highway61

37lbs? This thread is useless without pictures

This probably isn't news to anyone here, just a reminder I guess; do not buy pet food from China: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/pet-jerky-treat-mystery-nearly-600-animals-dead-still-no-8C11436330

My wife's over fed cat hogs OUR bed But our two dogs have their own ortho-foam beds in their crates so they have no other choice at night time.

I think this is the result any one of us would've expected to happen. But this farmer didn't do that, he just shot and killed it? I realize 11 months is many months removed from the purchase date but he could have taken it back to the breeder and asked for some of the money back. I don't think a reputable breeder would've refused a refund if they knew the alternative was to kill the poor pup. And not to generalize too much, but many farmers are just very black and white. Who knows what's going on in this farmer's head? But as someone already suggested, I would definitely let the community know this guy didn't have to kill your pup and that he doesn't have what it takes to get his dogs to work for him.

In the movie Babe, the sheep always refer to the Collies as "the wolves"

When I added Sammy, an 8 week old puppy to the family last June, my other dog, a 9 yr old heeler mix was not pleased. In fact he still hasn't forgiven me But that doesn't mean the harmony is gone, it was just suspended for a bit. My old man Foster was/is very close to me so I knew we were in for a break-in period. At first he was grumpy towards the pup, now he tolerates him more. They play together but the difference is the old man isn't into playing constantly like the pup is. So it will appear that Foster will act a bit like jerk when he shuts it down and sometimes it appears he's just down right mean to the little guy. But I have to remind myself that Sammy is/can be a pest! So I try to restrain myself from reacting when Sammy has it coming and gets his medicine from the old man (it looks/sounds terrible!). Also I should mention that clearly Foster is Alpha and I don't expect that to change as I think I would've seen some indication of it by now? Foster is just a great, well rounded dog and if Sammy turns out to be half as good as him I'll be greatly satisfied. Even if he is a grouch when it comes to puppies

I'm in the same camp MrSnappy. I live in the 'burbs and am fortunate to have a dog park close by (its a bit of hike but can walk to it easily). We've been going there for about 7+ years and haven't had an incident yet. But I do hear numerous horror stories from others so that's always sitting in the back of my mind. Like every time I go, will this be the time? Right now I've got a 9 yr old (whose been going there most of his life) and a 5 1/2 month that is new to socializing as well as everything else. The pup is always happy there and is coming along. He's a bit timid at first when meeting the other dogs and will submit. I watch him watch other dogs playing, running together and you can just tell he wants so badly to join in with them but is not yet confident enough. But I'm sure he will be soon enough. I remember once reading something about dogs parks the Dog Whisperer wrote. He advised that if you have a high energy dog that you NEVER take it right in to the park unless you've spent some/most of his energy prior. Like fetch, frisbie, chase, whatever you dog likes to do. THEN walk him in to the park but not before to avoid those over anxious, uncomfortable greetings.

Thanks GentleLake. I think a common but funny misconception is most of the other dog parents in the class expect my BC to be bouncing around, terrorizing the other dogs with his so-called unlimited energy! I've already gotten a lot of "he's so mellow for a Border Collie"

Since what I originally wrote was after only the first session, I'll update now after attending a total of three so far. The trainer is terrific. Definitely got that sixth sense for reading, handling canines. Although I was put off about her "he's friendly for a Border Collie" comment, I can now see there's clearly no bias at all. What I've gathered about the "sensitive" advice is that the trainer noticed right from the start that my pup isn't wired to tolerate such forward greetings as much as say Labs, Goldens, whatchadoodle's do. He did have an episode during the second session during the early play time when the instructor sections off areas and designates certain pups to play with each other. As soon as we unleash, the large, ADD Golden makes a b-line to Sammy, nose to nose with the Golden's head spiraling. I still had my hand firmly on Sammy's harness but before I could pull him back and block the Golden off with my free hand, Sammy snaps at him and the Golden backs off. The instructor assured me Sammy did no wrong and that he's not secure in that situation, etc.... I told her I see he doesn't like big, bouncy dogs all up in his face and of course she agrees completely. The third session the instructor assigns Sammy to play with two other dogs, a standard Poodle and some mop top oodle (there's MY bias exposed ). The mop top is all over the place, bursting with energy. This time I cut him off before he can even get up in my pup's face and the owner notices right away her dog should be in the other pen where the dogs are playing much more aggressively and moves it there. Now, the poodle's energy matches Sammy's, they calmly greet (sniff butts) and from there ignore each other. The remainder of the class proceeds and no blankets over the gate sections are necessary this time so progress in my pup's "sensitivity" is being made. Now if we could just expel that Golden that barks randomly but hey I guess that's group training This is my first BC so I'm catching on, some trial and error indeed.

Thanks, I forgot to mention in my original post that the class is fun and we are looking forward to the next! And thanks for the article Liz (it was more like a book but too interesting to not read it all!) To be clear about Sammy's flash of aggression, those other pups were separated from us by those gates so it was purely eye contact that brought it out of him. And both times it happened the instructor was right on top of witnessing it. That's why she determined "he's sensitive". Still trying to understand the full meaning of that but I'm sure I'll get it in the coming lessons.

