Jingle Bell Run

Hello to all! Happy Holidays.
Last weekend Piper and I did the Jingle Bell Run for arthritis here in Columbus. We signed up as a team with the MICU nurses. Piper did great and had a blast. She even dressed up as Santa and didn't mind the dress at all. The big white dog is Clover, Mary's Great Pyrenees. Clover and Piper get along very well, mostly because they enjoy ignoring each other. The dog in the back is Sara's Lab, Heidi. She was new to our puppy play group but did very well.
I was a little worried that a 5K might be too much, but I was mistaken. Piper couldn't have enjoyed her walk more. As long as no one tries to touch her, she is fine. She likes to maintain her personal space.
It was a great walk from the short north to German village and back. I would recommend this charity walk to anyone. Even in the cold, it was a blast.

Piper, Truman and Henry

Just taking a few moments to update a photo of Piper, along with her training buddies, Henry and Truman. Of course, everyone knows Truman. Henry is Wendy's new puppy. He is a Belgian dog and such a wonderful dog. Not that Quincy and Wendy's other Belgians weren't great, but we have all learned the value of temperment now. Piper and Truman are very much shelties in temperment and Henry seems more sheltie than Belgian. In fact, he is more like a Golden, but don't tell Wendy. He is very friendly and out going.sheepd

The three dogs are working hard on their tracking skills. Wendy has convinced Holly and I that our dogs will be ready to enter a tracking competition next spring. That is , of course, if we are out there working hard on tracking. It is a very fun sport and a great choice for the shy little Piper. No one has to touch her and she can be as antisocial as she wants. Truman also seems to enjoy it but his focus is still that of a puppy.

Holly and I have our harnesses and our little flags and we are working seriously on this skill. Both dogs love it. But really, I think they would spend the afternoon sitting in a phone booth as long as we were with them.

I'll try to get a photo of Pipers tracking soon. We'll be working on this activity all winter. Even in snow. Yikes.

Piper herding instinct

Piper went to a herding clinic and she did great. She is a great little herding dog. I was so proud. It was a herding clinic given by Hado-Bar farms, near Mansfield. We had a lecture in the morning and then time with the sheep twice that day. It was a great little clinic that I would recommend to anyone. They also have private lessons, which I think we might take next spring.
Piper was one of the best behaved dogs out there, she was very calm and polite. It took her a few minutes to get the idea, but fortunately, the intructor was very knowledgeable about shelties. There were mostly Border Collie mixed and Aussie mixes. Piper was the only sheltie. I think the instructor liked shelties. She said shelties are very sensitive and we must just calmly walk with the sheep and give Piper a chance to click. She did and she began to move the sheep. It was very cool to watch. Both instructors said she had an instinct and could be a herding dog. I thought that was very cool and I may pursue lessons in hopes of at least passing a herding test.
It was an interesting group of people and dogs. So many were mixes and very loosely mixed at that. I thought one looked like a black lab, but since it didn't have a tail the owner called it an aussie mix. There were also a few conformation dogs, both Border Collies and Aussies, in the group. It was interesting that the conformation ones did better and had better instincts than the mixes. Some dogs were very aggressive and their handlers didn't have control. That was frowned upon, no matter how strong the instinct. Thank God, my dog acted like a little lady. There was even a poodle there and he was wonderful. He had a nice style about it and was very calm. Who knew poodles would herd?
It was so nice to have such a sweet little dog that I could take. She was very confortable in the barn, waiting her turn. She waited nicely to enter the gait. Most others dragged their humans into the ring and the instructors said that judges would not like to see that. She was fine with all the other dogs too. I am still getting used to that and I love it. I was thrilled that she has an instinct ( not all the dogs did ) and herding might be another activity to do with her. She seemed to really like it. She never seemed stressed that day. I think Holly is going to try to take Truman to the Nov clinic. I hope he gets in. It was a great day.

Yippee.

We have power again. Who knew a hurricane could hit Ohio and knock out all our trees. Which knocked out all our power. We have just gone 5 days without an electricity and let me tell you, it was not pretty. My parents are still in the dark. It is very quiet and lonely. I feel for them and hope theirs comes on soon. Mike is also without power and I think he is probably about to go insane with the two kids at home.

I tried sleeping on the first floor in the guest room, but Piper totally wigged. She couldn't understand what we were doing. She likes to understand. In fact, I think she likes to be in control. But it is all over now. While the power was out, we had lots of time to walk around and meet the neighbors. It was great socializing for Piper.

