Update on Blizzard, the white-headed border collie

Now named "Blitz" Blizzard (I registered as Nightshade's Vernal Noreaster) lives an hour away from me in Central Maine. The couple that had evaluated him from the NE Border Collie Rescue ended up falling in love with him and they kept him, instead of giving him to the next available foster home. Blizzard is a loveable dog, full of issues, indeed, but a very sweet, loving boy. He got along with Rowena too. Anyway, I caught up with "Blitz" and his humans this past October down town at the "Paws on Parade" event that raises money for the local rescue every year. He was there with a dog agility group with his humans. I took a few pictures of Blitz and his new people (who are very nice and I was hoping they would keep him, but Blitz never performed any agility. It was a very wet and rainy day... I mean VERY wet. The demo was cancelled. His humans provided him with a quiet place in the back of their truck to chill out and reduce his anxiety.

Blitz's breeders wanted to buy him back when they found out I gave him to the BC rescue. A woman called (apparently one of the breeders, but her name was never mentioned and was not on ANY of my paperwork)the rescue asking if he was available still for adoption. Thank God he was not. However, the breeder and I exchanged a few words, she outright lied to me until I informed her I was not someone from the rescue, but was his previous owner (that her family had sold him to). She tried to say that she had a signed contract saying I signed to return the puppy if I found I could not keep him. I told her that it wasn't my signature on that paper and she admitted she lied. She had told me that she had pix of him indoors (in defense of my saying he was kept outdoors most of is "old enough" puppy life till I got him.) She said he could recall "clear from the other side of the pond" and did anything her sister asked him to do. I of course knew that Blizzard didn't even know his name when he got here. The human voice had absolutely NO value to him at all. We had to teach him the name he'd had since he was a tiny puppy! And saying he'd lived inside? 7 months old and NOT potty trained. He had no clue how to live inside a house with humans. He'd climb on top of the table, pee on the bed, eat everything... poo everywhere, and for the longest time of course, didn't even know what his own name was. He didn't know how to play. When I asked his breeder once what was his favorite toy, (red flag) "I don't know. The grandkids play with him." I am not even sure if the latter part is even true. Wouldn't they have used his name? How does a border collie not learn his own name by 7 months old? Rowena learned hers the first day we had her. Anyway, the "breeder" that I had some words with was angry at me for making their kennel look bad. I didn't have to. There are many people around here who took part in Blizzard's life and know how he came here and the problems he had. They made themselves look bad. My heart was so broken when I had to decide to give him up to give him a chance to live a good life. Now his breeders have like 3 different kennels under that one kennel name (but different names for each of the 3 locations.) When I purchased Blizzard they had 4 breeding dogs (according to their site). Now they have about 10 dogs per kennel site. They don't even know about the BAER test and they are breeding predominantly white/ white headed dogs, and now merles and I don't even if they know the dangers there. They don't do anything with their dogs (maybe 2 that actually have titles or something outstanding)and mention dogs in the pedigree that are several generations back who are notable, none are theirs. And many notables are impressive, but found in many many pedigrees (like Rowena's). I have learned from this, but wish I had heeded all the red flags I saw go up before I actually purchased Blizzard. However, by my loss, I have in a way saved this dog. May he have the good life he has long deserved with his new family (compete with other dogs). Don't buy, but maybe you want to know to stay away: Nightshades Ranch in Kansas. They do horses too.

