Crawford Dogs

My dogs play with any toys. They especially love frisbees and balls though. Some of my toys are 8 + years old and their popularity changes daily.

I don't know about genetics but most dogs like water, especially when it's hot. All of my Border Collie's love water but they were exposed quite a bit as puppies. I know someone with 3 Border Collies that don't swim and seem afraid of bodies of water. None of them were taken swimming as young puppies so it may just be a learning experience.

Definitely a lot of Border Collie in there! She's very cute and I think she's got her life down pat. Why should she chase toys when she can watch you throw it and chase it yoruself? Not all dogs are the same and if she wasn't exposed to toys as a young pup she may not know what to do with them. My older gal Rose came from a shelter and it took a long time to learn to play with toys. She still prefers to play with her food bowl. Weird is a Border Collie's stock in trade. I'm sure they think we are quite mad though.

What part of Iowa are you in? I know of quite a few nice breeders that do health checks and produce dogs with sound temperments and excellent working ability. Nice to have more Border collie lovers in Iowa!

We were taught at school and the vets at my clinic recommend decreasing food intake by 10% after spay/neuter procedures. They will have lower metabolism. The dogs will have a harder time keeping good muscle and will have less coat.

It's June now and Rose can now catch toys, chase bugs, and stalk her brother through the house. She's having a grand time. Her stress levels have decreased and she's become more outgoing.

Wedgewood pharmacy has some but you need a prescription.

I'd see an opthamologist. It is almost impossible to properly diagnose these issues without seeing a specialist. My Rose seemed to have poor vision off an on. My regular vet wasn't sure. I finally took her into see a specialist and it turned out she has IMR/SARDS. She's responded to treatment well and doing great.

I got free samples of Biospot once. Luckily I spoke with my vet before using it (I am a Vet Tech). The active ingredient can cause a lot of nervous system issues and has a high rate of causing seizures. He told me to throw it away asap. With flea medicine you do get what you pay for. I would recommend checking with your veterinarian before purchasing any product. Veterinary clinics currently sell Frontline plus (one of the safest on the market as it doesn't go systemic), Vectra (can cause seizures in quite a few dogs), Trifexis (oral, does fleas and heartworms), Revolution, and Activyl. I would avoid Certifect as well, it can cause severe neurological issues and collapse in some dogs. Luckily, it is easily treated unlike many other reactions.

Rose can see! She went in for an eye exam last week and the vet confirmed that Rose is regaining vision. She does have a fresh RPE lesion (a spot where the retina is detaching) but otherwise is doing much better. I ran her at an agility fun match and she had a great time. A friend took some awesome photos of her too. Her vision is still far from perfect but she isn't running into trees/bushes/parked cars/walls anymore. You can see her running at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27833351@N04/8696961799/

Um, where did you guys email a request to remove a dog's info?

They have my dog BABI Loki listed in their database! The only place they could have gotten that info is from the OFA database. I am emailing them but I'm sure they'l refuse to remove his information.

Rose is doing fine although she's got GI upset from the immunosupressive drugs. The vets are playing with the meds right now to get her adjusted to it. She's wiped out a few things this week but otherwise is having a good time. She ran up the top of her brother (Loki was rather suprised by Rose trying to flatten him!) face-first causing a huge collision on Sunday and got stuck in a bush on Monday. If it wasn't for her inability to catch food or toys and her random collisions you'd think she was completely normal. Next week will be her 6th birthday and I'm planning a big party for her. She's going to get her own cake since she loves to steal other people's birthday cakes. This will be the first time she can lay into a cake without getting yelled at.

Rose is about 6 years old and I guess the disease shows up between 6-8 yrs. It's a fairly rare disease, dogs can be "normal" one day and blind the next. Of course, they weren't normal for some time beforehand but we don't always notice the little things. Often in the early stages you may notice bumping into things in poor light, overly dilated pupils, and not seeming to see things well that are within 10 feet of them. Or so I'm told.

My Border Collie Rose has seemed a bit off for a few months. Toys and treats thrown off her usually bounce of her head instead of being caught, she's run into a few more trees and my parked car, and seems to be getting lost on the agility course- unable to find obstacles and me on occasion. Finally I took her into the opthamologist thinking that they'd say she had some minor cataracts or simply wasn't paying attention (because Rose is a rescue I have never been able to do annual CERF's like I do on my other dogs-- the vet charges twice the price to see a non-papered dog). Instead the vet said she had an early stage of Immune Mediated Retinopathy (IMR). He showed me that Rose had no pupillary light reflex (plr) to some colors of lights but had normal response to other lights (different wavelengths?). They ran an ERG and a multitude of other tests. I was told that either I could give her immunosuppressive drugs or she would go completely blind. Rose starts the drugs next week. Has anyone else run into this issue with their Border Collies? IMR is supposed to be very similar to and hard to differentiate from SARDS (Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome?). Also, Rose is supposed to avoid Ivermectin-based heartworm preventatives and do titers instead of vaccinations for the rest of her life. The vet said that vaccinations can worsen the disease and cause sudden blindness in the affected dogs. AND, the annual CERF doesn't test for these diseases so even if Rose had gone in for annual CERF's they wouldn't have caught the disease.

