Why did I even look?!?

[drdoolittle]

So, I'm planning on getting a Border Collie to train in herding and agility-----something I've wanted to do for years. The thing is that we can't have another dog right now----DH says 4 are more than enough, and my 10 year-old GSD doesn't take well to other dogs------unless they're puppies. I don't want a puppy, I want to adopt from a shelter.

Well, there was a beautiful male black and white purebred BO at the shelter near us----sigh.... I knew I couldn't have him, but forgot what his name was, and went on petfinder to look at him again-----he was already adopted (which is good).

So I decide to search BOs near my area, not thinking there would be much. WRONG! There's a beautiful female BO at a shelter in a neighboring county. She's mostly black, with a long coat (which I wanted). She's a mix, but that doesn't matter to me. The thing that got to me is what the shelter said about her. She's very stressed being at the shelter, and isn't eating much and losing weight----they are very concerned for her welfare. She sits in her kennel and just stares at the floor. I wish so badly I could adopt her----even filled out an app. But I don't dare bring it up to DH----he would get very upset as he's made it clear----no more dogs until the shepherd passes.

I wish I wouldn't have seen Sasha-----I will never just browse around like that again (well until it is time to get another dog. Just wanted to get it off my chest.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quote:

Poor Girl. You would think they would at least find her a foster home if she isn't doing well at the shelter.

I have a border collie mix and she is the best dog I have ever had. She follows me everywhere and will stay right with me off leash. They are such an amazing breed.

I am sorry that you can't get another dog.

You know, you can adopt a puppy from a shelter. I adopted my hound mix from a shelter, she was already spayed, housetrained and up-to-date on her shots.
I got my border collie mix from a family friend. He is a firefighter and rescued her and her litter mates from a bad situation where they weren't getting the proper attention and were flea infested.

Good Luck!

 

[mothrhen]

Quote:
Maybe YOU could offer to foster her. Maybe a temporary dog would be ok with your DH. Maybe HE will be a "foster failure" and fall in love with her! It happens (you should see how many I have in my house). I have several dogs that don't get along with this dog or that dog. I just keep them seperated. They don't all have to be friends although, it does make it easier when they are. Most of my dogs play flyball and agility. I highly recommend you check out flyball with your bc or any dog you get. It is the most fun you will ever see a dog have! It helps to burn off a lot of excess energy (not the bc's have too much energy) and are too tired when they come home from practice or tournaments to argue with their K9 brothers or sisters. Good luck. It stinks when there is a voice of reason in the house and you can't get what ever you want. Like, too many dogs, chickens or whatever your vice is

 

[VAgal]

We adopted a 2 year border mix from a rescue last year to go with our 13 yr old gsd border mix. You should remember that just because they're a border doesn't mean they will immediately be able to go into agility. He is super smart and has turned out to be super sweet, but had no socialization. He's just now at 3 figuring out how to fetch and he still has serious difficulties being around other dogs. He's timid and fearful in crowds and the obsticles scare him. We're working on it, but it will be a long time before he could do agility (although he is the fastest dog I've ever seen). We're hoping to work with him with the chickens. Hopefully they won't scare him too much. Our chicks don't arrive until Friday. All in all he's a great dog, but one heck of a lot of work to undo the damage of previous owners. If I had it to do again, I'd get a younger dog, like we did with the gsd/border. She was a heck of a lot easier to train. Don't forget, borders can be super stubborn add in smart on top and you're talking trouble.

 

[Mahonri]

I had to stop browsing the hatching eggs section of BYC for the same reason......

 

[OnBorrowedWings]

Dog limits are tough. Especially when some are older and retired...doesn't your DH know you don't "count" those?

How serious are you about doing agility? It will take awhile to get your new dog ready to trial. If you wait until you lose your shepherd (and I hope it's not for a long time, I love old dogs!), then you need to tack on another two years from getting a puppy to being ready to trial, or a year if you're starting with an adult rescue.

Unfortunately, I am stuck now with too many dogs all near the same level. Instead of a retired dog, an advanced competitor, and a pup, I have one retired, one trialing, and three doing foundation agility work. I'll get there, but it seems like it's taking forever and getting a pup is out of the question. In the herding jobs around here, my old border collie (14 years) can't quite do the job physically, and the young Pyr sheps aren't able to take his place entirely yet.

I will say that the quickest way for your family to feel overwhelmed by the number of dogs is if the dogs don't get along and have to be separated. It

Border collies and crosses vary WIDELY in temperament and trainability; there are no useful generalizations about them. Your best bet is to go with a border collie rescue org. That does a careful and knowledgeable job evaluating and placing the dogs.
Good luck juggling those dogs and family harmony!
____________________________________________________________
1 elderly border collie, 1 young Irish water spaniel hooligan, 3 Pyrenean shepherds (small French herding dog), A 6 pack of 6 week old Pyr Shep puppies, 4 horse, a mixed flock of Clun Forest and Shetland sheep, a wonderful son, and the best husband EVER
www.madcap.name
New puppy pics on website!!

 

[watchdogps]

Quote:
I keep trying to get my hubby to understand that! Same boat here - two finished Ch I'd like to do more specialing on, two with 5 pts, and one I bred but dont own that I am trying to keep in the top ten and take to Euk and Westminster. The three seniors dont count anymore, they sleep all day!

Pyr sheps, are you in Ohio?

 

[drdoolittle]

Well, I don't realyy want to compete in agility, I just want to train a dog in agility for the fun of it. I don't want a puppy-----I am very adamant about that. First of all, I don't want to go through the puppy stages, second, I feel that any puppies at a shelter have a much. much higher chance of being adopted and I would rather take in an adult that might not get adopted for a long time (if ever).

"Foster" dog, what's that? We have a "foster" dog that I was taking "just for the summer" (I drive school bus and have the whole summer off)-------that was about 4 1/2 years ago! Don't think DH will fall for THAT again. I'll just have to stop looking around and appreciate the pups I have now. I actually have thought of rying to work my beagle mix----I think he's mixed with either BC or Aussie. He's the one that's a "foster".

Here's a pic. of him----we call him MR. Tibbs. That's our boxer sleeping with him.

 

[VAgal]

He's awesome. We always have to remember to be blest by what we have and not drained by what we want. Beautiful pups! (They're always puppies to me, just like I'm sure I'll always remember my hens as chicks. Works with kids too.)

 

[saddina]

I'm not allowed to go to the pet stores on weekends, as thats when the shelters bring dogs and kittens for adoption days.