waffles

The strange thing is that it is well known in Labradors, they say mostly field bred, and there is testing for it. I don't know anything other than basic genetics, but I hope they are close to developing testing for border collies. It is scary to read that everything is normal, the dogs analyzed during/after an episode are fine but... 'some dogs have died during episodes'. If the dogs appear to be clinically fine for the most part during the episodes then what is causing their deaths? https://vetdnacenter.com/dna-tests/canine-dna-testing/inherited-disease-screening/canine-exercise-induced-collapse/ http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/exercise-induced-collapse-labrador-retrievers?id=&sk=&date=&&pageID=1

Yes please do.

I was finally able to get video of one of Dixie's mild BCC episodes. I have submitted the form to the U of Minnesota doing the study and just sent the videos as well. These have been happening since May. In weather from 65-85, sometimes just a few throws of a ball and other times after running in the field. I would say a total of 8-9 times this has happened. This is mild, other times she can't get up the steps, falls sideways. Her behavior is just like the University of Minnesota describes. Totally fine while doing the activity, a minute or two after I say that'll do, she starts stumbling. The mental dullness is quite pronounced. We sometimes have to just quickly move behind her and pick her up to get her in the house. She is just not there, call her name and she may turn her head towards you but does not actually respond. She just wanders around the yard looking lost until we pick her up or take her by the collar. Sometime she ducks under the barn and goes weird places with no intentions. Once in the house, 5-10 minutes later and she is completely fine. We do our best to prevent these but it is not always predictable. I thought I would share this as there are only a few videos online it seems. She looks just like the dogs in the U of M videos. Let me know if the videos do not work, first time using Google Photos and one file is too large so I had to use the link below. https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO5F4zfSl8IHSgTgi3du1kKIQ047i-TSlyhgBF5L1IObpnaCDK0mB66Kd2s3RW1fw?key=VVdOUV9telZET2F2UkFoVno0SE82Y2VrMFA2c0pB https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMIwY_iiRY99qxVyVehX2j67PN2S8F_uJQVZ5y4lH_7LQJ82fz8mNCiqG3sMhfuHw?key=RE80MzZJMUxjNDJMNXpzano1dXZ1bC1TQjZWeWRn

I have no clue if such a citation exists but you may want to look at sciencebasedmedicine.org My husband and I are also listeners of Skeptics Guide to the Universe which is a great podcast, their site is also searchable. They have done episodes on chiropractic work.

I think from previous posts, Marco's pup is 7-8 months old, not weeks. Please correct me if I am wrong. I think your plan is more than adequate. An hour in the am, plus another walk at 8:30 and again at noon is more than enough at 8 months old. Most people have to work and leave dogs much younger than yours home for 5 days a week. He will adapt and learn to relax while you are gone. I would worry more about teaching him to expect so much exercise vs not getting him tired enough. A crate could potentially save you some headache. An 8 month old alone in a room may not be the best idea. Like others have said, woodwork, even the floor, window sills, you name it and the dog could start chewing on it. We start leaving young ones alone for 30-60 minutes and we how they do. Then work up from there.

I would also recommend crating the dog or using a dog-seatbelt so she can't be a danger to you while you drive. Do you have places you can take her off your property for leashed walks? Leash walks in new areas will challenge her mentally (impulse control). We live in a rural area and frequently throw the dogs in the car and go walk in town (sidewalks!), many different parks, bike paths, different neighborhoods and so on. We think nothing of driving 20-45 minutes for different walks and hikes on a weekly basis. Yesterday we went to a new bakery/cafe in the city, picked up some delicious bagels then drove to the waterfront. Ate with the pups on a bench then walked an hour on the trails. We have a great new bike trail on Lake Erie that we frequent. The dogs see, hear and smell new things, meet new people. Some larger cemeteries also allow dogs and can be a relaxing place to walk (don't forget bags). There are a never ending amount of tricks to teach as well. YouTube is great for getting ideas and instruction. Look up "kikopup" on YouTube as she has trick videos from simple things to more complex. There are many other people who provide free instructional videos as well on there.

All dogs need down time. Of course if you keep balls in the living room and he brings them to you and you keep throwing it... he is going to keep getting it. House time is chill time. We have nylabones out for the young one who likes to chew but otherwise we throw nothing in the house. We do trick training inside and that is really the only play we do indoors. I think because dog daycares are all over now, people get this idea that if they work a normal 40 hour or so week, the dog must be entertained while they are gone. It is not just stay at home moms and retired folks who own dogs. Walk the dog in the am before work, and he will chill while you are gone. When you get home, walk again, fetch, training, whatever you end up enjoying with him. You can set the pace for his behavior. If you are always entertaining him, he will always expect to be entertained. The fact that you are asking so many questions and concerned for his well-being and having a good match between you to, shows that you are most likely going to be a great owner for him! I also will go out on a limb and guess that Diggit was not bred from two working parents and was most likely bred to be sold to a pet home. You have already said he has been a pet/companion only for his 9 years. He only knows how to be a pet dog and it seems like he would really enjoy the lifestyle that you can offer (and all the stimulation he appears to be missing out on in his current home). I would not get hung up on the idea that he is a working dog, he is a working breed, yes, but he can definitely flourish in a companion home that is interested in spending time doing 'dog' things with him.

