The life of a collie!

Scarlett has a couple dogs shows this coming week.  My daughter, who works at a kennel, took Scarlett to work with her today.

As it turns out, we have a very rare collie!  She loves relaxing in a bubble bath!  She's had a bubble bath, been spa shampooed and conditioned, she had her gentle no tears face cleanser, she had a soothing massage, she had her ears cleaned, her teeth brushed, her nails clipped and her coat furminated, and then played in the sunshine with a golden retriever named Chloe...now she is asleep in the air conditioned kennel office!

Scarlett - "Can someone fetch me a bottle of Perrier?  I have had a long day!"

Many Collie Thanks!

We have won a few give-aways and the collies wanted to express their gratitude!  They won some great treats from Finn and Gizmo from their awesome Bingo game.  The treats, from Cloudstar, are healthy and packed full of vitamins.  But the collies only care about how delicious the treats taste!  These treats really gets their drool flowing!

They come in three formulas.  One for sensitive stomachs, called Dynamo Dog Tummy, which is made with pumpkin and ginger.  Cloudstar also sells a treat for healthy skin and coat, which is made with salmon.  And they have two versions for hip and joint health.  One is made with chicken, and the other is bacon and cheese.  They love them all, but out of the four varieties, I think the salmon is their real favorite.

We also won these really yummy Kong chewy treats from our friends Reilly and Denny .  The collies were so excited when these arrived they helped my daughter open the box!  They will happily pose for any picture, as long as I have one of these treats in my hand!

We won one more give-away, this one was from The Lassie Network!  They sent us a stuffed Lassie, and Lassie watch and book, and even some Lassie pins.  The collies are obsessed with the stuffed lassie and keep trying to steal him!

Thank you everyone for the wonderful treats and gifts.  They each arrived last week, and the collies now think ALL the mail delivered is for them!  They get so excited when the mailman pulls up now!

And the collie awards go to...

We have been given a couple awards, and wanted to thank the bloggers who gave them to us, and share them with a few of our favorite blogs.

We received the Super Sweet Blogging Award from Tails of teach.  Thank you so much!  If you get a chance, head over to Tails of Teach, it’s a great blog about a smooth collie!  (You will see some amazing pictures on Teach’s blog!)  Here are the Super Sweet rules:

1.  Thank a blogger for nominating you.  Please see above ... done.

2.  Include the award image on your blog.  Again please see above ... done.

3.  Nominated and notify a baker's dozen sweet blogs for this award.  (see below)

4.  Answer 5 Super Sweet questions:

  

Cookies or Cake?  While we have made the collies a cake on their birthdays, they only get the tinest sliver.  But Cookies are their favorite, as they have won a few different kinds from some fellow bloggers. (which will be our next post)

Vanilla or Chocolate?  Vanilla, no chocolate allowed! J (The human members of the family prefer chocolate though)

What is your favorite sweet treat?  Frosty Paws!

When do you crave sweet things the most?  When our humans are eating something sweet, and won’t share!

If you had a sweet name, what would it be?  Not sure…maybe “Sugar and Honey Collies”

We want to give this award to the following blogs:

a day in the life of a goose

acd6pack

bertdidit

colliesofthemeadow

cowspotdog

finnhoward

gospelofgoose

heartlikeadog

howsamseesit

hylightsfarm  (please stop by this great collie blog and make them feel welcome!)

keywestcollies

lifeatgoldenpines

mydogSam

thelonelydogs

thechronicleofwoos (please stop by and wish Thunder well, he is feeling a little under the weather!)

We also received the Versatile Blogger award from Gizmo  and from shebas life story. Thank you so much!  Both of these blogs are full of wonderful posts, and we really enjoy reading them.  So please stop by their blogs and say hello.   Now the Versatile Blogger Rules:

Add the Versatile Blogger award photo on a blog post.  - done.

Thank the person who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in your post.  - Also done.

Pass the award along to favorite bloggers.  Contact the chosen bloggers and let them know about the award.  I will start notifying everyone.

Share Seven Things About Yourself.  - See below

Seven things about us:

1)This is our 150^th blog post!

2)We enjoy hiking with our humans, and we love to visit new parks!

3)We have new baby brother.  Our human sister recently adopted a baby hamster, we call her/him Dobby.

4)Pumpkin kitty was naughty last night, and tried to break into Dobby’s cage! (It was 2:00 AM and Pumpkin and Dobby woke up the entire house, Mom was not happy!)

5)We all want to play with Dobby, but we aren’t allowed because she is so little.

