Making a Stuffed Squeaker Toy

  This morning, after Cinder got up from playing with her favorite alligator stuffed squeaker toy, Gilley absconded with it.  In less than 30 seconds, it was shredded with a hole in one of the two squeakers in it. Cinder was completely upset I wouldn’t let her have the gator pieces back. He was her favorite toy.  I couldn’t stand her pouting – it was worse than a little kid!  I had Brian puppy-sit while I went to the sewing room and rummaged through my scraps to find something with which to make Cinder a new, “improved” gator.  A while later, I returned to the living room bearing a new stuffed alligator squeaker toy for Cinder, fully aware Gilley WILL get his teeth on it. This gator will hold up longer than the last one because I made it MY way.  I did this more than a few times for my last puppy – Gilley the stuffed toy destroyer! I was hopeful Gilley was past that and that MAYBE Cinder wouldn’t be a toy destroyer.  What was I thinking?  End result is I made a new gator toy with more squeakers and Cinder is happy again.

A friend asked for a “tutorial” for making the stuffed squeaker toy so here it is, to the best of my ability to explain it:

Things Needed:

• ·        Basic sewing machine
• ·        Tissue paper or plain (non-fusible) interfacing to create your pattern
• ·        Scissors
• ·        Pins
• ·        tailor’s marking chalk (optional)
• ·        Heavy denim, canvas, or duck cloth.  I also like to recycle old jeans.
• ·        Optional heavy polar fleece
• ·        Sewing thread
• ·     Hand sewing needles and either upholstery or jeans thread for stitching the toy closed  after stuffing.
• ·    A small bag of polyester fiberfill stuffing for toys.  Do NOT use foam, foam shreds, or thread/string shreds because if a dog eats them they can be devastating!!!
•       At least one or more round plastic toy squeakers

     Dog toys don’t need to be difficult. I like to keep things fast and simple so I make my dog toys in TWO (2) pieces – a top and bottom.  The more separate parts you have, the more work to make it; and the faster it comes apart.  *If you’re a beginning or basic sewer, this is easy!  If you mess it up, you’re the only one who will know!!! The dog will still play with your toy no matter how nice or nasty it looks!

     Draw a basic “concept” design of the toy shape you want.  I suggest something easy like a “gingerbread man” for your first one. 

 

     Proportions are up to you however, you need to make everything big enough to easily turn your sewn toy inside out; stuff it easily; and fit your squeaker(s) in the area(s) you want it/them.  Be sure to include at least a quarter (1/4) – half (1/2) inch seam all around it.  It will seem huge when you cut it out, but it will be smaller than you think when you’re finished.

     Don’t forget to mark a place to leave unstitched for turning and stuffing your toy!  Typically, I like to leave a space that is wide enough for at least three of my fingers.  A good opening should be at least three to five inches wide, but I have large hands.  On the gingerbread figure, I place it on the inside of a leg. Place openings in straight areas of your seam lines, but not near a corners, tight curves, or points.  

     While you are designing, keep in mind that the smaller you make it, the harder it will be to turn inside out and stuff it. The size of your dog/puppy relative to the toy is also important. After all, if the dog can’t carry the toy, he’s not likely to play with it much.  Likewise, if the toy is too small, a big dog may eat the toy instead of playing with it!  Size really does matter in this endeavor.

    Once you’re happy with your “mock-up” pattern, create the real pattern on your tissue paper or interfacing.  Remember to mark your opening and include enough size for your seams. 

     When you have a final pattern, then you’ll be able to tell how much fabric you’ll need to make it.  I don’t worry about which way the grain of fabric is on dog toys because I usually use scraps.  The dogs will never know or care either!  I just find scraps big enough for my pattern to fit any way I can. If you have to buy fabric, you’ll want to measure your pattern or even take it with you to the fabric store.

     I ALWAYS use at least two layers of heavy denim, canvas, or duck cloth for each piece of the toy top and bottom.  The alligator I made Cinder is three layers of denim on the bottom; and one layer of denim with two layers of heavy polar fleece on the top. 

Top layer sewn around the edge to my denim layer. 

*I don’t bother with pinning & cutting the fabric around the pattern. Instead, I lay my pattern on the fabric; and use chalk to draw the outline around the pattern on the top layer of fabric.  I take that layer with the chalk outline (face up) and place it on the second layer of fabric; smooth the layers out and pin them together in key places.  I then take the sandwiched layers to the sewing machine and sew them together by sewing all the way around on the chalk outline.  Then I trim away the excess fabric.  I do that for both the top and bottom pattern pieces.  

*OPTIONAL:  I randomly “quilt” my two 

layered pieces together so they’ll act more like a single heavy fabric rather than two separate fabrics sewn together. It makes it harder for the dog to pierce and rip a layer if the layers are quilted together. Once I’ve done the “quilting” of the top and bottoms, I’m ready to sew the top and bottom together to form the toy.

