Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

I'm screaming conspiracy theory over here....I just saw the photos of this dog standing in a room that looked as if a tornado had blown through it.  Maybe I watch too many CSI shows, but this doesn't make sense to me.  Unless they locked this dog away in the room full of teddy bears unattended as they went out for an hour dinner break...how did this one dog hit counters, dozens of baskets on the floor, shelving, all while managing to hit the "expensive" bears?? "Hundreds of bears" were destroyed?? It seems to be way too much damage and mess for one dog in a matter of "minutes". 
Not too sound like a nut, but I think poor Barney the Dog is being set up to take the fall for an inside job.    :crackup:

:hug:
~"CSI" Chrissi  :crackup:

Tucker may just be a really smart dog, he might just need his energy to be channeled into something that stimulates him; like the agility.  He might turn out to be a champ with the  agility!! 

There are dogs that hate down stays, it's a command that's not in their nature. My Brinkley will sit, stay, wait, come, back up, the whole nine yards...but a down stay:forget it.  She jumps up like a jack in the box.  It's also a submissive position and Brink's the dominant dog in the pack. Maybe that's part of it for Tucker (???). 

My dogs always jump to the car.  One time Brink wouldn't go near it and in my rush I couldn't figure it out...DUH the car was running for the air conditioning and the poor thing never jumped into a running car before...running cars are what we steer clear of.  Could your car have been on this time and he's not use to that??

Good Luck with it all!!

:hug:
~Chrissi

Oh my gosh, I just saw this story on my local 11:00pm news!!  They made it sound like it was several bears that got taken down by little Barney the Dog.  Who thought up having dogs guard stuffed critters??  Weren't the armed guards enough...??  :doh:

I'm wondering if the dog sensed something....not that Elvis would have hid his stash in the teddy...BUT dogs that go nuts like that are usually smelling something they've been trained to seek and destroy..hmmmmm

:hug:
~Chrissi

Brenda,
It can't hurt to look into it!  Nice towns to walk around are Doyelstown, New Hope, Lambertville.  You could hit each of those in one day easily, they're all within 10-20 minutes of each other. Each has it's own historic sites, restaurants, and shopping.  Antiques are big in Lambertville. Doyelstown has the tile works, fonthill, and Mercer Museum for tours.  New Hope is just across the Delaware River from Lambertville (via walking bridge). It's a cool place...it's very eclectic. You'll find everything from high end antiques to a used record shop frequented by new age high school hippies  . Look into it online and let me know if I can help you out in anyway.  (If you like Outlet shopping Flemmington NJ is not far from the New Hope area)

:hug:
~Chrissi

That's SO much fun!!  We did a little bit with Meadow in her last round of doggie classes, just a little bit to get a taste of what the agility classes could offer.  We're going to do it in the fall (no heat!).  Great suggestion from the vet and you guys will have a blast!  The dogs look so pleased with themselves doing all of the challenges   

:hug:
~Chrissi

Daphne-I have no idea how to make the little circles  :crackup: I did a cut and paste from the weather channel! 

Brenda- Bucks county is only a little over an hour from Lancaster, hour and a half if traffics bad.  When we were kids my parents loaded us in the car all year round for "day trips" to Lancaster.  The fall is a great time to visit PA. Bucks county is nice because most of the historic value is still here and original.  I'm about 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia, again tons of history (Sue Ann's photos showed a lot of that). And if it's later September and if the weather cooperates the "leaves changing" is so pretty. It's my favorite time of year!!  NO HEAT 

Dilu- The grids going out is the worst thing possible!!  My brother in law was caught up in that a few years back....people were sleeping on the sidewalks out side of their buildings for relief.(if you can imagine that was relief from stifling hot buildings). He was stuck in the city because of transit being out and wound up staying with a coworker.  Stocking up on water is smart!!

:hug:
~Chrissi

Current Conditions in my area:96° F / Feels like: 110° F.  We're expected to get a high of 102 F.

It's a technical heat wave in my area...it's disgusting.  It sucks the air right from your lungs.  I just got back from a home improvement store and simply walking on the blacktop paving for 2 minutes was dreadful. 
STAY COOL AND DRINK LOTS OF WATER FOLKS!!!
:hug:
~Chrissi

Eileen,
This sounds like Brinkley too. (ES is a "cousin" to the aussie and border).  They're bred to be protective, alert and on "stand" in situations like a street corner...it's a big unorganized cattle round up to them if you think about it. So your approach was perfect to get him to see that you don't need him to be on patrol in that situation, that you have it covered and he needs to sit.  They're very much out to please us in the end.

