Cinder the Huntress

Last week started out to be a grand week, but due to some seriously bad storms and tornadoes, it quickly turned out to be far less grand than it began. 

Early in the week, we were able to take Gilley and Cinder to the pond and as anticipated, we got Cinder to swim a little bit by capitalizing on her need to follow Gilley everywhere - including into the deep waters of the pond.  I let Gilley and Cinder start out by wading in the shallow spot for a few minutes. Once that was no longer exciting, I threw Gilley's Frisbee for him to retrieve. Cinder quickly followed and swam quite well for about 10 -15 feet, until she looked at the bank and realized how far she'd gotten from it.  She managed to turn herself around and keep swimming; and by then Gilley had come alongside her so it was a race to shore!  She did that a couple more times.  On the last round, she started to have trouble and I feared I may have to dive in after her, but as I was about to, Gilley saw her and let go of his Frisbee to swim over to and help Cinder; nudging her and then grabbing her and putting her right to swim back to shore.  They swam back to shore together and after that, she was content to wade while watching Gilley swim a few more times.  I'm sure she'd become too tired and started to lose it until Gilley rescued her. Until that point, she was a serious little power stroke swimmer - major power in her push through the water. It was impressive.  It's been too cold to try again since, but as soon as it warms up again, we'll give it another try.  Next time, we won't swim after a long run on the farm and I won't let her swim so much that she gets too tired to be safe.  That was my fault for not realizing she would tire so quickly-she is just a puppy of five months after all.

Day before yesterday, I was finally able to go on a longer walk with the dogs than I've been able to do yet this year. Not that it was a long walk, but it's better than I've been able to do because of my back problems this spring.  I went roughly 2.3 miles and of course, the dogs went about 7-10 miles because of all their circling back to check in with me; and playing our games along the way.  I opted to leave Buzz at home and take only Gilley and Cinder because the two of them are more manageable than all three dogs.  As we went on our walk, I started out feeling pretty great and ready to tackle at least five miles. That was not meant to be and was clearly punctuated by a minor incident at the outset of our walk.  

As we cleared the little creek behind the barn, we turned and headed for "The Billy Goats Gruff Bridge." After navigating my way through the mud at the creek without incident, I felt confident my walk was going to be awesome.  Imagine my surprise when I topped a small knoll, still feeling pretty good until suddenly, I had my leg knocked from under me and fell to the ground in one big thud!  When you've had a knee (or hip) replacement, the idea of a fall is scary and you always try to miss landing on or wrenching the replacement joint.  I had no chance to think about it, but luckily, it was my good leg that was knocked from beneath me and on that side I landed.  What caused my sudden fall? Cinder on the run, chasing Gilley, careened into me on her way by! I swear it felt as though I'd been struck by a wrecking ball that took my leg out from under me!  I could've been 50 shades of angry, but I was too busy deciding whether I was hurt or just stunned as I lay on the ground assessing my body functionality.  Brian had seen the whole thing unfold and made his way to me, worried about my back and my knee.  I managed to get  up and decided that I was a little less enthusiastic about the walk, but still determined to continue. What a powerhouse she is at a full run - no wonder she's a power stroke swimmer! Brian warned me then that I should scale back my goals for the walk, but I pushed forward, a little more cautiously. Brian went along and we played with Gilley and Cinder the whole way.

Did you know that if you're a bird and you attempt to dive bomb a Border Collie, you should probably fly higher than the Border Collie can jump?  There's one less bird flying the friendly skies because that bird missed the memo! As we were nearing the edge of the woods and a field, a bird flew about five feet off the ground and attracted Cinder's eye.  She began watching the bird intently as it continued flying low and getting closer to us.  As the bird got closer, I could see Cinder's little brain calculating the height of jump and trajectory required to nab it.  Sure enough, she plucked that bird from full flight as it came over her!  She jumped at least four feet straight up and nabbed that bird like it was nothing!  The bad news was that I made her drop and leave it - which took some doing because she kept circling back to it as I walked ahead. But, ultimately, Cinder left it behind, clearly feeling deprived of the bird carcass reward she'd earned as Cinder the Huntress.

Gilley watched everything and you could see his experienced mind,"Dumb pup. Mom NEVER lets us catch or pick up any critters. You'll learn eventually. Some things you have to do when mom's not around or just not do them at all."  I have no fear that if she had to, Cinder would survive in the wild quite well.  This is not the first display of her hunting prowess as she has run across a couple rabbits, mutliple squirrels, and she's run up a few deer. Her little nose is ALWAYS going, sniffing out all kinds of things around the house and yard so she hones her ability to scent all the time. 

