Timber View Farm

TMT 2012 #5

2012-02-02T13:11:00.001-05:00

Its that day of the week again....

1. Julie would like to know one frugal tip this week.

I had to come back to this question. Hmmm....does it count that sometimes I wash out plastic sandwich bags and reuse them?

Or I've been leaving my house heat set at 55 and just warming the room we are in with a ceramic heater? The verdict is still out on wether or not that is saving me $$$

Lately I've also been trying to cook bigger meals at night so that I have lunch to take to work with me the next day. The $9 lunches are killing me!!!
2. What are you reading this week?

Reading? Craigslist, emails, blogs...do those count?

No I have 2 books I'm flipping through now, one on farming on small acerage, the other on gardening on small acerage. Just trying to get a plan for the garden this year. I'd go broke if I got new books every time I finished one, most of the time I read the books my mom gets me for christmas in about 3 days :)

3. Barbara wants to know: do you hit the snooze button on the alarm clock, and if so how many times?

I set the alarm so it goes off 15 minutes before I have to get up. It makes me feel good to have a few minutes to lay in bed and watch the news! So I hit snooze once (my alarm goes off after 9 minutes) and then get out of bed a few minutes later

4. If you had to travel in a sedan (or if you already drive a sedan type car) and you had five or six dogs, how would you handle it?

I had a mazda protege and I had, I think, 4 dogs at the time and Tucker who had to still ride in the back. Solution was to throw dogs in the back seat and one in the front and crates that folded up in the trunk. It wasn't ideal or super safe, but it worked.

Now I have a mazda tribute. Its the small SUV. I have more dogs, 5 to be exact, which is lower that what I typically keep. One rarely travels with us so that helps. But I do Jen and Hep in a crate together, they actually do wonderfully that way. Dutch and Cass ride seperately. I'm searching for used Central Metal crates, they make them in narrower and shorter versions of regular crates, which would allow me to fit 4 crates of the same (intermediate) size in the back. I can fit 2 intermediate and 2 mediums in the car now, but I'm still searching for cheap medium crates on craigslist :) I've gotten 3 intermediate/large crates for $10 why do people want more for medium???

5. How much do you filter what you put on your own blog?

A lot, I love the super snarky blogs, but I also know that I have people that would offend and also some of my former riding students who read here. I also work for a non-profit that is funded by the state :)

I guess it would be bad if I didn't answer my own TMT questions while they are in the spotlight?

2012-01-26T10:11:00.000-05:00

1. How do you search for and then choose a trainer?

Word of mouth and past history. I have a lot of experience being and choosing trainers in the horse world, not so much in the dog world but I think the same principles apply. For myself I'm not looking for the most flamboyant trainer or the one who stands out. I tend to be drawn to the trainers who are reserved and have a way with the animals that goes without speaking....they are the ones who will be in the world a long time, not the one or 2 hit wonders, and they may not win every time but they are consistently near the top even in unnoticed.

I have had my share of bad horse trainers, those who maybe were at the top but got their because of short cuts. I don't believe in short cuts... Most people today (again this is the horse world) just want to win, they don't want to take years of slow and steady work to achieve the proper training and form to win. Sorry went off on a tangent :)

2. The dog world is small and... uh... talkative. After choosing a trainer how do you handle those people in your life who don't believe in that trainer/trainers methods and criticize them to you?

I listen, I catalog and I move on. Everyone has a past, everyone does things that others don't approve of. Its up to you to decide if you can live with them. Every one can also change, just because you've see Mr. X do Y to a dog in the past doesn't mean that is still the method he uses today. I've heard dogs can be ruined by letting them sleep on your bed, I know horse trainers that believe a horse can truly be ruined by letting them pick up the wrong lead one time.....

3. Do you believe that a person's personal life should influence your choice of a trainer? (i.e do you believe a person's choice to be a party animal outside of work would affect your choice?)

I asked this question because of an on-going debate in the horse world. There is a decent lower level trainer in the area that has quite a flamboyant lifestyle, he is a homosexual man and likes to party. People are trying to get his judges card revoked just because of the lifestyle he chooses to lead...

My thoughts are, if you can keep your home and work life separate then I don't care what you do. However, I can't condone drugs, stealing or crimes against nature (rape, bestiality, etc...) so if I find out you are part of these then I'm probably going to part ways with you.

4. When you have a break through moment with your dog, do you feel that moment makes your connection stronger with that dog and makes the next step in training easier?

Having recently had a break through moment with my dog I find the connection between us amazing. She has always been a great dog but recently its like things just clicked with her and she has now turned into an amazing working dog. Its like there isn't anything she isn't getting right now. Maybe its her age or the fact that she matured or maybe because I just started working her with no thoughts on where this training would lead. But I'm blown away when I work her now.....

5. Do you stick with just one trainer, or do you go to multiple sources for help?

I would like to stick with just one trainer but he's too far away!! But I tend to stick to trainers who have basically the same philosophy. I do like to hear others thoughts, just to keep them in my pocket even if I don't use them right away or on a particular dog.

And now for pictures of my new curly coated retriever....just kidding she's really a border collie. And she is out of a litter with 3 other smooth coats :)

TMT 2012 #3

2012-01-19T12:56:00.001-05:00

1. What is one lesson you've learned this week?

Hmmmmm....Uhhh....my brain is fried, good thing today is my Friday :)

2. Who or what might you have been in another life? What might you be in a next life?

I was probably a horse in another life. Though my best friend and I, in college, went to one of those psychic readers and she said I was a healer in a past life :)

In my next life I just want to have lots of money...ha ha no not really. Being another healer would be great!

3. What unusual things do you like the smell of but don't usually admit?

dirty socks..gross but true, vingear - I could smell it all day, horse poop

4. What are your thoughts on continuing on vs. retiring when a trial run is going badly? How do you decide? Where do you draw the line?

I dont' think I have trialed enough to have a definite answer. I hope that I would be one who would walk away to help my dog before the sidelines are (Laura!) going OMG go help your dog, but I can't make promises on that. I don't want to injure anyone's stock so....

5. This is a call for questions or subjects you'd like to talk about - I'd appreciate suggestions (and please come link up so that I'll be sure to see your post), so here's your chance!

I have a few questions...they all stem from things going on in my life :) And believe it or not it is stuff that isn't going on in the dog world

1. How do you choose a trainer? By word of mouth? Watching said trainer work/train?

2. And after choosing a trainer how do you handle those people in your life who dont' believe in that trainer/trainers methods and criticize them to you?

3. Do you believe that a person's personal life should affect your choice of a trainer? (i.e do you believe a person's choice to be a party animal outside of work would affect your choice?) and did I use the correct form of effect/affect?????

4. When you have a break through moment with your dog, do you feel that moment makes your connect stronger with that dog and makes the next step in training easier?

And here is a personal plea! I know some of you that read my blog aren't my facebook friend, so while this is my personal blog i'm going to post this. (if it offends you let me know!)
I am a national board member of the Brown Dog Foundation (browndogfoundation.org), we have a national fund but without wonderful donors we are going to be out of funding. Please if you can give, even if its just a dollar, consider giving to Brown Dog!

TMT #2 for 2012

2012-01-12T11:48:00.000-05:00

Laura's question for the week are as follows:

1. Stopping your dog - what do you prefer? On their feet? On their belly? Some combination?

Depends on the dog in my case. When Jen stops is is smack to the belly, as of recently she thinks stopping is optional so we are working on simply stopping. There are cases when I would like to have a stand on her so my next task is to teach her to stand.
Dutch on the other hand does NOT lie down behind sheep, no way, no how. He's always had a standing stop even as a puppy. I did eventually teach him to lie down off stock and he does it. And on rare occasions he will lie down when we are setting for an outrun but this is not the norm for him. He is quiet and not scary to his sheep so I'm OK with that.
Hep seems to think that it doesn't matter if you stand or lie, its a mixed bag with her. Maybe its because we are just getting a feel for each other but I sense that I am going to have to enforce a lie down because she can be a bit of a bugger behind sheep :)

2. At what point do you start teaching this?

Jen came with a beautiful lie down and when she listens she still has that beautiful lie down. Dutch never was one to lie down so he got the stand command from the start. Once I get Jen's stopping issue back in hand then I am going to start trying to teach her a stand, though I think its going to be hard because the lie down is so ingrained in her mind that any form of a stop means lie down to her.

