University of Dobermans

Java went to campus with me while Eric was in his orientation for the summer semester.

Our Doberman forum has a monthly calendar contest. This month's theme was "Spring Dobes." I'd been keeping an eye out for a nice flower field for a while, to absolutely no avail.

Imagine my delight when we got to campus and I found a patch of flowers that was...eh, probably 30 feet by 40 feet. Not exactly a field, but easily shot to look like one, just a day before the submission deadline.

Imagine my delight when we got these pictures about, oh, four seconds before a torrential storm let loose and we went fleeing for a covered group of tables.

Now imagine my dismay when I got home and remembered that submissions had to be shot horizontally and yep, I shot every single one vertically.

I ended up cropping down the one that was shot from farthest away and submitting it. It was not at all my favorite. I really didn't even like it. Fail.

Once sheltered from the storm, we set up shop with several dog training books (and, of course, the camera), and I saw an opportunity to work on desensitizing Java to different textures surfaces and being off of the ground. I aspire to do therapy work and agility with him, so both are useful. He remained patiently in a chair for twenty minutes. At that point, I could tell from his shifting and fidgeting that he wasn't comfortable - though to his credit, he remained patiently in his stay - so I released him, and he laid down by my feet, calmly waiting out the storm and watching quite a number of students go by - lots of students. Old, young, male, female, bearded, black, tall, wearing hats and hoods, on bikes, you name it. Piper had qualms with tall men, bearded men, people on moving objects, and black people. Embarrassing when your dog (your black dog, no less) is racist, so I want to get Java used to every possible demographic.

 

The Versatile Blogger Award

Basset Momma was kind enough to give us the Versatile Blogger award, for which I would like to thank her here! It's taken me a few days to be able to get to addressing it, but I was super excited!

Here is how accepting the award works.

1. Add the award to your blog.

2. Thank the person who gave you the award.

3. Mention 7 random things about yourself.

4. List the rules.

5. Pass the award onto 15 bloggers

6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here goes!

1. Violet's "paper" name is "No Shrinking Violet."

2. Eric and I met on a blind date, at Starbucks. He ended up proposing at the same Starbucks a year later, in the middle of the night, when the Starbucks was closed, at the same outside table we sat at when we met.

3. Violet has a song. It goes, "My name is Violet. And I'm a Collie. Gonna be a Collie. For the rest of myyyy liiife." It has a very catchy tune.

4. I have a very eclectic list of favorite non-Collie dog breeds. It includes: Doberman Pinschers (my all-time, tied-for-number-one favorite that I've loved since I was a teenager), German Shepherds (though Piper was our last), Afghan Hounds (from what I understand they are not the sharpest tools in the shed but they are just so damn beautiful), Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (of all things - I'm not a small dog person!), Irish Setters, Borzois, Greyhounds, Whippets, and Italian Greyhounds (can you tell I love sighthounds?).

5. I had my wrist ripped open by a Schnauzer named Moses as a child. I still have a pretty noticeable scar, and a general aversion to most bearded dogs, though I can come to like them on a case-by-case basis.

6. I grew up conformation showing dachshunds.

7. Violet came from Kentucky. She does not, however, speak with an accent.

And here are the 15 blogs... (Very carefully selected!)

1. Two Collies and a Mutt, where Violet's must-be-long-lost-sister Petal the Collie steals the show, and Lassie the Collie and Ella the Mutt are dignified and adorable, respectively.

2. Two Dogs, One Camera, Priceless Moments, is what the title implies - two Border Collie Mixes, Riley and Grace, and some really gorgeous pictures.

3. Two Greyhound Town is a hilarious blog by Joey and Scout the Greyhounds who love to make me laugh.

4. The Dogs of Greenhill Farm is a just gorgeous blog about Sprollies and Border Collies Teddy, Pip, Sheila, Ben, Fly, and some sheep. Read it for the dogs, read it for the photography (which is stellar), read it for Teddy's adorable face, read it for the sheep.

5. Sims 2 Stories by Lorelei is a frequent oddball in my lists of mostly dog blogs, but these are some seriously well-written and awesome Sims 2 stories, if you're into that, and an exceptionally nice lady who writes them. I highly recommend it. (It has an "adult content" warning, but it seems to be more of a thoughtful warning for adult themes of marriage, infidelity, etc. - it's not a bunch of naked people!)

