Annette Carter & the Borderbratz

He is just a good boy... He tries so hard to please. Yes his charming Dyson herding and water hose wrangling is part of what sold me on him. He can also move the goats pretty much anywhere I want them, springy, flighty kids included. He has so much "try" in him that it's hard not to admire his sprirt and all he really wants in return is to snuggle and be scratched. It's the need to snuggle that sold the DH because the whole time he's always wanted a dog that would just sit with him. He is settling down to my routine and is happiest when he gets to go everywhere I go. He's quit whining in the car and just settles down to nap until we get where we are going. I am seeing some Sep Anxiety but that is getting better already. He hates confinement, just like my Delta but I think we can work through those issues ok. He gets neutered on Tuesday and other than the smell of an intact male being offensive to me there are no adverse reasons to neuter (other than to not allow breeding) Yes Linda, you still are his aunt along with Miztiki and Joan. If not for you guys, he wouldn't be here and we are all thankful that he is!

Well, DH is home and his words are "He's a perfect dog and we'd be stupid to place him. Now to work on a dogster page! Update to follow!

When you consider that things like spray lighter fluid or other chemicals are put in the tape to make it more tacky. Yes the ears get irritated and I have seen scabs form on some puppies. Just tipping an ear with glue by gluing hair to hair is not nearly as bad as using the tape and moleskin. I guess it depends on who is doing the gluing. I'm just so happy I don't have to worry about it any more- I have 4 sets of perfect ears here - floppy flying nun, one up one tipped, 2 tipped (sheltie-never taped), and 2 pricked. I think I love them all but favor those floppy ears the most.

Tammy, When I foster for a larger rescue they usually make the decision on placement but they usually ask the fosters if they like the applicants too since the applicants sometimes meet the fosters. Every rescue is set up a little differently. With what I have been doing here, I've been the one to foster and decide on placement and issue contracts etc. It's much harder without the support of a good group of fellow rescuers. When I let them go I always keep uppermost in my mind that then the space can open up to help another dog. There are never enough foster homes to go around. So keep that in mind and it may help you. Linda, I know you'll still take him hon and if it turns out that he comes to live with you, you'll love him and he'll be happy. It's just that all the moving that he has done until now has made him a little needy and I'd like to see him better adjusted so hopefully he won't have to go anywhere and he just straightens out with some time. His name absolutely fits him. He doesn't care about the other dogs to play with them- he just hangs with his one pardner (me). He watches the other dogs wrestle with a bored look on his face. Cowboy fits- he's almost on the verge of Clint Eastwood in dog personality. With slightly more of a sense of humor though.

Deb, I'm ok with letting them go as long as they are adjusted and ready to leave, this guy really isn't. My DH is getting emotionally worn out with rescue- he gets so attached and so the coming and going of dogs is a problem for him so I've offered to take a hiatus for a while. Then here comes Cowboy...He'll be the last rescue for a while and if he stays, he'll be the last rescue for at least 5 years I'm afraid, no more room at the inn. I am currently helping private owners wanting to rehome their dogs do so responsibly without doing the foster work. Sometimes it's a question of training and house manners so I'll offer to work with them on that too. So far I've helped place a few dogs that way and keep a couple of dogs in their already perfectly good homes. So it's still helping dogs even though I'm not doing the fostering and placement myself. Good luck with your own future rescue endeavors!

I have had conformation collies, shelties and dobermans and a GSD since 1990 and my opinion is that it makes pups head shy and neurotic about ear handling. With a show crop on a dobie ear, they cut off about half the ear from the base to the tip, in the correct shape. Then using skin bond (ostomy adhesive) and coach (sport) tape the non sutured back of the ear is glued to a series of styrofoam cups and the set is made. Then there is weeks to months of follow up gluing and taping and subsequently using all sorts of stuff including brute force to remove the glue so you can put new glue & tape on. For dogs like collies, shelties, and GSDs, Dr. Sholl's moleskin is most popularly used along with skin bond to make the base of the ear erect- tipping them requires more instruction than is needed here. But from 7 or 8 weeks until teething is finished at about 6 months old give or take is how long you tape ears for. As long as a dog is teething the ear set will change. And yes, I feel it isn't easy on the dogs although I'm sure after puppyhood they get over it as long as you fool with their ears in a nice way alot with scratches and rubs. One of the reasons I love BCs so much is that ears are a no brainer- they are what they are. In my avatar you can see Buffy at 4 months old with her ears braced. Nature or genetics won out because she has one prick and one tipped just like her dad. She was my fist BC pup and my last ear taping project- thank goodness!!

