Puck said:
We love our doggies too and frankly, it is about the only pleasurable activity we have - interacting with them, looking after them, etc.
Sometimes, one or the other of us will get in a "photographic mood" and try to take some good shots of them, but mostly, it's just hit or miss; luck. We take a LOT of digital photos which don't cost anything to print, and out of 20 or so, there may be a really good one quite by accident. More rarely, there is an extraordinary photo, again, usually by accident.
When your photo targets are dogs it's even harder because you can't really explain to them what they are supposed to do, when to say "cheese" and so on. And, of course, they do the cutest things when you don't have a camera and by the time you get one, they stop!
We do have some little camera videos - a couple minutes here and there - of some really cute stuff like Cherie and Laddie play fighting in the bedroom. Laddie was twice her size and you should have heard her snapping her little jaws! It was really funny!
Even though she is now bigger than the other dogs, Jazzy still dominates Cherie a little. That might be because Cherie is basically a really easy-going, mud-bogging tomboy!
We do notice a distinct difference in the temperaments between the tri-colors and the sables. I don't know if this is true of collies (we only have Cherie to observe), but it is definitely true of the Shelties. The tris are more - ummm - intense, I guess you'd say. They are more sensitive, easily upset, their attention gets captured and they let go less easily. When Sebastian's "attack mode" gets turned on, it's really hard to get him distracted and settled down. He was REAL intense before he was snipped, and hasn't quieted down much since! His arthritis slows him down, though, and makes him a little cranky.
After Sebastian had that terrible sickness in August of 2007, he's never been the same since and that is when all the joint problems started. I read that dogs that recover from this tick borne disease (Erlichiosis), often get some kind of cancer within two years of recovery. It's not quite 2 years yet, but he sure is a different doggie and it breaks our hearts. I've given him a number of supplement and am presently giving him doggie cod liver oil and a bit of MSM in his food every few days. I don't really know what else to do. Both his front legs really turned in after he was sick and he just has trouble walking sometimes. Other times, he'll run as if nothing is wrong.
Pepper, I agree about puppies; there's nothing sweeter in the whole world!
Watching the puppies grow up is also truly a pleasure.
If it sees you as dominant, it will move out of the way, just like in a pack of wild dogs. I guess my dog is my boss then. :P
