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Back Road BearsSo, I got the first of the 6 bunnies finished last night and had it sitting on the dining room table to pack up this morning. While fixing my breakfast in the kitchen I heard a comotion and turned around just in time to see the dogs, each with a bunny ear in it's mouth, shaking the living day lights out of the bunny!
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
OK, the bunny was near the edge of the table so this is partly my fault but I thought I'd trianed them to keep their noses off the table as well as the counters. Apparently I haven't!
The ears have to be replaced... this fabric stretches so easily that the bunny ears now look more like elephant ears.
The dogs... well, lets just say they are keeping their distance from me!
And so the bunny adventures continue.
Yes, I'll post pictures of the final version..... perhaps I'll get a shot of them all together for you when all are finished.
Flying Fur StudiosJust what you needed eh? You sould soo calm about it.
It's been a very interesting, the story of your bunnies.
BAD DOG!
Sunnie BearsAw Daphne! All that work for these bunnies. I know the feeling. I remember making my first real fur bear.I worked so hard on the face and he turned out so cute. I had just got the head done and had all of the pieces in a zip lock bag. I had taken it to work with me and worked on it while I was sitting waiting for a test to start. Anyway, when I brought it hom, I had the bag inside my purse and put it on the dining room table. I went upstairs and came down about 5 minutes later and one of my dogs (it was Tilly the one eyed poodle) had taken it out of my purse and the entire downstairs was covered in rabbit fur! I almost cried. Now I know to keep my real fur bears well away from my dogs. The others they don't bother.. thank goodness.
Sonya
Posts: 3,540:twisted: You skin 'em and send me the pelts and I'll make you a bear from each :twisted: !!!! LOL ...just kidding, but I know EXACTLY how you feel Daphne! Amanda the coati has become very close to being a 'pelt' over her lifetime.
I'm really bummed to hear of the bunny loss, though. I know how hard you're working to get these completed. Ah well onward and upward! :hug:
Posts: 1,277Oh no! I'm so sorry to hear about the poor little bunny.
I've never had a dog/bear incident, but I've had lots of other trouble with our younger dog, Gracie. She got hold of a very nice jacket of mine and ate a big hole in it. She's eaten blankets. She's put holes in the carpet. She even managed to eat a hole in the vinyl kitchen floor. :doh: The very worst thing she ever did was when she dug, yes, dug, a hole in our brand new sofa! 
I don't know what's wrong with that dog!
I hope your bunny will survive with only an ear surgery. :hug: I can't wait to see them.
Back Road BearsSandi... I know a great source should you need help with training your dog!! :)
Debbie..... Hmmm....perhaps I could just take them to a taxidermy and have them both stuffed! Be so much easier to train that way!!! Ha!
No, I'll keep them... for now!
LuxembearsOh my.....the saga does. Ugh. I feel for you Daphne, this has not been an easy journey for you. 
Fourtunately for me, my fur-ball-of-a-dog leaves my bears alone....now if I can just get her to leave the cat's litter box alone.
I hope the movie people know what you are going through for them. 
my fur-ball-of-a-dog leaves my bears alone....now if I can just get her to leave the cat's litter box alone.
Oh, ick. I know exactly what you're talking about. My husband Tim came to me with two dogs in his possession (who have since passed on.) One of them, Linus, who was a fabulous ex-Canine Companion and THE gentlest Black Lab on earth, had an absolute fascination with the cat litter box. He just dove in there with amazing gusto, seeking those little "treats" he so favored! We got to calling them "Almond Roca" because, all covered with specks of clay litter, that's what they looked like.
However, I couldn't help feeling nauseous every time he emerged triumphant and we realized we had failed, yet again, to securely hide that cat litter box out of his reach.
It probably goes without saying that he had THE worst breath imaginable after those escapades... and that getting "kissed" by him was absolutely out of the question!!!
Thanks for the funny reminiscence!
Posts: 3,540I've never had a dog/bear incident, but I've had lots of other trouble with our younger dog, Gracie. She got hold of a very nice jacket of mine and ate a big hole in it. She's eaten blankets. She's put holes in the carpet. She even managed to eat a hole in the vinyl kitchen floor. :doh: The very worst thing she ever did was when she dug, yes, dug, a hole in our brand new sofa!
Is she by any chance a terrier?? 
Some dog behaviors can be quite spectacular when they want to "go to ground"
Debbie..... Hmmm....perhaps I could just take them to a taxidermy and have them both stuffed! Be so much easier to train that way!!! Ha
Na...that'd be so boring! Where's the challenge in that? 
