More Favorite Quotes

My husband said he needs more space. So I locked him outside. Roseanne



If love is blind-marriage must be like having a stroke. Danny DeVito from the movie, War of the Roses



Never try to outsmart a woman, unless you are another woman. William Lyon Phelps



Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative. Morecai Siegal

Border Collies and Books

The last couple of days have been pretty sweet, doing errands, going to the new library, the Lucia M. Tryon Branch, now located on Langley Avenue, and dog training. The temps are perfect, overcast and warm, but not hot. At the library there were only a few people, mostly men, not sure why, out of work maybe. The new book section yielded many books that I have been anxious to read:


A Little Big Life, A Memoir of a Joyful Dog – Dean Koontz

The Power of Respect – Deborah Norville

Knockout: Interviews with Doctors Who are Curing Cancer – Suzanne Somers

Half Broke Horses – Jeannette Walls (featured in Oprah magazine)

Multiple Bles8ings - Jon and Kate Gosselin

Hulk Hogan: My Life Outside the Ring

I have already finished the books by Hulk Hogan and Kate Gosselin. Both show a determined effort to look past all their troubles and believe in God’s continued wisdom and help.

Dog training today was nothing short of wonderful. I piled all the dog training paraphernalia into my Subaru and drove down to the Equestrian center to train. With Joanne Permowitz’ help, Levi and I are gradually mastering the Utility exercises. Levi is understanding the directed jumping exercise, a major breakthrough. Now for him to conquer the go-back. I put the target outside the ring barrier and he viewed that as an opportunity to dismantle the ring gate. He absolutely would not listen to my command to turn and sit. I may have to use a flexi. Thanks to judge Greg Feathers for his input on the glove turns I have a dog who fixates less on the gloves and more on the turn, until I give the direction to fetch a glove. Of course there is still the problem with Levi wanting to kill the glove, something we can learn aside from the Utility glove exercise. Signals are becoming fun for him. To see all these things finally coming together just about makes me want to cry for joy. Will it carry over to the ring, a place where his leader (me) is a bundle of nerves? Levi is so sensitive to my emotions. I must learn to be confident in the ring. We will eventually be a competitive team of two. Meanwhile we are having fun training together again and that has made all the difference to our time together.

Side Release Buckles on Training Collars

This is my improved version of a  Sprenger training collar.  I inserted a side release buckle.  No more fumbling with the prongs.  If you are interested in buying one contact me at clvangee2@aol.com.

Another Step Towards the UD goal

This weekend we came another step closer to obtaining Levi's UD. He earned the first leg of his Graduate Novice title. We have some things to work on, specifically and always, heeling. He did a nice drop, the longest distance we have done, both recalls over the broad jump and with the dumbell were great. However, he is not one to forget that the judge has his dumbell. When he saw the steward walk toward me with it in his hand his little eyes got big. She could have had a steaming hot steak in her hand. His ears pricked up and he rose up a bit on his front toes. "Oh, boy. Now we can have fun!" He seemed to say. I am still working on the handover of the dumbell to the judge after the recall. He is so preoccupied with it leaving my hands he can't think. I remember a trick Sylvia Bishop taught for this specific problem. You teach the dog that you too have a dumbell, hidden under your shirt. If the dog thinks there are two dumbells he isn't as heartbroken over giving one up. I will be working on this. So if you see me sporting a big lump under my shirt you'll know what is going on.
Levi should be entered in the Rally Advanced ring. He is under control and I think it is time. Maybe we need a weekend of just Rally for both dogs? $$ With Graduate Novice to finish, Novice B still available to us and his debut into the Open ring I'd better start playing the lottery again.

