Working Dog Diary is a series of essays which reflect on the stockdog journey of Kay Spencer, the owner of Working Aussie Source.
Previous chapters are located at the bottom of this page:
2005-2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013
I had nearly forgotten how in the way Aussie puppies are. That's where they want to be — "helping". If you dig, they dig, exactly where you are digging. If you take a nap, they take a nap. If you are putting the chickens up they want to be in there giving you a hand. If you are bringing in firewood, they won't be happy until they are at least bringing in a twig too.
Hope is exactly the kind of puppy I was hoping for. At the word "kennel", she races to her crate and slams into it like a little train. She longs to be tall enough to see what's on the counter, and peers in every closet and down every hole. She climbed out of my shorter x-pen within five days; it's still twice her height. The only reason she wants to escape is to follow me. That is so Aussie. She's sleeping under my chair right now.
After all my troubles with Tova — who was renamed and has gone on to become a wonderfully talented, kenneled, sheepdog for someone else, by the way — I probably attribute more virtues to Hope than she deserves, just because she doesn't present any but normal puppy challenges. She sleeps through the night (mostly), she pees promptly outside (mostly).
Bonnie and Ty are very accepting of Hope. She pulls Bonnie's ruff with a surprisingly low level of complaint from Miss Touchypants. This morning I watched Hope gnawing on Ty's hind leg while he was sleeping; he glanced back and sighed and fell asleep again.
Ty has made some attempts to play with the black shrimp, but he is not nicknamed the Galoot for nothing, and he only succeeded in smooshing her into the dirt. She was not much deterred however, and I feel confident that they'll work it out.
Hope attended her first puppy class last week. She was, not to exaggerate or anything, splendid. I attribute this to her excellent breeding and the care given to this litter by the Shopes. She was nervous about the locale at first (inside a feed store), but quickly got over that, wanted to play with a too-aggressive puppy who was not allowed, and showed off her instant sit and lie down.
The trainer who runs this class makes a big point of training eye contact. She has owners hold their arms out to the sides (with treats in both hands) and only reward when the puppy looks straight into your face. I only got a few flickers away from my face even when I waved my arms like a bird. Not something I taught her.
When we were instructed to hold the pups in our arms on their backs and fiddle with their toes? Hope was the poster puppy for how it was supposed to look: relaxed and happy.
What Hope is, is not too much anything. Not too aggressive, not too pushy, not too timid, not too noisy, not too slow, not too speedy. She's just right. She likes people and other dogs but only loves me. She will already bring me a ball to throw for her without being asked, and retrieves to hand. She is not afraid of livestock. She recovers from scares very quickly, and not only that, when she is frightened by something she doesn't head for the hills, she looks for me first. She recalls like a shot. So far nothing worries me about her. She is filled with bright promise.
Archives Through 2006
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| Ch 1: That'll Do |
Ch 28: Pigs With Feathers |
| Ch 2: The Good Shepherd |
Ch 29: Stockdog Book of Virtues, Part 1 |
| Ch 3: The Original Aussie |
Ch 30: Stockdog Book of Virtues, Part 2 |
| Ch 4: Finding Bonnie |
Ch 31: Perseverance Furthers |
| Ch 5: Grit |
Ch 32: Duck Wars |
| Ch 6: The Border Collie Snob |
Ch 33: Baby Driver |
| Ch 7: Of Hobby Herders |
Ch 34: What Is A Breed? |
| Ch 8: Sherry |
Ch 35: Getting My Goats |
| Ch 9: On The Road |
Ch 36: Tule, Melba, and Snowdie |
| Ch 10: Green Dog, Green Handler |
Ch 37: One Morning |
| Ch 11: Out of the Playpen |
Ch 38: Quiet and Slow |
| Ch 12: Cows |
Ch 39: Hard Times |
| Ch 13: Trial Watching |
Ch 40: Rethinkings |
| Ch 14: Other People's Sheep |
Ch 41: The Not Boring Day |
| Ch 15: Taking To the Hills |
Ch 42: Being There |
| Ch 16: When Show Dogs Herd |
Ch 43: The Fate of the Farmdog |
| Ch 17: Back With The Cowboys Again |
Ch 44: Further Adventures With Goats |
| Ch 18: Bonnie Gets A Job Offer, Part 1 |
Ch 45: The Wasps |
| Ch 19: Bonnie Gets A Job Offer, Part 2 |
Ch 46: Taking Time |
| Ch 20: The Joy of Panels |
Ch 47: Sheep Shopping |
| Ch 21: Circles |
Ch 48: Me and Time Magazine |
| Ch 22: Ad Astra |
Ch 49: Trust |
| Ch 23: Sheep Church |
Ch 50: Bonnie Gets Another Job Offer |
| Ch 24: Be Prepared |
Ch 51: Fourth Clinic |
| Ch 25: The Point |
Ch 52: Right Dog, Wrong Dog |
| Ch 26: Ranchette Blues |
Ch 53: Winter |
| Ch 27: Post Mortem |
Ch 54: Versatility |
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Archives 2007
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| Ch 55: Wool |
