D'Elle

I fully understand that. Of course. I still miss Jes and Kit terribly and wish they could have lived as long as I do. It's always the hardest thing in the world when that decision has to be made. But when mind and heart know it's right, you say goodbye. I think the only thing wrong with dogs is that they don't live long enough.

I have a dog who is like that with apple. And bananna. And blueberry. And kale. And carrots. Once had a foster dog who I trained by using only pieces of lettuce, which she was wild about. That was the least expensive training of a dog I ever did! In my experience generally dogs love the taste and smell of peanut butter, but have trouble eating it unless it is a tiny amount. I have sometimes mixed a little peanut butter into some rolled oats, just enough to make them stick together long enough to put into the dog's mouth, and that seems to help. But it's easier to use peanut butter flavored treats. Which you can make yourself if so inclined.

That is so intertesting, and I have not heard of it before either. If the vet signs off on health, then perhaps it is just an oddity. So, you have a very unusual pup. I wonder if his color will change again as he gets older.

Oh gosh, I only saw this today and apologize for not seeing it sooner and responding. Ruth, I am so very sorry. I will miss reading reports about Gibbs on this forum, as I always enjoyed "knowing" him here. I could tell he was a wonderful dog. My condolences are deep and I send you my best. You have many very happy memories of Gibbs. Not the same as having the warm furry being, I know. Take care of yourself, and I hope cuddling those puppies helps your heart to be peaceful.

Not great news, but you already knew there was a mass there, so not super bad news either. So far, so good (except it's still there). Wishing you and Hannah all the best good fortune.

So smart.

All very true. Actually, if this were my dog I stop doing the protocol immediately. If it is meant to relax the dog, it seems to have the opposite effect on this one. Not all dogs will want that kind of thing. Wouldn't work on one of mine.

Very interesting and I am glad there's something that helps! Keep us informed and best of luck to you and Raina.

I don't know what the relaxation mat training is that you are talking about. But if I were doing something like what I think you are describing and the dog barked, I would simply stop doing it. By doing this you will find out if the dog actually likes it or not, because if every time the dog barks you stop and walk away, the dog will learn that barking makes you stop. If the dog likes what you are doing, eventually the dog wil refrain from barking so that you will continue doing what the dog likes. If the dog doesn't refrain from barking, it means the dog wants you to stop doing it, so stop. There is no need to specifically reward her, and you shouldn't show displeasure. This relaxation thing is something YOU want to do. Which is fine, but since it is for the dog you need to find out if your dog wants you to do it or not. If she likes it, then continuing it will be all the reward she needs for not barking. If she doesn't want it, then she has successfully communicated that to you. Listen to your dog.

So happy to hear that a solution has been found and hope it continues to work well for you and Gibbs!

Glad y ou found a solution. I have several yoga mats myself and in past years I have used them for runners across a floor too slick for an elderly dog to walk on. They are good for so many things if you have dogs.

How about a tarp? It could be under the x-pen, held down by heavy weights on the outside of the pen so it can't be moved. Then the towels go in layers on top of the tarp. If the towels get rucked all up (I have a dog who loves to ruck up rugs to lie on too) then the tarp is still there on top of the floor and can just be wiped or hosed off.

12 is definitely not old for a border collie, so I hope that it is very slow growing and/or that there is a safe medication that may slow the growth. Such awful news to get, no matter what, though. My beloved Digger dog, my scruffy terrier, has a heart murmur and when I learned about it I was deeply concerned. But he is on medication that seems to be keeping it from getting any worse so far (2 years at this point), so it seems likely to me now that it won't shorten his life. I wish the same for you and Hannah.

Has this happened for your dog? If so, I am so sorry and offer my support. I don't know anything about such things, so what I think may be useless. But it seems to me that an x-ray would be in order to make sure that is what it is. Of course, maybe all that is needed is the echo. Have you seen the picture results yourself?

So sorry this is happening to Gibbs. When my beloved Kit dog was 16, 17, she leaked urine at night, quite a lot. Or else she just peed, not sure which. For close to a year I got up several times during the night, every time I heard her stir, to let her out. That started adversely affecting my health due to lack of consistent sleep and constant fatigue, so I confined her to the kitchen and put down fresh towels (a lot of them) under her every night. It wasn't a terrific solution because she had to lie on urine soaked towels, and I felt really bad about that, but it was the only thing that would work for me because I had carpet at that time in the other rooms and couldn't get up every morning and scrub another spot or three. The thing about urine in carpet is that even with the best enzyme cleaners there is still some left which you can see if you use a black light. It never really goes away even if it doesn't smell. ( I am finally next month putting in a new plank floor that will be so much easier if/when I have an elder with that problem again)

So true that sometimes one is fine until that changes. I have observed the same thing in people, and certainly could name a number of things in myself that changed without any particular reason I could determine. Sometimes those changes are for the better, too. I was very afraid at one time to be on a roof, would freeze and be unable to move, and then suddenly one day I was not afraid, and nothing had happened externally or consciously to make the change. Now I love to get on roofs. I always liked this one brand of something and hated the taste of this other brand. Between one day and the next, that switched. I returned several to the store thinking they were a bad batch before realizing nothing had changed except my personal taste. I tried the brand I had always hated and thought it was fine. Go figure. Sometimes a dog will be fine for years about one thing and suddenly not fine and that dog has not been under the influence of any person or circumstance you don't know about. One dog I had suddenly developed anxiety when I was gone and started tearing up things in the house, and this was a dog who had never in his 10 years even picked up anything that was not his. Sometimes we never know why; sometimes we can fix it and sometimes not.

