KevTheDog

When I saw this headline the other day, I told my ma and we took a walk in Chaser's honor. 15 years is a long life!

An update: I think we came in a little too hot with the scissors yesterday; what we probably need to start with is about a week of just calmly fiddling with the mats and giving him treats for not being chompy. He so clearly wants to be A Good Boy - it's like he tolerates it for a minute or so and then puts his mouth on my hand and I say "AH ah! Kisses," and then he licks my hand, goes back to resting, until he gets fed up again. So current game plan: spend the next week working on just getting him used to having his mats handled, and if I happen to feel like it's safe to cut one out while he isn't looking, I will do so. When my husband arrives here in the countryside next week, I'll see if he and I can cut them out while feeding steak treats. But I'm worried that Kev is going to continue being chompy and make it impossible for us. We should have started the session yesterday with just the petting and soothing, because as soon as we pulled out the scissors he was like "No thank you no thank you!" I want to get him to the point that while I'm just feeling around on the mats, he doesn't start panting out of anxiety. A follow-up question: would it be wrong, if I can't get him to stop chomping, to use a soft muzzle while cutting them out? I feel very iffy about it; I don't want to break his trust and I'm ok with taking the time to train him to accept me doing what needs to be done with scissors, but right now he just will baaaarely let it happen, he's so skeptical. And eventually we're going to have to get down to the business of actually doing it, and not just practicing. Thoughts? Also: thank you for the tool recommendations!

Ha!! Brilliant! Awesome advice here, thanks!

Thank you @jami74 this actually makes me feel quite a lot better. I'm currently on summer vacation with my parents (woo!) who have had two borders and one beardie - and my mom said "What are you so worried about! Dogs get mats! We'll take care of it." So also, yay moms. I'm planning on cooking Kev up a steak (cooked by vegan me, ha) and I'll take care of the chompy mouth end with steak treats while my mom does the mat detangling. Fun times!

Hello everyone! Kevin is about 11 months now and he is a handsome guy. I work a few times a week with him on getting used to brushing - we did it a lot when he was a young puppy but I (very regrettably) fell away from it at some point and as a result, he's really, really not keen on being brushed. For the last few months, I will brush/click/treat, brush/click/treat him maybe 10 strokes a few times a week, but he still tends to get chompy (he's aiming for the brush, quite clearly). So now I have realized that his hind quarters are pretty matted - the fur there seems to be quite thick and his top coat looks normal but when I feel around, I find that his undercoat has matts and I feel absolutely terrible. I know it's not comfortable for him, and I'm not sure how long it's been like this - I really can't express how awful I feel; I made this discovery last night and basically didn't sleep (when I did sleep, I had dreams of the YouTube videos of dematting that I watched before bed). So my question now is: is this something I can deal with at home? Some of the matts are smallish but I felt at least one that was like a handful size. I'm not sure if I need to take him to a groomer - an idea I'm really not keen on; he trusts me and I think that with someone at his front end feeding him treats, I could do it if it's a wise idea. I'm thinking thinning shears and a slicker brush, and hoping for the best. I would love any words of wisdom. I feel like a failed dog mom - he is in general the sweetest and funnest boy, but the fact that he finds it so hard to tolerate any grooming just feels like a huge failure on my part, and I can't stop thinking that he must be uncomfortable, even though in general he is a very cheerful dog (his behavior doesn't indicate a lot of discomfort, but still.) Agggh.

Hi! This was a question we debated a lot before adopting Kevin (who we took home as a puppy, my first BC pup after two rescues). I think the key thing to consider is that you're committing to a BC lifestyle when you adopt a dog who needs to have brain work and physical exercise every day. But if that's your jam, then awesome! And with agility as an interest, it sounds like it is. The space inside the house isn't where dogs get physical exercise anyway, I'd imagine. So the fact that a living space is small shouldn't prevent you from choosing to get a high energy dog - as long as you're into dedicating a couple hours a day to giving doggo what he needs. Kevin gets at least 40 minutes a day of brain work (games, training, etc.), off leash running time, and a longish walk or two (4 or 5ish miles a day). When he's ready, he'll be my running buddy too (though his leash skills aren't quite there yet - but improving by the day!). We live in a city apartment most of the year, with summertime in a house in the country. Also, fun fact: of the 3 borders I've had in my life, 2 were besties with dachshunds and didn't care about any other dog breed! (except other borders). I think it can be a nice combo! Yay dog friends.

Thanks for this! We shall take it to the streets!

