Scarlett’s Painting came!

We started a series of collies being featured in art, as they are a favorite subject for artists.  My own collies have been immortalized on both canvas and in digital art.  Scarlett, who will be turning 13 years old on May 1st, had her painting done by artist Barbara Guitas.  

I had the artist add the Shack on Grass Island, as it’s a local historical landmark, and I’ve always loved it.  And I also asked her to include the iconic image of a Christmas tree in a rowboat, which is the New England version of the little red truck hauling a Christmas tree.  I think the painting came out beautifully, and it’s already hanging on my wall.  I think I found the perfect frame for it too.

I didn’t intend to commission any more art, at least not for a while.  But during the National they held a raffle, to raise money for the show expenses.  I bought some tickets to support the National, and I won a free painting of one of my collies!  Now I have to pick a collie to have a painting done, and I’m struggling to decide on which one.  Do I pick one of the collies I have lost?  Do I pick one of my collies’ puppy pictures, as I don’t have a painting of a collie pup.  Or do I pick one of my favorite pictures?  I’m just not sure!

Spring has arrived!

The Collie National is over, all the collies are back home and Spring has finally arrived here in New England. Our Rosie (Creekwood’s Sunshine and Roses, FDC, BCAT, FITB) and our ZuZu (Creekwood’s Fireheart, FDC, BCAT, FITB) made us very proud at the National. 

And while they didn’t come home with ribbons, Peyton (CH Winterberry’s Lightning Strikes Twice, BCAT, FITB) and Nolan (Creekwood Winterberry Rich and Famous) both looked beautiful and did a great job representing Winterberry collies!

Peyton

Nolan

There is a collie specialty show this weekend in Connecticut, but after that we will only be competing at all breed shows for the Summer.  The collie specialty season won’t start up again until the Fall.  Fingers crossed for ZuZu, as she is entered on Sunday and just needs one single point to finish her championship!

With the dog shows slowing down, I thought it was a good time to try something new.  I took Addison for her very first herding lesson!  It was one of my goals that I set for 2025, and I’m excited to give it a try!  Addi really enjoyed it, but we both have a lot to learn.  The instructor told me that learning how to compete in herding was going to be the most challenging thing we have ever done, and the most rewarding.  (Ignore the barking, they had a Great Pyrenees in the next pasture, and he was protecting his flock.)

Towards the end of the lesson, when Addi was tired and the sheep were tired, they all stood there looking at each other.  Maybe as a thank you for the fun game, or maybe to make sure there were no hard feelings, Addison leaned close, and gave one of the sheep a kiss on the nose.  She is such a sweet collie.  Our next lesson is in two weeks, I can’t wait to see how it goes!

News from the Collie National…

 Wanted to share news from the National…

Our Rosie won 4th place yesterday!  Winning a class placement (1st - 4th) at the National is a huge honor, and we were so excited for our beautiful girl!  When you are surrounded by beautiful collies, and the judge picks your collie out of the line up to award a ribbon, it’s an amazing feeling.

Today was ZuZu’s turn to step into the ring.  

And our beautiful girl won 1st place!  We are so proud of Rosie and ZuZu, they showed their hearts out, and our coming home with two beautiful ribbons!  ZuZu didn’t win Winner’s Bitch, so she stills need 1 more point to earn her championship.  But we are confident she will earn that last point soon.  What an exciting National this has been for us!  

Tomorrow is Peyton’s turn to shine, and Saturday is puppy Nolan’s turn.  This afternoon my daughter is showing a rough boy for a friend of ours.  She is doing such an incredible job handling our collies at this huge show, I’m so proud of her.  Hopefully we will have more news to share!

ZuZu would just like more treats!

Collie Club of America National

This week collie breeders and owners are all gathering in Syracuse, NY.  Traveling from all across the country, as well as visiting from other countries, people are joining together for the Collie National.  The CCA National is the largest collie event of the year.  It’s the time to celebrate our beautiful collie breed and spend the week surrounded by all things collie!

