bill virginia

Loggenboots I relate the following because all my dogs are rescue dogs. Angus (now 10) is my cheerleader. Arrived with diabetes insipidous. Rocky (now 12) is my number 2 herding dog. He arrived with heart worm and ticks all over his body. Zac (age unknown) number 1 herding dog. Story to follow. Zac was found running wild with substantial amount of burn marks around his neck. The pound contacted a service group and told them they were going to put him to sleep in one hour and if they wanted him to come down immediately. They tried to get him to pick up a phone and other service related act but to no avail. When Zac came here he had uncontrollable diarrhea and very serious personal problems. If I tried to touch his collar he would try and bit me. If I picked a herding stick he would go to the ground and quiver. I put away my herding stick. It took months for him to rid himself of diarrhea. Today, he is, in my opinion, a top notch herder. No, he and I will never trial because he has nothing to prove. Rescue dogs need love and understand. When you have accomplished this now comes the training. Put away the stick for awhile. Try moving the dog out with waiving your arms. Later get a stick and attach a couple of Wal-Mart bags and shake them when you want him to got back. Proceed slowly and things will work out. My reward with Zac is every night he lays him head on my lap and look up at me. Thanks for listening to Zac's and my incredible journey with him. bill

This has worked for me and it costs nothing. Get a stick and several walmart plastic bags. Put plastic bags together and tape them to one end of the stick. When the dog comes in too close i shake the stick(it makes a noise) while making a vocal noise at the same time. bill

I asked the question because i am interested in other's opinion. I have three BC, two are working dogs and one a cheerleader. the two working dogs i try to give them equal training time. Very interesting discussion and look forward to other folks opinion. thanks bill virginia

This is a philosophical and a procedural question on Border collie training. I have read that it is unfair to train more than one dog at a time, because in doing so, it does not give enough training time for the other dogs. With this said, I have worked with border collies for over 30 years. It would appear that there may be merit to this augment. What is your opinion? Bill virginia

Thank you for those kind words TEC I have two other BC Angus, my cheerleader, not interested in sheep, is a rescue dog that has a rare disease, diabetes insipitus. His pituitary gland tells him to consume large quantities of water and his kidney then must expel the water. Unfortunately, this condition does not allow him to stay indoors over night. Rocky, my number two worker, came from Texas with heart worm and almost died. His body was covered with massive amount of ticks. Many happy moments in my life have been spent in the company of a dog. If you listen they will teach you patience, logic and love. bill ps will try and post pictures.

The Story of Zac. Zac was found running wild with substantial amount of burn marks around his neck. The pound contacted a service group and told them they were going to put him to sleep in one hour and if they wanted him to come down immediately. They tried to get him to pick up a phone and other service related act but to no avail. When Zac came here he had uncontrollable diarrhea and very serious personal problems. I trialed many years ago and knew Ralph Pulfer. Yes the one thing he was good at, was winning. Yes he always kept the dogs that would win, others he moved on. Back to the my story, Zac. His handler brought Zac to my place to determine his ability to work with sheep.He was frightened of the sheep and ran back to his handler. I asked if i could have him for a week to see if i could do something with him. After some negotiations they consented. It took months for him to rid himself of diarrhea. Today, he is in my opinion a top notch herder. No, he and I will never trial because he has nothing to prove. Thanks for listening to Zac's and my incredible journey with him. bill

thank you all for your advice. bill virginia

My place is small and i have really never needed to use a whistle. Having said that, i decided i would like to try and get my dogs to work with a whistle. What am i doing wrong? 1. i give verbal command first then whistle. 2. i use body language to should dog which way to go. 3. either i am dumb or my dog is. 4. i go over and over one whistle command each time out. it seems the dog does not respond consistently. 5. we have only worked on "come bye" and "walk up." 6. It has been two week (i train every day). anyone have any suggestions????????????????????????????? thanks bill

Cyberdog i got a kick out you say you are getting old at 25. Keep working with your dog and both of you will grow and form a bond that other folks that do not own BC don't understand. I work my two BC every day with the three sheep i purchased. We go on outruns, go though gates and we pen the sheep. We have a great time. Sometimes their performance is great and sometimes not so good. But at the end of day we had fun. Tomorrow we will do it again. I am blessed having the opportunity to work with these wonderful dogs over the years. Each dog has his/her own personality and they bring delight and meaning to my life. At your age you will have the opportunity to have more BC's in the future. Note: you are not old at 25, i feel young at 80 bill virginia