Hello! Does anyone have experience with training the "look at that" game from Control Unleashed? I'm new to training this game and I'm having trouble figuring out when it's time to move on to the next step - how do i know he is ready, or has internalized what it means? Right now: Kevin sits/lies down across from me and I hold out a neutral object away from my body; I make sort of a "whoosh" sound to get him to follow the motion of my arm. I click/treat him for looking at it and I've made sure he hasn't interacted with whatever object it is (i.e., I don't use a toy or anything too fun). I know step 2 is incorporating the cue, but after that, what exactly is step 3? Do you take it outside from there, or maybe start using "look at that" with something you aren't holding? I'm also a little uncertain about reorienting to me for the treat - I haven't exactly been getting eye contact before treating him every single time, mainly because I've already clicked and it seems unfair at that point to wait for him to do something else before treating him; he's done the work I've asked and should be rewarded for that, it seems to me. Anyway... does anyone have any stories on how they did this and how it works for them in the real world? I would love to hear more.

Hi Jessica, congrats on your new puppy! When my husband and I picked up our bc last October, the breeder gave us some SUPER smart advice as we were having some last-minute, holy-cow-what-are-we-doing-I'm-excited-but-scared jitters (I don't have kids but I imagine this is analogous on some level to what it feels like when parents drive their infant home for the first time): he said you shouldn't have to adapt to your bc; he needs to adapt to you. I think this is especially important in the very beginning, because this is when your dog learns about dealing with frustration. There will be times every single day where puppy is demanding your time and attention, and I think it's great for YOU to be the one to choose when you and your family give her those things, not the other way around. It'll feel like something to get through at first (she's frustrated and barking, argh), but as long as she learns to deal with her frustration from the get-go, then when she's a grown up, you'll have a nice patient and polite dog (this is perhaps somewhat oversimplified; lots of other factors go into this too, but I do think it's a good factor to keep in mind!) Happy puppy times!

@Mandy1961 thanks for the tip!!

Hi all! Spring has FINALLY arrived here in Stockholm, and our courtyard has tables and chairs for sitting outside. Kevin and I have been practicing Control Unleashed style mat training and he's getting pretty good, though, at 7.5 months, he has not fully figured out yet that he needs a release word before getting up from the mat. I'm hoping that will come with patience, practice and maturity, but it does lead me to my question: I would like to sit outside to work and today I did it! I brought out Kevin - who had been relaxing inside, so he's definitely in calm boy mode - the mat, a chew and some treats and for the first 10 minutes, he just lay on his mat and chewed his toy; it was awesome. But after about 10 minutes he got up to do some sniffing of the furniture (which is new to him, understandable). When the teeth came out to chew on our shared-with-neighbors outdoor furniture, he got a "no" and I redirected him back to the mat a few times. And then suddenly his leash looked very delicious and he started chewing on that, and generally being a bit more distracting for me. None of this behavior is surprising; it's the first time we've started treating the courtyard as we treat the living room/office inside (a place where I work, and Kevin settles down). But I'm trying to figure out just how to approach our time spent outside with my computer ("time to work"). Should I bring him inside before he starts to get restless? Or wait for the restlessness to begin and then go inside (in a "we don't get to stay outside if you're wandering about" sort of way). I don't expect him to be perfect at chilling in a place where he hasn't spent time resting before, but it's a very low-key scenario in the middle of the day - we're on our own, just outside instead of in. Maybe I should give him a chance to sniff around and then ask for the settle? I'd love some ideas! I want him to get into the habit of seeing me with computer outside = he settles down for a rest or a chew. We are out there a ton for play time, so he needs to learn how to distinguish between play time and work time. Thoughts?

It sounds like he's becoming a teenager, weee! Also, is there a fear thing that happens around 6 months, where things that were fine before suddenly aren't? Or, do you think it could be related to when he got his mouth stuck on the grates?

Ugh, I feel for you!!! That is super scary! It seems like some kind of attachable cross-hatching is a good idea as long as it can't get bonked off and be an added danger in some way (I don't know how that would be, but you know, gotta think of everything). When Kevin was like 12 weeks old, I was walking him down the block and he came underfoot - I stepped on his tiny 12-week old paw! He cried out and it wasn't just like "YELP this hurts right now!" but "YELP YELP this continues to hurt and i'm scared!" - and I immediately plopped down on the city sidewalk (gone were my fears of sitting in whatever random delights you might find on a city sidewalk,) gave him a rub-down to check for broken bones, comforted him, totally in tears myself (probably not very comforting for him, in hindsight). I'm in Sweden and I immediately called my mom in Hawaii to tell her what happened and get mom advice for what to do (she's a bc mom herself)... anyway, he was totally fine within a few moments but I was SO shaken. And I felt doubly bad because it was my fault! It's the worst feeling. Good to take comfort in the fact that moments later, a pup can be like "What's the big deal? I'm fine!" Dogs!