Yesterday was “move in” day.  All the exhibitors began arriving to set up their grooming areas, and to bring in their beautiful collies.  For some, it’s just a space to groom and crate their collies, for others they decorate their space with care.  But no matter how they organize and decorate their areas, it’s the collies that are the main attraction.  Visitors can wander up and down the aisles and meet the breeders and get to see the collies up close.

My family has our grooming area all set up, and our collies are so excited to be there!

With over 700 collies entered, the building echoes with the happy barks of all the collies!  The conformation, and obedience judging started today.  The herding and agility competitions started earlier in the week.  Tonight is the Top 10 ceremony, where the top 10 winners in conformation, performance and junior handling are all honored for their accomplishments in 2024.  And then tomorrow, Friday and Saturday the breed judging continues until the final Best in Show winner is chosen.  It’s a very exciting week, everyone is hoping to come home with a bit of ribbon and bragging rights that their collie won at the National.  But win or lose, the entire week is full of friendship, fun and new memories made with our beloved collies.  This afternoon Rosie will be stepping into the ring, tomorrow ZuZu will be shown, Friday will be Peyton’s turn, and then Saturday morning little Nolan will be in the puppy class.  Keep your fingers crossed for us, as we attempt to win a ribbon at the National!

Rosie is busy getting ready!

Ryder, the best boy…

I’ve written many posts about the collie breed, about Sunnybank and about Lassie.  I’ve written about books I enjoy and the history of the collie.  I’ve written product reviews and shared our news about the wins and new titles my collies have earned.  But looking back, I realized I don’t write nearly enough stories about my collies, to share their personalities and antics, to share their lives.  That’s something I’m going to work on in the upcoming months.

To that end, let me dedicate this post to Ryder.  We have/had quite a few smooths, but until Rosie joined our family, there has only been one rough collie, our Ryder.  Ryder was the 1st puppy born in our 1st litter, and the story of his birth is here.  At 72 lbs, he is a big guy, and is taller than our girls.  Lad was our 1st collie ever, and our 1st boy, and we lost him when Ryder was just a young puppy.  Since then, Ryder has been our only boy. (until Nolan joined the family this weekend.)

Ryder has always been incredibly sweet and gentle.  He inherited his temperament from his Mother, Abby.  Like Abby, there has never been an instance when he has lost his patience, except once.  I think Ryder was around 4 years old at the time.  He was out in the backyard with the other collies, and I heard barking.  I went to the back door to see what was causing the commotion.  Just outside the doorway I spotted Ryder, and I could tell he was upset.  And that’s when I noticed two small birds swooping down and pulling his fur!  Apparently they had built their nest in the tall shrub next to the back door, and were protecting their babies, when Ryder had ventured too close.

Before I could intervene and save Ryder, he reached up and quickly caught one of the birds mid flight.  He gently dropped the stunned bird onto the ground, where it stared at him for a moment before flying away.  To catch a bird in the air, and to release her unharmed, showed just how gentle my boy is in all things.  And honestly, he was only defending himself, he wasn’t really angry.  His calm gentle nature is what made him an ideal therapy dog.  For 8 years Ryder did therapy visits, bringing comfort and smiles to countless individuals.  He was so popular, in part because of his beautiful coat and sweet face, and because he instinctively knows when people are stressed or sad.  

When I would get annoyed or upset, Ryder would immediately appear at my side, leaning against me to sooth me or make me smile.  He’s now 13 1/2 years old, a very old man.  He limps when he walks, and is on daily pain medicine and a monthly Librela injection.  He sleeps a lot, but he is still ready to cuddle whenever I ask.  He can no longer jump on the bed, so I lift him up, and he curls up next to me.  We snuggle together for hours, and I treasure every moment.  I know he will be leaving me soon, and I can’t bear to think about it.  He’s irreplaceable, and I hope we get to celebrate his 14th birthday this August.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Peyton posed for this illustration

And I’d like to introduce….

 A new family member!  

