Jodi

Sue, I completely agree with your assessment. Living in Idaho, I have had the opportunity to see quite a few dogs directly out of or who go back to Gary's lines. Very confident workers, solid temperaments, and built like brick houses. Most of the ones I have seen are slick coated with quite a bit of white on them. However, there are a few that I've seen that have a bit more coat, who by definition, would not be eligible for registration under those terms. To me, that's a drag because I feel they would have potentially benefited the gene pool despite their coat (which, by the way, was more what we would consider "medium"), but then again, it seems that they are after a very specific type of dog. However, I'm sure my idea of "benefiting the gene pool" is much different than Gary's ... and I bow to him, for he has much more experience than I. Jodi

That's great ... right up to "They must also have slick or short hair." What's up with that?

Talk about backwards! I wonder if whoever proposed this idiotic thing has gone to an AKC trial ... and then went to a real dog trial ... and noticed which one had more out-of-control chasing of stock.

Maria - Just out of curiosity, are you saying that the only difference between a working bred dog and a show bred dog is whether or not they work? Jodi

Dita - And you're a breeder? How very very sad. Jodi

Beth - Do you have photos of Poppy's parents? Jodi

Oh look at her! She is all grown up! Now where's a picture of Jill??? Jodi

Joan! That's a great picture of Jenna! I e-mailed it to Justin and asked him if he recognized her. Needless to say, he did! He keeps asking when you're coming up here. LOL Jodi

Ugh! Foxtails! My husband and I just spent three hours mowing and bagging a small patch of foxtails out of my pasture. I am constantly picking them out of my dogs' toes. We had a Corgi mix that got one in his ear. It went so deep, we couldn't see it, because, of course it made it's way around the bend of the ear canal. Sedation and a really long pair of tweezers and $180 later, the vet got it out. Lesson learned. We put on a sheepdog trial in So. Cal. one year, and Jenny Glenn (she's on this list) was working either setout or exhaust with her Bob dog, I believe. Jenny, correct me if I'm wrong... Bob got a foxtail up his nose (or maybe down his throat?) and down off the hill she went and took him to the vet. Such a hassle. Jodi

You can send them this link: Border Collies for Sale Jodi

Thanks for the information, Maria. I would be interested to see how the numbers come in to see if the ordinance in your county has helped, and if so, how much. SZ, I agree with you. Educating the public is the key. Jodi

Karen, my comment about it being great was a bit tongue-in-cheek. They seem to think that this ordinance is going to ease the overcrowding in the shelters, and force people to be responsible pet owners. I think that's a bit unrealistic. Most responsible pet owners license their dogs with the county, spay/neuter, microchip (or whatever form you use to ID your dogs), and keep their dog's vaccinations up to date, etc. Maria, requiring that strays be altered prior to being returned to their owners if they were claimed ... is a huge violation of our rights. Assume you go on vacation and have someone watching your dogs. Your dog gets out and lands in the pound. You come home from vacation, and you now have to get your dog out of impound, and it's been spayed/neutered because an ordinance was created because of irresponsible dog owners. How fair is this? Or are they going to keep a list of those "performance dogs" that are involved with the exempted organizations before they perform the unauthorized surgery? If so, are all the employees going to check that list before putting the dog in for surgery? What if I don't believe in putting a foreign object into my dogs body (i.e. microchip)? I would still be required to do so by Los Angeles County? In fact, I think this entire ordinance is bordering on violation of rights. We recently had a discussion on this board about dogs loose in trucks. I mentioned something about changing the law to require it, and got skinned for it. But I have to say, I learned a lot in that conversation. Why keep creating new laws to protect people from being irresponsble? Jodi

