CaelinTess

Got the sample! I used a very short, square gladware container. Tess thinks I have lost my mind, following her around like that, but she was a very good sport. It is handy to have a dog that pees on command, I'll say that. I'll let you all know what the vet says. Allie & Tess

Tess limps if she walks on beauty bark! You might spend a visit to the park checking out the footing where your dog spends time. I can't let Tess on beauty bark because it puts splinters in her pads. Something like that or stickers in the pads would make it a different foot every time, too, I bet. Allie & Tess

I have a cookie pan that I am going to wash. It is big enough I can probably get her to stand on it to pee, and if not, I can follow her around with it. It's just the right height and size. I will let you all know how it goes. Allie & Tess

Thanks. If all I need is a little bit, I am hopeful I can get it. A take-out container is a good idea, but still a little bit high up. Tess is nearly ground level when she pees, but I will give it a try. The wider area will help, I think. I will be sure and take treats out with me. If I do something crazy and give her a treat, she does not seem to get too upset (worked with the Dremel, after all). I hope she is ok. She must be feeling pretty bad as she has been quiet all afternoon. She is also making unhappy noises. I will let you all know what I find out. Thanks for your help and ideas. Allie & Tess

Tess will pee on command ("Get busy!" ) but she is very low to the ground when she goes. I mean, like, there is no room for a cup. Do you think I could use a LID to catch it and then put it into a different clean container? Would that hold enough? How much do they need, do you think? I hope she does not think I am doing something scary. She is already reluctant to just go outside now, because it hurts to pee and usually when I take her out to play or for a walk, we stop to pee first. I took her out and played a little game first before asking her to go last time. I'll have to do that until she's feel better. I'm also going to have to have her pee in different parts of the yard! She thinks it hurts to pee in her regular spot and she gets that look like I am trying to scare her on purpose if I walk over that way. Hopefully they can test the sampe tomorrow right away and give us some pills! At least I don't have trouble with giving her pills. She hears the pill bottle and comes running. "CHEESE! Where is my CHEESE??" Allie & Tess

She has something wrong, not sure what. We have an appointment at the vet tomorrow at 12:15. That was the earliest they could take her. She has blood in her urine. This just started today. It may have started this morning but I did not notice bloody urine until just now. Tess does all her potty breaks on leash so can I be sure she went and then give her freedom in the house. They said to get a urine sample! How am I to do this? Tess is just miserable. She is moping and looks very unhappy. I feel just awful. My poor dog. This will be a new vet for us, so I am taking all her proof of shots, etc. My poor doggie. Allie & Tess

Well, Tess would fail that obstacle because instead of jumping over, she'd be jumping in. She loves her wading pool. She was terrified of it until my husband stood in it and had some toys in there with him. Now, though, I can hardly get her out of it! Allie & Tess

HKM's Mom -- thanks for your post. I appreciate the other posts, too, but it is especially nice to hear from someone who knows about shy/timid dogs. Tess is the world's biggest scaredy-dog. I just got done with an obedience class and I had planned to take another class from this woman right up until, in the 4th class, she said "Pull her up here to let me pet her. Don't let her back away like she's scared all the time." Excuse me? I thought this was a "positive" training class? For Tess, these obstacles are a confidence-building exercise. Also, it is tons of fun to wave my arms and shout "hoop" or "over" or "weave" or "tunnel" or "dog puddle" (wading pool) and have her go to the right thing. The videos have been great. I hope to take a class, but I am going to wait a bit until Tess has seen and can do most of the obstacles here at home with no stress. What? What do you mean they don't have wading pools in agility courses?? Allie & Tess

I love all these suggestions. I am going to start with the thing in the hallway, that is a really good idea. We have narrow hallways in this rental house and not only will Tess get used to the thing quickly, I am sure I can get my husband to stand at one end and be the reward! I can put a short dowel under the middle part and it will rock a bit (after she gets used to walking on it in the hallway). Thanks. (: Allie & Tess

Hi all. This weekend I thought I would start to introduce Tess to the teeter obstacle and I was hoping to get advice on the best way to do this. Tess is afraid of everything, but she has now mastered the tire jump, the other jumps, the tunnel, and slanted-out weave poles. I also have an A-frame and wondered if I should do that first before we do the teeter. A class is not an option for us at this point, but Tess is a year old and has a clean bill of health. I got videos (from the library, amazingly) that are by Joanne Simmons-Moake and I got a book by her too (also from the library! Great library!!). I've watched the one on obstacle training and find it amazing that the dogs will actually even go up to the teeter, let alone get on it. I am sure that Tess will be terrified of the teeter and the motion of tipping will really freak her out. I have my husband to use both as a helper and as a reward (he is her Very Favorite Reward and she will do almost anything to get to him to be cuddle and snuggled), plus, of course, toys and food treats. (: Any ideas? I don't want to start off on the wrong foot. I think that expecting her to just go up to it and sniff it would be a good start but beyond that I am at a loss. I don't want to scare her. We are going to almost totally flatten the A-frame on the ground with just a tiny bit of a hill in the middle at first, and then go from there. I'm sure she will be fine with that one after I get her near enough to throw a ball to the other side for her. Everything we have is USDAA regulation size/type/safe. Thanks for any suggestions. (: Allie & Tess

Isn't it nice when you find something your dog really likes?? Tess is not food motivated either, but she is fond of cheese and hot dogs. For agility, though, she will refuse every treat. She wants a GAME as her reward, and as soon as I figured that out, she started learning so fast I could hardly believe it. For tricks and stuff, I use food treats and she likes that. For active things, though, she wants an active reward. (: Allie & Tess

We got Tess a wading pool. So far she loves that (well, she was terrified of it at first, but such is life with Tess). She has not yet shown interest in any moving water, fortuantely! Allie & Tess

