Our new foster girl...

[waffles]

We picked up a tiny red and white border collie girl today through rescue. She was just surrendered from an amish farm because she had no interest in working cattle. She also just had puppies 12 weeks ago who they were giving to rescue because they couldn't sell them and last minute asked if they would take the mom.

 

So far she is extremely sweet and submissive to both people and dogs, melted into a puddle when Levi gave her a grumble. She knows only commands in Dutch but has a great recall with her name, Ruby. She is in that stage of crawling on the ground to you and plastering her face to your thigh-dying to please you. Can't wait to get started on building some confidence and leash training.

 

Just thought I would share and if anyone in the Western NY area is interested...

[gcv-border]

Awww. Love her expression when she was looking at the treat.

 

Good Luck with her.

[Shetlander]

What a sweetie! I'm glad she found her way to you.

[GentleLake]

<sigh> I'm full up or I'd be very interested.

[highway61]

She is beautiful! Love the full white collar, where is the red? Good luck, she does look/sound like a keeper.

[G. Festerling]

Beautiful girl!

Lucky for her to be with you as well.

[waffles]

Well this morning is day two with Ruby. She seems to have some type of fear of wide open spaces. She has been walking really good on a long line but as soon as we get away from the house and barn and trees she starts wanting to bolt back to the house. Our back area is about 50 acres of open field and about 200 ft out she got really scared and dragged me back. She is very happy meeting people, dogs, cats, fine in the car, walked into a crate just fine, slept quietly last night and seems to be pretty well adjusted (probably not by the average dog owners standards but I think she will be a quick study).

 

I thought I would introduce her to our goats and see if she really had no interest in working or just didn't want to work cattle or didn't want to work for her former owner. She turned into a different dog! Immediately she went into work mode (I had her on a leash) and since I only have about 5 lessons under my belt I didn't feel comfortable doing much with her. I will say that I have never seen my goats flock so well, they were glued to my legs. We got some figure 8's in before the goats bolted to their building and I held her line so she wouldn't stress them (she did try to grip one/seems like a close intense worker). Before this I could barely get her outside and away from my leg, now she didn't want to come inside and once in, had a huge smile on her face.

 

Now I am wondering is she might be better off in some type of working home. I think this year may be too crazy for me to take on a second dog (husband already wants to keep her) but I definitely do not feel comfortable adopting her out to a regular pet home. An active border collie savvy home would be great (or someone who can give her the chance to work and train) once I get her confidence up and get some basics taught to her. Since I don't know Dutch I can't communicate at all with her!

 

I am going to contact the trainer I have worked with and see if he will evaluate her for me and give his opinion on her possible working ability.

[Camden's Mom]

Do you have any way of contacting the former owners and getting a list of the Dutch commands they used with her? It sounds like they at least started her on cattle, even though she didn't work out for them. I understand she was surrendered from an amish farm, so you'd probably have to go to them (or ask someone nearby to go to them and ask for you).

 

I guess it might be silly, just seems a shame to have to start from scratch with a dog that seems to already be pretty well trained.

 

She's gorgeous by the way. Any idea how old she is?

[waffles]

I am waiting to hear back from the lady who knew the amish guy and hopefully I can find out more about how much she was used on cattle and what she knows. Luckily she does not get spayed until the end of March so I asked the rescue if I can keep her until then. They already have 3 applications on her! Which worries me but they said I will get to do the home visit and have a say in where she goes.

 

I contacted Glen Highland Farm to do a courtesy post on their site and they have been wonderful! So hopefully if I can hold off the rescue for a few weeks maybe GHF can get me a good lead on a potential suitable home. Anyone who knows the breed will love her. She is so good in the house, eager to please, super social and a big wiggly worm. Appears to have no noise fears and wiggled and banged into a metal shovel, knocked some stuff over on her and didn't care. We nick named her googly eyes as she has one pupil that isn't perfectly aligned.

