Category: border collies

i am not a barbie collie

i am not a barbie collie

you may wonder what a barbie collie is. i did too.

a barbie collie is a border collie who is a show dog. not a border collie that works, not a border collie that is the best companion ever, not a border collie that competes in herding trials but a show dog. the kind of dog that has to look like what some humans think a border collie should look like. a border collie that is perfectly groomed, stands perfectly, has perfect markings and just stands there looking pretty and then prances around an arena with their owner. all looks and no brains.  i am not a barbie collie. i am a border collie from working stock. i do not have any sheep to herd but i am my mum’s best ever companion. and i know she would never ever make me be a barbie collie.

as you can see, i have one ear up and one ear down. that certainly would not be ok for a show dog.  i wonder if i will have matching ears when i grow up.  but who cares? not me or my mum.

i am not a barbie collie

selfie

selfie

whew today was exhausting!

i woke up mum early even though she did have to do that work thing and we stayed up. no going back to bed for a nap. in fact i did not get a nap all day. well apart from when i fell asleep in mum’s arms and a tiny one when she got me some more food.

we did our normal walk down the laneway and then it was nonstop. in the car we go and first we went to see my friends who have this big space with lots of cars but machines that make noises that scare me a little. but mum brought my favourite toy, the squeaky one. that made me feel better and was doing the border collie stance and it made me feel a lot safer. i started to fall asleep but we were off again. this time to visit my friend who came with my mum to bring me to my now forever home and who comes to see me when mum can’t get home. by this time i was really tired and that’s when i fell asleep in mum’s lap. she left me there while she went for more food. it was great, i had a nice little nap. there are more cats in this house and most of them apparently came to check out who i was but i had no idea, it was nap time!

finally, we pull up in front of our house and by this time, i was hungry and really tired but i had to tell my cats my story but they did not want to know.  oh, and i really like pushing this chair around.  it is on wheels and i push it all round my house. sometimes nosey is on it and stays for the ride. we are becoming good friends, she even lets me sit on her.

the day is not over and mum says i am wound up like a spinning top. not sure what that is. here’s my selfie. humans are strange! i maye a smart border collie but cannot yet take my own pictures, so mum took this one when i was trying to to play.

my selfie

poop time

poop time

i am told that being a border collie, i am one of the smartest, if not the smartest dogs on this planet, that’s a lot to live up to. and there are lots of rules i have to learn. it will take a little more time, but i will, i promise mum.

i have it figured out that after i play, eat and sleep, i have to have poop time. i guess the same would happen with humans and cats. this is where humans and cats confuse me. mum praises me everytime when we are outside and i do the poop thing but is not so happy when i do it inside. so why do they not have to go outside and do poop time? it’s only me that has to go outside. i know where the cats go poop, they have their special box that mum makes sure i do not sniff. and mum has this seat with water in it which i cannot get at, mum says its called a toilet which is a strange word. i am confused but i am sure i will conquer this strange concept. it’s called puppy training mum says.

meanwhile the most fun i am having right now is my basketball and ofcourse giving mum lots of kisses

please again!

sally

sally

mum had to do that work thing again, so into the crate i went but a short time after a human friend came to let me out so i could do pee time and then we played and i thanked him by giving him lots of kisses. but i did have to go back into by crate until mum came home and then it would be play time again! 

i hear mum’s car and start to get excited because i know she will be coming through that door any moment which she does.  i am now out of my crate giving her hugs and kisses and then over to the door for pee time. when the door opened and i stepped outside. there was another dog. a big white and black one. i know i am a big brave border collie but i was kind of scared and pee’d on the step.  mum says her name is sally and she sometimes comes to stay with us when her human mum has to go away. we immediately went for a walk down the laneway and i did not go far from mum’s side. well that lasted about 5 minutes and now i follow sally everywhere, hope she doesn’t mind. we even slept together on mum’s big bed, how cool is that?
today will be lots of fun with my new friend sally, maybe she will teach me a few things while she is here. well that’s what mum says! mum also said that there are many more friends that i will meet, i can’t wait!  
i forgot to tell you i now weigh 20 pounds. i am growing really fast and yes i poop a lot!
my new friend sally
the vet

