Pretty Miss Emma

Currently 1 Border Collie, but missing my old girl immensely so am thinking that should the right BC pup show up then I will be able to give it a home!!

Not lonely enough to need one of those!! :laugh:

She's a BC and is just about to turn 2. Not totally sure where the reactivity has come from in regards to other dogs as she was soooo well socialised when she was young (and continues to be). However, the things that stand out to me that happened when she was younger that possibly relate to this are... *she was lunged at and grabbed by a GSD (who the owner told me afterwards doesn't like dogs being near it - we were 2m away just passing, and the owner had little control and not enough strength to get the dog away from us) *a little pug x thing she met quite nicely when she was young but then it jumped up to get to her face, not aggressively just excitedly but she doesn't like that *lots of dogs in my area bark and bounce at ends of leads when they see other dogs (again something she doesn't like) So we do just go with trying to keep distance when we're one on one so that I can avoid dogs rushing up to her face and can keep distance between the barking/bouncing dogs and us. But her tolerance 1 on 1 is just so muhc less than in a group situation. I feel like her reactivity is trying to tell these dogs to get away from her because she doesn't know if they are going to get too in her face (but that's just a gut feeling, who knows if there's anything to it!!).

Sending good thoughts your way. Glad to hear she's looking up at the moment.

Ok, so there have been several threads of recent about reactive dogs. I'm having one particular area that I'm really struggling with, and that is other dogs that we need to pass that are walking towards us. If we are following someone walking with their dog there are no problems. I make sure we don't pass them, but I will walk so that we are following close-ish (under threshold). But if we are walking and we need to approach a dog (either stationary or walking towards us) then there are reactivity problems. Usually I just try to avoid this by crossing the road where I can or if needs be turning around and detouring - and yes try to do this as low fuss as possible so that Kenzie just thinks we were going to do that anyway. However, there are times where this just isn't possible and realistically we need to work to an end point where she can do this without reacting (and I'm very realistic that this will take some time!). Interestingly, at obedience classes where we do a socialisation "meet and greet" we now virtually have no problems on this front. The only time there is a problem is if the other dog is high energy/boistrous/tried to jump at her or goes too close to her face (and I just take a wide berth around these dogs whenever I can). But in this situation she can very calmly walk towards about 20 or so other dogs and can even meet them nose-nose (ish!). The BIG problem is in a 1 on 1 situation. We're playing LAT whenever we see other dogs, lots of reinforcement for staying calm around other dogs, going with distractions whenever I can, and trying to get lots of seeing single other dogs at distance so she is below threshold (but to be honest we just don't see a lot of dogs being walked on their own around here at times/situations that I can keep her calm). Don't know if I should be trying to just hang out in an area where there are heaps of dogs being walked and doing lots of LAT, etc and slowly getting closer. (and then the problem would be - where is that??!!) So throwing it out there to you all to see if there are any other ideas/tactics/strategies to think about employing.

Kenzie has also developed some clinginess - I think Emma dying has made this worse. And she's the same age as yours!! I have been told Crate Games will help. But I've also instigated my own mini-training plan where lots of really fun things happen with other people and the really good treats usually come from everyone else. So when she comes to work with me eveyone in the office knows what tricks she can do and they have yummy treats for her. if she voluntarily goes to visit them she gets yummy treats for doing this. I'm encouraging everyone else to take her out to the toilet, rather than just me. And we will work up to getting them to take her for a walk at lunchtime without me. We're also asking everyone who visits us in the office to give her treats. I still have fun with her, but if there are other people around I try to get them to do the fun things with her. At work I usually only give her dry food as a treat, while everyone else has liver, straps, bacon or chicken. I've already seen a bit of improvement with her and we've only done this for a day this week - it will be an ongoing process! When I had to leave her they were able to break her pacing behaviour and she didn't try to scratch at the door to go and find me. So it is a work in progress and there will be modifications to the plan along the way. But I think the good advice I got was - let her know that fun things happen with other people not just me. So maybe think about ways that you can help him have fun that aren't right beside you. Kenzie loves doing tricks, so for me it was easy - she does her tricks with other people!

