Meg

We had a bit of a full-on meet this afternoon. We were there for nearly 2 and a half hours, time flew by. We went into the play barn with her - a large room with a concrete floor & a few seats around the edge, patio doors leading to an outside area. Meg wasn't keen on running around on the concrete as it was quite slippy so we played outside for 5 minutes. Then OH brought Coco down. Well they just played and played - taking it in turns to chase the ball.
We decided to try and bring it down a bit and went into a smallish kitcheny room with sofas, a desk, a dog bed and a sink area. The dogs wouldn't slow up. Tried spreading a cover on the floor to lie on, but they wouldn't for more than 20 seconds. As soon as I opened the door they were off again, in and out of the barn. Meg picked up a big tuggy and they played together with that. It started to rain heavily and they were persuaded back in. We were sitting on a sofa in the barn but the dogs still wouldn't let up. Wrestling, chasing playing with the tuggy, playing with the ball. Eventually Coco lay down, he was knackered, but no rest for Meg - the Collie side definitely coming out.

With hindsight, we should have separated them, one in the small room, one in the barn for a while, just fr a bit of time out. Kicking myself now.

We had a bit of trouble with weeing. First Coco did a huge wee in the play barn, then Meg did one in the little kitcheny bit, then Coco weed on a pillar, so Meg weed on top of it. Meg jumped on a bench & weed on a cushion. Coco did another big wee in the barn - she weed on top of that, then it peaked with Meg having a big poo in the barn (I'd not long let her out)....thankfully Coco had just had a poo outside. - I'm hoping that the dogs are just confused in the barn as lots of dogs use it &, I'm sure, wee in it. We used to do training in the barn when we first got Coco & the dogs thought it OK to wee. Coco wees and poos at our current training venue - and indoor horse manege. He doesn't do it in a house.

Coco is shattered now.
 

Emily_Babbelhund

Mama Red HOT Pepper
I bet they won't be so wild at home. Paul and Carbon used to try to play each other to death at the shelter and then when I got them home they'd have a wild play a couple times a day but mostly had chill time. On the other hand, my Jodhi and Brogan pretty much spent five hours a day rolling around the living room and making a ruckus. Guess it could go either way. :LOL:

How great that they play so well together, though. Coco is probably wanting to bust Meg out of prison just as much as you are!
 
Got the OK after the home check yesterday :monkey:. She comes home on Saturday - officially it's for a week's trial, but I'd be hard pressed to give her up!

We were shown an email from her previous owner which is kind of a bit of a fly in the ointment (the trainer, Andy, she mentions is our trainer - I will chat with him tonight). I have transcribed the email below..

Our dog Meg was a puppy bought from friends who ran a doggy day care. Their own dog had become pregnant by a visitor. It was my first pet and I loved her and wanted to do right. We got the best insurance and bought the food advised. We walked her for 2 hours a day. Took her to puppy classes. Watched the Dog Whisperer. We had her spayed when the vet advised and she had all her immunisations. Meg became aggressive towards strangers soon after being spayed. The vet said she was a dangerous dog. She went to stay with a trainer on the doggy daycare site her mother lived they worked intensively with her for a couple of weeks and then trained us to walk her. She never got any better with strangers but was great with people she knew. We came to IOM and Andy (from Santon Dog Obedience) came to the house to do training. Things improved but she would still go for anyone she took a dislike to. A child came to stay and Meg took a dislike to her and would not stop trying to go for her. We asked a friend to have her and she brought Meg bac as she had gone for her son. We managed to find an experienced dog owner to take her. She did flyball and also had another dog so Meg had company. After 6 weeks almost she contacted us to say that despite stimulation, time and attention Megan has not improved. She has tried 2 different trainers. Meg loves who she loves. Anyone with a dog is OK. Some men are not OK. Children are not OK. She has never been abused and has always been walked and fed properly. She is up to date with jabs. I don’t know how it happened but we can’t manage her aggression any longer. It’s too unpredictable. Will I need to put her down? She needs someone around all day who will devote their time to her or maybe she will settle if she were a working dog. She has been to Nicola Galbraith and Patricia Weldon for holidays and was OK although she nipped a visitor to NG she was totally fine for PW, She was also a regular at Charlotte’s Doggy Daycare. We are gutted about this. Can you help us please.
 
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That sounds like the Collie part of her behaviour. Aggressive behaviour is usually due to being scared. It must make you a little apprehensive in case this behaviour pops up later on when she settles in with you. As there has been no evidence when she has been with you so far, this shows that it is possible she can learn not to be fearful and aggressive.
 
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