This cutie is Nolan, Creekwood Winterberry Rich and Famous, and he joined our family this weekend.  He is living with my daughter, and we co-own him with his breeders.  Nolan is a 12 week old smooth, tri color collie.  His sire, Noah, is a rough blue Merle, and his dam is a smooth tri color named Liz.  There was a lot of serious discussion about what to call him, and after much debate, we settled on Nolan.  Nolan means champion in Irish, and seemed to fit since everyone was celebrating All Things Irish this weekend.  (My maternal great-grandparents immigrated from Ireland, so I love Irish names.)  Also, as his sire’s registered name includes the word “fame,” all the puppies in the litter will have Fame in their registered names.  And there was a famous baseball player, Nolan Ryan, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, so it fits the theme…We are very excited about this little boy, and can’t wait to see what his future holds!  Welcome to Winterberry collies Nolan!

This Is The Collie

I’m always looking for new topics to cover in the blog, and decided to combine our series of book reviews with my love of researching and sharing the history of the collie.  This week I wanted to share another “must have” addition to the our book list, for anyone wanting to learn more about the collie.  The book, This is the Collie, by Esther McCloskey, was originally published in 1963.

My copy was part of my Uncle Fran’s collection, which makes it even more special to me.  The book is well written and covers a variety of topics, from the origin of the collie, coat color inheritance, breeding and whelping puppies, showing and grooming, as well as many other topics.   I also love viewing the old pictures included in the chapters.

In this picture is Sally (Sara) Futh, of Starberry Collies, a well known collie breeder and highly respected judge.
 

I love reading these old books, containing the advice and breeding perspective of past collie experts.  They contain valuable information that might otherwise be lost to us.  I’m including an old dog food commercial that was filmed at Starberry Kennel.  Enjoy!

A Study of the Collie

I feel very fortunate to be a part of preserving a dog breed that has such a well documented history.  Being able to research our pedigrees online, and trace our collies’ ancestry all the way back to the first documented collies, is such an incredible gift.  This is largely due to the efforts of the Collie Club of America, our National club.  The CCA was formed in 1886, making it one of the oldest specialty clubs in America.  The American Kennel Club was formed in 1884, just two years earlier.  The CCA has had countless members working to carefully document and preserve our history.  They have many books and publications available for any newcomers to the breed, and for those who are just interested in learning more about the development of our beloved breed.

With that in mind, I thought I would share some of the books available for anyone interested in learning more about the collie.  This is only a partial list, as there too many books and resources available to list them all in one post.  These are the ones that I have found to be particularly useful over the years.

The Collie by O.P. Bennett and C.H. Wheeler, written in 1924.  The authors were highly respected, as Dr. Bennett was a President of the Collie Club of America and C.H. Wheeler was an expert on the history and origins of the Collie in the United Kingdom.  The book is illustrated with rare vintage photographs of Collie Champions from 1874 through 1923.

The Magnificent Collie, by Patricia Starkweather, of  Glen Hill Collies.  This book was printed in 1997, and was written with the help of John Buddie of Tartanside Collies.  This book is a great resource, as it includes a chapter on the origins and history of the collie by Gayle Kaye, the breed standard, chapters on both the smooth and the rough collie, and information about influential collie breeders and kennels of the past.

Collie Concept, by George Bobbee Roos, 1988.  Roos shares her priceless knowledge and explains how to develop an eye for a dog, graphically illustrates balance, and teaches handling and care.

The New Collie, by the Collie Club of America.  There are different publications, with the white cover being the updated 1996 version and the red cover being the 1983 edition.  This is the book description: An important update of the story of one of America's most beloved purebreds, this book traces the Collie's origin from his beginnings as a herding dog in Scotland to the favorite of millions. With chapters on the Standard, on training, breeding, showing, grooming, breed character, general care and modern applications of the breed's natural herding ability, it's a "must have" reference.

And of course, I have to include American Collie Champions, published by the Collie Club of America.  There are eight separate volumes in the Library of Champions, beginning with volume 1, 1884 - 1961.  In each volume you will find pictures of all the collies who earned their championship title along with the names of their breeders and owners.  Learning the names of the collies in your pedigrees is fascinating, but having these books as a reference, to actually see pictures of those collies, is priceless!

There are many other books and resources for those interested in learning about the collie.  I will have to do additional posts to cover more of them.  Of course, after writing this, I want to go look through my own copies now!