Fate is the perfect dog for us, she is nuts much of the time, calm when we need her to be, well-behaved and adaptable when it is important. We are way ahead of schedule with her, today we took her out to the deep woods to walk with us, she was off-leash the whole time, she walked alongside Red sometimes, usually right next to Maria. She never wandered more than 10 yards from us, always kept us in sight, kept up with us.
I believe you have to give dogs a chance to succeed, to enter your life and become the dog you need. I think they will do this given the chance, when it is safe and appropriate. Maria can be overprotective, I can be too casual – we compliment one another well. I pushed to let her walk off leash in the deep woods, that was the tradition and habit i wanted to create in Fate’s mind. There were a lot of smells – deer scat, bear tracks, coyote prints – but she kept up with us and had a great time sniffing and eating leaves.
She chased the dry leaves blowing in the wind, and then, exhausted, conked out when we got home.
We took Fate into town today when we went in to do some shopping. She hopped up onto the back seat and snuggled up with Red as if she had done it a million times. Red seems very at ease with her, he is such a gracious and trustworthy animal. Photo by Maria Wulf.
We will channel Fate’s great energy and drive into other venues, other things than sheep. We started by offering her her first ball and she loved it. Border collies are born obsessives, you have to be careful not to focus them too strongly on one thing. Since she will not be a herding dog, she won’t get to be with the sheep again for a very long time. I just wanted her to know them. She loved the ball, chased it and flipped it around for 10 minutes. No balls in the house, I don’t want a ball addict. Fate is a lot of fun, she is mischievous, head strong, smart as a whip. We lucked out on this one. I love that eye.
I was touched by this image of Minnie, catching the late afternoon sun in front of the big red barn. She is loving the warmer days, spending more time outside and sleeping on the hay bales. The shadows crept up and she came inside. Fate barked at her, and she hid. Minnie is not like Flo, who would have swiped her on the nose.
Fate is an interesting dog to photograph. I met a bunch of people in town today who said they thought she was much bigger than she is, and I realize she looks quite different in almost every image, interesting. At heart, she is a generous and affectionate dog. I forgot – interesting what one remembers – how much energy and drive border collie puppies have, she gave us a workout, but the rewards are already great.
Successes: She is housebroken, she will be the first pup I have ever had that I housebroke in 24 hours, using crates and management of water and food.
She sleeps soundly and quietly in her crate, she whimpers for a minute or so, then is still for the night.
Damage. So far, nothing of ours has been damaged. We scatter toys and chewables around the living room and in the evening, we sit with her on a long lede to keep her near us. She is already looking for her things, not our things. We try not to give puppies a chance to mess up or make mistakes. If they can do no harm, they will learn to do good. She conks out around 8 p.m. and goes into her crate.
Mouthing: She is no longer chewing on us or our clothing, something she did for the first day or so. We use a scolding voice, clamp down around her nose, or just push her away. She gets it.
Leash: She walks well on a leash, not sharp but gets the idea, does not pull. She is easily distracted by motion, sounds and smells – typical of border collie pups – but otherwise is walking well with Maria. We walked on a country road this morning, in the deep woods this afternoon (with no leash). She did beautifully.
Bonding: We wanted her to be Maria’s dog, and that is happening. Maria walks her, feeds her, spends the day with her in her Studio, walks with her in the woods. She has attached to Maria, she follows her around the house and the farm.
Socialization: She doesn’t need much, but we took her to the bookstore, the Round House, and she was mobbed by admirers. Tomorrow, a walk on Main Street to get used to cars and trucks.
Red: No problem, as usual. Red causes no trouble, he is patient, firm when necessary, he even played with her on our walk in the woods.
Mistakes: I’m doing too much obedience training too soon. She is a bit too you, I need to wait a bit for her attention span to deepen.
Second Mistake: I took her into the pasture with the sheep once or twice too often – it was so much fun, hard to resist. But she got too cranked up, that will end as of today. She is not going to be a herding dog. We started ball throwing and other activities, she loves them as much or more.
All in all, great success for the first day or so. We love her very much, Maria is getting the dog she deserves, Fate is getting the human she deserves. Thank you again, Karen Thompson, you are an angel in shorts.