3. Do you have a favorite dog? I won't tell.

Favorite dog overall? Yes, Jen everyone knows its not a secret. No matter how hard Dutch sucks up and is a wimpy mommas boy Jen will always be my heart.
Working? Depends on the situation. When the sheep are flighty and likely to run like bats out of he!! then I prefer Dutch, he settles sheep and can get right up their butts without spooking them and he will stand all day holding sheep without pushing them while I do things like trim feet.
If I have tough sheep I prefer Jen.

4. What is the #1 thing a dog can do to push your buttons?

Off stock - not come when called. It is one of my pet peeves and makes the "evil mom" voice come out and me come after said dog :)
On stock - to bust in or make a mess of things when I am trying to perform a task, i.e. trimming feet. I hate that, don't keep pushing and pushing until someone bust off or runs me over. Jen used to be the worst about that, many discussions later she is better, though not perfect :)

5. Brrrrr... it's winter. What is your favorite soup recipe?

Hmmm I'm a sucker for potato soup. I have a great recipe which is not with me at the moment. Maybe I'll remember and add it tomorrow

The passing of a great

2012-01-11T10:43:00.000-05:00

I was fortunate enough to get to keep Robin French's Spottie for her retirement years. I trialed her a few times but mostly used her on the farm to help with my small flock of sheep. She was a great teacher and taught me so much in the 3 years she was here with me.

She was an amazing trial dog for Robin and a great teacher for me and I will never forget that. Thank you Spottie, may you now run free without pain.

TMT 2012

2012-01-06T08:42:00.003-05:00

TMT is back...Thanks Laura. I didn't see this yesterday before I left work, so I didn't get a chance to fill it out...

1. What is your favorite new toy? I know you have one, so you might as well go on and fess up.

I didn't get any new toys this year. I'm sitting here trying to think of something interesting and toy like but I have nothing....

2. If you're going to be caught under the mistletoe, who would you LEAST like it to be with?

That's probably a longer list than what anyone wants to sit here and read!

3. New Year's Resolutions - for your dogs - share!

Hep - to get her to take my away whistle and flank and to get her trialing. She needs to be more fit before doing that so we are working on it.

Jen - to get her healthy and get her trialing as well. She is driving quite well now even if she tends to get dyslexia on the flanks!

Dutch - keep building his confidence and get him out to new places. I think we have figured out his weight issues, so I would like to make sure that he says at his new chunky weight :)

Duke - he is going to be trying out agility for fun and so that he has a focus, his resolution is to focus!

4. New Year's Resolutions - for yourself - share!

To be more organized

To get out to see my friends who aren't close more

To get my dogs to trials, even if just the local ones

5. How did you handle the holiday food situation?Oh, I wasn't supposed to eat everything in sight? We have 4 Christmas's, I ate a lot....I now wonder why I have a muffin top. Maybe the getting Hep fit thing will help me lose said muffin top? Lets pray :)

Ann wants to know.....

2011-12-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

What your perfect dog?

Do you like a dog that is really on the muscle?
I find the fact that dog people use this term hilarious. We use it in horses all the time. A horse on the muscle either means they are jacked up so high you can't really do much but work them down or they (in the racehorse world) are so up on the steroids they give them that they are flying high LOL..
Its a lot of effort for minimal reward so I'll pass on a dog like that :)

Do you like a dog that needs a steady stream of whistles?
This would elude that I could spit out a steady stream of decipherable whistles...LOL so the answer would probably be NO

Are you a maximal or minimal whistler?
going with minimal

Do you like a natural dog that feels the sheep and just needs a little direction here and there?
Yes I like a dog with natural feel. Most of our work is done at home and I don't want to be barking out commands. Cover when the sheep try to break, hold them in the corner without me instructing you to hold them there, etc...

Do you like a dog that prefers certain type of sheep?
I have a mixed flock; slow wool sheep that will turn on a dog, crazy hair sheep that run like bats out of he!! at the slightest movement of anything, and some pet sheep that were attacked by dogs and require very careful dog working right now. So I need a dog that can work them all!

Do you like a dog that wants to partner up and be a really good team player?
Yes, I like a team player, but being part of that team means I also have to admit when I am wrong and the dog is right.

Do you like a dog that really knows what s/he wants and you, as a handler really has to manage?
Isn't that inherently bred into the working border collie? Maybe I don't understand the question, it is the afternoon before a holiday, I'm not really here...

Do you want push?
Yes, not too much push LOL

Do you want a good listener?
Yes, but I want them to not listen when I am wrong

Do you want try? (Not tri.)
Yes I want try and I have a bunch of tri's

Do you like a dog who gets the job done, no matter the sheep, but it’s a big job to get that dog listening?
No, I like a dog that trust me enough to listen for the most part.

Do you want it all?
Of course, doesn't every female

Can you have it all? Since I don’t know enough to know what I don’t know, what do you want? What do you like?
No, my OCD will come up with something else unachievable before I get to "it all".

I have 3 dogs right now. Jen was my first and she's a little spitfire! A whole lotta push and try with great listening. If I can get her geared down just a little she is going to be an amazing dog. Sometimes she frustrates me when I know she is just trying to be helpful, only because she has a bit of push. She has been a great first dog and has taught me so much.

Dutch is completely opposite. Quiet and reserved. Where Jen tends to upset sheep Dutch quiets them. Dutch's making a mess of things isn't anything like a mess, he neatly puts it back together and doesn't get overly flustered. As Pat S. once told me, this dogs whole desire in life is to work sheep perfectly the way you want them worked, he may be timid natured but he has a big heart and wants to be the dog I need him to be. He is honestly the go to dog at 2 years old for the irrationally crazy sheep I own right now just because he doesn't upset them more than they already normally are.

Hep is new to me and comes from great training. We are just linking up but she seems to be a mix of Dutch and Jen. She is a very nice dog and I really enjoy working her so far!

TMT a day late :)

2011-12-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

We had a ton of things going on yesterday so I didn't get to this, so I guess for me its TMF!!

1. What are your plans for the holiday season?

Well my holiday's tend to revolve around family and Tucker. So we have some stuff planned in that venue. But honestly I'm trying to keep it stress free! I plan to work dogs some, work a bit, take some time off, and I've had my Christmas shopping done for the most part since before Thanksgiving!

2. Do you decorate? If so, what have you done so far?

Yes, I do but not much. We are going to get our tree on Sunday. We always have a big family trip to the mountains to cut down our own tree which I love and I can't wait. I have my 2 wreaths down but I haven't hung them yet.

3. a. Favorite recent dog photo? b. Photo that shows your mood today (or one word)?

Ok the photos will have to wait, its hard getting pics with a phone!

My mood today??? HAPPY!

4. There's been a discussion on the BC Boards about "don't train for the novice classes... just train for open and the rest will fall into place." What are your thoughts on this?

Well since i'm really not a trainer and am still quite the novice I'm not sure. I mean I know what it entails to get to open and have an idea of the basics of training for that. But in all honestly I don't "train" my dogs at home. I need them to do chores and work on the farm (as small as it is). So my dogs have had to split sheep off of the group before. And they do gather the sheep out of the back field. And we do move sheep from paddock to paddock. So maybe we do train for open we just haven't gotten far enough along to get to open?