You know a noise might just be what you need- you want to get his attention, use a throw can. Yep, I'd use his deepest fears against him. I think projectiles are a bad idea- if by some freak accident you hurt him, you'll be very sad. Your target is moving and your aim cannot be perfect 100% of the time. Besides, repeated throwing can't be great for your back.

Well, we thought he had no eye, no style, no BC instinct... Apparently sheep don't turn him on like my Dyson Animal Vacuum Cleaner He has eye (fairly strong too), he has style, he can head or heel and isn't afraid to grip. Even my papered BCs don't try to find the balance point on the Dyson but this little guy does! I think it's hilarious and a good think I don't use the Kirby or Cowboy would have some missing teeth! He's doing good! I do notice some growling from him from time to time but it all really means "leave me alone" It's always directed at the dogs and they just avoid eye contact. It's nice to know that I have a really nice group of kids when it comes to putting an apprehensive dog at ease. He's an awesome dog and I can't say enough about him. We are working on a couple of sticky points- like "wait" and "Stay" He doesn't think I should go anywhere without him and I don't agree with him. So we are doing the no entering or exiting without permission routine. Then there is the entering a crate of his own free will problem... so for now I mostly put him in there when I'm feeding him his RMBs- pretty much because I've been too lazy to take the time to put it on command with time and treats. After I actually get to the grocery store and HAVE food in the house, finding the time here and there will be easier. I'm still hoping things work out and my DH falls in love with this dog. We'll find out very soon. He's very easy for a Border Collie person, other people he just might drive up a wall. He is a pretty busy boy and an insecure one, prone to licking and chewing on his own legs- I've seen it before and I think this equates to a stress response as a pacifier. I think that with time and security as well as good training and general care it will resolve. If my DH likes him, he stays. I don't think he can take much more bouncing around and I stress just thinking about bouncing him anywhere too. Anyway, that's the update.

The bible says we are supposed to live as closely as we can to the way Jesus did. It says a wife can convert her husband without a word. The bible does not say evey last one of us have a responsibility to thump people over the head with the Word. Reading the bible with a pagan's eye and filtering out all the baloney of man is what converted me to Chrisianity again. It is about love, and balance. God Is all things - male, female, nature... Which is why I really believe that nobody is wrong as long as they walk the path with love in their heart- Like Jesus. If Jesus is love and you accept love in your heart, in your life, then you accept Jesus -even metaforically. In a meditation one day, I saw the collective consciousness- God, the Son, all of us, and all life. It really is much more simple- we make it complicated is what I mean. Everytime I try to verbalize it I bumble it... Ok I'll shut up now. Love and blessings for all you guys,

God would have to be a hateful, vengeful, immature @$$ to hurt a person through innocent animals. Her idea of God sounds more like some evil toddler, don't you think? That is not the God I know in my life.

Donna, I was a wiccan. Now I'm a nobody is really right or wrong kinda gal (as long as I don't have to worship in a group- people cause anxiety) Get connected. No matter how we connect with deity we are better off when we do. I've rarely talked about that part of me with many people. Guess it's outed now!

