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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When you book your holidays you will need to think of your canine companion.

Make sure you have tried and tested accomodation either kennels or friends that are able to care for your canine family member. The best thing to do is to try a day at the kennel / home without you, then a night, then a weekend. This gives you a break, but being able to coe to the place if required, before you fly off to a dog in a place they hate or a person that has no idea of what they have taken on.

We have a friend who is going to trial looking after Max soon and she is already a doggie person and looks after othe dogs of friends as well. We are going on walks together and will aim to do an overnight stay soon.

Another friend is booking a lady to stay in her house when they go away. This means no upheaval to the dog. The lady is a house sitter / dog sitter so there is a charge, but it works for a lot of people. I would say always find and follow up references and do the introductions to ensure your dog is happy with their temporary auntie / uncle.

We have a few friends that use a local kennels… different kennels but all have good reputations. They have done the overnight stay, a weekend stay and 1 family is due to go on holiday and have booked their doggy family member in for the week plus the night before and the night following. Every day the dog is in a kennel has a charge, also there is collection times, drop off times and what each kennel does for exercising, kennel time and play time varies. So, always visit the recommended kennels in the area and see what you like, the people maketh the place…

The other suggestion is to get a pet passport and go on the tunnel to France. The passports cost about £150 + to do all the bits to gain the certificate, last a year and can take 9 months to go through the proceedure to get… so maybe try next year’s holiday.

How about a UK based holiday… try maybe a B+B farm house - www.farmstay.co.uk or one of the cottage holiday sites that allow dogs. We have done both and we all enjoyed it and will be doing more holidays like this over the next few years.

Just remember, your dogs need to be ok in a house, you can not leave them at the cottage or farm house and you must have them under control at all times… furniture and fittings are not for dogs to lay on or stand on, etc. Treat it as you would a new home and a fun place to explore.

There are lots of things you can do with your dog…
walk along the cliffs in Dorset
go to the Isle of Wight for a day trip / weekend
explore the New Forest
explore the wilds of Devon or Cornwall
the list is endless….

Have Fun,

Vx

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Max as you are probablt aware has learnt to swim. He loves clambering in… no jumping in as yet and swimming for his stick or even more importatnly his ball.

Well, Jayne, Moose, Max & I ventured out for a walk and after doing a walk through our little park, then through past one of the pubs (no stopping for a drink this time), we headed up one of the many paths in Bursledon to the salt marshes. This is a big area of smelly mud that floods at high tide floods to some degree or other.

We went down there at high tide and after a gentle stroll across to the sea edge we started to throw sticks in to the water. Both the boys had a go at getting the sticks, then they both realised they could mug the other 1 for the stick and gain that stick… saving a swim…. very cute to watch.

Max continued to go for the sticks and Moose over saw this and saved his energy. Max soon got wise and took verious routes up on to the bank and ensured the stick was dropped at our feet to be thrown again. After a while of doing this we headed back along the dry bit of the marshes and up the path.

At this point Max & Moose were doing their locomotive train special hurtling around the path and surrounding marshes and down to the dirtiest smelliest water. A few times the boys hurtled back up to the path and we stood aside to watch them dash past.

Then….
Max chasing Moose they hurtled down towards the smelliest water, I stupidly commented “I hope they don’t fall in!” Guess what, next splosh and Max stops to panic as his mate disappears over thedge in to the smelly green water. Moose rose from the stench and came hurtling back with Max to continue his game, with a quick stop to show Mum how wet he was and to let us have 1st wiff of the his new perfume.

We carried on up the path and Max and Moose trotted on ahead, venturing off to smell and to try out new paths…. we came to the end of the path and the 2 dogs stood to have their leads put on. The smell from Mo was quite strong and pungent, Max had a more salty taint to his smell.

We walked back up the path and Marcus met us at the end of the road we use to get to the marshes. He saw how wet Max was and stepped out the way of a Max hug ( 2 paws plonked on his torso and a lick). Then saw Moose and we told him about the adventure. He said he knew we would be at the marshes and was sure Mo liked his new after shave… lol Moose did not look so sure.

We wandered home, the boys walking next to each other where ever possible and enjoyed a natter and a laugh about the gentle aroma of salt and marshes. Moose tail and bum waggling. Max’s tail going and enjoying the company.

Max now loves water, Moose is one of Max’s best mates. If Max goes up to the park he looks for Moose and if he sees Mo the other side of the park he hurtles off to see his mate and they meet in the middle of the park tails wagging.

By the time we got home Max was pretty dry, we wiped off his paws and dried his tail. I think Moose was going to be sponged down to remove some of the smell.

A good walk was had by all, maybe next time we will try to keep the boys on the path when the tide is high on the marshes.

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Hi All,

With all the great work that all the rescues do there are 2 things that you may be able to help with, as with so many dogs around the country there are some dogs through no fault of their own join a club known as the No Hopers Club. This is the dogs that due to breed, need for training or even colour are left at the rescues while other dogs pass through in a few weeks. So, how about this… have a look at www.manytears.co.uk and see if you can find a space in your home & heart for 1 of their little gems that are in the NHC. I admit to 1 favourite… Crackers. He is a large staff who needs a dog savvy home, but would be such a faithful friend and companion that you would never know till you meet him.

The second more some would say easy thing is for anyone interested in winning a prize to join in the Many Tears Raffle. Tickets are £1 ago and there is a brillliant list of prizes all on the Upcoming Events Section of www.manytears.co.uk… including hotel stays, a potrait of your pet and lots more… all kindly donated to pay towards the new employee to assist Sylvia and her volunteers.

