Olathe

Our 5 month old BC puppy is food aggressive towards our 15 month old male German Shepherd. If there's a piece of dog food or dog bone on the ground and our GSD comes near him, he will try to attack, bite, and growl. Our GSD is really relaxed and doesn't react in a bad way, other than backing off, but I'm worried if this keeps up it will eventually turn into a full blown dog fight. (He will also do this with toys in the yard and sticks.) He also tries to herd our GSD when my Husband is playing with them. If the GSD is running (my Husband normally plays fetch with him) our BC puppy will run towards him on his way back, stalk him, and grab a hold of his scruff, growling, etc. We've been disciplining this behavior, but he keeps doing it (we've also put him on a leash while my Husband plays with the GSD). Right now he's a lot smaller than our GSD so I don't think it bothers him very much, but again, I think it will get worse if he keeps on doing it and gets bigger. Any training advice and tips greatly appreciated!!! :-)

.

What a cute fluff ball!

My BC is now 1 year old, and I have had him for a few weeks. He's warmed up a lot and is quite comfortable here now. He has ZERO interest in toys (other than playing tug of war with our other dog). He's pretty mild tempered. How do I go about in getting him interested in toys so we can play fetch, etc. later on? I don't think he was ever introduced to toys as a puppy.

The deaf puppy I fostered was fully deaf, but very easily trained (by hand signals!) so I wouldn't worry too much about the other disabled puppies - they manage just fine with their other senses with some patience. You should look up Amazing Aussies and see for yourself how well a deaf, blind, or deaf/blind puppy/dog can do with the right people.

Congratulations! He is ADORABLE! It's too bad the litter did end up being double merle, but I'm glad they're going to have good homes and people to take care of them.

I just thought I would chime in on the "double merle." I fostered a double merle Aussie once (8 week old pup). He was almost completely white except for 2 very small blue merle patches. He was deaf, and had star burst pupils, but his vision was fine. His litter mates did not look like the typical "double merle" and were normal colored Aussie's, but both parents were merles.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! He's actually warmed up so much I decided to try working with him today, and he did great! We worked on sit, down, and roll over and he gladly did all of them for a treat. He doesn't seem to be scared anymore. He's not interested in toys or playing (other than playing with our other dog) - at all. Is this normal? I don't think he was introduced to ANY at his previous ranch home, so I'm not sure if that is why, or if it's still because this is all still fairly new.

Our new Border Collie has only been with us for 6 days, so he is still settling in. He's very nervous, shy, and I do not think he was exposed to much, other than living on a ranch and helping to herd livestock. It doesn't seem like he was socialized with people outside of his previous home, but I could be wrong. It's a huge change for him, that I understand, so I do not want to push him too much, but I don't know WHEN I should begin training basic commands. I've tried to toy with the idea of getting him to sit (for a treat, since he LOVES treats), but he usually turns around and runs scared if I ask him to sit. He'll come up to us now to be petted (he likes his tummy rubbed) and will let me brush his entire body now. He wags his tail and gets very excited when we approach him if he hasn't seen us for a little while too. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks everyone! I think he's pretty cute too. I would like to work him later on. I'll have to look into that more and see what I can do. So far all he wants to do is play with our other dog, sleep, and receive a good ol' tummy rub. I'm hoping when he comes out of his shell he'll be up for some ball or frisbee, and we can work on training, etc. I am in Monument, CO (it is North of Colorado Springs) and the weather here is insane right now! Haha. It's so warm out! Where did Winter go?

Here's some pictures! As I said before, when we first brought him home he was very shy. I wasn't expecting him to be so shy, but I'm sure it was a huge change for him! He has slowly begun to settle in and is becoming more comfortable being here. He doesn't know any basic commands, so once he settles completely I will begin working with him. He's very well behaved and extremley calm.

Thanks everyone! I will post pictures this evening. He is still settling in. He was very shy when we first brought him home, he didn't even want us to touch him, but he has warmed up a lot. I will update more this evening when I add pictures. Also, for thos who asked, I live in Colorado.

Hello everyone! I originally created this account in hopes of finding a reputable breeder of working Border Collies. I have been searching for over 2 years, and have come across many breeders, but none of them worked their dogs, and a lot of them were dual registered with the AKC and ABCA or breeding for color/looks alone. I was almost about to give up hope when I saw an ad re-homing a few older puppies. I contacted them and we will be picking up our puppy in a few days! I am so excited! They're from excellent working lines (the litter was bred to replace their older working Border Collies, and he has also been started on herding). He is a little older (10 months old) than I had planned on, but he's beautiful, and it seems like he's going to fit right in with our family! I can't wait to share photos and our journey together with everyone.