Crawford Dogs

Yes! I have had to explain this to many clients at my vet clinic. Thanks Mark! Bethany

I've probably owned the entire gamut (except show bred of course). My Motion (FHF Locomotion) was bred for flyball, hyperactive, and was literally called psychotic by a veterinary behaviorist. I don't have her any longer as she became extremely dog and human aggressive. Rose was found at a shelter. She's CCD, engages in copraphagy, almost completely white, almost completely blind from an autoimmune disease, and has extensive spinal problems. Rose is sweet but loonier than you can imagine. I enjoy her quite a bit but I can't imagine why anyone produced her litter. I think her breeder must have been nuttier than Rose is. But I can't imagine her any other way. Loki was gotten from a friend's litter and is out of working parents. He is great in just about any situation from nursing homes to dealing with small children. Overall I'm quite happy with him and enjoy having him around every day. He can do just about anything I can learn to teach him. Based on my personal experiences I'd say that sports bred are great if you don't want your dog to be part of your life (aka live outside/barn when not working). They are simply wired to be too wired and crazy for a normal home. Farm/backyard bred dogs may be great pets but aren't the outcome of thoughtful breeding. Dogs from working parents tend to be a bit more friendly to my way of life and can work as well. Of course, even within working bred there is a very wide range of temperaments and health issues depending on the line and breeder. Sports bred are typically bred for extreme drive and speed instead of the overall dog. Farm bred/backyard bred typically has no selective process except perhaps looks? Most working bred are bred for working ability, health, and temperament because all three are needed to have an overall successful dog. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

You might want to see a specialist for more information. Good luck!

Wow. Run, don't walk from that training facility. There is absolutely no way that was appropriate or acceptable behavior on the part of the "trainer." BTW, Liz P Sage is beautiful! As are the puppies. Bethany

All males go through this faze, or at least mine did. Loki thought he had to pee on everything. One day he even looked me in the eye and then peed on agility equipment in the house. He got yelled at, tossed outside, and then had to wear a belly band the rest of the day. He tried it twice more that day, each time looking at me as if to ask, "is it this part or this part or this part you don't like?" Stubborn cuss got the point and now doesn't dare pee indoors, not even at the vet clinic I work at (trust me, a vet clinic is a giant potty to most dogs). Loki still struggles at nosework in grass areas. He just gets a gentle ahh, and redirect back to his task. When he's done working though he happily hikes his leg on nearby bushes(outside the search area) with a mental sigh. Just as pottying while working stock is inappropriate (unless you've been working a really, really long while and are desperate) so is pottying on an agility field or search area. Your pup will learn to differentiate with your help. Really, dogs pee on people's tents? Isn't the owner humiliated and offering to pay for a new tent? Bethany, Rose (leukopenic blind wonder dog), and Loki

I think the varied diet argument is simply an opinion unless I'm missing some new study. If there is a new scientific study results out please send me the info as I'd love to read it. All the animal nutrition classes I've taken, continuing education to maintain my credentials, etc. all teach that varied diets are not the best idea in dogs/cats. I've raised 4 plus dogs and kept them on the same diet their entire lives. The only GI upset I've seen in the past 5 yrs was once when I gave the dogs some contaminated TOTW dog food samples (recalled) as a treat. Sadly I figured a free sample might just be the way to stretch my meager training treat budge a bit farther.

Have you spoken to your vet about his diet? Along with testing they may recommend some dietary changes. I see you rotate between 8 different diets. Even if you switch diets slowly over 7 days constantly rotating between diets can cause GI problems. Also dogs with GI issues tend to do best on a lamb and rice dog food as it's easier on their GI tract. Hopefully you are able to visit your vet on Monday and he improves quickly! Good luck. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

Gloria, you make me smile. Love your interesting take on life.

Whether someone likes smooth vs rough coat is personal preference and I tend to ignore the strange things people tend to assume about dog breeds. For example, Rose is "clearly" a setter as she's mostly white (nope, just a badly bred shelter BC) and Loki is an "aussie/poodle" as he has good bone, is curly, and is red. As for me, I personally prefer rough coats because they happily sleep in snowbanks during Iowa winters instead of shivering while wearing booties and coats (yes, I know several BC's that wear booties and coats). Also a lot of puppy mills in my area turn out large quantities of smoothies so I tend to associate smoothies with poor breeding practices (yes, I know there are many good smooth BC breeders). One day I may have a smoothie but she probably won't come from puppy mill infested Iowa (we're 2nd in the nation- Hooray!?) and I hope her breeder is someone with integrity that I can learn from. Bethany, Rose (The Blind Blonde), and Loki (Aspiring Sheepdog)

