Q: Can you describe your
kennel to us?
Well, I don't really have a kennel.
I never have, and probably never
will. I am a firm believer that
Shelties need--and love--to be
around people. I know different
breeders do what works successfully
for them, and many keep their
Shelties happy and content as kennel
dogs. But, I also happen to love
having my dogs around me. So, rather
than have to go to a separate
building, or area, to be with them,
I have always raised, and kept, my
dogs as housedogs. There is so much
to learn about them that way. They
are all so different from one
another. There is so much to
appreciate about their individual
personalities. I get such great
pleasure from them. Above all, they
are so devoted. As I move from place
to place getting chores done, they
are like a little flock of Geese,
following me.
Now, don't get the idea that my
house is one mass of Shelties just
milling about! I had the wonderful
opportunity of totally designing the
new home we built 13 years ago, and
I knew just what I wanted for the
dogs. It is laid out so that
everyone, and everything, stays
pretty much organized. Picture the
"dog part" of my home as a "T" with
the right hand top being about 1/3
longer than the left. The entire T,
plus the entry foyer, bath, and
halls, has ceramic tile flooring.
The stem of the T is my family room.
It is 16' X 36', and has leather,
doggy-proof, furniture.

There are
two big sofas, a love seat, an easy
chair, and an ottoman. Also, my
computer desk area and the requisite T.V. There are enough sofa spots on
the seat cushions and poofy back
cushions, that every dog can find a
good spot to chomp a chewie, or take
a snooze.

The family room is divided
by one of the sofas, leaving the
top1/3 of the ''T'' empty. Against
the back of this dividing sofa is a
ceramic-topped storage unit with
drawers, where I keep the stud dog
records. It is just the right height
to groom dogs, and table train and
measure puppies. To the top of this
storage unit is the part of the
family room with a fireplace and a
built in desk along the wall with
storage for the bitch and puppy
records. The empty center of this
part of the room is where a "normal"
person might put a pool table. But,
that is where my 4'6''X8' puppy pen,
made out of white 20" high closet
shelving, goes.

There is a door in
that area to the outside deck, going
into the back yard. Beside the pen,
in the entrance to the right hand
side of the T, is where the puppies
spend the night together in a baby
playpen. The left-hand top of the T
is the dog's bedroom. It is 12'X
25', and wire crates are lined on
both sides of the room, one high.

The room has one high wall covered
with glass-fronted trophy cases, and
one wall has photos and
certificates. I had a special
booster fan put under the house to
direct an extra dose of air
conditioning into that room. There
is a door in the room opening to the
outside deck and into the yard. The
right hand side of the T is my
kitchen and kitchen table area.
Continuing to the right of the
kitchen is what I had to call my
laundry room to keep the builder
happy. It is another 12'X25' room.(When he said, "No one needs a
25' laundry room," I told him I was
taking in laundry!) One-third of the
room has washer and dryer, and a
dog-towel closet against the outside
wall. That part of the room has 10
stacked wire crates for visiting
bitches. There is a door to the
outside opening into a fenced yard
for the bitches. A ½ wall divides
this part of the laundry room from
the other 2/3 of the room. The
larger area is for bitches and their
litters. There is a door out into a
separate yard for the Moms, and is
used for the puppies when they are
old enough to go out.
The rest of
the house is my Sacred Area with
off-white carpets and upholstered
furniture (living room, dining room,
and 3 upstairs bedrooms.) The dogs
are kept out of this area by ½
doors. Sorry to ramble on about this
area, but it works so well for me.
I'm proud of the design!
The outside area is divided into
four yards. To the left is a yard
for dogs visiting with their owners
for dog shows or whatever. It is
accessed through a gate from the
parking area near my garage. That
yard is about 30'X40', and can be
divided by ex pens if necessary.
Adjacent to that is a large wooden
deck area, which leads into the main
yard used by my dogs. This yard is
accessed from the dog room, and the
family room. Since there is a flight
of stairs down from the upper deck
to the ground level one, the builder
put in a special ramp for the dogs
not liking to use the stairs. This
main yard is maybe 50'x60' or more,
and opens directly into 2 wooded
acres of fenced woods. The gate into
the woods is always open, unless it
is very muddy after a rain.

Adjacent
to the main yard is the puppy yard.
It is accessed from the Mom and pup
area of the laundry, and has a short
flight of stairs leading from the
deck, and also a ramp for the
puppies. Pups learn to use the ramp
at about 6-7 weeks of age, and the
stairs at about 8 weeks. The yard
has a tunnel and a Little Tyke play
yard with a slide, to challenge the
little minds.

