Cattle Dog Christmas Party

...And you thought Jake in his Santa hat was bad! I am not alone here, folks, in subjecting my ACD to costume time. This dear little face is Posey. I love to take pictures of Posey because she's the only cattle dog I know that can hold still for more than one second while you snap the picture. Thank you, Posey!

We've all been looking forward to this Christmas party and match ever since it was announced. Jake was in high spirits that day. He was rambunctious, crazy, wild, over-the-top, no holds barred, ...you get the idea. He was driving us nuts because he needed someone to help him burn all that energy. Who better to help Jake but more cattle dogs?

And then Jake saw PEPPER! He was dancing and spinning and getting all tangled up in Pepper's lead. You see, we weren't sure Pepper was going to come to the party. Pepper had been naughty throughout the week and her mother threatened to leave her at home. We begged and pleaded on Jake's behalf and were well rewarded by their antics.

Jake and Pepper got to play in a fenced-in cow pasture full of agility things. A big tree provided shade and sticks for throwing. Those of us down by the show ring could see two sets of big black ears bouncing around over the grass.




Soon Pepper and Jake were joined by Peachy for more rounds of stick chasing.

While our dog was being silly and romping and getting generally worn out, other dogs in our group were strutting their stuff in the conformation and obedience ring. Some of the dogs even surprised their parents by winning (right, Pia?). All of the dogs got a chance to compete in a game of Bobbing for Hotdogs. Puppies got two minutes and adults got two to try to eat as many hotdogs as they could. We figured we'd let Jake have a shot at a hotdog although he'd never eat one before. Jake dives for ice cubes in his water bowl so why not a wienie? Because, it turns out, that Jake doesn't like hotdogs. He got one out, put in the ground, sniffed it and proceeded to peck at it with a look that said, "This is gross but I'm working on it for the crowd's sake."

Pepper just stuck her feet in the water and tried to figure out why she was having to go through this event. Apparently Jake is not alone in Hotdog Dislike.


Poor little Lumpy gave it a valiant effort to drink all the water in that big, big bowl but the little pieces of meat at the bottom just didn't seem worth the drowning.


And then there was King Daddy of the Hot Dogs, Kogi! He snarfed one, inhaled another and then figured out he could grab three at time. Kogi got dragged away before his two minutes were up to save hotdogs for the other dogs who hadn't gone yet. Kogi still reigned with 9 hotdogs!


After the only game of Yankee Swap (or White Elephant) that I have ever played where NO ONE took anyone else's gift, we headed home with one tired pooch. Jake was unconscious on the short ride back to my in-law's house. We thought we were in for a nice, quiet evening. We were so wrong! Like a human child who is over-stimulated and needs to go to bed badly, our Jake was totally out of control. He was shrieking and zooming around their new house with its wooden floors and vaulted ceilings. The noise was deafening. After several hours of everyone in the house trying to control Jake, Jake finally crawled off under our guest bed and fell asleep. When I went looking for him, I noticed that Jake had taken the time to steal all of our socks out of our suitcase and make himself a nice sock pillow. That stinker!

New Uses for a Tug Toy

For those of you who don't already know, Jake loves tug. Any toy he owns, any stick, any sock, and anything else he can get in his mouth becomes a tug toy sooner or later. Many of these items we discourage. Many of Jake's toys were either purchased or made by me just for tugging. Now that the stage has been set...

Approximately ten years ago, I dislocated my right shoulder. My chiropractor has always put it back in place when need be. My chiropractor moved to Oklahoma a few years back but the shoulder hasn't been a problem. Yesterday myhusband and I were working our tails off wiring our accountant's new house for home audio and video needs (you have to take care of your accountant!). Since we were in a hurry I was lifting more than I normally do to make less trips. So today I'm at home putting up dishes. With an armful of dinner plates I feel my shoulder slip out and start really hurting. After struggling through folding a pile of laundry, I was trying to figure out what to do to ease my pain. My husband is working a good half hour away installing a central vac system. Hmm, I look at my sleeping pooch and think, "Jake could tug my arm back in place." I wake him up, give him a good brushing with the Furminator (brushing always gets him riled up), and then hand him his Holee Roller. Jake latched those crocodile jaws on his ball and immediately fell into Tug Mode. I switched the ball to my right hand, lined my arm up for the way I wanted it to be pulled, and used our normal let-the-games-commence command, "Jake, PULL, PULL!" Jake lunged straight back on those powerful little legs of his and I felt my shoulder snap back into place. Ahh, relief! I'm sure both my family doctor and chiropractor would be horrified to hear this story but Jake got a huge pile of doggy treats for his efforts.

