Check out Ebby's herding videos!

6/10/2010

 We just got back from a long weekend in Missouri. Ebby did quite well on the long car ride. No spinning at all, just a couple of snaps at his tail when a group of motorcycles passed. He enjoyed stopping at the rest areas and meeting new people, especially kids.

 While in Missouri, Ebby spent the whole weekend off leash, enjoying running around the big yard and exploring all the new terrain. He did a good job at coming when called and even learned to come to a whistle when he was out of hearing for voice commands. Ebby enjoyed the river, progressing from wading in the shallows to swimming by the second day. He enjoyed walking along the bank, going to from beach to river and back again. He sniffed everything and was fascinated by anything floating in the water. He got to see (and sniff) wild turkeys, deer, and even an armadillo shell.

After getting home my daughter gave the dogs a big teddy bear to play with. Ebby took it over as his own and plays with it more than any toy since we've had him. He shakes it and chews it and plays tug of war with whoever tries to take it from him. When he gets frustrated or excited he goes for the bear. The poor thing is crunchy from being chewed so much!

Ebby is neutered, up to date on shots and flea/tick preventative and microchipped. Ebby is house and crate trained.  He is being fostered in central IL near Peoria.  For more information on Ebby please email comebyebcr@hotmail.com or go to http://www.comebyebcrescue.rescuegroups.org for online application to adopt Ebby.  Look for ”Come Bye Border Collie Rescue” on Facebook!

April 5 

Ebby has been riding in the car without his crate for a while now. He still gets excited by loud vehicles, but does quite well for the most part. He doesn't spin now, he just snaps at his tail (no contact) when excited. He loves to look out the windows and watch everything he can.

We have a bike trail in East Peoria that Ebby loves to go for walks on. He likes to sniff and has some friends he gets pets from along the way. Ebby has learned to ignore the traffic for the most part, only getting excited at the crosswalks where cars are very close to him. He is interested in the birds and other wildlife he sees along the way. His leash manners are good, although a biker or skater makes him want to give chase. He calls off nicely and settles down quickly. A 3 mile walk tires him out nicely and he will be happy for the rest of the day.

We continue to go to a local dog park, where Ebby has made many friends. He is learning to play but still prefers herding to other doggie games. He is slow to warm up to people, but is quite affectionate once he gets to know you. He usually just tolerates other dogs, being very selective as to his playmates.

Ebby will now get in his crate on command every time. He will even nap in his crate from time to time. He has also learned to go to the front door when he needs to go out for a walk. He has not had an accident in the house since December. He is crated when we go to work but is not crated at night.

Ebby is neutered, up to date on shots and flea/tick preventative and microchipped. Ebby is house and crate trained.  He is being fostered in central IL near Peoria.  For more information on Ebby please email comebyebcr@hotmail.com or go to http://www.comebyebcrescue.rescuegroups.org for online application to adopt Ebby.  Look for ”Come Bye Border Collie Rescue” on Facebook!

3/8/2010

 Today was a first for Ebby. He actually rode in the car without a crate. Up until now, Ebby started out in a crate and came out slowly as the ride progressed. He did quite well and did not spin at all. He was able to watch the traffic without getting over excited. Even when riding in his crate, he no longer needs to be covered. He enjoys rides now and always wants to go when he can.

Ebby has mastered the hardwood floors, except for when my wife is around. He knows if he slides to the floor in front of her, he will get some belly rubs. But he can sit just fine if a treat is involved (Ebby has become very food motivated). He plays with his Jollyball and several squeak toys regularly. He still shows no interest in tennis balls or Frisbee. He will play tug o’ war gently. He likes to snuggle as long as he gets some pets or belly scratches.

At the dog park, Ebby has warmed up to several new people and has started to play with some of the dogs he sees on a regular basis. He still prefers herding to play but that is changing slowly as he learns more about playing. When other dogs get too active Ebby still tends to spin. But he is slowly learning to join in with them, with a little prompting. He loves the dog park and gets very excited when he knows we are going.

Ebby’s diarrhea appears to be cured. He has not had any problems since early January and now seems to handle stress much better.

Ebby is neutered, up to date on shots and flea/tick preventative and microchipped. Ebby is house and crate trained.  He is being fostered in central IL near Peoria.  For more information on Ebby please email comebyebcr@hotmail.com or go to http://www.comebyebcrescue.rescuegroups.org for online application to adopt Ebby.  Look for ”Come Bye Border Collie Rescue” on Facebook!

Jan. 18, 2010
Ebby has been with us for about 4 months now. His fear of the hardwood floors is almost gone. He has trouble sitting on the slick floors, often sliding to a laying position (better for belly rubs anyway!). He will now play and jump up or down from the couch without hesitation. He will still hesitate a bit at the stairs but will go eventually.Ebby is neutered, up to date on shots and flea/tick preventative and microchipped. Ebby is house and crate trained.  He is being fostered in central IL near Peoria.  For more information on Ebby please email  comebyebcr@hotmail.com  or go to http://www.comebyebcrescue.rescuegroups.org for an online application to adopt Ebby

 Ebby is spending more time at the dog park and loving it.

 He still occasionally spins, but will stop on command. He enjoys chasing and herding other dogs. He has shown no interest in balls or Frisbee so far. He is starting to show more interest in tug toys and enjoys his rawhides. He has just started to play with squeak toys, often carrying them around with him.

 During the Holidays, Ebby spent several days with my grandkids. He loves kids and is very gentle with them. He enjoyed snuggling with them at nap time or while watching TV. He even played a little chase game with my grandson. Ebby liked having a house full of people and got along well with everyone. He was a bit standoffish with the other dogs, preferring to be with people.

