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  1. Hello, My boy is two and a half years old. He was rescued from a shelter at 5 months and I have no back story on his life before we got him. He is a very friendly dog, loves people and other dogs, completely housebroken, doesn't bark too much. He knows sit, lay down, stay, come (although not reliable and he is NOT off leash), but I am really struggling to train him anything new. Every time I put him in a sit to try something he just lays down and gives up instead of trying to do what I'm asking (even with a treat lure). Sometimes he even gets a weird vibe and just leaves the room and goes and lays down (even if I have treats out). We have never used physical punishment, never yell at him, nothing like that but he is so timid with us. He is pretty noise phobic about sneezes and raised voices (even if never directed at him) and the typical dog stuff like thunderstorms and fireworks. I just want him to trust me and feel confident that I have his best interests in mind. I'd love to get him into agility or herding but without being able to train him/keep his attention I don't know how that would be possible. Anyone out there with a shy BC? How did you build trust and confidence?
  2. I'm sure I've seen some discussion on these boards about this, but I'll post for some ideas. My 5 month old BC mix Cricket will sometimes bark and lung at people when we walk him. He doesn't do this every walk. He also really seems to like people, and is all wagging tail and soft ears when people approach him directly to pet him. He reacts when we're walking and people are striding past him without stopping. He also sometimes does this with cyclists and runners, but not always, and he sometimes does this with other dogs but, again, not always. I don't like the lunging and barking at people thing at all. Here's what we are trying to do - if you could please let me know if we're on the right track: I am trying to get him to sit and focus on me each time a person (dog, cyclist, runner) approaches, so I can distract him. This works part of the time, but not all of the time. He's very smart, and can tell when we're trying to "bribe" him to either do or not do something. He has a good "leave it" if treats are involved - not so good if I just tell him to leave something and don't offer an exchange of a treat. He's only 5 months, so I don't expect him to be perfect at "leave it" yet. I've also tried walking him quickly past people while telling him "leave it" over and over again, but I worry that walking quickly past the object of interest might stimulate him more. Why does he do this? He's a confident little pup and we've had him since he was 8 weeks old. His interactions with people (and other dogs) have always been good and safe ones. Why would a puppy develop this behavior?
  3. Hello, hope this finds everyone well. This will be my first post as a first Border Collie owner. I have had Maggie (now 6 mos) for about 2 months now, and it has definitely changed my lifestyle (for the good!). Training has been great, I'm amazed at how quick she picks up everything I teach her and am excited about the prospect of her being a super awesome companion. I have been going back and forth about crate training her. She knows 'Place' and we have her in our room for when we're away and/or when we go to bed where she has her own bed. What I'm wondering, is it more advisable to crate train her especially for when she gets older? Thank you in advance!
  4. Hey everyone, I need advice, I am going through a very hard time with my beloved 1y 6m old BC. We live in a 55 sqm flat, we play in the morning 10-11am, then in the afternoon 5-6pm then she gets a poddy walk at 11pm. She has been really good until recently -the past month we did flat renovations, fixed the bathroom. She was good most days, certain days she would be very attention demanding, she would steal tools just to get attention. Now that the works are finished, she still continues to be very not settled, she wants attention every 10minutes, even after being exercised. Our walks haven't been good either, I cannot take her far (I live in a city) because in November I decided that it's finally time to teach her to stop pulling the lead, so now every time she pulls I stop. Our walks are very slow so I only take her on her walks and cannot take her with me on strolls :(. I also love going climbing, but I stopped taking her with me because all she does is bark at me while I'm on the wall, regardless of how much she's been exercised before. To make things worse she's not really affectionate to me. I only use positive reinforcement, I would never hit her. And over the past 2 days she has stopped listening to me. I have had a very unstable /not settled life - I changed country with her when she was 6 months old,then had to fully renovate a flat, my routine sometimes changes 2-3 times a month. My friends who have dogs think my dog is special and super difficult. The trainer at the local dog hotel where I leave her when I go on holiday thinks she's amazing and well trained, my friend who is a dog trainer thinks I don't stimulate her enough, but I know when I do and don't. I think she is constantly testing me and wants to be the boss, she wants my attention. Any tips? What should I do, I love this dog, but I almost don't feel like the right owner