The Tugmeister

Jake LOVES to tug! He has since day one. We had read that it wasn't always a good idea to play tug with dogs that could be aggressive. Well, in Jake's case, that's blah, blah, blah. Our favorite part is to swipe at his front legs while he's tugging. He must have incredible peripheral vision because he always sees it coming. He tucks his legs first one way and then the other. If you swipe at both legs at the same time, he tucks them back and hangs from the tug. Jake makes the most amazing noises while you're tugging -- somewhere between a Tasmanian Devil and a screaming banshee. The minute you tell him DROP IT, he sits back on his haunches with a big grin on his face, tongue lolling out to the side. We've gone through quite a few toys that didn't stand up to the Jake tug test. After some searching on the internet and watching a little flyball competition on Animal Planet, I discovered fleece tugs. How easy is that, I thought. So I set out to make my own. I made him three different kinds and we went to tugging. They made it! Over the last couple of months I've seen the ones they sell in stores in person and decided I needed to make a new and improved version for my little crocodile. All this tugging has only made him stronger and more determined to hang on with all his might. So yesterday he got a Mighty Tug. After Jake put his spit of approval on the Tug, I couldn't help but pat myself on the back. An easy-to-make, inexpensive toy is a great discovery! We passed on his first little tugs to a friend who is just getting a puppy for Christmas.

Jake, aka BamBam

Jake loves my nephew's big plastic softball set. He pounces on the big white softballs, which pop up and around on our wooden floors and go in all directions with quite a clatter. It's one of the few games that Jake doesn't feel that he needs humans in order to play. He's been playing with the softballs for the last couple of months. This week he discovered the bat! It's a good thing I had already put away all of our breakable things a long time ago. He winds through the chairs at the dining room table, through the open coffee table, and through your legs with that big old bat. He goes running at full steam in big circles around the living room with it in his mouth, smashing and banging as he goes. What great fun!

Everyone who has met Jake knows that there is not a mean, aggressive bone in his little body. So far in Jake's life he has not met a person he didn't greet with a wagging tail and totally wiggling body. I've seen him growl at noises and bark until he can identify a sound but I've never seen him feel like anyone was a threat. Soooo, yesterday we're driving down Gervais Street (one of the main streets in Columbia) which always has a lot of pedestrian traffic. We drive down this street normally a few times a day since it's not far from our house. We were waiting at a stoplight when a man walked down to the road and stopped, waiting for the pedestrian crossing light to tell him he could cross. Jake had been looking out the window. All of a sudden, Jake is snarling and snapping and lunging at the window. Seatbelt be darned, he was going to get that Bad Man. There were two lanes of cars between us and the sidewalk so the poor old lady next to us probably had a heart attack when she got to see all of Jake's teeth. I wasn't sure what to do at first b/c Jake's never done this. I trust his instincts, though, so I just put my hand on his back and told him, "Okay, Jake, I hear you, " which is what I say when he barks at a knock on our front door. He normally quiets down right away b/c he's done his job and now it's my turn. Unfortunately for me, we hit every red light on the way to take Joe some equipment and this same Bad Man walked several blocks in the same direction. Each light produced the same result. I was so thankful when the man turned. We headed for the next light with more pedestrians and I wondered if we were in for some new protective phase of Jake's. Nope, he wagged his tail and grinned at this new group. Something must have triggered him about that one particular man. It was just a little scary to see Jake become that maniacal dog. My window was totally slobbered after those few blocks but Jake obligingly licked it all off when he got bored so now it's just big streaks. He was completely happy with himself -- big ACD grin and lolling tongue.

