Kitch

NEBCR will be updating their blog regularly with the "Lucky 7's" progress....

Sending a polite email after a week wouldn't bother me. Sometimes we can turn an application around in a few days, sometimes it takes a week or more, depending on how busy our lives are. We have a committee look at the apps so it is a little more than just taking the time to read through it. What bothers us is when we've only had the app for a few days and we get a snotty email saying that obviously we aren't interested in adopting out our dogs if we can't be bothered to get back to them.

Yet, she often does that. I recently attended a 2 day seminar given by her. I was very disappointed. I thought her training demo was pretty good and I learned some new techniques that I have tried. I didn't agree with all of them, but I did find some I could incorporate. But once she left the field of pure, hands-on training of the basics and the mechanics of it, it went down hill. She doesn't have a good grasp of behavior, IMO. She showed a training video where she works with a dog (Dog A) that was dog-reactive to unknown dogs. The two people walk dog A and dog B toward each other, which the eventual goal of being able to walk by each other. (I wouldn't personally set it up this way, but nevertheless, this is the scenario). If Dog A doesn't react, he gets a high value treat. If Dog A does react, he gets put away in a crate for a while, and watches while Dog B gets the treats he would have gotten had he not reacted. Her explanation was that Dog A really wants the treats, even more so when he sees that his actions caused Dog B to get them instead. That this works because eventually the dogs can walk past each other. I found this reasoning a bit flawed and pointed out that the scenario may be working simply because in the hour or so that it took to get to the point of being able to walk past the other dog, Dog B became a familiar site and not as likely to cause a reaction in Dog A. Also, that the assumption of the jealousy of Dog A and his understanding of the cause and effect relationship to his actions seemed to be ascribing to the Theory of Mind scenario that she had eschewed the previous day. She responded that she was a scientist and was trained to look at things from a scientific perspective. (I got the feeling that I was being patted on the head and told this was over my head.) I responded that I was a trained scientist myself and would be interested in hearing what she was basing her conclusions on. That caught her off-balance a bit, but she just changed the topic and never did answer my question (nor call on me again). I certainly wouldn't spend the money to see her again. While she can be an engaging speaker, more times than not I found her insulting and abrasive. She would often respond to questions from the audience in an insulting manner; either calling the question, the audience member or people of that mindset "stupid". And she isn't confident enough in her own skills or ideas, to accept the possibility that people might disagree with her - hardly behaving in a professional manner, IMO. She would go on about people not being smart enough to ask the right questions, that they will always assume an intent to dogs behavior instead of describing the physical actions of the dog (which is a valid point, yet she does it herself) but then she would assume an implied intent to a question that an audience member asked. Usually, she would not be correct in her assumption (at least based on my understanding of what the person was asking) and would then go off and expound on what should have been asked, etc. The few times she got herself into a bind, she would fall back on "well, I'm a scientist so I have been trained to look at things differently" which quite frankly, made me cringe. This woman showed no evidence that she understood even the basics of the scientific method or the importance of questions or healthy skepticism in the pursuit of science. I agree, that is who she means when she says that. Unfortunately, she is very clear - or at least she was in the seminar I attended when I asked for clarification - that she believes all stock people use harsh adversives in training. She said they "might not do it in front of you, but they use them". Wow. Talk about making assumptions. The difference between her and Patricia McConnell is staggering. From what I've seen of McConnell, she is a true professional and conducts herself well. She cites other people's work, she takes pains to say whether she is giving an explanation of a theory, or giving her own opinion. Whereas, Donaldson seemed to think we should consider her opinion with the same weight as tested theories.

Location: Albany, NY area Distance willing to travel: ~3 hours in any direction, though may be able to do longer if needed. This can include parts of Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut. Type of vehicle: PT Cruiser Hold Overnight? Yes, if needed - but only for a day or so. Extra crates: No Times available: Generally on the weekends Able to pull from shelter? Possibly. Random other info: Volunteer for NEBCR Kerry [transferred to database]

I just saw this thread - I'm glad it wasn't too serious and she can come home. Here's hoping for a speedy and uneventful recovery for the big-eared girl.

