Checking In

I've been doing nothing lately. That's right, nothing! My life has been very boring. It's cold outside, my mom isn't feeling well, and my dad is spending way too much time working with the Border Collies and the sheep. They give me a Booda Bone and expect me to be happy with that. Jeez, they don't know me very well. Granted, I love Boodas, but don't they know I wnat to do stuff. I want to go to work with my mom, but she keeps taking Tubbs or Rookie. I want to play with the sheep, but dad keeps taking Tubbs and Rookie, not me. What's a guy to do?

My Friend Tubbs

This is a photo of my good friend Tubbs. He is a purebred Border Collie. Tubbs came to live with us last June. He is what my mom calls a "rescue" dog. He couldn't keep living in his first home, we don't know for sure why, but he couldn't. One thing for sure, he wasn't starving! Tubbs weighed 55 pounds! That is huge for a Border Collie as small as he is. Anyway, my people were supposed to rehabilitate him, and find him a new home. He found a home all right, ours. Not only that, he herds the sheep better than I do. Anyway, he is a lot of fun to have around. He likes to play with me, rough, which is what I like best.
You know what? Tubbs isn't fat anymore. Now he weighs just 32 pounds. He really doesn't look like the photo now. He isn't fluffy, and he never is lying around on the deck, like he was in the picture. He is never in one spot long enough to lie down, as he is always on the go.

It is just amazing how good food and exercise can make a dog healthy!

Humiliated

My mom got these pictures back finally. Look what she did to me! This was a "Halloween Costume" so she said. It is SO wrong. In my humble opinion, no dog should ever be made to wear clothing. We already have beautiful fur coats. This costume is an absolute abomination!

You know, at that pet superstore where we work, they sell all sorts of clothing for dogs. They have little dresses (Moe says "never" would she wear one of those). They have raincoats! Imagine, raincoats for dogs. How embarassing! Thank goodness I don't fit in a purse. My mom would probably put me in one if I did.

Humans, I will never understand them.

Bored

Hi all,
Nothing much exciting going on around here this week. My mom isn't doing too much because of she has arthritis in her hips. She has been hurting, so she lays around a lot. This can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. On one hand, she has been laying around with me, and the rest of the dogs here, bonding. On the other hand, she doesn't feel like working with us on the agility equipment, or walking with us. She hasn't even taken me to work with her. I really miss going to work. I have many friends there, and I get lots of treats.

I hope this pain thing stops cramping her style soon. When her style is cramped, so is mine. Nobody is having fun this week.

Spaying and Neutering

Well, I suppose I am back on my high horse on top of my soapbox again.
My good friend Kinka got spayed yesterday. This is a good thing. I wish more people would believe that.
I've mentioned before that my mom and I work at a pet superstore, as dog trainers. We meet many people every day, and also many dogs. What amazes me is how many dogs are still intact. We hear many stories why. My favorite is the one about how they think they have a wonderful dog, and want to breed him or her, to produce a puppy just like the original dog. Another good one is that they feel that every dog should be bred at least once. Or those people that get a purebred dog at a pet shop, then want to make puppies, so they will get some money from their investment. Never mind that the dog might be an unknown mix, with no traceable parentage, or that the structure is bad, or they have an overbite, or they have seizures, or a very bad temperament. Don't they know how many unwanted puppies end up in shelters? Don't they know how many dogs are euthanized every year?
They don't understand how hard some breeders work to make sure they produce only healthy puppies (right Jen?). They don't understand about Baer testing, or OFA X-rays for hips, or CERF tests for eyesight. They don't understand that they could lose the female and the puppies, if the pregnancy gets complicated.
Thank goodness for the responsible people that breed responsibly. Thank goodness for responsible people that will spay and neuter their dogs. Spayed or neutered dogs have a longer life expectancy. They will never get uterine cancer or testicular cancer. The incidence of mammary cancer goes way down in spayed females. Also they never have heat cycles or false pregnancies. Neutered males don't feel the need to roam looking for females. They don't lift their legs on everything, and have milder temperaments.
I am neutered, and look what a great dog I am! Humble, too.

Bad Weather and Phone Problems

Well, the last week has been very boring. It has been cold where I live, and there have been ice storms. Our phone service has been out for almost a whole week. My family, being roadkill on the internet superhighway, still have old fashioned dial - up on their computer. I have been SO out of touch with my public. I hope you all haven't missed me too much. I will try to get my humans to upgrade their computer, so I can communicate better.

Agility in Michigan

Racer and I had a blast doing agility this last weekend. We were in Dexter, Michigan trialing with many of our friends. Mike was there with Misty and Bailey. Bailey did very well and brought home many ribbons. Misty did well, too, but this was Bailey's weekend. Our friend Jeremy got a MACH 2 title for our buddy Dodger AND a MACH 4 title for little Spyder. What a great weekend for them! Kathy was there with Dory and Houston (who kinda looks like me), Boogie and Kimmie were there, and so many more of our friends. What a party!
Racer had a fun time. No Qs, but for the first time at a trial in a long time, he didn't sniff, and managed to complete all the courses he ran. He says agility is fun now, especially the jumpers courses.
Anyway, I ran Excellent Jumpers both days. My mom is broken, so Beth ran with me. I love Beth, but I would rather run with my mom. You know, we start out pretty well, but then I start wishing mom was out there with me, so I look for her. Maybe I can persuade her to join us for the fun. Then, before I even know where mom is, Beth is taking my collar and excusing us before our run is over. I think, "Wait! Mom's not here yet!" Too late, we have to leave the ring. I did try to stay with Beth a couple of times, and our last Standard run was pretty good, but mom left the building before we ran. I didn't see her come back, so I figured I'd better just stay with Beth. We didn't Q, but it wasn't terrible either. I did get one qualifying score in a new game called FAST! That was big fun for me. I got to run, and forgot all about my mom for a minute. I got a green Q ribbon and a new toy! Beth gave me big kisses and told me I was the best cattle dog there (I was the only cattle dog there).