Thursday, August 02, 2007

Family (Guest Blog)

Rafe here.


Went to a reunion a while back. Well, it was Kyzer's. His dad lives at that Farm. All dogs related to that Farm were invited. Some dogs whose people helped at that Farm were invited. Kyzer said we could come too. Turns out I saw my pup family. Hmm.

Here's my ma, Snip, and my sis, Floss:


And a closer view of my ma:


I'm bigger than them. And darker. Different ears. Guess we still look like family.

Here's my dad. He's from Isle of Man. Older, about 11 now.


Don't look much like my dad. He's very Stylish on sheep though, and so am I. Thanks, dad, I do like my Style.

Woof,
Rafe

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Me! Me! Me! (Guest Blog)


Hi! Hi! Hi! It’s me, Fox! Doggin bloggin! Got Rafe’s pass word, for Thin Mints! They sed there’s questions! I answer!

!. Your age?
Fox: 2 snows? 4? 1?

2. Your age when you came to live with your people?
Fox: 2 snows? 4? 1? Not tellin! Stray Cat Secret!

3. What color is the collar you’re wearing right now?
Fox: No color! No collar!

4. Who is your favorite person other than the people you live with?
Fox: Visitor lady! [neighbor Moni]

5. How much do you weigh?
Fox: 2 bags of flour

6. Most expensive thing you’ve every chewed up?
Fox: Can food! Every day!

7. Do you like other Dogs?
Fox: If nice! Love dogs!

8. Who is your best non-human friend?
Fox: Kyzer!

9. Squeaky toys or tennis balls?
Fox: Too big! No

10. Do you like to be brushed?
Fox: Yes okay

11. Peanut Butter or cheese?
Fox: Cheese, specially with macs!

12. Do you people cut your toenails?
Fox: No! Well, yes

13. Any formal education?
Fox: Cats dont have school, born with wisdom from Egypt!

14. Couch potato or Energizer Bunny?
Fox: Yes! Yes!

15. Five nicknames your people call you:
Fox: Foxy, Foxberry, Billy, Scoundrel, Fluffyboi

16. What is your best trick?
Fox: Diggin snakes from box! [getting dog leashes out of basket]

17. Do you like kitties?
Fox: Yes, fun!

18. What did you have for breakfast?
Fox: Chickin Can Food and smidge venison from dogs

19. Can you hunt (i.e. have you ever killed anything)?
Fox: Yes! No body saw. I can jump! High!

20. When and why was the last time you went to the V.E.T.?
Fox: While ago. So I could ride in a box in the car

21. Where do you sleep at night?
Fox: Best on bed! Feather soft!

22. Do you like to swim?
Fox: Get wet?

23. Can you make puppies?
Fox: Why?

24. Do you give kisses?
Fox: No. I give a bath if I want

25. Can you potty on command?
Fox: Why?

26. To Cuz or not to Cuz?
Fox: No cuzzing! I am proper polite!

Ciao!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

A Tad about us elders (Guest Blog)

Greeting Gentledogs,



Miss Pippin has requested that Renzo and I address the questionnaire. We are Pleased to Do So. We would also like to Apologize to our Readers for the Paucity of Posts from our Flock. We will be more Diligent in Encouraging our transcribers to Work harder. (More Photographs are also needed. As you See, the Photograph of Renzo and me includes Another. )

Let us begin:

1. Your age?
Renzo: 6 years and a bit
Tansy: almost 7 years

2. Your age when you came to live with your people?
Renzo: around 1 year
Tansy: 4.5 years

3. What color is the collar you're wearing right now?
Renzo: Mostly orange and turquoise, with a touch of yellow
Tansy: Lavender with lovely dragonflies

4. Who is your favorite person other than the people you live with?
Renzo: Aunt Chris
Tansy: Miss Mandy at Agility Class. And Miss Deb, though I have not seen her in Some Time.

5. How much do you weigh?
Renzo: 28 lbs
Tansy: 30 lbs

6. Most expensive thing you've ever chewed up?
Renzo: Bag of Hershey's miniatures
Tansy: Nothing. A GentleDog does not chew things up.

