I promised the people who keep an aging hippie social worker like me in business that I’d mention that the summer 1/2 price DVD sale is on. Okay, I did that. Good Trisha.
Sweet day today. Jim’s and my 10th anniversary. Making, as I write, a cherry/blueberry/strawberry/rhubarb pie for Jim. I will eat some myself to keep him company and prove that I love him. Greater love hath no woman.
I had planned to write a post yesterday about the correlation (if any) between testosterone and aggression, but got overwhelmed with speech preparations. I’ve got 6 separate talks to give in the next 2 weeks. Oh my. Giving a Keynote address to the Int’l Society of Human Ethologists on Monday, then off on Thursday the Best Friends Forever in Pennsylvania (giving 3 talks there, soooo looking forward to seeing my friends and colleagues and learning lots and lots from other speakers) home on the next Monday then off to Toronto after that to talk about Dog-Dog Aggression & the Biology of Play. So bear with me, I might be tad less productive than usual, but I’ll do my best to keep up. So many things I’d like to discuss with you all . . .
Time to take out the pie and go up the hill and feed the rams before we get the straw out of our hair and go to town to celebrate, but here’s Mr. Hope, all 5 months of him, eyeing the sheep. Notice how his tail is starting to go down (from up over his back). That’s a good sign, means he’s starting to think about herding rather than chasing. He won’t get a chance to do either until he’s much older, but it’s fun to watch the progression.
Here’s my pie for Jim, and here’s what I always sing when I make one, straight out of the movie Waitress, one of my all time favorite movies:
Baby don’t you cry
Gonna make a pie
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle . . .
Lucky for you, you are not able to hear me sing it.
Roberta Beach says
The pie sounds lovely with all my favorite fruits save apples. Wish I could hear you speak – will watch for you to come to St. Louis some time and beg for the time off :).
Happy Anniversary!
Rose T. says
Happy Anniversary to you and Jim, what a splendid looking pie Yum!!!
Looking forward to seeing you in Exton PA. I’m sure you have great “talks” planned for us.
Rose
Alexandra says
Happy Anniversary to you and Jim, and what a lovely pie!
Frances says
Happy Anniversary – and enjoy the pie!
Jane says
I love the pictures of your dogs whatever they’re doing. Generally, at what age does a pup like Hope begin his training for herding?
Liz M. says
This is for you and Jim:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knp9-GY6fHE
The pie looks delicious!
I can’t wait till friday to meet you and hear you speak! It is going to be a fabulous weekend!
Sonja says
Trisha and friends:
I’m about to stray waaaay back to an old topic. Imitation. π I currently share my life with two dogs, both mixed breed rescues. Zoe (adopted as a puppy) looks obviously like an Australian Cattle Dog mix. Annie (adopted less than a year ago as a young adult) looks obviously like a Beagle mix. For what it’s worth, Wisdom Panel says the genotypes match the phenotypes and I do, in fact, live with an ACD mix and a Beagle mix.
My past dogs (also of mixed heritage) naturally caught on to phrases like “what d’you want?” and “what is it, girl/boy?” When asked what they wanted, both would lead the asking human to the door, an empty water bowl, or whatever. It’s my experience with friends’ and relatives’ dogs that this is the norm.
Imagine my surprise when my puppy (we’re back to the ACD mix) learned the phrase. She does not… will not… lead me to what she wants. Instead, she very deliberately circles behind me. Zoe tells me she needs something, either with a look or by “talking.”
Zoe: Rohrohrohrohrohroh
Sonja: What is it, girl?
*Zoe circles behind behind Sonja*
She even circles behind me if I’m sitting and say “What is it, girl?” without standing or showing any signs that I plan to get up. This behavior is 100% reliable. The words that made all of my past dogs lead me to their needs, makes Zoe circle behind me. To Zoe, it’s important that I walk in front.
I’ve wanted to post about this behavior for a long time because it’s so new to me! Is this something a lot of herding dogs or Australian Cattle Dogs do? I don’t feel “herded”. She doesn’t nip my heels or muzzle punch my legs or anything. Still, I wonder if the behavior may be some manifestation of that instinct.
