border_collie_crazy

I have literally never been to a vet(and I have used quite a few different ones for surgeries) that required any kind of vaccines prior to a surgery, the concept is very odd to me! to be honest I would probably just go to a different clinic for the surgery if I ran into that lol. the only vaccine Sola had ever had when she was spayed at 1 year was a single Parvo at 4 months old and not a single word was said about it. Paisley had a teeth done at a clinic I had never been too before, they did ask about her vaccinations...like if she was UTD and if not did I want them updated.. I said nope, she was good till later this year and my usual vet clinic and no I do not want her vaccinated anywhere near a surgical procedure. they obviously did not check up on that because I found out a few months later when I took her for her Rabies at a different clinic(could not get in to my usual soon enough) that my usual clinic never even received her vet records from the rescue, which were supposed to have been transferred over 3 years ago, so they must not have actually cared that much,and it was just a formality selling point type question.

Gem and Gyp were spayed at the shelter and have "RHS"(the shelter initials) tattoo'd in their ears. Happy has an ear ID tattoo that she got when she was Spayed, it identifies her vet, age and links to me. Sola has a breeder tattoo on her belly. Paisley is my only dog with no Tattoo at all, and all are also Micro-chipped except for Happy. I have a strong preference for my dogs being both Tattoo'd and Chipped. only reason Paisley is only chipped is because she was Spayed in rescue and they only chipped her, and Happy is only Tattoo'd because she is almost 16 years old, 15 years ago when she was spayed, chipping was not a thing, and I have seen no reason to now, she isn't going anywhere lol

yup! we have these 2 Malamutes at work that look a LOT alike, its obvious from up close who is who, but if I see one at a bit of a distance, I have no idea which is which. so the malamutes are Timber and Jasper, Timber was best friends with a Husky named Bella, well, Timbers dad got a GF who has a farm, so we so dont see Timber much anymore, we decided to try Bella with Jasper...and it was the saddest thing in the world. Bella saw Jasper in the distance and lost her mind thinking it was Timber, she was dancing and singing and galloping over to him, then she got closer..realized it was NOT Timber, and her face just fell, she hung her head and walked away. it was both hilarious and heartbreaking

the first time I went from 2 to 3 it wasn't really a thing because they were not close at all, they barley tolerated each other, adding the 3rd honestly pretty much changed nothing. of my dogs that are close though? well currently I have: Happy, Gem, Gypsy, Paisley and Sola - in that order of arrival. but Gem, Gyp and Paisley are the 3 amigo's...kinda lol, they come off as being 3 best friends, all 3 being super close. Gem and Gyp were inseparable and then I added Paisley later. in reality all 3 are not super close, there are 2 pairs... Gem just happens to be in both pairs lol. so Gem and Gypsy are still super close... and Gem and Paisley are also super close. but Paisley and Gypsy do not interact at all without Gem in the middle. Gypsy actually does not voluntarily interact with ANY of my dogs aside of Gem lol. as other said-age matters, Gem, Gyp and Pais are all the same age..it was not on purpose, they are all rescues adopted in 2011 / 2012 / 2013 respectively, i was fully aware that Gem and Gyp were the same age when I added Gyp, but Paisley, I didn't know, because I am friends with the head of the rescue she came from, her adoption was very informal, basically I said "I'm interested" and she said "great, I will hold her for you", I had her for almost 2 months before I signed the adoption papers and got all her info which included her birth date. she is less then 6 months younger then Gem and Gyp. as great as the 3 are together now? they are 4, and that means I am going to end up with 3 retired senior dogs at the same time. I don't find the training to be a big deal, but because I got them at different times they are not all at the same level. Gem is in Excellent/Versatility level Rally, Paisley is Advanced. Gypsy doesn't do Rally at all, she does Odor detection, a sport in which she is a rock star lol. Sola is just entering Novice Rally. if they were all the same level/sports I would definitely have issues, practices and trials get complicated then. Gender- eh, unless you know your dog has issues with same gender, I don't think it matters that much. all 5 of mine are girls, and not a one of them is a submissive "just roll with it" type, all 5 are "alpha" types so to speak. but they all get along just fine,