As the walk progressed, I started feeling pretty sore in my back again. Spasms began, but they were pretty minor initially.  We checked some of the woods trails; cleared a few small down limbs; and realigned the boards of a makeshift corduroy road through a boggy area that had floated the boards out of position in our recent weeks of storms. After that, I told Brian I needed to begin the trek back to the barn while I could still make it relatively pain free.  I was actually already in some pain, but I didn't want to mention that. However, Gilley being my constant companion and smart boy seemed to already be very aware of my pain.  He stopped going so far ahead and waiting or circling in order to stay closer to me.  When I needed to stop for brief breaks because of spasms, Gilley waited with me, watching me. When the spasms eased, hed walk beside me for a bit - until Cinder urged him to run with her.  Gilley seemed to know he was supposed to keep Cinder going to wear her out and he'd oblige for a few minutes; returning to walk with me again.  A few times, I slowed down and my steps were small because I hurt, but I wanted to keep moving. During those times, Gilley seemed to sense I needed his help and he'd nudge me and give me a look as if to say, "Come on Mom, you can do it. Keep trying Mom, I'm right here to help you if you need me."  Then, Cinder would bound back and urge him to romp a little more. Gilley performed that same dual duty performance all the way back to the barn.  By the time we'd gotten to the known barn route, Cinder too seemed to become aware that I was not feeling good and needed a little extra help.  She and Gilley both slowed their pace to stay close all the way back up the lane, through the creek; and up the hill to the barn.  By that point, it took everything I had to make the last half mile of that walk. I think I'd even told Brian to get the Jeep and come pick me up, but he knew I didn't really want to quit.  We made it all the way and both Gilley and Cinder jumped in the back of the car without hesitating long enough to blink.  

Quite the eventful little jaunt we had for my first real walk of the year that was more than an eighth of a mile. I came home and decided to ice pack my back & rest it for a couple hours with the dogs on the bed with me while I watched a movie.  Then, I got up and although I still hurt, kept piddling at house chores and things to keep moving.  Then it was time to go back to the barn to get Ebbie in for the night and I wanted to take Buzz since Gilley and Cinder went earlier.  Buzz was happy to tag along and although his walk was very short, he got one-on-one time he truly enjoyed. 

Cinder proves to be an entertaining addition to our world and as we expand her world, there are almost always some new tricks she pulls out and shows us. Knocking me off my feet to start our walk; plucking a bird from mid-air flight; being able to go the distance of a walk in new areas; and trying to be a helper when she realized I wasn't doing so well. For a blue merle - a dog whose color is black, white and gray - she sure is a colorful pup!  But it's all just another day in our lives as we continue raising Cinder.  

Cheers!

Chris

Cinder's First Swim

Today was another high point in puppy life because today was Cinder's first day to try swimming.  It was an impromptu event - the kind upon which you capitalize once you realize the direction things are headed.  It was a grand finale to our day at the barn, which was less than thrilling.

Our norm is to take at least one dog to the barn if not all of them. Today we took the gleesome threesome so they could all run off some steam - literally and figuratively since it was a steamy 83 degrees after a rainy couple days. Luckily, our little creek was running wildly again, so the dogs had the creek close to go grab a drink and cool off.  After our relatively routine walk, it was Gilley's time to have some singular fun playing in the pond-chasing his soft Frisbee and swimming to bring it back to me.  I had Brian put Buzz in the Jeep with the windows down because Buzz doesn't swim and he was tired so that suited him fine. Cinder was with Gilley and me, off to the pond to play.  

