the sheltiechick blog

Farmer’s Market Photos

Well, no Farmer’s Market this weekend. I did take Auggie to a remote for work and could have slapped myself for not taking my camera (I seriously seriously ALMOST took it and decided at the last minute to leave it at home.) There were bales of hay set up and pumpkins EVERYWHERE. Also lots of small children, many of which asked to pet Auggie, and he just ate up all the attention. Some guy took photos of him while I was holding him and asked me a bunch of questions about shelties – then declared “My next dog is going to be one!”
Auggie – Sheltie Ambassador.

Anyway, these are the very few Farmer’s Market photos from last weekend. If the weather stays nice there should be several more weekends of FM trips for us to go socialize and train in public settings with lots of people around.


Waiting patiently while Grandma buys some bread.


Somebody had just said to him “Oh, aren’t you a cute little puppy!”
“Why yes, yes I am!” Auggie says. “Thank you for noticing!”


He kept looking at those flowers, then looking away every time I snapped a photo. Brat!

Positive results from positive training

My little Auggie Doggie is having positive experiences with little kids.
And he’s doing AMAZING.

He still doesn’t like them running around or moving awkwardly, but he barks when adults run around too… that’s likely just herding instinct and I’ll never get it to go away.
BUT… last week we went to the farmer’s market and several small children approached, asked if they could pet him, and were so nice and gentle with him. Towards the end of our circle of the market, two young boys came RUNNING in front of us, bursting through the rows of tables. I nearly freaked out and thought for sure Auggie would lose it…
but he just wagged his tail and pranced forward. He wanted to PLAY with them!! You could have knocked me over with a feather… my little guy wanting to play with small children!

Today I stopped by a remote for work and there were children EVERYWHERE. At first I held him, not sure how he’d react (it was crowded and LOUD) but after being there for a while and he seemed totally calm, I put him down. He did so wonderfully… so many children came up, ALL of them asked if they could pet my dog (!!!!) and they were ALL so nice and gentle. He was just a happy little guy, enjoying all of the attention.
Swung by to grab some Chinese before going home, and I sat outside the restaurant with Auggie. Put him in a down-stay and there he did, indeed, stay, as two small boys slowly approached and politely asked if they could pet my dog.

I’m just so proud… I never thought we could have so many positive experiences so quickly, and have it make such a fast, positive impact on my little guy. He is really getting to LOVE little kids… it’s just amazing and wonderful and EEEE SO PROUD OF AUGGIE.

Farmer’s Market

Have pics but haven’t gotten around to uploading them yet.
Took the Auggie Doggie to the Farmer’s Market this Saturday. It was a somewhat short visit because the Dog Treat Lady was not there, but still a really great visit. (I, on the other hand, got a lovely pecan pie; my mom picked up some sunflowers and a few other yummy treats.)
First we practiced a nice sit and look both ways before crossing the street. (Okay, I look both ways. Auggie just sits there and looks cute, patiently waiting for me to say “Okay, cross!”) Then we met a few nice dogs and had some little kids ask to pet him. Fielded the usual questions about what kind of dog he is, what their temperaments are like, how often I have to brush his coat, and the not-so-usual “How much do miniature collies (*cringe*) cost?” whereupon I very quickly started blathering about sheltie rescue, dropping a plug for CISR. Oh yeah, and we got lots of “LOLOLOL MINI-LASSIE!” comments.
Auggie needs a shirt that says “I Am Not A Mini Lassie” on one side, and “I Am A Boy Dog” on the other side.

Had some very positive experiences. I was standing at a fudge tent waiting for my mom to buy herself some fudge (which Auggie was very interested in) and turn around to suddenly find a large collie looking at my little guy, tail wagging. Auggie was VERY interested in this potential playmate that looked a lot like him, except at LEAST twice his size. This display of Collie + Sheltie attracted some attention from passers-by, including from a few children who were interested in petting both fluffy dogs. Little Auggie could NOT have cared any less about the children, because he was so interested in the big collie, so there went that opportunity to socialize with some kiddos. Whoops!
Still, he learns super fast and it seems he starting to associate little children with “If I sit near this small person, I will get petted.” He headed over to a little kid towards the end of our round of the market, sat, and then looked back and forth at the kid and at me expectantly. Like “Look, Mom, I’m sitting! Now I get petted and you tell me I’m a good boy, right?” Well, it only works like that if the kid is LOOKING at you and WANTS to pet you, bratface. This kid had her back to him and never even noticed he was sitting there. Silly dog.

Pics later if I get around to getting them off the computer… there’s only a couple of them.