  5. I have an 11 month old BC puppy, who I re-homed from another family when she was 6 months old. She spent most of her first 6 months on farm properties and I feel like she had never really experienced all of the sights and sounds of a suburban area until she moved in with us. As a result, she was very reactive to strangers and other dogs at first (lunging and barking). We have taken her to obedience classes and we have been doing a lot of training with her. She is no longer reactive to strangers during the daytime and she is slowly getting more comfortable passing other dogs (we are slowly closing in the space between us and them and rewarding her with lots of treats in the process). However, we live in a country that only gets a few hours of daylight during the winter months. I've noticed that she seems a little skittish in the dark and tends to be reactive to passers by. Our trainer told us it's not unusual for dogs of her age to go through a fear phase, with darkness being a common fear. I take her for her evening walk a little later when I know there will be less people around. Tonight, we were walking down a short and narrow, snowy footpath (a route that we take most evenings). All of a sudden a woman came out of her house and was following us down the path. My pup stopped and turned around and I could tell by her body language that she was nervous. Then, out of nowhere a guy appeared at the bottom of the footpath and started to walk up towards us. She panicked and was running in circles on her leash and I fell over backwards on the ice. I managed to regain my balance and hold on to her. She had dropped to the ground which is generally what she does before she starts barking and lunging at a person. I was trying to get her attention with treats, but the space between her and the guy was just too close for her. I thought he would see me struggling and give us a little space, but instead he walked right towards us, and of course, she jumped up and started barking / lunging. I explained to him that she was very nervous, but he totally ignored me. He continued to try and get past us and I couldn't move at all because she was pulling so hard and the ground was so slippery. In future, do you think it would be a good idea for me to ask people to stop and give us some space to pass to avoid getting caught in a situation like this? I usually avoid narrow paths and stick to the wider roads while we're in training, but this one is so short and we've been walking down it every night for weeks without any events. Do you have any advice on how to better handle these situations in future?
  6. Hello everyone, We have a bit of a beginner question. Hope you guys have some useful insights! We adopted a lovely border collie puppy two weeks ago. We've been planning this for ages and she's from a very reputable breeder. She is from two parents active in sports, with calm temperaments at home. Both of the parents are great dogs. Let me start off by saying this: our little lady is lovely as well! We fell in love with her. she is very affectionate. After 10 days she was pretty much potty trained, she loves her crate, sleeps all night and responds so well to training. All in all, the perfect little border collie. However, we are already experiencing some hyper behaviour. She turns into a little landshark sometimes, bites her leash like a maniac when we go out, goes ballistic in the garden and in the house by running around and into things, to the point where she's panting and gets the 'crazy eye'. I honestly don't think it's because she's overstimulated, but just to be sure, this is what we do with her: We go out with her about three times a day, for about 10 to 20 minutes, around the neighbourhood, trying to get her socialised to everything. She gets unstructured playtime for an hour or two a day, she gets kongs and chew toys, and she gets clicker training twice a day for about 10 minutes. The rest of the time she sleeps. I've started taking 5 minutes at the end of every walk sitting down with her and rewarding when she simply sits and calmly observes things. Same thing in the house. This is not easy for her though. We understand that hyperness can be a trait of the breed, but if there's anything we can do about it now, it will of course be better than later. We live in a crowded neighbourhood, (also with lots of parks and green and room to roam), so she needs to be able to settle when we want her to. We don't want her to turn into a cardio machine, so I don't want to completely tire her out physically, especially not at this tender age, so the walks can't be any longer just yet? Any tips? Is this normal baby behaviour? Are we overanalysing? Any feedback is greatly appreciated! All the best, Two new parents
  7. I have a border collie that wants to play fetch with my other dog, but my boyfriend said do not play fetch with him because it will mess up his training. How accurate is this? Does playing fetch really mess up an 8 month old puppy training? He is training to be a cow dog.
