After much thought and consideration, I have decided that Bandit’s blog has come to its final end. I didn’t make this decision lightly, and I’m a little sad that I’ll no longer be sharing Bandit’s escapades and adventures with my blogging friends and family. Keeping up a blog takes a lot of work and dedication. I just don’t have the time to keep the blog going as I would like. When I started Bandit’s blog I envisioned that it would have been something I would do for a year as a way to chronicle his puppyhood and up until his first birthday. Once the first birthday came and went, I kept going because I loved the creative outlet for sharing my photos and writings, and having somewhere to keep track of Bandit’s milestones and important events.
Little did I realize that I would actually acquire followers, some of the most kind and caring people I have ever gotten to know. Thank you for finding something special enough in Bandit and his blog that you wanted to continue reading and made the decision to be a follower. I would like to thank you all for the wonderful heartfelt comments, funny comments, bits of advice, bits of wisdom, and the sharing of yourselves and your pets and hobbies. Through your own shared stories and pictures, I have felt a real shared connection with many of you. I have felt great sadness when some of you have shared difficult times such as when a beloved pet has unexpectedly died, or you’ve had to make a difficult decision to put a pet down for declining health. Blogging really is a wonderful way to connect with people all over the world, and I think it’s exciting that Bandit’s blog has attracted followers and friends from Great Britain, Australia, Japan, Wales, and even India!
I do have something exciting to share. I found a cool website (http://everything2print.com/serve/e2p/) that will turn Bandit’s entire blog into a hard-cover book! I’m so excited!! It’s a little bit pricey for the final copy but so worth it. They will include every bit of text, every picture, and all comments. It’s going to be such a nice keepsake. Not only will it be a hard-copy chronicle of Bandit’s growing up years, but we’ll be able to look back and remember our blogging friends and followers who posted comments! Because the book won’t be able to remember all the different blog headers I’ve made, I’m going to post those here so they can all be included in the book.
Bandit’s blog will continue to stay on-line. I want to continue to have the blog available so I can easily check in with those whose blogs I’ve been following. I’d never done blogging before Bandit’s blog, and it certainly turned into a very rewarding experience in so many ways. Thank you, everyone! I’ll miss you!! ♥♥♥ And Bandit gives everyone a big wet kiss!!♥♥♥
If you’d like to be a recipient of our annual holiday Smilebox card, be sure to send Bandit an email and let us know your email address so you can be added!
Oct 2, 2010
Sep 5, 2010
Sep 3, 2010
Sep 2, 2010
Thank You, Noah!
Have you met the newest Aussie on the blogging block? His name is Noah, and we'd like to say a big heartfelt thank-you to Noah for giving us a "Doggie Bloggie Award." If you haven't yet had an opportunity to swing by Noah's blog to say hi, be sure to do so HERE (or click on the award in the sidebar) and welcome him to the world of doggie blogging!
Thank you so much for this nice honor, Noah!
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Bandit:
1. I have a tic. If I'm excited or nervous, one of my front paws shakes. I inherited this from my Mama, Gracie.
2. I'm my family's second dog. The first was a black Lab named Brandy who my family got when she was seven months old. She lived to be 15 and died in January of 2007.
3. If I'm scared I'll stop dead in my tracks, won't budge, and become dead weight. Just yesterday, Mama and I were on a walk through the woods and we came across a dad with a baby in a pack on his back. This scared me to death (to me it looked like one giant person) and I didn't want to walk around them. Mama had to pick me up and carry me around this dad and baby.
4. If I'm taken somewhere fun or go for a walk and I'm not ready to go home, I plop down wherever I am and refuse to budge. If I'm taken for a walk and don't want to go home just yet, I refuse to get in the car. Mama has to pick me up and plop me in the back seat.
5. I get my teeth brushed anywhere from once to three times a week, always before bedtime, and I kinda like it.
6. If I hadn't been named Bandit, I would have been named Wolfie - I'm glad I'm not called Wolfie.
7. I have a collection of real beef bones. I like to gather them all up and put them on Mama and Papa's bed.
8. One time something unknown gave me diarrhea so bad I had to have medicine to clear it up. It got better, but then a few days later I snuck a piece of cheese pizza off the kitchen counter while everyone was downstairs and the diarrhea came back. I needed more medicine. I guess I have a bit of a sensitive stomach.
9. My blog starts on the day I was brought home from the breeder's house. Here's the very first blog posting..
10. I still have a problem with jumping on people.
We would like to pass this award on to all our blogging pals!!
Thank you so much for this nice honor, Noah!
