THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS UPON US

 I can't believe that I have not written in almost two months. So much going on with the dogs. My Rosie was not feeling well and pretty lethargic. She would not touch food which is very unusual for her. She normally is a chow hound.I decided to give her one night and see how she was in the morning.She was a little better but not herself. I took her to the vet and she was completely checked out, more blood work and xrays of the abdomen and chest cavity. All appeared to be well. The blood work did show that she was fighting an infection somewhere. I took her home with an antibiotic, thinking it may be her teeth. It is a real battle to clean her teeth. Teeth are very important and an infected tooth could cause many problems. She is on the antibiotic for a total of three weeks and then we will do more blood work to see what is going on and if she is not fighting an infection we will know that it was her teeth causing the problem. Rosie's kidneys are good as she came through the spay without any problems. So she should come through a dental with out problems. I am nervous about it as back in March my 11 year old Keeper had a dental and did not wake up from the anesthesia and his blood work was good. Maybe a reaction to the anesthesia. Nothing showed up in the autopsy so we will never know for sure. It was so sad and a shock. I am nervous about Rosie having the dental but it may be necessary. 

On another note I went to visit a friends litter, they have a pedigree that is something that I really want to incorporate into my line. I purchased a lovely sable boy and a lovely sable girl. It was a beautiful litter and I am thrilled to have two pups to grow out that may be stunning adults. I am looking forward to another litter of my  own. It has been seven months since my last litter so spring will be a really good time to have pups. I a going to breed my blue girl, Quinn to Charlie a lovely sable male that I co-own with a friend. He is also the sire of the two pups that I recently purchased.   House training is a challenge with two pups but we are getting there. My granddaughter is coming to visit and we will take some nice Christmas pictures of all the dogs, it should be a fun time for all of us.

I hope to do better with the blog in the future. Living with 6 adults and 2 pups can be pretty challenging. But it is also a lot of fun and a lot of work, but so rewarding.

Skye is now a year old and I plan to spend time training her this winter. We got started outside before the weather got too cold. So now we will work indoors and concentrate on obedience and fun games. They learn so quickly when they have fun. I am using Susan Garrett's on line program called Recallers part of her "Say yes" training program. I have had a lot of success with this program and I am looking forward to success with Skye. Skye loves to work!

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!Enjoy your Shelties. They are your best friends!

 

WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY THANKSGIVING

 This Thanksgiving I am so thankful for all the wonderful families that have given my pups such wonderful and loving homes. I enjoy all the pictures that have been sent. November 22 was the first birthday for many of my pups. That was the haredest litter that I have had and for Bonnie also. She is not a large Sheltie but she gave birth to 11 pups. I think that must be a record. It was the start of feeding round the clock for several of the babies, Bonnie and I were able to raise 9 pups. She was overwhelmed but she had 9 beautiful pups. I had little sleep for two or  more weeks as there were two pups that needed so much help. One was Owen, who I gave to a friend of mine and he is a stunning, friendly boy, worth all the hard work. The other one who needed so much help was Skye, the only girl out of the nine pups. I worked so hard with her. She crashed a couple of times but I was able to keep her going. She is now an energetic, beautiful girl, worth all the work.I have seen pictures of all the pups except for Hersey, maybe I will get one soon. 

Bonnie was spayed, as it was a hard time for her and she was so overwhelmed. I promised  myself a year with no pups. I am totally rested and hopefully have a litter in the spring. It will be a year. 

I am also thankful for my family and good friends. And my dogs have kept me going and I am so thankful for them. Lots to do with caring for them but they are my family and I would be lost without them. 

We all have so much to be thankful for in our lives. Give your shelties  a hug and be thankful for the the joy they bring into your lives.

Happy Thanksgiving  

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween everyone. Hope all the kids have fun and will be safe,. And maybe the rain will stop in time for trick or treat! 

The 6 year old female is no longer available. For now she is staying in her home. There are times that it is just too difficult to make the decision to re home an adult dog. They take longer to adjust and you just plain worry too much about them.

