SS Cressa

It kind of depends. As my dogs get older they get less Velcro. If I’m wearing house clothing not really Velcro unless I grab a toy or treat. Most time they are doing whatever they want. It helps that I work from home so at least 16 hours(work and sleep) in a day I’m not doing much other then using the bathroom or making food for myself. They get bored pretty fast. If I get dress to go out they definitely take notice. if I grab any dog items they Velcro themselves to the door. If I’m packing for a trip they are definitely more following me around but they normally join me on any trips so no surprise. ETA: I normally go for more independent dogs.

Around 11-12 really old around 14 when she wasn’t as playful and couldn’t do long walks anymore. She lived till a little over 16.

A small update. He has gotten better. We still have some set backs some days. He still has some squirrelly moments but he has gotten better. It helps that some of the things he wants to squirrel over my others dogs are unfazed… he see that and goes ohhhh… It amusing seeing him discover what he likes or doesn’t. I’ve taken him with me to tractor supply again and no issues. He has come with me also to pet supply plus. He was comfortable enough to greet other people and eating treats until one person said “Hi, Felix!” then he hid behind me looking at them suspiciously. He has decided he is NOT scared of thunder or fireworks. Hope that last. He hasn’t been on sheep again since our last training lesson with a trainer. He has join me for our lesson but just on the sideline. Even on the side line he seem more interested in what Valek was doing then the sheep. He liked it when the sheep scatter since THAT was exciting. He also discovered he is not interested in cows. He saw one on the farm, and was like that is a NOPE! Lol He adores frisbee, and jumping into the water. I’m debating if I want to do FastCat with him or not. I’m looking forward to getting him in some training classes. Thinking manners, and nosework. Just to get more exposure under his belt.

Felux did wayyyy better today on sheep. I was able to rent my herding instructor and get her to come down to the farm for help. He was on leash. His tail was low, had interest, more focus, engaging the sheep in work mode than crazy playing mode. She suggested to keep bringing him to lesson to see sheep, but only works him on sheep once a month, and to keep his lesson short till he is more mentally mature. It was sure nice seeing him more serious this time. The trainer mention is super soft, really pressure sensitive to the fence/sheep/barn, 0 pressure sensitive to me (we get to work on this!), and still had some squirrelly moments with the sheep that he worked thru and had interest in them.

Aww

I was going to see how he is on sheep again at the end of the month with a trainer present. I’m ok if he is a slow maturer since I was going to start focusing on him more next year. I got worried when I saw his reaction and then had someone tell me based on his reaction he wouldn’t be good for herding. I had him recently in 2 new situations and he handled himself really well. He has been quick on catching on training even if it’s not in a formal setting. He does get some serious green eyes if I praise another dog but he will figure it out. all of my dog have gone through that green eye period. I was worried when I brought him to an outside dog friendly garden today. I didn’t want him to mark or pee on everything. There was a ton of people there, kids squealing “doggy!!!”, people with canes, people pulling wagons, etc… he tried to pee twice I told him “NO! Not here”, lead him over to where it was safe to pee, and after the second correction he was like oh ok. He was super well behaved, calm, and acted like I’ve done a ton of obedience training with how well he was listening. I do practice basic but nothing formal. It’s more you want a toy you have to listen type training. Yesterday he came with me to an outside patio. There were people walking by, people swarming us to say hi to the dogs, kids, bikes, dogs… etc… he was super well behaved like he’s been doing this his whole life instead of it being his first time. Most of the time he was just chillax #winning Thank again for everyone input and giving me hope.

How I acquired him and my decision process was never part of the question. I talked to the breeder for about 2+ weeks if he would be a good fit. I had multiple people refer me to the breeder. I only included some in this post to give his background. I was leery due to the colors being produced but this wouldn’t be the 1st breeder who did repeat breeding due to how much they liked a cross(if it’s acceptable for black/white why would red/white be different - rhetorical ? I asked myself). The breeder sent me the video plus response to some of my questions. I never saw Felix in person prior to me picking him up. The tractor supply video was seconds of him heeling next to the breeder from the handler view point. She mention he hesitated at the moving door but worked thru it and they continue to the store(no video of that). The blow drying video was maybe 10 second of him getting blown dried for the first time and he was just standing there(he was already partially dried so guessing it might have been a little into the drying). The breeder was over 12 hour drive for me so I never met them before and was going off referrals from people who I trusted. It has always been difficult for me to get working breeders to provide detail response to behavior and provide videos outside of the dog working for me. So nothing the breeder mention in email or over the phone set off alarm bells other then his coloring and that his parent only worked cattle sporadically but his Dad was sent off to be trained and his mom was trained at home so it sounded like there was potential for some talent. Did the parents have health test? Yes. Is he neuter? No, I never plan on breeding him tho. I still have to send his papers in to transfer ownership. Again that is OT to the questions being asked. Im currently doing baby steps and will see how he improves. I might just have him as an other dog(disc, nosework, and hopefully Bikejoring) if he isn’t interested in herding and get a forth dog but regardless that will be a least couple years from now. I tried to keep my expectations low since I know it’s a lot for him to adjust to which where the above question came from. I really appreciate the hope and input! Thank you again! *Only 3 of the dogs in the pictures are mine. I somehow seem to acquire an additional 2 border collies on our hikes. Lol