The Fate of Blizzard, the white-headed Border Collie

http://files.dogster.com/pix/dogs/21/246121/lg_246121_131570 7714.jpg

I don't know if everyone realizes it yet, but I had to surrender Blizzard last October to the BC Rescue. I tried so hard to hold on to that boy, and in the end all I was left with was a terribly broken heart. You see, when I purchased Blizzard I was due to move very soon after. In the meantime I had a friend agree to foster him and let me live in their attic. Well, Blizzard turned out to be a very anxious boy with fear-agression... to other dogs. In less than a week, I was told he could not stay there and that neither could I. It would have helped a lot if they had informed me of that before I had the poor dog shipped on an 11 hour plane ride to Maine... and it would have helped me if they had told me that they could not have me live in their attic long before this as well. Some couples have communication problems and problems asserting their boundaries, and after the fact seem to find their voice. Anyway, By October, Blizzard still had not gotten the help he was supposed to get (even though he had spent several months with a "dog trainer") and was being shipped around, but not with me. I had the heart to train him, but not the place to house him. He had burned all his bridges with his fear-aggression issues and with his lack of indoor living skills. He was barely house trained by October and he had been living inside since the December before. If I had been able to keep him with me he would have been house trained easily. The journey through the past year with Blizzard was a hard one, only made worse by my husband living clear to the other coast line since the November before. In August before I had to surrender Blizzard, my husband and I had set up for Blizzard to be flown out to the west coast to be with my husband. The day before everything was going to go down, my husband was in a bad car accident and severely injured his left hand, breaking all the fingers on his left hand (appears that the vehicle rolled on the drivers side and his hand broke through the side window.) There was just no way he could have been able to handle Blizzard with one hand. We had to cancel Blizzard's flight. The last thing I remember seeing of Blizzard as the BC evaluators closed up the back of their truck was his big brown eyes looking at me as I closed his crate as if to say "now what. What have you done?" He was able to spend his last night with me and Rosie and the night went very well. Those eyes crushed me.

I was promised that Blizzard would not be put down for his fear-aggression issues. The eval person even scribbled that out of the paper I signed. However, I have yet to see a hint of Blizzard on the NE Border Collie Rescue site and I am worried. I want him to have a forever home where he will be loved and be provided with the stability of his own home. I don't want him to be shipped around, left outside and never loved, ignored or forgotten, bullied by other dogs. I just want him to get the training and love he truly deserves. I cannot inquire about Blizzard because once I sign him over the rescue considers me out. Like I am being punished for not being able to provide him with what he needed. I just want to know if he is being loved. I just want to make sure he is okay. I don't need to know where he is or anything. I just want to make sure he's okay. I miss him so. I had hopes and dreams for him. My heart is so broken and the thought of him not being here anymore brings tears to my eyes.

So know that I tried my very best to do good by him and to keep him and give him all that he needed. It was not because I did not love him that I surrendered him. To the contrary, it was because of love that I surrendered him. My white-headed boy...

Border Collie breed information

He's BACK!

Rosie's brother, border collie Blizzard is back in town and we are so happy he is back... nearby and now I can take him out with Rosie, work on training him, and try to teach him to play with toys! He is a very strong, muscular boy and I am thinking if I can get him trained in the basics with a killer recall, I think he would be a great sports dog. He is a very insecure pup with a lack of self confidence, if it cools off here a bit I want to take him outback to see how he will do on this mini agility course. He also still prefers the highest of high value treats so I bought some small cubed ham squared and some mini pepperoni to use for training. Rosie needs to lighten up a bit with him. He wants to play with her but when she invites him I think she is a bit too frisky and that freaks him out. And then at other times she is just plain intolerant. Being bossy with her toys and all... we are working on it. She has been an only child for many years and she has had only a few really good doggy buddies, but they aren't around anymore. I am hoping that she will get a clue and start playing tag with him. She misses that.

So we haven't lost our boy. He is staying with his foster family though until we can finish our cross country move. The family has 6 young children who are really busy and love him to bits. If I want to take him out he is only a 20 minute walk across the bridge to me. I am taking tons of pictures of him.

I'm about to lose my male BC... HELP

I am at great risk of losing my male border collie (Blizzard) that due to life not happening the way we plan, I have been unable to have live with me. Now I have only a few weeks before he needs to be out of the place where he is boarding, and if my husband doesn't follow through, and I can't find another option on my side, I will be forced to surrender him to a BC shelter or sell him for an adoption fee. I have been trying desparately to hold on to my boy, but he is not very easy to place. He was tied up on a farm for his first 6 months of life and had never been far off the farm. He didn't even know his name when he got here. I want to atleast find him a foster home in my area (Central Maine) or be able to ship him to my husband (who is not dog wise and has not worked out any details) who is in Oregon (where we are all moving to hopefully by months end). He has shown som aggression towards some male dogs (not all, perhaps he treats Border collies different??)He doesn't really have much of a clue of how to behave when living indoors with a family. He does super with children, cats, female dogs after a careful intro (Border Collies again are no problem). The local BC rescue had a part in their section of surrendering a BC that said that aggression will not be accepted. He will either be put down or I will have to put him down. All I really want to do is take him home! If he had a foster home near here I would also beable to work with him as well as visit.

