A boy and his toy

That red ball thing that we got the boys a couple of weeks ago? It's a huge hit. Bruce has even taken to sleeping with it.

Pretty comfy looking...

Back on the "working the dogs front", there's not much happening around here. I went to the arena on Sunday as usual. Hope was his usual perfect self. This week I decided to bring Bruce along for kicks. I was prepared for chaos. I was prepared to run like the dickens.

Why are there no pictures you might ask? Well because Bruce showed absolutely no interest whatsoever in chasing sheep. Nothing. Zip. Nadda. Apparently Bruce would have much rather stayed home with Travis playing computer games and eating Cheezies. His opinion of herding has been duly noted. ;-)

The boys are on to me

Bruce and Hope have been disgustingly cute around the house this week. Stuff like cuddling on the dog bed together, sharing toys, and this little number...

Good thing we're a "liberal" household.

But here's the thing - they're on to me. I've been trying to get pictures of all this cuteness and every (and I mean EVERY) time I turn on the camera...they stop...and act like normal dogs.

Maybe they just aren't ready to go public yet.

Hope is handing out cigars

After the traditional "keep the humans up all night" canine labour, Isla decided to start actually having pups at 5:20am this morning.

Hey it's only 3:00 am, you've got time for another bad movie before I actually start to push.In the mean time, that couch is looking MIGHTY FINE...

In the end, Isla had 2 blue merle boys, a black and white girl, and black tri girl. They all look great and everyone is doing really well. Louanne will be posting individual shots of the kids on her Phantomridge Blog. In the mean time, here's a quick group shot.

I realized today that a. this is my "first" Border Collie litter and b. this looks an awful lot like an Aussie litter.

Hurry up and wait

Louanne's dog Isla was bred to Hope a couple of months ago. I told Louanne that I would come down and help whelp out the litter if she wanted. It's not that I didn't think Louanne could handle it on her own - she's a strong, confident, independant woman after all - it was just a great excuse to head down, hang out, watch pups, and work dogs.
Based on her "due date" I planned to head down tomorrow. However I got a call BRIGHT AND EARLY this morning from Louanne letting me know that Isla's temperature had dropped so I threw Hope and a bunch of stuff in the truck and took off for her place. It's a five hour drive so there was no time to waste.

So now we're here...and staring at Isla who looks AWFULLY comfortable for a dog in labour...

Well hey Lisa - thanks for coming to visit!

I have a hunch there will be plenty of opportunity to "hang out" today...

Bruce learns a new skill

Travis noticed that Bruce had quite a large bump on his left hind hip last night. He had just been vaccinated for rabies three weeks ago and a quick call to the clinic confirmed that he was indeed vaccinated on his rear left leg and that it should be looked at. So, needless to say we decided to take him in. Now, it's only been three weeks since we lost Mateo, and two weeks since Tell left.
A quick google of "lump after rabies vaccine" (ignorance IS bliss), can lead to thoughts of "holy crap", especially when you're a bit fragile. We were.
Bruce was his usual adorable self all the way to the city. Actually, looking back, I'd say he was beyond adorable, which lead to a trip to Petsmart AND G&E pharmacy. What can I say, we had time to kill, we felt bad for the poor dog, and we were weak.
The vet appointment? Well he wasn't dying of vaccinosis, it wasn't a tumor, and no limbs would be lost. Bruce has an abcess. Our best guess - Antonio or Buster poked him in the butt. Not an uncommon occurance as the cats take great pleasure in ambushing the dogs. The dogs which aren't allowed to chase cats of course.
What did Bruce learn today? How to milk the system. Look at his Haul! A cool ball that Louanne's dog Kipp is quite fond of, a fancy big Nylabone, and two beefchews. He hit the jackpot. Next he'll be figuring out some sort of payment scheme with the cats so that they can all profit next time.

Hey, I COULD have been dying...and my back end is a bit sore...oh, and thanks!

Thanks for taking one for the team Bruce!

This might not look like much BUT

It's 5:00 PM and the sun is still shining! Around these parts, that's pretty exciting stuff. The weather was also a very balmy +9 celcius today so I think I officially have a bad case of spring fever.

Early February + Spring Fever = me setting myself up for a big case of disappointment.

And then there were two

I've been looking for the right home for Tell for a few months now. I'm happy to report that he's now there, settling in nicely, and working well for his new owner. He's now on a working farm in Virginia, moving sheep on a daily basis. No more having to jump through chest deep snow for him! Thank you Tell for getting me hooked on both Border Collies, and trialling.

That leaves just Bruce and Hope here at home. It's been quite a while since I've been down to two dogs. It's kind of odd and given that we just lost Mateo, completely unexpected. I'll be looking for a new dog, but given that I want something fairly specific, I expect that I'll need to be patient.

In case you're wondering - these two? - they're not going anywhere. Bruce and Hope are definitely Keepers.