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Found 22 results

  1. This last Saturday we rescued our new Border Collie, Kimi. Kimi's 3 and has come from a previous family home with another, older, collie and three kids. Our house on the other hand, is just me and my husband, and our cat Sam (also a rescue, also 3, but we got him 2 years ago and he was a stray before that). Kimi was good as gold the first couple of days and actually seemed to completely contradict a lot of the advice that I'd found doing research beforehand on rescue dogs - he's very friendly and has already started claiming our laps whenever we sit down on the sofa, and he seems completely chilled out on walks - he gets on well with all other dogs so far and doesn't seem bothered around crowds of people. We've separated off our kitchen and living room as 'Kimi's spot' so that the cat has the run of the rest of the house, as we didn't want him to feel too uprooted (we're working on introducing them, but at the moment they're kept completely separate). The first night, Kimi went to bed in the kitchen and slept through til about 7am no problems. The second night, he went to bed in the kitchen but must have managed to open the sliding doors and get into the living room but again, only woke us up at 7am ish. Last night, he got into the living room again and then barked through the night - from midnight onwards. I think he stopped for a couple of hours at one point, but then he was going again up until I got up at 6:30 to let him out and feed him his breakfast (I tried to time it in between barks, so that he didn't see me as coming in response to his barking). I then popped back upstairs to get dressed for the morning dog walk and he was barking again within minutes. The barks weren't non stop but they were consistent, and they ranged from a sort of normal pitch bark to more of a high pitched yip. He didn't howl at any point though. While my husband popped downstairs at midnight just to double check he didn't need to go out, we ignored him the rest of the time as I was concerned that if we responded he'd see it as encouragement/success - we didn't acknowledge the barking at all. (We are completely exhausted today though!) Some other points that may or not be relevant - we don't have curtains in our front room, but we do live in a very quiet cul de sac. He didn't destroy or chew anything other than some pawing at the door - he also didn't wee or poo inside. We haven't yet been able to find a toy that he likes to chew/cuddle, so he wouldn't really have had anything to distract himself with (we're paying a visit to Pets at home tonight to try a few more things). Exercise wise, since we got him the routine has been one 45-60 minute walk in the morning in the local park (on retractable lead) along with some en route training e.g. getting him to come and sit when he gets too far ahead/when we're coming up to a crossing. He then gets a 60-90 minute walk (around 5-6pm) including at least 20 mins off-lead running about and playing fetch/doggy ping pong. Then we do 10-20 mins of indoor training/sniffing out treats in the evening with one last 15 minute walk to let him go to the toilet before bedtime at around 10:30. Basically - I'm just looking for some advice. Does it sound like he needs more exercise/stimulation? Do we need to find him something that he likes to occupy him e.g. frozen kong/chew? Do we need to get curtains? Is it just a change in routine and we need to wait out the next few nights and not respond to the barking? I don't know if it can be SA as he doesn't seem particularly bothered to be left during the day - when my husband popped back at lunch today to double check he was snoozing on the sofa quite happily. Unfortunately, having him in the bedroom isn't an option as we don't want to take yet another space away from the cat - at least not until (if) they get used to being in the same room peacefully.
