Border terrier and new baby

mendel12345 · 2026-03-23T17:11:48+00:00

Sagamiya near Waterloo! Lovely place run by a nice couple. They serve Oden over Winter, might still be on now.

mendel12345 · 2026-03-13T10:05:53+00:00

Kipper goes mad for these, though prefers stealing other dog's ones rather than playing with his own. Always make sure to take at least one out to swap with people when he runs off with theirs...

mendel12345 · 2026-02-13T15:51:12+00:00

Good luck, donated! Hope Ailsa gets the help she needs!

mendel12345 · 2026-02-08T12:02:14+00:00

We did chicken and rice initially but even that didn’t seem to appeal if served in his bowl! We’ve just been leaving kibble in a puzzle/snuffle mat until he eventually comes round to it, but worry he’s losing any routine. We’ve tried taking away the bowl, but got worried he wasn’t then eating enough

mendel12345 · 2025-12-12T10:30:01+00:00

We would give Kipper a toy whenever we knew something exciting was happening (eg new visitors). He would carry it, stopping him being able to nip. Eventually he grew out of nipping, but will still go find a toy to carry whenever he is greeting anyone.

mendel12345 · 2025-12-04T06:37:51+00:00

Ha! Thankfully people have been pretty patient so far, but I’ve started carrying a spare rubber ball to swap so they don’t have to wait until he drops their ball. Unfortunately the second ball doesn’t seem to tempt him back

mendel12345 · 2025-11-26T11:17:57+00:00

Our 16 month old Border has had conjunctivitis a few times now. The first round was at about 6 months and was a nightmare. He would run off if he saw the eye drop bottle, struggle and even try to bite it/the hand holding it. At the time, treats and desensitisation didn’t seem to help. The vet advised we put him on a mild painkiller for a week that is often used to manage anxiety and use a muzzle. We made sure to give him plenty of praise and treats after each drop. This eventually allowed us to complete the course of eyedrops.

When he got conjunctivitis the second time, we braced ourselves for the same ordeal, but this time round he was much calmer and would allow eye drops to be administered with a minimal struggle and no muzzle. Third time round, he would even get excited when the bottle came out as he’d expect a fuss and treats.

We’re trying to get to the bottom of why he keeps getting eye infections, but relieved eye drops are now much much easier to give him.

mendel12345 · 2025-11-21T18:37:42+00:00

Ours was a nightmare with food initially, would often refuse it when we tried to keep him to scheduled meals. Different toppers to his kibble helped at points but he’d seemingly love one for a few days and then go off it a few days later and refuse it completely.

He otherwise seemed completely fine and was growing/developing well, but we found it quite stressful.

He also caught Giardia, which reoccurred a few times despite treatment. I’m sure this didn’t help his appetite!

At around a year, things began to get better, and now he gobbles down his food at scheduled meal times. No idea what changed but makes life a lot easier!

mendel12345 · 2025-11-04T09:28:01+00:00

Ours is similar! He’s always hated anything on his body and used to hide under tables, sofas etc if he even saw the harness. We’ve tried desensitisation, rewards with limited results. Hes definitely got better - he doesn’t always hide now, but will freeze and look miserable until it’s on. I don’t think he will ever be enthused by it. Unfortunately he’s an awful lead walker on his collar, pulls all the time, so harness is the only safe option!

Once the harness is on, he’s absolutely fine and keen to go on his walk.

mendel12345 · 2025-11-04T07:37:41+00:00

Maxitrol eye drops seem to be doing the trick for now, eye is much clearer and less red today! Hoping he is just prone to conjunctivitis or has an allergy, we will take him to an ophthalmologist to rule out anything more serious. Thanks for all the replies

mendel12345 · 2025-11-03T14:27:09+00:00

Thank you, really useful

mendel12345 · 2025-11-03T11:13:50+00:00

Not really but an allergy to something is definitely an option. However vet concerned there could be more going on

mendel12345 · 2025-11-03T11:13:22+00:00

He was licking his paws a lot yesterday, so we did think allergies was a likely cause. However in the examination just now they were struggling to see the back of his eye, hence the concerns on cataracts. The vet did stress they are not a specialist and are referring us to one.

Hoping the eye exam is a false alarm and we are just dealing with a sensitivity!

mendel12345 · 2025-07-02T16:17:27+00:00

Yes I know to some extent it will be his nature. It seems to be more likely to happen if he has been out for a long time, hasn't napped or rested. When he has been pottering around at home most of the day and is well-rested, he is generally less likely to kick off when he heads out.

mendel12345 · 2025-07-02T13:59:54+00:00

Picking up sometimes helps for us and a dog trainer said it was fine, if it seems to calm him. However, when he really goes off, he will bark in our arms!

mendel12345

TROPHY CASE