[Ladygrey]

Thankyou all     

Had Tully out working with the sheep from 12 mid day until 6pm today, I am shattered, Doug (my fiance) is shattered, Tully is shattered, Jim was very good in the truck, I seat belted him into the back so he couldnt jump forwards and we took him out for an hour or two walking around with us on the lead.

Hopefully Jim can teach Tully to be braver in towns and citys (not that I take him there much) and Tully can help teach Jim to be well behaved and maybe learn a few tricks (apart from using door handles and opening gate latches!)

Thats Funny I only ever knew of two flatcoats and they were both very dog aggressive, I remember being attacked by one when I was maybe 15 years old, I had baby Laddie with me and I picked Laddie up so the flatcoat went for me to get to Laddie, was a horrible dog that one.

We thought we could let him into the yard today to follow us around like Tully does and big mistake, now cant get him away from the rabbit hutch and he is trying to punch it it to get to them! he turns deaf it seems, and Tully stands next to me laughing at how Jim is ignoring me..... so now rabbit hutch is placed inside a round bale feeder and hopefully thats Jim proof.....

Jim is outside alot and then comes inside and marks on the other dogs bed,  dirty dog

I will upload a photo shortly, he is a big goof and makes Tully seem very dainty! (but also makes Tully seem so much more useful and clever haha)

[Ladygrey]

Sorry, not a very good photo, I have loads of lovely ones of Tully though 

I have more on my phone but alas after today my lovely phone is somewhere in a 15 acre field and Tully couldnt find it for me 

This is Jim and Tully



Tully, being a loony jumping OVER the picnic table

[in the hills]

They are both beautiful.      Jim looks like one of the pack already!

My Flattie can open doors ..... even ones that open inwards  .

[NicandChic]

Och, he's just beautiful!  they both are!

[bigchicken]

Well well that sounds like a result. I feel a bit foolish considering my first post.

[Brandi]

  don't be harsh on yourself - you were responding best you could on the information available. Good result for everyone, They look like partners in crime already!

[Bionic]

Jim looks as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. How looks can be deceiving. 

[devonlady]

I am so pleased that things are turning out well for you and Jim. Fear can make us all aggressive and defence seems the best bet!
The worst dog we had was a greyhound who came to us at five years old. Our's was his 12th home and he was a huge bundle of insecurity. We promised him he would stay until the end and he did.

[sabrina]

Beautiful dogs, so pleased things are better. 

[Ladygrey]

Well well that sounds like a result. I feel a bit foolish considering my first post.

Please dont! I am very glad I got so many posts as it really helped to sit down and think about options and it helped to keep things in mind 

Thankyou so much

[Ladygrey]

I now have a stair gate inbetween my kitchen/hall and the living room, it seems to work well as Tully cannot open the childproof handle

When I left them today I left Tully in the living room and Jim in the kicthen but I cleared EVERYTHING off the counters, removed the bin and all of my shoes, I got home and nothing was destroyed! and no wee or poop!

I assume an hour walking is ok for a retriever? it would be hard to cut it down to less as I would have a very hyper collie, also retrievers have bad hips? or are prone to bad hips more than say collies?
So would getting Jim hip scored when he is fully grown be a good idea?

[in the hills]

Hi LG,
By 10 months old I would think an hour is fine.  Depending how much 'working' line he has he'll probably have nearly as much energy to burn off as your collie!  My Flattie needed loads of exercise as a young dog and needed training to keep his mind busy .... that helped more than physical exercise.

They can have 'bad' hips but not sure how much value it is having them checked now .... unless you intend to breed from him that is.

Do you have a KC pedigree for him?  You should be able to type into the KC site the names of his parents/ g.parents and find their hip scores .... hopefully.  No guarantee but if they are good he will hopefully have inherited some good genes and be okay.

[Old Shep]

Yes he shouldn't have a problem with an hour's walk, especially as presumably he's still on a lead or long line till you've built up a reliable recall.  I wouldn't bother hip scoring as presumably you wont breed from him as he is not perfect temperament ;-) Even if he has a really bad hip score as long as you keep him well muscled and fit you may not notice anyway.  I'm glad he's settling in, and he looks gorgeous!  Tully too of course - glad he's picking up some bravery from Jim.

[Kitchen Cottage]

Aw.... I'm so glad this is working out!    I should be clear my two old blindies are very loved and dear to me, but I won't be replacing them with other old damaged blind bulgarian chain dogs.  Denzel, the VERY damaged little boy, now potters around my kitchen, doesn't flinch at my hand and seems happy in himself, he has a warm bed and comfort for the first time ever so it's team Denzel all the way, but given that he was up for general rehoming and should probably (definitely) not have been a choice of rescue, I'm not going to support that system by taking another VERY damaged dog.  By damaged I mean emotionally, the physical damage of blindness is easily coped with by a dog

So glad this is working oug 

[Ladygrey]

Thankyou 

No I wouldnt want to breed golden retrievers haha! nice enough dog but not my cup of tea, one day in the future I wouldnt say no to breeding some collies but that would take alot of planning etc I think I would rather have one of Tullys puppies from someone else

I assumed I could hip score just to know where his hips would be at, but yes as long as he is lean and muscley then they should be fine! he has already lost some weight since being with me wich is fab! still cant feel any ribs or shoulder or anything but he is looking more streamlined rather than cube shaped, the photo on the stairs is deceptive as he is stretching up! Its so bad for young joints in a growing puppy to be that fat!

I have looked up the names on his pedigree online, his mum's sides generation up until grandparents are pretty rubbish... pedigree names like (for example) "lulu" "stinky bottom" but after that is show lines and one or two show champions (which may mean nothing health wise anyway)

If someone asked me what breed Mum was I wouldnt have even said a pure golden retriver, I would have said a fat cocker cross, she is the most unlike golden I have ever seen, I do wonder if that even was jims mum after all 

The dad doesnt seem bad but I cant find any health info on him, he is a combo of working lines from places such as Kessgold and then show lines again, Jim is very white and big and heavy boned so I suppose he takes after the show lines, he certainly doesnt take after his mum! I would have said they were almost different breeds!

Jim is walking a little better on the halti now, I left the stairgate open (my fault) and he has just run in and nicked a plate off the counter....

Im sure he has no taste buds or no brain...or a bit of both, he will swallow biros, string, paper, cardboard, coal out of the fire, sticks, wood, socks and towels....
He has taken to the same raw diet as Tully like a fish to water and his teeth which were previously caked and brown are already sparkly and white  he was on a very cheap brand kibble and his hair was greasy and horrid and he stank! and he had the teeth of a an old dog!