Not sure if there is any validity in this but my husband puts apple cider vinegar in our chicken's water to stop the algae. We use metal waterers and it has appeared to stop the stuff from growing.

Also, I am aware that many rescues require a surrender fee to take in an owned dog. If you do contact a border collie rescue in TX and they have space for him, I would be more than willing to donate money to the rescue for the surrender fee. Please keep us updated if you do indeed contact collie rescues.

If you don't want the dog anymore or don't feel you can offer him the home you think he deserves, then why should the dog die for that? There are several border collie rescues in your state, as mentioned above. Please contact them so he can get the medical care it seems he needs and will then be adopted out into a home that wants him. I am a bit confused by the wording of your last post but it seems that you are willing to kill the dog because he seems unhappy with you. I just don't fully understand that. Could you explain more? Why can't the dog be given to a home that will love and care for him, the dog didn't do anything wrong. I wish your dog well, and everyone posting here is concerned for his well being and I hope you take this all in as a caring response, not a judgmental one. If you need help with finding a foster home or rescue for him, I am sure there is someone here on the boards in TX that can help you out. I also agree that 3.5 cups of food is way too much. I used to feed my male border collie the same food, Taste of the Wild. He ate 2 cups per day and was a lean 42 lbs. I sure hope you can figure the situation out so that both you and your pup are happy.

If he is not used to offering new behaviors, then I would click the moment his nose shows interest in your fist with the treat inside. So if I presented my fist with a smelly treat in it and his paws were on the ground and he just barely lifted his nose in the direction of your hand, I would click/treat (a treat different than the one from your fist). In a matter of minutes he should catch on that his nose going near the hand gets the click, not the paw. Even if he is pawing your fist at first, just try again. Present fist, wait, and the second his paws are on the ground, click. Proceed from there. Let us know how it goes. Sometimes we have to get creative to problem solve!

I don't do agility but my suggestion is to offer a closed fist. Make it look different to him, even put a treat in your fist to lure his nose to your hand at first. Once he is touching his nose to your fist, start opening your hand until he is touching your open hand. Should not take long. Especially if the dog knows how to offer behaviors already. When I try to get new behaviors/instead of an auto pilot offering, I just stay quiet and let them figure it out. A closed fist offered close to his nose should get him started on not offering a paw and quickly move to no paw offerings. I have also found it helpful to click/treat at first for not offering the "auto" response. A lot of times i will start a session by clicking for doing nothing if the dog is just offering up a bunch of behaviors. I will ask for something so simple like a sit and click for just a sit. Then I can get their brain into thinking mode more and not just automatically offering known behaviors. Good luck!

Have you tried just not throwing toys for him? Put them all away in a closet or the garbage (if you can't trust yourself ) The situation is created by the human and can be stopped as such. Is there a reason he can't leave the property and go for walks? The mental stimulation would do wonders for him to experience the world. Trick training is a great way to bond in a positive and constructive way. Browse YouTube for videos on how to get started teaching basic tricks (sit, down, stay, roll over, sit pretty) and build up to more challenging tricks. I don't know how a person can physically throw a toy for 4hrs a day. It sounds like you are not happy and neither is he.

That was fun to read through. Glad to hear he enjoyed it finally. I wonder though what you were cutting off and why? Turkey wings are pretty small and all I do is hand it to the dog. I don't want it to be any smaller than it is (usually 6oz or so). Even if I were feeding kibble as a main diet, a turkey wing isn't that large of a splurge and I would just cut back maybe 1/2 cup to compensate, if at all. The smaller the piece of meat/bone, the less work the dog has to do to eat it, which is less benefit to the teeth, and easier for the dog to choke.

I feed chicken quarters, chicken split breast (you can also just buy whole chickens too), turkey wings, though I have to go to a butcher for those. They're much larger than chicken wings which I don't recommend, too small to actually do much teeth cleaning. I also feed turkey necks, which I never did before since they are not a bone-in meat (theyre pretty much all bone) but the ones I get are quite large and my dogs take their time chomping them. For teeth cleaning purposes you want something that the dog has to work at for a bit. I think chicken quarters are the best, for my dogs anyhow. I would never feed beef bones as I have yet to come across an edible beef bone (one the dog can eat fully) that does not make me wonder how long it will be before it cracks a tooth. Just like you experienced with the antler, which is too hard fro the dog to actually eat. Most pork bone-in meats at the grocery store are going to be sharp, sawed bones (like pork chops) and I don't like to personally feed those either. I do feed pork ribs in slabs on occasion but even those don't typically have much meat on them and unless they are from a local butcher, they are typically cut very small in size at the store. I also feed slabs of deer ribs which are much thinner/easier to eat than the pork ribs.

May I ask what you came across that made you make that decision? Was it just a safety issue with the bones or one based on health/nutrition reasons? If it is nutrition based could you pass along the information? (can PM me if desired) I feed raw and follow the 80/10/10 idea of lots of meat, some bone, some organs. I only ever feed edible bone (which means no beef bones) that is surrounded by a good amount of meat.