I use lupine collars as they are guaranteed for the life of the dog so I only have to buy a collar once. However I can't speak to the strength of the collars as I don't use them as tie-outs or for leashes. My collars are only used to hold a Boomerang dog tag. If my dogs are on a leash they are wearing a non-restrictive, roman-style harness made by Lupine. My older gal Rose came to me with spinal issues so I'm pretty careful. If my dogs are waiting for their turn at herding lessons (yup, I'm a townie and newby sigh. . . ) or another training activity they are chilling in a kennel or the car. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

Captain Jack your dog is very similar to Rose in that if we're in a new area or situation she leans against me and walks touching me. She also does the same thing to Loki. Loki helps Rose down/up stairs by waiting patiently for her and then going down slowly while she touches him. He also runs slower on trails so Rose can pace him and comes back to her whenever he notices she's anxious. It's kind of cute to see although a bit sad. Rose is still recovering from her latest accident. She ran down the hallway after Loki and I heard "screaming." I found Rose injured in the hall on three legs making a terrible racket. I'm guessing she ran into something and injured her carpus. She's sticking to me like glue while she regains her confidence. My main issue I've noticed with Rose is that now she tends to wander off after interesting smells in the woods and becomes separated from the group. She now wears a medical tag on her harness in case she is found by someone else before we reconnect. I also keep a closer eye on her but she often seems to be in her own world sometimes. I'm in the process of buying a house in Des Moines. It won't be fenced until next summer so the dogs will have to be supervised at all times when outside. In Rose's case she might find herself tied on a line despite my dislike of tethering. Also the home has an open floor plan with steps going down to an unfinished basement. There is no door at the top of the steps so I will have to install a safety gate before moving in so Rose doesn't end up at the bottom of the stairs in a crying heap. It'll be a big change for all of us but I think Rose will adjust fine as long as I keep calm and positive.

Rose is my first vision-impaired dog and she can't even seem to do that right. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease (Early IMR with a differential diagnosis of SARDs) about 19 months ago. I followed the opthamologist's treatment plan until March when I pulled her off her immunosuppressive drugs due to repeated UTI's. Her vision continued to deteriorate on meds and has continued worsening since going off them. IAs is normal for this disease she has weeks where she doesn't have many collisions and will catch the occasional toys. Then she has weeks where she runs into everything and all toys bounce off her head (which freaks her out of course). Supposedly she will one day go completely blind. So, how blind is blind? How do you know how much your dog can see and when she's totally blind? Some people say Rose can see because she'll watch sheep intently but I've seen her watching empty pens intently as well. And she can obviously hear the sheep and can smell the sheep. . So does she see the sheep or does she just realize they are present? In the woods Rose continues to hunt rodents (she cocks her head, sniffs, and pounces) but doesn't notice the frozen rabbit right in front of her unless it makes a noise or Loki chases it. Has anyone had to make this determination before? I know I could take her in to an opthamologist however it costs $150 for the exam plus extra for any extra tests they might run. At this point I simply want to maintain her overall health and her regular veterinarians have no problem with this conservative treatment approach. So, it's just my curiosity making me ask, how blind is blind? Bethany, Rose, and Loki

Rose is over her sulks. Now she's trying to hog the sofa. I'm glad we're not alone in the world of weird. Typically I only see this with obese small breed dogs. Perhaps Rose is little in her own mind?

Rose isn't speaking to me. She has been shunning me for 2 days. Two days ago I violated her. Yes, I emptied her anal glands. Rose is my 7 yr old autoimmune disease gal with very little vision, IVDD, poor musculature, and pica. After 7 "violation-free" years I began "torturing" Rose in March when she began having impacted anal glands. I "arrogantly" claim that it's either empty them manually or deal with abcessed anal glands down the road. The vets think that her issue is probably a combination of allergies/autoimmune disease and poor musculature. And being a vet tech I won't waste money by paying someone else to do the dirty deed (aka anal gland expression). So, does anyone else have a Border Collie with anal gland issues or is my white dog even weirder than previously thought? https://flic.kr/p/nZatNK Bethany

I think you're looking for the ultimate in a breeder and I'm sure it's out there somewhere. I'm looking for something pretty similar only without the health guarantee. I do expect a breeder to be honest in what's in the line however most genetic defects are polygenic so all the paper in the world won't really guarantee a healthy pup. My youngest Loki came with a health guarantee in the form of a handshake. I was told that if his hips or eyes had issues I could either get money back or a new puppy down the line AND I could keep my puppy if I wished. I was also told that she would buy back Loki at any age if for some reason I didn't want him. Loki's 4 yrs old now and I can't imagine a day without him. IMO He passed all his health screens (hips, elbows, eyes) and has a nice temperament. Bethany

