The Real Time Canine II

After spending 2 years writing the Real Time Canine, the adventure continues with The Real Time Canine II. Read along as I look for just the right puppy to continue the experience. After false starts with Tim and Jed, I am currently training young Tam, and Spot, which are both off to a strong start. Please visit the RTC II to read about training sessions as they occur.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

If It's Free It's for Me!


vanity? Do we try and use our dogs to show the sheepdog world how talented we are? Is it ineptitude? Can we not so much as even train one effectively, so we blame the dog, toss him aside, and try again with another? Is it great compassion? No one can provide for a dog as well as we can, so we accumulate? Is it financially rewarding? Do we breed to make money, then end up with a full kennel of breeding stock? Is it ignorance? Do we breed bisquit-eaters to bisquit-eaters and end up with a lot of dogs no one else wants? Is it necessity? Do we have livestock in numbers requiring more than a few dogs to get the job done? Is it love of the sport? Most trials allow us to run 2 open, 2 nursery and 2 pro-novice/ranch dogs. That's 6 right there. Is it our job? Do we train and sell dogs professionally? Are we mushers? Just exactly why do dog-sled mushers keep so many dogs?
August 1, 2010 - And the winner is...Loretta Mueller of Full-Tilt Border Collies in Pierz, MN. Please read her comment below, but I simply could not resist the reference to the movie Gremlins. Very funny, well incorporated into her post, it made me laugh, and Loretta a winner.

I want to thank everyone for playing. I love to hear from my readers, and I was so happy to be able to repay the readership in some small way. Thanks again, everyone. I appreciate it.

I have been wondering about the nature of this dog-ownership phenomenon and was talking about it just the other day with another hand. Is it

I only have the questions. I don't have any answers, so I thought I would ask you, then reward you for your thoughtful reply.

The Contest:

Please leave a comment (doesn't have to be Gone with the Wind) to this post, and tell me how many dogs you have, and why. Whether you have only 1, or 10, or none, but hoping, I want to hear from you. We're not limited to Border Collie stockdogs, or any other breed in particular. That's just my frame of reference, and what got me thinking. So, if you want to play, and what you have is 36 Dandy Dinmonts, 1 lovable mutt, or anything in between, I'de like to hear about it.

At the end of the month, July, I'll choose a winner. There's absolutely no criteria for winning beyond which reply tickles me the most by month-end. However, you are all in the running for a $40 gift certificate to CSN Stores, where you will find just about everything under the sun. Pet stuff, home furnishings, outdoor, necessities for the babes and kids, luggage, it's all there...somewhere. Check it out, then come back here and tell me all about it.

Caveat: You must somehow get your email addy to me so I can send you the gift certificate. If you don't want to comment here, em me privately, and I'll post for you and just use your first name. Anonymous posts can't be considered, because again, I need an email. The gift certificate does not include shipping charges, and for international (including Canada unfortunately) (I mean it's North America afterall) addresses, international fees may apply on certain products.

That's it. The latest BorderSmith contest. Tell me all about it. I can't wait to hear how many and why, and good luck to all!

11 comments:

  1. We have Aussies and breed. We sell our pups or place them in loving homes. Some of our adult dogs do farm chores; some compete; some are biscuit eaters so to speak; some are retired like we are. At present we have 4 adults (12 yrs down to one year) and 4 puppies out of a litter of 11.

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  2. I can answer one of your questions since I follow long distance sled dog racing. One long distance team consists of 14-16 dogs. That equals one of our open dogs. Now, just like us, they like to have more than one dog. Call it back up. So there is one more team of 14-16 dogs equaling our second open dog. (usually run by a spouse or handler) Now, how about a nursery team 1 and nursery team 2? Gotta have the next generation getting experience with a handler. Plus retired dogs. Some retired dogs get to go to homes but like us, some mushers like to keep their old hard workers who they have been through alot with. Don't forget up and coming pups... You can see why not only do they have but need that many dogs to stay on top.

