Smooth Collies, Border Collies, Danish-Swedish Farmdog

May 2007Monthly Archives

Collie Agility!

collie agility Oooo I love collie agility. I don’t see many collies in agility, so here is my boy, Levi. We got this at the Belgian Malinois National Specialty (as you can see by the bottom of the picture) that was here in Utah a week ago.

I LOVE this photographer. Dog House Arts. Amazing pictures. I have another collage at home that I’m not sure what to do with yet. I probably shouldn’t post this so be nice and don’t copy and sell it. But I figure it’s my boy, I have to share!

[tags]collie agility, collies, collie rescue, agility[/tags]

Cynthia
May 25, 2007
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We are going to Flyball

Okay, we are going to do Flyball in St. George. Actually, it’s Flyball in Hurricane, Utah. I will probably bring Levi, too, my agility collie. :) Just for fun and he likes to get out.

I really want to go to Laramie, Wyoming, for Flyball in July/August, to see my friend from Denver. And so we will go do Flyball in St George to get our feet wet. Though I’m only going to go Saturday afternoon and Sunday. Run singles on Sunday, and maybe Doubles.

I really think Chase will handle it just fine. We do need more box work, he needs to get that down pat before we go. And sometimes he cheats and doesn’t do a nice turn. He is better with the cone to help him around. So we will do lots of cone work to get that muscle memory going, so that he’ll know how to turn. It’s really cool to see those dogs that do perfect box turns in Flyball.

[tags]flyball, flyball dogs, utah tailblazers, collie agility[/tags]

Cynthia
May 25, 2007
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Flyball Stuff

Hrmph. Flyball. Practice is fun. Going to a tournament is boggling my brain. I want to go… but the tourney is in St. George, Utah. Which is 5 hours away. Gas, Hotel, Time… all for just one singles run, and practice runs.

Well, it seems like a lot of money. But, there is one bonus. There is another tournament in Wyoming in August… and I want to go to that one! Really bad! Because a friend I met at dog camp last September is going to be there. And I’d love to see her again, and I might even share a hotel with her.

So, in order for Chase to be on a team, he has to go to a tournament and run single or do warmups. I’m not so sure I like that rule. I think he’s really be fine. He is very stable in high-drive environments. But if that’s the rule, then perhaps I’m going to St. George.

I still have a day or two to decide.

[tags]flyball, dog training, border collies, flyball dogs[/tags]

Cynthia
May 25, 2007
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Personal Space

As I sit down to watch Pirates of the Carribean, Dead Man’s Chest from my Blockbuster movies-in-the-mail account (not sure what it’s officially called), I have to think about these poor dogs of ours and how good they are really being with the extra dogs.

Dogs have personal space, just like humans do. And for each of them it’s a different distance. Chase needs more personal space, and Angel needs less. She probably needs the least of all our dogs. Chase is the most, then Levi, then Lucy, then Angel.

And so bringing these other dogs into our house, we can’t just expect everyone to get along. Dogs are dogs, and they show their discomfort in dog ways. Teeth, growling, body language, tail height, etc. And I feel like we have to always be aware of this, and make sure each of the dogs is comfortable.

We also have Glitter this week, a little sheltie girl. She is one of my friend’s dogs and we love to watch her, she is just a doll. So that brings us up to 7 dogs, that is our limit.

Any more would be too much. Our small house is only 1300 square feet. So I have to admire how well the dogs are doing, in such close quarters. They are being super wonderful pups. :)

[tags]collie rescue, dog training, personal space, dog space, dogs[/tags]

Cynthia
May 24, 2007
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Thursdays

Well, today is Thursday. Last night we had Flyball practice. I brought Levi again. He had fun, even though he’s crated during practice. He gets to run around in between, and before and after. And, he got to play with his boyfriend, Raygen, the white with red speckles cattle dog. Levi never plays with dogs, so him playing with Raygen is quite amazing! We love to see it.

Chase is too dainty on the box. He’s careful. Needs to be more exuberant. However, I’d like him to be fast and coordinated without being really hyper about it. Drive in control, with speed and confidence. We need that for agility, too. So we’ll see about practicing that.

Agility trial this weekend, 3 dayer, should be fun!

Cynthia
May 24, 2007
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Interview For Tip Tail!

Okay, it’s not really Tip Tail’s interview, it’s an interview of me, and what I do on the web, in blogs, Tip Tail and Luna Tail, my other blog.

But anyway, it’s fun. It’s a bit of exposure and information. So check it out:

It matters to J Dwivedi » Interview of Cynthia Heyman

(Yeah that’s my real last name don’t wear it out! LOL)

Cynthia
May 23, 2007
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More on Chips

Okay, I called Avid yesterday, and Home Again.

So what seems to happen is, if you buy their chips, they are registered to you and if the dog gets lost you will be called.

However, if I, as a rescue, get a dog that is already chipped… well I’m pretty much screwed. I have to sign up for their payment plans. And at $10 a dog, that’s seems high for a rescue.

Avid, at least, was able to put my name in as a contact. Mac is registered to his old old people in Las Vegas. So if they found him, they’d have no way to contact him. In order to really change where his chip is registered I’d have to pay $18.50. But they put me, and UCR, on his chip info as a contact. Hrmph. $18.50 might not sound like a lot, but for a rescue it can really add up per dog.

For Home again, I’d have to sign up for their program, too, which also costs. $10 plus $14.99 for activation, then $9.99 per additional registeration. Hrmph.

So Sammy’s Home Again chip stays at the vet where he was chipped. And Mac’s Avid chip has my name on it, at least. All without money. I guess I shouldn’t be too disappointed. But if I get a dog with a Home Again chip, not sure what I’ll do about that.

Cynthia
May 23, 2007
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Many Paws

The other night we had 24 paws in our bedroom. :) Yes, that is a lot of paws. Six dogs. How big is our bedroom? Not big, I will tell you. We have one King size bed that I sleep in with most of the dogs, and one single bed that my husband sleeps in, usually with no dogs (he doesn’t like to sleep with dogs pressed against him.)

The beds go wall to wall. There is a little space, maybe 3 or 4 feet, from the foot of the bed to the wall. Enough for a 1 or 2 foot, small, dresser to fit in there with my clothes in it. And enough room for two dog beds. :)

Mac has been sleeping next to me, sweet heart. We’ve also let Sam out of the crate the last couple of nights. If the downstairs is open, he’ll go whine at the kitties. LOL. So that gets closed. And he sleeps on a dog bed. He’s too big to fit on our bed, with the other 5 dogs on it. But I think he’s okay on the dog bed or on the couch in the other room.

I just love Sammy. His former people emailed me to see how he’s doing. I like it when former people keep in check. I just love Sammy. He does what I ask, though he talks back to me too. Like a little kid stomping his feet, but sitting down anyway. :)

Cynthia
May 23, 2007
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