  2. Thank you for letting us join this great community. Let us introduce ourselves. I'm Kristina, 23 yo from Croatia. My companion is rescue girl, bc mix (I assume) Nana. She is about 4 yo. In December 5th will be 3rd adoption anniversary (we call it udomidan). She came in shelter when she was little puppy. We are soulmates :)
  3. Hey gang! I feel like I know so many of you since I've been lurking on these discussions for the past year, and now I'm asking a question of my own! Finally, it is time for me to get a border of my own once again, as now I'm graduated from college and will have a fairly free year (or two!) before heading off to vet school (where she will obviously accompany me). I had a BC/Siberian growing up, and I desperately miss having a pup that WANTS to be busy, wants to hike with me, wants to learn with me, and wants to work. I have a rescue Chihuahua mix now, and while he will do about 5-8 miles (when in shape, not after the winter we just got out of!) with me on the trail before I'm carrying him the rest of the day. We did this for a month on the Appalachian last summer, and we had a blast. That being said, he is true to his breed in that he is very cautious of new people and dogs, moody, bratty, and generally the cutest thing. He has done exceptionally well with dogs his size, puppies of all sizes, and some large dogs. Other large dogs he is fearful of. For that reason, I thought I'd avoid his size-related fear by getting a pup so he won't notice her growth as it gradually happens. This will also be of benefit to the cat, who is good with all small dogs, even when I foster up to five at a time, but one big dog comes in the house and he's not coming out from behind the fridge for a week. Starting from puppyhood, for a permanent resident, I believe is my only way to set up for success. After two years of having puppy fever, I am done with college and ready for my baby! I can't agree with breeding an animal for ANY reason other than the BETTERMENT of the breed, and as a volunteer in the rescue scene, I know theres a perfect match for everyone if they are willing to search, willing to drive, and willing to see the adoption process through! I have been approved to adopt this little pup, and plan on making the drive from Ohio to Illinois, where they have her reserved for me, to get her this week after my last final. She was found along a road in southern Illinois, and the rescue doesn't know her breed, but to me, she looks like a good smooth BC, if not just a wider at the base of the muzzle than typical. I don't have any BC baby experience, and I don't know what they usually look like at 10-11 weeks. What do you think she is? Lab mix? Pointer? (also I have attached a couple of my Chi, cause I heard we all love pictures)
  4. Hello All: We are a Flat-Coated Retriever family that just rescued (three weeks with us) a 12 month old predominately Border Collie mix that we believe had spent part of his life as a stray North Carolina farm country. He is the only dog in the house. He is sweet and loves, dogs, cats and every person he meets. He thinks he is a lap dog. Traits: Wants to herd bicycles, startled by noises, shakes a rope rag doll to death, pounces on things, has the classic head tilt, and learns anything I teach him in minutes. What he has yet to do is retrieve. Anyone have a BC that does not like to fetch? In any case. Glad to find this board and learn about our new friend, Karson. Toby
  5. Members, thanks to all for your advice. I’m hoping some owners more experienced than me can offer perspective on the best life for my sweet BC Winnie, 5-7 y.o., adopted 7 months ago. I love her dearly, but I fear her lifespan will be very short if she continues to live with me in a busy suburb with lots of car traffic. I need some perspective on whether to rehome her to give her a better life. Or whether I should keep trying and give her more time. She is my second BC, third rescue dog, fifth dog I have owned, first I have ever considered giving up. She came to me in recovery from heartworm disease, and very emotionally shut down. After 7 months, Winnie has blossomed into a very affectionate and loving companion. She gets along well with all dogs, loves every human she meets, and isn’t in the least fazed by other dogs barking/lunging/acting unpredictable, and is a pretty good (not always perfect) leash walker. Her obedience and recall are very good indoors or small enclosed areas, like a tennis court sized space. BUT, despite months of private (positive) training and follow up by me, she cannot be trusted off leash, has low impulse control and door dashes unpredictably – front doors, car doors, gates –she will exploit any small gap and then just run away until a Good Samaritan finds her. She has no typical BC herding drive, or focus on her human companion when outdoors, or interest in toys -- so I can’t get her to return by offering the chance to play tug, retrieve Frisbees or tennis balls. Instead, she has an overwhelming obsession with car traffic. When we go to the dog park, she ignores the other dogs and sits by the fence fixated by passing cars. If she dashes out the door, she will sometimes travel to a nearby street, lie down a few inches from traffic, and give it the “collie eye.” I found her like this a couple of times, but it was only luck that she didn’t decide to go into traffic. At home, she will for hours sit by the fence and just “listen” to traffic passing on the busy street close to my house. This is such a powerful drive that I don’t think I can extinguish it. I worry every day that this could be the day she bolts and is killed in traffic. I am not hypervigilant enough to prevent the “next time” chance when I fail to close a door/gate etc. fast enough. She is presently living a very restricted life to prevent her from bolting. She has to be leashed at all times outdoors; she can’t loaf around the house or backyard when I leave but has to be crated so she can’t door dash when I come home. There are no large fenced athletic grounds nearby that allow dogs or that I could take her to for better training off leash. She can’t run off leash in a nearby wooded park; thus she can’t get enough exercise to keep her weight down, and she needs more exercise to build up her muscles to counteract severe hip dysplasia. Please, I would appreciate compassionate yet no nonsense feedback. My heart is breaking as I write this, but I lie awake at night and worry about this constantly.