It does take a long time to get the perfect situation for them and even with that you worry about them. I hope to never have to place an adult again. I only have two seniors here, lost two to illness the past few months. Hopefully my two will stay healthy and be with me for many more years. 

I have been 6 months without puppies and I do miss having them even though it is a lot of work, stress and lack of sleep,they are still missed. I plan to have pups in the spring. I will be breeding Quinn this winter and hopefully pups in May. Time will tell. In the meantime I am working with Skye, she is Bonnie's daughter and we have a few issues to work out. She is a smart girl and improving. We will be doing "Say Yes "dog training on line this winter. It is a great course for any type of problem the dog may have. They learn through games and they just love it. Games are fun for them and before you know it they have accomplished what you want. Skye should be well along in her training by spring. 

On a sad note Walter is no longer producing pups. He went sterile last summer and does not seem to be recovering. He is on special food and vitamins and we are hoping that this might reverse. But it is doubtful.

I will do some of this training with Walter and Bonnie, they both need a good reminder course. 

Hope that you all have a fun and safe Halloween. I don't get trick or treaters here so I don't have to worry about a dog slipping out the door. Be careful with your dogs.

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT RETIREMENT HOME.

 I am helping a friend find  the perfect retirement home for a lovely 6 year old tri color female Sheltie. She is a sweet girl that is a little reserved but does warm up when comfortable with you. She will need a fenced yard, she is well trained , some basic obedience and well house trained. She is a special girl and we want the perfect place for her. If you know someone who would be perfect for this girl email me at jody.shelts@gmail.com . I will send you her contact information and you can talk with her owner. 

It  has been a long time since I have written. Don't know where the time has gone to. We are rapidly heading to winter and I sure am not ready for that. But I do have just about everything ready. New stone dust in the dog yard and it is awesome. The water just sort of disappears from it and there is no mud at all. I purchased a small electric snowblower for that yard. I have always had to shovel the dog yard and that is a huge job. This way it should go quickly with nice clear paths for the dogs. It is so nice that there is no more mud. Now much easier to keep the dogs clean. I am almost done preparing for winter. Just need to refil gas cans for the generator. 

I have given myself a break from puppies and I am actually missing having pups, but it will be a full year before more pups. I needed the time to get well rested and to spend more time with the other dogs. I have been catching up with Skye's training and she is doing so well. This week she conquered the A Frame and the dog walk, no fear at all. She is improving, she needs more confidence and with the on line course of Susan Garrett's she should make huge progress and have fun doing the courses. They are like games and really help with confidence.  I devote one room in the house to training, it used to be my puppy room. Next year it will be again but for now that is where we train.

I have been baby sitting two Shelties for the past month and I did spend time working with them too. They have now gone home and Skye gets all my attention. 

It feels good to be prepared for winter, although I don't enjoy the cold, maybe this will be a milder winter. The dogs love the snow so I know I will have to get out and play with them.

Hope you are all prepared for winter and be safe. Trim the hair around your Shelties toes so they do not clump with snow and get ice balls stuck between their toes. 

All for now and take care!

OWEN 

MAGGIES NEW ADVENTURE

 Maggie started her new life yesterday afternoon. A friend of mine had lost her last old Sheltie and now had just one Sheltie. She definitely needed another Sheltie to help fill the void. I had been putting all my training time into Maggie. I really needed to put this time and energy into Skye. She has some fear issues that I hope I can take care of. It was hard to socialize last winter with the weather and the covid. Many of the socializing opportunities were just not safe so we stayed home. Maggie was born in May and as the weather was getting better I was able to get her out and I spent most of my time with her. But Skye still has a great need and now she will get the time that she deserves. We always think that we can do everything but time does not permit us. And sometimes the energy is low.

When I heard that my friend really needed some cheering up and something to fill her time with I offered Bonnie. Bonnie has a mind of her own and made it very clear that she was not leaving here. Maggie had warmed up to her and to her sheltie so I decided to offer Maggie. I knew it was a perfect home and Maggie would get all the time that she needed. It was a hard decision, she was my Keeper daughter but I knew if we did co-own her I would not have lost her. So we are co-owning Maggie and some day she will have pups for us. But for now she has lots of growing up to do and my friend has lots of time to work with her and is excited to do that. I am happy with this and I get more time for Skye. And Maggie is still part my puppy and I can visit her anytime. So it is a win-win for all of us.

