Lawgirl

A dog's adolescent phase can start at any time, and last as long as it lasts. Sorry, I know that is not helpful, but you will recognise it when it starts. My best guess would be between about 6-8 months to start, and I would consider they regain their brains around 18 months to two years. At least, that is when I consider my BCs became adult.

Congratulations on your new (incredibly cute) BC puppy! The first thing to remember is that Dallas is a puppy, and not to expect too much too quickly. Consistency will get you results in the end. It is important to stop behaviours that could become obsessive before they end up that way. Interruption and redirection will work if used consistently over time. As Dallas grows up he will reach the adolescent "my brains fell out and I forgot everything I learned" stage. Patience and consistency will see you through. Recall needs to be absolutely reliable before you do off leash. This may take a long time - one of mine was probably over 3 years before he had anything I considered reliable. Long leads will be a vital necessity. An off switch is essentially teaching your dog to be self sufficient and not desire constant stimulation and attention. Crate time will teach this. I don't think your crate time is unreasonable. Also, as Dallas ages, this will develop. As for giving him a job, look into clicker training/positive reinforcement and shaping. If putting his toys away is your aim, start by rewarding when he looks at his toy, then when he sniffs it, then when he picks it up, then when he moves it, then when he moves it in the right direction. Click or say "YES" and reward. He will start offering behaviours until he works out what you want. This will really work his brain (which will tire him out) and build a basis for any trick training, obedience work, agility/flyball/parkour/dockdiving/nosework/doggie freestyle etc you decide to work on in the future. I am not a wonderful trainer, but hope this helps. I am happy to be corrected by others.

Congratulations and best of luck with your new puppy to come. Remember, puppy photos are compulsory!

At ten months, you can certainly start more formal obedience training, but do it incrementally, in short sessions. Get the basics right, and the rest can be added on. Things like stays can be practised easily in the home. Get him in the right position, tell him to stay and then step away and do an ordinary activity like brushing hair, making a coffee, changing clothes, opening a door. Make obedience training part of his ordinary life. I personally like drops as a safety tool. If they are going somewhere they should not, like towards a road, a strong drop at a distance can be a lifesaver. But why should training have to dampen his enthusiasm? Make training a positive experience and it will become something he enjoys doing, not a chore.

I am so sorry for what your poor girl has gone through, and good on you for taking her on and being so committed to helping her. I have never been in this situation, and the usual advice to take it in very slow steps won't help when you HAVE to have her in the car daily. All I can suggest is practice getting in the car, rewarding and then letting her get out, on times when you don't actually have to go anywhere. Make the car a happy place, where she gets lots of praise and treats etc whether it is moving or not. But I am sure you will get lots of good advice here.

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but does any one have any knowledge of the "creeping tan" genetics? I am pretty sure my boy George has it.

Just my two cents worth - my BCs seem to be breedist. They get on fine with other herding breeds, and some small dogs, but otherwise just want dogs to give them space. They particularly do not like dogs that get in their face. I am actually OK with that. I do not expect them to get on with every dog. I do not think it is something that needs correction or alteration, so long as they are not being aggressive. It does require management, but I think you sound like you have your dog well under control. Was she actually going for the other dogs, or simply giving warning snaps to tell them to back off and give her space? Can you see if there is another doggie daycare available that has the separation other posters have mentioned? Or does she have a doggie friend who she can visit on the days your cleaner comes (maybe if you offer to have the doggie friend for a visit on another day?) I now swear by antler and goat horn chews for keeping dogs quietly occupied.