7. Do you like other Dogs?
Renzo: If they aren't Border Collies
Tansy: I am very Discriminating

8. Who is your best non-human friend?
Renzo: Zuri, our neighbor dog who moved away
Tansy: Fritzl, our tiger tabby. I am quite focused on him, to what end I Know Not

9. Squeaky toys or tennis balls?
Renzo: Squeaky toys
Tansy: Squeaky toys

10. Do you like to be brushed?
Renzo: Not really, I prefer a massage that also helps me shed
Tansy: Yes, as long as there is no pulling

11. Peanut Butter or Cheese?
Renzo: Both
Tansy: Cheese

12. Do your people cut your toenails?
Renzo: Yes
Tansy: Yes, with Reluctance

13. Any formal education?
Renzo: Yes, three household obedience classes and four agility classes
Tansy: Yes, several household obedience classes, agility and working sheep

14. Couch potato or Energizer Bunny?
Renzo: Both, I love a good run-around as well as video night!
Tansy: I believe I would be considered an Energizer Bunny

15: Five nicknames your people call you:
Renzo: Ren, Ren-Ben, Ben-Renzo, Renbabydog, Sir Barks-a-Lot
Tansy: Tan, Tan-tan, Z-Tan, Tan Pan, Pan-Tanorama

16. What is your best trick?
Renzo: Jumping through a hula-hoop to catch a ball
Tansy: Run Big Circle

17. Do you like kitties?
Renzo: As long as they keep their distance
Tansy: Very much

18. What did you have for breakfast?
Renzo: Raw turkey, organs and bones
Tansy: I had the same. I eat more Quickly than Renzo

19. Can you hunt (i.e. have you every killed anything living)?
Renzo: Yes, I am a squirrel afficionado
Tansy: I assisted Renzo once, after the deed

20. When and why was the last time you went to the V.E.T.?
Renzo: Soon, need some shots and my heartworm test
Tansy: Some days ago for my shots and check-up

21. Where do you sleep at night?
Renzo: Loose; I choose to sleep in a round bolster bed near my Flock
Tansy: A lower level crate, much like a garden apartment

22. Do you like to swim?
Renzo: It's O.K. if necessary
Tansy: Not unless I must. Splashing is fun!

23. Can you make puppies?
Renzo: Nope
Tansy: Gracious, no!

24. Do you give kisses?
Renzo: Yes
Tansy: Yes, but only to Select people

25: Can you potty on command?
Renzo: Yes, we all potty to "hurry"
Tansy: Quite right

26. To Cuz or not to Cuz?
Renzo: Occasionally
Tansy: I prefer plush

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Us smoothies (Guest Blog)


Rafe here. Miss Pippin asked that I answer some questions. Happy to. Young Kyzer too. We smoothies from the farms stick together.

1. Your age?
Rafe: 18 months
Kyzer: 9 months

2. Your age when came to live with your people:
Rafe: 7 months
Kyzer: 7 weeks

3. What color is the collar you're wearing right now?
Rafe: Red, with yellow squiggles (not snakes, Emmy) and black and white squares
Kyzer: Grays and greens in this really neato pattern!

4. Who is your favorite person other than the people you live with?
Rafe: Gram and Gramps. The best.
Kyzer: Oh, not a big people dog, but I sure do love Kelly, my original human

5. How much do you weigh?
Rafe: 49 pounds
Kyzer: Gosh! I think maybe more than 35 pounds now?

6. Most expensive thing yo've every chewed up?
Rafe: A Chuck-It
Kyzer: Keen sandals. Or a library book. Which I did last night.

7. Do you like other Dogs?
Rafe: Yes, especially little ones
Kyzer: Not at first, but then I come around!

8. Who is your best non-human friend?
Rafe: Sure do like Scamp, the toy Aussie at my old agility class. Though there's a fine gal, an Afghan named Renee, at my new agility class. Not real good friends, but I'd like to be.
Kyzer: Hamish or Rafe!

9. Squeaky toys or tennis balls?
Rafe: TENNIS BALLS
Kyzer: Tennis balls

10. Do you like to be brushed?
Rafe: Not really, it's kinda strange.
Kyzer: Don't know!

11. Peanut Butter or Cheese?
Rafe: Cheese
Kyzer: Peanut Butter

12: Do your people cut your toenails?
Rafe: Never done it. Don't need to.
Kyzer: Yes.

13. Any formal education?
Rafe: Household obedience, agility, and herding. Sleep-away herding school too.
Kyzer: Kindergarden! And I'm starting herding school now!

