Something to be Thankful for

A group of friends are counting their daily blessings up until Thanksgiving......and I thought I would post some of mine.I am thankful for Vicki...and the fact she loves Herriot. We are going to have some serious FUN!!! I think we have decided that this pup looks way more like a "Herriot" instead of a "Riot"....so Herriot it is! Sweet pea of a pup!

I am also thankful for:

I did it.....I bought a new camera....a Canon Rebel XSi. I think I have the camera pretty much figured out.....but how to get the pictures loaded onto the computer......Shannon help......pleeeeaaaasssseeee!

I am now off to my son's first state playoff football game.......

Seize the day!

Socialization

Because of Porsche, my drenched in fear rescue border collie, I have been giving much thought on how to socialize a litter of puppies. How much does genetics play in the outcome of a dog? How much does the environment affect what the end adult dog becomes? Nature vs nurture. With the age of Internet, access to information provides in depth studies on how to socialize pups to reach their fullest potential within the framework of what genetic skeleton is provided....or something like that. So...with my best foot forward....these pups are going to be introduced to life, sounds, smells, touches, surfaces....until they go to their new homes. Today, the puppies moved to the dinning room for their indoor park experience!
Some of the house work actually got attended to.....justified by the sounds created while putting dishes away would bring a positive experience to my socialization agenda! That and the smell of baking brownies.....hmmm......this is working out real fine!
Plus I can talk my son and his girlfriend into helping.....I did not really have to twist their arms or anything like that....but it sounds good to say "you are helping to socialize these puppies!"


And while I am being all intellectual and pondering....I wonder if this is where the term DOG PILE came from??
Poor Bella......I think I will take her out to work sheep this weekend as a reward for putting up with all those little girls!

Seize the day!

Mary, this ones for you!

One moment changed my life forever. No I am not making drama or being over-reactive...one moment really did change the direction of my life. My fourth grade son and I were in Central Point at an agility trial....Jake trying to run my separation anxiety ridden jack russell terrier...who kept running out of the ring to get to me! Not fun nor successful. And then we met Mary. A top agility trainer, instructor, judge from Seattle who saw "something" in my son and gave him one of her border collies. Our first border collie......Spark...From that one moment, my life changed radically. I now own and have trained countless border collies. I own a little piece of Heaven with sheep and a guard llama. I have a playroom full of border collies puppies.....I would never go back to a border collie free life! But how I wish I would have known sheep when Spark came into our lives.....he comes from very nice working lines....and now at almost 9......he "thinks" he is super cool when he gets to work the woollies....but I dream of what he could have been.

Mary, here's to you. Thanks for sharing your passion for this phenomenal breed of dog! And now, this ones for you:

Portrait:

Profile with her little Elle beauty mark:

Next view:
She's done being cute......Seize the day!!!!

Ooooh, the sweetest thing!

These puppies are becoming too cute for words. They are becoming very full of themselves....yet their bodies are not totally cooperating! I can't stop laughing at them!

Here they are saddled up to the milk bar......

Bella is getting just a little tired of their persistent, unending hunger.....

They are being socialised to "other breeds" but the Jack's aren't really sure what to think.......

Puzzle was being a snuggle bunny and would NOT leave me alone......

Riot wanted her mom to see her "smile"

And this pretty much sums up how I feel about life right now.....

The house, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, and ranch are all suffering in the name of socializing the puppies.....somebody must do it!!!

Seize the day!!!!!

Bon Appetit

Today, I am going to do a little cooking.......ingredients are simple

Gerber Rice Cereal and Organic Goat Milk

Pour a bit of Rice Cereal into a plate that is nice and flat...the flatter the better.

Add a generous amount of goat milk.

I like the consistancy of my cereal/milk combo to be nice and creamy, more on the thin side. Microwave for a few seconds to take the cold edge off......

BON APPETIT!

I am so after a new camera...sorry this is blurry....

Here is Puzzle for the person who asked to see her collar:It will probably go away with time but it is one way I can keep tell her apart from her identical sisters!

Now, just for fun...some miscellaneous playing pictures!

This is the Black One......bold, adventerous

This is Vicki's Riot.....

And here is Charlotte helping to socialize my First Born......

Seize the day!!!!

Let's take a closer look......

Let me introduce you.....

Herriot.....or Riot for short.......

First Born....she opened her eyes first too.

Little Sista.....or Bella's Princess. She is just a wee bit smaller and a pistol! She has a tiny little beauty mark on her muzzle.
Here is my Black One.....she was born last but she is very bold. Out of the crib first....always exploring but always comes back for love!

This is little Puzzle......she has a little notch out of her collar making it look like a puzzle piece. These pups are so amazing....they are all very similar in looks...but also personality. We are having a lot of fun with them......new footing, new toys, new objects to maneuver around and over.

I must buy a new camera! These little spunky pups are not going to slow down....I need a faster shutter speed!!!!

Seize the day.....

Sounds Like Life to Me.....

They say that life is a Country Western song....and recently, I would agree. My life is being sung by Darrly Worley...."Sounds like life to me, plain old destiny. Yeah the only thing for certain is uncertainty"

It all started when Kathy Knox told me to put Nell up for a while....."give her some time off" and "now would be a great time to breed her"...said lovingly (I'm sure) to this OCD person who works dogs every day. Knowing that Nell would never come into heat...ever....I decided to buy a young girl to put some time on...take some pressure off Nell while keeping me busy. I am a better person when kept busy!

Introducing L&M Belle (who I call Bella because Nell and Bell just did not work!) Yep, that's right....she came with the "gift with purchase" option....just like a great Clinique promo! I wondered when she went off food......thought she might be stressed.....then she started puking in the car.....never have had a motion sensitive dog....but then she started "developing" and a vet friend palpated a couple "gifts" and my vet confirmed with an ultrasound. Not that time would not have told the truth of the matter!

Five beautiful baby girl pups......Bella the proud mom! Here is one pup the day she was born.....they grew....and grew.....

and they grew......now they are three weeks old today. Cuter than baby's butts and little lambs! Eyes are open....they are growling and playing and....well, I am sure life is going to get just a little more complicated here in the coming weeks!Time to make some lemonade......and my shameless promotion.

For sale: 4 ABCA border collie females from a litter by L&M Belle (Laura Hick's Nell X Michelle Howard's Imp Moss) X Deltabluez Caden (Diane Pagel's Tess X DelMar Scott). All are black and white and should be lightly rough coated. Belle is CEA DNA Normal and preliminary hip x-ray looked very good. DOB 10/11/09

These pups have tremendous breeding behind them. Laura Hick's Nell is the mother of Tommy Wilson's Sly (5th place at the 2009 USBCHA finals),Laura Hick's Jag, Diane Pagel's Nan while Michelle Howard's Imp Moss is the father of Scott Glen's Maid (10th place at the 2009 USBCHA finals) and is out of Henderson's ##Sweep; DelMar Scott is a grandson of Bobby Dalziel's ##Wisp while Diane Pagel's Tess 3rd dog to get ROM through ABCA and placed 6th in the nursery finals in 2001. For more information, please contact me at lora@rockingdogranch.com Located in Oregon.

I do believe these girls are going to make really nice working dogs! They certainly have the genetic make-up and are being raised to be well rounded dogs.

Off to clean up the puppy room and get my puppy-breath fix!

Seize the day!!!!!