     Put the top and bottom pieces together – inside out – to sew the toy’s seam.  Pin in position as needed.  Starting at one side of the space to be left open for turning/stuffing, backstitch a couple times to start, then sew all the way around the toy’s seam line to the opposite side of the opening space; and backstitch a couple times to end.  Sew around the seam a second time in a slightly smaller stitch to reinforce it.  Trim the seam allowance no closer than one quarter (1/4) inch from the stitching; clip curves and points.  Turn the completed toy body inside out so the right side is now on the outside. 

  

   Take your squeaker(s) and make little “pocket(s)” with a piece of hosiery, lightweight cloth or interfacing. This is to keep the fiberfill from plugging the opening of the squeaker(s) and preventing it from squeaking once you install it in the toy. 

    Stuff the extremities of your toy first.  Do not overstuff-you want it to have flexibility. If it’s not flexible enough, you’ve probably overstuffed. If it’s too flexible, it’ll be floppy. When inserting a squeaker, be sure to insert stuffing on all sides of the squeaker.  If desired, you can keep shifting of stuffing to a minimum by sewing a line across the extremities at places where a “joint” might be and another line of stitching at the joint of the extremity and the body.  Then fill the body cavity and insert squeakers as desired, with stuffing around all sides of the squeakers.  *If your toy has a head and/or tail, you should also stuff those areas before filling the body cavity.

 

   

  Once your toy is stuffed, check all the squeakers to be sure they still squeak and they are covered by stuffing but not so buried by it the do will not be able to find and squeak them.  If you’re happy with the way the squeakers work and the stuffing is finished, sew the toy opening closed with upholstery or jeans thread.  I use an invisible stitch because I don’t want the thread on the outside where the dog’s teeth may easily catch it.

     At this point, you should have a completed stuffed dog toy with at least one or more squeakers inside.  Check it once again to be sure you’ve clipped all your threads and be sure your seams are all closed.  Give it to your dog as soon as you’ve done your “quality control inspection.”

     Like all dog toys, especially stuffed ones, please always supervise your dog while playing with it!  They shouldn’t eat the fiberfill or plastic squeakers!  Once you see the toy has a hole, either patch it or take it away.  I like to patch them if I can – it adds character and longer life to the toy.  Once it’s beyond repairing, take it away from the dog and recycle as much of the stuffing and squeakers as possible for the next new toy!

     I’ve made a LOT of dog toys for a lot of dogs.  I almost always want to buy some because they’re often so cute, but by the time my dogs shred a few, I’m done buying and back to making them.  Mine last a LOT longer, endure rougher play – even being used as tug toys – and I can often recycle the stuffing and squeakers several times.  If you figure the “quality” stuffed toys are $7.00 - $50.00, I’m able to save a lot of money and spend only a little time to create my own stuffed toys.  The bonus is that I can create more than two toys for only $8.00 in fabric, $7.00 for a bag of squeakers, and $8.00 for a sizeable bag of fiberfill. It costs even less if I can use recycled jeans and the stuffing and squeakers from old toys!

      Truly, your dog is not going to care how cute or ugly the toy is so don't be afraid to try it and experiment with different ways to make your toys and different shapes. You may even get good enough that you could make some for local dog clubs, rescues, or humane societies for gifts, prizes and fundraisers!  

If you're thinking of trying it and have any questions or get stuck and need help, I'd be glad to help you.

Cheers!

Chris

Remembering Rex

Today is a sad day for Finch Creek Farm. Rex, a Belgian gelding, had to be euthanized last night.  
  

I could go into great detail about how Rex was truly a once in a lifetime horse.  How he'd been rescued as a lone survivor in a field of dead horses; he'd come to Finch Creek Farm; and how I'd been brought to the farm to train him. I could mention that Rex was a horse with a personality that you couldn't ignore - a cocky athlete, a goofy goober, a ham, and a charismatic grand gentleman rolled into a horse who thought he should be a lap-dog. I could mention his versatility as a riding horse, lesson horse, driving horse, farm work horse, and a logging horse. Those are all just unimportant details and filler.  The real story is how that horse could fly. I can't begin to describe how awesome this plain looking fellow really was, but I can give you an idea of what it was to watch him go:

http://youtu.be/a438igCUztM

http://youtu.be/rnDnjAfk-6U

http://youtu.be/L5tKfYvbgjo

Anyone who saw him drive knows he had his wings long ago because that boy could fly! I guess he's traded up for even better wings because now, I know he has angel wings.

Good-bye ya big goober. You will be sorely missed and never forgotten. Fly with the wings of an angel - you earned them.

Chris
P.S.  Don't give God a slurpy with your mouth full - it's not attractive even if it is funny.

Catching Up on all Things Cinder

 Grab a cup of coffee or tea and let’s catch up on Raising Cinder!  Cinder continues growing by leaps and bounds.  She is so big that we had to “up-size” her crate and gave her Buzz’s (since we never use it).  She’s now big enough she no longer has to jump on the furniture because she can easily climb or hop up without a running jump. Cinder is now 15 weeks old and she’s already about half grown I think! Her paws are as big as Buzz’s and bigger than Gilley’s! I was hoping to have a little lap cuddle-bug for a while longer, but she’s already outgrown being a lap sized girl.  Although she appears long and lean, she has fairly dense bone.  She eats like a ravenous wolf at every meal and it’s truly, “Gone in 60 Seconds!” 