Under the Old Oak Tree

Although not officially summer the temps are warming up, making dog training a daily challenge. Fortunately an old oak tree spreads its ample limbs over a wide area in the back yard. The challenge each day is to confine my obedience ring within the shade the oak tree provides. I usually train about 11am in the morning. The dogs look forward to our training time because it usually involves treats and toys. In my mind I would think they’d say to themselves, “Oh, crap. It’s too hot to do that stuff. Go away!” Amazingly the competitive spirit between them helps me. If one is in the kennel, he is jealous of the other being trained. So when it is his turn he’s willing to fork over obedience exercises I request of him in exchange for a piece of the action. It has also become apparent that one dog watching another do a certain skill set helps the younger dog to learn. Kind of like, “Oh, so that’s what she wants!” To motivate me to train I sit down in the shade with some Front and Finish articles I’ve saved over the years. It always helps to have another perspective on problems that are universal in the sport. Usually within ten minutes I get excited to try something that has worked with a more experienced trainer.
Notes from a recent training session:
Levi-start with jumping which he loves, work more on fronts with chute and close work; “Get close”-with collar old fashioned way; doing great on “around” command, doing poorly on “about turn”. Wide-lazy, used food throw as well as Sylvia Bishops’ method. Stand much better, work on stand-sit-down stays. Work on broad jump, running over/past like the old days.
Mickey-doesn’t work well in heat, start over with retrieve, be more consistent with my training; amazing-he is doing distance signals with River.

Blue Tubular Peyote Necklace

I had made a green odd count tubular peyote necklace when I still lived in Oregon. I received a lot of nice comments but several people asked if I had one in blue to sell. So recently I made this one. Sure enough, someone asked if I had one in purple. Currently I have an order in with Fire Mountain Gems for some purple/violet beads and Szarovski cystals to make one in purple. Hmm. I guess I should make one in red too. Future tubular peyote necklaces I make need to have some more variation, maybe dangles off the side and bottom or a mix of strung beads and tubular peyote. Either way this is another easy project. I used size 8 beads and some large triangle beads that I had in my stash. As luck would have it I ran out of large beads and had to order more for the last 2". Oh, well.

After this project I found instructions in the magazine Step by Step Beading for a Russian Spiral necklace. Along with netting that is easy and fun to do and opens up a lot of possibilites for variations. A new friend is asking about bead crochet necklaces and bracelets. I have done them in the past but need to gain more confidence in finishing the ends. Should I use cones or weave the ends together? I also tried to teach myself the African helix stitch and decided it was something I should save for another day. It IS beautiful so that is on my list of things to learn along with tubular Herringbone.

Dogs and Jewelry

In between dog training I've had time to do more beading. My goal is to post the results of my work along with a description of the products used.

This isn't the greatest picture but it shows some variation from a pattern (Fanfare Earrings) I saw in an issue of the magazine Step By Step Beading. I used Nymo thread size D and next time would use a smaller size. The Delicas and size 8 beads were on hand as were the 4mm Szarovski crystals (color Lt Siam) that I purchased a long time ago at the Bead Fest in Portland, Oregon. It was a fun project even if the heavier thread made it a challenge to go back through some of the beads. I used the Brick Stitch to make this.

My Optimistic Border Collies

The morning ritual for my three Border Collies starts with them greeting each day as a new adventure, an opportunity to explore every inch of the yard as if it somehow miraculously changed overnight. They run out of the kennel, clearly in hope that I have changed something in their world during the night. Every morning I watch Levi and Mickey, the two youngest Border Collies, as they sniff and search and then appear a bit disappointed and dumbfounded. Maybe a few more acorns fell from the towering oak tree that looms near the kennel or the wild rabbits may have left some compact, little balls of poop under the leaves. After realizing that there are no changes Mickey then pounces on his indestructible eight inch ball while Levi chases after him with a tug toy or pine cone in his mouth. But old River’s ritual is exact, punctual and dependable entertainment. He starts each day by pushing past me out of the kennel to hopefully fulfill his lifelong dream, that is, to chase and catch squirrels. These critters are more numerous than the fuzzy grey squirrels that ran along my fence line in Oregon. In northern Florida there are more of them and their nests are situated high up in the nook of the two trees situated near the kennel, and the forest on other side of the property line. Poor arthritic River, who any other time can’t see an obedience Utility signal across the ring, who limps alongside me when I say “heel”, tears across the acre to the back corner to terrorize the squirrels. Occasionally River gets lucky and one squirrel skitters swiftly across the sand and pine needle covered yard with its tail up and zips up the nearest tree, then uses the branch highway to disappear into the woods. This optimistic game River plays never looses its appeal for him. Each morning he attacks the fence line growling with a tough James Cagney sneer, “Why you dirty rat!”

