Finally some good news on the puppy front!

[Crowe]

We will have a Gordon setter puppy by the end of July. Litter was born 2 days ago. We have 2nd pick on a male-sire owner has first pick. Our pick will be based more on personality than looks so being #2 is fine. Toying with the idea of getting two if another is available to take the stress off of poor old Jake (who is actually doing very well). Not sure if that's crazy or smart!

[toedtoes]

Names are fun. I like your choices so far Crowe.

I always try to stay away from the popular names. If I hear one more Luna, I'm gonna cry.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

colliehauler wrote:
My Collies are very intuitive.

I think all the herding breeds are just following us around, studying every thing we do.

I had installed lever door handles at our condo, anticipating that the arthritis in my hands isn't going to get better...LOL! But I saw that look on Augie's face one day, as he intently watched me open the sunroom door to take him out, and thought "uh-oh". Sure enough, a week later, a squirrel was about 3' up the side of a nearby palm tree, taunting him....so Augie ran to the door and let himself out. While I don't blame him; and he immediately came back when called - I installed one of those chain hotel door locks high enough that he can't reach. He gets a sad look on his face as we lock that chain....LOL!

[colliehauler]

Names can be difficult Sawyer was already named so didn't want to confuse him and kept Sawyer. I picked Sasha because it was easy to call both of them. When you see him/her one name will rise to the top. I remember someone's dog name Sir barksalot.

[toedtoes]

It sounds like Tornado-dog has some of those traits. He will sit in front of the dog bowls when he and Cat-dog want to eat. He will sit at the back door for me to towel dry him after playing in the water. At night, he will run into the bedroom, stand at the first nightstand and stare at the dog cookie jar. As soon as I take out the cookies, he runs to the other side of the bed and looks over the bed at me. When I get in bed, he sits for his cookie. He is a quick learner, but has the JRT tenacity so "redirection" is not a given.

He has learned two new commands, "touch noses" - my head has to be within 6-12 inches of his, but when I say it, he will touch his nose to mine. Occasionally he adds a lick. The other is "show me your face". He will go to the stair landing and paw at the baby gate to open it. I'll tell him to leave it and he'll get real quiet (not a good thing). So I say "show me your face" and he looks around the wall at me. Once he does that, I can call him and he'll come to me.

[Crowe]

Sorry Crowe didn't mean to hijack the thread.

No worries-looks like if he stays upstairs we'll put vinyl down.

As far as doggie doors and possible break-ins I agree about the material stuff but there's no guarantee that's all that will happen. I still have nightmares from when our rental car got broken into in Seattle a few years back. Think I'd freak completely if someone got into my house.

It gives you a feeling of inner peace if that makes any sense.

Get this 100%. Jesse was that kind of dog. Miss him so much.

Now comes more fun. Names. Thinking of Angus, Tavish, Digby and Barclay to name a few. Need to see him/them before we decide.

[colliehauler]

My Collies are very intuitive. They try to anticipate what you want and act accordingly. If I pick up my truck keys they go to the truck to go. If I pick up the dog leash, they go nuts with anticipation and run to you to put there leash on. When Sasha would get muddy feet (planted new grass) she would stand by the hose to be washed before coming in*. My Collies are barkers, no one walks by the house unannounced. If I'm active they're active, if I take a nap they take a nap. I remember one of my past rescue Collies Bud, when we would go for a walk he liked to gentle hold my hand in his mouth. I guess the trait all my Collies have had is they are gentle dogs despite their size. One of there favorite things of a evening is to both lay on the couch with me when I watch tv. Absolutely no one is comfortable two big Collies and a human is a bit crowded. My lap usually serves as a Collie pillow. It gives you a feeling of inner peace if that makes any sense. There trust in you is absolute. There loyalty unquestionable. They love to travel and get upset if you leave them at home. Sawyer had been to 29 states before he was one year old. In the truck you don't hear anything from them, I have to stop to pee before they do. There favorite drive through is Wendy's, the gal there gives each one a piece of bacon. Imagine there surprise when the attendant on the turnpike didn't give out treats.

*I guess getting cleaned up was more preferable then the taste of mud.

Sorry Crowe didn't mean to hijack the thread.

[toedtoes]

You need ro share more of your collies' exploits. I'm sure there are collie behaviors in Tornado-dog somewhere, I just haven't been around a lot of collies to identify them.

[toedtoes]

Me too. At the sentencing hearing, one of the defendant's attorney had the gall to reply with "please make it reasonable Your Honor, my client is disabled and on a fixed income" when the judge mentioned restitution for court costs. I'm thinking "she stole everything I own, trashed my house, tossed my deceased animals' ashes all over the floor, and we shouldn't put forth restitution for court costs because she's disabled and on a fixed income!?!?!"

