A Note From Windy

Got this lovely note from Darlene yesterday . . .

Even though it doesn’t seem possible, every day we love Windy more.  She is so incredibly sweet, not like our other perpetually grumpy border collie who has never had the inclination to cuddle up to us.  Windy is always either sitting on our feet or very close by.  And yes, she sleeps on the bed with us.  Are we bad or what?

We had a great success this past weekend.  I think maybe we are getting past the fear stuff.  We took her to my grandson’s baseball game where there was an incredible amount of commotion with balls, little kids, etc, etc.  We practiced sits and downs, during which she stayed pretty focused (of course the cheese helped), and then a bunch of little kids wanted to pet her.  So she had three little 4-year-olds all huddled around her petting her and she was absolutely fine.  Lots of adults did the same thing (which I definitely encouraged) and again, she was fine with everyone. 

During agility class I can actually let her off leash now and she stays engaged.  Even with other dogs running nearby, she will get distracted but I can get her back.  We are up to about 6 obstacles now (mostly jumps and tunnels) and are progressing slowly on our running A-frame.  That one is a pretty long process but our trainer feels really strongly about the puppies doing this because it is easier on their shoulders.  But I always ask..  “now where am I going to catch up if she doesn’t stop at the bottom???” Eek!  I’d better drop a few pounds.  And between you and me, she picks things up much faster than her classmate, Pip, the Aussie puppy.

I always appreciate (and look forward to) updates from puppy owners. I will never lose the love I have for each of these puppies, even as they grow into dogs. And I share the joy in the accomplishments, big or small.

Hoping to hear from other puppy owners sometime, too.

First Title For Roux!

Over the weekend, Miss Roux entered the competitive rally ring for the first time, competing in ADPT rally. Below is the story from Marise (it was her first-ever trial, too).

The first run of our APDT trial we NQd.  My bad – perfect until a call front-forward left (swing) - they indicated I lured.  I did hold a treat in my hand which is why I had a brain fart and NQ’d.  Got 9 pts on the bonus but that of course doesn’t count.  Well, got that out of the way right off the bat!  Lesson learned.

The second run was run was a final score of 208.  First Place!  Much better!  (perfect is 210)  One point deduction for a bump on a 270 left and 1 pt for a crooked sit on the halt-90 pivot left halt.  Bonus was a perfect 10. One down.  Pam says she moves so pretty.

Sunday, we got a 209!  Got a 1pt deduction for a crooked sit on a halt-turn right 1-step.  10 pts on the bonus of a call front side step R/L.  This was a second place, for Pam, my instructor’s, dog, Cool, got a 210.  We did beat him out the day before with the 208.  Her pup is SOOOO smart. Funny because Roux’s sits for the most part are so pretty too.  Two down.

Final run we got a perfect score 210. First Place!  So did Pam, but since Cool was then in the B Class and Roux was doing her last leg of A, we didn’t have to have a run off. Bonus was a halt-leave dog-call to heel with your back to the dog.  She ALWAYS nails those!  With the fastest time of 1:10:31 out of all her other times. 

Roux shows off her new ribbons and title!

She GOT HER TITLE!

Was a great experience and a lot of fun.  She’s such a great young dog.  She did well with the noise and better progress on the applause at awards time.  She didn’t bark but of course I was shoving treats down after every announcement too.

A HUGE congratulations to Marise and Roux. They make an awesome team. I am very proud of them both!

Sneaky Heat

Trey apparently came into heat at some point earlier this week.

I’ve been randomly checking her as I’ve been expecting it and also because she’s been doing a bit more cleaning than normal. But I’d not seen a drop of blood anywhere, even when I examined her closely. But yesterday I did see just a few, miniscule drops around her vulva so I figured that she was in season.

This morning her vulva is very swollen but still no obvious signs of blood on her or around the house. With the amount of swelling I know that she’s been in heat awhile now since she doesn’t start to swell for at least the first 4-5 days. Glad I decided not to breed her this summer!

On a positive note, I’m glad that she has become a very clean girl while in season. Mike hates seeing the blood drops and he is paranoid about any blood on the carpets. Trey keeping herself clean makes life much more bearable around the house without having to use the very annoying ‘heat panties’.

