Elbie, Hoover, Dodge & Friends!

[tigers12]

Koalathebear, i love reading about Elbie! Although i don't have a dog myself (2 cats), i am hopeful of getting a Border Collie in the near future.

Elbie looks like such a good boy and looks really well trained! You have done a fantastic job training him so far, keep up the good work! :rolleyes:

[koalathebear]

Max #1: It's very addictive. Feel free to post here if you're shy about posting elsewhere - you're always free to use 'my' posts wuffles youtube channel is very good and Ava is a beautiful, beautiful dog. Keep the videos coming - such a shame you're in Vic, I'd love to see Max in person

tigers 12: you're so kind! Thanks for posting and I'm glad you enjoy the Elbie updates. he's very dear to us and we get a lot of fun out of him. He's smart and good with tricks but he's still a little/big monster at times ;)

Great choice with border collies - they are beautiful dogs. I've become a kelpie person and if I could persuade my husband, we'd have a Noonbarra kelpie for Christmas Hope to hear from you soon that you have a new puppy :D

[tigers12]

I'm really sorry to hijack the thread ktb, but im having trouble searching for border collies on this forum. Would you be able to direct me to where the BC threads are situated and if its not to much to ask, a list of some of the BC breeders on this forum?

Once again, sorry to hijack!

Much appreciated!

[koalathebear]

I'm really sorry to hijack the thread ktb, but im having trouble searching for border collies on this forum. Would you be able to direct me to where the BC threads are situated and if its not to much to ask, a list of some of the BC breeders on this forum?

Once again, sorry to hijack! Much appreciated!

Hi there Absolutely no need to apologise. And there's no hijacking - I'm always happy to help if I can :p

Here's the official Border Collie 101 Thread.

The general chat thread is here.

There would be a lot of breeders so you could ask on that thread. Alternatively, there's a lovely lady named dancinbcs who has always been very kind to me. You could message her and ask her about good breeders - she used to breed BCs and while I think she might be taking a break now - perhaps she could point you in the right direction?

Hope that helps ;)

PS: Sure you wouldn't like to try a kelpie?

Edited September 7, 2010 by koalathebear

[wuffles]

PS: Sure you wouldn't like to try a kelpie?

Or an Aussie?

[tigers12]

Thanks so much!

Cant wait for the next update on Elbie :)

[Niques]

Elbie's long snout suits him perfectly! He's aging into a very handsome pup!

Love his "picking up toys". He is an insanely clever boy.

If you don't mind me straying off topic for a minute, do you have a video of Elbie's "wave" trick? I've been wanting to see what it looks like for a while now, but keep forgetting to ask.

Edit: Oh, I just made it to the end of his most recent music video - is that it there close to the end...a bit before the paw over snout?

Edited September 9, 2010 by Niques

[koalathebear]

If you don't mind me straying off topic for a minute, do you have a video of Elbie's "wave" trick? I've been wanting to see what it looks like for a while now, but keep forgetting to ask.

Edit: Oh, I just made it to the end of his most recent music video - is that it there close to the end...a bit before the paw over snout?

There are no off topic items. Here are the wave videos.

.

Some people teach it by modifying the high five. I did it by holding up my hand and saying: "We come in peace". Elbie then copied. My husband made me change the verbal cue though

Right now I'm trying to teach Elbie left and right which is fun.

Aren't we due for a new James video soon???? His fans are waiting!

Edited September 9, 2010 by koalathebear

[Niques]

Hah, he gets a new video when he stops being a destructive bastard I swear, karma's a pain in the arse with this dog - I'd read that the rebellious period can start at 7 months so spent early last month bragging to anyone who'd listen about how just lovely my 7 month old pup was. Fast-forward to now where if I leave him outside for more than 2 minutes the reticulation is dragged out of the ground and shredded, the hose is pulled off the wall and full of bite marks...oh, and my personal favourite, the creepy crawly is dragged out of the pool! Nutty little dog - when I stop feeling the urge to tear out my hair everytime I look him I will take some new videos

That wave is adorable - particularly the first!