Shake Hi 5 Hi 10 Wave Roll over Spin Creep/Crawl Sleepy (they lie on their side from a drop as if they are asleep!) Touch/Target

Yay!!!!

Fingers crossed and give her a cuddle!

You did make it all ok for her. from me and Kenzie

Glad you started this as if/when I get my next one I can't have as much time off as I did for the last one (job change!!). With my current dog I was lucky enough to have 5 weeks off work when I got here (school hols!). This time there certainly won't be that long, and there will be some long days at home but there also is the likelihood that they will be able to come to work with me a couple fo times a week. So it would be almost a situation of day at home, day at work, etc. Unfortunately only 1 can come to work at a time, so it does mean the other left at home is home on their own. But I was also thinking maybe a long weekend to settle or a week off work to do this!

My council is useless and doesn't provide waater bowls for dogs (ok, maybe there are 1 or 2 - but that's in the whole municipality!).

Kepala - I think they count as Diggers Rest (near Calder Park). Haven't used it but friends have and they love it. It's about 20-25min from you. I think there is also a boarding kennel pretty much at the airport, out on Melrose Drive, not sure the name of it. And there were also plans in place for a new one in Tullamarine, but again that's word of mouth not sure about it.

Ok, so I've been out of this thread for ages and you lot have racked up a massive amount of posts!!! I took Kenzie out on the bike for the first time ever yesterday. She is a superstar!!! Ran/trotted beautifully the whole time. The only issues I had were other people walking dogs on the track (and there weren't many - everyone was watching the footy!!), so I need to work on her ignoring them when we go past. And even then the issue is if they are coming towars us, we can follow/pass people if they are travelling the same direction as us! So, she did about 7km in 40 min. I think that's just over the speed they are supposed to run at. I know it's somewhere in the thread (but after trawling a few pages, I figured I'd just ask!!), but about how long does it usually take to do each leg of the ET? I know it is supposed to be around 10km/h but from those who've done it I'm just wondering how long the dogs run for each leg. Anyway, seeing as though it all went so well yesterday my motivation has been renewed and my plan is that she will get her ET title next year!!!! Fingers crossed that our training goes well and nothing gets in our way!!

I think I really would like a puppy. And showing is on my list of things I'd like to do, so would like to start doing that with a pup. I also think Kenzie would like a pup, just in terms of playing etc (and having watched her with one of my friends BC pup - who she hangs out with every week - I'm pretty sure she'd choose a pup over an older dog if she could tell me!!!). My only worry is work, and I would be able to take some time off to bring a pup home but with Kenzie I had 5 weeks off with her and I certainly wouldn't be able to do that. But I would be able to take it to work every so often, so maybe I don't need to worry so much about that. Plus I guess there are plenty of people out there who get their puppy and are off to work the next day. Maybe I stress too much and think things through a little too hard sometimes!!!!!

It would be another Border. At the moment I can't bring myself to move to any other breed!! I keep looking and end up at the same place - borders!!! If I had a bigger place then I would probably want to have 3 - then I could rotate one at work 2 at home!! But I figure even if I have another 1 it does mean I could give each a day at work, so the other would have a day to themselves and also some time at home together. A bit mixed up but I really don't want any one dog thinking they MUST be at work with me all the time, I also do like the idea of them knowing they can be totally on thier own for a bit - I just don't want them totally on their own all the time. I completely understand the thoughts of a different breed, ideas on which JulesP?

