vaporflowers

I just watched a video of a woman who is training a competition "heel" command on her deaf Akita. The dog is low energy, generally slow moving and hard to motivate. She is training with food, which she tosses to get some drive and momentum going, and that's working nicely. But as a jackpot, she actually gave the dog a magazine to shred. You could see the instant delight in the dog's face that she had PERMISSION to tear some paper up to her heart's content. Sometimes, you have to go with what works. As a jackpot, I occasionally give my BC a soft toy that I KNOW he will destroy in 0.2 seconds. He doesn't ingest any pieces, just eviscerates until it is nothing but "skin" and piles of fluff. But it's one of his greatest joys, and it is something that we do apart from the other dogs. Rather than tell him off for his destructive tendencies, I found a way to channel it.

If he isn't interested in running and chasing the ball, can you find another activity he does enjoy? If he likes to shred things, bring a puzzle toy stuffed with food (a Kong, an Everlasting treat ball, etc). He is still "participating" in exercise time, even if it's just lying down and working on getting the food or treats out. Feed him his meals out of Kongs. Once you've gotten engagement with the Kong or similar toy with food in it, try tossing it before he settles down to chew. Take a soft toy, like a braided rope or fleece, and see if he likes to tug. Or attach it to a string and see if he wants to chase it. You're going to have to get a little creative and decide how HE wants to play. Once you find what motivates him, you can start having fun together.

I second the over-drinking theory. I didn't know that this was a thing until I started working with retrievers regularly, but within the past year, 5 or 6 puppy raisers have had pups that urinated in their sleep. The pups were cleared for UTIs, and we figured out that several of them had a water obsession and tended to "tank up". I'd always raised dogs who had free access to water, but these pups actually had to be given frequent access to small amounts of water. One even had to have his water measured. In a couple of the pups, the urinating also seemed to get worse with stress. By "stress", I don't necessarily mean fear, just a lot of stimuli and a sensitive pup.

When a dog is engaging in behaviors that I don't care for, I try REALLY hard to not assume that the dog "knows better". Often, they don't. Training is not just about saying "no", but rather showing the dog the right answer, over and over and over again. And you should expect regressions. All of these "bad behaviors" are VERY normal dog behaviors: - Charging up the stairs: dogs get excited and like to run, the stairs may signal a chance to go outside or eat supper or snuggle before bedtime. Stairs can also be slippery or at a steep pitch, so some dogs will rush them to get it over with. Some dogs find it uncomfortable to be slow or still on an uneven surface (especially if they weren't socialized to uneven surfaces as a pup... strange but true!) - Stealing food: dogs are scavengers. They often learn not to steal food when you're around, but the behavior works when you're not looking. Also food is usually worth more to them than a correction. It takes time, patience, and management to teach a dog to not steal food off of the counters. I keep food out of reach, unless I am deliberately setting up a temptation so I can correct the unwanted behavior and also redirect the dog (a down-stay on a dog bed while I prepare food; a verbal NO and hand clapping when he attempts to jump up, followed by a repeat of the down-stay). - Stealing socks and running away: What happens if you catch him? Is he scolded for stealing the socks? Right now, your dog associates human hands with, at the very least, being "whacked on the nose". He gets a sock, sees his owners coming towards him, experiences fear when human hands come at him, does not want to give the sock up, and engages in keep-away or a chase game. He has no reason to stop and politely hand over the sock. I'd much rather teach the dog to trade items (both his own toys and "forbidden" items like socks) for other toys or treats. I play the "take it"/"give" game with my pups. If the dog likes picking things up, channel that into a cute trick rather than trying to squash it. Right now, it sounds like your family and the dog need to enroll in a positive-based obedience class, and perhaps have some one-on-one sessions with a trainer. The dog hasn't had a chance to be correct; he has made some improvements, but it sounds like he's still wildly guessing at what makes you happy.

