jenfitzh20

I'll look again to see what we treated her with. It wasn't called tetracycline but I'm pretty sure that it was the same thing. I wondered about future problems. As I said this is a rescue dog that has not found a home yet. I don't know exactly what to tell prospective adopters since it appears this was caught in the very early stages (it was caught with a HW test btw). As I mentioned, she shows no signs of illness, probably in the subclinical phase. Thanks for the info. Jennifer MKBCR

Has anyone had experience with this tick born disease? We have a rescue that just finished her month long treatment of tetracycline and we have to wait approx 30-45 days to retest. I've read about all I can find about it on the net, just wanted to talk to someone that might have direct experience with it. I know its more of a southern problem, my vet was not very familiar with it, actually had to do some reading on it himself. The only thing that concerns me so far is that she has had eye problems in the past, an infection that was tough to get rid of. That was one of the symptoms that I'd read about. Its the only one she's really had though. She's healthy otherwise. Any advice is appreciated! Jennifer MKBCR

Thanks D'Elle! I really don't think we'll have a problem finding him a good home but I was hoping for either a working or performance home for him. He really is a very cool dog!

If you or anyone you know is looking for one amazing dog with incredible flyball, frisbee and/or agility potential, then check our our newest arrival...TAZZ!! He is one of the coolest dogs we've had in for a while. He loves people, does great with other dogs, just turned a yr old and since I'm a sucker for a split faced BC, I think he is just beautiful! We've not tested him on stock so we don't know his potential there. To see his pics and bio, visit: http://www.mokanbcrescue.org/info/dogs/dog...lable.html#Tazz We have also just recently opened our rescue store that is carrying our custom designed t-shirts with artwork by a local Hallmark artist, Joni Johnson-Godsy. Please check it out and of course all proceeds to directly to saving more Border collies!! http://www.mokanbcrescue.org/info/Store.html

Keep in mind that training dogs and training HUMANS are 2 totally different things. If you are expected to just train the dog (pointless) then you'll probaby be just fine. However, if like most places, you are training the "owners" to train their dog, then you really need to have some experience with that. Take my word, its much MUCH easier to train a dog . My advice is to apprentice with someone for a month or 2. Also keep in mind that if you are used to training border collies...prepare yourself for those other breeds...like BEAGLES :eek: Jennifer

Excellent place to get info on color is at http://www.gis.net/~shepdog/BC_Museum/index.html

Yes do! We actually have a litter of 6, full 4 week old pups if you're interested (no pics on the website yet). As others have said though, with an adult, you know pretty much what you are getting. With a pup, you don't, its a chance you take for that "clean slate". These pups will be well socialized, handled a lot by kids (under supervision) adults (men and women) and are around other dogs and a cat. They are getting regular worming and will have their first set of shots if not second as well. I'm just trying to figure out which one I want....no no no! I can't have one!!

Its in Omaha, AR (just south of Branson, MO) btw.

There will be a Bobby Dalziel clinic Nov 10-14 in Arkansas. Contact Dawn at OESFEST@aol.com or Pam at eldemar@grasshoppernet.com for more info

Yeah, I probably didn't explain the sports bra thing eh? There is the idea that by wrapping the dog, it alleviate stress, similar to wrapping newborns. They even sell "anxiety wrap" ($$$) but I don't think it works well enough to actually buy one, hence the sports bra . For more info you can visit: http://www.anxietywrap.com/anxietywrap.htm

Melanie, why have a mental image when you can have the real thing?? Here is my Fynn boy sitting behind my office chair where he always sits when I'm on the puter. Here is is "sporting" my lime green t-shirt/bra combo, I think he likes this one best...oh poor Fynn Does he look pitiful or what?! He got to go herding today, no thunder just rain. He can tolerate that for sheep, well, goats in this case. He's tired enough that the fireworks, now mixed with thunder are tolerable. I agree with you though, the more exposure Fynn gets to storms the better he tolerates them. I was actually able to throw the frisbee for him when we got home while fireworks were going off in yards just behind my house. Everytime he'd catch one he'd veer off to the back door but I was able to jolly call him back and he'd come. Major improvement!

Yes, our neighborhood has been shooting the fireworks off for about 2 weeks now, steadily bringing out the louder ones as the days go by. Fynn is petrified. He is the only one thankfully, Sophie is fine and my fosters don't seem bothered too much except when the really loud "bomb" ones go off. Then even I jump and head for the house. I've tried the jolly routine, ignored him, I have the DAP plugged in and the body wrap on him (sports bra ), none of it is helping him. He won't even go out to potty except at 1am when the lunatics have finally gone to bed. Thankfully I have 2 window units instead of central air. Its been somewhat cool so I didn't have them on but finally caved and shut all the windows and turned them on full blast. That has helped more than anything. We still have the ones that shake the windows and make everyone in the house wonder if we are finally being attacked by foreign troops. Just makes me so POed that even though they are against the law, they insist on shooting the lousy things of for a solid month in my neighborhood. One good thing is that Fynn does not flee or become destructive. He gets the "deer caught in headlights" look and tries to find a place in the middle of the house that is safe, usually somewhere close to me. He appreciates my touch but I try not to go overboard. I still use jolly talk even though it doesn't seem make him feel better, can't hurt I figure. We planned on going herding today but now they are calling for thunderstorms...sheesh!!

