Ali-Katz - RIP (Oct 2012 - August 2019)
(Alainn - means Bonnie in Gaelic - 'Ali' for short)
Advert for help (June 2013 - Facebook)
Bonnie born 21st October 2012 ... 8 months old URGENTLY needs a foster/forever home with no other pets or where she can be kept separated from them. She is a lovely girl who just adores people. She has spent the last few weeks locked outside in a garden so has become excitable ... understandably so. I cannot stress how urgent this is please share Bonnie far and wide!!
How could I not offer - lol
Bonnie born 21st October 2012 ... 8 months old URGENTLY needs a foster/forever home with no other pets or where she can be kept separated from them. She is a lovely girl who just adores people. She has spent the last few weeks locked outside in a garden so has become excitable ... understandably so. I cannot stress how urgent this is please share Bonnie far and wide!!
How could I not offer - lol
Foster Dog
Experience has taught us that the last thing double-merles need is to be kept on their own and it quickly became apparent that all Ali (as we renamed her) wanted was to be part of the gang.
Berezi now has a playmate that she can run with and more importantly that is just as much a water-baby as she is. A really close bond was instantly formed.
Ali has problems ... she may be deaf with vision issues but the collie brain is so sharp that because she has had no training she has become willful with no manners. Due to her being kept outside with no stimulation she is self-reliant on finding things with which to amuse herself. The saying goes, 'beware the collie with nothing to do' and this is never more true than of Ali as she is bright enough to invent all manner of 'games' if left to her own devices (most of which we do not want her playing - lol)
Food aggression was a big problem but as she is learning that she does not need to fight for every crumb this is getting better ... time and consistency is the key to win this battle.
She is so eager to please and to learn it makes training her so much easier and although most of the time she will follow Berezi's every move she is defiant when she does not want to do something, which makes recall an interesting issue at times - lol
Food was the answer. As soon as she worked it out that every time Berezi came back to the recall sign she got a treat we have not looked back.
Ali is one of those dogs that you can't give an inch to and has to be monitored constantly.
Let's put it this way ... we certainly know we have got her - LOL
Berezi now has a playmate that she can run with and more importantly that is just as much a water-baby as she is. A really close bond was instantly formed.
Ali has problems ... she may be deaf with vision issues but the collie brain is so sharp that because she has had no training she has become willful with no manners. Due to her being kept outside with no stimulation she is self-reliant on finding things with which to amuse herself. The saying goes, 'beware the collie with nothing to do' and this is never more true than of Ali as she is bright enough to invent all manner of 'games' if left to her own devices (most of which we do not want her playing - lol)
Food aggression was a big problem but as she is learning that she does not need to fight for every crumb this is getting better ... time and consistency is the key to win this battle.
She is so eager to please and to learn it makes training her so much easier and although most of the time she will follow Berezi's every move she is defiant when she does not want to do something, which makes recall an interesting issue at times - lol
Food was the answer. As soon as she worked it out that every time Berezi came back to the recall sign she got a treat we have not looked back.
Ali is one of those dogs that you can't give an inch to and has to be monitored constantly.
Let's put it this way ... we certainly know we have got her - LOL
Name Change
We already had a B in the family that we signed to (Berezi) and so she couldn't remain Bonnie as we could not be able to sign to them individually. Bonny in Gaelic - Alainn.
So we now have an A and B ... just working on the C - lol
We already had a B in the family that we signed to (Berezi) and so she couldn't remain Bonnie as we could not be able to sign to them individually. Bonny in Gaelic - Alainn.
So we now have an A and B ... just working on the C - lol
Failed Fosterers ...
Okay so we finally had to admit to what everyone who knows us already knew ... Ali is staying with us.
She is trouble with a capital ‘T’, willful, disobedient, far too bright for her own good, clever, mischief personified and pushes everything to the limit ... she is also fun, a cuddle monster, a joy to train and we just love her :)
She is trouble with a capital ‘T’, willful, disobedient, far too bright for her own good, clever, mischief personified and pushes everything to the limit ... she is also fun, a cuddle monster, a joy to train and we just love her :)
Helping Pets (North East) Facebook
Most people won't even be aware of this gorgeous girl we helped in June 2013 ...
She is another double merle border collie she was only 8mths old and had already had a few homes when her then owner contacted a rescue in Wigan. She is deaf and her eyes, although not 'normal' her sight seems to be unaffected.
They arranged to get her to a train station in Manchester and then one of our foster carers brought her by train to Newcastle where she stayed with me for a couple of days before I drove her to Carlisle where the wonderful Lee met her to take her back home with her to Scotland.
I am pleased to say Lee and her husband fell in love with this girl and she is to be a permanent member of her family. Lee is very experienced and has had many double merle collies over the years and trains them to sign language.
I love seeing the pictures of Ali with her doggy friends running on the beach.
We are so happy to have been able to help this gorgeous girl find a special home
Vicki x
She is another double merle border collie she was only 8mths old and had already had a few homes when her then owner contacted a rescue in Wigan. She is deaf and her eyes, although not 'normal' her sight seems to be unaffected.
