Postings by Ava & Nix

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Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Thu Jun 6, '13 10:25am PST  I once had a weird moment where I was on the computer, and Ava came over and stared at the mess on the ground, then stared at me. I wasn't looking directly at her, mind you, but I could see her from the corner of my eye. Suddenly I heard in my head "Can you move that stuff?" I looked at her and she was still staring really hard at me, the way she always does when she wants something. Then I looked down at the mess of papers and a folder on the ground, and picked it up. Soon as I picked up that mess, Ava did a few circles and laid down in that spot. But I don't know that I really believe in telepathy. I had seen Ava staring at the mess on the floor from my peripheral vision, so the words "Can you move that stuff?" could have been my own mind filling in the blanks as it were. ...Then again I just now tried calling Nix from the kitchen (out of sight)... it took a few tries but in about 10 seconds he came tapping around the corner with his ball in his mouth and a look on his face like "you called?" but I'm not so sure it wasn't a scent he was responding to. Their sense of smell is SO advanced they can detect even the slightest changes in us, even when they can't see us. When I called him telepathically I might have just been giving off the same smell that I give off when I call him with words? Who knows. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Tue Jun 4, '13 6:05pm PST  Oh dear... Nix developed a sudden fear of being in the car too. Except I know where his fear stemmed from, as he was there to watch me break down in tears when my van decided to act up and had to be towed. Worse yet was that Ava and Nix could not be in the tow truck with us, so they had to ride in my van while it was being towed.... Now, Ava's been through it before. A similar thing happened 3 years ago. But this was Nix's first time, so while she took the whole experience in stride, he was pretty much traumatized. The first time his fear presented after the incident was one rainy day when I drove through a puddle. I guess he had been stressing before then, but splashing through the puddle sent him over the edge and he leapt in to my lap while I was driving!! I shoved him off and smacked him (I'm not proud of that, but it was a reflex from being scared for our lives) and ever since then he was a shivering nervous wreck whenever we went anywhere in any car. As for fixing the problem? After discussing it with his breeder, I went out and got him a Thundershirt. Also a big bag of super special yummy treats that he would ONLY get while in the car. Never any time else. He refused to take any treats in the car at first, but the instant I put that Thundershirt on it was like magic. No shivering! He still did a lot of stress-panting, but the fact the shivering stopped immediately was so amazing to me. When we'd go to parks and stuff I'd make sure that the entire trip was as pleasant and stress free to give him the best experience possible. Eventually he was willing to take treats while the van was not running. Given more time he got comfortable enough to take treats while it was running in park. Then later when it was driving. It just took a lot of time and patience. I don't think treats would be a good idea of your dog gets carsick though. At this point I'd consider Nix 99% cured of his fear. We drove across the country from Virginia to Washington, which took us 5 days... 5 days of minimal stress. We had no shivering. Some panting, but he did extremely well, considering. He didn't even need his shirt! This Friday we're leaving WA to drive back, and hopefully he will be able to handle that trip just as well. Anyways, good luck! I think no matter what caused the fear, given enough time and patience you can help her overcome it. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Choosing the Right Dog > You shouldn't get a _____ if ______.

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Mon Jun 3, '13 9:05pm PST  You shouldn't get a Border Collie if... -the idea of having a slimy ball dropped in your lap doesn't appeal to you. -you're planning to try and ignore that slimy ball, and don't like the idea of it then being dropped on your face while you're trying to sleep. -you're planning to continue to ignore that slimy ball, and find the idea of having it dropped in your bowl of cereal or dinner plate revolting. -you don't like finding long strands of fur in every corner, on your clothes, in your food, etc. -you don't want a dog who's very prone to getting completely covered in mud any time you go out (Seriously! Even BCs who don't like swimming will always manage to get filthy anyways. A collie is not a BORDER collie until it's covered in mud) -you don't want a dog who you have to brush weekly-to-daily depending on the coat type. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Does your dog have a crazy pet peeve?

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Sun Jun 2, '13 11:35am PST  Wow, am I ever glad to know Nix isn't the only dog who hates it when people blow raspberries. He randomly decided it was scary one day, and had a full blown panic attack over the noise. He's gotten better about it, but he still doesn't like it. Also, I can't teach him the "BANG!" trick (where I point my finger like a gun and he rolls over dead) because any time he sees my hand pointed like a gun he goes schutzhund style and attacks me! Ava knows the trick, but you can't have her do it in Nix's presence, because he'll jump up and try to defend her.. or whatever's going through his mind when he does that. Ava hates bees. She's been stung once or twice, so any buzzing noise she gets extremely focused and starts trying to snap at it. I know she's gonna get herself stung again, doing that. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Does your dog have an arch nemesis?

