What to expect when I'm expecting....

[Rskillz]

Well I get my new pup August 18th and he'll be 12 weeks old at that time. I've bought him a nice crate, leash, collar, tons of toys, great food, more toys, etc etc, already have vet visits lined up and I feel I'm prepared at least from a supply standpoint, hah.

 

But I'm 26 and I've never owned any pet of my own. I'm taking this super serious and I want to make sure I give him a great home, so what do you guys recommend I do for him early on and what should I expect as far as annoyances with BC pups?

 

Of course I must thrown in a few pictures of him! His name is Eko.

 

 

 

[gypsy84]

Not just with BC's but with any new puppy you need to be prepared for peeing, pooping, chewing, and whining! He WILL pee/poop on your floor, on your rug, on anything that he has access to. He WILL chew anything he can sink his needle-sharp puppy teeth into - including your hands & feet. The housetraining takes a LOT of patience and cleanups. It seems worth it when you get one, two, even three days without an accident in the house, but they'll happen occasionally for a couple months after you think he's house trained. I know they look cute, but PUPPIES ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED. They're evil I tried leaving Gyppy out of her kennel a couple weeks ago (she's now 9 months) when we went out for a couple hours, and came home to shredded garbage all over my room. My fault, but I learned my lesson.

 

It'd be best to start his training right away, Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) is a good idea to get him learning. When you feed him, make him wait until you give him the "OK" command. When you're throwing a ball for him, make sure he sits and waits for you to throw it. When he wants attention, make him sit and wait patiently instead of jumping up at your legs.

 

There's a ton of advice scattered around the boards, so if there's anything specific you want to know about just try searching. And if you can't find what you're looking for, ask some of the posers on the board.

 

Good Luck, and make sure you post a gazillion photos!

[sweet_ceana]

First off he is going to have to go out.... alot! You need to make sure to take him out every two to three hours when they are little. he will get better with time, but like a baby he is not going to know when he needs to go. Start him right away with a "go potty" command. That way you can be premptive with accidents. Second teach him a recall ASAP! We did not do this with ceana and I really regret it. It is much more effective to have a recall in place as they start to become older and a little rebelious. When you socialize him make sure it is not just with the same dogs, Ceana got along fine with her friends but she is not so great at making new ones. You will probably not get a good night of sleep for at least the first couple of days.... and put up anything you do not want to be chewed. We gave Ceana ice to chew on as a pup, it kept her busy and it numbed her gums a tad in the teething process. Good luck with your new little one and remeber to love him as much as I know he will love you

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Heavy plastic calf guards! Woobie had me black and blue with nipping and biting the first couple weeks I had him and those needley puppy teeth hurt!

 

And a sense of humor! Have fun! The puppy days pass too quickly.

[Root Beer]

I recommend that you call around to local dog training centers and see if you can find a puppy kindergarten program to enroll her in ASAP. I'd look for one that uses totally positive methods - food, toys, and/or clickers.

 

When my puppy was really young, I didn't really have "Border Collie puppy" annoyances per se, but just the typical puppy stuff - chewing, accidents in the house, destruction, etc. When he got to be about 6 months old or so the Border Collie aspect started to come into the picture. Tennis ball obsession, creation of creative games, turning things on and off (a radio, the computer, etc), staring, stalking, refusing to eat his meals unless I stuffed them into a ball, etc.

 

This board is a great resource when the specific questions come up. If you can find some people locally who have raised Border Collies, that can be a great resource for you, too.

 

I wish you the best with your pup. Treasure every moment you can - they grow up way too fast!

[Rskillz]

Not just with BC's but with any new puppy you need to be prepared for peeing, pooping, chewing, and whining! He WILL pee/poop on your floor, on your rug, on anything that he has access to. He WILL chew anything he can sink his needle-sharp puppy teeth into - including your hands & feet. The housetraining takes a LOT of patience and cleanups. It seems worth it when you get one, two, even three days without an accident in the house, but they'll happen occasionally for a couple months after you think he's house trained. I know they look cute, but PUPPIES ARE NOT TO BE TRUSTED. They're evil I tried leaving Gyppy out of her kennel a couple weeks ago (she's now 9 months) when we went out for a couple hours, and came home to shredded garbage all over my room. My fault, but I learned my lesson.

