Susan M. & Skipper, Annie and Ben

Sending another wish for a speedy recovery and great health!

Beth, now I'm curious! Which book were you talking about, the one Painted1 read by Elisabeth Rose or the one I read by Dr. Patricia McConnell? Thanks!

"For the Love of a Dog" by Patricia McConnell. I LOVED it! I actually have an autographed edition. My daughter and I went to a book signing and lecture. She is an amazing person. I have nearly everything she's written and find her information insightful and helpful. The photos in the middle of this particular book are helpful in reading a dogs emotions. I think if more people could read dogs better, there would be fewer bites. Another great book by Dr. McConnell!

Welcome to the boards, Ben! Which island are you on?

Sheryl, I hope Mick is found asap! I've been involved with a couple of lost dog searches and it seems to me that what is done immediately is very important as is never giving up hope if the search goes on for awhile. In addition to moral support, you've gotten some great advice here so far. More solid advice can be found here about finding a lost pet: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Lost-Dog In my experience, an active search is the best way to get a pet back and the above website offers great tips on how to be most effective. Good luck and I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed for Mick.

Sorry to take so long to get back to this but I've been busy. However, I want to clarify something I said. re: Mydogmilton's post, "And Susan... snooping around TRYING to make the dog "look" neglected seems untruthful. Baaaaaad idea." You're right and I agree completely. That's not what I was implying. Sorry for the confusion. What I meant was simply this: 1. What exactly constitutes animal neglect in the op's area and had she researched this? 2. Does that dog meet this criteria? It sounds like she needs more information.

I've used the ticked-off brand tick removing spoon three times- the only tick encounters I've had in the past couple of years- and it worked great. Each time the entire tick was removed easily. One tick came off my daughters tummy, one from the other daughter's pet bunny after he'd been out for a romp in the yard, and one from a very heavily coated elkhound/bc mix. This tool worked better for me than forceps I've used in the past. http://www.tickedoff.com/

Maria, have you contacted your local animal control or humane society directly to find out what exactly they regard as neglect? Could you show them your pictures of the dog to show them that her coat condition is poor and she's under weight? Can you see if her collar is rubbing and has made her neck sore? If the collar is digging in or worn the fur off, can you get a picture of that, too? What is needed to document neglect in your area? I hope you're able to find a way to help.

I had the privilege of meeting Bob, his two daughters, and the famous Sparc. I found Bob to be smart, kind, gracious, and engaging. Sparc is as adorable and full of personality in person as he appears in his photos. Bob's passing, while not unexpected, is so sad. He was a wonderful man. You could tell a lot about him by looking at his daughters' faces and seeing the genuine love and respect there, as well as watching him interact his dog. I wish I'd had the chance to know him better. My heart goes out to his wife and daughters, and of course to Sparc, too.

Thanks for the update! Woohoo! ! ! ! ! A 30% reduction is fantastic! ! ! Mary Ann is a wonderful, dear person and I'm so grateful that so many people are pulling for her. Chris and Ursala at Fido's deserve many thanks, too! Does Mary Ann need more donations to keep the therapy going, or is her insurance kicking in now? Thanks again!

Allie, you and I live fairly close to each other. For most vet things I use Fidalgo Animal Medical Center. When my dogs were in this July for check-ups and titers, the vets there strongly recommended that my dogs get the new lepto vaccine. My dogs train on sheep at various farms, but largely they are house dogs, too. I get titers run on my dogs annually and don't over vaccinate. Based on my vets' recommendations, and that they said several dogs in the area did get lepto this year, I went ahead and had my dogs vaccinated with the new vaccine. The vaccine was well tolerated by each of my 3 dogs and my daughter's 2 as well. I don't know if this helps you in any way. A few weeks after their vaccinations, my dogs and I were at a trial on Whidbey, then back there a few days later for a private lesson with Pat Shannahan (which was fabulous, by the way! ! ) My dogs were/are healthy and I am comfortable with my decisions about their vaccinations at this time. It's hard to know what to do when information changes and recommendations vary. Good luck and take care.

Bumping!

My daughter and I adopted a little border collie, Bailey, from Mary Ann. Mary Ann is a wonderful person. It made me sad to hear she's fighting cancer and sadder still that the treatment is so expensive. I sent a donation this morning and have been passing the word around, too. If enough people make even small donations it will add up. Thanks for posting this here!