I will say I have never seen a BC overwhelmed and upset about daycare, I have absolutely seen dog that are very nervous and overwhelmed at first that shrink down and nip(cattle dogs and LGD mutts mostly) but in my 7 years at the daycare(30+ staff average of 130 dog per day) I have never seen a BC do that, they tend to either LOVE it and be super good and playful or love it but be total jerk faces lol, like they WANT to be right in there joining in the fun they just have no idea how to do so appropriately, so they do it obnoxiously lol

I work in a doggy daycare, and honestly it depends on the BC. many are fine, but some are unrelentingly herdy to the point of flat out harassing the other dogs and refusing to let up. most of the BC's we have are great and LOVE it, but we defiantly have some that while the dog loves daycare, the dog needs to be either on a long line or you have to be on top of them every waking seconds because they unrelentingly harass the other dogs.

ha ha yes! even I get thrown off momentarily when I see others and I KNOW there size lol. Sola is especially pint sized overall, but her HEIGHT is totally within normal range!

well my little midget is now 1 year old, 16" and 22lbs! she looks so funny with the rest of my pack lol

when Happy ran Flyball she was a 3.8 second dog. my other BC was not nearly as fast though.Happy can still run pretty fast when she wants too and she is 15, though not at anywhere near the speed she used too lol. my speed demon right now is my Toller, here she is shocking the heck out of her Galgo friend by actually keeping his pace lol, pretty danged impressive given her size and how much more she needs to work to keep that pace lol. Happy could keep up to sight hounds in her day as well but she is a good bit bigger with much longer legs lol. Misty had been no match for a sight hound,and Happy used to be able to double the distance between herself in Misty in seconds when she decided to kick it up lol.

I'm still trying to find the ideal sports for Paisley and Gypsy, Gem is great for Rally and well every sport really, Sola will be competing in Rally as well but I don't think it will be "her" sport, she is the one training in flyball with my friend, def. Her kinda sport, and she is a perfect little height dog too. Paisley has Rally titles but I dont think the upper levels are for her, she is too spooky. We are trying barn hunt and scenting in sept. With Gyp and Pais, they seem to really love the search games we play for fun, so we'll try searching sports, see how that goes Happy was all about flyball, she LOVES head to head racing, she didnt race for any reward, she raced to win and was a 3.8 second dog, you could see the fire in her eyes when she watched the other dogs and winning was her reward, I didn't have anything for her at the end because she didn't want it, my presence was not even needed, she would line herself up on her own go on her own and race to win. I still take her to fun practices sometimes simply because she loves it so much lol

apparently I am weird lol. give me the choice of flyball or agility? I will take Flyball every time. I have been trying to get into agility for years(since Happy was young and she is 15 now soo...) I have done classes, workshops, trials etc.. all my dogs are trained in it to some degree. but the only reason is because THEY enjoy it. I don't, at all, I don't have fun, it makes me feel light headed and confused. I offer my dogs up to anyone who wants an agility dog to work with, because THEY love it, but my dislike isn't gonna get them very far lol. Flyball OTH? far and away my favorite sport, I love the speed and pressure, the noise doesn't bother me at all, I don't even notice it till I leave and the quiet is like "what the?" lol. its certainly not complicated, but who cares? I love it, the dogs love it, that's all I need to know lol. I haven't competed in years but I still love to watch, and my Toller pup is in training, though being handled by a friend of mine since my flip flopping schedule doesn't work well for it these days.,

Misty was not a guard or watch dog by any stretch of imagination , but Happy? I would literally trust my life to her, she's a "meh" watch dog but as a guard dog? if someone or something tried to hurt anyone in her family she will and has stepped up without hesitation to protect. example: one walk a loose dog tried to attack my pack, Happy did nothing till it made a move, then she flew in between the dog and my pack had a go at the dog till it ran away. if workers come to my house, Happy will follow them everywhere and just lay nearby and watch, she wont make any move unless they try anything. someone tried having a go at my brother once while Happy was around, that person never got a chance to lay a hand on my brother, she didn't bite but didn't need too. growing up if I needed to walk anywhere my myself at night, I ALWAYS took Happy along, she was my personal guard. even now and nearly 15 years old, if I want protection somewhere, Happy comes with me.