5. What are your top five cannot-do-without-them dog items?

Hmmmm.....

leashes - because somehow even though my dogs are rarely on leashes I end up needing one.

papertowels - not really a dog item but I swear if I don't have them someone either barfs in my car or has an accident :(

medication - I always have several with me, cause you know just in case a dog or ME gets sick

crates - I need more crates though, anyone got any for sale

neon green collars - my dogs wouldn't be complete without them

I know, I know I missed a week!

2011-12-01T15:51:00.000-05:00

But it was Thanksgiving :)

Nothing really new and exciting going on here. I've gotten out to work my dogs locally a couple of times but am itching to get off work for a few weekends and head out to some trials, though I promise as soon as it gets cold I will change my mind. I hate cold, can summer come back please!!

The guard dog is slowly starting to form a bond with the sheep or maybe it should be the sheep are slowly starting to form a bond with the guard dog. They still don't find his leaping antics very funny when a person walks in the pasture and still don't want to sleep near him at night but we are working on that!

I swear I'm going to try to get some pics for next week. The new sheep haven't been seen or the new dogs either so maybe they need some photo ops!

Week 2 of updates and I'm keeping up

2011-11-17T08:52:00.000-05:00

Didn't do a whole lot in the way of dogs last week, considering it gets dark at 5:30 I can't get much in other than a quick walk. I did make it out to Rural Hill for the trial last Saturday. Had a great time and met some new people. I wish I had a dog that was ready to run but maybe next year :)

I got to go out to a friends and work sheep on Sunday. Its the first time my dogs have worked in over 2 months because I am rebuilding my sheep flock. They were both great! Jen was driving quite well and not looking back at me so much. And Dutch was looking nice as well, his outruns still need work but they are getting better. I finally got to work the dog I have on trial, Hep, she was very nice to work and was taking my rendition of her whistles!

I'm still on my quest to be nice. Its trying at times. Especially when people who are supposed to be your friends stab you knowingly in the back. It just reiterates to me why I don't have many close friends. Maybe that's what I need to learn, how to be acquaintances with someone without being their friend or truly letting them in my life. Whatever it is I'm trying to push forward with this lesson!

A new leaf?

2011-11-10T14:11:00.001-05:00

Since we aren't doing TMT until after Christmas I thought I would try to keep up with updating my blog on Thursdays anyway. Its week one so we will see how I do :)

There are some changes at the farm. This spring/summer my 2 first dogs went over the bridge to be free of pain and suffering. Emma passed when her bone cancer got too bad to bear and Oliver passed unexpectedly from hermangiosarcoma. It was a sad time with both of them going but I will say I know they are no longer in pain and will be waiting at the bridge for me when it is my time.

So I was down to 4 dogs of my own Jen, Dutch, Duke and Spottie. Spottie will be 14 on Monday and recently had a stroke type event so I'm not sure how much longer she will be with us either. She is enjoying her newfound freedom in the house, at least in her old age she is somewhat trustworthy! There are a few dogs at my house on trial. We will see how they work out in the end but for now I have a trio of tri's.

I'm trying something new with myself. I typically shy away from people, I don't like people, don't like people in my business and would prefer to be alone. But for 1 month I am going to try to be outgoing and meet new people. It is going to be a BIG stretch for me but I figure anything that doesn't kill us makes us stronger. If I don't die from this maybe I will be a stronger person when it is all over?

Oh and I need to update on my survivor sheep. Buddy is doing well, his wounds have healed and he is his typical goofy self again. Dot still has a ear that sort of hangs, she can move it but its just a big "different" now. She also appears to be pregnant. That means that my st. croix ram that died in the attack may be able to live on through her lambs, lets hope she's pregnant and not just super over weight! And poor Friendly is still chugging along. The wounds behind his ears have almost healed and hopefully the very slow healing wounds inside his mouth will continue to heal as well. I will try to update with some pics in the near future!

TMT a day late and probably a dollar short :)

2011-11-04T10:41:00.001-04:00

Yes, Yes I know I'm late this week...whats new???

But here we go anyway!

1. What are you thankful for this week?

I'm thankful I have a job that sometimes pays the bills, I'm thankful that i'm done dealing with the lady with horrid Rottweilers that she doesn't keep contained. And most of of i'm thankful for the strength I find within myself, especially on the days where I feel like everything is falling down on top of me! Oh yeah and Tucker and the dogs because they don't get mad when I take it all out on them ;)

2. How do you deal with a squeaker/shrieker/noisy dog?

Ummm they leave? Seriously I can hear dogs if they roll over in crates, I can't take shrieking. I have one now that does some talking and we are working on correcting that EVERY SINGLE TIME. But she doesn't do it much inside. Its like nails on a chalkboard to me...

3. Barbara wants to know: what would you say is ONE skill or attribute needed to be successful?

I have to agree with Laura on this one. I think anyone who is determined to do something is going to make it happen. I think they also have to have the strength within themselves to overcome the obstacles that get in there way as well. Ok so that's 2 shoot me.....

4. Pippin wants to know: what are your favorite games?Games? I mean I regularly attend baseball games but that can be attributed to the fact that my son plays baseball. And I don't mean just baseball in the spring...the only time we dont' play baseball is in the dead of winter. I may complain about baseball but I really do love it. I mean I dated baseball players in college. I have withdrawals when we dont' have baseball and have no idea what to do with my extra time for weeks after it ends.

But that wasn't the question. I don't think I play any games...Well...nah I'll just hush

5. What are some of your strategies for dealing with winter?

I hate cold! I dont deal well with winter. It makes me cold and tired just thinking about it. I like LOOKING at snow but really don't want to go out in in. I do love to snowski but I like it in the spring when the snow is slushy and its warm enough for a light jacket :)

I have a VERY old house that does heat well, so basically we freeze all winter and live under blankets. My dogs are all hot natured so they love it. I however do not and make them snuggle up with me at night. I'm looking at a woodstove this weekend to add to the house. Then that can fuel my OCD to be in a state of panic about burning the house down daily!

TMT shortened

2011-10-20T14:45:00.000-04:00

I for one am glad you shortened TMT this week, its been a busy day at work and I just got back from fire safety training as well as getting my flu shot for the year. My arm is already burning...its that possible?

What obstacles have you overcome this week, and what did you learn from them? This can be training obstacles, life obstacles, whatever obstacles you want to talk about.
Well I'm trying to over come an obstacle right now. My battery is dead in the parking lot. I get off at 4:30 and my son has a baseball game at 6 pm. I must get AAA here, jump off my car, make it to the battery place to get a new battery and then to the baseball field in time for his game.....

My mind is working beyond the here and now right now so I can't tell you what other obstacles I have over come this week, though I feel there were many given how tired I am :)

Its TMT...I've lost track of my number and that's probably because this week grosses me out

2011-10-13T10:53:00.000-04:00

So here are Laura's questions this week one induces nausea in me....

1. What is your favorite Little Debbie snack? If you hate Little Debbie then I bow down to your greatness. (I suppose you can include some other favorite snack. Maybe it'll inspire me to get over LD for today.)

Ummm yuck, how does anyone eat those and not want to vomit????? I mean I guess if I was dying and that was all there was I could manage. But gross, my child eats them and even the smell gets to me. I'll take straight dark chocolate with almonds Thanks!!

2. What do you use for laundry detergent?

Glad to know i'm not the only person using the Xtra brand LOL. But now I may need to steal your version of homemade detergent. I have old bottles, I'll keep them out of the trash in case I can re-use them.

3. Tighty Whities or Boxers? (this, obviously, is open for interpretation)

Who wears underwear anyway?? Kidding...boxers or maybe those boxer briefs. Tighty whities make me thing of redneck men who are drunk walking around in their tighty whities and wife beaters!

