My Dogs
This page is dedicated to my own dogs:
Dylan
AKA Mr Dylan or Dilly Willy
Welsh Border Collie
Born 17th May 1991
I got him 28th June 1991
Passed on 14th May 2005
Well, what can I say about Dylan? Except, that he was the most perfect dog I have ever met. From the moment I saw him I just fell for him completely. I have learnt so much from the time that we had spent together. Nearly 14 years of love and affection and fantastic times and lessons (for me from him).
I always always wanted a dog, ok, so sometimes I would have settled for a horse but that was when I was much younger. But a dog!! I would have done anything. We always had dogs at home, which was great, but never the same as having your own little bundle of fun to take walks and play with. Any opportunity I got I was hurling myself at any dog I could get hold of for a cuddle. This was from a very early age too!! It’s a wonder I didn’t ever get bitten… maybe the dogs knew I was harmless.. I certainly had no fear of them. I had to wait till I had finished in college (agricultural college) though before I could even think about getting a pup. Anyway! I couldn’t possibly get a young pup, or any pet, until I had found a place to live, a good job etc etc.
Yeah sure. Even before I had left the premises of the college I was looking round for a puppy. A friend of mine took me to a friends farm in Pontypool as they had a couple of farm bred collies for sale. I had already decided on a collie. I was more than likely going to be working on farms for a while so I thought a collie would be the best option. Well, I didn’t really know much about dogs, or keeping a dog. I was a bit nervous, would they be ok? What should I feed it? Should I have a boy or a girl? How many could I afford? How many could I fit in the car?
Then I saw him…. I probably couldn’t even describe the other pup. Except that it was also a black and white collie. All I could stare at was this black and white, wriggly, licky, slurpy bundle in the farmer’s arms… Love at first sight (or lick as that’s what the pup was doing to anything he could get in contact with) That was my Dylan.. I named him then as I stood there.
Once I got hold of him, I wasn’t going to let him go. Even to the point where I had to get my friend to get my money out of my jeans pocket as I was trying to get Dylan to get his tongue out of my ear and to stop wriggling. How much did he cost? Well, what would I have paid? When I look back over 14 (nearly) years that was the best 20 quid I have ever spent.
We came back in the car and Dylan spent his first night with me. He was tucked up in the corner of my bed in the college bedrooms. Ok, not the done thing in the halls of residence but I didn’t care, I had got my Dilly and I wasn’t going to part from him. He was so beautiful and he just followed me everywhere. We didn’t have a lead or anything, just a little brown collar. That collar is still with me, its sits by the bed and I will make sure that every boy pup wears it. Gabriel wore it and so will the next boy. Its Dilly’s legacy and maybe just a little of his love is embedded in that collar. The next day was the last in college so I packed up the car and the two of us headed out to a nearby village where I had got some summer work rearing calves. We had a little caravan on the farm to live in and there was a barn next to it so if Dylan couldn’t come with me (most of the time he did) then he could run round the barn until I got back.
He never ran away, he never stole anything, he never did any thing wrong, and he was just perfect. We had 6 brill weeks there then I got offered a permanent job back at the college working on the farm there. We now got a house too which Dylan thought was great, more rooms and stairs to go racing around, again, he spent lots of time with me at the farm. The only time he was naughty was when he got access to the kitchen when I wasn’t there, from some reason he loved to pull the wallpaper off the walls!!
We spent most of the next few years working around farms and enjoying life. I then got offered a job in Nottinghamshire so we packed the car up again and off we set. Dylan was still very happy and seemed to love this life of outdoors and long walks. He was very rarely on a lead as we just didn’t need it. We walked for miles and although he would always be ahead, he never left my sight. He would often look round just to see where I was. He loved playing Frisbee and could catch even the fastest throw. So the Frisbee came with us most walks. On of his other favourite game was for me to hide behind a tree or bush, so he could find me. He loved that game, he never tired from anything, and he would have walked and played all day and night.