I'd hoped that taking Cinder with me, she'd see Gilley swimming and try to follow him without even thinking.  When we got to the pond, Gilley knew why we were there, but I convinced him to wade a little bit, enticing Cinder into the water too.  That plan worked great. Cinder followed Gilley right into the shallow wading ledge and the edge of the pond.  I let them wade a few minutes and then I decided to see what happened if Gilley's gaming began.  As I expected, Gilley went after his Frisbee and Cinder dove in and began swimming without a single thought-until she had gone about 10 feet from the wading ledge and realized she couldn't touch ground.  She got herself turned around and Gilley got beside her as he returned with his Frisbee, so she was chasing him back to shore.  This happened two more times and of course I couldn't get video or pictures at the time because I had too many things in my hands and I was at the edge of the pond (not wanting to risk dropping my phone into it). I did get some of her in the pond but not swimming-they're at the end of this post. Each time Cinder followed Gilley and part way out, realized she was getting pretty far from shore and turned to come back, but the third time, she started to struggle.  Just as I was about to dive in after her, Gilley came back on his return and he knew she was in trouble. He let go of his Frisbee (we call it "flier") and got close enough to nudge her and grab her to put her right. She kept swimming with Gilley alongside all the way to shore - until Gilley realized he had to go get the Frisbee.  After that, Cinder remained content to follow Gilley only to the edge of the drop-off and stop.  She would bounce around in the water, anxiously watching and awaiting Gilley's returns to meet him and climb back onto the bank to bring me the Frisbee.  Overall, Cinder did great and she proved that she's pretty smart by realizing she'd gone too far and trying to get herself back to safety each time-until that last time when she must've been just a little too tired and got into trouble.  Luckily, Gilley saw and helped her so I didn't need to race into the pond and save her.  Some lessons are better when the other dogs teach them and the humans stay out of it. After that, she proved her smarts by knowing about where the drop-off was and staying where she could safely wade and play without pushing her limits and really getting herself into serious trouble.  

It was really awesome for her first time swimming in deep water. To see her realize she'd gone too far and figure out how to get herself turned around and start swimming back - seeing the power strokes she was using with those legs of hers was impressive!  She was quite something. Her turn-arounds were pretty good too. She figured them out without even seeing Gilley do it so it was all her own brain power for that maneuvering.   Even Gilley's first swim wasn't that good - he really nearly drowned before he figured out how to paddle well enough not to go below the water surface. He was so skinny that he had NO bouyancy to help keep his head out of the water-he HAD to learn to paddle or he was going under!  Now he's an expert to the extent of being able to herd while swimming, but you'd never have believed it watching his first THREE swimming days.  I'm very proud of Cinder's first swimming efforts; and Gilley's leaving his Frisbee to go save Cinder when she got in a little trouble. 

Overall, a great day for the dogs at the barn. I'm so anxious to see Cinder try the swimming again when she isn't quite so tired to start out. I see a LOT of swimming in Cinder's future-at least, I hope so. 

Meanwhile, thanks for checking in on another day of small adventures as we continue raising Cinder.

Check out the pictures I managed to get below.  

Cheers!

Chris

Cinder watching Gilley swim for Frisbee

Four Months a Grown Pup

 

   It's been two weeks since the last post so we have a bit of updating to do. Grab a beverage and a comfy spot and I'll get started.

     Ever since Cinder discovered jumping, back when she was a mere babe of 10 weeks old, she's been a jumping fiend! No matter how I discourage it, she continues to strive for new ways and places to jump as well as showing me how high she can go. Her newest feats of jumping

have finally extended to getting on our bed, which sits 32" from floor to the top of the mattress. It is an old bed and sits pretty high.  I wouldn't let her jump off the bed, but she was easily able to jump right up onto it to surprise me when I was trying to make the bed a few days ago.  Her next feat was jumping OVER my agility tunnel (made from a paintball tunnel) - at 28" tall.  I saw it unfold before my eyes as she was chasing

 around the A-frame to get Gilley, when she almost slammed into the tunnel and suddenly opted to go over it - with PLENTY of air space between she and the top of it!  She made it look easy too. Her next fun surprise came when I was getting ready to load her into the  back of the Jeep Patriot last week to go to the barn; she jumped right in when I was getting things situated and handed me her safety tie-down strap to hook to her harness.  "Jumping Bean Queen" is her new nickname. She's ever so proud she can jump and she's not afraid to use it.  

     The other news we've been working on a couple of new things.  I have a Hula Hoop that I use for several fun dog tricks with Gilley so I thought we'd work on those.  Nope. She again had to show me that the Hula Hoop is for jumping through too.  So, I let her do a few small jumps through the Hula Hoop just because she absolutely loves it and we'll build to other things with it as she gets older.  Meanwhile, we also transferred that ability to agility and she goes through my tire jump on the ground level height.  She looks as me as if I'm supposed to raise it for her to actually jump it because walking or tiny hops through it are clearly not challenging enough for her-just ask her!  

     She has gotten shutting doors down pretty well now, so now I have to work on transferring that ability to more than two doors in the house; and then transfer it to some other tricks.  She totally loves shutting the door for me when I have my hands full and ask her to shut it. She seems to understand my hands are full so shutting the door for me is really good.  In fact, several times we've left the door from our kitchen to the garage open and she's shut it because she thought it should be closed. I think that means she's starting to evolve mentally too because she can think for herself that the door is open and should be closed.  Maybe I should be afraid of her brain power, very afraid. Hmmm.

