colleydogge

i'd like to address a few of the statements i read on this thread, and hope i don't squash too many toes. "(there are VERY few if ever BC's in the pound or at the rescue sites)" (this was speaking of washington state). don't know what internet you are on, but look closer. www.pnwbcrescue.org has a steady and CONSTANT stream of dogs posted. (currently there are FORTY-FIVE dogs posted). note that almost all that are posted are purebred dogs. (see my explaination below). also, every foster home that posts on this site also has more fosters that will be posted as soon as they are ready for adoption. i have 19 foster dogs, 13 are posted and the rest are "in rehab.". we are currently desperately looking for more foster homes - right now we have 3 dogs in imminent danger of being PTS, simply for lack of room. just a few years ago, pacific northwest border collie rescue could boast that not a border collie or bc mix was put down at any shelter in our area, as long as we knew about it. i can still remember when i used to have 2 or 3 fostes at a time. now, sadly its not the case. we are overwhelmed and out numbered by the sheer numbers of breeders who don't place their dogs responsibly. border collie mixes don't stand much of a chance of getting into rescue anymore as we can't even keep up with the purebreds. we have several "breeders" locally who regularly have multiple litters on the ground at once, sell to anyone who comes with money, and continue to up their number of breeding females. it is simply too much for rescue to keep up with, and border collies and bc mixes are frequently PTS at our shelters. in case you didn't know, many border collies never make it to the adoption floor at shelters. they are too shy or reactive (usually a result of backyard isolation) to pass the sternberg-ish temperament tests. common reasons_ - spinning in the kennel, afraid to walk on lino, avoiding eye contact, not used to being brushed.) another statement made was: "Even if a rescue shows (herding) instinct you never know how it will turn out once you have put training on it." you don't know how any pup will turn out. what people still fail to realize is that rescue dogs come from the exact places all other dogs come from, pet breeders AND working breeders. they come from ANY breeder that doesn't take the trouble to keep track of their pups, and insist that they be returned to them. i would like to mention that we are lucky here in washington to have several top open handlers/trialers with many years of experience that donate herding evaluations of our rescues. when we post that a certain dog has good herding/trial potential, it has shown more than just instinct. it has shown talent, keenness, biddability, balance and stock sense. we challenged a former national's winner to "find the rescues" at a recent herding clinic, and they could not. another comment was that rescues are "generally not the dogs a competitive sports person wants. A lot of the rescues are much more laid back than a pb bc." i only wish they were more laid back, then they would be easier to place. its the real-deal ones that are hardest to find an appropriate home for (check out daze and kyle on the wash. page of www.pnwbcrescue.org ) and most of our dogs offered are not "mixes or older dogs". most of our dogs are purebreds from 10 months to 3 years. and they don't have debilitating problems that prevent them from being among the best at any sport. the most common "issue" is shyness. it generally takes no more effort to cure this that it would to properly socialize a purchased puppy. sorry for being so long-winded. the bottom line is YES, there are TONS more border collies in rescue than ever (at least here in washington), and there are a few good breeders, but also tons more irresponsible ones (and growing). can any of the washington list members volunteer to be a foster home, even for just ONE time???? can you have a garage sale for border collie rescue?? donate some food?? eileen ravensgate border collie rescue camano island, WA

i apologize if this should have been posted under 'health and genetics'. i've had hundreds and hundreds of rescue border collies at my place but i've never seen this before.... i just got a cute boy in with two different colored brown eyes. i've seen lots of odd eyed blues and blue/brown marbled eyes, but these are both solid brown but very different shades. in the photo, i've had to lighten it because of the shadow, so its a little off-color. the eyes are what i would call dark chocolate brown and the other one is almost burnt sienna. (sorry about the poor photos). http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j125/colleydogge/a101.jpg the dog is definitely all border collie and a real cutie. he is way too intent on the cats though! http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j125/colleydogge/a073.jpg just wondered if anyone else had seen this eye coloring before ?? eileen at ravensgate border collie rescue camano island, WA www.ravensgate.net

i remember keisha very well - i adopted her to her current owner about 2 and a half years ago. this is very sad, and so young to have cancer. this is the first i've heard of keisha being ill. her owner has not contacted me, but i'm sure we can put something on the website to ask for donations to help with treatment. have her contact me with details. eileen @ ravensgate

