ClickMeBC

Congrats! That's really an accomplishment. Good Dean!!

Too funny! Love how he's actually playing "tug" there.

Agility competitevly, Herding seriously as of now(will be competing), and Disc for fun.

I nickname my dogs, cats, goats and the horses I ride. I won't list all the names - too many. I'll do dogs. Quynn - Q, Quynn Dog, QD, Quynny, Quynn Pinniac, Quynn Pinn, Pinn, Quynnard, Handsome, Baby Dog, Foosa Sierra - Si(pronounced "see"), Geese, Si-Geese(creative, right?), Muttbutt, Iglet, Girlie Hallie - Hal, Hal McNal, Petunia(don't know where that came from), Muttbutt, Iggy poo Sparky(Rest In Peace): Spark, Sparky Plug, Sparkinator, Nator, Nate, Barky, Sparkster

My dogs are the same way. I was presented with this very question once before and have played little games with my dogs to see if they truly do know their names - I guess I surprising number of dogs do not. In a voice normal in volume and pitch, I'd say a random name - and was ignored, having done nothing to attract the attention of the dog I was testing. I'd then say the dog's name in the exact same tone - Quynn, for example, responded immediately to "Quynn", "Q", "QD", and a few of his other nicknames. Sierra and Hallie, also, as well as my terrier whom I lost last spring.

Welcome! Cute little pups! Love the split faced markings, and the tri color thing going on there is lovely. You are certainly in for a ride - we raised our two Italian Greyound pups together(dived into it rather ignorantly), and though we made it through and they're both great little agility dogs, it was tricky. The difference between one pup and two is incredible - their having each other will cause you to form relationships with them that would have been completely and utterly different had you chosen only one. Whether your relationship with each is as individual and just as strong as it would have been with just one pup depends on you and your boyfriend alone, in how you raise them...what foundations and solid boundaries are layed, the level of consistency, and how much patience and dedication you're able to muster from day to day. I've raised two pups at a time, but never two Border collies. I'm not of the opinion that it will undeniably be any harder or easier - it all depends on you. I wish you the best of luck - you could not have chosen a better place to come for advice or information - and have fun with your boys.

I feed twice a day. Two small meals a day gives the dogs less of a wait(I've heard that can be hard on a tummy and have done some research, but not anything extensive), is said to reduces risk of bloat and it gives my IGs two highlights - Sheltander, they're like your dogs in that they would happily eat themselves aboslutely sick, and have done so...conveniently the night before an agility trial in one particular case. Quynn is a slow and somewhat reluctant eater, though. I've found it to be a common complaint among fellow Border collie people, that their dogs would happily give up eating in order to work or play. I give the dogs 15 minutes to eat(the girls finish in less than a minute, unfailingly), and then pick up. Quynn will eventually get hungry and eat a meal at a good pace, then slow down again. He's slightly underweight and I've been cooking for him and adding to his kibble(chicken stews, broths, raw turkey necks, eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, plain yogurt), and he'll eat it, but slowly and often has to be told several times to finish. He wasn't always like this - when he was a pup he would literally inhale his food, barely chewing, if at all. I had to put tennis balls in his bowl(nowadays he would simply ask to play with the ball) or spread it out on a cookie sheet in order to slow him down.

Many consider me a bit unusual for my dislike of leather collars and leashes. No practical reason - I just don't like either the look itself or the feeling of it in my hand unless it's thin and extremely supple. I prefer nylon collars and leashes and the softer cotton webbing for long lines and training leads.

I don't have much to say aside from what's already been said, but I can relate. I highly recommend a life vest. My Border collie is insane about the water and would swim endlessly if allowed. I usually limit his swims to about 5 minutes in the water, then several more minutes out. As he's getting stronger and building muscle we'll occasionally go for 25 minute swims together out in the lake, but any longer(never much) and he wears a life vest.

I much prefer the guillotine style clippers, actually. I'm careful to replace them as soon as they dull, but I find them a lot easier to use and avoid the quick with. I buy the Bamboo brand guillotine style nail trimmers - they work very well and stay sharp for some time.

Delayed post, but I couldn't avoid a brag....wanted to post results from Quynn's first trial this end of July. It was three days, he earned three legs, and I couldn't be more proud of him!! Here are the results: Friday: Snooker - Q, 1st place(First run ever, got some mild zoomies but managed to pull it together and fly through the closing to take 1st!) Jumpers - Q, 5th place Jackpot - NQ. It was an absolutely gorgeous run, and we were perfectly set up for the gamble when the whistle blew, but due to his novice state and the pumping adrenaline he just wouldn't move out the minimal 5 feet to that final jump in the gamble, lol. It was very pretty otherwise! Standard Rnd 1 - NQ(he beat me to the a-frame by several yards and turned around and came back down - just a young-dog mistake) Standard Rnd 2 - Q, 1st place. Gorgeous run! His contacts(2o/2o), I must allow, are very nice. He could be a little lower and forward, but I like that he checks in with me. Saturday: Wildcard - Q, 3rd place Fullhouse - Q, 3rd place Standard - Q, 1st place Colors - Q, 1st place Sunday: Standard - Q, 1st place. AMAZING run! I wish I'd gotten this one on video, but there was no one to do it for me. Standard Course Time was 40 seconds, Quynn did it in 18.23 seconds. Contacts were gorgeous, fluid rear crosses - he was such a good boy. Snooker - Q, 3rd place. Jumpers - Q, 3rd place. Here are some videos of just a few runs: We need only one more Jackpot Q in order to earn his CL-1 title. I think we're going to the Nationals next summer.....

Welcome! Looking forward to getting to know you.

Quynn has an n2n crate, also. I love it. I use it at trials, and occasionally at home - never as an everyday crate. It would work very well for camping.

That's hilarious - what a vigilant girl! What's funny is my Border collie Quynn has a problem with green pumpkins, also. Exact same scenario...BC goes out to pee, sees a strange, round object that wasn't there(wasn't noticed) before, and alerts the neighborhood of likely danger. It required my confidently approaching the pumpkin, praising it as though it had just earned it's MACH, and patting it reassuringly while looking at Quynn.

I personally can't help much, but I'm in Maine with my BC and dairy goats and must say: Do contact Lynn Deschambeault, as she will be the one to help, if anyone. My BC came from Lynn as a pup and she's been amazingly supportive and always willing to help us out with the herding.