I've been watching your progress with the left and right. It's a very nifty trick!

I taught James "touch" with his nose and paw today which has me bursting out laughing each time - something so cute about being prodded by a wet nose. I've been a bit slack with new tricks of late.

[Max#1]

That wave is really adorable! How did you teach it? Our puppy pre-school lady told us to teach it by first starting with touch, then pulling away after awhile so he ends up waving his hand in the air. But he doesn't like this (when he misses the 'touch') and just starts barking. Any suggestions?

And you asked for it! Thanks for letting me post photos too by the way - its addictive! It really is a shame that the dogs can't meet as well! Though I do make a point of showing Max the videos (can dogs see TV/computer screens?

Its the saga of the ear..... we've got one up! Its been up for two days now....

And to prove it stays up in motion - here we are doing some training. He's taken to doing really proud sits, which I'm really impressed with! What he's been offering lately, is these proud sits while we're out walking. If I stop walking (like getting something out of my pocket, talking to someone), he'll sit really proudly... um not quite sure how I 'taught' that one....!

He's preempting me a bit I know - but its bloody hard to coordinate taking a video, and organizing a dog.... I'm very impressed by this fact when I see everyone else's videos! And that's the 'back chatting' - I think it came up in another post by aussielover, I think. Okay dog going mad on my sock gotta go!

[koalathebear]

Niques: That is the second time today I've read about garden reticulation! The first mention was that awful man who drowned his dog in an esky (that poor POOR little puppy :D ) and I didn't for the life of me know what it was. After reading your comment I have googled what garden reticulation is and now know.

Regarding naughty James ... I think we all have our trials and tribulations with our lively doggies ... Sometimes I pretend to envy the dogs that are placid as cows, but there's something very lovable about a smart and cheeky dog. I hope that James settles for the sake of your poor garden! Our latest problem with Elbie is that while he's pretty well-behaved outside during the day, if we go out after dark and leave him in the yard - he barks. Our neighbour told us that he barked for 1.5 hours the other night when we were picking up my brother from the airport. :D We'd normally crate him if it's night time and we're not going to be out long but sometimes it just gets dark while we're out and then the pup gets barky :p Fortunately we have HEAPS of dogs on our street and I don't think there are any evil dog baiters but we are going to try to address the Darkness Barking problem soon.

when I stop feeling the urge to tear out my hair everytime I look him I will take some new videos

Can't wait! He must be getting very big now. What does he do when you reprimand him for his naughtiness - does he give you looks?

I taught James "touch" with his nose and paw today which has me bursting out laughing each time - something so cute about being prodded by a wet nose. I've been a bit slack with new tricks of late.

Touch is funny because sometimes I'll have my hand just dangling and Elbie will come up and touch his nose to it under the mistaken belief that I am prompting him to do a nose touch. His 'paw' is also really funny because when he's excited, he is totally spazzy and over-enthusiastic with his 'paw' action.

Max#1: :D I was laughing out loud at the photos and the video.

1. The upright ear is AWESOME. Are you sure that's a border collie ear? It looks like a crazy kelpie ear or batman!

2. I LOVE his proud sit - he looks so serious and sentinel-like as he sits there so straight with one ear sticking up like that! Those sits are going to get him a lot of praise at dog school, particularly the fact that he does the auto-sit when you stop. In bronze class the dogs are supposed to auto-sit when you stop. Also in that first photo - Elbie gets that expression on his face, too.

3. in the video, I LOVED how promptly he jumped to attention - it was like he had a spring inside him.

4. the back-chatting is sooooooooooo cute. Elbie doesn't do that - he makes a range of funny noises but usually not during his tricks. How very funny!

Though I do make a point of showing Max the videos (can dogs see TV/computer screens?