Today we had a lesson with Wendy and we worked on tracking. I think Piper is really going to enjoy this. No one has to touch her.

The photo is from the Corey lake vacation. Piper again loved the water. It was like having a Newfie up there. I couldn't keep her out of the water. She loves swimming. I don't think all shelties do. Any thoughts on that from other sheltie people?

I am going to go enjoy the rest of my evening with lights and sounds. I would like to ask all to say a little prayer for Hex of Obay shelties. http://obayshelties.blogspot.com/

Piper in the Topiary Garden

On Monday, Piper and I had a lesson with Wendy. We got a brown bag lunch and had a picnic in the Topiary Garden downtown before starting. It was wonderful. Piper didn't beg or try to steal food either. It must have been because Wendy was there. She was on her best behavior.

Piper enjoyed herself and didn't seem nervous at all. She was hot though, as evidenced by her tongue and panting. But she was very solid on her sit-stays, giving the perfect opportunities for photos. I took a ton, but the one of Piper was the best one. The other one is of some of the topiaries in the garden. The photos don't do it justice. It is a very beautiful park.

Piper's attention is coming along and Wendy says once she masters that, the heeling will follow. She walks well on the leash, but she could be better. At least you could tell that I had worked on her social skills, she was not stressed at all. I think she is beginning to enjoy her adventures.

The social quest continues

Piper continues her quest for social skills. On 7/30 we visited Petsmart and Barnes and Noble. Piper has been to Petsmart often and she was great this time. Until a young boy tried to pound, um... I mean pet her on the head. She doesn't like that from anyone. She backed away and the boy thought she was mean. Of course, his mother didn't correct him and also didn't give him any guidance as to how to approach a dog. The situation was remedied by giving the boy a treat to give to Piper. Piper graciously and gently took the treat and I thanked the boy.

Off we went across the street to Barnes and Noble. That is where the drama returned. Piper was complaining and shaking when we parked the car. She had never been to this area before and obviously I have stumbled upon her Achilles heel. So we got out of the car, thankfully Piper is mild mannered and small enough to lift. We slowly walked around the car and she was allowed to sniff and get used to the area. She was improving until we passed a trash can with a liner that was blowing in the wind. Piper lost her mind. It was like the can was going to kill her. We continued walking and she relaxed once she was out of striking range from that monster trash can. We made it to the front of the store and were able to train. Piper was back to her old self and did a great job with attention and sit-stays. I was impressed. When we passed the trash can to leave, she didn't even notice it.

Now that I know her issue, we will be hitting the town looking for new places to challenge her.

I am open for suggestions!

The Diva dog has diminished

Piper returned to Obedience class tonight and she was much less of a Diva. More like a Queen. She was more social and paid more attention to me. I was finally able to get her attention for a minute during her sit stay. She also took treats by the end. As usual, she was friendly enough with Belinda and Bill.
I think she can learn to tolerate new things, but she will always be headed for the door. Which is what she did during her recall. And that was one of her strong exercises. I don't know where she thinks she is going, but she was bound and determined to get out of there.
I am off tomorrow, so we will work on her training in a new spot. Hopefully, she won't be too much of a Queen.
I don't have picture of her in class, so I put up a picture of Truman. He is standing there with his favorite toy, the ball. He loves to herd it all over the yard with his nose. I have two of those balls at my house ( one for Collin and one for Piper ) and he nearly strokes when he comes over. He doesn't know which one to herd. I wonder what he would do with a bunch of sheep?
My friend Wendy will be hearing about her potential new puppy on Thursday. Let's all say a little prayer that he grows a pair, if you know what I mean.

Piper's Weekend Homework

Hi all.
Piper continues her training. This weekend, Wendy gave us the assignment to train in a public place. She suggested a parking lot. So when Holly and did our weekly splurge at the Dairy Queen, we took the dogs too. Mom and Dad and Denise also joined us. Mom was not pleased about her furry grandchildren being out in a parking lot so close to the main road. But all was fine.
Piper and I worked on her attention and she was actually better than I thought. She was paying more attention to me than the people and the cars. There was a lot of activity, but she was very hungry. So the treats were the key. I had her attention for several seconds and almost had it during heeling. She was able to watch the treat in my hand and I think we are very close to moving the treat up so she learns to watch me. I enclosed a photo of her from the parking lot to prove to Wendy that we were there. I really didn't paint that yellow line on my drive way either.
Holly and Truman continue their training. They worked on socializing, which is pretty easy for Truman. He is a very social guy. Piper is fine to have people ignore her, but she was social with a few people. An accomplishment for her.
We are off on Tues and will be returning to class. I hope she is happy about being there this time.

