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Snorri the Priest

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Everything posted by Snorri the Priest

  1. Two types? Hmmmm, well..... I say sometimes that the farm which produced my two bred two types - little "hard men", and total wimps! My Kali is a little hard man. He don't take no **** from no-one. My Snorri will run away from moths. Probably not the types you mean, though! Snorri
  2. Probably not. But it appears that HER mother did! Snorri
  3. I have just seen a similar thread on another board I visit - in that case, a guy went ballistic when his Labrador puppy wouldn't stop playing with the other dogs: he lifted it by the throat and punched it in the stomach several times! The poster of the story had a go at the chap, and got a load of lip in exchange, so she went home and phoned the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). For once, they got off their butts and got a court order to sieze the dog, as they had had other reports of similar incidents with the same puppy. The RSPCA have now taken the dog to shelter for rehoming, and the police have taken up residence in the man's house. In the UK, a person can be banned from keeping animals for life, as well as jail and fines: unfortunately, not enough jail and too small a fine! Personally, I'd have to rely on "mouth", as I'm disabled, and not very good when it comes to fisticuffs. The mouth works OK, though..... :mad: Snorri Charles Bronson, NOT!)
  4. Going to the vet has never been a problem, thankfully! The partners are all very dog-friendly, and now they know my Boys very well. When first I took Kali to the vet (for his initial shots), I had to take him on the bus (carried under my arm :eek: ). A little girl travelling next to me, with her mum, was making a fuss of him, and asked where I was taking him. When I said "to the vet!", she asked if I was having him put down!!!! I explained as best I could about vaccination (not easy, with a 4-year-old :eek: ) When we got to the vet's surgery, I was still carrying Kali, as I didn't want him getting contact with anything before his shots. I went in, and there was a surge of practice staff, all eager to pet the new puppy. Kali laps up attention like this! He was examined thoroughly (a new experience for him) and given his shot. Not a peep out of him, in fact, all he wanted to was to do unspeakable naughty things to the vet's arm! :eek: :eek: Ever since then, he has tried to get into the vet's surgery, even when we are just walking past it! I think that it's important that ALL the vet staff treat the clients with affection (and they do): I can remember that my first BC, Glen, had such a bad time one visit that he used to go to pieces if somebody even said the word "vet"! He even learned it when it was spelled backwards! I tell my current Boys that they're "going doggy-doctor", and they get quite excited and eager to be on their way! It's another story with ME at the vet - one day, I had to take Snorri for one of his epilepsy checkups. Went in, and the waiting area was full of boiler-suited farmers, stocking up on cattle-drench (etc.). Now, these guys are used to seeing Border Collies covered in mud (and worse) and living in barns. This time, they were treated to the sight of a clean, shiny, fully-grown BC jumping up on my knee for a cuddle! The street-cred dropped like a stone! When Snorri sees another dog, his first assumption is that it has come to steal me away, so he starts with the threats :eek: if there are several, he knows he can't deal with them, so he stakes his claim to my knee. He does, however, restrict himself to hurling vile canine abuse, and then only when he's sure he's safe - he is NOT the world's bravest dog! We have to be careful to take Kali and Snorri in separately, though, as Snorri thinks Kali is getting a cuddle that ought to be his! Snorri
  5. I like that one! My friend Angela had one for her BC Merlin (my Kali's litter brother). Another one I've seen (and should have bought when I had the chance ) had a pic of a BC growling, and the caption: "Can you make it out that gate in 4 seconds? I can!" Snorri
  6. They might tell us what they think of our double standards! The one that must confuse them a great deal is the toilet thing: They have to go out in the cold when they need to "do business". We humans have a special room constructed in the house for that purpose! Snorri
  7. My two are the offspring of working dogs, with a good reputation locally as working farm dogs. However, I keep them as household pets. The older one, Kali (12 this month) has never shown much interest in herding, the younger, Snorri (8) is terrified by stock animals (he's an orthodox coward), but has the circling moves well-established in his repertoire (he tries to round up his brother, on the beach). Other than this, and a tendency to try to stop visitors from leaving, they don't show a lot of inherited ability :eek: , but a lot of that may be down to their pet lifestyle! Snorri
  8. A few months back, I had a brief convo on this board with a lady who seemed to be interested in the conducting classes held during Orkney's "St. Magnus Festival". Unfortunately, I can't remember who it was :eek: Anyway, the Festival program has just been issued. This year, it runs from 16 - 21 June 2006, and the "supervising" conductor is Martyn Brabbins. The course lasts 10 days and offers an orchestra (BBC Philharmonic), two piano soloists, and an ensemble. Sessions cost ?2 sterling ($3.48 at today's exchange rate) each, payable at the door. If my earlier correspondent reads this, she can get in touch and I'll forward what little info I have. This Festival is becoming increasingly popular world-wide, and arrangements will have to be made FAST. Snorri
