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MistyMae

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  • Gender
    Female
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    Pennsylvania

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  1. Thank you! I'll give these a look.
  2. Hi all, I am coming away from Jon Katz's A Good Dog (I didn't know going in... what a mistake ) and I was wondering if anyone had any book suggestions to cleanse the mind! I enjoy memoirs or history-- anything related to working Border collies, sheepdogging, or keeping sheep. I've read Donald McCaig's books, adored Patricia Mcconnell's Education of Will, and so forth. What else would you recommend? Thanks!
  3. A part of me really wants to jump into training because I've been interested for so long, and I'd like to eventually get my own fiber flock to work with. But right now we have no sheep and a third dog isn't in the forecast. I'm just itching for experience!
  4. Thank you for the responses-- they are helpful! I will take them out more and see how it goes and discuss with the trainer. I definitely do need to sort out how much I want to invest with these two.
  5. Y'all are much more active over here, so I am posting a sheep question here, too! Complete newb alert here! I have been fascinated by sheep and sheepdogs for years now. I finally took the dive and brought my Border collies to see sheep. Neither of them are ideal candidates for herding, which I get into below, but I am wondering if others have any comments: Dog 1: 5 years old, bred for herding and out of successful working/trialing sheepdogs. Trained for and competes in dog sports-- Upon seeing sheep, she showed no interest. She wanted to stick by my side and showed only interest in me. She was really meek and uncertain and the sheep seemed to sense this by turning towards her and stomping at her. Dog 2: Two years old, from a rescue. Purebred and originally from a breeder, but unknown lineage-- He showed interest right away. But, he was a barking mess and flew around, chasing the sheep like a madman. The trainer said we could try and work with this, but to my untrained eye, he did not seem different than any other dog chasing livestock. He shied away from their heads and made mad dashes at their rears. Please feel free to ask more questions about them, as I am not sure what details I should include for now. My questions are: if you saw either of these dogs on sheep, would you bother continuing to work with them? What do you like to see in a dog who is introduced to sheep? Is it ever the case that a dog shows no interest the first time but does the next? What about a dog that barks like crazy? And finally, is it too late for these "older" dogs to begin? I'd have the opportunity to work my dogs about once a week. I am trying to determine if we'd have any future in this activity or if I should just wait a few years until I get my next working bred BC (and have a more in depth idea of my goals)? Any comments would be much appreciated!
  6. Hi all, I have been fascinated by sheep and sheepdogs for years now. I finally took the dive and brought my Border collies to see sheep. Neither of them are ideal candidates for herding, which I get into below, but I am wondering if others have any comments: Dog 1: 5 years old, bred for herding and out of successful working/trialing sheepdogs. Trained for and competes in dog sports-- Upon seeing sheep, she showed no interest. She wanted to stick by my side and showed only interest in me. She was really meek and uncertain and the sheep seemed to sense this by turning towards her and stomping at her. Dog 2: Two years old, from a rescue. Purebred and originally from a breeder, but unknown lineage-- He showed interest right away. But, he was a barking mess and flew around, chasing the sheep like a madman. The trainer said we could try and work with this, but to my untrained eye, he did not seem different than any other dog chasing livestock. Please feel free to ask more questions about them, as I am not sure what details I should include for now. My questions are: if you saw either of these dogs on sheep, would you bother continuing to work with them? What do you like to see in a dog who is introduced to sheep? Is it ever the case that a dog shows no interest the first time but does the next? What about a dog that barks like crazy? And finally, is it too late for these "older" dogs to begin? I'd have the opportunity to work my dogs about once a week. I am trying to determine if we'd have any future in this activity or if I should just wait a few years until I get my next working bred BC (and have a more in depth idea of my goals)? Any comments would be much appreciated for this newb!