I wanna keep my boy!
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how to fix or improve this situation?? I really need some help on this.

Thanks folks.

Is your pet's microchip registered?

If someone enters your pet's microchip into a registry, will it be identified by the correct microchip registry? Is it there at all??
You can find out at the following sites:

http://www.checkthechip.com/DefaultPage.aspx
http ://www.petmicrochiplookup.org/

And I encourage everyone to read the article about Microchips in this month's The Whole Dog Journal. I am happy to say that I found all three of my family's microchips, and that makes me feel secure that they can be identified and returned home easily.

The Truth about Microchipping... is it enough?

Dogster has had this ad regarding this tag from Red Cross, advertising that a microchip is not enough. Perhaps not always, but my human says that it is. You see, I have a Home Again Microchip. My human can change or update any of my chip information on the internet at her own site, add new pictures just incase I become lost and update contact info. There is a phone number that someone can call that will give them Home Again and they can look me up and find my humans if ever I get lost. Identification tags are crucial for every dog or any pet animal that can wear a collar (cats and dogs basically). On my tag, I have tons of information. It says first of all what my first name is and that I am a service dog and I should not ever be parted from my human. VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION! Along with an address etc. I have the Home Again phone number which is a toll free number... followed by my identification number so that if I am found, a person can call Home Again and tell them my ID number which when poked into a computer at Home Again will give them all my information, so that they can get me home to my human as soon as they can. My tag even has a small photo of my face on the front. No it is not reflective, nor does it have that flashy red cross on the front, but it has plenty of information if ever my microchip is not enough. Right now, if you look at my first profile photo, you will see the tag hanging to the side as I push the button to open the door. That is the front of the tag. Mom pays a little extra to have access to my information on the computer every year, but I have found that my human is willing to put in that little extra to make sure that in case I AM seperated from my human, Home Again can help me get back to her!
Make sure your dogs and cats have collars with good tags on them with clear writing or engraving that is deep enough not to get worn off easily. Find a tag that will let you fit as much info as possible, license your dog, and place these tags onto your dog's collar. A dog license and rabies tag can also be traced back to you, and let's people know that this dog is loved and belongs somewhere already. Make sure you know what you would do with your pets in case there is an emergency and you must leave your home.

Too much work... HEEL! STOP! FORWARD! BACKUP! SIT! (and- some DOWN!)

So we headed out the door today to run some errands- one accross town to get my human's meds. After the first stop at the post office (we walk), she starts making me stop every so often, and heel, and then she'd switch direction and do circles telling me to heel and then she'd stop again. I'd just start to get ahead and get a good pace and she'd say firmly "Stop!" If I didn't, she's tell me to back up and heel or she'd give me a quick tug to let me know I was a bit away from her side. Then she'd say "Forward!" and off we'd go, and then "STOP". She did it on a loose leash, she has the leash around her waist so she can just walk without her hand on it. So again, I'd get a pace going, catch a scent and kind of swerve a bit, whatever and then "STOP". And then back up again. She didn't like the fact that when she'd say stop I would kind of continue forward... not fast, but forward beyond her and not sit like I am supposed to when she says STOP. So she decided she would hold the leash. She held on lightly and when she would call a stop, she would hold fast to the leash so I would HAVE to stop. MMphhhH! And if I wasn't sitting, she would abruptly put me into a sit. I know how to do this stuff, but what is so very important about it? So after a while she would release the leash again. Of course if I stopped, I got praise... if I was also right next to her. If I stopped and sat and I was right next to her, I also got a treat! However, if I wondered ahead, she wouldn't give me a thing unless I backed up and came back and sat. And then she stopped treating me for that.
Basically, I think we did this for over 2 miles, to the pharmacy and to frisbee and home. She says she is trying to teach me to heel, but it seems like a waist of time, stopping every two seconds and switching directions every once in a while... almost stepping on my right paw more than once! What can I say, I like to go my own pace and don't mind the constant pull of the leash around my neck. My human calls me an air head because I'd rather do my own thing most of the time. She says I am stubborn and obstinate and then with an evil laugh says that she is as well. I don't get this HEEL thing and I hope my human doesn't start making a habit of doing this "training" with me whenever I am on a leash, though it does get my attention!
I hope my human got the medication she needs today and TAKES THEM! I don't know what her problem was today!
(Rosie gets a refresher... A service dog's training is never done.)