"I had two border collies, and no sane person wants three border collies" - Jon Katz

Border Collies and Books

Last night I finished Jon Katz’ book "Izzy and Lenore, Two Dogs, An Unexpected Journey, and Me,". It is so well written, drawing tears during the reading of the Hospice visits and smiles while looking at the black and white pictures at the beginning of each chapter. This morning I went to his web sites, www.bedlamfarm.com and www.photosbyjonkatz.com. The pictures show an unusual eye for detail and color. Forget the writing, Jon, show us the hundreds and hundreds of photos you mention taking during the writing of the book.
It was interesting to note that Jon has links to both the compliments and complaints about him on his main web site. While I’m sad that a movie about Jon and his dogs will ruin this wonderful breed I can’t put the man down for loving a breed that is both intelligent and loving. We all live by learning from our mistakes and he is no exception. How he handles the complaints and attacks against him is his business. My “business” is reading his books and enjoying the fantasy of the picture he is drawing in his words. I love his dogs along with him as he describes the same Border Collie traits I see in my three and will overlook, as I’m sure other readers will, the sometimes human traits he gives them. It is unfortunate that people will see the upcoming movie and read his books and take for gospel that all Border Collies are gentle, quiet, hard working beasts. In reality, from my so humble experience, they are indeed those qualities but also do NOT do well in an environment which does not allow them to work. They must have a job and being sedentary in a small house can make them frustrated and future candidates for the local shelter. At some point I’d like to see Jon address the problems he dealt with getting his rehomed dogs used to being house dogs…details, Jon, details. The public needs to see this breed is not for the sedentary. But if you are looking for a creature to help you lose weight, meet new people and introduce you to the worlds of herding, agility, obedience, tracking then this might be the breed for you. But be prepared for a dog that gives new meaning to the word “power naps”. They are the Donald Trump of the dog world.

Border Collie-Levi

A once in a lifetime dog!!

Disney, Foreclosures and Home Sweet Home

Figuring out the cheapest way to see Disneyworld can be pretty complicated. As a Florida resident you get a discount on ticket prices. With AAA there is a bit more. Still it was a pretty expensive trip. Although Disney is hurting for customers they still insist on dividing the parks up so you have to pay to see each individual area per day or buy a “Hopper” pass so you can go wherever you want on the same day. I paid $102.00 for a 2 day pass which allowed me to see the Magic Kingdom (as in “The Castle”) and Epcot. My friend and I went to the following places:
Epcot
Spaceship Earth - the Globe at the entrance
Mission Space - (good but we opted for the Green ride-barf bags were prominent)
Test Track - a good thrill, a roller coaster in a car
The Seas - always interesting and a great learning tool
The Land - ho hum
China - a good 360 degree movie
O Canada - another good 360 degree movie

Magic Kingdom
Walt Disney World Railroad - a good way to see the park as the train goes around the edge of the park and stops at various locations
Swiss Family Treehouse - ho hum
The Enchanted Tiki Room - it has been changed, too short, not as funny
Pirates of the Caribbean - did they shorten the ride? I almost fell getting into the boat. We were herded in like cattle.
Big Thunder Mtn Railroad - a roller coaster ride, pretty tame or I wouldn’t have gone.
The Haunted Mansion - after 3 to 4 visits I’ve finally had my fill. It’s still good.
Stitch’s Great Escape - OMG stupid
Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor - warning. They pick audience members and make jokes based on the audience. My friend was picked..not funny.
Country Bear Jamboree - I remember the days when it was a long wait to get in as it was so popular and the program was longer, funnier and more entertaining.

