jamesqf

I just wish someone would make one that uses rechargable batteries. (And likewise for lighted collars.) Of course for me it's rather moot, as Niki refuses to have anything to do with anything except genuine tennis balls.

Err... You need English classes for horticulture these days? I would have expected Spanish, especially given your remarks about work ethic, or rather the lack thereof.

Might want to clarify the title, because it appears that you dropped the leash accidentally. but from what you write I gather that you let him off intentionally. But yes, it's nice when they can run around. When I first got Niki, she had a problem with just taking off and doing her own thing - once (with previous humans) being found by a Forest Service person miles from home. Spent our entire first summer with her hooked to me by a 20 ft retractable leash (clip it to the chest strap of your backpack, and you can have both hands free), then for another 6 months or so we'd only go out with her tennis ball launcher along, and squeaky tennis balls because she always comes running to that sound. Now she seems pretty well able to go off-leash by herself, and can stop & sniff then run to catch up - it's SO nice to be able to go at my own pace for a change :-)

Methinks I see a pattern here :-)

Niki has a "Night Dawg" collar, which works fairly well. It is waterproof - it's her full-time collar, and still lights up despite playing in creeks & such. On the downside, it isn't really all that visible from the front or back. What I'd like is sort of a little antenna that sticks up from the collar, with a small LED on the end...

I've had/known very few dogs that wouldn't do this. It seems to be exercise/fun for them, rather than real aggression, since if we get them in the same yard they'd always play together quite happily.

From what I know of skating skis & technique (I've never actually done it) you need groomed/packed tracks to do it on - more than just following where previous skiers have broken a trail. Which, of course, is a big part of why I've never done it. So it will depend a lot on where you'll be doing your skiing. If it was me, and just starting to get equipment, I would begin with regular cross-country skis, since you can use them anywhere. You can also get regular skis in waxless or waxable. If you have variable weather/snow condition, waxless is probably better to start with, though if the snow's consistent and you know what you're doing, waxable can be better to ski on.

Better than reflective: get the glow-in-the-dark kind. Neat for when you want to know where the heck they've got to.

Had a similar experience a few weeks ago. Was horse-sitting for the weekend at a friends' place (very rural, in a canyon with no other houses in sight) and went outside Saturday morning to find Niki playing with a pitbullish-looking dog. No collar or tags, skinny but not starved-looking, so I figured he was a dump-off. Went with us on a long hike, sometimes going off on his own for half an hour or so at a time, but always rejoining us, came back to the house and lazed around 'til dark. I fed & watered him, of course, and left him curled up on the deck when we went to bed, figuring that I had another dog... In the morning he was gone, and when the friends got back, they told me that he belonged to a neighbor about a mile down the canyon.

I guess I wasn't clear: I only had one dog at a time. The older one died about 18 months before Niki came along. But from your post, I get the distinct impression that you're one of those who're into it more for fun. Just three words: "I adopted Dean", rather than say "I paid big bucks for Dean so I could be a WINNER!" make all the difference.

But presumably this sort of casual competitor isn't the one paying thousands for a purpose-bred puppy in order to enhance their chances of getting ego gratification from winning, and so giving the breeders the incentive to breed for success in competition to the exclusion of other traits such as, if I remember the original post, not being seizure-prone.

But here there's someone else involved. That is, it's you (just for the sake of discussion here) getting a dog specifically so you can compete in agility, or sheep herding, or whatever, as opposed to adopting a dog, and thinking you might like to try doing those things together. Suppose your new aquisition doesn't like your sport, or has no talent? Just for instance, I love cross-country skiing, and Niki likes being in the skijoring harness (though she's too smart/lazy to actually pull except on downhills). My old dog (a much larger mix), never could go skiing with me because she'd sink in. Should I have forced her, or dumped her and spent a thousand or so for another dog? In any case, it's not really about what people should or shouldn't do, just a realization that they ARE going to do those things as long as the motivators are there.

Sure, but why do they choose to compete at these sports anyway? As opposed to just doing some activity for fun. It seems completely backwards to me. I get, or get stuck with, the dog (I've never actually chosen a dog) and look around for things to do together.

Just the other way around with Niki. Sure, she wants to be with me if I'm doing something interesting, but lots of times I'll be outside doing boring yard work, and she'll be inside on the couch. And if I'm inside doing boring computer work, she's usually on the couch. Am I seeing a pattern here?

I looked (I think - it's gone now, so I can't check) at the discussion you're talking about, and if I'm not mistaken part of the answer, or at least a key to understanding the problem, is in the first post. Why on Earth would anyone pay $1000 for a puppy? For a trained herding dog, sure, if you're a rancher, but my impression was that the buyer's intent was to somehow get ego points by competing in stock trials. As long as there's ego gratification to be found in winning trials, or agility competitions, or AKC dog shows, there'll be people willing to pay money for it, and there will be breeders willing to take their money. Not much different from anything else.