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Everything posted by JohnLloydJones
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This is her normal harness*, that has a broad strap that goes under her chest. It also has a loop of webbing that has a ring threaded to attach a leash, but I am holding the loop -- no leash is attached while she is in the house. Yes, I also worry about her coming down the stairs, but currently she is able to manage herself quite well, so I do not help her at the moment. [Added: I should also emphasize that at this stage I am not lifting her, just catching her if she stumbles. ] Note * : I managed to find an image of one.
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Gibbs and a funny thing
JohnLloydJones replied to urge to herd's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
That's one of the reasons I never give a dog more than a single call-name -- no fancy (read confusing) multiple names in this house. -
Senneca is 15 and recently had an attack of the wobbles, but the old lady is not ready to lie down just yet, so I very carefully support her with her harness, so if she stumbles, I take the weight. That way we get her upstairs and she still has the feeling of "I can still do it" pride. I know if I try to leave her downstairs, she'll howl with misery -- or more likely do her self harm struggling up by herself. It sucks to get old.
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"Old Dog" Vestibular Syndrome
JohnLloydJones replied to JohnLloydJones's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
Yeah, the old ladies can get really stubborn, but you're right, they somehow have the license to get away with it. -
"Old Dog" Vestibular Syndrome
JohnLloydJones replied to JohnLloydJones's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
I have always used gestures together voice command, so Senneca knows both. Her "Stay!" has been really solid for most of her life; it's only now that she is beginning to be a bit slack -
"Old Dog" Vestibular Syndrome
JohnLloydJones replied to JohnLloydJones's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
This is a bit of a challenge as the video was too large and I have had to convert the format, but if it actually works, this Senneca, back in 2008, shortly after we adopted her together with our youngest daughter. OK, it's not going to upload: here's a link: Dancing dog and this is her, yesterday still a bit wobbly, but enjoying some fresh air. We've shared 13 years of life together. I am grateful for each and every day. -
My old gal, Senneca, "celebrated" her official 15th birthday by getting another bout of the wobbles. She had one almost two years ago and scared the heck out of me, but it cleared up after some days and besides a residual head tilt, she was back to normal. This time, it seemed worse; I had to help her to stand up and wobbled around almost helpless, initially. Amazingly, this time she is coming out of it much faster. Just 24hrs after it happened, she was walking, slowly and carefully, without tumbling and this morning managed an almost normal morning walk -- at reduced pace, for sure, but without any problems. I have been using her harness to give support and assistance going up and downstairs, but this morning, as I went up to my home office, I gave her a "Stay!" command, but the stubborn old lady, decided to ignore it. She manged the stairs on her own and plopped outside my office; her normal place when I am working from home. She is not ready to lie down and be counted out just yet. These dogs continue to amaze me.
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I'm working from home -- been doing that for a couple of weeks before the state closed everything, which makes my two very happy. My wife, on the other hand is trapped in India -- also under lock down -- with little chance of travelling back for weeks, I guess. Video conferencing is the order of the day, both for work and family.
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Just the sort of thing I needed to brighten up the day during lock down. Thanks!
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Looks to me to be a very efficient device -- for transferring money from your wallet to theirs. Opinion based purely on the information provided by their website -- I have no knowledge of the device beyond that. I'd save your money for something more beneficial, if I were you.
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Should I get a Border Collie pup?
JohnLloydJones replied to maxtosh's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
Getting a dog from a rescue is the safest bet by far. You never know exactly what you get with a puppy. As a rule, Aussies tend to be barkier than border collies, but I have a BC guy who makes you wonder about that rule. After a procession of BC fosters, I can vouch for the fact that every one has his or her personality. Aussies are fun and I have had good experience with them, but they simply don't have the enormous personalities of a BC. Someof them are "too much dog" for some people, I admit, but if you are experienced with BCs, then all I can say is contact your nearest BC rescue. -
A day in the life of your dog
JohnLloydJones replied to jami74's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
The day starts at 03:40-ish with Cash waking me up. He's taken over the job from Senneca, who is pushing 14 and considers herself retired. After a brief bathroom break for everyone, we go out for our morning walk -- about 45 mins. Back home, the dogs wait for me to shower and fix breakfast. Weekends they may get a little extra (scrambled/boiled egg) on their kibble. Weekdays, I'm off to the office, so the dogs get crated until my wife gets up. They have managed to train her to serve freshly made chapattis for lunch; or sometimes watermelon. When I get home from the office, I quickly change clothes and drive them to the park where we play ball for 20 - 40 mins or so (dependent on the temperature). Then it's back home and they wait for me to fix dinner and after dinner we go out the back where I give them their "after-dinner" treats (small pieces of cheese/stale bread/meat/fish as available). Then it's off to bed. -
Lottie says good morning!