So all in all it was about $6.38/ride. Eek. The hotel, a Ramada Inn about 2 miles east of Disney, was $59/night and included a $5/night “resort” fee. AAA said it had only heard of that in New Orleans. The highway 192 strip is very commercial with restaurants, malls and big flashy signs. It behooves visitors to eat off the beaten path. Needless to say we didn’t eat at Disney either as it was too expensive. There was actually someone at Epcot on the way out who asked if we had eaten or purchased anything while there. “Nope”, we replied. We went to Epcot on a Thursday and pretty much had the place to ourselves. The Magic Kingdom caters more to children so was busier on Friday but still no waiting in lines. With the bad economy those days are over. Upon returning home I saw in the local paper that Disney is laying off employees. One sign of the downturn in the Disney economy was more litter and debris around the parks. In the old days that would never happen. Everything was spic and span back then.

To break things up we opted not to drive I-75 back from Orlando and took the highway 19 road to highway 98 to Pensacola. It was really disturbing to see so many houses and businesses along the coast that were for sale, lease, or rent. Also, since the last time I had driven there, the beach had eroded in several places. People who had beach front property were really close to the water now. In some places I foresee highway 98 being moved north because the beach has totally disappeared. Imagine buying a house on the beach a long time ago just to lose it to the weather? Sad.

We arrived to cold weather in Pensacola, 42 degrees. That was hard to get used to after 60-80 degrees in Orlando. Supposedly spring is just around the corner here but I think people are just playing with me. It continues to be below freezing at night. It doesn’t matter. The dogs and I are together again and all is well.

Retire a Border Collie??

Born around June of 2000, my brown and white Border Collie, River, is now eight years old and retired. What does “retire” mean to a dog? For a show dog it means no more road trips, obedience classes with hours of drilling and most importantly, a life of just being a companion. Its my time to give back to him. He gave me his devotion, he tried to understand the myriad human requests I made of him. Now that he has been diagnosed with a bone spur and arthritis in his right foot his days of heeling by my side in the obedience and rally ring are over. His energy, his love for life is NOT over. With a new diet, 1.5 acres to run on, more fresh air, vitamins and pain killers, he is by no means relegated to a future life as a couch potato. Which brings me to the original question. How do you retire an energetic dog? He still needs a job, he needs rides to shows, classes and walks along the beach on the soft sand. He needs to feel involved. Don’t we all?

Training through a problem

In November of 2007 I entered one of my Border Collies, Levi, in a Rally trial for his first Rally Advanced leg. It turned out to be one of the most embarrassing moments in my dog training life. The minute he stepped into the ring and I took off the lead he went wild, crashing into signs, leaping over the jumps, barely paying any attention to me. He flunked. Big time. He had previously earned a perfect 100 and first place for his final Rally Novice leg. What was his problem? At home I was able to narrow the problem down to one thing, one object that was not in the Rally Novice ring-the jumps. For some reason they made him nervous. He began to pant, offer behaviors (sit, down, spin) and in a panic would leap over a jump as I walked up to it, pulling me along with him. I tried to calm him down, tried food, tried simply walking up to the jump slowly and asking him to sit in front of it without panicking. He would not listen. My extremely intelligent dog who had never had agility training, was adamant-approach a jump, run over it and take off. There were no options in his mind. While brainstorming the problem, something a friend said to me stuck in my mind. We forget that when we have training problems that sometimes we need to go back to the beginning--in some cases way back. Fast forward to today. Levi and I are in a new environment with plenty of time to work through problems. I took out the high jump, set it to 8” and walked Levi on lead up to the jump. He remained calm and stepped over the jump but he refused to return to heel position afterwards, going wild. He became frustrated. I became frustrated. We both were getting upset and hot. I broke off our training for some play time. He sat 8’ from the jump, I straddled him, focusing him on his big ball on the other side of the jump and told him to get it. Wow-he loved this game. When he got the ball he was released to play-no retrieve necessary. I put him in the nearby kennel and took younger Mickey out to train. Was it my method of introducing the high jump that was wrong? Mickey calmly walked along with me, stepped over the jump and returned to my side. We played with the ball and repeated the exercise again. No problem. I rewarded him, returned him to the kennel and brought out River to try the same exercise. The difference this time was that I had food in my hand while heeling River up to and over the jump. He stepped over the jump and then bolted in front of me to get some food. This is my HIT CDX dog! What part of heel didn’t he understand? I was beginning to realise that food was a deterrant, too much of a distraction. This should be a simple exercise, walk calmly up to the jumps, responding to a heel command, say over to teach the dog to step over the jump and then heel to teach the dog to return calmly to heel position. This is an exercise I had used on my HIT Golden Retriever back in the late 1970’s to introduce jumping. Now I was using it as a way to ultimately guide the dog over the Rally Advanced jump and return immediately to heel before moving on to the next station. Levi was anxiously pacing in the kennel, jealously awaiting a chance to show how well he could do the exercise. I released River back to the kennel and brought Levi out again. I was determined to get to the bottom of this problem, stay calm, help Levi trust me. We could conquer this. I put the 6’ lead on and started over. Same problem, food-no food, leash-no leash, toys-no toys-same problem. I was getting a bit ticked off. Levi is very intelligent. I remember a Sylvia Bishop seminar where she advised to get down to the dog’s level and show him what you want. We walked up to the jump on a 6’ lead, he pulled-I said NO! Wait-this isn’t a jumping problem, this is, as Bobbie Anderson teaches, a “RESPECT” issue. Levi understands don’t pull me out the door. It was an ah-ha moment. We walked up to the jump, he pulled. I stepped sideways into him. We made it up to the jump. He gingerly put one foot over. I reached down and picked up the foot and put it back on my side. He tried three times to put his feet over the jump. Each time I gently said no I would reach down and set the foot back. We turned around and walked up to the jump, this time working on our respect issue. On the second try Levi walked calmly up to the jump, gingerly walked right up to the board and looked up to me, waiting for his next command.
At that moment there was so much love for my dog. His willingness to keep trying warmed my heart. My frustration slipped off my shoulders. I smiled and quietly praised him. He finally understood what I was asking of him. No food was needed. Many thanks to Bobbie Anderson, Sylvia Bishop, Celeste Mead and Pam Weaver.