fun going back and reading this lol. Sola is 8 months now and I think 22lbs full grown and filled out will be stretching it, 25lbs? not a chance! she is a teeny tiny 20lbs with exactly zero growth since last month lol (for scale the dog behind her is a JRT x Pom)

well Happy is my only BC now but when I had 2, they were pretty opposite lol Happy is 21" tall, built like a sighthound, mostly black, folded ears,and rough coated Misty was 18" tall, built relatively blocky, white factored, huge perked ears, smooth coated I was regularly baffled when they were consistently referred to as "twins" and even dog people genuinely could not tell them apart... I would go to events with Misty and people would compliment me on how far she had come with her dog aggression issues...Misty never had any aggression issues... lol

Like everyone else said...never. Happy is 14.5, her diet has been altered but it has nothing to do with age, she has Kidney Disease, just stage 1, so nothing major yet but she's on been banned from kibble, 100% raw only is vets orders(she only ate kibble a few times a week granted) through trial and error I have found the "mix" that works best for her, which IS different from my younger dogs, but again, she has Kidney Disease so that have an effect on what she does her best on.

Sola isn't a BC but Tollers are generally in a similar size range so I will play lol, I am enjoying reading all these, many match Sola's siblings pretty well but Sola is teeny tiny..my prediction so far is 25lbs full grown and filled out 7.5 weeks- 5lbs 9 weeks- 5.7lbs 10 weeks- 6.3lbs 11 weeks- 7.2lbs 12 weeks- 8.5lbs 13 weeks- 9.2lbs 14 weeks- 10.3lbs 15 weeks- 11.5lbs 16 weeks- 12lbs 17 weeks- 13.3lbs 18 weeks- 13.8lbs 19 weeks- 14.3lbs 20 weeks- 15.8lbs 21 weeks- 16.1lbs

the Mia bath story reminded me of one day with Happy, she had been outside and she came to the door a muddy mess to come inside, I looked at her and gave her a choice I said "oh Happy...you have 2 choices, you can be crated till the mud dries and falls off or you can have a bath" she HATES baths, so when she slipped around me and ran off I totally expected her to be hiding somewhere..I found her sitting in the bathtub... she was like "just..get it over with" lol Happy tends to learn things very easily just by watching, but HATES training, so most of the tricks I taught her, I taught by teaching a different dog then bringing Happy in the room to watch the trick a few times then just asking Happy to do it, and 9 times outa 10 she would do it perfectly every time. I bought a puzzle toy for Gem, its got drawers on the side with locks in the top, the dog has to pull the locks to open the drawers, I called Happy over to try it, and she walked over as if utterly bored, pulled out a lock, opened a drawer and walked away..didn't even take the treats, just a "wow, such stupid humans" attitude lol Gem..I put her in an x-pen on my deck when she was a puppy with Gypsy, and I was inside, suddenly I heard the distinctive way she hits the back door when she wants inside, she knows she is not to leave enclosures without permission, ability to do so is irrelevant. so I got up ready to place her back in the x-pen,opened the back door, and there she was...sitting politely in the x-pen. Gypsy, she plays other dogs. she will literally act. like how some dogs will play up an object to get other dogs interested? she does that, but doesn't need an object. but she will hold her mouth as if she has something, and pretend to spit it out on the ground and play with it with her feet, before picking up the nothing and pretending to throw it in the air and catch it, then as soon as the other dogs get close to investigate she runs away, when the other dogs get bored and stop, she plays it up again, pretending she has something sooooo cool and running away again as soon as the other dogs fall for it. its hilarious.

just keep em trimmed nice and short. I work at a doggy daycare and this is a major issue every winter(to the point that we issue an announcement on the subject and offer nail clipped at a discount), even slightly too long nails crack and splinter really really easily on the snow and ice.

