Life with carnivores

It occurred to me that I should update everyone on the state of the puppies.  I was flipping through some pictures and wanted to share some of the cuter ones, but you're not going to recognize one of the faces.

First, Cowboy.  Despite his massive list of medical issues, our sweet Min Pin made it to the ripe old age of sixteen.  We lost him this spring to a suspected brain tumor, but what a life.  Minnesota, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire with lots of adventures in between.

Cowboy as a young man with me and his father, Cruizer

And the unfamiliar face in the face sweet pack family moment picture?  That's Aura, our most recent addition.  She's a year and a half old Boxer/Pit cross, at least that's our best guess on her breed.  We've had her for a bit over a year now, so we're most of the way through the teenage years. 

She's a rescue that was transported up from North Carolina.  She's been a super challenging addition with a variety of reactivity and aggression issues, most linked to a less than ideal previous home life that included being hit with magazines, but she's doing much better with a lot of professional help.  We've been lucky enough to have a fantastic nearby training center that has been willing to work through all of her issues.  She recently got her Advanced Canine Good Citizen title, completed a tracking workshop, and is learning Rally Obedience.  She adores her boy.  She likes me well enough, but she can recognize Joe's car pulling into the driveway and does the most adorable song and dance routine.  It's pretty clear where her heart lies.

As for our other little rescue, Miss Peyton?

As you can see, she's been taking a few classes herself.  She's now Boca de la Locha, BN, RA, CGC and almost done with her CD and RE titles.  What can I say, she loves to work.  I have liverwurst.  She's also learned to help me round up chickens, but that's not something you can get a title for.  We tried Barn Hunt but she didn't see the point.  If the rat is in a tube, then it's not worth bothering.  She sat in the ring and gave me a look that clearly let me know I was being dumb.  I can deal with that when she can turn in a 99 out of 100 at the most difficult level of Rally Obedience courses.

Our two girls are enjoying life in the country.  We have a five foot fence going in so Aura can have more space for running.  We have an empty chicken pasture we're using to let her burn energy right now, but when we finish the new fence she'll be able to run out the door and be free without having a leash on at all.  Peyton is good off leash, so she gets to help with chores.  

 It's nice to have an outlet for my competitive side while I figure out what I want to do with riding.  Dog shows are a BREEZE after horse shows.  I throw the dog in the car and go.  No trailer, no braiding, no chance of getting chucked into a stone wall.  It's kind of amazing.  I'll have to blame the ease of dog showing for my reluctance around getting back into competition with horses.  I sure as heck didn't have any 2:30am wake up calls to walk my rally courses.  I'm sure I'll be back in the show ring with horses soon enough, but I'm at least aware of how insane it is when compared to other hobbies.

Peyton is not a morning dog

Does that make me more or less crazy?