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Mercedes (Charlotte)

Update 5/10
Charlotte is doing well and we love her dearly. She did really well at the Disc Dog event Saturday. It was basically a training session for handlers, but we did work with the dogs. She executed a perfect sit stay while I moved 8 ft away from her. We then went to a down stay for 5 seconds, a come to me and give kisses (she didn't kiss) and then moved on to a Frisbee toss of about 35 feet with a return and drop. Everyone was very impressed. You would never have known we hadn't done these things together before. I can't wait to get busy with her training. I'm convinced her skills will be way better than mine. I'm going to have to work hard to be able to keep up with her. Thank you for allowing us to bring this wonderful girl into our lives!

Charlotte's pups: Apollo (Hurley) - Laddie (Albert) - Lainey (Raven - Oscar (Lance) - Bow (Olivia) - Medora (Trixie) - Zoey (Trudy) - Emmett

Apollo (Hurley)

Update 6/9/05 Apollo is doing great. He is growing quickly (and has a voracious appetite), although he is still fairly small. His herding instinct is very obvious when we go to the dog park. He runs with Lola every step of the way, sometimes nipping at her ears. Occasionally, we wonder if Lola might be a little annoyed, but she is very patient with her younger brother. When they're home they wrestle noisily much of the time, or chase each other in the backyard. We feel lucky that Apollo has assmilated with the family very easily.

4/5/05 I have attached some pictures that we took this weekend. Sorry they are not the best but I wanted to show you something. He is learning very quickly the Do and Don'ts (mostly the don'ts). He knows the word "No" and "Seat". We are working on "Lay down" and "Watch" me. He wants to please so he will learn them in no time. It also helps that he's food/treat oriented. He has a good appetite, no signs of upset stomach. He had a great time at the dog park! He wanted to play with all the dogs, big and small. People started to call him the "tiger" since he isn't scared of anything. Last weekend was so beautiful that we decided to walk the dogs to downtown so Apollo can get used to all kind of noises. He did great! We saw people playing drums in the street, two cats, bicyclist, cars. He did not bark. It looked he was having a great time. Next time we'll go to a farm to meet some farm animals. I remember Lola going nuts the first time she show a horse. I have to report that he doesn't like TV. He barks at it. I do not blame him. I'll keep you posted.

01/13/2006 Apollo has developed into a wonderfully loyal companion for us and Lola, our three-year old border collie. Apollo is particularly affectionate, and always nuzzles up by our side or observes our activities (like cooking and cleaning) from close range. He's also become a talented frisbee player. His training is coming along well now, trying to overcome his strong desire to pull on the leash and his excessive zeal for welcoming visitors with leaps and licks. We're also now teaching him to distinguish some different objects and bring them to us.

Laddie (Albert)

Update 5/10
Molly and Laddie continue to get along. Yeah! Molly likes to take away anything that Laddie has. We find that interesting because Molly never puts anything in her mouth.
He is interested in the cats but basically leaves them alone. Molly has the younger cat trained to stay away from the dogs. The older cat has no fears and goes where she pleases and the dogs had best beware. She has no claws but is able to intimidate them regardless.
We continue to work with Laddie with COME, perimeter training, QUIET, and FETCH. When he feels like it he will SIT, COME, KENNEL UP, and run after a ball. He is still very affectionate. When I un-kennel him in the morning and we head downstairs he first looks in every room to make sure we are all still there. If any one is close to the edge he likes to wake that hand up and get petted and then flops down for a belly rub. He is a joy to have in our household.

Just thought I would send you a short note and let you know things are going great. Lainey is growing like a weed and has enough energy to power a small city. She has tremendous ball drive and loves the Frisbee. We are still trying to get her to bring them back to us so we can throw them again. She just basically plays "keep away" right now. Especially with the Frisbee. Lainey is about 95% housetrained. We keep her in the foyer during the day (4' X 12' area) and she has not had an accident in over two weeks. We still have an occasional accident when she gets too excited. She has her run of the house at night but never leaves our bed. She has even booted Biscuit to the floor. She is getting along great with Biscuit and Turbo (our cat), although Biscuit just had surgery on his leg yesterday so she does not have a playmate right now for a few weeks. I am attempting to send a picture along with this note so let me know if you get it or not. This is Lainey with one of her favorite toys. I will send more picutres soon, but I just wanted to let you know things are going great and we are grateful for the addition to our family.