I’m going on having him 4 months at the end of July. I got him at the end of March. I know sometimes it can take dogs 6 months to adjust or at least been told that. I should have known better though if something sounds too good to be true it is. I was told he had 0 training since the person he was being sent to wanted him to be a blank slate. I was shown him walking at tractor supply, and getting blown dried. He has been worked with getting nails trimmed also and has no qualms about it. I know not everyone is honest but I thought if you want to place your dog in permanent homes they should know any issues. The breeder/person that had rehome her pup advised she regretted doing it and thought he would have turn out just fine. She really liked his temperament so went back for another pup when an opportunity arose. Other than the above he does have a nice temperament. He has a great recovery. He loves to please. He is quick at learning commands. He has wonderful dog manners. He is really nice size. He avoids cats. He is really human focus but not obsessively. I have limited interaction with kids but he hasn’t shown any time of concern with kids(the breeder had kids) I love that he tries to figure out what you are saying to him. He is a happy go lucky boy when he is comfortable in his surroundings. When he squirrels we back up to a more comfortable bubble to let him process for a moment then I tell him we got this and complete the task normally on the 2nd-4th try. He squirrel out but gets over it. I was just hoping we could get over that initial faze of squirrelling. lol I was/am treating him like a puppy. He has gotten WAYYY better about controlling his bladder but we still have potty breaks every couple hours. Training is kept short to keep him engaged. He is still learning playing with people is a lot of fun but doesn’t have any issues with playing solo. I’m hoping he will eventually play with the other dogs. He loves to flirt with my terrier, and my other border collie has been able to played tugged for a moment before Felix dropped the toy and disengaged. I try to keep play short since he can gets over the top and I don’t enjoy obsessive crazy behaviors. I’ve also been working on body awareness. Im not against meds but I’ve been told you should not give behavioral meds to dogs when they are under 2 years old. If I just wanted to do disc, dock diving, nosework, FCat, and ratting he would be perfect since it aligns with what he has shown an interest in so far. but half of the above is off topic. Since not related to yard dog or stock exposure

I looked at him cause of his coloring yes… however I bought him cause he sounded like a dog with a solid temperament and a high potential to enjoy what I’m interested in. I am color bias tho I love black/whites, red sable(but Felix will be my last), and black tri’s. 100% not interested if merles or most other colors. I don’t know about herding and puppies. In some working bred border collie group it seems to be a selling point for some pups to show their potential on goats or sheep so I assume not all pups are interested but maybe it’s just something byb use as a gimmick? My roommate recently in October 2020 acquired an adult trained working border collie who was an rural outside dog and they also had at least 4 months adjusting to being an inside dog in a city. I wasn’t sure if it was the same for my boy which is why the questions. He came from backwoods rural life to inside city life. With being a rural yard dog I wasn’t sure if the squirrelliness was just lack or exposure and not sure how to react. It sounds like a confident dog will be confident regardless of exposure or training tho so this is something that will get better with training but it is also who he is. I wasn’t told he was nervous or fearful or super squirrelly or noise sensitivity. I wouldn’t have gotten him if I was. I wasn’t sure if what I’m seeing is him still adjusting or just who he is. Why I was curious about others experience with yard dogs. Thank you everyone who responded and provided input. Really appreciate it.