Daphne,
The touch method is a good one.  It's very calming to any dog, esp those with confidence issues.  The idea is that the calming touch stimulates them in the right way to relax and then learn.  Another training/relating method that I adore is by Ian Dunbar.  No flashy stuff, nothing to do with power and dominance, it's all calm and very nurturing.
Just one other thought.  Did he or your other dog maybe do something that you haven't found yet...could he be guilty about something?  Some people will try to tell yah that dogs forget about something after its done...not any I've ever had.  They sulk if they know it was a doozy, esp if it's not yet discovered and they can still sense or smell it.
Let us know how it goes with the vet!

:hug:
~Chrissi

Daphne,
Not to sound nuts, but has your routine changed in anyway recently?  Maybe he's picking up on something.  My "smart dog" can be a bundle of nerves if things change around the house.  I call her too smart because most would call her a crazy nut dog.  She's high energy and athletic, very observant, and very sensitive. She's a "velcro dog"(my shadow) and doesn't like it when I leave the house, she has separation anxiety...seriously dogs can get this....she wasn't happy in crates, so we created a dog room so she wouldn't get creative and find things to do while awaiting my return. (They have 2 flannel sheeted twin mattresses, toys, and a stereo that plays smooth jazz. It's a doggie spa for God's sake!! And it works.) She's a working dog in a suburban home, not her fault...I'm the one who brought a farm dog into a plain jane house with no sheep to herd!!  :crackup: So in my book she's smart...my husband calls her nuts 
blphhhhhh to him!

Back to your boy... has your routine changed? Are you gone more, home more, could the dog walker have used a stronger tone with the sit stay where it may have seemed like he did something wrong and is now associating with the commands (???)  Is he currently on any meds that may need adjusting?
Just ideas and things a trainer brought up with my Brinkley.  Pretty much they can do any test on a dog that they do on us, I guess the question is what are they looking for??  I'd take him to the vet just to check him out.  Is he having any issues with anything visually...is he able to catch a ball, and move around normally, is he off balance, are his ears clear?? (our one dog got vertigo once with an ear infection....that was not fun)

As I'm typing I thought of this....the last time he did a sit stay or down was it for something normal? or could it have been for something unpleasant like the vet, a pill, a bath, the groomer......??? Was he groomed recently where they might have put pressure on his neck or used a command incorrectly??? I've heard horror stories about groomers, vets, kennels, etc so I thought I'd mention.

Just ideas. 

I'd just sit next to him on the floor, gently pet him in long gentle strokes and say the words of the command and treat him. Praise him with "good boy" words, love him calmly and gently, no high energy stuff right off.  Don't make him do the command, just say the word and give a treat .... if he's happy and taking the treats after a few times slowly kneel up next to him and do the same...gradually move into a stand and do the same and see if he'll move into the command.  Make it a really really good treat like a hotdog or something so special he won't want to back away or move. It's like baby stepping him back into the positivity of the command.  You might not ever know what happened to spook him, but you want to get him back to being a happy pooch with the commands.

Good Luck!!  It stinks that they can't just tell us what's the matter

:hug:
~Chrissi

Joan and anyone else who may have had this happen.....
If your auction was ended by a scam does ebay offer you any assistance in relisting again without the fees??  Or do you get nailed for those listing fees again?

:hug:
~Chrissi

Don't forget the peeps....we'd love to see a photo or two  :photo: 

:hug:
~Chrissi

I should re-phrase as "too smart for her own good". She's a little too aware of everything, sometimes to the point of getting nervous or bossy. 
As a puppy this dog locked us out of the house, it was totally intentional.  We were out back with the dogs, playtime was over and we brought her in first. She's at the glass slider whimpering. I tell her we're all coming in and we'll play later.  This puppy does a perfectly calm sit, looks at us, lifts up her paw, and with authority slams her paw down on the sliders lock. Right in front of us!  She proceeds to sit and glare as if to say "fine, I can't come out..you can't come in". This was fun because the only way into the house was a 2nd floor window and a ladder.  She just sat still and watched the whole thing.

I love the cat in the gift bag...too cute.  My mom has a big guy who loves to sleep in suitcases.

Scrappy looks so stately on his wing chair with book in hand!!  What a good boy!!