I do think that, generally speaking, border collies are less tolerant of rude or overbearing dog behavior. They're quicker to tell a rude dog off, and they also don't generally like to wrestle with strange dogs. Many border collies won't play until they know a dog well, and many never really get into the frat-boy/bouncy/in-your-face wrestlefests that other breeds enjoy (retrievers).

The jump from two to three is much different I think than the jump from one to two. You're also talking about getting several dogs in a relatively short amount of time. My goal, as someone mentioned above, is to get my one dog trained to a level I'm comfortable with, because they'll teach habits as well as picking up "new dog" stuff. Border collies also tend towards some body sensitivity, and many (not all) don't like the frat-boy style of play that retrievers bring. When dogs mature at about 1.5 years (in my experience), their true personality and feelings towards other dogs solidifies. Many breeds grow up to be less social than they were as puppies, so it's something to think about. I keep my dogs socialized but I also respect their feelings about other dogs.

Julie also mentioned tethering. My terrier has been helped by the Thundershirt... it's not a miracle but it has taken the edge off. What gets him are the 3am storms with lots of lightning. He'll start pacing, climbing behind the television, or trying to get on top of things. He usually seeks us out for comfort for most storms, but the 3am ones get him riled and he doesn't want us touching him. Tethering him and preventing him from pacing/climbing/etc has been slowly helping. He got a bit worse before he got better, but by not being able to engage in his unsafe, panicked behavior, he's slowly been settling down. It might be a case of learned helplessness, but that's better than the extremely unsafe alternatives he was choosing. I'd say the Thundershirt and tethering are worth a try, along with the medication. Good luck!

1. Like everyone else said, she's a babypup! I start training early with my guys, but it's at their own pace. If they just want to hang out and be a dog most of the time, then that's ok! At first I thought we were talking about an adolescent dog... at this age, I would put most of your focus onto socialization and exposures. Gradually introduce her to people, crowds, traffic, city environments, country environments, livestock, screaming children, unsteady surfaces, strange underfootings (metal grates, sewer lids, etc)... the key here being GRADUALLY. Make the big wide world a fun, relaxing place to be. 2. I want my dogs to CHOOSE to work with me. There are some things that are non-negotiable, as you mentioned, like the come command, but generally commands are things that I've chosen for them to do. So I want a dog who enjoys the work. Again, this is a babypup so I wouldn't stress too much about this now. But what I might do is crate the puppy for 20-30 minutes with a chew toy right before dinner time. Then I'll collect their dinner or some treats and go out into a safe, enclosed area (whether it's the living room or the backyard, I'm not picky, as long as it's safe and there are no other dogs who might steal the attention). I have the puppy off-leash or on-leash but with it completely loose, I load my pockets with treats and a toy. I let the puppy sniff around for a while while I stand there totally silent. If and when they choose to acknowledge me, I offer them a tidbit. This isn't anything that's on command... they are OFFERING the behavior of attention. If after 10 minutes or so, they still haven't acknowledged me, I might use some verbal encouragement and reward any attention I get. If not, I'll just collect the puppy and bring him inside for his dinner. I repeat this exercise in the same environment. Eventually, sniffing that same tree becomes less interesting than soliciting my attention and asking for work. I let the dog choose his own timetable to get interested in me. When I get some interest, we do short training sessions of "find heel" (meaning I start walking and reward the dog simply for being at my left side... no commands or signals given). I slowly start adding commands, using luring, molding, or shaping techniques... whatever the puppy feels like doing that day and is responding best to. This is a very low-pressure way of training. Young puppies will vary in their attention spans, they shut down easily, and also go through a fear period. I want a dog who finds work intrinsically rewarding. I work in the same environment over and over again to get what I call "default behaviors"... the default behavior I reward for the most is attention of any sort, and attention in heel position. Once the dog enjoys the training sessions, we take it "on the road" and start working the same way in different environments, and GRADUALLY it gets easier and easier... over a time frame of months, not weeks. Enjoy your puppy. I've learned to stop playing at my dogs and to find out what they enjoy on their own time, so I can start playing with them instead.