6)We were asked to do our first review, and that will be coming up soon!

7)Scarlett has some dog shows coming up in a couple weeks, and we are all hoping she will do well!

We want to give the Versatile Blogger award to the following blogs:

dakotasden

dogsnpawz

wyattgardens

mygoldendogblog

angusandmilosadventures - please stop by and let Jet know you are thinking of him!

mistyshoreschesapeakes

molliesdogtreats

murraysmouth

onecollie

mypawsitivelypets

petblogsunited

positivelybarking

romp-roll-rockies

twocolliesandamutt

thethunderingherd

spottyspottypolkadotty

browndogcbr

colliesandlife

mygirlzgotpaws

somethingwagging

carolfromdownunder

talesandtails

24pawsoflove

stellroselong
meyouandzu

(Yes, we know we gave a few extra awards out, but we wanted to share the awards with as many of our blogging friends as possible.  And since we received the Versatile Blogger award twice, we figure we can award it with up to 30 blogs!  If it were up to us, we would share the awards with all of you!  If we missed you with this round of awards, don't worry, we will get you next time!)

Finally, we wanted to share an award that we created last year.  It's our own special Heartwarming Award.  It's to be shared with a blog that has touched our heart.  (that's the only rule)  We chose to give it to two bloggers, as you can truly feel how much they love their dogs.  And we also think they could use a little extra support right now. 

thechronicleofwoos. and ros-angusandmilosadventures - we are thinking are thinking of you both!  Feel free to pass this award onto anyone you would like!

Wordless Wednesday - Chloe

She was one of the sweetest dogs I have ever known.  And she will always be missed.  (Chloe September 1995 - May 2010)

(not so) Wordless Wednesday

I read a post on a friend's blog, that reminded me of the illustrations below.  It was created by Dr Sophia Yin.  They have been going around Facebook for awhile, so I thought I would share them, in case anyone wanted to read them, or share them with the children in your lives.

 

Dr Sophia Yin's blog can be found by clicking on her name.  It is a wonderful blog, with a lot of useful information.  You can purchase her books and DVD's by clicking on this link.

Seeing beautiful...

We have recently been visiting a lot of parks here in New England.  During our hikes, we have been blessed with some truly beautiful scenery.  Today there is a blog hop called “Seeing Beautiful,” and we think it is a wonderful idea for a blog hop and for a post about the beauty we have discovered the last few months during our journeys.  The idea for the blog hop came from the Seeing Beautiful Blog, our friend Sugar, has joined them and has also been "Seeing Beautiful," and today is her one year anniversary, so stop by and check out their wonderful blogs.

 I want to begin with the first chance we were given to see beautiful in our lives.  We traveled about half across the country to the collie national show.  During our trip from New England to Wisconsin, we traveled through many states.  Because of this trip, we were able to visit parts of our country that we would have never seen during our lifetimes.   And when we reached the show site, we were able to see something both beautiful and historic.  The show was located on banks of the great Mississippi River!

Locally, we have been visiting our state parks.  During our adventures, we have been fortunate to see beauty on both large and small scales.

From waterfalls…

To covered bridges…

We have seen the beautiful panoramic views from a Stone tower on the top of a mountain…

We have discovered the beauty of an antique lighthouse…

As well as the beauty to be found sitting quietly by a lake or ocean…

We have seen beauty in the grace and elegance of yearling foals…

And we have even discovered the beauty that can be found in our very own yard…

But I still think one of the most beautiful things anyone can ever see, is the love that is visible in another’s eyes…



This Spring we have been fortunate enough to have our collies help us discover the beauty all around us, and we can’t wait to see what beautiful things they are going to show us this Summer!

Meet Scarlett!

Today is Scarlett’s day!  She is the youngest collie in our family, and another smooth girl. (poor Ryder!)  Scarlett turned one on May 1^st.  She was born from an all smooth litter, and she was the only girl. 

 

Even though she is the youngest, Scarlett seems to think she is in charge.  She bosses the other collies around, and steals their cow hooves from them.  And some how, even though she is the baby, she gets away with it.  Of course we stop her when we catch her doing it, but the other collies sit back and let her do it.  She also has a talent for stealing things she shouldn’t have.  I’ve lost count of the times I have seen her happily trotting past my bedroom door, carrying away some stolen item to her dog bed!  She has such a bounce in her step when she is filching our belongings, I always have to laugh.  Kori was also known to be a thief, but now that she is almost two years old, she has stopped most of her petty larceny, and I am hoping that Scarlett will also mend her ways!  She and Kori are best friends, and I have seen her learn new things by watching her big sister, so maybe she will follow Kori’s example.

