The Truth About Rescue - From TDBCR

Why Rescue?
Rescuing A Dog Is A Lot Like Buying A Puppy. There are all sorts of reasons why people are reluctant to adopt a dog through rescue. And although some of these reasons may seem valid, they are almost always totally unfounded. You might be surprised.

MYTH A rescue dog will have trouble bonding to us, because it has already bonded to another family.
REALITY Puppies have to learn to bond too - before you buy your puppy he has already bonded to his mother, his littermates and his breeder. ANY dog you bring into your life will go through a period of adjustment that can be challenging for everyone.

MYTH Rescue dogs aren't trained. It will be a lot of work to train a rescue dog.
REALITY Puppies don't pop into this world fully trained. Any dog you bring home will need some basic obedience training at least - and an older dog may even learn more quickly, as he'll have a longer attention span than a puppy.

MYTH A rescue dog will have all sorts of behaviour problems learned from the previous owner.
REALITY Many rescue dogs end up homeless because when someone got a puppy, they weren't capable of training it properly and became frustrated. Most of the dogs have no major issues, they just need guidance. If you are confident you can raise a well behaved dog from puppyhood, then you are probably equally as capable of teaching a rescue dog a new set of rules and behaviors.

MYTH A breeder can tell me just what kind of puppy I am getting. They temperament test them and know each puppy very well.
REALITYBreeders, as far as we know, cannot predict the future. Every puppy has the potential to develop into something surprising. An older rescue dog has developed a personality already, so there are less surprises - and rescue dogs in foster homes are thoroughly evaluated by their foster "parents" and can tell you a great deal.

MYTH Rescue dogs are too big an "unknown" - we want the security of a puppy.
REALITY If turning a puppy into a 'perfect' adult were so easy, shelters would not be full of dogs that people found difficult. Puppies are just as big an unknown and any dog can be a challenge, develop strange behaviors or have problems ... even with the best trainers.

MYTH I don't want someone else's reject
REALITY Almost all dogs in a rescue situation are there through circumstance, and nothing else. The fault is almost always the previous owner's, in that they were were ill prepared for dog ownership, or unable to keep the dog any longer. Sometimes the very best treasures come to you when someone else doesn't or can't recognize them for what they are. A dog that wasn't a good fit for someone else's family might be your dream dog. It's foolish - and selfish - to reject a huge population of possible dogs for such a flimsy, self serving reason.

MYTH I want the pick of the litter.
REALITY Every dog is the pick of the litter when you're choosing a companion animal. Unless you are an experienced breeder selecting a dog for conformation and other qualities, you should only be concerned about whether or not the dog makes a good companion - and making him a good companion is largely up to you.

MYTH I might want to breed her some day, and rescue dogs are all neutered.
REALITY There is a very good reason why rescues neuter all dogs before placement. It's because there are too many dogs in the world as it is. Good breeders never start with their first dog - they develop an intense interest in a breed, and a sincere desire to produce the very best examples of that breed. They spend years researching and learning and mentoring under another experiences breeder and eventually purchase the foundation of their breeding line with a practiced eye, with the intention of producing quality puppies, from another breeder who is convinced of their sincerity and ability. Anything less - anything - and you are not an ethical or responsible breeder. All companion dogs should be sexually altered.

THANK YOU to http://www.bcbordercollies.com/bc/info.htm for this wonderful info!

DAL Trial - May 27, 2007

Cola had a good trial with three straight qualifiers. Her opening gamble was terrible, but the day got better. Seems like everything I've been training hasn't been working.
Spree had her first shot at Masters Jumpers. She had a great run considering all the factors that make her the way she is :) It was a new venue and she still ran great. She went off course and came back to keep running! And to top it all of she was running for her cuz toy and stayed focused :)

And we train.

Really the only time of year that I train Cola is a few months before a big event. I stress about gamblers every year before Regionals and Nationals. She has been qualifying consistently in this event for the past six months... but I still feel the need to push for competency above the most difficult gamble I have ever seen. I think Cola hates this about me ;) My favorite to test (not train) is distance contacts with a flip to the next obstacle. We've gotten good at that, so the new one is adding 30 ft between the contact and the next obstacle that she needs to "find". Mental note, work on handling instead of impossible gambler crap.



It's taken Spree over a year to realize that agility means reward (the green alien cuz God). Now she's got it thou. So much that she runs from my backyard to the park across the street (while I'm left in the dust on the front lawn) to go play on the equipment as fast as possible. Distance tests of 21 ft are something to laugh at when she's up to 100+ ft all on her own. Now to work on listening skills :) Her first Masters Jumpers course is T-minus 2 days. Yes, I'm excited to run with the big dogs :D I'll be praying tonight to the green alien cuz God that she doesn't loose her confidence in the ring... sigh.

Paws N' Effect Trial - April 27&28, 2007

Cola started the weekend very well with a 108 point Gamblers qualfier. One knocked bar in Standard (so much pressure!), also picked up Team and Steeplechase. The courses were very nice with tight technical challenges, which I find the most fun... seperating the handlers from people who run dogs :)

Sunday's courses had extremely spaced 270's in both Steeplechase and Standard rounds. We turned both of those into pull thru's. Oops. After that I was too tired to handle so I gave her over to Sarah Novak. She was able to grab a Snooker with her! Very fun to watch someone run your own dog :)

Spree had very nice practice in Gamblers and Snooker. It was great warm up for Jumpers which was very fast and clean! She took first place with the fastest time in the class :D

Dexter had a practice Standard round where he did his contacts very nice. Only small barks at strangers. His Snooker was a little downhill with the calling of points, he was barking more than running :( Jumpers had a nice startline - was able to get one jump. He had a few refusals and very little barking.

It was a great weekend to learn that Cola still needs training, Spree doesn't wait for me to get into position anymore, and Dexter doesn't have BC distance skills!