6. 4 Dog Craziness is a Sheltie blog with some really, really pretty Shelties-in-nature shots and cool agility blogs.

7. My Life with Flyball Dogs is a blog that I started following because I think that flyball is very cool, and it's become one of my favorite photography blogs. There are some very original, fun, funny, beautiful, and personality-filled photos in this blog.

8. Basset Momma is the blog that gave me this award, and a definite don't-miss. Fred and Gloria the Bassets are droopy, floppy, hilarious, photogenic - check it out.

9. BCxFour + 1 More is the blog to read if you ever want to see some stunning photos of Border Collies working, and funny to boot.

10. Crazy Coulee and Little Lacey is, alongside My Life with Flyball Dogs, one of my favorite photography blogs. If you're into photography, it is well worth checking out. Really stunning photos.

11. Dream Dogz is a great blog about Mika the Schnauzer and Wall-E the Sheltie that has it all: cool dogs, agility, great pictures.

12. Emergivet is another diversion from the overall theme of the blogs on this list, by an emergency veterinarian in Somewhere, North America. After six years in veterinary medicine (and emergency was always my favorite) and a painful decision to leave, this blog lets me get my fix.

13. Eva the Sheltie follows the really remarkably beautiful Eva, and yet more great photography.

14. Going For 'Good Dog!' follows a mini Aussie, two Border Collie mixes, a sweet German Shepherd puppy, and the beautiful, never forgotten, Bella. You're tuning in at just the right time to watch little Simi grow up! Who could pass that up?

15. Identity: V + E is about the truly brilliant Elli and her remarkable trainer. If you ever want to feel like you need to step your training game up and pick up some ideas on how to do it, stop by. Elli is one cool dog.

Thank you again, Basset Momma! :)

Ringing in 2012 with an overnight guest.

This morning, we got a call from Tri State Collie Rescue. I'd been planning to shoot them an e-mail next week to see if they had anything they needed help with, but they called out of the blue this morning and asked if we were available for a transport today. A litter of 10 week old Collie/mostly Collie pups had been brought to an Ohio shelter and one smooth sable male needed transport that would require the help of four volunteers to get him from his original location to what I assume is his foster home in Martinsville, IN, about an hour south of where we live. The woman who was pulling him from the shelter was waiting around near the shelter, which was an hour and a half from her house, to see if the rest of the transport chain would come together. She couldn't take him to her house for any length of time, she was battling Giardia with her own dogs. The lady after her was a go. We were a go. But the pick-up/foster in Martinsville couldn't do it tonight unless it was urgent. Which is how Smooth Operator, as Eric nicknamed him, ended up with us overnight, until we take him to Martinsville tomorrow afternoon. I'm thrilled that my dog is finally mostly an adult; I'm really not all that much of a puppy person. I enjoy adult dogs more...but it's been very fun having this sweet little guy around. He's underweight and has spent his whole life outdoors, but he is so...unbelievably...sweet. He's cuddly and loving to the point of clingy, he's the biggest kisser on the planet.

The adults are unsure about this interloper.

Violet reluctantly shares her water bowl.

Hungry pup.

His spot, all night.

Or here...between our his-and-hers sheep pjs.

Or here...

Maybe here, too...

And a little bit of here.

He's really, really adorable. I hope he ends up with a very happy home in 2012.

Speaking of which, 2012. It's going to be a really big year. This is the year that I will/intend to...

• Get married.
• Start a family.
• Lose a certain amount of weight, or if nothing else, better health is inevitable with frequent exercise and a revamped cooking plan.
• Compete with Violet for the first time.
• Watch Eric compete with Piper for the first time.
• Get Violet's CGC.
• Maybe give herding a go, if we can find the time.
• Start college.
• Buy a second car.
• Recarpet the house.
• Put up a privacy fence? Maybe/probably.
• Continue to volunteer at the daycare, and continue to do my small part to help Collies with TSCR.

I have never been so excited about a year in my life.

Snow!

There are no quality pictures to be had today. Most of these are cell phone pictures, as the camera is whatever's between on its last leg and dead.

At the daycare last week, we asked the four year olds what they wanted for Christmas and tacked them up underneath a paper tree on the bulletin boards.

I hear you, Mya. I'd like a guy, a house, and a baby in the house, too. Halfway there.

