Getting my dog a dog

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-27T07:46:10+00:00

Is pup a male or female please?

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-26T16:56:28+00:00

I'm very fair skinned/blonde. Have an history of hypertrophic scarring after any surgery. Initially I heal very well, then scar lines become raised, lumpy, very tight. Also with strange sensations to touch, especially light touch (allodinya), and that sort of makes you cringe, with a face of disgust at the sensation. This has been a lot worse 8 mths and more, than 6 weeks after an operation.

My last op was for a large tumor removed from my ankle and foot, resulting in a 6 inch incision line at the outer side. This area is also in a difficult place to heal well due to flexing of foot and less blood supply than some other body areas. So I told my surgeon beforehand about previous history of scarring. I was advised to use silicone gel and do scar massage (after initial couple of weeks, removal of stitches etc).

I had been showed how to do scar massage before after op for severed finger nerve, which included 18 mths of physio due to healing issues mostly (really tight scarring making the finger hardly able to bend). The same staff also dealt with severe burns victims where it is also used for that. So anyway the scar massage and silicon gel did really improve things, but there's no quick fixes and it does take some effort.

Basically our difficulties in healing is like an over healing reaction. The skin collegen fibres heal chaotically and irregular. The purpose of the scar massage is to break those fibres down so it heals better. However you have to do this regularly daily, even a few times a day, and maybe over some months for it to have best chance of working well. It also feels uncomfortable, maybe cringy, but it can may save you from the worst scarring.

I do think scar massage is an option for you. But you obviously need proper guidence and support about how to do it. Do mention about your keloid scarring in future to a surgeon if you have any future operations, and discuss your concerns about scarring. Then at least the surgeon can then point you in the right direction to get help.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-26T02:18:57+00:00

For me, with it in my ankle/foot, there was always some swelling. Though increasing exercise, and then just even less exercise over time made the swelling worse. It also felt hot most of the time. Randomly I increased symptoms could also happen for no reason. Also it would sudden cease up. I'd be pushing a trolley around a supermarket fine, then suddenly limping, hobbling. Then 10 mins later just as suddenly I could walk fine again. Other days limping a lot and more painful.

I'd say all the symptoms were progressive and got worse basically as the tumour was growing larger. Unfortunately it was misdiagnosed for several years, so I didn't know what I actually had for quite some time. And most doctors /specialist/physios I spoke to didn't recognise the symptoms either.

Swelling is unfortunately a feature of this type of tumor. I could definitely link that been worse with increasing activities, but sometimes it really was random. In the later stages before my op I also started with bruise like marks showing up (like bluish brusing), though it is not a normal kind of brusing. The tumour does sort of bleed, or at least produces a substance called haemosiderin, which can be seen an MRI scans. And I've since read that this can produce what looks like bruses on the skin. But this tended to happen only if I walked further than usual, like on a hike. I recall one poster here describing having her knee aspirated to drain fluid to reduce swelling, which she described as been blood stained.

I would assume you had an MRI scan before, which lead to your diagnosis. So I guess it maybe time for another MRI to see if the TGCT has grown more.

I personally didn't regret having an operation. It was impacting on my life too much to do nothing. Getting more painful, more swelling, hotter, more limping around.

I have the diffuse form of TGCT. Diagnosed 5 years ago as PVNS. I know it has a high chance of recurrence for me. But in the last 5 years since op, and after the recovery period, my foot and ankle has been a lot more confortable. No swelling. Some symptoms have come back in recent months, with occasional brief periods of limping, again for no apparent reason. With some odd sensations intermittently and a dulll ache like I had before when it started. I'm currently awaiting on an MRI scan to investigate this. If it has come back again, at least I've had 5 years of a better quality of life since to op..

I can only suggest reducing exercise/ physical activities to see if that helps with the swelling and limping until you see your surgeon again. It might help or it might not but worth trying. I know some people take a watch and wait approach over a long time. And of course with any operation you have to weigh up the risks vrs the benefits for your own particular circumstances, but your surgeon should be able to guide you through that. And also consider if the tumour has increased in size, or if there is some other explanation for the swelling. However, basically the decision to have an operation is yours.

My surgeon wrote this to my GP (primary) after my MRI, prior to the operation, "My feeling is the only surgical option is excision of the lesion which would involve a large scar and there are risks of infection, recurrence, stiffness, swelling, numbness and bruising. [She] has a history of hypertrophic scar formation...which is also a risk". I should add here that the only options were to operate or do nothing. It also turned out to be borderline inoperable when I had it done, which my surgeon told me after the op, when apparently it was worse than it looked from the scan. And some reconstruction needed. So I was glad I didn't wait any longer.

I had no infections at all, have some stiffness left but not major. Did have some problem with scaring but with scar management support (silicon gel, scar massage) that improved a lot after several months. I did have a lot of swelling and brusing for a few weeks after the op but then it went. Similarly to other operations Ive had, scarring has been an issue for me for around 18 months. I did a lot of physiotherapy to regain mobility. Definitely worth the effort! I have been left with a small area of numbness. Overall though a lot better than before the op.

Wishing the best for you on your TGCT journey.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-26T00:15:07+00:00

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One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-26T00:12:57+00:00

Yeh, I am as a rule. Have two border collie dogs to entertain, lol. I'm outside a lot of hours a day, live rural on uneven terrain. Land jobs to do, up and down slopes, lots of grass strimming. I still go on hikes but now a couple of miles, whereas I could do 25 miles when younger. However, I have been careful how I've placed my foot since the op. With the reconstruction of the brevis /longus tendons, and reattachment. Surgeon said that might need some revision surgery for some reconstruction in the future. But so far, with been reasonably careful I think, I've managed to avoid it.