14. Couch potato or Energizer Bunny?
Rafe: What's a couch potato?
Kyzer: Bunny? To chase?

15. Five nick-names your people call you:
Rafe: Rafey, Raf-ish, Rafe-a-roni, Big Boy, Handsome
Kyzer: Ky, Ky-roo, Kroo, Kroozer, Ky-rooster

16. What is your best trick?
Rafe: Hugs
Kyzer: Sit up and wave with both front paws

17. Do you like kitties?
Rafe: Love 'em
Kyzer: Love 'em

18. What did you have for breakfast?
Rafe: Rice and chicken. Got a little intestinal upset. Better now.
Kyzer: Merrick kibble and Innova canned food.

19. Can you hunt (i.e. have you ever killed anything living)?
Rafe: No
Kyzer: No!

20. When and why was the last time you went to the V.E.T.?
Rafe: Last Monday for my shots. Not real impressed.
Kyzer: In February for my last puppy shots

21. Where do you sleep at night?
Rafe: Crate, top left above Miss Tansy
Kyzer: Crate, bottom right, next to Miss Pippin!

22. Do you like to swim?
Rafe: Don't know
Kyzer: What?

23. Can you make puppies?
Rafe: No, but I've got an eye for the gal dogs! I know my manners, though.
Kyzer: I'm still a puppy myself!

24. Do you give kisses?
Rafe: Yes, but only occasionally
Kyzer: Very rarely

25. Can you potty on command?
Rafe: Yep, "Hurry"
Kyzer: Yes, "Hurry"!

26: To Cuz or not to Cuz?
Rafe: Sometimes. When Miss Pippin is.
Kyzer: Not very often, but I think I chewed a foot off!

Monday, July 16, 2007

We, the Moy Dogs


The Dogs of Jackman Ave started a fun game, called MeMeMe. We thought we should play, even though we're about a month behind everydog else. Hamish and I thought we'd start (and we won't tag anydog since mostly everyone's already done it I bet). That us up sharing the dog bed. We're half brother and sister because we have the same mom--Ness Moy. Moy is the name of the kennel we came from in Ontario, Canada. It's about 8 hours away from where we live now. Here's the rest about us:

1. Your age?
Pippin: 3 1/2 (Nov. 8, I'll be 4)
Hamish: almost 2 (Aug. 21)

2. Your age when came to live with your people?
Pippin: 7 weeks
Hamish: 9 weeks

3. What color is the collar you're wearing right now?
Pippin: Pink with big flowers
Hamish: Green with vegetables

4. Who is your favorite person other than the people you live with?
Pippin: My neighbor, Moni
Hamish: I love everybody

5. How much do you weigh?
Pippin: 39 lbs
Hamish: 44 lbs

6. Most expensive thing you've ever chewed up?
Pippin: Snazzy work trousers
Hamish: Expensive, beloved leather boots

7. Do you like other Dogs?
Pippin: Not so much--but if they keep their distance, I don't snark at them
Hamish: you betcha

8. Who is your best non-human friend?
Pippin: Hamish and Rafe
Hamish: I like 'em all, except Rafe

9. Squeaky Toys or Tennis Balls?
Pippin: Tennis balls, but I also like squeaky toys a lot
Hamish: Neither--I like my purple plastic ball

10. Do you like to be brushed?
Pippin: NO!!!!!!!!
Hamish: It's o.k.

11. Peanut Butter or Cheese?
Pippin: Peanut Butter
Hamish: Cheese

12. Do your people cut your toenails?
Pippin: Absolutely not
Hamish: No need

13. Any formal education?
Pippin: Yes, I have a doctorate in Dog Classes--been to too many to count--obedience, agility, flyball, herding. Right now I'm taking herding lessons and agility lessons
Hamish: Yes, two obedience classes, plus puppy kindergarten, several agility classes and herding school

14. Couch potato or Energizer Bunny?
Do you really need to ask?

15. Five nicknames your people call you:
Pippin: Pippy; Pip-a-dip; Pips; Pippikins; Dippy-do
Hamish: Hambone, Hamster; Ham-bam; Bam-Bam, Mishkin

16. What is your best trick?
Pippin: Turn on a light switch
Hamish: Wriggle on the floor like I'm a worm

17. Do you like kitties?
Pippin: Yes, unless they try to jump on me
Hamish: Yes, unless they make weird noises like scratching or hissing

18. What did you have for breakfast?
We all had raw lamb, organs and bones

19. Can you hunt (aka have you ever killed anything living)?
Pippin: An ant
Hamish: No, but just let me at a squirrel. And I almost killed a sheep by running her into a fence