I was and still am fascinated with this study as well. The color change in the coat surprised me as well. I have wondered why. I have also wondered if the start of what we call breeds today came in much the same fashion. People started select breeding for herding ability and those brown dogs slowly became black and white? People selected for scent tracking and the dogs developed longer ears? People took canines north and they grew longer and thicker fur. Of course, those things were then bred on purpose, but I can't help but wonder if the changes started off with the animals themselves, rather than what people thought up all on their own. The same way that people did not tame wild canines and breed them deliberately, but rather wild canines started hanging around early versions of human beings in order to get their food and scraps, and evolved into dogs at the same time we evolved into people because the association was mutually beneficial. I always like to think of people and dogs sort of creating each other. :-)

Thanks for the mention of those photos. I never knew there were such fancy pheasants until I met someone years ago who raised three or four different kinds of fancies. They are amazing. I was given some feathers by this lady and still have them - they are so beautiful. Thanks for the reminder about Terrierman, too. I keep forgetting to read his blog, which I think is very good.

Thanks for that info, Eileen! I never knew that about the melanin, and find it fascinating. I thought that the "gay tail" was about holding it high, and not about the coloration, but since I am not well versed in this I didn't comment on it when someone called it that. Makes sense, especially as you see that since most border collies have that white tip, most working border collies have the white tip to the tail also.

Great idea, Journey. :-)

Just want to say I feel the same about this site, which has also been my place to get information, support, different ways of approaching something and good advice for 20 years. The people here have generous with their time and advice, and there is always more to learn. That's why I come to this forum and why I enjoy it so much. It is one of the best forums I have ever found, and there's none comparable when it comes to border collies.

Just want to say I feel the same about this site, which has also been my place to get information, support, different ways of approaching something and good advice for 20 years. The people here have generous with their time and advice, and there is always more to learn. That's why I come to this forum and why I enjoy it so much. It is one of the best forums I have ever found, and there's none comparable when it comes to border collies.

I couldn't agree more with this statement. All this person wants to do is brag (endlessly and repetitively) about how they do things and their dog. This person also apparently needs to put other people down as often as possible in order to feel good about himself, which shows that he is not nearly as confident as he tries to get others to believe he is. Truly confident people don't need to do that. This is not contributing to the forum in any positive or meaningful way. I also thought I'd give it one more chance, to respond to what others were saying. But this person only wants to display arrogance and false pride and be as disruptive as possible in the forum. This is definitely not responsible posting, and maybe we have had quite enough of this character. Probably the best thing to do is ignore any further posts from this person.

None of my border collies have had 7 or more hours of outdoor work a day either. Nor do professional border collies who herd livestock. Far more typically it is intense or extensive (not usually both) work or exercise at 2 or 3 different times in the day each time not lasting more than an hour. I also have not ever felt that, with any of the border collies I have owned or with any I have fostered, who often came to me with some or many issues that needed work, they were any more work than any other breed or mixed breed of dog. Same with the puppies. I think they might be more work perhaps for someone who is not familiar with the breed or is not skilled at training. For me, as someone who wants to train the dogs who are in the household, every dog gets the same training and takes the same work. In some ways border collies take a lot less work because they learn so fast. However...when the dog learns everything at a rapid speed, that means mistakes in training are also learned, and then have to be unlearned. Not always so with other dogs. Although the same will be true of many intelligent dogs, border collies really show you your training weaknesses. All those border collies have taught me more about training than any course, book, or people have. As for confidence, I have not trained dogs to work stock and that is an entirely other thing. But I know I have taken foster border collies at various ages from having zero confidence, being timid or shy or fearful or fear-aggressive, to being happy outgoing confident dogs, and it has sometimes taken a lot less time than I thought it would. These dogs have turned out to be fine companions with no problems, doing sports and activities including sport herding, going everywhere with their people, and certainly did not start out with everything lined up perfectly at the beginning of their life. In fact, at times just the opposite.

One of the dogs I have right now I got because I fell in love with a face on the internet. I told myself for three days that I did not need that dog, who is not a border collie, but I couldn't help myself and went to meet him. He has been with me for 10 years now. He is just about perfect and I cannot imagine my life without him. So, you never know how a dog will come to you. My experience is that if it truly feels right, it is.