Friday, September 23, 2011

Scout had a little wreck after I rode him today. That colt... He's so mouthy, has to taste and bite and chew on everything. He was tied at the trailer and reached around to bite his stirrup, but he bit a little too deeply and it got caught on his lower jaw. He probably could have dropped it if he'd just flexed his head in to his shoulder but of course he didn't. He tried to pop his head up, found himself still caught, pulled back a little and swiveled his butt around so his belly was on top of the trailer hitch. I pictured him eviscerating himself. But he stopped and stood totally still, and I got to him and wrestled the stirrup off of his teeth. Then I walked away until my hands quit shaking, and let him stand there and process what had just happened. Hopefully he learned his lesson and won't do it again. Yeah, right...

Before that, though, we had a great hour long ride around the place. He was a bit herdbound, so when we were done I lunged him at a trot for a while right next to Bella and Tonka, then tied him to the trailer. He hung out quite still for a while, resting. I went in the house to get a drink and cool off. Luckily he waited until I was back out there before he had his little wreck.

I finally dug out Huck's paperwork and called his breeder, on the off chance she'd have some puppies soon. We're in luck! She has a litter that should be weaned in about a month. When the time comes we'll be going to pick up a sister or brother of his.

Question: What are your thoughts on female vs. male? She said her female is more protective, and I don't want a dog that's any more protective than Huck is. She thought we might want a female though, so we don't have tension between the two males. I don't really think that will be an issue, since we neuter our dogs. I was kind of thinking maybe females are more cuddly and attentive? What do you think?

I asked her to just observe what they're like, and tell me which one is more cuddly, less bold, and of course I don't want the most active dog in the litter. She called Aussies "the lazy man's herding dog" and I think that's a pretty apt description of my Huck. He spends most of the day sleeping on the couch...

I'm so excited I don't know how I'm going to stand the wait!

1 comment:

Keechy said...

I'd vote for a girl since you've already got a boy. Neutering won't always stop tensions between similar aged and sexed dogs. A boy and girl kind of run in different pecking orders so should get to be good friends. I'm a girl dog person anyway. I love my bitches! Protectiveness seems to run in different temperaments of dogs rather than sexes. Oh, and cool to ask for a laid back pup but don't take the most nervy or shy pup, or the one that doesn't want to interact either. Middle of the road pups make the best pets.