  6. Hi all, I'm seeking advice and training tips on recall for my rescue dog, 3-5 y.o. female, Winnie, and I've had her for 7 months. Feeling guilt and desperation because she has no recall outdoors. Have used several trainers without success to get a better grip on this. This is my 3d rescue dog and second border collie (that one was raised from puppyhood). All learned recall really quickly and were reliable off leash. I have no experience of a dog that just won't return. I live in a suburb with a fair amount of street traffic. We've practiced recall constantly both inside, inside with distraction, outdoors with distraction. She is quite good when practicing outdoors on a long line, or even offleash within a half block of my house even with distractions. Winnie is extremely affectionate and wants to be with me INDOORS, follows me around the house, etc. Outdoors she always wants to meet passers by, will go up on leash and sit and wait to be petted. The rest of the time is a nightmare. I have to be hypervigilant whenever I go in or outdoors for chores and don't completely close the storm door from forgetfulness or just having my brain on overload from trying to train this dog for the last 7 months. Recently, she seemed to be able to "stay" when I asked her to as I was unloading multiple groceries or whatever. However, unpredictably, she will seemingly exploit the smallest gap, push the door open and then run away as much as 2 miles. Once she's escaped, I run out and see her and call, she has no response at all -- doesn't turn towards me, much less return even after several hours of her escape adventure. I'll drive around and recruit neighbors trying to find her but she doesn't stay on our usual walking routes. After 7 months, she doesn't seem to recognize that my house is her source of companionship, food and shelter. Outdoors and off leash, she has no instinctive desire to be with me or come back under any circumstances beyond those 25' feet from my front door (dogparks, fenced acreage of a friend where we practice sometimes.) Only by the kindness of neighbors and strangers has she survived without being hit by a car or just being lost forever. I am at a loss, really. I know this will happen again, I live alone and spend several more hours every day taking care of my other dog, who is slowly fading due to brain tumor. Sometimes my brain is too fried to be hypervigilant 24/7. There is no one else to act as a fail safe if I am forgetful. Maybe it would be better for her to be given up to rescue again and live somewhere rural with fenced acreage. I feel like it may be just a matter of time before she is killed in traffic. I just don't know what to do. Thanks for any and all suggestion, especially on trainers you might know of in my area (DC region/Md suburbs).
  7. On July 30, 2016, Clancy suddenly crossed over the rainbow bridge. He died as he lived, playing Frisbee with his “friends” at the farm. The Goal of “Clancy’s Dream” is to provide a safe spot for unwanted Border Collies that need to be rehabilitated or re-homed. For the past four years, we have taken numerous dogs in and have a 100% success rate on finding good homes for them all and have rehomed 4 this month. Usually, they are high risk or have social problems, but over time, they always come around to see that humans are good. When re-homed, there was never a cost to the new owner for the pet, just a promise that they will fulfill our wants for a good and safe environment to their new dog. Because of the sudden death of our beloved Clancy and never wanting his legacy to die, we have established Clancy's Dream to keep his spirit alive. To help continue the work we do, including funding to Veterinarians or clinics to assist families who can’t afford medical help for their sick or injured dog and to assist and rescue dogs finding them a home, rather than euthanize them. www.clancysdream.org
  8. Hey everyone, I have a rescue BC Mix (we think bc/aussie) named Kaze. She is about 1 year and 8 months old and probably the laziest and most uninterested dog I have ever met! She will run with me for about 3 blocks but then she gives up and would rather walk instead. I've taken her hiking and she does fine but she gets bored after a while. She is also not very into toys, bones, or food toys. She will lick her soft plush toys with squeakers and then line them up in her bed around the edges. She doesn't like fetch either! It took her over a week to start chewing on a cow rib bone that I gave her. Even now it is still mostly intact after a few weeks. I gave her a cheese filled bone (cheese is her favorite) and it also took her at least a week to start on it! The only food toy she is interested in is this disc top that gives her pieces of kibble when she nudges it. I tried giving her some new food toys and she is bored by them. She loves going to the dog park more than anything and she enjoys running around. She will interact with other dogs but she is not great at instigating play time with them. Many of the dogs are a little too aggressive for her so she just lays down and submits a lot of the time. In terms of treats, she will eat them but I cannot use them to food train her. She isn't interested in working for food at all. Essentially, I am a new BC owner. I've always grown up with Corgis. She seems pretty content and I try to interact with her with toys, but she just seeks affirmation from me instead. She also will not touch her food until after I go to bed because she seems to know I won't be able to pay attention to her then. Is this something that rescues tend to do? It seems very abnormal for a BC from all the research I have done that she would be so lazy so consistently. I am posting this because I just want her to be very happy and make sure she is happy! Any advice on rescues, BCs, ideas or toys I have not tried are all welcome.