I will add to be careful with how much exercise you give a puppy before they are fully developed. Allowing your puppy to run around at his own pace, sniff, stop, nibble etc is fine. Stairs, fetch, running after big dogs, long on-lead walks at your pace etc can be damaging to growing puppies. Also, the more exercise you give him now, the more he will expect in the future, so make sure what you give him is what you can maintain. I think you still need to work on what we call an off-switch. This can be taught. There have been lots of posts about off-switches, as well as puppy nipping. You can search this forum for other advice about these issues. Mental exercise sounds like it may be a good option. Trick training, the fundamentals of agility (which are about core strength, rear end awareness and building a bond between you and your dog) and nose work, or any combination of them, are worth trying. Just be aware of the puppy's joint and bone development. If you have not looked into other resources, a lot of people on here swear by a book called "Control Unleashed". May be worth a look.

Long enforced rest is very difficult. If she really loved the car ride, can you make a little car ride a treat for her? My boy loves driving down to the laundromat and back, even if he only walks to the car and back.

I notice you have not included anything in your post about how much exercise your puppy is getting. It is possible that he needs more exercise, to help tire him out. My second piece of advice would be to work his mind. If he gets too excited playing with toys, limit his time with them. Give him mental work to do, such as trick training or nosework. There are lots of videos and advice pages on how to do both of these things. Border collies are very smart, and he may be trying to work out what his role is in your house. In the bedroom, he seems to have figured out what to do. Now he needs to learn what to do in the rest of the house. The fast breathing/panting could be a sign of stress. If he is not sure what to do, he is feeling insecure. Maybe use a mat in your living room and teach him to go to his mat, reward him when he is there and calm, just like teaching him his crate. As for chewing, I suggest something like a deer antler or goat horn, or a cow hoof. Not very fun to throw or chase, but nice to chew. You should be able to find these in a pet store or online. I am by no means a expert, but hope things work out for you.

So it is trial time again - our first jumping in excellent class. I am heading off tomorrow for the two day trial (a mere 8 hour round trip). We have not had a trial since I last posted, so I am sooo ready to go! How many lists does one trip need? Also, I have volunteered to steward in the snooker ring, so I can see how it works before I enter snooker in our local October trial. Four day weekend, two days of trial, lots of friends to catch up with, a beautiful river and (on a sadder note) my grandparent's and father's graves to visit. Gonna be an epic weekend, even if we get no Q's.

This may sound boring, but watch other handlers. I have found it particularly helpful to watch videos on youtube of things like Crufts etc, where you see multiple different handlers run the same course, one after another, to see how they approach the course, where they go, when they signal and how. Also, I only got the courage to try agility because I went and was a ring steward at our local trial. Seeing how people stuffed up, even the best handlers, gave me the confidence to go in the ring and have a go. Being a ring steward, you can also talk to judges about courses, where challenges are and why, and also see competitors doing their walkthrough and how the visualise the course, and work out what they need to do. I know you are only training at the moment, and still in the beginning stages, but I have personally found understanding why something works or not helps in determining what to do.

I agree with everyone above. While I think there is no better dog than a BC for active engagement and companionship, they are not best suited to people with physical difficulties. I am sorry about your difficulties, and wish you all the best in finding the right dog for you.

Hi Zach, I got a belt very similar to the one you describe, but to no avail. It took my boys about a minute the first time I used it to figure out that stepping on the seatbelt buckle would release the clip, and set them free. Now, if I try to buckle them in using it, the clip is released before the end of my driveway (around 15 feet). Back to the drawing board

As a complete aside, there is a working dog rescue here in Australia that has had various pups come in with parvo (sadly all too common). Once the pup has recovered enough to start eating again, they have had a lot of success with feeding them sheep poo. The theory is that it helps repopulate the gut with good gut flora. Not exactly sure whether the science is sound...

Can't speak for the running (definitely not my thing!) but I have four male BCs, all with different personalities and they fit together well. If you have one dominant, very active dog, I support getting a more laid back, less intense dog for your second. Maybe consider a young rescue dog, whose personality is already clear. A puppy may appear laid back and then completely change as he or she grows up.

Nothing to add beyond - your puppy is cuuuuuuuute!

