D'Elle

Not sure who you are addressing this to. You mention "cold like where you are" and seem to have written this as a letter to a breeder. This is a public forum with members from all over the world. My suggestion to you is to contact Border Collie Rescue in your area or near your area and get a dog from there.

You have gotten good advice, so I won't add to that. I would like to point out, however, that you seem to think that border collies are livestock guard dogs, and they most decidedly are not. If you have had a so-called border collie trainer tell you that border collies are livestock guard dogs, steer far away from that person because they don't know jack. When it comes to your kids, I know that is a challenge. The thing to do is sit your kids down for a serious talk. Explain to them that if the dog gets out and bites (or even frightens) someone, the dog will be impounded and may even be killed. Tell them that they are old enough to take responsibility for making sure the door is never left open. When I was a kid we had an Elkhound who was an escape artist. We all knew that if there were the slightest opportunity or crack or moment of inattention he would bolt out the door. I was a kid and had kids over to play. I was perfectly able to take responsibility to make sure the dog did not get out and your kids can too. Best of luck, and do let us know how it is going.

Thanks for doing that! And, also for keeping my privacy at the same time. As I said above, all the spreading of the story that can happen is good. One of the best things about Kelso was that he went from being a severely shut-down and terrified lump on the floor to being a completely goofy clown of a dog. I couldn't ever have predicted that, but I saw it happening the last few months he was with me, and his true goofball nature has come to full flower in his permanent home, thanks to his absolutely wonderful and skilled owners and their deep love for him. I cannot think of Kelso without smiling. Fostering him was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Here is what Kelso's Person says about the facebook post you did: I'm happy to do anything to spread the word about how dogs such as Kelso can overcome their horrors. I don't mind at all if you share any info to spread Kelso's story and to help stop puppy mills, etc.. Kelso does have a facebook page : Kelso Kelso I am not on it very much but there are photos and videos there as well. PS I told Kelso all about this and he smiled and wiggle-waggled his tail all over the place. I swear I kiss him 200 times per day and he wiggles/waggles and smiles and gets all excited and then zooms around. He is so funny!

Actually, I did document a fair bit of Kelso's journey in photos and videos, although some things I would have liked to get on video I couldn't because there wasn't someone here to do the video at that moment. It was always my intention to make a little video, using both moving and still photos, maybe 4 minutes or less, about Kelso to put on You Tube. I even wrote out the story board for it and the narration at one point. But I don't know how to put such a thing together, the friend who said she would help me was always too busy, and it fell by the wayside. I agree that the story and thousands like it should be spread wide. Partly to show people what dogs can overcome if given the chance, and mostly to highlight yet again what puppy mills are really like. There are so many people even now who will say, "Oh my dog isn't from a puppy mill, he came from a breeder is Missouri and is AKC registered!" <sigh> I always try to educate when I can. Sometimes people do not want to heat it, especially when they have been duped into buying a puppy mill dog.

Having worked with a number of very frightened dogs, I agree with those who are saying do not coax her at all. It is like sweet-talking a dog who is afraid of thunderstorms (I hope you don't do that). Coaxing and sweet-talking only reinforce the dog's concept that there is something wrong. It is only natural that our first reaction is to coax and be sweet and reassuring saying "it's OK" and all of that. We are trying to be nice to the dog who is frightened. But it is actually counter-productive to do things that way. With all of the scared and withdrawn dogs I have had, I simply act as if everything is completely normal. No coaxing, no reassurances, just happy cheerful voice and come on let's go now. No nonsense. If she won't get out of the car without being dragged, simply pick her up and put her on the floor of the garage, then walk her firmly into the house. Once there, nothing exciting, no praise, no treats, just normal day and now let's have dinner (or whatever). Eventually she will learn from simple repetition that there's nothing to fear. But give it time. Lots of time. Good for you for working with this dog. It will all be worth it.

The important thing is to get that heel or sit or stay really strong in an environment that is NOT distracting, so that when you take her out to distractions it will be easier for her. So practice the sit and stay and even heel a whole lot at home in the living room or back yard. You can also utilize the "Look At That" game you will find int the book "Control Unleashed" which is available at libraries or Amazon. Basically you teach the dog to look at the thing that interests them, but then to look at you instead of continuing to react to the distraction. The distraction, and you saying "Look at that!" becomes a cue to the dog to sit nicely and look at you to get a treat and praise.

