You "try" to out think them...

As we all know, Border Collies will think more than we know.  Just when you have them figured out, they will out think you, outsmart you and be one step in front of you.  I will tell you, there are degrees of "smarts" in them and some have a "1" on the "10" scale and some have a "10" score.

Poor Doc, he is the most loving dog that there ever was and will love you to death, licking on you, trying to climb in your lap and making a nuisance of his affection but I don't mind unless I'm trying to tie my shoes.  He will love you until he knocks you down.

There are basically 5 types of dog personalities.

The Confident Dog.   Clancy, He is a natural born leader of his pack. He’s a team player and more than ready to take charge of a situation. A confident dog can also be dominant. Harsh discipline or training methods with this personality type could cause him to show aggressive tendencies or become more willful. This dog feels secure in his surroundings and has a self-assuredness that shows in his body language.  We if you knew Clancy, this fits him.

The Independent Dog  Shepp, The independent personality is perfectly happy being away from the crowd. He needs to be given space, and trying to force him to do something he doesn’t want to do will backfire. You can easily lose this dog’s trust and respect if you expose him to heavy handed treatment.

The Laid Back, Happy Dog  Doc, He is always ready to greet everyone he meets, whether he knows them or not. He gets along well with other dogs and cats. Dogs with a happy personality that haven’t been taught basic commands, like sit or down, are apt to get into trouble for jumping up on people when they greet them. This dog can become overly excited, especially around children, and a large dog could scare them.

The Shy/Timid Dog Meggie, she needs an owner who can give calm, consistent and patient understanding, with a sensitivity to his needs and feelings. A shy dog doesn’t like being in uncomfortable situations or around sudden or loud noises. Yelling and harsh training methods or discipline can cause this type of personality to shut down, and you risk losing his trust. Heavy-handed treatment can push this dog to become more insecure, fearful or aggressive. It’s important to give a shy/timid dog plenty of opportunities to succeed to help boost his self-confidence, and daily exercise to stimulate his mind.

The Adaptable Dog This Annie.  She is eager to please, and the easiest of the five personalities to train. Not as outgoing as the happy personality, this dog gets along well with other dogs, cats and people. She’s perfectly happy to follow the commands of us, who she sees as his leader. This is an easy to control dog – cooperative, gentle and affectionate – that makes a great family pet. The adaptable personality would be a good candidate as a therapy dog.

 One that was not mentioned is the "Pain in the Butt Dog"

A very difficult week…

A day late with the blog and I will tell you, I am exhausted.  It has been both a mental and physically exhausting week.  As fall quickly approached and the choirs are piling up, I was running out of time and know not everything would get done.  At the first of the week and as I do each year, I will populate some of our forest with maple trees.  Brown County Indiana is known for the fall colors that are produced throughout the fall by the many colors of the fall tree foliage.  When we first built the house, we planted many varieties of maple trees for that very reason.  As time has moved on, the trees have grown, and in the spring they send out seed pods.  After sprouting and leaving the saplings alone for a few years letting them get a few feet tall, I will move them to various parts of the forest to produce even more trees on their own with lots of fall color.  The falls rains have been pretty severe this year throwing me behind schedule, but we are making progress.  We have had visitors at the farm along with planting new grass and cleaning gutters, but we will manage. 

Clancy’s Dream has been overwhelming with paperwork and meetings, and at times I will be at my desk for eight to ten hours with paperwork and phone calls.  If it weren't for Leah Lamb, we would never make it as she is a God Send for us, taking care of all the internet work and getting us on Amazon along with working on several other sights promoting Clancy’s Dream.

With everything going on, as most know, we took Gabby to the vet for what we thought was a simple removal of a fatty tumor.  The news was devastating when we found out it was cancer.  With all of this going on, I purchased a new computer for the foundation and have had nothing but trouble with it.  After many three to four hour conversation with Dell and replacing the week-old hard drive, it has been determined that it needs to go back to Dell for repair and it’s only one week old, always something…

With all of this going on, and while in my safe zone in my recliner Sunday evening, I saw Gabby across the room staring at me.  She looked so pitiful with her bandage, and I sensed she needed me.  I only had to tap my armrest, and she came running to me and dove into my lap.  In just a few seconds, Abbie also joined me in the recliner and curled up right next to me.  What I see is two sets of eyes looking so intensely at me and soothing my mind from all the activity racing through my head and in an instant, all is good in the world. 

Two dogs with cancer are at peace without a worry in the world and they are living the dream, and at times I wish I could be like them.  No problems, live to play and eat, sleeping well and playing hard and enjoying a good nap many times during the day.  All of which I need to do.  I can’t begin to tell you how they all improve my life just by wanting me but what no one knows, is that I need them when my life is upside down…   Ken

Joanie Simpson, a 61-year-old animal-lover, entered an emergency room last year complaining of severe chest pain. She was airlifted to a hospital in Houston, where hospital staff were notified to be prepared to treat the onset of a heart attack. But that wasn’t what Simpson was going through. She wasn’t suffering from a heart attack, she didn’t have a heart condition, and she wasn’t dealing with a bad case of heartburn.

The cause of her trauma was simple: Her dog had died. Simpson was later diagnosed with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or “broken heart syndrome,” an incredible condition wherein a person’s heart physically feels like it’s having a heart attack due to emotional turmoil. The condition, which has no other physical symptoms aside from the pain itself, can be fatal.

Simpson’s recently deceased pet was an adorable Yorkshire terrier, 9 years old and lively. Her name was Meha, and she was Simpson’s best friend. The dog, ironically, passed away due to congestive heart failure.

“I was close to inconsolable,” Simpson told The Washington Post. “I really took it really, really hard.”

Simpson explained that Meha had been like a daughter to her; when Simpson and her husband grilled on the weekends, Meha was cooked her own hamburger.

“The kids were grown and out of the house, so she was our little girl,” she reminisced.

Meha’s health had been declining for some time. Joanie Simpson’s health, on the other hand, had been in the clear. When the hospital conducted an X-ray to locate a potential clogged artery or coronary obstruction, her scan was flawless. The pain was her only symptom.

Simpson continues to take heart medication as a precaution, but has had no other episodes or cause for duress.

Losing a pet really is like losing a best friend. To treat your loved one to only the best quality care,