Back in class

It has been a long time since I posted and I regret that. But I am back and there will be a lot to write about for a while.

Piper is back taking obedience classes with Belinda and Bill. She was not pleased with this idea. Her first night back and she acted like a spoiled little diva. She would not even face me and she did very little that I asked. Fortunately, it was not a total loss. She was social and friendly with the other people and dogs. This behavior was personal.

But I got my schedule change for work so we can attend Tuesdays class. Hopefully she will be better. We trained yesterday and she was pretty decent. At least the diva attitude was not as obvious. So Wendy gave us the assignment of going everywhere and working on attention. I will try to post about that as much as possible. Wendy is helping us get ready to compete in the specialty in Atlanta next spring. Hopefully, Piper will do better than Quincy did at his specialty in Dallas. Honestly, she couldn't do worse. Unless she eats a judge.

I'm off to work on attention.

Happy Mother's Day

Here is a photo of the chicken I knitted for my mom for Mother'sDay. Yes, it is knitted and it didn't take that long. Only about two weeks. There were lots of little parts, but all were easy. It was a hit!

Piper is about to finish her first round of obedience classes and I am very sad about it coming to an end. I hope Belinda will offer more classes this summer. I will take any class she offers. Anything to get Piper out there and socialized. And any class that will build her confidence and improve her shyness.

Dog class updates

Piper continues to excell in her obedience classes. She is coming out of her shell and will try anything new with encouragement. Belinda has brought out the agility equipment just to expose the dogs to new things. Shy little Piper took on the tunnel with just a little push the first time. The next week, Belinda stretched it out and put a curve in it. I barely said tunnel before Piper was shotting out of the other end. I had to run to meet her. We were all shocked. Maybe she is going to be an agility dog. She was so proud of herself, that I think we will try agility next to build her confidence.

Question for agility people, if anyone other than my family reads this. Are there aggressive dogs in agility? There is one in my obedience class and I know he competes and he tends towards the aggressive behaviors. He gets fired up when the other dogs in class get excited. Does this happen in agility often, or is he just a bad example.

Piper is very passive and I don't want to put her in class with a bunch of wild and agitated dogs. Any suggestions?

Will post spring pictures soon!

Playdate with Bell

This is a photo of Piper and her new friend, Bell. They had a great playdate on Tues and both dogs behaved very well. Bell belongs to my friend Amy and is a Beagle-Lab mix. Amy has been worried that no dogs like Bell. Piper was her baseline shy, but the dogs had a few moments of play also. When not playing, both dogs seemed to get along well. Bell is a very bright and energetic little dog. I am trying to talk Amy into getting her started in Agility. Amy didn't know what that was. I have my work cut out for me on this thought.

Piper continues to do well in class. She is getting more comfortable and I think she is starting to enjoy herself too. Belinda thinks she may eventually pass the Canine Good Citizen. Which impresses me. I thought her shyness would get in the way, but Belinda assures me she can be trained to tolerate the test and pass. I hope she is right. It would be great to have a therapy dog title too, but I just don't know how a shy dog could be theraputic. Any suggestions?

The weather here is wonderful and we are all enjoying being outside. Piper and Truman have settled into a nice playful friendship. Truthfully, I think Piper gets bored on the days she doesn't play with him. Which isn't very often.

Truman has arrived.

Holly got her new sheltie puppy last weekend and I think he is officially the love of her life. Truman is a blue merle sheltie and it looks like he is going to be a bit bigger than Piper. But who knows, when it comes to predicting size, shelties can be surprising. Right now, he is twice the weight Piper was at that age.

Piper had her second obedience class this week and she did very well. We covered things she had learned from Wendy and I think that gave her a little confidence. Which she desperately needs. Her shyness improves each week and I think she really enjoys going to class.

Tomorrow night I am babysitting Truman while Holly goes to a concert. Wish me luck. I hope Piper will be a help.

One more day until Truman

Tomorrow is the big day for Holly. She is going to pick up her sheltie, Truman, Sunday afternoon. She can hardly stand it.
Piper has no idea what is coming but I think she will be fine. She is very easy going and likes other pets too. Tonight, my 16yr old cat Emma, rubbed up against her. I guess she has finally accepted Piper as a housemate. Now, if I can only get Emma to accept Biko, the other cat. She still gives him the rooster when he walks by and it has been nearly 15 yr since I brought him home.
I'll post photos of Truman asap.

