JackoDog

Our rescue was a "barker," he snapped a lot, he was "too much to handle" and "not good" with children. Uh huh. Or perhaps his owners were just POS. I can probably count the number of times I've heard him bark. He only does it when he gets REALLY frustrated. Yes, he was mouthy, but he also thought, at 1 year old, that he was a 4 month old pup. Definite socialization issues. He has learned, and is still learning. He doesn't bite at all when scared now, and we're trying to teach him that being mouthy with humans during play is no good - he's learning! Too much to handle...well, he's a border collie, he has a lot of energy and wants something to do all the time. If we don't give him a job, he finds one, which I'm sure is what his previous owners encountered as well. The difference is, we've taught him that sometimes he has to turn it off, but that there's always something fun right around the corner - a game of seek, a bike ride, a tennis ball, whatever. Not to mention, those bones from Costco. They'll last an hour or two. Not good with children...perhaps because he wasn't trained, perhaps because he was 50 pound dog who thought he was much smaller, I don't know. All I know is, all of the problems he was said to have are gone since we've taken the time to love him, give him the physical and mental exercise he needs, keep him close to us whenever we're home, and teach him the things he needs to know. He is a much more confident and secure dog now than he was when we adopted him in June. Thank you for posting the stories in the OP. I don't know if J could work sheep or not - we live in the city, and we've never tried it - but I know he's a great dog who loves to run and play and be loved on and give kisses. That's what we were looking for in a dog, and we found it on our very first try. We will definitely rescue from here on out, because we know that good dogs can be found at the shelters.

Very cool! You'll like Oregon - June down by Crater Lake should be nice. Where is Sprague River? I'm not familiar with it. Too bad you won't be up this way, we ould have a play date!

Sadly, we found that this isn't always true. Jacko only runs/walks on asphalt, and he goes 30-60 minutes at least 4 times a week. Still, his nails need to be clipped. True, we can go longer between clippings, but they still need to be clipped now and again. We pay someone because neither of us wants to deal with desensitizing him to it. We may try it though, I don't know.

Thanks guys! Lots of stuff to check out. I think we need a trip to PetsMart. Jacko also loves a good ol' tennis ball, but he's also a weenie and hates the wet and cold, which is what we've had so much of the past couple of months. So it's been all kinds of indoor play instead. Although, the sun came out about a week ago, and the snow is all gone, and yesterday I noticed that he's unearthed all the balls in the backyard (yes, he apparently buried all the balls we thought he lost) so I think he's telling us it's time to play ball again! oh, and yes, that is the egg ball! Thanks for finding it, I totally need to order one. I think J would love it. The collies that I saw play with it absolutely adored it and played for hours, according to the owner.

We had to have J's expressed a week or two ago. That was the first time in 7 months that I'd noticed a problem, but to be honest, he didn't show any signs of a problem. I just happened to be on the floor with him one night and noticed his butt kind of smelled, so when I next took him to the vet I had her check them and sure enough - full. So what should I be looking for? He doesn't do the butt scoot, doesn't bite at his tail or bum, doesn't lick at them, sits just fine...I have no clue how to know when he needs them expressed. And what can we do to help him express them naturally?

thank you! I'll have to look for that ball next time I'm out and about. We're lucky - Jacko is just as happy with a regular ol' bone as he is with a rope bone. Since the regular ones last longer (not much, but a few minutes anyway!) we just give him those instead. Boy I wish he wasn't such a power chewer though. We can go through a decent (large) sized rawhide in about 3 hours.

Hoku's mum, we go through rope bones in about an hour! DH has banned them from our house because they don't last and create a ginormous mess...and of course, Jacko tries to eat the strings after he's torn it all apart. I'll have to look for the Tuffies toys, I wonder if they could withstand his chewing. We do have an A-maze-n ball which he loves, and I need to find his Kong. He lost it in the backyard. Do you know the name of the moon ball with craters? That sounds like fun! Does anyone have one of these "balls" that looks like an egg? Someone told me it's really for horses, but we once met a collie who LOVED this particular toy - it's large enough they can't pick it up in their mouths, and if they try it squirts away. It's herding fun for everyone! Anyway, the person who had it told me what it was called and said it could be found at a farm store, but I can't remember the name of it and the people at the farm stores look at me like I'm nuts. Even google couldn't help me out. Oh, and what's the deal with the Kong frisbee? Someone else mentioned one...how is it different/better than a regular frisbee?