  8. Hi there everyone, I am hoping you can give me some tips to help my 10 month old, Sunny, with his couch zoomies. I have visited the boards many times over the last few months (although this is my first post), and all the wonderful tips and advice has really helped, so thank you all!! For a bit of background info, we do allow Sunny on the couches for snuggles and snoozes. He also has a bed in the living area which is where we are trying to get him to lay when he has treats and toys, instead of the couches (a work in progress, but not the main concern). The main concern is that when he gets really excited about something, he races around the living room and flies from couch to couch. My question is how do I best go about catching him to put him in his crate for a time out? I try to avoid chasing him as best I can, as he loves it and its turned into a game for him at this point. We also have a fairly small open living/dining and kitchen space, so we often end up at opposite ends of the dining table, just waiting for the other to make a move, and then going round and round in circles. Honestly, sometimes its almost comical, but it really is something we need to work on. Most times its only out of pure luck that I manage to pounce on him at just the right moment before he races off again. Sometimes he will flop down after wearing himself out and I can slide up next to him on the couch and grab him. But he is starting to anticipate this and take off again. We have also recently upgraded his crate to a larger size, which now stays permanently in our bedroom. He previous crate was smaller and easier to move from the bedroom to the living room and vice versa as needed during the day (bedroom for nighttime and living room for day time). So previously when he had an episode of the couch zoomies, he would be caught (through great effort) and put in his crate in the living room for a time out. Now though, on top of just trying to catch him, we have to get him from the living room to his crate in the bedroom, which is down a short hallway. Lately, once I catch him I have been putting him on his lead and walking him (most times with some resistance on his part) down the hallway to his crate. Aside from over excitement, the couch zoomies are also triggered when he realises he is going to get a time out for something else he has done, so he will take off before we can get to him. I really appreciate any advice you are able to give me Thanks so much, Marissa & Sunny.
  9. My husband and I adopted a BC 5 months ago. He is a male 2 year old. When we first got him, he was perfect. He was introduced to my mother-in-Law’s dog (cockapoo) the second day we had him and he has always been fine with him. He also seems to be fine with the neighbors dogs. After a month of easy walks and near perfect behavior our dog started becoming aggressive towards other dogs. He lunges and barks at other dogs and can be challenging to control at times. We tried avoiding other dogs. We tried distracting and positive reinforcement (not effectively). We switched to a no-pull vest, which was a game-changer for a few weeks. Then it was ineffective. We began working with a trainer as soon as we could get in with someone. We have tried pinch collars and are now encouraged to use a shock collar to correct his behavior. He still lunges and barks aggressively at other dogs. I really hate shocking him. I am worried it is driving our training backwards. I know a lot of his behavior is because it’s part of his breed and he might be trying to heard dogs. I also know it’s harder to train dogs when they are older. Other than the dog aggression, he is the sweetest dog. He’s gentle and loving towards all humans. I honestly don’t know if we should switch trainers and try a new approach or continue with the shock collar. Please don’t judge, I’m just trying to do what the trainer told me but all of you seem very knowledgeable.
  10. Hi I need some advice regarding my 6.5 month old collie please. He's been doing so well and I can walk with him off lead almost anywhere, he is very responsive so I can't fault him there. The issue I have is when we meet with my friends dogs (two collies too) and my dog is OBSESSED with the younger of them (they are all males btw), if we are throwing a ball for them he will only chase and copy the other dog, circling/ herding him and nothing can break his focus. I've tried all sorts...running around manic to get his attention, having his favourite toys, favourite treats, loud noises etc. NOTHING will break his focus and he just will state at this dog and constantly run just behind him (or weave Infront). Any advice how to prevent this, and what he's doing? I'm assuming herding but it's only with this dog, and the other dog ignores him but starts growling after a while. It's annoying for me as I can only get him to follow me to leave with his lead on and he pulls against me to break off, then when the other dog is out of sight...he goes back to bring good as gold! Thanks