4. Dogs: On the bed? In the house? On the furniture? Never? What are your rules?

Well some are allowed on the bed, some are restricted to the floor...yes annoying dogs who can't be still at night are restricted to clicking around on the floor. On the couches yes when there is room. e don't really have rules, except muddy dogs are confined to the dog room!

5. Favorite dog-related website (aside from my blog, obviously har har har)? Favorite NON-dog related website? Can be blogs, or whatever.

Well like Laura, border collie boards are frequented but rarely posted on. I like fugly horse of the day too, though its recently changed ownership and isn't nearly as controversial which takes all the fun out of it!

Tell Me Thursday #4

2011-10-06T10:41:00.000-04:00

So this week Laura wants to know.........

1. If you won the lottery (a big one... I'm talking stupid muchos cash) what would you do with the money?

Ohhh I would buy a huge farm where I have various places to work my dogs and keep LOTS of sheep :) And pay off other things such as student loans and cars. Maybe then I could fly whatever trainer I chose out to my place to keep me and my dogs working properly too! Other than that i don't think much would change.

2. After winning the lottery would you work a day job? If so, what would you do?

Yes, I would keep a day job but it wouldn't be working in an office. I think I would go back to doing something with animals...vet tech, run a kennel/dog day care, back to being a horse trainer.....soemthing like that

3. Do you have any auxiliary dogs? Auxiliary dogs are dogs that are not essential to your main purpose (usually tiny, but not always). If you don't have an auxiliary dog what might you choose?

Does a non-working border collie count as an auxillary dog? That's all I got, well and a retired, deaf, partially blind, loves to bark working dog! But up until recently I had a pit/lab mix and a collie/greyhound mix as auxillary dogs.....I have kept my mom's min pin and while he's nice to snuggle with I don't think I could keep a small dog in my house, Jen tends to think small dogs are cats and wants to eat them!

4. Do you have a favorite crock pot recipe (or other recipe) you can share?

MMMMMMMM Crock pot macaroni....I want some now!

Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

1 - 8 oz pkg elbow macaroni, cooked and drained (= 1 3/4 cups dry pasta)

1 – 16 oz pkg sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 – 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 ½ cups regular milk

1 tsp salt

1 stick melted butter or margarine (I think you could use less…)

2 eggs, beaten

Combine all ingredients in crock pot; mix well.

Cook on LOW heat 3 ½ - 4 hours.

Tell Me Thursday #3

2011-09-29T14:45:00.000-04:00

Wow everyone should be impressed, I've managed it 3 weeks in a row!!

OK so this week Laura (and friends) want to know this....

1. What movie do you love but are too embarrassed to admit you love it?

Ummm embarrased no....a silly chick flick YES. Sweet Home Alabama. And yes it is on every weekend over and over again and yes I watch it at least once every weekend, though usually in parts :)

2. Ann wants to know: How far do you drive/travel to attend trials, clinics, lessons? How far is too far?
Well hmmmm I haven't trialed much, but I did back in spring drive 8 hrs to a clinic for the weekend, it was great fun and I planned to do it again but alas I will not be able to through not fault of my own.

3. What is your theme song (circa Ally McBeal)?

I'm supposed to have a theme song? Sorry this I do not have

4. Laura S wants to know: If you had to choose a new dog activity, one that you had never done before, what would you choose?
Well hmmmm maybe agility or search and rescue....

5. What would your dog choose (or scribe, if you're Pippin)?

Spottie would choose barking and she says don't argue with her that it's not a sport

Jen says is cat herding a different sport than sheep herding? Ok how about cat biting?

Duke says he would like to take up sheep herding (and will need to find a new handler to do so!!)

Dutch would like anything that involved jumping on top of crates, etc...so maybe agility would be the sport for him!

Tell Me Thursday

2011-09-22T09:53:00.000-04:00

Today Laura wants to know

Going forward over the next six months, what are your goals?

Hmmmm......that's a hard one since right now I am just trying to survive!

Lets see

1. Continue to improve my property (add fence along property line, add flowers/shrubs, etc...) and improve the pasture fencing as I can (horses are behind 3 strand hotwire)

2. Finish indoor home improvements (painting, putting floors down, more painting, putting up doors, etc...)

3. Get my dogs out to work more places and try to have them both ready to trial in PN by spring - I'm down to only 4 dogs, 2 of which work so it really shouldn't be too hard, just need to find the time!

4. Become more organized - this may be scary for those who know the OCD me, but maybe being more organized will help curb the OCD?? :)

5. To continue to grow in my career and not get stuck in a rut - I like change and get more fairly easily at work, if it doesn't challenge me or soemone doesn't keep me super busy I find things to amuse myself like blogging....

Tell Me Thursday

2011-09-15T09:27:00.000-04:00

So after my trauma of losing Oliver to hermangiosarcoma, having 1/2 of my lambs stolen and then the super traumatic experience of walking outside to Rottweilers killing my flock of sheep I'm back, maybe I'll keep up with my blog this time.

Here's what Laura wants to know for this week:

1. If you're not at the 2011 Sheepdog finals this weekend what are you planning to do?
2. One item you NEVER walk onto the trial field (any trial field, or training class will suffice) without?
3. Katy wants to know if you have a pre-run ritual that you observe?
4. How old were you when you had your first real kiss?
5. Bonnie wants to know what you do for yard mud control during the winter?

1.If you're not at the 2011 Sheepdog finals this weekend what are you planning to do?
Well Saturday is my birthday so mom and I are coming up to the Raleigh area for a huge tour of farms in that area. I'm planning to look at some BFLx lambs while I am there and hopefully pick up some great naturally raised food as well. I might even get to deliver Julie's puppy so that will make me extra happy to have puppy time :) Sunday if I can borrow a computer I hope to watch some of the finals (we dont' get internet access at my house unless you want to pay like $125/month...i'm just can't justify that)

2. One item you NEVER walk onto the trial field (any trial field, or training class will suffice) without?Well usually its the nice yellow stick I work dogs with. I don't know why but I feel a need to have it, I rarely use it, but one well know handler with the initals P.S. has used it to anchor me in one place since I tend to want to move with my dog!

3. Katy wants to know if you have a pre-run ritual that you observe?
Well considering I haven't trialed much no. I do tend to be very stressed that I am going to miss my run so therefore get my dogs out probably way too early. But thats just me and my OCD. Though I think that will come in handy with Jen since she needs to have that tendon warmed up before doing any work.

4. How old were you when you had your first real kiss?
I think 14. A boy I met at the beach and I remember nothing of it other than it being dark, it was super hot and he wasn't a very good kisser though who can blame him I'm sure it was his first kiss too!

5. Bonnie wants to know what you do for yard mud control during the winter?
Your supposed to control the mud? Ummm yeah I just don't. I have a "mud room" which is where dog crates, etc are so I just let the dogs in there, I try to wipe feet and I do a lot of mopping of that floor!

Revelations

2011-04-19T13:17:00.001-04:00

I know...I've been AWOL again. Winter just isn't my thing and the start of spring has proven to be busy with a new job, baseball, clinics, and GRADUATION! That's one thing I can't wait for, yet I am considering going right back to get a Masters in Human Behavior Analysis....

But on to the dogs...

Jen is back to work, I even ran her in a trial. It wasn't stellar, it probably wasn't even acceptable. But she did it, the start of a P/N course. You can't imagine the joy (and fear) of watching that dog leave my feet and do a beautiful outrun, lift and fetch after all she has been through. There were times in her rehab that I never thought she would go back to work and there were times that I thought about giving up. But we forged on and look where it go us. Now if I can just get her back to taking inside flanks while driving we will be ready for so much more. She is my inspiration, no matter what she never stopped trying.