Lainey (Raven)

Hi,
This is Lainey. I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of me and even though I'll miss all of you a whole bunch, I think I am going to like it up here. My new house has a really big fenced in backyard and I can run and run all over the place. I like to run and chase Biscuit but sometimes he starts chasing me around. He moves around pretty good for an old guy. Let me tell you what I have been doing so far. Twenty three sleeps ago (Mommy and Daddy tell me that is two days) when I left your house, I slept the whole way home.
I guess you forgot to tell mom and dad that the ball you let me bring with me has a really cool whistle in it. They know that now. I played with that ball for a very very very long time and then all of a sudden it disappeared. It was just as well because it was time to go to sleep. Dad put me in this big area and put a gate between me and everybody else. I let them know exactly what I thought about that. I am not used to being by myself and I was not happy. After about 20 minutes of barking and jumping at the gate, daddy came and got me. He knew I did not want to be alone, so he slept on the floor with me the whole night. I thought that was nice of him. He said it was going to be mommy's turn the next night. Last night daddy and Biscuit slept on the big bed while mom and I slept out by my bed. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the big bed. They have doggie steps for Biscuit to get up on the bed and I taught myself right away how to climb them too. (Biscuit thought that would be his "safe haven" from me. Guess I fooled him.)  Anyway, after a while, all of us were sleeping in the big bed. They tell me that after I am "housetrained", whatever that means, I will get to sleep in the big bed all night. That will be fun.  Mom and Dad say I'm doing really well. 
Well, this note is too long already and I am sure that you have a lot of other email to catch up on. I hope you had a good time at the dog show this weekend. Tell everybody I miss them and hope I get to see them again sometime, somewhere.
Hugs and puppy kisses, Lainey

Oscar (Lance)

STATS:
25 lbs.
19" tall (floor to shoulder)
One baby tooth remaining
Adorable

BORDER COLLIE TRAITS:
Ball drive? Yes!
Barks at anything out of place

SELF-APPOINTED HOUSEHOLD JOB:
Enthusiastically fetches newspaper every morning

FAVORITE TREATS:
Carrots, cucumbers, zucchinis

FAVORITE TOYS:
Stuffed monkey puppet, any empty plastic bottle or jug
that makes loud noises on hardwood floors

NEWEST HOBBY:
Herding bugs in the garden (honestly)

SOCIAL SKILLS
Barks first, friends later (but quickly)

FIRST CONQUERED FOE:
The whirling lawn sprinkler (one of the spoils of
victory: he gets to sit in the spray and cool off)

FOES STILL AT LARGE:
Vacuum cleaner, brooms, lawnmower, swifter

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT
Ear kisses
Still wants to be a lap dog (despite being 25 lbs.)
Lamb leaps and mountain lion pounces

GUILTY PLEASURES:
Tears up newspapers when we're out
Removes insoles from any and every shoe
Riding in the car with his head out the window

PHRASES HE PRETENDS NOT TO UNDERSTAND:
"Quiet time."
"This is MY dinner."
"That's not for doggies."
"What's in your mouth?"

8-7-05 Olivia is now known as Bow (as in little Bo Peep who lost her sheep). She is the love of our life. She adapted to our home and her crate from the very start. She only had indoor accidents when she was very excited. We call it a leaking problem, but it has cleared up now. We fenced in our 1 acre lot and she loves to run the length of it with my 3 year old daughter. Although most of the time I think she thinks of my daughter Evelyn as one of her litter mates. They roll around on the floor bumping and thrashing. They both seem to enjoy it. Bow's big girl fur came in long and silky. She looks alot like her Mom. She is the smartest dog in the world. She has learned all kinds of commands and catches the frisbee. We bought her a giant ball and that was great fun. She pushed it all around the yard with her nose. Bow starts the level 2 dog classes at the end of this month with my daughter Jeanette who is still the prime caregiver for the dog. Sometimes I don't know which one I'm more proud of. Thank you for THE most wonderful dog in the world.

06/20/2007 I wanted to write and update you are on lovely girl Bow. Has it been over 2 years already? She is still the greatest dog ever. This spring my husband taught her to fetch golf balls. She plops them right back down at the tee. We built one of those huge wooden play towers with slides and swings for our youngest daughter. Guess who loves to climb up the stairs and slide down the slide the most... yes it's our girl, Bow!!! People stop in the street in their cars to watch her!! Her health has been good, except last year all her fur fell out. At first we thought she was allergic to fleas but by process of elimination we found she was allergic to the oil they used at the groomer to shine her coat. I prefer to bathe her myself anyway. All is well with us and we love to read up on her littermates. I would also love to know how her Mom, Charlotte, is doing. Thanks to everyone!!

Medora (Trixie)

Update 6/9/05
Medora is FANTASTIC! She's jogging with me 2-3 times a week on the trails around Lake Michigan, 2 blocks from my home. The big excitement is that this weekend she and I went for a big backpacking trip in northern WI - just the 2 of us - for 3 days! She was great. We both got tired frequently, but had a great time...
She's transitioning from short puppy hair to longer hair, and I just can't wait to see how long it will be! We've been doing Essential Fatty Acids on her food (people capsules we open up) and she thinks this is the best treat ever. Therefore, she doesn't have dry skin and her hair is fabulous. These were problems I had with my previous BC Strider, before I know of EFAs. Our favorite thing is chewing sticks. She is truely the joy of my life. Thanks again to everyone who made this possible!

