​It seems as if we are reaching a milestone in her recovery process, as she’s been using her leg more! She’s becoming more stable on it and it feels like it’s finally gaining some noticeable muscle. The atrophy from the crate rest phase was intense and it’s been so slow to gain muscle mass but we’re finally seeing some changes for the better.

Unfortunately, her mental state still isn’t right where she had left off before the incident and I’m wondering if we will get back to it. As she’s grown up, she’s shown some temperament aspects that I don’t prefer to produce/pass on, which is why I was leaning towards washing her from the breeding program before the health things showed up. I am big on letting dogs mature before making final calls on them, unless it’s something that’s been very apparent from an early age and has remained consistent, and Daci does have so many traits I do like. Oh well! Some things aren’t meant to be. A couple of her siblings have what I view as unfavorable temperaments as well, mostly lack of drive and high arousal. While these are fairly “minor” issues and many don’t mind them, it’s not what I am striving to produce. Arousal does not equal drive! Many people can’t tell the difference between those two things but as a behaviorist, I’ve seen both and gotten to know both well. It doesn’t make Audacity or her siblings bad dogs whatsoever! They’re lovely dogs and only a couple of them have these “problems.” Mostly their owners are all super happy with them and I am so glad for that! But it’s certainly made me rethink the types of pairings I want to do and the type of Border Collies I want to be working with in my breeding program. After experiencing many full and half show lines through my own and also those I’ve done behavioral modification on, they aren’t my preferred representation of the breed. I prefer the genetics and temperament of working and some sporting lines and moving forward I will not be using show lines in my program. It’s cool to be in a breed with so much variety, as you can really choose what fits you best!

​Happy 4th birthday to Lapis!

The first Whippet of the family, she really turned us on to this breed. She’s such a wonderful dog. She is the picture of stability in all ways and is the easiest dog to be around! She gladly works for anyone, never has met a stranger dog or human, has so much enthusiasm and energy for things like training, play and of course hunting but she’s also the biggest couch potato and is more than happy to sleep in all day. She loves puppies and is a great nanny dog. She is so sweet and light hearted. She gets excited to meet people and say hi then settles right down into her usual lovely home body ways. She’s great in public, unshakable by the environment, and only ever reactive to small and furry - as any Whippet should be! And boy when she’s on a hunt, she is a sight to behold. It’s like she turns into a different dog, she becomes like a machine with only one goal in mind. And even in the heat of those hunts, she’s never not came back to us when called or after the chase is done! Lapis is a fabulous dog and everyone could use one of her. I could use 10 more myself!

Happy birthday little Whippet.

09/13/22
​Lapis is always such a consistent energy in the house. You can always bank on her to be resting on the couch, running roughshod on the other dogs or hopping around them as they wrestle, rummaging in the pantry for dropped kibbles, or if you have food she's never far away. She always gets excited when people come over & she zooms around briefly, jumps up once or twice, then is pretty much over it. She likes to sniff your nose & mouth but rarely gives kisses. She loves to sleep under the covers at night with her head out on the pillow like a human. She loves to play & race around the house with a toy in her mouth, jumping to the couch from halfway across the living room.

Lapis is my first Whippet & without her I probably never would have fallen for the breed so hard. Aside from Border Collies, I had a few breeds on my list to potentially own but there's a good chance I never would have branched out & actually got a non-BC. My partner Daniel is the one who took the leap! She was a very challenging puppy, she was hard to crate train, she would jump onto counters, she screamed whenever I would get another dog out to play or train with & she was always running Calypso down & making her cry. They were the closest in age for a long time! Calypso was about 10 months old when we got Lapis. They both spent a big portion of their adolescence growing up during vanlife which may sound hard but it was actually a great time & such a cool way to socialize our young dogs.

It's very interesting to see the differences in drive within different breeds. Lapis is very high drive for things like hunting, food, & sometimes play but not for everything like my Border Collies are. She has great focus & she knows a lot but some things do have to be on her terms! Lucid is already proving to be quite different in a lot of ways but so very similar in others. I can't wait to have more Whippets & to see puppies out of Lapis! I couldn't even tell you how many inquiries for Border Collies I get & think to myself... you actually want a Whippet. 😂😅

J​on is my first personal male dog in a long time. We have Pancetta, the APBT, but he is my partners dog and we got him at 7 months so it was a bit of a different experience. Not to mention a very different breed!

One of my first personal dogs was a male and he was my first service dog as well. We had a deep bond and he never gave me any of the typical “boy dog” troubles! After training many an adolescent male dog and with how much I like girls, I have been hesitant to have a boy. It’s very early to say yet how it will go with Jon and if he will be a teenage delinquent like most boys are, but so far he’s really been a pleasure! The main differences I’ve been seeing are that he’s more affectionate, more into me, calmer and more easily redirected to me off exciting things (think calling off playing with the other dogs), and overall he’s just a really great, perfect puppy. He loves playing, loves training and is picking things up FAST, and is such a lover! He hasn’t had any real hormones hit yet so we’ll see how things go as he becomes a teen, but I’m hesitantly very optimistic. He’s been nothing but a dream so far. So confident, outgoing, sure of himself, biddable, friendly, sweet, and the cutest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on!

I am so eager to get into sports with Jon. It’s going to be awesome having a dog who won’t have to take time off for reproductive things like heat cycles! He’s showing great signs towards service work so far and he’s taking to his agility foundations so well. I can’t wait to get him herding! I want to pursue a lot of different sports with him whenever I have the chance to do them and hopefully make him into a great representation of what type of Border Collie I want to produce. A versatile working dog who can still be an amazing companion.

​My pretty girl Vintage for the first post of 2023.

Rightly so, as this dog holds my heart in a special way! She’s everything I hoped for out of Abigail and the amazing @marley_workingsheepdog. She has drive coming out of her ears, she’s friendly with every person she’s met, she’s very dog savvy and social. She loves herding, disc, tug, toys and play of all kinds, loves training for food, tricks, heel work, her agility foundations class was super. I don’t know if I’ll pursue agility with her as I want to focus more on herding and there’s only so much time. She’s a wonderful demo dog for our training business. She would happily work for any handler! She’s a truly high drive dog and bless her heart she’s also low arousal. She’s literally perfect and I could go on and on!

She’s been going through the typical 1.5 year old fear period, suddenly spooked by very random things (like the toaster 😂) which is odd for her since she’s never really shown any fear or concern about anything. She’s rock solid and I live for it! I’m sure she will come out of the fear period with grace, as I am quite good at navigating them appropriately and setting the dogs up for success.

This year my goals with Vintage are get more into herding, ideally going at least once a month. And to get her some other titles, as I don’t quite expect us to be trial ready for herding soon, but you never know!

Update on Audacity.

I keep hoping she will get back to “normal” but in reality I think we are just going to have to get used a new normal. She’s not anywhere close to her previous athleticism and the healing journey is an extremely long one. While she is improving, it’s just so slow and it still hurts to see her slip, lose her footing, and limping around.

She’s still her usual happy self and she loves her housemates, deeply enjoys helping out with puppies, loves training and playing even though her capabilities are limited now and she tires quickly. She’s been really enjoying getting back to hiking, but now she stays on a leash because it helps her to use the leg more if she’s going at a slower pace.

She’s mentally not in the best place and she’s become more selective with dogs and has a harder time being “left out”, like when we are working with other dogs, and it seems like she’s having some withdrawal symptoms from coming off such high doses of medication.

It’s not easy and it is requiring such patience to get through this. It’s hard trying to envision the future and what it’s going to look like for Daci. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.