JohnLloydJones replied to Lenie's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
My guys think 4 in the morning is the perfect time to go out for a walk. Freezing rain? Not so much where we live (Arizona), but I have no doubt that that wouldn't stop them (in fact, quite the opposite -- cold rain makes thing so much more fun). Especially when they come in and shake off and then roll in the carpet and have zoomies in the bedroom. -
Donald's spirit will be with us, long after his passing. Everyone associated with border collies owes a debt to him. RIP.
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Altercation with a German Shepherd
JohnLloydJones replied to Flora & Molly's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
Yes, simultaneously -- grabbing only one will most certainly end badly. Yes, I have read the article, and yes I have done this more than once. It is quite certainly a risky maneuver and not something to be done except as a last resort. -
Altercation with a German Shepherd
JohnLloydJones replied to Flora & Molly's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
Terrierman is, of course, experienced with the wee ones and, no doubt, his advice is good for them. Trying to scruff one dog (and now I am thinking BC/German Shepard size) exposes you to a nasty bite from the other dog. Putting your hands near furious teeth is very risky, but when you -- quite literally -- have a dog in the fight, instinct takes over. In such a case, the best tactic is to scruff both dogs simultaneously. This is, admittedly, a risk maneuver, but done with sufficient speed and force, allows you to separate the dogs. Again, I don't advise doing this if you can possibly avoid it, but when desperation hits the limit and adrenaline surges, it is safer than trying to grab one dog. -
Don't send a dog when a pigeon will do
JohnLloydJones replied to Donald McCaig's topic in Politics and Culture
Intelligence is a tricky thing. Yes, we all know what it means, but when we try to define it, it turns out to be a slippery thing,indeed. We can measure IQ, but it is merely a a proxy to the thing we mean by intelligence. When it comes to our companions, dogs, I'm not even sure we have a "doggy" IQ defined. Certainly, they are sentient; smart; "intelligent:, even, but how do we measure it? Some recent work (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289616301076) suggests that there is a "general" intelligence for dogs (working border collies were the subjects, as a matter of fact). We are far from understanding what that means. Frankly we don't even understand exactly what intelligence means in humans; IQ tests measure pattern matching, for the most part. How are the measured values skewed by culture? Motivation? Who knows? Yes, we are dumb about figuring out smartness. Not just about the creatures we share our lives with. -
Academy of Canine Behavior are clueless hacks
JohnLloydJones replied to highway61's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
Pain teaches that the act or thing associated with it is something to avoid or react against. The danger is that we don't know what a dog associates with the pain. Aversion therapy is valuable when positively associates the "pain" with the intended stimulus, but what will the dog associate with being struck with a plastic bat? The colour pink? A baseball bat? The person who is striking her? Women in general? Someone wearing the same clothes as the so-called "trainer"? I don't know. This is not a practice I could condone in any form. I base all my interaction with dogs on two fundamental pillars; trust and respect. What I see in the video violates both. -
Academy of Canine Behavior are clueless hacks
JohnLloydJones replied to highway61's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
Of course, the dog is learning something from the process, but I'm sure that it is entirely the wrong (i.e. unintended) thing. I have a dog who clearly learned something from his last adopter; an intense distrust of women. I can only speculate what happened. He is safe with me but totally un-adoptable by anyone else. -
Class action against Arcana and Origen
JohnLloydJones replied to Tommy Coyote's topic in Health and Genetics
From the article at http://truthaboutpetfood.com: -
There's an extraneous character at the end of the URL This should work Edit: Oh and I liked the poem and photos too.
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I do understand. All I was trying to say is that we have no control over how people use words.
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Donald I sympathize with you, but herding has meant "working with livestock" for as long as I have been alive (and probably a lot longer) See : herding. Language is not ours; it belongs to the community who use it. I also cringe when people talk about "the sport of herding" and the like, but neither you nor I control the English language.
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Using a cone as a tool
JohnLloydJones replied to JohnLloydJones's topic in General Border Collie Discussion
Actually, we have known this for a long time. Their primary tool is us.