DonH105

Brillant Dawn, "Use to be I could not spell breader, but now I are one." If you had not done so much work on your web site, I would have said you are nothing but an elaborate hoax designed to raise the ire of this forum. You are just the kind of well meaning idiot that could ruin the breed. Why does your web site not give any background on the herding abilities of your dogs? How do you breed for herding ability? I consider the breeder from whom I got my border collie/kelpe mix to be just barely a reputable border collie breeder. http://www.herdeverything.org/index.html Compare your enterprise to hers. You really are a "barbie collie" breeder, not a border collie breeder. Try to think about it, for the good of the breed.

If anyone is interested, here is the link to the AKC classified. No border collies listed. http://www.akc.org/pubs/gazette/classifieds.cfm

Since my Gypsy is 1/4 kelpie, I thought I would add my two cents. I support the idea of breeding border collies for working ability only. However, I have never worked Gypsy and I am pretty much ignorant on the subject. Although, I have chased my share of cattle around several hundred acres. Anyone interested might want to peruse the Working Kelpie Council's web site: http://www.wkc.org.au/ Based upon history and location, I imagine the border collie and kelpie do have distinct working differences. The one difference noted by the WKC web site is that the kelpie does not have the same tendency toward clapping as the border collie. Although, both breeds evolved from the "working collie" in the late 1800's, the kelpie was developed from a fairly restricted gene pool and was aimed at the working conditions in Australia, not Great Britain. The Working Kelpie does have a conformation standard. However, the WKC also seem to have the same issues with breeders breeding for the "show kelpie" rather than the "working kelpie". They consider color and coat to be "unsuitable qualities" for breeding working kelpies. However, the kelpie does not have the border collie's wide variability in coat type and color. The following quote is from the WKC web site: "The production of a written description of breed type requirements for working Kelpies stems from the need to place prime importance on the dog's ability to perform efficiently and to remove the emphasis on the unrelated and unsuitable qualities set down in the standard adopted by the Australian National Kennel Control and which is used as a guide by breeders of Show Kelpies. The drawing up of guidelines to describe desirable working Kelpie conformation and breed characteristics is not designed to encourage selection of dogs which comply to a written interpretation to the exclusion of natural working ability which must always remain the most important aspect of consideration by genuine breeders of working Kelpies."

Julie, I really liked the pictures of your dogs. The flip side of the fat keeping a dog warm in winter, is that it can really contribute to overheating in the summer. Dogs have a hard enough time keeping cool as it is. Gypsy was creeping up in weight. But we have upped our running mileage (about 35 miles per week for me and more her) and the extra weight has come right off.

I have to agree with Mark. While I would not completely reject any idea, there are lot more likely possibilities. The big concern with nuclear power plants is catastrophic failures which disperse radioactive material acrossed an area. As Mark said, farms or industry from earlier times or even natural sources (e.g. radon) are more likely causes. However, who really knows. Let us know when the movie comes out.

Where is a good web site to see the winners? I thought I could find some humor to show to some of my more breed specific friends. At least there is still some fight around the BC. That is my thinking as to why the Westminster Kennel Club breed specific info for the BC shows a non-stereotypic, attractive BC and warns against BC as pets. This is in contrast to the Jack Russell terrier or as it is known in the AKC, "Parson Russell Terrier". I have never seen such a long necked poorly muscled Jack Russell. They say a "Parson Russell is a wonderful companion and family member when properly trained". Yeah, right. I suppose you could say the same thing for a BC. The best thing that the Australian Kelpie has going for it is that it is not popular or well known in the USA.

I agree with Eileen. However, I will tell you what I do for my overindulged 3 year old, Gypsy. She would not finish her food. She would also try to transfer water from her water dish to her food with her nose. (This did not work too well, but it did make a real mess.) So, what I started to do was adding a quarter can of Alpo (heated in the microwave) and warm water to her food. Ever since, she almost always finishes her food, even though she is still not very food-centered. I feed her Nutro, which I initially gave her dry. Alpo is probably questionable nutritionally, but it does add extra flavor. Her weight is good. I run with her. So, if our mileage is down, she gains a little weight. However, it quickly goes down, when our mileage increases.