Last year, I adopted Annie the Beagle mix. Annie had clearly never been an indoor dog and had to learn it all from scratch. Like my past dogs, Annie quickly learned “what is it, girl? and “what do you want?” Like my past dogs, she would respond by leading me to the door or the water bowl or whatever. Then something changed. SHE STARTED CIRCLING BEHIND ME LIKE ZOE. I swear she learned it from my other dog.
Any thoughts? I’m sure this is way more fascinating to me than it will be to anyone else. π
More importantly: Happy anniversary! That pie looks so delicious, I think I’m going to buy a DVD! π
AnneJ says
This is not really related, but thought people might be interested in it.
If you think positive training is a new idea, you might want to check out this story. I’ve seen the Stub movie and the dogs’ tricks are quite good.
http://allaboutaussies.wordpress.com/2010/07/30/jay-sisler-%E2%80%94-a-life-with-dogs/
audra says
happy anniversary!! that pie sounds and looks wonderful! i really can’t wait to hear you speak this weekend. =) it may be what will get me through this week.. and THANK YOU for the announcement about the dvd sale, it’s just what i was hoping for.
now, i have an overwhelming urge to pull Waitress out of my dvd collection and watch it on this rainy NJ afternoon…. have a lovely celebratory evening~
Ann says
All so sweet – thanks for sharing!
Tammy says
baby don’t be blue
gonna make for you
gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
can’t wait to see you at best friends on friday π
Joanna says
Happy anniversary to you and Jim!!
I just bought plane tickets to Seattle to see you speak there next month — can’t wait!
DebraS says
That’sa beeyouteeful pie and they do taste better when made with love. Happy anniversary.
Chris Shaughness says
I’m so sad that I can’t come to the Best Friends Conference; I live only minutes away. I have my first book signing that weekend π You are quoted in my book for your wisdom about fear in dogs (your article in The Bark). Thanks so very much for all you do. And happy anniversary!
Dena (Izzee's Mom) says
Well, Happy Anniversary to you and Jim. The pie looks and sounds quite beautiful. I’m off to go get some lunch. (I wonder if the cafeteria has any pie?)
Janice says
Hi Trisha,
The pie was so very sweet–and I didn’t mean from the sugar within. (or, from one aging hippy to another, very cool).
Sometime when you have time, I would love some more description of the tail thing you mentioned with Hope–that bringing his tail down indicated he was interested in herding, not chasing.
When I first got my BC as a year old started dog (and was still pretty clueless how to handle him with the sheep) I had a person at a boarding kennel where I boarded him for a weekend tell me that he was a poor confirmation BC because he held his tail high (in the alarming circumstance of a kennel with barking dogs he had never seen before). This guy said that a tail held high would off balance him when herding. So I started watching and when herding sheep or goats, Spring’s tail is always carried low. So I never knew quite what the guy was talking about.
Also, if and when you have time, I was wondering if you could explain the reasoning about waiting until he is older to start on sheep.
Susan says
Off the thread topic, but related to DVD’s: I watched the Dog-Dog Aggression DVD at a local college library. Oscar likes maybe 60% of dogs he meets. The DVD has lots of useful tips for us, and I learned how to manage an unwanted dog advance. There is a nearby park where we had an “encounter” with a Doberman months ago. Oscar was on leash, and the Doberman came running about 20 feet off-leash. We learned this Doberman was not a dog which Oscar would probably befriend. On Saturday, we saw the same dog at the same park. He/she charged a distance of at least 50 yards towards us. I had seen the car and was mentally prepared. My husband had Oscar slightly up ahead. I turned, put out my arm and yelled, “WAIT.” (Why not “Sit,” “No” or whatever, I’m not sure.) It worked!!! The dog turned right around. I then yelled to the owner, “You need to leash your dog,” and I guess he feebly called it back. I was so pleased with myself! Thank you!! Other than the owner not apologizing, not running after his dog, and not carrying a leash, it was great!
Hope you had a great anniversary π
lin says
Happy Anniversary and happy pie!
Always glad to hear about a sale, and such a generous one, too! The ‘Cats have staff’ dvd isn’t listed, but I’m crossing my fingers it might be included.
Have a good safe trip, and hope you make it back to the Bay Area one day (especially if you want to escape from summer heat) π
Cora says
You could also say, “Greater love hath no pie.”
I’m pretty sure that the message I got from the last pie I ate was, “This is going to add a bit to your thighs.” Then again, I think treats which celebrate an anniversary get a sort of special calorie dispensation, such that you can eat as much as you want and not suffer the consequences.