Santa's Little Helper

I promised Jake that if he would be patient enough to pose for these pictures that I wouldn't make him wear another costume for the rest of the year. My husband pointed out that the next year was just around the corner. I told him I only make promises I plan on keeping. =) ACD ears are just so in the way when it comes to wearing a hat. Jake kept shaking his head to free up his ears and the hat would slide around since it was tied under his chin. Jake got lots of marshmellows for his efforts!

Fog in the Toilet

...because life at our house is never dull with a cattle dog and a husband who thinks he's Peter Pan! I had to do a little video of one of their capers.

Jake's Birthday!



Jake is one year old today! I can't believe what a wonderful ten months we have had since getting Jake. It brings back all the memories of the day we got him. The moment I saw Jake I knew I couldn't leave without him. My husband and I had talked about getting a dog before but not at the present time. However, my heart melted and I even cried at the thought of not taking Jake home.



Jake got some Purina Frost Paws Peanut Butter doggy ice cream (NFI) in a new special ice cream bowl with cow's feet. His other birthday goodies were a bucketload of training treats and two big tennis balls. Jake loves to pounce on balls that are too big for his mouth and it keeps him occupied for at least 20 minutes so why not? In fact, Jake kept leaving his ice cream to paw at the tennis balls. If Jake's new tennis balls smell like peanut butter, we all know why.



The doggy ice cream is wicked hard so the bowl kept skooching all over the table so Jake logically began to put all four legs up on the table.



Jake blissfully kept licking at that ice cream. Tired by all the licking but not willing to give up (shocker!), he laid down to more fully enjoy the flavor. (And don't worry, folks, Jake's mommy bleach wiped the table after Jake got off!) So now we're off to PetSmart and the park for a birthday walk. Thanks to all my fellow ACD owners who gave us such good advice and helped us survive his first year in our house.

The Many Faces of a Sock Thief

The Jedi Master: "These are not the socks you are looking for. You can go about your business. Move along." This sock thief uses mind tricks to make you forget you ever saw him or your socks.





The Patriot: "I did it for the breed. I admit it. I'm proud of it." This sock thief is not even vaguely sorry he stole the sock and will stand firmly on his right to freely steal.

The Repeat Offender: "Can you please take my mug shot from the side? I look better from this angle. Make sure to focus on the dogs on the socks, too." This sock thief is so used to mugshots by now that he is friends with the police photographer and just wants to make sure the picture shows what a prize he stole.

The Irish Pretender: "Can't you go easy on a fellow Irishman?" This sock thief pretends to be Irish with a blatant Australian accent to get on the good side of the arresting Irish officer.

The Blame-It-On-the-Cows Thief: "Honest, Officer. The cows -- they made me do it! I didn't want to take the sock but then they were looking at me with those big googly eyes and I fell under their spell. The next thing I knew I was standing here with you with this sock in my mouth!" This thief tries to throw the blame on the poor, poor cows. Have you ever seen a cow steal a sock?

Juvenile Delinquent: "I'm just a kid. I can't go to jail! My parents will kill me." Okay, so maybe the cows aren't so innocent. This young thief can easily be swayed to disobey the law under the influence of older, wiser four-legged creatures. Regardless of age, stealing from the hamper is still stealing.

A Cattle Dog Day

This weekend we attended our first dog show in Concord, NC. Our Carolina Australian Cattle Dog Club held our Regional Specialty in conjunction with the Great Monroe Kennel Club show. My husband and I were part of the hospitality booth team which handed out goody bags and sold raffle tickets for tons of cool cattle dog stuff. This show gave us the chance to meet more of our club members as well as other cattle dog owners across the US. It's totally true that we are all as feisty as our dogs. Our cattle dog conformation was all held in one ring so we took up residence to watch all of the gorgeous dogs under the judges' eyes. The funky arena lighting and trying to hold Jake on his leash didn't exactly make for the best photo opportunities but we managed to sneak in a few photos when Jake was holding still (that doesn't mean the other cattle dogs were holding still, though). The only time Jake seemed to be rattled by the crowd was when we were all screaming and clapping for the cattle dog in the Best of Show ring. He started shrieking, leaping and trying to get out of his collar. I was kind and removed him from the scene for a little calming down time with just his momma.



