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When do these puppy days get easier?


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Hello everyone! I am new the forums and am joining as I just got my new border collie pup a few weeks ago :rolleyes: His name is Tama and he is a wonderful 10 (almost 11) week old little boy. I am in love with him and I think things are going just about as smoothly as they can be, but those puppy blues hit hard sometimes. He is not allowed to go outside until he is 16 weeks old - until he gets all of his vaccines - and so for now we are cooped up at home. Luckily I have the month off to stay with him and devote most of time to him. I am doing my best to keep him busy and stimulated - he is rarely crated for more than two hours at a time and never for longer than 3, he gets multiple short training sessions a day and is learning loads, and we play fetch and tug-of-war all day when he isn't crated. He sleeps well, eats well, plays well, and is generally good about being in his crate. Starting from when we wake up, we will play for a few hours, then he is crated for a few hours, and this repeats until bedtime. 

He is far from being overly hyper but I am starting to wear thin. He takes a solid 6-7 hour chunk out of my day where I just watch him and play with him, with all of my attention focused entirely on him. If I don't watch him he begins to chew wires, chew furniture, and otherwise get himself into trouble. Just puppy things, I know - but man, when does it get easier? When will my day stop consisting of staring at him and making sure he is ok? I so look forward to the days where he gets a few hours of active exercise a day, and the rest of the day he can reliably chill out next to me while I work. But right now those days seem impossibly far away. Do they ever even come? He won't always require 100% of my attention all the time, right?

I'm sure that a large part of the challenge is that he is not allowed outside for walks, and I expect it will get tremendously easier when he is. The other thing is that right now I am taking care of him completely on my own. For this month that I have off, my roommate and boyfriend are away. I am so looking forward to when they are back. It's wonderful to bond with him and get to have him for myself during his early weeks, but extremely overwhelming as he takes up so much of my time. I am trying to soak in these puppy days but I feel like I can't wait for him to get older. When does it get easier? 

Here's a picture of my little boy :)

tamapic.thumb.jpg.7faac34c023341df0f8e5789648cceed.jpg

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Hello hello! We're just a few weeks ahead of you - Kevin is 17 weeks, and I'm new to the boards too - but I really feel for you here. I had him on my own for one week over Thanksgiving and it was super tough. But the difference between now and 11 weeks is already quite significant. We're in Sweden and people aren't as strict here about keeping dogs inside until all their shots are done here (plus, we completed his shots at 12 weeks), so we were going on (super short) walks at that point in time. We didn't have to deal with the cooped up feelings as much. And already now, he can entertain himself a little better than he could then.

A thought: I think much of our own tension was relieved with some attitude adjustments in our own minds. We (and I bet you, too) don't want to have a grownup dog who requires our attention all the time; we want a grownup dog who can entertain himself. That means he has to get used to entertaining himself for certain periods already now. This relieves some of the guilt of not paying attention to him - although we have a fully puppy proofed room in our home, which makes that possible.

Another thought: when it's time for him to chill on his own, have something you say Every. Single. Time. I work from home on my computer, and every time I sit down to work (and he has to be on his own mentally), I say "Time to work." Yesterday after about 30 minutes of squeaky toy craziness, I said "time to work" and he lay down on his blanket and went to sleep almost immediately, no joke (I was super impressed and relieved!).

So hang in there! It sounds like you care and you're doing awesome!

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Welcome to the Boards.

I don't have a lot of time to respond at the moment, but do want to point out that the most critical period for socialization is from 7 to 14 weeks. That means if you wait until 16 weeks to begin socialization you'll be missing the most important opportunity for your pup to be well adjusted. The puppy should be meeting as many new people as possible and also as many other dog as possible. That doesn't mean you should take him to high traffic areas like dog parks, pet stores or the most popular walking areas, but you absolutely can take him to other places that allow dogs (in the US there are a number of stores, including the big box home improvement stores as well as smaller hardware stores and even some department stores where you can ask before bringing them in) so that he can get new experiences and meet new people. He can ride in shopping carts. The biggest risk on walks is exposure to feces, but you can find places to go where there aren't a lot of other dogs being walked.

And make a point of having him meet dogs that belong to people you know whose dogs are fully vaccinated and healthy. Puppy kindergarten classes are also great, as long as the trainer insists that all puppies have had at least initial shots. That's why they get a series of vaxes when they're puppies, so that they have the vaccines even before their bodies can maintain full immunity on their own.

Socialization should continue for at least a year, but not beginning some socialization in this early period in safe, healthy environments with healthy dogs and to a variety of people is one of the biggest behavioral mistakes people can make.

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@tamapup- what a lil doll baby! I cannot imagine having to keep a puppy indoors for the entire 1st 16 wks of their life. This is a regulation in the country where you live? Condolences-

We acquired our 2 at the age of 13 wks. To say I essentially gave up the usual life to keep them busy, playing, out of trouble for a long, long time is an understatement- but being retired, I could do that. I feel for owners who work and have to juggle it all.

