Tips Story Part Two

Back to Tips Story. Now Tip and I were inseperable. She went wherever I did. If I went to visit anybody, she was in the truck riding with me. Riding may seem like an easy thing...even enjoyable for a dog. Not my dog though. For the first year of her life I had to give her Dramamine (motion sickness) pills like what people take to keep from getting carsick. Had to pop her a pill about 30 minutes before we left...then she was still nervous, but she didnt throw up in the truck at least. After about a year, it just kind of went away and she was fine. Loved to go wherever. We take her to Florida with us, I take her to my parents. Trips to Petsmart when we used to go. She always went with me to pick Shelby up from school when she used to go to public school.

Our first time to the beach she wasnt too sure about the ocean...she would go in and out with the tide...not wanting the water to consume her. She learned very quickly not to drink the salty water as it caused the ummmm squirts you could say! LOL Now when we go she is into it. She crashes her chest against the waves, leaping into them. We keep her on a 24 foot retractable leash just in case. I don't want my poor dog going out to sea. I have some very funny pictures of her at the beach...I will have to see about those too...

So, back to doing the fair. We did the Fair for two years in a row. So if you saw that show, that was Tip and I. I think we may have stole the show as (I will not name him here)the man was amazed at the turn out when people saw the set up. My set up was very colorful, caught your eye. Green, red, blue, very striking colors.

We had some good times, but things turned bad. I don't know to this day why he didnt want me to do the show with him anymore, but he tried to lie to me and tell me the Fair representatives didnt want me doing it. When I contacted someone about this word got back, and he was furious. Furious because I had called him on a lie. At the time I didnt know he had lied to me, so he was caught. He threatened me, said he would sue me if he lost his contract and the money that would have been made from doing the fair gigs. Can you believe that? Pretty bad. He said he didnt ever want to hear from me or see me again.

Well you know each year when we went to the fair we saw his show anyway. Know what. He has told me he hates doing the show. He just does it for the money. Isnt that sad. I really loved doing it and I didnt get paid a dime. My reward was talking to people afterwards.

He told me that my dog was not doing the course perfectly and it made him look bad. Well his dogs were not perfect either. I think it was just an excuse.

So, we came home and I dont do agility shows anymore.

Tips favorite toy is a soccer ball.

Linda, I think it was asked me how I trained her to do the things she does. Well, half of it is natural instinct. The other half is me directing that instinct. If I have the soccer ball, she is focusing on that ball...if I tell her to Come By, she knows to go to the left, and I will kick it to the left. I also have her Get Out (move outwards) and Come By...and I keep saying Come By...and she will circle me...the same goes for Away To Me...that is the dogs right...and I go through the same motions. Walk Up is when I am going to kick the ball straight to her. She has to Get Out, and then I get her to Walk Up...slow slow...and will sometimes make her stop by holding up my hand and saying Wait..if she continues to creep I will give the command Lie Down. Lie Down in herding speak does not necessarily mean stay...it just stops the motions for a moment. I will pop the ball up and she will catch it.

All these commands are useful to direct her in herding because sometimes she gets too excited and will actually herd the chickens away from the fence. This usually happens at first when she is first out there...til she settles in and gets to work.

Tip is seven years old now. She is still like my second child. I love that dog more than anyone could know...so it is hard for me to see her with all the phobias that she has.

I will say this, working her helps her to relax. I have not done near enough of that. So the chicken herding is really helping her to have an outlet.

 

Chicken Herding Pictures

Push em Tip... push em.

 

The stare down.

 

Testing Tips patience...the Red Star pushing her luck

 

Tip says no way...ain't gonna happen.

 

Git your rear off that fence chicken.

 

Alright chicken...I have had it.

 

GIT DOWN OFF THAT FENCE!!!

 

Tips Story

Tip...what a dog. Border collies are like no other breed that is for sure. You better be ready for a wild ride when you obtain a border collie.

Shelby was born in October of 1994. She never saw a day care or a preschool, so she was home with me and the first five years I had her all to myself. So, when it was time for her to go to school...there was an empty spot in my life. In October of 2001 we went to the Georgia National Fair just as we always do. Each year there is a demonstration done by a man with extraordinary dogs. One in particular. His name is Tip. This dog lives to work, I mean really, non stop. When he is chained to the fence waiting his turn in the demonstration he loops around and steps over the chain over and over, staring intently at the sheep in the pen area. I think this obsession has been what has kept him alive today. Tip (my Tips Daddy) has had cancer for two years, but he doesnt know it apparently. He will be 11 or 12 years old now...and I hope he will still be alive when we go, not letting the cancer get him.