 

I rolled a ball passed her this morning and she got real spooked. Obviously has never played with toys before! She door dashed again this morning as we were taking water out and ran right back to the goats! She is doing better walking in a straight line on the leash but will still circle around back to your thigh (as seen in the one photo!) when you start getting farther and farther into the field.

[ShoresDog]

Ruby is obviously very special, and she's so lucky she's found a foster mom who is tuning in to find out who she really is and can be. Best wishes!

[GentleLake]

I understand she was surrendered from an amish farm, so you'd probably have to go to them (or ask someone nearby to go to them and ask for you).

 

The Amish in the US are fully bilingual, so there wouldn't be any problem in communication.

 

She'll learn English commands quickly. No need to fret over the ESL issue.

[GentleLake]

Oh, lordy, she's cute! And sounds like a complete love.

 

I so wish I could take another dog!

[waffles]

 

The Amish in the US are fully bilingual, so there wouldn't be any problem in communication.

 

She'll learn English commands quickly. No need to fret over the ESL issue.

I was more referring to how I can't communicate with Ruby since her commands are in Dutch. If I knew what they were I could easily transfer them to English while training.

 

I am already realizing that I don't like fostering for this rescue. They are willing to adopt her out ASAP as they have 3 applications already. She was with the rescue owner for 4 days and then with me since Thursday. I don't think it is the most responsible thing to adopt a dog out so fast. I feel you can hardly know a dog in such a short time especially one that is experiencing normal pet life for the first time. She seems totally unreceptive to any type of working placement and I know she knows not a thing about working border collies. The rescue means well but moving dogs out so fast seems counterproductive to me.

 

She also has not seen a vet yet and doesn't get spayed or rabies shot til march 27. I feel a dog should be vet checked before being adopted., right?

 

I tried asking to take ruby myself and find her a home once I felt she was ready and the home was a great match. I feel that doesn't happen this soon though. The rescue refuses to allow me to do anything other than pay a $300 adoption fee and keep her myself.

 

Just thought I would vent a bit. Hopefully one of the applications is a border collie savvy person who would be a good fit!

[waffles]

Oops sorry gentle lake I totally misread your comment about language!

[GentleLake]

 

Of course it would make it easier to transfer her cues if you're able to find out what the original ones are.

 

But there's something to be said for starting fresh. No baggage of her remembering any unpleasant experiences with the original ones or disappointment that her original owner had about her.

 

You could look at an online German to English dictionary. PA Dutch is just a dialect from the area in Germany where Amish originated. "Dutch" in this sense is a bastardization of "Deutsch." They were Deutsche, or German, not Dutch.

 

When I lived in a PA Dutch area of PA, I was able to do pretty well communicating with the German I learned in HS. Of course, it helped that the Dutch were fluent in English. ;O)

[gcv-border]

 

 

I am already realizing that I don't like fostering for this rescue. They are willing to adopt her out ASAP as they have 3 applications already. She was with the rescue owner for 4 days and then with me since Thursday. I don't think it is the most responsible thing to adopt a dog out so fast. I feel you can hardly know a dog in such a short time especially one that is experiencing normal pet life for the first time. She seems totally unreceptive to any type of working placement and I know she knows not a thing about working border collies. The rescue means well but moving dogs out so fast seems counterproductive to me.

 

She also has not seen a vet yet and doesn't get spayed or rabies shot til march 27. I feel a dog should be vet checked before being adopted., right?

 

I tried asking to take ruby myself and find her a home once I felt she was ready and the home was a great match. I feel that doesn't happen this soon though. The rescue refuses to allow me to do anything other than pay a $300 adoption fee and keep her myself.

 

Hmmm. I agree with you on the issues you have raised with the rescue. What does the $300 adoption fee cover? (Will the adopter be paying $300 and then also have to pay for spay if she is adopted before her spay appointment?) The rescue I foster volunteer for charges $250, but that includes all vetting and neutering (if necessary) before placement. The $250 often doesn't cover vet expenses. What are we doing wrong?

[waffles]

The $300 covers spaying and vaccines. I have no issue with the fee amount but I would think getting her vet checked before adoption would be a must. She said she allows adopters to take the dog first and then to their spay appointment after adoption.