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Thank you all so much for your responses!

Yes, I was shocked when I learned that I had to keep him indoors until 16 weeks of age. This was, and still is, one of biggest concerns - how on earth do I get my puppy to become well socialized if we're indoors all day long? I voiced this concern with the vet and she said that it was for his safety. I asked her if I could carry him outdoors in my arms and she said that I could do that, so long as his paws don't touch the ground. I do that almost every day, weather permitting, but he is getting heavy and I can't carry him for more than a few streets at a time (we live in a big city)there anything else that I can do to make this easier? I have people coming and meeting him almost every day, but he doesn't get much socialization with other dogs because I don't know where to find them. 

@KevTheDog Those are some awesome tips, thank you! Good to hear that it does get better :) I'll definitely start using a phrase for when I start working to give him "alone time" - he is somewhat okay at that now but we will keep working on it. 

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Quote

A thought: I think much of our own tension was relieved with some attitude adjustments in our own minds. We (and I bet you, too) don't want to have a grownup dog who requires our attention all the time; we want a grownup dog who can entertain himself. That means he has to get used to entertaining himself for certain periods already now. This relieves some of the guilt of not paying attention to him - although we have a fully puppy proofed room in our home, which makes that possible.

I started a big rambling reply to your post, and then deleted it because KevTheDog's post  said it all so much better.  If you start out thinking you must entertain your dog every waking moment, he won't out grow that, he'll demand more and more of your attention. Start teaching him now that there are times when he just has to chill out on his own.

If you don't want to keep him crated when you aren't directly interacting with him, try making a puppy proof room for him with no power cords to chew on and no furniture to eviscerate, and give him a kong stuffed with frozen yogurt (unsweetened) and peanut butter and kibble, or maybe a bully stick to chew on, and let him learn to entertain himself.   If you can't devote an entire room to a puppy nursery, an X-pen that will allow you to barricade off an area but still give him more room than a crate is a very worthwhile investment.

You don't say where you live, but your vet's instruction not to let him outside is her opinion, not some sacred rule.  That opinion may be based on how many puppies she treats that have picked up serious communicable diseases, so I don't dismiss that opinion, but as others have said, find someplace that isn't heavily trafficked with other dogs, and take your pup for little mini-walks.  Don't let him sniff feces, and if you are really concerned, wipe his paws with a hand sanitizer at the end of the walk. (I'm not a fan of hand sanitizers at all, but if using it eases your mind about walking your puppy, do it.)

Also, while walking your pup will benefit you both greatly, don't plan on being able to tire him out that way.  What walking does is build up his endurance and desire for more walking.  So yes, enjoy walks that give him mental and physical exercise, build his confidence, and are enjoyable for both of you.  But you will drop dead of exhaustion long before you can tire out a healthy border collie.  He will eventually benefit from an hour or two daily of physical exercise, ideally broken into a few smaller sessions rather than one marathon session.  But mainly he needs mental stimulation and companionship.

And lastly, he's adorable.  I can see how he easily sucks you into thinking you need to spend every waking moment with him:wub:

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55 minutes ago, Hooper2 said:

 

But you will drop dead of exhaustion long before you can tire out a healthy border collie.  He will eventually benefit from an hour or two daily of physical exercise, ideally broken into a few smaller sessions rather than one marathon session.  But mainly he needs mental stimulation and companionship.

 

This is true.  Train him. Teach him tricks. Work with his mind. This is just as tiring for him and the mental exercise and the experience of working with you and being your companion is every bit as important as physical exercise.

And, don't worry about putting him down on the ground. Just be careful where you do it. If it were my puppy I would be taking him everywhere I could, even if at times I had to carry him. Let him hear different engines, a train, people laughing, see buses and other dogs and be exposed to as many different environments and sounds as possible.

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I do feel for you. I agree that having a border collie puppy is hard work.

We were able to take our puppy out at 12 weeks old, one week after his final injection. At the time we were so ready to take him out walking. We were lucky we got him in the summer, so spent hours in the garden, playing, training and walking round the garden on a lead to get him ready and used to his lead when out walking.

Hopefully, like us, you will find it a lot easier when you can go out walking. We started with just a 10 minute walk, which took about 30 minutes, due to sniffing and people stopping to stroke him. He had 3 short walks a day and this seemed to tire him out and settle him a lot more in the day.

Harry is now 7 months old, still extremely lively, but walks are longer. We now know his routine.  He still follows me around in the day, but is getting better. I only leave him in his crate, for at most 2 hours and I make sure he is ready for a sleep.

Good luck.

Mandy and Harry.

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He is beautiful!

Do you have a garden? I don't think your own garden is off limits. I have to confess that I decided the risk to all of our sanities (puppy and human) of keeping him cooped up inside for the first few months were greater than the risks of going out. However, it certainly wasn't a cure all. Taking him out gave us something different to do for a short period of time but never actually caused him to then sleep soundly for several hours or play quietly without getting into trouble.

