RuthBelle

My Belle (now 5 years old) started peeing in her sleep, every day, a year ago. Vet tests showed she had a lot of crystals in her urine. She's now eating that vet prescribed Science diet for kidney problems and is on Proin-----haven't had a single problem since.

(((Hugs to you)))

(((Hugs to you))) Valerie. Poor little pup.

Oh my, (((((Hugs to you and yours))))))

While my folks kept a German Shepard and a Poodle, then a faithful old Heinz 57 mutt mix, I never had my own dog until I came upon Ruth, my BC/Aussie mix. I grew up working in various horse farm and stable environments, lived in rural farming areas, was stationed in Texas while in the Army ( hung out with rodeo and ranching folks) and was aware of "farm" and "livestock" dogs (but didn't pay much attention to them at the time). Then I moved to Southern Utah, met some sheep ranchers and was awe struck by the beauty and intelligence of their working Border Collies! After moving back to Wisconsin, I decided I wanted to get a dog and after studying up on Border Collies and Australian Shepards, decided I would keep my eyes open for one. I have been told I have a Type A+++++++++++++++ personality, I have an acute attention to detail and notice EVERYTHING most people wouldn't even notice if they fell over it. That's good or bad depending on what coworkers and bosses like in an employee!!! I annoy the hell out of family members. I knew I wanted a smart, thinking dog---fluffy, tiny lap dogs weren't for me. Well, since I appear to have the human equivilant of a Border Collie personality, am healthy, and extremely active, I figured I could handle the activity level and daily excercise requirements to keep a Border Collie happy. Their intelligence and beauty intrigued me. Back in 1995, I saw an advertisement (which I cut out of the paper and still have to this day), to sell a Border Collie/Australian 5 year old female mix. I met Ruth and her current owner, who asked me numerous questions, wanted to visit my home to see where Ruth would live, wanted a reference from my then landlord to verify it was OK for me to have a dog. After that, she said I could have Ruth, waived the purchase price that was listed in the ad (she only wanted serious inquiries) and I loved that dog dearly for the next 9 years. After Ruth passed, and by that time having met my Bob, we decided we'd "look into" adopting a Border Collie. Well, it turned out a coworker had a litter of pups, let me have "pick of the litter" and we chose Belle. Bob has since turned into a Border Collie man, he's just as awe struck with them as I was. Belle was about 1 1/2 old when we actually started getting the idea it might be even more fun to have two. I wanted to go either rescue or shelter adoption. One day I happen to notice the tail end of a channel 9 "Pet Profiles" segment and who do I see-----Watson! The rest is history. Belle and Watson get daily walks/hikes, go camping with us, go swimming, traveling, play Frisbee or Ball everyday, go to the dog park 2 or 3 times a week, meet new people and experience new things when we walk them downtown or in the parks. They seem well adjusted and happy. Belle can be left alone in either my or Bob's home without fear of her tearing up anything (other than her toys). Watson, well, we've only had him just shy of 2 months and he's still adjusting to his new environment. We crate him at night for bedtime as he still occasionally has a "pee" lapse and hasn't quite figured out how to alert us he wants out (Belle noses the bell by the back door). We're working on his recall as he can have selective hearing at times. He's improving by leaps and bounds though. Bob and I absolutely adore these two dogs!

I got both Belle and Watson microchipped at the vet's office, while they were there for their spay and neuter. Avid is the company my vet uses. The chip and prepaid registration was $40 for Watson. Don't remember whether it was the same or less for Belle. Doctor fills out the form with his information, you fill out your part of it, send it in and Avid will send you a verification letter that they received it. You've got a certain length of time to request they fix any typographical errors (vets don't write any better than people doctors!) and it's done. I know for a fact that one of the first things my local animal shelter does when finding a stray animal is scan them for a microchip.

Hooray, thank goodness for good news!!!

Farewell, dear Nikita.

(((Hugs to you and yours)))

Oh my no!!! Sending "come home soon" mojo to you.

I've been just broke up about this, and while it's a very sad thing to have happened to the folks involved, I don't know why I can't get it out of my mind. Anyway, last Thursday I happened to notice an ad in the local Craigslist about a lost Border Collie. Apparently the new owners had brought the dog home (from across state) and somehow while getting out of the vehicle the dog bolted, took off (wearing leash, tags and collar) and the new owners were frantic to find it. This is in an area of the state that's very rural, somewhat forested, but also bisected by some major busy highways. I sent best wishes with fingers crossed and good luck mojo on Friday to these folks and went on a weekend trip with Bob, hoping to hear good news when I got back. Oh geez, I checked my email after returning and the first email received Sunday said he was spotted by folks, but still wouldn't be caught. The prior owners apparently were driving out to see if they could do something. I could sense the hope they had that all would turn out well. The second email received late that day brought the sad news----he was found dead along a major highway, hit by a car. Of course I sent my heartfelt condolences and received an email back from the new (and unfortunately last) owner. She's dealing with so much guilt over what happened and doesn't think she'll ever try adopting someone else's dog again. Of course the prior owner is having a hard time over this too. I may be wrong, but I may have seen this dog's photo and ad in that area's Craigslist offerings awhile back, the dog's name seems familiar. I feel so bad for everyone involved.

My eyes are welling up as I'm typing this, as I know how I felt when I finally made the decision to let Ruth go. My heart aches for you and Nikita. Ruth declined rapidly towards the end of her life, and while we could have possibly prolonged what time she had left (with no guarantee of success) considering different veterinary options, my worst fear was that she would die, alone while Bob and I were at work. The final day we took her to the vet, I got down on the floor with her in my lap, dear Bob (who I only knew a few months at that time) sat with me and we both hugged her while she slipped away. I still miss my Ruthie. I'll be thinking of you.

