Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR COLLIE LOVERS!

Wishing you all a year filled lots of puppy kisses and laughter. It has been quite a year for our little family and I'd like to thank each and every one of you for your support over the last few months. Here is to a bigger and better 2016!

Life in Pictures

My phone is always full of pictures of Holly, but what am I supposed to do? She is just too cute! Does anyone else have this problem?

Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all a safe and very Merry Christmas, Hanukkah or whatever it is you celebrate.

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Twelve Dachshunds Dashing
Eleven Pugs Playing
Ten Greyhounds a-Leaping
Nine Dalmatians Dancing
Eight Shepherds a-Sleeping
Seven Labs a-Swimming
Six Weims a-Laying
Five Golden Retrievers
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eleven Pugs Playing
Ten Greyhounds a-Leaping
Nine Dalmatians Dancing
Eight Shepherds a-Sleeping
Seven Labs a-Swimming
Six Weims a-Laying
Five Golden Retrievers
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Ten Greyhounds a-Leaping
Nine Dalmatians Dancing
Eight Shepherds a-Sleeping
Seven Labs a-Swimming
Six Weims a-Laying
Five Golden Retrievers
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Nine Dalmatians Dancing
Eight Shepherds a-Sleeping
Seven Labs a-Swimming
Six Weims a-Laying
Five Golden Retrievers
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eight Shepherds a-Sleeping
Seven Labs a-Swimming
Six Weims a-Laying
Five Golden Retrievers
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Seven Labs a-Swimming
Six Weims a-Laying
Five Golden Retrievers
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Six Weims a-Laying
Five Golden Retrievers
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Five Golden Retrievers
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Four Howling Beagles
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Three French Bulldogs
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Two Shelties
And a Collie under the Tree

12 Dogs of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me
A Collie under the Tree

Oh Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree is up in our house and as usual Holly kept a close eye to make sure it was correctly decorated.

Nurse Holly

Holly is a very sweet girl, she seems to be able to pick up on when her people aren't feeling well and always tries to help look after us.

Didn't Feel a Thing

Holly lacks spatial awareness when she is inside. She is always crashing into walls or bumping her nose on things, thankfully she never hurts herself.

Dirty Work

I can always tell when Holly has been trying to bury stuff. She will have dirt on her nose and whatever it was that she was trying to bury will be half sitting out of the dirty. I think she does it so she doesn't have to remember where it is.

The Magpie

It's magpie season here in Aus. I love magpies, they have beautiful songs, they are an iconic species, and I have never been swooped. A lot of people don't share my enthusiasm for them though, Holly is on of them.

If The Shoe Fits

I've been sent a lot of great collie stories over the last few months, but one of my favourites is from Lou Ann Norquist and her dog Abby, which has inspired this cartoon.

"Every morning as I'm watching T.V. and drinking coffee, Abby signals it's time for a walk by dropping shoes in my lap.  What I think is so clever is that she always brings an exact pair of weather appropriate shoes whether it's summer flip-flops or winter boots. Of course if I don't respond in 2 minutes, I'm likely to have every shoe in the house on me."

Keep sending in your cute and funny stories, I love reading them and I may even turn some of them into a cartoon!

Caught in the Act

Inspired by one of my favourite gifs - the embarrassed collie.

The Cleaner

I've found it is good to have a dog around when I'm cooking, Holly is like my own personal clean up crew for any little spills that get away from me and she is always very enthusiastic about it.

Say Cheese

I see a lot of beautiful pictures of collies, usually somewhere scenic with the dog looking very majestic and noble. I try to take pictures like that of Holly but it is like she knows I'm taking her picture and pulls a silly face on purpose. One day I might actually get one where she looks majestic and noble. For now, I have 100s of pictures where she is being silly or looks kind of derpy. I love her even if she hates having her picture taken.

Lassie

This is a conversation I typically have with people when they first meet Holly.
Person "What kind of dog is that?"
Me "She is a rough collie, like Lassie"
Person "Huh, I always thought they were bigger"
Me "Well, Lassie is always played by a boy because they are a bit bigger"
Person "Really?"

