Hillcrest Border Collies

Great Cleaning Tip

2009-07-09T21:11:00.001-07:00

I hate dog hair on carpet. Ok, I hate dog hair on floors, but this pertains to dog hair on carpet. We still have one room in our house (bedroom) that has carpet. The day we rip that out is not soon enough. 7/8 of the house used to be carpet when we bought it. Now it is Pergo and Tile.

So, if you hate dog hair on carpet like I do here is a great tip to get almost all of it up. Get a spray bottle (buy it at a hardware store) and fill it with about 1/8 to 1/4 fabric softener. Fill the rest of the bottle with water and shake lightly. Spray that mixture on your carpet and let dry (about 15 minutes). Once it has dried then vacuum it up like normal. The fabric softener releases the static charge of the dog hair and it comes up much easier. We have a Dyson and this gets even more hair up than the Dyson alone. Not to mention my room smells soooooo clean after. I also do this on the recliners where some of the dogs like to catch a nap.

I have also discovered the Pledge Pet Hair "thing". It is the one where you move it back and forth on your couch and it picks up the hair. It really does work and I use it almost everyday.

Happy Cleaning

Single Mom

2009-07-09T18:43:00.000-07:00

I am a single mom until Sunday. I would never want to be a single mom permanently. It is always nice to have an adult that comes home to you for an adult conversation. It is funny because when the entire family is here, along with the dogs, I fell like I am always going, going, going. Tonight Murray had to head out of town for business and I am home with Connor (3 1/2 years old) and the dogs. Ok, so I have our dogs, boarding dogs, rabbit, sheep and horses to care for, but it is too quiet here.

Luckily my friend Lori is coming here tomorrow and will be here for the weekend. She is bringing Rumor and Wyatt with her and Rumor will stay here for a bit to be bred. I set up the exercise from CR Back Yard Dogs and will be doing some training this weekend. We will also train Havoc and Wyatt (littermates) on sheep.

Saturday night should be fun because Lori, Karen and I (maybe Angie?) are having a girl's night out at the Horse Races. No kid and no dogs, just fun!!!

As I was setting up an agility exercise in the field tonight Connor and the dogs were running around. I laid down after and just watched them. I was cracking up at their (dog and kid) antics. My dogs are sooooooo tolerant of Connor it is not even funny. The funniest relationship to watch is Connor and Singe. I do NOT humanize my dogs, but the relationship Connor and Singe have is a love hate relationship, like a brotherly relationship. They both antagonize each other. They like to be with each other, but then it turns into a "fight". I just laugh at them when they are together. Fusion is kind of like that with Connor, but she is much sweeter about it. She doesn't antagonize him as much, but they do both bother each other. And then there is Kate. Kate just ADORES Connor to no end. She looks at him with her goo goo eyes and they have a very special relationship. Kate can do things to Connor that no other dog can. It is very funny because she is my heart dog. I love watching the interactions between dogs and kids.

Off to do my motherly duties now.

Sheep Thrillz (First and Last)

2009-07-04T15:24:00.000-07:00

The Sheep Thrillz trial was Havoc's first USBCHA trial and Mick's last USBCHA trial. After taking about a 5 year break from trialing I am back and so happy to be trialing again. Mick is over 9 years old now and I wanted to trial him one more time.

The sheep at this trial were quite tough. No one was able to get a pen all day on Thursday (Pro-Novice, Ranch, Nursery and Novice). These sheep would run in any direction they felt like, string out and go in opposite directions, and challenge the dogs. The dogs that did best were the ones who would stay off their stock, but also cover at the same time.

We had 2 runs on Thursday for both Mick and Havoc. Mick ended up in 7th, just out of the money, on the first go around. I retired him on the 2nd run as it was in the mid 90s and he was having a hard time keeping up with the fleeing sheep. I wasn't going to gain anything from it, so I called it good.

Havoc got 1st in her first go around. These sheep were tough for the young dogs as they were the same sheep being used for all of the other classes. On her 2nd run I ended up leaving the post as she did not spot her sheep. They set them right next to a panel and she could not see them for the life of her. Poor girlie!

They did not give out awards until today and we left this morning. Havoc's awards should be coming home with Karen tomorrow.

Speaking of Karen Child, she got in the double lift with both of her dogs, Jim and Rock. (side not, Skarlet is bred to Rock and due in a few weeks). They are taking the top 4 dogs from each day and then 12 more with the top combined scores for the double lift on Sunday. Derek Fisher laid down a hell of a run and was 1st. Karen's Jim was 2nd, Brian Riccard was 3rd and Karen and Rock were 4th. I can't wait to hear how it goes.

