Midwest Border Collie Rescue

Our Foster Dogs-Bucky

Back to Our Foster Dogs

For more information on Bucky contact Gina.

See my wrestling video and playing in the backyard posted March 5.

March 18, 2012
bucky
This week Bucky got to play with some sheep! He thought it was way cool. My instructor says it's hard to tell what kind of talent a dog has from only one time on sheep, but he was definitely interested. He was not at all afraid of the sheep and showed pretty good self control, though he did go in to nip sheep butt once when he got them all running. He circled, definitely had a preference for one direction, and had no problems walking straight on the sheep. His circling preference is most likely because of his old habit of circling out of boredom.

Bucky is also doing well in obedience class. We're having some troubles with stay, but I think I've figured out how to work on that. He is working well in class and really learns well with clicker training. One of our first assignments was to work on name recognition. We were to say the dog's name and reward when they looked at us, preferrably making eye contact. At first Bucky was reluctant to make eye contact so I started clicking and treating whenever he looked at my face. Last week he spent most of the hour long class watching me.

We also made a trip to the vet's office for a HW test with his foster siblings. He was outgoing and happy, just a little leery of the scale, but treats make pretty much everything good. Our vet, who is also a friend, last saw him on New Year's weekend and commented on how outgoing he had gotten.

I continue to be amazed that this is the same dog that came to us a few short months ago. He looks different and acts different. I see a sparkle in his eyes that was not there, his tail is up and wagging, and he now thinks everything new is just another great experience.

March 5, 2012

Unfortunately Bucky's obedience classes have been delayed a bit. He'll be going to his first class on Tuesday. This will be at a completely new place for him so it will be interesting to see how he does. Part of our homework for the first class is to work on having the dog sit next to us on our left side. As we work on this it's become very clear that I did a really good job of teaching Bucky to sit in front of me!

Meanwhile Bucky has become very happy and confident in every situation. Today I discovered that he gets really excited by squirrels. He's been on squirrel patrol looking out the back door a lot today. The dogs also got into some burrs this afternoon and Bucky was very good while I picked them out of his tail. He got some brushing after that. He has lost a lot of coat, but its coming back in looking much healthier than it did before.

We've also been working on brushing Bucky's teeth and he's doing really well with it. He loves the poultry flavored toothpaste and is really good at letting me brush the front teeth. He struggles a little more with the back ones, can't figure out why he can't just eat the toothpaste and the toothbrush.
bucky
Bucky may be 5 years old, but don't let that fool you into thinking he's not active. He has plenty of spunk and would make a great pet for someone who's looking for a walking companion, some play in the yard and maybe even more. We haven't had a chance to try any agility with him since its winter and all of our equipment is packed away, but he has gone thru a few tunnels on his own as we walk around the equipment before our dog's class. If he's still with us in few weeks, and the weather cooperates, we may be able to try him out on some sheep to see if that interests him at all. bucky

Bucky has really settled into our home and routine very well. He is really very easy to live with. He and our female dog Abbey get along really well and have a morning wrestling routine.

Initially I thought Bucky would not be good in a home with children because he was so afraid when he first arrived that I thought it would be hard for him to adjust to a home with a lot of activity. Now I think he would be ok in a home with older children.

I would say that Bucky is an active companion level dog. He does need some sort of exercise every day otherwise he starts finding things to do on his own, like pulling bottles (glass or plastic) or cans out of the recycling. In other words Bucky has really turned into a pretty normal Border Collie.
  
February 2, 2012

Bucky has arrived! I know he's been with us for a couple of months, but he has now officially come out of his shell and is confident. Actually he's improved so much that he'll be starting a beginner obedience class on February 14th. I decided that he's now relaxed enough to be able to learn in a group class.

This past weekend we went to an out of town agility trial. Since we were showing our dogs on Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday we stayed two nights in a hotel. Bucky has happy and confident at the hotel and at the trial site. He was pulling to go up to strangers (he's learned that almost everyone gives him treats) and did sits and downs for everyone. People who hadn't seen him in a month could not believe the difference in him. He had to spend quite a bit more time than usual in a crate, but was nice, quiet, and well behaved and was was great at the hotel too. Just a little barky when he tried to get his foster sister to play with him. bucky

When I think back to the dog that he was just two months ago it's hard to believe he's the same dog. He went from the dog who wouldn't go thru a door if you were anywhere near it to a dog who now sometimes sneaks out the door with me when I'm leaving to go to work.
He rides well in the car and goes to his crate on his own when it's feeding time. He no longer needs to have another dog around when he goes outside and sometimes even heads to the back of the yard on his own to explore. He doesn't try to keep his foster siblings from moving when they're in the yard like he used to, unless it's part of the game; and they all do that! He can run like the wind, keeping up with his two year old foster siblings. He absolutely loves squeaky toys and is very good at finding them no matter where you hide them. He has learned some self control, but still needs some work. Like a lot of Border Collies he wants to control dogs that are very animated and jumpy. He likes to tug, but wants to control anyone else who's tugging, and when he's over stimulated he can lose his brain; now that never happens with a Border Collie!!!

Bucky has shown that he is a really nice and sweet dog. He does need some exercise every day, but I think long walks, some fetch and tug and maybe a little bit of mental exercise should do the trick. He is really very easy to live with.
January 12, 2012

Bucky had a bit of an adventure over Christmas, taking a little trip to another volunteer's house while we headed out of town. He seemed to do well with the transition and got a pretty good report card from his visit. I think he has come along way from the scared boy that arrived in rescue.