jef adopted gael from me (ravensgate border collie rescue) a little more than 2 years ago. he is a REMARKABLE agility handler and has done amazing things with all his dogs. gael originally was a stray pickup who i pulled from the idaho humane society on her last day. she was shy, scared and confused. jef adopted her a couple months later. i could not ask for a better home for one of "my" dogs and i am picky, ask anyone! jef's training is meticulous, accurate, and he does not take chances with safety. are his dogs fast? you BET they are. why is that bad? he has won the NADAC nationals with gael, so has now decided to pursue the same goal in USDAA and AKC. why this deserves critisism, i don't know. and why the need to criticize a first-time herdig handler (or dog) is also a mystery to me. (i looked way worse than that my first time out.) to assume that jef is willing to "hurt" his dogs for a ribbon just proves that the original poster does not know anything about him. jef cares deeply about all his dogs, as anyone who knows him will attest to. the comments he received from fellow competitors, including the president of NADAC, after winning the national in his height class, were moving and profound. they spoke to the mutual respect and the relationship that jef and gael have, not just the "win". so jef is exploring herding. i think that's great - and a better attitude than "this guy's won some ribbons so he must abuse his dog, and look at how bad he looks herding" might have been "wow, good for him. he's not stuck on just one aspect of how remarkable border collies are, he's allowing his dogs the opportunity to try out other sports, and is not afraid to show the world what it looks like to be a beginner". he is obviously seeing the good in his dogs even in the very beginning stages, as opposed to being critical without having knowledge of what is being viewed. there, that's my 2 cents as someone who knows jef(and his dogs)personally. eileen on camano island www.ravensgate.net

i am not a scientist, but having had a dog (bc/aussie) die in my arms from von willebrands disease, i would test ANY breed for this before breeding, no matter how much i knew about the breed. i'm not taking any sides on this, but 10 or 20 years ago, would we have critisized someone as being inexperienced or unknowledgeable simply because they tested for CEA, had the test been available? would doing that test back then have given us an improved dog today? if i was buying a puppy, i don't think i'd be put off with a breeder who did excessive testing on the parents, as much as i would with a breeder who didn't do enough testing. (cripes, i can't even find a border collie breeder out here that has an adoption contract!). 15 years ago, i had many breeders out here (top notch herding dogs) tell me "oh we don't need to test for hip dysp., border collies just don't have it". obviously there's way more to breeding than genetic testing, and there's no replacement for extensive experience, but there's no reason you can't have both. eileen on camano island www.ravensgate.net

out here, there are several "agencies" who will hire you and your dog for commercials. people register their dogs with them along with a list of their tricks and talents. i've done commercials for a dog food company, and for microsoft with one of my dogs. the ones for microsoft (a series of 3) took only one day to film, and we were a replacement for a previously used border collie who was no longer available. this is a more cost effective way to get dogs for commercials without having to keep a "stable" of dogs that fit every size, look and behavior that might be needed for commercial work. there is no guarantee that a 4-5 year ad campaign will really run that long. it would all depend on how successful it was. and a professional film crew can shoot several commercials in one day, so an ad campaign that long may take only a week to put together. plus as i stated above, they can always use another "lookalike" for repeat commercials down the road, or for personal appearances. remember how many lassies and morris the cats there have been. so yes, you can buy a trained dog. i've adopted dogs out with as many as 30 "on command" behaviors in their bag of tricks. are they the tricks that might be required in the commercial? maybe and maybe not. most times, the commercial companies call you with one or 2 days notice and want a specific behavior. if the dog doesn't know it, you've got to be able to teach it quickly, and have it rock solid enough for the dog to do it reliably (time is money) in a HOT studio surrounded by TONS of strangers wielding strange equipment. if you just want basic obedience training, there's no substitute for the dog's owner/handler actually spending the time to do this with the dog. i'm not in favor of getting a dog for a 4 year job, no matter what the job. every dog deserves a lifetime home, especially a dog that's not only earning his bread and butter, but yours as well. eileen www.ravensgate.net

here's a recipe for pumpkin muffins (yes, for the dog!) that was developed by a vet for relief of anal gland problems. can't remember where i got it from, but that was the message that accompanied it. 2 cups flour (any kind) 1 cup quick oats 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon 1/2 tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/2 tsp. salt 4 eggs 2 cups pumpkin (large can) 2/3 cup canola oil 1/2 tsp. vanilla mix everything together and fill muffin tins 1/2 full, or drop by large spoonfuls onto baking sheet sprayed with pam. bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. i haven't met a dog yet that didn't love these!! eileen and the paws and claws at ravensgate www.ravensgate.net

wonderful to see that so many people on this board have rescue dogs!! like RDM, i see no reason to purchase a border collie, at least in this area. we have so many fantastic dogs available through rescue. be it puppies (i currently have 8 week old puppies available) or adults, any color (i currently have a red sable and a blue merle, plus blacks and reds), calm pet types, or working maniacs, they are all in rescue. this last year i placed several fantastic working and trial dogs (not to drop names, but pat shannahan said of one "for a working or trial dog, you just can't GET any better breeding than this dog has"). additionally, we also recently had an alisdair maccrae pup in washington border collie rescue. my point is that unless a breeder keeps track of all their pups, and takes them back if placement does not work out, any dog can end up in rescue. this year, one of my former foster dogs won first place at the nadac national championships(20"). so no matter what "job" you have in mind for your dog, that dog CAN come from rescue. plus you can see what your getting right from the beginning. fencing is a dog-by-dog issue with me. you are no more refused for not having a fence, than you are automatically approved by having one. except for my oldest (skye and corrie are 15 and 14 years old), my dogs are rescues (foster dogs that have stayed). eileen www.ravensgate.net (photos of some former fosters are on this site, along with available dogs). www.green-bean.com/bcrescue