Tassie

8 weeks for any medium to large breed is quite fine and there is no issue with it. We cannot let them go before 8 weeks of age. 8 weeks is actually a good age. It is in between two fear periods and gives time for the pup to settle into a routine before the next fear period starts. Owners just have to be careful about taking their pups out in public until at least the second course of vaccinations at 12 weeks. Some small or toy breeds there may be a need to hold them longer due to size/weight. I guess if you're sure the person you're giving the pup to has half an idea about owning a dog/puppy then 8 weeks would be fine - but it's clear there's people out there that wouldn't have any idea about exposure before the 12 week shots, so it's safer for the breeder to hold onto them until that at least :) Things, I'm sorry, but I can't let this one go. It's quite misleading information, especially for any pups other than very small breeds. When you read the literature about bonding with new owners, socialisation - i.e. getting used to the world outside the original family, the generally accepted ideal time for the rehoming is between 7 and 10-11 weeks - as Mystiqview says, between fear periods. The reason 8 weeks has been set into purebred registries Code of Ethics and State legislation is that with the older type vaccines, it was the age at which there was a fair chance that pup's first vaccination would have taken effect. To the OP - like Piper, I didn't comment on the age as it was a done deal, and the pup looked to have landed in good caring hands.

Hopefully I never need to know all this, but I just wanted to say what a great thread this is - comprehensive information. Wonder if this could be pinned? Malty, I do hope you and your little one will adjust to the new situation quite quickly, and it looks like lots of happy years ahead.

Long time Border Collie person here , and I would echo the comments about the importance of mental stimulation and spending time interacting with/ 'working' with the person. When you think what this breed was bred for, you will see that doing 'stuff' with their person was really their primary function. And some days in a farm situation, they would not be working - would be spending most of the day in their yard. For our urban Border Collies, if we can't provide their original work for them, they are very happy to accept substitutes - many of us here do a variety of dog performance sports with out dogs - obedience, Rally O, agility, tracking, Dances with Dogs. Trick training is fine too - anything to help build that bond between dog and person, and help keep that Border Collie brain ticking and occupied. People get hung up on the exercise needs of Border Collies, but really, while they do need a reasonable amount of exercise, if you don't do the mental exercise as well, all you end up with is a very fit bored Border Collie - not something you want to have . For the leash training, it's often good to hust let the puppy trail the leash while he wanders round (in a safe area of course) - you can pick it up loosely and follow him around, then drop it again - rinse and repeat - gradually putting a little bit more pressure on him. They will play with their leashes and try chewing on them, but you can usually distract them pretty easily, and they give up doing that after a while. A good trick is to use the leash to get the puppy to somewhere where he wants to be - e.g.. to his food bowl - then he will be focussing on getting there rather than on the leash. Getting the fence fixed is one of your priorities at this stage - even just so that you can use the yard safely for training and playing.

Love it ... mine are in the same boat.

Super team Gabby does it again!

Turn and go is my friend, although I do like the "how many pieces..." line . Although I don't think the BCs look sufficiently menacing . I turn and go and walk purposefully off in a different direction. If the oncoming dog is off lead, I ask the owner politely to call it back if it's coming close to us. If I get the 'he's friendly', I just say something like "Mine aren't .. call your dog please.". it gets less polite after that :laugh: . I try to always remember to thank those people who can and do call their dogs back and either leash or control them... thankfully there are some :D

That is sad ... it sounds as though she was a much loved girl. RIP Gabby-lea.

In spite of being on holiday, haven't had a chance to catch up .. on SG or the Fenzi classes I'm auditing.... maybe next week. But just wanted to pop in and wish Sue and Waldo very good luck for the weekend .. and echo all of TSD's advice. :)

I'd second the idea of tracking. Or if that didn't appeal, what about Rally? Only 1 jump in Advanced and 2 in Excellent .. and they're lower than in agility. PM HW or Tailwag or DeltaCharlie for a chiro type person in Canberra area.

