Eyes Open

Here are two new photos from Jackie -- the pups' eyes are open! We're thinking that the pup on the right in the group photo may be our Chip. He's still the biggest... already three pounds.

Thinking Ahead

Now that we know our little bundle of joy will be ready to come home in April, we're makin' plans. I just reserved a cabin in the woods, way up by Algonquin Park in Ontario, for a few days in June (photo is from the cabin website). It looks just great for a little quiet getaway with two Border Collies. Well, "quiet" and "two Border Collies" don't seem to belong in the same sentence. And the sporty VW Jetta will be replaced next week with a Subaru Outback -- all wheel drive and plenty of space for two Border Collies in the back. To top it all off, Max (our eight year old pup) will begin his obedience class in March. Can't having him setting bad examples for the little one, right?

Here's a new photo from Jackie, the breeder, of the male pups in her new litter. Which one will be ours???

Male Pup #1

Here's a photo of one of Jackie's pups. The litter has four females and four males, and one of the male pups is quickly becoming bigger than the others. Hmmm.... could this one be ours? We'll see in which direction his disposition seems to be going. Jackie said that the pups will be ready to go after April 2, so I'm having fun planning the road trip to Wisconsin.

Finally... A Decision

After heming and hawing all weekend, I've finally -- with Birgit's help -- come to a decision. Although Tarquin is a GREAT dog, this could be my last opportunity to raise a dog from puppyhood. And those pups in Wisconsin share at least part of their bloodline with Buddy. Hmmm.

So I emailed Jackie Jackson, the breeder in Wisconsin, to say that we'll buy one of her puppies born on February 5 (Jackie's photo here is of the pups six days old).

But which one? And should we get a male or female? How will Max react? Oh no.... more decisions!

Tarquin!

Today Birgit and I visited Newhope Border Collies in Hagersville, Ontario. Alice, the breeder, took us out with her five Border Collies. Her big boy Tarquin is for sale, and we wanted to meet him. He's wonderful! About 4 1/2 years old and so big, strong, and calm. And beautiful! And friendly!

So now the decision situation changes. Should I buy Tarq -- already trained, disposition known, but already almost five years old? The average lifespan for a Border Collie is 12 years. If I buy Tarq, he needs to be immediately neutered as well. Or should I buy a puppy from the very nice, very professional breeder in Wisconsin whose dogs share some of Buddy's bloodline? Her puppies were born on Wednesday this week. But then I would be faced with all the training and antics that go along with puppyhood, and we don't know (1) how Max would react to a pup, and (2) what that pup's ultimate disposition would be. Genetics are important, but don't predict everything, right? But with a pup, I would be able to have more control over how the pup is socialized, and could enjoy the upside of puppy antics again.

Amazing how complicated this process has become. As Birgit says, I'll "sleep it over."

More Decisions

For once, I'm trying to pay attention to the nagging feelings of... something... when I feel them. (Other people seem so much better at doing this than I am.) Even though Hiro is a perfectly fine dog, I have a feeling that it wouldn't work out. Of course, it has taken me five days to actually pay attention to this feeling. Cognition versus Emotion.

At first I thought it was because he isn't "Buddy Jr." -- and expecting him to be so would be terribly unfair to Hiro. But I don't think a copy of Buddy is what I'm looking for, honestly. It was great playing ball with Hiro. The problem is that I don't feel like I connected with him in the least. And knowing that he tried to bite the groomer (ok, it was his first haircut) and knowing nothing about his background... well, these things worry me.

I even called Barb, our vet, to ask her about rescue Border Collies. She suggested that Border Collies and Jack Russell Terriers found in rescue often have issues, like aggression or separation anxiety, that can be quite difficult to overcome; moreover, these two breeds in particular seem to have a high probability of such rescue issues. Not impossible to overcome by any means, but difficult.

And then there is the desire to "rescue" a homeless dog. I would so like to be able to do that. But are my training skills and time adequate to do this with a Border Collie? Gosh, Buddy wasn't a rescue and was such a handful as a puppy and young adult anyway. I would hate to take on a rescue dog and have to put him back into rescue later. On the other hand, Max was a rescue and has been a great pup.

Back and forth.

After having a long talk with Birgit, I emailed Cindy to tell her that we've decided not to adopt Hiro. That was so difficult. In the long run, though, I think it was the right decision. But we're not giving up on the Border Collie search. We have more possibilities to explore... starting tomorrow!

Pondering

Yesterday we met Cindy and Chris from Border Collie Rescue of Ontario. We drove the hour or so to the SuperDogs training facility in Bowmanville, east of Toronto. The photo is from their website at www.superdogcentral.ca. We were an hour early (no excitement there, eh?), but as it turned out, so were they! Chris had to go to work earlier than he expected, and Cindy had sent us an email late the night before -- that we didn't see -- asking if we could come earlier than we had planned. Synchronicity.

So there we were, Birgit and I, sitting in the Subaru in the cold, thinking we were an hour early, and suddenly this other car pulls up in the parking lot. Cindy jumped out and came over to our car. Chris got out of the driver's seat and opened the passenger door, and out jumped Hiro. Cindy had me take the leash immediately and showed us the way inside. After years of calm Buddy on the other end of the leash, Hiro's gyrations took me a bit by surprise, but we made it inside without any problems.

The facility is huge! What a great place to train dogs. They must have every possible kind of training tool there -- hurdles, rings, tunnels, you name it. Cindy gave Hiro his favorite ball, and we were off to the races. My arm is sore today from throwing the ball so much. He is definitely ready to play! After a few throws, he started bringing the ball back to me closer, and closer, and closer, until he would run full speed toward me with the ball in his mouth and end up with his head sort of stuck in my chest as I knelt there. It was great!

But still, I do have concerns. Cindy thinks Hiro was a farm dog who spent little, if any, time inside a house. He was shocked the first time she turned on a TV, and she has found him standing on all fours on top of her kitchen counter. He also knows "sit" and "stay" in French, being from Montreal. What an interesting dog. He is really a 15-month-old blank slate. I hope I would be up to the task of training him properly. It's been a long, long time since I was in obedience school with a pup!

The next step is the home visit. Cindy and Chris will come to our house this Friday. We'll see how Max and Hiro react to each other.