ArchersMomma

I know nothing about hearding but might have a story that will provide some insight. When I was a kid we had a husky. My dad and brother built him the most amazing doghouse and Nakki loved it and used it regularly. However, one night, we had a HUGE snowstorm...my dad had to actually crawl out a window in order to shovel out our doorway so we could get out of the house. Nakki's house was buried in this storm and he became trapped inside. My dad had taken an old truck mudflap and used it as a door which kept out the elements but also made it impossible for the dog to dig his way out. By the time my dad dug him out he was frantic and nearly suffocated. Never went in the doghouse again. Perhaps your boy has had a similarly negative experience and so prefers to either be with you or outdoors?

LOL! BC4Ever...you are soooo right. What's scarey is that my aunt went to McD's the next day and tried to order a burger...they told her they had NO beef! Can you imagine McD's running out of burgers??? I think we had some kind of food poisoning myself...but since there was no vomitting I can't be sure. Never again! I also forgot to mention that my son left his new backpack full of his bakugon toys (this was his most fav. x-mas gift) behind. We're still trying to get my fam. to ship it to him! sigh. Next time I decide to go away at Christmas, it's going to be someplace VERY warm!!

Hope all went well!!!

LOL! Okay Nancy..you asked for it! Well first off...we left at 5 a.m. and three hours from the Quebec border we hit black ice....three hours solid of black ice! We counted 37 vehicles in the ditch including tractor trailers which we had passing us! That should have been our first clue to turn around. My husband then lost his wedding ring somewhere between here and our final destination. We arrived only to discover that my sister who was flying back from a friends wedding in Dominican was stranded at Toronto airport (an hour from my house!). First time in 20+ years I go to New Brunswick for Christmas and my sister gets stranded an hour from where I live! We had a bad snowstorm and 350 flights were cancelled across the country and hers was one of them. She was stuck there for two days before her boyfriend and his buddy finally relented and rented a car! They were driving to Halifax so we met them about two hours from my dads house to pick her up. When we did she was starving so (against my better judgement) we went to McDonalds and I ate a Big Mac for the first time in 20 years. Meanwhile, my other sister is driving from Moncton and also has a Big Mac. This was the 23rd. She got sick that night and the next afternoon it was my turn. Worst gastro-intestinal bug I've had in years! So Christmas Eve and all Christmas day I spent in writhing agony on my sisters couch...er sorry, loveseat. Not too comfortable! They only have one bathroom. They also heat their house with wood. Christmas day everyone left me to go to my dad's for dinner. I was home alone and no one stoked the fire before they left...it was minus 30 degrees without the windchill. I woke up at one point and it was FREEZING in the house...yes, the fire had gone out! Finally someone came home and put the fire back on for me (I was so sick I couldn't even manage that simple task!). Then my sister informs me that her cat has pissed in my sons suitcase all over his clothes so they had to be washed and re-packed. Then Christmas night, I was finally starting to feel like a human being again and actually thought I might get some sleep. My sisters all went to visit their grandmother and my sister left her 3 and 7 year old at home with my BIL...who was pissed that he had to be home with his kids on Christmas night (did I mention he's an idiot????) and so he allowed them to make as much noise as they wanted in spite of the fact that we were all trying to sleep!! My nephew was up until midnight stomping around the house like an elephant and playing with his trucks right outside our bedroom door! By that time we were so fed up that we decided then and there that we were leaving and going home. My sister lives in absolute squallor and it drives me insane because it's not necessary! Her "husband" is just the most useless man on this planet! He is uneducated and chooses to remain that way, stubborn, rude, ignorant and completely inconsiderate of others and has NO idea how to treat guests in his home and treats my sister like crap....it was very hard to be in their house and we won't be going back! I cried all the next day because I was going to miss my girls and hardly got to spend any time with them after being so sick...it was awful...and I didn't get to enjoy my neice and nephew because my BIL was there the entire time. He's a truck driver so when I do visit I normally only have to be in his company on the weekend for a day and a bit...having to be around him for an entire week was more than I could stand. Needless to say I was very, VERY happy to get home to my own bed!

...at LEAST as far as Archer was concerned. The trip home to the east coast to visit my family for the holidays was an absolute disaster (bad roads, bad weather, sickness and irritating beyond belief brother-in-law all combined and then some to make for the worst Christmas I have ever had! I won't bore you with the gorey details) but Archer was an absolute DREAM! He is SUCH a good dog!! We kept him separated from my sisters dogs at all times so there was never any issues. We took him virtually everywhere with us and he was so well behaved, even when he had to stay in our vehicle. We made sure he had a nice warm blanket to cozy up to since it was quite cold, and something to occupy him and he never caused us a moment's grief whatsoever! Now if only I could say the same for my brother-in-law!

