Welcome to my latest attempt at blogging. I am hoping that I will be able to stick to it this time and actually maintain this. The point of this blog will be to detail all different aspects of getting a puppy, training that puppy, and hopefully competing with that puppy in performance sports. I don't want it to just be a training blog though, I hope that it will also cover life with pets, decisions one must make about vaccines, diet, spay/neutering, etc. I want it to be an educational resource as well as an inside look into my life with Valor.
In case you stumbled onto this blog and don't know me in person I'll give you a short background before I introduce Valor.
My name is Casey. I live in Massachusetts. I have an A.S. in Veterinary Technology from Becker College, a B.S. in Psychological Science with a concentration in Cognitive Science and a minor in Art, and am a Certified Veterinary Technician. I currently own and operate Canine Existence Daycare and Training in Littleton, MA. I graduated from Becker in 2003 and rewarded myself with a Border Collie puppy named Fly (BonniDune's Wanna Fly By Dawn). Fly, along with becoming my heart dog, introduced me to the world of dog training and behavior. Together we competed in several sports and were even Nationally ranked for several years, including being the #1 Veteran Dog in WCRL Rally for 2014. Along with all of my foundation knowledge and skills Fly also gave me one litter of wonderful puppies. Catcher, Savvy, and Oliver are from that litter. I lost Fly in 2015 after a 15-day battle with Hemangiosarcoma.
I had been planning to retire Fly from competition in 2016 and was looking for a puppy in 2015 that could grow up with her as a mentor. Sadly, that didn't happen and I spent 2015 desperately hoping a puppy would join my life for 2016. Enter Valor (Sterling After All This Time).
Valor was bred by a friend of mine, who breeds wonderful Border Collies. She is a granddaughter of my all-time favorite stud dog (a.k.a. the boy I've drooled over since shortly after I brought Fly home) Kenny (Ch Wildair Blue on Black). Kenny was my first choice when I bred Fly but the circumstances weren't quite right and things didn't work out. I spent years trying to get my hands on a Kenny puppy but the timing, among other things, was never right. I was over the moon when I found out Terry had a Kenny son and was using him for her next litter. So began my journey of waiting for Valor.
Thank you for checking out this blog. My next post will be all about how I chose Valor from her littermates.
Fly and I competing in WCRL Rally in 2013
Fly with her Level 3 title Rosette
I had been planning to retire Fly from competition in 2016 and was looking for a puppy in 2015 that could grow up with her as a mentor. Sadly, that didn't happen and I spent 2015 desperately hoping a puppy would join my life for 2016. Enter Valor (Sterling After All This Time).
Valor at 8.5 weeks her first day home
Valor was bred by a friend of mine, who breeds wonderful Border Collies. She is a granddaughter of my all-time favorite stud dog (a.k.a. the boy I've drooled over since shortly after I brought Fly home) Kenny (Ch Wildair Blue on Black). Kenny was my first choice when I bred Fly but the circumstances weren't quite right and things didn't work out. I spent years trying to get my hands on a Kenny puppy but the timing, among other things, was never right. I was over the moon when I found out Terry had a Kenny son and was using him for her next litter. So began my journey of waiting for Valor.
Kenny at 5 months, the picture that made me fall in love
Thank you for checking out this blog. My next post will be all about how I chose Valor from her littermates.
