BC Crazy

My heart soooo goes out to you. I have given it some serious thought & I would have to set the fellow free, give him some angle wings so he can go the Rainbow bridge Poor little bloke. I think his quality of life has to govern your ' call' on this very serious problem. I think you will make the best decision, what ever that may be. I too would take up the breeders offer for another puppy, if you do decide to go that way, when you are ready. May I suggest pet insurance if you decide to get another 4 legged best friend, it doesn't work out very expensive & if nothing else gives you peace of mind when you do encounter vet bills. Even for yearly vacinations e.t.c. My thoughts are with you both. Sometimes these things happen for a reason, & at the time you are darned if you know why. Please keep us posted , won't you. Take care.

A big thanks to everyone for there help regarding this issue of Sonny's hair disturbance.I have been trying to remember when I first noticed this issue with him & realized when he was an young adolescent I thought this small patch of unusual hair growth was just puppy coat growing but it must not of been cause it is still there now. So it has been there for quite some time. Was going to try an give him something to promote hair re growth as it is such a small area & you can't see his skin or anything. You can feel little spikes of new growth but the texture of the hair is more coarse. I don't know what to give him though , heard Kelp is good. Maybe there is a better alternative additive out there??? I give him Omega 3, twice a week at the moment.

Hi Jules P, yes my boy is loosing weight pretty quickly. :D I have halved his food intake & am extremely determine, I think he knows that now ( they are very good at reading your body language, aren't they? ) cause he isn't playing the game" of I want something else to eat" with me like he used to. Just this hair thing is strange , maybe an allergy of some kind, might talk to my next time I am in there, see what he reckons. It is just annoying as his coat is lovely till you get to this small area on him.

Sonny has not lost a lot of hair but he has lost a bit in that particular area, you can't see his skin yet but I want to try & catch the problem before it gets to that degree if possible. Looking like a trip to the vet to make sure though. He has a slight weight problem as well. Another sign :D You give Panda daily medication which is successful, ya!!! There is hope for us then. Did it take long to see results? Is the medication expensive? Does this problem with the Thyroid effect their health in any other way that you know of? Sorry for all the ????

Didn't know that BC's where to to this problem BellaDonna. I have always had border's & this is the first time this has happened. Luckily for me I guess. I am really worried about it. Yes, I might have to get him tested. I thought I had just been a bit over zealous with the Mars coat king but the actual hair is just such a different texture to the rest of him, it is quite strange really cause it is just in that particular spot.

It is not quite such a simple test as there is more to it than just testing for T4 for an accurate diagnosis. The trouble is, our Aussie laboratories do not have the facilities to enable them to do the FULL panel test (T4, T3, T3aa, T4aa, etc), which is why I prefer thyroid tests to be conducted by Dr Jean Dodds, in the USA, especially in the younger dogs when it might not show up in though our testing. A bit more expensive because you'll need to pay for the International Courier, but not completely unaffordable. If the test is done here in Australia and it came up as "positive" then I'd be inclined to believe it. But if it came up as "negative" then I'd only wonder if it is a true result and to me the expense for the Aussie test would be a waste because I'd feel I'd only need to have it redone in the USA. Also, the USA analysis is a bit more specific than our Aussie "small, medium, and large" dogs analysis. However I agree that the symptom the OP has described is not really enough to determine thyroid as being a likely cause of the problem, but if the OP wants to rule it out then the blood test is the way to go. Are there any other possible contributing causes? For example, does your BC happens chance to have a tail that tends to curl up and over? I have seen this on a standard poodle and the rubbing of the tail on the back causes the coat to be flattened and more wiry at that spot. Or does your BC chew there? No,he doesn't chew anywhere except occasionally his feet when the lawn is a bit long in our back yard, so we try to mow it every 2nd w.end.