Might end up gold? Loki had a blue eye and a gold eye at 8 wks. At 4 yrs of age he has one brown eye and 1 gold/green eye that changes color in different lights. The green/gold eye also has blue rims. Sometimes pups surprise you with their beautiful and interesting eyes. Bethany

Out of the 3 BC's I've had to date two of them pointed. One of them was from flyball lines (gag) with no working ability and the other has great working ability if you could get her to stop trying to eat the sheep (she's blind and a couch potato now). My only BC that doesn't point is my Loki from working parents. Loki stalks and does "the creep." I've been told that "way back when" herding dogs had been bred into Border Collies so some lines tend to point. Whether that's true or not I cannot say. But congrats on your cute puppy! Bethany

As a vet tech working at a low cost spay/neuter clinic for 2 yrs now I'd have to completely agree with Liz P's post earlier in the thread. You truly do get what you pay for when it comes to medical care. Imagine 1 tech helping 2 vets doing surgery at the same time in separate rooms while helping a third vet in an exam room. That's how it is every day at my job. So yes, spay/neuter clinics typically have very low quality of care. For my pups, they go to a full-service clinic for their surgeries even though I can get them at practically no cost through work. Yes, you really do get what you pay for. . . And yes, I do believe I work for good vets. However they are vets whose standard of care is dictated by the practice owner and what the client wants. You can have it cheap or good but not both.

Wow, thanks for all the great updates. I look forward to learning more.

I agree with everyone else, use what works for your dog. What someone says is "best" may not work well for you. For example, a friend used to feed Purina dog chow but was talked into how wonderful Nutro was. So despite her very low income she bought a bag. For 3 months straight her dog Karma would have severe diarrhea/vomiting/anorexia and end up going to the vet. She'd be put on i/d (prescription food) and then switched back to old food slowly. She would immediately become ill again. However Karma stayed at my house quite frequently and she would eat my dog's Purina Proplan Lamb and Rice. But her owner insisted she eat the Nutro. Well, about 3 months into this drama she finally told the vet that she would eat my dog's food without vomiting/diarrhea or return to anorexia. The vet told her to switch to my dog's formula. Well after 2 more months of trying to reintroduce her dog to Nutro she finally complied with the vet. Karma's illness was cured. . . So, although Nutro may be the best food ever according to someone it certainly didn't agree with Karma. Do what works for your dog. Bethany

Liz, could you give us a link to the Purina page you're speaking of? Purina has several extensive websites so I'm not sure where to look for the information. Thanks! Bethany

I don't know if this helps but my Border Collie Rose is mostly blind (retinal degeneration, believed to be autoimmune by opthamologist, can see only on brightly lit days, cannot see things within 10 ft of her at all). She went blind between 5-6 1/2 yrs of age and is now 7 yrs. She spends most of her days stalking and using eye on Loki (my other border collie). Although she cannot see she can hear Loki and still stalks him. She also will lie outside the stockpens and eye the stock (as much as she can see). I don't think her eye or stalking behaviors depend on her vision at all. But, that's just her. Bethany

I take lessons with James in Williams fairly reguarly now as I can't afford to drive to my dog's breeder for lessons reguarly (she lives south of Iowa City). James is really good at teaching the basics and is really patient while he beats the basic concepts into your head. He might be a great place to start. It'd be great to see more Border Collie people at his lessons. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

That's a really hard question. For me, the most important thing a dog comes with is a solid temperament. The most imprortant thing I build with them is a relationship built on mutual trust and respect. The most important thing I think I teach them is a solid recall. My dogs hike reguarly in the woods and from a young age I expect them to recall to my feet, down, and wait while bicycles/bikers/horses pass us on the trail. Sometimes vehicles show up where they aren't expected or a really irritating squirrel appears. A dog that doesn't have a solid recall (over 95% reliability and fast response) either ends up roadkill or a local menace. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

I feed Proplan Lamb and Rice most of the time but when during very athletic times of the year I will occasionally mix in Proplan Sport (purple bag). It does provide a lot more easily accessible energy due to the corn in it so a bit of a "sugar rush" is to be expected (which is why I don't feed it often) In all honesty I don't listen to anything dogfood advisor says so I probably am not in agreement with it. They haven't taken the animal nutrition classes (or human for that matter) that I have taken. The last time I looked at that site was a few years ago and they were making quite a few incorrect assumptions. I would honestly rather feed a diet that actually performs AAFCO studies and researches/designs prescription diets than a company that does not. It's a matter of personal preference so you won't find many people in agreement on that hot topic. I hope that you don't let anyone's personal views sway you or anger you. Instead do what seems to work best for your dog and consult with your vet if you have questions. Not all vets have a lot of knowledge about diets so you may end up looking for a veterinarian who specializes in sports medicine or nutrition. So, are you going to show us photos of your dogs? Bethany