There's the problem for me. You're still learning how to train a sheepherding dog. I thoroughly believe that someone admittedly in the learning process should not be making breeding decisions. It takes a lot of hard-earned experience in order to accumulate the knowledge needed to decide which pairings will produce the best stockdogs. IMO, you should have immersed yourself into the world of herding entirely before breeding. If you don't have time to travel, train, and show in the appropriate working venue, then you haven't experienced enough to make an objective opinion. Enjoy your dogs, enjoy herding with them, enjoy them as companions. You've got the book knowledge, but you're still a novice when it comes to experience. JMHO

I would say AussiexRough Collie or BCxAussie are both reasonable guesses. He's got some mane on him! He's a little on the chunky side but his body looks short like an Aussie to me. I love sables, one of my boys is similar in coloration.

I suppose I think of "reactivity" as meaning overemotional/overreactive. The best example I can think of is a dog who experiences leash/barrier frustration, excitement, and anxiety when brought to a dog training class or otherwise around dogs. They might begin to whine, then growl, then escalate to an aggressive display. A reactive dog is one who is "highly charged". They might be completely easy going, playful, and submissive around the dogs off the leash, but are reactive with the added factor of being on lead.

I can appreciate both sides. I wish trainers wouldn't have an attitude about it, but at the same time, I know how easy it is to get frustrated when you run into poorly trained "SDs" everywhere. People tend to stretch their reasons too simply because they want the dog with them. I'm not at all implying anyone on this board does that. But people will claim they have anxiety so badly that they need a dog with them, but it's self-diagnosed and their high level of social skills leave doubts. It makes people who truly have crippling anxiety and phobias have a more difficult time "justifying" their dogs. Anyway. Ending that soapbox... The reason they claim self-training is "trying to do the impossible" is because of the extraordinarily high level of failure within an SD program. Most schools have an intense breeding program. We breed to enhance certain traits and dull others. We breed for exceptional physical stamina and health. Then we have an intense puppy raiser program with regular training and guidance and exposure. Then the dog gets trained for a few months in every scenario we can think of. And even after stacking the odds in our favor, a dog can be disqualified for service work for any number of reasons. Health, inherent genetic temperament, some environmental factor that went wrong along the way, etc etc. You might be surprised how few dogs actually make it. So in the opinion of most program trainers, the chances of an individual selecting just the right dog and giving them the proper level of exposures and training, while they themselves have a disability of some sort, is very low. We do teach our students about access rights and the law, as well as what to do if they are denied. We also call the ADA if we need clarifications for specific situations. I hope Jin works out well for you. I guess the cautionary part I hope you get out of this is that not all dogs are cut out for service work. Know when to say enough is enough if he needs to be just a pet. Also, I'm not sure about other schools, because there is a large and varied network of them.... but for what it's worth, we provide dogs to our students at no cost and survive purely on donations.

I disagree with some of this. I am a trainer at a school for the blind, and program trained dogs will still generally react to an attack from another dog or person or whatever. We cannot possibly prepare them for every situation, and while the dogs are as close to bomb-proof as we can make them, they are still dogs at the end of the day. Our students, during their month-long stay with us, are repeatedly advised how to handle such a situation. Also, we provide ID cards and the vast majority of students are happy to accept them and bring them everywhere. It goes a long way towards educating store workers who are ignorant of the laws, and clarifies the dog's purpose. Unfortunately, my experiences with individually-trained service dogs have been overwhelmingly negative, and most are making acceptance harder for those truly in need of a service dog.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I did laugh out loud at that, I'll admit. BCSam, that has nothing to do with you, has to do with another poster. I'm going to echo what someone else said. You were quoted as saying this is your first working-bred border collie. So really, you haven't had this breed before. Maybe you should take a step back, take a deep breath, stop being defensive, and listen to advice from the numerous trainers, breeders, handlers, owners... people with VAST amounts of experience. To have so many knowledgeable people at your disposal is a rare treat. Don't assume that you know everything there is to know. Not every training/discipling/raising method will apply to every dog. BE OPEN to what we're saying here.

