coolvicki

I just had to comment... what's up with her views on crating? Where did she get this weird idea that dogs experience the world exactly like we do? From what I've seen... her training methods focus on treating dogs like dogs; but then, I saw this episode where she made a woman get in a crate in order to see "what it's like for a dog." It was pretty ridiculous. Even considering the "average pet owner" IQ- I wouldn't want to encourage people to not crate their dogs. As many of us know- it's not safe for some (or possibly even "most") dogs to be left out to wander the house unsupervised!

Concerning Archer's forthcoming agility lessons: You might want to check out the boards concerning this. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I've been told by a lot of bc people to limit my pup's activities (I have an 8 month old) at least until she's a bit over a year old. I've been told that agility and frisbee (and anything else that causes the dog to physically push him/herself, flip around, stop suddenly, etc) can be harmful to your dog's physical development- and it's best to wait until your pup's body is done growing before starting agility + dog sports. My pup is a bit like Archer- she'll play a mean game of fetch indoors, and drop the ball directly in my hands- but she doesn't share the same zeal for returning the ball when we play outside! I think it's a maturity thing- my dog seems more distracted outside.... more smells, sounds, etc. I don't take it personally, lol...I think the bc attention span improves greatly with age. I hope that you're enjoying your pup! I've discovered a few things that help to keep my pup happy and calm and help keep me sane- particularly on days when it's impossible or impractical to have a long outdoor exercise stint. I thought I'd pass them on in case you might find one of them useful. 1)Sometimes I'll load a kong with Evo dog biscuits- they're the perfect size for kong stuffing, and they're healthy! They're just difficult enough to get out of the dental ball kong I have- certainly not impossible, but hard enough to keep my dog busy! 2)If she seems like she could use some exercise, and someone else is home- we play a short (maybe ten minute) game of "doggie in the middle" with a tennis ball. I don't encourage her to jump/twist to get the ball - I do some easy throws back and forth... eventually I'll let her catch one to keep her interest (and sing her praises as she returns the ball!). Sometimes I'll roll one... or I'll fake her out and let her try to figure out what happened to the ball! The variety helps keep her interested in the game and helps to stimulate her mentally, and the short burst of energy needed to keep up with the game tires her out quickly. 3) If puppy is especially fussy or seems potentially destructive - a nap/time out in the crate may be in order. When mine gets naughty at night- it's usually because she's ready for bed.

I agree that the rules are ultimately for both the protection of the dog and the potential owner. Yet, the "especially conscientious" (and a hypothetically *good* match) potential owner might be discouraged by rules that appear too rigid- and unfortunately, the rescue border collies are ultimately the ones who miss out when such people are discouraged. It would be ridiculous for a rescue site to post a note about every possible exception to the rules, HOWEVER it'd be easy enough to post a statement at the end of the rules stating something like the following: "If your household fails to meet one or more of our requested standards- however, you believe that you would, nevertheless, be able to provide a wonderful home for one of our border collies, please fill out an application and explain how you'd plan to overcome your household's particular limitations. We make a great effort to place our dogs in the best homes possible, and understand that some homes that may not adhere to all of our suggested standards may still make a wonderful home for one of our dogs." I'd bet that a number of the people who would be thoughtful enough to read through all of the suggested rules/standards (and thus, make it to this last statement) would be more conscientious than the average dog owner and might be more likely to provide a good home for a particular rescue border collie.

I feel everyone's pain! I love advice (particularly bc advise), but...sometimes unknowing strangers go too far! This is my first posting- so forgive me if I somehow screw this up! I just got my first border collie (Gemma), and I absolutely adore her. She's almost five months old. On a sidenote - I'm very grateful that everyone has put so much effort into posting thoughtful (and helpful) questions and responses. This board was very helpful in my decision to get a border collie- and the great tips helped prepare me for early training. Anyway, THANKS everyone- and... on with my posting! I took Gemma to a different park this weekend for a change of scenery and at the end of our walk, I let her stop to watch some people playing tenis. She was really into watching- she had her whole "herding/working" pose going on. A woman standing near the courts with her dog asked me if my dog was friendly. I said, "Yes, but she's shy around some dogs." She let her dog over near mine; her dog was yanking at the leash- desperately trying to get at my dog. Gemma was kind of freaked out by this and ran between my legs. She's sort of funny about other dogs- she seems to like little fluffy dogs a lot....but she's often timid with super-extroverted "play with me" dogs (she's definitely not a fan of labs!) I let her go at her own pace when it comes to meeting other dogs-I know she's not afraid of all other dogs, because she's famously gotten along with a few that we've met. I like to think that she has discriminating tastes! Anyway.... Gemma returned to watching the ongoing tennis games .... and this woman actually asked me if my dog had been abused because Gemma wasn't interested in playing with her dog! If this wasn't enough.... she then pointed out that her tail was down- yet another sign that she'd been abused as a puppy! To me... it wasn't a big surprise that her tail was down - she was fixated on the tennis balls flying across the courts. I briefly explained that w/ bcs... tail-down doesn't always mean scared... but I was so shocked that she'd just suggested that Gemma had been abused just because she didn't want to play with her dog! The woman proceeded to give me tips on socializing her. If it'd been up to this woman - I think she would have locked my puppy in a small room with 20 large hyper dogs and no escape to "socialize" her. I decided to politely say goodbye and take my never-been-abused-but-still-not-a-fan-of-overenthusiastic-dogs bc and go on our merry way!