Dairy Cow Painting - Black and White Princess in Pink

I had the urge to paint a cow, so went to a local dairy to take some pictures. I had never been to a large dairy farm and was intrigued by how many black and white patterns there are and how different each cow looked.  Some were prettier than others.  I thought this girl was a beauty.  I admit I felt sympathy for all of them because they cannot go outside at this farm.  So I took off her ear tags and surrounded her with pink to make her feel special.  And here she is, my "Princess in Pink".  If you would love to have her mooooove to your home to share her special beauty contact me.
This original acrylic painting on stretched canvas is 8"x10".  The sides are wrapped and painted so you can choose to frame it or hang it as is.  $130.00 - you can use PayPal or mail a check.
Prints and some nifty products are available in my online gallery at Amy Reges on Fine Art America.

Happy Birthday Brown Dog

Happy 10th Birthday to my kooky Brown Dog, Lobuff OtterTail Noble Nissa, RN RA RE CD.  Thanks for always being there for me Sweet Patootie!  This also marks the date of the first litter I bred 30 years ago.  Yikes!  Time goes fast and they were wonderful!  I stopped breeding many years ago too, but the birthday of my first litter will always be memorable.  I knew Nissa was the right puppy for me when I found out she was born on the 20th anniversary of my first litter.  I was happy that her breeder, Lisa Weiss of Lobuff Labradors, offered her to me when I asked.  It's been a great 10 years with many more to come.  Love you, Miss Nissa - The Enforcer.

Fun Goat Portrait Painting

I love painting portraits of animals - all animals.  This was my first goat.  She was a cherished pet who enjoyed getting into mischief.  She also liked to help her human in his beer making hobby and the reference photo for this painting is used as his label logo.  That made it extra fun for me to paint as a tribute to her memory (and extra special for their daughter to have commissioned as a Christmas gift).

Please visit my website for information about commissioning a pet portrait of your own at http://www.OttertailArt.com/Portraits.html

I look forward to every new animal adventure in painting, whether it's a dog, cat, horse, goat or any other being that is special to you, he or she will be special to me too!

Bon Voyage Sweet Kitty

Sad to say good-bye to Dame Helen of Hector.  ?1998 - 3 May 2017 - RIP Miss Helen.  She chose us and used us for her happily-ever-after life.  Jim and our dog, Dave, found Helen under a box on the porch of Jim's hunting camp one cold November day.  He checked with all the neighbors to see if she had wandered from home - Nope.  He asked all the locals if anyone wanted her - Nope.  So he asked me if he could bring her home.  My requisites were that she had to get along with the dogs, she had to be allowed to go outside (i.e., not harboring any contagious cat disease), and she would be HIS pet (= he should maintain the cat box).  So home she came, cleared on health and surprisingly already spayed, ok with the dogs (who she quickly learned to love) and Jim promising his role.

At first Jim wanted to name her something silly or cute, but after knowing her for a few days he agreed with me that there was nothing silly about her and an "old lady" name would fit her better.  Hence, we came up with Helen (depends on your generation if that sounds like an old lady name to you).  Immediately it was formalized to Dame Helen of Hector (we live in Hector) as she clearly thought she deserved a title and due respect.  With that, she moved in, became one of the family (with 10 Labs at the time) and made herself at home.

For 13 years she refused to sit on Jim's lap despite his pleas and that fact that she was "his".  She would sit on my lap more than I could stand.  In her old age we were finally able to convince her that Jim's lap was warm and comfortable and she spent many hours a day there until the end.

You were a good one, Dame Helen.  The honor was ours.

Training Tips from 2-year-old Labrador Dog

Happy Birthday Mooki - 2 years old today.  That means you are grown up now so there will be no more "bad dog stuff" ... right?  Haha.  I know that won't be true, but I am happy to say he has made a lot of progress over the past few months towards being a well-behaved dog.

