EvoPA

Happy Birthday!

Thank you everyone. He had his first herding lesson/instinct test and loved it, slept like a baby for hours after it, he's a little young still but we are going to start back up when he's 10/11 months and can take some more pressure. I spoke to the instructor there too and she was suggesting what everyone else has been. I have just been telling him to leave it or down and he will pretty reliably. I don't try to recall him yet off anything because I'm not 100% sure he will come but we're working on it. When we take him for walks people always tell me about the crazy border collie at the dog park trying to herd all the other dogs, I don't want him to be that dog. I'm pretty confident with obedience training but not so much on stockdog training so I've been reading a lot and have a subscription to the workingsheepdog lessons. When we hike or what not he is always leashed or dragging a long line so I have control. Just this morning he saw a bunny run across the trail, thought about it but left it when I told him to leave it so he's making progress.

I'm very sorry to hear about your dog. We lost our 6 year old Boxer a few months ago to hemangiosarcoma so how you're feeling is fresh in my mind. It was about 101 days from diagnosis to when he passed. He had his spleen removed and was on chemo for most of that time (doxorubicin) with no real bad side effects. He did (allegedly) get doxorubicin induced cardiomyopathy so we had to stop but I think he may have just gotten woozy and was losing some blood from a tumor bleed on his liver. You mentioned that it would be around 3-4 months on the Palladia, what would the prognosis with Radiation be? We were going to switch to Palladia. For reference, his dose was 30 days 90 mg (he was about 75lbs) every other day and the dose cost us about $700 (compounded at the pharmacy) and that would be every month (I actually still have it, it says it's expired on 4/7 otherwise I would send it to you if you wanted) but unfortunately the day we received it from FedEx, another growth on his liver hemorrhaged and he passed away. If I'm being honest, I'm not sure what I would do if I was you. We spent close to $15,000 over those 101 days. His surgery was about 6k, the rest was the chemo, the staging every 6 weeks, and for the treatment when he started having seizures (probably due to the cancer going to his brain). I don't think that the chemo helped him much in his case but it's also a very aggressive cancer. He was staged and they said no spread they could see two days before he passed away (although they said his deep chest made it hard to visualize all the liver). I enjoyed every day we had with him and until about 2 weeks before he passed, he was doing great and had a great quality of life. The end is going to be tough no matter what you do, it always is. Unless radiation has a chance of 'curing' him, I would shy away from that and enjoy your time with him at home, mine spent a night at the vet for monitoring when he had his seizure and I wish I would have just taken him home after he got his medicine. As far as the chemo, I don't think it could hurt and if he doesn't respond to it well you can stop. I'm not 100% for all natural cures but I know a lot of people are seeming to have luck giving their dogs Turkey Tail Mushrooms especially this brand (https://www.buyimyunity.com). My only regret is I wish I bought this and gave it to him too. Sorry to hear and good luck with whatever you choose.

Thank you! I think I will stick with Vectra for now. Does this have anything to do MDR1 mutation?

Hi Everyone, my puppy is about 6 months old and able to start Bravecto. We've been using Vectra 3D with no ill effects besides being a little greasy for a day or two and I was wondering what the consensus is on the best and safest way to prevent ticks. We're pretty active and in PA so ticks are a big concern. Thanks!

Thank you. He definitely shows eye when approaching them. I will continue to redirect this behavior when it isn't proper to do. I actually have a herding instinct test/introduction with some very well broken sheep next week so I am definitely looking forward to it!

Thank you for your response - I take no offense, I'm here to learn . I don't know what else to call it but I'll include a video, he becomes real focused and serious. This is a bird about 40-50 yards away. If there are a bunch of ducks he'll do the same thing but lay down when they stop moving. I called him off and he stopped but I think this is herding behavior. I will continue to keep redirecting him and hope that he turns out good. Let me know your thoughts on the video. Here's the link to the clip

Hi Everyone, I have a 6 month old BC that I want to start training to herd and I will shortly. My problem is he wants to herd every animal he sees. We have a lot of ducks and birds by us and every time he sees them he starts trying to herd them. I think it's amazing and I want to start him on sheep soon but I don't know what to do when he starts doing this. I don't want to discourage him and tell him no but it's also hard when he focuses on every critter he sees. I usually can distract him away with a toy but I'm not sure what the right thing to do is as I don't want to kill his drive. Any advice? Thank you.

There's almost nothing that blows my mind more than people getting dragged by their barking dog coming full speed at mine saying 'they just want to say hi'.

Thanks for posting the follow up. When we have puppies and are so invested in them, any slip up feels horrible but if we stay the course and do the right things it almost always works out fine (at least that's what I tell myself).

I have a 5 month old pup who sounds just like yours. He's great with my one complaint being his mouthiness (and biting the leash sometimes). Thankfully they usually just grow out of this. Good luck!

How structured is his life? Is he in his cage a lot or does he have free range of the house? He sounds a little fear aggressive. I'd say no dog parks and you need to take 100% control of his life.

Mine did this in his exercise pen when he was around 10 weeks. The screeching sound he was was horrible. His crate bars seem to be a little closer together making it harder to do in the crate and after he did that in his pen I never saw him do it again. If you're really worried you can probably buy this type of crate instead.-> https://www.chewy.com/frisco-plastic-kennel-almond-black/dp/147323?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=hg&utm_content=Frisco&utm_term=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-N3H77XA4QIVU1mGCh2fYgWKEAQYASABEgJj6_D_BwE

My pups dropped around 12 weeks. I'd give it some time.

I actually found the video where I saw a breeder/trainer say that. It's posted below. She seems like she knows her stuff which is why I'm curious if it's true or not.

Yeah I hear you. My neighbors happened to be on vacation when we got him so I wasn't concerned and it was only really bad one night where it was about 2 hours. I think that a blanket over the crate and some music or a white noise machine could help so he doesn't realize you left the room. Maybe a kong or bully stick could also help keep him occupied.

You're all probably right, I took it literally which is why I couldn't find any more info on it online. Thanks for clearing that up. I'm glad I didn't ask the vet and look like an idiot in person.

Congrats and cute puppy. I have a 13 week old right now and I don't know what I would do without his exercise pen during the day. I just put him in there with a kong and he relaxes. The first few days were rough with him whining but I just let him cry it out and now it's no problem at all. I've noticed that this breed seems to have a higher occurrence of separation anxiety so even when I can be with him all day, I try to make sure that he's by himself at least some of the time. I'd also cover his crate with a blanket if you're not already, that seems to help.

Hi CptJack, My BC definitely has a big heart as far as he's very sweet and affectionate but I've seen people say that in reference to their endurance such as they can work all day and can run the fields due to the fact that they have a larger heart than any other breed but there is a good chance I just interpreted what they're saying wrong.

Hello Everyone, I recently bought a border collie puppy and I've read so much about them. Often in videos, blog posts, etc, I notice people saying that they have the largest hearts of any breed but I can't find any good sources on this. Is there any truth to this? Thanks!