1. would like to have dog stand instead of lying down. 2. BC will confuse down and stand command. 3. it is my fault 4. how do i correct it. thanks bill

great reply...... to answer question he brings them direct and straight. will work on this thanks and keep moving....you will slow down soon enough. thanks bill

i enjoy your comments, having said that here is my problem 1. on the fetch, good outrun 2. good lift 3. good walk up 4. when asked to go come bye or away my dog will not make a square flank either way. he just keep coming straight on. 5. i have gone out toward him but very limited success. 6. when close he squares every time i ask him. 7. do you have an exercise or method to correct this. 8. i do not run to make correction anymore because of my age (78) 9. any help would be greatly appreciated. bill

thanks i looked over my books and could not find anything about it. bill

what is clappy or clapping??????????????????????? bill virginia

great answer bob bill virginia

Some of you might disagree........... How to win at every trial 1. Never enter a trial 2. Set up a trial course at your place. 3. Run your dogs every day 4. Invite a friend (friends) over and work your dogs and share information with each other and have a fun day for you and your dogs. 5. Attend clinics as a spectator. This will save money and you could attain a great deal of information. Benefits 1. You do not have to pay entrance fees 2. You save time and gas 3. You do not have to deal with narcissistic dog owners 4. When you do not win you do not have to blame your dog, sun wasn't right, or you got the worst sheep etc. (Maybe it was your fault?) 5. So you see you can win at every trial.....at your place 6. Last but not least, your dog will love you for your effort on his behalf. The only true competition is the competition with yourself. William F. McDermott

Some of you might disagree........... How to win at every trial 1. Never enter a trial 2. Set up a trial course at your place. 3. Run your dogs every day 4. Invite a friend (friends) over and work your dogs and share information with each other and have a fun day for you and your dogs. 5. Attend clinics as a spectator. This will save money and you could attain a great deal of information. Benefits 1. You do not have to pay entrance fees 2. You save time and gas 3. You do not have to deal with narcissistic dog owners 4. When you do not win you do not have to blame your dog, sun wasn't right, or you got the worst sheep etc. (Maybe it was your fault?) 5. So you see you can win at every trial.....at your place 6. Last but not least, your dog will love you for your effort on his behalf. The only true competition is the competition with yourself. William F. McDermott

sorry i do not know what PM means. the Vet told us as long as Angus has water available to him he will be okay. he has turned out to be quite a dog. in the house he will let us know every couple of hours that he needs to go out. however, we have to put him out in his kennel overnight. the very fact that he can stay in the house with his brother during the evening make him feel that he belongs. bill

i once own a sheep farm and i gained a great deal of respect for my BC's and the work they could do. i trialled in the 80"s but never came close to winning. That was okay because i had farm dogs that did what was needed to do. i sold my farm and retired and took my BC's to Virginia. My love for herding and BC's never left me, so in 2006 i talked my wife into get a BC. that was the first of three. i work them with goats or sheep just for fun. i guess it is time to meet my BCs. Angus is a rescue dog that has a rare disease, diabetes insipitus. His pituitary gland tells him to consume large quantities of water and his kidney then must expel the water. Unfortunately, this condition does not allow him to stay indoors over night. Rocky came from Texas with heart worm and almost died. His body was covered with massive amount of ticks. Zac was found running wild with substantial amount of burn marks around his neck. The pound contacted a service group and told them they were going to put him to sleep in one hour and if they wanted him to come down immediately. When Zac came here he had uncontrollable diarrhea and very serious personal problems. Rocky and Zac have turned into top notch sheep herding dogs. Angus is our be loved pet. So the next time you hear someone say, “Oh that‘s just a dog”, smile because they just don’t understand. To them, he is a dog, but to me he is my adopted son who happens to be short, hairy, walks on all fours and does not speak too clearly. PS: if your dog is fat, you aren’t getting enough exercise. bill

thanks for information....about cost of hay.....last year $6.00 square bale good orchard grass. this year great deal of rain..hay all over the place. farmer last year $6.00 bale said he will give me 50 bales free, delivered and placed in my barn. he needs the space for this year great hay production. what a year will do.

one of my BC when driving or gathering does not like to walk up straight . he will go to either side and cause the sheep to move off course. things i have done: 1. used fence to drive and gather 2. kept dog off the sheep and giving them room. these have been reasonably successful, but i have to work on them everyday. question is there a exercise you could suggest that i could use to help correct this problem?? just a thought. if you want to have some fun for you and your BC, get 5 pygmy goats and work them. if you have wooded area available work the goats in there. you will have a great time. bill virginia

a lesson

in virginia.........training cost for an hour or part of an hour runs $50-90. plus transportation to site. i try to train my own.......for fun......was in trial competition in 1980's. on fix income and can not afford the cost of the above lesson. I am 78 and this my golf........... bill

thanks for reply additional information: eyes bright, energy level high, faces pudding and yellow and no blood, good eater, food lamb and rice 24% protein and have not changed food type in a year. gums are pink-ish same color as the other 2 normal BC. vet has sent sample of feces to advance lab for a culture and results will be in sometime this current week. bill

back ground... zac 3 to 5 years old was found running with burn marks around his neck. picked up by pound and was going to be put to sleep. pound called service group to see if they could use him. Service group picked him up and tried to train him as a service dog. This did not work and when i saw him i knew he had talent. He came to me with diarrhea and serious personal problems. It took me about two week to determine this dog had talent and we were able to solve his diarrhea problem in a short period of time. He was then able to eat everything without any problem. After a one-half years he has developed diarrhea problems again. i have taken him to the Vet's and 2 sample were taken and medication has been prescribed. We give him rice, plain yogurt, medication but nothing seems to work. it has been three weeks and no success. He seem healthy and loves to work. has anyone had such a problem with any of their dog? could it be stress????? HELP thanks bill