I think so. I showed Elbie that talking husky video and he was intent and when I'm watching videos on youtube he'll frequently sit there and stare at it - he loses interest after a few seconds though.

That wave is really adorable! How did you teach it? Our puppy pre-school lady told us to teach it by first starting with touch, then pulling away after awhile so he ends up waving his hand in the air. But he doesn't like this (when he misses the 'touch') and just starts barking. Any suggestions?

One day Elbie was sitting there staring at me a short distance away. I held my hand up and said: "We come in peace". I did it a few more times and then he copied me. I'm not sure if you can get Max to 'copy' you. if not, what you can do is hold your hand up and give him a high five prompt from a distance to prompt him to raise his paw. You may find that that works better.

Okay dog going mad on my sock gotta go!

Elbie does that to my husband. I wear slippers so he ignores those. He does have a really bad habit of getting his toys and nudging us with them which I know is bad dog manners but well ... :D

tigers12: any luck in your hunt for a puppy?

Edited September 9, 2010 by koalathebear

[Niques]

Max's ears really are a sight to behold! It must be a fun waiting game with "undecided ear" dogs!

Niques: That is the second time today I've read about garden reticulation! The first mention was that awful man who drowned his dog in an esky (that poor POOR little puppy )

Yikes! That's horrible! The worst James gets is me stopping dead, jaw hanging at my feet, wandering around in a daze mumbling, "Oh...my...god. What have you done, dog?!." He used to have a good, "What? I wasn't doing anything...honestly!" look but since becoming a destructive monster I mainly get the, "If you come any closer, I'm going to snatch whatever I'm naughtily chewing on and run around like a lunatic because this is the best game in the world!" look.

As for size, honestly, he still looks like a tiny puppy to me. Especially when we're at Obedience - he looks 12 weeks old again around other dogs. Speaking of getting big, Elbie's tail repeatedly caught my attention when watching his latest videos! That is a mightily impressive tail! I kept thinking how painful it would be to be caught in its path when wagging

That's so good of your neighbours to let you know! How curious that he only does it at night - do you get many possums or bats that he would bark at, or does he just not like being out at nighttime?

[Clastic]

Elbie does that to my husband. I wear slippers so he ignores those. He does have a really bad habit of getting his toys and nudging us with them which I know is bad dog manners but well ...

Oooops.. I have a bad mannered dog... or two..

If Mars really wants you to play with him he nudges as well.. Pepper just pushes her way through for attention. Hrm.. I really gotta work on that.. but its so hard when they look at you with those eyes and be so lovingly adorable and cuuuuuute!

[koalathebear]

Yikes! That's horrible! The worst James gets is me stopping dead, jaw hanging at my feet, wandering around in a daze mumbling, "Oh...my...god. What have you done, dog?!."

I know!!! He blamed it on a stressful day - how can people like that want to have a dog? Someone on my facebook breeds border collies and she said that one of her dogs was returned for rehoming because it chewed up furniture. :D Did the owner think that a dog was a doll that needed no training and guidance? I feel so bad when I read about poor dogs treated like that.

He used to have a good, "What? I wasn't doing anything...honestly!" look but since becoming a destructive monster I mainly get the, "If you come any closer, I'm going to snatch whatever I'm naughtily chewing on and run around like a lunatic because this is the best game in the world!" look.

Oooh he really has gone into his naughty, selectively deaf phase. Elbie's still got his pitiful, "I've done wrong" look. When he's naughty, we use his leash to tie him to the kitchen pole for about 30 seconds and his shoulders slump, his head droops down and he stands motionless and stares at us with the most heart-rending look. I know that they say that dogs do not feel guilt or remorse and that they have just learned appeasement behaviour but honestly - Elbie has the most ridiculously wide range of emotionally manipulative looks Does James dig or destroy other things? wuffles has a photo of her yard after rain that makes it look look like a sodden moonscape.

