Saturday, August 16, 2014

Fostering Dogs - Blue the Cattle Dog

Ah, Blue. What a wonderful little ball of electricity. What a handful. What a monster.


She jumps up on people but not obnoxiously at all. It's like she is giving you a hug because she actually puts her little arms around you. I think she just wants to make it easier for you to pet her to be honest. It was adorable. She is like the perfect size too. Not a small dog but not a huge one that takes up a ton of space either. Perfect travel size!

If you sit on the ground with your legs out she makes herself quite at home there wanting to be pet and loved.


She looks so nice in these pictures. Not at all showing the psychotic nature underneath. She always has this smile too. AH the smile. So CUTE. I can't find a good picture of her with that smile. She found (or created) a spot in the backyard under the big pine tree that stays cool and that is where she spent much of her time here. Ah Blue...I love you. 

She was in heat when we first got her so she was superrrrr obnoxious. Like so annoying. And she has the worst bark I have ever heard in my life. It's a high pitched yap and I hated it. We all hated it. Luckily she isn't a very vocal dog. 

She is so curious. So so so curious and the way she manifests that is through digging and chewing. I will let my dad speak about this:
"Then she brought home a female dog, and this female dog was totally the opposite. I think we should have named her "Tasmanian Devil," but her name was Blue. She is a Blue Heeler, so she has all the attributes of a Blue Heeler. They herd cattle. It is a mistake to think they bite the heels of cattle. They are bred to herd cattle and they open their mouths, and hit with their teeth at the heels of the cattle to herd them. Blue has all of the psychological makeup required to engage in that hazardous occupation. 

And this dog, bless her heart, is eager to please. Disciplining her was simple, you just had to indicate you weren't happy, and it about killed the poor animal. But she is so full of energy that she couldn't help but drag the mulch bag out into of the middle of the lawn and reduce it to shreds. She also has engaged in a major excavation project to find out exactly how the sprinkler system is put together. She clearly questioned whether we really needed a valve at the location she found it. She also wondered what the valve tasted like? When she found out we don't like that behavior, she was so apologetic. I could not bring myself to do anything, other than by the voice to say, What are you doing!?! She responded to the tone of voice and she fell onto her back, as if to cry: 'You have to love me still! Please, you have to love me still'"

All that is true. 100% true. She's a curious, energetic archaeologist in the making. And she's so eager to please. That was good. And she's so receptive to discipline, which is necessary because her antics often require discipline. She is a puppy and comes with all her puppy ways. She is queen of the love bite or love chew. 

Perhaps the best thing about her, besides all of this:



is the fact that she did not run away. Not once. In fact we let her off the leash and she would walk with us and it was so great. Like having Rocket with us again. Ah Blue, what a gem! We miss you Blueberry. 


This adorable pup is Mo:

We will talk about her next time.

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