We're still discussing getting a dog. We've decided not to get a sheltie (too small, too skitish-from what we've heard). Does anyone know anything about border collies? I'd still like to get Maddie (from the rescue), but dh doesn't want anyone doing a home visit and he doesn't want to have to attend their class. I told him I'd go to the class and take Randy with me (since he's the one that wants the dog). Then he said he'd rather get a puppy. I'd rather avoid having to house break a dog if possible, and I'd like to avoid those puppy teeth. He doesn't want a dog with "baggage". Ugh. It may be months before we decide on something at this rate! lol SOOOO, anyway, if anyone knows anything about border collies, please post. Thanx (again!).

By Sue3 on Monday, May 17, 2004 - 01:43 pm:

Hi Cat !
My friend has had border collies. She say`s that they are very,very smart and full of energy.
Her friend occasionally dog sit`s for her
and she said of all the dog`s I have
had in my back yard it is alway`s the border collies who climb the fence,LOL!
See, they are smart.
How is your Mom doing?The weather here has finally warmed up,we are suppose to have some severe thunder storms today.
Well,good luck dog hunting!

By Cat on Monday, May 17, 2004 - 03:08 pm:

Hey, Girl! Thanx for the info about border collies. I'd like a smart dog (hopefully help in house breaking) and I do want one that's full of energy, but not hyper. KWIM??? The siberian husky/wolf hybrid we had was hyper. We always said if a dog could be ADHD it would have been her. She lives with my brother now (in Clarksville). lol And hey, if a little 45lb dog can climb my 6 foot wooden privacy fence, more power to it! rofl Whatever we get will have tags on at all times and we'll get the ID micro-chip, too.

My mom's doing well. She called this morning and was going to try and mow today before it rained. She's on about 1 1/3 acres so she's got her work cut out for her (ha-ha). She should be able to go back to work next week with a 'no heavy lifting' restriction. Did I tell you she's coming out here in July??? I'm excited about that. (so are the boys) My mom and I are best friends. There's nothing I can't tell her. I guess that's not the norm for mothers and daughters. I'm very blessed.

Hope you don't get too much rain (that doesn't exist here in Colorado! We just spent $$$ to put a sprinkler system in so our lawn doesn't die!). Watch out for that lightning! Take care!

By Kaye on Monday, May 17, 2004 - 04:02 pm:

I highly recommend looking at some books about breeds. Border collies were meant to work sheep, this means they run and herd, i mean really run. My inlaws had one, this thing did miles around the pool. Also dogs that were known for working ranches can be nippers, that is how they could make their job easier. We just got a dog not too long ago. We opted for a golden, i mean there really is just no dog that is as friendly. But in hindsight...she is a large dog, only 50 pounds, but that is a lot of dog to have rolling in the mud and then barging through the house. She wants constant company, to the point it drives me insane. I got this dog for the kids, but she spends most of her day with me, i just wished I liked her better. I guess what I am saying is that dogs re a lot of work, although my kids do a lot of it, I am still home much more than them, I let her out, she wants played with. She isn't like a toy that I can put away when they aren't home. I was not a dog lover before, I can tolerate them now, but ultimately I could live without them too. I do wish I hadn't gotten the dog, she is as sweet as can be and I so enjoy watching the kids interact with her, but I wish I only had to have her when the kids were around! I need doggie day care..LOL.

By Happynerdmom on Monday, May 17, 2004 - 06:34 pm:

I don't know much about border collies, but if you want my two-cents worth about dog breeds, look into miniature schnauzers. My dh and I have had them since we've been married. (We've had three different ones.) They are great with kids, and they're not too hyper. They also don't need a lot of exercise. As a matter of fact, a lot of books say they make a good apartment dog. They're not real small like a toy breed. (I don't like really little dogs.) They are stocky and muscular. One drawback, if you want to keep a "schnauzer cut," regular groomings are needed. (by you or a proffesional.) But, they DON'T SHED! I think checking into different breeds is a good idea, since different people want different things in a dog. Just thought I'd share my love affair with miniature schnauzers!

By Sue3 on Monday, May 17, 2004 - 10:28 pm:

Hi Cat !
LOL on the dog with ADHD ! Yes, we had a keesh hound also before and she also was hyper,so I kwym.
I didn`t know that Colorado does not get much rain.I just assumed that you did because
of all the snow you get.
We didn`t get as much rain as they said and the dogs and I got soaked on our walk.
They said rain at 4:00 so we walked at 1:30 and it poured until we got back home,
AAAHHHH , Michigan , even the meteorologist can`t get the weather right.
and that`s great about your Mom !You are so lucky that you two are close .
You will have a great time together when she visit`s.
Hey ! do you want a cat ?
Every year a stray appears then the kids fall in love with it and I say I am taking it to the pound.
Well it has an appointment with the vet on Thursday, his name is Domino.
(I am such a sucker).
This is Barn Cat number 5.

By Tink on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 02:00 am:

Sue, I'm the same way about cats. We have had 5 and we're in an apartment! Not all at the same time!
I have had several Border collies and I love them. They are really smart and we never had trouble with nipping, but that can be temperment more than anything else, sometimes. I also think miniature schnauzers are great dogs. Very handsome and lots of personality.
Good luck on the puppy or adult issue. I'd go for the older dog. I hate dealing with the puppy chewing and "going" all over the house.