     Last week Cinder and Buzz had a big fight in which the end result was Buzz got mad at

Cinder during some rough play and suddenly made sure we all knew it. I had to pull him off her at the right moment to keep him from going too far and probably seriously injuring her.  It was a good thing I was there to stop him, but he did enough to scare the heck out of her for a while. Luckily, she escaped unscathed but her little feelings were hurt –for at least that evening.  They were playing together again the next day. I’m sure she’ll push more of Buzz and Gilley’s buttons as she grows, but that first big fuss was all I needed to get my heart jumping! She learned that her puppy license has limits and Buzz WILL enforce them.

     Cinder’s visits to the barn, or as she has learned it from our neighbor children, “the horse house,” are increasing; but require structure and limits to learn essential barn rules.  Now that spring is finally here, getting the horses and equipment cleaned for our horse driving season and preparing for horse activities is a big time suck so Cinder’s going to have lots of “horse house” adventures. She met the two newest additions to the horse herd: two BIG, black Percherons arrived to become part of the Finch Creek Farm and Logging string. They were in a small turn-out when we went to examine them and Cinder met them up close.  She barked and tried her best to fend them off, but the end result was the big boys gave us some friendly nuzzling and slurpy licks, which Cinder didn’t care for much.  The upside to taking her to the barn is that she gets worn out so when we return home, she’s quite content to lounge and play quietly – most of the time. 

     Cinder seems highly sound sensitive. Luckily, the noises that seem to bother her are things like alarm clocks and timers - things which are supposed to be annoying.  Since I have profound hearing loss, it’s nice that she’s sensitive to those noises and goes directly to them, sits and barks at them.  In fact, that’s exactly what Hearing Dogs are supposed to do. I miss having my Hearing Dog for such things so I am fostering that behavior since it’s something she does naturally which is very helpful for me.

      Cinder’s play in the creek is fun to watch! Most recently at the creek, Cinder discovered jumping off the bank into the water. Adding to her newfound fun was a moment in which she spied Buzz, oblivious to her, wading and lounging in the creek about 10 feet from she and Gilley. I knew the moment I saw her look at him that he was about to be pounced. Sure enough, she jumped off the bank and onto Buzz, knocking him down and taking him under water (luckily only about two feet deep).  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they both flailed about and resumed play without any more surprises.  Despite all things, Buzz is very tolerant of Cinder’s puppy antics. 

     It seems the pack dynamics are evolving already.  Cinder’s puppy license seems to be intact for now, but the limits on it are growing. I suspect her puppy license will expire this summer, when she is big enough to be truly adversarial in her games and female enough to punctuate her intentions. Currently, Gilley seems to be the primary educator of tactical strategy and maneuvering while Buzz seems to be the “test dummy” on which Cinder attempts to apply the lessons.  Cinder is still baby of the pack, but becoming more assertive with each week. Ultimately I think Cinder will rein as queen and pack leader-in about 14 months. 

 

  Last week I got the agility tunnel out for Gilley and without me prompting her, Cinder decided to “play through” as well!  The first part of this week we made Cinder a training teeter-totter.  I’ve come to learn that the teeter-totter is one of the scarier items Agility dogs learn because it involves shifting movement. Gilley didn’t learn it until the end stages of his agility training and he never mastered it – in fact, he really hates it.  I don’t want to actually train Cinder on the teeter-totter yet, but I do want her to “dabble” at being on one once in a while to gether used to the movement of it. I'm hoping when it's time to train for the teeter-totter, she will have no fear of it. 

        

     The last few days our focus has been more leash training and a couple new tricks. Training time is always a learning curve for us both – which is half the fun.  I love how Cinder tries SO

hard to figure things out.  She learns fairly quickly once I find and repair MY flaws in teaching her. She is the MOST food motivated little pup I’ve ever seen! She truly needs a sign, “will do anything for any food, any time.” She goes to the treat counter, sits and looks up at the counter and yips – her version of, “time for work because it’s time for treats!”  I can’t fault her for a work ethic, but it’s actually more about the “puppy paycheck” she wants! Thank goodness we make our own treats and they are quite small!  

