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!

Chain Gang

We had a day off the other day where we weren't rushing to another trial. The weather was nice and the trees were shady so we thought we'd do a little training on the puppies. Today's lesson: how to act when you are tied out to a chain.
Some puppies were good and accepted the restraint with no argument. (Crue and Dave)Some voiced their unhappy opinions. (Syn) And some got downright mad! (June)

Workin' Dogs

No need to check the name of the blog again. You are at the right place. And no, I haven't changed sports. I have always loved following sled dog races but there is no danger of me switching sports since I hate the cold. But now I actually have a connection to an Iditarod finishing team of huskies! Every once in a while, one of our border collies doesn't cut the mustard as a herding dog. This year, Bet washed out.She is a good girl and very friendly but she didn't take the pressure of herding so we started looking for another home for her. It had to be a good home where they would treat her well but would understand the need for a border collie to have activities. Through a friend we got word of a sled dog kennel that was looking for a dog to do a job for them. The North Wapiti sled dog kennel was looking for a nice dog with a good recall that would help them with their pups. They like to take the youngsters out on walks on the trails but they can't always catch them again. (we know that feeling) They were looking for an easy going dog to lure the pups back when they were called. Bet recalls. Bet likes pups.Bet! THAT'LL DO!It worked! So Bet is still a working dog. She just switched sports.

Impressive

The farm we are visiting now has a whole bunch of feathered residents. Lots of guinea fowl, chickens and pea fowl. Today I came across the oldest peacock showing off his goods.The female was looking, but how can you tell if she's interested?Hmmm. I guess she wasn't.Well, I don't know about her, but I was certainly impressed.

A Visit

Today I went to my friend Sara's farm in Kentucky for a visit. I've been reading her Punkin's Patch blog for years and I finally got to meet all the animals. Unfortunately, Brushy the cat was too busy to take time out to greet us.But I did get to meet Keebler. He is possibly the cutest sheep ever born and he knows it. Poor Graham can't get by on his looks like Keebler so he has to have an extra sweet personality. With all of Sara's sheep, you probably figure she needs a border collie and she has one. But Iris doesn't get to follow in the footsteps of the traditional border collie jobs. At Sara's farm, the herding dog does more babysitting lambs than herding and is maybe a little bashful about her roll.
So Iris and her cohort, Miss Tilly the corgi, escorted me and Sara and the lambs around the property.
I got to meet her chickens and the other cats and more sheep - and the black horse with no name was very hospitable.I was sorry to leave at the end of the day, but I thought to myself: if I had to come back to this world as an animal, I would hope I would end up on Sara's farm.

Shaker Village

Scott and I are at a trial at the Shaker Village historical working farm in Kentucky. Being the history nut I am, a friend and I slipped away to go tour the village. Of course, my favorite part was the farm.
Look! Sheep! I don't see too many of those. (I can't imagine why Scott didn't want to go with me on the tour) Aww. A Highland cow. Doesn't it look just like Skid?