We have a couple of favorites - the walky dog has been a savior, we absolutely love it, as does J. We also love our longe whip for chasing (herding) and he adores his Tire Biter toy. What toys does your dog love? We need a few new ones. Note that Jacko is a power chewer!

Jacko has two friends, Boris and Vinnie, and anytime the 3 of them hang out and play (usually for a few hours at a time) he is completely worn out for a day or two following. Not only does he get more exercise in that one day than normal, but the excitement of playing with other dogs does a number on him as well. So I'd say that Luna is exhausted from the spike in activity, which is normal, and that the soreness is probably from that as well. Think about anytime we, as humans, decide to do something we haven't done in a long time - run, ride a bike, any kind of sport, even working in the yard. Our muscles are certainly sore the next day! It's probably the same thing. I highly doubt Tamyr is too rough, especially if there are no signs of problems, so I wouldn't intentionally keep her away from Luna. Can you make it a more regular thing, where Luna could build up a tolerance and not get the sore muscles maybe?

When we first got J he was a terror at home, but incredibly polite in public. We were so surprised. Now he's pretty much that polite at home too - yay! Glad to hear Lance did well

That gets a big fat Yes ma'am!(or sir, I haven't been around enough lately to know who's a what!) from this house. Jacko thinks we need his help with EVERYTHING - doing the dishes, sorting the laundry, absolutely everything. He also loves bike rides - that's some good daily exercise for any dog, but especially BCs who love to run run run! And of course, chasing just about anything is fun. We do indoor games like training, and playing hide and seek, tug and wrestling. But mostly he's happy just to hang out with us and be paid attention to. He is a rescue, and we think he didn't get enough attention in his previous life because now all he wants is to be touching one of us, and be petted. If someone is touching him, he's content. A long bike ride every other day or so, some time once a week playing with other dogs at the park or a friend's house, and daily attention and he's a happy camper. I'm glad you're looking into rescue. If you truly just want a companion, I think rescue is the way to go. The rescues dogs I know are just so happy to be with their families, and so grateful for the life they lead. We don't have much to give J - we don't have a big house, and we're not rich, but he always has a roof over his head, food in his belly, water in his bowl, plenty of playtime and lots of love. What more could a dog want?!

Whenever Jacko's water dish is getting low, he laps at the bottom of it (it makes a different noise when his tongue hits the bottom of the dish rather than the water) and then looks at me. If I still don't get it, he does it again...and again and again and again until his dense mom figures out what he wants. Like many of the other's he knows the names of toys, and he knows the phrase bike ride. Bike rides have now become "you know whats," which he hasn't figured out yet. We play "where's your tire" often around our house. Now anytime someone says "where's your..." before you can finish the sentence he's grabbed his tire and brings it to you. There are so many more, but those are the good ones for now

I agree with those who say to start with the basics, establish a routine, and just get used to each other. It's essential for all dogs, but I think it's especially essential for rescues who aren't sure what's going to happen next, you know? It probably took Jacko a good 6 months to really settle in and trust us and be secure that he wasn't going to get sent away again. That said, once you've done a lot of work on the basic commands, a good indoor game is "hide your eyes." Jacko goes in the laundry room, we shut the door and then hide his tire (favorite toy). You could do it with treats as well. Then we open the door and tell him to "find _______." He LOVES it and is really good at it. Another thing I'd suggest is to implement NILIF (nothing in life is free) now. It helped with our training so much, and now as soon as he sees a leash come out he sits, or if he sees us grab the cup we use to feed him, he runs to lie down on his bed. He knows the rules and routines, and he thrives with that. Good luck, and thank you for rescuing!

We had a Hoover Windtunnel and I don't recommend it. Not that it was bad - just not as good as Dyson or some of the other brands that are out there right now.

If you can save a little longer and find it on sale, the Dyson is phenomenal. We have a Dyson All floors DC 07 I believe it is and got it on sale from Kohl's for $280. It's normally about $400, but worth every penny in my opinion. Good luck!