Dutch is coming along nicely. I attended another Patrick Shannahan clinic with him and we made great progress. He is an interesting dog, not soft but very sensitive. He is a true reflection of me, he wants to be right all the time no matter what. He needs confidence and starting to drive gave him a lot of confidence. He loves to drive. Right now I am walking along with him, he is "brave" enough to push them maybe 20 ft or so ahead of me and he is starting to take inside flanks with just a "here" and then the flank. He may be slow to mature but I think he will be a nice trustworthy dog when its all said and done. I've been thinking a lot about techniques and training methods since the clinic. I really like Patrick and his methods make sense to me. The make sense to my dog as well, obviously. Dutch even came around and started to work for him!

Emma passed away on March 17, 2011 at 13 yrs old. Bone cancer brought her down and I wanted to let her go with dignity. My house is awfully quiet without my personal doggie alarm clock, but I know that she is pain free now. Its hard having old dogs...there are 2 more in my house Oliver, 11, and Spottie, 13, they are both doing great for now so I am hopeful for more time with both of them!

Patrick Shannahan Clinic Review

2010-12-14T06:24:00.004-05:00

Wow! What a fun time we had yesterday and to think Julie P and I almost thought about not going. Patrick is a great clinician and trainer and helped me get some amazing work out of Dutch. What a drastic change in such a short time with just a few little changes!

Patrick had me work Dutch just a little myself just so he could see him work first. Then he came and talked to me, he says Dutch isn't soft just super sensitive and that he doesn't like to be wrong at all. With some very light corrections and taking the pressue off of him when he is right and putting it on him when he is wrong, very lightly I might add, we had Dutch doing 100-150 yd outruns.

We also worked on his pace, at the top he now slows himself down, lifts them nicely and marches them down the field at a nice reasonable pace instead of blowing into them and tearing them down the field or quitting if you got after him for doing so.

All of this outrun work translated right over into his driving and he is driving much better now, I still walk along with him but he is pushing them along at a nice pace and controlling them.

I'm excited, can't wait to get him out and work on this with them. I plan to go to another clinic in the spring with Patrick if I can get into one. He works well with Dutch and I think he can help me along with him. And the fact that my dog doesn't like to be wrong thrills me....NO he's nothing like his owner :)

I'm just here...

2010-09-13T07:01:00.000-04:00

I've kind of been in a funk lately, stuck between a rock and a hard place...so i'm here, but just here

Jen is still doing rehab, not going to the rehab vet on a regular basis, everything we do is at home now. She's bored, I'm bored, but we plug away at her exercises every day. She goes back end of December/first of January for another recheck. Then if all looks well she can start to slowly go back so sheep work, meaning 2 minutes at a time.....

Dutch is growing up...

he's 15 months old now and looking pretty nice on sheep. I'm starting to do little outruns, give him flanks commands and keep reinforcing his "stand". Starting him I never thought I would say that since he started off sticky. I try to use him for the chores that I can, though when I have to move sheep outside of the fence I do use someone else! Thank you Julie for working him while I was out of town, that week of work did wonders for him. I'm hoping to get Dutch out to some new places, anyone who wants to volunteer their fields/sheep would be welcome, I have a few opportunites just need to work out the logistics....and maybe run him in NN as I can find the trials, time and money.

Spottie is still here, seems she has mostly gone deaf to my tone....but she can hear Tucker. Tucker likes to go out in the sheep field and play with the sheep, he pretends he is the dog and his favorite activity is shedding the sheep. I like to sit out and laugh at him and he always wants me to pick the hardest sheep to shed off as single so that he can attempt it. I have to admit that he is pretty darn good at it and holds his sheds well. So the other night I told him to go get Spottie and he could try to work her. I'll be darned if she just didn't work for him! She didn't want to take his lie downs but for the most part was good. She CAN hear him, so he now has a dog to work around the farm and learn how to be a handler. I imagine that I will be giving up one of my dogs for him to work in short order......CRAP that means I'm going to need more dogs since I only have 1 that is work now and 1 that may be able to work again sometime in the next year LOL.

The rest of the old dogs are doing well for now. Duke isn't old but he goes into that category. If anyone wants an agility or trick dog he is their man and I would consider loaning him to someone for that purpose, kind of like a free lease on a horse....but only to the perfect home!

My job front sucks, I mean it really does. I've worked for the same facility for 9 years.....and they cut my hours to part time. So now i'm working 3 part time jobs. Talk about tired, some mornings I can barely get up! I'm hoping to find a single full time position soon. I have an interview this Wednesday that could potentially be the job of my dreams (pending the hours are good and the pay is decent). Lets all cross our fingers for that.

I need to get out and mow the pasture so that some friends could come down and work dogs/sheep with me.....as soon as the fuel pump on the lawnmower gets fixed

Maybe that will get me out of my funk.......

Better get my jogging shoes in gear!

2010-07-13T16:33:00.000-04:00

Jen is officially close to the end of her weekly rehab! The vet told me today that we are to keep walking 2 hrs a day, broken up into 4 sessions but we are now to add 15 min a day of jogging! What a big step for a dog who ~4 months ago wouldn't even put weight on the leg......

But now I have to figure out how I am going to keep up for 15 min....I don't think I'm that fit. Though Dutch has been getting me prepped for this! Time to slow him down and speed Jen up!

Dr. Ben's Benefit Trial

2010-06-28T21:27:00.000-04:00

Well, there wasn't a big turnout for the novice trial. But I will say it was a nice supportive group of people and a fun day. I met several people that I have never met before. I ran Gael in P/N, we ran 5 sheep and a slightly different course from the last trial at the same place. This time we had no fetch panels but were required to keep a straight line down to the post a left hand drive and then to the pen. Our first run wasn't horrible but there were many things I could have improved. Our second run was one to write about!! Fabulous for only having run this dog 1 other time. Had to redirect her twice at the top, actually did on both of my runs, so I need to figure that out. Little bobble on the fetch but we quickly got back online. Nice turn at the post with a little bobble on the drive away due to the sheep wanting to escape to the exhaust but they got back on line and went nicely through the drive panels. Nice pen, had one try to escape as I was shutting the pen gate but my stick influenced her to stay in. Score of 65 out of 80....I was highly impressed with Gael and myself!! Can't wait for the next trial!

And it was a success

2010-06-01T14:35:00.001-04:00

Wow. It wasn't perfect my any means, no lie down at the top or really even until the fetch panels....but for me it was a success. I ran Gael in P/N with Robin and Jet holding out the sheep and made it through the entire course.......WITHOUT A GRIP or really even a thought of one!! We actually came in 7th which isn't great, but for me with only 2 trials under my belt, neither of which were with Gael, it is great! I can't wait to run again!

I really love running Gael. We know what we have to work on over the next 3 weeks. A lie down on Gael and maybe next time I won't be deathly ill so I can actually blow my whistle and not go into a coughing fit! I really hope my new whistle gets here in time, I have a thin one and REALLY like the thicker ones better!

Jen was very happy to get to come out and get her rehab walking in at the trial. She was so happy to see everyone.

So we have been working well...

2010-05-28T11:17:00.000-04:00

LOL we will see if it all works out in a trial situation though. I rarely get nervous for anything anymore thanks to the years of showing horses....but ummmmmm well I'm not really nervous now just want them day to come to see if the big Gael/Kelly debut will be magical or disasterous. Its gonna be a long weekend! I keep using the techinques of invisioning the run in my head as I want it to happen, so hopefully the good visions will carry us through!

Jen will be in tow so that I can get all her rehab in that day and Dutch as well so that he can get some socialization.

Updates to come Tuesday, wish us LUCK

Moving forward....

2010-05-18T20:28:00.000-04:00

Lots of things have been going on lately. We have gotten several new chickens because of my egg business literally exploding. Its a good thing and Tucker has named them all. The newest injured hen (bought that way) named Henrietta LOL.