We had a lot of fun being at the trial and seeing some faces from the past. Laura Withnell made Connor's day by giving him a stuffed Border Collie. Connor has named it Fly and would not let it off of the leash (bailing twine) all Friday. He carried that dog everywhere he went and even slept with it. Thanks Laura!!

The really nice thing about being at a herding trial vs an agility trial is the way people act with their dogs. There is no "get your dog away from my dog" etc. We had about 30 BCs running int he field the other night and not a one had a problem. We had dogs from 8 months old on up to 14 years old. Nice to be able to have dogs act like dogs and not treated like 4 legged humans.

I will upload my pictures and post them later.

Off to clean out the motorhome now.

Off to Sheep Thrillz

2009-07-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am packing up the motorhome and then we are off to Scio for the Sheep Thrillz trial. This will be Havoc's first herding trial and Mick's last USBCHA trial. He is 9 years old and the bigger outruns are taking a toll on his body.

I have heard that we will have free WiFi there, so I will try and update on the runs.

Happy Herding!

Fun Weekend

2009-06-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

We had a local AKC trial this last weekend. It was so nice to be done and able to come home and play with the dogs everyday.

I went into the trial with no great expectations for the girls (Lash and Risk). We have not been practicing steady and I just wanted to have fun. It was our first trial back since November. I am also in the midst of retraining Risk's contacts, so I could not uphold any criteria in the ring yet. With Risk, I just wanted to work on handling stuff and running balls to the walls. I think I accomplished that and I had a blast running her. Our Saturday EX Standard run was blazing. She did not Q because of missed contact, but she did not step one foot out of place in her run. She ran that course in 37 seconds. In EX JWW I blew chunks and put a front cross in somewhere I had not walked it nor planned to put on in. I just found myself in front and I think my body automatically put one in. Because I did not walk it, I was not in the correct place and got out of sorts. On Sunday in EX Standard, Risk knocked the 2nd bar and was before the WP. I did not know she knocked it until I finished the poles and came back around. I saw it on the ground then. I pushed her on her on her running DW and she got it. By the time she ran in JWW on Sunday the grass was very slippery and she was sliding everywhere. She even slid half way through the poles. No Q on that one. I do have to say that I was very pleased with what she gave me and I know where I am in her contact retraining.

Lash, well she is just such a good girl. She has not done much AKC, so she was still in Open. She got 3 out of 4 Q's and all of them were first places. She knocked a bar before the weave poles in Saturday's JWW. Her contacts were great and I will stay with 2o2o with her. She is now in EX A Standard.

I did not enter Singe because he came up lame a little while ago. I rehabbed him a little with rest and swimming, but he came up lame again. After being looked at, it is determined that he has injured his hamstring. I found some stretches I can do with him from www.fourleg.com

So, I would say he is off of any agility training for a month. I think I will do some obedience stuff with him so that I can keep his mind from going crazy.

We are off to a USBCHA herding trial this week. I am running Havoc and Mick and I am very excited. I put the crates in the motorhome and now I have to figure out the other stuff (kid and dog).

Back to work I go.

Not Really A Quiet Friday

2009-06-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

Now that it is summer and Connor is out of school things get hectic here during the week. Mondays and Fridays are my days without him. I use these days for house cleaning, working dogs, grooming dogs and just to get my sanity back.

I have been dealing with a problem with Havoc the past 6 months. She was well on her way of training and had an awesome outrun, fetch etc. I had started her on driving until the dam fence bit her. This did not happen while working sheep. We have electric fence for the horses, alpacas and sheep. I turn the fences off when I work dogs. On a few occasions I was out doing chores and/or going for a walk with the dogs. Sometimes the dogs run under the electric tape and know how to not get shocked. Well apparently Havoc is not smart enough to figure this out. She was shocked not once but 2 or 3 times as she was running the property. This turned into her not even wanting to come in that area and guess what??.... That is where we work sheep. We have 2 - 5 acre parcels that we work sheep on. Havoc wanted NOTHING to do with this. She was associating the sheep with the fence. Even if I took her on a leash she would not look at the sheep. I thought I had totally broke her until I brought her to Karen's place and she worked beautifully. Thank goodness that she still loved her sheepies. I have just been going to Karen's to work her and Murray has also now taken her over and she will be his trial dog. I took Havoc out today and started walking her, on leash, in the field where the sheep are. After a bit I gave her a flank command and guess what? She took it. I did have to re-command her, but after that she had her confidence back. Yeeee Haaaaa Havie can now work at home. I am soooo excited about this.