20. When & why was the last time you went to the V.E.T.?
Pippin: Last summer when I had giardia
Hamish: in Dec. when they took my manhood

21. Where do you sleep at night?
Border Collies sleep in crates in the bedroom

22. Do you like to swim?
Pippin: N.O.
Hamish: Not so much

23. Can you make puppies?
Pippin: No
Hamish: I wish I could, handsome as I am

24. Do you give kisses?
Pippin: Yes, many
Hamish: Yes, bruising ones

25. Can you potty on command?
We all potty to "hurry"

26. To Cuz or not to Cuz?
Yes, To Cuz (we have many Cuz options at our house and we love them all)

Friday, July 13, 2007

Hi! Hi! Hi! (Guest Blog)


It's me! Fox, CAT on Dog Blog! Agen!

No Dogs, Doggins not Bloggin! Sleepin Eatin Barkin Playin Workin!

So I say HI! I tell Dogs to Blog Soon. Else I steel all their Can Food, not jus small Bites!

Ciao!

Thursday, July 05, 2007

My People


Copper said awhile ago that I should blog something about my people. Seems like Hershey got this started and lots of pups have been telling stuff about their people. My people are both female people and like most dogs-with-blogs people, their main job is taking care of us pups (and sometimes the kitties, too--but that's really more of a hobby). That's them up there from when they only had Renzo and the kitties. Don't they look deprived? Thank goodness we Border Collies came along to save them.

They trade off giving us our breakfast and dinner and taking us for walkies. The taller, skinnier one takes Tansy, Rafe and Kyzer and the shorter, dumpier one takes me, Hamish and Renzo. That's pretty important work, we think.

But, they also go out in the rolling living room sometimes and bring us back stuff and they want to buy us some of our own land and sheep, as befits dogs of our stature and breeding--so, they talk sometimes about making "money". I think that's kind of like going out hunting. See, they leave and they often say, "O.k. dogs, we're off to hunt and gather. You be good." We're usually not good, but they still come home with stuff for us. And that stuff seems to come from money. Where do they get it?

They both seem to get it from a place called a "university". I think that's kind of related to the word "universe" since sometimes it seems like they spend a LOT of time there.

That one makes pictures and puts them on the Internet for people to see and use. Sometimes she makes the pictures herself with a camera and sometimes she turns pictures into digital images. She also helps people get books and videos when they need them AND she looks at pictures and works hard to figure out what they're of, so she can tell other people in case they want to use them. She learned in college and gradual school how to look at all kinds of things like paintings, sculptures, photographs and blueprints and find out what's interesting about them. It seems a little boring to me, but what do I know being sort of semi-color-blind and all.

The other one talks a lot about weird stuff that no dog would ever want to try and understand. She learned how to do it in gradual school, too.
(that's her trying to tell Kyzer about it there--doesn't he look bored?)

She mostly seems to type on her computer-box and go to meetings. Sometimes the meetings are at the universe but sometimes they are somewhere else--like where people speak a different language or have a different clock time. I didn't know you could get money from meetings, but apparently you can. She also listens to sounds on her computer and then turns the sounds into some kind of numbers. It's all very strange and we try not to ask too much about it.

They met each other a long time ago in a land far far away when they were both doing something for their gradual schools--something about getting material together to write a really, whopping big, long, boring paper that has something to do with dissing--I don't know who they were dissing, but it seemed to take a long time--that must be why their school was called gradual school.

The one already had Inji, one of our kitties (she just turned 17) and for a long time, she was the only furry friend they had. They lived in several different states and Inji told me that she got put in her box a lot and moved somewhere else. One place had an island and another place had lots of gecko lizards. Then they got an orange kitty, Theka. He was quite a rascal. When they moved to where we live now, they got Theka a kitten so he'd stop pestering Inji, and the kitten turned into Fritz.

So they had three kitties for a while and talked all the time about how crazy it was for people to have dogs since you couldn't do anything if you had a dog--you had to go home all the time and make sure the dog could go out to sniff the flowers. They even used to leave the kitties for several days and just have a neighbor come check on them--can you imagine??