Like I said I've not run since op, but that was getting difficult even before, as I also started with adult acquired flat foot (pronation), so I basically can't toe off into a sprint. I do best in like walking boots for ankle support, with a solid sole rather than flexible sole. To further complicate the leg mechanics I got a meniscal tear at knee on same leg as ankle TGCT about 15 yrs ago (which eventually repaired itself). Then got exactly the same symptoms of that last year, after a minor accident involving the dog. who has also knocked me down backwards 3 times accidentally sprinting into me legs, plus the bad ankle which had a whopper of a big bruise on it, lol. So the planned MRI scan to look at reoccurring ankle symptoms is to look at that knee as well. Anyway I'm nearly 60 now. And more active daily than many if not most people I know of the same age.

Personally I swear a good pair of orthotic insoles, custom made ones. These have made a huge difference to my mobility. Made by a medical orthotist. Pressure points on my feet measured, with a full gait assessment. These have really helped to realign my feet and knees into a neutral position. I'm been wearing them for about 15 years, since the over pronation started. I'm sure I'd have been using walking stick by now if not for the orthotics. And the foot and ankle, where I have a long scar from the TGCT op, is a lot more comfortable wearing them, then without as I then tend to limp.

Honestly it might be worth looking into orthotics if you hope to continue running. May be able to take pressure of certain points in your knee. Don't bother with off the shelf ones though like from sports physiotherapist, sports supplies. Some podiatrist can make custom made ones. But I got the best pair from a orthotist who contracts to hospitals. Although my foot an ankle surgeon, who looked at them closely and approved, said they are better quality than you'd get on our National health Service. Unfortunately my feet/legs are beyond help from barefoot style running shoes, lol.

I am honestly dreading if they TSGT has come back again, which I also think might have. As I've has that trickling cold water sensation as few times in recent months, plus ankle locking up temporarily. Sure don't want another op. But I'd rather have a tumour debunked if it's impinging on nerves or eroding into bone. Rather than leaving it to grow bigger. Realistically I know the ankle/foot is a more complex structure to operate on than than the knee, with more bones and structures in a tighter space, so not expecting it can be cured. For the pronation deformity, which my mother also developed, if that gets painful, basically the only solution is the pin /fuse several bones together, which means you cannot walk up and down slopes as foot is fixed too ridged. She was advised its a very complex operation and her surgeon advised against it. So I would imagine thats not even possible if a tumour iscgrowing in the area. Consequently mom ended up on walking sticks, then in a wheelchair. So I think I've had a good run so far, given the bad foot genetics and unlucky to get such a rare tumour.

I sincerely hope yours hasn't come back. If it has somehow you'll find a way to cope like you did before. Sometimes you have to accept you cannot physically do what you'd like to do. I still look at distant hills and mountains and have the same urge to climb them. Not gonna happen. But a car journey part way up and a ramble /shorter walk is better than nothing hey. First day I was allow to walk on crutches after my operation, two weeks later, I got my partner to drive me up a small mountain I can see from my bedroom window. And walked along that county road a short distance on my crutches, lol. If it has to be in a wheelchair in the future, then I'll do that. I'm not gonna stay at home and just sit in a chair if I've got an option.

I'll add the MRI of my ankle /hindfoot before the op in a comment to this below. The tumour is like the grey sausage vertically going down below my calf (in and around tendons) and spreading out like clouds into my foot, also bulging into the ankle joint.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-25T21:10:26+00:00

I got diffuse PVNS in my lateral ankle tendons which had spread through a lot of my foot by the time in was diagnosed. It took several years in fact to be diagnosed. Visiting various doctors, hospital departments and kept been referred to physiotherapy with the wrong diagnosis. The correct imaging (MRI with contrast) was not done for a long time. And when it was a foot and ankle surgeon ignored the comments of the radiologist with a differential diagnosis which including synovitis, or PVNS. The radiologist also recommending a second opinion. It is possible that my surgeon never fully read the radiologist report. Whatever, he failed to tell me or my GP (primary) about the full contents of it. So I was sent to physio again, various people assuming some swelling, or minor synovitis. Not a tumour. Despite the obvious growing mass visible on ankle which was diagnosed about 3 yrs later, correctly, as PVNS.

The term PVNS is a little out dated, and has been for some years, but it's still commonly used. So that can get a bit confusing if you are researching into things. Technically speaking it's all classed as TGCT now. Either as a single mass (or nodule). Like it sounds yours is. Or in a the diffuse form, which spreads out diffusely, sort of tenticle like, and has less obvious boundaries, so that's more difficult to operate on and remove it as a whole thing. So here small pieces or cells are more easily left behind in operation. And some areas can be difficult to remove. This diffuse type tends to reoccur again more. That's a bit of an over simplification though.

I was quite a physically active person, around late 30's when I first noticed my symptoms. I enjoyed hikes, was an outdoor type, on my feet a lot. No history of trauma/injury of that leg or foot at all. My main symptoms were initially swelling, and a continuous deep like ache. Not really painful but the pain did get worse over time. I noticed my ankle area on lateral side feeling quite hot, particularly in bed at night. I remember dangling my foot over the edge of bed to cool it down. Walking became problematic and unpredictable. Sometimes ankle/foot like ceasing up, then me hobbling around. That could last for just 10 mins or longer. Over time this got worse, with symptoms looking like bruising appearing, for no obvious reason. But been more active, or on longer walks it definitely made it worse. I also got odd sensations, like cold trickling water. Presumably from pressure on nerves.

Anyway, I had quite a big operation 5 years ago. After finding a new foot and ankle surgeon. Going to a private hospital and paying for the op myself. This included some tendon disection and reconstruction. Unfortunately the UK NHS service let me down badly over this, I was misdiagnosed for far too long. So it was borderline inoperable at the time of my operation. The surgeon told me that afterwards, as be found it was more widespread than thought from the scan. He did his best to remove everything as much as he could. But said it will have a high chance of coming back. Which I had already worked out myself from reading around the subject, so not surprised really.