Adjacent to the puppy
yard, which is fenced with wire so
that they can watch the activity in
the dog yard, is the yard for
visiting bitches. That yard is very
securely fenced, with an 8' tall
wooden fence. The fence rests on
buried 6'x6's put there to eliminate
any attempt to dig under the fence.The bitch yard is nice and
big, probably 40'x40', and has
several trees, and a little hill.
Inside this yard is a 6'X6' chain
link run for the bitches who are
extra nervous, or uncomfortable in
the open area. Not wanting the
bitches to feel claustrophobic with
the tall solid wood fence, I had a
double
plexi-glass window put in at Sheltie
height so they can see the activity
in the other yards.
All four yards have a surface that
has saved me unimaginable amounts of
work. It is an Astro Turf type of
material, the same used on putting
greens, etc. The material imitates
grass, and the "blades" are about 1
½" -2" tall. Sand is raked into the
material to make the individual
blades stand erect. Rain, urine, and
water filters through the sand and
out the porous bottom into the soil.
And you can Poop Scoop it just as if
it was real lawn. When it rains, the
dogs stay clean, and there is no
gravel to migrate, nor cement to
stain the coats. A friend of mine
who owns a Turf Farm nearby
developed the concept. I am so
spoiled by it, I cannot imagine
having any other surface.
All of my dogs run together, and get
along great. Even the boys run
together. The only time I separate
them, is when the girls are in
season. I keep puppies separate from
the adults until they are between
4-5 months, so they don't get
trampled by the rampaging herd, or
knocked about during play. When the
weather is cool, there is a constant
stream of running Shelties winding
their way up and down the hilly
paths they have forged through the
woods. I love watching them being so
happy and carefree, and having such
fun.
I am so fortunate to have 14
slightly hilly, wooded acres, and no
close neighbors. Keith spent almost
2 years fencing the entire acreage,
so that I could hike in the woods
with the dogs, and not worry about
losing anyone. I don't have time to
take them out everyday, but when I
open the gate from the 2 acres of
woods that they use every day, into
the rest of the acreage for a walk,
there is sheer pandemonium. It
is like going to Disney World for
them.
Q: How many dogs do you own,
and what is your kennel capacity?
Keith used to count by the method he
heard Harriet Smith explain many
years ago. That is, you never
count the retired dogs nor the
puppies under 6 months! If
that is the case, I have about 15.
If I have to count the old spayed
bitches and young puppies, I suppose
I'd have to admit to 25 or so.
Some of this number includes dogs
here on extended visits, such as
visiting studs, and bitches leased
for litters. If I could make
myself place more of my older dogs,
I would be way down in numbers.
But, I tend to accumulate them.
Q: Can you describe a typical day
at your kennel?
I get up at no set time, although
the dogs seem to have a built-in
alarm clock, and get restless at the
exact same minute every morning.
They don't care that I've only had 4
hours of sleep. I try for 5-6 hours
every night, but it doesn't always
work. I'd love to get 8 hours, but I
can't remember when that happened
last! I am usually up until 2 a.m.
at least. When all of the dogs are
out, and puppies are in their inside
or outside pen, depending upon the
weather, I grab a quick cup of
coffee, and shower. Then pups, and
any pregnant or nursing bitches, are
fed. Then I'm outside to "pick up"
and check and fill the water bowls.
In the good weather months, the dogs
stay out until 1-2 p.m.-----except
for the old guys who come inside and
snooze. If is real hot, or cold, the
time outside varies. They then may
come in after just 30 or so minutes
outside, hang out in the family room
and chew on chewies, with a few
quick "outs" every couple of hours.
They are in by 2 p.m. every day, and
are crated until 5 or 6 p.m. They
all get a dog bone and fresh water
in their dishes, and pups are fed
again. Nine of my dogs eat and sleep
loose, and are never crated. This
group includes my Ch. Beyond
Tradition, four spayed girls, and 4
younger girls that I can totally
trust.
During the day I try and get as many
of the daily mundane chores done as
I can, between phone calls and
people coming and going. I take
advantage of the crate/nap time to
do shopping and banking, or any
outside chores such as planting,
pruning or raking. (These are hard
to do with a herd of Shelties
"helping.") The reason I have so
much traffic through my house, is
that whenever I get a phone call
from a people wanting to purchase a
Sheltie, I invite them to visit and
meet my dogs, especially if they
have never owned a Sheltie before.
Also, when I have puppies, I
encourage visits from people on my
"waiting list." That way, I can get
to know them better before the sale,
and they can share in the puppies'
growth and changes. No one gets to
pick until they are old enough that
I can sort the pets from the show
prospects, and their individual
temperaments have developed. I've
learned that if one is careful to
match a puppy to a family's
lifestyle and personalities, it
makes for a very happy, permanent
union.
When evening comes the dogs are
outside again, and puppies are given
their 3rd meal of the day. Then I'm
outside "picking up," and checking
water. If the weather is good, the
dogs stay out until 9-10 p.m., while
I get more work done, and have
dinner. Then they all come into the
family room for a few hours. I
sometimes groom a dog or two a
night, or sometimes work on my
computer and attempt to catch up on
my e-mail. I'm always weeks behind.
At about midnight they are out
again, and I get any breedings done.
Then they all come in and are fed in
their crates, where they stay until
morning. Then the puppies are given
their last meal of the day, and
switched from pen into playpen for
the night. Sometimes I spend another
hour or so trying to answer more
e-mail, then to bed. Then another
day dawns, and it starts all over
again.
Since I have no help, the days are
long, and all of the
responsibilities are mine. However,
if I had a choice of a lifestyle,
this would be it----maybe with a bit
less work. I have no regrets. I love
what I do.
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