Hi! We just brought home our Border Collie puppy on Friday. Harper is a 12 week old female. Before taking the leap, I read a ton of stuff and a book on training Border Collies. We met her mother who was a family pet (but outside pet who stayed in the barn). She was not a "working dog." We have four children, aged 10, 8, 8, and 6. We are planning on getting an invisible fence once she potty trains and learns boundaries so eventually we will be able to let her in and out to do her Business. I am a stay at home mom and am gone for maybe 4 hours a day, or sometimes a 3 hour interval followed by another 3 hour interval a little later. During those times and at night, she will be crated. I am prepared to take her for long walks, and to take her to obedience training. We chose the BC so she would be be active with the children. HOWEVER, now that we have her, I am panicking. All I seem to read now are horror stories and how they can be so destructive and are so hard to keep happy and control. I am worried that bad and destructive behavior will cause my anxiety to skyrocket. Please reassure me that I did not just sign my life away, and if I did, please offer some advice to help me through it.
