Liz P

Some bloodlines are better at settling that others. No matter what line you get, you still need to teach a pup to be calm in the house. Some Border Collies will never want to live with kids just like some adult humans never want them. It's not something you can predict in a pup, though your odds are better if many dogs from that same bloodline are good with them. Correct socialization around children from an early age would be important. Correct socialization would be 1) NEVER forcing an interaction and 2) always making sure the interactions are positive. Mental exercise is far more critical than physical for this breed. If you have 2 hours a day to devote to a Border Collie, that is enough time. It's best though that you split it to before work and after work sessions. Make sure it's not just running, but also involves training, mind games and challenges. Border Collies thrive on this. It's also important that the dog truly be a part of your family. They crave being with their owners more than anything and can't stand to be left outside along all the time. You would be surprised how many good working litters have pups available. Generally this happens because people have unexpected life events, so can't take a pup, or they signed up for a pup from the litter and the bitch went into heat later or earlier than expected, so the timing was wrong, or the person only wanted a female and there are only males to choose from. If you can be flexible on timing, coat length, sex, color, markings, etc, you can generally snag yourself a fabulous puppy. Sign up for agility, obedience, etc with your current dog. If you don't love the sports for what they are, you won't follow through just because you have a Border Collie. You can also learn a lot about what foundation training you need to start with a pup by trying to train an adult pet dog. She will help reveal places where you as an owner need to improve your techniques. Finally, think carefully before adding a Border Collie. It's not the exercise requirement that truly sets them apart, it's their minds. They are fabulously weird, eccentric geniuses. You have to be ok living with and working around their quirks. If you just want a nice, easy, adaptable family pet you are better off with another Collie.

Huh. Seems odd then that they are so strictly controlled. Generally if they ship at 8 weeks from one country with rabies to another, they are ok.

Because we have rabies in the USA and places like the British Isles are rabies free.

Vets don't like to do it prior to 16 weeks because of maternal antibody interference, but it is licensed for much younger pups. Check the country the pup is going to. Some say 12 weeks, others 10 weeks.

She is not herding you. It's a self rewarding game for her and she knows she can get away with it with you. Put a leash on her. Put a basket muzzle on her. Walk out the door with her walking loose leash, by your side. Before she starts the circling behavior, give her a command like a lie down. Praise if she obeys and give her a treat. If she doesn't, you have a means of physical control (leash) and prevention (muzzle) already in place. Do this EVERY SINGLE TIME you go outside until the habit has been broken.

Yes, these samples are from Freya who has been dead for more than a year. I can't remember how many swabs I have, but I saved them in the hopes that her DNA could help with the study some day.

: Dogs affected with early adult onset deafness (EAOD) who went deaf between the ages of 2 and 8. Dogs with idiopathic epilepsy who are over the age of 8 with no loss of hearing. Dogs without hearing loss or epilepsy who are over the age of 8, from lines with no known incidence of epilepsy or hearing loss. Dogs unaffected by EAOD, who were bred to dogs that did become affected with EAOD, and who produced at least 8 pups from such mating(s) (in one or more litters), all of whom reached the age of 8 with no hearing loss. She does not fit any of those criteria. She was bred to a male who had normal hearing last I heard (at 11 years old) and they produced and EOD affected dog.

Mark, I have seen that link but she does not fit your criteria. I was told previously that her sample was desirable though.

Mark, could you please provide an address for where I can send a sample. I have a bitch who had normal hearing but produced an EOD affected pup. He has documented BAER tests starting at 6 weeks old and no ear infections, injuries, etc.

I would not repeat the same breeding necessarily, but look for another male. After seeing all the issues popping up with certain litters, I decided it wiser to use a variety of unrelated mates rather than putting all my eggs in one basket. I certainly agree that with EOD and epilepsy, waiting until a bitch is older can be a huge advantage. I've got a nearly 8 year old bitch and her pups are not yet 3 and not yet 1 year old.

1 - Good advice to attend as many trials as possible. 2 - Many people will learn well from working a trained dog. It can help them to see the big picture. However, others learn better by training a pup start to finish. 3 - Clinics are great. Training is great. Why tell people to have pups in the winter though? In some parts of the country, winter is trial season. In others, it's training season. Mother Nature (when a bitch goes into heat) and people's schedules are going to dictate when they have pups. 4 - Breeding your stud to anyone who asks seems downright irresponsible to me. Better to screen bitch owners and make sure they are in it for the right reasons and their bitches work without any major flaws. No issue with evaluating the pups prior to breeding a bitch again, but how long you wait between litters will vary quite a bit. If you got those pups outrunning a few hundred yards, driving, shedding, etc by 1.5 years old I would say you know what she produced. Now, personally I think that the time between litters should be dictated by when the bitch owner needs/wants another pup to bring along. That brings up another point. I don't buy from a litter if the breeder is not keeping a pup for themselves. I want to see that they are invested in the breeding and have done it for the right reasons. I also don't think bitches should be bred over and over and over and over again. 5 - Why are we breeding dogs before becoming an experience trainer and handler???? Seems you have put the cart before the horse. Now, plenty of farmers/shepherds breed good dogs who never trial, but the good ones have been working dogs for many, many years. 7 - (what happened to 6?) I think you can get a reputation for being a good breeder a lot faster, if you put out a couple of quality litters. They have to be quality though. My opinion is that what makes a great breeder is knowledge: What traits are key in a good dog? How do traits get passed down? Dominant? Recessive? Incomplete dominant? Which traits tend to run in which lines? (Good breeders will have an extensive knowledge of a wide variety of lines.) How have certain lines crossed together in the past? What traits are training vs natural to the dogs you see working? Some people will have a knack for being a good breeder. Some, no matter how much work they put into learning this information, will never get it right.