Two of our agility instructors were also at the show with their dogs for the agility competition. We snuck out of the conformation ring to go take a peak at the truly spectacular agility ring. The seating was definitely set up for the spectators to see both rings at work. Jake was beside himself wanting to get down from the stands and get out on the dirt himself. He was positive that he would have as much fun as all those dogs sailing over the jumps, whipping through the tunnels, and wiggling through the weave poles. After almost a hour of watching, Jake finally settled down and just shoved his head through the rail to keep getting a better view. There were very few cattle dogs competing in agility so we'll just have to do our best to help change that in the future as Jake gets old enough to compete. We didn't get a chance to go see the obedience or rally rings where some of our other club dogs were competing.



I couldn't get enough of watching all the cattle dogs. Red or blue didn't matter. I used to think I didn't like the look of the reds as much as the blues but then I met some of them in person. I'm still partial to the blues but I couldn't help but admire the handsome reds either. Jake got to meet some Great Danes, some Irish Wolfhounds, some Pugs, some Beagles, and even some Chinese Cresteds. Every single one of them had him so fascinated that he didn't know where to look next. I think he wore himself out trying to turn around and around and see the other dogs all at once. I know it wore me out trying to make sure Jake didn't invade some other dog's personal space. Jake truly enjoyed howling with someone else's dog across the cavernous grooming area as they tried to out-howl each other for the saddest sounding noise (of course, my husband was whispering in his ear and egging him on). The true highlight of Jake's day was when he got to play with a little red female who was only 4 months old. The two were kindred spirits in play and rolled around on the floor, happy to be out of their cages. The humans were all tired but Jake was exhausted and found himself a spot in our chairs to rest for a few minutes. Jake fell into a coma once we got him in the car to take him back to the hotel. Again, I'll reiterate, events that wear my ACD out are high on my list of activities to repeat! Thanks to all the wonderful people who made this show happen.

Warning Label Needed

I don't think a warning label attached to a cattle dog would do any good because you couldn't squeeze everything you needed to on the label. Every day I learn something new and mostly by my own stupidity. Let me set the stage for you: I'm an overachiever in the academic areas of my life. The rest I just do out of practicality's sake. I hate doing something the hard way. After seven years of working in the shipping industry, I know better than to wait until December to ship my Christmas presents so November is my happy month where I finish shopping, wrapping and shipping before the insane lines start. And so, on November 9th, I am chugging through my piles of Christmas presents which are spread out on our long, low coffee table upstairs in our office. I went downstairs for a drink. I came back at a dead run because I heard the horrible sound of someone gleefully shredding tissue paper. I found Jake in the middle of a rainbow of colors and looking particularly happy with his new toy. I yelled that idiot statement of all dog owner's, "No, Jake, no, bad dog!" He sat back on his haunches and huffed at me. His tongue lolled out to one side with a piece of blue tissue paper soaking wet and stuck as evidence. He didn't look sorry. I knew it was my own fault and removed all of the offending tissue paper to its safe haven in the Rubbermaid tub. Jake left the room to fetch his Cow and rejoined me to watch what interesting toy I might produce next. Little did I know that bubble wrap would incite Jake to all kinds of new mischief. I noticed Jake shaking his head as if to get something off his ears every time I touched a piece of bubble wrap. Since I was wrapping up an entire set of something breakable (can't list in case my friend reads this), Jake's head shaking continued. Each time I reached for a piece of tape, Jake pounced on the tape and tried to pull it off my fingers. Each time I placed the tape on the bubble wrap, Jake darted in to steal it off the wrap. Each time I put down a spare piece of bubble wrap, Jake took of with it dancing that victory skip that all ACDs have. I wasn't annoyed because Jake was having such a fun time but something that would normally take 10 minutes took an hour. I'm glad I could be so entertaining! And then I spilled an entire box of packing peanuts on the floor. I started picking them up one by one and trying to flick them off my fingers where they took up residence. Jake watched this human display of frustration for a while and then darted forward to grab a peanut. I thought he was stealing them but instead he headed for the box and dropped the peanut inside. I realized he was helping me! Jake accidentally bit one and it got stuck on his big canine and all hell broke loose. I was laughing so hard I couldn't quite grab Jake to get the offending peanut off. That's when Jake knocked the entire box of peanuts down the stairs. Jake and I have both had enough of packing peanuts for the day. Moral of the story: Keep your wrapping materials safe from the dog and make sure I know where he is at all times!

