 Barked: Fri Oct 31, '08 12:39am PST |
 | |  | | The thing to be careful with is products containing ivermectin which is a common wormer/heartwormer. If a collie is mutant...as many are...an overdose can lead to seizures and even death.
I hadn't had a dog since 1986 when I got Orry last year. It began in January when I took a class in pet parenting and first aid with our cats in mind. The teacher brought her Australian cattle dog with her and I fell in love. For months I researched breeds with a view to selling our Hurricane Wilma wrecked Florida condo and acquiring a home in another, a REAL, place. In July we sold and I had piles of breed books stacked up with my thoughts turned to rough collie. I had fostered one for a year in the 1970s and known people well who had collies. When we bought a single family home in Georgia on nearly an acre with half that fenced with 6 and a half foot chain link I returned to Florida to pack up and give notice and to finalize the deal to purchase Orry, a Missouri pup I'd seen on Next Day Pets.
Orry's breeder, a lady with only one collie, could not have been nicer and I still send her updates on her baby. And we've been very happy with Orry who was 14 weeks when he flew here to meet us. He spent a few weeks living at LaQuinta with us and two cats in a single room and the hotel wholeheartedly approved the pup.
Now. at 15 months, I won't say that Orry is perfect but he is a great dog. He helps tend injured wildlife and is a friend to every living thing. He's no interest in traffic....we live down a dirt road in the country....and he seldom barks. He did chomp a few unplugged electric cords and trashed his dad's remote as well as destroy a set of earphones but, by and large, we got off easily. He's a good kid. His bio-dad, Wild Crusader, is known for his huge size and for his sweet nature.
Each puppy is different. Orry is a Beta and only needs a gentle reminder now and then that humans are the Alpha-wolves.
Bob Weatherwax, son of Rudd Weatherwax, original owner of "Lassie" gives phone consultations to dog owners with problems.
bob@weatherwaxtraineddogs.com
And I think you'd call Lassie a tri-factored sable collie.
A word of warning. Many dogs will chase birds unless the bird is in a sturdy cage. And a large bird such as a parrot can kill an annoying small animal. (I had a parrot once, long before I got a dog.)
Collies can be work but I think they are worth it.
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