New Year's Eve

Flash went to town with Dennis to pick up some roofing material for the new garage. He spent the rest of the day helping out with herding cats and horses for us. He's a big help.

He faded around 8 p.m., not staying up for the New York Times Square big ball. If he can't chew it, he's not interested.

Who gets the most gifts?

Flash with his Christmas toys. 

Walk that dog!

In an effort to exhaust the dog and get in shape for longer walks, Dennis took Flash for another long walk today. They started from the house before it started to rain and walked up to the Pacific Crest Trail   and then down to Boulder Oaks. I picked them up there and drove to Alpine, hitting some snow in Pine Valley. We picked up some groceries in Alpine and drove back to the house.

The idea of exhausting the dog was ridiculous. That dog can't be exhausted. He's always ready to GO! Right now he's following Dennis around the house waiting for something to happen. He is ignoring me.

A Christmas Tale

Dennis took Flash on a hike on Christmas Day. Brother-in-law Gary drove them to Cibbets Flat and they walked back to the house on the Pacific Crest Trail.

First, a sniff to see what's what.

A reassuring pat.

Let's go!

Say goodbye to Gary. We're on our own now.

Photo Shoot

 I took some photos of Flash for next year's Christmas Letter. He was stunned that I let him up on the furniture. Later he found out that it was only allowed for the photo shoot. Poor Flash, so confused. He's pretty cute, though, isn't he?

Good boy.

After the fiasco at Flash's lesson, I left him outside the house with a "kind stranger" while I went in the house to make a phone call. I left him for several minutes and when I went back outside to get him, he was sitting in exactly the same position at the "kind stranger's" side. Neither one of them had moved a muscle. Good boy.

Flash, the Nipper

Flash, the border collie, at rest at the front steps of the house.

Last night's training session was disappointing for me and Flash. I thought he would get his Good Citizenship award, but it was withheld because of his nipping problem. We got Flash when he was 8 months old. At that time, we noticed that he would nip at your hand if you grabbed his collar or otherwise tried to stop him from doing what he wanted to do. Over time, I thought he became more comfortable with us and more relaxed. He hasn't nipped at me or Dennis for a long time. I do know that he has trouble with children. He tries to avoid them, but I believe he could nip if he felt threatened. This bothers me a lot. It could be that he has become imprinted with his early upbringing in a family with 3 children. I wish we had gotten him when he was a puppy. We keep learning that lesson over and over. Start with a puppy!

This doesn't mean we don't love Flash. We do! He's a very friendly dog. He loves us and he loves everyone on the ranch--his domain. Yesterday, Dennis left Flash outside when he left for a meeting in the morning. When I was getting ready to pick up Mom for the movies, I drove down to the barn to give the farrier his check and found Flash down there "helping" Dave. Dave's comment was, "He's a very friendly dog!" And he is. I was getting back in my car and, of course, Flash wanted to come with me. Just then, Joanne from the office drove by and stopped and opened the back hatch of her car. She called Flash and he very willingly jumped in. I love to see how comfortable he is with everyone. He only has a problem with nipping if he is confronted or stressed. What to do, what to do?

Good Citizen?

Last Tuesday, Flash and I took the Good Citizenship test at Rachel's house during our regular lesson. He passed except for one little detail. When it came time to leave him with a kind stranger and go out of sight for 3 minutes, he nipped at the first two volunteers. Not good. We will have to work on that. Any volunteers?