Friday, December 21, 2018

BEAUTIFUL BLING

Bling is one of my seniors that came to me last May. She needed to retire and I had fallen love with her a long time ago. When she came here it took her awhile to adjust to living in the house with my other seniors. Now after seven months she is all settled in and she is completely house trained. 
The name Bling really suits her as she is a pretty and very flashy girl. Her registered name is Figures Paint Your Nails which suits her too.
After the dogs make their potty run early in the morning they all come up and spend an hour with me while I have coffee and look at emails. They love this routine and so do I. Shelties and dogs in general are very routine oriented. Once they get into a routine it is hard to change it. When four in the afternoon rolls around they all know that it is supper time, they let me know and don't settle down until they have had supper.
But this is about Bling. My front door has small side windows that run up both sides of the front door and they often act like a mirror. Well Bling has discovered these windows and this morning on her way to the kitchen and stopped and looked at the dog in the window.  She was entranced and as she looked she turned her head to the right and then to the left and back again. She made me laugh and what a great way to start the day. So I imagine that every morning now Bling will stop and see herself in the looking glass. I sure wish I could tell what was going on in her mind. After a couple of minutes she turned away and went into the kitchen.
Every one of my Shelties are characters and each have such different temperaments.Makes living with them fun and from one day to the next you don't know what is going to take place. The seniors have a great sense of humor. They know when they are doing something funny, and they love to be silly.
Below is beautiful Bling as a young girl!!

                                                                    

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

JOYFUL KEEPER

This is the time of year for Joy, and when I think about it the Shelties bring me joy every day of the year, in so many ways. My new boy Keeper and yes the same name as the young Keeper who is with a friend learning obedience. It is a little hard to get used to the name Keeper for two very different dogs. My new Keeper has been here about three weeks and has totally settled in. He has retired from a breeding kennel where he spent a fair amount of time in the out side kennel. With his age the cold was beginning to bother him so it was time for him to retire. I decided to bring him here to retire. We will still use him for some breeding but he is a full time house dog and absolutely loves it. He is  almost 9 years old and the cold does bother him. He is in the house with me most of the day, except for potty runs outside with the other seniors. The first time he came in after a potty run he got so excited he just about turned inside out. He was so full of joy that he could not contain himself. He realized that he was coming back in to the warmth and it was not bed time, as he always slept inside. His joy made me so happy. He was truly full of joy and he realized why. What a beautiful thing to see and feel. His joy brought me joy and made me smile. Wouldn't it be wonderful to feel joy from the so many little things in life, joy makes you feel so good. Keeper feels this joy every time he comes into the house and realizes he is coming into the warmth and finds a spot he likes to lay in. He is so appreciative. Shelties are intuitive and understand so much more than we give them credit for. If I say the word cookie they all pop up and are truly joyful and very hopeful. 
We could take lessons from our Shelties, so many little things that we can be thankful for and joyful for. In the evening when everyone is settled in, it is very peaceful and they are content. The peace and contentment they show is very helpful for me. It is good to feel their peace. This peace will stay with me through the hard holidays and make them easier. Wishing you all peace and joy this Christmas!!


Wednesday, December 12, 2018

SOME DAYS NOT AS GOOD AS OTHERS

This was one of those days that I hoped to accomplish a lot. I am behind with the house and need to get it caught up. Maybe tomorrow as I did not feel well this morning. No special plans for the rest of the week so can get busy in the morning and have a productive day. This is a sad time of year for me. No matter how hard I try I can not get into the Christmas mood, maybe as we get closer. It is hard to decorate and get all the Christmas stuff out when you are alone. With Len gone it is even more difficult. There are days that I expect him to walk through the door but I know that is not going to happen. I really need to get up to the cemetery as that brings me some comfort when I talk to Len. 
My cat Girly just seems to know when I am sad. She jumps up and wants to cuddle. That is just perfect and makes me feel good.
A friend gave the pups a new toy and they just love it. A fox that squeaks but they have not learned how to squeak it yet and that is a good thing. Once they learn to squeak a toy they will do it relentlessly. 
I have a young female in for breeding and she is quite shy but slowly becoming part of the group. The three young dogs are the mob, so full of energy and do not often stop. With the cold temperatures they cannot be out very long, they don't like to be cold.But sure need the exercise. I should bundle up and walk them.
Keeper and Bling who are 8 years old will go out, go potty as fast as they can and then come scratch at the back door. Telling me it is cold and they want in right now!
I have offered to do the Sheltie club newsletter, we have not had one for about a year and it is too easy to lose touch with everyone. A friend and I are going to put it together.
It will be good to have something that will have a deadline for completion.
Time to give some thought to supper. Later this evening I need to teach Bonnie to come. She loves to play games and run around the table when it is time to go out. Time to get serious with her. 
Well that is all for now, hope you all have a nice relaxing evening.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