I believe some of that work was compiled by Melanie Change while she was with UC Davis. Not sure where the original article can be found.

Chick-N-Picker, because a DNA analysis of the foundation show Border Collies that were brought into the USA were found to be a genetically distinct breed (because of genetic drift). They look and act different, so we honestly did not need science to prove what we already knew in our hearts.

That idea has been around for a long time, at least 25 years. Someone was selling them when my first dog started to go blind. I can't remember what the original was called, but it was a wire on a harness. I never did buy it for her because she figured out how to navigate on her own somehow.

Riika, my personal preference for vaccine protocol is... 8 weeks DAPPV and Bordetella 12 weeks DAPPV, lepto if at risk (farm dog, hunting dog, etc) 16 weeks DAPPV, lepto if at risk 18 weeks rabies 20 weeks Lyme if at risk 23 weeks Lyme if at risk 1 year old DAPPV, rabies, lepto and Lyme if at risk, separated into 2 visits so the dog gets no more than 2 injections per visit. Rabies every 3 years as required by law. Would love to go longer if we can get the laws changed. DAPPV every 3 to 5 years unless the owner wants to titer, in which case I am happy to go longer. Sometimes you can't get beyond every 3 years without local boarding kennels, groomers, etc throwing a fit. I've treated parvo and distemper in dogs that were 8, 9 and 10 years post DAPPV, so I don't believe that lifelong immunity is real for all dogs. We also have to remember that some dogs will be non responders; they will not mount protective immunity after a vaccine. Lyme and lepto always stay one year vaccines unless the owner is willing to titer. They are both bacterial diseases and for some dogs immunity doesn't even last a year (per titers and studies I've seen done). Bordetella in adult dogs only if required by the groomer, kennel, etc or if at high risk for some reason. Flu is rare for me to recommend. I've only given that vaccine to dogs because there was an outbreak. Might be something the greyhound track dogs should get regularly, but they do their own vaccines except for rabies so I don't get the chance to talk to them about it. This is not a one size fits all protocol. I won't give vaccines to dogs with autoimmune diseases. If they have a terminal illness I don't recommend them. If they have a reaction we weight the risks vs benefits of the vaccine vs possibly getting the disease. I listen to my clients and work out a plan to fit their dogs. I know not all vets are like that. Many still give annual rabies, DAPPV, etc to all dogs.

"Are you talking about totally unvaccinated dogs, or dogs that have received all the puppy shots but none thereafter?" Both. Despite the claims of the some of the holistic dog magazines, immunity does not appear to last a lifetime in all dogs. I also think some of the dogs vaccinated as pups did not follow an appropriate schedule. Example, they stopped vaccinating at 12 or 14 weeks instead of 16, they waited too long between boosters. I am not too worried personally about kennel cough, aside from the angry owner aspect. You have no idea how unreasonable some people can be. One lady, whose dog was not on flea/tick control, called us screaming because her dog had fleas not long after coming into the clinic for vaccines. We've had owners claim their pets got kennel cough from coming into the clinic for vaccines and being exposed to other pets in the waiting room (if they are sick, we don't let them wait in the lobby, but if owners don't tell us, we don't know). They then want us to pay for treatment. Maybe they did get exposed at our hospital, but we do everything in our power to prevent it and can't be held responsible. Would you ask your doctor to cover the cost of treatment if you got the flu from someone in their waiting room? The behavior of people in vet hospital waiting rooms actually amazes me at times. They want fluffy to run up and greet every other dog there. They don't stop and think that some of those pets are there because they are sick and mingling might not be a good idea. Julie, I am sure opinions will vary among vets depending on where they practice and their experiences. I happen to have worked near several huge low cost clinics with practices that were questionable at best. I've also worked near multiple kennels and groomers that require nothing more than rabies.