I then went in to clean house as it has been neglected this past week. If you want a cool trick to get dog hair off of carpet here it is. Get a big spray bottle and put about 1/4 fabric softener in it and then fill the rest with water. Spray this mixture on your carpets and let dry for 15 minutes. This will release the hair from the carpet and you can then vacuum it up with ease. It also makes your house smell good.

8 dogs got what I call ranch baths today. I have a couple BCs that I bred here with me and they are going home tomorrow. My dogs are also dusty and dirty, so they needed a bath. I take groups of 2 or 3 down to the irrigation pond and play ball with them there. While doing this I lather them up and then play ball some more. Dogs + Pond + Ball +Shampoo = clean and shiny dogs. I have 3 more to do tomorrow and everyone will be squeaky clean.

I am excited for tomorrow because we are supposed to haul sheep and work dogs. We all have a trial in a few weeks, so this will be great work. We are then coming back to my place for our monthly party. We have now named all of our parties and it is great to get together with friends. I will bring my camera with me and if I get any good shots of the dogs I will post them. I can't post any videos because my computer is failing me. I should have a new one in a few weeks, hopefully. I can then get back to editing video of the dogs.

Off to clean house some more.

Evaluating Your Dog's Weight

2009-06-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Alright, here is a chart that shows a dog's proper weight. I am seeing more and more FAT dogs and some of them are ones that people are expecting to do agility, frisbee and herding with. It is so sad because the dogs do not have a choice. We control our dog's weight by the amount of food we give them. A dog is not programmed to get a set amount of food each day. If a dog is more active then it needs more food. If a dog is not getting worked/exercised a lot then it needs less food. Geeez it is that simple!

How many overweight marathon runners do you see out there? How many fat high jumpers do you see out there? Our dogs are athletes and need to be kept fit like athletes.

By this chart I would say my dogs are a 4 to 4 1/2. You have to remember that this chart is made for pet people, so a 4 to 4 1/2 is perfect for a dog that is expected to perform tasks.

Evaluating your dog's weight

How skinny is "pretty skinny"? How heavy is "not as thin as he should be"? The Purina body condition system provides a uniform way to describe a pet's weight, from "emaciated" to "grossly obese"

EMACIATED
Ribs, lumbar vertebrae, pelvic bones and all bony prominences evident form a distance. No discernable body fat. Obvious loss of muscle mass.
VERY THIN
Ribs, lumbar vertebrae and pelvic bones easily visible. No palpable fat. Some evidence of other bony prominence. Minimal loss of muscle mass
THIN
Ribs easily palpated and may be visible with no palpable fat. Tops of lumbar vertebrae visible. Pelvic bones becoming prominent. Obvious waist and abdominal tuck
UNDERWEIGHT
Ribs easily palpable, with minimal fat covering. Waist easily noted, viewed form above. Abdominal tuck evident.
IDEAL
Ribs palpable without excess fat covering. Waist observed behind ribs when viewed from above. Abdomen tucked when viewed from the side.
OVERWEIGHT
Ribs palpable with slight excess fat covering. Waist is discernable viewed from above but is not prominent. Abdominal tuck apparent.
HEAVY
Ribs palpable with difficulty, heavy fat cover. Noticeable fat deposits over lumbar area and base of tail. Waist absent or barely visible. Abdominal tuck may be absent.
OBESE
Ribs not palpable under heavy fat cover, or palpable only with significant pressure. Heavy fat deposits over lumbar area and base of tail. Waist absent. No abdominal tuck. Obvious abdominal distension may be present.
GROSSLY OBESE

Skarlet the Princess

2009-06-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

Apparently Skarlet thinks that since she is pregnant that she is now the food princess. She about had be paranoid this past weekend when she decided that she was not eating chicken backs. I then tried some of our dry food, Taste Of The Wild, and she was for sure not eating that. I, of course, then went and bought her Fresh Pet, a slightly cooked meat and vegetable mixture for dogs. Any dog that has gone off of their food has always loved this. Ohhhhh nooooo, Skarlet would pick at it. Grrrrr! So, today I defrosted some chicken necks and fed them to the dogs for dinner. I started Skarlet out on 4 because I just knew she wasn't going to eat. Yah right, the princess inhaled the necks. 4 more went in her bowl and she scarfed those down. So, I think she is on a chicken neck diet "for now".

I now feel a lot better knowing that she at least ate something. After the hole thing with Risk, I am a little on the paranoid side with my girls who get bred. Skar's temp was always normal, but still she wasn't eating.

I have a couple more cases of necks in the freezer along with backs. I will have to place another order of necks, so that I don't run out for Princess Skarlet.

Sleeping a lot better tonight knowing prego has eaten.

