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Tess's Girl

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Everything posted by Tess's Girl

  1. Hey guys, we often talk about educating the general public about what we love and, also, why this breed is not for everyone. We talk about how we wish more people realized why working is such an important part of the heritage, and future of the breed. This is a great opportunity to educate a large audience of people about our breed. I know many of you are on Facebook. Please take a few moments to scroll down the page and answer some of the questions that have been posted today about the Border Collie. The more the merrier!
  2. I'm not sure of her background but I've followed the NPDD page for a long time and they always do an excellent job of showcasing each breed. They've always placed emphasis on dogs that are bred for work.She posts photos and questions and lets the owners of the breeds talk about their expertise so others can learn about the breed.
  3. To all my Border Collie people: The National Purebred Dog Day page on Facebook wants to feature our breed for two days and needs our help. She’ll do the “heavy lifting” by posting breed history and factoids, and asking questions that cover topics such grooming, health testing, and challenges in owning the breed, but she needs breed experts (us!) to answer questions and share our breed wisdom. All we need to do on those two days is “like” the National Purebred Dog Day, and check in to answer the latest questions, share photos and offer our breed wisdom. The feature is intended to educate the 52,000 page followers about what the breed is like to live with, and what anyone considering the breed for themselves needs to know before getting one. What say you all?" And you can message the page with photos you'd like them to use during the feature. The dates for Border collie’s will be this week May 25/26. This is a great opportunity to educate people about our fantastic breed so please join. Link to NPDD: https://www.facebook.com/NationalPurebredDogDay/
  4. Here is a sable. I think this is the best photo that shows her color. She's a sable merle, I've been told. I used to think she was cryptic merle but others have pointed out they can see the merle markings. I don't know, I'll leave that to those who know color better than me. Also, is she saddleback?
  5. Congrats! That's amazing. Kolt is my favorite dog-i-know-from-the-internet.
  6. Welcome to the Boards! I'm sorry to hear about your illness and hope you are feeling much better! Your puppy is adorable. For starters, is he crate trained? Crate training can be a fantastic way to teach an off switch and can keep your puppy from destructive behaviors such as chewing your furniture. Secondly, your puppy is entirely too young to be running with you. "Forced running" such as being on a leash and running along side you can be extremely damaging to growing joints. Typically it is not recommended you run with a dog until their growth plates are fully closed around 12-18 months. It also sounds like you are walking Nalu quite a bit as well. When my pup was 4 months on we rarely went on even 30 minute walks. It also depends on how the walks happen, if it is on a sidewalk and covering quite a bit of distance then, like running, it puts quite a bit of pressure on growing joints. However if you are walking in a large field or similar area and walking very slowly, giving the pup the chance to move, sniff, lay down, and explore at his own pace that is a very different matter. Border Collies are active dogs but you don't want to create an exercise dependent dog. If you walk/run your dog five miles a day then you are creating a dog who expects to be exercise five miles a day. You are better served to teach your dog to be happy with how much exercise you can give him and have an off switch for times when you cannot give him as much exercise as you would like. As for what you can do other than exercise, make sure your puppy has plenty to chew on, kongs, antlers, etc. Also, treat dispensing toys are a great way for your pup to work his mind. I used to feed my youngest entirely out of treat dispensing toys for at least one meal a day. Trick training is also a great way to work your pup's mind and give him some exercise. To teach an off switch I would highly recommend crate training. You can use the crate for naps throughout the day when your pup needs them. An alternative is also using an exercise pen. I don't use crates very often for my dogs anymore but when I did I would give them a kong stuffed with something like peanut butter and put them in for a nap when I felt they needed to take break. I am also not a huge fan of dog parks. Your pup is still really young and susceptible to disease. And in general there are usually just too many people, too many unknowns, and too many things that can go wrong at a dog park. I also expose my dogs to other dogs and owners that I know and that I know they get along with. As a personal example I have two Border Collies. My female, Tess, is 3 years old. I joke sometimes that she's really a cat stuck in a dogs body because she would be more than happy to sleep 18 hours a day every day. She can get up and go and hike 10 miles if she wants to, but is also find to just lay around. She was pretty much born like that and never needed to be taught to have an off-switch. My male, Crow, is an entirely different story. He's over a year old now and is a super busy dog. Right now he is currently squeaking a toy in the middle of the floor trying to get me to play with him. If it's just us at the house he is good about relaxing but if there is anything going on he just cannot relax. He's just happy and wants to be involved in everything and when he starts to get tired he just works himself up more. I've worked really hard to teach him an off-switch and for the most part he does well but even still sometimes I have to crate him and force him to rest. Just this Sunday we were at my boyfriend's house hanging out with his dog and Crow and Urbs just fed energy off each other and we finally had to separate them and I crated Crow so they could both get some rest. So it can definitely be a process and don't expect it to happen overnight. Hope this helps. I'm sure other people will chime in as well.
  7. How old is he again? Is he neutered? It kind of sounds like he's just being an obnoxious adolescent male. Of course not all males go through that phase but that's where I'm at with Crow right now. He's just completely oblivious to other dogs signs and just wants to do what he wants to do. So I constantly manage and make sure he's not being too pushy and let the dogs sort it out if I know them well, but I never let him annoy a dog who doesn't like it. I think it will pass once he gets over this stage, we shall see.
  8. I worked for the local county animal shelter the summer between high school and college and it was the hardest and most heartbreaking job I've ever had. KY always ranks lowest in animal welfare laws. Rescues have really been doing a good job of coming into most of these county shelters and pulling animals, but that's not always better (one rescue was recently raided and 178 dogs were confiscated). The situation is just not going to get any better here or in the South as a whole until the laws are made and enforced and people have more of a respect for pet ownership. I'm glad that your pup found a good home with you.