       I was feeling pretty good about Cinder's training until I saw a FaceBook post of a woman and her pup of the same age. Her pup is already doing 10 times anything I ever thought of; and executing things much better and consistently.  I confess, it made me feel extremely inadequate and totally inept.  I was both envious and disheartened.  However, I discovered that she grew up in Scotland with access to many Border Collies and many of the best BC trainers in Europe, some of whom trained her; and she's been doing advanced training for 25 years. She should have the skills and ability to select and train a top-notch puppy!  Now I'm okay with where Cinder and I are in regard to training because we aren't professionals; and I've had about a month of problems with my back to inhibit our progress.  I think we're doing okay all things considered.  At15 weeks old, Cinder has learned 33 different things.  That doesn’t mean her execution of each thing is excellent, merely that she knows what each thing means and makes her best effort to comply. Her effort and demonstrated knowledge is very good on all items at least 98% of the time.  I may be too easy, but for a puppy her age, with me for her trainer,  I think that’s pretty darned good. Whether it is or not, that's where we are and we endeavor to press forward at OUR pace because it's not like Cinder MUST be a great trick dog.  Cinder just has to be a good companion dog for us -anything more is just "value added."

      That brings you up to speed on everything that we've done for the last two weeks.  As I said, nothing exciting, but it is all part of our daily life as we continue raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris

       

      

Cinder Size & Cinder-Sized

     Firstly, for those following my blog posts via Facebook, I'm sorry for spacial oddities, gaps, and lack of pictures or videos in these blog posts. Facebook doesn't import pictures or videos within the blog. Where there are gaps and spacial oddities, it is likely due to the missing pictures/videos Facebook doesn't upload with the content. If you want to see the pictures or videos I include, you'll need to visit the blog. 

     On to Cinder's latest adventures:  

 

     Last week Cinder had several new adventures. She went on some off-leash cross-country jaunts with the big boys at the barn; she met some chickens up close and personally; and she met a few more of the draft horses, one of which stomped at her and scared her (goodie, I want her to stay away from the horses). She did quite well with everything, even a few long-distance recalls and a sit-stay with a chicken wandering by!

     Cinder remains uninterested in balls and frisbees. To me, this is a sad thing to say about a Border Collie but, it's okay that she has her own personality and interests. Maybe she'll develop more interest in them later. Her real passion seems to truly be jumping.  While we've managed to rein her in from jumping on and off the furniture, she displayed her honest love of jumping repeatedly on our cross-country jaunts.  She was was working her way through a thicket with a nice opening over or under a huge grape vine-she jumped the grape vine. She  later breezed over a smallish tree limb across her path and without even a second of hesitation. She ran through the woods with many opportunities for her to walk around or under things,or climb over things but she never considered less than jumping her way over everything in her path.  I guess we need to take different routes so she won't do that so much. 

However, a puppy in a natural setting that's jumping small objects with landings on soft ground is much different and less problematic than jumping off furniture onto hard floors. None-the-less, she seems to LOVE jumping and hesitates at nothing. I hope that transfers to agility later on! She also got to play in a small creek, learning to scale steep banks and forge through the water. She loved playing in the creek, but I think she enjoyed climbing the banks as much or more!

     Over the last week, we have really noticed that "Cinder size" is 
changing by literal leaps and bounds. It's amazing to look back just a few weeks past and see how much she's grown in such a short time! Everything about her is bigger, including her play with the big dogs. She's getting the hang of true life lessons through playing with the older boys. She's becoming far more assertive and aggressive in how she plays with them and is large enough now that she's becoming a formidable adversary. We have seen her out-think them numerous times, resulting in gaining an upper hand on them. I think it will take some work for the boys to stay ahead of her as she continues growing and learning. Things will be very different in the way they play by the end of this summer! I think we'll be seeing the boys (and maybe we humans) often being bowled over or manipulated by her, which we will call being, "Cinder-Sized!"

     Last week I was quite surprised to see another potential skill set to develop with Cinder: she ran to the bedroom and barked when my alarm clock went off.  I have a special alarm clock for the Deaf and hearing impaired. It can be set to a loud, audible buzz and/or the flashing light. Often I change the settings and sometimes I accidentally switch it to the buzzing alarm setting, which is not audible to me without my hearing aids or when I'm out of the room. Apparently it was on the buzz setting several times and each time, Cinder raced to the bedroom and barked at it.  To most people, that may be very annoying, but for me, it's very helpful because I may never have known it was on had she not done that. So, she got high praise for alerting me to the noise.  I will always encourage and reward her for alerting me to noises I may not notice.

     Yesterday, Cinder had her nails trimmed. I was able to do it by myself and she didn't fuss at all. I am so glad she continues to be good about nail trimming because many dogs are not. Good grooming behavior is a must for Cinder-especially if she goes on to any form of competition or pet therapy.

     Trick training has been waylaid by my injured back and a sudden burst of demands on my time. However, even though we haven't been doing any dedicated training sessions, we have continued spontaneously doing some or all of her tricks randomly when we have only a minute or so to do something. We did add "push door" (which will become "close door") when she began doing it on her own when we went outside and she was ready to come in and started pushing the door to come in. She's doing pretty well with it and has shut a few doors randomly without prompts! Her leash training is going well despite two different versions of it: one being the normal leash training as for obedience and daily living; the other being attached on a harness by a 25' long line for jaunts on which I approve some distance for her to have fun, but don't want her racing off beyond that.  She does quite well with both and seems to understand the difference already. On her flat collar, she's developing a nice, brisk but controlled walk beside me with a crisp "sit" when we stop. For only doing it about 6-8 times, she's doing amazingly well.

