Catching Up

"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated". Sorry folks! I haven't been posting because I've had no computer access for a week or so. I've been traveling. I went to a few trials (which I will slowly update over on my trial blog) and my parents came up from California to visit us. We traveled to Banff, sans dogs, (Scott stayed home and babysat) but don't think for one minute there were no animals on this trip. More about that later...
For right now, I present you with some time sensitive material. Otherwise known as Togo's growth spurt.How many 17 week old pups have you met that are this big?
Alot of people are asking me how Kit is handling having him around.Oh, she doesn't mind him too much.My mother and father just adored him and took lots of pictures. I once caught them discussing whether or not he would fit in their suitcase.
Rumor has it that Togo is starting to bark at the coyotes at night now. My parents were hoping he'd fail as a guardian dog and they could take him back to suburban Orange County, California. As they were leaving this morning to get on the plane to go home, my father whispered to Togo, "Don't bark anymore - Don't bark."

Left Behind

Lad and Hemp and I are going away with my friends Louanne and Lisa (and their dogs) to a trial in Washington State this weekend. No husbands and no Skids. What?! Yes, I'm afraid this will be one of the few times Skid doesn't get to go on a road trip.
He's not happy and vows to pout on the couch all weekend and not lift a paw to help Scott with the chores. The only good part? At least he didn't have to get a bath like Lad and Hemp did.

Getting Down to Work

My gentle giant, Togo, has started his new life. I miss getting to play with him all the time but the sooner he bonds with his sheep, the sooner I will get to be his friend again. Right now he is living in a small pasture with the sheep so he won't be tempted to come over to the house. When he first saw the sheep, he was very happy to meet them. However, they weren't as happy to see him. As he was wiggling his way up to them, one girl butted him and told him to settle down. Togo's feelings were hurt but they seem to have made peace now. Of course, Kit is there to help him learn the ropes.And although I haven't heard him bark at anything yet, he has already learned how to put his stoic guarding face on.

Anniversary

We are finally on our way home.
Today we are traveling through South Dakota, on the very road, almost 2 years to the day that we picked Skid up on. Remember the story?

He seemed very interested in the scenery. I often wonder what his life was like before we got him. Does he miss it? Does he even remember it (or did he get amnesia when he hit his head on the pavement)? Are you happy with your new life, Skid? I'll take that as a yes.

Bad Guests

We just left another Pennsylvania farm and we are on our way to a Michigan farm. (if you are keeping track there are only two farms left and then we head home). We try to be good guests but with all these dogs we tend to do some damage. Some times it's minor, like just digging a hole or two and sometimes it's bigger, like chewing a hole in the cloth shading the puppy x-pen. And some times we don't recall away from the sheep pens when we should and we end up putting a sheep through a fence...
This,
led to this,
which led to this. Sorry Buddy! You're safe now.

Free Time

We are at a farm Pennsylvania. While Scott spends his time teaching clinics, I get a chance to hike up the trails a little with my dogs. Of course Skid prefers the road less traveled. I enjoy this chance to spend a little time with just my dogs without the whole kennel around. Sorry about Bob again. He still thinks the camera will steal his soul.
There are trails all over this place because it's a tree farm.

"It's a WHAT?"So many trees. So little time.

New Faces

Warning! The cuteness content of this blog is over the legal limit.
We've had some changes in our puppy kennel. Crue has now gone to live with his new family and can be followed over at the It's a Dog's Lyfe blog, Dave has gotten so big that he is now escaping the x-pen and has to spend the day tied out instead of playing in the x-pen (when we get home we have a big puppy kennel he can play in - and he doesn't really mind being tied out 'cause it's in the shade of the truck and he has made friends with the "big dogs"), and two new pups have joined us. The first one is Nan. She is definitely the sweetest pup we have but the cutest one looks a little different from the rest. This is Togo. He looks soft and fuzzy now but he's going to be Kit's back up in protecting the sheep. Don't bother asking what kind he is 'cause he's one of everything you've heard of and haven't heard of. He's only 9 weeks old so for now he'll travel with us until the end of this road trip. He needs to learn how to be friendly with people and border collies, come when he's called and walk on a leash. (That part is not going so well) When we get home he will only be 3 months old and he'll go out and live with Kit and the sheep. She will teach him how to defend them and his instinct will take over when he bonds with his flock. Once that happens, he will only get positive attention from me when he is with his sheep and negative attention if he tries to come to the house. In the mean time, I'm showing him a little bit about the world so he'll be a confident protector. Today we went to the creek at the farm we are visiting.
While Skid busied him self with his usual obsessive compulsive behavior, and Bob continued to pretend to be senile so he wouldn't get in trouble for listening to his bark echo in the tunnel, Togo fearlessly explored the creek bottom for dangerous predators. All I know is that the Alberta coyotes better live it up while they have the chance 'cause Togo arrives home in 3 more weeks and then things are gonna change!