  9. I grew up in Eastern KY. Floyd County, which is right next to Pike County. Both Border Collies and Aussies are common in the area and it's still extremely common for dogs to run lose or just be dropped off somewhere when they are no longer wanted. I would guess she probably has some Aussie in her, but I also wouldn't put it past somewhere to dock a border collie tail either.
  10. My favorite bit of weird advice that I still hear ALL the time is: Don't ever play tug with your dog because it will make them dominant and aggressive.
  11. I have two molly mutt duvets stuffed with old blankets and comforters that Crow likes. Like these: http://www.muttropolis.com/products2.cfm?ID=21880&Name=Doghouse-Fun-Dog-Bed-Cover&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=CSE&gclid=CjwKEAiAvauyBRDwuYf3qNyXmW4SJACX9-fXo17Qa26ecDyK0k4pZdgt-zqvX7Khl89MkisWlY6cCRoCKTvw_wcB I also have a round bed that comes up on both sides that I got from walmart. Tess loves to curl up in it. She's always liked the beds with sides the best. Like this: http://source-www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/7/729849112490BS1.jpg but the sides aren't quite that tall.
  12. I tried both the collar and the plug in diffuser and neither of them seemed to have an effect on Tess.
  13. Crow was extremely noisy in his crate for awhile. I finally had the idea to put a blanket over the crate. (It should have occurred to me much sooner than it did). After that he was fine. He also never needed a potty break overnight.
  14. This post makes me want to throw up my hands and shout "Amen!" I used to frequently walk my two dogs with a friend who also has two dogs. Tess and one of her dogs are not very friendly. They don't appreciate other dogs bothering them. However we were able to walk, with all four dogs side by side most of the time with them only giving the occasional glance at the other dogs from time to time. It's completely possible and not all that hard. Tommy Coyote wrote (quote function is messing up): "I kind of agree with you, Nancy. If your dog really isn't good with people and kids and other dogs it probably is a lot safer to go where you can be alone. Because if you are out people and children are going to come up to you. They just do. Children especially will just run up to see the dog. But that's my opinion." Why should I just have to accept this? As a child I can promise you that I never ran up to strange dogs and if I had so much as dared I would have been immediately corrected by my parents. Why should I not be able to go somewhere with my perfectly well behaved dogs because other people do not know what manners are?
  15. I rarely take my dogs into public anymore because of people being ridiculous. I mean, take any other item that you have out in public and the logic people apply to dogs make absolutely no sense, "Oh what a pretty purse you have, may I hold it?" "Umm, no." "Why do you have your purse out in public if you don't want people touching it?" I mean that conversation sounds absolutely absurd but sub dog for purse and that's what we deal with every single day. I just do not get the fanaticism about dogs in public. I even get aggravated when people ask me if they can pet them. No, leave me alone, I don't go around asking to pet you or your children, don't bother me and ask me to pet my dog. And no, my dog does not want to be friends with your dog, and your dog really doesn't want to be friends with him. If we pass without letting them sniff each other and go on about our day they will be both be fine and will not pine for each other, promise. Note, this post may be slightly colored by the ridiculous weekend I have had, but I stand by it in sentiment.
  16. I have a pet dog training business and I charge .50 cents a mile for anything more than 30 miles away from my home. That's slightly less than the federal mileage reimbursement rate. Especially for 75 miles one way, I think they would expect some sort of travel fee. And you won't just be paying for gas that reimbursement goes towards other vehicle maintenance so I would make it more than the going price of gas.
  17. Glad thing are going well. It sounds like you all have put a lot of work into making him feel at home. I will second finding and alternative to chaining him in the yard. For the same reasons GentleLake mentioned and also, if he's trying to escape the yard because he is stressed or upset about something chaining him in it is only going to exacerbate the problem. Up thread you mentioned he was crate trained, why can't you leave him in the crate while you are gone?
  18. My parents live on about 25 acres of wooded land in Eastern Kentucky. We can occasionally hear them yapping in the hills. It's pretty neat to hear. If I'm home I can tell when they're close because the dogs start acting weird. If anyone is familiar with Lexington we have a shopping place called the Hamburg Pavilion. Exits 110 and 108 off of 75 border it. I live close to the area and drive down the interstate to get to work. The other day I spotted a coyote walking down the wooded shoulder just pretty as you please. I was aware they were around but that's the first time I had spotted one so close t all the business of the city.
  19. It was accurate for Crow he was 23lbs at 16 weeks and now at a year he's about 45-50. He's just a little over one year old. He's also a big underweight from his surgeries.
  20. My suggestion is to get a babygate or, even better, an exercise pen and separate the living room somehow. That way you and your roommates can interact normally and have both dogs out at the same time, but you don't have to worry about them actually getting to each other.
  21. I'm so sorry to hear this. I'm in the same boat with Crow. If you want to talk or just vent please PM me. I wish I had more to offer, but I do not know much about kidney failure. Trooper and his family are in my thoughts and prayers.
  22. Have you considered self-publishing your novel?
  23. Look into buying the book "mine!" by Jean Donaldson. It's fantastic. I've used the protocols to help with resource guarding with many really extreme resource guarding cases.
  24. Neither are really an option in this situation. Radiation would be really risky because it is so close to his eye. They said this type of cancer doesn't respond to chemo usually. And his age is a factor, because he is so young they said it will just keep coming back and keep coming back. I don't want to put him through treatment after treatment or surgery after surgery and not making any headway. Basically this surgery is to buy us some time. And I hope it buys us a lot. We might know more when the results come back but the vets pretty much said it'll just be a waiting game.
  25. Here he is back and happy. He's still swollen right now but the surgeon said once he heals up you won't be able to tell hardly at all.
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