Tassie

Think you can say you and Elsie have had a pretty outstanding year, DD. Super well done! So you'd better start putting up next year's goals :-). We still have 2 weekends of trialling - agility, and then Rally and obedience ....

Rally trial for us today. The feral Kirra was...feral ...but in spite of a big handler error on my part causing a 10 point IPS, she did manage to scrape through Excellent B and then put in a bit better effort to pass Advanced B, and get her 9th leg towards RAE. Little big man Rory did quite nicely in Excellent B .. in spite of my rubbish handling causing us to lose 6 points but still got 2nd. (Memo to self..you do not need to say "sit" at a halt to your obedience trained dog..that's for the feral one :-).) We made up for it in Adv. B with a 99 and 1st. That was his 9th leg towards RAE2.

:laugh: You just sent me to the pack to have a look. They're probably a bit more realistic than some other foods. 21kg male BC gets a bit over 2/3 cup morning and again at night 15kg female BC gets a bit over 1/3 cup morning and again at night. Without doing the math, I think this is a bit under the recommendations. They seem to maintain their weights well - both are kept on the lean side, as they are performance dogs.

Mogda - it sounds as though you're really making great progress with your little 'angel' now ... well done.

Bearing in mind that we can't see the pup ... but it would seem to me that she's getting far too many chances to keep practising behavioiurs you don't want. Don't forget that to a busy puppy, any attention (even if we think it's not "good") - can be reinforcing behaviour. She's getting your attention and she doesn't care how she does it. Since she likes to play rough (and maybe her littermates or mum didn't help her to learn not to do that) she finds it quite rewarding when you play rough - then she'll play roiugher still. And some of what the breeder is suggesting, is IMHO, not going to help you build a good relationship with the pup. K9Pro is in Melbourne at the moment, I think, so may be a little while before he gets back to you. My advice in the short term would be to put the pup away every time the behaviour starts to get out of hand. That could be outside or in her playpen. Try to say to yourself something like - "too bad, time out" as you do it, so that you're remaining calm. My boy came with pants tugging firmly in place - took a few weeks of an interrupt sound like "Uh-uh" and distracting him immediately with a legitimate chew object - tug toy, or inside from paper towel holder or something. You need to engage them with that - play tuggy with them for a couple of minutes, then let them take their 'prize'. Rinse and repeat. Have you tried the longer lasting chew things for her - frozen chicken wings - frozen stuffed kongs, anything safe (not rawhide, for preference) that will keep her occupied for a while - and give you the chance to get some stuff done, and let her learn that good things happen while she's being calm - non-stop action is not necessary :) .

Agree with what HW and Persephone have said - and lots of good advice from people facing or having faced similar issue. The breeder's advice rings alaarm bells with me - certainly not the way I would want to go about things for a pup you want to be a part of the family. Also, in terms of finding a professional to help you with in home training, I'd just caution against anyone who seems to be offering a quick fix - as people have pointed out - there isn't one. One of the tricky things I think you have to do (and it will be hard) is to try to model calm behaviour for the pup ... the sort of thing that wuffles is describing. If you get agitated and high pitched, you can be sure the pup will too. There are some good tips on the Dog Scouts of America wwebsite - including 10 tips for changing any problem behaviour

That's great news CC! So happy for you and the handsome Louis.

Just wanted to say ... provided she has lots of time and is willing to spend a lot of time training a dog and being with it, there's no reason why she couldn't have a BC. Obviously not one of the high drive performance ones, but I find it a myth that BCs need lots of space. In my experience, (with over an acre) they really only want to be using the space if you're out there with them. As far as Tollers go - might be worth PMin tollersowned or Ptolomy.

Good on you for stewarding. It is a great way to get used to the ring environment without putting pressure on the dog ... apart from being a real help to your club. :-).

Wow - ADX already TO - that's wonderful.

:laugh: Elsie will have to join the "you can't get the help" club - but that's exciting.

Nice brags DD - versatile girlie Elsie is - that's great. And good for you and Waldo Sue. 1 to go for RE and then on to the long haul of RAE - but you and Waldo will do fine. And nice work with the first CD pass. They all count - and it's great if they can pick up after a not so good start. ETfix typo - as usual

That's wonderful to hear.

Yes, "lazy" was probably a "lazy" way of expressing it :)

Yes, totally agree with showdog. Pacing is very lazy. Trotting is the maintenance gait I'd think - speed will vary according to the dog. My BC boy will pace if I'm not walking fast enough - I almost have to power walk to break him into a trotting beat. ET - the dogs are usually trotting - that's what's desirable for those sort of distances. Having said that, some variation in pace is good too, although I wouldn't drop them back to pacing.

As usual - totally agree with Pers. To me, crate - preferably in your bedroom - is the best thing. Pup is safe and secure, and you will be able to hear when you need to get up and take her outside to toilet - loads of praise, then back to bed - with a little biscuit if you like. My grown up boy (5) still goes to bed in his crate - with a biscuit - his choice - I took the door off a while ago, because it was a pain :laugh: .

My 2 adult Border Collies have been on BH for a couple of years now. Currently Lamb & Rice and Fish & Sweet Potato, bt they've also had Chicken & Rice. It seems to suit them, although as has been said many times, what suits one dog may not suit another - even of the same breed. Haven't noticed any drop off in quality. There is a size difference in the kibble - Lamb is smaller than Fish. Having said all that - I must say that I'm very lucky in that my two are pretty easy to please, so probably not the best guide. :laugh:

Those look super, Sheena - How have you fixed them?

Oh yes - I'd forgotten the photos. :laugh:

Exactly :D I'll sometimes say to Kirra something like "Not everyone needs to stop and speak to a Border Collie", at which point the person (who I thought was a likely prospect) will indicate that they actually do want to speak to a BC - at which point Kirra says - Nanana - see they did want to speak to me . General happiness all round . :)

I actually love walking through town or round the wharf with the 2 BCs. Both mine love people (though not unknown dogs) and Kirra in particular is very disappointed if a dogless person does not invite her over for a chat. She's always happy to do tricks for people. We get lots of chats from people in tourist season - especialy BC owners who miss their dogs left at home. I often joke that we should be able to get employment from the tourist board :) . All that said, I wouldn't take the dogs through town or round the wharf if I was on a tight schedule for getting from point A to point B.

Good question, DD. Over the years, with several disciplines and a few dogs, I've accumulated quite a few drawers full. Plan is to make quilt and/or cushions ... when I retire :laugh: . I agree with you about the wooden display board/holder - way too small. I have quite an accumulation of medallions too - currently piled into a big salad bowl - have seen those used as wind chimes - haven't got round to doing it yet. Blame the dogs - their stuff takes up too much time.

:laugh: Depends how desperate you are, Flashsmum :laugh: Good news about Harry - hope the recovery continues to be good.

Another thought out of the blue - have they considred Addison's?

Puppy/kitten tearless shampooI like the Bio-Groom Protein Lanolin Tearless shampoo . It's a concentrate, so good value.