I also had an encounter with an off-leash dog yesterday while walking my dog (who HATES to be approached by other dogs when she’s on-leash). Fortunately, the other dog was quite small, no more than 15 pounds I’d say, and I was able to keep him away from us by stomping my foot in his direction and saying “No!” in a loud, firm voice. Simultaneously, I managed to keep myself between the offender and my own dog, who was gracious enough to let me handle it. Ordinarily, she’d have been barking, growling, and lunging at such a small dog who dared to bark at her (she’s a 60 lb. German Shepherd/Labrador mix). About halfway through the encounter, Trisha’s advice to throw a handful of treats toward the off-leash dog and away from yourself came to my mind, but the foot-stomping seemed to be working well enough and the high school girls who were “with” the other little guy were FINALLY approaching, so I just kept doing what I was doing. Ugh! I hate when things like that happen, but was very relieved that it all went as well as it did. The girls did apologize for their dog’s behavior, but in the manner of many girls that age, it didn’t seem very sincere. Mostly, I was proud of my own dog for staying calm, even though I was probably pulling the leash pretty hard, trying to keep her behind me and the other little guy in front of me. I did feed her a succession of treats after it was all said and done, but who knows if either of us really learned anything?
Returning to the original topic, July 31st would also have been the 91st anniversary of my great-grandparents marriage (if they were still living). Happy Anniversary!!
trisha says
A few comments–
To Cora & Susan and your victories with other dogs: YEAH! And yes Cora, you bet your dog learned something, that staying calm can result in the other dog leaving, and getting lots of wonderful yummies. And Happy Anniversary to your great-grandparents (and how impressive you know their wedding date!)
To lin: Cats Have Staff is on sale too. I sure wish more cat lovers would be interested in books/videos/seminars on cat behavior, (there is very little interest in those items, universally), I love talking about cat behavior. So yeah for lin for asking.
To Janice: Good questions about tail carriage in working BCs. I can’t for the life of me figure out why someone would relate tail carriage in a kennel to tail carriage while working sheep, but as you have observed, they are unrelated. Tail carriage while not working is no different than in any other breed–related to interest, confidence, social status, etc. But it is true that if a dog is working his tail should be held low. A high tail basically “means” the dog is not in herding mode (whatever that is, sorry for being so vague). I think the primary difference is that a dog with a high tail is more likely to chase, while a dog with a low tail is in that ‘stalking’ mode in which he/she is focused on moving the sheep from one place to another, versus just chasing them for the fun of it. Who knows what is in the dog’s mind, but the behavior of herding versus chasing correlates well with tail carriage.
To Janice: Hope isn’t on sheep yet because 1) He’s too small to be able to out run the sheep, thus can’t get around to the front of them to control their behavior. If he was in with sheep a lot he could develop a habit of running alongside of them and trying to bite them at their shoulder to stop them, not the habit anyone wants. 2) He’s too small and slow to defend himself. Some of my ewes would be happy to smash him into a fence post. 3) He is too young to have enough emotional control to be able to inhibit some of his impulses around sheep. 4) He has developed an ‘eye’ yet… most dogs don’t start dropping their heads and tails in herding postures until they are around 7-9 months of age. There are plenty that don’t know that and start stalking at 3 months, but that doesn’t mean they are reading to throw in with sheep. Most Americans start their dogs around 7-9 months if the dog looks interested, but many in Scotland wait much longer, to 12 to 14 months. Make sense?
To Chris: Good luck with your book signing!
And to Liz M: Thanks for the Flintstones — still smiling. Will be great to see you at Best Friends Forever. All blog readers come up and say hi, I feel like we all know each other somehow….
Mary says
Regarding the age of border collies and herding training: My BC breeder had a dog that didn’t “turn on” to sheep until she was 1&1/2 years old. Up until that time, she didn’t know that she was a border collie, i.e., didn’t have much interest in sheep, didn’t give them “eye”, didn’t circle them. I think that is unusually late…but now she doesn’t want to stop herding.
Bonnie Davenport says
Happy to hear there are still people who make fresh berry pie. Blackberries are ripe in maine as well. Congratulations on your anniversary. Pup looks great.
Bonnie
Ed says
That is the most charming pie I have ever seen or heard of. That picture made my day!