SQinAZ

In answer to the first question, there was a Border Collie/Standard Poodle mix that used to come to the dog park that I take Beck to. Nice dog, high energy, very playful. And...it looked like Beck with a perm! I swore that Beck was going to go home and make an appointment with my hair dresser after playing with this dog a few times. *LOL* I have no input on the allergy issue, but hope that you do (or did) find a dog that didn't cause problems for your son.

First, I have to thank Eileen and everyone who posts here, as I was able to search this site and find solutions to Beck's problem with diarrhea. Thank you all for sharing your problems, and your solutions. And a huge amount of thanks to Eileen for creating and maintaining these boards for Border Collie lovers. (((HUGS))) Beck started showing symptoms of intestinal distress in May. As in having icky diarrhea on my carpeting when I wasn't home to let her out. I'm sure she was humiliated and she was never punished or made to feel guilty by these accidents. I attributed this, finally, to the time I had started feeding her from a new 40+ lb. bag of the kibble she had been eating before I ever met her...Pedigree Adult Small Crunchy Bites. It took me a while to make this determination, because I'm ignorant, and until the problem repeated, I figured it was just a fluke. I started her on boiled chicken and rice, and that helped, although her stool was very different than it had been before. As in more solid, and lighter in color. I tried mixing in her normal kibble after a few weeks, and we went back to the diarrhea. That is when I knew for a fact that she could no longer eat the Pedigree. As Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice was not only convenient to purchase at a PetSmart, but also stated that it didn't contain what most kibble did and what normally upset doggie's tummies, I bought that and slowly started mixing it in with the boiled chicken and rice. Beck seemed to like it, and her stool was much better, thank God! Then, because of all the good things I have read here about Canidae, I decided to try switching Beck to that, by adding it slowly to the Nature's Recipe (which I still have been augmenting with some boiled chicken as Beck loves that "topping"). Well, the stools are still good, but Beck prefers the Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice. She left a lot of the Canidae in the bowl this morning, whereas she will eat the Nature's Recipe as a treat if I give her a few nuggets. To make a long story/post short....can anyone tell me any compelling reasons that long term feeding of Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice for Adults may not be the best for my Beck? Or, if it is a good choice, I will thank you now, and try and make her feeding time an enjoyable time. I want to feed her what she likes, but only if it is healthy for her in general. Have I mentioned how I have praised Beck when she has had solid poops? Poor baby thinks it's okay to stand guard in my bathroom with me, but feels violated when I go out back to watch what is coming out of her. *LOL*

*LMAO* I thought it was just me! Beck views my "potty" time as a time to put her front paws on my knees or shoulders, and give me huge slobbery BC kisses...knowing that she is going to get snuggled right back. Try doing this with a cat sitting on your back, as well, as Pumbaa also views mom potty time as snuggle time. My other cat, Larry, is the only one who feels confident that I can go to the bathroom all by myself.

I read "The Dogs of Bedlam Farm" and found it to be an entertaining book...and I also got some good, basic information from that book. It wasn't meant to be a training manual...it was meant to be entertaining. And I think it's a good read for anyone who is considering getting a BC for the first time, as it accurately depicts the energy levels and intelligence and life in general with a BC. Is Katz the end-all expert on BC's? No. But if you put things into perspective, at least the Bedlam Farms book does what this board does...tries to educate/inform people of what it is like to have a BC before yet another BC ends up in a rescue.

(((HUGS))) to you both.

Thank you, Annette. I know that people get their teeth pulled for dentures and even for orthodontic work, and I would prefer getting all of my teeth pulled to having my life ended, but then, I am not a dog, and you can't explain pain like that to a dog (or cat or any pet). And I can now see that putting them through pain like that could cause even more problems that that poor doggie already has. What a sad situation.

This may sound like a dumb alternative, but instead of putting a dog like this to sleep, couldn't you just have it's teeth pulled so that it can't bite? I thought of this because when I was really little, my grandparents had this nasty little chihauhau that hated kids and would snap at us all the time. It was an older dog, and finally lost all of its teeth. It would still snap at us, but we would laugh at it and say, "What are you going to do, gum us to death?"

Beck gets hiccups, but I've never worried about them 'cause they don't last long.

I'm interested in hearing more as well, as Beck would go crazy if we couldn't go to the dog park. As for the vaccine that would be "relatively easy to develop"...are they going to do this or just talk about it? Just saw a news brief...this is airborne, spreads very easily, and resembles kennel cough. If your dog is choking/coughing, take it to the vet. (Unfortunately, it's here in Arizona.)

Read article here. Deadly canine flu spreads in U.S. pet shops, shelters New York Times Sept. 22, 2005 12:00 AM A new, highly contagious and sometimes deadly canine flu is spreading in kennels and dog tracks around the country, veterinarians said Wednesday. The virus, which scientists say mutated from an influenza strain that affects horses, has killed racing greyhounds in seven states and has been found in shelters and pet shops in many places. Dr. Cynda Crawford, an immunologist at the University of Florida's College of Veterinary Medicine who is studying the virus, said it spreads most easily where dogs are housed together, but it can also be passed on the street, in dog runs or even by a human transferring it from one dog to another. Experts said there are no known cases of the canine flu infecting humans. Dr. Ruben Donis, chief of molecular genetics for the influenza branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said a vaccine would be relatively easy to develop.

Starbuck: Howdy, neighbor! I don't know about herding lessons because I've never looked into it. But I would love to take Beck sometime to see if she has any aptitude whatsoever. I've only seen her do "the eye" once, and that was with a GSD who was chasing a ball at the dog park last week. Jennifer, Nogales is about a 3 hour drive from the Phoenix Metro area.

I am so very, very sorry to hear about Kip. Bless you, Aerie, for taking her in and making her last weeks on this earth memorable for the love and caring you gave her. I'm crying right now because this was one of those stories that was supposed to have an "and they lived happily ever after" ending. *sniff* R.I.P., Kip. And Aerie, bless you again for your kind heart and what you did for Kip, and for now taking care of her pups.

Congratulations to Aerie and Kip...and welcome to the little pups!

Hip hip hooray!!!!! X 12 (I'd copy and paste but people might get bored reading that many *LOL*) Jennifer and IronHorse have managed to help save 40% of these dogs from an uncertain fate, and if that's not a huge accomplishment, I don't know what is!

Hip hip hooray!Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! That was once for each of the dogs. And bless you, IronHorse! Consider yourself duly hugged!