Kylos86

HI, Another update ladies,gents and doggies. We where supposed to wait until friday as advised by the now known as 'Nasty Nurse' (we wrongly assumed she was a Vet) but we where not happy with her advice and so today we called and requested we see the actual Vet. No words can describe how amazingly different the experience was, straight away he said 'lets move to a larger examination room' which I was prepared to request as Django is almost 55lbs and 24" tall so he's a big boy and I thought the small room made the situation worse. We muzzled him as a precaution which he doesn't mind at all and there was a slight struggle but the Vet and another nurse restrained him without a fuss and he lay still and allowed the stitches to be removed without any teeth or growling. I could not believe my eyes!!! The Vet also said the stitches should have already been removed as they are a foreign body and he was rejecting them, needless to say we made are feeling known about the 'Nasy Nurse' who made us feel like we where bad parents because she didn't handle or wasn't prepared to handle Django properly. Suffice to say we are all relieved and he has a course of antibiotics just in case, it just goes to show how much difference a Vet/Nurses attitude can make I mean she could of caused more aggression in him if we continued to see her just by her attitude towards him. Today was a good day until a jungle dog got loose and attacked Django at the dog park, we are friendly with the owners but he is always kept leashed because he is a rescue and due to his unpredictability but got loose today, I had to kick him away put Django in a down and basically make myself sound scary and chase him, he got the message and luckily he only got hold of the hair on Djangos bum. Django was ready to fight back but due to the stress and the risk of injury I took the defensive route myself, on the plus side he now knows I can protect him. Hopefully thats the end of the stress for a while, thanks for all your help edit in my previous post I mentioned being anxious, what I meant was I was anxious after visiting the surgery because of the way it made me feel, when in any situation I think Django will be unsure/scared I'm always confident and calm and he is very good at following my lead almost like he knows what I'm thinking, the situation with the attack is a perfect example, as soon as I took control he became at ease and waited for my instruction, afterwards he was not phased at all and wanted his ball

Hi everyone, SInce we are back on topic I thought I would give an update, your responses so far have been very helpful. So this morning we go to have Django's stitches removed and it was much better as the vet made a fuss and gave him treats but unfortunately he is too smart for those tricks and had to be muzzled whilst she inpected the wound which wasn't pleasant for anyone, he just new and went a little wild. He had some fluid build up and swelling near the stitches so she did not want to remove them incase the pressure forced the incision open again. So now we have to wait until the fluid is reabsorbed and have them removed on Friday another 5 days!!! I just constantly feel anxious about putting him in that situation over and over. I just can't wait to get back to normal I know its the right thing to have done but I can't help regret doing it to him because of the stress it is causing us all. I guess once the stitches are out all will be well but it cant come soon enough!!!!

PPPFFFFTTTT indeed .....yep I dont think she's a great lover of a breed who can outsmart her lol she just didn't like Django at all which is a first as everyone who has met him has loved him and when I meet new people at the park they have alway heard of the famous Border Collie called Django with one blue eye and one brown eye....oh and that tall lad who is always with him haha heres a few pics of us in the woods and atop mount Snowdon in Wales UK enjoy....

Hi, Thank for your responses so far and I'm glad others agree the vet was over reacting, I have a keen interest in canine behaviour since first researching getting a BC and I think because Django is a little wolf like he looks scary to the untrained eye, even my partner often mistakes normal play or communication with aggression. I would expect this vet to know this though and will be looking elsewhere for any further treatment required (hopefully only checkups etc) she even went as far as to say it's a BC thing because they are 'all' headstrong. It was as if she had never had a problem with any dog she had treated prior to Django. I will be doing a lot more work with Django so he is comfortable being handled by me and my partner making it a pleasant experience. aschlemm I need to find a practice more like you describe you sound wonderful, it was 9am so maybe the vet woke up on the wrong side of the bed who knows but we have seen a male vet previously with no problems so I will request him to remove the stitches.

Hi everyone, I have searched this site loads for answers but none mention this. We had our boy Django 'fixed' last Friday and he is doing great, we took him to the vet yesterday to check the wound was healing ok. Thats when the trouble started. The vet attempted to take his temperature from 'behind' and he wouldnt allow this and growled a little and spun out of position, she gave up on that and I managed to get him to roll on his back and show her his wound. She immediately said we she could put us in touch with a behaviourist as this type of thing should be nipped in the bud and a dog should allow her to doe whatever she wants with no fuss. From Djangos point of view she did not greet him or make a fuss. Did not allow him to acclimatise to her or his surroundings she just went in for the kill without warning so I think the slight growl was a mild reaction. However he has stitches that will need to be removed and I have been doing a little training with him so he gets used to being manipulated for future vet visits and as soon as I touch his stitches he moves his head towards my hand as a warning (he is easy to control as he has a buster coller on) he doesnt quite growl but he is certainly communicating a dislike and will not keep still. I think if he did not have the buster collar he would definately 'mouth' my hand (not quite a bite but applying pressure with the mouth) I'm afraid the vet will be unable to keep him still long enought to remove the stitches and he will have to muzzled no doubt. My question is has anybody else had the problem and how do you deal with it? he is the perfect dog in every other way except when you poke and prod him in painful areas errrm duhh will he need to be sedated?? Is there anything I can do to improve his tolerance to being examined?? Thanks in advance

Thanks Liz P and Maralynn thats how I have learned a lot about body language from training with Django so I must have missed the 'trigger' it must just be the rudeness as the springer psaniel is also young and 'springy' bouncing around so I agree and think Django is setting them straight. This puts my mind at rest it's funny because Django will not go over to any new dog or dog he knows until I say 'go on' this was never trained he just check with me which I appreciate so whenever he tells a dog off it is them invading his space. People can be ignorant though as I could tell what some of the people where thinking because all they see is a 14 month old 55lbs 25" tall BC pin a 7 month old bull dog.