They got Renzo on a total whim one Sat. afternoon in November. They went to the pet store to get kitty food and there was a rescue organization there and they saw him all curled up in a little ball, like this
Wouldn't you have brought him home? He seemed so soft and sweet. Thing was they didn't know diddly-squat about dogs--both of them had dogs as kids, but their moms took care of them. Things were pretty topsy turvey for a while. Fritz moved to the basement and the people thought they'd have to give Renzo back. But then, suddenly one day, they both looked at each other and realized they loved him and they couldn't give him back even if he was a bad dog sometimes--and very barky (which he still is).

So, they took him to some classes and started to learn more and more. And then came the monumental decision to get...ME!!! Probably the most important decision of their adult lives. Certainly the one that most of their family and friends identify as the start of their spiral into dog-nuttiness. They haven't even told everyone about Kyzer and he's almost 9 mos. old!!

They also do some other stuff than keep us entertained (though I don't really know why). They like to garden and cook. One of them bakes amazing pies (and we've tried a couple, so we know of what we speak), and the other one bakes a lot of bread. They like to read books and the newspaper. One of them plays on the computer a lot. The other one plays the piano. One of them was a drummer in the marching band in high school and the other one was a representative at Girl's State.

One of them has one sister, who is married with a son, a daughter and a new baby coming in Feb.. The other one has two sisters, two brothers, four nieces, three nephews and one grand-niece. One of them is the oldest in the family and the other is the youngest. One is scared of thunderstorms and one is scared of horses. One has some back trouble that is very ouchy and the other one has bum ankles (she got thrown from a horse and messed her ankle up when she was 8--that's why she's scared of horses now). One of them comes from a military family and was born in Germany (her dad fought in a war that lots of people weren't very happy about--it was far away and the people spoke a different language). One of them didn't talk hardly at all until she was 6 (and she still doesn't talk all that much).

But, really, the most important thing about them is that we love giving them kisses and wagging our tails at them and snuggling with them on the couch, and they seem to like that back.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Still king


Hey every pup,

Thanks for the well wishes on my work at the trial. Sorry, I don't have any pictures to show of my fine work. One of the people was scribing for the judge (writing down the scores) and the other one was helping me look good, so they couldn't snap any pictures.

I didn't win the trial, but I can say that I am still king of the sheep--at least compared to the other pups in my pack. The sheep bow to my great presence; listen when I give a nudge; let me chase them if I get that bug (which happens sometimes--you just can't always control it). My person gave a wordy description of it all on a discussion board. I recognize some of the words she used, like "come bye" and "away", but all that other stuff she wrote about seems like gibberish, so I'll leave you to decipher it if you want to.

I got kinda nervous because my person was a little jumpy. Don't know why, it's not like it was something we'd never done before. Oh, wait, I guess it kind of was. But it didn't seem that different to me.

Anyway, I'm ready to do it again anytime. Hey, wait, I heard there might be some action this week-end. I wonder if I'll get called to the plate.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Break a leg, Hamish


Hi everydog,

I hope that all you pups out there will be crossing your paws for Hamish and our person this week-end. He's going to be competing in his first sheep-herding trial. He's feeling pretty chuffed with himself, but our person is a little nervous. Hamish spent the week at sheep school and worked very well for the trainer. He doesn't work as well for our person because she really doesn't know so much about what she's doing and he doesn't respect her quite as much. That's what the trainer said anyway.

But, they both try to do their best and that's what we care most about.

Hamish will go once on Saturday and once on Sunday. Each run is about four minutes and consists of the outrun (leaving the handler to run toward the sheep); the lift (when the dog moves behind the sheep and the sheep start to move away from the dog); the fetch (when the dog moves the sheep to the handler); the wear (when the handler walks toward two panels and the dog keeps the sheep between him and the handler); and finally, the pen (where the dog and the handler move the sheep into a pen.

While it's all fine and good to be focused on Hamish, you might wonder what the rest of us will be doing. Rafe and Kyzer will be going to the trial, too. That means they'll hang out in the rolling living room and get to go on short walkies every few hours 'til dinnertime. Renzo, Tansy and I will be holding down the homefront. My most favorite human in the entire universe will be hanging out with us, playing ball and doing that laugh I love most of all. It should be a great week-end.

Hamish will no doubt report on his work next week. Right now, he's resting to shore up his strength.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Education (Guest Blog)

Greetings, Gentledogs!

Gracious, it has been many Suns since I have spoken to you! I do apologize. We have been most Busy. My Flock has worked Sheep many times. (Sir Renzo is kind enough to guard our House when we are working.) We have also been learning Agility. I do enjoy that Work, especially when we have many Obstacles.