No matter the arrangements and no matter how wonderful the home is it is still hard to let one go. Now I have 6 Shelties and they are all staying. I have two seniors but they are in good health and hopefully will have a few years. My granddaughter and I are going to do a photo for Christmas of all the dogs sitting and wearing bows, so we do need to get busy.We are looking forward to this and it should be fun. In a few days when I hear how well Maggie is adjusting I will be fine.

                                               MAGGIE

  

MISSING PUPPIES

 I have time to be rested and get caught up around here. I am giving myself plenty of time without any puppies. But I sure do miss them. The excitement of the birth and seeing what pups are born, their sex, their color, size and shape.I won't be having pups until spring and that sure feels like a long way off. When pups get to 5 weeks they are very messy and it is a lot of work. Seeing their personalities develop is amazing to watch. They are all so different, they develop at different rates. Some are responding almost immediately and others take more time. I love teaching a four week old pup to stand on the table, placing his feet and making him look like a real show dog. They learn to stand to be brushed and handled. When they go to the vet for first shots they stand on the table so beautifully and the vet is so surprised at how good the pups behave. Sounds crazy but I am looking forward to all of this again. The pups from my last litter are now four months old. Maggie, the little girl that I kept is growing up fast. She is so much fun to train. Things don't bother her at all, she is very curious and loves to train. She makes working with her so much fun. By the time the next litter is here she will be a year old.  I am hoping to do some nice photos for Christmas. I hope to have four Shelties line up in front of the decorated fire place, wearing pretty red ribbons. My granddaughter is going to help me this year. She loves decorating and since I have not done much decorating since I lost my husband it will be fun to have her here, helping with it. 

Today I groomed the two oldest dogs who are spayed and had enough coat to make another three shelties.  It was a huge job but they looked so good when finished. I just love looking at them when they are so neat and clean and so pretty. It took all morning to brush out  these two girls, so heavy coated. They were so good, stood on the table a long time, let me cut nails and clean ears. Still have to do teeth but maybe tomorrow. They needed a break by the time I was ready to do their teeth. 

I am looking forward to this Christmas with my granddaughter helping with the decorating. It is not fun to do it alone, so I just did not bother. I can't believe that we are half way through September already. Hopefully by March pups will be on the way. My spring will be very busy but so much fun with new pups again. I can't believe how much I miss the puppies 

Maggie is still very much a puppy and keeps me busy. Skye is 10 months but also a puppy.  Training two pups at the same time is a challenge, but they are doing well. 

I  hope that everyone who has one of my pups is doing well too.

                       My granddaughter with her boy Walter!

GETTING THINGS DONE

 It has been awhile since I have written. Took time to get all the puppies settled in their new homes. Wonderful families and all my pups are happy and doing well. It took a long time for the DNA on the last litter to come back but finally we know the litter was sired by Keeper. CH Weststars Finders Keepers. Keeper passed in March from a dental, he did not come out of the anesthesia. Fortunately we had bred him to Topaz, and we had also bred Sammy, Illusions Living the Dream to Topaz. She had a funny split heat and when the pups were born I had the feeling that they were Keepers, just from the look of them but we still had to do the DNA testing to be sure. All the pups came back as Keeper kids. I was so happy to hear this as I decided to keep a daughter of his. Keeper was the sweetest, most calm, loving Sheltie ever. I still miss having him lie under the desk with his head on my foot. 

His daughter Maggie, is a sweet, loving girl also and she is very smart. I am having fun with her training. She is learning the agility obstacles and doing well and she has fun. She and Skye get along so well and play all the time. Skye is already 10 months, don't know where the time has gone. My baby is all grown up. 