I am a good trainer and have experience with lots of dogs.  I admit I prefer the softies and, having had a bunch of them, I have gotten away with some training short-cuts.  Mooki has a willful streak, is quite stubborn and, well, not the brightest bulb in the pack.  He has pushed me back into being a more strict trainer instead of the lazy way I slide into with the easy dogs.  We went to "1 strike and you are out" instead of 3.  It means I have had to follow through every time if he ignores me.   I am happy to see him making big strides toward listening better, especially when it comes to being rough on the other dogs.  At this point I may give him a little slack, but if  he needs to be told more than once a couple times in a day, we go right back to the 1-strike system.  The good news is that Mooki does not dislike these rules since it is very clear to him that he is in control of the consequences of his behavior.  Animals like clarity.

One of the big mistakes I realized I had slipped into was too much of telling him "don't do" this or "stop" doing that.  Frankly, I was getting annoyed with him and not thinking like a trainer.  It is much much MUCH more effective if you tell them what TO DO instead of what NOT to do.  Now that I have corrected myself Mooki has learned some good new cues.  In addition, his recall has gotten significantly better since it is a "to do" cue that gets him out of trouble (and often gets him a fun reward).  We will happily put those rough days behind us and move forward with positive energy!

Happy New Year for 2016

Happy New Year Everyone!  I borrowed this pic from Mike Dooley who I love for his Notes from the Universe.  Join the Infinite Possibilities Project if you are so interested.  Whatever you do, I wish you all a happy, healthy new year filled with love and light!

Onward and Upward!

Rally Obedience Title for young Black Labrador

Is that a look of disbelief?  You can't imagine that I waited so long to announce your first AKC title?  Let's get right to it! 

Black Labrador, Mooki, earned  his Rally Novice obedience title at the Wine Country dog show circuit in New York at the end of September 2015.  He earned 99 points out of 100 on the first two legs and the judge loudly and pointedly - and politely - told me it was all my fault and not his.  Knock me on the head a few times to remind me that rally is looking for something different than regular obedience!  I finally got my act together so he earned 100 points on the third leg to finish his title.  He got second place and third place the first two days thanks to my error.  We won first place the last day and a nice bag of treats.  Good work for a 17-month-old boy at his first all-breed dog shows, and very large ones at that.  "Overwhelmed" was the word of the weekend.  Onward and upward to more life experiences Mooki.

Dog Painting Donated to New Shelter

I painted this dog portrait of Pit Bull, Maximus, as a gift for the Humane Society of Schuyler County to commemorate the opening of their fantastic new shelter.  The old dog shelter was a sad and sorry place.  Now they have a new warm and safe building that also houses the HSSC cats and has rooms for surgeries, grooming, meeting potential adopters, educational programs and fun gatherings.  Now, finally, all of the dogs have beds.  Max was the first to get one.

Maximus is the honorary "mayor" of the HSSC shelter.  Sadly, he has been in their care for 4 years, ever since he was about 6 months old.  Max is a very sweet guy.  He takes part in local parades and other events.  He even got to "cut" the ribbon at the opening of a new wine store.  He is waiting for a special someone to adopt him - I hope they find him soon!

It was my pleasure to donate this dog painting in honor of Max.  It is 16"x20" acrylic on canvas and hangs prominently on display in the new shelter building in Montour Falls, NY.

Tree Hugger Painting

I admit I have (at least) a couple of self-imposed hang-ups when it comes to painting.  One is that I find a white canvas uninspiring and the second is that I hate to waste paint.  So after I complete a painting project I satisfy both problems by using left over paint to awaken a blank white canvas that will be used for a future project.  I may do this once or multiple times before a canvas is chosen for its "real" job.

This painting called "Tree Hugger" was born through my waste-not process.  The background colors were layered smears of leftover paint from several other projects.  I also used it to test colors as I worked on another canvas.  It lay on the side table waiting to collect more dregs when I happened to have some extra brown mixed at the end of a dog portrait.