On the point of people being too anxious to show off their new adoptee, this is where I actually think Facebook can be a positive. I have a friend who lost her elderly terrier to cancer early this year. She has just adopted a rescued ex-racing greyhound. She is posting many photos on Facebook to show off her new family member, but not having people come around to meet her yet. So she gets to share their excitement but protect the new dog as well.

I am pretty sure that my boy George is a creeping saddle back sable. Here is a photo taken when he was 8 weeks old. Here is a more recent photo I have tried to take a photo of the fur on his shoulder, which to the naked eye is clearly black at the root and tan at the end, but I can't get a clear photo on my phone. I have been told this means he has the agouti gene.

In Australia, we mainly have a problem with ticks on the east coast, but there are a couple of types, one of which is a paralysis tick, which can quickly cause paralysis and death. No Lyme disease officially (there is a lot of dispute about it at the moment). I don't live in the tick danger area, but I use Nexgard for fleas, after Frontline Plus stopped working. All my boys think it is a treat and come back looking for a second. I have had no flea problems since starting. One of my dogs has a delicate stomach due to a poisoning episode when he was a puppy, and he can get some diarrhoea afterwards, but only a day of it. The others have no problems.

I tried frozen chicken necks a couple of times when my boys were puppies, but they disappeared without chewing and I was petrified about choking so I have never used them again. In fact, I think I still have a few frozen ones hiding in the nooks and crannies of my freezer..... I have been able to find packs of turkey necks in my local supermarket here in Australia, and also packs of chicken frames, which are basically what is left once the wings, thighs, legs and breasts are taken off of the carcass. They still have a bit of meat on them, but are mainly the spine and breast bone. I have started giving these to my boys at least once a week and they love them, for all of the 5 minutes or so it takes them to chew and swallow them. I should probably try and freeze these first. Packs of the frames and the necks cost around $5 in my supermarket, but I get four chicken frames or around five turkey necks in the packs.

That is great news Rush Fan, happy that we could help!

A piece of advice I was once given - experiment to find high value treats for your dog. Pick lots of different things - bacon, hot dog, chicken, cheese, bologna, dried fish or if he likes sweet things, apple, red capsicum, carrot etc. Place two things a little way apart a few feet in front of him, release him and see which he goes to first. Then try it with two different things, and note which he goes to first. Once you have a list of more preferred treats, try two of those treats together, and see which he prefers. In the end you will find what is most attractive to him, i.e. what has the highest value, and what else he likes, but not quite as much. Use the high value treats when you want to really reward him, lower quality treats the rest of the time. Mix them so he does not know what he will get. Treats should be very small, and may be a substitute for a meal, depending on what it is. If there is lots of sodium in his favourite treat, use it sparingly. This experiment will keep him interested and be valuable information for the future.

Congratulations! I understand your frustration, and the relief in finally breaking through! I had my first pass in novice last year, then had to wait 12 months to get my next pass. In the end when the drought broke, we got the remaining four passes we needed in two trials, so onward and upward now. Also, you were able to run the next day in the higher grade? That is fantastic. We have to send off proof of our passes and pay a smallish fee to get our title, but we cannot compete in the higher grade (or continue in the lower grade) until that title is granted. Out of curiosity, in ANKC agility trials in South Australia/Victoria they have a grade called Open, which any dog can run in. I have come darn close to getting passes in it even before I got my novice title with Oscar. It is somewhere between excellent and master grades in difficulty, but has an exclusion zone, where you must direct your dog from a distance. Do either of the venues you compete in have anything similar?

My boy Oscar weighed about 12 kg at 12 weeks (26.5 lbs approx for the non-metric). I did not weigh him at 16 weeks as he had just experienced green potato poisoning and had lost significant weight. He is now a tall dog, lean at around 23 kg (50lbs). However there is a wide variation in body size for BCs from the quite petite to the stocky large dog. I would not be too worried about what size Cricket will be - he may just end up a pocket rocket, and there is nothing wrong with that. By the way, feel free to post as many photos of him as you like. He is one seriously cute puppy!