I have now had the time to put all the puppy equipment away and clean the house. It is so nice to have everything back in order and dusted. The puppies took so much time that I did not do much housework. All caught up now and I can spend time with the dogs. Hopefully to train Maggie and Skye in basic obedience. They both have a good start but need to be more reliable. I probably have two months where I can still work out in the agility area with them. By the end of October it will most likely be getting too cold. I will continue as long as possible. Skye is doing great with her house training and Maggie is coming along pretty well. The 6 months between them makes a huge difference. 

I place Maggies mother Topaz into a wonderful home with Glory. Glory has developed kidney disease which is being treated but she needed a companion and Topaz was perfect for her. Also the people that Glory and Topaz are with are wonderful and if something happens to Glory they will still have a Sheltie to love and be their companion. I love Topaz and I miss her but what she is doing for Glory and the family is so special.

Topaz has had three litters and was a pretty good mother but not overjoyed with babies. She will be happy that she is finished with having pups.

So I am taking a break and will probably breed Quinn in Feb/March time frame, pups would be due April/ May time frame. Pups available in June. A nice time to house train pups.This will be a nice break for me and Quinn. I have been sleeping through the night, no pups crying or Topaz barking to go out.It feels good to be rested. This morning Skye started barking at 4:45 which is very unusual for her, so she really had to go out. This does not happen often and I would rather get up than have to clean a dirty crate. Of course when one starts barking they all decide that it is time to go out. So we had an early start to the day. 

I lost my beautiful Brooke on August 4th. She had liver issues and was on medication but it did not help much. She was loosing movement in her rear also. I hoped that we could keep her going for awhile. But she started bleeding from the nose and it did not clear up. It would come and go each day and I knew more was wrong. It was time to let her go. So many losses in such a short time. 

I am going to take advantage of the sunshine and warm temperature today and get the dogs out to play. Hope you all have an enjoyable and safe holiday!

Brooke at 1 year!

TIME TO LET GO

 My last post was about letting go when your dog is sick and nothing more can be done for them. The time came for Brooke on August 4th, the medication was not helping and she was developing other symptoms, she was having nose bleeds and we did not know the reason for those. She was having trouble getting up and lying down. It was a such a struggle for her. The only thing that did not change was her appetite. She was always hungry. The vet said that her metabolism was off, she would eat but would not feel like she had eaten and wanted to eat more. So the decision was made that the time had come to let her go. I took her in and went in with her. We put some spray cheese on a tongue depressor and she licked that until she fell asleep from  the first shot that was to relax her. She enjoyed that cheese so much, that is all she was concentrating on and then when it was almost gone she fell asleep.  Then the other injection was given to end her life. She was asleep and had no idea what was happening, I hope that she sensed that I was with her. I think she did.

She has been gone over a week now and life is so different with her missing.  I can load the dishwasher now with out her help. I can run the can opener with out her barking like crazy, all the little things she did I now miss so much.

I don't know if the other dogs miss her or not but maybe in their own way they do. This is all a part of having dogs and giving them a peaceful an end as possible.

She will be remembered forever, now when the puppy licks the dishwasher to help me load it I am sure that Brooke is there telling her what to do. 

She will always be in my heart!

 

                                               BROOKE

END OF LIFE STAGE

 An important part of having a dog is helping them when they come to the end of life stage. You can see that they don't feel well, have difficulty getting up and down. Drinking lots of water and urinating just as much. You look into their eyes and you can see how they feel. But you post pone what you know should be done. Maybe another day or two and they will feel better. You don't want to let go. Maybe another medication will help and it does for a short time. But no matter what we try the symptoms do not go away. We don't want to think about what we know we should do. It is time to let go and we don't want to face that. But your friend has been there for you for all their lives. When you didn't feel good they would comfort you, when you were sad they would make you laugh. Seems like they always knew what to do to make you feel better. Shelties are very stoic, they don't let you see their pain, although it is hard for them to hide it in their eyes. They want to go on taking care of you but you know it is now time for you to take care of them.

