Just wanted to share…

 We have shared our recent Ads for Colliesonline.  And I wanted to share them again, so they were all in one post…

And I wanted to include our newest Ad, also created by our friends at Colliesonline.  This advertisement is going to be in the Summer edition of the Collie Club of America Bulletin.  We have never done an Ad in the CCA Bulletin before, so we are very excited.  We wanted to share it here first, with our blog readers.  

I think they did a beautiful job creating this for us!  We just love it!

My Best Friend…

Summer is almost here, and the collies are shedding their Winter coats like crazy!  I’ve been brushing out their coats, trying to speed things along.  Ryder is my senior, rough collie.  As he will be turning 14 in August, he can’t stand for long grooming sessions.  Since it was a rare nice day, as it’s been a very rainy season, I took him out in the yard to brush out his coat.  He loves to stretch out in the grass while I brush through his fur.  

After we were done, I decided to take some pictures of the old man, he looked so handsome next to my collie garden.  

I feel so grateful to still have him with me, especially after losing Kori last year.  Puppies are adorable, and so much fun, but seniors are my favorite.  They bring so much comfort and are perfect companions.  

The prettiest flower in my garden is my collie flower!

Ryder is slowing down, he has a bit of trouble getting up, and walks with a limp even with his pain meds.  This boy has been my best friend for nearly 14 years, and I desperately hope I will get to celebrate his 14th birthday with him.  So I treasure every day with him, and each night I worry about what tomorrow might bring.  But for now, I still have my best boy by my side.

Socialization and Enrichment

There are three kinds of stimulation that influence how a puppy develops.  The first, as previously discussed here, is ENS or early neurological stimulation.  The second is called socialization.  To be the most effective, the ideal time for puppy socialization is between 4 and 16 weeks old.  Too much or too little socialization during this period can negatively impact the puppies development, creating fearful, anxious or shy adults.

I’ve written posts about puppy socialization in the past, and they can be found here:

Puppy Socialization

Socialization

Of course our new puppies aren’t here yet, but we have already reached out to friends in anticipation of their arrival.  We’ve asked friends to plan on visiting our puppies, to help socialize them.  And they’ve all said yes, because who doesn’t want to cuddle a collie puppy?  

The third kind of stimulation is called enrichment.  This stimulation has no time limit, as you can begin as soon as the puppies have opened their eyes and have begun to explore their environment. Enrichment  provides puppies with positive experiences.  This allows the puppies to explore and investigate the world around them while helping build their confidence.  Puppies supplied with many different forms of enrichment typically grow up to be more inquisitive and intelligent adults.

There are many forms of enrichment, and we have enjoyed creating new methods with our past litters.  I thought it would be fun to share some of the videos from when Peyton and Addi were puppies, as I don’t think I ever shared them here.  They show some of our efforts to provide socialization and enrichment.

In this video the puppy with the white on her nose and head is Peyton.

Hungry little puppies, can you spot Peyton?

Melody, now Lilac, was the only rough puppy in the litter.  This was her trying out the tunnel for the first time.

This is when we introduced some puppy play equipment.

The puppies can be seen here learning about new, loud noises as a large truck drives by the yard.

Here the puppies met a new friend!  They were definitely unsure, but curious, about the talking dragon!

This was the day we introduced the snuffle mat

And here is the first day we introduced their pool.  They quickly became fans of the pool, with the hot Summer weather we were experiencing!

I am researching new ideas to provide both socialization and enrichment for the new puppies.  I can’t wait to meet them!

Gestational Stages

Today is day 45 of Peyton’s pregnancy.  I thought I’d share where the puppies are in their development.

We are at 6 1/2 weeks, so they are starting to resemble puppies now.  The next 2 1/2 weeks will exciting as we prepare for their arrival.  We should be able to feel the puppies moving around Day 50, which would be Friday.

The images are from  Canine Scanning and they have some great info if you want to learn more.

The importance of Early Neurological Stimulation

 

There are many ways to raise a litter of puppies.  Some believe in letting nature take it’s course, allowing the mother to care for her puppies in the first few weeks.  Others follow a carefully regimented plan of care for raising puppies with no deviation.  We believe in providing a healthy diet, proper socialization and in following many of the established protocols of the Puppy Culture program.  

