agilebrainz

Well, my BC was dx'ed positive for Anaplasma in December, while my cocker is currently fighting for his life; supposedly only positive for lyme. Don't gamble with tick born diseases. Often, by the time you see symptoms significant damage is already done. The SNAP4 test is affordable and will give you some sense of security about your dog's health. Yes, Anaplasma is definitely in the Hudson Valley of NY. -Devi

Eyes have checked out ok? Some dogs with vision problems trot. Is your dog a pull or a push dog? If the dog likes to have you in front, don't rear cross. If he is a push dog, don't front cross. Which isn't to say never do those crosses; just pay really really well when you take the dog out of his comfort zone. Keep training sessions extremely brief, try not to do a lot of grids or drills, vary your toys and mix up types of food treats, celebrate often and unpredictably, even for the simple stuff like jumps (jumping is so under-rewarded) and the occasional tunnel. Start and end practice sessions with play. Fun is as fun does so act like you are having fun yourself and since its very hard to fool dogs about our moods, let it actually BE fun for you. Chase your dog around the course without doing any obstacles for while. Let him chase you. Goose him in the butt lightly if he can handle it. Have a highly rewarding, no pressure short pre-practice/pre-trial ritual that you always do the same way every time, so the dog can find confidence in that. Most of all, practice mistakes. Yup. You will make them so make them now and practice your reaction to them so that it does not exhibit to the dog in a negative way, since that will make him/her so very careful about doing it better/slower/more carefully next time. Good luck, hope some of this helps.

Just to get this back on to the topic of breeding, how does one reconcile the purebred BC to the 'cowdog' of the midwest, which may or may not be a BC? I know what AKC thinks, of course. But is a cowdog still a BC? Seems like they can be just about anything. Thanks!

Jill is very pretty!

Looking to add to my flock of BC Toys and would like 2-4 Indian Runners preferably not chicks. Hoping someone else is sick of cleaning duck poop and would sell older chicks/young adults in the northeast. Will do baby chicks if forced, but not finding many hatcheries around. Please write directly to dogdaze@nqncare.net Thanks

Hi all, I recently adopted a rescue BC that basically spent the first 3.5 years of her life in solitary confinement, so is very new to the world-at-large. I was told she had some obsessive-compulsive traits, like being driven nuts by ceiling fans, windshield wipers, and flashlights. I keep her busy so have not seen a lot of this. In fact she is sleeping under a ceiling fan right now. However what I do see and am worried about is compulsive herding behavior. Circling, circling, circling, (circling!) I have been working on recalls daily with this dog, who is extremely UNbiddable by BC standards, and have progressed as far as working recalls under mild distractions. We do this up and down the property daily. Yesterday her recall failed and I soon found her down the road compulsively circling the neighbor's horse. The horse could not have cared less (thank god) so I just stood there watching, and it quickly became clear that the dog was mentally 'stuck'. She probabaly would have circled herself to death if I had not been smart enough to guess where she'd go and find her. I have also seen her do this with other dogs, but oddly not smaller dogs. Mostly other herding breeds. The dogs at least will correct her and back her off. For a moment, that is. Then its back to circling. She is driving my other BC crazy. Now I'm not all that concerned about the failed recall. We have a lot of work yet to do. What I am concerned about is the way she got mentally 'stuck'. I don't doubt that it is another symptom of that obsessive-compulsive tendancy, and would like to hear from people who have experience with this sort of thing. Is it a trait as hard-wired as blue eyes, or can it be trained out? If so what worked for you? I have hopes of this girl becoming an agility dog, so a 99.9% reliable recall under any circumstances is a must, as is the ability to leave other dogs alone and not try to cirle them, compulsively or otherwise. Thanks for any advice!