Well, you learn something every day. Frankly, most of my experience is growing up with cattle and horses here in Oregon. I am also a lot more comfortable comparing the eating habits of elk and deer. My only experience with brush clearing was when a friend of our family, the county superintendent of parks at the time, placed goats on an island for brush control and raised the ire of all the local urban do gooders. I did some research and found a study published by the Texas Ag Extension Service titled "What Range Herbivores Eat and Why?". It is interesting reading. It put goats and sheep in categories that gives them a much more varied diet than cattle. It puts goats even further toward the varied category. Goat's and sheep's diets definitely vary during the season. However, for an average annual variation in eating, it gives the following breakdown for % grass, forb(weeds), and browse(brush): Cattle - 81% grass, 12% forbs and 7% browse; Sheep - 61% grass, 17% forbs and 22% browse; Goats - 45% grass, 12% forbs and 43% browse. My comments about goats eating most anything comes from their reputation, but also my friend feeding cigarettes to his goats as a "treat". Bill, any experience in what the effect diet has on meat flavor? Emily Dickinson, "born in Amherst, lived in Amherst, died in Amherst" Also, why is this topic under the "politics" section? Here is the link to the study: http://nueces-tx.tamu.edu/AG/Livestoc/PASTURE/Herbivor.pdf

Hopefully, someone with more experience than me will respond. However, my reaction is sheep are not goats. Sheep eat mostly grass, while goats eat most anything.

Eileen excellent post reminded me to say. Wear gloves, if you have to. Show no fear and no hesitation.

I have to say I agree with Bill. The snapping is scary and should be nipped (so to speak) at the bud. I think all of his advice was excellent. I am agressive by nature and would let Molli know, in no uncertain terms, that snapping is unacceptable. I would also make it clear that I was not playing around and would not accept any back talk from her. Bill is also correct to say discipline her, if necessary, immediately and afterwards move on. I think it is easier for men with low and loud voices. Your husband is in the military, he might be familar with the "command voice". This is a very sharp, crisp tone of voice meant to carry its intent over a distance. It is the tone I would definitely use with Molli. Whatever you do, be consistent. Correct her over and over at every time the behaviour occurs. Never waiver or give in to Molli's cuteness. You might start with a mild correction, but escalate it to whatever level necessary to get the message across.

Generally, I think milled=ground. Maybe, a mill grinds the seed between plates and a hand held coffee grinder whacks the seeds with a blade, but the net effect is similar, with milling being slightly preferable. I would refrigerate my milled flaxseed, if I were you. I know things are usually not refrigerated in stores, but flaxseed oil is easily oxidized and goes bad with time. Raw oil goes bad the quickest and whole seeds the slowest. Ground flax seed is in between somewhere.

After reading the Supplement Watch description for flaxseed, it is fiber and ligans that are missing from the oil versus the ground seed. Ligans are a form of phytoestrogens with properties similar to the isoflavones in soybeans. http://www.supplementwatch.com/supatoz/sup...upplementId=126

Here is a description for Borage oil. As Previously discussed it provides GLA, an omega 6 fatty acid with anti-inflammatory properties. http://www.supplementwatch.com/supatoz/sup...supplementId=51 As for whole seed versus oil, I would image the largest difference is fiber. However, for personal use, I am a big believer in whole food versus refined supplement. This is probably not the case here, but frequently there are undiscovered factors in the food which provides benefits not in the refined supplement. I grind flax seed for myself, which I buy in bulk from the local, grocery store's health foods department. Gypsy, goes nuts at the sound of the grinder. All she gets now is part of my salmon, once or twice a week. I may consider sharing the flax seed. I imagine even the flax seed oil capsules should be stored in the refrigerator, even though they are not as volatile as the oil. I store my flax seeds in the refrigerator. I consume the ground flax seed within a few days. So, I leave it in the grinder, unrefrigerated.

Although, I have not used it much, the Merck Veterinary Manual seems like a good resource: http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.js...ulinoma%2ctumor