THE " WORKING" DOGS AT HIGH COUNTRY.
Lorna was being a little tongue in cheek when she suggested this title for this page. Although we are now down to just three dogs we really couldn't manage without them and value their contribution in moving reluctant horses from A to B. Rex, Sweep and Mick have all sadly moved on Upstairs recently and we are left with the three noisiest dogs, two of whom are really useful and the last one is working on being a working dog - when he gets over his phobia about horses! When they are not working they loll about the place, greet customers and make very entertaining companions.
Troy aka Troy Boy
Troy
9 years now, the great white hope but sadly lacking in the brain department. Tries very hard and is very trying! and very noisy about everything! Arrived having had a nervous breakdown at his previous home but is recovering, very loveable and fascinated with those cats...
Update Christmas 2012. As barmy as ever, just as noisy and still running in to obstacles, again and again and again. This year he ran into something sharp and needed seven stitches and a drain in his flank. Actually quite useful for getting the horses down the hill.
Update Christmas 2012. As barmy as ever, just as noisy and still running in to obstacles, again and again and again. This year he ran into something sharp and needed seven stitches and a drain in his flank. Actually quite useful for getting the horses down the hill.
Woodles
Meet the new guy in town! I'm Woodles. I was born on the 16th December 2010 on a very big farm in Marlborough. On Sunday I started out on a new adventure and left home to be with my new family.. I wasn't very pleased about this so I made lots and lots of noise in the car, and nearly deafened Sarah, Tina and Emmerson. I now have my very own kennel, like the grown up dogs, no more sharing with my brothers, and there is just so much good food to eat whenever I am hungry. I have discovered just the best thing on earth, horse manure. I can throw it over my head, roll in it and eat it.The next best thing is some very strange furry things that aren't dogs, and don't behave like dogs. The biggest one bopped me on the head on Sunday, so I don't go near him at all. The next smallest one fluffs himself up like a black football and makes very angry noises. The stripey one is quite fun to chase and he plays with me. The little black one just sits out of reach and stares at me, so I have to wuff a lot to get her to play with me too. I think there is another stripey one with a white chest but he goes past too fast to catch up with.. You should keep watching this space as I think I am going to be very naughty and have lots of new adventures to tell you about.
Woodles is now six and a half months old. You can tell that a puppy is on the premises because everywhere there is a trail of debris - bones by the hundred, old shoes, sticks, flower pots, ice cream containers. The deck outside the ranch slider door is a veritable obstacle course. People who know Woodles all bring their shoes inside, and nothing is left at ground level. The only good thing about his acquiring other peoples' possessions is that he tends to bring everything he has filched back to base.
The first few weeks were a nightmare because Woodles was a perfect fit for the cat flap. You wouldn't believe how much mess one puppy can make in a house in just an hour! His other obsession is clean washing. It doesn't matter how high I try to hang it - NOTHING is out of his reach. In fact, if there is a doggy High Jump event, I think he ought to be entered in it!! Gold Medal guaranteed! I try to console myself with the thought that he will eventually grow up, perhaps. At the moment he spends most of his time attached to poor Troy's neck like a giant hairy tick and Troy has lost all his lion's mane as a result.
On the up side he is learning "SIT". Well, he knows what it means and quite often does it, but only if it suits him. He is also learning to come when called, and if he won't come when we call HIM, he certainly comes when I call any of the cats. Currently he is working on trying to handle Smudge with as little respect as he gives to Troy, but Smudge is NOT impressed and has to whip round and administer a meaty right hook. Tigger he wants to play with and Tigger does oblige, but when Woodles becomes too exuberant he gets chased, by the cat, and he really has to run! Instinct tells him this is not quite right but needs must where the devil, or Tigger chases!
Woodles is now six and a half months old. You can tell that a puppy is on the premises because everywhere there is a trail of debris - bones by the hundred, old shoes, sticks, flower pots, ice cream containers. The deck outside the ranch slider door is a veritable obstacle course. People who know Woodles all bring their shoes inside, and nothing is left at ground level. The only good thing about his acquiring other peoples' possessions is that he tends to bring everything he has filched back to base.
The first few weeks were a nightmare because Woodles was a perfect fit for the cat flap. You wouldn't believe how much mess one puppy can make in a house in just an hour! His other obsession is clean washing. It doesn't matter how high I try to hang it - NOTHING is out of his reach. In fact, if there is a doggy High Jump event, I think he ought to be entered in it!! Gold Medal guaranteed! I try to console myself with the thought that he will eventually grow up, perhaps. At the moment he spends most of his time attached to poor Troy's neck like a giant hairy tick and Troy has lost all his lion's mane as a result.
On the up side he is learning "SIT". Well, he knows what it means and quite often does it, but only if it suits him. He is also learning to come when called, and if he won't come when we call HIM, he certainly comes when I call any of the cats. Currently he is working on trying to handle Smudge with as little respect as he gives to Troy, but Smudge is NOT impressed and has to whip round and administer a meaty right hook. Tigger he wants to play with and Tigger does oblige, but when Woodles becomes too exuberant he gets chased, by the cat, and he really has to run! Instinct tells him this is not quite right but needs must where the devil, or Tigger chases!