Most wonderful, I had a Special Event: I had Two Days with my person in a Seminar. In a lovely outdoor setting, we met with Other People and Dogs and Learned about Relationship Based Training. I also had a Delightful Massage. My person says she learned a Great Deal. She highly recommends a book by the Teacher:


I believe I Learned as well. As we Dogs do every Day. And is that not Wonderful?

Sincerely,
Tansy

Friday, June 08, 2007

Finally home


Hi everydog!,

It's me Pippin. Do you remember me after so long? I hope so. My people have been doing many things--flying around the world (Copper, you were right, my person was in Hamburg, Germany), doing things on the computer, doing things in the garden, going places in the rolling living room, going away for many hours and then coming back, and then to top it all off, we all went to herding camp together for a couple of days. It's been quite a time this last few weeks, but now we think that things are going to be back to normal. We hope so.

Here are some highlights from the last few weeks' activities

1. We had two days' of herding camp and on the first day, Hamish was AWFUL. He chased a poor sheep around the whole field, even outrunning a four-wheeler that was trying to catch him to make him stop. The poor sheep ran into the fence twice and we thought she'd broken her neck the second time (but luckily she didn't). Our person who was running him was mortified. On the second day, he got some tough lessons on listening to what the people say. By the end of that day, he was back to being a pretty good boy. Still, since his first trial is coming up in a few weeks', his performance that first day earned him a week-long pass to herding school at our trainer's. He'll be packing up his stuff and staying with her starting on Tuesday.

2. I was perfect both days' of herding camp.
(comment from Hamish: Don't believe a word she says)
(comment from Rafe: Believe her on Hamish)
(comment from Hamish: Rafe's just a goody-two shoes who was too much of a weenie to really take matters into his own paws. Who gets to go to herding sleep-over camp after all?)
(comment from Tansy: Gentledogs, both young Dogs tend to speak too Well of Themselves. Pippin, also, may See Things differently than the People do. I, however, was Truly perfect. My person will Verify. Indeed.)

Hey, tail out you three--my post, my version. If you want to tell your story, get your own blog.

3. The people tried to make me sleep loose in the hotel room since they only had crates for Kyzer and Hamish. Boy, did I feel frisky. I woo-wooed at 11 pm, 12 am, 12:30 and 1:15. Then the people made me and Hamish trade places. That suck-up didn't even bark once--he was trying to be on his best behavior after the debacle on the herding field. But Rafey did bark and there was nothing the people could do about it (but they did threaten to make us all spend the night in the car--except Tansy of course).

4. Renzo stayed home while we were at herding camp, but he had his own adventures, including a sleep-over at our neighbor's house and a double dinner when some communication broke down.
(comment from Renzo: The double dinner thing was a well-orchestrated and rehearsed plan on my part. You Border Collies aren't the only smarty-pants in the family, you know)

5. The person who went to Germany brought back much chocolate and gummy bears, but she has not shared them with us. We are planning our revenge.

6. We have now confirmed that Kyzer has his father's eyes and his mother's ears. We await to see what kind of sheep herder he will be because he is still a wee bit afraid of the sheep, but he runs like his mother.
(comment from Kyzer: I'm my own boy and will do my own thing. My existence isn't only about who my parents are. Jeez. I am not afraid of the sheep. I just don't want to scare them before I learn to harness my power and intensity.)

7. Renzo caught and killed a squirrel in the backyard while we Border Collies were playing ball with the person. Renzo did not receive sufficient reward for his good work. In fact, the person threw things at him and acted like she didn't like him for several days. Most perplexing for us all.

8. Many flowers are blooming in our yard. We agree with the people that they are quite lovely. The people are not sharing their strawberries with us, however (and they have so many that they are having to freeze them).

9. Now that we are all back home and back into our routine, we will be blogging and visiting our blogging friends more regularly.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

8 things (Guest Blog)

Rafe here.

Been busy. Scribe's been busy. Time now, though. Here's me at the Farm:



Valiant Max tagged me. 8 unknown facts about me, hmm.

1 - My Pa's from Isle of Man. Or Ireland. Across the Water, anyway.
2 - Sleep on my back.
3 - Speak Cat. I think. Fox understands me.
4 - Like almonds. A lot.
5 - It's in my Blood to sleep under a Truck. Here, I choose the table.
6 - Love the Old Cat here. She has my Colors.
7 - Want to be a therapy dog. Stayed at a Retirement Community with my person's people once. They liked me. I liked them.
8 - Like to do my business right after breakfast. Guess my whole Flock knows about that.

