Pippin's person

Aviary-I don't know if you're still here and I'm not seeking to argue at all. I've been involved in producing one litter-I have the sire--both dam and sire passed relevant health tests, have solid temperaments and are both good working dogs (both have been reasonably competitive in Open trials and both are used for small operation farm chores regularly). The dam had one prior litter and the pups were all decent working dogs as well with good temperaments (though quirky as border collies can be). There were several unpredictable health issues with the litter of pups and all have subsequently been reproductively altered, though all those in homes with livestock are good workers. Just to say as above with Julie's point about having produced epilepsy--sometimes the genetic mix just doesn't work that well and it's hard to predict that. Kay Stephens in Texas is probably someone you would find fits most of your criteria pretty well (I don't think she necessarily has dam and sire on site) and she is a very knowledgeable person. She is currently looking to place two year-ish aged pups who look lovely of you are interested in that kind of opportunity. If you are looking for 2018, she's definitely someone I believe would be worth contacting to get a feel for whether she meets what you are looking for in a breeder.

Nope, sheep are more clever than they are given credit for, I think. I remember not realizing I was being pushed toward the feeder until I suddenly stumbled on it hahaha

The end of an era for sure. I hope you see him on that big field, too.

Thinking of you and Tyra, Jennifer--I'm glad you had these last months. She's always been a special girl.

What do you do when she barks for attention? Border collies (maybe all dogs but I've only had experience with border collie puppies) learn in a nanosecond what works for attention, so if she got attention for barking (even exasperated attention), then she's learned the value of barking, so you may have to invest in some earplugs while she unlearns it. I worked at home at least some of the time while we were raising each of our puppies--the only thing that really worked (for me and them) was to be behind a shut door when I was working with puppy in crate. 4-12 mos. was the most trying period in general and I got a lot less done at home than when there wasn't a puppy in the house. Indeed, it was often only their cuteness that kept them alive . On occasion, I'd go work at the local library for a few hours. It gets better but requires patience. All our dogs are now pretty put out when I work at home as it interrupts their napping lol. I'm also not a big fan of puppy socialization classes anymore after I believe it caused trouble for every puppy we brought to it. Just my opinion, but I think the other puppies and people are too much stimulation for a baby border collie.

Oh, sorry to hear this, Jennifer. We'll be thinking of you and Tyra enjoying her pork chops and a beautiful, sunny day. --Robin

I have a dog, now retired, who is very similar to Rex. Quite loose-eyed and little to no feel. Also very pushy and probably just a tad scared of the sheep. His good points were he was biddable, athletic, and had an engine that never stops. When I ran him, I had to be pretty mechanical--and I wasn't really good enough to do that so it was just generally not fun for anyone. His lift had to be managed both because he didn't have a strong feel for the balance point and he lifted hard on his own. Many of the dogs off the same sire had similar issues--particularly the males. I retired him early. Knowing more now than I did then (thanks to having bought a trained dog and learning a lot from him), I wish I could have a do-over with him. I think I could have helped him develop the little feel he had if I'd not been such a basket case myself. He's now happy as a clam being a biscuit eater and walking buddy. Mechanical to me means pretty much exactly what Sue describes.

Thinking of you and Celt!

You'll meet tons of folks at Kingston--many of the best handlers in N.America are there, including plenty from both Michigan and S. Ontario. You can look at the USBCHA site for a list of upcoming sheep trials (not sortable by region, so you have to browse through a little bit)

5 mos is still pretty young--I've heard many people say that a youngster who is reliably house trained before a year had an owner who is always there to make sure they get outside just when they need to....our puppies have always been pretty good early leading us to think they were trained but none was truly rock solid until they were older (Like about a year old)--we thought they were trained because they mostly were and we were mostly pretty good about getting them out, but a couple accidents a week were pretty normal and slowed as they got older. Peeing on the couch is a little odd, so it might be well worth checking for a UTI. We also generally regretted having puppies out of eyesight for more than a nano-second--it's a pain to watch them or have them contained and so we were often willing to pay the price

The inimitable Tyra! So glad for you and her

What a great set of posts to read. How we should all live (and die)!

I've found that lambs start acting more like adults once they have been weaned for a couple of months--they are actually pretty fun for a dog (but not a total novice dog) before that because the dog has to really think about how to move them. I have frequently worked dogs on just a group of near-weaning or newly weaned lambs. If I were getting sheep for the first time to work my dog on and both of us were novices, I would try and get a couple of adults in the group if possible as that usually settles the lambs down. Though, if you are talking about Cheviots, all bets are off

Thinking of you and Tyra.

Sorry to hear this Jennifer. Thinking of you and Tyra!