The Crickster was spayed on Wed, May 20th. Her growth plates are closed but she suffers from two serious ailments – CAL compounded with FAAF. There is no known treatment and I fear the worst. Okay – CAL = Cute as Hell and FAAF = Fit as a Fiddle. She learned after the first night that if she left her belly alone she wouldn’t have to be in the dreaded “Cone”. She forgot after 24 hours that she had surgery. Here she is five days out and begging to go back to the AFrame. Which has been a regular whine since day two. I resisted setting up the jumps and tunnel in the good weather knowing what the result would be. A few more days! In the meantime we’re training on boring things like circle work and control and taking nice walks – all of which are never enough. The weather is glorious though and much weeding is being accomplished – in spite of the two border collies who insist their assistance is required.
Archive for May, 2009
Surgery? What Surgery? by Toni
Monday, May 25th, 2009Sundays with Three Dogs by Toni
Monday, May 18th, 2009
The dogs and I spent a fabulous afternoon with friends in the country yesterday. It was hot! We played in the rotating sprinkler and the girls discovered the seasonal pond, much to the dismay of the temporarily displaced ducks. Wak Wak! There was much racing about and exploring, chasing of Frisbees, cavorting in the water as the afternoon sun just glistened. Sigh. Much happiness and relaxation was had by all. AND the girls slept like little toasted oats all the way home:) I imagine they wore out Brawnwyn, their corgi buddy, who is not used to cavorting and running about with the tribe. She held her own very well, though, and kept everyone in line:>)
Sleeping with Dogs – the Caveats by Toni
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009There are some pretty strict criteria to get to sleep with the moms. First, the dog has to be absolutely crate trained and house trained. Second, the pup must be absolutely trustworthy. This varies by dog. Everydog gets night-night snuggles after going night-night potty and being admitted into the inner sanctum. Pups who have not yet achieved absolute trust status get scooped up and moved to their crates before the lights go out. It’s a big deal to the pup to get to sleep in the big bed with everybody else! Little Crick would race up the stairs and dive into the dog bed on the floor at the end of the bed, curl into a ball, and just SQUEEZE her eyes tight. You could hear her thinking, “oh please oh please don’t notice me so I can sleep outside of my crate with everybody else”. She had some of the stiffest criteria – must be trusted not to consume the roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, must be trusted not to open the dresser drawers and pull out socks and eat them, must be trusted not to sneak into the closet and steal shoes, must be trusted, trusted, tusted. It is a right of passage. Each pup comes of age at a different chronology. Generally between 9 months and a year. They are all there now and each has her own spot and preferences. Which will all change as the weather warms – then we’ll be tiptoeing across the floor trying not to step on sprawled bodies in the middle of the night!
Sleeping with Dogs by Toni
Wednesday, May 13th, 2009One of the joys of owning a Hob Nob dog (the Crickster) is that she came complete with an entire extended family of Hob Nob border collie owners. We are spread across the country and to other countries:>) There is a Yahoo list restricted to HN family in which new and old HNobbers exchange stories, training tips, border collie insights, health information, and celebrate HN accomplishments – of which there are hundreds! Whether it is Channan and Geri making up half the USA World Team or Kim taking Nationals or herding champions or obedience – every weekend there is a layer of new titles and accomplishments – new learnings as well. Triumph and struggles are shared and whether your goal is to get a solid recall or housebreak the pup, you are supported with some of the brightest, most accomplished dog trainers and handlers in the world. When Jan accepts you for a puppy, you are admitted to the list and enter a virtual “waiting room” of others who are desperately waiting to find out which pup will be theirs as we all enjoy the photos and videos as the little monsters mature. Then the pups go home. And then the serious questions start to arise! What should I feed my puppy? My puppy won’t tug! My puppy seems afraid of strangers – is that normal? and so it goes. Experienced help the inexperienced along the beginning of the ride and through the life and various cycles. For those with older pups, the questions are more like – “how do I get contacts like Bezel!” and “should I put a line on to start sheep work?”. Yesterday, a Hob Nobber asked – “Do you let your dogs sleep with you?” LOL We had to move from a queen to a king sized bed when Cricket arrived. And yes, that is a purple-spotted octopus on the bed:>) And yes, Nixie always thinks she should have the pillows!
Spring Evenings by Toni
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009The three dogs spent their post-dinner evening cavorting in the backyard. Much chasing and racing as if they could beat the sun in setting. I seized one moment and stepped out with the camera to take a shot or two. Burst mode. 30 seconds later I returned to the house with 66 pictures to sort through. Sigh. In the process of downloading the photos, IE crashed again. Sigh. I seized the moment and downloaded the 64-bit version of IE 8.0. All seemed well until I went to adjust my mouse to scroll better as I tried to edit the photos. The computer would no longer recognize my mouse. Didn’t see bluetooth. I was physically pushing the mouse across the pad to try and get it to move. I seized the moment when Brenda appeared and whined. She helped. Downloaded 64-bit drivers for the keyboard and mouse. At least usable again. But no scroll. Two hours ago everything was basically fine if not as stable as I would wish. Now the environment is marginally fine and feels tenuous at best. And IE is still crashing. I hope you like these photos!
I, of course, think they are adorable!
Vet Visiting by Cricket
Friday, May 8th, 2009
I went to visit Dr. Evelyn last week. She’s a nice lady who loves border collies like me! I met her at an agility trial not long ago and her Hob Nob puppy, Velo (that’s Veeeeeeeeeeeelo with one of them long eeeeeeee’s). Dr. E is a vetrenary person who takes cares of pups. Velo is very lucky ‘cuz he gets to go to work with his mom! But he stays in one of those crates, like me, ‘cept when he gets to play. So he sure was glad I came to visit him! That meant he got to come out:>) He’s 12 weeks old. Mom says she bemembers when I was that little. I’m big now! A whole year old. And I get to have a spay. I think that’s a special present for grown up doggies or somethin’. Anyway, Dr. E said I was cute as hell and fit as a fiddle, whatever a fiddle is. I get to go back to get my spay in a couple of weeks. I’m trying not to get too excited about it since I don’t really know what it is – but when did I ever get a present I didn’t like? Woo Hoo!World Team Tryouts ….Drumroll Please by Toni
Friday, May 8th, 2009The World Team Agility competition will be in Austria in September. It’s akin to the Olympics of Agility. There is a long process that culminates in a “try out” to be selected to represent the USA on the USA team. Three sets of dogs seperated based on their jump height. The “large dogs” (lol) are those jumping the highest jump bars – 26″. The try outs for World Team were just held in MN and there was a veritable army of Hob Nob dogs competing, as well as Hob Nob dog owners cheering from the stands. The large dog team is comprised of four dogs – and TWO OF THEM ARE HOB NOB DOGS! Why do I care about Hob Nob dogs? Why – CRICKET is a Hob Nob Dog, silly! AND Scheme, her daddy, is the same daddy to the two HN dogs that made the team! So half the world team this year will be Cricket cousins! How cool is that?!? And half the world team this year were bred by Jan DeMello! How cool is that?!? AND Geri and Focus (Hob Nob Sharper Image), who were on the team last year, are returning to compete again this year. And are joined by Channan Fosty and Icon (Hob Nob Cult Classic) So for those who have never seen “world class” agility – here are Channan Fosty and Icon in the MN try outs:>) Poetry in motion!