Los Angeles County Spay/Neuter Ordinance If this works, it would be great. Does anyone know if any other city/county/state has tried something like this, and how it has worked out? To say the least, I'm skeptical. I can't see Los Angeles having the resources to enforce it. This particular part made me laugh: They have a hard enough time keeping hardened criminals locked up due to overcrowding. So basically, where the resources are going to be drained is in the clerical work it takes to mail out all the notices to all the people in violation of this ordinance, sending them to collections, and trying to enforce the monetary judgments. Beyond that, how do they plan on putting this into effect? Is it only the dogs that are caught as strays that get enforced upon? Or are they going to go through their county licensing records and make sure everyone who has an intact dog competes in doggie sports? Are the police going to walk around with a microchip scanner and scan every dog he sees to make sure it has been chipped? And what about the myriad of dogs that aren't licensed with the county (which is probably right where the problem is ...)? Would love to hear some thoughts on this. Jodi

I'm so very sorry to hear this. I was wondering how he was doing. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Jodi

So, if we've tried one (free at a trial because I worked it), are we allowed to knock it? To put it lightly, it was the biggest bunch of hooey I ever heard. Jodi

Fooshuman, I don't think Dog Lady is going to give up. However, if after all her efforts, she feels that it's not working out (and only she would know that best), I have offered to take her. And there wouldn't be any shame in that for Dog Lady. She will know she tried her best to make it work. That's more than I can say for a lot of the owners of the rescues that pass through here. Jodi

Winters in Boise are rather mild, for the most part. It rarely gets cold enough to snow, and when it does, it doesn't stick around very long. A couple of my dogs sleep in the uninsulated, unheated dog room, and a couple will sleep in my house (and I rotate them occasionally). Rarely does it ever get cold enough where I am concerned enough to have all the dogs sleep in the house. I would guess (I haven't seen her house) that Dog Lady's garage is warmer than my dog room. It's probably at least insulated. In any event, Dog Lady came over my house last night, we worked Sophie on sheep, discussed crate training, and she borrowed one of my crates. In my observation, Sophie appeared to be much more bonded with Dog Lady this week than she was even last week -- looking to her for approval, and sticking by her side. It was obvious to me that something's going right. I know that it's very easy to have an absolute opinion -- that everything absolutely gets done this way ... or that way. But if that were true, we would all be raising our dogs the exact same way. To me, it's all about what works for the dog and the people that are raising them. I think Dog Lady's doing a good job of making this work for Sophie by asking for help, listening to what people say, and using those pieces of advice that are do-able for her. And I agree with Jack & Co. It's going to take time. Here's the photos of Sophie working sheep. Jodi

I, too, have heard lots of good things about Dave Vicklund. One of the local herding clubs had him do a clinic here, and everyone seemed to enjoy him, and learned a lot from him. Jodi

Dog Lady - Here's an idea... You said Sophie sleeps in the garage. Is your garage connected to the house? What about putting her crate in the garage? That way, you'll know that she's not chewing anything in there, and the crate won't take up any room in your house. I've got a "dog room" ... it's connected on one side to my dining room, and connected to the garage another. I have most of my crates in there (besides the ones I use as furniture in my house), and depending on the weather (the dog room is not insulted), my dogs sleep in there. When you come over, I'll show you my setup. And, if you'd like, I'll show you how I crate trained my dogs, and you can borrow one of my crates to try it out and see if it's something that works for you before you spend money on one. Jodi

What kind of information are you looking for? You could post the pedigrees on here and see if there's anyone who knows anything about the lines... Jodi

I couldn't disagree more. This would then assume that every dog that's kept indoors is well-adjusted. Training, socialization, and attention is what makes for a well-adjusted dog. Yes, if the dog is left outside all the time with no human interaction and basically left to its own devices, it's a huge problem. However, I met Dog Lady and Sophie last week, along with Dog Lady's three young boys. I'd venture to guess that Sophie is not being left to her own devices for any unreasonable length of time. However, I get the impression that this wasn't the case prior to Dog Lady getting her. In my non-professional opinion, having met Sophie, I'd say that all she needs is some basic obedience, a bit of leash training, some boundaries, and some crate training. I put her on stock and she showed some nice, natural talent. With a little bit of adjustment, I think she'll fit in very well. Dog Lady, like I said (apart from this last week) Tuesday evenings work for me. And if you do decide to rehome her, there's no shame in that, and I can help you. I have room to take her, and the connections to find her a good home. I don't think returning her to where she came from would be an ideal situation for her. Jodi