     We got out her teeter-totter trainer and she's outgrown it so now I have to make an actual teeter totter  just because she's already so big that I may as well make a real one as to make another training version. However, she readily climbed on, walked her three steps across and off without a problem.  Of course she also does the tunnel-every time I turn around, she's going through the tunnel.  I think it's time to put the tunnel away for a while, just so she doesn't want to do it when I really ask for it.

     Last weekend we took all three dogs to a local state park.  I found out that Cinder is quite attached to the older boys because when they went a slightly different way (still very close and very visible), she was constantly pulling and barking for them.  It wasn't until I got her completely out of sight of them that she calmed down and paid attention to what I was asking.  When we go off to do things by ourselves, leaving the boys home, she's absolutely golden so I was a little surprised by her separation anxiety.  Obviously we'll have to do more of that to try and get her over it.  

   

 Cinder is growing by leaps and bounds - ha ha.  She is now 18" tall at the shoulders and 31 pounds.  That's as big as a lot of smaller adult Border Collies, but I know by her feet that she is not even close to done growing yet.  She's in the leggy stage right now. She's finally big enough that she's becoming a much tougher wrestling opponent for the boys. Gilley sometimes struggles to break free of her when she pounces on him and pins him down. I think the boys are going to be in for some serious wrestling as she grows bigger. 

     That's the highlight reel from the last two weeks. There have been a few minor adventures here and there, but nothing exciting-yet.  I'm sure more fun things will start happening now that she's finished all her vaccinations and we can take her more places.  Thanks for checking in to see how we're doing as we continue raising Cinder!  

Cheers!

Chris

Cinder's Got Game!

     Last week was nothing remarkable throughout the week.  We didn't really do anything special and nothing new was added to Cinder's repertoire until the weekend.  My time was spent attending appointments and preparing for the Easter weekend.  

     Easter Sunday, in the early morning hours, we were having coffee in the living room while the dogs played.  Suddenly I realized that Cinder had another growth spurt - legs, she's all legs right now!  At four months old, she is a nice sized girl. I can only imagine what her biggest brother, Storm, must look like now! As I watched silently, I noted that her coat is changing.  Her coat is getting thicker and she's developing feathering on her legs and backside; she's getting a rough; and she already has tail feathering.  Her soft, fluffy, puppy-smelling coat is now being exchanged for a real dog coat. My puppy is now officially a teenager.

     Gilley and I began a game of ball.  He LOVES playing ball in any variation.  Out of the corner of my eye I spied Cinder watching intently. She stopped playing with Buzz to watch Gilley and I play ball. She sat down and intently watched our every move-still as a statue except for her eyes darting side to side. Gilley and I continued playing ball when suddenly, Cinder darted across the room, careened into Gilley; grabbing the rolling tennis ball just as it went under a kitchen chair. She grabbed the ball, turned around, and brought me the ball!  Then she nudged me and nosed the ball as if to tell me, "Hey, I wanna try now!"  I rolled it and she retrieved it, bringing it back to me again.  The next time, I opted to do a close little ball toss to see her response.  Imagine my surprise at her catching it in her mouth, first time, first try!  After that, it became clear that rolling the ball on the floor was not interesting, but tossing it led to her trying to jump into the air to catch it rather than sitting or standing and waiting for it.  That was the first time Cinder's show n any interest in balls or playing with them. I guess we can now say she's interested in playing ball, but not if it's only rolled along the ground.  I guess in her world, she subscribes to the "go big or go home" theory. After all, why sit on your butt when you can vault into the air and snatch something mid-air? I guess the mid-air jump and snatch is more fun and definitely more entertaining. I'm just excited that Cinder's got it - Cinder's got game!

 
 

     The irony of the timing was appropriate because the day before, I said I have the only Border Collie puppy I've ever known or heard of that doesn't have any interest in balls of any kind. It didn't matter in the scheme of things, but being able to play ball with the dogs is fun for them and me. 