Mistaken Identity

Where we live collie are few and far between, we've seen just a handful in the almost 6 years we've had Holly. So, because she is fairly unique she gets a lot of attention on walks. Lots of people stop to say hello, ask if they can pat her, that sort of thing, but so few people actually know what kind of dog she is.

If you haven't already, take a look at The Collie Shop https://shop.spreadshirt.com.au/HollytheCollie

Birthday Party

Six years ago today Holly was born. It was a few weeks before my 21st birthday, I'd never had a pet dog before but had wanted one for longer than I could remember. 23 days after Holly was born I turned 21 and my friends and family gave me money to buy my first puppy. The fates aligned a few weeks later and we found Holly in a classified ad. Matt and I drove 2 hours to pick her up and it was love at first sight. I have loved Holly everyday since and am grateful to have her in my life. So today we celebrate her and shower her with treats, toys and love because our lives would not be the same without her.

Happy 6th birthday pup.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Hollys 6th Birthday!

Halloween

Happy Halloween Collie Lovers

A Collie's Guide to Comfort

Is it just Holly or do dogs have some weird ways of getting comfy?

Don't forget to check out The Collie Shop https://shop.spreadshirt.com.au/HollytheCollie

Who Needs an Alarm Clock?

I think Holly enjoys beating the alarm clock to waking me up. She snuffle, huffle, snorts at me until I wake up and give her butt scratches. I have often woken up to a collie nose in my face, checking to make sure I still smell the same as I did the night before.

Don't forget to jump over to The Collie Shop and have a look https://shop.spreadshirt.com.au/HollytheCollie/

Collie Song

Holly does a lot of things well, howling is not one of them. Every now and then she will hear some sirens and decide that she needs to sing to the people inside the ambulance or fire truck. Unfortunately, she can never quite get the right pitch or hold a note. It is both hilarious and embarrassing.

Don't forget to jump over to The Collie Shop and have a look https://shop.spreadshirt.com.au/HollytheCollie/

Daddy's Girl

Holly is a total Daddy's girl. I can call her and call her and promise every treat in the house and she won't budge, Matt can call her once from the other side of the house and she will come running.

Minor Movement, Major Inconvenience

Holly isn't a big fan of change. We moved her bed about 2ft and she was super annoyed with us for hours afterwards.

Security Holly

Over the weekend my brother came to stay with us from Tasmania. Even though Holly has met him many times before she still had to give him a very thorough once over when he arrived.

Site Supervisor

Whenever Matt is doing something around the house, Holly is always right there with him checking his work.

Holly's Worst Nightmare

Holly's biggest fear - lawn mowers. She hates them and barks frantically whenever she hears one close by. Even mimicking the noise of a lawn mower riles her up.

Optimal Sleeping Locations

Holly loves to be wherever we are, which usually results in her getting comfy in a spot that is entirely in the way.

Sweet Dreams

Sweet dreams are made of sheep.
I don't know what Holly dreams about, but when she is deep asleep half off her bed with her little paws going like she is running through a grassy meadow, I imagine that she is chasing sheep in dreamland.

Grooming

Brushing a collie is a never ending task.

Zoomies

I think every collie owner can relate to this one. The mad dog, full speed run around the yard for no particular reason, it goes by many names, we call it zoomies.

Hero Holly

Thankfully I have never been stuck in a well, but I'm sure if I ever do Holly will save me. Right?

Internet Star

Holly has been getting a bit of attention online lately, she is oblivious to her new found fame.

Holly's Favourite Things

Just a few of Holly's favourite things

Bath Time

Holly usually keeps herself fairly clean, but she doesn't like to be too clean.

The Round Up

My cousin has a cluster of pugs. The first time Holly met them, she spent a good deal of time moving them from one part of the yard to the other. Do your dogs round up other animals?

Thank You

I think a lot of people will be familiar with the collie burp. We like to believe that it is a compliment.
 

Boundaries

Holly is an "outside" dog that spends most of her time inside.

The Hunger

Holly always wants whatever we have in our hands, even if it isn't food!

Anatomy of a Collie