11 Months Old and Spoiled Rotten

My husband accuses me daily of spoiling Jake rotten because I guard what Jake eats, scratch his belly and fill his world with stuffed cows. My accuser himself bought Jake a doggy sleeping bag for when we go camping. Did you even know they had such a thing? It's round and even has a pillow built into it. There is a pad to insert to keep the dog off the cold ground. Since Jake loves blankets, he felt right at home in this new contraption. I think I can no longer be held entirely responsible for the spoiling process.

The Final Class Chapter, otherwise known as The Day Mom Looked Stupid in Front of the Class

I spent over twenty years of my life being a graceful ballerina and another handful of those years pretending to be an aggressive soccer player. I can spin a lovely pirouette on my tippy toes and kick the hell out of a soccer ball. None of the sporting activities in all my thirty years prepared me for the extreme sport of Handling. Your dog does Agility -- you just happen to do the Handling at the same time. Handling is not for the faint of heart or feelings. The simple truth is that you are going to look like an idiot. Your dog looks cute when he does the wrong thing (i.e., running around the jumps, turning around halfway in the tunnel, and jumping off the walkway too soon) which even prompts some laughter from other doggy parents. You, on the other hand, are supposed to coordinate all of your gangly limbs, the dog leash, and verbal and hand signals without tripping, accidentally guiding your dog smackdab into an obstacle or smashing headfirst into a bystanding instructor. Luckily, I was not the only human taking this class on Halloween Night. The first set of classes is largely focused on the dogs but I have been assured that future classes will give me a crash course on how to look as talented as my dog. And how talented are our dogs? Every single dog there has come through amazing leaps and bounds (no pun intended) in behavior and confidence levels. Our dogs are having the time of their lives! Despite all of our human humiliation, all the doggy parents are signing up for the next round. So more cheese sticks lie in Jake's near future and hopefully his mom can rediscover her grace and balance in enough time to audition as Jake's Agility Sidekick. P.S. Agility does nothing really for wearing out Jake on the long-term scale. Not long after getting home, Jake was hit by a sudden attack of the zoomies, which ended with him stealing Halloween socks out of the new "doggy-proof" clothes hamper. He actually freezes when I yell, "Stop, thief!" since we go through the sock routine several times a day. Now I didn't saw he looked sorry, he just freezes and waits to see what I will do next. Maybe a padlock on the hamper...

FrankenCow

Jake sleeps with a fluffy cow that used to moo. Jake doesn't chew on this Cow which he has had since day one. This Cow is Jake's sleeping buddy. We take Cow everywhere. Cow is Jake's woobie. A couple of months ago his Border Collie uncle Ian killed the moo function and I thought it would be a good time to buy a backup Cow just in case something more dire were to happen to Cow. Jake immediately adopted the new cow and would herd both cows into his kennel at night. Then my husband got a hold of the new cow:



In the spirit of Halloween, I decided just to sew new cow's head back on and we've dubbed him FrankenCow. It's rather hard to sew a head back on when there's no neck but FrankenCow is good as new and back in the crate at night! (My husband now has new instructions to never touch Jake's Cows.)

Another Mountain Weekend Spent Admiring the Cows

We headed for the mountains and their beautiful leaves. It's a wonder we made the trip in any decent amount of time due to all the sightseers driving along the two-road highway at truly pokey speeds. We arrived at my grandparents where my husband, stepbrother and stepdad spent several hours packing for their weekend camping trip on the cold and windy mountain. Their campsite didn't allow dogs, making my husband sad and making me truly thankful for the excuse. Jake eyed the packing sadly and couldn't understand why he couldn't steal the ice cubes out of the big cooler. Little did Jake know that a full weekend of staring at his cows was just ahead. After the fellas left for their campsite, my mother and I took Jake for a walk in the colorful cove alongside the pastures. At the sight of his first cow, Jake began bouncing and prancing along the path. Who needs camping and hiking when there are COWS! Despite being chilly in the shade, the day was still fairly warm in the sun and most of the cows had retreated to the trees for a little rest. A group of calves were playing a game of chase and stopped only occasionally to glance at Jake. During the summer, Jake always gets a swim in the river. He had a hard time understanding why this walk didn't culminate in an icy swim and practically dragged my mother in the water after him in a vain attempt to get wet.