In 1999 I got the next 2 pups Gabriel and Venus, Dylan was fine with them. He was 8 years old and still going strong, he could certainly tell the 2 youngsters how to behave. He had a real playful nature with the puppies and would tolerate them most of the time. When he had had enough, he would give a loud bark and walk off back upstairs to his bed. Dylan had always slept in the same room as me so I made sure that he still had this right and the pups slept downstairs. Venus totally loved Dylan and would lick and kiss him every time he moved. This went on even up till the day I lost him.
Gabriel loved to play and tease Dylan with the toys, but Dilly always got the last laugh and would just steal all the toys and then lie on them so Gabs couldn’t get to them. When Dylan reached 11 years he was still keeping up with the younger pair and loved his long walks in the evenings. He started to get a little bit stiff in the mornings but other than that he was very healthy. In fact, Dylan never really got ill or had injuries. He was always so happy and healthy. The only thing he did do was bark for attention, especially when you were busy. That bark got higher and higher pitched until he did get his attention. I used to wonder how he could get that high pitched; it was almost like a squeal sometimes.
Just his way of keeping me and the other 2 dogs in check I suppose. He still loved his toys and would happily play for ages even into his later years. He also loved his food; I don’t think he ever had a day when he didn’t eat everything in his bowl. (And anything else that was on offer) He loved hide chews too. Especially the ones shaped like shoes!!! He particularly enjoyed undoing the laces first!! You could almost see the concentration on his face as he carefully un-knotted the bows.
I never saw the end coming; I think Dilly had worked it all out beforehand to cause the least fuss. We were out walking in the countryside when I had a call to say that he was acting a little quiet. He wasn’t with me because of the distance; I’d taken the other 2 out for a long walk over the hills. We rushed home but I was just a little too late. Dylan was lying by the sofa, he just looked asleep but I knew that he wasn’t. He was so peaceful looking, it was almost as if he had just decided that it was time and he was going to go regardless of whether I was there or not. There was no pain on his face at all. I cuddled him for ages and apologised so much for leaving him behind. He didn’t seem to mind.
I had him cremated and his box sits by the TV, surrounded by loads of photos of him. I know he hasn’t gone though, I still feel him around the place. Especially when the toys had moved from where Gabriel or Venus had left them. Venus sits very still sometimes, staring at the wall; I’m sure that she sees him sitting there and maybe has a little conversation with him. I see him in my dreams sometimes too, he is always happy and I know that he is waiting there for me.
One day we will be together again, until then, I miss you Dilly and I love you, you will always be my perfect dog.
Gabriel
AKA Gabby, Gabs, Mr Boo
Born 5th July 1999
I got him 16th August 1999
KC name: Ventura Knight
My first dog Dylan will always be my perfect dog. When Dylan was about 8 years old I decided to get another dog. I had originally thought of getting a girl and had enquired about a couple I had seen advertised in the paper. I wanted another collie as I was still working on the farm and a collie would have a great life with all the space to run around in. I rang up about one particular litter that were already 6 weeks old. They were collie crosses but the owner was a little vague about what the cross part was. I thought I would go and have a look anyway. It was an afternoon off work anyway and what harm could it do, I was only going to look….right!
Yeah right!!! When I got there I met the bitch, she was a very small collie, little bit nervous but otherwise very nice natured. I got led into a room and was met by 7 assorted puppies and several children. The children took great delight in telling me all about each of the puppies.
I sat down on the floor and watched the puppies interact. I had noticed a gorgeous tri-coloured bitch and had already decided on her before I had really looked at the rest of them. The litter consisted of 2 tri bitches, 5 dark brown bitches and 1 black dog who was hiding in the corner. “You don’t want him” the kids told me “he has been ill and mummy says he won’t do very well” Then, as if he had heard, the black puppy dog looked at me, wandered over, stuck his tail in the air and had a wee by my hand.