That's great!! I had the fun a few weeks ago of taking all 5 to the vet together lol certainly would have been easier if my vet came to me! It wasn't bad though, actually they were super good, they seriously waited patiently one at a time to step on the scale, it was great lol. The exams were trickier..everytime i asked them who was next, Gem was like "ME!!!!!!" and jumped back on the table lol

my preference changes all the time lol. I leab towards Black Tri, B/W and Red and white. any coat length. ears I prefer perked or mismatched. I don't like deep stops. markings.. I don't like symmetry, I heavily lean towards dogs with asymmetrical markings. my own dogs.. Misty(RB)-I would consider her one of my ideals, I think she was one of the most stunning dogs in the world, I may be biased, but I'm not alone in thinking she was a stunning dog, people used to stop, and gasp and point and stare everytime I took her for a walk. before her, I would have no "absolutly not" to a smoothie. Happy-as much as I love her to pieces, I do not look at Happy and think "wow, what a good looking dog" lol. i'm not saying I think she is ugly by any means, but I do think there are a lot of dogs more visually attractive to me then she is

the general concept is common in Toller breeders so it doesn't strike me as weird lol. the dog lives with a family full time but is just required to remain intact , breeder then takes the dog for health clearances, possibly showing and comes to the breeders place for breeding, the contracts usually have a "maximum" limit for number of times that will happen, then afterwards the dog is spayed/neutered and full ownership is signed over to the family. Toller breeder's contracts already tend to be very restrictive on what you can and cannot do with the dog regardless so it doesn't make a huge difference lol

lol yup! if guests come over Happy will have them throwing toys for her in a flash..most ofg the time they have no idea thay are playing fetch with her, she gets them into the habit, then when they get tired of it and tell her to go lay down, she immediately complies and leaves, carefully waits till they engrossed in something else, then will suddenly sneak up and shove toys in their hand, they will subconsciously start throwing the toy for her, as soon as they realize it, they will once again stop and she will leave and wait for them to forget again, then the toy is back in their hand lol

no flack from me, I own one for my terrier lol, without it I am pretty sure I would have beaten him to death by now. for a long time I outright HATED that dog with a passion, I tried to get ride of him but it turns out, everyone else hated him too. he was an awful, horrible dog that turned me into a screaming machine full of rage. (he was 4 years old when I got him and pretty set in his ways) I have run into people since then who lived near him in his previous home... they still recognize him 7 years later because they hated him so much. I finally resorted to an e-collar....his attitude has not suffered, he is still a little jerk who is very full of himself, but now he checks his behaviour..instead of running around barking his head off for an hour straight while dodging anyone who tries to stop him and doesn't give a hoot about food..he will run around barking, and I can yell "RUSTY!!" and he will stop and come to me and I can reward him. years ago and tried it on Happy to see if it would help her random fits of barking at nothing..it didn't...it didn't make her the slightest bit nervous, it just made her curious as to what was causing the sensation, ie she would start barking at nothing, i would stim her, she would immediately stop and search the room..confused upon finding nothing she would then walk into another room in the house and start barking at nothing, I would stim, and she would then do a careful search of the room... it was kind of hilarious, but I never put it on her again, since it obviously was not effective for her lol

Kuranda's they are not that expensive in the grand scheme of things(ie compared to beds that can be destroyed by water or teeth they are in the same price range), they are easy to clean, destruction proof, water proof and very comfy..I have 4 dogs and 3 kuranda's..my dogs argue every night over who "has" to sleep on my bed and who gets to sleep on the kuranda's lol

I work in a huge boarding kennel so I see a lot of dogs on a lot of different diets. I would be lying if I said I didn't see "any" difference but its not cut and dried either. the difference I see is the range. the dogs eating high quality food tend to range in condition from "average" to "phenomenal" while the lower end foods I see results ranging across the board from "horrible" to "great". it really just depends on the dog. my own dogs eat primarily raw. Gem however eats Orijen supplemented with raw meals(allergies). I have never actually been a huge fan of Orijen, I had tried it years ago and my dogs did terrible on it, however after trying many different foods for Gem I gave the Orijen a try for her..and 3 years later is remains the only kibble that not only works really well for her, but she LOVES the taste of, she will happily gobble up Orijen in any situation, when she is stressed, as training treats, only thing every day etc.. seeing her eat you would never consider her a picky eater..try to give her any other kibble? she just stares at it, she will eventually eat it...really slowly... if you wait her out lol