I finaly got my backpackin buddy. Now if I can just get past the puppy stage, shots, potty training, and keeping the parvo disease at bay, untill I can socailize her with other dogs will be good to go. She's part Border Collie and part McNab here's a a pic

Not much to look at yet , mostly ear's but she seems really smart.

That is a nice looking dog Jack. She looks like a great future trail partner!

She looks pretty serious there. She'll make a great trail buddy.

I've got a couple of Border Collie / Austrailian Shepards mixes I would have let you have!

Very cool looking dog. Now you'll have to get some sheep for
her to keep her busy.

As the owner of a border collie I say congradulations. A busy and active border collie is a happy dog and great companion, a bored border collie will make your life a living hell. Daily activity and personal interaction is a must with this breed.

Those ears will hear things long before you do. My back country buddy, Shadow, hears stuff I never do.(she might be schizophrenic)
Your puppy is beautiful and should give you years of happy trails.

Edited by djjmikie on 07/29/2010 11:16:47 MDT.

"Not much to look at yet , mostly ear's but she seems really smart"

I think she's gorgeous! ;-) What a sweet face. You'll have a lot of wonderful years with your new buddy!

What a cutie!

"Keep the parvo disease at bay..." That's what the shots are for! In the meantime (before the immunity develops--check with your vet!), keep pup away from where other dogs have been and away from your street shoes.

Just short hikes for the first year, and then start working up. In the meantime, check around for good obedience training classes. Crate training is helpful, too--my dog considers my tent as his crate and is happy to curl up quietly inside. (Not that I would ever test this by going off and leaving him in the tent!) IMHO, training and socialization are the most important factors in developing a good hiking dog! I suspect this sweet little girl is going to be a good one!

Yours has the big ears for sure. Mine is a great dog. Super loyal to me, but not much interested in other folks. He is rather a nervous wreck, but that might be due to his being a stray, apparently for a long time.

But get him outside and the whole world is his playground. He's 10+ and still is a puppy in his enthusiasm for any adventure.

Best dog I've ever had. Just don't tell my other dog I said so.

have fun with her!

Well it's been a week now and she already knows set, lay down, crawl, and almost has the fetch thing down, chases the ball but doesn't always bring it back. Just about kennel trained, she doesn't wine any more when she goes in. Sleeps all night with no accidents. She is very alert, she see's and hears every thing, bird's, lizard's, fly's, sometimes it's a bad thing though because she doesn't hear me call her over all the distractions, but I'm sure over time we can work this problem out. More pics to come

...she doesn't hear me call her over all the distractions...
if you play hide and seek with her, it'll help with this. basically, around the house or in confined areas, when you notice that she's not paying attention to her, sneak out of view. she'll realize you're gone and come looking for you. In time, she'll want to keep tabs on you all the time.

sounds like she's making good progress towards being a great trail dog!

Yup - the Border Collie in her will help speed the training along. But you will have to keep her stimulated. These dogs love to learn. See my avatar. We lost her in May to cancer, but she lived a good life for 13 years.

Have fun with the new pup!

"The Other End of the Leash", buy it, read it, live it. Dog social interaction is different than humans, if you understand how dogs think you can train any dog easily. After reading this book I've passively caused dogs their owners say are rambunctious/troublesome to be very obedient and friendly. You'll look like Caesar Milan, and it's not complicated to do.

Four lessons I learned in adopting an older dog you can avoid: Get her used to
-loud noise/distractions
-water
-various types of play toys
-socialization
These are the things that become increasing difficult to adapt/teach a dog to later in life.

If you don't have access to a pool or lake, give her water bathes every few days, hold and support her in the water so she gets used to having it surround her body.

introduce her to busy streets, etc. early so her senses learn to ignore the loud noises and distractions that would cause her to be frightened in these situations later in life. go for a jog along busy streets, or long walks. the physical activity is obviously good for her on it's own, but it will help her learn to ignore the noise and distractions as well.

buy all sorts of chew toys, balls, frisbees, etc for her to play with young. it's very easy to teach them to play with the various types of toys (fetch and such) when they are young. older dogs tend to not pickup on how toys can be a fun distraction from the boredom of life.

Socialization, it's the single biggest mistake 90% of dog owners make. Dogs need to be socialized around both other dogs of all types and ages and around humans of "all types" and ages. Doggy day care and dog parks are great for dog-dog socialization, and human socialization as well. Have friends come over to play with her. have them (and yourself) get her body used to being touched by humans through petting, caressing, etc. and to all parts, paws, to nose. This will cause her to be naturally friendly and soft-mannered to other people and dogs and should eliminate most of the bark-to-play many dogs display.

Thanks Steven I'll check it out. Does anyone else know of a good book on Border Collies/McNab.

I had an Australian Shepherd. My tip to you is to start looking for a trick training book or some type of activity training (herding, agility, flyball) BEFORE you need it. Herding dogs are awesome companions as long as they have a JOB and plenty of interaction...be prepared with more stuff to train/do before it doggy boredom becomes a problem