  11. Hello BC Community- This is my first post. I have read hundreds of yours. I was hesitant to start a new post. I suspect that what I am experiencing is not unique, yet I simply have not been able to find a thread that matches exactly what is happening with Ryder. Since I am nearing a heartbreaking decision of perhaps having to re-home, I decided to take a risk and throw out my case study to see what I can learn from your expertise. The DOG: 9-month-old Border Collie x Golden Retriever (three-quarters BC). I purchased him from a 'breeder' and have had him since he was 4-months of age. Whip smart (of course), highly responsive, very affectionate (a cuddler) with his herd, super-glued to his alpha (me), high drive, high energy, not seemingly timid or anxious. Beautiful- RED bc markings. Obedient in low-to mid stimulation environments (sit/stay, down/stay, "bed", "watch me", loose leash, plus a few tricks). The BEHAVIOR: 'Aggression' toward humans he does not know only in certain, specific but unpredictable situations. Aggression expressed as fierce growling/barking, rushing, leaping to shoulder height and 'porpoising' (bumping with nose) if especially aroused. He has not (yet) bitten nor snapped nor shown any nipping behavior in play. Behavior first started at about 5-months when people would pass our front yard. But over the past few months, it has spread to other areas (a vacation rental, a lakefront picnic spot, a sand dune area where we had been hiking/picnicking, a campsite). Most interesting to note- the dog does NOT exhibit this behavior in new situations. If he is entering new space anywhere (a new neighborhood walk, a park, a new hiking trail, a cafe, a Saturday market) he does not show any aggression or anxiety toward strangers and can be approached and touched with growling, crouching or showing any distress. Also, once the 'intruder' has been introduced into the herd, he accepts strangers easily with no further signs of anxiety or aggression. Last, he has recently begun to show high reactivity to cyclists. The ENVIRONMENT: We are a family of two adults; two older kids and one elderly Golden Retriever. We live in an urban neighborhood (lots of pedestrians, cyclists). I am not inexperienced with animals and started Ryder on basic obedience early. He has never been allowed to wrestle with our kids, resource guard, lie on furniture or show any dominant behavior with our family. He has had an average amount of socialization for a family pet (likely not too much, not too little). I'm sure he is not getting as much exercise as a full BC needs but he gets more than the average pet. It consists of a 45 minute jog each morning with 2-3 additional frisbee sessions a day. This is normal routine but we also take the dogs to the river (he loves to swim) at least once a week, take them hiking whenever possible, etc. Last- I have interviewed 8 trainers and paid for a two hour consult with one (worthless). One camp (positive only) tells me I must ALWAYS do what the other camp (pro-correction, strong leader, pack leader types) tells me I must NEVER do (and vice versa). Aggression towards humans is a dead serious issue and I am terrified that I will do the wrong thing and make the situation irreparable. My QUESTIONS: Has anyone experience this very specific type of stranger directed aggression ( a term borrowed from James Serpell)? What are thoughts on use of the e-collar (maybe even Vibration only stim) in a situation like this in order allow the dog off-leash freedom while maintaining safety for all involved? If yes, any favored resources for HOW to do e-collar training the RIGHT way? Do you think this is a TRAINABLE issue or one that realistically will need to be managed (on leash, making sure to avoid triggers/situations the dog can not handle) the rest of his life? Last, if this behavior (fierce protection of his herd against intruders) stems from hundreds of years of selective breeding and is part of this dog's deepest breed imperative- is it FAIR or RIGHT to ask a dog like this to be forced into the job of urban family pet? Or, is the most loving thing to do (yes, it would break my heart) to look for a home where this behavior would be an asset (e.g., livestock guardian) versus an unacceptable liability? For anyone still with me after this lengthy missive, THANK YOU. I would be extremely grateful for any counsel this group would be willing to offer. Jennifer & Ryder
  12. Hello everyone, myself and my husband have just got ourselves a red border collie at 10 weeks old. We call him Copper. He is a delightful little pup, loves attention, loves to be held and have human contact, he communicates with us in his own ways and is proving to be an extremely clever little boy! It is intended that he will be a worker dog with our sheep (we live on a farm). However we are complete newbies at this and frankly, we don’t have a clue what to do! My husband feels confident in training him and is planning on training him for his sheepdog duties in a few months (is this correct timing?) but we aren’t sure how to treat him as a pup. Of course, we do know how to look after a puppy (we both had dogs in our parent’s houses) but we have been told that if we over indulge our new pup and treat him as a “pet” e.g. let him inside the house (he has a lovely space in our garden and shed to run about in!), carry him etc we will ruin the work ethic and he will evidently fail at being a sheepdog He stays in a big kennel and shed in our garden and has plenty of room, my husband goes out to see and talk to him or walk him around the house every hour. Copper is finding separation very hard and will cry for a few minutes when my husband walks away. Also, I am trying to keep my distance from the pup (which I am finding so difficult as I am very fond of him) so he can build a good relationship with my husband for training. Is this also the right thing to do? Are there any basic rules or “dos” and “donts” we need to know when looking after a stockdog pup? I understand this is a long read but I would greatly appreciate any help or advice! We are based in Ireland Many thanks