Inspired by the wild array of colors I used the brown to paint one of my regular activities - tree hugging.  I have been practicing animal communication for over a year now and discovered that it is also fun and easy to talk to the trees.  Turns out they are very wise.  I chose one tree I pass on my daily walks with my dogs to be my regular counselor.  It's a young ash tree - no different than the hundreds of others on our property.  It isn't as big as the tree in this painting, but I hug it anyway.  Trees have great energy.  I read this article the other day that confirms what I already felt - Trees Can Heal You.  If you haven't hugged a tree lately (or ever), I highly recommend it.

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse at my painting process.  I kind of like this little ditty.  It will likely inspire a future rendition and that is always fun.  Not a bad way to use left over paint and a blank white canvas.

Visit my OtterTail Art website and Amy Reges Print Gallery to see more and shop.

Be Thankful for all of your blessings

Rest In Peace Dad.
Aug 1925 - Oct 2014

Thank you, Universe and Dad, for everything.

 

Since I have been practicing animal communication I discovered that once you tap into your ability to talk to other souls you find it is not restricted at all. It was actually the trees who first contacted me. Since then I have found them to be full of wisdom and great teachers. There is one particular tree I stop to connect with on my daily walk with the dogs. It is a young ash tree - one of hundreds, nothing particular. In addition to great advice, this tree has given me numerous images to paint. Here is the first one in what I hope will be an interesting series of Paintings from the Trees.

Titled: The Tunnel in the Trees, this original artwork is acrylic on 8"x10" canvas panel. Before I began painting the canvas was textured with shapes of leaves scattered throughout which adds another layer of dimension.  To get your daily dose of inspiration buy the original for $159.00 and go deep in to the tunnel.  Contact Amy to purchase this original paining.


Giclee prints, canvas prints, acrylic prints, and greetings cards of my Paintings from the Trees are available through Amy Reges Fine Art Gallery where you can process your order efficiently and safely online.

Feel the energy, hear the wisdom, be inspired by the trees.

 

Dog and cat paintings are in progress, as always.

New Labrador Retriever Puppy at OtterTail

I am pleased to welcome this new little boy into the OtterTail pack.  I had recently started looking for a puppy, but did not expect to get one so soon.  Fate had a different idea and this boy became available.  He is the son of my Tonto's litter sister, making Tonto a true uncle as well as an honorary one.  I had this pup's mom, Vampire, here for training when she was about 7 months old and we quickly bonded.  I love her temperament just like I love Tonto's - and her good looks too.  So, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have her son.

The sire is a handsome and popular young champion making this a match that was hard to resist.   I think he has a bright future as a stud dog, having already produced some eye-catching pups from other dams.

Like all of my puppies, this boy got started in training from the moment we arrived home.  Puppies learn so fast and are so eager - truly little blank slates waiting to be taught and shown.  You can see his first training video on my LabradorDogs channel at youtube, where I will also post more videos as training progresses.

I have not posted about this here yet, but I have been working on expanding spiritually for the past year.  This includes learning animal communication.  I contacted this pups mom, Vampire, a few weeks ago to ask about her and her puppies.  At that time this boy was destined for another home.  Vamp remembered me from when she was here and told me she wanted me to have one of her pups because she knew he would have a really good home here.  I thanked her, but figured the Universe had different plans.  Then things changed and through a quick and unexpected course of events here he is!  In keeping with my current journey and becoming a Lightworker and to add some balance to his mom and litter sister's who are all named following the "darkness" theme, I am happy to introduce:

Moonlit OtterTail Knight of the Light   aka  Mooki 

(CH Wiscoy's Jack Sparrow, JH x Moonlit's Queen of the Night).

Adopted dog leaves us after a year of peace.

