Rescuing Ginny's Toy (Twice)

I got home after a few days away from the valley heat and saw that Ginny's incision had healed. She was happy to have the cone taken off her collar and then be able to go for a walk. It was still over 100 degrees at 7:30 when we walked Across the Road so the water in the ditch felt good.  Ginny carried her Toy and in this photo dropped it at the side of the ditch before she got in. The idea, of course, is for me to throw it... ...so she can chase it... ...over... ...and over. At one point Ginny dropped the Toy too close to the edge of the ditch. The toy used to float, but not anymore. Ginny went in after it but once it goes under water she can't see it. The Toy is visible in those photos at the bottom of the ditch. Ginny stirred up the mud while swimming and that made the visibility worse for me. I ran to this crossing and saw that 2x4. I crossed the ditch and ran back to where the Toy was floating downstream and after awhile was able to rescue it. (It wasn't easy to force the 2x4 down into running water when it really was meant to float.) We continued our walk but during one catch attempt the Toy bounced off Ginny's mouth and into the ditch again. Again Ginny went in but couldn't see it under the water.  This time I found a tree branch to rescue the Toy. I'm going to have to pay more attention to where I throw it or find a toy that will float.

Ginny's Recovery

Ginny is at that age where I realized that it was time for her little operation. I'm going to be gone off and on this summer and after I looked up info about dogs coming into heat I realized that I couldn't leave and think that someone else might have to deal with that. Ginny was a sad puppy when I picked her up from the vet office Wednesday evening. They hadn't done the spay operation until the afternoon so she was still woozy and tired all night. The next insult was The Cone, but it didn't hold her down long. She figured out how to pick up her favorite Toy even if i was underneath the cone. This is one day after the spaying and she expected me to throw the Toy. I guess she didn't read the instructions. This is the next day (2 days after spaying) and she is rolling around with Rusty. No jumping or climbing here and only a little bit of running. Maybe I can discontinue the pain killers.

Dogs in Our Lives

This post started as a way to show what Rusty looked like at the age Ginny is now. Ginny is 7 months.I got Rusty when he was 6 months old. This post has evolved into photos of the other dogs that have been in my life. I am clearing off my old computer before I get rid of it and I found photos that had never been transferred. Then when I searched dogs on my computer I found old scanned photos too. So here you go.This is my mom sometime in the mid-70's. Murka is the German Shepherd that was our family dog. Blue is on the couch--he was my mom's dog that she found somehow. I have forgotten the story. Katya or "Kat" is on the table. She was my half-Keeshound (supposedly the other half was coyote) who was very loving but timid, especially of men...like Bonnie and Maggie, who both came to me later. I had Kat through my moves to Utah and Arizona, but she died before I came back to California. Then there was a no-dog period although mom had Blue. When the kids were young and we lived at the dairy we had Brandy and Flash, both rescues of one sort or another. Brandy was given away by someone who also gave us a huge bag of all the flea and anti-itch things that didn't work on her and Flash was found in a parking lot by a veterinarian I used to work for. I got him as a puppy. Brandy died while we were still at the dairy, but not long after we moved to our current location in 1999 we got Benny, rescued in the Safeway parking lot.  Doc, on the left, showed up as a lost dog and was later identified by his owners from just down the road. They took him back but I told them that if they ever wanted to give him away I'd take him. They moved and didn't want him. He was a wonderful dog, but was killed by a big truck on the road when he chased Benny, who is the only dog we've had that would leave the barn to run to the road.I got Rusty after Flash died, but while we still had Benny. My son and DIL got Sam the next year.This is what Sam looks like now. He outweighs Rusty by at least 50 pounds. That's his buddy, Kirin, who is even bigger now. Bonnie came later. She is the only dog that I have given away but she went to a life that is much better for her. That's a long story that Rusty has told in his blog.Rusty's role is as a herding dog. He helps me when I need it but doesn't have nearly as much work as he'd like.Benny died a few years ago and I wanted to get a dog as a buddy for Rusty. That's when I got Maggie through Dog Spot Rescue. Rusty told that story too. So now there is Rusty and Maggie......and Ginny.

 

Ginny is the only dog here that likes to play with toys. While I was working in the garden she dug that hole specifically to bury her toy. Rusty has the last laugh.

Ginny's Favorite Things

Rusty and Maggie don't fetch. They don't see the point. Ginny, on the other hand, has learned the fun of getting people to throw things for her. She is obsessed with this $10 toy. In fact she is so obsessed that I can see the focus that Rusty has for herding is the way Ginny acts with this toy. Hopefully when the time comes Ginny will be able to think about sheep with the same concentration. Right now it's fun for her... ...and it's good for me to have a way to help her burn off energy with something as easy as standing in one place and throwing something. Ginny also loves to swim in the canal Across the Road. In a recent blog post I described how Ginny is always on leash now on our walks. Swimming in the canal is an exception. So far when I let her go into the water (which did not work well on leash) she hasn't tried to run off and chase birds. But I don't let her off for long--only while she wants to swim. I decided to combine the Toy and swimming.   I started by throwing it right close to the edge in case I was the one that had to retrieve it.  It became obvious that I would not be the one going in the water so I threw it a little farther.

