I am so excited! I have crossed my T's and dotted my I's on the contract for a beautiful Border Collie girl who is expected to come to our home in two weeks' time. A year ago, Ace had just come all the way from the U.S. and was busy giving me a nervous meltdown. I remember being terrified by the prospect of dealing with this unruly, stubborn, independent dog for the next 10-15 years. I think the process of welcoming a new dog into your home is like childbirth - it's so painful to go through, but you forget about the bad parts so quickly that you're fine to experience it again. :-D

Ace has been a marvelous dog lately. And I really mean that. He has done a complete 180 in terms of personality and his view on "working". I honestly thought that he would end up being a pet and nothing more. No amount of pushing or prodding or bribery worked on him to do ANYTHING. It crossed my mind several times that he could be deaf - but no, he was just "selectively hearing". So time passed, and we smoothed out the kinks, and now I have a dog I am proud to own. Ace loves to work, impresses me every day with his ability to retain information and to push himself past the physical limits of what a corgi can do. I'm working on a heelwork-to-music routine that I'm VERY excited to share with you all, when it's completed. I challenge Ace with the choreography because I know he can do it. He rarely disappoints me, and honestly, it's almost always my fault if he refuses a behaviour. He's helped me learn so much.

So... yeah! His sister is coming soon, and I pray he will be a good role model for her. When she first arrives, we'll be spending a little less time together, Ace and I. I'll need to bond separately with the BC and make sure that she doesn't get too attached to him - the last thing I need is another dog who prefers the company of canines to humans. I went through that with Ace and vowed to never let it happen again. This time, since I'm getting the BC at 8 weeks versus Ace's 16, I predict I'll have an easier time moulding her personality. Top of our list is socialization! Ace is still terrified of children, and it's only gotten worse thanks to one kiddo in our apartments who insists on running towards him and screaming at the top of her lungs every time she sees him. I wish I had a tranquillizing dart just for "special purposes"...

Apparently Ace's sister (who will be named Lady, after my husband's favourite childhood dog, a working Irish Setter belonging to his grandfather) LOVES toys and playing with her humans. She's pretty much the polar opposite of Ace in this regard, and I can't wait to nurture that play drive. I have had to fight tooth and nail against Ace's complete disinterest in toys and playtime. Now, he loves it. Doing a football scrimmage against my husband is his favourite nighttime activity, after eating of course!

I'll update with more photos tomorrow when her breeder posts a new batch. Apparently she's growing into quite the beautiful girl! :-)

PHOTOS FROM 13 SEPT.

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(Lady is furthest right)

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