Fat Dogs

2009-06-08T14:12:00.001-07:00

I have no idea how or why people let their dogs get fat. We control their food, so one would think that this would control the dog's weight. Why oh why do people think it is ok to let their Border Collies get fat? To me there is nothing worse than seeing a working or performance Border Collie fat.

I saw a dog that I bred yesterday and she was not just overweight, but WAAAAYYYY overweight. She is probably 18 1/2" (once you take the fat off) and I would say she weighs at least 45 lbs. I was in a setting that I honestly could not say anything. Believe me, I will the next time I talk to the owner. The dog had a table top for a back. It was very sad to see this no necked dog waddle around. I own her sister and Lash is 19 1/2" tall and weighs between 33 and 35 lbs (max).

I just can not get this off of my mind, especially since I just got done working Lash and I can't imagine her sister trying to jump up for something.

Back out to train my skinny dogs.

Truck + Trailer + Mick= Sheep

2009-06-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

I made friends with a guy who has Aussies and he gave me 4 new sheep. They are hair sheep and smaller than my wool sheep. That means less feed. :-) I have been looking and looking and looking for new sheep because I hated my last group. Karen and I swapped sheep a while back because we both hated our own groups. After a while she took my old group to auction and we butchered 2 of the group she gave me and we are going to butcher the other 2. We use the meat for dog food. The group I have were not doggie, but they would come towards me and run me over. I had gone ass over tea kettle one too many times.

It will be fun to work a fresh group of sheep that have barely been worked.

On another note, I am really sad that Mick is getting old and this is probably his last year of working stock full time. I do not have a dog that parallels Mick "yet". He is the type of dog that you can grab and never worry about anything. He will work whatever is put in front of him and I never fear of him not being able to do the job. I have not had a dog come along that has the power that he does and the total natural ability, not even his daughter Havoc. I think I have been spoiled with him as I have such high standards for a true working dog now. Maybe one of my Rock kids will turn out like Mick. I am tending to really gravitate to the cowdog lines now. Some of the "sheepdog" bred BCs are too soft and don't have enough forward for me. I have just learned over the years what I like and look for in a dog. That kind of dog does not always make a great trial dog because of their presence. I remember walking in the field with Mick's dad and the sheep would just bolt to the other side as we walked in the gate. I have had a hard time shedding with Mick, until I learned some tricks, because I could not get him close to the sheep without them feeling his presence. I once had a great shedding lesson with Suzy McCallister and she taught me a lot on how to work Mick in the shedding ring.

I "Think" I Have Gone Crazy

2009-06-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

OK, there are some things that you just can not pass up on, but some of these things make me think I am going crazy.

Karen, a friend of mine, called me yesterday to chat and of course she just had to plant a seed in my head. I will back up a few months ago to where it all began. I went over to Karen's place to take pictures of her dogs for her. She brought out this one female, Mollie, and I was blown away by her from the start. She has power, style and class. I usually am not drawn to smooth coats, but I am seeing more and more that I like. Karen told me that Mollie was bred to Rock at the time. So, Mollie has her puppies, but I never really ask about them. That is until a couple of weeks ago. I asked what she had etc. Well, Murray, Connor and I were over there to work dogs and do some other stuff and I let the pups come out so that Connor could play with them. There was this one male, black and whit with tons of ticking, that kept catching my eye. OK, so this is totally not the "type" of look I usually am drawn to, but this one boy kept making me look at him. Come to find out that is the one she likes too. Now, back to current the present and the idea Karen planted in my head. She said that she would like me to take him. There is something special about this boy and I didn't say NO, but I didn't say yes. I was sweeping the dog room today and thinking about this little seed in my head. Somehow it got some water on it and it has started to sprout. I called Karen back and talked to her about it. I have already bred Skarlet to Rock and was really planning on keeping a puppy from that litter as I have officially turned Havoc over to Murray. So, right now Karen is going to take the pup with her on the road this weekend and if she comes back with him then I may try him out. My ultimate decision will be made after Skarlet has her puppies.

Mollie is the tri smooth coat and Rock is the rough black and white. Mollie is winning in Pro-Novice and Rock is placing in the top of Open with some wins under his belt.

Now on to the other crazy thing that we are doing. We have started raising ducks here on the ranch. I started out with 6 ducklings, but a hawk took one away during the day. I found a gal about 30 minutes from me that raises lovely ducks. I went to her place yesterday and picked up 3 more. I got a new female that is about a year old. I got her because she is already laying and I don't think mine will lay until more into the summer. She is a fawn color with a white collar around her neck. I also got 2 Cayuga/Runner crosses. The male is already starting to get his green feathers on his head and both of them have really nice black bodies.

