Winter? Solstice

Wednesday was the day of the Winter Solstice, but it sure didn't look or feel like winter around here. I'm ok with that. I had the day off and got a lot of small stuff accomplished, including a pasture romp with five shepherds (that's a shitload of shepherd). Today's cast of characters: Theo, Trooper, Max, Xochi, guest star Toquima, with a special appearance by Samantha.

That's Toquima in front, followed by Xochi.

This was Xochi's first pasture romp. I had to show her
the back gate, but once she was out she enjoyed it.

Theo in the center with the ball, of course.
Toquima on the left and Xochi on the right.

Max mostly ran by himself, but he didn't spin and scream.

Xochi played ball and she would even bring it back.

Theo is all about the ball and the others joined in.

Xochi, Theo, and Toquima, all with a ball in their mouths.

Xochi had obviously played ball before.
Max eventually dropped his stick and picked
up a ball as well.

Xochi

Toquima followed Trooper out to the front fence.

Toquima

Toquima prances when he runs.

Max

Toquima dogging Theo. That's our house in the background
for those who haven't seen it.

Toquima isn't really into playing ball, but that's
all Theo wants to do out there.

Xochi and Toquima

Toquima tried his best to get Theo to play instead of playing
ball, but that's a hopeless task.

Toquima adopted the "if you can't beat them, join them"
philosophy and picked up a ball.

Trooper spent most of his time at the front fence. I got this
picture of him when I called him in. He's not running like he
used to, but he still does.

Shepherds, shepherds everywhere.

Toquima comes for Christmas

Toquima has come to spend some time with us over the holidays. I think he genuinely enjoys his visits. It's a lot of outdoor time and dog-on-dog play and social time. He came in as he always does, greeted the regulars, met the two new ones, and made himself at home. The household count is up to 11 and the bedroom count is at 7 now, but everyone has a bed and somehow it works.

Toquima with Theo

Meeting Xochi (left) and Trooper (right).

I let him get acquainted with Abby through the fence during
the day and then they met nose-to-nose indoors in the evening.
The next day they were out in the dog yard together.

Left to right: Toquima, Xochi, and Theo

The newest girl, Xochi, on Playstation K9

Toquima meeting Abby indoors in the evening.

Solstice Shepherd

We're just a few days away from the high holy day, the original reason for all your holiday celebrations, the Winter Solstice.

So it's time for the Solstice Shepherd. Her name is Xochi, pronounced "so chee" but she will be known as the Solstice Shepherd around here.

Xochi is a shepherd and she's got the ears to prove it. She's eight months old and she's all puppy, but she's crate-trained and supposedly house trained. The first night in the crate was just fine. All I can say for sure at this point is that she active, fun, and lively. She just wants to play with every man, woman, dog, or any living creature that she encounters. She's the antidote to the depths of despair that the end of 2016 brought to us all.

With her private pilot.

"Thanks for the lift out of SC, Lee."

Meeting Trooper and Theo.  I can always depend on
those two for a good greeting.

Once she and Abby got acquainted, they became great
playmates. Abby finally has met her energy match.  

I don't have any pictures of her sitting still
yet because she hasn't, but she's going to be
a great dog. 

Cold weather days

Thursday was sunny, but the wind was cold and brutal. I took Maya and Sparky for a 3.5 mile hike, but we stayed mostly in the woods to avoid the bite of the wind. They enjoyed it and I was glad to get Sparky out again, almost as glad as he was. 

Most of the dogs are spending most of their time indoors lately, and everyone is inside at night, but Max and Abby have been sharing the dog yard during the day. Abby likes to play rough, big dog style, and she hasn't really had a playmate since Melvin got adopted. I decided to try her with Max and the two of them hit it off. She has succeeded in getting him to play like a normal dog even outdoors. Maya has sometimes engaged Max in play inside, but when he's outside he tends to go crazy when other dogs play and he never seems to know how to join in. One-on-one with Abby she has been running with him and wrestling with him in a way no other dog ever has.