  13. Hi, I am glad that I found this board, it has already been so helpful and I love reading the posts. I hope that you guys can offer some reassurance and advice based on some of my worries, concerns/questions Background: I live in a village with my husband, close to woods and not too far from the Lake District. My husband and I love going on local walks and enjoy going for hikes in the lake district. We have always said that we'd like to get a dog, and a border collie is my favourite breed, so when for health reasons I decided to take a long career break, we decided to get our puppy - I have lots of time to be with her and train her. We bought our black and white border collie puppy home on Saturday (9 weeks, now 10 weeks), from a local farm. Initially I wanted to do lots of research and carefully select a breeder but when we visited this farm, owned by very welcoming family, we fell in love with our puppy and generally got a good feeling about the place. Unfortunately, although she was chipped, flea and wormed, their vets advised against giving these puppies their first vaccination (as they had with previous litters) until they went to their new homes. I was told that this was due to different vaccine strains. Also having lived in a barn with her litter mates and her mum, seeing very few people or traffic she has had very little socialisation. After a few days of settling in, I took my girl for her first vaccination on Monday. It wasn't a good experience for her because she was scared due to the traffic on the way in, scared by a large dog that came too close in the waiting room, causing her to bark, and then because she was so spooked she barked at the vet aswell. Overall a stressful experience, and one that I so wish had gone differently for her. Generally I have been amazed by her, at how fast she has seemed to settle with us and how quickly she is picking up toilet training. I have a crate for her, so at night (or during the day when she's tired/ needs to calm down) I place her in it, close the door and cover it over with a blanket. I leave her with a night light, and although I feel now she could go through the night, I do get up at about 3am to take her out for a wee. I wouldn't say she is "crate trained" as she doesn't go in there of her own accord to go to sleep, but I do feed her in their for positive reinforcement and when placing her in I always reassure and praise her. Putting her in her crate is met with some whining now, but she soon settles down. In the day time, over the last few days, I have tended to spend most of my time with her. At the moment she is confined to one room, and I have a blanket that I have placed at the foot of the settee where she plays either by her-self or more often than not with me. She has soft toys, chew toys and he odd ball, but I tend to only allow a few toys out at a time and rotate them so shes not bored or over-stimulated. When I feel she is calm I do some basic command training like sit and down, with treats, which she has picked up quickly, and we have a good routine for toilet training, where at the same time I'm teaching her to sit on a mat to wait whilst I put my shoes on, and not bite the lead when I attach it. She is doing really well. My worries/anxieties are first her lack of socialisation, especially with other dogs (I have had people over to meet her and she has been really happy and affectionate), and cars. I have started carrying her down my quiet road every day, giving her reassurance but she does get very scared as we approach the main road. Is this normal for this age? Also I'm not sure how much time to spend with her. She goes in her crate when I am not there and have to do other things for myself and chores in the house. I feel that the crate gives her a safe place to be when i'm not there, and she can't be destructive when not supervised, and also at times I feel that she does get abit overstimulated so I feel her crate is good for calming her down. When I'm not giving her attention, she has started to push the boundaries and chew on things she shouldn't - like chair legs, and furniture. I tell her No firmly, or say down and place her down. I do also distract her with something else but its like its something that's stuck in her head that she wants to repeat again and again to test me. Is this normal, and am I doing the right thing with preventing her from being destructive? I would appreciate your advice going forward. I love her, she is a lovely pup, I just want her to be happy, and grow up confident with good manners. Thanks
  14. Hi, I appreciate this might of come up in previous feeds, but I can't find specific answers. We are about to adopt a 12 week old bc puppy. It hasn't had much excercise up to now and current owner isn't coping with it. I was trying to find out how much excercise we can safely give him a he developes. I have in the past gone with the rule of thumb 5mins for every month, but im not sure if that is sufficent for a bc? Can anyone advice? Also, I've read that bc need a lot of mental stimulation, can you advice on what we can do? We already have two 15 year old westies, who have short walks and play fetch & find, good game for their breed, is this good for bc? Or can you suggest something for herders? Many thank in advance
  15. Hi everyone! I’ve been a longtime (and I mean really longtime) lurker here, but never made an account till now! So hi! I live in southern Ontario, and at the start of September I’m about to pick up my first border collie! 1. I need some naming help! Hes a male blue merle who’s got lots of nice big spots on him (see photos) Right now I’m really liking the names River, Haiku, Dipper (as in the Big Dipper constellation — I have a cat named Orion), and Quinn (this one the least). I like the nature/outdoorsy names for sure. I like how River reflects his blue but im not totally set. And other ideas?? 2. Advice for when I first get him Ive gone through the various first time/puppy threads but I’m just wondering what you would suggest as the first things I should do with him! Trainingwise, socialization, leash, etc. I’m hoping that he’ll be able to be off leash, to be outgoing and not fearful.. any thing I can do to start shaping that? (Obvs some pups are more sociable than others, but there are things we can do to help!) i grew up with 2 Siberian huskies so I’m well aware of the whole “when your dog is smarter than you...” complex. Thanks in advance!