I agree, it seems a little early for this to necessarily be a permanent problem. Do you have any slightly quieter streets around your home? If so, you can start by just going there, hanging out for a minute or two, having treats, being calm, going back home and then venturing a little further/to slightly busier places every few days.

Yes! I am also very excited to have my walk-all-over-town-with-me buddy, and I have to remind myself that even though he's starting to look like a big boy, he's definitely not yet - he's not even lifting his leg yet! So I know I have to slow my roll. Which Joey reminds me on the daily too, ha We've added practicing with the 3 of us in the courtyard as well, because Kevin seems to think that if all three of us are on a walk together, then he must joyfully announce it to the neighbors and the rest of the world in no uncertain terms - "It's all of us! Bark! What a joy! Bark!" The super intensive courtyard practice fortnight has commenced!

@tamapup Ha maybe Kevin and Tama are distant cousins - Kevin is this way too, and it's so weird! I would think he'd associate getting his harness on with getting to go outside, because he never does anything fun (like chase the ball in the courtyard) without his harness on. This behavior has evolved for him a little bit; he tends to look like a sad, resigned bunny as he's having the harness put on by me, but not by Joey (?? why Kevin, why!?). He will walk slowly away from me as I follow him calmly around the apartment in an effort to put it on him ("If I walk slowly, she won't think I'm trying to escape"). Joey is the harness putter-onner most days, so maybe that has something to do with it. In any case, long story short: this behavior was worse before and is a lot better now; it was just kind of a slowly-but-surely thing for us. Certainly a desensitization protocol would make the process go by faster. He's more or less ok with it all now. Keep us posted on Tama!

Eeeee beautiful dog!!! Another suggestion: for a little while, I would suggest only saying "go potty" the instant before he is obviously about to go potty. Do this for a month or even two. This way it will definitely connect the action of going potty with the words "go potty". Once it's ingrained, the cue will have an effect - but right now it's possible that "go potty" means everything to you and zero to Dougie. Once the cue kicked in for Kevin we were like, hallelujah he's a pottying genius!

Good advice, I appreciate it! We will recommit to our courtyard practice for a couple weeks here - I think the "one tiny step at a time" reminder is a good one.

Hi everyone! We're continuing to work on Kevin's (who is 7 months today!) leash walking skills, and we've slowed waaaaay down. I did a couple weeks with lots of leash training both at home and out in the world, and Kevin was successfully able to occasionally mentally click in to "oh, now if I walk right by your side, then I will get treat, treat, treat, treat." At times this has gone very well. But I have two issues: 1. I can't reliably get him to tap into that mode every time we go for a walk, or throughout the entire walk. Often he will be by my side for one or two treats very attentively and then he will surge ahead, or stop to sniff, and ignore my "keep up!" or "slow down!". Issue no. 2. I don't actually want or need him to be walking in a tight heel, constantly staring up at me for a treat (especially the latter part). I'm ok with him in a close heel like that, but what I would prefer is for him to be a few feet ahead of me, loosely, without pulling like a mad man. I praise him when he gets into that desired position, but it's a difficult position to treat since he's ahead of me at that point. I feel like we're at a plateau now. Sometimes he's very successful, if perhaps overly attentive and right by my side, getting treated, and other times I'm not able to get his attention at all. It's kind of one extreme or the other. So last Fridayish I decided to back up and I started working with the instructions in this article: https://www.clickertraining.com/loose-leash-walking-part-two It talks about first working on getting lots of eye contact, then getting a good "leash stand", then clicking 1 step forward, then 2 steps forward, then 10 steps etc., then adding in distractions. We can fairly easily walk across our distraction-free courtyard, much of the time, on a loose-ish leash (though he is still overly attentive in the courtyard as long as he knows I have a treat in my hand, which I basically always do). But the instant we step outside onto the still fairly quiet street outside our building, it's way harder to get him to keep his attention on me because the smells are so smelly and the people are so exciting, etc. So how do I bridge this gap? Obviously I've not reached the part in the article of throwing in controlled distractions because I don't feel like I can always successfully get his attention back on me in the courtyard, so I don't think we're quite there yet. But I'm also not fully convinced that slowing down to this extent is definitely necessary, since he can at times walk close to me on leash. I.e., it feels silly to take 2 steps forward and click him for those 2 steps when I know he can do 10 (and in a moment when he can do 2, then he can also do 10. It's when he can't do 2 that he can't do 10.) I feel like we have taken what ought to be a chronological series of events, thrown them into a bucket and lost all sense of order, and have successfully achieved some while totally missing others. But I can't tell what the missing pieces are. Thoughts? Ideas? Advice?