Ten Things You Might Not Know About Bandit:
1. I have a tic. If I'm excited or nervous, one of my front paws shakes. I inherited this from my Mama, Gracie.
2. I'm my family's second dog. The first was a black Lab named Brandy who my family got when she was seven months old. She lived to be 15 and died in January of 2007.
3. If I'm scared I'll stop dead in my tracks, won't budge, and become dead weight. Just yesterday, Mama and I were on a walk through the woods and we came across a dad with a baby in a pack on his back. This scared me to death (to me it looked like one giant person) and I didn't want to walk around them. Mama had to pick me up and carry me around this dad and baby.
4. If I'm taken somewhere fun or go for a walk and I'm not ready to go home, I plop down wherever I am and refuse to budge. If I'm taken for a walk and don't want to go home just yet, I refuse to get in the car. Mama has to pick me up and plop me in the back seat.
5. I get my teeth brushed anywhere from once to three times a week, always before bedtime, and I kinda like it.
6. If I hadn't been named Bandit, I would have been named Wolfie - I'm glad I'm not called Wolfie.
7. I have a collection of real beef bones. I like to gather them all up and put them on Mama and Papa's bed.
8. One time something unknown gave me diarrhea so bad I had to have medicine to clear it up. It got better, but then a few days later I snuck a piece of cheese pizza off the kitchen counter while everyone was downstairs and the diarrhea came back. I needed more medicine. I guess I have a bit of a sensitive stomach.
9. My blog starts on the day I was brought home from the breeder's house. Here's the very first blog posting..
10. I still have a problem with jumping on people.
We would like to pass this award on to all our blogging pals!!
Aug 28, 2010
A Day of Herding!
Bandit tried his hand at sheep herding today! His breeder, Jamie, had set up this fun outing several months ago for a group of about eight mini Aussies and one English Shepherd. The sheep farm is in Battle Ground, Washington which was a three and a half hour drive south for us. Brigand's Hideout is a real sheep farm which specifically trains dogs of all breeds to herd sheep. Our instructor/handler for the day was Trudy who gave us an overview of basic herding including terms, calls, and maneuvers. After each dog went through the first time, Trudy handed out a report card to each canine participant regarding the testing of their herding instinct.
Bandit definitely has the instinct and the drive to be a natural at herding! It was great fun to watch him work the sheep and take instruction from Trudy. He was tested and scored on such things as interest (high), approach (runs moderately close), emotional level (very excited), eye (loose), bark (sustained barking), responsiveness to direction (responsive), temperament (readily adjusts), balance/distance to control stock (adjusts position and/or distance), and movement of stock (keeps stock grouped). Overall, he was deemed qualified as herding instinct test certified. We're so proud of him! It most likely won't be something we continue with, but it was definitely fun, and we'll definitely do it again should the opportunity arise. There should be some closer-to-home sheep farms we could try in the future, too.
Bandit definitely has the instinct and the drive to be a natural at herding! It was great fun to watch him work the sheep and take instruction from Trudy. He was tested and scored on such things as interest (high), approach (runs moderately close), emotional level (very excited), eye (loose), bark (sustained barking), responsiveness to direction (responsive), temperament (readily adjusts), balance/distance to control stock (adjusts position and/or distance), and movement of stock (keeps stock grouped). Overall, he was deemed qualified as herding instinct test certified. We're so proud of him! It most likely won't be something we continue with, but it was definitely fun, and we'll definitely do it again should the opportunity arise. There should be some closer-to-home sheep farms we could try in the future, too.
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| Bandit at work with the sheep and Trudy |
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| He definitely had the Aussie instinct from the get-go |
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| We love this picture! His look is priceless! |
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| Bandit was a vocal sheep herder |
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| MOVE IT, MOVE IT!! |
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| Keeping an eye on his work |
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| He was very confident in his dealings with the sheep |
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| I want to do this again!! |
Aug 14, 2010
Thank You, George!
We were alerted to the fact that one of our friends in the UK, George, has given us an award. ♥♥Thank you, George!♥♥ We hope George doesn't mind if we just acknowledge this nice honor with a heartfelt thank-you. We'd like George to know that we love reading his blog and his adventures of being a Welsh Terrier in the United Kingdom.
If anyone else wants to visit and get to know George, visit him at Welsh Terrier "George". You can also click on the award on the sidebar to visit his blog. His lead-in blog picture is just beautiful, and George is quite the handsome lad!
Thank you for the beautiful award, George!!
If anyone else wants to visit and get to know George, visit him at Welsh Terrier "George". You can also click on the award on the sidebar to visit his blog. His lead-in blog picture is just beautiful, and George is quite the handsome lad!
Thank you for the beautiful award, George!!
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