First Day Of School

Norma Jean is now a schoolgirl. Today was the first class.

She didn't attend with me today. It was our planning session to go over what we'd cover in classes and what equipment we'd need. She'll get to go next week.

 She was a little annoyed to learn that she already has homework. She hasn't even met the teacher yet and already has daily lessons to study.

 This week we'll be working on attention, sitting, and walking on a loose leash.

We'll be learning lots of other things in class, too, such as down, stand and the really hard one - stay.

 Norma Jean is a really happy girl and likes to play, so it may come as a shock that she's expected to keep all four feet on the floor at all times and not make up her own rules as she goes along.

Remember, her daddy is Fudge, a notorious bad boy.

 We feel certain that she can follow in Fudge's pawsteps and go on to advanced classes and eventually compete in Rally.

We'll let you know how we do as the classes go on.
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On a very sad note, we want to say goodbye to our friend Tanner.

Tanner has had some trouble breathing lately and yesterday he went to the bridge. He'll be in very good company there.

We had a howl for Tanner led by Tsar and Morgan.

Goodbye Tanner, you were much loved and will be missed by many.

A Little Reminder

This is going to be a busy week. We have lots of special activities scheduled and we'll keep you posted on all of them. But today we want to send you each a little reminder of an important coming event.

June 10 will be our third annual Bandana Day and this year's color is GREEN.

Since many of you are probably taking photos of your pets this week wearing green for St Patrick's Day, we wanted to remind you to take an extra shot for Bandana Day and put it in a safe place in your computer. Then when June comes along, you'll be all set to send in your photo.

 Last year we had a great response to our special event and this year can be even better. This year you can either wear green or show us how you live green. It should be fun to see how many ways we can be good to our environment.

 We'll send out more reminders as the time gets closer. Have a terrific St Patty's Day everyone.

Meet Michelle

First I must make a confession. I love eBay. I could sit up all night scrolling thru eBay and bidding on fun, unusual things. I've found some neat things and I've had some winning bids. We'll talk about the losers some other time.

A few years ago, before the pups were born, I found this adorable item on eBay. I had to bid on it because Porties are well known as accomplished counter surfers and this portrayed actual Portie behavior. I fell in love with it immediately.

Several people felt as I did and we got into a bidding war, but happily, I won.

When the piece arrived, I had my first introduction to the wonderful talent of Michelle Toland. It started me thinking about other common behaviors and ideas popped into my head. Fudge liked to stand at the side of the tub when I took a bath and 'talk' to me. I pictures Samba and Fudge playing with a boat in a bathtub. I contacted Michelle and described my idea to her. Many emails flew back and forth along with some photos and.....

here it is.

These mean so much more to me because they represent my actual dogs. They are one of a kind, special pieces. Our collaboration didn't stop there.

Back on eBay, I found this Christmas piece. Who better to help Santa deliver toys than a couple of Porties

I missed out on winning a set of Porties sailboat ornaments, so an email to Michelle brought another set to me and look, it's Samba, Fudge and Noah on the boats.

Who could resist a Portie playing with her teddy? Not me.

I thought it would be fun to have a Portie surrounded by tools of the trade. This bench turned out even better than I had imagined. That's Samba amidst the fishing equipment. This is a picture frame and I have a photo I took of old fishing boats pulled up on shore. I plan to print it and stick it in the back of the bench.

This is a cute piece with a Portie and a couple of gulls on a rope covered piling. The dog is holding a fish.

This is a large piece of a couple Porties in a basket trimmed with lighthouses and anchors. I love the pieces that showcase the breed's true function.

This is another picture frame. I have some good shots I took of the dogs on the boat. I'll crop one and stick it in here.

This year I had an idea for a special Christmas gift for J. She loves to play golf and Splash and Gracie love to ride in her golf cart. Michelle and I sent lots of emails back and forth. I asked if she could do Splash driving a golf cart. I sent her a picture I'd taken of the two dogs sitting in J's cart.

When it was finshed and Michelle sent photos for approval, I was delighted.