  16. Hello! I posted about my beautiful Merle Border Collie female, Rogue, weeks ago. I feel that it’s only right to update her progress on this forum and gather some more information/advice via comments because they helped immensely! Compared to where she was when the last post was written, Rogue has truly blossomed into a wonderful dog. She is so loving. She has stopped submissively urinating for the most part, and only does it in small quantities when she is extremely frightened (i.e. stranger comes into home and she is caught off guard). She roams off leash in our yard and does extremely well with listening and staying close. She definitely knows who her people are! She loves to burn energy. Sometimes when a man asks if they can pet her, I will make them stand where they are and not approach her. She will go up to sniff him with excitement and apprehensiveness, with her tail slightly between her legs, but will open up upon realizing that he means well and just wants to pet her! We had a friend over just the other night who happened to be male, and she ran right up to him and sat between his knees so he could pet her. We always tell our male counterparts to not go up to her, even though it can be hard because she is such a beautiful dog! She approaches many more people now instead of scurrying away. We are so proud of her progress! She likes to spend time in her kennel. We leave the door open to give her access whenever she likes. She will sometimes take a bone into her kennel and chew it in there. Sometimes she spend a bit more time than we would like her to spend in her kennel. I am home for the majority of the day, everyday. Therefore, I leave the kennel door open so she can come out if she would like. She typically comes out and roams the house freely when I am home, but tends to recede back into her safe space when my fiancé gets home from work. He has been doing his best with not approaching her, and mostly just living out his daily routines in front of her. She is comfortable with me, but sometimes I will hear some rattling and find her in her kennel, head poking out of the entrance rested on top of some toys. I leave her be. I want her to feel that she has a ‘safe space’ that’s all her own and she never has to feel scared in. But I will always keep the door open so she knows she can come out. She’s been coming out more and more each day when he is home. Hopefully in a few weeks, she will be able to approach him without as much fear! It has been a long process but she has adjusted little by little, and it is truly awesome to sometimes sit back and think about how far she has come and how far she can still go! I love my Rogue!
  17. Hey Hey, Kilo and I would first off like to say thanks for welcoming us into this wonderful community. Kilo is my first BC and is 4 months old. He's a joy to have and I'm learning as much from him as he is from me everyday. It's been a learning curve, but he's nearly house-broken, he knows MANY basic tricks (Sit, Down, Paw, Other Paw, Roll-over), and I'm working on introducing him to the Halti. Before anyone says anything in regards to my choice to keep him as a companion pet, I have done my research and am aware of the high energy and drive behind this breed as well as their needs to be worked and mentally stimulated. Also, I am a (almost graduated) Vet Tech. Currently our schedule looks like, as I'm in college (well exam time for 2 more weeks): Morning (upon wake up at 6:30-7:30am) a 10-15 minute walk outside to get him a chance to use the bathroom he gets his breakfast in a Kong Gyro treat puzzle ball while I eat my breakfast and get ready for class 5-10 minutes of trick training/practice in crate with frozen peanut butter to top the rest of his breakfast in a standard puppy Kong. (I don't leave till almost 8-9) Lunchtime (12-1pm) 20-30 minute walk break from crate to play fetch or play with toys and cuddle 2-3 baby carrots in crate for afternoon Early Evening ( following class at 4-5pm) 1 hour + of walking and fetch/run in a fenced soccer field depending on weather Dinner in Kong Gyro Training of tricks Play throughout the evening Bathroom breaks as required throughout the night Before Bed (9:30-10pm) 20-30 minute walk for bathroom and to wear off any last energy crate at 10:30pm (he tends to sleep through the night fine) I'm just here to see what else, as I'll be out shortly for the summer, I can do with him or teach him. I'm interested in getting him the Jolly Ball Egg to kick around our backyard at home with my parent's dog (12 year old miniature cockapoo). Also, I'm looking to get into running again this summer (a knee injury threw me off track this past year) so that I'm back up to par for next summer to start running with him (so that he doesn't over-stress his growing joints) and I'm looking to build him an agility course also to start next summer. Currently,m we are working on the stay command, not chasing my cat (2 year old tuxedo cat) and, as I said, slowly working on integrating the Halti so we can progress to having him focused and WORKING while we are on walks. This schedule seems to work best for us both, but I'm up for any additional thoughts on providing added enrichment. Thanks from both of us,