     I finally got to play ball with Cinder for the first time - on Easter!  Gotta love the little darlin' because she's keeping me guessing about what she'll do in her future. That's the highlight of another week raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris

     

Home Dog Bather for the Financially Challenged

     If you wash your dog in the bathtub as I do, then you’ve probably discovered the joys of using a hand-held dog bath sprayer that connects to your faucet or your showerhead.  They’re similar to kitchen sink sprayers for dog bathing. If you’ve got one of the average dog bath sprayers and connected it to your showerhead, then you’ve probably been a little disillusioned by the short length of the hose (unless you splurged on a higher-end model). The hoses average 6 - 7 feet long, but if you have a 6’ tall showerhead, it’s about two feet too short of being perfect for dogs shorter than Great Danes. I have GREAT NEWS if that’s your experience!

     Our old dog bath sprayer recently died an ugly death after years of great service (I got a good one).  I was disheartened by the selection of new models.  They’re cheaply made and of course, none of them have hoses longer than 72 inches until you get into the higher priced versions.  Prices vary widely; but higher prices don’t always equate to better quality.   Frustrated by the quality and costs of new dog specific bath sprayers, I went to Lowe’s in search of a way to make a dog bath sprayer that connects to my showerhead AND has enough hose to easily reach the whole distance from showerhead to the opposite end of the tub. 

         I looked at bathtub hand-held shower sprayers and kitchen sink sprayers.  I opted to for a hand-held shower sprayer primarily because I liked the larger sprayer head and multiple spray settings that aren’t available in kitchen sink sprayers. My search revealed several cheap models that quickly and easily attach to the existing showerhead. However, they too came with an average 60 – 72” hose.  Grrrrr! I decided to use our old sprayer hose and use a coupler to attach the new sprayer hose to it, creating a 12’ hose with a coupler joint in the middle.

    We left Lowe’s with a $13 hand-held shower sprayer kit and a coupler to fix two hoses together for a total of a 12 foot length of hose.  Our total cost was $21.  One detail I overlooked was that the shower sprayer doesn’t turn on/off by depressing a trigger.  Another easy fix for with an in-line hose shut-off valve placed at the base of the sprayer handle.  All of this was EASY and we ended up with a much better dog bath sprayer that now has a 12’ hose and three spray adjustments.  We could’ve gotten a dog sprayer for the same or less money, but they are much poorer quality at less than $50. This isn’t high quality, but it’s better than the average dog sprayers and cheaper than most of them. It’s a little better sprayer and a LOT better hose length – all for under $25.

     Cinder, Gilley and Buzz may now get as dirty as they want as often as they want because now, I’m armed with our new bath sprayer to make it easy to get them in the tub and bathe them clean again.  I already tested it on Buzz-it was wonderful and he enjoyed not being made to move around so I could reach all of him. Now it’s time for bathing a certain puppy - another adventure in raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris

Growing up Fast

Raising Cinder is pretty similar to being a parent: constant supervision required, constant trips to potty outside (also supervised), feeding, teaching things, play time, disrupted sleep in early morning hours...  Even bedtime has a ritual similar to my son's-a snack of frozen yogurt; and off to bed.  You try your best to love and raise them, hoping you're doing the right things-at least as right as you can in the given conditions. But the hardest thing is to spend every day with them and suddenly REALLY notice that they're growing up-fast!

I can hide behind this!

I be stuck now!

     Sometimes it seems like I just brought home my tiny little Cinder puppy. She was a little bit smaller than my foot at the time.  Two months have passed since then.  I look at her now and wonder where my little puppy went!  In two months, she's grown so fast that there have been times when one day she was so small she could fit into the tiniest spaces and the next day, she's either gotten stuck or can't even get into those same spaces because she's truly grown overnight.

"Sit"-GOOD CINDER!"

    Like children, it's sometimes hard to remember that despite her growth and all she's learned, she's really only been to "kindergarten."  It seems she ought to be in "middle school" by now, but she's only rounding the corner to head for first grade in another month or so.  I have friends that due to time and distance, have not yet met Cinder in person. By the time they do, she will surely seem at least half grown even at less than six months old.

      I have totally enjoyed having a puppy in the house again, but I'm glad I am able to do it now and not in the five years from now that I'd planned to think about another puppy.  Waiting five more years would've been too long.  Gilley and Buzz would definitely be too old to play with a puppy by then; and they'd be far less tolerant of one by then.  As it is, it took three weeks before the boys accepted and regularly engaged with Cinder for more than a couple minutes. Now, they are all BFF's-playing and racing together as if they've always been a threesome.  