the vet

yesterday was different. this really nice lady came to visit us and apparently she is my doctor and she is called a vet. what’s really nice is she kept giving me little treats.  what’s not so nice is she poked me with something really sharp.  mum told me i have to have these shots every once and awhile so i won’t get sick. i’m not really sure what that means but it doesn’t sound too good, so i will let them poke me, just a little though!  she gave mum all this stuff to read about bringing up a puppy but i know my mum has done this before, so i am not worried, i know she is doing things the right way, least that’s what i think!

my puppy training is continuing.  i had a big poop in the house this morning, sorry mum but i’m blaming it on those shots, they did funny things to my tummy and i just couldn’t hold it.  i tried to wake you but you wouldn’t listen. i will though try to remember to ring the bell instead of just staring at the door.  see mum bought these bells that she put on the door for me to ring when i need to pee or poop but i keep forgetting. so much to learn but i am because i am a border collie and we learn things really quickly but we do have a stubborn side to us as well.

i have discovered these two very big balls outside. mum calls them basket balls but to me they are just great big toys to play with.  i have decided that they must always be togther but it can be a little difficult, i’m working on that one.

my big toys, the basketballs

fetch

fetch

mum had to do that work thing all weekend.  as usual i woke her up at 5am because i really had to pee and usually we go back to bed for a little nap but no, she made me stay up.  i don’t really understand as it was still dark outside. i watched mum intently doing her thing but all i really wanted was to go back to sleep.  finally it ws no longer dark and we went for a our usual walk down the lane for poop time.  talking of poop time, all this white stuff that mum calls snow is starting to disappear and i am wondering where i am suppose to do my poop thing when it all goes.  guess i will figure it out, i am a border collie! puppy training is hard, but i am getting better.

when mum goes to work, she has to put me in my crate.  i know she does not like to but i will get up to far too much mischief if she does not.  one nice thing though is after a little nap, the door opens and one of my new friends comes to let me out for a pee and we play for a bit, then back in my crate til mum gets home.  by then all i want to do is play of course.  poor mum is tired but i pay no attention to that at all.  i am so happy to see her i try to lick her face over and over.  i think she likes it.

fetch is our new game.  we take the squeaky toy outside and mum throws it as far as she can.  i chase it, catch it and bring it right back to her so she can do it all over again.  she is so proud of me and says that i am such a good boy.  it’s no big deal mum, just doing what border collies do.

i have also learnt the words “no bad boy”.  i am very quiet when mum says that.  i will try my best so she will not have to say it often. some things scare me a little like the other night we were out for pee time and i heard coyotes, at least that is what mum said.  i forgot about pee time and ran back to the door to come inside where it is safe. one day i know i will bark back at them and then they will be scared but not quite yet!  and a paper bag but i conquered that one.

my shadow the wolf, my ancestor

fun filled week

fun filled week

lots has gone on this week, mum has been home all week, she did not have to do that work thing which i really like. so mum and i have been really busy. of course puppy training seems to be most important thing right now.  honest mum, you are learning just as i am.  mum keeps telling me to be more vocal when i stand at the door, not too sure what she means by that. we’ll figure it out i am sure.  yesterday i started to run down the laneway by myself, mum did not like that very much.  but i was trying to tell mum how brave a border collie i am becoming, wonder why she didn’t like it?

the squeaky toy mum let me bring home is so much fun. sure is loud! and we have this new game now called fetch.  mum holds squeak and i stare at it with all my might.  she then throws it to the corner and i bring it back close to her and just stare at it until she throws it again.  when she doesn’t throw it to me i make it squeak louder and push it to mum.  pretty sure this is what border collies do because mum says i am a very good boy.

me, toffee and mum

yesterday i met a new friend. her name is toffee and she is really big and i was a little scared and hid beside mum or under toffee’s car. mum says i will be seeing lots of toffee but can we wait till i am a little bigger please? i am sure there will be no stopping us soon though.

