JulesP

I had some cordless/corded Sheer Magic clippers that were pretty good for trimming etc. I originally used them on horses so they got used and abused a fair bit. You don't have the blade changing options on them though but use plastic combs which are a bit dodgy. I would get them again for trimming up the border collies. I did do a full clip on my old border collie using them and they did the job. I got some smaller trimmers and they are really too small. Do you have a Horseland near you? They sell clippers. Might help with postage. From memory they sell the usual brands.

Did you pick the puppy up or get it flown to you?

Thank you for the tip Sheena. I would love to host dogs in my home but i don`t have that opportunity. From what I`ve seen from this site, the dogs go to the hosts homes. Do you kow of any organisations where the carer would go to the dogs homes? One of the hosts in my area goes to the owner's home and stays.

Barbara Woodhouse had a dog training show in the 1980s :) Walkies.... :laugh: Victoria Stillwell had a show around the same time as CM too.

Horse lunging lead

The beds that go onto raised beds often have ties at each corner would that be enough? For example: https://www.petstock.com.au/products/S0000941/t&s_-_raised_bed_mat_-_dog_bed

Turkey wings are obviously heaps bigger so they might be harder to swallow? I just used to buy from Woolworths so easy to get hold of. I did stop feeding them after Poppy kept chucking up bone. Other people seem to have no problems but thought I would mention that. I feed lamb soup chunks a fair bit. Not super cheap but they do get eaten fairly quickly. I need bones that get eaten quickly and not left around as Amber can't have them.

The standard makes no mention of drive.

I know this is going to sound really dumb - but I haven't found a "real butcher" yet I went into a big chain one the other day - and it was just rows of freezers. Saw photos of another one online - same thing. No fresh food court in the shopping centre ... I'm sure the kind of shop you can walk into and order meat from a block with a wicked sense of humor exists - but I'm yet to find it. I would stop some friendly looking person on the street and ask. Or ask in the post office or some other local shop that doesn't sell meat.

You have criticised a DOL breeder.

But a Guide Dog is NOT the original purpose. Good on those breeders for saying their dogs are not suited to pet homes. Yep and if this becomes another breeder bashing thread by a newbie I am going to get VERY shitty.

The standard doesn't say 'quiet dog suitable to be a guide dog or pet'.

Butchers are usually happy to mince or even slice meat up for you. I've even had stuff like liver minced up.

The standard is a show standard for people that show dogs. People with working dogs often don't care about the show standard at all. Often the working dog came before the show standard too.

20+ years and I've never had anything break. Had a couple of leads chewed through by puppies :laugh: But my dogs don't tend to do things that would cause issues. The leads/collars I've probably used the most in that time frame is Black Dog. I'm a horsey person too though and you learn to avoid allowing that sort of pressure as a handler.

Cottage cheese is approved for Amber so assume it is fairly ok. She needed the low fat one.

Scottsmum has moved to NZ. Another possible protein source is cottage cheese. Does he like that?

Those moving trolleys aren't super light that you could pick one up and whack someone around the head with it. And I imagine the force needed to swing it would probably result in a crushed head. Yep weird.

How odd. 3 people saying it wasn't the dog at all.

Hendra apparently doesn't cause symptoms in dogs either.

Yeah at this stage I wouldn't be too fussed about any long term side effects from medication.

Gawd that sounds like rabies! (yes i know we don't have it here)

Sorry, I was talking about the comment about border collies liking to create movement. That is actually an undesirable trait for them to have and I would like to think that it isn't something that all BCs have. The bloke who started our dogs puts dogs into a sliding scale between 2 extremes. Those who like to create movement and those who like to control movement. Ideally, you need a mix of the 2 in a good working dog. A dog at either extreme is no use. On a slight tangent though, if it is a behaviour that is not present on stock, can it really be called a working instinct? Ummm I actually said they like to make things move so they can stop them.

Fairly sure I said that my dogs don't do it to sheep.

Casting and driving ability are different things. A dog can have a wide natural cast and still be good at driving. They have to go get the sheep before any driving happens :) I am going to say that the jumping up at the handler is instinct though. Border collies like to make things move, So they can then make them stop :laugh: I've seen my dogs do this to lots of critters, various degrees of force until the animal runs. Then they stop them. I haven't seen them do this with sheep though probably because they don't have to and the sheep cooperate and move. Interestingly Poppy does work fairly close on sheep and wouldn't work away from me in agility.