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Suburban Dyson Herder AKA Cowboy-update


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Well, we thought he had no eye, no style, no BC instinct...

 

Apparently sheep don't turn him on like my Dyson Animal Vacuum Cleaner

 

He has eye (fairly strong too), he has style, he can head or heel and isn't afraid to grip. Even my papered BCs don't try to find the balance point on the Dyson but this little guy does!

 

I think it's hilarious and a good think I don't use the Kirby or Cowboy would have some missing teeth!

 

He's doing good! I do notice some growling from him from time to time but it all really means "leave me alone" It's always directed at the dogs and they just avoid eye contact. It's nice to know that I have a really nice group of kids when it comes to putting an apprehensive dog at ease. He's an awesome dog and I can't say enough about him. We are working on a couple of sticky points- like "wait" and "Stay"

He doesn't think I should go anywhere without him and I don't agree with him. So we are doing the no entering or exiting without permission routine. Then there is the entering a crate of his own free will problem... so for now I mostly put him in there when I'm feeding him his RMBs- pretty much because I've been too lazy to take the time to put it on command with time and treats. After I actually get to the grocery store and HAVE food in the house, finding the time here and there will be easier.

 

I'm still hoping things work out and my DH falls in love with this dog. We'll find out very soon.

 

He's very easy for a Border Collie person, other people he just might drive up a wall. He is a pretty busy boy and an insecure one, prone to licking and chewing on his own legs- I've seen it before and I think this equates to a stress response as a pacifier. I think that with time and security as well as good training and general care it will resolve.

 

If my DH likes him, he stays. I don't think he can take much more bouncing around and I stress just thinking about bouncing him anywhere too.

 

Anyway, that's the update.

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Annette, thanks for the update. I hope he gets to stay! He sounds wonderful! I am hoping to talk my own hubby into letting me do some fostering down the line. I need to learn how to let them leave, however, or I will end up with 10 dogs (and the city limit is 2).

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Deb,

 

I'm ok with letting them go as long as they are adjusted and ready to leave, this guy really isn't.

 

My DH is getting emotionally worn out with rescue- he gets so attached and so the coming and going of dogs is a problem for him so I've offered to take a hiatus for a while. Then here comes Cowboy...He'll be the last rescue for a while and if he stays, he'll be the last rescue for at least 5 years I'm afraid, no more room at the inn. I am currently helping private owners wanting to rehome their dogs do so responsibly without doing the foster work. Sometimes it's a question of training and house manners so I'll offer to work with them on that too. So far I've helped place a few dogs that way and keep a couple of dogs in their already perfectly good homes. So it's still helping dogs even though I'm not doing the fostering and placement myself.

 

Good luck with your own future rescue endeavors!

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Annette, thanks for the update! He sounds like he is really doing good for you! I sure hope your DH takes to him. You know he won't be bounced around. If it doesn't work out you know I will still take him. Stop stressing! He is probly picking up on it every time you hug him! Your DH is going to love him too! Hey, look at that face! How could he say no?

 

I take it another name hasn't come up for him? Well, I still like Cowboy anyway!

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I have been contacted by the foster mom where we got Scout. She has a dog in need of foster care, and asked me. We are thinking about it, but are feeling like unless there were big problems we would have a really hard time letting the dog go, and we really enjoy being a one-dog family. How do you let them go? Are you responsible for ensuring a good home?

 

Glad Cowboy is doing well, and as names go, if it fits, so be it!

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Tammy,

 

When I foster for a larger rescue they usually make the decision on placement but they usually ask the fosters if they like the applicants too since the applicants sometimes meet the fosters. Every rescue is set up a little differently.

 

With what I have been doing here, I've been the one to foster and decide on placement and issue contracts etc. It's much harder without the support of a good group of fellow rescuers. When I let them go I always keep uppermost in my mind that then the space can open up to help another dog. There are never enough foster homes to go around. So keep that in mind and it may help you.

 

Linda,

 

I know you'll still take him hon and if it turns out that he comes to live with you, you'll love him and he'll be happy. It's just that all the moving that he has done until now has made him a little needy and I'd like to see him better adjusted so hopefully he won't have to go anywhere and he just straightens out with some time.

 

His name absolutely fits him. He doesn't care about the other dogs to play with them- he just hangs with his one pardner (me). He watches the other dogs wrestle with a bored look on his face.

 

Cowboy fits- he's almost on the verge of Clint Eastwood in dog personality. With slightly more of a sense of humor though.

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Annette,

 

The rescue situation is this: this foster mom is affiliated with a lab rescue. The dog she has was rescued by a friend of a friend kind of thing and is a sheltie mix. The lab rescue will not help her out with a sheltie mix, and she has a chocolate lab coming and needs the space for a dog the rescue can pay for. (she has 6 labs of her own).

 

She raised poor Scout but when it became obvious that he was not a lab the rescue withdrew their support. She was just going to keep him, but she had a lab of her own who was picking on him and he was fighting back.

 

If we think we might do this, I will start another thread on fostering, but I appreciate your info on this thread.

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Going off-topic here, but I just ordered this vacuum! It's just now available in Canada and it should arrive in a day or so. The poor Hoover has put up a valiant fight, but now that Lou is here, I'm afraid she's losing ground.

 

I hope the Dyson is a worthy opponent for an aussie and two border collies. So many of the reviews declare this the ultimate fur-busting machine.

 

In this corner, weighing in at 18lbs:

10072001.jpg

 

And in this corner, weighing in at a combined 145 lbs:

full_bed.jpg

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Kristi,

 

Where did you order your Dyson vacuum from? We emailed Dyson a couple mths back and were glad they decided to finally launch it in Canada. Do stores like Futureshop/Bay/Cdn Tire carry them or do you hafta order them online?

 

EDIT:

Nmind, I looked up the Dyson website and found the stores that carried them. I'm off to Future Shop to get one tomorrow! Ka ching !!

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You will love the Dyson! We bought one 2 years ago and it does an outstanding job - even with 5 dogs during shedding season. I actually like vacuuming with it and vacumming has never been my favorite thing. I won't ever buy another brand again. What really amazes me is the amount of dust that it picks up from the carpet in addition to the dog hair.

 

You do have to clean the roller brush on the bottom fairly frequently - especially if your dogs are semi-rough or rough coats.

 

What we found when shopping for this vacuum is that the price is pretty consistant everywhere, but..... if you purchase it at Sears, you can get the service agreement on it and Sears can service it because they are authorized by Dyson to do it. However, if you get it somewhere else you may have to ship it to an authorized service repair representative which might take a lot longer, not to mention the cost of shipping. I've only had to take it in once to replace the hose, but I think it was something my oldest son did to it (although he claims total innocence :rolleyes: ) because it separated from the handle. I don't think it was a defect on the part of the machine.

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