An Exhausting Time!

Another seven days have gone by and finally back to writing. I am helping a friend with dogs of hers due to a surgery that she had. I have a houseful and it is exhausting. I had thought I would start a puppy class with Bonnie but I am just too exhausted to get out of here early to make the class.It is an hours drive to class and I am just not up for it at this point. There are 14 dogs here and that is a huge amount of juggling.  Another two weeks and we will be back to normal here with just my dogs. It will be a nice feeling. Can you imagine trying to give them all attention, feeding and cleaning, and taking in and out. And that is with two girls in season and three stud dogs. 
Have seriously considered finding good homes for a couple of my dogs so that they all get more one on one attention. I always think that I can handle anything but just not so anymore. When I was younger and working a full time job, 14 dogs were not a problem, and not really a problem now just too hard to get out early in the morning.
I try to give house time to as many as possible. My dogs get upset if they don't get their house time so I make a point to keep their routine as normal as possible. 
Time to get moving, dogs are ready to eat and I need to get this day going.

 

Off to a good start today. This is a very busy place with three girls here for breeding and having three stud dogs here makes for a three ring circus. I have to juggle dogs coming and going as only one stud is being used and the other two are not very happy. By this time next week there will be peace here. 
I am really ready for that and it will be peaceful even with my 9 Shelties. The others will be going home. 
My own girl Rosie was bred a couple of weeks ago so she is no longer a temptation to the boys. 
Today I need to wash down the dog room , with 12 Shelties it does tend to get messy. 
Another day of heat and humidity, makes working hard. Going to take Bonnie the puppy out to the agility area to play on some of the puppy equipment, she just loves this and at 11 weeks she is really quick. 
This afternoon when the heat and humidity are at its highest the dogs will be in the walk out basement which is very cool.
Being a widow is not easy. Every day takes an effort to get going, but I know the dogs need me and I am able to get up and get moving. My cat, Girly, is sitting on the desk right next to the keyboard. She is such good company. I love her to pieces.She gets along with most of the dogs, which is really nice. 
I am putting off getting to work this morning but maybe after a cup of tea I will get the motivation I need to clean the dog room. 
Bonnie is sleeping now and when she wakes we will go play for a little while.
My Shelties are wonderful. They keep me going.  You just can't ignore them.

No Ambition Today, too Hot and Humid!!

Seems like I just can't keep up the way I would like to. I know my granddaughter would not be happy with my missing so many days of writing.
The new pup Bonnie is settling in very nicely. Took her out to the agility area this morning and she loves to run the zoomies, she goes just as fast as she possibly can. 
I have three of my friends dogs here to help her out so it is pretty hectic. My friend Kathleen just had surgery for breast cancer and needs to take it real easy for the next four weeks and no lifting. I have two of her young girls and one of her stud dogs here for awhile. 
And today we are back into the heat and humidity which seems to zap all my motivation. I have such good intentions when I get started in the morning. They slowly melt away as the morning goes on.
There is a walking trail that was built not far from my house and I did get Keeper out for a walk yesterday. After the walk we played ball for awhile in the agility area and he loved it. He was not happy with the  bikers that went by but with more exposure he is will be ok. He did a little obedience with me on the walk and he really loves to work. He is so pleased with himself when he does  it right.
The two girls that are visiting are in season and are here to be bred and needless to say Luke is not very happy, as there is not a girl for him. He is off his feed and he howls at bedtime. Another week and the girls will be done and all will be normal around here.
I had planned to walk some this week but with the heat and humidity I don't think it will happen. Right now the dogs are all laying  around me while I sit at the computer and the air conditioner is running. They love the cool air. Soon I will go upstairs and get the air running for the cat. This house does not have an attic so the upstairs does get very hot. 
Today is Labor Day and since it is a holiday I don't feel so bad about not getting much accomplished, I have a hard time making myself work on a holiday, just something from the past as when I was growing up we always had a cookout on a holiday. Those days have been gone for a long time. The young people of today don't seem to do those family things. 
That has nothing to do with the dogs, just an observation. 
School starts tomorrow and I hope my grand kids have a really good first day of school. I will be thinking of them and remembering what it was like when the long summer was over. 
I think tonight I will do a little dog grooming and at least get something accomplished. The dogs will appreciate that. It has been a hard summer for double coated dogs, as the Shelties are, with a soft furry undercoat and a long outer coat. 
Maybe I will get a little ambitious this evening and write more about the dogs.

Looking for a lovely Sheltie puppy visit my website to see pictures of Kathleens puppies that are available! Jopavist Sheltie Shop

I know it has been a few days since I have written, so many things seem to get in the way. My granddaughter reminded me that it has been four days. 
So for the news Walter is coming back for the school year. I have missed him more than I ever thought I would and I am happy that he is coming home. He needs Topaz to play with. My sons dogs are a little older and Walter irritates the oldest by trying to get her to play. Now Pup Pup will have some peace. Walter and Topaz are close in age and perfect for playing together.