It was just over a year ago that my Dad's old dog, Buddy, came to live with us.  He was blind for years, did not hear well, had serious skin issues and his arthritis was pretty bad.  Dad just could not take care of him anymore with his own health issues handicapping him.  So rather than euthanize Buddy as Dad had feared was necessary, we loaded him into the van with our 3 other dogs for the 7 hour drive upstate.  For a dog who had rarely been out of his own backyard and never liked us much he handled it pretty well.  My dogs spent the ride plastered against the walls to stay out of his snap-zone and did their best not to touch him.

Over the next few weeks Buddy adapted amazingly well and began to enjoy his close encounters with the Labradors.  He was still a cranky old man, but he began to mellow out and take an interest in his new surroundings.  We had a host of health problems to deal with which kept us busy, but even those eventually got under control and life became a new normal.  Buddy began to enjoy his daily walks and accept direction from us much more amicably.  By late summer he was melded into our pack and our lifestyle.  He began to enjoy walks off-lead (his choice - "Don't tell me what to do.  I can do it myself!"), taking himself slowly around our hillside property, gently bouncing off of obstacles without issue and smelling new smells.  His crankiness waned and he rarely snapped at anyone or the air anymore.

Winter was long and cold.  Although he enjoyed the snow and cold weather more than the heat, he was clearly aging with each passing month.  His arthritis got worse and he could no longer stand without help.  His breathing began to be congested.  Eventually he lost the fun in walking himself, sometimes falling, and preferred to stay on lead.  Buddy said "Jump" and we asked "how high?".  Finally on April 24th he lost his will to go on, collapsed and let us know he was done being a dog.  The vet suggested a number of conditions which could cause his symptoms, but we were not up for any of the tests and drugs that would only mask some issues while causing others with no hope to fix his condition.  I asked Buddy what he wanted.  He said he was ready to rest.  We kissed him good-bye and held his head as he departed.  I am surprised how much I miss this cranky old man.  He had worked so hard at his self-appointed job before he came to us and yet he managed to carry on his work and teach us lessons while he was here.  It was a good year Buddy.  We are glad you came.  Rest in Peace.

Being Happy and Sharing it - A singing black Labrador Retriever

I have not been posting much because I have been so busy learning many new things.  2014 is off to an exciting start with my OtterTail Dog Art business expanding in new and different directions. I hope it is a great new year for everyone else too!  Being busy never stops me from taking time to enjoy little pleasures and that always includes fun time with my dogs.  So here is a video of my little boy, Tonto, making his singing debut.  Have fun with your pets and remember to enjoy the moment!
Click this link to go to LabradorDogs on YouTube.  You can find some of my training videos and other fun stuff there too.
Tonto dog sings a song

Happy Holidays Dog Lovers!

Happy Holidays from our OtterTail Lab Art dog family to pet lovers near and far!

We attempted to take a family photo with me setting the camera timer and rushing in to the picture.  It was fun.

As you may guess we got a lot with dogs looking the wrong way, changing positions, me as a blur, and just crazy expressions.  This was the best one - at least we are all facing forward. (Grin!)  Helen, the cat, and Dad's cranky old dog, Buddy, (who lives with us now) opted to skip the photo session.  So this is the rest of us, here to put faces behind the names and wish you all wonderfully happy holidays filled with festivities and joy!

Best wishes for a new year full of good health and love!
Amy, Jim, Tonto, Tallulah and Nissa

OtterTail Labrador Earns His Companion Dog Title

Congratulation to Tonto!  My little boy completed the requirements for his AKC Companion Dog (CD) title in 3 straight days at the Wine Country Circuit dog shows in NY.  We were thrilled to have glorious weather all 3 days and the Sampson Park show site is always one of my favorites.

 Our classes ranged from 6 to 14 dogs and we were combined with the Novice A dogs for stays on the first 2 days.  Many dogs broke their sit and down stays, so I was proud of Tonto for taking those jobs so seriously.  He tried very hard on that part!  He is still a bit immature mentally (he turned 2 yrs old at the end of June) and he had a couple of lapses in concentration which lead to him not doing his very best heeling.  Nonetheless, he placed 2nd in the class each day.  Tonto becomes my 11th Labrador to earn a CD, all earning at least one class placement on their way to the title.

