LET'S PLAY, DAMNIT IT'S NATIONAL DOG DAY

It begins in the morning. In my sleep I don't hear anything but I know that they're there. Perhaps it's the quiet warm breathing, more than likely it's the stares. The border collie stare. It's like a pressure, a presence, an organic tractor beam, pulling on me.

Time to get it up, is what it all means. Two dogs letting me know, Time to get up and let's go. Border collies know what they want, they know the order of things. They are never afraid to to remind me what that routine is. In their own way, they try to herd me, "We want to go out there and to go out there we go through here"

They know the routine. Terra exits the house first and Panda follows; it's not the order of age of course, Panda has that advantage but it's an order of seniority. Terra was here first. It's Panda's house no doubt and in most things both dogs must share, but to seniority there must come some privilege.

The car is a different situation. Panda is first into the car because, due to the grace of her almost 10 years, she needs a little assistance getting into the vehicle. So Panda first then Terra comes, through the hatch, and once inside they are left to their devices to figure our the geometry of who lays where. It's funny, the back of my car is pretty spacious, but they always seem to end up together

They are not sisters, there is no relation between the two of them, but as time has gone on they have become what I refer to as house sisters. Probably against what is in their little doggie hearts more and more and more, they are learning "Hey, she seems to be here to stay, may as well make the best of it"

They become a united front when it comes to going out and playing. Out in the parks and the trails and the ravines and the woods they are in their element. They have a lot of discipline in their lives and it doesn't end at all outside but still, they know this is their time. That time is earned through good behaviour and damnit, being good ain't easy. Let's appreciate our rewards

We hit the park and they're off. I don't throw the ball and then have them chase it down. That's not the border collie way (Feel free to say that to yourself in a Sean Connery accent) I raise the Chuckit and they go off, moving fast, Terra stretching her long form, legs moving with a liquid grace, Panda hunched over a bit and digging hard, her back legs, a little stiff with age, moving in tandem. They run down to where they think the ball will land then they wheel to look at me, to look at the ball. Heads flattened, ears out, butts slightly elevated "Yeh, ok, we're ready for the sheep"

I call this playing, you could call it work, work is play for a border collie. I have working dogs that have taken a very early retirement. The work hard, on command, there's some competition there but mostly it's benign. They play hard and they crash hard, people see them collapsed on their water bowl and will say "Oh they're too tired to play now" Then I raise the ball and they're off again

What is the point of all this? Your dogs want to play with you. Today is National Dog Day. So go play with your dog.

And that's the end(s)

I THOUGHT THE PANDAS IN TORONTO LIVED AT THE ZOO

I guess it makes sense to write my first post of 2015 around the thing that has been the center of Collette and mine's attention for the past few weeks

This thing, right here

This is Panda. Panda is a nine year old border collie. She came to my attention through a high speed and efficient form of wireless communication ... not Blue Tooth or the interwebs but the DPFN ... the Dog Park Friends Network.

A friend of mine told me the story of this woman who had an elder border collie looking for a new home. We were not actively seeking a new dog but my buddy knows that I won't let any dog, especially a border collie, go to a shelter. He told me that this indeed was the case with Panda. Her owner had to find her a home or it was a shelter

As my buddy informed me "You're the border collie guy, I thought of you first" So I contacted the woman and she told me a story. Panda lived with her dam (mother) who is around 13 at this time. The woman had lost her husband and she was finding it too difficult to manage both dogs. The momma dog is very anti social and can't really be taken to dog parks so Panda was not playing much.

And the woman lived with both dogs in an apt and could not give Panda much attention So Panda taught herself to pee and poop in the shower. Yeh .. I know. That had me cocking my head spaniel style .. "Say what?"

She said the situation was dire. She had to rehome Panda immediately.We weren't sure we wanted an older dog, Terra responds well to younger dogs though she was raised with Hayley who was considerably older.  I did inform the owner about Border Collie Rescue, a terrific organization dedicated to rehoming BC's. They have a foster network who care for the dogs until they find them homes.

I was told that BC Rescue had no foster homes for Panda but may have a home for her in a couple weeks. We agreed to take her in on a temporary basis. She is a sweet little dog. She is very very affectionate. But there were issues right away. She was extremely dominant with Terra. Very very dominant. She was limiting Terra's movement in the house, trying to sequester her out of the living room and away from us. Terra was definitely taking the submissive role. I've taught her not to scrap in parks and walk away from the fight but now the fight was in her own house.