There has been a lot of discussion about the benefits of early neurological stimulation, or ENS.  According to research, starting ENS when puppies are 3 days old is important because this is when the period of rapid growth and development begins.  Between days 3 and 16, puppies experience a surge in brain development, which makes them highly receptive to the gentle manipulations of ENS.

The first step in ENS is to remove each puppy, individually, from the Mom, for up to 3 minutes. (No longer) As puppies cannot regulate their body temperature, they cuddle up against their Mom and/or littermates to stay warm.  By removing them for a very short time, they experience a slight drop in temperature.  This mild form of stress is enough to stimulate their hormonal, adrenal and pituitary systems.  When these same puppies are tested as adults, they were better able to withstand stress.  These individuals were also found to be more resistant to certain forms of cancer and infectious diseases.  According to the research, ENS is found to help dogs cope, adjust, and adapt to new or stressful situations as adults.

There are five additional exercises in the ENS program.  They are only performed once a day, and only for 3 - 5 seconds each.  The study advises that overstimulation of the nervous system can have a negative effect, so these should not be performed more than once a day, and for no longer than a few seconds.

The handler starts with one pup and stimulates it using each of the five exercises. The handler completes the series from beginning to end before starting with the next pup. The handling of each pup once per day involves the following exercises:

    1    Tactical stimulation (between toes)

    2    Head held erect

    3    Head pointed down

    4    Supine position

    5    Thermal stimulation

How to perform the exercises:

1 Tactile stimulation - holding the pup in one hand, the handler gently stimulates (tickles) the pup between the toes on any one foot using a Q-tip. It is not necessary to see that the pup is feeling the tickle. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.

2 Head held erect - using both hands, the pup is held perpendicular to the ground, (straight up), so that its head is directly above its tail. This is an upwards position. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds. 

3 Head pointed down - holding the pup firmly with both hands the head is reversed and is pointed downward so that it is pointing towards the ground. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.

4 Supine position - hold the pup so that its back is resting in the palm of both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling. The pup while on its back is allowed to sleep. Time of stimulation 3-5 seconds.

5 Thermal stimulation—use a damp towel that has been cooled in a refrigerator for at least five minutes. Place the pup on the towel, feet down. Do not restrain it from moving. Time of stimulation 3-5 seconds.

According to the research, these are 5 main benefits that have been observed in dogs that were exposed to the exercises:

1 Improved cardio vascular performance (heart rate)

2 Stronger heart beats

3 Stronger adrenal glands

4 More tolerance to stress

5 Greater resistance to disease

The research goes on to document additional findings.  They claim the puppies who have had gone through the ENS protocols are “more active and exploratory.”  They also claim that these puppies were able to navigate mazes with less stress and fewer errors.   Based on the results, following the ENS protocols can greatly improve a dog’s ability to adapt to new situations with less stress.  As the studies have been around a while now, and as the exercises have been successfully adopted by many dog breeders,  introducing ENS seems to lead to beneficial neurological development in puppies.  When raising puppies, we want to give them every advantage, helping them to become not only healthy and well socialized, but able to problem solve and handle stressful situations.  ENS seems to be the first step in raising happy, well adjusted puppies.  More to come…

(These puppies and their Mom are not our puppies.  My daughter whelps litters for other collie breeders, so I’m getting to spend time with these cuties while they are in her care.)

How do you choose?

Someone asked why we chose Beckham as the sire of our next litter.  There were a few reasons, all equally important.  First, we have been carefully developing our own line of collies.  Although not closely related, Beckham comes from the same lines as Peyton’s sire, Damit.  And Beckham is also the sire of our beautiful rough, Rosie, so his and Peyton’s puppies will tie our future pedigrees together.  So not only were we carefully planning this litter on paper, we wanted to choose a stud dog that produced healthy puppies with beautiful expressions and lovely coats.  Beckham was fully health tested, like Peyton, and also has his championship title.  