Ch 79: The Glorious Unknown |
| Ch 56: Hot Fences, Steep Pastures |
Ch 80: The Good Breeder |
| Ch 57: Reading Stock |
Ch 81: Something Comes In A Box |
| Ch 58: The Black Day |
Ch 82: L Bar J Oya Ty |
| Ch 59: Goatwifery |
Ch 83: Center Pen Novice |
| Ch 60: In Search Of |
Ch 84: More About the Boy |
| Ch 61: Mediocrity and Its Discontents |
Ch 85: Limiting Factors |
| Ch 62: Gambling |
Ch 86: The Tale of Tails |
| Ch 63: Lent |
Ch 87: More Fun With Livestock |
| Ch 64: Conservation |
Ch 88: The Tortoise |
| Ch 65: Ranch Trial |
Ch 89: Adventures With Ty |
| Ch 66: If Wishes Were Horses |
Ch 90: Center Pen Tantrums |
| Ch 67: The Holy Quest |
Ch 91: Learning the World |
| Ch 68: A Sea Change |
Ch 92: Homeliness |
| Ch 69: Long and Winding Road |
Ch 93: New Pasture |
| Ch 70: First Do No Harm |
Ch 94: Dog Games And Choke Chains |
| Ch 71: The Silver Bullet |
Ch 95: Cat Tails |
| Ch 72: Getting Serious |
Ch 96: Coyotes And Decisions |
| Ch 73: The Superior Horse |
Ch 97: Oor Bob |
| Ch 74: What's In A Name? |
Ch 98: Ty Goes To Kindergarten |
| Ch 75: The Grindstone |
Ch 99: A Little Help |
| Ch 76: We Head North |
Ch 100: Pygmalion |
| Ch 77: Olympia Trial Day One |
Ch 101: Healing |
| Ch 78: Bonnie Wins A Big Ribbon |
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Archives 2008
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| Ch 102: New Year's Resolutions |
Ch 119: Rehab |
| Ch 103: Stepping Out |
Ch 120: Freedom |
| Ch 104: Stormy Weather |
Ch 121: Goats and Wildfire |
| Ch 105: Sacrament |
Ch 122: Ty's Progress |
| Ch 106: Stop and Stop |
Ch 123: Kelley of the Triune |
| Ch 107: Living In The Past |
Ch 124: Timing |
| Ch 108: Sheep At Last |
Ch 125: Gratefulness |
| Ch 109: The Five Stooges |
Ch 126: Cool Stuff |
| Ch 110: Greener Pastures |
Ch 127: Helper Dog |
| Ch 111: A Day Out |
Ch 128: Goose Wrangler |
| Ch 112: A Peaceful Heart
| Ch 129: Partnership |
| Ch 113: Teen Angel |
Ch 130: Teachers |
| Ch 114: First Kids |
Ch 131: Courage |
| Ch 115: Disaster |
Ch 132: Our Cougar |
| Ch 116: Nervous Nanny |
Ch 133: Widening the Circle |
| Ch 117: Pushing Back | Ch 134: My Posture Improves |
| Ch 118: Milk and Eggs | Ch 135: The Seeds |
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Archives 2009
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| Ch 136: Intention |
Ch 145: Carter Clinic, part one |
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| Ch 137: Following Fear |
Ch 146: Carter Clinic, part two |
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| Ch 138: Ty Junior |
Ch 147: God Talks About Wool |
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| Ch 139: Being Nice |
Ch 148: Sour Milk |
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| Ch 140: Don't Shoot |
Ch 149: They're All Collies |
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| Ch 141: Carpe Diem |
Ch 150: O Canada |
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| Ch 142: Chore Dog |
Ch 151: My Sad Happy Hat |
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| Ch 143: Dream of Green |
Ch 152: The Lovely Bonnie |
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| Ch 144: Ashes and Grace |
Ch 153: Romantics With A Cause |
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Ch 154: Leaving Home |
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Ch 155: Conclusions |
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Archives 2010
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| Ch 156: Who's Talking? |
Ch 172: Bits and Pieces |
Ch 157: Animals In Time |
Ch 173: My Other Dog |
Ch. 158: One Sunny Day |
Ch 174: Travelogue Part One |
Ch 159: When To Fold 'Em |
Ch 175: The Drizzly Jamboree |
Ch 160: The Forgotten |
Ch 176: Cowdog 101 |
Ch 161: Doglessness |
Ch 177: Top of the World |
Ch 162: The Quotidian |
Ch 178: S.M.S.S. |
Ch 163: Inklings |
Ch 179: Covering |
Ch 164: Dreamfarming |
Ch 180: Bonnie Hero |
Ch 165: Smart Sheep |
Ch 181: Ty and Jay |
Ch 166: Teachings |
Ch 182: Goats and Gates |
Ch 167: Big Blue Progress |
Ch 183: Good Night |
Ch 168: Virtual Herding |
Ch 184: And Thank You |
Ch 169: Temperamental Journey |
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Ch 170: North and Back |
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Ch 171: Animal Family |
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Archives 2012
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| Chapter 185: New Directions |
Chapter 192: The Right Breed For You |
Chapter 186: The Half Inch |
Chapter 193: Ruthlessness |
Chapter 187: House of Corrections |
Chapter 194: Tova The Belpie |
Chapter 188: No Fear |
Chapter 195: See Saw |
Chapter 189: Setbacks and Sorrow |
Chapter 196: The Corner |
Chapter 190: Music Lessons |
Chapter 197: Floating Observer |
Chapter 191: Just Some Stuff |
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Archives 2013
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| Chapter 198: Spring at the Farmette |
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