Some of this behaviour I corrected by doing what Terra should have been doing; I was putting Panda down. As soon as she snapped or lunged at Terra I just took her collar and put her down. This seemed to work, it certainly established my dominance and Panda was learning some limitations. The biggest issue though was around food

Terra has been in the homes of other dogs, I've boarded dogs here, usually she will eat some of their food but generally does not freak out if they ate hers. Never really had any problems. But Panda had a different approach. She tried blocking Terra from eating her own food and Panda would frantically eat her own food if Terra even looked in that direction. Food hoarding. I was quickly realizing that I may have not gotten the full story on this dog

Terra's reaction was quite strong and in some instances quite sulky. Except in the park. In the park both dogs were great. They would chase the same ball and never get into disputes over it. One would usually defer to the other and let her pick the ball up. They walked side by side on leash without any issue. So that gave me hope

Over a week or so the work we were doing with Panda, putting her down, separating the food areas, giving Terra precedence by letting her be the first in and out of doors, started to work. Panda was not quite and dominant and Terra began to relax. The food remained an issue and still remains. It's getting better but Panda gets frantic over her food when Terra is nearby. We have separated them at feedings but that's not the way I like to run the house. So having them in the same room but around the corner and feeding them at the same time, that seems to be working

I have been in contact with Border Collie Rescue and the story I was told by Panda's owner does not match theirs. They do not have any homes in mind for Panda and they weren't even posting her for adoption on their website. And they are very puzzled as to why Panada had to be let go with such urgency, as am I. I told them that I don't want Panda to go to another temporary home, that would not be fair to her, she is settling in here and the routine is doing her good.

We want to keep Panda. She is loving and sweet, has good energy. I suspect I know why her owner wanted to dump her. I am hearing a cough from the dog that makes me think she has a heart condition. If that is true it means a lot of expense to deal with it. Well, we've been down that road before. If we can get the food situation under control .. and it's getting better .. Panda will be ours. I agree. Collette agress

Terra may have a different opinion

TERRA, COUPE DU BOIS

A coupe du bois was a traditional Quebecois lumberjack. Besides cutting the trees, it was their job to get them down river to the mills.

They became renowned for their skill, dexterity and bravery as they ran along the log jams, freeing the stuck logs and nimbly leaping from log to log as the trees roared down the raging rivers

Apparently Terra has been watching History TV.

The video below explains

Terra: Coupe de Bois from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

URBAN MYTHS DECODED: THE STICK EATER

There are many strange things out there my friends

Beasties, monsters, genetic backwaters

Yeti, Nessie, Ogo Pogo .. are any of them real?

We continue in our quest to decode urban myths. In this edition we explore the legend of the strange, rarely seen beast known as the Stick Eater

Myth or reality?

You decide

DISCLAIMER: All the content of this video is verified as authentic and true except for all the things that have been made up

BORDER COLLIE WEATHER

Rain stings my face.

Back in the trees, I could not feel it; it's not a heavy rain, it's an early spring rain and this spring that means cold and sharp and it clings to my beard. I bow my head, pull up my hood and move forward into the low rolling hills of the ravine.

Terra breaks out of the trees behind me. She pauses there on the crest of the hill, just as I had. Her eyes narrow in the rain but her muzzle raises up almost of its own volition it seems and I can see her nostrils flare as she fills her mind and her body with the scents all around her.

The ears come up, just for a second pricked in the classic Border Collie way but that is not her way and after a moment the ears lay back down. I've gotten about 20 feet ahead of her and of course, that will not do. The head lowers just a bit, her long lanky body surges forward, the muscles moving under her glossy black fur like the current of a deep cold dark river.

She is at my side in seconds; she slows, not quite pausing and tilts her head just enough to let me know that she is looking at me. I move my hand in a practised way and I quietly say "Go ahead little girl."

And she goes.

Due to the weather, the big park is empty. Green rolling hills fringed with elm trees and willows and poplars. I know that there is a street just beyond those trees, that overpasses arch above us but I can ignore that.

Terra is moving ahead of me, not full out running but moving swiftly, tail up and curled with its distinctive crook in the end, her nose down, running it through the wet grass.

She is scenting, or trying to scent. Border collies are not scent dogs, they are sight dogs. When Terra wants something she "asks with here eyes" which means usually laying down on her belly and staring at the object she desires ... and I mean staring. Eyes locked on, body incredibly still, I swear her breathing changes; this is entire focus this is concentration, this is a dog saying "You idiot it's there, it's right there, that thing, right there!"

But now she is moving through the high grass, the wetness clinging to the long feathered fur on the backs of her legs, he nose down, head swinging. She is not a scent dog. Up north one winter I found deer tracks, fairly fresh, in the snow and I put her nose right in them; off she went, following the scent, till she got to the point where the deer tracks went right. Terra went left.