I am at the point of having to make one of these decisions. My old girl Brooke has liver issues and does not feel good. When she pees it is a flood and she drinks tons of water. She is on medication which seems to be helping. But when she is no longer comfortable I know that I have to let her go. I have done this many times over the years but it never gets easy. It is very difficult to make the decision. This is a very important part of responsible dog ownership. Brookes medication is giving her some relief but I don't know how long that will last. When she appears to be in pain and is not eating well then I know the time has come. 

It is your responsibility to take your dog to the vet and stay with them while they drift away from this world. They need to know that you are there. It is a very peaceful time for your dog and he will no longer have any pain. I know many of you don't want to be with your dog, but think of him and not yourself. Look at all the times he was there for you. You know what has to be done and he needs you.

When Brooke gets to the point that there is no hope and she is in pain I will let her go and I will be with her. They know we are there and it comforts them. 

So be brave and think of your dog. You will have a sense of peace when you know they will not hurt again.

The old girls, Brooke on the right!

HOPE YOU HAD A HAPPY AND SAFE 4TH

 The Fourth is over and I hope it was good for everyone, especially for the dogs.

My dogs do not do well with the fire works, especially the loud booms. Fireworks in the area for two nights and finally ended about 10 pm.Thankfully they were not very close. 

My pups have moved to their new homes and families and all are doing well. I have one pup here and I am just waiting to see who her sire is. She too may go to a really good home. I know I have said it before but I am so thankful for the people who have my pups. 

The rain has finally stopped and my dog yard has lots of mud, hopefully it will dry out soon. Once dry I will put more patio blocks down and get rid of all the dirt.  That will help tremendously. I am also planning a large play area attached to the dog yard. I will have agility equipment out there and lots of fun toys for the dogs. The main thing is they will be able to run and do zoomies. They love to run all out and it makes me smile!

The sun is poking out and I sure hope it dries things out. I know we need the water but the dogs sure hate getting wet. So funny watching them tip toe through the puddles.

Now that the pups are settled I plan to spend more time working with Skye. She is a smart little girl and you can see her think. I tell her to find her baby and she goes and gets her lamb, which is her baby. She finds her big ball when you tell her. She is so quick and learning the names of her toys. She taught herself to use the stairs. She is an amazing little girl.

I am definitely taking a break from breeding. Too many pups in too short of a time. I think that in 9 to 12 months I will know if I want to breed or just want to enjoy my dogs. I do love producing healthy, quality pups, with great temperaments that make wonderful family companions. I always want to breed to improve the breed. The Sheltie is a special breed and needs to be preserved.

Breakfast alarms are going off, their clocks still work very well.Time to get this day going.

 

PUPS SO READY

 Another two weeks and I have not written a word. My sister from California, and my brother in law have been visiting.  Such a nice time but the dogs are all off their routine. We are now getting back into the regular days that the dogs enjoy. They sure know the difference. Pups will be leaving this coming week after their shots and health check.  Hopefully another two weeks and we will have the DNA  results from the AKC. It has been a long process and I am anxious to know who the sire of the pups is. I am hoping for Keeper as we lost him in March, a reaction to anesthesia for a dental. I have been on the fence about keeping a pup, I really should not but I need to know if there is a Keeper pup and that may change my mind. I would love to keep his line going. He has sired so many beautiful girls. 

A friend who needs help with his dogs for some time asked me if I would take one for awhile. I agreed to help him out. I don't need another dog but when there is a dire need you have to step in and help. Her name is Alice and she is two years old and still very puppy. She and Skye play a lot, especially run and chase games. Now with Alice it is very hard to decide on a puppy. If it all becomes overwhelming I may not keep the pup. Alice is a very friendly and outgoing dog but never had any training so there is much to catch up with. And she really wants to please. So do I have the energy to take on a puppy along with Alice and Skye.I will just have to give it a try. 

I am taking a break from breeding for about a year, or possibly next winter. Just depends on how I feel. Most importantly is to catch up on my rest. Bonnie's litter was very tiring as I had to hand raise two of the pups. That was round the clock feeding and very interrupted sleep. Now that Topaz pups are weaned and she is sleeping in her crate my sleep has been much better. No interruptions during the night. 