We've done it. We tend to consider it a "long-term" foster situation where we still own the dog and after a few months when the handler can make an informed decision, we make the adoption official. BUT it depends on teh organization, handler, etc and the dog must, first and foremost, be a companion - not a piece of "equip". (ie, the handler must pass the standard home visit and application process) This usually isn't an issue but we make sure it is clear up front.

Yes, it is important to think about what your time commitments are going to be in the next few years (college, parties, field trips, studying) but also think about what your commitments are going to be for the next 15+ years. BCs are a long-lived breed. We get 14, 16 and 18yo BCs in rescue (we got an 18yo into rescue last year that was adopted by a volunteer. She's still going strong - a bit deaf, but still plays a mean game of fetch). Older dogs usually come into rescue because of lifestyle changes like moving to an apt, having kids, getting a divorce, no longer having time for them. What career will you have? Are you going to be able to find a job locally or are you going to have to move and find an apt? There are apts that allow dogs, but they aren't always easy to find. How many hours will your job require (realistically)? Will there be a lot of travel involved? I wanted a border collie for years before I got one. I desperately wanted one - so badly I could almost taste it. It wouldn't have been fair to the dog to get one while I was in college - I didn't have the financial resources to handle any emergencies that might have come up and I definitely didn't have the time. Once I was working and money was no longer an issue, time still was. I was living in an apt (though my landlord would have allowed a dog) - but I was in consulting. I worked 60/week on a light week - 80+ hours a week was normal. Working weekends was normal. Being gone 14+ hours a day was normal. I was still young, having fun, loved my job and I was having a great time. It would have been absolute torture for the dog. I waited until I took a job with more defined hours, and less travel. I waited nine years to get a BC. I know that isn't what you want to hear, and when I was your age I probably wouldn't either but that is real life. Your late teens/early 20s is a time of tremendous change and uncertainty (I certainly hadn't planned on being a consultant and working so many crazy hours). It is easy to say, "I can handle anything that comes up" but it isn't that easy. And unfortunately we see the results in rescue all the time (and often the dogs that don't make it into rescue are the ones that really lose). Why don't you foster for a rescue for a while to see if you can handle the time commitment of a BC? We often have volunteers that do that before they commit to 15+ years of constant energy and quirks. Most rescues would love to have another potential foster home (and even if there isn't a BC Rescue near you, there are often all-breed rescues or shelters that have BCs).

I'll be there on Sunday - but I'll be working the NEBCR booth. You should all come and checkout the Canine Cookbook that so many of you contributed to...!

"I used to feed Delta's bones and meat to her frozen until she had her adult teeth. Not only does the frozen food numb their gums while teething (which you arent at yet I know) but it also means that they have to chew it as they dont want to swallow something frozen in one go. They quickly learn to chew through their food and eliminates gulping behaviour too. " Yep, I feed frozen too - I started doing it because I was afraid dublin would gulp down his food, but now I do it out of habit. Actually, since Dublin is such a creature of habit, he looks at me oddly if I give him a meal that isn't frozen and he won't eat it right away. I would definitely add more meat to the meal if you still give wings or neck. You can add some ground meat until you use up your supply of necks and then switch over to chicken thighs or quarters. And Pumpkin truly is a miracle food - it firms things up, gets things moving when they get constipated and seems to help settle their stomach if they have an upset. I always have pumpkin on hand! (Squash and zucchini will work as well).

NEBCR has already been in touch with the current caretaker. We are standing by should she want to place the dogs in rescue.

That's awesome - I've met her a few times (as has Dublin ) and she is just as friendly and genuine in person as she comes across in her books. Definitely one of my favorites!