But she is just casting now, curious, picking up scents of other dogs, squirrels, raccoons maybe. There are coyotes in this ravine. I'm not sure what she would do if she scented them, run like hell probably. She's a smart dog.

We come to a part where the ravine becomes quite steep, the wooded slope rising up at a very sharp angle to a height of about 30 or 40 feet. She goes to where the wall of the ravine begins to rise; she stops, turns only her head to look at me, mouth open tongue lolling eyes bright. I quietly say "Go ahead little girl."

And she goes.

She flies straight up, very fast, easily leaping over logs, flowing under branches, fearless; she's scented a squirrel and she begins to bark, still running, moving fast, totally happy in that moment,

I continue along the trail, heading back into thicker trees as Terra runs the ravine, sometimes barking sometimes quiet, intense and focussed at one moment then completely hyper and loud and explosive in the next.

I lose sight of her from time to time in the trees but I know she knows where I am. She is my border collie and I am her master, her leader, her shepherd if you will. She always knows where I am.

The rain is getting heavier now, soaking through my hoodie. I shove my hands into my pockets, hunching my shoulders. Terra comes bounding down the wall of the ravine at full speed, her fur soaked through, her normally full tail looking rat like.

She is smiling. She is happy. She comes barreling along the trail, mud spattering and sticking to her fur. She skids to a halt right in front of me, the mouth open her eyes gleaming. She tilts here head as if to say "Where to next"

When I had Hayley and Terra together we had a "dog park friend" a lady from England who also had two border collies. She had grown up with the breed. One day we were in the park with our four days, a day much like this one, with low clouds and cold blowing rain and an empty ravine. We were miserable us two humans but the four border collies were ranging ahead of us; quiet and swift and feeling the roll of the hills, their noses in their wind, eyes slitted against the cold hard rain.

The lady stopped me with her hand and had me watch the dogs for a moment. "Look at them. They love this. This is border collie weather."

So now she is at my feet, looking up at me as if to ask "Where to next"

I pull the hood tighter around my head, feeling the sting of the rain and I say to her "Go ahead little girl"

And we go

HOW TO INTERPET DOG

It's an age old, oft asked question: What does my mean? What does she want? I wish she could talk!!

Well, we know that dogs communicate, amongst themselves they use a combo of body posture, vocalizations, scent and factors we probably can't understand.

With us, they communicate the way we teach them: We teach to "speak" but really all they are doing is giving a conditioned response to a preset signal. It's a learned behaviour, not necessarily how the dog would choose to communicate with us

I think that for every time we say "I wish I knew what she ways saying!" the dog is thinking "Why doesn't he hear what I'm saying"

Well, with the help of Terra, I've created a little video guide to help you interpret Dog

THE REAL WINTER GAMES

OK, now that the 25 hr Commercial Games .. I mean the Olympic Games ... are over with, we can concentrate on the true great winter Canadian Game ... The Border Collie Bowl

This is a full contact, no holds barred game of speed, dexterity and mouth to paw coordination. The object is simple .. catch the ball before your sister does. Or bite her while the ref's head is turned.
This is a championship match, between the new up and comer, Terra "The Prodigy" and the current champ, the wily veteran Hayley. No love lost between these two. The trash talk has been flying. Comments have been flying about "mud puddle licker" and "butt sniffer" and accusations of a certain athlete tampering with the ball
The pre-game intensity was evident at the weigh ins, where the reigning champ engaged the rookie in an intense stare down
The game was certainly exciting, back and forth, give and take, bark and sniff the whole way. An official protest was lodged against Terra for carrying the ball until it was pointed out, how the heck else was she getting it back to Dad?
But all in all it was an honourable affair, no was bitten, no one was peed on and although the word "bitch" was bandied about, it could barely be considered a technical foul

Still, no medals were handed out for this historic athletic event, but Milk Bones seemed to suffice. And thankfully, I've captured the entire event for posterity. You know, for when you go into your post Border Collie Bowl funk

The Border Collie Bowl from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

THE SIMPLE THINGS 2: THE REAL SNOW DOGS

Anyone remember the Disney movie Snow Dogs, starring (and helping with the career downfall of) Cuba Gooding Jr? If you don't remember that's probably a good thing, as its pretty much a piece of dreck. However, a friend gave it to us a few years back. The story involves a border collie who wants to be lead dog of an Alaskan sled dog team. Well, I briefly worked with sled dogs in northern Manitoba and we own a border collie (just the one at that time) so there are moments in the movie that I enjoyed.

But now I have my own snow dogs. One of whom, Terra, got to experience the very first snow day of her life.