Max tagged Tansy. She's still thinking. Mysterious pup, like her a lot.
Think we're getting Hamburgers tomorrow. Not sure, though.

Rafe

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Waiting and waiting for 11 days


I've been trying, friends, but the person just wouldn't give me the thumbs. After being gone all last week, cavorting with my goofy little brother Hamish on the farm, this week, my person has spent all day every day getting ready for a conference she's going to in a place that sounds like something you eat.

She's flying far away on Monday. I heard her say it's over the water, where they speak a different language. She speaks that language to me sometimes and I pretend to understand, but I like it better when she sticks with good ol' Anglais.

What does this all mean for me? Neglect.

Well, not really neglect for me because there is the other person, but certainly neglect for my dog blogging friends and fans and my own blog. We haven't been to visit anydog in two whole weeks. But she has promised that once she gets back, things will be back on track. I'll get to see what all you dogs have been up to while I've been whiling away my time on the couch.

Watch over the next week or so for some guest blogs though and we still have to post about our important A04 mission.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Off to the farm (Guest Blog)

From the desk of H.B. Moy, Esq. and Sheepdog Extraordinaire (in Training)

I'm so excited I can hardly keep my tail from helicoptering. You know how my people have sent Rafe to sheep camp twice and me to sheep camp exactly zero times? Well, my person is going to farm sit for this week and I get to go along. Only me. We're going to stay there together through the week-end. There are 10 acres with a flock of about 50 sheep (including cute lambs), a horse, two goats, a donkey, a bird and several felines.

There will be some other doggers there who live there, but they are old and can't work anymore, so my person is going to have to depend on me to help with the livestock chores. We went yesterday for a test run and I made the whole flock of sheep go into a little pen--even the day-old lamb (but my person told me that I had to be more careful with her because she can't run very fast yet. Whatever.). Then I made them come out again. There are even two rams, who can be mean, but were no challenge in the face of the sheep king.

I heard my people talking and they said that I would probably get to work a couple times every day--every day, dog bloggers. Can you believe it? The other person is going to bring the other dogs out a couple of times so they can practice too. But, it's me who's going to have to get the chores done, so they can play around all they want. I'm a workin' dog.

Sincerely,
H.B. Moy

p.s. Pippin got tummy tagged by Kingsley, but she doesn't ever lay on her back (really-she never does), so I have to step in to bat clean-up on that one. I'm good at showing my belly! I don't think I'll tag further right now, though--gotta go pack my stuff for the farm.



p.p.s. What a sad day we had when we learned that the hamsterrier FuFu had gone to the Bridge. We will miss him and know that his family must be very blue.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Even a diva works sometimes

Hi friends,

Somehow three guest blogs got by before I was able to post myself. Hrumpf. Actually I've been really enjoying the weather of late--it is PERFECT spring weather--cool, crisp, spring-y. My person has taken me on some nice long walkies and we have had good ball play. The nice weather just makes me feel like running and playing.

The flock is pleased to have Rafe back with us. (Well, Hamish is not so pleased, but we are ignoring him when he grumpfs because the rest of us--and especially the people--missed Mr. Rafe-a-roni.)

Here's some video of me working. I have to be honest and admit, it's not the best example of sheep herding--the sheep are worried about me and running fast. Rather than staying back, I'm cutting in on them, which is kinda bad. Plus, I'm overflanking (which means going too far to the left or right) which makes them serpendine around. At the end, I get it together better and get them through the panels, but boy, I need a little more practice, I think. I just couldn't help myself. Watch though, how they move their heads in response to my movements--that part is pretty neat.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Back from camp (Guest Blog)

Rafe here.

Been gone a while. Missed my Flock. Specially young Kyzer. Found out I'm a Trooper with Army of 4. Good, thanks. Copper's a grand-dog, good.

Here's a video of me [and trainer], working. Hot out. Camera dirty.



First, just quick outrun and fetch. Next a bigger outrun. [Hay feeder for sheep in foreground.] You see me flank very wide. Sheep are light, I am powerful and have strong eye. Sheep start to hustle. Used to be, I'd turn in and stop too soon. Sheep wouldn't move. At camp, learned what to do right. Then, after lift, bring them to trainer. Next shot, don't know what's going on. Think I'm moving sheep. At the end you see the pen. Sheep go in it. That's my new job. Working on it.