As I looked down at him he lifted his head and our eyes met.. it was just like Dylan again. This puppy had got the most amazing chocolate brown eyes. It was love at first sight again. I asked for more information about him and was told that he was the first born and had had problems suckling so had been introduced to mashed up solids very early. But apart from that he was healthy enough. The puppy was now strutting around the room and every now and again he looked over at me. That was it, he was going to be mine. My thoughts had gone from the little tri girl but she was also now showing lots of interest in me. I had to have both, not bad considering I had only gone to look at the pups with no intention of buying.
I got the 2 for 75 pounds. I took them straight home and my wonderful relationship with both of them began. I hadn’t really got a name for the boy but due to his rough start in life I named him Gabriel. I thought that an angelic name would suit him, especially as he had been close to death in this life already. How little I knew back then.. But, if I had to go back to that litter of pups, despite all the heartache and tears, I would still have driven away with that black bundle.
Dylan was great with the puppies and Gabs seemed to accept him as boss and followed him around copying everything that Dylan did. Gabs grew quickly despite the diet of solid food so early in life and always cleaned his food bowl (nothing changed there!)
He was a lively little dog and loved to follow me around on the farm, investigating everything. He learnt the basics very easily and could soon sit, stay and heel very well. Both he and Venus were house trained within weeks. We had lots of fun together and I thought that any health problems were well in the past. How wrong I was..
The next few days almost took my beautiful boy away from me, he survived (just) and the resulting bond between us is the strongest thing I have ever felt. I have never known a dog who seems to know exactly what I am thinking, who knows exactly when to comfort me and who is only happy when the 2 of us are together. He really is my beautiful boy. When Gabs was 16 weeks old he developed a gastric infection. I had come home from the farm and found him lying in the garden. He seemed so very still and even though he got up when I got to him, I could tell he wasn’t well. I rushed him to the emergency vets wrapped in a towel. Suddenly, he started to go rapidly down hill. By the time I reached the vets he was pretty much lifeless except for the flow of diarrhoea from his bottom. I had never seen a dog so thin (except for dogs that had been rescued).
It was so severe that the vet didn’t really hold much help for him. He didn’t know where it had come from and couldn’t really give him anything for it. We tried to get liquids in him but it just came back up again, time after time. The vet gave me the choice of leaving the little pup there, or taking him home. Either way, the vet didn’t fancy his chances. I wasn’t going to leave Gabs there, he hadn’t had the best start in life and I definitely didn’t want him dying in a kennel at the vets so I took him home. Dylan had a sniff at him and walked away, Venus was asleep in her bed. So it was just me and a lifeless black skeleton.
I wrapped him up in a towel, lay down on the floor next to Dylan and waited. Gabriel just lay in my arms. I had put the radio on so some reason and one particular song came on that stuck in my head. It was called “wake up boo” I willed my “boo” to wake up but it seemed unlikely. Eventually tiredness got the better of me and I started to drift off. I woke up a several hours later, still no movement from the towel. That was it then, he must have gone. As I sat up, the towel slipped from around his body. I checked the ribs for any movement, he was so thin. As my eyes moved to his head I watched in disbelief as his eyes slowly opened and 2 beautiful chocolate brown eyes once more reduced me to mush (and an incredible amount of tears!)
It took another couple of weeks before Gabs was back up to weight but his appetite gained with every meal. It appears that his angelic name had been so very apt, he must have been so very special to been given another chance. Well, that’s what I like to think anyway!! Since that day our bond had been very strong I would really like to say that nothing like that happened again, Gabriel had other ideas. So far his vet visit list includes, a bite on the cheek by a terrier that got infected and swelled up like a golf ball, a broken toe, several split nails, a puncture wound on the foreleg that wouldn’t stop bleeding (also from a terrier bite!!) two broken teeth, a split foot that had to be stapled by the emergency vet and a reoccurring lameness in his hind legs. Phew.. no more please.. He sometimes spent more time in the vets than at home.
Anyway, before many of those health issues, I had enrolled Gabs at a companion dog training club and he excelled in all the classes. We soon got our KC good citizen awards and then were left with nothing to do. Someone had suggested a very good agility club and I thought that he might like it so off we went to join. This was when Gabs was about 2 years old; he soon got to grips with it and had lots of confidence with the contact equipment and jumps. After a few months I was asked if I wanted to enter a local agility competition, must admit, I didn’t really want to as I knew I would get really nervous but I thought Gabs would love it so we went ahead..