Jen is trucking along in rehab. We are down to only 1 vet visit a week, she is walking 4 times a day for 20 minutes each time. And 1 day a week other that vet visit day I take her soft cast off and she gets to spend the day without anything supporting her leg and she gets to walk without the cast for 15 minutes 2x that day.

Dutch is coming along. He has been out on sheep quite a few times and seems to get better each time. He is a nice looking dog so far and even during an experiment out in JP's field that went wrong he didn't majorly lose his head!

Gael is working nicely for me, I'm trying to learn her whistles better as Spottie would take anything close where Gael won't. We are entered in a trial, starting out in P/N in a few weeks and then the end of next month, pending the first trial goes as plans I have moved us up to Ranch. It will be nice to have her to learn from. I have basically decided to retire Spottie to just farm work, she was getting slower and slower while working in any sort of larger area and just wasn't recovering as well as I thought she should, so its definitely nice that Robin has let me borrow Gael (and good thing she works for me)......Now if only I could find an affordable dog that could definitely take me to open ;)

Other than that nothing around the farm has really changed......more updates to come!

So the long process continues on....

2010-03-25T21:38:00.000-04:00

Unless you have the patience, of oh say Job, please do not ever allow your dog to cut her flexor tendon. I am somewhat patient (LOL) and have a knack for sticking with rehab in horses. But man let me tell you, rehabbing a 2 yo border collie when you really have NO idea how its going is to say the least frustrating! Especially when said border collie is tired of being braced/casted/bandaged and really just wants to go work so she decides to eat the custom made brace. Patience I tell you, someone really thought I needed a lesson in it!
Thanks to a friend, thanks Barbara, I'm going to ask for an outline of the basics of what we will be doing for the next 9 months....it may change but at least I have something of a baseline. And maybe my vet won't disown me in the process with my incessant questions!

On another front, Dutch is going nicely for a 9 month old pup. I really like him and am glad he has worked out for me since Jen is out of commission for a while! We have Ranger here spending the weekend so he is having a great time playing with him!

Gael and Spottie are doing well, we are trying to get back in line so that we can do some trials this spring. Definately doing Dr. Ben's trial and hopefully we can get in at the bluegrass. Then after that maybe I'll make my debut in open at Robin's trial, with all that patience i'm learning!

So this is a short update, but hey at least its an update. Maybe this weekend i'll try to do an update on all the new chickens we have, thank Julie for encouraging the habit, since all of the old ones met an unfortunate demise.

Ok so you all probably thought I got lost

2010-02-14T17:02:00.000-05:00

But I really haven't I have just been SUPER busy with things!

First off, poor little Jen, my all time favorite dog managed to injure herself about a month ago. I had her out in the yard with all the dogs, they were having a grand time playing, and some how she managed her cut her leg just above the carpal pad, well being that dogs dont have any fat in that area, she also managed to cut the flexor tendon on that leg. She had emergency surgery to repair the tendon and has been splinted for 4 weeks now. I think we are going to try to move to support bandages next week and go from there but its going to be a long recovery for her.

Dutch has decided that sheep are fun and now wants to work all the time. He has only been on sheep 2 times, if you don't count the 1 time he broke into the pasture, and seems to be doing well. I think I will like him....that is if I can catch him when its time to be done working sheep. He's 7.5 months old now and is small like Jen, I think that runs in the lines, but he has enough attitude lately for 2 dogs! This is a picture of him after a long day of destroying a toy with my old labx.

I managed to steal Gael from Robin back in December. Well actually Robin offered, but I think she thought I would have sent her back by now. Its nice to have her around now that Jen is hurt and she is a blast for me to work. I really like her style and may even try to trial her sometime this spring. Don't worry Robin she will come home sometime!!

That's all the dog updates I can think of for now, I'm sure there will be more soon though....

Working Dogs

2009-10-07T09:45:00.000-04:00

So I needed to move some sheep around yesterday....in the rain....and since I was already wet I decided to make work for both the dogs. First, let me apologize, I have no pictures as I am not yet talented enough to keep an eye on Tucker, yell at other barking dogs, watch horses reactions for signs of panic, watch sheep reactions since it requires moving them where there aren't any fences for a time being, and working/watching my dog. So I will insert a pic of Jen working over the summer for your viewing pleasure at the end.

First I took Spottie out and got all the sheep in the round pen, the 2 that I was keeping out of the main flock to strengthen up and then the rest of the flock as I wanted to move them somewhere else for a few hours. Spottie works well so truthfully there isn't much to talk about with her, except we are working on hind end strengh. Which I oddly enough have a lot of experience in with horses.....so some of those techniques are going to work on Spottie, we will see if that works out for her too!

After I had the sheep all put into the round pen, I put Spottie up and got out Jen. I wanted to push the sheep up to me so I could check eye color and worm if necessary. I also wanted to check feet because I'm a horrible owner and I hate doing feet unless absolutely necessary. Don't worry they don't suffer and they eventually get done. She did a great job at that. She occasionally creeps up on her belly still but a firm lie down keeps that under control. And if one splits off she takes that as a reason to very quickly make sure its put back in its place. She doesn't grip anymore but she sure is quick if they try to make a break for it which tends to upset the other sheep. But all in all she did well. I guess nutty sheep don't particularly scare me, so when they get a little upset, I just keep working.

We have fenced off the bottom section of the pasture as we are going to till it up this fall and replant seed since it isn't very good forage for either horse nor sheep down there. When I am taking the sheep down, I typically move the horses over to a paddock so they don't intermingle. Well it was raining and I was lazy. I had thrown some hay out to the horses so I thought they might stay up top while I had Jen pushed sheep to the bottom. They did and Jen managed to drive the sheep down through 2 gates and into the bottom. I'm really learning to trust my dog, its hard for me she started out as a sulky, sharky, fast dog. She is doing well....now if we can only learn inside flanks! If i'm in the picture we have this huge wide flank or either a sulky short flank!

Jen works so well around quiet women......I have been trying to just have her around men or people with more presence with me. Not working, just around them as she tends to get very sulky if she feels a strong person is around......not sure how to fix that but we keep moving onward!

I'm more than happy with both my dogs.....and soon I'll have that puppy to start! Thank you Robin for Spottie, she has taught me a lot in the short amount of time I have had her and she is a riot in the house and magically gets along with everyone!

OK OK I know I haven't blogged in a while!

2009-10-05T12:21:00.000-04:00

So there has been a lot going on lately!!

First, I went to my first dog trial 2 weekends ago. Boy, now I'm hooked! Being a former competitive equestrian, I really have the desire to now be a competitive dog handler! I replay it over and over again in my mind and just think of all the things I could have done better. But I think we all did OK for our first trial....2nd in P/N with Spottie and 6th in N/N with Jen. It was Jen's first trial as well and the competition wasn't exactly easy either! Spottie is down to her ideal weight but we now need to work on Endurance!

Second, Dutch is growing and growing. He is up to about 15 lbs now and he thinks he is King of the Hill (see below). He continues to be a great puppy and gets along well with everyone. I have to say, I have been keeping my sisters 6 month old lab for the last 2 months who never quite got dog manners, the first time someone growled at Dutch over a bone, I was ECSTATIC to see him back off and find a different bone!! His ears have started to stand...OK well they both stood for a while, now only one stands, the other is a 1/2 way up other 1/2 sideways ear! But its CUTE!

Thats all for now.......There will be more to come! We are entered in a couple of other trials coming up and I will try to get better updated pics of the puppy and the other happenings around the farm!

New Field

2009-09-04T16:17:00.001-04:00

I haven't been able to work lots of different places with my dogs, and while Spottie has been MANY places thanks to Robin, Jen has not. I don't know if Jen has really done any work other than my field, JP's field and her old owners field ever. So when I was presented with the opportunity to go to another field and work them I jumped at the chance!