   Once again, this brings everyone up to speed. Thanks for checking in and/or following us as we continue the adventure of raising Cinder. We think she's special and hope you enjoy our successes and even our failings as Cinder grows and we endeavor to provide her a good life and a lot of love. It aint all purty but it is all real!

Cheers!

Chris

   

Puppy Antics can be Harmful

     I've been asked about the problem I have with Cinder's newfound joy of jumping-particularly from the furniture to the floor.  To be clear, it's not merely jumping down from lounging on the loveseat or a chair but full on, high speed, running, jumping and then launching into the air from the furniture and landing 1/3 - 1/2 way across a room. Let me explain:

     Cinder is a mere 13 weeks old, however, that doesn't curb her appetite for jumping now that she's learned how. In fact, like many daredevil children, a newfound skill is a newfound thrill that can be quite dangerous-aside from being a bad habit that gets annoying.  Puppy bone structures are not fully developed until sometime between 12-20 months of age and until they are, their bodies can both sustain and weather many minor injuries well, but some things can cause permanent damage that may not even be seen until later life. The concussion and trauma sustained from jumping too young can cause immediate and/or later life damage which cannot be reversed. Typical problems can range from obvious issues such as dislocation, breaks and injured muscles, tendons and ligaments as well as hidden damage such as micro fractures, joint compression that causes joint deterioration; joint or spinal misalignment; shoulder and/or hip and back injuries or predisposition to later life problems caused by the weaknesses created by all the concussion to their bones and joints.

     Yes, all puppies run, jump and play-it IS totally natural and in natural settings with other puppies or dogs, that kind of normal play is totally acceptable and desirable as part of normal growth. However, what Cinder is doing is completely OUTSIDE the realm of anything remotely normal for puppies or even adult dogs. Cinder is engaging in running as hard and fast as possible and jumping onto furniture, which she uses as a launchpad to literally launch herself into the air and land part way across a room on hard surface floors. The way she does it is absolutely amazing and totally resembles the way skateboarders and snowboarders use ramps and walls to gain propulsion for their jumps. The worse news is that there is never any predicting when she'll start this behavior and by the time she starts it, she's done it 10 times before you can intervene in any manner.  We've tried a number of things to curtail this behavior to no avail. 

     I've raised MANY puppies and Cinder is the first I've ever had to exhibit this particular behavior-to an extreme. The only predictability to it seems to be that she's more likely to do it when she's tired.  Like a baby fusses to stay awake, she becomes akin to the Tazmanian Devil to keep going instead of laying down to sleep.  We now recognize that her playtime needs more firm limits to help eliminate that as a prompt for her.  Since reprimands and redirection don't stop or even slow her down, we've resorted to placing as many obstacles in her path as possible to make it more difficult for her to engage in the behavior since it's not always possible to catch her before she starts it.  Once she starts it, I've been jumping in her path and taking her outside for a potty break; then we come in and get a puppy snack in her crate and she takes a nap. That seems to be the best means of stopping her once she starts the running and jumping behavior. Now we're working on doing it BEFORE she gets that tired, but being an energetic Border Collie puppy sometimes often makes recognizing her exhaustion level a guessing game.

     Since I want agility to be part of Cinder's life, I really don't want to quash her love of jumping, but merely stave it off for about six-nine months and re-shape it. 

     Luckily, Spring is finally here and that means we can take Cinder outside for more outdoor activities and exercise befitting a puppy. With luck, being able to get her outside and engaged in other more healthy activities will help curtail what I hope is a crazy phase in Cinder's puppy life. It certainly has been one of the more fascinating problem behaviors to get a handle on than any other I've ever encountered in such a young puppy.  I suppose this is one of our first REAL challenges in our adventures raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris

   

The Fun has Begun

    A few weeks ago Cinder discovered jumping. On one hand that's cool and exciting to see her be able to jump and see how much she seems to like it. On the other hand, bad things happen to pups that jump too much when they're too young and 10-13 weeks is too young. However wrangling Cinder and keeping her from jumping is proving quite challenging as she finds new things and ways from which to jump.  

 

     Cinder has discovered and learned a lot the last two weeks. She began going for car rides and the first times in the back seat were less than stellar-she managed to get out of both her harnesses multiple times (BEFORE we even got her door shut); once I tried riding in the back seat with her and she threw up.  I finally got her to ride well by putting her in the co-pilot's seat up front so I could easily touch and talk to her. That worked well for about four days before we tried taking all three dogs to the barn in the car together for the first time.  I opted to put Buzz in the back seat and Cinder was paired with Gilley in the far rear area of our Jeep Patriot.  Gilley is a GREAT traveler-gets in, lays down, does NOT move until we stop; and never barks or fusses about anything.  Cinder did great riding in back with Gilley and Buzz did great riding in the back seat.  I think that's the way we'll travel when all three go together.

