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i'm gonna tell you there's no black and no white

  • Jun. 7th, 2009 at 8:40 PM
ace the wonder dog
Today I took Ace The Wonder Dog up to Spencer, Massachusetts, for a herding instinct trial. Wherein he got to play with sheep.

The GRD totally lived up to his name. He learned the boundary, he followed voice commands, and he came home with extremely high praise from the instructor (who specifically mentioned his lack of ego and the way he carefully watched and figured stuff out) and with a great deal of petting and loff from everybody he met.

[info]batwrangler and other friends were there, which means before too long there will be photos galore, including some of Ace with Booker, a gray-born gray (or "blue"--Ace is a black-born gray, a black dog who is going silver) which clearly show how dramatic the blue dog's coloring is.

I am so lucky to have this dog. Seriously. He is a prince among canines.

Later tonight, of course, there will be new Shadow Unit. Specifically, "Getaway," written by our own Emma Bull.

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Comments

( 27 comments — Leave a comment )
[info]just_the_ash wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 12:45 am (UTC)
You confused me in the second graf. I couldn't figure out whether you meant he lived up to the name "Ace" or "Giant Ridiculous Dog"; in the latter case, things would have had a much more, well, ridiculous outcome. Yeah, early bedtime for me tonight, I think.
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:26 am (UTC)
LOL. I meant he aced it. *g*
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[info]aitchellsee wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:45 am (UTC)
Bah! sheep are easy....now herding CATS? That's a challenge, and all Ace needs to start practicing at home in your off hours is -- a second cat.

HLC (tiptoeing away silently and very very speedily)

PS How IS the Presumptuous One these days anyhoo?
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 10:31 am (UTC)
Actually, my roomie may have finally found her cat.

The PC is curled up by my knee right now, in fact. She's currently kind of in disgrace for various reasons, but we're working on it, and working on the animal timeshare arrangement of the downstairs.
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[info]galbinus_caeli wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:12 pm (UTC)
I wondered the same thing.
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[info]txanne wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 12:47 am (UTC)
Yay Ace!
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:26 am (UTC)
<3 He is SO ASLEEP.
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[info]txanne wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:28 am (UTC)
Worn-out dogge! Enjoy it while you can! :-)
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[info]cjtremlett wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 12:56 am (UTC)
Go, Ace! You are awesome! Tell Ace he's got an online fan community. *g*
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:24 am (UTC)
He would wave his tail gently and look confused and embarrassed and perhaps a little pleased.

And laugh.
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[info]txanne wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:29 am (UTC)
So, the dogge version of Chaz, then.
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:35 am (UTC)
He doesn't have the Platypus' temper.
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[info]txanne wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:39 am (UTC)
Even better.
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[info]truepenny wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:00 am (UTC)
I loff your Dogge with all the loff.

That is all.
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:03 am (UTC)
There are no better Dogges.

But he is egoless, so he doesn't know it.
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[info]coffeeem wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:20 am (UTC)
See, the GRD is perfectly willing to do dog shows. They're part of his job, and he's a very responsible GRD.

But sheeps? Are his WORK. Which he knows when he sees it, and which makes him go "Woofers! Woot!"

And dog shows call for too darn much ego. *g*
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:23 am (UTC)
Yes. This is it exactly. Dog shows are a job. Sheep are a calling.

We may try seeing if he'd like to be a search-and-rescue dogge, eventually. He needs work.
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[info]rezendi wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:24 am (UTC)
a herding instinct trial

They should totally have those for people too.
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[info]galbinus_caeli wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:14 pm (UTC)
We call them "elections"
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[info]bigbananaslug wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 02:09 am (UTC)
GRD and HIT
There is something wonderful about watching a dog do what his genes are telling him to do. I've had Welsh Corgis for the last 25 years or so, and have attended many Herding Instinct Trials, and it never ceases to give me a thrill to see a dog who's never seen a sheep or a duck before suddenly figure it out-- and start making the sheep or ducks do what he wants-- and what the shepherd wants him to do. It is magical to watch the lightbulb go on.
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 10:28 am (UTC)
Re: GRD and HIT
Yes. It's the cocked head and the ears and then the ...oh. I GET IT.

Like a kid figuring out how to do a math problem.
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[info]casacorona wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 02:31 am (UTC)
What a wonderful day for you and Ace!

I'll never forget our old quarter horse, of fond memory. We were out trail riding one day, and came upon some cattle. He so desperately wanted to round them up and take them someplace. He just couldn't understand why we said no. "But boss! Cows! We could go get them. We could take them with us. Or put them somewhere. Boss! Cows!"

That horse had all the cow in the world. I imagine that the GRD had a similar reaction to the sheep.
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[info]jmeadows wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 06:43 am (UTC)
My horse (now gone, alas) had a similar reaction to the cows that lived across the main road from us. It had been years since his time as a ranch horse, but he knew what to do with the cattle. Just couldn't understand why *I* didn't know.
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 10:27 am (UTC)
Oh! You don't want me to come back to you. You want me to keep THOSE SHEEP over there behind that LINE IN THE GRASS with you.

Okay! That's easy! I will just stand here and occasionally run along the furrow when the sheep meander too far apart, and the sheep can eat and you can stand with them. Perfect!

Look, mom! Everybody is in a bunch!

Now that he's figured this out, he's going to spend the next party trying to pen everyone in the kitchen. *g*
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[info]batwrangler wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 11:02 am (UTC)
He'll do even better when there aren't a bunch of his other monkeys standing way up on the hill instead of in the graze with the sheep and you. :)

"Hey, you guys! I think you're suppose to be down here..."
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[info]matociquala wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 11:22 am (UTC)
YAY!
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[info]coffeeem wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2009 04:28 pm (UTC)
Clearly, some of those convicted cattle rustlers of the 19th century were innocent. "Damn it, judge, it wasn't my idea! Smokey just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer!"
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( 27 comments — Leave a comment )

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