She had Splash driving the cart and Grace is sitting on the other side, holding a club. Last week we celebrated a late Christmas with J and the dogs. She was as pleased with this special piece as I was.

Michelle does a variety of dog breeds including many types of Terriers. If you would like to contact her drop me an email and I can put you in touch. You can often find her dog sculptures on eBay.

Best Friends

Sometimes Rob and I organize play for the pack. We'll supervise a ball game or treasure hunt or something to make them work together.

But most of the time we just let them select their own activities. The favorite game, of course, is to have us throw the balls and they chase after them.

They often pair up for play. Each has a best friend that they tend to pair off with. Morgan and Samba are best buddies. Fudge and Sky play well together. Lola and Bailey pair off, as do Norma Jean and Tess. Tsar and Noah are loners. Noah does play well with each of his sisters, but Tsar prefers to play by himself.

 Fudge and Sky chase after the same ball.

 Norma Jean and Tess.

 One of the rare times that Fudge beats Sky and Samba to the ball.

 Lola and Bailey wrestle.

It's fun for me to watch their interactions and how they pair off for certain activities. I also try to switch the pairings around to see how they interact. I guess they're my own little experiment.

We Made A New Friend Today

This morning, after breakfast and a quick run, Rob and I loaded Morgan and Samba into the car and we went to visit Splash and Gracie and of course their Mom, J. It was a cold gray day and rain sputtered on and off but the girls slept in the back of the car until we arrived.

When we got to their house, we took the girls straight into the back yard to work out the kinks from riding and to relieve themselves. Grace and Splash heard us drive up and came racing out to see us.

Grace went into play position to greet her Mom and Aunt Morgan.

J came out and my girls had to run up to say hello. It's been a long time since they'd seen her.

But, what's this? There's someone new here. Who's this little girl?

Morgan thought she looked familiar. It was sort of like looking in a mirror, a very small mirror.

I tried to get a better shot of the two of them together, but they weren't cooperating. The did enjoy a quick game of chase the tennis ball.

It was too cold to play outside for very long, so we went inside and Grace had to chat with Rob about all she's been doing lately.

Gracie was one of Samba's puppies and she was always very fond of Rob. That obviously hasn't changed.

Our new little friend is Runtley. She quickly got acquainted with our dogs, but was unsure about us. She'd take a biscuit from Rob, but wouldn't come to either of us. I'm sure that this summer we'll become good friends.

I think Morgan wants to call her Mini-Me.

Holiday Mix Up

Oh oh, Mom is up to something today!

Look what she has waiting in the bathroom. Who do you think is her victim? Sorry, I meant her next happy, willing volunteer.

Mom needs to take another look at the calendar. She just took these out of the closet and said we're going to celebrate Christmas tomorrow. Didn't we already do that a couple months ago?

This is Fat Tuesday. Morgan thought we were celebrating Mardi Gras.

Actually, tomorrow Morgan and Samba will be heading to the lake to celebrate Christmas with Splash and Gracie. They were away for the real Christmas, so Rob and J and I will have a nice holiday lunch together and we'll all do our belated Christmas thing.

Norma Jean's Methods For Fighting Boredom

We're back to winter. The temperatures last week were in the 70s, but now we're lucky if we hit 40. The skies are gray and I want to crawl back into bed. The dogs were getting pretty excited about warmer spring like days, so this is a setback, but they don't let it get them down. We just had a fast paced game of ball in the back yard.

Norma Jean doesn't care much about playing ball, so here's how she spends her outings.

What shall I do today?

Nobody's watching.

I think I'll roll.

Dad might yell if he sees me rolling, so I'll just do my head and shoulders.

Hmmmmmmm........

 Oh yeah............

Wow, that felt great!

Hey, let's turn this pool over and fill it. What do you mean it's too cold to swim? It feels fine to me.

I told her it's still too cold for paddling in the wading pool, though I don't think she believes me.
Instead, she went inside and splashed all the water out of the drinking bowl. That's my girl.