 

I am hoping she still likes me enough to allow me to go on the home visits with her. I wouldn't get in the way obviously but would love to have a say or at least let the adopter know they can contact me any time for advice.

 

This rescue business is a funny thing. People get emotional (including me) and i can see where situations between rescues, fosters and adopters can go south in many ways. I wish we had an actual border collie rescue in the area to foster for. I think I would be less protective too if I were fostering a breed other than a border collie!

[Nanda & Nelson]

Dutch is my native language, if I can be of any help...

You can try a few, for pronunciation use http://www.forvo.com/ just make sure you get the dutch version:

Heel (few different options):

Naast

Voet

Sometimes people use "foot" for heel as well, as in the English word

 

Wait: Wacht ( a hard one ) (http://www.forvo.com/word/wacht/#de)

Here / Come: Hier (most common recall word)

Bring it here: Apport
Follow (kinda like heeling): Volg

Off you go / command to set dog free: Vrij
Lay down: Lig
Stay: Blijf
Go To Spot: Plaats
Search / Go Find It: Zoek
Drop it/ Let go: Los
High Five: Poot
Sit: Zit
No: Nee
It's done: Klaar
Leave it: This one is very common, it would be similair to leave it, you say a simple 'af'
Cookie: Koekje

[waffles]

I am taking Ruby this afternoon to a friend of the lady who runs the rescue. Apparently the interested person has owned a border collie before and did a lot of classes and agility with it. So hopefully this will be a good match. Not much more I can do anyways.

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and comments. I

[G. Festerling]

When you foster or rescue it is sometimes hard to remember...there ARE others out there that know dogs. That know a certain breed. And a very novel thought for sure...they may actually be a better fit than even you. And that is ok. It is grand that way. You as a foster are a lifesaver. The very first one in the dogs journey for its final home. Without you, they would be in trouble. So as much as you know and care, you maybe surprised.

 

Now, if the person running the rescue turns out to me a dictator with no sense (i.e. this potential adopter is a total fail) and she won't even address your concerns....then I take that back.

 

And if you need any qualifications for me saying this....I am somewhat going through the same thing with my current foster! No one can be as perfect for him as me....but yet I know there are people that will be even more perfect because he will be their one and only!

[waffles]

When you foster or rescue it is sometimes hard to remember...there ARE others out there that know dogs. That know a certain breed. And a very novel thought for sure...they may actually be a better fit than even you. And that is ok. It is grand that way. You as a foster are a lifesaver. The very first one in the dogs journey for its final home. Without you, they would be in trouble. So as much as you know and care, you maybe surprised.

 

Now, if the person running the rescue turns out to me a dictator with no sense (i.e. this potential adopter is a total fail) and she won't even address your concerns....then I take that back.

 

Yes I totally agree. I had a hard time trying to convey to the rescue that great homes are indeed out there but that not any loving home will do. I think she is better off in a home without cats anyways and I can't offer that. I just am skeptical that is is responsible to pluck an adult dog from its only environment and assess them in a few days and to make that great match. I know if I were on the receiving end I would want a rescue/fosterer To be able to answer my questions and not just have vague answers. I have talked to so many people who don't like rescues because they feel they misrepresent dogs and after adopting find out all kinds of things they weren't expecting. I think many rescues don't keep dogs for long enough to get a better idea of the dogs real traits (obviously you can't keep all dogs in foster homes for months) and just want to move dogs so they can save another.

Even though my husband really want to keep her, I kept thinking someone else who knows border collies is going to fall madly in love with her and would rather see her move on.

[GentleLake]

I agree about the short time frame in a FH. The rescue I volunteer with and another one I've adopted 2 dogs from have a policy that a dog is in the FH for a minimum f 2 weeks so the FH can evaluate the dog and get to know it. Often that's not long enough for some dogs, and the rescue I work with will keep dogs dogs with behavioral issues for a year or more before making them available if necessary until they feel they're really ready to be adopted.