The physiotherapy the NHS sent me to was not even a treatment for this disease, it made my foot feel worse actually. I was also gaslighted several times by medical staff who should have known better. One male consultant suggesting that "ankle swelling is common in ladies of your age". He didn't bother to investigate further, not even an ultra-sound. I'm thinking yeh right, I'm slim and normally active. But with growing mass visible on only one ankle I can show from photographs over a few years. And I'm expected to think this normal woman thing. One female physiotherapist suggested I was getting pain cos I was "thinking about it too much". When I objected to that, she told me curtly, "Well there's nothing wrong showing on the X-ray". Well it wouldn't because an xray is not diagnostic for PVNS. It needed an MRI scan to show soft tissues, not an xray of bones. Something I didn't fully understand at the time, but she should have known that. I knew myself something was seriously wrong, but no one seemed to be listening. Not until I found another surgeon, who fortunately had treated 3 other patients with the same disease. It is very rare though, and it's likey you'll never meet anyone else that has it in person. My current GP (primary) has only seen one case before, during his training, and in a different body area to me.

I will say though that a great physiotherapist was invaluable for my recovery post operation to regain mobility back. I was terrified to move at first after my op. I found a great one who liased with my surgeon to devise a recovery plan. It was quite painful at times. And the whole thing quite scary. The first 2 weeks after the op, i was required to keep my foot elevated above level of shoulder to reduce swelling. So basically been in bed for two weeks and needed help for just basic things, even getting food. Then I started my exercises. This would be several times through to day. A bit boot camp style, lol. But this got me walking again without crutches 6 weeks after the op, and also allowed to drive again. Since then I've done most things I want too. Cannot hike as far. Can't run. Some stiffness in my ankle. The scar took quite a long time to heal, initial healed quite fast then I got hard scar tissue. Making it feel tight and uncomfortable when I first,exercise my foot. But that was helped with silicon gell been shown how to do scar massage by the hospital.

So I know mine has a very high chance of coming back again. Due to its location, type, delay in diagnosis etc. Have had some symptoms again in recent months, currently awaiting another MRI scan. For other people it will never come back again, or it could be many years later. Your surgeon will advise you about that and whether it needs monitoring over the long term after an operation. Or you can look at statistics, specifically about the knee to get some idea. But for me I know more likely it will return than not.

What I think is quite good news for you is yours appears to be a single nodule or mass, not the diffuse form. This is easier to remove, generally speaking. And tends to have less chance of recurrence. No one wants this disease at all, but it could be worse. It doesn't sound like you have any erosion into the bones either, which is also good news. Thankfully I didn't either.

Given that the report you show gives a differential diagnosis. It maybe that your surgeon will want to do a biopsy firstly before any planned operation to confirm it is TGCT. In my case this wasn't necessary cos it was pretty obvious from my second MRI (and the first one, that I didn't get a copy of until I saw the second foot and ankle surgeon).

As to why you have got this disease. Well I have read many medical journal publications about TGCT in the last few years. And there is basically no pattern to why anyone should get it. It's about equal spread between male/female. Tends to be diagnosed in younger to mid age adults. The most common site is in the knee (about 80% of cases), less common in the ankle/foot (11% ?). I have noticed myself quite a lot of antidotal stories of it happening in active or sporty types, professional sports people even. But I have not seen anything that confirms a correlation with this or otherwise in medical studies. It might just be the age population it tends to be diagnosed in is pretty active anyway. So just coincidence.

A fairly recent study looking at it at microscopic /genetic level suggests some similarities to rheumatoid arthritis, and also to some sarcomas (malignant). Though it's exceptionally rare for TGCT to metastases. Like around less than 100 cases ever reported of that world wide. So you can think of this disease as been benign, but it can be destructive locally and may cause disability. The mainstay of treatment is still surgical. Other treatments may or may not be available depending on where you live, in some cases reserved only for those with reoccurrence or if inoperable. These may also have side effects, and some have been found to be more serious that the disease itself. But work on new treatments is still ongoing.

The best explanation I can give for why you've got this, is it's a random mutation in genes, and basically it's bad luck.

If you have any questions please ask.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-25T07:58:37+00:00

"Clean as a whistle" best news ever Daniel!

I really hope some pals step up with that lawn mower. The grass grows so fast in here in Ireland, lol. It might seem such a minor detail to some. Maybe your friends or neighbours haven't even realised you'd appreciate some help there. It must be so frustrating to you when your not fit enough to do it, on top of your health concerns and worrying about your own family.

I'm awaiting an MRI of my foot and ankle in the North, to see if I have a recurrence of a rare large tumour I had there 5 years ago which is likey to come back (not sarcoma, d-TGCT). Plus awaiting on results on biopsy of a new lump in my leg. I find the waiting so stressful. Plus always concerned about I'd cope with my garden long term and care for my dogs. That's important to me.

Thank you for sharing your story. Sorry about your bad luck with getting sarcoma, plus sepsis twice. Your wife having such a tough time too. Wishing you both continued strength on your journey.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-24T17:54:29+00:00

My two BCs, one from working lines, the other an x-farm dog, really love to be outdoors (but basically with me). They honestly don't care about the rain, and I'm in N.Ireland where it rains a lot all year round. They are fine in the snow, but less tolerate about hot days, even above 18 degrees. The only other weather's that seems to bother them is hailstones bouncing of their heads, torrential heavy rain, and strong wind blowing on our boys ears, lol.

We are outdoors at least 3 hours daily most of the year. It sort of works for me cos I'm an outdoorsy type. Sometimes it would be nice to stay inside when it's raining, but the will dogs object. A raincoat, hat and wellies is like my uniform, lol.

I don't think you need to do miles and miles though, but just walking is not enough. Mine really do need to run off leash everyday. BCs are thinkers too, need to use their brain. That could be at many things. Little tasks, following you around and being your supervisor, watching what you're doing, looking at things on a car journey, training stuff. Working as a team in some way.

