shyfig

I'm also unable to pay until Thursday next week if that's OK.

I wish I had this problem..my boy won,t even chase a ball

One of the cutest things I've seen in a long time!! How on earth do they all stay so nicely posed for the shots? Just gorgeous

Aussielover he's an absolutely gorgeous dog and yes very, very cheeky. He's bright, can see him thinking way ahead and knows exactly what's going on. He isn't a high energy dog ...loves his walks, chasing water from the hose and doesn't have any interest in ball chasing at all. He loves to be with us more than anything and hankers for cuddles! I do basic obedience with him but we are too far away from any main centres to do agility, flyball etc. Herding is about 2 hrs away also. It's a real shame as I would love to do agility with him.

Yes crating at night in the bedroom is sounding the plan of choice. The dog and cats stay away from each other through fear and choice...I am trying to achieve more organized separation for when the cats try and come in for meals and time with us. I would love it if they could be together. I'm hoping that my separation strategies may also help reinforce with Jed that he does not own the whole house...that the cats are entitled and in fact were before him so should be above him in the pecking order.

That's just so lovely that your two have developed such an amazing bond. What sort of dog and how old are they both? You should post a photo

Definately agree with that! It is mainly for night time and I think it will end up in the bedroom once I rearrange the room to accommodate it a bit better. Perhaps the cats will be OK if they know that Jed's confined. I'd rather have him in with me as I'd miss him if he were in another room. Just trying to get it worked out in my head

That's how I've had Jed for a few months now but it just doesn't work even with a short lead as he can still reach much of my stuff and eat it. He'll also try and block the cats from getting up if they do try and come in. It's good to know that someone else does the leash thing though!

when I clicked on your LINK it took me to my facebook page. Oh jeeze I'm brilliant tonight Will fix the link

Thanks SpotTheDog but 7 mths in their is no harmony...a long story with much advice from forums, vet etc but our purfect fur family just wasn't achieved. That part is water under the bridge

Ok I think I need to clarify my situation BRIEFLY as I shouldn't expect people to remember. We got Jed 7 Mths ago (at 5 mths of age) with full intention of he and our two cats getting along. Originally the 3 of them slept on my bed together but unfortunately the "relationships" were very stressed and became dangerous. My oldest cat (male) is vicious with him now as a result of Jeds behaviour towards him....the younger female is very gentle and has had plenty of head cuddles etc but is very frightened of him. Jed food guards, toy guards etc and has pursued them enough times that they have become extremely frightened of him. I had posted about this earlier and it was suggested to separate them from each other as much as possible...to create different areas in the house for them. Because I have a Hidden fence the cats have a five foot perimeter around the boundary of our 1/4 acre block which provides them with ample outside safespots for sunning themselves, sleeping etc. and in my original post in this topic attempted to described the indoor areas and how they are separated. One reason the division of areas has been done like this is becuase the kitchen and my bedroom run off each other it is simply practical to make this the cats area as they are fed in the kitchen...Jed is fed on the other side of the house near the laundry. Both have entry doors and becuase the loungroom and kitchen are open plan you can see from one side of the house to the other through the doors. Eventually cat and dog doors for each side. The second reason is that my kitchen cannot have a clean bench policy as we have 4 people functioning on 4 different sleep patterns and as kitchen is also the area for schooling the table and benches are never cleared off for very long. This has been a problem for us as Jed STILL bench surfs (yes previous posts about this) and separating kitchen from loungreoom with SkedattleLink was a foolproof solution after mths of training, retraining, implementing advice from forums, vet etc with no success and lots of damaged and destroyed possessions, schoolwork etc. SO...cats right hand side of house ....dog left hand 2/3rds of house. Kitchen separated from loungeroom with Skedattle which works off his collar as we have the outside hidden fence. Jed knows he can only access my bedroom if I carry him through to it the same as he can only access outside the yard if he is carried through the front gates. This reinforces areas that are out of bound and apart from this he refuses to go past the out of bounds point as he knows he will get a zapp. AND...I have NO intention of just sticking Jed in the brand new crate and expecting him to sleep there now! If that were my intention I would not be posting for advise about his sleeping arrangements and how to best TRANSITION him to the crate for sleeping once he is USED to the crate. I hope this sheds some better light on my situation and clears up some bizzare ideas that have been posted.

that I have a crate! Ended up getting a 42" and it is humungous....but smaller Jed wouldn't have had room to stretch out. It's set up in my loungeroom (only arrived today) and now my question is should I make the loungeroom its permanent place and eventually encourage Jed to sleep in it or would he experience too much anxiety being separated from me? I'd like to keep him out of my room permanently so the cats can have some house space again. He is cut off from the kitchen and my bedroom with my Hidden fence Skedattle which works a treat and I then carry him into the bedroom at night at the moment but the cats are still so isolated after 7 mths of staying outside instead of sleeping in my room To give you an idea of my house setup imagine a rectangle divided into two areas of 2/3rds and 1/3rd. My kitchen and bedrrom represent the 1/3rd and the 2/3rds represents the loungeroom and bedrroms and bathrooms etc. It's very open plan that's why I've used a skedattle to section off. I've loved having him sleep with me on the bed but maybe a move to the loungroom would be better for all animal harmony? OR I could get another crate for the bedroom

