National Purebred Dog Day - otherwise known as Scarlett’s birthday!

 Today, May 1st, is National Purebred Dog Day.  It’s a day to celebrate all the many purebred dog breeds that we love so much.  But for us, it’s also the day our beautiful Scarlett entered this world.  

She has given us so much, done everything we’ve ever asked of her…

And been a constant source of love, laughter, and companionship…

All wrapped up in a stunningly beautiful package!

Happy 12th birthday my love, I don’t know how these 12 years have passed so quickly for us!  If I could, I  would keep you by my side forever.

Happy National Therapy Animal Day!

So April 11th is National Therapy Dog Appreciation Day, and April 30th is National Therapy Animal Day!  The difference is that today we celebrate all therapy animals, a surprisingly long list, which even includes Therapy Chickens! Of course I’m biased, but for me, it’s the dogs that seem to spread the most joy.  But for someone else, it might be a chicken that brightens their day…we won’t judge!

Today is special for another reason, it’s Sophie and Maizie’s 8th birthday!  Fortunately, one of their brothers, Finn, lives in a neighboring town.  So we met at the local park, to let the siblings play together on their special day.

Group picture of the collies, Sophie, Maizie and Finn.

Finn’s Dad took this picture, I love how sweetly they focused on me!  Since today is a National holiday honoring all the work, care and compassion of therapy animals, it seems like a good day to share some of my therapy collies’ recent accomplishments.

Ryder and Scarlett both earned their THDX title, Therapy Dog Excellent, from the AKC.  This is earned by completing over 200 therapy visits.

Sophie should be earning her THDX soon…probably in June.

Sophie, on the right, with her friend, Kelsea

And little Addison has become such an amazing therapy dog, just as I had predicted.  She just shines during these visits, and everyone just adores her.  She will soon have completed enough visits to earn her THDA title.  The THDA, or Therapy Dog Advanced title, is earned by completing 100 therapy visits.

If you are considering training your dog (or chicken) to do therapy visits, please check out your local pet therapy organization.  It’s such a rewarding experience for everyone involved!

The American Working Collie Association

This picture is of Gibbs, one of the collies we bred 8 years ago.  He has earned multiple herding titles, along with being the very best friend to his family could ask for!

Did you know that collies are more than just a pretty face?  While their beauty has captured the hearts of generations, and led to their starring on both television and the silver screen, as well as gracing the pages of countless books, the collie was originally bred for their working ability.  As a working breed, they had to be able to work closely with their humans, and to work independently when necessary.  This made the development of a friendly, intelligent temperament such a crucial trait in the breed.  In the past we have shared numerous posts on our Collie blog, celebrating the versatility of the collie, and they can be found here.

What you may not know, is that there is an organization created to promote the working ability of the collie.  The American Working Collie Association, or the AWCA, is a wonderful group of individuals devoted to honoring all the achievements of the American collie.  The AWCA’s Versatility Program was created to recognize Collies that have “proven their competence as versatile working dogs.”  After sharing our posts over the years, created to promote our wonderful breed, I was very excited to discover the AWCA last year and quickly became a member.  Finding an organization that shares the same goals, full of like minded individuals, I had to write a post to share their program.  Not only does the AWCA encourage collie owners to try new sports and activities with their collies, they also offer working titles for the collies of their members!  

The American Working Collie Association awards two groups of titles:

Versatility titles 

Working titles

 The Versatility Program.  Dogs must be at least 6 months old to begin documenting work in this program, unless otherwise specified. 

AWCA awards four versatility titles:

• Versatility Companion (VC) - earned by gaining 5 points from a minimum of 3 categories.

• Versatility Companion Excellent (VCX) -earned by gaining 10 points from a minimum of 5 categories.  At least 2 points each from 2 different categories must be earned at intermediate level work. 

• Versatility Champion (VCH) - earned by gaining 15 points from 6 categories. At least 2 points each from 2 different categories must be earned at advanced level work. 

