LazyGRanch

I may or may not have done this the "right" way, but I started my pup at 9 weeks, and everytime he reoriented towards me (not a sit front, watch, per say, just basically remembering I existed) he got a treat. No prompting, no commands, no luring/bribing, etc. I just waited until he was done being distracted, and treated when he reoriented on his own. About 6 months old, we started playing "Look at That" from Control Unleashed, and his attention for a 9 month old puppy is pretty darn good

Love that pic My dogs do that too, and like someone else mentioned, they usually look AWAY from me, rather than at me (except the Dude..) I don't think it's a dominance thing at all, maybe even more submission. I've seen my pup do this when King Auz is chewing on a disgusting bone; the puppy will slither towards him, ears back, and rest his chin on any surface to "watch" Auz, but looking away. When my dogs do this, it reminds me of a little kid who notices you're eating a piece of pie. They stand back a few feet, watching you, and then politely mention that they would eat a piece of pie, if you wanted them to

Just recently I spent well into 4 digits to try to save a cat with a rare blood disease. He lived 2 weeks after diagnosis Just today, we lost a foster kitten with a deformed urinary tract (he kept getting "plugged", needing to be cathadarized, etc). Last night he was as "normal" as can be, eating, drinking, peeing, playing, etc. They can rack up vet bills and, like dogs, break your heart in the process. I've got 2 male tabbies, 1 black male, 2 black and white females, and a black female. The boys are very laid back and love people, strangers included. The girls OTOH are spookier. The black female and the black and white females like to fight under the door (they're separated indefinetely...sigh). My luck with male cats has been much better than with females. And I do love tabbies

Hi Shanty I lurk here. I don't have any BC's, but "little border collies" (aka papillons, lol). I do however have a household of cats AND dogs, and you've recieved some sound advice. I have 2 housecats who were barn cats for the first 9-10 months of their lives. I've had cats who were retired to indoors only, after a life of being outside to do as they please. It's easy if they are never let out, but if they have been before, it can be hard to keep the bolting at the door at bay. I built a regular 6 foot chain link fence and installed "cat proofing" at the top. (A quick video of the fencing I put up).It might not be feasable for your living situation, but I've known several people who put dog kennels along side their house, next to a window. They left the window open, and their cat(s) could come and go as they pleased into their own little "outdoor area". It might be something to consider if you're wanting a cat to be able to go outside, but in a controlled environment. Hope this helps. also, I second the idea about clicker training your cats. I clicker trained my Maine coone look alike to come, sit, and sit up. Very fun Jenny

My papillon started doing the same thing. He's spook like a horse (go sideways, FAST) at anything new. Trying to "treat" him into accepting it didn't do a damn thing, so I just ignored his reaction and would occasionally say something like "Geez, it's a LEAF...you flake.." I took my GSD as a puppy into town to walk, so he wouldn't balk at traffic, people, noises, stoplights, kids, bikes, strollers, etc...I didn't really do much in the way of food treating or asking for sits, downs, etc, we just walked past it, and I had the attitude like there was nothing scary or worrisome in my environment, and he didn't have to worry because I was there to protect him. It gave him confidence, and strengthened our bond. That said, I do use clickers and food and toys--a LOT--but for those instances, I just acted like there was nothing wrong and ignored their reaction. I also didn't coo "goooood boooyyyy" when they got braver, I wanted them to figure it out for themselves. With the arch enemy (the vaccuum cleaner) I did get both of them to target (or touch) it, and after they figured out they could touch it, I guess it wasn't so scary after all That wouldn't work with a moving SUV though (obviuosly, lol) Hope this makes sense..

Mine spit out pumpkin...brats... I've added green beans to the mix, and they scarf 'em up

This might not be feasible for your situation, but the storage shed in the background of the pics reminds me of a friend of mine who moved her dog pen butted up against a shed like the one in your pic. She kept one pen door open and put the opening up next to the doorway of the storage shed, so her dogs had an indoor shaded area and an outdoor sunny area (needless to say her dog pen had 2 doors, lol)

I agree, and I've learned a lot about border collies and dogs in general from reading this forum I hope someday I can help people instead of being the student!

I wanted to kill Auz every other day from 4 months til about 3 years.. <g> He'll be four in June. He started chilling out around 3 years old, and still every now and then his brain goes on stupid mode and he totally forgets everything he knows. I know some collies are this way, and maybe some border collies are too, but Auz is definetely one of those types who is fun (but hard) to teach, but he "knows" stuff you can't teach a dog. I just say his "lightbulb" is on, but it's installed on a dimmer switch, lol

20 or so dogs for a flock of 10 sheep? No way!...really? (can ya tell I know very little about sheep?!) A friend of mine has a farm with sheep, she uses maremmas as LGDs. There's a breed I could easily have around, very, very cool animals.

I really like your sig pic I just had to say something

Terrible story, but my current horse likes dogs (and cats) just fine The cats have a nasty habit of standing in her grain dish and gazing lovingly up at her, while she eats around them... My old appy, Bob, HATED dogs, and wouldn't hesitate to charge one.

I'm actually considering buying a few sheep within a year or two. I love having horses, but they are so high maintenance! The sheep people I've talked to (around here) say they're not nearly as difficult and time intensive as horses, as long as you have plenty of grazing land for them (we do, and we're about to fence in about 50% of our property). I'm mainly interested in having them "help me mow" the grass, we've got a ridiculous amount of mowing and a lot of it is good pasture mix and weeds. Mowing takes me 3-4 evenings a week, and if I had a few more grazing animals around to help cut down on some of the work, I would be enthralled. I was thinking of anywhere between 1-3 ewes, depending on how much we fence in and how adaptable they are...I have a lot to learn before I buy. I'm not 100% sure I will do this, but the thought has crossed my mind more than once

I saw one of your BC pics on sheep101.info, under the sheepdog section. The picture said "Courtesy of Trial and Error Acres", and I immediately recognized that name We don't have a working farm, but when we bought this place my cousin said we needed to name it. After weeks of moving everyone in and getting everything "just so", we were relaxing on the front porch for the first time and he said it should be the Lazy G Ranch, because we were being lazy (lol) and G is the first name of my grandparents last name, and it was them who enabled us to buy the place.

Pansmom, have you ever read any books by Patricia McConnell? In one of her books (I think it's the Other End of the Leash), she works with a year old BC who gets himself so frenzied, agitated, and "hot" about something (a dog walking by his house, etc), that if anyone goes to (gently) remove him from the situation, he turns and bites. Not just a snap, or a nip, but a series of long, hard bites up the arm. If it were my dog, I would re-consider turning her over to a "farm, with room to run". (I have an atheltic 3 1/2 y/o GSD and a papillon with the personal space of a LGD living with me in a two room apartment; we make it work). Even if she's "pretty good" about staying on his property, what if she chases something into the woods or OFF the property and gets shot or HBC? My road is pretty desolate, but we've lost some barn cats to cars, hit, right in front of the house. Cops don't patrol back roads as well as they do busy roads, and the idiots that speed down our road at 80mph at 2:00AM are probably more than I think. If she were to chase something off the property, and get turned around, she might not have the navigational abilities to get herself back to where she ought to be. I've never had to do this (and I hope I never do), but if a stray dog were chasing and/or threatening my horses, cats, or dogs, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot it on sight...