Scarlet

I have a male and female border collies. Charlie is very laid back and easily pushed around but is more muscly than Maddy. Maddy has a "prettier and smaller" face but she is the bitchy, boss and is definately not dainty as her muddy photo testifies. She is the first into the river, to try something new etc. Charlie just follows her lead.

My parents fed raw to our dogs over 40 yrs ago-probably longer. They lived on "cuttings" from the butcher. I don't even know if much processed pet food was around

Ages ago I saw a TV show about pit bulls in the USA at a competition. The were showing their strength etc. Then they jumped at a ball or something against a wall. They were jumping incredibly high. Reallyamazing.

Must have been what our d#@*head neighbours said to their daughter when she was younger. When my BC pup was about 10weeks old the daughter walked past our driveway and Maddy bounded down our driveway to say hello (we grabbed Maddy before she left our property). This 15/16 yr old girl went screaming home. Maddy didn't get closer than 4/5 metres. They reported her to the council and the ranger nearly killed himself laughing when the neighbours confirmed that yes the tiny pup was the culprit and yes she didn't leave our property!

I'm sure organised fight do happen - some humans will do anything. ;) I'd be reporting all these missing dogs to the police - they should be interested and may already be investigating. I hope your sisters dog is found soon.

Unfortunately he died during surgery today

Heard on the radio this morning that the joey is still in an induced coma - and the mother has had one pellet removed from her. The mother is doing well but must be so stressed about her baby. At least they are sort of together.

I had to leave my border collie in a kennel for just over 2 months when I moved from WA to Qld. He was fine although he did loose a bit of muscle and put on weight. I paid for extra exercise time but I knew he wouldn't get the exercise he got with us. Otherwise he was fine - just very happy to be back with the family. Dogs are very adaptable.

I have 2 border collies. One loves to run and the other just to walk at a "nice" pace. My sons happily run with Charlie and he is really good apart from one spot they go to which is like a very steep goat track - he deliberately picks up speed here - I'm sure to test them For Maddy a walk is a social outing and serious exercise is chasing / retrieving something.

I went into a similar verbal agreement many years ago - but I was sort of keen on becoming a breeder and I thought this was a bit of an intro into it. Thr breeder lived very close to me and I was going to keep my girl at home and the breeder was going to travel to my home or move in with me for a while. She was going to pay for the sire, vet fees etc and the pups would be hers. We had talked about me keeping a pup but I wasn't too sure. We had know each other for a few years bu weren't what you'd call friends. Unfortunately my girl had trouble with her seasons and the breeder and I agreed that desexing her was in her best interest. If I wasn't interested in learning more about breeding I wouldn't have been interested.

Do they? I assume you meant in your opinion? I think you'll find that's not the case and varies widely between breed & breeder... Even if a puppy requires 3 meals a day it's easy to work around working hours. Feed just before heading out to work, as soon as you get home from work and before you go to bed. As I said I wouldn't do it. The op said they are often working over 10 hrs a day and I'm assuming some travel time is added onto the 10 hours. Thats a pretty big day when it is a regular occurance - not just every now and then. Perhaps I should have been more pedantic and said IMO pups need 3 feeds a day - though I believe this is pretty common. Assuming the pup feeds at 7am when they leave home and again somewhere between 5pm-9pm that is still a pretty big gap between feeds.

I don't think a puppy will cope with these hours-10 hrs + travelling time. Puppies also need 3 feeds a day for a few months. I wouldn't do it.

X2 Call the police, you have been threatened with a weapon. Personally I would have drop kicked the mad woman and her dogs into the creek, but that of course would have made it worse (assault) I'd report her to the police and take the police report to the council. This woman attempted to assult you and your dog as well as threatened you. She may already be known to authorities and your report may make a difference to reports already made about her.

If there is no medical reason I'd be thinking that he had a bad experience - when everyone was out? Maybe some rescue remedy or soothing pheromones. Can you ring your friend to get permission?

I'd also make up a sign stating that you have council permission for (exclusive) use of this part of the park. A lot of people think that because they pay rates they can do / use what they like. And think what "right" you have to exclude tham from public land.

As a pet owner who has quite a few dogs over the years I've always had them desexed about 6 months and usually before a females first season. This has suited me well and I've not had any problems at all. If I ever get another pup (heaven forbid ) it will be desexed around 6 months.

I've done similar a couple of times and luckly the dogs have backed off. I use my ultra deep, gruff voice. Luckily it has worked but if it didn't I let the lead go and hopefully my dogs could flee home or maybe they'd join together and attack - I have no idea.

Most people I know think that dog sports / agility are pretty cool and that the dogs do enjoy it. But yes I think dog shows have a reputation of being pretty unpleasant, bitchy places. But even if they say they think very little of dog shows they'll still let you know that their dog has so many championsin their line.

Wonderful news ;)

When my children were little and it was that time of day someone would yell out zoomies and the kids would hit the deck, face down while the dogs ran around and jumped over them. I wish I had a video of it.

