talknerdytome Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 We adopted Rusty from Dog's Trust in Ilfracombe as a companion for our 3 year old male GSD, it said on his papers that is a 'Collie Cross', but I'm just wondering if some experts can help us decide what he's crossed with? His Story He was a 'sticky' dog and had been there for 10 months, after being placed with one family for a couple of weeks. He had originally been bought as a companion for a bed-ridden lady, but as he more collie than anything else that didn't go very well! He had a lot of issues... We were told that he resource guards, had to be anaesthatised (sp?) to be groomed, would guard sick/poo, wasn't very well house-trained, didn't like guests, got aggressive touching his back end, has seperation anxiety and he didn't get on with Murphy to begin with! The first few weeks were rocky, to say the least. He HATED our house-mate, would bare his teeth and charge at him - until Murphy jumped on him! We learnt that he definitely wasn't house-trained, that did wonders for the carpet. He decided one night that he didn't want me near a plastic bag, snapped at me, bared his teeth, growled and generally terrorised me! I came down from a shower once to find the housemate glued to the back of the sofa with Rusty guarding Nick's shoes...needless to say we were at our wits end! HOWEVER! With a lot of patience and hard work we've managed to get through the majority of his aggression issues. Murphy and him get on beautifully, they play 24/7 and are such good fun. I can now groom him all over, with a brush and sometimes without treats! We had lots of guests over and now he runs up for fuss, tail wagging and brings them a tennis ball to throw! Most people don't believe us when we say he had aggression issues. He doesn't guard anything with us anymore (touch wood!) and never guarded poo or sick with us. His house-training and seperation anxiety are on-going issues which we are working on, but the two go hand in hand sometimes! Overall, things are going really well! I would encourage anyone to stick with a dog with aggression, because they can turn into such wonderful dogs! He gives me a cuddle and a kiss every morning, and bounds over to me whenever I shout 'cuddle!'. I had lots of university deadlines the other week and ended up having a little cry on the bed, and he came and nuzzled me and got his nose in my face and licked my tear, what more could you ask for? Behaviours He ADORES herding, to the point where he tries to herd cars on walks by lying down in a ready to pounce position and barking. He is obsessed with playing fetch. He rests his head on you/anything a lot. He 'backs up' up a lot, by trotting backwards and then barking if he wants you to play. Pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Welcome to the Border Collie Boards. Rusty looks like a border collie. I would note, however, that none of the behaviors you mention in and of themselves would say border collie to me. A note on the car chasing (not herding) behavior: It's a very dangerous game for Rusty to partake in. I'm sure you already know this, but you need to train him to not crouch, lunge, bark, etc., at passing cars. If he were to get off leash and indulge in such behavior it could result in the loss of his life. The one behavior that would definitively say "border collie" would be if he were actually to show aptitude for working stock. All the other stuff that folks call strong herding instinct or herding behavior (chasing cars, chasing and nipping kids, "working" balls, etc.) is not working and cannot be used to say "this dog is a border collie." J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talknerdytome Posted January 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Welcome to the Border Collie Boards. Rusty looks like a border collie. I would note, however, that none of the behaviors you mention in and of themselves would say border collie to me. A note on the car chasing (not herding) behavior: It's a very dangerous game for Rusty to partake in. I'm sure you already know this, but you need to train him to not crouch, lunge, bark, etc., at passing cars. If he were to get off leash and indulge in such behavior it could result in the loss of his life. The one behavior that would definitively say "border collie" would be if he were actually to show aptitude for working stock. All the other stuff that folks call strong herding instinct or herding behavior (chasing cars, chasing and nipping kids, "working" balls, etc.) is not working and cannot be used to say "this dog is a border collie." J. Yeah, this is something we are working on with him. We have him on a halti at the moment (yes I know the bad points about them) attached to a collar and his harness, as I am so paranoid about him getting off the lead and chasing a car. With the halti we can redirect his attention to us when we're walking him past cars, and he seems to be getting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Rusty is a lucky boy to have found an owner so willing and able to help him through his issues! Sounds like you have done, and are continuing to do, a great job with him. He looks all border collie to me, too. Very handsome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 He's quite handsome! One of the pictures almost looked like he might be mixed with a little German Shepherd to me. Just a very uneducated guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 He looks like he's built/colored almost exactly like my dog, Buddy... but my dog was also listed as a BC mix at the shelter, so that doesn't promise you much. I suspect my boy is all BC, though. MBC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Welcome aboard! I'm not much of a breed-guesser, but I will say that Rusty is mighty handsome, and lucky, too! It sounds like you've made terrific progress in only a couple months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted January 17, 2010 Report Share Posted January 17, 2010 Welcome and thank you for giving this guy a second chance and for working with him, not returning him. As a person heavily involved in animal rescue and the owner of a reactive dog, you have no idea how happy that makes me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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