So, back to my Tip. We had been talking for some time about getting a dog. We both knew we wanted a border collie, but we wanted the dog from real working stock...none of this back yard breeder stuff. I have seen what back yard breeding does to border collies. When Shelby was in elementary school her school had a "Dog Day" one weekend. You brought your dog to show off his or her talents. We set up the agility course for Tips talents. There was another border collie there. He had had all the instinct of a border collie bred out of him, you could tell, you could see it in his eyes, the passion and obsession this type of dog has was gone. He did not crouch...his stance was like any normal dog. A herding dog slinks...has an intense stare towards what it is herding. This dog had none of that, and it was sad really.

Wow I keep trailing off dont I. LOL

So we brought our money and got the last pup he had. Sired by Tip...a national champion herding dog among other achievements. He sold the pup to us for a hundred dollars less just because he wanted the pup to go to a dedicated home and he felt we were the ones to have her.

That was the start of a whole new world. What a dog. She was great. I no longer had to yell for the cats to stop popping their claws on the furniture or puking on my bed covers. She was on top of things. All it took was one pop, one puking sound and she was on their butts. I am down to one cat now, and then that will be all for me. I am done with cats. Where we used to live there was an overabundance of squirrels. So many my bird feeders were almost always under attack. She was always on top of things, a black and white streak out the door to chase them away. Sometimes there would be as many as twenty squirrels out there...what fun for her!

When my first chickens started living outdoors in their new chicken house we began to have a rat problem. Even taking up food does not keep rats away. See, rats eat the chicken poop too. Yes, I know...gross. She was on top of that too, along with my have a heart trap, of which I had no heart if one was unlucky enough to get trapped...if you know what I mean. It was dispatched to rat heaven right away.

A couple of miles from our old home there was a couple that had dogs that ran agility. Their back yard backed up to the road and you could see the jumps, teeters, weave poles, all of that. So one day I stopped in and asked about it all...we talked for a long time...she made everything herself out of PVC pipes and such. So you guessed it, I went and got what I needed and started making stuff. I have a few pictures of these...I will post later. I made my own tunnel at first then later I bought a collapsing tunnel and a regular tunnel off of the internet.

As we practiced and got better I talked to the man that had sold her to us...he inquired as to what we had been doing with Tip and I told him. He asked if we might like to do a little run and add to his herding demonstration showing the diversity of the border collie.

I am going to continue this...but I dont want this to get too long...so I will be back.

Field Trip Wednesday

Another advantage to homeschooling is you dont have to stay with the group! You can take your time, read it all...take it all in. Ian took the day off and we went to Fernbank Museum. There was so much to see and do. One whole room was dedicated to optical illusions, and so much more. I have many more pictures I will show later...but it is getting late and we need to start school soon.

My days have been very busy so I have not been able to make as many entries and share as many pictures as I would like. So I am keeping them short for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I will be gone Sunday with my parents to visit my grandmother in Geneva, Ga. See you when I get back. :)

Misbehavin' Chickens

Tip is pretty happy about her new job as of late. She is a border collie...bred from working stock, so any chance she gets to work is like candy is to a kid. She needs no reward for working because being able to work is a reward in itself for her.

For about two weeks now we have been having the new brood of hens jumping the fence, the fence that we paid 12,000 dollars for to keep our animals safe from roaming dogs or whatever may come up on the property.

Early in the morning they want to venture out and tear up the flower beds, something I broke the old broods habit from...and these will learn too because Tip is relentless.

I taught her herding commands early on in her life with a soccer ball. She knows Away To Me, Come By. Walk Up and Lie Down is especially helpful to help control the speed in which she pushes the chickens back through the fence wire. She loves it, and it saves a lot of hollering and yelling and frustration to have her go out and tend to business. She probably does a better job at it than I ever could anyway. ;)

She lives to keep these chickens in check. We have gone out four times already this morning. Last chicken check they were all still in the fence...they will learn, Tip will be sure of it.

The picture above is of her pushing the last chicken back..this one was a stubborn gal, but she finally relented and went back.

Lets Talk About Derby

See that hose? Yes, he had just had a bath. Why oh why do they like so much to roll right after a bath? It is kinda funny to see though...I have to laugh when he does it.

Lets talk horses today. I am a novice horse owner..I try to learn as much as I can before acquiring and animal, but as my farrier says, you never stop learning about horses. He also told me that anyone that owns a horse has to be crazy, and he has four of them, so go figure! LOL

It is coming up on one year that we have had Derby. When we got him he was fat, over a hundred pounds overweight. The owners I believe lied and told us he had never foundered. How can a horse that is kept at such a heavy weight not founder. I believe that he had. Once a horse founders, he will be forever damaged goods. His feet will never be the same, and you will have to really watch that horse closely, his eating, his feet, his weight. Not that you wouldnt with any horse, but especially one that has foundered.