Peyton as a puppy 

We haven’t had a litter in so long, we kept delaying while we focused on earning titles with our collies.  But it was finally time, and after carefully researching pedigrees, looking at the results of the health testing  of possible stud dogs, we narrowed down our list to three stud dogs.  What made my final decision was Rosie herself.  I just love her sweet, beautiful expression and gentle temperament.  So we discussed this with Beckham’s owner, and she immediately agreed that it would be a lovely breeding.

I wasn’t sure if I was even going to share this news on our blog until after the puppies arrived. But we are so excited, I just couldn’t wait any longer.  Peyton is due around June 27th, so the countdown has begun, 25 days to go!  

On this short video you can see one of the puppy’s heart beating in the center of the video.

And Finally…Our Announcement

Did you guess our secret?  It’s been so hard to keep this news to ourselves, and we just can’t wait any longer!  Our beautiful Peyton, CH Winterberry’s Lightning Strikes Twice, BCAT, FITB, is celebrating!  

(Don’t worry, She only got a bite)

Why?  Because she has some exciting news!

Peyton is expecting!  Peyton is due sometime around the end of June.  It’s been five years since we last had puppies, and we are so excited.  The veterinarian who did her ultrasound said she thought Peyton was having 5 - 6 puppies. 

As the Sire, Beckham, is a rough tri color collie, and Peyton is a tri factored sable, we could have sables or tri colors and they could be roughs or smooths.  I’ve always found collie coat inheritance interesting.  I wrote about it a long time ago, the post can be found here - A Coat of a Different Color.  The post describes all the different types of coat colors and the difference between the smooth and rough varieties.  The charts below go into a bit more detail, as they give percentages from different pairings.

Going by these charts, Peyton’s litter could be 50% tri colors and 50% tri factored sables.  The litter could also have 50% rough coated puppies and 50% smooth coated puppies.  Of course, we just have to wait and see, as genetics don’t always follow the rules.  Anyone want to guess how many tris, how many sables, how many roughs, how many smooths and how many males and females?  Leave us a comment!

FastCAT season has started!

The picture is from last year

We had a fun weekend, it was our first FastCAT trial of the season.  I went by myself, so I only took two collies, Addi and Rosie.  Their times were a bit slower than last year, but they had fun!

It was funny to watch them, they were both running to me, instead of trying to catch the lure.  Some dogs run right by their person, trying to catch the “bunny.”  On Addison’s runs she ran right to me, her focus is completely on me.  Rosie ran to me, but each time she spotted the photographer stretched out in the grass, she passed right by me and dove under his arms for a quick snuggle.  I think the photographer loved it.  Next FastCAT we will try to bring Sorsha and ZuZu, as they are 100% focused on catching the lure.  If you want to learn more about this fun dog sport, please check out our previous posts below:

FastCAT

Run Collies Run

Fast Cat? No, Fast Collie!

FastCAT fun

Peyton has News!

I know I promised to share some exciting news, it’s still coming.  So please come back in the upcoming weeks! (There is a clue in this post)

AKC Temperament Test

Rosie - Creekwood’s Sunshine and Roses, FDC, BCAT, FITB, ATT

We were at a recent dog show, waiting to bring our smooth, ZuZu, into the Herding group, and noticed they were holding the AKC Temperament Test at the show.  Since we had a few hours to wait, we decided to sign our Rosie up to take the test.  As collies are known for their sweet, gentle temperaments, I was pretty certain she would do well.  But we had never done the temperament test before, so I was curious to see what the test involved.

The AKC provides the following description of the test:

The AKC Temperament Test (ATT) was developed to bring focus and provide a meaningful evaluation to assess the temperament of our canine companions.

The ATT tests how a dog reacts to a variety of stimuli. Desirable traits are that the dog will be emotionally stable, inquisitive, cooperative, appropriately social for its breed, biddable and demonstrates the ability to recover from a startling situation in a reasonable amount of time.

Undesirable traits are fear, shyness, lack of cooperation and an inability to recover from unfamiliar or unexpected situations. Examples of undesirable behaviors include being afraid of friendly strangers or unfamiliar stimuli, obsessive barking, and aggression.