Hi, Was wondering if anyone can shed some light on a problem that I have with my 2 & a half year old Border Collie 'Sonny'. For some time now I have noticed that on the top of his back towards his rump, their is a patch of hair about six inches round where the hair is rather thin & seems to be a totally different texture to the rest of his coat, which is beautiful, shiny & in good health. I had him professionally groomed yesterday ( for the first time) as I always do him myself & she suggested that she had seen this problem before, & it is a sign of possible Thyroid troubles. Although Sonny's case is very mild apparently as some dogs can loose all their hair & you can see their skin. I have never heard of this before .Should I take him to he vet & have him tested ? He otherwise is in wonderful health. I just want his coat to be 100% healthy too. Would appreciate any advice with this problem & if their is a remedy to cure this. I read last night that Kelp may cure this ailment? He does not scratch & doesn't have flea's or any other little nasties.I want to rectify this problem A.S.A.P. Please help

Clipper World have the same dryer for $220 I had a look on the Clipper world site & couldn't find the same dryer on there. Give them a call as I was in there the other day and they have just received them. Great, I will get straight onto that, thank's for that.

Clipper World have the same dryer for $220 I had a look on the Clipper world site & couldn't find the same dryer on there.

Totally relate to that. I was feeding my boy 2 thirds of what the packet said, & he has a weight problem, now he is down to less than a quarter of what it recommends.Now I have figured they just want you to buy more. :D

Way to go Barkly Blue, Well Done !!!!!! :D

I rescued a magnificent red/white Border at 16 months of age from a extremely abusive & neglectful home.He was understandably terrified of everything :D especially storms. I could tell by his mood that we were going to get a thunderstorm hour's before it actually arrived. He would be a drooling mess by the time the storm hit. I tried everything to help him, he would just completely shut down but I found the only thing that eased 'Redman's' anxiety was to keep him confined & cosey in our laundry with the radio on quietly & mild sedation. Once when a storm hit , I wasn't able to make it home from work in time, he went straight through our fence & ran away. After looking for him for hour's, he returned & was sitting on our front door step wagging his tail. Phew !!!!He did get a little better at handling noises in the cherished time I had with him (14.5 years) but the storm issue never improved unfortunately.

Oh, I would have absolutely loved to take up up on such a kind offer but I noticed you reside somewhere in the beautiful Southern Highlands. I am located north of Newcastle. So distance is the problem. Wish I lived closer.It is a really nice area where I live but unfortunately not accessible to experienced groomers ( they all cater for little dogs only) & as for trainers or obedience/agility lessons/classes, again very limited locally & we tried all that I know of in the region but they were either very 'old school' check chains e.t.c. & harsh. Definitely not for us! Or not sure what they were doing themselves. :D So, that is why I thought I would join D.O.L. to learn as much as I can. Once again, thanks for your kind offer.

I has my eye on the exact same brand, only the one above it for $237.00. Out of interest are you happy with your's, any prob's with it. Is it in your opinion powerful enough for double coated dogs? VEry happy with mine! My main dryer is an Oldfield, while the Oldfield is more powerful the one above is still fine for BC's. I would get the double speed though!! My Oldfield died about 8 months ago ( had it for over 12yrs) and I keep meaning to have it fixed so the spare one has served me well in the interim, considering it is used a lot on all breeds of dogs too. Thank's for your helpful advice. It is virtual mine field looking for a suitable dryer LOL ( especially when you have never used one before ) so I didn't have a clue which one would suit my needs & also be within my budget. There are sooo many to choice from as well. I am going to save for a little longer. I think then buy the one you have brought, double speed as my boy has a huge coat. Can't wait to get it. I am hoping it will bring him up a lot better & get rid of some of the dead hair as I am lead to believe dryers do.

Hello again everyone, Firstly, I am very happy to report that my' weighty' problem with my beautiful border is not as' weighty' as previously thought. Due to hubby trying to weigh him on our scales at home we were getting quite incorrect readings. I never use the scales so had no idea they weren't accurate. But I am really pleased they were though LOL. Yes, we are on a strict diet & this has been a very much needed wake up call for me as a responsible dog owner. Not as strict as it was going to be. A big thank you to those members who positively helped me with my quest. Will keep you updated with our progress as I will be doing a weigh-in with my boy every fortnight ( at the vets !!! ) to monitor his progress.