When we got Derby he was an unruly, spoiled brat. He expected lots of treats and lots of food. If he didnt get what he wanted he could and did bite. He bit Shelby the second day we had him. He bit me several weeks later and kicked the fire out of my leg at one point. It took a lot of doing, but we have managed to make him into a reasonably mannered and behaved horse. A year ago I would not have trusted him around kids.

Derby foundered not long after we bought him. He didnt go down, but he was hurting and in pain. The vet was out with anti inflammatory drugs and pain meds and in two weeks we had him back to a somewhat normal place. He gets no grain, no cookies, an occasional carrot is okay for him to have. He no longer molests us and checks pockets constantly for treats. Unless you are new here. If you come over...he remembers...and will check your pockets. Cause new people might give in to him...nope sorry, not gonna happen.

We have plenty of acreage. Three of it is fenced pasture. He cannot enjoy it though because miniature horses do not know when to quit eating. You have to have them practically live on a rock pile as the farrier puts it. He has to stay in a small lotted area just for him. He has all his comforts, a barn, fresh water...but he would eat himself to death if he was out back, so he stays in his little area. The farrier says that it is an enormous area to him. I don't know about that. Either way, I have to keep him up, or he will eat and founder. Over the summer I think he has probably lost about 20 more pounds, which will make about 50 he has lost since we have had him. The farrier says he has to lose more. I am not feeding him anything now. He only nibbles on what grass he can get in his lot. It is a catch 22...if you give him more room...he gets more exercise...or so you would think...but they don't, he stands and eats all day. If I keep him up he sure isnt getting any exercise though is he. Lesser of two evils is to keep him up.

I have learned a hard lesson. The farrier and I talked for quite a while the other day. He said he wasnt telling me that Derby was on the edge of having to be put down or that I should get rid of him, but basicly I have damaged goods. He does, and always will have foot problems. This particular visit he said Derby has the beginnings of seedy toe. He also has fever rings on this front hooves. Seedy toe is where the white line in the foot is stretching. That is bad. Fever rings are from swelling and going back down, swelling and going back down. He says it doesnt necessarily mean he had a fever, just means there was swelling.

I cant feed him any less than he is eating now. That would be starving him. He isnt eating that much at all now. I moved the fence line and closed off a portion of his lot, made it smaller. So he has less to eat now than before. I needed to close that off anyway as he was scrubbing and scratching himself on the chicken pens and destroying them.

I went to Tractor Supply and bought some Hoof vitamin pellets, and some all around vitamin pellets. If he is only eating small amounts of grass he needs some vitamins, and anything that will help his hooves will be a good thing.

What have I gotten myself into. We have worked so hard to make him a good horse, and he is now, and it isnt his fault that his feet are messed up at six years old. But we will forever have to manage his feet. The farrier showed me a color chart of the four stages of laminitis, foundering. He is in that third stage. As in, he is not foundering NOW, but the result of him foundering before has made it to where he is permanently at that damaged stage.

I have told Shelby we will do everything we can to promote healthy hooves and a healthy horse. But I do not believe that he will make it for say twenty more years, not on those damaged feet. I told her that if he goes down, ever, I will not let him die like that. He will have to be put down.

Now I make it sound horrible I know. He really is a happy healthy boy, and I have a commitment to any animal that I get. I don't get rid of an animal just because I was stupid enough to buy a horse that had messed up feet and behavior problems to begin with. I know it was a big change and traumatic for him to be sold, and I will not sell him and make him go to another home and have to get used to those people all over again.

But, in retrospect, I wish I had just gotten a couple of goats. I like goats. But then, Derby was and is not for me, he is Shelbys horse. She takes good care of him every evening. She brushes him and sprays him with his fly spray. She talks to him, sings to him, loves him, hugs him and gives him kisses on the nose. They do love each other...so we will always have him, from now, until the day he dies.

We worked hard to make him a good horse...and I just can't let him go, and I can't ask Shelby to let him go either. She loves that horse.

Pictures of Visit Last Weekend

Sydney and Shelby on the trampoline

 

Kenny fishing leaves out of the pool while Ian lends his sympathy and support...as Ian is the pool man at our house too. ;)

 

Sam, Billies daughter...and Billie.

 

The man of the day...Eddie, Kennys son. He is why we were there. He will be shipping out to Iraq in another week. No one in the family is too happy about this. He is still so young, has a wife and a brand new baby.

 

Bear, one of their dogs.

 

 

Awning at the beginning of the trail that leads up to the pond.

 

Isnt that cute? This is what is hanging on the awning.

 

That evening...the awning with the lights turned on, the lights go up along the trail too.

 

Kenny and Ian standing by the pond discussing Kennys neighbor needing to come get his sunken boat out of their pond.

 

The pond looking to the left.

 

Pond looking out.

 

Cool tree face!

 

Another cool tree face.

 

Their 12 year old border collie Elliot.