RaisingRiver

I haven't tried any other brand of discs but I like Hyperflyte Jawz - they should be an approved disc for you (I do skyhoundz and fddo). They also sell misprints - and also look for them on Amazon as misprints. I had to start River on their soft disc because she won't catch a regular disc because I had trained her with only a floppy disc. After a month or so of the soft, I switched to regular and she was fine. BTW, I can compete w/ the soft if I want - it's also approved. Have fun!

I like the 15mo rule (it's my own). If at 15mo old your resident pup has all the basic training you want it to have and does it exceptionally well, then it's a good time to think about adding another dog. My first BC puppy at 8wks was dog #2 (5yo dog in home) she was always mature for her age and learned all her basics solidly by 7months - but she wasn't so easy that I would have wanted to do 2 together or really close in age - she was A LOT of work that paid off in spades. She was about 20mos when I got the next BC who himself was a 15mos rescue. One year later, 8wk puppy added. Great dynamics for me. 2 older BCs had solid reliable foundations for my pup to emulate.

It might be interesting to mention that I didn't have physical fencing (invisible only at the time) when I applied and was approved to adopt two different BCs from two different respected BC rescues. I since have fencing (it's only 4ft sheep fencing, so realistically, anything can get in or out) but it's a deterrent and my dogs know and obey not to mess with it to get out in any way. I also have 4 acres fenced for them, so they definitely have plenty of space when they want it - or when I want to walk the perimeter with them instead of hauling them to a park where they have to leashed or subjected to annoying dogpark dogs. No sidewalks or non-driving places to tromp to around my house. Of note, my dogs act like I don't even give them the time of day when they meet people (esp River, you'd think I didn't even pet her) so just because dogs look forlorn and unattended in their yard, doesn't mean they always are. I ALWAYS look outside when they bark and I can defintely tell the difference between the UPS guy driving up the driveway bark and something more sinister like a coyote or a ranging dog.

Of all my dogs, my very BC one, River, loves to hanging outside the best. The other three just want to be where I am (in or out). But River would love for me to let her out, esp on non-rainy days and let her just sleep on the lawn rather then inside. I have my fence to keep my dogs in and wildlife out. And yeah, on days when the weather is crappy or it gets dark at 4:30pm, letting them stretch in the yard is a dogsend.

If you want a cleaner/less tangled/less burred dog after being outside in any kind of condition, smooth is the way to go.

Question: So if my dog is found collarless and is scanned, is it possible that my dog's chip won't be identified as a particular brand and therefore the vet/shelter won't know who to call to get my info? (seems to negate the point of the chip). Also, I'm a wee bit confused why my dog should wear the chip collar tag which is presumably on the same ring as the collar tag w/ my number on it. If found, ppl would call my number, not a chipping service to get my number. My dogs only wear a jingle tag w/ their name and my cell on it as well as a Boomerang collar tag with the same info plus the house # and county license and county name on it. I never thought to have my dogs scanned at their annual visits to verify the chip, but I'm going to do just that. Thanks.

What Jill said. I don't think it should be ADVERTISED that one should pet an eating dog willy nilly, esp a child. Of note, 2/4 of my dogs growled at me, both as 8wk old puppies even, when I first fed them and tried to take up their bowl mid-feeding. It was an issue quickly resolved and of course, easier to solve when they are puppies but even the training of such a task as touching/taking etc of food shouldn't be taken lightly. I also just don't like breeds highlighted in commercials. I think it makes the breed popular/wanted which usually leads to its ruin. Why not just use mutts? Like you need to use a Border Collie eating... Makes more sense to use like a Great Dane - a dog who consumes a LOT of food, not a BC which as a rule, eat very little

Hmm... yeah interesting. I don't care if it works or not. I'm pretty much willing to try whatever food combo (except raw) that helps my dog stop having heat strokes. No, she's not fat. She's lean, she used to be super lean, but given that she has diarrhea a lot (don't now why, has been to vet to figure out) I try to keep a bit on her but she's still thin and very muscled. She is very active and has no problem hanging outside all day doing not much but her own running around from time to time. The issue is when we play fetch and could be as little as 7 throws at full runs there and back that wipe her out. Switching foods is so easy and safe, why not try and see if it works for my dog - she's obviously different they my 3 other ones. That's all I care about.

Totally forgot about this thread. Will be buying food today, going to switch to California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato and see how that goes.

Will Craig attack Taz if Taz is in a closed crate? That would give Craig more freedom while you're home and not crated so much. And/or just keep them in separate rooms (either crated or not), dividing your evening time between them. That way they don't have the opp to fight.

If could be the resident dog is sending signals to the new dog that he doesn't want to play - even if the resident dog normally plays with other dogs. I'm not sure why your dogs didn't meet at the shelter to see how they interact. Or maybe they did and didn't play there either. My pack of 4 doesn't play with other dogs outside their pack. And when I brought dog #4 home (Aero), one of my dogs (River) hated him for 4 months, bared her teeth when he came near. After the 4th month, she invited him to play and they've been fine ever since, tho it's the 2 (Diesel/Aero) boys that romp/play at least twice daily. And River still hardly plays with any of my pack, preferring to lounge around until I come find her to play fetch which is her idea of the best time ever. No idea why anyone would get another dog for their dog to 'play' with. If you want a 2nd dog, fine. If you want a dog that gets along with the resident dog, ideal. But I'm friends with plenty of people who love to go out dancing but I don't want to. But we're still friends, we still love each other's company. And most importantly, you want the new dog to bond to YOU, not the resident dog.

There's always next summer!!

River and I will be at the Regional Qualifier (as listed above) this year, we'll be doing Distance/Accuracy AND Freestyle. ANYONE can come out and participate. You can register onsite at 8:30am. It's the last event of the year in the state. Sure to be a fun event, or just come out and watch and cheer for your favorite dog. 95% of the dogs are BCs. Couple of freestyle videos of the dogs that will be there:

Diesel will be doing his first dock diving next month at the Clark County Fair.

I wanted a red BC. I ended up w/ 2 B&Ws and a mixed B&W tri. HAHAHAHAHA! With BCs, it's definitely about personality, even the pups. And careful, it's hard to have just 1