RickJay, see my earlier post (#16). I mentioned tennis balls. They sell them here in the pet stores (Pet Smart and PetCo), but they’re at least twice as much as at places like Target. Sometimes they’re funky colors, but the dog doesn’t care, and they’re just going to get dirty.
If you live near a lake or some other body of water, she’ll love to chase and retrieve it from the water. Just stand back from the dreaded “shake-off!” 
I can NOT for the life of me remember what it’s called. But we have this plastic “ball throwing device” (it might be called Fling-it or something) that allows you to wing the ball about the length of a football field. If you have a super-active dog, this is a GREAT thing to have around the house. You can find it in the toy section, probably with the tennis balls. Costs about $10.
You can also get “bumpers” which they sell for training hunting dogs. These things are generally hunters orange and completely impervious to destruction. If your new pooch likes stuffed animals, but tends to tear them apart and eat the stuffing like mine does, a couple of these might be a great idea. I think we got ours at a farming goods store though…not a regular pet store.
Also, beware of balls that can roll under the furniture. Unless YOU want to be the fetcher for awhile.
L
I thought of another dog toy you might want to try: a flashlight.
Turn on a flashlight, and point the beam at the ground. If your dog is anything like mine, she’ll pounce on it. My dog will chase that spot of light until she’s exhausted. If you’re feeling tired or lazy, it’s a great low-energy way of playing with your pooch.
By the way, peanut butter is also a good way to give your dog pills. Put a dab on a piece of bread, and shove the pill down in it. Your dog won’t even notice.
It’s called a Chuck-It. It is also great to use to scopp up the balls, since they get really gross.
Re: tennis balls. Our local tennis club donated a bunch of used balls to our dog park, so you can ask around and try to get them for free. Throw them out as soon as the dog spilts it open–if not, they will rip out the rubber and try to swallow it.
Wanna bet? My dog can find pills in PB. She licks up the PB, then licks and licks and licks and licks - and spits out the pill. :smack:
When we had to give her pills, we ended up having to wrap them in roast beef. Freaking dog, with expensive taste…
Remind we again why we allow these creatures to live with us?
Because they love us more than we deserve.
Auggie, The Cutest Dog on the Planet ™, eats Nutro food. He also has about a zillion toys- he really likes the sqeaky ones. They amke toys for dogs with separation anxiety that havelittle recorders in them- you can record your voice saying comforting things, I suppose - luckily Auggie doesn’t have SA. I’ll probably get flamed for it, but I do give him knuckle bones from time to time if I’m around to make sure he doesn’t choke or anything. He also loves chew hooves.
Auggie also has a game that a BC would be great at- I'll wrap a favorite toy or treat up in a big beach towel and give it to him. He has a great time unwrapping it, and finding whatever it is I put in is the reward. Sometimes he'll drag the towel over to me when he wants me to wrap something up in it.Have you tried cheese? we’ve had to give our dog LOTS of pills, and the thing that seems to work best is cheese. You can buy a massive hunk at Costco (we buy the marble cheddar, because it’s soft enough to push pills into) and stuff the pill into the center of it. Our dog will gobble it up, pill and all.
I also have to reiterate the “labswool” toy suggestion. Our dog loves those the most.
I guess I’m a bad dog mom. Daisy gets rawhides all the time. They are the only toys she likes other than tennis balls.
My 2 aussies do best with a food that has no corn. The Kirkland brand from Costco has a no-corn lamb and rice that my puppers like a lot. When I have given a food with corn, they are much more prone to ear infections (yeast) and itchy feet.
When Neilli got her adult teeth and turned into Jaws, I was at a loss for an appropriate chew toy. I My 2 aussies do best on a food with no corn in it. The Kirkland brand at costco has a no-corn lamb and rice variety that my puppers like. When I have fed food with corn, they are prone to ear infections (yeast) and itchy feet.
When Neilli got her adult teeth and turned into Jaws, I was at a loss for an appropriate chew toy. I stumbled on the sterilized beef bones (hickory flovored). I have some of those things that are 5 or 6 years old…they never wear out (but do not drop them on your bare toes).
I have found cotton rope toys at the dollar store. When I do, I stock up as Neilli and Chance love those things. They are cheap enough to throw away when they get dirty.