Gabs got a 14th in the jumping and a 17th in the agility…. Well! Its very addictive is this agility! Soon we were entering lots of shows with our friends Sue and Georgie and their dogs Biscuit and Crumble. Gabriel loves agility, he will probably never be the fastest dog mainly because of his size but he jumps very cleanly, gets his contacts (usually) and listens well to me (even when I tell him to go the wrong way!) He has won quite a few placings and loads of clear round rosettes; he has even won some 1st places at our own clubs shows.
In 2005 we entered a lovely show in Yorkshire; it was a country fair so there were lots to see. We had entered in the collie class for agility and also a knock out jumping class. Gabs ran perfectly and I was completely over the moon when the results were announced. He had won the class! We won a big bag of food and a gorgeous rosette. Gabs then also came 2nd in the knockout. I was in tears I was so happy. It was also my birthday so I think that the boy though he would give me something really special.
The only thing that worried me was the reoccurring lameness that seemed to spring out of nowhere. Gabs would be fine and then suddenly he would go stiff and it would be a couple of weeks before he would want to run around again. The vets had still not come up with a reason so I sent him for another batch of x-rays. This time the results showed that he has got a slight squaring of the femurs going into the hip joints. The choice was. Do I retire him from something that he loves so much and restrict his exercise from now on? Or do a let him carry on and trust him to stop when he needs to? The 2nd option was the one I chose, Gabs is very happy with it. If he needs to slow down or stop, he just tells me. It’s not very often but I can usually tell when he is getting a bit sore.
In January 2006 I decided to try hydrotherapy to see if it would help him. I rang a pool in Derby and booked him in. The pool belongs to Adams Agility and it looked very well run in the posters. We turned up and Gabby was given a very light swim for a few seconds, he totally hated it! Gabby has never been one for going out of his depth in water, maybe due to the fact that Venus knocked him into the canal when he was only 10 months old. He seemed to know that I was trying to help him though and every time after that he was a little less scared until he could actually swim freely without the floats and happily fetch a toy from the jets end of the pool. He now swims once a week and the difference is unbelievable, even after only a few months he become so free moving and the lame bouts were very far and few between.
He still has his Glucosamine/Chondroitin and also Aloe Vera every day, plus lots of fresh veg and goat’s milk in his meals (all my dogs eat lots of veg) He and Vee get at least 2 good walks a day but more often than not its 3. He loves to play catch and fetch with a ball so I just have to monitor his gait and try not to wince every time he jumps up for the ball. I still worry about him all the time, he really is so accident prone. On a holiday in Cornwall in 2006 he was unlucky enough to fall foul of the farm cat. I had to laugh at the time, this cat just literally grabbed hold of his head and wouldn’t let go. It was like a scene out of my favourite film (Alien) the bit where the face hugger gets hold of John Hurt. Poor boy, he ended up with a huge scratch down his nose, mind you, Venus chased the cat away so I think it had a bit of a fright too!! I can still remember his expression looking up at me, it was just “why me, mummy?”
So, that’s my boy, my shadow, my beautiful Gabriel, I love you so much Gabby, I can see in your eyes that you love me too.
Click here to read about Gabby's stifle operation in September 2006.
Venus
AKA Princess, Pretty Thing, Vee
Born 5th July 1999
I got her 16th August 1999
KC name: Virtual Princess Vee
I have never yet seen a prettier girl than my Venus. When I first saw her in the litter of puppies I was looking at, she really stood out. I had already decided that I wanted a bitch to be a good companion for my old boy Dylan. I was really looking forward to visiting litters to find a little girl. I had phoned up about lots of litters but had decided to go and see one in particular. The pups were collie crosses and I could see the mum. The mum was a very fine boned collie, the pups even at 6 weeks looked quite big and I could tell that they were going to be big dogs. One tri coloured girl was sitting by the door, she was taking every thing in. I tried to get her attention and she looked at me, seemed to think about it and then came over to me. She was so very pretty, mainly black with white spotty legs and the most beautiful brown markings on her face and tummy.