 Otherwise, Cinder's already grown so big that staying in the front seat is about over for her and the back seat is the best place.  Traveling is coming along well and Cinder's starting to become comfortable with it so that she also lays down and sleeps.  

     Cinder's been learning to walk on a leash and a long rope for our barn treks.  She's done quite well so far and I'm very proud of her progress. She's honing her "sit" beside me pretty well.  Her other tricks are all the same with the addition of this week's new trick: "shut door." Cinder learned on her own how to push the back door open to come in, but I decided she needs to know how to shut it again too.  So far, she's been doing very well at it and today, she began shutting the internal garage door after Brian went out and didn't close it behind him.  For her learning fun, I'm going to make a miniaturized "teeter-totter" using a piece of 4" PVC on the ground and a plywood board about 4' long.  The elevation will be minimal but enough to give her the sense of walking on something that moves.  I didn't do that with Gilley and eight years later, he still hates doing the teeter-totter in agility so Cinder's going to have some playtime equipment that leads to bigger things later.

 

   Cinder's been exploring more and her door opening  and closing tricks evolved out of that. First she found out that toilet paper is a fast and easy way to decorate while having fun strewing it about and chewing it up!  Cute, but messy and annoying for the hu-mom.  Next she realized that all her food and treats seem to come from the same place all the time and she now goes and sits in front of the food prep area and barks for treats when she's bored.  She doesn't get them, but she does get to work for them.  Today she discovered that if I leave my house shoes out when I'm in a hurry, they are available for serious chewing pleasure-especially the insides of each shoe.

 Luckily those were six year old, very worn out old house shoes instead of my more expensive shoes!

     Cinder's full of life and she is definitely keeping us busy trying to keep her busy with the right amount of learning, play and undivided attention.  It's a challenge to find balance, but we're getting there. She's sleeping about 6-8 hours at night now so we are back to a reasonable sleep schedule. The rest of the time, she's awake and on the move or can be found snuggling with Gilley or Buzz during quiet times they inspire.

      The dynamics of the pack are definitely different now that Cinder's been here about six weeks.  Both older boys now engage in play with her regularly, often initiating it with her.  For Buzz, that's a major shift in his life because until Cinder, he NEVER engaged in any real play with Gilley.  Seeing both the older boys engage in and initiating play is great fun-not to mention, a great break for me!

    Cinder is awake and beckoning to be released from her crate so time to wind this up!  Once again, this brings you up to speed on things so far in the adventures of raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris

You Know You're A Dog Person If...

     You know you're a dog person if:

• You have at least one more dog in your house than humans.
• You greet friend's dogs first.
• Your dogs have premium brand name dog food with the best nutrition available in five wonderful flavors dogs love, but your fridge has eggs, three day old salad, shriveled tomatoes and all the condiments you need for the food you don't have.
• You have shampoo for each dog, specific to their coat type, and hypoallergenic; your shampoo is the cheap stuff from Wal-Mart.
• You are sure to groom your dogs and do give them pedicures regularly while you haven't had a manicure or pedicure you didn't do yourself since college.
• Your library consists of books about dogs, dog training, dog stories and whatever books friends gave you as hints you need to expand your reading selection (which you haven't read yet).
• Your furniture is covered with blankets, sheets, or slipcovers because you want to be able to quickly pull them off to provide a cleaner, more hair-free spot to sit for any non-dog company that drops by.
• You arrange your furniture for optimal dog compatibility - play area, nap areas, cuddle spots, and clear paths to doors.
• Your dogs have coats and booties for different weather and/or activities, but you have one coat for chores and one for public wear.
• Your wardrobe can be divided into two categories: acceptable dog activity clothing and dress clothes (you know, the one dress and two nice suits you own and never wear unless someone gets married or dies).
• Your dogs have collars with ID tags, license tags, Microchip tags and you have a worn out wallet in which you can never find a single piece of your ID-but you have pictures of all your dogs!
• Your back yard is not really landscaped except for a few holes (dug by the dogs), numerous brown spots, and agility equipment.
• The car/truck/SUV you drive was chosen based on how you can travel your dogs easiest and still have a vehicle suited for the times when you don't take the dogs.
• If you plan vacations around your dogs, dog events, dog shows, dog training sessions; and your vacations include taking the dogs so you go somewhere that accepts dogs.
• Your dogs have nice, thick memory foam orthopaedic comfort mats and your mattress and box springs are 18 years old from the Mattress Factory factory seconds section.
• You know you're a dog person when you look at your phone contacts and each of your friends is listed with their dogs' pictures for the contact photos.

There are more clues which would lead people to think you're a dog person, but I think you get the point.  If everything you do or have is based on your dogs, you're a dog person. Unless you've got a special dog themed handbag and you're one of those people who dresses your dog like a human and carries it in the handbag - that just makes you a weird dog lady!

Cheers!