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  3. Janet KohlerJuly 08, 2010

    Right now I have 5 "adult" BC's...and 6 beautiful puppies...5 of whom will be going to new homes in the coming weeks.. As for why I have all of these dogs, it's because Meg, who is 13 almost 14, is the first really good BC I ever had, and I love her in her old age as I did in her youth. Next come Jet..my 10 year old male who has been the father/grandfather/ and great-grandfather to the rest of my pack. He is my power man...when I need an extra push, Jet's the man...plus, to see the way he looks at me when we're just standing..is to die for....so much love and devotion...Next comes my Curley...(the product of the first mating of Meg and Jet) who is 9 years old now and who understands my every word...and has guided me on thru the herding process..... Following Curley comes Zipper...who is a daughter of Curley's (and mother of the 6 pups) and is now 4 years old. Zipper is my "never-quit-trying" dog...who will continue to try to do what I ask even when I am less that cordial in my commands, and who after a gruelling training period or a lengthy work session, will go out and find a stick or a plastic bottle and toss in into the air can then bat it back up with her nose, or throw it to me...she inspires me so much with her spirit...and last come Sooz...the one-year-old daughter of Zipper...Ugliest pup in that litter...but also the only girl.. She's turned into a combination of Curley's supurb understanding and Zipper's spirit...even at this tender age...These dogs, along with "Hope" the pup I'm keeping from the current litter, are what keep me alive and going.. They are my gifts and messages from above...my blessings...why so many? because they all have special meanings to me...and because I can have them..

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  4. Well let's see how many Canines for me..I mean for Ewe!! I have 2 old...2 young/old...2 medium opens/ 1 wanna be nursery and 2 yearlings...getting their feet wet..and and let not forget who's bringing up the rears..why it's Colt who is well endowed in the ears. That Equals 10!

    Canines N Ewe...

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  5. We have six adult dogs: one terrier mix, five BCs. One BC intact, but not intended to breed (though he's the best bred one we have). Hard to say why we have them--the best I can answer is that it's part of our religion; they make our life more enjoyable and put other aspects of life into perspective.

    We got the terrier mutt from a rescue in a moment of weakness (after being an avowed cat-only household) and started playing flyball with him. Our flyball team convinced us we could handle a border collie, so we got one (that way we'd both have a dog to play flyball with). She had no interest in flyball whatsoever. We lost interest soon after.

    We got taken in by a face and a story and adopted the third from a rescue. She brought us to stock. The fourth we got as a distraction from a difficult job situation. He liked stock, too, and the more he and the rescue liked stockwork, the more we did. We got talked into the fifth because of his pedigree and because we each "needed" a young dog to work. The last one was out of a dog we really liked from a litter that had one more puppy than committed homes. He's the one we sent to sheep college because he's the one I think I can learn most from.

    But, of course, we've learned from all of them.

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  6. Five for companionship and sport. Three BC's, one Labrador, and one JRT (who runs the whole show) 12, 10, 8, 5 and 2 yrs. of age.
    Hiking, herding, therapy, agility, trick training....the list goes on. Unconditional love in play and sport. We try to keep each other "in shape" as the years progress and have fun while doing it! Suzanne Anaya

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  7. We have 7 total, 6 Border Collies and one Jack Russell.

    We got the first Border Collie wet and it multipled to 5 more Border Collies...and we fed one after midnight and it produced the JRT :)

    1st dog a rescue, 2nd dog a well bred working female, then a relative, then another relative, then bred a litter and kept two pups (what was I thinking) and my husband wanted an agility dog...so the JRT is it :)

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  8. AnonymousJuly 09, 2010

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  9. Full Tilt Border Collies, love the Gremlins reference. Way cute

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  10. I have 3 borders and two jacks. I have them because dog training is more fun than house cleaning. And once you get a behavior trained, it usually lasts if you are good at training. You can be the worlds best house cleaner and it ain't going to last long.....not with 3 borders and two jacks.

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  11. Marsha MelloJuly 26, 2010

    My husband and I are on the lower-end of the Multiple Dogs spectrum... we've had four Border Collies, but only two at a time. Mostly this is due to not having a working ranch (yet!), but also because we travel almost everywhere with our dogs, and two fit nicely into our vehicles and lifestyle. We like to rent "camping cabins" in beautiful areas, hike and explore, and we also train our dogs to ride in our canoe (this is where we all learn the REAL importance of "Lie Down!"). But you can only have so many Border Collies before you find yourself owning sheep. Ours are in a nearby rented pasture, since we can't have them in the back yard. Now we're completely addicted, no turning back.

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