If You Like Collies....

Ashley In the Front Seat--ready for adventure!

....you'll enjoy this post!  It is picture heavy with lots of collies!

A few Saturdays ago was another "Collie Playday".  This is the third one that the girls and I have went to.  We got our invite weeks ago so the week and half before was spent working on getting the girls groomed.  This time of the year that is a major  undertaking!   This is the first time I've ever had three collies blowing coat and needing grooming right now.   I brushed and brushed and brushed and would think that I'd finally made headway then turn around and there would be huge raggedy hunks of hair hanging on them again.  Next year when they blow coat I'm going to bathe them right off and then bag that stuff up to sell.  Surely there is a market for downy soft collie fur.

Are we there yet?  asks Carly

Thursday before the Playday, I bathed all three of them.  Friday it was like starting from scratch again---the bath evidently loosened the remaining undercoat on them.  The front yard looks like something or several somethings was massacred as I still haven't worked up the energy to go out and rake up all that fluffy undercoat! (and believe me, even the birds are probably sick of lining their nests with it..) I brushed when we went for our nightly walk, I brushed when we had our short morning run, I brushed when an unwary Collie got too close to me in the house at night.   Carly got so fed up with the process that she started barking at me when she would see the brush!

Killing time at the Park after Carly's micro-chipping at the vet

But we survived and although the 'puppies' (Minty and Carly) look a bit skimpy in the hair department, the worst is behind us as far as getting it all off.   Ashley seems to be miserly releasing a bit of coat here and there, so I'll have to keep at her for awhile.

Large lovely pond (lake?) at the park

On the deck checking out what is going on inside.  Ash on the right, I believe that is 'Missy' on the left (the oldest there at 13) and Minty is the tri looking at the camera

Under the Shade tree became the primo spot.  Ashley front, Carly right and Minty the tri on the left

So that Saturday dawned with lovely weather--overcast and cool.  I had made an appointment to have Carly micro-chipped as she was the last one that needed to be chipped and the vet's office was right on the way to the play day.  I thought it would take longer to load the dogs and 'stuff' but they actually cooperated and we got on the road about 15 minutes earlier than expected.  I stopped and got some coffee in Halfway...which coincidentally is about  halfway there.  (ha ha)  Carly and Minty have to ride in the floor behind the seats in the pickup and Ashley gets the front seat.  The reason is that Carly would try to the drive the truck and Minty would probably throw up all over me.  Plus of course Ashley has seniority!   While I was in getting my coffee Carly took the opportunity to get in the front (driver's) seat.  That took some acrobatic moves to get her situated back where she belonged.
   

Lovely Ashley enjoying herself

This guy was real popular with his pockets of 'bait'.  I have a dozen photos of this and Ashley is right there every time (she is on the right getting a 'cookie')  I don't know how many 'cookies' she got before it was over!

We got to the vet's office about thirty minutes early.....so we sat out in the truck and finally went in about 15 minutes early.  I ended up taking both puppies in, since I couldn't position the truck to keep both Minty and Ashley out of the sun.  Well, Ashley was not happy about that!  But it was good for Minty to go into the vet's office and just hang out, since the last time she went she got her spay surgery.

The beautiful "Wart" tri male at six months

Every collies dream---getting a butt scratch and an ear scratch!

The vet visit went really fast..which meant we were way ahead of schedule with about an hour to kill before we needed to head out to Helen's.  There is a little park over in Bolivar so we drove over there.   I let the dogs out on the leash and we walked around awhile.  Had to be careful though since there are bunches of geese and they can be pretty aggressive.  After awhile we loaded back up and the dogs all collapsed with the attitude of 'wow, what an exciting day, we are so worn out'!  I had to laugh and told them the 'big' day hadn't even started yet.   I was pleased that no one got sick this time.  Minty (who gets car sick the worst) did do some heavy drooling, but no vomiting.  That was a first.

The youngest member present at nine weeks,a sweet little only one in his litter male.

Off to Helen's we went.  When we got there, we unloaded and the dogs went out to the main pen with Helen's pack (she has six from about a year old to eleven years old) and a couple of other visiting Collies.  There was much barking at each other outside the fence, but once in there weren't any issues --just lots of sniffing and running around.  Ashley did have to get snippy with her litter brother, Jeff, when he got a little, uhm 'affectionate'.   Once they got that ironed out things went fine.

Looks like Ashley, doesn't it?  But it's not--it's her full (not litter) older sister Renee

Over the next hour more and more people and Collies arrived.   We ended up with Collies in two separate areas (large fenced in yards). After lunch I went and got the girls and moved them into the yard that connects off the back of the house, so I could enjoy seeing how they interacted with all the new things going on.  I think we ended up with 15 Collies in that yard before we were done.  There were a total of 21 Collies there that day and 15 people!  We had a nice lunch that everyone contributed to and it was interesting to hear all the Collie talk.  There were Champions, retired Champions, future Champions, Pets and Rescue Collies represented.  The oldest Collie was 13 years old with the youngest being 9 weeks.  There were males (neutered and intact-- mature and juvenile), females of all ages (spayed and un-spayed) There were no fights, or even fusses that I remember, except the normal dog etiquette that sometimes had to be pointed out to the younger dogs.

Waiting patiently

After lunch we all headed out to mingle with the dogs.  One fellow stocked his pockets with bait and was the most popular person out there!   Ashley made very sure she was front and center as much as possible and I have no idea how many treats she got.  Luckily she has an iron stomach so it was fun to watch her enjoy herself.  Ashely loves people (and treats) so she had a blast.  This was her first Collie play day and I was very happy she enjoyed herself.

The pups were a little more uncertain about what all was going on.  They didn't quite get the treat feeding frenzy so missed out on that some.  They seemed to do fine though and I think they had a good time.  It's good experience for them, of that I have no doubt.   By afternoon it was getting warmer and the sun was shining.  It was still a lovely day for June, but the shady areas became prime real estate.

Two exhausted puppies on the way home....(Minty was sleeping sitting up---she still is nervous in the truck)

By the time we packed up and left late afternoon, the dogs were exhausted.  Really this time they were!  We stopped in Bolivar at a fast food drive-up for a plain hamburger for each of them (to be fed when we got home). The gal that took my money was so excited to see Ashley and was going on about how beautiful she was.  When I got to the second window, the young gal handed me my drink, with her lips tightly pursed to show her disapproval (I guess), but I could see in the background a lady hovering around with a napkin in her hand.  As soon as little prune face got out of the way, this lady handed me the napkin and said this is for your Collie!  It was two chicken nuggets.  About then she looked in the back and saw the other two and said, 'how many do you have'??   So then she says--'I'll be right back!' and off she went, to quickly return with four more chicken nuggets.  That just made my day.  She was so excited to see the Collies.  I might mention that she was 'of an age' that she most likely was raised on Lassie shows and perhaps even Albert Payson Terhune Collie stories.

And their equally exhausted (and stuffed) mommy...

All in all it was a fun day and the girls were so tired.  They snoozed all the way home with no peeps (or even heavy drooling) out of them.

So ended our third Collie Play Day!

The girls...the end...