Chris

Cinder's Adventures Begin

     It's been a busy couple weeks for us since the weather finally broke enough to get out and start doing some things. In a matter of weeks Cinder's life has dramatically changed in a lot of ways.  One thing is certain, she has more than doubled her size in the last month-particularly the last couple weeks!  Her adventures in life are really beginning now.

    A couple weeks ago Cinder discovered she can jump and ever since, trying to keep her from it has been quite the impossible dream! Her favorite thing to do when she's fighting being tired is to kick into high gear and zoom at full speed around the house, jumping on the furniture and jumping off it onto Gilley and Buzz. She also discovered that she's tall enough to reach a lot of things a little pup shouldn't reach - like the tops of tables!  So far, we've been able to keep the tabletops free of dangerous, valuable, or food items, but I'm sure time will get the better of us and she'll soon abscond with something she shouldn't.  She is the most food motivated little pup I've ever had too and she hasn't found anything she won't at least attempt to eat.  Her girlish figure is going to be a challenge to maintain as she ages if her voracious appetite doesn't soon diminish!

   Other recent adventures include her first car rides without being held on one of our laps, but rather riding on a seat, tethered by a car harness.  The first endeavors to travel have been short, taking her to the barn and friend's places.  The first ride to the barn was successful but scary.  The second was less successful because she was not happy being in the back seat while I was in the front and kept getting herself worked up about it.  The third time we had Brian chauffer us with me in the back seat next to her to give her some support and confidence-which worked until she got sick and threw up.  In case you want to know, feeding a puppy within an two hours of taking a car ride is probably a bad idea.  Today we achieved total success by me driving and her being seated in the front passenger seat so she was close enough for me to give her some pats and consoling chatter. When we arrived at our destination, she got to meet two of our best friends who made all over her since they hadn't met her yet.  Then she met their dog (a great dane) who's head is as big as Cinder's entire body-that was funny but they got along well.

     Cinder's starting her leash training this week in tandem with her travel training so our trick training may not progress so much, but leash work is important stuff.  I'm hoping we'll be able to take her on the local bike paths soon so she can not only have a great walking place, but a great learning experience as she learns about dodging bikers!  We have an abundance of bike paths that converge in our town and go all over the state so I like to walk the dogs on them often since they are mostly well shaded and reasonably well groomed areas. The opportunities for socializing with people and other dogs is good too.

     In the month that we've had Cinder, she's become a fixture in our world.  Gilley and Buzz have totally accepted her and engage in all kinds of play with her daily now. Her presence has already impacted all our lives for the better, getting us all up and moving more than we have been for a while, and of course, who can resist cuddling a cute little puppy at every opportunity.

     That's the update on Cinder for now.  Now that Spring is about to bloom forth, Cinder's adventures are really about to begin so look for more updates on our activities and don't forget to check us out on Facebook for updates there too as we continue raising Cinder!

Cheers!

Chris, Cinder's hu-mom

Challenged by Lifestyle

     A brief online chat yesterday reminded me that not everyone truly understands the challenges of raising a Border Collie in a small city versus on a farm.  Trust me, it had been my hope that we would have a small farm of our own long ago as I have never adapted well to city living. But, when life doesn't work the way you'd hoped or planned, you deal with it. City life is itself a challenge in my world, but successfully raising any pets in a city setting is definitively NOT ideal and far less than ideal for raising highly energetic and intelligent Border Collies.

    Ideally, Border Collies should have a LOT of exercise both physical and mental to channel their energy and keep them fit.  Many scoff at the need to keep them busy but if you've ever had a Border Collie, then you know they truly require something to do for every waking moment, particularly while they are young. If you reside on a farm or home with a large area in which they may run and exercise, it's easy to wonder why anyone would need to entertain a puppy because given that kind of space and lifestyle, they will easily burn their energy running the property-even without much of a job.  Certainly if they live on farms where they have both space and jobs, their lives are easily filled with daily exercise.  However, when you live in a city and have a less than a quarter acre of yard space, the challenge of keeping Border Collies physically and mentally fit require you to make a concerted effort to provide them enough exercise and entertainment.  Many Border Collies and Border Collie crosses have ended up in shelters and rescues because people didn't fully understand their herding instincts, intelligence, and need for exercise and interaction. Truly, if you don't channel their minds and provide things to do, they will find their own entertainment and it's often not healthy for them or your household! I have never wanted to fail my dogs by not doing my best to meet their needs, but I know we often lack the physical exercise during winter months when taking them somewhere is just not possible.

     Fortunately we are older and have no children or grandchildren which makes our home relatively quiet most of the time. It also means our only diversions are our jobs and our hobbies which means our dogs really are our primary focus in our home. We live in town, but we have good friends with large farms close by that allow us to use their farms at will to exercise our dogs; and there are several dog parks nearby.  I tend to steer away from dog parks because  you never know how well other people care for or handle their dogs and I fear the exchange of illnesses and potential dog fights. The big problem is that being older and having physical limitations, simply walking the dogs does little in terms of exercise for them.  Border Collies really do need to be able to cut loose and run-a lot. Needing to take them somewhere to get that exercise is often impossible due to weather.  That forces us to find ways to mentally stimulate their need to be busy in ways people with spacious yards or farms do not necessarily need to do.