That very evening the cows had moved closer to the end of the pasture next to my grandparents' house so I took Jake back out to see them. A very pregnant cow wobbled over to Jake at the barbed wire fence. I'm pretty sure she's normally the same cow who pushes her way through the baby cows to assess Jake whenever they gather at the fence. She stuck her big nose out through the wire to sniff at Jake. Jake, ever fearless in the face of cow, stuck his black, wet nose smack dab on the end of her furry nose. They both stood there sniffing in and out rather loudly. Jake gave her nose a little lick. She snorted but kept her nose pressed to his little one. Pleased with himself, Jake subjected the cow to a big lick. To my utter surprise, the cow licked him back with a big, pink gooey tongue. Jake immediately began having the zoomies and it was all I could do to keep the zoomies from connecting Jake with that barbed wire fence. Cow kisses are apparently very exciting because Jake wouldn't come down off his cow high for a good half hour. His new best friend is the cow pictured below:



And since we'll be missing Jake's fifth agility class due to an out-of-town obligation, hopefully Jake will dream of cows and not even notice he missed a class!

Fifth Agility Class Postponed Due to Rain

Talk about a disappointed dog! Jake was so sad he didn't have class that we just had to let him steal a few socks from the dirty clothes hamper to lift his spirits. It worked like a charm. ACD + dirty sock thievery = one happy dog!

Fourth Agility Class and Shredding Paper

Man, never get two days behind in updating a blog -- your fans start sending e-mails complaining about the wait! I don't mind -- it's nice to know that Jake has groupies. I knew Jake would be cranked for agility class when he wouldn't sit down in the car and kept in guard stance the whole trip (for any of you confused, check out previous posts regarding his usual car narcolepsy). Running laps around the yard doesn't help. Allowing Jake to run in fast circles on his leash only makes me want to vomit from dizziness. One of Jake's obedience class teachers stayed after her dog's agility class to watch Jake's progress. Jake has known her since he was ten weeks old and has never forgotten that she has the GOOD TREATS. He launched into a zoomie display of energy and got us in trouble with the teacher. I mentioned that we're supposed to keep control of our dogs at all times because of the risk of all parties present possibly getting hurt. Jake wasn't but a few inches from me but one of his German Shepherd buddies was watching and wanting to get involved in the zooming. Two new items were introduced to the class this week -- the wobble board (in preparation for the teeter totter) and the chute. The wobble board didn't intimidate Jake in slightest since he loves to climb any mountain of trash at a construction site. The chute didn't seem to frighten Jake either. He flew at top speed into the three-foot long hard chute opening. I did my best imitation of an Olympic sprinter to beat him to the other side. Jake didn't come out. I have no idea how he went from his all-out run to a dead stop in such a small space. All I could see was a black nose peeking out from the bottom of the sheet imitating a chute. Once that talented nose picked up the smell of cheese on the other side, Jake hurtled out of the chute and pounced on that lid of treats. Jake stayed totally wired for the entire class. My husband treated me to a pizza after class. Jake sat like a statue on the bench next to us on the restaurant's outdoor patio. Everyone commented on how well-behaved Jake is (the faker). As I crammed pizza in my face, all I could picture was my little stinker during class. Jake got a celebratory cup of ice for his good behavior during dinner.