  9. Ooh boy, from joy and progress to this. So I got Sonic January 12th, and he quickly settled in, so I thought. Had a bit of hand-shyness, so sudden or overhand movements made him leery, but he caught on to treat training pretty quick, so I thought. We were using lots of treats from the get go, but for ordinary things like look aways from the cats (we have 3, 2 are very nervous) and loose leash walking. He's great in the house, reactive to dogs (very, outdoors). So I'm trying to train him to at least do a mini-obedience routine (anything, really) to have some kind of re-direct, or communication with him elsewhere, but now I can't train in the house because he keeps getting scared. I'll be training, mark & treat, and he'll be all excited happy and then suddenly back away from the hand with treat. At that point, there is nothing else to do. He won't take the treat even if I roll it to him. He doesn't want anything to do with me. So I end the session, obviously. I try to figure out what the trigger was, but can't except that it is either my hand with the treat, or the treat, or the house, or me, well, have no clue. We were having fun before, he was playing tug in the house, and chasing balls, and having a blast earning treats. He still plays tug outdoors (in the yard, when he's in the mood, so tugging is getting better, he likes this game). He still takes treats outdoors, so I can still use treats for counter-conditioning, recalls (I'm using a long-line) and very briefly, I lure him into heel position or maybe get him to sit, and in the yard, also down, but I'm really afraid the hand-shy thing will carry over outdoors leaving me with nothing so I'm not doing much training. Worse yet, yesterday, I tried doing the treat thing with no criteria, me sitting in a chair, and rolling treats his way so I wouldn't trigger a reaction, and after about 6 treats he backed out the room and peered at me from behind furniture. So I weirded him out with that too. We are signed up for a special "High Anxiety" class but that is weeks away. My next guess is to just click and treat (have a one treat training session) at odd times during the day, and see if it leaves him asking for more. I am hoping it's still a settling in thing, he is a rescue from a 3rd world country, so probably has been hit or something, has been put through major changes and losses (he was a loved pet there and had complete freedom vs on leash only with me), but it's back-sliding that is worrying me, more than the behaviour, as in why was he getting all nutty and playful and fun with progression from week one to week three and then stop wanting to play (in the house). I hope time will heal this, any thoughts?
  10. Greetings and thanks in advance for any thoughts. We adopted Louie (formerly "Nosey") about 2.5 months ago at an adoption event. He's a BC/Lab/? mix, about 2-3 years old, very mellow, couch potato, no concept of toys or playing, extremely timid--even fearful--of people. Anyone. More so at the house, but also in the park. Goes nuts when he sees squirrels or rabbits. Not much of a barker, doesn't know from fetch or catch, LOVES other dogs. Escape artist, seems to have a high threshold for training collars and even a live wire we used on some fencing outside. We have to figure out how to contain him (he got out of the live wire) because he'll jump the fence and leave whenever he has the opportunity. Always comes home, but was brought home by police the other day and was almost hit by a car. We were looking for a smaller dog, maybe terrier mix, and explained our lifestyle: small children all the time, busy household, cat, gerbil, birds, lots of time with human's home, but not the type to jog or go for hikes. No dog like that was available and we were ready to go when we learned about Louie. We didn't know much about BCs beyond some perceptions and some misconceptions. It's been rough. Louie becomes afraid and hides whenever people come over. He warms up to children a little faster--if we go for a walk in the park immediately upon their arrival and he gets used to them outside first. Will this ever change? And is there a way to facilitate Louie not escaping all the time (or wanting to). I absolutely get that I didn't do diligence about this breed before adopting Louie. I was going based on input that he had many of the qualities we were looking for in a dog; and about 15-20 minutes together before making the decision. Louie's personality is different than other dogs we've had; and neither of us has ever really worked with a very timid/scared dog. Is this a wrong fit? Or are there things I'm not doing that I should be? (And then it's about whether I can or not). Louie is also a cuddler, and has a very Eyeore-like demeanor with such dignity. He's a sweetie, and I'd love to not feel like I'm floundering.
