I have a pure border collie and concur with others that they are great dogs. But one caution - we used to have a cat, and our border made the poor cat’s life miserable. The cat couldn’t walk anywhere without being herded by the dog. If your cats are more on the aggressive side, they might be fine, but be careful if they are timid.
Well, down at my sister’s barn, she has;
Free range chickens (Aumericanas and Bantams)
Horses (I think 2 or 3 are hers, all SPCA rescues)
A pair of goats
A mini dachshund
A long hair chihuaua
3 barn cats
The Aussie should find something worth herding there 
I brew beer. Just sayin’.
I’ll be meeting Jax and Garth tomorrow (Cha Cha got adopted already, good for her:) ) at the adoption center at K9 Kaos, I stopped by this afternoon just to check it was still on, and got more info about both dogs
Jax has been in foster care for a long time, as no one has room enough to let him run and enjoy himself (hello, 50 acres enough here? ), he is a little shy and aloof at first, but when he gets to know you, he becomes a big love sponge, currently, his foster home has cats, and since he’s been in foster care for so long, they are discounting his adoption fee as he’s running out of time in their foster care system and really needs a forever home
Garth, they described him as a big, lovable goofball, he has the attitude and mannerisms of a black lab, they were guessing dobie from the shape of his head, as it’s a little squarer than a lab, also they think their might be some chow in there as well, due to the purple spots on his tongue, they honestly don’t know his genetics
Garth had an even sadder tale, as the humanoid life forms who breathed the same air as him (I refuse to use the term “cared for him”) simply dumped him in the yard of a local church, he was emaciated, and had almost all his fur gone, they thought he was an old dog, but at the checkup, the vet determined he was less than two years old, his only current issue is he needs to gain back some more weight…
(Kind of ironic, as I need to lose some weight…)
Since it was my birthday today, Mom, my nephew and niece went out to the Weathervane for my birthday dinner (mmm whole Maine fried clams!, but I was good too, I had asparagus as a side instead of French fries, and ice water with a twist of lemon for a beverage), and I showed the photos of Jax and Garth to Logan and Sage…
Both of them gravitated immediately towards Jax…
And no, getting both isn’t an option, I wish it was, but it currently isn’t
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday and good luck tomorrow! And 2 dogs are easier than one, really. I can’t wait to hear how it went.
StG
Well, I met Jax, Garth was in a foster home and not available…
Before they brought him out, they advised me he was a little timid with strangers, and not to make eye contact or reach over his head until he felt comfortable with me…
As he came out of the kennel, I was struck by how gorgeous his coat was, short hair, reddish brown with flecks of black, he was a little stand-offish… For about 30 seconds, I got down to dog level, and presented him with a little doggie biscuit, which he happily scarfed down and then proceeded to try and lick my face off , then rolled over for belly scritchies…
Things looked good to start, until someone walked in with their dog on a leash, about his size, I immediately noticed a change in his behavior, he became stand-offish and cold, it was like a second personality, a more agressive and defensive one, kicked in, so we went for a walk outside…
For a small framed dog, he was quite strong, and very scent-driven, like a beagle or other scent hound, and once he picked up a scent he had to investigate…
He was also very singleminded and headstrong, extremely observant, almost to the point of obsessive compulsive, or ADD…
If I just sat with him and pet him, he would be fine, until someone walked by, sending him into alert sense…
Throughout the whole time, I got the general emotional sense of fear and paranoia from him, he was unsure of his environment, even though he seemed to bond closely with me…
I had my mother and niece come to meet him, he followed commands from mom fine, seemed to like my niece, but they also picked up on his fear/ADD issues
Since the dog I get will have to be good with the entire family and not just me, I don’t think Jax is going to work out, no matter how much I like him, I just can’t get past the low level fear I sensed in him, and he was being fostered in a loving home…
Still thinking, but there are some negatives I didn’t expect…
I’ll post a Flikr page with the photos I took, any Dopers in southern Maine and NH need a dog that just needs some TLC?
Here’s Jax, the first few pics
Just got a call from Mom, she stopped at the Animal Welfare Society in kennebunkport and fell in love with this guy below;
http://www.animalwelfaresociety.org/adopt/adop_dog_cooper1013.html
And she’s bringing him home, she said this dog was more well adjusted and freindly than Jax, and I have to admit I can’t help but look at that face and laugh, he looks like a big, hairy mop dog
I may not be a fan of poodles (actually I just think the poofy looking “lion” cut is stupid) but I’m willing to give Cooper a chance, he looks like a big floppy goofball, I’m just going to put my foot down and DEMAND that she never even contemplate tormenting him with the " poofball" cut, it’s JUST NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
Nice revolver.