 

Scarlett isn’t always naughty though.  She wakes up each morning full of joy and greets me as if we have been apart for weeks, instead of just asleep for a few hours.  When we are out on a walk, running errands, or at a dog show, she greets every person she meets as if they are her long lost friends.  When she sees someone approaching her, she begins bouncing side to side, and she wags her whole butt, not just her tail.  Because of her effusive greeting, people are already smiling and laughing before they even reach her. 

 

Sisters are awesome!

 

At home, after she is tired from playing, she loves to snuggle.  All the other collies will cuddle with us, but not each other.  But for some reason, they all allow Scarlett to snuggle with them.  She prefers to curl up with my daughter and I, or Kori, but I have also seen her with the others.

 

Both of Scarlett’s collie parents have very laid back personalities, and Scarlett is very different from them.  But she does have their friendly demeanor, and their good looks.  We have high hopes her future as a show dog.  With very little training, she already steps into the show ring like a veteran.  So there is one place that she is all business!

 

No matter what happens, Scarlett brings a lot of joy and excitement into our lives.  She makes us laugh, and as made her own special place in our family.

Meet the rest of the family:
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/06/meet-kori.html
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/06/meet-ryder.html
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-holly.html
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-abby.html
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2012/12/kitty-time-on-collie-blog.html

 

Holly reviews a new dog sport!

This weekend I was able to try a new game.  It is called "Doggie Fun Zone," and it's a combination of a lure course and agility.  The dogs all had a blast, and it was fun to watch them, and I could not wait for it to be my turn!

During my first run, I was so excited, I accidently jumped the fence!

But by my second and third run, my mom said I was a pro!  I was one of the oldest dogs participating, but I was also one of the fastest!  When we left, I kept looking back and barking.  I clearly did not want to stop, and most of the dogs felt the same way, but mom said I was getting too over-heated.  For barking outloud Mom - I could have played all day! 

 

 

The next event is this weekend, held in Deep River, CT.  It is to raise money for cancer research.  But the company is based in Florida, and they travel to many different states, so the next event could be in your state!  If you have the opportunity, make sure your mom or dad takes you to a Doggie Fun Zone, you will give it four paws up!

Follow-up Friday!

We decided to join Heart Like A Dog, in her Follow-up Friday hop.  Since Blogger does not notify anyone when they receive a response to a comment, we thought this would be a great way to respond to everyone’s comments.

 

The OP Pack said "Kori may have a bit of sled dog in there, wanting to be the lead dog."  It's funny that you said that, as some of my daughter's friends gave Kori the nickname "Sled dog!"  lol  And Ryder has perfected the "head tilt," and uses it shamelessly to melt my heart!

Miley said "Good luck at the show."   Thank you, we are going to need it!  It started raining here yesterday, and it's supposed to continue until tomorrow afternoon!  The dog show is outside, so it is going to be very wet and muddy!  That won't keep us home though, the "show" must go on! lol

Key West Collies said "that keep away game must have been quite a sight."  It was, and my daughter was embarrassed too.  But fortunately Kori has given up stealing bras, and is trying to turn over a new leaf!  She swears she is reformed!  :)

Cowspotdogs said "Ryder is without a doubt our favorite"  Many people feel the same way, when they look at him, they are often reminded of their own beloved childhood collie, and they just have to say hello to him.  (fortunately, he LOVES the attention)  And Kori is very sweet, and has an expression that just melts my heart when I look at her. :)

Ann - It wasn't funny at the time, but I laugh whenever I think of it too!  It's one of those memories that you will never forget! lol

24 Paws - She is a great mixture of independence and devotion.  She reminds me of one of your pack members! :)

Stellaroselong said "Ryder is so handsome, no wonder Maggie wanted to go to the dance with him...he has the kindest eyes."  Thank you for saying that!  He is a gentle, sweetheart, and I think once he is a little older, we may try visiting the residents of our local nursing home.  I know you love your three pugs as deeply as we love our collies.  I think Maggie and Ryder would be great friends if they could meet in real life!

Sam said "We think your collies are absolutely beautiful. We'd make room in our pack for a dog like Ryder too."  Thank you so much!  You know I feel the same about you and your family.  You are a very special dog, with an indomitable spirit!

Finnhoward - Thank you, we love visiting the Lighthouse park!  Unfortunately, dogs can't visit from Memorial Day through Labor Day.  So we will have to wait until the Fall to go back for another visit.