Patsy Lake BearsOhhhhh Daphne ..... these bunnies have been sent to try you in some way I am sure ...... look forward to seeing them finished
Daphne, you must be ready to pull every hair out of your head (and the dog's too for that matter) You deserve an award for taking on this task. Just think how relieved you'll feel when they are done , and how proud you'll be, and all of us TT folk, to see them on the big screen. Hang in there Daph !! :hug:
My little puppy has been stealing my bear supplies and bears. The other day I came home with a partly done real fur bear and within a few minutes the head was missing and she had it under the kitchen tabel. Then last night I was sewing a little polar bear and she had it in her mouth.
But the funniest was when I was on the computer the other day she likes to lay under the dresser where all my mohair is. Well there was a bag of stuffing beside the dresser and I could see her little head popping out every once in a while and didn't really pay much attention until I had a good look and probably a 3rd of the stuffing was in little bites under the dresser. I should have taken a pic.
Jane
Judi wrote:my fur-ball-of-a-dog leaves my bears alone....now if I can just get her to leave the cat's litter box alone.
Oh, ick. I know exactly what you're talking about. My husband Tim came to me with two dogs in his possession (who have since passed on.) One of them, Linus, who was a fabulous ex-Canine Companion and THE gentlest Black Lab on earth, had an absolute fascination with the cat litter box. He just dove in there with amazing gusto, seeking those little "treats" he so favored! We got to calling them "Almond Roca" because, all covered with specks of clay litter, that's what they looked like.
However, I couldn't help feeling nauseous every time he emerged triumphant and we realized we had failed, yet again, to securely hide that cat litter box out of his reach.
It probably goes without saying that he had THE worst breath imaginable after those escapades... and that getting "kissed" by him was absolutely out of the question!!!
Thanks for the funny reminiscence!
Eeewww! Gross! Almond Roca! 
One of my mom's cocker spaniels likes to lick you on the mouth, and he eats worms, lizards, bugs, etc. He's constantly licking the floor too. One time he came in the house wearing a lizard earring; the lizards was clipped to his ear. I guess we should be happy my mom doesn't have any cats! 
Daphne,
Poor bunny! Bad Riley and Tucker! This is a saga! It's tough being in the movie business!
Jane,
What kind of puppy do you have?
My puppy is a Jack Russell Chihauhau cross. 7 months old and like an explosion of energy! After our other dogs which were 13 and 17 years old, puppies are a challenge!!!!
Jane
Posts: 1,277Oh, Jane, what a beauty!
Nope, Debbie, she is a collie. I hope I don't sound foolish, but what does "go to ground" mean?
I'm no expert on dogs, but I seem to have done okay with our first dog. I don't even know where to begin with the rotten one.
Sandi... I know a great source should you need help with training your dog!! :)
Help! :hug:
Is there an update on Mimzy's surgery? I hope she'll recover without too much trouble.
Pandy Potter BearsI had a Westie a few years ago. My 'bad' husband used to tease it with my bears, you know kissing the bear and talking baby to it, it used to make Ben go daft, he liked to be the baby in the house. So I can't blame him when he dragged the bear out to the garden and ripped half an arm off. Now whos top dog! I bandaged the arm up, plastered it and the bear sold!
Back Road BearsDaphne wrote:Sandi... I know a great source should you need help with training your dog!! :)
Help! :hug:
Is there an update on Mimzy's surgery? I hope she'll recover without too much trouble.
Go to ground means just that really, hunt on and under ground for varmit/rodents. Terriers do exactly that (and my two are no exception BUT, they don't do it in the house!!! They'd be drop kicked to the moon if they dug in the house. Grrrrrrr!)
I don't know much about collies but the first thing to do would be to read up on them... most all you'd want to know can be found online. Once you know WHY they do what they do you can often reslove the problem.
My special "Dog Training Angel" has literally saved my life and that of my dogs as I was going out of my skull before she jumped in to save us. As I'm not in a position to offer you her kindness and knowledge I'll send up the S.O.S. smoke and I'm sure she'll speak up if she can!!! She's around a lot! 
Try not to compare your collie to the dog you had before. Every dog is different and every breed is unique. Some require a firmer hand than others. Maybe she's just bored? Needs more exercise?? More attention? More toys of her own? I'm going with the simplest and easiest fixes here!
As for Dear Mimzy.... She has new ears and is now on her way to Vancouver. She goes in front of the camera on Monday! :dance:
:hug: Daphne
Posts: 3,540:clap: :clap: Yeeaaahhhh!!! :clap: :clap: I'm so glad to hear Mimzy will be knockin' 'em dead with her beauty come Monday :clap: :clap:
Sandi.S. ... Daphne helped explain my daft saying for me yep, "go to ground" is to explain the digging behavior of a terrier. And believe me, it can only take a terrier a few seconds to dig themselves a hole into the ground and be gone 
TRULY traumatic if the 'ground' happens to be in your house....