We've all heard tales of the damage some dogs can do when they are frustrated or bored. Once again I am reminded of my dog's intelligence level. Jake is selective in what he shreds to share his feelings with his human parents. We're currently working in a guarded community. A half sheet of paper sits in on the dashboard showing we checked in at the construction entrance that day. Jake had to sit in the van while we met with the owner/builder of the new house. A half hour later I returned to the van to bring Jake inside. Jake was sitting in a pool of tiny, itsy-bitsy pieces of our community pass and looking rather proud of himself. My husband's van is his office -- laptop, tools, paperwork, and various fast food containers and cups. Good luck finding a seat for all the paperwork. Jake only tore up the pass. Of course we had to get a new pass after lunch but Jake has stolen the heart of the guards so it wasn't an issue. Always willing to share any toy, Jake nosed pieces of the pass over to me throughout the rush hour drive home.

And, yes, I will explain the picture. My dad remarried and I have two new siblings, a 2-year-old brother and a 2-month-old sister. Jake wants to kiss them and share his toys. In this picture Jake is so generous that he's sharing my dad's Border Collie Ian's favorite toy, an antique Caveman Goofy Doll that got stolen off a bottom shelf 7 years ago. It's hard to make Jake understand that the baby can't take the doll from him and play tug-of-war yet.

Third Agility Class -- Jake 10 Months Old

Picture this -- a large marlin flopping around on the end of a thin, taut fishing line and the fisherman pulling with all her might, both feet planted to keep the fisherman upright. Got it? Good, because that's what I look like attached to the other end of Jake's leash at his agility class. Jake gets so hyper that there is no way I can hold Jake and a camera at the same time. Jake LOVES class. Not only are there other dogs present but there are OBSTACLES! He has no fear and every obstacle is a fun game with a cheese treat at the end. Due to all of our dogs being so wound up over the class, there's a strict no-doggy-interaction rule to keep the dogs and their people from getting hurt around the equipment. Thankfully, I am not alone in having to sidetrack my determined dog. Jake doesn't know that he's a short dog. Jake doesn't know that there are rules. Jake doesn't know that he's so strong. Jake just wants to lick everyone, eat everyone's treats, and take everyone's turn on the obstacles. And miracles of miracles, the mosquitos didn't eat me alive this time! (P.S. The picture is of Jake sharing his ball with my baby brother.)

Jake's First Wedding Invitation (Now really 10 Months Old)

My husband and I were invited to a friend's wedding in Massachusetts and Jake was invited to come along! Not only were they prepared for the noisy, boisterous ways of the cattle dog but they were ready to spoil Jake rotten with a guest doggy bed of his very own. My friend has her own zoo on her farm, which includes 30 horses, 2 cows, random barn cats, a small donkey and, luckily for Jake, a female cattle dog named Zoe and a male Australian Shepherd named Harley. Poor Jake had been subjected to a 16-hour car ride up to New England but felt the ride was worth it once he met his new friends. Zoe, in typical alpha female cattle dog fashion, couldn't contain herself from barking and barking. Jake and Harley were pouncing around and wrestling in no time with Zoe darting in to take a few nips to keep her status as Queen Bee.



The following morning the donkey Poncho, fulfilling his role as farm rooster, began braying at the first crack of light. Jake went crazy, having not ever heard a donkey, much less that not-of-this-earth noise that prefaced the normal hee-haw. Not long after getting up we took Jake down to the donkey's pen to meet Poncho. Jake gave the donkey a lick on his nose in his usual fashion.




We explored the rest of the farm, meeting all the horses and checking out the brand new barn and covered riding ring. Jake went nose to nose with a few of the equine boarders and even made a foray into one of the corrals to take lots of zooming laps around one of the occupants. We were dying to introduce Jake to the Beltie cows and their furry ears. Jake licked a cow nose and then ran off into the field to roll in something disgusting. A hose bath took care of the offending odor in question. After all the animal introductions, Jake and Harley went back to wrestling in the front yard grass. Jake pounced on Harley and walked around on his back legs swatting at Harley like some tiny black and white speckled bear. Harley would nibble on Jake's chunky little legs, "corn-cobbing" them as we call it. Zoe would insert a bark here and there just for show.