As long as the dog has been conditioned to love the crate, shutting the door is usually not an issue. My Border Collies travel in wire crates in the car .. complete with beds and water .. for their and my safety. They are in crates .. soft crates .. when we're staying in dog friendly accommodation and I can't directly supervise them .. e.g. when I'm in bed. They are confined .. soft crate for Kirra, show trolley for Rory, when we're at shows or trials .. again for their safety and comfort. Usually they're shut in for only a few hours at a time, but if we're traveling, it will be overnight. I do get what you're thinking of .. dogs that might be crated purely for the convenience of the owner, and substantially ignored .. much like keeping a dog isolated in a back yard. But that's not the use that most DOLers would have for crates.

That expression is pure gold :laugh:

Did it yesterday .. and agree about the educational value.

Great job ness and Kenz. Last weekend was a weekend of DWD, obedience and Rally in Melbourne .. with a mixed batch of results... the best being Rory completing his Novice Freestyle title, and getting another leg towards HTM.N. The feral old girl got a Novice Freestyle pass too. Obedience and Rally in the freezing cold and rain directly under a constant stream of aircraft coming in to land at Melbourne airport .. about a kilometre away, if that.... was a bit of a frost. Rory did win the Advanced B ring on 98 and was winning the Exc B ring until he NQd by pulling the bar on the last station .. we both took our eye off the ball I think Double obedience trial at Hobart yesterday showed us where some holes were to work on in the school holidays.. distraction proofing is high on the list :laugh: . Double Rally trial in the rain was better today ... 2 more legs for Rory towards RAE4, with a 1st, 2 2nds and a 3rd. And the feral one who doesn't 'do' obedience got 3 passes out of 4, and reached halfway towards RAE2. She's playing me like a slot machine ... giving me about 45% return ... but still seems to be having fun, so I'll keep paying her entry fees so she can play :D

Have PMd you sas. :)

Thanks TSD. Don't think there were any videos - not sure about kallistar. I know I was too busy with costume changes ( ) and trying to remember 4 routines. As it was I forgot Rory's fishing pole retrieve in the morning FS ... so in the afternoon he made up his own choreography and threw in an extra retrieve ... which didn't really matter as it looks very cute. I was lucky going over - the 2 previous nights had been really rough, but it wasn't too bad on Thursday, and apart from rocking and rolling going through the heads, coming back on Monday was pretty smooth. Well worth the trip - although I must say it's catching up with me this week. Thank goodness it's school holidays for me after today. Mind you, we do have double obedience trial on Saturday for Rory and double Rally for both of them on Sunday :laugh: .

So glad you mentioned the mid way break TSD. I am sooooo far behind with this and my Fenzi courses, between work and trialling (including the double DWD comp in Melbourne this past weekend) .. but after this coming weekend of double obedience double rally, I have 2 weeks of holidays .. should be able to catch up a bit. :)

So very, very sorry to read this - but I too wanted to thank you for sharing your tragic story. I am just going to share the warning on some dog groups I belong to. It's highly possible that although you sadly couldn't save your big guy, your story may well save many other dogs. Cyber hugs to you both and to your other dog, who will be feeling pretty lost too. (I had a similar experience losing a dog to an accidental poisoniing to a neurotoxin - but with a different toxin - and you are right - this is an amazingly supportive community.) ETF typo

:D was waiting for you to get in first kallistar. Was so good to see you doing so well with Splash and Piper. They were both a credit to you. And wonderful to see those three Champion titles gained .. congratulations to Sarah for her 2 and Lydia. And yes ... we came away with a 50% hit rate :D .. the feral old girl, Kirra was way too feral for HTM, :laugh: but got one FS Novice Q, and didn't miss another by too much. Mr Rory missed out on HTM in the morning, but got a Q in the afternoon, and got the two Freestyle Qs he needed to finish his Freestyle Novice title.

Yay for the little black ninja...that's not a small brag RS. Congrats! :-)

:D

3 more sleeps .. eek ... and one of those could be a rocking. Rolling ferry ride

Yay for Stella - a real star performance by the sound of it. How nice for both yo and her that she was able to be calm at the vets - that's huge. Fingers crossed the meds help settle her poor tummy down.

Cuteness overload :laugh: . She looks like she fits in just fine :D

A litle bit excited there pie? :laugh: But it was great to see the results. DD will be pelased about NZ too.

Think she was definitely meant to be yours CC :laugh: . Lovely to have a new famnily member that everyone is happy with too.