I dunno...from reading your OP I think you have a great grasp of what you are doing. You liked the first breeder and the pups. I think with children a pup is the best way to go but that's just my own uneductated opinion. That way the pup can grow with the children and they learn about eachother as they grow. I think rescue is also a great idea. Either way, I think you know what you're doing and will be a good border collie "parent". Relax and enjoy the process and pick the pup/dog that you think will best suit your family, no matter what anyone else says. I to waffled between a rescue and a pup and in the end I think I made the right decision in a puppy as I have a 6 year old son. Archer and Liam love and respect achother so it has worked out wonderfully. That being said we will be looking at a rescue once our 13 year old dog has passed, as a companion for Archer since I don't think I can imagine a house with only one dog in it! Good luck with whatever decision you make!

I have an intensity issue with Archer and the throwing of toys as well. If I put the toy up, he'll hunt until he finds another...first thing he does every morning is find one and throw it at my feet. I know this is my fault since we have been so busy on the holidays, his training has lapsed. But we've picked up the Power of Positive Dog Training and some clickers so I'm hoping once we get back on the training track that this obsessiveness/intensity will stop....right? My point is, maybe try getting her to focus on something other than rocks and balls....may calm the intensity down somewhat? I'm looking forward to hearing any suggestions for this as well! However, maybe this is also a good way for her to exercise when out? If she's doing it ALL the time then I think it would be an issue. How is she at home?

Congrats to Odin and mommy for making a full recovery!! He looks SOOO happy now!! Almost made me cry and I'm at work!!

I guess what I'm having an issue with is that the owner has agreed to pay all expenses to have the dog rehabilitated. However, I don't think she should have the dog back so if that were the case, she may not be so willing to pay for rehab. She did install a fence but you're correct, why did it have to get to the point it's at before she did so? I guess I'm just heartbroken for the dog. I would be very upset if my dog was attacked by hers but I still would blame the owner not the dog. She hasn't been fined so I don't understand why the dog is being punished. I agree on principle with what most of you are saying and it's heartbreaking that so many dogs are PTS that are perfectly fine because their owners are irresponsible and not dog-educated. But it just somehow seems wrong to me that this dog has so many advocates and yet will likely be put down in the end...it's just seems very un-Canadian to me I guess.

K..I guess my point is this...while the owner may be irresponsible (and from what I read she is), how is it fair that the dog is to be euthanized? The dog did not attack a person. It seems to me, this tells me that no ones dog is safe from euthinasia for getting lose from their owners. I agree that the aggressive behaviour should be dealt with and perhaps the dog should not be returned to the owner, but to kill it because the owner has no idea how to train it?? Seems a tad extreme to me. Two separate animal behaviourist/dog trainers were brought in and all said the dog could be rehabilitated without question. Does the dog not have a right to her life? I mean from the dogs point of view, she was only protecting her territory no? Mind you I suppose I would feel angry if it was my dog she'd attacked but I honestly wouldn't advocate having the dog euthanized for protecting what she feels is her turf. The dog was adopted at the age of five and as far as I could ascertain there was no information on her prior "life". Who knows what abuses she suffered at the hands of other dogs? So what I'm asking, is it fair that she is to be put to death because of an irresponsible owner?

at the top of the page on the left there is a picture of the owner and Brindi. If you click on the picture it takes you to the page that describes where the ordeal began.