Press Release from the AKC site: AKC Adopts Judging Conflict of Interest Policy [Friday, May 12, 2006] New York, NY ? The American Kennel Club? Board of Directors has adopted a new Judging Conflict of Interest Policy, effective January 1, 2007. AKC? believes that it has the best judges in the world and expends millions of dollars a year to administer its judging approval system to ensure that quality remains high. "AKC judging approval confers a certain status on an individual and with such status comes an enormous responsibility to both AKC and the Sport as governed by AKC," said President and CEO Dennis B. Sprung. The policy states, with some notable exceptions, that AKC approved judges should be focused on judging and supporting AKC events. Approved judges should not have a significant interest in another registry that is in direct conflict with AKC or be judging for another event-giving organization to the possible detriment of events held by AKC member and licensed clubs. The complete policy is as follows: JUDGING CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY No AKC judge may have a significant interest in a dog registry or dog event-giving organization deemed by the AKC Board to be in competition with the American Kennel Club. Significant interest would include, but not be limited to ownership of, employment by, a directorship in, and holding office in. Any AKC-approved judge, who shall judge a purebred dog event in the U.S. not in accordance with the rules of AKC, which apply to such purebred dog events without the express permission of the AKC, may be disciplined even to the extent of having his or her AKC judging approval revoked. An AKC-approved judge may judge breeds that are not AKC registrable and/or that they have not been approved for by AKC at non-AKC events. The AKC Board has also given permission for the judging of certain other events based upon the following criteria: AKC has no comparable events in place. While AKC has a program in place, AKC judges have officiated at events under the aegis of the other organization for years before the AKC program was initiated. The type of event is not or would not be perceived as being contrary to the best interest of AKC and the sport of purebred dogs. The event is a breed or type of breed-specific performance activity. No AKC approval is needed to judge versatility or performance activities developed by AKC Parent Clubs and sponsored by such clubs. Events held by the following organizations meet the above criteria, and AKC-approved judges may continue to judge them: American Sighthound Field Association Coursing Events American Working Terrier Association Earthdog Events American Herding Breed Association Events North American Versatility Dog Association Pointing Breed Hunting Tests American Field Pointing Breed Field Trials United Kennel Club Coonhound Events Professional Kennel Club Coonhound Events Any of the various organizations sponsoring Agility Trials Other activities may be added to this list at the discretion of the AKC Board.

Nicki- I love it! And I love that song! It was really cool the way the video switches to color during the chorus of the song. Very nice job! Jodi

(sticking my neck out here...) Yes, they are the same person. Seems to me that she felt she got off to a bad start, and started over again. No biggie. Let's please give her a chance and help her out here. She's never owned a BC before (I don't think), and she has a pup who is growling at her very young child. This could potentially be a big problem, and we might be able to help her fix that. BG - Can you tell us what you've been doing in the way of crate training? I understand you're trying to make the crate a positive place to be. That's great. That's the right idea. However, when the pup is whining, how are you handling it? Are you letting it out? Are you telling it to shush? Are you tapping the crate with something and growling at the pup? I think getting the pup fully crate trained would be a great place to start in starting to get a handle on this before it goes anywhere else. Jodi

Zoe - I agree with you. Opening the hair around them and picking them out is probably the easiest way to do it. We have a mixed breed ... with a very bush butt and tail. We took him to one of the lakes around here, and he rolled in the burrs. I was almost to the point of taking him to the vet and having them shave him because he was bleeding from all the little stickers going into his skin. Instead, we ended up cutting all the hair off his "pantaloons" and tail hair. It was a really bad haircut. It looked like he sat on a bomb. So we started calling him "blast-ass" and "explodo-butt." I can't find a photo of the haircut, but here's a photo after all the hair, unfortunately, grew back. LOL Jodi