Fear Periods

I have never been one to worry about fear periods in puppies.  I am amazed, over the years, how many people freak out when their puppy is afraid of something as they are growing up.  Over the past 10 years I have heard people ask "what should I do Fee Fee is sooooo afraid of 'X' and I don't know how to handle it".
I have seen so many people try to "work" their dogs through it.  Why?  If I am afraid of spiders and you force me in a room with spiders I will most likely deck you one.  Duh!!!!
If a dog is afraid of a fire hydrant, don't flood them with it and force them to go up to it.  Just do your walk every day and walk right past it like it isn't even there.  Don't try to be a Pezz dispenser and constantly feed cookies to your dog as you are walking by something that has spooked your dog in the past.
So, over the 18 or so years of raising dogs on my own, I have learned to just let them deal with it.  The more a human worries over it the more the dog becomes phobic over it.
So, my response to my dogs is to let them grow out of it.  I do not try to desensitize them of anything that they are "afraid" of at the time.  I just carry on with life.  If they show fear of something I do not recognize it and just carry on our marry way.
My dogs are pretty much fearless in life.  I really can not say that there is any one thing that freaks any of my dogs out.  I know that things that come out of the blue can make them startle, but heck it would me too.

Fusion Beginning Agility.mov

I have finally found the time to stay committed to Fusion's agility training. It was hard in the past because I had Connor at home with me. Now that he is in school I can work dogs more. Happy me and happy dogs. Fusion is everything I wanted from both of her parents. She is my little workaholic who loves to do anything I ask. She is biddable, but is not soft. She is very fast and has tons of drive. She makes working her tons of fun.

Besides being a very nice agility dog, she is also a very nice sheepdog. She has a natural cast to her outruns, with a nice amount of eye.

Here is a video to show some of Fusion's beginning work. More to come when the rain and snow goes away.

Kate at 12 1/2 Years Young

Kate is my heart dog and the love of my life. She is the main reason I found and moved up to Oregon. I waited over a year for her mom to be bred, then another 4 months until I could drive the 10 hours to pick Kate out. I fell in love with Central Oregon and moved up here, from California, 2 years later.

She has been through good and bad times with me and I owe her so much.

Joules 3 Months 2

This is Joules from our Lash x Spritz litter. She is a high drive puppy that has a sassy side to her. She loves to work and play with toys.

Watt (Lash x Sprtiz) Available

Watt is a male from our Lash x Spritz litter. He is available to a performance home. Watt is very outgoing, loves to work and play and is great with people and other dogs. He has the drive and work ethic to go to the top.

Available Male Puppies

We have a few male puppies available from our 2 summer litters. www.hillcrestbordercollies.com and www.youtube.com/user/HillcrestBCs

Lahar (Jen x Spark)

Tuff (Jen x Spark)

Caldera (Jen x Spark)

Watt (Lash x Spritz)

Ash (Jen x Spark)

Godspeed Tephra