Got to Play with Another Dog!

I haven't been allowed to play for such a long time because of my foot and because my friend and I play so rough together, but this past weekend there was another dog at the field by the river... well it wasn't just another dog really... it was another Border Collie. His name is Huxley. I met him a couple years ago when he was only about 6 months old, now he is taller than I am. Anyway, he was playing fetch the tennis ball with his man human. Mom let me meet him and actually let me off my leash! Hux and I did a quick greeting and then the ball was thrown! We both ran for the tennis ball! It was so exciting and it was good to have a Border Collie to play with because, well, they play the right way. Basically "No Contact". A lot of chasing and mirroring, trying to outwit each other with herding games... but other breeds just don't seem to get it. Even my best friend doesn't get it! (She's a Puggle for those of you who don't know). Huxley knows that it's all about the ball (or whatever is being thrown out there) and that nothing else matters. So we ran after the ball together. Mom let me and my foot didn't bother me much at all! I didn't even have to wear those stupid sneakers to protect my toe! Now my Mom takes me down there to play every evening after it cools off and we play hard and then we walk down to the river's edge under the big bridge and I take a cool off dip. Then we walk home and I am thoroughly happy after that. I am presently impatiently waiting for mom to decide that it is cool enough for us to go down and play some more! Something about Air quality and Heat index and UVs... whatever! Just get me down there!!

If it's not a Border Collie, it's just a dog. (A border collie made that up)

Not Happy!

Rosie went to the vet today in hopes that she would get the splint removed from her right hind leg. Unfortunately, to everyone's dismay, the toe is still quite broken with just a tiny amount of cartlidge built up on the outside. No need to photograph the new x-ray, it is practically identical. Having played it safe with Rosie for 5 blessed weeks, my husband and I took her to the field to romp around OFF leash. No other dogs were out there and Rosie looked quite happy. Since I have now injured my tailbone and Sacral area of my spine, I will not be able to tow a wagon around town with her in it, so again, she will be doing a bit more hiking in that splint. Seems as though the conservative approach didn't work at all. Rosie will only get a bandage change every 3- 5 days or if the bandage gets wet or damaged now. Her pressure sores look good. I have a feeling that when the splint does come off, Rosie may find herself in an Elizabethan Collar as she was madly licking her back leg today when we took the splint off to see how she was doing with it.
My poor baby! That is going to be the WHOLE SUMMER! No swimming, no running around with other dogs... She behaves so well until others are around and her hyper side comes out because she is so darn bored! And so am I! We'll probably make more videos as we try to find healthy ways of entertaining ourselves while healing.

"Leave- it"

I was so happy with Rosie last night when I went to the bedroom to settle in for the night, Rosie followed and jumped up on the bed. I forgot something so I had to leave the room to get it. I put my slice of cake I had with me to snack on on my pillow and before I left I saw Rosie sniffing the air in the direction of the cake. I told her "Leave- it!" and left the room closing the door behind me. About 5 minutes later, I returned to the bedroom and Rosie hadn't even moved from her spot. My cake sat there on its plate untouched. I praised Rowena happily.
Sure she is a service dog now and should be able to do such things as leaving tasty morsels where they lay, but she is a dog. Like us, she is not perfect and it can be really hard to resist temptation!