I put in my restitution request. Since they couldn't connect her to the actual stolen stuff directly, I left that out. But I still put in for several thousand dollars. The hearing is taking place any day. Hopefully I'll get a couple dollars when all is said and done. She could stop having her hair bleached to save a few bucks.

[colliehauler]

Toadtoes I agree with you about possessions, my Collies are far more important then material possessions that can be easily replaced. I still despise thieves.

[toedtoes]

I never had a problem in over 20 years, but all it takes is once and you just can't ignore the risk anymore. Right now I'm debating the storm door just because I'm afraid The Twooney (cats) will sneak out with the dogs. They already try to sneak out as the dogs come in through the door.

Years ago, my sibling came up with a friend to drop off some furniture. I had gone out to visit my dad at a show not knowing when they'd arrive. I came home and saw my front door wide open. I walked in and my sibling and her friend were sitting watching tv. She said she remembered I had a dog door so climbed through it.

I asked "where's my dog? She said "with you". I said "no, she was home". I searched in the garage and barn and no dog. I asked again where my dog was. My sibling swore they never saw the dog. I went around the house looking everywhere.

In the bedroom, between the bed and the wall was my shepherd. My sibling made rude comments about my great guarddog. I just said "I'd rather come home to a live dog and no tv, than a dead dog and no tv.".

When I was home, she was right there protecting me. But the tv wasn't worth risking her life. I agreed.

[colliehauler]

I understand completely that a dog door is not a option for some for a variety of reasons. Security, unwanted critters and probably more that I'm unaware of.

Toad toes thieves suck. Years ago I came home from work and some small children were playing with the Collies going in and out of the dog door. I knew the family of two of them and their neighbors children. Another funny incident my sister had flown in from California and was going to go to the house until I got off work. My old door stuck a little when it rained but was not locked. She thought it was and crawled through the dog door, had a good laugh about that.

In the eighties I went to California to visit her for the first time. She gave me a lecture about taking the keys out of the car and locking it. I came from a small town where it was common to leave the keys in the vechicle. Mom and Dad lived in the same house for 30 years and never locked their front door. When I went to sell the house I had to have keys made. Different times.

[toedtoes]

I had adopted a nice golden. She was 13-1/2 and her owners had died. One day I came home to find the gate open and the dog nowhere in sight. I hopped in the car and started driving the neighborhood to find her.

About 5 houses down, I saw a bunch of little kids playing in their front yard. In the middle of them was a golden. I stopped and called for her. The mom came out and asked if that was my dog. She was. Apparently she had seen the kids and decided to watch them. She had been there for several hours just enjoying being around the kids.

My dogs are indoor dogs. I used to have a dog door, but that's how the burglars got into my house, so I have eliminated it. I am planning on installing a storm door with a dog door so I can open the main door and let the dogs come and go when I am home. Tornado-dog does believe I am the doorman... but he comes and praises me every night after I feed them. Sometimes, I wonder who is training who.

[colliehauler]

My backyard is fenced and I purchased 8000 sq feet of my neighbors yard so the Collies have some room to roam. If I'm outside they have the run of the front yard as well. They both know to stop at the curb and not go onto the street.

2 houses down they have a big Siberian Husky (Charlie). The Collies like to go down and visit Charlie. If Charlie gets off his chain he makes a beline to my back yard to play with the Collies. If I want Charlie to go home I give him a dog biscuit and he runs home to eat it.

I've never owned a kennel and the Collies go in and out of the house whenever they wish. They know when they need to go outside and no reason for me to be a doorman.

I also have never hit or spanked them. I use positive reinforcement.

[toedtoes]

My foster husky/shepherd at her new home would escape her kennel. She also would jump up to the top of the wood fence and stand on the top rail watching the kids nextdoor playing. Why? Because she could.

So far all my dogs have been good about staying in their yard (except the sh!t). With a couple dogs, if they got out an open gate at home, they hung out on the front porch waiting for me to come home.

At my parents, my dad was notorious for putting my dog(s) out back as soon as my mom and I went out. My neurotic psychotic shepherd would open the gate and get out. She'd go straight to my car or my mom's and wait for me to come back and take her home. If my dad's dog was outside at the time, he'd take off running. My dad blamed my dog for his dog running. He never did get that if he just left my dog in the house she'd be fine until I got back. Moose-dog was the only dog of mine he didn't do that with. He tried when I first got him (at 8 weeks) -made me put him in a crate when I had to go out. But it backfired on him. He got tired of the whining and decided to let my puppy "sink or swim" with his adult akita. Moose-dog LOVED that overgrown bear. Because of that, he was the first and only dog of mine that my dad never said a mean word about or sent outside.

[BCSnob]

We boarded our 1st two border collies with an agility trainer when we first moved to MD. One of our dogs learned to climb a 6’ chainlink fence by putting her legs through the holes. The trainer watched her do it in order to figure out how she was getting out of the kennel run.