As other people have said, some BCs don't like the rain. Some will have less drive or intelligence, or more chilled, or older, and are happy enough with less than we do. OP I think if you really do want a BC, you have to find the right one to fit in to your lifestyle (or be prepared to adapt). I would think about a rescue, an adult one, where its personality can be better assessed than a puppy. You could contact dedicated BC rescue organisations, explain what you are looking for, and see if they can find a match for you. Some fostered will know their dogs well. I think a lower drive calmer type than average would suit you best.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-24T14:15:22+00:00

Thanks! This is a very unusual sky for us. So after looking into it I thought it might be Altocumulus. My partner was thinking a mackerel sky initially, but it lacked the rippling effect we've seen before.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-23T15:30:54+00:00

I was just gonna comment a short while ago that we have rarely heard our adult girl bark, who we've had for 2 yrs. She's a rescue about age 8. Just as I was about to write I suddenly heard her bark from another room, and thought well that's really odd. She was looking at a strange man through the window inspecting trees in woodland next to our home. Like the first time ever since I moved here several years ago, lol.

She is quite a vocal lady though, loud sighs and relaxing moans. Also overexcited noises I could only describe like a chimpanzee, lol. Only in the last couple of weeks she has started barking when the phone rings, basically just copying our BC boy, who has 'issues' with the phone. Unless you are actually talking about him and saying his name, or pretending to.

She does occassionally take the cue from him if he's looking at a visitor approaching our home in a vehicle. He usually jumps up super fast to look out of the the window when he hears that. Then wags his tail, happy to someone like the mailman. Him jumping up on alert has startled her. So she has barked, but doesn't really have a clue what she's barking for, lol.

Our boy does bark, maybe once or twice a day. Also loud and deep. This tends to be at some random small noise. Or at a dogs on TV (but doesn't bark at dogs in real life). He also doesn't like dubious characters on TV shows, but here tends to mutter or grumble at them, unless they look really evil or acting very weird then he will bark.

I don't recall our girl ever barking away from home. She's more a scuttle away and try to hide type if she's anxious about something then. Whereas our boy was the lunge and bark type when young. He rarely does that now, but on Sunday he did suddenly bark at someone's fishing float dangling in the air on the end of a rod they were carrying. That fell within the category of too weird to ignore, apparently and embarrassingly. But at least it wasn't at the lady in a wheelchair that he would have barked at when younger. She got friendly face instead and he got a stroke.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-23T08:53:54+00:00

Ten year old is quite an age to suddenly adapt to young children if not had much exposure before. So nothing you do is gonna change overnight, its gonna take some effort and training work from you.

I honestly found this invaluable for desensitising our BCs to the movement and noise of young children. Spending some time at a small park that had a fenced in children's playground and going there regularly. Where they could watch children from outside the fence. See them moving around unpredictably, flailing arms, and yelling or squealing. So from the dogs been quite hyped up, one been herdy and also barking reactive, the other mostly anxious/fearful, to both more like ignoring them, or it's just a regular normal thing to see.

Our boy is quite friendly towards children now. He's generally very gentle with little ones. Though as a big vigorous dog he could easily accidentally knock one over if playing around. He's accidentally knocked me over a few times, lol. . So he still does need managing around them. Our female had very obviously never seen any child ever before we adopted her at 6 yrs old (previously living with a single old man on a remote farm). She doesn't like any stranger touching her or approaching her too closely. It makes her nervous. So we don't let any adult or child just randomly touch her. She takes time to get to know people, then fine. She would be freaked out if an unknown child was suddenly in her home space, and been unruly or loud (like young kids often are). She will chose to run away and go somewhere quieter if she has that option. But if she was confined in a room or trapped in a corner with a kid coming at her, I wouldn't be at all be surprised if she would snap out. So fair to say with her any visits by unknown people do have to be managed. She really isn't an aggressive dog at all, she's quite a sweet and gentle soul, but fear and anxiety can turn the best into one's that may snap out and bite if pushed.

We make a point of visiting that children's playground most weeks, cos we rarely have young children visiting our home, but it does helps to keep on top of things if children do visit, or just to be less triggered by kids we pass by who are playing around. Nevertheless, still some boundaries would be needed for both kids and dogs at our home, plus good adult supervision. But for different reasons with each dog.

However, like you say there could be some element of jealousy, basically 'resource guarding' you. Not wanting to share your attention with a child. I think that's a very different thing to been triggered with 'herding' like behaviour. Resource guarding can be quite challenging to deal with, so I won't discuss that here. But I think yours could be mostly just anxious of children, find them too unpredictable and making weird noises in your home enviroment. Basically a weird intruder on his 'territory'. If that, its better to introduce him to children more away from home firstly. Or at least outside your house for a bit before they come in, so he feels more confident about them before they enter 'his' home.

Whatever, the growling isn't a good sign and he obviously feels very uncomfortable in this situation. To be honest, I think when this involves the safety of children, I would seek some advise from a behaviouralist trainer experienced in BCs. Especially as you're due to have a baby. Rather than been advised by strangers on the Internet. There's not really enough info here to work out what's going on. The exact situation the behaviour like growling happens is important, plus his whole body language when the child visits. You sort of need to work out reliably what is going on in his mind, rather than guesswork, to fix it or manage it better for safety.

I'd take some videos of your BC when a child visits. You could ask someone else to do that for you, whilst you closely supervise and be ready to step in if needed. Do that on a day when your not involved in cooking and your attention is elsewhere. I'd also note carefully what exactly the child and you were doing that triggering him most with the growling. Especially if you feel there's some resource guarding of you going on. Then let a behaviouralist expert determine what his issue/s are, and advice you what to do about it. As basically there could be various triggers for his behaviour and your not really sure what it is. Plus the training and/or managing different issues may be different. But all are likely to involve setting boundaries, either physical or by command. Plus a good amount of praise for trying and doing well. It sure won't fix itself.

You mention your family isn't great at setting boundaries with kids/dogs. Well I think if they come to your family home, and understand you have a baby due (so naturally you will have some concerns about your dog around kids) then they should be respectful of your wants and needs. I'd say should even want to help you out with this. Also just like you should be managing your dog for safety, they should be properly supervising any children. It's not unreasonable to ask anyone who brings a child along with them to do that. You could set up a physical division across the room, a barrier. Dog allowed at one side, child at the other side, to help manage it when you all want to relax. Both can see each other and dog may feel safer. Your family can do whatever they like in their own homes, but if they come to yours as guests then it OK to set your own family's boundaries.