1/9/2006 Medora is fantastic - 1 year makes all the difference! She no longer runs away from popcorn and frizbees, that's for sure! We're doing great, and hope this finds you well also! Medora and I ran along Lake Michigan all summer.

Zoey (Trudy)

Update 6/9/05
Trudy is now Zoey and is doing great. She's VERY border collie; none of us can figure out anything other than more border collie that she might have mixed in with her. What do the others think might be mixed with their dogs?
Training has been many laughs. I tried the cage training as suggested, but that lasted only a couple of weeks. She threw up all over the cage one night, I washed it all out (and washed her, too) and she did the same thing the next night. Washed it out again, but she refused to go back into the cage. So we made a den for her in a spot she had picked under some shelves in the back hall and she goes there when we tell her it's bedtime.
She's a very loving dog and likes to leap onto your lap, a paw on each shoulder, and attack your face, ears, whatever else she can get. As my daughter's roommate said, "she's really into french kissing." She'll also clean out your ears and nose if you let her. I think that about paints the picture. She has yet to meet anyone she didn't immediately and wildly adore. This has made her extremely popular with everyone. LOVES playing with the JackRussel next door; they usually played about 2 hours a day or until one of them dropped. Unfortunately, he moved a couple of days ago, so we're looking for a new playdate puppy. LOVES the dog park.
She demands nothing less than 100% of my attention 24/7. As it is, I've insisted on limiting fetch to 2 hours a morning. I'll probably get thrower's elbow. In short, she's still a pup and has a ways to go, but we're VERY pleased with her so far. Finally, she's a beauty. Her coat has come in thick and glossy and no more than 2 inches long anywhere. In spite of giving her extra fat with her food, she's growing fast and VERY skinny. I think she's adding about a 1/2 inch a night. She's up to a full bowl of food twice a day and still brings us her empty bowl when she wants more to eat. I'd try to send some pictures, but she's not much into standing still.

Emmett

Update 3/27/05
We went to the vet today and she was so impressed with our boy! She commented several times on his temperment and what a good boy he is. (His foster mom did a great job!!!) I'm happy to say that he slept through last night again and has whined twice to go outside. He's very smart and has figured out the stairs with little problem. ( I wasn't sure if he had practiced that with you or not.) He had a lot of fun waking the kids up for school today- he was full of kisses for them!

Emmett is really a great addition to our family! Everyone is having more fun then they thought they would. We all think he is just adorable, even cuter then the pictures if that's possible. Thank you again for everything you've done and are continuing to do not only for these puppies, but also for the dogs who will be lucky enough to have you for a foster mother.

7/05/2005 I'm not sure how much Emmett weighs, we haven't had him to the vet for a while since his shots are up-to-date. However, he is getting bigger. My family and I went on vacation a few weeks ago, unfortunately we couldn't bring Emmett with us. My husband and daughters picked him up from the kennel after about a week, my son and I went to Boy Scout Camp right from our family vacation. When I got home after not seeing him for over two weeks, I thought he was huge!! I'm about 5' 7" and his back comes up to my knees. The rest of his body is finally catching up with his feet! He's a little big to sit in my lap, but he still tries. He usually just ends up sitting next to me with his head in my lap.

He loves to be with his people! He'll lay on the floor or the beds with the kids and just hang out where ever they are. He's so cute in the morning waiting for the kids to come down. When he hears one of them moving around upstairs, he runs to the bottom of the stairs with his tail waging and sits there until whoever it is comes down. He also knows when someone is missing. Our daughter had a sleepover at a friends house one night, when it was time for us to go to bed, he ran all over the house looking for her, then he would look at me like "we're missing one!" Maybe that's his herding instinct showing.

8/3/2005 Just an update on Emmett. We had him neutered yesterday, I thought he was taking it pretty well until he went out and lifted his leg and peed right into one of my flower pots! (Maybe he was ticked off a little bit!) Other then the pee incident, he's doing great! Actually he is probably a little more active then he should be. His new thing is chasing shadows. It's hard to walk anywhere in the house when the lights are on without him pounching in the black figure on the floor. He also chases the reflection from his ID tag when the sun catches it just right.

The neighborhood kids love to watch him play with the frisbee and the tennis balls. They yell and cheer when he goes high for one, then he trots back like a big show off. It's all very entertaining! It will be hard to keep him "low key" for a few weeks until he heals.

You were curious about his size. Well, he weighed in at 45lbs at the vet. She says he looks great as far as health goes and loves his shiney black coat. He's back to being quite a cuddler. He kind of took a break for awhile, but recently all 45lbs of him has been in my lap every morning for some hugs and kisses. We still crate him at night, but I'm sure he'll cuddle right into bed with the kids as soon as we let him.