Border Collie Novice

[Guest Tiff.robinson003]

Hi I have recently had a little bundle of hyper activity join my family he is a 9 week old border collie called Oscar I have done lots of research and preperation and just wanted to check a few things.

 

1. Is nipping and biting a problem during play? He knows not to bite too hard and it doesn't hurt and i dont mind playing like that but from the research it seems everyone is saying this should be stopped as soon as possible 

 

2. How old should he be before I can talk him walking in the woods? I like near a beautiful large woods and fields and I go walking and running a lot but I don't want to over do it while he is young

 

3. How old before he should be responding to his name and coming when calling it? Again the research is mixed at best in this it seems to vary between 3-5 months old that's seems quite quick for me is that correct?

 

Any help would be massively appreciated

 

Here is a  picture of him asleep

[Guest Tiff.robinson003]

Apologies just noticed this is in the wrong section can anyone advise where to post this for help again apologies I am new to the site 

[gcv-border]

Post it in the "General ....."  section.

[Guest Tiff.robinson003]

Thank you

[Guest Tiff.robinson003]

Can anyone help I am unable to post in general topics do I need to authorised first??

[GentleLake]

I think you may have to register as a member.

[Eileen Stein]

This thread has been moved to General Border Collie Discussion.

[jami74]

Aw he is so cute!

My boy is nearly eight months, I am no expert but I can tell you how things were for us.

On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 10:09 AM, Guest Tiff.robinson003 said:

1. Is nipping and biting a problem during play? He knows not to bite too hard and it doesn't hurt and i dont mind playing like that but from the research it seems everyone is saying this should be stopped as soon as possible 

2. How old should he be before I can talk him walking in the woods? I like near a beautiful large woods and fields and I go walking and running a lot but I don't want to over do it while he is young

3. How old before he should be responding to his name and coming when calling it? Again the research is mixed at best in this it seems to vary between 3-5 months old that's seems quite quick for me is that correct?

1. Think about the big dog that he will become, when he has a mouth full of adult canine teeth will you mind if he nips and bites in play? I strongly discouraged it, at first it didn't seem to make much difference but eventually he stopped. I found the nipping and biting tended to get worse when he was probably due for a nap. If he started I'd end the game and if I recognised that he was getting to that point I'd encourage him to sleep. Mouthing, where it seemed he was feeling my hand with his mouth and seemed to happen when he was more relaxed rather than hyped up, I allowed because I read somewhere that it teaches them to be gentle. It was cute when he was very small but after a while I didn't really want my hands all slobbery so I discouraged it. He doesn't do it at all now.

2. There seems to be a general guideline of about five minutes per month of life for outside walking type exercise. There also seem to be different vaccination rules in different places. Some recommend that they don't have access to public grass until their vaccinations are complete. Personally, I wanted our puppy to have as many different experiences as possible so I carried him places and let him down in areas where I could see there was no dog poo or dirty water. We are just now (at nearly 8 months) having outside walks/runs/plays that last about an hour (with plenty of chance for rests). Ours got tired quickly when he was small and when he was tired he behaved in ways we didn't like. I made the mistake of trying to tire him out so he'd be more settled, but I realised after a while that he became more settled with less exercise.

3. Our boy was responding to his name within a few days of having him. You can start practicing recall right away by calling him and giving him a treat or his meal or lovely attention when he comes. I'm sure by 3 months our boy could do sit, down and come. Have a look on YouTube, lots of people have posted videos of their border collie pups doing tricks at a young age. Border collies aren't just any dogs, things that other breeds are still struggling with months down the line will be no problem for a border collie pup.

[D'Elle]

I would not allow puppy biting. As the previous poster points out, it is not something you want an adult dog to do and it is best not to allow it to continue. 