  11. Hi everyone, I'm looking for a BC puppy from a good breeder in the South to be a companion pet. Any advice and recommendations is greatly appreciated. Thank you, Kendra
  12. http://www.bizapedia.com/people/KATHY-GIVENS.html http://www.aussiebcrescue.com/ PM me if you'd rather. I'm trying to establish legitimacy. Her name is Kathy Givens.
  13. The rescue we adopted Gabe through just posted a young female BC mix and her two pups to their facebook page. They're not a breed-specific rescue, and I thought it might be good to share with some BC-knowledgeable people in hopes they get to the right home. And how freakin' cute. https://www.facebook.com/all4pawsrescue/photos/ms.c.eJwzNDA0NbIwNTK0NDA2MTM3MdQzhItYmJsZoolYWoLUAAAffwq6.bps.a.107822126740.108685.107820486740/10152852190346741/?type=1&theater
  14. Hello everyone! New to BCs and the forum. I'm hoping adopt this adorable pup when I get back to the States in a couple weeks. His dad has a rough coat, and I know smooth is dominant over rough, but he looks a tad too fluffy to be smooth. Is there partial gene expression in coat length, or will he get rougher/smoother as he gets older?
  15. Hi all- I'm Christine and I rescued my dog, Gabe around a month ago. The rescue called him an Australian Shepherd mix, but after seeing him in person and bringing him home, I'm pretty sure he's a Border Collie. I know it's hard to tell by appearance, but he certainly doesn't look like an Aussie. He was a little nervous when we first brought him home, and is still sometimes shy with new people, but getting a little more comfortable every day. He loves his toys and runs to put one in his mouth whenever he gets too excited. He's around 2 years old, and as far as we know, was adopted through this rescue at 8 weeks old to a family that had 6 kids. The kids were having a hard time keeping the gate closed, he kept escaping, so they returned him. I'm not sure if I believe that's the whole story, but I can't imagine he did too well in a house with 6 kids. Our last dog was much lazier and not at all toy-driven, so it's been really fun playing with Gabe and seeing his personality come out. I'm looking forward to doing some agility and obedience with him, and seeing what else is out there to get involved in as well. I'd greatly appreciate any tips/tricks for living with a BC in suburban/urban areas (we're near some nice hiking trails we go on daily, but still within Philadelphia city limits), and just getting to know some people who are as crazy about their dogs as I am. Christine and Gabe
  16. This is my first official post, though I've been reading this site for awhile now and picking up tons of useful information (so thank you!). I'm a long time admirer of the BC breed - the work ethic, the intelligence and capability, and also the devotion BCs tend to have to their 'person.' My husband and I adopted our first BC a few weeks ago, a two year old rescue, and he is a really good boy. No behavior problems (except perhaps an aversion to some other dogs) and very gentle. I should explain he's really not your typical BC - Lucas is pretty mellow and has no ball/disc drive. He's not very interested in toys, though he does love to chew deer antlers, and he is not a velcro dog. He seems content to stare out the window and unconcerned about what I'm up to when I move around the house. But he has a wonderful natural recall and is very friendly when he does decide he wants attention. He seems like he is wants to please too and is pretty submissive. He loves walks and absolutely LOVES to chase squirrels in the yard. I think this is why he is VERY intent on watching out the window. The window to the backyard might be his favorite thing. Anyway, Lucas seems like a pretty independent guy. And while he's a really good boy, he's been hard to bond with because I can't figure out what makes him tick. I'm interested in engaging him more and letting him see that I'm pretty fun too. We've been working on training, trying to keep it fun because he will sometimes just walk away in the middle of it (bored? confused? restless?) to go and lie down by himself. But he's not super treat motivated and not into toys so it makes rewarding difficult. I've been hand feeding and taking him for long daily walks, sometimes twice daily because he seems to enjoy it (his energy level is actually pretty low). And when he seeks me out I speak gently to him and rub his shoulders, which I can tell he likes. I've tried a variety of toys (balls, treat dispensing, flirt pole) and nothing has been too interesting to him so far. My past dogs have been much more interested in me, or I've been able to figure out what motivates them. But Lucas is an enigma so far. What makes him tick? I'm wondering how each of you bond with your dog or have had similar experiences? I was kind of expecting a needier, more velcro dog, and he's been a surprise! Thanks
