My name is Tess New Update 10/7!

All potential adopter’s will need to be approved to adopt from MWBCR and should visit our website at www.mwbcr.org for more information on the approval process.

10/7Hi! My name is Tess. I’ve been in foster for a while, but I’m ready and waiting for my new perfect home. I am looking for an owner who won’t mind continuing on with a little training of some sort. I don’t need to be a performance dog, but I would really like to continue on in some kind of weekly structured class to keep getting me out and about and to keep my mind busy. I’ve been thru a couple of basic level obedience classes and done some herding training as well as a little agility training (jumps, hoops and tunnels). My foster home started getting me to walk on a flat board this week too. I’ve even done a couple of lure coursing events which I thought was great fun! I like toys and will play fetch as long as there are no other dogs around. If my foster sister and brother are out playing fetch I just enjoy chasing them. I get along well with them, but sometimes they find my youthful exuberance annoying. I don’t get it, but when they tell me to leave them alone I do.
When I first came to this place I was really afraid of people and made them stay away by scaring them off. Then I learned that people usually had tasty treats and later on that they would also pet me and talk nice to me! Now I like everyone except children; they’re just a little too unpredictable for me. I do have one young friend, but he’s very dog savvy for his age. I have a few quirks (I’m scared of the sound that nylon clothing makes) but then a Border Collie isn’t really a Border Collie without a few quirks!
I’m pretty good at letting my foster mom brush me and trim my toenails. Sometimes I get burrs in my coat and have to sit real still while they pull them out. I’m good in a crate and sleep in one at night. I also ride in the crate in the car. Sometimes I get to go to agility class to watch and I’ve very quiet in my crate even then. I need some work on loose leash walking, but I know sit, down, go mat (to lay down on my little rug), come and a hand touch. I am very food motivated so training anything shouldn’t be too difficult as long as you have some tasty treats and a tennis ball!
If you think you would like a young, active Border Collie that wants to learn I might be the one for you!

8/19
WANTED: Active owner who has an interest in training a smart, young, active Border Collie in herding, agility or some other dog activity.
Hi my name is Tess and I’m an 11 month old female Border Collie who is looking for an experienced dog training home or a newbie with a strong interest in learning about dog training and behavior. My current interest is in herding, but I’d be open to other training opportunities as well. I really want a regular activity to use my mind as well as burn off some energy. I sometimes need a little bit of time to acclimate to new situations, but my foster home has done a great job getting me comfortable in a variety of places with new people. I just need someone who can continue this work and make every experience a positive one.
I go to herding lessons about once a week and my herding instructor thinks I’m pretty special! I’ve also completed a basic obedience class and occasionally play with tunnels and really low jumps.
I’ve made lots of friends since I’ve been in this temporary home and they are amazed at just how far I’ve come in a few short months. They have commented that they see positive differences in my personality every time they see me.
Recently we went on a 2 week vacation out west. We camped in 3 different states and I made some new dog training friends. Attached is a picture of me at an overlook in the Bear Tooth Pass. I went hiking there one day with my foster family and we had a blast!
If you are interested please let my foster mom know. She’d be happy to answer any questions you might have about me.
Tess

7/30
Tess has now finished her second Basic Training Obedience class. She was definitely a changed dog from the first session! She was typically relaxed and wanted to see people. We were still working behind barriers, but had openings so she could peek out. She is a little bit reactive when other dogs stare at her or when the pull/lunge at her and this was a class of young dog (5 month olds) so there was lots of that going on.
We continue to work on her recall and it’s getting better. I typically whistle for my dogs to come in and she is responding pretty well to that. I’ll have to see if I can set up some training time at home with distractions.
We have not worked much on her car chasing. I have noticed that she is fairly under control in situations such as parking lots and near streets with lower speed/lower volume of traffic. I have made a note to start working on getting her attention in those type of situations and when she’s really responsive we can move to some more difficult settings working at a distance.
This week I started to teach her to walk between my legs. This is the start of trying to get her to do figure 8s around my legs. It took a little bit for her to be comfortable walking between my legs. I also tried a bit to get her to sit up (groundhog style) but she got a little scared when I pulled the treat up over her head. She will need a patient trainer who will recognize what makes her uncomfortable and figure out ways to help her overcome these fears.
Tess continues to work sheep once a week. She is working on learning her flanks and that sometimes she needs to stop and hold the sheep still. She is at a great age to start working sheep and I think this is something that doing on a regular basis would be really good for her confidence and impulse control as long as it’s done with an experienced trainer.
Tess also got to spend a couple of nights in a hotel room recently. She did fairly well; barked a little bit at night when people where in the hall outside our door. She learned that she didn’t have to bark at everyone we saw in the hallway and that strangers walking around in this “house” were ok.
While we were at an agility trial she did bark at a young girl (around 10 years old) several times. Maybe girls are different than boys to her since she’s been ok with our friend Cameron. This is something that we will work on as well. She doesn’t have to like kids, but she does have to learn to be comfortable around them.
As you can probably tell from all of this Tess is not a simple girl. She’s got a lot going on for an 11 month old dog and some things that will need to be continued to work on. She will need some structured activity in her new home. She won’t necessarily need to be a competition dog, but she will need enough learning/activity to be trained to that level.