  18. I have a new dog and I've had him about a week. Friends found him and could not find his owner, so I brought him home. When they found him, he appeared to have not been taught any commands you might teach any dog. Down, sit, stay, etc. They had worked with him on 'sit' when I brought him home. This boy (Waddie) has very few god manners. He did come house broke, but he was putting his feet on the kitchen counters. In the past week, he has come a long way. He sits, goes in the crate without a battle, doesn't jump on us nearly as much, and is learning 'stay'. And rarely puts his feet on the table or counters. I am trying to get him to stop trying to climb in the chair demanding attention from me or the kids. If I push him down, he just comes back up. The only cure is to put him out or in the crate. I do not want him to learn being obnoxious is how you get to go outside. Our older dog trained my husband to let her out when she wanted out by annoying him. He does not know down, stop, or no. He is the first dog I have had to train that wasn't a puppy when I started. He is about a year old according to the vet. What can I do to get this behavior to stop?
  19. Hi everyone, I have a 7 month border collie puppy named "Gogo" and he has changed my life. I want to play with him and make him happy. I want to help him get his endless energy out. So I tried to play fetch with him. But I have encountered several setbacks during the training. I have tried lots of methods but none of them seem to work really well. He only drops a ball when I have no eye contact with him. When he does bring it all the way back to me, I'd throw it immediately to continue the game. But if I do look at him on his way back, he stays away from me and won't bring it all the way back. Shall I just never look at him while playing then? When he has the ball and is away from me, I would ask him to "release" the ball. But he seems very reluctant every time. If he drops it and I try to approach it, he will pick it up again. In such situations, I tried to ask him to "release" again. It sometimes work, sometimes doesn't. When it doesn't work, I'd go back to my bedroom and close the door -- as a signal that "no release no game". He will learn the lesson for the next few minutes but return to the old patter before. I've tried treats. And treats don't work for him in play sessions cuz his attention is so fixated on the game/toy. I've also tried playing with two balls, he would drop the ball without any cue, but he would drop the first ball very far from me on his way back, and has his attention fixed on the ball in my hand. What have I done wrong? Or what shall I do better to do the "perfect" fetch? Please help us!~ Thanks a lot!
  20. Hi everyone, I've been reading some of these boards, and there seem to be some very knowledgeable people on here. I have not seen very much on Bud Williams or his method and wanted to see if anyone knew about it or has had any experience with it. I have two border collie puppies that I wanted to train in this way to work cattle instead of for something like trials. Below are a couple of links. First one to an article I found about Bud Williams and the second to his website. http://managingwholes.com/stock-dogs-1.htm http://stockmanship.com/ Thanks in advance.
  21. Cricket is finally 16 weeks! He had his final series of puppy shots this past Friday. I was disappointed to find that he weighed in at 13.7 pounds at 16 weeks, which seems to me to be on the small side. He's a shelter puppy, but I'd been hoping that the border collie genes would result in a larger dog to match his border collie personality Any guesses on how big he'll be? I'm hoping he'll be at least 25 lbs, but now I'm worried he might end up significantly smaller. Is it normal for there to be a growth slowdown during teething (he's in the thick of it). How much more active growth will he go through? After 8 weeks of "look at me" training and redirection, and clicker-rewarding, he FINALLY seems to be making some progress in the not-chasing-cats department. He has been rough housing with our boy cat for weeks by pouncing on him - Benny doesn't help by lying down right in front of Cricket, rolling over, and inviting play. Cricket's showing some real signs of self control and impulse control! This morning Benny was by kitchen door leading to the screened porch and I didn't notice. Cricket could have cornered him to "play", but instead he stopped, looked at Benny, looked at me, and came over to me to sit and get a treat. We're working on "down" and mouthiness. I have to say this puppy is exhausting at times, and it hasn't been all roses and sunshine. Moments like this morning though give me hope that with persistence and consistency we'll move through these puppy days and out the other side! Here he is at 16 weeks: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8XMeMYzWMjxZFpMZG1CY284S3c/view?usp=sharing His ears are normally tipped (I think they are likely to stay tipped since they haven't changed by 4 months) but they stand up when he's super-alert: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8XMeMYzWMjxSU5TTllsUXFrd2M/view?usp=sharing He looks worried because we're at the vet, waiting for his 16-week check-up.