As for size, honestly, he still looks like a tiny puppy to me. Especially when we're at Obedience - he looks 12 weeks old again around other dogs.

Heh but I'll bet other people are saying: "Oh he's grown!" but he looks the same to you. I'm sure he's great at obedience. We have two chocolate labs in our class who are absolutely adorable and they are so well-behaved.

Speaking of getting big, Elbie's tail repeatedly caught my attention when watching his latest videos! That is a mightily impressive tail! I kept thinking how painful it would be to be caught in its path when wagging

It's not just his tail that wags, when he's excited he does the most extraordinarily energetic bum wiggles that he almost falls over. People laugh at him because he looks so silly with his bum wiggling. The tail wagging doesn't hurt but he has a blue rope toy that he holds in his mouth and shakes from side to side like it is deadly prey that must be vanquished - sometimes he accidentally whacks us with that and boy does that hurt.

That's so good of your neighbours to let you know! How curious that he only does it at night - do you get many possums or bats that he would bark at, or does he just not like being out at nighttime?

Our neighbours are all really nice but in this case, we went over there today and asked them if they'd let us know if Elbie barked The reason is that till now, my husband's not back at work yet so has been at home. Thus, even when Elbie's outside, he knows someone's home. My husband has to fly back to Toronto tomorrow for 10 days because of a bereavement in the family. Elbie's going to be left in the yard alone all day now while I'm at work - something he's not used to yet and we want to know if he barks all the time. Hopefully he won't because we'll scatter kibble, put his toys out there and his tucker ball ... but still. Embarrassingly they said: "Oh yeah - he barked the other night blah blah". :D

Elbie will pine though - he's closest to my husband and it's going to be awful because he's going to be running around the house looking for him and wondering why this game of hide and seek doesn't have an end. :D

As for why he barks at night - it's our fault. He's just not used to be outside after dark. :p

Oooops.. I have a bad mannered dog... or two.. :D

If Mars really wants you to play with him he nudges as well.. Pepper just pushes her way through for attention. Hrm.. I really gotta work on that.. but its so hard when they look at you with those eyes and be so lovingly adorable and cuuuuuute!

Heh heh. I'm sure it's fine with your two Elbie is very pushy and we have to ignore him because apparently it can be a dominance thing :p I can't wait to meet Pepper and Mars - they are so cute and I saw that video with the giggle ball!

Edited September 9, 2010 by koalathebear

[Max#1]

Nicques - how frustrating! Max went through 'a phase' when he was teething - it was like his personality changed completely, you couldn't take your eyes off him for 1 second or he'd be doing something naughty - and every time you went near him he'd get so excitable and nippy, and then there was the diarrhea..... This lasted three days - then miraculously he was back to his old self (except with a new 'gummy' look!). As we approach the 5 month mark I'm keeping me fingers crossed for not too much rebellion! All our furniture already have the 'touch' of Max....

Bad manners.... hmmm.. Max has taken to waking me up with a swipe of paw to face. We go to the kitchen and he'll sit so proudly at the fridge, waiting for me to play ball (I keep on top of the fridge so I can 'finish' the game. Otherwise it never ends......). He also loves my OH slippers, and I was wondering if this 'ankle biting' behaviour has something to do with herding instinct? With the reward for him being when we stop? Usually, giving him a 'rffff' (my OH does it very effectively, I however sound ridiculous and the noise I make just spurs Max on to become even more excitable!). The first time he did the 'rffff', Max got such a fright he 'sprung' over the couch - it was pretty funny - and he didn't try to mouth our hands again for about three days!

[koalathebear]

Max#1: How are Max's ears today? I showed my husband Max's video and he thought it was super-cute - also impressed by the ears. I'd be quite happy for Elbie to have wonky ears for the rest of his life - they're extremely expressive. Also - when my husband created my DOL signature - the wonky font for 'elbie' was a tribute to Elbie's wonky ears

I kind of have a similar 'proud' sit from Elbie but it's nowhere near as proud and straight as Max's.