I've said before that my dogs are inspiration for some of my bears...and I can see a few others here that may be inspired by their pooches and pets too!  It's very cool :)

:hug:
~Chrissi

I love all of these pictures!!   

Sonya,
Tilly looks like such a sweet girly! Don't yah just love the cute things kids come up with??!

Daphne - I love Wheaten's.  They remind me so much of my first dog as a kid, she was the smartest dog and so good with kids..she got a summer cut each year too.  God, what we did to that poor dog with bows, ribbons, barrettes, rollers....

:hug:
~Chrissi

Ok!  Here's my "zoo".  Yes, we're nuts and we're out numbered...but they're all total loves.  They all get along and I couldn't imagine not having them all.  BUT we are at our limit and I'm banned from Petfinder.com  :crackup:

Doggies:

Shelby, my good old girl. My first dog as a grown up, my buddy.

This is Leo.  Beagle Bassett we rescued about 4 years ago. Total daddy's boy. 

This is Brinkley.  She's an English Shepherd, very high energy..she'd be an amazing farm dog or agility dog.  She's too smart and is the self made Boss of Everything.

This is Meadow, year old Shiloh Shepherd.  We did not intend to have another dog, but someone in the family got ill and could not take care of her so we took her in at around 5 months.  She's a big luv. 

Bring on the Cats....

Frasier, thinks he's a dog.

Smores, shelter cat at 6 years old.  She was a matted mess, but I could see the gorgeous girlie underneath it all.  She's a the sweetest, cleanest, most social cat I've ever known...can't imagine why they dumped her.

Chai, found in a dumpster at around 6 weeks. "Coolest" cat in the world, or so he thinks :)

That's our zoo 
:hug:
~Chrissi

Hi all,
Just looking for some opinions....I searched the topic and couldn't find anything previously discussed on this one.  In another discussion group private auctions were brought up. It was thought that keeping the user ID private was the best way to go.  The idea behind it was that other artists like to bid , but don't want to be known as bidders or hurt feelings in the bear artist community. At least that was the idea on this forum. I'm not sure that's the reason for all private auctions so I'm asking:  Which do you prefer?  Why do you go private if you do? Have you noticed its impact positively or negatively in your auction sales?

I personally like checking out past/ended auctions in feedback areas and private auctions lock out the item number all together. When it's glowing feedback I'm always bummed that I can't check out the "superb, spectacular, A++++" creation. Nosey...yes 

~Chrissi

I'm just cracking up that the cynic of the internet used THE INTERNET to get his/her point across. :doh:  :crackup:  Wonder if he/she ran an editorial in local papers, printed flyers, held community focus groups....or just whipped up a quick and easy domain name and used the internet "sh*t" bucket alone to make the point??  :crackup:   :doh:  Oh, too funny.

I do get bummed if local shops don't have websites, even if just to say what hours are, what's going on, etc.  I don't need full inventories online and shopping capabilities....but I do think that the basic "store front" hello on the web is a good thing to take advantage of. 
One local shop I adore does postcard mailings for big events, artist days, holiday open houses, etc.  I would think that doing via email would save time, money, and allow for customers to "forward" onto new consumers.  Can't forward a postcard to 12 girlfriends.

Dilu, I'm one that was looking for your site this month so I think it's a good tool to take advantage of. Go for it, there are so many good things happening right now with TT, the face book, etc...a web site could be so beneficial to you   :hug:

~Chrissi

Paula never ever ever take what a mortgage loan officer says to heart, many are rejected used car salesmen.  :twisted:  :crackup:  And how funny that my posting above where I mentioned my former "socially acceptable and upstanding " position....it was in mortgages   SO I know those guys
"tell yah what hon, I'm as close to a "house person" as you are to prime minister so how 'bout you rescan that list for my title"   

Your bears "seriously" rock Paula, so take it seriously!!!

~Chrissi 

I just had a similar thing happen.  I needed to get to the eye doctor for new glasses; my prescription is too old and my contacts get to dry during late night studio time.  So I go to the eye doctor and I let them know that I'm no longer at a desk job, and I have recently focused all of my attention to my arts. "Oh, what do you do" is asked, probably expecting painting, sculpting, photography, or basket weaving.  When I said I create one of a kind artist teddy bears, the facial expressions and heads tilt in a near pity fashion to say, oh cute like beanie babies, you do that all day.  Like my professional life has gone from socially acceptable and upstanding to teetering just above sidewalk minstrel with a smooshed change hat.
Knowing that simply telling an eye doctor that I'm doing small detailed handwork wouldn't do it alone and wanting my prescription to fully benefit my work I went in armed with one of my mini's. That helped them get it. (I'm just having photos and business cards made now)  A brief 1 minute explanation of the market as they held my little bear dude and they were actually very impressed.  I dont' take offense at all, I look at it as recruiting possible new customers    Getting them interested just enough so they want to go look at ebay and an artist website. 