Below is what the person who adopted him has to say about him today. Thought you all would like to hear it. (I asked her if it would be OK for me to post this paragraph here and she gave me permission). Kelso is my favorite "success story". "Yes, Kelso is always well behaved (even if he isn't..lol!). He rules the roost and that is fine by us. We are so happy when he is "demanding" or when he uses his voice to ask for things, when he squeals with delight, when he "digs" me out from under the blankets in the bed when he wants me to get up (which is, without fail, every morning at exactly 5:20am sharp), when he tells Indy what to do, etc.. One time I had a bad migraine and he kept jumping up on the bed and trying to dig me out and then he kept putting his toys on my face (RIGHT on my face...lol!). I had to laugh and I swear I immediately felt better! Whenever we vacuum he makes us play tug with him with the other hand (and the other one vacuuming). Believe me, it takes a long time to vacuum around here when we have to also play tug at the same time. It's a sight to see! :-) He is such a joy. He's always a good boy and the ONLY time we might gently say "uh uh" is if he might do something which would jeopardize his safety -such as getting out of car before I give him the ok, trying to eat something "icky" on the ground, etc. You understand. Otherwise, my boy can do no wrong. :-) Really though, he's an angel. He automatically knows what I want him to do or not do. It's like he reads my mind. We are truly soul mates. :-)"

I was just thinking about Kelso last night, and how cute he became once he came out of his shell, and then this morning I opened my email to find a photo and video of him riding in the car with his (also rescue) dog companion, getting ever so excited because they were almost to the park! For those of you who do not know Kelso through my posts, he is the one on the left. I don't know how to post the video, so you will have to make do with the photo. In the video he is extremely well behaved, not jumping around or yipping, just making his very cute little squeal of excitement. He is having a good life.

I would recommend restarting the protocol. I suspect that you went too quickly, which is a very easy thing to do, and I have made that mistake myself. Sometimes these things take a very long time. Don't take him anywhere in the car at all until you have this under control. Taking him in the car and allowing him to behave like this is very counter-productive, and you now need to start back at the beginning again. If it is absolutely necessary, absolutely no choice whatever, and you really have to take him somewhere in the car, put him into a crate, cover it with cloth so he cannot see out, and ignore him completely. But basically just do not take him anywhere in the car at all unless it is life or death. You need to start at the beginning and go very, very slowly. You don't even start the car at first. Then you start it but don't drive. Then you only back out of the driveway, then you go a half a block. And so on.But each of those should be done for a week, two weeks, or more, until he is completely calm the whole time. If he reverts, go back fully one step and start from there again. Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

So glad he is feeling better. I know how hard it is when you are worried about your dog!

Thank you both so very much!

What training have you done to teach the dog to walk nicely on a leash? Any dog has to be trained that this is desirable and the only way to do that is to make it worthwhile for him NOT to pull on the leash. Right now, you are teaching him that it IS worthwhile to pull on the leash. Take a good obedience or basic leash manners class, go online to Kiko Pup as someone else suggested, learn how to train your dog properly with reinforcement and not punishment. You cannot expect him to know what you want if you only use collars or harnesses that prevent his pulling or make it uncomfortable to pull, or if all you do is jerk on the leash. He needs to be taught what you want, not just punished for what you don't want. This applies to pretty much everything with a dog. If you put yourself in the dog's place, you can imagine that you want something over there very badly. But every time you try to get it, you are (say) pinched on the arm by another person. You learn that going for what you want results in a pinch. But, you still want it and the pinch is not that bad so you keep trying to get it no matter what. Now, if you are, instead, told "hey, you can have that over there if you want it, but you first have to ask nicely for it and behave this certain way", well then, you will be happy to do what is asked of you to get what you want. You just had to have it explained to you.

love the ears. love the freckles. love the one blue eye. I wouldn't have been able to resist either!

I had a frisbee obsessed border collie. I tried once, and a professional trainer tried once, to train him using frisbee as reward and/or lure. I say "onece" because it was obvious immediately that if the frisbee were within sight, or even if he knew it was in the room, he could not possibly focus on anything but getting that frisbee so I would throw it for him. So, not a good training tool. I agree that using his kibble, one piece for one requested behavior, is probably the best way to go. Or, try different treats: cheese, liverwurst, roast chicken, anything smelly and delicious and cut up into tiny tiny pieces.

I agree with the above comments. A border collie is not the right dog for you. If you are going to need an assistance dog, research the local organizations ...including those a state or two away...and find out if it will be possible for you to get one of their trained dogs. Border collies are not often chosen by the service dog trainers, as their need for attention, exercise, and mental stimulation is most often beyond what a person with a disability can provide.