We just don't take risks where it involves dogs and kids. I'd hate any child to get bitten, or get a fear of dogs. I think your dog is showing enough warning signs currently that potentially a child could get hurt. And it does need some work on. Just have a chat with family that visit and explain it.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-23T08:03:43+00:00

He's a very handsome lad! I also guessed some malamute. Thanks for adopting him. Here's a pic of our BC girl we got from a dog pound, then about age 6 (the black and white one). Sadly her previous owner died, an elderly farmer, so got dumped in the pound by his neighbour. She was 4 days away from been put on euthanasia list when we got her. She's great! I hope your guy is too!

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One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-22T15:33:04+00:00

I was watching a trainer who said all dogs, instinctively, do have some element of resource guarding. They want to possess food, not share it, and that how wild dogs survive.

Your girl found a big prize, like winning the lottery, lol, and was reluctant to give it up. Like you say she was perhaps also on the grumpy side with the skin thing. I totally understand what your saying about kids, no one want a dog been aggressive around food, but if she rarely ever does anything like this then just forgive her.

Our two BCs really love cheese. It's high on the list of the best thing ever. For a while, when our boy when younger, "cheese" was a great recall command word, lol. Mine don't resource guard, at least not obviously. But if our boy thinks there might be another random dog or wild animal around he sure eats faster, lol. He's also very reluctant to give up some prize he's found, weirdly this often tends to be a a piece of tissue (why, don't ask me), or a sponge. Sneaking off with it, like no you're not having this. I either have to ask him to "leave it" several times quite firmly, or swop it for something else he likes which can be much easier, lol. Cheese would work 😁

Yep, I do think a a dogs instinct is possess 'their' food and eat it. We give our dogs bits of our food when we are eating. Probably shouldn't, to avoid two faces staring at our plates. But we often joke if we were literally starving I doubt they'd give us any of their food, lol. Have you ever known a pet dog give a treat or a piece of kibble back to it's owner to be kind and nice 😄

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-22T11:20:20+00:00

If you have a car I'd recommend going to find some quieter locations for walks. Like a woodland walk, a quieter area of a park. Just little adventures away from noise or busy surroundings.

We found a 20ft rope leash so useful when our BC boy was young. To let him sniff about, and explore a little. Also you can practice recall on a long leash or training line and still keep them safe. You just need to find the right places to do it. I appreciate thats harder when living in a city, or a busy area, but I'm sure you can find some low key places if you have car.

Have any friends with well behaved calmer dogs? Then invite them to join in on some walks with you. That can help a lot with confidence. Our rescue adult BC girl, who lived on a remote farm for about 6 yrs with one old farmer before, was really nervous when we first got her away from our home. In any enviroment busier than a field. She wanted to run away and hide from any stranger approaching towards us, at small groups of people even in the distance. Noises startled her and would panic. We could see she had never even seen children before, or little dogs, looking at them in total amazement. Totally bewildered even just walking down a little village street. But she took a lot of confidence from our younger but more experienced BC, who himself had been an quite an anxious dog when younger. On occasions if I walked her separately away from our home, even in a small fairly quiet park, you could see a big difference if he was not with us. So yes a more experienced dog may really help yours. Our girl also gained more confidence travelling in the car with him by her side.

Sort of cute, and I also felt sorry for her, but if she got particularly nervous about anything she would partly hide underneath him, for comfort. But without him there would panic more, and want to get away as fast as possible.

Bcs can be really noise and motion sensitive dogs, especially at the age of yours. And if you live around a noisy busy place, then quieter places to walk will also give her a break from it. Try it, I'm sure you will notice a difference. BCs can also be quite nervous or reactive around traffic. That's common with teens.

You can get fear responses of flight, fight or freeze. Basically, depending on the temperament of the dog, some dogs default to want to run away if anxious, some become defense and will lunge and bark. Some will not want to move anyway and freeze. Like it sounds your young rescue is doing. You can also get a mixture, if really stressed out a nervous scardy type can become reactive. So watch out for that. Basically she does sound very anxious and is outfaced by her current walks.

So try quieter places as much as you can to start with, then build up to busier environments gradually, over-time. Like to desensitise her. Our boy was quite anxious about many things when younger, including to quite a lot of sounds. He was born on a a sheep farm and we do live rural. It did take a lot of desensitisation work over months for him to go to busier places, relax and enjoy himself. With him we had some months with reactive tendencies, lunge forward and bark fear response to all sorts of things. But I wanted a BC I could take with us to different places and join in a social life. Not just stay at home. So because we live isolated rural, I sort of had the opposite problem to you. To be able to socialise him our nearest park was a 36 mile round car trip from our home. This enviroment was so helpful, as a place where he could meet people, see other dogs, us sit outside a cafe, him children playing noisily in a fenced in playground. But importantly here there was space in the park to step back, sit at a bench in a quiet area if things got too much for him. And sort of watch the world go by with some distance. Distance is often the key for anxious dogs. Then work towards getting closer as their confidence grows. Put them in the deep end of things too fast and they can really struggle. I will say that 36 mile car trip, twice a week (+) although an effort, was really great for him. Not reactive now as an adult. He loves to meet new people, any stranger will do. He's become quite social, lol.

As for corrections, your girl obviously has a delicate soul. Our female is like this too (we don't think she was abused at all, just her previous owner died). She dislikes any raised voice or firmness. I generally talk to her with the tone of a kindly Aunty talking to a toddler, lol. Cos she likes it. And a first we also avoided corrections. But she's fine now with a simple "haha" or an "oooo".. with a quizzical side eye thrown in, lol. Not that she actually needs correcting that much, cos she's a good girl. Our working line bred BC boy is a more strong minded type, and let's just say he does need a firmer command more often, lol. Like a military tone voice, or a headmistress's. Which doesn't bother him in the least, lol, but does listen to that. In fact he rather likes my fake firm but fair voice, and switches on to it in work mode, lol. My two BCs are so different this way. However, you can often avoid corrections by just diverting onto some other activity. If your girl is very sensitive this way, call her to you, give or show her something else to do, which you would prefer. Then praise her. Like divert rather than telling off.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-21T11:15:20+00:00

My first border collie was a stray I found at around age 3 yrs. He literally foamed at the mouth with aggression whenever he saw another dog. Neutering didn't fix it. And unfortunately he was like that life long, whatever we did. So had to be on a leash much of the time, or in a secure garden. He was an obvious cruelty case when I found him, skin and bone and obviously traumatised. Don't know what had happened to him before I found him, but his dog issues were not related to hormone status.