Our photos of Elbie frequently have him on an angle for some reason - it's like his ears make him tip over.

They also move around when he's puzzled or startled and if he's on alert, they stand up almost straight.

As to teething, Elbie didn't go gummy. He seemed to get a new tooth almost the next day after he lost one! It was a bit freaky - as was the blood on his toys. He didn't seem distressed or more inclined to chew though so I suppose we should count ourselves lucky.

Edited September 10, 2010 by koalathebear

[Max#1]

Yep - day three, still up! Though at the moment they're slightly horizontal! A guy at the park last night actually asked me if he was a kelpie - it must be the ear.

The gumminess only lasted a day - poor guy couldn't really get a good chew going on anything! Its amazing how quick the new ones grow though - and they're huge!

I like that one of Elbie's ears points a bit more forward than the other - a lot of expression potential! Max tends to fling both of his back, which gives him a real worried look. And Elbie has cute button feet! I hate the way that people look at Max's feet and gasp and say 'oooh he's going to be big'. Well he's not a toy poodle! Grrr! Can I ask about Elbie's weight? I've been told that at 4 months they're half their adult weight. This would put Max in at about 20 -25 kg (hardly a big dog!). At nearly five months he's around 12 kg - and the size of a large cat - just getting to the point where he's a bit heavy to pick up, which will be sad! I've made the most of carrying him around while I could! (Our first walks before his final vaccination involved me carrying him down the street - ha!).

[Max#1]

ps - have day off work today - lovely! And lovely to spend the day with the little sleepy puppy!

[Niques]

Oooh he really has gone into his naughty, selectively deaf phase. Elbie's still got his pitiful, "I've done wrong" look. When he's naughty, we use his leash to tie him to the kitchen pole for about 30 seconds and his shoulders slump, his head droops down and he stands motionless and stares at us with the most heart-rending look. I know that they say that dogs do not feel guilt or remorse and that they have just learned appeasement behaviour but honestly - Elbie has the most ridiculously wide range of emotionally manipulative looks Does James dig or destroy other things? wuffles has a photo of her yard after rain that makes it look look like a sodden moonscape.

Oh, I definitely want to see a picture of that! It sounds positively adorable!

James is a bit of a digger. Really not too bad though. He did have one particular hole that was getting ridiculous but a bit of poo on top put a stop to that. I can certainly sympathise with Wuffles - there's not a great deal of grass in our backyard and the bit that is there doesn't get much sun so it's naturally sparse anyway. But after rain, wet dog zoomies and some casual digging/inhaling of soil...you really don't want to see it

He's really not destructive indoors. It's just all the pipes/tubing outside that sets him off. He likes to steal and carry around shoes, socks and stockings, but won't eat them. I think the retriever in him just likes holding things. He'll absently tear at the corner of his bed if he's bored in the middle of the night, or pinch sheets of paper off tables, but other than that...he's pretty damn good (touch wood!). All furniture is without damage.

How does Elbie go at keeping things in tact? I always think of him as such an angelic pup - I can see him doing no harm!

It's not just his tail that wags, when he's excited he does the most extraordinarily energetic bum wiggles that he almost falls over. People laugh at him because he looks so silly with his bum wiggling.

I looove watching puppy bum wiggling. They're so cute the way it radiates through their whole body.

Elbie will pine though - he's closest to my husband and it's going to be awful because he's going to be running around the house looking for him and wondering why this game of hide and seek doesn't have an end.

Aww, poor Elbie. I'm sorry to hear about your husband's loss! It will be interesting to see how Elbie adjusts this week - I hope he's not too puzzled/mopey.

I'm laughing away to myself at the second photo there. It has an odd, touristy, Leaning Tower of Pisa feel to it!

