ColliesHorsesArtLove

My UB Friends

You know. You remember......."Unknown Breeders"???

Ha Ha Ha HAAA.

Ok, so I can't assume that I am without shit happening in my life. And really, my whole day tonight is waiting to see Ben The (Monkey) Bachelor, AKA to me,  "Gross kisser" pick the B I T C H ~ Courtney for his wife. Yeah, whatever. We all know that ain't going to last. Simple life I have and slightly pathetic.

Anyway, after my photo shoot of beautiful Sage & Thrill last week, Seabiscuit decided to BEAT THE SHIT out of poor baby Sage. It's a long story and I don't want to go into it, but good thing I only had a sweatshirt in my hand. She will probably be no worse for the wear but the whole event was very upsetting and I was sooo sad I couldn't keep her from ANY harm in her life. Her face is bit up, but I do believe from looking at it that he barely braised the skin and that she will heal w/o scars. But, he is on my shit list. For a while. Like he has his own yard now, and she doesn't get to go with him again. So, this post is not about totally making fun of other people's short comings......I have a bunch, as do my dogs.

Anyway, back to my UB friends. HA HA HA.....again, I cannot assume I am so arrogant to think I'd miss an accidental breeding, so I went out and looked at Cardiff. Love is in the air. She was in season in Decemember. She doesn't appear to have any puppiness to her. Soleil is due (like going on a year now) and she doesn't appear to be pregnant, but weirder things have happened. So, I just wanted to make sure. That would kinda ruin the whole winter/spring/summer schedule. And, I'm not up for it.

Like UB1: He bred one bitch and thought the other one was out (she WAS on her 21st day by God!! The accepted and googled time-frame that most bitches should be out of season is....21 days....) Well I guess she was a very late breeder. She's pregnant. This breeder saw the transaction and also confirmed it with an ultrasound. Good for him. He's on top of things. Sort of.

UB2 had her bitch with a very cute stud dog and she was apparently a VERY EARLY BREEDER!!! Like on her 2nd day. It happens. This breeder noticed the bitch was looking a little.... f  a  t  ......and lo and behold....she was pregnant!! Like 5 puppies pregnant!!! BUT, she noticed there was that LOOK before the big event. Good girl UB2.

UB3 had her bitch at a kennel and now the bitch is acting pregnant. Could she have gotten pregnant thru a fence???? According to Sue (today while we were tracking she relayed this story to me, unbeknowst to UB5's impeding story on my cell phone)) that yes, a dog can breed a bitch thru a fence. Or in this case, a crate door. Wow. What a talent!!! Good luck with that bitch UB3.

UB4 ~ I think this one was planned because I heard thru the sketchy cell service that this bitch was at "the kennel" such and such a time. I have no idea who I am talking to but because of the nature of the conversation I'm assuming this was a planned event. My neighbor, bless his heart, called me to know when AFTER the temperature had dropped to 98 degrees (the moring before) would this bitch have puppies??? I said "Now" and sure enough she plopped one out while we were on the phone. Because she was some mastiff type bitch and not a C O L L I E  this is not important to me ~ EXCEPT SHE HAD 15 puppies!!! O. M. G.!!!! Shoot me.

Shoot me again......

UB5 ~ I am tracking today and filming Thrill so I can actually download a current video before Sue leaves for PA. My cell phone rings. OK. I do NOT like this. It stopped my video!! Is this a bad iPhone feature?? What if I was videotaping a murder, or other important event. So, if you see a video of Thrill soon and it's not from the start of the track, it's UB5's fault.

SHE called me to ask me what she woke up to this am....she's so weird.

"Snow?" I said. She does live in So. Calif. in the city. I mean, really, what could she wake up to. Attacking house plants??? I don't even know what she does all day except drive her kid to school, come back, clean her house, then drive back to pick him up. (I LOVE you UB5!!!!) 

"No.....a LITTER!!!" OmGosh!! Really??? This is a good story. She sucks. I ask her when she last petted her bitch. Her boyfriend said a few days ago that he thought her bitch was pregnant because there was a huge hole in the yard. You need to keep that guy UB5!!! He's a KEEPER!!!! Like he has Imminent Puppy Whelping Radar!!!

This is where I end my story. I'm thinking this love in the air will die down as it gets on with our year. Or whatever I think.

I'm going to finish cooking my dinner, feed the punkies and get ready for Ben The Monkey Bachelor!!!

Sage & Thrill ~ Almost 6 Months!!!!

Sooooo Sue & I FINALLY got photos of our almost 6 month old puppies! What work!! We tracked this morning and Thrill had a "lay it and run it" 1 turn track. (Every 3rd training day he gets an easy track). And Sage had 3 tracks with a turn into the wind. And it was windy!! She actually did very well, but apparently found a food drop from an old track because she took off in the wrong direction to go get it. After her little excursion, she was off to run the correct track and did very well, considering the heavy wind. Thrill was tracking Sue's footsteps back to the van, so apparently thought what he did today was NOT enough! Good puppies!