I had fallen for her already.. By this time a certain black puppy dog was also weaving his way into my heart. The children in the house had named the puppy Coco, The ill black dog (Gabriel) that they kept telling me to avoid was named Sam.
I spent ages playing with this little bundle of colours; she was so playful and loved her tummy being touched. I bought to 2 puppies’ home and Vee in particular loved the life on the farm. I had decided on the name Venus because she looked and acted like a goddess so which better goddess than the goddess of love. Sometimes her name would have better off being changed to “Thor, god of Thunder” because of the tellings off she gave Gabriel. She really went for him. Dylan was Venus’s first love, she adored him. Every time he barked, sneezed or whatever, she would jump up and go running to him. Then she would kiss and lick him all over. Dylan’s expressions at this time was always very funny, I don’t know how he put up with it all. Even if she had been out of the room, she always had to check he was ok on her return.
Vee really did miss Dilly when he went; it was most noticeable at night when she would wander around the room for ages as if she was looking for him. Over the months the 2 of them (and Dylan of course) spent lots of time with me around the farm. Vee was very quick to learn the routines and always knew where we were going next and what buildings I had to go into. She loved sitting in the tractor and even though she couldn’t get in herself, she used to stand by the door waiting for me to pick her up. Once inside, she used to sit on the shelf bit behind the seat and watch the world go by. She wasn’t afraid of the animals on the farm either and could sit and watch them all day.
She got on fine with Gabby but would always tell him off if he misbehaved. She was defiantly the boss between the 2 of them, but I got the feeling that she used to let him think that he was in charge; just to make the telling off she gave him even better. One day when we were walking along the canal Vee decided to have a race with Gabs and Dilly along the bank. Gabs picked up the challenge straight away; Dilly thought about it and then noticed some ducks to chase instead. So Vee and Gabs were running along the bank and Dilly was in the water chasing ducks. I’m not quite sure what happened next, but Vee suddenly veered to the water side straight in front of Gabs. Maybe she was looking for Dylan, or maybe she knew exactly what she was doing. The result of her action was that Gabs fell into the canal upside down.
Neither of the pups had been swimming yet, they were about 10 months old. I rushed over to where Vee was staring into the water. There was no sign of Gabs. Then, in the murky depths, I saw a frantic face heading back up to the surface. His mouth was open and his legs were waving madly around. I grabbed him and pulled him out. Poor boy!
It was as if Venus was laughing at him, surely she had planned it all. She stood there, tail wagging and started to bark at him. I thought, well if Gabs has had to learn, Vee might as well too so I gently pushed her in. She loved it, she was soon trying to catch up with Dylan after the ducks. She is just the same now, any chance of jumping into water, especially dirty smelly water.
Vee picked up on obedience too; she would walk to heel, sit, stay and re-call really well. But every now and again it was as if she just thought “I don’t want to do that silly heel stuff today” and that would be that. She would please herself for the day. Sleeping is something else that Vee does very well. She can sleep for hours without even stirring. Totally different from her brother Gabs, whose eyes open as soon as I think about leaving the room. Especially on hot days, she will lie outside in the shade and would happily stay there till bed time if I let her.
Vee was never interested in agility for some reason, she would refuse point blank to jump over anything that couldn’t be walked around and as for tunnels “how silly are they?” She would come to the shows and would be very happy to watch Gabs run but her interest stopped there. Then, when she was around 5 years old, she was sitting watching Gabs train at our club. She got very excited and started to bark a lot and jump around. I wasn’t sure what she was so excited about so I just let her off the lead. She than ran around the agility course and started to climb up the A frame.
I was amazed, after all this time Vee was interested in agility, her training stated the next week and she loved it. She especially loves the contact equipment; she loves to climb and is so careful that she very rarely misses a contact. She got used to the jumps too but for some reason would not jump full height (as then was). We all used to laugh at her because she cleared the elementary height by a good couple of inches but if faced with a full height, she would run under it. The amazing thing was that this was every time she was put to a full height jump. I could even mix a course with elementary and full height jumps and she would jump all the elems and run under all the fulls.