Gremlins

I can't believe how rude some people are! I might take my dogs to a picnic at a park with a group of friends but I check first and then keep them on leash and well behaved. I have never taken my dogs into anyone's house - immediate family excluded but I know how they feel and they would tell me if there was a problem. Honestly ;) . If someone had a trained, approved companion dog that would of course be different - but trained is the key word.

I think the dog would need a rabies vaccination which has to be done some months prior to travelling. I'd contact someone like dogtainers ( www.dogtainers.com.au ?) who can take care of everyting and let you know what is needed.

Wow you have certainly had a busy couple of months. It must be benign as so far everything seems to be in Ruby's favour. Sorry Darwin but I'm thinking that Ruby was even lucky to be in Brisbane as there are some really good vets here. Where is the vet? I've heard some very good things about the specalists at Albany Creek - close to you. I hope you get the results soon.

Thought I'd answer as a pet only owner. 1. What is my relationship with the breed? (ie breeder, first time owner etc) Like most people I have never bred or shown nor do I have any interest in either. I just want a dog as a pet and companion. I have played around with obedience, flyball and very briefly herding. I have had 3 border collies over the last 12 ys but I have had a few other breeds before them. 2. Where and why was the breed first developed? Answered above 3. How common is it in Australia? Common 4. What is the average lifespan? Answered before. I am waiting for my 6yr old to act like an adult though! 5. What is the general temperament/personality? I think quite different from dog to dog but overall quite intelligent, quite active and love people. They love being part of the family and being around people. They can be a bit sensitive in that they don't like raised voices, especially not at them. They seem very alert to changes in your mood or voice -good for training as a deep growl has them behaving. They do like to please too. Mine have all loved people and children and most animals. They will chase running cats if they don't know them and they have a tendancy to round up chooks. My border collies love other border collies. When I was fostering I was looking to add another dog to the family but I wanted a dog older than my present girl and I didn't want another BC. But I ended up getting quite a young BC because he just got on so well with my girl. She got on well with all the previous foster dogs but this relationship was just so special. And of course he is just lovely. He has a "nicer" personality than my girl but he is definately not as smart as her. She is bossy with most other dogs. I think they are both pretty laid back for border collies. They definately have an off switch but are ready to play at the drop of a hat. 6. How much daily exercise is needed for the average adult? Mine get about 30 mins walk most days with a run off lead at least once a week. I have a very small yard but my girl is ball obsessed and has the ball thrown hundreds of times throughout the day-with the other chasing her chase the ball. Charlie, the younger one would love a big run every day but he doesn't get it and his behaviour isn't any worse for it. Mine love playing hidings-both people hiding and me hiding toys for them to find. They have a lot of company and I find this more important than a lot of exercise. 7. Is it a breed that a first time dog owner could easily cope with? I've had 2 as pups and they were very easy to train and not very destructive but they had lots of energy! Luckily I had 4 boys to keep them occupied - I don't think I could cope with a border collie pup now! I think first time owners would have to commit to training and be prepared for the dog to get a lot of company. They are not a dog to cope with being alone all day then confined to the yard alone when people are home from work - not that any dogs are really. But being working dogs they can become a bit neurotic if not give a reasonable amount of stimulation. 8. Can solo dogs of this breed easily occupy themselves for long periods? Mine were lucky not to have to spend a lot of time home alone. But when Maddy did it wasn't a problem. Maddy was an only dog for her first 3 years. Now they sometimes have 10hr days alone but there is 2 of them and they are no longer pups - being 5yrs and 3yrs. I think it's possible but they would probably need a good walk in the morning and lots of company at night. 9. How much grooming is required? I'm pretty slack here. I should brush every week but I don't. I can be good for ages then get slack. If they get the odd knot - usually near their bottom or behind their ears I cut them out. I doubt you could do this to a show dog. They have a good coat that doesn't hold too much dirt / mud and they don't usually have a doggy smell. Mine can go 6 months or longer without a bath but they do swim so I count that as a bath! 10. Is it too boisterous for very small children or for infirm people (unless the dog is well trained)? I think it depends how fussy you are with your children. My children grew up with large dogs-not border collies- and they learnt to get out of the way or get knocked over. Very small children need to be supervised around all dogs though. Mine are excellent with children alhough I do watch carefully when first introduced as they sometimes get too excited initially and could knock small children over. I'm more careful with other people's children than I was with my own. I think there are better choices for an infirm person - definately not a pup but an older, calmer dog could be fine. 11. Are there any common hereditary problems a puppy buyer should be aware of? Best left for breeders to answer. The parents of the pups I've bought were tested for some things but I forget what now. 12. When buying a puppy, what are the things you should ask of the breeder? (eg what health tests have been done (if applicable) and what is an acceptable result to those tests so the buyer has an idea of what the result should be) Again I'll leave that to breeders.