 And farther. No problem. On one throw however it was much closer to the far bank and that's where Ginny got out... ...and then left the Toy.   I told her to go back for it.

She brought it back by walking along the bank until she got to one of the above-water crossings.

I think she would make a dock-diving dog or whatever they call that sport where dogs (many border collies) jump to retrieve favorite toys in water.  That would be fun if there was something close by. But we may have to stick with the canal.

Ginny Gets Smarter (or Maybe it's Me)

I used to take all three dogs for walks Across the Road. Rusty and Maggie get to run off leash once we're on the dirt roads and away from the main road. At first I let Ginny go too because she stayed with them and I knew that she would come with them if I called. Then Ginny discovered Birds. That was the end of the predictable behavior. Well, there was a new predictable behavior; hear the killdeer, run back and forth across the field after them. The killdeer fly in short bursts, land, change direction. Ginny would follow. I would follow her and it was only luck that I would eventually catch her. It only took me three episodes of this to realize that Ginny couldn't be off-leash anymore. I tried to take her on our walks using a long-line, but that didn't work for me. No matter which leash I used (long or short) I wasn't getting the behavior I wanted (walk nicely next to me) and she wasn't getting the exercise I thought she needed. This was all about two months ago. I complained to a friend about my lack of control of my puppy and the poor job I was doing of training her. Here is the light-bulb moment. She told me what I think I knew but wasn't admitting--that I needed to work with Ginny separately and not when the other dogs were around. Duh!

I started to take separate dog walks. Maggie and Rusty still get to go off-leash Across the Road......but Ginny walks on a leash.I found my sheepdog training flag that I had forgotten about. Carrying that has helped her get the idea of not pulling on the leash.She stills gets the chance to look for ground squirrels at times. For more exercise... ...we go on a bike ride.     These photos were all taken about a month ago but......this one was taken last week. Ginny wasn't too sure about those balers.

Ginny - 3 months old

Ginny has been here a month and will be 3 months old on Monday. I still feel this pressure to turn her into a Well-Mannered Dog, but I think we are doing OK. I have decided that puppyhood is like condensing the childhood years from 0 to 15 into about 8 months. That's how much time I have to get it right. She has a smudged face from rough-housing with Rusty. He is still stand-offish a lot of the time but he has his moments. In the early morning I can see Rusty playing with Ginny in the yard but I think he doesn't want me to know. After doing chores Ginny and Maggie play (me bribing Maggie with treats) and Rusty will chase, but not get involved in the actual tussling. When I am finished at the computer it's Rusty's turn for a blog post and he'll show the photos of this morning's play time.Here is the doorway. Rusty is in his regular spot at the backdoor. Maggie has the mat to the right and Ginny has a couple of towels...and a stick. It's a good thing that when Dan built this back porch  he used two doors. We are now using the door to the right that leads directly to the laundry room because if you go in the usual door you have to climb a puppy fence. When we all go in I open that door for Ginny and the other door for the rest of us.  Yesterday I tried to take all three dogs for a walk Across the Road. That was a mistake. Ginny was way too excited and distracted and trying to play with Maggie and pull on the leash. Today I took her on her own walk and she did very well.  This is the latest photo while I'm at my desk.

Ginny Gets Around

Ginny has been here a week and a half. I have been taking her with me on errands so that she'll be used to going in the car and to help get her socialized. Her first trip to the big city was when I delivered woven pieces to The ClayGround in Winters for a holiday sale.  Ginny's selfie when choosing a Christmas tree. Ginny at her first visit to the veterinarian. Socializing at home with some of the spinners.  Christmas shopping in Vacaville. We're watching cars go by. More Christmas shopping. I learned that it's best to go during times of heavy rain because most people stay home (or maybe they are at the malls instead of walking to stores). Even in  town you can get off the cement.Back home at the shop. Rusty is fairly tolerant but not always happy about having Ginny around.View from inside looking out.

Ginny

PuppyWorld. That's the world I've been in for almost 36 hours now and it feels as intense as motherhood. (Maybe every decade of age adds to that.) Rusty has already blogged about his impressions on Day 1 and Day 2. Here's Day 1 for me in photos.On Wednesday I drove to Mendenhall Wool Ranch, where Rusty was born, to pick up Ginny who is 8-1/2 weeks old (born October 12). There were two litters of red Border Collie puppies born in the same week. This photo shows what it is like to walk around there. Rusty's blog shows photos of Ginny being introduced. This one just has cute puppy photos.I was trying to get photos of Ginny but she was nervous and every time I squatted down for a photo she ran over and sat on my feet.

 Eventually I moved over enough with my foot still in place that I could get some cute shots.

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Notice that she is still sitting next to my foot.

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I tried to get all three dogs in one photo but Maggie and Rusty didn't want to cooperate.