She is such a clever girl, whereas Gabs tends to bowl into every new situation, Vee thinks long and hard about it before taking action. After a winters training I entered Vee in her 1st competition. It was in Wellingborough and it was a paddling paws class for 1st time dogs. Vee came 10th and it would have been a lot higher if I hadn’t stopped too soon before a jump and caused her to knock it down. She was a very clever girl and soon she began to compete in the same classes as Gabs.
She, like Gabs, will never win on speed but she is very very careful and normally comes away from each show with at least 2 clear round rosettes. She doesn’t like me pushing her on away from me so I have to run her differently to Gabs, whose direction and distance control is brilliant. Quite often I have to take the longest route around a course to avoid causing her to stop because I am behind her. It keeps me fit too though!
Vee is perfect around the house, she is very quiet and loves to cuddle, the only thing she doesn’t like, is flies, she hates them, and will go upstairs under the bed to avoid them. I find this a bit odd though, because when Dylan was here, catching flies was one of his great indoor pastimes. He used to jump all over the furniture to get them, then you would hear a smacking noise as he chewed it then a spitting noise as he spat the bits out onto the carpet.
Venus also swims at the hydro therapy pool once a week now, I believe that it helps her suppleness and she does seem to benefit from it a lot.
So that’s my pretty girlie Venus.The look and attitude of a goddess, and the temper (when needed) to rival the devil. I love you princess.
Ripley
AKA rips, deeply dippy, alien boy, pimple
Born 2nd September 2006
I got him 22nd October 2006
ISDS name: Ripley
KC name: Ripley Dogbot
There is a bit of a story around Ripley, and it just goes to show that everything happens for a reason, its just at the time, you don’t always know why some things do happen. I had been thinking about getting another pup for a long while but something always seemed to get in the way. I made the decision, however at the start of 2006 that I would definatly get a puppy before the end of the year. I started to look around at different options and although I knew that I wanted a border collie, it was very hard to pin point a suitable line or breeder to go to.
I found lots of predicted litters and e-mailed several owners for more information. I finally spotted a gorgeous looking ISDS girl on the internet and emailed in for more information. This is how I meet Sue Wyatt and the lovely Lucy. Lucy was due to come into season later in the year and I knew that because of Sues extensive research for a suitable, healthy boy, the litter would be very healthy and well looked after. I was lucky enough for Sue to give me first choice on the boy pups, I felt over the moon, and we all waited eagerly for Lucy’s next season. The months passed and I started to buy bits and pieces for the new arrival, toys, chews etc…( as you do….)
My friends Sue and Georgie had by this time got their names down for a Borderstorm puppy out of the beautiful Dare and Dylon. I love the look of merles, but to me, a black and white border collie is the most beautiful thing to look at. So striking and stunningly handsome (as a boy of course) Other friends had all either got puppies earlier in the year or in the previous year. I had got the oldest 2 doggies of the group, and was the only one without a youngster. Of course, this didn’t matter to me, because I had already got the best 2 dogs any one could wish for, in Gabby and Vee.
It was just that thought of getting a pup to bring on in obedience and agility (if, of course the pup enjoyed these sports, if he hated agility that would not matter to me, as long as he was happy with his life…)
Anyway, time drew on and it eventually came to the time that Lucy was due in to season. Everything was planned; she was going to the handsome Gwyn, another ISDS dog. What happened next is uncertain, but for some reason, Lucy bled all the way through her season and could not be mated to Gwyn. I found out when I saw Sue at Bromsgrove show on the 17th of September. I had heard from Sue previously that Lucy was in season so I couldn’t believe it when she told me what had happened. Sue was very upset but the most important thing being that Lucy was fine and in good health, the vet found nothing wrong with her and put it down to “one of those things” This was obviously the important bit, Lucy’s wellbeing being the priority. However, it did leave me with a lumpy throat and a sunken tummy.