It was a bigger field than I had ever been on and we were working lambs, not somewhat broke lambs, just lambs! I worked Spottie first and true to form she lifted the sheep nicely and worked well. We are still working out a few kinks between us, mainly the fact that she knows she can get away with more with me than she ever could with Robin. But I think we will make a nice team and I think she will really help me get started in trialing.

Next I brought Jen out, I wasn't nervous, but had prepared myself for disaster. We started out in a smaller fenced area and she was working quite well so we moved out into the big field. That little dog went right around and did well. She worked those flightly lambs like she had been doing it forever and was even driving them with confidence and energy! The only bobble we had was my fault, I couldn't see her and thought she was chasing the sheep. I should have trusted her as she was only covering and JP said she would have done just what was right had I left her alone rather than lying her down. We even got to take the lambs and work on penning them. Something Jen and I had never done and she did great and we got them penned more than once!
I'm glad to see her really starting to come into herself...now I just need to trust her!

All is good on the puppy front, we had one bad night but that seems to be over with and he is doing well. He is very sweet and gets along with everyone so far.

All in all it was a good evening, hopefully we will be able to get out somewhere this weekend and work again.

Introducing Dutch

2009-09-02T09:30:00.000-04:00

Since I have been told that my blog is sorely overdue for an update here is it!!

First I would like to introduce Dutch. I was and still am against little puppies, they are just a pain in the you know what, and I already served my time as a mother for a small something (Tucker). I just like dogs you can actually do something with! But I still got talked into Dutch.....

He isn't nearly as big as he looks in the picture, I'm working on getting a scale so I can weigh him, but my guess is 10 lbs and no more. He is a tiny little thing at 11 weeks, but oh so sweet and listens quite well. He is an uncle to Jen, not fully but enough to have some of the same charecterisitcs as her (her head, the smile). I'm hoping he will turn out to be a nice working dog as well as companion to Tucker.

He has a funny story on how he got his name, it started out from the breeder as Cole. I don't care for that name and all the puppy names we had come up with during our hopes of getting a ChrisxZac pup were female names. I love the show Deadliest Catch and was watching it one weekend morning while waiting for Tucker to wake up. I really want to visit Dutch Harbour and had thought that would be a great show name for a horse. So once we got the pup home we started calling him Dutch and it stuck. He seems to recognize his name and neither him nor Duke seem to be confused at who I am calling. Now me on the other hand, with Duke, Dutch, and Dash (Tucker's kitten), I can't wait to see what kind of name I come up with when yelling at one of them :)

So I'm at my limit for dogs! And I'm WAY over my limit for cats, seriously can ANYONE take a kitten, anyone???

I'm also excited to get started trialing with Spottie. She is working well for me, although we are still sorting out whistles, by no fault of hers. I'll keep everyone updated on how we do at our first trial, don't expect greatness though!

Updates from the farm

2009-07-29T12:22:00.000-04:00

So I know its been forever someone who will remain unnamed felt it necessary to remind me of this fact...sometimes I do need a push to update though.

Well yesterday I took the plunge and got a new car, I really needed one as my old mazda protege, was well old, well worked and starting to slowly fall apart. It probably needed more work that what I wanted to even think about but I didn't want to trade it because I didn't want my payments to go up and I was sure they would. But thanks to a dear friend who helped me with my deal I got a new to me 2006 Mazda Tribute, much lower miles that what my car had and more room for dogs!! I was going to add a pic but either blogger or this computer doesn' t seem to want to operate so that will have to be added later.

I also am (hopefully) if I can scrape up the funds getting back a horse I used to own, Architect's Dream. Fred was my horse about 6-7 years ago and I ended up selling him to a kid who was going to show him, long story short they didn't and he ended up who knows where for the past several years. Well last Friday he was run through Sugarcreek Livestock Auction a notorious kill sale. Someone who actually lives in Hickory remembered his name and that someone was looking for him. She found my ads, bought my horse and contacted me. Fred is still in OH at this time, I'm trying to find the funds to pay her back for him and to ship him down...Its NOT as cheap as it used to be!

Other than that everything has been going well. I have applied for a few jobs that are closer to home, since the one I promised it now off the table because the pay, well it sucked! I'm tired of driving an hour and 15 min each way to work everyday.

Oh and I still have 2 lovely kittens that need homes a really sweet female black kitten and a very playful but sweet black male kitten. They have been wormed twice and I will be giving them their shots shortly! And I still have my retired from showing gelding, he would make someone a great pasture ornament or a trail horse but he isn't for a dead beginner on the trail. He would even probably make a great dead beginner lesson horse in the ring as he is dead quiet there.

Funny eared dogs

2009-07-06T10:24:00.000-04:00

I thought I would spotlight a non-working dog today. I always tell Julie how much I love her dog with funny ears and how if a dog with funny ears comes along I am going to fall in love with it!! I already have one funny eared dog. He has been with me for ~10 years, he was a pound rescue as a puppy and he is a different type of dog. He is come type of collie mix, I have gotten differing opinions over the years on what he is mixed with. He looks part greyhound to me but we will never know. I took some pictures of him the other morning with his ears up, he doens't typically stand them up unless he sees/hears something that is of interest to him. Here is what he looks like with them up...

But was he was really thinking...YUM fresh chicken for breakfast. He hasn't ever gotten the chance but I have no doubt he would be a chicken killer if given the chance.

Oliver will actually go around sheep, haven't done anything but see if he would go around them. At 10 years old I figured there is no use in even trying but per his last vet visit he is in excellent health for a 10 year old dog...He does however do some funny tricks. He went through tons of obedience training, which in the end never worked for him on recall, no matter how much training you do with treats or anything else, if he sees something that he would rather be doing he does that, fingers in ears saying ha ha you can't catch me, remember that greyhound parent I had!! He is one long legged FAST dog!! Tucker thinks his best trick is the one where you tell him to get the cats and he jumps around in circles barking even when there are no cats around. He actually loves cats and would never hurt one. He will be sorely missed if anything ever happens to him. He is my guard dog and with his size and strength I don't think I would mess with him. My brother thought it funny one day to wrestle with him and then get on his motorcycle and ride right by him (Oliver doesn't like loud noises either), my brother regretted that day!! He is the dog that if I have to go scavenging through the woods/fields/pasture in the middle of the night that I always take with me, because if you are going to hurt me you would have to get through him first!

Yummm, tasty chicken for breaksfast. He was eyeing the chicken that lives in the horse pasture because she believes that she is a horse!!

Another Fun Weekend

2009-06-22T09:45:00.000-04:00

So, I spent another Saturday morning up at Julies, I'm lucky enough that she doesn't care that I come up almost every weekend to work my little dog. She even comes out and holds sheep for us when we need it. Robin, Dan King, and Laura were all there this Saturday so it made for a fun day of working dogs and Robin and Dan taking pictures. Robin got some great ones of Jen working while both her and Julie also gave me pointers on lengthening Jen's outruns while making sure there were still correct. I just love this little dog!

Tucker came with me and actually enjoyed himself. He took a nap on Julies day bed with one of her dogs and then even went on a walk with her, his excitement for the day - the bee attack!!

I also made one of my decisions on Saturday, I took home Robin's Spottie to try her out. Robin says she is a lot like Jen, just in an older more trained version...so we are going to see how it all works out. Hopefully she can teach me a few things and maybe I can help her with her weight loss....she has already been on 4 walks since I got her Saturday, so maybe she is well on her way...

On Sunday, Tucker and I took Tigger to his new home with Pam M. Tucker had a blast there, he got to play with Rly and Pam is even going to let him come over with Duke and learn some agility. She says he is old enough to be a Jr. handler so he is really excited, he really wants to train Duke to do some things.