I personally would not allow my puppy to walk in any place where there even might have been other dogs until all the shots were complete. Just because you don't see dog poop doesn't mean dogs have not been there, possibly shedding virus molecules which of course you cannot see. It is also hard to keep a puppy at that baby stage from grabbing everything and eating it. It is a good idea for the baby to experience as many things as possible at an early age, but I would carry my puppy only until the shot regime is completed. It is simply not worth the risk. You can expose a pup to lots of things while carrying; it is not necessary for him to be on the ground. Take him to hear a train go by, take him into woods, take him downtown, take him to ocean or river or lake, etc. He will have the rest of his life to be on the ground; no need to do it before the shots are done.

Recall and acknowledgement of name should be one of the very first things taught. I have seen a litter of BC puppies at 9 weeks who all came when called, sat and waited for their food, and knew lie down and to wait at the door. Taught as part of the daily routine and rewarded nicely with lots of praise and a treat, all these things become something the dog knows as basic rules of life: "this is just how you live". It is so easy to train a BC puppy - they are eager to learn if you make it a game for them - a game they always win. 

[Lenie]

On 11/12/2018 at 4:09 AM, Guest Tiff.robinson003 said:

1. Is nipping and biting a problem during play? He knows not to bite too hard and it doesn't hurt and i dont mind playing like that but from the research it seems everyone is saying this should be stopped as soon as possible 

2. How old should he be before I can talk him walking in the woods? I like near a beautiful large woods and fields and I go walking and running a lot but I don't want to over do it while he is young

3. How old before he should be responding to his name and coming when calling it? Again the research is mixed at best in this it seems to vary between 3-5 months old that's seems quite quick for me is that correct?

Beautiful pup! I'm not an expert by any means but my Lottie is seven months old and from my experience with her:

1. I strongly discouraged nipping and biting. When Lottie began playing rough, I'd take a break and taught her that nipping resulted in playtime ending until she could calm down. Lottie is easily overstimulated and once she got started she had trouble controlling herself so I found it best to not allow it at all. 

2. I was very careful because in my area there aren't many responsible dog owners and there are a lot of stray dogs around potentially carrying diseases. I did not allow Lottie to walk out in public until a couple weeks after she had all her shots. Some thought I was a little extreme, but there was no harm done (except I found Lottie had some skittishness about strangers walking up to her since she had always been held and being on the ground made things scarier, but she quickly got over that). The other issue is overdoing it while your puppy is so young. I quickly found that keeping Lottie busy and active with games that challenged her brain is far more effective than having her run around. 

3. I'm not sure when Lottie began responding to her name and coming when called but I tried to make staying close and coming a rewarding experience for her and now she sticks pretty close to me all the time. The few times we have been separated, as soon as she was free she made a beeline for me and ran so fast she couldn't stop and plowed into me. I'd suggest always making sure that saying his name is a good thing and coming to you a fun time. I worked with Lottie on when I said her name that she needed to look at me by using extra tasty treats. 

Congratulations on your beautiful boy! I know you'll have fun with him!

[Lawgirl]

Congratulations on your beautiful boy! And hello from my Oscar! 

As for your questions, I do not recommend allowing any biting, even in play, although I have found that that may lead to a dog that licks a lot more! 

As for exercise, I second being sure about vaccinations being completed before going out and about.  Once you are then out and about, if you are letting your puppy wander at his own pace for a good sniff and walk (and the sniffing will probably be dominant,) the five minutes per month of age rule works well.  Sniffing around works his mind, which will actually tire him out more than strict stay by my side loose lead walking.  So maybe do a mix of long lead sniffing around walks in the woods and loose lead training walks closer to home.  Runs should wait until he is older and has finished growing, to avoid joint problems in his older years.

To my mind, he probably already knows his name.  Teaching him to come to his name is a matter of always ALWAYS making it a good experience, never NEVER letting him get away with not coming and being prepared that at adolescence his brains will fall out and he will decide that he has forgotten everything he previously knew.  Consistency is everything, and a long lead until he has a bomb proof recall.  Also a long distance stop or drop can be a life saver, literally.