A Happy Return

A vacation is not a vacation without my dogs. Thus this moment describes the relationship I have with my dogs upon returning from a three week trip away from them.

We were together again. We were safe. I could hug them at any time not just imagine it.
I howl in imitation.
Levi returns my howl.
His is joyful.
It is our game.
We are communicating happiness.
River has a bone in his mouth,
Like a dead cigar.
It gives him confidence.
He cannot quiet his excitement,
Without something in his mouth.
Mickey loves to bark.
Bark at nothing;
Bark at the other dogs.
They herd me.
They herd each other, A nip here or there,
To hurry the herding,
A curled lip for being rushed.
River is the adult,
The keeper of peace, the one in charge.
Levi wants to be with me.
Mickey wants to be alpha.
He cannot-he barks instead.
Mickey barks and barks!

Links to the Past

As my parents slide down the path of dementia I realize the value of “Links to the Past”, material possessions that are kept for no other reason other than to hold a memory. So I came up with the following. Not sure if it is a poem or just rambling but it speaks to me about the current situation.

Possessions:
Why do some of us need the tangible, the physical
To remember the day, the moment?
When you remove an item from your past,
The memory of the past may be released.
If you keep the item, each time you see it
You will smile and remember that day.
But when dementia comes along
Memories are fleeting.
Possessions help tether that memory,
Still wrapped around the brain.
Until dementia finally releases the line.
The rope floats in the water,
Down the stream, further and further.
Memories are gone, possessions are now meaningless.


Do Not Forget:
Questions asked, again and again.
Confusion reigns on ponies high.
Memories that come and go,
Replaced by fog or innuendo.
Clouds of thought, moments of anger.
Things remembered, things forgotten.
Did you do this, did you do that, they say.
Why must you keep telling me, I ask.
I’m not a child. I’m not a kid.
Don’t treat me like I’m stupid.
I’ll remember, I’ll forget.
The “me” is still in here.
The one you love.
Don’t treat me like a dummy.
It’s not something I can control.
The pieces of me you know are still here.
Remember forever the person you knew,
As a child, a teenager, a young adult.
The one who held you when you were sad,
The parent who laughed at all of your bad jokes.
Remember for me, my entire life
And pass on my wisdom,
Pass on to everyone you know-
The soul of everything I am.