Ebby is doing much better with his spinning. He can now be stopped on command every time. He is learning slowly to redirect his spinning to other outlets. His diarrhea is mostly gone now. It can be triggered by too many rawhides or stress. Even then it rarely lasts more than a few hours.

Ebby is house and crate trained. He is learning to ride in an uncovered crate while in the car. He will occasionally spin but is getting much better.

Ebby is neutered, up to date on shots and flea/tick preventative and microchipped.

 He is being fostered in central Illinois near Peoria.  For more information on Ebby please email comebyebcr@hotmail.com or go to http://www.comebyebcrescue.rescuegroups.org for an online application to adopt Ebby.

 Dec. 2, 2009

Ebby is doing fine. 

We went to my son's over the weekend and Ebby got to spend most of the time off leash.   We are able to close the main gate into camp so we have no cars moving while Ebby was out and about. He loved our grandkids, snuggling on the couch and kissing them every time they got close.   He learned to cross the suspension bridge fairly well after about 4 trips across.   His first trip to the river was cute.   He walked in the water like he was wearing booties, lifting his foot high and placing it deliberately down before moving the next paw.   By the end of the day he was running through the water and playing normally.   He also got to go on a short hayrack ride. He sat next to me and looked around the whole time.   He was not scared and did not spin.  I was happy that he enjoyed the ride and the chance to sniff just like Scotty did! He saw deer and turkeys, but called off easily (better than Scotty did). His recall was good except when the tractor was around. He wanted to herd the tractor and circled it but never got any closer than about ten feet from it while it was running.   He spent about ten minutes sniffing and exploring it once it was parked.
                I am beginning to think Ebby's diarrhea is stress based. He went two weeks with normal stools, then after the ride back from Missouri he had trouble. On the way down it was night and Ebby slept the whole trip. On the way back we left in the morning and Ebby was awake the whole trip and the diarrhea started that evening. After a day he was OK again. He is very clearly a fan of routine.
                I can now stop his spinning verbally every time, whether on leash or not. Cars rarely cause him to spin more than once. Most often cars cause him to lunge and pull on the leash.   Now it is other dogs fighting or running that most often excites him to spin. He is learning that he can chase and play with other dogs slowly.   He now spends all his time at the dog park off leash.   Joggers and bikes also can cause him to get excited and spin.
                I think Ebby is doing quite well as far as redirecting the spinning energy. He is getting better on leash and will crate on command about half the time. Training Ebby is sometimes  3 steps forward 1 step back.   He is very skittish about noises and a sneeze or cough can send him running for the back bedroom.   Ebby has started playing well and he will bring the tug toy to play tug-of-war and will also initiate gentle wrestling matches with me.

Ebby is being fostered in central Illinois.     For more information on ebby, please email comebyebcr@hotmail.com or go to Ebby’s  page on our petfinder site  http://www.comebyebcrescue.rescuegroups.org for an online application to adopt Ebby. 

October 10
Ebray (nicknamed Ebby) is approximately 6 ½ years old, purebred black and white border collie about 44 lbs.  He is very friendly, wants very much to be with people and loves to run!  He is mostly housetrained and is learning to like his crate.  He loves kisses, and loves to be rubbed and petted!

 Ebby has had a tough life…our best guess is he was kept in an outside “run” or tied out where he could see cars and trucks or livestock but not chase or herd them.

   So he is frustrated, and he has taken to chasing his tail (“spinning” as we call it).   His tail and foot were chewed when we got him due to his spinning.  We are working with him to stop his spinning, but it will take a long time and patient owners to get him over his behavior/manage his behavior.  We are clicker training him to reduce his spinning and redirecting his chasing/spinning to chewing on a rawhide and he is coming along quite well.

 The best home for Ebby would be with a quiet family who lives on a quiet street, who would walk him a lot and love on him.

   Ideal would be someone who has a privacy fence so he would not get excited by vehicles passing by.

 Ebby gets along well with other dogs as long as they are not too frantic.

  He play growls a bit but has never been aggressive with our dogs or us.  He is shy at first, but warms up to people quickly.  He is cat aggressive, so cannot live in a home with cats or other small mammals.

Ebby is neutered, up to date on shots and flea/tick preventative and microchipped.

He is being fostered in central IL near Peoria. 

August 29
Ebby is a gorgeous 6 year old male Border Collie, who’s had an awful start in life.     Despite a razor sharp  BC mind and a physique that was made for activity, poor Ebby was left out (or tied) in a yard by himself.  For 6 long years.    When he began to develop troublesome behaviors, his owners dumped him at an overcrowded shelter, that had neither the room nor the facilities to deal with a stressed BC.   Ebby had already started his last walk to the gas chamber when an alert and sympathetic rescuer volunteered to take him.  Thank you, Flo!  

 Come Bye BC Rescue agreed to take Ebby in and begin his rehabilitation.   First he needed time to decompress, to wander freely in a fenced area and explore.    He’s being fostered in a semi-rural area where not many cars pass by, since Ebby gets very distraught at the motion of cars and exhibits compulsive tail chasing—the very tip of his lovely plumed tail is bare from his pulling the hair out.     Ebby hadn’t been groomed in a long time, and getting his coat back in shape is still a work in progress.   Grooming is complicated by his explorations in the woods out back, since his fine undercoat grabs up little green stickums and knots them into clumps, from  his head to his hips.

Ebby’s still learning to walk on lead.   He’s got the hang of housebreaking pretty well.   He’s nervous around other dogs still, however many times he’s invited to play.    But we’re hopeful that as time goes on, his BC sense of fun will recover and he’ll learn to play rather than avoid other dogs.  

Keep in touch, and we’ll keep you updated on Ebby’s progress!

For more information on Ebby, please contact comebyebcr@hotmail.com