Tis the Season

The weekend was spent getting our home ready for the holidays, as well as setting up our new den. We bought our first home in late July, and just finally furnished our formal living room/den area, which is where we set up our Christmas tree. The room is gated off (no puppies allowed without supervison!).

We decorated the Christmas tree, hung our stockings up on the mantle, and I ran garland up the staircase railing. Things are starting to come together, and our home is feeling more and more like "our place" every day.

After decorating, we sat down and told the puppies the story of Christmas. They were very excited about "Santa Claws" bringing his furry friends lots of fun toys and treats under the tree:



We actually won't be spending Christmas at home this year. We're going up to the mountains and renting a cabin again for the holidays, but we'll still be able to spend it with the puppers.

Family Time

This post is brought to you by the letter "T" for Thanksgiving.

Dedicated to the family members who won't be joining us around our table this year (although the four legged relatives are more welcome than the two legged ones), I'm going to share the "extended" families of my puppers.

Dad:



+ Mom:



= Rory:

And just because I like this picture, here's his grandmother (mom's mom) in action:



And moving on...

Dad:



+ Mom:



= Tucker:



The fluffiness comes from his grandpa (dad's dad):



Guess who came from this next set of parents. Are you ready?

Mom:



+ Dad:

Well, did you figure out who belongs to this set of parents?

Pfft...

It's a Chloe:



Like that wasn't obvious, right?

Rylie is pretty much left out, because the only picture with her parents I can find at the moment is this one of her mom and littermates:



Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Friday Flashback

Just a little 9 week old Tucker... chewing on my lens cap. He wants to be a photographer when he grows up ;)



Have a great weekend, everyone!

The Tent Game

Tucker and Rory have invented something called The Tent Game. Tucker will get inside of the tent, and Rory will pull him around the living room inside of it. Apparently they both enjoy it. Here's how it works.

Step one: Locate chihuahua in a tent:



Step Two: Grab onto the tent and pull chihuahua around the room inside of the tent:



Step Three: Flatten both the chihuahua and the tent:

If Looks Could Kill

Poor Rory . This is what happens when you play outside in the mud. You have to wait by the back door to get toweled off.

Life is tough for our dogs.

Freaky Friday

In honor of Friday the 13th, of course.

My dogs have been mistaken for many, many breeds.

For instance, a couple of weeks ago when we were at the lake with Rory, two women walked by. One of them asked the other, "what kind of dog is that?" "Springer Spaniel," the other answered and nodded, assuring herself of her dog breed knowledge.

Here's a Springer Spaniel:



Here's Rory:



I know, I know. The similarities are uncanny, right? It's like you're looking at his twin.

Rylie has been referred to as a "teacup" before.

Teacup:

Rylie:

Now, look at the teacup. Then look at Rylie. Can you spot the differences between them? I sure can't.

Hope you all have a lucky Friday the 13th!

Natural Florida

To be honest, we haven't had much excitement around here this week. I had to run around over the weekend trying to find a dress for a formal charity dinner I'm attending tonight ($200 dinner for free, nom nom).

Since the camera hasn't been out much, I just wanted to share some pictures from a hike we went on a while back with the girls. Little dogs can do the same things the big dogs can do... the chis love going on adventures.

Here are my happy, panting girls:



Smiley Rylie:



Seclusion:





Although we didn't see any (thankfully!), I'm sure there are alligators in this water!



Amazing that you can still enjoy nature while living in a state mainly known for this:

First Time on Sheep

Rory and I went to our first herding lesson this morning/afternoon, and it was amazing to watch him turn on. It's very impressive to be able to watch a dog do what it was bred to do.

Can i haz sheep now, plz?



Looks like he only has one ear here...



Intensely watching other dogs on sheep...



In the round pen with the sheep (and yours truly)...











And a ewe, for you...

Friday Flashback

Sit back, grab a cup of hot cocoa, and be prepared for a short Border Collie history lesson.

This is Old Hemp:



He was born in 1893 and served as the model for the Border Collie form. He was a big influence for the breed because how well he did at sheep trials- starting at the age of one, he never lost a single trial. He was described as "bluidly marvellous" by the Scots because of how well he could read sheep.

He lived until he was eight years old, and in his lifetime he fathered more than 200 dogs. He was a successful stud dog because he passed on his characteristics so well to his offspring. Most of today's Border Collies are related to Old Hemp, actually.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Brotherly Love?

Err... something like that...