Needless to say, Terra seemed to enjoy the cool air and all that frozen water. Because as I've documented in other posts, for Terra, water is border collie crack.

Of course, Miss Hayley is our original snow dog and she too, was happy to quietly express her genteel pleasure on the first snowfall of the season

Border collies love the snow. They are all weather dogs but with those big coats and high energy, they do enjoy the cooler temps. They like to run on/through it as well, I assume it feels good on their pads. And of course, a layer of snow makes them into pirates, sniffing and digging for treasure, even it said snow is covering ground they sniffed only hours before. Hey, its snow, you never know what could be hidden under there.

Above, is rookie treasure hunter Terra, making her first forays into digging. Below, is old pro Miss Hayley, going for a full fledged excavation.

Of course, the one thing snow dogs like to do even more than dig for treasure, is to run ...

Terra really needs very little motivation to run, and Miss Hayley just needs a puppy to chase but Terra is a ball dog and we had some fun with that in the snow. Usually she has launched herself to warp speed before I can even get the ball airborne, so her back is to me as the ball is flying. She usually finds it by sound but in the snow, the impact is muffled. It took her a while to figure out that the ball was on the ground, covered by a layer of snow, sometimes right under her nose. Well, border collies aren't known to be scent dogs. But eventually she got her nose working and learned how to find her ball.

And if you do lose your ball, don't fret, nature is always happy to provide you with a stick ..

And the lovely thing about sticks, they often leave you with little souvenirs you can take home

All Miss Hayley thinks is: Puppy, I don't care what you chase, just get on with it, I need something to herd

So that was our first day in the snow. A simple thing. Just two girls romping around in the white stuff. But yeh, the simple things are good. And I'll keep this post simple as well, and let my girls tell you, that this is the end ..

THE SIMPLE THINGS

It's definitely the simple things that are important. The little moments, perhaps unnoticed at the time, but those that linger in the memory for long afterwards. The memory is nice but you wish you had paid more attention at that time, at the moment it occurred, but sometimes its easy to let them pass without proper notice.

Today, I was lucky enough to take note. I had taken the girls for their customary morning walk .. or I should say run. Border collies, be they 10 months old like Terra, or 10 years old like Hayley, would always rather run than walk. This morning we did it in the park, in the cold pouring rain and in the mud. Which means we all came home drenched and mud spattered, some of us happier than the others.

After a quick wipe down of the dogs (yes, my house smells like wet dog, yes my car smells of wet dog, but it also smells of wet hippie, I've learned to lived with it all) they both were happy to take a nap. Terra wipes down easily. She still doesn't have her full adult coat and her short, fluffy puppy fur dries quickly. Miss Hayley is a different story. That is a lot of fur. Even by the standards of border collies, my girl has a massive coat, and in the rain it becomes just an endless mess of curls. Plus, her old bones feel the cold a bit more than the puppy.

So up on the couch Hayley goes and I wrap her up in a blanket. Hey, don't you roll your eyes at me. This is the best method of drying her off and anyway, you look into those beautiful, wise brown eyes and not spoil her rotten. So, I'm a suck. A manly suck, but a suck nonetheless.

I went into my studio to work and came out into the living room hours later. And there it was, that lovely little simple moment of pleasure. My two dogs, my two girls, each in their own space, snoozing happily, satisfied from their morning play, warm and dry and content, both of them now at an age where they are content to relax all on their own.

Come on. Don't be a tough guy. You know you want to say "Awwww"

.

How can you not just feel better looking at these two? Wet-dog-smelly .. yes. Cute-as-shit .. absolutely.

Two sleepy dogs, wrapped in their blankets, just as simple as that ...

... sometimes simple works.

THANKSGIVING 1: THE GIRLS

Been pretty busy with work lately so I'm behind on my posting. So here is the first of two posts on our Thanksgiving earlier this month. We were delighted when Collette's brother Garry invited us up to the family lodge to celebrate the holiday. The entire family would be there including David, our latest nephew of a niece so we were very eager to attend.

Besides seeing Collette's family and being able to enjoy the beauty of the Georgian Bay in Fall, we had another inspiration to go up to Pointe Au Baril; Terra had never been there before.
Hayley has always loved going up to Springhaven Lodge; the water, the bush, the road and this time of year there aren't many guests staying there, so she usually has run of the place. We knew Terra would love it too, this dog is nuts about water. It has an undeniable affect upon her, it's like border collie crack.

She took to it like a duck to water, or a border collie to sheep or .. well, there's a video attached, check it out.