I have started a Go Fund Me site for good friend Kathleen Hathaway. She has a very aggressive form of breast cancer and could use some help with medical expenses. 
https://www.gofundme.com/manage/keep-illusion-farm-running
We appreciate any help or sharing that we can get. It takes a lot to keep the farm running and the medical expenses do come first.

Tomorrow we are having a grooming day for the Shelties at Illusion Farm. Kathleen is going in for surgery on Monday and having the dogs groomed will be one more thing that she will not have to worry about. It should be a fun day.

Guess that is about all the news for today. I probably won't get back here tomorrow as I will be helping with the grooming of the Illusion Farm Shelties.



                                                                                 

Tomorrow will be a busy day. I am off to Fryeburg to pick up a stud dog to breed to my Rosie. He belongs to a friend of mine and it is just as easy and less stressful for Rosie to stay home and bring the boy to her. He is a lovely red sable and if we are lucky will have some very pretty tri-factored sables. It is has been more than a year since we have had a litter here and I am looking forward to it. It is a lot of work to raise a litter but so much joy too. Rosie is getting a little older and this may be her last time to have pups. 
When I get home I will start getting things ready for our new puppy that is coming on Saturday. She is a little bi-blue female and so sweet .Her conformation is outstanding and I have high hopes for her. 
I think she will be a stunning Sheltie. We are calling her Bonnie but not sure yet as to what her registered name will be. Just wanted a nice Scottish call name. We had a Bonnie years ago who was an awesome little sheep herder. She had no fear and could put the nastiest of ewes in their place.
This Bonnie will not be sheep herding but will be doing some scent work and lots of obedience and possibly some therapy work. I would love to have two or three of my dogs certified for therapy. They need to get their Canine Good  Citizen certification and then they can take the therapy dog certification. The elderly people in nursing homes and people housebound love to see the dogs. They bring these people so much joy and I feel good knowing that we are helping to bring these people a little joy to their lives. Another rewarding thing to do is to bring the dogs to the library so children can read to them. Children who are uncomfortable around their peers have no problem reading to the dogs. This builds their confidence and helps develop their reading skills.  It is a very rewarding experience. 
I hope that my granddaughter is spending time with Walter and keeps up with his training.
Walter is now living  with her and I want them both to be very happy. She has taught him to do a high five and maybe he will learn a few more tricks. 
It is getting late and tomorrow is a long day so need to come to an end.  Will try to write more tomorrow. Spend time with your dog, he will love you for it.

My granddaughter visited today and reminded me that it has been eleven days since I have written on the blog. So I need to remedy that. 
Today we visited a friend who has pups and we helped her to bathe them. Really had fun doing this. We washed the pups and towel dried and put them under a warm blow drier.One of the little blue boys was so good, nice and calm in the bath, no wiggles, he is so sweet.The blue girl who is coming to live with me was one of the worst wigglers. She is so beautiful and she is sweet to, just was not happy with having a bath. She comes home this weekend. I am really looking forward to having her here. I am going to start training her right away. I find that puppy brains are like little sponges and they absorb everything so quickly. Although,today Kaelyn and I were teaching Topaz to sit and at nine months she caught on really well. So I need to get busy with her, she is so bright and loves to work for you. 
The humidity has been bad here and it sure takes away my motivation. The dogs don't like it either.
They love to sleep near the air conditioner and feel it blowing on them. 
Our puppy Walter is living with Kaelyn and I know she loves having him there. We co-own him and he is now under her care. She has taught him to do a high five and I hope that she will teach him many more tricks. He is a smart little guy too and I started him with the basics at 8 weeks old. He learned so quickly. I hope to do the same with my new little girl that will be here soon.

I have been alone over a year now and I am slowly getting used to it.The dogs are good for me and help to keep me going. Also my cat Girly is an awesome companion. She is with me most of the time. The only time she stays upstairs is when my boy Keeper is in the kitchen. She is afraid of him as he will try to chase her. I would love to break this habit but it is very difficult. He is a very determined boy. He loves to train and I need to do more with him. He learns very quickly and I enjoy seeing him learn, he is so proud of himself. 

Well that is about it for today, it is getting late and the dogs will be going to bed soon. I will try hard to write everyday, as my granddaughter reminded me it has been 11 days that I have not written.  I am sure that she will keep me in line. 


                                                                        

This is our new little girl, Bonnie!!She will be here on Saturday and we are excited!

A  dark and dreary day today. Good day to spend time with the dogs. I have been on this computer most of the morning but just decided I needed to get to this blog.
Trying to get together a few people to go help Kathleen groom her dogs. Kathleen has cancer and always appreciates help with keeping the dogs groomed. We make a party out of it and have fun.

Walter is still living with my granddaughter and all seems to be going pretty well. I miss him but I know that he is well loved and cared for. And the big plus is that I can see him often. Every time I look at this picture I smile.