 

It'd be best to start his training right away, Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) is a good idea to get him learning. When you feed him, make him wait until you give him the "OK" command. When you're throwing a ball for him, make sure he sits and waits for you to throw it. When he wants attention, make him sit and wait patiently instead of jumping up at your legs.

 

There's a ton of advice scattered around the boards, so if there's anything specific you want to know about just try searching. And if you can't find what you're looking for, ask some of the posers on the board.

 

Good Luck, and make sure you post a gazillion photos!

 

One good thing I have going for me is I have a doggy door at my home back in Georgia, so I can train him fairly easily to go in and out on his own accord when he has to do his business hopefully!

 

I really don't want to leave him in his crate when I'm at school or work as it just seems cruel to me for some reason. I suppose I will have to though as it will probably look like a hurricane hit when I return if I don't.

 

Thanks for all of your suggestion though, I will certainly use them all.

[Guest TheRuffMuttGang]

Keep in mind: a dog door trained dog is not a house trained dog.

[Rskillz]

Keep in mind: a dog door trained dog is not a house trained dog.

 

Could you possibly elaborate? Keep in mind I'm a noob when it comes to this stuff. Are you saying I shouldn't even bring the door into play until he's properly house trained?

[Pippin's person]

One good thing I have going for me is I have a doggy door at my home back in Georgia, so I can train him fairly easily to go in and out on his own accord when he has to do his business hopefully!

 

I really don't want to leave him in his crate when I'm at school or work as it just seems cruel to me for some reason. I suppose I will have to though as it will probably look like a hurricane hit when I return if I don't.

 

Thanks for all of your suggestion though, I will certainly use them all.

 

It'll get done a lot faster if you go out with him and have a potty party everytime he goes--if you let him go out on his own, you'll have no way of knowing if he's gone or not. (ETA: And no way of reinforcing him for going). And more than likely he won't go. BCs are dogs that want to be with you or into something all the time--esp. as pups-- and it's pretty common for them (and probably all pups) to go out and then come inside and pee on the carpet.

 

If you haven't already, get a couple of books on puppy raising--I've liked Ian Dunbar's book about puppies; Pat Miller's book called the Power of Positive dog training; a book by Paul Owen called the Dog Whisperer (which is different than Cesar Milan's book) and the best ever puppy raising book (IMHO)--How to Raise a Puppy you can Live with.

 

start retraining yourself about feeling bad about crates--think many times every day--"the crate is my best friend"--While you can't leave him in there for many hours at a time without a potty break, you can leave him for as many hours as he is months old and it really is great training for him and will be helpful for as long as you have him.

 

He's quite a looker and you'll have a great time with him no doubt. And I second Root Beer--he'll be grown before you know it, so treasure his baby self and take lots of pictures

[OurBoys]

I really don't want to leave him in his crate when I'm at school or work as it just seems cruel to me for some reason. I suppose I will have to though as it will probably look like a hurricane hit when I return if I don't.

 

Puppies will chew anything and everything, including electrical wiring. He can seriously injury/kill himself by electrocution. Crating a puppy while you are away from home can save his life.

[rosefarm]

It'll get done a lot faster if you go out with him and have a potty party everytime he goes

 

Is that kinda like the Dr. Phil toilet training, where he gets a call from Thomas the Tank engine?

 

 

 

And do not fear the crate, the crate is a very good thing with wee puppies!

 

--Denise

[PSmitty]

Socialize, socialize, socialize! I can't say it enough. Expose your puppy to all you can, like different kinds of people (big people, little people, kids, older folks, people with hats on, people of different races, etc), let him interact with other dogs that you know are "safe", introduce him to cats, if possible. Take him to as many different places you can and let him get used to different kinds of noises, walking surfaces, etc.

 

Ditto on the recommendation of a puppy or basic obedience class. This will be great socialization and a big learning tool for you, as the the owner.