Yes I can see your point thanks Liz P but in human terms this would be like a child tugging on the womens coat arm and continually saying lets play, lets play, would she be OK to slap the child? I think her husband would have something to say to her about that however they are dogs so neither of our hypethetical human situations hold weight. I'm trying to figure out the why? as it is such an out of character behaviour, maybe he did feel threatened or protective I have in fact given the young lad a long line to help with control and told him this would happen sooner or later if he allowed her to just run up to any dog but didn't expect it to be Django. Yeah Riika I should have been more specific when I say stearnly corrected I mean vocal redirection, I use his name in a long deep voice then say easy, its OK. This is mainly used when he barks which is when anything moves outside the front of the house, but that behaviour get redirected before he reacts most of the time.

Hi, I havn't posted in a while as what I have learned from this board has helped work with Django and he has grown into the best companion I could ask for and continues to get better each day. Now I have searched for answers and can find none for this current development, here are the details; There are a regular group of us who walk our dogs at the local park, all off leash and everybody gets along fine. Django mainly 'works' though by chasing a ball or whatever toy I bring, there are other dogs there who enjoy this and Django is happy to share, if he and another dog get to the ball at the same time he always allows them to have it and has never shown any possessive aggression at all. Now today there was a puppy bull dog bitch named lola who is very boisterous and jumps in other dogs faces, she was 'told off' by a leashed dog who has fear aggression issues (which is why he is leashed) the young lad who owns lola can't control her off leash but everybody elses dogs tolerate her. Django was pooped after running around in the sun and cooling off in the shade, I walked over to leash him as it was time to leave, I clipped the leash on whilst he was laying down then lola (the bull dog) bounds over and Django went mental growling and pinning her, I stearnly corrected him, checked she was OK and then we left. This has only ever happend twice, another time was with a springer spaniel who is a regular also and I thought it was just him he didnt like so when he is around I make sure Django stays away from him. Can anybody explain this? as Django shows no other aggression at any time towards anyone dogs or humans. Everybody always comments on how well trained and behaved he is, is he trying to assert he dominance like a pack? they are all together everyday at the same time there are around 5 solid regulars and then 5-6 less regular dogs. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long read.

Django's nickname's are Puppy Power. Monster (because he is always chasing the 2 cats). Monster pup, Big Bad Wolf (again in relation to the cats). Our cats also have nicknames Sooty (black tom) is Goofball,. Goofstaferson or Oooooofs because of his lack of balance and judgement of distance. Sweep (ginger female) is Prinny Girl, Prinny Winny or Little Girl as she is always so dainty and perfect.

Hi, I did this post a couple of weeks back without checking either My boy Django is 11 months old and medium coated and very skinny also but your girl looks fine to me on the photos. Its easier as she is smooth. Django gets a lot of exercise and is fed twice a day with treats in between whilst training and it goes knowhere. If he where smooth he would be skinnier than your girl and BC's are designed to be lean and its a good thing when still growing.

Thanks Liz P this definatley reassures me alot, your Dogs are looking great I wish I could work Django as he is really responsive to commands, I have trained him to "herd" his favourate toys which he finds great fun but it just isn't the same with inanimate objects, I am going to take him to agility classes instead once he is old enough, flyball is a no no as he is already ball obsessed!! Thanks again

Hi He has never had issues with eating and had no issues whilst he had the illness either, I only began to worry after the illness occured. I think he went a little too lean due to only having chicken and rice for 3 days but still excercising as usual. All the recommended checks indicated he is OK, he has tons of energy all the time. I would have thought the vet would have made some kind of comment if he was concerned about his weight. I just wish I was there at the time (my girlfriend didn't ask) as he does also have a 'boney bum' which you can feel when petting him. I'm happy to say he is all better now and we have started giving him an extra meal during the day and will monitor and adjust this if necessary. Thanks again for your responses.

Hi Thanks, I can feel his ribs and spine and looking at the chart he comes within the moderate zone and like I said the vet didn't comment on his weight when examining him so he should be OK. He is always full of life and energy and is super quick, I just can't beleive how heavy he is being so lean.

Hi, Django is coming up to 11 months old now and recently had a bad case of the squirts, after waiting 48 hours and it still persisting my girlfriend took him to the vet (I work nights so was sleeping) and £68 down and he has been on some medication for 3 days and is back to normal. Though the vet didn't mention his weight or that there may be any other issues with him Whilst at the vets he was weighed and came in at 51lbs at 11 months old! He is 24 inches at the shoulder so is quite a big puppy already. My question to you is do you think he is too skinny as he can feel a little 'boney' sometimes, I know BC's are supposed to be lean and he gets 2 x 1-2 hour walks each day and is fed morning and evening half dry food and half meat supplemented with fish oils. I have attached some photo's thanks

Hi Ruckus is a very hansome boy well done for choosing a Border Collie "puppy food" is a total con we put Django on adult from 4months most breeders I know feed normal dry food straight away. As for the neutering I have the same problem with my girlfriend pestering me but I will stand by my decision to wait until at least 2 years of age and if there is no problems wih his behaviour I will leave him intact. We had our cat neutered at 6 months and recently he has developed problems related to early neutering (as advised by the vet!!!) this is also a money making scheme to con overcautious owners. If you are a responsible owner your dog wont get chance to mount any bitches at least not long enough. It makes very little behavioural differences.