**Not sure if this is the correct spot for this thread or if it should go to the Coffee Break Section or the Rescue Section...please move it if it shouldn't be here...** I just wanted to let everyone know that after a year of collecting recipes and generally nagging people to send me more the NEBCR Canine Cookbook is finally a reality!! I wanted to thank all of the wonderful BC Board members who contributed recipes as well as ideas to the project. We went through a bunch of versions of the cookbook and though we were going to need a bunch of "filler" as we weren't getting a lot of recipes, but when all was said and done, we had a ton of recipes! 130 pages worth! We have sprinkled training tips and quotes throughout as well. The layout was done by the Boards very own Natalie (Lunar)! She did a great job! We did lose a few recipes, so if you submitted some and they didn't make it in, it was either because it was a duplicate of a previously submitted recipe or it succumbed to my computer crash. Check it out: http://www.nebcr.org/store-home.html

Poor Freya. Unfortunately, Dublin can relate. One morning, he went running after some mythical creature in the bushes at my property line and ran smack into my cherry tree (a tree that, as far as I know, has not moved once in his entire life! ) You would think he would realize it was there. He shook himself off and continued to go about his business. I didn't know anything was wrong until a few minutes later when I called him into the house and realized that he had scraped a huge chunk of fur off his face and was gushing blood. Didn't seem to bother him at all, though it nearly gave me a heart attack!

Possibly - farms in the notheast (of any kind) are becoming more and more rare. Got to make room for the cookie cutter developments. Katz farm is in a rural area of upstate NY which still has a lot of open land and farming - much of it dairy. But is isn't a poor as he makes out, much of that he exaggerates for dramatic effect, I guess. It isn't much different than any other rural area I've been to - much of it farmers with a range of well-off to poorer farms. I live in that area and it annoys me that he seems to imply that "these poor people can barely make ends meet and would be lost without my help" But I could be taking it a bit personally.

Thanks guys! The more we get the word out, the better. And, if all goes well, it will be the unveiling of the NEBCR Canine Cookbook that so many of you helped make possible!

Hi Guys - The rescue I volunteer for (NEBCR) is having its second annual "Dog Dayz of Summer" fun day on August 4th. It is open to all breeds and is only $10/person (includes lunch!). There are tons of demos and vendors as well as a huge raffle. Demos include a newfie doing water rescue, a golden doing Search and Rescue, an aussie doing herding, labs doing dock-diving and border collies doing various other demos (herding, agility, freestyle, frisbee, flyball, etc). Husky rescue will be there as well and doing cart rides for the kids. There are also agility run throughs from 8-12 for anyone interested (who has trained dogs). Agility "try-its" will be available later in the day with beginner obstacles. Check it out: http://www.nebcr2.org/DogDayz.html It was a lot of fun last year and the money raised goes to New England Border Collie Rescue.

I agree - I can't tell you what a relief it was not to have to worry about the whole pet food problem. I feed (more or less) the prey model diet. The "more or less" part means that while I don't think dogs need veggies to be healthy, I still occasionally give Dublin broccoli or carrots - simply because he loves them. He's a big fan of pumpkin too. So he does get some veggies throughout the week, usually when I make them for myself and as a treat, not part of his required meal. When I first started feeding raw, I fed veggies as part of the meal, but have since discontinued that. I have a funny raw story. I work with a farmer who finds it fascinating that I feed raw - and keeps me well supplied with organic, grassfed beef parts. (I also think he likes having someone to talk to who doesn't turn all squeamish when he talks about slaughtering one of his cows). Anyway, he recently lost a calf to a breach birth - the animal was fine, just couldn't handle the trauma of the birth. He said he normally would throw the carcass on the compost heap, but wanted to know if I was interested in it - of course I jumped at it. He normally gives me the beef in really rough cut, 20-50 pound sections and I was expecting something similar. Nope - I got the entire (whole) calf - all 88 pounds of it. I was game though and struggled to bring the calf out into the yard (keep in mind that I live in the city and have a very small back yard that is visible to my neighbors. If I lived in the country, this would be no big deal - unfortunately I couldn't lift the calf high enough to get it in my car and to my dad's to butcher it there. I'm also not set up with the proper tools to butcher an animal so I had to get creative). Dublin was *very* interested and spent a lot of time checking it out and dragging it this way and that before he gave up: "It's not open, Boss, I dunno what to do" So I spent the next few hours butchering the calf in my backyard where Dublin remained interested but confused. He sat off to the side and watched me intently - probably wondering why I had decided to join in on his meals, but he was patiently waiting for me to get my "fill". My current foster dog just kept dropping his ball into the carcass at the most inopportune moments. Talk about a fetching addict! One can only imagine what my neighbors think of me now. A few stopped and looked but didn't say anything - one of which I knew couldn't see the head of the calf, so who knows what he thought I was doing. I was amazed I got through the process without a visit from the police.