 

And lastly, as the others have said, don't be afraid to use the crate. Your puppy is too young to have free run of the house, dog door or not. For his safety, the safety of your possessions , and possibly the sanity of your room mates, crate him when you are not able to be with him. A puppy that age should be fine to stay in a crate for about 3-4 hours at a time, if need be. Less would be better, of course, until he's older, but he'll be fine. I didn't crate train my first dog, but my last two, I did. I learned my lesson...I will NEVER have an un-crate trained dog again!

 

Oh, yeah, did anyone mention Kongs? I think those are a life saver and it will give your puppy something appropriate to chew on. Fill it up with frozen goodies, and you will have an instant babysitter for a while, too.

 

Good luck!

[Root Beer]

I would never consider leaving a puppy loose in my house uncrated - for his own safety as much as for avoiding having to replace a lot more things than necessary!!

 

Also, if you ever travel with your dog in the future - you might not plan to now, but you never know - some places will only allow dogs if they are crated. If you need to crate your dog, it is way better for the dog to already understand the crate. The crate can also provide a familiar and safe place when you are out and about with your dog.

 

But the biggest reason I crate train my new dogs is the potty issue. I use this method to housetrian:

 

Dog(pup) is crated. When I let the dog out of the crate, we go right outside. I carry the dog if I have to to prevent a carpet accident. I wait until dog potties and then we come back in. Doing this helps the dog form the habit of going when I let him outside.

 

I only housetrained one dog without a crate (our first) and with him it took the longest - and I had far more carpets to clean. That's on to say that the ones I crate train never have accidents, but I find that they happen less.

 

It also provides a place for your dog to rest. Dean is a go, go, go, go-er. Sometimes I crate him for a short period of time just to make him take a rest. Since he is crate trained, he goes right in, rests, and then comes out with more energy go burn.

 

I used to think they were cruel, too, but after using one with three dogs (four if you count our foster), I see it completely opposite - crates (when used properly) are one of the best things you can teach your dog to use and understand.

[Pippin's person]

Is that kinda like the Dr. Phil toilet training, where he gets a call from Thomas the Tank engine?

And do not fear the crate, the crate is a very good thing with wee puppies!

 

--Denise

 

Yeah--I wrote that after spending the day with my toddler niece who is on the tail-end of potty training...it is a little scary that some things transcend the species boundaries....I keep finding myself telling Olivia to "leave it"

[rosefarm]

Yeah--I wrote that after spending the day with my toddler niece who is on the tail-end of potty training...it is a little scary that some things transcend the species boundaries....I keep finding myself telling Olivia to "leave it"

 

It's amazing how true that is

[OurBoys]

Yeah--I wrote that after spending the day with my toddler niece who is on the tail-end of potty training...it is a little scary that some things transcend the species boundaries....I keep finding myself telling Olivia to "leave it"

 

I am sooo glad I'm not the only one who does this!

 

When DH & I were looking for LR furniture, I found a chair I liked. I pointed at the chair and told DH "Sit". He laughed at me for a couple of days after that one!

[AK dog doc]

I am sooo glad I'm not the only one who does this!

 

When DH & I were looking for LR furniture, I found a chair I liked. I pointed at the chair and told DH "Sit". He laughed at me for a couple of days after that one!

 

You're not the only one who does this... and it's realy hard to resist, once you've trained a few dogs! At the reunion I was innundated with little bitty nieces and nephews, who, it must be remembered, had never met me before. From their point of view I was just a grownup, with no special powers (unlike, say, a parent, a grannie, another KNOWN relative). Hence any obedience to me was not something I expected to be automatic... and in fact, I wasn't sure they'd listen to me at all. So if amidst the chaos I needed to "command" them (like if they were wandering toward a curb while both parents were doing a stealth diaper-change on the other child), I found myself going, in my best puppy-training voice, "No-no, sweetie, come here! GOOD girl! Gooood girl, I'm so proud of you!!" - and then stroking their heads as a reward. I only just stopped myself from offering a food treat. It was awful. I couldn't stop myself from talking to them like that. (Luckily that urge only struck when I was in shepherd mode. If we were just playing I was almost normal.)

