfect. It had a bunk bed and full size bed, two windows, and a little window a/c. West Virginia in June was perfect. It would get pretty hot during the day, but cool off in the evening and didn't seem to have the SE humidity. The bathhouse was about 75 yards away. It was very well kept and clean and included a laundromat. It was only luck, but next year I'll make sure we have the same cabin, or at least on that side. Our porch faced East, which was perfect. I'm sure the cabins facing the South West got pretty darn hot. Kudos to my good ol girl F150!! That's QUITE the haul up and down the mountains between Virginia and West Virginia! She ran pretty hot on the way up, but adding octane boost and using the best gas helped. What make the biggest difference though was that Ben bought a timing kit and fixed the timing. It was like we left home with a 150 and drove back home with a 250!

Yup I'm a redneck woman!

This was a fun spot. We were having a contest to see who could get through without getting stuck and have to be towed out. Note the the 2 racing bikes aren't anywhere in sight! Off to the right of the photos was a loop without quite as much wet cement. The 2 Raptors will be replaced with 2 more 4x4's before we go on this trip next year!

I made it... Charlie did not...

...neither did Dylan! ;-)

This was one of the prettiest pull off spots on the trip. One thing I was admittedly a little disappointed in was that there weren't any "look out" spots. It was beautiful yes, but all we could ever see were the tops of more trees. No views to speak of.

Too bad the boys can't ever go on vacation and do "boy" things- like get dirty!! Good Lord!!

My goofballs! The cabin site had a picnic table and a hand pump for water. It was really the perfect little set up. It also had a fire pit. We bought a handy little gas grill/griddle/stove- it was fantastic. I could make beans and hamburgers, and even boil the water for my coffee. :-)

The poor Raptors were really out of their element on a lot of the trails. Thank goodness for the other 2 4x4's and a tow strap! LOL! Most of the time there was a way around the terrain they couldn't get through, but sometimes there was no good way. The 4x4's were awesome!! :-)

I guess this photo pretty much screams "Redneck Vacation"- all Ben and I need is a Lucky Strike and a Budweiser! LOL! I guess rednecks are what we are because we all had a blast.

Got dirt?

View of another trail.