Oh boy, puppyhood and all of those crazy growth spurts and stages. I remember Belle going through the "legs looking too long for her body" stage, her "body looking too long for her legs" stage, and her various "ears up, ears down, one up, one down, both flopping" ear stages. Her coat length and color changing too. Welcome to the boards and we love pictures!!!

Welcome!!! Nice lookin' dogs you have there!!!

Bob and I, Belle and Watson enjoy our lovely 40 acre, fenced in dog park located outside of Standing Rocks Park in Portage County, WI. It's scenic, full of wild flowers and prairie grasses, and if we get the urge to really get out into the "wilderness", there's hundreds of acres of additional trails to hike on (through the back gate of the dog park). The drive out there takes us through lovely farmland and forested areas. We go out there at least once on the weekends, and when the mood hits us during the week. We'll throw the Frisbee for the dogs while we're walking and enjoying the flora and fauna. Quite a few people will be out there after work, and lots of folks on the weekends, including the park officer who regularly checks to see if people are carrying their doggy doo bags (county park ordinance) and their permits. Everyone we've ever met there has been polite and their dogs under control. No problems for us or that we could see occuring for anyone else either. The dog park is so far out of town that the idiots who like to show off their personal "machismo" , "bitchiness" or their aggressive dogs wouldn't have much of an audience to impress (or terrify). The park office and officers are just down the road.

Oh dear, my heart goes out to you. (((((Hugs to you and your dear Nikita))))).

We use the red "Kong" Frisbee. It's flexible and throws easy. Belle likes to pick it up in the middle, which makes her look like she's wearing the doggy equivalent of those fake red lips.

*********Wait a minute. Watson and a cell phone. ********* Oh yeah! I didn't think of that! Bob showed the damaged cell phone to his boss (who also happens to be in a volunteer fire department) and the boss took it to show the guys at the next FD meeting. Apparently (according to the cell phone dealer), there are plenty of cell phones that get chewed up by dogs, but this is the first one the dealer heard of that started a fire.

Since I have that large crate that fills up the rear seat of my Saturn Ion, I just had to have a "BorderCollieMobile" license plate holder (from Cafe Press). I have a "Will Creep for Sheep" sticker (also from Cafe Press) above the plate. Inside the car, in the back seat window is a border collie and a sheep stuffed toy. Hanging from the rear view mirror is a small resin border collie with a "Got Balls?" button.

Oh my, our Mr. Watson was one naughty boy yesterday. Bob was getting ready for work, in the shower and didn't realize he had inadvertently left his cellphone on the bed with his clean clothes. Watson discovered it, and while chewing on it bit through the battery, which caused some kind of reaction. Bob thought he heard a "yelp", but figured the dogs were rough housing and playing "fighty face". Anyway the cellphone started to get red hot, melted down and ignited the comforter. Luckily Bob came out of the shower, discovered the smoke filled bedroom and threw the comforter into the running shower. He checked the dogs and nobody was injured. Thank goodness he was in the next room, the house could have burned down!

Oh wow, love this new video trailer just as much as the original. Gotta go buy the video!!!

I've read previous threads on the boards regarding ticks and the products to combat them. Seems the products folks use on their dogs work in some areas of the country and don't in others. How the heck do ticks become immune to the chemicals in these products anyway??? I used Frontline on Belle last year and it seemed to work when you first put it on her, then as the month went by I'd be spending every evening going through her fur, removing more and more ticks. The highest daily number was 15, quite a few had gotten large, and the rest sure didn't look dead to me. This year, it doesn't seem to be working at all. In this area (central Wisconsin), we,re having a bumper year of them, the ticks are horrible! Bob and Belle had gone on a walk down by the river and came back swarming with them! I must have removed 30 to 40 of the little buggers (they weren't attached yet, just crawling everywhere!). She was due for her next application of Frontline, but I decided I was going to try something else. As much as I HATE flea/tick collars, I got her one (darn, I can't remember the brand right now, but it's not Hartz--I still have the box over at Bob's house), and it seems to be doing the trick. Problem is, I'm not real happy with having those chemical laden collars on Belle and Watson. Here's a question-----since the darn things seem to be working, haven't seen a tick on either dog since we've put the collars on----will they still work if we take them off after an outing in more tick infested areas? Is it the residual effect of the collar chemicals that work or just the wearing of them amongst tick infested areas? I thought I could take them off while the dogs are in the house or closer to home turf? I have some leather working tools and figured I could replace the tick collar buckles with some snaps. I wouldn't want to be handling them anymore than I have to. Good idea or folly???

(((Hugs to you)))

Belle knows the names for most of her toys--Woolie (a toy sheep), Sheep (another toy sheep), small rope, BIG rope, tire, Wubba, ball, Frisbee, etc. If I think she has to go outside potty, I'll ask "Gotta go potty?, show mama" which means to go ring the bell hanging on the back door (if she has to go). Usually she'll just go ring it to alert me that she needs to potty. We have to spell out Frisbee or Dog Park as she starts to go nuts, but recently she's beginning to act like she knows what "F" or "DP" is. When we're playing with her and her toys, we'll test her occasionally. If she brings us one thing, we'll tell her "No, go get (some other toy) and 9 times out of 10 she runs off to find and brings back the right one!

((((Hugs to you and yours))))