My name is Johnny (Torque)!

All potential adopter’s will need to be approved to adopt from MWBCR and should visit our website at www.mwbcr.org for more information on the approval process.

July 7
My husband has band practice tonight and it took some time for him to get used to the noises but he also met one of the guys and after some work on how to greet guests properly, he fell into full-body wiggles and groveling at his feet for pets.

So anyways, below is the write-up I put on the website.

Johnny is a very sweet and loving Border Collie with a generally easy-going personality. He does have some anxieties and quirks but they are easily managed with good boundaries and a knowledgeable home. In the short week that he has been here with us, he has improved by leaps and bounds and has become a comfortable addition to our family! Johnny loves walks, balls and playing with his humans or fur-friends. He is good with other dogs and currently lives with three other females. He can be a bit of a space invader with them but takes their corrections well and leaves them alone when they say it's too much. He is a very loving dog, and even though he is young he is classified as a "low-active" dog which means that he doesn't need tons of activity in his day and is quite content with daily walks and mental activities. I work from home five hours a day and he lays right by my side or under my desk the entire time without complaint. He sleeps in his kennel and stays there when we leave. He is very reliably house-broken and will whine and paw at the door when he needs to go out. He is not much of a wanderer and once he gets bonded to his new family I have no doubt that he will be a great off-leash candidate. He is a people dog and loves to meet new friends, but doesn't know how to greet them properly and so he can be a bit intimidating if they aren't prepared for the introduction. Treats and boundaries (sit, stay, gentle...) will turn him into an instant happy puppy full of total-body wiggling!

Johnny's quirks involve being nervous and excitable when his family is leaving the room (such as going into the big scary basement! Although this is getting better since he now knows he can go down the stairs too) and displaying some fear-based aggression when he perceives that he is in trouble. He really never gets in trouble, but words such as "get back," "drop it," and "get off" can trigger his fear response (growling/lip curling and turning away or hiding). He needs boundaries, training and reassurance that these words will not result in being physically hit, but that obeying these commands are indeed good things and result in lots of treats and praise! Even though he obviously displays a background of some physical and emotional trauma, he is not the type that will be able to be coddled (at least not for a good long while). Johnny has been taught through his experiences that posturing as dominant and scary will make a bad experience go away, but he is VERY smart and willing and never forgets his new training we go through. Even through all of his bad experiences, he still wants desperately to be with people and tries so hard to obey and you can see his wheels turning as he tries to fight through his fear and trust in people. Patience, love and consistent training is going to be the key to his success in life.

Johnny's ideal home would be a quiet place where there is not a revolving door of people in and out. I would not suggest a home with little kids because his insecurities are unpredictable at this time. We are unaware of his acceptance with cats but he is fine with other dogs. The critical aspect is that his new owners will need to be knowledgeable with training, or at the very least be open to getting additional training such as obedience classes and/or behavioral training in the home, and be aware that it will be a long-process to help Johnny overcome his past. He will be worth it!!!

June 17
Torque had another busy Saturday! We started off first thing this morning with a trip to Starbucks where he was given his first Pupaccino. Unfortunately I was driving, but if you imagine a border collie with his entire face in a coffee cup, almost purring in contentment you should see the picture I wish I could have taken.

While Torque enjoyed his "coffee" I drove us to the Chicago Scottish Festival and Highland Games. First, I must say his car etiquette has improved. He's always been good about getting in and out of the car, and he rides happily, however he seemed to struggle with where to sit, how to sit, and how to not snap at passing cars. He's now happy to look out the window and observe, or to curl up on the seat and take a nap (or stretch out on the seat and chow down!).

He was an absolute angel at the fair. He stayed by my side as we walked the grounds, he settled in for a nap to watch the games, and he even maintained his heel as we walked through the "Dogs of Scotland" tents. I expected him to show some excitement when we met all the border collies. He was interested, but it was the Scottish Deerhounds that really captured his heart. I was especially proud when a friend and I sat down to eat our lunch - although we had overflowing plates of Shepherd's Pie at eye level, Torque was a gentleman and did not beg.

We also had another day of agility training. Torque is continuing to work on body awareness activities and is excelling. We also introduced weave poles earlier this week and I have no doubt he will be weaving like a pro in a matter of days. He worked well at the agility club, despite the numerous distractions, including the Reactive Dog class happening just one room over. He really seems to enjoy the game, and I have no doubt he could be a top competitor.