They arranged to get her to a train station in Manchester and then one of our foster carers brought her by train to Newcastle where she stayed with me for a couple of days before I drove her to Carlisle where the wonderful Lee met her to take her back home with her to Scotland.
I am pleased to say Lee and her husband fell in love with this girl and she is to be a permanent member of her family. Lee is very experienced and has had many double merle collies over the years and trains them to sign language.
I love seeing the pictures of Ali with her doggy friends running on the beach.
We are so happy to have been able to help this gorgeous girl find a special home
Vicki x
Fits (?) maybe ...
We were told that Ali was dog-aggressive but she soon settled into the gang and there have been very few incidences. However, we have noticed that sometimes when she wakes from a deep sleep she lashes out at the closest dog, no real harm is done but she screams like a banshee and is very confused. This is all over in seconds and then she seeks reassurance, esp. from the dog she has upset and us.
Now I put this down to bad dreams of her past life but there is research into this being a kind of mild seizure. Which judging by how she is afterwards makes a lot of sense to me.
Needless to say there is nothing the vets can put their finger on as they do not see it when it is happening and she is fit and healthy.
So far it has only happened twice in the 8 mths we have had her ... this is totally different from the fits that Teija had.
We will have to wait and see how this progresses.
Update: May 2014
Whatever it is that is the trigger to the aggression with Ali on occasions it is getting less and less as she is getting older and is now settled. She still has her moments, and probably always will as we now think it's something that is left over from a past experience.
Post script: 3 months on and there have been no further instances of sudden aggression :)
Now I put this down to bad dreams of her past life but there is research into this being a kind of mild seizure. Which judging by how she is afterwards makes a lot of sense to me.
Needless to say there is nothing the vets can put their finger on as they do not see it when it is happening and she is fit and healthy.
So far it has only happened twice in the 8 mths we have had her ... this is totally different from the fits that Teija had.
We will have to wait and see how this progresses.
Update: May 2014
Whatever it is that is the trigger to the aggression with Ali on occasions it is getting less and less as she is getting older and is now settled. She still has her moments, and probably always will as we now think it's something that is left over from a past experience.
Post script: 3 months on and there have been no further instances of sudden aggression :)
SAD Update ... Berezi (RIP) February 2016
Ali is devastated by the loss of her mate. Berezi's vision had faded until she was not only deaf but also blind which whilst a lot of dogs cope with this extremely well she did not. Quality of Life ... always the key in our book and so, with a very heavy heart we let her go.
Ali is devastated by the loss of her mate. Berezi's vision had faded until she was not only deaf but also blind which whilst a lot of dogs cope with this extremely well she did not. Quality of Life ... always the key in our book and so, with a very heavy heart we let her go.
SOLI .. joined the Misfits in Feb 2016 (RIP Nov 2016)
Ali has a much needed new lease on life. He taught her to paly again, but it was to only to be for a very short period because, tragically he was taken from us just a few months later. Due to congenital defects which were undetectable, he died suddenly in November 2016.
Ali has a much needed new lease on life. He taught her to paly again, but it was to only to be for a very short period because, tragically he was taken from us just a few months later. Due to congenital defects which were undetectable, he died suddenly in November 2016.
New Best Mate (March 2017)
Maize joined the Misfits and once again Ali has someone to run and play with on the beach.
Maize joined the Misfits and once again Ali has someone to run and play with on the beach.
Our girlie ... done good (November 2017)
It has been a long road to walk but today Ali did what I would have at one time said was impossible ... (drum roll please)
She PASSED her assessment to become a Therapy Dog with flying colours.
Jan 2019 (update)
Unfortunately, Ali is progressively losing what little sight she had and she is not coping very well. She gets startled easily and can be snappy with the others, although she is fine with us and the cats.
One of her great loves is to run free, so we have taught her that if she can't find us, that she is to lay still where she is and we will find her. Maiz also knows to go and get her if she runs too far.
Naturally, we are trying everything we can, but she is getting more and more stressed about life in general. We know this is not a battle we will win, but fingers-crossed we can sort things out to make her feel more secure and settled at home.
August 2019
The past couple of months Ali has been having mini fits … small enough that they are over in seconds but enough to make her incontinent, especially as her kidneys have been damaged due to possibly being kicked before she came into rescue. We have not found any pattern to them as yet or identified if there is anything specific that could be causing them. Mostly they happen during the night.
It is still an ongoing battle as to her sight. She has almost none in one eye and the little she has in the other is not enough to make her aware of the dogs moving about her, which makes her very snappy.
We know we are on borrowed-time with her … but are trying our best to 'borrow' as much of it as we can, while we can.
The past couple of months Ali has been having mini fits … small enough that they are over in seconds but enough to make her incontinent, especially as her kidneys have been damaged due to possibly being kicked before she came into rescue. We have not found any pattern to them as yet or identified if there is anything specific that could be causing them. Mostly they happen during the night.
It is still an ongoing battle as to her sight. She has almost none in one eye and the little she has in the other is not enough to make her aware of the dogs moving about her, which makes her very snappy.
We know we are on borrowed-time with her … but are trying our best to 'borrow' as much of it as we can, while we can.
28 August 2019 - RIP sweet girlie :(
WE lost the battle.
WE lost the battle.
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