It does get easier :D. Our boy is now about 9 months old and those first few nightmare weeks are still very fresh in my mind. In fact, I think if I was ever going to be crazy enough to get another Border Collie puppy I wouldn't want one younger than six months. I'm not saying it got easy at six months old, but it was probably about that time that I started to get odd glimpses of the dog I hoped we'd have. He stopped needing toilet breaks in the night and would sleep during the day for longer than twenty minutes. And the biting/mouthing/chewing stopped. Certainly at three months old we couldn't take our eyes off him and his awake time was very needy. He isn't yet one of those dogs that needs an hour or two of exercise and then sleeps the rest of the day, but he does spend more time relaxing and sleeping now. The length or intensity of our walks/outings do not reduce his crazy times, in fact he often seems calmer with less exercise. A little bit of training calms him down.

We used and still use, stuffed Kongs for meals, keeps him busy for at least half an hour each meal and helps satisfy his chewing needs. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

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Thank you! I don't have a garden unfortunately. I decided to carry him around the neighborhood today and walked into a bookstore, where he walked around and played with the employees. I have a feeling this may become a daily occurrence for us ;) We are also working on lots of training which he is good about, and I love the idea of feeding him his meals through stuffed Kongs. 

I'm a little worried about his socialization with other dogs. Today I met someone who was walking their small dog, extremely sweet and laid back. I asked if the dog had all of his vaccines up to date, and then knelt down and allowed Tama to sniff and say hello. He was very still in my arms, not rigid but not excited either, and then he began barking and growling. I noticed him do this once when he saw a dog walk by as well. Is this something I should be concerned about? I'm not sure what the fix is here. I've tried looking for puppy kindergarten classes but had no luck - will try to search some more. 

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2 hours ago, tamapup said:

I'm a little worried about his socialization with other dogs. 

Do you have any friends with dogs that may let you come by to play?  

My pup is about 20 weeks now.  We have other dogs at home, but he was a tad sketchy his first few walks.  He seems to be more confident and comfortable with strangers and other dogs now.    He has commmands we practice at home, with positive reinforcement, that we also use while we walk.  Good behavior earns him treats and he loves treats. 

Due to Parvo being prevelant in our area, we waited until he completed his vaccinations.  For us, this was the best choice.  Always make the best choice for your situation.  If you don’t have your own yard, maybe he can walk in the street (obviously not a busy street) to keep out of dirt or potential risky areas.  

Lots of toys at home will help keep him busy too. Enjoy those moments when he decided to sleep too!  Mine still naps pretty good (better then my kids ever did).

He a very handsome boy!  

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17 hours ago, tamapup said:

Is this something I should be concerned about? I'm not sure what the fix is here.

It sure is if he's not socialized to enough friendly dogs now at this early age.

Just like people, dogs tend to become fearful of things they aren't familiar with and fear is behind almost all aggression.

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Our vet was very clear that until his 12 week Shots he shouldn’t go to dog parks or walk trails/sidewalks where he might come across lots of faeces but that we absolutely SHOULD get him outside in our yard, quiet unused trails, other folks houses, friendly stores and socialise with as many other dogs that we trusted were fully vaccinated. 

And I agree with what others have said. Just because they want to play 24/7 doesn’t mean you have to. Set up a routine for nap time. But that is hard if your little guy isn’t getting outside. 

Another tip, sniffing is an amazing exercise for them. We had our 8 month old in our woods for just ten minutes yesterday sniffing out little cubes of cheese and liver followed by 5 mins with the frisby to just let off a bit of steam. It zonked him for ages haha! 

At this age he is now getting a 20-30 minute walk a day plus extensive off leash running in a ball field most days. But yesterday was too icy to get out, hence the sniffing exercise. I was amazed at how much it tired him! 

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On 1/2/2019 at 5:03 PM, tamapup said:

He was very still in my arms, not rigid but not excited either, and then he began barking and growling.

Good that you noticed this. Although he didn't go stiff, there was a difference in him that preceded the barking and growling. If this happens again, as soon as you notice the stillness and before he starts barking, do something to interrupt the sequence. Talk to him in a cheery, upbeat tone, turn away from the other dog like it's a game, give him a yummy treat, whatever. Don't try to force an interaction by any means when he's like this. Treating especially is a great idea; the idea is that you want to create positive associations with seeing other dogs.

Great that you found a puppy group for him! Keep in mind that his meeting adult dogs is important o.

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On 1/4/2019 at 12:43 PM, urge to herd said:

I just found  20 Crate Rest Activities on YouTube, looking for something for Gibbs to do as his knees are painful again. I'd think that these very easy-to-teach behaviors/tricks would also be good to keep restless pups calmer.

Ruth & Gibbs

Thanks for posting this. I looked it up and I definitely can use them with my dogs.

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