Grooming day

Today was grooming day and it went very well. Piper is very tolerant of her grooming and only needs a little assist with standing. Thanks to Mom for helping hold her while I groomed her tail, etc. Piper tends to sit down making it very hard to brush out her backside.
We finished up with a toe nail trim this evening and that was the end of her spa tolerance. She allowed me to complete the job but now she is not talking to me. The little imp ran to her aunt Holly for comfort and refused to come anywhere near me. How long will this grudge last? Who knows.
Thank goodness we did our obedience work before the sulking began.
Truman arrives on Sunday and we are all very excited about this. For those of you who don't know, Truman is my sister's new sheltie puppy. I'll add a photo once he comes to Columbus!

First day of school

Hello. Piper had her first day of obedience class today and she did very well. She is still very shy but luckily she will take food from strangers. This is helping her improve. We will be spending our spring working on her social skills. As for class, she is a quick learning and aims to please. Her instructors are excellent and compete with their dogs in many sports. I can only hope to be as active with Piper.

I am greatful for Al's game of "get the mouse". I used it to get her attention and to calm her. It was a success. Thanks to Morgan for helping with game.

Makenna was also in class with her Great Dane Murphy. She has a lot of potential for a junior handler and her dog adores her. I think Murphy will do just about anything for her.

We tried to get pictures of both dogs after class, but neither one of them are very solid on their sit-stays. Maybe by the end of the session, we will have a photo op for this blog. I'll keep everyone posted.

That is all for now. Piper is fast asleep after her first day of school. Thanks to Donna and Doreen, her breeders, for giving me a dog with such potential. I can wait to see how far she will go!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone.
Piper had a great holiday. We had an entertaining time hiding the eggs for Collin and Courtney. Piper tried to assist me by following behind me and "relocating" the eggs after I had hidden them. I have no idea why she did that but she carried off many of the eggs to other places. Eventually dropping them at random. She did not have an Easter basket, but she got a new ball, rope toy and Nylabone. She couldn't have been more thrilled. Here she is waiting for Courtney to open her candy. Fortunately, Courtney was not able to open that chocolate. Much to her, and Piper's, disappointment.

Trip to the vet

Today was Piper's yearly trip to the vet. She was amazing. She is very tolerant of the exam and sitting on the table.
She had half her vaccines today and did very well. Last year, she had several vaccines at once and had a reaction. Who knows which one caused it. All I know, is that once I got her home, I thought I had made a huge mistake and adopted the ugliest puppy. Her eyes and lips swelled to 3x their size and she was terribly unattractive. Thankfully, she was back in the office in a few minutes and received Benadryl. All was normal a few minutes later.
We didn't have a repeat this year. Piper is as beautiful as the day I brought her home. She is up to 27 lbs and her coat is really coming in. Just in time to blow it out for spring. Will get photos of that experience.

I love Daylight Savings

Don't you just love daylight savings time. It was so nice to come home from work while it was still light outside.

Nothing new for Piper since I worked the last two days. She spent her time with my parents. I added a list to the side of things that make her bark. Shelties are known for being vocal. Piper is no exception, but I can't complain because she does listen and will stop when I ask. Shelties are quick learners too. For my friends and family, let me know if I have forgotten any thing else that makes her bark. There are the usual suspects, but she adds her own quirkiness to the list. What is a herding dog if it is not quirky?

Trimming Piper's ears

Today was the first time I tried to trim out Piper's ears. I had a great lesson from my friend ( and Piper's breeder ) Doreen and I thought I was good to go. She made it look easy. I can't believe how hard it was. First of all, Piper pulled her ears into her head so far she looked like a baby seal. I could barely pull them out enough to trim, so I had no idea how they looked. She kept pulling them in when I stopped too. She is still sulking, so I don't really know how they look yet. I have a picture and they look a little better.
Thank you Doreen for the lesson. Now how do I stop Piper from pulling the baby seal move?

First Posting

Hi All.


This is my first attempt at blogging. Most of this blog will be about Piper, my sheltie, and her adventures. Next week, she begins her quest to become an obedience dog. We are cramming and socializing this week in the hopes that it will make a difference. It probably won't. But it makes me feel better.