In the ATT, dogs are tested in 6 categories of stimuli that include:

1. Social
2. Auditory
3. Visual
4. Tactile
5. Proprioceptive (motion)
6. Unexpected stimulus

To obtain the ATT title, Rosie had to do the test twice, under two different evaluators.   They tested her reactions to the following:

Social - the evaluator greets the handler, and then pets Rosie, then does a brief exam of Rosie.  Then another individual approaches Rosie carrying a large bag and also pets Rosie.

Auditory - the evaluator observes Rosie’s reaction to someone shaking a container full of coins, a vacuum cleaner being turned on, and a bike horn.

Visual - the evaluator observes Rosie’s reaction to someone opening an umbrella, walking around her with a roller bag, while waving a streamer.

Tactile - the evaluator observes Rosie walking over a wire grate, plastic and a pegboard

Proprioceptive - the evaluator observes Rosie walking over low bars, intersecting hoops and a low platform.

Unexpected stimulus - the evaluator observes Rosie as an individual approaches her using crutches, observes her reaction to someone dropping a chair behind her, and approaching Rosie with a large object. (stuffed animal)

To pass Rosie had to remain calm and confident.  She could startle at some of the stimuli, but had to recover quickly.  (Less than 5 seconds) Rosie passed all the elements of the test, under both evaluators, earning her the ATT title.  I thought it was interesting that some of the elements, like walking over different surfaces and her reaction to noise, were similar to the Farm dog test and other elements were similar to the Canine Good Citizen test.  It was also interesting to watch as other dog breeds tried the test, and which elements they refused to complete.  Before attempting the test the evaluators did have everyone look up the standard for their individual breeds, and write it on the test application.  By having us write the description on the form, the evaluators knew what was expected for each dog breed.  For the collie the AKC standard had the perfect description.  “The collie is intelligent, friendly, devoted, loving, sensitive and easily trained.”  Rosie definitely fits that description perfectly!

You can find your dog breed’s temperament description here.  And if you are interested in trying out the AKC temperament test, you can find where it’s being offered by searching here.    Below is a short video of Rosie taking the test.

Exciting news!

It’s been a while since we last updated the blog, but things have been very busy.  We have some exciting news to share, and will hopefully have even more exciting news to share in two weeks!

This past weekend we attended a 3 day dog show.  Rosie, Creekwood’s Sunshine and Roses, FDC, BCAT, FITB, ATT won Winner’s Bitch and Best of Opposite all three days.   She also earned the AKC Temperament Test title, ATT, on Saturday with my daughter.  We had never done the temperament test before, but many of the elements, like walking on different surfaces, were similar to the Farm Dog test.  She passed the test twice, under two different evaluators, so she added a new title after name.

ZuZu, CH Creekwood’s Fireheart, FDC, BCAT, FITB took a group 3 in the Owner Handler Herding Group on Saturday, and then on Sunday she won Winner’s and Best of Breed to finish her championship!  She is now CH Creekwood’s Fireheart, FDC, BCAT, FITB, and we couldn’t be more proud of her!

And puppy Nolan, Creekwood Winterberry Rich and Famous, won a Group 1 on Friday, a Group 3 on Saturday and a Group 2 on Sunday in the Puppy Herding Group.

We are so proud of all three collies, they were showing their hearts out for us, and deserved all the ribbons they brought home!

Scarlett’s Painting came!

We started a series of collies being featured in art, as they are a favorite subject for artists.  My own collies have been immortalized on both canvas and in digital art.  Scarlett, who will be turning 13 years old on May 1st, had her painting done by artist Barbara Guitas.  

I had the artist add the Shack on Grass Island, as it’s a local historical landmark, and I’ve always loved it.  And I also asked her to include the iconic image of a Christmas tree in a rowboat, which is the New England version of the little red truck hauling a Christmas tree.  I think the painting came out beautifully, and it’s already hanging on my wall.  I think I found the perfect frame for it too.

I didn’t intend to commission any more art, at least not for a while.  But during the National they held a raffle, to raise money for the show expenses.  I bought some tickets to support the National, and I won a free painting of one of my collies!  Now I have to pick a collie to have a painting done, and I’m struggling to decide on which one.  Do I pick one of the collies I have lost?  Do I pick one of my collies’ puppy pictures, as I don’t have a painting of a collie pup.  Or do I pick one of my favorite pictures?  I’m just not sure!

Spring has arrived!