By Cat on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 10:10 am:

Too funny, Mini Schnauzers are what we're looking at now! Dh and I talked to a daycare dad yesterday that grew up with one and his sister has one now and they all love it. They run between $325-$400 here (saw one in Denver for $750!!!) so we're going to wait a few weeks and save up some. So for now the kids are looking at names for both boy and girl dogs because we don't know which we'll get and unless something changes that's what we'll get. Thanx to everyone for helping us out and hopefully in a few weeks I'll have "baby pictures" to show off!

By Sue3 on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 01:01 pm:

yes, do show pictures.I don`t know what they look like.I bet your kids are so excited.

By Vbw1978 on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 02:26 pm:

well i dont know anything about collies, but we have a old english mastiff (97lbs) golden retriever (90lbs) & a black lab (45lbs) he is still a puppy. all of them are soooo good with the kids the mastiff watches over the babies like a hawk in the yard dont have to worry about anything trying to enter. she is a VERY good house dog too. Slobbers alot though.
the golden he is such a big baby !!!!!!! sheds alot & some drool we have a fenced in yard so that all the dogs can run, but when we first got him he was inside all the time so he is not as hyper any more plus we had him fixed. loves attention though always has his head in your lap! the black lab is sooo good but is very hyper not sure cause he is a puppy or cause that is how his breed is ... hope that gave you some insight to other breeds

By Cat on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 09:29 pm:

WELL, we're going to go look at a 10 week old female mini-schnauzer Saturday!!! Her current owners live about 90 miles from where we do, so they offered to meet us in a near by town (20 miles from us). Randy's thrilled (I'm excited, too!). So now we just have to settle on a girl name. Seems the boy names were easier. Randy likes Trixie and Robin likes Amber and Crystal. I have to say I like Trixie better than Amber or Crystal (for a dog, anyway), but it's still not my favorite. Oh well. It's Randy's dog, but we did tell him the name had to be approved by us. I'll let you all know what we decide when I post the baby pics!

Thanx to everyone for their input, suggestions and experiences.

By Conni on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 - 10:11 pm:

We had a female schnauzer when I was growing up. Her name was Gretyl (as in hansel and gretyl). She was SUCH a good dog!!

Good luck!

By Cat on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 10:59 am:

We've decided on either Trixie or Cleo. We're leaning toward Cleo (dh doesn't like Trixie). Her name will probably be Cleopatra Trixie ------- (our last name). I'm trying to convince Randy to name her Cleopatra, Queen of the Rockies (because we're in Colorado) but he's not going for it! lol Right now the owners are calling her Frosty because the 15yo dd thinks "Puppy" is so impersonal.

I do have a question (Shelly???). I asked how many pups were in the little and the owner said four total. She said the first was too big and got stuck and died during birth, the second shared a chamber with the first so it wasn't fully formed (not enough room for both to grow properly), and the only other one besides the one we're looking at lived only 1 1/2 days. I figure I can look at this one of two ways. Right now the puppy is healthy, but with all three of it's siblings dying--could this be a problem? OR since she's the only one that survived should she be stronger since she got all mom's attention, milk, etc? What do you all think? I'm going to call my vet later and see what they say. Also, the owner said the puppy is almost as big as the mom (she's bringing mom with her when they meet us so we can "meet" her) because mom is very small. Since the puppy is only 10 weeks I'm taking that to mean she will be bigger so I guess dad was bigger? I am going to ask how big dad was (they had mom bred). Are there any other questions I should ask? Thanx for all the input (in advance!).

By Cat on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 12:21 pm:

WELLL,,, after talking to dh and the vet we're not getting the little girl tomorrow. The girl at the vet's office said that would really make her nervous about all its litter mates dying. The good thing, though, is the girl I talked to at the vet has a mini-schnauzer and her groomer who is also a breeder has two litters right now! So dh is on his way to see them and will come home with a little boy (she has 4 boys left-1 9wk and 3 8wk). After talking with this woman (three times! lol) I'm much more comfortable with the info I'm getting from her. She's been doing this for 25 years and her pups usually end up being between 18-22lbs. I think that size would work much better for us, rather than an 8-12lb dog. AND she's local so we can always take the puppy to her to groom him (and ask questions!). There are two girls at my vets office with dogs from her, so she comes highly reccomended. He is a little more expensive, but the peace of mind will be worth it. So far the only male name we'd agreed on is Lucky. We'll see what Randy thinks when he comes home. He's going to be so excited when he gets home tonight!!! The bad thing is Robin has an appointment that he and Rob will have to leave for at 2:15 and Randy has an assembly at school that I'm going to at 2:15 so the pup will have to be alone for about 1 1/2 hours. We have a kennel that we can put him in for that, but I still feel guilty. I suppose I could sneak him into the school gym for the assembly! lol No one would say anything, but I don't want to scare him (lots of kids and the assemblies are usually VERY loud). Oh, this is just exciting. So any advise on introducing him to the cats??? That should be fun! rofl