sorry I know this is a lot. I recently acquired a new border collie (March 26, 2021). I was talking to a working border collie breeder about their future breeding plans and they ended up mentioning another breeder who had a red sable adolescent border collie available since I’ve always had a slight crush on red sable border collies. I was slightly worried about a working breeder having a red sable since color breeders however the breeder mention this was the 4th time doing this cross and they really like the temperament that the cross produce. (The original breeder I had talk to had a pup from the same cross but from a different year and had really liked him. They wished they had kept him instead of rehoming him. They were getting another puppy from the same cross.) The dog I was looking at was 1 year old. No training. Only inside at nighttime in the kennel. Else he was in the dog yard. He was supposed to go to another country to a person who own a sister from a different year but Covid hit and they couldn’t ship him. The person ended up switching to a younger pup which is why he became available. He had exposure to goats as a puppy and had interest but hadn’t seen livestock since. He did have multiple sibling who were working. His parents seem to casually worked on their farm. No videos. Ive been getting more into herding. Been going to a trainer since October 2020 about once a month and finally recently found a place near me that was willing to rent sheep to me so we can get more training in. Cressa has since passed and was past her ability to do herding again when I started in October. Valek is turning 9 this year but I have been mainly working with him. When I got my new boy I told the breeder what I was looking for and that I wanted to do herding and disc. I really like many aspect of my boy. He is adorable. He has a wonderful happy personality and loves being in my pack. He is intelligent but also has many moments of not the brightest bulb in the box. But he also has a couple things that really are bothering me. One main issue is Ive never had a yard dog before or an adult with 0 training. He has been squirrelly since the day I brought him home. He acts likes whatever you are asking him will kill him so must balk at doing it and resist. He also will immediately pee on something, and also pees when he gets stressed/excited/nervous. You are able to convince him eventually. He has gotten better… but will revert right back when something changes or is new. Is this something that does get better like will he at one point just be able to handle changes or is this just who he is? I bring my dogs most places with me (hotels, cafe, hikes, dog friendly stores, training centers, vacations, homes, etc…). I currently am using belly bands when inside at new places but don’t want that to be the only solution. The breeder mention he had no noise sensitivity but when he had his 1st thunderstorm here he half jumped out of his skin and was ready to bolt at a moments notice. He was able to settle down when he saw no one else bolting but when another boom happen he was again ready to bolt and only settled when no one else bolted… rise and repeat. It’s not a make or break issue but was hoping not to have to deal with it. The other main issue is I wanted to do herding with him. I was hoping to learn more. I was hoping we could eventually compete. I brought him to sheep 2 weeks ago. He saw them and ran the opposite direction scared. The next week he saw sheep he didn’t run scare but he was acting like he was playing and not herding at all. His breeder mention they can be slow maturer but reiterated that he did have interest in goats as a 7-8 week old puppy. The breeder that originally referred me mention he just needs more exposure and hopefully he will turn serious. Another person who saw the video mention to just rehome him since he isn’t a good choice for herding. Is that behavior typical for an almost 1.5 year old border collie? I was going to see how he responded again in a couple weeks. But am unsure if he is a good option if I did want to get more into herding. (He does come from cow lines so maybe they mature different then the one bred for sheep?) I had been originally planning if I didn’t get a pup to look at possibly an older already trained dog getting retired or something. *He loves disc! But I’m not interested in doing just disc with my border collies. Just looking for input if you have been there before either with yard dogs or if your border collies first couple exposure to sheep were not what you expected.

I’m sorry for your loss. It sounded like she had a wonderful life.

I taught my border collies to run with me while biking. I’m guessing just the constant exposure to bikes and having to be a team while biking but my borders are not faze by them anymore, or gets that urge to chase unless your my terrier who has his own idea of fun so has to be leashed.

My crew has mixed reactions. Cressa(RIP) used to love the water and would dive into the water with the goal to swim across the lake to Canada. Valek is indifferent. He knows it cools him off so will head to the water when he is hot but typically needs a reason to get in the water aka bumpers or balls. Parker non-border collies loves the water and loves to make a splash. Felix my Golden boy first time seeing water was to run in head first and was so surprised when a wave hit him. He loves to have fun and views the water as a way to have fun.

On the plus side it’s so far isn’t the kidney disease but I made the decision to let Cressa go to the rainbow bridge on May 26 while she still has some good days with me. Idk if it’s her eyesight going or her cognitive skills but she is getting more confused and lost lately. Once across at the rainbow bridge she won’t be alone if there is an afterlife she will be with my dad, her best friend and favorite cousin, and of course all of her playmates.

Thanks you all for the birthday wishes. Today was definitely a good day for her. Love the pure joy on her face when she realizes we went to the beach. I think her eye sight might be starting to go but she currently can see on sunny days. I had her in a back on track to hopefully keep her muscles warm. She also was dragging a leash since she is deaf and can make bad choices sometimes so it’s just safer leaving the leash on her.