mayaelena

My former BC, Maya, started seizing at 2.5 years old. She had to put put to sleep in September, she was 4.5 years old. She was an indoor dog. She was "busy," especially when it came to playing ball but but I can't say she had obsessive behaviors. She was diagnosed with Epilepsy. Of course we asked the vet why she came down with it a few months shy of her 3rd birthday and not at birth. He said there is no explanation as to why some dogs come down with it. They checked for head trauma, liver and organ malfunctions and after almost $1000 in testing, not one physical problem was found to be causing the seizures. I wish there was an explanation....Epilepsy/seizures are a horrible experience for both owner and pet. Good luck! MayaElena

It's in what you can handle!!! Hats off if you are happy with one BC. My husband and I joke about having "only" 1 dog. We have had three dogs for almost 5 years now. Our youngest BC died in the fall and what did we do.....got another! For a few weeks(o.k., maybe it was days!) we thought we'd keep things at 2 dogs. Nah....should have known better. I'd have acres full of BC's if I could. Right now 3 is the limit. If 1 is all you want at this time, that's great. We don't have children and the dogs are our children. And we can't forget Lillie Cat, a Maine Coon Cat, who keeps all of the dogs in line with a single paw MayaElena P.S. Only 1 cat, though!! My husband feels Lillie is the queen and should not have to share her reign.

P.S. Another person made a comment in her reply about wanting to see the pedigree of your BC and how it could be inherited as your BC was 2 when this started. Maya was 2, also. We have become good friends with the breeder we got her from. Her mother, father, uncle and sister are all on site. None of them have seizures. We now take our new BC out there to visit "Maya's Family" so I see these dogs frequently. We took Maya to visit on a regular basis. Just wanted to add that.... MayaElena

Wow, thanks so much for sharing. In September we had to put our 4 year old BC, Maya, to sleep. She also had epilepsy which did not develop until she was almost 2 years old. The vet never found a reason why she developed it, there was no apparent brain trauma nor was it coming from another illness. She also was a fanatic about tennis balls. We are still finding tennis balls that she hid in our home and outside. We have a BC puppy who is digging up her tennis balls in the yard! She would follow us around the house all night with a ball in her mouth, wanting to play. There were times she would meet us at the door with a ball in her mouth when we'd come home of an evening. Makes me wonder if the tennis balls had something to do with that?? By the way, her health issues that led to being put to sleep were not related to the epilepsy but she struggled for 2 years. At one point we thought we were going to have to put her down because she was seizing multiple times a day, every single day. She had grand mal seizures--very violent and long lasting with her not knowing where she was for hours afterwards. The vet introduced to us a liquid med he got from a pet pharmacy in AZ. It cost $80 a bottle but it calmed the seizures way down, she went from daily to maybe every few months. So sorry to hear about your baby but hopefully what you said will help others. Our puppy is a ball player and now I am concerned about allowing him to play with Maya's tennis balls. MayaElena

It sounds like you and your wife are dedicated to dogs and would give a BC a WONDERFUl home. My husband and I have 2 BC's(the oldest is 7 and we just got a puppy in October). We both work full time. Our BC's are pets, they do not have the work drive. There are a lot of BC's out there that have been abandoned in shelters. Look around! It sounds like you and your wife should get another BC!!!!! Rescue Leagues can be an option if you're willing to go through the application process. My husband and I had an unpleasant experience several months ago while trying to adopt though a rescue league and would never go that route again, but that was our individual experience. Obviously a lot of people have positive experiences as demonstrated by the other replies you received. We ended up getting a BC puppy from a farmer while out of town visting family and we could not have gotten a better pick for our family!!! He is fitting in nicely but the bottom line is that we looked around and picked the one we felt best situated to us. You may or may not get that option with a league as they try and match you. A league matching you can also be a positive, thing. It just depends on how you want to proceed. Whatever route you choose, GO FOR IT!!! Mayaelena

First dog as a child: A Cocker Spaniel named Lucky. First dog as an adult: A Cairn Terrier named Jordan. Why a BC? We feel in love with a BC mix at the local humane society. The longer we owned her, the more we fell in love with the breed. We realized there was something that sets them aside from all other dogs. Did you do research? Yes, when we got our 2nd from a breeder. First BC: Morgan What made you want to get another? Her intelligence and loyalty. What have you done with your dogs? Spoiled them! How many BC's? 3 How many do you have now? 2 What "quirks" have you noticed with all your dogs? It's too early to tell with Mannnie, he is 12 weeks old. Morgan wants everybody in their places. If I don't sit in my normal spot on the couch, she sits across from me and stares at me until I move! If I move....some nights I just like to see how long we can hold out, who gives in first City dog or country dog? City. Would you ever get another breed? Absolutely Not. Mayaelena

Congrats on Bella. She's a beauty. We have 1 German Shepard and 2 BC's. I had never owned a GS before and they can be wonderful dogs. Like somebody said, sometimes the dog finds you He is an awesome watch dog. My husband travels a lot for work and Murphy thinks he is man of the house when 'left in charge.' I would get another GS in a heartbeat. He has a STRONG herding instinct. He tries to herd me around the house if he wants me in another room. MayaElena

Hello. I have an 11 week BC mix puppy. We've had him 3 weeks now and he immediately started jumping over things and rolling. Could he have some hidden agility skills??? There is somewhere locally that does agility and obedience training, I am going to contact them. He looooooves to jump over things. Lately his thing has been falling to the ground and rolling. This is my first go around with a BC who has possibly agility skills. Some tips from those of you out there with BC's who do agility would be appreciated. Mayaelena P.S. He is already a master herder!! He can herd the big dogs into a corner and NOT let them out. The look on their faces when he does this is priceless.