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Dberhow

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    Cedar Rapids, Iowa

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  1. Have a rescue, so limited history. My Willow had really tiny almost cat like nails when I got her, but now they are much thicker. I am thinking she is 12-16 months, but the vet put her at 2 when i got her. Also she is still showing additional pigment changes, her muzzle was pure white, but in the last few months she has developed "freckles" all over her nose. She seems to also be moving past the puppy chew on everything stage to just chewing on slippers. (My bad but she loves them) Just trying to figure out how old she is. Thanks
  2. 6 Months ago I brought home an underweight, terrified border collie, who was afraid of everyone and everything, literally, she was afraid of roast beef the first night. She would charge, growling at people and snapping at them keep them away. She growled at everyone, except her 2 people. Fast forward to now. She meets most people with enthusiasm, instead of charging at people growling, she is running to them looking for treats, and affection. Strangers can be tolerated, and will usually become friends. Find the right trainer, read as much as you can, and spend time with your dog. Wasn't easy, but good things rarely are. Dom
  3. I don't think she has been abused, I think she was partially/never socialized as a puppy and abandoned with her sister for quite a while based on what the rescue said. I have worked with a number of dogs in the past, and she is the first one I have seen licking dew or rain off the grass while running. She was on her own long enough to develop survival skills. Additionally within the spectrum of a normal border collies stranger acceptance I would say she is more reserved. When I got her, she had never seen a toilet flush, power windows, roast beef, or most anything. Almost everything is a new experience for her and she exceeds her ability to think and goes into a reactive mode very easily around strangers. She is low confidence, high drive, with a potential hair trigger for self defense to strangers who approach her. She is great at the vet as long as I am there, and a normal happy healthy dog at home with her people.
  4. I probably looked at 150 rescues from Kansas City to New York until I saw her picture, and we picked her up the next day. her sister was the "outgoing" one, buy I knew when I saw her she was the right one. All of my previous dogs were adopted the same way, saw a picture, and decided they were the one. The Aussie had been returned 5 times for aggression, and he is a home dog, he's 15 now and happy. I just want more for Willow. I have ordered the Click To Calm, and am considering the Fenzi Academy classes. Thank you both for the recommendations.
  5. Willow is my latest rescue, I have had her since mid November. She and her sister were left at a shelter, someone dropped them off in the middle of the night, and left them inside the fence. So I have no history. When we went to get her at the rescue, she was completely shut down, and on autopilot. All she would do is walk in circles, and try to get the hell away from me. We put her in a kennel in the back seat, and headed home, a 3.5 hour drive. She was as quiet as a church mouse. We stopped for food about an hour later, and I let her out, and she was pretty much in a full panic becasue there were trucks and cars, etc. I decided to sit in the front passenger seat, with her on my lap. She laid there the rest of the trip without moving, just slept. Vet check was good, no issues with lab work, parasites, etc. She was only 19 pounds, so we started putting some weight on her. I think she is about 16 months old, based on her behavior, and the fact she was unspayed, and not pregnant. I started bringing her into work with me, and for the first few weeks, she just slept under my desk. As she started to get more confident, she is starting to show "Stranger Danger" and will now lunge, growl, and snap at certain people. She's not a big fan of men, but she's a Daddy's Girl, which I like. I have been working with a local trainer for socialization and confidence building, but it seems like the more confident she gets, the more she is willing to be aggressive. Currently I am keeping her penned in my office, and using clicker training to try to reshape the behavior, but I think I may need professional help (for me as well as the dog). I live in Iowa, but am willing to travel a ways if it will help her. Dom
  6. She was an odd little dog and I miss her. She would lay on her back, and I started pulling her lips down to make her look ferocious, and make growly noises to her. She figured out that I liked this and started doing it on her own.
  7. Just an observation, but if this started after you moved to a new house, does she lick in other locations besides the house? Is it possible this could be her attempt at self calming due to change in environment?
  8. Maybe they knew I was going to ask the same question, and just saved me the time.
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