imported_Kat

*Warning.. sunglasses may be necessary! 8) * [img]http://sander.servehttp.com/kat/pink%20crufts%20ticket.jpg[/img] The light in my room unfortunately doesn't show it in all its glorifying pinkness hehe! :wink:

Definitely Border Collie in there, maybe a bit of GSD. Looks very like Star's Zebra actually!

Oh come on folks, this is getting very disrespectful. Guida is [i]not [/i]a troll. Respect her please instead of jumping to conclusions. If she has questions, then lets answer them for her in a mature and respectful fashion, and not label her. She is from Portugal and as I say some countries in Europe do not use cages/crates to the same extent as other parts of the world. Bear in mind please there are culture changes, but everyone should respect her opinion, if after she has been told the uses of cages, and her mind is still decisive. Everyone is entitled to give their honest opinion. I am against choke chains and prongs etc, and here in the UK they are not used to the same extent as in USA. Fair enough some people use them. I don't agree but I am not about to start telling them how to train their dog, unless they are inside our dog club where such collars are banned. I hope you see my point with regards to this user.

Usually a dog just naturally jumps for a frisbee! I know you American lot have it as a proper sport, but we don't here unfortunately :P I just throw Meg's fling ring for her at the end of training (though I am crap at throwing!) and she races for it. I have to say though she is so sneaky. If I am talking to someone in the park, she will sneakily extract her pink ring from our training bag and nudge me with it, thinking its the end of training, the wee devil hehe :lol:

Oh Ickle, what can be said... if you believe in fate then you will know these two couldn't have lived without each other and were destined to be at the rainbow bridge with each other. *big hugs to you* I really am so sorry for your loss :(

Any of the UK lot see it tonight on channel 4? I thought it was absolutely fantastic and the guy Rob did so very well with wee Bobby. I've known about this programme for quite a while through Mary Ray talking about it, and it was well worth seeing. :D Now seeing doggy activities on tv has given me this major wheeeeeee factor for going to Crufts!!! :D 2 weeks to go and meg is bouncy and knows that its coming up and her heelwork and set exercises lately have been fantastico!!! yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!! :multi:

Whoa folks calm down! Lay off here and give Guida a chance and don't be so quick to pre-judge. UK and Europeans in [i]general [/i]don't use cages "crates" to the same extent as Americans. Guida was only putting across her point which is what we are all entitled to here. My view on cages is that they are indeed handy and if I have young pups that I am fostering, then they will be caged as they can't go rampaging messing all over the room; they don't know any better :wink: With own pet dogs its a matter of choice and I respect that it is a lifeline perhaps for a destructive or aggressive dog in a multi-dog household. However my own personal preference is that a dog should be content in the house and not need a cage, which is why my lot are not caged and don't need cages either. Even when I take Meg to Crufts, we stay at a guest house and when we go to the pub for dinner, she stays in the bedroom in the guesthouse and is fine left for a few hours. I suppose it just all depends on how you perceive your own dog and how much faith you have also. One thing Guida: you said about letting your pup roam to the balcony. [b]Please please [/b]be careful. Pups can jump surprisingly high and I have seen so many cases where dogs have fallen over balconies.

What a good lad Bentley is and congrats on your newest addition :wink:

Cheers for that Cassie. I am not very well up on the knowledge of heart worm as thankfully we don't have it here in the UK, but I have seen the hazarding photos of animal hearts with the worms. Not very nice at all :-?

Trust her instincts Court. Dogs are so much sharper than us humans are. It could be maybe that there was an intruder or maybe just an animal, but you have a good dog that will alert you to anything and that is reassuring in itself.