7/2
Tess has continued to gain confidence and become comfortable with people. We completed our 6 week basic training class. I decided that we would repeat this class because it fit into my schedule and I think it will only help her to continue doing some type of structured class. We will work on our own things and at our own pace to keep her from getting bored. As I watched her on week one of this repeat class I could really appreciate just how far she’s come. We are still working behind a barrier, but now she wants to see what else is going on and we sometimes step out from behind the barrier. She was visiting with the extra family members who watch from outside the ring and she is not only completely comfortable with the instructor petting her, she now expects it (and some treats!). She is also able to lay down and relax when we are not working.
We continue to take her along to agility trials and she is comfortable in that environment and is fine with all the other people around her. She pretty much expects everyone to give her treats now. She got a little afraid at the last trial when a friend’s husband did the kind of rough patting/petting that he would with our dogs. Instead of growling or snapping she just looked at me and moved away from him.
She is getting better at coming when called, but she is still a youngster and when other things look more exciting we just aren’t that important. We will continue to work on her recall. She does pull pretty hard on the leash when walking. A harness makes it a little better, but again this is something that we need to work on now that her bigger issues are under control. We have not been able to work on her car chasing desire since we were working on bigger issues, but will start working on that.
Tess and our female Abbey continue to play with each other more and more each day. They both like to wrestle and usually have a little match in the morning and again in the evening. Tess also likes to play keep away with a toy, which Abbey doesn’t really like so much.
Tess is continuing to have opportunities to play with sheep and is more under control and focused each time. She no longer growls or barks at the sheep. She is working on flanking and on stopping, though she really prefers to have the sheep move. I think this activity has really helped her to gain confidence.
Tess is pretty active and when we don’t have much time to spend on exercising her during the week you can tell. When we are home on the weekends and she has more time with us and doing active things she is much calmer in the evening. Sometimes she even settles down next to us on the couch for some petting.
Tess has really taken all of our camping trips and new places in stride now that she is really enjoying being around people and is looking more and more like that awesome dog I know she is.

6/3Time for another update. Tess had a big Memorial Day weekend adventure. She traveled to Purina Farms outside St. Louis with us and our two dogs for a 4 day agility trial. We camped right at the site and she did really well. We were sharing our camping area with the Jack Russell folks who were there for their annual bash. Tess did really well in the chaos that happens when there’s a slew of JRTs around (lots of barking!) She spent some time at the Jack Russell bash and even got to do some lure coursing. She actually did quite well while waiting for her turn to run.
She also spent some time in the crating area of the agility trial and was very good. When she was in the crate she was quiet and didn’t bark at the other dogs or people. She got to spend some time out among the other exhibitors and made a few new friends. She is gladly taking treats from the adult humans, but is a little more concerned if they want to pet her. We will continue working on getting her more comfortable with strangers petting her. As she gains more confidence this should go away. One of the people in the crating area walked by and mistakenly petted her because she thought that Tess was my dog Abbey. I took that as a great comment since that meant she was acting just like any other dog!
We are in the last week of our obedience class. We continue to work behind the barricades. Each week she is more and more outgoing towards the instructor. Last week she wagged her tail and jumped on her, and she is now ok with the instructor petting her. One of the other handlers in class mentioned that she had greatly changed from week one!
Tess is ready for adoption to the right home. She will need someone that is comfortable continuing to work on her socialization and expand her world. Tess is an active girl and pretty much always has a toy in her mouth. She gets along well with our dogs and reacts appropriately when they tell her she’s acting like a stupid adolescent. She and Abbey usually do a little playful wrestling while we are getting ready for work. She is looking for more attention from us each day, which is a good thing! She is a smart little girl and although she still needs some work, in the right hands she will blossom.


