Beach BCs

I trimmed my first BC when she was a senior. Her coat had gotten wooly and she had hot spots. She really didn't spend a ton of time outside. It was mostly to let the hot spots breath and heal. Her coat never grew back right so we kept her trimmed after that. Now I do trim pads and the Lorax feet. Also, I trim the pants on one of my dogs. But that's about it. As for getting rid of undercoat, I try to brush frequently with an undercoat rake. And a couple times a month (more in the summer) after they've gotten wet, either in the stock tank or at a beach, I use a forced air dryer on them. The dead hair flies off! No one likes it, but they all tolerate it well enough.

Very sorry to hear this, Donald.

If I had listened to my vet a year ago, my 12 year old would be gone. Georgia had what we think was a stroke last year. My vet was basing her opinion on what she was seeing in front of her. Granted GA had a few really bad days...ok it was a couple weeks before she really started turning around. And she had lost so much weight. But my gut, not my heart told me to give her a minute to catch her breath. Yesterday she outran the 6 year old to get the ball and then played keep-away. My rule of thumb is when there is little joy, or when they are consistently having more bad days than good, it time to consider...well, you know. It sounds to me like you have a pretty good handle on things. And that Kit is still having a good time. <3

So very sorry to hear this.

How wonderful to be able to visit. That'll warm the heart, seeing him doing so well.

Happy Birthday, Kit!

I have three Border Collies Georgia is 30lbs Tex is 36lbs Faith is 25lbs

Is it possible that there's a bad taste on the ball?

OMG, my alomost 6 year old still has those moments...and they tickle me! (she's very shy, and we are a bit indulgent with her.)

Oh my

Tuffies do pretty well with my destructive one. Well, depending on the rating. The flatter or bigger, the better. Also, because she is destructive I don't shop at PetSmart etc. I search places like TJMaxx or Home Goods for toys. I find lots of Chuck-it, Kong, and sometimes Tuffies there. These places are much less pricey.

His eyebrows look a touch lighter than the rest of his face...could just be the lighting in the photo. At any rate, he looks like trouble, you should just send him to me. ;-) Completely adorable.

Faith knows when 10pm is...no matter what I'm watching or where we are. "It's 10pm and you need to let me out. Now." Texi's super power is knowing when I'm awake, even if I haven't opened my eyes or moved a muscle. Georgia's super power is stealing socks, but only in pairs. She won't take odd socks. (she doesn't chew them, just walks around for a few minutes and then hides them.)

I'm so sorry for your loss.

My Faith is small. 18in and 25lbs. She's very petite looking compared to my other female, but Georgia is 19in and 28lbs. GA just has alot more hair.

Patricia McConnell has a good book on body language. I can't remember if it's The Other End of the Leash or For The Love of a Dog. Both are very good but one of them has pictures of dogs displaying different body language; and she then goes on to explain.

My females are fed separately; Faith (4) in her crate and Georgia (almost 11) on the other size of the room. Faith is very respectful of GA 99% of the time. Food is something she will occasionally push her luck with. And if allowed to push too much, it would not be pleasant. Short fuses there. In my house as soon as a dog is finished eating they must leave the area. If I am late picking up empty bowls, GA will remind me by lying in front of hers. Also, while I am prepping their meals they must be in their "spot" either sitting or lying down and wait to be released before diving into their bowls. On the flip side, neither of my females care what Tex does, or what he eats where, or if he wants their toys.

I've given my three dogs deer and elk antlers. The only one that broke teeth was Texas...and he has distemper teeth. My vet told me that the Elk antlers we harder than deer antlers. ?? At any rate, because Tex can't have them I gave ours away.

Crunchy peanut butter was my go-to pill trick for my Addisons dog. Lots of peanut butter, then peanut butter with the pill.

A judge once told me "there are gamblers dogs and snooker dogs...your dog is not a snooker dog." LOL!

Good job! For the life of me, I will never grasp Snooker!

Yes, she's going in for a cleaning. I tried hand scraping some (with the vet's instructions) but it went over like a lead balloon.

I hope this isn't too off-topic. I used to give my dogs antlers to chew on but one of my dogs broke a couple teeth ($$$$). At first glance he teeth look pretty good, but under examination the vet said you could tell he'd had Distemper as a puppy. The girls never had an issue. So no more antlers. My older female's teeth are starting to look a bit cruddy so I would like to offer them something to chew. Hoofs and bully sticks stink to high heaven! Specifically, what types of bones should I be looking for in the grocery store? Thanks!

A 36" crate is not too big. No need to spend more money. My 35lb BC has a 42in soft crate (because I got it cheap). You can buy a tailored crate cover but it's just as easy to use a sheet. I've made a few covers for my crates when we trial where it's cold. A twin size blanket/throw/sheet is the perfect size for a 36 in crate.

It was a very long time ago, I was maybe 12...but when my GSD (a canine extrovert) passed away my St Bernard mix (a canine introvert) was completely at a loss. Snoop and Max weren't exactly best buds but Max relied heavily on Snoop. Max was easily bullied by other neighborhood dogs and Snoop (although not always easy on Max) protected Max from other dogs. He was very depressed for a while. Max did get better with time. But I'm not really sure he was ever 100%. But he was happy again. Is there anything Kit likes to do? Games or tasks?