  17. We have an organic vegetable and hair sheep farm in the subtropical Caribbean. Just 40 acres and about 40 sheep + 2 LGDs at the moment but looking to get up to about 100 sheep. Also turkeys, chickens. Over the New Years holiday a pair of young stray border collie crosses (BCCs) showed up at the farm. We're trying to decide whether we should hang onto them, I'm looking for help evaluating their potential ...and management tips so I don't ruin their potential! (I'm a total newbie to stockdogs but have a couple years experience with LGDs, moving sheep, and obedience training shelter mutts. I'm working my way through the FAQs and archives on this site.) We immediately registered these BCCs at the local animal shelter and passed their photos around online, but no one claimed them. Two separate people recognized them and contacted me, said they had been feeding them for months at two different industrial sites a few miles from the farm, one even sent us pictures they had taken of them at one site. The vets and shelter staff did not recognize them. The female (18lb.) had a spay scar, the male (30lb.) unneutered. Clean white teeth say they're 1-2 years old. We had a pretty immediate offer from a BC rescue group in TN who is willing to take these dogs if they don’t work out for us, so we’re willing to give it a little time. We had a full workup done at the vet after a few weeks, they had no RFIDs, were clean bills of health, we had them chipped/vaxxed etc. They tamed up to me and learned the names we gave them pretty quickly. Recall with a special whistle has been pretty good. We had the boy neutered last week and have had them in a recently acquired 10x10' dog run and only on leashes for walks this week for post-op, they've been good sports about it. Prior to the neuter surgery we were just letting the BCCs hang out in the yard by the house/work area. When they’re home, they follow me and/or otherwise keep tabs on my whereabouts. If I go out to the pasture areas to work with the sheep/LGDs (the LGDs don't come to the house), I leave the BCCs at the gate. They are almost always waiting at the gate when I come back. Once I’m through the gate they are jumping up greeting me, the male gripping my hands and legs gently and getting underfoot pressing up against me. I’ve been discouraging all that, but wonder if it means herding potential? I didn't go looking for herding dogs, but since they are ‘homeless’ but otherwise young and healthy we are thinking of keeping them if they might learn to work and be happy here, and we have the bandwidth to manage them. We are busy people but we like dogs. We have the LGDs out in the pasture areas (old one passed away, currently a new pair of 16 week old pups) to keep our sheep and poultry safe from feral dog attacks, and a 4 year old 40lb. shelter-adopted shepherd mix house dog. Our family next door has a 6 year old 60lb. shelter-adopted house dog. Our home is extremely tiny so I'm not optimistic we can add two more highly energetic indoor dogs, but it's hard to imagine bonding closely with a dog that isn't in the house some. The BCCs are entertainingly playful with each other and mostly a team/inseparable. This is great as they keep each other busy. In the first month or two when we had them loose, at night they'd sometimes hunt rats. On the other hand they had started a habit of going off on walkabout (6:45am departure, return between 9:30-11:30am) each morning, wandering off into cattle pasture areas beyond our farm borders for mucky pond or beach swims and vermin hunting and - as of last week - picking up lots of deer ticks (luckily no lyme or RMSF here but they can get tick fever). So I’m trying to figure out what to use for tropical-strength flea/tick prevention for these guys, and wondering how much independent activity I should be allowing them. I have introduced the BCCs through a fence on leashes to the LGD puppies, who barked at them nonstop. The BCCs yawned and avoided looking at them. Through a fence, with the LGD puppies present, they are unexcited by my sheep. The male showed strong interest in our tractored (movable coop contained) poultry. Once he discovered the chickens I had to carry him out of the pasture. I’m feeding them the same thing I’m feeding the LGD pups = the breeder’s recipe = modified Pitcairn recipe = 24% protein from grains par-cooked with added fresh raw blended garlic and vegetables and nutritional powder mix (yeast, kelp, calcium etc other stuff) and some cheese/sardines/other treats added. They are cleaning it up. They get raw beef bones 1-2x week. I’m guessing the wrong food with too much energy in it can make BC’s unmanageable. So maybe this recipe for growing big dogs slowly is coincidentally a good mix for the BCCs too. I don’t currently have a fenced yard near the house to keep them in other than