Anyway, here is Sage. All in her show trimmed barely 6 month old fluffiness! I love her!! But, for all of you who don't think I still love Cardiff & Soleil and blah, blah, blah.....I STILL LOVE THEM!! But 6 month old puppy bitches are just dreamy to me!! I could watch that class EVERY day!!! Sage was again, stellar on the grooming table and a little poser, though I have inadvertently rewarded a right front foot to come forward. I need to go back to baby posing and click the right steps there. 

Sage

Sage

Sage ~ This is where Sage and Thrill are different in profiles. Since I am very familiar with this type of stop, I'm ok with it. When Thrill was born I could see he was very different from the puppies I've had in the past and here he is ~ as I expected. That was nice to see at an infant age because it has always been a mystery to me when breeders would go over my puppies and say they were full in stop. Like wtf? How do they know??? Hahahaha!! It's nice to get the experience of other more knowledgeable breeders.

Thrill ~ He still has that nice throat-latch and gorgeous underjaw which he never lost. And his skull went high for about 39 seconds, so no biggie there. He's going to have a LONG coat! Omgosh I was lightly trimming his hocks and he has all this wispy hair that Sage doesn't have. It's fun to compare the babies.

Thrill

Thrill

Thrill

So that's it for now!!!

Sage Tracking 3-5-12

 

Here is Sage's first track today. I laid about 180 yards with the wind, which was her last track she did last week. She was awesome. Yeah Sage & yeah Sue!!

 

This second track is with the wind crossing it and she tracked it like a pro. I kept asking Sue is she was off the track and since I am off to the side to tape, I can't line her up with my markers. Sue said she was really good at being on the track. VERY fun today!!!

I apparently didn't turn my iPhone sideways so I get a horizontal & or bigger video, so I have to remember that. Earlier Thrill did 3 road crossings again and was sooo good, but YouTube didn't get the video right and I haven't downloaded it again. Bugs me because it eats into my monthly minutes for NO reason!! He's such a handsome boy and a great tracker! So, you just have to trust me on that, not seeing his video. 

Tomorrow is picture day! And you might all say it's about time!!!! I am going to evaluate whether I want to enter Sage in the upcoming specialties. She needs more time to flatten in her stop....unlike her brother who has no problem there. But both are cute little almost 6 month olds. Sage had all the trimming & product in her coat tonight and we'll re-do tomorrow. She's also very nice on the table and stands so good for whiskers, toenails & feet trimming (first time). Love her. But I still love all those other collies here toooooo!!!!!! Like I could just smoooosh and kiss Cardiffness all day long!!! Cuteness abounds!!!

Sage Tracking 2-27-12

 

Here was Sage yesterday on her second track. We did a 40/80/160 yard track into the wind for her first set of tracks, which is normally easiest for a dog. Her second track, which is this video was with the wind, so the scent was blowing away from her.

Right before I started filming Sage picked up the start article in her mouth, so that's why I was praising her. She had a very hard time in the beginning as she just couldn't seem to figure out where the track was, then she finally put her nose to the ground and found it and tracked very nicely. 

Today we did two tracks with the wind of 160 yards. She also did well and seemed to understand better what Sue was asking of her. Sue's being very conservative with how much she gives Sage so she gets a good foundation and it's really paying off!!

On the Amazing Thrill note....Sue ran Thrill on 3 tracks with a turn each, and each track crossed over a one lane road. This is the beginning of TDX tracking blog stalkers!!! And the baby is only 5  1/2 months old!! I just looked up his first lesson and it was Nov. 28th, so 3 months of tracking as of today and he's such a pro. Soooooo much fun to watch and sooo motivated. I just love it!!! Good thing Sue has Sage Brush to train because she'll need another puppy next season!

2nd Day Of Sage Tracking ~ So Far So Very Cool!!

 

I didn't video-tape Sage today except this little one of her in the back of Sue's van. I thought I was taking a still shoot. She thought it was bitchen of herself to jump up there and annoy her big baby bouncing brother Thrill.

I laid a 10/20/40 yd track for Sage/Sue with food drops, then another 20/40/80, except at the 80 yd track there was a gravel road so her tracks were 20/40/40. Luckily Sue knew about the road and told me to stop beforehand. I wasn't sure what to do and was ready to call her on her cell phone but she doesn't have it sewn to her head like I do so thank God she stopped me before I made it too hard for little Sage Brush. It's all about EASY and MOTIVATING now.

She wasn't as lungy at the start of the first set of tracks, but tracked beautifully. The second set she got to watch me and was really good. So we are very, very pleased!

Thrill had a hard track that weaved around a fence and then went thru what looked like a Juniper forest of trees. No problem with him. I even walked behind with Sage and she yipped a couple of times, and also towards the end there was a family walking with a little doggie just 50 feet away from his end article. He was not distracted at all. So YEAH for Thrill and Sage today!!

As for your comment Michelle, maybe Sue can post a comment on the tracking method. I originally trained with a modified version of Glen Johnson's method from his book "Tracking Dog" with Kiita. (Like I wasn't going to quit Art Center to track.....waaaayyyyyyy to many tracks laid each day), but Sue probably could enlighten us all more on the details of how she trains. Whatever she does with her collies works so well and Thrill is so motivated even if he has a problem he still is working to find the track. Such a pleasure to watch.