Donna, Hugs to you sweetie. I know exactly what you are going through. I suffer with depression/anxiety too, brought on by physical endocrine problems. My health is something I fight for every day. My meds helped in one way but hurt in others and although I'm sure there are more out there to try, I got tired of the different side effects so I'm not on any right now. The moods wax and wan. Having spiritual faith has helped me get up and dust myself off more than once when I've thought I was too tired and confused and in pain to go on. I go from speaking my mind to completely avoiding people in general and for months on end. I respect and admire you for facing this hard stuff head on. I've always known you here as a gentle and loving person. It took some guts for you to post this thread but for sure on my part, no apology is necessary. Lots and lots of love,

LOL! You put it in quotes- it says "Could" But if my dog started looking confused after the "sit" but complying after the snap & point, I'd know that uh, oh I goofed somewhere- not the dog.

Oh Miz I do so understand having to back track in training because of time lapsing. I'm going through that with the horse right now because over 2 weeks I haven't been able to get out there because of either not feeling well or weather But YES Ah HA because to dissect YOUR behavior the point and snap is the same thing as "sit" Training this horse has really caused me to look at everything very closely because they aren't around us as long as dogs are in a day to be able to generalize or tune out body language of ours that isn't necessarily directed at them. So although it may seem that horses are super mental, but instead of telekenisis, I believe they are hyper aware of our intentions through muscle movements and posture that is not obvious to us because we look at people all day but that reads like a bill board to them.

Ah ha! So we get to something a little more interesting ( I love this stuff) What is the "snap and finger point" really? My theory is that it is simply a hand signal cue for the verbal cue "sit" We may emphasize it with mental attitude but regardless of our feeling of exasperation however minor (the reason you call it a correction)it is outwardly just another cue. Technically in a clinical setting you would simply repeat the first cue you gave. Think about it in terms of being unambiguous, since it is technically not a correction but an added cue you could unconsciously be teaching your dog to either ignore the verbal cue or recognize that the cuing sequence is not complete without the "snap and point". If you are going to correct, give the cue you want and then correct. The way I might do it would go as follows 1) Get dog's attention 2) give cue for sit then either praise or in the absence of the desired behavior, give the no reward marker (my version of correction)and give the cue again. My dogs do not require and hands on correction but I have had dogs that do. Generally tho I try not to ask for a behavior with such disctractions until the dog is ready for it and we have trained up to that point.

For you maybe. Some people train just fine without using 2 at all. Not that consequences aren't necessary to complete communication just that the application of punishment is not necessary for complete communication.

Yes and shaping and solidifying habits comes through either Liz' stated reasons numbers 1 or 2. Edit: I teach the mechanics of sitting on cue by holding food over a dog's nose, others use a collar pop and a push down on the rump, others sweep and fold the rear legs underneath and yet others shape the behavior with a clicker. We all do this enough times so that a habit is created that when we give the cue for sit, the dog takes the desired position.

I use treats (or a toy) to teach initial behaviors then a variable reward schedule to solidify the behavior- I then use the variable reward schedule to wean my dogs off the primary reinforcer (treats or a game of fetch). My dogs sit, lie down, and wait because I gave them the cue for it. I do still use R+ I suppose for those behaviors but on a random schedule and the might get rewarded now 1-5 times out of 100 times I cue the behavior. This is for the BCs, the sheltie gets sloppy on responses to cues without a higher rate of reward- a much higher rate of reward of closer to about 25% of all the times I give a cue because even tho he is a very willing, sensitive dog on average, he is only half as biddable as either of my BCs. So Inu, I say dominance and leadership still implies consequenses to me. In fact I'm training that way with my horse right now after I'd alerady started clicker training him. I'll be honest there are pros and cons to both but my horse is far more eager to work with me when using R+ and he only "submits" when we use "leadership" techniques. I think he actually "learns" the exercises faster and is more reliable with the R+. I think Jazzy is a dog with a solid recall and happier doing it because you used R+ to train it.

I read it Miz and you were absolutely right. I don't think the OP read your defense of her either she got offended and left- still needing help UGH!