I also took a picture of the duck coop that Murray built. We have x-pens connected to it now, but we should have the fencing done this weekend.

As I was taking pictures of the ducks today we had a storm rolling in. It turned into one of the craziest storms I have seen. HUGE winds came in and everything was blowing, then the skies opened up and this massive rain started. It was like someone literally took a bucket and poured it down on us. Along with the rain came the pea size hale. When everything was combined you could not hear a thing. The funny thing is that Connor slept right through it and never woke up.

Here are some pictures from the front of our house. This is when the clouds were moving in. Once they were here it was black. The sound of the thunder along with the lightning was outstanding. I love to stand on our "covered" deck and watch the storm.

Murray's Herding Lesson

2009-05-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well, Murray went out for his first real herding lesson. It works better if someone else teaches him about herding. :-) Havoc has had training on her, so it made it nice that Murray didn't have to work on outruns etc. He was able to learn the things he needed to have for himself. At first Havoc wasn't wanting to listen to Murray as she is used to my voice and inflection in her commands. I also think it had to do with Murray learning what to do and she was kind of taking advantage of the situation. After about 30 minutes I think it really started to click in his head as things were going much smoother. He will keep practicing as he is entered in Novice at Sheep Thrillz.

Murray and Karen went to fix her mower and I worked Mick (Havoc's dad) and Skarlet. I am entering Sheep Thrillz, so I need to fine tune some work, like hitting panels straight on. With Skarlet I am always working on her bending and giving to pressure.

Here are some pictures of Havoc during Murray's lesson.

I kept thinking Murray's head was going to explode because he was trying to process all of the information that was given to him.

This is a lovely view from Karen's place.

Great 3 Day Weekend

2009-05-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

I have to say that this past Memorial Day weekend has been probably the best one that we have had in MANY years. Nope, we did not go anywhere and stayed home doing things. We hate to travel on this weekend as I got in a major car accident on Memorial Day many years ago.

Skarlet came in heat and it just happened that it was breeding time right over the weekend. I started the weekend by taking Skar over to Karen's on Friday and got a successful tie with Rock.

Murray, Connor and I got up on Saturday and started working on the ranch. He has been very busy building the Tahj Duckhall for our ducks. He had gotten it to a point where they could move in during the night, but were in a temporary area during the day. They now have in and out access during the day and are locked up at night. We are using 3 x-pens connected to the coop for their run area. We will permanently fence it in maybe this weekend.

I did tons of weeding this weekend. Boy was that tiring, but well worth it as the ranch is coming together and looking very nice. Of course the dogs got to do tons of running throughout the day as we were working outside. Connor is great at entertaining them in the field. He loves to stand on top of the A-frame (young dog height) and throw the ball with the Chuck-It for the dogs. I never have to worry about where Connor is because I just look for the swarm of dogs. I did catch Connor riding down the A-frame in a very small (just big enough for his butt) wagon. He is for sure all boy!

I went back to Karen's place on Saturday evening and had a beer as Skar and Rock did their thing. I then did a little training with Havoc and put Fusion on sheep for the first time. Oh yes, she has been on sheep before, but that was her letting herself into our sheep. I wanted to put her on more puppy sheep, so it was perfect at Karen's. Fusion was keen and her tail was down. She circled them some. singled some off did a very small fetch and then we quit after she circled again. Not to bad for an 8 month old squirt. We then went out and got a bite to eat and a drink.

Sunday was work all day. Ok the dogs played all day by running and swimming, but the humans worked. I was very tired by the time Sunday night rolled around, but feeling very accomplished.

Monday was spent doing stuff around the house. The problem with working outside all of the time and also having a 3 year old is the house will get neglected. Murray started the morning off by ripping out my office carpet (YUCK)!!!!! When we got the house it was 7/8 carpet. The house also had white, flat paint on all of the walls. We have been steadily taking carpet out and laying Pergo and tile along with painting the walls. If you live on a ranch with dogs and then tear your carpet out, you will never go back to carpet again. No matter how much you steam clean, you never get all of the dirt up and it settles below the pad. I am not talking about a little dirt, but tons of fine silt that the dogs track in. I feel so much cleaner without carpet in the house. I love knowing that once I clean the floors that they are completely clean.

As Murray was ripping the carpet out, I was preparing food, 7 layer salad and marinating chicken, for our BBQ that night. Karen brought Rock over again and he and Skar went on their date in the backyard. We drank and then ate some great food for dinner and then had awesome strawberries for dessert along with ice cream.

I went to bed last night knowing that we got tons of stuff done on the ranch and also having fun.