This afternoon we had a visit from a trainer to assist with some of Torque's anxiety when left alone. We worked on interrupting his thought process and redirecting his energy towards a more appropriate outlet. We've found that Torque likes walking, and using "sniff breaks" is a great way to help him relax and to reward his attention. We've also been practicing settling down while the humans watch a movie or play a board game. We've almost entirely eliminated his nervous pacing and instead taught him to settle down in his place. This will, of course, need continued practice, but the foundation is there. Previously any motion towards a door would result in Torque attempting to herd the human back in to the house. We are now getting a reliable sit and stay about 10 feet away from the entry, though we do still toss him a treat as we leave to reinforce that he's doing a good thing. He seems to enjoy this, and he's great at catching treats, so it works well for all of us. Crating continues to be Torque's weakest area but even here he is getting better. He now willingly goes in to his crate at night without any prompting and immediately relaxes. During the day he is a little more nervous, as he knows this means we are leaving, but crating is no longer the ordeal it once was.

With all of our adventures these past weeks I've finally come up with a classification for Torque's activity level - he's a working couch potato. During the day he's go-go-go and wants a family with the energy and experience to keep up with him. At night he's a lover and a cuddler, and wants nothing more than to fall asleep in a warm comfy spot near his humans.

June 4th
Introducing Torque!

Torque is a three year old pure bred (ABCA Registered) border collie with the potential to do just about anything. He's been with us for a little more than a week and although we've had our rough patches he is settling in nicely.

So far we've learned quite a bit about this beautiful boy. His favorite thing in the world is making humans happy. In fact, I'm certain Torque would shrink down to pocket size if he could, just so he could be with his people at all times. He'll work for praise and petting just as easily as working for treats (although he'd like me to tell you he won't say no to string cheese). Even when nervous he gives it his best shot if he thinks his people will be happy.

He is being fostered with two dogs currently. He's clearly unsure of their play style (they are all about chasing and wrestling) but he's learning the rules of their games and joins in on a regular basis. He did come on a little strong at first, but has taken the correction of both dogs well when he pushed too far. He's also learning how to appropriately give corrections when they do things he doesn't like. The three dogs are still ironing out the kinks, but Torque is learning every day and things are continuously improving.

At the vets office Torque met several cats and children. He was interested in both, and very respectful. His previous owners also confirm he has seen both and has not had any problems.

Torque is completely house broken (he even rings a bell to let us know he needs to go outside). He has free run of the house if there is a person on each floor. If both humans are on one floor we gate the stairs to keep him with us. At this point I don't know that he would do anything (especially since he prefers to be with us as much as possible) but he is insatiably curious and is constantly poking his nose into things that could hurt him. I do mean that literally - Torque explores his world by touching his nose to any item he can find and seeing how it moves when he pushes it. It is one of the most adorable things about him. Despite that he shows an amazing ability to discriminate between things that are OK for him to have and things that are not. He seeks out toys and chews to play with and hasn't even glanced at furniture, shoes, or any other human things we have about our house.

Torque sleeps in his crate at night, with a blanket he's claimed as his. He waits patiently for us to wake up in the mornings. He is also crated while we are at work. Although he is quiet and settles in to his crate this is one of his biggest areas for improvement. He is clearly nervous about going in and about being left alone, but we practice daily and I have no doubt he will master this.

In his short time here Torque has gone on several adventures and handled them all admirably. He was clearly very nervous at the vet but was still the perfect gentleman. He also came away with a clean bill of health. The vet's only recommendation was that he put on five or so pounds.

This morning we ventured out to go herding. Torque was, at first, uncertain of moving away from me and going with an unknown handler but with encouragement (and some string cheese!) he went into the pen. Unfortunately we didn't get to do more than that as the storms started, but we'll be going back next week. In his 30 seconds of herding he did show interest in the sheep and naturally began to position his body appropriately to move them. Torque comes from strong herding lines (we have his full pedigree) so this is not surprising.

This afternoon (it's been a busy day for Torque!) we went to agility. Again, he was unsure of the new environment but still gave it a great try. We did some basic foot placement work which he picked up on in about two minutes flat and then we introduced a single jump. We also learned he has an incredible start line stay. I was able to get a further lead out with him than with my trained and titled agility dog. We're going to continue with weekly agility lessons and work on building his skills as he really seemed to enjoy himself.

Torque does have a lot of nervous energy and when not occupied will anxiously pace. We are practicing settling down at night, and working on his tendency to demand bark. As with everything else, he has eagerly taken to his lessons. I also believe with a job this will be significantly reduced - at this point we are only just starting to find ways to productively burn his energy. Tonight he is resting better than he has all week, but who could blame him. He had quite the busy day!

Due to his activity level and anxiety Torque would be best suited to a home familiar with border collies. This boy is a true diamond in the rough - I have no doubt he will go on to do great things with a little bit of patience and a whole lot of love.

For more information go to www.mwbcr.org or contact Stephanie at briansteph10@yahoo.com