  9. When Kali was a puppy (about 7 months old), we used to take him to the beach for fetch games and training. He hated it, because he was scared of the noise of the little waves coming ashore. Then, one day, he decided that he liked it, after all, and that he wasn't going to go home. At this particular beach, there is a concrete visitor lounge. Kali decided it was there for him to run round and that it would be a good day to go deaf. When he realized that nobody was going to chase him, he hid under the car and had to be pulled out. By this time, we had a sizeable number of onlookers, at least one of whom was a local farmer - and they were all convulsing with laughter at this spectacular display of total disobedience. Around me, the local farmers don't have a lot of respect for pet BCs, and I'll leave you to imagine some of the comments! "You'll need a shotgun to catch that one" might be a reasonable summary :eek: Relax! It does wear off, eventually, after you've used up several bottles of hair colorant! Snorri
  10. My Boys won't herd, either, despite having been born on a farm :eek: When Kali was a little pup, we had him out for a walk. A cow leaned over the fence and blew on him. He won't even look at cattle now! Later on, he met a pet sheep, which butted him. He won't look at sheep now, either. Snorri has a tendency to do the circling bit when he's on the beach, but he is decidedly cowardly if he sees any animal that's bigger than he is! With one exception - he's quite happy to hurl abuse at bigger dogs in town, when he knows he's safe on his leash and that they're safe on theirs! OK, so they may have been born to be workers, but they haven't "made the grade". This is OK by me, as I never intended them to be anything other than pets, and that's a job they are very good at! When any local farmer derides them as "potlickers" (local parlance for non-working collies), I tell them that being a pet is an honourable profession, dogs have been doing it for thousands of years, and that it's not easy keeping humans happy all the time! They were given a simple job description when they came: "Be my friend and companion" - and they have done it marvellously. The Border Collie may have been developed as a working dog, but, somewhere along the line, "wonderful pet" crept in as well! Snorri
  11. Here in the UK, we have a doctor who appears on daytime TV shows and writes pieces for the listings mag - Dr. Mark Porter. In one article, he wrote that he would not recommend putting anything smaller than your elbow in your ear :eek: . I guess he was right! Hope everything turns out OK. Snorri
  12. Both my Boys have their own beds in the front part of the house: (Kali in his nice, new, comfy bed. His brother Snorri has a plastic bed) Snorri-dog is epileptic (but under very good control), but occasionally, if he has had an attack, we clean him up and let him share with us. It's a bit of a risk, if he has another "turn", but at least we're there to take any action that might be necessary. Both dogs have a habit of getting down between us and dragging the duvet into the middle of the bed, leaving us with our a***s hanging out in the cold :eek: :eek: (Not a pretty sight!), which is why they were excluded from nearly the start! Now that he's in his later years, Kali gets to come and snooze on the bed if I have a lie-in. It's a bit of our "quality time", and I reckon that a bit of spoiling now that he's old isn't all that bad; in fact, I think that the older he gets, the more important it is to make him feel that he is loved. Snorri
  13. I do my best! When Kali was a puppy, he seemed to be remarkably good at finding new ways to rig me up! So I decided that if it was fair for him to tease me, it was fair for me to tease him! Besides, what's the point of having a BC pup if you can't wind him up a bit, from time to time? Now that he's getting to be an "old boy" (12), I don't tease him - instead, he gets through to the bedroom whenever I have a lie-in, so that he gets a bit of "quality time" to "re-bond". He still tries to pull the covers off :eek: , but he gets his morning cuddle every day: I don't know how many mornings he may have left now, but I don't want even to miss one! Now, it has passed 6 pm (UK time), and it's time to feed him! Snorri
  14. No, (UK resident), but I daresay it will turn up on one of our channels at some time. We tend to get quite a lot of adverts with Border Collies here, because the PR gurus see them as a good breed for presenting an aura of "family", or "action", or "clean countryside", depending on whatever it is they're trying to sell us! Also, of course, it's easier to get a BC to perform for the camera! Snorri
  15. In addition to their raw mince diet, my Boys get one of these chews every evening after they've been fed: http://www.pedigree.com.au/products/dentastix.asp TBH, I can't vouch for their availability outside the UK, but as the website APPEARS to be based in Australia, the availability MAY be international. My dogs love them, and the vet says their teeth are excellent. There has been no sign of a problem with digesting them, either. I'd recommend them, if you can lay hands on them, as they seem to do what it says on the pack (for once :eek: ) JMO Snorri