Oh yes…… the name Ripley… Well… one of my favourite films is Alien, and I love the main role of Ripley played by Sigourney Weaver. I love the name and before anybody points out that “Ripley” is then a girls name…. the original screen play was written for a male lead playing Ripley… so there…
My little Ripley was not to be and I was, again, going to be the one with no puppy. Or so I thought………… What I didn’t realise was that only a few miles away from where I found out about Lucy, there was a little boy who was tucking into the milk bar who had only been born 15 days earlier……
This is where you start to see how things pan out and why you should never knock fate, it does all happen for a reason!!!!
When I got home on the Sunday, even though my heart wasn’t in it, I started to look on the internet again. Suddenly, a picture of a stunning looking dog came into the screen; he was black and gorgeous but strangely familiar.. I looked further, wondering where I had seen this dog before; he was working sheep so I knew it could not have been at an agility show. Then I realised, he was Lucy’s dad Glen. I read more in the site and found out that the farm where Glen lived was only a few miles from where I had been that morning, (strange….)
I e-mailed the site and asked for more information about Glen and asked if there was any chance of him siring another litter soon. I got a reply back from Andy and Gillian that I couldn’t believe at first. Not only had Glen just sired a litter, but it was also with Pearl, Lucy’s mum. The pups were only a few weeks old but Andy asked if I would like to see them. Talk about weird…..
I hummed and harred over it for all of 10 seconds then e-mailed back and said “yes please”
I phoned Sue and Georgie and they were as excited as me and definatly wanted to come and see the puppies with me. I e-mailed Sue with Lucy and told her, she was very happy and offered to e-mail Andy herself and give me a glowing reference. So, on Friday the 22nd of September, we set out to meet Andy and Gillian and the dogs. It took us about 2 hours to get there as the traffic was rough, but it didn’t matter once we got there. Andy and Gillian are some of the nicest doggie people I have met. All the dogs are happy and very healthy and incredibly well looked after It was amazing to see 10 border collies all standing like stone to be let into the field for a run, not one moved until Andy said “ok” then they went like 10 missiles into a field of sheep and not one dog disturbed the sheep, they all just played and sniffed around.
Glen is stunning (pictured right), he wandered over for a fuss and we all gave him big cuddles. Then Pearl (pictured below) came over, she is so pretty and showed not the slightest bit of worry, even when I came to be sitting in the whelping pen, did she bat an eyelid. All the dogs were so calm and relaxed; it was a real joy to spend time in their company. Then, Andy took us over to the whelping box, what a beautiful site, 9 little black and white guinea pigs, all stretched out under the heat lamp and wonderfully content with full tummies. Andy passed me one of the 3 boys, he was lovely. He had got a wide white blaze and a fully white tail. Andy then passed Georgie one of the other boys, and then I saw him….. my Ripley….
This little boy had got black around one eye, white around the other, 4 white legs and the most gorgeous black and white left ear. He opened his eyes and they met mine. He also looked like he might have the makings of a blue eye. I passed the pup I was holding to Sue and took the pup off Georgie. As I took hold of him, he cried a little and started to fall asleep. My heart melted, I must have held on to him for ages. Andy showed us the other boy, he has got a whole white head and Sue fell for him straight away, if it wasn’t for having her name down for the Borderstorm pup, I am sure that she would have bought him home. All the other pups were so pretty too but I had made up my mind.
It’s a good job that I had narrowed my search down to just boys or I would have still been there when the pups were 6 weeks old trying to decide which to have. I was so lucky that Sue Wyatt had contacted Andy as he then said I could have first choice over the boys. So I met my Ripley that day, we took loads of pictures and Andy let us spend lots of time in the box with the pups, even Pearl wandered over and asked for a fuss while we were in there. In fact, I was already planning when to get my next dog as I knew that if I didn’t breed from Ripley, I would definatly return to Andy and Gillian for another puppy. I went back up to see Ripley, Andy, Gillian and the dogs a few weeks later. Andy showed us the dogs working the sheep which was great. I would have loved to be able to teach Ripley to herd but I think he will have enough on his plate with the obedience and agility to start with, but you never know…….