Jodi said "I wonder how you keep his coat so nice, does it require a lot of work on your part?  What is the maintenance difference in the coats between the rough or smooth?"

thank you!  Ryder's coat really only requires one good brushing a week.  People tend to shy away from getting a collie, thinking the coat will be a lot of work, but it really isn't bad.  Most collies dislike getting dirty, and they don't really enjoy getting wet, so they don't need a lot of baths to keep their coats clean.  Collies shed once a year, and the roughs shed in clumps and the smooths shed like a German Shepherd or Labrador.

GizmoGeodog said "The photo of you and him on the cliff looking out at the sea is one my favorites."  Thank you so much!  That is actually my daughter with Ryder, I took the picture.  I think it shows how bonded he is to us, and also what good company a collie can be...  And also, thanks again for hosting the Parkday, it was SO much fun!

Caren - thank you!  I can't imagine our lives without this boy!

McKinkle said "My hubby owned a tricolor rough, quite similar in appearance and character by the sound of it, so I know he will also enjoy reading Ryder's story."

Did he like it?  Do you think you will ever get a collie?  I love the rough tricolors, they are quite stunning. :)

Murray's Mouth - thank you!  I think you can tell, collies have a special place in my heart!  But I am a dog lover at heart, and every dog I meet brings an immediate smile to my face.  It's one of the reasons I was so happy to find your blog and all the others.  I love reading about everyone's beloved dogs, and cats too!

Kat - thank you!  Right now he is out of coat, and we are hoping to start entering  him in dog shows when he gets his thick, Winter coat. :)  I'm so glad I found your wonderful blog!  You chose a great name!

Amy said "She's lovely in her Prom dress...Maybe Mom needs to remember who's the royalty around there."

Thank you, she had a wonderful weekend, and was sad when her Prom weekend ended.  And never fear, the collies remind me all the time that they deserve to be spoiled as much as possible!  lol

Acd6pack said "We don't like work days either and especially don't like 12 hour shifts."

My guys are fortunate, because someone is usually home with them throughout the day.  Even when I am working both jobs.  I work long days, but the trade off, is that I get three days off to spend with the collies.  But I miss having a job where I can take my dog(s) to work with me.  When I ran a boarding kennel, I was allowed to bring my dog, Mojo, with me.  It was so nice, for both her and me.

Agnes - I think you and I are of a similar mindset...everything is more fun when your dogs are with you! :)

Kim at Golden Pines - Thank you!  And I am so happy to have discovered your wonderful blog!

Bongo - The collies all agree, your idea is perfect!  If we sneak in the car and hide, she will HAVE to take us with her!  Of course, hiding that many collies may prove challenging...

Peacefuldog - Ryder is in complete agreement - he believes he would make the perfect prom date!  But sadly, no one has asked him yet. :( 

 

Wow - I think that's everyone!  If I missed you, I'm sorry, this is our first attempt!

Meet Kori!

Kori is the next collie we are going to feature.  She is Abby's daughter, and Ryder's littermate.  When interacting with all the collies, she gets along with everyone, but her best friend is her younger sister, Scarlett.  The two of them put their heads together, and create a lot of mischief!  Kori is the first to make new dog friends at dog shows or the dog park. 

 

She is 21 months old, and will turn 2 years old on August 30th.  Kori spends most of her day playing with Scarlett and the other collies.  Throughout the day, she will check in with me, for some quick loves and attention, and then she is off playing once again.  And while she is pretty independent during the day, at night Kori curls up against me to sleep, wanting to be as close as possible to me while we slumber.

  

                   

Kori is very gentle, like the rest of our collies, but she is a bit of an imp.  I have watched her sit back and look around the room, searching for something to grab, or some mischief to accomplish.  Now that she is almost 2 years old, she seems to be less inclined to grab things she shouldn't, but she still slips sometimes.  And her younger sister is usually the cause, as Scarlett engages Kori in games of keep-away with things they have stolen from us.  One time, when we had company, Kori and Scarlett decided it was the perfect time to play keep-away, with one of my daughter's bras, right in front of everyone.

 

Kori is growing up to be a pretty young collie.  We began training her to compete at dog shows when she was little, and then we waited for her to mature.  We have recently started entering her at dog shows, and she seems to enjoy them.  She isn't as excited by dog shows as Holly is, but she has fun.  Sometimes she has too much fun.  For some reason Kori thinks running around the ring is actually a race!  She is supposed to move at a nice pace, and she does move at the correct speed when we take her to handling class.  But at the dog shows, she starts running faster and faster, until she is trying to pull my daughter around the ring.  We are working hard on fixing this, by trying to convince her to move a bit slower in the show ring.