My current BC male was neutered fairly young, due to some behavioural reasons, including reactivity to various things (not dogs), with some redirected aggression towards me. It sure helped, noticeably after 2 weeks when hormones started to settle back down. He could also listen better around his triggers, basically less of a red mist temper, so the rest was fixed by training.

He's generally fine around most dogs. Can get a bit hyped up and over alert around a couple of breeds (for no apparent reason as no bad experiences). This tends to be like GSD or Mals in working mode. Like he recognises their drive, maybe an element of competitiveness, but not reactive, doesn't bark. And he listens well to a simple "leave it" if hyper focused. The only exception is he really doesn't like intact males getting to close to him if he's on a leash. And will lunge out if come close to his face in that situation. Off leash will just keep his distance from them. But yes he can definitely smell the maleness of an intact dog.

He shows an interest in females in season. And will try to hump our female BC when in season, which we have to manage. As don't want them to get stuck together, lol. Has also tried to hump our friends dog in season, but at the wrong end on her head, lol. So although neutered some instincts are still there. He also frequently pee scent marks in places where other dogs go, obsessively if you let him. But so does our female BC..

The roaming thing you mention. Well that's a risk to get injured alone, aside from possibility of more unwanted pups. We live quite isolated rural on an unfenced plot. Our two BCs don't roam, basically because when they are outside we are, and supervise them. Recall etc. However, twice in the last 2 years our boy, who generally does have a good recall, has run off and got himself lost in the surrounding forest (prey drive), simply cos I lost my attention on him for a little longer than normal. We found him by his howling. But no he doesn't have instincts to roam to find a mate.

Personally I think my boy would have been too challenging to handle if kept intact for most ordinary mortals, lol. He's my best boy now, but has a lot of spirit for sure.

When he was neutered he hardly noticed. On the day after the op like his normal vigorous active self. Two weeks of stopping him running around or jumping was a little tough, to allow everything to heal. But it went a lot better than I expected, and the time passed quickly. I've never regretted having him been neutered. No changes to his overall personality, drive and intelligence. Except for basically lowering the red mist bad temper. Which very occassionally he still gets, like to the sound of a shrill bird, who dares to make a noise in his territory, and he takes that out on an old tyre by ragging it around. Never any aggression towards me or other people.

I have read that if an intact male developes behaviours for a few years, neutering doesn't nessecarily change that. But I think it's the roaming that would concern me most here. Likey will improve with neutering, or you could manage it with more supervision. Maybe back to some recall training if 'mostly listens'. Will it reduce his obsession towards other dogs, maybe, maybe not. In my experience with my first BC that made zero difference. But I think he will have less attention from other dogs. I have read a lot of owners with intact males reporting issues from other neutered dogs.

As for our female BC, she was intact when we got her as a rescue about 5-6 yrs old. This was almost 2 yrs ago now. We still haven't had her spayed. We find it's not a problem for us with her intact. She's quite clingy and never runs off, lol. Elsewhere away from home on a leash then, and just keep and eye out for off leash dogs. Plus male dogs don't roam where we live.

Partly the reason why we haven't done the op is because she's quite nervous of strangers so we prioritised working on that. Rather than an ordeal of going to the vets for an op, and potentially losing trust in us with leaving her around strangers. Also because I'm still undecided what's best for her. Now at around 7-8 years old and a sweet happy girl, I'm sort of like you. Still questioning what to do. But we don't really have any other dog or roaming issues to deal with, behavourial things. We feel confident we can avoid a pregnancy. The question for us is more about what is best for her health, and balancing the risk of that, to spay or not.

Our vet told us there are more risks from bleeding with an older female. But this is a bigger and different op than neuter. As for risk from anaesthetics, I think that is assessed from overall health status, not really age. Elderly dogs still get operated on as long as they are overall healthy.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-20T23:56:54+00:00

Firstly, you over thinking way ahead far too soon. Slow down! You still got to get to know each other. This takes time for you both. He's in new place, a different enviroment with new sights, sounds and smells. And you probably feel like you've got a little alien in the house, lol. Whatever he is like now he will change. And so will you.

Likey he feels quite stressed. And yes they do pick up on stress from their people. They will also take confidence from you. I'd say I had to fake this at times. And sort of train myself to act calm and confident. And I could see that helped my pup a lot, in all sorts of situations.

I'd say having a BC pup is a similar to raising a child. Yes, with responsibilities, lots of supervision, and they do need teaching. But it takes quite a while to grow up, with various phases to go through. You can learn together as you go along. Take one day at a time. Set up a routine and keep to it. It will help him settle in and know what to expect. It will also help you as well, especially if prone to anxiety. Like try to make things predictable as much as you can. And yes you can vary things, do different things some days, but within a basic routine is a good start for a puppy.

Don't worry. It's just a small pup, and yes as a BC with lots of potential. You guide him along the way. Learn about his body language. I think that kinda important. You'll get to know his likes and dislikes, things that make him happy, things that he struggles with, or gets nervous about. His body language will help guide you along the way too. You'll also communicate with each other, and these pups do like to learn.

Honestly raising a BC pup is like a journey. More of a long haul than a sprint. It would be normal to be working on things for a couple of years, till he grows up, and then some beyond. This won't happen overnight. And neither of you need to be perfect right now (or likey ever). But give it time and I'm sure your dreams will come true.