Tonight we are headed to Karen's because we have talked Murray into running Havoc in herding. I am entering the team at the Sheep Thrillz trial in July. I will run Mick in Pro-Novice there. Even thought he is capable of running in Open, his body is getting old and I think it would be asking too much of him at this age. So, Murray will have a lesson with Karen tonight. It is better for someone else to teach besides wife, especially in the beginning stages of his training. Havoc is trained and now needs to learn to work with Murray. Oh how fun this will be. I will for sure get pictures.

I will also take some pictures of the duck coop (Tahj Duckhall) today.

RR Skarlet x CBK Rock

2009-05-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Skarlet finally came into heat. I will head over to Karen Child's place tomorrow and throughout the weekend to breed Skar to Karen's CBK Rock. I am very lucky that I only live about 15 or 20 minutes from Karen, so I will just drive back and forth.

I can not wait for these puppies to arrive. This cross should produce some very powerful and stylish offspring with outstanding temperaments.

I also get to see the litter that Rock sired with Karen's Mollie. They are around 7 weeks old now. That is the fun age.

I will update everyone on the litter to come.

Emotional Week

2009-05-15T19:14:00.001-07:00

I went down to California with my son and 2 dogs (Kate and Singe) to visit family. It was a nice week down there, despite the weather.

Risk went on and off of her food towards the end of me being gone. Murray was home taking care of all of the dogs and I told him that it was probably because she had morning sickness. She had been bred and was almost half way until her due date. Some of our girls get some morning sickness about that time. Well it was not morning sickness as I found out when I got home.

I got home on Friday and started mowing our agility field as it had not been mowed in over a week. I always let the dogs run with me, so everyone was out. I noticed that Risk was not her normal self and again chalked it up to her being pregnant. She was showing no other signs, at the moment. After I was done the dogs came up on the deck and I let Risk in the house where she went and laid on a dog bed in the corner of the family room. Totally not like Risk. A little later I fed the dogs and Risk picked at her food. Still no major signs of anything going on.

The next morning I noticed some spots on Risk's dog bed and by then she put herself in her crate for breakfast. I called her out and as she jumped down she was leaking "stuff" out of her vulva (first time this happened). We got the thermometer out and I held her as Murray took her temp. Murray instantly said "this is not good". She had spiked a fever of 104.5. The vet office was open in 10 minutes, so I called as soon as they opened. Made an appointment and went in right away. My vet looked at her and then we took her to ultrasound where it was deemed she had open Pyometra. Open Pyometra is way better than closed Pyo because in Open the puss and fluid drains out and in closed Pyo it stays in the uterus and that needs emergency spay asap.

We treated Risk with antibiotics, pain pills, and anti inflammatory meds along with Sub Q fluids. She seemed as she was getting better and when it was time to give her her evening fluids

I put her out to go potty first. She was stumbling around and had a hard time getting up the stairs. When I laid her down on the dog bed she was shaking and I called my vet, who was now on call. I rushed her in to the vet office as my vet was meeting me there. I took her temp before I left and it was 94.4 degrees. She was in septic shock. We ran another CBC and her levels had improved a "little" since the morning. My vet put in an IV catheter and I took her home with me and the tons of stuff. She was put into a crate on a warming blanket and blankets on top of her. She was on IV fluids all weekend and then on Monday I took her back into the vet to be checked. She was improving a little, but not enough to take the catheter out. We kept her on it until Wednesday and we decreased her fluids from Monday to Wednesday. She was now eating and drinking on her own. The catheter was removed on Wednesday and she continued on her meds. It seemed as if she were improving little by little and it was a slow process. That was until yesterday. She seemed quiet, but when Murray got home she cuddled with him, so I just thought she was a little depressed from not hanging out with the other dogs. I took her temp as she was still on a temp check schedule. She had spiked another fever, but not as bad as before. I put her on Sub Q fluids before bed and put her in a crate next to my bed (again). She was leaking a little fluid from her vulva, but we knew this would happen as she healed. Well I got up MANY times during the night to take her potty and check her temps. Her temp went down, but the fluid kept coming out. I called my vet in this morning and told her what was going on. She had me continue with Sub Q fluids and now I had to put her on 1 more antibiotic because her culture came back positive with e-coli.

I am happy to say that tonight Risk is doing good and she ate everything. I took her out on a leash while I fed horses and sheep and she was super happy. I know from the past not to let my guard down, but it is great to seem by Risky Bisky feeling better and have the sparkle back in her eyes.

I have not posted any of this because I have been totally drained and also no time to write as I have had to take care of Risk, Connor and the other dogs.

