First post!

I suppose some introductions are in order.

Hi! I'm Ellie. If my dogs and I look familiar, you might recognize us from our old blog, Cedes of Change. After blogging over there for a few years, I felt like I needed a change (no pun intended, LOL). I am in a completely different place...literally and figuratively... in my life than when I started that blog, and it had become a space with a lot of bad memories for me. So I just kind of let blogging slide for the summer and focused on other things. Several months later, I found I really did miss blogging... so here I am! In the spirit of shedding old baggage to make way for new adventures, I bring you The Prairie Wolf Files. 

This blog will mostly be about my three awesome dogs, whom I will introduce shortly. But I also hope to talk about my experiences as a dog trainer, provide more product reviews, share some awesome recipes with you, and, well, anything else that I find interesting. After all, it's my blog, right? :P I'm a huge nerd and have a major love for Stephen King novels, the TV shows X-Files and Supernatural, and Richard Ansdell paintings. I like to take pictures, mostly of horses and dogs. I have eclectic tastes and as such, if you prefer blogs with a very narrow focus, this one probably won't be for you.

"But Ellie," I'm sure you're asking right about now. "What's a prairie wolf?" Okay, maybe you're not asking that. But I'm going to tell you anyway. A common (sometimes joking, sometimes derogatory) term for working-line Border Collies with, ahem, less coat/bone/substance than their rough-coated fluffball brethren is "Coyote Collie." I've always joked that Ember, in particular, looks like a coyote due to her rangy build, prick ears, and intense expression. When doing some research into the history of the Border Collie, I found a reference to "prairie wolves," which is another word for coyote. I loved the term, and it stuck with me, becoming a nickname for my dogs. :). It was only natural that this blog would be named after them. 

I suppose you'd like to know a little bit about the PW's themselves: 

Cedar

Cedar (aka Cedezz, Cede-Beats, Beats, Cerder) is my heart and soul. She is a 6 1/2 year old Border Collie and is an amazing dog. She is quirky and unstable and loves agility with every fiber of her being. She likes to cuddle and hates thunderstorms. She has (sometimes by necessity, lol) taught me more about dogs and dog training than any dog I've had before or since. She's the original Prairie Wolf (OPW), although she's technically more of a Barbie Collie ;).

Ember

Ember (aka Emz, The Cracken, Purpur, PW 2.0) is my sun and stars. She will be two next month, and is my constant companion, running partner, and snuggle buddy. She is in training to be my next competition dog, and has developed quite the attitude in agility, barking and squealing her way through the course and letting me know when I've done something wrong. Her #1 love, though, is disc dog/frisbee. I would love to compete with her in that event someday. I've never seen a dog that can jump so high. She is a lot of fun and is pretty cute, too. 

Scully

Scully (aka Scullbones, Wannabe PW) is a seven year-old Boston Terrier and is much more my husband's dog than a prairie wolf. Her favorite things include snuggling in giant piles of blankets and playing chuck-it. There really is no in between. She is a really cool dog, and my inner Paris Hilton enjoys having a dog small and short-haired enough to dress up in cute sweaters. 

Well, as usual, it looks like I've written a novel. If you've stuck with me this far... thank you! I hope you'll give this new blog a chance. I think it'll be a lot of fun. 

Feel free to check out the pages in the tabs below my banner to learn more about me, my dogs, my photography, the product reviews I've done, and how to contact me. Have a cool dog-related item that you're looking to have tested or a product/business that you want to get more exposure? The prairie wolves and I would love to help you out!