Jorja and the Goldfish

So Jorja wasn't feeling all that great on Tuesday. She ate a LOT of turkey roll over on Monday with all the training she did. Apparently this is not a good choice for Jorja, we were up several times in the night. BUT, she would like you all to know that she has mastered the plank. She will stand on the plank and tolerate having cookies thrown at her, toys chucked, and the owner jumping up and down like raving loonie. We are now working on standing on the plank looking down. (For those of you reading that may not be agility folks this is pre-contact training for agility). Here she is doing the plank:

Okay, all good but this was not the point of the story. The story was about a goldfish.

Goldfish?!

Yep. Here he is, the poor sucker! We named him Fred.

Back to Jorja. Given the large amounts of projectile liquid coming from her posterior she got fasted on Tuesday. Feeling guilty about this in the evening I gave Jorja a goldfish cracker (since they are my basic food staple I was of course eating them for supper, again. 'Least it wasn't popcorn this time!) Jorja, who is usually a very un-picky potlicker chose to take her goldfish gently and carry him from room to room. Kitchen to living room, living room to bedroom, bedroom to office. Each time she would pick him up gently by the tail, carry him to a special spot, lie down and then place him gently in front of her. Every now and then she would throw him up in the air and tease him a little, roll him around in her mouth, then gently spit him out. Here she is in the office, letting him have a little rest after having been pounced on a time or two.....

She did finally eat him, but it took a good twenty minutes of torture. I think my laughing at her was egging her on, who knows. She makes the funniest noises when she is playing, I tried to get it on video but of course she quits doing it when the camera is out, brat!

Cai says hi too, but he couldn't bother himself to get out of bed. Yes, he is *under* the covers!

Sadie Shows her Silly Side

Okay, so I'm not the best cinematographer there ever was. Or even the most mediocre, but I think you'll get the idea. Yesterday the sun appeared in my kitchen (miracles!) and Sadie went beserk. I didn't catch it on camera at the time (I was too busy laughing at her to be honest, and saving her from the other dogs biting her for being weird), but I have recreated the event with the flashlight. Here she is in all her glory.....

She also wanted to show you her sits and downs. We practiced recalls today, she knows her name really well and comes when called when there aren't distractions. Since we all know the world is full of distractions this is a big work in progress. She is wary of being "caught" even though she comes when called. Random collar grabbing is next on the agenda. Despite her quirks with other dogs I'm really beginning to like this girl. She has finally learned to respect/ignore Mollie thank goodness.

Bob did some fun and exciting things today too, but we'll save that for tomorrow. ;)

Sadie Seeks a Sanctuary, also known as alliteration with "S"

Sadie says Hi!

Sadie is 14 months old and looking for just the right place to call home. Sadie is a smarty pants tall girl who has been left up to her own devices for too long. She was undersocialized, and has lived her life in the bush doing her own thing. She has been here now for three weeks and is settling down nicely. She still feels the need to bark outside at those scary "town" noises, but is generally settled (for a young herding dog) in the house. She is crate trained and has not had any accidents in the house. She is waiting to get spayed until after her "season" is over (hopefully soon!), but is up to date on vaccinations and is healthy. Sadie is attending an advanced pet obedience class where she has learned sit, down, swing and around, go to mat, hand targets, etc. She also likes to "talk" quietly for cookies, I am working on putting it on command now. Sadie has some trouble with greeting dogs appropriately. She is loose in the house with all seven other border collies when I am home and does fine, but she reacts a bit inappropriately when other dogs are fetching toys or getting riled up. If they growl at her she will growl back and could get herself into a fight. Truly, she does not have the dog experience to know how to react properly as yet, and this has diminished over the last few weeks but will need continued work. Sadie is very smart and picks up tricks and new commands quickly. She learned all the basic obedience skills in one week!

In Honour of My Friends

Here are a few graduates of Herding Dog Rescue in BC. Thank you to everyone who has helped me find homes, transport, put up with me and the untrained dogs (Mary, Kim, and Katie), fundraise, and help out in all the wonderful ways you do. I couldn't do this without so many wonderful friends. Cheers!

Shanny and the potlickers

Bob the Dog

What's up?

Bob is a cool guy, but he still hasn't found his forever home. He's very sad...well, actually he looks downright shocked, and who can blame him? Bob is not too old, not too young, and not too challenging. Really he is just too perfect, and maybe a little on the homely side in looks but he is sure one of my favorite fosters of all time. For those of you who know Marty, he is a young Marty. Take anywhere, do anything, just about as solid as they come. He has two flaws (well everyone has to have one don't they?). He can jump a five foot fence with ease, and apparently he likes to nip my butt when I get all screechy and overly excited teaching weave poles (yes, he is learning 2x2's people!!). Maybe it is the leg lifting trick? I have (maybe foolishly) taught him to pretend lift his leg on people. I thought it was funny.....

Anyway, Bob the dog; simple, honest, and loyal. He would still like his very own home (preferably without Jorja the annoying puppy!).