LOVELY PUPS GROWING UP!

My pups are all getting close to 4 months now and from the photos that I receive I am so pleased with all of them. They are all very lovely and will be gorgeous adults. I suppose that I am prejudiced to a certain extent. But when I breed I look at pedigrees and then the individual dogs and the dogs in the pedigrees that I know.

I make sure that mom and dad complement each other in many ways. I don't double up on faults,. My dogs are health tested so I know that I have a really good chance on producing, healthy, quality pups.

I did get to see one of my pups yesterday. Her ears had gone up and needed help. We glued her ears so they would tip properly in time. Correct Sheltie ears do so much for the expression. Expression makes the Sheltie.

This pup is in beautiful condition, and very pretty, I was so pleased when I saw her. The fact that her people wanted correct ears meant a lot to me. This pup is going to blossom into a lovely adult.

So if any of my puppy people read this blog, if your pups ears are standing up straight or if hanging down like a hound, I am more than happy to show you how to fix the ears. I can also email you information on glueing the ears in the correct position. But if you like the ears the way they are now that is fine, it is totally your choice.

The dogs have all found a cool spot and are sleeping, they just don't like the heat and I sure don't either. I was going to work in the dog yard this morning and wash the back of the house, but it is already too hot for that. Plus it is Sunday and I usually try to keep Sunday chore free.

My mats should be here tomorrow and Bonnie and I will get started in some basic agility. She is going to love it. I am looking forward to getting back into training. I would love better control with my dogs, when I say sit which they all know I would like to see them all sit on the first command. That would be so awesome. I see people with multiple dogs on places like Face book that are that well trained. So I  know if I put my mind to it I can make it happen. My goal is for them to all sit in a group wearing red bows for Christmas. I had better get going or we will never make it for Christmas. This is going to take some determination and persistance and patience. Certainly I can do this in six months.

Nine dogs all behaving at once. LOL

My pups were a lot of work but also alot of fun. I really enjoyed them and every one was so smart. They all learned their name in days and would come when called. Young pups have brains like sponges and soak up every bit of training you give them. That is part of the reason it is so fun to work with puppies.  I remember when Luke was a baby 9 weeks, I was teaching him to sit and he caught on so quickly. I was using treats and one time I told him to sit and he did right away and I was a little slow getting the treat out so sitting there he stamped his front feet to tell me to hurry up. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen in a young pup. I will have to write more about expressions and what they mean. It is amazing what they can express in their eyes.

All for now! Be safe!

IS IT POSSIBLE????????? LOL

DOGS LIKE IT COOL TOO!

My Shelties are not crazy about this heat and humidity. Nor am I. I have the air running in my little office and the dogs are lieing all around and so is the cat. Guess this is why it is called the dog days of summer, although it seems like summer has been here a long time already. My time sure has been strange with being home almost all the time.

This time of year my huge garage is empty so I decided it would be a perfect place for the dogs to do some agility. It is cool in there and no bugs or ticks. I am waiting on some mats so that we can do a little low jumping.  I think that I will start with Bonnie and Walter as they both have had some agility training. Bonnie is a very energetic girl and she loves to run through the tunnel and jump. She just needs to learn more control and of course more basic obedience. Walter has been to both obedience and agility class, he has a good idea of what he needs to do but it has been awhile and he needs some brush up on his obedience.

It has been three years since I have been to a class and I have really missed it. I took my boy Jeep to agiity class once a week for 8 years, he was a really good worker and he loved it. When my husband got sick I could no longer work Jeep so he went to live with a friend who is excellent in agility. He has earned many more titles since living with her and I am so happy that he has been able to do what he loves.

I hope that Bonnie will eventually love working the way that Jeep does. Bonnie's daughter Fancy, is a natural for sure. Climbing out of the puppy pen at five weeks and just did it, never hesitated, of course I had to put the top on the pen or she would have been out all the time.

For now we can enjoy this small course and just have fun. My sons use the garage to store their boat and trailer in the winter and until late fall it is all mine and the dogs.

For now there are not any dog shows or competitions but it takes a long time to be good enough to compete in agility. And I know that I am not fast enough to keep up with Bonnie so we will just play agility. Bonnie has a natural herding instinct, bugs, birds, butterfly's, she just loves to chase, her instinct is very strong. Maybe some day we will try a herding test to see how strong it really is. Her concentration is very strong. Except when she is being naughty, getting into something she should not then she has very selective hearing.

I am really looking forward to see what she can accomplish.  She will not have pups for sometime as with her seven it took a lot out of her and she needs to get back into condition and mature more. She was a great mom but she needs a good break. She needs to have some fun.

Be sure to not take your dog with you in the car in this hot weather and never leave your pup in the car alone when it is so hot. Dogs can suffocate very quickly when it is so hot. And that would be a tragedy.

Everyone be safe and well! Spend time with your dogs, they love the attention and the love to please.

BONNIE