I'll start this thread by saying I see there's a Training Discussion sub forum but that seems to pertain to dog training on livestock? (I suppose Eileen can move this to which ever forum it best fits). Anyway, I recently enrolled myself and my 5 month BC in "Puppy Elementry" at Ahimsa and went to our first session Monday. It's a six week class that we'll attend once a week. I was one of about 7 or 8 other dogs with their owners. Upon arriving the training introduced herself and asked what I presume are the normal questions, how old? How long have you had him? (since 8 weeks)... I told her my opinion is he's a pretty normal pup and he likes people and other dogs, no issues. Then she asks the question we all get at some point, "is he all Border Collie?" I told her yes and she says "oh, most border collies aren't this friendly" and quickly back tracked with "Not that border collies aren't friendly..." The space is a wide open building, kinda like a hangar. We leash our dogs to a tether on the wall and there are these movable sections of chain link fence (on wheels) on each side of us that makes our space. Everyone brings a rug (as required) and our first trick is to get the dog on the rug and give a treat. My pup Sammy takes right to it but other dogs/owner have more of a struggle with it. So here's where it got a tad wierd for me and Sammy. The 6 month Aussie to our right wants to play with Sammy and is also making eye contact. So I see Sammy do something I've never seen him do before, he snarls his nose and shows his teeth with a low growl. Amazing, the instructor who is dealing with all the barking, nervous dogs at once sees this! She calmly comes over to me and says "he's sensitive" and wisely grabs a blanket to throw over that gate section so the two dogs no longer make eye contact. Now the little Black Lab puppy to the left of us also wants to play and is now making eye contact with Sammy who reacts the same way. Again the instructor comes, calmly pets Sammy and again tells me he's sensitive then throws another blanket over that section of gate.No more eye contact, no more problem. She mentioned that for puppies being tied up to a wall in a strange place can be intimidating and was very comforting. The training session ends and as I'm leaving the instructor who is talking to someone else catches me on my way out and says again, "he's sensitive" and is watching Sammy with a careful eye. She points out his current interaction with a Golden Retriever who is all in Sam's face, his movements brisk. She points out Sammy's tail tucked between his legs which is what he usually does when meeting another dog and then it goes to a wag. She says he doesn't like all the moving the Golden is doing. Anyway she continued her conversation with the other folks and I left feeling like she watched and treated us like we're a bit "special needs" That might be taking it too far but Sammy already knew the basic sit, speak, shake, down, roll over before even starting the class (maybe what she was saying was I am too sensitive! ). Most of the other dogs barked randomly and frequently and got a lot more of instructor's interactions than mine did. Anyway, I'll have to find time to talk with her some more next week as "he's sensitive" has a lot of meaning and will need to drill down more on that.

Hey Diane, great article and photo of Nan! http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021826660_sheepdogclassicxml.html

Is it natural for Collies to take to the water? Maybe he's just too young but my 5 month is all turf and no surf. I recently brought him (leashed) to the water's edge on a pretty hot day where my other dog was happily trouncing in. And when I pulled him there he splayed his front paws good and wide while pushing backwards. It was all I needed to see and backed off. I'll just have to wait and see if/when he at least gets his feet wet on his own. Oh, and Brody is a looker! That's the kind of dog that catches my eyes and I do a double take out of reaction. Great story, doncha just love it when a plan comes together!

lol!! Picture two X's over Sammy's eyes and he looks like he was drunk when his plane crashed

Anyone else going to this next weekend? I'm going Saturday, purely as a spectator. Good times! -Rob http://www.vashonsheepdogclassic.com/

I've noticed a lot of folks reference "airplane ears" Are these airplanes? Just a week or two ago Sammy had one ear prick (see below) but now they've morphed to something else. This is fun

nothing nasty and no personal attacks here, I was just curious if I could lock my own thread is all so no worries. Thanks PSmitty!

This is not another snide remark but a real question; is there any way to lock a thread that you've started?

Well said geonni. I appreciate the content and it's not like any of the good folks talking about the AKC are defending them so I don't see any harm with the discussion (at least I'm reading and learning from it) Jo Anne, just click the "Quote" button to include a single quote or "MultiQuote" to include everyone's quotes and then form your response.

Exactly, thank you Liz. This is my first BC and I'm still very new around here. So maybe the next time I compile a list of questions that are not all that "painfully obvious" to me and have Red Russell approve it, saving me from shaming myself further

I know But I took Sammy to the vet for his last scheduled visit this year and since his ears are wildly "cock eyed" with one ear totally erect and the other hound-dog-floppy, I asked her opinion. I was surprised to find out that apparently, you can set them by devising a brace of some sort? So i googled it when I got home and watched a few ridiculous youtube videos of people using glue and yarn! Even if I did go to that trouble I'd still need to throw a party hat (cone) on the poor little guy as he'd tear it off the first few seconds upon completion. And the only reason I'm putting it out here is because the vet said that at 4 months, now is the time to do something like this if that's what I decide. I know its all cosmetic and that will most certainly and reasonably get frowned upon in these forums....so I'm guessing the way to go is just all natural? Let them set and have fun watching what develops?

My two dogs sleep inside our house in crates at night. But when they can't be with me during the day they have their own doghouses in the outside yard. So I go to change out their bedding and in the BC puppy's house I find three chewed up, dirt caked raw bones, a pull toy, a tennis ball and a four inch rock. My BC is a hoarder!

The usual response I get when I tell the expert-general-public that Sammy is a 4 month old BC is: "Border Collie huh? Well...have fun with that"

And their response if told, I'm quite certain would be "yeah...so....what's your point?"