From what I am reading he sounds like a dog that does not want to go to a dog park like setting. Many many dogs don't want to socialize with strange dogs they don't know. I don't see that as a training problem. I don't want to hang out in large groups of strangers and I feel no need for therapy. Both my border collies don't thrive in a dog park/beach setting either. They both are dog friendly but mixing with groups of dogs they have never met, with different play styles, in an intense location isn't their thing. These situations you describe sound stressful for your dog (snapping, biting at dogs is not him enjoying himself). I would suggest finding more positive places to take him to exercise where he does not have to fend off strange dogs, let alone be full on attacked. Maybe go out right at dawn when no one is out or find wooded parks, trails that are cooler and shaded.

That was awful to read. I don't think I would trust an extension cord into a hotel wall (what if someone unplugged it or tripped over it) with the lives of 14 dogs. The stories about babies and small kids left in cars are also heartbreaking because most of the parents don't even realize anything is happening. Our memories are not what most people think they are. I recently left my wallet with car keys and phone attached in a bathroom at an event when we were 2 hours from home. I did not even realize I had left it for 30 minutes until I was in line to purchase something. Everyone thinks it would never happen to them, but I can definitely see how easy it would be to forget your sleeping baby in the back seat. I thought I recently read about car/booster seats that were being equipped with an alarm that would sound if it detected weight while the car was off. My 10 year old car has a sensor in both front seats that sets a beeping alarm off if the seat belts are not buckled and it detects weight in the seat (why I also never put groceries in the front seat anymore). I cannot believe that the technology is not there to develop a similar product to save kids' lives in hot cars.

You answered your question about the trainer when you said you are not having fun. Why do you have a dog as a companion? To enjoy each other and if training is not enjoyable for you both then get away! Find a trainer that works for you and your dog. Nothing wrong with corrections but what you describe the trainer tell you to do, isn't the way to go about helping a reactive dog. At her age, I would dial down all of the outings at so many places. Pick the places she succeeds at the most at this age and work there. When she matures in a few months, re-introduce some of the most stimulating places. At least, while you continue to find a new trainer to help guide you through. Your pup sounds pretty normal for that age. My youngest at around 6 months was starting to become leash reactive in some way to a lot of situations-sometimes hackles up, sometimes rooing, sometimes barking, pulling to reach something, etc. We still worked on the situations that brought out those behaviors, but on a much less frequent basis while working on other confidence building skills. Now at about 15 months she just walked through the busiest part of our waterfront area last week with all kinds of exciting activities around and did really really well with some room for improvement (isn't there always?).

We got Levi at 2 years old, from his original owners so his age was known. We neutered him two weeks later. When I look at photos of the first 6 months and then beyond, his coat changed a lot and he starting looking less puppy-ish. Someone told me their coats can really change after neutering (my vet seemed to agree). His became flufflier (more cotton like) and eventually curly/wavy in spots. When we got him it was poker straight and coarse. He also ate cheap colorful food and lived outside 24/7 with a fully dreadlocked tail. He put on a lot of muscle in that first year and started to look more filled out, adult like. I think it was a combo of better nutrition, finally getting exercised and possibly the neuter. So this may possibly be the same case with your boy. He looks quite happy to have found you too!

Any dog can be taught to walk nicely on a leash and not pull or want to chase things while on lead. Like Denise said, it is about training. Sure, some dogs will be easier to work with for certain people but you still have to put the work in. And of course, each dog is an individual and dogs from the same litter will have different natural behaviors and tendencies. What one person finds difficult in a dog, another would find easy or fun to work with. Your friend's dog isn't great off-leash and listens well simply because of his breeding. There was work put in over time to achieve those results. If your dog is really a pain to walk then I would enlist the help of a trainer or enroll in some classes.

They might have said that thinking you were wanting to relinquish the dog to the rescue. Ask them what trainers they refer to or have worked with. If they don't have any, then move on. Even just google dog trainers in your area. Call them, meet with them, ask to see their dogs, sit in on a class, ask if they do in-home training, ask their experience with behavior modification not just obedience training and ask for client references.

Yes. Get a trainer into your home who has experience with these behaviors. The trainer can see what the dog is doing, what you are doing, how you and your wife are interacting with your dog, what your daily routine is and so on. They can then assess the issues with the dog and you. The situations you describe need more help than an internet forum can provide- in person assessment is needed. Call local rescues (is there a border collie rescue in your area?), shelters and your vet and ask them for a recommendation for a trainer/behaviorist. I also sure hope the dog has not been to a dog park in a long time with such a history of biting. It isn't fair to other dogs or your own dog, he isn't enjoying himself if he needs to bite. Take him for a walk instead, start some trick training, anything other than relying on the dog park.

Would "2 sets of 5 markers indicating hearing loss" come back labeled as 'affected' then? Is one defective set and one normal set considered a carrier? Thanks.

If the results come back as affected, what does that mean for the dog exactly? Expect definite hearing loss by age 7? Curious as I don't understand genetics well.