Good job, baby boy!  Tonto is now officially - Moonlit OtterTail Kemosahbee, RN CD.

Moonlit OtterTail Kemosahbee, RN at LRCP 2013

My boy, Tonto, is growing up.  Well, not "up" so much as maturing.  He is a short fellow and will be small for life.  That makes him not the best show dog since all of the boys are bigger than he is now.  I love him anyway!

This picture was taken in April at the fabulous Labrador Retriever Club of the Potomac Specialty Show.  He presented himself very well and I was pleased with that, along with some nice comments he got from breeders and spectators outside the ring (the judge did not care for him).  I will probably only show him a few more times as we are only doing it for fun and it isn't much fun if he doesn't fit in.  He will get another obedience title or two and spend the rest of his life being my little buddy.  It's funny because I particularly told his breeder I was hoping for a smaller dog than my last big boy who needed to be lifted and helped with walking at the end.  (Sweet Marius was a very big boy and I felt sad at the prospect of not being strong enough to ever help him as much as he needed.)  This munchkin is a classic example of "be careful what you wish for"!

Tonto is a lover and a gently sweetie pie.  He moves beautifully, strikes a handsome pose, and looks lovely running around in my yard.  He has an enduring smile, a wagging tail, happily greets everyone, and loves to ask for hugs.  That's the important stuff!

A New Old Dog Joins the Pack

We are happy to be able to welcome old Buddy into our home.  He was my father and step-mother's dog since he was a wee baby adopted from North Shore Animal League.  His "mom" passed away last summer and Dad could not take care of him any longer so Buddy will live out his days with us here at OtterTail Farm.  He is 11 1/2 years old and has been blind for 5 or 6 years.  He seems to have lost most or all of his hearing in one ear, so locating sounds is difficult for him and he ends up circling to find his way.  He has a few health issues we are addressing.

I was worried that such a major move and change of life style might be too much for the old boy, but he is proving to be very adaptable.  Buddy gets more comfortable with our home, yard and schedule every day and is very interested in all the new smells.  He has always been ok with my dogs though not particularly friendly and sometimes annoyed if they came too close, but he is more relaxed with them now too and has initiated a few good sniffs of his own.  The thing that wowed me the most is that after only a few days of being lead on a regular route he managed to find his way from far out in the dog yard back to the stoop and figured out the dog door all by himself!  Way to go Buddy!  We hope he finds happiness here despite missing my Dad.  We are thankful to be in a position to take care of him and offer him peace for the rest of his journey.

Tonto, black Labrador Wins Third Class and Rally Novice Title

Congratulations to my boy, Tonto, for earning his Rally Novice title at the Labrador Retriever Club of the Piedmont specialty show!  He won his class with 99 points out of 100, giving him 3 wins in 3 tries toward completing the requirements for his first obedience title.  This is pretty easy stuff, but what I like is that his foundation for future work is good and I love that he is having a good time.  It is very important to me that my dogs enjoy their work.  I love that wagging tail and happy attitude.  Perfection - at least as much of it that I ever look for in my dogs - will come with experience and maturity.  Tonto is 19 months old in this video.  He is still a distracted teenager.

Good boy Tonto!  Now Moonlit OtterTail Kemosahbee, RN.

I am available for private training lessons for you and your dog in rally, obedience and basic good-dog-behavior as well as specialized in-home training for show puppies.  Contact me for information.

Happy Birthday to my silly brown tank - Lobuff OtterTail Noble Nissa, RE, CD!  Five years old already, thanks for all the fun!  Nissa is a fine example of what a Labrador should be - inside and out.  It is a joy to share our home with this wonderful girl!