Here is a picture of Risk at her worst. She is laying on a heating pad with blankets on top of her. She is also hooked up to an IV.

The next 2 pictures are of Risk on Wednesday, right before we went to the vet to get her catheter out. She was feeling good then.

Risk snuggling with Murray last night when she did not feel good. Oh poor girly, but good husband!

Now I keep my fingers crossed that she keeps on improving and doesn't do any more crashes.

Happy 11th Birthday Kate

2009-04-26T21:10:00.001-07:00

Kate turned 11 years old today. Wow, look at where Kate has gotten me to.

I remember searching for a certain type of Border Collie and I found a guy named Jeff Larkin up in Oregon. This was before internet, so many phone calls were made. Once I decided that the Lyn x Wisp cross was for me, I then had to wait about 8 months for the breeding to take place and then as you know wait for the puppies to arrive. I have saved the original pictures I was sent of the litter (via snail mail) when the puppies were 5 weeks old. I was teaching Elementary School back then and it just happened to turn out that the puppies were ready for their new homes the day school got out. I headed up to Oregon with a friend and her husband as they too were getting a puppy.

I remember going into the barn where the puppies were. Jeff let the puppies out and I immediately was drawn to Kate. She was the one puppy that would find small objects to toss up in the air and she did this over and over again. I had first pick of the litter, so I made sure that I looked at all of the puppies. I kept being drawn back to Kate as she just had this lovely personality. Kate it was and I have never regretted that choice as she is my "Heart Dog".

Kate brought me into the world of herding and has taught me so much about agility. Not to mention that she is the foundation for our Border Collie line. She is also responsible for me moving up to Oregon as I ended up moving onto the ranch where I got Kate and managed the ranch and their Border Collies. This is also where I got Mick from.

Kate is still Queen of the pack, but she has softened (for the good) over the years. She still throws her toys up in the air and loves to play with litter objects, which she has passed on to some of her kids etc.

Kate has accomplished a lot in her 11 years. She brought me through the beginning of ISDS type of herding and started in Novice and ended her career in Pro-Novice. If I knew then what I know now about herding she would have easily made an Open dog. She has earned her ADCH and MACH and her Bronze Lifetime Achievement Award in USDAA. She has been in many finals of both AKC and USDAA Agility and was 5th place at the 2003 AKC Nationals. She has had Animal Planet fly out to do a special on her (video below). She has many generations of kids, grandkids, and great grandkids living on through her. She had 3 litters of puppies, 1st by Imp. Mirk, 2nd by Brighteye Foreign Exchange (Quid) and her last litter by Ignited OffOn Sooner Or Later (Sooner).

Most of all Kate is the love of my life (in the dog world) and I would go to earth's end for her.

This is Kate and her sisters when they were 5 weeks old.

Kate looking so adorable at 10 weeks old

Kate's special that Animal Planet did on her

Kate at 11 years old. A little grey in the face, but still acts like a young'n

Kate still gives all of the dogs a run (dive) for their money when it comes to swimming

Happy Birthday Spark and Frosty Paws

2009-04-14T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Spark's 1st Birthday. Spark is from the 2nd Lash x Sooner litter and is here with us for training. We had to celebrate his birthday and what better way to do that, but with a round of Frosty Paws. Each dog had their own way of eating it. Some went to a quiet corner, some went to a crate or some just chewed the entire thing (Mick and Singe) right on the spot.Here are some recipes for home made Frosty Paws.

1 banana

4 ounces of yogurt

2 oz of water

Mix ingredients in food processor or blender until smooth. Poor into paper cups or ice cube

trays and freeze.

32 oz of vanilla yogurt

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp peanut butter

1 large banana or 1 large jar of banana baby food

Follow mixing and freezing directions from above.

1 quart vanilla yogurt

1 large banana

2 tbsp peanut butter

3 tbsp honey or molasses

You can also hide a cookie, bacon bits or even a carrot in the cup before you freeze it.

Filming a Commercial

2009-04-11T08:22:00.000-07:00

As I was doing chores outside yesterday I heard a hovering helicopter. Our property is on the gorge of the Crooked River and we own part of the gorge and then our property continues onto the other side. I looked over there and saw 2 Jeeps racing back and forth and the helicopter flying really low. I finally saw that the helicopter had a HD camera mounted on the front and figured out that they were filming a Jeep commercial.

I decided to go on a hunt to find out if it was true as I knew where they were filming from. Sure enough there were signs for the filming company and I looked them up on line. This company does a lot of the commercials for Toyota, Nissan etc.

So, now I will have to keep my eyes on the t.v. for a new Jeep commercial filmed right on the back side of our property.