 

The Flat Creek dogs from Sprakers are a good example. NEBCR took in 12 or 13 (hard keeping track because there were a couple that didn't come through the Humane Society/GHF deal). Only 2 of them are up on our web page as available so far, and they won't be adopted to anyone who isn't fully committed to helping them work through their issues. The rest look to be spending quite a bit more time in foster care before they'll even be considered stable enough to adopt to very carefully screened adopters who we feel are capable of helping these dogs continue on their journeys. What's more, NEBCR will continue to provide a support system for the adopters, and will be ready to take the dogs back if things don't go as planned.

 

All this for a $250 adoption fee, which doesn't even begin to cover the vet bills these dogs have already incurred.

 

I think many rescues are well meaning, but not necessarily savvy enough to do the job well. Besides, they can feel overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of dogs (and cats and other animals) needing rescue, and so will tend to try to speed things up in an effort to help more animals. It's a noble ideal, but it can be misguided if there's not enough foresight and evaluation of both animal and potential adopter. It's better to place one dog well than to place two carelessly, imo, but that's not always the way things are done.

[alligande]

I think there is balance to this like all things, as a foster I want to see dogs settled into their permant home relatively quickly bonding with my household means they are going to have to go through it all again. With the Spraker dogs or any damaged dog the situation is different, D'elle with Kelso brought him to the point that he was ready to move to the next stage of his recovery.

I think in a week or so you can get an idea of character but it takes months to really learn a dog, with my two rescue border collies it took months for their true characters to show, Brody came straight from his family and it was at least a month before we understood his nasty side, and at least 6 before we all came to an understanding and he was ready to be cuddled by husband (he wasn't into cuddles by women). I don't think any of us think we should be keeping a dog in rescue for months.

[waffles]

I think there is balance to this like all things, as a foster I want to see dogs settled into their permant home relatively quickly bonding with my household means they are going to have to go through it all again. With the Spraker dogs or any damaged dog the situation is different, D'elle with Kelso brought him to the point that he was ready to move to the next stage of his recovery.

 

I don't think any of us think we should be keeping a dog in rescue for months.

Exactly. I think it is a dog to dog type of situation. Where a well adjusted dog that just came from a home, can be assessed pretty quickly and adopted out properly. Or a young puppy. But this dog needed some time to settle in. On her 4th day with me was when she finally tore through the house chasing a cat (and mine are dog savvy). She also spent all morning staring at my sleeping cats. The first few days she was very polite with them but I figured that would change. Some dogs are just too scared and have come from such strange beginnings (like Ruby living in a barn as a working dog and going to a home as a pet now) and need a bit more time to adjust before you can be more confident in their assessment.

 

Her new home does have 2 cats and an infant child. I hope things work out and everyone is happy.

 

 

 

 

It's a noble ideal, but it can be misguided if there's not enough foresight and evaluation of both animal and potential adopter. It's better to place one dog well than to place two carelessly, imo, but that's not always the way things are done.

 

I agree completely. No point in taking on too many dogs that you can't place into a suitable home. I think a lot of all breed rescues that pull from high kill shelters tend to fall into that situation. They figure, they're better off alive anywhere than dead. But a lot of times those dogs cycle back into rescue, shelters or re-homed privately. I see on CL all the time posts that say "adopted this dog from the SPCA..." and they now are re-homing it. Our SPCA adopts out to anyone with a drivers license basically.

[D'Elle]

One of the things I loved about fostering for Arizona Border Collie Rescue was that I, as the foster home person, was the one to decide when the dog was ready for placement AND I had the final say as to who would adopt the dog.

 

After working with a rescue organization that gave me that authority, I honestly would not be willing to work with one that did not . I would recommend to anyone wanting to foster, to be sure the rescue has that policy.

 

ABCR figures the foster home knows the dog best and should have that say, and they are right. I would not even consider fostering for a rescue who would place the dog without my full consent. I put my heart into each foster I had and it was of utmost importance to me to feel that dog got the best chance of success.

 

I am not able to foster now (too many dogs at home), but when I can again, I will foster for ABCR again.