New Pix of Ruff, Rio & Windy

I got these photos of Ruff (northern IL), Rio (MI), and Windy (CA) a while ago but never found the time to post them. So here they are.

Ruff is a very handsome boy. His looks and body type are consistent with the other boys’ body style. In his side shot below, I can see similarities to Miss Abby. I really like him!

Ruff and Callen have exactly the same head profile and very similar markings.
I could mistake Ruff for Callen here!

Rio looks very much like his half-brother, Skye, from Trey’s first litter. He still is of consistent type with his littermates, but there is something about him that continually reminds me of Skye. Of all the puppies from this litter, Rio is the only one who matured differently than I expected. Not in a bad way. No, he’s gorgeous!, but just a bit different than what I was expecting. I guess I still have to teach my eye to “see” young puppies!

Windy in California, too, is consistent in body type and style with her littermates. She carries a bit less bone than the others, but that is what I expected from her as a puppy. She was the smallest of the litter. She, too, is very beautiful!

And then there is Windy’s ears . . .

Windy’s owners glued and tied them as a puppy to try to get the earset they preferred and wanted instead of letting Mother Nature decide. In the end it didn’t work out and they wound up with some uneven ears.

Windy’s left ear stands more upright – a soft prick like Abby’s – and her right ear, well I’d call it ‘broken’ as it lies flat like a hound’s ear which is incorrect for a border collie. Half-sister, Cinder, has the same ear but not from having it set – it just came that way! Sometimes Windy can lift it (and with help from the wind it can look ‘normal’), but most of the time it lies flat.

Surprisingly, Windy’s owners prefer the right ear to the soft prick of the left as they are massaging the left ear to try to get it to ‘break’. They are Australian shepherd people and the right ear is more like what they see on their Aussies so I suspect that is why they prefer the ‘broken’ ear. To each their own. I would have ‘killed’ to have the soft prick ears like Abby’s and Windy’s natural earset!

So some great photos of some very pretty border collies, if I can be so biased to say. I’m very happy with this litter – how they turned out physically as well as their personalities. Yes, they have some quirks, but they are, afterall, border collies!

An Update From Starlight!

Starlight (now just “Star”) has been MIA communication-wise. Star lives in Californis with his family and it’s a very nice family, but with a young son and home schooling and piano lessons and trips to the beach and field trips for school . . . well, time can get away from you and updating the breeder on your dog’s progress falls to the wayside. But Jody did finally find time to send an update and some photos of Star (the puppy formerly known as Ozzie).

Here’s her email –

I’d thought you’d like some Grandma pics and an update.

Star has successfully completed 2 training classes. We are planning on getting through 2 more this summer. We LOVE the clicker training–& he LOVES showing off

You definitely picked the perfect dog for our family! Star loves all the kids that come over & is so kind and gentle with everyone. Its a no-brainer to always include him in our Wednesday Park Days with our Home School group. He’s become a part of our family and our bigger Home School community. During piano lessons, he sits/lays right by my side (usually falling asleep!). We all laugh about music “soothing the beast.”

A boy and his dog - a perfect thing

Right now we are in the process of transitioning Jack and Star to Jack’s room. Jack has always had a “nest” on the floor of our room, by my side of the bed (a twin mattress on the floor). Jack has awful night terrors and it simply worked for our family to have him in our room. It was easier to comfort him (and encourage him to go back to sleep!) when he was close. Star is quite happy to have a comfy bed to start the night out in. They haven’t made it through a full night yet (the kennel and “nest” remain in our room). But Star helps calm him down and gets him to our room so sleep can continue. It’s actually really cute - Star will “kiss” Jack good night when he crawls into his “nest.”  Then Star will yawn and go lay down in his kennel and crash out.

As for the bunny and Star - they are best friends! Her hutch is downstairs in the kitchen. I will often catch them nose to nose, just hanging out. I sometimes take her out to play with him, but mostly they just like to cuddle. It’s pretty hysterical! The lion and the lamb getting snuggly!

Fun and games

All in all, life with Star is great. He’s a huge part of our family and life.

Star smiles - life is good!