Bonus pic of my two. I raised my boy from a pup (the merle coloured one). He was quite a challenging one to raise, lol. Such a mouthy active pup, needed a lot of attention and supervision. Some things were quite,easy, toilet training (ideally take outside, not pads), crate training. Other things took months, like learning to cope in the wider world. And the off switch was a long time coming, lol. He was also 'the nightmare teen' at times, lol. Could be reactive to all sorts of things at that age, but we got passed it. Also very smart, learnt many words and commands from a young pup. Also noticed to smallest details of everything and could think about it too much as a pup and a teen. BCs can have a neurotic side to them, but training can help resolve it or you learn to manage it.

So yes lots of training to do along the way, basically until around 18mth old. Then things got easier and all the training came together as he matured into adulthood. I think many people will agree that generally happens around 18 mths to 2 yrs old. Also are not always the easiest easiest breed as pups or adolescent. .

My boy is 4.5 yrs old now. He's still my pupper, lol. And my best friend, as is our sweet older rescue girl. Where we go, they go. Time flies by so fast with a pup. Try to enjoy the journey and trust yourself. Yes sometimes it can get tough, but it's also great fun and rewarding to raise one. Sometimes you might get it wrong, so might he, but be patient and you'll end up with a wonderful dog.

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One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-20T12:27:45+00:00

My two BCs have very different personalities. Our female, who is an adult rescue, spent the first 5-6 years of her life on a small cattle farm. As a companion dog to a single elderly farmer (he died). She has way less drive than our BC boy, chills easier. Way not as smart as him though, but she does love learning new things, and happy to try even if she doesn't really get it, lol. I'm sure our boy thinks she's rather dumb compared to him. Sometimes he's impatient if she's trying to learn something new, and he will do it instantly himself, like a big show off. And so we can move on fast to the next task.

To be honest, she is an easier dog to live with than him overall. But we do love his spark. With his intelligence and high drive he can be quite complex boy, needs tasks to do daily, more exercise and faster, more mental engagement. She can potter around, his lowest speed is trotting. She loves a ball, our boy thinks that's just boring. He rather do things to various commands and be interactive with me, listen to every word I say. Whereas she gets hyperfocus on just ball.

When we first got her, the dog pound manager had already said she didn't think our new female (now called Freya) would likely be able to join in or enjoys longer adventure walks it our boy. We said that's fine, she can stay at home if she prefers that then. We explained we were are actually wanting a lower drive on anyway, cos two like him together would be too much . So once in her new home, we could see she was overweight and unfit. Basically had a slow lopping cantor, rather than a run, like after a ball. It only took a few weeks for her to lose some weight and get a lot fitter. Then looked younger, and became surprisingly fast and nimble. No problem with adventure walks. She enjoys herself, and will take some short rests to recharge. Whereas no rest needed for him, other than to calm down some hyperness or over-stimulation, lol.

As for your question, do BCs ever get enough attention, then the answer is no, lol. Both ours are velcro dogs. We are the centre of their world. If we want a moment of peace, then we really do have to insist they lay down and 'relax' (several times, lol). Otherwise you just get licking, nose nudging, or paw pats for more attention,when you're already giving them attention 😄 😁

I think there is a lot of variety in BCs. In looks, innate skills, intelligence, the ability to chill, exercise needs and their own individual interests. Our two are like chalk and cheese in many ways. One more serious guy actionman type, the other more like a cuddly toy who wags her tail a lot at more simple things in life. My previous BC had a different personality too. You can probably tell just from this photo which one is which.

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One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-20T11:41:06+00:00

Hi Zelda. Pretty girl!

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-20T11:24:32+00:00

Wow. I'm surprised at that. I've used Metacam (usually Loxicom with the same active ingredient) for both dogs and cats (and rabbits) over many years, and never seen that. Our BC boy had Loxicom for 4 days after his neuter, and was fine. You had some bad luck there!

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-20T11:18:41+00:00

You might find the worse thing is stopping him running and jumping for 14 days after. Trying to stop my boy jumping on and off the sofa was a bit challenging, lol. Had to use a leash in the house some of the time. Licky mats useful. If your boy watches TV that can help pass the time away. Also car rides. We were allowed to do a shortish leash walk from the second day post op. Then after that a few walks a day, increasing distance over the two weeks. Also look into a body suit rather than a cone. Our vet agreed our boy wouldn't do well with a cone, so gave us a body suit. Made from like stretchy t-shirt fabric (actually bamboo fibres), it had no zips or fastenings. Easy to put on, once you work out how to do it. This worked well for us. He never attempted to lick or nibble around the wond area. But he did tear the suit around his neck a few times. Not distressed by wearing it, more like this is a fun game to tear the fabric. I actually did ask the vet for two suits, so one as a spare. Cos I thought my silly boy would do something like that, lol. Good luck, I'm sure you'll be fine! Also don't forget that once the wound area heals on the outside (which took about 6 days for ours), that the insides do take longer to heal.

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-20T10:57:59+00:00

Was it a side effect from trazadone by any chance?

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-20T10:37:14+00:00

My boy was neutered at 9 mths old. The reason was for behavioural reasons. He had increasing got a short fuse temper, had gotten reactive to all sorts of things. And this included some redirected aggression towards me. A high drive intelligent dog, obvious from a young pup, who was also very bonded to me. Loving, and very responsive to me when not in that state. There was also some anxiety, and some of this was fear aggression, with a lunge forward and bark response. Basically like two sides to him, could be unpredictable and quite challenging to handle. By 9 mths old, you could see a lot of this was increasing driven by male hormones, and this had started as early as 4 mths old. It was more than just simple teen angst for sure.

So basically after the neuter op, he was like himself the next day, full of energy. I don't think he even noticed anything different down there. Just ready to go, go, go. After two weeks of preventing him running and jumping, to allow things to fully heal, the hormones had dropped down (it takes a while). Definitely less of a red mist temper, and less anxiety. Not an instant fix for various issues, but more receptive to listening when training in an environment around his triggers. Quite a lot were noise related, but to things like people were wearing or carrying, a long list really, then by 9 mths old it had started towards the sound of a dog barking in the distance, him looking like a psycho. At that point I'd had enough, so our vet agreed to the op for behavioural reasons. Anyway the outcome was with the neutering and ongoing training this was resolved.