the 10 x 10' dog run. We have a lot of people coming and going from the farm for vegetable sales including wholesale customers and a farmstand a few times a week on the property, and they don’t usually bark at people coming and going (unless they have a dog in their car). They watch everyone and are either standoffish or tolerant. They’ll let some visitors pet them now. I have a small (1-2 acre) pasture zone I could fence them into but it's possible they could find a way out. We use electric netting on the farm, could that be a possibility for some temporary fencing for them...? In the first weeks I occasionally used XL airline crates by the house when I needed them contained for an hour or two. Ideally I’d like to be able to use the BCCs to be farm ambassadors (keep morale high), and help us work the sheep and maybe also poultry in the future. I do weekly rotational grazing so don’t need a lot of help moving the sheep in general - we just open a gate and with the small numbers we have the sheep are pretty well trained to come when we call them to the new grass area and move through the gate quickly - but once in a while there’s a recalcitrant ewe that makes it more difficult, and there are times we want to catch them in a small pen for processing or treatment or examination and that’s where I thought maybe a helpful dog might help us pen up/catch/hold a ewe or a nervous lamb and move things along. Once in a great while we do a big move across the farm with one of the sheep groups and it would be nice not to have to build netting chutes for that. It would be helpful to have extra dogs to keep deer out of the gardens at night and chase rats. And I’d like my 7 year old (human) to work with the BCCs, help me train them. I’m not sure how to start training them, how best to see what their potential is… figure out what would be the best strategy for keeping them happy. They seem very different - softer, more intelligent and more independent - from the shepherd mixes I have obedience trained in the past. They are a bit more like mature LGDs, always sizing things up. Soooo… I’m looking for ideas or tests to evaluate their working instinct/potential. If they're not going to work out for us, I'd like to get them moving toward the right situation/fit. They are not terribly interested in playing fetch, but love chasing each other. Summer is our slow season when I have more time for these kinds of projects. Where should I start? Sorry for the length of the post!! Trying to paint a picture of us and the dogs...
  18. Hello all, Our family just adopted a puppy from a herding dog rescue in Oregon. He's a ten week old BC/McNab. Currently we have 9 year old female Aussie/BC that we got from rescue six years ago. Does anyone know much about McNabs? I have read the history online and I believe they are descendants of Scottish BCs bred to work in California. Although the history seems a little fuzzy to me. Mainly I am interested in their temperament. Does anyone have experience with McNabs? We are very excited to bring this handsome guy home and I am hoping to eventually train him in agility. It's been a long time since we have had a puppy in the house, so any tips are appreciated. Also, I got him from Herd U Needed A Home rescue in Bend, OR. They are doing great work in the Pacific Northwest. Kind regards, Shadow and Maggie's Mom
  19. Hi! Glad to finally be able to post, as I have been stalking the boards the last few days. I have been looking to adopt a border collie for some time, and was waiting on a BC to come through that might work for us from the AZ BC rescue (we are in NM). We have been looking for a dog that can help me herd sheep, as we have a small flock of babydoll southdown sheep starting, but no more than 4-5 adults at any given time (plus lambs occassionally). I also have young kids, two dogs (rhodesian ridgeback, an aussie--who is useless with herding btw, but when I picked her out we didnt have sheep and I wanted a dog to "play" doggie sports with--I got my wish in that respect but she is an absolute failure at herding, in particular, submissive to sheep as if they were woolie dogs LOL). So we want something with some herding instinct. As cool as trialing would be, I don't forsee me having the time to be competitive, I just want the dog to help me get them in pens, seperate if need be, load into a trailer if need be, stuff like that, since my husband is gone often and it's just me and a 5 year old LOL. I really preferred to rescue over buy, but gave myself a year of searching before seeking out a working bred pup. Anywho, my fellow rescue friends knew I was searching and found a little apparent border collie pup from a shelter down south. I was hesitant in some ways, as adopting a single puppy from a shelter with unknown breeding etc was a bit risky. I had the shelter do some testing (mainly for