I have discovered Blue Dog Bakery dog cookies. The peanut butter and molasses ones smell heavenly and the dogs practically turn themselves inside out when that box comes out. The cheapest source for those is Trader Joes. The have a pretty amusing website, too.
I have stuffed many a kong in my day. I typically plug the small hole with cheese and then fill the cavity with anything tasty I have on hand. I know someone who makes a frozen version for the summer months (that has to be enjoyed outside)
If you’re looking into obedience, you might see if you can find a clicker training class (or get one of the videos online somewhere). It’s a very positive method of teaching behaviors and smart dogs just love it.
On the off chance that no one has mentioned this and/or you’ve never heard it, be careful about heartworm meds with Ivermectin (Heartguard), as collies have been known to have very bad reactions to this particular medicine.
Good luck on your new addition. I am sure she will be a delight.
Sorry for the repeats…don’t know what happened there…
**katie1341 ** - the blanket game sounds fun - we’ll definitely give that a whirl!
As for giving dogs pills, with my other dog (also a border collie but my ex has him), I just pretended they were treats and got him all excited, and then I would just open his mouth and quickly stick one on the back of his tongue - then I’d give him a treat right afterwards, so he’d swallow the whole works … it was fantastic and he never minded getting pills - he’d actually come running if he heard a pill bottle shake.
I’ll definitely do the same thing with Diamond.
Only 7 more hours until she’s OURS! 
If you want to make your dog a treat, try this. My dogs like the commercial version (Frosty Paws), and they also like this homemade version:
Frozen doggie “ice cream” treat
32 ounces vanilla yogurt (I’ve used plain yogurt too)
1 mashed banana or one large jar of baby fruit
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons honey
Blend all together and freeze in either 3 ounce paper cups or ice cube trays.
I bought little Glad containers and fill them individually and freeze them. You can make a big batch all at once.
Microwave just a few seconds before serving.
I saw somewhere that you can use a can of meat baby food instead of banana and peanut butter, but I haven’t tried that version.
Remember, we want to see PICTURES when you get the dog home and get settled!
Our dogs get pills in liverwurst. They ADORE it. In fact, if you say, “You guys want DRUGS?” they go running to the kitchen!
I have the elusive couch dwelling Weimaraner.
I give another vote to Canidae. I switched Ozzy over to Canidae last year and it really does make a difference. He eats less because he’s absorbing more of the food and he shits less for the same reason. He still has more energy than the power of the sun in a microwave and I feel better about feeding him nutritious food. His coat is much shinier and his nails have grown stronger and don’t splinter anymore. Oh… and less shit from a 85 lb dog is definitely a good thing. I would still use Canidae even if it cost twice the price that it does now. However, I’m actually spending less now than I was using IAMS.
Kong toys. Wow. I just realized that I still have the original 3 Kong toys I bought for Oz. One of them is now in 2 pieces but they are all over 2 years old. They are amazing.
We have the best Border Collie in the world. We feed her Nutro Natural Choice, which I think is an excellent dog food.
Some Border Collie specific advice: Border Collies love toys that exercise their brains. Two of Katie’s favorites are a cloth bone called an Intellibone that has five rings on it - the dog pries the rings off the bone. She loves this, although she’s so good at it now that she has the rings off almost immediately. A variation on this is a big square cloth box (about a foot on each edge) called an IQube that has some squeezy balls inside it. There are holes in the box the dog can stuff its snout into to get the balls out. Katie goes after that with a fury when I load it up for her.
Another vote for the Kong. We smear canned dog food inside, and mix it with pieces of cookie bones. It keeps the dog busy for about half an hour getting it out, and it doesn’t make a mess.
Standard chew toys like Nylabones don’t last long. Katie either gets bored with them, or she destroys them in no time flat.
You’ve probably heard this a million times, but Border Collies need lots of exercise - physical and mental. Keep your dog busy, and you’ll have a great dog. Ignore it and leave it in the back yard, and it’ll find something to amuse itself - whether you like it or not. An ignored Border Collie may start barking incessantly, or digging holes in the back yard, or will become an escape artist and roam the neighborhood. Make it a part of the family, and it’ll love you to death. But they also need mental exercise, so obedience classes, agility, or other structured activities are a great thing.
By the way, the first link I posted to Katie’s “Dogster” page has a picture of her attacking her IQube toy. She’s had that for two years now, and she still plays with it.