Well, then...thats a TINSEY bit out of my price range LOL! Guess I'll stick with my Canon Powershot . It does a pretty decent job!

Denise, What kind of camera do you use anyway? Those are some of the clearest, crispest pictures I have ever seen on the web, very nice! I also enjoy the labels on the pics.

Thanks for your suggestions everyone. I also was concerned about the sibling thing. I know first hand how dependent one can become on the other. I've also had experience with young dogs that have had either poor socialzation or no socilization from day one, not a pretty sight. Just stumped me that they were so young and even after a month of, what sounded like, appropriate, gentle contact still produced very fearful pups. Usually, in my experience anyway, its the older adolescents that hang on to the fearfulness and not 10 week old pups. Well, I went to see the pups on Friday. Not at all what I expected. They were shy but not nearly as shy as I thought they'd be. My rescue partner and I sat on the floor with them and coaxed them to us with treats. They came, got the treat and darted back but by the time we left, we had them on our laps licking our faces. I even was able to hold one of them on its back, albeit briefly, but on his back just the same (w/o him producing a fountain of pee that I was warned he'd done before). We took an older bc of ours along, 10 yrs old and she's very gentle and good with pups. She pretty much ignored them and they barked their little heads off at her at first but then one of them decided to give her a sniff. The next instant they are both licking her muzzle and wagging their cute little butts all over the place. They definitely need tons of socialization work and training but they are not the worst I've seen. They owners are pretty dedicated and are going to enroll them in obedience as well as getting them involved in flyball and agility when they are old enough. We intend to keep in contact with them to make sure all is going well. They are beautiful pups too! One's red/white with the most beautiful amber eyes! I think in this case, the owners just had higher (too high) expectations. Especially given the description of the place they came from. BTW, they paid $275 for both pups, pretty much says it all.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with very young pups (10-12 weeks) showing signs of extreme fearfulness of humans? I got a call from the owner of a couple of new border collie pups, apparently were purchased from a puppy mill (guessing this after hearing the description of the kennel). They were told the pups were 8 wks old when they got them the vet is thinking they were much younger, maybe 5-6 weeks old. They discovered bad instestinal worms after they'd had them a week and treated the pups for that (don't know what kind). The couple have had the pups for 1 month now and have yet been able to get close to them easily. They have done just about everything they can think of, lie on the floor, tried to hand feed (fillet no less), ignoring them etc. The pups are still terrified of them. They are crated seperately and are in the bedroom with them at night. They do have one other dog that is 2 yrs old and they all get along very well, it seems that one of the pups and the older dog also have a tendancy to try to protect the other pup by surrounding it when the people approach. I'm a bit confused, I've just never seen pups that young display that much prolonged fear of humans. Any suggestions besides patience?

Boy can I relate to that! Mine is a bc/husky though so I have a pretty good idea where her behavior stems from...HUSKY! It took me 2 years to get a soso recall on her and its still not totally reliable. The best thing I did was take her to a fenced in football field and let her go. I let her get totally ingrossed in something(along the fenceline of course) and then I called her twice. When she didn't respond, I simply left. Well, I left her eyesight anyway. I had freinds there to monitor her to be sure she stayed safe and didn't find a hole in the fence. Once she realized I was gone, she got pretty worried. Worked like a charm, for a while anyway. I've had to reinforce the memory from time to time but when I really need her to come, the best phrase I can use on her is "bye bye Sophie!" . I'm sure there are those out there that think this is a bad way to train a recall but besides resorting to a shock collar, which I refused to do (but seriously considered) it was the only thing I found that worked. So you're a Brummie eh? I'll be visiting your neck of the woods this spring! I've got family in B'ham, small world!

Sure you can learn w/o sheep! Pam from Atchison is my herding instructor and she teaches several of us city folk (well I used to be a country girl ) how to handle our dogs. I will admit there are a few out there that don't have the patience or desire to work with people that don't have sheep or need a working dog but there are those like Pam that relish watching us make fools of ourselves LOL! I certainly am not one that believes showing your dog how to properly herd is a bad thing. Fynn is happy as a clam after a day of herding (wish my legs could say the same...stop laughing Pam). We all thought Fynn was a lost cause after his first few tries (ok first few months...OK, years) but he is finally starting to get with the program...yes yes, I know, *I* am starting to get w/the program (slow learner ). Showing him how to use his natural ability and learning how to work WITH him instead of us fighting each other constantly, has been an invaluable experience..for both of us. Now of course, I have that stinkin desire to buy land and sheep, thats the only down side . I say ask around, there is someone out there willing to help you and your dog and you'd regret it if you didn't try it just once!