This is what was on that page posted by her owner (sorry, that link seems to take you to the most recent post...not sure why): What went wrong? While I generally am able to keep Brindi under my control, on certain occasions, resulting from unfortunate coincidences, she suddenly went after other dogs. She grabbed them by the scruff of the neck and just held. I was able to separate them quickly, and none of the dogs required extensive medical treatments. The first was apparently reported not because of the other dog’s condition – the owner declined my offer to pay for a vet - but out of concern that “it might have been a child”. The police issued me a warning and a further one for not having a municipal licence, which I made sure to obtain immediately. The second incident, reported last April, resulted in a minor injury and would have normally resulted in a fine, possibly an order to build a fence . Instead, they issued Brindi, who rarely ever licks anybody, let alone threatens them, with a permanent muzzle order, requiring strict compliance, even on my own property. Why was this done? Records show that the animal control officer on the case brought the muzzle order into play when the other owner expressed concern for my costs, since I had already offered to pay for her $150 visit to the vet (the cost of a general exam for a new patient, and precautionary antibiotics for small puncture wounds). I do not know if she was cognizant that a muzzle order would effectively hold a death warrant over my dog's head. Once in place, rigid local by-laws dictate euthanization after any further violation, regardless of mitigating or extenuating circumstances - even if she was seen without the muzzle on for a moment. When the same officer issued me the muzzle order, he claimed it was his boss's response to a number of phone calls demanding Brindi be put down, suggesting that this may be because of my outsider status. He swore he had nothing to do with it. When I begged him to let me pay a fine and build a fence instead, he said the muzzle order was permanent and could not be appealed. Suddenly, Brindi was no longer a dog with a challenging dominance problem: she was a threat to public safety. In a community where a wide range of dog behavior is tolerated, this heavyhanded action was baffling. To avoid another incident, I began agility training with Brindi in April, to improve her recall, and I planned to build a fence as soon as it was physically possible. This summer, I began work on my heritage home, a major renovation to add a new foundation for a basement and garage. The contractor failed to meet a completion date of August 1 - not even close - and until I can get things going again, the house remains lifted on steel beams, surrounded by rocky piles of dirt. On July 20, Brindi slipped out my patio door before I could finish muzzling and leashing her. With me close behind, calling her, she ran through the huge piles of rocks and dirt to the street where a man was walking two dogs, I saw her circle them with the man kicking at her. She then ran across the street, and with assistance from a passing driver, I got her home within a minute. To my knowledge, the dogs were not injured. After simply scolding me briefly, the man, whom I did not know, left the scene. He later said that he hadn't thought to call Animal Control until he heard about earlier incidents. And I can’t help wondering if these included a false rumour or two. In any event, without contacting me, he did make a report, and the seizure order was issued within four days. Brindi is now in the SPCA-run city pound. Instead of hour-long strolls in the park, she is only walked for five minutes, three times a day. I am not permitted to see her. Unless I can manage to win an expensive court case against the city, I will never see Brindi again!

Not sure if this has been a topic here or not. It's regarding a dog that is to be put to death because her owner was somewhat irresponsible. Seems extreme to me but I wondered what you all thought. She is fighting the city of Halifax to stop her dog being killed. Here is a link to her blogspot (sorry if this isn't the appropriate way to post a link). http://freebrindi.blogspot.com/search?upda...;max-results=10

NO! that's not what I meant at all but that sure does explain what I was pathetically attempting (on three hours of sleep when I should be in bed and not posting here) to say and doing so horrifyingly badly. What I was trying to say (and get edited to read like a sane person typing before someone replied but I wasn't quick enough) is... I NORMALLY read and write quite well and assume wrongly that everyone else does...what I mean is that because I read and write a certain way, I assume that everyone "gets" what I'm saying when often they do not because I'm not expressing it properly and taking the time to do so...as in exactly what has just occurred. There was no sarcasm intended in that at all and I was not trying to offend anyone. If anything I'm annoyed with myself for seeming to be clear in my writing when I clearly have NOT been. So on that note, I will take my foot inserted mouth and go to bed where I should have been hours ago. I did not wish to offend anyone.

thanks Laurae....I guess I run into this problem a lot. I am a typist and do so for a living so sometimes type as fast as I am thinking something. I also tend to be uhhh...long winded...bad habit that I'm trying to break. I often wonder if I'm giving enough details in my efforts to NOT be long winded and then end up giving the wrong information and coming across in the wrong way. I typically read and write quite well but wrongfully assume that everyone else does and that they catch the nuances in what I'm saying. I also sometimes just type without "editing" myself (cause frankly I find it exhausting some days! lol!) and should have been more careful in my original post (after re-reading it). Anyway...thanks for pointing that out. I will try to be more clear in future posts.

