Crawford Dogs

Good luck with Tink. I hope you get good news. Bethany

I use Sentinel for HW (it only works as a "birth control" on fleas- does not kill adults) and Frontline Plus for fleas/ticks. I don't use ivermectin-based products as Rose's opthamologist (IMR/SARDs dog) doesn't want her on it. Bethany

A friend has a deaf sheltie that competes in agility. She uses a penlight as a clicker- quick flash = treat. Obviously she doesn't shine it in his face.

If it makes you feel better I stalked Loki's (red dog) breeder for 5 years before she put a pup in my hands. I was top of her list when she finally had a litter. I've learned a lot with Loki and made quite a few interesting mistakes. He's still patiently waiting while herding instructors try to beat ideas into my head. I'm so glad I waited for him. I'm finally starting the search for the breeder of my next puppy and boy it seems impossible. The majority of working breeders in Iowa don't do health checks or advertise the litters they do have. The few that advertise I wouldn't consider getting a dog from as they don't do health checks or breed females back to back. One day, you will find your puppy and I hope I do too! Bethany

I thought I'd read a study awhile back that showed that dew claw removal greatly increased the chance of "wrist" arthritis if the dew claw was part of the wrist assembly. Bethany

I'm so glad that you now know what's going on with Tio. I hope that he recovers and lives a long life. Bethany

I have no problem with the really long, fancy names although some of them make me laugh. And others just make me shake my head in confusion. My dogs have always been named their kennel name and then their name. So Rose is "Crawford's BrierRose" because she is a shelter dog and didn't have a kennel name. Loki is "BABI Loki" which I realize is simple and boring. If I could rename Loki I would call him "BABI Loki FluffyButt." or maybe simply "BABI Stinky." But as comical as I may find some KC registered names I must admit that ABCA does have some whoppers. For instance Loki's pedigree lists a "RIPONGOODCOOKIE." What? I am so curious as to exactly why they named the dog that. Bethany

Rose needs to join the institute and I need the t-shirt too! She loves to steal treats out of treat pouches and will rob complete strangers- her favorite method is to raid the pouch while they are bent over tying their shoes. . . She's also eaten birthday cakes while visiting other people's houses, stolen entire chicken dinners, gotten garbage cans stuck on her head at the vet clinic, and has had several GI obstructions (yes, mulch IS a food group!). Bethany, Rose, and Loki

I had a fairly similar issue with a pup from Botyne lines and it turned out that her line was known for psychological problems. She was treated by a veterinary behaviorist to no avail. Good luck.

If anyone is researching this condition they may find it helpful to know that in veterinary medicine OCD is actually called CCD (canine compulsive disorder) because OCD is a shoulder condition in dogs. Sadly I was reading this thread thinking it was about the shoulder condition. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

Thanks for the info Liz P. That's kind of what I was thinking. I do have a CCD dog named Rose (6 yrs old now) that came to me as a rescue. She'd spent 3 mo. in an animal shelter and at 9 months circled obsessively, humps objects, chased shadows, light, and flies. It took a while to redirect her behaviors. She still chases flies in the summer months but now it's simply a game that she will stop when something better arrives. As long as she can immediately stop when I call the dogs inside or ask for a different behavior I am fine with her odd habits. She's mostly blind now so the fly chasing behavior is probably not going to reoccur this summer. Sadly I do know some border collies that obessively fetch and start at balls all day long. Luckily none of my current guys are so affected. I've owned one border collie that was CCD to the point that she couldn't function. Sadly it was one of many mental issues she had. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

I have never considered using a laser pointer with any of my pets but I am curious as to why Border Collies don't do well with them. Is it because some can become focused to the point of obsession? I'm not planning to try it anytime soon (why?) but now I'm just plain curious. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

Liz P, you made me laugh when you said that some vet techs are grossed out by testicles. It's so true! Some techs I've worked with are totally grossed out by testicles and are offended by my dog Loki's "problem" (yes that's code for testicles) which can be so "easily fixed." Funnily enough when Loki was down with an shoulder injury at 18 mo. I took him to a specialist. On initial exam she froze and then informed me that Loki had neoplastic growths. She was greatly relieved and embarassed when I told her that he was intact. We found a different specialist. Bethany, Rose, and Loki-mon

Wow, I would love that job! Bethany

I've only owned one male during my adulthood but I had numerous as a child. My 4 yr old male (Loki) is intact but overall he seems to get along fine. He has had no issues working when females in season are about. Nor does he have "an erection for life." Funnily enough I have never seen his "red rocket" either although that may be due to his long coat. However, when I was a child we had a BC smoothie mix named Patches. He was constantly "waving his flag" and to my young mind appeared extremely horny. I couldn't pet him or give him his meal without his "rocket" appearing. He couldn't come indoors as he would lift his leg on everything in sight. After Patches I never wanted to have a male again until my current boy came along. Now I can't imagine not having a boy in the house. Bethany

