Wonaka Borders

14/11/2024

Be aware and please advise anyone you know to be wary. Especially if they have a young puppy.

11/11/2024

Happy 4th birthday to our precious Remembrance Day litter, Poppy, Rupert & Jesse. 🎁🎈💕

30/10/2024

This would be a great learning opportunity for all our owners. 🙂

22/10/2024

BCCSA Inc membership is: $20/pensioners, $30/single, $40/family

We have our next Puppy Fundamentals Master Class coming up on Sunday 3rd November and would like to invite anyone with a Border Collie puppy currently, or anyone considering bringing a puppy into their lives to come along and learn from experienced, qualified professionals about EVERYTHING you need to know! We have presentations on health, nutrition, exercise, behaviour, training, managing kids and dogs, managing puppies with other pets, grooming, and even all the activities and sports you can get involved in throughout your dog’s life! Lunch is included and you take home your own gift bag. Take the whole family included in the same price - you can even bring your puppy along if you’d like!

Let the Border Collie Club of South Australia support you, your family and your pup to have the most successful start to your lives together.

Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1071615

31/08/2024

Saturday night roast pork back at the campsite at the Nationals after a hot, long day.
Bed for a few South Aussies already and the rest of us pictured aren't far off...😴

26/08/2024

Halfway to Queensland, for the Nationals. Chilled campers!

06/07/2024

Helping at the BorderCollie Club of South Australia Inc. Pet Expo stand

23/06/2024

Brit showed great instinct in her first intro to sheep. 🙂

11/06/2024

22/05/2024

A lovely critique (not the best photo of her) from the Border Collie Club of SA Inc Championship Show, held May '24, was forwarded from the breed specialist New Zealand judge, Mrs. Sue Chaytor, on our Brit. Thank you.
Brit was awarded Opposite Intermediate in Show from a class entry of 8 b's. ❤️

20/05/2024

A facebook memory today

19/05/2024

Brit and I were helping man the BorderCollie Club of South Australia Inc. stand this weekend. Great breed and club promotion.
We met up with Kelly and The Wonderdogs and Dr Katrina at The Pet Show. Such a lovely pair and a great book to receive. 😘

08/05/2024

Ever wondered why a puppy's behavior seems erratic during adolescence, which occurs between six months and 18 months of age?

The neurobiology of adolescence is fascinating, with some key events that alter both the structure and function of the brain.

During canine adolescence, s*x hormones are changing which effects the animals stress responses. Adolescent dogs have a decreased ability to modulate sensory processing and subsequent behavior.

The connectivity between the frontal cortex (responsible for decision making) and amygdala (responsible for emotional processing) decreases, resulting in less behavioral control.

So what does this mean? This could mean that your dog, who used to come when called, suddenly cannot. This could mean that your dog, who didn't jump up on guests, suddenly does. Your dog that walked nicely on leash is now pulling. Or perhaps it seems like some days your dog responds to behaviors you ask of them, and some days they don't, without any rhyme or reason.

We also see increased risk taking and more sensitivity to fear.

As your puppy undergoes this transition into adulthood their inner world is intense, even chaotic. Many pet owners experience an increase in undesirable behavior and find themselves becoming increasingly frustrated. In turn, frustration and impatience sometimes cause us to act unpredictably.

This adds to your puppy’s inner turmoil. When the inside and the outside are both unpredictable it can be difficult for puppies to adjust.

By understanding this we can gain greater compassion and understanding. When we approach adolescence with patience we can help create a world that is predictable and gentle so our puppies grow up to be their best selves.

07/05/2024

'Wonaka Witches Britches' (Brit) was awarded Intermediate b from a class of 8 and Opposite Intermediate in Show at the Border Collie Club of SA specialist show, 4/5/24, under breed specialist Judge Mrs Sue Chaytor (New Zealand). 🥰

Photo credit to M & J Haseldine

16/04/2024

Interesting read.

There has long been debate about which dogs are healthier, pure breeds or mixed breeds, but science is shedding light on anecdotal evidence that has created much misinformation. Recently, a huge 15-year study at University of California-Davis was concluded. The researchers studied 27,254 dogs with inherited disorders to find some answers.

Unfortunately, many people misunderstand the term 'hybrid vigor'. They believe this means that mixing breeds creates healthier pets. But they are incorrect.

Hybrid vigor is created when you cross two different species. Take the mule for example. A cross of two different species, the horse and the donkey. However, designer/mixed breeds are not a cross of different species. In fact, when you cross two breeds, you can double up on health issues. This is especially likely when you have the same disease tendency in both breeds.

Anita Oberhauer PhD was on the UC-Davis research team. Here’s what she says about the labradoodle, for example …

…“It’s a Lab and a Poodle crossed. A Labrador has the same likelihood of having epilepsy, hip dysplasia, Addison’s disease as a Poodle. So if the sire has the ‘disease liability genes’ for any of those conditions … and the mother has the liability genes for Addison’s, epilepsy, hip dysplasia, you breed them together and the offspring will have it.”

Study Results?
The theory that purebred dogs are more prone to disease doesn’t really hold up.

Of 24 disorders the researchers monitored, more than half (13) were about the same in purebred vs mixed breed dogs. Ten disorders were more prevalent in purebred dogs than in mixed breed dogs. Every disorder was seen in the mixed-breed population...every...single...one.

But in this study … only one disorder was more likely in mixed-breed dogs than purebred. That one disorder was cranial cruciate ligament rupture. And it was significantly higher … 30%. The researchers didn’t really know why this might happen. It’s possible combining different physical conformations reduces the resilience of the ligaments.

Learn more here > https://bit.ly/AVMApurebreedsVSmixedbreeds