The Collie National is over, all the collies are back home and Spring has finally arrived here in New England. Our Rosie (Creekwood’s Sunshine and Roses, FDC, BCAT, FITB) and our ZuZu (Creekwood’s Fireheart, FDC, BCAT, FITB) made us very proud at the National. 

And while they didn’t come home with ribbons, Peyton (CH Winterberry’s Lightning Strikes Twice, BCAT, FITB) and Nolan (Creekwood Winterberry Rich and Famous) both looked beautiful and did a great job representing Winterberry collies!

Peyton

Nolan

There is a collie specialty show this weekend in Connecticut, but after that we will only be competing at all breed shows for the Summer.  The collie specialty season won’t start up again until the Fall.  Fingers crossed for ZuZu, as she is entered on Sunday and just needs one single point to finish her championship!

With the dog shows slowing down, I thought it was a good time to try something new.  I took Addison for her very first herding lesson!  It was one of my goals that I set for 2025, and I’m excited to give it a try!  Addi really enjoyed it, but we both have a lot to learn.  The instructor told me that learning how to compete in herding was going to be the most challenging thing we have ever done, and the most rewarding.  (Ignore the barking, they had a Great Pyrenees in the next pasture, and he was protecting his flock.)

Towards the end of the lesson, when Addi was tired and the sheep were tired, they all stood there looking at each other.  Maybe as a thank you for the fun game, or maybe to make sure there were no hard feelings, Addison leaned close, and gave one of the sheep a kiss on the nose.  She is such a sweet collie.  Our next lesson is in two weeks, I can’t wait to see how it goes!

News from the Collie National…

 Wanted to share news from the National…

Our Rosie won 4th place yesterday!  Winning a class placement (1st - 4th) at the National is a huge honor, and we were so excited for our beautiful girl!  When you are surrounded by beautiful collies, and the judge picks your collie out of the line up to award a ribbon, it’s an amazing feeling.

Today was ZuZu’s turn to step into the ring.  

And our beautiful girl won 1st place!  We are so proud of Rosie and ZuZu, they showed their hearts out, and our coming home with two beautiful ribbons!  ZuZu didn’t win Winner’s Bitch, so she stills need 1 more point to earn her championship.  But we are confident she will earn that last point soon.  What an exciting National this has been for us!  

Tomorrow is Peyton’s turn to shine, and Saturday is puppy Nolan’s turn.  This afternoon my daughter is showing a rough boy for a friend of ours.  She is doing such an incredible job handling our collies at this huge show, I’m so proud of her.  Hopefully we will have more news to share!

ZuZu would just like more treats!

Collie Club of America National

This week collie breeders and owners are all gathering in Syracuse, NY.  Traveling from all across the country, as well as visiting from other countries, people are joining together for the Collie National.  The CCA National is the largest collie event of the year.  It’s the time to celebrate our beautiful collie breed and spend the week surrounded by all things collie!

Yesterday was “move in” day.  All the exhibitors began arriving to set up their grooming areas, and to bring in their beautiful collies.  For some, it’s just a space to groom and crate their collies, for others they decorate their space with care.  But no matter how they organize and decorate their areas, it’s the collies that are the main attraction.  Visitors can wander up and down the aisles and meet the breeders and get to see the collies up close.

My family has our grooming area all set up, and our collies are so excited to be there!

With over 700 collies entered, the building echoes with the happy barks of all the collies!  The conformation, and obedience judging started today.  The herding and agility competitions started earlier in the week.  Tonight is the Top 10 ceremony, where the top 10 winners in conformation, performance and junior handling are all honored for their accomplishments in 2024.  And then tomorrow, Friday and Saturday the breed judging continues until the final Best in Show winner is chosen.  It’s a very exciting week, everyone is hoping to come home with a bit of ribbon and bragging rights that their collie won at the National.  But win or lose, the entire week is full of friendship, fun and new memories made with our beloved collies.  This afternoon Rosie will be stepping into the ring, tomorrow ZuZu will be shown, Friday will be Peyton’s turn, and then Saturday morning little Nolan will be in the puppy class.  Keep your fingers crossed for us, as we attempt to win a ribbon at the National!

Rosie is busy getting ready!