  16. Where I live, we are often overflown by helicopters going to and from the North Sea oil platforms. Even now, in his later years, Kali will sit in the garden and watch them. When he was little, he'd get totally befuddled when told to fetch one! Snorri
  17. RDM, I accept your point, but I'm only talking from my own personal experience (which is the best anyone can do, really ). My own two Boys have adapted to a more sedentary lifestyle, as did my first-ever BC. This doesn't mean that they are not keen on going to a clear area to do "zoomies" (they love that!), but, when the opportunity is not presented, they are happy enough to laze about without getting cabin fever. Not all BCs will settle to this, perhaps, but, so far, I have had three out of three do so, which is 100% of the BCs I have had. Snorri
  18. My older Mac desktop also has a function where you can type a document and have the computer read it back to you, aloud. I type their names, followed by something like "SWEETIES!" (little meaty treats) and have the comp read it out. This provides a great deal of confusion, as they know well that it isn't me speaking, but that I am the usual dispenser of "sweeties" - so they come and whine at me till I "cough up" the goodies, heads swinging between me and the loudspeakers! Over the years, I've got to be very good at playing mind games with them - mostly in self-defence! Snorri
  19. No doubt, I'll get jumped on for this! When I acquired my two BCs, I was fit enough to get out and about with them (often 10 miles a day), and they were fine. Now, I'm knackered with arthritis and diabetes and can barely shuffle for 10 yards. My Boys seem to have accepted this, and have settled down to being good "house dogs", happy enough to slob out beside the fire. Not the usual mental picture of the nuclear-powered Border Collie! They still have a tendency to go ballistic when I appear in the morning, and that could be a problem if someone in your family has a mobility problem (20+ kilograms of "helloing" collie can provide quite a lot of impact!). Having said that, I've found that they adapt to what's available, even in a home which may not appear, at first sight, to be ideal. It's just unfortunate that my circumstances changed after their arrival. They are so good now that I couldn't face parting with them. Snorri
  20. Auditioning for a movie role as Sam Spade????? Snorri
  21. Being a resident of the UK (or "inmate", if you prefer ), I've never come across these "Greenie" things, so I can't really comment on them. BUT - Snorri-dog used to have a ferocious breath problem (the stench was even coming through his coat :eek: ). We tried everything we could find - even tablets of parsley and peppermint - and nothing seemed to work. The problem was solved by stopping feeding him on canned food, and switching him over to minced offcuts from our local butcher shop. The stench disappeared almost overnight and has never returned. Not only that, but there are never any leftovers, it's easier to do portion control, and it's cheaper than the commercial rubbish. It does take up a bit of freezer space, but so what? As it's pretty much human-standard, there are no chemical nasties in it and no mechanically-recovered offal, so it has to be better for them, all-round. Also, as a side-effect, buying what would otherwise be thrown away helps to keep our butcher in business (there aren't many left here). One problem, though - the little beggars won't eat anything else now! But at least, both boys are now socially-acceptable! Snorri
  22. It is a popular misconception that Border Collies are born to herd stock. They're not. They're born to destroy things - it's what they do! Beds, cars, toys, furniture - all is fair game! Dunno if my guys have particularly big tongues but this was taken after an energetic dash about over the heather tussocks on a local walk, which tends to bear out the "central cooling" theory. I tend to be more aware of the size of Snorri-dog's tongue (he's the one on the right) when he tries to stuff all of it into my ear every morning! :eek: Snorri :eek: :eek: :eek:
  23. P.S. - I use Apple Mac computers, on which you can set the audible alerts to a variety of sounds. The older desktop has its alert set to "chu-toy", which means that every time a message springs up, it's accompanied by the sound of a squeaky toy getting a trashing. Result - two Border Collies dancing about barking their heads off and searching for the "other dog" who has got hold of their toys! Revenge can be amusing, as well as sweet! Snorri
  24. I have been known to kneel on the floor and pet an invisible cat. We don't actually have a cat (probably just as well, Kali HATES cats). Kali watches this performance with intense interest, he knows I wouldn't lie to him , then appears to figure he's missing something (couldn't be the cat, could it? :confused: ) and comes over to sniff for it. For once, it appears that he can't even believe his nose - so he gives up and retreats to his bed, looking miffed. Snorri
  25. I got a nice new toy delivered today, a gift from an AOL chat friend.......a brand-new Mac G5 dual-processor tower computer! I haven't got it set up yet, but hope to find out what it will do, in a few days. 2X 1800 MHz G5 processors, 15 fan cooler units, CDRW, DVD-ROM, the works! Apparently, she bought it for her "Other Half" to manipulate photos, but, being locked into Windoze PCs, he doesn't like Macs. She knows I use Macs and love them, so I got it - for the cost of shipping it only! Cowabunga! (or similar) Snorri (getting ready to rock and roll!)
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