My DogsBlog.com

How to throw  collie in to dis array! lol

Max is a dog of habit, he comes to find me and get me up at 6.30 am for his walk, then he fusses for food and then waits for me to go to work for me to put down his boredom toys that have the main part of his breakfast in them.

Then he sleeps, see his friend Mary for treats and trick training, then sleeps till it is time to look out which ever window waiting for me to get home. When I get home he does a silly dance with tail going, bum waggling, hopping, jumping circling and a bit of licking till i say upstairs and go and get changed.

 Max then waits for me to find my jeans, socks, t shirt and the minute my coat goes on or I pick up the lead he is by the door waiting to go for his walk.

 We go outside I say wait and he stops to allow me to lock the door and if required put his lead on. If the car beeps to show it is unlocked he waits by the boot to get in.

So as you can see a dog of habit and many owners especially those with collies will have simula stories.

 So, this morning I got up early, so no lie in for Max, I got ready, walked Max had breakfast. Then went to the post office with him in the boot, this was to collect a parcel. He looked so confused after this, he could not decide if he should be waiting for his toys, going out with me in the car or what.

 It further confused the poor black and white boy that Mum was taping up her passenger side window. The winder had decided to snap on me on the way to the post office (or so I found out later).

 I am sure I am going to get home tonight to a few things moved and a dog hoping that normal Mum and routine is resumed. What will he make of  Mum having a day an half off tomorrow and Friday, with a walk with both Dad and me on Friday afternoon.

He will likely love the attention, but having people home when it is week days is totally out of place. He loves his routine, but also loves his cuddles, so I am sure he will love it.

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One of my last blogs was about booking holiday accomodation or sitters for Max or your dog.

We have ben through this and have a few recommendations -
1, know your dog - try your dog out in a kennel for a night and day, see if they will cope with it or come back traumatised. If your dog like Max wont go near kennels or crates, it is not for them.

2, Do loads of research to find sitters and kennels - quality, cost, availability and services offered vary hugely. We had a quote for £40 a day plus travel from Kent to have Max at his home (Expensive) to £16 a day for Max to live in a house with other dogs. We looked more into taking Max to stay with a family and found that the rayes of about £16 to £21 a day is about right.

Max did a day and a weekend (2 visits) with the lady we used and he loved it. He came back after his holiday and spent as long as I did asleep… doggie jet lag or just catching p on all those missed hours of sleeping on our bed!

When I went to collect Max he was hairing round the garden with the owners dog and I was told had made lots of human and doggie friends who would really miss him.

3, Check out the other dogs. Max would be 1 of 2 dogs (him & the oswners dog) staying over night while he was booked in and would join a friendly bunch for doggie day care during the day.

Max can be quite dominant, he is a yound dog who is use to being the boss of other dogs in his friendship pack, so when we left him for his trial night we wanted to ensure he got on with the owners dog and the other dogs that came to visit. Which he did.

At 1 of the places we visited the lady had 2 of her own dogs a thin over full garden and was edgy towards Max which put us on edge and Max, so he did not settle on our 1st visit so we did not go back.

Take advise, look at your optiond and I can not stress enough book early… people book for their summer holidays a year inn advance and I would suggest a tentative booking at least 6 months out for even a special weekend away you may find issues in finding space.

V x

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Max has decided that our bed is the place to be.

This means that if the door is closed to our room he opens it, if the bed is made and his cover is on he rearranges it to suit his comfort levels and if he is cold he may even pull the cover partially over him.

He has never done any damage and with the doggie duvet (old duvet from years ago with a cheap duvet I found in the attic) on the bed he is pretty good at keeping our bed clean.

Recently Marcus was in the US on business, so the boys and I had a week with just us. So, soft Mum let Max and our cat Barney sleep on the bed and they loved it.

Max is now used as a bed warmer for Marcus’s side of the bed while he cleans his teeth. It is then 1 instruction and he moves to his bed on the landing. He may move back to sleep at the bottom of the bed over night, but that depends on the door being left ajar or not.

Max loves his life and we love Max. He may be a clever collie but he is sure a clever member of our family.

Vx

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We have now had Max for a while now. He is a total character, toally adorable, cuddly, clever and sometimes even a little mischevious.

He loves people and has made lots of new doggie and human friends.

The strangest companionship he has made is the cats next door. They are totally band from the back garden, he will even chase any cat apart from Barney (our cat) along the fence line to ensiure that no cat comes into Barney’s territory. But if they are sun bathing or in sight in the front garden he will wait and see if they come over. One of the two cats wil come over very carefully as long as everyone is still and give Max a kiss or even rub up against him. He will not chase them and if other cats are in the front garden he will ensure they move. Max does not chase cats, rabbits, foxes and even the odd vole have taken his fancy but cats he knows are not to be chased.

The other friend he has made (girlfriend ) is a Heinz varieties lurcher cross lots of other types of dog who he visits when we go away. She is very quick, very demanding and pretty clever. When he goes to visit they are inseperable, they hurtle round the garden at 100 miles an hour and Max will even drop his treasured tennis ball once caught for her to pick up and bring back. If any of the other dogs get too close he will give 1 bark and she will stick with him.

Moose the chocolate lab is his best friend, he is a big burly chocloate lab. Who had issues with his legs when a pup so did not get socialised till he was a year old. So, Max and his Dad sepnt lots of time with him showing him that other people and dogs aren’t that scary really. Now, if you say find Moose or anything to do with Moose Max goes looking. When they meet for a walk (which they do a few times a week) Max gives Moose a kiss and they walk side by side. They share balls, they share sticks and they even copy each others’ behaviours. It is hard sometimes telling who is the collie and who is the lab…!! Totally adorable to see…

Dogs change your life, they take work and commitment, but with time and your input a loyal friend and fascinating family membber like Max is yours.

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