ONE DAY AT A TIME WORKS FOR ME

I try to go one day at a time  and that works for me, I don't worry about what might come tomorrow. Just looking for a good day today and getting through the day with accomplishing something, either in the house or with the dogs.  I have taken on an almost 9 year old Sheltie male.  He is a Champion and a lovely dog and is still  young enough to use for breeding. At least for a couple of years. He is a love and very sweet. He is always next to me when I sit at the computer.  Every now and then I feel this nose poking my leg. He just wants a little nose rub, he seems to love that. His name is Keeper which is hard to get used to as I recently placed a 2 yr old named Keeper into a home where he is getting tons of attention and training which is just what he needed. I am fortunate to find such wonderful homes for my dogs that need  more than what I can give them. Young Keeper has a wonderful life ahead of him, he will meet his potential for sure. And I thank his owner Deb for all that she is doing for him. 
The new Keeper came here because he wanted to be a full time house dog,he does not like spending time out in the cold. He absolutely loves being in the house. Hopefully he will sire a few pups for us and he will spend his retirement years here. 
Bonnie who is now almost 6 months needs to get back into training. She has decided to do just what she wants, no matter what I want, so tonight we get started again with her basic training. When the weather was good I took her outside every day to train, we started at eight weeks and she learned so fast, but as it got colder I stayed in more. We will work in the front room starting this evening. Shelties are very smart and easy to train but you still need to put in the time to have a well trained dog. Tonight we start with the youngest,  she needs to learn that she is not in charge. It is up to me! I would like to expose her to sheep in the spring and she will need some basic obedience in order to do this. She has lots of energy and is fast and also very smart. I would hope that we could at least get her herding tested. A good goal for the spring. Although I go one day at a time it is good to have a goal for the dogs. They need to work towards something.



                                                                      
                                        CH WESTSTAR'S FINDERS KEEPERS

Saturday, December 1, 2018

GETTING BACK INTO IT

Well I can't seem to do better than about once a week. Still trying to remedy that. My  will power is not what it used to be, but I am working on that too, in many ways.
Visited my friend in Maine and I am going to bring home another senior, but you would not know that he is a senior. We will co-own him and he will still be siring pups. He is a lovely, sweet boy who just needs to live in the house. It will be a challenge to house train him but it can be done. Bling who is also 8 years took awhile to house train but now she is very good and understands what she needs to do. She loves living in the house and is doing very well. She has chosen a favorite space to sleep in. It is on the landing on the stairs that go down to the dog room. I am sure that she feels cozy there and the heat from the furnace comes right up the stairs. 
The new boys name is Keeper and funny that about three weeks ago I placed a young dog named Keeper. At least there will not be confusion between the Keepers..This Keeper has been here before for breeding purposes and he learned the routine very quickly so I think he will again especially when he realizes that this is home.
Bonnie is a little wild one. She is constantly on the go. Her house training is coming along and would be much easier if we did not have to go down stairs, but the exercise of the stairs is good for me. I need to do more obedience training with her so that in the spring I can try her on sheep. Hopefully she has the natural herding instinct to go with all that energy. She is turning into a pretty girl, no hair yet, but hopefully it will come soon.
I have been busy with Christmas shopping and it is almost done. I would love to put a small   Christmas tree on Len's grave. Last year at Thanksgiving we did not have snow and I was able to do that. So far this year I cannot get into the cemetery. 
I bought a nice soft dog bed to go on the dog cot that I have. Well, every night more stuffing is taken out of it and I caught the culprit. Rosie my 7 year old has slowly been tearing it apart when I am not around. I can see the puppy getting into it but not Rosie. She is very determined about things she wants to do and this is one of them  She is too old to change. No more new beds for us!
It is breakfast time for the kids so need to get moving. Maybe if I am lucky I will write more later.
                                                                   