Anyway have a great weekend and when you are out on your walk, maybe to the pub or round the area you live in…. imagine having a dog running alongside or investigating the countryside with you. It is the best and ou find out all sorts about the area you live in.

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Last August we picked up a very scared boney bundle of black and white fur that at the time was called Windsor by the rescue. We had no idea of his background, just that the pound had passed him to Many Tears as unclaimed. We believe he was picked up on the Welsh hill near Carmathan as a stray, probably dumped by a farmer who had too many puppies or who felt he was not right for his requirements of a sheep dog.

Max although being lanky and very tall is a border collie, there are 2 broad types of border collies those that you see at Crufts - the ‘pretty’ dogs. Who are fluffy, short and cute to look at. Then there is the working border collies who are taller, broader and not as pretty. Max is also short haired so he looks even more lanky than other working type border collies who have long hair.

Anyway, Max arrived sat in the corner of the garden petrified of all kinds of things and then met his 2nd doggie friend… Lennox. Lennox who is a staffy / whippet arrived with Marcus’s parents and bounded up to Max to say hello and kept encouraging him to play but Max had no idea how to. Soon Max got over his first night nerves and began to enjoy his visits to see Lennox, learning to pea on 3 legs by watching his cousin, learning to chase a ball and retrieve it from him and also learning that playing with toys generally was great fun.

Last night we went up to the field near us and Marcus went for a run. Max chased his ball as I threw it and as we moved across the field a gorgeous pointer appeared from the bushes near the edge of the field and came bounding over to Max. Max did his normal, dropping his ball and jogging over to meet her. Noosa was barking and wanting to join in, so I threw the ball and Max ran after it… then realised Noosa was faster than him and put on a spurt of speed.

Noosa’s Mum Pam came over and was laughing at Noosa chasing Max and Max chasing at the ball. (We introduced ourselves and our dogs). Max and Noosa continued to run after the ball and a few times Noosa picked the ball up and dropped in near her Mum.

You see, Noosa is a rescue dog. Pam got her a few days before Christmas from the Pointer Rescue. She is still learning what being a dog is all about and in the last few weeks has begun to pick up the toys that other dogs are playing with and as Max played with his ball she started to learn to pick up the ball.

Noosa’s old owner said that she was a wimp, that she was not right and as Pam gets to know her Noosa is coming out of herself.

Basically all dogs have to learn all things, if their Mum is not there or their owners do not encourage behaviours a rescue dog will need time and paitience to learn things. Noosa is gorgeous and is totally adorable. She barks in new situations, but Pam is working on this and her barks became less as we all ignored them and she came to realise Max was not scary.

The funny end to the story was that Pam and Marcus knew each other from where Marcus still works. She retired and now works part time locally for another company….. small world.

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Max is a collie and as such he is very quick and a bit too intelligent for his own good. LOL

He is known by the neighbours as a previous regular visitor. Jumping through 1 side just after we leave to raid their garden and say hello to Elaine, then back over to our other neighbours to eat the bread left out for the birds and say hello to anyone in the house by popping up to the patio doors and having a quick look in. ;D

He is now confined to his own garden by our new 6 ft close board fence and is quite content to open all the doors in the house, then snooze with the cat on our bed. They now have their own duvet with an old cover on it that we put on the bed when we go out.

As one of the trainers pointed out on Dog’s Borstal collies are very intelligent and when you live with one you see how intelligent and quick they are.

Great dogs to have, with such a responsive gentle nature and a dog that as far as I have found is always thinking about something.

Collies are not dogs that need hours of walking and acres of space. All they need is to be walked twice a day… we try to do 30 mins in the morning and an hour in the evening and longer at weekends. They need a secure garden, a place to snooze and lots of input in the form of training. I would also recommend investment in some boredom toys for any dogs left for a few hours at a time. Fill the toy with dry kibble (their breakfast or tea) and leave them to work out how to get it out of the bone, cube, ball or molecule.

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Before I got a dog I thought that a dog was like a duck… they found water jumped in and swam. This is not the case. Many dogs are scared of water, most dogs need to be carefully introduced to the experience of swimming or even paddling.

Max was one of the dogs that for him swimming and paddling took a lot of thought and forsaking all our gentle attempts he would only waide in to kneck deep to retrieve his ball.

I must say thank you to friends’ dogs and one lady in particular we met at Queen Victoria Country Park (Netley). Her 2 dogs saved us loosing yet another ball to the will of the tide… thank you

Anyway, on with the story.

We went out with Tina, Nigel and Levi (the dog) for a walk and headed down to a lovely stretch of river where Levi proceeding to head straight in to the water with Max running along the river bank… wanting to go in but not knowing how to take the first steps.

After kajolling from all of us and a gentle encouraging push or 2 as well. Max did not want to go out of his depth. Levi was doing an admirable job collecting the sticks before they headed down stream and crunching them, bringing some back to be rethrown.

Eventually after a few tentative gos at getting in the water the boys decided that they would try getting in the water and waiding with the dogs. So, Nigel & Marcus entered the water with Levi ad after a bit of a think Max joined them.

Max went after sticks and ran through the water, he even swam a little.

Now, this does not sound a lot, but to dog owners who live on the South coast a dog scared of water and who you are not sure can swim is a niggling concern. We are concerned no more.

Thanks to Tina, Nigel & Levi we now have a dog getting more an more happy to dive in and out of the water. This means we can walk by water without worry and also that we can have fun throwing balls and sticks in to the water for Max to chase and hopefully retrieve.

So in a year Max is now happy to walk on a lead, go in cars, sleep on a bed (preferrably ours), be left for a few hours on his own and enter water to chase sticks.

Yippee!!

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