Boy...you really DO have to couch every word here. sigh. Ok..first of all...my sister and I are VERY close...kind of like...uhhhh...sisters?! She is also 13 years younger than me and also very much like my daughter. We have an exceptionally close relationship and she will not only welcome my help in training her idiot dog, she wants it. She will not interfere in my asserting my authority with her dog and will learn from it and hopefully make him a better pet. Nothing is worse, IMO, than a dog that's "left stupid" and this is what she's done with this dog. Personally, I would rather she not have the dog around my neice and nephew at all but while we are very close, she's not going to get rid of her dog just because I say she should. While I state that Charlie is aggressive and has attacked other dogs, he's also a family pet. It's a fine line and I'm not positive he will go after Archer, but would like to be prepared. I say he's "aggressive" and has attacked other dogs because I've seen him do that but it was around food. As for not taking Archer, out of the question as I said, as is staying in a hotel. If I could afford either of those options, I'd be going to Cuba not Antarctica's second cousin, New Brunswick I'm going there to BE with my family. We are exceptionally close as a family...yet seldom get to see eachother. I would not waste one minute of my time with them by staying in a hotel, even if I could afford it. My sister has another room that is dedicated to her dogs. There IS a baby gate but I'm not confident that it will be sufficient so we may rig up something a little more substantial. I do not intend to have both dogs running loosely around the house and Archer will only be off leash in the house if Charlie is outside. Otherwise he will be leashed to me or in his crate, which we are taking with us. For the most part we will only be sleeping at my sisters and spending the waking hours at my dads or visiting and Archer will likely be with us or crated. Since Archer is crated all day at home while we are at work, I have no issues with having him crated when we have to have some free time. As for the "two second window" of possibliity....there is just no way to absolutely make certain one hundred percent that this is not a possibility. I can't be there 100% of the time and as they say, sh*t happens. I have NO desire to have my dog traumatized and will of course do everything humanly possible to ensure that he does not. I also don't want to have a car accident on the way down there either! Unfortunately, there's no absolutes in life so I'm trying to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Thanks to those who gave realistic and helpful suggestions....while I understand everyone's concern, the alternatives are just not possible.

THANK YOU for posting this!! I have not been able to find an "off" swtich for Archer yet so I am DEFINITELY going to try this!! Sorry, I don't have anything better to add than what's already been posted. Great ideas!!

As some of you may know we are travelling to spend the holidays with my family for x-mas and taking Archer with us. We will be staying with my sister who has an un-neutered St. Bernard (Timber) who is about two and an un-neutered Sheppard cross (Charlie). Timber is typical St. Bernard and pretty much un-phased by anything except food and even then he just drools more. He's docile and non-plussed by most things, including other dogs. Charlie however, is a different ballgame altogether. He's aggressive, plain and simple. I've been after my sister for years to have him neutered but she just can't afford it (very long story that I'd rather not go into). She does not know much about training dogs (or chooses not to is more likely but that's ANOTHER story ). I plan to spend some time teaching her what I know (which is precious little but FAR more than she knows) when I'm there and training Charlie to understand that he is nowhere NEAR top of the pack. He thinks that next to her, HE is the alpha dog...above everyone else in the family including her husband and two small children (7 & 4). He attacks other dogs routinely if he can, but more particularly if they are strange and IN his house...which I can understand (especially for an intact male) but would NEVER allow. MY concern right at the moment is how to protect Archer while we are there. Right now he is fairly social and good with other dogs. I am worried that if he attempts to be "friendly" with Charlie and gets attacked, how is it going to affect him? I am obviously going to keep a very close eye on both dogs and try my very best to ensure this does not happen. I will also be letting Charlie know that he may THINK he is alpha with every other human in his world but not with me! I'm just worried about that two second window where I may not be present and he does get AT Archer. Will it seriously traumatize him? Are there things I can do to introduce them and find a way to avoid this situation happening? (other than leave Archer behind since that's not an option). Sorry this got long.

So sorry for your loss. Always reminds me of losing my Kodi in May and breaks my heart all over again. Thinking of you and your family.

This makes me want to cry. You are so lucky to be able to help her. Will you give her a home? Sorry, I'm not familiar with your situation...you work at an animal shelter? How do you not have a house FULL of animals?!? Can't wait to see a pic.

Awww...Dianne...he's lovely!! You are so sweet to help him..he's going to be very happy with you I'm sure! Any idea how old he is? He sure is pretty.

and btw...is that what "rough coat" means? shorter haired? Also...how do you know if their ears will go up or not? Sometimes he puts them right up and others not at all...and the right one seems to go straight up more often than the left but occaisionally he'll get both up. Kodi's ears stayed...uhhmm... "floppy" is the only way to describe them...kinda like Archers in the pic above...and never did go up at any time so I'm kind of curious as to how Arhcers may turn out. Here is a pic of him running and you can see the ears are up...well mostly anyway.

I post this pic in the photo gallery but I was wondering if some of you more experienced BC people could tell me what you think. Our trainer seemed to think that Archer was going to be what she referred to as a rough coat...or short haired BC. From this pic at 5.5 months, what do you think? Doesn't matter to me one way or the other, just curious. I think he's beautiful, but then I could be biased just a bit.

So sorry to hear this...poor wee mite. Take care.

So sorry for your loss. What a lovely tribute for such a long and obviously love-filled life.