Rustypup, I have had a similar experience with one of my puppies. Indy started his mounting behavior at 5 weeks of age. I can only tell you what I did and what the result was I ignored it and it went away with time. I also think that if you are firm with the biting and nipping issue he will develop respect for you and the mounting will cease. In the mean time, I would not allow him to mount you but I would put all 4 feet on the floor and then distract him with something else like a game or throwing a toy and teaching him to sit for that game whenever he is around you because if you condition him to sit or lie down in front of you for a reward then he cannot easily engage in the alternate, undesired behavior. I think that if he mounts enough dogs, he will learn sooner than later that he takes a risk by doing that. Thankfully, dogs don't usually do any permanent harm to each other and they generally understand that puppies are puppies. Is it possible that your pup was taken from his litter too early? Usually his dam and littermates are the best teachers in regards to this particular lesson. I don't think he is doing anything abnormal for his age (human male infants do some surpising things-even in the womb!) and if he were still with his dam and littermates today, they would remedy this. But in this case, hindsight is 20/20 and I think you can remedy this easier than you think with redirection and teaching an opposite behavior like a sit or a down. Good luck- we are here for you,

Luisa, Here in 29, 5 acre plots are going for $50,000.00. I'm just not willing to pay that for desert I guess and then have to buy all the feed for my critters too. I'd be happy with 5 acres- if I had enough land to ride my horse on around me.

Oh wow, um well. I was thinking really cheap- like 10 acres tops I don't rely on pasture to feed my horse now. And although a farm house would be nice, I'm happy to buy land only now, pay it off and then build when we retire in a few years or buy a manufactured home if we could get a really nice one. Together right now we only make about $60,000.00 a year and I don't think we'd ever expect to make money off a very small hobby farm. For a small piece of rural tranquility, I think we would commute for other jobs if necessary but it will be nice having that retirement check too. I think Julie P understands what I mean about small hobby farm

Well, we are finally at a place where we can start looking at land to buy. Where do I start finding out by state what the regulations are for land regarding zoning and how many head I can have? It's proving hard to get the info for something small- 3 horses and a small herd of sheep. We are not tied to any one place/state really so we are looking for our best options economically. Any advice would really help me- my brains are getting scrambled. Thanks,

I will say that some people view registration as proof of ownership-like a title or deed. I know that I did before I started insisting on a Bill of Sale. Thanks to AKC, and many court cases regarding the ownership of dogs, a registration paper with the corresponding owner's name on it actually has wome weight to it as evidence. That said, I think issuing non breeding status on a registration for a dog is a fine idea. When I bred my litters of conformation Shelties, I knew by 10 weeks of age which were worth keeping and growing out and which were not. Any that were not were sold on non breeding agreements. So yes I will say that I either sold my culls neutered or on contract for neutering. It's better than being personally responsible for more lives than I know about. I have 2 ABCA registered BCs who do light stock work for me. I'm happy I got their registration papers because as I'm growing interest in working them more and more (read: owning livestock and interested in having good dogs to help me with them) and perhaps developing interest in sheepdog trials, I like to look at those pedigrees and learn something from them. I think y'all know that my girls are spayed and I'd never breed any BCs (or any dogs period for that matter anymore)and that my next dog will be one already started or a retired dog needing light work but I thought I should say so again lest newcomers get the wrong idea. I'm not touching the ACK/Barbie breeding issue again- it's hard for me not to lose patience with the "willfully ignorant" to quote RDM.

North of 49. You are speaking of Belgian Malinois- yes? The Belgian Tervuren was once bred of the same stock but is now a much different dog and most specimens I've met personally (Tervs) are not suitable for much. The shoulders have been bred so straight that the dogs are not nearly as athletic as a Mal and although they are "on", they are about as "on" as a setter or a Flat Coat. Malinois on the other hand are "on" and biddable, although generally need strong leadership- they are the smallest of the Belgian Shepherds but the most athletic of them all. Their intensity for work can be seen in dogs like the Border Collie. Once again, though I would not want a conformation bred Malinois either. Edit to add: I have seen a Terv herd and it looked more like he was going out for fast food with the handler REALLY having to handle him-for the safety of the sheep. Finished Ch and Ex agility dog - Pretty but "ok" at agility IMO.