Friday, November 23, 2018

MEMORIES PAST AND MEMORIES PRESENT

A good time to sit and write after a very nice Thanksgiving with family and friends. I know that my granddaughter will be very happy to have me write again. 
I did all the preparation for the dinner myself, very different with not having Len here as he usually helped with some of the preparation. But I got it all done, Turkey cooking and the veggies were really easy. My son Lenny and his family brought the pies for dessert and the cool whip. Our friends Harriet and Bob came and they brought candied yams, which were delicious. 
Once Bob and Harriet left, all the dogs came into the living room and we played with them for at least an hour. Kaelyn who is 11 and Nathan who is 18 just love the dogs. They were down on the floor with them and the puppies were having such a good time. What a nice way to end a very nice Thanksgiving. Memories made!
Last year we visited the cemetery and put up a little Christmas tree at Lens headstone.Too much cold and snow to do that yesterday. Maybe if we get some rain and warmer days we will be able to get into the cemetery before Christmas and put a little tree up. Christmas was Lens favorite holiday. Maybe remembering this I will be able to get into the spirit of Christmas a little more this year.  I will try. Maybe Christmas eve I will stay up until midnight with the dogs and see what they have to say. I have always believed that the animals talk at midnight on Christmas eve. When I was a kid I used to go out to the barn to listen to the horses and sheep talk. So peaceful and quiet at that time of night, a little munching from the sheep chewing the hay. Some things just carry over from your childhood. You never give up believing these things. Animals are so  special that you never know what is possible.
My cat Girly, understands everything I say to her, it is truly amazing. This will be her first Christmas with me. She has been an awesome companion, helps to fill the void of missing Len. I would not know what to do without her. 
The dogs are wonderful also, but Girly just has a little spark of something special. Can't really put my finger on it. 
I have made a promise that I will finish my book in January. It is about three quarters finished and I am looking forward to getting it done. It is called Sheltie Heart! It has been a long time and needs to be finished up. I think that you will love it.
This is a hard time of year coming up but I intend to make every effort to make the most of this Christmas season and be very positive! All for now, maybe it won't be so long for me to get back to the blog, as I really do enjoy writing.

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

WHAT TO DO ON A RAINY DAY!!

It has been raining since last night and very hard all morning. Good day to get paperwork done and some grooming.
The dogs absolutely hate going out in this kind of rain. Bling absolutely refuses. I actually have to pick her up and put her out. I can't blame them, I would not want to go out like that. 
Keeper is working out well with  his new home and they are going to keep him. He is learning so much already. He will start formal training after the 1st of the year.
Luke, also is doing very well. A little issue learning to go potty on a leash but has finally caught on and all is well. They love him so much and he is staying also.
So for young ones I have almost 5 month old Bonnie, who is a bi-blue. Very smart and takes to training like a duck to water. She  absorbs things so quickly. She surprised me this morning with running up the stairs when I brought them in to have coffee with me. Next, I have Topaz who is one year old, she looks like a tri but is a cryptic blue. She needs a lot more training as she thinks everything is a game, she wants to play all the time. And last is Walter, who is 16 months. I  hope to show him in the spring so we need to get started with show training.
Days like today are just not motivating for me. I am sitting here with a cup of tea, debating what comes next this morning.
I am having Thanksgiving here this year, my son and daughter in law and two grand kids will be coming. Since Len passed I have a really hard time getting into the holidays. But will make the best of the day. One holiday at a time, not thinking of Christmas yet. I pretty much still go one day at a time which is the easiest way for me. If I think too far ahead just too much to worry about.
I do feel good that I am ready for winter, as much as I possibly can be. Window air conditioners out, storms down. Furnaces cleaned and serviced. Just need to fill my gas cans for the snow blower and the generator. I am ready but not really wanting snow to come. 
Maybe do a couple of games with the pups today. No way that we can work outside. 
I also have pedigrees to research for my friend Kathleen. I do enjoy research work and today may be a good day for that. 
Time to try to get motivated and make this a productive day.
All for now!