alligande

Gloria, has she talked directly with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic? They are the only airlines carrying dogs into the UK from the US. I found BAs cargo department very helpful, took time to get through, but once through they were knowledgable. All dogs going into the UK fly cargo even if escorted so the process will be similar, it is what makes it so expensive to fly dogs to versus other countries. This also applies flying them within Europe, I could fly my dog to Paris, or Frankfurt for a 100euros, it costs 800 to London.

Gloria, I believe it can as long as the dogs paper work is in order. I think the easiest way would be to use an agent. I did not use them as I arranged our shipping myself but http://www.petrelocation.com where very informative, it was their paperwork that I ended up using, they provided a comprehensive packet without me booking them, they also seemed to be fairly priced, if shipping a dog to the UK could ever be called fairly priced.

I am very much with Kristine and Mum24dog on this one, I think puppies should be puppies and enjoy their time being little, I have no scientific or personal experience on this, it is just a simple gut feeling. Once they come home it is time to learn about the world that they will be living in but not in an over the top way. I have been watching Slvia Trkmans puppy diary DVD and I really appreciate her approach, basically she takes the puppy everywhere she goes, when little in a Sherpa bag so it does not have to walk very far, it gets to be dog with her dogs, goes for country walks, plays in the woods and it gets a little clicker training, but nothing heavy. My plan with my new puppy is take him out and about with me, so he can experience his new world. Dogs live a different life here with me than they did in the US, even going to an agility trial can involve lots of strange experiences, so I want a confident dog who is happy to go along with what the world has to throw at him. My current dog was 4 1/2 months when I got him as a rescue, his early life was rural Pennsylvania, and when he came to me he found the world very scary, today he fakes being a confident dog, but the reality is that he trusts me that I am not going to let anything bad happen, although you can tell he sometimes questions my judgement , watching him hurl himself on an escalator to board a ferry was one time he was not happy. Being a big dog he had no choice, on the escalator or we were not going home! I had the choice of puppies from 2 liters, with the same stud dog, I am hoping that my choice of mother will improve the odds of a more confident dog "Jess is a more confident dog, workman like and gets the job done. Saying that she is not rough in any way but isn't too sensitive. Pip is more sensitive, she is more worried about doing something wrong and really wants to please." There was an adorable tri available from Pips litter that I was very tempted by, but I had already made the decision with the help of the breeder that Jess was a better choice for the type of dog I wanted. So I am keeping my fingers crossed.

I agree it opens up a whole new world of agility , I am still in wonder of my current dog, people I train, sometimes watch me train after class, when we can repeat an exercise over and over and over and he never quits, it means I can work on the skills I need to be a better partner, and they get frustrated that they can only do an exercise 2 or 3 times before I say done as their dog is done we just keep going till I am satisfied that I got it right. And even then he will be right back in the ring looking hopeful to go again. I agree with you, when I said that an average dog in the hands of a world class trainer/handler can make it to the top of the sport, it was in reference to carefully selecting a puppy and the hunt for the next great thing. Not every dog is going to find agility a great fit, but a well bred border collie stands a better chance than a husky or a beagle.

Are you talking early stimulation when they are still with their litter or when they come home? Personally I don't think it makes much difference with a litter (I don't have any personal experience just from friends dogs) but I think it really helps when they are a bit older, the more experiences they have, the less scary the world, but I think a lot of those experiences should be away from home.

Root beer, in my premise I said "average" and I would not expect a dog with huge baggage to make the world team. Silvia Trkman and Susan Garrett are two trainers who consistently produce world class results with a variety of characters. My point was about a lot of the effort people put into finding their next dog, most well bred dogs who are sound have the talent in the right hands to do well. I have been blessed with an amazing rescue dog, who is fast, talented and bloody hard to handle well as he is very responsive, we have been working together for 6 years and every time we train I improve and I am always pushing, it has only been in the last few months that it has really dawned on me how far I have come, and how running a course just feels different now for years I have been the weak link. Even before I moved to a country that prizes wining I was seeking out trainers that would help me acheive that edge, I just love the thrill. Tonight at the club we had a short sequence set up for the teams who are not advanced, but it got turned into a game when I said a front cross was best, my co-trainer a ketchker. So we timed everyone from a jack Russell to a Mallinois. A front cross was the best route, Our beginner border collie team was 8.96 seconds, my co-trainer with her Aussie 8:45, with her Malinois 8:55 and Rievaulx and I, 7:96 because we have a tighter front cross, and I could carve a little time of that! All of these were clean, what made the difference was one turn, get it right and you can win and that is what the top handlers bring to the game.

I am very shortly going to get a very well bred working dog, if he takes after his father he is going to be a little stockier than I would like for agility but I am hoping the bitch's much lighter build will balance out. But I wanted a sheep dog, not just a black and white dog and that is what I am getting. I was talking to a friend the other day about what makes a world class agility dog, and realistically there are a handful of names who consistently compete on a world level and do well, others have one great dog and are never heard from again. So personally I think that an average dog + great training + great handling, will take you to the top, you need a decent dog but it is the skill of the trainer/handler that really makes the difference.

This was the situation I was in, but when Brody got sick I spent a fortune at the vet and so the vasectomy got postponed and in the end the rescue said don't bother, they knew him well, but I would have been happy to do it. It was the first time the idea had been proposed to them and it took awhile for them to understand why I wanted to keep him intact. My vet was game, and she understood the moral aspect of him being a rescue, but she was all for not bothering.