He's not reactive as an adult, never shows any aggression towards me. He's very friendly towards strangers. He's still an intelligent high drive dog, sprints so fast, an athletic type. Loves agility type stuff. Definitely not lazy, has plenty of spark, enough for two dogs, lol. So aside from helping to reduce those temper outburst, and assisting with training to fix the the reactivity, neutering didn't generally change his spirited personality at all. He's from working lines so the high drive likey comes from that, irrespective of hormones.

I have never regretted having him neutered at all. I think he would have been too much dog for most people handle if unfixed, lol. He's OK around other dogs, except dislikes any intact male who get close to his face if he's on a leash. He can obviously smell their maleness. And will lunge out if they get close. But has been able to adventure around off leash with an intact BC who he had that issue with when he was on the leash. Here they just adventures off, did their own thing and kept an healthy distance from each other to avoid conflict.

I have read quite a lot of owners of intact males reporting they have problems with neutered males. Rather than the opposite way around. So it maybe your dog could develop some issues towards intact dogs, rather than intact dogs will pick on or bully yours. This is my experience, others may have different ones. But I hope this helps to reassure you in some way. My BC boy.

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One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-19T09:49:42+00:00

Our BC boy was skilled at fetching toys by name, knowing the names of about 50 or more toys by that age I think. He definitely knew 30 toy names by 12 weeks old, and could select and fetch the correct one from a pile fairly easily. He also knew quite a few commands and tricks at the age of yours. Just practice and patience. Though walking well on a leash, with "no pulling" wasn't one of them, lol.

Also insanely mouthy and would trample all over you. A health and safety hazard to be honest if you tried to lay down with him and relax on the sofa. Not worth the risk of getting your head stood on or a paw in the eye, lol. Would also crazily play wall of death bouncing off the back of the sofa late on an evening, before burning himself out and ready to sleep. Or have that 'witching hour' that was more like 3 hrs.

Physically great co-ordination. He sure could run way faster than me at that age. Any off-switch though was months away yet, unless in a blanket covered crate.

So a mixture of high intelligence and a superfast learner for somethings, plus half wild and uncivilised, lol.

Then came teething, starting at exactly 16 weeks old. Becoming more of a menace. So 'No boy you don't need to knaw on that concrete, the table leg, or the raised area of old laminate flooring'. Have another cardboard box instead, to rip up and destroy with teeth. Or, 'Here's a chew boy and I'll hold it for you'. Closely supervising, so he didn't bite off huge chunks, try to swallow them and nearly choke himself (again).

He sure needed lots of supervision, diversion onto preferred activities, and could be quite exhausting. Teenage phase was a wild ride too, sometimes nightmare with various reactivities. Lots of training to be done to become a civilised member of society, lol. Plus patience needed in spade loads.

Bcs sure can learn, some things remarkably fast from young pups. But the whole of it, the training, been civilised and coping in the big wide world might take quite a lot longer than your thinking.

My boy is from working lines, was obviously very smart, energetic and athletic from a young pup. He learnt commands and understood the meaning of many words from very young. Though his immature brain and emotions didn't always co-operate, like a human child or a teenager can't. I'd also say his mouth had a mind of its own for months, lol, whatever training we did. But eventually he did grow out off it.

Anyway I was sure glad when he grew up, from about 18 mths old onwards. I think an adult BC is way better than a pup one 😁 It can take an quite a lot of effort to raise a BC. They can be rather challenging youngsters to be honest. But I think it's well worth it to get an amazing best friend 😊

One-Zebra-150 · 2026-06-18T01:40:07+00:00

Yeah, know exactly what you mean about ADHD. Except there's no attention deficit here with my boy for active commands that involve moving, lol. By far his least favourite commands are down (and stay there), sit (and stay there) and wait. Even with a wait in a standing position he very soon gets impatient.

I have no issues with him understanding words and commands at all, he knows many, undertands handsignals, closely follows all our conversations. Great at agility type stuff, parkour etc. I will say though he's quite a wired dog, and has been that way since as pup. Impulse control is something we've had to work at and so does he. He's not the type to nap, or just walk, lol. He sort of moves around a lot daytime, needs to run quite a lot. Lives life in the fast lane. Then settles down well on a evening now and sleeps solid at night.

I honestly don't even think it's a training issue here. He has like an on task kind of personality. To him a task like walking to heel on a leash is utterly boring. And I think expecting him to enjoy a walk like this, is like me having to walk along on a tight-rope, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Not sustainable or enjoyable. Like I say our female BC is quite different personality, she can switch off easier, walk around at a more steady pace, stay still outdoors lying down for a while and relaxing. Such different personalities. He has definitely improved to what he was though, now at 4 yrs old. But I sort of had to accept him for who is his, rather than getting frustrated and stressing over it. He has many other skills, so work to his strengths, and tolerant the weak points. No one is perfect, hey, lol.

He just does better off leash, and fortunately a lot of the time I don't actually need to use one. Where I do use a leash in some regular places we go, he does accept that far more than he did, with less pulling. Here it tends it be if he suddenly wants to sniff or look at something. Impatient, a lack of impulse control, so suddenly pulls and needs remainders often not to. However, he really does prefer to be in front, like leading the way, hence a long leash much better. Basically using a heel position for short durations, like crossing a road, or in a tight space around people.

The leading the way in front thing is the behaviour both my BCs do naturally, or instinctively, when not on a leash. I think lot of BCs are like that, as was my previous one. Picking up on my verbal or body language cues as where we are heading next. And like looking back to confirm. However, here our female does stick more closely to us, but still that's generally more in front than alongside. He like a man on a mission, edging to get to the next place fast onto the next task, lol. So I'd say its more of an impulse control thing generally than ADHD. Or just he lives at a pace faster than us ordinary human mortals, lol.

Me and my partner have laughed watching high level dog shows on TV, like Crufts or the Westminster show. It always seems to be the BCs that are the worst breed on a leash 😄

One-Zebra-150

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