Funnily enough I was raised with Border Collies although they weren't called such. We had BC's and BC mixes but they were all just called collies. In one foster home I stayed at they had working border collies (farm) but again we just called them collies. As an adult I call my Border Collies "collie dogs." Bethany

Hey guys, Pawprint genetics (pawprintgenetics.com) does the CEA DNA test for $80. Also OFA will recognize tests done through this company and will give out CEA DNA Clear certificates. Has anyone heard anything about this company? I've wanted to get some testing done but at almost $200/test Optigen is out of my ballpark (and no I'm not planning any litters, just info for myself). Bethany, Rose, and Loki-mon

I'm glad to hear they are finally trying to pass a rabies exemption in Iowa. I know several dogs including my Rose that are not vaccinated because they have health issues that cause the veterinarian to decline vaccinations. Luckily, despite living in Iowa, my local municipality accepted a letter stating that my dog could not be vaccinated and allowed her to get her "city license." I will not go into the bizarre rules requiring me to pay for my dog's existence but I guess it's one way for this tiny town to earn money. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

I couldn't find any ads for mini border collies online. Clearly I'm looking in the wrong place?

I'm looking forward to it's release although I'll probably interlibrary loan it before buying it. I hope it's as good as advertised. The last book I bought was Dances with Sheepdogs and the full chapter on border collie telepathy made me too afraid to read any farther. Bethany, Rose, and Loki

I've only bought 2 puppies to date, the rest were shelter dogs. The first pup was supposed to have a signed contract but the breeder (flyball/sports breeder) couldn't find the paperwork as she was moving. I suspect she simply didn't want to take responsibility for the disaster she was handing over. Temperament issues, joint laxity, extreme hyperactivity, etc. By age 2 she was permanently injured due to lax joints. At age 3 she began randomly attacking dogs and small children without any warning. . . At age 5 1/2 the veterinary behaviorist recommended euthanasia as all other treatment avenues were exhausted. Other litter mates followed the same theme. This cross was repeated multiple times. My other purchased dog came with an oral hips and eyes guarantee. I had to promise that he came back to her if for any reason I couldn't keep him and that she would buy him back at full price at any age. He's passed his health checks to date and has a wonderfully steady temperament. His only issues were caused by training issues (ahem, me) and accidents. The shelter dogs, well. . walking medical bills is too kind of a description. But, I love them anyway. I have met people with ABCA registered pups from working & competing parents that have written contracts. I have met those with oral contracts and those with none. I don't know if AKC breeders require contracts more often than ABC. I don't know if anyone can truly guarantee a healthy dog due to the interplay of genetics and environment along with the complexity of genes. So, I try not to worry about guarantees as there is no guarantee in life. And how enforceable are contracts? Bethany, Rose, and Loki

I don't know if there's anything that tops sheep! My older gal comes off stock willingly. My younger boy listens the majority of the time but does occasionally drive me crazy. I'd think the relationship would be important at that point. That and how much work you'd done listening both on and away from stock. If anyone has the perfect solution for stock recalls and reliable, perfect downs I'd love to know.

Someone call the stupid police cuz we have a winner. Between those poor, abused sheep and the pups being trained up as future livestock worriers I'm not sure what to say. Perhaps, "Honey get the gun- something's eating the stock."

I live in Iowa where leash laws and animal control laws seem to breed to produce more bizarre ordinances at an astonishing rate. Luckily, I live on the edge of a small town that is somewhat relaxed. Although Huxley is heavily policed and leash laws are rampant the police don't interfere with off lead dogs if they are obviously under voice control. My dogs walk on lead to the hiking trail daily and thereafter are off lead. They are also off lead in my yard (whether in the fenced area or not), in neighbor's yards (with permission), and at pretty much any park we go to. In fact I am occasionally guilty (how embarrassing) of arriving with my dogs at work (vet clinic), a trial, nursing home (200 miles from home), or veterinary specialist only to discover that I didn't pack any leashes or harnesses. Where leash laws are posted I try to follow them but I must admit that at some hiking trails I may turn a blind eye (who wants to climb cliffs attached to a dog?). In general if leashes are required neither my dogs or I go there. We do not go to dog parks or doggie walk areas as they tend to have more rude dogs than border collies will tolerate. I do find it sad that in the US dogs are viewed as something dangerous and out-of-control. Perhaps if more people actually trained their dogs? Bethany, Rose, and Loki

It sounds like the value of the recall is not high enough. If one of my dogs needs a refresher course then I take their favorite toy (tug, frisbee) and hide it on my person when we go hiking (or where ever you are having an issue). When they recall quickly we play a wild victory game. Very quickly the value returns to the recall and they begin cocking their ears as they hike, just waiting for the cue. As maintenance, I erratically carry treats/tugs/frisbees on my person. The dogs never know when goodies might appear and their recalls are always at full speed. Also, if I don't have a toy/treat and a dog has given me an amazing recall off something exciting I will play with them (no toys/food needed). Nothing like a party to reward a dog. Bethany, Rose, and Loki