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Tue May 28, '13 8:15pm PST  Ava has an arch nemesis. Yes. It's a white Australian Shepherd mix who lives somewhere near by, but we always see her (and her owners of course) walking around. I don't know HOW it happened, or why, as they've never actually met before, other than seeing each other from across the street as we walk by in opposite directions, but at some point Ava just had to have decided she hates this dog. Now whenever we see her, I have to brace myself because Ava will throw all her weight in to the other end of the leash trying to get at the Aussie, who is in turn trying to get at her. She's to this day the only dog Ava has ever shown that level of aggression towards. She has never pulled me over to get at any other dog before. It's like she's a totally different dog in the presence of that white Aussie mix. I really don't know why, as again they've never met. They've never had any sort of interaction with each other, other than a few passing glances which eventually and quite randomly turned in to attempts to kill each other every time we cross paths. But fortunately they've never gotten in to any fights despite their efforts. Nix has no arch nemesis, unless you count the "Jerk Russell" who seemed to live at the dog park as it didn't matter which day or what time of day we went--he was ALWAYS there, and he would ALWAYS make a beeline for Nix when he was a puppy. We stopped going to the dog park, so that solved that problem. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Sat May 18, '13 9:06pm PST  There's so many breeds that come in brindle. Pit bulls, boxers, mastiffs, greyhounds, whippets, borzoi, silken windhounds, shih tzus, border collies... That's not even half of them. He is very cute! I don't see any of the breeds I mentioned in him, but then again he's just a baby puppy so it's hard to tell at this age. He could just be a mix of a mix. It's entirely possible for mixed breeds to have no purebreds in their "family tree" for many generations back, as it's also possible for color patterns to show up randomly. Genetics are funny things. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Border Collie > Border Collie - Coat Length

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Fri May 17, '13 1:54pm PST  The breeder will know, and if they don't then find a different one, because if they don't even know what kinds they're producing then they're not very good breeders. But when it comes to putting a deposit down on a litter, know the parents. Two smooth-coated Border Collies will produce only smooth-coated pups. A smooth bred with a rough-coated BC will produce either/or, and two rough-coats will only produce rough-coated pups. If you're adopting, the length of the puppy's fur can sometimes be a good indicator, but not always. Depending on the age of the puppy you might not be able to tell. 4 to 6 months seems about the time most BC puppies go through their "ugly phase" where that downy fluff is giving way to adult fur. Their coats are usually very short and thin around that age, so being able to tell exactly the length of the coat if you don't know the parents can be difficult. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > doggie play

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Thu May 16, '13 8:19pm PST  Ava sometimes goes overboard when playing with Nix too. She likes to play tag, and while usually he'll happily play with her, there's times when he's in "work mode" like when he's been fetching his ball or frisbee, and he doesn't want to be bothered. He's very patient and doesn't guard his toys (at least not from Ava--he will guard his precious soccer ball from strange dogs though) but you can definitely tell when it goes from play to harassment. When it seems like it's getting out of hand, separate the dogs for a bit, let everyone cool down. It's good for everyone to take a time-out sometimes. I feel like regulating play will also prevent them from developing sour feelings towards each other. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Choosing the Right Dog > Ever "misjudged" a breed?

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Wed May 15, '13 6:47pm PST  Yep. The first one that comes to mind is Rottweilers. Before getting my job at the grooming salon and having more than a few near-incidents while bathing them or doing their nails, I had Rotts pegged as gentle giants. Laid back lovebugs. Wouldn't harm a fly... Well, turns out the lovable goofball part is only half of the package. The other half is a very strong-willed dog who is not afraid to preach "my way or the highway." If they don't like what you're doing, then they're gonna tell you about it. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ava & Nix Suburban Farm- Dogs     Barked: Tue May 14, '13 7:17pm PST  That's amazing! It still has eyelids and everything! I'm going to guess Xolo, or some ancient breed related to the Xolo. But then, that breed is pretty ancient already, isn't it? my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

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