Bucky is continuing to progress in his socialization. Because of the Holidays we had missed our Monday night class for 3 weeks in a row. I really expected Bucky to take a step backward, but he surprised me by being 100% at ease when we returned this week. He even nudged the hand of one of our class mates to get some treats from her!

Bucky has decided he really likes to go places with us and our dogs. Whenever we gather our things to head out to class or an agility trial Bucky is right there at the door with our dogs. He rides really well in the car and is great about crating up.

Our training plans for Bucky were slowed a bit by the Holidays, but we are working on sit, using a clicker. Because it seems that he wasn't really taught any commands, I've decided to use the clicker and wait for him to offer behaviors to reward. This should help him to become a "thinking" dog and should get him excited about learning new things. So far he's doing well with sit and I'll start working on some other commands in the next week. Next week he will hopefully get a chance to see some sheep.

Bucky continues to enjoy playing with his foster sister and is getting better about not being too pushy. He will still get over stimulated if you try to play tug with one of the dogs or if a dog gets really jumpy and barky, but he has definitely learned to settle over all. He will now lay quietly on the couch and doesn't expect his foster sister to play all the time.

Overall Bucky is doing really well and has settled into his foster home. I think he will make a great active companion dog. He can probably go to a home with older kids if the family understands that he will most likely be fearful for a few weeks and understand what he needs to acclimate. I think he would love to have a doggy playmate and will probably do better with a female dog companion.
December 15, 2011

Bucky has been with us for almost three weeks now. He is really over his shyness with us and being in a different place. His personality is shining thru more and more each day. Bucky is really a pretty energetic guy. He is loving playing with our dogs! When he doesn't get enough activity he can be a little bit naughty. Basically that means he starts stealing things off the table or kitchen counter.bucky I think he's probably learned that doing that gets him attention. As Bucky has gotten more comfortable with us I've tried out some basic commands to see if he was taught anything. I've pretty much concluded that the poor guy wasn't even taught to sit on command. I think we can now start working on some basics and I think he should learn pretty quickly as he very much likes his treats!

Bucky had a big adventure this past weekend and went to an agility trial with us. He was pretty nervous at the trial, but did come out to socialize a bit each day. On Saturday he did better and took some treats from a couple of people. He is definitely more comfortable when his foster sister is out with him.

Bucky has also come with us to our dogs agility class 3 times now and this week he seemed pretty comfortable. I think as we get him out more and more he will understand that nothing is scary and that people are really fun and a source of treats.
December 9, 2011

Bucky has made the move the St. Paul and has been with us for a little over a week now. He is adjusting well, but was very frightened of everything (except our dogs) for the first 4 or 5 days. He wouldn't go thru a door if anyone was standing nearby and would feel trapped when you entered a room that he was in. We let him take things at his own pace and warm up to us in his own time. He is now doing well with us, but is still very frightened of new people and new places. We will be taking him along when our own dogs go for training and will work on making new things a good experience. He does like his treats so we'll use food to help us thru this process.

Bucky seems to like all dogs and has no fear of them. I don't think he knows a lot about playing with other dogs, but is learning from his foster sister and brother. He likes to play chase with them in the yard, but sometimes his herding instinct kicks in and he won't let his foster sister move. She doesn't really appreciate that, so together we will be working on teaching him that herding other dogs is not appropriate. Bucky has learned to wrestle with his foster sister. Sometimes he gets a little carried away and doesn't seem to understand that Abbey is telling him to stop. Something else we'll be working on. I think in general he needs a little work on impulse control and some general obedience.

Bucky has not been with us very long, but judging from his initial fear I would say he probably needs a home with a fenced yard and without children. He will need a patient owner who will help him understand that the world is a good place without pushing him too fast. I think another confident dog in the home would help.

I think Bucky has the potential to be a fine dog. Once he warms up to you he's very sweet.

BuckyOctober 21, 2011
May I introduce Bucky! Bucky is a beautiful, almost five-year-old male border collie who came into our home four days ago. He has spent much of his life alone in an outdoor kennel with little to no training, consistent attention, or vet care. He was very, very frightened from the transport and change of living situation, but in this short time he has made an amazing turnaround. He has changed from a ball of anxiety that startled at every sound to being extremely playful and much more relaxed. Initially he cowered or ran from us- now he approaches often to be petted and seems comforted by it. He has always had good eye contact and is food-motivated by a few kibbles, which bodes well for training. Bucky is very curious and sniffs everything thoroughly.

To say Bucky loves toys is an understatement! Even on the first day when he was freaked out, he grabbed a stuffed toy and played with it. Now he tosses them in the air, pounces on them, and holds them in a play bow as he is in the photo. He has played with three different ones this morning- stuffing is everywhere! (Fortunately I buy them cheap at thrift stores, ha ha.) In spite of all that playfulness, he's calm and quiet in his crate where he resides at night and when we cannot supervise him. In fact, we have yet to hear him make any sound at all, though I'm sure he will eventually. He has not had an accident in the house except for one near-marking incident, which he stopped immediately when I said "No!"- and that was my fault for letting him in a new room too soon. His initial, controlled interactions with our 3 border collies (two females and one male) have all been very positive. Bucky got along extremely well with the dogs of his interim caregiver, at whose home he spent a month prior to coming into MWBCR.

Bucky still has a lot to learn....leash walking, basic commands, new places, new people and animals, not to take inappropriate items into his mouth, car rides that are fun and do not result in some sort of upheaval....many new experiences and rules common in a full, normal dog life. We also have a lot to learn about Bucky, especially his activity level and what he most needs in a future forever home. It's already obvious, though, that he is a sweet and special guy who deserves a great life! More photos and updates will come soon...stay tuned.