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I have an 11 month old BC puppy, who I re-homed from another family when she was 6 months old. She spent most of her first 6 months on farm properties and I feel like she had never really experienced all of the sights and sounds of a suburban area until she moved in with us. As a result, she was very reactive to strangers and other dogs at first (lunging and barking). We have taken her to obedience classes and we have been doing a lot of training with her. She is no longer reactive to strangers during the daytime and she is slowly getting more comfortable passing other dogs (we are slowly closing in the space between us and them and rewarding her with lots of treats in the process). However, we live in a country that only gets a few hours of daylight during the winter months. I've noticed that she seems a little skittish in the dark and tends to be reactive to passers by. Our trainer told us it's not unusual for dogs of her age to go through a fear phase, with darkness being a common fear. I take her for her evening walk a little later when I know there will be less people around. Tonight, we were walking down a short and narrow, snowy footpath (a route that we take most evenings). All of a sudden a woman came out of her house and was following us down the path. My pup stopped and turned around and I could tell by her body language that she was nervous. Then, out of nowhere a guy appeared at the bottom of the footpath and started to walk up towards us. She panicked and was running in circles on her leash and I fell over backwards on the ice. I managed to regain my balance and hold on to her. She had dropped to the ground which is generally what she does before she starts barking and lunging at a person. I was trying to get her attention with treats, but the space between her and the guy was just too close for her. I thought he would see me struggling and give us a little space, but instead he walked right towards us, and of course, she jumped up and started barking / lunging. I explained to him that she was very nervous, but he totally ignored me. He continued to try and get past us and I couldn't move at all because she was pulling so hard and the ground was so slippery. In future, do you think it would be a good idea for me to ask people to stop and give us some space to pass to avoid getting caught in a situation like this? I usually avoid narrow paths and stick to the wider roads while we're in training, but this one is so short and we've been walking down it every night for weeks without any events. Do you have any advice on how to better handle these situations in future?

Hi I need some advice regarding my 6.5 month old collie please. He's been doing so well and I can walk with him off lead almost anywhere, he is very responsive so I can't fault him there. The issue I have is when we meet with my friends dogs (two collies too) and my dog is OBSESSED with the younger of them (they are all males btw), if we are throwing a ball for them he will only chase and copy the other dog, circling/ herding him and nothing can break his focus. I've tried all sorts...running around manic to get his attention, having his favourite toys, favourite treats, loud noises etc. NOTHING will break his focus and he just will state at this dog and constantly run just behind him (or weave Infront). Any advice how to prevent this, and what he's doing? I'm assuming herding but it's only with this dog, and the other dog ignores him but starts growling after a while. It's annoying for me as I can only get him to follow me to leave with his lead on and he pulls against me to break off, then when the other dog is out of sight...he goes back to bring good as gold! Thanks

Hi, was hoping to get some feedback with any info anyone may have on this breeder I am looking at called Buck Branch Border Collies. This is my first BC and I'm really doing my homework here but my reach into the community pretty much stops at the internet. I was wondering if anyone has ever heard of them before or if one of you seasoned pro's could take a look at their website and let me know what you think. They sound great to me, and I'm able to check off all the boxes of what to be looking for from a reputable breeder. Just figured it couldn't hurt to ask for some guidance or info. Thanks

Hi All, I've just been away and my 6 y.o. BC was under the care of my father and grandparents. They made her incredibly overweight which i became aware of and asked them to change her diet repeatedly (they are very experienced BC owners so i don't know what happened). Eventually she became injured and my grandmother took her to the vet who said it was most likely a ruptured or torn ligament in her back right leg. I have just gotten home and so have not been able to take her to the vet myself to find out if it is ruptured or torn, as they would have to put her under general anaesthetic and then go on to surgery under the same anaesthetic if it turned out to be ruptured. The problem is that i haven't been able to find a vet who will perform the surgery in rural Australia for under $6000 which i can't afford right now, as any dog over 15kg is considered a big dog so they charge $6000 instead of $1500. We have gotten her weight down to 19kg so far (her usual healthy weight is 15-18kg) and she has been on house arrest for the past few weeks while taking joint medication and having an hour of massaging every day. I'm lost as to what to do- my preference would be to monitor and let it heal at home but that is obviously not possible if the joint is ruptured and not just torn. Any advice/opinions?