[ShoresDog]

Karen Pryor tells a funny story in her wonderful book, Don't Shoot The Dog, about a kindergarten teacher using a clicker -- very effectively! -- to guide the children in her class in behavior and learning. Later one of the children sees a clicker being used with a dog and asks, "Oh, neat! You can use the clicker with dogs too?"

[Anda]

I've told not too long ago a co-workers to "Stay!" while I had to stop in the middle of the stairways to tie my shoelaces. He gave me this puzzle look, and then panted hapily and acted like he wagged his tail (he's a dog person, too ).

[Guest LJS1993]

I think the cool thing for you RSKILLZ is you have been on this board before you get your BC. I think you are probably more equipped than you think at this point. I bet just being on this board, talking to people about their BC's has given you some good knowledge. Have fun and enjoy the process of raising a little BC.

[Devi]

Keep in mind: a dog door trained dog is not a house trained dog.

 

Agreed.

 

The comments on socialization are great! Get into a puppy class, and take your pup to dog-related events. Introduce him to as many dog-friendly dogs and humans as you can!!

 

It is not cruel to crate your young dog during the day while you're gone. You want to be the source of all good things to your dog-- if he's allowed to do whatever he wants as soon as you leave, he'll be reinforcing himself by getting into things, getting on the furniture if you don't let him when you're home, etc. If you crate him, he'll just sleep all day. If puppy gets distressed when you leave, leave him with a yummy Kong in his crate. "Ahh, owner left again, nothing to do but sleep..." I crated all of my dogs while I was gone when I first got them. Now I can trust them outside of their crates when I'm gone, because they just sleep.

 

Also, keep in mind that from day one, your puppy will be trying to figure out what it's like to live with you. He will make conclusions about how you want him to act for the rest of his life from that first day on. A good example is that if you encourage him to run out every door you open, you will have a dog that will always get excited and try to escape when the door is open. If you're teaching your pup from day one that he isn't allowed to go out the door until told okay, he'll understand that actually getting out the door has nothing to do with the door opening. It's much easier to set your dog up for success and teach him manners as soon as he's home with you, instead of waiting until problems arise to fix them.

 

You can also set your dog up to be perfect off leash from a really early age-- make recalls the best part of his day!! Check out Ian Dunbar's book, "Before and After Getting Your Puppy." Good luck!!

[Jack & Co.]

I would suggest going ahead and picking up the proper cleaning supplies so you can attack accidents immediately. My brother swears by Nature's Miracle products. You must get any traces of a scent up so the little guy won't keep coming back to the same place. I have a carpet cleaner, not because I had a puppy, but because I had an incontinent senior dog, and they are great for pulling all the moisture out of the carpet after you've treated it.

[OurBoys]

"It'd be best to start his training right away, Nothing In Life Is Free (NILIF) is a good idea to get him learning. When you feed him, make him wait until you give him the "OK" command. When you're throwing a ball for him, make sure he sits and waits for you to throw it. When he wants attention, make him sit and wait patiently instead of jumping up at your legs."

 

I agree with Lisa (and everyone else who have left suggestions). From day one, teach him NILIF, even and especially when you take him someplace like Petsmart. Every time I take one or both of the boys, the cashiers there want to give them a treat. I tell them "Only if they work for it and only if they don't put their paws on the counter". The ones that are naive enough to ask why, I tell them I don't want to teach them counter-surfing is ok. Small things like that, I feel, are important. If for some reason your puppy picks up a bad habit, look within. How and why did he learn that?

[Tranquilis]

I couldn't stop myself from talking to them like that. (Luckily that urge only struck when I was in shepherd mode. If we were just playing I was almost normal.)

Hah! Owning BCs has turned you into a BC!

 

If it's any consolation, my daughter does exactly the same thing to her little brother. It works, too.

[AK dog doc]

Hah! Owning BCs has turned you into a BC!

 

Is there higher praise than this?