#nefja

Ok, I MIGHT be a little biased because I got Saga because icies are the next best thing to a border collie, but here it goes:

Border collies:

Lots of different types to choose from so if one isn't a great fit, another might be

Easily trainable, highly biddable

Structurally, a well built one is suited well to sports

Lots of breeders

Breed Drama, so much breed drama

Can be sensitive to change

Tend to be pretty heat tolerant and cold hardy outside of extremes

Icies:

Barking, IMO they are made out to be bigger barkers than they actually are, BUT Saga still is the most vocal of my dogs

Smaller than borders, with a few large outliers

So Much Coat, but not a lot of maintenance needed

Not as heat tolerant which I expect will put a pause on some of our outdoor activities in the summer here

Take everything in stride with a smile on their face, really just happy little do anything dogs

Not as well built for sports, Saga lacks both the spine flexibility and the angulation that the border collies have and isn't going to be the fastest dog doing anything

Extra toes means extra nails to trim on nail day

You're right lol. I think in order to get a visa here you have to be able to correctly identify at least 5 edible and 5 poisonous mushrooms.

The most dangerous puffball lookalikes would be young death caps or similar looking amanitas (like the fly agaric in the bottom right picture) but they're also not trying very hard to trick you.

If you slice a death cap in half it looks like there's a little mushroom inside - that means it's in its egg stage. Giant puffballs should be pure white inside without any layers or secret tiny mushrooms.

There's a variety of edible puffballs but I think in your case you were talking about the giant puffball and that one's so big and unique it's hard to miss, even when it's just a little white ball. It just needs to be completely white inside with absolutely no gills, spores or teeth under the non-existent cap. Literally looks like mozzarella cheese.

tumblr is literally the worst i JUST got this ask lollll

so i think a decent amount of the "omg insane!!!" mudi rhetoric is just gatekeeping. like, they're definitely quirky and weird and unique, but most of them aren't a pocket-sized malinois like some people would have you believe. but this also depends on lines, there are definitely some lines that are higher drive, higher intensity so it kinda just comes down to finding the right breeder for what you want in your dog.

i will say that they're a breed where you have to be very intentional and careful with their socialization - they aren't always naturally well-adjusted so you kinda have to make that a priority for them during puppyhood.

and then also some of them are really, really barky. like, i have a friend who says her 3 mudis will start barking and yelling if someone in the house gets up from a chair. i simply could NOT live with that. but this may be a training thing too, idk. i was very careful from an early age to always reward Lichen for being quiet or using her voice at a low volume rather than a full bark. and she is very quiet, when she does use her voice it's usually a legitimate alert and not something dumb like the wind blowing. she uses her brain before she uses her voice which i really love. but yeah, some mudi will just blindly bark at whatever they want.

28.08.-04.09.2022

We were on a tenting vacation in the Harz (middle Germany national park with a lot of low mountains and forest) with @nefja .

It was a lot of fun, lots of hiking in a beautiful but slowly dying landscape.

Even though the days were really nice to hike (temperature around 20°C and often slightly cloudy) the nights (and therefore the evenings and mornings) gut pretty chilly (8°C). So we went to bed in our tents in the early evening. It was comfy in the sleeping bags and really quiet until the end of our vacation. Then some loud groups were settling around us. But we were exhausted from the days so still falling asleep pretty easily.

ok i need u 2 know that i would give absolutely anything to go into the woods with nefja. she is so perfect, a fae. i trust her to lead me to a beautiful mossy sanctuary

I don’t like putting on collars...or harnesses, or bandanas, or...stuff in general, except weight! Because that means I got treats and no - there’s no such thing as “too many treats”...pff...who came up with that nonsense? Anyway, if I’m forced to wear a collar, it better be a fancy one I can prance around with and show off!