Hear, hear! I think celebrating tiny victories is key. Also, whenever Joey and I find we're going nuts with Kevin (who is 7 months today), we google all about how the adolescent period is the most difficult and feel validated . It is not always going to be like this! Kevin is our first border collie puppy, but he's not my first border. The other two were rescues, both of whom came into my life at 10 months, and neither of whom had this much crazy-driving-capacity. I'm not saying it will all get better at 10 months necessarily (wouldn't that be nice?) but it is evidence that things definitely improve. This too shall pass!

Hey hello! I feel you! Kevin is a little older than Tama but his issues are similar and I definitely feel your pain. I started doing something recently that has helped: we've practiced an off-leash side-by-side walk inside (I guess a heel) where I just treat him constantly: good boy, treat, good boy, treat, as we are walking in circles through the kitchen, living room, bedroom, hall, over and over. We did this inside a handful of times before I took him out into the courtyard and we started doing it there - walking in zigzags; it's a bit harder for him to stick with me here but such is the nature of the fun outdoors. I did both of these exercises about 3 times each per day (first 3 times inside, then 3 times outside) for not very long each time - 3 minutes each maybe, for a few days in a row, throughout the course of the day. But now when I use the same command to start us off outside on leash ("Let's walk") - he is much more responsive and he truly has been pulling less. Kev is almost 7 months and I'm not sure if his responsiveness to this method would have been the same two months ago (Tama is 5 months? Is that right?) but on the other hand, maybe he would have done way better sooner if I had started this approach earlier. For your own sanity: set yourself a little time-limited challenge. Like: We're going to do this every day for 5 days and then reassess! Then it doesn't feel like this endless wall of never getting to do anything fun like go for proper walks. Good luck!

Brilliant, I love this advice - thank you! I just received Control Unleashed and I'm about to start incorporating "look at that" (and more) - and it's such a fair point that intersections are super stimulating. I'm feeling optimistic, it's been about a week since the behavior has had a chance to manifest. Progress! We'll keep at it

Thank you again for these tips! I really like the idea of practicing on all intersections, even the ones that don't trigger the behavior - we will start doing that. Yesterday I used one workaround and one treat session - we walked on a path that did not involve any intersections at all, and so avoided the behavior. And in the other direction, we went into training mode at the large intersection and he was definitely too distracted by the notion of treats to be bothered with my ankles. Train an incompatible behavior - this shall be my new mantra... thanks!

Hi guys! Thanks for these tips. I just want to reiterate: this can happen (though does not necessarily happen) even at the very, very beginning of our walks, so again, I don't think it's just tiredness related. But that said, I acknowledge that he's still a puppy and perhaps we're still going too long, when it happens at the end of walks. Follow-up questions: if we limit ever crossing big streets, how do we teach him the right way to cross them when he feels compelled to do this behavior? Or is the idea that if he never gets to practice the behavior then he will forget he ever did it at all?

Hi all! A while ago I posted about Kevin getting a bit tantrum-y in the middle of longer walks. This was 7 or 8 weeks ago, and we were going out for 40ish minute walks with him at 4 months, and the wise posters here helped me realize that it was just too long for a puppy his age. So fast forward to 6 months (today! Happy birthday Kevvo) and we're back at 40-45-ish minute walks. The behavior I described before still happens on occasion, but now only at specific places: when we are about to cross a bigger street - either kind of big or quite big - and he is either overstimulated by the traffic/humans around, OR if it is toward the end of the walk and he is getting tired, Kevin will - as we enter the street to cross - start jumping to get the leash and/or start biting at my ankles. He doesn't do this to my husband, and he doesn't do it every time we cross a big street, but perhaps about half the time. If my husband has the leash, Kev will go for my ankles. If I have the leash, he will also go for my ankles. Fun for me! :/ I've just realized in the last 2-3 days that it only happens while crossing big(ish) intersections. My plan moving forward is to get an ultra high-currency treat that he ONLY gets when he and I are crossing big streets - I plan to sit/treat, and then treat him as we cross the street as long as he's not being an ankle biter. My question is a two-parter: 1) Why do you think he's doing this? I've thought maybe he's thinking "Oh no, it's dangerous, we gotta get you out of here!" or something like that, but I'm really not sure. I wonder if I know the reason, if it might help how I deal with the behavior. And 2) Do you reckon my high-currency treat idea is a good one or is there a smarter way to go about dealing with this? It happens even if we are at the very start of a walk, so I know it's not just tiredness related. And also...sometimes it doesn't happen at all! Looking forward to reading what folks have to say