  22. Hello dear everyone! I just got my puppy -- Gogo -- last Friday and I've been learning so much from everyone on this forum about how to get along and train a pup. Plus, Gogo is my first dog ever! So big THANK YOU! After only 3 days, Gogo can already do sit, stay, come(sometimes), release(sometimes). And he is able to sit still for food until I ask him to start eating. I am thrilled by how smart he is! But I do have some questions I want to consult you pros 1) I live on the second floor of a condo. If Gogo is in his crate, he will whine to let me know that he needs a potty break. And I will take him downstairs. Since the stairs is pretty long and steep and he is afraid to go up and down himself, I will be holding him on our way. But when he is not in his crate, there is no way I can know he wants to pee -- he will just pee on the floor if I wasn't paying close attention(I did caught him in the middle of the accident several time and scooped him immediately and went outside). So now, if I know it's around his potty break time, I will put him in the crate so that he can alarm me. I donnot imagine this to be the way forever, but how should I teach him to give me the potty sign when he is not in his crate? 2) He started mounting/humping on my legs. I will clap my hands really loud and then turn around. So far this seems to be taking effect, but I'm not so sure. If you have dealt with similar situations, I would greatly appreciate any advice! 3) He seems to be afraid of darkness. When we take a walk at night he will just sit on the grass/ground and refuse to move, sometimes with his soft baby whining, ears hanging. Is there a way to teach him not to be afraid? Or will he just overcome it over time and as he gets familiar with the environment? Otherwise, I think Gogo is doing great! Although there are setbacks in his training, esp when we go outside, Gogo does learn very fast and is a sweetheart! And here comes the photos! Thanks, everyone!
  23. Hi all, new around here and looking for some input on how to train my little gal. Shadow is 14 weeks old, and overall a great pup! She is extremely well behaved in many aspects: doesn't chase children or nip them, no more potty accidents, and never complains about her kennel (stays in it all night). I live in an apartment, but do my part to make sure Shadow gets the attention and exercise she needs. She goes to doggy daycare at someones house on weekdays, and I take her out for good walks or playing fetch. Shadow has done very well with the basic training that I've done inside (sit, ground, up, stay, come). Outside is another story... Shadow gets so excited when we go for a walk that she will choke herself the entire way to the park where she 'knows' she's going to play fetch. A trainer I know is highly suggesting using the pincher/prong collar. He uses it for most of his training and is quite successful. Shadow has used it 2 times, her last time she did extremely well and was loose leash the entire walk. Not sure I want to use this, but its currently an option with how stubborn she is. The PetSafe Gentle Leader (head halter) did not work at all with her; she would just pull out of it no matter how painful it was for her to slip it off her nose. She did okay yesterday with a strap harness hooked in front, but today she pulled quite a bit on it. She can be very good when coming back from the park playing fetch and loose leashed the entire way, but I can't seem to contain this eagerness to go play fetch when we start our walk. She has come to love chasing her ball, but isn't too keen on bringing it back. She isn't possessive of it at all though. Children can even throw for her without any problems. The problem is she is unwilling to bring it back, or come to me when called. I can go over there and she'll leave the ball (she'll make sure there's distance between us), she'll sit and wait for it to be thrown again as told. If she does 'bring it back' it won't be close enough to where I can pet her. If I do try to pet her and tell her good job or reward her she jumps back out of my reach. Side note, since day one when I got her she did this whole jump backwards thing from me when I approached her (now it's only off leash playing fetch). Because of this I got a long leash to try and help. This morning I tried throwing it for her, letting her get it, take her time to chew on it, then I'd call her back. She didn't come back a single time. I had to drag her back through the grass with her harness. I would even give her treats when she got to me, but at a certain point she wouldn't even take them anymore (so stubborn!). We had to leave the park early (only got ~15-20 mins in) and she was complaining as we left that she didn't get to 'work' enough! Any suggestions on how to be able to correct this leash behavior, and help her with her recall would be greatly appreciated!!
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