Once again I have wonderful families for my pups and I sure appreciate their patience with waiting to see who the sire is.

All for now, coffee is done and the breakfast clock is going off!

PUPS 6 WEEKS

 The pups have grown so fast. When I ask if they are hungry they come running. It is so cute. I have enlarged  their pen so they have room to run a little and play. When they see me they all line up and wag tails. Two more weeks they go for their vet check and then to their new homes.

Once again I am so fortunate to have so many wonderful families.  Each and every pup will have a wonderful home full of love and care. I am thinking of keeping the boy. Tough decision as there are many pretty pups. Walter is my only stud dog so it might be good to have another boy who is a different line. Although it is definitely going to be a good long six months before another litter. I may even ask a friend to whelp the litter. I had thought that six  months between Bonnie s last litter and this litter of Topaz's was enough time but it really was not. Topaz wakes up between 4:30 and 5 am every day. Just a bit too early. It will be wonderful to change that to 6 am. I will need the dogs to go to bed just a little later so they will sleep later in the morning. I have to admit, that everything revolves around the dogs. But why not. It is just me and the dogs,their clock rules. I am going to change the 4:30 am if I possibly can. It may take awhile but it really needs to change. I am tired of going to bed when it is still light out. Although sleep comes quickly. 

It is raining and the dogs are all in so a good day to do some grooming. At least a good brushing and nail cutting. Some are good with nail cutting and others not at all.

HUNGRY PUPPIES

PUPS GROW SO FAST.

 All of a sudden the pups eyes and ears are open, they have teeth and have learned to bark and growl. Seems like it was yesterday that they were just these little forms of life that looked like Guinea pigs. They are almost 5 weeks. Time to get some really good face photos, expression is showing and attitude is beginning to surface. The fun starts and the work. We are going into the messy stage, eating four times a day and cleaning the pen at least six or more times. Even with all this I love to watch the personalities develop. The little tails now wag a  mile a minute when I talk to them. They are searching out their toys now and when the first one squeaked that brought on a few little growls.

This litter was not far enough from my last litter to get a nice long break. That is coming up now. No pups until next year. I finally can get caught up on my sleep. I am still up between four thirty and five AM but at least no more interruptions during the night.  Pups will now be going into the kitchen to run and play. They will get out about four times a day and will experience many new things. 

I am anxiously awaiting the DNA results to see who their sire is. It has been a long process. I am hoping that the boy is Keepers as we lost Keeper way too soon. It would be nice to carry on with a son of his. The one boy is a lovely pup but is also the second largest and that could be a problem. Sometimes I wish that Shelties did not have a size disqualification but they do and we have to breed for that. 

I have a lovely 15 week old pup that is too big for her age already. She is going home with my sister and will become a performance dog. I am excited about her career. We are hoping for a natural herding instinct. My sister may even get some sheep so she can train to herd. I can't wait to see how she does.

I will finally have the time to work with Skye before she grows up on me.

I am being summoned for breakfast, they are not patient at all so have to go and get them fed.

Pictures of pups coming soon.

TOPAZ

ALWAYS SOMETHING TO LEARN

 Topaz came from a litter where there should not have been a tri color produced. Her mom was a trifactored sable and her dad was a double merle. I had sent her DNA to UC Davis school of veterinary medicine as they are very up to date on their genetic testing. I was assuming that the breeding Topaz came from she had to be a cryptic merle, which means she carried a gene for blue merle but did not express it, she was definitely a tri color. In her last two litters she never even produced a sable merle, which to me seemed strange. 

I did some more research and found that a cryptic merle, with the Mc gene could only express normal color and would breed as a normal solid color which she was, a tri color. So when she was bred to a sable she had all sable pups, not even a sable merle. So her litter now is all sable and tri factored sable. I am assuming that I could breed her to a blue merle but I still am not willing to try that. On the chance of getting a defective pup, it is not worth it. In breeding two blues you are taking a chance of producing a pup that could be defective in hearing and sight. Although many will be normal, but even one defective pup is one too many. 