I have never put my dogs names on the tags, currently I have phone numbers, email address and "microchipped"

I met a puppy today who had come from Italy, but both parents came from the UK and I was asked if I had heard of the lines the mother came from, I smiled said yes and nothing more ... The mother was from the breeder in the OP, what can you say the deed is done, the puppy is home, if asked before hand I would have said something.

The drive is 7 hours Liz, plus he might have to be a guest at a cousins house for a couple of nights. I don't go to the north of England very often and we have family pressure to put in an appearance.

I was carrying home the puppies puppy sized travel crate yesterday and realized I should probably have a collar and harness to take with me when I go and pick him up as he will have a lot of travelling to do. As this is my first little puppy I have no idea what sort of size to get. And any other suggestions for things that will make travelling with a new puppy easier.

I think the problem is vasectomies are so rare that no one would know what the tattoo meant and because the dog still had his balls they would just assume he was intact. I thought about going down this route, and my vet has happy to do it, but in the end we did not do it, as it became very apparent that we have a dog who has no idea what bitches are other than smelling slightly strange when in season, it is a good job I never planned on breeding him!

I don't have any advice for your last class, but just wanted to say my relatively dog friendly border collie hates being barked at, especially on a leash... And will usually bark back. And to be honest I can't blame him, it is stressful getting yelled at. So I am not surprised that sonic finds the class stressful.

An agility friend of mine sent me a link the other day to a breeder who had posted on the ISDS Facebook group saying "I wish all border collie breeders were this responsible" due to the description on the listing for the puppies. This is a man who choses his dogs very carefully, makes thoughtful decisions about the breeders, but easily fell for a posting by a notorious UK breeder. I know if he was in the market for a puppy, he would have found out the reality with a little research, but it made me realize how easy it is for people to fall for the right buzz words, especially when they have no direct connections to the working dog world.

I have an acquaintance involved with training service dogs, specifically balance dogs usually for injured service personnel and they have been using BMDs as they needed the size of dog, they also use labradoodles because of their potential size.

Another PSA about chips, there is an international standard ISO chip and the one that is really only sold in the US. If there is a chance your dog might travel overseas make sure you get the ISO chip. A friend of mine almost had a huge problem bringing her dog to Europe with her because she never checked the type of microchip.

I mentioned this before but now you know for sure that she has HD consider working with a rehab physio, I understand budgetary constraints. I work online with Dr Leslie Eide, and the program she developed for us and the ongoing support has been amazing. My dogs problems are very mild compared to yours, but the transformation in his musculature has been startling since we started and masks the HD, the work out only takes a few minutes a day, I have no idea how helpful it would be for a dog with a severe problem, but it is certainly worth exploring.

I am still holding my breath on if he is going to be cute , mum is very cute with lots of spots on her nose, so I have my fingers crossed he takes after her, dad looks very handsome on his biography page, but I have seen other photos of him stood with Derek and he looks like a dork, there is no doubting his talent but he would not be winning any beauty contests!!!! Fenn will be my first non-tri and my first almost smoothy which I keep telling myself is a good thing as he will not be compared to the others, some sort of coat was the only thing I wanted but if I can't have a coat, I love that he has traditional markings.

Is Jackpot a version of gamblers/chances ?

I was always really impressed with how the police department in Newport handled dogs. They had an Animal control officer, but he/she worked a regular 5 day week, the rest of the time the police handled lost/stray dogs and often did when they were on duty. Drove dogs home in cruisers if they could rather than out to the shelter, the despatcher was always happy to help coordinate the return of lost dog. When a dog went missing, everyone called the police first, then the shelter. That said the town has a huge police department due to being a very busy resort for 3 months of the year so there is no shortage of officers available.

It is interesting how we all perceive things differently, I found NADAC courses especially the lower grades extremely challenging with a fast dog, as he got frustrated as I was not where I needed to be to give him timely direction, with my first dog who was very steady we had no problems with course time, and I was always where I needed to be. My Q rate went up once we made it to Elite as the courses are not straight and I had a fighting chance to get where I needed to be. And I never even attempted chances with R, I just did not train for it and did not want to frustrate him. Ironically by Spanish standards I have impressive distance skills!

So sorry

Now he looks slightly more like a dog, we have come up with a name. He is Fenway aka Fenn, my husband is a New Englander and a baseball fan. As Rievaulx has a Yorkshire name, it felt right that this guy should have a New England name, ideally it would have been from Rhode Island but nothing fit, American Indian names just don't work for dogs

There are many things wrong with the way dogs are treated in Spain but the microchips rules are very effective. By law the dogs have to be microchipped, and registered. It is a one off-fee of 10 euros, and arranged by the vet, the number and contact info is registered with the Spanish Veterinary college, and the owner info can only be changed by a vet. When a dog is taken into a shelter it has to be scanned, and if it has a registered owner they can not adopt or put down the dog until the owner agrees to relinquish. If the dog does not have a chip or a registered owner then there is still a waiting period, which I believe is 30 days. When you go to a new vets they scan for the chip. In the US you can register a microchip with a different database than the manufacturers, if it is one of the international standard ones, so even if you figure out the manufacture the chip # might not be registered with that company. I know my dogs # is registered with a different company to the manufacture as the rescue wanted all the numbers registered with the same database. Makes the situation very confusing. On my tags in the US had my street address and both our mobile numbers, I use the gundog supply collars with the riveted plates. We lived in the type of town where someone would just walk your dog home, if they found them close to your house. Now I have both mobiles and "microchipped" on the plate.