I would not dare take my pet to a groomer, boarding facility or animal hospital that only required a rabies vaccine. Why? Because that's where I see all my client's dogs get infected with parvo, distemper, kennel cough, etc. If it's not required, most people don't bother (and these are NOT the type of clients who titer to make sure their pets have immunity). Kennel cough itself is rarely more than an annoyance. I only see little pups, immune suppressed and the elderly get really sick from it. Most vets require kennel cough not so much to protect your individual dog so much as to prevent an outbreak in the clinic population. People get ANGRY when they take their pet in for a procedure and it comes home with kennel cough, fleas, etc. Could you find out if there is a Bordetella titer? Worst case scenario, I would personally rather do surgery with a vet I trusted and just get the kennel cough vaccine done than go somewhere else. Oral and intranasal kennel cough are pretty benign by vaccine standards.

Those DNA tests to determine breed are worthless. The AVMA did a study. Pretty amusing reading the results. I have a purebred BC who was 34 lbs at 16 weeks, 50 lbs now at 2 years old. His sire and dam were both under 40 lbs. It happens. Doesn't mean your pup is not purebred.

Heartworm prevention medicine is for more than HW. It is also used to prevent many intestinal parasites. Interceptor Plus and Sentinel Spectrum prevent tapeworms in addition to several others. Some dogs, who constantly reinfect with intestinal parasites, should be on them to keep the worms at bay. I will say that the incidence of HW in the northeast is going up fast with the influx of rescue dogs from the southern USA. We are even seeing a big spike in infected dogs born and raised in the northeast. I suspect that map of HW incidence in the USA will be very different looking once they update it. As others have said, those are puppy mill registries. No ethical breeders I know use them. Wouldn't trust their accuracy at all. Any pup can have parasites and keep getting infected with them. Your yard is likely full of roundworm eggs, so without monthly HW pills I would expect regular reinfection. Tapeworms come from fleas but also from eating mammals like mice, voles and rabbits. I've owned plenty of pups, and adult dogs, who liked to snack on them.

I went to a Renaissance festival this weekend. Dogs were allowed, though you had to show proof of rabies vaccine and sign a form taking responsibility for their actions. I was probably asked at least 50 times if Tweed was a service dog because of his training. He was by my side when walking through the crowds. If I was looking at vendor's products, he was in a down stay so that there was no chance he would knock anything over. When I dropped my trash by accident he grabbed it and handed it to me. Several times I stepped into the woods behind the buildings and told him to potty, which he did. I had clean up bags just in case, though I did not need them. He NEVER lifted his leg without permission. While watching one of the performances I noticed a lady with a huge dog on a 6 foot leash. She was watching the stage, completely unaware of what her dog was doing (and sure did not seem to care!). He was wandering down the isle urinating on every single bench. While I was watching the various performers, Tweed was sleeping at my feet. Another owner had a dog that would NOT shut up and was barking at everyone. He was disturbing quite a few acts and bothering people who don't like dogs. There were also several piles of dog feces on pathways that I saw. Most people's dogs were dragging them around on their leashes, bumping into and tripping other guests. Stuff like that definitely drives me crazy. It will ruin it for the rest of us.

As others say, it's individual. The kibble I use has fatty deep water fish as the primary protein source, but also uses chicken and trace amounts of other animals.

It's the carier agent that makes some dogs hate Vectra. It tickles as the product distributes over their skin. My old boy hides from it too. Different issue though from dogs who have true skin reactions. They are usually sensitive to the permethrins. I am trying to think of ANY oral product that repels and can't come up with one. The topicals that truly repel (rather than just kill when the parasite bites) all rely on permethrins. There are some herbal products that actually provide very good repellency, but they need to be applied every few hours.

My experience with SMS: I am a veterinarian. I see a lot of dogs, day in and day out. I have practiced in two areas that had large, SMS training facilities. Most pet dogs have some level of training at home with a mix of treats and often ineffective punishment. Most, though obnoxious when asked to obey and stay still for a procedure, can be handled. A few need muzzles. The rare dog needs sedation for even minor things like exams and nail trims. More often, this is due to a lack of handling at home than anything. The SMS dogs are universally and fundamentally different. Every. Single. One. They are fearful, lack trust in their owners and will bite as a result of that fear and lack of trust. They try to bite me, they try to bite their owners. When they look at their owners it is not seeking love, leadership, comfort or guidance. Their looks are wary and nervous. They are trying to figure out when the next shock will come. To the untrained eye, they are very obedient and handler focused. To someone who understands dogs on the deepest level, it makes you want to cry for the harm that has been done. I am not completely anti shock collar. There are a few rare situations where they can work, like rattlesnake avoidance, the worst kennel barkers and car chasers. However, they should be used only rarely and in extreme situations. To the OP, nothing you described about your dog would have made me go for a shock collar. I would have put her on a line, made her earn her freedom and done "nothing in life is free." I hope that you continue to grow as a trainer and use more humane and more effective methods in the future. Try reading articles by Dr. Ian Dunbar, Dr. Patricia McConnell and Suzanne Clothier. They will give you most of the information you need.

Well, being a fair skinned, light haired and light eyed person, I do find vision in full sunlight a bit diminished as compared to softer light. I've seen my white headed dog squint a bit in bright light. He still finds his sheep, though I know he air scents too.