7 month old antics

[erinw33]

I am new here, and found this site from searching online for answers or suggestions for some of the antics my 7month old male BC is displaying. His name is Marmaduke by the way , he shares our home with a 5 year old male Weimaraner, Porter. I thought that Porter had antics that could annoy, and he does, but Marmaduke has started a new habit within the past few weeks that challenge Porter's antics as most annoying. Both are very well at housetraining. I gather Marmaduke picked up housetraining so well and how to let us know (by scratching the door) from Porter as this is what he will also do to let us know he has to go. Well now, Marmaduke will scratch to go outside, we'll let him out, and he will simply turn right around and scratch to come in, we will let him in, and he'll turn around and do the same thing again. He will do this numerous times in a row without tiring...and if we ignore him (knowing that he pottied earlier), he'll just keep doing it.

 

A little more back history, I am familiar with BC's as I was raised around them, and my grandfather used them and still does, for herding his cattle. Obviously I wasn't the one training them back then so I've been trying to find the best methods of training since I know how intelligent they are and how you can essentially "ruin" a great dog by doing the wrong things. That said, Marmaduke and Porter get full run of our property (3 acres with buried dog fence), Marmaduke is crated for approx. 7-8 hrs per day, some days less, and isn't crated at all on weekends, mostly from us being home, but we also know we can leave for about 6hrs safely without him having an accident. He doesn't chew furniture (aside from one spot, one time, as a younger pup and hasn't since). He is great with basic commands of sit, lay, speak, and does well with recall. I run with him on occassion, and we play frisbee with him until he gets tired. He loves frisbees and balls, he doesn't actually try to catch either but loves chasing and fetching.

 

I guess my question is, why is he relentless at times with scratching at the door...and is this just his puppy antics that will fade over time, or is something we're doing manifesting into this door scratching habit? Oh and Marmaduke does try to kind of "herd" Porter by nipping his heels, mind you he doesn't do this to us at all, but I'm guessing Porter hates it.

[urge to herd]

How much interaction is he getting with you? Border collies are bred to do a job. If you're not working on some manners, a few tricks here and there, even a sheep work lesson, then he doesn't have enough to do. His relentless going in and out of the door could well be a sign of that.

 

You don't need to entertain him all day, or take him on 3 hour runs. You DO need to stimulate and encourage his busy little brain. This will strengthen the bond between you enormously.

 

Do a search for tricks on these boards. There should be lots of examples. Search YouTube for border collie tricks, and also for clicker training. There is a lot of stuff out there to teach a puppy. A few training sessions, just 3-5 minutes at a time, will work wonders.

 

If he's already getting plenty of 'work' and interaction with you, then try crating him. You can also tell him no when he scratches. If you're not doing some kind of training/interacting with him, he will find something else to do that you'll like even less than the door scratching!

 

As far as annoying Porter, don't let him do that. If it's all part of the play between them, that's one thing. If he just follows Porter around and irritates him, Porter might well tell him off.

 

Again, give him something else to do. He's annoying your other dog because a)he's a puppy, and Porter's patience will probably run out, and b)because there's nothing else to do. Again, if you're already working with him consistently, ignore . If Porter doesn't deal with it soon, I'd step in and give Marmaduke a puppy time out in a crate, every time he harasses Porter.

 

Good luck! BC puppies are a handful, but some work and consistency right now will give you a wonderful, well-behaved dog.

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

[Shetlander]

7 months old is really a challenging but fun age, I think. When Quinn was a pup, finding a routine that worked for both of us was crucial. He had a fair amount of free time to hang out or play on his own, but also times that we walked, that we trained, that we played together and time that he was crated. At 7 months, Quinn was doing lots of foundation work for agility and basic obedience as well as some trick training. To him, whether we trained, played, went for walks, ran errands in the car, it was all fun and games. Border Collies by nature love to do things with their people.

With the door scratching for no reason other than to go in and out, I would tell him, that will do or go lie down. If that didn’t do the trick, I’d give him a brief time out in the crate. This would be if I was satisfied that I was giving him enough physical and mental exercise. Same thing with pestering Porter. I agree with Ruth that you should interrupt this behavior and not allow it to become a really ingrained behavior that could lead to some real tension between the two as Marmaduke matures.