We have a Border Collie, two cats, two guinea pigs and 3 mice. Mice live in my oldest sons room...door ALWAYS remains closed. Guinea pigs live inside at night in a very secure wooden hutch which is cat proofed and dog proofed. We have an outside guinea pig cage which was an old chicken coop...heavy guage steel and 1 cm square aviary wire. HOWEVER...we also have a Hidden fence (Link ) which not only keeps our BC from escaping the yard but also provides a nice 4 foot perimeter right around the yard in which our dog can't enter (or he gets a zap). In this safe area our Guinea pig hutch can be moved right around the perimeter of our 1/4 acre house block in safety. We transfer the guinea pigs from inside to outside and vice versa in a plastic and wire cat cage which they get into themselves as they have learnt the routine. Our cats also have the benefit of the same perimeter being their outside "safe Zone" where they can sleep and roam without a worry about our BC chasing them (because he does!). Inside I now have the house split in half so the cats have the huge kitchen and my bedroom where our dog can't access them. This is done with an internal Hidden Fence that works off Jed's collar the same as the outside Hidden Fence. (I can't put up gates and barriers becuase my house is very open plan). The loungeroom runs off the kitchen so he is able to see me easily and he has access to the boys bedrooms. When I had my previous dog (a GSP) we had chooks so extended the previous Hidden fence around the perimeter of the fowl yard. This may help you come up with some alternate ideas for the future if you choose to have more guinea pigs, fowls etc. I had planned this approach quite awhile before we got our latest dog as all our pets are important to us and this is the easiest and most reliable way for US to ensure that they are safe.

That makes sense...thanks Nekhbet.

No he's not a giant breed but a Border Collie. The vet advised to put him onto adult food as I couldn't get him to eat any puppy kibble when I bought him home (at 5 mths) and in the weeks that followed (not even what the breeder was feeding). He's a Purebred BC.....his mother was also very sedentary as in no herding drive, very affectionate and just loves being where his/her people are. He's very healthy...has a beautiful coat and has always enjoyed fresh meat i.e. chicken necks, bones and loves tuna and salmon which he really enjoys mixed in with his biscuits.

I have been feeding Jed Enduro complete formula for adult dogs since he was about 6 mths old on the vets recommendation as I couldn't get him to eat any puppy kibble. Now (at 12mths) I have about 10kg of Bonnie puppy kibble left and he has decided that it doesn't taste to bad. Would it hurt to finish of the puppy kibble over the next few months and then resume him on the Enduro? Bonnie Puppy has 26% protein and 13% fat Enduro adult has 21% protein and 10% fat He is a couch potato...enjoying a walk per day and some play so he is not super active. In fact I'd call him sedentary :D What do others think?

I think I'd feel the same! I hope all goes well when the owner picks her up.

Oh...didn't think of top of head to pawtips!

Saw this on ebay...very interested for Jed. Wondering if I could have some opinions size wise. Trying to get around specifications for each size is doing my head in. This particularly looks "destruction proof". Jed's 12 mths old...about 69cm tall (to the top of his head), about 80cm long from bottom to tip of nose lying down (not counting tail). Note the height measurement is 70cm from bottom of floor (not ground). I like the fact that it is should be really strong (eating proof) and on wheels so I could move it around easily if needed. Would only be using it for sleeping and a quite place for him. I know it's considerably more expensive than a wire crate....but I just know he would find a way to destroy/ dismantle a wire one. Click here to see on ebay

I sympathise immensely with your situation an also advise a visit to a Paediatrician, Psychologist or Psychiatrist for a consultation. I have 3 boys with Autism and my eldest was exactly as you describe ....I thought he was a 3 year old sociopath! Having said that a diagnosis for a Pervasive Developmental Disorder is complex and just the beginning of a road that would change your life and priorities forever. I encourage you to contact your state austism society and see if they can give you names of appropriate medical professionals that are SPECILAIZED in Autism and Aspergers syndrome. The majority are not . A forum is a good place to start also. Happy for you to PM me for any other advice. My boys are 15, 13 and 11 and were diagnosed at 7, 9 and 7 respectively. They also have many co-existing conditions which can also change the appearance of Aspergers and Autism..

Oh my that's just the funniest recount .....obviously your boy needs to sleep hard during the day so he has enough energy to sleep even harder at night

Oh good to see a photo....that really helps. My boy is just 12 mths old now. It doesn't look like a lot of room to spare but I have read that they feel safer in more compact spaces. Would you agree? I didn't see the cat in the crate until I clicked on the photo to make it bigger. How cute. I wish my Jed and 2 cats got on.

I have tried to do searches for previous threads on this topic but I don't think I'm doing it right. Ending up with about a thousand threads and having to go into each one to see if there is anything relevant So....I need to get a crate for my boy for sleeping at night. Can any other BC owners recommend a size and type to get?

It's so interesting reading of everyone's experiences. All these doggies have routines and sound like they are very well trained! Well my boy is a pain in the butt still to trust at night while I'm asleep. Initially he'd sleep on the end of my bed from about 5 mths to 8 mths no worries. But with more serious run ins with my cats he has to be tethered to my bed so he can still sleep on the end of my bed but is unable to chase my 2 cats or destroy the house...yes still bench surfs...floors, bed, bathroom, table,kitchen etc, etc. For anyone concerned about the tethering he is fine...can't accidentally hurt himself. He quite accepts the arrangement and sometimes the cats will sleep a little closer to him because they know he can't touch them Will be buying a crate in the next couple of weeks but I will miss having him on my bed

How old were your dogs when they started sleeping in crates and do the crates live in your bedroom or somewhere else?