Trying again- don't know why that posted before I was finished! Rainierlass, I think we have a large group of border collies in rescue here. They don't get posted until they're ready for adoption, which can take a lot of time, money, and care. The rescuers I know have many more dogs in their care than the web pages show at any time. It's overwhelming. I'm hoping RDM and/or Colleydogge, who are active rescuers, will address this. I, too, am distressed by the numbers of puppies here. I hope they're not coming from back yard breeders or puppie mills and they're not poorly bred. Thanks,

Hi Rainierlass,

Muddy, I'm so sorry to hear what happened; so sorry for the loss of your dear girl. It sounds like you did everything you could for her. You provided her with a rich and wonderful life and at the end of her life you kept her free of pain and fear. I guess that's the best we can do, even if sometimes it doesn't feel like enough. It's hard to let go and hard to lose a friend. My thoughts are with you, too.

Hello again, BobII; glad you're posting! You didn't say whether or not you like having the dogs on the bed with you or where they slept when they were with your dad. Are you ok with them sleeping with you? My youngest, Ben, sleeps in an X-pen in another room with the tv on quietly for company. He's not trustworthy to be out loose- he eats things he shouldn't, like the carpet that used to be on the stairs, for example! When I had him in my room he didn't sleep well. I think DH and I snore or something and kept waking him up, lol! He sleeps very well with this set up. My oldest, Skipper, sleeps on our bed part of the night. He starts there then usually hops off to spend the rest of the night in his own bed on the floor of our bedroom. Annie comes up for a brief cuddle before we go to sleep but she ends up sleeping in my husband's closet, or in the bathroom, or sometimes actually on her own bed in our room. I think she gets too warm on our bed. My daughter has her two in her room at night. Poppy sleeps on the bed; Bailey chooses her dog bed. They're both hop up for a snuggle, though. I do sleep more soundly with my dogs in our room, especially when DH is out of town for a few days/nights. I know they would wake me if I needed to be alerted to anything unusual. I also sleep better with one or more up on the bed. They're comforting. It does make cleaning harder, though! I have a row of pet hair removers on a window shelf that I use on the bed every morning. I keep a heavy sheet over my comforter to help catch fur, too. We have 5 dogs in the house so it looks fuzzy all over no matter what I try! This is a fun topic! Let us know what you decide to do about your arrangements. Regards,

Wow! That's too close for comfort! Personally, I've had the best success preventing my leashed dogs from slipping their collars by using a combination of collars. They each wear a flat collar with their ID information tags. I don't clip a leash to this. When they need leashes they each wear, in addition to the flat collar, a martingale style collar from Lupine. The leash attaches to the martingale collar. The martingale isn't safe to be left on all the time so I don't use it without the leash. They're worth the trouble though, because if adjusted correctly, my dogs haven't been able to escape. My understanding is that even when the dog pulls against the leash, a martingale collar is supposed to be safe as it puts pressure on the muscles on the side of their necks rather than the front of their throats. Skipper used to wear a halti in public as he pulled and was rude to passers-by. My trainer suggested that I clip the leash to the halti and the martingale at the same time. This kept him from slipping out of the halti and also directed the pull of the halti more downwards which was a good. Skip is much more mature and well mannered now and the halti is retired. Whew! With Annie, I tried a harness. While waiting for her turn to work sheep she managed to escape from that! I don't know how she did it! Now she waits for her turn in a crate, the harness is retired, and we're back to two collars for leash walking. Here's a link to Lupine: http://www.lupinepet.com/dog/med_dog.html I'd be interested to hear if anyone has other suggestions, but this is the best system I've come up with so far. Good luck,

Welcome! Is Reno the same Reno who was posted on the rescue site by Sleepy Hollow Sheepdogs? If so, he sure looks like a wonderful boy! Is Sally the person you worked with? I ask because I know her and want to say that she's very knowledgable and experienced in the ways of border collies and could be another great resource for you with training issues, etc. She's great! About fetching, it's easy to teach but be careful what you wish for! Mine all play fetch and it can be fun, but I've known bc's who've become ball obsessed to a point of being obnoxious. Another rescuer friend, colley dogge from these boards, has a plan that works quite well. She says: "The ball (or toy) has no power unless I pick it up." Some bc's will harrass you all day to play. I find that irritating. Right now, as I type, I have 5 dogs in the house with me (daughter's 2 while she's at work and my 3) and all are flopped out sleeping peacefully. That would change if I got up and put on my outside boots and picked up a toy. I decide the activity level which makes living with them easy. With a new dog, I've learned from my rescue friends that it's best to take it very slow and easy for a couple of weeks to allow the dog to adjust. Have a quiet, consistant routine, keep activities to a minimum. Keep things predictable. As the dog learns to trust you and the safety of his routine, then you can start taking them places and introducing them to new people and experiences. Many dogs have trouble when they're overwhelmed with big changes all at once. All dogs are individuals and have different histories and tolerances, but it's better to be a little conservative than risk rushing the dog and stressing him. Right now he's learning more than you probably know- all about the sights, sounds, interactions in his new home. When he's ready, fetch will probably come easily. My dogs all learned by watching another dog play. My Skip learned from Caroline playing fetch with her wonderful Charlie Dog. Skip and I taught my other dogs as they came to our home one at a time. Everyone now plays fetch, but again on my terms (or daughter's terms) only. Welcome again! I have family in Ferndale and go there often- lovely town! Wishing you the best,

