Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone the best holiday season - try to remember to enjoy the time with family and friends and minimize the stress and "unfun" parts of the season.  Yet I say that at almost 1am while still wrapping presents (ha ha ha!)!  But enjoy it the best you can, and of course, love those dear pooches!

And the stockings were hung.....

BFF's

Hey Max?

Yes, Sully?

Have I ever told you the one about the squirrel and the ...?

AAAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!

October Fun

Three lucky dogs enjoying the fall weather in Tennessee.

Summer Gives Way to Fall

The Chillens'

Busy with the camera trying to capture Bella at this stage - I can't believe Max was ever this small but I'm sure he was.  Now he is about 45 pounds of solid muscle!  A great dog who is so smart and eager to learn.  Sully is just a great farmcollie - incredibly easy to train and getting as big as Max but not as muscular.  He's still a puppy, too so we'll see how he grows.  Bella is just a little doll - about 10 pounds of sweetness.  So happy to have a fawn female.  It will be interesting to see how her coloring turns out!  

Puppy Love

Miss Bella has entered our home and hearts.  She's jumped right in with the "big boys" and gives them a run for their money when it comes to toys and food!  Her beautiful fawn coloring gives her such a unique look - especially when it rains.  Then she just looks like the red clay dirt found in this part of the country!  The boys know to be gentle with her and tolerate her puppy antics well - so far everyone is getting along wonderfully!  Thank you, Shari, for another beautiful Braque du Bourbonnais!

Coming Soon!

To a Braque du Bourbonnais home near you soon comes a beautiful fawn female pup born on 7/4/11 at Rufnit Kennels.  Rufnit Bella will join her brothers on 9/9/11.  I can't wait to welcome her bright eyes home!  Until then, I am content to watch the excellent puppy footage available at Rufnit Kennels' website here.  Photo courtesy of Rufnit Kennels 8/22/11.

Mister Max

Max isn't quite sure what to make of the "mist" option on the hose sprayer.  Poor quality cell phone video, but you get the idea...

Dog Days

Though the intense summer heat has just really begun, these two had to take a play break on the cool concrete patio floor.  A couple of BFF's chilling on the porch...

Brother from another mother

For some time I've been researching livestock dogs and I finally decided that I wanted an old-fashioned farmcollie or working farmcollie as they are also known.  This is a heritage collie breed that hasn't had their natural instincts bred out in favor of solely show attributes or to meet the demand caused by the huge increase in popularity as a family, non-farm dog after the tv series, Lassie.  So this is Sully, Max's new little brother.  Well on his way to being house-broken but a puppy nonetheless.  A different personality than Max that I believe will compliment each other nicely when they are both a bit older.  For now it's fun to watch.  Sully thinks he is as big as Max when he actually weighs about three pounds and Max thinks Sully is a new toy.  


A vaguely humorous video of a meeting at the fence.  I have to hand it to Max for tolerating a lot of Sully's puppy behavior - what a big boy he is - and a good big brother.  

We're still looking forward to getting another BdB from Rufnit Kennels when the right one comes along.  And another farmcollie.  The more the merrier!  So now Sugar Pea Farm is home to 13 quail, 10 chickens, 2 dogs, 2 people and lots of deer, rabbits, foxes and a flock of turkeys.  One turkey lives indoors and uses the plumbing.

Crashed

After a big day of frisbee, air ball, and sniffing about the new chicks.  Maxie is quite interested in the chicks!

The Good Life

Max enjoys his gigantic tennis ball.  He gets the squeakers out within minutes but the ball remains a favorite.  

Singing along with the Star Spangled Banner  - it's the Key blood in him...

My Boys

Max and P like to clown around, with Maxie enjoying a belly rub and scratch here.  It's been super rainy and cold around here so Maxie's been inside much of the time.  This is by his choice - he hates the rain and starts shaking like a leaf when when goes outside when the temp is 45 or less.  
The loving gaze and Maxie's big smile here crack me up!  A real father / son moment!  Note Maxie's right ear flopped open.  He often flips his head so that ear folds back open.  We think it is him trying to hear better. He does this many times a day.  Funny little fellow!

Bird Flush

When Maxie heads out for his first morning run, he first flushes all of the birds out of the bushes.  He tears around the yard several times until he's found them all!

Puppy Love

The kind man feeds his beast before sitting down to dinner.  

-Hebrew Proverb

What a pup!

I'll admit I may be a little biased, but Maxie shows such emotions on his lovely little face!  Let's see what faces he makes in the washtub later today!!!