katendarby

Both my dogs are big - Kate's weighing in at about 54lbs. and Darby tops out at 60+lbs. Kate's fat - no doubt about it - but the thyroid medication didn't make much of a difference (vet said she was a little low). Darby's just a big dog - tall and long. Weird thing is, neither one of them eats much. I use 4 cups of Canidae and one large can of Pedigree wet to feed 3 dogs - once a day! The JRT eats more than both of my dogs combined and Kate will go a day or two without eating at all. Go figure.

Only Darby looks in the mirror, at me, not at himself. I can make eye contact with him in the closet mirrors by the bed, while I'm in it, and he sees me raise my eyebrows like I'm asking him a question - then he turns and jumps on the bed (he can only get on the bed by invitation). I've always wondered what their vision was like - how they see things, because he really can read facial expressions. Kate's too goofy and spastic to hold eye contact very long, she always looks away, but Darby will catch my eyes when we talk all the time.

Kate lost control of her's when the vet re-stapled her incision closed (without numbing it first). As I recall, it's very dark and messy, so if your sheets smelled bad and there wasn't a poo stain, I'd blame the cats! Your dogs would probably agree...!

Both of my dogs broke off all 4 canines when they were about a year old. Kate's aren't so bad, buy Darby's are broken down to nearly the gum line. I don't know why or how this happened - maybe a weakness in their breeding - but that was 7 years ago. Neither one has had any problems with their teeth and when I take them in to be cleaned, the vet hasn't mentioned it as an issue. I don't know if Darby is in pain on some occassions, because he's a "whiner" about other things, but I haven't connected it to tooth pain. He still eagerly accepts hard biscuits and eats kibble mixed with wet food with no problems. He's really such a beautiful dog, except for his teeth. Even his regular teeth are gound down flat and square. I told him that if he were ever to go into show business (this IS LA after all), I would have to get him some veneers!

I've seen posts before with feedback from the AKC show, and after being there in person this year, I have to tell you - those border collies didn't look like any border collie I had ever seen. The dogs outside, doing the frisbee exhibition, and those inside on the agility course had nothing in common with those in the show ring. Isn't the whole point of judging a dog based upon the standards for the breed and what they were bred to do? All of the dogs in the show ring were black and white, no freckles (that I could see) and so round that they looked like Aussies with tails. Even the dog in the meet the breed area was perched up on a table (she was SO tiny). I came home to my lumbering 60 and 65lb behemouths, with their rough curly coats and blue eyes and wondered - was I sold a bill of goods? Granted, if that's what a "real" border collie is supposed to look like. A woman next to me watching the dogs go round in the ring said to her companion, "Foo, foo foo". Now I know where Fooshuman got the name! I was more impressed with the flyball dogs outside, than those overly fluffed, black and white balls of fur!

Coppers Classy? How about Cece (CC)?

Darby's been neutered for 8 years and frequently has erections and involuntary humping. Sometimes it gets so bad, he collapses to one side until it goes away. The vet had me bring him in right after one of these episodes to draw blood and check his testosterone levels. Nothing was out of the ordinary, but this still goes on today. Poor guy, the look of agony on his face and how his body stiffens up - all that tension and no outlet for it!!

Flies. All my dogs are stark raving terrified of flies. But only when they're in the house. Outside, if a fly is buzzing them, they'll snap at it. Inside, the minute I say, "oh, there's a fly", they can't get out of the room quick enough. If a fly is even buzzing around the back door, they wont come in. I think this is my fault, because I hate flies worse than anything and nothing is safe if I have a fly swatter in my hand. I think they just hate seeing me go berserk and run for cover!

When my 8 yr. old boxer/mastiff mix died quickly from cancer, I knew I couldn't go long without another dog for companionship. I started researching dog breeds while Ginger was still alive, showing her pictures to see what she thought. She knew she was going, and I believe she didn't want me to be alone. When she died, I had it narrowed down to B.C.s, and Norwegian Elkhounds - how different can you get? My sister had a B.C. who is still the sweetest dog in the world and very funny, so that swayed me. When I think about the future and having to let go of my pals when the time comes, I think I want a small dog. Even though they think they can be lap dogs, 2 B.C.s weighing 60 and 70 pounds each can be a bit much for anyone's lap! Having a JRT now in the mix has made me appreciate the little dogs and how nice it is to have one on your lap and in your arms, without staggering under the weight!

Both of my bc's still carry their tail up over their backs, they aren't mixed with anything, but I guess that's why they aren't working dogs!

I have a friend who wasn't in a very good living arrangement, so she relished being able to come and stay at my house with my dogs. They're very low key, even the JRT would rather sit in your lap and snooze more than anything else. I don't let her walk them, because they're all terrors on a leash, just never could get it out of them. But they also have a reception for her that none of us get. She's a Reiki practitioner, if you all know what that is - a healing art without touching - and they seem to pick up on that immediatly. They actually close their eyes and smile when she comes in the door! Now that she's in her own place, I hope she'll still be as willing to stay with them, otherwise, I don't think I'll be going anywhere either!

How many dogs does it take to change a light bulb? Here's how different breeds of dogs would change a lightbulb: German Shepard - I'll change the light bulb, but first, do a perimeter check to ensure it's safe to enter in the dark, then afterwards, I'll secure the area in the light. Jack Russell - Lightbulb? Sure, don't even need a ladder, I'll just get it on my way up, my way up, my way up... Boxer - Change the bulb? Where's my squeaky toy? Change the bulb? Where's my squeaky toy? Or yeah, change the bulb? Labrador - Changing the bulb, I'm changing the bulb, I'm changing the bulb, I'm changing the bulb. Border Collie - Not only will I change the bulb, I'll upgrade your electrical panel while I'm at it. Poodle - I'll get the Border Collie to do it...

My boxer developed them also and they sometimes got infected and would get pus in them. She even had them on her hind legs. When they got really bad, I had them excised and the area stitched up. I tried all kinds of antibiotic creams from the vet, peroxide, pad cream etc. She would lick at them and that's what got them so raw and runny. It was gross! Darby has them now, but even at 8, they are still red and raw looking, almost like someone who has psoriasis. Weird.

Kate does it because that's the itchiest place on her body. She'll come up to you and immediately turn around,"scratch my butt, scratch my butt".

I had a cockapoo that ate Meow Mix, along with my cat, for almost 10 yrs. Could have been why he could scale a ladder and climb a fence better than any other kind of animal! He wouldn't touch dog food, of any kind. He was a small dog, with small teeth, so I think he liked the small, easily chewed kibble of the cat food. She'll eat when she gets hungry enough. Kate routinely skips her meals - just not hungry, or God forbid, there's a fly in the house and she's too afraid to come out of the bedroom!