KellieinTX

Location: Texas, West Houston Distance willing to travel: 4-5 hours in any direction Vehicle: Family 4 door Extra Crate: Yes Pull from shelter: Yes Hold overnight: Yes Times Available: Weekends and evenings, the occasional Friday. I almost never post, but I do check in here every day. [transferred to database]

Hey guys, This board was so helpful when I adopted Oreo and I thank you for that. We adopted her thinking she was 4 (per HSPCA), and found out she was 8-10. I immediately fell in love with the breed and had visions of all kind of Border Collie frisbee or agility fun dancing in my head for the "next" dog. The longer I have had Oreo, the more clear it becomes that we wouldn't give a "typical" active BC a proper home. She is the perfect dog for us. She's totally laid back, and in her old age likes to sleep a lot, but still gets as excited as a puppy about walkies or playing tug. Knowing this combined with my indignance that anyone would give up or turn out a dog in its golden years led to the only possible conclusion. I think I'm going to adopt old lady Border Collies for the rest of my life. I'll only get to have two at a time (my fiance does not want me to become a "crazy dog lady"), but the old girls make me happy (and hopefully I can make them happy). We just bought a house (yay!) and I've put in an application for Livy at the BC Rescue of TX. I'm really hopeful, and waiting to schedule a home visit. She's the most incredible, beautiful girl. http://www.bcrescuetexas.org/livy.htm

She just found out that her puppy is deaf. There's a wonderful BYB for you. But she is totally in love with it, so it doesn't matter that much to her.

So this may be a bit wordy, but I've found if you don't give all the information in the first post, you usually have to add it later anyway. So. After we adopted her, we discovered that Oreo freaks out when confined in a kennel. She exhibits destructive behaviors and if there's nothing to destroy, she runs endlessly in circles or back and forth, becoming increasingly anxious and frantic. Hearing this, my mom volunteered to take her for our honeymoon, which is over 5 months away. Mom has a 120 lb golden named Moose. So I took Oreo over to Mom's today to introduce her to Moose. They sniffed each other all up, and all was well until mom petted Oreo, causing Moose to bark a couple times (from a distance). Oreo ran, growling and nipping to Moose, who rolled on his back in submission. Most of the time they were ok with, if wary of, each other. My problem is that Oreo seemed to be determined to be the Alpha dog. I think she would have hoarded Moose's toys if I had let her. She would run up to him, and he would drop his toy (friady dog) and she would take it. Then she would lay down and put it between her paws, and the few times Moose tried to come take it back, she would snap at him. I think it would have been good for her if he would have snapped right back, but he's just too big a pansy. I have five months to train these dogs to get along with each other. Does anyone experienced with this kind of thing have any wise words for me? I am willing to put the effort in during the time I have. (Probably one day a weekend is realistic.) Thanks!

This is EXACTLY what I think happened, because of of the old broken rib on that side too. I think that since she's obviously in no pain, that it can wait 5 more months for xrays (unless something changes).

Hmmmm...She almost never favors that leg at all. Only when running at top speed or through tall grass (for some reason). She displays no pain or discomfort when I am handling the leg, squeezing it or bending it. She walks and runs on it (without a limp) and stands on her hind legs for extended periods to steal food off the counter. I would bet my life that it's not hurting her. I just think it doesn't work as well as the other one, and that's why she lifts it while running. It could be arthritis - we think she's 8-10. Thank you for the insight and advice everyone!

I have definitely read in many places that artificial vitamin K is not a generally good thing to put in animal food. Nothing has said that it's toxic or anything, just that it's not a great thing - kind of like "meat byproducts." They probably won't harm your dog - they're just not a great ingredient. If your animals are doing well on Blue Buffalo, then I'd keep feeding it. I think one less than desirable ingredient in this case does not negate the overall good quality food.

I apologize for starting all these silly question threads. (Although there were about 8 I wanted to start, but didn't. ) It's just so hard being a first-time dog owner of a mature dog whose medical history is unknown. So the vet and I noticed a protruding bone in Oreos left side. She told me that it probably was from a very old injury - some kind of blunt trauma that broke a rib. Since you can touch it or press on it all you want and she doesn't care, the vet assured me that this was fine. But more and more, Chris and I have been noticing a slight favoring of her left leg. She walks on it perfectly normally except that her leg appears to be turned a little bit. Like her heel turns inward. But when she hits a full run, she lifts that left leg up and runs like a 3-legged dog. She's still so agile and fast (and carries that foot low to the ground) that we're only just now noticing. Then when she stops running, she'll be very slightly gimpy until she hits her walking stride again. There's no tenderness there either, I can handle it and squeeze on it all I want, and all the joints work fully. She does put weight on it. I guess I'm assuming that it was caused by the same long-ago trauma that broke her rib. So my question is, seeing as she seems to be in no pain at all, am I a bad dog mom if I wait for her next exam (probably 6 months from now) to mention this to a vet? She's cost us a lot more than we expected in the month that we've had her - we could afford to take her, but I would hate to do so and then not have something serious come up, and not have the money to treat it. Should I worry about this? Thanks for reading, and any advice - I know I'm long winded.

Thanks Shayna, that's exactly what I was trying to get across. Breeders breeding for the right things don't have to advertise "versatility." Also the we breed for "brains and beauty" thing I keep reading on some of these sites. Honestly, looking at all the pictures in the siggies on this site, I have yet to see an ugly BC.

From what I've seen on here, anything mentioning versatility?

I was just talking to her about it. I asked her where she got it, and she said a breeder way out of Houston. First she visited a HORRIBLE BYB and almost bought one, but they only have a brown and white one, and since "border collies are black and white" she doubted if it was a real one. At which point I mentioned all the varieties that BCs come in, and she looked a bit confused. I explained that they are bred for herding ability and not to any standard of appearance, to which she replied, "Oh, well I don't need that." So she went to a less offensive BYB and bought a black and white puppy. I asked why she got it and she said she had always wanted a fluffy black-and-white Border Collie.

Luckily, I believe she is the type that will keep it and love it regardless. If it digs up her yard, then she'll just throw up her hands and let it. She's definitely not the type to do extra things to make sure her dog is challenged (like herding or agility or learning tricks), but at least she'll make sure it's taken care of.

My coworker got a puppy. "A border collie puppy actually, 8 weeks old! It's so cute" I say, "Oh yeah? I've heard they can be hell on wheels." To which she replies, "Oh really? I've never heard a bad thing about them!" Which says to me that she's never heard anything about them. Maybe she got a conformation BC?

Hi. I can't answer many of your questions, but I just wanted to share that I have read many times that the crate should have the BEST toys and the YUMMIEST treats inside. I have even read that if your pet has a favorite treat, that in the crate is the only time they should get that treat until it is crate trained. That way your dog comes to associate the crate with good things. I think this will result in a much more positive result than just "putting him in the crate and leaving him" as your vet suggested.

After googling dog ice cream, I can't find where to find it - I know I've seen it before though. Does anyone know where to get it?