You must complete an adoption application with WBCR before we will consider you for one of our Border Collies (under the “adoption” link). One of our volunteers will check your references, and then another will come to your home to meet you & your family in person before the board will vote on your application. If you are approved, we will arrange a time for you to meet the dog(s) you are interested in. If you decide he/she is perfect for you and the board agrees, we will schedule a day for you to pick up your Border Collie, sign adoption paperwork, and pay the $250 minimum adoption donation. This whole process may take a month or more, as all WBCR members are volunteers and we’re commited to making a perfect match for our border collies. Thanks for your patience!
Please contact Lynn for more information on Domino.
March 9
The good news is that Domino found a way to distract us from her shadow-digging and barking/spinning in the car. The bad news is that she has been diagnosed with CUPS (Chronic Ulcerative Paradental Stomatitis). In short, she has severe hypersensitivity to bacteria in the mouth, and that causes her pain, redness, and inflammation in her mouth and on her gums. If her mouth improves, she will need at least 3 or 4 dental cleanings at the vet every year along with daily oral rinses. If her mouth doesn’t improve, she may need all of her teeth extracted. We already gave her a professional dental cleaning, she’s on antibiotics, an oral rinse, Prednisone, and Tramadol. She went to the vet for a re-check this past Tuesday. Her mouth is “slightly better.” For more information on CUPS, please click here.
On February 2nd, Domino accompanied me to the Great Lakes Pet Expo. She stole hearts during the rescue parade where she was constantly catching a plush ball (tennis balls are too hard for her mouth). When she was at our booth, Domino was quite the draw with her sharp looks and submissive ears while creeping ahead to people while maintaining her “sit” position. She was a little nervous walking through the crowd, but she was right at home at our booth. She loved looking at the people who were walking our way in anticipation of getting pets and hugs.
Catching falling snow is a fun thing to watch Domino accomplish. She jumps really high trying to catch the biggest of the flakes. She also enjoys it when we kick snow toward her. However, we can’t let her catch too much of the snow in her mouth, because that aggravates the CUPS.
This girl is way too sweet & fun to be going through all this. We need an angel to adopt her, work with her behavioral issues, care for her dental needs, and do some regular training for fun – she will definitely need some fun in her new home. In the meantime, we’ll get down to the bottom of some of her issues. Feel free to email me for updates. And, of course, donations are always accepted to help us pay for procedures and other vet expenses for our foster dogs. Thank you for your interest in rescue! These dogs deserve a second chance.
December 23
Since our last post about Domino, we’ve been doing a lot of evaluating to help us gage her improvement. The good news is that she’s improved quite a bit! She has been submissively approaching us for pets and hugs more (and not in a coddling way, but just in a loving way). She will even roll on her back for belly rubs. This cuddling may only last a minute or two, but then she will run off to get a toy to play with us. Sometimes she will even initiate play with the other dogs, which is new for her.
We hope that regular activity with her will keep her mentally stimulated enough that she will relax more and her desire to hang out with her humans (for other reasons than just playing) will develop. Last year, we took Domino to the farm to see if she has herding instinct. While she wasn’t the most awesome herding dog ever, she took to the handling very well and made some nice circles around the sheep. She’s got the instinct. Domino is also quite the jumper. Like the typical Border Collie, she’s more of a horizontal jumper than a vertical jumper, but she’s quite capable of doing both. Between her love for jumping and her enjoyment of tugging, agility could also be in her future.
Traveling in the car is something that still needs work. Domino barks and spins during the whole car ride. She is always very excited to go on a car ride, and is very quick to get in the car. But when the car is about to move or is accelerating, not even a high quality treat can distract her from barking and spinning. Despite all of this, we still drive her around several times a week. One of us drives, and the other holds her so she can’t spin. That doesn’t stop the barking, though. A muzzle works if she doesn’t take get it off within seconds of having it put on. We also tried keeping her in the crate on car rides, but she just spins and barks inside the crate. A lot of hard work with very short trips and continuous training might calm her down. It’s hard to say though since we haven’t had the opportunity to try this yet.
After the first snow of the year, we found out that Domino likes to try to catch the falling snowflakes. She will run and jump to do this, as you can see from the picture of her on her hind legs. She can be so silly!
October 26
Domino is 6 years and 7 months old. She is a WBCR foster dog that was adopted out last January, but she was returned to WBCR for foster care a few days ago. She is a very fun-loving dog that exhibits most of the classic Border Collie traits, but she also has a few very unique challenges. Before last January, we worked through most of the challenges, and made a ton of progress. If you like to play frisbee and throw the tennis ball, you will LOVE this athletic dog!
Domino was placed back into her original foster home with us in the Milwaukee area. Upon her return, Domino remembered every little nook and cranny of the house. She is a very smart girl. She went straight to the doggy toy box and took out all of the toys she played with last time she was here (which was no simple feat, as they were all on the very bottom) and just rolled around playing. We already have 2 dogs of our own, and Domino remembered both of us and was excited to see us. We also have another foster dog (Anjie), which Domino met for the first time. They both got along just fine right away the first day.
Like most Border Collies, Domino is very focused. In her case, with shadows and reflections in particular, she is borderline obsessive compulsive. She will chase reflective sunlight off of moving objects, like when opening a door. This is the same with shadows, like during sunset when the shadows from tree branches move across the walls. She will sometimes try to dig or scratch at the floor at nighttime when lights in the house cast the most shadows. We found that when she was mentally stimulated, she was less obsessive. We also made it a point to just simply avoid things that would encourage her behavior, like never using a flashlight near her, for instance. If possible, we would also block her off the part of the room that cast the most shadows.
Her previous family found out that the doggie day care to where they were taking Domino was using a laser pointer to keep the dogs active. This was done without their knowledge; they knew this was not healthy for Domino.
Domino was returned, because she no longer had any down time. Her mind was constantly active. Because of this, she stopped going potty outside and began to have accidents in the house. Her obsession with shadows got worse, and her previous family decided to return her to WBCR. Since she has been returned, Domino hasn’t had any accidents inside, and has no problem going potty outside. Yesterday, she even told me she had to go potty by putting her legs up on my lap. She may get distracted by shadows or blowing leaves outside, but if I quickly remind her that it’s time to go potty, she will. She will also keep herself very distracted with toys outside. She will very frequently bring a toy with her when she goes outside, and will want to play instead of going potty. It’s very easy just to pick up the toy, set it somewhere out of reach, and tell her it’s time to go potty. As long as you eliminate the distractions, Domino will stay on task. She’s extremely trainable!
Domino is crate trained, and will go willingly into the crate when asked. When we leave for the day, we will put the other dogs in their crates first. By the time we get to Domino, she is already waiting happily in her crate. The crate can be her safe haven. Her previous family had problems getting her out of her crate to go outside. We have not seen this behavior yet since she has been returned.
Domino doesn’t really play with other dogs much, but she gets along with them just fine. She’s not a huge cuddler, but she accepts hugs and petting very willingly. She has made a lot of eye contact with us, and we always praise her when she chooses us over shadows. Despite her strange behaviors, we are remembering a ton of things we love about her. Her quirkiness is cute, and she’s fantastic when it comes to sporty dog things, like swimming, playing Frisbee, catching tennis balls, playing tug, and learning tricks/obedience.
We are hoping that if we find a home that can keep her mentally stimulated, that will help keep her focus on more productive things instead of shadows and reflections. She has a lot of potential, and is a really sweet dog.
