Getting Puppy's Attention

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:21:53 +0000

Hi everyone, I'm new here -- but have been reading for a few weeks. There is such a wealth of information in these archives.

I just recently brought home a 9 week-old Border Collie puppy. He's a wonderful pup, adjusted well, seems to be learning quickly. Obviously, he's just a baby so some lapse is going to be permissible at this point, but I've noticed a trend with him and would like to nip it in the bud sooner, rather than later if possible. He listens well... when I have his attention, but he tends to hyper-focus on other things at times and getting his attention then is darn near impossible. I've tried all the old standbys -- clapping my hands, whistling, snapping, smooching, shouting, tossing something in his direction -- all to no avail. I'm just wondering if you all have any tips that work particularly well with Collies?

Thus far I'm just going to him and physically removing him or redirecting him, and I'm happy to do that -- some of that is expected with any pup, of course -- but I guess I'm just kind of seeing this as perhaps a personality trait and if he's going to be useful I need to be able get his attention from a distance. I don't want it to become a habit of his to ignore me until I come physically remove him from the situation when he finds something interesting.

Or maybe I'm off base entirely and it's just a Collie puppy thing? Or he's still just a little too young to worry about it? It has, admittedly, been a good several years since we've had a pup in the family and this is our first collie. I just don't ever remember the attention issue to this extent with any other dog... I could be forgetting though.

Any tips or advice appreciated.

What to do with the world's laziest Border Collie?

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:58:36 +0000

I made a topic earlier about my merle border collie and how I was having issue with her. Well, now I'm updating on her condition and asking for anyone who has dealt with lazy border collies before, for I am new to owning such a lazy dog.

I took her to the vet to check for hip dysplasia, as I said I would earlier. It is a miracle. Her hips have like repaired themselves. The hip sockets are so much better now. Anyways, the bad part about that is now she has no excuse to her behavior.

What usually happens is she comes running up to me like a wild woman, begging me to go out and train with her to the point where she is digging up my spleen. So, I end up going out with her while she really wants to work. Three weaves or obedience exercises later, she is asleep and acting like she has ran two miles in the desert. It is a cool day out as well, so it isn't like she is having a heat stroke. My seven-year-old, puppy mill dachshund with back deformities was outperforming her, ha ha.

It isn't even like she doesn't want to do it, because she sincerely loves training, and she isn't getting bored. She just suddenly passes out in a few minutes. I've never had such a low energy dog before, especially with a breed like border collies. Any ideas on if there are new foods I should switch her to, or any one who has been able to work around this?

I guess I can deal with her behavior for now, but I'd figure I would ask you guys to see if you had a secret miracle cure bottled up somewhere

Pain Tolerance

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:39:50 +0000

Just from the recent experience with a more serious injury than a shallow scratch, I've become absolutely amazed at the level of pain my dog can tolerate. I know it's been mentioned repeatedly on these boards about how tough collies are, and have to be, but I've never actually experienced this in a dog before. Ever. All the other doggy companions I've had in my life have had either a low or average threshold to pain. They yelped, limped, or growled when in pain and brought attention to the issue. But Brady? I've almost started to believe that he doesn't even feel pain (although, I know he MUST...right?). After puncturing his joint on a rock, despite the fact that he was bleeding EVERYWHERE, all he wanted was for us to throw the toy. Completely ignored the fact that he had to have been hurting, and I know he was because he initially favored the limb the few seconds after it happened, and even walked on it all the way back to the car which was a good fourth of a mile away (which I feel intensely guilty about, but he wouldn't let me pick him up).

And lately, I've been finding scratches and scabs on him from smaller, shallower injuries that must have happened during our romps outside but I never noticed because of this sudden bout of thick man-hair he's grown on his chest. Never showed a single symptom of pain. Ever.

And now I don't know whether to be in awe of this dog who is apparently part superhero or if I should be disconcerted. What else is he not showing? Do I have to go on hyper-alert now every time we do something? I know bumps and bruises are going to happen, that's just part of living, but I don't want him to develop something serious and have it go undetected because he just simply...swallows pain like a champ.

How do you guys cope? I know a bunch of you work your dogs daily on livestock or other physical situations, so what do you do knowing that these tough, tough dogs are literally just going to suck it up until the job is done?

I know this may be a completely out there and juvenile question (and probably one you guys have addressed before) but I'm just concerned that maybe I haven't been doing it right and that I need to be doing something...more.

Plus, I value your guys' opinions quite a bit. You all are like the border collie jedi masters.

Need help with name for new puppy!

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:31:58 +0000

Hey, I'm new to the BC boards. My husband and I are getting a new puppy this week and are having a hard time coming up with a name. He is 3/4 Border Collie and 1/4 Australian Shepherd, mainly black with a bit of white on his feet, tail, tummy, and nose. He is really friendly and energetic. We're trying to find a name that isn't too "cutesy" or a "human" name. Any ideas would be appreciated!

Another fun little course!

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:07:51 +0000

I follow the AgilityNerd Facebook page and last week Steve posted a Danish jumping course that raised a few eyebrows. The course can be seen here:

http://www.agilitycourses.dk/index.php?c=324

The octagon of jumps is an excellent training tool, but it's not often you see that sort of thing in a trial. It would kind of blow my mind, actually, and I thought the course map was really trippy when he posted it. So of course I printed it out and told myself I'd set it on our next training day.

That was last night! I do think that the walk-through for this course at a trial would be a complete and total nightmare with everyone crammed on the inside of the octagon, but aside from that it ran a lot better than I expected. I was surprised at the lack of off course obstacles we had, as I expected several while bypassing jumps (Snooker skills are NOT our strong point!).

It was lots of fun -- If you have the capability, I recommend trying it out. I left the octagon set to hopefully work those types of drills later in the week -- very versatile!

Other BC Topics Posts

Getting Puppy's Attention

What to do with the world's laziest Border Collie?

Pain Tolerance

Need help with name for new puppy!

Another fun little course!