Tell Me Thursday for August 11

Brought to you by the good folks (ok, Laura) at Crooks and Crazies, even though she doesn't have me on her blog list.  :-)


In sheepdog training (or lets call it *any* type of training), how do you keep from taking yourself, your dog, your lack of progress too seriously?
Um, by not training?  :-)  No, that is not a responsible answer.  Think of something else.  Oh, a dog's life is so brief, we must treasure every single freakin' moment with them because soon they'll be dead.  No, too maudlin.  Drats.  Focus here.

OK, in agility, what one has to say/do to get a dog around a course should be enough to negate any seriousness from training.  My neighbours bear witness to this as they are subjected to a skinny chick and a barking dog running a little obstacle course in the backyard.   When your verbal cue for the dogwalk is "GIDDYUPGOGOGOGOGO", how seriously can you take it?

In herding, well, clearly I'm not serious because I still refer to it as 'herding' and not 'working stock'.  Sign 1 that you are not in the presence of a Serious Handler.   The one thing that I consistently care about in herding is the welfare of the sheep.  So long as our training doesn't involve subjecting the sheep to stress, then I figure we're doing ok.  Except lambs.  It's ok to torture lambs if it involves getting a good photo.

How many crates do you have? For reals.
For realz, I have three in the van, one extra crate in the garage (RIP Bear) and two soft crates that I use at agility trials.  So 6, for 3 dogs.  Oh, and 2 ex-pens, not sure if those count, but those are used for communal crating at agility trials.  I have no crates in the house.

How do you keep your dogs in shape?
This is an area in which I am ashamed!  I am not very good about this at all.  Let's see ... the dogs have a dogwalker who takes them on hikes 5 days a week.  Wick and Rex bomb around for a few hours on the hike, but Lou kind of trots with the dogwalkers.  I've been meaning to take them to the trails around here and running them but that would involve (a) getting off the couch and (b) running.

Last winter, I took the boys to a swimming place a couple times a month and I think I'll do that again.  Other than that, they play ball in the yard, 2 of them go to agility class weekly, and we do a little agility practice 2-3 times a week in the yard.

Who is your favorite movie/tv star eye candy at the moment?
Bradley Cooper.  Yummy!!!

Honourable Mention to Eric the Vampire:

What is your livestock situation? Have your own? Borrow? Herd the cats? (You can subsitute other equipment for livestock if you don't work stock with your dogs). 
Currently I have a lot of slugs.  I don't know why there are so many this year but it's added a new post-work activity:  slug stomping.  They have eaten my peppers and are setting their sights on my squash.  They will die.  Oh, and they don't flock well so we can't work them.

For sheep, I am terribly fortunate that my good friend with sheepies lives only 45 minutes from me.  I try and get out there once a week, and the boys work her sheep (and Lou occasionally gets to work the chickens).  To be honest though, my friend and I usually find an excuse not to work sheep, and we go plant shopping.  Not my fault, read preceding paragraph about marauding slugs.

Oh!  Hey!  I'm done!  Woot!  Cookie time!