At 7 weeks of age, I went to pick Ripley up. Sue and Georgie came with me and after another tour of the pack, we set of for home. Ripley was sleepy so I wrapped him in a fleece and he sat on Georgie’s knee. We managed to get about 100 yards away from Andy’s farm….before Ripley started to winge… and he winged all the way home. What a vocal little man (nothing changed at all) he didn’t want to be held, didn’t want to sit on the fleece, didn’t want to sit on Georgie, didn’t want to do anything except cry and moan….. Poor thing, I was even starting to feel guilty about bringing him away from his mum.
Ripley has proved to be the most intelligent dog I have ever known. He is so easy to train. He just needs something showing him once, and then he has got it. Right from when he first came home I started adding words to his actions. E.g., he sat so I said “sit” and then gave him lots of praise. I did the same with “down”, “here to me” and “bring it here” for when he came over to me with a toy. I trained “wait” by holding him away from his food bowl at feeding time and saying “wait” then releasing him. He very soon got the idea that “wait” meant that he wasn’t going any where and he soon started to do it for himself.
This was pretty much the way that I trained him to do everything and even at 5 months he could sit, down and stay at a distance, re-call very well even when the other dogs were running about. He knew left and right and could turn each way and I could send him to a mat from one end of the garden to the other with no problem. He still was such an independent little dog and didn’t really want cuddles, he preferred to lie on his bed and watch every one else. But he is getting more hug hungry now and will sit on my knee or snuggle up on the bed at night time with no problem.
At one of the EMDAC shows I let him wander round the practise ring and he even started to climb up the A frame like he had watched the other dogs do. He is very brave and I know that he is going to really love agility.
He loves swimming and practically breaks the door down at the pool trying to get in. once he is in the water he loves fetching a toy and if I am not quick enough to catch him he climbs on the edge and then jumps back in making a huge splash. Getting out is more of a problem though as he would probably stay in all day and I have to really encourage him to come out. Once he is out though he loves the shower and runs straight to it and barks at me to put the water on. He loves the dryer too and moves his head round so the warm air blows onto his neck and throat. He almost shuts his eyes as this bit and looks very relaxed. He must be half fish…..
Kiefer
AKA Kiefer Diefer, Small Fing
Born 25th August 2007
I got him November 2007
Kiefer came from the Astra group in Scotland. I had had my eye on a pup from the litter of Bute and Bob but then I was offered a pup from a recent litter of Kit and Spot. As soon as I saw the pup on offer I was hooked. He is beautiful, nearly all black except for white paws, a bit of white on the chest and a little stripe on his nose. I drove up to pick him up at 9 weeks and he was so good on the journey home, no whinging, weeing or sulking. He really is a laid back boy, he spends most of the time attached to my foot and he is almost like a cat rubbing round legs when I am standing in the kitchen. He took to sleeping downstairs straight away and again no moaning. He is very good in the van and tends to sleep really well on long journeys.
Well if I thought that Rippy was a quick learner he has got nothing on Kiefer. This little puppy has an amazing learning capacity. He loves to watch the other dogs and will try and copy anything that they do. Although saying that, he is not as forward as Rippy and is much clingier so send always are a little tricky.
He was watching Rippy doing some jumping the other day, just straight line runs, and when I let him go he ran straight over to the wings and started running round then and looking up at the pole as if he knew that Rippy had done something but he couldn’t quite work out what.
At 5 months he has already learnt sit, down, stand (nearly), wait (very well) back (turn right with a lure) and I can send him round the tree in the garden from 20 metres away although he will only go round it to the right.
He gets on with Ripley really well and I do have to stop them playing sometimes as they end up not listening to me. Gabby and Vee are very good with him and will tell him off when he needs it, which is most of the time. Ha ha
They all get on really well together and although Kiefer only comes out on short walks with all the gang he behaves very well and never goes too far from me.
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