Winter pics of Oz at the park today...

[ParNone]

Was such a gorgeous shorts and t-shirt kind of day today, that Oz and I headed out to the park. I wasn't too impressed with the park and we left early, but it was nice to get outside for a few at least. Here's a few pics:







Here's some of Oz and Murph playing with a couple of their x-mas toys:





Par...

[GoldenRetrLuver]

Oh Oz, I LOVE YOU! You're such a gorgeous Collie boy. Murph's just a little cutie.

[Kfamr]

Oh Oz... you're so handsome!

I don't know why you remind me of Nala so much hehe...

You even sit like her!

[Foam]

Hey, Oz-man! You are just stunning. I swear you get more handsome every time I see you! Murph looks so soft and cuddly. Hehe, give them both hugs and kisses for me! How is agility going, Par?

[Dogz]

Oz you are just so handsome! You look so beautiful posing!!

Great pictures!

[Moose]

Ozzy man, you are just too handsome!!

[clara4457]

I am so jealous - it is still sub zero weather here. I would love to be able to go outside and romp with the kids.

Oh well - thanks for letting me taste what I have to look forward to in 3-4 loooooonnnnnnnggggg months.

[ParNone]

Thanks ya'll! Oz sends Collie Nose Nudges to ya.

Hi Clara!

I don't know how ya'll do it in subzero weather. I'm freezing when it dips below 70...

Hi Cayter!

Agility is going really well. Oz is over his teeter totter fear and he's doing the weave poles without a lure now. Still have to teach him to find the weave entry on his own and to go across the teeter without any support of the board from me, but we're very close to being able to compete. I'm thinking by Summer, we'll be ready. *fingers crossed*

Les...

[lovemyshiba]

Finally!!!
Our fix of Oz pictures!!!!!
And of course, he looks as handsome as ever!!!!!!
And Murph--what a sweetheart--it looks like they got some wonderful Christmas toys!!!!

Thanks for sharing the pictures!!!!!

[RobiLee]

I haven't seen any pics of Oz for awhile. I'm so happy to see him. He is gorgeous! I am really starting to like these smooth collies. I was just talking about it in Caytor's thread. I'm going to have to look up some info on these pups. Can you tell me what they are like?

Robin

[ramanth]

I just adore Oz's long legs. *sighs*

[K9soul]

Oh Oz, you are SO handsome! I just love your eyes! Oh! All these collie pictures are making me miss my boys so much!

He's just stunning! And your weather looks so nice! We're covered in snow!

[ParNone]

Thanks again ya'll! Murph sends terrier tail wags to everybody!

Hi Robilee!

See if I can give you the reader's digest version of the plus and minuses I've encountered. The pluses:

Easy to train if you use positive reinforcement. They are very attentive and soooooo want to please, that they'll bend over backwards trying to do what you want. Very quick about figuring out what you want too.

Absolute breeze to housebreak. I tell ya, I'd get another one on that trait alone.

Very attached, so they like to stay close. I've never had any issues with Oz taking off from me.

Gentle. Not an aggressive bone in their body. Oz loves everybody and everything.

Not very destructive. Oz has never been a big chewer, even as a puppy.

Playful. Oz really loves interactive games like fetch and catch. That's been a really neat thing about him, because my lil' Cairns never saw much point in fetch, especially Murph. This has come in handy for agility too, because I really think he sees himself as my teammate. When we're running a sequence, he's totally focused on me and does not get distracted and run off, like most of the other dogs in class.

Energetic outside, but calm inside. Oz is always up for any activity, but when you're inside watching TV, he's very good about just laying down beside you, especially now that he's more mature.

Breeze to groom and they do well in hot or cold climates.

No doggy odor and no drooling. Although they're messing drinkers.

The minuses:

Barking. That's really the biggest issue we have. Even as an adult, I'm constantly working to make sure his barking doesn't get out of hand. It's so loud, I can see where it could easily be a big annoyance to the neighbors. In reality he doesn't bark that much, but I feel like any, could be cause for concern because of the volume.

Nipping. Oz was a lil' nippy when he was a puppy, but it was pretty easy to train him not to. As an adult, he does love to put his mouth on me and Murph, but he doesn't bite down. It's what I would imagine a Golden would be like and Oz does love to retrieve things, so I dunno there's some major need to be very oral. He loves to carry toys around too.

Timid. With a gentle, sweet disposition comes timidity, I guess. I really have to make sure to make everything fun and never coddle him about anything he's afraid of. But so far, he's overcome every fear, except his new one of the vet, but we're working on it.

Shedding. It's supposedly moderate, but I don't know compared to my terriers, who are low, it seems like an awful lot to me. I've started referring to my car as the hair mobile.

Pacing. If we're not all in one room, Oz will not light anywhere. He has to be making sure everybody's okay and accounted for. So he keeps moving from one room to another. That protective, caring part, I view as a plus, but the constant movement can get a wee bit annoying. It's usually only a problem when I try to watch TV in the den, because Murph likes to hang out in the bedroom though. If we're all in one room, then he's very calm.

Well that turned out to be a lil' too long to be considered reader's digest.

Par...

[ParNone]

Hey k9soul!

Have you posted pics of your Collies? I'd love to see'em.

Par...

[ParNone]

I thought of another plus/minus. They're not big leash pullers. Very gentle, which is really good in such a big dog. However, they do like to circle and weave. Unless you make them stay in a heel position, walking in a straight line seems to be a foreign concept. And when we're out walking casual, I don't like to keep Oz in a heel, so I've gotten very good at swinging my arm, that's holding the leash, up and around as he circles behind me.

Par...