Yeah,I didn't see that article on the news but it does sound like ' Overkill ' ( pardon the punt ) to me. Not that I condone dog attacks but in my opinion instead of all the ' drama' chasing & even worse killing one of those poor animals, how about tracking down & punishing the real culprits, THE OWNERS of these poor lost souls,

No worries ETA, I am very interested in listening to all passionate dog owners.Your boy is lovely. It is hard when they get older, isn't it. I had my last rescued magnificent red/white Border Collie for 14.5 years & he just changed soooo much.' Redman' was in wonderful condition right up until he was about 12 ( apart from his very distinguished greying of his muzzle. Then his body shape changed as he became less active. As we do I guess. Everything goes south

I would love one of those ones but just a bit out of my price range I bet they are really good though. I have one of the original Oldfield dryers and it is still going strong after about 20 years and many dogs. I think they are now around the $500 range but worth every cent as they are all but indestructable. Do you condition your boy's coat? His brother has an enormous coat, so with your's being desexed I imagine his coat is huge and would need regular conditioner to keep it under control. Coats on desexed dogs are completely different in texture to the entire dogs. The coat tends to go more woolly and difficult to groom. Also keep in mind that not all blacks are created equal. Some dogs never get that reddish tinge but others have it all the time, no matter what you do. I have heard Oldfield dryers are really good, they certainly last a long time then. I use Chris Christensen, Black on Black shampoo, White on White Shampoo & his conditioner every 3 weeks when I wash him & he comes up beautiful & shiny. I use CC's Ice on Ice i think it is called, leave in UV conditioning spray everyday before we go to the beach.Yes his coat is enormous. I groom him daily for 15mins before he comes inside for the evening to play & watch T.V. I am going to thin his coat out with my Mars coat king on the w.end, I think that will help with summer coming on too.

I would love one of those ones but just a bit out of my price range I bet they are really good though.

I has my eye on the exact same brand, only the one above it for $237.00. Out of interest are you happy with your's, any prob's with it. Is it in your opinion powerful enough for double coated dogs?

Most certainly.My computer skills are very limited. My son is coming home from the Navy at the start of Dec. for holiday's, so I will get him to put a photo on my beautiful Sonny on for you. I love him to bits.

Thank's for your help, I had no idea beef could be drying. So I am putting a stop to that as we speak. I weighed Sonny on scales at home & am really pleased to say that they were slightly 'out', after taking him to the vet & using his scales,yes we are on a strict diet but the problem is not nearly as bad as first thought. I never used the scales at home (your dog at 51 kg's weighs more than me) LOL. Ihave had him on a diet for 2 week's now & he has lost 1.5 kg's. The vet was very happy with that. Apparently the weight is dropping off him quickly, I am thrilled. So now I am continuing on with three quarters of a measuring cup of Royal Canin Light per day & 1 small Chic. carcess. 2 desert spoon's' mashed pumpkin. See how we go. We are going to drop into the vets in another 2 week's to monitor our progress. Keep you posted.

Yes, great idea. I am going to try that. Thanks.

Yes, I rinse him thoroughly as soon as we get home from the beach to get off all the salt / sand off. I am lucky enough to have hot/cold water outside for exactly that reason when we are home from the beach. Lucky he is a water loving baby :D He even loves being hosed.

No, I have heard they are really good for exactly that. To blow out the dead coat. I dry him off as best I can with a towels. I do pick sunny days to wash him & I walk him till he tries completely. Then we come home & I groom him again. We are lucky enough also to live in a warmer coastal area.I know nothing about force dryers but am saving up for one. In your experience which ones are the better ones to buy. It just is soooo confusing with the amount of choice, I don't know which one would suit my needs. I only have the one Border at the moment, but am getting a little girl next year, purely for pleasure, So I will just have the pigeon pair then. On a limited budget, I was interested in one called a Switch Professional dog dryer from Pet Net Work online shop. But really am unsure. :D Any advice would be graciously received.