The Story Behind Our New Addition....

Story time!

Some of you probably know that we have a new canine in our family.

Tig, 8 weeks old, May 26, 2014

"Why on earth would you do that?  Don't you already have 2 dogs?"

Why, yes, we do.  Ginger and Mac.  Ages 10 and almost 4. Both yellow labs.  They are super!

"The new pup looks different."

Yup.  Let me explain......

About 4 years ago, I met a woman, a fellow horsewoman, from whom I was considering buying a horse.  She always had with her this sweet, very attentive, fiercely loyal,  white with gray-black speckles (called "merle") dog with the softest fur.  All the young woman had to do was give a quiet voice command or hand signal and the dog knew exactly what to do.  And she was so athletic!  I was impressed. Very impressed.
"What kind of dog is that?" I asked.
"An Australian Shepherd", she replied.  "She's 5 years old. Been my best dog.  Travels everywhere with me, and I rarely need a leash."



At the time, I had recently lost my German shepherd and wasn't even thinking we'd adopt another dog anytime soon, so I cataloged this information in my brain for future reference.  A few months later, Don chose Mac as his new hunting partner, and I totally forgot about that Aussie shepherd.

Then, we moved to New York and met this great family with whom we shared much in common:  homeschooling, our faith, horse ownership, a passion for animals.  They had this sweet, petite, tri-colored dog, named Daly.  When her owner shared, "She's an Aussie shepherd!",  the memory of that horsewoman's dog came back to me. This pup was colored totally differently, but I could see all the other traits.

Shortly after this, through the recommendation of these new friends, we had our new equine dentist out to the farm for the first time.  Guess what she had with her??

Not Rozy.  Just a nice free image from the web.

An Aussie Shepherd!!  In fact, her dog looked very much like the first one I'd met.  AND, she was the mama of our new friends' young dog!  Well, I fell in love with Rozy on that first visit  and still look forward to each time the horses need their teeth floated, although I'm quite sure Lexie and LJ don't!



What I appreciate about Rozy is also what makes her quite different from the labs.  Don't get me wrong - I adore the nature of labrador retrievers - But, this dog, though quite friendly, is much more reserved. I like how she gives people space.  She is always very attentive to her owner, staying within a few feet and watching her most of the time, but she also knows when to move away from the horses.  Her intelligence was obvious in that first meeting.  Her owner barely said anything, the dog was so attuned to her body language.  Brianne, who clearly loves to talk about her terrific dog, shared everything she could with me about this breed, and her experiences with Rozy.  And, she told me what a great travel partner Rozy is because of her petite size and cleanliness, as well as her nature.  At just 45 pounds, she is half the size of my labs!

I told Don when he picked Mac (obviously the biggest pup in the litter!), I want a smaller dog next time!

That did it.  Now I wanted an Aussie of my own.  I did some more research on the breed and cataloged everything in my brain until the time was right.......

Then, Brianne sent me a  message in March:  Rozy is bred....her second and probably her last litter....was I still interested?

YES!!!!




I decided a male would be best for us, for Mac and Ginger.
He's named after the dog in my favorite cowboy movie, Open Range....."Tig".

I am hoping to do some things with him that I have not been able to do with my past dogs, like take an organized obedience class with others, try out dog agility, try some herding (he's already experimenting on our chickens!), as well as exploring more hiking trails here in CNY.

Puppy Love!! (Tig, 9 weeks old)

For now, though, we're working on basic obedience, lots of cuddling, adventures in the Westbrook Sugarbush, car rides, and visits to fun places, like TSC and the local farm market for rides in the shopping cart!

Aren't puppies fun?!  I will certainly be sharing more photos and puppy antics as Tig grows and matures over the next year - so keep following us at Westbrook Farm!