 

I think the root of the problem is that Kori is built for speed!  When we take her to the dog park she races around the park, and none of the other dogs can keep up with her.  She loves to run, and she is fast.  I have not seen one dog able to catch her yet, and I think she enjoys leading the chase.  So at the dog shows, when she is following the other dogs around the ring, she is speeding up because she wants to be in the lead and she wants to show the other collies what she can do.

 

Each of my collies is special in his or her own way.  I love them for their individual personalities, and I love them for their wonderful collie temperaments.  But out of all our collies, Kori reminds me the most of our first collie, Lad.  She resembles him, as if she were a feminine version of Lad. Since I miss him a lot, she is special to me for that reason and for the joy she brings into our lives.

And it case you missed them:
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/06/meet-ryder.html
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-holly.html
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-abby.html

 

Meet Ryder!

This week, I would like to introduce you to Ryder.  He is our one and only rough collie.  His mother, Abby, is a smooth collie.  Abby was bred to a rough collie, named Carson, which produced both rough and smooth puppies.  Kori is one of Ryder’s littermates, and she is a smooth collie.  Ryder and Kori were born right after Hurricane Sandy hit our town, and the story of their birth can be found here:
http://collie222.blogspot.com/2012/08/happy-1st-bithday.html

Ryder will be 2 years old on August 30, so he is still pretty young.  Ryder is our largest collie, and is the only male since we lost Lad in September 2011.  We didn’t intend to keep two puppies out of his litter, but after almost losing him, and watching his personality develop, we had to keep him.  Ryder has the rough coat of his sire, but his expression and his personality are just like his mother’s.  Ryder is incredibly sensitive, gentle and sweet.  He is growing into a gorgeous boy too.

Ryder will let all the female collies walk all over him.  When we give each of them a cow hoof, within in five minutes one of the girls will have stolen it from him.  We always know when it happens, because he comes over to me and looks at me and cries.  I will retrieve the stolen cow hoof, from either Scarlett or Kori, and return it to him.  But five or ten minutes later, the same thing will happen all over again.  When it is dinnertime, our cat, Pumpkin, will run over to his dog bowl and eat his kibble right alongside him.  We have to stop her, because Ryder will not even nudge her away, he just tries to eat faster.

In the beginning, Ryder and Kori were inseparable.  But once Scarlett turned four months old, Kori turned all her attention to her little sister.  We are not sure if it is because Scarlett and Kori are both smooths, or if Scarlett is just more fun. (in Kori’s eyes)  But now Kori and Scarlett sleep next to each other, play together and chase each other.  And Ryder has shown that he now prefers the company of my daughter and I.  All the collies get along, and they all play together, but they definitely have preferences.  I wonder if that would change if we had another rough collie, if Ryder and a new rough would just naturally gravitate toward each other?  Maybe someday we will get the chance to discover the answer to this question.

Ryder’s favorite thing to do is to go for a ride in the car.  He has wonderful car manners too.  It’s not something we had to teach him, he has always behaved in the car.   He also loves to meet new people and dogs, and is a favorite among strangers on our hikes and walks.  People see him and immediately start to smile.  Every walk we have taken with him, without fail, results in at least one person stopping us  by calling out “Lassie.”  Most of the older people will fondly tell us how they had a collie as a child, and how they are the best dogs.  And the young children, who are not familiar with the Lassie movies, will ask to pet him because he is so appealing and friendly.  I have heard many children tell their parents, as we walked away, that they Ryder is a great dog, and they want a dog just like him.  Many people mention how you never see collies anymore, and it’s true they aren’t as popular as they once were.  I often wonder if any of those people consider getting a collie of their own, after meeting Ryder.  In some ways, he is acting as a collie ambassador, and we are very proud of our boy!

When I first fell in love with collies, it was with the rough coated variety.  I planned on having my own collie one day, and I always imagined that collie would be a rough   However, my first collie, Lad, was a smooth boy instead.  Then Abby and Holly joined our family, and I became addicted to smooths.  But now, with Ryder, I finally have my rough collie, and he is a wonderful representation of the breed.  We could not ask for a sweeter, more gentle collie.  They are all so different, but each one of my collies has carved their own place in our lives and hearts, and they all have that amazing collie temperament that I strive so hard as a breeder to preserve. They are such wonderful companions and friends.

 

 

Want to "Meet" Abby and Holly?  Their stories are here:

http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-holly.html

http://collie222.blogspot.com/2013/05/meet-abby.html