Sunday, December 21, 2014

Just doggin' it

Headed north to the Kimberley area yesterday - it was time for Amber to meet the lady who will be starting her on sheep in the new year, and for a quick Christmas visit to Janice.*Janice's other half, Dave, is getting heart surgery tomorrow, so if y'all are the praying kind, a little knee mail would be appreciated for him.*
I took Tess along too, and when we got there her daddy Quill was there, he is 14 now and it was nice to see him again. Tess's boyfriend Moss was there too, and P. put him in the sheep pen, and we had Amber (and Tess) outside the pen watching.


I didn't get any good pics of Amber, but she was quite keen on watching the sheep. Tess of course was beside herself, she wanted in the pen so bad!

P. also worked her young dog Drift, who will be doing nursery trials this year.
Possible future mate for Amber? 
The reason we aren't working Amber just yet is that P. had a hip replacement surgery in October, a couple more months to heal and then we can start- most likely February. 
She gave me a few pointers on things to work on with Amber in the meantime. One of the things I need to do is get Amber more focused on me, I need to be able to stop her in full flight- she isn't consistent with that yet but we're getting there.
We also had the chance to visit with one of Tess's daughters from her first litter, the one I called Emma but got renamed Peppy. They live quite close to P., so we stopped in.

The kids were throwing a toy for them, and Tess was all over that!


 Peppy is a beauty, and like Janice's dog Kali, she looks a lot like her daddy Moss (in the first photo).

 After that, a visit with Janice and on home. I think Tess is coming in to heat, so I'll likely be heading back up there before long!

6 comments:

CDH said...

I just love watching a good dog work! Our 2 pups, Spook ( mine ) and Two ( Cameron's dog ) are so awesome to watch work the cows and bulls. Being full sisters and just over a year old. They have totally different ways they work cows. Spook is real cat like and nips the nose. Two is more pushy. Two helped Cam push cows up the alley. She'd lay in the gate so they wouldn't turn back. Spook helped me push bulls. The heelers are learning a thing or two from the pups! Ha!
The border collie is so friggin intelligent it's scary!
Good luck with Amber. And prayers for your friends hubby!
Cheri

Shirley said...

Thanks Cheri!
Yes, smart and focused on their job!

aurora said...

Great photos! Especially like the intensity of the first pic (Moss). Sending healing thoughts towards Janice's hubby!!

Janice Grinyer said...

Sending hugs and prayers for Dave that all will go well! And just wondering, do you do any brass whistle work with your pups ? I started that with Ranger, and the only two times that we have scared up a deer in the woods, I was able to call him off easily with a short blast of the whistle He just makes a u turn and comes to me. Im thinking I might invest in one of those silent dog whistles next. I was so surprised when the training I did with him ACTUALLY WORKED lol...

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh Shirley there is nothing more beautiful than watching a working dog. My thoughts are with Dave.
Merry Christmas Shirley. Hug B

Far Side of Fifty said...

Sending prayers for Dave and Janice.
Those dogs are all beauties...gotta love a Border Collie. I love to watch them work:)