I second everything Gail said. I haven't had this experience with dogs, but I just went through it with my cat. He was on furosemide, enalapril and another one that began with "A" that I can't think of right now. (And my spelling of the medications is probably wrong). He was also required to take a potassium pill twice a day to help conteract the effects of the diuretic as well as half an aspirin twice a week. It sounds like a lot, but it took about 1 minute every morning. Once he got stabilized with the medication, he felt much better and would even play. Unfortunately he ended up having a heart attack within three months of diagnosis, though that could have happened at any time. I am very grateful for those extra 3 months I had with him. So - definitely see a cardiologist, get the ultrasound/EKG done and have an in-depth thyroid test done. I hope things work out well for your friend. Kerry

Yep, Dublin understands pointing - both with my hand or my foot. My coonhound mix growing up was great at this too. I would point out a treat and you could actually see him following the imaginary line from my finger to the ground to find it. Same thing worked if I was pointing out a squirrel he hadn't seen yet. Heck, even my cats understand pointing. I will toss a handful of kibble on the floor for them sometimes and then point out (again either with my foot or hand) any they missed. They will race to see who gets to it first.

I would definitely contact rescue now and give them a heads up on the situation. They will need time to find foster homes or come up with a plan to moved current foster dogs into an "emergency" foster homes to make room for a litter of puppies and possibly the dam and sire as well. This will take a few days to a week to get a plan organized and the more time they have the better. We get situations like this fairly often where we know of a situation and the dogs/pups may or may not end up coming into rescue, but we put a plan in place just in case.

I just wanted to thank everyone for their kind words. It has definitely helped being able to share this with people who understand. I am always going to miss him, but after the first day (when I forgot for a moment and started getting his pills ready) it has gotten easier.

Coming in to this late - glad to here Zoe is feeling better! I just wanted to second the suggestion of Bepto Bismal tablets - it stops Dublin's throwing up almost immediately and it is much easier to give him the tablets than trying to get the liquid down him!

My sweet boy, Fluffy, passed away this morning - two months shy of his 10th birthday. He had been battling a severe heart condition for the past three months and we had finally gotten his medication right. He had been doing well, but today he lost the battle. I sometimes wonder if they know the end is near. He woke me up this morning by "grooming" my hair. It is something he always used to do (and frankly it could be a bit annoying as there isn't a snooze button on a cat) but he hadn't done that in the last few years. I had today off, so as there was no usual morning rush, he snuggled with me in bed for a while as I was reading. He was as sweet as usual and purring the whole time. I had missed our morning time together but he hadn't done that since I got Dublin - though Dublin doesn't sleep in my room, so I never really knew why he stopped. I'm glad we got a chance to spend this morning together. I went out this morning to run an errand and when I came back an hour later I found him on the living room floor, he had thrown a blood clot and died. As wrenching as it was for me to see him like that, I knew it was one of the best ways for him to go. The alternative was for his heart to slowly get worse and he would struggle to breathe until I had to make "the decision". My sweet boy saved me that. I'm sorry, I'll stop babbling now. Fluffy, April 19, 1997 - February 7, 2007 Rest in peace, my sweet boy.

They have thoe advertisements in NY, too - commercials where they show snarling pit bull and rotweilers. Talk about enforcing a steroetype. Ugh.

Phew! I am SOOOO glad for a happy ending! Glad he came through his adventures happy and healthy - and maybe helped get another dog a home...! Dublin says "Welcome back! Adventures sure are fun, aren't they? Though they can be exhausting and tend to freak out our people..."