5/13
Tess is making progress on learning about the world. She went camping with us a few weekends ago. We didn’t spend a lot of time around the campgrounds, but she did pretty well. She barked a little at the strangers, but when she realized they weren’t going to bother with her she was easily redirected. She did play a little bit of fetch with me when it was just her and I in the trailer. This was a big step as previously she’s only wanted to run around with the toy. We also went for a hike with a friend and her two dogs. Tess flipped back and forth with being ok with them and then reacting to them being there. We will arrange more walks with friends so that she can be comfortable doing this.
Tess is doing pretty well in obedience class. We will be working in an area that’s barricaded off for a while until she’s comfortable with the other people and dogs in class. She has been relaxed for most of the hour long class and towards the end of class wants to peek around the barricade to see who else is there. She already knows or is learning most of what is being taught so we are using this as a time to learn to be calm and confident around strangers.
Last weekend Tess spent some time with one of our other volunteers while I was staying with family. She got to experience more new people and places and did very well overall. Even managed to play with a few of her neighbors!
Tess has gone to herding with us twice now. The first week she was interested, but a bit afraid of the sheep. The second time she was not afraid of the sheep at all. It will be interesting to see how she progresses with herding. This may be an activity that is good for her as an exercise for brain and body and a way to work on self- control and confidence. My instructor commented that she could see a difference in her from two weeks ago. Tess even jumped up on her for some petting and managed to sneak in a little kiss (and of course she had been eating sheep poop!). Tess is much less reactive when she has something to focus on.
Tess is a work in progress and will need continued work when she gets adopted. She will need an owner that understands fear aggression or is willing to learn and will continue to work on building confidence, working on socialization and managing situations that may be uncomfortable for her. She will also need continued work on her desire to chase cars. Tess is very sweet with her owners or whomever her caregivers are, is great with our dogs and is learning that people are good. None of these are easy problems to solve, but with the right home she has a great deal of potential!

4/30
Tess has had a big week this week. On Sunday a friend came over to work on her fear issues with people. We hung out in the back yard for an hour or so and Tess did fairly well. Our dogs were out with us to begin with and Tess barely noticed that anyone new was there. As long as she has something to focus on she seems to be oblivious to the humans that are around. We hope to get her to be able to not be so obsessive and be more social with people. We put our dogs in the house and Tess immediately noticed that someone else was there. Her initial reaction was a little lunge and bark. We worked on tossing treats and eventually she came in to the stranger to get food out of her hand. Then we added some movement and changes in position of the stranger. Each time her initial reaction was bark and lunge, but each time it got less as she began to understand that this person only brought good things. We will continue to work on this with other people and in other places. She will need to learn to at least ignore any strangers before she’s ready for adoption.
Tess also got to go see some sheep this week. She was very focused on the sheep (pretty much anything that moves). She did have some fear reaction, again barking and lunging, but it settled down the longer she was in with the sheep. We didn’t do a lot this time, just let her feel good about keeping the sheep in the corner. We will continue to take Tess to herding lessons with us when we can. Hopefully this will be a way to teach her some impulse control and will be a good outlet for her energy.
We will also be starting an obedience class tonight. Hopefully she isn’t too overwhelmed by all the humans. We may need to work off in a corner by ourselves for a while. I have been working on some obedience and other exercises to help her with self-control and confidence. At first it was a little tough to get her to focus, but now she is eager to go upstairs on do some work. She is learning to use her brain which is a good thing for a Border Collie to learn!

4/22
Tess has been with us for close to two weeks now. She is an energetic 7 month old young girl! She likes to play with toys (by herself) and usually has something in her mouth. If she can’t find a toy outside, she’ll pick up a stick. She gets along well with our dogs, though she can sometimes be a little relentless with her chasing. Occasionally I have to step in and make her stop. She is completely housebroken and is good at being in a crate. She is an active girl who sometimes needs to be reminded to focus on things like eating or going potty. Once she is away from our dogs and settles a bit she is good at learning for short periods of time. She is smart and we are working on shaping a few behaviors using a clicker. We are currently working on a hand touch and going to a mat and laying down. She does already know sit and lie down. She is not very good at walking on a leash so we are working with a Gentle Leader. She has also been walked on an Easy Walk harness.
Tess has not had the socialization she should have gotten as a pup so she does have some issues we are working on. She is great with us, but she is very fearful of anyone else. We are working to help her understand that all people are good. She is also very focused on motion (hence her dog chasing) and wants to chase cars. This is also something we will be working on in the future. Because of these issues Tess is not ready for adoption yet. We will continue posting updates on her progress and will let you know when she is ready for adoption. Next week she may get to work some sheep and she will be starting an obedience class soon so she’ll have lots to tell you!
Tess will probably need a fenced yard due to her desire to chase cars. She will most likely not be a good fit for a home with young children and will probably need an experienced owner to make sure she stays on the right track.

For more information go to www.mwbcr.org or Gina at pizzonally@aol.com