Plus you get to do what you love,  how many of your friends get to say that without going Pinocchio right in front of you??  :crackup:

~Chrissi

Hi Aleta!

I always check in with www.allrecipes.com and www.foodtv.com for recipe ideas.  I just did a quick search on both sites and they've got some good ones. Even if some call for alcohol you could omit or substitute sparkling instead.  (The Sunrise Punch @ FoodTV looks pretty good to me!) I like that they freeze the fruit to keep it cold, it won't water down the punch. And you can buy bags of frozen pineapple..no need to cut one up

1 quart fresh orange juice
32 ounces canned or fresh pineapple juice
2 cups coconut milk
1 liter seltzer water
1 pineapple, peeled cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1 pint of strawberries, hulled and  frozen
1 orange sliced thin
4 cups light rum, optional

To a large punch bowl, add orange juice, pineapple juice, coconut milk and seltzer. Mix well. Place frozen pineapple chunks and strawberries in the punch to keep it cold. Float the orange slices on top of the punch for garnish. If desired, add rum.

:clap: CONGRATULATIONS!!  :clap:   
She is a lovely bear, just gorgeous!!
I wasn't on TT for the Boo Peeps.....are there photos you could share??? 

:hug:
~Chrissi

Oh, no I see just the opposite.  Maybe because I'm new at this whole thing, but I see the cynicism is lifting around us.  People are desperate for more hand crafted, back to basics "organic" and quality goods.  I think my generation is sick to death of the homogenized, quick and chaotic, mocha grande world around us. Small quaint shops are booming, small cafe's are packed, small town appeal is skyrocketing.

Nearly all industries today have the internet to compete with.  One family memeber of mine is in newspapers, one in mortgages...the internet could easliy kill these local industries if not for forward thinking on how to target thier market and buyers.

I might be totally missing something, but what I'm seeing via internet and magazines is that the shows have always targeted the same markets, the same towns, the same people.  I really think that there are untapped buyers/collectors that the promoters aren't hitting, and just the same untapped artists. Any industry will burn out if there is no new growth, that's a basic. I would suggest the promoters look ahead and either plan for new and exciting growth or just continue tugging the tapped out market of a familiar town.

~Chrissi

Hi Chloe!
I've been checking out your bears...like your styling, love the colors and the names are really cute.

The cd player on my studio stereo broke a year ago and I've been to lazy to get a new one!  Music I'll listen to if I steal my husbands portable cd player....I like soundtracks, just because they give a lot of different artists.  I'm wearing out the Garden State soundtrack right now.
Mostly I play movies. I have a tv in my studio that doesn't get cable, just plays dvd's and gets one local channel with old "rabbit ears antenna".  I have huge collection of movies that I'll pop in.  I don't have to watch them, I've got most of them in memory at this point. They just give me a 2-3 hour window of humor.  Collection ranges from The Graduate to The Goonies.  I add to the collection about once a month.
Little known fact...most of my bears are named from my movies.  Whatever's playing while I'm making the face...I pick a name from the movie.

~Chrissi 

Beautiful Bear!!
With his coloring and sweater he reminds me of warm dulce de leche. (Definition:   a Latin-American concoction of caramel and sweet cream, as a spread or flavoring for something like ice cream)

dulce alone means:  \Dulce\, v. t. To make sweet; to soothe

~Chrissi

Wow, this is fantastic! I don't think there could be a better time to be a bear artists...this is awesome!

~Chrissi

Oh my Lord...why does it not surprise me??!!  They're all the same (sorry boys, we go on loving you, but its true).  If the do to/ how to isn't stapled to their remote control operating hand they are bound to mess it up.  I told my husband I'm going to have his forehead tattooed with "I forgot" just so he doesn't have to waste time and air saying it and I will never ever have to physically hear those words again  :doh:  :crackup:  :doh: 

We have a pretty good sense of humor, my husband and I, even when really mad...I would have just thanked him for clearing out where I'm going to hide the shrub beaten body. :crackup:    :crackup:
~Chrissi