Recently I was in a position to explain to someone why they should not buy a border collie puppy from a certain breeder who did no herding with their dogs. Several years back, there was a thread I started (titled something like "I think I am getting a puppy"), in which it was beautifully and thoroughly explained to me why no one should buy a border collie puppy from anyone who is not breeding for herding ability exclusively. I had somehow not fully understood, had been led astray by some folks, and many people here helped me to understand. There were so many excellent explanations in that thread that I would like to find it again to copy or paraphrase some of those things and have on hand in this kind of situation. But when I have searched for it, I have not found it. Any one know how to find it? Thanks. (ps....sorry if this is not the right place to put this)

Well, it's deplorable but it's nothing new. In Britain they are called "collie doodles", and have been around for some time. Some dog sport people there like them. We can only hope that it won't catch on here. But I see more "golden doodles" all the time.

Don't know if this will work in your circumstance or not, as I live in a very different kind of place, I am out in the desert in a house. I want my dogs to bark when something or someone is coming because they are my first alert system, but I need for them to stop when I ask them to. My method was to get up from what I am doing when they bark (no matter what) and go to the door or window and look out with them, thank them for letting me know, and then say "that'll do" and steer them away from the door or window. Enough repetitions of this, and they were willing to stop barking if I said "that'll do" even if I don't get u p. Still, I often do get up to go see what it is, to let them know I value their input. You could try some variation on that. In other words, not try to keep your dog from barking entirely, but rather allow a bark or two and then ask her to stop. I think that's much easier and more effective than trying to train a dog not to bark at all at a certain stimulus. A more focused method which might work better for you in your circumstances is the "look at that" game in the book Control Unleashed, which protocol you can find online. Or buy the book, it's a good one. I have a friend who had three shelties, dogs who are known to be barky and these dogs were serious barkers. At anything at all. She used the "look at that" training and could call them off a barkfest in two seconds just by saying those words.

Update: Kit's urine analysis came back with nothing showing that is of any concern. So, she is almost 16 but healthy. That is how Jester was as well, and he did fine up until he suddenly went down hill over the course of three months. None of us are fond of this period of time in our relationships with our dogs. I try to focus on the fact that Jes did and Kit will live out their lives fully, instead of dying too young. Since we cannot change the fact that they don't live as long as we do, that's the best we can get. The only thing good about it is that if they lived as long as we do, we'd not get to have as many dogs in our lifetimes. Although I bet most of us, given the chance, would trade that pleasure for having one special one forever.

Her blood work came back normal except for slightly elevated kidney values and more slightly elevated liver values. I took in a urine sample and should hear about that today. Vet says she may be slightly dehydrated. If she ended up needing fluids, I have done that before and it's no big deal. I could ask the house sitter to shut the cat into my bedroom-and-bathroom if necessary, to leave Kit's breakfast out if she doesn't eat before she has to leave for work. Cat won't like that, but probably that is better than Kit not eating breakfast at all. She still isn't eating enough; always leaves some in the bowl.

All three of you have a very good point and you are right. I was being short-sighted in my reply, and had not really thought it over. Especially in terms of the home knowing what they are getting into with a particular breed and how important accuracy is in that. Thanks for setting me straight.

Just an update -- it seems that Kit never wants to eat when she first gets up in the morning, but will eat if it is offered to her at 9, 10, 11. So that's good. Worried, though, as I am going away for 12 days in August and the person coming to stay here and look after her and the cat probably will be going to work before 9 or 10 in the morning. Don't know how I will manage that. She could leave the food down, but I suspect the cat would eat it. And in the summer, I hate to leave anything out for long. As for dinner, she seems to be doing better with that. I wish she would eat more, but at least she is eating. Had a blood panel done last week, waiting for results.

'Waaay too cute puppy. (D'Elle has Puppy Envy)

They do the same, I think, in most shelters. I'm generally not fond of deception in any form. But on the other hand, if it gets some nice dogs adopted, when otherwise they would not be, that's all to the good. Plus, if it says "pharoh hound cross" on the adoption papers instead of pit bull, those adopters can live in places where anti-pit laws have been passed. Sometimes a little clever deception is OK.

It is exactly the same here. Walk through any shelter, any day, and over half of the dogs are pit-type dogs. Another large percentage here is chihuahua-types. There are usually very few purebreds. The city I live near passed a law only a few years ago that puppies cannot be sold on the street. But I don't know if the county did or not. I used to feel feel physically sick every time I would drive by someone standing out in the sun holding up a puppy high in the air with one hand and with a box of them at his feet, no shade, no water. I rarely see that now, so perhaps the county passed a similar law, but of course they simply sell the puppies online instead. Backyard breeders who are only doing it to make money are the real problem, of course. People who view puppies as a marketable product and nothing more are going to find a way around any law that is passed. I approve of the laws, don't misunderstand. But these problems will persist until human consciousness changes in its attitude toward animals.