Max#1, I am counting my blessings that we had no diarrhea with the teething! That would've been a tough three days! Hopefully Max'll be a good adolescent for you. I'm wondering now if James not being desexed yet is such a wise idea... Although I'm sure he'd be just as obnoxious without the hormones.

And now I think we've officially derailed your thread, KTB

[koalathebear]

Can I ask about Elbie's weight? I've been told that at 4 months they're half their adult weight. This would put Max in at about 20 -25 kg (hardly a big dog!). At nearly five months he's around 12 kg - and the size of a large cat - just getting to the point where he's a bit heavy to pick up, which will be sad! I've made the most of carrying him around while I could! (Our first walks before his final vaccination involved me carrying him down the street - ha!).

Ah ... the cat references. When Elbie was very little, he looked like a little cat which pleased my husband to no end since he was originally a cat person :D We weighed Elbie last month (at six months) when he was going in for his heartworm injection - he was about 12 kg. We can still heft him under one arm. I suspect the lab in Max will make him a bit bigger than Elbie at the same age. I have no idea how bit Elbie will end up being when he's fully grown. We both have cross-breeds that aren't trendy designer dogs. They're so untrendy they don't even have a funky portmanteau name ... Max could be a Border Labracollie? Elbie could be a Border Kelpie or a Border Colpie? :D

ps - have day off work today - lovely! And lovely to spend the day with the little sleepy puppy!

I'm jealous. Today is Elbie's first full day at home by himself. I have no idea what to expect when I get home.

But after rain, wet dog zoomies and some casual digging/inhaling of soil...you really don't want to see it

*sympathy* dog + mud ... Also, even though Elbie is short-haired, he has been shedding like nothing else and there are tiny hairs everywhere. It's a bit gross. As to the holes in the garden, we refill the holes because Elbie piles the dirt up beside the holes. wuffles said that they're going to have get the dirt from elsewhere to fill up the holes - I have no idea where her dirt goes!

How does Elbie go at keeping things in tact? I always think of him as such an angelic pup - I can see him doing no harm!

Ha ha', he's not L.B. the Little Bastard for nothing ... Like James he's pretty good inside - doesn't chew cables and destroy things. Sometimes he tries to gnaw on his bed and he knows we don't like that and when we reprimand him he will either lick the bed defiantly or put his paws over his nose, stare at us angelically while chewing on the bed beneath his paws :D In the yard, he mostly only digs in his section of the yard. There's not a lot else for him to destroy (touch wood). Our biggest fear is that he's going to be a jumper - he can jump very high but so far he seems to prefer to stay close to home. Our neighbour freaked us out by telling us that their dogs used to escape the yard and they didn't know because the dog always made sure it got home before they did.

Aww, poor Elbie. I'm sorry to hear about your husband's loss! It will be interesting to see how Elbie adjusts this week - I hope he's not too puzzled/mopey.

Thanks ... I know Elbie's going to run around and around the house looking and looking and looking. We play hide and seek with him a lot so he might think my husband's hiding somewhere - or he may just realise that he's not there. I think he suspected something was going on this morning when my husband was packing.I was preparing Elbie's brekky and normally just The Sound of Kibble is enough to make Elbie come running and do his I Am A Good Dog Sit but this morning, he was hovering very nervously around my husband while he was packing, anxious not to let him out of his sight. I hope I don't have a Hachi-ko on my hands :D

I'm laughing away to myself at the second photo there. It has an odd, touristy, Leaning Tower of Pisa feel to it!

We have a really large number of Leaning Tower of Elbie photos. I'd say it's the ears creating an optical illusion

I hope that we can have more photos of James soon - even Naughty James is probably Über Cute and his "drop dead" was studiedly stylish!

And now I think we've officially derailed your thread, KTB

No way ... All puppy chatter is welcome but to make you feel better, I modified the name of the thread :D In any case, there ARE plenty of photos in this thread.

Edited September 10, 2010 by koalathebear