• Grand Versatility Champion (GVCH) - title granted to Collies earning a VCH plus any 3 of the following 4 titles: Stock Work, HX or higher; Obedience, UD or higher; Scent Work, TDX or higher, or 3 live, cadaver, narcotics, explosives, or agricultural finds, documented by authorities; Canine Sports - Agility, AX or AXJ or its equivalent or higher.


You can find all their Working titles by clicking here.

Ryder, Scarlet, Sophie and Addison have all earned their VC, Versatility Companion title, from the AWCA.  It is such a fun way to celebrate their accomplishments! (And just at the spiffy certificates the AWCA awards the collies!)

If you are looking for new ways to compete with your collies, or just want to join an organization that strives to recognize how wonderfully versatile the collie truly is, then I highly recommend joint the American Working Collie Association.  They do so much more than just title collies, please take a look at their website!

Happy Therapy Dog Appreciation Day!

 Today is the day to celebrate therapy dogs!  They bring so much joy, comfort and love, to everyone they visit.  

Fun fact: the first therapy dog organization was established in 1976!

Have you hugged a therapy dog lately?

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program!

 Sorry for our absence, we are currently working on some new posts….for now, please enjoy some collie spam!

Spring showers produce collie flowers! 

Merry Christmas!

 

May you be surrounded by the warmth and love of the holiday season!

Wordless Wednesday…Love is

 Celebrating the moments! 

After Sophie earned her last two legs in Barnhunt, we drove to a nearby State park called the Devil’s Hopyard.  It’s a beautiful park with a waterfall and some easy trails.  We haven’t visited this park in years, as we don’t get to that end of the State very often, but Sophie deserved to celebrate her new title and it’s a relaxing spot!

She also got a cheeseburger, because a new title calls for a big celebration!  What do you do with your dog to celebrate special moments or birthdays/holidays?  Please tell us in the comments! 

We are joining Comedy Plus in their weekly Wordless Wednesday blog hop.  It’s a fun way to discover new blogs!

Therapy dogs, and Trick dogs, and CGCs, Oh my!

It feels like I haven’t posted in a while, but we have so many fun updates to share!  The collies have been very busy, they have been working their paws off earning new titles! Sophie and Addison received their certificates from the Collie Club of America, for their herding instinct titles, HIC!  And I just found a trainer who is going to teach us how to herd sheep so Addi can compete at herding trials! (And I got to meet her sheep!)  I’m so excited to give it a try, and watch as my collies learn how to do something they were originally bred to do!

Scarlett just completed enough Therapy visits to earn her THDA, Therapy Dog Advanced title from the American Kennel Club (AKC).  Addison just earned her THDN, Therapy Dog Novice title from the AKC, and she just received her Canine Good Citizen certificate in the mail for that new title.  Ryder, Scarlett and Sophie all earned their Versatility Companion, or VC title, from the American Working Collie Association.  The AWCA is a great organization, and I will be writing a post to tell you about them later in the week.

And for fun, Addison and Kori, earned their TKN, Trick Dog Novice Title, from AKC!  Kori is my 12 year old senior and also Addi’s Grandma!  My friends asked me to help them complete the test for the TKN title on their collie, Kelsea.  I decided as long as I was setting up the tricks for Kelsea, I may as well have Kori and Addi do the test too.  

Kelsea, my friend’s collie girl

Kori, my sweet, 12 year old collie girl

And last, but not least, Sophie earned the last two legs for her Barnhunt title, RATN this past Sunday!  Pending approval from the AKC and AWCA, she is now Marchello’s Heaven Sent, THD, CGC, RATN, TKN, FDC, HIC, VC! I am so proud of my collies, they have proven the versatility of the breed yet again!

I also wanted to share that my daughter’s collie, Sorsha, also did some impressive winning last weekend.  At her first Barnhunt trial, she earned her first leg for the RATN, and went High In Trial! (Did I mention it was her first time?!?)

There are new titles that we should complete before the end of the year, so I will post updates as we earn them!  I absolutely love working with my collies and helping them earn these titles so they get the recognition they deserve.  I can’t wait to see what they do next!