lucy and i

both our cats are acting very strange.  mum says they are now both “on heat”.  but they let me hold them and give them love nips. honest, i won’t hurt them mum.  wonder if they will continue to let me do this?  at night time, they sneak up on the bed to sleep with mum and i.  thank goodness mum has a really big bed!

puppy training and kittens

puppy training and kittens

i have to admit i am getting pretty good at this pee and poop thing.  about every 5 hours i do have to pee so my mum says that my little bladder is getting stronger. of course when we go for walk i pee as much as i can, i’m pretty sure that’s what border collies do. we have to mark our territory to let everyone know that we are around and this is my home.  but poor mum, i wake her up every morning at 5am and it is still dark outside but i know i must not pee on the bed! we do go back to bed for another little nap.  well mum tries but i keep biting her head because i think it’s play time.  when we do get up, i have learned that if i sit by the door and look at her, she gets the hint that it is poop time.  mummy training is going well i would say.  mum did get mad at me though the other day.  she let me outside to pee, but i did not.  when i came inside i went straight to the bedroom and peed on the floor and looked at her with a little smirk on my face. she called me a bad puppy and pointed her finger at me, this sign i am understanding is a no no! i was naughty. best not do that again. 

i am making friends with our 2 kittens. well perhaps they are adjusting to me.  yes i chase them but i think they understand that i am playing.  nosey bats me on the head with her paws but does not hurt me.  lucy still hisses at me if i get too much. that will change i am sure. they jump up very high, don’t think i will be able to do that or at least don’t think i should.
yesterday we went to this really big store that has shelves full of food for me. i really liked this place. there were all sorts of toys and treats too.  i wanted them all. mum did let me bring one home and it squeaks when i play with it and i talk back! wonder how long the squeak will last?  mum throws it into the corner, i chase it and am starting to bring it close to her and she throws it again.  i’m going to like this game.
playtime in the snow
chuck and yummy marrow bones

chuck and yummy marrow bones

my mum got a message from my first human mum and she gave us an update on my brother, chuck.  he seems just like me. playing and biting, trying to learn the pee and poop thing, and basically being a very cute and mischievious border collie puppy.  i can’t wait to see him this summer, we will have so much to tell each other. do you think he will remember me? and i will get to see my real mum and dad too. hope they will like how big and brave i will be by then. maybe they can teach me a few things, or be aloof as border collies can be!  here’s a picture of my brother chuck, look at that face!  bet we could get into all sorts of mischief!

chuck, my brother

yesterday we went for a short car ride and mum left me in the car while she went into this big building.  i watched intently at the door waiting for her to come back to the car.  when she did she was carrying these bags of food! when we got home, she opened a package and gave me what is called a marrow bone. they are so so good.  when i had finished chewing my little heart out i tried to hide it in the couch but mum was having none of that. better find another spot and make sure the kittens don’t find it.

oh and mum did let me sleep on the big bed last night but i woke her up at 5am because i really had to pee.  i wanted to go back to bed but mum was awake now so i couldn’t! we waited till daylight and off we went down the lane for poop time.  it had snowed again last night. i love running through fresh snow nose first, chuck you should try it!

yummy marrow bone

getting dizzy

getting dizzy

i am getting very good at not pooping in the house. mum takes me outside very shortly after we wake up and we head down the laneway. there are lots of places to poop, so every morning i find a new spot.  mum praises me when i do.  i love my mum.

but sometimes accidents do happen, i am still a border collie puppy in training.  last night, well first thing this morning before the sun came up, i had to pee really really bad and i was trying to wake mum up but it wasn’t working.  sorry mum, i couldn’t hold it any longer. i hope that she still lets me sleep on the big bed tonight.

those kittens are constantly teasing me by jumping up on things so i cannot reach them.  they don’t seem to like it too much when i try to herd them into a corner.  but this though is what i do, i herd. here’s a little video that mum took of me and nosey, me trying to make sure she does not jump down.

getting dizzy