food aggression and friendliness etc.) Chances are high that she could very well be a purebred BC or mostly BC based on the location she came from---a very small farm & ranch town. Appearance wise there is nothing about her so far that strikes me as a mix of much other than BC, no pit, no beagle, lab, heeler, that sort of thing. Long story short, her 5 days were up and I decided to "foster to adopt." She is about 8 weeks old, drop eared for now, although one seems to be "rising" haha. Smooth coat. Those two things alone have resulted in a few "knowledgeable" dog people to tell me she must be a mix. Which I generally laugh at because I know anyone who truly knows border collies must know there is so much variation in coat, color, ear set, etc. At 8 weeks she already shows more promise than my aussie (woohoo!). Most noticeably, she crouches, eyes, stalks, (and even nips or heels) my aussie, Sydney when they play. It seems to be her go to move especially when I am throwing a ball for Sydney. It's not just occassionally, it's a majority of her play "style", unless of course I go to get the camera to record it--then she stops and just wrestles, or eats chicken poop, or sits by my side. I have one video that I managed to catch just some of this apparent herding. Now, she has seen the sheep and horse through the fence, but doesn't seem to mind them other than the barking she did at first. She watches them but so far rather watch me or eat a strand of hay or something. I have free range chickens and she doesn't seem to always want to herd them, but every so often one my run by it's lonesome, and she seeks to bring it back to the "flock", I've seen her take a few wide runs around them, and earlier today when i was feeding she gathered one in the group and ran a tight circle around them twice before going to wrestle Sydney. Most of it seems opportunistic, and she never seems to serious about it, in fact she will easily get distracted in the middle of trying to "work" the chickens. She shows the most intensity and better crouch eye combo when playing with my dog than she has shown with the chickens period. I of course, do not allow active chasing, or getting to close to the chickens as if trying to actually catch one, which she hasn't done yet. Mostly trying to observe her, hoping to see something that says, "aw yes, she has potential." I am a dog trainer, obedience, and have a ton of experience with foster puppy behaviors. So I know how to read a dog pretty well, timing for praise and corrections, and have read up on what not to do (like distract her instead of scold her for trying to herd stock so that i don't turn her off, keep her safe while she is young so she has no bad experience, yada yada). But, admitedly I am very green to sheep and even more so to herding dogs other than a few trials I've seen, videos I've watched, articles read etc. I'm trying to find a little insight. Does she sound like she has good potential? She does have a bit of fiestiness in her which I like, at least I know at the very least she wouldn't submit to my sheep LOL. Here is a video I took. STILL trying to get video of her in her "eye crouch stalk" mode, but here at least you can see her do her thing while being a little puppy ADD (sniffing, distracted by banana peels, my dog, more sniffing, me, etc etc) with not as much crouch eye going on as she gives my dog. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100617206375387&l=6673591963760853204
  20. Greetings all ~ A friend just posted this link from the Caldwell, ID craigslist. I know nothing except what's in the ad, but for goodness sake, can anyone help? Is there a BC/Aussie rescue in Idaho? Is there anyone who can foster these kids? The ad is for a 6 year old intact male, tri-color border collie who "makes pretty babies" and plays ball, plus a very obese but sweet looking blue merle female Aussie. http://boise.craigslist.org/pet/4243600154.html Please contact the person posting the ad, if you can help, as I have no connection to these people. These little faces simply break my heart. (There is a phone number there amidst the all-caps wording.) ~ Gloria
  21. So I rescued my puppy about 3 months ago making her around 6 months old. They said she was around 3 when we got her and she recently lost all her teeth and her adult teeth have almost grown in completely, so I'm assuming she's around 6 months. Whenever I go on walks or to the dog park a lot of people ask if she's a border collie, but asks what she's mixed with. Other people don't see border collie at all. I only see border collie, but see the confusion with the shorter hair. She's around 40lbs, give or take. What do you guys think? I don't really have good pictures of her standing up, but she's pretty lean. She's sleeping now but maybe I'll take one and post it.
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