It was on December 29th 1996, Roughmoor Blue Spike, a blue and tan Border Terrier male, came to live with us.
Click HERE to view Spike's Pedigree.
Spike was a very "angry" puppy, who didn't like to be held or cuddled.
He liked to show us his teeth, the little one, or as our vet remarked : "Spike loves to smile"!
The vet advised us to start immediatly with obedience training.
Spike is after intensive training 100% reable with children and adults, they can do almost everything (within limits) with him.
He is very gentle with puppies.
Grooming and cuddling still aren't his favourites, he is too macho for that!
Spike's health was not so good: chronic foreskin inflammation, alternately lame in left or right shoulder, a growth disorder at the age of one and a half, a piece of bone broken off in his elbow joint, spondylosis and "Spike's Disease" a cramping condition a Border Terrier can suffer from.
Spike is a very busy dog!
He always sleeps with one eye open and as soon as he observes activities
of any kind he is there to do his bit. He walks through the garden,
with his ball in his mouth, to catch flies (hardly ever catches one).
He is always in for a game. Agility,flyball and minicoursing were his favourite games,
but these activities came to an end in September 2000.
Spike had terrible pains and the diagnosis was spondylosis...
We thought we had finally discovered the cause of Spike's fits.....
January 2001 Spike had his second severe fit and it became clear those fits
hadn't been caused by the spondylosis.
From that day on his condition grew worse very fast.
At the end of that year he was cramping two to three times a week.
Two times we had to rush him to the vet because the cramping wouldn't stop,
it went on and on. Januari 2002, Diana Tillner made it possible,
Spike and another cramping Border Terrier went to Utrecht (for four days)
to be examined and tested.The results of those tests showed Spike's liver is ok
and he isn't suffering from epilepsy.
There are more Border Terriers suffering from this terrible disease.
You can read more about Spike's Disease if you click HERE.