Dear Borderbob, I'm at a loss for things to say... Please accept my condolences. I lost my dad just over 2 years ago and I understand how painful and difficult it can be. Your dad's beloved dogs are lucky to have you to depend on and love now that he is gone and I hope they bring you comfort and a reason to smile every day. Please post whenever you want to reach out or ask advice about the dogs. We're lucky to have some very knowledgeable and helpful people here. Take care.

No. I can't imagine myself ever showing a border collie in comformation or participating in an ACK event. Border collies should be bred for stock working ability only. A good working dog will have, by default, a sturdy body, a keen mind, a bidable personality, and all the other traits we each love about the breed. I can't support anything that lessens this.

Meg's Mum, Thanks for asking and caring. There's plenty you can do around here without fostering (although there's a great need for that, too.) Eileen (colley dogge) runs Ravensgate Border Collie rescue and places a huge number of dogs every year. She operates on a shoestring budget and her fosters can always use donations and assistance, from dog food to blankets, pre-paid vet expenses, etc. For example, when I had Ben neutered (at the vet Eileen uses, too) I pre-paid for one of her fosters to be spayed. Her foster dogs all get spayed/neutered and, in addition, some come with expensive medical care; for example one working dog had a broken jaw after being kicked by a cow. The dog couldn't work any more so it was given up- at least they didn't shoot it I guess. Ravensgate is a blessing to many fantastic border collies. Most arrive there because they were purchased as a pet and the owners didn't understand the committment needed to raise a healthy bc. Some arrive because their owner(s) became ill or some other circumstance beyond their control occured in their life. Some are pulled from shelters before being PTS, something that happens to healthy dogs all too often when the shelters get full. Here is the link: http://www.ravensgate.net/ Scroll down to the bottom of the page for her contact info. Here is another helpful link: http://www.pnwbcrescue.org/ As an FYI, I met Eileen about 5 years ago when I adopted Skipper from her. A couple of years later I adopted Annie, also from Eileen. I wish I could do more for the dogs I can't bring home, but I guess every little bit helps, so I try to pitch in when I can. I have washed fosters, walked fosters, started some on clicker training to learn basic manners. Again, it hasn't been much, but every little bit helps so I do what I can and hope others can, too. Thanks again!

What about, in addition to all the great training tips already mentioned, finding a distraction that is appropriate for your toddler. Sleeping puppies are almost irresistble. What about getting a stuffed border collie for your child, one that can be his very own dog. When the real puppy naps, he can have his own "puppy" to play with or nap with. With puppies and little kids I've had good luck redirecting them to something appropriate.

You've gotten some great advice here. I brought my Ben home when he was 9 weeks old, now he's 7 months. The time has flown by! Crates are the best- good for the dog and the people. I took Ben everywhere with me (still do), but until he had all his puppy shots I was careful about exposing him to potential diseases. I carried him in pet stores and farmer supply stores. He loved trips to the beach. Now he goes everywhere, even dog parks. Some of my favorite resources that haven't been mentioned yet are all the books and videos by Patricia McConnell Ph.D. At the top of my list for a new puppy owner are her books: " The Other End of the Leash", and "Puppy Primer." Here's a link to her website: http://www.dogsbestfriendtraining.com/books-retail.php She is just wonderful! I also really enjoyed Derek Scrimgeour's dvd, "The Shepherds Pup" although it's tailored to training a stockdog from puppyhood (which is of interest to me.) It is informative and beautiful. Some basics that have already been covered here: correct what you don't like but then immediately offer an alternative that you do. ("ach! Don't eat my sofa! Here, I'll trade you for a carrot." Amazing how much my teething pup loved cold carrots.) Good luck, have fun, and keep sense of humor- it helps!

What kind of titles are you talking about? Have you seen the parents work a farm and run open in a USBCHA trial or two? Do these parents have other puppies from former litters and how do they work? What are their temperments like? Is the breeder keeping one or two of the pups for themselves to trial and work? Even if you never plan to take your dog to sheep, these are still important things to know before getting a pup.