Once inside the house Jake began to steal everyone's socks, as is his routine at home. The sock can be dirty or clean, makes no difference to Jake. His particular favorite was a striped sock of my friend's. Jake doesn't chew on socks. Rather, his joy is in the stealing and then the pleasure of having you notice the sock in his mouth. Charlotte, a teeny weeny house kitten, took great interest in whatever was hanging from Jake's mouth. Charlotte stood on her back legs with her little paws on each side of Jake's wide nose and would bite the vulnerable nose until Jake dropped his prize sock. She would steal the sock from him with her needle claws and then go streaking through the house with Jake chasing after her. Great games of hide and seek were established from day one. Jake couldn't have been happier to finally have a cat that would play with him. And, Charlotte, well, we know she's not scared of anything!



The sad day finally came when we had to pack Jake, his backpack of toys, and all of our luggage back in the rental car. The bride and groom had already left for their honeymoon and we spent an extra night at their house, keeping their animals company. Zoe and Harley watched quietly as we put everything in the car. Lots of kisses and wiggling came our way when we said goodbye. We slipped Jake into his seatbelt harness and into the back seat. He stretched up all tall as he could and still be seated to look sadly over the door at his new friends. We had a really depressed dog on the way home. It's so wonderful to see our puppy having a great time but it's so hard to take him away from it, too! Thank goodness, agility class is tomorrow night and will give Jake a little boost.

Second Beginner Agility Class

Small disclaimer -- I just realized that Jake isn't really 10 months old until September 29th. Bad mommy. On with the story! As you can see from the picture, agility is working well for us as Jake's parents. A little bit of leash burn on my poor hands is worth the few minutes that Jake is unconscious sitting up in his butterfly chair next to my desk. Tonight went well for all the dogs present. Some of the more timid dogs approached the class with more enthusiasm and little less fear of the obstacles. And then the knuckleheads like our Jake were still flinging themselves about in utter abandon for all the doggy social rules. It was completely neat to see the dogs start watching each other on the obstacles. I believe one of our instructors called them "doggy mentors". Jake sure wanted to fly over those jump bars when the German Shepherds Ava and Marco sailed over them. Jake got a little stuck in the longer chute because of some odiferous tuna another dog missed inside the chute. He'd go flying in a top speed and just not come out (it's maybe a three-foot long chute so Jake has good brakes). For the most part, the string cheese is still doing the trick for Jake as bait. I think class was more relaxed for everyone tonight. And I'm pretty sure we're all looking forward to the next session!

Agility 101

We headed to Jake's first beginner agility class last night. He seemed really disappointed when we drove right past the river. He threw himself down with a great big theatrical huff and rolled his eyes. But once we got to the instructor's house and he heard all the other doggies, my husband and I were totally forgiven. There were three German Shepherds, one Golden Retriever, one Cocker Spaniel, one Boxer and one Sheltie to join us in the class. I had no idea that Jake already had a fan club -- one of the instructors had already seen Jake's blog and thought he was an "adventurous soul". Two of the instructors have herding dogs (Border Collies & Australian Shepherds)so we haven't encountered any herding dog prejudice. Besides fighting the swarming mosquitos (which seem to have the best knack for biting the small spots I missed with the bug spray) and trying to keep Jake from invading the other dogs' personal space until better acquainted, everything went wonderfully. Jake zoomed right through the tunnel, hit the contact spot on the A-frame, walked across and turned around on the lowered balance beam, flew over the jump bars, and raced through the weave poles -- all in the name of CHEESE. Jake doesn't get cheese at home so we pulled out the low-fat string cheese for the occasion. He kept running over to the instructor that normally held the bait to lick her fingers. The husband of one of the instructors told us that Jake was a natural. I know I was proud of him. Most importantly, Jake was totally pooped. Besides Ellen's sheep, we haven't found that much that can wear Jake out in an hour and half (at least not something that he can't recover from in a ten-minute power nap). Yeah, agility! Hopefully we can get some pics of him doing his stuff up here soon!

Cowboy Jake -- 10 Months Old

Jake's Halloween costume came in the mail yesterday and I just had to know if it fit. Jake pulled all the limp noodle stuff that he normally does when we stick his seatbelt harness on him. Once I finally had it on him, it took all of Jake's training to make him SIT up for the picture. He was kind enough to let me snap a few before he laid down to pout. Isn't our little cowboy cute? I doubt he will let me ever put him back in his costume, especially to make an appearance in public. So enjoy looking while you can!