Jake and His New Lifejacket

Jake's lifejacket arrived today so we headed to the river to try it out. It was amazing how well it kept Jake above water. Previously all you could see of Jake was his little head trying to hold up the big water dummy. Now his entire back was flush with the water and you could see him using his crooked little tale to navigate. We were able to play longer and go deeper without fear of him tiring out and drowning. Yeah, lifejacket! Jake discovered that snails were living on the rocks and kept stopping to snack on them. I swear every time he found a new one and I yelled, "Leave it", he'd look at me like "Well, you didn't tell me to leave this one before."

Jake 8 Months Old & Loving the Outdoors --

We took Jake on his first trip to Looking Glass Falls in Brevard, NC. He was so excited about getting in the water and plunged right in the shallow end. Then Jake noticed the huge waterfall. He stood stock still and stared at it for a good five minutes. Then he looked back at me standing safe from the blowing mist with my camera. He decided he wanted to be with me instead! My husband carried him over to a nice rock and they sat together a little while longer next to the Falls. A nice hike on a little trail in the Cradle of Forestry gave Jake time to dry off. He's learned that it's easy to drink from the Camelbak but refuses to carry his own.

Allow me to introduce you to Jake's feline siblings. The oldest is our black American Shorthair Puck. Puck is ten years old and quite cranky when she wants to be. She grew up with my dad's Border Collie and is NOT interested in dogs. She stands on her back legs and boxes Jake's ears. Oberon ("Obie"), our white male Oriental Shorthair, is two years old and prefers to taunt Jake. He drops toys in front of Jake and then howls, "He stole my toy," at top volume when Jake picks the toy up. They play some interesting hide and seek games with the big armchair in the living room. Willow (Obie's true litter sister), our Bluepoint Siamese Oriental Shorthair, prefers to walk on all the counters, sleep on the dressers, and hang out on her window perch. She's just not sure what to think about Jake just yet. As I mentioned before, we were totally cat people before adopting Jake and our cats have equally huge personalities of their own. Jake wants so badly to play with these three. All he's managed so far is a wet, sloppy kiss on their foreheads. They liked that a whole lot!

Jake 7 Months Old -- The Slide

Jake discovered the baby slide in my dad's backyard. All I have to do is ask Jake if he wants to SLIDE and he comes racing over to the steps. He waits for UP and gets to the top. He waits for DOWN and then swishes down the slide. My dad's 75-lb Border Collie was fairly jealous that Jake was having such a good time but couldn't figure out how to fit his large self up that little ladder to do the same. We decided it was time to find Jake a beginner agility class. We have signed Jake up and await the first class. We sent in Jake's ILP paperwork with the name "No Worries Jake". It suits him perfectly. Life is way too full of fun as long as he's with his humans.

Jake 7 Months Old -- Playing in the River

Jake is still learning to fetch in the water. He brings it back two-thirds of the time. The other times he is distracted by a leaf or a twig floating downriver or is sure that the water dummy would look better in the bushes far from Mommy. He's a smart little swimmer using rocks along the way to push himself further along. When he's all worn out, Jake finds the nearest big rock and waits for me to come get him and the water dummy. We've purchased a life jacket for him since he really still wants to keep playing. I wish I could say I enjoy being in that yucky river water as much as he does. Jake is great entertainment for all the passing kayakers and tubers.

Jake 7 Months Old and Grinning

Ever seen a cattle dog grin? They are very good at it, especially when they have done something to make their humans look pretty stupid. We bought Jake a baby pool, thinking he would like to play in it to cool off. Jake thinks the baby pool is a big water dish. He refuses to get in it and just drinks the cool water nonchalantly. We decided to use the moment to take his pictures needed for his ILP registration with the AKC just in case we do go through with the agility training.

Jake 7 Months Old and Already Working

We take Jake everywhere with us, even to work. ACDs are not dogs you can leave alone for long. They like to be with their people and have a job. Jake thinks his job is to collect every random plastic drink bottle each construction worker left behind and bring it to us. This primary job is followed closely by rounding up every spare piece of lumber. And just for fun, digging holes in the sand will make any ACD kick up his heels and get the zoomies. The zoomies you ask? An ACD running around on high octane fuel. When it starts, be sure to get out of the way because Jake just might run right over you if you're in his path. After an exhausting day out in the countryside working, Jake is taking a rest in the shade on this big dozer.

Jake 6 Months Old -- Loving the Beach

Jake got his first trip to the beach. We purchased a water dummy to try to teach him a little water fetching. He was NO dummy and let my mother-in-law's German Shorthair Pointer go get the dummy from the crashing waves. He would steal it from her when she got back to the sand. Jake liked to sit on the rocks in the tidal pool and shriek his little throat hoarse. He likes to have what we call "yodeling sessions", a shrieking session totally revolving around how fun it is to just make noise. Sometimes we join him.

Jake 7 Months Old -- Up Close and Personal

Jake has no fear of cows. He raced right up to the pasture fence and sat down to sniff. All of the baby cows came over to investigate. Do you see the baby bull with the white face? That little stinker got out of the pasture fence and was facing down cars on the road. Not sure what to do I ran to get Jake. I thought we could at least convince the little bull to go back down the gravel road next to the pasture. Jake knew just what to do. He walked very purposefully towards the cow until the cow turned around. Then Jake swung side to side moving the cow down the road. When the cow had had enough of Jake, the cow slipped right back through the barbed wire fence and went bawling back to his big momma. Jake was rather proud of himself and so was I! I had to call the farmer who owned the cows and brag a little.