Hi there and welcome to the forum. I am currently writing a thesis based on research that I completed last year, that is centred around social behaviour of Border Collies from pet,working,obedience, agility groups. One thing that consistently stands out is that all dogs regardless of their experience all scored highly on one component of the test, which was a problem solving test to assess the stamina trait. Intelligence that people apply to BC's is a very broad term, so I prefer to breakdow that intelligence into different behavioural traits. What my results tell me is what I expected before I undertook this research. Border collies regardless of their background all need stimulation. They appear to have that little bit extra social behaviour which should be channeled into something useful. If a BC does not get that crucial training, then they start to invent their own fun to mentally exercise themselves and that is when problems of aggression and destructive behaviour will arise. Quite frequently at the dog club where I am a trainer, I have people that come up to me after watching my own BC Meg work with me, and say that they are thinking of getting a BC, and the reasoning behind it is because they say "Yours is so good and I want such an attentive obedient dog like that". My answer to them is that the BC is the best and worst breed to own and that it takes someone who really has committment to give a BC stimulation. The proof is in the statistics. In the UK, the BC is the most common breed to end up in a shelter(38%) or with a canine behaviourist, due to behavioural problems. My Meg may be a brilliant dog working championship obedience and agility, as well as other activities, but she was trained, and if she wasn't she would be a nightmare of a dog I am quite sure of that, because even now she still shows initiative to do things that I haven't ever taught her, like reminding me to bring my mobile when I left it sitting on a rock, and was ready to drive off! I would strongly discourage your father from getting a BC. He simply sounds as if he has no time and is getting a BC for all the wrong reasons, and it isn't fair that you should have to go and walk [i]his [/i]dog everyday.

Cheers Abker for the recommendation :wink: I shall have to have a wee look and see if I can get the hold of it. The name does actually sound distantly familiar I think!

I have heard of the breed but they are very rare. Your best bet would be to contact your national FCI breed asociation or kennel club and they should be able to put you in touch with breeders.

From what I can remember, heart worms and other round worms can indeed be transmitted to the developing puppies via lacteal glands or across the placenta. That is why it is vitally important to regularly worm the bitch before and during pregnancy. Heartworms are not a problem we have in the UK thankfully so don't take my word on this!

This was cross posted to another few boards I am on. The pup with the swollen leg looks like he has an infection right into the bone. I really hope that he is operated on asap before septicaemia sets in. If Veterinary surgeons there have a heart they should waive the charges for this pup or at least discount a proportion of the cost. Keep the pressure on the surgeons. A guilt trip works wonders. Drugs are a small proportion of this type of surgery. The majority of the cost is their time. Remind them why they originally went into Veterinary surgery. Lots of luck and keep us posted on what happens.

Crating is a good idea for when you aren't at home if he messes. Try going back to basics with conditioning training. If need be use papers and if he pees reward him and use a command like "hurry up" when he is actually performing. Move the papers to outside on the grass and you get the idea, keep praising and using a command. Eventually you should be able to remove the papers and have a dog that pees on command. It really is a useful thing to teach. I taught it with Meg and even if she doesn't need to do anything, she will still squat :lol:

Well with these sort of stories, things can be blown out of proportion but in fact the first dog as in a domestic dog was unearthed in Israel and is thought to date back to around 14,000 years ago. :wink:

First question who is Felix? :) Also what breed/age is he just to get a little background before attempting to think about your little problem :wink:

Walking and not running all over the place builds up muscle so when you walk, keep him on the lead for most of the walk, then let him off where you can to have a decent run, but remember his growth plates in his bones will not be fully closed over yet and rampaging exercise isn't good for that. As part of Agility training to build up muscle a group of us in our club walk our dogs a few miles on lead instead of letting them go buck mad in a field like most people. It really is important no matter what the age. As far as the class goes, yeah take him of course. The trainer should understand that he is a young puppy and will need to take breaks, in order to prevent boredom, but if the trainer is good he/she will ensure that training is motivational and fun for Webby :wink: It sounds as if his obedience is coming on great Nea, you have done so well in rearing him :wink:

Heard that one before but always good :D

Dogs are the best teachers we have in the world :wink:

Oh Ickle I am so sorry to hear of you losing your baby. *hugs with you*

She is a stunning dog. I'm sorry to hear she is no longer with her owners. :(

Dogs are amazing for making us laugh and it sounds as if yours is no exception to lighten up a day :wink:

We are going along the path of Glucosamine and vitamin E (which she already gets) for a few days to see if that helps any. Thanks for your input, I really do appreciate it. :wink: