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Recent Battles
Queen Victoria
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Juicing The Sheep
09 April 2009 11:11 AM | No CommentsThe Journal of Queen Victoria Thursday, October 21, 1868 “Juicing the Sheep“ At a quarter to twelve I drove off with Louise and Leopold in the waggonette up to near the “Bush” (the residence of William Brown, the farmer) to see them “juice the sheep.”...
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Queen Victoria’s Border Collies
26 January 2009 4:40 AM | 18 CommentsFor well over a century the “Collie” name has been co-opted by show breeders who have created a monster whose face looks like a door stop with beady eyes set in triangular slits. These same people have co-opted the notion that Queen Victoria was deeply...
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Show Me the Collie
22 January 2009 3:38 AM | 1 CommentHaving established that Queen Victoria’s direct influence on the proliferation of the show Collie is insubstantial at best, let’s explore what impact the Monarchy may have, in fact, had on the culture of dogs during her reign. Five. If the show Collie owes more to...
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The Queen and the Collie
20 January 2009 2:57 AM | 2 CommentsThe old wisdom on the rise of the show Collie is that Queen Victoria met them on a trip to Scotland in the 1860s, became infatuated, acquired them, sponsored them in shows, bred them, and her abundant trend-setting prowess lead to their bountiful rise to...
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The Victorian Collie Myth
19 January 2009 8:03 PM | 3 CommentsThe prevailing creation myth among show Collie enthusiasts is that Queen Victoria’s infatuation with the breed set the ball in motion, elevating the humble farm dog to aristocratic splendor. Queen Victoria saw her first Collies in the 1860′s, and she enthusiastically began to sponsor them,...
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Juicing The Sheep
whelping Archive
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And Puppy Dog Tails
Posted on March 14, 2010 | 3 CommentsThe best part about having a dog at stud is ample access to puppies with none of the hard work of being a breeder: no baths, no mopping, no puppy pads, no shots. Weekly visits ensure an ample allotment of puppy breath, paws as big... -
Mercury Puppies at 4 Weeks
Posted on February 19, 2010 | 7 CommentsAlthough Mara's unique expression of the Merle gene (or a heretofore unidentified modification gene) is still making exact classification of the pups a challenge, the one thing that's for certain is that they are all homozygous for CUTE.
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Mercury Rang the Bell
Posted on January 19, 2010 | 21 CommentsMy little baby Mercury is a father! His present for his second birthday was his first co-ed sleep over with that hot red head Mara, and now she’s given birth to six beautiful and healthy border collie puppies. Oh they grow up so fast, and... -
In the Womb: Dogs
Posted on January 3, 2009 | 2 CommentsNational Geographic’s In The Womb series has to be some of the most interesting television I’ve seen in a long time. I first watched the program a year ago just before Celeste gave birth to her litter and I was captivated by their use of... -
The Dewclaw Debate
Posted on December 30, 2008 | 1 CommentOf all the procedures that are commonly performed on puppies, the dewclaw removal has to be the least controversial. It’s certainly the most minor procedure with the fewest complications and it offers decent benefits. None of the common amputations (ear cropping, tail docking, dewclaw removal)... -
Happy Birthday Puppies
Posted on December 6, 2008 | 4 CommentsA year ago today I was up all night with a very pregnant Celeste, taking her temperature and watching as she continually remade her nest in her kennel, then dug fruitlessly in the extra dog bed, then shredded the paper and the pads I had... -
Dublin’s Love Children
Posted on November 29, 2008 | 13 CommentsThis is what happens when people pay you money for your Border Collie to have sex with their Border Collie. Cute as hell, no? The one on the left is Elbert, and the one on the right is Hanz. It’s true, Dublin is now officially... -
The Puppy Contract
Posted on November 2, 2008 | 1 CommentA sine qua non of a serious breeder is the puppy contract. It’s the instrument that breeders use to get their puppy buyers to obey their whims after the puppy is long gone. Popular provisions include registration and naming demands (often putting the kennel name... -
I have to buy WHAT?
Posted on February 12, 2008 | 7 CommentsHere’s a post that I wrote up a few months ago that I neglected to publish at the time. Breeding and not-breeding dogs has made for some classic conversations at the check out line when I’m buying stuff for the pups. I thought I had...
Queen Victoria's Border Collies