Oh. Well, I don't have any advice for that. Dogs dig and chew. It's fun for them. It's what dogs do. Can you fence off the roses and/or sensitive parts of the yard/garden? If she can't get over there, she can't dig them up... she will probably just dig other things. I bet the dirt by the roses is very soft and dog-friendly. Why are you leaving her in the yard? Can she be left in a crate in the house instead? She can't dig a hole in your yard if she's in a crate inside. If you can't fence off, and she can't be left in a crate, and if this is some kind of all-day thing for being outside, you might look into a dog sitter or a doggie daycare. Without more information about the situation, it is hard to make appropriate suggestions. (: Allie & Tess

Tess already loves the toothpaste, but if she didn't, I know she would totally go for the ice cube thing. She LOVES ice cubes. (: Allie & Tess

With Tess, I distract her -- but I'm always there to do that. Maybe you could make a spot just for her to dig in? like a box wading pool or something? Then if you have to leave her there unattended, you could hide a bunch of bones and toys in there and she would have more fun digging where you want her to dig (all those rewards for good behavior to be found!) rather than other places. Allie & Tess

I was just telling my husband about the gauze idea and he has outlawed it because of those sharp teeth. I think I agree with him! I will see if I can find a 3-sided toothbrush. That sounds ideal. (: And will save my fingers. (: Allie & Tess

Well, we must be doing pretty well then! The gauze is a great idea, I'll have to try that. Thanks. Allie & Tess

Ok. So tonight is the first night I have brushed Tess's teeth. I know I should be doing it every day or three times a week or at least once a week. (: Tess does not seem to mind it, as the toothpaste is chicken flavor or something (sure smells like chicken to me, anyway) and she did not care about me stuffing the toothbrush in there to brush, so brush away I did. She did not even get that look where she thinks I am trying to make her miserable, so I consider this a major accomplishment. My question is -- do I need to somehow brush the INSIDE of the teeth?? The tongue side? Because she does not really care to open her mouth. She let me brush the outside. I was able to get a little of the tops, but no inside. If I am supposed to get the inside, I will try to do that a little at a time, I guess. And use more toothpaste. (: She does get tons of chewies and she is only 10 months old, so her breath and teeth are still pretty clean. (: Thanks for any advice you can share. (: Allie & Tess

I have a shy & timid dog, and she takes a while to adjust to everything! I am positive that Tassie's suggestions will work as they are what I use on a regular basis with Tess when it comes to new places, things, and people. If your dog likes toys, play with him! That will help him know you are a friend and not scary. (: Tess is much better about new stuff if I bring her favorite squeaky toys to help her get her mind focused on something familiar (the toy and me). Allie & Tess

That is so neat! I hope Tess picks up on things that fast. My husband is building us an agility course at home so that I can get Tess used to seeing the obstacles before we see them in class with a bunch of strangers (Tess is mortified of strangers!). Tess also is a HUGE fan of the tunnel. She thinks that is just an awesome game, especially where my husband or I appear at the other end, like magic. (: Allie & Tess

One more thing... at 5 months, your puppy is probably teething! And her mouth hurts, so she is desperate to chew anything and everything to help get the old teeth out and the new ones in. Providing her with her own chew toys will probably really make her happy. (: Allie & Tess

If she is in a crate, she can't steal underwear. (: If she is outside and the clothes are on a line, you might consider giving her other things to do outside, or else not putting the clothes where she can reach them (block off that part of the yard? Raise the clothesline higher?). Allie

You could also put something to block the part under the sofa. I did that in my office. Now I am no longer retrieving Tess's toys from under there. Allie & Tess

Do you have any of those soft squeaky toys that don't bounce anywhere? They're just like stuffed animals or something, mostly, with a squeaker inside. I taught Tess to fetch with those. I had the same problem. She would not bring it back!! Made me nuts. She'd run off, grab it, and then run away! The little stinker. Anyway, I got two of the same toy, and since they were brand new, she was very entranced with them. So I would throw one, and then once she had it in her mouth, I would RUN AWAY. I would run and hide somewhere, and usually (not always, and certainly not at first!) she would bring the toy with her, forgetting she had it in her mouth (or just unwilling to give it up). Then I would show her the second toy, identical to the first, and she would drop the first one and start begging for the one I had. I would throw that one, and then run away again. Now she is a fetching machine! (: You might try this with old socks or something, tied in a knot. Something that won't bounce! I had the worst trouble with bouncing things in the house. I played mostly in the hallway, and I was forever retrieving things from under the bathtub. I hit my head more times than I care to say. Here is the link to the thread with the tricks--you might try some of these, as they will wear out her brain as well as her body! In case the link does not work and you do a search instead, it is the thread called "Dog Tricks" and it was started on May 20 by Kiwi Steve. http://bordercollie.heatherweb.com/cgi-bin...t=005794#000000 Allie & Tess

I second using a crate! Also, you might search the internet for agility obstacles and how to build your own. Your pup is still too young for jumps, but weave poles, contact obstacles, and the tunnel would be a lot of fun, and you could have her trained for agility in no time, it sounds like. For the jumps, you could just leave the poles on the ground for her to run or step over. You might also try breaking up her exercise. If you only currently take her out for an hour a day and do a 30 minute block of training per day, you might try doing 3-4 walks a day and training after or before each one. Also, she is old enough to learn fetch! (: Fetch is the world's best game for a crazy Border Collie! The dog does all the running and the human just gets to stand there! Hee hee. Also, a while back on the general discussion board here there was a great thread on teaching tricks and there were so many listed there, I bet you could teach her a bunch of things. When she's wearing you out, just put her through a routine of what she's learned and that will get her focused on you instead of on the ceiling fan, cars going by, etc. Allie & Tess