Jake 6 Months Old and Pouting

These are the best pictures being taken with my camera phone but they tell a story. After several long car trips listening to Jake shriek like some wounded opera diva for five hours, I set about to find another traveling solution. Driving with Jake loose in the car was not an option since he was getting stronger and bigger each day. So after a little research I purchased a seatbelt harness from Ruff Rider because they have a puppy exchange program. I put the seatbelt on Jake and he played Dead Possum immediately. I thought something was wrong with him and immediately took it off looking for some reason to his comatose state. And instantly he was healed! Puzzled, I put the harness back on and Jake returned to Dead Possum. After several days of this, I decided Dead Possum was quieter than Shrieking Diva and the harness was staying in the car. Usually Jake will roll over when he realizes the harness is not coming off and do his best to look terribly dejected. So Jake is safe in his harness and my ears are rejoicing in the quiet car ride.

Jake and His Daddy -- Stuck in the Tunnel

We had originally gotten this collapsible tunnel for our two kittens. When we got Jake, the cats refused to play in the living room anymore. So Jake inherited the tunnel. Since we're hoping to do agility with Jake, we started practicing with the tunnel. He loves it -- he runs shrieking at the top of his little lungs (a sound no ACD owner can mistake) from one end to the other. My husband decided to take a crawl through and Jake followed!

Jake 6 Months Old...Will Work for Marshmellows

Jake will do anything for a marshmellow. They smell good and the bag makes a nice crinkley noise that brings him running to the kitchen. This is Jake's DOWN STAY. What you can't see in this picture is Jake flicking his eyes from the marshmellows to my face to the marshmellows to my face. He's actually pretty patient waiting for my OKAY command.

Jake 4 Months Old -- I Spy With My Little Eye...

A cow! Jake finally saw his first live cow. It just happened to be the big bull in the pasture near my grandparents' house. He froze. He sniffed the air intensely. He waited and waited. And waited and waited. The bull didn't take notice. Jake huffs when he's frustrated. A little huff escaped him and we continued on our walk with occasional glances over his little shoulder to check on the bull.

For those of you who are not familiar with cattle dogs, let me say that they are a handful with a capital H. My husband and I were hard pressed to find ways to entertain Jake. Nothing held his attention for long and we were trying desperately to wear him out. So when our first opportunity to meet other owners and their ACDs came along, we were ecstatic. Jake is pictured here with his new friends Posey (the sweet red girl) and Nyle (the soccer-loving blue boy). Unfortunately Jake wasn't feeling very well but tried his hardest to be social, especially with all the farm cats.

Jake 4 Months Old

Jake is growing into a rather handsome fellow. He's very cuddly and very loving. He is wonderful with my two-year-old baby brother, my one-year-old nephew, and my five-year-old nephew. I was worried about his interaction with three active little boys but had no need to be. Jake seems to have some inner voice that tells him not to jump on them or steal the cookie from their little sticky hands. Adults are another matter and open and fair game! And we're sure at this point that we should have named him Hoover instead of Jake -- he eats everything he finds -- sticks, rocks, acorns, chicken feathers, dead bugs, etc. I am constantly digging things out of his crocodile jaws.

Jake 4 Months Old -- Tired from Class

We enrolled Jake in a basic obedience class right away. The minimum age for the puppies was 4 months old but the trainer made an exception for our 11-week-old puppy. After six weeks of training and being the star of the show, Jake was one tired puppy and we were much happier doggy parents. Here he is snoozing on the floorboard of the car on the way home from his graduation with his favorite cow and tug toy.

Jake 4 Months Old

"Jake, sweetie, I think it's time you sleep in a big boy bed." Jake was clinging firmly to the belief that he still weighed 10 pounds.

Jake Almost 4 Months Old

Okay, so he still thinks he can fit in the cat bed. He's giving it a valiant effort and we're trying not to laugh (not very successfully). We're positive he will have a future career as a slapstick comedian.

Jake 3 Months Old and Growing

The cat bed is growing a little smaller these days! Jake is so totally adorable with his tongue hanging out. We were told that would go away when his adult teeth grew in but, thank goodness, that didn't happen. We think it's part of his cutie pie charm!

Jake 3 Months Old -- Doggy Bed Corral

Jake doesn't sleep in his doggy bed but does use it for herding all of his stuffed animals. His favorite is the cow that has a pretty authentic moo. He sleeps with it every night in his crate. His squeaky toys are his favorite during the day. The louder the squeak, the better!

Jake 3 months old -- Taking over the cats' bed

We bought Jake his own big cushy doggie bed. Jake decided the tiny, fluffy cat bed suited him better. So each night we would stick him in his dog bed. And each night he would wait for us to sit down on the couch before he headed to the kitty bed. We gave up after a week since the cats don't use the bed anyways (they think it's a toy).

Jake at 10 weeks old -- February 2006

First, let me say that I am not a spontaneous person. Second, let me say that I absolutely fell head over heels for Jake's furry little face. He licked my face and nibbled on my ears and I just couldn't leave him behind. I had read about Australian Cattle Dogs in books. That only helped a little. The reality of a highly energetic dog overwhelmed a cat person like me at the beginning. Joining the ACD-L, a chat group for other people owned by their ACDs, was a saving grace.