Genetics is  fascinating to study, much of which I still don't understand,the basics yes but so much research has been done with the merle gene it boggles the mind. This is when I would love to call my friend Kathleen to see what she thinks. She and I would talk things like this over for hours. I sure do miss her.

I am taking a break from breeding for awhile, I want to see how I feel if I don't have pups around. I know that I will miss producing, quality, healthy companions for the people who love Shelties. I don't show anymore but I do still breed, looking for that one outstanding pup of show quality. I feel good knowing I can produce the quality and traits that I am looking for. Plus a very healthy companion that will be able to do any type of dog sport. Or just be an awesome companion!

I will spend time training my two young girls, this should be very rewarding. Maybe put some trick titles on them and just plain have fun. 

I will be keeping the little boy from this litter as long as he does not get too big. I have not kept a boy in a long time and I am looking forward to it. I would love to find a good handler for him  but I am jumping the gun. I need to see how he turns out first. Something to look forward too, that is what keeps you going with the dogs.  

BEST FRIENDS, GRANDAUGHTER AND WALTER!

DOGS DON'T FORGET

 This is about Quinn, a lovely blue Merle with a sweet temperament. When she was about a year old, she and one of her kennel mates came to visit for a few months while Kathleen went to Florida for the worst of the winter months. 

I spent many hours training Vanna, who seemed to really thrive on the training. I did not get as much training into Quinn. She just wanted to be close. I spent time grooming her and I kept her ears glued so they would have a nice tip to them. We would sit and watch TV in the evening and she would lie at my feet and just be so good.They were both learning to be house trained and were doing very well. They learned the stairs in no time as that meant house time. Something all the dogs loved.

My home is called a hillside cape and has a walkout daylight basement so a perfect place for my dog room and a fenced yard off the back door. Within a week they were running the stairs, up to the kitchen as fast as they could run. Too many good things happening there. Especially the treats, Quinn and Vanna loved them.

Those few months went by so fast. The girls were leash trained and ready to go home. Back to living in the kennel, which was a beautiful facility. I am sure they were happy to be home with their kennel mates.

On my next visit to Illusion Farm I went out to see Vanna, thinking that she would be so happy to see me after all the training and fun things she had accomplished. I stood at the fence and everyone came running over. Vanna was not especially interested in seeing me, I felt bad but you never know with the dogs. Quinn came running up from the back kennel and she was so excited and so happy to see me. I guess she really loved sitting at my feet and watching TV. I would have loved to have taken her home that day. Her happiness made me feel so good. I hoped that some day she might retire with me.

Unfortunately, my friend Kathleen passed from her cancer and many decisions had to be made for the dogs. Kathleen wanted Quinn to go home with me. It was bittersweet for sure. Quinn came home with me and settled right in, as if she had never left. Right now she is standing with her head on my knee as I type. I know she will make Kathleen proud with some beautiful babies.

It has been three years since Quinn first lived with me and acts like she has been here all her life. She is such a loving girl.

QUINN

BACK TO NORMAL, MAYBE????

 Things are beginning to settle down a bit. I am adjusting to the loss of my good friend and my wonderful sheltie Keeper. 

The pups are really getting the idea of house training.This sure makes things a little easier. Callie is growing and I can now take her out to the small pen with Skye to go potty. They are not 100% but really close. 

Topaz's pups are growing like weeds, now if she just would sleep through the night. I guess she just needs to know that I am there. I come down to her at least three times during the night and each time I go back up she is good for a couple hours or so without having to see me. Sometimes she needs to go potty but mostly wants to see me. When she is not with her babies she is with me. She is one of the most bonded dogs here. 

So I spend a couple of hours in the morning with the dogs. I have my coffee and they get a few cookies. They are really good and just find a favorite place to lie down. The minute I stand up it is chaos, they all jump up, thinking we are going somewhere. Just time for breakfast and I better get it in a hurry. They all know the word wait but they are not very patient.  They are ready to eat and right now. After breakfast the young dogs go out to the large fenced yard and spend the rest of the morning outside. It is good to get the fresh air and sunshine. The girls particularly need the sunshine to help keep their reproductive system working properly. Mother nature really knows what is needed.