Interesting. I do agility with Rose because it helps her build confidence and helps us build a relationship. Rose used to be a frightened Border Collie who nipped and bit repeatedly whenever she interacted with people at all. The shelter had her for 3 months before I decided to give her a chance at a new life. I just couldn't leave behind such a terrified dog that was borderline on ever trusting anyone again. I've had her almost 5 years now. She still gets worried and has days where she hides. I have to have dog kennels set up at all times or Rose gets very upset/anxious. But, she is overall a happy outgoing girl. She loves people and loves to do things with people. We went to an agility trial this fall to continue building confidence. She did great and had a lot of fun. We'll never be that fabulous team but we have fun. Rose does need low jump heights and can't do all obstacles as they irritate her spinal/back end issues. But, in the end titles and fabulous runs mean very little. My klutzy self plus a happy Ro-ro "roo-ing" her way around a course is a million times better than any ribbon.

You can do K9 Nosework with a favorite toy instead of food. It's a bit harder at some stages but many do use toys instead. Perhaps Kenzie might benefit from seeing a specialist at a veterinary college? They are able to figure out the more uncommon issues. I hope he feels better soon!

I wonder if Mr. Sanders even understands or sees the condition he keeps his dogs in. His behavior seems similar to many hoarding situations I've seen. The dogs that live there show body language indicating that they are completely unsocialized and afraid of people. The filth doesn't appear to bother the owner and he doesn't recognize that photos of his dogs' condition will lose him sales. He doesn't seem to care about the dogs' welfare or recognize that such a thing exists. I am very sad for him and the poor dogs that end up in his care.

I started K9 Nosework with Loki this summer because he had just finally finished physical therapy for his shoulder injury last fall. Loki fell in love with it and he's having a blast. He's had a couple of herding lessons since he started and he immediately goes to work without any hesitation. He understands the difference between the two activities. K9 Nosework is a game involving his nose while herding is a job involving his mind and soul. Don't worry, Flint shouldn't have any problems understanding the difference between the two. I hope you guys have a lot of fun in scentwork.

Thanks so much for the input! Most people I've run into don't seem to like curly Border Collies so it's nice to see some people like the diversity. I do think Loki is truly adorable but I'm prejudiced. I did bathe him yesterday (first time in 8 months?) and now he's super poofy! Oddly enough he does have several different colors of red in his coat and they are now more obvious since his bath. Even his winter coat regrows with several slightly different hues, it's kind of interesting. As a puppy his hair was straight and as a yearling he had a few butt curls. At 2 yrs he looks quite different. Have your curly dogs gotten curlier as they've aged? Do all seem to curl more on the rump? Funnily enough last week I gave a friend a ride and when she got out of my car she stopped and asked, "where did you buy that gorgeous wig?" and wanted to know where I got it and for how much. She then peered closer and it wasn't until Loki turned around to see why someone was feeling his butt that she realized it was Loki lying on the floor in the backseat.

I hear a lot about rough and smooth Border Collies but I never hear anything about curly ones. I have a curly boy who has curls on both sides of his family line (yes, all of his ancestors were working dogs). He only had a few waves at a year old but at 2 years he looks like he stole Shirley Temple's hair. His coat is actually easier to care for than other Border Collies I've had. I last bathed him at Christmas and I remove burrs occasionally. Does anyone else have curly Border Collies? Do you know how they are inherited?

It's that time of year again, when people are reminded to keep their dogs inside to prevent them running away when they're frightened by fireworks. I had a sound-sensitive Border Collie once and although she's gone now her littermate stays at my house often. And you guessed it, she's terrified of thunder, fireworks, and PA-systems just like my girl was. I also know of several more dogs closely related to them that are also sound sensitive. So, is this a genetic issue? Luckily, my current Border Collies don't seem bothered by storms or fireworks. Rose (rescue) just twitches and goes back to snooze-land. Loki, my youngster, always thinks someone is at the front door knocking. AFter I open the front door so he can see no one is outside he gives me a confused look, finds a toy, and entertains himself while ignoring the weird sounds. After years of trying to trial a Border Collie that can't be shown when there are storms, if a announcement system is used, loud vehicles in the area, etc. it's quite nice to have dogs that simply don't care. One day I will add another dog to my household and I'd like to make sure that I get a dog without this tendency. So, does anyone know if there are certain lines more prone to this? Has anyone seen a genetic tendency for it?

With my dogs I found that feeding Proplan allowed me to feed them less. On other "premium" and "holistic" diets I had to feed twice the amount. The last food I tried was Nutrisource, I had to feed 6 cups/day to my 45 lb male. I switched back to Proplan and he eats 2 cup/day when at full-activity. The only way you'll know is to read the research they've done (free copies of research studies and results should be available at their website) and try the food out yourself. But, I would make sure that their AAFCO statement says that "feeding trials have substantiated. . . " vs. "formulated to meet AAFCO standards." A diet can be formulated to meet AAFCO standards but the nutrients may not be as bioavailable to your dog as the food company has estimated. Best of luck, I think we're all in search of the perfect diet!

I would look for shadows, light/shadows moving on wall/ceiling, "glints" off metal, etc. I had a similar experience with my now 5 yr old Border Collie when she arrived as a rescue. She spent her time growling and generally weirding everyone out. Finally I discovered that she was obsessed with shadows, moving light, moving ceiling fans, flies, and even spiders. I certainly hope that in your case it isn't something scary like epilepsy.