From VIN News.

Veterinarians are trying to discern whether roughly a dozen dogs testing positive for hypercalcemia and consuming the same high-end diet is merely coincidence or a problem with the pet food in question.

The reports have cropped up on the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), an online community for the profession and parent of the VIN News Service. In message board discussions, veterinarians have revealed cases of hypercalcemia secondary to vitamin D toxicosis occurring in dogs that eat a single brand of dry pet food: Blue Buffalo Wilderness Diet, chicken flavor. In each of the cases, veterinarians report that dogs’ conditions have improved after switching brands.

So far, nothing concrete has identified a causal relationship between the food and illnesses in dogs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while reportedly alerted to adverse events tied to the food, has not prompted a recall, though the VIN News Service has been unable to reach officials with the regulatory agency directly.

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From KTVZ.COM.

PRINEVILLE, Ore. -- A blind and deaf border collie with the use of only three of his legs survived three weeks lost in the woods -- but thanks to many eyes looking out for "Happy Jack," he's back home with his Prineville family.

"I believe we got a miracle from God -- there's just no doubt about it," Linda Keter said Friday.

Keter adopted the now-9-year-old tri-colored pooch from a border collie rescue a few years ago.

Keter and her family took the dog camping as usual a few weeks ago -- but this time, Happy Jack wandered away from camp -- something she said he's never done before.

"We all jumped on our horses, split up and went in three different directions," she recalled.

"My husband went and woke up all the other campers that were camping in the area, and they jumped on their ATVs and their motorcycles and their horses and went in search of" the lost dog, Keter said.

After about three weeks in the woods, Happy Jack finally was found by a group of horse riders who saw a flyer for the dog and were determined to find him.

Out on a trail, they saw something out of the corner of their eye, and it happened to be Happy Jack -- hungry, tired and barely alive.

They called Keter, who rushed out -- and after three weeks of searching, sleepless nights and calling every vet and shelter in the area, she and Happy Jack were reunited.

From The Westmorland Gazette.

Whistles, barking dogs and monsoon-like rain all served to ensure a treasured Lake District event was a memorable one.

The 107th Vale of Rydal Sheepdog Trials and Hound Show took over Rydal Park, Ambl-eside, thanks to Richard Le Fleming and tenant farmer Chris Hodgson, who gathered the sheep down from the fells for dozens of dogs to fetch and gather.

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From Independent.ie.

A Wicklow sheep farmer recently lost a sheepdog that had given him a decade of excellent service. He now had a new one. His companion at the bar asked: "What's your new dog like?"

"Useless, but the sheep don't know that yet," was the reply.

Certainly, if sheep or cattle think that they can escape from you, or from a bad dog, they will do so. We have all seen how a flock of ewes will career off in several directions or how a rogue ewe will make a break if she thinks she can get away with it. A good dog puts a stop to such messing and will teach sheep good manners. A good dog makes you the boss on a livestock farm.

Breeders of sheepdogs tell me that demand for their animals has slowed. Partly this is because there are fewer sheep flocks in the country. But the quadbikes are also replacing dogs on farms, especially on cattle farms.

"A quadbike might be able to round up sheep or cattle to bring them in from the field but it will not hold up a ewe against a fence so that you can catch her to treat maggots," pointed out Eamonn Egan from Teagasc. Eamonn gives courses on handling sheepdogs on behalf of Teagasc.

Equally, the quadbike will not be able to match the work of a dog when it comes to collecting sheep off a mountain. Indeed, the quadbike has recently been banned from some mountains.

Of course, not all dogs are obedient and good around farm animals. You may be better off with no dog than with a bad one. Intelligence and good training are vital in your canine assistant.

My impression is that good trainers and handlers of sheepdogs are getting scarcer. You can obtain DVDs on training sheep dogs (I've tried putting the dog in front of the telly and showing it the training DVD. It didn't work).

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From The Washington Post.

Driving the country roads of Scotland, Ireland and Wales, I have sometimes been lucky enough to be blocked by sheep being moved from one pasture to another.

I say ‘lucky’ because it allows me to watch an impressive performance by a dog – usually a Border Collie.

What a show! A single, mid-sized dog herding two or three hundred sheep, keeping them moving in the right direction, rounding up strays, knowing how to intimidate but not cause panic, funneling them all through a gate, and obviously enjoying the challenge.

Why a Border Collie? Why not an Akita or Xoloitzcuintli or another of about 400 breeds listed on the Internet?

Because, among the people for whom herding sheep is serious business, there is general agreement that Border Collies are better at doing what needs to be done than any other dog. They have ‘the knack.’

That knack is so important that those who care most about Border Collies even oppose their being entered in dog shows. That, they say, would lead to the Border Collie being bred to look good, and looking good isn’t the point. Brains, innate ability, performance – that’s the point.

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