Most registries require she be spayed unless she's already registered with them. If my memory serves me correctly, both the UKC and AKC ILP registrations require the dog be fixed before they will give her a registration number, as do the mixed breed dog sports organizations.

I agree. Rabbits have a flight response, but are so delicate that if they feel their flight is not going to work, or if they feel "trapped", they can die simply from stress. I understand they had means to escape, but a situation like that can turn sour very quickly, before you have time to react. Please reconsider. I had a dog-savvy rabbit who happily greeted the dogs from within the safety of the hutch, but would become very stressed if they were loose together. For safety's sake, I stopped letting them out together, even supervised. Rabbits are much more delicate than sheep.

It really depends on the kind of chewer your dog is, but yes, generally "weight bearing bones" from large animals are considered too hard. Marrow bones from the butcher are cow femurs, and some dogs will chew on the bone with their molars. Since the bone doesn't have any "give", it can lead to slab fractures of the back teeth. I do give my dogs marrow bones occasionally, with strict supervision. I could not have given those bones to my late dog Jack, who had proven to be a hard, back-teeth chewer. My current dogs are gentler about their chewing habits. They don't eat the femurs, but they do eat the marrow. My dogs regularly ingest raw chicken and turkey bones, as well as some lamb bones. They pick the meat off of rib bones and generally don't eat them. For recreational chewing, I usually give the dogs rubber Kongs filled with peanut butter or super-sized Nylabones (the "puppy" strength, which is sort of an in-between level of hardness).

Just-a-harmless-bump mojo from us!

If he must be left alone for that long, then yes, potty pads or newspapers are appropriate. I would get a higher baby gate (or 2 baby gates, one on top of the other) so he cannot jump over into the living room. Having someone come to take the puppy for a walk would be ideal. If you have any neighbor kids who could help, that might be a good "chore" for them. There was a homeschooled neighbor of mine who loved to come and play with Scorchie before we moved away. She was a huge help to me, and she made some extra money. Honestly, your puppy is still so young, I would worry about bad habits developing as he grows and his energy levels increase. He might not be chewing up anything in the house now, but often 6-7 months old is the start of the "teenage phase". It is probably a good idea to have him preemptively confined with appropriate chew toys so that he never develops a "taste" for things like furniture, walls, electrical cords, etc. Also, DEFINITELY make the crate a positive thing. Even if you're not really using it much for confinement at this time, you want him to love it in case you ever have to. Teach him to go in his crate by tossing treats in there and associating a word with it (I use "go to bed" for my pup, "crate" for my older dog). I also feed my dogs their meals in there while they're still getting used to it. Neither of my dogs are crated right now, but Scorch likes to sleep in his with the door open and sometimes Wolfie will pop in there as well. It's a safe den area, so for things like recovery from surgery, traveling, boarding, or vet visits, the crate is not a big deal. Believe me, from working in a vet clinic, I LOVED the dogs who were used to being confined. The ones that weren't were often screamers or would stress themselves out.

Seriously, there are some very busy Salukis and Borzois running amok according to these DNA tests. It cracks me up.

Yay!!! Congratulations, and thank you for rescuing her.

The owner of dog #4 deserves a MEDAL. I wish more owners were like that one. Congratulations to you and Buddy for all the great progress you've made.

When internet drama gets to be too much, I just look at this: Visualizing that generally makes me smile no matter what people say to me.

Ah, but you are bashing by bringing in the Nazi comparison, even if it wasn't you who said it. I disagree with culling for color only, but I prefer to discuss rather than name-call.

It is my understanding that, while there is no accurate DNA test for breed, you *can* DNA test a litter of pups to prove who the parents are. If the parents are known/suspected, even litters with 2 fathers can be tested to show the father of each pup. So if the "breeders" of these mismarked shepherds own both the parents, there is a way for them to prove that the puppies came from the dogs they claim.