     Finding things for Border Collies to do is not really the challenge-if you have the time and commitment to working with them.  Their intelligence means you can teach them a LOT of tricks and as they learn more individual tricks,  you can combine them to form more and more complicated ones.  But when they're puppies, there is a certain amount of pure play and interaction they need to keep them healthy and developing. Creativity is a great thing with Border Collies because if you can think of something to teach them, they generally like learning so you can devise some great playtime activities that are also training them for future tricks and jobs.  Agility is an awesome way to occupy Border Collies and their inherent characteristics make them REALLY great at it.  Nothing says you have to compete in agility trials, but teaching them agility components and being able to set up small courses in your small yard gives you an alternate way to exercise the dog mentally and physically. As puppies, they can learn a lot of basics necessary for them to do agility with some very simple and fun activities.  Frisbee and ball chasing are other activities Border Collies love and help keep them busy too.  Raising and maintaining Border Collies in a city isn't impossible, but it is more work than sending out the back door to get some fresh air for a few minutes and relieve themselves; or taking a walk around the park.  

     I attribute our success raising Gilley and keeping he and Buzz healthy to our diligence in keeping them occupied; taking them places as much as possible; and having a quiet home in which they can be inside resting or interacting with us to play games.  They keep us from being couch potatoes and we totally enjoy their antics. Cinder needs our interactions to keep her on track and not chewing her way through the house or demonizing us due to boredom.  Her youthful energy is good for all of us, forcing us to all be more active and engaged than we have been the last couple years and frankly, we need that as much or more than she does! Her little mind at work forces us to keep challenging her.  Despite the work she requires of us, her presence has already enhanced and enriched our lives and we look forward to more fun and folly in our adventures raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris 

Gilley to the Rescue Teaching Cinder

     Halted progress this week due to my back - I have a bulging disk and pinched nerve inhibiting just about everything including working with Cinder.  We managed to continue honing what she knows already.  However there were some fun and important new developments this week without my help.

       Last week, Gilley finally decided to make up with Cinder and began playing with her.  Now, the two have become true BFF's.  They play every day and this week, I couldn't be more glad since my mobility as been seriously limited, making play with Cinder pretty minimal.  Gilley has been the one to initiate playing as much or more than Cinder.  I think he's finally glad to have a play pal that we'd always hoped would be Buzz, but has never happened.  Buzz does not know or want to play the way Gilley enjoys play.  Cinder NEEDS play so having Gilley finally engaging with her is awesome for both of them and me!  

  Aside from playing, Gilley's also been teaching her when it's time to rest quietly because the adult dogs want quiet time.  Additionally, he has been helping her hone her stalking.  Stalking is important for herding, but apparently Gilley thinks it's important all the time.  I managed to capture a brief stalk and attack by Cinder on the video below.  

Laying by Chris on the loveseat

Additionally, the boys are helping teach Cinder that outside doors don't open until everyone sits first. She's doing well with that lesson but needs human reminders and praise. Cinder seems most proud of being able to now jump onto the loveseat.  She could climb onto it last week, but she discovered the art of the jump this week during playtime with Uncle Gilley.  I'm not sure whether to thank Gilley or strangle him for showing her the artful means of jumping onto the loveseat or chair because now she wants to do it all the time.  They race through the house full speed and get a running start and jump onto the loveseat or a chair and she thinks it's awesome cool, but I hate the idea of her jumping down again onto the hard floors so I'm trying to discourage this newfound, fun skill until she's older.  We'll see how that works out.  I think it'll be easier once we get through this wintry blast and finally have spring at last. Playing outside more will mean playing inside less and thereby, less jumping. The one advantage has been since my back flared up, Cinder seems proud she can easily jump onto the loveseat beside me.  That's been Gilley's "thing" for eight years-lay beside me on the loveseat and snuggling.  Now, Cinder's been doing it and it's been interesting that Gilley hasn't even tried to dissuade her these last three days.  Perhaps he senses that it's the best and least painful way for me to be close to her while my back heals; but maybe he just figures it's not worth the fight because HE still holds the crown that entitles him to a coveted spot on our bed.

     Cinder is also developing her "racing speed" as she races around the house and yard attempting to keep up with the big dogs.  Amazingly, she's pretty quick for her size but those little legs make for a much shorter stride.  She does have a very competitive side so I think she will always try to outdo the big dogs whenever possible.  I can't wait to take her places and get her out where she will literally have hundreds of acres to run with the boys.  Come on Spring!

     Meanwhile, Buzz is content to have Gilley play with Cinder because he had Cinder duty for the first few weeks.  Gilley is his respite from having her drag him across the kitchen by his tail.  He still plays with her but clearly it's Gilley's style of more interactive play that she prefers (and needs). Gilley is her favorite now for that reason if no other.  It's all part of life raising Cinder.

Cheers!
Chris