Of course Terra was a fanatic when it came to fetching the ball out of the water. That was a given. But she also got to indulge in one of her favorite sports: Herding ripples. In the video you'll see her pawing at the water but what she is actually doing is using her paws and mouth to make the ripples go where she wants them to go. No, she's not nuts, she's just a border collie.

Besides the water, the new experience for Terra was the bush. Trees. Lots of trees. Terra loves trees, squirrels live in trees and it's Terra duty to chase them out. But here in the Toronto parks you have little groups of trees, say three or four, scattered about. Up there .. well, there's a tree every foot or so. At one point Terra was pretty much spinning in circles, barking her fool head off.

Then there were the smells. Although we live in the middle of Toronto we do have a lot of wildlife around here; squirrels, raccoons, skunks, possums, foxes, rabbits .. there are even coyotes not far from here. But up north there are deer, fishers, moose, bears ... the latter of which almost said "hello" to my plastic car on the drive up. Their smells drove poor Terra crazy. Hayley of course is a good bear dog. I remember the first time she found bear scat. She came up to it, gave it a sniff and started to circle it, till she ended up behind me, pointing in the opposite direction as if she was saying "Dad, let's get the fuck out of here."

And yes, Hayley was still able to enjoy her beloved Springhaven even with an annoying puppy in tow. The old girl has, actually, come to appreciate the puppy; hey damn, I have my very own sheep to herd ..

So water, trees, critters, long walks, fetching, herding .. a very successful weekend for our girls. And us. Next post: Turkey in the bush.

Terra & Hayley Up North from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.

TERRA'S BEACH DAY

Well, it was only a matter of time, of course. Before we took Terra to one of Miss Hayley's favorite destinations, the Toronto Beaches. We know Terra loves the water. No, not loves the water, becomes psychotic in the water. In a previous post, I've referred to water (to this point, just the water in her pool) as Terra's border collie crack. But now, at six months old and, finally, a summer -ike summer weekend in Toronto, it was time to take her to the really big pool .. that being, Lake Ontario.

So we loaded up both our girls and headed off downtown to the Beaches. In the video a the bottom of this post, you'll see a bit of the journey. Terra has been on the subway before, but only one stop; this journey is significantly longer and includes two different trains and a bus ride. Terra has never before been on the bus, but she handled it, and the long subway ride, very well. Aside from needing to bark at another dog on the train .. but hey, it's all a learning experience.

So there was little doubt that Terra would like the water, but would she swim? Miss Hayley loves the water, but she is not a swimmer. If Collette or I are swimming she will come with us and in very calm water, that does not suddently drop off, she may swim out a couple of feet to catch the ball, but that's about it. Even when herding water sheep, Hayley cannot be enticed into allowing her feet to leave the earth. Terra, at this stage, was an unknown quantity.

Well, there really should never have been a question. Although Terra was a little cautious about going into the water (caution being a border collie character trait, I would say) it didn't take much coaching. We started her on a beach that was shallow and didn't have much of a drop off. Still, this is Lake Ontario, and there were waves but it did not take much encouragement .. and a tennis ball, to get her swimming, even if it was just for a few feet.

So, we have a swimmer. Which works for Miss Hayley .. her very own private water sheep. Yay.

The nice thing about the Beach, aside from that whole giant lake thing, is the social aspect. The girls always meet friends. Like Cane, a friend from out local dog park.

And new friends, like this sweet Lab puppy, about three months old, that Terra decided would make an excellent hand to hand, death match opponent. It's that kind of magical thing that happens between puppies, they look at each other and this communication happens in an instant: Wanna play? Sure, do you? Then it's all legs and tails and teeth. Or, in Terra's case: I'll lie on you and dominate you till you show me that you can play too then they're off to the races .. or the mixed martial arts cage.

After the wrestling, it was back to the lake. This time, stick in hand, it was not difficult to entice Terra to a little dog paddling .. what did you expect, the butterfly stroke?

Normally when we go to the Beach, we like to end the day by going to The Lion On The Beach, a resturaunt on Queen St. They have a patio off to the side and they are very dog friendly. Not only do they let you tie your dog up to the patio, they provide water for them and usually lots of pets (the hand to fur kind). We weren't sure if Terra was yet up to the task. She would be laying on the street, right by a very busy thoroughfare, with lots of distractions. Well, after four hours of walking, running, wrestling, swimming, even a six month old border collie is willing to relax for an hour or so. Having hand made goodies from the Three Dog Bakery certainly doesn't hurt.

All in all, a very happy successful day at the beach. I'm sure many more to come.

Here's the video, Collette and I and our two girls, cavorting on the beach. Cavorting ... is there a sin tax on that?

Terra On The Beach from Victor Kellar on Vimeo.