  7. Hey all, I added a 1 year old male BC to my home back in August. He is from a rescue and before that was dropped off into a shelter for the classic reasons. He is a very friendly guy and pretty much a blank slate with much of his behavior. He has, however, been very controlling of my older girl at times. He will shove her with his body and bite her rear end and back legs to get her to play with him or to get her to do what he wants. Likewise, the excitement from people walking into the door causes him to redirect onto my older girl and tug on her hind legs/bite her rump. Outside, he has run full speed at her and rammed into her in addition to the other things mentioned above. Sometimes my girl will just go ahead and play with him. When she does not want to play, she will growl at him, but this entices him to try even harder. And she will simply not reprimand him for this at all. She just looks helplessly at me and waits for me to intervene. This behavior is unacceptable, but I have never dealt with anything like this. He gets mental and physical stimulation and we have been working on impulse control games. Any ideas of what I can do to stop this behavior? I do not like herdy behaviors directed onto other dogs. So far, I verbally interrupt him and redirect him to do something else when he does this. I give him down time in a crate away from my girl and I let them outside separately. Sometimes I will tether him to me. These work for management, but I don't know if anyone here has better advice! Thank you! Edit: He also gives her eye and will stalk if given the opportunity. These are not aggression or fear based behaviors. I feel like it is more over-arousal and control based.
  8. ***EDIT: I accidentally posted this twice. Please reply to the other post!*** Hey all, I added a 1 year old male BC to my home back in August. He is from a rescue and before that was dropped off into a shelter for the classic reasons. He is a very friendly guy and pretty much a blank slate with much of his behavior. He has, however, been very controlling of my older girl at times. He will shove her with his body and bite her rear end and back legs to get her to play with him or to get her to do what he wants. Likewise, the excitement from people walking into the door causes him to redirect onto my older girl and tug on her hind legs/bite her rump. Outside, he has run full speed at her and rammed into her in addition to the other things mentioned above. Sometimes my girl will just go ahead and play with him. When she does not want to play, she will growl at him, but this entices him to try even harder. And she will simply not reprimand him for this at all. She just looks helplessly at me and waits for me to intervene. This behavior is unacceptable, but I have never dealt with anything like this. He gets mental and physical stimulation and we have been working on impulse control games. Any ideas of what I can do to stop this behavior? I do not like herdy behaviors directed onto other dogs. So far, I verbally interrupt him and redirect him to do something else when he does this. I give him down time in a crate away from my girl and I let them outside separately. Sometimes I will tether him to me. These work for management, but I don't know if anyone here has better advice! Thank you!
  9. That's a good point. I'm afraid of potential dental costs if the teeth need to be extracted or worked on. Admittedly, I just don't like the look of her teeth...
  10. Oh my gosh. Thank you for finding this. I'm not an expert, but that article describes the exact wear and discoloration that I'm seeing. Results in extraction of the teeth... that's not good. ☹
  11. Thank you for the response! I spoke with the breeder and she invited me to come along to a visit with a specialist. It definitely is a hard decision. On one hand, she's a brilliant little dog. But I feel like this is beyond my scope.
  12. Hi all, I am doing a trial period with a 1.5 year old BC from a breeder looking to place her in a sport home to see if she'd be a good fit for my household and goals. She's not my first BC. We are almost two weeks in and I adore her. She is a joy in the house and has a fabulous temperament. Because of how mild mannered she is, she is getting along superbly with my other girl (who can be a little bitchy to other females). I can see myself training her and forming a great relationship. The only thing holding me back is how awful her teeth are. They are yellowed and worn down. I have never seen such a young dog with teeth like this-- it is like she is a ten year old. None of this dog's siblings have teeth like this. I know her father, too, and his teeth are fine. The breeder is aware of them and they're seeing a vet for it. It makes me sad, but this very well could be a deal breaker for us. Her bottom front teeth are worn down to little nubs, her four back-most teeth are particularly worn, and her teeth overall seem like someone has been sanding them down. Plaque builds up pretty easily, too. Breeder has no clue as to why, as this dog does not chew anything she isn't supposed to (I also haven't seen her do anything unusual) and regularly has her teeth cleaned. My question is, has anyone ever seen this with BCs or any other dog? My five year old has pearly whites and full dentition comparatively and I have just never seen a very young dog with such teeth. Is it a type of disease (I am familiar with periodontal, but this seems different)? Something passed down?
  13. I have anxiety and some related issues and I definitely have to be aware of my own emotions at all times! Thanks for taking the time to respond! Good thoughts!
  14. I really appreciate your words! Thank you for the perspective. I am excited to see where our journey takes us!
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