bc friend

My deepest sympathies to all of Hillary's family, two legged and four legged. She helped me find information for the treatment of my Sara when diagnosed with liver cancer in 2007 and I have never forgotten her kindness in doing so. And of course, I followed her postings here with interest. From all apparent appearances, a life well-lived.

You might want to check out this site too. http://www.gis.net/~shepdog/BC_Museum/Permanent/BCColors_Ears/BC_ColorEars.html Look under "Looks - Diversity" and the section on ear sets.

If anyone has any interest in adopting him, he is with All Border Collie Rescue.

My deepest sympathy for your loss. Thank you for sharing Tess with us; she reminded each of us in one way or another of our own heart dog and we too will miss her. Enjoy Heaven's sheep, Tess!

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but I'm reading your initial post to say that Lady is a hyper 18 month old who being is crated most of the day and only briefly let out to potty/walk. Perhaps some of her behavior is being caused by her lack of exercise and being overly exuberant on the occasions she is let out to play.

I'm sorry for your loss. Thanks to your finding Tippy for your parents, their love and your's sister's kindness in making her part of her family, it sounds like Tippy had a wonderful life!

My two personal dogs have run of the house at virtually all times. The foster dogs (usually have 3 or 4) are crated when I am at work and it depends on the dog's behavior whether it is crated or loose overnight.

Diane, your bond w/Tess has always been wonderful to read about. I, like so many others, on the Board am so very sorry to hear of her cancer but it seems like she is continuing to face life head on just like she always has.

You might want to check out some of the dogs at Atlantic Region Cemtral BC Rescue, especially this girl: http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/23451355 (Shayla) I'm not affiliated w/this rescue but have heard good things about it.

For all of you in the storm's path - hoping everyone stays safe and that property damage is minimal.

While it is not common, dogs do get kidney stones. One of our rescue dogs (@ 3 yrs old) just had surgery to remove a large one.

I would have her checked for kidney stones. Even puppies can get them from a poor quality diet.

The rescue I volunteer with does occasionally get purebreds with papers. (This year, we've had at least 6 w/ABCA registration) They have ranged in age from an 8 week old puppy sold to a man in his 80's whose family convinced him to surrender the puppy to a 5 yr old whose owner died. While we may tell the prospective adopter that the dog is a purebred and the circumstances of its surrender to us, we do not disclose the name of the breeder nor do we provide the dog's registration papers. Just as there are many responsible breeders who carefully place their pups, there are equally many rescues that carefully place their dogs w/o lying or misleading applicants about the dog's histories or pedigrees. From reading this thread over the days, it appears there is a long way to go for breeders and rescues to truly respect each other and the work each performs.

As an individual very active in bc rescue, I don't "hate" breeders. There are some so-called breeders with irresponsible practices(breeding just pretty dogs w/o regard to health, working traits, etc. and selling the pups to anyone willing to pay their price) that I would love to see go out business. There are also breeders I would buy a pup from in a heartbeat! I have owned both bc's obtained from a specific breeder and dogs through rescue. If I wanted a working, herding dog, I would likely buy from a breeder whose dogs had the traits I wanted. If I wanted an active companion dog, I would go through rescue. I would also look at rescue first for a sports dog, a S&R dog, some types of service dog, or therapy dog. However, many rescuers, including me, fully recognize that we got into breed specific rescue because we love the specific traits of border collies. Without responsible breeders who breed for working dog traits, we would lose the things we love most about our dogs. They might still look like a bc but would they have the same heart, intelligence, bidability, etc.? I think not. So just as people deplore the practices of some so-called rescues but appreciate the effors of rescues which vet, socialize and use reasonable criteria in adopting dogs, I deplore the irresponsible so-called breeders and applaud the breeders who work to maintain the intregrity of our breed and improve the genetics.

She's lovely. It's good to see Karma is being kind to you after all you did for Tex. You certainly deserve a bc star!

My sympathies for your loss.

I've always had a soft spot for your Peg stories. I remember your posts about the Dakota trip well and the ... er new experiences you had w/Peg. I'm glad to hear she's come into her own and I'm sure she'll be a LD extraordinaire!

What a handsome boy! (and I wouldn't count on floppy ears!)

I am sorry for your loss; it was always clear how much you loved her.

I write bios for the dogs I foster for ABC Rescue. I routinely write them from the dog's point of view. I include verifiable information regarding the dog's history if the rescue knows it - such as a dog being surrendered to a shelter due to an eviction, being an owner surrender, from a puppy mill seizure, etc.; age, weight, sex, color; personality type; whether good w/kids, cats, small dogs; medical issues; whif the dog has had any training; if the dog has any bad habits; and any talent the dog shows, i.e., balls, frisbee, herding drive, etc. I try to present everything in as positive manner as possible. I'm honest about the dog but I do try to present it in the best light I can because I want people to see the dog as a wonderful potential pet/family member. I know this is a working board although many of the members have pets. I may not be able to accurately state this but one of the sadder things in rescue for this particular breed is how few homes there are where the dog can do what it was actually bred to do, i.e., be a working dog. I personally would love to be able to place all of the rescue dogs that show working potential in working homes; however, since that does not seem possible, placing the dogs in pet homes that will find adequate outlets for the dog's needs and exercise is the best that can be done.

I feed Victor's to my own dogs and to the foster dogs. They like it and have done well on it. It is manufactured here in Texas, sourced w/over 99% USA ingredients, and so it may be a little easier to find here. A lot of the feed stores and tractor supply stores here carry it. On the dogfoodadvisor.com, depending on the formula, it is rated as 4-5 stars out of 5. Most of the prices at the food stores are between $24 and $33 depending on the formula for a 40lb bag. The grain free formula is more expensive @ $38 a bag.

The snarkiest girl I've had any experience with was a borderjack foster - and she had it down to an art form!

I'm not sure you're truly realizing how young your puppy is and what complex behaviors you are requesting. Most studies now claim that a 1 yo dog is the equivalent of a 15 yo human so at five months, your puppy is the equivalent of @ 6-1/2 yo child. A young child may learn her abc's in a few months but reading takes years to get from beginner readers to adult readers. The child/puppy gets distracted, isn't sure what you want, and isn't mentally mature enough to process your intructions. It also sounds like your puppy isn't sure where it is okay for her to potty but even if she does, she's still young enough that accidents are common. Going back to the human analogy, ask kindergarten/1st grade/2nd grade teachers how many of their students have accidents because they are distracted, playing or don't recognize their body signals that they need to go to the bathroom NOW. From your posts, it just seems that you are asking your puppy to do adult behaviors and she is telling you she doesn't know what you want. If she were my puppy, I would start over w/her, make friends so she thinks you are the best thing since her mom, start housebreaking as suggested on the Board, let her drag a lightweight leash around the house and yard and teach her just the basics of stop and go by using praise/treats, etc. and then gradually add to it. For example, I want my dogs to stop at curbs (keeps an excited dog from charging into the street) so when I near a curb, I ask for a sit and lure an untrained dog into a sit. Within a short time, every time we come to a curb, the dog will automatically sit because it expects treats or praise - I'm not telling it to stop but I'm achieving the same goal. It sounds like you want a well trained dog; that just takes a lot of work, time and patience on your part. It's not going to happen in a few months. Hopefully you and your puppy can mend your relationship and she will, in time, become the dog you want!

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What wonderful news! I'm sure Tex whispered in her ear that you are the human she should choose!