Oh, Cooper’s a poodle/shih tzu mix. I knew one once. His owner called him a “shitpoo.” 
I’m glad you’re giving this a lot of thought, MacTech.
Cooper is home, and I think we figured out what he is…
Portuguese Water Dog!
He’s incredibly friendly, much smaller than I expected though, and has those deep soulful eyes and an expression that could melt the stoniest heart, no sooner did he get out of the car then he was at my side, begging for scritchies, it was like we were long time freinds, not strangers that had just met…
He has excellent recall, and immediately comes when called inside the house, usually ending up jumping on your lap and showering you with doggie kisses, when I took him out for a walk, after we finished, we sat down on the lawn next to a woodpile, I grabbed a small maple stick, and gave it to him, he grabbed on it and gnawed on it with gusto, totally ignoring his tennis ball
He’s incredibly strong for his size, compact and heavily muscled, a coiled spring of potential energy, but the best thing of all is his sweet attitude, so far, everyone is a potential friend
I’ll get some pics up when he’s had time to adjust and the light is better
Thanks, that’s my latest go-bang toy, a S&W 686-1, it’s a pussycat with .38 specials, and not too bad with commercial .357 Magnums either, that full underlug barrel does a great job soaking up recoil
And it’s an original model S&W, no MIM parts, all forged steel, and no stupid ILS internal “Hillary Hole” lock…
I’m even planning on making some custom “cap gun” loads for it with a .38 diameter plastic rod cut to bullet length and nothing more than a primer to propel it…
We now return you to your regularly scheduled doggie thread
Congratulations! I hope you have many happy years together.
StG
First pic of Cooper is on my flickr page
He sure does look like a Portie! I wonder why the shelter didn’t recognize it. Since Bo has been all over the news, you’d think they could see it. How’s he doing at home? Is he settling in?
StG
This is one time I’m happy a dog was sent to the country to live on a farm.
He was great up until everyone went to bed, now he’s in his crate in the kitchen barking incessantly, I’m sure it’s because he’s confused, and maybe a little lonely, but he needs to learn to be comfortable when his “pack” aren’t around…
If I let him upstairs to crash in the bedroom with me every night, he’d learn that all he needs to do to get attention is start his “pity me” barking
Here’s a little Cooper history…
He was in a loving family, with a couple kids, but one of their toddlers (I think around 3 years old) would simply not leave poor Cooper alone, the rugrat was rough with Cooper and he started to show signs of annoyance towards the brat, so the family put him up for adoption
He came with a decent amount of food in a doggie proof bin, his crate, which contained his doggie bed, blankie, and favorite stuffed animal, so he has things he’s familiar with in the crate, I think he’s just scared that he’s not going to be part of the “pack” here, it’s not the case but he doesn’t know that
As far as what he’s going to do during the day when people are at work, well, my sister will pick him up and take him down to her barn, she has her house and a boarding stable on the family 50 acres of land, so he’ll be with people during the workday as well
He met her dogs and their Maine coon cat kitten, and they seemed to get along okay, he even met one of our shorthair cats, Nemo, both did as well as could be expected, Cooper was thinking “OH BOY, NEW FREIND!” And Nemo was thinking “why is this simpleton bothering me, begone peasant!” (Cooper is quite smart, but we all know that cats have this aloof attitude like they’re the masters of all they survey)
More Cooper discoveries…
Porties like to be with their humans as much as possible, right now Cooper’s sleeping on his doggie bed next to me, perfectly content, it’s quite possible that he was just scared and lonely last night
Tonight I’m going to let him crash in my bedroom tonight, move his dog bed up there, see if he’ll feel more comfortable
He might of hurt himself last night, as he was limping and favoring his left paw, his bedding in his crate was all bunched up last night, maybe he sprained his paw
I took him for a ride in the car a few minutes ago, and he was a perfect gentleman, the best car dog I have ever seen, he hopped up in the front passenger seat, curled up and laid down, only looking up occasionally as we came to intersections, when we arrived home, he waited patiently for me to exit the car before getting out
One issue we discovered is he seems to have an issue with unexpected loud noises, the SodaStream soda maker utterly terrifies him, he’ll shiver and shake for minutes on end, and needs a hug and calming to get him to relax, I hope thunderstorms won’t freak him out too badly
You might want to drape a blanket over his crate to make it feel more like a den. Leave the front end uncovered.