 

My guess would be Marmaduke needs a little more direction as far as his activities and some correction/intervention when he is engaging in unwanted behaviors. They really are a lot of work at this age, but again can be so fun because they are so smart and can do so much. And in the end, with some effort, time and energy, you will end up with a fantastic companion for life.

[erinw33]

We do work with Marmaduke on basic commands and obedience. I think we more play with him than really "working" him but I know he still treats it as "work". He gets constant time with us outside of the 7-8 hrs a day that he's crated while we're both working. There's time in the morning and evening that we play. I take his interaction with Porter to be playful and being that he's been around Porter for 4 months already there's not been a bad incidence since. I do scold Marmaduke when I think he's annoying Porter. Plus Porter when he's had enough of puppy play (he's like an old man) he just goes to his bed and Marmaduke won't follow (most of the time). I've held back from correcting his scratching because I'm afraid he then won't tell us he has to potty. He's had 2 accidents in the past month that were my fault because he was doing his "in and out" scratches and not actually going potty and I finally got annoyed, told him no, and tried to ignore him...next thing I know he's coming up from the basement with a guilty look on his face and an unpleasant gift for me in the basement. He does possibly need more tricks and such to work his mind. He grasps tricks and commands we've taught him very quickly.

[urge to herd]

Erin, that sounds pretty good. A few more suggestions. Make sure you train in a variety of locations, so that he learns sit means sit no matter if you're out on a walk or at a park. Train all your obedience this way. It will get him thinking more.

 

Scolding him for bugging Porter may not be enough. Is his harassing Porter getting less or staying about the same? If it's not lessening, maybe increase the correction just a bit.

 

As far as pottying goes, try putting him on your schedule rather than waiting for his. Train him to potty on command, then when you're home, start by taking him out every couple hours. This way you'll know he's relieved himself and the door thing is just a game.

 

You can also take that pawing thing and get him to 'touch' other things. I just point to something and ask Gibbs to 'paw' it. It's a handy way to get my dog to check things out that initially spook him a bit.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

[erinw33]

Thanks for all the tips. I have started making sure that at least twice a day I walk with him and make him go potty to be sure I know he's gone and when inside isn't "needing" out. That has helped. We've also just started leaving his frisbee outside and he will go outside and entertain himself with it and when tired will just lay on the deck. We've found he prefers to just lay outside even if he's not doing anything. I'm sure it's a little bit due to being crated during the day and just wanting to be "free" for a while outside. I have been more firm with Marmaduke about his bugging Porter. I started looking up videos on youtube to start training Marmaduke more tricks, and I'm amazed how quickly he just gets things. I guess it's the reason I love BC's so much At the end of the day, he is scratching the door less and it's partly because he's just hanging out outside but I'm realizing that I really don't have much to complain about as far as training him goes because all else is pretty smooth. Now if I could get him to quit running through our creek and getting filthy, then I'd have it made! But I think dogs like being stinky and dirty....

 

As a side note, I'm taking Porter to the vet next week. He's been wheezing when he runs. I'm not sure why. It's gradually developed since moving to being out in the country in Feb. At first I thought it was allergies, now I'm not so sure. He sounds like someone with asthma but he's never had this before. He eats normal, potties normally, and is still active despite wheezing when he's running around the yard. Anyone have ideas?

[denice]

I am spoiled having more than one bc they entertain themselves and each other well. I would think he is getting you to come to the door because he knows he can and wants interaction with you. I teach all my dogs from very young that they go out to potty first then playtime. Even if you go out with him or put him on a leash. This way you make sure he goes, then play with him for a bit. BC are so smart sometimes they get bored so you may find interactive toys he enjoys when you can not be outside with him. Also at 7 months they are looking for more to do. A good dog is one that is tired mentally and physically. Games that require him to think - like you hiding his toys and teaching him to go look for them and teaching him the names of his toys and asking for a specif one, or teaching him peoples names and finding then or takinng them things. I have even used my dog to deliever notes to another person that I put under their collar...