      Cinder's been good for all of us despite the moments of frustration we've all had with her puppy antics at times.  Buzz has truly learned to play for the first time in his life since he was a tiny puppy.  Gilley has always loved playing and now, Cinder is his regular play pal.  Cinder is such a sweetheart and lovebug that we're enjoying her puppy neediness of us and our affections.  She's reminded Brian that parenting-puppies or children-really is a job and doesn't wait just because we're tired or we don't feel great. She's reminded me that despite the hardships of daily struggles, there can be great joys and one of those is being needed; another is being loved.  There is something to be said about being a parent - to a child or a puppy - you can learn as much from them as they will ever learn from you if you allow yourself to be taught.  Cinder's turning out to be a good little teacher for such a young puppy that's growing up fast!

     And now, a return to daily life and the evening chores that await, including those chores that are part of raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris

   

Recalls-The Canine Kind or "Cinder, COME!"

  If you ask different trainers what they think are the top two most important things to teach a puppy, you're bound to start a conversation that could go on for weeks.  Everyone has their own version of what's important and sometimes picking a "most important" becomes a matter of perspective.  In my world, it's always subjective and varies with situations and settings as to the importance of certain things a dog should know. I'm topping my list with having a good recall. For those who may not know what a recall is: recall is your dog coming when you call, without any hesitation; and without detours along the way.

   Cinder will never be a working herder. We have nothing for her to herd. However, we will be taking her to all kinds of places and doing all kinds of things aside from the 340 acres of farm we roam regularly.  I'm also hoping that if she likes and shows promise for agility, MAYBE we will try a few trials. Obviously that means she needs a good recall.  

     Today was our first trial run to test her recall on the farm without the big boys with us. Gilley has a FANTASTIC recall for which I am grateful, but Cinder needs to learn to come on her own, without Gilley or Buzz.  We took her to the horse barn with us and took a walk with her on a long-line (25' rope). 

     The first test was just getting her past the chickens darting around the barnyard! Once we got her out of the barnyard and headed to the back fields, we were able to start letting her loose. I was apprehensive because she has a great recall within the confines of our house, but when she's with the big boys, she's merely following them.  With 340 acres to run, I got concerned when our first dozen recalls on the long-line were questionable because she kept sniffing and snooting - I had to tug her most of the way to me.  After about another dozen successful but lacklustre recalls, I was a little less hesitant to turn her loose, but not entirely convinced. 

   Finally I decided to let her loose with her long-line on.  My thinking was that if she headed into the woods, she'd get snagged up and I'd be able to get to her.  Once she discovered she was free, she took off at dead run and I was a bit afraid she may not stop.  As I crested the hill, I spied her atop the hill, stopped and staring at me.  I called her and  she came. Yay!  After that, Brian and I kept her in a big field punctuated with small hills; and surrounded by woods.  Using the hills, edge of the woods, and some old round bales of hay, one of us would "hide" while Cinder wasn't looking. After a few minutes, the person hiding would yell for Cinder to come.  It was me to start and then we alternated calling her between us.  Each and every time, she came running directly to whomever called, trailing her long-line behind.  A few times I thought to detach the long-line, but I decided it wasn't hurting anything to leave it alone.  We played this game all the way back to the little creek.  

     At the creek, we generally leash the dogs because that's a sort of last rest area before we're back in the barn yard and turn-out area.  Buzz has a horrible track record around the horses and chickens; and no recall once he starts a chase.  Gilley's awesome because I raised him going to the barn every day and he learned how to behave around the barn animals, but Buzz was already three when we got him. We worked to teach him barn rules and on leash, he's GREAT but the minute he's free, he becomes an unstoppable Tazmanian Devil, killing chickens and chasing horses (NOT herding, chasing); and he ignores all efforts to recall him or stop him.  Rather than fight it, we just habitually don't give him the chance. Cinder will learn by trips as the single dog with us and trips with Gilley. Hopefully she'll become trustworthy at the barn like Gilley, but right now, we have to reinforce the whole recall and be able to get it reliably before we tempt fate and let her loose at the barn. 

   

 Overall, Cinder did well for her first test on recall over distance and without the big boys.  I'm very pleased because I sure wasn't counting on it. Now we just have to keep working on it and add distractions to start making that recall reliable. Next time, I'll take a drag rope (a leash about two feet long) to attach so she'll have something we could grab if we need to, but not something 25 feet long trailing behind her.  We'll start varying where we walk so she learns in different settings, including the woods. For now, I'm happy enough she had good recalls in the open field and the trail to the creek.  She gets an "A" for today.  Bonus: she got her exercise, we got ours; and now she's tired enough she'll be easier on the big dogs this evening.

 That's one more small hurdle successfully accomplished in our daily life as we continue raising Cinder.

Cheers!

Chris

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