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Is that the new height? Whats your thoughts on all of that?

Gentle Lake You have made my day. That is the best quote. Perfect in so many ways!

I have just agreed to be part of a demo in September. Its been a year since my dogs have seen anything but jumps so we have some brushing up to do. My dog is the "weave" dog I agree with the keep it simple. Most people watching will be amazed that your dogs are working without being on a leash so they don't really need to see top level handling or complicated sequences. One thing that we used to do in the past was let the people watching create a simple course through the obstacles at the end of our demo. This allows them the chance to see the dogs and handlers work a sequence that was not planned in advance and it increases participation

When I was teaching we had a set of channel weaves that were easily adjusted with every other pole on a slide. I would change them as needed and often that was for each dog. I got very efficient at it and had no problem doing it for my students. You sometimes do what you have to do

Is it possible to post a short video of the issues you feel you are having? Each one of us has read the same words but if we all had to "draw" a picture of the content, the images more than likely will differ some what. By posting a video it may be that some one will notice that "ah ha" thing that may truly help. Just an idea

http://www.planethund.com/eng/border-collie-problem-dog-1809.html

Every time I have added another dog into the house I have had some sort of "what if" thoughts. This includes puppies that I bred myself. I think your reservations are a natural feeling which quite frankly is, in my opinion, a good thing. Means you are thinking it through rather than just acting impulsively.

As I feel my dogs are better behaved than many of the children I have come across in restaurants of late, I am in favor of well behaved dogs (and children) being allowed in most public places. Those that are rude, obnoxious and or disruptive, should be asked to leave. And that goes for the dogs as well.......

As a person who lives with a working bred GSD and 2 bcs, I don’t have much to offer that hasn’t already been said other than managing a multi dog household is a lot like running a prison. The warden (owner) controls much of what happens within the walls of the prison. The warden dictates when, where and what the inmates(dogs) will eat, at what time and for how long the inmates(dogs) will spend in the yard and who the inmate’s (dog’s) cellmate will be. Seldom is there input from the inmates(dogs) themselves in these matters and the cohabitation of the inmates (dogs) is often a success because the warden says it will be. For many inmates, the above program works well. For others it doesn’t. For those who can not assimilate into the program, their negative behavior often leads to choices having to be made by the warden. Behavior modification, reassignment of cell blocks, solitary confinement or worse. All choices made due to circumstance. I am happy to say that our inmates get along pretty well. They have had their moments and the situations that triggered the issues were noted and now avoided to the best of our abilities. Best of luck with your situation

If you think border collie people are opinionated, go to a cat show!. The toughest nail on this board couldn't hold their own against "the cat lady".

My dogs have perfect ears. They listen to me when I have had a bad day and tell them my woes. They listen to me when I have had a good day and tell them my joys. As far as I can tell, they listen to me with out judgement so in my mind, my dogs have perfect ears

Looks something like this......

We have one of these dryers and it works great for removing loose undercoat. Takes a little bit of practice otherwise you can tangle some of the longer hair but you can blow out an undercoat in a pretty short time. We use it outdoors primarily as you can end up knee deep in fluff if you use it indoors. http://www.amazon.com/K-9-High-Velocity-Blower-Dryer/dp/B0002ZAGK2

I literally just came in from playing ball with my two bcs. Speaking for myself only, the whole not bringing the ball back all the way is definitely a case of "he who argues for his own limitations gets to keep them", a line that I used many a time when teaching classes. Frankie the older bc has a reliable retrieve to hand so much so that he will stick the ball into your hands if you don't take it from him promptly enough. Zen the younger has a great retrieve but only to within about 5 feet. She has a super "drop it". Why doesn't she retrieve to hand? I was too lazy to finish the process and....still am. When it is her turn, I just make her drop the ball then tell Frankie to "take it" where upon he gets it and puts it in my hand. As long as he is able, I don't have a problem but when the day he no longer is capable or willing, I'll have to think about finishing the training with Zen.

GentleLake, guaranteed he swallowed them whole. The feet were complete...toes, nails, fur etc.