So all in all it was a productive weekend!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

2009-06-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

I'm made a promise to myself that I would start to keep up my blog more.....
I'm trying, my week has been filled with difficult decisions.
Whether or not to take on another older dog on.....(if it all works out yes)

Do I want to get a new SUV (less gas mileage) or keep my car? Or keep my car and try to find a Laura special (aka the $300 van)?

As much as I don't like puppies (yes I know i'm strange) do I want to get on a puppy list to have something coming up once I get my Jen trained?

So its been a busy mental week, all of this along with keeping up with my classes I am taking this summer, Microeconomics and Organizational Behavior Psychology. Both of which, I HATE.

So I'm just looking foward to Saturday, getting up early and going up to work my Jennie Minnie at JP's.......

Oh and if anyone is interested I have a nice dressage schoolmaster gelding, 16.2h, 17 yo, that has also done the hunters and jumpers that needs a good home. He does need some maintenance to stay sound but nothing major and he is free to a good home for someone that could put him to use...he also makes a great lawnmower.

And I still have kittens, someone please take a kitten. Darci I can ship you a nice set of mousers......someone PLEASE save me from the kittens

Birds and Kittens

2009-06-03T14:30:00.000-04:00

Julie, being the kind person that she is, gave Tucker 2 tiny chicks earlier in the spring of this year. Only 1 made it for unknown reasons, the surviving one has been named cornflake....

Tucker loves Cornflake, Cornflake loves the cat crate she grew up in (I guess she is a she). The other black sex link chicks that are just about the same age love the fact that they are in an outside pen with no more cat crates at night (we have bad opposums), Cornflake does not, she will actually choose her crate over being out in the yard....weird bird. But Tucker has taught her to follow him and to sit on his shoulder, he is so proud. Its hard to take a picture of a bird and a boy, so they aren't the best pictures but at least you can see how Cornflake is turning out.

I also have kittens that I really really really need to find homes for and if someone wanted a really good barn cat their mother can go too. Someone dropped her off here pregnant....I don't need anymore cats. So someone PLEASE take them home! Again, moving objects don't do really well in pictures taken by a phone....but you can tell they are kittens, I think?

There are 2 black kittens, here is one of them, they both look the same, one is male, one is female.

Then we have the single striped one....he is a male

Their (is that the right tense?) mother is a smokey blue/grey color, she isn't as docile and tame as the others but is very pretty, I will have her spayed before she goes to another home or goes outside of my house for that matter....

Poor Poor Doughnut

2009-05-29T08:46:00.000-04:00

So, I had several request for the pictures of poor doughnut.....

Here they are, they really don't show quite how bad he looks in real life, but the other sheep pick on him. Beside Doughnut in the 2nd picture, with the brown head and one spot is Polka Dot, she is a lamb ewe born this year, when I say she is huge you can now see I'm not lying!

I also wanted to add a picture of my Jen, she is the topic of most of my blogs as she is my only working dog......so here she is watching a sheep dog trial back in April. My mom has to be credited for this nice photo of her.

I need to get some pictures of the rest of the gang!! I'll try to do that this weekend.

The adventures of Doughnut

2009-05-27T08:52:00.000-04:00

Last week I needed to do something with at least one of the several sheep who aren’t shedding well. They are getting really hot when being worked and their hair doesn’t seem to be coming out at all…..

So Jen got to do some practical work. Holding sheep isn’t her favorite thing, it’s boring to her and sometimes she feels the need to bust in and make work for herself. So it’s good for her to have something like this to do. I got out the horse body clippers and decided to attempt to shear some sheep. I had Jen push all the sheep into the corner where the “sheep hotel” is, which is basically a small wooden sheep house with a gate on it. And sorted off the ones who appear to be shedding and locked them in the hotel. I wasn’t sure if it would work and if it did how long it would take me per sheep. So I had her push the other non-shedders back to me and grabbed and haltered Doughnut.

Poor Doughnut, his name has been changed, he used to be Sammie, but Tucker (who named all the sheep) decided that he was more of a doughnut after he came home from Liberty. He was the poor lamb that was the chosen one for my experiment…it was definitely an experiment. While I am an expert body clipper, not so much on the shearing side with horse clippers and don’t you know every neighbor stopped by just to say hi that afternoon. It was hot, I was dripping sweat and constantly reminding Jen to lie down, but me being me was determined I was going to make this work and I was going to get Doughnut sheared. Well he is kind of sheared; not nearly as short as what I saw when I was at Julie’s during shearing time. But he at least has shorter hair now…Well except his head and neck.

Tucker says the other sheep call Doughnut names now, the clippers were too big to be able to clip his tiny neck and head, so he has a full coat there. I really should get a picture of him but it might be too embarrassing for him and then the other sheep might really pick on him. What they don’t know is that as soon as it stops raining they are all in for the same experience, except maybe this time with hand shears. But I can’t promise any of them that they are going to look any better!!

6 things

2009-05-26T14:16:00.000-04:00

Since, Laura at crooksandcrazies is determined to get me to post, I will participate in the 6 things I appreciate blog chain......

1. My supportive family - not only of my new endeavor into the world of border collies and sheep but also of all the other things that keep my plate full....especially Tucker!

2. Tucker - what would my life be without him, I hate to say it but I would probably be in a different place and a totally different person with out him.

3. Dogs - What can beat coming home to 4 dogs who no matter what are happy to see you. Especially Jen, she is my sidekick and is happy to go anywhere with me and do anything even if it doesn't include sheep. And for Jen, I have to say that as much as it took for us to get used to each other, I love this dog dearly, there isn't anything that I would give her up for....

4. Hearing animals munching hay - this is my relaxation, I used to just sit in the barns in the morning after feeding and listen to horses eating. I have now come to realize that sheep have that same calming effect, well except Bridgette since she just wants to go Baaaaaaaaa if she see's me.

5. Friends - Yes I know I have OCD, yes I know I second guess myself even when I have a background of being a vet tech and I KNOW the right answer. Thanks for all of you that put up with me from the horses to the dogs...I KNOW!!!

6. Ben - I know he drives me insane from time to time and he just doesn't quite get that I want things done my way not his, but he is great....from bringing hay in the pouring rain to picking up Tucker from school when I can't, I think I need to tell him thank you more often.

So there, I made 2 people happy today by updating my blog!! I had fun at the trial yesterday as well...Maybe ONE day I will get to participate in a trial as well. Jen will take some time, in the meantime I'll keep praying for a dog that needs to retire from open to come teach me the ropes! Otherwise I'll just keep waiting on my Jennie Minnie!

Clinics

2009-01-28T09:21:00.000-05:00

My dog Jen and myself participated in the Jack Knox clinic at Julie P's a few weeks ago. I saw a lot of things, learned a lot of things, and met a lot of wonderful people. I have to say though, there is a striking resembalance between horse people and working dog people, so much that it's amusing.

I grew up in the horse "world" showing hunters and jumpers both locally and on the east coast. Even managed to get a scholorship and ride on the varisty equestrian team for 3 years, those 3 years we won the national championship (not saying I had ANY part in this). I guess you could say I'm an accomplished equestrian, but that isn't what this is about!! I just got into the working dog world. I have noticed that there are a lot of horse people in this as well, which could be considered a good and bad thing!

I won't go into detail but the similiarites are amazing. I mean amazing. Now I don't think the politics are quite as bad as they are in the horse world, but I haven't been into working dogs for very long, so I may change my stand on this eventually. So I almost feel comfortable in this situation, the people are different but the situations are much the same.

My new blog

2009-01-27T17:05:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how much this blog will get updated. I really don't have that much to talk about. I am glad I have met all of my new friends in the dog world!! Hopefully I will have more to talk about as I go through my trials and tribulations of trying to learn to be a sheep dog handler!!