Woof,
Rafe

Monday, May 07, 2007

Across the Other Water (Guest Blog)

Greetings, Gentlepups!

Miss Pippin is still Savouring our lovely Weather, and asked that I Post to the Blog. I am a pup of few Words, and I too Enjoy the Weather. Well.

My person graciously showed me this Photograph, and I will Share it with you. This dog is a Collie, but not Our kind. Her name is Peggy, and she lived in Japan. Japan is Across the Other Water. Perhaps one day I will See the Water. Better, to see Sheep.


Best,
Tansy

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Across the Water, Again (Guest Blog)

Greetings Gentledogs!

I have Recovered from the Anniversary Festival. It was delightful to Chat with so many Pups! "Frosty Paws" are tasty, although not so delicious as Pizza Crusts.

I wish to give a Sharp! Bark! to Toby and Maureen. These Pups are in the Agility class Hamish and I attend on Monday Evenings. I do need to scold Toby, since he is a Young Male, but Miss Pippin assures me he is a Good Dog.

My people said the people of Toby and Maureen might be interested in another picture from Across the Water. Everydog may also find this Intriguing. I believe I understand the Meaning of the Word on the Sign.

Do you Dogs?

Have you seen such a Sign on your Side of the Water?

Tschüssi,
Tansy

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Anniversary Party

Well, pup, we've had a lot of recovering to do after the big shindig this week-end. Tansy and I visited the Wine and Cheese Party chat room a couple of times. We talked to some old and new friends--Opy, Freda, Kingsley, Buster, Chester, TinTin, Maggie, Oscar, Snowball, Pappy's dad, Asta in Oz, Peanut and many others. It was fun to talk to pups all over the world, but my people are not as chatroom savvy as many and so they were easily lost by the quick exchanges.

We also had a lovely wine and cheese layout. First my people got everything set up--the cheese sticks and cookies in the little bowl in front were strictly for us pups.
Then, I took to my station as prime party hostess
Everydog waited politely (except for poor Rafey, who is away at herding camp again. But we'll tell him about it when we next see him)
When the people said o.k., all pups dug in
And of course, that rascal Fox had to get in on the action (Stormy, we're pretty sure he's becoming a dog rather than Kyzer becoming a cat)
And then our people had a special treat just for us dogs (no kitties allowed)--Frosty Paws!!
And then we slept the rest of the day away
Happy Anniversary again Dogs with Blogs. Great work and we're looking forward to another great year of dog blogging.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Daily blogs are a little too much

Well, now my week of posting every day is coming to a close and, honestly, I think every day is too much, even though I am proud of my person that she lived up to her promises for once.

And though my person would love to remain my slave--or let me be clearer, my blogging slave (it goes without saying that she is my slave in all other ways and that won't change)--it seems like blogging every day doesn't give the community sufficient time to digest and enjoy all I have to say. It seems as soon as I post, I'm ready to post again. So, I've declared that we will go back to the twice or three times a week blogging schedule we previously observed.

Now that the announcements are out of the way, we can move on to today's topic. It's about Kyzer. We did our first group photo with him a couple of days ago and I think he handled it nicely. He sat and stayed while the picture was being taken. You know, you can't practice too much or too early for the holiday shots. And, of course, we are all looking forward to this week-end's DWB wine and cheese fest in celebration of the first anniversary of Dogs with Blogs. And we want to be ready to provide lots of candids.

In addition to working with him on his group social skills, I've remained a bit distressed over his almost unseemly relationship with the dastardly Fox-kitty. You may remember that he and Fox have been close friends since Kyzer joined the pack. The rest of us tolerated this friendship because he was a young dog and frankly it kept Fox out of our hair. But we also assumed that as he grew, Kyzer would take his rightful position within the DOG pack and leave behind his childhood dalliances. But, alas, it has not happened that way.









Look what I observed just yesterday over the course of less than an hour.First, there he lay with Fox in a Yin-Yang kind of thing. But at least he was alert and watchful.













That didn't last long at all, however.

















And then, this. Tell me, friends, whatever should the rest of us do to bring this youngster back to the path of the righteous and true? Really, the next thing you know, he'll be licking the mail carrier and offering up a cookie.