Nuffi

Bonnie is generally known as "Bonnie Butt-Wagger" (Because when she goes into wagging overdrive, her butt starts jerking to the sides in the weirdest way ) Jerry, aka Geronimo Frederick (only if we want to brag and pretend he's fancy bred), or Nuffi, Das Dicke Nuff, Nuffelini, Wuschelpu, Schnuddelwu....

I can also utterly and absolutely second that with eye problems one should always see an ophthalmologist. With my regular vets my experience was sadly that they seemed overwhelmed and did not really know what they were doing/diagnosing when my other dog developed eye problems. You will save on worries, valuable time and, yes, money if you see a specialist who can pinpoint the problem and treat it right. I can recommend someone fantastic in MD, if you like. Good luck

On Jefferspet.com...but they also have them on Amazon (Biopet DNA test)

Yes, they say you are likely to get a strange result if they don't have the breed in their data base. I'm not taking the results as set in stone either By the way, I sent mine off the week before Christmas, and would have gotten the results probably already a few days ago (it went back to them because they could not read my handwriting ) Let us know what your results were (with photos?)?

Hi all, I introduced Bonnie and myself a while ago. Just for fun (and because I got it at a half price off sale...) we also tried one of those DNA tests kits on Bonnie Now I know these tests are not very reliable and have read about some funny results from other people on here... But anyway, Bonnie's results are in and I thought I'd share!! First off, this is the young lady in question. Originally from a shelter somewhere in WV..., adopted as a "BC mix": She is.... a Level 2 Border Collie (i.e. 37-74% of her DNA) She allegedly is also, and here the weirdness begins (we always thought maybe Beagle, or something Terrier-like...): a Level 3 (20-36%) Saluki a Level 4 (10-19%) Collie, and a Level 4 English Springer Spaniel a Level 5 (less than 10%) Weimaraner

Ok, sheepdoggal, I'll give you one of "those emotions" to which you, as already announced, won't respond: shock and sadness. That is, to still be reading, even after all the much needed discussions, on this forum and elsewhere, on the ethics of dog breeding following the BBC documentary a few months ago, a steadfast opinion that culling can be part of "practical, ethical breeding." To me, breeding dogs for a "purpose" this way, i.e. producing puppies, and killing those that for whatever reason don't fit the standard imposed by someone/somewhere, is unethical and wrong. You produce life, and then kill that life that doesn't fit your bill. And I don't care what your particular purpose is, and whether it is more "responsible" ("working") than producing pretty-colored dogs for money. It's just wrong. And yes, I find it wrong to purposefully (if so) cross-breed a BC with a GSD to create a new breed, or "pretty" dogs, like the ones above. Yes, these dogs should be neutered/spayed. I also find it wrong that people are willing to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy pure-bred dog, instead of taking a look at those millions of dogs discarded and available in dog shelters. I realize that there are some benefits to dog breeding (i.e., sheep farmers obviously will continue to need border collies that excel at herding sheep. But why not at least try to find alternative homes for those puppies that turn out "less" than expected?). I wished dog breeding was much more regulated and limited to valid need, and that some of the ethics we have developed for human lives ("selective human breeding," anyone?) will eventually also be applied to the animal world. As obvious from your post (sadly, I'm sure you're not alone with your viewpoints), we're not there yet.

Thanks for that :-) I haven't gone down the road of self-cooking (yet), but I have been thinking about it, and always like to hear people's opinions and experiences. This recipe (plus multivitamin) sounds similar to what this guy Dr. Michael Fox (he has this veterinary column in the local newspapers?) recommends on his website, I think.

I'm curious, Cactuskate, would you share your recipe?

Another "natural" treatment, newbie advice: When we adopted Bonnie, she came to us sneezing and with a runny nose (no coughing, though). She got better within a few days but then my other dog Jerry picked it up, too, and had it a bit worse. I would have taken him to the vet if the discharge from the nose had turned yellow/green, but since it stayed clear, I gave him what my mum forced upon me when I was a kid and had a cold (actually, I hated it): a chamomile steam treatment So I put Jerry in his travel (airline) crate, and then placed a bowl of hot steaming water, with a heap of chamomile flowers in it (actually I just put in 10 chamomile tea bags) right in front of his crate, and then covered all (crate and bowl) with a blanket for 10 minutes or so, twice a day for two days. It really seemed to help, he was better within 24 hours! Veronika

Thanks everyone! I won't say it too loudly on a BC forum but English Cocker Spaniels are my first love!! You don't see them very often in the U.S. I'm originally from Germany (and we brought Jerry from there) and they're a lot more common there. You're not the first to suggest that Bonnie may have Beagle in her! Actually I have spent a pathetic amount of time looking at photos on this forum to find dogs with similar looking ears to hers. It left me utterly perplexed, apparently they come in all sorts of shapes

Hi everyone, Have been lurking for a while (and already learned a lot!) and I thought it's about time to introduce myself. Here's my reason for joining, this little minx named Bonnie: We adopted her in May, when she was about 4 months old. She joined Jerry, our 3-year old English Cocker Spaniel: We adopted her as a "Border Collie mix" and even though some people have told me she might be a full BC I now simply go by "mostly BC" (She hasn't tried to herd anyone of us yet ) In any event, Bonnie is turning into a fantastic dog. We love Jerry to death, he is a total sweet heart without a bad bone in his body, but he always thought that obedience training was booooring and retrieve means I should retrieve from him.. Bonnie has happily filled in for him She's blown me away with her focus and motivation in obedience class and before I even knew it we had completed basic and intermediate, and will soon go into advanced obedience. We have 2 acres at home and when she is not playing wild chase games with Jerry she'll happily play fetch and frisbee with me We've had just a few hiccups with squirrel and bike chasing, but we seem to be getting there. For sure I'll be back with questions though... Veronika & Bonnie