Our property was used to film the movie The Postman years back.

Symbol For Pet Friendly

2009-04-05T07:58:00.001-07:00

Apparently there is now a Highway sign that will tell us about pet friendly areas. Here is the link that tells all about it.

www.hiwaydog.com

Yum, Yum Yum!!!!

2009-04-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to have a butcher near us that allows us to take the remains after they process animals. I have a freezer full of beef carcass and the dogs are loving it. We have ribs, hip bones, femurs, tendons etc. I put the dogs out in the backyard with enough bones for everyone. No one had a problem and each one found their own bone. Even Trouble (12 weeks old) found his bone and settled in by himself. Trouble goes to his new home next week.

Here are some pictures of the dogs going to town on their treat.

Ducks, Ducks and More Ducks

2009-04-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well, we are the proud new owners of 6 Indian Runner ducklings. They are inside one of our outbuildings. They are in one of our stock tanks with pine shavings and a heat lamp. They will remain here for the next 4 to 5 weeks, until they get their feathers in. By then Murray should have the duck coop built. :-)

I have read that you should wait until the ducks are about 4 or 5 months of age before you work dogs on them.

It will be a fun project. They are layers and will lay around 300 eggs per year per duck.

So Proud

2009-03-28T16:53:00.001-07:00

I am so proud of both Hillcrest What a Wake Up Call (Reveille) and Hillcrest Zest (Zesty) for their performance at the AKC Nationals. On Day 1 Barb Davis and Zesty were on the winning State Team (Northwest). Zesty finished in 3rd Place overall!!!

Today the dogs had 2 rounds, Jumpers With Weaves and Standard. Reveille (Kate x Quid) is sitting in 19th out of 123 dogs in the 24" class. Reveille had an 8th place finish in JWW this afternoon.

Zesty (Kate x Mirk) is running in the 26" class. She is sitting in 8th out of 23 after both rounds.

Tomorrow is the Hybrid class.

Will wait for scores from tomorrow now.

Trouble

2009-03-20T14:57:00.001-07:00

All of the Havoc x Singe puppies have been leaving to their new homes. Half left when they were 8 weeks and then 2 left these last couple of days. Trouble is the only puppy that is looking for a home. I have been enjoying spending time with him after his littermates have left. He is a very sweet boy that loves attention. He has been running with the big dogs off and on lately. He goes running in the front field with all of our other dogs. He tracks the ball about 30 feet and will retrieve it back to me. This is all amongst the big dogs. When he is hanging in the backyard he does not bother the older dogs and he and Fusion (3/4 sister to Trouble) love to play. He seems to be very mature for his age.

We will have fun with him until he finds the right home.

I'm Baaaackkkk

2009-03-14T17:54:00.000-07:00

Things got a bit hectic here, so I didn't blog. The Havoc x Singe puppies have been leaving to their new homes. We have 2 more leave on Wednesday and Thursday. Now that they can escape the puppy pen I will be glad that they go to their new owners. We have one male that is still looking for his forever home. Trouble (puppy name) is looking for a performance/working home only. He is very driven and needs to work. He is crate trained and has started on basic training. Boy does he love to work.

Fusion, Jen x Singe, has been progressing nicely through puppyhood. She is now 6 months old and is lovely. She LOVES to work, but also loves to come in and cuddle with us. We have been working on her not helping herself to the sheep. We now have her where she will lay outside of the sheep pen while we do chores. Murray has one heck of an agility and herding dogs on his hands. I think I am a little jealous, AGAIN. Last year I stole his Lash to trial. Who knows if I will giver her back this year. Lash and I made it to the DAM finals at Cynosports and placed up in the top.

I was over at Karen Child's place and took some great pictures of her dogs. We are breeding our Skarlet to Karen's Rock. www.hillcrestbordercollies.com/litter.cfm This litter should produce some very working dogs.

Mick, Havoc and Skarlet also had a great time working at Karen's.

Life has gotten busy lately because Connor is now playing soccer and I am the coach. It is hilarious to watch them play.

I will take new pictures of Trouble and post them.

Puppies are 7 weeks old

2009-02-26T13:07:00.003-08:00

Oh how the puppies have blossomed in the past week and a half. They are very playful and love to explore new things. They have been playing with Fusion and Rosie a lot. Fusion and Rosie are from our Jen x Singe litter and Jen is Havoc's mom. These girls are 3/4 sisters to the puppies and absolutely LOVE the puppies. Rosie is available to a performance or active home.

The first puppy, Mayhem, leaves for his new home on Monday.

Riot

Chaos

Ravage

Mischief

Mayhem

Trouble

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