Well for the last 12 weeks I've been the owner of only one dog. Losing Emma still is quite devastating for me and in the perfect world I'd have her back. But that won't be happening and I'm at a point where I'm ready/needing to think about where to now. For about 11 weeks I've had my aunt and her old GR living with me, so Kenzie has still had someone around to hang out with during the day. But they will be going soon, so that will mean we will actually be a completely solo dog household. This will be the first time in Kenzie's life that she's ever really been on her own (as in there is no other dog who will be coming home in a few days, or to hang out with at night, etc, etc). So there's a few things going on here. I'm worried about how she will cope. She does come to work with me a couple of times a week, but I don't want her coming every day (or relying on being with me every day), and she does have lots of activities each week where she gets to see/play with other dogs. I'm thinking that I may be ready to start thinking about another dog. Part of this is also because there may be a litter of pups in the close future that could have a puppy for me. Anyway, the bit about whether I'm ready I need to just think about and work out. Some questions for you though (should I decide that I am ready)... Dog or bitch? I generally prefer the girls. I am wanting a dog that will work in dog sports and obedience and from what most people tell me they feel that girls are a bit easier to train and tend to work really well. But would a boy be more laid back? And would this be a bit more calming for Kenzie? She doesn't seem to have any preference for dogs/bitches she just tends to like who she likes!! Also if you have added another dog to your family have you found that their age makes a difference? Kenzie turns 2 in about 3 weeks time (there certainly won't be a new dog in this house for at least 3 months or so!!). I think I would really like a puppy, although a slightly older dog might be more calming for her. And assuming she is at least 2.25 years old when a new furry joins us, what are peoples experiences with that sort of age gap? And then there is, do I just wait for a bit longer and work more with Kenzie and have some more 1 on 1 time before even thinking about it?! Who knew it would be this hard??? Sorry for writing an essay about this, I think I'm just wanting some peoples experiences/ideas/thoughts so that I can feel like I have a balanced perspective to try and make this decision. It certainly wasn't this hard when I decided that I needed Kenzie!! But this time I think it is so much harder because it's the new dog after beautiful Miss Emma. It would be so much easier if someone just decided for me!!! Thanks in advance!

Is it a normal vet or a vet opthalmologist who has treated this so far? I'm a bit touchy about eyes and if there is any problem say go see an opthalmologist!!! My Emma had an ulcer on her eye post cataract surgery and they were able to get it to pop off with some special eye drops, she stayed in the clinic for the day and by the end of the day the ulcer had popped off. Unfortunately the cornea did not heal over so she then had to have surgery to have a pedicle graft put over the hole. But it was really easy surgery and as the ulcer/hole was close to the eyelid they just put a stitch in her eyelid for about a week so that it was kept relatively covered while it healed. So that's probably a more complicated situation than you have but all in all it wasn't that difficult. Good luck!

Ok you two!!!! You do make me laugh though! This morning brilliant success again. When people were anywhere near the car I just kept talking to her because she was lying down. And I'm also talking to her when there is no one near the car so she doesn't start to think that if she hears me there must be someone near by. I think we're on to something that's working, so I might consider getting her a real anxiety wrap jacket (does anyone know if they are heavy/light material?? Just wondering in terms of the weather heating up!). She's also been wearing it this morning at work and I do think she is a lot calmer than she has been - or maybe because I think this then I'm emitting good vibes to her and so all round it is working!!

So, I've been making Kenzie wear the coat I bought for Emma to keep warm (good thing it's been cold the last few times we've been in the car!). It's a size too small for Kenzie, so I figured it would be good to try before buying something purpose built like the anxiety jacket. I've also been strapping her in with her car harness and she is attached to somewhat limit her movement around the back of the car. I don't know if it's all of that that's working or if it is coincidence but she seems to have been much better. Today on the way to and from work there was not a peep out of her!!! Someone walked past the front of the car with an umbrella and she didn't care! On other occasions she has had a bit of a bark but no where near as intense as she has been in the past and not with the same frequency. So maybe.....!!

Sorry to hear this. I was in a similar situation a few months ago, where the decision really just had to be made. You've done the hardest and nicest thing you could do for your dog. My thoughts are with you. Lot's of lovely dogs playing at the rainbow bridge I'm thinking.

As above!! I sympathise with you, but this is a problem that can be managed! Visit the training thread - there are 2 topics there that might help - and if people are saying the behaviourist they've mentioned here is good then getting advice from them will probably be invaluable to you.

How nice would it be if the money spent on that advertising campaign had been put in to some useful community education or something along those lines.

I would like to have a Tri, but if I wasn't happy to have a b&w then I wouldn't have Kenz! But I'd still love a tri, and now even a bit more so because I'd really love my next dog to be significantly different in appearance to Miss Emma. But it's always about the dog not about the colour for me.

Is there a possibility of extended hours or preferrably weekends? If so let me know and then it may be possible.