 

Back-Tracking ~ Or Let's Start All Over Again!!

 

I have not tracked Sage for about 3 weeks. We kept running into problems and before it became a habit I wanted to either stop and start again next year, or hand her over to Sue. Since Sue is the Master Tracker, that was my choice. If anyone could ruin a tracking dog, that might be a novice. If anyone could fix a tracking problem that would be Sue.

We talked about the possible scenarios and because I felt Sage somehow was doing too much too fast, I suggested we start her as if she didn't know anything. She seemed to know what to do but was doing things that seemed like she was stressed with the addition of length and the turns. So today we started with 5/10/20 yds and food drops every 5 yds. This video is the second set of little tracks, so it's not totally exciting, but little Sage Brush was MOTIVATED!! Her third set of tracks (10/20/40 yds) she dragged Sue down the tracks and was spot on!! So, we are planning on going out again tomorrow, barring a possible migraine brewing in my head and we'll see how the little darling does two days in a row.

Sue is upping the difficulty with Thrill so today part of his track was on very short vegetation and then ended with a turn into the easy stuff he knows. He's a workin' fool and motivation has never been a problem for him. Super Tracker Thrill!! Funna funna to watch!!!

Thrill Gets Certified For Tracking!!!!!

Yahhhhhooooooooiiiiiiieeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is Mr. Confident Tracker. Sue told me she had a friend mention to her yesterday "Are you SURE he's ready to get certified???" She sounded doubtful that he could be ready so quick. I guess this friend hasn't seen Thrill. 

This is Handsome's track. But of course Sue or Thrill don't know where it goes, or how many turns it has.

All Sue knows is direction for the first 30 paces. This is in case the dog takes off in the absolutely wrong direction, you get a clue here only at the start for a TD Test. After that it's up to you to read your dog. Or your puppy. Your LITTLE BABY PUPPY. 

This is Thrill's second leg. He's motoring along like a pro.

This is Thrill's 3rd leg. Sue actually tripped and flung herself into the brush and I tried to get a photo of it, but my camera was focusing on a branch in the foreground, so that is probably a good thing. Thrill actually had to stop to wait for her to get up, then restart the track, which he did fine. He is VERY motivated and Sue's crash to the ground didn't disturb him. It's those Muck Boots. They are really hard to walk in.

You can't even see Puppy Boy, but he just found the glove. This is the 4th leg. Sooo much fun!!!

Besides the judge & I, Sue's friend Sue drove an hour to watch Thrill, as did Ray of Sunshine. Ray did say seeing the tracking in person was way more exciting than watching it on video. You gotta love it though to appreciate how special this puppy is!!

There was another dog that Meg layed a track for and this dog did not pass her certification. So, it's not always easy. The reason the dogs have to get certified before a test is tests are very hard to come by, only a handful of dogs can run at a Licensed AKC Tracking Test and they need to be proven before wasting the time of everyone involved. The certificates are good for 1 year & I think the dog gets 4 of them. Thrill might not be able to run his TD Test before the Tracking Tests are done and the fields are brown. He needs to be 6 months old and he'll miss some of the tests going to the CCA.

Meg forgot to put "Collie PUPPY"!!!

Congratulations Sue & Thrill (ooooohhhh and me too hehehehe!!)

Sage's First Tracking Turn ~ FINALLY.....

 

Sage had her first turn today ~ Yeah!! She's still all wiggly waggly over the straight legs, but the two turns she did she was right on and didn't have to think about where they were. That was a boost for me and I'm sure for her. She was very motivated and lunging and crying to get going while Sue laid the tracks.

I cut this video down and started towards the end of the first leg. It was long and I'm still trying to figure out how to get these videos to YouTube and not take forever. Whatever I did tonight was good because it was pretty quick. I went thru iMovie and I'm sure if I knew what I was doing I could add music and copy and cool stuff like that.

Thrill did a regulation track today, as far as length and he was fantastic. Sue wasn't sure if it would be too long for him, but he tracked it like a pro. Confident, right on and just when Sue thought he was off on one corner (no flags) she realized he was right on the track. Coooolllll puppies!!

Thrill Tracking ~ Poetry In Motion

Love the video on the iPhone but I had Sue download this to You Tube on her computer. I told her if she gets her bill next month and it's a $1000 don't call me, I'll call her.

What a great little puppy! Not even 4 months yet and practically doing regulation tracks with 4 turns and aged 40 minutes! I LOVE HIM!!! But so does Sue. Like a whole bunch!! I especially love the start and also how confident he is and able to find the turns. Really great little guy!! He also had to track thru that huge ditch and several spots of very different vegetation AND only 2 food drops on the track. Wowzie!!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

To all my friends and blog stalkers ~ have a wonderful Christmas ~

Oxoxoxox ~ Diana & T and all the Punkies, Arabians, Goats, Chickens & Guinea Hens