No, you've got a totally different kettle of fish, and when you said the magic word "collie" it makes sense a lot of her behaviors. Which type of collie do you have? The typical black and white border collie? Or one of the Rough/smooth (Lassie type) collies? The main thing you have to remember with a collie is that they were bred to be outside moving and herding sheep. That's a very high energy job...so in a nutshell, you're not providing your collie with enough 'work' to get her tired but happy. Its not just physical work that a herding collie has (which is more than enough!) but mental as well. They've got to take a look at that sheep, determine which way it may run, have an overall goal of where they want the sheep to move to (although this is dictated by the owner of the flock) and be planning where and how the flock will get there. That's a lot of mental exercise as well.
Collies can be *phenomenal* pets, its just that they naturally are extremely smart (thankfully extremely biddable), and as a youngster, they do have a very high energy drive. You'll need to find a chanel for that energy....I love training myself, and have you seen some of the cool sports they've come out with, like agilty training? Once the dog's past basic training, they get trained to go through obstacle courses...its way cool, and a fantastic way to 'blow off steam' for your dog.
Let me know if you want to chat puppies... Daphne you crack me up I'm only too happy that I was able to help you along :hug:
Posts: 1,277Daphne - I'm glad to hear Mimzy is okay! Yay, come Monday she's gonna be a star!
Debbie - We have a rough collie. She's about 1 year, 3 months now so she's not quite as destructive as she was. The sofa and floor were damaged some time ago. Now she only occasionally eats a blanket or sock. The behavior I dislike most is how she treats my daughter. Gracie, the dog, is very sweet-natured but sometimes she's like a big dumb ox, for lack of better words. She means well and wants to be affectionate but she usually ends up hurting my daughter.
Posts: 3,540:pray: Thank goodness you've got a rough collie! It'll make life easier, as you'll have all ready noticed she's toning down on her activities. The "Lassie" types haven't been used for sheepherding for quite some time now (well, I mean, they're still used, but much of the stock used today have been as family pets, so their herding drive is toned down from say a border collie)
Is Gracie trying to play with your daughter? And how old is the daughter? It can easily be that given the size difference between the two babies, you'll need to supervise to prevent having your daughter knocked down so much. As she gets older, this shouldn't be as much of a problem, and collies do indeed make wonderful companions for children. They do have a natural tendoncy (especially the females) to protect the children, so its possible Gracie may "herd" your daughter, keeping her from danger.
Newcastle, OntarioDaphne, I'm delighted Mimzy is on her way to become the "star" she was always destined to be. Can't wait to see her on the big screen!
You know, we haven't had a dog in probably 20 years, but I've learned so much on TT that I think I might even be able to train one lol! I really enjoy reading all the doggie stuff. Sure explains why our Gordon Setter was such a bad boy - not enough training LOL He literally ate our couch. Bye the way, Daphne, I sent you a PM a few days ago - did you get it? Maybe you've been too busy to check your PM. Take care and talk to you soon.
Hugs,
Brenda
Posts: 1,277Yes, I have noticed that she has toned down. My daughter is only 3, and a petite one at that. I know Gracie does not intend to harm her. If my daughter pays any attention to her such as petting, Gracie gets VERY excited and then the paws start smacking and scratching. Sometimes Gracie will knock her down and sit on her. She really is loving but she just doesn't realize how big and powerful she is. She has never, ever bitten or snapped at any of us. Now the other dog is a different story! I know they both need more training as they have terrible manners sometimes. But really the worst of Gracie's behavior I hope will improve as she ages.
Something else I was wondering. Is she too young to have puppies? Would motherhood settle her down? The past couple weeks she has taken a real interest in our cat. She has been licking the cat and the way she does it just reminds me of a mama grooming her babies. It's really cute and amazingly enough the cat likes it too.
Posts: 3,540Sandi, I've pmed you....look for a message in your inbox :hug:
For the record, no I don't think you'll need to breed from her to tone her down. Motherhood brings its own can of worms, and you may end up with a bigger problem than you started with Collies tend to have a very strong mothering/nurturing temperment, so I'm not surprised she's mothering your daughter or the cat. 
Awwwww
There's a lot to be said for down/stays for doggies around children....
Jane your little guy is adorable!!! That would have been funny to watch the stuffing disappear bit by bit.... Just so he's lining his bed with it, and not eating it 
Unfortunately with puppies, you have to look at their behavior, and project to the future and decide if the cute action will be 'cute' performed by an adult dog. If you think you'd be angry because it wouldn't be cute, you'd better stop the pup now. It wouldn't be fair to let them do something as a baby, only to be nasty about the same situation when they're an adult... 
Posts: 8,574
:hug: :hug: :hug:
Back Road BearsNo amount of money is enough for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But I'll reap benefits in other ways, I'm sure!
2 more weeks and this will all be behind me!!! :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:
