Bubby

Might be mites. My older one had the same problem, the vet treated it with some ointment over a few days. I seem to remember him saying that all dogs have these mites, but some are a bit more sensitive to them than others. Good news is that it's been 1 1/2 years since it happened, with no recurrence. And it wasn't expensive to treat.

When mine were pups I taught them to sit on the side of the street when a car was approaching. After the car passed, they'd pop up and go right back to trotting along with us. It made our walks around the neighborhood a lot less stressful. The neighbors all said it was one of the most interesting things they ever saw.

When you are gone: crate them. Period. When you are there: give them strong, unmistakeable, and noisy correction that will make their legs weak for a few minutes after you stop. A dog that is babied is only gonna be a bad, spoiled dog.

Found it. Thanks, Bill.

Anyone have any experience with the one-shot-good-for-6-months heartworm medication? It is called ProHeart 6. The website specifically notes that it is safe for collie breeds. My vet suggested it to me today when I was in there getting some more Interceptor for the girls. With the mosquitos we have down here I need to have them on something effective.

Sounds like Elly still needs a little work on her recall. Put her back on a long line, even when she's off playing with her doggy friends. You need to be able to enforce that command every single time you give it. She hears you, but she just thinks she has better things to do. It probably couldn't hurt to reinforce her down command some, too, as I find it to do wonders to settle my dogs down when they're getting overly exuberant. As far as the aggression towards the lady, don't coddle the dog with the typical baby-talk and "It's allright" stuff--all that does is make it worse. Elly needs to stay on a leash until this problem is fixed, and you can use the leash to give her a very strong correction by snatching her off of her feet and shouting "No" into her face a couple times. She'll get the message quickly. And thumbs up to you for trying to fix this before it became a bigger problem.

You should work up to the prong collar, for lack of a better way to put it. Try the choker first for a while, if it doesn't work then move up to the prong. Mia is almost never on a leash anymore and a good "No" growled at her is plenty enough correction for her. Sadie, on the other hand, drags a long-line everywhere she goes, and I am about to move from using collars to dropping cinder blocks on her head for corrections. Point it, work up the ladder of intensity to your corrections.

It sounds like she needs to be socialized more with other dogs. However, you really need to have good control over her, such as making her sit and stay at your side or even down her until the initial excitement of a new dog wears off in order to keep her from getting started. Don't be shy about ringing her bell if she starts to act up--a good solid yank on the leash a few times will get her thinking that maybe she ought to play nice. When I take either of mine to class I make them sit right next to me at all times to avoid developing the habit of getting worked up every time, like some of the other dogs are allowed to do. And don't forget, there is still a fair amount of puppy in an 11 month old Border Collie. Mia is that same age, and she is starting her third obedience class tonight because I want to make sure I can control her 100% of the time before she starts doing agility.

Candi-- Wait on the frisbee until she's a year old. Invariably she'll be jumping and twisting and landing in odd positions when she catches it, and her joints are still a little soft. Better to be safe and wait a few months. It also helps if the dog is already bringing the ball back to you regularly before starting with the frisbee. I think you are on the right path by working on some control. She needs to listen to you and do what you want. Start with the ball in the house, down a hallway or something. Once she catches it, just give her a recall command so she'll bring it to you. she'll get the hang of it soon enough.

Congratulations to everyone. Best of luck, too.

My girl turned 7 weeks old on Monday. I brought her home this past Friday, 6 days ago. She's already 90% housetrained, as she goes to the back door and whines a bit when she needs to go out. My question is about leash training. I've had her drag the leash around for a little while each day in the house to get used to it, but when I take her outside to try and walk her on it in the yard or park she fights--sitting down, digging in, trying to squirm out of her collar (buckle collar, I won't use a choker). I put pressure on her to walk with me, but don't drag her around by the leash, and then snatch her up and bring her inside (she doesn't like that as she really prefers to be outside right now). She is starting to wander a litte further away from me each day when we walk, so I want her on the leash until she has a good recall. How can I make this easier for both of us?