Even though it gets chaotic at times the dogs really keep me sane and active. They do keep me young, I can't imagine being retired and not having these kids to keep me going. Especially when times are hard. 

Quinn was given to me by my friend Kathleen and everytime I look at Quinn I think of Kathleen. Quinn is a pretty blue merle girl and very attached already. I will do a story of Quinn another time. 

Well, it really is time for their breakfast, and their clocks are starting to remind them. 7:30 in the morning they need to eat.

 BEAUTIFUL BABIES, GOOD MOTHER!!

TAKE THE PUPS OUT, BRING THE PUPS IN

 If you want to get some good exercise all you need are two pups to house train. And they don't have to be real close in age. I kept the little tri female, who I had hand raised from Bonnie's litter. She is a smart one and was doing so well with house training, really catching on. Then I was left an 8 week old pup when my friend Kathleen passed. This little girl needs constant watching and taking out to potty. Thankfully I have two dog yards, one is fairly small and right off the kitchen, the other is much larger and out the back door. We have a walkout basement so have to go down a flight of stairs to get out.I tried taking both pups to the small area as I did not have to do the stairs. Well that did not work, all they wanted to do is play, no way would they concentrate on what they were supposed to do .And Skye who was almost five months and just about totally trained made it impossible for Callie to concentrate and learn the words "go potty". They had to be separated so I had to do the stairs. Callie finally learned the words without Skye to bug her. Now that Callie knows what is expected maybe I can put them together again, Skye says" no way, she is my toy and I am going to play with her." So the stairs are part of the routine. I have lost three pounds which is great and the exercise is actually good for me. So thanks to Skye I am getting into shape. House training two pups is not fun, but we are getting there.Once Callie grows a little more she will be able to hold her own when out with Skye. It seems like pups take a long time to grow and develop, but not really. Looking back the time actually goes quickly and before you know it you have a gangling teenager with no hair. But it sure feels good to have pups that get all excited when you ask them to go out and potty.

Do as much training as you can at this young age. Their little brains are like sponges and absorb everything so quickly. What you train now they will remember the rest of their lives.It is so rewarding seeing them learn so fast and remember everything. Puppies are so much fun.

 CALLIE AND SKYE

SO MUCH LOSS

 It has been a hard month, the loss of Keeper and then the loss of my best friend Kathleen. She lost her three year battle to cancer. She is so missed!  Her daughters have split up the Shelties and Alicia has taken the largest group to her home in W Virginia. . There she is continuing with her mothers passion, the breeding and raising of quality Shelties. The younger daughter also has 6 Shelties and will continue on in Fryeburg, Maine. The girls will work hard to keep their mothers passion going. 

Kathleen left me an eight week old pup. I certainly could not refuse such a gift. She has become best friends with Skye! The two of them keep each other going most of the day. House breaking two young pups sure is a challenge. Although Skye is almost trained and about ninety percent reliable. 

Topaz is keeping me in suspense as she did with her previous litter. I keep saying any day now. She is ruling my life. I can't leave her alone for any length of time. She is getting me up at least once during the night, hopefully we will have strong healthy pups and everyone will sleep during the night. I am so ready, these four thirty am mornings are getting very hard to handle. 

Once Topaz's pups have left, and I do plan to keep one this time, I plan to take a year off and see how I feel about breeding. I am ready for a very long break. 

Our Sheltie club has been in existence sine 1982. A long time and most of us who are still members are getting older. We need some new faces and new ideas to keep the club going on into the future. We would love some new people who are interested in learning more about the breed. We have programs for everyone's interest. We have educational events, fun events, some of the members show in conformation and obedience. Many are involved in agility and just having fun with their Shelties.  First and foremost they are our pets and friends. 

Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings and most meetings our Sheltie friends can also attend.

I hope to be more active with the blog. I am happy to answer any Sheltie related questions. If you need help with something, don't hesitate to ask.