I'm Sure I USED To Fit!
This, by the way, is the Mark II cat flap. The first one didn't survive Woodles' efforts very long and effectively came off on his head, leaving us with an even bigger hole in the ranchslider door, needing a nice, new, expensive, stronger cat flap. He gets very cross at his inability to squeeze all of him through and, if I don't remember to trap the curtain with a step ladder, he drags the material back through the flap and jams the whole works so cats can neither enter nor leave., a very satisfactory situation for a very grown up dog who is trying to find his place in the grand scheme of things.
Update Christmas 2012. Just had his second birthday. Now that the weather is so hot Woodles is working on the fly screen of an open window that is a perfect fit for a hungry dog. Still not terribly keen on the horses.
Update Christmas 2012. Just had his second birthday. Now that the weather is so hot Woodles is working on the fly screen of an open window that is a perfect fit for a hungry dog. Still not terribly keen on the horses.
Rachael Enjoying A Peaceful Moment Being A Dog Sofa
Woodles In Suspended Animation.
I'm Back!
Bet you thought I had been kind of quiet for a while. I am now eighteen months old and very, very big. I have had lots of adventures since I last talked to you. Linda's horse Squirt trod on me and I was so sore they had to take me to see the vet. I have discovered horses which are very big and very scary and they don't seem to realise that I am a very important chap. When they all come galloping down the hill and charging round the paddock I like to pop through the fence and supervise from further away. Wendy's mini horse Syd chased me some months ago and I fell over getting away . It was just too embarrassing.
Knackered !
The Boss is away down in Christchurch at the moment, and has been for a couple of weeks. Although I miss him and our fun out and about with the quad bike, I am keeping very busy and Mum is getting quite cross with me for some reason. She has been doing something called "Weeding" which leaves the soil all nice and soft and diggable, and I am the dog for the task! So far I have re-arranged a lot of the rose garden and at least two other big borders. It is terrific fun but I have learned to scuttle away at top speed when Mum comes out after her cuppa as she gets a bit hot under the collar. Every now and then I have a little snooze to refresh the digging batteries. The other fun occupation is the new concrete steps going up to the garage. Despite some very tricky sheep netting I have managed to leave my paw prints all over the new steps. I don't know what all the fuss was about, I think it adds character but I am keeping a low profile until Mum cools off a bit!
The Dogs Trying To Be Good
In order from the front, Troy, Woodles,Sweep, Annie and Don at the far end. At this time of the year, Spring, Troy has to be on a rope when I am not outside as he is seriously over interested in the new crop of our neighbour's lambs.
Waiting For The Boss. Ned, Mick, Annie and Sweepy Weepy
Kelpie - The New Kid In Town
This is Kelp, at his old home, Kelpie now he is here. We bumped into one of his owners outside the Chinese Takeaway and Rod asked if her husband had any dogs going spare. She said it was funny that he asked because her husband had a huntaway he was getting ready to shoot next week! That was Saturday and by Sunday night Kelpie was here. Sixteen months old and had spent a lot of that time chained up, so he didn't know "Sit" or "Come", or how to play with other dogs or how to relate to people. A big, lean bruiser of a dog with a dirty coat and too many ribs and no muscle. That was May 2015.
Kelpie and Woodles took an instant dislike to each other which persisted so there were a lot of fights going on and eventually we had both dogs castrated to try to calm things down. Kelpie is still learning about how to manage the huge horses but he is learning fast and they certainly move when he is on the job. His other, softer side is how he likes to escort me on all my gardening, manure clearing, tack cleaning, trough scrubbing - everything I do from when he is let out in the morning he has to supervise, very closely. He can't just sit down and watch me go to and fro, he has to come and be part of it.
He and Woodles still have mad races, particularly when the quad bike is moving, but the double dose of aggression has waned slightly. Kelpie's worst fault is his racing forward with head turned backwards and cannoning into things he hasn't seen. Last week it was me! He completely bowled me, legs out from under, the only bonus was that I landed on HIM so he has given me a slightly wider berth since. He has really settled in well and is very affectionate with all his new human friends. I think he knows how lucky he is to have found High Country.
Kelpie and Woodles took an instant dislike to each other which persisted so there were a lot of fights going on and eventually we had both dogs castrated to try to calm things down. Kelpie is still learning about how to manage the huge horses but he is learning fast and they certainly move when he is on the job. His other, softer side is how he likes to escort me on all my gardening, manure clearing, tack cleaning, trough scrubbing - everything I do from when he is let out in the morning he has to supervise, very closely. He can't just sit down and watch me go to and fro, he has to come and be part of it.
He and Woodles still have mad races, particularly when the quad bike is moving, but the double dose of aggression has waned slightly. Kelpie's worst fault is his racing forward with head turned backwards and cannoning into things he hasn't seen. Last week it was me! He completely bowled me, legs out from under, the only bonus was that I landed on HIM so he has given me a slightly wider berth since. He has really settled in well and is very affectionate with all his new human friends. I think he knows how lucky he is to have found High Country.
Well When ARE You Coming Out To Play?
WOODLES THE INSIDE DOG. IT'S A HARD LIFE !!