What four year old wants a fruit basket for Christmas?

A pretty ballsy request.

Ms. Edith is a preschool teacher with a six month old baby of her own. No surprise here.

It snowed today! We've had "first snow of the year where there were flakes falling from the sky," and "first light dusting of snow," but today was the first real snow. Half the kids didn't show up for daycare, so the three and four year old rooms were combined. They were entranced.

I was excited to get home and see what the dogs thought about it. They loved it.

Speaking of the camera dying - time for that Christmas present round-up post!

We were extremely fortunate.

The house (Eric, Adam, me, Mary) has...

• A Wii system, with games and a Wii Fit, some other things. Holy cannoli, I did not see that one coming.
• An electronic Monopoly game.

 I have...

• A beautiful Collie tote bag to use when school starts in January. The dog on it looks a lot like Violet, and has a purple background - my favorite color.
• A stocking full of school supplies and cow tales, including a super cute hippo flash drive and purple paper clips.
• A recipe binder that I desperately needed and wanted.
• An Archiver's gift card.
• A cookbook (with adorable cookie cutters) of organic dog treat recipes.
• Two Sims 2 stuff packs. For the Sims fans out there (I'm talking to you, Lorelei) - IKEA and Kitchen & Bath. Yes!
• My favorite perfume - big bottle.
• A brand new purple camera. Yessss! I am super excited to get to try it out.
• Hungry Girl 300 Under 300 - the cookbook I've been lusting after.
• Some hair ties from Cassie.
• Photo coasters.
• A candle.

Eric has...

• The German Shepherd Dog: A Genetic History by Malcolm Willis.
• A shirt that says "Evolution of the German Shepherd" with the evolution line and a GSD as the final thing.
• An agility class with Piper.
• Lord of the Rings Triology. Sigh.
• A training vest for Piper. Seeing a theme here?
• A Madden Game for the Wii.
• A picture frame.
• Socks, which may be his favorite gift.
• More Wii controllers.
• An iPod with very nice speakers.

Cookbook cover.

Cookbook back cover.

Recipe cards!

Collie bag. ♥

It was a very blessed Christmas.

Dog park.

We took Piper and Violet to the dog park, and Piper was perfect. She's never been aggressive at the dog park, or we wouldn't have her there, but she can be uneasy at times, and has been known to growl when other dogs overstep their bounds. With her, we just can't write that kind of behavior off, so we've worked quite a bit on that issue. She was grounded from the dog park for a little while so we could work on her stability and trustworthiness without taking any chances. She's been doing excellently in a variety of on-leash situations, and on-leash reactivity is usually her issue, so she got to go today, and she was flawless. She was friendly and outgoing, her body language stayed good the entire time. She and Violet befriended a Schnauzer/Poodle mix (whose owner, admirably, did not call a Schnoodle) named Olive. And by befriended, what else could I possibly mean but herded relentlessly? I think that little Olive will be sleep well tonight. She was the one, lone sheep to two high energy herding breed dogs. My birthday's coming up, along with Violet's, and we've put in a word to Eric that what we'd most love is a trip to Dogwood Farm to give sheep herding a go.


On the Violet/training note, I don't know how to transfer her crazy training energy/focus out of our house. I'm admittedly a very novice trainer, and of the two of us, me and Violet, I'm the idiot with the most to learn. I've come to love clicker training and positive reinforcement training, and every time Violet learns something new I'm awed and thrilled all over again. At home, she has eyes for no one but me at the first sign of a clicker or the first hint of a training session. I have her full attention. She won't look away if the house is on fire. Anywhere else - like, for example, the awesome agility training area that our dog park has, which I would love to be getting some practice in on before we can take a class in the spring - she's distracted, understandably. I can sometimes get a sit out of her, or a touch or paw while she's looking the other way and grumbling about it. Anything beyond that is a no-go. I'm sure I'm missing something very obvious, or expecting too much, but I'm not sure how to start moving her training intensity out of our backyard.


Anyway, pictures!

The beginning, middle, and end of her interest in agility equipment today.

Poor Olive.

They were quite friendly about it, but that dog was not going anywhere without their okay.

Violet is a smart dog, but her problem solving leaves some to be desired. She gets "stuck" in the agility enclosure. It's a huge pen with one gate, and finding the gate is just beyond her.